Toy Cars

Victor's Toy Cars

A tow truck that can tow two cars at a time. Taken on Friday night in Little Hong Kong.

Hiking Cow!

Why is this Cow in a hiking trail? Victor and I went on the same trail this morning. It was cooler than last Saturday. The ground was a bit wet because of the rain from the last few days. The trail was quite. We saw a large animal stood near the bench that we sat a week ago. At first I didn't know what it was. After closer inspection, we discovered that it was a huge cow. It was sitting and eating, and blocked the path to the bench with a view. We dared not get closer.

We continued for a while until Victor was tired. When we came back, the cow was still there, now facing toward us. We left in a hurry but took a couple of pictures.

We found an interesting wild grass on the ground. It repelled water just like a lotus leaf.

George Carlin is Good For Ya

George Carlin, Bill Maher and a few movies. These are the reasons why we subscribe to HBO. I was disappointed at George Carlin’s Life is Worth Losing two years ago. No complain about his topic and style, it just wasn’t funny enough.

Now he is back with It’s Bad For Ya. I watched it two weeks ago, and it’s as good as ever.

As usual, he rants against everything, from Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, George Bush, to religion (again), so-called “self-esteem” movement, and patriotism. He is brave to dissect the slogans such as “Proud to Be an American, ” “God Bless America,” and “Your vote counts.” And one by one, all these just become ridicules right in front of us.

For a 70 years old man, some of his topics are serious: death and being old. George just lays it out there, with plain facts and no exaggeration, and these topics become funny. George seems to age gracefully. He reminded my pastor Ken in New Hampshire. Ken gave a sermon on death, funeral, and funeral reception. That was his only sermon that I remember after ten years.

George Carlin is honest, direct, uncompromising, thought-provoking, and really funny in It’s Bad For Ya. Check it out.

Barack Obama invited me for dinner

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Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:39:19 -0400
To:
From: info@barackobama.com
Subject: Dinner invitation

Friend -- Refusing money from PACs and Washington lobbyists makes this campaign different in one very important respect. We are not beholden to anyone but you. We've rejected the traditional Washington fundraising strategy -- including countless dinners hosted by lobbyists -- and put our trust in millions of Americans owning a piece of this campaign. Senator Clinton and Senator McCain have a different approach. Both have accepted millions from lobbyists and special interests, and both have relied on high dollar donors for the majority of their funding. This campaign is different, and I'm looking forward to supporters like you joining me for a different kind of fundraising dinner. If you make a donation in any amount between now and 11:59 pm EDT on Monday, March 31st, you could join me and three other supporters for an intimate dinner for five: "my.barackobama.com" https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner On Monday, at 11:44 am, Bonnie Locchetta of Rushville, Indiana made her first donation of $25. I'm pleased to announce that Bonnie will be one of my dinner guests. Here's what she told us about herself: "I come from an incredibly Republican county in a little tiny town. I've always been the rebel in my family. I had a fantastic government teacher in high school who really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I haven't always voted Democratic, but I wanted to vote for someone who spoke to me personally. Now my kids are doing well in school, but I'm praying for scholarships. I have no savings, and I don't know how I'm going to put them through college. I have never contributed to a political candidate before, but I have started an organizing group in my very Republican county. My children are very active in their support, and I will do all I can to show my neighbors that together, YES WE CAN." I'm looking forward to having dinner with Bonnie, but there are still three seats left at the table. Will you be in one of them? If you make a donation by 11:59 pm EDT on Monday, March 31st, you could join us: "my.barackobama.com" https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner We'll pay for your trip and the meal -- all you need to bring is your story and your ideas about how to make this a better country for all Americans. Small donations from ordinary Americans have set our campaign apart and allowed us to reject the influence of Washington lobbyists and special interest groups. Not only is your support the key to our success, it's essential to reclaiming a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. I hope you will make a donation now to participate in this opportunity. Own a part of this campaign and strengthen your role in our movement: "my.barackobama.com" https://donate.barackobama.com/dinner Together we can put an end to pay-for-influence politics. We can turn the page in Washington, and it all begins with you. Thank you for your support, Barack

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Test your Star IQ Play now!

Our Household Green Scorecard

Yang and I have always been living modestly. Conserving everything, including energy, is in our nature. These days I've been wondering how we really do for our part to protect the earth for every living being. Let's do an objective assessment:

• Household size: We get B-. We have two kids, slightly below the average size of the US household. We should get a B except that we have two boys. Boys tend to use more resource than girls base on my observation.
  
• Shelter: We get D. We are guilty in buying a large place to live, much bigger than necessary.
  
• Transportation: We get C. Our cars have average MPG ratings (22 and 28). We should get an F as I drive about 100 miles every day for work. But we were saved by my taking two passengers every morning across the Bay Bridge.
  
• Energy Usage: A. We use very little electricity and natural gas. Our electricity and natural gas bills are always very low. We don't have an air-conditioner. We use energy-saving light bulbs everywhere. In the winter, the temperature in our
  
• General Consumption: B. We don't buy much new products. Our TVs are small and more than 10 years old. We all drive used cars. We don't have many new cloths.
  
