The Past
The first homepage is here . I give thanks to my first computer science teacher, Mr. Shen, for teaching me how to do html.
This is the old homepage from the first makeover.
This is the old homepage from the second makeover.
| 07/10/2006 More works |
| I updated the Anime list and improved the Under
Siege card game. I added some more items to the I, influecne82 section. I
added more to the Why cell phones are bad piece. I wrote 3 more pieces while
I was on break from work one day. I just felt like writing something, so I
came up with a pole called Doodles, which is a random fun item and wrote a
more pleasantly serious poem called The One I Love which describes exactly
what the title is. I really do not have a single person that I love. I still
have no girlfriend, but it is intriguing to think about (but the more I
think about a girlfriend, the less I want one). I admit that I am slacking off on that portfolio project. I hope to have something up by next month. I will later upload my new vitae and project pages. Now I am working on a LaTex file for my professor's research project. The DVI tool I use is TeXLive2005. It is not too hard to use, but is is command line based, so it will take many tries. I cancelled my World of Warcraft subscription for a few reasons: 1) I have other things to do like study and practice computer programming, 2) work on my website, 3) work on my portfolio and career, 4) go out more often for exercise and entertainment, 5) save money, 6) I have technical problems with the game needing to repair many times, and 7) play some more of my PSP. I still have a 60 day game gift card that I did not use. I bought it with a $10 off coupon and hoped to play more, but I would rather wait for it until a better time. Speaking of PSP, I bought some new games. My library now consists of the following: Lumines, Need for Speed Underground: Rivals, Spider-Man 2, The Legend of Heroes: a Tear of Vermillion (being shipped), Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, Untold Legends: the Warrior's Code, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (on preorder), Wipeout Pure, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. The worst thing about the PSP is the loading time. It is difficult to believe that the future of video games is reading from an optical disk. Hopefully, with t he next generation systems, they will read from the hard drive. The PS3 will partially read form the hard drive, as demonstrated in the Gran Turismo HD demo shown at E3 in May |
| 06/11/2006 And the Winner is... |
| It has been so long since I last added something
to this website. The only new thing that is changed is the anime list.
That is it. I will update my vitae in the I, influence82 section soon. I
will later create a project section showcasing the work I did in college.
It will be an ambitious project that will take some time to build. I recently graduated from San Jose State University and am searching for a job related to computers. SO my career planning is a priority. I am currently playing some video games for the PSP. Right now I am playing X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. I am also playing World of Warcraft for the PC. my character is a troll hunter called Snipertroll. It is a fun game but can be very tedious. It is best not to play for long otherwise it may be frustrating. I still cannot believe that people pay $15 or so a month to play a game online. This is expensive, for it adds to the Internet bill, phone bill and credit card bills and utilities. Video games are a nice distraction, but do not play too long or it may overtake your life. That is why I plan to spend some more time on this website. I mentioned in the previous update that I have a MySpace account. I also had a Friendster account starting in Fall 2003. I just forgot about it until recently. My profile can be found at www.friendster.com/influence82. I prefer MySpace over Friendster because MySpace has more friends, its free to use all services, and it is easier to use. For blogging, I think I will stick to this website. MySpace has a free blog tool, but it is more limited than this website. Plus, I do not want to blog in more than 1 place. |
| 08/21/2005 Summer By the Sea |
| It has been almost a year since my last website
blog. That does not mean that I have note updated my website. I just did
not write anything new on this web page. For instance, I updated the Anime
list many times and it is updated once again to reflect my growing
collection. I also updated my Alpha Phi Omega section, but I keep the
updates separate because I really do not want the fraternity group to go
to this homepage first. Or non fraternity people to know what is going on
