Posted by: Ken | September 19, 2009

What’s Up with People of the Midwest?

So I was at a recruiting event at Purdue this week. More than a dozen students I talked to mentioned that they would like to stay in the Midwest because their families were here. Seriously? You can go to anywhere on the planet and you want to stay in the Midwest where 6 months out of the year is snowing?! And when you go somethwhere you measure distance not by miles but by hours of driving?! People need to get out more. The world is a lot bigger than your neighborhood diner. And good luck looking for a job in this increasingly globalized world.

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Posted in Business

Posted by: Ken | August 12, 2009

My Rant: Flying First Class

One thing that rather intrigues me is people’s fascination with flying first class. First of all, I don’t pay for first class, I will never pay for first class. I just need to get from point A to point B, on time preferably. OK, I will only pay for business or first class travel using miles but only on transpacific or transatlantic trips. Miles are not cash so I still don’t pay for first class. Secondly, I fly more than most people because I find good deals. And I earn miles and frequent flyer status on those trips. So I get upgraded to first class most of the time because I am stupid enough to suck up to the airlines and fly almost exclusively with one or two airlines such as Northwest/Delta. So I play the “game” so I get those perks including first class for free.

Even with the upgrade, first class is not that exciting. Domestic first class seats are kind of disappointing. They are perhaps at most 5 inches longer and 5 inches wider, at most, and I am being generous about it. The only good thing about first class is the free food. That’s it! And most of time I eat in the terminal, because food on the plane usually sucks. It doesn’t matter if it’s coach or first. It seems to me airline food is always made in the same factory on the same assembly line by the same group of people who are probably in the same union.  And it doesn’t matter where you are eating your food, in the front cabin or in the last row of the plane, they taste the same: overcooked, salty, generally tastes like flavored cardboard.

The other thing about flying first class is you get to board early. I still remain apprehensive about that so called “perk”. While being able to board early is kind of nice because you have your first dip into the overhead bin space. That’s because with all the checked luggage fees and what not, people now bring way too much stuff onto the plane. People carry on pretty much everything but the kitchen sink.

It amuses me that people are so serious about this boarding ritual. There are always this group of people that would stand in front of the boarding lane at the gate, like a group of hawks watching a new born chick, blocking the boarding lane with their oversize carryon suitcase, ready to jump and swamp the gate the nanosecond their boarding group is called. Whenever I see them I think to myself “OK…they had a rough day at work and they just have to get home as soon as possible, I can understand that.” But actually, I don’t understand that. I mean the plane is not just going to take off with 100 passengers left behind waiting at the gate. So what’s the freaking rush! And you know what’s even more amusing? They are the sort of people who don’t get to board early. I always have to go “Eh…excuse me, I am boarding, they are calling my zone.” And then they would give me this stink eye and slowly move perhaps 1 inch at most away from me. And most of the time, they don’t even bother moving their oversize luggage which is always conveniently blocking me.

And then you are just getting settling in, just got done with the luggage ritual, adjusting your seat belt, perhaps just got a pre-flight cocktail from the flight attendant and trying to forget the stink eye the previous guy just gave you. And now coach is boarding. Then the very same inconsiderate jerk who just blocked your way to the plane and gave you the stink eye is walking towards you. And he would see you enjoying your cocktail drink sitting in your upgraded seat in first class, and then…he decides to give you an even bigger stink eye. So yep, flying first class is not that glamorous at all.

That’s why  flying Boeing 757 domestically is always a treat. 757 usually boards from the door located in the middle of the plane. You walk in, turn left and walk straight into your first class seat, never have to see folks in coach because they have to turn right when they board. One less stink eye.

I will have to say, flying transpacific or transatlantic flights up front is quite nice. Food is a lot better (eatable) and seats are a lot better (almost lie flat). I enjoy Air France service up front, especially their collection of french wine and champagne. Only if I have that many miles I can afford to burn…

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Posted by: Ken | August 10, 2009

Airport, Missed Flight

I have always been fascinated by airports. It’s simply amazing that we can get to the other side of the world under 12 hours. However, it’s also a necessary evil in the life of an air traveler. I never had much trouble with airports until Delta acquired Northwest and I had to go through Atlanta that one time on a business trip from one city of Cleveland (Ohio) to another city of Cleveland (Tennessee). My flight from Cleveland, OH was put on a holding pattern in the air space over Atlanta airport. According to well informed frequent fliers who had the unfortunate experiences flying through Atlanta, Atlanta is well over its capacity and flight delays are pretty much common occurrences.  And of course, my flight was late arriving to the gate and I had a misconnection which made me 2 hours later than I was planning. Fortunately, I had planned my flights in a way that I could catch the next flight out and still make it to my meetings. By the way, eating Wendy’s lunch while driving a rental car was kind of comical.

