Not so deep thoughts by Sean

Chili con Carne recipe

2009-03-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

* 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 large onions, chopped
* 1 chile pepper, chopped
* 5 cloves garlic, chopped
* 2 pounds lean ground beef
* 3 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
* 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
* 2 tablespoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons dried oregano
* 2 cinnamon sticks
* 6 whole cloves
* 2 (15.25 ounce) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium sized stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute onion, chile pepper and garlic until soft. Add ground beef: cook and stir until meat is browned.
2. Pour in tomatoes with liquid, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Stir in kidney beans, and cook another 15 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks before serving.

Sean's Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

2009-02-09T08:23:00.001-08:00

The recipe below is for my Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
4 oz of finely grinded oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
6 oz of milk chocolate chips
dried cranberries - use the same volume amount as the milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds)

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

3a. Put approximately 1 cup of oatmeal into a blender and grind it into a fine dust. You will need 4 oz of finely grinded oatmeal.

3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.

4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350F or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Tribute to Navin Parthasarathy

2008-08-04T15:06:00.001-07:00

This blog posting is a tribute to Navin Parthasarathy who passed away exactly two years ago today, on August 4th, 2006 when he was swimming and drowned in a lake near Cornell University. I miss him a lot and sometimes I can't believe that he is gone. We miss you Navin.

http://spham.blogspot.com/2006/08/goodbye-and-rip-to-my-good-friend.html

No Name Salad Dressing

2008-08-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a recipe for a salad dressing that I call the "No Name Salad Dressing".

salad vinegar - 1/2 cup
chicken broth - 1/2 cup
shallots - 2 tbsp
black pepper - 1 tbsp
salt - 1 tbsp
sugar - 1 tbsp
lemon juice
Grey Poupon mustard - 2 tbsp

Patience is a Virtue

2008-05-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

As I sit here with my 19 month old daughter watching "The Wiggles" on a Friday evening, I have finally found out the meaning of patience. What am I doing exactly? Absolutely nothing. She likes watching "The Wiggles" so I am just patiently sitting next to her, enjoying the fact that she is enjoying this program on the television.

West Lake Beef Soup Recipe

2008-02-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a recipe for West Lake Beef Soup that I lifted somewhere off of the internet.

Ingredients

225 g filet of beef, sliced across the grain into pieces
4 cups stock (broth)
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons cornflour, dissolved in water
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 dash black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped scallions

Directions

Marinate beef with corn flour, sugar, rice wine and soy sauce for 15 minutes.
Bring the stock to boil.
Add in the beef.
Add in cornstarch solution when stock starts to boil again.
Slowly add in the beaten egg whites while gently stirring the soup.
Sprinkle a dash of black pepper and the chopped scallion to the soup.
Remove the soup for serving.

Sean's Kung Pao Chicken

2008-02-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

Here is a recipe that I got somewhere off of the internet for Kung Pao Chicken. I personally tweak it by doubling the sauce (rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar) and removing the peanuts. I like the extra sauce and I don't like the peanuts, but it's up to you.

Ingredients

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons light sesame oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons green onions , chopped with tops
2 garlic cloves , minced
1/4-1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (to your own taste)
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger (can use fresh grated if preferred)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
4 cups cooked rice , hot

Directions

1. Combine chicken and cornstarch in small bowl.
2. Toss to coat.
3. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet or wok on medium heat.
4. Add chicken.
5. Stir fry 5- 7 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Add onions, garlic, red pepper and ginger to skillet.
8. Stir fry 15 seconds.
9. Remove from heat.
10. Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in small bowl.
11. Stir well.
12. Add to skillet.
13. Return chicken to skillet.
14. Stir until chicken is well coated.
15. Stir in nuts.
16. Heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
17. Serve over hot rice.

Sean's Variation on the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

2008-01-23T10:48:00.000-08:00

The recipe below is a slight tweak on the famous Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Basically, I have added one cup of finely grinded oatmeal to the cookie recipe and 1/4 cup of shortening (shown below in red).

