Loud Thoughts

Beijing discourages high-rises, no ShangHai-styled skyscrapers. CBD’s Hyatt Park holds the current record: 64 stories of nearly 250 meters. Others are strangely uniform at about 60 meters, or about 30 stories. Not too high and consistent enough to create an industry for future spider men.

  A single rope is his lifeline. The job requires covering a range just out of reach. Don’t waste the bucket of soapy water; it needs to survive the lowest window. A harness is a meager insurance attached to the same lifeline.

Keep up! Everyone needs another sweep before lunch.

Hey, you missed a spot.

What a game! SuperBowls historically are boring. Guacamole, tortilla chips, pizzas, and, of course, lots of beers kept us in the game. SuperBowl party is as much as an excuse to ignore all social or dietary rules as a serious sport event.

This one is different, a nail biter, a shouter, a surprise, and worth every guacamole and chips. I carefully computed the time difference and woke up early searching for the game. ESPN, Star Sports, or other usual US channels all doing something else. Eventually, I found a Japanese channel that carried the game live.

Here I am, watching SuperBowl at 6am with Japanese commentaries with a tolerating and wife trying not to wake up.

Contrary to its name, American Football is really closer to Rugby than Soccer. The objective of the offending side is to advance the ball until it enters the end-zone. It has 4 opportunities to move forward 10 yards. If successful, it gets another 4 chances. Otherwise, it must yield the possession of the ball to the other side.

The players wear protective gears underneath the uniforms to make them look super-humanly strong. The helmets and the general atmosphere make it like a battle.

And a battle it was. New England Patriots entered the game with a historical perfect record of 18 wins and zero losses. Tom Brady, its quarterback, is experienced and in his prime. The game looks all but claimed before it started. Soon, Patriots was ahead 7 to 3. It looks like another boring game.

By the 4th quarter, New York Giant scores a touch-down and was ahead 10 to 7. No problem, Tom Brady coolly threw a touch-down and New England was ahead, again, 14 to 10. New York had less than 3 minutes left. Quarterback Eli Manning needed to score, quickly. He used up all 3 time-outs, miraculously connected with his wide receivers, and dramatically made a touch-down with 35 seconds left for Tom Brady to perform his magic. He needed more than that and left Arizona without a SuperBowl ring.

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好球赛。 超级杯历史上都没什么看头。 鳄梨酱，玉米片，pizza,还有当然的啤酒留住了观众。 超级杯聚会是男生们大玩大吃的借口，而不见得是个体育节目。
这场不同了：紧张，刺激，大呼小叫，惊叹不已。太值那鳄梨酱和玉米片了。 我早早算好了时差，起大早，开始找电视台。ESPN, Star Sports, 其他美国电台居然都没， 最后在个日本台找到了。

所以，大早六点，老婆不想起床，我看日文台的超级杯。

所谓美式足求，更像英式橄榄球，不像足球。 攻方要把球推进禁区，每回有四次机会推进10码。 如果成功，就再一回四次，不然球得让给对方。

球员在球衣下戴着护具， 鼓的像超人般。 头盔及气氛把这赛事扇成个战场。

好个战。 新英格兰爱国者队带着有史的全18胜的战绩。四分卫Tom Brady技高胆大， 又有江湖经验， 这杯看是手到擒来。 一开赛，爱国者队7比3领先，看来又是场无趣球了。

不料，第四节纽约巨人队达阵，10比7赢。 不慌，Tom Brady丢个达阵，板回14比10。 巨人队剩不到3分钟。 四分卫Eli Manning如有神助， 用掉3个暂停， 如神般的传到了接球员手中， 再戏剧化的达阵。 他留了35秒给Tom Brady变魔术，可是变不出来。 伤心离开亚利桑那州， 手上没带个新的超级杯戒指。

A Howard W. French questioned, on International Herald of Tribute on November 2nd, 2007, if the deeply rooted American values of democracy and check-and-balance are really superior. What if Beijing is right?

I have long explained to people that China’s current governance model has existed for over 2200 years. The system experienced ups and downs over these centuries and had a bad phase from mid-1800s to early 1900s. Before that, it was the most powerful and prosperous country in the world.

