A couple more

I need a new book to read

I had just finished reading Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy last night; I'm now at a loss of what to do with my free time.

I made the mistake of watching the 2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie prior to reading the books; I was unable to use my own imagination for the characters and settings, and pictured the movie instead. That's the main reason why I prefer reading the books before watching the movies, really. I think it takes away a bit of the reading experience.

Anyways, all three books are great, and I was sad to learn that Larsson planned for the series to go on much longer (reportedly up to 10 books), but he passed away before finishing the fourth book. I would really love to be able to read the unfinished books, even just the outlines, but I doubt that would ever be possible. I'm not ready to let go of Blomkvist and Salander just yet.

For my next book, I don't know if I should stick to mystery/crime or if I should try reading sci-fi/fantasy.

Professor Cube patterns

This is what I've been doing at work, apparently.

And a slight variation:

I've tried and failed to think of creative, interesting patterns.

Love these guys even more

Just listened to the Nerdist Podcast episode "Instagramming Matt" and at the end of the episode, they talked about the incident at their NYCC podcast live taping, which wasn't recorded. And, I learned that they actually found out about this right after the show, before they got the chance to come out and meet us fans. They were pissed, rightfully so, but they still stayed for hours to take pictures, sign autographs, and just say hello to all of us, and not let it show. I really appreciate how gracious they were (or pretended to be)! It really just makes me respect and love them more.

Buy all the iThings!

I wasn't expecting much from yesterday's Apple event; I wasn't too interested in an iPad Mini. But now, dammit Apple, I want everything. Because, according to Phil, all the iThings I already own look old now.

The new iMac looks super sexy. The lack of a firewire port, though, is quite disappointing. But I'm not a power user or whatever those people are called so I'm okay with USB and thunderbolt.

NYCC 2012

It was a blast. I would have liked to have been there just a little longer - I do feel like I missed a lot of things - but I had an amazing time! It's not like you could go to everything in these types of events. I didn't have time to actually walk the floor and see all the booths; I didn't even go to the Doctor Who booth! I only managed to go to the center, where Legendary, Marvel, Dark Horse, Lego, Nintendo, and Nerdist were. The one thing I hate about the whole thing: my iPhone's battery lasts about 4 hours! I couldn't take pictures or videos or anything or it would just die instantly; and I didn't want to waste time sitting down by an outlet to charge it. Some of the pictures here are stolen from the internet.

3 games, 2 starts, 4 goals

It wasn't a good performance by United's standard, and we really need to do better going forward this season. For most of the game (and the previous two games), there seems to be a lack of urgency and creativity within the team. But of course, celebrating Sir Alex Ferguson's 1,000th league match in charge of Manchester United wouldn't be right without the late winner drama.

Celebrating the winner in the 92nd minute

Good luck, Berba!

Deadline day, and Dimitar Berbatov finally finds a new home in Fulham. Berbatov signed a 2-year contract with the club after a frustrating year at United, limited to only 21 appearances all season, 12 in the league. Quite unfair since he's the joint top scorer of the previous season.

I am a fan of Berbatov. It's a shame that he just couldn't fit into United's team. Or, more accurately, Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't fit him into his team. His movement is beautiful and I just enjoy watching him play. He still has the skills necessary to play at the top level; he just needed a different team than ours. So, best of luck, Dimi. I definitely will be watching Fulham a bit more now just to watch him play.

I'd just like to take the opportunity to thank everyone at #MUFC. You have all been so great to me with my 4 years at the club, thank you!!
— Dimitar Berbatov (@TheRealBerbatov) August 31, 2012

Welcome, RVP!

I'm a little bit late on this - alright, very late - but I just wanted to make a post to welcome him. Robin van Persie arrived a few days before the new season started from Arsenal to Manchester United. I have to say, the reaction of Arsenal fans (especially this guy) is the most entertaining thing about the deal. The getting van Persie part isn't too bad either.

[It's weird seeing him in a United shirt]

Welcome, Shinji!

Waited until it's official to post this, but today (just now), Manchester United has confirmed the signing of Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund, who has passed medical and received work permit. Kagawa has signed a 4 year contract with the club.

This is just me, working

What happens when WWDC and a football match are on at the same time.

So they tried to pull a prank on NPH...

