Favorite Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

I used to have a long ass ascii text file containing a bunch of quotes. Most were inspirational and motivational, others were just witty and hilarious. I have since lost that file so I figured I'd start compiling quotes again... this time in the blog. I bring you the first installment of suntzu's favorite quotes:

Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, architecture, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work and theft will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: "It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to."
-- Jim Jarmusch


The only person who can truly persuade you is yourself. You must turn the issues over in your mind at leisure, consider the many arguments, let them simmer, and after a long time turn your preferences into convictions
--Milton Friedman (from Capitalism and Freedom)

Generating a rapidly changing environment--that is, engaging in actively that is so quick it is disorienting and appears uncertain or ambiguous to the enemy--inhibits the adversary's ability to adapt and causes confusion and disorder that, in turn, causes an adversary to overreact or underreact. Boyd closed the briefing by saying the message is that whoever can handle the quickest rate of change is the one who survives.
--Robert Coram (from Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War)

I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.
-- Winston Churchill

Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision.
-- Ayn Rand

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.
-- Epictetus

When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this... you haven't.
--Robert Schuller

Many people suffer with their thoughts, not knowing that revealing them on paper, continuously over a two hour period, removes the stinging bitterness which they are tightly wrapped within.
-- Asmos

On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

He who hunts monsters should see to, that in the process, he does not become a monster himself.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.
-- Rumi

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
-Niccolo Machiavelli

The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes but in having new eyes.
-- Marcel Proust

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.
-- James Oppenheim

One should count each day a separate life.
-- Seneca

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
-- Albert Einstein

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
-- Albert Einstein

Courage is being scared to death--and saddling up anyway.
-- John Wayne

You are going to let the fear of poverty govern you life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live.
-- George Bernard Shaw

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible -- and achieve it, generation after generation.
-- Pearl S. Buck

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
-- Walt Disney

You'll miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
-- Wayne Gretzky

Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.
-- Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene II

Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people--Eleanor Roosevelt

Intellectuals solve problems. Geniuses prevent them.--Albert Einstein

For you to insult me, I must first value your opinion.--unknown

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.--Thomas Alva Edison

The sign of an intelligent people is their ability to control their emotions by the application of reason.--Marya Mannes

Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.
--Linus Torvalds

Too Dope

French-Canadian Beer

Yeah, that subject line boggles my mind too...

Contingencies have been removed. Praise the lawd. Knock on wood because we're not home free yet.

Anyways, upon receiving some good news I pick up my wife from work and ax her to grab sixer for me since I wanted to celebrate a bit. She comes out with a 4 pack of La Fin Du Monde. Naturally, I was pissed. First of all I asked for a sixer not quad-pack. Sheeeeit. Secondly, the beer sounded hella French. For godsakes the French don't make beer... Is this some sort of pseudo-Brandy-type of drank??

Let's just say my anger has since subsided midway through the 3rd beer. I'm officially tow-the-fuck-up. Good clean buzz.

The Five Principles of the Hacker Mindset

From the truest hacker of them all, Eric S.Raymond.

Note: Yes, I agree with all five principles. I would especially agree if I had an endless supply of money and all the time in the world.

The Five Principles of the Hacker Mindset

1. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.

Being a hacker is lots of fun, but it's a kind of fun that takes lots of effort. The effort takes motivation. Successful athletes get their motivation from a kind of physical delight in making their bodies perform, in pushing themselves past their own physical limits. Similarly, to be a hacker you have to get a basic thrill from solving problems, sharpening your skills, and exercising your intelligence.

If you aren't the kind of person that feels this way naturally, you'll need to become one in order to make it as a hacker. Otherwise you'll find your hacking energy is sapped by distractions like sex, money, and social approval.

(You also have to develop a kind of faith in your own learning capacity — a belief that even though you may not know all of what you need to solve a problem, if you tackle just a piece of it and learn from that, you'll learn enough to solve the next piece — and so on, until you're done.)
2. No problem should ever have to be solved twice.

Creative brains are a valuable, limited resource. They shouldn't be wasted on re-inventing the wheel when there are so many fascinating new problems waiting out there.

To behave like a hacker, you have to believe that the thinking time of other hackers is precious — so much so that it's almost a moral duty for you to share information, solve problems and then give the solutions away just so other hackers can solve new problems instead of having to perpetually re-address old ones.

Note, however, that "No problem should ever have to be solved twice." does not imply that you have to consider all existing solutions sacred, or that there is only one right solution to any given problem. Often, we learn a lot about the problem that we didn't know before by studying the first cut at a solution. It's OK, and often necessary, to decide that we can do better. What's not OK is artificial technical, legal, or institutional barriers (like closed-source code) that prevent a good solution from being re-used and force people to re-invent wheels.

(You don't have to believe that you're obligated to give all your creative product away, though the hackers that do are the ones that get most respect from other hackers. It's consistent with hacker values to sell enough of it to keep you in food and rent and computers. It's fine to use your hacking skills to support a family or even get rich, as long as you don't forget your loyalty to your art and your fellow hackers while doing it.)
3. Boredom and drudgery are evil.

Hackers (and creative people in general) should never be bored or have to drudge at stupid repetitive work, because when this happens it means they aren't doing what only they can do — solve new problems. This wastefulness hurts everybody. Therefore boredom and drudgery are not just unpleasant but actually evil.

