January 21, 2007 - Stockholm.

What a beautiful city! well, at least from what I can (or can't) gather, which isn't much. Its COMPLETELY white outside!!!!! We had breakfast at the Lady Hamilton Hotel, and then just took off walking around old town. Even through the snow, I can see the narrow alley ways, the cobble stone roads, and all the dinky little gift shops that are tucked away in the alleys. It was pretty cool. Its every bit what I imagined a typical European city to be!

Walking down the cobble stone roads, I can picture on a (warmer) sunny day, the street filled with tourists, along with all the traiditional swedish music and dancers in the squares, with small tables and chairs outside and people sitting around drinking coffee. Its not anything I've ever seen or experienced before in my travels around North America and even Asia.

Anyhow, we walked around some more, and it was starting to get colder and colder as the wind picks up. So we decided to try to find our way over to the City Hall, which is also where the Nobel prize ceremonies are held every year.

Well, that sounds easy, but old town, being "old", doesn't exactly have straight streets - its windy, and goes all over the place. It took us another 1/2 hour of walking around in circles to find how to get out of old town....

By the way, thats not me in the picture, thats my boss. We decided to take pictures of each other and just mail each other the pictures, but he hasn't mailed me my picture yet, so...

john

January 20, 2007 - The Lady Hamilton Hotel...

The Lady Hamilton "Hotel" should really be named the Lady Hamilton "Bed and Breakfast". Its a really small (literally), and quaint hotel. We found this hotel from Expedia, and it looked pretty cool.

Everything is great, as you can see from the pictures. It evens comes (for free) with an apple, vitamins, bottle of water, and a bag of nuts! The room didn't have a window, but rather a sky light, and a slanted roof - thus, "the attic".

Everything was ok until i hopped in the shower and hit my head. The slant really made the shower stall smaller, and I think by the end of the shower I had hit my head about 4 times. Multiply that by 2 (one shower at night and one in the morning), that 8x. One'd think that one'd learn....

Cute hotel though. If you're ever here, remember to ask for a room that is NOT on the top floor!

john

January 20, 2007 - In case if you didn't know, I am in Sweden! Yes, I am here on "official" company business, but that doesn't mean that we don't get to have fun. Anyways, so far my experience have been pretty positive, and figured I'd share some of the scenary with you from Stockholm, and Goteborg.....



After a 12 + 2 hour plane ride, boy was I ready to get off the airplane. We landed in Stockholm at around 10PM local time, and this is what it looked like from the plane. It looked cold! From there, we took a taxi to Gamala Stan (Old Town) where our hotel is, and I spent the night in the attic.

-john

In case you didn't hear about what John Kerry said that caused such a big controversy, here it is:

What Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said about Iraq: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

Hmmm. Here's what he meant to say....

What his spokesperson, Amy Brundage, said Kerry’s prepared text called for him to say: “Do you know where you end up if you don’t study, if you aren’t smart, if you’re intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush.”

I dunno - sounds like they made this up AFTER what John Kerry said to try to make up for things...

YIKES! Although, I'm still sticking with the democrats!!!!
john

Tidbits of Shanghai (part 1)

(For more pictures of Shanghai, please click here)

Two views of "The Bund": the Bund at night, and the Bund during the day:
At night:
The bund is a beautiful place to be at night. The lights that outline the builds are simply incredible - its all about the show. The lights change color constantly, almost like the fourth of July fireworks here at night.

Unfortunately, we went to the Bund on a day where everyone else was there - the last night of the national holiday. There were sooo many people! My goodness. It was like being on a crowded bus, all the time! It took us about half an hour to cross the street to the other side because there were so many people. At least we didn't lose anyone (stayed together through it all...)

What is more impressive though, I think, is the day-time view of the Bund. Check it out:
I think this view is more incredible because it shows just how immense the buildings were, and how many immense buildings there were along the Huangpu river. It was amazing. From what I heard, most of these buildings are designed by world-class architects.... (this makes San Francisco look like a small town) The other part of this is that these buildings are not just concentrated in the Bund area, but are spread out all over Shanghai (but not as impressive). Our hotel is about 40 minutes by taxi away from the Bund, but you will see these world class buildings all along the way.

Hope you will get a chance to visit some day!

john

1 man, 2 cultures (reflections of trip to Shanghai)

(disclaimer: if I sound racist in this posting, please forgive me...)

Just got back from a business trip to Shanghai. We had a really good time in Shanghai - although it was super busy, we did get to go out and see parts of the great city. It was quite different, in almost every way: size, people, and the culture.

As soon as I stepped off the plane. I can feel the humidity, along with it, a sense of being 'home'. I haven't felt humidity in a while - although its not very pleasant, but it felt like home. Its like I was in a time warp, travelling back to the time when I'd drop off my backpacks as soon as I got home from school, heading straight to the playground to play baseball, and getting in trouble when my parents get home because I didn't do my homework. Boy it was a great feeling.

After spending 10 days there, I felt that I could blend in, disappear, get lost in the great city of Shanghai. I felt at home, I felt comfortable. I spend most of my time explaining the chinese culture to my co-workers. I really felt that I was proud to be Chinese.

But I am not. I had spent most of my life here in the United States, and I sometimes think and act like an American. I can't speak chinese that well, and I can't write, and worst part is that I can't type in chinese. So in the end, who am I?

I've been struggling with this for a while now. Am I "Chinese American"? What exactly is that? I don't reaally think "chinese american" is a culture - one is either more "Chinese" or more "American", depending on which culture you feel more comfortable in. For me, I can function well in either cultures, but I don't feel like I fit in. Thus, I feel lost. Am I Chinese or American?

My life is here in America. My son is growing up here, my wife was born here in the US. I went to highschool and college here in the States. I can speak almost perfect English, and have a great time when I go out with my co-workers after work. I am a big fan of American football, and I am generally not interested in what happens in other countries other than the US. I celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But am I "American"? Far from it. My wife thinks that I am pretty "fobby". (Fresh Off the Boat) About 95% of my friends are Asians, and I pretty much only hang out with them. I eat a lot more Chinese food than most of my friends can handle, and I watch alot of chinese movies. I don't feel comfortable at a party where everyone is "American", unless they have some Asian blood in them.

On the flip side, even though I felt comfortable and feel like I can blend in in China, I don't think they see me as one of them. For one, I dress differently, and I only have a rudimentary knowledge of the language. I can get by, but I am not sure if I fit in. My ideals are very different. I think that people should be free to do what they do and not be bound by the society. I believe in creating opportunities for myself. I feel that people should not feel obligated to stay in relationships that they don't really want to be in. Lastly, I can barely read, not past a 5th grade level, and I can't write and I type really slowly in chinese. I don't really remember or celebrate Chinese holidays (other than chinese new years).

So, this is probably why I feel so weird these days. Who am I? What culture do I belong to? What is my identity? Part of it is that I feel scared, alone. Sometimes I feel that Liz doesn't understand this inner struggle that I have. Sometimes I resent my parents for bring me to the US when I was 12, and now I don't have a culture that I can identify with. I am somewhere in limbo, drifting from side to side, depending on where I am or who I am talking to. I think if I were to spend a lot of time in either place, I would miss the other.

Through all the books that I read from my classes in Asian American studies, I don't think any of the authors have an answer. Although, one thing is for sure - I am beginning to see the struggles that they have. I used to brush them off as idiots that just don't know who they are. Now I am one of those idiots....

Worst part is, I think I will forget about all this next week. I will go back to my daily routine, live my American way of life, go about with church, and hang out with all my Asian American friends here. That is why I am writing this down this time.

Who am I? Please help.

thanks
john

Settlers Of Catan

http://www.mayfairgames.com/mfg-shop/0480-0499/qps/0483.html

So our friends came over the other night and brought this game over called "Settlers of Catan". I'm pretty addicted now! Its a great strategy game, but it also involves some degree of luck. There are so many ways to win, and the strategy to win depends on the layout of the board! (since the board is different each time)...

As with all games, I'm going to spend a whole lot of time trying to figure out what the best way to win is, and what all the stragegies are.. But I think its complicated enough and has enough degrees of luck where it can be a crapshoot. I'm not sure, but will share my secret(s) with you if I ever figure it out!

j

Sorry, haven't been posting - its been so busy at work! I read this story today though that really touched me!

The Pickle Jar

The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window. When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank.

Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. "Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back." Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly "These are for my son's college fun
d. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me." We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone.

I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. "When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again." He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. "You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, "he said. "But you'll get there. I'll see to that." The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith.

The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar. To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me.
"When you finish college, Son," he told me, his eyes glistening, "You'll never have to eat beans again - unless you want to."

The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. "She probably needs to be changed," she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room. "Look," she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak.

This truly touched my heart. I know it has yours as well. Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings....

so true, so true...

