Yo Nels.... What'd you think of the Raptor's Draft?

The Bet Part II

Whew.

Midterms are finally over.

And when midterms are over, it means more betting on marks with Keith! We actually changed it around this year yet again. This year, we switched it, so that the person that gets the higher percentage gets the money. Once again, we're taking the mark differential. So that means if I got 80% on an exam and keith got 90%, keith would get $10. We capped it at $45 dollars this term. We used to do it the other way around so that it was softening the blow of losing to the other person. Well now it's just rubbing salt in the wound.

But it's still a friendly bet, so the overall loser gets a free dinner from the winner. So far we haven't put any limitations on that dinner. I guess we'll see how much of a differential there is this term. Last term, i lost almost $40!

Anyway, so far this term, I'm up by $17. But I haven't gotten back the midterms I did really really poorly on yet. I'm crossing my fingers.

BTW, I didn't threaten removal from the blog... Even Mike can blog if he wants to!

PS Can't wait for the long weekend.....it's a 4 day weekend!

Tim's Tales from the Hammer, Vol #1...

Me again. Don't worry, no more Philadelphia Eagles previews. Nelson threatened to kick me off his blog if I wrote something like that again... Seriously....What a guy. For those of you who really want to get the scoop on the Eagles Defense, well, you'll have to talk to me personally. But then again, maybe it's best not to get me started.

Anyways, i figured i'd let all of you know why i haven't been around this summer and what i've been up to in Steeltown. I got a job with the University coordinating MAC's Welcome Week (aka frosh week, orientation week, etc). It's not a very taxing job; rather, it's pretty laid-back and relaxing -- kind of the perfect summer job in that way, but still with a lot of responsibility. It's not necessarily great experience, but it's the sort of job that a lot of students apply for... I guess being involved in MAC's residence system helped me out there. Plus it pays decently, and i've got my own office, phone and computer, and my boss is only in a few days a week... Sweet!

I've just finished ordering the Welcome Week Packages (Oreintation Packs, etc) which most incoming students buy -- i'm sure you've seen them / bought them (laundry bags, water bottles, res/faculty T-shirts, etc). It doesn't sound too challenging, but when you're ordering a quantity of 3000 +, salespeople will die to get your business. As i soon found out. We tried to concetrate on fewer, better-quality products this year, including Nalgene Bottles, disposable cameras, photo albums.... as opposed to the trashy promo products we traditionally got. I tried not to take it too seriously, but for the salespeople, this was their life. Our Nalgene contract was for over $20 000...!!!! Even the contract for laundry bags had a contract worth around 10 grand. With that kind of money, these are big contracts for little promotional companies .... it would probably make their entire year to get something like this.
So eventually we got the prices we wanted (disposable camera w/ flash was only around $3.50... i thought that was pretty good), but it was pretty ugly shutting some of these companies down.... they kept wanting another chance to revise their quotes and beat everyone else (not to mention try to take advantage of summer students like me!). One career i'll never wanna get into is sales... But it's pretty fun for a summer job.

On a side note, a new bubble tea joint opened up right next to my house, and i hooked them up with a promo coupon in the WW package. Next time i went in there, the guy didn't let me pay... he's giving me free bubble tea!!! I don't have a lot of Chinese friends, and i don't go too frequently. But if anyone ever visits me here, we'll go for bubble tea!
So yeah, that's my summer job... random perks like free bubble tea... and lots of samples. Anyone want a picture frame? Tupperware container? haha

I'll catch you all soon, hopefully.
Easy...

Movies

I want to go see Hulk. Even if it doesn't look that good on the previews and even if I'm not much of a Hulk fan. I want to go see it to support Ang Lee. I'm worried about him, because if this movie is a bomb, which I suspect might happen, then he may have trouble getting more work. Or maybe if it is a bomb, he'll go back to doing less commercial work - without the big budgets and all the special effects (like Eat Drink Man Woman). But I probably won't have a chance to go see it with school, lack of transportation, etc. So everyone else do me a favour and go see it for me. ;)

Here's another movie that I want to see. Let me give you a quote from Roger Ebert about this movie first:

"Every once in a while I go to see a movie,
out of maybe 400 movies I see in a year, that with
its authority, and its mood, and its tone, and its tension,
simply captures you; totally absorbs you.
That's what CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES did to me...."

Besides that quote, I also want to see Charlotte Sometimes it because all the prinicipal actors are asians. And they are cast in a romance (well, the site advertises it as an anti-romance NOTE: there's a good bit near the end of that article comparing asians and african-americans, although I don't think the analogy is quite the same...) movie, which goes against typical asian stereotypes. It also turns out that the director, Eric Byler is good friends with Justin Lin, the director of Better Luck Tomorrow. I wasn't able to watch that in theatres, and I probably won't have a chance to see this one....but who knows, maybe I could go down to the States to watch it, since it's NOT playing anywhere in Canada.