at the fraternity. I also have an updated vitae in the I. influence82 Section. Speaking of that, I also decided to sign up a MySpace.com account. My personal page is http://www.myspace.com/influence82.It is another way to socialize over the Internet. I signed up because one of my friends liked it and another friend used it as a promotion tool for events. Yes, I am in the event planning business. I am going to help run an party on Saturday September 10, 2005 in Downtown San Jose. I will keep the details on my myspace page. I also have a job and work for the Department of Homeland Security, so this means I have financial security. I have always wanted to work for the DHS since it was first created. This is like a dream job, though it is part time. I still have to attend SJSU and earn that degree. I also have to work on the LSAT for law School. My mon wants me to do this, so I have to try. |
| 02/28/2004 Secret Lives |
| I am renting a new apartment in San Jose. Since
it is away from the constraints of the dormitory, I fell a new sense of
freedom. It costs less money to rent. I do not have to buy a meal plan, so
I can eat whatever I want and save money while I am at it. My cooking is
not that bad. I always clean after myself. I am also networking with
colleagues to learn more about industries and skills. I am a member of the
Computer Science Club, so I stay in the room to study and help people
solve their problems. I have more anime in my Anime Pages section. I will add more episodes on a later date. You can also find my vitae in the I, influence82 section. The vitae is a complete work and education history of my life. I use it to create a resume aimed at a specific job. |
| 08/01/2004 Go West! |
| The June 2004 Expense Report is up in the I,
influence82 section. I revised all the links on the website and the Anime
Pages. I actually now manage 3 websites simultaneously; Area influence82,
Kenneth Cheung's Alpha Phi Omega Universe, and Desk of the Alumni Secretary
(part of Kenneth Cheung's Alpha Phi Omega Universe). I am still in my transition of moving to another location in Culver City. I am currently reorganizing my possessions and prioritizing them. I also have to do some home improvements on the Arcadia house before renting it out. Also, I saw Vandread on TV. It is on the Action channel, a premium channel that is a part of Starz! It is on on some weekdays at midnight. Why the good anime is always late at night probably has to do with the content of the show, as Americans are more sensitive to their television (ABC paid the maximum fine for the Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction for each station that showed it, the largest fine in history). You can see the schedule on www.starz.com and click the Action section. |
| 06/14/2004 Moving In |
| I received over 80 GB of more anime media files
from a friends and the Anime section is updated to catch up to it. The Anime
Pages are likewise changed. I also updated my MTG decks section and
substituted Warcraft with the Horde (since Warcraft is no longer Standard
legal). The May 2004 Expense Report is also up in the I, influence82
section. I returned to Los Angeles in record time: 5 hours and 10 minutes. I accomplished this by averaging 75 mph or more on the 101 freeway. I drove overnight, as is my preference. I acknowledged that police were giving more traffic citations to compensate for budget shortfalls. I always drive with caution, especially when I have passengers, for their safety is my top priority. I am in L.A. now but my mom want to rent the house that I now occupy. Thus, I have to get rid of the superfluous items in the house such as furniture, accessories, and trash. I have to sell a much of the furnishings and move the rest. I have to donate my extra Magic: the Gathering cards to people who may want them. It is nice to surround myself in the objects that help define myself, even for a short time. |
| 05/28/2004 Happenings |
| The April 2004 Expense Report is up. Students generally do not study during the weekends. They tend to go home and play or to work or to party. On May 23, I went to Northside Community Center to volunteer. The Northside Community Center is a place where people can hold special events. Every Saturday and Sunday during noon time, senior citizens come here to eat together. Occasionally, special events do occur. For Example, May 16 celebrated Mother's Day and there was singing and a cool show using ultraviolet light. The performers wore black and the setting was all dark except for the ultraviolet light. They reveal white pieces to create images. Because of the nature of ultraviolet light, we can only see objects that reflect it. The performers creates formations that resembled hearts, stick figures, birds, and words. It was really fascinating. The next week, they celebrated Filipino veterans of World War II. The former President of the Philippines made a special visit to the center, accompanied by San Jose State Police wearing ear pieces. It was a big event, with a live band and dancers. I also acquired an officer position in fraternity as Alumni Secretary. That person's job is to keep in touch with all the alumni of the club and inform them of the events of the active membership. Next semester, I will be a busy