My vision and God's vision.

So, I went in last week to have my contacts checked. The doctor asked me how they felt and I said they felt fine, except that my vision is not as clear with contacts as they are with my glasses. Doctor explained that I have a bit of astigmatism, so that even though I have 20/20 vision with my contacts in, the picture from each eye doesn't quite line up with each other, and that is why some of the things that are far away looks fuzzy to me.

Doctor said that unless I want to get Torric(sp?) lenses, I should try to adapt to the contact lenses that I have.

As I was driving away, God was asking me if I can see clearly what His plans are for me. And, just like how I have my contacts on, I couldn't quite see what God's plans are for me. The picture is fuzzy and I can't quite make it out. Its as if one eye is seeing God's vision, yet my other eye is looking at my vision and desires for the future. I realized how much I get sucked up into the things of this world, to the point where I am somewhat uncertain of God's plan for me in the future!

I think I will need to learn to adapt to God's vision instead of insisting on my own vision so that someday, I can see clearly with both eyes open!

john

Contacts...

(In case you haven't noticed!) I decided to give contacts a try, rather than wearing my cool Oakley glasses all the time. Its been quite an experience.

So I went to the doctor's office to go get a regular eye exam. The doctor asks me if I want to dilate my eyes, I said sure. And then she asked me if I wanted to try contacts instead of wearing my glasses all the time, and I said sure.

After the doctor dilates my eyes, she passes me over to the technician, who is suppose to teach me how to put in and take out my contact lenses.

For the life of me (alright, maybe only 1/2 hr of my life), I couldn't see the contacts at all (because of the dilation of my eyes), and the technician keeps telling me that I am doing it wrong because I can't shove the contacts in my eyes. I keep telling her, I can't see the darn thing, and she keeps telling me to try to put it in my eye.

Finally, I think she gave up, and I went back there a week later to prove to them that I know how to put in my contacts, it was just that I couldn't see the thing!

Lesson learned: Don't try to put in your contacts (unless you are "the" Stephen, Mr. Super-good-with-contact-lenses) after you get your eyes dilated!

john

Killing Harry Potter!

[story here]

Can't imagine that JK Rowlings even considered killing Harry Potter! And let Lord Voldemort triumph? Sheesh. I know we get bitter about life as we get older, but that doesn't mean we should start teaching that concept to our next generation so early!

(I know, I know, you're probably thinking, John is so hypocritical because he loves those Oh-I-love-you-but-we-cant-ever-be-together-because-someone-always-dies-before-the-character-realizes-that-they-love-each-other or oh-I-love-you-but-I-dont-tell-you-until-its-too-late sad chinese movies...)

Hey, all I'm saying, is that we don't need to en-bitter (is that a word?) our kids at such a young age!

john

Sexiest car in the world, according to Top Gear:


It edged out the Austin Martin to become the sexiest car. I like! I've always love small teeny cars. Too bad they don't sell the Fiat 500 in the states... Although if gas prices keeps going up, who knows?

Liz's take on this would probably be that its not very safe. *sigh* Its probably true, since it'd probably be either crushed or it'd just bounce off of the american SUVs....

j

World Cup reflections....

Well, World Cup 2006 ended this past Sunday with France being defeated by Italy in Penalty Kicks. *sigh*. I have a friend who absolutely hates the italian team, but works with French people. Who is he to root for?

I was rooting for France all the way. Not sure why, but it just seem like they're the underdogs and I had sympathy for them, maybe? I'm not sure. Maybe its because Italy tied with the US in a game where the officiating was horrible. But watching the Italians play on Sunday, I really felt that there was just way too much acting on the Italian part.

Lots of replays shows how the Italian player was barely touched, then the player would pretend to trip and fall, and throw his hands up like he is expecting a foul?!? What the heck is that? That is how you ruin the game of soccer - playing dirty to get the call. I despise that about the Italians.

Also, the Italians play boring soccer. Little offense, lots of defense, passing the ball back and forth, not doing a whole lot. France made the game a bit more exciting with Henry and Ribery and Zidane - their spectacular breakaway attacks, their passing, and dribbling... Twas fun to watch.

*sigh*, although, I'd have to admit, Zadane is an idiot for doing what he did, too.

I don't know. 4 yrs ago, the Brazil-Germany game seemed to be that much more exciting.

j

Ethan is growing up right before our eyes. Thanks to Liz for continuously taking pictures and posting them on the web! Here's a jem:



As always, you can see updated pictures of Ethan here

In case you are wondering...
the Adidas +10 Commercial players:

José’s team:
Michael Ballack Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Franz Beckenbauer Germany
David Beckham England, Real Madrid CF
Du-Ri Cha Korea Republic, Eintracht Frankfurt
Damian Duff Ireland, Chelsea FC
Steven Gerrard England, Liverpool FC
Kaká Brazil, AC Milan
Oliver Kahn Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Juan Román Riquelme Argentina, Villarreal CF
Bastian Schweinsteiger Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Patrick Vieira France, Juventus Turin

Pedro’s team:
Djibril Cissé France, Liverpool FC
Jermain Defoe England, Tottenham Hotspur
Kevin Kuranyi Germany, FC Schalke
Frank Lampard England, Chelsea FC
Michel Platini France
Shunsuke Nakamura Japan, Celtic Glasgow
Alessandro Nesta Italy, AC Milan
Lukas Podolski Germany, FC Köln
Raúl Spain, Real Madrid CF
Arjen Robben The Netherlands, Chelsea FC
David Trézéguet France, Juventus
Zinédine Zidane France, Real Madrid CF

I don't follow football regularly, I guess this is a good way to get to know who the actual good players are... hehehe.

Interesting reading so far on Platini and Beckenbauer...

john

Yellow Fever

Here it is, "yellow fever". Its funny, really!

Adidas Jose +10 FULL Commericial

I think this one is in english. Still, love this video!

Rolling Over...
So, its becoming apparent that Ethan can roll over on his own, as last night, he rolled onto his stomach all by himself at 3AM, then again at 5AM, and this morning, at 7AM, he was also on his stomach.

The funny part is that he's not quite sure what to do after that. He cried at 3AM, but by the time this lazy dad went to flip him over, he already fell asleep (face down into the mattress). Then, at 5AM, I think Liz went to flip him over, and then at 7AM whilst I was taking a shower, he half-cried and complained. By the time I went to pick him up he had boogers all over his face! yikes.

Anyways, I'd have to say that we're excited that he is rolling over... Now we're going to try to teach him how to roll back on his own (so we don't have to wake up to flip him over!)

john

ROFL (thats. Roaring On the Floor Laughing, for those of you that are not so well versed in BLOG language).

Liz got a new chair for the baby. When I first saw Ethan in it, I just could not stop laughing. Its sooo... funny and cute all at the same time! Anyways, just had to share this with you all.

The chair itself is called a Bombo chair...

Some pictures of Ethan in it...

RoboCup 2006.

See link here

Amazing Robots! Was reading some of the articles in there, and I guess they decided that a "chess game" is not as good of a game to develop AI (Artifical Intelligence) as soccer is. Therefore, the race is on to develop a robot soccer team by 2050 that can compete with real humans in a soccer match.

The only thing I'd like to say about that is, I hope those robots are padded - otherwise, slide tackling (which is legal in soccer), might hurt a little...

john

Relief...

Yesterday was Ethan's first day at a home day-care center. Liz is going went back to work today (so she can get paid for the holiday), but starting next week Ethan will be at the home day-care center full time.

I'd have to say, as nice as the day care center is, I was worried. Its just so hard because he is soo young! (not even 4 month old). It was great to see him when I got home and that he was still smiling at us when we smile at him. *sigh*. This is why most of the wifes that we know stops working after they have a kid. Its just so hard to trust a stanger sometimes!

Anyways, Ethan is ok. We will see how things go next week.

john

The quiz...

So I took the "Which StarWars Character Am I?" quiz...

It says that I am:
77% Obi-Wan
69% Yoda
65% C-3PO
64% r2d2
...

Here's what it says about Obi-Wan:

You are civilized, calm, and
have a good sense of humor,
even when those around you don't.
You can hold your own in a fight,
but prefer it when things
don't get too exciting.

hehe. I can see myself like that?!?

john

Laziness...

OK, I'll admit I'm pretty lazy - I have a tendency to put things off until the last minute, and things that are tedious and not so easy frustrates me. But, I have a great excuse - I'm an engineer!!!!

Why do people invent? Why are there engineers? I think ultimately its because they're lazy. Radio was invented because we're too lazy to read the paper. E-mail are so popular because we're too lazy to pick up the pen and write a letter. Cel phones are around because we're too lazy to pull off the freeway to make a phone all. And, lastly, bicycles are invented cuz we're too lazy to walk.

