memoirs on a rainy day

On The Great Silk Road

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:08:08 +0000

Kristen Hoggat, of the Ask a Poet column at the Smart Set, gives us a glimpse into her life when she volunteered for the Peace Corps after recovering from a tragic car accident that killed two of her closest friends. She went from Arizona to Uzbekistan, hearing of Tamerlane and visiting Samarkand. It’s a beautiful story. I loved it.

Posted in asides, politics-social-racism, writing Tagged: asides, ask a poet, essay, kriten hoggat, peace corps, social, travelogue, Uzbekistan

Big Brother UK S10E33 (Channel 4)

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:09:43 +0000

Chris and Charlie are in the garden. They are footballers. Whenever BB plays some music, they must emulate the passion and drama of Italian footballers. Siavash is a fashionista. He must strike a pose when he hears Vogue. He has to remain stationary for a undetermined period of time until BB plays the song again.

Karly, Norin and Lisa are in the bedroom complaining. Charlie is talking with Halfwit, who was nominated again. Lisa tells Halfwit that she doesn’t hate him. She isn’t scheming behind his back. Karly joins in and says that people don’t like him because he’s got a gameplan. Kris is there and he doesn’t want to talk to Freddie anymore. Lisa starts singing babble to get Freddie to stop. Lisa wants Freddie to leave her alone. She has come to the kitchen. Lisa comes back. Freddie is still talking about her. Lisa tells him that he is paranoid. She tells him that she no longer wants to talk to him. She smartly walks away.

Sree gets another order. He messes it up again. Charlie tells Noirin and Marcus that Sree screwed up the task. They failed that part of the task. BB has given Noirin and Marcus instruction on their part of the task. They must create their own artistic masterpiece. They both don’t know is that their work will be compared to one created by a six-year old.

Karly and Sophie come to the diary room to check if they can eat the ice cream. BB tells them that if they do so, they will incur a fail for the ice cream shop task. They both think that they have already failed it. The HM gorge on ice cream.

Noirin and Marcus are painting. BB has gathered the HM at the dining table to reveal how Noirin and Marcus did. An independent art critic judges the paintings. Marcus’ gets #1 and the kid gets #2. So Noirin gets #2. They passed their part of the task.

Marcus says that it was hard to keep the other bastards awake all night. His task wasn’t too hard. Karly, Sophie and Sree are eating more ice cream. They don’t want him to go. Noirin asks Marcus who he thinks is going to go. Marcus thinks that Freddie is going to go, but he wants Sree to leave.

Freddie asks Karly why she freaked out on him. Karly tells him that during the task, they did what Freddie wanted not what the group wanted to do. She tells him to preach to him. She leaves. She doesn’t want to hear him. Sophie tells him that Lisa didn’t want to be around him and he keeps going around to see her all of the time. Karly comes back and tells him that he annoys everybody. She tells him that he is sneaky and vindictive. He purposely tries to piss people off. Karly is really pissed off and tells him to f*ck off. She walks away. He can’t leave it alone.

Charlie and Rodrigo are play fighting in the garden. He comes to the ice cream shop to get some syrup. Marcus tells Noirin that Rodrigo can get really aggressive when they play. Rodrigo tells Charlie that when he is done with Charlie he will never forget him. Rodrigo thinks that it went too far. Charlie didn’t realize it.

Lisa is called to the diary room. She says that Freddie is just going too far. She is also dying for a fag. Siavash tells him not to talk to them. Freddie won’t do it. The HM have been told that they passed this week’s shopping task.

Freddie is in the diary room. He tells BB that he’s had a good day today. I think he is just fooling himself. Karly is called to the diary room. Even though Halfwit annoys her, she says that they have to support him either way, he is who he is. I think that saying that was quite beautiful.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E32 (Channel 4)

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:09:42 +0000

For this week’s shopping task, HM must embrace Italy. Kris is reading out instructions. There is a 24-hour ice cream shop. 3 HM must become tenors. One HM must be a fashionista. Two HM will be artists. Two HM will be Italian footballers. Freddie, Karly and Rodrigo sing. Noirin doesn’t want to do ice cream with Sree. She does the artist task. Charlie, Kris and Lisa are in the garden. Sophie is stuck with Sree. Karly is stuck with Freddie. Noirin says that she wanted to do the ice cream, but then Sree wanted to do it. She can’t stand him.

Siavash has to put on different costumes and pose when he hears Vogue by Madonna. He comes to the diary room and finds out that BB can play the music during the duration of the task.

Karly and Rodrigo are practicing. Freddie keeps interrupting them. Karly screams at him to shut up. Siavash has to strike a pose when he first hears Vogue. He must maintain the position for as long as BB wants. He is released when he hears Vogue again. Sree and Dogface must take orders from BB. The 1^st order is up. Sree wanted to man the phones. He’s shit at it of course. They have three minutes. They immediately incur a fail. They have a right to 3 fails or they will incur one fail for the group.

Karly wants to practice, but Freddie wants to use the MP3 player. Karly then says that we will do what Freddie wants. Freddie doesn’t agree. She leaves and calls him an asshole. Freddie is a shitty singer. During the performance, Freddie screws up. Freddie sang Rodrigo’s part.

BB has gathered the HM to announce that Freddie and Sree are nominated. The HM talk about the result. Marcus says that he likes Sree like anyone else, but he feels sorry for Halfwit. It’s only Kris and Charlie that dislike him. Freddie tells Kris that Lisa is scheming behind his back. Kris doesn’t like Freddie. He annoys him. Freddie tries to explain that Kris is being influenced by Lisa, but he’s too patronizing for Kris, who just walks away.

Sree comes to the diary room. He is upset at being nominated and he has full confidence in his abilities. He shouldn’t. BB wants an ice cream with 57 sugar strands.

Some of the HM are in the bedroom talking about Halfwit. Lisa says that he’s got a gameplan. Kris doesn’t like him. BB orders the ice creams and because of Sree, they have obviously incurred a fail for the group. Marcus tells Sophie that Sree is f*cking useless.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E31 (Channel 4)

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:05:32 +0000

The noms are going to take place in a few minutes. Sree and Dogface are in the bathroom. Kris tells Charlie that more than two HM will be nominated. Charlie says 3 or 4. He is promptly called to the diary room to nominated. Sree is a git. He is talking to Noirin, but she isn’t listening. He doesn’t get it.

Marcus and Noirin are in the garden. He says that he likes Noirin’s tramp stamp. It’s her initials in Chinese characters.

Sree keeps interrupting Rodrigo and he calls him on it. He wants him to stop. Sree was taking the piss out of him. He was making fun of Leeds.

Philippines is with an F.
Kris to Dogface

Marcus and Noirin are in the kitchen. Noirin says that all of her life, she’s used her looks as a weapon to get what she wants.

Nominations

Charlie Halfwit Siavash “He seems to alienate from the group.”

Dogface Halfwit Marcus

Halfwit Lisa Sree “He is disrespectful and two-faced.”

Karly Halfwit Marcus “He’s vulgar.”

Kris Halfwit Siavash

Lisa Halfwit Marcus “He’s a bit of a moaner.”

Marcus Lisa Sree “She’s influencing people.”

Noirin Halfwit Sree “He’s annoying.”

Rodrigo Halfwit Sree “He talks over people.”

Siavash Kris Sree “He has a gameplan.”

Sree Noirin Marcus “The way he talks with people.”

Halfwit and Sree are nominated.

Charlie and Kris come to the diary room to exchange a token for alcohol. Halfwit, Siavash and Sree notice what they have done. They’ve only got one token left. Halfwit wanted to be consulted. Kris and Charlie have a deal to propose. They want to drink all of the alcohol. In exchange, the next three weeks, they won’t have anything to drink. The girls don’t agree. This way is going to cause arguments.

Noirin and Marcus jump over the pool. Noirin tells Sree to try it. Charlie and Kris clear it. Sree isn’t doing it yet. He finally clears it. He needed a lot of encouragement of Noirin. Noirin is going to do it and her foot drops in the water. She made it though.

