The longer that I am in Los Angeles, the less human I feel. The constant barrage of "what's in it for me" and "I want things my way, screw you" behavior wears at me and I have sort of closed my eyes and formed a robot-like mentality so I don't absorb too much of the negative energy directed my way.
But yesterday, I had a little reminder that I am indeed human.
The place where I am living is going to be tented for termites in a few weeks and the condo owners met yesterday to discuss the process with the exterminator. Before the meeting there was concern about one condo owner. She had previously stated that she was against the tenting and had "bought some poisons from Home Depot and sprayed it on her porch and there are no termites anymore", and that we should spray around her. There was concern that she did not understand the process (since English is her second language) and she would not leave her unit for the spraying. One neighbor tried to knock on her door to talk to her and she wouldn't answer for him. I tried calling a few times before the meeting and she didn't answer. I ended up leaving a phone message stating that we could discuss her concerns and maybe help her out.
She didn't show up to the meeting.
Immediately some of the other condo owners wanted to hire a lawyer to put a lien against her property to force her to leave her unit. Many of us felt horrible about this, and we left the meeting feeling a little horrible about the entire thing.
Yesterday evening, after the meeting was well over, she called me. She told me that she didn't have a job and didn't have the money to pay for the tenting, and that she had asthma and didn't know how to move her plants. She was extremely concerned about her plants. So I talked to her as a compassionate neighbor. I told her there was the possibility of paying in small increments. I also told her that I would help her move her plants to the side yard where they would not be killed. And after I told her this, her demeanor completely changed. She was extremely grateful and willing to go through the tenting.
As I lay in bed after the phone call, I realized that I felt human for the first time in a long time. Since moving to L.A., I have gotten used to being bullied into submission. It's hard not to feel jaded against people when this happens. But this was a little reminder that sometimes operating from a place of love is better than operating from a place of fear.
Hopefully I don't forget the feeling too soon.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
The guy who created Body Worlds
Last Friday I saw a celebrity of sorts-- Gunther Von Hagens gave a talk at UCLA. Dr. Von Hagens is the man who patented the plastination process that is responsible for the Body Worlds exhibits. For those who may not have heard of Body Worlds, they are a series of exhibits where human bodies are plastinated after death and peeled apart and posed in various life-like positions. This exhibit has been so popular that they are on exhibition version number 4, and others have created several knock-off exhibits.
I have had several occasions to see Body Worlds, but chose not to go because something about the entire concept does not sit well with me. In fact, I wasn't planning on going to Von Hagens' talk except several people in the lab were going (yup, I sometimes go to academic talks based on peer pressure).
He had a full house. All the seats were taken and people were standing and sitting on the steps on the side of the lecture hall. Since the lecture was hosted by the Department of Pathology in the medical school, I could understand the interest in his talk. A lot of people attended because (1) they were curious about the man who created the exhibit, and (2) they understood his results and wanted some insight into the process. Basically the guy brought his version of science to the masses and the masses included educated scientists at UCLA.
Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly), the talk was more of an oral history of the exhibit and a slide show of his 'work'. It was not a very technical talk. His technique was summed up in one slide (*technique summarized below). His talk was more of an art exhibit talk and during the Q&A, he received a question that pretty much 'accused' him of being an artist rather than a scientist. Truthfully, I think he is an artist that uses scientific technique and facts as his materials and canvas. But I think there is nothing wrong with that because a lot of science is personal interpretation anyways. A lot of science is more art than unbiased 'science'.
From the scientific and teaching point of view, I have no problems with his work. One of his Q&A criticisms was that he artificially colored muscles and other parts of the body rather than leaving them 'as is'. For anybody who has had an anatomy lab knows, it is hard to differentiate between different parts of tissue 'as is' and the contrast helps people understand what they are looking at. Plus, looking at an entire body the color of boiled chicken feels morose. In the same vane he was also been criticized for 'posing' the bodies. I also agree with him that it is more interesting and educational to see the entire body in positions of movement and action rather than posed as they would be in a morgue.
However I can't seem to put aside my spiritual and ethical biases. I find his work creepy. The funny thing is that he is starting to include animals like giraffes and elephants in his exhibit and I found those slides fascinating and not creepy. I did not, however, feel the same way with the human body slides. I think it is the same queasiness I feel when I see people missing limbs on television or read about dismembered body parts. There is something about seeing bodies when they are not the biological 'norm' that just feels dreadful. When Von Hagens showed a picture of his newer 'works' where he shifts body parts around like a cubist painting, I was particularily turned-off. I would probably feel this way about animals if he started to shift their body parts around too.
