Technology Interest of a College student

My Social Support Group

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2009-02-26T00:00:04-06:00

Premise: People who are members of online social networks are not so much “networking” as they broadcasting their lives to an outer tier of acquaintances. Technologies have allowed to humans to advertise themselves more efficiently, but they still have the same small circle of intimate friends, fact that number on average is on the decline. ...X= you are having a sexual relationship ...X and Y= you are having an intimate relationship that is also sexual X noty= you are having a sexual relationship that is not intimate Y notx= you are having an intimate relationship that is not sexual Relationship Types: We have not even begun to talk about all the other different level of casual encounters, acquaintances, old friends, new friends, trusted friends, professional relationships, personal relationships, dating relationship, lifelong relationships, breakable relationships, genetic relationships, strong relationships, weak relationships. All of these terms have different meaning to different people; there is no on average what the level of engagement is for the specific individual. My own analysis of myself is that the premise is entirely true, and that is the scary part. For my generation anyone under 20, growing up with computers, cell phones, GPS, Internet banking, XM radio, blogging, IM, AOL, broadband, etc, have we become more impersonal. Technologies have connected us on an artificial level, but not a deep level. I have over 2000 friends on face book, lots on MySpace, thousands of connections on instant messaging, numbers in my cell phone list that I don’t even know, professional networks, gay networks, Asian network, and on networks that I have even forgotten about. ...The point is that even with all of these connections, I still feel alone. Sure, I can call and talk to anyone, I can chat with anyone, and even 10 people at the same time. Actually, I can be on my cell phone, video chat, IMing, and leaving comments on someone’s wall all the same time, and still feel like I’m not connecting and communicating with anyone. ...I can’t say that people care that that has an intimate group of friends anymore. For my own needs, I came up with a list of people that I know can depend on for advice, and help, and for support: ...I can’t even fill out most of these fields. ... But that’s ok; I have time to work it out, and another lifetime to realize it. These people don’t just fall out of the sky, it takes hard work to establish, timing, opportunity, and resources to maintain. I am thankful that I have my family, so that is a few cards I do have to play already. And I’m fortunate that despite everything, I do have some very close friends I know I can depend on. In summary, all of the most important people in our lives will be there when we die. Our family, our children, our lover, past lovers, close friends, business relationships, doctors, lawyers, frenemies, and people’s whose lives we have influenced in a significant way, teachers, and students. They will be there to celebrate, to recognize, to pay tribute, to see with their own eyes that you are dead, but most importantly.

Tic Toc

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-10-21T11:01:37-05:00

Much can change in a few hours, minutes, and seconds. There is nothing rational about change at all. The concept is so foreign that as humans we don’t have the ability to comprehend. Change is unstable, risk, uncertainty. We conjure up complex theories to quantify and mitigate. Averages and standard deviation combined with exponential smoothing simplifies. Lies! It’s all one giant smokescreen. Change is PI, change is zeros and ones. Change is not the prescriptive language of life, life is the constant to change. Change is none value added, there is no morality and judgment. It’s finite. Tic toc, one second life, another death, once second love, another numbness. This little blurb isn’t about change at all. It’s about a fragile person who’s heart just shattered. Love is irrational, love is change. There is no absolute average and model for the love of love. Love is unpredictable, exponential life uttering, it cannot be bundled, collateralized, or hedged for or against. Love is a blank swan, the kiss of life, the longing for another breathe in a sea of vacuums.

Birthday Wish List

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-07-24T16:48:38-05:00

Another day another twist in life, regardless of how constant things may seem to be, the only thing that remains constant will always be change. I’m turning older going on 23, at this most exciting junction of life. Finally out of college, starting a career, and being independent, meaning racking up debt and paying back student loans. It’s now a balancing act to control consumption and balancing the quality of life. There’s a list of items that I would like to have by the end of the year that I’m going to be looking forward too obtaining. Why, because it would make me happy to have them, as it will increase my happiness barometer, heighten my sensation, and increase delight? ...I’ve had the great fun of playing this first hand like 2 years ago when one of my roommates got one. I’m not an crazy gamer at all, but I would like to swing and play the tennis game, grow my Pokemon, and play some smash brawls. ... I want a way to release well stress and well energy, and there’s no better way to smack Jigglypuff around. ...It’s about time I get a huge LCD screen. See here, 22in is the new standard, so I have to bump it up to 24in. I would be very happy with a 24in LCD, but the incremental jump from 24 to 26in is like $45, so might as well get that right? Well, sitting 2 feet away from a 26in LCD might make me go blind, but it’s going to be amazing! The gaming experience, the DVD experience, the chat boxes, I can have everything right in front of me, you would think that productivity would increase, but I would wager that productivity would hit an all time low. ...I’ve decided that the Bose Companion 3 Series II multimedia speaker system would just be perfect for my room for a simple price of $200. ... It’s Bose, enough said, if you want great sounds with simple clean design, get a Bose.
...Now that I’ve got some time to explore my world I want a camera with RAW capability, so that means I’m going to have to invest in getting a Semi Pro Digital SLR. No better camera for that than a Canon Digital Rebel and the price is well pretty much bargaining now. ...One Word, okie, I already have a pretty decent GPS system, but it’s kind of not new anymore, and I got both my sisters newer and cooler GPS, so now I’m feeling left out. Time for an upgrade, I already know what I want, so it’s just a wait and she if the price will drop anymore and how quickly I want it.
So the big question is who’s going to get me what? I know it’s a big tech heavy list, but it’s all really useable and practical. ... Actually, writing up this list points out the seriousness and flaws of our way of life. ...I want the world to be a better place, and I want to spend more time with the people I love. ... So even if I don’t get any of these things in the near future, I’m still one happy chuck, because I know that I’m loved, now and always.

WYD2008

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-07-20T10:25:15-05:00

I am inspired to be a better person because of the things that I see, the things I feel, the things I believe in. ... People from everywhere coming together for peace, motivation, love and care. We must look beyond ourselves for things to inspire us. There must be things that are lasting, and generational. A celebration of youth and peace. I want to do more, be more, God please give the power and courage to do what it is that I’m destined to do. Receive the Power ...we will follow to the ends of the earth. ...Receive the Power, from the Holy Spirit! ...Receive the Power to be a light unto the world! ...we will answer and do Your Will. ...of Your mercy and unfailing love. ...Receive the Power, from the Holy Spirit! ...Receive the Power to be a light unto the world! Lamb of God, we worship You, Holy One, we worship You, Bread of Life, we worship You, ...Lamb of God, we worship You, Holy One, we worship You, Bread of Life, we worship You, ...Receive the Power, from the Holy Spirit! ...Receive the Power to be a light unto the world! ...What is World Youth Day? World Youth Day is the Catholic Church's week of events for youth and with youth. It gathers thousands of young people from around the world to celebrate and learn about the Catholic faith and to build bridges of friendship and hope between continents, peoples and cultures.

Roses are Bloody Red

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-07-15T22:44:24-05:00

Roses are red, violets are blue, please give me once for chance to be with you. Actually, roses come in all variations, and if you don’t like, custom made roses can be painted into whatever hue your heart desires. And no, I don’t want another chance to be with you. The world through my eyes is that why am I here, in Iowa. Life is moving by at a faster rate than I would like, so I will cocoon into a fetal position and live through a stream of dreams and visions. Sorry. What I meant to say simple is that I’m depressed. There I’ve said it. Minh is sad. ...I’m sorry if it’s about me and not about you, because it’s about me, my feelings, my wants, my needs, my intension, stop it, stop it! It’s not about you, it’s about me. I want to be happy and I have many things to be happy about. I’ve just graduated from school, landed a great job, and have a sweet living arrangement. The world is smiling at me, and I’m smiling back. ...Behind all this pretense, dark, lonely, empty, seclusion, madness, anger, anxiety, lost of interest, lack of self worth. I need help! I need some mood stabilizers. I confess… I have always been unstable, and I need something to keep me grounded. For a long time, school kept me grounded. I could always count on the homework, the teachers, the projects, the exams, the scheduling, to drive me forward, to keep me going. I need things to do to make me feel like I’m alive. ...Iowa, stability, calm, family, values, unconditional. I can’t live like this, not yet, at least not right now. I’m a rose shivering in the muggy, mud, madness of this stillness surrounding.

Unexpected Expectations

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-07-15T22:41:45-05:00

I’ve had my glasses for about three years now, and I never liked it, love it as much as I could.... The one I really wanted it was a Versace black and white frames, and at the time, I couldn’t afford it and Dad didn’t want to pay that extra over the top $ooo for it. ... It was beautiful, and I’ve had a great time with it. ... Well this morning (Monday) while at work, I was just adjusting it a little bit because it was bent, and being human, I was curious and played with it a bit more.... I ran next door to the optometry office Eye Care of Iowa, and asked if they could fix it. They said no, and suggested I call some jeweler and see if they could fix it.... Because I can’t see, well I can’t see as well, and especially not well at all if I have to read 100 pages of text documents. And I work in front of two computer monitors for 8 hours, and just staring at it gives me the headache of my life. I already miss my second choice glasses, really, I adore it, and I want it back. ...The biggest annoyance in life is never something major, because if it were a major deal, we would expect it, and can deal with it. It’s always the little events, the kicker, and the nuances that throw of our balance. I have a 15.4 inch Mac Book pro that’s less than a year old. I did not buy it brand new, and thus, I got it at a cheaper price, and imperfections that I’ve had to deal with, I only found out these imperfection after it was too late. ...The first was well, the DVD player didn’t work, well it did, but it was stuck in region code number 4. Meaning that I couldn’t play any of my DVD’s because North America, we live in region code 1. You have no idea how upset I was when I found out that this was the case. I called the seller up, and well, it’s really not his fault that he played things on region 4, I just wished I he told me about it, but then again, is this something that was obvious to him? Probably not, he had no idea that I would, a regular American Asian person would just play things coded in region 1. This is why illegal smuggling of DVD’s into the US is damaging, do you know that it could well “brick” your precious DVD players in your $2000 Mac Book Pro? ...For a while, I contemplated cracking the firmware, and breaking the region codes. Seriously Apple, you are so annoying as way, all the other manufactures play nice, why can’t you? But I never got around too it, and I could just sell this quirky laptop and let the next buyer deal with the drama. Fortunately, when I upgraded the laptop to the latest OS Leopard, it allowed me to reset the region code one last time! Thank God, I was jumping for joy; one time was all I needed, one chance. The DVD player worked again, I was able to play The History of Art a five part DVD series this weekend, and it made me all happy again.

Start Again, Repeat

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-07-15T00:05:29-05:00

Life is sad at the moment. Loop, Loop, Loop! Happy Joy Happy Joy Joy Tear, Joy Jerk Rain, Mud, Rain, Mud Little feet, sharp nail Salty ice cream, sweet Pill Sleep, dream, lifeless.

Facebook Badge

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-06-24T20:11:29-05:00

So I quickly made a Facebook badge today. Because I didn't know it had existed before. How cool right? So yeah, that was fun, for about five minutes. I really recommend people make a FB badge, especially if everything you do, and all of your contacts all centralized through Facebook. That way when someone wants to know something about you, you can just re direct them to your FB profile page, via the badge. It could just be me, but I found this to be really cool. Who knew? Haha. They come in two versions, one with HTML still images, and one with a more interactive javascript.

Guy and Glasses Part II

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-06-24T01:54:58-05:00

(null)

I love guys who wear Glasses

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-06-24T01:50:07-05:00

I would like my future boy friend to be something like this. He doesn’t have to be like drop dead gorgeous because this photo has been photoshoped to death, oh believe me, I know. What I’m looking for are some defining characteristics. I love guys with glasses, wow, glasses are hot woot. Second, he’s tall, and slim. Which I also like a lot. Doesn’t this guy look like a faux superman of sort? He’s hot. And I love the plaid pant as well, goes really well with the wife-beater. Not too serious, and a perfect summer look. So yeah, I’ve been thinking more about what I want in a guy lately. If we don’t know what we want, then even if it falls from the sky we won’t know it. Right? and if I know what I want, then I can make a list, and goals to obtain it. So yes, hottie of my dream please come to me.

I love Sprint

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-06-20T16:29:19-05:00

SPRINT Samsung Instinct launched today June 20, 2008. Dear Sprint: I would officially like to be a spokesperson for you. I know that most people do not really have a favorable relationship with their mobile company, but I love Sprint! I do. Sprint is the best mobile phone company that I have ever been with, and T-Mobile is the worst. I love that SPRINT would call me up periodically and ask to see how everything is, and I would just say, I love your service. The price performance is fantastic; I never use up my 450 minutes per month, because nights and weekend starts at 7:00pm. Seriously, no one who has a full time job 9-5 job has that much time to be talking on the phone anyway, and besides I use SMS so much more often. Right now, I have a TREO 755p, which is a awesome phone, and I do love it. I haven’t even had it for a year yet, and I’m excited about the Instinct. It looks amazing! The touch is intuitive, the design is sexy, and I’m a very design centric person. I have never been an owner of the iphone. I do have an itouch that looks and feels like an iphone, and I have to say, I’m bored with it. The technology, the hype, it’s not that great you guys. Seriously, it’s a great phone, but it’s not the best phone. And it certainly cannot be the best phone for everyone. So yes, I’m a Sprint Fanboy! Please Sprint, please give me an Instinct for free, your cost of acquiring a new customer is way high! So why not let me be your promoter. I’m young, intelligent, good-looking, technology centric, I can be very persuasive ;) Okie, you don’t even have to give it to me for free, just let me buy it at the same price as a new customer, and non of this current customer pricing madness. I always felt that was unfair, although I would never cancel my contract with you because I love you so much. You’ll leave me no choice but to run away to some other mobile company if you don’t allow me to get what I love. Yours truly,

Battle Chips for Mobile Devices

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-06-09T07:57:02-05:00

I just read interesting story this morning about chips. The battle is brewing and coalitions are forming. The heavy weights are betting on new technologies, and partnerships. The usual suspects are AMD and INTEL. For the graphic market there is AMD ATI and NVIDIA. And now there are smaller players like ARM and VIA for mobile internet devices, and netbooks. The usual story about supply chain management, porters five forces, changing economies, maturing industries, and profit centers. Computing used to be about performance, performance, performance, where Intel kicks AMD’s butt around, and now it’s about performance and, energy consumption, portability, price, design, etc. Intel doesn’t look like a giant monster, well it’s, just not as agile. Nvidia looks to be the rogue state, it’s pretty much rocking the industry, and changing the rules, I hope so, because, well that’ll make everything more interesting. What does this mean for you and me? More portable devices like the iphone will be utilizing these mobile chips, for gaming and entertainment. These mobile internet devices and netbooks are cheap, and fun, more accessible for everyone. The majority of the people only use their laptops for chatting, surfing the Internet, and watching youtube, facebook, read the news, and play flash based games. Really, we don’t need a giant of a brick to do all that. We just want times that are more fun, more battery power! I want a netbook, when will Apple release a netbook, maybe today? How cool would that be. That would get me interested for sure. Chips are for kids.

A Chapter of My Life

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-06-03T22:16:44-05:00

May 23 I graduated from RIT with my MBA and it sure does feel funny. ... Moving is a very final act, there’s nothing like packing everything into your car and taking it across country. First off, the packing part is intense because we always accumulate more things than we think. Therefore, everything that makes it to the car has to pass through heart breaking rounds of value. ...Driving for twenty plus hours might seem scary at first, but really, the driving aspect isn’t at all that difficult. It was interesting though, the car didn’t have air conditioning, so it was hot, meaning I had to have my windows down the whole time, but that meant that the wind was going to be blowing and making lots of noise, meaning I had to increase the stereo volume, so yeah, there were many trade offs. And to top it off, my sister and I have nick name my 1997 Honda Civic DX, the “turtle”. ... Maybe it was slow because it was packed, but it’s slow, it can barely with all the weight. ...I only saw two cars get pull over during the entire 20 hours drive. Last time, I made this trip 20 cars got pulled over; I guess it wasn’t their day to write tickets. And I was so sleepy, sleepy, there were moments I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep. ... 7$, followed by Ohio $6.80, and then New York, some $3.50. and Illinois with like $2.50. ...Because then you get to count down how many miles are left. 1044 miles, and then half way it was 522 miles. ... Well between Rochester and Omaha, it’s some dinky city right outside of Chicago. Oh yeah, and it was fabulous to pass by all the major city. Just my luck I was passing through Cleveland when it was the afternoon rush hour. ... Nothing at all until Des Moines, and then it’s a home stretch to good old Council Bluffs, Iowa. What does 20 hours of driving do for me? ...Every mile that goes by takes me away from disappointment, sadness, anxiety, and frustration. ... I’m sad to be away from those that I love, I’m away, but I’m there in spirit. It’s sad those that no more new memories will be made. Every mile that goes by I’m one step closer to my near future. What ever that may be a new job, a new life, a new beginning. ... Fresh of the bat with my spanking new MBA, I’m fearless. ... No matter what happens from here on out, it’s going to be okie.

