Kittipong's Whatever Goes Blog

Done with blogspot

2010-07-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

I have been using blogspot for a while now, and I am not impress with Google's inability to do improve blogspot. It should not be so hard to write an article with pictures. So, now, I am moving back to the old HTML, CSS, and javascript on Fortunecity:
http://kainr2.fortunecity.com/

Random: A World Without Energy

2009-08-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I tagged along with my friend to his sister's house. They were holding a so called birthday party for their daughter, which none of her school friends and all of the family members and relatives from both the father's and the mother's sides. Let just say, it is an Asian way of having a birthday party for a kid.

While I was there, there were about ten kids under 12 from various relatives. They were curious, spontaneous, and loud. However, they were full of energy -- wanted me to answer this and that, or told me to do this and that. After helping setup the tables, chairs, and foods, I got some time to talk with my friend.

While the kids were playing in front of me, I began to ponder about personal energy. Not in a physical science sense, but in term of action energy. Just like these kids, these kids display action energy by being playful, and curious. However, from my own observation, all the proactive persons I know are at least eight years older than myself. Maybe it is the people I know, but most do more complain than being proactive. To me, it is somewhat disappointing. Maybe mid-life crisis age has been lowered? Maybe I just know the non-proactive people.

Myself, I was no different during high school, college, and university years. I was unsocial and move/act as needed. Then I truly find my life meaningless after working for a year. It was empty. No one to really talk to. Not really belong to any group. I felt dead. Then I found a meaning in this meaningless living. It is illogical, irrelevant, and totally pointless. I thought about what I had wanted to do, and just try to achieve them. It may not be perfect, and it maybe not be true, but what the hell. If there is only one life to live, just do what I always wanted to do. In that sense, I have become somewhat childish and erratic, but it makes my life worth living more -- พูดดี คิดดี ทำดี จิตดี

Random: A Blind Perception

2009-08-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

Accepting an idea without any consideration
is nothing more than a blind perception.

Ever consider why you like the music that you like? Is it the music? Is it the lyric? Maybe it is the voice? Maybe it is the singer's appearance. Perhaps a fond memory that the song holds? Or, it could be the participation of people similar to ourselves.

Like music, people like each others based on various perspectives: the memory that the person holds; the charismatic personality; the romantic feeling; the depth of deep words and ideas; the comfort of another person who is receptive to your expression of idealism.

However, hatred is like music and likability, it is illogical at best. At worse, it is an excuse to destroy, when we know we can be better. Yet, some people cannot accept them. Cannot make peace with it.

To describe a deep thought or a sentimental idea is a breath of relief to the focal self. Yet, the social perception is anything but welcome such actions. Why consider an idea that requires a long analysis? Why consider an idea that only holds a personal meaning? The result may not be what you wish for. Is it even worth it, when there are other things to consider -- important things, urgent but unimportant things, and everything else. To sum it all up, there is a little thought to each thing -- important or not.

Accepting such an idea. Are you kidding me? But it is hard not to do.

Work: First 50 weeks

2009-08-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

It has been about 50 weeks since I first started working at Y! in Burbank. It has been very difficult for a long stretch of those 50 weeks. But as I flied back to Burbank today, I did some calculation in my head about all the trips I took to San Jose. In the pass 50 weeks, I have made 25 trips to San Jose...

50 weeks x 5 days/week = 250 days
25 trips = 25 days in San Jose
25 days in SJ / 250 working days = 10% working days in San Jose

I rarely made any trip up north in the pass three months, but at 50 weeks, 10% of my working days are in San Jose! Hopefully, this is behind me, and the next 50 weeks will be a lot better.

In case that was not obvious, I do not particularly enjoy weekly flight.

Old Blog: Geocities

2009-08-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

As you know, Geocities is going out of commission soon. Mostly likely by the end of October, and for sure by the end of the year. In case you did not know, my second sites is with Geocities (after FortuneCity), and it will join my Siteburg page -- into the emptiness. Strange enough, FortuneCity is still standing.

Anyways, for record. The kind people of www.ararchive.org has record some of it:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.geocities.com/kainr2/kitt1.html

Walk: A Place That Doesn't Exist

2009-08-08T23:03:00.000-07:00

Today, I walked.

Supposedly, there is a store in Arcadia. But once there, there was no store by the name that I was looking for.

Supposedly, most people would be sad, angry, or disappointed after walking and jogging for 90 minutes. But once there, I have been relieved of another expectation.

Supposedly, people cannot help but to avoid pain and seek pursue pleasure. But once there, I found neither are likable or unpleasant. Neither could give me peace. Neither can comfort my eventual departure. Neither truly last in encouraging myself to continue.

I had mistook meaningful with desirability, like so many. At this point, I think it is the meaningful events of life that helps me understand that leaving, like coming, is another experience of living -- another meaningful event.

Simple Question. Long Time for an Answer

2009-07-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ever got a simple question that you have no answer? Like, the name of that person you knew in high school. Or maybe a face of the person whom you used to talked back 10 years ago. I am sure each person has some of those questions around in there head. So simple, but simply unanswered.

I knew a Thai person back in high school that graduated couple years before me. We were not close, but she was one of the few Thai people I talked to in high school, which is something unique in itself. Along the way in the past 12 years, I had forgotten her name and it bothered me ever since.

However, over the pass weekend, I stumble on an old high school yearbook that finally answered my question. It seemed surreal, because it was the only yearbook from the 90s in the historical museum, which happened to be a year that included her and myself also.

I took pictures of her and some of my friends, and it reminded me about how long ago that was. Myself, I was impassive. Some of my friends, they look younger than high school kids. Then again, we were kids back then.

So, what is the point of this story? Be proactive, and the answer will be within reach. Even if it's 12 years later. I had been laying around playing games or doing the same things for most of my life, and the question remained unanswered for so long. It was not until I started to become more proactive in the last few years that I began to discover more answers to my questions, and my life. I observe, analyze, and question life until I was 25. At that point, when I found it meaningless to live, then I began to live a life.

Random: Free Time Activities P1

2009-07-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of things that I could do when should I have free time:
* come up with creative and [maybe] funny pictogram
* finish up articles, books, and manga that I started reading
* community event volunteer
* learn to play a music instrument
* going to several places - museum, festivals, restaurants, etc.
* biking
* run marathon
* ...

I will come up with more when I could think of more.

Random: Listen to Yourself

2009-04-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

Ever talk to yourself? If you can then it means you can be or are beside yourself. Keep at it, and you will become truly conscious of your own behavior, but not your emotion or thought. Continue at it, you will be in control of your own self. At the road end, you will lose your sense of self.

I do not think you can consistently be aware of self and being yourself. Eventually, you will question who are you, and who is yourself then. You may know or understand others well, but not yourself.

Random: Why don't I blog

2009-03-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

Expression of self is not easy. It is not easy to understand myself. I guess I can explain about event throughout the day. Things that happened and my thought at that time. It would make hella lot more sense than all these previous posts.

Like how I sit at the airport terminal waiting for the plane to arrive yesterday (March 24), and how I went to eat at Amarin Thai at Great America Parkway for lunch. I can complain about how its beef noodle (aka boat noodle) is not very good -- they should have use better beef. I can complain about how they ran out of fried banana with honey, or the lack of Yen-Ta-Fo noodle. Maybe I can even talk about the dish they drop and broke in the kitchen, or the small area of the restaurant. Better yet, I can talk about its decoration or their employees' conversation and speech style (they were speaking in Thai without knowing that I am Thai). Seriously, I really thought they would be more casual in their conversations. I could write about the trick I learn from Southwest's magazine. I could have talk about the thank you email from a co-worker that was sent out at 1 AM in the morning. All these events and possibilities, but I chose to write about the cryptic inner thought and emotions that truly lack a definite form or good description.

I may know what I did, but not the thought or emotion into it.

เสียงดนตรีหรือสายลมโชย
ใบไม้ร่วงโรยกับเมฆสีดำ
ชีวิตนั้นจะชอกช้ำหรือสวยงามแค่ไหน

แต่สุดท้ายแล้วมันก็ผ่านไป
เกิดขึ้นมาก็มีวันจบไป
โลกยังคงหมุนเวียนและเปลี่ยนไป
สุดแต่ใครที่จะเข้าใจในเรื่องนี้

โมโหโกรธากับฟ้าคะนอง
ชื่อเสียงเงินทองลาภยศรางวัล
ชีวิตนั้นจะโศกสันต์หรือรื่นเริงแค่ไหน

จึงอยากบอกเธอนะคนดี
ใช้ชีวิตให้มี ความสุข ด้วยวันและเวลาที่เธอมี

Random: A bit more

2009-03-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

A little closer.
No...
A bit more.

Things that seems so near is never touch.
Reaching for the far, and get no where.
How do you like it so far this life?

