I'm in Australia

I'm here down under for several weeks - they are flying by...Melbourne, Australia is a really nice place! More details soon.

July 4, 2008 Pictures

Copyright 2008 Conan L. Hom

Surcharges

I'm wondering if, assuming the fuel crises subsides, do you think the airlines will remove all the "surcharges" that are in place? I have a feeling they won't. I also do think it is funny how subsidized the airline industry is (think of all the airports etc.) but then many expect AMTRAK to be self sufficient.

Iraq

I won't debate whether the U.S. should have gone and invaded Iraq or not. The U.S. military did however demonstrate how a well trained, well equipped small force could defeat a larger, less well trained and equipped force even if the latter is fighting on its home ground.

It is one thing however if you plan on just defeating the enemy and moving on, it is another if you plan on staying and rebuilding. It took a large force to stay and rebuild and occupy Germany after WWII. It took a long time also. Note that Germany didn't have insurgents or other countries like Iran supplying weapons to fight the occupation forces and also note that Germany didn't have a population that was vastly divided in religion, ethnic background etc.

Though I don't agree with McCain on many issues I think he is right that we need to expect to stay a long time.

Celtics Parade

I was in downtown Boston today doing a bit of research and almost decided to watch the "rolling rally" parade for the Boston Celtics (for those of you who don't know, they just beat the LA Lakers for the NBA championship). It was way too crowded. Good for the home team. I saw alot of Celtics jerseys being worn. I am sure as the Celtics parade past there will be many who will be saying "thank you Celtics." I personally think it should be the other way, the Celtics should be thanking US for our hard spent money spent on tickets and merchandise (often marked up 1000s of percents). It's an interesting trend, to have a jobs like the athletes and management do - not only do you get worshipped, you get paid millions to be worshipped. All I need to do is find a business of similar way - where people will shell out big time for the privilege of being associated with you in some way. (Well I never refer to the hometown teams as "we"...if it were "we" then I should be sharing in their money too). Go Celtics, Go Patriots, Go Red Sox, Go Bruins, Go Revolution!

I just went on a trip to Europe. Quite amazing the prices. Irrespective of trips etc. I think I learned alot about life and people though I might not realize what exactly it is that I learned till much later. Now I have to learn large amounts of html. I will say that there seems to be more McDonalds, KFC, BK and Pizza Hut in European cities than in U.S. cities. No wonder they have the impression that all us Americans eat is Junk Food!

Daylight Savings rocks

There have been studies saying that Daylight Savings actually causes more energy to be used (due to air conditioning). However I still think it rocks because there's nothing like leaving work and having it still be sunny out as opposed to dark (i.e. day is over) is the best thing. I can take mornings being dark because we're still too half asleep to notice. I guess when I'm up and going I like the sun. And besides if I'm outside it's usually in the afternoon and it's warmer then.

Politicians and family

Lately in the news Hillary Clinton's daughter was the target of some remark in which Hillary Clinton was so incensed that she threatened to boycott MSNBC. Perhaps the comment may not have been that well worded. However I think, that in general if you start to do high profile political stumping and thus tryto influence the voting of others, you have made the choice to subject yourself to same scrutiny and hell that the person you are supporting is going through. Chelsea Clinton by making speeches and holding meetings has made that choice, so have the Romney sons. They aren't minors anymore and they've made the choice, so I think they should all deal. If they don't want the comments, they can always not go on the campaign trail.

Wrong matchup at the superbowl

I was hoping for a Patriots vs. Cowboys Superbowl. Why? At half time you could have a closed cage wrestling match between the girlfriends of the two quarterbacks (for those of you who don't know - Miss Giselle Bundchen (Thomas Brady) vs. Miss Jessica Simpson (Anthony Romo)).

Society is messed up

So, here's an example of the more rich and famous you are, the more things you get for free: Paris Hilton, who is less than a stellar example of how to act responsibly (y'know the arrest, video etc.). First she gets some strange honor by some Harvard Lampoon society but second and of bigger notice is that the hotels in the Boston area were competing for her business (or her endorsement) by offering their most expensive suites for free (at least one did). I thought the more fame and money you have, the less of a hit it should be on your wallet to pay. Instead it's the reverse: this is just one of the reasons why those who have, have an easier time staying at the top - and in this sense the market is not perfect and that helping the little or medium guy/gal isn't a bad thing.

Professional Sports - It's entertainment.

As for my last post on advertising...I find it hard to feel passionate about any professional team or players these days. I mean they are here one day and traded tomorrow... and many of them have their main homes out of state. I was told by someone that a person in the Midwest said of the Patriots - they have no class because they are from New England...hmmm how many of the players grew up in New England? But think about it, when a player gets traded, they become instant enemies to some...and then of course the jersey of that player you have is outdated and you have to buy a new one (the pro franchises must like that).

In an ideal world I'd create a sport where people get traded very often so everyone has to keep buying new jerseys to stay up to date.

In the end Pro sports is really about entertainers... yes we idolize entertainers!

Paying to advertise someone else

I think one of the more interesting things is that if you are rich and famous, you get more and more things for free since you are perceived as an icon, it is one of the strange things that make it easier to stay on top, once you get there.

For instance, you pay top dollar to wear something with a Ralph Lauren logo or for something that has the name of your favorite player. You are essentially paying top dollar to help someone become richer and to advertise that person. The group belonging culture phenomenon. If you looked at it from a pure advertising perspective, Ralph Lauren or Tom Brady should be paying you (or giving the jersey away for free) to spread their names around.

Condominium Question

So around my area, it seems like condominiums are going up everywhere....in fact the only type of condominiums being built are "luxury" condominiums. Question for all those who are enlightened, what makes a condominium "luxury" or "non-luxury"?

Do people notice warning signs?

So today I was (still am) working in a computer cluster and several sections were "roped" off with yellow caution tape as it was clear that workers were working on things (actually at that point starting to clear their equipment and the like). Some lady was so intent on her phone call and of pacing around she physically stepped over the waist high caution tape (I mean you can't just casually step over it, it takes effort) and strolled back and forth in the construction area. I asked one of the workers about this and he was telling me that earlier in the day another man simply removed the tape so he could use a computer (there were many similar other ones) right in the area where they were installing things above his head.

These are roped off areas. It's as if these people don't even recognize it.

In other news, the New Hampshire Primary - all the news is really reporting on at the moment is who does attack ads, who is leading in the polls, etc. I hope those still undecided in New Hampshire don't rely on that as the main criteria who to vote for. You'd think from the news that it is irrelevant as to what the cnadiates positions on the issues are.

The meaning of 50 degrees (Fahrenheit of course)

So here's the meaningful New Year's post:

I guess the interesting thing about New England is that the temperature variation through out the year is probably about 90+ degrees (Fahrenheit). In the dead of winter it gets close to 0 F (-17.8 C) at some point and usually there is some moment where the temperature gets to the low 90's (32-33 C). So why live in new England - I don't know but I guess one neat thing is that at least there is a bit of constant change....I mean 50 F (10 C) out of winter is T-shirt weather, whereas coming out of summer it is sweatshirt and jacket weather.
(note to reader: complete absence of New Year's Resolutions).

Obligatory New Year's Day posting v. 2008

I'm sure that n-thousand bloggers are making reflective New Year's day posts so I won't. I'll wait a few days until the dust settles... until then enjoy this picture: