Occupy Portland

Chapman Square

I took this during my Christmas trip to Portland. Like most other OWS related protests, this one came to nothing as well... other than a total waste of time and money, and a closure of public spaces.

Stupid.

Withdrawal Symptoms

I've been working crazy hours for the past few days to try and complete a new report for the CEO. The meeting was scheduled for today at 11:30am and I was still making changes at 11:20am. Another finance director and I finally walked downstairs to the CEO's office and found that the meeting was cancelled. Evidently his schedule backed up and there was no time to reschedule today. Since I've been stressed out about the report for weeks (possible strike two!), it felt like I was coming off a drug high or something.

Other than the added risk of driving home at 1am while trying to stay awake, I'm okay with it. As a mentor said to me at the beginning of my finance career, "at least you got paid for doing it." Hmm... or was that just Tim after a long night of making slides at IM.

Urban Decay

One of the issues with working so far from home is that I have to get gas all the time, or at least every 5 days. After work today, I stopped at a Shell gas station on Vermont and El Segundo. About halfway through my fill-up, I was approached by man with a bucket and squeegee who offered to wash my window. I politely declined. Interestingly, he gave me a confused look, as if everyone else accepted his offer (he was cleaning someone else's windshield previously). Was I supposed to say "okay"?

I was next approached by a anorexic woman with really bad teeth who asked if I wanted "movies"? Huh? I was unclear if she was offering to sell me DVD's (5 RMB?) or asking if I wanted a date to go to a movie theater. Obviously I was uninterested in both and just wanted to get out of there.

On my way home (70 minute commute on a Friday evening), I though about the experience. First, the gas station was pretty run down. There was an odor that's prevalent in poor neighborhoods, a combination of grease, sweat, and urine. The pumps were dirty too. There was also a lot of "extra" traffic with cars pulling in, not to buy gas but to shop(?) at the mini-mart. Strange.

At USC, I was approached all the time by homeless/poor asking for money. Since my work is basically in the same neighborhood (South Central LA), it's kind of expected. I'm just surprised that the Shell station allowed someone to basically camp out and solicit every customer. Probably the owners don't care.

Avoid Ghetto

I can see how this feature would be useful, although entire neighborhoods would be "no walk zones" around my work.

CBS Seattle

Microsoft has been granted a patent for its “avoid ghetto” feature for GPS devices.

A GPS device is used to find shortcuts and avoid traffic, but Microsoft’s patent states that a route can be plotted for pedestrians to avoid an “unsafe neighborhood or being in an open area that is subject to harsh temperatures.”

Created for mobile phones, the technology uses the latest crime statistics and weather data and includes them when calculating a route.

Price Discrimination

I saw this on my cousin's FB page so I checked online at Target's website:


White doll = $9.99


African American doll = $5.99

I don't think this is a big deal. The two dolls look identical (other than fabric color) so the manufacturing cost should be the same. There's no reason for Target to discount one over the other unless 1) there is no demand for the 2nd doll or 2) the manufacturer offered the 2nd doll at a lower price... probably reason #1. Although, the FB post was a photo taken at a retail store. Does Target have uniform pricing across all stores and online?

BTW, I checked and didn't see a yellow Asian doll. Also, notice the 1st doll just said White while the 2nd one was specifically labelled African American. Is there no politically correct term for White? Caucasian? European American? What if you're from South Africa (like Charize Theron)... what doll do you buy?


(South) African American

dontmovetochina.com

This blog only has one post. The author basically give all the reasons not to go to China. I've thought about this often and I agree. Even though I speak Mandarin pretty fluently (so does millions of Chinese people) and have a MBA degree (probably so does millions of Chinese people), I really don't have any competitive advantages (I'm not white) in looking for a job in China. Sure I can teach English but that does not pay very well, and most Western companies don't care if you speak English with an accent... money talks.

The reality is that the majority of foreigners coming to China fail – they do not get lucky and they leave with very little to show for their time. At the end of the day, foreigners in China are constantly swimming upstream, working much harder than s/he would in the west and accomplishing less. Communication will be harder, even assuming that one is fluent in Chinese. Unlike the US, where immigrants can succeed mightily, opening their own business in many cases, China is not an immigration driven society. It is not very open to foreigners and even hostile to their success. This goes for all non-Chinese people: China is equally as uninterested in a white girl or African American guy who just graduated from Harvard Business School, Yale Law, or the like. Even people with the best degrees who come here to make their fortune will often end up simply studying Chinese language at some university in Beijing.

The author does mention that his target audience is young people. If your company sends you to China with an expat package, then life is good. Otherwise you can try starting your own company in China... but unless you're well connected or willing to payoff everyone, that's not an easy option. Right, Leon?