The HM are given their alcohol. There is a bit of an argument divvying it up. There is an extra bottle of wine. BB says that the bottle is for the HM. Rodrigo says that this is an alcoholic house. Kris and Charlie still try to get the alcohol for themselves. Halfwit is livid that they exchanged a token without consulting anyone. Kris doesn’t give a shit. Halfwit walks off.

Karly has come to the diary room. She’s drained. They have got no fags nor any food. She wished that they hadn’t exchanged a token for alcohol. Halfwit, Marcus and Siavash are talking in the bathroom. Rodrigo tells Sree to change his record. He’s annoyed that he keeps talking about Noirin. Rodrigo laughs at Sree.

Marcus, Sree, Halfwit and Siavash are in garden. Sree keeps daring Siavash to jump the pool. They decide to have a dash. They bet a can of lager or cider from the next alcohol. Siavash won. Sree can’t accept it. Siavash tells Sree that he hasn’t given back his can back from the time before. Sree pursues Siavash into the bedroom. Siavash tells him that it’s going to be double or nothing. Sree isn’t man enough. Lisa tells him that he betted him so he needs to pay up. They do another run in front of all of the HM and Sree loses again. What a git. He owes Siavash 4 cans.

Sree hasn’t got any balls. Sree pushes it and Siavash says that he will take even more. Siavash tells Sree that he isn’t man enough and hasn’t got any balls, which is true.

* * * * *

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Big Brother UK S10E30 (Channel 4)

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:02:33 +0000

Most of the HM are in the bedroom. Noirin and Charlie are in the kitchen. Charlie says that Kris is upset. It’s about Sophie. She didn’t come to him when he ignored her. Noirin says that Sophie has only been in two relationships. When the alarm sounds, Kris gets into Sophie’s bed. They finally kiss and cuddle. They make up.

Lisa and Sree are in the bathroom talking about Noirin. Sree says it’s only silly fights. Charlie, Kris, Karly and Rodrigo are talking about Sree and Noirin. Karly says that he doesn’t listen and doesn’t take no for an answer. He is always bitching.

Karly is in the diary room. She says that Halfwit pisses her off, but sometimes, she has good intelligent conversations.

Siavash is asking Halfwit about his sexual activities. He says that it’s easy to pull gay guys.

BB has gathered the HM at the kitchen table. Marcus has been called to the diary room. Actually, he’s just the first HM to get there. They will play extreme sports. Marcus is the ref and he has to choose two team captains. The team that wins gets a party and takeaway food.

Noirin has picked Charlie, Lisa and Rodrigo. Siavash chose Kris, Karly and Halfwit. Noirin picks Sophie and Siavash had to get Sree.

The HM have been discussing who to assign to which tasks. Sree wants to skip, but he’s shitty. Marcus tells him off. In Noirin’s team, the decisions are easy. With Sree, it’s always more complicated. He’s a total git.

Marcus has been called to the diary room. In a moment, he will write down the name of the captain which will win the games. If he is correct, he will be able to go to the disco. He chooses Noirin of course.

The 1^st event is the skipping race. They must skip barefoot around a track. Siavash decides on Sree. Karly thinks that it’s a bad idea. Sree is shitty and he loses to Sophie, who’s actually quite fast. She manages to lap him a few times. Karly tells Sree that he is shit. She has never seen anyone as shitty before. The 2^nd event is the sack race. The sacks will contain stinking nettles. They have to do it in socks. It’s Charlie against Karly. Charlie is way ahead. Charlie laps Karly once.

The 3^rd event is the egg and spoon race. Once they complete 5 laps, they have to eat the eggs, which are 1000-year old duck eggs from China. It’s Rodrigo against Kris. Kris has got the lead. Kris wins. Rodrigo pukes. It’s time for the extreme rule. They need to roll over upturned electrical plugs. Sree can’t remember the rules and leaves the bench. Siavash hits his head in frustration. It’s Halfwit against Lisa. Halfwit wins.

The fifth and final event will decide who wins since both teams have won 2 events. The final event will be a relay race will. The relay baton is a cactus. Siavash slips and Noirin’s team wins. Marcus shares his prediction and says that anything with Sree would lose.

It’s been an hour since Noirin and Sree is pouting. Noirin leaves. Kris says that Sree was the bad egg. Marcus tells his teammates that Sree is being a bastard. He’s just being a sore loser. Noirin is glad that he is going to be so upset. Marcus doesn’t understand why she spends so much time on him. She feels sorry for him. Marcus tries to rationalize that this is just making Sree look like a dick. Sree is a git!

Sree is complaining to Lisa and Noirin about the fact that he lost. Noirin doesn’t care much. He thinks that it’s all Marcus’ fault. Sree wants to talk with Noirin, but she leaves. She doesn’t want to spend more time with him. He’s insistent.

Sree is like the plague.

Team Noirin gets to party with Marcus in the sitting room. They get alcohol, food, donuts and sweets. Siavash walks away when he hears Wham! It’s his favorite song.

Kris and Karly try to exchange a token for alcohol. BB says that parties are for winners. They will not get alcohol. They try to bribe BB, but it doesn’t work. Kris wants to wind the other losing HM up. They pretend that 3 tokens will be exchanged for alcohol. Freddie goes to tell on them. Lisa says no. Siavash arrives.

Siavash tells Freddie that they were just winding them up. Sree tries to get Freddie to do some washing up, but he says he did loads before. Kris is on Freddie’s case for not doing the washing up. Kris says that he’s got loads of issues with Halfwit and he’s just boring him. Kris was doing the cooking. He expects them to do the washing up. Team Noirin are still in the disco. Marcus and Charlie are feeling sick.

Halfwit is in the bedroom. Sree comes to the HM and says that it was hard for Halfwit to do the dishes. Sophie and Karly are talking about Halfwit.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E29 (Channel 4)

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:00:07 +0000

Last night, Angel became the 4^th person to be evicted from the house. Some of the HM are in the kitchen. Some of the HM are having breakfast. Kris tells Charlie that nominations will be hard this week. They will have to vote for people they get alone with.

Sree arrives. Sree says that Kris got two bowls of cereal. There is no cereal left for Sophie. Kris comes back to the kitchen. Noirin says that this warranted a slap if he was her boyfriend. She goes away.

Lisa says that Halfwit thinks that he’s already won the game. Lisa thinks that he is playing the game. Noirin says that he hasn’t argued in the house, that’s what politicians are known for.

Earlier today, all of the HM took part in a cleaning task. Lisa comes to the diary room and is given two tokens. She immediately gives one back to shave her hair. Lisa says that she wished that Halfwit would have gone. Halfwit is overconfident.

Sree is learning to swim thanks to Sophie and Karly. Siavash shares his fears on how he is perceived outside the house with Halfwit and Noirin. Siavash says that Noirin is a use and abuse kind of girl. She’s fitting in with the clichés. Noirin doesn’t think so.

Karly and Lisa are going through the rubbish bin trying to put together a cigarette from discarded ones. Halfwit has come to the diary room. He thinks that Sree is going to go this week, because Lisa is pulling away from him. Sree doesn’t like most of the people in the house. He’s been very smug and judgmental.

Kris is sharing his womanizing ways and the ways that he picks up girls. It’s shitty. Sree is playing along. He’s a git as usual.

Halfwit says that he goes to clubs to paint faces when he doesn’t have any money. Kris says that it is illegal. Charlie doesn’t think much of it.

Sophie comes to the diary room. Apparently, Kris is a bit down and she’s avoiding him. She thinks that he is thinking about home.

The HM are speculating about the reasons why they are in the house. Rodrigo compliments Kris. Siavash says that he was put in the house because he boasted about his womanizing, but he isn’t. Karly and Sophie are talking about Kris. He hasn’t spoken to her today. Karly thinks that he is thinking about his mates. He liked her too much and he got scared. Karly gives good advice.

Kris is going to bed early. Siavash is there to try and make him feel better. He says that the auditions were a lot different from what the HM actually are. Noirin says that Sree is the biggest bitch in the world. Karly agrees. Rodrigo tells him to change the record. BB has put him in the house because they need a loser. This is what Noirin says. Noirin tells him that she doesn’t fancy him. Sree says that he doesn’t fancy her either.

