three strikes you are out, three bars you're in network

spent a few minutes this afternoon walking around withing a few feet in search of cellular phone's bar. was expecting a phone call, yet i know there usually is a phone with red diagnal line on my phone from my cube. that's translated as no service. i can barely hear the phone ringing, but as soon as i pick it up the call hangs with 'no service...' message displaying.

knowing i'm expecting the phone i walked out and walked about staring at the phone, neverminding anything on the ground i might trip over.

i used to laugh at phone commercial, yet i realized i was doing exact the scene from the phone commercial. walk two steps forward and get a small bar, then two more steps forward to get 2nd bar, and yet two more steps from that point lose the 2nd bar i just obtained. walk back, and it doesn't come back and walk a step to the left and there it is again. it took me a full two minutes to secure a spot that has three service bars displaying, ensuring a reliable and audible service.

sigh* when i switched over from sprint to t-mobile, i thought the services were better. last 2 years, it's been deteriorating. about 6-8months ago i could actually make a phone call using cellular phone from my cube, which i sadly can't.

of course, i'm not a phone freak. except to call general contractors or dispute credit card bill, and to answer occasional rings, i make like less than 1 or 2 phone calls per month.

but this still is sad. limited service area, and walking around in search of cell phone service bar.

wonder why the phone bill does go up, if the service area is being reduced.

time to shop for new phone service plan? or just give it up all together?

oh well, oh well...

netconf 2006 is coming~~~

there are much heat wave and much rain and wind everywhere, making sizzling summer a bit of a travel hazard.

well, that's not the main reason but Netconf 2006 detered from previous July travelling and will be in Sept. This time in the heart of Tokyo's Akihabara. For those in US and familiar with Fry's, think of blocks and blocks of Frys, that's what Akihabara is like.

Well, will we be able to confine the attendees within the conference room?
Maybe the session topics and fancy attendee list would do the trick. Last year Thomas Garf's graph set new height in visual presentation; heck, I didn't understand half what he said but I remember such cute lines and dots in animation. Who will present what, and what will that lead in terms of development for next 6months? The dates and attendee list increases, to accomodate past events' constraint in time of two days with about 1-1.5hr per presentor.

I'm looking forward to learn how to integrate Usagi rabbit (Usag is like a rabbit/hare in Japanese, literally) and Mashimaro the mutant rabbit Netconf adopted as mascot.

3 days in Tokyo locked up with super geeks. Davem asked me if I can make myself useful w/ a slide or two myself. I joked saying maybe I can teach these bunch of foreigners basic Japanese, for their evening out to Akihabara the toy store. Seriously I need to hit the wall hard with my head, to make something useful out of this. Think, think, think.......

spare the air, spare the air conditioner

SF Bay area kicks w/ 4th spare day of the year on 7/17 monday.
Which is cool. I can ride caltrain instead of my free alternative on highway 101 that takes forever.

Wouldn't be surprised, as I personally eyewitnessed temperature shooting high, up to 111 and 115 around vacaville and placerville valley on the way home from Tahoe on sunday.

Still, at this rate I might catch a cold, so hot outside and so cold inside the air conditioned building.
Achooo~~~
sniff~~
sniff~~

if silicon valley companies are spamming "we will shutdown light from 4pm-7pm... blah" to save electricity in the hot day of "spare the air" day, couldn't they also lower the air conditioner just a tinsy bit?

wearing sleeveless inside and winter coat outside should only occur if I walk intoa nice warm home from snow blizard cold of alaska, not the other way around.

another day of shivering inside the office only to sweat to death on way out to lunch and commute home. how perfect! (not!)