Archive for the 'General' Category
Entry #1
August 1st, 2004Welcome to amirschricker.org.
I moved my webpage from the CSUA serves so that I could redesign the site completely without having having first to take down the old pages. You’ll find the same old content here as well as new stuff…like weblogs (made possible by Movable Type) and larger photo albums (using Gallery). Bear with me as I play around with all of these programs and try to get them to look right.
I love Old Navy commercials!
September 7th, 2004“History? No way, I love history! First, something happens. Then something else happens. So sequential! Thank you, first guy, for writing history down! Let’s study!”
And that’s the transcript of one of my favorite commercials of all times. Every time it airs I go as crazy as the girl and start yelling along with her…if you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. Unfortunately, this commercial is one of those things that arouses feelings of either love or hate in people, and I know lots of people that do hate it.
Even more unfortunate is the fact that for some reason Old Navy has stopped airing it and replaced it with a similar commercial, one that involves yet another crazed girl ranting about the pleasures of air…how funny, too, because when I hear her voice I hope she chokes.
Lobsterfest 2004
September 19th, 2004
|
|
For the second year in a row, we travelled down to Port of Long Beach for the annual Lobsterfest. We stuffed our faces with lobster flown in fresh from Maine, big bowls of shrimp, and other festival foods. We weren’t alone, though, because this year there were lines that were unheard of last year. Not only did we have to wait in a line for 20 minutes just to enter the festival, but then to get our lobster meal we had to wait in a seemingly never-ending line for over half an hour. Word must have leaked since last year that this is the place to be…
We also did our traditional 15-minute scuba dive in the portable swimming pool set up there by a local scuba diving school…and this time we gave in. Ricky and I both took advantage of their discounted tuition rate and signed up for their scuba certification course. I’ll keep you updated how it’s going over the next few months, as well as a running total of how much we’ve spent. So far:
1/2 of tuition + books/supplies: $120
Running total: $120.
Scuba Certification: Class 1
September 25th, 2004We thought the last pile of money we gave to the scuba school would be cover most of our expenses…man were we wrong. That $100 was just a small fraction of what we coughed up today, with the start of the first of our six classes. The “basic equipment” we had to buy today — mask, snorkel, fins, gloves, boots, and scuba bag (yes, a bag) — came out to $650! Here are the updated numbers:
“Basic” equipment: $650
Running total: $775.
Scuba: First ocean dive
November 21st, 2004After 8 weeks of classes, close to $1000 in equipment (latest addition: diving hood), and countless pool “dives”, we did our first ocean dive today. Bright and early at 8am this morning, instead of sleeping calmly in bed, Ricky and I were squeezing into a stiff wetsuit and jumping into the 40 degree water of the Pacific Ocean, off of Catalina Island.
Cold as it was, the weather and other conditions were remarkably pleasant. Despite the recent cloudy and cold weather (true cold, not fake LA cold), today was both sunny and mildly warm. So once the sun rose, life aboard the Psalty V was very enjoyable…a nice sun deck, helpful crew, and great home-made (boat-made?) meals, all of which was interrupted 3 times when it came time to jump 30 feet below the surface.
And it was nothing like the pool! Visibility was limited to about 10 feet in all directions, the cold water resulted in non-stop shivering (especially when sitting still on the ocean floor doing countless mask clearing exercises), and oh yeah…something about all of this which made me freak out and panic on my way down for the first time. Luckily, after some relaxing I was able to descend, slowly, and join the rest of the group for all the skills testing.
The few minutes we had at the end of the dive to explore were pretty exciting. Even though our location was hardly tropical, we still saw lots of interesting fish (most interesting was the bright orange garibaldi) and amazing kelp forests, only found in California waters.
All in all it was a cool experience, and I suppose I’m looking forward to the next boat trip. The sights were great, but I’m still no fan of waking up at 5am to jump into an ice-cold ocean.
Jump Starting the Weblog
February 13th, 2005OK I realized that a weblog is useless if I never update it, so expect frequent additions to this “blog” (puke) from now on…I’m shooting for at least one new entry per week. With that said, look above for this week’s new entry.