Which is why this 2-stroke "wheel" by RevoPower is so awesome!

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/10/the-wheel-turns-your-bike-into-a-moped/

Get me one of those!

john

Looking back, my last post was on 4/26. I forgot to blog on my birthday. Although, I have to say, this is the first birthday where I almost forgot about it because we have been so busy with Ethan. It just doesn't feel that *important* anymore. I used to take a day off on my birthdays, and do nothing but play videogames. This year, I got up, went to work, just like a normal day. Had lunch with friends, ate a lot of food that I didn't have to pay for, and had dinner with my wife. Other than that, it was kinda mellow...

Trust me, I didn't mind at all. Its all about making sure that Ethan grows up right, thats what its about.

My next toy: (someday...)

The RoboMower!!!!

Wow. Couldn't believe my eyes. Imagine! The reviews say that it comes out every day at a certain time to mow the lawn all by itself. Imagine all that time that you get to spend with your kid (alright, you caught me, "playing video games") instead of having to mow the lawn! hmmm.... so tempting...

I gotta get me one!

john

From Beej

Place an X by all the things you’ve done, or remove the X from the ones you have not, then answer the following questions and post it on your blog.” My comments in [].

( x )Smoked a cigarette
( x ) Drank so much you threw up
( ) Crashed a friend’s car
( ) Stolen a car
( x ) Been in love [phileo, agape, koinonia]
( x ) Been dumped
( x ) Shoplifted
( ) Been laid off/fired
( x ) Quit your job
( x ) Been in a fist fight? [Does Wing Chun count?]
( x ) Snuck out of your parent’s house
( x ) Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back
( ) Been arrested
( x ) Gone on a blind date
( ) Lied to a friend
( ) Skipped school
( ) Seen someone die
( ) Been to Mexico
( x ) Been on a plane
( x ) Been lost
( x ) Been on the opposite side of the country
( x ) Gone to Washington, DC
( x ) Swam in the ocean
( ) Felt like dying
( x ) Cried yourself to sleep
( x ) Played cops and robbers
( x ) Recently colored with crayons
( x ) Sang karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with only coins
( x ) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t
( ) Made prank phone calls…
( x ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( x ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( x ) Danced in the rain
( x ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Practiced kissing on your hand and/or pillow
( x ) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
( x ) Made a bonfire on the beach
( ) Crashed a party
( x ) Gone roller-skating
( x ) Ice-skating
( x ) Ever been the butt end of a joke from a comedy show?

Any nicknames;? Nut, Walnut,
What is your favorite drink? OJ, Snapple (tea's)
Tattoos? NO. Body piercing? NO.
How much do you love your job? Lots. Palm RULES!
Birthplace? Taipei, Taiwan
Favorite vacation spot? Anywhere I haven't been.
Ever been to Africa? NO
Ever steal any traffic signs? NO
Ever been in a car accident? Yes
Salad dressing? Oil, Vineger, suger, soysauce.
Favorite pie? Peach
Favorite Number? 9
Favorite movie? The Italian Job
Favorite holiday? Christmas (cuz, I usually get the week after Christmas off)
Favorite food? Chinese, Mexican (love them tacos and Burritos)
Favorite day of the week? Friday
Favorite brand of body soap? Dove (this one is not up to me - Wife said so.
Favorite current TV show? 24, NCIS, CSI Las Vegas, Grey's Anatomy
Favorite smell? Raspberry soap from Bath and Body Works.
Toothpaste? Whatever is cheap
What do you do to relax? Play with my son/play video games.
Message to your friends reading this- “When do I get to read yours?.”
How do you see yourself in 10 years? Whatever God wants me to do.
What do you enjoy receiving? words of encouragement from friends...

couldn't resist...



oink,
oink,
sniff,
what was that?
I think I smell,
my Mommy who will feed me now!

j

Ultimate Frisbee

Played Ultimate Frisbee for the first time this year (at lunch). Finally! It was such a nice day to go out there and just run around. I didn't realize how out of shape I am... Anyways, well, at least my fingers are not out of shape (from all that typing!)

We were sharing a field with soccer players. They told us to join them to play a real sport. I have to say, you would get more exercise from a game of ultimate frisbee than a game of soccer. Here's why:

- Offense: In soccer, you play positions (Forward, defense..etc) and what I see is that those guys standing in their respective parts of the field waiting for the ball. In Ultimate, everyone covers the whole field.

- Ultimate is about sprinting, stopping, and sprinting again. Its not a consistant running motion (such as running a marathon), but rigorous stopping, sprinting, and then stopping and sprinting again. When you have two pretty even teams, the running never stops (The game does not stop until a team scores, thats pretty much the only break you get.

- Defense: In soccer, you again play positions for defense as well. As in, if you're a forward, you pretty much wait in the middle of the field for the defensemen to pass the ball to you. In ultimate, you play man to man, and cover the whole field...

So, SOCCER PLAYERS, get out there, and play some ultimate (the real sport)!

john

OK, just 1 more... couldn't resist...
No, we don't have a hamster. Just found this picture on CuteOverload!

Is He not the cutest puppy EVER?!?!?



Fib try #2:
Yawn,
Ppppppt,
Warm sun,
Full stomach,
No work and no stress,
Man, I love this worry free life!

btw, I got this picture from CuteOverload.com.. Man that site has some of the cutest pictures!

john

Ok, so my last Fib was flawed, mostly because I thought Everyday only had 2 syllables (HEY! Engrish is not my first language, ok?!?)

Try again:

Work,
Work
all day....
I miss those
calm, warm, summer days,
where whatever happens happens!

Yeah! My first (correct) Fib!

My First Fib

In short, a fib is a poem where the number of syllables in each line conforms to the number in the Fibonacci series. The Fibonacci series goes: 1,1,2,5,8,13,21,34...etc.

So Here's my first Fib, after hearing on radio that Congress is on spring break next week - reminds me of how much I miss all those breaks that we had in school...

Work,
Work
Everyday.
I miss those
calm, warm, summer days,
where whatever happens happens!

Dunno if thats right or not... Liz can you check?

Fibs

From Slashdot: (aka news for Nerds. Stuff that matters).
http://science.slashdot.org/science/06/04/07/0628214.shtml

Whats a fib? (From Gregory K)

I was intrigued, but my geeky mind immediately began to churn. Why just haiku? I wanted something that required more precision. That led me to a six line, 20 syllable poem with a syllable count by line of 1/1/2/3/5/8 – the classic Fibonacci sequence. In short, start with 0 and 1, add them together to get your next number, then keep adding the last two numbers together for your next one. It’s a wonderful sequence, and it’s one that is repeated in nature (most famously in nautilus shells). Heck, some folks use it in knitting and music,… and, as much as I’d like to say I invented a new form of poetry, these sequences have been part of various poetic structures since before Fibonacci’s time. However, "the Fib" is my take on the idea, complete with a wicked cool name, if I say so myself.

Here's a sample:
One
Small,
Precise,
Poetic,
Spiraling mixture:
Math plus poetry yields the Fib.

Didn't get the job...

*sigh* didn't get that other job that I applied for at my company... Guess I can't always have it my way, can I? Well, I think the major reason is probably... that I didn't pray for this! I didn't offer up a single prayer to God for this new job. Guess in the end, I didn't care too much for it either? I'm not sure. I think I would've liked the job, but maybe God is saying that its not for me....

Feeling a bit down, but I guess thats just part of life? *sigh* Maybe I am getting old and my skills are getting obselete... Time to start thinking about working at In-N-Out...

Talent is cheap....

Heard a great sermon yesterday by Pastor Loren Chong of Concord Korean Baptist Church. He gave a semon about prayer, the hardest kind of prayer. The hardest kind of prayer involves praying with your soul, praying with your _____?, and praying with dedication. (Matthew 26:40).

What struck me is the praying with dedication part. I think thats the hardest part for me! I mean I think I do pretty well with praying, but not praying with dedication as when I pray, I go from topic to topic, and praying for all sorts of things all the time. But I don't pray with dedication.

Here's an analogy: Pastor Loren said that "Talent is cheap... Dedication is hard". Isn't that so true? God has give each one of us many many talents, I believe. But if we don't dedicate ourselves to developing those talents, then we are never going to be able to carry out fully the talent that God has given us. We all agree that Tiger is a super-talented golf player. But can Tiger be Tiger without all those hours of working on the mechanics of his swing? Tiger has changed his swing 2x since he turned pro. How many other pros are working on their swings as diligently as Tiger?

Therefore, dedication - thats what I need to strive for!

nut

0/2 on Final Four...

0/2 on Final Four so far for the NCAA tournament. Duke Lost to LSU, and I picked the Jay Hawks over UCLA. Jay Hawks got knocked out in the 1st round. *sigh*.

