Month: February 2006

Categories
China

Different treatment

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on February 24, 2006 by stlplace

From mitbbs:
===========================================
看到前面东航的事情，我也来说说前些日子回国的遭遇。
我是坐UA由别处到chicago再回上海的，在我这个地方check-in
的时候，不知怎么搞的就没有给我chicago到上海这一段的正式机票，
只是一张confirmation，工作人员说，到时候一定会有位子的，我也
没多想。到了chicago,被告知票子卖得太多了，现在没有位子，要我
等20分钟看看，当时距离飞机起飞还有40分钟。我当时挺着急，但是
这样的事情听过不少，倒还没到出离愤怒的地步。就站在柜台边等
叫我的名字。过了15分钟，形势开始不对，这时候来的人，航空公司
都是一句话，没位子了，今天走不了了，等明天吧。可是很可气的是
他们不一视同仁，老外来了（这里指看上去肯定不是亚裔的那种），
绝对是有位子的，机票立马给你。中国人来了，先说没有位子，然后
问是不是绿卡，如果是，位子又有了，而像我们这种F1，或者探亲
旅游访友的，就绝对绝对地没有票子。看着这些人的嘴脸，我心里
那个气呀，尤其这些UA的工作人员都是黄皮肤，黑眼睛，说中国话
的中国人呀！
回到国内，唯一不开心的经历就是在大使馆，那些中国保安的
嘴脸，想必大家也见识过了，尤其是他们对一些拿探亲签证的老人
家，人家年纪大，不懂英文，也许连普通话都说不好，就更应该
多帮帮忙的，但是那些人那个凶，那个不耐烦，呼呼赫赫的，让人
看了心寒。我去拿签证的时候，发现签证上有些错误，去找保安，
本来只想问问有什么电话或者人我可以去找找问问的，却招来了
一顿骂。我很委屈，老爸说，只有白痴才跟这些人理论讲道理的，
我为此还跟老爸争了起来，可是现在想想，我是不是有点白痴啊？
我爱自己的国家和同胞，只是对这些人，实在无话可说了，只
是不明白，也许这些人不工作的时候，也是挺正常的，但是为什么
一工作就换成了那样的嘴脸，sigh…
=========================================

Comments:
I think it’s an extreme case. For international travel it’s a good idea to confirm the ticket before heading to airport. This applies to Southwest airline domestic travel too. Nowadays you can confirm the ticket online.

I don’t have Green Card either. Although I don’t have exact same experience, I felt there is some difference between PR and non-PR : I could not exchange the RMB back to USD at Bank of China; they look at my docuements more carefully when I checked out from “Chu Jing Chu” and airline counter. It’s ironic when I came back into US, because I had this thing called “advanced parole”, I got to lined up with Green Card holder (faster lane) and processed before visa holders.

I think there are always people who judge other people by the appearance, status, wealth, etc. What we need to do is we treat other people fairly; and when we felt we were treated very unfairly, complain and seek courses if necessary.

Categories
Life

Don’t try too hard

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Last Updated on March 5, 2006 by stlplace

It seems like China is going to get only one Gold Medal at this Winter Olympics games. It’s a bit disappointing for many Chinese who care about the game, including me. I think lots of people, especially the team China expected to win more gold medals this time. I believe four years ago we got at least two gold (Yang Yang, short track speed skating). This time we had gold hope on Pair figure skating, speed skating (both regular and short track), women’s skiing Aerial (jump), etc. But we only got one on Women’s short track. Why the disappointment? I think one reason is expectation is too high. While we had hope in those games, the competition is very intense and our opponents are very strong too. A lot depends on the performance at the spot. But we Chinese ususally can not do well when we try too hard.

This is not a problem for Chinese Athlets. Michelle Kwan, 5 times world figure skating champion, tried very hard to win a gold medal in 1998 and 2002 Olympics, did not get what she wished for. She tried again in this year but had to withdrawl at last minute because of injury. I think she tried too hard.

I want to share my own experience on this too. I wanted to go to Shanghai Jiaotong University when I graduated from high school in 1989. I was so nervous that I did not get any sleep during the college admission exam (black July). And did not make it. Four years later, I tried very hard to take the Graduate Admission Exam in order to get to the same university, I failed again. This time I failed on Math.

