Paul's Blog

Rediscovering Harry Harrison

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:00:27 GMT

When I was a teenager I went to visit my uncle in Washington DC. Among the other fun things I remember about that trip, my uncle had the most fantastic collection of science fiction and I was introduced to the Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison. I had long since forgotten about it, but was delighted to rediscover it the other day on the Ereader website, and I promptly downloaded it to my Palm and delved back into the story.

The Stainless Steel Rat series consists of ten books about a character named Jim DiGriz, who at a young age decides that he will live outside of normal society and become a career criminal, although he does not believe in killing (just robbing banks and stuff like that). The series chronicles his life of crime and many escapes from impossible situations. It is a real joy to read and I can only hope to one day be able to write as well as Harrison.

A Nice Thanksgiving

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:03:27 GMT

Kate and William and I had a really nice Thanksgiving this year. On Wednesday night at midnight we started our drive from northern Virginia to Ohio. Why drive at night? Our theory was that Xiao William would sleep all through the drive, which turned out to be correct. Also, there would be very little traffic. Both of these theories turned out to be correct, but I was very tired and drank a bottle of Mountain Dew plus two cups of coffee to make sure I was alert enough to keep driving through the night.

We arrived at my sister's house in Marysville at about 7:45 a.m. I took a short nap later that day but otherwise was no worse for wear for staying up all night driving. (The ability to do this kind of thing can't last much longer as I get older...). They have a nice house out in the sticks - you have to drive past cornfields and silos and stuff to get to their place.

Later that day my brother-in-law deep fried a turkey and when we had Thanksgiving dinner it was delicious. He claimed that he overcooked it but I couldn't tell. We also had all the traditional Thanksgiving food that I haven't really eaten in years because we've been overseas. Kate loved all of it too.

We stayed with them for a couple of days and played games, went to the health club, etc. It was their first time meeting my son William so they really enjoyed that.

Yesterday morning at about 10 a.m. we set off back to northern Virginia. It was nice driving during daylight hours but on the downside it was raining almost the entire way back which made driving a real drag. Plus, when we got to Maryland, traffic was severely backed up on the interstate - all of the other Thanksgiving travelers coming back home, I guess. I tried to use the "detour" feature on the GPS in hopes that it would reroute us to a local road instead of the interstate, but all it did was send us on an interesting, well, detour around some local residential roads before plopping us right back onto the congested interstate.

We finally made it home by about 8 pm and we were all in a cheerful mood because it was great to be back home. All in all it was a very good Thanksgiving and we are glad we made the trip out to Ohio.

Book Review: Junot Diaz, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao"

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:49:45 GMT

"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" was one of the other books I read recently on our Chinese New Year vacation. It's one of those books that has been making the must read lists of all the major magazines and newspapers the past year. Sometimes these novels are crap and other times they're really excellent. "Oscar Wao" falls into the latter category, but it wasn't until I finished the book that I could be really sure of this.

Ostensibly it's the story of Oscar, a fat Dominican kid that moves to the US as a young teenager and indulges in his mega-nerdy hobbies (reading science fiction, playing role playing games) while also falling hard for every girl in sight and, not surprisingly, being dismissed and ignored by pretty much all of them. I was sort of interested in reading about this, having grown up pretty much as nerdy as Oscar, or so I thought until I got a ways into the book. After a while I realized that as nerdy as I was, I couldn't hold a candle to this kid. I started the book wanting to like Oscar, but the way he talked (always using five-dollar words, even in the most inappropriate situations) and his incredibly bad decisions and poor judgment made it a challenge to like him. But eventually his likability still comes through, as Oscar is a gentle soul underneath it all.

The story also discusses the hard times his older sister faced as she ran away from home in the US and eventually went back to the Dominican Republic to try and sort herself out. His mother's history is covered as well in a very intriguing story about her sudden blossoming as a young woman during her teenage years, and the madness that followed as all men in sight began to pay way too much attention to her. Additionally, through the lives of all of its characters, the story is told of the dictator Trujillo and how much chaos he inflicted on his citizens.

It helps to know some Spanish when reading this book - it's written from the point of view of an older acquaintance of Oscar's, a streetwise Dominican guy who acts as kind of an older brother to Oscar despite their having little in common. Lots of Spanish slang is sprinkled throughout the book - I was able to understand some of it, having grown up in New Mexico, but much of it had to been inferred by context (wikipedia also has a helpful guide on their entry on this book).