In N Out's secret menu:

Posted at http://www.in-n-out.com/secretmenu.asp

Drove to LA and back in 24 Hours...

Drove to LA and back for a friends wedding on Saturday. Crazy! We left from San Mateo area at 7:00AM, and got to LA at around 1:30PM, went to V's wedding, left Burbank at 9:30PM, I got home at 4AM, just in time to feed Ethan!

*sigh* things we do for our friends! Crazy you say? I'd do it again in a heart beat!

nut

Ethan our son is now 1 month + 1week old. He is getting cuter by the day, of course, except:

1) when he fusses around and would not goto sleep at 4AM...
2) when he throws up a mouthful of the milk that he just drank (like he did this morning)...

Although, the innocent look on his face after what he did sure makes up for it...

john

WWJD

WWJD? That was a slogan made popular a while back.... What Would Jesus Do? Well, on Beej's website today, I came across another acronym for WWJD: What would Jesus Drive?

Why, a Plymounth, for sure! http://www.highrock.com/personal/WWJD/

hehehe.

Kiwa Hirsuta

Kiwa Hirsuta is a new species of crustacean that was recently found in the south pacific. It looks funky! Check it out... Anyways, can't wait to see it in a zoo in the near future!

john

Michelle Kwan, you go girl!!!!

If you haven't heard already, Michelle Kwan is making another run at the Olympic Gold medal. Yeah! I really enjoy watching her skate - I don't really think she will win the gold medal, but it sure is nice to see her on the olympic team. Who knows, maybe this being her last chance, the adrenaline will be good for her and she can give Slutzkaya(sp?) for the medal...

Mike Celizic of the NBC news (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11048886/) says that she should concede her spot and pass on the torch.... Do you think so? I don't agree. I think she's still one of the best skaters in the US, as evident by her recent groin injury - that during that span no one else seems to have stepped up to prove that they are worthy of the last olympic spot - otherwise, why are we even argueing over this?

Therefore, I wish you the best of luck, and I wish that you would grab that gold medal to prove to the world, that you are still the best skater out there.

j

Memoirs...

Saw Memoris of a Geisha this past weekend. Blah! I had such high hopes for this movie - it just wasn't dramatic enough... Kinda blend... *sigh*. Also, wasn't too impressed with Ziyi Zhang's performance.

Some positives: 1. The scenery was beautiful. 2. Michelle Yeoh is still beautiful, and 3. Gong Li is still an amazing actress. I guess that kinda made the $6.50 that I spent to watch the matinee not such a big loss.

Summary: video.

Read something really cool this morning, in a daily devotional...

"Worship is also bottom-up. We can start by observing our world, our lives, and our history and begin to find God’s hand in all this. This is what you would expect from a scientist. Scientists begin with observation at the most basic level. They start with particulars and try and build conclusions or theories based on those particulars. For a scientist to believe in God (especially one who helped discover the universe’s most fundamental elements) means he started by observing the universe from the ground up, and based on all the particulars he gathered, God become his final conclusion. There was no other way for him to correlate all the facts that have been gathered by all the scientists over all time. "

How interesting! I've never thought of it this way - I mean, to think that there are no other conclusion other than "God" through observing the world. Thats pretty powerful. I've always seen miracles around me, but never thought that this could be the conclusion to God.

hmmm.

john

Do we have the power?

Brain fart of the day: Do we have the power to influence others? Sure we do. Should we have the power to influence the others? Well, its too late now, cuz we do have the power. God gave us that power and commanded us to use it wisely. But should we exert our influence on others even if they don't want it?

I am reflecting upon why people "should" do something. There never is such a thing. We are free to praise God in the way that He wants us to praise Him. Isn't that true? If a person is old enough, and just wants to be left alone to praise God, why should any of us detract that person away from praising God with our thoughts?

Maybe, in the case of all that has been happening at church, I've spoken too much to too many people. They don't need it, they don't deserve it. Maybe they don't want to hear it, whether it'd be my complaints or anyone elses. Maybe they just want to praise God with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Who am I to take that away?

Lord, I come before you, and I repent for my sins with regards to my tongue, my voice, and my influence on others. May they seek you always, and may everyone be so in tuned with you that they follow you directly rather than being influenced by others. Amen.

*sigh* its almost 1AM, and I am still awake.
Why? Because I love God. Through thick or thin, through the times when He is carrying me, and when there are two sets of footprints, through the periods when Satan attacks. Because no matter what happens, God provides.

Church is going through crisis right now. 3 deacons leaving within a week. Thats not good, considering we only have about 8 deacons. Who said church was easy? Who said serving God is easy? It sure wasn't easy for Jeremiah, in chapter 12, as he complained: "You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?"

Church is not easy. But would I rather live without it? NO WAY!

Two interesting site I read about today from Darryl my good friend....
Where's George
BookCrossing
Similar concept, I like BookCrossing better. The idea is that you read a book, tag it with a BookCrossing number, and then give it away, donate it, whatever... then at some point in the future, when someone else reads the book, and discovers the book crossing number, they can goto www.bookcrossing.com and register the book, and you can see where your book ended up.

wheregeorge is the similar idea, using serial numbers on money bills.

Cool idea, kinda like when we were kids, and we attached these post cards to balloons and let them go to see where they end up and get mailed back from.... interesting concept.

That reminds me, if you haven't seen "Pay It Forward" the movie, go see it. :-)
john

SBC DSL internet.
Man. I installed SBC DSL yesterday at my home. I hope you are reading this, cuz it will ask you whether or not you want to merge your DSL account with your YAHOO account. Make sure you say no.

I made the mistake of saying 'YES', and now whenever I log into my.yahoo.com or mail.yahoo.com or any yahoo related sites, I get this annoying BLUE SBC DSL banner that just kinda makes everything look funny... Yikes! Its really annoying. Not only that, it slow down the browsing capabilities because SBC downloads a bunch of crap banners that I don't want (like news, weather..etc).

*sigh* I guess they're all in the business of making money... ok. gotta goto meeting. stay tuned.
john

Something I read today that I really liked. In China, they welcome new believers by saying "Jesus now has a new pair of eyes to see with, new ears to listen with, new hands to help with, and a new heart to love others with". Isn't this so true? Its so wonderful to be in God's kindgom and to serve Him. It has changed my life - and filled my life with joy and happiness. It can do the same thing to yours. :-)

j

Conflict of Interest.

How can a person be humble yet be ambitious in life at the same time? Is that a contradiction of terms? In terms of been a Christian, I think there is a really fine line between the two. Ok gotta work more on this later
john

Went to small group last night. We are doing this bible study that goes along with '40 Days of Purpose' book by Rick Warren. Its pretty cool - Pastor Rick offers quite a bit of insights to life and "What on earth are we here for?".

This week's lesson on discipleship is perhaps the toughest chapter to swallow. I think its very easy to be a worker for God, but I think its very hard to be a disciple of God. I mean, its easy to "do" the things at church, but its hard to "work" out our own salvation. After all, Paul did tell us to continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

I think its easy for me to do the things at church. Hosting small groups, hangout, hold/organize different events, participate in church organizing and planning. I've done all that, and thats a part of my life. But I realized that I haven't exactly been "working out" my salvation - that is, my personal relationship with God, and my reliance on Him. Its so hard!

The one thing that I heard yesterday that really hit me was when Pastor Rick asked "How do you know when you are relying on God?". His answer was to take a look at your prayer life. Whatever you pray about is whatever you rely on God for....

Hmm. Moral of the day? pray!
john

Man. It gets more sad everytime I read about the fire down in LA and all. Its so sad. My heart goes out to all the fire fighters and the people that have or are nearing the loss of their homes. I shall be praying for you all. I hope that things will turn out ok.

As far as I know, I spoke with Hsin today that most of our friends are ok. Can you imagine driving down the freeway and seeing the hills on fire? Thats what my friend Juliet told me. She said that from her house she can see the fire in the hills...yikes.

Thats just a bit too close. Hopefully, the rain will start to come.

Speaking of which, today is my 2 month wedding anniversary. We're going to goto a resturant recommended by our friend darryl. Its called Chez TJ. We'll see how things go. :-)

Keep praying for the victims and the situation in LA.
john

Its been a year since I have blogged. Although, looking at my last blog, at least the work situation is the same... Its still pretty busy here at Terayon - as we move into new projects and more development. Although, it defintiely is more fun.

Since the last time I posted, I have gotten engaged, married, moved in with my wife, went to Japan, and had a mini-honeymoon in Carmel. Talk about changes, eh? Boy I must say I've had a full year so far in 2003. Definitely looking forward to going to Australia before the end of the year.

:-) So much to catch up on, can't do it all today... Stay tuned!

john

Wow! its been a while since I've blogged! Sorries!

