December 2005 - Chris Ullrich dot net
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December 2005

Open mouth, insert foot

you think you do and say dumb things sometimes? well, wired has compiled a list of the biggest technology-related blunders spoken by people in power who are supposed to know better. they also have lots of people around them who are supposed to stop them from saying stupid stuff.

fortunately, these “handlers” were out to lunch several times so we get to laugh at the silly things grown-ups say. if you are not interested in clicking on the wired link, some of the more choice quotes are below (aka my favorites) but at wired, they do provide “context” and some explanation so it might be a good idea to go there anyway. whatever. enjoy!

“Screw the nano.”

— Motorola CEO Ed Zander

“I’m going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I’m going to f***ing kill Google.”

— Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, in statements attributed to him in court documents by former Microsoft engineer and recent Google hire Mark Lucovsky

“Most people don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?”

— Thomas Hesse, president of Sony BMG’s global digital business division

“All research up until now has been conducted in strict observance of the government-set guidelines.”

— Korean stem-cell researcher Hwang Woo-suk

“I know what I don’t know, and to this day I don’t know technology and I don’t know accounting and finance.”

— Bernie Ebbers, ex-CEO of WorldCom

“Lightweight, and crank it on, and you shuffle the shuffle.”

— President George Bush

Time Magazine thinks like me (sort of)

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time magazine and i are in sync (at least a little). its like i’ve been saying all along here and at LAist. “Battlestar Galactica” is a kick ass show. if you are not watching it, you should be. don’t be put off by the “sci-fi” thing. solid drama, intereting characters and compelling stories transcend genre. so, get on with it and tune in.

as for the other “best of” picks, i differ on several but do think “my name is earl” and “ the office” are worthy of the top ten. as for “prison break”? well, don’t get me started. i realy tried to watch this show. i just couldn’t do it.

if you enjoy it, however, then have a great time. if i want to see a prison, i will just watch my dvd’s of the vastly superior show “oz” or just go and make another movie at lincoln heights jail here in LA. man, that was fun.

Xmas post game

ok, its the day after christmas. anyone get anything good? i got socks and underwear. plus, some shirts and some other clothes. i remember being a kid and hating it when i got underwear or socks for christmas. it was all toys, toys, toys for me (still is, really).

although now, as a more “mature” person, i really understand the need for clean underwear. so, thanks mom and dad. and thanks to all who called, wrote or whatevered to wish me and mine a happy holidays. much appreciated.

now that i have said the above, i just wanted to point out that i am trying out a new blogging tool. its a firefox extension called performancing and so far, its pretty cool. this post was made with it even. i don’t know if it will replace ecto as my blog tool of choice as i really love it and have gotten used to it. but, its nice to be able to see something online and then grab it and put it into a post. not that i’ve done that here but i will.

happy boxing day all.

Best of . . .

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over at LAist we are doing our “best of” picks to end the year. yes, i know it may seem a little trite but its still a bunch of fun too. you can check out my pics for best music, blogs, tv shows, movies, bars, restaurants, etc. over there. they will be coming out a piece at a time, starting with music.

or, for your convenience, they can all be found below. enjoy!

best movies:
munich
brokeback mountain
good night and good luck
syriana
capote
serenity

best tv shows:
veronica mars
battlestar galactica
my name is earl
the office
rome
out of practice

best bars:
father’s office – santa monica
firefly – studio city
starlight lounge – studio city
cat and fiddle – hollywood
roof bar at the standard – downtown
el centro – los angeles

best restaurants:
hugo’s – studio city
lala’s – studio city
arroyo chop house – pasadena
ciudad – downtown
great india cafe – studio city
jar – beverly hills
doughboy’s – los angeles
taco bell – anywhere at 2 am

best blogs:
engadget
the superficial
the unofficial apple weblog
LAist (so i’m biased, so what?)
sploid
starbucks gossip
digg (not really a blog exactly but still interesting)

best cd’s:
coldplay – x&y (i play this all the time and like it more and more)
death cab for cutie – plans
fall out boy – from under the cork tree
franz ferdinand – you could have said it so much better
the white stripes – get behind me satan

also, i am still listening to these cd’s from 2004 and before (some, way before. oldies but goodies, as they say).
coldplay – a rush of blood to the head
interpol – antics
zero 7 – simple things
the crystal method – vegas
the killers – hot fuss
black rebel motorcycle club – b.r.m.c.
miles davis – the complete birth of cool

and that be that. enjoy the rest of 2005.

