What can BROWN do for me?

Not much apparently.

I was supposed to get my two brand new 22" HP monitors yesterday. Came home at 3:20pm. Waited and waited. At 6:30 I was kinda curious what gives. Looked up the tracking number and status was delivered at 3:12pm @ 'FRT Door' (front door). Nothing was on my door step. Usually, I will get a note pasted on my door if they tried to deliver but ended up dropping it at the office. I didn't get one so I thought it had not delivered yet. Hopefully it was delivered to the apartment office. If not, I will be CRAZY pissed if my $555 worth of LCD panels went AWOL on me. I will find out soon enough later in the day.

Second time around. My copy of GTA IV. I spent extra to get 2 day shipping but now its going to take three days to get here. Nice UPS. Keep it up. Hopefully nothing arrives mushed up.

EDIT: Monitors were at the office in good order (don't really know the insides though due to some GTA going on).

Grand Theft Auto IV

Yeap.

Grand Theft Auto IV is launching tomorrow (at the strike of midnight actually). Though you will not see me in line at such an ungodly hour (I kinda have to be up at 5am). This game will most likely be a game of the year candidate (there are still a few blockbuster titles coming out though). How much of a blockbuster you say? A pretty good one.

Grand Theft Auto is a game series of which I am a devout follower of. I have been playing (and continue to play) most of the games in the series multiple times. The Grand Theft Auto series is no stranger to controversy. Undoubtedly, this time around, there will most definitely be something of contention as well. In fact, before it launched, there was already some sort of sparks flying around. In all honesty, I really do not see what the ruckus is about. It's a game...

The thing I love most about Grand Theft Auto games is its humor. There is a lot of satire in the game. The missions are nothing short of hilarious. In the past, graphics wasn't really a selling point. Just the merits of the game.

But that will change now. This new installment will feature a beautiful new graphics engine (R.A.G.E). It also features a very unique style of physics called Euphoria. This is very different than the traditional rag-doll effects.

I am crazy stoked. I hope I get mine as soon as possible. I game a lot, but I have NEVER pre-ordered a game in my entire life. GTA IV is an exception to that. I dished out money for the Collector's Edition. This is one game I have been waiting for a long time and I am sure it will not disappoint.

Where are you?!

Where are you?

For the longest time, I had you.

For a while now, I've lost you.

For a second, I thought you were mine once again.

Sometimes, I think that I am looking straight at you.

I am lost.

Should I stay put until I see you?

Or do I set out and find you?

Either way, I will still have you.

As sure as daylight itself (note I didn't say sunlight - I am in the Pacific Northwest).

(And yes, I speak in riddles).

Wan Cho is here!

Quick lesson in Malay.

Direct breakdown of 'Wan Cho'
Wan = Aunt
Cho = Eldest


Given that, she is my Mom's eldest sister. Wan Cho is someone very dear to me. A wonderful person who is one of the very few joys of my life. She never ceases to bring brightness in anyone's day. While I am a person of great humor, this wonderful dear old lady is one of the few who jives with me. As such, our meeting at the airport (when I went to pick her up) was filled with a crazy amount (and volume) of laughter which has not ceased since (well now she's taking a nap - poor thing didn't sleep on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to here at all - though I will limit it so she can adjust to the timezones).

A few years ago, she was pretty strict. Me in my crazy rebellious nature didn't quite strike the same chords as her. As I matured, I felt bad because of all the bullshit I put her through (and my late Malay Granny) and she has since mellowed down a lot. Now we are crazy close and there is nothing but laughter and bigheartedness in the air.

My Wan Cho is a wonderful person that speaks her mind and laughs her heart. Very sincere and woefully kind. Very akin to my late grandmother. In fact, I dare say that is a family trait (I think or at least I would like to think I am similar).

She will be here until tomorrow afternoon of which I will send her off to catch a flight to Wichita, KS to where my parentals (and my brothers) are at. I will then see here in a month or so when the family makes the big move here. Should be good times.

If I had it my way, I would just have here stay here and not go back home at all. She really is someone very special us and we all (my family that is) love her dear soul to itty bitty bits.

Dairy Queen's All Beef my ass

On Sunday, I mozied over to DQ to grab a yummy strawberry cheesecake blizzard and decided to grab their 'all beef' chili dog. Holy crap that was good eating. So last night while I was building Abe's new PC, it was late so I suggested we go on over to DQ so I could get a repeat order. So we were at the drive through and Abe was like 'Hey, it says the Chili Contains Pork'. WTF?

