Cassiopeia

Life is good.

This is a powerful appeal by Gabrielle Bouliane who performs for the audience at the Austin Poetry Slam. This was her last public performance.

Gabrielle was diagnosed with Stage Four Cancer shortly before this video was filmed. She died in January 29, 2010 surrounded by family and friends, and apparently her passing was in a very quiet, peaceful room full of love and affection.

This is one of the “better” viral videos as it contains a real message. Her message is simple: “Do not wait. If you don’t start today, get the fuck up walk out the door and change your life to the best it can be, then when?  Don’t you dare waste your fucking time.”

-A powerful repost from 23moments 

I know this may sound a little cheesy, but I believe in myself so much more as a media/marketing person than an engineer. I got very, very lucky with my first job at Zygo, too. It brought out a personality in me which I didn’t know was there because I was too busy solving math problems in a dark basement during my college years. Zygo urged me to grow up, they watched me grow up. I am eternally grateful for that. Unfortunately, this also meant that I had to leave them for other opportunities.

Today, I decided to take a huge pay cut. Temporary at best, I’ll lose my condo at worse. But it’s a small price to pay for eternal happiness. Though I don’t expect most people to understand that, I guess this post is a document of my trying.

Now excuse me. I have to get the fuck up and walk out my door. 

Toyota had a point:

If a=F/m, why should you let your feet off the gas?

Just kidding. I love my Toyota.

The envelope was standard, like something you’d expect from papyrus. But it was unusually heavy. The envelop bulged a bit, hinting that the contents contained more than a suspected late Christmas card. Four stamps. The sender name was unrecognizable, possibly an alias, as it was addressed correctly to me. Confusion.

I didn’t bother to walk back to my condo to check what’s inside. I immediately tore open the envelope and pulled out a greeting card, finding a 3 inch x 6 inch circuit board inside. The board was printed on, component-ready, but smack in the center were my initials. Even in my frenzy, it took me all but a split second to find. It came with a note, too, part of which read: “It is a small token of thanks, but I put your initials on the circuit board… “. 

I’m not sure why, or how, or what … but this is by far one of the most creative gestures of love and thoughtfulness I have ever came across. It’s wacky, it’s geeky, it’s genius… And it’s made me realize – now more than ever – that the world is really one giant canvas for me to paint on.    

So here I go again, walking into a world of men. Here goes nothing.

I’m sorry, I hate referencing xkcd — I often feel like everyone does it. But today’s post gave me a good laugh.

Tetris Cupcake!

And speaking of games, here’s a gem I found: The 100 cupcake game.  Someone baked cupcakes and decorated them with clues to popular childhood games.  It’s completely nostalgic… and a little tough as well.  Between Chris and I, we were only able to get about 70 or so. Not bad for being what I consider “soft gamers”. 

Ticket To Ride

Also, I was recently introduced to Ticket To Ride! I loved it!  The game play design was incredibly simple but there was a lot of strategic decision involved.  Pick it up if you can. I’m about to start a board game club if more people don’t learn this game. It’s 45 minutes worth of perfectly addictive fun.

Finally, to keep with the recent events… iPhone games that I hope will benefit from being on the iPad!:

• A multi-player Flight Control game
• Facebook version of Bejeweled Blitz
• Desktop Tower Defense
• And a no-brainer: Simple Board Games!

To say that Chris is awesome is an understatement:  He gave me a portable digital recorder that works amazingly well, the Zoom. I hardly write reviews of any kind, but since I have began recording a lot, I’m going to hope that some of you will find this useful.

Why I love it

Incredibly user friendly interface: The most obvious buttons are right where they need to be while the more obscure (but still useful) functions are tucked away in a neat little menu.

Great look and feel: Slender, sleek, fits in my tiny palm. It even comes with a desktop stand, and a clip adaptor so you can use the device hands-free.

Great sound quality: Yes, it does look as professional as it sounds. You can adjust the mic directions for surround sound, 90 degrees, or 120 degrees. 

Easy to import files:  No hassle importing. 