Yeah, life has been really busy here at Terayon. Partly because I am still kinda trying to learn the ropes, partly because there is a lot of pressure to produce results. I think overall eventhough I am stressed, things are going well. I'm learning and absorbing at a rate that I've never did before. Thats great news.

I guess I have some time to blog today because I've just proven an important concept here at work about the feasibility of a particular task... Therefore, now a lot of the pressure is off and I just have to do a lot of the busy work (to write the code) now. hehehe :-)

Thats right! call me a NERD!!!

yeah!

john

Alright. So I know now to speak correct english:

"Liz and I went to the park" as opposed to "Me and Liz went to the park."
"Liz gave me the ball" as opposed to "Liz gave I the ball..."

But I didn't know, and now I do know, that...
"Decimate" means to destroy 10%, while "obliterate" means to destroy 100%.
"e.g." is used to give examples, "i.e." is used to explain something.
"Irregardless" is not a word.
"Affect" is a verb. "effect" is used more as a noun than verb.
Its "6AM", not "6AM in the morning" because 6AM = morning.

All curteosy of the Encarta Encyclopedia.
Thanks Microsoft & Encarta!

john

Last night, a bunch of the engineering school friends all got together for dinner. It was cool, to catch up on all the things that happened and laughed about the stupid things that we did back in school... It was great. One of them got married, and the rest of them are still the same, working for their respective companies. Its pretty cool.

In amist of all that, I didn't get a chance to call Liz last night. You know the funny thing is that I really missed talking to her last night. I went to bed thinking that something was missing - like I haven't completed my day yet or something like that. Its really interesting!!! I guess I feel that way because it was 1) a break from my normal routine, and 2) I just miss her lots (yuck! that was such a mushy comment!!).

Anyways, definitely calling her today. :-)

love ya, pooh bear

john

Found this interesting site on the web: X-Box Hacking

First off, I don't have an X-Box, not intend on getting one (unless its really cheap), and even if I do get one, I probably won't hack it. I have no access to Japanese games anymore anyways. Plus, it just takes too much time. As if the PS/2 isn't keeping me busy enough.

BUT, reading about the technology used to HACK the X-Box and the technology inside the X-BOX is really interesting. I came across this article by Andrew Huang, who published his first X-Box hacking paper: Keeping Secrets in Hardware: the Microsoft XBox Case Study. Just reading about all the technology thats inside the X-Box is very exciting. After all, I do the same thing at work, just in a different kind of system. That, and I design, not hack.

I guess the moral of the story is how selfish humans are. We go through great length (like Microsoft) to protect the "data" so that no one else can see what genius inventions other people came up with. We go through layers and layers of encryption just so others wouldn't be able to know what it is. Why? Economic reasons, of course. If people don't know how it works, then the only way to play XBox games is to buy it straight from Microsoft, helping Microsoft making millions of $$$. In the process, Microsoft probably spent millions of dollars and weeks to come up with a scheme to "hide" all this information, only to be broken in by a MIT professor. Just goes on to show you, that no matter what you do, there is always a way around it. :-)

You know, I can't wait until the day that information just flows, for free, and we humans don't take adventage of one another. Rather, we use the knowledge and expertise that is shared amongst everyone to propel our society forward to bigger and better things, and we give credit (in both $$$ and recognition) where its due. As for me, I try to buy origional DVDs and play original PS2 games, along with NOT downloading MP3s and actually buying the CDs that I want to listen to.

john

Ok... This is going to sound Nerdy, but I really like technology. I think its really neat.

I went to a series of training seminars that ended today which talked about cable modem transfer protocols. In it, there were quite some discussions about S-CDMA, which stands for Synchronous CMDA (Code-Division Multiple Access). We hear about CDMA all the time (you know, in Cel phones! That's how Qualcomm was able to get their stock up to $600/share!). So I finally understood somewhat of how CDMA works. Its pretty cool! It takes narrow-band of information, multiply it by a certain "code" and then transmit it on a particular channel in a certain timeslot. Up to a set of cel phones can do this all at the same time, in the same timeslot. There is no confusion when that happens because of the "codes" that the signal multiplies to are Orthagonal (i.e. mutual exclusive, as in no dependency on each other). Anyhow. the adventages of CDMA is that it buys you SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) so that you are more immune to noise.

I think thats how it work. Its new to me, and not easy to swallow and remember. I'm sure I'll learn more in the days to come!

john

Hsin and Dennis went to Thunderhill Raceways today. I'm so jealous. I wish I can take a day off and go racing....

I've been trying to figure out what to get for myself as a present since I got my first paycheck. Yikes! There are lots of things that I want, like a new cel phone, new rims for my car, some more upgrades to the Miata...etc. I've thought about it quite a bit and I think I've decided to use it to replenish my savings account that I had to deplete due to unemployment. I think thats a good choice, as right now - who knows if one's paycheck is their last one with that company?

Getting laid off (or company go out of business) officially sucks, I've declared. Looking back on it, it really sucks. Don't let other people tell you otherwise. If you are a worry wart like me, it sucks. :-)

john

So 2nd day at work here.... Man, I wish I can just know everything instantly so I can start working immediately. Its killing me to have to read everything. *sigh*....

Anyhow, I've been so excited and so busy that I have forgotten to blog about what happened: I FOUND A JOB!!!!! Yeah. I started working for a company called Terayon Communication Systems yesterday as a software engineer working on the CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System). How's that for a nerdy comment?!?!?!

Anyhow. I'm glad to be back in the swing of things. Hopefully, this will help me blog more often!

john

man, i gotta get my butt in gear and start to blog. But its so hot here!

ok, this sitting at home thing just doesn't do it for me anymore. I need a JOB!!!! I need something to keep me occupied. Yesterday, I was so bored that I decided to re-arrange all the furniture in the house. Then, about 3/4 of the way through it, I decided that it was too much work and I am too tired. So now, the furnitures are in weird places and the house is a mess. Well, good thing no one is visiting anytime soon and only Hsin lives here.... He's used to the mess.

john

Boy. Last time I blogged was almost a month ago.... its been so long!

Well, I lost my job on 6/7/2002. Our company decided to shut down, and so ever since then I have been looking for a job. Boy - job hunting is hard! Its hard to look for a full time job. Its a 'job' to look for a 'job'! Anyways, I hate job searches now.

*sigh* I guess I should just bite my tongue, stop complaining and finish filling out application forms.... If you know of any embedded software engineering jobs, make sure you e-mail me, ok? at walnutchen@attbi.com

thanks. more later!
nut

Went to see Les Miserable in the city last night. It was really good.

The music was incredible. We had seats on the right side about 6 rows back. It was really nice because we can see everyone's faces and everything. I've always liked musicals, so this was a real treat.

So, out of all the musicals that I've seen so far, I'd say that my favorite is Miss Saigon, still. The story in Miss Saigon touched me so much more, and it made me think so much more. It made me realize that there are things in the world that just cannot be worked out with a happy ending. In Miss Saigon, whatever decision Chris makes will hurt someone, and Kim had to sacrafice herself for her son's future. Its so sad, and it touches me so much because I've heard and seen scenarios like this, I just refuse to believe it...

Les Miserable was good, too. It just didn't touch me as deeply as Miss Saigon did. I'm not quite catching the "deep" meaning behind the story yet. It just seems like a tale to me. I didn't feel the deep connection to the characters, and I didn't feel the connection to all the story lines that were going on. Maybe it'll take a while for the story lines to sink in... we'll see

Other musical I've seen: Sunset Boulevard, Joseph and the Amazing Technolocolor Dreamcoat, Phantom of the Opera, The Music Man, and Rent.

nut

Finally, we made it back from Vegas alive. We were there for Stephen's bachelor party. It was great! We had a great time.

So, I got to try a climbing wall for the first time. It was really cool! I really enjoyed it. I was so scared to look down when I was near the top that my hands started to sweat and I had to keep telling myself that I need to be more brave. It was so much fun. If you ever get an oppertunity to try it, I'd recommend it! Its lots of fun.

nut

Oh, and also, to Liz: "I Love You!"

I generally don't like roller coasters. Beej can attest to this....

But the 'Incredible Hulk' Roller coaster at the Islands of Adventure was AWESOME! Boy its was soo cool. Normally I don't like the roller coasters because I don't like how the drag you up to the top and then there is that little period where you hang and then you drop. I hate that part.

On the 'Hulk', it was funny. Because, as they pulled you half way up the ramp, the train stopped, and started moving back a little bit. I remember I was thinking... uh oh. what happened? Then next thing I know, I'm being shoved hard back into my seat as the roller coaster takes off shooting off the up-going ramp. IT WAS AWESOME! I love speed. Don't like drops, but love the speed. Anyways, then it flips you upside down and darts you down towards the ground. It was soo cool, cuz I didn't have any time to be scared at all....by the time I felt how scary it was the ride was already done!