To behave like a hacker, you have to believe this enough to want to automate away the boring bits as much as possible, not just for yourself but for everybody else (especially other hackers).

(There is one apparent exception to this. Hackers will sometimes do things that may seem repetitive or boring to an observer as a mind-clearing exercise, or in order to acquire a skill or have some particular kind of experience you can't have otherwise. But this is by choice — nobody who can think should ever be forced into a situation that bores them.)
4. Freedom is good.

Hackers are naturally anti-authoritarian. Anyone who can give you orders can stop you from solving whatever problem you're being fascinated by — and, given the way authoritarian minds work, will generally find some appallingly stupid reason to do so. So the authoritarian attitude has to be fought wherever you find it, lest it smother you and other hackers.

(This isn't the same as fighting all authority. Children need to be guided and criminals restrained. A hacker may agree to accept some kinds of authority in order to get something he wants more than the time he spends following orders. But that's a limited, conscious bargain; the kind of personal surrender authoritarians want is not on offer.)

Authoritarians thrive on censorship and secrecy. And they distrust voluntary cooperation and information-sharing — they only like ‘cooperation’ that they control. So to behave like a hacker, you have to develop an instinctive hostility to censorship, secrecy, and the use of force or deception to compel responsible adults. And you have to be willing to act on that belief.
5. Attitude is no substitute for competence.

To be a hacker, you have to develop some of these attitudes. But copping an attitude alone won't make you a hacker, any more than it will make you a champion athlete or a rock star. Becoming a hacker will take intelligence, practice, dedication, and hard work.

Therefore, you have to learn to distrust attitude and respect competence of every kind. Hackers won't let posers waste their time, but they worship competence — especially competence at hacking, but competence at anything is valued. Competence at demanding skills that few can master is especially good, and competence at demanding skills that involve mental acuteness, craft, and concentration is best.

If you revere competence, you'll enjoy developing it in yourself — the hard work and dedication will become a kind of intense play rather than drudgery. That attitude is vital to becoming a hacker.

Word is Bond

Originally posted on Craig's List. Shamelessly copied from the TMMB.

The Truth About Women

by Unknown

I wasn't a sexist before I understood women. There was a time when I was blissfully ignorant.

I grew up watching Disney cartoons, I believed in romance and "true love conquers all" etc. I wanted to find a woman who could be my equal, my partner. I believed in finding that one true love and being committed to each other forever. You know, like in the marriage vows, "for better or for worse, through sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer" etc. And I believed that women basically wanted the same thing. Now I understand that this was only possible when society was structured to enforce it. Now that women are "liberated" (and thus at the mercy of their own emotions and baser instincts) this is mostly no longer possible in today's society. Victorian society, or many Arab societies, are examples of how society used to be structured to keep women as faithful as possible.

I'd like to point out that I am not a misogynist...I love women. But I AM a sexist, in the sense that I believe women are vastly different than men and, according to the standards that men hold for other men, women are inferior as well.

I must be a bitter loser, right? In fact, I enjoy more success with women than most of the men in this city. I have slept with over 200 women in my life. I am sleeping with 5 different women right now. They are all normal, healthy, well-adjusted, good-looking (8+ on the looks scale) professional women. (At least as normal and healthy and well-adjusted as women can be - most women have issues.) But that's not all. I can go out any night of the week and pick up a woman. I can pick her up in front of all her friends (with 80% efficiency for each approach.) Women will slip me their phone number when their boyfriend is in the bathroom. I can talk to women on the street or in the grocery store and within 30 minutes, I can usually have sex with them right there in my car or get them back to my place. If I have to settle for a phone number, and I meet her on another day, assuming she doesn't flake, I WILL @#%$ her that next day.

Let me point out right now that my Modus Operandi doesn't change in the slightest if she single or if she has a boyfriend or husband. I just do my normal routine and I @#%$ her. Sometimes she brings up the boyfriend so she won't feel guilty when I @#%$ her because now it's "my fault." Sometimes she hides it from me until after I've @#%$ her, then she admits it. I can't tell you how many times I've been laying next to some chick, all sweaty cause I just finished busting a nut all over her face or in her mouth or on her back, and suddenly her phone rings and she's on the phone with her man, giving him some bullshit story. This is with NO GUILT WHATSOEVER!!! The sweetest most innocent girls you ever laid eyes on, will cheat at the drop of a HAT. The one thing that most men value most - loyalty - is just not there with women. Women don't think in terms of honor, women don't say "word is bond;" women are basically emotionally driven. If they feel it, they do it, period. Then they rationalize it to themselves later. Nothing is more meaningful, or compelling, to a woman than (1) the way she feels and (2) learning more about her own inner self and having emotional realizations. That's why women love astrology, chick flicks, soap operas, stupid Cosmo quizes that supposedly reveal info about yourself, etc.

I must be really good looking, right? NOPE. My looks are marginal; I'm maybe a 7. I don't work out (though I'm not fat or anything.) In fact I didn't have any success with women until I was in my early 20's. That's when I decided to go out a lot and start trying to get laid... I was willing to face rejection a thousand times a night, and do it over and over, trying everything, until I got it right. I had to completely set my ego aside. I didn't get laid at all for the first few months. Then every now and then. Then pretty often. Then downright consistently! I'm in my early 30's now and I am basically a sexual god. I wouldn't have even believed this were possible when I was in high school. The ONLY factor that determined whether a woman would cheat was my own skill level. When my skills were poor, women @#%$ all over me. (Everyone knows how women think they have license to be rude bitches in social situations... in fact I understand and appreciate that behavior now.) But once my skills got good, I could @#%$ just about anyone's wife or girlfriend. And many times I didn't know they had a man until after I @#%$ them.