• Water consumption: A-. Our water bills are very low. We don't have lawn and we try to recycle household water to our garden.
  
• Recycling: A. We recycle everything paper, water, boxes, plastic bags, egg containers, etc. My Mom is a natural in this department. Everything she visits us, she always shows us new ways to reuse and recycles things.
  

Our overall score is B-. We are doing well but could be better.

What is your score?

Nepal shows us the way

Nepal will become a republic after so many years ruled by a cruel and stupid king. This is great news for the whole world to celebrate. It's about time for other countries to follow this lead and abolish all monarchies.

Monarchy is a form of government that is so outdated in the twenty-first century. Similar to slavery, this is an institution full of people's blood. All monarchies were established through conquests, greed, cruel customs and wars. The fairytales about beloved kings or queens are, just fairytales. This institution represents the worst of the human race. Oppression, deception, conquest, inequality are all associated with this form of government.

I have a simple solution for the world's monarchy problem: let's create a theme park for all the monarchs in the world, and call it Monarch-Land. Let them live in this theme park, wearing their silly costumes. They can call each other majesty and highness all day long. We will get to visit Monarch-Land to see them play. But they are not allowed to leave. For outside of this theme park, there will be no place for monarchs.

Victor’s School Choice

We live in a newly developed neighborhood. The assigned school O doesn't have a high ranking. When we moved here four years ago, it was too early to worry about Victor's school choice. That was then, now the school problem is right in front of us. Yang and I talked about school often.

We need to get Victor to a decent school.

There are not many options for us. We can wait and hope his assigned school gets better, which is not likely. Or we can move to a different location with better schools. The last resort is to send Victor to a private school. Our friends and acquaintances deal with it differently. L brought an apartment in a good school district twenty minutes from her house, just so that her kids can go to school there. This is too costly. Yang and I considered this option, went house hunting once, and decided against it. I know somebody who sent their kids to private schools in San Francisco. His kids even got a scholarship to pay some bills. This option is also expensive and we cannot take in our current financial situation.

Fortunately there seems to be a loophole in the school assignment rules. We can transfer Victor to a different school within the same school district. Almost all other schools have better ranking than O. H is a school in the same city but with a higher score; O2 is even better; K, in an area full of million-dollar houses, is the best. Yang did extensive research and applied to all three of them. This week we learned that Victor was accepted as a transfer student at H. He will be set for seven years. Oliver will follow him to the same school in a couple of years.

Some interesting school district politics: O2 is a very good school, but they need more students to fill their classrooms and get some funding. They practically beg for extra students from other cities. A week ago they held an open house with cookies and drinks. I took Victor there. A teacher spent thirty minutes explaining to me and Yang (over the phone) how to transfer Victor to her school. Yang sent in the transfer form. Victor may get in there too.

Do you, too, have a school problem?

The Spiciest Dish that I’ve ever Cooked

It's called boiled fish, or 水煮鱼. Yang and I had it the other day in a Chinese Restaurant.

We have the ingredients. So I tried to make one yesterday. The result was fantastic. The dish was very spicy. As you can see, there were a lot of red pepper, some fish, bean thread noodles, and a lot of oil. It's a hearty dish that one shouldn't eat every day. But when we had it last night, it was so satisfying.

Victor had his own dish: egg with tomato and mushroom.

Why is John McCain thanking Obama?

Why is John McCain thanking Obama?

Dear Obama, I want to thank you for taking the time to sign up for email updates at http://www.johnmccain.com/. I hope you will join me in getting actively involved in this campaign. There are two important ways you can get further involved today: Make an online donation. Your financial support today is crucial to our success. Create your own McCainSpace website. Become an important online volunteer in this campaign and encourage your friends to get involved as well. Once again, thank you for signing up for email updates and I look forward to keeping in touch with you in the future. Sincerely, John McCain P.S. Please continue to visit our website at http://www.johnmccain.com/ for the latest news and information about my campaign. Please visit this page if you want to remove yourself from the email list. Paid for by John McCain 2008 · http://www.johnmccain.com/ John McCain 2008 P.O. Box 16118, Arlington, VA 22215 Phone: (703) 418-2008 Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Federal Election Law requires us to report the name, address, occupation, and employer for contributions aggregating in excess of $200 in an election cycle. The maximum an individual may contribute is $2,300 for the primary election and an additional $2,300 for the general election. Couples may contribute $4,600 for the primary and general elections, respectively. Federal PACs may contribute $5,000 for each election. Contributions from corporations, labor unions, federal government contractors, national banks, and foreign nationals without permanent residency status are prohibited.

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Victor’s First Hike

For about three years, Yang and I used to hike every weekend. We hiked all the major trails in the Bay Area. We used a community web site http://www.bahiker.com/ to find good trails and plan the hikes. Hiking was our favorite activity until we had Victor and Oliver. Since Victor was born, we have been to the hills only a few times and haven't had a real hike.

We cannot wait to get back there. This morning Victor and I decided to give it try. I found an easy hiking trail not very far away from us http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/carquinez.html. I jotted down some simple directions and packed water and food and drove away. Yang stayed home to continue her work on Chapter 12.