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of shortening, Crisco brand preferred
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds)

2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

3a. Put 1 cup of oatmeal into a blender and grind it into a fine dust.

3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.

4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

I voted in the California primary

2008-01-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

I'm a registered Democrat and I recently received my absentee ballot in the mail. I voted in the primary election for Hilary. A friend of mine pointed out that if the pattern holds true, we should have a Clinton in office as President of the United States.

See the pattern: Bush (the father), Clinton, Bush (Dubya), and now Clinton (the lady).

Remember that if you don't vote, you can't complain.

Urban Dictionary

2007-10-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

street pharmacist - n. a drug dealer; one who deals in the selling of illicit drugs

female entertainment specialist - n. a prostitute; one who deals in the selling of sex for money

entertainment agent - n. a pimp; one who brokers the sexual favors of women for profit

street pharmacy - n. a drug spot or area; a location or area where one can easily find street pharmacists for the buying of illicit drugs

fuzz - n. the police

popo - n. the police

stupid - adj. used to amplify both positive and negative words
"The food in that restaurant is stupid phat."
"The clothes in the store are stupid expensive."

Excerpts from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War"

2007-09-14T22:38:00.001-07:00

18. All warfare is based on deception.

19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;
when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we
are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;
when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder,
and crush him.

21. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him.
If he is in superior strength, evade him.

22. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to
irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

23. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest.
If his forces are united, separate them.

24. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where
you are not expected.

Miss South Carolina Sounds Stupid

2007-08-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Miss South Carolina, Lauren Caitlin Upton, gave the most retarded response during the Miss Teen USA pageant!

Host Mario Lopez stood by as she was asked, “Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?”

Miss South Carolina answered, “I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uhmmm, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps and uh, I believe that our, I, education like such as uh, South Africa, and uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uhhh, our education over here in the US should help the US, uh, should help South Africa, it should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future, for us.”

Here's a Good Blonde Joke

2007-08-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

There was a blonde who found herself sitting next to a Lawyer on an airplane. The lawyer just kept bugging the blonde wanting her to play a game of intelligence. Finally, the lawyer offered her 10 to 1 odds, and said every time the blonde could not answer one of his questions, she owed him $5, but every time he could not answer hers, he'd give her $50.00. The lawyer figured he could not lose, and the blonde reluctantly accepted.

The lawyer first asked, "What is the distance between the Earth and the nearest star?"

Without saying a word the blonde handed him $5. Then the blonde asked, "What goes up a hill with 3 legs and comes back down the hill with 4 legs?"

Well, the lawyer looked puzzled. He took several hours, looking up everything he could on his laptop and even placing numerous air-to-ground phone calls trying to find the answer. Finally, angry and frustrated, he gave up and paid the blonde $50.00

The blonde put the $50 into her purse without comment, but the lawyer insisted, "What is the answer to your question?"

Without saying a word, the blonde handed him $5.

Tribute to Navin Parthasarathy

2007-08-04T21:49:00.001-07:00

I don't usually remember my friends' birthdays but for some reason I definitely remember when this friend of mine passed away. Navin Parthasarathy passed away exactly one year ago today on August 4th, 2006. I miss you alot and may you rest in peace.

http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/navin/index.html

Time is the Fire in Which We Burn

2007-07-27T14:38:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about time quite a bit lately. I've been reflecting on how quickly time passes us by. My daughter is exactly 10 months and 1 day old today and I have been trying to remember what exactly has transpired in my life in the last 10 months and I can't really recall anything significant except for watching the growth of my kid. Time is such a blur these days that I only keep track of the passing of the week by knowing and remembering that trash collection day is on Tuesday mornings. Therefore, every Monday night after coming home from work, I pull out both my trash and recycling bins to the curb. And everytime I do this, I remember that a week in my life has passed by.

Can you piss correctly?