Jared Diamond, in Guns, Germs, and Steel, tried this China puzzle with a geographic slice. He observed that, culturally and geographically, China is homogeneous and uniform, as contrast with Europe be heterogeneous and diversified. What’s most interesting to me is America’s entrance to this great social experiment few hundred years ago. In a few centuries, would some comparative governmental historians make a conclusion?

A centralized, non-elective government can make fair, but not just, decisions, faster. It can sacrifice few for many — economically right decisions but sometime not humane. To avoid debilitating corruptions, China has a power transfer scheme that has worked quite well for the past 30 years.

Are democracy and freedom-of-speech good for all civilizations all the time? Americans viewed this very question as religiously condemnable. You can hardly blame them. Their mere few hundreds years of experience had hardly been tested by any serious challenges: except for now.

Jammie Thomas was devastated by RIAA by making copyrighted songs available for others to download. They traced her via an IP address. Her service provider betrayed her by linking the IP address with her real identity and provided this link to RIAA.

Yahoo betrayed Shi Tao and devastated him no less drastically than Ms. Thomas. Like Ms. Thomas’s service provider, Yahoo did so in compliance to the laws. Only that Yahoo complied to China law, instead of US. For that, Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo, received tongue-lashing from Congressman Tom Lantos as a “moral pigmy.”

Companies violated US laws all the time: minimum wages, maximum working hours, accounting principles, environmental protection, working conditions (OSHA regulations), etc. It is OK to do so outside of US soil and be in compliance with laws. Yahoo did not even violate any US law, only a value system and an ideology. This theater, therefore, is to send a message to China government, “We don’t like how you govern.”

Jerry Yang and Li Tao’s family are merely political props.

I grew up knowing few forms of alcoholic drinks: hard liquor (BaiJiu: 白酒), milder rice wines (HuangJiu: 黄酒), and beer. Honestly, the idea is getting others drunk and staying sober at the same time. Social cohesion and the capacity to hold liquor are more important skills than the ability to distinguish the finer flavors of the drinks.

Much older, I met Kathy and a group of wine fanatics. They taught me this new alcoholic drink called grape wines. (And yet many years later, Crawford taught me whiskey.)
I learned how to swirl, hold the glass to the light, sniff, sip, and make some comments. Those who really know me will snicker, “Sin-Yaw has no taste buds on wines.” They will be right and we all knew it does not matter. The real important skill is not to be able to tell the difference between a $15 bottle and a $20 one, but to appreciate the drink and enjoy the company or the foods. As Rich said, “The lubricant of conversation.”

Recently, I found out that a few people in China are at the same stage I was many years ago. “This is cool,” I thought. “How about wine tasting in China?”

As far as I have observed Kathy’s parties, this is how:

1. Decide a theme: First choose a theme for the tasting. This is usually arbitrary and up to the host. The typical theme surround grape varietal or region: Shiraz, Cabernet, Southern Italian, etc. At the same time, choose a price guideline for the participants.
2. Infra-structure: Wine-tasting parties need many glasses, a spit bucket, a clean water source to rinse the glasses, and a stain-resistant surface.

   Glasses should be transparent and easy to swirl. They don’t need to be expensive. Spit bucket is for throwing away wines: a normal and perfectly OK thing to do. Some people intend to taste many wines and do not wish to get drunk. Others simply do not like the wine enough to finish the glass. Water is for rinsing the glasses. Some people prefer to rinse the glass before trying a new wine. Lastly, wine pouring can be nasty on delicate surfaces.

3. Foods: Foods serve to cleanse the palate. In between wines, it is necessary to remove the tastes of the previous wines from your mouth. Eating simple, non-spicy and not too salty foods are best. Crackers, french bread, and simple cheeses are popular choices.

   Coffee, either ground or beans, is the best olfactory cleanser. Sniff the coffee in between wines to restore fresh scent.

4. Wines: The host should secure enough variety and quantity for the participants. Average person can consume about half a bottle without too much trouble. Each “serving” should be about a quarter glass or even less. The point is to taste wines and not drink them.

   The host should make sure the drivers are sober before leaving. This means at least an hour without taking any alcohol before driving.

