Why Soccer Makes No Sense To Me.

I hate ties.

Take this for example. This morning's game between #27 Cote D'ivoire and #3 Portugal (Using FIFA rankings). Obviously Portugal should be able to handle Cote D'ivoire pretty easily, so they're expecting a win. Cote D'ivoire would be happy with a win, but a tie works too, since the rankings they should get beat. So...

By all accounts:

Cote D'Ivoire outplayed Portugal, but it ended in a 0-0 tie. Cote D'ivoire should really be happy they came out with a tie against a superior opponent but on the other hand shouldn't be happy because they outplayed Portugal and deserved the win, but didn't win because they didn't out play them enough to score a goal. So, really should they be happy that they tied because that was somewhat unexpected, or should they be disappointed because they dominated the game and only came out with a tie? Follow? Move on.

Portugal should've won, but it ended in a 0-0 tie. Should Portugal be happy that they escaped with a tie despite being outplayed, or should they be disappointed that they didn't win, eventhough they should've won, but didn't.

I hate ties. I want endings. I don't care if its by penalty kicks, 4 on 4 play, extra goals set up, coin flip, who dived the most, or if they should do what that Las Vegas commercial had and play Shinwhack until there's one guy left standings. I want closure dang it.

How not to get a job....

Greetings: You have no idea how terribly-annoying that techno thumping beat that's been added to the background of your morning traffic news reports. IT IS AWFUL! And if you think it's just me, think again, low-freq tech noise (often added as "musical" accent) plagues old people particularly and is second only to the spew of kilowatt boombox noise pollution that invades the homes along streets and roads where many of us have to live. Please get rid of it. Otherwise, I generally like your broadcast programming.

PS: I know this isn't the time and place to pitch for an internship, but if you have one, please let me know, thank you.

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If you know it isn't the time and place to pitch for an internship...then don't do it. Constructive criticism is fine, snobby criticism is just dumb.

On Sweating the Small Stuff

So the latest is that the inept California politicans can't pass a budget because they can't agree on how to repay the schools later. This is dumb. You and I and them all know that no matter what plan they come up with, they still aren't going to repay the schools didly squat. Now Arnold comes out with his stupid commercials saying that we need to put pressure on the politicans to fix the budget so we don't mortgage our children's future (and slicing more money out of education is SO not doing that). Why do we even have schools anymore? They seem like a burden to the state. Its almost like a bank nowadays. When we need money, where do we go first? Children first (on the chopping block)!

Live within your means. This means no stupid per diem, car allowances and perks for politicans who can't do their job. If I don't accomplish a task at my job I have to stay here and finish it without pay because thats what my salary is for. I'm getting paid to do a job. These politicans don't give a rat's patooty about education, the elderly, the poor, the mentally ill, etc because at the end of the day, they still get their salary, their car allowance and their per diem. If we EVER want a budget on time, its time to clean house and make a new rule. If you don't get the budget on time you don't get paid. PERIOD. Do your job. Cut yourself before you take any more money out of the Bank of Children and stop whining like children while you're at it.

Sully is God

We're going to take a break from the Dumb Things to state..

Captain, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, is.. God. For this I have seen, and for this I've experienced. Those know-it-all metereologists said that on Giants Opening Day that it was going to rain, hail, thunderstorm with a tornado and a hurricane, etc. Okay, so I made the last two up. Weather.com had a 100% chance rain approaching game time and 3 and 4pm. Everyone was convinced that there was no way that this game would start on time. So, when I look up at the many "futurecast" radar and see the entire bay area soaked in a menagerie of green, yellows and oranges, I'm saddened. But wait! What's this? There's a neat little hole in the middle of the green....right over AT&T Park. Could this be? How could one perfect circle of non-rainness (yes, that's my new world) be so perfectly situated over the ballpark. It must've been a glitch on the radar. The 5 year old coloring the futurecast map must've had to get up to pee or something.

They pull the tarp off the infield dirt at 12:45. It starts to drizzle. Of course. It lasts 5 minutes. Giants take the field. Followed by Sully. The rain stops. The skys open. Sun shines down on the bleachers. It doesn't rain the entire game at all. Back at the traffic desk Mitch watches the radar and sees as the dark green band off the coast avoids the aura of AT&T park like the plague.

