Howard's Blog

A Family Wiki

2009-01-07T21:43:00.001-06:00

It's during the holidays when I consider a "family" wiki. Imagine a wiki-pedia-like entries where family members can write different aspects of the family. An "entry" can be about a family member, an event, things (such as heirlooms, houses, etc.).

I think about the family history we have in our heads, grandparents, cousins, and long-forgotten relatives. Every family has some history... I think ours could be very interesting. Imagine the content that could be collected over the years (pictures, stories, etc.). We can look back and remember vacations, recall things about a relative we never knew directly. Also, the activities surrounding the writing and editing of entries can be good for the family as well.

Montecito Tea Fire, healing and moving on

2008-11-19T23:07:00.009-06:00

I drove to Montecito tonight. I've started playing music at the church we have been attending and tonight was the scheduled rehearsal. I had driven by on HWY-101 several times since the fire, but this was the first time to actually go into Montecito.

The smell of smoke was still in the air. Several signs of "Thank You Firefighters", some big and elaborate, some small and modest, were hanging from fences and between trees.

This is how close the fires got to the church.

The adjacent diagram tells the story from a different perspective. Here is an excerpt from the official "loss of property" from the Santa Barbara county. The burn area just touches the corner of the church.

We are new to the area, so we don't know too many people. But this part of the "Central Coast" has a strong sense of community. People wave at each other on the streets. On the radio, they were naming some of the folks who has lost homes or suffered injury. Turns out that one of the injured is a friend of the DJs.

We don't know anyone who suffered any loss, but we are one degree of separation from several who have lost their homes. And now the healing begins. FEMA is here. Spots on the radio mention insurance teams with 24-hour call numbers. Calls and emails for extra clothes, books, beds, cars, rooms, trucks, and other items are making their rounds.

Tea Fire, and where we live

2008-11-14T11:57:00.004-06:00

Some more info on the fire, and the general geography around where we live.

Here is a map that shows the area, the evacuation zones, road closures, and some celebrity homes. Thanks to google-mashup!

View Larger Map

The area of CA around here is part of the "Central Coast". As you travel on north HWY101 (known as Ventura Freeway in LA), you pass thru out of LA County, thru Ventura County, then hit Santa Barbara County. The first city in Santa Barbara County is Carpinteria (where we live). This is the string of cities south to north (or really from east to west):

Carpinteria (pop. 14,000)
Summerland (1,500)
Montecito, where the fires are based (10,000)
Santa Barbara (89,000)
Goleta (55,000)

As you can see, the ocean is to the south of this area, so as you hear directions, please keep in mind that "from the hills" is "from the north".

We are about 5-10 miles or so from the fires. The winds were not blowing in our direction, so we didn't even smell the smoke, until about an hour ago.

Tea Fire in Montecito / Santa Barbara

2008-11-13T23:07:00.004-06:00

Tonight, I was coming back from dinner in Carpinteria. On the way back to Cate School, I saw a car come to a stop sign and wait a bit longer than normal. When I got to the stop sign at this intersection, I looked around and saw a fire in the hills.

View Larger Map

The "Tea Fire". Still going on. Several hundred acres, centered around LotusLand, Montecito Covenant Church, and Westmont College.

Here are some views of the fire:

This is from our porch, around 730PM:

About 840PM, from the Sunset Bench, north end of Long House:

things you can buy on amazon

2008-11-04T23:07:00.005-06:00

Don't ask me how I got to this page, but you can buy a UFO Detector on amazon.com.

But don't waste your money on this one; there's a newer, better model. It does look fancier, but I'll leave it to the experts to tell me if it works better.

Actual quotes from reviews:

"I purchased this item and am blown away by its effectiveness."

"Anyone serious about UFO hunting and exploration. needs this for their kit."

" Sure enough, one of those b*stards was right in my living room!"

Oh yea, this reminds me. I should edit my Amazon browsing history.

Game Theory and the Five-Year Old

2008-10-09T21:56:00.003-05:00

When I am not traveling, I usually bathe our kids. We have to decide who "goes" first, i.e., gets the first bath. For some reason, it is more desirable to be the second one to be bathed. Not sure why, but I suspect that it has to do with the incorrect perception that bathing second gives you more "play time". I think I would rather bathe in the clean water and thus go first, but I am not a three or five year old.

To decide who goes first, I play "ga-ee, ba-ee, bo", or rock-paper-scissors with my five year old. Actually, we play a modified version with rock-paper-pencil... I think I offered "pencil" instead of "bazooka" or whatever ordnance he originally threw in as a mod.

He asks me "what's your strategy?", to which I respond, "what's YOUR strategy?". He answers back with a smile, "my strategy is for YOU to tell me YOUR strategy". It makes me smile each time. He's so open that he actually tells me exactly what he wants. Then I go with one of two scripts:

SCRIPT 1:
Me: "My strategy is to tell you a strategy, then forget that strategy."

SCRIPT 2:
Me: "My strategy is to do paper, but if you know that I'm doing paper, you'll do pencil. Then I should do rock, but if I do rock, you'll do paper...", etc. I do this until we both get lost.

CD Rate chat w/ my bank

2008-09-26T11:33:00.002-05:00

Current Transcript of the Chat Session

Chat InformationYou are now chatting with Michael T.. Welcome to Bank of America. How can I help you complete your online checking or savings application today?

Michael T.: Welcome to Bank of America! I’m Michael, and I’m here to assist you with finding the account that best fits your needs. How may I assist you today?

You: Hi, just checking for CD rates and terms. I bet lots of folks are asking about this... any "economy meltdown promos" today?

Michael T.: Thanks for choosing Bank of America for your financial needs!
Michael T.: I’d be delighted to send the link for our CD rates and terms!
Michael T.: Please click here!

You: this seems to be a list of checking options

Michael T.: I sincerely apologize. The rates are not available online in your state.

You: is there a list of rates and terms?
You: uh... how can I find out about what is available?
You: can you look them up?

Michael T.: I can look up the information for you. If I may ask, how much are you looking to invest in your CD account?

You: Like these other banks:
You: http://www.chase.com/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/individuals/cds/page/cds
You: http://www.sbbt.com/

Michael T.: How much are you looking to invest in your CD account?

You: about ##K - ##K, maybe up to ##K, depending on terms
You: mostly interested in 9M to 2Yrs
Michael T.: Great! The best rate available is our 12 month CD. It is currently at 2.96%.
You: anything higher if I go ##K and 2 years?

Michael T.: This is the best available for the terms and balances in the CD you have requested.

You: ok, thanks

Michael T.: You're welcome!
=============
Santa Barbara Bank and Trust is doing 5% for 1000 minimum. JPMChase (congrats on picking up WaMu and welcome to the West Coast!) is doing 2-3% for "normal levels" and 3-4% for 7-48 months. To get 4.75% you have to do 84 months. Eight-Four Months? That's sometime in 2015.

charge!

2008-09-21T19:20:00.004-05:00

I was in Bakersfield, CA, for a few days last week. The first night, I did not sleep well. The next night, I had a strange dream that makes me wonder what else is floating around in my subconscious that gets pieced together to form such mini-narratives.

I find myself running. Lots of other folks around me all running, more like charging in the same direction. I look down and see that I am taking part in a civil war re-enactment exercises. Not sure how I knew it was only a re-enactment and not the real thing. It reminded me of how Quantum Leap starts.

I like history, but not a die-hard fan of Civil War. I think Glory is one of my favorite movies, and I think it's very interesting that Civil war re-enactors exist.

As I was running, I remember thinking, "what am I doing here?". I also remember being surprised at the length of the rifle I was carrying. (Yes, you amateur psychologists, go ahead.) I see the others start to ready their rifles as we start to line up in formation. I look down and see that I am equipped with the powder and sacs that I guess are used to "ready" my rifle. I recall thinking, "man, I hope I don't knock my eye out by mixing this wrong".

Then I wake up at the SpirngHill Suites, Bakersfield, my Blackberry playing Tune_BachFugueDMinor.

The day after Ike

2008-09-14T10:35:00.002-05:00

I am hearing from my family and friends in Houston. Power is out, and may be out until Tue/Wed. Landlines and cellphones work, but go in and out. Lots of trees and limbs through the roof. It's still raining. There is debris everywhere.

People are waiting outside Walmart, and Walmart is not even open. Waiting in the rain, some for hours. Better than waiting alone in a humid house. HEB is open, but only allowing a few people in at a time.

There are no visible signs of any work crews or law enforcement. Houstonians are generally good at those things that keep a society from boiling over. We get along with each other, enjoying each others' differences, food, holidays. But can it last for the days ahead?

Barenaked Ladies | Snacktime | The Grove | with surprise guest!

2008-06-11T22:40:00.019-05:00

We happened on their new album, Snacktime, while at the bookstore last week. We then happened to see a small listing in the LA Times about a promo gig at The Grove. In the interest of introducing our kids to live music, we decided it was important for us to go.

Before the start of the gig, I started to tell my 3.5 year old that she should ask for the set list after the show. We were able to sit in front of the chairs in the lawn area. Prime position for asking for the set list. As the band was leaving the stage, I walked up with daughter in hand and was able to get Jim C to get us a set list. We picked up Steven P's.

I've been trying to figure out what the "code" after the songs mean. It's hard to make out the letters, looks like a "AKN". I think these are the songs where Steve played guitar, and the "N" and "3" are the capo positions. I recall that he only had a guitar on a few songs, and only one change (to the same guitar) with a different capo setting.

For the real nerds who are still reading this... before they started their last song. They looked out at the audience and asked a friend to join them. "We have that thing you play", they said, as they welcomed Weird Al Yankovic to the stage.

That's him with the accordion, pumping away to $1000000. He even did a mini-solo. No one threw fishsticks or Kraft Dinners.

Texas BBQ in SoCal

2008-06-07T15:30:00.003-05:00

Not that I've looked much, it's hard to find good Texas BBQ here in South Bay. We've tried to look, but it's stuff like this that takes the fun out of looking.

What's with the lasso and swagger on our cowgirl? Come get your Texas cowgirl fantasy "howdy" here! Oh, it's good to see that (probably due to complaints) we now have "new family friendly cowgirl uniforms". Yee-haw!

My kids, who were born in Texas, are not going to grow up thinking this is what we do in Texas. We have good BBQ, really good BBQ. We have cowboys with weathered jeans who are gentlemen. We have cowgirls who drive trucks and know how to be a lady.

And our BBQ places have real smoke. If you are driving up to a "Texas BBQ" place, and do not see smoke, keep lookin'!

why the price of oil is so high

2008-05-02T01:09:00.004-05:00

Here is real reason why we are seeing high oil prices.

Start around time = 2:30 and go to around 4:00. Stick around to the end to see how it turns out!

I watched a bunch of shows like this growing up. Almost every day after school for years. Had I really paid attention, I could have called up the powers-that-be and warned them in advance!

signoff

2008-03-26T14:47:00.002-05:00

I work at a company that's very "virtual". We are a real company, but many of our people are not together in a physical office. We have locations in Austin, Boston, New York, London, California, and Houston (at last count, four in Houston, I think). Then we have lots of folks at home offices. Or airports, hotels, bars, anywhere with a good reception and connectivity.

So we end up talking a lot on the phone. I am starting to recognize folks by their voice; at one point, I hope to even meet some of them. Sometimes, the conference calls are quite large, approaching 10 people.

Inadvertently, I've been using a tagline as I hang up: "thanks to all". It's simple, and so far, I haven't heard anyone else using it. I'm hoping that t becomes a signature of sorts.

safe deposit box

2008-03-20T17:17:00.003-05:00

I am in a Raymond Carver story. We've recently moved to a new city. We're lost.

I opened a safe deposit box the other day; it came with my new bank account. I finally dropped some things in it.

Small gold cross pendant on a chain. This belonged to my maternal grandmother. She lived in LA and is buried in Rose Hill. I used to wear it years ago but haven't worn it in 10 years. When he is old enough, I will probably give it to my son, who inherited a part of his Korean name from her.
Small collection of maybe-rare coins. Over the years, I have pulled out some older coins that have circulated thru my hands. Nickels before 1964 and the like.
Hand-made wooden set of "yut" sticks. These were made by my paternal grandmother. They are traditional shape, each with a flat (inside) side and a curved (outside) side. Each piece has 3 scorch marks. Whenever I see these, I think of how my grandmother used to do lots with her hands. I didn't leave Korea with these. I think these were sent to us as gifts, perhaps fashioned from an old broom stick. At one point, my father wet back to Korea shortly before my grandmother sold her house. He brought lots of things back (his old stamp collection), but I think the yut sticks were not part of that cache.
Recent pictures of my children.

a mystery revealed

2007-09-03T15:37:00.000-05:00

I am still writing entries from my trip to China and Korea. It seems that I may have a second chance to go to China for business soon. The goal is to finish up the previous entries BEFORE I leave for the second trip.

There is a topic I've been wanting to blog for a few weeks, and it addresses one of the mysteries in my life. A little background: I was born in South Korea, and lived there for the 1st 7 years of my life. I was "fluent" in Korean and did not learn English until I moved to the States. So, for the 1st seven years of my life, I spoke, wrote, dreamt, thought in Korean... IF we explicitly use a specific language for such things. Someone once asked me... do you still "think" in Korean. My reply: "no, when I construct thoughts, that's done in English.". So, the natural question to ask is: "when and how did you make that transition to 'thinking' in English?".

I have never been able to answer that question. Was it gradual? Was it relatively sudden, say within a few days or a week? Was there a impetus? Is the question moot, as the kind of thoughts a seven-year old is likely to have would be insignificant? But there are larger questions: "how does thinking in one language actually shape the thinking?" and "what other kind of transitions were there for the seven-year old, such as cultural and relational?".

I was given a glimpse of a possible answer while I was in Korea a few weeks back. My Korean is not very good, but did improve during my time there. It was much more practical to blunder my way thru simple Korean than to try to communicate in English. I still had my pocket dictionary and phrasebook with me. And since I knew how to read Korean, and was with relatives, it was easy to get by.

I was being driven somewhere by my aunt, and I was taking in the street signs that had both Korean and English. As I was sounding out the street names in English, I distinctly remember thinking, IN KOREAN, "that sign is wrong, isn't it?" ("wrong", in how the Korean was phonetically translated into English... it turned out that it was correct*).