Sustainable Consumption My Vision

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-05-22T15:25:09-04:00

As Americans we do more, eat more, consumer more, have more waste than any other nation. According to a recent report by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, if present consumption and production patterns remain unchanged, and if population growth continues unabated, we will need two planet Earths in 50 years' time. We have reached the point yet where our behaviors are aligned with our “environmental values.” A host of cultural, economic, social and psychological factors affects the way we behave, often locking us into unsustainable consumption habits. Even those who say they will buy organic food for environmental reasons and the good of their own health may change their minds if products outstrip their budget. ...So how can we consume in a more sustainable manner? Initiatives are needed in areas such as informing and educating consumers, stimulating the ‘green’ market, and fostering greater cooperation with the retail sector. Consumers need to be empowered and better informed when deciding what to buy. Crucially, they need clear, reliable and science-based information about the environmental performance of goods. One proposed set of action is to have LABELS. We already have labels for nutritional values on all consumer products. ...So why not have an environmental LABEL that tell you the impact on the environmental, health and safety of that product. The pros of this are that we know that information empowers people to act differently. ... In the future, can we not have carbon counters, and energy watts counters as well? Would not be amazing that people can track their usage, and be proud to say that I consume X amount of output from the earth, and this is how much I have done to offset that. How amazing would that be? The cons of this is that there will be much resistance from companies who are not ready for consumer to know how much resources, and damages it takes to create that much beloved gadget. They may not have all the information, and the cost will be tremendous to set up such a system. Nothing is impossible; it just takes will power and lots of determined intelligent people working together to set up the system. Countries are setting targets for their Co2, and other emission limits. Europe is so far ahead of the United States! Corporations are moving to limit their carbon footprint, and some have even moved to be carbon neutral. There will be a day when individuals will have the choice to be carbon neutral as well, that is one vision for the future. ...We must find ways to use energy and resources more efficiently, improve production processes, develop new technologies and continue to innovate. Above all, we must develop new patterns of consumption and lifestyles that are more sustainable.

Running Away

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-05-17T18:42:48-04:00

Now little Lisa is only 9 years old She's trying to figure out why the world is so cold Why she's all all alone and they never met her family Mama's always gone and she never met her daddy ...Mama is on drugs getting high up in the kitchen ...She tries to resist but then all he does is beat her Tries to tell her mom but her mama don't believe her Lisa is stuck up in the world on her own Forced to think that hell is a place called home Nothing else to do but get her clothes and pack She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back. ...She's steady trying to figure why the world is so cold Why she's not pretty and nobody seems to like her ...Now Nicole stuck up in the world on her own Forced to think that hell is a place called home Nothing else to do but get some clothes and pack She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back. ...She's steady trying to figure why the world is so cold So she pops x to get rid of all the pain ...Emotions run deep and she thinks she's in love ...The father bails out he ain't ready for a kid ...Erica is stuck up in the world on her own Forced to think that hell is a place called home Nothing else to do but get her clothes and pack She say she's about to run away and never come back.

Clarity and Focus

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-05-11T14:22:35-04:00

I finally got a chance to see Persepolis yesterday and it was so worth it. I’m going to move this up to my third favorite movies of all times. ... It was a reminder of me to be true to myself, to be courageous, to believe. ...For everything sacred about going to college it’s a highly rigid institution denying creativity by offering structure and the promise of a middle of the road future. ... I lost myself in college from all the new things that I have learned. I learned to questions, to analysis, to prove, to reason, all the education have not increased clarity only confusion and more questions. When I went to college I was focused, single minded, concentrated, determined, I know what I wanted from life, and I wasn’t going to stop at anything until I got what I wanted. ... Minh Tran full of hopes and dreams: future CEO of tomorrow, future leader of the world. 2 weeks from now, I will graduate with my MBA. Having a Masters of any degree is an accomplishment that a minority has achieved. It’s something that I have always wanted, and can now check off my list of things to do. ...For all my short life of 22 years, I have lived a life of integrity and have nothing done anything intentional to hurt another. There is basic goodness in me by the grace from God. No, I will not do anything; I will not sacrifice at all cost to achieve the unachievable. I only have myself to sacrifice; I am the greatest gift that is. ... I’m a product of one out of the million of sperms that faithful night, and it chooses me. Already the odds are in my favor; I’m the chosen one. If my life were a 2D animation, it wouldn’t be like Persepolis. ... The struggles that I went though were on par with her on an emotional and mental level. I am not a deviant; I have chosen the righteous path for the past 22 years. I’m a lost child with no life script. I will be writing my own script very soon, and rest assured it will be of epic proportion, it has begun. The road to hell is paved with good intension; the road of heaven is paved with suffering and pain. ... There is value in destruction because if gives opportunities for construction, hope, dreams, faith. If there is only life, and no death, the value of the life is diminished.

Breathe in Breathe Out

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-05-04T15:38:06-04:00

Life goes on even when we are not ready. Sometimes change is slow and at least we can prepare ourselves for them, sometimes they just hit you in the face hard! I don’t know what I want to do with myself, and I don’t like telling people that I won’t know what to do with myself. They turn about and give me this incredulous look, you are your MBA and you don’t know what to do with yourself. ...Family and Friends are a great indicator of where things will be 1 year from now, 3 years from now. My mom is dying, so it’s easy for me to justify going back to Omaha for at least the summer because I don’t know much longer she will have. What will I do in Omaha, get a job? Maybe, there will be other distractions so I can just run around a bit longer. It’s a good thing to tell your family that you love them because one day they might not be there anymore. I love my parents for all the sacrifices, perseverance, and strength they have shown me. I love my little sister for just being there, listening to my psychobabble, and just being herself. I love my older sister for being the hard decision, and being supportive in the most difficult of circumstances. In the end, we’ll still have each other to hug and cry. I confess my life has been rather erratic lately, bound by deadlines, commitments, and schedules. Theirs is just so much going on, and I could have planned for them accordingly, but it’s just a difficult situation. ...1) Graduate from school: get homework, quizzes, papers, exams, and everything in on time. Just by doing that I’m going to be ok to graduate and not have everything fall apart. 2) Consistently apply for jobs, so that I may have something line up for the summer. 3) Clean up the apartment, do laundry, throw away extras, and box up. ...Those are just some of the things that I have to do in the next 3 weeks. The next three weeks will be one of the most challenging, tiring, desperate periods of my life. Even if everything goes as planned, it’s still going to be nuts, and who knows what life events the Gods have planned for us beyond our immediate control? I just want to close up this chapter of my life. This is one of those moments where I can specify the ending of something, and the beginning of something else. Call it a milestone or whatever; the passing will be significant, that I know for sure.

I'm Sorry

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-04-19T01:37:51-04:00

We made a mistake you can understand - yeah ...If I made you cry If I said a lie I am just a man Please give me your hand I have more to give ...I am just a man Please give me your hand ...If I made you cry If I said a lie I am just a man Please give me your hand I have more to give ...I am just a man Please give me your hand if y made you cry if y said a lie I am just a man Please give me your hand I have more to give You have to believe I am just a man Please give me your hand I am just a man.. Please give me your hand..

no one no one noooo one

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-04-15T00:10:30-04:00

...Everything's going to be alright People keep talking they can say what they like But all i know is everything's going to be alright No one, no one, no one Can get in the way of what I'm feeling No one, no one, no one Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you Can get in the way of what I feel for you ...Everything's going to be alright People keep talking they can say what they like But all i know is everything's going to be alright No one, no one, no one Can get in the way of what I'm feeling No one, no one, no one Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you Can get in the way of what I feel ...I know people will try try to divide something so real So till the end of time I'm telling you there ain't no one No one, no one, no one Can get in the way of what I'm feeling No one, no one, no one Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you Can get in the way of what I feel for you oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Dream becomes Reality

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-04-13T13:05:27-04:00

I sleep like a baby and maybe that’s the reason why I’m sleeping more lately. ... Sleep is not reality, the physical self is sleeping, but the mental self is somewhere else. I used to never dream, and lately, I’m getting more vivid dreams and crazy images. A couple of days ago I had a dream that I left the country and was in Paris. I didn’t know what I was doing Paris, but that I just had a small luggage and not much money. ... Well I did have one persons contact in case I was desperately dying or something. This wasn’t a vacation trip, it was a life adventure, a test of life. Can I really survive on my own, in a foreign country, what would I do, how can I live, where do I live? ...So I walked about for hours, not really knowing where to go or what to do. I didn’t know French but I didn’t really need help either. First order of need, food and shelter, and yet I just walked to nowhere. ... And yet the first place that I stopped in my dream was a bridge. ...When I awoke, I was in a hospice of some type and someone was talking to me, I didn’t really understand was going on, they just asked me more questions, assuming that I was just a student backpacking through Europe or something. ... It couldn’t have been more than a few days, and I’m defeated. ...I didn’t know if I wanted to give me a blaaa answer, and went on my way, but I responded with an intelligent macro impact, and an micro impact, in English of course. He was taken a back, that 1) I spoke English, and 2) a well put together response. He cornered me after I got out of work, and that scared the heck out of me, in my dream. ... Give presentations and stuff, I gladly accepted, even though I didn’t even know who this stranger was. ...I don’t even know what Paris looks like, I’ve never been, I just know I wasn’t in Paris anymore. ... I still don’t know French, so I’m guessing it couldn’t have been more than 6 months since I arrived there. ... Or is that the case, would I sell myself anyhow, because it’s my nature. ...I don’t know, I just know that a life changing even will happen that would drive me to do something crazy. I already know what this event is, and when it happens, the domino will fall, and the sequence will began. I’m 22, I don’t know what life is about, I don’t even know me. ...I hope not to die young, but if I do, please let it be an epic death.

Ending Starts Again

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-04-08T12:36:34-04:00

Just about one month left before I graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology with my MBA, honestly I’m somewhat scared because I don’t have a job lined up. Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen, you go to good school, get good grades, and a great job will land in your face right. I do not regret anything that I have done during this past 4 years. I went to college in 2004, and graduated with my masters in 2008. ... And no, I didn’t study like a dog, I did that for a few years, and had a lot of fun. Somewhere along the way, I thought I had everything planned out. ... I have no idea, I stuck with it anyway, because I figured that it was too time consuming to change. Then I went for my MBA, because it seemed logical, and I was still in the mood for school, and I wanted to get it done and over it. There’s still about one month left of school, and this is what I came up with. I went to college because I didn’t know what to do with myself. It was the logical expected thing to do. My parents always told me education will free me to choose my life, have a good job that’s not laborious, I can work with my mind and not with my hands. ... So, it’s going to be May 23, 2008 and I have satisfied at least two people’s dream. ...I’m not at all complaining about my education it was a hard earned expensive education that will have great positive return for the rest of my life. Already I have a leg up on so many people out there, happy sad angry loving energetic people of all life walk and dreams. ...A long time ago, I made a list of goals, 100 + things I would like to do before I die. That list is still somewhere, I just have to find it. Is life just about making goals and completing it? ... I’m 22, what is the meaning of my life. I had a conversation with this guy Bruce yesterday, he’s 50 and is about to finish his MBA as well. He still doesn’t know what to do with his life. ...I don’t want to fly through life, and I don’t want to have to agonize each day either. In the end, does life make the person, or does the people write their own life. ... Please let me live long enough to find my purpose. I have so much to offer; I can make a difference, I promise.

Find me a Coffee House

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-03-10T13:44:11-04:00

Are any ideas yours, or has someone else already thought of it? The issue with problem recognition is that some time your realize that you have a problem, something you don’t. Then you have to choose to act on fixing that problem, or just learning to live with it. Someone I know has this idea to try to advertise for local businesses in a social network of sort where people can write reviews for restaurants, and explorer there local community. Users can add images of the location, stick it on too a Google map locator, and even stream videos. Doesn’t that all sound like a website that some of us might have stumbled upon? Today, I found. Plazes.com, yet another web 2.0 startup. Why haven’t we heard of this before, well because it was started somewhere in Europe, and is very popular in Europe. But not, in the United States. Anyhow, I signed up right away, and typed, in my city. Rochester, NY. Behold, wow! There were lots of locations, and cool reviews already. There are tons of people using Plazes already in Rochester, NY. And RIT. I’m excited. I see locations and events that I’ve never even heard of. I’m a big coffee fan, so I’m always on the look out for new fun coffee corners. So what does this say, well? If you have a business idea, do something about it, quickly. Chances are someone out there will have the skill set, and determination to do with before you. Second, even if you find that someone else has done it, maybe you can do better, the worldwide market is huge, and there is room for a little fish, in this big sea. Even if it’s just for your amusement. Enjoy. ~ithinkminh

Freedom at Last

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-03-05T14:33:42-05:00

I just finished CLOSER and how fitting it’s for my current state of emotion. There was the one part when Dan broke up with Alice. She was complete fantastic, and was able to perform exactly how I’ve been feeling this past week. Despite everything that has happened, and continues to unfold, I still completely believe in love! Love is food for the soul. I scream in ecstasy and yearn again to fall in love, for if only a fleeting moment. Desperate for it to touch me again, caress my skin, and tug at my heart warmly. I want to be swimming in a sea of soft kisses, floating, and airless, as if flying to nowhere. Idle and suspended for a thousand year. My love is mine to give. And I will let it flow out, gush out. The natural tendency would be to fold and cocoon into a cave. To hide to heal, to put up a wall, to run away, because the hurt is deep. Can love not heal love? If love does conquer all, then love has to heal eternal pain, anger, despair, and disappointment. I am thankful that still the choice is mine, this freedom to love freely. It’s not so bad at all, it’s not that difficult. I just have to live optimistically, and trust for the best. I have done nothing wrong. This quest for epic love carries on. ~ithinkminh

A Thousand Stab

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-29T23:37:59-05:00

Painful Violent Angst Emotion Ecstasy Numb Little Tears Quiver ~ithinkminh

Rejecting Love Rejections

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-29T09:40:35-05:00

Dear Love, Thank you for your kind statement on February 1. During this month of love and care, I have gone over the love terms with special consideration; I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to not love me anymore. This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejection offers from a variety of sources, jobs, scholarships, grades, sleep, and friends. With so much bombardment of rejection, it is impossible for me to accept all refusals. Despite your outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting previous lovers, I find that your rejection does not meet with my needs at this time. Therefore, I will initiate my love seeking ritual with you in mind. I look forward to seeing you. Best of luck in refusing love, Emo bf ithinkminh PS. You can break by heart, and I will still love you with all the little broken pieces.

Aussiebum Hotness

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-26T23:25:57-05:00

This is amazing. Simply Awesome. Must watch over and over again.

Imagine Life Cycle of Love

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-24T14:17:03-05:00

Music is for fools and loners who have much to say and lack the will power. Has there been moments when you hear a song and it somehow is perfectly describing the dramatic situation that is surrounding your current environment and state of mind. There is power in forceful strong beats, and silence. Imagine. As I lay dying, blood streaming and streaking across the glass floor. The mood is dark the music slight and soft. Angelic arias softly fills the rooms, and the feeling of love and joy, flies around. This person is going peacefully and gracefully. Look at me, look into my eyes. Come to me, look at me, look into your heart, and the images flash, life flashing, epic moments. Endless love drained. Fatalistic attraction. Is there a song and expression for this? Imagine.

Show Me the Crack

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-24T13:37:56-05:00

I’m just a random user and consumer of the products generated by other people. ... People want to understand why you buy something, the first conception of wanting, the prepurchase research, the process you go about that, the finals decision, the point of purchase, the post purchase feelings, the relative comparison to other socialites, and the buyer remorse. ...One technique that has been used quite successfully by consumers is to ask for other people’s opinion. Advertisers try to sway opinions buy having experts give their point of view, and throw you a pitch. Sometimes they are very successful, if the topic is complex and they really have a convincing point. Other times, the close people in your network accidentally sell a product. ... You visit someone’s how and see something you really like, and then go home and purchase the same thing. ... It’s the same idea, by possessing the same items; somehow, you gain some social momentum and influence. ...Feedback and reviews are the digital equivalent of this social exchange. Some companies do a great job of allowing customers to provide feedback and influencing customers opinions. ... If I see reviews from a few people, I might think that well, this product isn’t popular, and isn’t attractive. In addition, move to a different product in the same category and look for something that has more reviews. ... The comments are by far the most important because you get to see how the products are being used. Most of the time the defect in product design meets the creative destruction of the consumer, and some of the cases are just well out there, but IT could have been me syndrome kicks in, and really influence your behavior. ... On CNET they have experts doing video demonstrations and giving the top to bottom reviews, most of the time it’s quite boring, and useless. They don’t add any value at all what so ever, and you feel like they are being paid to give you a quick sell. ...There should be a website were customers show people how they are using the products, the abuse the product goes through, and how they are actually using the product. It’s amazing how many times a product is used for something besides their primary reason. ... I haven’t came across a website like this yet, and it would have mass appeal, useful, and people would love it. One site that is very cool, and does something like this, although far removed from this concept is Will It Blend. ... Imaging the power of epinions plus crazy videos of customers being destructive, or being so afraid to use their pristine new gadget. ...

