Why I do homework at home

So my last semester of undergrad has begun. Yay. I guess. In five short month I will have a degree, be unemployed, and in debt (the American dream?)! Hard to imagine but that will soon be the reality. But perhaps I should concentrate on actually passing the rest of my classes before I make such bold predictions? Like I have said before my concentration within the business major is not a walk in the park by any means (what do you mean I can still get an F?)

SFSU students will notice that the ongoing renovation of the library is still, ongoing. But hey at least it is looking like something. It is too bad I will never get to use it since I will be long gone when they finally do finish the project. Unless of course I also go to state for my graduate studies, which is a high possibility.

But the library still not finished means more time spent once again studying at the giant bubble called the "annex". Though I personally don't see the point of going there to do homework other than meeting up in groups. Even doing group meet ups is a horrible prospect since library is still library and you must be quiet lest having the library walk the length of a football field just to tell you to shut up or leave.

I use to go the annex often, you know like everybody else does to get away from the chatter of home in order to better concentrate. Well I quickly realize that don't work out for me very well. First of all I actually have to commute there because I live on the other side of the city, so that is like 40 minutes gone total. The chairs there are not as not nearly as comfortable as my $600 dollar ergonomic office chair. As I have said before, if you are going to sit on your ass for the majority of the day (and most of us will), INVEST in a comfortable chair that will LAST (you know, the cushion won't go flat after a month).

Being mobile means I am force to use my macbook's tiny screen, which when I am having a gazillion windows open full of web pages, the entire Microsoft office suite, and itunes, it just does not work very well. Last but not least, most people go with classmates or friends to work on assignments together. To honest we end up chatting more than actually getting work done. The whole going to the library to do homework for me is counter intuitive.

I much rather stay at home, sit on my absurdly comfortable chair, stare at a ginormous monitor with space to fit multiple application windows, and have access to drinks and snacks at just paces away.

Not to say going to the library to do homework does not work for other people. Hey, at long as it gets done, like Malcolm X said, by all means necessary... except for cheating... sometimes...

Thoughts on the 2011 SOTU address

I thought it was pretty okay. After two years at the helm of a once sinking ship that is America, one cannot really expect anything spectacular out of our commander in chief at the annual State of the Union address. Obama appears to be a resolved man, a man who realizes that he only has two years left to do all that he promised to do. With a new congress that promises to be even more incompetent that the last (if that is even possible), I think the president is going to stop pushing his own agendas down congress' throats and try to work with everybody. He has to really, because the last congress barely passed anything (Democrats, you had absolute iron clad majority in both houses and all you pushed through worth mentioning was a flawed health bill?) other than the lame duck December period (still no Dream act, really?). That is why the president mostly spoke in absolutes, things that both side agree on in order to leave a positive impression.

I have no idea why congress is even spending time trying to overturn the health bill. Everybody knows it will get dead locked in the Senate. And even if somehow someway it pass the senate, Obama said during the address that he will for sure veto it. This is our tax money at work my friends. I understand Republicans that this is what you promised as you retake the house, but I am sure they also realize that it will just never happen. What a fine use of time to grand stand and uphold a moot point. I think they should just move on with it and pass bills that fix the flaws in the health bill and let it be. Unless Republicans get absolute iron clad majority in both houses and a Republican president, overturning the health bill is just not going to happen.

The whole "Sputnik moment" (I bet a good chunk of Americans don't even know what that is) and waxing on about the ability of China was an absolute back handed compliment to the Chinese. Clearly the US sees China's rise from developing industrialized nation back to super power status (before European imperialism, China once had the world highest GDP) as a threat. All the modernization, infrastructure, economic, and military growth the China has been experiencing are seen by the US as taunts and pea-cocking. Since when were the two countries enemies? The World's stability on all fronts depends on US and Chinese relations and PROSPERITY.

