Can you believe that I have never attended a church wedding until last Saturday?
On Saturday, one of my best friends in Hong Kong got married in a church. Which is funny as when I first met him, he wasn't a Christian and I would never have believed he would be the churchgoing sort. In the end though, love proves to be all powerful.
He met a girl who was a Christian. After a couple of years, when they started getting very serious, he started to go to church as well. I'm guessing that his original intention was to let his girlfriend have a church wedding. However, credit where credit is due - he took his duties as a Christian very seriously.
Anyway, having finally been to a church wedding, my final analysis is - I wasn't missing much.
I don't know if this is the norm for church weddings, but for my friends wedding, he had several of the churchs priests handle the ceremony. What followed was a long procession of priests blathering on about Jesus and Christianity (in case its not obvious, I'm not a big believer in religion). As a non-Christian, I found it terribly boring.
Having said that, it wasn't all bad. The main speech was targeted directly at the bride and groom and was in the way of advice for them. This speech was great in that it was obvious that the priest was familiar with both the bride and groom. Very impressive. I can imagine that, in situations like these, its very easy to fall into a standard speech. Instead, the personal nature of the talk made it very heartwarming (and funny to onlookers when she told the groom not to annoy the bride too much!).
Also, the church choir (I call it a choir, but there were ony 4 people) was actually quite good. Most of the songs were in Chinese so I didn't really understand. However, they did a very good rendition of the song - Perhaps Love by John Denver (at least I think it was John Denver).
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Football Manager
As a gamer, one of the most common questions I come across from non-gamers is stuff like, "Why do you play video games? Why not go out and play football instead of sitting at home playing Fifa 08?".
My response is generally that video games let me do stuff I can't do in real life. For example, those of you who read my gaming blog will know that I spend a lot of time on a game called Football Manager. This game lets me be the manager of a football club (this message brought to you by Captain Obvious). As manager, I get to make all the big decisions as I try and take my chosen club to league and cup glory.
I mean, its not like I could do this in real life. Right? Right??
Well, actually, I can.
It turns out that, for the low low price of GBP35, I can buy my own share of Ebbsfleet United. Go ahead and check out the link. And before you ask - yes, Ebbsfleet United FC are a real football team (in fact, they will be playing at Wembley in May) and, as far as I can tell, this appears to be genuine.
What happened was that a bloke called Will Brooks, a soccer journalist apparently, decided to run a unique experiment. By raising funds from the public, he was able to buy controlling interest in EUFC (my understanding is that this was done in agreement with EUFC and was not a hostile "takeover"). In effect, the community has purchased EUFC as everyone who paid the membership fee of GBP35 is considered a part owner.
For the price of GBP35 (per year, I should add), you get to vote on the players which will play. Each part owner gets 1 vote and the actual team for any particular game will be based on the players who get the most votes. In addition, members will also be able to vote on accepting or vetoing transfers.
Although I say you are part owner, that strictly isn't true as you will never get your money back. Its probably more accurate to say that you are a member. This is probably a good thing though as it means more money is pumped into the club for development.
All in all, this looks like a fascinating experience. I haven't joined (its almost the end of the season) - but I am considering it for next season!
My response is generally that video games let me do stuff I can't do in real life. For example, those of you who read my gaming blog will know that I spend a lot of time on a game called Football Manager. This game lets me be the manager of a football club (this message brought to you by Captain Obvious). As manager, I get to make all the big decisions as I try and take my chosen club to league and cup glory.
I mean, its not like I could do this in real life. Right? Right??
Well, actually, I can.
It turns out that, for the low low price of GBP35, I can buy my own share of Ebbsfleet United. Go ahead and check out the link. And before you ask - yes, Ebbsfleet United FC are a real football team (in fact, they will be playing at Wembley in May) and, as far as I can tell, this appears to be genuine.
What happened was that a bloke called Will Brooks, a soccer journalist apparently, decided to run a unique experiment. By raising funds from the public, he was able to buy controlling interest in EUFC (my understanding is that this was done in agreement with EUFC and was not a hostile "takeover"). In effect, the community has purchased EUFC as everyone who paid the membership fee of GBP35 is considered a part owner.
For the price of GBP35 (per year, I should add), you get to vote on the players which will play. Each part owner gets 1 vote and the actual team for any particular game will be based on the players who get the most votes. In addition, members will also be able to vote on accepting or vetoing transfers.
Although I say you are part owner, that strictly isn't true as you will never get your money back. Its probably more accurate to say that you are a member. This is probably a good thing though as it means more money is pumped into the club for development.
