The Tinctorial

Handicap Hell?

2009-06-02T10:57:00.001-07:00

Holy shit it's sooo complicated… all the stupid formulas..

Ref: http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/manual/manual.html

First off, I had to learn what ESC is so I can post my score… (Go to section 4-3), wtf is an ESC? It was confusing so I spent about 10 minutes re-reading it slowly.

Then it referenced a Course Handicap number which I don't have, so I had to research that (Section 10-4)

Then I had to find my Handicap Index since I'm a new player it's the max of 36.4 (Read Section 4-3 again)
"A player without an established Handicap Index must use the maximum Handicap Index of 36.4 for men, or 40.4 for women, converted to a Course Handicap, to determine a maximum ESC number."

So then I found the slope rating for Jefferson gc was 116, do I did the formula (See Section 10-4) which is (Handicap Index * Slope Rating) / 113 which for me is:

36.4 * 116 / 113 = 37.36 (Round down to 37)

Then I look at the fucking ESC table found in section 4-3 to find my maximum number on any hole (which happens to be 9) which in returns means that my max score on a par 4 is +5 (which I don't get), on a par 5 is +4 (which I don't get)… which pretty much means I did all of the above for NOTHING!

So in the end I just posted my regular freaking score… argh!!

I won't find out my handicap till tomorrow when the golf club I signed up with refreshes all handicap indexes..

Golfing in Canada

2009-05-07T09:47:00.001-07:00

If any of you ever get the chance to go golfing in Canada, be sure to check out the Furry Creek golf course located 40 minutes north of North Vancouver. Me and Jon played on the course twice in two days due to the stunning view of the pacific ocean, mountains, and the Furry Creek of course! This is probably the 2nd most beautiful course I’ve played one (1st one goes to the golf course in Cebu, Philippines) and it’s also one of the hardest I’ve ever played on.

My only quirk is that the greens were not in as good of a shape as most courses I’ve played at. And for the the price of $59 (special rate via their website) which included green fees and cart, I was hoping for a better green. But overall the pace was excellent; 1st round – 4 hrs, 2nd round – 3.5hrs, and it’s definitely worth going back again.

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Tis the Golf Season

2009-04-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

So the golf season has started and I'm back in the swing of things, my gear hasn't changed much from last season except that I've added on some new goodies:

Equipment
Taylormade Burner Tour TP - Stiff Shaft
Taylormade R7 Draw SW-3 Iron - Regular Shaft
Taylormade Rossa Putter
Ben Hogan 3 Wood - Stiff Shaft
Wilson 7 Wood - Regular Shaft
Golden Bear #3 Hybrid - Regular Shaft
Wilson Lob Wedge - Regular Shaft

Accessories
iGolf Neo GPS Range Finder
OGIO Carry Bag
Clicgear Pushcart

From my past couple games this season I've hit around 92-100 for the round. I'm personally aiming to be 85-90s by the end of the season. :) I'm also in the process of purchasing a used set of Nike CCi Irons along with a #3 Hybrid, will post updates if that even helps my game as it's less of a game improvement club compared to the r7 Draws.

Wish me luck!

Lamb of God show...

2009-04-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing is better than going to a kick-ass metal show with a bunch of friends, after three of us finished a fifth of Jager (Jason stuck to his sky vodka), we headed out to a long and exciting night. Here are some pictures!

It's been a long time Paramount!

A few pictures of why I love the Paramount..

My Good Friends

Jeremy, Ben and Jason

Me after a few more drinks

Me and Ben with the lead singer of GOD FORBID!

Since there was no smoking inside the venue and no re-entry allowed, people located to the bathroom to smoke. Personally thought it was dumb to prohibit smoking + no re-entry at a show where 90% of the audience are smokers..

And here's Lamb of God!

The "Wall of Death" during the last song Black Label

Hitting the Gym

2009-02-11T16:14:00.001-08:00

So I decided to starting going to the gym and start taking my health a little more seriously and it's starting to pay off. :)

I now go to the gym 3 days a week for about 1.5-2hrs.
I've already gained 8 pounds in 2 weeks of eating a lot and exercising.
I've cut out smoking to only when I go out drinking with friends.
I've cut down drinking quite a bit as well.

All in all I feel a little bit better (not great yet) but knowing that I can last days without smoking is something I'm quite proud of. I'll keep this blog posted with my progress as I try to reach my goal of 160lbs. I started @ 142, and now I'm @ 151. Cheers!

Metallica - Enter Sandman

2009-01-23T16:16:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite song by Metallica! Enjoy the lyrics (you probably have to cli!

Cat Verbally Om Nom Nom Noms

2009-01-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

Too funny!

Cat Verbally Om Nom Nom Noms

So how much snow did we get?

2008-12-21T03:42:00.000-08:00

A lot!

KR hosts great Christmas Parties

2008-12-20T23:33:00.000-08:00

Don't know how they did it, but they always seem to come up with great ideas. This year it was Casino night! Lots of fun... of course the open bar helps a lot! ;)

Welcome to Seattle Angela!

2008-12-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

So my sister arrived yesterday morning before 9AM to be greeted by a very very cold winter day here in Seattle. In Australia right now it's their summer with temperatures ranging from 80-100 degrees. We did have a wonderful home cooked dinner with Salmon, Steaks, Corn and Mash Potatoes and then relaxed to a couple games of Guitar Hero World Tour and Bomberman on my xBox 360.

It never cease to amaze me how fast she grows up. This December 28th she'll be turning 20 years old! Still have to figure out a nice Birthday present for her, but it's getting harder and harder as she's getting older. If you know my sister, feel free to give me a call if you want to hang out with a sweet, happy, kinda childish, girl. =D

Poor girl... but nice try!

2008-12-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

Found this on the web... thought it was hilarious! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did...

You can actually see this on the Seattle craigslist by clicking here.

Vasectomy: $400. Speechless look on her face: priceless.

Date: 2007-02-06, 2:24PM PST

I'll try to sum up a funny story that happened a few years ago:

I got a vasectomy.

I met a girl soon afterwards. She was nice and attractive but with a selfish streak that raised a big red flag. She was 32 at the time and I could practically HEAR her biological clock ticking. Regardless, she was a good lay, easy on the eyes, and reasonably good company.

I did NOT tell her about my vasectomy and I always used a condom with her to protect against STDs. She assumed, obviously, that the condom was only used for birth control. Silly girl.

We date for a few months. I never made any move towards commitment but she brought it up ocassionally. For me, this was a casual but pleasant relationship. For her - as I was to find out - it was part of life-changing series of events that she was planning very carefully.

Four months into dating, I get the "I'm pregnant" talk. She's going on and on about how the condom must have broke and now we really need to think about getting married "for the baby". She's positively giddy. She has a baby in her and she thinks she's gonna have a good meal ticket (me) to go along with her new 7lb annuity.