Earlier this evening, HM exchanged a token for some music and alcohol. Kris and Lisa are in the bedroom. Once again, Sree has taken Noirin apart to talk to. Noirin tells Sree that he is the cause of most of the arguments in the house. He keeps slagging people off. He cries when people take it out on him. The music stops and the HM can hear Sree and Noirin arguing once again. Noirin says that she doesn’t trust him because he disrespected her.

Siavash and Halfwit are at the Bus Stop. Halfwit is sorry for Sophie. She was given the gift of beauty and for her, it’s already past its peak. Rodrigo and Sophie are talking about Kris. He tells her that she should talk with Kris.

Sree tells Noirin that she is naïve. She tells him that some HM are taking advantage of him. She just wants to go to bed. Kris and Charlie are talking about Sophie. He says that she isn’t the sort of girl that he usually likes. Her sexual inexperience is putting him off. Kris says that she is too nice. He doesn’t want to miss something that would involve his emotions.

Marcus, Siavasha, and Halfwit are talking about Noirin. Marcus says that Noiring thrives on the fact that the male HM can think that they could mutually fancy each other. Halfwith says that Kris and Sophie are in a fake relationship. Marcus tells Halfwit that he is an easy target. Halfwit is always up against a person the HM are genuinely voted for.

Kris, Charlie, Sree and Karly are talking about Sophie. Karly thinks that the relationship isn’t worth it because Kris is worrying about a simple thing, like because he complains that Sophie didn’t check up on him. Kris says that Sophie isn’t opening to him so he won’t open to her on telly.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Inspiration: Edelweiss If All Desktops Could Look Like This

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:05:52 +0000

One of the reasons that people are buying less desktops is basically because of the way that they look. Most desktops are just plain boxes of plastic, that are best hidden underneath your desk. Tangled wires erupt from the front and back, and depending on how neat you are or if you have implanted some kind of wire management system, there might be quite a few wires lying around. It’s not hard to see that people like having all of that messy stuff crammed into a neat little laptop.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, computers, desktop, technology, unplggd

Enable Multi-Touch and Hidden Features With Firefox 3.5

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:02:37 +0000

If you didn’t know that Firefox released a major update this week, you should update your Firefox immediately. Why? There are a bunch of new features that are really interesting, including one that lets you enable multi-touch tab switching. There are other hidden features that can make your browsing life a lot easier.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, features, firefox, hidden, multi touch, technology, unplggd

TGIF My Daily Routine in Taiwan

range — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:39:00 +0000

Today is Friday and I have the morning off. This schedule will be mine for the whole month of July, so that’s pretty sweet. I’ve kind of dropped into a routine that fits me well. I usually get up at 7:30AM, feed the pets, do some paperwork, drink tea, and read a few feeds before heading out to walk the dog at around 8AM. Right after, I hit the shower and go to work. I arrive at work shortly before 9AM and get a free lunch there, which I’ve ingested at around 11:50AM. I don’t do breakfasts.

I come home for a midday break and take it easy, tying up some loose odds and ends. I spend some time with the pets before going back to work in the afternoon at a different school. For the month of July, I finish at around 4:30PM, which is early. Last week, I finished at 6:15PM. Last Monday, I finished at 9PM.

I expect to get more subbing gigs to fill the evenings, but I don’t want to do too much. For the last few days, after a few hours at home of relaxing and reading, I have taken naps. Since I’m still a bit injured, I figure that I need the rest. This would be the optimal time for me to go out for a nice long bike ride. On Tuesday, I tested it out, but it wasn’t meant to be. My left knee’s scab kind of interferes with the motion of riding a bike. Also, since I post my articles at around midnight local time, I tend to go to bed later than I should.

After the nap, I wake up and walk the dog once again. Spend some more time with the pets and start reading feeds earnestly. I get into a groove and write my articles, usually stopping by midnight or 1AM. I relax for an hour and hit the hay.

Posted in education, travelogue Tagged: daily, education, routine, taiwan, teaching, travelogue

Facebook Vs Google

range — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:13:50 +0000

Facebook is destined to take on Google. A great article by Fred Vogelstein over at Wired.

Posted in asides, politics-social-racism, technology Tagged: asides, Facebook, fred vogelstein, Google, social, technology, wired

Robert Buelteman’s Electric Flowers

range — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:09:03 +0000

Electric Flowers

Posted in art, photos Tagged: art, photos, Robert Buelteman

News: Over 2 Million Households Without DTV

range — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:31:13 +0000

It was inevitable that Americans with over-the-air TVs are slowly realizing the their regular analog service has stopped working and won’t return. It’s been a few weeks since the DTV transition and there are still about 1.8% of US households that are without digital service, according to data provided by Nielsen.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: analog, Apartment Therapy, blogs, DTV, news, switch, technology, tv, unplggd

Dyson DC31: Lets Men Vacuum Clean With Power

range — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:29:37 +0000

Getting your SO to do a bit of cleaning around the house can be sometimes problematic. In essence, that’s the reasoning behind the Dyson brand of vacuum cleaners. They give a lot of manly attributes to vacuum cleaners so that male sensibilities aren’t upset when we start doing a bit of cleaning, using no less than the world’s fastest motor to suck up all of the grime and dust.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, cleaning, Dyson, technology, unplggd, vacuum cleaner

Good Question: Affordable Computer Backup Storage

range — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:28:20 +0000

Unplggd reader Jake had this following question:

I am a college student, majoring in game programming. Currently, I’ve been running out of hard drive space. I recently bought a 1tb internal hard drive for my desktop, now my overall hard drive space is around 1.6tb and I only have around 200gb left. I would like some advice in getting large amount of space for a backup hard drive. A lost of data would be a tragic situation I cannot afford. If it ever happen during finals week, I will have no choice but to repeat the classes to which I’ve lost data of. And, I am on a budget. No more than $250.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, computer, questions, readers, storage, technology, tips, unplggd

Using an Ikea Strainer to Boost WiFi While Traveling

range — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:43:42 +0000

When you are traveling in other countries, you become reliant on free WiFi hotspots. No one wants to use their credit card to get access to the internet. Since multiple WiFi networks can permeate the air, it seems logical to think that there is a way to access many and therefore getting onto the internet. Some of the major airports offer free WiFi, but we’ve noticed more than a few that just offer a free 30 minutes.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, computer, laptop, signal, technology, unplggd, wifi

Post-Crash Bike Service

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:04:49 +0000

After my crash last Sunday, which required a trip in an ambulance and the hospital, I didn’t notice much as I was out cold, I thought that my bike was fine. I was given 3 different pills to swallow for a day or so, so I didn’t take my bike out yesterday. I still went to work and had a 12 hour day, subbing at the end of my long shift for two hours in Sanchong because I had time.

I had fun grossing the wife out with my wounds. It also worked well on my Kindergarten kids. I came home in all of these bandages, which hurt like hell when I took them off the next day. I wanted the wounds to be in the air so that they would heal faster. A day later and I can say that progress has been made. I’ve had to wear shorts so that my pants don’t rub on my knees. My wounds look better and I was feeling OK today, good enough to try and take the bike out.

I took it out at around 7PM. I noticed quickly that something was wrong. The front wheel was hobbling and the rear derailleur was shifting without being asked to. A quick drop into my favorite Giant shop and my service was started and finished for free, even though my bike wasn’t purchased in Taiwan or at their shop, I guess they feel responsible to repair it, as it is a Giant Anthem. It turns out that one of the spokes of the front wheel was popped out. The rear derailleur needed adjustment and the rear disc brake wheel needed to be straigntened.

I spent some time explaining my accident and oogling the road bikes. There is one bike that I like, but I know I won’t get it. The frame is made out of titanium and I firmly believe in carbon fiber for road bikes. Still, I’d like to have a second road bike frame, once I get a TCR Advanced SL 0 in order to mount my spare parts.

It took a few minutes and I was set. No fees charged.

When I arrived home, I spent time examining the SRAM XO shifters. I realized that they can shift down multiple gears at a time when fully compressed. I hadn’t realized it until now, it had never been an issue. I tend to touch shift, so I never went all the way. From my tests, it seems like the rear derailleur can downshift three gears at a time. That’s cool!

