.: What’s Bruin :.

Tennis legend, Björn Borg, decided not to auction off his five Wimbledon trophies and the wood racquets that he wielded to win his improbable five consecutive titles on the fabled grass.

After great consideration and reasoning, I have decided that I will never sell my Wimbledon trophies and rackets and I have withdrawn them from sale.

Trophies of this kind have a meaning that goes beyond my comprehension of the victories, as they emphasize the bond between me as a player and all the people, family, friends and fans that have stood behind me through the years — people that have my love and respect.

Björn Borg, No deal: Borg decides against selling trophies

Duh! No matter how destitute and desperate I was, I would never sell something so precious. On the other hand, I would have loved to get my hands on one of those trophies and racquets.

Tags: bankrupt, Bjorn-Borg, desperation, finance, Sports, Tennis, Wimbledon

UCLA is going to the Final Four!

UCLA smothers Memphis to advance to the Final Four

Photo Credit: Associated Press

It was pretty much the ugliest game I have ever seen, low scoring and poor foul shooting on the part of the Bruins. But in what has now become UCLA basketball trademark, their smothering defense shut Memphis down early on. UCLA led for almost the entire game except for the first few minutes of the game. Bruin defense allowed a little more than half of the points that Memphis scored on the Bruins early in the season. So much for the touting of Memphis’ athleticism and strength; the strategy of trying to run the Bruins into the ground backfired as UCLA was ahead early on by as much as 21-9. Superior defense by UCLA did not allow the transition scoring power of Memphis to make its presence known at all.

UCLA wins “ugly” in a poor-shooting, but tremendous defensive game

Photo Credit: Associated Press

BTW I decided that I will just watch the Final Four from home this time around. Too expensive to get tickets, all the flights are sold out, and I’m sure all the hotels are also sold out.

Saturday’s gloat: Thank goodness Texas lost. At least they won’t have the opportunity to win two national championships (football and basketball) in the same year.

Tags: basketball, Sports, UCLA

UCLA leads Memphis by 7; they would be even more ahead if they had made their free throws! Now it’s a 20-minute game… 20 minutes away from the Final Four.

I’m so tempted to buy tickets to the Final Four but ONLY if UCLA wins. I’m monitoring eBay right now. The trick will be to get two days off from work and then to find a place to stay.

Tags: basketball, Sports, UCLA

Bluetooth = wireless file transfer

Bluetooth + Verizon + Motorola V3c RAZR (S/W .03) = crippled gear so you have to pay Verizon to get ringtones, pics, and videos

What’s the point of Bluetooth on the phone if you can’t transfer files from a computer to your phone? Exactly. There is no point. So I did some “research” on the Web and found a couple of forum threads that attempt to “explain” how to Flash my Verizon RAZR phone from a software version .03 (crappy crippled Bluetooth) to version .02 (full Bluetooth-enabled with OBEX). But if you’ve ever read technical support forums before you already know that the people writing the technical tips don’t explain things very well. Additionally, you have to read through pages and pages of useless information before you find a couple of useful tidbits.

So this post will summarize the steps you need to follow in order to downgrade your Verizon Motorola V3c RAZR phone software from .03 to .02.

Equipment and software needed:

• Verizon Motorola V3c RAZR phone with .03 software
• Mini USB cable (you’ll need to download and install the necessary USB drivers - sorry I’m not writing a tutorial on that)
• PC (sorry, this flash procedure does not work on a Mac)
• Motorola RSD Lite v. 1.9.1 (you’ll have to register)
• GATW_X_01.0F.02P (this is the flash file)

Procedure to follow:

1. Install Motorola RSD Lite v. 1.9.1.
2. Unzip the flash file; be sure to note its location on your PC (recommend the desktop).
3. Connect your phone to the PC via the mini-USB cable.
4. Start the Motorola RSD Lite v. 1.9.1 software (if it does not recognize your phone automatically, then you probably did not install the correct USB drivers.
5. Browse for the flash file in the RSD software window that opens after you start it.
6. Click Start.
7. It takes about 15 minutes to finish; DO NOT UNPLUG the cable from the phone or turn it off.
8. Power off your phone when instructed to do so. (It will tell you to manually power up the phone.)
9. Power phone back on.
10. Activate and reprogram your phone with *228 (Option 1).
11. Pair your phone with your Bluetooth-enabled computer; it should work fully now with PCs and Macs - sorry pairing is another tutorial that I am not interested in writing.

I also found this page to be very helpful. Hope that helps and saves you time!

