Kawazi

Movember Ends Plus Fantasy Tid Bits

2010-11-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

In an hour or two the long awaited end of 'Movember' will finally be here. In total I raised 120 dollars (Thank you Mom, Dad, and Thuy)

Through out the month I received various feed back on the state of my face, here is a quick recap.

Thuy - "Ew"

Team Lead - (bursts out laughing during my speech at a stand up meeting) "I am sorry I just can't take you seriously"

Random Person at Work - "Nice Stache Man" (smirks and chuckles a bit)

Landlord - "Eh Steven, you got a little dirt on your face!"

Philip - "I like it"

The feed back was mixed, although generally negative. An unsurprising result. The former stache suffered from what is known mustache asian-white hybridism. It is a state characterized by long, uneven, low volume facial hair. This terrible facial hair set up is often subject to mockery and believed to not be very masculine. Thus the snickers.

Oh in other news here is the fantasy team I have been paying most attention to this year in league DK (in which I am commissioner - 18 teams, weekly roster changes, h2h, 9 cat)

PG Russell Westbrook
SG Arron Afflalo
G Jason Terry
SF Trevor Ariza
PF Kevin Love
F Nicholas Batum
C Pau Gasol
C Lamarcus Aldridge
U JJ Hickson
U Eric Bledsoe

B James Harden
B Ty Lawson
B Tiago Splitter

A very strong team. Essential the entire team has been great value except JJ Hickson and Trevor Ariza.

My short-term concerns,
- It is hard to complain about the number 1 ranked fantasy player of the year but Gasol has entered a mini slump. I am sure he will get out of it soon. I need him to do good now though as I am facing the top team in the league (I am second)
- Shooting slumps: Jason Terry and Nicholas Batum

Long term concerns,
- Shot blocking ( I have remained competitive in the category due to luck sort of. Slightly inflated blocking numbers from Aldridge and Gasol)
- JJ Hickson got off to a decent start but has been beyond awful. I need to get someone else in there asap but the league is very quick on picking up FAs so it can be very difficult.
- Wesley Mathews. This guy has taken over Nicholas Batum's starting spot in wake of his poor play in the last 2 games. It is hard to gauge the right action in this situation as Batum had a 3 game slump earlier only to absolutely explode right after. Brandon Roy going down would also free up more minutes for Batum which is highly likely.
- Turnovers (Westbrook I love you but god damn you and your turnovers)

Will try to give an overview of the landscape of our league next time!

Staying Fresh, Basketball, and Mustache

2010-11-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

Hello to the small group of faithfuls (or as of now angry group of former faithful due to ridiculous absence)

It has been a long time since I have posted and the reasons vary in their legitimacy. I moved out of the parent's house to live on my own while working as an intern @ RIM in Waterloo. I was really focused on my work for a couple weeks allocating a lot of time and effort into doing well there. As time went on, I began feeling a lot more comfortable and entered a very habitual cycle. Being caught (maybe a bad word since this is my first professional experience and I should be ecstatic, which I am!) in that cycle my mind became (often) devoid of meaningful thought after exiting my work premises. At times, I find myself walking home and totally forgetting where I am - yet I continue walking where I need to go. It is as if my body and mind have become separated.

Well this is not good in my opinion! So I am going to try to put in the extra effort to maintain this thing.

Things have been pretty good in Raptor land in my opinion. I have been very happy with the effort of the Raptors thus far. Here is a short list of the good and bad and the in between.

Good
- After a slow start Amir Johnson has played very well. I would say he has moved from the predicted grossly overpaid into slightly overpaid.
- Reggie Evans has increased his trade value by showing he is not a no dimensional scary looking dude but back to his former status as a 1 dimensional rebounding monster.
- Like I said,the effort!

The Bad
- Andrea Bargnani. Sure he has average 21 PPG, but his other numbers are universally down. Most importantly his already pathetic rebounding numbers have declined further.
- Sonny Weems is doing very well! Okay this is good but I made a bit with a friend that he would average below 15 PPG. He is creeping very close.

Indifferent
- Kleiza is off to an underwhelming start. This would be in bad but I feel like he will pick it up..
- Jarret Jack trade. I like getting Bayless but I worry we will shy away if presented with the opportunity to draft Kyrie Irving. More minutes for Jose Calderon is probably not a good thing but at least it gives him the chance to up his trade value.
- Derozan has done pretty well, not great, but not bad.

Last but not least I am growing a mustache for Movember feel free to donate
here

Proceeds go to Prostate Cancer research!

Milwuakee Bucks Offseason Review

2010-08-19T22:14:00.002-07:00

Sorry for the sluggish pace as of late. Have been stressing from various sources, all approximately equal in their immense stupidity. Now then, on to reviewing the Bucks.

There is something about this team I just love. Maybe its Andrew Bogut's at times weird antics (or the fact he is just an awesome center) Maybe its Brandon Jenning's constantly evolving hair cuts. Or Maybe its the fact that this team refuses to back down from anyone. Whatever it is I am board. I like this team a lot and if they are healthy (a big if at this point but I want to think in best case scenarios in terms of health on this blog) I could potentially seeing them upsetting one of the east's top teams.

Fear the deer (and rooster!)

Brandon Jennings has actually made Milwaukee cool. That is an unbelievable feet. He started off the year sizzling hot, topped off by his legendary 55 point performance against the lowly Warriors. He tapered off a bit from there but the flashy point guard was still a big contributor for the Bucks. He put up some great rookie numbers if you ignore his field goal percentage. That would not be a good idea though, so I will just say Jennings really needs to get that up. Regardless of the efficiency, it does not take an expert to see that this kid has so much potential.

There were a lot of mumblings of Jennings being bad locker room guy. His description of Scott Skiles upon being drafted did not help either. However, from my point of view this guy has been great for team chemistry. He has an infectious enthusiasm for life that seems to have lifted the entire city of Milwaukee. Not only that, his chemistry with his team mates appears to be great. Jennings had many doubters after his meh year in Europe. It seems like his time in Europe did wonders for his maturity however. He may run his mouth a lot (ask KG), but I believe he uses his emotions the right way. Jennings most important contribution though may be the will he has instilled in his team. The Bucks are now a team that is not rattled or intimidated by anyone (I think Bogut had a big effect on this also) As a fan of the Raptors I can vouch that this is an invaluable trait to possess.

Andrew Bogut has been a player for years now I have been predicting to break out. While not garnishing much attention in the media Bogut was quietly producing very well but being absolutely plagued by injury. Sadly, Bogut was injured again in a freakish accident, but he and the Bucks had done enough to get the media's attention. Analyst praised Bogut's play and while Brandon Jennings had been getting all the initial hype it was Bogut who was now being recognized as the one holding things together in Milwaukee.

Bogut is about as skilled of a power big man that you could find in the NBA. He is a sort of a rugged Vlade Divac. Also, for me he is the closest resemblance to Shaquille O'Neal I can think of currently in the NBA. Both are power players with great awareness, slick passing from the post, and solid defense. Obviously Shaq was way better in his prime, but as far as player archetypes go, Bogut is quite similar to Shaq. There are however some skills that Bogut lacks when compared with O'Neal (on top of being freakishly athletic, er wait is that a skill?) For example Shaq's awkward yet surprisingly effective ball handling.

Andrew Bogut has been one of my favorite players for awhile now. It is only recently has he began getting recognition on a larger scale. Taken from here

Now I know most people like to compare Dwight Howard and Shaq and yes I agree to some extent. I think Shaq and Howard's game are similar in terms of their off ball offense and devastating dunking style. However when it comes to their skill sets Shaq is more similar to Bogut. To sum it up, if you mixed Dwight Howard and Andrew Bogut into one super player I think what would come out might resemble Shaq. I hope the Shaq fans out there will not hate me for the Bogut, Shaq comparison.

Moving along the Buck's swing men are composed of John Salmons, and Corey Maggette. Neither are top wings but are undoubtedly solid starters in the NBA. Maggette as a new addition was a great pick up for Milwaukee. He will give a boost to their offense which was in desperate need of a spark (whether it be off the bench or starting) Buck's fans will hope Corey can keep up his high level play he showed last year for the Warriors. The move will also lighten the burden on Jennings and hopefully help improve his efficiency.

Milwaukee also selected Larry Sanders in the middle of the first round. He appears to be an active, athletic big, who will be looked upon to contribute right away. I have not seen him play much but Bucks fans have high hopes for the guy. He is known for playing excellent defense and many have compared his ceiling to former Raptor Marcus Camby (who refers to Camby as former Raptor honestly....I do!!) If the rumors are true then Scott Skiles could possibly end his love affair with Drew Gooden (6 million a year for a guy who was thrown around like a hot potato honestly?) Sanders performed admirably in summer league and has added to the buzz in Milwaukee.

The rest of the team is compromised of Carlos Delfino, Luc Mbah a Moute, Ersan Ilyasova, Drew Gooden, Keyon Dooling, Michael Redd. While not the greatest supporting cast of all time, they are enough to get by.

Brandon Jennings has brought excitement back to Milwaukee and is one of the reasons I have them ahead of Atlanta. Taken from here

I have the Bucks finishing ahead of the Hawks which most will feel is silly. I will quickly try to justify this decision and save some face with a short list!

Pros Milwaukee
-Jennings has more room to grow then any Hawk player
-Added solid pieces in Corey Maggette and Larry Sanders
-If healthy, Andrew Bogut still has even more room to improve and will be an all star
-The team is hungry
-They took Atlanta to 7 games without their best player and all of the previous improvements

Cons Milwaukee
-Bogut's health
-Michael Redd
-John Salmons could possibly start to decline
-Drew Gooden got paid big time at Milwaukee's expense

Pros Atlanta
-They have a very solid team
-Resigned Joe Johnson
-Al Horford continues to develop

Cons Atlanta
-They came back with the exact same team which needed a shake up

So in conclusion, Atlanta and Milwaukee are very close. I just feel the Bucks improved and have some nice momentum while the passive approach of Atlanta is not going to pay off. I am really looking forward to watching the Bucks on league pass this year. Fear the Deer!!!!

Regular Season Record: Milwaukee Bucks – 49- 33 (fifth in east)
Offseason Grade: B- (Did not make a blockbuster deal but a solid draft, good job
resigning Salmons, and a nice deal to acquire Maggette. Gooden
the most overpaid player of the 2010 free agent class)

Boston Celtics Offseason Review

2010-08-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Celtics showed their veteran swagger in the 2010 playoffs impressively taking to the Lakers to the edge in an epic showdown. Not many changes were need with this team and fittingly not many drastic moves were made. They did do some minor moves however, so here is what they did do.

They signed Jermaine O'Neal. He will replace Rasheed Wallace and be similarly effective. I think O'Neal will do a bit better then Wallace, especially after factoring all those technical fouls! Matching Wallace's production is not an impressive feet however and I don't expect JO to be a big factor in the Celtics success.