Twenty minutes later I had to call Yang. Although I wrote down the directions, I missed an important detail. There were two Rankin Park Trails, and I didn't know which one to take. After a phone call and some technical assistance, Victor and I took the left one. Now we were all set as I wrote down all the other details.

The climb was steep, and Victor struggled. I stayed right behind him. He was in high spirit but became tired immediately. I took a few pictures.

Ten minutes later we had to take a break. We actually had a bay view. I encouraged Victor to continue. It became hot for both of us.

Another ten minutes and another climb later, we were at a relatively flat area, there was a bench to sit and enjoy the bay view.

Victor and I decided to head back because he was really tired. On the way back, he picked some yellow flowers for Mom. I led the way and Victor followed me this time, the steep decent was a bit dangerous for Victor. We moved slowly and went down safely.

We hiked about 1.2 miles, a third of the recommended route. Victor agreed to do it again and hike the whole route next time.

Aquarium of the Bay

We've been to the Oakland Zoo many time, but never been to an aquarium together. This morning Victor told me he wanted to go the aquarium in San Francisco. So after breakfast and some playing time in our garden, Victor and I headed for San Francisco.

It was a beautiful day in the Bay Area. There was a traffic jam in the city and many people are out. There are a large crowd near the ferry building. We drove to Pier 39 and parked our car on the top level of the public garage. Pier 39 was very crowded. There were many tourists.

We bought a family pass to the aquarium for $72. It was a good deal if all four of us went there twice in a year. The Aquarium is small, with the usual creatures. We saw some ugly fish and some pretty ones.

And some starfish.

We saw a big school of fish.

We saw sharks, not the scary big one but small pretty sharks.

Rays were flying on top of us, with funny faces.

There was even a small petting place. I petted a ray and shark. The water was cold. Victor didn't want to touch any fish; I wondered why.

Victor was mesmerized.

We had fun and will come back again with Yang and Oliver.

Jerry Yang: Here is how you can get $47 per share for Yahoo! (YHOO)

What should Jerry Yang do about Yahoo! (YHOO) ? The prediction is that he will eventually sell to Microsoft, perhaps getting one or two dollar extra per share for Yahoo! shareholders. That is a reasonable outcome.

There is a better way though. The one that Jerry Yang will never do. Here is my proposal: break up Yahoo! three ways to maximizing shareholder values:

• Search, onSearch, advertising: Sell this to Microsoft (MSFT). As lame as Yahoo!'s search platform, Microsoft is even worse. Microsoft can benefit from some technology and market share from all of Yahoo!'s search traffics including vertical search services such as Yahoo! Image, Yahoo! Video, Yahoo! Local, Yahoo! News, and Yahoo! Shopping Search.
  
• Communication: This part includes Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Personals, Yahoo! 360, Flickr and Yahoo! Buzz. A merger with a big social network player, such as Facebook or News Corp will fetch good return. Microsoft, Google or AOL won't be interested in these properties; there are simply too many overlap. On the other hand, Facebook lacks the functions, expertise and users in these areas. They may buy instead of build themselves.
• Content, commerce, small business, Yahoo! Next: These pieces are perfect fit for Google. They don't need better search or advertising, or Mail. But Google need more content, services, and more talent from Yahoo! Next.
• International: Most properties are independent. The shares should be distributed to Yahoo! shareholders.
  

Overall, Microsoft may pay $25-27 per share for the search and advertising. Communication will get $5-10 per share, and other $5-10 for the pieces that go to Google. So the deal will get shareholders $35 - $47 per share instead of $31 offer from Microsoft.

What will Jerry Yang do?

Breaking News about Tomato

We planted them three weeks ago (http://qyvo.blogspot.com/2008/03/tomato-fever.html). Due to the warm weather in the Bay Area for the last two weeks, our tomato plants have grown substantially.



Two plants in the pot are showing some flower buds.

The smaller plants on the ground are also healthy and growing.

I have a good feeling that we'll have a good year! What do you think?

Bill Richardson is a Calculating Opportunist, I’m not Impressed

Obama should reject and renounce him. This guy doesn't deserve to hold any high office. Here are top ten reasons why he shouldn't be the VP candidate:

1. He is not a leader.
   
2. He is disloyal. I'm no fan of the Clintons, but Richardson stabbed their back this time, slowly and with a twist.
   
3. He prosecuted an innocent man, Wen Ho Lee, for his failure as the Energy Secretary, and locked him up in solitary confinement for 9 months. (http://www.commondreams.org/views/091600-104.htm)
   
4. He repeated lied about the Wen Ho Lee case on national TV.
   
5. He never apologized about the Wen Ho Lee debacle.
   
6. Gay is by choice? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lane-hudson/bill-richardsons-gay-slu_b_55656.html)
   
7. North Korea diplomatic mission? Give me a break, what are the results?
   
8. New Mexico, is he doing any governor's work?
   
9. He is a terrible manager at the Energy Department. Missing files, missing tapes, lack of security, what a mess!
   
10. He was a war hawk on Iraq until he started running for president a year ago.
    
11. Bonus point: Robert Sheer (http://www.truthdig.com/) hates Richardson.
    

Do you have any other reasons?

High and Higher

That is the Bay Area gas prices, not the pile of cash that each of us has.



