The winner of Hell’s Kitchen

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Yoshi

Warning: This post does contain spoilers about the 7th season of Hell’s Kitchen on Fox. If you have not watched the season finale and don’t wish to know who was the winner, please stop reading. If you don’t really care, then proceed on at your own will.

Spoilers are after the bump.

First, let me just say this. Every season of Hell’s Kitchen seems to get worse every time. It seems the chefs who compete are not chosen for their skills in the kitchen, but instead on the amount of drama they can generate. I understand the entertainment value. I really do. But I like to see a genuine competition between chefs of equal caliber.

Top Chef, for instance makes Hell’s Kitchen look a lot like Jersey Shore. A really big joke. Hell, I’ll even say that Gordon Ramsay’s newest series, Masterchef, makes Hell’s Kitchen look like a joke. I really did not like any of the competitors in Hell’s Kitchen at all. There were a couple of people I thought might be worthy to win, however, a majority of the contestants this season were a joke. seriously. Some of them I’d say you’d easily find them as line cooks in Old Country Buffet. Not to say they don’t belong there. But I have to admit the screening process could be better.

Anyways, enough of my complaining and on to the winner.

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The fate of hello! blogger and food

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Yoshi

For all you long time readers, you may have noticed a slight (or not so slight) change. I’ve merged hello! blogger and hello! food into hello! yoshi. Those two sites haven’t really been getting much traffic as of late, and honestly, I don’t need to have so many websites. So there you have it. I’ll admit that hello! photo is still out there. I might end up consolidating that site, but I highly doubt it only because it’s such a different site, being a photo blog.

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Onlive.com really breaks through

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Yoshi

I think there are few gamers who haven’t heard about the Onlive service. It’s something that’s pretty exciting and pretty damn cool. I hadn’t heard of it before one of my friends mentioned it and I think it works great. Basically, they take care of all your hardware that’s needed to run the game. They run the game on their servers, but allow you to play it via a sort of stream if you will. They do allow you to run HD games, however, it does require a very high bandwidth internet connection (no less than 5mbps to even use the software) and a wired connection. Also, you need to be able to play 720p video for most high resolution games.

If this sounds too good to be true, wait till you hear the best part. The best part: since you don’t have to worry about the hardware, if there is a port for your type of computer OS, you can play it. Currently, Mac and PC are available, with a desktop box with wireless controller available soon to connect to your TV. Now it sounds too good to be true for sure right?

Not quite. In my opinion, it works great. I was lucky enough to join in on the Founding Fathers program and I’m currently getting one year for free and the second year is 4.95 a month. I’m not sure what the normal rates are. It could be 4.95 for all we know.

They’ve only got a few selection of games, probably about 15. (yes I’m too lazy to count the number of games and tell you.)

So far, I’ve no complaints about the service. But keep in mind that I have a very good cable connection with 10mbps of bandwidth available to me. So if you’ve got a very fast internet connection, definitely check this out.

I’m curious to see what other similar type companies (i.e. Steam/Valve) will do that may compete with this. Interesting to see how it evolves.

They are still taking in applications for the Founding Fathers program so if you’re not signed up, go ahead and sign up today!

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Cooking is Hell’s Kitchen

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Yoshi

Has anyone been watching Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen as of late? **Please note for those people out there who have not been watching it, and have been recording it on their DVR, there will be spoilers after the bump. This is your only warning. DO NOT read after the bump if you do not wish to be spoiled.

Before I post any spoilers though, has anyone noticed that the quality of the chefs have plummeted? I mean seriously. It seems more like the producers said, “let’s choose the most dramatic and loser-ific people who would be perfect for any reality show and put them on there. It just so happens that they know how to cook.” I would really like to know exactly how they determine who shows up on the show, because I surely would not have chosen half of these people. And honestly, I don’t think Gordon Ramsay would ever choose any of them himself.

I swear it’s no longer quality but rather it’s for ratings. Oddly enough, however, I keep watching it. Funny how that works. But honestly I might have to shelf this show and forget about it. It’s getting ridiculous.

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100 Facts in 100 days – Fact 33

Posted on June 19, 2010 by Yoshi

I know I haven’t done this in a really long time. But I’m trying to get back into blogging so I can get distracted.

Fact 33: I used to work at Earthlink Network. I was a Technical Support Representative, Tier 2. I took care of escalations yes. It was a crazy job. You’re pretty much a slave to the phone and I remember after call time was pretty much your break time. I have so many crazy technical support stories. I think I’ve submitted a couple of them to various sites on the internet that take in crazy technical support calls.

I don’t miss those times, but I definitely miss the people (well most of them), and the good times I had. When I worked there, Earthlink wasn’t really the super giant company it is now, and was based in Pasadena, CA. I also remember Sky Dayton’s offices being right across from my cubicle, and he’d look out on the TS floors once in a while. He was pretty cool. He also had an Earthlink Network surfboard in his office as well. I’m sure there were days he just took off to go surfing. “It’s good to be king” hehe.

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WordPress 3.0 and Expression Engine 2.0

Posted on June 19, 2010 by Yoshi

I’m very happy to say that my WordPress sites are all upgraded to 3.0. But I have to admit that as a major point release, it doesn’t show much. I’m not saying there weren’t major upgrades, because there were. The merge of WordPress and WordPress MU is a major accomplishment. Kudos to the Automattic team for this. I’ve been waiting for this since I started using WordPress back in 1.2. However, it’s a disappointment that I will probably have to reinstall my WordPress on my websites to get it working the way I want. While this is not a big deal, it does pose this question:

WordPress 3.0 or ExpressionEngine 2.0?

