Interestingness Rediscovered

Certification is everything

There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of juice stands in Taipei, but not many of them proudly offer a certification logo from an established testing facilities.

TÜV Rheinland. Germany's No.1 testing company. Isn't that already awesome? My culturally-biased understanding is they make stuff that does not require testing at all. To survive in that environment, the testing procedure must be even more rigorous.

As in any case, the reality shows a different picture. Back when I was in Japan I briefly worked as a testing engineer. One day I had a chance to work with their Japan office. They took two hours lunch break, invited outsiders (me) to company picnics of which less than 20% of the people were from TÜV (but everybody was drunk), and enjoyed their job. I befriended a director who hand-carried his bike's replacement frame, ultra-expensive carbon-fiber French model, from the testing facility in Thailand. "We test a lot of things" he jokingly declared. Of course, the testing was perfect, he added.

They never did a sloppy job and as a result always kept professional attitude and excellent business reputation. The whole experience did change my cultural bias against Germany. Of course, in a good way. At that time I was shocked to realize the Germans enjoy life much more than the Japanese. We are alone in this world. Or it appeared so.

This certificate therefore makes me wonder: how many cups of 珍珠奶茶 did they have before (or after) authorizing this certificate? Like, 300?

Is motion control the future of gaming?

Microsoft will have Natal, Sony almost has a flashy dixdo Wand, and Nintendo has been fooling around with Wii Remote for years.

They say what Microsoft will offer is the future. Spielberg said "It's not about reinventing the wheel, it's about no wheel at all." Minority Report, at last. (But if that means the advertisers beam their marketing pitches directly into my eyes, I don't want it. Sorry)

Somehow I felt uneasy about "no-controller controlling" but couldn't exactly put my fingers on it. But it is getting clearer. The point is, without some kind of tangible feedback, virtual reality won't be that fun. I believe that is the reason why countless pseudo-reality technologies have been failing, and also the reason why Nintendo could pull it off. Wii Remote not only gives users a gripping feeling, it also generates sound and rumbles.

Some other points..

• If 'body movement' and 'no-control control' is what we really want, why aren't we turning the lights on or off by shouting 'Light!' or clapping our hands? It is already possible, isn't it?

• This article summarizes the feeling of "gamers" pretty well. In short, many of us will keep loving the traditional controllers. There is a reason why people kept that habit for decades.

• Bonus: Can we do full body motion in our crummy apartments in Asia? Wii did sold millions of console, but shaking our arms and kicking in Kung-Fu style are different things...

We might be seeing lots of videos like this if Microsoft really brings Natal to us.

Some more videos showing the background stories... ( I don't own a gaming console - the best way to avoid turning myself into an addict)

Natal Demo

Sony wand demo

Minority Report hand movement

Minority Report advertising

We only see what we need to see

This photo was taken at a location I walk by at least twice a week. I leaned on to the wall a couple of times when I needed some rest. Yet I retain zero memory about what was in this place. I don't even remember if it was a house, apartment, or a shop.

It is not a special event. Nothing remains the same, especially in Taipei. But I still feel uncomfortable, or even a sense of guilt, when I see something that should have been familiar to me is gone (but do not remember what it was). It is like knowing one of the coworkers is gone but cannot remember his or her name.

The evolution of Hello Kitty

The age of pencils, erasers, band-aids are gone. Welcome to Hello Kitty 2.0, LOVE Kitty. Everything is new. She has shining eyes as well as shining accessories: pins, rings, and necklaces. We salute you.

The 'character' business, including Hello Kitty, has a huge advantage over other toy-related merchandise. The customers (and their wallets) not only stick to the same brand but also upgrade as they mature. Even the mighty Mcdonald cannot compete with this business model: sure they also keep their customers for decades, providing entertainment for all ages starting from playgrounds -> cheap dating -> parent-child bonding field, but a $2 hamburger is always a $2 hamburger.

As we mature slower than ever, we keep the same habit longer with incremental changes. Why not capture the market opportunity? Disney is the obvious king in this field - Swalovmickey.

Do we have Swalovskitty? Yes. And more.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Need to quietly focus on completing the assignment by the deadline which is 3 hours away? Open your laptop, launch Firefox (If it is an online course, you must. If it is not, you still must) and... SMBC time!

(Three hours have passed) Now I have learned the importance of being calm and (bonus) quantum physics!