Like all the goodness that ever been done,
there is a lack of sincerity.
No goal achieve in the end.
Is there anything else to try?

Don't pretend you know.
But to not know is not acceptable.
Seeking the truth only lead to doubt.
Should I surrender right now?

Random: Not what, but who is crazier?

2009-02-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

If you are not alive, you have to be crazy to want to live.
Not knowing what the day will bring, or the night will lay.
Living with a thought of uncertainty, and an emotion called fear.
To be able to hear a pain that pierce your heart.
To hear your own scream in the midst of tick and tock on a silent bed.

If you are alive, you have to be crazy to want to die.
The land of boundary, and the deep secret that lies.
A cosmic space, a heavenly form, or a nightmarish crowd?
To feel joy from a smile that is not your own.
To be able to feel, even from a story before your time.

But more crazier is to not decide.
No suffer or joy. No one can or to understand.
Unable to hear your own voice, no matter how loud or silent.
Mind and idea flow into the midst of your own thought.
One that is original to your own, but formulated by others before you.
Feelings that seem un-differentiable than the empty emotion.

NiMH Battery

2009-02-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

Not all NiMH batteries are created equal. Some batteries have a high discharge rate, which mean the battery loses power after a period of time. This is true, even if the battery is NOT in use.

Good Brand:
* Duracell
* Sanyo enerloop

Bad Brand:
* Tenergy - http://www.resellerratings.com/seller_info.pl?seller_id=7360&comment=380817#comment380817

Random: save it

2009-02-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

Nobody can save you, but yourself.
Everything else are there to help you.
No religion can save you, but it can renew your hope.
Foods are there to satisfy your bodily hunger.
And shelter, it give can only give you warmth and security.
Relationship is a source of guidance and encouragement,
but none can save you but yourself.

So, save yourself from what?
Save yourself from self dissipation. No longer a sense of self control. No longer a sense of self. No longer a sense of what is truly yourself. Looking backward, you do not understand yourself. Looking now, you do not know yourself. Looking forward, you do know what you want.

S1.01

2009-01-29T22:07:00.000-08:00

If you have to defined a typical routine, this would not be it. The mechanism is simple enough. Walking up a stair should be normal, but not when there are elevators. Drinking a morning coffee should be typical, but he holds a cup of Asian Iced coffee.

Walking the stair, he found the sign that read "Floor 3."

Instead of walking into the door that holds many emotions, he continues to walk up the stair. Looking up from the stairway reveal nothing more than the steel that this stair is made out of. No ceiling can be seen. Looking down, no ground. If this stair was meant to be anything beyond functional, it has failed completely. After having walked on these steps daily for months, he had imagined the engineer who came up with the design for this stair.

A man of strict discipline whose thought never deviated beyond the box-shape building. A man who never seen an art in its aberrant form. But it is to be expected. The true wonder of our mind has been traded for an orthodox ideal.

The sign read, "Floor 5." To most people, there is nothing beyond this floor. To most people, there is no reason to go beyond 5th floor, because this is the last floor with offices, cubicles, phones, computers, fax machines, copy machines, water fountains, windows, and more. But to him, that notion is ridiculous.

He hasten his pace upward with the coffee cup in his hand to reach the roof. The empty floor AND the highest floor. The one that people dismissed, because there are no chairs and tables. No computers or cubicles. No offices and phones.

To him, the expanded view of the terrain is the only appreciation he had for the engineer who designed this building. The ranged mountains cover the whole east side of the state, while the Pacific Ocean is far out to the west beyond his sight. Buildings and trains. Planes and parking lots. All these elements compose this whole city.

The gentle breeze slip through hair, and the iced coffee has chilled his hands. But nothing here truly last. While the gentle breeze has maintained, the coffee cup has been drained. He slipped out of the empty floor, and into the dark door. It is the beginning of a working morning.

Random: A Foundation Of Lies

2009-01-10T22:10:00.000-08:00

inveigle - verb to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements

Spare me the praise, and start with an honest opinion. It is disappointing to hear a praise when I fully understand how flaw it is. It is irritating to hear no suggestions when I have seen you done better. If you want to see that things be better, start with saying how it could be better.

Stop pretending that nothing is wrong with it. Stop being quiet or lazy. It does not help progress the work. Even worse, it could come back to bite you in the future.

It's already 2009, and it is looking to be a tough year with the economy. Companies that make money are laying off people, because their profit has lowered. Asking employees to be faithful to a company, when profitable companies are slapping their own employees with pink papers.

Did you see that gross income? Right... a preparation for the worsen economy.
How about consider other alternatives? Right... this is what other companies are doing.
They took actions, so why don't they fix it? Right... they already left with millions in their hands.

Spare me the praise, people.
Spare me the praise, corporate entities.

Random: 2009.01.01

2009-01-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

convention - noun An agreed upon conduct or attitude.

Ever write according to the format and style, and not to the true intention? Ever do something according to the convention? In the end, it goes by, it passes, and its relevancy is a matter of history. And if you ever examine the action and its reasons, nobody really understand why.

Did it bring happiness to you or anyone else? Maybe satisfaction or relief?

Sometimes it look as if I have no common sense. I do not understand the way people think or go about thinking. There are scenarios that I do not know how to respond, or go about responding. Making my own road, doing thing my own odd way, thinking in a non-linear cultural influence, and it seems at odd with everyone. Sometimes even to myself.

Did it bring happiness to others? Maybe satisfaction or relief?
For others, I can not answer. For myself, there is a little less of regret. A little less of worry. The future will comes to be the present, and recorded as the past. The history will tell a story in various different stories depending on the perspective on each person. A change in personality. A different person. An uncertainty of individuality.

Random: Is 2008 a good year?

2008-12-29T22:48:00.000-08:00

So 2008 is coming to an end. Was it a good year for me? Let looks at it point by point . . .

Financial - Nope. Everything in 401k went down.
Occupation - I changed job; however, neither companies are doing well.
People - Did meet more people from the past, but only so few will communicate. Not sure why most people are like that. Maybe I sound off superficial, maybe I am not beneficial to them, maybe I am just act too weird, or maybe I just expect too much. It seems to me most younger population(<40) operates in two modes: glib and/or opportunist. It is rare to find genuine people. Maybe being genuine is not fashionable, which would make me ... outdated?!
Self - Did better than any stock this year, or any time in my life. I give a +500% annual boost. The year has been filled with action, story, and emotion. Plenty of disappointment, and unexpected surprises all around, but all intermixed with surreal tranquil moments.

So is 2008 a good year for me? Would not call it good, but rather... a revolutionary year.
Not only did the world changes, but so have I in many good and bad ways.

How about you? Is 2008 a good year for you?

Hoping that 2009 will be better,
-kainr2

Random:

2008-12-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

It goes back to what he who had left said, "What do you not know?"
I replied, "How do I know what I do not know?"
He responded, "Well, it is important to realized what you do not know."
He paused a little and continued, "... and make sure you know it."

I agreed with what this brilliant mind had said. However, to be that person that leverages and applies these points is a different story.

There I am, today, trying to explain something. Then there they are, trying to explain to me about what I should do, without fully listened first or understood what I am doing. Should I have cut them off, and told them the real deal? They are in the a hurry to talk, but not listen. I am always listening, but talk slowly.

I do know why these people do not listen. They are always in a rush. There is no time. Not to listen or understand. They did not say anything wrong, but it did not applied here. What I do not know is how to make them slow down and listen carefully. I do not know is how few individuals come up with a noteworthy opinion or questions before thinking it thoroughly. Yet, most just said random stuff.

I realized what I do not know is why so few people are being honest.
I realized what I do not know is what I expect out of my life.
I realized what I do not know is how to other people truly happy.
I realized what I do not know is when I can ever truly be myself.
I realized what I do not know is who is really behind that mask.
I realized what I do not know is where all these words will lead to...

I understood the message of the brilliant mind, but never able to figure him out as a person.

Goal: In Five Year

2008-11-18T21:37:00.001-08:00

I have thought about it for a long time. After working at this place, I have come to realized that my dreams and goals will not come true with waiting. The longer I wait... the window gets a bit smaller.

Nobody else will convince me to get a master degree.

Nobody else can make my dream into reality.

I am tired of not knowing what I want.
I am agitated of waiting for dreams to happened.
I am fed up with compromising myself for others' wishes.

I am fired up. It will start with a master degree, but it won't stop there.
It won't be easy, that I understand. Not that young nor much free time anymore.

In five years: a master degree in computer science/engineer.

Random: Big Plan

2008-10-31T02:40:00.000-07:00

Who are you if without any ambition, goal, or dream.
Who will you be if without moving toward your goal.

It is almost 3 AM, and I have been trying to sleep for the last 4 hours. It could have been the coffee, but the effect is way too long. But I think it is the big plan that I have thought about for the last week: a master degree.