The reason why I thought this on Korean was NOT because my mind was in "Korean mode" or because my Korean had improved. I think the reason why I thought this was it was more "efficient" in terms of number of syllables and the construct required to express this sentiment. Sure, "that sign is wrong, isn't it?" is not a complicated English phrase, but the Korean was more efficient, "simpler", and more "at the ready" at the time I needed it.

So if my theory is correct, my guess is that I made the transition from English to Korean gradually, as my English improved and my ability to express what I needed to express became easier in English. This also explains why adults generally still think in terms of their first (or original) language. Their first language skills are developed enough to express the thoughts required. I don't know how quickly the transition came for me, but only that it probably came very naturally. The other transitions (such as my relationship with my parents and brother, cultural, school, etc.) probably played a key role, as it was probably easier to utilize new English words to deal with my new American life.

This may also explain why it seems easier for me to speak Korean to relatives compared to speaking with other Koreans. The Korean I know is mostly tied to my being a child. To my relatives, including my parents who have also been in the States for 30 years, I still have Korean words and constructs that work. I once tried talking in Korean to my fellow Korean counterparts when I was with a large consulting company. That was a difficult conversations... I lacked the words, the customs, it was awkward at many levels.

* The reason why the sign was "correct" is due to the fact that I was sounding out each Korean syllable in a strict sense, without taking into account that it fluent speaking, some of the ends of syllables are changed to accommodate the next sound. It reminded me of this.

Southeast Asia

2007-08-13T18:31:00.000-05:00

I am trying to catch up some posts. Just recently returned from a trip overseas to China and South Korea. China for business and a day of sightseeing; Korea for meeting up with family. Family I haven't seen in almost 20 years.

The journey starts here.

The Top Three tourist stops in Beijing

2007-08-07T17:41:00.000-05:00

Quick! can you name the top three tourist sites in Beijing? OK, you can probably guess the 1st two:

The Great Wall, or at least some segment of the Great Wall that's near Beijing
Then you have the Forbidden City (which is the "Palace Museum", and let's say you get Tiananmen Square for free)

So what's the 3rd? According to wikipedia (sourcing the China Daily), the 3rd best-known tourist destination is Silk Street shopping center. It is a mecca for travelers around the world, the uber-stall-mart for the new Millennium. It's a flea market on steroids, and the unprepared tourist can easily get lost and/or accidentally purchase gifts for friends they never thought about. Think of anything you can think of, and it's one sale.... well, actually that's not true. More on that later.

Our host, W, is very good at taking care of us. He had asked us earlier what we wanted to see in Beijing. One of our colleagues had heard of Silk Street, so it remained on our list, after the 1st two must-sees. We had a short 1.5 hours or so and a driver who could drop us off.

At first glance, it doesn't seem that spectacular. I have seen my share of china-town markets. I grew up in a part of the city where most everything was stalls that hocked everything from fruits, shoes, towels, school supplies, candy, and the like. But after checking out a few floors and the variety of merchandise, I must say that I was impressed.

Here is a sign that was in main lobby. I thought it was intended for the customers; a close look reveals that it's actually intended for the employees. On the left, you can see a part of a "best salesperson" list. What intrigued me wa the list of "Recommended Words" and "Forbidden Words" in English and Chinese.

"Recommended Words" include "Looks as though it was made only for you" and "It's my pleasure to help you". "Forbidden Words" include, "You are crazy", "Sh*t", "Stupid guys", and three phrases that are not translated. Does anyone know why?

arriving in Tianjin

2007-08-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

We arrive Sunday AM at the Tianjin Binhai International Airport. We are running late, but there is a nice calm and quiet to the airport. It's a nice modest airport without the craziness and crowds of LAX.

We pass through three screens: health quarantine, immigration, then customs. Each process is fast and efficient. The airport is small, and the distance from the first official (health quarantine) to exiting the secure area must be only a few hundred feet.

We exit the secure area, and there is the usual group of drivers with hand-made signs, along with plenty of family and friends faithfully waiting for passengers. We know someone will meet us, but we don't don't know who. Then we see a sign with the company letters. We point to him, he smiles and greets us.

The driver's van is parked in front of the exits of the airport. This is not really a parking lot, more like a waiting and flow-thru zone, where several lines help is organizing the cars. The van is less than 100 feet from the exits. "W" is our guide. I ask him, "is it always this easy at the Tianjin airport?". W responds in very good English, "yes, it's a smaller older airport". In the van, we make small talk about how Tianjin is the secret to arriving for the Olympics. At only an hour away, it's a viable option to the Beijing Airport.

>> continue with next post: The Top Three tourist stops in Beijing

Pocari Sweat -- the unfortunately-named drink

2007-08-04T08:25:00.000-05:00

Traveling to faraway lands is always a treat for me. When I went to Japan in 1998, I had the Lonely Planet guide with me. It warned me of an unfortunately-named drink called Pocari Sweat. It's a drink that is now widely available throughout Asia. I don't know what Pocari is, the "sweat" comes from the fact that it is a nutrient-replenishing drink. Like gatorade, it is mildly sweet, and replaces electrolytes. And yes, you say "sweat" as in "I ran so hard through the airport terminal, I am sweating."

It is an unfortunately-named drink and will not catch on widely in the US or most western nations.

We wait in the airline lounge at Incheon, trying to catch up on some work and do some planning for the upcoming meetings. We are also hungry. I make several rounds to the all-you-can-eat-and-drink bar at the lounge. And yes, you CAN make yourself a mixed drink at 6 in the morning.

Instead, I opt for several rounds of rice porridge and soy sauce, some canned iced coffee, fruit, and, of course, the Pocari. My colleagues ask, "does it taste good?". I answer, "the porridge is easy and filling after a long plane ride.... the Pocari is nice, but you have to get used to the taste a little bit."

>> continue with next post: arriving in Tianjin

land of the morning calm

2007-08-04T07:10:00.000-05:00

The LAX airport is a madhouse. We arrive late Friday evening: 10:30 PM. Airports are funny places... especially an international hub like LAX. Our flight to Incheon/Seoul leaves at 1:30 in the morning. Who leaves at 1:30 in the morning?

The several hours we have at LAX turns into a rush through exchanging terminals (existing security). I am also trying to re-book tickets so I can spend a few extra days in Incheon on the way back. I was born in Incheon and still have family on both sides of my family.

I trek through the passenger pickup area amid tired and baggage-laden travelers to make my way to Tom Bradley. Exhaust fumes mix honks from drivers looking for their late-night arrivals. Strollers and shoes make it hard for me to move in straight lines. I find my way to the Korean Airlines counter. We were told in Houston that even though we have boarding passes that take us all the way to Tianjin, China, we should re-check in once we arrive in LAX.

I try my Korean. I'll need it in a few days when I arrive in Incheon on the way back. I am able to get new boarding passes and get my ticket changed.

The flight is pleasant; I sleep. My row-mate is from Beijing, now living in LA. She travels to South Korea often for her work, staying weeks at a time. She tells me that during the last visit, she visited Beijing over the weekend. "I couldn't talk for the first day," she explains, "the pollution is that bad." She asks me where I am headed. "Tianjin".

Tianjin is an hour outside of Beijing, serving as the primary port. "Oh," she says with a apologetic smile. "Tianjin should be worse".

The plane starts the descent procedures. It is early morning in Korea, the "land of the morning calm". I look out the window. It does look calm. It's beautiful. It's the first time I see Korea in almost 20 years.

>> read next post: Pocari Sweat -- the unfortunately-named drink

I've been tagged

2007-07-10T13:01:00.000-05:00

some blog thing, I guess. since most people come to my blog from other blogs, i gotta oblige.

Eight things most people don't know about.

1. I don't like peanut butter. My family knows this, and my kids think it's very strange.

2. Speaking of food, I love ramen. I had plenty of it in grad school, but even now, with my per-meal budget increased to something above $1.59, I still like to enjoy ramen. I know many ramen tips and tricks, including the "egg secret". Yeah, I know, my family also knows this.

3. Things I wanted to be when I grew up: pilot, magician, trumpet player, detective, cowboy.

4. I hate wet socks.

5. I once pulled a fire alarm by mistake. It was at a place of residence early on a Saturday morning. It woke everyone up, officials showed up. I was never implicated.

6. I'm bad with remembering names, but I can remember songs and music from years ago, especially if I saw it live. I remember my brother-in-law calling from New Orleans telling me that he had gotten engaged; I remember this because "Rocky Top" was playing in the background. I remember some 4-piece band I saw in High School. Their short gig included "Boys of Summer", "Dreams", and "Subdivisions". I remember hearing my first rock when I must have been 5 years old. CCR, "Proud Mary".

7. When I was taking Tae Kwon Do in Korea (back when I was 5), I remember picking up my teacher's nunchucks. I remember how heavy they were, and I recall taking one of the handles and trying it out. Spin, spin, throw, spin.... Then I remember waking up on the floor with a pain in the back of my head. I was alone, and no one saw me. These things CAN knock you out.

8. I am fascinated about how locks work. In my life, I have picked a few locks and "cracked" a few combination locks.

the Health Savings Account and High Deductible Health Plans

2007-07-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

In the last several months, I've had several discussions about medical insurance, specifically about the Heath Savings Account and what it means to the folks looking for private insurance. Here is what I've learned about this.

Please note that I am not an expert in this area; this is just some info I've collected from my personal experience. I have tried to be as accurate as possible, including #'s, but I am relying on memory for a lot of this stuff. When I was looking for info on private health insurance (or medical insurance you buy on your own and not through your company), I was surprised at how little (useful) info was available. So here goes.

1. My experience may not reflect yours. Like buying car insurance, they ask for your zip code. And of course there are scores of MBA and spreadsheets that zero in on how your race, age, existing conditions, and the like affect your price and options. If you find a better experience, let me know.

2. My situation: I'm a healthy Asian male, mid-late thirties. Wife + 2 kids. Some pre-existing conditions, but no chronic really-bad-stuff. Applying for any private insurance is a long process of digging up a lot of stuff from your medical past. I recommend setting aside a few months for the process.

3. In Texas, I found two main options that appealed to me. Aetna and Unicare. I applied for and got accepted by both (yes, they can reject you, include exclusions, and/or make you pay more than the published rate). At each provider, there were several options available. Both were generally helpful in guiding me towards the options that made sense for my family. However, like all things like this, DO YOUR OWN MATH. You know your risks and situation better than a salesperson or a web-based "let us help you choose" form.

4. When I was with a "big company", I was paying $250 a month for my family insurance. This was for PPO, with a pretty good co-pay. My out-of-pocket costs were very manageable, and there was very little filing I had to worry about. After I left, I signed up for Cobra (in Texas, laws require a company to offer COBRA for 18 months). COBRA is basically the same sets of options from your employer offered to ex-employees "at cost". I ended up paying $950 a month (yikes!) for effectively the same coverage as before.

5. As COBRA was running out, I found private insurance at about the same cost. It was similar coverage with a few exceptions. The biggest exception I remember is that pregnancy was NOT covered. I did this for a year. I was getting tired of paying close to $1000 a month for insurance. We are healthy folks and I started shopping around.

6. I was introduced to something new called a Health Savings Account. This is like a Medical savings Account with a few key differences. I never had a MSA; it didn't really appeal to me. But the HSA has some stuff that makes it very attractive to me. Here are the highlights.

a. You (or your employer) put money away in your (or your family's) HSA. The amount is tax deductible up to a certain amount (around $2,500 a year for individuals, around $5,000 for families -- the exact amount of tax-deductibility is explained IRS-style in IRS Publication 969). Depending on your tax bracket, this can save you $1000-$1800 in taxes. The HSA is managed through a bank (mine is with Chase), and it acts like a normal debit-card-type account.

b. You can use the amount in your HSA on qualified Medical and Dental Expenses (read all about it in IRS Publication 502!). Here's the key difference between a HSA and an MSA. MSA requires you to spend the entire amount every year. No so for a HSA. Your contributions "roll over". If you are healthy and have no need to spend down this account, this effectively becomes another tax-deductible retirement account that can grow quite big. You can spend it years later for any medical expenses, or receive tax-free distributions for non-medical purposes if you become disabled or reach age 65.

7. Here's the catch: You can only take advantage of the HSA if you are in a "High Deductible Health Plan" or HDHP (when you shop for insurance, the providers will tell you which plans qualify as a HDHP). These plans generally work like this: Premiums (monthly costs) are mush cheaper (I now pay $400 a month). They cover annual checkups with a low co-pay. But you have to cover your own costs otherwise, until you hit a "high deductible" (typically around $2500 for individuals or $5,000 for families).

8. Paying a few thousand dollars each year for health care sounds crazy. However, I am saving $500+ a month in premiums ($6,000 a year!), and I get tax benefits (let's say $1,500 a year). And you can still qualify for the "negotiated rates", which is much less than the "listed rates" for health care costs. Also, if I stay healthy, and I have no need to for anything beyond the basics, I don't have to spend from my HSA. If something horrible happens and I need severe medical care, after I reach my deductible, I am basically covered for all medical costs after that.

9. The logic for allowing us to do HSAs with a HDHP goes something like this. Health care costs have gone crazy, and it looks like it will continue to do so. Many of us are relatively healthy and have the means of coughing up a few thousand dollars if we were to say, break an arm. Allowing the consumer to think more about the direct costs will make us shop around or do the smart thing, such as do more preventative care. I think this makes sense. Unfortunately, from what I pick up from the media, these HSA+HDHP's have not been as popular as anticipated.

10. Some downsides. It takes more work. Since I am paying "more" for each incremental visit to the Drs, I find myself looking over the paperwork and checking the math much more than with a traditional co-pay PPO. Also, if you don't save in your HSA, you're not really taking full advantage. This takes discipline, and may not be a good idea if you are not already saving in your other retirement accounts.

11. Upsides. If you (or your family) is relatively healthy, and you have the means to put away a few thousand dollars a year (and want to save in taxes), and have the ability to absorb a limited unexpected medical bill, this set-up is great for you. And of course, much cheaper insurance premiums.