Neil on Punk'd from Crazy4NPH on Vimeo.

Neil, it's okay to stop being so awesome and cool once in a while. The execution was very poor, though. The actors were a little bit over the top, trying to bait him instead of pretending to actually be scared/worried.

Plug: Fat Kid Rules the World

Matthew Lillard did one of the most entertaining AMAs I've seen, to promote Fat Kid Rules the World. I wasn't exactly familiar with his work prior to this – I only know him as Shaggy – but I'm definitely a fan now. I'm planning to look up some of the films he was in and watch them (especially those often mentioned by Redditors during his AMA).

Anyways, Fat Kid Rules the World has 2 more weeks on Kickstarter (see widget). The trailer looks really cool and Lillard is very passionate about it, so I really hope it gets funded.

Soccer Aid 2012

I'm at work, and probably should be working, but I downloaded the Soccer Aid 2012 match to my iPhone last night and I've spent the last hour watching the first half.

It's always nice to watch a game of football, especially at Old Trafford. I absolutely love seeing Edwin van der Sar back between the goal posts, which I believe is in front of Stretford End. Made a couple of good saves, too. Roy Keane and Jaap Stam right in front of him probably scared most of their opponents away. It was also nice to see Keane there; though it's a shame he had to limp off after only about 20 minutes. The pair would also feature on this Sunday's Corazon Classic Match 2012 between Real Madrid veterans and Manchester United veterans. Man, I love these two games. They help, a tiny bit, for the lack of United games on weekends.

The half-time analysis featured Wayne Rooney, Robbie Williams, and Robbie Savage. Even though Rooney, when asked about how it feels watching a game at his home turf, said that it was nice to be at Old Trafford to relax and enjoy a game, I imagine there were times when he was just itching to run into the pitch to score, especially when England was losing. Sergio Pizzorno's goal, which was absolutely brilliant, according to Rooney was "probably the best goal [he]'s seen at Old Trafford in the past 5-10 years." ;)

I'm very excited for Sunday's Corazon Classic Match, and quite excited for Soccer Aid 2014. I was surprised by how many big name celebrities participated in this year's event; especially the Hollywood actors for the Rest of the World team. So, hopefully, the next event will draw even bigger celebrities (and legends), and more donations. Of course, ideally, I would love more ex- or current-United players to feature, and maybe even Sir Alex Ferguson managing the ROW team.

I've also watched the 2010 event and I kept thinking that some of these people are taking this way to seriously! I thought, since it's for charity, that it would be just for fun and games. But I guess for some of these former pros, it's hard to go out, play for 90 minutes, and not take it seriously. Edwin van der Sar, Freddie Ljunberg, and Clarence Seedorf are the only ones who seemed to be enjoying this for the fun of it throughout the first half.

Farewell, Owen!

Read from bottom to top. Taken from his Twitter account

A few days late, but here it is. I would like to say: thanks, Owen! Though it's a shame that injuries have prevented Owen from contributing more to United, I believe that he's done more than most people think.

One last time?

Dimitar Berbatov at the Harry Gregg Testimonial match yesterday. This is probably the last time we see Berba in a United jersey. :(

Dear God #10

Of course, I'm getting these thoughts right when I'm trying to sleep, right?

In any case, I find that I still feel guilty, for the fact that I'm not quite a believer anymore. I mean, I think I still believe that a god exists - maybe I just like to think that there's something more powerful, more mighty, than us mere humans; but that's also the foundation of why I believe that there are other lives in the universe.

I'm not exactly sure, but I think I still believe in the existence of God. Although, the God I believe in is more rational than the God that other people talk about. I just don't know if I believe in the values of Christianity anymore.

The funny thing is, when I ask myself what exactly made me question my own religion and beliefs, the only answer that I can come up with is that I read the bible. I tried; for a few nights a couple years ago, I'd read a chapter of the bible, which made me very skeptical. I questioned everything and just thought that, for the most part, all that was very dumb. There are good values that I can get from it, I know, but I can't just rely my faith on this...book.

I should really sleep now. My thoughts are going everywhere and that's never a good thing.

A Very Nerdist Monday

Not only did they have the Team Nerdist vs. Team GeekAndSundry All-Star Celebrity Bowling:

Chris also had Tina Fey as a guest of his Nerdist podcast!