2007-07-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder why people (men in this case) can't piss correctly? Have you ever seen urine on the floor of a bathroom right below the men's urinal? I'm trying to figure out what happened here. Did the person not know how to aim correctly? I mean the urinal is pretty big and it's pretty hard to miss. I could accept it if it were only a few drops here or there, but I am puzzled when I see a huge puddle below the urinal. I guess he didn't know how to aim ...

Sean's Lamb Souvlaki Recipe

2007-06-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

Here is my lamb souvlaki or kebab recipe.

Ingredients:
4 lbs boneless leg of lamb - I usually like to get this from Costco
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 shallots - minced
1 clove of garlic - minced
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp of dried oregano
Juice of one fresh lime

Cut the boneless leg of lamb into 1 inch cubes and place in a stainless steel mixing bowl.
Drizzle 3 tbsp of olive oil over the lamb cubes.
Add the minced shallots and garlic.
Add the salt, pepper, and oregano.
Squeeze the juice from one lime over everything.
Mix all the ingredients together and let sit overnight.
Your lamb souvlaki is now ready to be grilled.

The Good Father

2007-04-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

I don't need to be a billionaire.
I don't need to be a millionaire.
I don't need a shitload of money.
I don't need fast cars and electronic gadgets.

I want and need to be a good father to my daughter. But how do I do that? How is being a good father measured? In school, we take tests and get grades; that is how we are measured in terms of performance in the classroom. At work, we have yearly work reviews with our managers and they measure our performance based on some criteria. If you run a mile, you can measure how long it took you to run the mile. But how is being a "good" father measured? I don't know but everyday I try to be the best father that I can be. Will my "best" be good enough? Who will grade my performance as a father? I don't know...

Tribute to the Old Spice Commercial featuring Bruce Campbell

2007-04-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

If you have it, you don’t need it
If you need it, you don’t have it
If you have it, u need more of it
If you have more of it, you don’t need less of it
You need it to get it
And you certainly need it to get more of it
But if you don’t already have any of it to begin with
You can't get any of it to get started which means
You really have no idea how to get it in the first place, do you?
You can share it, sure
You can even stock pile it if you’d like
But you can’t fake it
Wanting it, needing it, wishing for it
The point is if you’ve never had any of it, ever, people just seem to know

The beautiful poetry above comes from an Old Spice commercial featuring Bruce Campbell. One of my favorite commercials of all time.

Changing Habits Because of Necessity

2007-04-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

I've always believed that you can only change your habits because of need. Let me explain to you why.

I have recently started to recycle all my trash at home. Do I really care about the environment? Not really. I'm going to be dead in 50 to 60 years anyways. Why bother?

But people ask me, "What about your kids? You should care because they will still be alive in 5o to 60 years."

My answer to that question is "Let their generation worry about it." Does this seem selfish? Maybe and maybe not; but it's the damn honest truth.

I currently pay something like twenty-two bucks a month for my garbage collection. This is for a 32 gallon trash can. If I want a 64 gallon trash can, the price is double, like $44 per month. So I just stick with the 32 gallon because it's cheaper. But, the city of San Jose gives me a 96 gallon trash can for recyclable items for FREE. Since my trash bin is not big enough for all of my trash, I find a compelling need to recycle all my recyclable items. This in turn allows me enough room for all of my trash. So now I am an avid recycler. But, I have become a recycler not because I give a shit about the environment but because I have a small trash can.

Time Flies

2007-03-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

You ever notice how time flies as you get older? I mean this isn't some new profound revelation that I just came up with. It just seems like the days and weeks go by so fast. You come into work on Monday. Then Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday come. Then Friday comes. Then you have the two weekend days, Saturday and Sunday. It just seems to me that I don't know where all my time goes. I go to work and then I go home. It's the same thing every weekday. One minute it's Monday 9:00 A.M. and the next minute it's Friday 5 P.M. How did that happen?

Time is the Great Equalizer

2007-03-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

You ever think about how much time you have in a day. Yes, it's 24 hours. Everybody has the same amount of time in a day. Rich people, poor people, smart people, and stupid people all have the same amount of time in a day. But what you choose to do in your 24 hours is important. How efficiently you spend your 24 hours is key. Time is the great equalizer.