Rain and LA Traffic
February 16th, 2005So it started raining out of the blue today in the afternoon, a few hours before I had to leave school. And, as usual, this slight bit of rained completely clogged traffic up everywhere in this pathetic city, extending my commute home to over an hour when it should be only 30 minutes.
I can’t believe how every time it rains — or even if the roads are slightly damp — LA drivers freak out and and start driving at like 5mph. This is one of the shittiest things about this city, and I’m disgusted at how frail LA drivers are. So much so that I think it’s perhaps the single best reason for people not to move to LA or even for current residents to leave.
The one silver lining in all of this rain business is that it results in the worst drivers getting into accidents…effectively weeding out bad drivers, if you know what I mean. Not innocent drivers, just the ones responsible for causing the accidents.
Come on Down!
February 23rd, 2005
I made another attempt today to break into the TV world by attending a taping of the Price is Right. Ricky’s friends from work organized a group of about 20 people, and because we contacted the CBS people beforehand, we didn’t need to wake up and stand in line at 5am like the other suckers who want to watch the taping.
So we all met at the CBS Television City studio at 10am. Now you can’t call yourself a Price is Right fan unless you’re wearing a dorky bright-colored T-shirt with a trashy phrase imprinted on it, so when in Rome…that’s right, we produced our very own matching “Bob Rocks” T-shirts:
With the start of the show approaching, someone came around and passed out our nametags…classic Price is Right! We then interviewed as a group with two producers and clearly failed to impress any of them. Word on the street is that if they write down something while talking with you, you’ll be called up as a contestant. Needless to say, none of us witnessed any writing during our interviews.
Bob Barker walked out, all 81 years of him, and hosted the show as efficiently as always. Unfortunately none of us were called down (I guess it did help to wear a “Mother of 6″ shirt afterall), but it was still lots of fun. It wasn’t too much of a loss, though, since the better of the two showcases included only a home gym set and a jacuzzi.
But even though I wasn’t called down to be a contestant and even though I probably had the worst seat in the studio, I did manage to shove my long arms into a couple of scenes. So be prepared: on March 22 at 10am on CBS, Amir is invading TV sets across America…
Enough Ashley Smith Already, and a Prediction
March 13th, 2005Is anyone other than me sick of Ashley Smith?
Anyone watching any news show lately, especially CNN, can attest to the obsesssion of news stations with Ashley Smith, the woman taken hostage by the Atlanta courthouse killer. In her initial “interviews” she sits in front of a camera and spends an hour describing every detail of the few hours she was in contact with the murder suspect. While I I sympathize with her ordeal — I know I would have been shitting bricks had I ran into that brutal killer at my home — she is getting excessive recognition, as a hero, too.
Furthermore, I still am amazed at how sensationalistic news stations are…again, especially CNN. I had the misfortune of having the TV in front of me at the treadmill at the gym be tuned to CNN, which featured a show called “Ashley Smith: the story of a hero” (or maybe something similar). In what could have been a straightforward overview of the events of that day, CNN devoted an hour to detailing, minute by minute, what took place, in an over-exaggerated and over-dramatic way (just like the LA evening news). 8:30, 9:00, 9:30, etc.
It’s a shame, because CNN used to be a respectable news source.
Anyway, here’s the prediction I promised. Several times, Smith alluded to a book called “The Purpose Driven Life” and the role it played in her encounter with the murder suspect. I guaranted you that sales of this book will skyrocket as a result of its newfound media attention. I just checked amazon, and its Amazon Sales Rank is #5 (pretty freakin high already for what sounds like another useless spiritual self-help book, don’t you think?). Let’s see where this attention gets the book.
Why am I such a hater? I don’t know.
Fuck you Persian woman at Fantastic Sam’s
April 23rd, 2005I went to get a haircut at Fantastic Sam’s today…I know it’s not the fanciest of places to get a haircut, but they get the job done (well, most of it). This branch happens to be owned and run by a Persian couple, and today I had the pleasure of having the wife cut my hair.
She started by clipping the sides, and then the woman points to the top of my hair, mutters something, and then starts laughing. I didn’t exactly hear what she said, but I still laughed along. Then I actually wondered exactly what she was laughing about, since she did point to my head…so I said “what?”. Then she pointed to my head again and repeated what she had just aid: “top has nothing! do you still want me to cut it?”