I didn't realized before, but couple weeks ago I found out that majority of people in my group got a master degree or better. I know a lot of my friends are getting one, but it didn't register until now. Considering this, and factor 10 years into the future, a master degree will be essential in getting a good job.

It has to start, there is no compromise. Period.

Random: High Five

2008-10-25T01:21:00.000-07:00

Simple things that used to be so irrelevant.

It seemed like years ago since I last did high-five with a stranger. Then today it happened. With a stranger over a Foosball game, despite scoring on my own goal. I felt something. Not sure if it is just a nostalgic feeling of "good old time", a sadness by how long it has been, or a self-pity from seeing them happily went to play soccer afterward.

It was Friday, and 15 minutes before 5 o'clock.
They probably are not technical-engineers.
Should I be jealous of that?

Random: Konkai wa ...

2008-10-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know the exact cause, but there are the feelings of unrest both physically and mentally. I do not have that feeling of calmness or at peace for a while now. Could it work? Could it be the coffee? Could it the subconscious' impulse? Could it be the lack of free time? Could it be the physical activity?

Maybe it is the people.
Maybe it is myself.

Random: Marketplace Prediction

2008-10-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Just few random thoughts...
* The economy won't recover to the height of 2007 within the next president's serving time (so not within 4 or 8 years). Obama and McCain just lack economic insight.
* The economy will recover when people forget financial responsibility, and pushing for unrealistic political ideal on the government. Basically, greedy and ignorant.
* The gap between the rich and the poor in US will widen. Too many shady people, too many complex rules and laws, and too many people put too much trust in so called professional.
* Monopoly on a global scale will become more prominent whether you are conscious of it or not.
* India will lead the global economy before China, but China will be the slow-and-steady from-the-behind player. However, America will be the wild card as long as EU remains as socialism nations, and Asia remains politically corrupted. Japan just lacks resources to be competitive in warfare.

Random: Programmers' Prayer

2008-10-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Serenity for a Programmer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the buggy code I cannot change,
courage to change the poorly written code I inherited,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Random: Prediction of Tomorrow's Adults

2008-09-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

My prediction of the US economy and adults 20 years from now:
- Invest more money than now.
- More saving than the current generation.
- Complain a lot more about high tax.
- Less likely to take risk in entrepreneurship.

Random: Wake Up

2008-09-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

Normally, I wake up around 6:30 AM for work, but recently, I would randomly wake up around 5:30 AM. It is bothersome. It is difficult to sleep because there are dreams... often reflecting on my own hopeless desire, and the past mistakes. At time, it was pointless to sleep any further, and I would simply lay there pondering. Occasionally, I would just get up.

Is it worth it to sleep anymore?

I feel tire mentally and physically. But at least when I am up, I can do something. I am tire of waiting for good things to happened. Regret. Regretting not doing what I should sooner. Regret of just waiting. And absolutely, tire of regretting. I rather walk for hours on a hot sunny day until my legs are about to collapse. I rather run until the senses are numb.

Won't ever achieve that desire. Somethings are impossible.
Can't stop dreaming either. Then there would be nothing to live for.

Random: Who I saw and What I have seen

2008-09-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Sunnyvale on a business purpose with my coworker, and by luck I saw someone I recognized walking across the street next to me. Or at least someone I believed to recognized. I look at him for quite a while as he sped up pass both of us. The man looked rush with a vibe of frustration. My coworker continued the conversation, and I paid no more attention.

Then at 5 PM, I saw him again, walking passed the lobby of Yahoo. Again, no one seemed to notice this person but me. Again, he quickly walk passed the door and reached for the cell phone. At the end of the day, my curiosity got the better of me, and I talked to my coworker about this man.

You know, this morning, I thought I saw Jerry.

Yeah, that is him.

Oh, really? You know I am surprise that nobody say a word to him. He walk passed twenty employees, and no one say hello or goodbye.

My coworker went on to explain the lack of fascination for the man, which I still could not understand. Is it normal for the employees to not say a thing to the CEO? Is it a good thing when the CEO said nothing to his employees? So people do not matter anymore?

Should a CEO be ignored for his mistake, or does he has to be a innovative genius in order to be recognized? Even as a stranger, sometimes unknown people on the street say hello to me. But as an employee not saying anything to your employer, who you recognized, that is weird to me.

Random: Freedom

2008-08-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Recently, I watched a documentary on college entrance exam in China. It followed few different high school seniors throughout the year. The show present the lifestyle of these students who studied restlessly for the exam that would determine their future: college, career, and economic status. At the end of this documentary, one of the top high school graduated was quoted:

When I was studying so hard, I thought the most important thing was freedom.
You can't demand freedom from society, your school, or even from your own family.
You must rely on yourself to find your freedom.
If you can set your own heart free, then nothing can stop you.

-ZL

Upon hearing it, I thought to myself, "She got it right on the last two parts. But knowing what she just said, her life will filled with a struggle to be happy." When you free your mind and heart, freedom exist without any border, because any thought is possible, and any action can be taken. There is no limitation of choices.

So, why would her life will filled with struggle for happiness? Freedom often lack the long term fulfillment, because you are constantly refining the definition of freedom, constantly acting on the meaning of freedom, and constantly monitor yourself: behavior and thought. In doing so, you becomes someone beside yourself. Eventually there will a point where she will question herself, "what make me, a physical body with mind and emotion, an individual self with freedom?" This unsettling question has no right or wrong answer. It can be solved only when she is satisfied with her own answer. But even with a conclusive answer, her happiness is not assured.

Freedom is not just about making decisions on choices defined by society. Freedom is the ability to think and reason the choices, to determine the best solution regardless of whether it's unique or common, and to act upon it. Freedom in this sense is not so easy or absolute. Actually, it is a hard work, and quite complex, because your philosophy and ideology come into play.

Ignorant is a bliss.

Many have said it, and I agreed with it. At least they are not questioning themselves time after time until the end of their lives.

Random: Chino Hills Earthquake

2008-07-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here is what I did during the Chino Hills earthquake on July 29, 2008.

Around 11:45 in the software lab, I just copied the software object file to the network folder in order to test the build. Just then, I heard a crack on the roof. Only about 5 seconds afterward before I realized that it was an earthquake. I headed for the lab's door before another shake came.

Few people around the area aggregated about a minute later, and talked about the quake. Few minutes later, I was back to testing, and some people went to lunch. In the cafeteria during lunch time, the TVs were tuned to CNN. The saddest part was how CNN tried to hype up the lack of major or minor damages.

Walk: Clean-Air Car Show

2008-07-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

It was on July 19 (Saturday), so this is a bit late. Okay, wayyyy late, but for a good reason.

It was a week ago when I came across South Pasadena Mission West Association website, which contained information about the community event back in April. Well... I missed that totally, but I didn't mind. The site show pictures of the April event and the local businesses in Mission West area. After few minutes looking the site, the photos of unique and classic buildings inspired my next walking destination.

The forward trip was over an hour, but the quiet and serene streets in South Pasadena made the trip quite enjoyable. The city had the feeling of San Marino, but with smaller houses and more cars. Three quarter of the way through, a small park appeared. I took few minutes to circle the park. A lot of young children playing with their parents watching near by, but beside that, nothing much.

As I finally reached Mission West, I found the sidewalk to be under construction. Most of the stores on the side still open, but the sidewalk was dusty and sandy. A block down further, the newly constructed city hall with a newly paved sidewalk. By now, my impression of Mission West began to wane. Up to that point, the area has not impress me. The buildings were new and clean, but neither creative nor outstanding. As I headed back, a green and white fryer caught my eye.

The City of South Pasadena proudly presents
Clean-Air Car show & Film Festival

Hmm...

Since it was only couple block away, I decided to join the festivity. I arrived at around 2:30 PM, and some of the booths were already packing up. True to the name, there were plenty of "future" and "green" cars from several brands in the area. There were hybrid, compressed natural gas, electric, hydrogen fuel cell, etc. However, overall, the car didn't look very impressive. There were no information about the gas mileage, and most of the cars were not in the market yet.

In the end, the only thing that truly impressed me was the animal shelter foundation. They brought a bunch of dogs and cats in their trailer, and each volunteer was taking care of a dog. While walking around the festival, the volunteers was walking their dogs, looking for potential adopters. After playing around with one of them for about ten minutes, I thought about adopting one from a shelter one day. But that time has yet to come, and with that I left the place.

Random: Ignorant People Continue To Be... Ignorant

2008-07-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here I am reading the L.A. Times story this morning...

Police show up at IndyMac Branches in Encino, Northridge as waiting customers clash

I am not surprise that people are taking money out from IndyMac, but here is the question... why?

IndyMac has been taken over by the federal government already. FDIC insured their money up to $100,000. If they wanted to withdraw their money, they should have done so before the OTS has taken over IndyMac, especially those who had over $100K. IndyMac FSB is now a federal bank, in another word a government bank.