Posted in cycling, fitness, travelogue Tagged: addict, Anthem, bicycle, bike, giant, service, TCR Advanced

Carlo Mollino’s Polaroids

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:31:46 +0000

Carlo Mollino's polaroids

Carlo Mollino (1905-1973) was a race car driver, designer, architect, engineer, and a photographic artist. NSFW

Posted in photos Tagged: Carlo Mollino, NSFW, photos

Bryan Adams

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:27:52 +0000

Sexy photographs by Canadian rocker Bryan Adams

(via designyoutrust)

Posted in photos Tagged: bryan adams, fashion, kate moss, NSFW, photos, sexy

Polaroids of Katie West by Mark Velasquez

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:25:42 +0000

A few NSFW polaroids of Katie West by Marc Velasquez

Then again, most of what Katie West does is NSFW, so there you go!

Posted in photos Tagged: fashion, Katie West, marc velasquez, NSFW, nude, photos

Emilie Lindsten

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:22:05 +0000

Emilie Lindsten is a London-based photographer

(via designyoutrust)

Posted in photos Tagged: dreamy, Emilie Lindsten, London, photos

The Provocative Knotan Agency

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:18:32 +0000

Knotan is a Swedish provacative photography agency

Posted in photos Tagged: fashion, knotan, photos, swedish

Kate Moss Nude NSFW

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:15:18 +0000

Kate Moss posing nude for Chuck Close. The photos will be auctioned off by Christie's.

(via designyoutrust)

Posted in photos Tagged: auction, christie's, chuck close, fashion, NSFW, nude, photos

Big Brother UK S10E29 (Channel 4)

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:04:55 +0000

Lisa says that Halfwit thinks that he’s already won the game. Lisa thinks that he is playing the game. Noirin says that he hasn’t argued in the house, that’s what politicians are known for.

Kris is sharing his womanizing ways and the ways that he picks up girls. It’s shitty. Sree is playing along. He’s a git as usual.

Halfwit says that he goes to clubs to paint faces when he doesn’t have any money. Kris says that it is illegal. Charlie doesn’t think much of it.

Sophie comes to the diary room. Apparently, Kris is a bit down and she’s avoiding him. She thinks that he is thinking about home.

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E28 (Channel 4)

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:02:38 +0000

Karly tells Sree that he has to be careful not to wash his hair. The black dye isn’t permanent and it will come out. Siavash tells Charlie, Marcus and Noirin that a year’s worth of profits from ice cream sales would save an African country. Marcus says that countries can’t sort other countries out if they can’t sort them out themselves.

Sophie tells Karly that Halfwit thinks that she is a sheep. She didn’t like that. Lisa, Kris and Charlie are talking about Marcus. They think that he fancies Noirin. They don’t like Halfwit much. They find him patronizing.

Marcus and Noirin are in the bedroom. Marcus is called to the diary room. Marcus tells BB that he is cockblocking him again. He says that he doesn’t fancy her, but he thinks that she is lovely.

Angel is cleaning the kitchen. Karly and Sophie are exercising. Noirin and Angel are talking about cleaning. Angel says that she loves cleaning. Noirin and Rodrigo talk about what they argued about yesterday.

For some reason, Sree takes off his shirt and starts doing push-ups. He can only do about 15. Marcus says that he can that many on one hand. Actually he is egged on by the HM. Marcus tells Noirin that Siavash and Sree are doing mating displays for her.

Sree, Charlie and Rodrigo are cooking. Sree starts arguing with Rodrigo. Sree finds it funny. Karly, Lisa and Noirin are talking about Angel. Angel is twirling a stick around and saying that she is going to Hollywood.

Sree, Halfwit and Angel are in the kitchen. Halfwit tells him not to use up all of the garlic. Sree is arguing again. Halfwit wants to keep the garlic for the whole week. Sree comes to the bedroom to complain. He wants Kris to adjudicate. Sree is aggressive. He’s a git.

Charlie and Kris are just watching them. Sree thinks that he can bury Freddie with a louder voice. Lisa pipes in to defend Lisa. Sree is being patronizing and makes fun of Halfwit’s dyslexia. Marcus arrives to see the fun. Freddie just gives up.

Please, he is eating my brain.
Sree

Most of the HM are eating dinner. Lisa kind of complains about Sree’s food. When Halfwit leaves, Sree whinges about Freddie again. The potatoes were undercooked. Halfwit complains to Marcus. Marcus says that Sree cooks because of his gameplan. Halfwit is insulted that he has been nominated and not Sree. Marcus advises Freddie to talk to people he usually doesn’t talk to in order to make friends. That might stop him from being nominated all of the time. Marcus mentions Karly and other intermediate people.

Charlie compliments Noirin on the way he looks. Sree insults her and says that he is joking. She tells him to leave her hair alone. Noirin tells Sophie that Sree likes to put other people down. Noirin pushes him away. She doesn’t want to be near him. Sree tells her that she is so f*cking rude.

It’s been about an hour since Angel was evicted. Marcus and Noirin are talking about Lisa and Sree. Marcus thinks that Lisa has got a gameplan. Sree has also got a gameplan, but Lisa’s is better than Sree’s. The HM exchanged a token for some alcohol. Marcus asks her if she wants her surprise. She says that she does and he gives her a kiss on the ear. Charlie, Kris and Sree are in the diary room. They want more alcohol. BB won’t be giving them any more alcohol.

In the living room, Sophie says that she is really hungry. Sophie is drunk and shows her fanny to Marcus and Siavash. She keeps falling down.

At 1:28AM, Sree is in the diary room. He has got no more feelings for Noirin. He is jealous of Marcus and the fact that Noirin is spending so much time with him. Charlie makes Halfwit rub his back.

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E26-27 (Channel 4)

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:59:30 +0000

Marcus tells Rodrigo about what Angel did last night. She was going to steal one of Siavash’s photos. The other HM are in the bedroom.

She’s shit-faced two faced!
Lisa on Angel

Angel tells the HM that she spent time working on her eviction outfit. Dogface is called to the diary room. She says that the HM overheard that he thinks that they only voted for himself and Angel because they are more intelligent.

In the sitting room, Halfwit is talking about individuals and sheep. Individuals can be wolves, shepherds and just plain individuals. He says that there are three individuals in the house. Sree, who’s just a plain wolf, Kris, a wolf dressed as a sheep, and Lisa, a wolf dressed as a shepherd. The sheep are Charlie, Sophie, Karly, Rodrigo, who was a sheep but is turning into an individual, Noirin started off as a sheep but has become an individual, Siavash an individual, Marcus is a shepherd, Halfwit and Angel are also individuals. He says that Kris doesn’t fancy Sophie. Lisa is interesting. The individuals keep getting nominated and there are going to be less and less interesting people in the house. He feels like he is being outsmarted and he doesn’t like this.

Lisa is going into the diary room. She comes across Kris and Charlie getting ready to throw water on Angel. They do so. She was working on her eviction outwit. She starts to cry. Halfwit comes to Angel’s aid. Angel goes to the bathroom to cry.

Angel is putting her black dye into Sree’s hair. Marcus and Siavash talk about Lisa. He confirms that Lisa was telling everyone how to vote. Charlie complains about Angel to Halfwit and Rodrigo. He doesn’t seem to get that it was just plain mean.

Some of the boys drop Siavash into the pool. Angel is in the diary room. She wants to stay in the house.

Halfwit and Sree are talking to Lisa. Freddie accuses Lisa that she knew that it would upset Angel. Lisa tells him to stop lecturing her. Charlie and

Sree and Siavash are in the bath. Sree is still talking about Noirin. Siavash calls him a dirty f*cker.

Don’t wash your dick in the bath, wash it in the shower.
Siavash to Sree

Halfwit is talking to Noirin about Lisa’s explosion. He thinks that she is responsible. Noirin says that Lisa says it how it is.

Davina tells the audience that BB has searched for evidence of Siavash’s claim that Lisa influences the nominations but hasn’t found any.

The HM are getting dressed up using bin bags. Marcus’ hair is all over the place. It’s pretty funny. Noirin tits are more apparent and Marcus appreciates them.

