Why a "smoking section" is absurd

In response to my dear friend, Arthur, and his comments on a smoking section:

I think it is ideal to have Smokers and Non smokers in seperate sections. I believe that Giving the people choices to pick from is at least better then BANNED it all together. Hey, you think Smokers Don't want a place to smoke freely and not Posion others? Heh

Do smoking sections really work? I cannot remember the last time I went to a crowded restaurant in Hong Kong, sat in the so called non-smoking section, and did not smell smoke. It is extremely difficult to properly create smoking and non-smoking sections within the same restaurant. The problem lies in the nature of smoke. Smoke is a gas, and that god-awful smell can travel around closed doors, air-conditioning vents, and even neighboring apartments.

Restaurants make feeble attempts to accommodate customers by drawing an imaginary line between tables that have ashtrays and tables that do not. Then they half-heartedly try to sit smokers far away from non-smokers. This works fine for the smokers, but sitting across the table or across the room makes no difference for someone who does not smoke. Most restaurants and bars simply don't want to put in the time, money, and effort into creating a segregated environment for smokers. Those that attempt to do so are often met with other problems such as the setup not working, or one set of people not able to get a "window" seat (just read some HK restaurant reviews and you'll see), or the smoke simply edging its way to the other side of the room as it always does.

Another problem is that most smokers simply haven't got a clue. They just cannot possibly fathom how much regular people are bothered by cigarette smoke. So here are some of the reasons:

1. Smoking kills. Everyone with half a brain knows that, yet why people continue to smoke baffles me. Why cigarettes are still on sale, I can understand. I don't agree with it, but at least I can see why tobacco is still being put on shelves (the answer has to do with economics in case you slept through that course in college). There are absolutely no redeeming qualities in smoking. Why do people still smoke? What the fuck? Anyways, I've strayed off the path; back to the topic at hand.
2. Smoking sucks because of the pollution it creates. Tobacco is a crop that destroys the land. Ground that has been used to grow tobacco takes a much longer time to recover than lets say... if it were used grow corn, or rice, or apple trees. However, most people tend to ignore or are oblivious to this fact.
3. Cigarette smoke smells really really bad. Think about a smell that you absolutely detest. Now imagine that smell being sent towards your direction constantly in the form of a gas. Even if its not sent in your direction, that gas starts to dissapate, and eventually reaches your clothes, nostrils, hair, eyes. It clings to every part of your skin, hair, and clothing. This god-awful smell won't disappear until you take a shower (sometimes twice) and wash your clothes. That is what cigarette smoke is like for people who don't smoke. People who do not smoke are quite sensitive to cigarette smoke, and smokers are naturally not as sensitive to smoke; hence, the divide widened even more.

*I am hesitant to mention that cigarette butts are polluting our streets and destroying the look of our cities because this is the result of human laziness and utter lack of respect for fellow citizens, also known as: littering. It is not necessarily a direct cause of tobacco and cigarettes, so I won't include it in the "list".

Okay, before you let loose your army of hate mail, let me explain why some smokers don't have a clue. Let me first explain the ones who actually do have a clue and understand how much non-smokers detest cigarette smoke.

• Type A: the smoker who does have a clue and does not smoke in the presence of non-smokers. I have one or two friends who do this, and I bow down to their considerate behavior. Mr. A. Huang, you are awesome, and there aren't many people out there as considerate as you.
• Type B: the smoker who does have a clue and just doesn't give a shit. These people know that smoke bothers the people around them, but they are too selfish to care. Some of them even write rants about how they hate people who get in the way of their cancer sticks. These people are all over Hong Kong, and sometimes they'll go out of their way to smoke in designated non-smoking areas. Why? Because they're assholes, that's why.
• Type C: the smokers who try to be considerate, but don't have a clue. These smokers mean well: they try to cause non-smokers less pain and suffering by blowing the smoke in a different direction, or hold their cigarette under the table, or behind their back in attempt to somehow hide the smoke from non-smokers. They don't have a clue because they don't know that these well-meaning actions make little to no difference to the non-smoker. They think that opening a window, blasting the AC, or turning on a fan will make the non-smoker feel better. It does, but its like taking a piss to put out a forrest fire: the effects are minimal.