The Net Zero Effect

2007-02-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

Have you ever asked somebody, maybe a friend, to help you move? Do you agree that moving from one home to another is a pain in the ass? So if your friend agrees to help you move, he/she is taking time out from his/her schedule to help you move. You gain that person's time and energy in helping you move but they lose their personal time that they could have done something else with. So you gain their time (+ time) in helping you but they lose their own personal time (- time). This is what I call the "net zero effect".

What if someone asks you to take them to the airport because they wanted to save some money by not calling a shuttle service, and you have to take time off your regular work day to take them to the airport? Again someone gains time or money and you lose time or money. This is what I call the "net zero effect".

The Chinese Zodiac

2007-02-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

Under the Chinese zodiac, there are 12 rotating animal signs. There is the rat, ox, tiger, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, rabbit, dog or pig. In addition there are five rotating elements - gold, water, wood, fire and earth - of which gold is the most coveted. So there is a 12 year cycle between when the animals repeat and a 60 year cycle when both the animal/element will repeat.

2007 is the year of the golden pig, arguably the most coveted of all the animals/signs. Supposedly China is bracing themselves for an increase in the birth rate this year because people want to have their children in the year of the golden pig. The golden pig is supposedly very lucky.

So do I believe in this shit? About as much as I believe in Santa Claus dropping down my damn chimney, eating milk and cookies, and then dropping presents under the Christmas tree. But hey, you're entitled to your own beliefs and if you want to believe in the golden pig, then be my guest.

Blonde Joke

2007-02-12T22:17:00.001-08:00

BLONDE: "Excuse me, what time is it right now?"

WOMAN: "It's 11:25PM."

BLONDE: (confused look on face) "You know, it's the weirdest thing, I've asked that question thirty times today, and every time someone gives me a different answer."

Ode to a Cubicle

2007-02-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

Spend my days in a cubicle
my mind is frozen like an icicle
Sitting in my chair, eyes staring at the screen
I do my thing, don't wanna be seen
What time is it? I have a hunch
It's probably time to go to lunch
Come back from lunch, back to my chair
I think to myself life is quite fair
It's 6 o'clock, 'bout time to go home
Go home to my family for I am not alone.

Great Hole in the Wall Places to Eat

2007-02-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

Sliders Burgers in San Jose on San Carlos Street makes really damn good hamburgers. I mean they grill these 8 oz. (yeah boy, that's half a pound) hamburgers over a rotating flame grill. This shit is the bomb. The ground beef patties are made fresh in the back of the restaurant. After they grill your hamburger, you get to put your own toppings and condiments on this burger. This place has got to be one of my favorite places for a hamburger. Also, the price of an 8 oz. hamburger meal with fries and a drink is something like $6.50. Yes, it's good and cheap.

Sliders Burgers
1645 W. San Carlos Street
San Jose, CA 95128
408-298-4340

Many many years ago, this chick (we'll keep her identity anonymous in order to protect the innocent) turned me onto Mario's Peruvian & Seafood on Melrose Ave. This hole in the wall place in Los Angeles makes this really phat dish called "Lomo Saltado". Every time I go to LA, I always stop by this restaurant and eat the phat lomo saltado (about $9.50 for the dish) and have a can of Inca Cola. If you don't know what kind of food I'm talking about here, then you're missing out. And if you're missing out, well I can't help you there.

Mario's Peruvian & Seafood Restaurant
5786 Melrose Ave (Cross Street: Rossmore Avenue)
Los Angeles, CA 90038-3844
(323) 466-4181

Thai food is pretty much standard fare. I mean to say that one Thai restaurant can't be that much better or worse than the next Thai restaurant because their menus are all standardized and they all serve pretty much the same dishes. But I think that Westwood Thai Cafe makes pretty good Thai food and the prices are quite cheap here. This is a little hole in the wall restaurant on Westwood Blvd. across from the Borders bookstore. If you're in the Westwood area, you should definitely stop by this place for some good and cheap Thai food.

