Zack Mahdavi's Blog

NASA… Next stop: Mars.

Zack — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:09:44 +0000

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I think by now, it has become apparent that 60 Minutes is one of my favorite shows on television. I try to watch every week, since there is usually at least one story that fascinates me. This week, it’s about NASA.

If you didn’t know by now, NASA is working on sending a man to the moon again by 2020 and to Mars by 2030, and they’re working at full speed. Personally, I’m excited that the US is finally working again on ‘deep space’ exploration. First of all, this will motivate children to study science and engineering, which might fix the engineer drought that American companies are facing. Secondly, this may reignite hope into the heart of humanity, so that we start thinking about the future again just like how we did in the 60s. Finally, it will once again show that if humanity sets its mind on a goal, it can and will be achieved.

The video is 11 minutes, so if you have time, give it a watch. Oh, and I’d like to hear your thoughts about sending a man to Mars.

Al Gore’s Fight for the Environment

Zack — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:48:33 +0000

Tonight’s 60 Minutes included a story by Leslie Stahl on Al Gore’s continued fight for the environment. This piece was incredibly powerful and motivating as it discusses Al Gore’s new, massively expensive ad campaign designed to push enviromental issues to the forefront of our upcoming presidential election.

Will it work? Who knows. Regardless, take the 13 minutes to watch this 60 Minutes story. By the way, this is my first attempt at Flash video (I ripped this story from my DVR), so if the quality is bad, I apologize.

Plano featured on Wikipedia

Zack — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:34:23 +0000

Click image for a bigger view.

Note: This actually occurred on March 9th, but my site has been having problems recently that prevented me from writing posts.

Of all the millions of articles on Wikipedia, guess what article is the featured article for today? Yes, that’s right.. the entry on Plano Senior High School. A little Plano Pride, I guess..

This is the second time this week I’ve seen a Plano reference in the media. The first time was a little clip on The Daily Show that showed people caucusing in Plano. Maybe my hometown is now finally becoming better recognized? It is the 9th largest city in Texas, after all.

My Favorite Super Bowl Commercial

Zack — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:40:57 +0000

Most of you know I’m not much of a sports watcher, but I love watching the Super Bowl, specifically for the commercials. This year, the game (especially the ending) was really good too.

Anyway, after watching all the super bowl commercials, I think this is my favorite commercial of the bunch. It’s Audi’s “The Godfather” commercial. Not only is it’s hilarious, but the Audi R8 is sooo hooot. Can I borrow $110,000 from anyone?

What were your favorites?

Obama ‘08!

Zack — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:02:56 +0000

I know I posted on Obama several months ago, but I think need to mention again my support for such a great candidate. Today, Ted Kennedy expressed his support for Obama:

I remember another leader who inspired the nation, especially our youth, to fulfill a promise of change. Those inspired young people marched, sat in at lunch counters, protested the war in Vietnam and served honorably in that war even when they opposed it.

That leader challenged them to ask what they could do for their country and, together, they changed the world.

So in the words of that leader, John Kennedy: “The world is changing. The old ways will not do… It is time for a new generation of leadership.”

I have found that next generation of American leadership in Barack Obama.
-Ted Kennedy

If you don’t know much about Obama, he is truly the “change” candidate. His proposed policies in all fields go way beyond the other candidates, yet they are also feasible and can be achieved during his presidency.

For example, I love Obama’s healthcare policy plan. His medical plan would cover every single citizen in the United States under a default medical insurance plan. Don’t want the default insurance? Then you can easily opt out for whatever insurance your company provides or insurance that you bought. The bottom line is that everyone will have insurance, which will hopefully improve America’s “preventive medicine” goals. People won’t wait until the last minute to go to the doctor for a disease because they’ll be covered by health insurance. They’ll go in earlier and get treated earlier, making our economy much more productive.

Obama’s technology policies are also incredibly focused. He has been working with Lawrence Lessig, the founder of “Creative Commons”, a non-profit organization trying to create a much more open and flexible copyright law. Obama is in strong support of net neutrality, blogging within all organizations, establishment of a “Technology” cabinet position, as well as making all government organizations more open so that they can be watched over by citizens’ groups.

Obama’s environmental policies are also very well done, as he supports putting twice as much money into renewable energy compared to Hillary’s plans. This may not be enough, but it’s the best we’ve got out of any candidate so far, republican or democrat.