Cage and Spirit of Guns

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-13T23:38:47-05:00

Do you ever feel like there’s just too many choices available? How do you know what is best to choose, are you afraid to choose? What if you made the wrong choice, and picked something sub-par out of all the choices available? Maybe it’s best to not pick at all. ... Here’s everything I have, and my first born child. ...Do consumers want 100 choices, with matching colors, and 3 different price plans. ... And if we did, are we more satisfied with all the choices available? ... Because there are so many choices, consumers are afraid to make the wrong choice. Second, when do do make a decision, they are simple not surprised and delighted by what they have picked, because it has everything that they wanted. ... Consumer expectations have increased to an all time high, the benchmark is just off the scale. ... It’s all the marketers fault, they have soul their soul, and promised lies and truth. So much so that dreams do become reality, and nightmares comes true as well. ... The choice is your loyal consumer, at least you think so. We all want the freedom to have a choice. ... We all have a perspective on what that freedom means. For some people freedom is as far away from your parents, family, stalker, job. ... Physical freedom to walk again, emotional freedom to feel, to hurt again, mental freedom to see things in a new direction, to break the bind and chains of the status paradigm. All I want is my little sand box. So that I can build castles and innovate, and break down the sand, and even throw the sand out of the sand box. ...Spirt to go on, spirit to not feel like I need or want, spirit to just be constant, by not moving, you are moving at a faster rate of resistance to a world that is spinning out of direction.
...

Believing In Me

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-12T15:08:11-05:00

Being the underdog means the crowd will cheer you on. You just have to believe that you can outwit and out maneuver the big players. Size is not a problem, being smalls allows for razor focus, and reinvention on moments noticed. In a world of big players, the little guy does get noticed. Using your weaknesses and pointing out your weakness, at least that all you’ll have to deal with. The list is short, and everything else is great. Little people unite! Engaging the world from a shared perspective from the ground up, every thing does look a bit different from 5 feet 2 inches. Today I’m using my ingenuity to solve problems not my size. ~ithinkminh

Advertising World e-merging

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-04T14:47:52-05:00

ZenithOptimedia, Publicis, Leo Burnett, Saatchi, Omnicom, Ogilvy & Mather, and WPP. What do all of these name even mean and why should we care? These are the global ad agencies behind some of the most creative and powerful brands on the face of this planet. Huge clients like Dell, Unilever, SONY, & AT&T fork over billions of dollars to these ad agencies. There has been a recent trend in global media consolidation. Again we are seeing more creative agencies being bought up by the big full service ads. There is a storm brewing, just not in our backyard. The battle is fought in emerging marketings like Brazil, Russia, India and China. Together these four country account for 50% of the worlds population and almost as much influence in the global economy. The western markets of Western Europe and the USA are so saturated and well understood that it’s not exciting anymore. Creative prowl and innovation are coming out of these emerging countries and spreading to the developed world. What does this mean for consumers in the USA? That we aren’t the center of attention anymore. Now would be a really great time to try to get a job with one of these agencies, especially if the person has international experience. Culturally, if the person is of Brazilian, Russian, Indian, or Chinese descent. They could do very well. I’m Vietnamese, and well Vietnam is on the rise as well. There is tremendous opportunities there especially with marketing and advertising. The Chinese Olympic in 2008 will be awesome, and hopefully will increase the overall appeal of the Asian markets in general. The Asian Halo affect.

The Disney U Never Saw

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-03T00:14:11-05:00

It’s funny and amazing that straight french footballers would do such thing. Again doing what is not expected can pay dividend. I just find it super funny, and quite sexy as well. Brings Disney into a whole new dimension, it’s never the same again. XxX

Exploding Heart

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-02-01T12:21:09-05:00

This is me.

Wine explosion

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-30T10:55:47-05:00

Wine drinking is almost always potent and dangerous because it’ simply too delicious to stop. One thing most people forget is that the alcohol content in wine is much stronger than beer. Some wine can have almost 3X the alcohol, and 3X the potency. In addition, the alcohol in wine affect people differently then beer. Some people may need to drink lots of beer to get a buzz, and just a few cups of wine to get tipsy. Again everything in moderation is the key. My suggestion is to drink white and red wine, so new wine lovers can get a varietal experience on their taste plate. Also, try wine with food, almost always, wine is supposed and works best with food. My experience is that red wine almost always requires food to taste their best. White wine can on average taste great own their own because they have a stronger fruity taste to them. I had a great wine this weekend, from France. I don’t have the bottle with me, as soon as I get a picture of the bottle I will put it up. Here’s a proof of concept of my wine drinking experience. Quite amusing, and notice the plastic cup. How unsophisticated of me.

New Viral Marketing Rules

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-24T16:10:05-05:00

Some Web 2.0 consultant probably came up with that and made a bundle of money. ...Whenever something new comes around, a new buzz word, a new technology, a new expression, a new complication. Initially people will be drawn to the buzz, but once they get there. ...I would have to say when it comes to advertising, media, and communication in general. The best route is route is to keep it dead simple, make it personal, and give people a reason to pass it on. ... I can create simple Mii that represent me, there’s some attachment to avatar. ... how do real people feel when their avatar falls in love? I would love to see some hard behavioral research done in this area. ...Niche markets are great, one hit wonder products, segment specific, psychographics, and all that jazz are laser like and can of course attract specific targets. I’m sure out there on in the Internet, some people will love what I have to write, other will just pass on by. Viral marketing is the new “Word of Mouth” game. People, there are so much research on Word of Mouth over the past 40 years, all of that is more efficient, scaleable, time, GPS, personalized and bundled into what we now know as Viral Marketing. It’s not new science, it’s old science masked with nip-tuck and Botox. I’ll tell you when something that’s Viral is a hit! ... That’s when you know you have a major hit. ... Sure there have been major viral marketing campaign that have caught on with certain demographic. ...Sure it does, technology, the Internet, wireless communication, HD, all that good stuff makes it better and well more complicated. Sure I can see images are more crisp, and clean with HD. ... It must make their production cost go up so much, and well the appeal less appealing since people are not as perfect, and sexy. ... They really must be shooting those steroid and Botox now in the era of HD television. ... People, just because the technology is availabe doesn’t mean it should be incorporated. ...

Cosmic Balance

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-23T12:18:53-05:00

This week has been interesting so far as everyone else is concerned. I guess it has been great for me as well. I’ll start with the good news that I had received from other people. ...My friend Jason got a job with Bose. And he informed me that employee discounts are up too 40% off. ... Maybe, when I visit Boston over spring break, I’ll be able to pick up a few new gadgets as well. ... And for 40% off, who could pass them up? ...Another fantastic friend from Abraham Lincoln High School, Muriel got to perform at Carnegie Hall, and got free tickets to the Conan O'Brien taping show, and got shook his hand! ... You were in New York and you didn’t even call me up? Oh well, people can forget things when they are in the front row of the Conan O’Brien taping show. ...Then speaking with RIT friend Robert, he informed me that one of his friend made it to become a contestant on Survivor. Like seriously strange things happnen to people all the time, and yes, it could even happen to you, whether you want it to or not. ...My younger sister got all the money stolen from her purse. ... Oh well they have bad stuff coming their way. ...I really do believe that good things will happen to good people, in their own way. ... Just like you don’t want other people to judge you. People are driven to do many things for extremely different circumstances and perspective. And for whatever reason it’s always the right choice at that moment. People use the best of their reasoning, emotion, feelings, knowledge, education, training, experience, and intuition to make the just in time decision against all odds. Of course, they wouldn’t sit there and analyze it like how I’m doing now, because that would be “OMZG” nothing could get done, the cycle of life would grind to a halt and all the fun and interesting spontaneity would die from ridged suffocation.

Bundle Mac Bundle

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-23T12:01:42-05:00

I actually got 14 different softwares for a rock bottom price. I got in on the The MacHeist Bundle at the last minute, I didn’t want to regret not buying all those cool softwares, even though I only wanted a few it really was worth the price. I’m looking forward most to trying out VectorDesigner. I wanted something simpler to work with than Adobe Illustrator. Vector graphic is the way tot go due to the simplicity and clean crisp commercial quality like output. ... Simply because people ask me all the time how to do something, well, instead of having to show people how do to something. I can just show the demo on line, and I can even post it to my website, that way other people who have the same problem can benefit as well. The best part was that MacHeist donates a massive 25% of your purchase to a charity of your choice. ... Seriously who wants to feel hungry, I hate it when I’m hungry, so hopefully my contribution will help out at least few other people. ...I think that it’s awesome that people can get together, can put out a good software bundle that average people would actually want. So that means average people can try out new products, and be more educated. The direct distribution of developers to consumer is amazing. Seriously after a software has been developed, the more people who use it, the cost per person goes down exponentially. I don’t know why some developer feel like they have to put a really high price on their software. Gosh, you want as many people to use your software as possible so that your brand equity will increase, and you can charge more in the future. And since people already use version 1. They are more likely to pay a upgrade price for version 2. ...I just like that a little part of my consumption today actually helped out poor people who could never in their lifetime imagine the use for any of these softwares. The irony of it all. I’m glad I partook in this experiment, and I can’t wait until MacHeist III comes around next year.

RIT Democracy Now

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-21T20:03:33-05:00

“I'm auctioning off the rights to live in the room next year. ...First of all I’m pretty sure that this listing is against the housing contract, so it should be voided, and any the buyer and seller of this transaction should be well punished to the fullest extent as to send a message to others who are engaged in this action to stop. There is a system for getting the best housing on campus, and this isn’t the way to arbitrage the system. ...As a current graduate student of RIT, and an alumni, I have had first hand experience with the way RIT housing operation is run. ... I was able to live in one of the special interesting dorm my first 2 years, and it was awesome! I was able to network with like minded students, and have formed a lasting connection with some of them. ...I decided to move off campus so I can experience the joy of living in Rochester. Rochester has many wonderful nooks and cracks, that RIT students never get to experience because they live on campus. The reason why I decided to move off campus was because 1) it was cheaper 2) I had a car 3) I didn’t want to end up living in on of the not as nice apartments on campus that are slated to be torn down. ...Even those are matched on a lottery system, where any students who wants an apartment could be entered into the lottery. If apartments are seen as a rare commodity, then why not use it to motivate students to enhance their academic performances. ...We already have a seniority system for signing up classes, why not for apartments as well? ...All the graduate students can have first dip, because we pay the most, and well, we are most entrenched at RIT anyway, so why shouldn’t we have first pick? ...The first objection would be that people who want to live together aren’t in the same grade. ...This is one of the main drivers for people to move off campus anyway. Well, this was the main driver by the four guys who lived below my apartment at Riverton Knolls, an apartment off campus. ...The smartest cookies, are not the most social people, who could network their way into a nice apartment. It’s generally the people who care the most, ie social people, who wants their own room, to get it on with their significant other, who will get an apartment space at University Commons. ... Please feel free to do a full pledge survey, focus groups, to gain insights in to one of the main causes of dissatisfaction amongst alumnus at the Rochester Institute of Technology. ...We have the technology and database system readability available at RIT to implement a housing selection process that is both based on a meritocracy and seniority level. I propose that a combination of the two be used to make it both a positive reinforcement to motivate students to do well and to reward return students who gain seniority level. ...This is unfair, and will be a source of discontent, especially once people really publicize it on easily accessible avenues like the ever popular social networking sites like facebook.com and craigslist.com. ... The $200.00 price or lower, is an arbitrary number, the fact that there is even a price on the apartment that is free for all who quality isn’t democratic. ...wt=nw&pub=ithinkminh&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'addthis', 'scrollbars=yes,menubar=no,width=620,height=520,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,status=no,screenX=200,screenY=100,left=200,top=100'); return false;" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank">

Scary Facebook Find

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-21T19:11:58-05:00

Facebook is awesome for people to network and even find a job. Lately there has just been a torrent of new applications that people have been playing and adding too. One of my favorite apps though, is the image. It’s just easy to add pictures to facebook and for your friends to tag you as well. Well, I was just browsing when I came across the image below. Seriously, this is the kinda of images that you would never want to surface onto facebook, because potential friends, co-workers, your parents, your teacher, your future employers, would be like 0-o? Yes, we are talking about a major self brand damage, unless your day and night job involves walking and standing on the busy shady corner street. So beware facebook onlookers, people are watching what goes on your facebook profiles. I’m glad that facebook gives you so much control over your privacy settings. You just have to be vigilant and monitor your most popular channel of advertising about yourself.

Paper Nightmare

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-21T15:09:48-05:00

I had three meetings today and they were absolutely atrocious. Seriously, like why do we even need meetings. Please we can’t do everything by ourself and we need other people to do some of the work, which is great thing? ... Because work expectation is unevenly distributed and quality is like a pie, there are some good piece, and some clumpy piece as well. Crappy work is worst then no work at all. No work means that you didn’t feel like doing work, but I least you admit and took accountability. Crappy work, is you didn’t want to do work, but you didn’t want to look bad, so you just slab something, anything together. ...Instructors should give clear and precise instructions as too what is expected and what is needed, as to avoid any confusion. ... I think that it’s despicable that they say they want something, and when you deliver on it, it’s not what they were expecting so they give you a poor grade. ... Read a good book, meeting cool people and have interesting conversations, it’s so much better for you. ...Do some research to further your knowledge, and get people to help you out. Solve some problems, some real problems, students are way more creative then old people, because we are more idealistic, and we have technology to help us. The key is to ask for help, no one know everything, that’s why there are many people working in groups to solve important problems. We all have special skill sets, and can all contribute to the labor economy. Please help me to last 6 more months of they very end of my school life. ... Seriously do they even read all that stuff? To write 20 pages requires on average 100+ pages of reading. It’s like a 5:1 or 6:1 ratio. I really don’t want to read papers by dead people, papers that are from the last paradigm. I don’t even want to read my own paper.

Software Learning is Hard

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-19T02:12:38-05:00

There are so many cool softwares out there, some very cheap, and some extremely expensive. There are popular software suits like Microsoft Word, Lotus Notes, Open Office, Adobe CS3, etc. Just because it’s widely use and popular due to the heavy handed marketing doesn’t make it any more simple to learn or use. Lately, I’ve really taken a liking to Adobe Illustrator CS3. It’s a powerful tool for creating vector graphics, banners, word arts. Images that are clean and crisp because it’s vector based. I would have to say that Illustrator is about 2X more difficult than Adobe Photoshop. Just because someone is familiar with Photoshop doesn’t mean they can just jump over and can do anything in Illustrator. The learning curve is still extremely high. The one great thing about the whole Adobe Creative Suite is that every single program in the Suite has that consistent look and feel, so you don’t have to relearn what each of the toolbars does, and the help language is similar as well. I created a few simple vector file today, and hopefully with time, and more learning, I can become better versed in this powerful tool. It’s amazing what you can do, especially for web applications. Vectors graphics are just simply crisp and beautiful. That’s why flash based images are so attractive, and why Flash developers get paid the big bucks.

Apple Full of Hot Air

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-15T14:58:39-05:00

I love Apple for all that it represents and what it doesn’t represent. However, over the last few years, due to the popularity of the iPod family and iTouch, iRape, iFollow, iSheep. Well you know the iZombies that just do what the Godzealous like dear Mr. ... There is going to be wrath, and it’s going to come from sensible people who will wake up one day and see that the price value proposition is inflated and that there will be no support level. ... I don’t enjoy it as much as I used too anymore. ...I got an iPod touch for Christmas and it’s amazing. I love it in many way, except for the fact that Apple put some handicap on the damn thing and made it took out some of the functionalities. ... They are releasing a new application package and selling it for $20. ... Seriously this is just taking advantage of the poor consumer to the extreme. ... It’s actions like this that actually justifies the use of consumer piracy. I bought the hardware, so I should be able to maximize the capabilities of my set of hardware. ... Besides once you Jailbreak it, you can install so many more software anyway. ...Again, Apple has come out with a new product innovation, they are first to market, and first into the mind of the consumer. There’s nothing we can do now as customer, but get sucked into their marketing machine. I do hope that Dell, HP, SONY, SamSung can learn from this, and fire up their engine as well. The problem though, it doesn’t matter what new innovation comes out of this, APPLE will always receive the credit. ... I’ll be able to give Apple some salt in their eyes. You just have to reposition APPLE as overzealous, innovative like Microsoft, too simple for the changing taste of consumers. ... Does it come too a point when it’s too light and too thin? ... If I were SONY or HP, I would commission an ergonomic study right now to show that there has to be a weight and balance factor. Take the cards back from Apple, why are they always in control. ...