I looked closely at the drive through and it had a big star saying 'All Beef' inside of it, but with small font at the bottom it did state that the Chili contained Pork. Bastards. How the hell do you 'proclaim' its 'All Beef' and then write below it '*Chili contains Pork'. Anyone else see the disconnect? I mean who the heck puts pork in Chili.

I'm a strict Beef guy. Beef, it's whats for dinner.

Feel free to laugh at me in person. I never get tired of it myself.

I had a pretty good weekend! :)

A good departure from my usual weekends. Friday night played Halo 3 in one sitting. Saturday morning slept in till noon. Lazy (and groggy) the whole day. Did nothing but some cleaning and laundry. Saturday night, I hung out with friends, had dinner. Sunday lazy and gaming with laundry. Sunday night, had friends over for some hot dogs (yum!) and ice cream. In all good times. It is good not being a hermit at times.

Alas, all things must come to an end and I have to drag my ass off to bed. Poo....

Is it the weekend yet?

Top 10 things that piss me off instantly

I promised this a post or two ago. :) So here it is! :)

The top 10 things that piss me off the most (usually almost instantly). But before you read on, please know that I have the patience of a saint (cool as a cucumber baby!). I am very accepting and not all of these will set me off immediately. My instant is not as abrupt as 'normal' people's. Let's just say that it is the only time you will see my composure affected. I don't generalize or give blanket situations. With that said, here they are in no particular order.

1) Ignorance
I am a firm believer that ignorance takes effort. Mistakes are fine. Shit happens. But being ignorant requires some effort from the party involved. Why one would devote resources to being a fucktard is beyond me. People like this proves that natural selection does miss some people.

2) Improper parking
Nothing pisses me off more than a car that can't freaking stay in it's own box. Jeez. At least have some freaking consideration (aka concept of other people). I love how they park like a moron, look at me and then get out like nothing is wrong. Again relate to #1. Kindly take a long walk off of a short pier.

3) Cruelty
You don't deserve to be called a human if you treat other living beings like crap. Being mean I guess I can understand. But it takes one hell of a vile blackened heart to be an absolute monster to everything. Do us a favor and kindly stop breathing.

4) Indecisiveness
Wait which want did you want? What? Where? How? Who? When? Can't make up your mind? Kindly dispose of it kthx. I am a man of conviction. Though I do have my lazy moments, I stick to my guns always and carry things out.

5) Power Trips / Supremest
Just because you have a shred of power over another, suddenly you are king. Hah. Experience has shown me you will never climb very high. I chose to be humble in everything.

6) Forcing / Coercion
I react with a LOT of hostility when I am 'forced' to do something. This stems from my free spirited nature. I tend to willfully and purposely ground myself to somethings (in the past to a GF - to de-horn me so to speak). Freedom is something I value, but bounds is something I stay within. If ever there is anything, ask me. Don't try and be a douche and order me. I always respect authority, but I dislike Authoritarians (there is a stark difference). I would surprise you with my knack of making every single thing from that point onwards a royal pain in the ass. Bottom line, you couldn't make me do anything. Like I said, ask me. I am super duper nice. Most often then not, I would comply if you ask me. Start out trying to force me? Well I will make your efforts a living hell. :) Also for the love of God, do not try to commit me to something on your behalf ("Oh I promised this person that you would help them out so go help them" - go stick something up where the sun don't shine). A better approach would be "Oh I know someone that could help you, lets go ask him". More often than not, I would be more than thrilled to help (I love being nice and I love helping out!). So yeah. Ask me to help and I probably will, make me help and no.

7) Respect (lack of that is)
I am very respectful of everything/everyone. While I am a firm believer that respect is earned, not given, for people who are still neutral in my book, they still receive a lot of it from me.

Though the notion of respect doesn't only limit itself to the topic of people. It is also with one's belongings. When I borrow or use someone's belongings, I treat it better then if it was my own. While I never impose my ways on others, I do at the very least hope that people who use my stuff to take good care of it. Many times have I lent my prized belongings to others only to have them returned in a less then subpar standard.

