Stupidity, stupidity, stupidity.

RANT

I just had the most horrible experience where there is a wave of stupidity going on all at once. There must be an alien in orbit bombarding the earth with stupidity ray or something.

There is a thread of messages where I had a discussion with a CEO of some kind (who shall remain nameless), where he insisted that communication skill is very important. I mentioned how people nowadays are failing basic skills such as Show and Tell, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Looking from the Opposite Point of View. He replied that 2 of those things, Show and Tell and Writing, are part of communication skill. Huh?

Wait a minute. Reading is not a communication skill? Communication is defined by speaker and listener. In written form, that means Writer and Reader. Therefore, Reading is part of communication skill. Furthermore, I did mention that Opposite Point of View is a basic skill. What is opposite Writing? Reading, of course!

So, he failed in Reading. He failed in Opposite Point of View. And so he failed in Writing accurately. And it's not really Arithmetic, but still math. I mentioned that a student can get a second degree faster by transferring his college credit. He countered that getting another 4 year degree will take 4 years. Ummm... I just told him that college credit can be transfered. If the degree is close enough, you don't need more than 2 years. In fact, in this case, it can be minored, so I'm guessing just 1 year. It's not Arithmetic, but failing Algebra isn't too good, either.

You know, these kind of mistakes do happen, but I certainly didn't expect it to come from a highly skilled, highly experienced CEO! Especially one who insisted that communication skill is paramount. I will make extra effort to avoid his products in the future.

There was a letter to a newspaper, saying that a child was asking whether Grandma is related to Mother. Such a thing is to be expected from a five year old. Unfortunately, the child in question happens to be a soldier about to be deployed to Iraq! Whatever happened to common sense?

So, I had a discussion about the importance of college degree. Somebody went off tangent saying that school is important. For proof? He mentioned how he got his job BEFORE getting his degree! What's his job? Musician. What's his degree? English. I don't know about you, but that doesn't look like a school endorsement to me. Worse, when I asked for clarification, there's a mention of how a lot of his classmates went jobless after graduation! That is certainly not an endorsement, but a condemnation! So, why does he go around telling people to go to school? Is he stupid or something?

And I should tell you that his writing level, and intelligence for that matter, is only at high school level. Run-on sentences! Very coarse vocabulary intermingled with a few uppity, high noggin words (a few of which are rather off tangent). Yet, he didn't really say anything of substance. Just a bunch of opinions, packaged in poor diction. Sigh. Is that guy really an English major graduate? Please tell me where he went to school so I can tell people to NOT go there. Run-on sentences and English major are NOT compatible!

I mean, come on, don't you have a sense of responsibility to uphold the reputation of the group you belong to? Do you think that just because you joined a highly reputable organization, you automaticcally, without any effort on your part, become highly respectable? That's not the way it works. If you do that, the organization will die a slow death.

Witness the decline of quality TV show. It used to be that I can watch a few shows. Murphy Brown and Home Improvement are the two I like to watch. I can tolerate Everybody Loves Raymond. But now? It's all junk in there. I don't bother watching TV anymore. I pretty much just gave my TV away. I couldn't stand to watch any of it. The only non-news show I can watch is infomercial, where they show shapely ladies shaping away their buns in some exercise program. Sigh.

I guess that means I won't be working in TV anytime soon. I also probably won't be working in computer game anytime soon, as their quality has universally steadily declined. There used to be some great games out there. Lucas Arts used to make fantastic Star Wars games. Their last Star Wars game was an absolute pain. I couldn't believe it! Ditto for World at War series. Id Software used to make Doom, which I played endlessly. Their last Quake game? Rather annoying. I actually prefer the old Doom, what with pixelated graphics and all. Sigh.

