Just finished the latest "Brave and the Bold"

I just finished reading the latest issue of "The Brave and The Bold," written by Mark Waid. This is wonderful stuff! Waid has done a much better job in twelve issues than was covered in decades of the old Batman-centric B&B series.

Having this story arc center on the Challenges of the Unknown was a brilliant touch. What's more, the final scenes were absolutely touching. Waid has this uncanny ability to ask logical questions, such as "How does June Robbins fit into the Challengers, as the only member who has not miraculously cheated death?" The characterization that he provides is absolutely spot on, and the way he resolves this storyline is positively poetic.

As a testimony to Waid's genius, I never realized that the artifacts which Megistus had been creating all had transformative properties (well, except for the power battery, but that was clearly necessary for other reasons). I also loved how he worked in the likes of Firestorm and Metamorpho, both of whom were transmuters. If he could only have included Element Lad somehow...

Mark Waid, you're amazing.

More on Asians as leading men

Western society -- and the USA in particular -- isn't generally receptive to the notion of an Asian leading man. That's why in those rare instances where an Asian fella is the leading man, he still maintains a distant and chaste relationship with the female lead. (The King and I, anyone?) Asian male actors usually get portrayed as either chaste action heroes (Jackie Chan), nerds (Hiro!), or (more recently, as on 24) shadowy agents of various Asian countries.

Then there's Jet Li in Unleashed. They hint around at him and the female lead (I'm forgetting her name) having feelings for each other, but nothing happens. Jet Li is considered to be one of the more physically attractive of the Asian leading men, but even he is treated like a eunuch. Ditto for Chow Yun Fat. And of course, neither one is regarded as a Hollywood heartthrob of any sort.

Asians as leading men

Some people point to Dean Cain and Keanu Reeves as "proof" that Asian men are in demand as romantic leads. However, these guys are actually Eurasian, and their Caucasian features clearly dominate. In fact, a lot of people are surprised to learn that they do have some Asian blood in them.

Unlike, say, Tia Carrere, whose part-Asian origins are fairly obvious.

Financial planning

I'm looking for a new financial advisor.

Here's the story. I signed up with Ameriprise a while back; however, I became dissatisfied with their responsiveness after my advisor left their company. (I suspect that he was laid off, but I'm not sure.) I think I'd like to find another company to help with my financial planning.

I'll be meeting with two financial advisors at the end of the month, and maybe even a third. Wachovia handles my company Simple IRA, and our contact person there has always been pretty responsive. I like they way they handle my accounts.

As an aside, one of my colleagues found out about some guy named Keith whose credentials she liked. She was trying to pressure me to switch to this fella, as our financial officer only wants to have one person handling all the CTL retirement accounts at each investment firm. I thought this was kinda silly, of course, especially for something as simple as a retirement account. Naturally, I refused. :)

Besides, she had panicked when she found out that her retirement account lost money this year. That was just foolish.

Rancic's Lemonade Stand

I just checked out a cop of Bill Rancic's book, Beyond the Lemonade Stad, from the public library. I was disappointed to find out that it's actually a children's book. Still well-written (at least, based on some cursory skimming), but not quite what I was looking for.

Wish I had read a book like this when I was seven years old. I was much more into science than finance or business, but still... it's the sort of thing that would have helped broaden my horizons.

Do women prefer tall murderers to short, educated professionals?

I found this story from ABC news on the web. Let's just say that I found the results to be disturbing, disappointing, and unsurprising. Here's a quick excerpt.

To see if the women would go for short guys who were successful, ABCNEWS' Lynn Sherr created extraordinary résumés for the shorter men. She told the women that the shorter men included a doctor, a best-selling author, a champion skier, a venture capitalist who'd made millions by the age of 25.

Nothing worked. The women always chose the tall men. Sherr asked whether there'd be anything she could say that would make the shortest of the men, who was 5 feet, irresistible. One of the women replied, "Maybe the only thing you could say is that the other four are murderers." Another backed her up, saying that had the taller men had a criminal record she might have been swayed to choose a shorter man. Another said she'd have considered the shorter men, if the taller men had been described as "child molesters."

Wow. And people say that men are shallow. Wow.

Electronic frustrations

I'm looking for a power adapter that can provide at least 1.5A at 13.5VDC. It should also be capable of running at 240VAC. So far... nothing.

It's darned frustrating. I've spent hours looking and exploring possibilities. Nothing. Nothing. Darn.

I want to find something soon.