Not Irvine

I just got home from work (1:45am); I had to stay late to work on a project... CEO wants to know what every person is doing by week. Only problem is that we have ~1600 employees. Anyway, I walked out of the building at ~1am and our parking lot is across a major street. While waiting for the signal to change, I was approached by a homeless (so they claim) couple. The woman was white and the guy was Hispanic, and he had a puppy (pit bull) inside his jacket. They wanted to sell me the dog for $300 so they can get a place to stay. Huh? Sensing my confusion and lack of interest, they asked for some change instead. To avoid potential complications, I gave them the change I had in my pocket, hoping that the iPad2 I was holding didn't attract too much attention.

Sigh... definitely not in Irvine anymore.

Tricorder

Qualcomm is funding a $10M X PRIZE for developing a medical tricorder (from Star Trek) that can diagnose a set of 15 diseases.

The Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE is a $10 million global competition to stimulate innovation and integration of precision diagnostic technologies, making reliable health diagnoses available directly to "health consumers" in their homes.

The dire need for improvements in health and healthcare in the U.S. has captured the attention of government, industry, and private citizens for years. But a viable solution has yet evaded one of the most technologically advanced, educated and prosperous nations on the globe. Integrated diagnostic technology, once available on a consumer mobile device that is easy to use, will allow individuals to incorporate health knowledge and decision-making into their daily lives.

Advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, wireless sensing, imaging diagnostics, lab-on-a-chip, and molecular biology will enable better choices in when, where, and how individuals receive care, thus making healthcare more convenient, affordable, and accessible. The winner will be the team whose technology most accurately diagnoses a set of diseases independent of a healthcare professional or facility, and that provides the best consumer user experience with their device.

I guess that's cool but why Qualcomm? They're a communications chip (and IP) company. $10M is pocket change for them but I'm sure they're banking on some sort of financial return. Does the final winner ($7M prize) get to keep their IP or does Qualcomm have a claim? Qualcomm got into a IP licensing dispute with Broadcom that took years to litigate but ended up having to pay Broadcom ~$800M.

==========

Another thought... what if the diagnosis is wrong and the consumer makes a medical decision based on the incorrect information? I'm assuming that the tricorder/device is not going to dispense medication and you will need to go to a real doctor for diagnosis/treatment. However, doctors/hospitals have medical malpractice insurance; will the eventual hardware/software companies willing to take the legal risks?

One of the goals of the X PRIZE is "facilitate necessary partnerships and regulatory pathways required for this major transformation." I guess that means finding people in government to change existing medical liability laws. Qualcomm better start a fund now to fight the inevitable legal battles with ATLA (American Trial Lawyers Association).

More Beijing "Fog"

AFP (via Google)

More than 150 flights to and from Beijing were cancelled or delayed on Tuesday as a thick cloud of acrid smog shrouded the city, with US figures saying the pollution was so bad it was off the scale.

The national meteorological centre said the Chinese capital had been hit by thick fog that reduced visibility to as little as 200 metres (650 feet) in some parts of the city, while official data judged air quality to be "good".

But the US embassy, which has its own pollution measuring system, said on its Twitter feed that the concentration of the smallest, most dangerous particles in the air was "beyond index" for most of the morning.

...

Authorities in Beijing said last month they had met their target of "blue sky" days for 2011, with 274 days of "grade one or two" air quality compared with 252 days in 2010.

But the state-run China Daily has said that if PM2.5 were used as China's main standard, only 20 percent of Chinese cities would be rated as having satisfactory air quality, against the current 80 percent.

In my limited China travel, I've experienced worse air pollution in Chengdu. Each time I go, the entire city smells like smoke. I think it's only due to good luck that I haven't experienced crazy bad air in Beijing.

Asia Society has a site (Room With A View) that has daily photos of the Beijing sky.

Bank Hold

Chase (and WaMu before it) seems to hold deposits at random. I deposited a check a couple of weeks ago and Chase put a 7 day hold on it. I just got a letter today saying that they're extending the hold for another week. When I talked to the CSR, the reason they gave me over the phone was different than what was in the letter. While the check is on hold, I can't transfer the money out to a higher interest account so I was stuck getting 0.1% or something.

The lame thing is that I deposited the same check amount (and same payer) in September without any problems. That deposit was to my checking account. This time I deposited to my savings account which had lots of transactions with dollar amounts larger than this check (I had to sell my employee options when I quit Broadcom). I guess this is the way it is with big banks. I'm probably more of a hassle for them since I never bounce checks and don't use any of their other services... no fees.

The CSR put me on hold for 10 minutes and came back to tell me they cleared the hold. At least the check didn't bounce.

==========

Now I find out that the check went through on the day I made the deposit (Dec 30) but Chase wanted to hold it until Jan 11.