They also got that other guy, Shaquille O'Neal. I suggested Shaq a new nick name on twitter (@sidk4) 'The Green Giant' however I did not get a response! Shaq is a nice option off the bench and should provide good defense in specific match ups. He adds a lot of entertainment value as well. Reporters will enjoy having the Diesel around to provide his expert commentary on the going ons in Bean Town. The Cavaliers picked up Shaq to guard juggernaut Dwight Howard last year. With Jermaine O'Neal, Kendrick Perkins, and the Diesel, Dwight Howard is going to have nightmares about playing the Cs.

Luke Harangody was drafted in the second round by the Celtics. Think Matt Bonner combined with Kobe Bryant. I am joking but I do like him a lot! Taken from here

Another guy the Cs brought in was Notre Dame standout Luke Harangody. He is a big and white center who loves to jack it from 3. I know what you are thinking, Matt Bonner...Ryan Anderson...Brian Cook (I know he is black but whatever)...Dare I say Nikoloz Tskitishvili? Lets get the record straight, Luke Harangody owns these fools! I am joking to some extent, he does not own them and Matt Bonner is not a fool. Harangody seems to have a flare that none of the others possess though. His shot form makes me laugh, and makes it even sweeter when tickles the twine. I actually expect this guy to get some minutes on the deep Celtics and will be a nice player for them.

The Celtics also drafted Avery Bradley. He is a super athletic scoring point guard out of Texas. He was good value for that late in the draft, and has very nice upside. He is going to learn a lot from this veteran team. More on him in a bit.

The only player other then Rasheed that the Celtics lost was shooting guard Tony Allen. This is a bit of a loss for them, Allen was a great player to have coming off the bench providing them with elite perimeter defense and the ability to finish emphatically on the break. There is going to be a big drop off at the backup 2 for the Celtics this year. Having to rely on Marquis Daniels and Avery Bradley is questionable for a team of this caliber. Bradley really has a great chance to flourish in his role as backup. Think Ty Lawson. If Bradley struggles this position will be a point of weakness for the Celtics.

Jermaine O'Neal will add a lot of toughness especially in the form of sliding punches to the Celtics. Taken from here

Looking at the big picture now. The Celtics still look to be a power house. The big three is getting older but they still have a few years of high level play left in them. Rajon Rondo, what can really be said at this point. He is an amazing point guard. Physically gifted and a basketball genius, the sky is truly the limit for him.

A big question mark for this team is the health of Kendrick Perkins. An extremely vital part of the team. His health will decide whether Boston is at a championship level or not.

Expect the Celtics and Heat to meet for an epic show down in the second round in 2011. I am so tempted to declare Celtics victor of this battle, but my gut is telling me I will look stupid in the future. I will predict a game 7 victory for Miami against Boston.

I am very high on Boston, however I don't believe they will have an amazing record. Why? Just look at the roster, you know these guys are going to be coasting in the regular season. When April comes, expect the real Celtics to show up.

Regular Season Prediction: 51-31 (fourth in east)
Offseason Grade: B (Losing Tony Allen sucks, resigning Nate is meh, good
value signings of both O'Neals, and awesome draft picking up
Bradley and Harangody)

Detroit Pistons Offseason Review

2010-08-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

Detroit is not a team I had often thought about prior to tonight. When I started thinking about what to write I began to realize the teams woes followed a certain theme. Detroit is a team full of sixth men, with a few nice prospects. The problem is they have all these fellows who would be great additions to teams with a good foundation, but they are not good starting points for a rebuilding franchise.

I'll start with Rodney Stuckey who has been their most disappointing player. Although scoring quite a bit his efficiency has not been superb. A look at his field goal percentage and three point percentage tells the story (shooting a lack luster 40% from the field, and atrocious 22% from 3) His inefficient scoring is not the only problem sadly. Stuckey struggles performing his duties as a point guard having trouble with court vision and awareness. His ineffectiveness as a floor general has been a big factor in the Pistons being a bottom team.

Not to say it has all been bad for Stuckey, even on poor percentages he still put up mediocre numbers. Hopefully as he continues to gain experience as a point guard things will come together for him. He has a lot of room to improve still. Stuckey right now would be a good sixth man. As a starting point guard, you really need to be able to get your team organized and running smoothly. As the sixth man he would be less responsible for distribution and be able to have more of a scorer mentality, a more suited role for his current skill set. However Stuckey has the highest plus minus on Detroit. Also he is 9.6 points above backup Will Bynum in terms of plus minus. Thus what I am trying to say is in an idealized setting he would be a backup and develop his skills in a lesser role. On the Pistons who do not have a great point guard option other then Stuckey it would be disastrous to demote him to sixth man.

Rodney Stuckey has been given high expectations being compared to 50 cent and even Dwyane Wade. He has had a hard time living up to this lofty praise. Image from here

The Pistons went on a spending binge during the offeason of 2009. One of the guys they shelved out a huge contract to was former Chicago Bull Ben Gordon. Gordon had impressed the world with his performance against the Celtics. However although some had been enchanted by his performance most still realized the reality of things. Gordon was/is still a 1 dimensional player who really brings very little to the game other then scoring. The Piston's brass was not one of the many people who had come to this obvious conclusion. Like Stuckey, he is not a fundamental piece to a winning team and is more suited to a 6th man role (if the team wants to be successful)

Charlie Villanueva was also a benefit of the Pistons 2009 spending spree. Sadly the Pistons retained the same theme that the Gordon signing followed. Scorer who does not play defense, or bring much to the table other then scoring. Again, these sort of signing can be beneficial if proper infrastructure is already in place. For example, if a team with a solid foundation, i.e the Spurs wants to add some punch off the bench, or add a bit more scoring to an already stout defensive starting lineup. Detroit is neither and they need to bring in winning type of players to get on the right track. Villanueva's development has been disappointing to me. He has not really added much to his game since his rookie year. I liked his personality a lot when he was a Raptor so it is sad for me to witness his stunted growth.

I'll continue getting the Piston's negatives out of the way. Like Stuckey, Jason Maxiel's development has been extremely disappointing. Other then the occasional highlight play, Maxiel has added nothing to his game. Actually, he has even regressed as a player statistically. Tracy Mcgrady is washed up (sorry t-mac), Richard Hamilton is declining, and Tayshaun Prince is just not that good.

Will Bynum is an interesting player. Resigned this summer for 3 years 10.5 million is a solid price for a decent back up point guard. He is a nice scorer to bring in off the bench who occasionally throws down some monster dunks. You can't hate on his game for the price he is paid but like many of the Detroit players he does not bring much other then scoring. Another knock on Bynum is his synergy with the other Detroit guard.

There are some bright spots for the Pistons. They do have some young players who look to be of the winning mold.

Demar Derozan was not happy with his exclusion from the Rookie team. Thuy models her new Derozan Jersey in support of our dear Raptor. Cheer up Demar!

Jonas Jerebko is a young Swedish forward who brings a lot of energy to the game. The sophomore brings great hustle which is evident in his body language and high offensive rebounding numbers. He looks to be a good piece for the Pistons moving forward. Fellow sophomore Austin Daye did almost nothing in his rookie year, he has shown flashes in summer league that he can be a very nice player though.

With the number 7 pick of the 2010 draft the Detroit Pistons selected Greg Monroe. There are mixed feelings on Monroe, many are pegging him to be a disappointment already. While I wont make any predictions on whether he will be a bust (I have not seen him play very much) he does seem to lack the elite level athleticism and desire to be more then a serviceable player at this level. That said he appears to have a nice overall game (although nothing blows you away) and displays good passing ability (actually he is quite an impressive passer from what I have seen) It will be a refreshing change to have a player who enjoys passing on the Pistons for a change. I am predicting him to have a serviceable career and a solid rookie season.

Ben Wallace revitalized his career by returning to where it all began for him (I know he was not drafted by Detroit but you know what I mean..)

The one, other bright spot for the Pistons was the return of Big Ben. Wallace just looks right in a Piston's uni and injected his career with a jolt of life in 2009/2010. Look for him to continue being an extremely serviceable C for a year or two.

To sum it all up, the Pistons players have very little synergy with each other. This is true except for a few players who I expect will be starting pieces in their rebuilding process. It will be a struggle this year in Detroit, I am expecting them to end up around the same record as last year. Slight improvements and Monroe's addition will be offset by the improved Eastern Conference.

Estimated Regular Season Record: 28-54 (Thirteenth in East)
Offseason Grade: C+ (Will regret passing up on Cousins if they could of had him but
Monroe was still a nice pick, and T-Mac probably wont add much)

Cleveland Cavaliers Offseason Review

2010-08-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

Unlike the Cleveland Show their wont be much to smile about for Cav's fans. From here

With the Lebron leaving his hometown roots in Ohio the city of Cleveland reverts to the former ghost town of basketball. I may be under estimating Lebron Jame's former supporting cast, but I currently see them as the second worst team in the east. The basis of this slighting is that the success of many Cleveland players was a byproduct of Lebron Jame's greatness. Indeed this seems reasonable, and for once I decided to do some research to explore the validity of my renegade notions.

My research began with a simple query into google's impressive database. The search was on "Cleveland's record without Lebron James" and yielded some results, I decided to check out an article called 'Cavs Prove They Can Win Without LeBron James' (by Pat McManamon - check it out here) if you want) The title frightened me a bit, could I be wrong already? The title was accurate, the Cavaliers had defeated the relatively powerful San Antonio Spurs without the King. Reading a bit further however I found some other interesting tid-bits, specifically

"The Cavs' record in their last 10 without LeBron? One-and-nine. This win was their first without him in three years and it came over a team that is the seventh-best in the West." - Pat McManamon

Again, congratulations to Cleveland for defeating San Antonio, but the main thing to see is the performance of the Cavs without Lebron. They had a win rate of 10 percent without the King.

Now I don't expect Cleveland to have 10 percent win rate in 2010/2011 but I am expecting them to win less then half of what they did in 2009/2010. Not only have they lost one of the greatest of all times, but there are many other factors that point to an even poorer season then commonly predicted for the Cavs.

First is moral. When your owner writes hate mail like a 13 year old teenage girl to the cities formal idol, you got some issues (although I thought his metaphor on going to heaven without dying was a nice touch) I can't help but think Lebron's departure is going to have a negative impact on the moral of everyone involved in the organization. The lack of positive energy will not create an environment conducive of winning.

If you read the above article you will notice Delonte West was one of the key contributors in their heroic victory over the Spurs. Well, he is gone too. I have been a fan of Delonte West the player and person for awhile now. His antics have been somewhat troublesome but I cannot help but love the guy for all the shenanigans he pulls off. On the court he is pretty underrated by many. A good shooter, with a variety of skills offensively (nice handle and impressive low post game) and an excellent perimeter defender. So losing this guy hurts.