This chart shows the price that I paid for the last two years. It's heading toward four dollars per gallon, quickly and surely.

I don't know about you, but it doesn't feel right that the big oil companies are making record profit while we are paying more and more. I can understand their higher revenue numbers due to the high oil price, but they seem to be taking advantage of the American people. Forgive my cynicism, but do you remember Enron, and what they did to California? (If you don’t know, you should watch the movie The Smartest People in the Room. http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_7016.html )

What can we do about this?

Childcare On-Demand

We subscribed to HBO, with that the cable company gave us a digital cable box that allowed us to watch shows on-demand. This turns out to be a good baby-sitting tool. Victor loves to watch all the PBS kids show. For a while his favorite show was Thomas & Friends. Nowadays he watches Bob the Builder, Curious George, Caillou, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Sagwa the Chinese Cat, Dora and Diego, Fireman Sam, and Winnie the Pooh. He doesn't watch Teletubbies anymore; it's for younger children. We don't watch much TV at all. Victor and Oliver hog the TV for the on-demand shows. Victor never sits properly when watching. He is either standing, lying on the carpet, climbing up to the back of the sofa, or busy with his many chores (like "cooking" his Easter Eggs and candies in pans and pots). They can entertain themselves while we do some housework. We love the on-demand TV.

Clinton and McCain Tag Team Obama, They will be Baracked

From the Obama Campaign:

Friend -- Senator Clinton and Senator McCain are reading from the same political playbook as they attack Barack on foreign policy. They have both criticized Barack's commitment to act against top al Qaeda terrorists if others can't or won't act. And they have both dismissed his call for renewed diplomacy as naïve while mistakenly standing behind George Bush's policy of non-engagement that just isn't working. But most of all -- after five years of overwhelming evidence that we are less safe, less able to shape events abroad, and more divided at home -- Senator Clinton and Senator McCain are failing to address the consequences of a war they both supported that should have never been authorized and never been waged. We need a leader who had the judgment to oppose this war before it began and who has a clear plan to end it. But Barack is facing a two-front battle against Senator Clinton and Senator McCain. Make a donation of $25 to support this campaign today: "my.barackobama.com" https://donate.barackobama.com/twofronts We knew at the beginning of this campaign that we'd be up against the full force of the conventional thinking that grips Washington. But no one could have imagined it would go on this long, or that we'd have to fight this battle on two fronts at the same time. Senator Clinton's campaign, with her chances of winning dwindling and our delegate lead even larger than it was before her so-called comeback on March 4th, has adopted a "kitchen-sink" strategy to throw everything they can at us. Her campaign has made it clear they will do and say anything to win this nomination. Senator McCain, now the presumptive Republican nominee, is already running his general election campaign. He's so eager to justify another 100 years of war in Iraq and drum up conflict with Iran that he and his campaign have been making sloppy and woefully false assertions about links between Iran and al Qaeda in Iraq. We've got to take on both Senator Clinton and Senator McCain at the same time. Your support now is more important than ever -- please make a donation of $25: "my.barackobama.com"https://donate.barackobama.com/twofronts Yesterday, Barack laid out a clear plan to make America more secure and end the war in Iraq. Today, he laid out the economic costs of the war that Senator Clinton and Senator McCain supported. In both speeches -- and in his speech on race in America earlier this week -- Barack Obama demonstrated that he is the candidate with the courage and judgment to tackle the challenges we face. The choice Americans have in this election is clear -- and your support right now sends a message to those who support the status quo that it is time for a new kind of leadership. Please do what you can to help fight this two-front battle for change: "my.barackobama.com"https://donate.barackobama.com/twofronts Thank you, David David Plouffe Campaign Manager Obama for America

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How Many Toy Cars Victor Must Have?

As many as he is allowed to buy. Victor loves toy cars, trucks and trains. He plays with them, takes them to places, puts them under his pillow and sleeps with them. Sometimes he gets into trouble, playing with the toys during supper, and almost knocks over the dishes. He cries when we take his toys away, but he'll be fine when Yang gives him a big hug.

We often go to the One Dollar Store to buy the toy cars. They cost a dollar; some come with a package of three. Once we got him a fire truck, tow truck and a police car, all for one dollar. Once a while we go to a drug store and buy him five dollar cars; they are slightly bigger.

He has race cars, small trucks, passage cars, vans, garbage trucks and others. He has cars in red, yellow, green, purple, and many other colors. He has tiny cars, small cars, and larger size cars. We have his cars everywhere.

Victor is learning to share his toys with Oliver. He chooses a few for Oliver to play when Oliver comes to the house. Still, he carefully guards his toy cars, causing some conflicts when they both want to play with the same cars.

What’s Your Secret?

This is a common team building exercise. Coworkers share something from their life that nobody knows, so that everybody becomes more comfortable with one another. In a meeting this morning we did that. The answers:

A: I used to spend 52 hours on the train to go home after school year. (From South India to Northern India. Yes. There is a place to sleep.)

Z: I was once on Romania National TV show about Romania folk dance. (Z is not from Romania.)

E: I lived in Iran until I was 5 years old. (E is from Europe)

T: I cannot drive a stick shift car.