As for the man Von Hagens himself, I found him to be over-the-top. He constantly wears a fedora and speaks with a lot of 'flair'. He was more of a circus barker than a scientist. Then again, I wonder if it would have been more creepy if he were very technical and scientific. He has a strong East German accent. Technical descriptions of body position and dissecting of body parts would have been like a caricature of a bad guy scientist in an Indiana Jones movie.
Am I now more likely to see a Body Worlds exhibit? Yes, I would go mainly to see the animals. But I don't plan on putting in any extra effort to make it to his exhibits any time soon.
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*Shortly after death, the bodies are saturated with very cold acetone to essentially freeze the tissues in acetone. They are then soaked in a liquid plasticizer (think epoxy) and placed under vacuum. The vacuum causes the acetone to evaporate out of the tissues and the plasticizer to be pulled into the body. The plasticizer is then cured using the corresponding fixer (such as UV light or a second chemical).
I have had several occasions to see Body Worlds, but chose not to go because something about the entire concept does not sit well with me. In fact, I wasn't planning on going to Von Hagens' talk except several people in the lab were going (yup, I sometimes go to academic talks based on peer pressure).
He had a full house. All the seats were taken and people were standing and sitting on the steps on the side of the lecture hall. Since the lecture was hosted by the Department of Pathology in the medical school, I could understand the interest in his talk. A lot of people attended because (1) they were curious about the man who created the exhibit, and (2) they understood his results and wanted some insight into the process. Basically the guy brought his version of science to the masses and the masses included educated scientists at UCLA.
Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly), the talk was more of an oral history of the exhibit and a slide show of his 'work'. It was not a very technical talk. His technique was summed up in one slide (*technique summarized below). His talk was more of an art exhibit talk and during the Q&A, he received a question that pretty much 'accused' him of being an artist rather than a scientist. Truthfully, I think he is an artist that uses scientific technique and facts as his materials and canvas. But I think there is nothing wrong with that because a lot of science is personal interpretation anyways. A lot of science is more art than unbiased 'science'.
From the scientific and teaching point of view, I have no problems with his work. One of his Q&A criticisms was that he artificially colored muscles and other parts of the body rather than leaving them 'as is'. For anybody who has had an anatomy lab knows, it is hard to differentiate between different parts of tissue 'as is' and the contrast helps people understand what they are looking at. Plus, looking at an entire body the color of boiled chicken feels morose. In the same vane he was also been criticized for 'posing' the bodies. I also agree with him that it is more interesting and educational to see the entire body in positions of movement and action rather than posed as they would be in a morgue.
However I can't seem to put aside my spiritual and ethical biases. I find his work creepy. The funny thing is that he is starting to include animals like giraffes and elephants in his exhibit and I found those slides fascinating and not creepy. I did not, however, feel the same way with the human body slides. I think it is the same queasiness I feel when I see people missing limbs on television or read about dismembered body parts. There is something about seeing bodies when they are not the biological 'norm' that just feels dreadful. When Von Hagens showed a picture of his newer 'works' where he shifts body parts around like a cubist painting, I was particularily turned-off. I would probably feel this way about animals if he started to shift their body parts around too.
As for the man Von Hagens himself, I found him to be over-the-top. He constantly wears a fedora and speaks with a lot of 'flair'. He was more of a circus barker than a scientist. Then again, I wonder if it would have been more creepy if he were very technical and scientific. He has a strong East German accent. Technical descriptions of body position and dissecting of body parts would have been like a caricature of a bad guy scientist in an Indiana Jones movie.
Am I now more likely to see a Body Worlds exhibit? Yes, I would go mainly to see the animals. But I don't plan on putting in any extra effort to make it to his exhibits any time soon.
---------------------------------------------------------------
*Shortly after death, the bodies are saturated with very cold acetone to essentially freeze the tissues in acetone. They are then soaked in a liquid plasticizer (think epoxy) and placed under vacuum. The vacuum causes the acetone to evaporate out of the tissues and the plasticizer to be pulled into the body. The plasticizer is then cured using the corresponding fixer (such as UV light or a second chemical).
Saturday, May 31, 2008
I'm the Coupon Queen!
I just got back from a trip to the local Ralph's Grocery store where I saved over $32 on my bill, and I ended up paying about $36. That almost a savings of 50%! I was so proud of myself that I called my mom and reported my success. She thought it was funny and commented on the extra work that I had to do to save money. But the truth is that it wasn't that much extra work and it isn't rocket science.
My system is as follows. I leave the coupon section from the Sunday paper and other ads on the dining room table with a pair of scissors. When I am eating breakfast, I go through the coupons and clip out the ones for items that I expect to purchase within the coupon expiration period. Then I file the coupons in a small plastic envelope with divisions that have labels like 'dairy/cheese' and 'paper products'. Before I go to the grocery store I make of list of things that I need to buy and go through the coupon folder to see what coupons I have that match the things on my list. I also bring the coupon envelope with me to the grocery store just in case I see something that is on sale that I could store and have a coupon for--like toilet paper. Ralph's has double coupons everyday so I tend to go there because the coupons go further.