So in response to Arthur's comment: yes, it is good to give people a choice, but 99% of the time (at least in HK), you're taking that choice away from people who don't smoke. Even when smoking is completely banned, smokers can still always choose to do their puffing outside the establishment. Non-smokers have never been able to choose to avoid smoke.

Keep your cancer to yourself

Will someone please explain to me why smoking is still allowed in restaurants and bars?

I cannot understand why restauranteurs are fighting so hard to have smoking be allowed. Their claim is that a smoking ban will drive away customers and thereby decreasing their revenue. Do they think that smokers will stop eating altogether if smoking is banned? Have they ever considered how much business they are losing by banning smoking? Why are these people so stubborn? Look at what success cities abroad have had with a smoking ban. People don't stop eating and drinking just because they can't smoke anymore. What does smoking have to do with anything?! If anyone's been paying attention at all, Hong Kong's only smoke-free restaurant/pub, Dublin Jack, is still alive and kicking despite being the only pub to have banned smoking.

I for one, would be more inclined to eat out and go out in if there was a smoking ban in place. Nowadays, when I'm forced to sit in a cloud of carcinogenic air, my eyes water then dry up, I can't breathe, and I end up smelling like an ashtray, a.k.a. shit. How is that a positive night out?

I'm angry and I'm negative about smoking, so kill me... wait, you already are.

What the truck is this?

Hey now! Many of my friends know that I have a sport wagon fetish... errr... uhh... obsession. I am obsessed with a car that can haul arse while at the same time haul groceries, hockey equipment, lawnmower, you're wife's luggage, etc. So wagons that go fast really float my boat. Audi RS4s, and STi wagons have long sparked my interest, even the Volvo V50 has caught my eye many times over. Forget the Ferraris and Lambos. They are fast, but their trunks won't fit my monster 460cc driver, and what can I possibly buy at the supermarket with a Lambo, two apples?

So when I heard the Mitsubishi Evolution IX had a wagon version, I was quite excited. Hmm... well... after some quick clicking and tapping, I had found it. All I can say is... well... THIS IS ONE UGLY PIECE OF SHITE! Great work Mitsubishi design team! You've managed to make another awesome sedan into another awesome yet ugly wagon (see: Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Legnum).

The front end is smooth, sporty, and aggressive. The Evolution VI and earlier had always looked boxy and squarish. Perfect for robots or boys who haven't reached puberty yet. Evo VII, VIII, and IX have rid themselves of the boyish look with a smoother, meaner look in the front. Getting rid of those ugly, attention-whore, fog lamps was a great idea afterall. Unfortunately, the rear end gives it a completely different persona. The rear is too high, too square, and should slant downwards like the STi does. It just says grocery-getter all over it. That wouldn't have been an issue if the front weren't so aggressive, and if this car was named Mitsubishi Lancer Emporium IX. It gives one the feeling that two different people designed the look of this car.

Other than getting brutally beaten from behind with the ugly stick, the LanEvo IX wagon is still a superb performer on the road. It still has all the traits that the Evolution has given us in years past making it one of the best if not the best driver's car for under US$50K. I won't bore you with the details of the Evo's performance, since it is all over the internet. My friend Sergey has a nice little site that will point you in the right direction.

Sporty in the front. The IX now combines turbo omph with variable valve timing. Sweet!

You start to feel your stomach churn getting a glimpse of the rear with this side view...

The car with an ugly arse that can haul arse. Eww...