Look, I'm not saying that men are perfect, or whatever. Far from it. I'm just saying, I've spent a lot of my time studying women and interacting with them, and I know how they are. In fact, sometimes I hate knowing it. Sometimes I wish I had taken the blue pill, and never went down the rabbit hole, because now there's really no going back. I didn't want to believe these things... but how could I ever get married now? How could I ever be the chump who pays for everything and blissfully goes through life not worrying about his woman because he trusts her? Look, would you leave your dog alone with a steak? You can't hate the dog for doing what's in its nature. You can't trust a dog, BUT you can trust a dog to BE a dog. Some men are disloyal... but I could *never* trust a woman to be loyal. Some men are bad presidents...but I could *never* vote for a woman to be president. I can rarely expect a woman to regard her own promises as more important and compelling to her than the emotions she feels in the moment. She will rationalize it to herself later.

Here's an interesting fact. Did you know that the median 22 year old woman has TWICE as much sex as the median 22 year old man? You might ask, how is that possible? If a woman's having sex, doesn't that mean a man is having sex at the same time? And thus, shouldn't men be having just as much sex as women? NO...because most men hardly get laid, or if they do, it's because they "got lucky." But a small group of men get laid ALL THE TIME, and @#%$ LOTS AND LOTS of women! It's evolution at work. Women follow their emotions, and that leads them to sleep with men like me (who know how to control female emotions.) Women want the top man...so the top man fucks lots of women. That's right - the sexual revolution, feminism, etc has resulted in a return to harems. Women, at the mercy of their own emotions, are volunteering for the modern-day equivalent of harems. Lucky for me!! Heh.

You might say, "But...but...I'm so nice! I'm a nice guy!" Guess what? That's like a fat chick saying, "But I'm so smart!" As if those things have anything in the world to do with sexual attraction!

I'm going to give some tips here for the poor sucker guys who are posting online trying to get laid and who are spending hundreds / thousands of dollars on all those whores out there without getting any play. (You bitches know exactly what you're doing, and I'm on to your game!)

* Don't be sexually judgemental in any way. A woman's worst fear is to be perceived as a slut. She will suck your toes and take it in the ass if she thinks you don't view her poorly for it (and she knows her friends won't find out.)

* Don't get angry at her. Women know they have emotional outbursts and they need to trust that you can handle that. It's ok (and necessary) to occasionally put your foot down...just make sure she knows you are fully in control of yourself.

* Don't let her manipulate you or control you in any way. She will immediately lose all respect for you. Always be leading. It's just like dancing - women hate a man who can't lead.

* When first approaching a woman or a group, they tend to get a feeling like this is just your little scheme to get close to them, when you really just want something from them - like sex. (And they're right.) It's important to structure your body language and conversation so that they honestly don't believe you want something from them. They should feel like you are about to leave at any second.

* DON'T TRY TO IMPRESS HER IN ANY WAY. Don't show off. Don't talk about accomplishments or possessions. As soon as she perceives that you are trying to prove yourself to her, she loses all interest.

* Don't ignore her friends. A woman values her friend's opinions more than just about anything else in the world. Nothing matters to her more than what other women are thinking. Give her friends lots of attention and get everyone laughing. If one woman is feeling different than the others, she will drag them away. They will follow like a flock of pigeons. Society is the book of women. (Notice that men do NOT behave this way! Women are very different!)

* To get a woman attracted / emotionally vulnerable, give her lots of emotions and feelings. Don't just make her feel good. Make her feel good, and angry, and sad, and connected, and astonished, and intrigued, etc. Make her laugh. Tease her. Tell stories about your sick puppy. Tell her why things would never work out between the two of you. Call her a dork. If she gets heated up, she will start touching you...playfully push her away. If she calls you a jerk and punches your arm, you are doing it right. If she gives you that "I can't believe you just said that" look, do NOT back down, do not say "Oh I'm just kidding" or anything like that.

* As she gets more emotional, she will try to ruin things by throwing in logic. She will ask you if you are a player, or if you say this to all the girls, or whatever. The trick is this: Don't take it seriously by giving it some logical answer! That's right...women lose interest if you take them seriously!!! It's crazy but that's how they behave. Just blow it off or misinterpret what she's saying as though she is coming on to you. If you fail these tests, she will be gone so fast your head will spin.

* She will start asking you lots of questions. This is what chicks do when they suddenly find themselves attracted to a man they know nothing about. This is your chance to open up a little and also find out more about her and build a deeper connection. You have to do this, or she will flake later (even if you've kissed her!) Women are the worst flakes in the world! Don't make it too easy for her, make her work for it a bit. Then talk about connections and childhood memories and things you have in common, etc. She needs to feel that this is genuine. This is usually the time when I throw in a few fake vulnerabilities, like pretending I'm shy or insecure about something. I know it's @#%$ up but women need to see that there are at least a few small holes where they can sink their hooks in you. They get uneasy if you are too perfect.