person. Well, a busier person at that. I will create another section in the webpage called the Office of the Alumni Secretary in the Alpha Phi Omega Section. I was evicted from the dorm rooms on the 26th of May. The on-campus housing is quite inconvenient. To live in the dormitory, you must purchase a meal plan, You are locked out during the Winter session. Your room is a fairly small; just enough for three desks and three beds; two must be stacked. It is not a good place to loiter at all. The floors and doors are weak against sound waves, which is probably why parties are strictly prohibited. There are condom dispensers (now without the spermicide non-oxynol 9 because of the health risk), but it does not look like a good setting to have intimate intercourse, unless if you are the kind of person who will do it anywhere. Now that I have evacuated the premises, I must find a room elsewhere in the big crowded city. Luckily, there are scores of places for rent. The only problem is the amount of rent they charge. In all places of higher learning, commencement is a big event. I actually had an opportunity to attend the commencement in PCC, but I had to decline because I had to study in San Jose (I already have an Associate in Arts degree). In SJSU, there are a few ceremonies for different majors and degrees. The reason why I still stay in San Jose is because I volunteered to assist in the ceremony and to see my friends get their official piece of paper that states that they learned something from the school and they deserve an honorable discharge. I will go back to L.A. on the 29th of May at night. My duration is uncertain, though. |
| 05/05/2004 Twilight's Call |
| The March 2004 Expense Report is in the I,
influence82 section. Northern California is a state of independence. The cultural climate and political climate is very different from Southern California. People here understand that they are in a different place. There is a sense of pride of being from "Nor Cal"; people put stickers on their cars and wear t-shirts and sweaters with this geographical trademark. Someone from San Francisco told me, "you could literally split this state in two." People just behave differently than those from the south. The word "hella" is probably an epitome of this difference. In Northern California, there is the Bay Area, the Yosemite Park, Central Valley, and Sacramento, the capital. In Southern California, there is Los Angeles, the Mojave Desert, and San Diego. Each area has its own specialty. Up here, it is more liberal; there are more GBTL type people, stricter environmental laws, and historical conservation (University of Pacific is a good example; here, all the buildings must be made out of brick to maintain the sense of Eastern antiquity). Los Angeles has some of those features too, but it is not that evident; there, it is more entertainment-based. On Saturday, May 2, I noticed that many cars have Mexican flags draped on their hood or standing outside of the windows, moonroof, or antennae. This was because Cinco de Mayo is a weeklong fiesta. Indeed there is a high concentration of Mexican-Chicano people on Santa Clara Bl. I also noticed the diversity of automobiles in the area; regular 5 year old cars, classic 30 years or older restored cars, new luxury vehicles, hot rods, Corvettes, and land Barges (SUVs). In my studies, I am in bad standing in my CS 140 class, which means that I must work harder. In the other classes, I am doing well. Physics and Geology are easy, and CS 46B has annoying quizzes which bring me down. Because I live on campus, I am never late for class. I was late once, but that was because I had to finish up an assignment. Procrastination is bad; do not do it or you may suffer. I must sacrifice sleep in order to meet deadlines, and that is very typical of college students. We are like that because we are on our own. We are supposed to be adults but cannot help but be distracted with other things, like sleepiness. |
| 04/09/2004 Explorer |
| I updated the I, influence82 section with my
expense report of what I spent in the beginning of this year. It is very
interesting to see what I actually bought in the past and how much money I
spent. I am a thrifty person, so I would typically spend less money than
other college students. Al least I hope I do. Some more anime is listed in
the Anime section. Someone recently commented to me that my website has too
much text. I do acknowledge that there are many many articles. The reason
why I do this is because text takes up the least space. Graphics of all
kinds take up much storage. It also take a bit longer to create graphics.
However, I do want to learn how to make better web graphics; I just lack the
time to execute it. Computer Science classes are extremely difficult and
require days of work to accomplish the materials assigned in a given
chapter. With text, web site updates are quick and easy. On the contrary, I
have notice many web designers start with a good layout, but stop updating.