Sweeeeeeeeet (literally)

I was delighted to find Cherry Coke for sale in my local supermarket. I have been deprived of the syruppy cherry sweetness for over a year now ever since moving back to Hong Kong. So upon seeing the deep red colored cans, I immediately began unloading them from the shelf into my shopping cart. It is then when I noticed that they all expire on the 7th of November 2005. I proceeded to slowly stack the cans back up on the shelf until my cart was left with three. Oh, the cans were also really really dirty. I brought my three cans home and washed them with soap and water before stuffing them in the fridge. I put one of them in ice water so I could sample the tasty beverage sooner.

Seeing the situation of the cans at the store, I began to wonder how long this Cherry Coke stint will last in Hong Kong. Perhaps that supermarket has already stopped ordering Cherry Coke, and that is the last batch for ever and ever. Now that pisses me off. With all the promoting The CCC did for the mediocre Vanilla Coke and seemingly popular Lemon Coke, they did absolutely zero promotions for Cherry Coke. I didn't even know it was available.

For those of you that care, I found Cherry Coke at the Red Hill Wellcome in Tai Tam. Get it before it expires.

Insanity is Relative

I caught what resembled the flu a few days ago. This rendered me unable to attend work, or get out of bed for that matter. Something good did come out of this absence though. While mindlessly flipping through channels on broadband TV, I came across this really good film: Igby Goes Down.

Igby Goes Down is a deeper, darker, and modern version of the great Catcher in the Rye. This is hardly a new concept for a storyline, but its the smart and funny dialogue, plus the extraordinary delivery/acting that makes this movie a gem from back in 2002. How could I have missed it back in the day? This is a DVD that I'm adding to my collection.

The stellar cast includes: Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman, and Susan Sarandon. The main character, Kieran Culkin, brother of Macaulay (Home Alone, Party Monster), and Rory (Signs) puts on an amazing performance.

The film is really well written and directed, both are credited to Burr Steers in his directorial debut. The dialogue is just too good that printing it here won't do it justice. So please, do yourself a favor and check out this cult classic. Flu symptoms not required.

What happen to our monster lead?

One two punch of the Sox offense congradulate each other. Sox crush D-Rays 15-2.

Okay, I'm a bit confused here.

The Sawx are now only HALF a game ahead of the Yanks for the AL East. I kind of expected this. With the weak Sox pitching and Yankee resilience, I pretty much knew they'd be back in the pennant race by September. So should I be worried?

I mean... it is pretty much like old times. But its usually the Sox catching up from behind to barely grab the AL wildcard spot to eventually play the Yanks in the playoffs. Schilling had a strong showing against Tampa Bay, and they did beat them 15 to 2, but I'm still not too confident about The Schill. Oh man, I wish Keith Foulke were in last year's form so Timlin could take his usual reliever spot. You have to give the guy credit for doing such a tremendous job as a closer.

Thankfully, the Yanks are also half a game behind the Indians, who lost to the ChiSox who are three games ahead of them in the AL Central. Interesting... so its sort of between the Sawx, Yanks, ChiSox, and Indians. The ChiSox have pretty much dropped the ball in the last two months. I don't seem them having any sort of advantage in the remaining games, but last night's win was huge. A consecutive loss to Cleveland would have been devastating, immediately dropping a game to their closest competitors. As for the Yankee/Red Sox deal, it may just come to a photo finish on the 2nd. Could it possibly be a Schill vs. The Unit? Definitely a playoff caliber game.

Anyways, I'm confused because I don't know whether I should treat the Sox as the Sox of the old, or World Series Champions of last season. If its just the Sox being the Sox, then I've got nothing to worry about. They'll grind their way into the playoffs and play the Yanks and we'll see how that goes. But if its World Series Sox we're talking about, then I'm not so sure. Should a World Series caliber team have to limp their way through the pennant race?

To make my life easy, lets just accept the Sox being the Sox like we accept Manny just "being Manny". Go Sox!