Now if only I could get around to watching all the movies I need to watch. The queue is growing quite large. If only "dummy" things like this stop getting in the way.

haha.... giving your friend access to your blog is like giving your friend the keys to your car.
You're going to regret you ever did this, Nels. Just joking dude. Hope you're doing ok, and good luck on your midterms.

Philadelphia Eagles Season Preview
With training camp a month away, its time to check out where the eagles stand at this point in the offseason:

Quarterback: The Eagles have the best quarterback in the league in Donovan McNabb. Bar none. He is one of the most spectacular players in the league and is learning to play consistently. Backups Koy Detmer and AJ Feeley are also solid, especially when McNabb was knocked out for 6 games last year with a broken leg. Detmer played better than anyone thought he could in a big win over the 49ers, and Feeley came in when Detmer was injured to go 4-1 as a first-time starter.

Running Back: This situation is worrying; although Duce Staley had a nice year last year, rushing for 1000 and receiving 500, he is unhappy with his contract status. Correll Buckhalter set the Eagles rookie rushing record 2 years ago and looked like a future star, but sat out all of last year with a torn ACL. If he can make it all the way back, the position is solid, but it's not a prospect you can depend on. Best case scenario: Staley plays hard and the best player emerges in training camp. Jon Richie is an underrated free-agent signing from the AFC champion Raiders, and is a good blocker and receiver at fullback.

Wide Receivers: The best receiver on the team is Todd Pinkston, who is a skinnier version of Randy Moss -- if that's possible. What sort of person is 6-2, but weighs 165??? Well, he's really fast and can make some incredible catches... all he needs is better concentration on the easy throws. He also gets tackled way too easily, but there's nothing you can do about that at his weight. James Thrash is solid and unspectacular as the other starter; I'd like to see someone with more upside replace him. Freddie Mitchell was a first round pick two years ago who's done nothing to this point -- this will be his last chance to show something. We always hear about his great hands and fearlessness over the middle, but he's just never gotten the playing time to prove it. This year's 3rd round pick Billy McMullen is intriguing. A real big guy at 6-4, 220, he might be a step slow, but apparently he has gigantic hands and is tough to bring down.

Tight End: Chad Lewis is a 2-time pro-bowler and can always be depended on to make the tough catch. This year's second round pick LJ Smith is an incredible athlete, playing both b-ball and football in college. He could be a future star if he works hard enough.

Offensive Line: People used to make fun of the Eagles for drafting some fat lineman each year and tossing him into the lineup. Well now the Eagles have one of the best O-lines in the league. They have three pro-bowlers in giant tackles Tra Thomas (6-7, 350) and Jon Runyan (6-5, 335) and guard Jermane Mayberry, as well as John Welbourn who is on the verge of greatness; he's controlled Warren Sapp the last few times they've played. John Madden always makes fun of Hank Fraley's body, and yes, he's a fat guy, but somehow he makes it work on the field. Depth is a concern, as there are no proven backups.

Preview of Defense to follow... I know, the suspense is killing you.

Co-op Job

I have one!

Unlike the previous few terms, I decided to apply to more realistic jobs in the first round. And I guess it worked. Now that I think about about it, I probably should have done this in the first place and work my way up to better and better jobs. Too late now....I only have one more work term after this one. Which also means I'll be graduating kinda soon.....scary.

Anyway, I got a job at Sensors & Software. The job title is "R&D Electrical Engineering, Applications Testing". The company itself employs around 40 people, which is fairly small, but at least this time around i'll be paid the engineering average (~$19/hour). I'm going to need the extra cash to help pay for the double school term coming up. The company designs, manufactures and sells ground penetrating radar instruments and associated software. I'll be doing a bunch of things, some lab and circuit testing, programming, field testing, developing calibration software, etc, etc. Sounds alright. It's a big relief this term, because i've landed a job in the first round and don't have to worry about job hunting later in the school year. Also, it's in Missisauga (403 & matheson), which is really close by. I really value living close to work. It frees up so much time and energy. So I'm happy about that. Especially since there are a lot of 4th year E&CE students (approx 4-5 classes) competing for jobs this term. I really feel sorry for the 1B students looking for jobs this term. They're going to have a tough time finding anything at all.

Plus, the midterm I just wrote (Signals & Systems) was pretty easy. But the next few are going to be killer. Time to get back to studying.