I do not know XML, so I cannot utilize any of that. However, I do try to
correct any errors in my website as soon as I can. I went home for Spring Break and came back with my anime collection, so now I can do some trading with other otaku. Nothing really exciting happened to me outside my fraternity, and if you want to know what happened in my fraternity, then you can go to the Alpha Phi Omega Section or see the Expense Report. Oh, and did you know that my 2001 Honda Civic can drive over 400 miles on one gas tank? This means that I can drive from L.A. to San Jose without stopping. I do have to battle sleep, but I have 11 hours or tape recorded music in my car that can focus my attention. With the rising prices, gas is now my largest expense, even though I drive little in San Jose. |
| 02/29/2004 Still Alive |
| Today is a rare day. We only have have these
leap years because the earth turns an extra 6 hours every year, which means
our clocks are inaccurate. I have been very busy with other stuff, like my
fraternity. I promise to spend less time on that from now on. I did a lot
stuff in the past month, ranging from meetings to readings, to programming
assignments, to typing on the computer. I went to a Laundromat on the street
because the one in the dorms were out of order. The other Laundromat is more
expensive and does not wash clothes as well. The public Laundromat costs
$1.50 for washing and .25 per 15 minutes for drying. The dorm machines cost
$1 for washing and .50 for drying for 60 minutes, but it requires a school
I.D. card with money in the account. If the school network is down, you
cannot use any money from the I.D. card. I also did some jogging exercise
around the city. From that experience, it is apparent that I need to
practice more. The track is 1 mile south of the main campus. It is in the
section called the south campus. The practice track is paved but very
damaged, with pot holes in various places. Many people exercise on that
track and even bring their dogs to run with them.. Near the track is where
the major sporting events take place, including the Major League soccer
games. The San Jose Earthquakes are the MLS soccer champions of 2003, the
only winning team in the Bay Area. This city also is home to the Sabercats,
an arena football team. So like Los Angeles, they have a soccer and indoor
football team. Another weird thing about the city is the one-way streets:
some one way streets diverge to become two-way and vice versa. It is strange
when you drive and your street forces you to turn left to make way for
one-way traffic. As for updates, I wrote an new essay called On gluttony and added more secrets to dieting in the I, influence82 section. |
| 01/22/2004 Happy Chinese New Year! |
| I have no additions to the website, but I should inform you visitors that I have delayed my departure to San Jose until Friday, January 23. I had to wait because I needed to a package in the mail that was vital for me to bring to San Jose. Also, I the things you may see next update are another essay and some coins for sale. |
| 01/11/2004 Compression |
| I added my 8th Edition (Core Set) collection in
the Magic: the Gathering section. Also, I created a renewed deck called
Handhunter 2, now an active deck in the Rogue Gallery. In addition, I
realized that I tend to go to websites to download files. Thus, I decided to
have my mid songs available for download. If you want one of the songs played
on the website, go to the page where the background music is playing and
below the title of the page is the link. Remember, when downloading a
non-html file, you should right click and "Save target as". I also
added more links to the Anime Pages. I also edited my Resume for the 4th
time since first uploading it. It shows that I have a lot of work cut out
for me. I will continue to work as long as necessary. For me, "business as usual" is dong housework, studying, selling stuff, playing some games, watching some shows, eating with my family, cleaning up the house, driving my brother places, doing yard work, taking out the trash, working on the computer (updating website, checking email, reading articles, fixing the computer), patching and painting the house and office, helping out my mom, shopping in store and online, and organizing for next semester. |
| 12/28/2003 Locations |
| Because I created the Alpha Phi Omega branch of my website, I decided to keep fraternal matters to that section only. Kenneth Cheung's Alpha Phi Omega Universe was made to stand alone as a separate website (note that the title links back to the index). With that typed, I can now focus on what I usually write about here. I changed the name of the index pages to Locations instead of Contents to better suit the Area influence82 theme. The Anime section has also been updated with all the anime media files I have as of now, since I obtained some more from a friend recently. I also put the anime files that I want on that page to make it more convenient. I also upgraded an existing Magic deck, Crematory 2, for standard format. |
| 12/16/2003 Expansion |
| Today I launch a new branch of my website, called Kenneth Cheung's Alpha Phi Omega Universe as a regular item in the Contents (after you click Get Inside). This branch is aimed specifically to members of my fraternity. However, if you are curious about fraternities, then you may look at the branch to learn about it. In addition, I added a picture of a real Acura NSX in the Acura NSX Drawing in the I, influence82 section. I will go back to Los Angeles on December 18 in the morning via Greyhound bus. I will bring lots of food home because of my generous meal plan (as part of renting a dorm). I still have less of an inclination to play Magic and that draft on Thanksgiving did not encourage me. However, I made an oath to myself long ago never to quit Magic unless I had a real girlfriend (this is serious). Since I never plan to get one, I really do not plan to quit. So basically, if I stop playing Magic, that does not mean that I do not like it anymore. |
| 12/12/2003 Time |
| DO NOT USE GROKSTER. It is a very dangerous program to use.