12. Additional note. From what I understand, a HSA+HDHP is also available thru an employer, although the economics will be different (probably better, since the employer may actually fund your HSA as well).

Good luck!

And off we go!

2007-02-20T11:20:00.000-06:00

We meet downstairs at the hotel at 5:30AM Today is the day we get to visit the offshore installation. From my notes I have that there is a daily helicopter flight from Snake Island to the facility every day at 8:30AM.

Yes, Snake Island. I briefly wonder why they call it that.

The shuttle from the hotel makes its way thru Lagos as the city wakes up to start another day. Auto traffic is starting to pick up, but the foot traffic is already crowded some sidewalks, spilling into the streets. It's a long drive, at least with the slowdowns to accomodate traffic and severe potholes. The vehicles indicate that we are nearing a port, and we pass through some gates. We finally arrive facing the water and a pier. There is a ferry with the words

"Texas Express" painted across the side. Its font and paint make reminds me of signs of nostalgic Americana that I have seen in restaurants in Houston. Our caravan is one shuttle and one escort vehicle. There are three passengers, one shuttle driver and 2-3 security personnel in the escort vehicle. Security exit their vehicles and keep an eye on the situation as the light starts to reveal some details.

There is trash pooling up where at the triple intersection of the water, the concrete pier and the hard sand/rock surface. There is a large freighter not too far away. We are told to make two lines (queues, with the British influence). The lines grows. This is a commuter ferry that takes people; I know this from the people who make their way out of our ferry which has arrived and my fellow queue-mates.

We arrive at the other pier. Unlocked bicycles await many of the commuters as they exit, making room for other commuters and schoolchildren in uniform. I see a sign indicating where I should go. Another gate, another layer.

It's a long process of filling out forms, weighing self and luggae, inspection, immigration, etc. Then we watch a helicpoter safety video. After the video, there is an oral test. The young woman had warned us that there several individuals will be questioned. She asks 4 or 5 questions to different people, they pass, so we all pass.

We don our safety harnesses equipped with inflatable life jacket and light. They pass out ear protection equipment. We suit up, check straps, alcohol-clean the over-the-ear protectors. We approach the Eurocopter in a single file. There is no ambiguity on where we are to go and what we are to do. Crews are stationed at regular intervals and at critical junctions, stopping traffic as necessary. Our luggage is lined up and we are to pick up our luggage and hand deliver it to the crew loading in the back of the helicopter.

I am one of the last to board. The rotors pull down the warm air from the engine. The crew at the door instruct me to "go right, deep". I take the window on the last row. This is a large helicopter, able to accomodate ~20 passengers and 2 crew. I see that there are more ground crew than I had originally counted, including at least one individual behind what looks like a very large fire extinguisher. A crowd gathers around the fence. I hear the engines roar and there is dust and debris all around.

I look at my watch. With all the steps in the process and the waiting.... we do indeed take off right at 8:30 AM.

It's nice to be with a local

2007-02-18T21:08:00.000-06:00

Also unlike last time, this time we are in the company of some locals. Our business partner spends half his time in Nigeria. He has a guesthouse and drivers. He has a local cell phone.

He waited for us outside the airport. It took us about an hour to go thru what seemed like 3-5 different lines and as many checkpoints to clear immigration. There were plenty of officers, but every one wanted to see the passport. First there was the guy with a desk in the middle of the line. Then a lady who directed you to another line.

Then there was guy #1 at the podium, who looked at your passport, and put it at the bottom of a stack that the final officer was working thru. Serial vs parallel processing. Good for hooking up computer hardward, bad for processing passports.

Our business partner waves at us. We work our way thru the crowd. We approach a gate of sorts where an opening is large enough for one person and whatever he or she might be carrying, but no more. It is a one-way gate surrounded by bodies and baggage. As we approach... we hear an altercation between someone just outside the gate and one of the officers.

Man: Get your hands off me!
Officer: -unintelligible, but talking and shoving-
Man: I will miss my flight! You will make me miss my flight!

There is pushing and things look bad. Our ever-practical business partner says, "we'll just wait here a minute". We don't need much convincing.

the world cell phone

2007-02-18T11:02:00.000-06:00

Here's how the rental "world phone" worked for our last trip.

First you have to order the phone.

1. You call and order your world phone. You tell them what countries you will visit and the dates of travel.
2. They FedEX you the phone, adaptors, and a fanny pack to store everything.
3. The phone number has a country code of 423. Don't know your country codes off hand?

That country code belongs to Liechtenstein. Don't know your geography? I had never heard of this place. Katheryn said, "isn't that where they launder money?".

Then you get to take your phone on your trip and try to make a phone call. Silly me, I didn't read the directions. I knew that there were a finite # of possibilities... how do I "dial out" or Nigeria, what's the country code for the US, etc. And I even did my research and carried with the necessary access codes.

I tried calling out for about 30 minutes. I got a "network busy" or "error". Figuring it was the network, I waited and tried again. THEN, I read the instructions. In order to MAKE a call.... you first have to call some # in Liechtenstein. It will still say "error"... but then they call you back in a minute or so. THEN you can punch in the #.

Wrong buttons, and you start all over again.

It took about a day and a half for us to figure out how to do this. Actually, the 1st phone call is when Katheryn calls me....

This time, I have my own GSM phone. T-Mobile tells me I can make and receive calls from overseas. I called T-Mobile earlier this week to check. We specificially check Nigeria. Then we specifically check Lagos. I have them list out the specific GSM carriers that I had seen in Lagos. Two carriers on Lagos, across 3 GSM frequencies that my phone will handle.

We'll see. I describe Lagos as a city where things don't work. Lights go out, buses break down, signal lights are dark. Even after I figured out how the rental cell phone was supposed to work, the network is unreachable or busy about half the time. Our hotel is supposed to have broadband in the rooms. We'll see.

up in the air

2007-02-18T10:25:00.000-06:00

I'm better prepared this time, having learned from my first trip. For example, I packed light(er), opting for my rolling carry-on instead of the larger suitcase. My last time in Lagos, we had to wait 45 minutes for bags to come out.

Whenever I fly for business--even for short trips--I find that somehow I am in no-man's land. It's like all the system of airports are somehow in its own dimension, and the layovers airports do not really exist in real space. Only when you exit the airport or board a leave-the-airport train do I feel that I am entering the real world. There are several visual clues that validate this: all airports have a similar smell, signs are similar, and although I know the airport workers are local real people, their uniforms, practiced scripts and standard operating procedures tell me that they, too, have entered into this airport dimension.

I am in Schiphol now, the airport in Amsterdam. Sitting at the airport lounge, in the same table I sat on my last trip to Lagos. I am tired, but I'm not sure I can sleep if given the chance. Takeoff from Houston, to tochdown in Lagos will take more than 24 hours, stopping by Newark and Amsterdam. I am hungry, but the breakfast offerings don't appeal to me. The lounge has a smoking room in the back and it's imipossible to keep the smoke from entering into the main area. This and the dry heat from the vents add to my discomfort.

Last time, we had rented a "world phone". This time, I have my own GSM phone, and have enabled the international voice and email plans. I can check email. Yipee. It's early Sunday morning in the US, and all I'm getting are Viagra spam ads. At least I'm no longer receiving the Nigeria-money-transfer spam.

farewell, good knight!

2007-02-07T20:36:00.000-06:00

Another Houston music locale is about to be razed to make room for "progress". The Gallant Knight on Holcombe has been a Houston institution for 3 decades. It's a modest little house that somehow was able to squeeze in a dance floor, a bar, a sitting area of sorts, and some bathrooms. Oh yeah, there was the "stage area" that was more of the side of the dance floor.

That was one of the greatest things about this place. You danced WITH the band. You could hear the musicians talk to each other. You could check out which chord inversions were being used (keyboards) or whether the drummer was using nylon or wooden tips.

Here's how I described the venue to a co-worker:

"Imagine an old house that's about to fall apart. The floors are uneven, you see no clear exits in case of a fire, and it's somehow possible to get lost in this very small space. What was probably the living room is now a dance floor, and it's packed with people who may or may not be able to dance... but it doesn't matter. 'Cos the music is loud and fast, and everyone is dancing. The band is within nose-picking distance, and if you're not careful, you will get hit with a trombone slide. In fact, sometimes you're dancing amongst the band when it gets too crowded. The bathrooms are beyond any kind of redemption, and the sitting area is filled with couples who should get a room."

OK, so not for everyone, but it was the best house party in town!

Alas, I saw that it had some sign out front, and the marquee had nothing legible. A few days ago, I saw this ominous-looking excavator-demolisher, ready to do its damage.

Farewell, good knight!

There are rumors of a new Gallant Knight, but in this era of building codes and smoking ordinances, it'll never be the same.

new start

2007-01-25T19:08:00.000-06:00

I am in Santa Monica, traveling with my family this week.
I exited the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10), and saw what looked like a beggar asking for money. He had a sign. These hand-made signs usually come in one of several flavors.

1. Simple Slogan. Examples: "please help", "Thank you", "God Bless".
2. Story. Example: "Disabled Gulf War I vet, medicare can't help. I have hungry family and a dog. ETc."
3. Combination. Simple slogan in center, with more text filling in edges.

The sign I saw today... I don't know how to interpret. It simply said:

New Start

What does that mean? Maybe he's not begging for anything, but encouraging us to start anew with the new year. Maybe I couldn't see the rest of the sign. Maybe it's a new cult he'd like to start.

breaking up isn't so hard to do

2006-12-11T13:47:00.000-06:00

I've been with Sprint (now Sprint with Nextel) for many years. Three phones, 3 contracts, each for 2+ years 9so it must have been ~8 years or so). Same phone number. I was on a "family plan"... we were a great customer... recurring revenues of $100 each and every month.

We were "out of contract", meaning that we were outside their two-year requirement. Month-to-month, ready to be poached by another carrier. With number protability and companies getting better at doing the number portability, it came time to shop around.

So I called Sprint 1st. I wanted to see how much they loved me.

I was on a "Free and Clear Plan":
750 shared minutes across three lines for $80. Addt'l minutes were $0.40. Analog roaming was extra. No international coverage, no text, no data plan. Through USAA, I was getting a nominal savings of ~$5 a month. Big deal.

My average useage was 585 "anytime" minutes over the last 18 months. However, my standard deviation was ~250 minutes! This included a few months over the last year where we went over to 773, 910 and 820 minutes. I had to look for another plan.

I didn't feel the love from Sprint. They steered me to their (better) Fair and Flexible plan. But they had a huge gap between a plan for 700 minutes and 1400 minutes. OK, so there was a "pay as you eat" element ($5 for each incremental 30 minutes)... it wasn'ty compelling enough for me. I asked to talk to customer retention.

You can find other stories of people doing well with customer retention. Free phones, free vision, better rates. Here's an example from an unnamed friend of my brother's:

I'm paying $115 for 4 phones, sharing 2280 minutes; N&Wk start at 7PM;
all except one have free internet access ~ txt msg. Those are the basic
features.

Not bad. I mentioned the info on competing plans... All the while, looking to feel the love. It wasn't there.

So now I am with T-Mobile. 1000 "whenever" minutes shared across 3 phones for $80. It's not complete apples-to-apple comparison.

Carrier	Minutes	$/month	Free minutes start/end	Calls that don't count
Sprint	750	$80	7PM weekdays to 6AM	All calls count
T-Mobile	1000	$80	9PM weekdays to 7AM	Other T-Mobile phones

2006-11-30T10:45:00.000-06:00

I have joined Blackberry Nation.

I received my new Blackberry Pearl from wirefly on Monday. It is a beautiful little phone/PDA. I had never been attracted to the bulkier BB units, and the previous non-full keyboard models didn't do much for me.

I had been with Sprint for many, many years, and was "out of contract". I had called Sprint several times over the last few months to see what kind of customer retention plans they would offer me. Nothing seemed to say "we love you" very much. So I started shopping around for services and phones.

The service options I was confronted with is worthy of a separate post. For now, a quick review of the Pearl after having it in my hands for 3 days, and operational (connected to network) for 2 days.

It's wonderful. It'll take me a few weeks to fully try out all the features I'd like to try out. And there are some features that I may eventually get to. It is packed with stuff! Here are some of the "why I'm already starting to love my BB Pearl":

Email set-up was super easy. I couldn't believe how easy it was, for both my gmail and work emails. for work email, I typed in my email address and password, and it did the rest. I was receiving email in 15 minutes. For gmail, I pointed my browser in Pearl to gmail.com/app and it did the rest. Setup was typing in my gmail userID and password.
The screen is wonderful. I had (still have) the Palm Tungsten T3, which of course has a larger screen. But the resolution on the Pearl rivals the T3 (which has "hi-res" pixels). The Pearl also uses some kind of sensor to auto adjust the brightness.
The trackball. When I visited the T-Mobile store, I tried out a real Pearl. I thought the track ball was a"simulated" track ball, that was more like the "eraser-head pointer" on the IBM Thinkpads. The Pearl has a real track ball. You can roll around and click. AND, it lights up with this cool glow. Hence the name "Pearl". We'll see what happens if we get dirt in there... I recall some old "ball" mice I had to clean out frequently.
It's sexy. I've never been the one to consider the phone as a fashion accessory, but this is the most fashionable accessory I have. Plus, I was flipping thru Vanity Fair and saw an ad and a review for the Pearl. If it's good enough for Vanity Fair (with Brad Pitt on the cover)...
Ask me how much I paid for it! Had I gone thru a retail store (either the T-Mobile "corporate store" or a independent store), I'd have to shell out hundreds of $'s. Even with rebates, it would be at ~$200, plus tax. Thru wirefly, I got it for $50 after rebates, no tax. Just reasonable FedEX shipping.
SureType® keyboard technology in a QWERTY-style layout. OK, so I copy/pasted the previous sentence from the BB website. The SureType seems to work. It "learns" two ways. You make corrections if it guesses wrong, and it somehow "reads" emails or other stuff you have. After a few days of email, I saw that it had learned a bunch of words I hadn't typed but were in some emails and documents I had received.

I imagine that the list will grow. I had read on-line of 2 items of dissatisfaction. One was that the back cover would come off and would loosen the battery. The other is SW glitches. I have had the SW hang up once, and it came back fine after I rebooted, no data lost. The cover seems fine for me.