Third their swing man rotation. I feel truly sorry for the folks of Cleveland. Going from Lebron James to a swing rotation of Anthony Parker, Joey Graham, and Jamario Moon is going to be painful to say the least. This trio 'graced' Toronto fans with the worst production from the 2, 3 spot in the NBA from 2007-2009. With Parker declining with age, Graham and Moon not improving at all, expect much the same.

With the absence of production from the wings, it will fall on Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao, and JJ. Hickson to carry the team offensively.

Antawn Jamison is bound to improve a bit statistically from his atrocious performance as a Cav last year. That said, he is still trending downwards as a player. I expect this decline to accelerate in the coming years.

Ramon Sessions is a decent backup who I don't know much about other then losing follows him wherever he goes. JJ Hickson has some upside and is very athletic however his skill level does not seem very high. Varejao is an amazing role player and will still provide energy, however his effectiveness wont be as high now that he is playing for a terrible team (more attention, less easy buckets from LBJ)

Mo Williams will have to make random and unexpected player growth for the Cavs to be considered average. From here

Finally Mo Williams. The burden is going to fall on this guy to lead the Cavs out of the bottom tier. For them to win over 30 games he is going to have to have a good year. Increases in most categories, most importantly points, assists, and field goal percentage. I am doubtful that this will happen (sorry for the lack of good reasoning, I just don't really like his game and don't see him improving)

In conclusion, poor Cleveland. The end.

Offseason Grade - F (Unlike Toronto they had a chance to retain their superstar and
failed to do so. Trading West for Sessions does not improve the
team but rids them of a head ache. Really they did nothing
else but sign Joey Graham which is not much)
2010/2011 Regular Season Record - 26-56 (Fourteenth in East)

Day 10: A photo of you taken over ten years ago

2010-08-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

Here I am with some inanimate objects who had been friends of mine. As you can see I am quite young here, thus fulfilling the requirements for this day's task! Indeed this trend in befriending objects that the average sane person would not call alive would continue into adulthood (adulthood might be a controversial remark on myself) I have always felt an odd thing, a thing that has enticed some degree of mockery from some. I always felt all objects had some sort of emotions, even if scientifically I was clearly wrong. In the novel I read recently 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' an exploration of what differentiates human beings and the fictional androids occurs. One term thrown around quite often is that of empathy, the capability of one to 'put yourself in the shoes of another. Yes this is something quite characteristic of our race of super advanced monkeys.

It would appear this ability is beneficial, however I am a case of empathy gone haywire. I put my self in the shoes of everything! Other people, clothing garments, plush animals, candies shaped like kittens, bloody everything. The result is a life of constant emotional turmoil over obviously useless thing like eating a chocolate bunny. Interestingly this feeling is trumped by that of fear and hunger. For example, I no problem destroying an invading centipede or spider that happens to cross my path. Additionally I have never felt the urge to become a vegetarian.

Well that is all I can say about this photo, my hair was so curly back then. Now it is labeled as the 'thickest hair I have ever seen' by 93% of hair dressers I have met.

Toronto Raptors Offseason Review

2010-08-12T18:55:00.001-07:00

From my top three teams I will now move to bottom three.

Starting with the bottom - my beloved Raptors.

It is going to be a very long year north of the border. There are some things to be excited about, that would be the future. As far as the present go the Raptors will compete for the worst record in the NBA amongst the likes of the T'wolves, and Cavaliers. I would have added the Nets in that group but I feel the addition of Murphy puts them above the bottom tier.

Here I am, overseeing the Raptors game against Washington in 2008

Even when looking to the future it is very uncertain. We have nobody we can really build around to be honest. This is not a slight to Demar Derozan, I really like him and believe he will have an impressive sophomore campaign. On the other hand it will be hard for him to become a go to guy on a championship team. He has a world of potential but the sheer amount of improvement he has to make to reach that level is immense. I feel his best case is somewhere around Brandon Roy (in terms of overall effectiveness - I am not saying he plays similar to Roy) and his worse case would be Dahntay Jones.

Other then Derozan we have some other nice young fellas. The notorious 'Young Gunz' of the Raptors consisting of Amir Johnson, Clarence 'Sonny' Weems, and Jarret Jack (I am not sure if he is an official member, he appears to be the overseer / parental figure of this group of rascal) These young guns are very talented and have a great attitude. They both have a great deal upside (although I suspect Amir and Sonny do not have all star potential - sorry guys >< ) and will end up being nice pieces on this team.

ball

There is also Raptors young big man Ed Davis. Again, he looks like a decent player who will have some impact even as rookie. However his upside (based on limited sample size) is all star at best. I was impressed by his shot blocking during the summer league, other then that his game seems solid. As stated earlier (implied by view on his upside) nothing else really blew me away though. His most impressive play came when he caught the ball in the post, faced up and made a hard drive right, spinning back left and finish against a second defender plus the foul. This is a classic and deadly move on the block and the fact that he can pull it off fairly gracefully at this stage is a good sign. He showed a nice feathery touch on his face up mid range jumper as well. Those were the highlights though, and a majority of the time his baskets were garbage points or him finishing off a pass (where he showed decent hands and a good touch) I would of really liked to see more intensity from him and assertiveness, he has a fairly calm and collected demeanor on the court (or perhaps that is a good thing, I have been a KG fan for too long I guess)

And then there is Brian Colangelo's prized gem - Andrea Bargnani. By no means is he a bust, but he has not been good either. Statistically he has been decent, but his effect on winning has been minimum. The main problem is his lack of basketball IQ. He needs to get some popcorn, kick his feet up, and watch a bunch of game tape so he can see exactly what he does that is effective / ineffective. Example of effective moves include catch and shoot threes, and offensive low post into hook shots and layups. Examples of ineffective actions are compromised by sudden out of rhythm low post fadeaways, and pull up mid range jumpers lacking any elevation (honestly he does not jump at all on his pull up) I really don't know what to expect from this guy next year, he could average 20 PPG, but what will his effect be on winning? I think his weaknesses (poor IQ) will be less evident if he is not playing with Jose Calderon. Think about it - A point guard who can't keep Darrick Martin in front of him, and a center who has no clue when to rotate. A lethal combination and a potent mixture if you're interested in sucking. That being said breaking up this duo of darkness will result in a more effective Andrea Bargnani (in all honesty this is based on my own instinct. The statistics don't really back up that the particular combination of Bargnani and Calderon equates to losing. I am not intelligent enough to devise a way to analyze statistics to isolate what we need to find an answer)

Statistically Bargnani probably missed this rebound

Antonio Daniels beats Jose off the dribble with his 'blazing' speed

Financially Toronto made a solid deal getting rid of Turk. Barbosa will likely not do well, his production has been falling for awhile now, but again that wont make the deal a failure. I suspect Turk will have a semi bounce back year in phoenix. I am expecting an awe inspiring 14/4/4 from Mr. 'ball'

Colangelo made a very Colangelo'ish deal (that is it epitomized his refusal to acknowledge that sometimes to become a great team you have to not be a great team for awhile) in signing Linus Kleiza to a 4 year 18 million dollar deal (Approx.) A solid deal in terms of value, Kleiza is a serviceable player who would be welcome on most teams I imagine. If we still had Bosh I would of liked this signing, as it would have propelled us from mediocrity to a slightly higher level of mediocrity, which is a good thing. However going from crap to slightly less crappy is not a good thing. It takes away from development of our youth and hurts our draft stock. The concept of making decisions based on draft stock makes Colangelo feel as if he is ****ing a brick.

The Raptor's future is shrouded in mystery. With the varying potential in our players, and most having ceiling not incredibly high we really need only one thing.
A superstar. When you suck, you get one from the draft, and that is what we need to do. I don't know who it will be, Harrison Barnes? Kyle Irving? But we need that one guy who has 'it'. So fellow raptors fans, we have hope, and it stems from the fact we will suck, suck mightily. We will have a great chance of landing the number 1 pick in the NBA draft. That is our hope - and that is pathetic sadly :P

Good Night!

Offseason Grade - C- (Lost Bosh and made weird FA signings but dumped Turk and got
good value at 13 with Ed Davis)
2010/2011 Regular Season Record - 25 - 57 (Fifteenth in East)

Orlando Magic Offseason Review

2010-08-11T20:01:00.001-07:00

Prior to the 2009/2010 NBA season I had proclaimed amongst my circle of friends a bold predictions.

Orlando would
- Record the best regular season record
- Win an NBA championship

Dwight Howard would
- Win his first MVP
- Win his second DPOY (hereby making him the third player since the introduction of
DPOY in 1982 to win both awards in one year. The two others being Michael
Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon)

I was very high on Orlando at the time, clearly. My opinion had been that the finals against the Lakers in 2008/2009 was a lot closer then many people had thought. I felt they had all the tools to win it, unfortunately they were a big let down. They had unbelievable depth at every position and the type of game plan that wins championships. An above average point guard who could make shots, wings who could shoot and penetrate, power forwards who could spread the floor, and the most dominating defensive force in the league at C.

Here I am during the 2007/2007 season wearing a newly purchased Howard jersey.

Looking at why they came short in the 2009/2010 will explain why I see them taking a step back in 2010/2011.

Jameer Nelson is overrated. He is an above average point guard but not even in the second tier (or third maybe) For a team so offensively gifted his assist numbers are low, and other stats remain relatively unimpressive. Compare his numbers to Toronto Raptor's backup point guard Jarret Jack (who is not generally considered to be comparable to Nelson) and you might be surprised to see that Jack is actually statistically superior to Nelson. Additionally the guy did not block a single shot all of last season. I know he is short but come on man! I am sorry if I am going crazy on the hating, I think he is still a good point guard, just not great.

The wings were a big disappointment. Specifically Vince Carter, and Mickael Pietrus. Reddick was outstandingly mediocre but honestly not impressive either. I wont spend any time talking about how Reddick was decent, as a Raptor's fan I am more interested in talking about how Vince Carter sucks (evil laugh) It is just over for this guy. He is not a good player anymore. He has reverted to his jump shot lover affair he started in his latter years in Toronto and I doubt that will ever end. He received a jolt of life temporarily in NJ but is back to has returned to Orlando as 'Wince' Carter. Even if he has a boost of motivational energy he is too old to use it. Mickael Pietrus has been a player everyone has expected to take the next leap for awhile now. Sadly, is has never happened, the only thing he has increased is his cockiness. I find that annoying. Moving along.

Rashard Lewis, the most overpaid player in the NBA. This title was bearable prior to 2009/2010 due to his decent production. He fit the role in Orlando well. Last year he just sucked though. He declined in almost every important statistic, but none more important then 3 pointers made. I see this decline not as a anomaly but a trend in his production. His decline is going to be a big factor in wavering future.