If you do not know already, Grokster is a file sharing program. Of course
sharing copyrighted songs and movies is bad and may warrant lawsuits, but
that is not why Grokster is bad. Grokster is horrible because it installs
spyware into your computer so that curious companies or motivated hackers
can access your computer. A result you will get out of this program is
numerous pop ups. If you open Internet Explorer, you will get 6 pop up
windows. Even if you do not use Internet Explorer, an occasional pop up
window will appear while you are online. When you turn on your computer,
the Windows updater will connect to the Internet and download and install
selected programs without your permission. If you do not connect to the
internet, your computer may freeze. Actually, your computer may freeze
eventually because of all the RAM the updater and pop ups take up. All
this crazy unwelcome stuff may eventually lead to a trojan attack, that
is, you computer may be easier to access by remote users (hackers)
and you can kiss good bye to your hard drive. You will have to format your
computer to negate this damage. Please take this warning from someone who
has experienced this before and tell your friends. This message was
brought to you by the idiots of the day foundation. In other news, I updated my I wish I had in San Jose list. As you can see in the I , influence82 section, I need money. Who does not? Well, money is something that I rarely ask for. When I do ask for it, I really need it. I could get a job, but there is a roadblock preventing me from getting it: grades. If I work, then I have less time to study. Speaking of studying, I was so lucky on Thursday. I made a big error and corrected it. You see, I thought my final exam was on Friday, since my class is on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So I prepared for the exam as if it was on Friday. Thus I thought that the 11th of December was on Friday. So I though that Thursday was the 10th. When I went to the store to buy something, I saw on the receipt that the date was 12/11/2003. This meant that my final happened this morning at 7:15 and I was not aware at that time. I actually woke up and studied later that morning still thinking that my final was the next day. When I found out that I missed my final, I went to my professor's office. Luckily, he was there grading exams. I asked him if I could take an incomplete and continue the course later. My professor preferred that I retake the course instead to try to get a better grade. Then, in an unexpected development, he suggested that I take the exam at that time (he probably felt sorry for me). I was so happy, so I took the exam and passed it with an 85% confidence level. I feel like the luckiest student on campus. Also, my last final this semester will take place on Wednesday, December 17. I will have to leave the campus on that day, since the school is literally kicking all residents out for winter break. This means that I will go back to Arcadia on December 18 via Greyhound bus. In addition to packing my belongings, I will produce an expansion for this website. Stay tuned. |
| 12/04/2003 Repercussion |
| This time, I have posted my official resume in the I,
influence82 section. I plan to show
this to prospective employers and visitors. I also went back to my home in
Los Angeles over Thanksgiving. I did play a little Magic: the Gathering. All I had time for
was a draft with Mirrodin. I have to say that I am quite perplexed
at the set. The cards look good, but when I play them, they are not good.
The new block creates an illusion of slowness. I thought my draft deck
would be slow, so I played with 18 lands. In every game I played with the
deck, I drew too many lands and mana sources and not enough spells. It was
stressful; however, getting too much mana is always better than not
enough. In other news (or history, as that is what past news is called) I am not doing well in my statistics class, thus I must commit more time to studying the material. I also noticed that there are a significantly large proportion of Filipinos, Vietnamese, and East Indians residing in San Jose. It reminds me ethnic havens of the past immigrant of the late 19th century. The most common word I hear from everybody's mouth is the "hella." I was never familiar with this word until I came here. Hella means very or extremely, but the only thing extreme about it to me is the use of the word. Since I am in a fraternity, I can warn all of you right now that it is hella exhausting. If you wish to join such a club, you will be forced to be involved whether you like it or not. People will ask you for favors, and you will comply. It is a bond of brotherhood that is difficult to break. The good part about it is that you gain vital allies. The bad part is that you must pay the cost of membership, it is not only fiscal costs, but also time and emotional sacrifices. Why do I stay? Well, I explained before that I wanted to try it out and I did not want to give up. Now if I could only act this way for my math class... |
| 11/13/2003 Paradise |
| If you have any unique decklists that you want
to share, please contact me and I can post it on the website. Eureka! I
found other planeswalkers! They meet in the bowling center every weekday
after 10am to about 4pm. It has been a very long time since I have played
Magic: the Gathering. I was almost on the verge of actually quitting the
game until I saw my classmate with a card box. (hint: if you want to quit
Magic, then go to a place where no one plays and do not go to any related
websites) He was putting something in his backpack when I saw the box and I
asked him what is he plays cards. He said yes and I got more information. So
far, there are are about 12 people who play in the bowling center in the
University. One thing these players do not understand is the concept of
lethal damage. As part of a state-based effect, the the game always checks
if creatures have taken lethal damage whenever a spell or ability resolves,
even if there is another spell or ability on the stack. Thus, whenever a
creature takes lethal damage, it goes to the graveyard immediately (unless
there is a regeneration shield) . For example, if a Triskelion with 3 +1/+1
counters (4/4) takes 3 damage, and then the controller removes one counter
to use the ability to deal one damage, the creature goes to the graveyard
once the ability is activated (it dies before the ability resolves) due to
the state-based effect. Consequently, the controller cannot remove any more
counters from Triskelion because the rules kill it faster than he or she can
respond. Anyways there was a Internship fair today and it was interesting. The lines for Hitachi and Intel where very long. I learned a lot about applying for internships. The most important aspect is the people networking; you have to get to know people who work. College students typically have little time to update their website. I am one of them. |
| 10/14/2003 The City |
| I got clothes hangers as a gift from my fraternity friend.