So, now I have to go excercise my thumbs to reduce the likelihood of BlackBerry thumb syndrome.

our mail today

2006-11-14T10:21:00.000-06:00

Our mailman must hate the days that InStyle gets delivered. Have you seen the size of this magazine?!??

Today, when I picked up all the mail that had come thru the mail slot, it felt REALLY heavy. I saw the InStyle, but then I saw Ophrah! And the deluge of a holiday catalogs have already started! When will it end.

For fun, I stacked today's mail and weighed it. 8 lbs.

Pics from from Nigeria

2006-11-08T06:51:00.000-06:00

Mostly pictures from my ride back to the airport. A few views from the hotel.

Read the start of the journey here.

at the Client

2006-10-30T15:30:00.000-06:00

We board the shuttle and make our way through the streets this morning. The light reveals more detail of the buildings and streets from the 1st night. Not more life, just more details. We pass by a bank of what look like diplomats' houses. Large, with spacious receiving areas in the front yard, gates and fances... except these buildings/houses/mini-palaces are deserted. They have a view to the beach... except that the beach is filled with trash, tents and propped-up corrugated metal that serve as shelters. Lagos used to be the capital, and has seen better days.

The shuttle weaves through streets of pedestrians, schoolchildren, food vendor-stalls, and motorcycles. Commuter traffic. I observe that not one light signal is working. Who needs it, anyway?

The shuttle takes a turn into a street between two tall buildings. It's much darker, not only because we lack sunlight on the streets, but becuase many buildings here are dark. They didn't start dark... they've turned dark from neglect. Paint falls, there is mold and dirt, tiles are broken.

Without warning, the shuttle stops and people start to make their way out. There are vehicles in front of us and on the other side of the street, so I can't tell where the client building is. No matter, I'll follow someone. I just hope I don't get lost.

I figure it out. The client building is the one with half dozen security guards around. They are observant, eyeing all the folks off the shuttle and the person-caravan that quickly walks down the street to the gate. My colleague and I are stopped; we don't have badges. He holds us just inside the gate and asks to check our bags. He passes a metal detector across our bodies. Then we are told to wait in the reception area.

See pictures here.

1st day

2006-10-29T19:30:00.000-06:00

Weather.com reported that Lagos will be mid 70's to mid 80's with a 60% chance of rain the entire week I am here. We saw thunder from the airplane during the initial descent. The rain held off when we arrived, but for most of this evening, there has been rain. Lots of rain. And thunder.

I was in the bathroom washing my face when all the lights went black. I opened my eyes to the silence as the TV and AC went dead. I thought, "OK, first, let's dry off and open the bathroom door. There will be some ambient light." I feel for the door, open it, and wait for my eyes to get used to the light.

I see nothing.

When I had worked in Taiwan, I had a colleague who was there during the 1999 earthquake. She told me that since then, she's always made sure that her backpack was "ready to go" with water & passport, in case she needed to run out the door. I decide to start packing.
Thanks to how the modern road warriers are equipped, there are several items that can provide light in my room. I run down a list of my devices, listing each location and status.

Laptop: on small circular table by window, battery is charged, currently off.
Palm T3: in the safe, portable, could become very handy if I need to walk down the dark stairs.
iPod 3G 15GB: also in the safe, always important to make a fashion statement, yes, but small screen, low lumens. Low battery.
My cell phone: in the safe, like the T3, portable and could become handy if I need to "run"
Rental cell phone: in my colleagues room.
Camera: How fun! Dual-purpose "flash, blind and show my room in little spurts" as well as "document my path".

So I head out the bathroom. It is pitch dark thanks to the thick shades. I crouch down to reduce the liklihood of falling or knocking things over. I make it over to the circle table. Almost knock over the glass of water but somehow catch it. I open the laptop and tilt the screen 180 degrees from the keyboard, so it faces the ceiling. I look outside; this side of the street is dark, save for the Mercedes rolling its way to the front of what must look like one of the buildings I saw last night.

I start packing. I have fresh water from room service, but it's 1.5 ltrs. I saved the bottle from last night (0.75 ltrs) so I decide that I will refill the smaller bottle. I grab my passport and place it in the backpack. I start to think of clothes I will want to have on me if I need to leave. Jeans...all purpose. Short sleeve button-down. Walking shoes.

I start to think of all the other items I need as the laptop will be the last thing I will place in the backpack. Then the lights come back on. I wait, make a visual of the room, in case the lights go out again, and plan my path of device/clothes acquisition.

The lights stay on. I postpone my evening shower for an hour or so.

We will lose electricity one more time before I turn in. Something to get used to.

Read the next post: at the client.

Lagos

2006-10-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

We arrive and find our contact, a man with a clipboard with our handwritten names. Our flight is late so we are the last on his list to be checked off. We board the company shuttle. The windows are double-paned and the ac is blowing but they do not keep out the cacaphony nor the wet air.

The shuttle is traveling faster than the other cars. Perhaps this is normal for the company shuttle; colleagues who have traveled to Iraq tell me that you can't take pictures en route simply because things are moving too fast. We are not in Iraq and I don't know if we are approaching Iraq speed, but we are moving at "convoy speed". And the other cars know to get out of the way.
I hear the pulses of a siren warning cars ahead and I realize that we are being accompanied by a modern SUV with flashing lights on top. Nice to have escort. We pass by many building that seem empty; in the dark it's hard to tell. So many seem to be half-built or half-torn, or half-rebuilt and forgotten. Dots of single low-wattage light bulbs reveal a small market, makeshift homes, and the in-between spaces.

We pass a nice buildboard for a Sony Wega. It's better lit than five acres it surrounds.

At regular intervals on the larger roads, there are many buses that wait on the side. Many have people waiting in them. I see no bus stop signs. Has the bus broken down? Is this a stop that everyone just "knows"? Or is there another reason that's too elaborate to explain?

I see walled compounds, barbed wire, and heavy doors. I also see something I remember at my grandmother's place in South Korea: sharpened glass cemented to the tops of walls. In the right light, it can look pretty, mosaic-like. But we are moving too fast for me to know.

Read next post: 1st day.

en Route to Amsterdam

2006-10-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

I've done international trips before, but this trip has a few firsts. My first to have 3 flight legs. First time to Africa.

This is a work-related flight, but since we are footing our own expenses, we had decided to fly coach. We made up for it by making arrangements to sit in the airline clubs between flights. I have some long layovers on this intinerary.

Outbound: EWR 2.0 hrs; AMS 4.5 hrs
Inbound: AMS 8.5 hrs

After a few calls and research on the internet, we identified the "rules" associated with our quest to be allowed into World Clubs.

Buy a one-year membership, and you have all the access you want. Nice, but expensive, and more than what we need.
One-day memberships are avaiable, but are not accepted internationally. Not an option for us, as most of the wait time will be in Amsterdam.
They have a 60-day membership that IS good internationally, but it must be purchased BEFORE arriving at the international location.
Houston does NOT have a World Club.

The plan was to arrive in Newark, make my way into the World Club, purchase a 60-day membership, then enjoy the membership in Newark for whatever time remained before I had to make my connection for Amsterdam.

I arrive in Newark. I gather from the map that I am not in a terminal with a World Club. No problem. I leave the secure area, ride the tram to Terminal B. I call World Club and get info on the location of the club. When I arrive at the secuirty check-in, I see a line that would easily take 20 minutes to get through. The numbers don't work in my favor. I call World Club and explain my situation. "I need to get a World Club member before I leave the States, but I can't get to a World club and make it back for my connecting flight".

"I can enroll you over the phone" she tells me. She has dealt with desparate travelers before."But how do I tell the folks in Amsterdam that I have a membership? Can they look me up?""The international lounges can't look you up, you have to show up with a membership ID."There's a pause as we both consider options.She responds, "I can fax you a letter of introduction with your name and membership # and fax it to Continental's President Club, which you'll have access to once you're enrolled."

"Can Continental look me up and see that I'm a member?"
"Yes, the info is updated immediately, and you can enjoy benefits right away".
"And I guess they have a fax machine there?"
"They should, and I'll write the letter and fax it there".

I give my credit card info and receive a World Club membership #. I punch it into my PDA as I exit the tram. At the entrance to the President's Club, I give my #, ID and boarding pass. I am allowed entrance. I ask about the fax #. "It's in the business center."

The "business center" is one lonely fax machine, one or two copiers and some brochures. I see no instructions on the fax machine, no "my number is...." sticker, nothing. I pick up the phone and call my cell. "Please ring, please ring....". My cell phone finally vibrates with a New Jersey phone number. I call World Club again. I happen to get the same person who typed up the letter. "Thank you", I say as I read her the number. "I think that's it."

"I'll send it now.""OK, I'm standing right by the fax machine."We wait. Please ring.
I hear a ring, and I thank her again. She wishes me a nice flight. My letter arrives. I read it over, fold it up, and keep it with to my passport and boarding pass.

I write this from the World Club in Amsterdam.

Read next post: Lagos.

The Journey Starts

2006-10-27T09:30:00.000-05:00

"Can you lose five pounds?" The attendant on the other side of the international kiosk asked as I punched thru the self-check-in menu. "A pair of jeans and some shoes should do it."
I had overpacked, as I usually do. My excuse was that I needed both my backpack and by computer bag; the former for the flight, the latter for the client meetings. "They are very British, you know," our associate had told us in one of the first meetings we had months ago. The black no-nonsense laptop bag was to help me appear more professional and formal than a blue Eastpak bag would.

I had also packed two small bottles of water. With our arriving late Saturday evening into Africa, I didn't know what kind of supplies would be available for us. OK, so we're staying at a western hotel with Internet access. However, I though bringing a few bottles of water would be a wise thing to do.

Five pounds or $25 surcharge. I had packed dense. I had distributed the weight properly, with heavier stuff at the bottom. There was more room in the suitcase, but thought that I had packed enough clothes. I headed off into the corner of the check-in area and proceeded to open my backpack (which I would take on the plane) and the suitcase (which I would check-in).
I took out a pair of jeans, but thought of no way of taking out shoes as well. I could carry the shoes in their shoe-bag, but wanted to avoid digging too deep into the suitcase where the shoes had been packed. I took out some shorts. I looked for other dense stuff. I had a limited amount of space in my backpack, already bulging with my laptop, power brick, and various power adaptors. I saw a belt. Then I remembered the water. "I'm thirsty", I said to myself, "and it's always good to stay hydrated, esepcially when flying through so many miles".

The scale shifted back and forth between 49.5 and 50.5 pounds. She let me go with it. "Checked in all the way to Africa." Then I remembered that I couldn't take water with me through security. "Oh well, better than losing my belt or jeans".

Read the next post: en route to Amsterdam.

more Jazz (part 3)

2006-10-24T22:08:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back, we went to The Red Cat Cafe as part of Katheryn's birthday celebration. KTSU as hosting a band with New Orleans roots.

Bleu Orleans played a few sets. This was jazz, but the instrumentation, tempo, and repetition made me think of "funk jazz" or modern jazz. The keyboard and trumpet had most of the lead, with electric guitar and some sax taking turns as well. The tempo was mostly fast, and the structure of most of the pieces called for improv thru lots of measures (some passages were 10, 16 and more measures long).

I heard something encouraging.

During "Ocean View", I was able to recognize the repeating pattern. It was longer than the 4 measure repeating chords I was used to rock and roll. It also had an extra measure thrown in with some syncopated beats. BUT, I found that once I saw the pattern, I was able to follow along. Who cares about how difficult the chords could be... all "hard" chords could be reduced to easier chords.

I've been trying to figure out how I can "get into more jazz". My working thesis is: "I can only get into music that I have a chance to actively play". Just listening or watching someone play isn't enough. But how do I play jazz? I can't just pick up an instrument and play jazz, can I?

A few years back, I got myself a Yamaha QY70 (ebay thru some music store in NYC). It came with a nice surprise... a few songs in its memory. Maybe these were preloaded by Yamaha, but I'd like to think that they were used on a solo trumpet/sax player doing gigs around the city.

One progression caught my attention. A nice tempo and a easy jazz feel. I rearranged a few of the measures and cut it down to a repeating 8-bar phrase:

| F | FM7 | F#dim | C7 C7+b9 |
| FM7 | Dm7 D7 | Gm7 | C7 C7+b9 |

Now THIS is something I can wrap my hands around. F is a nice key, and I love those nice 7s. The tempo is right and there's enough room in the sparse accompanyment of easy set and bass to allow for "bad" notes.

So, in my quest for discovering the secret of jazz, I start with something that takes advantage of what I know. I can do easy chords.

where to sit on Southwest Airlines flights

2006-08-30T08:03:00.000-05:00

I recently flew a quickie from Houston to San Antonio and back. We were in the air for under 30 minutes each way. I happened to sit next to an off-duty SWA flight attendant and her mother. She knew exactly which row to sit in.

Row 17.

Why Row 17? Row 1 was already taken, and Row 9 didn't have two seats open for her and her mother. All Southwest flights have the same # of rows. The flight attendants split the rows into three sections, starting at Row 1, then Row 9, then Row 17. These are the rows that get the drinks 1st.

If the flight is not full, they MIGHT start at row 8 or 16, and if you can't get 9 or 17, sitting in 10 or 18 isn't bad. But on a flight that lasts 27 minutes in the air, and you want to enjoy your drink, you don't want to be part of the last set of drinks served.

OK, so this is not a huge secret, but a handy tip that might bring an interesting element to your next SWA flight. She also told me that when the air bag falls down, most people don't do ANYTHING. They just look up at the bag and do NOTHING. Kids, on the other hand (possibly since they have no concept of mortality) reach up and try to put it on.

the mp3 roulette

2006-08-19T23:31:00.000-05:00

Here we go again!
Rules:

1. Open your mp3 player application.
2. Select the "shuffle" feature. "Shuffle" your selection.
3. Log the 1st 10 songs (artist/album) in the response to this post.
4. Do NOT skip over that embarrassing song that came up. You MUST list the 1st 10 songs. Only exception is if you have an artist or album that is repeated.
5. Log your 10 songs in your own blog and encourage others to play this game.