These withdraws are IMHO pointless. Their money will not disappear, since it is backed by the federal goverment. If US government can not give you your money, then expect a world economic crisis pretty soon... like tomorrow soon.

Beside the needless shouting and fighting to get their money out of IndyMac, another thing I am worrying about is their financial plans. Are they going to stash $10K to $100K in their homes? Are you putting it in Washington Mutual (another bank that might head south)? If so, they are just simply repeating the same mistake. Are they going to invest? Although, any fool can see that this is not the time. I would not invest in anything at this time unless I understand the company wholly, its goal, its practice, its potential, and its goal.

Walk and Financial Tip: Banks in San Gabriel Valley

2008-07-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

In the previous post, I mentioned Safe & Sound Rating from BankRate.com, so I decided to do some Safe and Sound research on banks in San Gabriel and Alhambra, including international banks. The rating is out of 5 stars (the more, the better).

Bank of America (FDIC Insured; 3 stars - North Carolina)
Bank of East Asia (USA), The (FDIC Insured; 2 stars)
California Bank & Trust (FDIC Insured; 4 stars - California)
Cathay Bank (FDIC Insured; 3 stars - California)
CitiBank (FDIC Insured; 3 stars - Nevada)
Citic Ka Wah Bank (Not Insured)
East West Bank (FDIC Insured; 3 stars - California)
Eastern International Bank (FDIC Insured; 4 stars - California)
Far East National Bank (FDIC Insured; 4 stars - California)
Omni Bank (FDIC Insured; 4 stars - California)
Preferred Bank (FDIC Insured; 2 stars - California)
Shanghai Commercial Bank (Not Insured)
TomatoBank (FDIC Insured; 4 stars - California)
United Commercial Bank (FDIC Insured; 2 stars - California)
Wachovia (FDIC Insured; 2 stars - North Carolina)
Washington Mutual (FDIC Insured; 1 stars - Nevada)
Wells Fargo (FDIC Insured; 4 stars - South Dakota)
Wing Lung Bank (Not Insured)

As you can see, WaMu and Wachovia do not look too good here.... Maybe it is time to stop saying Woo Hoo?

Financial Tip: Safe & Sound Bank

2008-07-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard it by now, IndyMac Bank has been closed by Office of Thrift Supervision. On their website, www.indymacbank.com, you will see the FDIC information. If you are one of the unlucky people who still have some money in IndyMac, you will be glad to hear that IndyMac is FDIC insured. FDIC will go through the list of customers, and return the insured money. The insurance is limited to $100,000 per person per bank: checking accounts, saving accounts, and CDs (Certificates of Deposit).

For those who keep up with economy news, the closing of IndyMac on Friday is not a surprise. Their shares headed southward since mid-2007, and dipped below $1.00 for many weeks now. For many savvy investors and knowledgeable customers, they probably transfer their money from IndyMac to another bank already. But for most IndyMac customers, the shutdown is a wake up call. Who would have figure that a well known bank would close down? Well, they just did. Now you know. Let this be a lesson. Nothing is fool-proof.

You might wonder, how do you find out if your bank would go belly up like IndyMac? You could keep up with the daily news about your bank on Yahoo! Finance. It is probably the safest bet. However, it can be difficult to understand the news if you can not understand all the jargons.

Luckily, there is an easier way to determine how well your bank is doing. Just simply look for the Safe & Sound rating for your bank from Bankrate.com. If your bank has three stars or more, then it is not going to go belly up any time soon. But if your bank has a star or two, consider transferring part of your money to a more secure bank. However, if you decided to stay with bank, keep your deposit below $100,000 for FDIC insured accounts, and move out uninsured investments.

* BankRate.com - Safe & Sound rating
* Yahoo! Finance

Random: Think about it

2008-07-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

How can you know you are alive if you act according to the norm?
How can you know you are free if you think within the predictable rule?

July 2008 seems like another month for most people. To most people, it is another month. For me, it's a month that I have to say goodbye to two close friends. They are not dead, merely move on to something else. These two never met each other, yet they shared several traits and similar past: traveled to a foreign land, hardship, strong opinion, has specialized skill, conversational, etc. But much important trait is their honest opinion of me. They won't hold back to that I am wrong, and that is invaluable.

Now, it so happened that they gave the same opinion about me. That I will be alone from talking in my own manner, and acting according to my own norm. Are they right? So far, yes. People don't take too kindly of "abnormal" behaviors, and their first instinct is to avoid. In the end, I can only hope that being myself will lead me to meet other honest, open-minded individuals like these two.

I wish to write more, but it will do no good for anyone. Anyways, I will leave it as such for now.

Random: Unwelcome Words

2008-06-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

Some people bring happiness wherever they go,
and some people bring happiness when they go.
-someone

I don't people can ever tell the whole truth about themselves, no matter how hard they tried. There will always be secrets that will not be told. The speakers are too afraid of the judgments, and the listeners often ignore the impure and imperfect reality. In the end, we end up talking superficially most of the time. Talking mostly about pointless details with a little hint of the truth.

Tell me everything about the keyboard in front of you.

I know no matter how hard you try, there is no way you can explain the whole facts about your keyboard that is in front of you. Maybe it's because you don't understand the keyboard fully, just like you don't truly understand your own mind and soul fully. Yet, you know that you mastered the keyboard. You can type 40 words per minutes without thinking too much about it. You understand how it is connected, and function.

What if you can somehow explained it full without a flaw?

Then the listeners will think you are abnormal, and possibly a keyboard freak. Is there really another way to think of such a person? Few people will ever appreciate the keyboard freak for the ability to analyze and express the concept of the keyboard.

People enjoy common ideas and shallow conversations. They rarely welcome the deep words for what it is. IMHO, fake people just make better people, since they make the world go around.

Random: Time of Turbulance

2008-06-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Luck is preparation meets an opportunity.
- R. Farsch

In a time of so many fluctuation's, luckily unlike Yahoo!, it's important to keep in mind why I have to look out for an opportunity. And I don't just mean a job here. It could be anything such as meeting someone else, talking to your friends, taking time to enjoy nature, exercising for you health, thinking alone for your own soul, etc.

To be honest, if I am apart of the perfect world, I would be sitting around doing absolute nothing useful, because I would not have to worry about job, health, relationship, or money. Instead I would just sit back on the Sunday afternoon watching a movie or an Asian drama thinking, "why can't my life be more exciting like the TV?" I would sit and complain about my perfect life in the perfect world.

Fortunately, my life not perfect, and neither is this world. I am grateful for it, because now I know there are other flawed lives and objects. Some can be changed. Others will never be. What is better is knowing that I can act outside the norm, knowing fully that it is my will.

Walking like an average person is to walk efficiently.
Walking like a monkey is to walk with a conscious effort.
-kainr2

Walk: Lost Glasses

2008-05-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it is about time.

So, today, I go out for another walk and photography around San Gabriel. Before I left, I was debating whether to bring my big-oval glasses, or not. In the end, I putted it in my shirt pocket, and left. Few hours later, in Salvation Army store, I searched for my glasses. It was not there anymore.

I had this big-oval shaped glasses since 11th grade. The black frame is made from Germany. It had been abused so bad that the corner screws are no longer the original screws, the brand name on the legs are no longer visible, both lenses sometime pop out from the frame, and the right lens has a permanent scratch. I chose the old-style frame because it reminded me of Shinichi Kudo from Detective Conan, which is the first scanlated manga I read back in the late 1990s.

You probably wonder why the hell I write so much about my old glasses. Well, how can I not write about something that I use so often for so long. Few people had told me that I look dorky in that glasses. They were right, but I continued to wear it because I was a dorky guy in many ways. Now that I am nearly a different person from my old self in 2006, it was a matter of time to say goodbye to this glasses too... Saturday, May 24, 2008, 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM.

Trip: Nethercutt Museum

2008-05-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

So this week I got a chance to visit Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar, California. This quiet building is filled with antique cars from late 1800s to 1960s. The owner of this museum is no one other than... the Nethercutt family, of course. Actually, Jack Boison Nethercutt, an avid car collector, was the man that started the collection, but he died in 2004. His wife, Dorothy, also passed away in the same year. His son has taken over the operation of the museum since then.

From outside, the car museum didn't look too impressive; however, there are 8 rows of classic cars in the damn museum!!! That's right, that is 8 rows, not 8 cars, which totaled to over 100 classic cars -- shoulder to shoulder. Even an antique car collector, like Jay Leno, would drool over this. On the wall, there are several collections, including car emblems, toy cars, and items from the early 1900s.

In addition, there is a FREE two hours tour(with reservation) to visit the second building, which normally is not open to the public. Now, I have been working in Sylmar for a couple of years, but accidentally saw it on wikimapia earlier this year. Anyways, after some thought, I decided to visit here, and join the free tour. A word of caution, be prepare to shock and awe...