It pays to post things on the web. I also drew a picture of an Acura NSX
using Javascript. You may find it in the I, influence82 section. The city of San Jose feels both big and small at the same time. When you go downtown, the streets are narrow and the shops and restaurants are small because they have classic design to them. There are many one way streets, like in downtown L.A. However, there are also, electric train lanes made exclusively for the trains. The streets seem to be designed around the trains. I mentioned that there is a network of wires overhead where the busses and trains can obtain a continuous power supply. As a student of the University, I get a free bus and train pass, so I can go anywhere. That is another reason why I did not bring my Honda Civic over here. Some busses are two busses long and have an accordion connector in between. I have been inside a limo bus, and it is very spacious. The middle has a rotating joint to enable it to make turns. What makes the city big is the newer structures, like the Art Museum, Tech Museum, the skyscrapers of the corporations, like the Adobe building (the company that makes Acrobat Reader, Photoshop, etc). The Adobe building seems to be the largest thing in the area. it looks similar to the Monte Carlo hotel and casino in Las Vegas (that is my best pictureless explanation, sorry). The post office looks like some antique building from the Victorian Era and it is very high. There are two public parks that are locates in the middle of a street, shaped like an island. A lot of residential streets have a island circle in its intersection, like the ones you see in San Marino. Even the Washington Mutual looks old (it was previously another bank before Washington Mutual bought it); there are no bulletproof walls here. |
| 09/26/2003 Communion |
| I edited Things I do not like to eat and added I wish I had
in San José to the I, influence82 section. Anyways, If you are not familiar with college, this is how difficult the work is. If you wanted to learn a magic trick like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, you would need a hat. However, a college would not give you a hat, but still ask you to pull a rabbit. Thus, you would have to pull a rabbit out of thin air. However, there is a lot of time to do things, assuming that you know how to manage time. The TV does not help you solve your time problems, by the way. Fortunately, there are many resources on campus that can help you. For example, there are two computer labs. The library has over a 100 computers. There is a housing computer lab. For books, the library has a bunch, though some of my favorites are checked out and put on reserve. Also there are people you can ask. You should first ask classmates (the smart ones) and later you can ask the professor. However, sometimes it may be difficult to stay physically fit. I mostly forget to exercise, for I only do some exercise during the weekend. Now I am in a fraternity, called Alpha Phi Omega. The reason why I decided to stay was because I wanted see how a fraternity operates. From what I can see, it is quite a large organization with about 80 members. However, I see a notable aspect that I would not normally encounter: bureaucracy. The club has many divisions and committees and subcommittees. They have pages of rules and regulations. They categorize every project. They have lists of requirements to meet. It feels like working in the capitol. I suppose this prepares you for life in government, which is leadership. Still, I hate bureaucracy. It is a waste of time and money. The simpler something is, the easier it is to get things done. Some people think that it is better to create groups of people to solve a problem. When the groups of people create a problem, they create another group to address the problem the previous groups were making. In the end, they just make more problems. This costs more money and more time. The most efficient way to solve a problem is by dissolving problem makers. But high-minded leaders do not get it. I stay because I need something to do. The members are communal, yet pulled apart by their own rules. For example, they do these weird activities at meetings like various name games. They divide up into "families" that compete in some game show activity during the meetings. They yell out, they interject. No wonder the meetings are so long. |
| 09/20/2003 Underworld |
| I added another listing to the I, influence82 section
titled; Things I do not like to eat. There is a anime club at SJSU. It is called Tsunami. Every Thursday at 7:30pm, they show anime from 7:30-10:00pm. I do not stay there that long because I have to wake up for class. Also, I do not want to see so much anime. The only anime I see are ones I read about and what my friends like because I always want to decide whether it is worth my time. Some anime series might make me dumber. The Azumanga series is so pointless. There is no plot. The only reason I decided to watch an episode was because I wanted the voice of Motoko Aoyama from Love Hina. Basically, I am just staying in the club for Gundam Seed and Ragnarok. I do not think that the club does anything else except show unlicensed anime on a large projection screen (like a movie theater). There are about 40 people in the