Confession of Year 2007

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-11T16:35:35-05:00

Life is what it’s, time goes by and wait for no one. ... Lastly, others worry about what is to come, never really content with what they have no, just the what if, and what could occur. ...Our past defines who we are, our credit history, our sexual romantic relationships, our education, our friendship profile, our taste and consumer preferences. All these are a thing of the past that influences our present lifestyle. The job we have right now, the boss, the best friend, the zealous girlfriend, the deadbeat down the street, the dramatic office worker, and the neglected pet. ... We can X out every single one of those unwanted elements with our credit card. ...I lost a boyfriend, gained a new boyfriend, moved out of my apartment, gave up my favorite dog, made it into graduate school, live at a crazy house for 3 months, made an awesome trip to NYC to attend gay pride, worked 4 jobs at the same time, went home to see my lovely parents, started MBA school and rocked! Working for Banana Republic, the boyfriend and I moved in together, had a nervous breakdown revolving scandalous romantic notes, gained 2 new fantastic friends, play many hours of board games, went home to my family, the Tran family all 5 together one more time. ...A little stepping stone that no one can take away, and a little check mark I can mark off my little list of things to do in life. In the end, I will have a piece of paper, it will be enough. ...Wow a job, I really would like to have several offers, but am content to just have one really good that to jump start my career so I can start to pay off some of this crazy pile of student loans. There is no question in my mind of my ability to land an awesome job in the big city. ...I just need a little bit of money each month to break even, and if tough luck comes, I can always sell my high profile tech gadgets. ...Yes, I really want a new card that’s automatic, I’m kind of tired of this manual business. I really just want to press the gas button and go. ... Well if I can buy a buyer for my current car, then I’m set to go. However, I really don’t want to deal with the transactional cost, and it’s just a mess. So wish me luck that I find a good buy and great sell. ...I want to be indestructible, I want to be missed, I want to be wanted, even if that’s just for a few person. ... That said I will have to spend more quality time with respectable people. I won’t have much time, so the people who I decide to vest my time with will be the ultimate challenge. ...

Sex on a Daily Basis a Radical Concept

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2008-01-11T16:09:53-05:00

We are creatures of habits and we do things that can affect us both positivity and negatively as well. Despite what most people say, good habits are hard to come by and hard habits are hard to break. What is required is a major event that have seismic impact to encourage and deter a habit at the same time for the behavior to change. This is why New Years resolutions often fail, why dieting and exercising regiments are only effective for a few weeks, why there are people who are perpetually late, why things we want to do daily, becomes weekly, then monthly, then well, whenever. Three examples from my personal life including behaviors that I want to encourage, and behaviors that I wished didn’t ever grow on me to begin with. ...There maybe some physical composition or chemistry that could give a person preference for day or night. However, I believe that it’s habits that make us day person or a night person. ... It takes a discipline person to what up especially when it’s cold out, or when there isn’t much to do. It’s just much easier to stay in bed, until the after noon, when food is ready, or when the stomach starts to make noise. Most people would stay in bed until they have an appointment of some sort to wake them up. ... Studies shows that people who work monday through friday, sleep in on the weekends, and as result Mondays are hard for people to get back into the routine. I try to wake up in the morning, even when I have things to do, still I fail at life, so I miss out on opportunities. ...It doesn’t matter, it’s quite amazing, that I can be late to anywhere. ... There’s no big stick, people don’t make a big deal out of it. Really being late is a big deal, because it causes people to waste their time. It’s always more stressful for the person who has to wait for the person who is late, because the party begins when the guess arrive. I haven’t come up with a system to make me be on time more often. I’m just going to leave earlier and add in a few minutes just to make sure I an be on time. ...because I fell out of rhythm, the consistency has been broken, therefor it’s exponentially more difficult to jump start again. The simple event to sitting in-front of this laptop for 5 hours pushed me over the edge to blog again. Actually no, it’s the pain of knowing that I have a 20 page research paper due in 48 hours, and not really wanting to work on that. Blogging seems so much easier, and the immediate result will be that everyone reading this blog will know that I have a 20 page paper due in 48 hours, and they will sympathize with me. ...

A hooray to 2007 Corkscrew in 2008

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-31T23:48:22-05:00

Please let me be the way I am so that I can be free to express my opinion and unique expression. I love me because I how can I not love me? I’m afraid to love, because I must give up a part of my soul. Come into my life and teach me a new way, so that I can adopt a new path. Read me a book, so that I can be curious. Draw me a tree, so that new life will grow from it. Catch me a fish, so that I can make bubbles. I’m like a rock, kick me around and I might hit you in the face, but you can use me to hit some other fool as well. I’m hard and soft, full of substance, and full of life. Hardened from experience and pain. I’m like a teddy bear, brining back the old memories, and soft for you to touch. Wrap your hands around me, and I will comfort you. Get to know me, only a few more minutes left of this old year 2007. 2008 will be explosive, will be romantic, will be super nuts! Peace on earth, for the little creatures. xoxo ~ithinkminh PS: Enjoy the firework that I captured in Omaha, Nebraska Firework Show 2008

Last Hurah for 2007

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-31T23:30:35-05:00

The year is coming to an end in a matter of a few hours and I felt that I have to close some loops by writing one last blog. Even though the a new year is coming up oh so fast. 2008 will be a new of new opportunities, new trials and tribulations, new challenges and hearty moments. I haven’t even made any New Year’s Resolution yet, and the usual still trying to make it happen. I hope to gain some weight, and have a few more pieces of muscle. I read a few great books this past year, hopefully I will read more fantastic books in 2008. Still there are much unfinished business in 2007, that I will pleasantly deal with as it comes up. I hope for new things, I hope for much, I hope for all, I hope for old. A toast for the dead, a toast for the living. A tribute to me, a tribute to all. Good luck everyone, ride your horse, and ride it with a steady-hand in 2008. ~ithinkminh

Unlock my VisualDnA

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-29T20:53:52-05:00

I stumped upon the VisualDnA today. Pretty awesome, I love the concept that you can selected a few pictures and then some mumbo jumbo descriptor can tell you what your personality is like. It’s kinda cool though, since the output compares you with all the other people who have chosen from the set of picture. I like the fact that I chose consistently the lower liked pictures, all that means is that I’m more original and unique than all the rest of the 5 million people who looked at those picture before me. Check it out you guys, and see what you get. | iThinkminh |

Close your Eyes and Ride

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-28T17:36:19-05:00

That’s one of the theme that I got from the Positioning book by Al Ries and Jack Trout. ...The first horse to ride is your company ...I do like the analogy that life is like a big race, and that you are just jockeying for a better position, racing into hopefully first place. ... If you can’t win with that one specific horse, you can just find yourself a new horse to race with. ...Sure the driver can lose a few pound, become more flexible, be more determined, more synchronous with the horse, but if the horse isn’t a winning horse, it’s still not going to win. I don’t have a company yet, so I can’t ride that horse. I hope to work for a multinational corporation that’s in a strong growth position. It doesn’t have to be the Google, or the Apple. ... I’m going to ride the current horse that I have right now though, my MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology to get there. ...We don’t know where we are going yet, but we know at we have the right people on the bus, so the destination will be beautiful and awesome regardless. ...I have a crazy family, and they are supportive of me, and all that I want to do. There’s no doubt, they are my daily inspiration, to continuously change and improve, and stay the course of being me. The fourth horse I’m going to ride is that conceptually the idea of randomization and just being there will get be to where I need to be. The first try is the only try, because the second try will also be the first try since the circumstances have changed. ... My decisions will be the best the decision I could have made that that moment in time with all that I know and all that I believe. Therefore there can be no regrets, because I have made the best decision that could and nothing above and beyond. ...I will ride the wind and give it a shot as well. Just as long as it’s not a shot in the foot. Regardless, chance is a hedge against the future of the certain world that is not. ... The slow moving fast thinking always changing uncaring devout minh. 2007 have come to and end and I’m thankful for everything that hasn’t happened to me yet. So that I may enjoy them for the future years to come, the first of many, the first of first. ...

Part 1 Flying Nightmare

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-27T11:54:04-05:00

Due to federal regulation and increased security, just the checking in to get an electronic ticket, and going through the security is hell. If you happen to fall under one of those ethic group that is targeted, security could be very stressful, and might require even more preparation and time. Flying does have it’s perk since you are just sitting on a fast moving locomotive, and you even get a beverage of choice and a small snack if you are lucky. However, I wouldn’t call it being convenient, driving gives you more choices, and you feel like you are more in control of your travel plans. ... Well this has to do with my travel plans and it has been rough from the very beginning. The trip that was supposed to just take at most 6 hours, has now gone into it’s 9 hours and there still no end to the final destination. ...Right away there was a huge line and I mean huge, because of delays and other weather related chain reaction from heavy travel. It took 45 minutes just to get my electronic ticket and to check in my two luggage. Security check was fast and easy, I followed direction to a tee, and the security people didn’t give me any grief at all. ... Thankfully they had an hour and a half delay so I ended up with some extra time to play with my laptop, and new iPod Touch toy I just got for Christmas. ...I had planned for timely travel so I took two dramamine before traveling, however, due to the long delays, I was completely drowsy and sleepy, even before the flight took off. ...When I talked with the “flight coordinator” she surprised me that the flight was still grounded due to some freezing fog and visibility. ... At this time, everyone was extremely tired and sad, because we know that we don’t be able to go anywhere. ...So the first thing we had to do was reschedule for another time, I of-course want the earliest time available to fly home to Omaha, OMA. ... Luckily, by the time I got the counter again, the flight coordinator, said something about 2 slots left, one for her and of-course one for me. ... I had to take a tram, lots of walking, and asking 2 staff people, to find my way out into the street, where I waited for 20 minutes for the Marriott shuttle that only comes at every 30 minute interval between 12:00 AM and 5:00 AM. By the time I got the Marriott, I was exhausted, and I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. The bed was magnificent and ultra comfortable, it would have great to bounce around on the bed, which I did, because I’m silly like that. Good thing I remembered to charge my Palm through my laptop, since my charger is somewhere in my luggage at some unknown location. I really wished that the Marriott would have had free wifi, but they don’t silly them. ...So now I’m off to my breakfast lunch, before I head back to the airport again, right now I’m still in heavenly peace, and away from all the madness. ... It’s 11:15 AM right now, I only have another 45 minutes left at this glorious Marriott room, so I might as well take advantage of it. ...I wished that my parents could have worked for a hotel as a help staff, instead of having to slave away at the madness of a food processing plant for the giant food frozen foods company ConAgra. ...wt=nw&pub=ithinkminh&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'addthis', 'scrollbars=yes,menubar=no,width=620,height=520,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,status=no,screenX=200,screenY=100,left=200,top=100'); return false;" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank">

Intersex is the NEW hermaphrodite

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-21T14:39:25-05:00

Those born with atypical sex characteristics today have many options to live out their life. It’s not as if it’s a death sentence anymore, because the success rate for gender reassignment is common knowledge. I don’t think that parents should decide on the sex of their child at birth because the physical attributes and the emotional gender might not match up as that child matures. I don’t know the in an out of gender confusion, so I can’t speak on this from an experts opinion. ... This whole transgender debate is silly as it’s not even about gender or sex. ... I think it’s more along the line with help “I’m a girl trap in a guys body!” What I can say is that gender confusion, and identity crises has as much to do with the way a child is brought up, as physical attributes. ... Who ever made up that rule, and the people who followed it are mindless mobs. ... Already those roles are fast changing in today's knowledge economies, and they will be redefined much more in the coming year. However, we can still look to developing countries to see cultural differences and gender roles and expressions. Again, gender confusion is as much a product of culture and is misaligned sexual characteristics. ...I would love to be able to wake up in the morning and dress however I feel like without constrained, this mean, the choice to not wear anything and not be ridiculed. ... Well some do, in the fashion industry, the entertainment industry, sex, it’s pretty much fair game. ... Well, that’s starting to chance, they just don’t call it makeup. ... Why can’t men where women’s clothe, yet it’s socially acceptable for women to wear men’s clothing? ...An Androgynous society would be equal and effective in bringing the standards of living up for everyone. Because roles aren’t defined, each person can really do what is their best, without shame, and social regulations will at it’s best be minimized. ... Being Androgynous would take away much of the risk and points of contention, it isn’t a feasible option in today’s fragmented and polarized world of opinions dominated by few, and shared by mobs of brainless content less information toilets. Intersex is a new term to be more socially acceptable, yet it has all the elements of social wreckage. It doesn’t add any value as all; it just makes it more accessible for assimilation and categorization. If I were one of those unique people I would be totally be making a stand now. ...

Why Photographers Hate Creative Cs

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-20T17:55:43-05:00

“Creative Commons turned five years old -- five years of phenomenal growth, thanks in no small part to advocates like the photo-sharing site Flickr. Now, I don't want to piss on CC's birthday cake just for the fun of it. But it does seem clear that an increasing number of photographers -- not just professionals but high-end hobbyists also -- have become disenchanted with the Creative Commons system. ...It's supposed to make sharing your work easier, but it often just makes it more confusing -- creating the kind of misunderstandings that lead to lawsuits. ...Creative Commons is a system that enables you to renounce some or all of your copyright protections -- in the name of sharing. ...Theoretically, we all do, since I can stick your Flickr photo on my blog and link back to you, and maybe this will cause more people to visit your Web site, and -- who knows -- maybe if you're a professional photographer, you'll get a paying gig or two out of it. The fact is, though, that a Creative Commons license isn't necessary for this kind of sharing to happen. People are going to grab your photos anyway for their noncommercial use, because that's the common law of the Web today -- where "fair use" is interpreted very broadly. And if you really, really want to encourage people, you can put a note on your Web site explicitly giving people permission to use your photos, under whatever conditions you set forth. ...The real issue is commercial use -- and this is where we get to who really benefits, at least over the long term. Before Creative Commons, a corporation or ad agency that wanted to use your photo would have to contact you or your photo agency for permission to use it. ...But the end result is that you are building a system enabling commercial buyers to use your images without paying for them. I know what you're thinking: "But you can choose a noncommercial use license to protect yourself from this." ...You, the publisher and the rest of the world can all agree on what "noncommercial use" actually means. ...And if you and the entity that publishes your photo don't see eye to eye -- or you choose, as many CC users do, a simple attribution license? ... If you're not careful, you might inadvertently grant permission for your photo to appear on a giant billboard for herpes medication, or in the newsletter of some political organization you despise. ...Because it's so confusing (or, to be more generous, "open to interpretation"), Creative Commons licensing spawns false confidence and innocent mistakes -- giving sue-happy lawyers much to salivate over. Did you know that Creative Commons and Flickr can't even seem to agree on whether CC licenses are permanent? ... I license almost all of my photos under a CC license (attribution-noncommercial-no derivative works 2.0 specifically) and I have been finding that virtually _no one_ follows what I believe to be the intent of that license ... ...Personally, I think this should also mean you can't put my photo on a page you are making money off of (aka advertising) either without my permission (which in most, but not all cases I would give automatically upon being asked), but apparently I am fairly alone in that belief... Some say that I should be happy that people want to use my photos and I am getting free publicity (when they actually link back to me that is), but it becomes a whole different situation when you are getting flak about photos you took being used in manners not intended (like one I took of a leader of a foreign country a while back). ...It's nice to get your photo in the New York Times, until you realize you're not getting a dime for it. ...Just don't celebrate by giving commercial users the gift that keeps on giving – a license to use your work for free, forever.” ...wt=nw&pub=ithinkminh&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'addthis', 'scrollbars=yes,menubar=no,width=620,height=520,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,status=no,screenX=200,screenY=100,left=200,top=100'); return false;" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank">

The Scary World of Prisons

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-20T03:22:35-05:00

Two young guys were picked up by the cops for smoking dope and appeared in court on Friday before the judge. The judge said, "You seem like nice young men, and I'd like to give you a second chance rather than jail time. I want you to go out this weekend and try to show others the evils of drug use and get them to give up drugs forever. I'll see you back in court Monday. Monday, the two guys were in court, and the judge said to the 1st one, "How did you do over the weekend? "Well, your honor, I persuaded 17 people to give up drugs forever. 17 people? That's wonderful. What did you tell them? I used a diagram your honor. I drew two circles like this... O o and told them this (the big circle) is your brain before drugs and this (small circle) is your brain after drugs." "That's admirable," said the judge. "And you, how did you do?" , he asked the second boy, "Well, your honor, I persuaded 156 people to give up drugs forever." "156 people! That's amazing! How did you manage to do that?" "Well, I used a similar approach….he draws two circles o O and I said (pointing to the small circle) "this is your butt hole before prison.....