Krazy-oke

In honor of Kwannie being initiated to "Krazy Karaoke", KK will sometimes be called "Krazy-oke". It was another fun night at the infamous California Red. The highlight of Sunday was definitely Kwan getting his "Alec Baldwin". Too bad we couldn't get a picture of that spectacular event.

Podcasting

Today I discovered "podcasts". In iTunes, you can download and/or subscribe to what are basically radioshows. The episodes are automatically downloaded onto iTunes so you can listen to them on the go. There is a ton of variety in terms of podcast content. All the mainstream subjects are covered (i.e. news, sports, entertainment, tech, etc.), and the beauty of it is that anyone can do podcasting. So there are more and more podcasts done by amateurs on subjects they're interested in. Some people treat it as a blog in spoken form. For those of you who have iTunes, give it a try! For now, take a look at the silly thin iPod nano.

The day my life stood still

September the 18th marks the day when my best friend, Kiki, died after being in a coma from a car accident in Los Angeles two years ago. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about him. Its been two years, but I'm still pretty lost about the whole thing. He was the older brother I never had. I could talk to him about everything and anything. He was a friend. I miss his laugh, his jokes, his humor, the prank calls, the drinking, the good natured fighting. He was more than a friend. It wasn't just that we had a good laugh once in a while. Kiki actually cared about what I was up to, about whether I was looking for a job, whether I was doing okay with my girlfriend, whether my new apartment was nice. He was the one person in my life I could tell absolutely anything. He would listen, and he would respond. Kiki was never selfish, and he always spoke the truth.

We had our ups and downs. I first met him during my first year at boarding school. He was a quiet kid not happy to be away from home. He was pissed off at something during that year, but I did get to know him. Then we became friends. Not really close, but we had the same circle of friends. The next year, I hated his guts. He was a cocky, show-off, attention whore. We had stupid arguments, but were still sort of friends. The third year was when we really bonded. We spent so much time together just hanging out, talking, playing one-on-one basketball. I have never played that much one-on-one with a single person before or after that. We'd just play and play, memorizing each others moves, trying to outsmart each other. Lots of great fun and laughs in between. It was then and throughout college where I finally discovered who my best friend in the whole world was.

The last stretch of time I spent together with him was during the summer of 2001 when Kiki came to visit Hong Kong for a couple of months. He liked it so much that he even spoke of moving here permenantly. Now thinking back, I wish I had convinced him to do so. We had such a great time that summer. After all is said and done, one thing I don't have is regret for not being the best friend I could to him.

Even after two years I still feel like I'm missing something in my life. I lost so much when I lost him. Nowadays, I feel stuck. Things I used to tell him, I no longer have an outlet. He's no longer there to give me that kick in the ass, that sound advice from a friend who is so close to you that he couldn't tell you anything but the truth, no matter how hard it was to hear sometimes. Still to this day, I'll see something funny and think to myself, "Kiki will get a kick out of this when I tell him". Then it immediately dawns on me that I won't get to tell him, and we won't share that laugh because he's no longer here.

I'm still not sure how to deal with losing Kiki. What do I need to do? Should I even attempt to not think about him? Is it stupid of me to still keep that answering machine with his silly prank calls recorded on it? Occasionally, I'll have that recurring dream that he's suddenly alive again and I'm so happy that he's back. Perhaps that's more of a nightmare... but only after I wake up.

Anyways, this is getting out of hand. If Kiki were around, he's probably tell me I'm wasting my time and should get on with life. He's probably right, as usual. Either way, Kiki, my mentor, my brother, my friend: I miss you.

Is this the bandwagon?

Apparently, I now have a weblog.

Yay! Now I can rant, vent, complain, bitch, moan, whine, and expostulate like the rest of the world (or those that have blogs at least...). Fair warning: my life and daily routine are pretty dull, and since I got such a late start, some of these entries will likely be on things of the past. Another warning: many of these entries may be on the subjects of baseball, football, and the Red Sox.

This is just the beginning. Stay tuned...!