* Make sure she gets the feeling that you have standards and that you are judging her based on them. Ask her questions that show her you are checking her out to see if she is up to snuff. Women don't like to feel like you are with them only because you can't do any better. They prefer to feel like you have high standards; you can get any chick you want, but you chose HER because she is SOOOO special and SOOOO different from all the others. Yeah, I know.

* Move her to different locations. Take her next door for a drink. Take her across the street to check out some art. The more locations the better.

* Take responsibility for every escalation. A woman will do just about anything as long as she doesn't have to feel like it was "her fault." Make it YOUR fault. Make it "just happen." She will rationalize it to herself later using the same bullshit generator that women use to flake out on dates at the last minute. Don't get her horny until you get her isolated. Believe me, emotional is better than horny.

* Keep the woman always swinging somewhere between validation and rejection. If she feels rejected, she drops out or gets REALLY MAD. And if she feels too validated, she will ditch you in a heartbeat. So push her away (emotionally) and then pull her back in.

* BELIEVE YOUR OWN BULLSHIT. Chicks do not look at your excuses and try to see if they are bullshit or not... because that is the logical thing to do, and chicks are not logical. Rather, what they do is see if YOU seem to believe your own bullshit when you say it. If you look like you do, then chances are, they will believe it too. So the key is to believe your own bullshit, and other aspects about yourself that you want the chick to believe about you too (alpha male..whatever)... because your own self beliefs for some reason will automatically 'impart' to the chick!

* One more thing...many guys make the mistake of listening to female romantic advice. Don't listen to them, THEY DON'T KNOW WTF THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT, and they WILL steer you wrong. They will tell you what they THINK they want, instead of what they actually RESPOND to. And furthermore, a large part of the female sexual experience IS the inability to admit these things BECAUSE they derive sexual pleasure from putting up resistance and being overwhelmed.

If you do things this way, after a few months practice you WILL get laid like a rock star. The guys who get laid are the ones who know what they are doing, because they have practiced on lots of women. Ironically, women are most attracted to the men who are most likely to @#%$ them and then dump them on their ass - because those are precisely the men who have so many other options because they practice on lots of women. That's why you always hear women bitching about how men are assholes that only want to @#%$ them and dump them - because those are the men that they gravitate to.

Women tend to wise up when they get towards their 30s, and they start looking for a nice wimpy beta male to settle down with and pay for all their @#%$. As they get older, they will get more and more desperate to find this guy. Once they do, they will cheat on him with an exciting fun guy like me. (But who wants to @#%$ some old chick in her 30's? That's what beta males are for! Heh)

Hey, don't blame me - I didn't make things the way they are. I was just a guy who wanted to get laid. And I do :-)

Whut it do, hyphy, gully, hoy, do mah

I've got this horribly annoying song entrenched in my head. It goes "there's no letter better than B. B is the best fuckin leeetter. Blah blah blah letter than B... there's no better fuckin leeeetter..."

It's performed by the damn Dixie Chicks on this Sesame Street DVD designed to assist in teaching toddlers the alphabet and my daughter starts dancing every time it's on. God bless. I'll keep hitting the 'previous' button cuz the cuteness makes up for the wackness every damn time. I used to dance to some wack shit too when I was knee high too.

I've dranken some high end scotch from a high end licor store in the Pac Heights district in SF so this turd-post comes with warning. Lindsey Lohan is too hot. Imagine making that h0e scream...

Sold the crib. Fannin to rent nice quaint abode in the blue collar burb of san brew fo a hot minute. Does David Carr wear panties under his uniform just every other week?? Did IBM hire eunuchs design their UNIX? Was Son-Jara of the ancient Manden(sondiata) a trickster?? Or is it his sis and his griot. Only time will tell... alot of time considering how long it takes that cum guzzler to reply to me. dontbelievethehypebeast.com rules.

What about this guy? Is he fucking serious? Did he really reach the 1 mil mark by buying walmart shoes for his entire family, paying 8 bux/month for cell phone service, and listening to Yanni?? Should I try and follow in this footsteps?? Fuck no. Balance my friend. When he's 60 and sporting velcro knockoff Clarks and his daughters are at the Kit Kat Club bouncing on my lap because their daddy never bought them overpriced fake Uggs from Target he'll agree too. Scrimpy-ass thirsty nuga.

Balance young grasshopper, balance. It's all about experiencing the best of both worlds.

CD Laddering

Look into this: 12 12 month CDs each maturing 1 month after the next.

Another example of CD laddering:

CD Amount Term Rate APY Maturity
1 $10,000 6.0 mo. 2.71% 2.74% May 17, 07
2 $10,000 12.0 mo. 3.63% 3.69% Nov 17, 07
3 $10,000 18.0 mo. 3.63% 3.69% May 17, 08
4 $10,000 24.0 mo. 3.83% 3.90% Nov 17, 08

Best Breakfast Burritos in SF?

Just a note. Try this breakfast burrito spot recommended by Mass Appeal Mag: Boogaloo's.

Jinx Removing

This Jawbreaker song has received about 90+ plays in the past couple of weeks. Why didn't I discover them earlier?

Jinx Removing
24 Hour Revenge Therapy LP/CD

Talked out and now I'm feeling crowded.
All the errands in the world
won't save us now.
Rained in and I won't come unclouded.
There's a stillness in the air.
I pray for sound.

