The knocking on the door was unexpected and therefore not a good thing. Three people in Hazmat-like protective gears is even a worse sign. He felt perfectly healthy, only jet-lagged. But that passenger, two rows behind him and slept all the way from San Francisco to Beijing, turned out to be a confirmed infectee. They took him directly to GuoMenLu Hotel, near the airport, for a week’s quarantine. None of his 250 fellow quarantined can have any direct contact with anyone else in that hotel.

That’s a true story. My friend told me that it happened to someone who knew his friend.

2002, I needed to hire many in Beijing. We bought publicity to attract local applicants. We signed up interviewers, a dozen or so, and geared up to fly them to Beijing. Hundreds of candidates were ready. The entourage from the USA was ready. Everything was ready for my recruiting blitz. We were excited with anticipation.

SARS! State department issued a travel advisory, company banned all trips to China, the big plan fell apart. We scrambled to execute plan B and eventually hired nearly 100 people in 4 months.

Early 2006, bird flu was the new SARS and I began my 2nd year in Beijing. An employee urged me to stockpile Tamiflu and prepared for an evacuation plan. I assured him that China government will protect Beijing with all their resources. I also insisted that the company plan must work for all employees, China- or US-citizen. Most in China were not paranoid. In fact, bird flu was an oblivious shrug, a stark contrast to SARS.

Last year, when I was packing to leave China, I found the box of US-made, medical-grade masks. The whole box was completely forgotten during those 3 years. I gave the box to a friend and joked, “You may need this for the next flu pandemic.”

Wherever the origin, swine flu has sieged China. The number of new cases is growing exponentially. The government admitted that they are losing control. They expect a bad summer followed by a worse winter.

Is it a pattern that a pandemic threat comes every two to three years? SARS and bird flu both killed, but really only very few, compared to, say, normal flu, traffic accidents, diabetes, obesity, smoking, or cancer. This horribly feared swine flu has killed negligibly number of people. Statistically, it should not have attract any media attention at all.

The pattern predicts a new flu pandemic threat — not real, just a threat — in a couple of years. Since we have already dealth with birds and pigs, next time it would be an animal that’s even closer to people. Get ready. Dog flu comes winter of 2012. It won’t be curable and it won’t kill either. A good scare, it guarantees.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox

I have been anticipating several movies this year: Star Trek, X-Men, Transformers, and Harry Potter. It must be people like myself that pushed Hollywood to make sequels and prequels. Honestly, none has disappointed me yet.

How did Spielberg make machines move like KongFu masters? This time, some transformers produced bodily liquid. I was almost expecting sweats and blood from some fight scenes.

Sam’s own transformation, into adulthood or accepting his role in life, was reasonably played. Mikaela was nice to watch. The supporting cast and sub-plots were just OK. For that, the main plot was just OK too. None of these matters, this is an action flick and there were lots of them. The movie jumped from scene to scene and leaves little time for viewers to digest what just happened (or even figure out what were just said). It grabbed all my attention and senses. When the credits rolled, I needed a moment to come back to life. The digestion happened about an hour later. “Wait a moment,” I was halfway into a St. John’s burger. “What weapon was fired from that nuclear submarine?”

I enjoyed the movie like the burger: there wasn’t much thought process, it felt good at the moment, I can probably articulate some finer points, but it was not something to savor over, and yes, I would definitely recommend it to others, as long as they are into burgers.

有人轉寄這貼.我Google了一下,居然有不下八萬個hit. 顯然許多人”心有戚戚焉.” 看來,老闆懦弱,同僚無能,工作辛苦,是許多許多人的痛苦. 悽喊:”我是孫悟空,快來重用我!” 同樣,天下有多少千里馬在苦苦的等伯樂呢?

心情上,我大概既是孫悟空也是唐僧吧.身為”主管”,看看手下人,各各胸懷大志,急的要我放他們馳騁. 但我不是”一把手”,事事依然要請示,自己也不能海闊天空.

癥結是後果誰擔?功勞誰拿? 要成大功,立大業,發大財,得有資本. 出錢的人,再沒本事,也是他講話. 諸位大聖,您的本事裏,沒有一變是能掙錢的. 也沒有不讓唐僧唸咒的技術. 您這千里馬,沒有讓伯樂注意的本事.

不然,就一切都是命. 認了吧!

全文照登. 原作者不祥.