The book ended in a way that I never expected. I rooted for Oscar throughout the book despite his flaws, and his achievement at the end of the book is bittersweet to say the least. There's a lot of heavy and beautiful stuff magnificently woven together in this story, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone.

Book Review: Steve Martin, "Born Standing Up"

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:14:08 GMT

I cannot say that I have ever been a fan of Steve Martin, in that I have never gone to any trouble to seek out his movies or films, and until I read this book I wasn't even aware that he used to do stand up comedy and that for a few years he was the top drawing stand up comic in history. My earliest memories are of him on Saturday Night Live doing the King Tut thing or the Wild and Crazy Guys skit with Dan Aykroyd.

At the same time I have always respected him - most of his movies, although some of them were not to my taste (i.e. Father of the Bride) seemed to reflect a lot of effort on his part to make them funny and enjoyable. He has always struck me as a hard worker and a consummate professional and someone who was always on top of his game. Then in the last few years I started hearing about his extensive art collection, which is apparently available for the public to view on at least some occasions. But I finally got a new level of respect for Steve Martin after seeing the movie "Shopgirl," based on a novelette that he wrote. Not to get too sentimental about it, but it was a really sweet and sensitive movie that showed a different side of him. I liked it a lot.

So when I heard about this book I was interested in reading it. Being a stand up comic is something that strikes me as one of the hardest possible jobs out there. The book is billed as being the story of his rise to fame as a stand up comic and why he eventually walked away from it forever.

The book, which is relatively short, does cover his beginnings as a magician at the magic store in Disneyland to his 30,000 + crowds in the late 70s when he gave performances in New York and LA. It seemed to me that the secret to his success was just starting out with a small amount of material and continually building and building on it until he had days of good comedy bits bouncing around in his mind that could be brought out and tailored to whatever situation he was in. He also worked a lot - he talks about doing several shows a day for years at a time.

He also discusses his personal life quite a bit, such as his hippie days, drug use, abrupt ending of drug use, and some of the women he was involved with over the years. He does not go easy on himself and is open about many of what he perceives as his character flaws. He also discusses his very dysfunctional family situation and I felt a great deal of sympathy for him when reading about his struggles with his father and his sister. Finally, he is very open about what fame was like for him, and what a depressing feeling it was for him to dodge crowds after a show, be rushed through a hotel lobby toward his room, and then just to find himself alone in there for the rest of the night, unable to sleep because of the residual adrenaline from his show.

I recommend this book to any fan of Steve Martin or anyone who is interested in how stand up comedy works. He is a good writer and his story is touching and interesting.

iPod Problems

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:36:24 GMT

I had a weird problem with my iPod this morning. It's a fifth generation 60 gig video ipod. I synced it up to my Mac Powerbook and it transferred over a few new songs and then the display on the Itunes application said "Sync complete" or something like that. Then I started downloading a new TV show in Itunes. Meanwhile, the display on my iPod still had the universal "Do not enter" symbol to show that it was not done processing. But I figured since the Itunes app said it was done syncing, I could disconnect. But of course, before I disconnected I ejected the iPod using the eject button on the Itunes app.

Later this morning I was trying to watch a TV show on my iPod that I had downloaded from Itunes previously. Neither it nor any of the other videos on the iPod would work - the screen would go black for a few seconds when I started video playback and then revert back to the menu.

So then I started trying to play songs. I noticed that the iPod was skipping lots of songs but it would play others. Eventually I realized that it would only play songs that I had ripped from CDs and copied on to the iPod (or downloaded as MP3s from the internet). It would not play songs that I had purchased in Itunes. Great, Apple. Thanks for the incentive to not buy stuff from your store.

Anyway I'm guessing this is probably a glitch that came from me disconnecting my iPod at the wrong time even though Itunes said it was done syncing. I hope that when I resync it later tonight it will clear up this problem. But it's clear this is due to some kind of DRM nonsense, which just goes to show that if Apple insists on DRMing its products, eventually the consumer will get screwed one way or another.

How many?

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 10:07:20 GMT

Looking for payday loan?

My walk to work

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:32:52 GMT

Da'an Park in the morning
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

Every day I usually try to walk to work. It's about a forty-five minute walk, and when the weather is nice (i.e. in winter), it is usually a very pleasant way to start the day. I can't imagine any way that I will be able to do it when summer comes, though. I used to try to walk to work from the Dunhwa Apartments, where we used to live, in the summertime and by the time I arrived at work I would be drenched in sweat. And that was much nearer to work, only about a twenty-five-minute walk.