My favorite airport has to be Narita airport serving Tokyo, Japan. It’s got this sushi restaurant that serves pretty decent sushi, much better than anything I can get in the midwest. Narita also has a decent selection of duty free, although prices are not the best I have seen. Nevertheless, it’s a good place to score a bottle of Suntory whiskey for those of us who don’t get to visit Japan that often. Another favorite of mine is Hong Kong airport. It’s huge, beautiful, clean, and very efficient. I also very much enjoy travel through Minneapolis – St. Paul airport. MSP has these super comfortable couches throughout the airport.

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Posted by: Ken | August 3, 2009

On Food

I have been thinking about food a lot lately, especially since I spent a weekend in NYC, spent quite a lot of time in Manhattan, the food heaven in the east coast, where I got amazing seafood, and dim sum. I am kind of a foodie, not a snob but someone who appreciates quality food, but is also OK with eating junk food and be satisfied. Many of my friends commented on the way I eat. I like to enjoy my food by focusing on the food I am eating. So what I do a lot is to close my eyes while taking a bite and making a satisfying sound. I also very much enjoy cooking, except I don’t have the time or energy to cook ever since I started working full time, since I tend to spend 2+ hours making a decent meal.

Everyone has a few comfort foods, and I am definitely not an exception. My comfort foods are: Hot Dog, Shrimp cooked in any style, Fish filet in a nice creamy sauce, Ahi Poke (Hawaiian style raw Ahi cubes marinated with soy sauce, chopped onion, and sesame oil), Chinese food, and Popeye’s fried chicken. So pretty much seafood and a couple of junk food. Very interesting mix, isn’t it? Interestingly, they are also the kind of food I get whenever I travel.

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Posted by: Ken | July 27, 2009

Vacation Withdrawal Syndrome?!

So I had a blast in NYC with amazing hot dog, awesome seafood, roof top party, nice walks around upper east side and central park and most importantly great conversations. And now I am back in Toledo with a messy apartment, a lot less excitement and intellectually stimulating conversations are pretty much non-existent. I can’t help but feel a bit depressed. It’s a weird feeling.

Perhaps having light work days every day for 2 months straight has something to do with that. Isn’t that awful that a vacation is more intellectually stimulating than work? I actually attended one of those dreadful remote workshops via dial in and web meeting rather than sitting around and doing nothing. And I actually enjoyed it. Inconceivable! I guess I am one of those that enjoys being busy rather than having nothing to do. Only 5 more months in Toledo…then I will be gone! Too bad I very much like the people I work with and the work I do (when I am busy). Only God knows where I will end up next year. Hopefully somewhere more exciting than Toledo. Perhaps the east coast (a very long shot). Perhaps engaging in an overseas project (another very long shot). But I can only hope.

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Posted in Travel, Work

Posted by: Ken | July 7, 2009

4 Things I Look for When I Travel

I wonder if it’s just me or it’s a much more common thing than I thought. But when I travel, I always look for certain things. They are not the most important things in life, but they make my trips a lot better when I find them.

1. Jamba Juice – When I was living in Hawaii pre-college, I would always go to Jamba Juice with my friends during the weekends. They say they are smoothies but they are more like a meal. I guess Jamba Juice is kind of like my comfort food so whenever I travel, I would also look at airport directories and see if there’s a Jamba Juice in one of the terminals. I’ve frequent Jamba Juice at PHL and IAH whenever I travel through. Supposedly there are Jamba Juice locations at  ORD, SAN, JFK, EWR, DEN, CLT, ad PDX. I definitely need to check that out at EWR when I go to New York in a couple of weeks.

2. Scotch – I am a big Scotch fan. They are better than beer especially when you are depressed and want to drink your sorrow away. Whenever I am traveling Internationally, I tend to hangout at duty free shops in search for a good deal on a bottle of Scotch. I think my best buy was on a bottle of Suntory Single Malt. It’s unique because it’s a Japanese made Scotch.

3. Local Beer – I am a big fan of microbrewery. When I was vacationing in the Big Island, Hawaii, I went to the Kona Brewing Company. The brewery was tiny but their products were delicious! They had this passion fruit flavor beer made with real passion fruit puree, and coffee flavor beer made with 100% Kona coffee. Speaking of Kona coffee, although I am not a coffee drinker, I will have to say Kona coffee is simply heavenly.

4. Bump Voucher – I love bump vouchers. They are pretty much these free flight or dollar off vouchers that airlines give up when they bump you off your ticketed flight. I’ve gotten a few of those for the past few years and I was once able to score two vouchers in a row on the same day. They helped me tremendously with my travel addiction.

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Posted by: Ken | July 7, 2009

Why I Travel

So I have been traveling a bit this year. I took 11 trips, traveled to 5 different countries, 28 locations, flew 50,000 miles, and spent a total of 60 days away from home. So that’s 2 months out of 6 months from January to the first week of July. By the end of this calendar year, I am pretty sure I will double my miles flown so far, which will probably turn out to be 100,000 miles on a plane by December 31.

Crazy I know. A lot of friends ask me why I travel so much. Well, to many of them, my response is “depends on what you are comparing to”. Compared to many of my friends and peers, perhaps I travel quite frequently, but I also know people who pretty much commute between Europe and the East Coast. And they sure have tons of miles to burn!

