weblog for wuziq.com

here's my comment on this poll on banning smoking outdoors:

cigarette smoke is one of the few things that i really hate. i actually get angry every time i smell it, except when i'm in a place where it's "expected", such as in a casino.

in conclusion: no further bans, but apt complexes and condos, etc, should have their own bans. but dammit, if i have to keep taking measures to preserve my immediate airspace cuz of inconsiderate smokers, i'd be more likely to support more extensive bans.

what are your thoughts?

have you ever noticed this?

when you open the volume control in windows (by double clicking on the speaker icon in the sys tray), the panning slider is selected by default.

if you're not careful, and you scroll with your mouse scroller, thinking that you're adjusting the volume, you'll mess up the panning. then you'll have to commence the painstaking process of setting the pan exactly at center. ok, maybe it's just painstaking for me.

anyway, i think it'd be better if the master volume slider were selected by default instead. it would save a click or a tab when you open volume control.. not to mention that hardly anyone needs to adjust panning.

today, i went out to lunch with my parents at a chinese restaurant.

we don't typically go out for chinese, because the closest chinese restaurant that is halfway decent is a far drive for my parents, out in bonsall. the only reason we went to this restaurant today is because my parents are friends with the manager there, although he wasn't there today, and because it's a new restaurant.

anyway, we get seated by the manager that IS there. she is friendly and stuff, and notices my parents speaking in taiwanese as they discuss the menu items. so they strike up a conversation, and finally we get to the point of this post.

the manager warns us that this restaurant caters to white people. for those of you who aren't aware, this means that the food is generally saltier and sweeter. my parents were already aware of this, and it wasn't too big of a deal for them; they typically ask waiters at other "chinese" restaurants to cook our food so that it's more suited for the asian palate. the manager said that she'll ask the cook to use less sauce, so that it's less salty and sweet. that was nice of her.

we get our food and begin eating. couple bites into it, i'm thinking, huh.. it's aiiiight. but by the end, i was struggling with how salty and sweet it was. despite the reduction in sauce, the meal verged on intolerable. i had had the same dish before at my parents' friend's own restaurant, and it was pretty darn good - not sweet at all, because that would just be weird, and very flavorful (steak with a strong black pepper taste). here, it was a total disappointment.. bland.. and salty and sweet.

but enough about that. after the meal, i was thinking.. whose idea was it to "cater to white people"? why would you want to be THAT restaurant? there are plenty of other asiany restaurants that already do that, and do a better job at it. if you offered authentic chinese cuisine, those with discriminating taste would recognize it and tell their friends about it. people would hear about "the restaurant that serves real chinese food", and want to try it themselves.. if not for the food, then at least for the ability to talk to their friends about how they were the only white people at the restaurant. here is an opportunity for a restaurant to stand out, to serve food that is actually meaningful, and they totally missed the mark. it's not like chinese food is a new thing anymore. if you're a chinese restaurant that caters to "white people's taste", you're just showing that you're out of touch with reality, that you don't believe in your own product, that you don't have anything to offer. you're showing that you're confused about your core values, that you're unclear about what you want to do. it's such a narrow-minded and lazy idea anyway, to just make everything saltier and sweeter. aren't there better ways to make your food more accessible to a wider audience than to simply add salt and sugar? geez! you've ruined every dish with potential, you've alienated asians, you're trying to please a hypothetical audience of white people in love with salty and sweet food.. arrgghh i'm so frustrated thinking about how wrong they got it!!

after eating there, i felt sorry for my parents' friend. i would be surprised to see that place stay in business for long. but hey, they've got other stuff, too.. like a karaoke bar............

the best notepad replacement ever is kai liu's notepad2 mod. it's like the original notepad2, but more similar to the sourceforge notepad2, and then some.

it is super clean and fast, and automatically replaces notepad when installed. i like it over notepad++. if you want tabbed notepads, though, which i don't like, then notepad++ is for you.

step 1:

sadly this is a novel concept for some.

mason: hey, where do you live again?
me: UTC area..
mason: so, how come you haven't invited me over yet for steak dinners? and cuddles?
me: lol

click to browse the set:

or just view the slideshow..

(10:27:16 AM) mike: cuz my time for the extremely for the cookies

(3:00:41 PM) mike: damn you Paperboy!!
(3:01:32 PM) wuziq: lol
(3:02:44 PM) wuziq: another phat phat track
(3:02:52 PM) wuziq: so rhythm d pour the orange juice.
(3:02:53 PM) wuziq: YEAH.
(3:03:10 PM) mike: GREATEST SONG EVER
(3:03:48 PM) mike: i'm trying lip sync the lyrics right now but my headphones are so loud that i might be actually saying words and i dont even know it
(3:03:57 PM) wuziq: ahahahah
(3:04:07 PM) wuziq: are your coworkers looking at you
(3:04:14 PM) wuziq: telling you to shut up
(3:04:40 PM) mike: nah i sit it the back so they'll have to come to my desk to actually say it
(3:04:59 PM) wuziq: hahaha

... later ...

(3:22:26 PM) mike: hahah manager just came by to ask me a question....firs thing he said "hey sorry to interrupt you from your hip hop" hahah
(3:22:32 PM) wuziq: LOL