Kobe Asks To Be Traded, Then Backs Off

According to reports, Kobe Bryant wants out of LA. A couple of hours later, he rescinds his request. WTH?!?!

Here's Kobe's statement on Wednesday morning to ESPN radio as reported in the LA Times: "I would like to be traded, yeah... Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative."

Yahoo! Sports then reports that Kobe went to KLAC radio three hours later with the ff: "I don't want to go anywhere, this is my team... I love it here. I called Phil, man, he and I talked, it was an emotional conversation, but he just said, `You know what, Kobe? Let us try to figure this thing out."

Note: I edited this post by adding Kobe's withdrawal from trade request

 

Random Snippets (Pirates 3, American Idol, Spiderman 3)

Yo ho, yo ho! I watched "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" last night. I just realized that Geoffrey Rush did such a perfect job as Capt. Barbossa. Of course the top three actors (Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley) were awesome. So was Keith Richards as Capt. Teague - I wish he had a bigger part. Finally, Keira is ever so stunning.

******

I lost a bet to my mom on who would win American Idol. She bet on Jordin, I on Blake. The bet: a BigMac.

******

I can't believe I didn't blog about my watching Spiderman 3 - a movie I was so excited about (along with Pirates). I haven't watched Shrek 3 yet. About Pirates and Spiderman, I can't see myself (negatively) criticizing them. On both times, the fan in me just settled at the movie theater, watched for the sake of enjoyment, and left fully satisfied.

Also, I found myself looking forward and searching the web for the possibilities of Spiderman 4 and Pirates 4. Shrek 4 is a slam dunk already (2010).

 

Take Multivitamins... At Your Own Risk(?)

A study by the National Cancer Institute suggests that men who take too many multivitamins may be increasing their risk of dying from prostate cancer.

From the Freakonomics Blog, I found additional and separate studies about the harmful effects of taking vitamins: from high calcium/vitamin D intake and multivitamin brands to, well, vitamins themselves. Doesn't this sound like another of those damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't scenarios? I hope it is not.

In a related matter, chromium in drinking water also causes cancer, according to the US National Institutes of Health.

Most of these reports I read on those little screens in the bus as I went to and from school today.

 

Bi/Rain vs. Stephen Colbert

"To prove he's more influential than Korean pop star, Rain, Stephen (Colbert) made his own Korean pop video."

Below is just the pop video that starts at the 1:41 mark of the one above. Colbert's comments were cut but it's better to watch them for buildup. So I like the longer version above. Anyway:



Colbert is awesome!!!

NOTICE: The videos are in danger of being claimed by Viacom...

 

Cyber Hunting Revisited

Cyber hunting or "hunting by remote control" is a technology-driven concept in which users sitting in front of a computer can log on to the Internet and, with a click of a mouse, mortally wound a live animal in a remote ranch.

I talked about this in class last March for our weekly current event mini-report. This issue first came to my attention when I read about it in a New York Times article (link: registration may or may not be required) last March. But apparently, this has been reported by others more than a year earlier (see this Columbia News Service and this LiveScience article).

The basic idea is this: To be a "cyber hunter", you could sign up on a website and pay a fee. You would then have a session - an opportunity to view live animals in the entrepreneur's ranch over the Internet. Using your mouse, you can adjust the crosshairs and focus on your target animal. As you click the mouse, a remote-controlled rifle will activate on the ranch and fire at the target/animal. The animal's head can be shipped to you as trophy (for your gallant effort?).

Texas, where this practice originated through the efforts of John Lockwood, has since banned the practice. Other states have since followed suit. In opposition, Lockwood's argument is that his business gives disabled people the opportunity to experience and enjoy hunting.

But, since when has hunting been within the comforts of one's home, with the hunter slouched in front of the computer, possibly with chips and soda by the side and the TV showing some reality show? Hunting as a sport still involves experiencing nature, not just utilizing technology. Otherwise, I think it loses its spirit and, in this case is nothing more like a, well, computer game. While we're at it, I don't know if this really gives disabled people a chance to experience (the joy of) hunting. An imperfect analogy came to mind. It doesn't work that well but I hope it serves the purpose. When I'm playing NBA Live on my PC, I'm not actually playing basketball. I'm playing a computer game. No body contact, no fatigue, etc. I don't have to drink water or wipe my sweat every timeout since I'm not really playing basketball. I think that works too for cyber hunting: it's more of a computer game (sadly, involving living animals) than hunting.

I'm concerned about the implications of this practice and I hope this gets banned everywhere in the world, although I haven't heard anything like this outside of the US. As I revisited this topic, 2 dozen states (US) have already banned this practice in their respective areas, the latest as of this writing being Illinois.