What Obama said during the address basically confirmed to me that the US thinks of China as Russia of the cold war. That the US cannot risk China getting ahead of us (I am sorry, China owns you in math, and they built a 26 mile bridge in 4 years while the Bay Bridge took a decade plus and it is still not finished). That is why the President made the reference to Sputnik. Don't get me wrong, I think the US should definitely step its game up on all the fronts the President indicated, but at the expense of relegating the Chinese to a subservient level? Does it have to be the cold war all over again, that China have to go bust and back to a developing country status (the huge economic bubble in China notwithstanding)? Again, I think it does the two countries and the world good if US and China are on the same level. Besides, China will never "threaten" the US, US owes them too much money.

But maybe I am wrong. Maybe Obama is just using a metaphor poorly in order to push congress and the American people to start catching up to not only China, but the rest of the world. In that case I think he has a point. But I think he himself knows that it will take such a monumental paradigm shift that it will outlast his presidency, even if he is lucky enough to get a second term. Because transformations like that are count in decades, not years (who wants to tackle education, anyone?).

Lastly I want to say to the Republicans rebuttal on how Obama wasted tax dollars on the stimulus and unemployment is still high. I am starting to think that there are no economics graduates within the GOP ranks. Because anybody with any sort of economics education will understand that the stimulus (including the BUSH ones, which Republicans so conveniently forget) was absolutely necessary to keep the economy from going into a depression. Credit was absolutely dried up so practically the government was the only entity with enough power to keep it relatively flowing. The US is a consumer economy, and credit must be abundant and free flowing for it to thrive. Do Republicans not realize what will have happened had the Obama administration done nothing?

The GOP also likes to harp on the still high unemployment rate. Again, anybody with an economics textbook can tell you that unemployment is a LAGGING indicator. Meaning even when the economy rights the ship and starts booming again, the unemployment rate will still take some time much later before it follows the same trend. I think it is wrong for Republicans to criticize the Obama administration for something that is economic fundamentals.

Do the government need to cut back on spending? Sure! I would like to see who has the BALLS to touch Social Security, Medicare and Mediaid, Defense, and food/oil subsidies. I guaranteed you that the congress that does it will not get voted back in. Too much lobbying power these groups have.

So my hope for the US government in the next year? Compromise and at least get SOMETHING meaningful done.

I bet that camera takes nice photos

Why yes it does! And I bet you are now going to proceed to buy one of these "DSLR" and then take some sample shots, turns out not so great, and resolved to yourself "oh I am still learning how to use it". Right, because that auto green box mode facilitates all kinds of possibilities in "learning" the camera. 

Pet peeve you know. Walking around with my camera kit illicit such comments makes me laugh at how the camera makers are just laughing their ass off to the bank. No wonder entry level DSLR cameras seemingly gets updated every fucking year while the bodies that pro use gets updated once every blue moon (looking at you Canon 5D). Business is business after all. The misconception that somehow the better specs of the camera will automatically transform one's photographs is what perpetuates the sales boom of DSLR. And yet it saddens me to see the majority with DSLR are still shooting in auto green box mode. What.a.waste.

Oh man, how many mega pixels do you have? 12. Man this new camera i bought for 100 bucks have 14, I bet it takes better pictures. Facepalm.

Ah yes the megapixel wars was like a cash cow for the camera makers. Not to say megapixel don't contribute to the quality of a photograph, but there comes a point where unless you are doing prints the size of walls, megapixel in the mid teens should suffice anybody. The question of comparison lie in the quality of the megapixel. Let me bludgeon you with camera jargon such as the size of the sensor, aperture, digital processor, and RAW. Megapixel are the end product of the photographic process, how the device captures the light will determine the quality.

But that kind of technical hoopla don't sell cameras to the masses. Solid tangible numbers do. The bigger the better. I present the case of the LCD TV. 5 million to 1 contrast ratio? Do people know that is physically impossible given the technology we have now? 600hz refresh rate? Current LCD panel technology only goes up to 120hz. But who am I as a business major to criticize business strategies that sells the products? With the internet the onus is on the consumers to do the research.

So don't insult all the photographers that actually know what they are doing with nonchalant claims such as once I get a DSLR I will take excellent pictures but the stayin the auto mode the whole time (I am sorry, that onboard flash is not going to light up the moon for you to take a decent pictures). Go learn how to use all the functions, realize what amazing tool it is for all kinds of things. The biggest waste in the world is not using the things you pay hard earn cash for to their full extent:: "I don't drive my car often I am trying to keep the miles down because it is an investment". An automobile is one of the FASTEST depreciating assets one can own! Investment as in you paid a boatload of money? Yea sure, so get all the shit back by actually USING it FULLY.

