I know enough not to trust those "Geniuses" who work at the Genius Bar inside Apple stores.





Just because they wear the t-shirt doesn't make them a genius.

I know this because I brought my one (1) month-old MacBook Pro into two (2) different Apple stores last week and neither of the Geniuses behind the counter had any idea what was wrong with my computer. One of the geniuses I talked to doesn't even own a MacBook himself. What a poseur.

So I ended up getting a new replacement MacBook and it's all good now.




I'm a Mac because I can be. What does that mean? Let me explain:

John Chambers was not crazy when he proclaimed two years ago that the network will be the computer. You know, cloud computing, all that jazz. Everybody can now see that more and more applications and services are moving toward the web. Email, Blogging, Google Docs, Picasa / Flickr, etc. etc. is all becoming web-based.

The bicycle wheel is so strong because all the spokes are laced to a central hub. The same goes for computing. All our computers are hooked up to central servers when we connect to the Internet. It's simpler,  more efficient, and possibly more secure when "somebody else" is managing all the data, applications and software updates.

The server-based architecture allows you to store your data on a central server (say, Google) and access it anywhere. Centralized computing means you never have to back up your data anymore because it's on our secured servers, not your portable laptop that could get smashed or stolen. Sounds like a swell idea.

Similarly, more and more, you don't have to download applications (you don't even know it because you're not doing it!) to experience cool applications because it's all being brought to you over the web. Think: eBay, Paypal, online banking, web-based instant messenger, etc.

In the near future, all we will have to do as users is turn on our computer, fire up our web browser, and we can access all our data and web applications from anywhere in the world, just by providing our login info. It doesn't matter what computer you're using, what OS you have running, what software updates you may or may not have. All the important stuff - your data, settings and applications - is stored up in the cloud computing network, a huge cluster of computer server workhorses all interconnected to efficiently deliver you what you need whenever you need it.

Now that's genius!

I am officially a fan of smelly Chinese medicine. I will tell you why.

Last week, my legs were sore from running so I went to Ranch 99 looking to for some Tiger Balm. I asked the customer service lady if the store had Tiger Balm, and she had no clue. But some Chinese guy standing next to her overheard me and was like "You have sore muscles? I have what you need. Come here."

So I followed him and we walked over to his glass display case with all kinds of Chinese medicines. He pulled out a bottle of Tiger Balm, and said: "This is what u asked for." Then he quietly pointed to some aerosol can and said in a i'm not supposed to tell u this voice: "But this is much stronger. I would get this." So, what do I do? Of course I buy the much stronger one. It's called "Yunnan Baiyao External Analgesic Aerosol" and it comes in this no-frills aerosol can. You just pop open the cap, shake well, and spray the stuff where u have sore muscles. I do not think it is FDA approved either, but cannot be sure.

What I am sure of is that it works tremendously well. I sprayed it on and my legs immediately started to smell like soy sauce. But the stuff is seriously potent because my sore muscles felt much better within seconds. Bottom line - it works better than anything i've ever tried, but you will smell like soy sauce.



Ingredients: Comphor 10%, Menthol 3%, Bomeol, chinese yam, herba geranil, radix notoginseng.

Ranch 99. Customer Service will hook you up.

It seems like buying a car is becoming more and more like buying a computer.

It used to be a simple process:

- Go to car dealership
- Pick out car and haggle for a good price
- Buy car
- Drive and own it for as long as possible

But now, it seems like cars are changing so fast. Better fuel economy, alternative fuels, lithium-ion batteries, hybrid electrics, plug-in electrics, it's all changing so fast. You have to understand technology just to get an idea if a car is any good or not.

Now, when I read the specs on a new car, I actually think "how long will it be before the technology on this car becomes obsolete?" All this battery and braking technology makes traditional fossil-fuel engines seem like...dinosaurs...

In the future, I can imagine people saying: "Yeah, my hybrid electric plug-in car gets 65 mpg and goes 0-60 in 4.0 seconds - and is whisper quiet. But I really got it because Honda was doing a $199 / month lease on it with zero down. I guess they're trying to clear these out for the 2012 models that supposedly get 80 mpg on corn fuel."

Suddenly that slow-moving $100,000 Tesla from 2008 doesn't look so "exotic" anymore. Yes, the wave of change is moving fast in the automotive industry. And like computers, old models get left behind in the dust. And while that means better cars in the future, it makes the decision of buying a new car that much more complicated today.

An alternative is always the bicycle. But I hear that the "performance" ones can cost a grip.

When is that high speed train coming to the Bay Area?

Power Lunch Ride:



There's snow at 2200 ft elevation! Picture taken at Four Corners @ Skyline. Best bike ride of the year - so far.

Photo taken from my Treo

If you like looking at Christmas lights and don't want to blow out the power to your own house, then I have something to share with you.

There's a house in the Bay Area that is completely out of control and you must go and check out before the year is over. Actually, it's two houses side by side. Bewteen the two of them, there are 60,000 computer controlled Christmas lights on 188 different channels, all synchronized to music on FM 104.1. It's a freaking light show is what it is.

It may sound ridiculous but it's actually quite stunning to see up close and in person. All the trees are lit up, the street lights are wrapped like candy canes, there are snowmen moving around, there's a snow making machine, even an LED displaying the American flag. And everything just is synchronized to music. I won't post a picture because it simply does not do it justice. You have to go see it for yourself.

The address is: 1164 & 1168 Tangerine Way in Sunnyvale, CA.

The two houses are synchronized so you just park your car across the street, tune in, and watch the show. They accept donations for a food drive also. And between 8:00 and 8:30 pm every night the two houses do battle to cheesy Christmas songs.

If you think you've got a cool Christmas light display at your house, think again. These guys go all out. There's no competition. Just hand them the winer's trophy already.