S: My picture was on the front page of a newspaper, in a story about student protests.

J: I was an average student getting low grade (he has a Ph.D. in Physics)

D: I can throw football 70 yards and hit a golf ball 120 yards. (D has never played as a pro.)

Q: I was a radical student when I was in college, participating in many demonstrations.

A: I was a high school math and physics teacher for 6 months.

D: I protested the government many times when I was a student.

There were not really secrets. They are just interesting facts about each of us. Three people mentioned that they protested against their governments when they were students. Among them, I was probably the most radical one. Street demonstrations were illegal then and there, but I did that, and actually led during the first night. If you meet me today, do you still see that in me?

What is your secret?

Egg Hunting in Berkeley

Like other four year old, Victor is very predictable in changing his mind. Last Saturday afternoon there was an Easter Egg Hunting in Berkeley. We planned to go but Victor refused at first. Right after he and I took a nice walk (http://qyvo.blogspot.com/2008/03/ducklings-caterpillars-and-kitten.html), he wanted to go. And he started fussing and crying when we told him it was too late.

Time to change the plan and rearrange our day. We scrambled to fix something for lunch and get all the books ready to return to the library. We went and it wasn't too late. This Egg Hunting event was organized by UC students. They looked so young themselves. They had some plastic eggs in different colors. Each egg had a candy inside. Victor wouldn't go to the Egg Hunting place by himself. So Yang had to go with him. Other parents cried foul, "You cannot break the rule." This was embarrassing.

There were other activities for the kids: paint the egg, play a game to win a snack bar, build a paper boat, take pictures with Egyptian, etc. Some were educational. Victor had fun.

After egg hunting, three of us went to a chocolate factory in Berkeley. We bought a box of 99% bitter chocolate, for our taste. Victor got his sweet chocolate bar too.

Bill Clinton asks for Contribution from Ken Starr

An email from Bill Clinton to Ken Starr

Dear Ken, The Obama campaign is already on the air with their first ad in Pennsylvania, putting their fundraising advantage to work. They're going to spend every dollar they've got to end this race in Pennsylvania, and we can't let that happen. In Texas and Ohio, your incredible support kept us competitive, and today this race is close thanks to what you did for Hillary. Now the Obama campaign is going to do everything they can to try to beat Hillary in Pennsylvania. They're going to try to outspend us 3-1 on the air -- and their first ads are already up and running. We cannot let them have that advantage. Hillary needs your help now to level the playing field in Pennsylvania and beyond. Contribute now to help Hillary win. You and I trust Hillary to lead America in a bold new direction -- to fix the problems George Bush leaves behind and to accomplish goals we once thought were out of reach. Hillary is trusting us to make sure she has the resources she needs to win. We need to get up on the air in Pennsylvania to match Obama's spending, and Hillary is depending on you to help. We can't let this race be decided by a fundraising advantage. Contribute now to level the playing field in Pennsylvania and beyond. With your help, Hillary can win in Pennsylvania on April 22 and go all the way to the White House. It all depends on what you do today, so please act now to help Hillary win. Sincerely, Bill Clinton If you feel you have received this message in error, we apologize. You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy Paid for by Hillary Clinton for President Contributions to Hillary Clinton for President are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Corporate contributions are prohibited by law. All content © 2008 Hillary Clinton for President 4420 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203

Tense Negotiation

Yang and I had a tense negotiation last night. We were frustrated that her current project 'Oasis' (http://www.yanghuang.com/books/main.asp) is not making good progress. For about a month, she has been stuck at Chapter 11.

We started negotiating ways I can help. These days I come back from work after 8 PM. Yang does all the cooking. She suggested that I prepare Victor for bed after dinner: brushing teeth, washing, and storytelling. Then she won't be too tired, and can find some time to work on her book for one or two hours. The only issue is that I occasionally have conference calls with my India colleagues at around 10 PM. This seems to be impractical at first. So we continued our negotiation.

Eventually, we decided that I will prepare Victor for bed on four nights a week: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I can have my conference calls on Tuesday and Thursday. This arrangement works for both of us. Yang will actually get to spend time on her project. Hopefully she will complete a draft before Living Treasures gets published and requires some promotion time.

The truth is that I really enjoying the assignment. Some of the most pleasurable activities for me are taking a walk, playing with Victor, or bathe him. So the negotiation yielded good outcomes for all three of us.

Ben Bernanke Must Go!

Bernanke seems to be a nice guy, and I liked his initiatives to make Fed more transparent. He is just incompetent for the big job and must resign right away!

Let's look at his scorecard:

• Heathy Growth of the US economy: He gets an F-. The economy is in a recession, and will be for a long time because his inaction last year and messy, panic moves this year. He bailed out the Bear Sterns last Friday. Is this guy a Socialist for wealthy people?
  
• Low inflation: He does better, gets an F. Whatever the inflation numbers the government released, just ignore them. I'm paying 20-30% more each month for everything that I eat and use. How much more do you spend each month? I don't even go out for dinner anymore.
  
• Sound underline economy structure for future growth: He gets an F again. Subprime mess. No problem. Just pumping more money into the money. Does this guy learn any lesson? Victor knows that if he got into trouble by doing something, he won't do it again. Learn something from a four year old.
  
