I and my new archenemy, the sun, are now in Mandalay, Myanmar. I will try to make this quick because if the electrical scene at the “Unity Hotel” is any indication, Mandalay apparently loses power approximately once every four minutes. After my last post on Sunday, I went on a very long walk around Yangon. [...]

[Update: I'm editing this to take out my diatribe about nasty tourists. What the hell do I know?] [I typed this first part yesterday - Saturday - morning, a couple of hours after I arrived, but could not post it until now.] I made to Yangon, Myanmar no problem. I am very tired because I [...]

I leave this Friday (the 25th) for my trip to Myanmar. I’ll spend Friday night in Bangkok, then about eight days or so in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, and Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar. Returning to HCMC via Bangkok on Monday, May 5th. I have read that there is no public internet access in Myanmar. While that [...]

This editorial appeared in today’s New York Times, which previously endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee. Pretty strong words against someone you’ve endorsed. The way I read it, they’re basically telling their own preferred candidate that – despite the 10-point win in Pennsylvania – she’s blown it, is doing nothing now but hurting [...]

If you have an iPhone, you can now “jailbreak” – or hack – it very easily yourself by going to www.ziphone.org and following the instructions. I haven’t done it myself, but a friend of mine here did it and said it worked perfectly and took about two minutes. Once you’ve hacked it, there is a [...]

Yes, yes, today is the laziest blogger in the world’s 37th birthday. I’m honestly not too excited about it. Nothing too excited about counting down to age 40! I celebrated by coming into work late, am going to eat sushi for lunch with some friends from school, and am going out to eat at a [...]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/trailhead/ The Superdelegate Wall By Christopher Beam In this pre-Pennsylvania lull—a relative term—it sometimes feels like we’re just finding new ways to express how royally screwed Hillary Clinton is. Well, like it or not, the minds over at ABC have found yet another way. Their verdict: Clinton needs to win 80 percent of the remaining [...]

. . . but other than that, everything is cool: Roots, Tribe, Consequence freestyle – 1995: Roots – Rising Down Session – NYC – 2008: Biggie at 17 freestylin’ on the street corner in Bed Stuy – unbelievable – check out the crowd’s reaction – they’ve never seen anything like it: Sigue Sigue Sputnik – [...]

So last night Thao and I went to the University Star competition at my school, RMIT. It’s an American Idol knockoff they do every year here. Only students and teachers from the various universities in HCMC can participate. They set up a stage on the soccer field next to the school (the same field Lam [...]

Anyone looking to buy a good camera should check out this 10.1 megapixel Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi with 18-55mm lens for $489. Free shipping. http://dealnews.com/Canon-EOS-Rebel-XTi-10-1-MP-Digital-SLR-Camera-18-55-mm-lens-for-489-Body-for-409-free-shipping/221548.html I bought the 6 megapixel Digital Rebel for about $800 back in 2004. It’s amazing how technology gets cheaper and cheaper. Anyway, great deal on a great camera.