http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2RwR7S3YpU

If you haven’t seen “Her”, you should definitely check it out. It’s thought provoking and I identified with a lot of it. It’s not like I have deep conversations with my computer or anything. But I have had a lot of conversations with people on the computer, which has a lot of the same sense of connection without physicality that the film explores.

This is kind of a different topic altogether, but technology has had a profound effect on the way I interact with people. I have a number of friends that I don’t get to see much, but I still keep in touch through chat or email. That’s great, but it’s also strange to think that some of my relationships have become almost entirely virtual. I have lots more to say on that topic, but this was supposed to be a post about a silly video inspired by an interesting movie.

I liked “Her” a lot and I found Scarlett Johansson to be particularly effective in that role. But I’m a heterosexual male and the film sort of caters to that. So I started thinking about what it’d be like with a different “voice”. Hence, the silly video.

Also, a funny bit of trivia: my dad actually went to high school with George Takei.

During the week, I spend about 3 to 4 hours a day on a bus and I used to feel pretty queasy by the end of it. I tried a few different things like making sure I don’t have an empty or full stomach, sitting on the bottom deck, looking out the window, etc. But the most effective thing for me was ginger.

There are probably a bunch of different ways to use it but I just opted for buying a big jar of the pickled version that they usually have with sushi. Somehow, the tangy sharpness of it really settles my stomach. I suck on on a piece or two for a while and then just bite down on it when I start to feel a bit queasy and that usually takes care of it.

So if you’re prone to motion sickness like I am (apparently, motion sickness is more common among Asians), give it a try!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfeXH51IApg

Every once in a while, I get a brilliant idea for a video. Something transcendent that will alter the very way people will — ok, maybe not. Mostly, I get really dumb ideas like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyFzYyXYxAQ

Ever since it was announced that Google was buying robotics companies, some people have been freaking out with the comparisons to Terminator 2. I wanted to lay those fears to rest so I made this totally reassuring video.

A couple of notes:

• Intentionally blinking while talking is really hard.
• I hope this doesn’t get me fired…

My web host recently migrated the server my blog was hosted on and as a result, my blog wasn’t available for a couple days. Fortunately, I don’t think anyone but me noticed.

Anyways, it got me thinking about the infrequency of my blog posts as of late. Then I was curious to see how much of an impact it makes on viewership and iPhone app sales so I made a graph. Some observations:

• Blog viewership seems uncorrelated to iPhone app sales.
• Blogs should probably have at least a post or two a week to maintain an audience.
• If you want to do either a blog or iPhone apps, try to do it before you have a kid!