Finally, Obama’s Iraq policy is an immediate pullout, leaving only enough soldiers to guard the American embassy in Iraq. This is an excellent move, as our country needs to move on from the mistakes made in the past several years. It’s time to refocus our money not on defense, but on schools, healthcare, the environment, the space program, and other more progressive and inspiring fields.

It’s time for our country to be strong again… to compete with our neighbors, with China, with Europe, and with Japan. We may be entering another recession soon, and we need a strong leader to pull us out. I believe that Obama is that candidate.

So no matter if you’re Republican, Democrat, or Independent, please consider supporting Obama for 2008!

The video at the top of this post is Obama’s South Carolina Victory Speech. As one poster put it, “Obama hit his usual points of unity, gave one hell of a backhanded slap to Bill, followed it up with an olive branch, then stole every ounce of Edward’s populism and made it sound like it was his issue all along. One hell of a speech.” Watch it if you have some time!

50 Years of Lego

Zack — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:16:34 +0000

Here’s to Lego, the company that changed the toy industry. The company that created my favorite toys of childhood. The company that inspired you to be creative. The company that said you could build whatever you set your mind on…. literally. Cheers Lego!

For most of my childhood, Legos were usually the item I would ask for for Christmas. From Duplo to Lego to Space Legos, and finally Lego Techno, there was always a Lego I wanted as I grew older. Recently, I had a chance to play with cousins Lego Mindstorms, which are an absolute wonder.. kids learn so much about programming and robotics with this “toy”.

Lego, I hope your products are enjoyed by kids for the next 50 years!

The Untold Story

Zack — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:38:13 +0000

I just finished reading this amazing article in Wired about the miracles of Steve Jobs and his wondrous product, the iPhone. The article discusses the development of the iPhone, which had been in planning and development stages since 2002. If you are the least bit interested in design, hardware, software, or are just interested in the genius that is Steve Jobs, you must read this article.

An interesting excerpt:

For those working on the iPhone, the next three months would be the most stressful of their careers. Screaming matches broke out routinely in the hallways. Engineers, frazzled from all-night coding sessions, quit, only to rejoin days later after catching up on their sleep. A product manager slammed the door to her office so hard that the handle bent and locked her in; it took colleagues more than an hour and some well-placed whacks with an aluminum bat to free her.

Prague

Zack — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:02:31 +0000

My trip to Prague with Maria was awesome. I went there to attend a conference on MS research, where I was given the opportunity to present a poster. I believe there were about 3,000 presenters and many more visitors. It was nice to see some of my friends from Boston again.. I hope I’ll see you guys again soon!

The other days, the two of us went about sightseeing. Prague is very beautiful city in that it has been able to keep its old charm for hundreds of years. Not too many wars were fought in Prague itself, so the city hasn’t lost many old buildings.

There’s two parts of Prague. Once part (Old Town) is the area of Prague built prior to 1300. New Town, a misleading name, is the area of Prague built after 1300. Man, and I thought these 1870s buildings here in Galveston were old…. :/

I got back about two weeks ago, although it feels longer since i had a massive number of tests to take last week. Oh well, that class is over.

Take a look at the pictures when you get a chance. Warning… there’s a lot!

UPDATE: View the photos as a slideshow..

Look, it’s a bird! No wait, an airship! No wait, an A380!

Zack — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:05:04 +0000

My favorite massively large passenger plane (I’d call it a JumboJet, but I think Boeing has dibs on that word) has finally had it’s first commercial maiden voyage!

Singapore Airlines Flight SQ380 took off from Singapore to Sydney and offered the passengers a super luxurious ride. Although the Airbus can accommodate up to 850 seats, Singapore Airlines designed the first A380 configuration with only 471 seats, allowing for full comfort. Twelve fully enclosed suites are available ($7,200 each way), along with 60 business class seats, and 399 economy class seats with the most amount of leg room ever available in Singapore economy class. Several “airliner” celebrities were on the cabin roster, including a man who also rode the first 747 maiden voyage flight in 1970, and another man who rode the first Concorde flight in 1979.

The A380 is the most fuel efficient commercial plane now in operation, and it also features 50% lower cabin noise than a 747. Airbus delivered the first A380 to Singapore Airlines with an exclusivity agreement to not deliver any more planes to any carrier for 10 more months.

In the meantime, I wait to ride an A380 in the future. It’s going to be awesome.

Coke sues Coke Zero!

Zack — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:32:53 +0000

Here are a few amusing commercials advertising my favorite soft drink. Imagine a company suing itself? By the way, the above ad features a real lawyer who is being filmed via hidden camera.

Some more ads: