aliseya

WTFashion - Baby Bling

2009-07-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

so i ran across these today at Nordies. (click on img to see the rhinestone detail)

so wrong. is it like, enjoy my hot body while it lasts? or is it softening the blow? here's something you don't want to see, on something you want to see? but why virginal white? and most unsettling - it's in bling for the tween crowd...sigh. it's just wrong.

and definitely how i'm breaking the news next time around.

Flash Source - AS2 RSS Reader/Blogroll

2009-07-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

I put up an AS3 RSS Reader last year, so now I've put up some AS2 source. The UI is simple, and it's fairly straight forward to customize the look and feel to match your site.

Enjoy!

Bank Robbed

2009-07-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

I'm constantly amazed at how fervent some people's loyalty to Banks is. When I suggest that they consider banking at a credit union, for the simple fact that it is a -NOT-FOR-PROFIT- organization they balk at that. as if a non-profit-org could steward their money better than those that drove the economy to ish. Then they tell me about how convenient it is that there is a <insert big name bank here> on every corner. Last I checked, you could get cash back at every grocery store/drug store/post office/etc with no fees. woo, look at that convenience! Just get in the habit of getting cash back and you'll never need to go out of your way to go to an ATM.

What about making deposits you ask? Since the credit unions are in an alliance together, you can make a deposit at any one - nationwide. You can go inside or use the ATM. It's really that easy.

Just check it out. Marvel at the lack of fees and the trivially low minimum balances. you don't have to commit to it. But please if you do nothing else, just acknowledge that despite what the marketing messages say, banks do not care about your home or your family (nor should they) because they are FOR-PROFIT enterprises that will raise rates and fees in order to raise profits because legally they have to act in the fiduciary interests of their shareholders - not you. it's not that they are evil, they are just for profit entities.

</rant>

Nespresso Heaven

2009-07-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

It's not often that I find something that i *like* so much that i have to blog about it...but the Nespresso Machine WITH the aerocino milk frother is it.

I've had the strait espresso shots from the Nespresso machine before, and although they are beautiful every time, I can't drink espresso, or drip coffee, without my stomach gurgling all day. So for me, the milk is essential. But my past experiences with frothing milk at home with the old school steam wands has not been good. Too much work for sub par foam. But despite my hesitations, I finally broke down and got the machine because I'm going back to work after maternity leave, and there is no way I'm getting out of bed that early w/out some coffee.

It's 2009, so by now everyone knows about the ease of pod coffee machines, but for me, what really makes this machine exceptional, other than the fact that there is nothing to clean up, is the milk frother. You pour the milk in, push the button, and you have perfect milk in less than a minute. Rinse it out in the sink and you're done. And the milk is perfect. it's velvety and it's the right temp. If you like scalding your mouth on boiling lattes this isn't for you. I don't though. I like lattes that i can drink right away...which for some strange reason is a special order at starbucks. Anyhow, long story short, I'm so glad I finally bought this machine. $300 is a small price to pay to not have to wait in line to then pay $4 for way too hot, flat lattes.

stay caffeinated my friends.

Feed him

2009-06-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

So, I joke with my girlfriends about the 3 F's of keeping your man happy (or rather, the 3 F's of getting whatever you want). One day I'll tell you about them, as a public service, because everyone ends up happy and no part of it involves nagging, stalking or any other whackjob ish. As for today, i'll just tell you about one of them. Feed Him.

As you can probably guess, that means I've been cooking...Everything - chicken, steak, quiche, lamb, reductions, cakes, muffins, cheesecake, all from scratch and whether I feel like it or not. Because if we're going to eat, we might as well eat well.

And people that knew me in grad school as the take out queen, are a bit shocked to see this new domestic goddess...but they shouldn't be. Everyone knows about diamonds being a girl's best friend, but what they don't know is that for a carat and a half, flawless, in the ~blue box~ you really can turn a <party girl> into a housewife...

indeed.

it ain't no joke... if you don't pay that note

2009-06-29T21:29:00.001-07:00

so have you seen operation repo? the best part about the show is how the people getting their cars repo'd 1)pretend they don't know what is going on and then 2)fight the HUGE guys trying to take their car.

i mean really, if you're not paying your car note you have a few months to think about what you're going to do when the repo guys finally come for you...and the best you can come up with is to act indignant repo MY car, as if! and then get yourself maced.