Nerdist really made it easier to get through Monday!

"Football, bloody hell!"

Had a day to let it sink in, and I can only barely believe that what happened yesterday actually happened. I somehow managed to hold it together the whole day, not a tear shed, until I found this posted on Facebook this morning:

Just the look on their faces did it for me. Learning that City conceded through the crowd's reaction was an amazing feeling; learning that we lost the title at the last minute the same way: not recommended. A whole season, 38 matches, and all the hard work undone in that last minute of City's game. I feel for the new guys, the younger players that had just joined the team this season. But the fact that they're young and good enough to almost winning the league means that they'd have years (hopefully at United) to gain experience and develop into better players and to win many league titles (again, hopefully with United).

"They’ve experienced what has happened today and they’ll be around in five, six, seven or ten years time for Manchester United. The experience is good for them, even if it is a bad one."

source

As always, Sir Alex Ferguson conceded the defeat gracefully, congratulating City on the amazing feat - something that I still have yet to be able to do.

Yesterday was tense. The matches were unbearable to watch. I decided against switching to City's match because I was scared that I would jinx it (I'm somehow very superstitious when it comes to United); I probably should have, seeing how it turned out to be. It really was a reminder, to me, of how much I love football, but loathe it at the same time. It honestly did hurt.

Unfuckingbelievable!

That was...unbelievable. I really don't know what to say or think about it.

They gave me hope for most of the match, and then just snatch it all away at the very last minute. It was insane.

The last 10-20 minutes of the games felt almost like watching the 2008 Champions League penalty shoot-out. My hands were shaking and I couldn't even move from my seat.

The day turned from exhilaratingly amazing to insanely depressing within one minute. Right after the final whistle was blown at the Stadium of Lights, and I was thinking that we'd have to wait a minute or two for good news, I saw a tweet saying that Aguero scored. I just...can't... That was just cruel.

Looking ahead and positive thinking and all that crap

This wasn't the best United team, or the best United season, but we ended up with 89 points anyway. We'll come back stronger; our youngsters are just getting started and we'll have a stronger team by August.

Note to Glazers: SPEND! Please stop just pocketing our money. We desperately need a midfielder and a left back. And a few other players.

To City: til next year!

Dammit, United! Way to bottle it!

4 points in 4 games after being 8 points clear, 0 attempts on target today. What.the.fuck?! Not a great way to start my week in Orlando!

I could understand Sir Alex Ferguson's choice to fight for a draw instead of gunning for a win, although I disagreed with it. Manchester United is not a team to defend. I know Ji Sung Park is the big-match player, but he hasn't played in a while; I honestly don't understand why he started ahead of Antonio Valencia or Ashley Young, both of whom have played well lately. Ryan Giggs, I believe, was chosen for his experience; but let's face it, as much as I love Giggsy, he hasn't played well this season. Even though I'd really hate to see him retire, this season has shown that he's probably past it.

Going 1-0 down right before half time is never good. But I thought it would be a wake up call for Fergie to change things up, that we'd be better off trying to score goals instead of preventing more in. Fergie being Fergie, he kept his team at half time.

But the 0 attempts on target throughout the whole match (with 5 off target) is the one that got me. It's like we weren't even trying. What the fuck, United?! Now City is on their way to the title, and we're left with absolutely nothing for the season. I know this would happen sooner or later, but I just didn't think that it would happen in the hands of City.

I know that mathematically, we still have a chance, so I'll keep this tiny hope until it's really over. But really, we need to bounce back next season. We really need an experienced midfielder, a good right back, someone to challenge Evra, and a good partner for Rooney. But I'd settle for a good midfielder for the summer.

What the fuck was that United?!

We had a 4-2 lead, with 20 minutes to go, fingers on the trophy, and we just let everything slip away. I probably should try to cool down a bit before posting this, but I can't help it. I just need to... AHHHHH!! I really want to throw something out the window. Just like United did the trophy. For fuck's sake! 2 goals cushion, at home, last stretch of the title race, and we blew it with terrible defending!