All in all, this looks like a fascinating experience. I haven't joined (its almost the end of the season) - but I am considering it for next season!
Monday, April 21, 2008
HK Disneyland
Happy Birthday to Jokemeister!!
As part of this years birthday celebration, the missus and I took a day off work last Friday and went to HK Disneyland. Just us - no Gerry.
:)
Regular readers of my blog know that I goto HK Disneyland quite often with Gerry. As a family destination, its a great choice considering that I'm only 20 minutes away by car. The place is clean and big enough for Gerry to run around in. Plus, as Gerry is so young, he gets in for free!
Anyway, for a change, the missus and I went to HK Disneyland on our own. We didn't go on many rides (more on that later) but we did watch all of the shows that were on offer. I have to admit, the shows were done very well. As a family destination, although HK Disneyland isn't very big, the stuff that is available is very high quality.
Unfortunately, although I enjoyed myself on Friday, I have to admit that, as an adult destination, HK Disneyland fails miserably. While there, we went on the only adult ride they had - the Space Mountain. And to be honest, it was disappointing as a roller-coaster ride.
The problem with Space Mountain is that the entire roller-coaster ride takes place within an enclosed dome. In order to create the effect that you are in space, the interior of the dome is pitch black with the occasional light show or star effect. The problem with this is that you can't see where you are going.
You see, in a normal roller-coaster ride, you can see the big bend or huge drop coming. This anticipation helps build your adrenaline as you can see that you are about to plummet down at ridiculous speeds before being whipped back up into the air for just enough time to catch your breath before dashing off in a huge loop-de-loop. Exhilarating right!
However, inside the Space Mountain, you can't see anything as its way too dark. The end result of this is that you end up sitting in the cart being tossed left and right seemingly at random. Which doesn't feel so much terrifying as annoying.
Ultimately, I guess whether you enjoy the Space Mountain will depend on your capacity for thrills. For example, the missus (who is not a big roller-coaster fan) still looked terrified in the photo which the ride takes of you. Her comment when she looked at me was, "how come you look kinda bored?"
As part of this years birthday celebration, the missus and I took a day off work last Friday and went to HK Disneyland. Just us - no Gerry.
:)
Regular readers of my blog know that I goto HK Disneyland quite often with Gerry. As a family destination, its a great choice considering that I'm only 20 minutes away by car. The place is clean and big enough for Gerry to run around in. Plus, as Gerry is so young, he gets in for free!
Anyway, for a change, the missus and I went to HK Disneyland on our own. We didn't go on many rides (more on that later) but we did watch all of the shows that were on offer. I have to admit, the shows were done very well. As a family destination, although HK Disneyland isn't very big, the stuff that is available is very high quality.
Unfortunately, although I enjoyed myself on Friday, I have to admit that, as an adult destination, HK Disneyland fails miserably. While there, we went on the only adult ride they had - the Space Mountain. And to be honest, it was disappointing as a roller-coaster ride.
The problem with Space Mountain is that the entire roller-coaster ride takes place within an enclosed dome. In order to create the effect that you are in space, the interior of the dome is pitch black with the occasional light show or star effect. The problem with this is that you can't see where you are going.
You see, in a normal roller-coaster ride, you can see the big bend or huge drop coming. This anticipation helps build your adrenaline as you can see that you are about to plummet down at ridiculous speeds before being whipped back up into the air for just enough time to catch your breath before dashing off in a huge loop-de-loop. Exhilarating right!
However, inside the Space Mountain, you can't see anything as its way too dark. The end result of this is that you end up sitting in the cart being tossed left and right seemingly at random. Which doesn't feel so much terrifying as annoying.
Ultimately, I guess whether you enjoy the Space Mountain will depend on your capacity for thrills. For example, the missus (who is not a big roller-coaster fan) still looked terrified in the photo which the ride takes of you. Her comment when she looked at me was, "how come you look kinda bored?"
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
TMHPS - The Monty Hall Problem Solution
Last Friday, I posed the Monty Hall Problem. For those of you who didn't jump online to check the answer, here is the solution.
Switching to the other door gives you a better chance of winning the car.
Although anti-intuitive, the mathematical solution is detailed very well in wikipedia. Even if you don't believe the math, at the bottom of the article are a load of links to simulations of this game so you can try it out for yourself.
If that doesn't convince you, please let me know as I would like to invite you to a game of cards...
Switching to the other door gives you a better chance of winning the car.
