After Vacation Bible Study on Saturday, we went out to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then had some dessert at Shim Book Cafe.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Post VBS Dinner
After Vacation Bible Study on Saturday, we went out to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then had some dessert at Shim Book Cafe.
Friday, July 20, 2007
MOCA
I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art on Grand Avenue in Los Angeles. The modern art there is genius. I don't understand most of it, but it's pure genius. Appreciating art inspires me to take better photographic art for my blog. Plus, analyzing the meaning behind the art really expands your mind.
Almost Rear-Ended
I almost got rear-ended yesterday, and by that I mean car accident, not prison break. I was driving on the 101 transition from the 60 and 5 freeways. Traffic was going about 60 mph and the cars ahead of me come to a complete stop. I stop too, but the pick-up truck behind me skids for a few seconds. I thought I was going to get hit, but he swerves into the number 2 lane at the last second before hitting me from behind. Then, he cuts up ahead several cars in front of me like nothing happened. Dang L.A. drivers are crazy! I could have ended up in the hospital. That would not be good.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Ddong Chim
Try playing this Korean Ddong Chim video game. It's pretty easy. Click on the left mouse button and aim for the guy's butt. Collect the little babies for level ups, but avoid the guy's poop. It's easy and fun for 80 seconds or less.
You Can Be a Millionaire If You Don't Watch T.V.
Would you give up T.V. if you can be a millionaire? That's a tough decision to make because I thought people want to become millionaires to be able to afford those giant fancy plasma t.v.'s.
A recent study found that it would take $1 million for someone to be willing to give up TV for the rest of their lives.
Guess what? If you decided to give up TV and invested the money you saved, you would get that $1 million -- and probably a lot more.
People rarely consider the cost of watching TV, and when they do, they usually focus on the cost of their monthly cable bill. The truth is that there are a wide variety of costs associated directly and indirectly with having a TV.
Here are some areas where your TV drains your finances:
TV: The cost of your TV can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand if you decide to go for the newer plasma flat screen TVs. Take this cost and multiply it by several times, since you will likely own far more than one TV during your lifetime.
Entertainment cabinet system: Most people don't consider this cost when purchasing a TV, but you need a stand or entertainment cabinet on which to display your TV and other components of your entertainment system. This will cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars on up, depending on how fancy you decide to go. You can also assume that you will replace this at least once during your lifetime.
Cable: Once they have a TV, most people aren't satisfied watching only the free basic channels. Most will subscribe to a cable or satellite package that will cost them anywhere from $20 a month for bare-bones cable channels to well over $100 a month.
Pay-per-view: There are an increasing number of special pay-per-view sporting and entertainment events now found on TV. You might spend nothing to over $100 a month on these, depending on your viewing habits.
Movies: In addition to cable, most people are going to want to watch movies. That means either purchasing the DVDs or renting them from a service such as NetFlix and paying a monthly fee.
DVD/DVR: In order to watch the movies that you rent, you are going to need a decent DVD player. This will cost at least a few hundred dollars. And again, you'll likely replace this a minimum of several times over your lifetime as technologies change and better quality devices are created. You also may buy recording devices or DVRs like Tivo and related accessories to catch all of your favorite shows.
Gaming system: If you are into video games, you will purchase a gaming system to use. These can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars on up. You will also likely buy a number of these over your lifetime as the systems improve.
Games: If you purchase a gaming system, you will also need to purchase or rent games to play on that system. This can get quite costly, as most people want a variety of different games to play. It can easily run more than $100 a month if you purchase multiple games.
Energy: You will need to pay for the electricity to run the TV and other related electronics. This will vary greatly, depending on the type of TV you have and how much energy costs where you live, but it will likely be a minimum of $10 a month and possibly much more.