It just happens that there were a bunch of coupons for organic foods about a month ago to celebrate Earth Day. These same foods are on sale right now because I think the store stock-piled for people who would use the coupons the same week they came out in the newspaper. Now they are selling the excess inventory.
Yes, it is sort of silly to be happy over saving money using coupons. In all honesty, it isn't just about the money savings-- though that's a big incentive. I think a lot of coupon people enjoy 'beating the system' with their coupons. I'm not a religious coupon clipper. I go through periods where I clip them, but most of the time I'm too lazy or don't bring the coupons with me. But I just have to say that a friend told me that his mom paid for his first two years of college by setting aside the money that she saved using coupons and investing that money elsewhere. Coupon money is money afterall! I just wish they had coupons for gasoline...
My system is as follows. I leave the coupon section from the Sunday paper and other ads on the dining room table with a pair of scissors. When I am eating breakfast, I go through the coupons and clip out the ones for items that I expect to purchase within the coupon expiration period. Then I file the coupons in a small plastic envelope with divisions that have labels like 'dairy/cheese' and 'paper products'. Before I go to the grocery store I make of list of things that I need to buy and go through the coupon folder to see what coupons I have that match the things on my list. I also bring the coupon envelope with me to the grocery store just in case I see something that is on sale that I could store and have a coupon for--like toilet paper. Ralph's has double coupons everyday so I tend to go there because the coupons go further.
It just happens that there were a bunch of coupons for organic foods about a month ago to celebrate Earth Day. These same foods are on sale right now because I think the store stock-piled for people who would use the coupons the same week they came out in the newspaper. Now they are selling the excess inventory.
Yes, it is sort of silly to be happy over saving money using coupons. In all honesty, it isn't just about the money savings-- though that's a big incentive. I think a lot of coupon people enjoy 'beating the system' with their coupons. I'm not a religious coupon clipper. I go through periods where I clip them, but most of the time I'm too lazy or don't bring the coupons with me. But I just have to say that a friend told me that his mom paid for his first two years of college by setting aside the money that she saved using coupons and investing that money elsewhere. Coupon money is money afterall! I just wish they had coupons for gasoline...
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Ray Bradbury!!!
My general reaction when I see a celebrity/famous person is something like, "Oooh, I just saw [insert name here]." Sometimes it registers in my memory long enough for me to want to post it in my blog, but most of the time it doesn't rate at all. Thus, the infrequent updates on celebrity sightings.
Yesterday I saw a play of 'Farenheit 451' at the Fremont Center Theater in South Pasadena, and Ray Bradbury happened to show up and speak a couple of words for the show and sign books and playbills afterwards. I was over-the-top excited to meet him! I wanted to get this blog up a.s.a.p.!
Mr. Bradbury is 87 years old and still writing. Before the play, he introduced his friend Forrest Ackerman (who is 91 years old). Mr. Bradbury credited Mr. Ackerman with starting his career as a science fiction writer by asking him to join the 'Clifton's Cafeteria Science Fiction Club' and with giving Bradbury money to start a weekly and go to the Worlds Fair in New York. It was from essays and stories written during this time that got Bradbury noticed. To true hard-core science fiction fans, seeing Mr. Ackerman would be just as (or even more) exciting than seeing Mr. Bradbury since Ackerman is the original sci-fi fan and has the ultimate sci-fi collection in his house in L.A.
Mr. Bradbury also wanted to note that he was wearing a medal that he got recently from the French-- The French Order of Arts and Letters Honor. You can see it in the picture above where he is signing a copy of a book that I brought from home, "The Toynbee Convector". He was surprised to see the book because it wasn't one of the books on sale at the playhouse, and he said that the book was the first book that Ted Turner had ever published 30 years ago and that Turner was still rich ;) My book is actually a first edition published in 1992 story copyright in 1983, but I wasn't about to correct him.
I was intimidated by him-- not because he is scary-- because I have known his name for a big hunk of my life. I read Farenheit 451 in junior high school and really respected him for his ideas and writing. The people at the playhouse told me to stand next to him for the picture, and my sister said that I was really shy about it. I admit, I was shy, but I got the picture anyways:
I got a picture with RAY BRADBURY and me! OMG! I was giddy and happy in the car afterwards.
Who cares about those other famous actors, I met RAY BRADBURY!!!
Of course, not everybody would care about this as much as me. Apparently somebody showed up at the theater last night expecting to see the film, Farenheit 451. When they heard that it was a play and that the playwright was there, they left because they wanted to see a movie.