My list:
1. Too Much / Dave Matthews Band / Crash
2. You Never Can Tell / Emmylou Harris / Best Of Emmylou Harris
3. You're The Storm / The Cardigans / Long Gone Before Daylight
4. Shape Of Things Things To Come / Melissa Morris / Shape Of Things To Come
5. The Sea / Morcheeba / Big Calm
6. Time / Fastball / The Harsh Light Of Day
7. It's Been Great Afternoon / Merle Haggard / More Of The Best
8. Tell Me How You Feel / Phil Keaggy / Phil Keaggy and Sunday's Child
9. Suzanne / Weezer / Weezer
10. Finest Hour / Duran Duran / Astronuat

If my playlist = my life right now, what does this mean?

The Secret of Jazz (part II)

2006-08-14T20:18:00.000-05:00

I am continuing my search for the secret of jazz.

In order for me to learn about jazz, I have to listen to it. Ideally, I'd be playing it, but that's difficult for me now. There's no better way to learn about music, in my opinion, than to just play it. That forces you to break things down, then put it back together. Even if it's simply tapping along or whistling, music likes an active listener/player.

So where do I "find" jazz to listen to? I guess there are lots of resources. We have the Ken Burns series on Jazz, but Katheryn and I find it difficult to find enough time to pop in a dvd, let alone a new series. We are still working our way through Alias... current somewhere early in Season 3. No spoilers, please.

I've checked out a few net radio places. I've been generally disappointed with net radio, which is too bad. Perhaps it's the sound quality, perhaps it's the inclusion of DJs, but for whatever reason, I have, after years of several attempts, never caught on to any net radio. iTunes allows you to dial into a few stations, but for whatever reason, I don't like that either.

So it was to my pleasant surprise that I found pandora. You "create" your own radio station by starting out with a song or artist. Then it plays similar songs. And by telling it which songs you like and not like, it refines your station. Not bad. I am currently listening to my own jazz station. It's called "bebop monk", and I'd be happy to "send" it to you. Just leave comment or send me email.

Here's the "formula" for the radio station:
start with Thelonius Monk,

then add more songs like:
I'm An Old Cowhand, Sonny Rollins
Night And Day, Art Tatum
Congeniality, Ornette Coleman
Little Girl Blue, Benny Carter
Bright Mississippi, Thelonius Monk

then substract songs like:
The Face of The Bass, Ornette Coleman
Oblivion, Bud Powell

Pandora somehow takes these inputs and serves up songs. for each song, I can say "i like it", in which case it will play more songs like that, or that "i don't like it", in which case it will avoide songs like that.

AND, it doesn't require another app to be running. No stupid DJs, easily available info (album, artist info), and you can share your radio stations.

do you speak American?

2006-08-03T17:56:00.000-05:00

A great article in the New York Times Magazine this past Sunday titled "Learning American".

The writer describes an incident involving her sister some time ago. Her sister was the "Irish nanny" to a Denver family, receiving the a meager sum of $50 a week as the au pair. One Christmas, the grandmother and family matriarch handed her an envelope. It had 50 $20 bills. My math says it comes to $1,000. Not bad money in Colorado.

Her sister's polite reply was, "Oh, no, I can't accept this. No. No, really. It's far too generous." Grandma's response: "If you say so." Then she took back the envelope pulled out a single $20, handed it to her, and said, "Is this about right?".

This is where worlds collide. We both speak English, right? Well, one was speaking Irish English, where such words are expected as gratitude in acceptance of the gift. In American English, where we don't like no confusion, "I can't accept this" means "I can't accept this." Grandma may have though the Irish nanny was strange for not wanting the money, but we're a people that honors what people tell us!

Reminds me of a handy chart that appears in dave Barry's Dave Barry does Japan.

First statement is the English statement made by Japanese person, then we have the actual meaning in American

I see. = No.
Ah. = No.
Ah-hah. = No.
Yes. = No.
That is difficult. = That is completely impossible.
That is very interesting. = That is the stupidest things I ever heard.
We will study your proposal. = We will feed your proposal to a goat.

monday

2006-07-27T00:35:00.000-05:00

I had a somber and sobering day Monday.

My family was in LA for our annual California trip. Katheryn and I had planned on visiting Rose Hill on Monday morning. That's where my grandmother is buried. About a month ago, I learned that one of my graduate school friends was also buried at Rose Hill. I got in touch with her husband who had put up a beautiful dedication web site for her.

Rose Hill is a beautiful place. It's a very tall hill and it's very easy to get lost. I always take a GPS just in case. The combination of driving up the main swerving road and searching for my grandmother's gravesite always gives the experience a journey-like feel. I think I know exactly where things are... then I find myself lost in the slopes somewehere.

My graduate school friend is on the other side of the hill; I had never had a reason to drive all the way up the hill. Another journey, another find, another pause, another set of memories.

Later that day, I check my email and learn that a work friend had died in a car wreck. He and his family were returning from a river trip when their minivan was hit by a truck that had swerved into their lane after losing a tire. He and two of his daughters died in the accident. A third daughter later died at the hospital. His wife is now recovering at the hospital with their 4th daughter. A fifth daughter has been released from the hospital and staying with a friend of the family.

I had never worked on a client project with Gary Galle. He and I did work on several proposals and various small projects over the many years we were both at Andersen, then KPMG Consulting, then BearingPoint. He was a good man who often talked about his family. I think he was the rare breed in consulting who strived to keep things simple. The last several years have been tough for the world of consultants, with increasing demands, shifts in marketplace dynamics, and of course, the continuous RIFs (reduction in force). Gary survived this crazy consulting world, through the collapse of Andersen, through-out-of-town projects, through changes in management and companies. I hate the cliche, but he really was a team player, always ready to lend a hand. He didn't ask, "what do I get from this?", he was always ready to contribute.

I've been getting some updates that are being sent to colleagues. A memorial service is being planned.

Another pause, another set of memories.

The 4th of July

2006-07-03T00:32:00.000-05:00

On the Friday before July 4th this year, I received a Jury Summons.

This is the 3rd or 4th one I've received since I've been eligible. I served on a Jury back in 1995 involving a criminal case. If I remember correctly, it was county case, and only called for 6 jurors. The jurors selected me as foreman. The case involved a DWI and a possession of weapon charges. We convicted him of the weapons charge, but not the DWI. I was very proud to serve on that jury.

We've all heard the stories of "juries gone wild" or our friends and colleagues speaking of jury duty like getting teeth pulled. I have always secretly disliked such comments. No, our jury system is not the model of efficiency. And yes, bad guys try to take advantage of the system. And it's expensive, uncomfortable, inconvenient, boring, mind-numbing, frustrating... and that's just the 1st hour as you try to figure out where to park and sign in. Perhaps I had a unique experience; I felt that my fellow jurors were careful, honorable, thoughtful, truthful... It was two days of seeing first-hand one element of this American experiment.

If you are a citizen of the US, you have a duty to serve. For me, as a naturalized citizen, I explicitly gave my word during the modest ceremony with my parents across the desk from a immigration officer in some forgotten downtown Houston office. Not sure if the oath has changed since I took it, but here is the current oath from here.

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

Some big words for a 9th grader to spit out. But I knew clearly what I was doing, and what I was signing up for. So I will go to my summons.

I may not like the lawyers or the processes around handling the prospective jurors. But on that day, I will not be the business process consultant. I can be that on many days.

The Secret of Jazz (Part I)

2006-06-24T22:04:00.001-05:00

This post will be the first in a series... probably over several months.

I once started a list of "100 things to do". On that list was "discover the secret to jazz". I didn't grow up listening or "doing" jazz. There was lots of music I've had a chance to play and see up close. And here lies the difficulty for me to discovering the secret of jazz. For many people, listening to music is fine way of absorbing what that song, artist, genre, instrument, period, etc. is about. Not for me. In order for me to "understand" and even "like" a specific piece of music or genre, I have to somehow see myself in the music. I have to imagine myself playing an instrument, recording a part, writing or arranging the song, singing the backup, holding the mic.. somthing directly related to what I'm hearing.

This is not about talent or a specific ability. In fact, most of what I enjoy listening to, I can't play. Oh I can play a part here, or may have even covered a song. But the best way I enjoy music is to somehow see myself in the music, even pretending to play something I know I don't know how to play.

Which is why it's been hard for me to discover the secret of Jazz. I've listened to a lot of jazz over the years, but I haven't been able to place myself in it. I play percussion, but jazz drummers play in a way that seems very foreign to what I know on drums. I can follow a bass line, but I can't follow the chord changes, and I can't seem to be able to know where a complex line is going.

Katheryn has listened to a lot more jazz than I have, and she loves it! The last time we were in NYC, we went to The Jazz Standard to hear The Steve Nelson Quartet. We went with some friends who are musicians. The music was wonderful.

I started to see something I hadn't picked up on before in the times that I have seen jazz, and of course almost impossible to pick up when you're listening to a recording. That ability comes with time, I think. There must be many secrets to jazz, but I want to keep it simple for now, and build from that. One word stands out: influence.

Lost in Translation II

2006-06-22T15:27:00.000-05:00

One of the essentials I picked up during my last trip to the "American and Oriental Food" store was this. I am a ramen junkie, and even though I'm no longer a graduate student, I find myself gravitating towards the not-so-healthy but oh-so-easy and my-that's-a-cheap-meal ramen dish.

I found the instructions on this specific package a bit confusing.

We have a two-step process, and it's presented in three languages. First, it's in Korean. Then in Chinese, then finally in English. My Korean isn't that great, but it seems that for the readers of Korean and Chinese, the instructions are different than for the readers of English. If you can read Asian, you should use 700cc instead of 650cc.

Now why is that? Possibly different measurement systems around the globe? I recall that one of the baby bottles we used had different scales for UK and US measurements. Or do Asians prefer a more watered-down version of the same dish?

Maybe it's because many Asians know about the secret ingredient that you can add to ramen to actually turn it into a meal: a raw egg.

Lost in Translation

2006-06-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

I was recently in Koreatown, near I-10 and Gessner. I stopped by a grocery store to pick up some essentials. I had noticed this sign before, but thought it was worthwhile to point out something.

The English under the Korean letters has "American and Oriental Food". That's very nice and inviting. This used to be an old Kroger's, so perhaps this is a nice one-stop shop for a wide range of groceries.

Too bad that the Korean says "Korean Groceries". It's like a little joke for the ones able to read Korean. This worries me as I have to rely on many English translations when I travel. So when I see a sign translated as "safe for 120V appliances" or "this water is potable", I should be careful.

the race card

2006-05-22T16:09:00.000-05:00

I haven't told this story to many people.

It's about a time I had the race card pulled on my behalf. Ten years have passed, so I feel I can tell the story.

I'm in graduate school, business school, to be specific. I receive a call from a friend who was having trouble with her floppy disk. Yes, the old, "I can't retrieve my files". I go over to her place, park out front. An hour later, the file is restored, but I have a parking ticket.

This is a time when I had placed myself on a tight budget. The $40 fine, plus the desire to try out my negotiation skills newly acquired from this book, makes me want to contest the ticket. I was clearly parked illegally; I knew it when I parked there. My tack: to admit that I was in the wrong, ask for leniency based on my circumstances (I was in grad school, I generally obey parking laws, and my friend was in need), and negotiate a smaller fine, maybe $15.

I walk into the building where I was to make my case. The man behind the counter tells me to fill out a form with an explanation of my defense. I wait, then he calls me to enter a small office of the judge. It's quite messy, and she's already reading my form. She starts recording our conversation. "So, can you explain why you want the ticket dismissed?". Five seconds into my prepared speech, she reaches over, stopps the recording, starts writing on the form, and says something like this: "I'm going to dismiss your ticket. You're in college; education is the only way we minorities are going to make it in this society."

I'm in shock. I was already in deference mode when I walked in (she's a judge, and I was in the wrong). Now I am searching for how to respond. She is black, I am Asian. I'm in grad school, she's a judge. I feel worlds apart from her, never having used the "foul" call in situations like this. I wonder if I should balk. "You mean you're letting me go because we're both non-white?". But I take the form with her signature back to the clerk. I can't think of anything to say. The clerk files the paperwork, and I save $40.

I'm relieved that it's over, but somewhat ashamed. Not ashamed of who I am, but ashamed that I had someone else take out my race card without my consent. I didn't even know I had the card. I feel powerless, confused, and try not to get more parking tickets.

I know where the bathrooms are

2006-04-27T19:45:00.000-05:00

Early in my consulting career, I worked a client who was very impressive. He wore very nice conservative suits, had an impressive sounding title, spoke with an executive tone, and--most importantly--seemed to know the right stuff. He knew about the industry, his company, the people in the company, how to get handouts ready for meetings, etc. These are all very important things in corporate america.

Then in a series of meetings, I saw him become less impressive in my eyes. He remained rather quiet in meetings with his superiors. Listening carefully to what he was saying, I realized that he offered very little original insight. His opinions, when voiced, were usually dismissed or ignored. I realized that what I had been impressed with was what I now call the "I know where the bathrooms are" knowledge. You expect someone to know certain things after a certain amount of time at a place. BUT, knowing where the bathrooms are is NOT the same thing as actually being able to provide business value.

how to become famous

2006-04-14T21:53:00.000-05:00

This is hilarious.

It reminds me of this. This second video has gotten rather famous. This talented duo has now signed on a deal with some big names in their native China, doing promos for big-name telcoms.

That reminds me of this. Start small, be hilarious, and you'll get some larger airplay.

a photo tour that leaves you hungry

2006-04-08T15:52:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Tory for sending me this link. Great phototour of Houston's Koreatown. If I had done a photo tour, I'd put a lot of the same places. The two I'd add are grocery stores that have a mini food court: Ko-Mart and the other one if further down Gennser, around Hammerly.

Thanks, Jen! Your tour makes me hungry.

his (calendar) life is an open book

2006-03-27T12:13:00.000-06:00

I discovered that the DoJ has exhbits related to the Enron case. It's all under www.usdoj.gov/enron. Wow! The Enron exhibits got "top billing" from the "usdoj.gov" directory.

I won't explain exactly how I found this, but it seems that I once had lunch with someone who had lunch with Andrew Fastow. Check out his calendar for November 2001 here. So if you are part of a DoJ investigation, I guess your PDA can be confiscated and its contents can make it to a web site to be read by all.