Midterms

How i wish i was back in high school....so that there'd be tests every chapter and I would actually study throughout the term. That's so much better than cramming right before midterms and once again right before finals. It's getting harder to continue this cramming, because I'm getting dumber and the course material is getting harder. Plus, the most important thing - learning the material - is not going too well. Hmm....have I screwed up my life up to this point? It's probably because I'm so lazy. Can someone who is naturally lazy (me) become unlazy? I guess part of the problem is my lack of discipline.....and my overwhelming desire to have fun. Anyway, I always get like this right before exams and such. I just got to figure out how to break this cycle. I guess I'm partly afraid that if i just concentrate on doing work, then I'll be left with no time for fun. I'll become one of those people that do work all the time and don't know what to do for fun. Once again, probably a false assumption, but how would i know?

My roomate Victor found this site about the origin of chinese names. Apparantly, my name's origin is from the "Royal Family Who Were Named After the Official Title." My last name is also the thirteenth most common name in China. Yup.

Top 100 ______

I have a liking for top 100 lists. Even though these kinds of lists are totally subjective and perhaps suspect, I still respect them.

Take the top 100 books of the 20th Century by the Modern Library (a part of Random House). I would like to get around to reading all those books, but I know I won't. But it serves as a guide for my future readings. I've only read a paltry 12% of the list. If only I had more time and resources. I find that recently, I've been reading more non-fiction material and even a lot of technical material. I guess engineering and arts don't intersect very nicely. Actually, I came across this site on the internet recently that searches for the full text of published works. So if you're bored, head over there and read some books. Unfortunately, I have never enjoyed reading books off the computer screen. If someone could figure out a way to make it easier, convenient and more enjoyable to read from the screen, let me know.

Anyway, the reason I'm blogging about this is because the AFI (American Film Institute) recently released 100 Heroes and Villians. It's a fun list to read through and one thing I noticed was that for the Star Wars movie, Obi Wan and Han Solo make the list as heroes, but Skywalker is nowhere to be found. But the best part of the list is the number one hero, Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I've read the book. I can safely say that he is one of my personal heroes. Judging from the list, I guess a lot of other people do as well. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read the book and you'll understand why. He is such a strong character. His good sense of morals are tested throughout the book, but he courageously stands by them. He is also such a good role model. If I ever become a father, I would try to be like Atticus. I probably don't have his strength and courage, but it is something to aim for.

Even though this may sound strange, do you know who else I found was similar to Atticus Finch? Furious Styles, the father from Boyz in the Hood. Man, i could write an essay on this....but I'll spare you the grief. :)

Better Luck Tomorrow

Have I blogged about this movie yet? It's already been released in theatres for a while now (>1month), and it's just about to disappear. I think it's still playing in a few theatres in and around Toronto. I didn't have a chance to go see and support it, but I will definitely eventually watch it.

So what's this movie about? Is it any good? Unfortunately, I can't say, because I haven't seen it yet. But I strongly reccomend all of you watch it sometime. I know only what's on the website.

Everyone knows a person like Ben - the perfect Asian American high school teen. He's an extremely intelligent perfectionist, an overachiever whose tunnel vision will lead to nothing less than graduating at the top of the class and acceptance to the best Ivy League university.

Ben lives in an upper middle class, conservative L.A. suburb in Southern California. As he struggles to achieve social success in high school, we discover his darker side. Along with two friends, Virgil, a brilliant yet socially inept misfit, and Virgil's cousin Han, a lost soul with more brawn than brains, Ben leads a double life of mischief and petty crimes that alleviate the pressures of perfection.

At the start of his high school freshman year, Ben befriends Daric, the senior valedictorian and another archetypical overachiever and perfectionist. But Daric is somewhat odd. While being the most intelligent student in the class, he also seems to be the most volatile and dangerous. Behind his trusting and benevolent façade lies a lurking secret, a time-bomb ready to explode. With Daric at the helm, this group of misfit teens bands together into a suburban gang.

As their adopted identity grows, Ben and the gang tumble into a downward spiral of excitement, excess, fun and lurking danger. Ben's life careens out of control, into an intoxicating mix of sex, drugs and crime, leading to a surprising end that will leave audiences engrossed, speechless and ultimately disturbed.

A word about movies and hype. I never read reviews or previews before I watch a given movie. I think the only thing that can happen is that you can become so hyped about the movie to the point where it can't possibly meet your expectations. Or even worse, the review gives away important plot points. I only read the reviews after watching a movie. If you want to judge whether a movie is any good, just head over to Rotten Tomatoes and look up the percentage the movie got. It's a good indicator for whether a movie is worth seeing.