Should I ever have my car repo'd, on TV, I'm using that as the jump off for my own reality TV show. I don't know how yet, but if I'm not paying my car note, then I'm clearly unemployed, and therefore I'll have plenty of time to come up with something good...stay tuned.

government mandated preventative care?

2009-06-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

I'm curious to know how government sponsored preventative care is going to work. While I am hopeful that there will be a new emphasis on nutrition and exercise, I truly wonder how the government can influence people's personal decisions. Will people all of a sudden eat well, exercise regularly and stop smoking just because Obama says so? Will a healthy lifestyle be incenvitized by taxing "unhealthy" things heavily? Or will we as a nation go bankrupt trying to control each other's lives and then ultimately be forced to take responsibility for our own health?

only time will tell i guess.

so fresh

2009-06-22T18:17:00.001-07:00

have i mentioned that i love the nikeID site? i do feel bad though when I see on the ups invoice that your custom shoes ship from vietnam...but not bad enough to buy new balances. anyhow how Nike allocates the $100+ you spend on a pair of shoes is a topic for another blog...

political guilt aside, this is what i did today:

Motherhood Penalty

2009-06-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

So I was reading Shine today and apparently the penalty for having kids is severe when it comes to pay and hiring.

As usual, I am prepared to defy all stereotypes and ignore all reasons why i shouldn't be ballin by being great, all day every day. A mother's work may never be done, but there is a definite stopping point with software. Woo! FYI, see the sexy new blog roll on the right (if this is an archive page, you won't see it). I wrote that code *while* tending to the baby. Mothers you know what I mean by tending. Guys, you may have to think about that for a minute. HR types, you can forget you ever read that.

adub out.

IRONMAN

2009-06-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

So I was at Peet's this morning, dressed and ready to go running, but totally bullshitting. I wasn't exactly being fully lazy, but I wasn't inspired to get off of the bench yet.

So anyhow, I'm sitting there passing time drinking a mocha, and the guy next to me notices how awesome the custom nikes i ordered are and we start chatting about them. (not to jock Nike too hard, but they really are lovely).

So we're talking about running, and he's clearly a runner, but I had no idea what a runner he was. He also had a bike helmet with him, so I asked him if he's a runner and a cycler. Obvious question, but he informed that he was actually a Triathlete. he's a triathlete with a capital T. He of course didn't say that though. He was extremely modest about his accomplishments.

Ya, so what, not impresive you say? Half of Californians are triathletes. True, but not like Fred the Ironman. Ya ya, Ironman, so what. 50,000 people worldwide do some Ironman race every year. Still not impressed? He did Kona. Still not impressed? He did it at 62. Even the toughest critic has to be impressed with that.

So, I press further. Endurance sports can be hell on your body, how are you still able to do them to that level in your 60's? And he was telling me about how he's seen some triathletes overtrain, and have an unbalanced life. No marriage, no kids. Just races. Normally, this is a critisism you hear from people that DON'T want to do the longer races. Not from someone that's done more than 10 Ironman competitions.

So he told me more about his training schedule and get this, although he was a runner since the age of 18, when preparing for the Ironman, he generally only trained about 7-15 hours a week. He said how you train, and how you rest inbetween sessions was key. And he then went on to tell me that by not overtraining, he hasn't run into the joint and muscle problems that plague a lot of endurance athletes.

He then showed me the bad ass Ironman tatoo he had on his calf to commemorate the unbelievable experience of coming down Ali'i Drive and finishing Ironman Hawaii.

So, fully inspired by Fred the 12 time Ironman, I found the motivation to get off the bench and ran the lake.

celebrity engineer - dorkus popularus

2009-06-18T17:46:00.001-07:00

So I was reading the spring edition of the UC Berkeley, College of Engineering magazine, Forefront, and Jeffrey Chu had the following comment:

"I think once we, as a country start having celebrity scientists and engineers instead of just actors, singers and athletes, we will see more Americans go into engineering and the hard sciences."

Not only do I agree with this, but I also volunteer to be the next celebrigineer.

I'll do dancing with the stars, and should this engaged thing not work out you can count me in for ~for the love of A-Dub~ but I won't eat any bugs...for less than $250K.