For Fastow, we see that he had questions about his boat, had lunch with Lea several times, and blocked out time to watch the Jason Alexander show.

Note to self: do not put embarrassing entries like "catch new Britney Spears video on MTV" into my calendar.

Freakonomics vs. (Blink & Tipping Point)

2006-03-19T10:19:00.000-06:00

Well, we knew it would happen. Two popular books. Two blogs. Similar topics, audience, approach, etc.

Now, they go head-to-head. Check it out.

First, Malcom Gladwell (author of Blink and The Tipping Point) and his thoughts on Freakonomics.
Then the response from Stephen Levitt and Stephen Dubner, authors of Freakonomics. It goes on... the latest is here.

Is anyone keeping score?

selling your car

2006-03-12T16:00:00.000-06:00

I recently sold my car that I've had since 1998. Here is one man's tale.

Images of seedy salesmen and scam-artists awaited me as I ventured into this endeavor. In a nutshell, it was easier than I thought, but I did learn a few interesting things. I decided to test the waters by placing a "For Sale" sign on the car (would I get any calls? ). Most of the time, the car was parked in front of my house, where school and park traffic guaranteed a steady stream of potential buyers. I did receive several calls every week for several weeks. Only a few called back and one or two people came by and saw/drove the car.

Then I decided to get serious: I took out an ad. I had recently purchased a used car, and having gone through the experience as a buyer helped me become a better seller... What does a buyer look for? How does the buyer look-up cars for sale? How does the buyer decide what they want to pay?

I had a choice of venues for ads. In the end, I chose autotrader.com. For $44, I got a 3-week run, with 9 photos (on-line) and one photo in the weekly publication. AND, I had a chance to keep the ad running until I sold. I chose autotrader since they seemed to have the most selection for similar cars.

I also built a free "blog" so I could place more detalied pictures and text. The buyer did go out to the site. In the very least, it helped me think through which pictures I wanted with the ad as well as the text I woud use for the "selling points".

Other things I learned:

I thought "what would my realtor do?". So I kept the car clean, used good gas, and tried to keep the "curb appeal" high. I also took lots of pictures on a nice day. I used different angles and different placement against the sun. For the shoot, I parked at a nearby park... You'd be suprised at how many people try to sell a car with a picture in a sleazy used car lot or against some dumpy fence or pad pavement.
Strange, but after I placed the ad, I received calls from brokers and other non-buyers wanting to help me out. A nuisance, but ignorable.
Do your homework. Every buyer wants to negotiate the price, especially if you are selling as an individual. I had a list of other cars and prices, as well as mileage and features. When someone asked me if the price was negotiable, I told them, "sure, but you have to tell me why... if a similar car is selling for $1000 less, I have to bring my price down".
This leads to how one should price a car. Do the homework... keep a list across a few weeks (if possible), print it out and have it with you when a buyer shows up. Think about what points should increase a car's price (one-owner, no accidents, etc.) and what would bring down the price (crack in windshield, funny smell). Set limits and goals, and decide how fast you need to sell a car. I priced my car below the dealer's prices, emphasized several key items, and got a buyer with a few days.
Finally, I was suprised at how many calls I received from folks from Austin & Louisiana. I guess from a 300 mile radius, Houston will have a larger pool of used cars and people are willing to drive in to buy a car. The buyer was a father-son team from Austin who did some research on the internet.

New Template

2006-03-12T00:15:00.000-06:00

Hmmm... not sure I love it. I may have to make some more adjustments.

The dangers of modern art

2006-03-05T22:57:00.000-06:00

Jackson Pollock. (1912-1956)
One: Number 31, 1950
1950. Oil and enamel on unprimed canvas, 8' 10" x 17' 5 5/8".
Katheryn Park, tired, resting on bench, 2006.

We're in NYC, one of the 1st stops: the recently renovated Musuem of Modern Art (or MoMA). We've both seen this collection many times, including the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the most famous pieces at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in late 2003.

This is after a day of checking out all six floors of MoMA.

accordians

2006-02-14T22:47:00.000-06:00

A recent gig gave me a chance to think more about accordians.

The owner of the accordian recounted how TSA wasn't sure exactly what it was. "Not too many people play the accordian these days." I imagined a replay of a funny scene from the Pink Panther (2006) where our heroes had to convince a security guard they were indeed part of the dance troup and NOT in disguise to gain entry into an invitation-only event.

"So.... let''s see you play the accordian, pretty boy!"

It turns out that there are many songs on my iTunes with an accordian in the mix, so much so that I could probably create a "accordian" playlist.

Barenaked Ladies
Julieta Venegas
8 1/2 Souveniers
Cademon's Call
Sixpence None The Richer
They Might be Giants
Nelly Furtado

Sign me up!

Another quiz

2006-02-09T06:39:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's another self-quiz. Hmmm.... I don't want to read TOO MUCH into this... but...

Family is most important in your life.

Having a high focus on family indicates that you are a loving and nurturing person. You want to have a nice big family of your own, and you are very close with your siblings and parents.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Of course, does the category separations above mean that the buckets are mutually independent? Does mean that for me,

Fun = Love + Money ??

Does this mean that a FUN CAREER is more important that FAMILY?

And I only recall THREE questions that deal with health. Who writes this stuff anyway?

The success of marketing

2006-01-29T23:18:00.000-06:00

I wouldn't say that my son Joshua has been exposed to a lot of marketing. He's really good about understanding that we don't buy him things just because they are interesting or because he saw another boy who had something.

Yet, at such an early age (3 last November), he does recognize some icons of our age. Some of the icons he recognizes:

He does NOT, however, know what cars we drive (he calls them "green car", "white car", and now we have the "red car". He also doesn't know Coca Cola. I have a shirt that I got from the Coke museum in Atlanta. He asked what it said. I said, "Coca Cola"... he laughed... and thought it was a very funny-sounding word.

Somewhere at the marketing offices of the above companies, people are celebrating...

lessons from Rita

2005-09-23T15:11:00.000-05:00

The real lessons will come later. For now, lessons I am learning...

Have friends and lots of friends in different places.
Get gas early.
Do NOT get 4 hours asleep for the two nights prior to a 14 hour drive.
If you're in Texas, long drives may be easier in the night.
Get to know the beautiful "back roads" of Texas¹.
Dramamine for the dog.
Take your VoIP phone² with you.
Paper towels in the car.
Don't complain. Our family may be refugees, but we have it good.

1. I've been communicating with a few folks that have taken part in the Exodus. It took us 14 hrs from Houston to Austin. Family #1 took 5.5 hrs to get to San Antonio taking back roads. Family #2 from The Woodlands took 8 hrs to Dallas. This was after they opened up the southbound lanes for northbound traffic. Family #3 took 5 hrs from Pearland to Austin. I gotta find out their route for our trip back.

2. If anyone wants a "friend referal" to Vonage, let me know.

running from rita

2005-09-22T16:31:00.000-05:00

We fled Houston, taking 14+ hours to get to Austin. That's a 180-mile trip that usually takes a few hours. Not sure how long we'll stay here.

reunion

2005-09-14T22:25:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow evening is the second annual "Houston Area Former Andersen Employees Reunion". Last year's event was a great success--lots of people catching up, exchanging business cards, and sharing stories. Looking back, I was surprised that so little of the conversations were about the "end days" or "Enron"... it was mostly about where we had been dispersed to and what we were doing, how we could continue to help each other.

Lots of folks had started their own companies. Or built up new practices within existing companies. Many were working with other former Andersen colleagues.

When the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of the "obstruction of justice" charge against Andersen, it was tempting to think, "well, maybe we can bring it all together again". For many of us, Andersen will be the one of the finest organizations that we'll ever see firsthand. But we can't go back, the world had changed. The business of professional service has changed, we've started new dreams, new endeavors, new directions. Whether Andersen was a constraint or a training ground, a distraction or an ideal to be modeled, it is no more.

Except for brief moments like tomorrow evening. There will be lots of handshakes and hugs, lots of comments that start, "one thing I learned at Andersen was...". And references to "so-and-so if now doing this and that...". The company is no more, but the network lives (in fact, I got a call from a headhunter this week who found me on one of the Andersen Alumni sites).

Observations to follow.

the magic of duct tape

2005-09-11T23:26:00.000-05:00

I had a small house project this weekend. For this project, I needed some duct tape. I asked Katheryn, "do you know where the duct tape is?".
She replied, "what do you need it for?".
"I need to do some duct work in the attic"
She replied, "Oh, that's the 1st time I've actually heard of someone using duct tape for duct work".
The thought never occured to me. I just thought of the work I needed to do, and considered my options, "well, masking tape is too small, and won't last as long, electrical tape is too small and stretches too much. The perfect tape I need is duct tape!"
Imagine that!? I used duct tape to do ductwork. Here's a secret: it's GREAT for duct work! I was so proud of myself for finally using duct tape for its intended purpose, I ended up using more I probably needed. But if you consider all the duct tape I've used for taping down cables/wires at gigs, to various bodies and body parts¹, using duct tape for duct work seemed incredible satisfying.
You can of course find all kinds of uses of /info on duct tape on the web². I've even bought duct tape accessories as a gift for Katheryn. But none have been as satisfying as using it for duct work. Small celebrations in everyday life³.

1. Don't ask.
2. Not as good as the twinkies project.
3. I should trademark this; this could catch on.

friends and neighbors

2005-09-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

I went up to the Conroe Office yesterday and saw/heard a few things of note.

While picking up lunch at Jack-in-the-Box, I overheard a young family say "pictures, marriage certificate and birth certificates, that's all we got before we left..."
A sign outside a Luby's: "10% off with Louisiana Driver's Lic".
Flags at half mast.
Sign at Gallery Furniture: "Louisiana Residents, sleep here free".

And this morning, I heard on the radio that Houstonians have set up something across from the Astrodomw as refugees start to arrive from NOLA, with signs: "welcome, friends and neighbors".

that's in US dollars?

2005-08-30T17:17:00.000-05:00

I just got back from Southern California. Drove my brother's Prius for a few days, including a round-trip from San Diego to LA. I gassed up while I was somewhere east of LA for around $22. And this is in a part of the country that makes headlines about its high has prices. So, for ~$22, I did several hundred miles, averaging 40+ MPG.

Then I got back to Houston and filled-up both cars we have. About $75 total. And this is before the gas prices go crazy due to Katrina.

gone in 30 seconds, or less

2005-08-17T22:11:00.000-05:00

I was walking past my bookshelf and saw a book I hadn't thought about in years: How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less by Milo O. Frank. Good book... from what I remember. But it's 120 pages. Short for a business book, but isn't it somewhat ironic? Shouldn't it be a laminated page with big letters in bullet points?

what does Ronald McDonald eat?

2005-08-11T14:42:00.000-05:00

I was recently in Chicago, close to the airport. I happen to drive by the careerbuilder.com building, which got me to wondering about this and other questions.

1. Does an employee at careerbuilder.com use careerbuilder.com to look for another job?
2. What knives are available at the Ginsu knife factory cafeteria^A?
3. Do the guys that support Mac OS versions of MS software get jeered at as they walk the halls of Microsoft?
4. Do employees of AOL use AIM^B?
5. Do employees at cigarette companies take smoke breaks^C?
6. Can an employee of Playboy Enterprises charge a "hostile environment sexual discrimination" against the employer?
7. Do they have file cabinets at EMC/Documentum?
8. Do they have fire drills (i.e., what to do in case of fire) at fire stations^D?
9. Consumer product companies often make prototypes available to employees. Do companies that make toilet paper offer samples and ask for feedback?
10. Can you bring an iPod to work at Microsoft?

A few notes...
A. This is not my own. I got this from Tory Gattis.
B. Actually, I know the answer to this one. They AIM like it's the last day on Earth. Some of the longest buddies list I've seen were on desktops at AOL.
C. Smoke breaks? Two people who have worked at cigarette companies have told me that people smoke all the time at their desks, at meetings, etc.
D. Is there a "floor fire warden" with a stupic plastic fire chief hat?

move

2005-07-24T01:06:00.000-05:00

no recent blogs due to:
1. moving
2. unpacking
3. workers still working at new house
4. SBC yahoo "losing" the DSL order
5. work, and lots more work
6. two flat tires
7. sick child

the more, the merrier!

2005-07-04T23:09:00.000-05:00

Join the blog party!

Speaking English

2005-07-01T06:09:00.000-05:00

I often find that when I speak English to a non-native speaker, my English accent changes. I find myself using a different set of semantic rules in communications.

Perhaps it's because I've had several "American-English doesn't work here" incidents. Also, the subtleties in English (true in other languages as well) can lead to ambiguities and unintended miscommunications. Consider the following examples.

International crowd discussing a project plan. One person says, "As for the project plan, we are behind". What does he mean? Does he mean that he's behind schedule? Or did he accidently omit the small syllable "it" after the word "behind". Two completely different meanings.

There's a silly old SNL skit about someone who retires from a nuclear power plant. His last instructions to his crew as he leaves, "Remember, you can't put too much water in the reactor." He leaves. The rest of the skit revolves around trying to figure out what he meant.

Korean restuarant in Houston. Katheryn and I wonder if the weekday lunch specials are available on this Memorial Day Monday. We ask, "The lunch specials are not available?". Waitress responds, "yes". There's a brief pause... What does the waitress mean? Standard (American) English takes a positive response to a negative question to mean that, in this case, "yes, the lunch specials are available". In many Asian languages, the response is literal to the question being asked: "yes, the lunch specials are NOT available". This makes me very hungry.

I'm a dummie

2005-06-19T00:15:00.000-05:00

I've just purchased another book in the Dummies series. I've collected quite a few over the years. Here's a list of ones I've owned or borrowed:

Creating Web Pages for Dummies
Bioinformatics for Dummies
Selling for Dummies
Potty Training for Dummies
Mortgages for Dummies
Golf for Dummies

I must say that this silly series does provide very practical information to someone who wants to ask the dummie questions. I also have one book from a competing "The Compleate Idiot's Guide" series.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to National Security

So what does this collection say about me? Hmmm... bioinformatics, potty training and national security?