Dwight Howard, what can I say. This guy is a beast and he needs to be put in the same category as Kobe and Lebron in terms of their effect on winning. The only way for Orlando to take the next step is for Howard to take the next step offensively. Will this happen? His training with the greatest center of all time Hakeem Olajuwon could help. If he can gain more confidence in the post (and skill) Orlando has a chance to prove me wrong. I am skeptical that he can really take a big leap in that area this year. Hopefully I am proven wrong since I have historically been a big support of Howard (see pic)

All in all, Orlando has done nothing to improve this offseason. They have added nobody and lost a very solid player in Matt Barnes. Additionally decline in the performances of Carter, and Lewis are expected. The east has improved, making winning even more difficult. Being in the southeast has become a lot tougher.
I see them as a tier 2 team in the east, with very slim hopes at winning a championship. Dwight Howard taking huge steps forward seems to be their only real hope at winning it all.

Offseason Grade - D- (They did nothing and lost Barnes)
2010/2011 Regular Season Record - 54 - 28 (Third in East)

Chicago Bulls Offseason Review

2010-08-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Bulls have walked this path before. Entering the 2006/2007 season the Bulls had a young core consisting of Kirk Heinrich, Ben Gordon, and Luol Deng lead them to some moderate success in the playoffs. The Bulls then lured defensive juggernaut Ben Wallace from the powerhouse Pistons with an extremely lucrative contract.

This year, the Bulls boast a young promising core of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson. To that young core they have added 2 time all star Carlos Boozer. I am by no means a fan of Boozer, the whole free agency scandal really annoyed me, but he is really going to help this team out. The addition of Boozer all but guarantees the Bulls to be a lock as the best rebounding team in the NBA. Boozer will also give the Bulls an above average post presence that they have been lacking for what seems like forever.

The Bulls may have added Carlos Boozer but their two most important players are still Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose. Joakim Noah has proved to be a winner at every level. He plays with unprecedented passion and his approach to life on and off the court, to quote Kevin Harlen "has no regard for human life" I expect Noah to continue to develop and dunk on people's face pony tail flying wildly.

Derrick Rose has apparently greatly improved his shooting, especially from long range. From my own observation Rose has also increased his presence and command of the floor. He seems to have a stronger demeanor now, in his mind he feels he is a super star and to me the confidence is very evident. I think those two improvements, combined with his already godlike physical traits will help him reach the top tier of point guards in 2010/2011.

All of this, and they have added a very solid 2 guard in Ronnie Brewer, 3 point marksman Kyle Korver (a personal NBA 2k9 favorite of mine) and defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau (this guy was the real head coach of Boston) I feel this team is the now top of the second tier in the East. This may seem slightly controversial however I feel Orlando has taken a small step back and Boston is going to be in cruise control during the regular season. On the other hand if healthy, Chicago will have the peddle on the metal for the entire season.

It is going to be a very exciting year in Chicago! I look forward to hearing Chuck Swirsky going insane all year, onions baby onions!

Offseason Grade - A- (S if Lebron signed in Chicago)
2010/2011 Regular Season Record - 55 - 27 (Second in East)

Miami Heat Offseason Review

2010-08-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

The dust is finally starting to settle and we are getting a relatively clear view of the 2010/2011 NBA landscape. While it is blatantly obvious that it is going to be a rough year for my precious Raptors, the eastern conference as a whole (especially at the top) is looking extremely competitive.

Miami seems to be the clear cut favorites in the East with the additions of King Crab and Brontosaurus. Every day I ponder how the birth of this fearsome trio was even possible - let alone legal! Clearly this power shift was legal and did happen though and Miami is now a force to be reckoned with. To top it off they have cut off all their useless fat, and managed to assemble an above average supporting cast.

http://bbs.clutchfans.net

Moving in another direction for a moment here is a quick tidbit on CB4 and LBJ's decisions to join Flash in South Beach.

As a Toronto fan I wish him the best of luck in Miami. A lot of Raptor's fans are upset by Bosh's use of Twitter and social media during his free agency. Although some of his tweets have been borderline annoying for me, in general I don't feel he really did anything wrong. He is right, he was a wolf in a cage (a tweet that aroused much anger on realgm) in Toronto. He was surrounded by players who could obviously not match his skill level, but more importantly could not match his effort and intensity on the basketball court. Again, there was almost no reason for him to stay. It was the best decision for him and us to move own to the next stage in his career.

For me, it was a joy getting to see Bosh grow into the top power forward in the NBA (in my opinion) I always saw a bit of him in myself (timid, techie, lanky) and had a vested interest in his career. I really hope he does well and gets the recognition he deserves. I also worry that when/if it does happen his ego may get out of control. I really hope he stays somewhat humble but it will be hard. From my observation of Bosh I feel he may have certain insecurities about a lot of things. National recognition for one. With insecurity comes a highly fluctuating personality, one that can ride the waves of success all the way into the sky. With your head in the clouds that ego gets pretty crazy and you act unnatural and awkward. I suspect this may happen to our beloved dino, but I am hoping I am wrong.

But anyways, farewell dear dinosaur, I will cheer for you and not boo when you return to Toronto :)

http://www.yaysports.com

I'll keep things short with Lebron and "The Decision"

I agree that winning a championship with 3 superstars (2 would of been fine in terms of legacy i.e Jordan and Pippen) makes a championship a less impressive feet. It will be very hard indeed for Lebron match the legacies of Jordan, Kobe, Magic, and Bird with his new team. That said, who cares really? All the analysts and media guys do, but does Lebron? He could believe that this choice does not take away from his legacy. I personally feel this was his way of saying screw all that, I honestly just want to be happy, and I can't hate on that. In the end if he does not have the legacy of Kobe or the others, he was still an amazing player. Hopefully that is enough to satisfy a king.

Back to the Heat

Joel Anthony will see a lot of minutes at center and should be extremely solid for them. Actually a bit more on Joel Anthony, being Canadian I have seen him play for the national team and heard a bit more on him then the average fan. This guy flat out gives it his all whenever I have seen him play, he is all about team and effort. He is also one of those guys who could care less if he gets dunked on. This is a good thing and that attitude help him contribute in making Miami a top defensive team (when you look at their roster it is very surprising) in 2009/2010. Now replace Michael Beasley and Dorell Wright with Chris Bosh and Lebron James and you have a team that looks to be a lock to repeat this achievement.

Mike Miller is a perfect fit as a sixth man. Mario Chalmers seem to be a good fit, I haven't seen him play too much but my impression is he is a decent shooter and known for his perimeter defense. Which is really all they need from him. Finally Jamal Magloire, Shavlik Randolf, James Jones, and some second round picks who are all below average players but should be good enough to get by.

The only move Miami has done that I have not been as big on was sending Beasley out of town. I really don't know the inside story but I thought the big three of Miami would be able to bring out the best in B-easy. I guess trading him freed up space to resign Anthony and acquire Mike Miller? If that is the case then it was a solid move. Speaking of Beasley, props to Michael Beasley Sr. for making a funny on twitter (for those who have not heard do a Google search on "Michael Beasley Sr. Delonte West")

In conclusion the Miami Heat had the greatest offseason in the history of the NBA (and possibly sports) and are "The" team to watch in 2010/2011. Getcha popcorn ready folks it's going to be a wild ride in South Beach.

Off season Grade - S (better then A+)
2010/2011 Record - 65 - 17 (First in East)

9 - A Photo You Took

2010-07-15T21:09:00.001-07:00

I thought all of them were suppose to be photos you took! Oh well, here are some of my favorites.

Those are a few I like. Looking through my photos I realize I am not a great photographer! I have taken many but I need to think more and learn the technical side of photographer more thoroughly. Okay, until next time then!

P.S Thuy if you read this I miss you :(!

8 - A photo that makes you angry/sad

2010-07-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo that makes me happy usually but a bit sad right now. This is my lovely girlfriend. She is visiting Vietnam for the first time right now and I miss her dearly. Yes, it has only been one day but still! Distance can be a difficult thing.

And this is a neighborhood cat I call Blood Clot George.

This cat does some crazy things. The craziness includes sneaking into my house, sleeping in my bed (after breaking in somehow) and random extremely dangerous dashes across the street. All of these fetes of lunacy earned him the title Blood Clot. He makes me angry because I worry about that little kitty surviving with his renegade lifestyle. George also makes me sad since I would love to adopt him but cannot due to members of the household being allergic to kitties.

7 - A Picture That Makes you Happy

2010-07-04T20:56:00.001-07:00

FREAKING CUTE!!! ( taken from here )
..
But anyways here is one of my own photos that makes me smile.

Well this is a very flamboyant picture of myself that usually makes people hoot and holler. I look terrible in many ways but the reaction of others to it makes it kind of memorable. Members of the Kobayashi family are well aware of it's existence as are my friends.

It was taken when I was in grade 12, an odd time indeed. I had made the horrible decision to dye my hair orange. My current style was a bit odd as well, highly composed of poorly fitting dress shirts and dress pants.

The picture was a swift, unanticipated assault by an uncle or aunt who I cant remember specifically... Everyone quickly was made aware of the embarrassing photograph.

So yes! Although I feel silly this is a photo that makes me happy.

6 - Fallen Blog Projects

2010-06-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hello! For this blog entry I get to write about whatever so here it is...

The blog project is moving along at a snail's pace and thus I thought it would be a nice time to remind myself of my previous failed blog/photo project - 'project 365'.

Project 365 was downgraded to project 64 - here are the results!

Not bad I guess, you might notice at some point I totally became a lazy bum and took like 4 pictures of my face in a row. It was a lot more difficult then I thought, to take a picture that summarized my day, everyday. Next year I will attempt to tackle this beast again with more dedication. Hopefully I learn from this failure and finish my current blog project!

Gosh I wanted to write some more random stuff about 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?', my new job @ RIM, and about the confusing name of Vietnam's capital, but I am so lazy all of a sudden! Maybe another time, Good Night!!!

5 - Favorite Quote

2010-06-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

"Nobody's perfect, but you're perfect for me"

Moi

(I will try to add to this later, I have never been a big quote guy)

4 - Favorite Book

2010-06-20T22:11:00.001-07:00

Coming Soon!

I am reading a book right now which is a rare occurrence. It is a Sci-Fi novel called 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' by Phillip K. Dick.