Commercials: A huge hidden cost of TV that people never consider are all the commercials they watch. The commercials are there to get you to buy products -- and they are effective. Economist Juliet Schor estimated that for every hour of TV a person watches each week, he or she will increase his or her annual spending by about $200, according to a 1999 article in the Spokane, Wash., Spokesman-Review. In 2005, Nielsen Media Research reported that the average person watched approximately 4.5 hours of TV a day, or 31.5 hours a week. At $200 in extra spending for each hour watched, that means that the average person spends an extra $6,300 a year due to TV commercials that they wouldn't have spent if they didn't watch TV.
Opportunity costs: Another cost often overlooked when considering the price of watching TV is the opportunities forfeited when you choose viewing over something else. You could start a business, take on a part-time job or take care of your garden so you don't have to pay someone else to do it. Assuming that your time is worth at least the minimum wage of $5.85 per hour, your opportunity cost is $737 a month if you view the average amount of TV.
So what does this all add up to? Say you're 25 years old and you initially spend $2,000 for your TV, DVD player, entertainment cabinet and gaming system after getting your first job. Add in monthly costs of $100 for cable, $10 for electricity use, $20 for renting movies, $25 for buying games and $20 for an occasional pay-per-view event, and you're looking at $175 a month. Add in another $525 a month extra you spend due to the influence of commercials if you are the average person, and you are costing yourself $700 a month watching TV.
If you instead invested this money and received a return of 8% compounded annually over 45 years until you're 70 years old, you would have more than $3.7 million in your account.
That is actually a conservative number, as additional upgrades in equipment were not included. Not to mention potential repair costs. It's also more than likely that many of the services will rise in price over time and new TV-related services will be introduced. And the calculation does not even take into account the potential additional opportunity cost, which could be a significant amount of money.
Your actual lifetime TV costs will vary from the above assumptions depending on how you watch TV and what services you use. You can make an estimate of your total costs for watching TV by plugging the relevant numbers into a basic compounding calculator.
While it's probably unrealistic that you will give up your TV entirely, the above numbers should make you consider how much money your TV-watching habits are costing you. Even some small changes could have a huge benefit on your overall finances.
A recent study found that it would take $1 million for someone to be willing to give up TV for the rest of their lives.
Guess what? If you decided to give up TV and invested the money you saved, you would get that $1 million -- and probably a lot more.
People rarely consider the cost of watching TV, and when they do, they usually focus on the cost of their monthly cable bill. The truth is that there are a wide variety of costs associated directly and indirectly with having a TV.
Here are some areas where your TV drains your finances:
TV: The cost of your TV can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand if you decide to go for the newer plasma flat screen TVs. Take this cost and multiply it by several times, since you will likely own far more than one TV during your lifetime.
Entertainment cabinet system: Most people don't consider this cost when purchasing a TV, but you need a stand or entertainment cabinet on which to display your TV and other components of your entertainment system. This will cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars on up, depending on how fancy you decide to go. You can also assume that you will replace this at least once during your lifetime.
Cable: Once they have a TV, most people aren't satisfied watching only the free basic channels. Most will subscribe to a cable or satellite package that will cost them anywhere from $20 a month for bare-bones cable channels to well over $100 a month.
Pay-per-view: There are an increasing number of special pay-per-view sporting and entertainment events now found on TV. You might spend nothing to over $100 a month on these, depending on your viewing habits.
Movies: In addition to cable, most people are going to want to watch movies. That means either purchasing the DVDs or renting them from a service such as NetFlix and paying a monthly fee.
DVD/DVR: In order to watch the movies that you rent, you are going to need a decent DVD player. This will cost at least a few hundred dollars. And again, you'll likely replace this a minimum of several times over your lifetime as technologies change and better quality devices are created. You also may buy recording devices or DVRs like Tivo and related accessories to catch all of your favorite shows.
Gaming system: If you are into video games, you will purchase a gaming system to use. These can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars on up. You will also likely buy a number of these over your lifetime as the systems improve.
Games: If you purchase a gaming system, you will also need to purchase or rent games to play on that system. This can get quite costly, as most people want a variety of different games to play. It can easily run more than $100 a month if you purchase multiple games.
Energy: You will need to pay for the electricity to run the TV and other related electronics. This will vary greatly, depending on the type of TV you have and how much energy costs where you live, but it will likely be a minimum of $10 a month and possibly much more.