You are who you are with. It doesn't matter if you're good. If the group you are in are terrible, then you are terrible by association. The commodity entertaiment industry has be in steady decline, and I'm very disheartened about it, since I plan to enter that industry. The way it is now, the computer game companies are so abusive that newcomers are expected to work 100+ hours per week without extra pay. Huh? Is there no one in the industry who sees something terribly wrong with that? Of course there are. Many of them, in fact. Unfortunately, a few big bad apples paints the picture. Now tell me, if you are smart, would you work for such punishing industry where early burnouts are so common, they are expected? Or would you work on normal job with better pay, respect, and balanced family life? No contest. The computer gaming industry is slowly commiting suicide, and as I try to be successful, I will avoid such industry until they get better. After all, the way it is now, only soon-to-burn-out-and-lose-their-job losers work there.

I haven't watched TV in a long time. I have curtailed my PC computer game purchase due to incredible amount of buggy junk out there. I will probably curtail my DS games purchase soon because, frankly, their quality is going down the drain there as well. Would you believe that my last dsiware download game froze on me? That never happened before! Well, it shows you how bad DS games has become. And that's not counting bad music you cannot turn off, which is 90% of the time, so that I end up playing the game mute, losing all sound effects. Sigh.

So, if any of you happen to look up to the sky, and see a flying saucer with green skinned alien waving around their stupidity ray gun, then please do me a favor and SHOOT THEM DOWN!

KFC vs Popeye's chicken

REVIEW

I just can't help myself. When Popeye claims that their chicken beat KFC, I couldn't believe it! So, I tried it myself. I like KFC original recipe chicken, but comparing it with Popeye chicken is unfair, since Popeye chicken has crispy skin. So, I decided to try KFC crispy.

I prefer KFC crispy to Popeye's chicken. I think KFC tastes better, and they have better, softer skin than Popeye's. Popeye's skin is too dry for my taste. However, Popeye's cajun chicken is better than KFC crispy. In that view, Popeye is better than KFC. However, I do prefer KFC original to Popeye's. So in my view, KFC wins the taste contest. Better taste, better cooking, better chicken.

Nutritionally wise, KFC has less sodium and fat than Popeye's, which surprised me. OTOH, eating KFC reminds me of MSG. So, I don't usually eat chicken dinner. I usually eat rice dinner, with chicken on the side.

Kindle for PC

COOL TECH

I downloaded Kindle for PC from Amazon. Looks nice. It has all the features I want, none of the extras I don't want. It makes it very convenient to purchase books, and carry them. Delivery is extremely quick! So far, I have been able to confine myself to just freebies book, but I am sorely tempted by some of the offerings out there, so most likely, I will break down later and will start downloading books like crazy.

The book samples pleased me. It's not just a single chapter, but a whole lot of them. My criteria to buy is simple: If I finished the sample, and still want more, then buy! If I finish the sample and not want to buy, then don't buy! Too many good books out there for me not to buy, though. Now I'm tempted to buy the actual Kindle device. Oh, dear.

Nnooo myNotebook Carbon Pearl Tan Review

REVIEW

I did a myNotebook review a while back where I decided that I'll stick with Flipnote and PhotoGrafitti instead. Nnooo has updated the program with new colors: Carbon, Pearl, and Tan. I can say that the new version is much better than the old one. Shall I use it?

The fact is, myNotebook has none of the functionalities that both Flipnote and Photo Grafitti have. They also have more than what myNotebook offers: Calendar and Colors. Nnooo has myDiary in the works that has calendar, but this one does not have calendar.

This new version has:
1. 128 pages, instead of 32 pages.
2. Export (but not import) pages to Photo Album.
3. New blank page.
4. More refinements, and bug fixes.

The old one has 3 fatal flaws that caused it to be near unusable for me:
1. Perpetual gray box you cannot turn off.
2. Having to flip the device to write on other pages.
3. Annoying music you cannot turn off.

I'm glad to report that complaint 1 & 3 are fixed. Still have complaint 2, though. At least the increased number of pages alleviate that somewhat, so the flaw is no longer fatal, just very annoying.