Halfwit tries to explain his theory on the group dynamics in the house after Sophie overheard something.

Noirin is pissed that Marcus and her are always doing the washing up. Noirin decides to ask Angel to do it now. It’s past midnight. The last time that Angel did it, they had to do it all over again. Rodrigo doesn’t like that Noirin asked Angel to do it. It might be her last night. Rodrigo tells her not to speak to her like this. Sree tries to interfere, and Noirin sends her away. They get into a real argument. Noirin is just pissed off because she is always doing the washing up. Kris tells Angel to go into the kitchen. She might defuse the situation.

Halfwit gets into it as well. Marcus is still doing the washing up. At the end, Marcus tells them that during the argument, the washing up was done.

Noirin and Marcus are talking about the situation. Noirin says that she needs to take a chill pill. Marcus tells her that she needs to be screwed, that will release some of her tension. He doesn’t say it like that, but implies that if she would be getting sex, she wouldn’t be so wound up. He says that all of the other guys have noticed as well, that’s why they are fussing around her so much.

Eviction Night BBUK S10E27

Angel looks like a train wreck. Davina talks with the house. Angel is evicted. She gets universal boos. Angel says that she failed in her mission, which was to get the HM to exercise.

She is confronted about stealing. She didn’t ask and tried to take it. The psychologist says that Angel wanted to set up a trainer and trainee relationship, one on one. However, she was clearly rejected and that made her aggressive towards Noirin.

She says that she fancies Freddie’s brain.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

How to Make a Glass Desk Mouse Friendly

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:54:29 +0000

Ever since Ikea made glass desks really affordable, they have been popping around everywhere. We bet that you know quite a few people who have glass desks. Do they like them much? One thing is for sure, if you are using a glass desk as you computer desk, you may hit a problem or two when you try activating your mouse. Modern optical mice work almost anywhere. It’s kind of strange to realize that they don’t work on glass.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, glass desk, how to, mouse, technology, unplggd, window tint

Artmu Laptop Sleeve Doubles as Mousepad

range — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:51:48 +0000

When you take your laptop with you, you rarely take your mousepad. Even though optical mice track on most surfaces, they don’t always track well on all. That’s why it’s a good idea to have one around. Luckily Artmu have come up with a solution to this problem: a mousepad that is integrated into a laptop sleeve, to make sure that you have it with you at all times.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, artmu, blogs, laptop sleeve, laptops, technology, unplggd

Boynq WakeUp: Stylish and Effective Alarm Clock iPod Dock

range — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:21:19 +0000

iPods and iPhones have become ubiquitous. If you compare the small form factor, size of the HD and just plain usability, the iPod is hard to beat. With up to 160GB of storage, which was strangely reduced to 120GB, you only need one thing to share you music with friends and family: a dock. It sounds simple, but there are thousands of docks available, and not all of them are equal. Some of them can do some pretty nifty stuff. Others, are just ornamental.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: alarm clock, Apartment Therapy, blogs, dock, Ipod, technology, unplggd

Using Watering Cans To Create Affordable Mood Lighting

range — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:19:22 +0000

We love mood lighting. There is nothing like placing a few mood lights around a room to revitalize it and change what it looks like. One problem that people face is the actual cost of buying and installing all of these mood lights. Thankfully, we’ve found a cheaper way to accomplish this, with just a little TLC, you’ll change moods easily and cheaply.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, decor, lighting, moods, technology, unplggd

A Day of Firsts

range — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:14:42 +0000

Well, Sunday marked a day of firsts.

It was the first time I was in an ambulance, the first time in my adult life that I lost consciousness, the first time in 9 years that I got stitches. It was also my first bicycle accident.

I remember fidgeting with my watch on my bike. That’s the last thing I remember because I must have crashed a few moments later. Thank goodness for helmets. To be honest, I don’t really like wearing helmets and I have at times thought about not wearing one. Thank God that I just wore it, day in and day out, without any complaints.

I woke up in the hospital or the ambulance. I was asking if I was in Taiwan. I couldn’t remember if I was an ESL teacher. At least, I knew my name, but I didn’t know what happened. I have three cuts on the left side of my face with a few stitches, I don’t know how many, and I have abrasions on both arms and knees. Thoughtfully, the paramedics brought my bike with me to the hospital and it was fine.

I recalled my own cell phone number and my home number after I woke up and my wife was on the way. I was discharged as soon as my wife arrived at around 3PM. I had left the house at around 11:30AM. From my guess, I had my accident at about 12:30PM. The exact memories of what happened are a bit foggy, but I guess that I need to buy a bicycle computer. That would have probably avoided the fall. My watch wasn’t fixed on the handlebars, but on my wrist.

It’s the day after and my wife got me a whole bunch of treats yesterday. It felt like Christmas. I told her jokingly that I should get injured more often. Nope, I don’t want to fall down again. Ah well, with my using the bike this much, as much as I used it back when I was 15-17 when I was seriously training, it was bound to happen. New bikes are lighter, stiffer and have new technologies in them that take a while to get used to. I think I was distracted and then fell down. The good news is that I’ll be getting a new helmet this week and that I’m fine. The Scott jersey that I was wearing was a bit torn up on the shoulder, but I can still wear it. Still, I’m totally miffed at having torn that. It was a birthday present from my wife.

Posted in cycling, fitness, travelogue Tagged: accident, cycling, fitness, hospital, injury, taiwan, travelogue

45 Km Bike Ride Banciao Bitan Banciao

range — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:04:43 +0000

Well, after having done some service on my bike and having changed the tires, and using the Weatherunderground to avoid rainshowers, I headed out for a ride. I noticed that this week, I had put on a bit of weight since I hadn’t trained, so I was extra motivated.

What a difference thinner slick tires make! I was going pretty fast, heading up to 45kph on parts. I made it to Biton in about 31 minutes. I knew that my way back wasn’t going to be that fast, but still, I was impressed by the wheels. I can only imagine how fast you can go on something like the Giant TCR Advanced SL 0. Once I get that bike, I actually plan on getting another frame so that when I upgrade certain parts on the SL 0, they’ll have a place to be fixed upon.

After I got back to Banciao, I had a last bit to do before heading home. Naturally, something happened, but that will be for a later post.

All in all, I covered 45 km in about 70 minutes. That’s an average speed of about 39kph.

Posted in cycling, fitness Tagged: Banciao, bicycle, bitan, cycling, deals, huazhong, paths, taipei, taiwan, trail, training, Trek, wanban, wunshan, xindian, Yonghe

Bike Service

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:08:02 +0000

Topeak Mini 18+

Today, I wanted to go out for a ride, but they typhoon weather had other ideas. That’s not really an excuse, but there is really nothing that you can do when it’s pouring heavily. I kind of get what it means to have a bike. Mechanical faults will happen and it’s best to have it serviced as often as possible.

What I really like in Taiwan, is that you don’t pay for service, you only pay for parts. Today, I put my new Topeak Mini 18+ to work by changing tires. I had a pair of Ritchey Tom Slick Comp 1s that were just itching to be put on my bike. Since I don’t plan on doing any trails anytime soon, I thought that this would be a good idea, for now at least.

I first checked that the adaptor I had gotten worked well and then changed the tires. The first one was pretty easy, since I had just added a tube. Originally, it was tubeless, but I had a flat this week. The back was more of a problem. I knew that there was a problem since I was forcing way too much to get the wheel out. I managed to do so, but once again, I had real trouble getting the tire on. It took me a few minutes to realize why it wasn’t working. I wasn’t doing it circularly, I was just forcing. Once inflated, I noticed that when I put the wheel back, I did something to the rear disc brake pads. This happened the last time as well. I then left for the Giant shop, knowing that it would be closed tomorrow.

I rarely have to wait for service and I like that. Still, it took about an hour to get everything fixed up. A brake pad was changed. Both disc brakes were adjusted. The mechanic and owner of the store noticed a problem with the hook that connected the frame to the rear derailleur. It was bent. He noticed when he himself had to force to get the wheel out. He had to change it.

