Now on leg 2 of my US tour I will be gracing Texas with my presence. My buddy Mahesh insisted that I come down there for him to argue his stance as to why I should switch to Intel from AMD processors. I don't know sounds like a tough challenge. ... Nah, just taking some time off to relax, catch up, check out the scene down there.

Time to party, err, relax. Hoping for some good times! You all know the drill, email works as always.

Posted in: Life, Travel,

Got into Virginia friday night and just looked over our plans then smashed eachother on Super Smash Brothers. Saturday we took in the Mall of DC. Unfortunately everything was either wardened off or it was just too crowded. The main spots were the Smithsonian Air and Space museum and Natural History museum. Very fascinating. Wish we spent some more time there. There were so many things to see, I can't even recall them. We tried the fighter jet simulator but my co-pilot had a knack for flying us upside down. Lots of cool planes and things. We saw the Hope Diamond (origin: India) and a shocking assortment of fine gems. Warning: you WILL be ripped off at the food court!

Head off to see the monuments. The Washington monument was all blocked off, no more tickets were available when we got there. So we walked and walked to the White House, there was such a crowd there. We squeezed to the gate and took a picture from soooo far off. So many cops there. Big WOW!!! Not sure what all the people were excited about. The WWII memorial was surprisingly simple. It seemed more like a token than a true tribute, but I'm not saying anything bad about it. On the other hand it was pretty difficult to look over all the names on the Vietnam memorial. So many people were kneeling and looking for certain names. Sad. ... Moving on, we couldn't even walk beside the Reflecting Pool they had us walk all the way around. Reaching the end we made it up to the Lincoln Monument. That thing is so small up close. People were waiting in lines to take a solo picture next to it. I tried waiting but then gave up, so what if some random person is in the corner of my pic?! After that walk, I was totally spent. I think we sat there the longest. Made it home and just chilled, more Nintendo and movies.

Next day relaxed with some more movies and we decided our luck at bowling. Odd thing, why is everyone intimidated by it? I guess it's humiliating to roll gutter balls, but hey we all do it. I started bad, but came out on top (note to self: ball size 15). Don't remember what after that, saw Bewitched. Funny and cute but enjoyable. Props to my boy Will Ferrell.

Next day went out to the other air and space museum. I forget the name but this one was impressive. Lots of missiles and cool planes. Highlights were the Concorde, Enola Gay, Blackbird and the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Lots of cool stuff, can't remember it all. After that we got ready for the official D.C. fireworks. No one really knew how long they would be, but starting time was 9:00pm. We got out to the Metro train by 7 and IT WAS PACKED. We made it to Arlington National Cemetery and picked out our viewing spot by 8:30 or so and waited. They didn't start till about 9:10 and they were pretty impressive, but they ended at 9:30!!! Only 20 minutes?? So head on back to the Metro entrance, there were a few thousand people in line already. So we walked for about 45 minutes to the next stop. And it was PACKED. So incredibly hot and crowded. Don't know how long we waited to climb in but you could barely breathe: think sardines. Made it back to the pad at 11:30. All of that for 20 minutes of "ooohs" and "aaahs". Never again.

Next day, packed up, wasted time, set our objectives for next year's trip and flew home. Overall great trip. Could have used a lot more planning, but I think we covered a lot. I know my bro's not reading this, but hat's off to him for a good time.

Posted in: Life, Travel,

Since it was July 4rth, and my heart felt the need to pay respect to this fabulous country, I am going to celebrate July 4rth weekend in our nation's capital. Okay fine, I'm not good at telling jokes. Anyways, my brother and I are visiting our other brother in Virginia. (Can you keep count of the Brothers Miranda?) Should be a nice getaway. All packed and leaving in a little bit. If you need to get in contact with me, email, of course it will sit for a few days.

Hope everyone enjoys their long weekend. Especially all you stuck in the heat, trapped in traffic or can't sleep because of fireworks! I'm out of here!

Posted in: Life, Travel,

I can't beleive that I actually felt pleasantly surprised to watch the trailer for King Kong. Crazy man Jack Black looks good and all I can say is that Peter LOTR Jackson seems to be working on quite a stunning flick. Check out the big trailer here (broadband req).

Looks like I'll have to check out the original and the other remake (70's? 80's?).

Posted in: Movies,

I guess the great big news in the internet world today is that the United States Supreme Court ruled against the makers of Grokster, a popular file sharing program. Basically if anyone makes something that promotes copyright infringement, then they can be held liable. Now I don't care to discuss the merits of this case. The bottom line, for me, is that I do not see anything wrong in someone actively sueing people who intentionally violate copyrights. However I am at odds with the methods of enforcement. But even then, that's not what is the most troubling thing for me.

I read on one news article that the Recording and Motion Picture Industries feel that their very existence is being threatened by things like file sharing networks. I don't see what law or what God deemed that the existence of such corporations is absolute? And the fact of the matter is that their "very existence" is not even being remotely challenged: it is their dominance. You cannot be on top forever.

Posted in: Philosophy, Technology,