Commercials: A huge hidden cost of TV that people never consider are all the commercials they watch. The commercials are there to get you to buy products -- and they are effective. Economist Juliet Schor estimated that for every hour of TV a person watches each week, he or she will increase his or her annual spending by about $200, according to a 1999 article in the Spokane, Wash., Spokesman-Review. In 2005, Nielsen Media Research reported that the average person watched approximately 4.5 hours of TV a day, or 31.5 hours a week. At $200 in extra spending for each hour watched, that means that the average person spends an extra $6,300 a year due to TV commercials that they wouldn't have spent if they didn't watch TV.
Opportunity costs: Another cost often overlooked when considering the price of watching TV is the opportunities forfeited when you choose viewing over something else. You could start a business, take on a part-time job or take care of your garden so you don't have to pay someone else to do it. Assuming that your time is worth at least the minimum wage of $5.85 per hour, your opportunity cost is $737 a month if you view the average amount of TV.
So what does this all add up to? Say you're 25 years old and you initially spend $2,000 for your TV, DVD player, entertainment cabinet and gaming system after getting your first job. Add in monthly costs of $100 for cable, $10 for electricity use, $20 for renting movies, $25 for buying games and $20 for an occasional pay-per-view event, and you're looking at $175 a month. Add in another $525 a month extra you spend due to the influence of commercials if you are the average person, and you are costing yourself $700 a month watching TV.
If you instead invested this money and received a return of 8% compounded annually over 45 years until you're 70 years old, you would have more than $3.7 million in your account.
That is actually a conservative number, as additional upgrades in equipment were not included. Not to mention potential repair costs. It's also more than likely that many of the services will rise in price over time and new TV-related services will be introduced. And the calculation does not even take into account the potential additional opportunity cost, which could be a significant amount of money.
Your actual lifetime TV costs will vary from the above assumptions depending on how you watch TV and what services you use. You can make an estimate of your total costs for watching TV by plugging the relevant numbers into a basic compounding calculator.
While it's probably unrealistic that you will give up your TV entirely, the above numbers should make you consider how much money your TV-watching habits are costing you. Even some small changes could have a huge benefit on your overall finances.
Who Needs Women?
First lap pillows, now realistic dolls. What will the Japanese make next? Actually, I think this is exactly what a few of my friends need.
Click on the link below to see the pictures in the Reuters article.
TOKYO, July 18 (Reuters Life!) - Real love is hard to find for one Japanese man, who has transferred his affection and desires to dozens of plastic sex dolls.
When the 45-year-old, who uses a pseudonym of Ta-Bo, returns home, it's not a wife or girlfriend who await him, but a row of dolls lined up neatly on his sofa.
Each has a name. Ta-Bo often watches television with his toys before bathing them, powdering them so that their skin feels more human, dressing them in lingerie and then taking them to bed.
"A human girl can cheat on you or betray you sometimes, but these dolls never do those thing. They belong to me 100 percent," says the engineer who has spent more than 2 million yen ($16,000) over the past decade on the dolls.
"Sometimes it takes too much time before I can have sex with the person I meet. But with these dolls, it's just a matter of a click of the mouse. With one click, they are delivered to you."
The man, who says he has had sex with five women but prefers the dolls, is one of a gradually increasing, though secretive, group of Japanese men who have given up on women.
A Japanese maker said it started producing its life-sized and anatomically correct dolls 30 years ago, targeting initially handicapped men who might find it difficult to find a partner.
Orient Industry Co. now makes 80 dolls a month in an eastern Tokyo factory to nine designs that sell for between $850 and $5,500 each. The more expensive models are made of silicon and have 35 movable joints.
Nearly all of the people who buy these dolls are single men and about 60 percent of them are over the age of 40, a company official said.
"Nowadays, women are sometimes more dominant than men in the real world, and they don't always pay attention to men," said Hideo Tsuchiya, the company's president.
"More and more men are finding themselves miserable so we're making these dolls partly in support of men."