Meanwhile, I went around the shop. I oogled the carbon fiber bikes. They just received a new Kuota and the Scott Addict was gone, but the Giant TCR Advanced SL Team Rabo still drew me in. The Pinarello Prince and the Orbea Onix were there. I took some time to look at the wheelsets. They had some Fulcrum Racing Zero Reds that looked pretty neat. I could imagine them on a Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 easily, since the color scheme of the bike is black and red. I did some research and found that they weren’t too expensive. Doesn’t really matter that much, because the SL 0 comes with Zipp 404s.

Posted in cycling, fitness Tagged: addict, Anthem, bicycle, bike, giant, kuota, Ritchey, Scott, service, TCR Advanced

Guerilla Beekeepers in New York City

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:41:41 +0000

Beekeeping is illegal in NYC. That hasn’t stopped bee enthusiasts from keeping bees. I think that it’s a fabulous idea, especially in the wake of the collapsing colony disorder that has been plaguing the world.

Posted in asides, politics-social-racism, science Tagged: agriculture, asides, beekeeping, bees, New York City, NY Times, nyc, social

NY Times and Its Challenging Words

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:27:17 +0000

If you are a NYT reader, you know that if you double-click a word, you’ll get the defintion. Personally, it’s a feature that I find annoying, but it turns out that the NYT mines this data and released some figures. Here are some of my faves from the list:

sui generis
epistemological
shibboleths
parlous
adenoidal
feckless
solipsism
sartorial
hagiography
antebellum
comity
profligacy
Sisyphean
inchoate
apoplectic
bildungsroman
peroration
recondite
appurtenances
glut
fecklessness

Posted in asides, education, writing Tagged: asides, education, erudite, NY Times, vocabulary, words

Matt Mullenweg: The Way I Work

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:11:10 +0000

Matt Mullenweg is the main driving force being WP and he just posted a rewrite on an article that was recently published in Inc. Magazine. The reason for this is that all of The Way I Work articles are written in the 1st person, even if Matt didn’t write his. His version is annotated and includes lots of links. I found it inspiring.

Posted in asides, blogs, GTD, programming Tagged: asides, blogs, GTD, Matt Mullenweg, the way i work, worpdress

Bands of Iron: Winning Science Essay on 3QD

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:03:35 +0000

Bands of Iron is the winning science essay from 3QD.

Posted in asides, blogs, science, writing Tagged: 3QD, asides, bands of iron, blogs, science, writing

What Is This?

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:56:14 +0000

These are actually circular fields and roads in the desert in Egypt, as seen by the ISS

Posted in photos Tagged: Egypt, fields, ISS, photos, Space

McCain Wants Predators to Provide WiFi to Iran

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:47:01 +0000

John McCain wants US Predators, which are unmanned spy planes, to provide uncensored WiFi to Iran. That sounds like the ravings of a mental madman, but I love the idea. Freedom to the people. Is it even technically feasible? I can just imagine CIA spies trying to smuggle in DSL modems!

Posted in asides, politics-social-racism, technology Tagged: asides, internet, Iran, McCain, politics, technology, wifi

Sarychev Peak Volcano As Seen From ISS

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:31:39 +0000

Pyroclastic flows can be seen tumbling down its slope via The Big Picture

Posted in photos, science Tagged: Boston Globe, eruption, ISS, photos, Russia, Sarychev Peak, Space, the big picture, volcano

Big Brother UK S10E25 (Channel 4)

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:17:29 +0000

Noirin is talking to some of the HM about Angel’s comment about her ass. Last night, she told Noirin that she had a fat ass. Noirin likes her ass and doesn’t take her comments to heart.

Angel tells Charlie that Rodrigo fancies him. Sree and Rodrigo are talking. He is trying to rationalize what he said. Last night, he lied about having drank a few bottles of mead. He said he only drank when he had more. He was caught in his lie. After that, he told everyone that he wants to leave. Rodrigo tells him that he needs to be thankful for being here.

Marcus and Noirin are doing the shopping list. They only have 1 pound per person. Halfwit keeps interrupting them and Noirin tells him off.

Sree tells Lisa that Siavash is the center of attention, with Marcus and recently Noirin. Charlie comes to see Lisa and Sree. He says that Angel is doing the adding up. She told Charlie that she is a mathematician. Sree blames Angel for what happened last night.

Karly has come to the diary room. She says that a long as she got smokes, she is going to be alright.

It’s good that they give us toilet paper, ‘cause I’d not like to feel guilty taking a shit.
Siavash

Angel tells Noirin that people have given up on the looks. She tells Noirin that she is letting herself go. Angel is one to talk. She looks really bad most of the time. She looks like a hobo. A bad anorexic hobo. Noirin just walks away.

Noirin and Marcus are in the bedroom. He says that he thought he would have gotten nominated. He says that she has gotten bossy recently. She is getting close to Sree territory. Noirin tells Karly that she can cook today if she wants. Marcus later tells her that she was giving her permission to cook.

Noirin tells Lisa about Angels comments about the way she looks and her weight. Lisa tells her not to worry. A few minutes later, Angel comes up to Noirin and tells her that she looks 3 months preggers. Lisa tells her off for being an idiot. She says that everyone is getting fat. The group doesn’t agree, but Halfwit defends her. Angel tries to apologize, but Noirin doesn’t give a shit.

Angel tells Halfwit what she told Noirin. He says that it was ridiculous. Angel wants to motivate Noirin to work out. Noirin tells Lisa that it’s funny how far up Angel’s ass Halfwit is.

Once again, Angel has stolen something of Noirin’s. She took her hairbrush. Noirin takes it back. The HM receive their pictures. Angel tries to steal Siavash’s photos. She gets caught. She initially denies it. Kris goes to talk about this with some of the HM. She’s a thief.

Sree is getting his hair bleached. It doesn’t turn out too good. Lisa says that he looks like a gay. Angel has come to the diary room. She says that she really likes Noirin. She has a strange way of showing this. She says that she shouldn’t talk to her because she’s just say stupid things.

The HM have just nominated and Halfwit and Angel will face the public vote. Halfwit is a bit despondent. Rodrigo has come to the diary room. He tries to defend her. He says that she is a good person.

Kris says that he isn’t about to jump full into a relationship. He isn’t ready yet. Angel and Marcus are in the living room. He tells her that telling people that they are fat isn’t a good way to proceed and nicking people’s stuff, like Siavash’s picture didn’t work well for her either.

HM are talking about Angel in the bedroom. Marcus thinks that she will leave. Angel and Halfwit are in the diary room.

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E23-24 (Channel 4)

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:15:15 +0000

The HM will nominate live tonight.

Daily Show BBUK S10E23

Marcus is in the kitchen helping Lisa and Noirin prepare the food. HM must pass 3 out of the 4 remaining challenges since Siavash failed his task. Kris no longer wants to do the task. He wants a vote. Marcus and Rodrigo tell him that he’s out of his mind. It’s something easy and he just wants to abandon it.

It takes 8 hours to cook the 8 dishes needed for the banquet. There are about 6 hours left until the banquet. Marcus tells the singers that they are doing really well. He gives them a little speech.

Rodrigo is told that he needs to do more heynoninonying. He doesn’t understand what it means, but he gets that he’s got to be more enthusiastic during his performance. The way that BB talked to him was almost comical.

Lisa and Noirin have started the cooking. Sree complains to Karly and Rodrigo about Noirin and nominations. They tell him that he needs to change records. Sree doesn’t like hearing this. Halfwit comes to the diary room and says that he’s closest to Angel. He thinks that she fancies him, but he doesn’t really know how to handle it in here. Outside, they would just have sex. Marcus had to practice a song he has to play tonight.

HM have begun feasting on the banquet. Marcus is wearing a nymph costume and has been provided with instruments. Kris and Charlie begin their dance. The HM have been provided with wine and mead. The madrigal begins. The singing is awful. Charlie and Kris are shocked at how bad it is. During the feast, some bottles of alcohol went missing. Angel says that she knows who took it. She says that it was Sree. She saw him drink 2. She tries to blame Sree. She actually gave hers to Sree. Lisa pounces and defends Sree. Noirin says that Sree lied and said that he drank only one, when he actually drank 2. She tells both Angel and Sree that they should have just told the truth. Marcus starts to play the music. He’s shit at it. Sree tells Lisa that he is leaving tonight. He says that it is the right decision. Noirin says that Sree is an idiot. He should be a bigger man than that. A few minutes later, Sree is seeking attention and encouragement from Lisa and Karly. Dogface is trying to get shit faced by drinking the last of the bottles of alcohol.