A Request to Facebook

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-19T22:03:50-05:00

“Founded in February 2004, Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people's real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a part of millions of people’s lives and half of the users return daily.” I’m one of your most loyal customers and prospective employee because I love you so much. I would love to either move to California and or work in your NY office. I enjoy working in a fast growing company where the culture is young, creative, and forward thinking. I don’t have any skill that are directly related to programming, application programming interface, software development. What I have to offer is my unique creative insights into the Asian Pacific American mindset, a graduate business education focused on entrepreneurship, technology management, and environmental sustainability management. So if you need help writing a mission and vision for your budding environmental code of conduct that’s ISO 16001, count me in. I can be a great asset to you marketing and sales team. ...Ideas I have for improving the Facebook experience would be to allow users to be in more than one network. ... I go to school at Rochester Institute of Technology, which is located in Rochester, NY. I’m looking forward to moving to Boston, NYC, San Francisco, & Toronto as potential targeted cities. ... How hard could be to allow a few to of changes? The impact would be more social interaction, and more points of contacts for me to network, and increase my Facebook Marketplace views as well. ...I don’t care for them, I don’t want to join them, and the ones that I want to join, I’ve joined already. They are annoying, and I’m sure they are taking up valuable Facebook network resources. I know that you have limited them already, and can you enforce them a little bit better? These crazy developers are always finding loop holes and they are making my Facebook Experience not as enjoyable. ...

Microsoft Service Pack 3

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-19T21:31:37-05:00

Microsoft have just released Windows XP Service Pack 3 last night on Tuesday Dec 18, 2007. Go the the Microsoft Download or just click on this link here. The download file is about 336.1 MB. This is the last and final installation of the XP update, which is awesome since XP has been out for about 6 year now. As usual the install is taking over an hour, I can never understand why software updates takes so long on Microsoft Windows XP and so fast on MAC OS. Waiting sucks because it means that I’m being unproductive. So yeah, I can’t believe that I’m still running Windows XP, but I like it a lot, it doesn’t make me want to cry like Windows Vista. That’s why having a MacBook is awesome, I can be running MAC and Windows at the same time. Eventually I want to be able to just run all Mac softwares for my needs, so I can forget about Window all together. I’ll still have Windows running though, so I can still be up too speed in the Windows environment. Most work environment still run in a Windows environment so I can’t be left behind. Not that there’s going to be a huge learning curve. So yeah, everyone should update so that you are working in a more secure environment. Maybe it will even make the computer run faster as well. I don’t know though, I just hope that it doesn’t crash on me.

RIP 2girls1cup.com

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-18T21:28:52-05:00

Confession of a Kleptomaniac

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-18T11:21:26-05:00

I have a central tendency to hoard things for no apparent reason, maybe it’s because I like to have material possession, maybe because I’m just neurotic and can’t control my obsessive-compulsive behavior. Thus far, in my 22 years in of life on this planet earth, it hasn’t landed me in jail or hasn’t gotten me in trouble yet. Below are some accounts of my hording and kleptomania behaviors that have occurred in the past. Disclaimer: These historical accounts have no indicator as to my present personality, character, and or lifestyle. ...Business wasn’t booming, but it brought in consistent cash flow that provided for my two sisters and me. I can vividly remember the rush of taking money from the cash register, it was much, and it was a couple of bucks here and there, on irregular intervals. I also remember being caught once and then the punishment was severe enough that I stopped. When I went to college, I was one of those bad college students that engaged in the music piracy. I have many thousands of sounds, in fact the last time I checked, I have enough music, albums, tracks, all types and genres, from around the world. That if I let it play on non-repeat, it would play for 256 days straight, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ... The funny thing is that I don’t even like listening to music that much, and I actually only listen to the few CD’s that I actually liked enough to buy. ... I guess I just like the fact that I have that much, the bragging rights, and the security of knowing that if I ever needed it, I would have it, somewhere, got to dig though all of the unlabeled CD’s first. In addition, I despise tagging, who in their right mind has time to tag and favorite hundred of gigabytes of information? ...Well I have no shame when it comes to sampling grapes and cherries at the grocery store. I buy them anyway, but I don’t feel bad at all when I eat them. ... Gosh, I always goes for the sour candy, I’ll eat a few if I’m in the mood. ...There were times when I saw “opportunities,” but never had the guts to go through with it. Seriously, I really think that shoplifting is stupid, because the rewards aren’t very high, and the risk of being caught and punishment serious. I confess that I have done other shadier behaviors, pretty genius now that I think about it. I guess I’ll have to document those acts in another future blog for all those kids out there who would want to make a few quick bucks and cheat the system.

Truth About The 9/12 Protest in Vietnam

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-17T21:04:03-05:00

Living in my little NY corner of the world, it did take some 3 months for me to hear about the massive protests that have been happening in Vietnam right now. It’s touching to see that the Vietnamese people stand together for the name of sovereignty and international diplomacy. One thing that I have learned is that Vietnamese people have very strong nationalistic pride and are very a very proud people. For a very long time there have been infighting and factional tensions within the ruling parties of Vietnam. ...Example 1: The Europeans had to unite and put their differences aside to channel their energy against the mighty Soviet Union. Even after the Soviet Union broke apart, that partnership still grew stronger and born the United States of Europe. ... The Blue states of the EU still border the many Red states of former Communist. However, they have slowly neutralized the Red and are brining them into the EU bloc. Example 2: In the beginning the founding states of the America all acted independently from each other and often time were very competitive against one another for resources. However, it took time and focus for the United States of America to form to fight off the brutal Red Coats. Again, they needed an outside enemy to neutralize all of their differences. ...As a country, many Vietnamese are disenfranchised, and we aren’t even talking about the expatriates. If China can become the outside enemy, then everyone would reunite around the singular banner of disposing and taking back what is rightfully ours. ... Already there is intense economic competition between Vietnam and China as Vietnam has become more economically competitive in the recent years. In addition, there is much talents abroad from around the world, with the sons and daughters of the boat people. We don’t hold any grudges against the current people living in Vietnam, and infact we would be very willing to help out relatives still living in Vietnam. ...There’s going to be a show down in that part of the world, specifically the South China Sea. ... Strategically I would say if Vietnam can become the hub for East Asia trade and have many multinational companies have a vested interest in it, then the government of EU & USA will more likely help it out. Even though the EU and USA have heavy investments in China, they are also strong rivals. In addition, the USA and China still has the Taiwan issue to deal with. ...

DNA Models

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-14T16:11:14-05:00

DNA models are surprisingly fresh and sexy, and not untasteful. They are generally well “dressed”, and appear in upscale fashion magazines. DNA Magazine is the best selling gay magazine subscription in Australia, and I wished that I had a subscription. Really, they have some great content, but most of all they have incredible spreads of images of models. I have fortunately had the luck of collecting some awesome galleries that I have put up in my gallery section in flash. I hope that everyone enjoys, Merry early Christmas. DNA Model Galleries.

iPod Stands Im Falling on my Head

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-13T16:25:49-05:00

I can’t wait to get an iPod touch for Christmas; it’s just the thing that would be perfect for my lifestyle right now. I mean, it’s bloody awesome, and I want to get back to youtubing more often. Just as I was browsing today actually, I came across this awesome video on youtube showing you I can make my very own itouch stand with my dollar bill. So it’s not a complete waste of time at all. This is very exciting indeed.

Airline Sale A Sea of Horses

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-13T15:52:01-05:00

I recently bought an airplane ticket to go home for the holidays. It was fast and simple and I was able to check different flexibility dates, the time of day I would leave and arrive, and the airports that I could fly in and out. This was much more different then calling up a travel agent or calling an airline directly and asking for a quote. You didn’t have a choice or the ability to do price comparison through a travel agent, and it wasn’t as timely. And prices are generally much higher. I went to five or six different website to do some major price comparison and analysis. ...2. www.expedia.com 3. www.hotwire.com 4. www.cheaptickets.com ...6. www.priceline.com I was amazed at the price variation for the very same flight on each of the different search engines. In addition, the taxes and surcharges were very different on each of the site, some charged as little as $45 others charged $98. And some sites like Priceline were offering special holiday discounts. I love the transaction, because it was all very simple. Pretty much point and click, and super customized to exactly what I want. The item was marketed exactly tailored to me, I didn’t care for the extra like hotel and car rental, but I appreciated that it was available and that I could save more in the bundle as well. When I was ready to buy the ticket, it was just simply inputting my basic information, and credit card information. The whole process took less than 2 minutes, and I got an immediate confirmation code, as well as an email sent to my mail box right away. I really didn’t have concerns buying online tickets, I was excited that they were available and that I can do it myself. I’ve made many other electronics transactions before, so this is simply and extension of me doing more online experience, and welcoming the flexibility of being able to do the search activities myself.

Viniculture and Viticulture

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-11T14:39:22-05:00

I have also loved wine, I just didn’t know that much about wine tasting and wine culture. Therefore, I decided to sign up for a wines of the world class. ... They’re little work involved, except for a bit of reading, and showing up for class to try many different varieties of wine. It’s fascinating, that there’s so much going on in something as simple as wine. Really, it just comes down to drinking either a yellowish liquid or a reddish liquid made from fermented grape. ...The taste was quite enjoyable with slight sour and very light, leaving your mouth watering due to to the sour taste. My overall impression is that it’s excellent just for sipping with something light to eat. ...The taste is a bit more heavy and more on the sweet side. The after taste was just delightful and charming, it’s by far my favorite. ...• Chardonnay 2005: California: The bottle had a deep yellow tone, its got an amazing aroma of butterscotch, buttery, and spice, fire. ... Typical of Chardonnay and really shouldn’t be drank alone, really with some protein like fish or scallop. ...• Pinot Noir 2005: Vin de Pays d’Oc, France: The color wale pale red, with aromas of cherry, almond, and plum. ... There wasn’t a lot of tannin, but you could definitely taste it along with a slight level of acidity. ...• Syrah 2003: Columbia Valley, Washington: This wine had a very deep dark red, with aromas of blackberry, cherry, oak, and spice. ... It had a very oak taste with a strong dry aftertaste that will leave the mouth very dry. ...• Cabernet Sauvignon 2005: Colchagua, Chile: The color was not as red as the Syrah, but still very deep red. ...I really think that the more you drink it, and understand the culture behind wine drinking. ... Besides, there are just so many different types of food that go well with wine. I’m just starting to understand some of the complexity behind winemaking, and wine culture. At this point, I’m just excited about the whole process and being able to try more varieties. I still haven’t found the favorite choice yet, but white wine is truly much easier to consume on a casual basis, red wine is much more serious. ...

Five Fashion 2008 Trends

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-10T14:43:25-05:00

There was a recent article in Fortune Magazine detailing the next FIVE big fashion trends in 08. ... It doesn’t surprise me at all that scarves are going to be huge. ... Imagine a very black outfit with a red scarf, our a black and white combination. ... Following this years trend of bold and big patterns, the scarves of tomorrow are going to carry exciting colorful patterns as well. ...2) Fashion sneakers are going to be a huge pass up! There are already so many high fashionable designs and different makes of shoes. Sneakers in crazy fabric and sold at an extra high price are not going to align with consumer tastes. Athletic and big name brands like Nike and Adidas aren’t going to just stand by and let Michael Kors and other big designers step on their turf. And besides, 2007 has been a big decline for shoe designers, consumers are just not that excited about shoes anymore. ...Nearly naked looks were the talk of the recent runway shows and now they are coming to a store near you. I Can see a huge market for these as trendy stores like H&M and Zara try to cut cost in fabric weight as well. See through clothing are more simplified, because they are beautifully worn for that layered look. ...Recent shots from the Japanese fashion show details High-tech fabrics. These fabrics are harder to knock off and so help designers differentiate their clothes from a sea of imitation. In addition, some fabrics hold their shape better, and some of them are combined with high tech gadgets for that integrated style. I don’t see high tech fabric hitting mainstream anytime soon. ...Therefore, club/retail offers that sexy erotic experience for the urbanites. Again, we see a progressive push of the club culture going mainstream for the 20+ something crowd. The big winners will be stores like Abercrombie and Finch whose stores already have that club feel. Big losers will be GAP and American Eagle who will look out of place and out of the consumers mind.

Dance like a Duck

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-09T20:19:16-05:00

This is the most viewed video on YouTube! It has been viewed over 67,519,432 times and counting. I can’t believe that today was the first time that I have ever seen it? Where have I been? ... This is what happens when you don’t fully embrace technology, it’s just going to pass right by, and you will be left behind. In addition, it can happen to anyone. I was one of the first users of Youtube, it kicked butt, since I don’t have a TV. Yet, somehow this little video just zoomed right by me for some reason. This is another reason why I really want to get an iPod Touch for Christmas, so that I may enjoy many more hours of Youtube love, and not miss out anymore. I can see why this is the most viewed video. It has great subject matter, dance. And it’s got a pretty cute guy dancing to all the styles of American music throughout the age. He’s awesome, and proves that guys can dance. It got me thinking though can anyone dance? It doesn’t seem that hard, awkward, but not hard. ... It’s nothing more than moving your body. Fast movements, slow movements, in synch, out of synch. Dance, just close your eyes and move. It doesn’t matter, there’s definitely no wrong way to dance, except to stand still when everyone else is moving. “Dance like a duck,” iThinkminh

Object of Desire

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-09T13:29:27-05:00

Why it’s that we all want to be is beautiful? Some days when I wake up I feel sexy and hot. It doesn’t have anything to do with any activities that transpired from the night before. Other times, I feel like I don’t want to face the world and just hide under the four layers of cloud soft comforters. This morning when I woke up, it was in a spring like motion. It had dawn on me that I had to get ready to go to work in this lovely Sunday, in fact every Sunday. Still, that feeling of feeling hot didn’t leave me. It doesn’t have anything to do with feeling horny to spanking it off. ... It’s not that raging feeling that I want to explode, just a satisfaction with myself. In addition, it always goes back to feeling hot, sexy, loved, and well exposed. ... Yet, sometimes I wished that I could model for someone, and just have my face and body be in front of a magazine for all to stare at. On this curious day, I wonder what it would be like to be a porn star. There are varying degrees of being a porn star. I think it would be creepy if many people know what you look like in the nude, or if they actively seek you out and want to see you nude. I guess it’s the idea of being at the attention, or the idea of being the object of desire. It’s just human nature to want to be desired, and wanted. In Greek mythology, you have Aphrodite who is the goddess of love, the object of many men’s dream and desire. ... Then there are all of the other Greek god like Cupid, and Apollo. I guess all men would want to be shag by them as well. I shall continue to reflect as to, what does it mean to be beautiful.

Sell me those 80 dollars slippers NOT

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-08T19:37:25-05:00

What that means is that I service customers and help them to dress their best, which I’m perfectly capable of doing. The part of the job that I enjoy the most is that I get to help some really hopeless people looks fabulous, and they will be eternally grateful to me, and that could I make a major impact on their self esteem. Working sales is amazing because there is so much politics involved with the customers, the managers, and the co-workers. ...Personally, I think what makes a good sales days is well the mood that I’m in and the circumstances of the day. If I’m having an awesome totally amazing day, and the sun is out, and I’m feeling like I’m on top the world, that’s going to translate into a more happy optimistic can do amazing sales person who can do no wrong. In addition, you need good circumstances like good weather so that customers actually come through the door, or time of day that there will be more traffic into the store, or holidays, or big sales day that will drive more people into wanting to buy more. Lastly, sometimes you will get that special customers that will never shop, but when they shop, they are ready to drop hundreds of dollars to upgrade their closet. ...Banana Republic doesn’t work on a commission basis, and yet the competition is fierce for sales. When I first started at BR, I was young, excited, motivated, energized, and curious, and just wanting to be the best that I could. The results were outstanding, I was the top sales person for many consecutive months, I got the reputation as being a great power seller, loveable, and the customers highly recommended me on our customers service experience survey. ...Never are they the sort of in your face, always it’s little, from the gestures, and just the way they would look at you, or make some smart comment. I would never say that they would go as far as to try to steal a sale, because we don’t work on commission. What I learned most from the whole experience is that always try to make friends fast at the beginning. Clicks always form, so it’s nice to have people who you can depend on, so that way we can shoulder each other. Always stay clear of the trouble co-workers, because they will drag you down, and make it difficult for you to just do your job. ...Some do an amazing job, others are like jellyfish, and they just string you as they try to cling on to you. One of the most annoying thing a manager can say is “sell more” “sell more” when there are no customers, or very low traffic of incoming customers. ...Another thing that I’ve experience is that they try are indecisive as to where to put you. ... Seriously there isn’t that much store coverage, and it takes like 20 seconds to walk from the very back to the very front. ...Working sales is hard, because you have to constantly walk around, and ask customers how they would like to be helped. Time goes by fast, or extremely slow, it doesn’t matter, when it comes time to my precious 15 minutes of ME time. ... Because it’s a good time to vent, it’s good time to have some quite time away from faces; it’s just a time to regain some composure and sanity. I have noticed many times that employees get extremely irate and unhappy if they are due past their break time. ...wt=nw&pub=ithinkminh&url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title), 'addthis', 'scrollbars=yes,menubar=no,width=620,height=520,resizable=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,status=no,screenX=200,screenY=100,left=200,top=100'); return false;" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank">

Greasing up the Eggs

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-07T16:43:13-05:00

Today was the third consecutive daytime that my boyfriend and I actually woke up together at the same time. Usually he’s an early riser and I like to sleep in mostly because I don’t like to get out of the warm comfortable bed. Well I usually go to sleep like one of those ginchgonch poster boys, so not wearing very much. ...My boyfriend usually tries to wake me up by being cute and making breakfast. ... In the past, I’m not a huge fan of breakfast, but recently I’ve grown to like them a lot more. ... I like to stir it while he greased up the pan with butter. I’ve also learned that cooling with butter makes things less sticky to the pan versus cooking oil. ... He usually would make some sunny side face up eggs as well. And he does it just right so there’s still some egg yolk for toast inside. The secret is well waiting for the heat to cook the egg just long enough so that you can flip it to the other side without breaking the egg. ...I do love that we spend some quality morning time together, it may not seem like much, but we are sharing a moment, we are bonding. Consistency does well, it’s like giving a little budding seed a little bit of water and love each day, and later on along the road you get a steadfast strong oak. So it would be a little bit heart breaking if he were to make some eggs and didn’t ask me if I wanted some right? Even if I didn’t want some, I would still love it if he would ask. Yesterday was one of those days, he didn’t ask me if I wanted to breakfast, and when I volunteered that I wanted some. He was frustrated and said that I wanted everything made for me. ... The punch line is that I just want him to do something special just for me. Making breakfast is like making love, it’s just another little intimate session between the two of us. The main ingredient of heat and oil is still there. And there’s always something stuck to the pan at the end of the session.