But during the cooler seasons, it's great. I usually listen to my iPod on the way. Depending on my mood, sometimes I listen to music or to the news. There are lots of interesting folks I pass on my way to work. Some of them are commuters, like me - guys in dress pants and short sleeved white shirts, carrying some kind of a valise or a briefcase. Lots of them are students, and they are all in school uniforms.

There are also quite a few missionaries lurking along Heping Road as I walk down it towards Da'an Park. They all wear matching uniforms - dark blue slacks and a blue jacket over a white shirt for the men, and blue skirts for the women. They are all very clean and respectable looking, like Mormons (but they're not Mormons). All of their shirts have the crest of whatever church it is they belong to. I remember one time about 20 or 30 of them came in to get visas. I think I issued all of them. They seemed like they belonged to a big, well-funded church, so were probably a fairly safe bet for visas. They have only ever stopped me once to give me their religious tracts. As I declined their offer of Bible study and walked away, a girl missionary yelled after me, "Jesus love you!"

After walking down Heping Road past Xinsheng Road, I am in Da'an Park for the last leg of my journey. This is usually the highlight of my journey. As long as it's not raining, there are lots of people in the park exercising every morning. Even when it is raining, they can be found in the little sheltered areas scattered around the park. They are almost all doing some kind of exercise. Some of them are dancing to tinny western music. Some are doing coordinated Tai Chi. Some are doing sword exercises. Then a lot of others are just doing their own thing.

Some of the people are doing things that, if they were to do it in the US, would result in people thinking they were homeless and kind of mental. For example, sometimes in Da'an Park you can see someone walking backwards down the path while slapping themselves gently in the chest. Why? For whatever reason it is a form of exercise to them. Far be it from me to judge.

In the mornings there are also croquet players and frisbee players. The frisbee players are elderly and are quite good. There's probably half a football field length between them and they're very accurate when throwing to their partner.

When the iPod music is playing in my ears, and I wander through Da'an Park seeing the frisbees being tossed, and the people walking backwards, and the graceful sword exercises, and the other folks walking to work, it is all set to a rather beautiful soundtrack in my head, and often seems coordinated to just that music. It's inspiring and surreal and a lovely way to start the day.

Meme Sunday

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 14:51:44 GMT

For lack of anything better to blog about today, here goes a meme:

How many times do you wake up during the night?

Hard to say - probably about three or so. I always tend to wake up before the alarm clock, though, unless I stay up really late the night before.

How many hours of sleep do you try to get?

I usually try to get six or seven. At five or less I can really feel it the next day. Not getting a good day's sleep can be tough.

What day of the week do you do your "major" housecleaning?

For us I think it is probably Sunday. Of course, Kate does the lion's share of the housecleaning - when she is at home during the week. That will change when she starts working, but I give her credit for keeping the place much cleaner than I could on my own.

How often do you move your furniture to clean behind it?

Eeek. If it were up to me, maybe once every six months. I know that's terrible, but I just can't be bothered to clean those places that nobody ever sees anyway. Fortunately, Kate is much better about those kinds of things than me.

Do you do your dishes by hand or do you own a dishwasher?

We have a dishwasher...on the balcony. I think most Taipei apartments don't have dishwashers, so when they put one in for us they had to improvise on where to put it. So this means after meals there is a trek out to the balcony to put all the dishes in the dishwasher. We also have a dish sterilizer. I had never seen one of these before coming to Taiwan. It's just above the sink and it's a little enclosed area with a rack inside that you put your dishes on, and then close the window and turn it on, and it superheats the dishes for a while. Like one of those machines in a lab that you use to sterilize instruments. It seems kind of bizarre and overkill to me, but whatever. Also, our oven is really small. Chinese people really don't bake at all, so I think the oven was also kind of an afterthought for Westerners. But it does the job just fine.

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 12:21:37 GMT

It is already getting hotter in Taipei. Yesterday and today, for the first time I could really feel the warm weather coming back - it was probably only 75 degrees today but I could just sense that it was going to be a lot hotter, soon. But I can't complain - in terms of weather, this has probably been the most pleasant winter I have experienced in my life. Aside from the couple of weeks that we spent snowed in in New Mexico, I have been in Taipei all winter long. The coldest it has gotten has maybe been in the 40s. Although many of the days have been gray and rainy, it had just been so nice not to worry about slipping around on the ice or the cold sleety wind that sometimes would blow in Shanghai in the winter. I'm not crazy about the very hot summers here, but right now I think the balmy winters make them worthwhile.