The anonymity of buying a sex doll over the Internet has helped the business grow but Orient Industry also has a showroom displaying its wares.
Many have parted lips, prominent breasts and are shown splayed across beds or chairs in poses similar to those adopted by prostitutes in sex shops.
Ta-Bo says his parents are not aware of his companions as he has never invited them to his apartment.
He admits that carrying the dolls, changing their clothes and bathing them is almost like nursing bedridden people, but says for him and a few male friends who share his hobby, the dolls are the only emotional outlet.
"Sex with human girls was better, but I hate the process of dating," he said.
Click on the link below to see the pictures in the Reuters article.
TOKYO, July 18 (Reuters Life!) - Real love is hard to find for one Japanese man, who has transferred his affection and desires to dozens of plastic sex dolls.
When the 45-year-old, who uses a pseudonym of Ta-Bo, returns home, it's not a wife or girlfriend who await him, but a row of dolls lined up neatly on his sofa.
Each has a name. Ta-Bo often watches television with his toys before bathing them, powdering them so that their skin feels more human, dressing them in lingerie and then taking them to bed.
"A human girl can cheat on you or betray you sometimes, but these dolls never do those thing. They belong to me 100 percent," says the engineer who has spent more than 2 million yen ($16,000) over the past decade on the dolls.
"Sometimes it takes too much time before I can have sex with the person I meet. But with these dolls, it's just a matter of a click of the mouse. With one click, they are delivered to you."
The man, who says he has had sex with five women but prefers the dolls, is one of a gradually increasing, though secretive, group of Japanese men who have given up on women.
A Japanese maker said it started producing its life-sized and anatomically correct dolls 30 years ago, targeting initially handicapped men who might find it difficult to find a partner.
Orient Industry Co. now makes 80 dolls a month in an eastern Tokyo factory to nine designs that sell for between $850 and $5,500 each. The more expensive models are made of silicon and have 35 movable joints.
Nearly all of the people who buy these dolls are single men and about 60 percent of them are over the age of 40, a company official said.
"Nowadays, women are sometimes more dominant than men in the real world, and they don't always pay attention to men," said Hideo Tsuchiya, the company's president.
"More and more men are finding themselves miserable so we're making these dolls partly in support of men."
The anonymity of buying a sex doll over the Internet has helped the business grow but Orient Industry also has a showroom displaying its wares.
Many have parted lips, prominent breasts and are shown splayed across beds or chairs in poses similar to those adopted by prostitutes in sex shops.
Ta-Bo says his parents are not aware of his companions as he has never invited them to his apartment.
He admits that carrying the dolls, changing their clothes and bathing them is almost like nursing bedridden people, but says for him and a few male friends who share his hobby, the dolls are the only emotional outlet.
"Sex with human girls was better, but I hate the process of dating," he said.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Blade Runner
"The Fastest Man on No Legs" Oscar Pistorius is drawing lots of attention lately since he's been winning lots of races....with no legs! Well, he has Cheetah carbon fiber prosthetic blades for legs. Some people are criticizing him for having an unfair advantage! Now, he may be banned from running in the 2008 Summer Olympics if his opposition have their way.
I say let the boy run and compete in the Olympics. There are plenty of people with one leg or no legs that run in the Paralympics. Why are they singling him out? Just because he's really fast? I think that he is an incredible inspiration to everyone.
Pistorius is a 20 year old kid from South Africa. His legs were amputed when he was only 11 months old.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Biking Along the Beach
This past Saturday, Andy and I rode from Pacific Palisades to Redondo Beach. It was an awesome ride. I highly recommend it to road bikers and anyone who wants to have a fun time getting some exercise. The bike path runs all the way from Santa Monica to the end of Redondo Beach. Around Marina del Rey, we kinda got lost trying to find our way around the marina. I got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. A tiny metal shard went into the tire. It was a like a nano-shard. There was no way to avoid it. It's like a perfect sabotage weapon against cyclists. Fortunately, Andy was able to pull it out using his teeth. We had a good seafood combo plate lunch at the Redondo Beach Pier. There was this one maniac professional rollerblader who was going 20 mph. He passed Andy. I waited for Andy, and so he passed me too. I think Andy was too distracted by all the girls in bikinis. Our total trip was over 46 miles. Next time, I want to bike to the beach and do the whole trip really fast. I have to start training for the triathlon, you know.