Westwood Thai Cafe
1375 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-477-7031

Nothing else left to do

2007-02-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

So people ask me why I got married. My usual reply is "Might as well get married, ain't nothing else left to do." That's partly true. I mean if you're dating a significant other for some long amount of time, you either need to get married or split up. Right? I don't know but it pretty much amounts to "either shit or get off the pot."

So after I got married, I bought a condominium. It's the natural progression right? You buy a condo together with your spouse because you have 2 incomes coming in and it's probably a smarter thing to do than dump your money into the black hole we call rent.

Many years after I bought a condo, I had a baby. Nothing else left to do, might as well have a kid, right? Having a baby is one of the most miraculous miracles of life. I mean this is something that you and your spouse create and this baby of yours is and always will be a constant thing in your life no matter what.

After you have a kid, you might as well buy that single family home with a backyard and a white picket fence. You see, you have a kid now and you want your kid(s) to be able to grow up with a little back yard and run around your lawn. So you might as well buy a house because there's nothing else left to do. Now that I have just purchased my house, I really don't have anything left to do. Maybe I have to wait until I'm 40 years old and have a mid-life crisis and then I'll buy a convertible or something because there's nothing else left to do.

Tribute to Eazy-E

2007-01-31T22:48:00.000-08:00

Eazy-E was quite the poet. He was a gangsta rapper when gangsta rap was new and just coming up out of the hood. But this fool died of AIDS. Anyways, here's one of my favorite excerpts from his poetry, a song called "Dopeman" by N.W.A., a group that he was once a part of.

Yeah boy wear corduroy
Money up to here, but unemployed

Vietbonics is the new Ebonics

2007-01-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

African American Vernacular English is known colloquially as Ebonics (yeah this shit is spelled with a capital 'E' because it's the real deal Holyfield). So if African-Americans have their own vernacular English, I believe that Vietnamese people should also have their own vernacular English; I like to call it Vietbonics (note the capital letter 'V' makes it official as well).

Have you ever heard a Vietnamese person speak Vietbonics? Do you know what it is? Well let me expand on this topic in a later blog post, but I just wanted to let you readers know that this Vietbonics shit is real and it does exist whether you think so or not. Perhaps I should contact the Center for Applied Linguistics, www.cal.org, and let them in on this new language we call Vietbonics. What say you?

The cylinder

2007-01-30T22:54:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder how this shit works? I mean you get inside this long metal cylinder looking thing and you sit there for at least 10 hours, although it feels much longer. And then, one minute you're at the airport in San Francisco and the next minute you're in Taiwan. I mean how does this shit work? How did you just travel 10,000 miles in roughly 12 hours? If you looked on a map, you would say, "Damn, one minute I was here and now I'm there." I guess this thing is called an airplane but I'll never really understand it.

Here's a good blonde joke

2007-01-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

A blonde girl keeps walking down her drive to her mail box. She keeps doing this until her neighbor asks her why she keeps doing that. The blonde girl replies “My computer keeps telling me that i’ve got mail”.

Are you too fast too furious?

2007-01-27T01:21:00.000-08:00

So I'm driving today on San Tomas Expressway and this retard in his late model Mustang Saleen revvs his engine while we're at a red light. Vroom vroom. And then again, vroom, vroom, vroom. You get the idea. I mean, what the hell do these fucking people do that shit for anyways? Is that foolio auditioning for the next sequel to the movie "Too Fast Too Furious"?

So when the light turns green, he cuts off the car to his left and passes him and then passes the next car to his right. Was that really goddamn necessary? I mean he is probably going to arrive at his destination a whole 3 seconds faster! Oh my God, what am I going to do with the whopping 3 seconds that I saved in my whole day?

So whenever I see these retards drive excessively stupid, I make comments to my friends and we might joke that this guy or that guy is either "The Fast and the Furious" or "Too Fast Too Furious". Yeah, that's you, the guy in the Honda Civic with the huge whale tail spoiler and the modified twin exhausts that makes a shitload of extra noise for no reason at all.

... to what end?