Anyways (like many things) it is hard for me to say a favorite book at this point. I enjoyed quite a few, here is a short list:
-All Tolkien
-Harry Potter Series
-Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon
.
.
Um.. Let me check my book shelf please!
.
.
-The Day of the Triffids, The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
-Devil in a Blue Dress, White Butterfly by Walter Mosley

Those are some of my favorites, another I really enjoyed was Aristotle's Poetics and Rhetoric. Although dense at times, Aristotle's surgical interpolation of persuasion is extremely interesting and a fun read. His neurotic need to classify everything into lists is entertaining and also insightful (most of the time - there are points where things seem a bit silly to maintain a graceful classification). The book was enjoyable in conjunction with my English writing requirement for Computer Science students. Not only that, I got to share it with my lovely girlfriend. I would bore her over the telephone with it. Reading it became an ideal lullaby technique for lulling her into a deep blissful sleep. No doubt my monotone voice aided in that! Well yes, reading this book together helped solidify our bond, making it very special to me.

Apologies for the lack of activity (although I am positive anyone who actually reads this (do you exist?) is quite used to this sort of neglect from me) I have actually been busy for once with job applications, interviews, working out (Believe it or not), and birthdays!) I hope to stay relatively active with this blog project in the future.

Now to further nail in some more concepts that I should have had permanently in my head for years (RIM interview tomorrow)

3 - Favorite TV Show

2010-06-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

Although not watched on television my favorite show is Naruto. Breaking down the show into components I will explain why I love this show step by step :)

1) Story - While the plague of many Shōnen animes is the story line, many (but not all) feel this is not the case with Naruto. Often in the said genre plot line is broken up iteratively into discreet parts. A little more on this sort of common Shōnen plot structure. Each part of these broken down plot blocks tends to follow a very similar archetype. For example it might be a five step process like this:

i) Peace
ii) New bad guy shows up
iii) Over confident main character beaten up and humbled
vi) Train
v) Beat bad guy

Anyways there is a certain satisfaction fans get from the constant defeating of new powerful bad guys, but the overall grandeur of the series if decreased exponentially with each iteration. Not only that it is hard not to feel like a silly billy observing the predictability of the plot.

Naruto, as I said does not follow this structure. The plot follows a continuous flow (minus filler seasons, but I will pretend those don't exist..) where elements at any point usually connect gracefully with other points. Not only that, but the plot is really interesting, cool, and touching, I think.

2) The Universe - One of the biggest strengths of the show is the fictional universe created by Masashi Kishimoto. The landscape, architecture of the show does a good job setting a good mood. Second everything about being a ninja in Naruto is well done. The techniques are unique and in general pretty awesome. More importantly is the strategy and choreography of fights actually make a lot of sense. That is a phrase the show, makes a lot of sense. But the most important factor in making Naruto stand out are the characters. They're Well developed, memorable, and given lives that connect their hearts to yours. They die too, a very sadistic thing to say, but it is an important element of story telling as a struggle that everyone can relate to in someway. A happy fictional universe where everyone good magically survives seems nice, but I feel foolish letting myself be taken for a ride emotionally by something that ridiculous.

3) Animation - There are moments in Naruto where the drawings are not so great, especially in the beginning of shippuuden, but overall the animation is quite good. My understanding is that there are two different teams that animate episodes, it is really obvious that one team does a much better job then the other to me. I cannot recall where I heard this from, so I could be wrong, nonetheless some episodes are great while others are absolute bollocks. When the good team is doing work, the show looks awesome, evident by the thousands of music videos people make using Naruto primarily.

4) Sound - A huge strength of the show, the music helps set the mood in this show and coupled with great voice acting will blow you away!

That seems to sum up why I enjoy this show so much... For me what brings it above everything else I have watched is how it captures the pain of individuals and situations. It shows how the individuals are effected and the ways they deal with it, positive or negative. I guess this part of the show hits a note for me personally, as I feel seeing how people deal with the issues that pain them interesting and at times touching.

2 - Favorite Movie

2010-06-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

This favorite stuff is difficult stuff. The first movie I ever saw was the Little Mermaid, however it was not even close to my number one movie. The first movie I had to leave due to fright was Jurassic Park, not my favorite either. As a human being, I have always had an affinity for various geeky activities. Amongst them - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, Mega Man, wearing bow ties, spending 3-20 hours playing games, and Pokemon.

Anyways through out my childhood a large amount of nerdanium was accumulating in the nerd center of the human body and I was also reading every novel in the fictional universe of Middle Earth (including The Silmarillion). The scene had been set for me to really really enjoy the film adaption of The Lord of The Rings "The Fellowship of The Ring" and I did. There was a fairly violent explosion of nerd emotions within me that ended in injury (a lotr inspired hockey net pole sword fight left me with a fractured bone in my arm).

Love is pain and pain is love and I loved that film! This film makes me feel inspired, sad, hopeful, and is overall very epic. My favorite scene is Arwen carrying Frodo away from the Black Riders. The hairs on my neck stand straight up with excitement when Arwen begins chanting her spell. I decided to look up a bit more on the spell and found that it is called the bruinen spell and goes like this,

Nîn o Chithaeglir
lasto beth daer;
Rimmo nîn Bruinen
dan in Ulaer!

'Waters of the Misty Mountains
listen to the great word;
flow waters of Loudwater
against the Ringwraiths!'

(credit to http://www.elvish.org for the translation)

...hehe cool !!! Anyways Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Rings, my favorite movie.

1 - Favorite Song

2010-06-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

Erik Satie - Gymnopédie No.1 and No.2

This is not my favorite song. Although I like it a lot, it is pretty difficult to have a number one song. Perhaps with some extraordinary memory attached to it, one could chose a favorite with a firm resolve.

For me, I do have a lot of memories with an audio sound track playing in the background, however I cannot pinpoint one that stands out among the rest. A lot of people point back to songs like the one playing during their first dance (I don't even remember mine, I was a nervous wreck), their wedding dance (Not yet!), or maybe the first time they... er nevermind.. But most of the songs in my memory come from games. Well, some example include Mega Man, Super Mario, Final Fantasy, and Earthbound. Those I would say are very nostalgic for me, but none are what I would call favorites.

Now to get back on track, although not mine, this is my friend Andrew's favorite song to play on the piano, and is becoming one of mine as well. He introduced it to me although it was already sitting on my piano bench. The song itself is simple and soothing. In its simplicity is a lot of different emotions however.

Playing this song makes you feel quite odd... You feel relaxed yet slightly on edge. The sound can be haunting and also happy and hopeful. I wonder what Satie was thinking and feeling when he wrote this?

Anyways here is a link if anyone reads this and is interested in listening.

30 Day Tumblr Challenge on Blogspot

2010-06-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

Yep! Here's the schedule -

Day 1: Your favourite song
Day 2: Your favourite movie
Day 3: Your favourite television program
Day 4: Your favourite book
Day 5: Your favourite quote
Day 6: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 7: A photo that makes you happy
Day 8: A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9: A photo you took
Day 10: A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11: A photo of you taken recently
Day 12: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13: A fictional book
Day 14: A non-fictional book
Day 15: A fanfic
Day 16: A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17: An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, and so forth)
Day 18: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19: A talent of yours
Day 20: A hobby of yours
Day 21: A recipe
Day 22: A website
Day 23: A YouTube video
Day 24: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25: Your day, in great detail
Day 26: Your week, in great detail
Day 27: Thi month, in great detail
Day 28: This year, in great detail
Day 29: Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30: Whatever tickles your fancy

March 15, 2010 - Curry

2010-03-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

On my mind, whether it be Stephen, the popular spice,
or fun f x y = x + y it's all good when it comes to curr[y/ied/ing]

Coming soon - project 365, and maybe something substantial...

Feb 17, 2010 - Mah Bad

2010-02-18T00:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a shit load of pictures,

Feb 17, 2010

Bosh Beastly But Raptors Rocked in OT

Feb 16, 2010

The prototype for the new Brampton Bus with improved power, steering and reliability

Feb 15, 2010
Missing!!

Feb 14, 2010

A great day - first Valentine's day in ages

Feb 13, 2010

Steven-appointed watch doggies for my lover in the far away land of Bramptonia

Feb 12, 2010

Speed Dating - tiring stuff.

Feb 11, 2010

I hope this doesn't scare you - because this is really me

Feb 10, 2010

Snow and a lovely lady!

Feb 9, 2010

Subway is the new horse and carriage

Feb 8, 2010
MISSING

Feb 7, 2010

How sad, poor Yoshi and Monokoro..I hope they did not suffer the same cruel fate as this lonely turtle.

Feb 6, 2010

Puppies - Some Day

Feb 5, 2010

Tie Fridays take two,

Feb 4, 2010

Hey there - you are like me, I like you!

February 3, 2010 - Memory

2010-02-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Feb 3 2010
Sometimes I wonder (very original start..) just how accurate my memory of the past really is. Sadly, I struggle mightily to recall specific details about events that occurred a week or saw prior to this moment. Thus, my brain, I imagine does it's best job to fill in the multitude of blanks, in itself.

So I wonder again, how good a job this brain of mine, or I guess just myself ( I am my brain?! ), does at retelling my tale. First of all since my brain is me, and has my best interest in mind, it is surely possible that I lie to myself.

Interestingly memories that produce strong emotional responses (thereby releasing more stress hormones) produce vivid, but often inaccurate memories.

Perhaps rather then whine about lost / inaccurate memory it can be seen as reassuring that these moments of pain are somewhat reassembled to help us move along through life. Or maybe this is a bad thing, to live a lie. Perhaps I want the truth regardless of the harshness of reality! To which my brain might respond 'You can't handle the truth!'

Feb 2, 2010 - Nights of the Living Dead

2010-02-03T01:26:00.000-08:00

Feb 2, 2010

CSC324 /Die
Feb 1, 2010

January 31, 2010 - Catching Up

2010-01-31T23:04:00.000-08:00

January 31, 2010

A pair of lonely marsupials - sorry guys ;(

January 30, 2010
[Coming Soon]

January 29, 2010

Come on Dance Dance, Come on Dance Dance, Babyyyy

January 28, 2010

This picture says a lot. Here is the narratio to this tale. I say the CSSU sells rotton moldy Reeses Peanutbutter cups. Five minutes pass, Stephanie returns well aware of the information I have passed on with the said moldy treats.

I wonder why this happened. I came up with a few possibilities.
a) Forbidden /\ Treat => Good
b) Steven /\ Advice => Unreliable
c) {Stephanie /\ Listening} = Empty Set
d) a /\ b /\ c

January 27, 2010

Who ever named Poutine was lacking a marketing perspective. This stuff aught to be more popular I reckon.

January 26 2010 - NBA Midseason Fantasy Review

2010-01-26T21:46:00.000-08:00

PICTURE OF THE DAY - How Corny! ;)

The NBA has reached the midway point of the 2009/2010 season. That makes it a good time to look at my fantasy teams and reflect on the events that have transpired.

All of my teams are Yahoo Fantasy Basketball teams and 9-Cat Rotisserie format, Here are my standing for my 3 leagues.