It was made for musicians:  It comes with a guitar tuner, converts .wav files to mp3s, and comes with earbuds so I was set to record right away! They made it almost too easy for me!

What I Mildly Dislike About it But Don’t Mind Putting Up With

 The volume level:  It’s not as good at picking up sound as it should be. While this is a problem which can be remedied by Audacity -> Effects -> Amplify, it’s not too great for reviewing a piece on-the-spot.

Noise:  With the previous being said, I seem to pick up a little more noise than I want to. Definitely nowhere near ’studio’ quality, but it’s still amazing.

Record button: This little sucker is sort of in an odd place so you can hear me handling the device before and after I hit record. Minor issues. Maybe someone someday will point out the fact that there exists a record-delay option.

To Sum It All Up

For the price? It’s a must-have. I absolutely love it to bits and am taking it everywhere!

Here’s a vocal recording of Thelonious Monk’s Round Midnight that I made using the Zoom. There has been no edits to this vocal track so you can hear what the device is fully capable of. Enjoy!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I love Albert Camus. Even though I can fall asleep quicker by reading his works than by popping a Nyquil pill, I still manage to indulge myself in his mindful curiosities here and there.  Last night, he reminded me of such: An intellect is someone who mind watches himself.  It was from that which I realized I’ve been seriously lacking.

So, here are my 43 things to helping me enjoy the finer things in life. (Oh, and there really are only 10 things, but ignore that part for now)

1.  Document a trek through the Annapurna Circuit. Nothing too special. Just a video tutorial and gorgeous images of the Himalayan winterland. Bring back stories of natives: their hopes, their dreams, their courage, their fears… Images, sound clips, etc…

2.  Fly into Dubai and hang out there for a bit.  Then take a train into the city of Agra to visit the Taj. 

3.  I want to meet Jacqueline Novogratz from Acumen Fund.  It’s going to happen.

4.  And since I read 90% of my media digitally, I think it’s about time I  finish writing my e-book and learn the ropes of selling something of that nature. 

5.  I love visualized data. Did I mention that already? Probably. If there was any reason for me to program, that would be it. I know exactly what I want to do with it too.  Thanks Hans Rosling!

6.  Be a better girlfriend. Smoaky just stayed up for two days straight trying to figure out all this startup payments business. And I told him that this is slowly starting to piss me off. I probably owe him his first trip to Disneyland and a beer. 

7. Aim higher, all the time. If there’s anything I am great at, it’s taking the path of least resistance or instant gratification. I often forget that it’s OK to take two steps backwards, and instant monetary gain is probably going to be less worthwhile than, say, a bigger project that only promises exposure. This is perhaps my biggest flaw.

8.  Read daily. Since I don’t have time for fiction novels (sobs), I’m going to stick to purely top-selling or anything that helps w/analytical thinking. 2 books a month. Today, I start with from Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t. Smoaky also lent me Founders At Work. Seems like a good one to read in parallel.

9. Record more.  Covers to be made: ‘Round Midnight, Creep (piano version), and 100 years (also on piano). I love Ella Fitzgerald’s cover of Round Midnight. Ah, aspiring to new heights, yes!

10. To grow, indefinitely. Why’s that so hard for everyone to understand? I want to be a little bit outside of my comfort zone. I like unease, and I welcome it. No big deal.

I believe Henry David Thoreau predicted the financial crisis, 9/11, and other major disasters when he said the following:  it requires more than a day’s devotion to know and to possess the wealth of a day. More than two decades after the 1980’s recession and our government still has no idea how to prevent a major financial crisis caused by major bluffing. Or maybe they do and they turned a blind eye, but I doubt they expected things to get this bad.

Anyway, I’ve been shy about updating lately. One, because I didn’t want to add to the “noise” that is the blogging voice, and two, because I barely feel like this is a worthy update. But who gives a damn. So here’s what I’ve been loosely into: visualization of data. Of what? Well, of none other than my glorious unemployment. 

A graphical version of unemployment rate exists on NYT and is current up to 1/08/10.  The parallels are as striking as the fact that the rate of unemployment outpaces that of the rate during the 1980s — a clear indication that the average american today is relatively ill-prepared for job loss.