I await your adoration and loathing.

running for my money

2009-06-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

i was curious about the custom nikes, so i ordered some. they're pretty good if you can't find a pair already in colors that you want. okay, i'm lying...i love them, and i'm going to order custom colors EVERY time I get shoes!

so anyhow, i got my new running shoes and then i noticed this (+) thing. hmmm, what the heck is nike+ i wonder... so i looked into it, and it turns out that you can buy this sensor that goes in the bottom of the shoe that tracks your run. Ya, it's totally unnecessary, but so are custom pink shoes with "go fast" embroidered on the back. FYI, go fast is a joke. i'm so slow...i couldn't do a 7 minute mile if my life depended on it

anyhoo back to the unnecessary ish nike is enticing me to buy. so these sensors will track your run and let you upload your run stats to their site - where they can show you some cool graphs and such and then sell you more unnecessary things. web geek that i am, having 2.0 shoes is totally bad a$$.

so, even though i'm not that big of a runner, or that adventurous of a runner - i run the lake, i want this thing and i'm now obessed with getting it.

so i'm looking up the price. first you cough up $20, sucks but it's whatever, and get the sensor...but wait, then apple gets involved. In order to upload your data, you also have to get a ipod nano or a 2nd gen ipod touch. That's okay I thought...i have the original iphone, the expensive one, so they probably have an app that'll work with the sensor.

NO. DENIED. you have to buy the nano or the ipod touch. lame. i have the iphone, so i already have an ipod. I don't need 2. i'm so annoyed. nike should be mad at crApple about this. nike is good at getting you to incrementally spend more. Apple tries to bleed you dry. because i would have shelled out another $20 for the sensor, and i would have even paid another $20 for a nike app in the itunes app store...but i'm not going to buy yet another apple device just to know that i ran the 3.2 mile lake in 31 minutes. I already know this.

i'll let you know if i break down and buy a nano.

i need paparazzi

2009-06-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

so i spent 5 days in cancun...flaunting my bikini stomach and i have not one picture to show for it! normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but getting back in shape before my maternity leave is even over may be my greatest accomplishment yet - because i was huge. blimpish if you will.

and despite the baby trying her best to ruin my youth and beauty from the inside out it was not going down like that.

that is all.

oh ya...

2009-05-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

i had a baby!

Mya Yasmin Mokeddem

This is her at about 7 weeks old. She looks totally different every week it seems. At first she looked like me, but now, she's the spitting image of her dad. traitor.

removing the default blogger icon

2009-03-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

Normally, it would be really straight forward...just put something like this in your <head> tag

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://aliseya.com/favicon.ico" />
<link rel="icon" href="http://aliseya.com/favicon.ico" />

However, as part of the blogger template, some code is inserted that adds the blogger icon (view source to see it) as well. And if it comes after your icon, then the blogger icon will be used. So as a work around, you can add your icon references right before the close tag (</head>) and you'll see your favicon instead of the default one. Last one in wins! Woo Hoo!

But, with hacks and work arounds, winning can be a bit of an arms race...so if you aren't seeing a pink flower as my favicon, then I have lost this round of the arms race, and I'll need to either find a new workaround, or use different blogging software that gives me full control of this feature.

that is all.

the top 10 things i wish the news would really say about money

2009-03-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

I can't watch the news anymore. it's giving me gray hair. seriously... however, in regards to how to take a defensive economic position, here is my unsolicited $.02. although I'd like to take credit for this brilliance, none of these are really my idea...I just watch what financially stable people do (not what they say!).

1. put your eggs in many baskets...aka diversify...real estate is fine as long as you're not maxing yourself out for it. 401k is good too but should be balanced with cash. The point is, spread your eggs around. That way you don't get wiped out if one area tanks. And with a 401k or any other investment, keep an eye on it and have some understanding of how it works. More on that later.

2. when it comes to real estate, you lose the game when you run out of cash not when you lose equity... so you lost some equity this year, so what. as long as you still have cash to pay your mortgage, you're okay. if you want to walk away, that's up to you, but if you can still pay your bills, stressing over lost equity is all mental. just like feeling like a baller over gained equity was all mental.

3. On that note..as for your equity, you only realize the gains when you sell. If you're taking out loans against said equity, it's not a cash advance, it's a loan. Which isn't necessarily bad...but you must understand what it really is. Money that you don't have right now that must be paid back. However...if you spread your eggs around in the first place, you'd have cash on hand too so there would be no need for a HELOC.

4. Budgeting is cool, but it's probably not the small things that are breaking you. Even the lowest earning girls I know have money to get their hair and nails done and buy their lattes and what have you. How do they get by and still ignore the latte factor? cheap rent. low or no car notes. Ya, the little things add up, but not nearly as quickly as a $600 car payment will, plus the high insurance/maintenance to go with said luxury car...or let alone having a $2500 mortgage. So really, rather than worry about the latte factor...which honestly, if a latte is breaking your bank, you're already f'd in the game...worry about the big expenses (recurring and one time). Keep those in line with your earnings, and don't be afraid to say, I can't afford it right now. right now is not eternity.