League Name	Team Name	Points	Rank	Point Difference
DK	DK	65	1 out of 10	10 points ahead of lead
Yahoo Public 324833	DK	75	1 out of 12	1 points ahead of lead
Yahoo Public 324834	DK	79	1 out of 12	7 points ahead of lead

*Sigh why is there a big chunk of space there? Oh well.

My rosters:
League DK
Russel Westbrook
Jason Richardson
Chris Paul
~~Caron Butler~~
Carl Landry
LaMarcus Aldridge
Troy Murphy
Andrew Bynum
Andre Iguodala
Aaron Brooks
Nene Hilario

Yahoo Public 324833
Deron Williams
Jason Terry
~~Trevor Ariza~~
Michael Beasley
Nene Hilario
David West
Chris Bosh
Troy Murphy
Aaron Brooks
Carl Landry
Luol Deng

Yahoo Public 324834
Aaron Brooks
Luol Deng
Kevin Durant
~~Jason Richardson~~
Luis Scola
~~Trevor Ariza~~
Brook Lopez
Channing Frye
Deron Williams
Nene Hilario
Mehmet Okur

Almost all the underlined players are guys I had pegged for big years at seasons start. I went out of my way to pick up a couple guys namely, Brooks, Deng, Nene in drafting. These guys I felt I would get good value for and it has paid off (Brooks 57th, Nene 18th, Deng 47th). I managed to grab Brooks late in every team, and Nene in 2/3 leagues (I picked up Galinari in league DK and recently traded him for Nene), and Deng in 2/3 leagues. These solid value picks have helped me reach the top in all 3 leagues.

Another guy I targeted was Oden, Marcus Camby, and Channing Frye. Greg Oden got off to a beast start, but sadly we all know how that ended. At the same time he got injured I had just traded Marcus Camby for Jason Richardson in league DK, probably my biggest blunder of the season (up there with not following intuition on Butler instead opting to listen to Rick Kamla and Dennis Scott lol). The Camby trade was fueled due to an at the time dire need for 3 pointers. This backfired big time as Chris Paul returned from injury, Brooks heating up from 3, and J-Richs addition causing me to have excess 3 pointers. Losing Camby hurt a lot, statistically and mentally as it was a hit to my pride. Jason Richardson has been hugely disappointing as well after his hot start. Luckily solid overall play across the board has allowed me to stay up top.

Anyways, here are some of the surprises for me of the first half,

Danilo Gallinari - I don't think anyone could of predicted top 35 production out of this Italian Stallion.

Marcus Camby - I knew I got good value late for him, but I did not think he could remain healthy as much as he has. I cringe every time I see him put up 12/20,7 or something.

Gerald Wallace - 42 Games played, great to see G Force stay healthy for once, we have always loved his game.

Zach Randolph - My god, Z Bo has beasted it this year and has Memphis playing great ball. He has been a fantasy monster this year and become an improved team mate.

Stephen Curry - I am not sure why this is surprising, a dynamite scorer playing on Golden State. Maybe it was the fear of Don Nelson that had me weary of Curry. I wish I had conquered this fear, but Nelson's rape on the career of our beloved Anthony Randolph had me traumatized.

Corey Maggette - The Xzibit look-a-like had never been one of my favorite players but he has having a great year averaging 20/6 on a ridiculous 54.1% from the field. He will never be great from 3 or get many steals and blocks but you can count on him to boost your free throws as he gets to the line an unbelievable 8.4 times while shooting a smooth 84.7%.

Carl Landry - I quickly picked this guy up in 2/3 of my leagues and he has become one of my favorite players in the entire NBA. This guy is a straight up baller and psycho. He plays with more ferocity and heart then anyone else in the NBA. This guy is the front runner for sixth man of the year right now with his main competition being Maggette and Crawford.

http://news.xinhuanet.com

This man here has helped me place first in all my leagues.

Biggest Disappointments (for me)

Caron Butler - Damn I messed up on this one. My intuition told me Butler's value would take a hit with Arenas back, which appeared to be true. Lately Butler has not picked up his play with the Arenas fiasco, so his decline appears to be more so based on his own performance rather then circumstance.

Deron Williams - He has not been horrible, but his numbers are down across the board. Watching him last year I felt this guy could put motha *****s on skates at will. I just don't feel the same way anymore. I love his game so I hope he picks it up.

Anthony Randolph - When given minutes has been solid, but Don Nelson's inconsistent rotations have destroyed this guys fantasy value. He just needs an opportunity to learn and the sky is the limit. Fire Don Nelson.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com

Enough said...

January 25, 2010 - Reintegration

2010-01-25T23:01:00.000-08:00

January 25, 2010
Me and Thuy (I think mostly her) decided we should eat out less. After 2 weeks of this vendetta against dining at restaurants I would give us a grade of F. We have most likely ate out even more since this decision. This is clearly evident in my blog, as some have pointed out all I talk about is what we eat. Oh well. On the bright side however, I brought 2 bagels with cream cheese to school. That is 1 day out of approx. 10 since I said I would pack a lunch. Letter grade of D minus perhaps?

To reiterate the dining out and lack of non-food content on this blog, here is what we ate today!

Thuy T's Chili Burger

If 2 weeks is a large enough sample, it appears double Thuy and I are making Monday visits to various eateries a tradition. This week - Gabby's Bar and Grill. Lately all I can think about is chicken wings. While others were enjoy classic Quebecois dishes (poutine..smoked meat) I was going for chicken wings non-stop.

Er...It has been awhile so,

http://blogs.neoseeker.com/

http://blogs.neoseeker.com/

Lang is a cool guy, Scyther, Scizor are cool bugs! Fair enough I think.
Finally, to end this post I just have one last thing to say SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS!!!

January 24, 2010 - Back 'Home'

Back 'home' from CUSEC! I think this picture sums up 'home' and CUSEC nicely.

Must..Learn..Ruby???S

Jan 23, 2009 - CUSEC

2010-01-23T23:33:00.000-08:00

January 23, 2010

CUSEC came to a close on this day. It was an interesting experience. Looking back at what I thought of the speeches my first day, I feel now that the overwhelming feeling I experienced was based more on the people surrounding me then the speeches. The people around me on this trip were amongst the most brilliant, I believe, of all the attendees of CUSEC. It seems my nature is to feel that the light glorifying another only emphasizes the shadow around me.

I had the most fun today, I was really excited to go to Mont Royal. I spent around 200 on drinks and clubs in Montreal but all that really does not compare to that for me. I guess I am a dork for that. Me, Andrei, and Greywolf (Alex) climbed up the 'volcano' and made it up to the top before dark. The view from the top
is worth the climb. Our descent was also quite fun, why walk when you can slide? Instead of struggling down the slippery slopes, we slid down almost all the way down on my butt. It was quite well executed except for Andrei almost having his face impaled by a branch. So this was the highlight of the trip for sure.

The city from the top

Unidentified red goo

A peanut on the mountain
Well, CUSEC was an different experience for me, time will tell if I benefited from it. I am glad to be heading
back to Toronto though, feeling a bit homesick.

January 22, 2010

Lately I have observed (well only twice that I can think of) my behavior following a tu quoque like pattern. It has led to some bad results.

Case One: Perhaps a common phenomenon. About a week ago me and Thuy were trotting along Bloor Street. I guess instead of using the street lights themselves as markers to tell me when to stop and go, I simply imitated the set of legs in front of me. The end result was a completely unintentional J-Walk. Luckily we were only nearly trampled by an incoming vehicle.

Case Two: As I lay in bed this morning, the clock struck seven. I swerved my head to observe my chamber mates were all still induced in a peaceful slumber. This group hibernation remained in tact until around noon sadly. At this time we had missed 3 speeches.

January 21, 2010

Well I am currently in Montreal at the CUSEC conference. The festivities
kicked off today at 8 30 AM.

We woke up at 7 am but Stephanie, Ian, and I decided to go back to sleep and arrive at the end of the registration period rather then beginning. The time to make it by was 9:30 latest, we woke up at 9:30. It is funny how this forbidden sleep is so damn amazing though. That 2:30 hours of procrastinating the commencement of our day was heavenly. I must of had roughly 20 dreams, it felt like an eternity.

The festivities began with speeches. The speakers were Matt Knox, Pete Forde (Unspace), Sergei Savchenko (EA), and Reg Braithwaite.

Well my experience with the speeches has been a mixed bag. The first two were not overly technical and this was good for me. Due to my lack of working experience I am not up to par with the lingo, there are even a bunch of programming languages and concepts I am completely ignorant about (Ruby, Fortran, Ruby on Rails, Cloud?). This left me feeling a couple things on one hand it made me feel insecure, especially in comparison to a lot of the other people at the conference. Some of the other students at CUSEC have done some amazing things, once I remember ill link them. On the other hand, it exposed me to a lot of ideas that help me feel more connected with software industry as a whole which is good.

The EA talk was far too techie for me to get absorb anything.

Pete Forde brought up a funny quote (not sure by who) it went something like, If you find yourself procrastination you aught to be working in whatever you are doing during this procrastination. TO which someone instantly connected to a career specializing in masturbating.

In the end the speeches were okay, nothing really blew me away. It just seems that these speeches are not aimed towards someone at my stage of understanding things. This also made me ponder how useful my education will be at the end. As a third year student who consistently gets A's in most courses I put an honest effort, I still feel utterly overwhelmed by everything going on.

But that probably is not the point of our education. Although we lack the specific knowledge about certain programming languages or lingoes, the study we break our backs over I hope will put us in the right frame of mind to absorb what needs to be absorbed when we finally work. Then we can emerge from our cocoon as the pretty nerd butterfly we all dreamed of

Or maybe I am just sucking at all this, who knows.

Another interesting tid-bit that I felt a connection to was this imposter theorem? Maybe more on this another time.

On a side note, back home Thuy had a bit of trouble using my cdf account to print articles. Apparently the articles were much longer then she had first imagined (over 150?). It was a traumatizing experience for her trying to get the printer to stop. Poor Tweety :P she is boycotting the CDF labs now.

It is getting difficult to write now, the room next door is full of rowdy and awkward geeks yelling. It
is quite hard to concentrate so I will leave it at that for tonight.

Good Night

P.S Reubens - Not Great. Supposedly quite well known for their smoked meat (although not up there with Schwartz), I was not thrilled with mine. I am not sure if it was a product of the it being at Reubens or me just not liking smoked meat.

Jan 20, 2010
I was going to say what happened on this day, but very lazy, and people in next room so damn loud and annoying.

Good Night Again.

Jan 19, 2010 - Bunnicula and Nadege

2010-01-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

Today my greatest fears came to pass as I encountered my child hood nemesis - Bunnicula the vampiric bunny rabbit. Well I am joking, as a kid I really enjoyed this Bunnicula book series, also it was not a rabbit it was a squirrel. The squirrel however, did have striking resemblance to the barbaric bunny. Namely this squirrel was remarkably an albino one. Here take a look,

Additionally, me and Thuy went to Nadege - a cafe / bakery sort of place located on Queen near Trinity Bellwoods. It was quite nice take a look,

I felt hygienically improved by simply entering the premises, the layout was very sleek and although not large it felt deceptively spacious.