A FANUC employee trying to cheat his employer

I remember taken a training class in the KAREL robot programming language at FANUC Robotics. One of the other people in that class was a guy named Greg, who I knew from my grad school days. Even back in grad school, he often rubbed me the wrong way. He was coarse, vulgar, and always kinda rude.

Anyway, the class consisted mostly of visitors to the company who had paid for the class. Greg was one of the few exceptions. He was taking the class as part of his initiation as a new employee.

So anyway, the paying visitors were given free lunches -- or rather, lunch was part of what they had paid for. So what did Greg do? Every day, he would surreptiously remove his employee badge and pass himself off as a visitor.

I didn't like him back in our student days, and I especially didn't like him after that.

Creativity

Look around you, right now, wherever you are. Maybe a schoolroom or a library, maybe at home, maybe somewhere else. Take a good long look. Now as yourself, "How can this room be improved?" Are there one or two changes that you can make right now that would markedly improve the space? Why not make them? New lamps, new colors on the walls? Murals? Opening the windows, changing the seating?

Anything is fair game. There are questions and possibilities every time you turn around. You're biking home, maybe? OK, that uncomfortable little bike-helmet strap under your chin--there as got to be a better way. Figure it out. The bumper stickers on passing cars: could bikes have them too? (Where would they go? What shape would they have?) On a larger scale, how can your city be made more bikeable? (Dedicated bike trails, distinct from roads? Bike hours, when cars aren't allowed? What else?)

- Anthony West, Creativity for Critical Thinkers

Jungle Girl Bindi

So I'm watching an episode of "Bindi the Jungle Girl" on The Learning Channel. This show stars the daughter of the late, lamented Steve Irwin, and it also features his American wife Terri.

I have to commend this little girl for deciding to follow in her father's footsteps, as well as for having the stage presence to host her own show. Cynics might say that this opportunity was simply handed to her. I suppose that if she hadn't been born into the Irwin family, she wouldn't have had this opportunity. I refuse to think in such terms though, especially since it seems to me that Bindi genuinely enjoys this work and handles herself well in front of the camera. No surprise there, since both of her parents were exceptionally well-composed afront the camera as well.

Boy, I miss Steve Irwin.

A dollar store closed down

Today I found out that a dollar store near my place of employment closed down. Now that's kinda sad. I still remember when they opened their doors, as that was only a few months ago. (Two months ago, maybe?)

I feel really bad for these small business owners when things don't work out. All along that strip mall, I saw several stores (typically small restaurants) that were no longer occupied.

That stinks. I know what it's like to face an uncertain future, which is why my heart breaks over these things.

I do remember wondering if that store would manage to stay open. They had a meager amount of merchandise, and I didn't notice a lot of traffic. I really started to wonder when they disconnected the small fridge in which they kept a variety of soda cans and bottles. Hoo-boy.

Not long ago, a friend of mine was asked to compile a list of her job duties. This was on a Friday. On the following Monday, she was dismissed from her position. Yikes.

Job security is a thing of the past.

A geeky limerick

A Unix saleslady, Lenore
Liked her work, but she liked the beach more
She found a good way
To combine work and play
She sells C shells by the seashore

Ambulatory?

Okay, I'm watching an episode of the old Space Ghost cartoon series from the 60s, and I just heard the lead character use the word "ambulatory."

That was a bit of a surprise -- a pleasant one, mind you. Kiddie cartoons from the 60s aren't exactly know for sophistication or logical storytelling. That certainly wasn't true for most of the old Hanna-Barbera productions, many of which were absolutely cringeworthy. (Birdman? The Galaxy Trio? Those were utter dreck.) I'm pleased to see that the writers of this particular episode weren't afraid to use a fancy word this time around.

I just wish that Jan, the female member of his twin sidekick pair, had a bit more personality to her. As far as I can tell, she pretty much followed the lead of her brother Jace. I guess that was typical of the times. I do recall that in the brief 80s revival of this cartoon saga, both Jan and Jace had more personality. Jace was a bit naive and overly headstrong, whereas Jan was more sensible and level-headed. This was doubtlessly in keeping with the 80s trend toward more characterization, not to mention an attempt to avoid old-fashioned depictions of women on TV.

A Wendy's slogan

Saw this on a paper bag from Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers:

"For Wendy's, square isn't so much a shape as a promise to not cut corners."

Clever! Witty! Now that's a clever marketing slogan. (Of course, if you're not familiar with their hamburgers, this slogan won't make any sense.)

How gullible is that?

Sometimes I can't believe how gullible people can be.