• Economical opportunity for everybody: F-. (And he will argue that it's not his job!) The income gap between billionaires and low-income people is growing. Ben doesn't care and won't do anything.

Ben Bernanke acted cool last year, and missed by a mile. Now he is in a constant panic mood, dancing to the tunes of the Wall Street. He cut rate in a conference call after the Asian market tanked during the weekend. He will cut rate again tomorrow. I doubt that it will change anything.

Overall, he get an big F-. Time to find another job!

Just to be fair: Alan Greenspan is an egomaniac. He needs to shut up, for good.

(Oh well, what's all this has anything to do with our family blog? Good question…)

'No Country for Old Men' Theory One: Is the Killer God?

I debated Yang for some time now on what this story is about and who the killer represents. There are no satisfactory answers. Does the story represent the messy war in Iraq? Does the killer represent the trained mercenary solders? The story is just a simple chase. There must be some deeper meanings.

One outrageous theory:

The killer is God, the Old Testament God of course. The angry, unforgiving, not-afraid-to-kill-the-innocent-people Old Testament God. Most people got killed in this movie are sinners. Certainly the main character, the Vietnam vet, was. He may seem to be a sympathetic character, the good guy. But he left a dying person in the desert and pick up a suitcase of money. He did return but it was a half day later. The dying man was dead. Is he really the good guy?

So why not the Old Testament God. He is powerful, killing everybody along the pass, almost without discrimination. He did let you live, sometimes, but always on his term. He can be slowed down once in a while. People act cute when he was slowed down.

And he cannot be stopped.

So, is he God?

'No Country for Old Men' Who is the Killer

I debated Yang for sometime now on what this story is about and who the killer represents. There are no satisfactory answers.



Does the story represent the messy war in Iraq? Does the killer represent the trained machinery soldiers?

If You are Filthy Rich, what will you do?

John asked this question to everybody during a group lunch. He asked the same question during a trip to India and everybody gave him the same answer, and he wanted to compare the answers.

• Y: I take some time off and travel around the world. There are many places that I haven't visited and I want to go.
  
• Z: I will retire and live in an island. (We asked what kind of island. He said an island with beautiful views and beautiful girls.)
  
• B: I will open a homeless shelter and help the needy people.
  
• J: I will open a research center and help small companies to be successful.
  
• U: I will go back to school and study business. (Everybody asked why do you have to study business for, you are already rich!)
  
• My answer was: I will keep on working in the high tech industry. I may retire in ten years, but not now. I may take some risky jobs if I'm rich.
  

We spent several minutes guessing what the answer from our India colleagues is. Finally U said that helping the poor (U is from India).

Even this simple question reveal the culture and social difference between the US and India. In India, there are so many poor people around the middle class people. They still need help. I'm so proud and moved that every one of our colleagues have the tender heart to help the underprivileged.

What will you do when you have enough money to last a lifetime?

Wii Got It

We got three of them, actually. All it took was 20 minutes waiting outside of the Circuit City. There was a line, but we got there just early enough to snatch it. The experience was fun. I gave one to my brother, one to my friend John from work, and kept on myself. We haven't opened it yet. John has shared some good experience with me already. His son loves the boxing game. It's surprisingly physical. John's son was waving so violently that he almost broke the TV. He is hunting for a cooking game and one more controller over the weekend. I still need to convince Yang that it's a good idea to keep Wii for ourselves. The good thing is that all our Gamecube games can be play on Wii. Grandpa also has heard about the games. It looks like an activity for the whole family.

I won’t Vote for Obama if

I won't support Obama if he picks Richardson as his running mate. He can pick a Republican but not Richardson. Richardson was the Energy Secretary who created a mess in the lack of security in our national labs. Instead of fixing the problems, he jailed a Taiwan-born scientist Wen Ho Lee. Lee was eventually freed after international pressure. (http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2000/09/13/lee/index.html) Lee was the first recent political prisoner jailed by the US government, by the Clinton administration. Richardson never apologized for the whole incident. Clinton was "disturbed" by the whole incident. Funny that Richardson was asking Lee for money last year (http://qyvo.blogspot.com/2008/03/from-governor-bill-richardson.html)

Richardson is the closest Democratic politician that reminds me of George W. Bush. He was so clueless last year in a debate when he was asked if homosexuality was by choice. He answered yes "Choice, good word. I like the right to choose, the answer must be yes."

OK. I just hate this stupid, clueless, cruel, uninspiring, and cynical person as our elected official. He doesn't deserve to hold a high office. Senator Obama, are you listening?

How many tasks can you do before 10 AM on Saturday?

Three:

1. Take Yang's car to the dealership for service at 8 AM.
   
2. Teeth cleaning with my dentist.
   
3. A week of grocery shopping at Oakland Chinatown.
   

Then I will be home just before everybody became ready to have breakfast.

Best $80 that you can spend before April 15

We have been using TurboTax for 8 years. My life will be so miserable around March April time if I don't use it to calculate the tax return. This is the absolutely best $80 I have to spend every year (I use the home business edition.) I help my parents to file their tax return too so it's used again.