Although anti-intuitive, the mathematical solution is detailed very well in wikipedia. Even if you don't believe the math, at the bottom of the article are a load of links to simulations of this game so you can try it out for yourself.
If that doesn't convince you, please let me know as I would like to invite you to a game of cards...
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Monty Hall Problem
The Monty Hall Problem is named after the host of an old game show called "Lets Make a Deal". Basically, in the show, the contestant had a chance to win a car. Naturally, as with all game shows, there was a risk of winning nothing. So here is basically how the game plays.
Monty shows you three closed doors. There is a car behind one door and a goat behind the other two. If you open the door with the car, you win it. If you open a door with a goat, you don't win the car. Simple, right?
Here is where the problem part comes in. After you pick a door, but before the door is opened, Monty will open one of the doors that you didn't pick to reveal a goat (Monty knows where the car is so he always opens a door with a goat behind it). At this point, you have a choice. Do you stick with your original door or do you switch to the other unopened door?
For example, suppose you pick Door 1. Monty opens Door 3 to reveal a goat. Do you stick with Door 1 or switch to Door 2?
Monty shows you three closed doors. There is a car behind one door and a goat behind the other two. If you open the door with the car, you win it. If you open a door with a goat, you don't win the car. Simple, right?
Here is where the problem part comes in. After you pick a door, but before the door is opened, Monty will open one of the doors that you didn't pick to reveal a goat (Monty knows where the car is so he always opens a door with a goat behind it). At this point, you have a choice. Do you stick with your original door or do you switch to the other unopened door?
For example, suppose you pick Door 1. Monty opens Door 3 to reveal a goat. Do you stick with Door 1 or switch to Door 2?
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Liverpool through to Champions League semi-final
Huzzah! Liverpool beat Arsenal and have gone through to the Champions League semi-final!
What really amazes me is that, once again, Liverpool have produced a superb UCL display. Not for the first time in recent seasons, Liverpool look like a completely different team when playing in the UCL compared to when they play in the premiership.
In the premiership, they very often look pedestrian in the games that I watch. At times, even when they win, it seems like the players are just knocking the ball around and seem bereft of vision or any desire to win the game. In fact, when you watch a Liverpool side in the premiership, I very often don't get the feeling that they could score at any moment (unlike for example, Man Utd or Arsenal who are fantastic attacking teams). To be honest, I am being unfair on Liverpool here as the statistics probably don't bear this out (they are ranked fifth in the premiership in terms of goals scored) - but that is the impression I get.
However, in the UCL, they manage to beat teams who are, on paper anyway, a better team than them. And they do this consistently. Believe it or not, over the last four years, this will be the third time that they will have reached the semi-final. And considering their recent record against Chelsea in the UCL, I'm sure many people will be hopeful that they can make it to the final.
What really amazes me is that, once again, Liverpool have produced a superb UCL display. Not for the first time in recent seasons, Liverpool look like a completely different team when playing in the UCL compared to when they play in the premiership.
In the premiership, they very often look pedestrian in the games that I watch. At times, even when they win, it seems like the players are just knocking the ball around and seem bereft of vision or any desire to win the game. In fact, when you watch a Liverpool side in the premiership, I very often don't get the feeling that they could score at any moment (unlike for example, Man Utd or Arsenal who are fantastic attacking teams). To be honest, I am being unfair on Liverpool here as the statistics probably don't bear this out (they are ranked fifth in the premiership in terms of goals scored) - but that is the impression I get.
However, in the UCL, they manage to beat teams who are, on paper anyway, a better team than them. And they do this consistently. Believe it or not, over the last four years, this will be the third time that they will have reached the semi-final. And considering their recent record against Chelsea in the UCL, I'm sure many people will be hopeful that they can make it to the final.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Mosley sex scandal
If you have been following F1 motorsport, you would know that there is a huge controversy currently in progress surrounding Max Mosley, the current head of FIA. If you do a quick search on Google, you will find loads of articles regarding this.
In brief, The News of the World (a UK tabloid) recently reported that Mosley took part in a "Nazi-style orgy in a torture dungeon". Apparently, Mosley hired five prostitutes to engage in a sadomasochistic orgy of whipping and sex. Since the scandal broke, there have been numerous calls for Mosley to step down from his position as president of FIA.
Mosley is claiming that his actions had no Nazi connotations (ie he isn't denying the sadomasochistic orgy part). Furthermore, his actions were "harmless and completely legal" and as such, it should have no effect on his work. In other words, he doesn't think that he should get the sack.
Which brings up an interesting point. If his actions are legal, then should he lose his job over this sex scandal?