Later that night, BB calls Siavash to the diary room. He finds a sword in there. He must take the sword to the living room and await for further instructions. Siavash will shortly bestow an immunity to eviction upon a HM. He’s got a minute to make a decision. He decides on Marcus because he is close to him.

BB gathers the HM to give the results the shopping task. The cooks, the singers and the dancers failed their task. The village idiot Marcus failed his task and therefore the HM fail the shopping task. They will only receive a basic budget this week.

Sree and Noirin are in the sitting room talking. They have been talking for 42 minutes. She confronts him about his lies. He still denies that he lies. Noirin tells him that to him that he is a compulsive liar.

Some of the HM are talking in the bedroom. Siavash says that her asshole is the biggest in the house. He is talking about Sree. Angel is flirting with Noirin.

Lisa wants to have a talk with Sree. Karly and Charlie are there. They tell him that he keeps talking about Marcus and Noirin. It’s become an obsession.

Live Nominations BBUK S10E24

Angel Sree Siavash “Most of the arguments are because of him.”

Charlie NA

Dogface Angel Halfwit “She is sneaky and backstabbing.”

Halfwit Sree Kris “He is a cheat.”

Karly Angel Halfwit “She is a thief and she’s too negative.”

Kris Angel Halfwit “He is patronizing.”

Lisa Angel Halfwit “She tells everyone is fat.”

Marcus Sree Lisa “He insulted my culture.”

Noirin Sree Halfwit “He is so far up Angel’s ass, it’s annoying.”

Rodrigo Sree Halfwit “He is two-faced.”

Siavash Angel Sree “He lied.”

Sree Halfwit Siavash “Inappropriate language with females.”

Angel and Halfwit have been nominated. The HM are immediately informed.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E22 (Channel 4)

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:01:09 +0000

For this week’s shopping task, HM will celebrate Henry the 8^th birthday. BB asks the most blue-blooded HM to come to the diary room. Siavash says that he is related to the royal family of Iran and goes. Most of the HM don’t know what blue-blooded means. Siavash tells BB that he isn’t related to the royal family. He has to read a scroll to the HM. Siavash is the king. Six HM will become the wives. They will have to perform a birthday Tudor madrigal. Two courtiers must perform a Tudor dance. Two HM will become Tudor cooks. There is a special role to be awarded. Marcus will take that special role.

Later today, Siavash needs to take a quiz on Henri the 8^th. Halfwit is going to help Siavash study. Siavash isn’t going to get any study material. Later, they see what they have to do on the plasma screen.

Siavash puts Rodrigo in the stocks, a medieval contraption in which they used to put criminals. The criminals were then bombarded with refuse and rotten veg. Charlie and Kris take the opportunity to abuse Rodrigo. Tudor kitchen is stocked with only authentic items. The cooks must follow traditional Tudor recipes, which sound pretty disgusting.

Noirin comes out and says that there are dead chickens and pigs in there. Marcus is the village idiot and helps out in the kitchen. They must cook the food for the duration of the task.

Angel is putting makeup on Freddie. She kind of likes him. Sree is sleeping. Siavash is in the diary room. He says that Sree and Halfwit don’t make good wives. He wants more powers. BB says that he will be getting special powers later today. The powers will affect nominations, but he doesn’t know this.

Halfwit is instructing Sophie and some of the others on how to sing. Kris and Charlie are practicing their Volta dance. Noirin, Lisa, Siavash and Marcus are in the kitchen. They have been cooking for 2 hours. They haven’t started preparing the food for tomorrow’s banquet. Lisa is learning how to pluck a chicken. HM only have limited time to practice for the performance. If they don’t pass it, they will only receive a basic shopping budget.

Lisa is chopping off the head of a chicken. They still haven’t started preparing for the banquet. It’s already 4PM. As part of the task, Siavash has to answer some questions. The only HM that can help him is the village idiot. If he misses, all of the HM need to throw rotten vegetables at Marcus, who is in the stocks. To pass, Siavash must answer 7 questions or more correctly. A while later he has only answered two questions correctly. He cannot answer any more wrong. They have failed this part of the task.

Sophie tells Marcus that Freddie is driving her mad. She can’t sing in tune. Marcus tell her to try her hardest, and that’s all anyone can ask of her. Angel is in the bath and Noirin brings her a piece of cake.

Kris is worried that Sree won’t be able to sing properly. Karly doesn’t know why Freddie is taking this so seriously. Who died and made him king? Meanwhile, Sree is being coached by Freddie. Sree doesn’t really care and is completely tone deaf.

Angel comes to the diary room. She says that she is quiet because she is feeling something. It’s obviously Freddie. Actually no. She says that she kissed Noirin yesterday and Lisa has been giving her the evil eye ever since. She is attracted by Noirin. Apparently Noirin made the first move. Is she just messing with BB? I can’t tell. I don’t remember her snogging Noirin last night.

It’s getting late and Marcus is helping by preparing the pig for tomorrow. The cooks haven’t started on the banquet yet. Siavash takes the leg into the garden. Charlie stuffs it down Rodrigo’s dress. He squeals like a girl.

BB has gathered the HM. Siavash has to decide which HM will lose the right to nominate. He chooses the person who always has the hardest time nominating. Charlie is pretty happy. Marcus and Noirin tells Siavash that he should have done Sree.

The HM play a game of truth. Angel says that she fancies Noirin. Noirin is called to the diary room. She says that Sree was playing a game. Angel is also playing a game. She says that she tends to fall in love with underdogs.

It’s late. Most of the HM are in the sitting room. Angel is getting naked and gets into the pool. Marcus says that Angel is always naked in the pool and always naked in the bathroom.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E21 (Channel 4)

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:57:43 +0000

Today is Halfwit’s birthday and the HM are woken up with a special alarm. He is called to the diary room. HM have to participate in all of the activities of the day. If they do so, they will receive 8 tokens and a carrot cake. They are provided with costumes. BB has recreated a mini Stonehenge in the garden.

Halfwit is told that he has to direct a freeform performance in the garden. They are provided with instruments, but Freddie isn’t happy with the initial results.

Dogface says that she gets on better with men than women. Marcus and Sree are in the bedroom. Marcus tells Sree that he gets really abusive. The other HM leave them to argue some more. Sree walks away. Siavash tells Marcus that he thought that he would have a conversation with Sree. A few moments later, Marcus comes out of the bedroom to confront Sree while he is bitching to Karly and Lisa. Sree tells Marcus that he is disrespectful to women. Karly tells Marcus that he is that way.

Noirin and Dogface talk about Sree. They think that Sree is very rude to Marcus. Sree tells Marcus that he should behave. Marcus replies that he shouldn’t dare talking to him that way. The argument continues later on in the kitchen when Karly points out the different views to Marcus.

Kris is cutting Charlie’s fake hair. Sree comes to the diary room to mope around. He wants to know how he can leave the house. Halfwit has to lead a 15 minute seminar. For the final part, the HM have to prepare and ode to Halfwit. All HM have successfully taken part in the activities, they will receive booze and a cake with some tokens thrown in for good form.

Halfwit gets a gift from BB. It will return Halfwit, Dogface or Noirin to normal. He chooses Noirin without hesitation. Marcus tells Rodrigo that he will make him a crisp sandwich after they receive the shopping.

Halfwit is crying. He gets some support from Siavash. At the party, Angel is slow dancing with Freddie and kisses him a few times.

A little past midnight, Karly comes to the diary room. She can’t believe that Angel kissed Halfwit. Sree asks Noirin if she thinks that he is a bad person. Noirin says yes. She can’t stand him and that most people in the house can’t stand him either.

Some of the HM are playing a game of dares. Angel and Freddie are dared into French kissing some more.

Noirin and Marcus are talking with Noirin. Noirin says that she can’t stand Sree anymore. Marcus tells Noirin that she is mean. Lisa tells Kris that Sophie really likes him. Karly is there as well with Halfwit.