Excel Monster

I have created an Excel file that has 175,635 rows of data. It contains all the clock in/out data for work orders for the past six months. Now I'll need to do a VLOOKUP to assign a project code to each transaction. Maybe it's time to take it into Access or something.

==========

VLOOKUP takes about 2 minutes to refresh. Definitely need to do something different.

What do magpies and bears have in common?

They mourned Kim Jong-il's death. I want random animals to mourn me when I die.

Reuters

The passing of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il has been marked by plunging temperatures, mourning bears and now, according to North Korean state media, by flocks of magpies.

Kim, who died in December aged 69 years after 17 years running the world's most reclusive state, was reputed to be able to control the weather, as well as to have scored a miraculous 38 under par round of golf.

"At around 17:30 on December 19, 2011, hundreds of magpies appeared from nowhere and hovered over a statue of President Kim Il Sung on Changdok School campus in Mangyongdae District, clattering as if they were telling him the sad news," state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.

...

KCNA reported last week that a family of bears who usually hibernate through the fierce Korean winter had been seen lamenting Kim Jong-il's death.

"The bears, believed to be a mother and cubs, were staying on the road, crying woefully," it said.

Mythmaking for Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, has already started. He is portrayed as the spitting image of his grandfather and has been dubbed the "genius of geniuses" in military affairs despite having no known military experience.

Mythmaking... first time I've heard of that word.

GPS Battle 2.0

On the way to work this morning, I turned on navigation apps on both smartphones:

- iPhone 4: Waze (also available on Android)
- GalaxyS/Vibrant: Google Navigation

Initially, both said that the drive would be ~1 hour from home to work. However, the two routes were different. Waze wanted me to take 22-405-110 while Google Nav said 22-5-605(?)-105. Before I left the house, I checked traffic on Google Maps and the best route looked like 22-405-605-91-110 instead. BTW, you never want to be on the 5 freeway between 91 and 605 at any time, both directions, especially during rush hour.

Anyway, when I ignored the 5 freeway exit and continued on 22 freeway, Google Navigation started rerouting. However, instead of telling me to continue on 22 west, it wanted me to exit, go back on 22 east, and take 5 north. It did this at each exit (Haster, Brookhurst, Euclid, etc) and the ETA grew longer and longer. Even worse, when I finally got on the 605 freeway, Google Nav told me to then take 91 east. East?! The ETA at the time was 1 hour and 10 minutes, but when I took 91 west instead, it rerouted again (correctly this time) and the ETA dropped to 35 minutes. Weird... it's okay today since I know the way to work but a bit scary if I have to rely on it when I'm lost.

Both these apps are free; Google Nav came with Google Maps on Android and Waze was a free download but has ads (sometimes). Next time I'll bring along an old Garmin nav unit and my mom's new Magellan standalone nav to see if any of them agree.

UCLA Basketball

When I was at UCLA, I think I attended almost every home basketball game. During my freshman year, both Reggie Miller and Pooh Richardson was on the team coached by Walt Hazzard, but they only made it to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament. After Reggie Miller graduated, the team did not make the playoffs in the following year and Walt Hazzard was replaced with Jim Harrick. They did better under Harrick, finally winning the Championship in 1994-1995.

Anyway, after graduation, I watched a few games on TV but never attended another game live until last night. Tim gave me a ticket (thanks Tim!) to the UCLA vs. ASU game at Honda Center. I didn't know that Pauley Pavilion was under construction/renovation this season, and UCLA home games are being played at both the Sports Arena (USC now plays at the Galen Center) and Honda Center.


Our seats were in a general admission area in the 400-sections at both ends. It was a bit confusing since the tickets only said section GA1.


UCLA was down by a lot during the beginning but caught up by half-time to take a 3 point lead.


During half-time, they had three students go down and try to make 4 shots within 30 seconds to win prizes. The first guy only made the layup, and second guy made the free throw (underhand style). The third student was a girl and she hit the 3-pointer at the very last second. I did this before at Pauley Pavilion as a student and I bricked the layup. Back then, there was no timer... any missed shot would disqualify you. I did get a six-pack of Coke which I passed around to my friends. That was quickly confiscated since we weren't allowed to have food/drinks. It was quite embarassing.


It must take a lot of effort to transport everyone (team, coaches, cheerleaders, band, students) to LA/Anaheim for each home game. Cheerleaders still look the same as before though their uniforms look skimpier.


The second half was a blowout by UCLA. I think there was a 10 minute stretch that ASU didn't score any points. The final score was 75-58 but could have been higher as UCLA missed a lot of free-throws.

Four "home" games will be held this season at Honda Center. I wonder if Henry is a UCLA basketball fan (his box looked like it was dark last night) and how much he charges UCLA for each game.