Two question for you:

1. What unwritten Dummies guide would help you most?
2. What unwritten Dummies guide would you be most qualified to write?

back from CR

2005-05-29T14:27:00.000-05:00

I'm officially back from the Czech Republic. BTW, we no longer have "Czechoslovakia". That went away in 1993 as the two halves split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in something known as the Velvet Divorce. Be prepared for coctail party fodder by reading up on what's happened to all your favorite former Eastern Bloc nations.
I do have, like a good "bad blogger", several parting thoughts on my recent travels, which I will post in the next few days.

Do you speak English?

2005-05-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

The world speaks English, at least in the big cities. This, in my opinion, becomes a double-edged sword for Americans. Traveling is convenient. However, this also encourages English-only speakers to NOT learn the local language (why is this bad?....).

A more subtle danger for Americans is that we may actually believe that the rest of the world speaks "American English". Consider the following true-life event that occured the other night in Prague.
Some colleagues and I went our for dinner. We ordered a cab for the trip home. The four of us get in, and tell the driver our destination: Intercontinental Hotel. The driver remains silent; the cab doesn't move. One of the guys says, "look, you have to say it like this: 'ho-tel-in-ter-con-ti-nen-tal". The difference? Without even knowing it, what we 1st said came out like "in-ner-con-nin-nen-nal". Talk about sloppy. We had all spent too much time in Texas.

On a somewhat related note, why is Bon Jovi so much more loved outside the US than in the US? I guess 100,000,000 fans can't be wrong.

my date with tate

2005-05-22T11:13:00.000-05:00

My itinerary called for traveling through the UK, Gatwick airport, south of London. The flight from Houston was to arrive 7AM and the flight to Prague was NOT until 5PM. Here were my options:

Wander around the duty-free stores for 10 hours.
Work.
Sleep.
Go into London.

After building a decision matrix, I decided to go into London for the day. I was already familiar with the Gatwick Express, an easy 30-minute non-stop train ride into Victoria Station. As a bonus, the train ride also takes you by Battersea Power Station which is:

Really cool looking, and
Was used as cover art for the Animals album by Pink Floyd.

I had made a decision that the ONE THING I would do in London was to check out the Tate Modern. Anything in addition to that would be bonus. It's interesting to note that the building was also a power station at one time, designed by the same guy that did the "PinkFloyd" one. (Thanks Wikipedia!)

Question for anyone reading this: If you had 10 hours in London, what would you do?

how NOT to do a travel blog

2005-05-22T10:48:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since my last entry. Excuse: I've been trying to get everything squared away for a trip to the Czech Republic. I am accompanying some clients for 5th Annual Global Gas Village Underground Gas Storage Workshop.

So I'm on my trip and I'll try to post interesting blog-like entries about my trip. I am, unfortunately, a very bad blogger. Were I a real blogger, I would have made a few "pre-trip" entries. I would have brought a decent digital camera and actaully take pictures and upload the pictures onto the blog.

In fact, I've taken up most of this entry with excuses. The only link I provide is for the conference. (Anyone interested in underground gas storage?)

Mr. Soprano, the realtor

2005-05-16T00:26:00.000-05:00

We're looking at moving in the next few months to a year. That means we have the joy of looking for houses and putting up our own house for sale. That means we're likely to deal with realtors.

Now, if you are a realtor, or have a realtor in the family, do not be offended. There are many nice, hard-working realtors out there who do a good job. The world will still need realtors, at least in the near future.

There are, however, times when we civilians feel rather helpless when confronted by the professional realtor. They make us think that their secret ability to do whatever they do is worth the 6% of the price of the house. With their well-polished manner, market knowledge, and access to "stuff", we come to believe that they hold the keys to our future and success.

Well... time's are-a-changing. Thanks to geeky folks like you and thanks to our employers who make it possible to surf the web during work, many of us are starting to see (and demand) that we have direct access to the secret info that the realtor has. The Justice Department thinks so. Fresh off the heels of dealing with Microsoft and the mafia, they are going after the stronghold of the MLS (the secret info that keeps realtors in power).

The problem lies with what's often called the princial-agent problem. You hire someone, but that person does NOT have exactly the same goals that you do. And you can't seem to get your hired hand to actually act in your best interest. For example, you might not mind waiting 4 months to sell your house to get a better price. The realtor will almost always want you to lower your price for a quick sale. For you, a $20K difference is worth waiting 4 months. For the agent, the difference in their cut is only a few hundred bucks. They'd rather sell your house quick, and move on.

Not sure how the DoJ piece will play out. It's likely some sort of compromise will be reached. This is good news... for the consumers who want to take a more active role, we will likely see more choices, lower selling costs, etc. If you want (or need) the realtor to take care of a lot of stuff, maybe it's worth 6% to you.

Let the buyer (and seller) beware.

2005-05-06T15:23:00.000-05:00

I've played in a lots of bands. Here are some of the names (in somewhat chronological order):

Theory of Sax
Blue Kiss
Catch-23
Mirror Image
Po and Co
Pieces of Eight
Pennywhistle
The Hop-Ons
Bee Stung Lips
Fouth Wind
The Martin Luthers
Less Than Seven

What's with the numbers? Dunno. If you've ever tried to come up with a "band name", you know how much of a black hole that can be. Two of the band names deserve a quick "how did you end up with THAT name" stories.

Bee Stung Lips, which seems to have a life after we've stopped playing, was the renamed Hop-Ons. Boy, we're glad of that fateful day at Pizarria Unos (now some sushi place). We were SO BAD at coming up with band names, we decided to send it out for a market study. A list was created with the help of the waitress, bus boys, and other patrons. We credit our friend the bartender for including Bee Stung Lips on the list. The list went from 50, to 20, to 3, then a winner was selected.

An alternate version of the story has us sitting at a bar and the bartender going through his bar book alphabetically until Eric Garland passed out somewhere along the B's.

Less Than Seven is a Christian-influenced band, so many people venture a guess behind the enigmatic name. OK, here's the real story. A group of folks go to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. The bill comes back, and someone does the math. "It's about seven bucks a piece." The bill is reviewed by a college student on a budget. "No, no, no... It's less than seven, less than seven." Yes, the band was named after the price of the all-day buffet at Lucky Hunan.

the mp3 roulette

2005-05-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

This is based on a previous post.

Here are the rules:

1. Open your mp3 player application.
2. Select the "shuffle" feature. "Shuffle" your selection.
3. Log the 1st 10 songs (artist/album) in the response to this post.
4. Do NOT skip over that embarrassing song that came up. You MUST list the 1st 10 songs. Only exception is if you have an artist or album that is repeated.
5. Log your 10 songs in your own blog and encourage others to play this game.

My list tonight:

1. Losers (First Try) / The Cardigans / The Other Side Of The Moon
2. Dancin' / 8½ Souvenirs / Twisted Desire
3. Hollywood / Los Lonely Boys / Los Lonely Boys
4. It's Only Love / The Beatles / Anthology 2 (Disc 1)
5. Sympathetic Character / Alanis Morissette / Supposed Former Infactuation Junkie
6. Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing / Vince Gill & Gladys Knight / Rhythm Country & Blues
7. Down Under / Men At Work / Brazil
8. Christmas Time is Here / Diana Krall / Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
9. Travelin' Light / Robert Earl Keen / Walking Distance
10. Mercenary Girl / Fastball / Keep Your Wig On

Hmmm... a few artists appearing in this shuffle made the last shuffle: Diana Krall, Men At Work, The Beatles, 8½ Souvenirs, Fastball. Also, I seem to have a lot Texas musicians. Both lists had 4 -- can you guess which ones?

customer support?

2005-04-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

This is posted on woot.com's FAQ site:

I want to talk to a live person there, can I call you?
No. We are busy sourcing new products and shipping orders. You can post a comment to our community board, but we don't guarantee to respond. You should google for the manufacturer contact to get product answers – we suggest a dating service, magic 8 ball, or ouija board for general life solutions.
Will I receive customer support like I'm used to?
No. Well not really. If you buy something you don’t end up liking or you have what marketing people call “buyers remorse,” sell it on ebay. It’s likely you’ll make money doing this and save everyone a hassle. If the item doesn't work, find out what you’re doing wrong. Yes, we know you think the item is bad, but it’s probably your fault. Google your problem, or come back to that product's topic in our community and ask other people if they know. Try to call the manufacturer and ask if they know. If you give up and must return it to us, then follow on to the next FAQ entry.
How do I return a defective product?
Call the manufacturer of the product you bought. You will likely get a replacement of a new model or better item from the manufacturer. If we still haven’t dissuaded you, email rma@woot.com with your woot order number, the name of the product you are returning, and the detailed problem with the item. We will respond with return authorization by the next business day. Because we aren’t likely to have a replacement in stock, you should be prepared for a refund only option if that’s all we can do. Know that return freight will be at your expense.

Even with such a policy, they seem to be doing well. Proof that you don't need great customer support to succeed. You do, however, need to make sure people have the right expectation for your customer support. Think Lexus dealer vs. Uncle Shane's used car lot.

why stop with a book club?

2005-04-20T23:43:00.000-05:00

I had an idea that proves just how derivative my thinking can be. I have very few (if any) original ideas of my own -- it's all a reworking of things I've seen elsewhere.

One popular trend in recent years is the emergence of the "Book Club". People gather together, perhaps have some dinner, and then discuss abook that the group has chosen to read. For those of you who hated English class, the idea of reading an assigned book, then discussing it may seem a bit crazy. What's next? A pre-calculus dinner party?

Actually, I am told that they can be quite enjoyable. It's stimulating and can be a nice social activity with somewhat like-minded people. So what does someone like me do, who doesn't have much time to read a book nor attend a weekly Book Club meeting?

I listen to music, and lots of it during long drives. Perhaps there room for a New CD Club. You listen to the tracks, discuss lyrics, instrumentation, videos, production, artwork, etc. OK, most CDs don't have much discussion matter to fill an entire meeting, but some do. Consider a historic jazz release. Or lyric-heavy bands, like Rush (whose music is also very much worthy of discussion). This may squarely fall into the deep grooves of the ultra-geek. I mean who wants to sit around and discuss an album for any length of time?

I guess a TV Club is already happening when people gather to watch the Simpsons, American Idol, Buffy (in reruns), etc. How about magazines? Newpapers? I like the music idea, but fear that it it not a sustainable "club". Who would join? How many CD's can you actually do before we get tired?

Predicting the Future

2005-04-15T09:28:00.000-05:00

This is a reprint of an entry I made on the Industrial Science Blog.

I am often asked by clients, colleagues (and even family), "can your models really predict the future?".

It's enticing to think that it's possible to know, with absolute certainty, how the future will play out--in a business dealing, in world politics, in your stock portfolio, tommorow's game, or tonight's dinner. If we're "smart", and we make our models "smart", couldn't we use it to tell us what will happen? In fact, the early days of computing was marked by an attempt to better predict (and perhaps control!) weather. We know today that our weather reports can be wrong.

"We're not in the buisness the predicting the future. Instead our models help you prepare and, if you're bold enough, help you shape your future." is the sort of reponse I give. In fact, we find that in many organizations there are varying ideas of what the future is and why it's important. Even when confronted with lots of data (and perhaps because there is too much data) it's difficult to put it all together into a coherent viewpoint.

Sometimes its best to think about the range of possible futures to see what's possible. Think of the three ghosts who visit Scrooge--there is but one future (if we ignore the parallel universe argument), but I'll show you what COULD happen. Why is this important? Becuase it causes Scrooge to change behavior NOW. Dickens ends the story here without fast-forwarding to the actual future. He doesn't have to. We the readers "get it".

how to be happy with less money

2005-04-12T21:54:00.000-05:00

Borrowed from Nils Jonsson and a previous post from his blog.

Consider the following quote from a New Yorker review of the book “The Paradox of Choice” by Barry Schwartz:

[P]eople will often consciously choose against their own happiness. Tversky and a colleague once asked subjects whether they’d prefer to be making $35,000 dollars a year while those around them were making $38,000 or $33,000 while those around them were making $30,000... Sixty-two per cent said they’d be happier in the latter case, but eighty-four per cent said they’d choose the former.

This may seem crazy at first--that one would be happier making LESS money if they were making more than their neighbors. Are we really THAT petty? Is our happiness tied to a perception that we need to be "happier" than our neighbors? If this is true, than we can never hope to elevate the "overall happiness" of the world. There is some fixed amount of happiness, and like all limited resources, the problem becomes one of allocation/distribution, equity, efficiency(?), and the other dynamics that economists teach us.

Try this at home!

2005-04-06T22:50:00.000-05:00

Let me know if this works.

Take a clean sheet of paper (8.5x11 or A4) and lay it in front of you. Without touching it, imagine folding the paper in half (it doesn't matter which direction). Now, fold the page as you had imagined it. Did the paper "fold" like you had seen it in your mind? Of course it did. You've folded paper before, and even if you hadn't, it's not too difficult to "see in your mind" what the paper folding would look like.

Now try this. Take the same paper that's already folded, and without touching it, imagine folding it in half again. Then imagine folding it again. Imagine that you are "folding in half" six more times from the original fold. Take your time -- really try to imagine in your mind what the paper would look like.

Now, take the page and fold it like you had imagined it, i.e., fold it in half six additional times. What happens? Did the paper fold like you thought it would?

The "punchline" is that even for something that we're very familar with (like folding paper), at some point, our mind fails in its ability to "predict" or "see what will happen". Furthermore, it's even difficult to know at what point our previous experience fails us (at which fold did things start turning out differently than you had expected?). The complexity here is due to the magic of the power of two and the resulting "thickness".

This reminds me of the enterprising boy who tried to strike a deal with his father regarding allowances. That blog is for another day...(or night).

Do you think the "folding paper" demo is a good way to illustrate the "punchline" above? I do a lot of facilitation associated with my work, and am wondering if this actually works...

playing cards with James Bond / dancing the forbidden dance

2005-04-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

I recently finished a project that involved the use of Monte Carlo simulation. In a nutshell, it allowed me to express revenue projections not as a single number, but with a "% probability of reaching" specific goals. So instead of saying that the revenue will be "$x", the analysis showed that there was a 75% chance of reaching $y and a 95% chance of reaching $z. It's much superior than the standard sensitivity analysis, which is often used more as a CYA than to add insight to a problem.