Speaking of annoyance, the toolbar is very annoying. Yup, you guessed it: You cannot turn it off! It is in the way often. Worse, if you flip the page, it got to be in the way from the other side! That means I cannot purposely write upside down to get away from the toolbar. Did I mention that it will ease-in and out everytime you flip the pages? That makes turning the pages very, very slow.

Regarding turning the pages: Nnooo put in skip 10 pages. They even allow double tap on it to skip 20 pages! The thing is: there's no option to skip multiple pages singly. What do I mean by that? Take a look at Photo Album, or EA Flips e-book. See how when you hold down the button, the pages flip without being loaded and just jumps to the page when you release the button? I want it just like that!

There's really nothing new that myNotebook offers. That means, to be successful, it has to offer convenience. Slowly turning the pages is NOT convenient. And the toolbar bug? I don't see how anyone can miss that.

The new offering is better than the old, but it is only decent. I guess it went up from student quality to amateur quality, but I'm hard pressed to get away from photographing various papers w/ Photo, and use Grafitti for notetaking. I can see how the blank pages allows me to doodle quickly, with notes on the side page, but do I have to flip the device over to do it!? Also, I do not see an option for vertical lines, wide ruling, or custom format.

Another thing you cannot turn off: time and battery meter. Huh? Do you have to have that on every page?

Also it would be nice if the START bookmark function takes you to the inside cover so you can write Table of Content there.

Should you download this and use it? I don't object if you do, but I suggest giving Photo Grafitti and Flipnote Hatena a try before you buy this.

Just a quick 15 min impression:
1. Toolbar does not stay hidden when flipping pages
2. This makes turning pages slower than necessary
3. No double tap on next page, like there is on skip 10 pages.
4. No multiple page turning when holding down button.
5. Did fix the music bug. Thanks!
6. Saved page when exiting via pressing the power button. Great!
7. Don't know why only one shoulder button will hide/show toolbar. No reason why both can't be active? Only one function, right?
8. Still have to turn device over to write alternate page.
9. Like the extra pages. That means skipping pages is fine, with so much capacity.
10. The loading/saving on every page turning does make it slow.
11. Vertical line on the side is too close to the edge to be useful. Maybe skipping it altogether is better. Is that one of the unlockable design?
12. I wish there is an option to skip 40 pages w/ double tap, though. It is a chore to get to the later pages.
13. Love the new export command. Thanks. JPEG artifact is there, but not a problem.
14. No tapping to quickly clear the "new unlockable" notice screen.
15. Last page location is accessible via the START button. Nice.
16. I wonder what would happen if I press the power button when data is loading at the start? It isn't doing any saving, right? So, should be no problem?
17. Did fix the perpetual gray box. Thanks.
18. Toolbar options are not saved. Pen/color settings are reset upon exit.

Next day impression:
1. Toolbar is in the way when the screen is flipped.
2. Hitting START button causes the cover to be shown instead of inside cover/page 1
3. White does not have blue underline in pen mode. It actually works better that way!
4. Eraser could be bigger in "big" mode.
5. The lines could be wider. Wide ruling.
6. Page turn can be faster, multiple page flip when holding down button.

Absolute Chess Dsiware Review

REVIEW

I downloaded Absolute Chess dsiware this week, and I like it! It's not usual chess by any means, more like pick up-and-play quick game of chess, and in that role, it does very well. The game engine is set for speed, and does not think too deep. At the advanced level, it can spot mate in 3. So, I think, it's about 5 ply, or 2.5 move deep.

It has 4 levels, and 8 characters for a variety opponent. Missing features are timer, auto play, hint, undo (somewhat). If you come in expecting the usual trappings of chess, you will be disappointed. This game is geared more toward blitzkrieg chess.

Some bugs are presents: Racheal instead of Rachael. b4 instead of d4. "wait" instead of undo. Minor blemishes to what an otherwise good program.