At this point, I'm just as giddy. I get to pull the reverse "oops" on her. I figured that she slept with some bad boy and got knocked up. Good thing I was using condoms! Better still that I have a serious mistrust of women who can't think beyond their own uteri.

So I wait a couple of days to "think about all this." I meet her again. I say I don't want kids and that she should have an abortion. I know where this is going and sure enough it goes there. She goes completely batshit insane on me. There were the usual insults about my manhood. There were threats of legal action. It was all very ugly and I was loving every minute of it.

Well, I let her stew for a few days. She leaves me nasty messages on my phone. She sends awful emails. I'm laughing hysterically.

It was time to drop the hammer. While she was stewing I was busy. First I get a notarized copy from the urologist who performed the vasectomy. Next I get a notarized copy of the TWO test results indicating a "negative test result for sperm" to show I'm sterile and shooting blanks. Finally, I get a letter from a shark attorney stating he has seen the other documents and is prepared to litigate against this woman if she continues to communicate with me in such an unpleasant manner. Also, the letter states that we will insist on DNA testing to show that the baby is not mine. I'm ready.

I meet with this woman at her place. I bring flowers and a small bit of jewelry to show I am willing to reconcile and assume my responsibilities as a new father. I also have stuck in my pocket the documents I have prepared.

She's all giddy again. Her plan is going perfectly - or so she thinks. We talk about our future. We have some pretty good sex. Then, as I am about to walk out the door, I ask her the $64,000 question. "Are you sure that this baby is mine?"

Well, she goes batshit insane again. Hell, she ought to. Her plan could completely unravel if there is ANY question about my paternity. Oh, she's really screaming now. How dare I question her morals. Do I think she's a slut. I'm just trying to weasel out of my responsibilities... blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I'm not really mad. I'm kind of embarrassed for her. But since she won't shut up and the neighbors can hear all of this, I ask her to step back inside and sit down. She sits on the sofa and calms down a bit. She is glaring at me with all the moral self-righteousness that only a woman can muster up. She thinks she has me trapped. She is 100% convinced her plan has worked. Oh, the tangled web of lies and deceit she has wrought around herself and I am about to hack through them with a few pieces of paper.

I reach into my pocket slowly. I extract the three pieces of paper and unfold them slowly and deliberately.

I tell her simply, "You're screwed".

Her look doesn't change. There is no way she can fathom what I have prepared.

I continue. "I am sterile"

Her look changes just a bit. Something is beginning to sink in. Naturally, she reverts to women's logic. "You're full of shit. You're trapped and you know it."

I hold up the letter and the test results. "Three months before we met, I had a vasectomy. Here is a notarized letter from him stating what I had done. Here are two test results showing that I tested negative for the presence of sperm. Blanks. I am shooting blanks. That baby inside you is simply not mine."

This woman is not to be swayed by logic and clear documentation. "Bullshit, those are fakes."

I was ready for that. "No, they are real. This last piece of paper is from my attorney. It's a simple letter to you that states if you pursue any kind of legal action against me for child support that I will insist on a DNA test to prove paternity, that is, to prove that your baby is not mine."

I give the woman all the documents. She reads them slowly, deliberately. With each passing second she can feel in her soul that she has made a very bad mistake. With denial swept away, she started to cry. It's a small cry at first. Then it becomes deeper and more painful. By the time she gets to the letter from the lawyer she is sobbing.

I had no sympathy for her. I turned and walked out the door. Even after I closed the door I could still hear her sobbing.

Epilogue -

I never heard directly from this woman again. I did hear through my friends that she did indeed have the baby. I also heard that the real father was some guy in a band she had met. I assumed that after 30, women stopped going after musicians, bikers, criminals, and thugs. Silly me for thinking the best of American women.

The Moral of the Story -

Get a vasectomy but keep it a secret.

Location: Manhood
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 274495936

Digital Picture Frame Guide

2008-12-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I received requests from people how I created my Linux Digital Picture frame out of some old laptops, I told them to search Google for a write up but apparently a lot of the write ups were too difficult to understand for a complete Linux newbie. So I've decided to post easy to follow (hopefully) instructions on how to build your own, you may have to Google for some answers but hopefully I snagged them all. So here I go!

Requirements:
An old laptop that has a CD ROM drive and a USB port
An internet connection (pref. high speed Ethernet)
The DSL boot CD from http://www.damnsmalllinux.org

1. Install Damn Small Linux

Insert the DSL boot CD
Boot from CD (may have to change BIOS settings)
When prompted, type "install" and hit the enter key
Type in your main hard drive which is most likely hda1 (try hda2 if hda1 didn't work)
Select no for multi-users
Select yes for ext3 file system
Continue to cleaning the hard drive and installation
Select Grub as the boot loader and restart the machine
On boot, select 800x600 as the initial installation
Leave the root and DSL password blank!
On the DSL X Setup, answer the questions accordingly
Congrats on installing Damn Small Linux! Be sure to eject the CD!

2. Grub Configuration

Open a terminal session and log in as root and type "nano /boot/grub/menu.lst"
Change the timeout to a shorter time (I recommend 3-5 seconds)
Edit the line below "Title DSL" and replace "noacpi" with "acpi=force"
If you laptop only supports 800x600, change vga to equal 788
Exit, save, and reboot

3. DSL Packages Install (Internet Connection Required)

Enable Apt by right clicking the desktop and going to Apps -> Tools -> Enable Apt
After it finishes the installation, open the terminal as root and type "nano /etc/apt/sources.list"
In the one uncommented line (the line without the ':' in the beginning), change "old stable" to "stable"
Save and exit the document
Type "apt-get update"
After the update type "apt-get install feh unclutter acpid"
After the update restart the computer

4. Configure the SlideShow

Open a Terminal as root and type "nano /usr/local/bin/slideshow.sh"
Type as followed:

#!/bin/bash
# This file is located at /usr/local/bin/slideshow.sh
killall feh unclutter
unclutter &
feh -zZFr -D 300 /mnt/sda1/Pictureframe

Save and close
Type "chmod a+w /usr/local/bin/slideshow.sh"
Type "exit" to logout as root, you want to make sure that you are logged in as DSL for the next step
Type "nano ~/.xinitrc" and comment out the line that starts with "dillo" by adding '#' in front of that line. Add the following below that line:

#dillo /usr/share/doc/dsl/getting_started.html.....
mount /dev/sda1 &
slideshow.sh &

Exit and Save
Shutdown, you're almost there!