So, if you get a chance, definitely goto Islands of Adventure and take the Incredible Hulk roller-coaster.

nut

Just got back from Disney World... Had a great time!

There are so many stories to tell, so stay put! I'll just put down 1 things right now about Disneyworld that really impressed me:

1) Even though its 90 degress with (what feels like) 100% humidity, I didn't get a single bug bite, and also there are no bugs swarming around when you eat outside.
2) Disneyworld is incredible organized. We never had any trouble getting into or out of parking lots, traffic flows well. After we parked, we never had to wait for a tram (it seems like that there is always one available when we need one).

Incredible. Had an AWESOME time! Hopefully, we'll get to go back soon!

john

Going to Disney World 5/23 - 5/28. its going to be so much fun! After all, it IS the happiest place on earth!

Many Blessings....

I had to goto a PTA meeting yesterday. It was a church meeting, where we (the counselors) got a chance to chat and talk with the parents, and for us to get some feedback on how we are doing. I went reluctantly, knowing that its just going to drag on...

When we started talking and discussing all the issues and stuff, I was overwhelmed by how thankful the parents were that I was there helping the youth group with singspiration. I couldn't believe how they all thanked me and how they are so greatful that I play with their kids and teaching them how to lead. I personally feel that I have failed miserably, since the worship team is still a bit disorganized and stuff. But, its been such a blessing. God has blessed us so much, as some of the kids are almost ready to lead worship on their own. Guess what? They're only in 9th grade.....

For a while, I had thought about leaving DCBC. Its just tires me out too much that I am at church on Sundays from 8:30AM to 4PM, going through 2 worship services and 2 Sunday schools. However, the afternoons at Danville church (which is the one that I thought about quitting) has been lifting my spirits so much (both the parents and the kids) that I think God is trying to tell me to continue my service there. I praise God for the message and I will continue to obey His commands, and receive His blessings as I go through it...

I remember seeing a sign that says "C H _ _ C H - What's missing?" answer is 'U R', as in YOU ARE! So pick up your lazy bums, pray about it, and sign up to help out somewhere in your church, and get ready to receive the many MANY blessing that you will receive from God!

Praise God!

nut

You know, I realized 3 things yesterday in which God showed his grace and power

About a few years ago, I was talking to my good friend Noel about how I feel that I wasn't being challenged in the bible. We did a bible study with our pastor and that was really cool. Since then, haven't done much. We keep doing topical studies at Sunday school, and I just don't feel interested. About a month ago, I started doing Sunday school with the 2nd church that I go help out at. The lady that leads the study with me (just the two of us right now) is leading an in-depth study on the book of Colossians. Its been really great and I've been learning so much about Paul, his character, his life, and the people of Colossae.

We even started to go into some of the text in Greek to see what the sentences mean... Its AWESOME!

We've been doing this for a while now and I just realized that this was the answer to a prayer that I had 2 years ago, when I asked God to really challenge me in the studies of His word. I just realized how God answered my prayers and learned a few lessons as well along the way. That was so awesome! I really thank God for what He has given me...

john

Stole this from Beej - Many Uses of Bounce

wowsers. i never knew. I wonder if it really works. Time to go home and try it.

I picked up my cousin's champaign glasses today. Yeah. Can't wait to see her get married. hehehe :-)

nut

My cousin's wedding is 2 days away! I'm so excited.

Its weird. When I get home these days I don't feel like doing much. "bleh" accoring to Beej is correct. Don't quite know why I feel that way. I've been watching TV ilke there is no tomorrow, namely how for the past two weeks Enterprise has been running for 2 hours instead of the normal 1 hour. Next weekend is the season finale... Can't wait....

I really like 'Enterprise'. Its not that bad for the first season. Scott Bakula is pretty cool as the Captain, and I think her chemistry with Jolene Blaylock is really good. I guess to the normal Star Trek fans it might seem a bit cheezy, but I think its cool. Hosie had a one-night-stand last night. hahahaa :-D

Anyhow. Watch Enterprise when you get a chance. We are going to Vegas for Stephen's bachelor party next next Friday, and of course, we're going to get drunk and speak Klingon to each other, just like last time!!!

Guess that does make me a 'Geek". yikes.

nut

Hmmm. The project at work that I've been working on is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We had a break through on Thursday and now I am much more relaxed.... I did cheat a little, (I overclocked the uProcessor) but thats ok. Hopefully, I am lobbying for a faster processor (less work for me) but we will see. Yeah!.

Happy Nut

I am in 7th place in my fantasy baseball team. YIKES! That a bummer. I think I am going to keep my pitchers rotated. So, what I am going to do is for the pitchers I will look them up 2 days ahead and see if they are pitching against a loser team. If they are, then I will pick them up the day before, hoping to get a win. Then, whether they win or lose I'd drop them for the next guy.... Think thats a good idea? Of course I will keep Schilling and Clemens around, and maybe Burkett and Armas Jr. But the other guys are expandable....

As for the hitters, well, same story - if a guy drops below .300 batting average, (unless he is Palmerio, Sheffield, Griffey, Aurilia) then he will get dropped and replaced by another player who is batting .300 or above.... We'll see how long we can keep doing this, as the season is still young...

Fantasy baseball definitely makes baseball more exciting. :-) You should try it sometimes. :-)

nutty

Nut's thought of the day.... ( From my cousin. She's sooo funny. She's getting married in 2 weeks.....)

"Wedding planning is to me, a major spill and 20 foot slide down the slope into a hole next to a tree with your board stuck in the branches, snow in your sportsbra, and forgetting to wear your upside down shirt that says, if you can read this, dig me out."

nut

Spending more time....

Its funny. Don't you think that the older you get the less time you have? I need to spend time starting my own company, working, morning church service, afternoon church service, dinner, going to the bathroom, fix my car, reading Emerson, answering phones, play golf, watch movies, and most importantly, spending time with Liz. I don't get it. How does one do it? How does one have time for everything in life?

I guess the answer lies in what you'd want to spend your time on. I know this is a simple concept but its so hard to do! Now I am beginning to understand why people say that one either has a career or a family, but not both. Its tough!

After talking to Shinjohn today, I think I realized what is important to me. And that is whom I need to spend my time on.

My one and only, Liz.

nut

Hi y'all!

Haven't blogged in sooo long! Sorry. Liz reminded me the other day that I haven't blogged in a while... I dunno whats up with me these days... Just feeling unmotivated in general.

So, the car issue is finally settled - I bought a 2000 Nissan Maxima - its black. Looks really nice. According to Liz'd Dad, its definitely "a step up" for me. I guess. I'm just glad I don't have to think about selling/getting another car for a while. That was quite stressful.

Started to read Emerson again. He is quite an amazing scholar. I've never read any of his bio, just mostly his work. I just recently bought this book that gave an intro to Emerson's life. Its really facinating! I will tell you more about it as I read...

Well. Another day at work. smiles :-)
john

*sigh* this blogging thing never works well for me. Being a nerd that works with the vi editor, hitting the 'escape' key will get you into 'Command' mode so you can save your document. On Blogger.com - hitting the 'Esc' key will erase all that hard work you just put into your blog.... Lesson of the day: DON'T HIT THE ESCAPE KEY!!!!!


Anyways, as I was saying, Beej reminded me how much I loved Emerson as I was reading his work in school. I think I am going to go pick up a copy of Emerson today on my way home. In a way, I feel like Emerson helped shape who I am today.


I think in today's society, we are all 'bound' by society. Society seems to dictate what we 'should' be doing and what we 'should' watch and we 'should' be saying. People get criticized in almost everything that they do. I used to have a big problem with this. Why can't I do what I want if I am not hurting anyone else? Emerson wrote in his pieces about people contradicting themselves and cricitisms. His conclusion was "So What?!?!?!" (well, not in those exact words...)


I love that - Life is all about what YOU want to do and who YOU want to spend time with. The hardest thing to do is to not care about what everyone else says and live free - live your life. I can't say I do this well at all, but one thing I know. I want to spend my time with Liz.


Someday, we will be free.......


nut

Wow. I was just looking on blog and saw that the last time I blogged was 18 days ago! wowsers.

My birthday is coming up. Turning 28 this year. Wow! You know what is funnny, was that when I was in school, I always looked up to people that are 28. I always thought they were rather mature, and very serious, smart people. Here comes yours truely, who is still goofing off at the tender age of 28. Thats weird. I don't feel 28. I still feel like I am 18. hahaha :-D

Got in touch with my roomies JON and Dennis again. That was cool. JON broke up with his ex and is now dating another girl. hehehe. Dennis finished school and is bumming around. It was fun to catch up on old times - and seeing how we're all grown up now, and yet we can still goof off for the night when we all hang out. hahaah.