Momentum's going City's way now. We must win at Etihad next week to win this. City's superior goal difference mean that if we lose, City have to drop points for us to have a chance; and I don't like that our title might have to depend on that. A draw would be a good enough result for us, giving us a 3 points lead with 2 games to go. A win at home against Swansea the next week and not losing away at Sunderland will win it for us.

Seriously, United! You're supposed to be good at this!

Felicia Day and Chris Hardwick hangout

I think I was at work when it happened live so I missed it, and actually forgot about it until it showed up on my YouTube subscription list!

Subscribe to GeekAndSundry and Nerdist Channel! They're awesome people doing awesome things providing us with awesome content for free.

But seriously, I adore these two individually, and I love them together. Can't wait for the Nerdist team vs. Geek and Sundry team on Chris Hardwick's Bowling show!

Happy birthday, David Tennant!

My favorite Doctor turns 41 today. Doesn't look a day over 903.

RDJ + Nathan Fillion = squee!

I should go into Astrophysics

I've been listening to Neil deGrasse Tyson's Star Talk Radio podcast, and my interest in the field has definitely grown. I'm actually considering going to grad school in Astrophysics; seems way more interesting than Computer Science. But Astrophysics is a research field and I'm not sure I have the drive/passion/persistence to go through with it.

In any case, I've always had some interest in the field; I did take 2 semesters of Astrophysics in senior year. But I have learned a whole lot just from listening to a few episodes of the podcast. I actually remember some of the things I learned from those college courses (I know, it was only 1-2 years ago).

The only thing that annoys me about this podcast is Neil's co-host, Lynne Koplitz. For some reason, she just annoys me. I know she's a comedienne so she's there to throw in some funny quips, but I don't think she adds anything to the show. Neil is plenty funny on his own. Even other comedians who have been a guest or a guest co-host on the show are funnier and/or better suited for the topics at hand. I always enjoy the episode more when she's not there.

I can't decide...

If I should be polite, or be "a friend" and stop someone being an annoying, ungrateful prick. :| I'd normally ignore things like this, but this time it's happening too close to me and it ruins my mornings.

No trophy presentation at Etihad

The Premier League has announced that, if Manchester United wins their 20th league title at their neighbor's ground, they will not hold the trophy presentation at Etihad. Instead, the trophy will be presented the following week, after the match against Swansea at Old Trafford, as they prefer to present the trophy at home.

The trophy at its home, Old Trafford

It sure would be sweet to stomp on the bitter rival's turf and celebrate our superiority there, but I do agree with the League in that I prefer trophy presentations to be held at home. I want to watch the players celebrating at Old Trafford, in front of ~70,000 fans, instead of ~2,600 fans at Etihad. Plus, Old Trafford just looks better than Etihad. ;)

Google is winning best April Fools' gag

I know it's still early in the day, and I haven't been around the Internet long enough to take in everything, but Google is doing a really good job. Especially with their 8-bit Maps for NES. They also have a bunch of hidden gems (thanks to Reddit's kane2742).

Reddit has a TARDIS

Last night, Reddit announced reddit timeline™ on their blog. If you click on the TARDIS, it'll take you to a random time; much like the TARDIS often does.

I particularly love all the Doctor Who references everywhere. I like that Reddit chose the TARDIS as their time machine of choice. Even Reddit's blogpost was tagged "timelords" – which I guess we all are, now we can travel in (reddit) time.

A lot of people seem to hate it. I, for one, am really enjoying this. I know it's just an April Fools gag, but I kinda hope it stays. Or at least give the users an option to have it, so those who don't want them don't have to suffer.

Well, that was interesting

It's only about halfway through the day and it's been very interesting, to say the least. It was unexpected. I doubt I can get any work done for the rest of the day.

At around 11.30 a.m. today, our CEO Bill sent us an email saying that there's a mandatory Town Hall Meeting at 11.45 a.m. to 1.45 p.m. I've been working for this company for 9 months and we've never had a real Town Hall Meeting, which used to happen quite often, according to the more senior staff. My immediate reaction was one of worry. This must be serious. No one knows what was gonna happen. It was Bill himself that sent the email, instead of asking someone from the marketing department. At least they provided free pizza for us, which to me could mean it's either good or bad. The pizza could mean that the meeting is something fun and exciting, or it could mean that it's there to soften the blow of something terrible happening. Yes, for a moment, I did think that I was gonna lose my job.

