I read the news that writers go on strike. I didn’t really follow the situation, but from my brief reading on MSNBC, it seems that they can’t get an contract agreement over the royalties (revenue) from the new media (internet).

Another monday, another Dancing with the stars. As I watch the show again tonight, somehow I lost interest. It’s true that this season the stars can dance. Unlike the previous seasons that only a few dancers can dance, this season, most of them can dance. But, I didn’t really like what the judges did. As the dance started and from the way they gave scores, I knew exactly how it’s going to end. The judges were afraid to actually score the dance. Instead they played around with the scores to make sure that the scores are about even in the end from 50-54. The song selections were also really bad. Helio must dance tango with a non-tango music. Even I can see Marie did some bad footwork and yet she got a 10? Cameron completely miss/forgot his moves, and he still got an 8? The song for Mel B paso doble was horrible. I don’t really like Mel B dance, but the judge gave a perfect 30 to make sure that judges’ favorite score just a bit higher than the rest. I actually like Jennie’s dance better than Mel’s. Well, anyway, it’s now up to the audience to decide who we want to watch next week. I like all the stars, but I think Jane, Marie and Cameron are not as skilled as Mel, Jennie and Helio.

Last week, I went to my son’s school for the pumpkin carving event. This is the very first time that we did this. Jeremy drew the pumpkin himself without any stencil and I helped him out with the cutting. Here are some pictures from the event. Enjoy!

Tips: Click the first picture to see more pictures.

Jeremy’s drawing the pumpkin

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I am so behind in my blogging. So much work and activities to do, yet so little time. I am going to try to catch up. So, where do I start?

This week, I watched Dancing with the Stars again. I was surprised to see Sabrina’s gone. I thought that she’ll be in the final four for sure. Again, I don’t really understand how the judges score the dance. It seems that the judges were using different scoring system between the stars, as if the judges were trying to level up the score. Jane was awarded 1 point lower than Sabrina by each judge. I thought that either Jane’s score was inflated or Sabrina’s score was deflated. Marie got a point higher than Jane? Marie didn’t seem to dance that good. Mel got a perfect 30 and Helio got a 28? Helio’s dance seemed a lot harder to do compared to Mel. Anyway, it’s the biggest upset for the show this season.

Last weekend, I drove past the Siemens, Microsoft campus at Issaquah. The scenery was beautiful. Lots of leaves on the sidewalk. Red leaves. So, I took my kids there and started taking pictures. Here’re some the pictures. Enjoy!