New Favorite Korean TV Show

No, not Invincible Youth 2, even though Bora (Sistar) is on the show. I watched the first 2 episodes and didn't enjoy it as much as season 1. Instead, I've been watching a show called Running Man. It started as a survival competition show where they lock the cast in a location (mall, stadium, museum, etc) and they perform different missions to get out before dawn. Over time, the show has added more types of challenges and variety. It's pretty popular in South Korea and I think they're on episode 76 already.


L-R: Lee Kwangsoo, Kim Jongkook, Yoo Jaesuk, Song Jihyo, Ji Sukjin, Ha-ha, Gary

Workplace Harassment...

... training.

Nothing better than 2 hours of online harassment training on a Friday evening. I have to do these every two years.

Current hypothetical scenario to evaluate:

Connie:
Listen, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. It's kind of embarrassing....

Um, every Monday I get this e-mail--actually, everyone in our group gets it--from Matthew. It's his way of reminding us all to check out his blog. He calls it something like "Naked Man in a Big Town."

First time, I did check it out. But what he's writing there is actually pretty disturbing. The whole thing's basically a laundry list of all the women he's, um, "been with," and well... let's just say there's waaay too much information. Major over-sharing violation. He's even posted some photos!

Some of his posts are actually about women who work here. Not sure what they think, but if I were them, I'd be mortified.

Of course, I never went back to his site, but every Monday there's that stupid e-mail reminder about his blog. It's really kinda gross.

In my opinion, someone needs to deal with this.

Ha ha... photos?! I'd fire the the guy; that's some serious lack of common sense and good judgement. Needless to say, I don't send e-mail to my staff pointing them to this blog. Don't want them to know that I'm an "effective weapon of Satan" and all. Seriously, this is why I don't want staff. Since the org structure at Broadcom was pretty flat, I only had at most three people to deal with. I only have one now but about to get another one in two weeks. My sister has 70+ people reporting to her... I can't imagine dealing with HR issues for that many people.

==========

BTW, the correct answer is "contact HR or senior management" in all cases.

KMF 10

Korea Times Music Festival will be held on April 28th (2012). Tickets go on sale on January 21st but no artist details yet.

I missed the concert last year (Baek Ji Young, Sistar, Secret) due to a business/personal trip to Singapore/Beijing. I doubt I will be traveling this year (different job/no Chinese GF) so maybe I can attend the concert.

Communism ≠ Chinese Culture

New York Times

President Hu Jintao has said that China must strengthen its cultural production to defend against the West’s assault on the country’s culture and ideology, according to an essay in a Communist Party policy magazine published this week. The publication of Mr. Hu’s words signaled that a new major policy initiative announced last October would continue well into 2012.

The essay, which was signed by Mr. Hu and based on a speech he gave in October, drew a sharp line between the cultures of the West and China and effectively said the two sides were engaged in an escalating war. It was published in Seeking Truth, a magazine that evolved from a publication founded by Mao as a platform for establishing Communist Party principles.

“We must clearly see that international hostile forces are intensifying the strategic plot of westernizing and dividing China, and ideological and cultural fields are the focal areas of their long-term infiltration,” Mr. Hu said, according to a translation by Reuters.

“We should deeply understand the seriousness and complexity of the ideological struggle, always sound the alarms and remain vigilant, and take forceful measures to be on guard and respond,” he added.

Hu Jintao is full of crap. There is nothing "Western" or anti-Chinese with wanting a political voice and to be able to choose your own government. China has a long history and only the last 60 years has it been ruled by the CCP mafia. Culture changes and adapts; socialism and Marxism is also "foreign" to China yet the CCP constantly equates communism with being Chinese.

“The overall strength of Chinese culture and its international influence is not commensurate with China’s international status,” Mr. Hu said in his essay, according to another translation.

“The international culture of the West is strong while we are weak,” he added.

People aren't stupid. The culture/entertainment industry is global and very competitive. Why would I spend money on propaganda BS when there are thousands of other choices? Movies and singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan do quite well internationally. The problem is not Chinese culture but rather with censorship of creativity. Hu Jintao knows this... which makes his comments even more disingenuous and disgusting.

Happy New Year

There was no traffic on the way to work this morning since most people had the day off. Normally when a holiday falls on a Saturday/Sunday, you get the closest Friday/Monday off. Not us. I think it's because we got "extra" days off for Christmas.

The 42 mile drive took about 40 minutes. I set the cruise control at ~75 mph and zoned out... twice. For a few minutes on the 5 freeway and again on the 91 freeway, I found myself suddenly wondering where I was, and unable to remember the past few miles. I wasn't tired or anything... I had some K-pop on the stereo and was thinking about some random stuff. Scary.

K-pop Girls

Run The World - Beyonce [2011 SBS Gayo Daejun]

I read that some Korean netizens complained that this segment was too slutty or something. They're crazy... I think it's awesome. BTW, Fei is Chinese... the rest are Korean.