Question of the day

Is the questionnaire suddenly becoming 'it'? Not only Facebook, but also the TypePad (the hosting service of this blog) have been invaded by the "Question of the day" corner.

Q: If you could see any historic baseball player play in person, who would it be? (suggested by this blog)

A: Cal Ripken Jr. They say this "Iron Man" showed up at his workplace (stadium) for more than 2,000 consecutive workdays (games). Even the Japanese couldn't compete with him. Impossible. We are the ones who invented diligence and workaholic. At least we gave them tangible meaning. As for death by overwork? It is patented in Tokyo.

What is the secret behind his strength? Did he bow each day? To the stadium? To his teammates? To the audience? To his wife and kids? To the umpire, followed by an onslaught of curse words because respecting his judgment and protecting his teammates are mutually exclusive (but can coexist)?

La novia del sábado

Taiwan is not exactly the greatest place on earth for buying Spanish books (for reading, not for learning). You can either buy an overpriced imported edition of VOGUE Spain, buy overpriced imported Spanish books for kids, order overpriced imported Spanish books from Amazon US, or do a scavenger hunt in used bookstores (particularly in the 'forgotten' section).

The first option is always available as a last resort (what is the point of having four face cream ads consecutively? They're the same... But looking at the men's world, what is the point of having a magazine dedicated to the latest model from Ferrari? It's not like you can buy it, can you?), the second option is locally available but way too few books are sold, the third option takes time (and money), so the fourth option comes as our hero.

La novia del sábado - Saturday's girlfriend - was sold at a mere NT$40 (US$1.2). It is a steal. The book is not difficult, too. (1) the cover picture is revealing probably 95% of the story (2) snippet: ¡Por favor, que no sea verdad! (No, this can't be real!) (3) 150 pages long - finishing a short book is a huge confidence boost for an insecure learner. My Spanish teacher warned me that reading this book might have negative impact on my Spanish learning curve; who cares, no one can beat $1.2 and ¡Por favor, que no sea verdad!.

P.S. As a defense, I am by no means trying to make fun of Harlequin romances. Too late, but still.

P.P.S. To be fair, Taiwanese bookstores also sell an overpriced imported edition of GQ Spain so we're even.

Ceilings need decoration too

Light bulbs shouldn't be the only objects hanging from the ceiling - why not live plants? It is a novel idea: gigantic, non-plastic leaves kept fresh in transparent containers welcoming the guests. Enjoy herb teas! Home-made cookies!

What is shown in the photo is one of the rare examples of execution improving the (already brilliant) concept. The leaves now look like giant leeches waiting for human flesh to walk by. Minor complaint: they should have tinted the water with red coloring.

Bloodsucker, that is how this restaurant should be named. Waiters/waitresses would be dressed either as vampires or zombies (To be technically correct, zombies eat rather than drink). No herb teas. Customers drink red wine, eat raw steak.

A ladder for each school

The last time this photo was posted, I mentioned nothing about its creative-design flaw. The most obvious difference between this and other school buildings is the ladder.

It shouldn't be called ladder but ornament, however, if something looks like a ladder to an adult, it should work only as a ladder for kids. They should climb it up to slip into or sneak out of the classroom. They can go up to the rooftop and slack the whole afternoon off. By design, that is the only message coming out of this decoration.

It has some educational benefits too. New classes will be available such as Ninja for Dummies , Evacuation process from the building in case of earthquake -- 10 times more logical than ducking under the tables, and so on.

Bonsai apartment

Designer's' apartments are popping up in Taipei, slowly replacing the good-old five-stories (plus one rooftop floor for illegally built penthouses) gray concrete cubes that have supported the Taipei citizen's life for thirty years or so.

We have one such example here. The concept is inspired by Bonsai, as everything is miniature. Miniature bamboo forest, miniature spring, miniature wall, miniature fish pond, and...miniature gate. What is the point of having a "gate" here? The miniature wall is actively encouraging people to jump over it for a small exercise (and a good amount of thrill - the stride needs to be big enough to cross over the fish pond). And what if the residents lost the gate's key but still insisted on opening it? Just lean over and unlock the latch from the inside.

Anyhow, despite being miniature, having a complete set of items must be important from an aesthetic point of view. The real question is, are the actual rooms as miniature as the entrance? Even better, what about the residents?