Miro Revisited

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-07T15:13:20-05:00

Miro is just amazing software that can turn your computer into a television. It’s just like itunes for TV. The best part is that it’s open source so that developers from around the world and contribute to make it better everyday. I love it for its simplicity and ease of use. There is just so much educational content; it’s like PBS on crack. One of my favorite channel is Mosaic, it’s a daily news feed from the Middle East. You can see it from the Middle East perspective. Another cool thing is that there is just so much independent news and content that never makes it to primetime. Miro is the only way that the public can get access to such wonderful content. I highly recommended it, and once you get started, it’s a great way to get in your 10-15 minutes of news each day.

What Covering Your Arse

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-06T16:41:55-05:00

All I can think of is sun, sun, and sunshine. There might be some sunshine later on this week, but we can count the heat factor out. So how are we going to turn the heat on? ... Yes, I do have a slight infatuation with men’s underwear fashion. When CKs were hot, I got like 15 black pairs, and they have surprisingly been holding up very well despite a few years of wear and abuse. Interestingly there have been quite a few specially shops that have prop up lately and some have even garner international attention. I do not know what’s “hot” any more, but in the Gay world of fashion, these are considers most desirable and pretty much everyone and their hags wants one. ...Ginchgonch: I would have to say that these are the top tier, got to have them hotness. Pretty much all the models are porn stars, and or have had a history of taking off their clothes. ... I very much desire to have them, but not at those ridiculous prices. So I guess this gay boy isn’t really their target market. Just from their website I gathered their underwear’s are meant to been seen and touched. Omg, pretty much a huge “rape me” sign if you are wearing it at any club. Interestingly though, they have a huge selection of female underwear as well, completely cute/hot. ...2. aussiebum: Was the reigning tsar of the gay love, pretty much fell of the face. I guess us gay boys are fickle and our needs have to be pampered too 23/7. I still think that assiebum is hot, and I would love to have a few more pairs. They just have this fun energy sexy cute lovely weird crazy love to them. Plus their models are high quality porn stars as wel, and their assielife youtube vids are a must see. ...Just from going to the website, it’s not as LOUD as ginchgonch or assiebum. ... I’m not feeling the wowz factor yet, bit I have a feeling they will be just as big if their marketing campaign starts to hit the club scenes. ...If screaming sexiness isn’t your thing, red gap underwear, and target men’s have some decent and lovely design as well. From personal experience, my rEd gap underwear is currently my favorite pair to bear in. So hopefully this will be short winter, so that we may all go skinny dipping soon in the beautiful shore of the Ontario lake and eat some yummy ice cream as well. ...

Change is a way of Life

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-05T12:00:38-05:00

The will to change is available to everyone and really doesn’t cost a thing. I really believe that everyone is capable of change if they set their mind and hearts to the task. We all have had to go through difficult experiences in our life, each of those impressions are what make us who we are as a person, an individual. Why is that despite all the odds and difficulty some people can survive through anything, and others drop off the face of the earth? Why it’s that some people are more ambitious and more willing to take on overwhelming amounts of risks? In the end game, the greatest lost, is the lost of life. Therefore, unless you choose to die, you haven’t taken on as much risk as you would have yourself believe. Why are people so fearful of taking on risk? They are afraid of lose their house, they are afraid to lose their wife, they are afraid to lose their face, they are afraid to lose their integrity, they are afraid to lose their power position, they are afraid to lose their stock portfolio, they are afraid that they will catch some incurable disease if they travel a little bit too far from home, they are afraid to admit that they are afraid. I’m afraid, I’m very afraid of all things and everything. Mostly of uncertainty. I’m afraid that I won’t live up to the expectations that I have placed upon myself. I’m afraid that I won’t be a respectable citizen, and that I won’t amount of much of anything later in life. I’m afraid that no one will love me, and that I will die, alone and unnoticed. The will to change is right now! I can work on my fears, I can take actions so that my fears will become my pillars of strength and roadmap to life. I can make a concerted effort to live closer, and connect deeper with my inner circle of friend so that I will long be remembered after I have passed away. I can work hard to earn a higher education so that I can have more opportunities and the needed skills to impact life and society. I can take opportunities as they come to me, and live each day to the fullest, so that I know tomorrow will be a better day because of the seeds that I’ve planed today.

Gadgets Begone

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-04T17:15:07-05:00

What would I do with out x,y,z? If x was my favorite gadget, and y was my car, and z was my Treo? Growing up I didn’t have a Macbook laptop, I didn’t have a Honda Civic dark green car, and definitely didn’t have a Palm Treo 755p. I had an interesting childhood, always being curious and focusing on the unknown. I spent a lot of time reading and going to the library; thank goodness, we had a great public library in town. To this day, it’s still one of the best public library that I’ve visited and I’ve been to a lot! Today’s Millennials, the group of people under 18 have always had some types of technology gadgets growing up at least in industrialized technology first grade countries like that of the United States. I don’t think I would miss not having some type of technology with me all the time. When I was a child I would watch between 4 to 8 hours of television each day! Starting with cartoons in the morning cartoons in the afternoon, talk shows, dinner gamer shows, evening TV series, and ending with late night entertainment. That’s what happens when parents aren’t around to monitor their children; for the most part a TV does a respectable job of baby-sitting. These days I hardly ever even watch TV anymore. In fact, I don’t even have a working TV in the house, so I can’t watch TV if I wanted too. I guess if I wanted to watch some type of moving pictures, it would either have to be a movie, or YouTube entertainment. The point is that, when you start to feel like you can’t live with x,y,z remember back to time when that gadget or technology wasn’t part of your life. Were you happier then, or has the technology just made things more complicated and hectic for you? The trends that I often see is that, yes technology does simplify many tasks, but people just pile on more ideas, more jobs, more activities, so they just ended up doing more. And take heart, there will always be something better coming a long in a few years, that will make the hottest gadgets to today seem ancient. Trends come and go, and people do too. Take heart and spend more time with the people you really care about, pick up the phone, call someone you care about and tell them that you love them. It could just make their day.

Insomniac Food Dangerous Obsession

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-04T01:17:51-05:00

I went to sleep at 10:38pm it’s now 12:44 and I’m still up, that’s a cause for concern, not a big one, just a little one. I do not have a medical history of not being able to sleep, I am not an insomniac in anyway shape as defined by the common standard understanding. 1st red flag, I do believe that drinking coffee with a shot of expresso a few hours before sleep time is a bad idea, it was just that I needed some thing hot, and yummy for class, so I couldn’t pass up A Shot in the Dark from Javas, a local coffee shop on the Rochester Institute of Technology campus. It was totally worth the 3 dollars, and I was super hype for the evening class. My groups members must have thought that I was a bit zany and on something. I was Caffeinated! 2nd red flag, going to sleep hungry. My stomach was make tons of gurgle noise and it was distracting. Just as I was about to doze off, my stomach was having some kind of chemical bonding reaction telling me to go stuff myself with food. Your body never has a good time relaxing on an empty stomach. Solution: Well I finally got out of the super comfy warm bed to go stuff my face with a Hint of Lime Chips and Tostitos Salsa. It was so yummy and delicious, and only about 5000 calories. Can we say “omg?” As if that wasn’t enough I also stuff my face with some Ritz crackers. The only non-caloric intake was a nice 8 inch tall glass of water, to balance out all the chemical solution and have the H20 bonds with the NaCl. Now I just have to wait for the metabolism process to start before I hit the pillow one more time. Dreams of sublime ice cream and marshmallows baked with butternut squash melting. Fountains of hydrated C02 sprinkle with nitric acid and fructose with multicolor dyes forming glorious rainbows of love. All at the lovely weight of 0 calories manufactured only in my dreams.

Love Hate with Snow

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-03T21:58:12-05:00

Fascination with snow as it falls down to its demise, the warm earth sucks its life force and release it’s elements back into the atmosphere. Nature is beautiful in its raw cruelty. Snow is beautiful with is razor sharp edge cutting skin, bleeding trees, scaring the air as it descends its eternal path. Millions of combinations, unique to its own, snow is natures chaotic methodical genius and perfect randomization sequencing. This author loves snow because of its elegance and charm. I still remember the very first time I saw snow when I came to America. The wonderment in my eyes when I saw the white marshmallow falling from the sky, it was beautiful and perplexing, I had to run out from the house and let it fall on my raw skin. The initial contact was fantastic and just in the movies. Memories created instantly, and edge deep into the brain. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Snow is to so many people a memory, a creation, a reminder, a love, a hate. It’s something and nothing. You can do so many things with snow. This author personally enjoys building a big massive snowman, with all the accessories. Some college students get pleasure from building phallic objects, preferably near religious institutions for maximum shock value. Others simple love to just jump into fresh snow and make lovely snow “angels” if there is such a thing. This author has yet to build an igloo or any other types of snow/ice structures. How fantastic would it be to build a wall or fort and have a massive orgy of a snow fight? Of course, the winning team gets to desecrate the other team’s phallic god structure. Volunteers are needed for this massive feat, you can sign up at your local college student lounge or the local chapter of adult perversion at the nearest sex chain establishment, or at the nearest house with a massive hummer in the driveway. That’s a sure sign of someone who will love to will giant phallic objects made out of snow.

Decemberist

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-03T21:53:09-05:00

December brings joy and happiness to those that have family members and love ones nearby. Romanticizing a cold month with anxious bliss of gifts and social rituals that somehow restricts life and suffocates reality. This author looks forward to the reality flux and damage to the wallet as the consumerist spurges. December is a month of remembrance to the Russian Revolution; unspeakable events somehow always falls on the coldest months, as if to remind everyone that when snow falls there will be hardship and pain. Think of all the people who will not have warm heat, think of all the children that will not have toys, think of all the animals that will starve because food is gone. December is not a warm month by the fireplace, or of blissful gathering underneath the stars by the art gallery of yesteryear.

Apple MindShare Increases to 9 Percent

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-12-01T19:51:03-05:00

Apple Computer Inc. is awesome because they have the best software and hardware integration of any pc manufactures. The software/ hardware combination is so unique that it makes it difficult for competitors to imitate. On top of that Apple Computer Inc. has one of the best design and marketing team in the industry. I love everything about Apple Computer Inc., but mostly because of it’s simply design and ease of use. A heavy tech user the author of this blog have been a PC type guy for all my life, and even this author can appreciate the simple and slick interface. More people would love the MAC OS if they only had the opportunity to try it out. It’s so simply to use, and easy to love. Most people only use their computer for word processing, Internet browsing, excel work, image processing, and chatting. Seriously, a laptop that’s $299.00 can do all that at brazing speed. If you do play games or do video editing, then a more powerful system is needed. The capital markets theory of innovation would say that Apple Computer Inc. has done everything perfectly to capitalize and profit from its unique innovation. They have invested heavily in research and development to keep competitors at bay. I think that it’s about time that Apple Computer Inc. be more price competitive so more people can enjoy the simplicity and use. Do you know how long a line there would be if Apple Computer Inc. would make a $400-$500 laptop? The wait would be so long that it would just be ridiculous. The technology software and hardware wise is already there, so why not make it? Silly Apple Computer Inc. , Steve Jobs is too nuts, what will you do after he dies? In the mean time, Apple Computer Inc. Keeps taking OS space away from Windows, and before long it’ll cross the 10% space. This author predict that Apple will cross the 10% mindshare in 2008.

Search Optimization and Me

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-30T20:44:52-05:00

Dear World, Search optimization and content building is all nice and great, but it really bombs if no one cares about your site. Seriously I think it blows that more people visit my facebook and leave me comments on my facebook page then my personal website. I have some idea as to why no one would come, because I don’t have anything super fun, or crazy, or out there. But you would think that since there are so many people doing searches, and what not, they would come to my page just by chance. Anyway, I wanted to show what my Google analytics output says about my dinky website. It’s sad, but it’s a start. Maybe I should include contents that are more scandalous. Please help. . . ithinkminh

Content Content Content

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-30T20:21:56-05:00

Search engine marketing and how blogs are an essential part of the marketing mix. I still don’t understand search engine optimization well, yes, there are a thousand sites out there that try to explain and help people understand how to make their site better be optimized. Yet, I doubt anyone one single person really understand this either, I think it’s a mix between a science and an art of getting your site to have a better site ranking. Search engine optimization is the process in which you get your site to increase in site ranking on the different search engines by modifying text and key words toward organic search engine coverage free news. I really think the best way for an individual’s blog to increase in ranking is to have consistent updates, and relevant precise focus content. So it’s much better to blog about just one or two topics, then many topics. Even a blog on technology is too broad; it’s better to blog about digital camera, laptops, or smart phones. I know that’s going to make it easier for users to know exactly where to go if they need specialize. How boring is that? I just want to blog about whatever is interesting to me at that point. Blogging is personal, it’s not just about the reader, it’s a “creative” outlet for the writer as well. My only goal for this blog is be of help in the first two-step of the buying behavior process. Increasing awareness and interest in some technology that I really like, and try to make it that much easier for the next person who is like me to consider buying those products, or go to that website. Yeah, a person does on average of about 13 to 14 searches on a topic at each of the buying steps. So hopefully all the college, high school age people out there are finding my website interesting enough to come back. On my part, I just have to pound the keyboard more often, hopefully that’ll just do enough, and my site ranking will increase after I reach a critical mass of content.

Investing in People

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-28T15:59:24-05:00

It doesn’t take a smart person to win at investing. When we think of investing, most people think of money, a return on investments, a return on financial futures. I would like to talk about a great type of investment, a return on involvement, a return investing in you. We all have a very scare resource call “time.” It’s one of the great equalizer; it doesn’t matter if you are the president, a billionaire, a famous actress, a porn star, a street sweeper, a child, and an adult. We all just have 24 hour in a day, 365 days in a year to live out our life. Time is a currency, and it’s something that is traded all the time. People do it often, they just don’t think of it in that way. You pay money for “faster” services, for convenience. People fly instead of driving, use convection oven instead of a regular oven, run instead of walk, multitask instead of single task, sleep less, eat faster, take shortcuts, and speed while driving. Why? Because we want to save a few minutes, few seconds. Instead of trying to save time, why just not waste it. There’s 24 hours in one day, and it just goes down from there. You can never take it back; you just have to use it as effectively as possible. Invest your time in people and your returns will be more rewarding then financial gains. Invest your time in people because people can give you rare commodities like their love and time, their tears and experiences, the laughter and despair. How can you get people to spend more of their time on you? How can you share more of your time with others?

Fear

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-28T15:45:04-05:00

Most important thing in life is just being there and being ready. How many times have we all missed something because we were just too afraid to close our eyes and really just do what we want? The truth is that some people are just very afraid to take risk; it’s not in their blood. Or it could just be a mental attribute like fear that we develop as a child and it never left even as we grow up to be an adult. When I was younger, I was very much afraid of the dark, and still am to this day. I was afraid of waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom that was downstairs, so I just forced myself to go back to sleep. Why? Because I was little and was afraid of the unknown, of uncertainty. Another example of this was when our family had lived in the apartment. I was afraid to take the trash out at night because I was afraid that someone would kidnap me and would steal me away from my family. On that it note, I was afraid that someone would push down the door and come in and murder our sweet little family, so that I would always lock the door. I know, crazy stuff for a 9 years old kid to think about, but those were the things that came to my mind. Today, I am still afraid of the dark, very much for the same reason. I don’t live in the best of neighborhood, so I’m afraid to take the trash out at night, I’m afraid to go down in the basement to do the laundry for the same reason. I could sit here and reason with myself that there’s nothing to be afraid of, the door is locked, and that the probability of something bad happening to me is very slim. However, my intuition warms me otherwise, and it prevents me from taking those risks. I’m glad that I have a strong intuition and that I listen tot it most of the time, as it has helped me out many times to survive the worst of conditions. My point is that fear is something each of us have to deal with. Sometimes it’s obvious why we should be fearful of something, sometimes it’s not so in your face. The differences could mean life or death to some, so listen to your inner voice, and listen hard as there is very faint and sometime has even died out. Rekindle your inner self because it will make you feel more alive.

