The Unsolveable Problem?

I’m almost starting to think that some areas of the U.S. should just be sealed off and abandoned until they canibalize themselves.

Read this and tell me if you agree.

One Day

I’ve had this daydream for a while now.

I don’t make too many playlists in iTunes; I only have a few, mainly based on what I would feel like listening too at certain times of day (you know — ‘up’ stuff during the day, ‘low’ stuff for night).  My ‘day’ list currently has 610 songs in it; if I don’t feel like listening to a specific album I’ll just throw it on random and see what pops up.

I’ve had an idea for a while now about what I’d love to do one day — get a car, get some fun people and just drive around the U.S., from east to west, with this list on random, stopping wherever we want, no deadlines, no worries, just listening to great music and taking it easy.

How trite.

The Beginning of the Truth of the ‘Inconvenient Truth’?

Les Photo C’est Bon

I am now the proud owner of this camera.  Even though I was getting pretty decent pics with my 6 mp Sony, I wanted something with more exposure control and a good zoom, and my previous experience with a DSLR taught me that I don’t actually need that much camera (not to mention it was a pain in the ass to lug around everywhere).  Hence, a superzoom — the perfect compromise.  And it’s light as a feather.  And 12 mp.

I took it out this weekend for its first major test — a trip to the mountains of Nantou County.  I’m pretty happy with the results.  Those pics can be found here:

Also, I earlier compiled an album of the best of the last year in Taiwan, which is here:

Apple Tablet v. 2.0 — What They Should do

I’m sure everyone has heard the rumours that Apple will be releasing a tablet notebook, or some other such touchscreen tablet device, in Q1 of 2010.  Some people have even drawn up their own versions of what it might look like, or at least what they would want it to look like.  If it does look anything like that, and gives a person all the functionality of a device you would expect from something looking like that, then I’m buying one immediately (well, after waiting to see if there are any bugs).

But anyway, the point is that v. 1 of this tablet is already designed and ready to go, so there’s no point wishing anything from it — we just have to wait and see what it will be.  I, however, would like to be the first to make some wishes of its inevitable bigger brother which will come along in probably a year-and-a-half from now.

Have two screens.  One LED screen and one eInk.

I know this might seem strange, but if this new device really wants to cement itself as the first truly all-in-one, then it’s gotta be able to do everything well.  And while it’s obviously possible to read ebooks on an LED screen, of course, being back-lit, it’s very hard on the eyes, and so ultimately isn’t fully suitable for avid readers.  But if they could find a way to have an LED screen on one side and an eInk screen on the other (maybe with some sort of sliding panel to cover it up when it’s not in use) then it would truly be suitable for everything you need from it.

Then, if they could find a way to make a colour eInk screen, so comic books were more easily read . . . well, that would just be utopia.

So — LED and eInk together as one!  Someone make it happen.

Hairy Women — Here to Stay?

Women: the Future(?)

Now — we all know that women aren’t naturally hairless on their bodies.  Hair under the arms and on the arms and on the legs has always been common, and it’s only recently that removal of said hair from the legs and under the arms became the expected norm (and you can argue the pros and cons of that, but I still think most people would have to agree it is the expected norm).

But recently, I’ve come to notice many, many women around having very pronounced moustaches, and very dark hair on their arms, and on their backs, and I’m wondering if it’s becoming more common than before.  The female moustache thing has always been a bit of a joke, but now I’m almost willing to believe it’s more common than not.  Has anyone else noticed this?

Fire Show @ Luxy

I know everyone’s seen stuff like this before, so it’s not too exciting, but hey, it’s part of Taipei nightlife so check it out.

And I always wonder what would happen if one of the bottles ever slipped and went flying into the crowd . . .

And Then I Inwardly Cringed

Me: “So what is dating?  How would you describe dating?”

Early-to-mid-twenties-female student: “Dating is when you fall in love with someone and then go on dates.”

Introspective Non-Introspection (Or Should That Be Non-Introspective Introspection?)

I don’t introspect much anymore.  Used to do it all the time.  ALL the time.  I’ve kept a journal since ‘97, and sometimes I’d write pages in it for days at a time.  Now I barely touch it.  So I’m wondering — have I ‘lost myself’ somehow or is this merely the normal process of ‘growing up?’

There’s an exchange in Lost in Translation: S. Jo says, “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be,’ and Bill Murray says, “You’ll figure that out. The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.”

Maybe it’s as simple as this.  When I was younger, I knew what I wanted to be but didn’t really know how to substantively achieve it, and it was always left to ‘one day’ and ‘eventually;’ hence reams and reams of (computer) pages pondering and reflecting on every part of my life, trying to get a bead on what exactly it would be that would carry my forward to that goal.

Now, of course, I’ve found all that out and I know exactly what I’m doing, so there just hasn’t been the need or inclination to think about ‘my life’ as heavily anymore, because, basically, I have ended up where I want to be.  So I guess I just answered my question.

However, is it strange that I don’t even really care about that time in my life anymore?  I made a little resolution that when I turned 30 I’d go back and re-read it all in a bid to ‘re-discover’ myself; but every time I’ve thought of getting started, I’ve sort of revolted against the idea, feeling it to be a colossal waste of time.  I’d just rather keep doing new things than go back and re-hash all the old stuff which isn’t really relevant to my life anymore.

Anyone else feel the same way or am I being too cynical?

Tokyo Pics

If such a thing tickles your fancy, click below.