5. Using this Picture Frame System

Load a USB Drive on a Windows Machine
Create a folder called "Pictureframe"
Place all the pictures you want to display in that folder
Take that USB drive and plug it in the Picture Frame System we just configurered
Turn on the laptop

The End of an Era

2008-12-10T14:36:00.001-08:00

I am sad to announce that my band Silent Epidemic has decided to disband due to personal reasons and will not be playing anymore shows. Our recent self titled album will be posted on our website free for download on January 1st in high-quality format till June 30th 2009. Feel free to share our music to anyone or even rock out in your car on the way to work.

We've had a great ride and want to thank ALL our family and fans for supporting us the whole way. There is no way I can express in words how each of you have meant to us. Feel free to stay in contact with us by befriending our personal myspace page. Hope you all have a very Merry Metal Christmas.

A new record

2008-12-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

I had to post this for the record.... ;)

During the 2nd round of the Tin's Championship, I finally hit below 90's! A few months ago I hit a 90 (+20) on a 70 par course at Jefferson, and this past Sunday I scored a 86 (+15) on a par 71 course at Bellevue Municipal. Needless to say, even in the rain soaked golf day of December 7th, I had one hell of a big ass smile on my face.

Updated gear list for 2008:
Ogio Golf Bag - $149.99
Clicgear Cart 2.0 - $199.99
iGolf Neo GPS Range Finder - $149.99
Taylormade Tour Burner TP Driver - $399.99
Taylormade R7 Draw Irons 4-SW - $399.99
Ben Hogan C445 Fairway Wood #4 - $49.99
Dunlop Fairway Wood #7 - $49.99
Golden Bear 3 Hybrid - $29.99
Dunlop Lob Wedge - $29.99
Golden Bear (Blue Magic) Putter - $29.99

Sorry for not posting updates

2008-11-26T10:12:00.000-08:00

My personal life has been changing quite drastically these past few months and I've been really busy. I can't promise that I'll keep up to date posting but I honestly think I'm going to post less on this blog and create one that's a lot more fun (sorry my life is boring). ^^

What blog should I start?

The Adventures of Rocky the Charming

Random posts of Rocky's life (with pictures)

G33ks G@dg3t5 @nd M0r3!

Random posts of things I find interesting in the tech world

Laughing out Loud

Random posts of funny articles then I run in to from co-workers, friends, or just browsing the web....

Or maybe I should just combine all of the above and make a super blog! Hmmmmm....

Sorry China

2008-08-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

Busted....

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/20/1259253&from=rss

My Golf Spree

2008-07-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

Since I hit my all time low last week I've been doing pretty crazy in golf, here's my latest scores.

7/16 - 90 @ Jefferson Park, 5 Pars
7/20 - 97 @ Bellevue Municipal, 6 Pars

This is making me happy! Jon did really well too on Sunday (7/20), he hit a 102 which is ALOT lower than his normal score. Cheers!

Current Best Golf Score

2008-07-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm just happy to say that I finally broke my 100+ score to a nice 94 (+22) on Sunday at the West Seattle Golf course. I sank in a 50ft+ putt from the fringe and Jon said it was pure luck. Then I sank a 30ft+ putt again on the next hole followed by another. Hence my putter was given the name "Blue Magic" during this game.

West Seattle Golf Course Information:
http://seattlegolf.com/west_course.php
Review: A very difficult course with a lot of hills on the back 9. Fun and pretty easy to get to since it's right off the West Seattle Bridge. I hope to play there again this season.

It has been my best golf game in years and I hope to beat that score again sometime this year. Wish me luck!

Current Gear for 2008:
Ogio Golf Bag - Thanks Ann!
Sports Authority Golf Cart - Thanks Dad!
Taylormade R7 Draw Irons 4-SW
Taylormade R7 Driver
Golden Bear 3 Hybrid
Golden Bear (Blue Magic) Putter
Dunlop 7 Fairway Wood
Dunlop Lob Wedge

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-08T09:13:00.001-07:00

Hope you all had a great 4th! :)

It's been a while

2008-06-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hmm... so what's new in my world....

Band is taking a nice 1.5 month break.
10 Track Album is coming out soon (RESERVE YOUR COPY!)
House is coming along (Will post pictures soon)
American Idol is over (My Tuesday nights and Wednesday nights are now open)
Lost is over (Thursday nights I'm open now)
Birthday is in 26 days and I'll be turning 24
Rocky is enjoying his freedom in the backyard
Jon's book is coming soon
Weather is crappy (need more sun please!)
I suck at golf now, need to go back to the range
Work has been getting more crazy
I can now add "Litigation Support" and "E-Discovery Database" as experience

Ok I'll stop.... I'll try to post more often so you don't get to see an ugly list like this one.

My Sister

2008-05-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

This picture speaks more than any words on how I would describe my sister.... :P

Rockstar Mayhemfest

2008-04-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Got my tickets this weekend.... EXPENSIVE! $135+ for 2 people! WTF!>!>!

Anyway, I'm very excited to finally see Slipknot. I was worried they wouldn't tour again since Corey Taylor is doing his own thing with Stone Sour. So here's the line up for those who don't know about this show.

15 bands, 8 hrs of music

SLIPKNOT
DISTURBED
DRAGONFORCE
MASTODON
MACHINEHEAD
AIRBOURNE
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
WALLS OF JERICHO
UNDEROATH
BLACK TIDE
SUICIDE SILENCE
36 CRAZYFIST
THE RED CHORD

I'm really only there for Slipknot, but I'm also interested to the bands in red live. Cheers!

My new iPhone

2008-03-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Since I saw the iPhone on sale about 2 weeks ago at the AT&T website for $250, I couldn't resist (due to my geeky tech savy cravings) purchasing it. It arrived earlier this week and have been playing with it for the past 2 days. The first thing I did of course was to hack it so that I can use my T-Mobile account with it; AT&T's 2 year contract agreement didn't quite sound so appitizing. It took me about five minutes to update the phone with the newest firmware v1.1.4. and about four minutes to unlock(user other mobile providers) and jailbreak(run unsigned applications) the phone.

First thing I thought was that it was a lot heavier than it looks; it's very very thin, yet it weighs like it has tons off technology stuffed in it. That makes me very happy of course. Second was how shiny and sleek it was.... I've been so scared of putting it in my pocket since I'm afraid of scratching the screen. But after reading this article http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,133636-pg,1/article.html, I realized that unlike the ipods, this phone has a great scratch resistent glass surface!

All in all compared to my Blackberry Pearl, it's a nice flashy upgrade. BUT!!!! The biggest issue is that it doesn't support push email currently and in my work enviroment I need to be notified the moment an email hits my inbox. I'm still debating whether I will be keeping this device, but since Apple says that they will be releasing software that will enable the push email feature to work with Microsoft Exchange, I might have to hold on to it till June and see.