2007-01-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

The quote of the day is "... to what end?". What does this mean. Well I've often thought about the meaning of life and so I was wondering out loud, "What if I had a shit load of money? Would it improve my life?" What would I do with it? So let's say I have some money and I buy this new Apple iPhone? Did it really make my life that much better? Am I all of a sudden that much better off and happier cuz I got this stupid fucking thing called an iPhone? Probably not. "... to what end?"

What if I liked drugs and partying and I threw a party with a bunch of friends and we had a bunch of hookers and cocaine? After the euphoria of partying died off, I would be in the same place/condition as I was before the partying. Partying ... to what end?

I do like travelling so if I had a bunch of money, I would probably go and travel the world. But after I finished travelling the world, what would I do next? Travelling ... to what end?

What are the constant things in my life that won't change; things that have no end? These things are: my family, my friends, my beliefs, and my job (note that jobs do change but working does not change). These things have no end. But these other tangible things/items, they all have an end.

But don't get me wrong, I do think that money is important. Money buys security and it buys these little fucking electronic trinkets that we think we need in order to improve our way of life.

Do you have balls of steel?

2007-01-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

So this foolio (variant of fool and Coolio) friend of mine and I were in the same trade; we were going long on DKS (we sold 10 March 50 puts) and the position was going against us. A few days earliier, we closed out our short position on UNH (sold 10 January 47.50 calls) and got ass-raped for at least 3 large between each of us. Now DKS was going against us but we were holding strong. Foolio tells me that we should double down and average down our cost basis for DKS. It would have been a good move but we both hesitated due to the recent big loss on UNH. As it turns out, Foolio was right but we were scared of taking on another loss. We discussed it later, after the fact, and he said to me, "Well you have to have balls of steel and a dick of gold to go into these positions even after a tough loss."

Damn you Maxtor hard drives!

2007-01-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

I hate Maxtor hard drives. They suck. My Maxtor (from now on we'll call them CrapStor) 160GB Hard drive just failed. I'm pretty sure it's the mechanical heads that failed as I can hear clicking sounds on my hard disk drive. I ain't ever fuckin' buying a Crapstor again. My hard drive had a shitload of pictures and documents on them, and now they're gone. In any event, if you were just about to buy a Crapstor, I suggest that you don't. Go and buy a Seagate hard drive or something.

So let's look at this shit philosophically. Is it my fault that I chose to buy a Crapstor cuz it was on sale? Or is it their fault that they design and manufacture shit hard drives?

Here is a summary of my stock account transactions to date

2006-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

If the proof is in the pudding, then let me show you my pudding. Here is a screenshot of my latest trades that I have made. Click on the picture below to see the details.

Long on AMCC at 3.32 on 11/13

2006-11-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

I bought 2000 shares of AMCC today, 11/13/06, at $3.32.

Quote of the Day

2006-11-01T03:10:00.000-08:00

"You wanna be makin' moves on the Street? If you see the heat coming around the corner, you've got to be able to drop everything and get out in sixty seconds flat."

What the hell does this quote mean? First of all, this is Robert DeNiro's quote in the movie "Heat". But when I use it, it means that if you have equities or options positions on the Street (Wall Street that is), and you see some something about your position that you don't like (price/action, news, volume, etc...) you should dump it.

Short Jan 07 WCC 60 Puts on 10/10/2006

2006-10-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

I'm bullish on WCC right now. So today I went short on 10 WCC Jan 60 Puts at $2.45. I expect to let these options expire worthless by the third week of January 2007. If all goes well, I will make $2450 minus tax and tip by just being patient.

Short Jan 07 RHAT 25 Calls on 10/05/2006

2006-10-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

I'm bearish on RHAT right now. So today I went short on 10 RHAT Jan 25 Calls at $1.20. I expect to let these options expire worthless by the third week of January 2007. If all goes well, I will make $1200 minus tax and tip by just being patient.

Here is a summary of my stock account transactions to date

2006-09-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

The proof is in the pudding, so let me show you the pudding. See below for a screenshot of my Etrade trading activity. So far, I've made $2723 on a $10,000 investment. Click on the picture link below to see detailed trading activity.