Apple Sale Never

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-20T15:10:31-05:00

Why We Choose to Stay with Someone

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-19T16:04:18-05:00

While our lovely conversation going on, she told me about the story of her last relationship. ... But finally when the reality hit hard and she realized that what she thought was a fantasy, she walked away. After that we had a very intense but constructive conversation about why we choose to stay with someone even though we know all well that the relationship is built on lies, abusiveness, cheating and heartbreak. I have some good friends in New York who still stay in this relationship even though they are not happy about it and I always ask them why. ...I believe someone can fill something we are yearning for but the most important thing is we need to fill a hole in our heart before someone can complete us. ... We need to be happy for who we are and being independent before we enter the relationship. ... Once we love ourselves enough, we will realize that we do not have to stay in this abusive relationship because we know that we can complete ourselves with or without him. ...My friend told me the reason she stayed in the relationship for three years even though her ex always lied and cheated on her because she believed one day he would change. People always have a wishful thinking that someone we love will eventually love us enough to change for us. The fact is that if he could not change then, why in the world he can change now or in the future? ... I do believe people can change but when it becomes a chronicle problem and we have to try to solve the same problem again and again, why in the world we want to bear the same heartaches every time we try to solve the never ending problems? ...We cannot choose who we fall in love with but we can choose when to walk away when enough is enough. Love is always an excuse of people who choose to stay in the abusive relationship. In my friend’s case, if her ex really loved her, he would not even think of having affairs with other girls. ... He blew her off many times just to find out that he was with other girls; she cried and always forgave him. ...They choose to stay because they are afraid of not be able to find someone else. ... The fact is that to stay in this no future relationship, they are missing the opportunities of meeting new people. ... When someone does not appreciate our contribution in the relationship, we should walk away and take a risk with new people. In this kind of situation sooner or later, he would dump my friend’s ass anyway when he finally found someone he liked more. So before he does it, we have to be the one who dump his ass and be called a “Dumper!” ...What she was sad was just the pictures in the past and all the fantasy that she created with her ex but at least she does not have to be miserable the rest of her life. ...I would swallow my own blood than beg someone to stay with me no matter how much I love them. ...So at the end I told her I was glad too that she finally walked away from that situation. There are tons of people out there who will value for who she is and what she is capable of contributing in his life. And when the time comes, he will realize that it’s his lost not hers.

My Career Characteristics

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-19T13:47:30-05:00

You have an elevated interest in Enterprise Control, one of the central activities in business work. ... You want to have ultimate decision-making authority for complete operations; to make the decisions that will determine the direction taken by a work team, a business unit, or an entire company; and to control the resources that will enable you to actualize a business vision. ...You might want to control an enterprise that you believe will exist for your lifetime or even beyond. On the other hand, you might prefer being in charge of much shorter-lived "enterprises"; for example, "doing deals" that you know will close in only a few months or weeks. ...You may find it difficult to be patient during the early stages of your career, when you're learning and proving that you're qualified to be captain of the ship. ... Impatience can get in the way of your success if you let it force you off your career path too soon. Of course, having a strong interest in Enterprise Control doesn't necessarily mean you have the skills you need to succeed in a career in which that activity is a predominant part of the work. ... So don't let a lack of training or prior experience with leadership activities keep you from gaining the knowledge or strengthening the skills you'll need to express this interest. ...This doesn't necessarily mean that an entrepreneurial venture you're involved with will succeed. ... However, it does suggest that you would be happiest in an organization (or in part of a larger organization) that has a decidedly entrepreneurial culture -- even if you aren't the founder. ...You would fit best in an organizational culture characterized by an aggressive "rough and tumble" give-and-take in daily activity and by a high level of activity overall. In companies, departments, and teams like these, "pushing" an agenda to get things done (but not to dominate someone else) is seen as a good thing. People who thrive in these cultures view meetings, discussions and negotiations not as distractions from the "real" work but rather, as the work. ... Your tendency in this direction is very strong, so pay close attention to this aspect of any organization you consider working for. ...In such companies, departments, and teams, competition for resources and personal rewards (bonuses, promotions, etc.) is fostered by management, and people engage in skeptical and critical examination of ideas as a normal part of assessing business situations and making decisions. ... They have no qualms about challenging co-workers when they think doing so will shed helpful light on a business decision -- or will give them the advantage in a negotiation or debate. Your tendency in this direction is very strong, so pay close attention to this aspect of any organization you consider working for. ... * Positioning (the position offers experience and access to people and opportunities that will position me well for my next career move) ...You won't be happy for long if you find yourself employed in a position where you can't earn these rewards. ...However, you may be willing to trade one or more of them for something else that a particular work opportunity offers (such as a desirable geographic location). ...Because you tend to have a strong, dominant personality, you may experience difficulty listening to other people and really hearing their ideas, concerns, or objections. At times, you may come on too strong, and be unable to take a back seat during a discussion or project and mesh with other members of a team. ...Habitually taking up too much "air time" can pose a danger in class discussions (if you're in school or in a workplace training seminar). ...If your interviewer is a bit shy or more introverted than you, you may feel even more tempted to dominate the discussion to an inappropriate degree. As you would with any personal asset, make sure you don't let these strengths become your undoing.

International Travel

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-14T20:27:00-05:00

When is there ever a good time to travel? Seriously, there are always problems either with money or with time. This week I decided that I want to travel more, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this come true. That means I’m going to have to be more concrete with my travel plans and really being dedicated to my traveling goals. I think that there should be a process that we can take to make it that much easier to travel. ...Decide where you want to go, if there is opportunities present, don’t hesitate, and just go for it. ...Make sure you have all the paper work needed to travel, and medical shots, so that you can travel. Do you have your Passport yet? You can apply and pay online now! How cool is that? ...Read the reads, and check up on the local news and current events so that way you are knowledgeable about the cities, and not get lots, and you can join in the local conversation. ...If you estimate for the trip to be $500.00 dollars. Always add 10% to 15% to the thing, because costs always go over. ...Don’t buy souvenirs. ... If you are going to buy something, much sure that it’s going to be functional and that you really must have it. Or else you are just going to take it home and put it in the junk pile and never look at it again. Better, off, just take a picture of whatever it’s that you really want. ...If you are traveling internationally, make sure that you really understand the currency. Exchange rates can be killer, right now, the Euro Zones can be killer, and you won’t be able to afford much. You are better off traveling to South & Central America where you’ll get more bang for your buck. I’m sure there are many more things people have to plan for, especially for international travel. I’m making my trip plans to go to Prague for Spring Break this year. It’s with the college group, so pretty much all the details are taken care of. I just have to come up with the lump some money, and all should be grand.

Software Frustration

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-14T15:06:35-05:00

I tried so hard to make it work in Rapid Weaver but it really just doesn’t work. It took me three hours, and I even signed up for the forum help. Some person in the forum helped tried out the same thing and it work for him, why doesn’t it work for me? Seriously I didn’t do anything wrong, I just wanted to have the button show up, it’s already in the html format, so it should pop up just fine. But no! In the process though I stumbled upon nik fletcher’s website, and he does have some cool stuff. I even read all of the help files, and the pdf files. Seriously I’ve learned so much more today about RW and it’s only going to help me make the website better in the future. Funny how things work out though, I’m sure all of this will be working just fine in a few days. It just so frustrating because I want this to work now! Project frustration: How many times when we all try to do something and no matter how hard we try to make it work something just doesn’t want to work. Like when you want to make that fabulous meal, and when you try to go for the little key ingredient and realize that you forgot to buy it. Isn’t that just a bummer? Or when you are having a fantastic time, and your just so happy to be heading towards home, and bam! The Blueman pulls you over for speeding just a little bit too much. Doesn’t that just ruin your day? I feel like that right now.

Leapord Please choose me One Last Time

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-13T14:19:39-05:00

I opened up Apple's Migration Assistant application, and prepared to copy over my user data and files from my backup disk. ... Turns out I had a .jpg file that was somehow incomplete or corrupt, and the whole transfer process hung on the fact that the file couldn't be read. I wasn't overly surprised because I had run into a similar problem before -- iPhoto would hang when it attempted to read an unreadable file, which likely came from an upload issue or memory card issue with my digital camera. I previously had to delete a dozen or so files before I was able to make the bootable backup in the first place. However, now I had a problem file on the external hard drive, which had me wondering: How'd that slip by? ... and it wasn't showing up in Leopard, but Leopard still thought the data was there -- I only had 10 GB of available hard drive space! Rather than attempt to find and remove the data, perhaps by deleting a folder to screwing up myself as a user, I rebooted using the Leopard install DVD, launched Disk Utility and wiped the hard drive clean again, this time overwriting all of the data -- a feature built into Disk Utility. ...How can this guy say such raving thing about a process that we know went very wrong? Yes, because he’s a lover of Apple products, and simply Apple can do no wrong. How can he still endorse the Leopard when it’s so apparently not that great, not so revolutionary? The next big cat, is a bloated cat, that’s why I’m still waiting to upgrade my Macbook. I just wanted to point out that people experiences and perception are crazy. If the same thing had happened to a Windows Vista upgrade, the blame would have been on the unintuitiveness of the software, not the person. ... Fan boys adore their wares, and Steve Jobs simply can do no wrong. Uh, I’m so sick of this Apple madness, it’s not that great, it’s simply marginally better than some of the stuff that’s flying out there. ... Their products seem to be more defective lately, and the construction of the materials seems to be “cheaper.” Apple Products were of much higher quality a couple of years back, so the high price was justifiable. These days, the high prices just fly at the face of the knowledgeable consumer, who used to make up the core of Apple’s fan base, are slowing shrinking, and are defecting to other products. The movement has been agonizingly slow because there hasn’t been another company out there to fill the void. Apple I hate, and love you at the same time. Apple’s fan based is now composed of mostly superficial Brand screaming loyalist. They simply don’t understand the product, much less the technology powering the whole thing. This is dangerous because before you can defend Apple behind its high power technology faced, now, if Apple takes a downturn, there won’t be anywhere to run. In addition, that superficial loyalist will drop Apple like the one a bucket of water, Apples meteoric rise to the top, will drop just as fast. ...

Help I ran out of money for GAS

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-13T14:15:43-05:00

Lower-income Americans spend eight times more of their disposable income on gasoline than wealthier residents do. The study illustrates the impact rising oil prices are having on people's budgets. Many economists have downplayed the effect gasoline prices will have on consumer spending. But with prices now pushing above $3 and studies like this, some say the economy may take a hit. "We're going to see the consumer pull back a bit in the fourth quarter," said Jim Glassman, a senior economist at J.P. ... "When you have to pay these bills, there's just not as much left over. ...In the short run most of us will have to deal with the car mileage that we already own, because we can’t just go out there and buy a new car. Surely there must be some ways to cut down on the cost of gas. For all the starving college student out there these are some of the ways that I’ve came up with to save money. ...And keep a log of all the places that you frequent. You will be surprise to find out that 80% of all the places that you frequent are just habitual! ...I make 3-5 trips to the coffee house, and 3 trips to the grocery per week. I guess I can cut them down to 2 per week. ...They have some great deals on gas as well. ... I guess they just have the volume to be able to pass some of the saving to their customers. ...If you have a perpetual empty tank, it’s going to make you wan to drive less. And you’ll be too afraid to drive out of fear of running out of gas. Yep that’s one way to save money on gas. ...Get more than one person together to go shopping, going out, anything. Not only will it be more fun and social, everyone will be saving money on gas as well. ...Yeah, I know that this could be a painful and slow process. But hey, those busses are going to be running regardless if you are on it or not. So might as well do everyone a service and get on the bus. This will solve the traffic problem as well.

Black Friday Fever

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-12T15:15:44-05:00

Thanksgiving is the month for celebration for everyone. It’s for the food lover, the shopaholics, the sport monster, the family man, and for the credit card industry. This year Thanksgiving is coming by faster and earlier and is catching quite a bit of people off guard. There might not be enough time to prepare for all of the rituals. I am still preparing for my finals examinations at the Rochester Institute of Technology. There is so much to study for that I hardly have enough time to research for my holiday destination. However, I have taken the time to look at the shopping festivity that’s about to happen. Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping really go hand in hand. I’m ready to bust out my hat and gloves and wait in line at the wee hours to get the best deal. Black Friday ads are already surfacing around the Internet for those that need them a bit early to draw up an action plan for attacking the best deals. All of the good stuff this season will again be electronics. The HD LCD TVs, the HD DVD’s, rock bottom laptops and desktops. There’s also some awesome game systems, and clothing sales going on. I suggest hitting up BestBuy first, since they seem to be having the best deal, and lets not forget Walmart, the mother load of all cheap shopping. Have fun, and don’t get hurt. I got brushed up last year going for the 22 in lcd. The new standard this year will be the 24 in lcd. Put on your battle gear and lets draw up the battle plans. Good luck every one, if not there’s always Ebay for the after market sale.

Social Network Ads In YOUR FACE

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-12T15:03:19-05:00

Facebook is very personal especially to college students. Some people would say that they are addicted the social network. People are constantly checking to see what their friends are doing. Uploading those pictures that they just took last night at the party and tagging all of their friends is a real time killer activity. The thing that takes up the most time is just casually checking out what other people are doing or stalking someone eles Facebook to see what’s going on in their life. I think that this is so popular and addictive is because it allows you to enter into that persons personal space. It’s like being able to read their dairy, see the feedbacks and comments, and getting to participate in the whole thing. It’s exciting really, when you can find some dirt, or find some incriminating facts or pictures just to laugh it out. Facebooking really is the activity of today’s generation. I would put it up there as enjoyable as going to the mall, going out to the movies, or tea party. And then there’s the live group interaction in Facebook. Really, it’s the ultimate gossip machine. I once went to a party where everyone was drinking some alcoholic beverages, music thumping, people socializing around a laptop. They were on Facebook just looking up random people or people who they know and updating their relationship status. Wow, the conversation that you hear are just of this world, especially if so and so was at the party. They dynamics are very interesting because of the online/offline elements of the conversation. Where does on end and the other start? Nowhere, it’s a continuous conversation that if you want to be in on it, you have to be an integral part of it. Meaning, you have to invest countless hours on Facebook, because you are either a part or it, or you are not! So for something as personal as Facebook is to so many people it’s going to require real transparency to the core consumers or else it’s going to appear as if Facebook is selling out. I for one would like for Facebook to have ads personalized just for me, it’s just going to make it that much easier for me to find products and services that I would already be looking for anyway. And props to the companies that are smart enough to connect with Facebook, because it sends a strong signal that they are in the game and wanting to connect with my generation.

Microsoft Office 2008 Beta Mac OS

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-11T13:22:36-05:00

Office 2008 OSX is a major improvement over Office 2004 for MAC OS. The interface is much improved as well as the usability as well. Office 2008 as a new Gallery feature that’s supposed to make things much easier to update for the whole page, and improves the looks and feel of the software in general. One feature that I love so much is the SmartArt Graphics, that allows for simple process, cycle, relationship graphics to be easily manipulated and add to any of the Office Suite documents. This alone is worth the upgrades, because it saves so much time and drama. I have been using it almost daily to add to my word documents, and presentations. One things that still bugs me with the new Office 2008 Beta is that it still doesn’t have a great way to manage all of the floating docks. There’s still too much object toolbars everywhere. I don’t know why they just didn’t port the ribbon from XP Office 2007. That would be solved so much problems and increase productive for MAC users as well. The integration of the Gallery MAC OS and XP Ribbon approach would have produced a powerful killer must have app! Maybe we’ll see that on later upgrades for Office MAC OS. If you are interested in hearing about the development and potentail bonus that will make it to the retail version that will be coming out sometime next year. Keep checking the developement blog over at MSDN.