There is only one possible answer to this phenomenon. Okay, there are other possibilities, but I'm going with this one. Sully is God. He makes planes land on water and makes skies part. Plus when our boy Timmy pitches like the 13 year old bat boy he looks like, instead of a dominating overpowering 13 year old he was last year, and the Giants still score 10 runs?! Sully is God.

On a side note...why can't I get cell phone reception with my AT&T cell phone, inside AT&T Park?

On Traffic Jams Make You Do Weird Things....

Incident: 0547
Type: Traffic Hazard - Vehicle Location:
NB US101 JNO WALDO TUN S
2/16/2009 9:01:15 AM

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
8:56AM PER BRIDGE, VEH NEG 1125 NOW CHP CAN 1022
8:56AM PER THIS CALLER HAVE BEEN STOPPED IN TUNNEL FOR 45 MINS
8:54AM LL BRIDG
8:54AM MALE YELLING AT PEOPLE TO BACK UP SO HE CAN AVOID THE TRAFIC JAM
8:54AM JNO LAKE DRIVE
8:53AM AMA DRIVER
8:53AM MALE STUCK IN TRAFFIC AND TRYING MAKE A UTURN IN #3 LN
8:52AM GLD HONDA PILOT TRYING TO BACK UP TO INTERSECTION SO HE CAN TURN AROUND

And...he's ASIAN! Yay for the Asian Driver!...not that I have attempted a U-turn on a freeway....

On Paying Attention....

So...I know some people aren't as aware of their surroundings as some other people. Me included. But, this one might top the cake.

I walked into Safeway on my break and got my $3.99 (on coupon) Safeway sandwich (hey, its the economy!). Walked to the checkout stand. And of the 7 registers open numbers 2 thru 6 were open. I walked past #1, and this guy was unloading his cart onto the conveyor belt. I thought, oh, maybe they just didn't turn on the light. Nope. There wasn't a worker there. The light wasn't on, but he was unloading his cart. I got in line in an open register (an amazing concept, really) and the guy is done with his unloading. Looks up at where the worker should be....then looks up at where the light should be on....looks around...and repacks his cart and moves over.

No words can describe this.

On Stupid Comments...

There was another BART protest yesterday. This time the people were calling for the release of the people who were arrested during the riot that followed that New Year's Day Bart shooting. This one idiot they interviewed said that they should be relased because the people did it out of anger, and that it would further increase the tension between the Oakland youth and the police who are criminalizing them.

Basically this guy says that it is because of the police that the people arrested lit trash cans on fire, lit cars on fire, destroyed storefronts, etc...and that it is OK for them to do that because its the police's fault that made them do it. WHAT?! They committed a crime...they go to jail.

That brings me to other stupidity. There was a city in the Bay Area whose police chief came under fire because the amount of a certain race of people inside the jails was disproportionate to the percent of that race in the city's population. So does that mean...since I'm Chinese (or, rather categorized Asian) that if I go out and kill someone and the SF jails are filled with 35% Asian that I should be set free because that'd be disproportionate? THAT'S A STUPID ARGUMENT. Look, I don't care if you're black, white, yellow, purple, or puke green. You could be 3'6", or 7'9", if you commit a crime, you belong in jail. Simple. It doesn't matter. Its your fault you commited the crime. You pay the price and don't ask for any excuses.

Another one I don't get it is the Insanity Defense. Most notably I remember is the lady that threw her three kids into the bay because she said God told her to do it (THAT is a rant in and of itself). Look...it doesn't matter that you're insane or mentally unstable. It really doesn't. That doesn't excuse the fact that you did what you did and you can't reverse it. Get help....in jail....for a looooooooooooong time.

Christmas Observations vol 2

1. Holiday season, in my book, officially starts November 1.

2. Only one holiday should be advertised at a time, and should not be advertised prior to an upcoming holiday.

3. Why are candy canes being sold during Halloween candy shopping? That's nasty.

4. KOIT (96.5 FM): I am fine with you playing Christmas music 24 hours a day. I am fine with you being the "Bay Area's Christmas Station." Start the day after Christmas...not a week before! Sleigh bells should not ring on my turkey!

5. Your Christmas lights...are for Christmas, that means that they need to be taken down. Due date: January 2nd.

6. If you have your lights still hanging up from last Christmas (or 10 years prior) and just plug them in in Dec...then that isn't the point!