Friday night, June 19th, we picked up the cargo van, and packed it. Early next morning, Kid and I started the 380-mile journey to her new apartment. We reached Bakersfield around noon and decided to detour for lunch. Who would have known? Golden Bull (Greek?) has fine burgers, good chocolate shake, and very interesting fried zucchini. 2:30pm, we started to unload furniture into her apartment. 5pm, drove the empty cargo van for the 2nd load. 8:30pm, finished the 2nd unloading. I hugged Kid good-bye, drove back to the relative’s place, showered and crashed into the sack.

Early morning, again, on Father’s Day, I started drive back to San Jose with iPod as my trip companion and thinking of cool beers. When Wife asked, “Where do you want for dinner?” I was decision, “BJ!” The other kid taught me a new word hale. “You are a hale old man to move furniture and drive 16 hours in two days.” I think that’s a compliment.

Ungratefully, I lamented on price of this very nice high-end BBQ set they got me: stylish design, brushed stainless steel, heat-insulated handle, and the gosh-how-much-you-paid-for-this!!! shining aluminum box.
Monday morning, again too early, I appreciated the fine workmanship that went into these tools. I think I will try them this weekend.

The best gifts are those I would never buy myself, and always wanted.

The city of San Jose needed an airport; the government eminent domained their 100-acre ranch, for $500 per acre. They looked around for a place to raise a family and found this 10 acre plot not too far from the ocean and bought it for $10,000. Several years later, the adjacent plot was for sale, so they also bought it for $25,000. Together, there was about 83 acres of hilly land, quite enough for a small family.

They raised two kids. The boy grew up to be a teacher and lived with them. When his family blossomed, they gave him 10 acres. The young couple hand-built their nest, and lived there for the next 35 years, until now.

Jerry, born Gerald, commuted to silicon valley from his Santa Cruz home for 40 years until his retirement in 2006. This beloved math teacher, commonly known as Mr. Haas, introduced me to his 94-year-old mother in his enchanted house, built on the land bestowed upon him 35 years ago. Over BBQ chicken, beef, and free flowing wines, we talked freely. I tried to talk him out of retirement, but he was not drunk enough to agree.

Back home, Wife and I talked about his commute, herd of deer, birds feasting from his bird houses, and a workshop rivaling Norm Abram’s. Life is the accumulation of choices. Mr. Haas made his and stuck it out. That Saturday, he hosted four families of students who went to CalTech, MIT, UC/Davis, and Carnegie-Mellon. They are but a small sample of lives he imprinted upon. We admired his life decisions; our own have long made that an impossibility.

We are glad that Mr. Haas’s life crossed ours. I now knew him more as Jerry than Mr. Haas of Lynbrook High. I would very much like to sit under his arbor and share wines again. Next time, we shall drink Santa Cruz wines, instead of Napa Valley. And I would hike up to admire an overlook to Monterey Bay.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die Chip Heath, Dan Heath ISBN-13: 9780739341353

Like many, I was lured by the get-rich dream. The recipe was simple: get a business license, find something simple to sell, write a brilliant direct marketing piece, print many thousand copies, send them to a highly productive mailing list, and wait for the bank account to balloon. The book emphasized the mechanics of every steps and tips on creating that brilliant piece. Your head was spinning with excitement. I could write a DM to sell this and that. They will find me the suppliers and rent me the mailing lists. All I have to do is be creative. I can do that!

Then I learned the costs of those mailing lists. Even if they are 6% response rate lists (as compared to the 0.5% of phonebook), my spreadsheet showed me that I would have no profit after paying off the list rentals.

So, sucker was I. Again.

Above is an attempt to create a memorable story. Did it work?

Make it Simple, find an Unexpected angle, use Concrete examples, cite Credible sources, tap into people’s Emotion, and, always, tell a Story. SUCCES. Don’t forget that your audience do know what you knew. These are the simple technique to make your points stick. Did you remember my opening story?

Good stories mostly follow one of the 3 plots: challenge, connection, creativity. The challenge plot is the overcome of seemingly insurmountable hurdle. The connection plot links people deeply. The creativity plot is the ingenious ways to solve problems. My story was not any of them, but it could still be memorable. I was inspired to buy Robert McKee’s book Story, or maybe attending his seminar someday.

Thank you, Michelle, for suggesting the book.

Like many iPod owners, I was frustrated with the inability to move my music library. I have about 3,800 songs in my collection; most of them MP3s I ripped from my CDs. Every once in a while, I need to move them. Last time, a vicious virus wiped out my computer. I have back-ups, but iTunes did not know that I lost my files.