Should you buy it? Well the price dropped from $499 to $399 recently for the 8GB model. If you don't care about the cost, I'd advise waiting till June when they release the 2nd generation of the iphone that supports the 3G network. If cost is an issue, $399 is not too shabby... I'm lucky and got it for $250.

As for the two year contract.... HA! Just go to an Apple store and say you'd like to buy the iPhone for a friend. They will give you an unactivated iPhone which you can hack and activate to your own cell phone provider (or I can do it for you).

It's been a lot of fun playing with this phone's iTunes, iPod, Maps, Safari, YouTube, Wifi, Bluetooth, NES Emulator, and camera. Hopefully I won't get bored of it soon.

Pros:
Hackable!
Big beautiful screen!
Wifi!
3rd Party Apps!
Great Hacking Community!

Cons:
Earphone jack is recessed which makes a lot of my quality headphones useless... :(
No push email or enterprise features yet... :(
Battery life isn't that great, last maybe a day of intensive use... :(
No bluetooth headset option (A2DP)....

T-Shirt Designs for SE

2008-03-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

So I've been working on T-Shirt designs for my band for the past couple days. Using a sketch from a really good artist named Andrew Wood, here's some samples, please leave me comments on which one you like!

Looks like it's confirmed, the house is ours!

2008-03-12T08:55:00.001-07:00

The home inspection was on Saturday and a bunch of minor issues popped up ranging from electric junction box needs covers, wire splices need to be sealed, fridge icemaker not hooked up to chimney raincover needs to be replaced. We sent the inspection report to the seller and he agreed to fix EVERYTHING! The seller of this property has been one of the nicest people we've talked to (out of all of the other sellers), he understands that this will be our first home and he's trying to fix everything before we move in. Here are some of the home's statistics:

Living Size: 820 sqft
Property Size: 4860 sqft
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 1
Year Built: 1955
Basement: None
Sewer: Yes
Heating Source: Natural Gas
Annual Taxes: $1,722

Here are the pictures I promised to upload. Let me know what you think!

We are planning to repaint the bedrooms since they are too yellow for us. That and some landscaping and this house will be our home sweet home! There will be a house warming party once we've moved in and settled down (which means I need a nice BBQ and a covered patio). So check your email in a few months for your invitation!

First blog of 2008! Home sweet home!

2008-03-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything and you all must be asking (does Chris care anymore). Yes I do! The real question is... do you? ;P I've been so busy with the band (shows and making a full length album), BitWorks (my new company with my good friend Ben), not to mention my regular job! It's been a hectic year so far with what's going on, but I'm very very very pleased and happy to announce that me and Ann have decided to purchase a house together. We've been looking for the past few months, got declined on our offer on to different houses and finally got accepted to a house that we feel is the best one on the market. :)

The home is located in the Rainer area of Seattle (10 mins south of downtown), about 2 mins from lake washington and about 3 mins from the lightrail station which is expecting to be active in 2009!

The inspection is this coming weekend and I will post updates.

Here're some pictures (sorry they're so crappy, will take better ones soon!)

1-800-BUL-SH!T

2007-12-27T11:58:00.001-08:00

What's up with customer support these days? Does it piss you off as much as it does for me? I"m mean seriously, we're dealing with companys that have a crap load of money (microsoft, magellan, etc); yet when we call for support we get somebody that can barely speak any english on the other line who so happens to be located in India.

If I was a senator, or maybe president, I shall declare a new law:

The Tin Act

All U.S. based company's telecom personals are requried to pass the Tin's fluency exams. This exams consist on the understanding and speaking of the english language.
If your company is larger than 1000+ workers, all telecom personals are required to score at least 95% on the Tin's fluency exam. A local U.S. call center is required!
If your company is smaller than 1000+ workers, all telecom personals are required to score at least 85% on the Tin's fluency exam. 50% Outsource is permitted.
All company's outsource has to pass the Tin's connection quality test. Find the nearest Tin center to schedule an inpection.
If your last name is Bush, or contains any word close to Bush (ie. bushes, hebrush, brushme, bushal) you cannot run for any political position.

I am law..... and I say...... #$%^$$%^&^%......

Tool 2007

2007-12-11T11:48:00.000-08:00

My 2nd Tool show and one of the best shows I've ever seen. Everything was thought out and perfect! It was amazing. Me and Ann sat in the very FRONT row!! 20ft. from the stage! Here are the pictures, sorry they don't allow cameras so I had to use my phone.

So Close to the Stage!

Me and Ann are in total shock!

Tool is just about to take the stage!

Sooo excited!

TOOL!

Kick ass lights

It was packed!

Very Packed!

Laser Light Shows

Beautiful Stage Lights/Projectors... everything!

This is in my top 3 best shows ever! If you don't know tool, I'm may have to come over and bitch slap you! =)

CHAC - Worse Place Ever

2007-11-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

My band has been playing all over Seattle for about 2 years now and we've pretty much gotten use to the poor management and organization of the people setting up shows at venues (not bars). However, on Halloween Eve we were unpleasantly surprised by a bunch of stupid people who thought they are actually something in the music scene by hosting a show in the shittiest venue we've been to..... the Capitol Hill Art Center... aka. CHAC

Well let me start by giving a run down on what happened that night..

4:30 PM, I got off work and quickly caught the next bus to the park and ride
5:15 PM, I arrived home and waited for my band members to arrive for the car pool
6:00 PM, Me, Kenny and Jeff left Bellevue towards Ballard
6:30 PM, We arrived, packed all our shit, and left the studio
7:15 PM, Finally made it to CHAC, parked our trailer 2 blocks away
8:30 PM, Show started, 3 hours till we are scheduled to play
9:30 PM, Shitty rap, 2 hours till we are scheduled to play
10:30 PM, OMG the music is killing us, 1 hour till we are scheduled to play
11:30 PM, Host told us the show got delayed and we will be on at 12:30, that there was only one band in front of us. So we loaded ALL our gear in to the venue...
12:45 AM, Host told us that he made a mistake and there is another band in front of us, we will be on at 1:30AM.
1:00 AM, Everybody is pissed, we are now loading stuff out the door and heading back to Ballard.
1:30 AM, Arrived at Ballard, unload and then left home.
2:00 AM, Arrived back at my house in Bellevue...

Lets me see now, 6:00PM - 2:00AM that's um... 8 hours! 8 hours spent just sitting on our ass for nothing! Fucking absolute bullshit. We were suppose to be on at 11:30... 1:30 is 2 hours late! Not to mention the host didn't fucking think about the fact that the bar closes at 2AM....