We're too smart to watch TV.
We're too dumb to make believe
this is all we want from life.
And I'm too dumb to talk to you.
You're so quick to listen to me.
I'm saying nothing you don't know.
Nothing you don't know.

Walked out and I won't be rerouted.
If I don't go outside today,
I never will.
Too old not to get excited
about rain and roads, Egyptian ruins,
our first kiss.

We're too smart to watch TV.
We're too dumb to make believe
this is all we want from life.
And I'm too dumb to talk to you.
You're so quick to listen to me.
I'm saying nothing you don't know.
Nothing you don't know.

I love you more than I've ever loved
anyone before, or anyone to come.
Someone said your name, I thought of you alone.
I was just the same, twenty blocks away.

Blew twelve and kissed the thirteenth finger.
"Rabbit, rabbit," on the first.
I hold my breath.
Did tricks I hoped you wouldn't notice.
A superstitious hyperrealist.
I'll make you mine.

We're too smart to watch TV.
We're too dumb to make believe
this is all we want from life.
And I'm too dumb to talk to you.
You're so quick to listen to me.
I'm saying nothing you don't know.
Nothing you don't know.

I love you more than I've ever loved
anyone before, or anyone to come.
Someone said your name, I thought of you alone.
I was just the same, twenty blocks away.

What's Going On

Yup, it's been over three months since my last entry. Major changes. Uncertain future.

I remain undaunted and stoic.

In a nutshell:

- We've got another bun in the oven. A male bun so they say.
- Home is on the market since we need more space.
- We don't know where we're going to live after we sell. We may rent for awhile until the housing market stablizes.
- I have a nice promotion lined up in the near future (I hope).

So much for an eloquent return post.

Top 25 Most Played

I've got the next two days off so I need to find something to entertain me. I can't believe these songs have received the most play on my ipod/itunes.

Bye Bye Wisdom Teeth

I finally got my wisdom teeth pulled today. It was relatively painless. My wife laughed at me because I kept asking the assistant in my vicodin induced haze "Was that it? Are you sure? You're kiddng right?" There is absolutely no gap in my memory between getting knocked out and completion of the surgery. The last thing I remember was complaining to the doctor and his assistant they needed to increase the nitrous output because I wasn't feeling a thing. Next thing you know, I'm being dropped into a wheelchair missing two molars.

No break in the the timeline continuum whatsover. Amazing.

I feel no pain from the areas where my wisdom teeth previously stood. However, the bottom of my mouth below my tongue hurts a little (you know the tissue that connects your tongue to your mouth). It's almost as if those fuckers took advantage of my unconciousness to work carelessly. WTF??

Shane Battier is a Rocket

Ok, so all that late night analysis proved even more worthless than it already was.

The Rockets didn't even make a 1st round pick. Instead, we drafted Rudy Gay and shipped him off with Stromile Swift (included to make the deal work monetarily) to Memphis for Shane "The Sharpei" Battier.

The move resulted in outrage and mutiny on ClutchFans forums, so serious that the site was rendered useless for most of the night after the draft. Hilarity ensued. Psycho fans screamed "Murder Carroll Dawson". Fair weather fans nullified their vows of marriage to the organization.

When the deal was announced my initial thoughts were "What the fuck?? There ain't no way its true". We gave up a player with potential to become a superstar for unexciting, albeit solid-typical-JVG type player? Then to add insult to injury the Chronicle reports we lost Stro in deal too? Didn't we need more depth? Why are we giving up two players for one? I'm now thinking "fuck the management of the Houston Rockets".

After the emotion from my initial reaction subsided reason began to kick in. They pulled the trigger because of future GM Daryl Morey's Moneyball philosophy. Basically, we wanted Brandon Roy, Adam Morrison, Sheldon Williams, or Randy Foye. Since none of the four remained when it was our turn we had a choices to make --draft the next best available player in the eyes of scouts, Rudy Gay even if we weren't particularly high on him. Draft the next player on our draft board no matter who it was (Ronnie Brewer). Or we could trade the pick to a team which highly covets Gay (Memphis) for a player who can fill holes for us and "pays his own way" (Battier).

We chose the last option.

Although, deep down I think the trade was a mistake (I'm a gambler who woud've rolled the dice), but I'm cool with it. I like Battier. We get a dude who's on-court value exceeds his salary's value (double in fact). He gives us a guy who can play 3 positions, hustle, and play with heart. Most importantly he fills the key quality this team lacks severely: leadership.

By no means is this a cop out. I am not just trying to cover all angles if I'm wrong. Honesly, this is not the case here. Simply put, I disagree with the trade but approve of who we received in return.

All #8 Pick Team

I can't sleep due to overwhelming curiosity of who the hell has been drafted at the 8 spot in previous NBA drafts (1976 and later). Yeah, I'm a fuckin' nerd.

Here's my squad:

PG tj ford
SG larry hughes
SF bernard king
PF detlef shrempf
C robert parish

Bench
andre miller
ron harper
larry hughes
channing frye
tom chambers
adonal foyle
brian grant

Rockets Draft Wish List

Ahh the eve of the 2006 NBA draft. As a lifelong Rockets fan praying for a resurgence next year I can hardly contain my excitement.

Chaotic and highly unpredictable as any draft ever, this one has everyone baffled --Experts and homers alike. Here's my little Rockets wishlist:

1) Adam Morrison - He'd allow TMac to move over to the 2 and provide us with a crafty wing who can score from anywhere. No more doubling TMac or Yao when this dude is camping out behind the arc.