Monday, May 12, 2008
My silly mom
I had the following conversation with my mom yesterday (on Mother's Day):
Mom: Your daddy says these lemons are dried and we have to use them. They look okay. (Starts to peel the lemon and break it into sections) I wonder if they are good.
Me: Are you really going to eat the lemon ?!?!
Mom: Why not? It looks okay. (Puts a lemon section in her mouth)
Me: What are you doing?!?!
Mom: (Face scrunches up and lips pucker a lot)
Me: I'm taking a picture of this! (Runs to get camera)
and voila:
My sister and dad came into the kitchen to see what was going on and started laughing when they saw my mom eating the lemon. She only had one section and decided that it was too sour to eat.
That's my mom! She's silly and I love her for it :)
Happy Mothers Day!!!
Mom: Your daddy says these lemons are dried and we have to use them. They look okay. (Starts to peel the lemon and break it into sections) I wonder if they are good.
Me: Are you really going to eat the lemon ?!?!
Mom: Why not? It looks okay. (Puts a lemon section in her mouth)
Me: What are you doing?!?!
Mom: (Face scrunches up and lips pucker a lot)
Me: I'm taking a picture of this! (Runs to get camera)
and voila:
My sister and dad came into the kitchen to see what was going on and started laughing when they saw my mom eating the lemon. She only had one section and decided that it was too sour to eat.
That's my mom! She's silly and I love her for it :)
Happy Mothers Day!!!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Are you impressed?
When my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were in L.A. for a visit a few weeks ago, we went to Hollywood to see the walk of fame. Predictably, there were characters trying to make money off of the tourists, a la:
The guy charged a dollar for the picture. There was also a really sad looking Superman and Spiderman on the street. Do you think these guys pay royalties to DC or Marvel Comics? I'm guessing not.
Two weeks before they came, I spent a few hours up in the Antelope Valley Poppy Fields (about an hour north of my house) and saw the following:
I posted more pictures on my photosite if you want to see more pictures of the flowers. They were gorgeous and worth every penny I spent ($5 for parking and gas to get there).
The Hulk on the other hand-- worth the kitsch? You decide.
The guy charged a dollar for the picture. There was also a really sad looking Superman and Spiderman on the street. Do you think these guys pay royalties to DC or Marvel Comics? I'm guessing not.
Two weeks before they came, I spent a few hours up in the Antelope Valley Poppy Fields (about an hour north of my house) and saw the following:
I posted more pictures on my photosite if you want to see more pictures of the flowers. They were gorgeous and worth every penny I spent ($5 for parking and gas to get there).
The Hulk on the other hand-- worth the kitsch? You decide.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Justin Chambers at Walgreens
My celebrity sightings always seem to be people that many of my co-workers don't recognize because they are foreign born or much younger than me. Yesterday however, I scored a 'big one'.
As I was walking back to my car, I had to stop for a car backing out from the space next to my car. As he was backing out, I looked at the driver and he looked back at me. Then I kept on looking and he looked back at me again. It was Justin Chambers, a.k.a. Careve from Grey's Anatomy.
Yes, he was cute in real life. Even cuter than on t.v.
This celebrity sighting brought me recognition and respect from my co-workers-- they watch Grey's Anatomy but had no idea who Lou Grant/Ed Asner or Lisa Ling (previous sightings) are. Either I am a more thorough conoisseur of American television, or they just watch less t.v. than me. Sadly it is probably the latter.
So I don't forget to mention it for posterity, Alice and I were at a restaurant where Zack Efron and Vanessa Hudgens happened to be dining a few months back. We didn't know they were there until paparazzi hounded them as they walked out the door. The paparazzi were horrible with the flash pictures and quickly jumping in their cars to follow them. Just from seeing that, I think the law that prohibits paparrazi from getting within a few hundred feet of celebrities is a good idea.
As I was walking back to my car, I had to stop for a car backing out from the space next to my car. As he was backing out, I looked at the driver and he looked back at me. Then I kept on looking and he looked back at me again. It was Justin Chambers, a.k.a. Careve from Grey's Anatomy.
Yes, he was cute in real life. Even cuter than on t.v.
This celebrity sighting brought me recognition and respect from my co-workers-- they watch Grey's Anatomy but had no idea who Lou Grant/Ed Asner or Lisa Ling (previous sightings) are. Either I am a more thorough conoisseur of American television, or they just watch less t.v. than me. Sadly it is probably the latter.
So I don't forget to mention it for posterity, Alice and I were at a restaurant where Zack Efron and Vanessa Hudgens happened to be dining a few months back. We didn't know they were there until paparazzi hounded them as they walked out the door. The paparazzi were horrible with the flash pictures and quickly jumping in their cars to follow them. Just from seeing that, I think the law that prohibits paparrazi from getting within a few hundred feet of celebrities is a good idea.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Hello Lisa Ling!