So, the Altima finally decided to give out. I'm not really sure whats wrong with it - the engine studders as I press on the gas. I checked the oil, changed the spark plugs and rotor and cap. Also, charged the battery. I'm not sure what is wrong with it - well, actually, whats wrong with it is that its 9 yrs old and 185K miles. hmmm time to get another car.

Boy its been an interesting week. Praise God that He blessed me sooo much through it!

j

checking

Another link:
Ethnic churches drawing crowds

Check this out - if you get a chance.... Its an article titled

"For Asian-American Churches, Integration Proves Complicated"

It doesn't look like there are any fast 'n easy solution to this, I guess we're kind of stuck in a generation that goes through it. However, I think this is an important issue - because whatever trend that we set right now might have huge impacts for the future generations. Do you guys think so too?

Well, I welcome any feedback. Please e-mail me at walnutchen@yahoo.com and share your thoughts on this issue with me!

-confused nut...

Here's an interesting question that has been on my mind today.....

As you know, I am chinese. Now, lets just assume that I get married and have kids. Do I want to raise my kids in a 'chinese' church or a 'Asian American' church? Or more of an 'American' church? I see advantages and disadvantages for each one, but as I thought deeper, there seems to be a struggle between 'culture' and 'diversity'... I haven't formed my conclusions yet, as it will require some more thinking....

'Diversity' is something we celebrate. Especially here in California, I think diversity is very important - because it teaches tolerance. Just take a look around here in California - we have all sorts of different ethnic resturants and stores, 'asian' towns everywhere. Not only that, we're able to goto Morroccan resturants, Ethopian resturants, eating all sorts of different food. I work with Iranians, Iraqis, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Caucasian, British, Indian...etc. All sorts of people. Because of this mixed society, I am able to learn about different cultures, what their society values, what sorts of activities they'd like to do...etc.

However, I am 'chinese'. As most of the people know, the 'Chinese' are rich in culture. Fong Shui, acupuncture, pressure points, the aroma of Chinese food, Moon Cake Festivals...etc. are all parts of the chinese culture. I definitely want my kids to not only learn english but also Chinese, to understand the chinese culture, and also to possess some of the Chinese traits such as Filial Duty, respect of the elders, and hard working traits. I hope my kid can learn the art of calligraphy, dizi (chinese flute), and other forms of ancient chinese culture.

However, I can't seem to see a balance. Rather, I see a struggle of being pulled one way or the other. In a chinese church, with the advant of chinese school and everything, the kid may be more pulled towards the Chinese culture side. But I don't want him or her to forget diversity - i.e. eventhough there are alot of chinese people out there, one should also learn about the other cultures and see the different people that are out there, the way they live and carry on....

hmm. interesting question. I will have to give it some more thought. stay tuned...
john

Well, if you haven't heard, we went to Death Valley this weekend. There were a total of 12 of us there. We went to all sorts of different places - places where there is one theme in common - desolation. Thus, the name, Death Valley...

1st off, the logistics. It took 8 hours to get there - me and Liz hopped in her Trooper and headed down at around 11:45AM. Stopped by split pea Anderson's along the way, and just kept driving and driving.... It took the whole 8 hours to get there. Then we had really expensive-and-not-worth-it salad bar and then went to find the campsite and pitched the tent. The rest of the gang arrived at 3AM to find the tents pitched and air mattress inflated (Courtesy of Me and Liz)!!!!

Saturday morning, we went to Dante's view for a grandview of the salt flats, Zabriskie Point to see the golden rolling hills, then to Furnace Creek Inn for lunch (which had rattlesnake meat!!!) then drove down to see the salts at the Devil's golf course, played in the salt marshes, stopped by Badwater to check out some 'bad' water, and drove back through the Artists palette, and back. Sunday morning we went trekked along the sand dunes before we headed back....

Boy. Lessons I learned: 1) its soo nice to have a house and a toilet within walking distance. 2) Its nice to have a kitchen to put stuff. 3) I can't believe how dependent humans are on 'stuff' to survive (pots, pans, lamps, heater, air mattress...etc.) 4) Going to Death Valley definitely makes me appreciate what God has given me already! Praise God.

john

I've always liked Apples. Both the computer variety and the fruity variety. Here's an article about the 2 men, and how they think. I've included the two parts that I really really like. I've always wanted a mac. But its just too darn expensive... *sigh*

Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates: Excerpt taken from
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20020110.html


I especially like the last 2 paragraphs....
"But Gates is still right, that no matter how cool these new computers and their software are, they won't be enough for Apple to "win." And here is where we have to understand the difference between winning in Gatespeak and Jobspeak. When Gates speaks about winning he means WINNING, the whole enchilada, mastery of the universe. At this point in his career, every thought that comes out of Bill Gates' mind is grandly strategic. Steve Jobs, on the other hand, thinks solely in terms of tactics, not strategy. His wins are today, tomorrow, next week, next quarter. He revels in every little chance to push people around and make things the way he wants them to be. He can't help it. It was a bad strategy, for example, to snub Gates with Vanity Fair, but in the tactical mind of Steve Jobs, it was brilliant.

In Steve Jobs' mind, he has already won. Those of us who last for a few decades in this business find our own kind of peace and Steve Jobs' is best exemplified by the George Herbert quote, "Living well is the best revenge." Apple's future as a boutique computer company is secure. He dominates Apple completely. When he doesn't feel like being a high tech mogul, he can be a movie mogul, something Gates will never be. In Steve's mind, he has the best of everything. Apple software is cooler than Windows will ever be. Palo Alto, where Jobs lives, is trendier than Seattle. Even Jobs' plane, a Gulfstream V, is cooler than Gates' Challenger 604. It goes on and on. Gates has never even considered this latter point, but I'll guarantee you that Jobs has, and he revels in it. "

What is 'winning'? How do you define 'winning'? In the sports world, we humans make up all sorts of rules to determine who 'wins'. But that is only 'winning' in the sense of that particular sport. How about the people that had to overcome many many difficulties (injuries..etc) and are mediocore atheletes? Do they 'win'? Of course! They 'win' because they've beaten the injury or the disease that they are fighting for. This article has made me realize that 'winning' is really a relative term. Therefore, maybe that is why God called us to be humble, because when you win you've only won in one sense of the word - maybe, in another sense, you didn't win at all.....

Took a leap of faith yesterday. It wasn't easy! I decided to help out my friend financially with her intervarsity campus ministry in NY. I pledged to support her $200/quarter, on top of my contributions to the church and everything. Its scary!!!! I feel really convicted by God to support her, but my conscience is telling me that I should be more careful with my money with the way the economy is. Anyways, I prayed about it, and mailed out the letter. I'm still a bit anxious about it, but I feel that I know that is what God wants me to do. I've decided to overcome my comfort zones and really rely on Him to pull me through times like this. I think this is a good start. Next time, it'll be better!
john

Ordered some parts for my sick Altima yesterday. A power steering pump + all drive belts + valve gasket = $236. Not bad at all. That includes the core charge for the power steering pump. So when I mail the core of the power steering pump back to tony at PartsAMillion.com then I get another $45 refund for the core. I guess now I just have to figure out how to take all the belts off and remove the old power steering pump, and put the new one on. yikes! Still dunno where its leaking. Maybe its the pump itself. We'll see when I rip everything apart.

I was so excited yesterday that I found a wiring diagram in my manual for the cruise control that stopped working since 2 years ago. Now that I have a schematic I should be able to fix it. hehehe :-) It was cool! I was up until 2AM last night studying the chart. Now all I need is a ohm meter and an oscilloscope.... -nutster.

Friday Five - Thanks for the tip, Beej

1. What's your favorite vacation spot? I don't go on vacation enough to know, but I'd like to goto Australia and New Zealand

2. Where do you consider to be the biggest hell-hole on earth? Hell, of course. What else?

3. What would be your dream vacation? 5-day golf trip on a presonal jet from Mauna Kea to Pebble Beach, then Spanish Bay to Banff Springs and ending in Chesapeak Bay Country Club. *sigh* it'll never come true...

4. If you could go on a road-trip with anyone, who would it be and why? Lizzy bear - she can keep me company and also we get to spend more time together....

5. What are your plans for this weekend? Going to Junko concert at Tri-Valley Chinese Bible Church, help Liz buy a bible for her brother, sort out all the camping equiptment gear for next weekend, watch TV, help Liz buy a car, eat dinner with my parents, watch a movie.

Read an interesting article today, it was in the Argus this morning. I read it while I was at the red light on Montague and Scott (yeah, its a loooong light...)

Its a story about 2 guys that are roommates at Stanford Hospital that are both waiting for a heart transplant. One guy was a father who owns a successful catering business in Newark. Another was a 2 time convicted robber from Los Angeles. The first guy's family visits him every day. The other guy only has security guards by his side 24-7.