Here’s another interesting look at it from a micro-view.  A lot of the job loss happening affects minorities without an education — people who need the money the most.  While Asian women between the ages of 24-44 have an average unemployment rate of 6.7%, African American males with the same qualifications see an average unemployment rate of 16.7%. If you don’t have a highschool diploma, that rate jumps up to 48%.

So, happy 2010 everyone! Here’s to keeping your job! And if you can’t do that, you’re welcomed to travel to Nepal with me.

Other cool links to unemployment data:

Employment Outlook for the state of California  [Excel format]

A method for graphing employment data by job [via Flare w/Minnesota as an example]

Tutorial on how to compile national data [via Python & BeautifulSoup library from Excel file] // btw, this is from the FlowingData website which I have to send incredible accolades to.

And a special thanks to Alex for helping me procrastinate by linking me to most of these sources. *unappreciative yay*

Sorry about the disappearing act. I will finally continue my quiet obsession of self-expression after this short message:

Grandma was born on July 21, 1925 and passed away on December 26th, 2009.  She was born in Canton, China and moved to Hong Kong before the declaration of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. In 1978 she and her husband, Cheung Chung Yat, moved to San Francisco.  She is survived by 8 children, 21 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren, all of whom she loved in the best way she could.

————-

What Granny Taught Me About Living:

1.  Share.  If there’s only one plate of food and 10 people to feed, you make a ton of rice and share that one plate of food.
2. Don’t forget the living for the sake of the dead. My grandmother was devastated when my grandpa passed away and we knew she was dealing with it poorly, but she never dwelled upon her unhappiness. Instead, she held us tighter together.
3. Dare to move. To another country, even.
4. Take a break. Regardless of what conventional wisdom teaches you, I say it’s okay to reenergize.
5. Take time to appreciate the little things in life. It helps those around you deal with you better.  
6. Keep a diary. You’ll quickly realize how much you’ll forget.  
7. Keep reading. Granny sent her children to school by working an extra job when she could’ve done what was expected — sending her children to work instead.
8. Handmade presents make the mundane seem special. Socks make great gifts, especially when they are knit by a loved one.  
9. Capture memories, even if they’re bad ones — they will add humor to your life one day.  
10. Dare to be you. Or like my darling Granny who would willingly let us photograph her with a princess crown on and two coronas in hand.  

Hey, if you’re reading this on a Monday morning from your 9-5, chances are, you’re pretty darn grumpy.  So, here are some links to keep your Monday morning brain fresh:

• 10 Tools for Lifelong Learning provides some awesome links to free university material, language lessons, and smart youtube links. It also exposes you to culture.  I’m embarrassed to admit that this is my default location when my brain needs a break… ugh.
• Warren Buffet was also celebrated for his quick one-line humor. In the article, Warren Buffet on Sex , Warren gives us good career advice: “You want to have a passion for what you are doing. You don’t want to wait until 80 to have sex.” I will never ceased to be amazed by him. 
• And lately, because of the nature of my work, I’ve been looking at pricing models, especially of the unconventional– Amazon loses $2 for every ebook sold; the makers of Canabalt, a popular iPhone game, decides to go against the convention of selling games at $0.99 a piece in the article “The $0.99 Problem”. Pricing is always such an interesting topic to me.
• Also… Wall Outlets with built in USB ports… for only $9.95. Whoa. New Standards on Pre-Order, how you mock me so.
• Speaking of which, my most darling friend Leif Storer launched a product called Skullyboom, a portable speaker device that seems to be a big hit with the urban art folks. And speaking of Pre-orders, you can pre-order it here. (End of shameless plug)
• Oh wait. What’s that? Feeling creative now? Here’s a link for more inspiration: A Startup A Day.  Proof that there is no shortage of ideas.
• Finally, go listen to some Ella Fitzgerald.

Anyway, I think I went a little overboard on this post. Pardon. There’s a lot going on right now and these are generally the things which I’m up to. In time, I shall make this more coherent and tie the loose ends.