7. Why does Santa smell?

8. Am I the only one who thinks that the song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a horrible Christmas song? You're going to traumetize the poor kid seeing Mommy cheating on Daddy like that. Geez.

9. Where can I buy a partridge in a pear tree? (or twelve for that matter)

10. How many Chistmas' is it going to take before Mariah Carey just gives up? (anyone get this reference???)

11. No gigantic Christmas trees in the middle of plazas before Thanksgiving.

12. I do this one, so I shouldn't complain but..anybody find it funny that we take a tree, hang things off of it and then light it up like a big gigantic beacon?

13. Don't forget to reduce your carbon footprint with these nifty solar-powered Christmas lights...hmm why don't these things work? Oh that's right I'm in San Francisco, its foggy and rainy...

14. Does this mean that Rudolph's nose is also solar powered?

15. Apparently Christmas is the only time where plugging something into an electrical outlet in the rain is totally acceptable.

On Pointless Boycotts

Cinemark's CEO Alan Stock donated $9,999 ($1 below the $10K reporting threshold, fishy, yes...) to ProtectMarriage.com . Now, the NO on 8 people are calling for a boycott of Cinemark Theatres, especially for Milk.

While I agree with the No on 8, There are financial reasons why a boycott is not effective in ousting Alan Stock.

- In just the specific case of Milk...the direct effect that the movie's expected revenue would have on Cinemark is....minimal, with or without a boycott. (I point to the screaming teenage girls packing the midnight showings of Twilight...). Plus the studio takes around 50% of the box office gross, so the figure 1,000 tickets x $10 a ticket = $10,000 really only amounts to around $4,000 to $5,000 in revenue...and thats pennies to the company, and what, if any of that, filters up to Mr. Stock is probably the quivalent to low end toilet paper.

- While it is contradictory for the CEO of Cinemark to benefit from showing a movie about a gay supervisor....realize that it isn't the CEO'S choice which movies are played at what theatre...

- In terms of a general overall boycott...Alan Stock will still get his pay regardless of whether or not he is fired by the company. And, he probably has so much that would be unaffected by a job loss in any case. An effective boycott (and, sorry, I point to Twilight, and say that this hasn't happened, yet) only affects the ground level workers, most of whom, probably agree with the No on 8 campaign. The lack of business brought on by an effective boycott means less budget, less hours, less need for there to be workers at the theatres. The ground level workers are the people who really need the money in the first place.

- So you ask...why don't the workers just...not work there? In this economy, if you have a job, you hang onto it for dear life, unless its absolutely horrible.

- Alan Stock doesn't have to directly deal with the e-mails and the calls, its everyone else in the company that has to "clean it up".

- You're taking on a large, global, corporation. The reason why the boycott worked in Sacramento is because it was smaller, with one source of income, not thousands of screens worth of income.

- I don't know what a direct answer would be to Mr. Stock's donations, or even if there should be, except to continue the fight to make gay marriage constitutional, once again. I just believe a boycott against a company of this size unintentionally affect the wrong people.

Personals Stupidity...

Found this one...it made me sort of...hurl...

Is it weird I've never been attracted to an Asian guy? - 21 (SF)

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Reply to: pers-926411003@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-11-19, 7:16PM PST



And I'm Asian? I mean I guess it has to do with where I grew up and the demographics of my hometown...but yea...I've liked white guys, black, even this one latino guy who was really caliente Lol! I think it has to do with the height, since I'm really tall, or maybe their lack of confidence, or the eyes or something. Was that a weird post, or what? So I guess I'm looking for a relationship, blah blah, attach a picture if you want me to reply, if you're not in San Francisco, don't respond. What do you do for a living, what are your interests, goals etc. Thanx.

By the way, sorry if it's offensive, I just tend to be rather honest. "lookism" it's superficial but hey, it's human nature.


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The problem with the Asian American community is kind of summed up here..good ol' Asians stereotyping Asians. How does one community ever find the ability to come together when they're busy bashing their own people? The main thing I hate about stereotypes is that people take three to five people, make that the generalization for the entire group of people and that's it for the rest of the population. What happened to that "individuals" thing?

Hope that "exotic asian woman" stereotype works out for this girl...