   Of course the focus of the party is to talk about the wines just tasted. Some kinds of note taking devices will enhance everyone’s knowledge and memory.

Internet offers wealth of information on this subject. I read the quick online wine-tasting course and went to UC Davis site for its tasting wheel too.

Now I am ready to be invited.

Wedding ceremonies are all so lively and ancient. They throw me back to my youthful days when passion won over brain frequently. As I watch the procession and the rituals, I imagine the lives ahead of them: births, happy days, bitter ones, and ups and downs.

Thousands and millions of people married, raised families, and vanished. Everyone of them, however, lived through the same anticipation, excitement, and a bit scare. Wedding rituals are all ancient, like the budding of flowers, and so fresh and alive.

This sand ceremony was performed fittingly on a beach wedding. There were 3 bottles: two smaller ones filled with different colored sand and a large one empty. During the ceremony, the couple took turn pouring sands into the large bottle until it was full. The symbolism is simple. This is me, that you, and the larger one us. The “us” part is forever. But I still get part of myself and you too.

Isn’t that beautiful?

When I was in grade school, YANG Chen-Ning and LEE Tsung-Dao were my heroes. I had no idea why they won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957, but they did. And they are my fellow Chinese.

Older, and I entered the computer industry. Soon, I learned about and became so proud of Dr. Steve Chen. Imagine my excitement when I met him earlier this year. I couldn’t wait showing off to Amiram and Mike about my new celebrity acquaintance.

This summer, I was a fly on the wall listening to a conversation between Greg Papadopoulos and Dr. Chen. They chatted about old time and old friends like buddies who have not seen each others for a long time. They talked about utility computing, super computer, grid inter-connect, IT industry, China, etc. The conversation was as riveting as mesmerizing. As a bonus, Steve was lost coming to the meeting place and I picked Greg’s brain for almost 40 minutes. That was a very cool day.

Unlike other returnee entrepreneurs, Dr. Steve Chen went directly to started improving villagers’ lives. Steve observed the horrid poverty and decided to fix it with what he does best: creating a modern IT infra-structure for the whole country. His passion and energy are contagious. Few people walked away without an urge to help his cause.

It sounds so simple hearing from Steve, “I call it grid-in-a-box.” He has a scalable architecture deployable at several levels of government. The idea reminds me of Project Blackbox, or commoditization of super-computing. After hearing Steve, there appears no other way to computerize China.

And I want to help too.

I aged twenty years in an instant when Vicent and Niece came down the procession aisle. That would be myself, many years in the future, walking to the same bridal music with my daughter — maybe different city, different venue, different setting, but myself nevertheless, only greyer and more wrinkled. Would I be so lucky?

I watched this kid grow since her birth. Now she glowed in that beautiful gown. Decades of memory vividly flashed by. Emotions, complicated, swirled up so strongly. There was this lunch in San Diego when I casually brought up the subject, “So, how is your love life recently?” Surprised. She started carefully teaching me his name.

Will there be another wedding in a few decades where I will be the grand-uncle of the bride? Would I be so lucky to feel oh-so-old and happy at the same time again?

And I end this with Dr. Phil’s advice:

Grow your marriage.
Relationships are negotiated, and the negotiation never stops. It’s always a give-and-take, always requires work. It’s like if you planted a garden and came back six months later—you wouldn’t even be able to find it. You have to tend it, nurture it, feed it, weed it, deal with the problems.

Mel recently blogged something that stirred up old memories.

Colored Factoids:

• Each year, US Government allows 65,000 H1-B visas: a necessity for any foreigner to work in the US legally. High-tech companies snatch them up so quickly like kids do to the new Harry Potter book — they waited eagerly for the opening day and flood in the applications. These companies could not find enough skilled workers in the country and must rely on foreigners to stay competitive. Every one of those visa applicants is a highly paid employee who buys houses, pays taxes, attends PTA meetings, and abides laws as good citizens. They usually settle down and melt into the pot. Many of them went on to build successful businesses. H1-B visas generate so much wealth for the country that US government wants less of them.
• For China, and many other countries too, the US government now requires 1-month, with proof of travel, lead time for business travel visas. An in-person interview is a must. It usually takes days to arrange this interview and hours of waiting. If you live in a city without an embassy, you will need to make travel arrangement for this interview. Just for the inconvenience, company executives now avoid US destinations for business meetings.