8) Punctuality
I am a very punctual person. Now in today's hustle and bustle, keeping to schedules on a daily basis is hard. That I know. But it's not the short falls that makes a man. It's what he does to correct it. If I am late I will do my best to notify the other party at least three times. First when I know I will be or could be running late. Second is when I am already late. Finally is when I am late and about to arrive. Each occurrence is updated with an ETA. Why do I do this? It's called courtesy. I always set expectations.

There is this one term I hate with a passion. Amongst our ethnic group (well at least half of my bloodline) they jokingly call it a 'promise'. In that context, it is an admission and expectation that people should always be late. That I hate. Mention that to me when I am the waiting party and you will get me riled up. It is one thing to be late but it is another to say it is to be expected. It is also another all together to not show up and say nothing of it.

I can't think of any more right now. Haha! Not a lot pushes my buttons so to speak. :p

Someone once told me, I tend to bite my lip if something is bugging me. Warning sign! LOL jking.

I the China Man?

A running joke we have in the family is my Mom (who is the financial controller for the family) is a 'China Man'. Now note the context in which this is used is non-derogatory (hey I love my Mom!). My Dad on the other hand, is the polar opposite (which is why he isn't the financial controller).

A 'China Man' in this context is one that is overly shrewd. Chinese are well known with their financial prowess. I happen to be half Chinese (from a ethnic standpoint though for I r teh American!).

My mom loves to hoard money in her many savings accounts and spend on cheap stuff (that I always poke at humorously tends to fall apart very soon after purchase). So we poke fun at her overly shrewd nature (on somethings).

But what about me? I am her son. We share genes (genetics!!!), and I have been cultured all my life (she did raise me). ZOMG! SCARY!

But in honest truth, I am shrewd when spending. I taught myself to always question every purchase a few times. As a result, I rarely feel that I 'wasted' money on something I bought. Though don't get me wrong. I don't question just the dollar figure (I like at the non-monetary costs associated with it as well - equal consideration). I audit to see if I will utilize it (I have some pretty expensive stuff that I use a lot of). But the bottom line is that I do spend. As shrewd as I may be, I am in no ways a stingy person though (I always say, I have an internal locus of control - so it's only with things that concern only me). :)

But at the same time, I am crazy good at saving and making my purchases 'lean'. I often go to bordeline "China Man' lengths. Though a great point of humor lately was my dad was watching me play Forza 2 (racing game for the Xbox 360). I had 1.5 Million in game credits and I was wondering which car I should be as it cost somewhere in the 200k's. My dad gave a 'hmph' and said that I am like my mom, "You're even very shrewd when it comes to money that is not real". HAHAHA! I had such a good laugh. I guess it's not just financials. It's resources in general. I am very shrewd. I keep things very lean (if only I could succeed in doing that to my food and gut huh?). Just me obsessed about it. I think wasting should be a crime (even if it's over something that is free).

But hey, my bank balance loves me (doing a good job for someone who is earning chump change). :)

PC Building!

I love building PCs. I don't know why. I am a pure bred PC geek. Go figure?

The pinnacle of my friendship/relationship with people is usually marked by a custom PC build (or if its a laptop, me finding an exact one for them). This is very rigorous. Custom tailored to their exact needs / specifications. Cheapest price I could find (and believe me, I am VERY in depth - shrewd shopper here muahaha). On top of that, backed by my top notch build quality.

Why I love building PCs for the closest of people?

I write about computers. I dispense knowledge in various web forums to those willing to listen and learn. I spend my free time reading or tweaking (and drooling over) computer parts. To invest a lot of time researching and hunting for parts is a very intensive process. I like to see them really happy with the end product. "It's exactly as I wanted it" is always my favorite phrase.

I only build for people very close to me. Obviously, I would not simply build any old person a computer. I only extend it to people close. As easy as it may think, a lot goes into spec'ing and building a computer. I have just done a lot of it.

Within a week or so, I will be building my buddy (Abe) a PC. Parts are ordered. It's custom suited to exactly what he wants. Exciting times. :D

However, one thing I never appreciate is someone 'volunteering' me on my behalf. Umm. No. Big no no for me. Very few have done that to me. If I say I'll help, I will. If you say I will, um no. lol.
(I am very non-conforming). But yes, do respect my golden rule if you are ever lucky enough to receive a "Scott Custom". Asking me is fine. Representing me, umm does not fly...

I really should post a top 10 things that piss me off instantly (yes there are stuff that do that to even 'lil' ol' me!). Maybe next post (too sleepy now).