For example, there's this guy I know who repeatedly forwards every interesting story that he gets via e-mail. Time and time again, I've pointed out the inconsistencies and implausibilities in these stories as documented on Snopes.com. His reply? "Well, how do I know that Snopes.com is accurate? Anybody can come up with a website."

See the inconsistency there? He says that anybody can write something on a website, and so he dismisses Snopes in that regard. Yet he's perfectly willing to believe whatever he receives via e-mail, even though it's much easier for some malicious or uninformed hack to shoot of an e-mail hoax or other piece of misinformation.

BTW, I've given up on trying to convince people that the daddy longlegs is NOT the most poisonous spider in the world, or that its fangs are incapable of puncturing human skin.

Dang, it's cold.

Baby, it's cold outside.

With the price of gas nowadays though, I don't want to turn the heat up any further. I've already done plenty to control drafts and insulate the home. There's more that I could do, but I've resorted to darned near heroic measures already.

Typing is getting to be kinda tough in this cold. Sheesh. I wish I could build a bonfire in the kitchen, but of course, that would be bad.

Reconnecting

Hey! I tracked down someone that I knew from my grad school days. I found her name on the web -- or more accurately, her new, hyphenated name. That's right; she's married now.

Good for her! I always knew that she was a real treasure. She had a bit of a weight problem, but she was very appealing nonetheless. I'm really thrilled that she found someone.

(Why didn't I pursue her? Because we weren't compatible, that's why. Still, I always knew that she was a quality person.)

Yay! I'm happy for her.

Colds are not cool

Am on the tail end of a nasty cold. I felt like cutting off all the parts that hurt, but scarcely anything would have been left.

I even wound up taking two days off of work. This is atypical of me, as my manly ego normally compels me to show up for work anyway. We're really busy at work though, and I know that I can't risk infecting any of my co-workers.

Just spent a few hours looking for affordable motel accommodations for a business trip. Most of the affordable hotels would have required a few expensive cab rides, which made this search particularly challenging. Ugh.

Now I have yet another big pile of reading material to contend with. Boy. I could really use some sleep. That, and some time to catch up on household chores.

Somebody please give me a sabbatical.

More quotes on creativity

Here is a quote from business writer Elliott Carlisle in his book, Mac:

[I]t's almost impossible to get any real thinking done at work. Not just because of interruptions, but almost more importantly, the whole psychological and physical environment in which managers work tends to discourage contemplation and encourage activity. The higher the level in an organization, the more critical is the role of reflection and the less important that of activity, but so often we've become conditioned on the way up through the organizational ranks. How many bosses would give a word of encouragement to a subordinate if they were to come upon him sitting at his desk, chair tipped back, foot resting on an open drawer, and staring into space with an abstract expression on his face? They'd be far more likely to ask him what the hell he's doing, and if the unfortunate replied, "Thinking," he'd probably be advised to stop thinking and get back to work.

I'd also like to recommend this article on implementing creative though in the workplace.

Finally, I'd like to quote the following from Jack Foster's book, How to Get Ideas:

It is the child in you who is creative, not the adult. The adult in you wears a belt and suspenders and looks both ways before crossing the street. The child in you goes barefoot and plays in the street.

I'm no Lord of the Dance

I've been taking lindy hop dance lessons. I'm not doing too badly, but I'm not great either... and it'll take a while before I develop the confidenced that I need to really do this well. What a bummer.

I really, really wish that I was more of a natural dancer. I also wish that I had a more natural sense of rhythm, and that I could feel the beat of the music accurately. This is very frustrating indeed.

I've got the body strength needed to perform some fancy dance moves, and I've got plenty of stamina. I can engage in energetic moves all night long without tiring. Having said that, I wish I had more style and grace.

Maybe there's some hope. I remember when this one nice nurse gal attended a swing dance for the first time. Toward the end of the night, I asked her to dance, and after a few steps, she asked me if I was an instructor. She also said that I was the best dancer she had met that night, and asked if I could teach her more. Having said that, I do know that I'm not that great. I realize that the really good dancers must not have gotten around to inviting her to dance -- or perhaps they were so caught up amongst themselves that they failed to make her feel welcome. That happens now and then.

Dang, I wish I was better. I'd so love to master balboa, charleston, lindy, and a variety of ballroom styles. And I'll confess... I would appreciate the admiration that comes with being a great dancer. It'd make me more popular with a lot of these social dancers, for example. (Some of them think I'm very good, but I can tell that others think I'm pretty much a big goof.)