I’ve gone and upgraded my license for EE 2.0 only because Leslie Camacho, President of Ellislab has said that the release of ExpressionEngine 2.1 is “near”. That’s very encouraging to me. So I’ve set up my test site and I’m familiarizing myself with all the new features of 2.0. There are some things I won’t really know how they turn out until I go live, (such as spam comments and how well EE 2 handles them), however it seems pretty encouraging.

The control panel for WP 3 is pretty much the same as 2. There are no real big surprises here. This is a good thing in my opinion. The control panel for EE 2 is very different from 1, but at the same time, very familiar to veterans of 1. I’d say there are improvements, and there are things that probably didn’t need to be changed. I have yet to explore a lot of the new version.

More to follow.

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My soundtrack: Honky Tonk Women…

Posted on June 19, 2010 by Yoshi

Way back in 1989 or so, The Rolling Stones released Steel Wheels and went on a worldwide tour. I was one of the ones lucky enough to go to one of their concerts. I remember this one pretty clearly except some of the people who happened to go with me. I do remember a couple of my friends, Steve and Mark, coming with us, mainly to see the opening act of Living Colour. Who were awesome by the way. However, when the Stones came out, they must have gotten bored and not known the songs (how can you not know their songs?) because they fell asleep. Yes, it was rather shameful and I tried to deny I was with them.

Anyways, one of the songs I remembered the most was Honky Tonk Women. When the music started, these giant balloons of women on both sides of the stage blew up. It was awesome. I just remember the entire stadium (the old Vet Stadium in Philly) was in an uproar and we were singing the song as loud as we could. I have to admit I think that was the most fun I had in a while.

I was trying to find a good video, unfortunately I couldn’t find a good one. You’ll have to excuse me. I’ll update this post when I do find one.

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The Yoshiblade! yes, I own one.

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Yoshi

Perhaps you seen the commercials or seen it on youtube. It’s the miraculous Yoshiblade! I must say if it has my name, it must be something else. So you know what? I had to buy one. I ordered it back in January for around 30 bucks. I receive 2 sets of blades and peelers. I gave one to my mom. Actually I haven’t asked her what she thought of it, and she hasn’t complained, so either she’s not using it because it sucks, forgot all about it, or it’s working great. You choose.

First of all, it took forever for it to arrive. After about 3 weeks, I received an email that said my order was back-ordered and there was no date of shipment. Luckily, the Yoshiblade did arrive about a couple weeks later. I’m sure that wasn’t a common occurance.

As for slicing and dicing, the knife is very sharp. It comes with a cover which is good, since most people (like me) like to keep their knives in a drawer. Of course, if I like a knife, then I store it carefully in another location such as a knife box or sleeve. But back to the Yoshiblade.

I love it so far. I’ve been using it for a couple months now, and I haven’t had any issues. I admit, however, the blade is a slicing blade. Don’t expect to do any big chopping with it. It’s not very heavy and is actually quite light. The handle is very nice. You can grip it and not worry about slipping, since it’s one of those grip feels similar to rubber and it’s feel.

Overall, I’d say it was a pretty good investment. The only thing I can say about it is the typical “As seen on TV” warnings of this: it might cost 19.99 but shipping and handling costs just as much if not more. Video after the bump.

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My Soundtrack: Linger

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Yoshi

You know, I still don’t know when I first heard this song. The song was first recorded in 1993, so I suspect I probably heard this song first while I was stationed in MCAS Iwakuni, Japan.

When I hear this song, no matter what mood I’m in, I guarantee most of the time I will get cheerful. There’s something about this song that just reminds me of good times.

I mentioned in 2008 that it reminded me of a time spent in Philly. But honestly, I am starting to think that it just reminds me of good times, no matter where they were.

I admit that a lot of my good times were spent going to concerts in Philly, eating with my friends in all the diners in Jersey. Especially Golden Dawn on Rt. 38. Is that diner still there? I know Olga’s was closed down, which was kinda sad to me. We went there for a mini reunion, which was really cool. Getting to see some of my old friends was very awesome. At a diner even. Sometimes I think a lot of my youth and good times were spent just talking away in a diner.

I admit though some of those times were rather bittersweet. I think that’s why I am reminded of these times when I hear this song. Of course, this could be just a bunch of babble. Regardless, as usual, I have included the video for your viewing pleasure. I hope it gives you some enjoyment, as much as it gives me.

Video after the bump.

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Blogathon 2010

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Yoshi

Well, I’ve decided I will try to do the Blogathon this year. I’m not sure what kind of theme or even which blog I will do it on. For that matter, I’m not entirely sure which charity I wish to donate too. Normally I do the Blogathon for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, but after my transplant and complications with diabetes, I have considered changing it. If I don’t do Susan G. Komen for the Cure, then I think I will feel just a little guilty. But then again, the diabetes and the transplant is happening right NOW and if there’s a hope for a cure for diabetes, I’m all for it. (I’ve read there’s supposed to be a cure within my lifetime.)

So we’ll see how it goes. Does anyone have any suggestions for the theme? In the past, I’ve done the movie quotes game, where you hear the quote and name the movie. But that’s a lot of work and well we shall see how things work out. Hopefully it won’t be like in the past. *crossing fingers*

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