I appreciate the designers for injecting flavor by doing anime style character, even if they're not animated. There are different pictures showing different states: neutral, winning, and losing.

I really like the download play feature. Alas, no timers. At least the graphics are clear and pleasant. No worries about confusing pieces, that's for sure!

It's too bad you cannot turn off music or sound effects independently. If I want to listen to music while playing chess, that's what mp3 players are for. The majority of chess players prefer quiet solitude.

It also has challenge mode. Not a big deal, though. 1st level, win the game. 2nd level, win the game in 12 minutes, a casual game. 3rd level, use bishop to take 4 or more pieces. Easy, since pawns count as pieces. 4th level, leave 3 or more pawns. Keeping 3 pawns in castling does the trick just fine. 5th level, 70 moves, 7 minutes, Blitzkrieg chess with 2 extra minutes. Did I mention that the early level makes all kind of blunders? Just play a defensive game, and you'll beat the challenges no problem!

Here's a sample game that I played:
1. e4 e5 2. f4 xf4 King's Gambit Accepted
3. d4 Qh4 4. Ke2 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qg4 6. h3 Qe6 7. Nc3 Qc4 8. Kf2 Qb4 9. a3 Qd6 10. e5 Qh6 Harassing the Queen while developing
11. Nd5 Kd8 12. Nxf4 Be7 13. Nd5 Bh4 14. g3 Qe6 15. Nf4 Bxg3 16. Kxg3 Qh6 17. d5 g5 18. xc6 xf4 19. Bxf4 Qxc6 Clarifying position
20. Bg2 Ne7 21. Kh2 Rg8 22. Rg1 Qe4 23. Bg3 d6 24. Ng5 Qf5 25. xd6 Qxg5 mate in 2
26. xc7 Ke8 27. Qd8 mate

Bugs!

RANT

This is what I have to deal with on a daily basis. Sigh. If only it isn't so buggy!

Oh, yes. Do your job well, and this golden mouse can be yours! What an incentive!

JetBlue Flight Attendant

RANT

First truck driver, now flight attendant? What is the world coming to?

I only saw this briefly on TV, so I don't have all the details, but apparently it goes like this:
1. Flight attendant got smacked on the head by passenger.
2. Passenger refused to apologize
3. FA snapped and quit after spewing tirades over the intercom
4. FA grabbed beer
5. FA deployed emergency slide, and departed the plane that way.
6. FA got into a car and went home.
7. FA got arrested.

I think that beer grabbing is significant. Why would you want to drink beer? To relieve stress. Why is the flight attendant stressed out? Because the passenger hit him on the head, and laughed about it. How can he do that and without any repercussion? I don't know, but I tell you that if the world is fair, that passenger would have been sued for assault. So, the question isn't how much punishment must this FA receive. I think these are relevant:
1. Why now? Why with JetBlue, and not Virgin?
2. With all these talk about rude FA, this one is actually pretty mild outburst. Thank you for not shooting people, BTW.
3. When will you stop rude passenger from boarding the aircraft? Or sue for assault as this is what it is.
4. I know hospitality industry is tough, but OSHA should enforce safety of workers from hazardous customer.
5. With trucking CSA2010, there is Respondent-Superior clause. I think the airline industry should have it as well.
6. FA got arrested? At home? After quitting? If the defense lawyer is any good, he will have a field day!
7. If I was a JetBlue owner, which I'm not, I'd have dropped everything and ran over and grilled everybody on the subject. There's no details to prove it so far, but this has all the marks of bad management crafting bad policy, causing good employee to be stuck in the middle. That's a pity.

There are many reason for workers to be disgruntled, but bad management shouldn't be it.

A footnote: shame on you, Jay Leno, to make fun of the situation. These people suffer mightily on the job. Is there any reason why you would be so cruel? Certainly not Johnny Carson, are you? Think about it. Had this been a pilot who snapped at 30,000 feet, then the outcome wouldn't be so harmless, nor funny. Will you make a joke out of it, too?