During my run along the ocean this evening, Lisa Ling ran past me in the opposite direction. Lisa was originally on 'The View', that women's daytime talk show, and is currently on 'National Geographic Explorer' and a correspondent on 'The Oprah Show'. As she was approaching us on the trail, she looked familiar but I couldn't place the face. My initial instinct was that she was someone in my running group but as she ran past my running partner said, "Hi there Lisa Ling!"
Just from her look and demeanor she seemed like a nice person-- like someone I would be friends with. It was nice to see a friendly celebrity.
Just from her look and demeanor she seemed like a nice person-- like someone I would be friends with. It was nice to see a friendly celebrity.
Friday, December 21, 2007
I don't run fast, but I have fun
John from my running group put together another great video from our City of Angels Half marathon on YouTube: City of Angels Video. He did a good job capturing the fun of doing these races.
I am realistic enough to know that I will probably never win any of these races (unless I keep running into my octogenarian years in which case I have a good chance of winning my age group ;) But coming in first isn't why I run. It is about being around supportive and encouraging people.
It was hot during last year's L.A. marathon and I had leg cramps that came and went after mile 13. The water stations had run out of water, and I desperately needed salt that was nowhere to be found. I was walking most of the time at mile 18 and just hoping that I would finish in a reasonable time. A woman from the neighborhood was standing in the middle of the street with her daughter and a plate of cookies. She saw me, smiled, and gave me a cookie. Then she said some words of encouragement that I don't really remember except that I started to cry after she said them. I was walking and crying down the street, and I remember thinking that this was one of my most amazing experiences. Almost nowhere in my life have I been at a place where thousands of people surrounded me and cheered me on and wanted me to succeed! There was no criticism of how I looked or how slow I was. Nobody was trying to push-me-down to pull themselves up. It was all about cheering and supporting everyone to the finish line. It was about humans loving and caring for each other.
This is why I love running races.
I am realistic enough to know that I will probably never win any of these races (unless I keep running into my octogenarian years in which case I have a good chance of winning my age group ;) But coming in first isn't why I run. It is about being around supportive and encouraging people.
It was hot during last year's L.A. marathon and I had leg cramps that came and went after mile 13. The water stations had run out of water, and I desperately needed salt that was nowhere to be found. I was walking most of the time at mile 18 and just hoping that I would finish in a reasonable time. A woman from the neighborhood was standing in the middle of the street with her daughter and a plate of cookies. She saw me, smiled, and gave me a cookie. Then she said some words of encouragement that I don't really remember except that I started to cry after she said them. I was walking and crying down the street, and I remember thinking that this was one of my most amazing experiences. Almost nowhere in my life have I been at a place where thousands of people surrounded me and cheered me on and wanted me to succeed! There was no criticism of how I looked or how slow I was. Nobody was trying to push-me-down to pull themselves up. It was all about cheering and supporting everyone to the finish line. It was about humans loving and caring for each other.
This is why I love running races.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Last Saturday
With Christmas and the New Year coming and an upcoming move (to a new apartment/townhouse), my days and weekends are busy. Last Saturday I got up early to help with the Leggers waterstation. One of the people in the group, John, makes documentaries for the History Channel and he put together this video. John is great and his videos have really added a lot to our training experience this season.
On Saturday after the water station, I went shopping for Christmas gifts. At Linens and Things, Kristy McNichol got in line behind me. She actually looked her age and it made me happy. Her face has not changed that much except that she has gotten a little older (wrinkles and all of that), and her body is that of a typical healthy middle aged woman. Thank goodness there is one middle-aged actress out there who didn't get nip/tucked to oblivion! I would have taken a picture if I could have, but it's a little embarrassing for me. I don't have the guts to be paparrazzi. Plus, all I had was my cell phone and I didn't want to pay a ridiculous charge to Sprint PCS for uploading the photo from my phone.
On Saturday after the water station, I went shopping for Christmas gifts. At Linens and Things, Kristy McNichol got in line behind me. She actually looked her age and it made me happy. Her face has not changed that much except that she has gotten a little older (wrinkles and all of that), and her body is that of a typical healthy middle aged woman. Thank goodness there is one middle-aged actress out there who didn't get nip/tucked to oblivion! I would have taken a picture if I could have, but it's a little embarrassing for me. I don't have the guts to be paparrazzi. Plus, all I had was my cell phone and I didn't want to pay a ridiculous charge to Sprint PCS for uploading the photo from my phone.
Monday, December 03, 2007
*Star* sightings during the City of Angels Half Marathon
I ran the City of Angels Half Marathon yesterday as the group mentor/pacer for the Leggers 12 minute pace group (I'm in red):
John, the person taking the photo, had a Garmin that told us our pace by GPS measurement. It made my job a lot easier because I have this habit of zoning out and running to how I feel-- and I felt good yesterday. His digital pacer reeled me in several times, and kept me doing my job properly.
