103 I messed up

Welcome back to me.
So, sorry. I know it has been a long time, but for some reason, I could not write or even visit my own site. I am still working on figuring out why this happened. I could say it's a "writer's block" but I don't think I can call what I do here "writing."
A friend of mine told me to get back to it "Right now!" and so I am. Thanks E.
Hopefully this is for good.

In the past few months...
my nephew broke his arm.
my mother broke her leg.
they both live on different continents.

The bitch neighbor came to my door last weekend and told me that the children (visiting nephews) were making too much noise.
I looked at her and said:
"You're joking right?"
I could not believe it, she is the loudest, smelliest most annoying and disgusting neighbor I've ever had and she's the one complaining?
I almost lost it (seriously). Now that I've started the Krav Maga thing again, I can just imagine my fist hitting her ugly ass face. It feels so good.

The Quest
I am looking for an apartment.
and I hate it.

"Light and airy"
seems like there are many, many interpretations of that phrase. The last apartment that I saw was advertizing porthole size windows and a living room so narrow that if I stand in the middle, I can touch both walls by extending my arms.

"cozy"
or another small living room with a tiny window (a porthole really) on one side and an open kitchen on the other. It all seemed alright until I realized that there was no refrigerator and that the only logical location for the one I would have to be is in that same living room.

"clean"
-"We just shampooed all the carpets" .... Standing right in front of a pretty big yellow stain on the carpet, in the middle of the room.

"completely renovated"
The guy just renovated the whole apartment.
When I walked in, all I could see was the kitchen. Beautiful tile work, great appliances, stone counter tops, dishwasher, hardwood floors and skylights. The perfect setup.
After looking at this gorgeous kitchen, my eyes immediately locked on the big window in the living room. It's a large, open window that opens ... Directly on the pink wall of the building next door. I would say about 6 feet separate the window to the pink wall.
There is a tiny bit of open sky at the top, but you really have to put your face on the window and look up to see it.
There are a few openings in this pink wall. Three small windows that gave me a eye level view inside 3 showers. Beautiful.

My First Name
I was watching a reality show last night and one of the contestant had my exact name. Same spelling, same pronunciation ... That has never happened to me. I was aware of the existence of "Other Me" in the world but I was never confronted with it directly. I was shocked and for some odd reason I got very uncomfortable. How weird is that? I guess for me, my name is my individuality and I have never had to confront the reality that someone else has the same name, I don't know anyone else who has had the chance to spend so many years of their lives and never EVER encounter someone else with the same name.

Last week I discovered this lady ... Rumer.
It's a little bit weird for sure, but fascinating at the same time.

Last week I discovered this show ...
I think I like it. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

102 Into the Fold

My two nephews came over last weekend. Their combined age is about 6 1/2.
This is what I did with the TV prior to their arrival ...

The big shrink wrap

Yep.




As the days go by ...
Thank you Picard for being the best captain EVER and for providing me with endless hours of entertainment ... 

Hey! who's that last girl supposed to be?

While I've been working these last couple of months, I have enjoyed listening to all 7 seasons of ST:TNG [for the non-nerd, if you haven't figured it out yet, I am talking about Star Trek: Next Generation.] Yes, you heard me, I am not actually watching it that much, just listening. And that is changing the experience completely, it's a whole other show. There are some things such as Beyveyrley [i.e. Dr Crusher] who is turning out to be the most annoying character/actress to listen to. I had heard people hating on her, but I had always defended her saying she wasn't that insulting. However, as a listener, I have to say, I found her annoying in over 150 episodes. There is something about that voice...
And then I also noticed that Diana Troy is by far the worst actress of the bunch, listening to her, enhances the flaws of her performance to the point where it cannot be ignore. Maybe her looks distract us from really getting to the truth because, there's no ambiguity here, she definitely sounds like she is reading a script [which she is].
Oh my!

The Higgs ...
In September 2011, the Opera experiment reported it had seen neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light. That was HUGE news.
[see earlier post called: Be Infinite]

I want to travel that fast!

The team has now found two problems that may have affected their test in: one in its timing gear [causing lower results] and one in an optical fiber connection [causing higher results].
More tests will determine just how much they affect measured speeds.

Collision inside the accelerator

I ask you: "What the fuck?"