I wonder if they know when the lyrics say "Who run this motha?" that there's an implied word afterwards?

Chinese Laundromat

I've been playing L.A. Noire recently. The game is set in Los Angeles during the late 40's and you play a police detective solving crimes. The game is really good. It is published by Rockstar Games, the same company that did Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption.

The one thing I did notice was that there are a lot of stereotypes. I'm not sure if that's how society was like 60 years ago but almost all the male characters are wife-beaters and many of the white characters are totally racist. One of the cases/storyline also brought me to a laundromat (Superior Laundry) and the owner is Chinese. Sigh...

The Story

The Story is a radio program produced by American Public Radio. I hear it a lot on KPCC when I drive home from work. On Friday, the topic was 2011: A Year Of Protest. The rest of the show was okay but when they did the segment on OWS, I found myself swearing at the retard they interviewed (about 2/3rd the way through). He has a college degree but is unemployed, and has been sleeping in a tent at the protest. During the interview, it came out that he studied German Studies in college and has ~$120k of outstanding loans. Unsurprisingly, he has been unable to find a regular job. The interviewer (Dick Gordon) gave him a few opportunities to take some responsibility for his predicament but the "protester" never did. Instead, he blamed everyone and everything but himself, and of course he wants the government to "fix" things.

Call me heartless or whatever, but I have zero sympathy. The guy said he went to college because you were "supposed" to, and he went to a liberal arts college to find himself. That's all fine and good but I'll bet he never worked part-time and was probably drunk the entire time. His 4 (or 5) year party ended with $120k of debt and an useless degree. The responsible thing to do is to admit he screwed up, get whatever job he can to repay the loan, then move on with his life. Instead, he joins OWS and wants to continue to live on other people's hard work. The OWS people are living in a fantasy. They're protesting against a system that made it possible for them to sit around and do nothing for a few months. Imagine if they tried to pull that stunt in China. If you look at their actual "governance", with all the retarded working groups and the human megaphone (I hate that too), there is zero chance that any of them can manage anything except talk.

Lure of Chinese Tuition Squeezes Out Asian-American Students

Bloomberg

The University of California system, rocked by budget cuts, is enrolling record numbers of out-of-state and international students, who pay almost twice that of in-state residents. Among those being squeezed out: high-achieving Asian-Americans, many of them children of immigrants, who for decades flocked to the state’s elite public colleges to move up the economic ladder.

In 2009, University of California administrators told the San Diego campus to reduce its number of in-state freshmen by 500 to about 3,400 and fill the spots with out-of-state and international students, said Mae Brown, the school’s admissions director. California residents pay $13,234 in annual tuition while nonresidents pay $22,878.

As a result, almost 200 freshmen from China enrolled in 2011, up from 16 in 2009, a 12-fold increase. At the same time, the number of Asian-American Californians enrolled fell 29 percent to 1,230, from 1,723 in 2009. The 2009 figure is from the UC system’s office because San Diego didn’t have it available.

Boy, I'm glad I went to UCLA while the state still had some money and there weren't that many foreign students from China. BTW, someone needs to tell the admissions people that "rich kids from China" <> Chinese-Americans.

The Troll Returns

So after a year, my personal troll is back:

Publish your phone number and address and we can talk about this in person. Or are you just a bitter, attention-hungry, effective weapon of Satan, coward?

Sigh... maybe this person gets bored after Christmas and needs to harass me about something that happened 2.5 years ago. I've been called a lot of names before, most by this same troll in the comments, but "effective weapon of Satan" has got to be the best yet. Maybe the commenter wants my address so he/she can lead a mob with torches and pitchforks to my house or something... hopefully Internet troll won't turn into psycho stalker.

Another Psycho

Great.

Wall Street Journal Asia

The portrait of Kim Jong Eun that emerges in his U.S. profile is that of a young man who, despite years of education in the West, is steeped in his father's cult of personality and may be even more mercurial and merciless, officials said.

A senior U.S. official said intelligence analysts believe, for instance, that Kim Jung Eun "tortured small animals" when he was a youth. "He has a violent streak and that's worrisome," a senior U.S. official said, summing up the U.S. assessments.

Tortured small animals?! Seriously? Are there still small animals in North Korea? I thought they were all eaten by the starving population during the perpetual famine of the past few decades.

White Monkey

ChengduLiving

Performing in China: Confessions of a White Monkey

In China, the image of white skin still pays dividends. Especially dancing white people.

Promoters for real estate opening parties spend tens of thousands of RMB to set the stage for potential homeowners. Magicians and mini-skirt wearing violin players are commonplace, but none earn even close as much as the coveted Anglo-Saxon musician/clown. The “White Monkey,” as some call the foreign performer, is the ultimate showpiece for any Grand Opening, be it for a multi-billion RMB high-tech zone or an apartment villa in the cabbage-picking boondocks.