I had this sandwich, as you can see it contained egg, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, salami, and possibly some other things. The price is a tad high on these, but still, a nice sandwich.

Thuy had this one, I have no clue what is in it except 'pathai..?' I will fill this in with the right word once I learn it..

Last but not least, we had almond croissants. These were very good and I felt priced more fairly! The croissants and bakery were recommended by Steph and she proved to be a reliable recommender of stuff. Cheers to her!

Anyways, I am off to pack for CUSEC! Good night!

Jan 18, 2010 - Daily Report!

2010-01-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

Not much to say today, me and double Thuys went to eat Vietnamese food at Pho Hung on Bloor Street near the ROM. Thuy T. had Viet pancake Thuy V. had Pho. I usually get pho but I decided to try Vermicelli this time around. It was quite good except I apparently ate it wrong. I did not put the fish sauce into the bowl or mix it up. Still, I enjoyed it!

January 17, 2010 - Been a Bad Boy =(

2010-01-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

Ack, it has been 5 days since I posted pictures! Although I have ruptured the blogger's moral fabric I managed to take pictures everyday (minus the 15th, I am waiting for Steph to send me them).

On another note we are leaving for CUSEC (Canadian University Software Engineering Conference) in Montreal on Wednesday. This is exciting stuff. I often feel some degree of stress and anxiety in regards to my big picture perspective of Computer Science. I do fairly well in all my courses however my lack of work experience in this particular industry has me feeling this way. So far I have done the following to remedy this upsetting sensation (will present in relation form due to my csc343 databases poop sock marathon today).

plans_completed
p_id desc.
1 Try harder in school
2 Make more friends
3 Think less (blog counters this?)

and my futures plans are contained in the following relation:

plans_future
p_id desc.
1 Try harder in school
2 Find a Job or do PEY(professional experience year)

Enough of this, on to the stock pile of pictures I've let pile up!

January 17, 2010

This was super poop sock study day. The beginning did not go so well, I came to the decision that I should drop csc320 which I was very excited about. I am hurting sort of over this, I don't want to think about it anymore. I think this was the right choice though. We had planned to bring snacks to make this day fun. I failed to bring the sandwiches I claimed I would make, but brought some Timbits to remedy this (slightly). Andrei brought some blueberries and pepper nuts from Holland. Lori and Stephanie did not bring anything, although Lori was unaware of our plans. Bad bad Steph x_x.

January 16, 2009

The push and tug of adult hood and childhood. I wonder if this is my ending.

January 15, 2009

CSSU Pubnight! We also celebrated Linh's birthday. A lot went down today, down in my belly! Me and Thuy ate so damn much this day. From around 3 P.M to 11 P.M, we had a full meal of Indian Food (after 10 minutes of navigating on google maps I cannot find the name), Japanese food (Kuni Sushi Ya, Linh joined us at this point), Wings and Fries (Molly Blooms), Chinese food (HOUSE OF GOURMET seafood, bbq, noodle restaurant - rough..rough translation?). In summary, food and happy birthday Linh.

January 14, 2009

Earlier I vowed to eat healthier in order to increase my energy (fallacy of composition?) - this poor quality picture shows my poor quality attempt at healthiness.

January 13, 2009

What even happened this day? Ah yes this day we ate Burger King and Thuy met Midnight. It seems my memory can only recall in detail up to 3 days or so.

Finally,

bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

This is the War Machine the alias of our dear friend Warren. His fearsome alter ego is Rhyperior who is well known for his strength. Coming Soon, the pokemon equivalent of the man inside the machine!

http://pokemon.neoseeker.com

Poliwag! The key features that links Ms. Jane and Poliwag is the eyes! Not only that the mind boggling circular line design is like the fractal art she enjoys (sort of..lol)

bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

My room mate Mr Tat! Jolteon is lightning quick, it moves swiftly and you do not know what happened until you have been zapped! Alain also moves in a sudden quick explosion on the basketball court and his trusty bicycle! His steps are also quick and silent (ha ha ha...). Like Jolteon he also cooks birdies!

tops.gamerlimit.com

Nobody else could be Lopunny but the bunny lover herself Laurie! As far as I know it, Laurie's love of Bunnies began at the tender age of 20 when she met Blue. Since then, she has fortified her image as a Bunny lover. This is why she is Lopunny.

Jan 12 2010 - First Date

2010-01-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

Although me and Thuy have been dating a little over 2 months now we actually had not been on an official date. To clarify, we have gone to plenty of restaraunts, seen movies and such but it has all been rather spontaneous or last minute. I guess, we felt a date is planned ahead of time, like the name implies you set aside a 'date' for you two to spend together. Well the lack of dates we brought to my attentions and I quickly put together a couple activities from an online list of things-to-do.

My plan for the date was as follows:
i) Museum (ROM)
ii) Cafe
iii) Indoor Picnic and Movie

Anyways it was a great day, the ROM's renovations looked great on the inside (not so great on the outside to be honest..). As a kid I always loved rocks so we spent a good chunk of our time in that section. This one was my favorite, it almost looks like a mini earth.

Every good trip to the museum must include a visit to the dinosaur section. Which we did as seen here,

After the museum we had bubble tea (was not feeling the cafe anymore) and head back for the all anticipated indoor picnic,

Sadly the movie we wanted to watch was not in at blockbuster (Amelie) so we ended up watching Girl in the Cafe (a bit disappointing), still it was a great day.

In conclusion our first date was a success ! :) and here is today's pokemon!

giantbomb.com

Gardevoir's hair covers her face, this trait is often connected with emo-ness, not that Lori is emo but her profile pics always look very emotional. Additionally Gardevoir is a psychic type that is very intelligent, just like Lori!

Jan 11 2011 - Zombie What's in your Head?

2010-01-11T23:15:00.000-08:00

For once, I am happy that this picture was taken by my atrocious camera phone. The horrid visibility of the photo nicely captures my mental state during classes lately. I have been severely lacking energy during my lectures and have been feeling like a zombie.
In hopes to remedy this I vowed to pack a lunch and drink more water at school. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and picked up various materials to achieve this.

Anyways, today we have:

raichu203-ts.webs.com

Staraptor are highly aggressive and dangerous Flying-type bird Pokémon. Thuy Vu is famous for his graphic T's with the silhouettes of birds. He can also at times be aggressive and dangerous. Staraptor is also powerful, compact, and agile, just like Thuy Vu!

Jan 10 2010 - Difficulty

2010-01-10T22:10:00.000-08:00

The difficulty of project 365 is apparent to me on a day like this. I spent the day cleaning up and reformatting my desktop. I really have nothing to say! Anyways to fill the endless void resulting from my "writer's" block I will continue with my Pokemon => Friend segment!

Next up,

smogon.com

A little about Weavile! Weavile's appearance looks like that of a bluish-black bipedal feline, clad in a bright red crown, and collar. Weavile is very stylish, wearing a fashionable hat, just like Thuy! Additionally, Packs of Weavile love to live in cold habitats, another similarity between Thuy and Weavile.

January 9 2010 - The Fall of Technology

2010-01-09T23:56:00.000-08:00

As a 22 year old quasi asian male, I constantly find myself immersed in technology. This situation is further stimulated by my course of study, computer science, and my genetically nerdy composition.

However, over the past couple of weeks technology has been failing me, or rather I have been failing it. It began in Edmonton, where in an act of childish loneliness I began replacing my real life friends with corresponding digital representations as pokemon. For example,

hardestlevel.com

gaiaonline.com

The fun was cut short when I gracefully deleted my copy of Pokemon Platinum! It was a sad moment laced in profanity. Making the problem worse was my lack of a SD reader to recopy the game! I had lost my computerized companions but little did I know the fall of technology had just begun!

A couple days later I arrived in Whitehorse and that very night my laptop began to show troubling symptoms. In my rush to remedy my lack of DS games I had somehow contracted a horrible virus which prevented my laptop from working at all. Lacking any sort of boot disk or Windows installer I was left only with my beloved camera.

And now recently, as seen in my picture of the drink up top (Honeydew Milkshake from Destiny), my beloved Camera is gone. She has left me for Utah, I do not know if I have the power to forgive.

Anyways, the fall of technology indeed ;(

Jan 8, 2010 - Fresh

2010-01-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today me and Thuy went to a restaurant close to her heart. The place is called Fresh. They do not serve meat x_x which is a big turn off for me. I had already ate though, so this was not an issue. I decided to order a 'first kiss' smoothie while Thuy ordered 'energy' and sweet potato fries (which I munched on). I had heard mixed reviews on the place from Thuy's friends and I am still undecided on whether I like Fresh. If I ever go there again I will order an actual plate of food and make a real judgment on Fresh.

Jan 7, 2010 - Bye Bye Beloved!

2010-01-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

After going to my csc320 class (visual programming) I was quite enthusiastic to take some photos (specifically try out some HDR photography!) unfortunately this very day I gave my camera to my parents for their vacation.. For the next couple of days my photos will be from a variety of cameras, this picture is by Thuy's camera. The photo is of the flowers which were suppose to be daisies that I ordered for her.

Jan 6, 2010 - Mercatto in Mars

2010-01-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

Sometime ago, Thuy and came to the realization that we eat at the same places far too often. We made a preemptive new years resolution to try dining at some new restaurants. The final plan we came up with was to eat out somewhere new once per week. My room mate, chef, and good pal Alain recommended a place called Mercatto. The location was a bit odd, the Mars research building, but we were both extremely happy with the experience. The food was great, I ordered a salad which was compromised of arugula, goat cheese, oranges and nuts and a maialina pizza. Thuy had the ravioli. The set up was had a great feel and Thuy was very pleased to hear Tegan and Sara being played. On top of all of that the price is reasonable and the service is great.

All and all we both highly encourage anyone to try out Mercatto, I cannot think of anything bad to say about the place.

Jan 5, 2010 - Resolve

2010-01-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

After filling in all the important dates into my planner I realized there could be no rest this semester. Thanks goes out to my lovely girl friend for modeling the sleeping pose for me.

Jan 4, 2010 - Seperation

2010-01-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

Today, I decided to get a new T-Card. This abolished the embarrassment of owning a 2004 issued school card (There is a long story to this that gets tiring to tell over and over). Hopefully this further separating myself from any bad tendencies I had before.

January 3rd, 2010 - Red Rocket

2010-01-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

Raptors vs. Spurs was amazing, however I must now be weary of Matt Bonner (Thuy has developed a slight (or not so slight?) infatuation with "The Red Rocket")

365 days, 365 pictures, 364 posts,

2010-01-02T23:31:00.000-08:00

A fun activity was presented to me by my lovely girlfriend!