Oh no you did’t.
Oh yes she did.
I stopped laughing laughing and told her coldly “cut it”. It might be thinning, but there’s still plenty of hair to cut.
I was ready to walk out and not pay, but unfortunately she had only cut the sides of my head, so I was sporting a bowl haircut. And…I wouldn’t have tipped her if she wasn’t watching over me as I signed the credit card bill.
Little did she know I ain’t ever returning to her Fantastic Sam’s. That’s right bitch…you ain’t ever seeing my $17 again.
Star Wars Episode III
May 18th, 2005It’s finally here! The final chapter of the new Star Wars trilogy has been released, and I landed tickets to a midnight showing…at the ArcLight theater, arguably the best cinema in LA.
After arriving at a very crowded parking structure, we made our way down to the area outside the theater and saw the freak show that we were about to enter. Check out my photo gallery (http://amirschricker.org/gallery) for all the details.
So how was the movie? Awesome. By far the best episode of this new trilogy, this movie, as expected, was very dark. It tied up several important loose ends pretty well, and it did a great job of connecting the new trilogy with the original one. And even though I knew how the story would end, it was still sad to see Anakin make the formal cross-over to the dark side.
Time to go watch it a few more times now…
Hawaii 2005
June 29th, 2005With boards done, it was time for a serious vacation, and luckily Hawaii was just across the ocean. Despite a miserable and cramped American Airlines flight — so much for their “more leg room” advertisements — the trip was awesome…lots of time in the water and lots of time drinking mai tais. Here are some highlights:
- Ricky’s friend who lives in Hawaii hooked us up with scuba diving trips, and we got to go diving four times! Diving in tropical waters is much different than diving off the coast of California. Instead of wearing 7 millimeter, full-length wetsuits, a simple 3 millimeter half-length wetsuit was enough to keep us warm at 100 feet of depth.
- In our most exciting dive we’ve ever done, we went wreck diving and visited the Sea Tiger, a ship which brought over Chinese immigrants years ago and was sunk 10 year ago off the coast of Oahu. At over 100 feet deep, this was more than three times deeper than we’d ever dove.
- While on the topic, I highly recommend Dive Oahu, a great dive shop with almost all-new diving equipment, a friendly and experienced crew, and boat trips with less less than 15 people per boat.
- Booze cruise! Some people might call it an evening mai tai cruise, but we all know what it really is. I actually wasn’t looking forward to this because I thought it’d be too touristy, but it turned out to be one of the most relaxing and enjoyable events of the trip. Try one if you go to Hawaii.
That’s all for now, so check out my Photo Gallery for photos of the trip.
New Workout Regimen
October 3rd, 2005After more than eight years of doing essentially the same weight-lifting routine in the gym, and after seeing minimal (meaning “no”) changes in strength, weight, or muscle size, I’m finally changing my entire workout routine. By doing completely new exercises for every body part, I’m “shocking my system”, as they say. I’m no longer doing any exercise I was doing before, and I’m splitting up the days I work various muscle groups, too.
I also plan to shake up this routine again in about 3 months so that my body is in a constant state of change (that doesn’t make much sense if you really think about it).
One other significant change I’m making is my eating habits. It’s time I cut back a little bit on all the carbs I eat, and push to eat more proteins. Goodbye bread and pasta, hello egg whites and steamed chicken…just kidding, that’s nasty. But I will attempt to get more chicken, nuts, and milk into my system, and less pasta and rice. Damn, I might even try protein shakes.
This post actually shouldn’t be of much interest to anyone reading this, other than myself, which is why I’m writing it — it’s really just an easy way for me to keep track of when and how I make changes to my workout routine.
Protein Shake
October 18th, 2005
I’ve finally succumbed. After years and years of refusing to resort to nutritional supplements like weight-gainer drinks, I’ve caved in and decided to try protein shakes. My justification is that this is the mildest sort of nutritional supplement that I can take that will provide a slight boost in strenght and/or size.
After several days of researching protein shakes the web for the best shake, with respect to quality, taste, safety, and price, I finally decided on Pro Rated Whey Protein. Why…because I went to Costco and that’s all they carried. Fine by me, because I got a whopping 6 pound tub for only $20.
