Vinh Pham

So I recently wrote about how Rush Hour 3 is not funny and I don’t really understand the humor involved. I wondered why Jackie Chan puts himself up to it, and if he actually thinks it funny. Apparently he doesn’t either:

Jackie Chan no fan of ‘Rush Hour’ series

Not surprisingly, Jackie Chan explains he does these movies because of irresistible sums of money, and to satisfy his fans. He also noted that he really doesn’t understand the American humor involved, and he doesn’t like the way fight scenes play out.

Reading this gives me a little bit of hope because now I know that my concerns are shared by others.

There are many lists on the net that boast the benefits of being an IT freelancer. Today, I would like to present you with a list of reasons why you should not freelance.

1. Time consuming - Its 1:30 am and I am still up trying to finish up work. Traditionally you would think freelancing will give you time to play, however, that is not true. Ever since I began freelancing, I don’t have time to go out with my girlfriend anymore because I am always busy. Even on the weekends!

2. Nasty clients - Clients who do not fully understand the complexity of what they demand can drive you insane. Some clients don’t know the technology and skills required to accomplish their project. Normally you don’t go to your dentist and tell them how to clean your teeth. Yet clients would approach their IT freelancer and tell them how to do their job. Sometimes clients tell you to use bad programming practices, implement nasty designs, or expect things done in an unreasonable time frame.

3. Unpredictability of work - One week you have all the time in the world because you have no work. The very next week you get so much work you don’t even know where to begin. No work = No money. Too much work, but not enough time to do it = angry clients.

4. Uncle Sam - You have to keep track of and pay your own taxes. This is a pain the butt.

5. Bookkeeping - I have no idea how much money I made or how many hours I have worked. If you hate bookkeeping, freelancing is going to be like fishing in the dark. That’s exactly how I feel right now.

6. Health and Dental insurance- Universal HealthCare would be great. Remembering to pay for your own insurance is a hassle.

To be honest though, this is all worth it for a chance to be free of cubicles.

Everyone hates commercials, thats a fact of life. However, once in a while, the advertising agencies come up with a commercial that just takes your breathe away.

One of my favorite commercials is this one:

My girlfriend loves this commercial:

And recently, this commercial just turns me on for some reason:

o/’ If you are chilly, here take my sweater. o/’
o/’ Cus I love the way you call me baby. o/’
o/’ And you take me the way I am. o/’

You can hear the entire song here: Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am

Kudos to the geniuses who made these commercials. I can’t say that it makes me want their product, but it does make me smile.

1) According to the guy on TV, America is the ONLY place in the developing world where companies do NOT provide paid vacations. In Europe they get a minimum of 4 weeks of paid vacations a year!

2) Univeral Healthcare - Its probably not going to happen any time soon in America

3) No Bush - George Bush is not the president of any countries in Europe

There aren’t many shows on TV that will actually make me get up out of my comfortable bed to find the remote and change the channel. Sex in the City is one of those shows. As soon as I hear the music cuing up the show, I HAVE to change the channel. Seeing even the first few seconds of that show makes me want to cut my ears off.

Why do I hate it so much you ask??

I don’t know really. I think it has something to do with their endless pursuit for ass, their materialistic life style, and all the men on there are hella wimpy. I am guessing this was probably the intention of the producer. I am also guessing that it has something to do with showcasing the libido of the female gender. But honestly, I really really doubt this show does anything for women. If anything, it makes it worse for them by portraying them as shallow sluts.

Please tell me I am wrong…

Yahoo News: Scientists find new species in Vietnam

This is no surprise to me. As an adult reflecting on my childhood in Vietnam, I have always thought of it as a magic place. It is nothing like the hustle and bustle of life here in America. Everything is Vietnam seems to travel at half the speed it does here in the US. Also, the flavors and smell of Vietnam is magnified many times compared to the senses you can experience here.

The only sad part is this story is that all these new species, and undiscovered species, in Vietnam will sooner than later be wiped out by the ever hungry Vietnamese people.

I was reminded of my gambling problem today when I went to look at the rules for day trading.

Day Trading Definition from the SEC

Funny how at the bottom it gave you a link to “problem gambling”. I guess its like what they say, “you can take the boy out of the casino, but you can’t take the casino out of the boy.” Haha. I made that up.

Anyways, my friend Kevin Quan has been super at picking good stocks. All the stocks he picked are up 10%+ in the last two weeks. If I had just held on to his picks, I would be up a ton of money right now. Instead my gambling urges took over and I got into day trading, which has only netted me $200 in the last two weeks.

Ok, so if you want to know, here are the picks from the “Oracle of Quan”.

1. LDK - Chinese solar stock
2. VDSI - Data security company
3. APPL - Apple. Duh.
4. NVT - Makes map for GPS units
5. RIMM - Research in motion makes PDA technologies

These stocks are gonna blow up. Get in while you can!

I just noticed yesterday that Google indexes contents of my website immediately.
I used to have to wait a week for new content to be propagated across the net. Now, things appear as soon as I post them.
This is great news to me because I feel like I am being put on the same level as other major websites or news sources.
However, I am not sure if this is a privilege afforded to all websites, or only websites that have been specially earmarked by Google.
Anyways, don’t ruin it for me. Let me enjoy my naive glory.

It’s called Mexico and the flavor is coconut.
It is the richest and most flavorful ice-cream on earth.

You can visit their website here: http://www.heladosmexico.com/

You can buy this ice-cream at Walmart.

If you are a fan of coconut flavoring, this ice cream is a must. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Whenever Uyen and I take Kaylie ( our dog ) for a walk, we discover something new about Davis. If you are just a student here, all you really ever see are the sites and scenes surrounding UC Davis. The huge campus, the new dorms, the many expensive apartment complexes, and the small shopping centers. But did you know that there are many little cul-de-sac in Davis featuring enormous houses, green parks, and scenic bike paths? Ok, when I say scenic I really mean quiet and peaceful, lots of trees, nice fields of grass, etc… It’s not the same kind of scenic you get driving down highway 1 if you know what I mean.

The more I see of Davis, the more I wish I could buy a house and establish my life here. As a renter, I feel like an outsider who is just “borrowing” the sites and sounds of this little town. Sometimes, I just flat out feel like I don’t belong.

So my point is, if you enjoy the quiet and serene life of a smallish-biggish town, come experience Davis California. Skip the downtown stroll and ride your bike around the winding greenbelt instead.