What's actually happening is that the company I'm working for is being acquired by another company. Now, I didn't even know what our company name actually is; it's either WebApps or SaaShr.com. Andy mentioned that the company is WebApps, and that the product is called SaaShr.com. Our paycheck is from WebApps, therefore that's where we're working at. But now, I think, this means that the company name will change - something that has happened before, too - into "SaaShr, A Kronos Company" (dropped the ".com" from "SaaShr.com").

Kronos is a big company, that's about all I know so far. Keep in mind, all this happened in the past 2.5 hours (for us employees). The acquisition was finalized today, therefore we're spending the day learning about what's gonna happen to us.

Not sure what's gonna happen just yet; of course, they promise that nothing's gonna change, that they're just gonna help push SaaShr forward, etc. We do get better benefits, and more vacation days, so that's good.

It was a surprise, for sure. I'm both excited and a little worried.

Pirates! Band of Misfits B-Roll: David Tennant

Just David being his annoyingly adorable self, wearing the stormtrooper t-shirt that he wore to Comic Con. And that red hoodie looks good on him. I'm just a little obsessed.

Nerdist podcast

I've been listening to The Nerdist Podcast, mostly at work, for a couple months now and I'm really enjoying it. The comedy podcast is hosted by Chris Hardwick, with the help of Jonah Ray and Matt Mira.

My sedentary life

I've started a new blog, My Sedentary Life, which is basically where I will post anything relating to TV shows and movies that I watch. Just thought it would be nice to have a blog that has a focus and that this one would be less of a mess. Although, looking at my labels, I don't know what else I would post here...

Congrats, Giggsy!

Ryan Giggs has made his 900th appearance for Manchester United earlier today, when he started on the 2-1 win at Norwich. He now holds the record for most appearances for one club, and it is very likely to never be broken. Not only that, Giggsy managed to score the last minute winner that brings United 2 points off leaders Machester City.

Community returns March 15th!

[source]

Finally!

What's wrong with the current generation

These images have been floating around the internets these past couple of days:

I tried to be understanding. Assuming that these people are pre-teens and teens, I can understand why they don't know who Paul McCartney (or The Beatles) is. But I couldn't stand the fact that a lot of them dismiss him because he's "old" even before his performance started.

And then there's this. I...don't... I can't even...

I got a TARDIS!!!

My first ever TARDIS! (Yeah, I'm planning to have more)

Apparently, I helped John got his job. And for that he gave me a TARDIS. It's a cookie jar. The lantern can be pushed and it lights up while making the TARDIS (de)materialization noise. It also does so whenever the lid is closed.

SOPA/PIPA blackout

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Here's how the internet looks today, in protest of SOPA/PIPA:

[Reddit]

[Google]

Cougar Town returns on Valentine's Day!

[Links to here]

Nathan loves Community :)

After what happened on my last post, Nathan Fillion showed more Community love from his Twitter account. Nathan's actually doing more promotion for the show than NBC itself! And I just LOVE it when my fandoms collide.

When fandoms collide

Understanding Doctor Who is HARD!

Even with these "visual aids" (under the cut due to extremely large pictures)

Why I love graphic tees

[My 7th teefury shirt]

Starbucks barista: "Oh my god, you have a TARDIS on your shirt!"
Me: "Yes I do!"

We proceeded to have a short conversation about Doctor Who and t-shirts. I ordered a cafe latte with extra shot and he said, "I'll give you the extra shot for free because you like Doctor Who." Whovians and graphic tees are awesome!

And if I remember correctly, I was at the same Starbucks (different barista, though), where I got a free upsize of my caramel macchiato for wearing a Smurfs tee.

I know I've been saying that I need to stop buying graphic tees for years now but these little things make me happy. :]

Because he's that awesome

Gah... (another random post; ignore me)

Back when I was in high school/college I kept saying that I couldn't wait til I "grow up" and start working and start dressing up like a grown woman. But now that I'm working and have to wear appropriate office attire, I really miss the days where I can just wear t-shirt, jeans, hoodie, and sneakers all the time!

PS – I need to get more hoodies and sneakers. And maybe some work clothes too; I've been rotating like 8 tops with 2 jeans/tights. And new boots/shoes. I just need to go shopping.