5. As for income, don't spent based on your earning potential. Ya, you could make more money, but don't spend like you do until you **do** make more money. And if you have cyclical or seasonal income, don't spend based on the peak.

6. As for long term commitments...like a mortgage...you have to pay this thing for 30 years. This is a long time...so think about what could happen and assess the risk accordingly. If you're living paycheck to paycheck and carrying a mortgage, you are living with high risk. If you're not very good at your job, and YOU KNOW if you're not, you'll probably get fired one day, and that is high risk. If you have 6 months of mortgage payments stacked away, that is much lower risk. If you are married and your house note requires dual income, that is very high risk. If you are both rock stars at your job and don't plan on having kids, it is lower risk but still risky. If you are married and your house note only requires one income, but both people have income, sweet! That is very low risk and I envy you. Stack your chips and get ready to retire super early! So anyhow, just think your specific situation and how risky your long term commitments are...because i don't want to hear you whine later about 'how could this happen'. ish happens.

7. If a $300 increase in your mortgage will bankrupt you, you can't afford the house. no really. you can't.

8. As for understanding your investments and diversifying (from #1). How did these extremely wealthy people get totally wiped out of their entire life savings by Bernie Madoff??? It sucks, I do feel for them. But I also don't understand why they trusted him with everything. Someone with $10M to invest should know the basics of diversification. I mean, at least keep 20% around in cash. Just in case. It's not like losing the returns on that is going to drive you into poverty. And if you must bet big on one thing...really take the time to look in the investment portfolio and know exactly what is there. If you give someone $10M to invest, you should expect to have all of your questions answered to your satisfaction. 10 times a day if necessary. So, for people that had a net worth of $50M and lost only a few million with him, well...that sux, but it's okay because they spread their eggs around. But for the people that lost everything, it was just greed. theirs and his.

9. on that note. understand that human nature can be greedy and lazy. not to be too cynical, because it's a lot of good things too...but please, stop trusting people in regards to money. ask for details. review said details. if the numbers don't make sense, the problem is not you. it's the numbers. if you can't understand the numbers, the investment is very risky for you, because you don't know what it is. so don't put a lot into it and hope it works out. It really is that simple. If you're only investing a little, well, you can do less due diligence..but if something is "my whole retirement" you can't afford NOT to do due diligence. because it's all you have. so understand that if you are too lazy to check on your assets, someone else will be greedy enough to try to swindle you out of them. word.

10. and finally..speaking of lazy succubuses...be careful who you marry! your partner should either really be a partner to you and therefore entitled to the benefits of said partnership, or should be given only what is fair and nothing more. love and money are two different things. generosity is not a bad thing at all. but there is a big difference between being generous, and being taken to the cleaners for love. generosity with someone you love is awesome. foolishness is not.

that is all. i feel better now that i've gotten that off of my chest. suze orman comes close to giving advice like this. that's why i like her. Not because she'll give you strategies for getting rich, because she doesn't really, but because she gives you strategies for protecting what you have earned for yourself and not getting wiped out while still being a "good" person and caring about people.

New Photos

2008-11-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

so, I finally added some photos to the photos page...

enjoy =)

free source code - RSS Reader AS3

2008-10-21T18:45:00.001-07:00

Well, i've finally gotten around to posting some AS3 code...

It's an RSS reader. You can customize the feed, and the text fields are all drawn at runtime, so you can rearrange as needed.

however, one drawback of using flash to create an rss reader is the site you are getting the feed from has to allow your swf to grab it's xml via a crossdomain.xml file.

well, that's not really true... you can work around that by getting the xml via ajax and passing it into your flash. sexy. or you can have your swf call a php script on your domain loads the xml for the rss feed serverside (yes, it's one word, look it up. it's right after gullible), and then because php trusts itself to load data via http, it will then send the rss feed to your swf. sexier.

ahhh the ever useful crossdomain policy - locking down files that are available via http...

enjizoy.

RSS Reader

New Flash Source - Slider Puzzle

2008-10-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, a year later, here's some new flash source highlighting runtime bitmap manipulation...enjoy!

Flash Blog

fuel shenanigans

2008-09-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but the gas stations could be up to something...

never have i ever, had a fill up of more than 14.7 gallons. Even when running on fumes and a prayer the maximum fill up has been 14.7.