The City of Angels Half is a beautiful course. It started at Griffith Park, then ran along the L.A. River to Silverlake and past the Silverlake Reservoir, through Echo Park and along the pond there, and finally into downtown by the courthouse. I had rarely seen Los Angeles as beautiful as it was while running along this course.
While running through Silverlake, Geddes Watanabe, the actor who played the foreign exchange student in Sixteen Candles and one of the geeks in Revenge of the Nerds cheered us on from a street corner. It was a pleasant surprise to be cheered on by a recognizable movie personality.
At the race expo the day before the race, I was given a signed headshot by the guy who sold me my newspaper. It was sooooo L.A. to be given a headshot as a 'gift'. Nope, he wasn't attractive and he wasn't a recognized actor. I'm not sure why he handed me his headshot while selling me the newspaper. Maybe he thinks that I am an influential person in Hollywood with connections, and not an ordinary scientist.
John, the person taking the photo, had a Garmin that told us our pace by GPS measurement. It made my job a lot easier because I have this habit of zoning out and running to how I feel-- and I felt good yesterday. His digital pacer reeled me in several times, and kept me doing my job properly.
The City of Angels Half is a beautiful course. It started at Griffith Park, then ran along the L.A. River to Silverlake and past the Silverlake Reservoir, through Echo Park and along the pond there, and finally into downtown by the courthouse. I had rarely seen Los Angeles as beautiful as it was while running along this course.
While running through Silverlake, Geddes Watanabe, the actor who played the foreign exchange student in Sixteen Candles and one of the geeks in Revenge of the Nerds cheered us on from a street corner. It was a pleasant surprise to be cheered on by a recognizable movie personality.
At the race expo the day before the race, I was given a signed headshot by the guy who sold me my newspaper. It was sooooo L.A. to be given a headshot as a 'gift'. Nope, he wasn't attractive and he wasn't a recognized actor. I'm not sure why he handed me his headshot while selling me the newspaper. Maybe he thinks that I am an influential person in Hollywood with connections, and not an ordinary scientist.
Monday, November 19, 2007
While on the way to Area 51...
I saw a Ferengi in Vegas!
Actually, I was at the Star Trek Experience because my friend Michelle wanted to go, and while there I snapped a picture with an alien lifeform ;) And if you are wondering, YES, the Star Trek Experience is like going to a Star Trek convention except a lot more expensive. I don't think it is worth the money unless you are a huge Star Trek fan.
For other pictures from Vegas and Death Valley, click here.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
My new GPS Toy
I have been eyeing GPS systems for the past few months, but could never convince myself to spend the money on one since I have a pretty good compass in my head and rarely get lost. But I still liked looking at them because several models have a real-time traffic monitor and anybody who commutes in L.A. can appreciate this feature!
When I first moved to L.A. I subscribed to sigalert.com and would access this info from my phone. In the end, I canceled my service because I was paying a lot for cellphone internet that I rarely used and just checked the sigalert maps (free) before I left the house or work.
My sister noticed that I was eyeing GPS systems and has heard me complain about traffic a lot, so she bought me a Navigon 7100 for my Christmas/birthday present. It came in the mail yesterday and I was very surprised to get it!
I was not familiar with the Navigon since I had been eyeing Garmin Nuvi's and some TomTom systems. The Navigon 7100 is about the size of a PDA and has some nice features like FREE lifetime realtime traffic monitoring, and freeway lane recognition. The commute this morning was my first trial of the Navigon. It did a good job telling me there was an accident on the 101 and that I should take the next exit afterwards to avoid the traffic. However, it did not have information on slow/heavy traffic (just accidents) so it didn't swing me around the traffic. Instead, I drove around it myself onto side streets and this is where the Navigon did a good job and a bad job. It recognized small streets really well and had no problems telling me the shortest route (distance wise). On the other hand, it had me doing frustrating traffic things like turning left onto really busy roads and driving down roads with a lot of stoplights.
In general, I like it so far. Let's see what the evening commute is like...
When I first moved to L.A. I subscribed to sigalert.com and would access this info from my phone. In the end, I canceled my service because I was paying a lot for cellphone internet that I rarely used and just checked the sigalert maps (free) before I left the house or work.
My sister noticed that I was eyeing GPS systems and has heard me complain about traffic a lot, so she bought me a Navigon 7100 for my Christmas/birthday present. It came in the mail yesterday and I was very surprised to get it!