The idea is to take a photo and write a little something about the said photo everyday. I have decided to participate and place the evidence on this blog.

So here we go!

January 1, 2010

A new decade! To commence 2010 we enjoyed multiples forms of fondue and then played a game of Galaxy Trucker. Although Poly and I created an exceptional space vessel we were plagued with bad luck. I hope this is not a sign of things to come in 2010.

January 2, 2010

And this is the moment in which Thuy told me to participate in this event! I look tired and ravaged, and this is because I was tired and ravaged! Early flight out of Whitehorse, delays in Vancouver, and lost baggage! A troublesome day, but the comfort of my own house has alleviated the pain.

Toronto Raptors - Early Season Review

2009-11-21T21:12:00.000-08:00

I am huge Toronto Raptors fan, sometimes I feel this is quite unfortunate.

But enough dwelling in the past, let us think of the 2009/2010 season!

The Raptors are currently have 6 wins and 7 loses and sit in 9th place in the eastern conference. They have had possibly the most difficult schedule in the NBA to start the season, because of this I am relatively happy with our record. Obviously you cannot be content with being below .500, but realistically this is where most thought we would be.

The Raptors are currently touting one of lethal offenses in the NBA, actually in NBA history. Since the inclusion of the 3 point line, the Raptors are averaging one of the highest PPGs of all time. This stat really means very little however. Sadly the Raptors also have an embarrassing Opponent's PPG of 106.44 points. On top of that, they are among the worst in the league in rebounding at a disheartening 39.4 RPG.

The last 2 points, have Raptor's fans thinking same old Raptors, and I have to agree. Although the team is much better then last year, I see no chance for us to be a great team, ever with the current make up of the team. The same problems have existed with this team for oh so long continue, even with the overhaul of the roster.

The reason for this is although we added many new pieces the problem came from the very core of this team. Bosh is sometimes a good defender, sometimes a great defender (see team USA, but to be honest his defensive effort lacks the consistency that this team needs. On any other team Bosh's D would be just fine, but this team has a starting line up that contains Jose Calderon (and to a lesser extent Andrea Bargnani)

Jose Calderon is the root of all evil. On the one hand, I absolutely love his attitude and passion. On the other end of the spectrum, I cannot stand his game. I remember during the 2007/2008 season TJ. Ford got off to a blazing start, I cannot recall exactly but he was putting up Chris Paul, Deron Williams numbers on a per minute basis. Then he was injured by Al Horford in a frightening injury. He was never the same after this injury.

During TJ's injury Calderon put up nice numbers. Colangelo, with his infatuation for soft euros and sparkling blue eyes was easily convinced that Calderon would make TJ. expendable. This attitude trickled down to the coaching and players and led to feelings of alienation for Ford. Bosh replaced Ford with Calderon as his BFF. on the Raptors.

Ford's fate was set in stone and he was traded to Indiana (Calderon had higher trade value, it is a shame....) and Calderon was the new number 1 point guard of Toronto.

I reminisced about the time Calderon thrived in Ford's absence, I thought to myself, Wow he is playing well, but we are so damn boring.

And the raptors are now one of, by far the most boring teams I have ever seen. We have no fast break, 75% of Jose Calderon's fast breaks lead in transitions 3's, not dunks or layups. Jose also leads the league in needlessly halting transition opportunities. I am all for pulling the ball out when the fast break is not there but Calderon's lack of creativity and ability to run a fast break is just painful to watch.

But, this is not the problem. Being boring really does not matter if you are winning, sadly we are not really winning. Our problems are almost entirely coming from a lack of perimeter defense from the point guard spot. Day after day, we watch Calderon get broken down with ease by anyone and anything. I cannot think of a slower point guard in the league to be honest. Can anyone? He just cannot keep himself in front of people laterally, and it leads to so many problems. His inability to semi contain the point guard spot leaves the team out of position often leading to easy scores or offensive rebounds.

At this point, I will cease in my bashing of Jose. The reason for this is I feel bad about it, he honestly seems like a great person.

All and all, this team I feel will placed 6-9 with the current make up. We will never be great by going in this direction however. Somehow we must become better defensively, the most obvious choice for this is to package Calderon somehow.

zimbio.com

On a side note, Hedo Turkoglu has been fairly average on the court thus far, however his moves, swagger, and overall sex appeal have somehow enchanted my girlfriend. This rampaging lust has led me to feel quite discontent with my own personal appearance. I had, in the past, seen Hedo as, not necessarily ugly, but not attractive either. The recent turn of events have forced me change this attitude in a defeated coping method.

Anyways lol, until next time.

Cleaning Bananza and Rose Bryne Look Alike?

2009-08-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

So today I embarked on a S-Rank Cleaning Mission.

After many a tear was shed, injuries felt, and friendships shattered, the house was clean, except for the most challenging location of all. The shower! Lets just say there has been a bit of a lack of effort on keeping this one sparkling fresh. As a matter of fact, I do not remember cleaning the shower since my room mate moved in. That was in August, August of 2008.

The shower is now clean, after an hour or so of traumatizing drudgery. What went on in there I wish to forget. I saw things, that no human being should ever witness. Anyhow, I was sifting through some old photos and I came across an oddly androgenous picture of baby me.

Almost right away I was reminded of Rose Byrne who I had seen in the romantic, psychological film Wicker Park. Anyone else see the resemblance?

Poop Sock, and Inter-Process Lack of Communication

2009-07-24T03:30:00.000-07:00

I figured it would be interesting to see what I write with a completely fried brain at 6:33 AM. So I ended up getting an extension on my assignment which is wonderful indeed. The assignment is a beast of the C programming variety and quite the doozy. It has been quite troublesome for me to finish this assignment, seeing as this has been my first time actually writing code in C. Jumping right into forking, using exec, and communication between processes via pipes would without a doubt be difficult.

Luckily after a lot of intense labor, trial, error, swear-jar contributions, and trips to the washroom I finally got comfortable with the various glories of this low (lower then java / python) level language.

I was on the home stretch of my work, when I started running into some problems with those damn system calls. Things begun reading, writing, signaling at all sorts of weird times. After 4 billion printf statements in 4 billion different spots things were working in the correct order again. Sadly, my pipes began distorting the data passed through immediately after the previous problem was fixed :(.

ispaz247.deviantart.com

Hopefully this rough experience will help motivate me to keep up in school on a more constant pace. Anyways, I am going to fry an egg on my head motor for breakfast, toodles.

Shattered Dreams XD

2009-07-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

I am never going to be a plumber, designer of forks, or an executive of any kind. Thanks a lot C programming language the dream is over (lame references to some system calls in C that are giving me a head ache)

perfectstartingnow.com

/ragequit

Really, inter-process communication seems to have a bit of a learning curve to it, sort of frustrating I say. It probably does not help that I put off putting an honest effort into learning the C language until yesterday. Oh well hopefully I can get this working!

Back to work
Bye!

Korean Musical Scene!

2009-07-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

A couple months back a friend of mine introduced me to some K-Pop, K-hiphop (not sure how to classify it all), and since then I have been listening to that sort of stuff on a consistent basis. She showed me a couple of the groups she likes a lot particularly Big Bang, A.J., SNSD, and Son Dambi.

I have definitely taken a lot to Big Bang. They have a lot of cliche male boy band traits that are a bit comical but I still like them a lot it seems. On top of that their music videos have little things in them sometimes that I find to be comedic gold.

For example, in the music video for lies, the female lead's murder weapon is a pineapple, amazing. More recently in their Japanese song Go, T.O.P (or Tempo) randomly has a screw driver for about 2 seconds.

Poor quality picture of T.O.P and his screw driver

My favorite songs by the group right now are, My Heaven, Lies, Number 1, Haru Haru, Friend, Look at Me Only, and Gara Gara Go! Aside from the music their style is pretty damn cool looking, I find myself wanting to emulate them constantly! I do not know if this is a good thing since I really need to cut back on my shopping. None the less I imagine I will be following their careers for awhile, I am also wondering if they will ever try to make a splash in North America.

On another note, a new day has begun, and reflecting on yesterday, it is amazing how I felt so rejuvenated, yet so quickly it was ruined by chaos at home.

Just shows how important home, and family are.
Anyways signing off, until next time!

While in a Labratory of Computers

2009-07-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

I am currently poop socking at the lab at Bahein Center, and after quite a prolonged period of inefficient studying, working on assignments, or "schooling" as many Vietnamese pals of mine call it, I am happy to announce I am schooling at fine pace! Wow, run on sentence much? It is refreshing to see how well I can work when I do not let my mind wander and show some mental toughness. Wait a minute why the ~~hell~~ heck am I blogging?

On another note the first offense to the Snappy Kawazi anti-swearing act occurred around 1 pm of the current day. The letter "F" while being used in the context of a swear word is now officially a curse under this blog's holy/unholy sanctions. I will purchase some sort of jar "soon time" (another kudos to my Vietnamese pals) .

Well then, good bye for now, exit(1);

Cursing Begone

2009-07-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

The quality of this post may be decreased due to the frustration of a power outage right before hitting the publish button (had to write this all over).

Anyways,

Snap Turtle and I have decided to begin an anti-swearing regime as of today. The rules are outlined as follows,

1) Do not speak or write any word that even vaguely resembles a swear word.

That is the lone rule, if this rule is broken one of three possible outcomes may occur.

i) The guilty party admits to his/her infringement.
ii) The guilty party fails to confess within 4 seconds, the non-guilty party points out the infraction.
iii) The guilty party fails to confess, and the non-guilty party fails to point out the infraction.

The penalties are outlined as follows,
for i) 25 cents
for ii) 50 cents
for iii) feelings of guilt

The money will be placed in the guilty party's swear jar, and collect biannually, on the first day of June and December.

My motivation for this new system is to hopefully semi cleanse myself of excessive negativity surrounding me. On top of that, I am 21 and need to grow up, honestly!

|| Participant || Total punishment fees ||
|| Kawazi || 0 ||
|| Snappy || 0 ||

Cheers to making our dreams reality
Kawazi

Introduction

2009-06-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

Hello internet, this is my first time doing this (almost)! In the name of my ongoing job search,

Mr. Kawazi
www.kawazi.blogspot.com

Objective: To maintain a reasonably and averagely interesting blog.

Summary of Qualifications:
- A mutt's perspective
- Slender fingers
- 365 * 4 hours / annum computer time

Relevant Experience:
- Failed grade 10 EQAO writting and reading test (Canadian academic rite of passage)
- Low hit rate on high school asian time sink, "asianavenue".
- One past blog post, for a student log.

Education:
-University of Toronto

Quite tired, and must go get laundry, signing off!

P.S welcome to Toronto DeMar Derozan!