Still, it's miserable to realizing how much money you have to pay each year, with or without the software. I heard that they have the nice online version, using Adobe Flash technology. No software, just so called software as a service. But do I want to keep my tax returns with Intuit?

Growing up with Cappuccino

We brought a cheap espresso machine a few months ago. It's not really a machine, the kind that you have to put on the stove to make espresso. Victor and Oliver love it. It's becoming a family ritual now that we have cappuccino every morning during the weekend. We grid fresh coffee beans before making a pot. I also use a manual milk frother to make creamy milk. Victor and Oliver may grow up to be addictｅｄ to coffee. This may be the least of our worries.

Ducklings, caterpillars, and kitten

Victor and I took a walk this morning after breakfast. We walked along a trail along the back of our house. It's sunny and cool and the air was crisp. The trail led us to a pond that ducks like to swim. There were no ducks today. I knew there are a few other ponds that may have ducks. So we continued.

After we got to the main road leading out of our housing community, we walked cross the road and looked at the ponds at the side of the road. There are tens of ducklings. They are small but enjoying the ponds and wetland with thick and tall grass. There are other birds, a few of them pretty with red and black tails. This small wetland is between two housing communities, but it's big enough to provide sanctuary for these migrating animals.

Victor and I sat there and watched the ducklings for a while. Birds are chirping and it's obvious there are many animals hidden in the thick grass. Victor notices small insects walking on the concrete walkways.

"Caterpillars!" he got very excited. We watched a few of them crawling. We took care not to step on any of them. Victor walked in a funny way when he tried to do that.

We found a beautiful cat hidden in the grass. What was it playing? Is he lost? The kitten found us, was a bit scared. He jumped on the road to cross the street. A car was approaching and I waved for the car to stop. The kitten crossed the street safely. Victor and I followed. We approached the kitten again. This time he was more relaxed. He lay down on the ground. Victor and I petted him for a few minutes. The kitten stayed alert the whole time. He is not a lost cat, just exploring and playing. He seems to be very confident. Victor was so happy and he didn't want to leave.

Bill Richardson asked Wen Ho Lee for Money

This is a real email.

From: Governor Bill Richardson [mailto:info@richardsonforpresident.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 1:07 PM
To: Wen Ho Lee
Subject: How many troops? 50,000? 75,000?

	Dear Wen Ho, Some say that all of the Democratic Presidential candidates have basically the same position on Iraq. I disagree. I'd pull all of our troops out in 6-8 months. The other major candidates would leave some troops behind indefinitely. That's a major difference -- any way you look at it. On Sunday, at the ABC debate in Iowa, I asked the other candidates point blank: how many troops would you leave behind? 25,000? 50,000? 75,000? For how long? I didn't get an answer. The big campaigns, with their huge media budgets, think they can drown out our differences and control the conversation on Iraq. My campaign depends on the grassroots support -- people like you -- to help us carry the truth of our message across the country. Make a contribution -- just $20 is enough to make a difference -- and I'll invite you to join other supporters on Thursday, August 30th for a conference call on which I will present my plan for how we can end the war quickly and get all of our troops out. No dodging the tough questions -- I want to tell you directly why I believe anything less than a plan that pulls out all the troops as quickly as possible isn't a plan to end the war at all. The Iraqis must rebuild their own country, and they won't make the tough political compromises until they know we're serious about turning the country over to them. It is becoming increasingly clear you can't end the war AND leave troops behind. Pulling our troops out won't cause a civil war; our troops are targets in a civil war right now. We must redeploy them out of Iraq and then secure the region. The Bush Administration has been using half-measures since this war started, and now we have to make a decision -- it is either in or out; now or after more people die. You can't have it both ways. Saying that all Democrats have the same position because "any" Democrat would end the war eventually is a cop out. Saying there is no military solution in Iraq and then advocating leaving US troops behind to find the military solution you just said doesn't exist is nuts. I am the only candidate committed to changing the conventional wisdom on Iraq. I am the only candidate with the diplomatic experience to get all our troops out and bring the Iraqi factions together. Join me on August 30th and I'll tell you how. We'll have much to discuss on this conference call. I'll explain the plan, take your questions and we'll strategize on how to get my message out to more Americans. There are options. There are solutions. We don't have to choose between change and experience. We don't have to leave troops behind. There is another way. Thank you for your help, Governor Bill Richardson

Paid for by Richardson for President, Inc. Contributions are not tax deductible for Federal income tax purposes. All content © 2007 Richardson for President, Inc. To unsubscribe, go to: http://action.richardsonforpresident.com/unsubscribe

The Best Podcast in the world

It has to be CAL’s courses online: http://itunes.berkeley.edu/. University education for everybody, and for free. They started two years ago. I suspect many other universities must have similar offers since.

I also like BBC’s Our World, NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell me, Slate’s Daily Podcast, and KCRW’s Left, Right and Center.

What’s your favorite Podcast?

On the Road

I spent more than two hours on the road every day. Even in the Bay Area, it's still a long commute. What can you do? I'm just making a living. I do, however, find the commute time is perfect to listen to books. Over the years, I listened to numerous audio books.