2) Brandon Roy - Disciplined. Mature. Versatile. High Basketball IQ. All qualities we lack severely. I believe the guy could be groomed into a leadership role.

3) Andrea Bargnani - There are rumors the guy might slip to us at 8. I haven't seen his play outside of a few clips but what I've read looks appealing. He might blossom into a Dirk or Peja or bomb like Darko or Tskitihsomething. Drafting him is worth the gamble.

4) Rudy Gay - I don't like the Pippen comparisons because frankly Pippen sucked during his employment with the Rockets. I have, however, seen his highlights --the dood can fly. Plus, he's only 19 and raw.

5) Shelden Williams - Again, another highly disciplined Dukie. He probably won't become an All-Star but who needs another All-Star. We need someone to take the pressure off Yao and bang ala' Antonio Davis.

6) Ronnie Brewer - I like the reputation as a defensive juggernaut. I like the NBA pedigree (father played in the NBA). Probably too early at 8 but hey I wouldn't be pissed if we reached for him at that spot.

Oh yeah, we better not draft that faggot Redick.

My mock draft can be found here

Spots I need to check out

Orginally written back in March. Adding to it again.

Pagolac, 655 Larkin (at Ellis) - New Cheap Vietnamese spot in the TL.

Lucca Ravioli Co., 1100 Valencia St. - Italian delicatessen

Lone Palm, 3394 22nd St. - Classy dive bar (been there but this is a note to visit again)

Super 7, 1630 Post St. - Amazing collection of rare and collectible toys, art books, prints, and gear

Tartine Bakery, 600 Guerrero St. - Breakfast and sandwich place

Chin Sushi, 4406 California St. - "Best sushi on the planet"

Blue Plate, 3218 Mission St. - Embodiment of the the term comfort food

Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus Ave. - Best venue for music in SF. Catch talent here before they perform at the Fillmore or Warfield.

Neverending Pain

Upper back pain, neck stiffness, groin soreness: three of the bodily problems currently torturing me. I perform certain exercises to combat one and another pops up, just like a cruel game of whack-a-mole.

What he hell is is going on? In the past when I've hit the gym consistenly and vary my training from weights to cardio to yoga I've had much success in avoiding these types of ailments. But now, regardless of how much I work out the hurt continues. And if I neglect to train for a few days the pain is magnified. If i sit in a chair and write code for a few hours I get sore.

There's gotta be a solution to this. Don't tell me age is finally catching up to me.

Never Trust Anyone Who Doesn't Drink

From my favorite message board:

People who don't drink are not to be trusted. Alcohol brings out the basest, most primal version of ourselves. It's like truth serum for the personality. And if a person is too uncomfortable to reveal that part of themselves, if they don't trust themselves with their innermost being, why should you trust them?

I couldn't agree more. However, I guess the exception to the rule would include people who truly loathe the taste of alcholic beverages or people who have some sort of allergic reaction to alcohol. For those individuals I just feel pity.

Paul Wall's Girl

Oh yeah the underlying hook consists of an accelerated Oh Girl from the Chi-Lites. It's somewhat cheesy and cliche (hasn't it been done hundreds of times before?). Forget all that shit. Forget the fact they're playing it too much on that damn radio. Forget the topic of a player trying to convince a woman that he ain't really a player. There's more to it than that.

I'm tryin to tell you 'bout your friends hatin
While they be over there complainin I'm just on my grind paper chasin
You got them insecure thoughts in your mind
But instead of chasin hoes I be overtime on my grind
You steady listenin to the gossip in the beauty shop
But all them jealous single females want what you got
They would do anythang to take yo' place
Cause everytime I come around they be givin me that sex face
You ridin shot gun in the James Bond Benz
With the frog-eyed lens on them 20 inch do rims
So why you worried about your jealous so-called friends
I'm just on my grind tryin to stack me up some ends baby
I used to make you laugh, I used to make you smile
And all the while your jealous friends been in denial
I ain't askin much, lil' momma just keep it real
Either you're down with me or not, baby what's the deal

It's strictly about the lyrics and flow. It's almost like Paul improves as the song progresses like he really realizes what's at stake by the 2nd verse and lets the voice of his soul shine from there on out. "Ridin shotgun in the James Bond Benz..." How's a sensible woman gonna turn my boy down after that line?

Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow

I know I complain about what sucks about SF all the time, the overpriced homes, the fanatical political correctness, the high number of fudge packers. Regretfully, my complaints are valid most of the time. But this pic (taken a couple days ago) reminds me that underneath all the gay still exists a mystical underground society known as the Tongs in SF's Chinatown. Shown in the pic is Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, who claims to have controlled all Asian gangs in the Bay Area in the 90's. Even though the Chinese Suge Knight supposedly ratted out his homie it appears that he still gets much love at a Chinatown funeral.

More about the recent mob-style killing. Here.

Funny UNIX commands

[suntzu@gambino ~]$ man: Why did you get a divorce?
man:: Too many arguments.

[suntzu@gambino ~]$ make fire
make: *** No rule to make target `fire'. Stop.
[suntzu@gambino ~]$ why not?
why: No match.

[suntzu@gambio ~]$ !:say, what is saccharine?
Bad substitute.