A new heart came in, and the father had some other surgery done, so he was temporarily unavailable for the heart transplant. They gave the heart to the 2 time convicted robber.

How would you feel? I was really mad as I read up to that part. Why? The robber is in jail at the hospital. The operation costs upwards of a million dollars of taxpayers money. That doesn't make any sense. Why not give the heart to someone more deserving?

Then, as I read on, I realized how selfish I was. Who is to say who is more deserving? God has a plan for all of us, and maybe he has great plans for the robber, and thus letting him live. Is one life worth more than the other? I thought to myself. (No, not really) and no one knows what is going to happen in the future. Maybe this near-death experience will change the robber. Who knows? If I was in the father's shoes, would I be at peace with what happened? The father in the article put himself in the hands of God, and trusted God's decision. Am I able to do that?

What a humbling experience! I realized how un-deserving I am of God's grace. God had such a compassion for the human kind, and that He send His son to die for us, so that we can receive God's grace. Isn't that awesome? Also, it makes me realize that I need to fully trust in God's plan. To not worry about the future and do the best I can and put myself in His hands.

john

Hmmm. I had a pretty good weekend. Albeit it was a bit busy, but it was really good.

We started off Friday night with small group at our house, and there are just six of us. Its was nice because it was sort of an interesting setting, and we sat in a circle and sang songs and shared and prayed. It was a good time of fellowshipping, and I feel that I was calm and had a good night of sleep.

Then, Saturday morning, I fixed Liz's brake handle cover (that was chewed up by Cody the dog), and then we went to the Toyota dealer to check out their new Highlanders. They're really cool cars. Really popular, too. Its hard to get one because they're all still on order. Anyhow, we drove one and I think Liz is gonna get one, I guess its just a matter of price and the model. The highlander, eventhough it has a 4 cylinder engine, is much much more spirited than the Subaru was. It does look very nice, too.

The guy at the dealership tried to sell us a 4Runner as well. We drove it, and wasn't very impressed. Its an old design and needs a complete interior overhaul. The V6 was definitely more powerful, but the interior was just too plain.

Then we had dinner in the city at Luna Park (Great resturant!!!! and cheap, too!) and went to the Harmony Sweepstakes Acappella competition. The singings by the groups were incredible. They all had such beautiful voices... I wish I can sing like that. The highlight though, was running into my friend Lily. I haven't seen her since 1995! It was such an interesting situation. i was so glad that I ran into her. I've sorta been looking for her since we graduated, but was never able to. She was really glad to see me too, and she met Liz as well. It was neat to see how after all these years we can still talk like there is no tomorrow. Hahaha.

Sunday was church day, and Noel came back for a week cuz her hubby is in the bay area for training. Pretty cool that we got to see her and hang out a bit. We had yummy Thai food to end the evening. Hmmm. can't ask for a better weekend than that!

:-)
john

Had a good relaxing weekend....

We went test driving for Liz's new car, so we went to the Subaru dealer in San Jose to test drive the 2002 Outback. Boy was I disappointed. Maybe I am a bit spoiled, but I couldn't really feel the kick out of that engine. It was pretty sluggish. I felt the engine in my 93 Altima had more kick than the Subaru had. We're going to go around and test drive some more cars. Hopefully, there will be something both economical and nice our there.

You know, I've always liked wagons, for some reason. Outback is probably the nicest looking wagon out on the road these days. It looks rugged. And its not a SUV. I'm not a big fan of those SUVs. I think wagons look great, and they can haul lots and lots of stuff. Its practical, and I think the Outback looks really elegant, too. Its just a nice car over all. I wonder what the V6 LL Bean Edition feels like.... ?!?!?

k. back 2 work. :-)
john

Haven't blogged all week. hehehe :-)
Vegas was fun! We spend our time walking around all the casinos, going on the New Tork, New York roller coaster, went to the M&M Store (boring) and the Coca Cola store. It was a neat-o experience. I really enjoyed spending the time with Liz, and also I like the Star Trek Experience. That was awesome. That, and we had some Romulan Ale and a Core Breach, and sang Klingon battle songs with some friendly Klingons. yeah!

The lesson I learned from Vegas is that humans are very weak. Well, I guess I shouldn't generalize, but I am very weak. I couldn't stay away from the tables, and even though I won on the first day I lost it all on the 2nd and 3rd day. I guess I keep thinking that my luck can't be that bad, but Maybe it is that bad. Just gotta learn how to control myself. Usually, I try to avoid those places so I don't even have a chance to tempt myself...

This has been a long week. working very hard to get our board issues resolved. Still no luck. Well, we'll see what happens.

Got plane tickets to goto Orlando for $250 for 2 roundtrip from San Jose. Not bad at all. That will happen in May, as we goto DisneyWorld. I've never been there! should be fun.

My roommate has been in a car accident. Fell asleep at the wheel. Been praying for him and hope that he gets better soon.

Valentine's Day was fun! I went up to Lizzy's place and gave her a little Precious Moments Figurine titled "I will Never Let You Down". It was pretty neat, with the boy on the bottom and the girl on his shoulders. I thought it was appropriate because hopefully, I will never let Liz down. I want to be there to carry her through everything... Anyhow, she gave me a bear that she "made" and it was really cute. And it has a heart in it!

:-) nuts

Some break through today. Finally, I was able to trigger on the error of my PC Board and was able to take a look at the parity error. There seems to be some timing issues, but I can't tell what. I guess I will just wait until our hardware engineer comes back and let him figure it out. :-)

Today is a nice day. Only 1 more day of work before I am off to Vegas. I'm not terribly excited about Vegas, but VERY excited about going on vacation... And, with my favorite person too. :-)

You know, I realized that when you are stressed and under pressure, you often don't get a lot done. When I was debugging this parity error problem, I kept thinking about when it needs to be done and how little time I have to do it, and then I stress myself out and doesn't let my 2 brain cells do its work. However, I took a step back yesterday and stopped worring about when it was going to be done and all, and look how much progress I made! Yikes! Another lesson in life - "NO STRESS!" Its another one of those easy to say, hard to do, phrases. But its neat to discover one of the "true" meanings behind no stress - i.e. you productivity really goes up when you are not stressed!

nuts

*sigh*
I don't think I'm very smart. I've been trying to fix this PC board at work that has some timing issues for at least 3 weeks now. YIKES! Its just not so easy. I guess I wish I could be a miracle worker, but I am not.

Pinched a nerve the other day, or so I thought I did. Anyways, I have this sharp pain when I turn my head to a certain position. It was really bad on Saturday, a bit better today, and it still feels pretty bad today. Oh well....

Liz and I, along with my parents and my grandpa went to see the Peking Acrobats on Saturday. It was AWESOME! There were incredible acts of balance, and some incredibly soft bodies of the contortionists. It was incredible. I especially like the act with a girl riding a unicycle on a turning umbrella, and the 8 layers of chairs that are stacked with the guy balancing on it, and also the lady that juggled a big vase with her feet. Boy. The were scary! It was really really neat-o.

*sigh* back to work now. :-)
nuts

There appears to be some controversy over Friday night small groups.
At our church, we have a 'young adult' group. This group is made up of people that are in the mid-late 20s and early 30s. We meet on Friday nights to talk about how our work week was, and to do a little bible study...etc. Fellowship stuff.

Someone recently brought up a notion that we should meet 2x a month instead of every week. I'm very distraught by this. I don't understand. To me, meeting 2x a month is not considered a 'fellowship'. Its merely a 'gathering'. I guess in a sense I'm afraid of 'losing' the group that I goto for support.

Why would we want to meet 2x a week? Well, here are they reasons that were discussed through e-mail and my responses:
1. Its a chore to have to host small group at our house on Friday nights?
My response: Don't host it unless you want to.
2. I want my Friday nights to be free to relax after a hard working week?
My response: Don't need to come if you don't feel like coming. I goto the fellowship to relax....
3. Not enough people wants to go every week anyways?
My response: Why are we having small group again? its to support each other in the kingdom of God. So whether its 2 people or 20 people, its still fellowship, right?

I dunno. To me, these seem to be very simple questions, with very simple answers. I don't understand what the crying is all about.

What is a fellowship that meets 2x a month? Not much of one. To me, that means if something comes up on the week that we have small group then I won't get to see everyone for another whole month. It doesn't make any sense. Why do we goto church every week? Why not every other week? I know I don't have a perfect attendance record at small groups, cuz a lot of times my friends come up from LA and I don't get to see them very often.... But, no matter, small group should not discontinued because of that! It should be there for people to come and have a shoulder to lean on, a place for people to come and chat and share about the hardships of the working environment. Its tough enough working in the world by yourself.... Therefore, I signed up to host small group at my house. We'll see how things go from here!

john