I enjoy many non-fiction books that I borrowed from the library. My favorites: To be a Slave, The history of Everything, Rome Lives. I listened to some books multiple times. I hate Jack Walsh’s Winning. The content of the book is good, but the presentation is horrible. He should just hire a good actor to read for him.

I also listen to many motivational speakers: Tony Robbins, Stephen Covery, etc. These books make my commute tolerable.

Kite Flying Next to the Bay

We brought a huge kite from Costco several weeks ago. It’s a space shuttle. We spent $10 only. It was very easy to assemble. Victor was so happy the day we got it. It was raining very hard that day. So we have to stay at home.

The next day, the sky cleared a bit. There were occasional showers, sometimes heavy. But we could not be stopped. The three of us went to the parking lot next to the Bay. It was so windy that we sometimes had trouble holding on to the kite. Kite flying is not easy. We ran it to the ground many times. It almost hit our car a few times. We did get better. The space shuttle was as high as several stories.

We spent about half an hour flying kite. Then it started to rain, heavily. We had to get back.
Oliver came the following week. Four of us went out and flied the kite for a few minutes. But they had their mind on something else and we had to leave.

Race and Obama

Hillary is attacking Obama like a right wing Republican attaching a Democrat. She just disqualified from being considered any position in the Obama administration.

"Part of what I think Geraldine Ferraro is doing, and I respect the fact that she was a trailblazer, is to participate in the kind of slice and dice politics that's about race and about gender and about this and that, and that's what Americans are tired of because they recognize that when we divide ourselves in that way we can't solve problems," Obama said on NBC's "Today" show.

This is the best analysis on this matter that I've read.

Tomato fever

I never give up on growing tomato. Last year was a disaster year. A lot of investment, very little reward. All tomato plants suffered dehydration, neglect, and poor soil condition. Mom repeatedly told me to stop planting again this year. It’s early March now. And I have already planted eight tomato plants again. They are growing fast and doing well. Mom is as encouraging as she could be. We seem to forget the terrible experience last year. Hope does get renewed with the spring season and every bits of the warm air and bright day light.

First Kiss

Victor told Mom that he kissed A on the lip and on the cheek. He almost five years old now. Is this his first kiss? Will he remember A? Mom told me that S is the prettiest girl in his class. S and her Mom like Victor too. Yang and I were saddened yesterday when we talked about how quickly Victor grows up. Soon he will be attending school, and the most worry free part of the childhood will be over. Who knows if he will see A and S again… Then, again we may stay in touch with their family, and Victor and his playmates may grow up together, for a little longer.

Citizenship Interview

My Mom is scheduled to take the citizenship interview/exam in about a month. English is not her native language and she is 64 years old. We are all helping her these days in many ways. Dad and she have some materials from the library. She is also attending some classes in San Jose.
I talked to her tonight. She had a tough time today in the class. One of the two teachers doesn’t speak Chinese. He had some 1-on-1 tutoring time with her. She didn’t understand his words most of the times. Mom taped the class and went to home and studied with Dad; just like what I didn’t when I was taking some difficult classes in college.

Wei stopped by her house this evening and did a mock interview with her. Then, I spent some time going over the interview questions on the phone at 9. It must be a very intense day for her, facing 4 different people asking her Citizenship exam questions. Mom is doing quite well. She understood about 80% of my questions and can answer them clearly, slow sometimes. I think that she has a good chance to pass the exam.

It will be interesting for the next month. I, Wei, and others will continue to help her. Her English will be much improved as a result. I will have to go through the same process in one or two year. This experience will be good for me later on.

When I call Mom every evening, Oliver usually interprets our conversation. Many times he just hogs the phone. Sometimes he gets really angry if Mom takes away the phone. Last night Mom and I want go over some exam questions. We barely got started, and then he started to cry. He cried so loud that we have to stop. Babies have their ways most times.

What’s wrong with Geraldine Ferraro

She is someone who I had a warm fuzzy feeling about. She seems to be humble and an elder statewomen figure. What was she thinking when she made the absurd statement about Obama “lucky to being black”? I understand if Bill makes this statement, still won’t forgive him… I guess some people just don’t age gracefully.

Oakland Zoo, Again

Oakland Zoo must be the number one place Victor and I hang out during weekends. We were there so many times. The amazing thing about zoo is that we never grow tired of. Animals move, run, jump, and play, the season changes, and the zoo is always different. Sometimes animals went hiding and it’s still fun to try to find where they went.

Yang, Victor, Oliver and I went to the Oakland Zoo on Saturday morning, for a second week in a roll. It was a sunny day and the parking lot was nearly full. This time we went to the left side, where the Children’s Zoo is. Oliver and Victor immediately ran wild into the grass. We saw some monkeys, chimpanzees, and two huge turtles. We didn’t stay long, as the kids wanted to take rides. Victor went for his favorite airplane ride, as always, he flew the airplane really high. Oliver, a couple of months short of three years, took the fire truck ride. It was the first time Oliver took a ride. He really enjoyed and smiled broadly.

After the zoo, four of us went to Oakland China Town. We had a big lunch with Dim Sum and two seafood dishes. We even brought something home.