Tags: Bluetooth, cell_phones, Computers, file-transfer, flash, gatw_x_01.0f.02p, geek_stuff, Motorola, OBEX, RAZR, RSD-Lite, Verizon

Impossible. No, improbable. Down by as much as 17 points in the first half, shooting abysmally, and playing uncharacteristically poor defense, UCLA seemed helpless in its regression to the Steve Lavin days of mediocrity. As one announcer bluntly put it, “UCLA has got to be embarrassed.”

Using changing defenses and a full-court press at times to keep UCLA off-balance, Gonzaga forced the Bruins to miss their first eight shots and turn the ball over seven times before making their first basket 8:43 into the game to cut it to 18-9.

Things were so bad that both teams got into the bonus before UCLA made its first shot and after back-to-back turnovers against the Bulldogs press, Farmar looked at the bench and shrugged his shoulders looking for any help he could get.

UCLABruins.com

UCLA stuns Gonzaga 73-71 to advance to the Elite Eight

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

But . . . just as they had done all season long, the Bruins proved their mettle in the second half, coming out strong with an 8-0 run. With pressure on the ball and their trademark defense, UCLA clawed its way back into the game. With Number One scorer in the nation, Adam Morrison, leading the way and scoring 24 points in the game, Gonzaga maintained the lead for the entire game. Well, almost the entire game.

For 39 minutes and 45 seconds, it was Gonzaga’s game to win. Even in the last minute of the game, UCLA was down by 5, 71-66, an almost insurmountable lead. About 20 seconds later, Farmar made a basket for 71-68. A defensive stop and block on Gonzaga’s possession provided Ryan Hollins with a good defensive position, which tempted a Gonzaga player to hold Hollins’ arm. FOUL! Hollins, a 60% free-throw shooter made both shots, 71-70, making it a one-point game with about 19 seconds remaining in the game.

UCLA’s Farmar stripped the ball on the ensuing inbounds play from a careless and off-guarded Gonzaga player. Mbah a Moute made the go ahead layup with about 10 seconds to go. 72-71 UCLA. Stifling defensive pressure again on Gonzaga’s inbounds play resulted in another steal by Mbah a Moute with only 2.6 seconds left in the game. Gonzaga’s fate was sealed, even though the Bruins’ leading scorer, Afflalo, made only one of two free throws. 73-71 UCLA. After a Hail Mary inbounds pass across the court, Gonzaga’s desperation shot was too strong with 1.9 seconds remaining . Time expired. UCLA advances to the Elite Eight to face Memphis in the Regional Final this Saturday.

Agony and Ecstasy

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

For the Zags, the final three-plus minutes would look like this: Five missed shots, three fouls and two turnovers. UCLA had scored the last 11 and won, 73-71. . . Morrison, his head down, his words brief, explained the game’s final minutes like this: “I missed the shots.”

Wayne Drehs, UCLA’s come-from-behind win breaks Zags’ hearts

I know it’s mean, but I enjoyed hearing the UCLA fight song playing
in the background as Morrison laid sprawled on the court, his body racking with sobs.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Bazemore

Waaah!

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Bottom line: Gonzaga melted under the pressure from UCLA’s suffocating defense.

Other ha-ha’s go out to former Number One Duke, star player also in tears after losing to LSU.

Tags: basketball, Sports, UCLA

After buying one of those new pink Motorola V3c RAZRs for Josephine, I could not resist. I splurged and decided to go back to using two separate devices and listed my Palm Treo 650 on eBay. I am now the proud owner of a gray RAZR. Such a deal with Verizon. Josephine’s RAZR was $39 while mine was $99. I would have gotten another one free for Pourpa’s phone, but his number was not eligible (since I used it to get the Treo a few months ago). As for the PDA, I’m going with the Palm Tungsten T5, which I have purchased on eBay.

Tags: cell_phones, geek_stuff, Josephine_Bruin, Motorola, Palm, RAZR, Tungsten-T5, Verizon

Arron Afflalo Erupts after draining a 3-pointer to seal the game

Photo Credit: MIKE WINTERS/Daily Bruin senior staff

With all the gloating that I’ve been doing over the teams that have lost, I hope I don’t jinx the Bruins who have certainly played extremely well!

On to Sunday’s gloat list:

• Pittsburgh (Fortunately for the Bruins, Howland is now coaching at UCLA).
• North Carolina (I can’t even begin to say how overjoyed I am that the boring Tar Heels lost to a nobody team, sorry Tamara D. I am going to gloat tomorrow at work to IT1 H)
• Arizona (Good. They should not have been in the tournament anyways.)

