Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
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I gotta tell you, John, I had to restart the first of Martin’s novels several times before I finally got beyond the first chapter. I found that chapter boring as hell. It was a horrible way to start the world-building. However, once I got over that hump, I found the ASOIAF books (A Song of Ice and Fire, the name of the entire series) utterly compelling reading.
I came upon Martin way too late in life for his books to occupy a central place in my heart when it comes to fantasy novels (the eternal occupant of that throne is Stephen R. Donaldson), but I’ve come to see him as an amazing storyteller who had somehow topped JK Rowling when it comes to weaving intricate narratives composed of multiple subplots. So, like Frank, I can’t call Martin my favorite, but he’s up there, and he has my respect. I just wish he would stop getting distracted by all his damn side projects.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/May/2020 @ 8:36 pm
Pot roast looks awesome!
I’ll be morbidly curious to read your opinion of Season 8. For myself, all I can say is that I consider the TV series to be an interesting interlude while I wait for the next book to come out. At this rate, I’ll be dead before the final novel gets finished.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 04/May/2020 @ 5:56 pm
The best of all possible worlds
The federal government says one thing, but the local governments say different? Is this some weird kind of Filipino federalism?
Interesting. The Captcha code is “3NAD.” A man can dream, I guess….
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 03/May/2020 @ 12:59 am
It sucks that your lockdown has been extended, but this turn of events seems to have become fodder for new adventures. So there’s a perverse sort of silver lining, I guess….
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 30/April/2020 @ 10:44 pm
Thanks for the well-wishes! Once I’m back, I plan to start “Everesting” inside my apartment building, so pretty soon, I’ll be a master of the stairs—a veritable StairMaster!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/April/2020 @ 5:33 pm
Carabao carcass, falling-off-the-bone pork ribs… this truly was a “memento mori” kind of day.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 28/April/2020 @ 1:23 am
Nothing like a little quantum mechanics to spice up your day, eh? Yeah, as you can see, “Schrödinger’s fat” is a play on the famous “Schrödinger’s cat” thought experiment. A probabilistic wave function keeps certain possibilities in suspension, and it’s only when the wave function “collapses” that all the possible options suddenly coalesce into one single, definite outcome. But before that collapse happens, everything is up in the air, hence the cat that is both alive and dead until you open the box and thereby collapse the wave function.
As you move into the realm of the subatomically small, phenomena become less discrete and more “fuzzy.” Heisenberg’s “uncertainty principle” dealt with this by stating that, the more we know a particle’s position, the less we know about its momentum, and vice versa. Simple things like “cause” and “effect,” not to mention the very flow of time, cease to be obvious at the quantum level. Freaky stuff.
Your charity work in the community is doubtless appreciated by those who receive the help. “There are treasures stored up for you in heaven…”
I’ve got no problem with pineapples alongside baby-back ribs. My only quibble, last time, was with putting acidic pineapples in with a creamy, savory sauce. But since you reported that that combination seemed to work out okay, I guess I’m the one who needs to open his mind.
Your lower-than-normal body temperature indicates that you’ve contracted the zombie virus and are on your way to becoming as cold as a corpse. Pretty soon, you’ll be less attracted to the ladies for their bodies and more attracted to them for their brains. Mmmm… juicy, juicy brains.
Couldn’t help noticing that, in the picture where you’re doing the “Captain Morgan” pose, Lucky is politely looking away from your crotch.
Aussie steaks look good! If you get bored, slice them thinly, fan them out on a plate, and drizzle them with chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri is an Argentinian steak sauce; I’ve written about it a few times on my blog (see here).
Here’s hoping you get good news about the quarantine/lockdown.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/April/2020 @ 11:55 pm
I hope that works for you!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/April/2020 @ 12:38 pm
If you’ve got Apple iTunes, you can buy “Burn Notice: The Complete Series” (hi-def quality) for $70. The series ran for seven seasons, with a different number of episodes per season. If you do the math one way, $70 for 7 seasons means only $10 per season. If you do a per-episode calculation, then $70 for 111 episodes comes out to 63 cents per episode, which is not bad at all. $25 per season, by contrast, means you’re paying around $2 per episode, which is quite a difference. I’d buy the complete series. I don’t know whether that package is available on Amazon Prime Video, though; Prime seems to offer only season-sized chunks, which is too bad. Go for iTunes if you can.
Or not. If shelling out $70 for video entertainment isn’t your thing, that’s understandable. Simply going out for a walk can be a hell of a lot more entertaining than any TV show.
I just finished Season 4 and will start watching Season 5 later tonight. Some of these are episodes I remember watching, but a lot of this has been new to me. I guess I must not have been a consistent watcher of the series back when it was on TV. I have to say that the quality of the writing, thus far, has been consistently good. Of course, it’s easy to maintain consistently good quality when each episode follows roughly the same formula. (Then again, the writers did break away from that formula in the final three episodes of Season 4.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 25/April/2020 @ 3:42 pm
I’ll be stealing that final image. Thanks in advance.
Yeah, I never saw “Contagion.” I’m so behind on most movies, and there are just too many movies in existence for me ever to hope to catch up on all of them.
The geographic restrictions on Amazon Prime Video don’t apply if you purchase your videos, so if you’re willing to shell out for “Burn Notice: The Complete Series,” then you’re set. But if you’re gonna be a stingy Scotsman, then I guess that means no “Burn Notice” for you. (Or you could try to snag videos through a VPN. My ancient VPN sucks; Amazon picks up on the fact that I’m using one.)