I read a lot of movie reviews (~10-15 after each movie I see) and their quality can really vary. Ebert, who is perhaps the most famous and one of the best, has won a pulitzer before. And more recently, Stephen Hunter won one. The movie reviewers at Slate and Salon are also quite good. You'll probably notice by now, that I'm blogging a lot about my daily links I have on the sidebar. For some reason I feel a need to justify them. Anyway, one thing I noticed is that almost all movie reviews are written by men. There are hardly any reviews written by women. Anyone want to explain this to me?

Salem Pax is Real

Anyone remember how I blogged about Salem Pax? His blog has been a big news item on the internet and among bloggers. It's perhaps the most well known blog out there. There's also a lot of speculation about whether its author is a real iraqi citizen going through these experiences. I always thought he was a real guy, but there have been a lot of theories out there hypothesizing he was a CIA or Mossad agent. Well now, there is pretty much conclusive proof that he's a real guy. I really enjoyed reading this article because it presents the process that the journalist himself went through when he discovered his interpreter was Salem Pax.

I think one of the most interesting parts of his blog is that the news is real and unfiltered. Assuming he's not making this stuff up, it gives a different perspective than the mass media. Plus, his writing is quite good and he is very well read. I guess part of me is envious, because he is able to write such an intelligent blog; one that feels so immediate, witty, personal and compelling. Such a contrast to this one. Anyway, he managed to get a job writing for the Guardian. You can read his first article here.

Basketball

The last month has been full of basketball playoffs, and once again, I'm stuck here without cable. I think the best part of having cable is getting all the games. Instead I've been relegated to following it on the internet. But one good thing is I do get to watch some highlights through ESPN Motion. For all you sports fans out there, go to the espn.com and download the software necessary for ESPN Motion (you can use the link I have on the left side of the page). The great thing about it is the video quality displays motion quite well as the name advertises. This is especially important for sports, because all the action is happening at a fast pace that has traditionally been unwatchable over the internet. The difference is that ESPN downloads the information to your computer automatically and when it's done, it tells you about it. Overall, I found it to be quite an agreeable time waster.

You'll also notice I put a link to SLAM ONLINE, "The Links". IMO, one of the best blogs out there, because it gives a street perspective of the NBA. It's like having your best friend in the NBA, and he calls you up every day (well every weekday) to tell you what went down. It's the same thing as people who have a preoccupation with celebrity gossip, except I'm following the lives of NBA players. Kinda sad when I think about it... But the writing is pretty articulate, he's generally well read, and it is entertaining; so, I guess i'll continue with my particular preoccupation.

Speaking of basketball, here's an article relating the sci-fi series by Frank Herbert, Dune to the NBA. More specifically, Muad'Dib to T-Mac. This is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. Who would have thought sci-fi would intersect with professional sports? I mean how many people out there would appreciate this article? Well I certainly did, being a fan of the book and a fan of the NBA. But still, I think it's weird that someone even wrote this article.

I'm Blogging again...

Sorry for the two month absence (and the bad puns). Way back at the end of March I was screwing around with my URL, and messed it up. I can't use the old URL at www.nels&mike.blogspot.com anymore, so I've moved to a new one: www.nelsonhu.blogspot.com. Yes, I know it's boring, but I couldn't think of a creative one. I was considering getting a different site or moving it to my Waterloo webspace, but this is the easiest (ie laziest) solution, so I'll stick to it for now. I'm going to try to make shorter posts, but post more frequently. And also try to get others to post stuff.

So what have I been up to the last couple of months? Well, I went back for the last month of work term and when I wasn't at work, I pretty much stayed at home resting. I started watching a little TV, got hooked on (unbelievably) American Idol, surfed a whole lot, and finished up my distance ed course.

And now the school term has begun. But it sure doesn't feel like it so far. I've done so little work. Maybe it has something to do with summer and all the sports I'm playing. For the last week, I've been playing two sports a day. And it's plenty tiring. Mondays and Wednesdays are co-rec Ultimate Frisbee (I'm playing on Cary's "Systems" team, even though there is an Electrical team), Tuesdays are co-rec softball (with fellow elecs), Tuesdays and Thursdays are working out at the PAC, Fridays are class basketball, and tennis and roller blading are thrown into the schedule whenever i can fit it. As you can probably tell, I really like playing sports, even with my limited athletic ability, limited height and limited strength. I wonder how this is going to affect my school term, because sports not only takes time to play, but it also makes you tired. We'll see.

Another crunch for time has been internet surfing. When I was at home resting up, I spent countless hours on the internet. I added a whole bunch of sites onto my daily rotation and now it's difficult trying to cut down on them. I also amassed quite a few sites to link to, but lot's of them are old now. I'll try to get some of them up in the future. Now, if only i could cut out all the Super Smash Brothers I'm playing....

That's all for now.

--Nelson