I mean if you are not going to get out of auto mode of an DSLR, why not save yourself the burden of a heavy kit (and money) and just get a high end point and shoot? I am happy that a lot of people are getting DSLR and enjoying photography, but learning how to use it properly will only better the entire community. And please refrain from getting a Facebook fan page of your supposed photography "thing" immediately after you've bought your first DSLR.

Hey, it is all love and compliments.

So yes this camera take nice photos, but I owe everything to the computer and the program(s) that edits it all.

Mineral excavators - the 2010 San Francisco 49ers

As I have mentioned in my previous piece, the San Francisco 49ers have once again finish the football season with a sub par record, this time amidst high expectations. Pretty much they have been stinking up the joint for the pass half decade. It went all downhill ever since the Niners did not resign Jeff Garcia and roll out Tim Rattay as the starting quarterback (good times, good times).

Lack of consistency doomed the team. In a league where it is what have you done for me lately, it is clear that having something consistent year after year to grow is paramount to winning (especially the offense). There are many examples out there, but the two glaring ones are obviously the case of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, who respectively have been in the same system for close to a decade. That consistency, or the lack there of, doomed our former number one pick Alex Smith. Niners fans might get incense every time they see Aaron Rodgers doing well, but Rodgers had the benefit of consistency: head coach, and Niners’ former OFFENSIVE coordinator Mike McCarthy.

Alex Smith is a good quarterback. There are flashes that fans can see his good abilities. I believe that if he was afforded the chance to be in the same system for at least three years, he would be at least an above average quarterback. I remember that one good season where he showed signs of improvement under offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Unfortunately as fans know Turner was plucked next season by San Diego to be their head coach.

The part of the team that remained consistent through the last couple of years and was above average league wise was the Niners’ defense. Clearly, consistency with a system is paramount for success. But on this day when Baseball Hall Of Fame announced its Class of 2011 inductees, I channel my inner Mark McGuire to say that the Niners should not dwell on that past, and instead look ahead to the future.

So they obviously need a head coach, and while Jim Harbaugh from Stanford might be the best thing since sliced bread, ultimately he is unproven in the big leagues. Sure he comes from a family of NFL minds, and he even played in the league himself. However when it comes down to it he has ZERO coaching experience (not just head coaching, coaching of any kind) in the NFL. I believe that is not what the Niners need. They need a proven head coach, with championship winning experience. The likes of Bill Cowher, John Gruden, etc. The current team is VERY talented (well, maybe not the QB position), and a guy coming in with experience will be able to take them to the next level. Harbough coming in will not only have to try to do that but have to also learn on the spot! He will find that dealing with paid players is suddently different than college kids who’s only compensation is the glory of victory and a full scholarship.

it goes without saying, the team will need to draft a quarterback come April. My hunch is Alex Smith will not return. If I were him I would be fed up with all the instability and leave town for a fresh start. 

There is also this issue with a new stadium. Having finally experienced a football game at Candlestick this season, I was like hell yeah the team needs a new stadium. Candlestick is a state of the art facility…when it was built. It just cannot handle the people load and revenue generation requirement (needs WAY more seats). I can see why the Niners brass wants a new stadium, and plans are ongoing for one right next to Great America in Santa Clara.

Now there are San Francisco purist that say the team should play right here in San Francisco, otherwise it will not be the same. I would have to disagree on that one. Building a new stadium at candlestick is just not a viable option. Not to say it will not fit a stadium, but the logistics of traffic handling the way I see it is just much better down there in Santa Clara. The commute down south cannot be too bad with two major freeways and Caltrain. Not to mention, there is a ginormous parking lot. It is just less crowded in Santa Clara. Look at it this way, the two New York teams play in NEW JERSEY, so it is not too far fetched to have to travel to Santa Clara for Niner games.

My hope for the team going forward is have a modicum for stability in terms of the staff and personnel, and get a capable quarterback to lead the team. The NFC West is a week division thus improvements can be immediate.