Angel and Sree are in the bedroom. Sree is looking for some people who still like him. He doesn’t like that Noirin told him that everyone hated him.

Sophie is a bit drunk and tells Kris that she doesn’t mind if he fancies Charlie.

Sree isn’t making much sense. He is kind of flirting with Charlie. Charlie leaves. Sree was just playing. Charlie tells Lisa. Sree is very happy when Charlie leaves once again.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Big Brother UK S10E20 (Channel 4)

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:53:47 +0000

Noirin tells Angel that Sree is smothering her. Halfwit is happy that he stayed in the house. Halfwit says that the accusations hurled at Angel yesterday were uncalled for. Karly doesn’t really sympathize much. She doesn’t like Angel much.

Noirin and Sree are in the sitting room. Last night, he was a git as usual. She isn’t talking to him really. She has nothing to say to him. He leaves. Sophie, Halfwit and Kris are in the bathroom. Sophie and Kris kiss. Kris isn’t repentant about what he told Angel. He only asked her a few times. Halfwit wants Kris to apologize, but he won’t. Halfwit leaves. Kris tells Sophie that he won’t lose any sleep over it.

Sree comes back to see Noirin and demands that they sit together in the garden. She tells him to grow up. Sree tells him that he doesn’t like Marcus’ attitude. Noirin tells Sree that Marcus has nothing to do with this. This has to do with Sree, not Marcus. Noirin is pissed off. Noirin tells him that the way that talked to her last night wasn’t forgivable. She doesn’t want to be his friend if he talks to his friends like that. They get into an argument because Sree doesn’t admit to any wrongdoing. Noirin tells Sree that he isn’t making any sense. He doesn’t think that he has to apologize. He is being condescending to her. She isn’t finding any of this funny. He grabs her and wants her to sit on his lap, but she refuses and pulls away. He can’t let it go.

Later, Sree has got his arm around Noirin again. He is forcing himself on her. He is being a git again. He called her two-faced. She says that she doesn’t like hugs. He wants her to kiss him, but he doesn’t.

Kris and Charlie are talking about Halfwit. Sophie is in the diary room talking about Kris and Charlie. She thinks that they are inseparable. She says that the house is disappointed that Cairon left. She doesn’t really like Halfwit.

Marcus is making a present for Noirin.

Sophie tells Sree that she is cold. He tells her to put on some clothes. They horse around a bit. Sree once again is a git. Sree comes to the diary room. He thinks that Noirin misunderstands her. He doesn’t think he did something wrong. Sree has got a high opinion of himself.

BB has gathered the HM for today’s task. Today, the HM must learn Russian. They must translate phrases into Russian. Each HM has to do it. They’ve got two hours to practice and then BB will call them to the diary room. There are two tokens at stake. Sree is shit at this task. He is drinking tea, eating biscuits and talking to himself. He isn’t really practicing much. If HM pronounce six or more phrases correctly, they pass. So far, Kris pronounced one phrase correctly. Noirin and Siavash are in the kitchen. Siavash thinks that Marcus has also a crush on her. She says that she doesn’t want another stalker. Marcus is tested next. He got two phrases correct. He comes out and Sree wants to go next. Sree is jeopardizes the task and he starts an argument. He goes to the kitchen and vents to Noirin and Siavash. Noirin says that Sree is so rude. Meanwhile, Lisa and Sree hear him talking. Noirin says that he moans and cries and hides behind Lisa. Noirin calls him a f*cking fanny head. Angel translated all three of her sentences.

Sree starts talking Siavash. Siavash tells Sree that Angel should have gone first. Marcus and Noirin are in the kitchen talking about the git Sree. Noirin says that Sree was talking about Marcus the whole time.

Karly is in the diary room. She says that she has forgotten everything. She doesn’t get any right. HM have passed the task by getting 7 phrases correctly.

Later, some of the HM are playing a game. Rodrigo, Dogface and Marcus are in the bedroom. Noirin has to lick Sophie’s boob as part of a game. It’s a game of dare. Sophie has to nibble on Sree’s ear. Charlie tells Sree that he has to suck Marcus’ nipple. He actually does it.

Most of the HM are in the living room talking about Halfwit. Siavash says that Halfwit turned very camp. Charlie says that he fancies Angel. Karly thinks that Halfwit fancies Charlie.

Noirin has come to the diary room. She says that Sree is doing her head in. She is washing her hands of him. If he doesn’t grow up, they aren’t going to be friends. Sree keeps mouthing off to everyone. People in the house are biting their tongues and not saying anything to him. Sooner or later, things will go wrong.

Angel is giving Sree a massage.

* * * * *

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Posted in entertainment Tagged: BBUK, BBUK 10, Big Brother, Channel 4, entertainment, reality tv, recap, review, UK

Boynq WakeUp: Stylish and Effective Alarm Clock iPod Dock

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:40:09 +0000

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, boynq, iphone dock, Ipod, speakers, technology, unplggd

Using Watering Cans To Create Affordable Mood Lighting

range — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:38:54 +0000

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, decor, Ikea, lights, technology, unplggd

Most Significant Death This Week?

range — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:41:42 +0000

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett or Michael Jackson?

Michael Jackson.

Posted in writing Tagged: asides, death, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, news, RIP, social

Look! I-Aroma: Adds Smell to Your Internet Experience

range — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:39:32 +0000

Most of us spend a lot of time online without really realizing how much our senses can get dulled by this daily routine. It’s been proven that we need to use our senses to develop them. Web browsing and the internet engages our sight and hearing, and we do have to use our sense of touch to input information, but that’s it. There hasn’t been anything that would engage our sense of smell until now.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, look, smell, technology, unplggd

Microsoft Hohm Helps You Save Energy and Money

range — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:35:53 +0000

In this economy, and probably in any other, it’s always wise to find ways to save money on expenses. Analyzing your power bill and taking the time to find out exactly what costs you the most is a great way of trying to reduce expenses and reducing your carbon footprint at the same time. Even if you aren’t crazy about being green, everyone likes saving money.

Posted in blogs, technology Tagged: Apartment Therapy, blogs, hohm, Microsoft, technology, unplggd

Joe’s Twig-gate

range — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:25:37 +0000

So there I was, minding my own business and teaching a buxiban class. It’s a “homework” class for grade school students, and I’ve got kids from 3rd to 6th grade in the same classroom. This means that some of the kids can get easily bored. They are of too different levels in my opinion and the class should be split.

After having told Joe to stop playing with his toys for the 4th time, I told him to give me his little twig. This happened right after I confiscated a blown up rip-off Rubik’s cube. He didn’t want to hand it over, even when the Chinese teacher confronted him. He hid it behind his bag and said he didnt have anything. I looked around on the floor and found his little twig. He took it up and tried to put it in his pencil case. I told him to hand it over. He didn’t comply and threw it in my general direction. I took it in my pocket and took his pencil case from his desk and put it on mine. By this time, he was bawling. I guess that he’s about 10. He was making a big deal and most probably saying bad words about me. I talked to him in English. I didn’t swear, but told him that I didn’t care. He should have handed it over. I didn’t care that other teacher might indulge him. He was totally freaking out and the teacher had to take him outside. Before she did, while he was crying loudly, I resumed class and spoke over his attention-seeking.

A few moments later, I broke the twig in small pieces. During break time, I threw it out. I noticed that when Joe came back into class, he was looking all over the place for his twig. He even checked out the garbage. Towards the end of class, he started crying again. He couldn’t find it. I told him that I had destroyed it and that he shouldn’t have played with it in class. Too bad so sad. If he would have just handed it over, I would have probably just put it on Teacher Kay’s desk, but no, he had to make a giant deal about it.

Later, Kay tried to explain that it was a special twig. I wanted to know more, was there a religious significance, was it valuable or a shoot of some sort? No, she said, it was just a twig. She apologized for him and I said not to worry, I’d seen plenty worse in my time. From what she said, I understood that she didn’t understand why Joe was so enamored with the twig.

Posted in education, travelogue Tagged: buxiban, ESL, taiwan, teaching, travelogue