I admit sometimes I'm jealous. I speak decent Chinese and have a bunch of college degrees from UCLA/USC. That should open a lot of doors in China but because I am Chinese and can blend in (sometimes), I am not treated like a laowai, which limits opportunities for me in China.

Kim Jong-Il is Dead

Good.

Latest SNSD

The Boys - SNSD

I think this has been out for awhile too. It was posted by SM Entertainment on Oct 18 and it has over 23 million hits in <2 months.

Afterschool Subgroups

Red


Night Into The Sky - Afterschool Red
Kahi, Jungah, Nana, and Uee

and Blue


Wonder Boy - Afterschool Blue
Juyeon, Raina, Lizzy, and new girl

I like the "Red" subgroup better. The two songs came out in July while I was in Beijing so I don't think I put up a post. Bekah (member from Hawaii) is not in either group; I think she's taking a break or something.

==========

New girl is a beast on guitar. Too bad they just wiggle and sing.

Occupy Wall Street Class

NYU charges ~$20,000 per term for tuition or $40k per year. If you take courses by the unit, then they charge you ~$1,200/unit. I heard on the radio that NYU was going to offer a class about the Occupy Wall Street "movement" and thought it was a joke, but it looks like it's true.

CBS New York

Don’t understand the Occupy Wall Street movement? Now, you can learn all about it.

New York University says it plans to offer two classes next semester on Occupy Wall Street through the school’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.

It will be called: “Why Occupy Wall Street? The History and Politics of Debt and Finance.”

Another professor will be teaching a graduate-level seminar on the demonstration.

How ironic. I thought one of the things OWS was whining about was student loans. Some of the college-educated protesters were unemployed and unable to repay their loans. Inevitably, you find out they studied something totally useless, like a degree from the NYU Department of Social and Cultural Analysis for example. I couldn't find the course in NYU's catalog (too new?) but most classes were 4 units, which means the OWS course will cost ~$5,000 while providing zero value on a resume.

My unsolicited advice? If your degree is has the words "social justice" in it somewhere, use your last free elective and enroll in an intro finance class. It may be too late to do anything about the $250,000 wasted on your Ivy League education, but at least you will understand why TANSTAAFL (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch).

Go home. Get a job. Pay your loans.

==========

Even though I'm basically talking to myself on this blog (it's therapeutic), I want to clarify that crony capitalism is bad. I believe Bush and Obama should not have bailed out banks and GM/Chrysler. Let them go bankrupt, reorganize, and the market will sort it out. Where I disagree with OWS is that they're just a bunch of protesters with no solutions. Don't like the system? Then get behind a candidate and get him/her elected to office. All these pointless "occupations" are basically making everyone poorer by disrupting business and commerce. Instead of creating wealth, let's destroy wealth and get rid of the wealth gap the socialist/communist way.

Friday Night Traffic + New Lens

It took me about an hour to get home tonight, which is not too bad for Friday at 6:30pm.


405 South near Seal Beach

I also got a new lens for my Sony a55. I already have the 18mm-250mm kit lens so I got a fixed length 50mm f/1.8 lens. I really wanted the 50mm f/1.4 lens but it was $400; this one is only $150. I'm going to try and take more photos with this lens; without zoom, I think it will force me to compose my shots with more forethought.

Tax & Spend & Lies

Surprise! Jerry Brown (Democrat) wants to raise taxes. His proposal raises both the sales tax by 0.5% and state income taxes by 2% for individuals making $250k. The current rate is already 9.55% and since the progressive ramp is so steep in California, I end up paying the 9% rate for most of my income. It's unclear whether the 2% adder is marginal or applies to the entire AGI for each taxpayer.

Here's a question to those OWS protesters. I pay a bit over 30% (marginal rate is higher) for federal taxes over the past few years. So if you add together federal taxes, state taxes, sales taxes, social security taxes, and Medicare taxes, it's ~56% of my income. Is that enough for you wannabe socialists? Should the government take 90%? What about the ~50% that don't pay any taxes? Is that fair?

Also, I hate the way Jerry Brown justifies the tax. We all know that California is in deep sh*t since the liberals in charge can't control spending... gotta keep taxing the minority to buy votes from the majority.

KPCC

Brown says both tax hikes, scheduled to end within five years, would generate an extra $7 billion for the state to prevent deeper cuts to schools, universities and public safety.

That would free up some state money California could use to shore up social services and support for public universities.

Lame. Money is fungible. There is nothing else but political rhetoric which ties these tax dollars to education. If funding schools and universities is important, then cut something else. The state of California spent nearly $160 billion last year (2010); I'm sure politicians can find more savings if they have the courage.