Long on MRVL at 17.68 on 9/7/06 and closed out 50 minutes later

2006-09-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 6:20am before the market opened this morning.
Went long on MRVL f0r 1000 shares at 17.68 on 9/07/06 at 6:36am PT.

I closed my long position on MRVL at 7:24am PT at $18.03.

Profit: 1000 shares x $0.35 = $350 before tax and tip.

Sold 1000 shares of MRVL at $18.67 today on 9/6/06

2006-09-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

Today, 9/6/06, I closed my long position of 1000 shares of MRVL at $18.67. Not bad for a 15 day trade.

Profit: 1000 shares x $0.67 = $670.00 before commission and taxes.

Long on MRVL at 18.00 on 8/22/06

2006-08-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Went long on MRVL at 1000 shares @ $18.00 today. The goal here is to make about $1.15 per share in a short amount of time.

The first rule of trading stocks: never look back.

2006-08-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I dumped my Marvell stock at a profit. Today, the stock went up another $1.15 during the morning trading. Did I look back and kick myself saying that I should have held for another day? NO.

The first rule of trading is that you never look back upon your trades. You never shoulda coulda. If I was able to look back on all my trades and magically correct them somehow, I would be Warren Buffet by now. I don't even think or talk about how I could have kept the stock for another day or another month and could have made more money. The fact is that I'm not a clairvoyant and I can't see into the future. I'm a trader (or at least trying to be) and I make my decisions based on the market movement and my analysis.

So anytime I hear people talk about how they should have bought this stock or how they should have sold at this or that price, I automatically know that they're a rookie trader. Rookies always talk about how they should have done this or that. I'm not a rookie trader, so I don't look back on past trades and say stuff like "I should have bought this stock at this price." I'm always looking forward towards the next trade.

Closed Long Position on MRVL at $18.57 on 8/15/06

2006-08-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

Today, 8/15/06, I closed my long position on MRVL at $18.57.

Profit: 620 shares x $0.57 = $353.40 before commission and taxes.

Long on MRVL at 18.00 on 8/7/06

2006-08-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today I bought 620 shares of MRVL at 18.00. Let's see how this trade goes.

Goodbye and R.I.P. to my good friend Navin Parthasarathy

2006-08-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

This Saturday morning, August 5th, 2006, as I was waiting for CalTrain at the Lawrence station in Santa Clara, I received a very devastating voicemail from a friend of mine. This friend told me that our mutual buddy Navin Parthasarathy had drowned while swimming in a lake near Cornell University in Ithaca, NY on Friday. I was crushed. Navin was a very good friend of mine. During the 2000-2001 school year, we studied together in the electrical engineering graduate program at UC-Santa Barbara. We hung out together all the time. I took him to Las Vegas for his first time. We went camping together at Big Sur. When he used to call me on the phone, he would always say to me, "Ass, what's up." This was our typical greeting as I had taught him how to say this. But no more.

Navin I will miss you sorely. You are gone, but not forgotten.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060807/NEWS01/608070331/1002

Sold BRCM at 24.52

2006-08-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

Today I closed out my BRCM position. I sold 46o shares at 24.52. I made 1.50 x 460 shares = 690 before taxes and commissions.

Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth"

2006-08-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

I saw the Al Gore documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" today. More details and a review about this documentary coming soon.

Who supplies Hezbollah? Who supplies Israel?

2006-07-31T22:55:00.000-07:00

The United States government and media complain that Syria and Iran are supplying weapons to Hezbollah. Well who do you think supplies weapons to Israel? Do the jets and bombs that the Israelis use just casually appear in the airplane hangars? Yeah, that's right; the United States supplies weapons to the Israelis. How come nobody in the media complains about this fact? The hypocrisy of the Bush administration knows no bounds.

Like I always say, "War is a business and business is good."

