Tong Family (richtong.org sync)

Highdefdigest.com has a good review set of Blu-Ray disks by overall, then also by video quality (for demos) and audio quality (for demos). Other sources of Blu-ray reviews are blu-ray.com which I found lots closer to my personal tastes. Here is Blu-ray.com’s top rated list: 1. The Dark Knight (Blu-ray)    Warner Bros. | 2008…

Well with Blu Ray out and also PS3, Wii and Mac games, what are the things to get using Gamerankings.com as a reference and you can try things like Gamefly.com to rent and try these which toptenreviews.com likes. BTW, besides Costco, Newegg.com looks like the cheapest place to buy games whereas Amazon or Costco looks…

Well that must be the 72 hardest hours I’ve ever had. Still, I’m amazed at how resilient and kind people can be. I’ve never had such ups and downs. Watching “Mamma Mia” was the highlight. I’d never really listend to ABBA lyrics before and they have some great ones that summarizes what I’ve learned from…

Life is really two steps forward sometimes. Today I felt great at 9 then at 10 the past hit me like a ton if bricks. Somethings are such “close run” things it seems. Maybe one word said differently a year ago could change the times. Or is it all just projection. One good friend says…

OK, so an old friend asked me about dumb household stuff, here’s a quick guide Ladders (Subscription required). Consumer Reports says ladders are dangerous. Be careful buying one. Standards are low. Cosco 2061 ($80), Werner fia06 mk16 ($90), Daivdson 486-06 ($90), Husky 01-46002-00. The step ladders were fine, but many of the telescoping 3 meter…

If you are unlucky enough to end up with a 1990s era in ceiling system, then you probably have a funky nob on the side of your doors with obscure buttons that say quaint things like FM, Tape and CD. None of which anyone uses anymore. So whats the easy way to upgrade this so…

iPhone Dev Team to unlock iPhone 3G for New Years which is great news for all. You do need baseband version 2.11.07, so that means you can’t take all of Apples updates. That means things that can work with PwnageTool which is right now firmware 2.0.1 or earlier. Sad, I upgraded so am toast, but…

Hmm. This means you should hold since there is evidence that Next iMacs and Mac Minis to use NVIDIA Chipsets that means the iMac and even the Mac mini could be good gaming platforms. So if you are building a home theater, you can use the Mac mini as a gaming system.

There are some songs that I can’t listen to without seeing a specific place. This one is under a sink in China. It’s a long story, but I’ll never forget it. Quietdrive has a great version. BTW, I love Wikipedia for their amazingly complete band descriptions. Minnesota rocks. This is apparently their big hit. And…

Stores where you can still buy things even on this snowy day: Best Buy. Sunday 10-8, Monday 10-9Cost Co. Sunday 10-6, M-F 11-8:30

How cool. No gigantic windstorm, but we did 3-5 inches of snow and that makes things look beautiful. In the mountains there were 70mph winds. As Seattle Times reports heavy snow blankets area; I-90 closed But at 12:15 a.m., the worst Seattle weather conditions had passed, meteorologists said. “We’ll see another inch, maybe 2,” National…

Hey, these Playstation’s are pretty cool. They need lots of accessories though. Seem to be two flavors 40GB and 80GB. Then there are accessories: * Playsttion 3. Comes in two version 20, 40, 60, 80 and 160GB version. 80GB $400 MSRP with Dualshock. “Best Buy”:http://video-games.pricegrabber.com/ps3-console-accessories/m/92575005/zip_code=98101/st=sort/sort_type=bottomline/qlty=n. Best Buy looks like the place. * Wireless Controller. Dualshock…

You need 1.7 patch to play with PC versions. Find them at http://support.aspyr.com/index.php?x=&mod_id=2&root=237&id=585

From http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/best-lcd-tv.html some recommendations on 32″ TVs: Sony Bravia KDL-36XBR6 32″ 1080p with 120 frames is the performance choiceVizio VO32lF 1080p 31.6″W x 22.4″H. $500 MSRP Vizio VO37LF 1080p 36.3″W x 25″H. $729. 1080p panel http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/37-lcd-tv.htmlSharp Aquos LC37D64U. Editor choice for qualitySony KDL-37XBR6. The XBRs are really amazing quality if expensive.Sony KDL-37M4000 is their more…

Sometimes certain days are just so hard, your hands are shaking. Here is to 17 December 2008 as probably the hardest day of my life…

In Fire in the Belly (http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Belly-Being-Sam-Keen/dp/0553351370) the last of Gene’s standard texts, Sam Keen talks quite a bit about having a “men’s club” who can just talk about things. Beyonce (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVTyLqkez6A) talks about the same thing in a derogatory way as guys protecting each other. I don’t know, I’d say, guys really don’t talk much…

Had the most curious day yesterday. Talked about one person who is making millions, does nothing and is still the victim. Whereas another person doesn’t make anything, but feels guilty for not contributing. In this age of Ponzi schemes, CEOs making $100M and CEOs making one penny, values really begin to show. For some, everything…

A good buddy of mine had a long chat with me. He was talking about loves found and lost. How something can seem so real and then just vanish. It is amazing how people can project things onto others. Or vice versa, then the whole thing comes apart for now good reason. Then, you are…

Cold in Seattle. The sunrise was so stunningly beautiful, I almost passed out. Clear and crisp. Mt. Rainier was just shrouded. The one time I didn’t have my iPhone or Canon to take a picture. Beauty comes in the most unexpect places and times. Like when trying to fix frozen pipe in -5C weather. Just…

Oh no, flat in one of an SUVs tires means that all four have to be replaced because it is four wheel drive. What a rip off! So what to get. Well, it is snowing in Seattle if you can believe it and ski season is coming, so here are the tirerack reviews show that…

Well, I’ve had hidden shares forever for personal photos, but so many people have asked about pictures, I thought that I would post them for all to see, so the link above to Art will get you to public photos. That is no personal information, but beautiful. They are sorted by date, so in November,…

I’ve used nciku.com, xuezhongwen.net and lots of plugins but non have been exactly right. Calvin told me about “Wordchamp”:http://wordchamp.com. This is an IE toolbar that when you highlight a chinese character shows both the pinyin and the english translations. I love it! You can select groups of things.

There are lots that cost money, but mydigitllife.com pointed me to Vixy.net which is a free Flash FLV converter that converts things into to MPEG4. There is also a desktop version now.

OK have some new clues to my dad’s home. First some old pictures when he last visited. Am doing forensic analysis. I feel like a CSI. Zooming in the picture shows a cross street 自忠路 between 67 and 77. Now looking at the picture, the number in the house is actually so close 41 shun…