On one hand, I can sympathise with the view that his private life should remain private. In the case of Mosley, I don't see any link between his job and prostitution. Contrast this with the recent sex scandal of Eliot Spitzer. Eliot Spitzer was the New York Governor who was linked with a prostitution ring despite aggressively and publicly prosecuting prostitution rings during his stint as Attorney General and using ethics as his platform for office. In the case of Spitzer, his hypocrisy means I have little sympathy for him. However, as I said above, in the case of Mosley, I don't see any link between his job and prostitution.
On the other hand, Mosley's job is high profile. He has to have known in advance that he needed to act as a role model. In particular, according to this article, an officer of the FIA can be sacked if "by words, deeds or writings they inflict moral injury and loss on the FIA" (its the 3rd bullet point in the black section titled "Max Mosley - Decision Day"). As president of the FIA, Mosley must have known about this rule. And considering the massive outpouring of moral condemnation on his actions and the very real possibility of financial loss, this seems like quite an easy claim to make.
I guess at this point, it becomes a question of whether the FIA want to keep Mosley or not.
In brief, The News of the World (a UK tabloid) recently reported that Mosley took part in a "Nazi-style orgy in a torture dungeon". Apparently, Mosley hired five prostitutes to engage in a sadomasochistic orgy of whipping and sex. Since the scandal broke, there have been numerous calls for Mosley to step down from his position as president of FIA.
Mosley is claiming that his actions had no Nazi connotations (ie he isn't denying the sadomasochistic orgy part). Furthermore, his actions were "harmless and completely legal" and as such, it should have no effect on his work. In other words, he doesn't think that he should get the sack.
Which brings up an interesting point. If his actions are legal, then should he lose his job over this sex scandal?
On one hand, I can sympathise with the view that his private life should remain private. In the case of Mosley, I don't see any link between his job and prostitution. Contrast this with the recent sex scandal of Eliot Spitzer. Eliot Spitzer was the New York Governor who was linked with a prostitution ring despite aggressively and publicly prosecuting prostitution rings during his stint as Attorney General and using ethics as his platform for office. In the case of Spitzer, his hypocrisy means I have little sympathy for him. However, as I said above, in the case of Mosley, I don't see any link between his job and prostitution.
On the other hand, Mosley's job is high profile. He has to have known in advance that he needed to act as a role model. In particular, according to this article, an officer of the FIA can be sacked if "by words, deeds or writings they inflict moral injury and loss on the FIA" (its the 3rd bullet point in the black section titled "Max Mosley - Decision Day"). As president of the FIA, Mosley must have known about this rule. And considering the massive outpouring of moral condemnation on his actions and the very real possibility of financial loss, this seems like quite an easy claim to make.
I guess at this point, it becomes a question of whether the FIA want to keep Mosley or not.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Fashion advice for the ladies
Now that we are in April, the stormy season is starting - ie lots of rainstorms, strong winds etc. This was very evident over the last couple of days where its been really windy.
So considering the current weather, Jokemeister's fashion advice for ladies is - don't wear loose skirts. Or if you do, make sure its made of heavy material and hence, not easily blown about by the wind.
The basis for this advice? Lets just say its been a ... revealing ... couple of days.
:)
So considering the current weather, Jokemeister's fashion advice for ladies is - don't wear loose skirts. Or if you do, make sure its made of heavy material and hence, not easily blown about by the wind.
The basis for this advice? Lets just say its been a ... revealing ... couple of days.
:)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
April Fool's Day
Well, I managed to safely get past April Fool's Day. To be honest, I'm not a particularly big fan of April Fool's Day. I have never pulled any pranks on friends and luckily for me, none of my friends have ever pulled any pranks on me.
However, despite never taking part, I've always found it amusing to read the pranks that other people pull off (sadism ftw!). So in proud Jokemeister April Fool's Day tradition (which admittedly, only started last year), you can click here for the best prank that I managed to find this year.
And before you get any ideas, bear in mind that prank would never work on me for the simple reason that I don't flirt with any girls anymore. Admittedly, this is not due to the fact that I am married but rather because I got tired of being shot down.
However, despite never taking part, I've always found it amusing to read the pranks that other people pull off (sadism ftw!). So in proud Jokemeister April Fool's Day tradition (which admittedly, only started last year), you can click here for the best prank that I managed to find this year.
And before you get any ideas, bear in mind that prank would never work on me for the simple reason that I don't flirt with any girls anymore. Admittedly, this is not due to the fact that I am married but rather because I got tired of being shot down.
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