[suntzu@gambino ~]$ %blow
%blow: No such job.

Nerd Jokes

Tonight after work I've got plans to watch some UCLA vs Gonzaga, drink some drank, and chase some skirts. Once again... It's raining game in Northern California... Until then I'm forced to sit in on some lame conference calls in which technology buzzwords are being thrown around so effortlessly by a bunch of nerds.

To kill time and entertain myself I've found some really 31337 geek jokes:

- A CS student in his first semester may think a kilobyte contains 1000 bytes. In his last semester he will think that a kilometer contains 1024 meters.

- 1 + 1 = 10

- An engineer is walking down the street, and sees another guy from his lab walking along with a new bright red motorcycle. He's impressed, especially since his friend doesn't know how to ride a motorcycle, so he goes up and asks, "Wow, where'd you get that?"

His friend explains, "Well, I walk walking along, and this gorgeous blond drives up on the motorcycle, stops in front of me, strips her clothes off and tells me, 'Take what you want!'"

The engineer nods in understanding. "Good choice. Her clothes probably wouldn't have fit you."

- A Mathematician, a Biologist and a Physicist are sitting in a street cafe watching people going in and coming out of the house on the other side of the street. First they see two people going into the house. Time passes. After a while they notice three persons coming out of the house. The Physicist: "The measurement wasn't accurate.". The Biologist: "They have reproduced". The Mathematician: "If now exactly one person enters the house then it will be empty again."

- Q- Who was the first computer technician?

A- Eve. She had an Apple in one hand and a Wang in the other.

- There are only 10 kinds of people in the world:
Those who know binary
And those who don't

- An engineer told me his favorite engineer joke:

One day, and engineer comes up to the gates of hell. The Devil takes a look at him and says, "Well, we've never had an engineer in hell before, but I guess we can take you in." So the engineer goes in.

After a few days, he comes up to the Devil and says, "I'm sure you've noticed, but it's really hot down here! What do you think of setting up a couple of refrigeration coils, getting an icebox set up so we could have iced drinks down here?" Now, the Devil hears this and says, "Why not? If you can set it up, go for it!"

So the engineer gets some tools together, works for a little bit, and sets up his little icecube maker, and soon the engineer, the Devil, and everyone else is enjoying ice cubes in their drinks, and everyone thinks it's a great improvement.

Couple of days later, the engineer comes back to the Devil and says, "Well, I'm impressed by how big Hell is - there are so many people here! But it takes so long to get from place to place - how about I install some people-movers? I can put in escalaters, elevators, moving ramps, the works!" The Devil takes a sip of his ice marguarita, and says, "Sure, give it a shot."

As the engineer works, the souls in Hell start getting around easier - there are elevators, escalators, all sorts of people-movers! It gets to be quite convenient to get around Hell.

After that project, the engineer comes up to the Devil and says, "I've been thinking about tackling the heat down here - ice drinks are all well and good, but it's still bloody hot! How about it?" The Devil at this point returns, "Anything you need, you got it!"

Two weeks later, the first stage of the cooling system goes on-line, and all the damned souls breath a sigh of relief as the heat wave finally breaks. At this point, God comes down to talk to the Devil, and tells him there's been a mistake: "That engineer you've got doesn't belong in Hell - he was meant for Heaven!"

Now, the Devil wasn't about to let his first engineer go! He returns, "Oh, come on - once he's in those gates, he's Mine! That's the way it works, and you know it!"

God tells him, "Well, you're just gonna have to return him! If you don't, I'll, I'll - I'll sue you, is what I'll do!"

The Devil knows he's won - he leans back, cocky as all hell, and asks, "Now, where you gonna find a Lawyer in Heaven?"

co /dev/pub/pint > /dev/girl
mv /dev/girl /dev/house
mount /dev/girl
touch
unzip
finger
fsck
yes
yes
y es
umount girl
zip
sleep

A Peaceful Evening

My baby mama fell asleep early after putting the baby to sleep. The servers I worked on were suprisingly healthy allowing me to knock off earlier than expected. Tonight, the stars are finally in perfect alignment. I've dimmed the lights, poured myself a glass of Glen Garioch, and queued up some Brubeck, Mehldau, and Monk.

Finally, for the first time in what seems like months. I get some relaxing "me" time.

Too bad I have nothing to write about.

In a rut

Yes, I'm in a bit of a rut. I can't seem to organize the 200 or so things I have going on in my head. Nor do I have the time. It's utterly frustrating. The only time I'm free to work things out in my head is after we put my daughter to sleep until the time I fall asleep. And when you squeeze in sex, exercise, and a little partying in during this free time there is not much time to critically look at the issues at hand. You do your best to maintain efficiency without sacrificing anything. By 2 or 3am I'm beat up. You sleep for a few hours then do it all over again. I'm exhausted at work, bogged down from lack of rest and the hangovers. It's a never ending cycle.

Yeah, I know not a damn thing has changed.

I want to work on a business plan for that idea I've had in my mind for quite some time now. I want to finish reading The fuckin Fountainhead. I want to go out and meet new people to help motivate me. I want to get rid of this fuckin gut. I want to take some classes. I want to look for a new job.

I want my cake and I want to eat it too.

Iverson is just nasty. Poor Daniels gets broked twice.