Delivery status not updated

My latest Amazon order was shipped in two parts via USPS. On their "Track & Confirm" page, I entered the tracking numbers and both said "Delivery status not updated" from last night. Both packages were previously show as "Out for delivery". I asked my dad, who was a mail carrier and clerk in the USPS for many years, and he said that the regular carrier also delivered small packages. It's weird that the packages are out for delivery yet we did not receive anything, even though first class letter mail was delivered as normal.

I hope this is not part of some cost saving initiative to skimp on package tracking. UPS and FedEx do a much better job of tracking their packages.


Federal Way, WA is not that far from California. I think this would have taken only two days via UPS ground.

Telemarketing Scam?

I've been getting a lot of calls from a phone number in Arizona: 602-358-0068. After doing a Google search, I came up with this website (Coalition For Energy Savings). I finally answered a call from them today and they were trying to get more info on my utility spending. The lead-in was that they can save me 50% on my bills but then they ask how much I spend on electricity and gas. Anyway, it appears their goal is to send contractors to your house to sell you energy efficiency additions to your house. From their website:

OUR MISSION

At CES, we work hand in hand with local, certified, and licensed contractors to analyze the energy efficiency of your home, which then allows them to custom design a whole home energy efficiency package to reduce consumption---thus saving you money. These licensed and certified contractors will help you every step of the way in accessing government funds and rebate programs to allow you to enjoy these products and technologies and save money every month on your utility bills.

If they can get you government grants and rebates, that may not be a bad thing. However, they have a "Stories" page on their website with 2 testimonials. The included photos looked too professional so I did a Google image search... yup, stock photography! I told the caller that I was at work and to call later. After seeing the fake photos, there's no way I'm picking up any more calls from them.

Half The Sky and Chinese Government Spending

I've been supporting a charity called Half The Sky for several years. They support funding and training of full-time helpers for China's orphanages. Arguably this is something that the Chinese government should take more responsibility for. Anyway, I'm supporting a helper who takes care of a toddler boy who is missing his right forearm. HTS partners with various orphanages; while the Chinese government provides facilities and workers, HTS is supported by donations.

It's time to renew support ($600/year) but reading all the news about corruption and government abuse in China, it makes it very hard to make the decision. Money is fungible... if I donate to help fund social service in China, that leave more money for the Chinese government to hire internal security to beat up political prisoners, buy gifts for their bosses or ernais with tax money, or even invest in their space program that may eventually cause me to lose my job. The reality though is that most of the Chinese government doesn't give a sh*t about the smallest and weakest citizens, and the orphanages will remain underfunded. Sigh...



Latest news:

发扬越来越聪明可爱了，他模仿能力很强，教他说什么，他就会跟着学，比如叫阿姨、妈妈、爸爸他就会跟着学，我亲亲他的小脸蛋，他也会亲亲我的脸，我教他欢迎和再见，他会用他的左手拍打他的右臂表示欢迎。唱儿歌的时候，发扬能够跟着我一起合唱，还会跟着节奏打拍子呢。他喜欢鲜艳的玩具和带有响声的玩，听见玩具发出响声，他会专备的去听，然后跟着节奏打拍子。发扬现在能独立行走了，虽然走的不是很稳，容易摔跤，但是摔倒后他会立即站起来继续走。

他喜欢到活动室玩，看见木马他会立即走过去，用左手握着手把，用右臂支撑着做好， 然后把左脚抬起来， 右脚点起来， 坐在上面前腰后仰的， 边摇边发出笑声来， 发扬嘴喜欢到户外活动， 看见五颜六色的花草， 他会用手轻轻地抚摸它们一下，然后拉着我的手对我说：“妈妈，花。”发扬喜欢到儿儿乐园玩滑梯，看见楼梯就向上爬，我牵着他的手，叫他把一只脚一只脚的抬起来上楼梯，就这样一梯一梯的伤，发扬走的满头大汗，但是他还是没有放弃，我一边牵着他一边给他加油：“发扬，加油，加油。”听了我的鼓励，发扬走的更起劲的，终于走上了楼梯，发扬站在楼梯上开怀大笑。

Translated (from Half The Sky):

Fayang is smarter and smarter. He has a great capacity to imitate our behaviors. He follows us and learned to call aunt, mum and dad. When I kiss his cheek, he will kiss back. I taught him to say hello and goodbye, he will clap his right hand with his left hand to welcome others to the room. When we sing the children's song, Fayang can join in the chorus and clap to the music. Fayang can walk by himself though not steadily and falls sometimes. He stands up immediately after he falls and keeps walking again.