Kate and I went to a friend's house for brunch this morning. They live up in Tienmu, which is the northern part of Taipei and has typically been home to foreigners throughout the last hundred years. I think it is slightly nicer and more attractive than most parts of Taipei, and it definitely appears to have more western oriented stores. Afterwards, Kate and I went to the Eslite Bookstore down by the Taipei 101 building. Eslite is the biggest bookstore in Taiwan and they are open 24 hours and have tons of books, both in English and Chinese. We were looking for a tourist book for visitors to Seoul, written in Chinese, so that Kate could use it to explore around while I am working during our trip to Seoul. (We will be going there in about a week, and staying for two weeks, while I do an exchange with a consular officer from the Embassy there.)

Kate found one that looked good. I was disappointed to see that Eslite only had one English language book on Seoul, and even that wasn't on Seoul itself, it covered all of Korea. So I guess Kate will be the tour guide when we go there. After we bought the book, we went downstairs to the basement food court and had a really nice lunch - some Korean food that was very inexpensive, and the food court was not crowded at all (unlike the Taipei 101, where the food is more expensive and last time we had to share a table with another couple).

Then we came home and vegged out for a while and watched Japanese TV. One of the great discoveries that I have made since Kate and I got married and have settled in in Taipei is Japanese TV. It is far more entertaining than US TV - and it really doesn't matter that I don't understand any of what is being said. One show we enjoy is a kind of talent show, where anywhere from 1 person to large groups of people do short performances before an audience and a panel of judges. Most of the performances are visually stunning - one I remember was a simulation of a raindrop falling into a puddle of water, and somehow this group of people were able to create the appearance of water falling into a pool, rippling, and a crown rising up after the splash, all just using human bodies moving around. Another show we have been watching is an contest show where people have to run through a type of very difficult obstacle course that involves climbing ropes, running, dodging moving parts, and solving seemingly simple puzzles to get from one obstacle to the next. It's a lot of fun.

T

The Big Storm of '06

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 22:14:55 GMT

My dad's house
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

For Christmas and New Year's, Kate and I came back to New Mexico from Taipei to visit my relatives. We were staying at my Dad's house in New Mexico when the biggest snow storm on record hit us. It snowed steadily for a couple of days, and when it was finally over we estimate that we were covered by about three feet of snow. It's certainly the most snow I can remember ever falling here (I grew up here) and my Dad says the same. At the time I'm writing this (the day after the snow stopped falling) we still can't get out and are not sure when we will be able to. The sun is shining and the snow is melting, but there is A LOT of snow that needs to melt before cars will be able to get moving again.

Fortunately, Kate and I aren't due to go back to Taipei until next Saturday - about a week from now. If we can't dig out by then - or if we get hit by another storm - well, who knows what will happen. Fortunately we have plenty of food, electricity, Internet, and everything else we need here. More pictures of the storm are on my Flickr page.

James Brown, RIP

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 16:55:51 GMT

Backstage with James Brown
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

Everyone knows by now, James Brown died on Christmas this year. Kind of sad. I can't claim that I was a big fan of his, but we enjoyed his concert and there's no doubt that he was a really talented musician. Strange that we met him less than a year ago and now he's gone...

The blogging dilemma

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 10:37:19 GMT

To blog or not to blog? These days I have not been updating my blog with any regularity. One part of me would like to - it's addictive and fun and I like seeing my silly ideas and random passing thoughts get immortalized (along with quadrillions of other useless bits of data) on the net. As with any journal, it's always fun to look back on what I was thinking and blogging about a year or two ago.

But...

I sometimes fall into the trap of forgetting that my blog is out there for the whole world to see. Not that I write anything particularly private, mind you - yet I still feel uncomfortable when some random co-worker or acquaintance says - "hey, I saw such and such on your blog." I'm ok with a certain audience of friends and family reading my blog, but get kind of weirded out when someone else stumbles across it. Not sure why this is. And besides, isn't that the point of blogging - to put your ideas out there for the world to peruse? Anyone else have this concern? Despite my worries, I'm sure I will still soldier on and keep writing my blog. Someday it'll be useful when I write my memoirs, I guess.

Gay pride parade

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 08:52:58 GMT

Gay pride parade
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

There was a big gay pride parade a couple of weeks ago when Kate and I and others went on a bus trip around Taipei. I later found out that several gay weddings had taken place in the city that day. This officially makes Taiwan a more progressive place than the U.S., despite the fact that free elections have been going on for less than twenty years here.

MRT Station

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 23:57:09 GMT

MRT Station
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

Taipei has, not surprisingly, one of the best subway systems I've come across - better than Shanghai and Washington DC. I used to take the subway to work but it ended up being too much of a hassle - had to change trains twice and then still walk a half a block to work. Now I just take the bus and walk about a block.

