Well as most science fiction fans know last friday was the series finale for Stargate: SG-1, ending the longest running sci-fi series ever. (Yes, longer than the X-Files - which was very lame to begin with) In any event, it was incredibly disappointing. On so many levels.

First of all let's ignore the issue that the series should have culminated at the end of season 8 when all the "bad guys" were defeated and every unique plot line and character seemed to have some closure. But NO, they introduced a new villian in season 9, bumped off several main characters, added new ones and just dragged it on.

Back to the point. The biggest issue is that the finale did not really finalize anything at all. Several big plot changes occured in the second half of this season alone. IMDB tells me that 2 straight to DVD movies will be made for Stargate. The first of which will conclude the plotline and after that who knows? Am I really anxious? No. But I would still like to know how it all ends. And if they were going to make 2 movies anyways, why not just end the show and create some cool movies that potentially newcomers could watch (perhaps something like Serenity)?

And how did it all end? ... The problem with many science fiction storylines is their over-dependence on time travel. Stargate ended (I don't care if I spoil it) with a scenario playing out where every main character ran the full extent of their lives. Probably something like the finale of Six Feet Under but with less satisfaction. Well here they were "trapped" but of course it "didn't happen" because they can go back in time and fix it! Yeah, how convenient.

Well anyways, I'm glad the show is over now. Once upon a time friday night could mean 3 or 4 different sci-fi shows to catch up on. Tough life for a geek. I'm glad there's one less. So now, I'll wait for the DVD's.

In all fairness, Stargate: SG-1 was a great show in its prime with the original cast. Highly entertaining, not too much mumbo-jumbo and great characters. Next to ST:TNG, it was probably one of the best sci-fi shows ever. I'll miss it. But after 10 years, its time to move onto something else.

Posted in: Television,

Several years ago I was in the basement watching my two cousins playing during some family function. It was just the three of us, most likely during some sort of summer party. Well, both of my young cousins were pretty mischievous and they decided to play on this old spinning couch/lounge chair. They started spinning faster and faster, until one of them flew straight off and hit the basement floor, luckily it was carpeted. I just stood by and did nothing till it happened. After making sure he wasn't hurt, I couldn't stop laughing. The image of my "launched" cousin is glued in my mind and still cracks me up. Of course I had to share, I told my siblings about it some time afterwards.

The best part of the story came several years later, when my youngest brother decides to narrate the story with him in my spot. How that's possible I don't know, but he was convinced he was the one who was there, not me. I think I straightened him out. I guess I could excuse it to something childish.

The interesting thing I see more frequently among a more professional environment is when people take other people's ideas. I want to say its unintentional, but I'm not sure. They either lack the precision in their memory or they simply recall their thoughts in their own voice making it effectively their own. I often don't correct this when I see it, lest I look like an attention-seeker or ego-deflater. Either way its one of the most annoying things.

In a "geeky" way I have pretty detailed recollection when it comes to past events and conversations. And I do accept that the people can unwittingly confuse their own memories, but it can be pretty funny to tell someone that they said something shocking or hilarious that they can't remember. It can be powerful to contradict someone with their own words. I guess, however, I should be careful, I don't want to abuse my powers.

Posted in: Life, History,

I saw this in the newspaper and I thought it was pretty funny. Go to Google Maps and get directions for 2 major cities that are separated by an ocean. Say for example New York and London.

Try it for yourself.

Pay close attention to how Google recommends you cross that ocean. And of course don't forget the disclaimer:

These directions are for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, or other events may cause road conditions to differ from the map results.

In this case you might be missing your road.

Posted in: Funny, Travel, Internet, Technology,

So in 1997 I was excited to get a 14.1" Sony Trinitron monitor. It worked at a pristine 800x600 SVGA resolution (and I could push it to 1024x768@85Hz, rare for the time). However that was only for my main computer at the time, a 166Mhz AMD K6 (sorry I couldn't afford a Pentium MMX). So the rest of the 286's and 486's at my house (all second hand) were running monochrome (remember Hercules?) or EGA. So I would scour the used computer shops for monitors. I was looking for any VGA at the time. I bought several $5 or $10 semi-broken monitors (otherwise $50-100 used) thinking I could get my dad to fix them. Sadly in the end they all landed in the trash.

A few years later I remember helping with some replacement monitor purchases at a place I worked. I would select the UPS Ground Service for shipping (typically 1 week) - saving a whopping $50 over faster delivery. Of course that stopped when I was scolded over the fact that if someone needed a monitor for their work and had to wait 5 days, that's 40hours X their hourly wage of less output or in some cases no work at all. Okay, so I could see first hand how time waste translated to dollars.

Wising up, on occasion I would pay more attention to the parts needed to fix a monitor. So it takes a few hours to open it and isolate the board or part that's faulty. Then a few days to order the part. A few more hours to put it back together. Voila! Good as new. However someone will do a cost estimate and find that actually buying a new replacement will take less time and overall cost. And their numbers are correct.

So I dump a monitor in the trash. But somehow I know that doesn't translate well for the environment. While I "potentially" saved money, I know that probably a few resistors or diodes would make that junk into not-junk. Obviously I can't recycle a CRT like you can paper. And then someone will give me an argument that throwing that monitor is probably better for the environment, but I just don't buy it ... yet.

So now I have one of last nice Trinitron monitors on my desk. It's only 17" but it manages nicely at 1280x1024@100Hz. But I want more! I want a wide LCD with a ton more screen space. However I can't get over the fact that I'll be effectively turning this one into trash. Could it a new Dell 24" Wide Panel make me more productive? Sure! Would I be $700 more productive? Tough sell.

I go through computer hardware parts (motherboards, CPU's, memory) almost regularily every 18 months or so, but I never throw them away. Yes, I still have my 166Mhz K6. But with big monitors, they take up lots of space and I can't keep them around. I feel guilty contributing to the growing electronic waste problem, but at the end of the day I might really need that 2GB RAM upgrade or that WUXGA 1920x1200 resolution.

If you don't keep up, the waste of your skills or abilities seems like a greater tragedy.

Posted in: Technology,

Okay, no, I'm not learning Japanese, nor will I. After 6 weeks of a multitude of unrelated illnesses and a few rather disappointing weeks at work, I finally went out ... at night ... without medication ... I think. I had Japanese food for the first time, you know, the real deal with sushi and many other "looks better than they smell dishes". It was an interesting night of discovery.

I went downtown to the university campus looking for this place. I couldn't find parking at first, so I quickly called my brother who gave me some incorrect suggestions, but in the last minute he redeemed himself. Being out of school and now seeing so many roads, buildings and locations change was very unsettling. Man, do I ever feel old. old. old.

Dinner was okay in that I've never had a full meal with chop-sticks before. I've started many times only to end up with a fork or spoon. Too much food, not sure I like the raw fish bit. And what's with the raw cabbage? I'm disappointed my plankto (capto?, namko?, something...) didn't seem very Japanese-ish. My Chinese colleagues informed me that most Japanese restaurants are run by Chinese or Koreans and that the food isn't quite "authentic". Fancy that. Other than that, I also get the impression that the Chinese don't like the Japanese. Fancy that. Also, my buddy told me he worked with a former asian Playboy model while shooting a movie in L.A. Fancy that.

Anyways, it was good to get out. And just to make sure this post wasn't a complete waste of your time, here's a funny picture for you (sorry no Playboy models).

Posted in: Life,