On the bottom floor of the second building is filled with classic cars, including the little wooden buggy you see in the photos. On the wall, there are car trophies, classic musical boxes, and two feet dolls from late 1800s.

Moving on to the second floor... Woh!! Wah! Wow!!!! The whole floor and the columns are made out of marble from Italy, Africa, and Virginia. The ceiling is approximately 50 feet high, and one of the wall is a mirror. Each grand chandelier on the ceiling is over 6 feet tall. Apparently, this floor is made to look like a car show room back in the early 1900s. Amazing. While we were looking around, a piano was playing George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue", but... the pace didn't feel right. That's because the paper roll replayed the actual record of Gershwin himself. Neat.

The third floor is a collection of car emblems. Very comprehensive. There are tons of emblems from car companies that shut down. Also, you can see the evolutions of emblems through the years.

The fourth floor is a musical hall. There are several orchestrions in the hall, and, yes, "orchestrion" is a real word (time to add the word to the spell checker)! Basically, an orchestrion is like orchestra in a box... err... make that a giant cabinet! Popper and Hubfeld are among the biggest orchestrions in the world. Both of them are over 10 feet wide, 10 feet tall, and about 3 feet deep. However, the grand finale is an overwhelming 500 pipes organ orchestra playing the Star War theme mixed with two famous early 1900s musics (one is something with Chu Chu Train). Needless to say, the experience is incredible. It really felt like you are in an orchestral theater.

To sum my thought in few words... a must see in your life time!!!

Links:
* Wikipedia - Orchestrion
* Nethercutt Museum
* Youtube - Nethercutt Museum

Walk: Santa Anita Canyon

2008-05-04T22:22:00.000-07:00

Stop and stare
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere
Yeah I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be
Oh, do you see what I see?

These days, my weekends are filled with activities and chores: send my camera to be fixed, change the car's engine oil, sell those bottles and can, write my business report, read the chapters for my business class, drive around town to do this and that, etc. There never seems to be enough time to stop and think. However, on Saturday morning, my friend called me up and offered an opportunity for me to do that.

"Hey, what are you doing today?"

"Not much," my typical reply, despite all the chores, "Why?"

"I'm thinking if you want to go hiking."

A moment of pause.

"Hiking?" this is from a guy who complains about parking too far in a parking lot.

"Yeah, hiking."

And so the weekend's activity was decided. We were going to hike Santa Anita Canyon. I drove up the narrow and curvy canyon slowly with three cars trailing me. My friend did not like how slow I was driving, but he knows better than to say too much. For any passengers in my car, they know, it's better to be safe than sorry. We got to the parking lot around 11 AM, and paid five dollars for a parking permit.

Along the trail to the bottom of the canyon, we took some detour to visit few abandoned cabins. There were plenty of equipments, and rusted items filled with web cobs. I thought about how anyone could have live there in the early 1900's. It would have been a long and enduring walk up and around couple canyons. After about an hour, we got all the way down to the bottom of the canyon, where lie a spring with crystal clear water. A family with couple kids were playing around the spring. For me and my friend, we sat along the stream talking about our lives in the beautiful nature with small creatures in the spring.

It was not too long before we realized that we should have pack some food before coming here. The hike was exhausting, and it was already 1:30 PM. We headed back after 20 minutes around the spring. For my friend, who is not used to walking up hill for more than a mile took few breaks along the way. His legs were giving up by the time we got back to my car. As I drove down the canyon, three more cars followed me...

Oh, still waiting for my camera to come back, so no pictures.

Walk: No Camera, No Picture

2008-04-26T23:43:00.000-07:00

Making Honey Green Tea is like an art...
Too much honey, and it becomes too sweet.
Too much tea, and it becomes too bitter.
Too cool, and there is no flavor.
Not enough ice, and there is dissatisfaction.
And just like any art, it displays the inner character.

Well, my camera is out to Canon service center right now, so there are no pictures this week. It was last weekend when I noticed that dusts [somehow] got into the inside of LCD screen. I tried to shake it off, but it wouldn't budge, so about half of the screen is covered with these "sticky" dusts. I called Canon, and they told me to send it to them. Hopefully, they will fix it within a week or two (and charge nothing, since it's still under the warranty).

So, without a camera, I went out for another long walk. The journey started with a festival on San Gabriel Mission(an ooooold church). The festival was set along the Mission Street, which filled with apartments, small businesses, and the church itself. There were plenty of organizations, associations, and food tents. However, the zero cloud plus 90 degrees temperature, made it quite hard for many people to come out in the afternoon. Even an ice cream man left his popsicle cart on the side of the street!!

However, the most interesting sight was a eight year old kid selling a lemonade drink in front of his apartment. Unfortunately, his apartment is a block away from the festival, so his business wasn't doing too well, even at a deep discounted price of 25 cents per cup. As I was walking by, I got caught in it...

"Would you like to buy a lemonade?"

"Errr... no," I tried to walk away.

"... please?" in a soft whimpering tone.

I gave in and paid 50 cents for a 6 ounce cup of lemonade (25 cents drink + 25 cents tip). To my surprise, he also tried to sell me fortunate telling. Apparently, his mother, who sit inside the house (watching TV?), is a fortune teller. Obviously, that didn't go far.

I headed up north to San Marino, and got a cup of Honey Green Tea from the usual store. A bit bitter, heavy on the tea... as always. I wanted to say something about the taste, but there were several people in the store. It wouldn't be right to say it in front of so many people. In the end, I left, and continued along Huntington Blvd. Here I found out [yet] another Noodle World restaurant. I have seen the other two stores already (Pasadena and San Gabriel). The sight of it only make me wonder how much money they really make each day.

Headed west to Alhambra, and back to Main Street, it really felt like hell to be walking for three hours. Fortunately, I bought a bottle of water with me, but it didn't last too long. I had to refill it few times in the mall and hospital before getting back home two hours after hitting the Main Street. However, that was not before visiting couple game stores, and tried out the Wii system. No, I didn't go wild and swing that nunchuck around. Although, I should try it on one of these days.

Walk: Sunny Day

2008-04-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

A genius is one that think outside the scientific standard.
An insane person is one that act outside the social norm.
The distinction between the two are not mutually exclusive.

I remember sitting in my high school English class, and my teacher read out a quote from Robert Frost that goes something like this, "On a path through the forest, I take the path least taken, because that is the most interesting one." I cannot recall that teacher's name, but many quotes that he read stuck to me.

On Saturday, I went up to Pasadena again to take pictures of a hut-shaped coffee store for my project in business class. The temperature during noon was over 90 Fahrenheit, and not see a single cloud can bee seen in the bright blue sky. The sky was as empty as air itself. The hot weather never really bother me before, and so I decided to walk as planned. In order to reduce the heat, I washed my hair with water before I left my house around noon. However, by the time I reached the second intersection, my hair was already dried.

Jogging up the hill was not easy, and it hit hard when you are unfit. I used to jog for almost 30 minutes continuously during the college days. That was with a calculus book, a 5 inches binder, and a bunch of junks in my backpack. Nowaday, I maxed out at 15 minutes with no extra weight. It wasn't pretty, but that did not stop me. Along the way, I went inside two stores that I passed by all the time in the last 10 years, but never enter them. First was Honey Baked Ham store, and another was a CVS store across the street from Honey Baked Ham. Interesting, but I didn't buy anything.

When I finally reaches the coffee store at Pasadena City College, I took out my camera and started taking picture. Since the store closes on weekend, I was taking picture of an empty hut-shaped store. Nearby, a photography student was eating her lunch under a tree, while occasionally looking at what I am doing. Maybe I was being too pessimistic and conscious, but she probably thought that I was either crazy or stupid. Who the heck take picture of a hut in those boring angles? Ten minutes later, she went back to her class.

I left the college after almost 20 minutes of photography, and along the way, I started to think about these walks that I am doing. Now, it just happened that one of my manager lived near by and occasionally drove on the streets and roads that I walk. In the past year, he spotted me twice on the road. To be fair, I don't walk on the same path, or go to the same place each week, but yet he spotted me twice on the random occasions. I thought to myself, who else saw and recognized me on the road? There had to be other people that recognized me out there. I don't look that much different since high school, so I am pretty sure someone noticed me, and did not say anything.

Disappointing. These people cannot stop themselves to even say "hello." Did they simply choose to ignore me, or simply cannot control themselves from moving ahead? Do these people even know that they are in control of their actions? Or is the simple act of saying "hello" is too hard? Too much time out of their lives? Too inconvenient? Too much trouble that it worth? Even a simple honk on your car would do. Maybe it has to be dramatic like the movie, where I got hit by his/her car before he/she come out, say a few words, and hope that I won't sue him/her.