I have a cumbersome way to move play lists. I manually edited them to reflect the new location then re-import them one by one.

This time, my C drive is full (yes, I am a PC user). So I bought myself a bigger disk, put it in as a second drive, and started to move files onto the new D drive, except for my music. Cursed iTunes to be overly protective on digital rights.

Then, I found the magic shift key.

• Locate the directory that holds the file iTunes Library.itl Copy this whole directory to the new location.
• Copy all your music files to somewhere in the new location.
• Bring up iTunes while holding the SHIFT key. iTunes will ask you to choose a library. Point it to the newly copied iTunes Library.itl file.
• Select from the menu Edit->Preference and choose the Advanced tab. Click Change to select the new home of your music.

Hours I spent editing XML file by hand and Apple has put all this in the simple SHIFT key. I am actually upset. Apple knew that users need this feature. They tarnished their reputation by making this task not intuitive, not friendly, and actually hidden. I am sure it is from the DRM concern. Sigh, how much RIAA has made my life less enjoyable.

Road Trip 2009: Day 3

To those aboriginal Indians, God must be really mad at them. Earth trembled, thunders deafened, molten rock devoured everything and came from everywhere. There was no escape. Women, children, men, and all lives perished. The torrent river turned into steam and soared to the sky fast.

When river returned to the scorched land, it found the bed and waterfall taken over by the solidified lava, pretty much the same path carved by the water for a thousand years. Water knew that she always win at the end. Gentle yet stubborn, she started her patient task of carving the stones.

Another thousand years passed. Water has pretty much tamed lava, now smooth and rounded. She was needed elsewhere, so she left, after bidding the rocks to wait. Without sweet water, harshness ruled the land that soon turned into desert. Like fossils preserving forms of lives forever, the waterfall froze in time, waiting for water to come back.

If you are in the Death Valley area, visit Fossil Falls. Set your GPS to N35°58.625 W117°55.170, or follow the directions from Mike Brown, a CalTech geo professor.

Drive up the 395 about half an hour from that intersection around Inyokern. You pass the dammed up lake on the right and then you see the huge basalt wall on the right, and, the final clue, you see the huge red cinder cone in front of you and, just before you get to the red cinder cone, you take a right on Fossil Falls Road. Then follow the signs.

Yes, you should still visit Death Valley. Furnace Creek is probably the best place to stay. Do not stop at Panamint Springs.

Road Trip 2009: Day 4-6

Visited family. Attended a wedding in San Diego. Drove all the way back to home on the 6th day. We, of course, rested on the 7th day.

Road Trip 2009: Day 1 & 2

Hikers are optimists. The trail promises to lead to the desination. There will be strained muscles, perspiration, and cardio-vascular challenges. On the trail, there are the unpredictable: bears, deers, animals, insects, poisonous plants, or treachorous conditions. Yet there is faith: the end will be rewarding and the path will be worth it. Me? I just want to spend time with family, whatever activities.

I met a couple from Costa Rica. The husband is a photographer. They have been staying in this park for 2 weeks, looking for wild lives. He encountered 36 bears! “Sequoia is much better than Yosemite,” he said. “There is no crowd and you can still find animals.” Competitively speaking, I thought, this far-away national park faces Yosemite and Humboldt Redwood Forest. It naturally attracts those like this Costa Rican photgrapher. It is his 7th visit.

On our way out, I drove slowly down the steep winding road. There wasn’t any car behind me and my passengers were dozing off. Suddenly, I brought the car to a screeching halt.

Everyone, including Dog, was wide awake and stunned. A brown bear was sitting in the middle of the road, no more than 50 feet in front of us. The bear studied us and vanished into the hill side before I can reach for the camera. Very cool.

Gateway Restaurant and Lodge is excessively expensive, typical for a place selling its location more than anything else. If you cannot find a place inside the park, there are choices several miles from the entrance.

Road Trip 2009: prologue

Americans love their roads. You cannot blame them. On this lonely 2-lane highway, there isn’t a soul as far as eyes can see. The gently rolling landscape is vast and awesome. Sky is so clean and blue. Air-con is on. Music is soothing. You and your family are all by yourselves. Just like another family on a horse-drawn wagon, more than a hundred years ago. Yep, this is the American way: land of the free.

I made sure that we never stray too far from civilization. We need clean beds, good water pressure, and modern plumbing. We like to expeirnece, as long as there won’t be any bruises or cuts. Yes, we are city wusses.