Douche Bag Discussion

It's late Friday. Work is completed. The little bratilla munchkin is at P's. I should be out running 3 miles while cursing about the disk in my ipod getting replaced. But I'm not. I'm on the Tucker Max Message Board reading about what makes a douchbag.

Here are some of my favorites:

Any guy who wears his cell phone/PDA on his belt. We are not impressed by your Treo, you fag. Put it in your pocket.

Anyone who sips their mixed drink through the fucking stirrer(s).

Anyone who wears a bluetooth earpiece at all times.

Guys who refer to their friends as "my bros" or "my crew."

You habitually send food back at a restaurant. I worked with a guy who did this at EVERY meal just to show the server how developed his palate was, “I think there is a little too much tarragon/rosemary/what-ever-the-fuck in this” Asshole.

People that quote Sartre, Neitzsche, Kierkegaard, in daily conversation.

Guys at the gym who talk more than they work out.

Anyone who orders complicated drinks at a coffee house or bar.

Barbed wire tatoos on the bicep.

Double Polo: Popped, locked, ready to suck cock.

The guys at the gym that spend 5 minutes flexing and checking their muscles in the mirror after EVERY SET.

Any man who wears a wife-beater type shirt, or any shirt with no arms, to a bar.

Under-armour as outer wear outside of the gym or off the field.

People that are so anit-cliche about anything popular they become a cliche about being anti-cliche.

Now I can run 3 miles in peace...

Power of a Setback

Well, without getting to details let's just say I've encountered a minor setback in a game (or war) I've been playing for a long time. I surrendered prematurely in a battle that was even. Even though stipulations came with the surrender it was still a surrender in haste. And that's all that mattered.

Expectedly what came next was textbook Art of War: an attempt to completely crush me for good. The attempt failed.

You know what happens next when you don't completely anihilate your enemy. He becomes more motivated than ever and eventually surpasses the level of power before the defeat.

This rechanneled energy has left me feeling stronger than ever. I haven't felt this driven in years.

Stunned

For the first time in my life my perception of reality has been attacked. I had absolutely no defense for it. It was totally unexpected and totally below the belt. For a second, I almost broke down and cried like a pussy whipped virgin.

It was a simple case of he said, she said. I'm not going to get into details but let's just say I now know how athletes wrongly accused of rape must feel.

And hell no I didn't rape anyone. Not even close.

One thing I've learned from this is challenging someone's reality and causing them to actually think twice and replay events in question is extremely powerful. Wickedly powerful. Used in a situation when you already have an edge and the need to fend off a late offensive arises the technique is golden. A technique I must add to my arsenal.

Tough Times

In a nutshell, here's whats been going on:

- K, the munch, and I have all contracted the common cold. Since the munch has been displaying symptoms we've been especially tolerant of bratty actions. Discipline has been thrown out the window. And she's definitely taking advantage. Soon we've gotta get her back on track.

- The compressor in the fridge just died a few weeks after the warranty expired. It will take around 10 days to get it repaired. Fuck Kenmore for manfacturing a shitty product and fuck Sears for not overnighting the damn replacement compressor.

- I still have a job but I have a new boss. Initial impressions indicate he's an older guy trying especially hard to be hip to the issues facing the modern technology worker (telecommuting, recovery time, etc) but is having a frustratingly difficult time. The jury's still out.

Demonstrate, do not explicate...

Within the past couple of years I've grown fairly competent in the art of argument. Whether the topic is sports, preferred method of intoxication, or the reason I'm coming home at 5am, I can defend myself like Cochran defended that cold blooded killer O.J. Usually after I hit my adversary with a barrage of flawless logic and hypnotizing eloquence they throw up their arms and fold their hands --even if my original argument is blatantly ludicrous.

Maybe I've missed my calling as a trial lawyer.

The problem is that winning via argument hold a treacherous pitfall. More often than not it leaves the loser of the argument with a bitter taste in their mouth as the loss directly impacts their insecurities.

From 48 Laws of Power (Law 9):

WIN THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NEVER THROUGH ARGUMENT

Any momentary triump you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The rsentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any monentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through you actions, without saying a word.

That said, as of today I'm making a commitment to prove my points through action instead. Let's leave argumentative skill in my arsenal until the need for it really presents itself.

The Rum Diary

I recently finished reading The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson. The poignant writing definitely provided me a soft cushion in which to land every morning as the ibuprofen kicked in.

Passages like this reminded me that pain if expressed well is fuckin beautiful:

Sometimes at dusk, when you were trying to relax and not think about the general stagnation, the Garbage God would gather a handful of those choked-off morning hopes and dangle them somewhere just out of reach; they would hang in the breeze and make a sound like delicate glass bells, reminding you of something you never quite got a hold of, and never would. It was a maddening image, and the only way to whip it was to hang on until dusk and banish the ghosts with rum. Often it was easier not to wait, so the drinking would begin at noon. It didn't help much, as I recall, except that sometimes it made the day go a little faster.

First Post of the New Year

The reason I haven't posted in awhile is because I still haven't finished detoxing yet. My pores still reek of whiskey and my levels of seratonin have yet to reach normal. Numerous events reached the point of notoriety; from getting blackout drunk on Christmas Day from drinking an entire bottle of Jamesons to that pointless trip to Reno with C and P. Most of it I'd prefer to forget.

Many of the events that took place were brought on by a combination of fear of the future and inability to let go of the past. I'm not going to get into it.