Ever since I started walking, one car honk at me(couldn't tell who it was), and came across three people from high school. It is sad if they chose to ignore me. It it worse if their actions are beyond their control. Honestly, I do not mind that people act within the social norm, but I hate to see people constricted by the social norm. If you can think and judge independently, then act freely. Like they said, I am tire of excuses.

Sincerely,
Someone You Have Not Say Hello To :)

Walk: Little Tokyo

2008-04-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

Those who dreams, but never pursue are called dreamers.
And successful people are the dreamers that tried.

- Van Pelt

So, last Saturday morning, I drove to the usual gas station with my radio station tuned to K-Earth 101. At the end of what seems like a lengthy advertisements, the disc jockey reported about events that are happening around Los Angeles area. One of it happened to be the Cherry Blossom festival in Little Tokyo on the weekend. At that moment, I thought to myself, I have to go see this.

The original plan was to go the festival immediately afterward with my camera. After calling my friend up, he agreed to go with me in the late afternoon. The afternoon came and went, and we both did not go to Little Tokyo. My friend was tied up with things to do, and it was 5 PM by the time we were done. Back up plan, Sunday.

Two P.M., Sunday, we both were standing in front of the Metrolink train station in Pasadena. The $1.25 per train ticket was a bargain comparing to driving a car to Little Tokyo. The distant is about 15 mile one way, and the minimum parking fee is $5.00.

Train: $2.50 per person x 2 person = $5.00 total
Car: ($3.60 per gallon; 30 miles/gallon; about 30 miles) + $5.00 parking = $8.60 total

Little Tokyo is about half a mile away from the Union Station. It occupied a small area between 1st Street and 3rd Street, and the festival was setup on San Pedro street, next to Little Tokyo Mall. Comparing to Chinese New Year festival in San Gabriel, this festival is quite small, but interesting nonetheless. There were three stages for performances: martial arts stage, music stage, and main stage. The booths on the roads included food booths, business booths, and small gift shops. However, the performances were quite an interesting sight. Many of the traditional Japanese performance were done by non-Asian, much less Japanese (take a look at the pictures below). In the plaza, there were additional independent performers that draw quite a crowd. Me and my friend spent few hours around Little Tokyo getting back on the train.

Little Tokyo:

Left - Samurai practitioner; Right - Traditional performance

Left - Takoyaki store. Six pieces for $6!!; Right - Hawaiian dance

Chinatown view from the train:

Link:

Little Tokyo's Cherry Blossom Festival

Site Update

2008-03-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

To my disappointment, my siteburg homepage turned into a case of 404. Hopefully, this is only temporary, but I will create another site if it's a permanent issue. I'm thinking of using Ruby for the new site; however, it would required lots of testing on the local station. In addition, installing a web server, a database, and Ruby individually is a lot more hassle (especially the configurations) than going with PHP (WAMP package). Nonetheless, something would be done in a time due.

On the brighter news, I found something interesting relating to my old site today. It started out innocent enough... with me yahooing myself. My nick is unique enough that about many sites related to myself in someway, but the one that caught my attention was a pdf file titled Dartmont College Computer Science Technical Report TR2004-503! Inside that technical report's reference section, my double buffering tutorial is listed next to the IEEE!

"Woh!" I thought to myself.

Now I know how my ex-coworker felt when his paper was published in the IEEE magazine. Alright, I will admit that this technical report is not as big, but it is a great feeling to have a tutorial that I wrote in college being apart of a computer science thesis. Thank you Yahoo! I hope you don't get bought by Micro$oft. Sadly, this thesis is not listed in Google. Unacceptable.

Reference:

Walk: Blockbuster

2008-03-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

A good photo is like a good story. It's hard to write a good story without any struggles or challenges. It's hard to find a good picture without any obstacles. Fortunately for me, my attentions always draw to the odd scenes or unique ideas. Not to say that I am a great photographer. I am aware that I am far from that. Rather it is this trait that allows me to capture a little unique perspective. Great or lame, it's only a matter of opinion.

So, on Saturday, some Chinese churches organized a fund raising event near the gas station that I normally go to. They held this event every once in a while(maybe twice a year). Anyways, I had been there few times before, but this time I took my camera. It was 14 o'clock when I returned with my camera and not my car(there was no parking anyway). Much of the commotion has already died down, but the place is still packed.

Most tents had labels written in Chinese selling Chinese snacks, which are serve hot. In winter, these snacks would do very well, but not March in California. It was 85 Fahrenheit. At the center stage, there were karate students breaking wood plates for few minutes. Later, a Chinese woman came out to play few Western-style songs with a pipa(Chinese guitar). However, the loud crowd pretty much drown out the tranquil sound of pipa. While many people continued to stayed, I left.

Walking along the main road, I came to what was once a Blockbuster store. It was only three weeks ago that I saw a poster for the brand new movie for rent. However, today, it's an empty store. They even took the Blockbuster sign on the wall. This only reminded me of the Warehouse music store that was couple blocks away from this Blockbuster. The Warehouse store was turned into a dim sum restaurant now. This empty Blockbuster store will probably see a similar fate in few short months. In my opinion, the last thing this place need is another Chinese restaurant. I would rather see someone taking an initiative to do try something different. An infusion of a non-Eastern business store would add to the much needed diversity and creativity that this city once had. Currently, there are already over 200 Chinese restaurants just on Valley Boulevard alone, adding more only going to intensify the restaurant competition. At this point, I would rather see a Hello Kitty store or an anime store(I know, these are still Eastern ideas) than another Chinese restaurant at that Blockbuster store. Alhambra's Main Street had already done this. It is not impossible.

Walk: Old School

2008-03-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

The last few weekends have been nothing but troubles. There were rain for several weekends, and when it was finally sunny, I got a flu. So, since my weekends were filled with troubles, I decided to take a rare opportunity to take pictures on weekday instead. Indeed today(Wednesday, March 19, 2008) was a great day to be taking photos. Instead of the usual walk around my neighborhood, I decided to head up to my old college, Pasadena City College.

My college days were both fulfilling and empty at the same time. Like many other college students, my wallet was very hollow and empty. The lunch was a dollar burger from either Carl Jr., Jack In The Box, Burger King, or McDonald. Yet, it was because of this hollow wallet, I learned to explore Pasadena city with my legs. From the foot of the mountain(North) to Old Town(West) to East Pasadena(East) to San Marino(South), I have walk to the four edges of Pasadena.

Revisiting my old college again is freshing. It has been less than ten years, but a new building is being constructed on the western end of PCC. On the eastern end, there is a library, so I decided to take few pictures in there.

Afterward I headed to Cal Tech campus. The university is grand, peaceful, and beautiful. A university that host hundreds of top students across United States, and a home to Feynman. Yet of all these accomplishment, the joke in the comic section is still as lame as ever. To my surprise, there were several students walking around the campus than I ever recall seeing back in my college days. After walking around and saw the calendar, I learned that today happened to be the last day of the final exam week. My guess is that these students were taking take a good look at the sun before the next quarter comes around. If you ever visit Cal Tech, be sure to drop by the bookstore. Two things should surprise you. First should be the classical music in the background. Second would be the lighting environment. Basically, it feels like I was in a high end coffee shop; sofa and plenty of books.

After Cal Tech, I went down south to The Old Mill. Unknown to me, I have walk passed this place several times before, but never both to enter the place. After so many years, I was there to see what it was all about. To my disappointment, I did not see any mill. The historian told me it was long gone. It was used by the missionaries from San Gabriel Mission(another historical site that I entered only by accident... last weekend) in the 1800s.

The Old Mill is quite small, but the building is itself significant. It was built in the early 1800s for the San Gabriel missionaries using adobe brick. The wall in basement is five feet thick, and was used to keep the grain(granary). Unfortunately, due to the damping underground, moisture seeped through to the basement, and ruin the grain. The place was sold in the mid-1800s, and after the Mexican War, the place has been transform to a residential house. In the early 1900s, it was converted to a clubhouse for the golf course that used to cover a large area of San Marino. In 1962, The Old Mill was given to the city of San Marino, and was established as a historical site.

Walk: Chinese Festival 2008

2008-02-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing
That's a fact,
It's a thing we can't deny
...

Yes, it is one week after the 2008 Chinese New Year (February 7), so why was there a Chinese New Year festival now? The simple answer is because Chinese people have something else to do on the weekend of Chinese New Year. Some Chinese people visit their family members, and some have a family gathering just like Thanksgiving weekend. Then there are some who go to Las Vegas to try their luck. You can go see it for yourself, if you don't believe it.