So…time to start drinking nothing but whey (the bulk of protein powder) after all my workouts. Let’s see if this actually will make any noticeable difference.
Back from Iran
January 23rd, 2006I finally made a trip to the motherland, and I made it there and back safely. I’d describe how great the trip was, but a picture is worth a 1,000 words…so here are 100,000 to describe my trip to you:
Enjoy!
20 Ways to Better Health
April 26th, 2006Taken directly from Men’s Health, here is an interesting and helpful list of 20 small changes you can make in your life to be a little healthier and more fit. Everyone can afford to incorporate at least 5 of these changes into their daily routine.
1. DECORATE YOUR PLATE
A 14-year study found that men whose diets were highest in fruits and vegetables had a 70 percent lower risk of digestive-tract cancers. How to reach your quota: Never eat a meal that doesn’t contain a vegetable or fruit. And no, fries don’t count.
2. DRY-BRUSH YOUR TEETH
It cuts tartar by 60 percent and also reduces the risk of bleeding gums by half. Use a dry, soft brush to scrub the insides of your top and bottom teeth, then buff the outer surfaces. Rinse, spit, and brush briefly with toothpaste.
3. NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST
A survey of more than 2,000 people who lost an average of 67 pounds and kept the weight off for more than 5 years found that 78 percent ate breakfast 7 days a week.
4. EAT MORE PASTA
Two to four servings of tomato sauce a week can cut your prostate-cancer risk by 34 percent.
5. JUDGE CHOLESTEROL WITH CONTACT LENSES
A diet full of fat, protein, or alcohol weakens your tears’ ability to block cholesterol from adhering to the lenses. This results in cloudy deposits. If your diet is destroying your contacts, just imagine what it’s doing to your arteries.
6. GO FISHING ONCE A WEEK
Eating one serving of fish per week can halve your risk of a sudden fatal heart attack. The secret ingredient in fish is omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is especially high in them.
7. PROTECT YOUR ERECTION WITH BLUEBERRIES
They contain compounds that improve circulation, and they’re loaded with artery-scrubbing soluble fiber. Eat your berries fresh or in a smoothie three times a week.
8. REQUEST THE CHILEAN RED
To reduce your risk of cancer, drink red wine from Chile. Chilean cabernet sauvignon is 38 percent higher than French wine in flavonols, which are antioxidants that plunder cancer-causing free radicals.
9. LEND A HAND
Men who do volunteer work at least once a week have half the death rate of those who don’t.
10. CRUNCH AWAY BACK PAIN
Seventy-five percent of all lower-back problems can be prevented by building your abdominal muscles. Aim for a dozen crunches every day.
11. ORDER THIN-CRUST PIZZA
It has a third fewer calories than thick-crust pie. Blot the cheese with a napkin to cut even more fat.
12. SKIP THAT SECOND CUP
The caffeine in 2 cups of coffee adds 16 beats per minute to your heart rate.
13. SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE
An unhappy one increases your chance of getting sick by 35 percent and shortens your life expectancy by 4 years.
14. EXERCISE DEPRESSION AWAY
Exercising for 40 minutes can reduce stress. In fact, studies show that working out on a regular basis can be as effective as taking antidepressants like Prozac.
15. FALL ASLEEP WITH CHERRIES
Cherries and cherry juice are concentrated sources of melatonin, a popular over-the-counter sleep aid.
16. PUT A SHOE ON YOUR PILLOW
It’ll determine whether your pillow supports your head and neck adequately. Fold the pillow in half and put a shoe on top; if the pillow springs back, it’s okay.
17. “KUR” YOUR FATIGUE
If you wake unusually early, dampen a towel with cool water and lightly wipe your arms, legs, and torso, then go back to bed. The body is very warm when it comes out of REM sleep. Back in bed, the body heats up even more. The result is a deep, restful sleep and more dreams. Called kur, this technique is standard at European spas.
18. RAISE YOUR REARVIEW
To prevent slouching (and the resultant lower-back pain) on long drives, tilt your rearview mirror up a bit. That way, you’ll have to sit up to see the cars behind.
19. TAKE VITAMIN E AND ASPIRIN DAILY
Researchers have found that this antioxidant-and-blood-thinner combination can reduce arterial plaque by 80 percent. The benefit of the two treatments together is so great that it may help men prevent atherosclerosis even if they can’t lower their cholesterol levels.