 Drive

Great Jacket

Several months ago I saw Drive and was blown away by how much it exceeded my expectations. The last time that happened was when I saw Timeless. I saw both movies in the plane, so maybe there's something to be said about THAT great viewing experience.
When I watched Drive, I wasn't completely awake at the time so the whole thing is fuzzy and dreamlike but I remember that it seemed like I was having a "bunch of fun." It was great.
The reason I am mentioning the movie right now, other than telling people to see it [without explanations or any review on my part] is that between episodes of ST:TNG I have been listening to the soundtrack and it's bringing it all back to me again.

Enjoy this one, it's free.

Neighborly ways
Here is the latest update on the next door neighbors:  Still assholes.

100 Alcatraz ... Really?

First, welcome to the official 100th Post on this Blog. This is both a miracle and an unfortunate necessity. But I will celebrate it all the same.

Hellish week ...
Yes, let's begin this special 100th post on a rant.
Last week was another one of those "shit" always comes in three week.
On Monday I got injured at the gym. I have been waiting to go back to the gym for months now and I just finally got my wish ... When I hurt my damn leg. Hopefully this is not a forever kind of injury and I will be able to go back to my workouts. Patience.
On Tuesday my computer completely crashed. I suspect freaking Skype is the culprit, but I have no evidence yet. So, I waster 2 days getting back to normal. Not so fun.
On Wednesday the car engine light came on. Since I haven't been using it regularly for the past 12 months [damn it] I thought I should take it to the shop immediately and not take any chance.
Now I am driving the most boring rental there is [It's a Dodge Cobalt ... What the F!]. I can't even tell it apart from the other million boring cars around here, so I've had to remember the license plate so that I could find it in the parking lot. 1,000$ later, what a waste of time.

Alcatraz TV series [2012] Fox

The Plot
In 1963,every prisoner and staffer of the infamous Alcatraz prison vanishes without a trace.
The government covers it up and promptly closes Alcatraz and today, the convicts and staff are reappearing.
Detective Rebecca Madsen [Sarah Jones] of the SFPD teams up with Dr Diego Soto [Jorge Garcia], a geek-type dude obsessed with the history of Alcatraz to find one of those convicts who suddenly reappears and commits murders. And that's just the beginning. Someone is bringing these guys back and controling them somehow.
They [Madsen and Soto] begin working for Agent Hauser [Sam Neill], a mysterious and maybe good or maybe bad guy who is involved is all the cover up stuff. 

How bored was I?
I mean, I really couldn't help myself, I lost interest pretty early and only made it through because there was really nothing else to do at the time. I understand that the initial premise of the story might be considered interesting and probably even capable of generating seasons after season of new material [although I wouldn't bet on it]. I think that I am at a point where I cannot muster the patience and curiosity for the "Lost" type of series where everything is a big mystery that gets revealed slowly over the year [and not even in a very satisfying sort of way]. I need something more!

Jorge Garcia, what?
Is Diego Soto the "sidekick." Man oh man, sooooo disappointing. From what I can tell, he is supposed to be the "comic relief" guy. Since none of the other characters have any sense of humor at all and the plot is pretty depressing, he's the only one who should bring some level of levity and relief from all the darkness. And it's not working.

Jorge Garcia is subdued, his reactions are barely visible. A slight eye rolling, a small smirk and one hell of a "raised eyebrow" look that says both I am so sad and I am so happy look. I can't tell the difference.
I understand that this was the pilot and that the characters have to find themselves, but I hope they step to it quick because the Fox execs are not known for their patience and they
obviously have no problem canceling a series after just one episode. [FYI]

Her outfits, OMG!
I don't necessarily adhere to the culturally accepted custom that every woman on screen must always be completely made up, wearing short skirt and low cut tank tops. However, whatever she was wearing was so bad, I was distracted the whole time.
None of the clothes fit, she looked like a 16 year old who ran away from home in 1984. She's had to fend for herself and lives on street. She can't afford to be picky with the clothes and shops at the Salvation Army. Her haircut is homemade and didn't cost her a thing. She's trying to survive by break dancing on the sidewalks. Life is really hard for this chick.

What the Fuck?

I understand that it is quite annoying when all those supposedly powerful women potraying cops and FBI agents are wearing super high heels you know they can't run in. Or the super tight pants you know they can't scale fences and stuff ...
But please, this is ridiculous and borderline offensive.
Let me give you a hint people of Alcatraz: Look up Audrey Parker on Haven 

Better Right?

or Olivia Dunham on Fringe that should be a good start.