Now why was the show delayed? Well the host thought it'd be nice to hire a cheap ass soundman who didn't know what the fuck he was doing. After blowing 3 channels ($$$) on their house mixer, you'd think he'd finally step up to the plate and start figuring shit out. But noooo, instead he got MOODY! Yelling at Kenny "Back the fuck off man!"... dude, before you go around saying you can completely manage the sound booth at a show... you should seriously consider the consequences if you fucked up. I hope you didn't get paid.

We are working musicians, most of us have full time jobs in the morning and accepting a show on a weeknight for us takes a big toll on our sleep not to mention time. So many musicians today are on a one track mind, they are out to only help themselves, and are blind to the fact that they've screwed a bunch over. So long as they get to play... shit... lets take out time... drink some beer, talk to our friends... hurry the fuck up, look at the clock, you're the ones that set up this show...

I'm just glad that not too many of our fans came. For the people that did show up I felt embarrassed and very sorry for coming out to nothing.

I rarely get this worked up over anything, but for something this bullshit, frankly... I just am surprised how low musicians are.

I'm feeling a little better now, thanks for listening.. :P

Picture of the Day

2007-10-23T13:57:00.001-07:00

With my back turned, they finally have their chance to show what they really think about me.. :D "It's clobber time!"

The joy of poker!

2007-10-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

Makes me happy when I do pretty well out of 630 players. My alias is "Rocky_Tin"... so close!

Unearth!

2007-10-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Finally a post! Sorry for the lack of time to keep all my peeps informed on what's going on... Here are the pictures taken with a crappy cellphone on Sunday!! The Unearth show was intense, the band was awesome and of course, El'Corazon was the place to be! Def. recommend you guys to check them out.

Silent Epidemic Trailer?!?!

2007-09-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

Can this be true? Yep... Last week me and Kenny went up to Everett to pick up a POS trailer for the band. It was dirt cheap, had a couple of bad wood (didn't take pictures... looked like shit), but hell, it has wheels and it can fit all our gear. Just need a little TLC.

Trailer Pictures:

Now me and Kenny have been working our ass of this past week, not to mention the whole weekend on fixing it up, we did 2-3 coats of primer and 2 coat of black satin paint. So here are the progress pictures of the exterior.

Now for a teaser...

You'll see that rig on our next show all pretty and sexy... mmmmm... metalicious...

Puyallap Fair

2007-09-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ann and Jon

Me and Ann

Goats in love...

RABBITS!!!

It was crowded, traffic was horrible heading there.. but it was worth it seeing all the animals. Will I recommend going there? If crowded, no way... so many lines... so many people just made everything seem not worth it. If it wasn't crowded I will highly recommend it since there is so much you can do. Take a weekday off, don't go there in the weekend!

Why my neck tends to hurt....

2007-08-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Because I do this a couple hundred times a show...
(Look at the hair!)

Entertaining Music Videos...

2007-08-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share these cause I found them funny.

Nickleback - Rock Star (Lots of guests in the video):

KSE - Holy Diver Remake (So fucking funny!)

TV Upgrade, it's about time...

2007-08-20T17:36:00.001-07:00

Before

After

I'm so much happier now. Got my xbox back from repair with a 1 month subscription to xbox live, the HD DVD player hooked up and watched a bit of King Kong, and put in many hours on Gears of War this weekend. Good stuff.

Fucking Microsoft.... Pt. 2

2007-08-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Decided to call them again today to harass them more on how long it takes to ship my xbox and found out from them that my XBox console has shipped! Wow.... that last lady I talked to must have been retarded... However, because I'm so detail orientated, I wanted to find my tracking number but their automated system doesn't tell me what it is. So I asked for customer service and they placed me in a call queue.....

There is nothing more annoying that being stuck in line on the phone listening to stupid music and an annoucement thats says "You can find more information on your xbox repair status by going to service.xbox.com." of course I tried... and of course, their online system is a POS and errors out when I try to log in... I tested with 2 different computers and still the same issue. So I decided to stay in line.

1hr 45mins later I connected with an agent..... WTF WJDA:KJLSDLAIYSD(@!*&#)(!*@&#()!*@

At least I got the tracking number...

Fucking Microsoft....

2007-08-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

I hate the xbox repair system. Here’s the timeline of events:

July 18^th: Contacted Microsoft for a repair on my console

July 18^th: Email notification that the box to put the xbox in has been shipped to me.

July 26^th: The damn box finally arrives via UPS, 3 days shipping my ass… took them 8 days due to an address mistake by Microsoft.

July 19^th: Shipped it out from our front office, took them 2 WEEKS TO PICK IT UP!!!! Stupid UPS.

August 7^th: Arrives at the Xbox service center in Texas was told by CS that the repair will take 2 days.

August 13^th: I called Xbox CS (took me 50 mins to get to a CS agent) and the xbox still hasn’t been repaired, she then told me that it can take 3-4 weeks to repair an xbox….. I was like “WTF, you’re kidding me!!!”, she said “no, we really want to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But call back in two weeks to check the status”…. “can I help you with anything else?”…..

Ring of Death!

Great, just fucking great, two weeks later I’ll be back on the phone for 50 mins to get somebody who’s most likely going to say “Call us back later”.. Cheers Bill Gates, you made a great company that is comprised of outsourced CS who can barely speak English… 3-4 weeks to repair an xbox? I can get my CAR REPAIRED FASTER!!! That includes testing, quoting, billing, etc…. Here’s a suggestion…. Next time, put out a quality product that doesn’t require customers to spend so much time (which = money) on figuring out what’s wrong, bitching at the lack of warranty for a poor product, then spending 2 months to get it repaired…. Fuck…

From HDTV to Golf... AGAIN!

2007-08-03T16:06:00.001-07:00

For some reason when I converse with my brother, we always end up going back to golfing. This was our latest coversation....

Chris: Hey Jon, I'm buying it $XXX including an antenna. Yes it has a tuner... :)

Jon: You're like way to anxious to buy an HDTV >_>

Chris: I want one, I want one, I want one! =P

Jon: I say wait at least till the football season starts :P

Chris: Hehehehe too late.... Football starts in a month.

Jon: I know when I'm in a losing argument.

Chris: We were arguing?

Jon: No... >_> I didn't say that. :P That was supposed to be a joke. :D :D I don't mind having an HDTV to be honest. Its just the price tag is insane.

Chris: Jonnny! You pay for it, you make x 1.5 my salary... heheh

Jon: Why would I want to spend that much on an HDTV when I can invest in HD Golf Clubs?? I'm seriously considering investing in the Callaways X-20s... >_> We'll see, let me think about it clearly. :P

Chris: High Definition Golf Clubs.... Where you can see clearly how badly you hit the ball... har har

Jon: Or... High Definition Golf Clubs... Where you can see clearly how well it goes up your opponents butt for making fun of the purchaser. Har de har har back :P Yours made me chuckle though ;P

Chris: If you do get the HD golf clubs, be sure to get a compatible HD ball so you can find your OB shots.