Wowzor

Someone I know advised me to stay in the Supply Chain field. He said only Fortune 500 companies have this so I would never have to worry about a small fry company. Also because of this, not a lot of people have experience in this field. So it is a niche market, but high demand as these companies need to move huge amounts of inventory. Only the big fish will want me and they have very deep pockets (even though I get chump change now).

True. Very true. I am currently in charge of moving nearly 20k boxes of material weighing more than half a million pounds and costs nearly 2 million USD. Single handedly I might add. :)

Fun times.

But yesterday, I had a behemoth come knocking. Via both phone and email. They indentified me as a candidate! :o

Why a behemoth? While I won't name it, it is a Fortune 500 company (rank 33rd) and is a top 5 retailer in the US.

Hopefully it turns out well and something will come of this.

:D

One step closer to a new home!

We have just been pre-approved for a home loan!

Heck yeah!

Real lucky considering the loan market crunch.

Exciting times up ahead.

I can finally soon listen to music 'play' and not 'whisper'.

I can finally soon get a half stack.

I can finally soon hand wash my car (those who know me know my car care is legendary).

I can finally be my excessively noisy self again!

Weird question

Last night I had a weird question thrown at me. Someone was asking me how things were (cordial talk).

Suddenly this question came outta no where. "So, do you have any girlfriends now?" I respond with a laugh and said no. Other person was like wondering wtf I guess and I simply stated "I am not actively looking for one". And to cut it short, I turned around and made a joke about where the heck that question came out of.

But it is true. I am not actively pursuing. I don't hit bars or clubs hoping to 'score one'. I am more 'passive' if you will for now. If I meet one, then I'll do something. Meeting/running across and actively looking for is 2 different things.

In all honesty, it is hard for me. I have to start back at square one. Which I am not used to. Don't get me wrong, I have no desire what so ever to re-live my past. I miss what a relationship gave/did for me (having someone - though this is not the main reason - circle of life), not the relationship itself (one moves on after time). I miss having someone to care for and cherish. A purpose if you will (not teen hormonal kinda things).

But starting at square one is very imposing and scary for a 'new' person. I can't try and go into a relationship treating someone like it has been years right? I have to take it gradually. Thing's aren't the same. Change is a good thing in this situation. I just have to re-adjust I guess.

I realized this when failure kicked in for me fairly recently. I know how to treat a lady when things are established. Establishing things with a lady? Thats the tough one for me. Used to already having something. I don't expect anyone to understand that. I never had closure in my past so that probably has me half hanging in some sort of limbo.

Messing up sucks too. Sure things can be superficially OK but it will never be 100% again. You make a good friend. You like said friend. Felt very comfortable and happy with said person. Try to take it to a whole new level. Things go super well and then you jump the gun accidentally. Boom. Shit heads south. Dear Johns fly. And now though things seem superficially OK in person, one hesitates to even chat with that person for fear of reprisal or overstepping boundaries. Sure fondness is still there but what do I do? How do I act? Like nothing happened? It is FUBAR. I can't make head or tail out of it. So I have relegated to the fact that I should just shut it. What's important is that I continue to respect a decision.

It also does not help that I am 'too nice'. I once took this personality survey and it said that people will think that you are 'too good' to be true. I can only be me. Sincere, and nice. Nothing hidden. Though I would be suspicious of myself too if I just met myself. HAHA!

*sigh*

So difficult. But I really have to figure this out sooner or later.

*goes to play guitar*
EDIT: I can't. Fret hand is worn out from yesterday. DOH!

A new guitar?!???

Argh. Damn it all. Why oh why did I have to try my friend's Gibson Les Paul studio? Why the hell do I go to Guitar Center at least once a week?!

But before you folks read on (laff not like anyone really reads right?), no, I have not bought a new guitar..... YET!

Muahahaha.

Yes, I love Gibson guitars. It is a fact. I absolutely completely want a Les Paul Standard with 60s 'fast' neck. Unfortunately, that would set me back 2.5k for the super pretty Cherry Sunburst one. So that will be for next year... :p

When I went out to get my Ibanez, I initially wanted a Floyd Rose tremolo. However me not knowing better (I insisted on Ibanez), I went with my current guitar because the Ibanez that came with a floyd rose was from their 'prestige' line at the time. So that would cost 800+. Screw that. I got my guitar and I'm pretty happy. All I needed was a pickup change. But even then, I really wanted to play with Active pickups. But they cost way more and I didn't really have a proper battery cavity in my current guitar.