Yes. And then there were 16. GO BRUINS!

Tags: basketball, Sports, UCLA

UCLA beats Alabama 62-59 to go to the Sweet Sixteen

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

This game was a little too exciting for me. I prefer the types of scores where UCLA wins by 20 or more. UCLA led for almost the entire game, but had only a one point lead even in the last minutes of the game. Even with 15.5 seconds to go, Alabama had an opportunity to win the game, but their best player bricked a 3-point shot that would have ended the game in Alabama’s favor.

UCLA’s free throw shooting was horrible. If the Bruins had made all their free throws, this would not have been a close game at all. It would have been at least an 11-point victory. In any case, the W is all that matters in basketball, especially during the Tournament. So here’s to the next round of Sweet Sixteen.

Additionally, it was fun to gloat over the following losses:

• Tennessee (Sorry John S., but orange is kind of a strange color.)
• Illinois (Now it’s my turn Dr. Shah)
• Texas A&M (Dave M., I think they should focus more on ROTC rather than basketball)

And while I don’t particularly like Indiana, it certainly would have been better for UCLA if Indiana had beaten Gonzaga. I think Indiana would have made for a weaker opponent for UCLA in the next round.

Tags: basketball, Sports, UCLA

UCLA routs the Belmont Bruins 78-44

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi

I listened to most of the first half of this game on the radio. I was furious for about 15 minutes as UCLA was down 16-10. But by the time I was one-fourth done with my commute home, I knew the game was pretty much over as UCLA was on its way to victory.

It’s nice to finally see the Bruins playing well during the latter part of the season. For the past several years, we Bruin fans have had to endure mediocre to lousy Bruin teams and the teasing of our friends when the Bruins have exited early in the tournament. So for now, while UCLA is still playing very well, I’d like to gloat in the following first round losses of other teams with a big “ha=ha” in a Jim Carrey kind of tone:

Thursday’s C-Ya List

• SDSU (Jeff per usual, bible study, local San Diegans, as well as Cox Commnications Cable and Fox Sports West who chose to show lame East coast teams instead of UCLA this season)
• Syracuse (Robbie M.)
• Oklahoma (Butch O., VMHS Band - at least we don’t have to listen to their stupid fight song)

Friday’s C-Ya List

• Arkansas (The whole team cuz you still suck.)
• Wisconsin (Martha S. - finally)
• Cal (No explanation needed; I hate Berkeley)
• Kansas (Adam K. - at least their shoes looked cool)

Tags: basketball, Sports, UCLA

Royce Hall à la Hockney

This is the final result from our third photo assignment. I didn’t really like the way this turned out. And I’m glad I’m done with the assignment. This one was more difficult for me because it involved more manipulation with Photoshop rather than actual photography. The teacher said he liked it, which is good, but I’m ready for the next assignment.

We have to print this as an 8.5″ x 11″ and dry mount it on an 11″ x 14″ board. The teacher showed us how to do our own mounts in the photo lab, but I think I will go to Aaron Brothers and pay them to mount it for me. I can’t imagine 15 people from my class trying to mount the final photos while there will probably be other students using the lab at the same time.

Tags: CoolPix , education_and_training, Hockney, Palomar-College, PHOTO-150, Photography, Photoshop, UCLA

UCLA annihilated the Cal Golden Bears 71-52 to become double Pac-10 Champions!
Regular season and tournament champs. It’s time to bring home another banner!

Photo credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Tags: basketball, Sports, UCLA

Last night I was admiring and reading my new ESV bible. I also put on sale a NKJV bible that I no longer use and could never get used to while we were going to church in Mira Mesa. But while I was marveling at something new, I also stumbled across something old– a self-penned inscription I wrote in my first bible (KJV) as a very new Christian. I wrote the following on July 19, 1986, almost 20 years ago. My earnest prayer is still valid today.

Lord, I pray that Your Word guide my temporary stay on this earth; that it may enrich my mind with the Truth and that I should bear witness unto the truth to everyone that heareth my voice; that it may let me call upon Your strength to resist temptation. For “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” I pray that the Holy Spirit give me patience that I may love my neighbors and my enemies as myself.

I pray that I, like You, may bear Your people’s pain; that I may weep for love of them, to turn them not away from You; that I will break their hearts of stone, give them hearts of love alone; that you will speak Your word to them through me. Whom shall You send?

“Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart.”

In Jesus’ name, I pray that together we can renew the face of the earth; that to this end, but to love You even more, be at the center of my mind, body, and spirit.

