The Last Snowboard Trip for the Season :*(

It's been a really bad snow season for Tahoe this year. Unlike last year, warm temperatures and lack of snowfall this year has kept accumulation to a minimum; on the bright side, it has also kept the crowd to a minimum :)

Today is probably my last snowboarding trip for this season. It's a pity though - I feel like I'm on the verge improving my snowboarding by leaps and bounds (that's what I tell myself everytime, anyway). My friend had acquired free lift tickets for the Diamond Peak ski resort this time, so we all decided to go there.

To tell the truth, after a whole week of working late hours, the thought of just lazing around the apartment and not doing anything was quite tempting. However it was too late to back out of this trip, so I finally decided to go. I was quite pleasantly surprised - nice warm sunshine, minimal crowd and absolutely no traffic awaited us. The snow felt a bit slushy, but was still better than the ice-like snow we had been boarding on for the last few times I was there.

As you can see in the picture above, certain trails at Diamond Peak offer a quite scenic view of Lake Tahoe. You can also see from this picture that spring is practically here already - the trails were quite narrow, and the greenery around the trails were very, very obvious. Diamond Peak is not that well known amongst the Tahoe ski resorts - the main ski resorts around Lake Tahoe include Squaw Valley, where one of the winter olympics was held, and Heavenly, located on the Nevada side of the Tahoe area. However, going to a less popular one usually has its perks - less people, less time wasted waiting for lifts, and overall less hassle in getting around. I still remember a snowboarding trip last year during President's Day weekend (or was it Columbus Day? hmmm) where we had to spend 3 hours just driving 10 miles from the motel to the ski resort. Not something I would want to experience again.

Anyway, with this trip, I bid farewell to Lake Tahoe until November this year. Hopefully next year we'll get more snow ^^

Taste this!

I didn't know there was a vineyard in Cupertino, California. A couple of weeks ago a good friend of mine introduced me to a a vineyard called "Ridge" at Cupertino.

The "Premier" (read: most visited by tourists) place for wine making in California is actually Napa Valley, where the more well-known winemakers there include Robert Mondavi, V. Sattui and Sterling. Not many people know that there are vineyards in Cupertino (me included until two weeks ago).

Now I am definitely not even close to knowledgeable about wines. However, I do consume quite a bit of red wine, enough to know just a little about the general taste of red wines. To me here is the breakdown of different wines:

Merlot:

Probably the "softest" of wines - has a pleasant, soft taste. If you've just started drinking red wine, Merlot is probably what you'd go for. It's like driving a Honda Accord - you know it's reliable and consistent, but there's no vroom to it at all. Worst of all, if you bought a really cheap bottle of merlot, it probably tastes like pink soda lemonade. Solution: Don't buy a really cheap bottle of merlot.

Cabernet Sauvignon:

You know how in the movie The Matrix they described how chicken tastes? Well, same for Cabernet Sauvignon, in my opinion. Cabernet Sauvignon is the "chicken" of red wines. It tastes like everything. Heck, sometimes I mistake pork for chicken, just because chicken tastes like, you know, everything.

Syrah/Shiraz:

A pretty dry wine - tastes a little like dirt (I think the wine lingo is "it has an earthy taste", i.e., it tastes like dirt). If you've bought a good bottle of Syrah, it tastes really good though. Seriously, I think Cabernet mixed with Syrah is quickly becoming my favorite wine :) Syrah and Merlot are probably on the opposite ends of the niceness/excitement scale of wines. Single guys and gals, it's kind of like dating - would you prefer a nice, polite date who will open doors for you and laugh at your jokes, or would you prefer a ..ahem... anyway, I think I'm getting sidetracked.

Zinfandel:

Hmmm... I don't really drink a lot of Zinfandel (and that is why I bought a bottle at the Ridge vineyard). I do know two things about Zinfandel, though. (1) The name sounds cool (hey, how many wines start with a "Z" eh?) , and (2) Sometimes that kind of grape is also made into "White Zinfandel", which is a sweet table wine that wine connesseurs avoid like a plague.

So, what types of wines go with which types of food? Well, the general rule is: the heavier the food, the stronger the wine. So, if you're having a vegetarian fare, or maybe fish , you would probably go for white wine. But, if you're like some people that can't stand white wine, you can go for a softer, girly red wine - like a merlot! On the other hand, if, in a showcase of manliness, you're eating a 25 ounce ribeye steak, then you should probably go for something 'harsher' - maybe a cabernet, or syrah. Rawr!

Anyway that's my understanding of red wines. It's probably 50% accurate, at most. It also only covers mainly the wines made in California. So if you go to France for example, where wines are labelled by where the grapes come from, you won't see any hint of these names on the front stickers. That's another story, though. Anyway, wine always tastes good with a meal, and is something I occasionally (okay, frequently) indulge in. Have fun!

300!

Yes, one of the more anticipated movies of 2007 for me. I finally got to watch it this past weekend. I can't help but notice the similarities between this movie and "hero" in terms of cinematography - except in 300, the background scenery is actually computer generated.

Wow, what can I say. The action scenes are just awesome. I'll definitely buy the DVD when it comes out, just to see the action scenes again. Story-wise, there's nothing much to say. It's pretty predictable anyway. But that's not the main point of the movie. Did I mention that the action scenes are awesome?

