Just call me Mr CX…working on Plat status now. quite an interesting lifesytle… Hopefully grounded soon.
Summer is here 30+ in HK and TPE. Keep cool!
Category: En route
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Simulation Stimulation
I’m in Baltimore for the first time, and I’m not sure what to make of it — maybe one part Philly, one part Vancouver, and one part the south Bronx Harlem-is-burning of my youth. They take their baseball seriously in beautiful Camden Yards (the Orioles beat the Astros in three straight games, missed out on the bobble head day), and their mayor is being investigated for corruption. The word BELIEVE is around the city, not realizing that it wasn’t Obama viral marketing, but an attempt to reframe the war against drug dealers.
Will have to find crab cakes – I hear the ones in Lexington Market are the best. Also will have to spend some time checking out Edgar Allen Poe’s gravesite, which happens to be around the block from UMB Law School.
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All this has happened before and will happen again
Warning:BSG spoilers….
The Friday Battlestar Galactica half-season cliffhanger was fantastic, but the promise of the final five being revealed did not exactly happen, at lease not as it was being teased at the beginning of each episode. And they find Earth!!! But they have 10 more episodes in season 4.5, so there are plenty of loose ends to tie up. And how the hell did Brooklyn got nuked!!! The remains of the temple of Aurora seems to be sitting right where the Fulton Ferry is now.
You know when things are old when the oldies station plays the greatest of the 80’s, 90’s and today. By that token, The TWIT Daily Giz Wiz podcast, which specializes in showing old gadgets, whips out the Palm Pilot (which is circa 1997 tech!). I fondly remember that. InsideDGW has a recap.
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The Wide World of Sports
Anyone who watched any TV on a Saturday afternoon in the 60s, 70s, or 80s remembers the “The Thrill of Victory – and the Agony of Defeat” of Jim McKay’s ABC Wide (Wild?) World of Sports. Nothing was too small or esoteric, or large and dramatic to fit the 12 inch color TV in my parents’ bedroom, converted into an inside stadium for viewing the world. As it was the only room with the air conditioner, we would all pile in on the bed with “picnic” dinner – takeout from Chinatown, or maybe oven roasted chicken and baked mac and cheese, or even the breaded zucchini topped with cheddar cheese (don’t ask me where my dad picked that one up). The sun would be shining in through the western windows, shaded by the lush catalpa tree outside. That was our shared experience, out of keeping cool, fed, and in tune with that bowling championship, curling competition, go cart race, or triple crown trial.
Jim McKay was able to see the world, do what he loved, and combine professionalism and humanity. What a wonderful life! If we could be brave enough to do that….
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Fooled you!
Short post…. I spend most of my time on Facebook nowadays… so much simpler it seems to just go there. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they’ve got the awesome scrabulous game to get me hooked. I need a 12-step program for that because I get quite irritated when I need to wait for others to play their moves. Anything more than a day and I get grumpy…. It’s a sign of … something :s.
Getting ready to go to HK again… but am glad that I’ve got at least 10 straight continuous days in Taipei. I’d been flying every week minimum 4-5 days per business trip. Was way too much because couldn’t get any work done and totally not productive. Frustrating to say the least and just barely recuperating.
The purpose of this visit however is to prepare my move to HK. Yes, I’m moving… B- and I have spent a lot of time scouring the internet for HK apts – both serviced and non-serviced types. Fun, but realize now that we need to get on the ground and see in person. The range is quite broad but we’re going to focus on the east side of HK Island (e.g. North Point, Quarry Bay, Tin Hau, Fortress Hill, Tai Koo, Happy Valley). We may go out of the way though just for kicks.
Love the March Madness this year! Final Four will rock!
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Red Mango
South Korean frozen yogurt chain Red Mango was dishing out free cups of their treats with one topping at their new store at West 14 and 6th Avenue. Lines weren’t going out the door (freezing temps outdoors don’t inspire going inside for frozen treats), but all of the tables were filled with people trying it out. P- had the original with strawberries, and I had green tea with pineapples. Two things come to mind: 1. a much more distinct yogurt taste (with Real Active Cultures™), which is actually more pleasing than Pinkberry’s version, and 2. the toppings are better quality.
Survivor winner Yul Kwon apparently was recently thwarted from opening a Red Mango franchise in North Beach, San Francisco because of chain store zoning rules.
The next time I’m going to try the mochi rice cake topping, which is made by Little Tokyo bakery confectionery Fugetsu-do, one of the originators of fortune cookies in America. Recommended.
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Xmas in HK
B- and I are headed to HK to celebrate Christmas HK style. Not exactly the same as NYC but pretty good alternative. We used Hotel Travel.com to book our accomodations at Cosmopolitan Hotel @ Wan Chai. Sitting in Taoyuan International Airport now typing this, using my CHT HSPDA modem to get online.
Been quite a month/week/day. Pooped out is more like it. I got hooked onto facebook despite my best efforts to resist. But then B- got into it with the cities thing and it was over. I spent way too much time jazzing up my facebook page despite the fact that putting bad stuff on there could ruin your career (as posted in various newspapers recently). This past week was so full of meetings. I facilitated on Thursday a workshop on strategy and then Friday immediately flew to Seoul (on CI) for another meeting. Just came back to TPE in the afternoon and waited in the airport for B- so we can then fly to HK this evening via CX.
Looking forward to some QT with B- in HK… she’s been great through this whole few months with the changes in BAT which has made me uncommonly busy. Looking forward to the challenges in 2008 but it’s quite daunting so hopefully the days off from now until Jan 2nd will help me recover, re-energize, and renew myself toward the projects ahead.
I’m reminded again what blessings B- and I have had during 2007, both personally and professionally. The good friends, church, and colleagues who have helped make Taiwan much more like home.
So wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas!
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Remarkable development –
I remember having discussions on these issues/topics in the 90s during USENET days… here’s seeing history in the “here and now”.
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Objects Are Farther Than They Appear
The billboards in Vegas make it seem that each casino is right there right where you can grab it. But that is not true – it is always a struggle to get from one to the other, or even to find the exit. A property that is “on the other side of the block” can be a mile away. This is the lesson of the conference I attended here in Las Vegas.
Event recap:
Thursday: dinner with P- at Mario Bateli’s Enoteca di San Marco in the Venician. Food on par with the dishes served in Otto, etc. However, they needed more waitstaff, because they were obviously slammed.Cirque du Soliel Love: excellent show. They weaved a selection of famous and not so famous Beatles songs, plus some choice studio outtakes with the famed acrobatic performers to create a truly psychadellic experience. Recommended.
Friday: I played a judge, first in moot court, then in a historical reinactment of a Japanese internment trial. Both experiences were fantastic. Our alma mater’s moot team did well, placing as a semifinalist and 2nd best brief. Finally, got to meet Survivor winner and conference speaker Yul Kwon. What a nice guy in person, and caused a lot of the women to swoon!
Other Strip events: rode the NY-NY rollercoaster, drank slurpees while walking through the Bellagio, and watched the free water light show at the Wynn while sipping port wine. Awesome!
Connecting Flight here at DFW has a one hour ground delay. Will be home by 6.
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Viva Mas Vegas
I’m waiting here at LaGuardia Airport at 5 in the morning, waiting for my flight to Las Vegas. P- just touched down about an hour ago in Los Angeles with a crucial transplant shipment, and then is going to make the 4 hour drive to be reunited with me sometime tonight. I’m here for a conference and just for some down time.