Nevertheless, I think I may have over compensating travel a bit. By that I mean I rarely traveled when I was a kid. My parents back in the days did not have the means to travel to anywhere greater than 250 miles from the city we lived in. It’s kind of amazing that I can pretty much jet around the globe at a moment’s notice as long as there’s still a seat on the plane and money or frequent flier miles is not an issue. So I am fully taking advantage of my financial ability as well as mobility to devote however much free time I have to travel. In a way that I am kind of over compensating for the lack of travel in my childhood days.

I am always a curious person. My brain is kind of like a sponge that sucks up as much information as I can take. So by the way my brain is wired, naturally I am very inclined to experience new things. And traveling is probably the best and most efficient way to go about achieving that. The cheapest way to experience new things is probably not traveling, but going to museums. Perhaps that’s why I am also a big fan of going to the museums.

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Posted by: Ken | September 18, 2008

Take-aways from this financial drama

This week is particularly bad on Wall Street. After the recent bailout of Bear Sterns, Fennie Mae and Freddie Mac, this week we saw the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and Fed’s unprecedented move to save AIG by offering loans up to 85 billion dollars in exchange the Fed will receive warrants for 79.9% equity stake. Lehman Brothers, once the mighty investment banking powerhouse, is being chopped up and sold at pennies on the dollar; whereas AIG will soon be broken up and sold piece by piece until there’s nothing left. Very soon, the two icons of Wall Street will be mentioned only on the history channel and in classrooms. It is very sad…a sad week indeed.

I have a couple of take-aways from these few weeks of chaotic financial drama.

1. Don’t just blame each other, blame yourself

Bankers, politicians, mortage brokers, insurance companies, real estate agents, speculators, the blame is on everyone. There isn’t anyone that is innocent. Everyone is guilty of contributing to this giagantic mess. Some “home owners” may say, I am not a speculator! I am just a home owner! Suuuure….unless you are planning on keeping your house for 10 years, I don’t see why you are not a speculator. There were people out there who were buying houses in their 20’s. And since they couldn’t afford the houses, they took on adjustable rate mortage with a low teaser rate and were planning on selling them in 2-3 years. Sure it works great when the marketing is great, but when the market goes down….uhmmm…. This is purely greed. And what is worse? This is collective greed. The whole society is greedy. We all know what happened to Enron…this time it is not so much different. Except, this time around, it’s not limited to a bunch of executives anymore, everyone is in it for the money. So don’t blame everyone else, look into the mirror!

2. Government oversight is crucial

After the Enron Scandal, the congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which greatly increased government oversight on publicly traded companies and their accounting practices. With SOX, executives are personally liable when things go wrong. It surely increased accountability, but at the costs of millions of dollars in compliance expenses (which benefits me since IT is in integral part of SOX compliance and it created tens of thousands of jobs in IT SOX Auditing). I wonder this time around, what kind of government oversight will be enforced. It surely has to be something punitive if we want it to be successful, and researches have shown that punishment works best in restoring order (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html). Now the question is…at what degree of punishment when the whole society is greedy?

3. Speculation does not deliver real value, real value is tangible

Real value resides in delivering goods and services that people can touch, smell, see, and hear. Speculation is nothing more than inflating an already overpriced perception. Nothing beats manufacturing and innovation. The US economy should focus on emerging technologies such as biotech, healthcare, alternative energy and green technologies. Let’s go back to our roots of innovation where Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started HP, one of the most innovated companies on the planet from a garage. What America is good at is innovation and entrepreneurship, let’s leverage that.

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Posted in Business, Politics

Posted by: Ken | July 6, 2008

Paris Impression

Paris is truly an amazing city that has lots to offer. I loved almost every minute of my time there. The Louvre was stunning; d’Orsay was simply spectacular; Monet’s Water Lilly was royally impressive. Not to mention the breathtaking views of the city from the top of the Arch de Triomphe and the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur. Paris at night was even better, totally worthy of its fame of being the city of light. Four days was definitely and totally too short. And the food was heavenly. I had two of the best meals (a lunch and a dinner) in Paris. The lunch was at the d’Orsay musuem restaurant (beautiful decor); and the dinner was at the Au Trou Gascon restaurant (great food). Even the room service meals were decent.

Paris also has its own annoyances. Streets were not as clean as I thought they’d be. Parks and gardens were full of dirt. By the end of the day, my shoes would turn totally dusty. I wonder why they don’t cover them in grass…

more about “Paris Slideshow“, posted with vodpod

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Posted by: Ken | June 25, 2008

Hawaii Trash in Oregon?!?!

Apparently, the state of Hawaii is contemplating shipping trash to Oregon so it can be dumped in Oregon land fills. I have always known there’s a lack of landfills in Hawaii, but I didn’t know it was in such a desperate situation.

Considering record high oil prices, there’s gotta be a better way to process trash than shipping it half way across the Pacific ocean.

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