Continue reading “Don’t try too hard”
Categories
Software development

Software bugs

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace

I received a letter from Missouri Department of Revenue yesterday. And it says my tax return for the year 2004 was invalid. That made me nervous. I scambled to look at my 2004 return which is done by Turbo Tax software, and other supporting documents. I found out an obvious problem eventually.

I should have taken a look at the tax return prepared by the software but I did not. I guess the lesson here is don’t trust the software blindly. The good thing is the consequence is not life or death situation, it’s going to cost me money though.

Software bug is just a way of life, sadly. Just like we human being could have illness one way or the other. But some software bugs can cause real big trouble, such as fail the space mission, explode gas pipe, kill patients, etc. Here is an article I saw from the Wired News. It lists 10 worst software bugs in the history. Interesting reading if you have time.

Categories
Technology

Cell phone

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Last Updated on February 22, 2006 by stlplace

I ordered Motorola E815 and Verizon Wireless new service plan from Amazon yesterday, after doing some research on the web. My contract with T-mobile expired recently, and I was not impressed by their service: the biggest problem is their limited coverage area. Many times when I am off the highways, I no longer have the signal. The other day when I was in MSP airport, in some places it had signal, in other places it didn’t. And their customer service is not consistent either. I heard mixed messages from time to time.

I checked out the cell phones and plans from Amazon. Cingular and Sprint both require 2 years contract, which I don’t like. I had some difficulty to choose the phone between E815 and LG VX8100. Sometimes choice is not necessary a good thing. I chose the Motorola because it’s slightly cheaper and it comes with bluebooth headset.

This evening (Feb. 21) I drove by the Verizon store and decided to take a look at the real thing. It seems the LG phone is much sexier than the Motorola E815. Now I can only hope the E815 has better substance. How can I forget the store which I drive by everyday? I know I am a little out of mind these days.

Note: I found the cell phone buying guide from eBay to be helpful.

Note on Feb 22: on second thought, I changed my order from Motorola E815 ($20 money back with mail-in rebates) to SamSung A850 ($100 money back with mail-in rebates). People in China will think it’s crazy we can make money here just buying cell phone. But it’s just a way the carriers here used to entice new customers. The monthly rate of the plans is not cheap. The one-year plan I am going to have is $39.99 per month before tax. That’s $480 for one year. Thinking I may not be in St. Louis for several months in the coming year, I want to cut the phone bill a bit. Besides that, I don’t think the extra feature offered by E815 such as 1.3M camera, video capture and MP3 player will be very useful for me. I am just a simple guy who use phone for talk and text messaging.

Categories
Fun

Olympics figure skating

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on February 21, 2006 by stlplace

The highlights of the Torino Olympics, Ladies figure skating will start tonight. American Sasha Cohen and Russian Irina Sluskaya will be the favorites. While I like both of them, I hope Irina could win because she went through a lot (illness) in recent years and I like her personality better. Compared to Sasha, Irina is more mature and more easy going. There could be some dark horses in the event, just like Tara Lipinski and Sara Hughes in 1998 and 2002. Michelle Kwan was favorite in both events, but she did not win the gold because those young girls did better. I guess it’s just the nature (or the beauty) of life: there is always something unexpected.

A side note: in the past week I enjoyed watching China CCTV channel 5 coverage on Winter Olympics, which is mainly about Chinese athlets. After I came back, when I watch the NBC Olympics program, it mainly shows American athlets. I have to go to web if I want to know how Chinese did.

Categories
China

Direct flight from ORD to PVG

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on February 27, 2006 by stlplace

American Airline (AA) is starting this direct flight from Chicago (ORD) to Shanghai (PVG), using Boeing 777, on April 2. This is in addition to current United Airline’s (UA) direct flight for the same route. UA is also using 777. I checked it on the AA web site. AA is offering special prices for the initial period. This is good news for people live in Central and Eastern part of the US. As competition heats up, consumers will benifit. In recent two trips to China I bought Northwest round trip tickets for low 800s. I expect the price stay that way or even drop below 800 as capacity builds up.

Categories
Technology Web

Be careful

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on February 20, 2006 by stlplace

The following is a faked email I received today. I found it out by
“show full headers” in my Yahoo email. I believe you can do it in
other mail clients. The lesson here is don’t click on the link from
your email unless you are absolutely sure it’s from a trusted source.

=========================
To: my email address (msgid-XXX-XXX-XXX)
From: Paypal-XXX-XXX-XXX
Subject: Resolution Center Notice: (PP-XXX-XXX-XXX)
————————————————————
We recently reviewed your account, and we need more information about your business to allow us to provide uninterrupted service. Until we can collect this information, your access to sensitive account features will be limited. We would like to restore your access as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Why is my account access limited?