Jon: I.... can't...make....a....witty....comeback....

Chris: Well make sure your cables are plugged in securely then email me back.

Jon: Uh.. I don't need an HD Ball to locate where my OB shot is. I just need to locate yours, and mine will be 50 ft closer to the green from it. *ZING*

Chris: That's why you need an HD Ball, if you look closely and in higher definition, what you though was yours is actually mine. You should always check your ball bud... or pick up some HD balls at your local bestbuy.

Jon: Maybe you need to pick up some HD Balls of your own.. and a set of binoculars, weed-whackers, machetes, safari hunting hats, a weeks ration and a speed dial to your local search and rescue, so you can actually find your shot. .... and don't forget your tent and sleeping bag.

Chris: If I do manage to lose a ball, I'll just have you and your miss swings trim the lawn for me. ;)

Jon: May not be enough lawn left after you canyon-making practice swings....

Chris: I know, I cna't control my immense strength...

Jon: LOL

Jon: When I caddie for you. I'll ask you... "This is a good seven-shovel shot, but if you loosen up, I bet you can tunnel your way to the green with a six-shovel."

Chris: Lol.... har har.... you ended up as my caddie! =P

Jon: Touche ;p

Best Birthday Ever!

2007-07-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since I post anything, haven't had time since right after my birthday I had to leave for a Family reunion in Windsor, CA. This blog will be about my birthday since it was probably one of the best days I've had in a long time. To save you a huge blog, I'm going to just post pictures with description in order.

Show Pictures!

2007-06-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry it took me so long to post there but here are pictures of our show last Friday. It was by far the best Studio Seven show and the pictures (Taken by Mark Sixby) are very good! Enjoy!

Showtime!

2007-06-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time again, nervous as all heck I'm getting ready to head to our practice space to pack up and head up for our first main headline gig down at studio seven. Wish me luck and that I don't blabber nonsense. I feel like puking... :P

Ozzfest 2007

2007-06-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Two months ago everybody was talking about how they're going to make this their "Summer Hit", going camping, checking out the bands at Ozzfest, and getting totally sloshed. Thanks to Ozzfest being free this year, TONS of scrappers got tickets first and are now selling them on eBay and craigslist, leaving all my friends ticketless and bummed out. It really pisses me off on how people are trying to make money off something that is suppose to be free! Argh!

Stupid people in crowded buses

2007-06-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

Early today I was riding my usual bus from Bellevue to Seattle and it was starting to get pretty crowded when a middle age women who stood in front of me just decided to stop half-way on the bus because she liked her spot. As people were coming in thru the front it was getting more and more packed with the back half completely empty. Of course miss retard didn't feel like she wanted to move and made the other people walk around her which was very tough. "Please move towards the back of the bus" said the bus driver.... did she budge?... nope. At that time I wanted to grab my neighbor's newspaper, roll it up, and smack her over the head a couple times. We managed to get to Seattle in such a cramped manner and all I could think was how stupid she must have been...

God damn...

Congrats on your Graduation

2007-06-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say congrats on your graduation! And I hope to join the ranks of "Smart people" with you soon!

The Ultimate Golf Swing

2007-06-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Is not this picture below:

Click on the image to see the full size...

I love how my hair and shirt rides up after I hit the ball... such power! =P Yes yes, I know my upswing goes way to far back and I'm working on adjusting it.

The golf trio, the brother's Jon and Chris, and the gangsta girl Ann!!

Tomorrow I will post Ann's lovely graduation pictures... so stay tuned!

Tickets are here!

2007-06-10T23:19:00.000-07:00

To the few readers who read this blog....

TICKETS ARE HERE FOR THE JUNE 22nd SHOW! Come find me so I can sell you one, two, or three.... ;)

The show is at Studio Seven and the doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:00PM. There's going to be quite a few bands, some of them are good, some not so good.... right now I'm guessing our time slot will be close to the end of the show, *prays for headlining*. The tickets have our name on it, and ticketwest.com has the show under our name so we must be headlining.... but noooooo the owner says it's still undecided... weird. But try and show up around 10:30PM and you should be good.

$7 presale from me, $10 at the door (not sure but $10 min), $absurd price @ ticketwest.com.

Scary Rocky

2007-06-07T16:30:00.001-07:00

Heeelllppppp!

Red September completed!

2007-06-06T11:01:00.001-07:00

So fresh out of the studio I present the newest addition to our growing music arsenal "Red September". It deals with the IRAQ war, 911 and is basically a personal message our government oh how they have lost sights of their original goals.

Download or listen here:
http://www.myspace.com/silentepidemicband
http://www.silentepidemicband.com/media/recordings/Red_September.mp3

Lyrics:
---------------------------------------------------
Do you know, red September
It led everything to war

One life to kill another
One fate to be a slave
One life to be a murderer
One fate to fade away

Greed is set in the sights of our leaders
Filling their minds with pride and profit
Kill another make them bleed
Tell me now what have you become

Do you know, what is right, what is wrong
In the end of the night
Do you know, what is right, what is wrong
In the end of the night

The reason for war is the leaders we trust
Taking control, in the end of the night
The reason for war is the lies that they made
Taking control, in the end of the night

Please forgive me, I have no control
Don't deceive me, it's just you and me
It's just you and me
It's just you and me

So you think you can slave me to your dark corruption
So you think you can bind me to your hollow self-liberty

So play with minds and hunt your own delusions
Sacred purpose is the name of the game

We'll make our stand and will not fight for evil
We'll make out stand and save our brothers
We'll make our stand and will not fight for evil
We'll make out stand and save our brothers

I try to be the savior
I try to be the savior, when they, send me, and call my name
I try to protect the freedom, when they, send me, and call my name
This is a message for the white house of justice
Who sift up lies to play games with our mind

What is this for? Is this worth dying?
What is this for? Is this worth fighting?
What is this for

One life to be killed, One life to fade away x 3
One life to be killed, your life fades away

Remember red September x 2

One life to kill another, one fate to be a slave
Remember, remember, remember red September

---------------------------------------------------

Feel free to post comments on your thoughts....

Rocky Tin

2007-06-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to introduce my little baby Rocky Tin. He was born on February 8th 2007 in Oklahoma and was flown to Seattle when he was just 9 weeks old! We aren't sure what exactly his breed is; I was told by the breeder he was a Yorkshire terrier but there were too many things that didn't follow that breed; his weight is 9lbs, big floppy ears, and a wide face. Our best guess is that he is a Yorkshire Jack Russell Terrier mix, and I couldn't ask for anything more. So far he's 70% house broken and he knows sit, stay, go to bed, down, leave it, drop it, let's go and go potty! These pictures were taken on my new camera!

Woot! A new camera!