One thing that was a little wierd was that the people from Sparta were portrayed as highly sophisticated, enlightened and wise, as well as valued freedom above everything else. Gimme a break. Sparta was just as bad as Persia in terms having slave labor during that time. When they kept referring to "free men", "freedom doesn't come free" etc, perhaps they were referring to their freedom to own slaves. Who knows.

There are a lot of people who are pretty pissed off with this movie, due to it's dehumanizing of the Persian empire. Wow. Everyone in Sparta is looks like a supermodel, while almost everyone in the Persian empire looks, well, deformed. Oh well - one reasoning is because the story is supposedly told by a Spartan warrior to his fellow comrades, in the Spartan warrior's eyes, the opponents ARE monsters. I don't feel like delving into this controversy in my blog, so just look up google and you'll easily find hundreds of topics on this.

Anyway, I recommend you see this movie, if just for the action scenes. They're as good as they get. Seriously. 6/10 (due to the fact that it had absolutely no plotline).

Additional comment by a friend of mine who didn't like the 6/10 score I gave this movie:

"...you just put yourself in that moment. That's how you watch these kinds of movies. Just pretend you're there.... You think those guys fighting those Persians were thinking.... "should i stab him? I don't want to offend the Persians"

If you put yourself in that moment, you'll just want to kill with them"

Well I guess he has a point. But still, I'm sticking to my guns. The score of 6/10 remains ^^

hah!


In Sparta, everyone walks around sporting briefs, a cloak and an 8-pack.

My All-time Favorite Movie

"What is the Matrix?"

This movie has got to be the best movie EVER. Call me a shallow person with shallow taste in movies, but this movie has it all. Unbelievable action scenes? Check. Amazing plot twists? Check. Intriguing sci-fi setting? Check. End-of-the-world predicament for humankind? Bad guys in cool suits and shades? Bullet-dodging kung-fu? Check, check and CHECK.

Was that a great movie or what. Man I wish they made more movies like that.

说中文．．．

这次来中国出差, 跟客户用中文交谈, 才发现自己的中文有多烂 :( WELL, 其实不是最近发现的; 一向来早以知道这个事实, 只不过这一次的TRIP让我再次觉悟，须要下点努力学中文．　ＤＡＭＮ

China: The art of getting more expensive by the minute

Shanghai

After approximately one year since my last trip to China, here I am in China again. This time I'm visiting Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. Much has changed since my last visit to China infrastructure-wise, but even more obvious (to me, at least) was the $ka-ching$ factor. With the weakening of the U.S. dollar, the booming Chinese economy, and the steady rise of the Chinese yuan, China really has become much less of a "bargain" place to go, especially in the big cities.

Shanghai definitely is overflowing with money today. I heard that mutual funds are being snapped up until they're sold out the day they come out. We're talking about mutual funds here, not stock IPOs. That's ridiculous in my book, but then again probably not in China. There are billions of yuan looking for a place to call home, provided you have an idea that will make money. Going around town, it is obvious that the people of Shanghai are adjusting to their new-found wealth - nice suits, nice cars, nice condos - you get the picture.

As you can see, there are not many pictures taken this time - I was so swamped with work that I hardly had time to sleep, let alone go sightseeing. Nevertheless, since I had recently bought a Canon Powershot S3, it would have been unforgivable if I didn't try to at least take a few good pictures. The picture above was taken near 人民广场 (People's Shopping Center is probably the best translation I can think of), where my hotel is located. Looks like a red-light district, doesn't it? Well, it's not :D

The best part of Shanghai is the food - the dish that I remember the most is "水煮鱼" (water-cooked fish is the literal translation). Don't let the name fool you - it's actually served in a huge bowl of pure cooking oil, plus spices and peppers inside.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong has always been, and still is to some extent, the bastion of chinese economy, although it definitely is getting a lot of competition from Shanghai. In many ways, Hong Kong is where the "old money" is. It feels a bit more sophisticated than Shanghai; Shanghai feels more energetic, although a bit rough around the edges. Kind of like comparing an Audi TT to a Subaru STI, if you know what I mean.

This photo is a photo of downtown Hong Kong taken across the channel from Kowloon, where my hotel is (I love my new camera ^^).

I'm off to Beijing tomorrow, then I'm heading back to California. Not a moment too soon, too. I need a vacation...

Ghost Rider. Avoid it. Like a curse.

Please, please give me back the two hours of my life I spent watching a skeleton ride around wearing a leather jacket.

Well, maybe the redeeming factor of the movie is the cool effect when Nicholas Cage becomes Ghost Rider. Yup, it's just like lighting up your BBQ grill.

I give it a 3/10.

The company I had was great, it's just that the movie... sucked :P

Spring is here! (hello allergies)

We might have another month of winter left, then it's spring. Then summer. Then fall. Then winter. Then spring again. Time really flies - I don't like how years pass by like months now. We just started the new year and now it's March already?? Crap!

Come to think about it, sometimes we spend all our time working and investing in the future so we can retire happily one day, that we forget about enjoying the moment today, now.

So, work hard, work smart, invest in the future etc - but don't forget to live for the day. Call up a friend, have dinner with him or her, chill out, do what you like.

Don't be like the sucker who builds nothing but SCVs and then dies to a 4-pool rush (if you don't understand what this means, you're probably not a Starcraft fan) Hah!