Real Style

099 Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan

Dear France
My departure has been full of regrets and relief. I hate you and I love you at the same time. The paradox is driving me crazy.

Querido Los Angeles, 
Te echo de menos. Te ves asombroso y tu huele estupendo. Saldrás conmigo!

Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan

... Has anyone heard of this show? I was surfing and ended up on G4 and was immediately mesmerized by Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan. It's weird because I even feel uncomfortable calling that a "show." It feels a little bit disrespectful.

I saw an episode with a US Navy EOD unit [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] trying to "clean up" route X. They find, removed and detonate all the IEDs hidden on the road. They have cameras on their helmets and in the trucks and so we see everything. We even see what happens when an IED explodes right under one of the trucks [Buffalo]. The guys inside came out alive but really shaken up.
In another truck, Ricky [soulstealer] tries to get out and there is an orange trip wire right outside his door which means that they are sitting on a bomb. After some discussion, he decides to go out and cut the wire by hand. His strategy works, but when he gets back in the cabin, he can't talk right away, although his face doesn't show it, he is still so freaked out, he needs a moment to recover.

That's a close one

At one point, the bombs kept going off just as the EOD's trucks were passing by and the soldiers figured out that some guy was tracking them and remotely detonating the bombs trying to kill as many soldiers as possible. INSANE. We see it all as it is happening. It's completely terrifying.

The last episode I saw was called "Firefight", it was the most intense hour of television I've ever seen in my life. Bombs, ambushes, firefight, explosions and casualties.
If you can take it, you got to see it.
Here is a small sample:

 

Titan and Dione

With a balanced atmosphere. Wow!

098 Be infinite

My last investigation of 2011

I did achieve something important this year. I ended it completely obsessed with understanding the Higgs Boson particle. But in order to even grasps that, I had to go back to the beginning.
The particles
Th elementary particles [and their spin]
Fermions, quarks and neutrinos
And then the photon [s1] and the graviton [s2]
And then finally the most exciting ideas floating aroud: Dark matter and Higgs Boson.

Guys, I am so proud of myself, I know understand the basics of this image:

Standard Model of Matter

I am still learning and there's still a lot of confusion floating around in my tired brain. I just wish I knew a theoretical physicist, to talk about all of this.

In the meantime, check out the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.


My first thought of 2012
Do you think human beings can truly understand infinity? Not just as a concept but a true understanding of something without boundaries. Is it beyond human comprehension? Are we biologically incapable of grasping the concept? Or is it just a matter of culture? Or learned thought processes?

What's up with "our" 13.75 billion year old universe?
I've often pondered this:
If "our" universe if infinite, how come it is also expanding?
that's true right? If you are expanding into something, there must be a boundary to expand against, or there's nothing to grow into ...
But then, I realize that we were never actually told that "our" universe is infinite. I just assumed it.
Well, apparently we can't see that far because of the limitations imposed by light speed. The rules are: we can't observe space beyond the limitations of light and so we can't know for sure what the size of the universe is finite or infinite or both or neither. [What the fuuuuuuuck?]

I do vaguely remember Einstein's theory of relativity and something about things mathematically moving towards infinity. All of this is abstract, but there is not mention of real, meaning "non-abstract" state of infinity. I may be wrong and I will begin 2012 with this first investigation.

My first wish of 2012 

Look, there's even a knife involved

Seeing my Krav Maga instructor again and not make a fool of myself by not being able to get through the lesson because I am so out of shape [I got winded yesterday walking up the stair to my bedroom and it really freaked me out, just thinking about going back to LA and doing that intense workout again, FREAKING OUT]




Happy New Year.

097 Prometheus

The new "much awaited" trailer from my best friend Ridley Scott has arrived. Unfortunately not much of a plot in there. Just an amalgam of lovely shots. This is worrying. They've disseminated the information very sparingly for a while now. A poster, an image and tiny interview and now a trailer that doesn't reveal much at all. Not that I am waiting for ANY spoiler at all, but just confirmation that this is worth all the hype.
Anyway, here is the latest trailer. You will enjoy this one [promise].