This weekend, once again, I did not bring any camera to a local trip. In my personal experience, photography is great for capturing the moment; however, being a photographer takes away the indulgent feeling from the personal experience. Anyways, this festival had plenty of tents selling ethnic foods, fruit drinks, and unnecessary products. In the crowded street, one prominent sector of economy seemed to be missing from the picture. Big name bank. I did not see any booth for the CitiBank, Washington Mutual, or Bank of America. The only well known banks there were HSBC and Wells Fargo. The Chinese banks made their appearance as usual. By the way, I did see JCPenny booth, which is strange.

Several hours later, and several bags of free gifts in my hands, I came to the corner where a parade was going by. Watching it, I came to realized that in the last 16 years, I never been to a Chinese festival in location before, even though it is less than fifteen minutes drive. In fact, I remember only two occasions, where I was in a Chinese New Year festival.

Sad, isn't it? To not take time to live a life.
Sad, isn't it? To not seize the given opportunity.
Sad, isn't it? To not respond back to a genuine message.

But it is not that bad, because I came to realize and there is still time. I could have been to the Belgium Beer festival today, but today wasn't that bad.

Walk: Sears

2008-02-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

Last couple of weekends were full of rain, so I didn't get a chance to do any outdoor photography. As the forecast had it, Saturday was supposed to be sunny. Saturday. Sunny it is, at around 85 Fahrenheit with no cloud or wind(in another word, hot). Now, due to the long work hours on Friday and plenty of chores for me to do today, I decided not to do the usual photography weekend. Instead, I would walk on an unplanned route. This unplanned-route idea is basically to pick a busy street, and walk as far as possible. The route for today was six miles long crossing two cities.

As usual, I took the liberty to do some side trips into the local stores and point of interests as I pass them. There were few unique things to see on today's trip, including a cemetery that is over 100 years old, and a mini Statue of Liberty. However, one of a more interesting place for today's walk happened to be Sears. Yes, Sears.

It was right after I came out of a local owned furniture-electronic store that I walked into this mysterious Sears. It took me about thirty seconds, and a 360 degrees scan of the whole place before I realized something seems wrong with this Sears. Lots of clothes and no electronic appliances in sight. I had been to several locations of Sears before, and there were electronic appliances in every corners and shelves. Yet, the only high tech goods they offer here were TVs and DVDs. I strolled around the places for five minutes before leaving. It was only after I walked out to the parking lot and took a good look at the sign before I realized the reason for the unusual products selection. I laughed as I read the sign...

Sears Essentials

The essentials said it all. After several hours of sightseeing later, I came home and googled for "Sears Essentials". Found out that this is another branch of Sears that expands into the female consumers market and the fashion sector. Essentially, it means that I probably would not go in there again.

Links:
- Sears Essentials

Visa Credit Card: Collision Damage Waiver

2008-02-02T22:06:00.000-08:00

Last week wasn't a great week. Why? Well...

Heavy rain fall on the weekend, so no photography.
Sickness (cold and cough). A big thank to my co-workers.
Lakers without Bynum continues to lose.
Car break down. Gak, Gak, Gak.
Pushing a dead car to the auto shop in the rain.
Car break down again one day later. Same sound. Gak, Gak, Gak.
Getting the car repaired in the morning, and worked from noon to night.
After the second fixes, my car making the same sound on Friday mourning.

Now, to add to the string of bad lucks, I had an important presentation on the late morning of the same Friday! I decided to not gamble with my car, and went to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The store did not have an economy car available($25 per day), so I got a standard car($35 per day). In my opinion, renting a car for $35/day wasn't a bad deal, until I looked at the insurances. There were three insurance coverages that totaled to $24. To be honest, I did know that my Visa card has some rental car insurance, but I was not sure of the detail. Being short on time, and ignorance of my own insurance coverage on rental car, I agreed to all the coverages just to be on the safe side.

After I returned the rental car, I got curious and decided to investigate Visa's insurance coverage on rental car. Few hours of researching, I found something really neat about Visa's coverage. Now, the following applied to Visa credit card only, because Master Card and AmEx have different policies.

Most Visa card has Collision Damage Waiver(CDW), sometimes called Loss Damage Waiver(LDW), that does a full coverage on your rental car. However, note that there are differences between renting a car outside your country, and within your own country.

If you rent a car within your own country, Visa's CDW is a secondary coverage, which means Visa will pay an additional coverage to the primary coverage(your auto insurance). For example, if the damage is worth $5,000, and the primary insurance covers only $3,000, then Visa will pay the additional $2,000. Of course, this assumed that the car worth more than $5,000 to begin with. Now, there are few restrictions before this Visa's coverage kicks in.

Must use Visa card to pay for the car rental.
Does not cover if renting more than 15 consecutive days.
Must declined auto rental company's CDW or LDW option.
Does not cover expensive car like Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche, Lotus, etc.
A reasonable care of the car. No alcohol or drug. No intention of hitting. Blah, blah, blah.

Now, should you ever get into an accident with rented car, there are few things you must do within the time limit...

Contact Visa Benefit Administrator within 45 days of the collision or loss.
Complete and send the Visa Auto Rental CDW Claim Form within 90 days of the damage, even if other required documents are not available yet.

For the official and complete detail on Visa's CDW coverage, including how Visa's CDW works on foreign country, click here. So, at the end of the day, if I had been paying more attention to my auto insurance policy, and Visa's CDW coverage, I could have saved myself up to $24. Was it a lot of money? Not really. I would have saved $10 on CDW. The presentation was more important to me on that day. Nonetheless, an important lesson to myself here is to read the fine print of these policies and benefits on my free time. This time it is only $24, but next time, it could be hundreds or thousands.

Link:

Financial Tip: Fed Rate

2008-01-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't heard by now, the stock markets around the world fell badly today. Just take a look the picture on the left here (Jan. 22, 2008 from L.A. Times), and you can see that some markets fell by double digits. In my perspective, there probably was a lot of pressure on the US to respond to the sliding economy.

In the past few week, there was a speculation that the Fed will lower the rate sometimes soon. The original plan was to lower the rate around the end of January. Today, this downward spiral forced the Fed to cut 3/4 of a percent, one week ahead of the original plan. There is another rumor that the Fed might more another cut within the next two weeks.

After all the news, what does this mean for you and me? For your portfolio, the rate cut is a good thing, because it boosts market value. Although, I believed this is only temporary, and another slide will come again. For your Checking Account and Savings Account, lowering rate is a bad thing, because the bank will also lower the interest rate.

So, how do you improve your situation in this economy? The stock market is volatile, so stock market is a very risky option. The safest bet is a long term, high interest CD account. If you are not in a financial situation, put part of your money into a high interest CD in a reliable bank. I said a reliable bank, because unstable banks could go down anytime (just look at how Washington Mutual, E*Trade, and Countrywide Financial almost went bankrupt). In addition, pick FDIC insured banks, which covers $100,000 per person, per insured bank. Spreading your money into multiple banks is not a bad idea also.

However, if you choose to stay with a Savings Account, you can still get a 4% APY. Currently, ING Direct is offering a 4% Savings Account, and 3% Checking Account. However, it only through online, which can be a bit inconvenient.

Link:
* ING Direct Orange Savings Account
* FDIC Insurance
* BankRate

Google Ranking

2008-01-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

So, how many Kittipong are there on internet? A lot. To be rank lower than a tennis player, or a film director is not a bad thing, but to be rank lower than some random people is just not cool. Just few days ago, I did a search on "Kittipong", and tada...

On 11th page of Google search engine is this website! Impressive, considering how relatively new this site really is. By the way, I dug deeper to see if my old website was there. After 50 pages of zero result, I basically called it a day.

Google's Free 411

2008-01-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

Google just seems to have a knack for being involved with services and programs that have nothing to do with the search engine. Just a couple days ago, I came across one of them. This time it is a free 411 service from Google. Yes, Google is now competing with the 411 directory service. The number is 1-800-GOOG-411, or 1-800-466-4411. Being a free service mean, of course, that you are talking to a machine instead of a real human. So, without any hesitation, I gave it a try.

The first thing it asks me is the name of the city.

"San Gabriel, California," I said.

"San Diego, California," it repeated.

I cancel the confirmation, and repeat it again. The same sequence was played few times before I gave up. As a last resort, I ended up typing in the zip code, and at least that work well enough. I tested the system by asking for few places locations around my area, and it works about 75% of the time. It listed all 99 Ranch Markets, and found well known Thai restaurants in this area.

Google 411 service can also forward your call to the store's telephone. If you wish, you can receive the address of the business by a text message. This would work really well if you have a GPS system in your car. In conclusion, Google 411 is an impressive free service that anyone should try before dialing 411.

For more detail, look at this link:

Goog411

Photo Journey: A New Library

2008-01-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

There was a study showing that people are happier when good things happened to them unexpectedly or without a reason.