 

Super Mario Brothers "Live-Action" Skit

A friend of mine, Sarah, posted the link to this video on her Facebook page. As the Youtube description says, it's "hilarious"!

 

DLSU Students Top Microsoft IT Contest

La Salle studes top IT contest
By Rainier Allan Ronda
The Philippine Star 05/04/2007
Link: http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200705040406.htm

A team from De La Salle University (DLSU), composed of four computer science and computer engineering students, won the top prize in a nationwide software design contest sponsored by leading global information technology giant Microsoft.

The university’s "Cross+Linked" team, led by 20-year-old Franchere Chan and made up of members Mary Ann Ngo, Lance Lim and Ryan Ong, were chosen as champion of Microsoft’s 5th Imagine Cup held at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Conference Center in Makati City yesterday for their winning "IE STAR" software program.

The DLSU team bested four other teams from the Ateneo de Manila University which fielded two teams, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and the Technological University of the Philippines.

Tim Vergel de Dios, Academic Developer Evangelist of Microsoft Philippines, said that as champions of the Imagine Cup Philippines, DLSU’s "Cross+Linked" team will be the country’s representative to the Imagine Cup World Finals to be held in Seoul, South Korea later this year.

De Dios said the five entries of the four schools in yesterday’s local finals were the most innovative and interesting programs from almost 30 entries.

"There were many excellent entries but we had to screen them and narrow them down to get five entries for today’s local finals," Vergel de Dios told reporters.

De Dios said the continuously growing number of entries to their annual "Imagine Cup" indicated the success of the program, which aims to encourage young people to "apply their imagination, passion and creativity to technology innovations that make a difference in the world today."

Chan, leader of the "Cross+Linked" team, said that she and her teammates were deeply honored and proud of their achievement.

Explaining their IE STAR program, Chan said that it was a data organization and browsing software that will help a person doing research over the Internet to file and store important "nuggets of information" through an easy retrieval system and user-friendly layout and browser system.

"It’s a data organization program that will be helpful to someone doing research over the Internet," Chan told The STAR.

The ADMU’s Team "Pi" took second place in the contest while Colegio de San Juan de Letran’s "Innovative Mind and Individual" team won third place.

******

By the way, I just learned that DLSU's IT Department was recently named as CHED Center of Excellence (COE). Out of over a hundred colleges and universities that applied, only nine qualified as COEs: De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines (UP) - Diliman, UP - Los Baños, UP - Cebu, Asia Pacific College, Angeles University Foundation, Cebu Institute of Technology, and University of the Cordilleras.

We need more.

 

Apparent Racial Bias by NBA Referees

A New York Times article featured an academic study of racial bias within the NBA. According to an upcoming paper by academics from University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, white referees are more likely to call fouls on black players as black referees are on white players.

If this is indeed true, I don't think we should take it against the referees on this. From the same article, experts stated that this may well be driven subconsciously and that it might be more surprising if the bias didn't exist. I think that is a very sensible statement.

I've read through the article twice and it seems to me that the study was performed as meticulously as possible, given the information available (the NBA refused to release the record of which specific calls were made by specific referees).

As for what experts have to say, the independent experts consulted by Times considered the study "far more sound" than another one which was released by the NBA (and which says that there is no bias). Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt also seems unable to "find and mistakes" and suggests that the results of the study are consistent with other research findings. Read his blog about it by clicking here.

 

Scientists Find the Most Earth-like Planet Yet; A Quick Thought on the Prospect of E.T. Life

A news article came out a few days ago about astronomers finding the most Earth-like planet yet. See the story here: CNN article

I am one of those people who suspect (and wish, as well) that there is life outside our own planet. By life, I mean that it could be in its simplest forms or, better yet, in complex variety capable of establishing civilizations. If it were so and we are able to find one within this lifetime (which is very very improbable in itself), such an event would be far better than my wildest childhood fantasies coming true.

I came across the Drake Equation a few years back, when I read Michael Crichton's Sphere. The equation attempts to estimate the probable number of extraterrestrial civilizations we can come into contact with. It is as follows (from Wikipedia):

N = R* × f_p × n_e × f_l × f_i × f_c × L

where:

N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy, with which we might hope to be able to communicate;

and

R* is the rate of star formation in our galaxy

f_p is the fraction of those stars that have planets

n_e is average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets

f_l is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point

f_i is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life

f_c is the fraction of the above that are willing and able to communicate

L is the expected lifetime of such a civilization for the period that it can communicate across interstellar space.

Any person can play with the equation and assign values on the variables. Of course, the values will be subject to mere speculations, biases, and ignorance. Not without its criticisms, the equation is still an interesting note in any discussion on extraterrestrial civilizations.