Jay Yoo

I love irony.  Why?  Still pondering this one, but I think because it exposes the truth of what is both positive and negative; it fits squally in-between and is always changing hands.  Irony is never ending, nor is it an absolute. Okay, so I love irony.  Here you go:

Apple, takes matters in their own hands when it comes to sustainability. This is straight from a recent Apple patent application:

“Our country’s continuing reliance on fossil fuels has forced our government to maintain complicated political and military relationships with unstable governments in the Middle East, and has also exposed our coastlines and our citizens to the associated hazards of offshore drilling,” the filings state. “These problems have led to an increasing awareness and desire on the part of consumers to promote and use renewable energy sources.”

Apple is a publicly traded company and, while they make bold claims like the above, they must answer to their shareholders and analysts; they must make money or else.  If the very companies they are railing against in this patent application want Apple product, then Apple product they get.  

In yet another blow to troubled Research in Motion, one of the world’s largest energy  (oil & gas) service corporations — Halliburton — plans to phase out thousands of employee BlackBerrys in favor of advancing its business via the iPhone and Apple’s iOS platform

Holy Irony! Halliburton can theoretically become more efficient in Oil & Gas exploration by integrating and deploying the very technology of a company that, in spirit, seems to want to put them out of business.  It is true that “Money doesn’t sleep.”

Via Apple Insider

I love this conversations with my daughter:

Daughter: “Daddy, you are right.”

Me: “No, I am Jay Yoo.”

Daughter: “What?”

Me: “I am Jay Yoo.”

Daughter: “Then you are wrong?”

Me: “No, I am Jay Yoo.”

Daughter: Scratching head, “I don’t understand.”

Me: “There is nothing to understand, I am Jay Yoo.”

Daughter: “Okay, you are Jay Yoo!”

Me: “Right!”

Daughter: “What, you said you are not right?”

Me: “Right, I am Jay Yoo.”

It goes on forever, but I am pretty sure she gets it.

In a random link in Facebook to a recent post featuring the bloggers from my alma mater (Earlham College), I found my way to this. It is a post by Spencer Smith about a soccer match EC had against Transylvania University back in October of 2010.

The post mentions nothing about the score or plays made. Instead it focuses on some of the more colorful exchanges that occurred on the field.

Like Earlham’s student population, the men’s soccer team is extremely diverse. If you glance at our roster you will notice players from Uganda, Bosnia, Guatemala, Ghana, Palestine, Norway, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Colombia. These happen to be some of my closest friends at Earlham. As I watched the soccer game from the scorer’s table I heard Jimmy, our captain, say to the referee multiple times, “Listen to the crap they’re saying.” Then, at halftime, he went up to the refs and pleaded for them to do something about the comments Transylvania players were making. After the game he told me how they were yelling, “I hate f***ing internationals,” and Amir, an Earlham forward from Palestine, said they would call him “terrorist” every time he touched the ball.

Having played soccer at Earlham, which is one of the most Liberal of Liberal Arts schools on the planet, I remember us taking some flack from fans and players alike. “Faggot” was probably the favorite derogatory remark, with some occasional racial epithets. As a school founded on Quaker principals, Earlham was (is) also known for its pacifism, perhaps being more reason for other teams to small-mindedly stir the pot with bigotry and racism without fear of retaliation.

That was then, and this is now. Is it horrible and disappointing? Absolutely. On the surface, one may not be able to see that America has made any progress with educating people on the damage that outright bigotry and racism inflicts on society and individuals.

However, if we take a step back, we indeed have come a long way since my days at Earlham (1992): Obama is President and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has been repealed.

Transylvania University admits students regardless of age, race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, national origin, or any other classification protected by federal or state law or local ordinance.

It’s at the bottom of their website.

PS - Very interesting domain Transylvania University has: www.transy.edu. Here is the #1 Urban Dictionary definition of “Transy:” A transgendered person.