Your account access has been limited for the following reason(s):

Jan. 19, 2006: We have observed activity in this account that is unusual or potentially high risk.

(Your case ID for this reason is PP-XXX-XXX-XXX)

How can I restore my account access?

Please visit the Resolution Center (here is a faked link) and complete the “Steps to Remove Limitations.”

Once you complete all of the checklist items, your case will be reviewed by one of our Account Specialists. We will send you an email with the outcome of the review.
==========================

Categories
Saint Louis

I am back

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on February 20, 2006 by stlplace

To the river city after 20 hours travel. I fell into sleep before the small airplane (RJ-85) landed in St. Louis, at 3:15 PM local time. There was some delay in Shanghai airport but things worked out OK because the flight NW20 from Tokyo to Minneapolis was waiting for us.

It’s 16 degree F (about -10 C) here in St. Louis. I could feel the chill when I walked from my car to Schnuck grocery store. I am going to cook my favorite “Cauliflower with pork” and “Tomato egg soup”. Back to the reality of living in St. Louis.

Categories
China

Going back

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Last Updated on February 27, 2006 by stlplace

St. Louis, flurries, high 18 F, low 7 F, that’s -7 C to -13 C.

Shanghai, snow, high 41°F (5°C), low 38°F (3°C).

Shanghai also had its first round of snow today. When I was talking to the taxi driver this morning, he told me his daughter was really excited about the snow because she never saw such snow before. To be honest, there is really not too much compare to the snow we saw in St. Louis.

Do I really want to go back to the cold winter in St. Louis? Well, it seems I have to because I burned all the cash I brought with me.

Just kidding. As much as I love my families, friends and things in Shanghai, I love my job and friends back in St. Louis, too. I know I will be welcomed by both my buddies and my cats. Just as I was well treated here in Shanghai and Ningbo. I feel both places like my home now. Actually I started to take buses instead of taxi these days because I felt more close to the common people that way (I myself am an average Joe too). It’s more convenient to take bus sometimes. Especially during rush hours or rainy days when it’s hard to get a taxi.

Talking about impression about Shanghai. I think it’s best to be summerized in one popular game name: WOW. I left Shanghai in 1997 and this is my first time I spent significant time here. The change is tremendous. The new metro lines. The luxury brands. Today I saw a Ferrari dealership opposite to a McDonald restaurant in Nanjing Rd. The tall buildings. The cars and traffic. The road. The bars. The coffee shops. The hair color of ladies and girls.

And the people. To be honest I felt a bit uneasy by the number of the people in Shanghai Book City in Fuzhou Road this afternoon. I guess it’s because the new semester just got started, the students are getting books. I saw a girl student is buying “C++ Premier” Chinese version. When I asked her whether she is Computer Science major, she told me she is Engineering student and she is interested in computer. I like the attitude of these young people. I never saw so many people in Borders or Barnes&Nobel in the States, hungry for the knowledge. I believe that’s one reason more and more foreign companies are setting up R&D shops here. And hopefully I will join the force in the very near future.

I also meet my cousin and her husband this moring. And some of my graduate school classmates in the evening. Everyone is doing well although I understand they all face things much harder than mine. Maybe the secret is they all have a happy family. My cousin told me she used to commute 2 hours one way by bus and metro. Note she is more than 15 years older than me. Now I will be more humble and patient when I stuck in the traffic in rare occasions in St. Louis. Most of time I spent 15 minutes one way. Lucky me.

Categories
401k and Personal Finance

Dollar and Yuan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on April 10, 2008 by stlplace

This afternoon I exchanged my last USD 80 at Bank of China in Kerry center. After that I only have $ 8 left at my pocket. I am not extremely disciplined at budgeting. But I think another reason is whenever I saw something in the RMB price, I tended to divide it by 8. This gives me a false sense of “everything is so cheap”. When all these “cheap things” added up, they are no longer cheap any more. I did pay more attention to the price of things lately, e.g., give up the latte at Starbucks for regular coffee , otherwise I won’t have $ 8 left.

Yuan is also going strong against dollar, I remember last summer I get Yuan 8.2 for $ 1, this time it’s about 7.97. Will this trend stop? I don’t know. One thing I do know is China’s economic growth is still very fast compared to the US. And the growth will be there for a while.