Making an RIT Movie

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-11T12:46:46-05:00

For one of the class project I decided that it would be a great idea to make a movie. I never thought that the idea would take so much work, and the learning curve is extremely high. I enlisted the help of my sister who is a photography student at RIT, she is extremely talented and can make the most uninteresting landscape into something amazing! So after about two photo shoots and a bunch of photo editing using the best computing power has to offer, and countless hours of learning how to use the software, and tweaking with the sound bytes. I think that for a first time effort, I did a fantastic job. The problem that I ran into the most often was trying to synchronize the sound stream with the photo slides. Another issue was just the shear size of the project. A seemingly simply 3 minutes project produced a 3.6 gig file! I don’t know how or why it’s that big. New Media Lab Computing Raw Power: MacPro Dual Core Intel Xeon (more info) 3.0 GHz Apple PowerPC G5 ...Radeon X1900 XT 512MB Graphics Card 23” Apple Flat Panel Cinema HD Display Camera Used: Canon 5D ... Adobe Bridge CS3 Adobe Illustrator CS3 Adobe Photoshop CS3 Apple imovie HD CS3 Apple iDVD 08 CS3 ...Photographer: Kim Son Tran ...Setting: RIT Campus and Students

Second Life A second chance

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-09T09:06:13-05:00

I can see why people flock to the virtual promises of second life, especially for those who’s first life is a little imperfect. So you have some type of physical disability that makes it hard to travel, in Second Life, you can run around and even fly. For some people this is such an awesome feeling because it allows them to feel free, as if they can do anything, it puts them on equal ground once again. There are many examples of this in Second Life. I guess it could be described as the great equalizer. However, not all is equal, because even in second life, the geeks rule with their showiness computer generated scripts, and the artists ca make them more elegant than ever. That puts everyone else at a disadvantage because we can’t code cryptic computer codes. The interface is less than desirable and useable to put it kindly. There are other problems beyond the user interface as well. It’s more of a social problem. How can anything be believable in a world like second life? The person you are communicating with could lie about his or her gender, age, education, and just basic information. There is no way to check up on this! Humans have evolve in such a way that we can pick up communication cues through interaction, we can tell if someone is lying, or being deceitful through facial and body gestures. Second Life interaction is at bests an interference with this the social human communication signaling function. It’s more dangerous because we are more prone to miscommunication good or bad. For now the jury is out on the potential of Second Life. There are many applications like using it as social community, a life beyond life, sexual adventures, business opportunities, self-expression, an escape at best. My conclusion is that Second Life is unavoidable for life is not perfect. If the many people out there have trusted friends, loving relationship, and an enjoyable challenging work environment. They would never have to ask for a Second Life, a second chance.

Big Fall on WallStreet

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-07T17:01:33-05:00

Dow industrials finish 361 points lower on credit market fears today. Good thing I don’t have any of my money in the stock market at all. I don’t have a full time job, so no 401K-retirement account either. What goes on in the market doesn’t really affect me that much at all. It does peak my interests though as to how other people around me are reacting to it. I worry that my parent will not have enough money to retire, since their nest egg will be shrinking. To be honest, I really don’t understand much about how all the financial instruments affects me personally. I don’t’ have the time or resources to sit and try to understand it all. There are certified financial planers who can help with all that jazz. I do think though it’s important that people have a basic understanding about markets and the economy in general. That will help them see the bigger picture, so they don’t have a nervous breakdown whenever the market drops by some large number or percentages.

Financial Market Fizzles

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-05T23:19:32-05:00

Adverse selection, anti-selection, or negative selection is a term used in economics, insurance, statistics, and risk management. On the most abstract level, it refers to a market process in which bad results occur due to information asymmetries between buyers and sellers: the "bad" products or customers are more likely to be selected. A bank that sets one price for all its checking account customers runs the risk of being adversely selected against by its high-balance, low-activity (and hence most profitable) customers. Two ways to model adverse selection are with signaling games and screening games. ...It really is the simply understanding that the least qualify people are the ones that would have the most trouble paying back their loans, and are the most likely to sign up for the teaser rates. I’m surprise that all these large institutional banks and junk mortgage buyers didn’t have more actuaries run more econometrics with the worst case scenario, just more scenario analysis. If the bank executive knew that the worst case would mean billions of dollars in write-down, would they still go ahead with it? Maybe, and that goes into the problem with agents of the corporation not doing what’s best for the share/stake holders. ...Moral hazard refers to the prospect that a party insulated from risk (such as through insurance) will be less concerned about the negative consequences of the risk than they otherwise might be; for example, an individual with insurance against automobile theft may be less vigilant about locking the car [1] even though locking the car is a simple risk reduction strategy. Moral hazard arises because an individual or institution in a transaction does not bear the full consequences of its actions, and therefore has a tendency or incentive to act less carefully than would otherwise be the case, leaving another party in the transaction to bear some responsibility for the consequences of those actions. Because big bank are backed by the government and they very know that the government, or big brother will come and save them with tax dollars, they are more likely to be much riskier than otherwise. ... Because the government is afraid of a run on the bank, and the slowing economy would have a political and destabilizing affect. I give an full round of applause for all the banks that took the big hits now, and will be writing down more on their book. ... Election year will be coming, and the government will be much more generous in helping the bank get back into full health. ... Aren’t they supposed to pay more for the opportunity to take on additional risk? Apparently, that doesn’t apply to big banks, and especially not near election year. ... If you have a major weight on the political process and have adverse skeleton you are currently hiding in the closet. ... The government will be much more friendly and the media will have much more to cover on the candidates and other scandals than to be focusing on your skeleton. I predict a row of back dating, stock option insider trading, top executive management shakeouts, failed tests, environmental hazards will be making news within the next couple of months will little fanfare. As the public will only be focusing on the “economy,” “unemployment,” and the financial bailout for the subprimers. ...The government will be the hero, coming in to save the poor folks who are about to lose their home. In addition, the banks will appear to be in full health again after some major currency induction from the fed at low low interbank rates. ... Gas prices and foreign goods are going to spike, so say bye bye to that new European designer shirt you’ve been wanting for Christmas and stick to the domestic goods. If nothing else, you’ll be helping the locals.

Blogging Everyday| All Day

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-11-05T14:24:28-05:00

Why I’m more committed than ever to blog? Because I want more media time. Everyone is fighting for more voice time, more face time, more personal time. Therefore, we all have to fight for attention, and if you don’t jump on the wagon, you will be left behind. The message is very clear, you are part of it, or you aren’t. There isn’t this middle of the road thing that people want to be part of the revolution, but they don’t want to put any effort into the action. Why is blogging so hard? Well because it’s writing, and most people aren’t very good at it. It’s takes a lot of mental time and finger moments to put something down on paper. Most people are brain dead when it comes to this part of the process. Especially the Gen Y people, 25 and under like myself. We are mass consumer of fun, information, technology, games, sports. And yet we don’t really contribute to anything meaningful. Well the majority of us anyone, there’s always someone making a difference, let it me be. Even if all I’m doing is typing out the psychobabbles of my thoughts. This information is extremely valuation to the marketers who seek to understand the craziness of the thoughts of Generation Y and the Millennial. I will make your job easier. You just have to read the 20% junk to get to the 80% of awesomeness.

Treo 755p Review

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-09-14T13:57:33-04:00

I got a Treo 755p this week and it’s fantastic! It was difficult to decide on the right phone. I didn’t know what I wanted, I mean a phone is a phone right? What “extra” features would be desirable if the cost is high? A college student doesn’t really need much, but there is a cool factor that must be accounted for. I wanted something is that useable and sexy. That’s surprisingly important now. Sometimes, I just don’t want to spend time to call someone, I want something that I can interact with daily. The benefit is of design and relevance is ideal. Another thing a phone should do is that it must speak clearly and precisely. There is a variety of factors that people should take into consideration. The network and strength of the wireless signal is very important. Next, the phone must have a good reception. I’ve had several wireless plans with SPRINT, VERIZON, T-Mobile, and I’m really happy with SPRINT. They have a reasonable data plan, and the minutes schemes isn’t that bad. Get a PALM, you won’t regret it, and join the SPRINT network, so we can talk to each other.

Storage Space

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-07-05T09:43:14-04:00

Remember the day when the desktop only had 20 Gigabytes of Storage Space. No, I don't remember the days of megabytes, that too long ago. ... More recently though, the presumers of the world have pushed for the terabyte space. Content how much does a single person really have to store anyway? ... The best way is to delete and destroy things that are redundant and unnecessary. We will perform this on Software, Music, Images, Video, and other file formats. ...Only keep the most up to date version, and destroy the old. ... So for DVD/CD burning you would either use Nero or Toast. ... I think i will compile best of class software list in the future. ...Fortunately there are many softwares out there that can help you tag and find duplicate files. Itunes is amazing at helping you to keep your music collection in control. Seriously though, if anyone ever bought every piece of music legally, you wouldn't have that much to keep track of anyway. Pirates have the most problem, because they just click and download things they don't even know, have too much low quality tracks, or in formats that they can't play. ...Sure you can store it online through Kodak Easyshare, or have a Flicker account. ... 1) Don't be click happy, only takes pictures of events that are really important, don't take a picture, simply because you can. ... Do you really want to keep all of those embarrassing potentially career killing snaps? ... You don't have to take a picture at that level, scale it down to like 5.0 meg shots. Do you really need it at that high of a resolution? ...I think that it's actually cheaper to just use the online renting services, then to rent, copy, burn, store the darn thing. If you want to see it again, just rent it again. ... And don't post all of your crazy videos on Youtube either. ... And remember, once you put it out there, it's out there Forever! If you do these things, you might never need a terabyte storage space. And maybe it'll crash on you anyway, so the less you have stored, the less hurtful and painful it will be when it all disappear in a flash. ...

The Digital Way of Life

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-07-05T09:25:16-04:00

Are we too stuck in our way of life, people have become too stuck on our expectation and have lost sight of what is most important. The way of life that we have adopted today is not, may not be the "right way." There is the disconnect between ourself and God, ourself and our appearance, ourself and our perspectives. Technology has forced change and therefore many of the things we take for granted, our currently system of beliefs have no foundation at all. Information is so readily available that everyone who is connected to the source of knowledge, the Internet or Wikipedia, feels like they can become an authority on this and that. There are few things in life that is real. Nothing is as real as life and death, and time. Money, power, love, these are abstract ideas that human's have concoct up somewhere along the path of time to make us feel more alive, and useful. A coherent way to serve a purpose for living. So much so, that the obsession with love, money, and power makes us forget that we are alive. We simply stop living, and somehow wake up to serve that single purpose. ... Technology is the supreme light, the way of life. Technology is the competitive, the tradition, the innovation, the way. Technology has been the source of success for many large company like the likes of Microsoft, Apple, Nintendo, Toyota, Google, Ebay etc. Technology has also lead to the success of the United States status as the world power, and how China is the new rising challenger. Technology has a huge impact on the international macroeconomics system. The chance is slower than at the individual level. Generation Y, or the Millennial are the fastest adopter of technology. Growing up with the Internet, cellphone, GPS, and Starbucks. We can't see it any other way. I can't imagine doing research without a massive information database like Lexus Nexis at my fingertip. And writing, how can I even begin to write something, if I didn't have a keyboard and word processor of some type. Communication is almost instantaneous, I want a response, and I want it now. ... It's an extension of who I am as a person, technology is me.

Rules of Attraction

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-06-27T18:07:05-04:00

So I found this nifty diagram that explain the rules of relationship. There are two attributes. Physical Attractiveness is on the X axis and Mental Attractiveness in on the Y axis. Going high on any of these axis alone will result in a wanting a relationship with that person. And anything else in between, well could result in a relationship as well, just not the type that you are hoping for. I think that this diagram does a wonderful job of explaining why, friends can't be lovers, unless something really changes. And it really explains why when you see someone who's really attractive you just want to go to bed with that person, but nothing "relationship" wise can develop because the mental attraction just isn't there. Where are you on the spectrum? Are you seeing that one guy who's brainy and average. You guys are bests of friends, and well, you can't ever imagine seeing yourself with your best bud. Hell, tell him to stop eating the cheesecake, and pull him with you the gym twice or three times a week. Why let a prince charing get away? He probably punch a hell of a pay stub as well. With in 6 to 9 months, you'll have the guy of your dream. ...Now, on the other hand. If you have someone who really attractive and can't hold a licking conversation. Buying him Harry Potter, and reading Crime and Punishment isn't going to get you guys anywhere soon. But making it a routine to hit the books club like the local library, or maybe a poetry reading. And pack those magazine subscription. We're not talking Economist, or Fortune here. Start with like Readers Digest or something light. And reading the local newspaper is a great start too. You guys might even find your next dating location, or a music gig to attend, all the while supporting the local economy. Everyone WINS. and you get to try the buck first.

Nintendo Haiku

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-06-27T17:06:56-04:00

Mario dressed in Leather Brain Age 16 bare legal Princess Toad lost dress.

New York New York

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-06-25T16:02:37-04:00

This weekend I visited New York City, and to see my sister who is currently working for Zeiss. It was an amazing trip and we took many pictures and funny editorial videos that I will add to the site as soon as I edit the video and make it clean. New York City is amazing in there there were so many people, with so many gadgets. And everything appears to be bigger! I had the change to got Nintendo World Store where tons of people were testing out the Wii, a major hit game system. I was a little bit surprised to see how much the Pokemon franchise dominates the store. Its easy to see why people love Nintendo, and it’s crazy how similar the store is compare to the Apple Store that’s not too far away. I didn't get to see the Samsung store near the Trump Tower, but the last time I was there, it was amazing. Retailing really is about the experience, somethings you just have to experience, feel, hear, taste, touch, see to believe.

Apple Play for Pay

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-06-12T11:34:56-04:00

Apple World Wide Development Conference 07 in San Francisco, California lasting from June 11-15 2007 has all the fan boys wishing they were there during primetime. What’s so amazing about Apple that has everyone buzzing around the globe? More many reasons, but mostly it’s because they have very ‘attractive’ products that are clean and handsome. The product interacts with the user in an easy to understand way, similar to what Nintendo has done with the Wii System. Apple WWDC07 Keynote Gallery from Engadget
The most anticipated part of the WWDC07 is the iPhone! I don’t think that I will get me an iPhone when it comes out. Sure it’s nice and great, but come on, do I really want all that feature rich? I must admit the prospect of touch screen stuff is amazing. The liquid feeling on my skin, ahhh hotness! If you are already an iPod user, or an Mac user, then this is just one more product that will seamlessly integrate everything together.

Still, I just want a phone that has a really long battery life and gives me crisp clear voice conversation. That’s all I ask from my phone and for that I think $600.00 is a bit steep. The price we are willing to pay for high technology. Apple Leopard OS full features will be shown to developers, beta testers, and the general public. It will be running 64 bit and 32 bit at the same time depending on compatible hardware. And at this time, it looks like Leopard will be supporting HD DVD and Blu-ray technology. This is very exciting, because consumers can still play the fence and buy media that will be supported regardless of what format. I don’t know what all the excitement is about, because come October when you buy any piece of Mac hardware, it’s will have all this stuff inside to make it work, so why worry folks! There’s more to come, and Jobs will probably have a surprise or two for us in the next few days. It wouldn’t be right other wise.

Nintendo DS Lite Limited Strikes Again

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-06-10T13:59:55-04:00

Nintendo strikes again this morning coming out with a limited Pokemon Pikachu DS LITE only available in Japan. It look amazing and wow, I would love to get my hand on one. The first game I bought was a blue and red Pokemon for the game boy 7 years ago. If you have never tried a Nintendo DS Lite you should definitely try it. It's amazing to learn and handle. The functionality is flawless, and very easy to navigate. The screen is crystal clear bright and crisp. The battery life is long and gracious, and you can play with all your friend wirelessly. The genius of Nintento is that they make everything so easy to use. Usability factor from a scale of 1 to 10 would have to be at least a 9. Other limited editions have been very popular as well. Although they never made it the States.

Search Optimization

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-06-08T20:07:01-04:00

Okie, we got more work done today. I'v submitted my site for a Google Adsense account. I didn't know that I would only be paid, once I make $100 dollars. So I'm not sure how well things are going to go. On a bright note though, I just check my traffic from 1&1, my hosting, and wow, I got 21 new unique visits, and 100 page views. JUST in one day, I guess that's good new, and more for me to update this site more often. I think that's extremely great news! Wish me good luck peole.

Blogging for Money

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-06-08T14:17:43-04:00

Blogging for money isn't a new concept at all. Lots of people are doing it with some success. I think the problem is that we all expect to generate lots of traffic right away. Blogging is marketing, it's the personal marketing of yourself and what you like. Or what other like about your site. So how do we generate traffic. Well you have to write about things that are of interests, and adds some value to people. What to write about? Well I'm a college student, early twenties, male, gay, technologist, business major. That right there offers a bunch of keywords of the topics that I could potentially write about. I could cover the newest technologies that are hitting or about to be explosive. I could offer investing technologies, and review products about investments. Maybe i could start a gay blog, although there are plenty out there already that are very popular. And I would like to keep this new blog as PG as much as possible. Most of the updates will be for the blog section, some where be just general overall site design, design technology and software relatedness, and about my general interests.

Day 1

ithinkminh@gmail.com — 2007-06-07T11:11:39-04:00

I'm going to try very hard to do this the right way. I'm not going to give up and just learn it as I go. It makes me wonder how I ever fell out of it. in early 2000 I was already coding simple HTML, and then follow it with XHTML. Those were the days with geo (yahoo) hosting. I guess I stop caring about design about my own page when I started by own xanga.com blog. Now, 2007, I really want to start anew again, somewhere. I have this whole summer to learn, and slowly I'm sure I will learn many things. We won't start with anything fancy, the goal is to have a simple update everyday to this learning "blog." Ass I learn more about the CSS, javascript, and snippets xml. Then we'll go for something more awesome. Right now, lets just have a site up. Version 0.1 Just launched!