Man vs. Wild: Can You Survive? Quiz
Here's a little quiz for you to take to see if you could survive. Check out the other sections on the Discovery.com website to see more helpful survival tips.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
E3
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is in town in Santa Monica, California this year. I wish I could go. I went several years ago when I was in the game industry. I actually worked a video game store for a brief period in my life. Now, my wife won't let me play. :*(
Each year, the games seem to get better and better. No wonder why I'm addicted! Check out the games from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo from these excellent websites:
www.gamespot.com
www.g4tv.com
www.ign.com
www.1up.com
America's Next Top Model
After watching this show, I'm so glad that I'm not married to Tyra Banks. Is it just me or do you think that she is a royal pain in the behind? And what's up with that weird gay black guy with that insanely bad hair who keeps uttering gibberish and laughs every time Tyra says something? What was up with last night's event where they had to walk across floating blocks over the swimming pool? I bet the UPN and WB network guys kept watching the video of the model whose breasts popped out when she tried to walk across the pool. Bah! Crap t.v.!
Man vs. Wild
This is my new favorite show during the summer off-season since Lost, Heroes, and Battlestar Galactica aren't on.
Bear Grylls is undeniably the man. He teaches you all sorts of neat survival skills in different exotic locations. All I need is a water bottle, a knife, and a flint, and I can survive....with a well-equipped camera crew to follow me in case I'm dying.
If I get lost on a mountain biking trek, I'll have to survive by eating bugs and drinking dew off of plants. I think I'll be able to survive since I can go for long periods of time without food and then eat like a camel. Another survival advantage I have is that I'm not too picky about food. I can eat almost anything. Many of my well-fed lap of luxury-type friends and co-workers wont' be able to survive long. They are too dependent on fancy restaurants and living a fancy lifestyle.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Mountain Biking Rules
On Saturday, June 30, my friend, Hui, and I went mountain biking at the Gabrielino Trail in Pasadena near JPL (NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada). We had a fun time riding through the many stream-crossings along the trail. I fell on some rocks though. My wound didn't seem that bad until I got home and found out it was infected. Nasty. My wife gave me some antibiotics. It still hurts a little bit. Can't wait to ride again.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Transformers
Transformers was one of my favorite toys and cartoon shows as a kid, but freakin' Michael Bay made it into a modern day Godzilla vs. Mecha Godzilla movie. The story sucked, but the action and special effects were good. It could have been a much better movie. GM must have bought the studios off, since they turned BumbleBee into a 70's Camaro and then into a 2009 Camaro. He used to be a Volkswagen Bug.
In the thousand year war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, their battles have lead them to Downtown Los Angeles. They totally laid waste to all the buildings down there. Fortunately, my friend Andy who lives on one of the blocks they demolished survived. You can check out some of the photos here:
http://davidmkim.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html
C, 71.
Sorry I haven't been posting my movie reviews. I've been getting lazy. I'll probably keep my reviews real short too.
I've just been listing movies that I've seen here:
http://davidmkim.blogspot.com/2006/01/my-favorite-movies-of-all-time.html
The Simpsons
This is what I would look like if I was on The Simpsons. Well, I tried to make it look like myself. You can create an avatar of yourself on www.simpsonsmovie.com
The Simpsons Movie is coming out on July 27, 2007.
They also transformed some 7-11 stores into Kwik-E-Marts. I may stop by a Kwik-E-Mart in L.A. and say "hi" to the local Apu there.
Let the Bodies Hit the Floor
Sounds like a new type of Christian Heavy Metal concert. Warning: May be offensive to t.v. evangelists.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
4th of July
Here's Sarah waiting for the fireworks to begin.
Link to last year's fireworks show:
http://davidmkim.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html
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