Lilplaytime

Had three topics I wanted to write about so I figured I would combine them all in one.

First off, Picasa debuted a new face recognition software last month.  Currently, only available on the web.  It made tagging pictures amazingly quick and painless.  It was able to scan all the pics in the album and then find (or estimate) which parts were faces.  Then on top of that, Picasa grouped the faces that were similar for quicker tagging.  Amazing!  Have you tried it yet?

Second off, a month ago, I noticed the Yogurt trend blowing up all around the Bay Area.  Seems to had first taken off in Cupertino w/ Yogurtland.  The next thing you know there was a Fro-Yo, Fro-Zo, Fro-**.  Some are ghetto knockoffs.  Right now the closest one to our house is in Milpitas, but it’s only a matter of time before there is one right next to the McD’s on the corner.  Although, with the recent state of the economy maybe frozen yogurt may not blow up quite so quickly, since people will have less discretionary spending money.  What other places do you think will have a tough time through this economic down turn?

Third off, Thank you to Facebook.  I was hesitant to joining for the longest time.  After having Friendster and losing interest in that social network, I didn’t think Facebook would be much different.  I was WRONG, I’ll admit that loudly.  The site has openned up doors to old friends and being able to keep in the know of latest updates.  The apps that allow you to play games and send fun things (pokes, food, etc.) to friends is addicting.  Granted not all apps are install worthy, so you have to give them a try for while before you axe them.  But overall, FB has a great model for keeping the user’s interested and coming back.  Are you on the FB?

I can’t begin to tell you the frustration and multitude of emotion that goes with trying to provide tech support. My dad has a laptop which he uses to mostly browse the web, but every now and then he wants to do more. This is when trying to explain something when you can’t see the screen becomes painful. The last time I visited him I tried to install VNC but ran into some weird routing issue. Given the limited time, I didn’t want to debug it and gave up.

From then on, any calls for tech support has been a test of patience. The other day, I was in a bad spot. My dad wanted to figure out how to open a DVD on his laptop. Benign request until you remember that my dad is technically illiterate.
“Do you see the C drive”
“No”
“Do you see My Computer”
“Yes”
“What’s below that”
“Local Disk parenthesis C colon parenthesis”
“That is known as the C drive” - sigh

After 15 minutes of trying to “blindly” walk him through using Windows Explorer, I resolved to go in an entirely route. I remembered a recommendation on LifeHacker to use Team Viewer. Surprisingly, talking my dad to the website and downloading the file didn’t take too long. Then getting him to open the installer and get through the installation steps wasn’t bad either. Then with the program running all he had to do was give me the computer ID and the password. With that a gigantic weight was lifted. I could now see what he is seeing and easily direct him. I could see where confusion came from b/c some of his layout was different from mine. I could even move the cursor if needed.

Thank you Team Viewer, you stopped me from going insane.

Met up with Trang for lunch today and on the way there and back I counted three people using their cellphones while driving. Another was dialing but didn’t have their phone to there ear. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but today California started a new law stating drivers can’t call and drive. Technically, they can’t have the phone to their ear. I like this law b/c as a motorcyclist, distracted people are just about the highest danger out there.

By the way, I found my wallet in Trang’s car, four days after I noticed it missing. Ironically, it was the same day I had gone to the DMV to get a replacement license. Plus, I had already reported two of my credit cards.

updated-just the other day I saw two more people on their cell phones while driving. Recently, they have outlawed texting while driving, which will take effect in January. How will cops know if you’re just holding your phone or actually texting?

There was youngster featured on Oprah. A filipina with a huge voice. Charice Pempengco came on stage and sang the hell out of the song “I Have Nothing”. I am hoping she comes out with a CD soon b/c she’s got talent.

Also brought to mind the new lead singer of Journey, the 80s rock band. Arnel Pineda was rocking with a cover band and was discovered by the band through an online video. Next thing you know they ask him to be the new lead singer.

On another note, the people who live on the other side of the main cross street near my house have a really annoying habit. They take the shopping carts home from the grocery (which is technically stealing) and then leave them on the main street near our houses. What sucks most is that they actually take their groceries out on their side of the street then push their carts to our side and ditch them. How rude. I have actually watched as one lady did this. Then if I try to push the carts back to their side, their gardener will just push it back thinking that my side ditched the carts, although all along it was their side.

On the topic of rude, I have a colleague who has no regard for manners. Burping out loud, farting and interrupting others are par for the course. I have actually started a tally to track how often bodily noises occur. Current count 15 since beginning of last month - mind you I’m not at my desk all the time either and I usually have my headphones on.

Since the #1 cause of strife and conflict in a marriage is finances. One topic I felt may be of interest would be how Trang and I handle our monthly finances. At first it seemed a bit complicated but with the help of Excel, everything runs like a well oiled machine. The basic premise is that our joint expenditures are proportionate and what we put in or take out is proportionate.

First off, we had to figure a ratio for splitting stuff up. What I did was take our income taxes and calculate our joint income. Then, divide our own individual contribution. So for example, if we jointly made 100k last year and my income was 65k and hers was 35k. Then the ratio would be 65-35.

We start off with one joint credit card, one joint checking and each with our own personal checking account. All of joint bills are paid from the joint account. Some basic examples would be mortagage, our joint credit card, groceries, house/car insurance, taxes, and utilities. At the end of the day, 90% of things we spend our money on is jointly paid for. Examples of things not paid for from the joint may be a video games, electronics, purses, or personal care services.
The gray area comes in the categories of clothes and accessories. Basically, the joint account is for necessities. If you can live without it but still want it then it should come out of eachother’s personal account.

Most important is we make sure we pay off the joint credit card each month using the joint checking. Credit card interest is big No-no. On the average, we spend about 6k a month from the joint checking account. So we set a “base line” of 7k, I think of that like a credit limit. It’s more of a water mark to be aware of. At the end of each month, I go through the debits in the joint checking account statement and total them up.

Next, I go through all the credits on the joint account. I add up the credits from my income for me. Add up Trang’s credits from her income. Then add up any credits which are for BOTH of us. Examples of credits for both of us would be a financial gift, investment interest, or a rebate. Now I have four totals, 3 for credits and 1 for debit. I multiply the BOTH credit by the ratio we established. Using the original example, I would get 65% of BOTH and Trang gets 35%. I then add the values to our respective credit totals. Credits are done. I do a similar calculation for the debits total. I would be responsible for 65% of the expenses and Trang is responsible for 35%. Now for the part that can get confusing.

We look at the timing similar to our credit cards. For example, you rack up charges in January, but you get and pay the bill in February. What that means is we take the debit total from the previous month and minus the credit total from the current month. If the number is positive then that person is short and has to make up for it by adding the difference into the pot. If the number is negative then that person can tranfer the difference out to their personal account. Once again, I let Excel do all the work for me, I just put in the four totals for that month.

Some of The keys are
watch if any unexpected expenses would push the amount being paid out over the account base line.