He likes playing in the activity room. He will walk to the rocking horse at the sight of it. He sits on it by holding the handlebar with his left hand and supporting himself with his right hand. Then he raises his left foot and stomps his right foot, and laughs as he shakes his body with the movements of the rocking horse. Outdoor activities are his favorite. Once seeing the colorful flowers, Fayang will touch them and pull me to see it, saying "Mum, flower". He likes the slide in the children's playground. He will go upstairs at the sight of the slide. Taking hold of his hand, I teach him to go up the flights of the stairs step by step. He does not give up. I take him by his hand and encourage him with the words, "Fayang, come on! Come on!" Hearing the encouragement, Fayang tries his best to climb the stairs and finally he finishes the climbing, he bursts out in laughter at the top.

Sigh...

Category 2 Hurricane

I heard on the news driving into work that gusts as high as 100 mph were recorded on Mount Wilson last night. That's equivalent to a category 2 hurricane. A lot of schools were closed throughout the San Gabriel Valley and in the Pasadena area today due to downed trees and power lines. Strangely, there was almost no wind down in Orange County. It was quite windy when I left work (Hawthorne) last night but nothing when I got home (Orange).

LAX is operating normally today (flights landing/departing east to west) despite the Santa Ana winds.

Good Riddance

LA Times

City crews were busy surveying the damage to the park surrounding City Hall, and erecting fences and concrete barriers around the block, hours after police evicted hundreds of Occupy L.A. protesters.

At 7 a.m., dozens of tents were still on the City Hall south lawn, collapsed and surrounded by the debris and belongings that were abruptly abandoned in the wake of the raid -- books, luggage, mattresses, folding chairs, miniature chalkboards, canned goods and jars of instant coffee. Not far from a newly installed security fence, static interspersed with music came from a small portable radio.

Peter Sanders, a spokesman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said it would take eight to 10 hours to clean up the South Lawn.

Wind Advisary

I heard on the news this morning that there will be very high winds this Thursday and Friday.

Examiner.com

Currently the watch covers Los Angeles and Ventura county mountain areas. A high wind watch is a precursor to an actual advisory or warning. Because of the potential magnitude of this event, Southern California travelers should be attentive to and monitor the developing situation. Extreme atmospheric pressure differences resulting in winds as high as 70 mph. or more are a good possibility from Thursday morning Dec. 1st through late Friday, Dec. 2nd.

70 mph?! Not driving the SUV to work. Normally we get these Santa Ana winds during fall season though not typically 70 mph. These winds typically blow from east to west (towards the ocean), maybe flights at LAX will have to land in reverse flow again.

==========



Looks like all the wind activity is north of the San Bernardino mountains... not much down in the populated areas.

Korean Airlines to Las Vegas

I saw a tweet that Sistar was returning to Korea from Las Vegas on KE006. It looks like Korean Airlines has three direct flights per week from Seoul/Inchon to Las Vegas. I thought all the Asians are gambling in Macau now.

TwitCasting K-pop

Since I traveled to Canada yesterday, I was unable to attend the K-pop Masters concert in Vegas tonight. I did find a link to someone livecasting the event on TwitCasting. He/she is offline right now, trying to conserve battery so they can cast Brown Eyed Girls. I just "watched" GN.A perform Top Girl; the audio was pretty good though the video was really bad, probably due to slow upload bandwidth.

Amazing technology...

SNA and ORD

I brought my new camera with me to Toronto and I took some plane photos (surprise!) at places other than LAX. It took 13 hours to get to Toronto (door-to-door) on Wednesday and about the same to get back today.

John Wayne Airport (SNA)


N835UA - United Airlines Airbus A-319


N530UA - United Airlines Boeing 757-200


N23721 - United Airlines Boeing 737-700


N125MX - Evektor Aerotechnik Sportstar Max (?)


N714CB - Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700

Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD)


Connecting tunnel in Terminal 1 to reach 2nd set of United gates. This was oddly familiar though I can't remember transiting in ORD on United before. I practically never fly on United but because of flights on other Star Alliance carriers (Air Canada/All Nippon Airways), I had enough miles to get to Toronto on Wednesday.


N76504 - Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 (this one hasn't been painted with "United" yet)


N199UA - United Airlines Boeing 747-400 (just landed from Hong Kong)


N983CA - United Express Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-200


N951TW - American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83

Naked Travel

Sort of. I'm at John Wayne Airport traveling to Toronto via San Francisco. This is the first time in many years (10?) that I'm not carrying a computer. Instead, I only have my iPad, which I'm using to post this (free wifi at JWA). Since this is a short trip (1 day, 2 nights), I won't be doing any work anyway. It is much harder to type on a touchscreen though... and I can't post any photos from my DSLR since there is no SD card reader.

==========

It appears that I'm on an Airbus A319 for both legs of my flight. For some reason I thought I was on a CJR-700 from SNA to SFO.

==========

Dang it. My flight is delayed 90 minutes. Good thing I have a ~3 hour layover in SFO. Hopefully my next flight won't be delayed too. Hmm, what to do for 2 hours in JWA...