  These executives stay in 5-star hotels and play golfs. They and their entourage spend lots of money during those trips: air-fare, car rentals, hotel, entertainment, power-lunches, shopping, etc. These trips are so lucrative that US government wants less of them.

• For normal tourists, the process is equally gruesome, with additional insult and disrespect added. The interviewing process assume all applicants are either terrorist or will jump-ship after they enter the country. The profiling pattern is obvious: single women are usually denied, since they will try to marry an American or get engaged in, huh, profitable but not legal businesses; elders are not good, they will cling on their kids and suck the social welfare provided by the generous US government. No significant assets in China? Clearly you are not coming back. Hesitant in answering the questions? You are hiding something. Not fluent in English? Why are you going then? Very fluent? You have been preparing this. Why?

  Sigh, sigh, sigh. Would this process really deter real terrorists? Are their easier ways to become an illegal immigrant than submitting a visa application for tourism? The US government seems to want less tourists, at least not from shopping mania countries like China.

• The US is experiencing historically high trade inbalance. They imported way more than exported. Letting foreigners into the country to spend money may help. Do you think?
• Recently, President Bush attempted the new immigration bill that, among other objectives, will legalize about 100 millions illegal immigrants who are already in the country.

The US does not want people who can generate domestic wealth or bring money into the country to spend. It treats everyone either as a terrorist suspect or one so envious of US lifestyle to jump ship. The government erects filters that keep out those it should welcome and allows those it dose not.

Is this puzzling to you too?

Every Chinese is part Confucist, part Taoist, and part Buddhist. The ingredients change fluidically. At work, for career, Confucism’s strict social protocols prevail. At heart, deeply, there is the desire to be harmonical with the nature: just let it be. Lastly, for justice, the belief that everything has its cause and will be paid back bring much needed solace.

Confucius, LaoZi, and Buddha

Officially, Master ZHANG DaoLing (张道陵: 34~156) organized the ancient religion into Taoism in year 142.

There is really no telling how TaiChi Quan originated. The first official documentation appeared ~200 years ago by WANG ZongYue (王宗岳).

Taoism started about a thousand year ago to pursue longevity, even eternal life. For few hundred years, they focused on alchemy — searching for the elixir of youth. Then Taoists gradually turned their attention to Qi (氣: Chi, like the Force in StarWars): the way to achieve total harmony and to harness energy that enables teleporting, telekenetics, flying, and, of course, longevity.

Mastering Qi seems simple; it is about mind control. When you have control of your mind, you will harness universe’s energy. Grand masters can move mountains like Yoda, or any good Jedi master.

Like Buddhists, Taoists practice mind control through meditation and physical exercises: control your mind via body. Over generations, the masters developed a few exercises that work.
One of those is TaiChi Quan (太极拳) — probably the most popular exercise in China and around the world. After hundreds of years, this art branched out to many denominations. In 1956, China government simplified and consolidated them into a 24-move version (24式太极拳). I learned it summer of 2006 and have been practicing it. It is magical.

To an observer, TaiChi looks more like a slow dance than a martial art. The slowness heightens the precision. Moves are not motion blurs, but exact and purposeful. In actual application, i.e. fighting, TaiChi masters move in lightening speed. All you can see is the opponents flying off far away.

As I practice the moves, sometime there is a sensation as if I am holding a ball of warm air right outside of my chest. This body of energy wiggles like a water balloon — sometime leaking out and tickling my finger tips. Parts of my body — fingers, abdomen, and forehead — will get warm. I noticed the stance, moves, and the nothingness of my mind affect how strongly the sensation is. TaiChi becomes a practice of ridding all thoughts and keeping a totally blank mind.

Taoism and Buddhism are, probably not coincidentally, similar, at least for a beginner like me. Through meditation or exercises, one gets the peace of mind. With that, Nirvana and longevity become possible. Or they don’t matter anymore.