First Impressions of Taipei

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:46:57 GMT

Xinyi Road in Taipei
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

Let's see...

1) They love coffee here. It seems like there are two or three coffee shops on every block.

2) They love little dogs, especially the ones that are willing to tolerate little sweaters and things.

3) They are crazy about politics.

4) There is a major Japanese influence. Lots of the young people have Japanese hairstyles and fashion.

Of course these are trivial and silly observations, but that's ok. More when I think of it...

Made it to Taipei

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:44:08 GMT

Gate of Great Centrality
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

Well, actually, have been in Taipei for about three months now and just haven't gotten around to updating the blog. In the interim, Kate and I have gotten married, had our honeymoon, and are now settling down to a very happy and comfortable life here in Taipei. The work is not bad, the people are great, and the city gets better every day. This is the Gate of Great Centrality near the Chiang Kai Shek memorial, a really beautiful structure.

Millionaire Fair

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 01:31:04 GMT

Millionaire Fair
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

This thing seems to be popping up in Shanghai more and more frequently - opportunities for China's nouveau riche to spend all that extra money that they don't know what to do with. Conspicuous consumption and status buying is important everywhere around the world, but this is the first generation of Chinese people since pre-Communist times to have money (that is, a few of them have money. The vast majority of Chinese are still dirt poor). The idea, in Shanghai at least, is that if one has money one should definitely flaunt it.

Things I'll miss about Shanghai, pt. 1

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 04:28:07 GMT

Xiao Chi
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

Street food is plentiful, cheap, and usually delicious if a bit greasy in Shanghai. This establishment, near where I live, sells "baozi" (bread dumplings with a filling of meat or vegetables) for the equivalent of about 9 cents U.S. each. Of course, Taiwan is supposed to have great street food too so I guess I won't have to go without.

Smokey goes to the vet

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 04:59:36 GMT

We took Smokey to the vet this morning to get his rabies shot, one of the things he needs to leave the mainland. It looks like we will be able to get him out of the mainland ok - that is, he will be able to get the necessary health certificate for China to release him. However, there may be trouble getting him into Taiwan. They have their own rules and I'm not sure if we will be in compliance.

The show

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 14:42:58 GMT

Backstage with James Brown
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

We had a great time at the James Brown show tonight and even got to go backstage before it started and meet him. Here's a picture of all of us. The show was about two hours long and he was as energetic as he must have been 30 years ago.

James Brown tonight

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 04:54:18 GMT

James Brown
Originally uploaded by Sir Mildred Pierce.

We're going to see James Brown tonight! (The real person, that is.)

On the 'Shanghai Rumba' set

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 04:48:15 GMT

On the 'Shanghai Rumba' set
Originally uploaded by Paul7.

In reference to the earlier post...this is a picture of me and my co-workers on the set of 'Shanghai Rumba,' which has been out for about a week now in Shanghai. We all play denizens of a rumba nightclub in 1940s Shanghai. Fun.

My 15 minutes of fame

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 04:32:08 GMT

Ran into the first person to recognize me today from 'Shanghai Rumba.' A guy I am somewhat acquainted with who lives in my building asked me about it today. I was surprised at how often I saw myself in this movie - I expected to end up on the cutting room floor!

Problems with Smokey

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 02:39:08 GMT

Ack! There are major problems with getting Smokey the cat out of China. Originally, my plan was to leave Smokey with a friend in Shanghai while Kate and I were in the U.S. for a few months, before heading to Taiwan. Now, it looks like that's not going to work.

Apparently the Taiwan authorities do not accept animals coming from the mainland. Every country (or in this case, renegade province) has its own rules about the importation of pets and from where they will allow them. Certain countries or areas are more likely to have pets that are diseased, and every country of course wants to avoid introducing a diseased animal into its environment. Thus, the Taiwan authorities do not allow pets from the mainland (despite Smokey being an American-born cat with a clean bill of health).

So what to do? I could take Smokey back to the U.S. with us for several months, and then bring him from the U.S. to Taiwan. The Taiwanese authorities have no problem with an animal coming from the U.S., despite Smokey having lived in Shanghai for a couple of years.

But that raises another problem. Apparently, in order for Smokey to be allowed to leave the PRC, he needs to have had a rabies vaccination more than 30 days prior to his departure. I didn't realize that in time and we are due to leave on March 18. So, not sure what to do; I am asking our people about it here to see what our options are. I don't want to leave Smokey behind!