Tags: Bible, Prayer, Reflection, Spiritual

I wanna be a part of B.A., Buenos Aires New York City, Big Apple!

Josephine and I had planned on visiting New York City in April to tour the city and visit with my friend from high school, Julie. Unfortunately, work projects at S Tech precluded any vacation time during Josephine’s spring break vacation. We then asked for August, but her manager declined because it was too close to the start of the new academic year.

Instead Pourpa and I are going in early September for about 10 days, which will include (hopefully) a date to watch the Men’s Final of the US Open tennis tournament.

Our flights are reserved; we are flying for free thanks to the free miles.

Update: This is long overdue. We will not be going to NYC this fall due to having purchased the 4Runner! Unfortunately, we needed the third car. That sounds weird. but Pourpa needed my old truck so he could drive around to work etc while he has been home for the spring and the summer.

Tags: Announcements, Josephine_Bruin, New-York, Pourpa, Travels, vacation

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the competition. I was 20 years old, which was a lifetime ago. As a student at UCLA, participating in Air Force ROTC, I paid more attention to marching around a rectangular box rather than my biology courses. Yes, it was an obsession. There are three reasons why SCIDM is so memorable to me.

Bad A** !!

SCIDM is special because it always takes place at about the same time as my birthday.
In fact, 20 years ago today, the SCIDM competition took place on my birthday. The entire team and I went to my parents’ old house in Whittier for a little celebration before checking into our hotel rooms in Anaheim.

SCIDM reminds me of the incredible power of the human will, the drive of the human spirit, and the lengths to which a person’s motivation can take someone.
I envisioned bringing our rag-tag team to that national competition. Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, it was, to me, like a miracle that a virtually unknown team could come to a competition and bring home two trophies. And even better than the year that I was the commander, UCLA Air Force had at least three more years afterwards of championship level marching (as evidenced by the trophies I saw in the old detachment the other day).

Lots of Trophies

SCIDM reminds me of the special people God placed in my life for His special purpose.
The victories at SCIDM were obviously the culmination of my personal ROTC career. Just a year later, I dropped out of the program after returning to campus from studying marine biology for one quarter. The competition represents the final chapter of the great story that God brought about in my life through ROTC. My drill team story encompasses two sets of characters. In general, there was the drill team itself and all the “fun” we had practicing together. It was a lot of work, but I remember quite a bit of laughs and hilarious events, probably revolving around someone being late and having the whole team do push ups or how something stupid like “Open Ranks March” could actually be made into something suggestive! What a riot. The other set of characters involve the special roles some drill team members and other ROTC cadets played in my life. God designed my ROTC experience to draw me to himself.

Pauline Seager: The first Christian I met at UCLA. She had fun with us at almost every social gathering and party. But I never once heard her utter a profanity, lift an alcoholic beverage to her lips, or compromise her spiritual beliefs with either her words or her actions.

Tom Cantarano: One of the first Christians I knew at UCLA also. His kind and quiet spirit exuded the peace of Christ. When he spoke to me, I always felt listened to and encouraged.

Jonathan Davis: Also one of the first Christians I met through ROTC. I’ll never forget the patience and sacrifice he demonstrated to me by helping me with my thermodynamics homework in Physics 6B every single day. I would not have passed that class without him. He never said no to answering any of my questions, often spending two hours on the phone with me. It was a demonstration of sacrificial friendship for sure and it spoke volumes to me.

Uly Aguirre: An older cadet from Cal State Long Beach with whom I traveled to Field Training at McChord AFB in Washington. I actually made fun of Uly because he prayed before his meals. I thought he was a kook, reading his bible on the Greyhound bus. But his kindness and the peacefulness about him were things that I would remember later on when I needed to recall his example.

Jason Nakashima: He invited me to join his bible study, which was led by Dennis Tuma, who ultimately became my spiritual father and mentor. Through the bible study I learned what it meant to become a true disciple of Christ.

James Marcolesco: In his own brash and forthright way, I will never forget his question to me at the end of his Arnold Air Society interview: “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” While I chewed him out for asking me, I never forgot the question, which became more meaningful to me later on that year.

So now that I’ve officially entered middle age, I look back on those times with great fondness. When I reflect on all that God has done in my life, I’m humbled, thankful, and really quite amazed at how ROTC and SCIDM changed my life.
(more…)

Tags: AFROTC, education_and_training, Life, Reflection, Spiritual, UCLA

Wishing on an ice cream mud pie cake

Tags: birthday, Life, party