You got off easy, paying less than $50 for all that meat. Got off easy by Korean standards, I mean. I’m no longer in touch with meat prices in the States. Anyway, that looks like a decent haul. You’ve got enough protein to last you a while.
Good luck as you hang tough until the end of the month. May your silly, misguided lockdown end soon.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 24/April/2020 @ 6:24 pm
Well, you can’t knock baby-back ribs. Happy hunkering!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/April/2020 @ 9:53 pm
48 beers per rooftop visit…
2-3 times per week…
= 96-144 beers per week, or 14-21 beers per day.
Is that enough beer?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 23/April/2020 @ 1:52 pm
“So, on a whim, I messaged a [bar-owner] friend and asked if he had any in stock he’d sell me. He invited me over to sit on the rooftop (he lives above the bar) and discuss the details of the transaction. And of course, we did our business while enjoying some cold brews.”
I’m not a drinker, but I have to say… this actually sounds really awesome. I think you’ve discovered a completely new way to “go out and drink.” Maybe it’s my introverted bias, but to me, sitting on a rooftop and having a nifty one-on-one conversation (even if it’s only transactional) with someone you esteem as cool… well, that sounds like a perfect way to spend time. Good for you, man!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/April/2020 @ 8:08 pm
“You know, I do think I watched the first season of Burn Notice way back when I was living part-time in the USA. I’ll have to see if it is on Amazon.”
You might relate to the character of Sam Axe—the ex-Navy SEAL who constantly chases, then loses, women. (Then again, he tends to go for older rich women: his sugar mamas.) Like you, Sam is eternally randy and optimistic.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/April/2020 @ 7:39 pm
So Jim didn’t tell you he was bringing two other people? Well, that’s on him, the stupid twat. When people fail to communicate, things get fucked up. One can’t simply assume, as if we all had ESP. And a lot of people are sloppy, irresponsible communicators.
I’m bingeing “Burn Notice,” and am almost halfway through Season 4 (out of seven seasons).
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/April/2020 @ 6:09 pm
“Prolonged restriction on the movement of goods and services over a large area (i.e. region-wide) can unnecessarily paralyze local economies.”
This year’s winner of the “No Fucking Shit” prize.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/April/2020 @ 5:22 pm
“I’d love to find something to relieve the stress in the meantime. Maybe a nice roll in the hay would do the trick!”
Well, you keep workin’ on Lady Gaga or Gam Gam or whatever her name is, and perhaps one day, that roll in the hay will be yours.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/April/2020 @ 1:06 am
I hope it was a good workout. Congrats on getting under 200!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/April/2020 @ 10:06 pm
Sounds as if things aren’t quite as bad as all that. Well, good.
As for staying indoors: yeah, you increase the likelihood of infection by being in an enclosed space with poor air circulation like a subway, a bus, an airplane, or an office. Masks aren’t very useful protection to begin with (they’re more for protecting others, and masks don’t protect your eyes), and you’re gambling with your life when you’re crowded into a space with lots of other potentially dodgy people.
Stay safe!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 17/April/2020 @ 7:35 pm
So I guess the authorities have to play whack-a-mole with the locals now. Amusing thought.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/April/2020 @ 3:42 pm
Please don’t start sniffing all the local women’s hair.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/April/2020 @ 3:16 pm
Sorry. That last line, while mathematically correct, should read:
[(15-10)/10]*100 = 50% increase
—since the question was the relationship between 10K and 15K, not 100K and 150K. Mea culpa.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/April/2020 @ 6:54 pm
Lovely scenery. The PI truly is picturesque.
We’re on the verge on entering the hot season here. That’ll start around the latter half of May. I’ll be pining for fall and winter soon enough.
Enjoy the sun and fun!
Oh, yeah: 15K isn’t a third more than 10K– it’s a half more. However, if you work it backward, 10K is a third less than 15K.
150% of 10 = 15 (half more than 10)
2/3 of 15 = 10 (third less than 15)% change is [new-old]/old × 100
[(150-100)/100]*100 = 50% increase
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 15/April/2020 @ 6:34 pm
From Frank Herbert’s Dune comes this now-famous Bene Gesserit mantra:
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/April/2020 @ 8:37 pm
One has to wonder whether you’re “in the free world.”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/April/2020 @ 2:49 pm
I meant to say, in my comment to yesterday’s post, that you don’t need to worry about the nanny state when you’ve got “friends” who are willing to do the state’s bidding on its behalf.
Sorry to read that more and more seems to be shutting down. The government had better not shut down delivery services and other elements of the supply chain, or the country’s gonna run out of stock on everything pretty dang quick.
Also meant to say that a 15K hike in PI heat and humidity, with at least one mountain in the way, is an impressive feat.
Try not to flirt with arrest. If there’s any anti-foreigner sentiment floating around, the police will be happy to have an excuse to lock up Whitey.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/April/2020 @ 3:59 pm
You have indeed become the proverbial Stranger with Candy.
Glad you had a good, long walk. Happy Easter!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 12/April/2020 @ 1:13 pm
I appreciate the shout-out!
Good to see that life goes on as best it can.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/April/2020 @ 5:17 pm
Brian,
Good point. My mistake.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 10/April/2020 @ 3:01 pm
«« Back To Stats Page(NB: I do realize your question might have been posed in jest, but I chose to put on my Mr. Spock hat and answer it like the nerd I am.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 09/April/2020 @ 5:38 pm