meeting and all of them are exactly what you have in mind for anime fans (otaku, they call themselves). There is a good quantity of female members, but they are just as strange as the male members. Also, I found out that there is a kendo club on campus. they practice at around 7:30pm on Thursday (ironically, the same time as Tsunami). If you are on campus at that time, you cannot miss it because you can hear the "hai!" screams of the students and the repetitious stick hitting. It looks interesting, but prefer to stick to the Chinese way of the sword. I went to the Marin Luther King Jr. library the previous week and it was breathtaking. It is the largest library on the West Coast. At five stories high, it looks more like a museum than a library. When you enter, there is a large hall with various booths. There are escalators and elevators that take people up levels. There is a children's section with its own room. You have to enter a door to get in. The children's section has a lot of comic books; they actually subscribe to many titles. Speaking of comics, they also have some manga, which I found intriguing. I simply typed the title of the manga in the computer database and got surprising results. They even have Love Hina from Tokyopop, something you will not find in other libraries. On the second floor, there is a ticker tape like screen that displays various literary dialogues, such as greetings and poems. The difference it, that it displays non-English dialog as well, like Chinese. There is a special civil rights section in honor of Martin Luther King, jr. It is an exhibit of history and artifacts. The furniture is also amazing. Unlike the dorm and classroom furnishings, which are made in prison (state law requires schools to buy furniture from correctional facilities), the library has contemporary art furniture, like what you see in the IKEA catalog (which the media and general public of this area seem to make a big deal). All the tables are equipped with an electrical outlet and ethernet jack for DSL type Internet service. I could take my laptop and surf the net in the library with my own computer. That means I could download stuff. Of course, I could also use the hundreds of PCs available in the library as well, but I would not be able to download and install files. |
| 09/09/2003 Transition |
| This website is in the process of its third makeover. I
will slowly improve the website as time goes by. For now, I will have a
different homepage and a different theme. The theme is now
"Area" instead of "Warehouse" because it sounds more
generic. I can still sell things, but that is not the only thing I do. I
also share stories and give advice for free. One new thing that I have is
a new rules page for a card game that I call Under Siege. All you need are
the rules and a standard 52 card poker deck to play. If you want to play a
different game with the same deck, you should check it out.I am open to
any suggestions on what to add or what not. There are a few differences between SJSU and PCC. For one, SJSU is much bigger than PCC; the buildings are not connected by bridges, so I have to walk far. Luckily, 3 of my classes are in the same building. Walking around the school uses a lot of energy. At least I am a distance runner. Also, I noticed that the city sleeps early. The Dining Commons closes at 7:45pm. On Fridays, the school goes to sleep after 5pm. There is a Jamba Juice and Burger King on campus, but they close at 7:30. I have never seen a Burger King close so early. The good thing about the Burger King is that the tax is included, so that means 99 cent things are really 99 cents. The people in charge of the dining services say that they open only when they could make the most profit during the time period. Thus, it is economically no feasible to open the Burger King at night and weekends because no one will be at school to support it. The dorm is a mini apartment building that looks like the Hyatt. The doors are always locked. You even need a key to use the small elevator that can carry 3,500 lbs. The sign outside the elevator says that there is a limit of 7 people in the elevator. That means each person could carry 500 lbs. Of course that never happens. There are a lot of Greek acronym clubs. I asked somebody why clubs use Greek letters to name their clubs. He told me that the clubs follow the ancient Greek tradition and values. I guess Greeks loved to party a lot. The fraternities are fairly costly to enter, too. It costs $95 for membership into one fraternity and they have strict service requirements. I do not think that volunteers should pay money to work. A job pays you money to work. Why would a person lose money just to work? On Monday, I saw a channel 4 news van and asked them what they were doing. I ended up being interviewed by the news. The good thing is that 1) nobody watches the 5:00pm news and 2) nobody knows me in this area anyways and 3) my footage was spliced up so I eventually got 5 seconds of "who is this guy." I was interviewed about the music piracy lawsuit and file sharing and such. They spelled my name wrong (Ken Chung) because i just said my name to them. They also instructed me to walk a direction in front of the camera. The only other person who I told that to and saw it was my roommate. |
06.30.2007