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james while john had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher

Friday, August 8th, 2008

Beijing Olympics

The Beijing 2008 Olympics start in 3 hours!

Time to sit back and play with some linguistics “puzzles.”

(For those of you unfamiliar, by the way, “James, while John had had ‘had had’, had had ‘had’; ‘had had’ had had a better effect on the teacher” is an infamous gramatically correct sentence demonstrating metalanguage and the importance of punctuation in resolving lexical ambiguity. Punctuation is added for clarity above. Now try this one: “That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is”, and then the famous, “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” which is correct as it is).

And now some paraprosdokians: (more…)

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jewellery shopping is always fun

Friday, August 8th, 2008

I admit. I enjoy looking at jewellery. But don’t think I’m crazy just yet. There is a method to my madness.

Design is about finding the balance between art and viewability. And that’s the whole point about looking at jewellery. Hunting around for the most exquisite piece of jewellery is relaxing, like finding that perfect spot on the mattress. Searching through the newest Tiffany catalogue, or looking at diamond clarity up close-its all about the hunt. And when you find that perfect match, its an expression of who you are, who you wish to be, and most importantly who you dream to be.

Posted in Dreams, Life | Comments Closed

update: alan gets 8 autograph requests; is amused

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

Alan Hshieh Autograph picture

Posted in Fun, Life | 1 Comment »

masi oka gives alan autograph, alan decides to give out autographed photos as well

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

Masi Oka AutographAlan Hshieh Autograph

I met Masi Oka, the talented and ingenius actor who plays Hiro on Heroes, last year at an event (which event I’m not at liberty to say). He was a super awesome person, and I of course asked for his autograph (“for a friend, oh, and, it’d be nice if you could throw one in for me too”).

I received my autographed photos today, a year later, and while they are rather generic, Masi apparently remembered that I know Japanese and wrote his generic message in Japanese for me. Well done.

After receiving this photo, I realised that if Masi Oka could have autographed photo happiness, then I should be able to as well. Accordingly, I present to you the Alan Sien Wei Hshieh autographed photo. Simply send an envelope with postage and a note to my address (look around for it on my professional page) and you could have the above amazing, personalised photo to append to your collection.

Posted in Fanboyism, Life | Comments Closed

stanford grad ranks consistenly nr. 1 in 2009

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

Stanford RFLMAO

In 1996, Stanford officially stated that it didn’t care about college rankings. This year, it changed its stance.

Leland Stanford Junior University, my wonderful school that is certain it is better than everything and everyone else, finally has some claim to its name, consistently beating out almost all other graduate schools in almost every category in U.S. New’s 2009 Top Graduate Schools list. Also, according to Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s international university rankings, Stanford ties this year with Harvard for the first time.

Dominating everything except medical school (in which Stanford placed 8th), Stanford ranked first in more categories than any other school; tying with Harvard and MIT in several categories.

(more…)

Posted in Dreams, Fun, Life | Comments Closed

my hair is turning korean

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

Hanguk Alan

My hair is turning Korean. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… but I’m tired of being mistaken for a Korean all the time. When will the tourists at Stanford and Harvard realise I’m not Korean and speak to me in English first? I mean, I’m glad to take the photos, but sometimes the Korean is way too fast for me to understand. And I’m sorry, I can’t get your child into Stanford because I’m a student there. And no, I will not be your “sibling.”

Of course, I still have a ways to go, if my hair continues to grow upwards like it is right now, I might transform into a Japanese person instead. Which could be fun. I’m expecting the back to mulletfy and the front to eventually droop, making me officially drama Korean one day.

Perhaps I should just end all of this, shave my head, and then everyone will realise that I’m Chinese.

Of course, I’ll probably then be confused for a Tibetan monk.

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a sad case of engrish

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Sad Engrish

There are so many things wrong with this that I’m not even going to elaborate.

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crazy grimpoteuthis caught my eye

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Grimpoteuthis

I’m really into deep sea creatures-they’re super cool, with their crazy, out-of-this-world alien looks and crazy designs. I had been meaning to ask for a while now, but today, I finally found out the name of the above animal. “Grimpoteuthis”.

Wikipedia, the guide to all that is right and correct in the world, told me, with extreme pronoun usage:

“[Grimpoteuthis] are benthic creatures, living at extreme depths: 300-400 meters, and are some of the rarest of the Octopoda species. They can flush the transparent layer of their skin at will, and are pelagic animals, as with all other cirrate octopuses, and unlike many other incirrate octopuses.

They hover above the sea floor, searching for worms, bivalves, pelagic copepods, and other crustaceans. They move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, or by waving their ear-like fins. They can use each of these techniques separately or all simultaneously. The males and females are different in their size and sucker patterns. The females lay eggs consistently, with no distinct breeding season.”

All I can say is: I want to eat it.

Posted in Food, Fun, Life | 1 Comment »

pepto bismol confusion

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Pepto Bismol

I opened the refrigerator, and there was a bottle of half frozen Pepto Bismol in it.

Weird.

It’s even more minty and excellent when icy and chilled.

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facebook lanyards and garage cambridge

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

My Facebook LanyardCambridge Banner

I hosted a nice little Facebook Developer’s Garage for Facebook Cambridge group this summer on the Pforzheimer balcony in the Harvard Quad. It was great fun, and I met a lot of interesting people.

(more…)

Posted in Fun, Life | 1 Comment »

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