big teddy
  • Mar
    27
    The trouble with China
    by mike at 8:19am

    TiananmenAnd now for something completely different.

    In the last few months there have been a couple of high profile incidents involving Google, Microsoft and the Chinese Government. Google has been forced to censor certain sites from their Google China search portal and Microsoft has been forced to remove some blogs at the forceful request of the Chinese Government (do it or we block access to these sites). Many have railed againts these two for the actions they have taken, they’d prefer that these companies accepted censure in order to send a moral message to China.
    This of course would never happen. Even relatively benevolent companies such as Google can’t afford to not be in the Chinese market right now. From a business perspective China is the last frontier of untapped consumers and it’s impact in international business is growing at a rapid pace. The corporate world can’t afford to ignore it and those that control these companies (ie. their boards) won’t let them. Not only that but these types of actions would be counterproductive in the intent of those who would like them to ignore these demands. The revolution will occur in China but it’s going to happen with a whisper. Globalization Capitalization and the growth of companies such as Lenovo will do more to turn the tide of democracy in China than any protest.

    (more…)

  • Mar
    23
    I’m never going back to Texas.
    by mike at 9:22am

    One of my favorite SF local bands back in the day was a band called Motherlode who did kick as alt-country rock, one of my favorite songs off of their demo was called Texas. I can still remember the hook;

    Caught a two-inch nail on a road in Texas
    spent the next two days hungry and restless
    I ain’t never going back to Texas.

    Well personally I’m going to do my best to limit my time in Texas to a couple of hours in the airport on a stopover because the land of the drive through liquor stores is now Arresting people in bars for being drunk in public.

    It reminds me of comedian Ron White’s joke about being arrested in NY for being drunk in public.

    Your honor I wasn’t trying to be drunk in public, I was trying to get drunk in a bar.
    They threw me into the publick [sic]

  • Mar
    22
    Tyler Mac
    by mike at 9:50am

    So in my mid to late 20s I paid my bills working at Buck’s Restaurant in Woodside CA. I got the job there because the owner (Jamis) who’s a bit of a loon doesn’t hire on experience but hires people because they’re likable. The place is a hodgepodge of stuff with a real honest to god Russian Cosmonaut space suit hanging from the ceiling. The owner likes to find crap and stick it on the walls and call it memorabilia. Some of it’s really cool like the mugshots of old Alcatraz inmates, some of it’s bullshit like the tennis racquet “broken by John McEnroe on center court at Wimbledon” (Hint, I doubt Johnny Mac was using a Billy Jean King model tennis racquet). Rumor had it the owner’s wife had to put aside a secret fund to buy herself a car in order to keep Jamis from buying more stuff to adorn the walls with.

    Anyway I got home last night and turned on the telly and CBS Amazing Race was on. I was going about my business and then did a double take. “Hey I know that kid!” Sure enough there’s Tyler the owner’s middle son running backwards to a finish point.

    I still remember Tyler as that gawky kid in his later years of high school when his career goal was to be president. He wanted to be president, not in that kindergarten “I want to be an astronaut or a fireman!” kind of way, but in a real “I need to go to a top tier school and do the right things on this path” kind of way. At that point he was trying to get into Stanford for college and was right on the cusp of acceptance so his dad rented him out a billboard on 101 pimping him to the admissions committee.

    Apparently after college he fell in love with a Japanese girl and decided to walk across Japan where he became a bit of a celebrity and made a documentary about his trip Kintaro walks Japan ostensibly searching for his Dad’s birthplace of which he only has a picture, I’m taking this with a grain of salt though ;)
    And now he’s on TV while apparently pursuing an acting career. Well good luck Tyler!

  • Mar
    09
    Barry.
    by mike at 12:25pm

    So the ongoing saga of the Barry Bonds steroids scandel seems to be reaching a head.

    Barry On SI

    This week a couple of SF Chronicle reporters are releasing a book Game of Shadows which lays everything out in a neat little package. I guess I could continue to try to deny that Barry did steroids. But I’ve had to come to grips with the truth of the matter.

    I really just don’t care.

    Listening to the local sports talk show yesterday, someone called in and said there’s two types of people out there, “Those who love Barry and those who hate him”. I disagree with this statement. Because there’s a bunch of us out there who are simply Giants fans. Giants’ fans are stuck in the middle of this whole mess because most of us don’t know how to react. The truth is I love the Giants, I love the afternoons I’ve spent at SBC/AT&T/PacBell park. One of the most exciting nights of my life was game 5 of the 2004 NLCS when the Giants beat St. Louis to advance to the World Series. Now I’m sitting here with Spring Training going on and I admit, I want one more year. Steroids be damned I want to see if this is the Giants’ year.

    There’s something beautifully perfect about Bonds at the plate. When Barry hit’s one out you know it with the swing. … and the swagger. There’s a brief moment after the swing when his head moves up tracking the movement of the ball and before the director can cut to another camera where you just say to yourself

    “gone”

    And in that moment everything is right with the world.

    So I’ll sit here and eat these allegations in silence because dammit I want one more year of perfect moments.

  • Mar
    07
    I want this watch
    by mike at 10:38am

    Tag Hauer 69 I seriously doubt I will ever in my life own a $7000 dollar watch, but if I do, this bad boy, is it. The Tag Hauer 69

    More Geek Watches here