But lately, I've had to fill up to 14.8 and 14.9. Last night, my tank required 15.1 gallons.

I wonder what the explanation for this is. Could it be that my gas tank has spontaneously grown?

Ring Bling - Part Duex

2008-09-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

So I swear I wasn't dropping hints before. But either way, my ~~boyfriend~~ fiancee picked up on the hint, that I didn't drop, and so now instead of this being some random pretty ring, this is my engagement ring...

is it tacky to post a picture of my engagement ring. probably. but blogging in general can be a bit narcissistic so you'll have to forgive me this one time...

he hasn't made the announcement to all of his friends and family yet, so hopefully they don't see this before he gets a chance to tell them. or my facebook status. which is how i made the general announcement.

you know you're too web 2.0 when you blog about the ring you want, knowing your boyfriend will one day look at it, and then announce the successful execution of your plan, i mean your engagement, on facebook.

could have been worse. i could have tweeted it. really, the only reason why i didn't is none of my friends have bought in to twitter so, it would have been pointless.

For those of you that think California is ridiculous...

2008-08-14T16:26:00.001-07:00

I'm about to prove you right.

Going to the movies last nite in redwood city, a start-up epicenter, I see this...

A solar powered parking meter. Wow, it's like the holy trinity of Bay-Area values...a networked device allowing tech companies to control yet one more aspect of your day, paying too much for things (who pays for parking in the 'burbs...only us baby, only us), and green. What's greener than a solar-powered parking meter? A mechanical one from circa 1994, however you can't raise $10M in VC funds for that so of course that's out...

anyhow, in honor of this discovery, i'm changing the tag line on my blog.

Ring Bling

2008-07-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

So...this is what an $80,000 size 6.5 ring looks like on my hand.

---UPDATE---

whoa, i am ~~not~~ engaged, ~~nor am I dropping hints~~. wow. it's just a pretty ring, that's all!

but if were dropping hints, size 6.

UVAS Triathlon

2008-05-19T11:36:00.001-07:00

Finish Line, originally uploaded by aliseyawright.

So I finished my first tri with a respectable time of 2:25:09.

The first part of each segment was the hardest. After the first 50 meters of the swim I remember thinking, crap I'm tired (since I wasn't warmed up), what have I gotten myself into!

2 hours and 25 minutes later, this is me crossing the finish line!

The rest of the pictures are here - I'll add the official ones when I get them.

Never say Never

2008-05-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

So, when it comes to biking, I've learned to never say "I'd never do that" when it comes to a hill....

So, I live in the Oakland hills...well to be more precise, as my ex-boyfriends sister so kindly pointed out...i live on the incline, not the hills. Which means, that to do a bike ride from my house, no matter which way i go, there is a serious hill.

So around 4th of july last year, we were driving around looking for a good spot to watch the show. And during this drive, I remember saying, OMG it takes 5 minutes to drive up this hill, I would never ride this on a bike.

Well, as fate would have it. I did. I'm training for a triathlon right now, and I have a friend who is a serious rider. So he agreed to train with me as long as i agreed not to complain to much about the rides he picked. So, for our first ride, he tricked me! He came over to my house and i thought we were going to drive somewhere flat. Nope, for the next 45 minutes I was riding uphill. up that hill i said i'd never ride.

So then a few weeks back, my friend and I decide to go to Stinson beach. And the ride there includes a 15 mile mountain. Large hill if you will. And since it was late in the afternoon, there were only a few lone bikers taming the mountain. And i remember again saying....OMG, its taking us 30 minutes just to drive up this hill, i would never bike this!!

uh-huh. You know what's coming.

Fast forward two weeks. Since i didn't learn my lesson the first time, I agree to go on a nice 2 hour **flat** ride. Never trust competition riders when they say they're taking you on an easy ride. Easy is relative.

So we start out on our easy ride, and 6 hours later, we had ridden from SF, across golden gate bridge, thru Marin, up Mt. Tam (16 miles of non-stop redwood surrounded hill hell) and back. If a biker passes out in the forest and no one is around does she make a sound?

Am I glad I did it? Heck ya! Now, not only can I say Mt. Tam has been conquered, I've learned that with biking as in life, when i feel the urge to say I'd never do something because i'm too ~~lazy~~ to do it I'll probably end up being forced to do it in the near future. Lesson learned -- Even with physical things, life is mental. Get your mind in check and, just do it.