2007-06-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

So I finally saved up my money and got myself a used but very cool camera, it's a Casio Exilim 7.2MP Camera. That means I'll be able to post more pictures of my dog, golf, and weekend activities. Here's some pictures of my camera (I'm at work there's nothing much to take photos of):

It's really light, has a nice big screen, lots of cool features and presets for most occasions. Overall I like it a lot and can't wait taking pictures of Rocky!

In the recording studio

2007-05-22T12:11:00.001-07:00

Well the past weekend I've been busy with the band burying ourselves in a recording studio and I'm planning to spend most of this week doing the same. The studio is a pretty nice place and very well thought out to the layout of everything. My friend Corey who's the owner the Perennial Studio by the UW really know his stuff and was really excited to help us get the best sound possible.

Right now we're doing a one song test with the studio to see if we're interested in doing a full length album with them in the future. So far in 3 days, we've tracked the guitars, drums, and bass and they all sound better than any previous recordings; and that's just the raw tracks!! The only one left is me!! Crap, I always get nervous recording and performing....

We were doing setup yesterday testing out microphones and listening to some sample takes and I was thinking "Damn I really sound horrible". I got more and more demoralized with each microphone until I got to the typical stage mic and instantly felt a lot more comfortable with my stance and posture so naturally I nailed it. Problem is, that's a stage mic, and the producer won't let me record with it since it doesn't have close to the quality as the rest of his vocal microphones. But he now knew what I was comfy with and set me up with a microphone I can't touch but at an angle where I'm comfortable at. And I nailed it again and this time it sounded way better than the stage mic. So my recording session is tomorrow night and hopefully I'll beat the crap out of the song!

I really need to invest in a digital camera so I can post pictures easily, texts bores me and probably you too!

Great Mushroom Article

2007-05-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

Notes on the Ingestion of Amanita Muscaria

By Lawrence Millman and Tonya Haff
Reprinted from the SOMA

Boiled to remove its toxins, Amanita muscaria can usually be eaten with impunity. David Arora serves it on his forays; Russians call it mukhumor and delight in its nutty flavor; and the Japanesereputedly prefer it to Boletus edulis. Recently, Lawrence Millman and Tonya Haff had an experience of A. muscaria somewhat different from the purely culinary experience they intended to have.

Tonya cut two large (18 x 8 cm) muscaria buttons into ¼" strips and placed them in two quarts of boiling water. The mushrooms were cooked for 3 ½ minutes (they were actually in the boiling water for 5 minutes), and after they were drained, both of us sampled a few pieces. We found the taste pleasant, indeed agreeably nutty, although Lawrence thought they also had a slightly metallic aftertaste. We browned several more slices in olive oil and found them quite pleasant, too. The remaining slices were breaded, then browned. Altogether we ate almost all of the two buttons.

Twenty minutes later both of us started to feel distinctly "off." Lawrence found himself staring vacantly at some LBMs we were trying to identify. Tonya noticed that he was holding his stomach and looking uncomfortable. Once we agreed that muscaria was the culprit, we called David Arora and asked him what we should do. "Take notes!" David said. So what follows are the notes we took during the experience:

18:56. We ate A. muscaria at 6:00PM. Tonya was initially feeling hot, but now she's feeling cold. Her sense of smell is heightened. Lawrence can't seem to concentrate on identifying our mushrooms.
19:09. Tonya is slurring her words. Her pupils are dilated, and there's a lump in her throat. She finds the cedar-like odor of Camarophyllus russo-coriaceus quite cloying. Her upper lip is sweaty. Her stomach is mildly queasy, while Lawrence's stomach is very queasy.
19:15. Tonya's fingers are clammy. She says her arms are unusually goose bumpy. The cedar-like odor of the waxy cap is really bothering her now. Music is bothering her, too ("Bob Dylan driving me up a wall"). Lawrence retreats to the bathroom.
19:23. Having vomited up some of the muscaria, Lawrence says he feels a bit better. Or at least his stomach feels a bit better. The rest of him feels buzzed and more or less out of it. He also feels quite hot.
19:27. Tonya is experiencing a heightened sense of touch. Lawrence's fingers on her forehead seem to be burning a cold hole in her. There's an acute pain in her eye, but it soon goes away. Lawrence still has a slight buzz, very different, he says, from the experience of being drunk. He remarks that he's glad he's not a Siberian shaman. (Note: Siberian shamans eat muscaria for ritualistic purposes.)
19:38. Our "highs" seem to have stabilized. Lawrence is again trying to identify some of our mushrooms. Tonya says she feels almost normal, whereas Lawrence says he can't feel normal because he isn't.
19:53. Tonya is starting to feel a bit hungry. Lawrence's head feels like foam.
20:00. Tonya feels dizzy when she rolls her eyes. Also sort of sleepy. Lawrence succeeds in identifying a Mycena.
20:30. Tonya's feeling clumsy and poorly coordinated, but otherwise okay. Lawrence can't seem to dial a friend's phone number, and likewise can't close the sliding door without getting his hand stuck in it. Also, he says the mushrooms we're trying to I.D. are talking to him.
21:15. Lawrence has been silent for a while, listening to the mushrooms. All of a sudden he's very talkative, although he's not making much sense. "Smooth circus" --neither of us knows what that means. "Mushrooms are people, too," he says.
21:29. Both of us feel euphoric, Lawrence especially so --he says he hasn't felt this good in years. We decide to go out to dinner, but first we call David Arora to tell him that we're all right. "Whatever you do," David says, "don't drive." So we appoint Tonya's roommate Mikey the designated driver.
21:54. At a Chinese restaurant. Tonya thinks our food has a consciousness of its own as well as a texture that's "very real." She also thinks everyone in the restaurant is high, and that Lawrence likes Republicans, although he's earlier made it clear that he doesn't.
22:10. Lawrence is drinking a beer and says he can relate to the bottle, that the bottle can relate to him, and that the two of them are actually enjoying each other's company.
22:15. Our food feels very textured, and we seem able to commune with each grain of rice. We also feel that we're moving fast, but that our thoughts are moving slowly. Lawrence keeps dropping his chopsticks. Coordination is difficult for both of us.
22:10. Both of us seem to be suffering from short term memory loss. Lawrence feels that his critical sense, usually very much in evidence, has gone on vacation. The word "euphoria" keeps popping up in our conversation.