I was not familiar with the Navigon since I had been eyeing Garmin Nuvi's and some TomTom systems. The Navigon 7100 is about the size of a PDA and has some nice features like FREE lifetime realtime traffic monitoring, and freeway lane recognition. The commute this morning was my first trial of the Navigon. It did a good job telling me there was an accident on the 101 and that I should take the next exit afterwards to avoid the traffic. However, it did not have information on slow/heavy traffic (just accidents) so it didn't swing me around the traffic. Instead, I drove around it myself onto side streets and this is where the Navigon did a good job and a bad job. It recognized small streets really well and had no problems telling me the shortest route (distance wise). On the other hand, it had me doing frustrating traffic things like turning left onto really busy roads and driving down roads with a lot of stoplights.
In general, I like it so far. Let's see what the evening commute is like...
Uncle Leo!
I went to a screening of 'A Mighty Heart' at the Directors Guild in Hollywood last night (my sister got the invite and took me as a guest) and the place was relatively empty since it was Halloween. But I did see one recognizable actor-- Uncle Leo from Seinfeld! His real name is Len Lesser. He looked a little more elderly than he looks on t.v., but otherwise, he's very recognizable.
The movie, BTW, was not really worth my time. I came out of it annoyed because it didn't provide me anything really educational or new-- just a barrage of moving pictures and people rushing around and yelling to induce a feeling of drama. It was disjointed (in a bad way) and I got BORED (and I like long and slow foreign films). For me it was entirely unsuccessful and felt like I was watching 2 hours of the t.v. news.
I know that Angelina Jolie is probably trying for some sort of award nomination from this movie. But I feel like the movie was just trying wayyyyyy tooooo hard and because of it I didn't feel as much of a connection to Angelina Jolie's character as I know that I could have.
On the plus side, I did see another 'celebrity' to add to my list ;)
The movie, BTW, was not really worth my time. I came out of it annoyed because it didn't provide me anything really educational or new-- just a barrage of moving pictures and people rushing around and yelling to induce a feeling of drama. It was disjointed (in a bad way) and I got BORED (and I like long and slow foreign films). For me it was entirely unsuccessful and felt like I was watching 2 hours of the t.v. news.
I know that Angelina Jolie is probably trying for some sort of award nomination from this movie. But I feel like the movie was just trying wayyyyyy tooooo hard and because of it I didn't feel as much of a connection to Angelina Jolie's character as I know that I could have.
On the plus side, I did see another 'celebrity' to add to my list ;)
Friday, October 05, 2007
Had another 'who?' sighting
I just had another 'who is that?' celebrity sighting while walking to Ralphs Grocery store in Westwood. I just saw Allison Mack, the actress who plays Chloe Sullivan on Smallville (WB t.v. show about Superman/Superboy). I have to admit that I didn't even know her name until I looked it up online. But I recognized the face! She is frail-like thin in real life and walked past me quickly with a stone-cold face not making eye contact with anything. Hmmm, do papparazzi or crazy fans hound her? It sure was a lot of 'don't mess with me' attitude from such a small lady. I prefer my Dave Matthews sighting a lot better-- he smiled and gave a little head nod like a normal, friendly person.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
How do buddhists deal with insect infestations?
For the past few weeks we have had an ant infestation in our kitchen and in my bathroom. It started when it was ridiculously hot in L.A. and they haven't really left our apartment ever since.
I have been smashing, spraying, and drowning ants like crazy. I'm tired of it. I have been looking for more humane solutions to get rid of the ants like blocking their entrance into the apartment with baking soda and/or chili powder. One online suggestion was to place a huge dollop of sugar OUTSIDE of the apartment along their path between their ant mound and the apartment. This sounded like a good idea except we live on the top level of an apartment and I don't really have access to their path outside the building unless I take the window screen off and rappel down the side of the building-- which I might do in a week or two if they spread beyond the kitchen or bathroom.
As I was looking at the scads of ant corpses around my bathtub during my morning shower, I felt guilty for killing the ants. I wonder how buddhist monks deal with insect infestations since they are not allowed to kill other living creatures? Do they just let them swarm around their living quarters? What about disease carrying mosquitos, do they leave them alone too? Knowing buddhists, they probably do leave them alone and allow for the suffering as good for the soul.
I guess that I should be a better buddhist.
I have been smashing, spraying, and drowning ants like crazy. I'm tired of it. I have been looking for more humane solutions to get rid of the ants like blocking their entrance into the apartment with baking soda and/or chili powder. One online suggestion was to place a huge dollop of sugar OUTSIDE of the apartment along their path between their ant mound and the apartment. This sounded like a good idea except we live on the top level of an apartment and I don't really have access to their path outside the building unless I take the window screen off and rappel down the side of the building-- which I might do in a week or two if they spread beyond the kitchen or bathroom.