20. HAVE A BANANA
The potassium it contains can lower blood pressure. One per day is all it takes.
Madonna!
May 24th, 2006For “only” $100 each, we had an opportunity to see Madonna’s “Confessions” concert in Inglewood. I am not a huge Madonna fan, but I couldn’t turn this down. I wanted to fit in, but unfortunately I didn’t have any Madonna clothes to wear.
It was an awesome show that was lively, filled with lighting effects, and not too long; it’s hard not to enjoy a concert by one of music’s most controversial and lively performers. She even played a few of her older, more famous songs, which was great for non-hardcore fans like me.
To see what the concert looked like, I used my camera phone to take some pictures.
Car Repairs
May 27th, 2006I need to be more proactive about car care, and so I decided to take my Jeep in for a tune-up this morning. Luckily my engine was pretty clean, and there are only a few minor repairs/replacements to make (e.g. spark plugs, transmission, etc.). I figure a few hundred dollars spent now is better than a few thousand dollars spent later…which is usually what I’ve had to cough up for car repairs in the past.
Once I got home, for some reason I was motivated to organize all my car maintenance records — so I spent 2 hours reviewing all my old receipts (starting from back in Baltimore) and entering all the information into an Excel spreadsheet. And once I start Excel, I end up going crazy with it…analyzing it, making plots, the works!
Anyway, here are some interesting facts I found out from my morning calculations:
- I’ve spent $7000 on my car since January 2002; approximately $3500 of that is from letting my car go too long without maintenance and then having to spent lots of money to replace entire components (clutch, differentials, brakes)!
- I drive approximately 10,000 miles/year. Not bad, especially for insurance premium purposes.
- I crashed into Dumb Bitch in February 2003. DB, wherever you are, I hope it’s 6 feet under ground.
By the way, I finally found a good site that provides a detailed Jeep maintenance schedule. (I’ve been looking for one — hard copy or online version — for some time now, since my owner’s manual was stolen.)
American Idol: Wasted Time
January 28th, 2007
My life was circling the drain last night. I spent 3 hours watching American Idol, and it wasn’t as if I watched just one 3-hour episode…rather, I watched a one-hour segment three times. In a row. In one night.
In my defense it was pretty entertaining. I don’t ordinarily watch American Idol, but I do like watching the auditions where America’s least talented come out of the woodwork and entertain us. Last night’s auditions took place in Seattle, and you wouldn’t believe the freaks who live in that city — it’s a shame, too, because Seattle is such a cool city. Last night’s contestants looked like a disturbing cross between rodents and aliens from Star Wars. That, and the fact that many of them had a “touch” of something (i.e. they were surely in special education classes growing up).
Highlights included one incredibly unattractive girl who was delusional enough to nickname herself “The Hotness”. This girl’s unfortunate looks never even gave her a chance, but it didn’t matter since her singing sounded like she was constipated. And moaning on the toilet.
Celebrity Sightings
June 10th, 2007Now that I don’t live in Los Angeles I probably won’t have anymore celebrity sightings, which is one thing I’ll actually miss about that city. These are the few sightings I had during my four years living in LA, arranged chronologically (earliest listed first):
- Vince Vaughn — I spotted him and then followed him around for awhile at The Grove. He kept turning around and giving me dirty looks. Probably because I was stalking him.
- Geoffrey Rush — Spotted him during the same trip to The Grove. (I didn’t stalk him, though.)
- Luke Wilson — he entered Cuban restaurant Versailles while I was eating there. He also looked like shit, as if he hadn’t slept or showered in 3 days.
- Molly Shannon — in the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Robertson. We held the door open for her and her infant child; she seemed pretty nice.
- Paris Hilton — outside some fancy shops on Robertson, surrounded by hordes of paparazzi and flashes…looking clueless as ever.
- Viggo Mortensen — at Empenada Place, ordering in Spanish(!).
- Annoying and Ugly — I don’t know her name, but she’s the Indian girl from The Office. Saw her at the Arclight.
- Tara Reid — at the restaurant El Compadre. She looked pretty coherent so she must not yet have started boozing.