Home for the holidays

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heading down south (no, not mexico) for a few days for some xmas cheer and whatnot (i’m big on the whatnot, btw). i intend to see a few friends and hang out for a few days and just sort of be. you know, free to be you and me, that kind of thing. (if you don’t know what i’m talking about, check out marlo thomas on imdb for a clue. don’t work too hard at it though, you’re on vacation remember?)

i have done all my shopping online this year and mostly at amazon.com. the great thing about amazon is that they wrap stuff too and just send it right to the person’s door. no transporting boxes of gifts in the car or on a plane. that’s a pain in the ass and you can’t wrap the presents due to security so really, what’s the point?. let ups do the work. you just coast in for the end and feast on the accolades.

some may think that purchasing gifts online and then just sending them to people is somehow less personal or not as in the christmas spirit as physically going to a store, buying something, wrapping it and then presenting it to someone in person. i do do that last part, at least for some people. i will be presenting gifts to the parentals in person. although, i did buy their gifts online.

really, what’s the point of suffering for the gifts by driving to the mall, looking for parking, waiting in line and pushing your way through crowds of angry shoppers pissed off that they can’t find and xbox 360 or an american girl doll either? it doesn’t make the person you give the gift to like it or dislike it. it doesn’t matter how it got there. the point is that it gets there.

a good gift is a good gift and a bad gift can be re-gifted next year. besides, its the thought that counts, right? i gave a great deal of thought to the gifts before i click the button and order. time and effort. just not exactly physical effort. it doesn’t take much physical effort to click a mouse, that’s true. but that’s not the point. the point is in the giving.

anyway, its been a great year and it looks to be a pretty good xmas. i hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season. no matter what you celebrate: christmas, chanuka, kwanza or some combo of all three, just be sure and have a good one.

and take it easy on the ‘nog. the year isn’t over yet. we still have a week until new years.

Writing is hard (aka the excuses)

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as you may have seen (if anyone actually noticed) there has been larger and larger gaps between posts on this here blog. some of you may be wondering why. yes, i’m talking to you in the back row there. wake up. well, the answer is simple and no, its not burnout. although, that can happen. it’s just that i’m a busy person and more to the point: writing is hard.

ok, there, i said it. writing is hard. anyone who actually gets paid to write or anyone who just sits down and writes something will tell you. writing is work. hard work. you have to actually think about something and write it. it doesn’t just magically appear on the page. the old adage, which i have used many times to torment writers that i know, that something “writes itself” just isn’t true. you actually have to come up with it yourself and put it together. the writing keebler elf is just a myth. although, the cookies can be quite good.

sure, you can come up with a few ideas or something and jot them down (or in this case, type them in). however, getting those ideas into a somewhat coherent form is where the actual work comes in. plus, and this is a real problem for me when writing for this site and for other sites as well, i don’t always have something i want to write about. i guess i’m not angry enough. i’ll try harder.

that brings me to the other problem (yes, another one). subject matter. just writing some random words in some sort of order could be called writing, and often is. just read usa today or watch fox news. it isn’t always compelling or even interesting writing though. sometimes its really quite bad. that’s the rub. and that’s the challenge.

not to say that every word i write is golden, but i have been known to turn a phrase or two from time to time. on one of the sites i write for, LAist.com, i actually like a few of the pieces i have done for them. some relatively solid work there. but believe me, whatever you may think of my work and whatever comments you may make about it, i am a far worse critic of myself than you will ever be. its just the nature of it. most of the time i think that everything i write sucks.

but, if you feel compelled to comment or make critical observations (or even tell me something really blows) i’m ok with that. that’s part of the deal when you put something out there for people to read. you have to expect some reaction. and believe me brother, the reaction is never all good. if it were, you are probably doing something wrong. of course, a negative reaction is better than no reaction at all. as in, if a writer writes in the forest and no one reads is, is he really a writer? actually, it doesn’t really have to be in a forest. although, forests can be quite nice.

well written articles or books or essays should cause people to think and question and explore. sometimes, they even cause people to revolt or take significant steps to make sweeping changes in their lives or the lives of others. i think that’s a good thing and something to strive for. change often is inspired by someone brave enough or dumb enough to write something and put it out there and make people think. thinking is good. try it some time. it can be fun.

and if thinking causes a little conflict or makes others feel uncomfortable or exposes them to new ideas, that means the writing was effective. we shouldn’t worry so much about status quo or political correctness. this country was founded by people who rejected what was politically correct and what was status quo and we turned out pretty well. we shouldn’t forget that now that most people have 2 cars, 2.5 kids, 3.5 bedrooms, HD tv, microwave ovens, cell phones, computers, xboxes and all those other gadgets and luxuries that make life more enjoyable.

of course, if i read this now i could make an observation that this post has gotten off message and has started to meander a bit and i would be right about that. the point here is that writing is hard. and good writing is really hard. but that’s what makes it worth it. if it wasn’t difficult, it probably wouldn’t be worth doing.

i’ll try to remember that the next time i am looking at a blank page and a blinking cursor and i have nothing to say. i guess i can always ramble on about writing or how lame the president is or how much i dislike local news or people who make sweeping generalizations, every last one of them. maybe a point will come of it eventually. then again, maybe not.

i wonder what’s on tv.

The Christmas Spirit (or spirits, as the case may be)

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yes, its that time of year. as i have said on more than one occasion, the holidays bring me mixed emotions. am i happy? am i sad? am i blue? are you? i don’t really know. i guess the real shame of it all is that i am not a kid anymore.

as a kid, the holidays were much more fun. you got presents after waiting up most of the night to catch a glimpse of santa clause and it seemed like a time of infinite possibilities. as an adult, not so much. i guess the next best thing would be to have a kid myself. that way, i could experience the holiday’s from their perspective. through their eyes. that might be something. i guess i should look into that.

in other news, this guy seems, i don’t know, nuts. take a look and you be the, um, judge.

how about some ‘nog? cheers.