As I was looking at the scads of ant corpses around my bathtub during my morning shower, I felt guilty for killing the ants. I wonder how buddhist monks deal with insect infestations since they are not allowed to kill other living creatures? Do they just let them swarm around their living quarters? What about disease carrying mosquitos, do they leave them alone too? Knowing buddhists, they probably do leave them alone and allow for the suffering as good for the soul.
I guess that I should be a better buddhist.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
The power of the masses
I have been particularily fascinated with the search for the wealthy adventurer, Steve Fossett. For those unfamiliar with the story, Fossett was known for breaking all sorts of land and air records and has been missing since his plane took off for a routine scouting flight in the Nevada desert. Being well connected and well known, people are using the latest in technology to find him.
This reminds me of the search for Jim Gray, the former computer science professor who also worked at Microsoft Research and IBM (as well as other companies). I read about the search for him in Wired magazine. He was lost at sea at the beginning of the year and the tech world rallied around his search. The latest in communication and satellite technologies were used to find him. It appears that they are doing the same thing for Steve Fossett. In fact, we as common citizens with spare time and bandwidth can join in the search for him using software and computational power from Amazon.com (Search for Steve Fossett link).
The problem with the latest in technology is that it still hasn't gotten to the point where computers can identify objects in complex backgrounds as easily as the human eye. I guess that is the purpose for the call for help in searching for him online using human eyeballs. People all over the world can look for him without leaving their computer. That's pretty cool.
It makes me think of the problems we have with detecting cancer in patients. Many cancer diagnoses and tumor staging are still done by human eye. In this way, detecting cancer in patients using images is essentially the same problem as the search for Steve Fossett and Jim Gray. It all depends on the eyes of the doctor and/or medical technician.
Even though lots of people (including me) are working on other (biochemical) ways of detecting cancer, the human eye is still state of the art.
Update: They called off the search for Steve Fossett yesterday (Sept 20). It looks like this search has gone the same as the search for Jim Gray. One thing about these searches is that it seems like they seem to develop new tools and get them out faster with each subsequent search. Of course I hope they never have to use these tools again, but I have the feeling that they probably will, and hopefully next time we find the person quickly and in good condition.
This reminds me of the search for Jim Gray, the former computer science professor who also worked at Microsoft Research and IBM (as well as other companies). I read about the search for him in Wired magazine. He was lost at sea at the beginning of the year and the tech world rallied around his search. The latest in communication and satellite technologies were used to find him. It appears that they are doing the same thing for Steve Fossett. In fact, we as common citizens with spare time and bandwidth can join in the search for him using software and computational power from Amazon.com (Search for Steve Fossett link).
The problem with the latest in technology is that it still hasn't gotten to the point where computers can identify objects in complex backgrounds as easily as the human eye. I guess that is the purpose for the call for help in searching for him online using human eyeballs. People all over the world can look for him without leaving their computer. That's pretty cool.
It makes me think of the problems we have with detecting cancer in patients. Many cancer diagnoses and tumor staging are still done by human eye. In this way, detecting cancer in patients using images is essentially the same problem as the search for Steve Fossett and Jim Gray. It all depends on the eyes of the doctor and/or medical technician.
Even though lots of people (including me) are working on other (biochemical) ways of detecting cancer, the human eye is still state of the art.
Update: They called off the search for Steve Fossett yesterday (Sept 20). It looks like this search has gone the same as the search for Jim Gray. One thing about these searches is that it seems like they seem to develop new tools and get them out faster with each subsequent search. Of course I hope they never have to use these tools again, but I have the feeling that they probably will, and hopefully next time we find the person quickly and in good condition.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Photo with Ed Asner!
Ed Asner was on the plane that I took from Burbank to Portland last week. I have photographic proof:
He is the person in the distance to the far right of the photo:
Apparently he flys between LA and Portland a lot because his daughter lives in Portland, and he is a member of the Oregon Film Council. I saw him when he first got on the plane, but was not sure it was him until the guy sitting next to him on the plane started blathering away. I looked over and it was definitely him. I asked Alice to take a picture, but she was too embarrassed, so I had her take the picture of me with him in the background.
"Oh Lou!!!"
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
I saw Homer Simpson at the Kwik E Mart
I finally got a picture with a real celebrity-- Homer Simpson from 'The Simpsons'. He was hanging around the Kwik E Mart in Burbank to promote his new upcoming movie. I snagged a couple of pictures.
BTW, those pink donuts are not as good tasting as they look.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Justin Timberlake sighting on Melrose
My sister just called and told me that she saw Justin Timberlake in the car behind her as she drove down Melrose. The car followed her a while and she looked back several times to double check that she was correct in her identification. Justin was in the passenger's side of a black BMW. No (obvious) papparazzi were following them, and my sister did not recognize the guy driving the car.
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