This week I walked along this ...

dog shit on the ground right outside the frame

Still in the South of France, in that very small part of the country where it's always sunny and just simply beautiful.
Do I dare criticize? Well, I won't do it directly, I will just mention that everybody is bringing their dogs on the beach [I am sure horses were involved as well]. As to the result of this unfortunate fact, I will let you come to your own conclusion.
This is so annoying, instead of enjoying the view, the air and the sun, I am walking around with my head lowered, eyes to the ground, ready for anything.
It was so much fun.

As far as the rest of the life "ramblings" I don't have much to say right now. That's because I am basically away from everything, taking a break from the densities of Paris, The disgusting dirtiness of urban living and the Assholes of life.

It's a change for sure. And it won't last long ... Be patient.

Another Earth[s] called Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f

Discovered and coveted

I just discovered ...

Well, it's no "Earthlike planet" for sure, but I started to watch The Big Band Theory.
The reason why I've always refused to watch it is because of Johnny Galeky. I don't know what it was, but when I was younger and I saw Roseanne [show] I was extremely disturbed by the Darleen and David relationship and never got over the disgust. So I ignored Big Bang Theory for ... well ... just about 5 seasons.
And then what the fuck? I just learned that he was born in Belgium! I can't believe it. I thought we might have met at some point but no, I don't remember him at all.

Anyway, I am not exactly sure what happened, but nevertheless, I started watching the show and now I can't stop. I am still slightly uneasy, but I got over it thanks to one character: Sheldon Cooper. He's the genius theoretical physicist who is incapable of adhering to any social standards ... Lack of understanding or irony and sarcasm, no rational romantic interest, a type of behavior that is not just eccentric but full on obsessive-compulsive [in my opinion].
I also like the engineer Howard Wolowitz [who doesn't have a Phd] and Rajesh Ramayan "Raj" Koothrappali [who can't talk to women]

Flashy right?

Those guys are eccentrics and nerds to the fullest  ... The only thing is, they're all super intelligent so people understand that, it's what they are. The same guys with lame ass jobs and completely standards IQ would have a hard time in life if they were behaving as the guys are in the show. It's totally unfair for everybody else. Really.

“Yes, well I’m polymerized tree sap and you’re an inorganic adhesive so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected back off of me, returning to it’s original trajectory, and adheres to you.”[Sheldon quote]

096 The Dark Knight Rises [Again]

This week I am here

Somewhere in the South of France

Did you know ...
That last week, I had my last meeting with the HG [as in HypnoGuy]. There is still no resolution in my mind as to what games we are playing, but I have to tell you, it's exhilarating. I am still not bored of it and that's already somewhat of a miracle for me. But I just wish I could fold him and tuck him in my purse. Take him out from time to time [as needed] to discuss the "thought of the day."

Tickles

The legend Ends.

Did you know ...
For months, I avoided all trailers,then spoilers then discussion, anything related toThe Dark Knight [2008] because I missed the theater version and I wanted to make sure that I could watch it anyway, in my own time. When I finally managed to sit down and watch it, I was devastated to find out that  midway through the movie I got so freaked out by the Joker and whatever else was happening that I stopped watching and walked away, just like that. Months of preparation and borderline obsessive avoidance became completely useless and all for nothing. What a sad story.
Should I watch The Dark Knight Rises?

Thought of the day ...
NASA is certainly having some image issues lately, especially with all the "We're not going to send anyone in space anymore."
I understand the logic, but still, sending Man into space is more than money and logistics at this point. It's a dream, it's power and it's bragging right. Who, around here, is not pissed off that the Russians and the Chinese are taking over? Seriously.
And then this week, I found that John Grunsfeld [former astronaut and physicist] has been named the ... [and hold on to your seat on this one, because that's a very wordy title]
New associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate.

Now, let's be clear, I am not mentionning this because it's such an exciting news to me. I am mentionning this because the announcement was accompanied with this great pic:

Funnyyyyyyy Space Man

I was laughing pretty hard. AND THEN, believe it or not, that's not even the most pathetic part of the story. This picture of John Grunsfeld immediately reminded me of something I saw a few years back, I dug it out and here it is ...

I do request you

Memories are funny this way.

Battleship
Did anyone ever think that they would at some point run out of ideas and comic books to base their movies and remakes on? But wait! What about scrabble, monopoly and Trivial Pursuit?
Well, here is Battleship. The trailer looks alrrright. Just not special. I hope I am wrong.