At 23:00 we leave the restaurant. Lawrence says that objects have no meaning, but simply exist. We see a dead deer on the road, and he says the difference between a dead deer and a living one is negligible. Tonya still feels elated, exuberant but at the same time relaxed. She falls asleep around midnight without any difficulty. For the next three days her right ring finger tingles when she hits it with her thumb, but otherwise she notices no symptoms relating to the muscaria ingestion. Lawrence has a deep sleep and wakes up the next morning feeling refreshed.
Later we asked David Arora why we experienced the ups and downs of an A. muscaria trip when all we'd wanted todo was experience the culinary delights of a muscaria hors d'oeuvre. His explanation: that the mushrooms were far too big for the pot in which they were boiled, with the result that only as much of the toxins were dissolved in the water as the water itself could hold. Thus our trips included a certain disarray of the senses, but not the full disarray experienced by Siberian shamans; and thus, too, our trips did not require a different sort of trip --i.e., to the hospital.

Editor’s Note: As they say on TV, “Do Not Try This in Your Own Kitchen”. For a great culinary experience, I think I will stick with so many good and safe edibles.

Pictures!

2007-04-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally posting up the pictures of my Brother's birthday party at the Cheesecake factory in Bellevue. So here they are!

Jon being his jolly old self with all them presents..

Ann's presents... what could they be?

A mini piggie! It's actually a key chain that has a super blinding blue LED light.

It's a Tupperware kit! Since Jon's loves packing his own lunch. Now he doesn't have to hunt for all those tupperware covers.

Time for my present, you can tell he's going to like it!

Of course I had to get him the newest game that he's been drooling about. Both me and Jon has played the series of C&C since we were in Hong Kong. Now he has the newest 2007 version!

So that it for the Jon's birthday photos, I shall leave you this picture to embed in your nightmares!

Errrgggg

Finally an update!

2007-04-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been very diligent in posting events in my blog. A lot has happened, brother's Birthday, car repairs, other car repairs, wisdom tooth extractions... but I'll post more info on each as I get all caught up. I do however have some pictures I would like to share about my sister and my Mom visiting a zoo in their new home in Australia. Enjoy!

So CUUUUTTTTEEEE!

Happy April Fools!

2007-04-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend especially Saturday was a blast! Me, Jon and Ann went to Jackson Park Golf Course to play 18 holes for a fun par-3 time. I ended up leaving the day with a decent score (tied with Jon) and 2 birdies! Sweet! Then it was movie hopping time! Here's my takes on what we watched (this includes a DVD we rented).

Blades of Glory - 8/10. The movie was pretty much as outrageous as Will Ferrell always seems to be in all his movies. From beginning to end it was completely hilarious and I highly recommend it to everyone. Please note that you have to have a pretty liberal mind watching this movie, don't expect something that has a perfect plot, nor for anything to make sense.

Shooter - 8/10. I didn't expect this movie to be as exciting as it was. With Marky Mark as an ex-Sniper, he definably showed that he can always play the part of a complete bad ass. The movie was pretty bloody with heads being shot off, dismemberment and such but it wasn't it a way where I was disgusted with. The plot was pretty decent with few loopholes but it's main purpose was to show the power of a highly trained sniper anyways. Overall a fun movie to watch if you are in the action mood.

Curse of the Golden Flower - 3/10. This film was too artistic for me. I initially wanted to watch it because I love Chinese fighting movies and this one seemed to fit my taste. Sadly enough, there was barely any fighting and the movie moved so slow that I wanted it to end after watching the first 30 mins. However, I do have to say that it was a very artistic movie, where the colors and directing was very beautiful. So if you are looking for a high pace action movie, this isn't it. If you're looking for something pretty to watch with a horrible plot, this movie is for you!

Remember that this is my personal opinion! Cheers!

My 1st Car Accident

2007-03-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I got in to my first car accident after driving for about 8 years. I was going about 60MPH after merging from 520 to the I-5 freeway and was checking my left blind spot when the car in front of me suddenly brakes. Of course I wasn't looking straight ahead but luckily my friend in the passenger seat yelled "Um... Chris... STOP!" and I slammed on the brakes as I saw the car in front come to a complete stop. I had a good amount of distance from the car ahead, but apparently not enough as I watch the car in front come closer and closer almost in slow-motion. With my tires screeching I managed to slow my car from 60MPH down to approx 10-15MPH when I finally hit.

Damn, I thought to myself. I just got this car repaired from a parking accident my brother had recently, insurance is going to love me today. I turned on my emergency light, grabbed my paper work, and walked outside. This is the damage to my car.

As you can see by the black marks on the bumper, I actually went UNDER the car in front of me. This was very lucky since the other party didn't receive ANY damages besides a scratch on their rear bumper. Nobody was hurt, the officer that assisted us was very nice, and after careful examination of my car I decided to drive it home.

The damages to my car are all minor, mainly the hood, front bumper, under body plastics and wheel well plastics. There was no damages to the engine and not even the radiator! Phew!

Now I'm thinking, what if I was on my motorcycle.... damn that'd suck.

Pet Rules!

2007-03-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

Since I've been thinking of adopting a dog, I found this very funny. Wanted to share.

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, bark, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butts. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it "fur"niture.
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember:
Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3 Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college,
and...
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children

PS> Thanks Jon for the entertaining note ;)

SEWebsite Done!

2007-03-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

After much delay I finally managed to finish the Silent Epidemic website to make it look more professional. It under a content management system for easy editing and has an interface that's easy to use. It took about 5 hours to program and I'm pretty happy about it. So check it out at www.silentepidemicband.com and let me know what you think!

Funny News Articles

2007-03-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Since I feel really lazy this morning and don't feel like writing up about how much I hate cold mornings (37 Degrees to be exact), I'm going to post some pictures to get your morning going. Enjoy!

Allergy Madness

2007-03-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

So spring is finally in the air.... and I mean literally. With tree pollen at the highest for the past two weeks here in the rainy washington state (http://www.nwasthma.com) you could hear sniffing and sneezing all over Seattle as people are still trying to survive the work week. Kleenex sales must be hitting the roof by now since I've been going through boxes like an dog finding a truck full of bacon.

These little pollen grains have been giving me little sleep, itchy eyes, and a nose that runs like a waterfall. My girlfriend is probably thinking "#@%$ing allergies" since my snores have been dramatically louder due to the fact I can't breath through my nose! With 35 Million people in the US alone being affected by allergies each year, it's at least comforting that I'm not alone dealing with this. Now I've tried quite a bit of drugs to help me ease the symptoms (clartin, alvert, nasal sprays, nasal decongestants) but nothing seems to be making me feel even 90%. Worse of all, my asthma is effected by allergies. So imagine while you're sleeping, you already have a stuffed up running nose and itchy eyes, now add on 50% breathing capabilities and you'd be one pissed off tired dude in the morning.

However even through all this madness I still love spring here in Seattle. The weather is getting warmer, daylight savings kicks in so the sun sets at 7pm, tree's are starting to blossom, and most importantly.... the golf season is getting closer!!! I'm already dreaming golf (without having allergies of course), thus is heaven..