Meet the Epiphone Futura FX. This is a metal machine is coming out next month (just in time for my planned half stack purchase!). It has a licensed Floyd Rose and EMG active 81/85 pick ups for sonic metal mayhem!

However, me being my over-analytical self, I do have some problems deciding.

1) My brother wants an explorer too.
I really don't want to make his future purchase anti-climatic. He has stated that he hates quilted maple finishes. He prefers solid colors (lol if that's what he likes).

2) Price
No, not really talking how expensive it is (because it is expensive). If i add $200, I can get an US made Gibson Explorer. Opportunity cost is certainly there but the cheapest Gibson version does not have EMG active pickups.

3) Ms Ibanez
What will become of her? I am tempted to sell her off but it would be kind sad. She's only a few months old, been babied like crazy, I just had her 'set up' as well as had new pickups installed.

But at the same time, I feel an attachment to it. I am learning how to play on it anyways. I could also give it to my youngest brother and sell of his current guitar (Ms Ibanez is WAY better). But then I would be out quite a bit of cash.


Nick told me today that he sees the Les Paul nicely for me and not so much an explorer body (though he concedes that it is one mean looking metal shredding machine). So I don't know. Still have a few weeks before that bad boy hits the stores.

Argh!

Patch Tuesday - April Edition!

For those running Microsoft software, today is Patch Tuesday!

So go run the update utility already and patch all of the stuff that needs it. I think there is some for Vista and Office 2007 patches. IDK. Go run yours and tell me mkay?

EDIT: For you bums, here is the LIST.

Made someone happy today

The other day as I was about to leave my apartment, I saw an opportunity to do good for someone (in this case my neighbor).

Do pardon me while I not disclose any specifics (as it was a good deed for the sole sake of being nice - I feel disclosing it impairs my sincerity - bragging is not sincere). But what I did was relatively small. Today my dad brought in a thank you note that was pasted on my front door.

My neighbor Tracy said it's quite entertaining and her daughter (Ashley) finds it fascinating. She went on to say that I made the day special and put a smile on her face.

Mission accomplished. Small gesture. Big impact. This is the essence of it. The warm fuzzy feeling inside is what I love most.

Now my day has been made. :)

Mr Know-it-all eh?

I usually take this 'title' with a degree of offense. But since I am not a literal person (haha), some people have used it in what could be perceived as a compliment instead of a derogatory label.

I love helping people out with things. I love fixing things. Making people happy as a result of helping them out is very gratifying.

My 'adoptive' family here first gave me that title. First thing I did when they first took me under their roof was fix up and update their computer (I had geek urges ok?). :p

My friends call me for every single thing. Hey what do you know about cameras? What do you know about electronics? Hey, you're a computer whiz right? Hey can you help me with this?

A compliment I got was "Let's ask Scott, whenever I need help he always knows something about it" (talk about warm and fuzzy eh? :D ).

In all honesty, I enjoy it all. I love helping. I love using my strength to help others. It kills time. It kills my stress/built up aggression.

But my main reason is I know how it is like to need help. Even more so, I know how it's like to need help but have no one who is willing to help. As a child and growing up, I have always been that person in countless times. Smiling at them, hoping for something but knowing I am getting nothing.

As long as I am able to do something (without compromising myself that is - I live for myself but help others... :p ), no one I know will experience it.

Sushi Party Saturday!

Wewt!

Nick invited me over to his place on Saturday @ 7pm for some sushi rolling party action. That means I'm cool enough! LOL jking.

Can't wait for it! Will probably come a bit earlier and try out his Bass Guitar and then stuff my face.

Anyone wanna go? ;)

April Fools!

Muahaha!

I am not so much of a prankster. Just more of a joker (silly beans!).

But for this time around, I have decided to unleash some lunacy on my office. >:)

One thing that everyone hates is a BSOD. This is the cause for unimaginable pain and anguish for many. I personally get it due to overzealous hardware settings (*cough* overclocking *cough*).

But I have put this on my office computer. A BSOD screensaver!

This thing is pretty sweet. Shows random real BSODs which resets after a while and looks like Windows XP is bootin up followed by another blue screen.

Muahahahaha!

EDIT: Already my boss walked by my desk and saw the BSOD. He said "Oh why the heck does the keep happening to you guys?". (Nick has it too). Hahah!