The underlying system dynamic model was built in PowerSim. The on-line documentation recommends an alternate and competing analysis called "Latin Hypercube". This painted a "The Far Side" - like cartoon in my mind where a room of statisticians are divided along two camps. One side has the Monte Carlo-ists, dressed in their tuxedos and ready to play a mean game of baccarat; the other side has the Latin Hypercubists, decked in their suave South-American attire ready to do the forbidden dance. I felt like a hapless model-builder who happened to pass through a wrong set of doors.

And you thought statisticians were boring!

links

2005-04-02T21:03:00.000-06:00

Links are now available on the right side of the page. No, not BBQ links, but links to some sites you might find useful and some blogs I try to keep up with. I have noticed traffic increasing in the last week, so thanks for visiting (and revisiting, and telling others).

the bloggers speak (write)

2005-04-01T12:41:00.000-06:00

How powerful are blogs? Just ask White House correspondent James D. Guckert and Eason Jordan, the chief news executive for CNN. Both have resigned due to some powerful blogs. This article also has a quick history of blogs, as well as the impact that it's having on media today.

So what about this blog? Oh, it's mostly harmless. Silly tests (such as "will I survive a zombie attack") to observations about corporate America... I can't imagine anyone taking my entries too seriously. Not yet. It's mostly for fun, such as the MP3 roulette (anyone can play...).

Play along!

Hidden in the Andersen Website....

2005-03-27T21:55:00.000-06:00

If you visit Andersen's website, you'll find a "hidden link". This is no joke. Just go to andersen.com or arthurandersen.com (both take you to the same one-page content), you won't see much.

But if you "select all" (i.e., CTRL-A), you'll see everything highlighted. And just above the "All rights reserved" in the lower right, you'll see a small letter "q" that's a link. The text is in the same color as the background, so you don't see it unless you select it or happen to run your mouse right over it.

Click on it and it takes you to a familiar place for anyone who has ever been part of the Andersen family (yes, even the Accenture folks know what I'm talking about).

another test

2005-03-17T13:01:00.000-06:00

Here's another test, a bit different this time. How will I do against a zombie attack?
Don't be scared, be prepared!

Official Survivor
Congratulations! You scored 68%!

Whether through ferocity or quickness, you made it out. You made the
right choice most of the time, but you probably screwed up somewhere.
Nobody's perfect, at least you're alive.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 68% on survivalpoints

Link: The Zombie Scenario Survivor Test written by ci8db4uok on Ok Cupid

The Blog Novel

2005-03-10T14:18:00.000-06:00

I can't be the first person to think of this.

Consider "The Blog Novel". Use of the blog medium to tell a narrative in real-time. Think Fox's "24" plus interactive fiction plus the web-community fuel of "Blair Witch". You can even weave real-time real-life events into the novel. The main character (or characters, each with a 1st person point-of-view?) reacts and writes based on actual events, with links to real news and events.

Think of the potential. Readers become authors as they follow and comment on the postings. Think a new level of the digital Soap Opera. Think of links to fabricated and real sites to enhance the story. Perhaps it's not even clear that it's fiction. The anonymity and apocryphal nature of the web would allow such blurring of fact & fiction.

The term "interactive fiction" comes to mind. I think the term got popular with Infocom's series of games in the early Apple-II days (Zork series, mysteries, and other text-based games with complex puzzles and narratives). There was also a notable attempt by Electronic Arts called "Majestic" that users "played" through the use of real-life real-time interactions through their emails, cell-phones, and fax machines. The players interacted (mostly through the Web) to solve mini-puzzles. The storyline was incredible self-referencing. You signed up with this "game" but something happens and the game gets "bugged" by a mystery entity because it has the potential of exposing a real-life conspiracy. To make things even stranger, the storyline had 9/11 elements -- before 9/11. They officially "closed" the game after 9/11 and officially declared they would stop since it was becoming "too real".

Any comments? Any takers?

The China Question

2005-03-06T23:49:00.000-06:00

There was a time, not too long ago, where every corporate executive had to address the "Internet Question". What was the company's Internet Strategy? Much ahead of the curve (ca 1995), one of my business school colleagues asked a visiting exec from Coca Cola about the Internet Question. I don't recall a very strong response--the use of the WWW as a corporate medium was still very early, and no one really had any idea what the answer was supposed to be.

I think a similar question confronts companies today: What is your China Strategy? Many comapanies already have a well-developed strategy, mostly companies that have been doing business for ears in the PRC. It's the companies who may incorrectly believe that they are NOt affected by China taht will be caught off guard in the not-so-distant-future.

You may not sell to China, and China may be far removed from any of your activities. Or are they? A quarter of the world's population increasing their living standards at multiple times that of the US will have (and has already had) an impact on the supply (and prices) of energy. It's no longer just call centers and hi-tech manufacturing that finds a nice home in the well-educated populace of the PRC. Many bio-tech companies are looking at outcourcing their R&D efforts in places like China. Surprise yourself by looking for pictures of Shanghai on the Internet.

I am behind the curve if my claim is that China's role in the global economy is something not to be ignored. My claim is that many companies will find themselves underprepared for the "China Question" from a lack of understanding of HOW China will affect them.

butter

2005-02-12T15:13:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder why everything at a restaurant tastes better than stuff you make at home? One word: butter.

being a mouthpiece

2005-01-16T23:01:00.000-06:00

I recently heard the phrase "being someone's mouthpiece" twice in recent weeks. This got me thinking about how we've come to use this phrase even though there is, in my opinion, a disconnect between the actual meaning of the phrase and the meaning we've assigned to it.

By "mouthpiece", we usually mean that someone is acting the announcer or message carrier for someone else. He/she is being the mouth-surrogate. However, if you look at a mouthpiece of an instrument, it's the place that TAKES the "instructions" of the original player. It's the "bell" or the sound hole that that should mean the message relayer, or perhaps the whole horn is the message relayer. The "mouthpiece" is really more akin to the "ear". Of course, this makes for a confusing analogy.

Here's another one: Indian giver. I once read an article that criticized a "defend the Native American" article. The original article tried to warn people that the term "Indian giver" was demeaning to the Native Americans. The article I read reminded us that the term is not really a pejorative towards the Indians, instead; its actually a pejorative towards the white man who would give to the Indians, but then take it away. Think Oklahoma. This, too, is confusing. We're not used to a term that uses one group to really describe another group -- that's alot of thinking for a two-word phrase. We're also not used to mainstream terms that actually take a shot at the mainstream.

how iPod is changing the way I listen to my music

2005-01-06T17:01:00.000-06:00

I got an iPod a few months back. It has changed that way I listen to music. Amazing things happen when you can load up 1200 songs and put it in "random play" mode. I realize that I do, in fact, have the greatest CD collection.

I am listening to long-forgotten tracks from lost CDs that would remain in my CD drawer without the iPod. I can listen to one song and compare it to another (tempo, key, same beginning?). I can play the identify the song in 2 measures or less. I look forward to long drives and I now count songs instead of time or miles.

What I learned in Business School

2004-12-30T22:18:00.000-06:00

I got my MBA in 1998. Jones School at Rice University. Took a lot of courses, but the most important things I learned are below.

1. Anyone can sue you. I was in Ed Williams' Entreprenuerial class. He gave some example of somthing one should avoid to reduce chances of being sued. I raised my hand and asked, "can someone actually sue you for that?". He smiled and said these words. "Anyone can sue you for anything. They may not have a case, they may be off their rocker, and they may lose, but they can still sue you."

2. Learn how to value a company. I credit two people for this nugget. Alumni Pete Melcher came and spoke at a President's lecture. David Ross, who taught the Finance Strat II course also told me this. Ask me why and I'll tell you why this is so important, even if you never buy a company.

3. The talent to reconginze talent is the best talent. One of my summer internships was with First Wave Marine. I worked for Frank Eakin (who eventually won the E&Y Entreprenuer Award). He bought a shipyard with zero experience in building ships and barges. But he surrounded himself with the right team who knew operations, sales, safety, etc. He also got rid of others who did not belong on his team.

4. Network, network, network. Maury Bronstein made friends with everyone during school and have kept up with many of them. He was not the class president nor the most obvious person who would get to know everyone -- he simply networked without prejudice. David Ross (see above) also gave me an interesting advice/benediction on the last day of class. He said, "When you graduate, you'll lose touch with many of your classmates. Then something interesting happens in about 10 years. You'll start to see your former classmates elevate to senior positions as they have worked their way through their organizations." Read: cast a wide net, you'll need to call on them.

5. Learn what people value. This is one of greatest lessons I've learned in life and I credit this to Pat Moore (ethical decisions in engineering), who after his retirement from Halliburton, taught through the Civil Engineering department at Rice. I can write much more on this, and will be happy to comment for those who ask.

6. Stakeholder analysis. This is not difficult, although practice helps. I think we learned this in Doug Schuler's government processes class.

7. Describe - Diagnose - Prescribe. The original framework from Steve Currall (organizational behavior) had 4 elements. Either I can't remember all four, or have been able to get away with this condensed version. It's a good way to "categorize" comments that people make. "My car won't start" is a description. "Maybe my battery is dead" is a diagnosis (and also a hypothesis). "I should get a jump" is a prescription. Too often in business, we make comments without articulating or understanding what is being said.

8. Systems Thinking. Peter Senge wrote The Fifth Discipline which made ST and Organizational Learning accessible. I credit Will Uecker (management accounting) for treating this topic in his class and inviting Monty Dolph (from Andersen at the time) to come speak on the topic. For me ST/OL has allowed me to ride down the learning curve in many organizational and management issues very quickly.

9. Ask smart questions. You will never know all the answers you'd like to know. Just be ready to respond to a question with a smart question. I learned this from fellow student Troy Genzer, while we were doing a difficult case together. We had to make a presentation and knew we would be grilled. Turns out that for the presentation, the professor (David Ross) had invited the actual executives from the company in question.

10. Inhale, hold, exhale. Before giving a presentation, conducting a tough interview, making a cold call. I may have the numbers wrong, but it goes something like this: Inhale slowly over 3 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale for 5 seconds. That's it! I learned this during a communications class, but not from the text or the instructot, but from a fellow student, Helen El-Mallakh. What I like about this is is based on physiology: it takes time for the oxygen exchange to happen in the lungs. It also forces you to slow down and reduces the chances of talking too fast. Just once does the trick for me. And it's based on science, and makes no attempts to cleanse your chi or aura.

strange tales from corporate america

2004-12-20T23:27:00.000-06:00

If you work in Corporate America (or conduct business in many other countries for that matter), you quickly sense a "norm" or etiquette and behavior. The following are true stories -- some I have witnessed myself, others from reputable sources.

Please add your own...

1. I've heard of people "checking out" in meetings, but one meeting attender decided to make better use of her time during a facilitation I was conducting. I was writing something on the board when I heard a distinct "clip" sound of a nail clipper. Yes, one of the clients was clipping her nails. Mind you, she was being very careful to collect the clippings as to not "initrude" on others's space. She just kept on clipping until she was fininshed. What's next? A facial?

2. Meeting. Cell phone rings, person answers cell phone. He tries to be discreet and not get in the way of the meeting, so he pushes his chair back from the table. He ducks his head, as if that would make him less obtrusive to the meeting at hand. Soon, he is literally under the table conducting his cell phone conversation -- all we see is the empty chair moving and the one-sided conversation which we can still hear.

3. Working in Houston during summers is a contrast in temperature extremes as you go from the outside heat of 100 degrees to the freezing cold air-conditioned insides. Often times, the inside temperature is unbearably cold. One worker decided to "protest" against the cold by draping a blanket around herself everywhere she went in the building. Not a cardigan, sweater, college sweatshirt, or a jacket. A blanket that dragged on the ground.

4. Professional environment, project room with ~50 people. Around 4:45 PM every day, she takes out her keys and jiggle them as she says, "c'mon, five o'clock". Like the coaxing of some dice before a game of craps, we had to endure this every day.

Katheryn's famous leader profile

2004-12-19T21:21:00.000-06:00

My wife, Katheryn, took the "which famous leader am I" test, and she came up: Gandhi.

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

another personality test?

2004-12-18T16:32:00.000-06:00

OK, I got the link from Nils Jonsson.

According to http://www.kingdomality.com/, my profile is below. Who are you?

our distinct personality, The Black Knight, might be found in most of the thriving kingdoms of the time. Your overriding goal is to win. You approach each task or situation as a contest to be won strategically and efficiently. Because you can control your feelings, it is not unusual for you to charm, as well as successfully delegate tasks and responsibilities to the more emotional types. You are often concerned with what's in it for you. You seldom involve yourself in activities where you can not foresee a reward for your investment or effort. On the positive side, you can be analytically empathic and logically persuasive. On the negative side, you may be unemotionally manipulative as well as impulsive. Interestingly, your preference is just as applicable in today's corporate kingdoms.

If I were a movie...

2004-12-18T16:09:00.000-06:00

Try it out yourself.
http://www.similarminds.com/movie.html

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

the mp3 roulette

2004-12-15T21:19:00.000-06:00

Here are the rules:

1. Open your mp3 player application.
2. Select the "shuffle" feature. "Shuffle" your selection.
3. Log the 1st 10 songs (artist/album) in the response to this post.
4. Do NOT skip over that embarrassing song that came up. You MUST list the 1st 10 songs. Only exception is if you have an artist or album that is repeated.
5. Log your 10 songs in your own blog and encourage others to play this game.

My 10 songs:

1. Recurring Dream / Crowded House / Afterglow
2. How Deep Is The Ocean / Diana Krall / Love Scenes
3. Kinder / David Garza / This Euphoria
4. Narcolepsy / Third Eye Blind / Third Eye Blind
5. Down By The Sea / Men At Work / Contraband - The Best of Men At Work
6. Moorea / Gipsy Kings / Gipsy Kings
7. Got To Get You Into My Life / The Beatles / Anthology
8. I Won't Stay Long / Sixpence None The Richer / Sixpence None The Richer
9. My baby / 8½ Souvenirs / Twisted Desire
10. Whatever Gets You On / Fastball / The Harsh Light Of Day

which famous leader am I?

2004-12-10T01:03:00.000-06:00

Take your own test at similarminds.com.
This is who I am tonight:

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com