This week, I continued my trek to the San Marino High School, since I got side track last week. In term of an architectural design, this school has one of the worse parking lot design. There are two small parking lots on each wing of the school. The west parking lot has two entrances, both near the corner of a busy intersection. The east parking lot is linear, which mean every parents who drop their kids in the morning are forced to make a u-turn inside this linear parking lot. Fortunately, the main structure of the school is quite new, and pleasant to look at. To my surprise, there is a nice little hut near the east parking lot. If not for the constant traffic noise, it would be a very peaceful to sit and relax.

Inside the school area, there seems to be activities going on, even though it is Saturday afternoon. Behind the main build, there is a group of high school students having a baseball practice. Next to the baseball field is an auditorium, which played an undeniable dance music with a sound of students goofing around. As I was about to leave the campus, I ran into an interesting sign next to a red door. Digital Photography

Interesting... this school has a digital photography class. This is better than my college. sigh After few more snap shots, I left the area.

If you read my post from last week, the same drink store happened to be near by. I entered the store, walked passed four guys playing poker at the corner, and waited at the counter.

"Oh, hey!" the sound from the corner.

Make that three guys playing poker in the corner. I ordered a cup of honey green tea. We chit-chat a little in the ten seconds that she made the drink. As I took a sip of the drink leaving the store, I realized that there was much more green tea than the honey. Surprisingly, she was back at her chair before I even step out the door. A lesson learned, don't get between a girl and her poker game.

Continuing on, I stumble across a library. Looking from outside, the new paint and flowers made it looked very interesting. I had to walked around the building to before finding the door. Unfortunately, the library is still under construction. I took few more photos before walking another hour back to my car.

Financial Tip: Debit vs. Credit

2008-01-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

Debit card. Credit card. If you are reading this post, then the chance is that you already what each one does, and how it differs. But, how much better is one than the other? Let's take a look at some analysis:

Deduction Method

Debit - Deducted from your bank account. Based on how you paid, the deduction could come after three days later.
Credit - The payment is made through a monthly statement bill. There is an interest rate on any unpaid amount.

Opinion: Tie. You still have to pay either way.

Spending Limitation

Debit - The amount in the checking account linked to the debit card. Usually there is an option to link a checking account to another bank account, so any over spending can be withdrawn from the secondary account. However, if not, then any over spending will result in an overdraft fee.
Credit - The amount of credit on the card. Over spending will result in an overdraft fee.

Opinion: Debit. Fee is never a good thing.

Transaction Fee

Debit - The bank may charge you. It depends on the term of the card.
Credit - The bank charges the merchant, and not the consumer.

Opinion: Credit. There is absolutely no reason to pay more.

Annual Fee

Debit - Depend on the term. Maybe up to $30 per year.
Credit - Depend on the term. Currently, most credit card doesn't have annual fee.

Opinion: Tie. The lesson is look at the term before signing up for anything.

Liability (Stolen)

Debit - If the card is report stolen within the first 48 hours, the maximum liability is $50. After 48 hours, it is $500. After 60 days, it's all the money in the checking account PLUS the maximum overdraft line of credit.
Credit - If the card has been fraudulently used, the liability is only $50.

Opinion: Credit all the way. With a debit card, the money is already deducted from your account, so you know the refund won't be any time soon. With a credit card, no money is given to the bank until it is settled.

Benefits

Debit - Some debit cards can be used as an ATM card. Some cards offer reward program. No payment late fee.
Credit - Offer much better reward programs.

Opinion: Tie. However, if you pay the credit card bill on time, then credit would be a better choice.

Winner: Credit card.

The only thing that required you to do with credit card is to make the payment on time every month. If you can keep this up, you open yourself to a better reward program, save yourself from some hidden transaction fee, build your credit for a new car or a house, and a better protection again a fraudulently used of your card. Especially with an online transaction, you are much better protected with a credit card than a debit card.

In addition, many major bank companies are offering an online account to your credit card with several security features. The optional features included an email alert for buying a big tag item, for having the credit above certain amount, for reviewing previous statements, etc.

In the end, maybe credit or debit is not the solution. For those who want to save money, the best solution is to use real hard cash. This way, it is guarantee that you will never over spend any money you don't have.

Links:
* MSN-BankRate: Debit cards: A good deal gets better
* Debit-Card Identity Theft on the Rise: Choose Credit, Not Debit, When Paying
* BankRate: Pay more, get more debit rewards

Photo Journey: A Past History

2008-01-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

"They say it's 5 centimeters per second."
"Hmm... What's that?"
"The speed at which cherry blossom petals fall, 5 centimeters per second."

If you never watch the film, or understand the symbolism of cherry blossom petals falling, then you probably have no clue why I wrote that transcript, or what it means.

At any rate, I was doing another round trip around the neighborhood with my camera. This time to the San Marino city. The quiet, scenic neighborhood is very peaceful. It is a great place to own a house. However, the odd of it happening required at least one of these two conditions to happen:

The price of the houses in this area falls by 75% of the current price.
I become a millionaire from the Super Lotto (a definitely potential).

Unfortunately, these two options are not likely to happen anytime soon, so I have to settle with just watching and staring instead. After almost two hours of walking around the neighborhood, I decided to stop by a local drink store for a quick refreshment. The place is empty, except for the three teenagers that were playing card game on a table by the window. I look at the menu and waited from someone to take my order. No one. I waited for about a minute, before a young lean woman came out. At first sight, her face definitely looks familiar, but my brain did not click right away. This the effect of not seeing someone for ten years.

"Kittipong!?"

"Yeah."

"You remember me?"

A moment of thought, "Of course."

"Remember my name?" She picked up something behind the counter.

"Sandy, right?" I said instinctively.

Fortunately enough, my brain did not failed me this time. To be honest, if she didn't said my name first, I might not be able to recall her name. However, her voice just bring up the name. After ordering a cup of barley milk tea, we talked a bit about our lives after high school. About fifteen minutes later, few more customers came in. She went back to work and I decided to leave. We didn't really know each others very well back in school, but there is a good feeling when I see someone from the past. Even stranger, this store is about 100 feet from where I drove by nearly everyday. Talk about a lucky day.

Economical Car: Nano

2008-01-10T22:10:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard about the Nano by now, you really should. And, no, this has nothing to do with the iPod or any MP3 player. This Nano is a new generation of car. India's Tata Motors began showing their new car, Nano, which cost about $2500. In addition, this car can go upto 50 miles per gallon! A sweet deal that sure to entice a lot of people from second and third world countries, especially considering how oil price is rising. In my opinion, it is not impossible to see least two percent of the India and China population buying Nano. Compact, stylish, and economical, it just remind me of the Volkswagon's Beetle.

External Links:

Financial Tip: Credit Card Deal #1

2008-01-06T00:21:00.000-08:00

One mistake I did while in college is not have a credit card in my own name. During college, I basically tag along on my sister's credit card, which should be just as good as getting my own, right? Well, not exactly. Because I was not the primary owner of the credit card, I got no credit at all. So, few years went by, I was very surprised when I got rejected for a normal credit card. A lesson learned.

Three years later, and I get a bit smarter. My credit is not at zero anymore, and getting a random credit card simply won't do. Currently, there are several credit cards that offer cash backs or rebates, and getting the right one can save yourself some money on the regular expenses. Here are some of the better cash back deals as of January 05, 2008:

Blue Cash from American Express - 5% on supermarkets, gas, and drugstores. 1.5% on other purchases. However, your annual spending must be at least $6,500, or you won't get the 5% cash back. This is great for any big spender. More details ...
Citi Professional Cash Card - 3% on restaurants, gas, certain office supply, and certain auto rentals. 1% on all others. This is a good deal for daily usage and Citi has a good of useful online services, although it is a bit harder to get this credit card. More details...
Chase Freedom Cash Visa Signature Card - 3% on each billing cycle's top three expense categories (there are 15 categories). 1% otherwise. However, the 3% cash back is limited to only $600 of that billing cycle. Anything over would be at back at 1%. This is the best for the big savers, because the cash back coverage is wider than most other +1% cash back cards. More details...

So, there you go. Credit cards that can save you some money, especially with gasoline. But remember, if you can't pay it all off in full every months, then the cash back is not worth it.

Link:
www.AskMeCreditCard.com
www.Bankaholic.com - Best Gas Credit Cards

Photography

2008-01-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

For some of you who may not know, I'm currently learning about photography. Over the last several weeks, I have been walking around town and taking picture on just about anything that looks interesting or unique. On the night before the 2008 New Year, I got a chance to do some night photography at Pasadena's Old Town. Many pictures turned out to be quite blurry, because my Canon Powershot doesn't have an image stabilizer. After I talking to some of my colleague today, they told me that a tripod would have make my life a whole lot easier.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to take more pictures around town and post them up on my photoblog at aminus3.

Welcome

2007-12-26T16:50:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my new blog. Thank you for taking your time to come here. This holiday is a very hectic time for myself, but I wish you all a Happy New Year! May the year 2008 be a better year for you!