Al Gore "took the initiative in creating the Internet"

2006-07-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

I must defend Al Gore a bit here. He didn't really say that he "invented" the Internet. But he did say that he "took the initiative in creating the Internet." Now what does that mean exactly? I take the initiative to get my ass out of bed every morning to go to work. I take the initiative to stuff my mouth with a stupid fat hamburger at lunch. I take the initiative to use the urinal to relieve myself when my bladder is full. But what does that mean exactly for me (or Al Gore) to "take the initiative."

Here is an excerpt of the transcript from Al Gore's interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's 'Late Edition' on March 9th, 1999.

BLITZER: I want to get to some of the substance of domestic and international issues in a minute, but let's just wrap up a little bit of the politics right now.

GORE: Well, I will be offering -- I'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins. And it will be comprehensive and sweeping. And I hope that it will be compelling enough to draw people toward it. I feel that it will be.
But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

Long on BRCM

2006-07-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

I've been long on Broadcom since Friday July 21st, 2006. I'm in at $23.03 for 460 shares. Let's see where this goes.

Let's make money like WarBuf

2006-07-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

So I had this stupid idea that I want to be like Warren Buffet. I don't really want to be like him. I just want to have a shitload of money like him. I call him WarBuf. I'm gonna open a stock trading account and put 10 large in there. Another one of my buddies is gonna match me and put 10 large as well. 20 large total. With any luck, I'll make about 50 percent a year on this account. Let's see how I do. If anybody is reading this shit, I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing in this stock trading account and I'll also let you know what I'm buying and selling.

You ever wonder what WarBuf does with all his money? I wonder if that fool spends it on hookers and cocaine. Cuz let me tell ya, If I had his kind of money, I'd be all over the hookers and cocaine.

Not so deep thoughts by Sean

Chili con Carne recipe

Sean's Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

Tribute to Navin Parthasarathy

No Name Salad Dressing

Patience is a Virtue

West Lake Beef Soup Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Marinate beef with corn flour, sugar, rice wine and soy sauce for 15 minutes.

Bring the stock to boil.

Add in the beef.

Add in cornstarch solution when stock starts to boil again.

Slowly add in the beaten egg whites while gently stirring the soup.

Sprinkle a dash of black pepper and the chopped scallion to the soup.

Remove the soup for serving.

Sean's Kung Pao Chicken

Sean's Variation on the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I voted in the California primary

Urban Dictionary

Excerpts from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War"

Miss South Carolina Sounds Stupid

Here's a Good Blonde Joke

Tribute to Navin Parthasarathy

Time is the Fire in Which We Burn

Can you piss correctly?

Sean's Lamb Souvlaki Recipe

The Good Father

Tribute to the Old Spice Commercial featuring Bruce Campbell

Changing Habits Because of Necessity

Time Flies

Time is the Great Equalizer

The Net Zero Effect

The Chinese Zodiac

Blonde Joke

Ode to a Cubicle

Great Hole in the Wall Places to Eat

Nothing else left to do

Tribute to Eazy-E

Vietbonics is the new Ebonics

The cylinder

Here's a good blonde joke

Are you too fast too furious?

... to what end?

Do you have balls of steel?

Damn you Maxtor hard drives!

Here is a summary of my stock account transactions to date

Long on AMCC at 3.32 on 11/13

Quote of the Day

Short Jan 07 WCC 60 Puts on 10/10/2006

Short Jan 07 RHAT 25 Calls on 10/05/2006

Here is a summary of my stock account transactions to date

Long on MRVL at 17.68 on 9/7/06 and closed out 50 minutes later

Sold 1000 shares of MRVL at $18.67 today on 9/6/06

Long on MRVL at 18.00 on 8/22/06

The first rule of trading stocks: never look back.

Closed Long Position on MRVL at $18.57 on 8/15/06

Long on MRVL at 18.00 on 8/7/06

Goodbye and R.I.P. to my good friend Navin Parthasarathy

Sold BRCM at 24.52

Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth"

Who supplies Hezbollah? Who supplies Israel?

Al Gore "took the initiative in creating the Internet"

Long on BRCM

Let's make money like WarBuf