oliviatamccue

about everything, anything or something

Dec 30

Xmas 2020

by ccue

Xmas 2020 has come and gone.  3.8 millions people passed through US airports from December 23 to 26, down from 9.5 millions in 2019 for the same days.   Doing what we can, my daughter decided not to come home.  

Thank you to the technology of online meeting . We managed some zoom meetings with friends. We did a Marathon family chat on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day, we got together online to unwrap our gifts together.   “Santa” would normally have gifts for children; and this year, that “Santa” donated the gifts to the needy. 

Business Adventures 
By John Brooks

The book has twelve classic tales from the world of wall street.  Published in 1969, John has this gift to turn all kinds of complex happenings into engaging narratives with interesting characters and sustained implication to modern worlds.  In doing so, each tale is memorable.    The tales of “Xerox” and “the fate of (Ford) Edsel” are insightful for anyone developing a new product.  The tale of taxation is super educational for taxpayers esp. how few of us ponder how we get into this mess of complexity.  As an amateur investor, I thoroughly enjoyed the tale on insider trading and the devaluation of British pounds. The judicial ruling in the “One Free Bite” tale in 1963 on intellectual property and employment change is still relevant for the millions who are working in technology, innovation and research. 

This book is among the best reads for the year.  Bill Gates once said, “Business Adventures remains the best business book I’ve ever read.” 

Creativity, Inc.
By Ed Catmull

My senior leader(s) at work is reading this book, so am I.  Creativity is important in new product development, it is difficult to cultivate and possibly harder to sustain. Steve Jobs acquired Lucasfilms in 1986 and created Pixar, and the journey of Pixar is one of sustained creativity and excellence.   

Picking from his presidency at Pixar and later also Disney Animation, Ed Catmull is no doubt a savant in the world of creativity.   Drawn from decades of learning and experience, he shared an abundance of wisdom towards sustained creativity and excellence. 

Unleashing creativity requires leaders to loosen control, accept some risk, trust colleagues to own/solve problems, to clear path, to discover hidden items, and to pay attention to anything that creates fear.

Sustained creativity is a very complex, active and ongoing process.  This book does not offer short-cut or ten set steps to get there.  The last chapter “starting points” offers some prompts.  As the author said, “the trick is to think of each as a starting point, as a prompt toward deeper inquiry, and not as a conclusion”.  I benefit and would like to experiment some ideas, and you would too.

The book would not be complete without this chapter “the Steve we knew” whose vision and sponsorship is arguably the single most important factor for the success of Pixar.

The Diamond Age
By Neal Stephenson

I recently joined a product group to democratize education and inspire learners.  

This book has an interesting spin on personalized learning through a super intelligent device based on the environment and experience of the device owner.  Through the device, the main character acquired a tremendous level of knowledge on her own, and has become a “heroine” to change the world.  That part is interesting and promising.  

There are quite a few futurist speculations such as nanodevices for everyday life, material replicators that could fulfil our daily needs, the floating skyscrapers, the exchange of minds and the world organization around like-culture, like-minded “tribes” more so than countries.   There could have been potential to develop an amazing story.  Yet the plot is rather a mixed pot of many things going on, but not neatly tied together.  Together with weak character formation, it is hard to relate to the story nor the characters.  Then the plot carries an undertone of tribes stereotypes , such as tribes similar to “high class british”; and some undertone of disrespect to tribes which are more like “the Chinese in the early twenty century”.  

All these have left me a dose of bad taste for the book.   

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Nov 15

Big Sur in November

by ccue

Big Sur has no Wi-Fi nor internet service providers.  It was annoying and the lack of connectivity took some getting used to.  I would remember this Big Sur trip as a memorable social media retreat. 

Day 1 November 5

Two days after the Presidential election day, many states were still counting votes.  I cared about the results and had election stress. Watching the news all the time did not get me the news faster, nor would it change any results. The true winner could well be the media as the election day dragged into the election week. 

Carmel-by-the-sea is a 90-minute drive from home, through the highway 85, 17 and 1.  It was a Thursday, and the place lacked the usual touristy feel.   We had an outdoor lunch at an Italian restaurant.  It served a scorching hot wild mushroom risotto that I had to wait some time before I could ingest the Arborio rice.  The risotto was super creamy, mixed well with the mushroom, truffle and Parmigiano Reggiano; it was absolutely delicious.  The portion was large and heavy with the cream,  so we ended up enjoying the leftover in the next couple of days.  

Big Sur is about a 40-minute drive from Carmel-by-the-sea on the winding highway 1.  As we entered the Big Sur, we could smell the fresh redwood scent in the humid ocean air. Our cabin was a lovely cottage among the redwoods. It delighted us with its internal decor and made a super comfortable home.   We explored a number of grocery stores in the 5-mile radius, there were basic supplies and household items, but little fresh produce nor meat.  I used four quarters at a payphone to call our daughter who just got back from a trip in Cuenca, Educador.  This was like going back a decade when we called each other by phone, rather than the messaging app. 

We lit up some firewood outside of our cabin, had a super early dinner before retiring for the night.   

The only thing that gave us updates about the election news was  the poorly-received AM radio station on our car.  Time has a different rhythm without the attention grabbing internet technology.   

Day 2, November 6

After a home-made breakfast in the well equipped cabin kitchen, we went to the nearby Pfeiffer Beach, for its pacific ocean view and its purple-colored sand.   There were few travellers in the early morning, we brought along our own beach chairs and enjoyed the whole Pacific Ocean View.   The close-up ocean waves, the rhythmic wave sounds, the splashing attack of the waves to the rocks were such reminders of the power and greatness of the Pacific Ocean, and of the Nature.  The strong winds from the Pacific stirred up the sand, it was a rough beach, we enjoyed the ocean with nothing between us and the ocean.  

We continued driving south on Highway 1 and arrived at Nepenthe for an early out-door lunch.  Sipping a  spicy bloody Mary and an after-meal Coffee with Brandy, with a hard-to-beat ocean view, life was good amidst the pandemic.     

We drove further south only to find the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park close to the public due to recent fire.  Disappointed, we went for a short hike down to another Oceanfront and were rewarded with the scenic pampas grass blossoming over the hill.   

On our way back to the cabin, we stopped by the Henry Miller library, it was an interesting detour.   

We continued our early dinner and retired to bed much earlier than usual. 

Day 3, November 7

After another home-made breakfast, we went for a hike.  Just when we felt that there were less animals and birds chirping among the redwoods, we were lucky to see a deer and a fawn which seemed to be as curious about us as we were about them. We  went for a 4-mile moderate hike up the Buzzard Roost Trail, through the redwoods and tackled the gradual elevation up the hill.  It ended up with a rather mediocre view of the Pacific Ocean far in the distance. It was a good hike and the hikers were all disciplined about wearing masks and social distancing.

We  had lunch at Carmel Crossroads, with an absolutely enjoyable outdoor scallop-fish-and-chip meal, as well as fresh oysters.  Our spirits were lifted with the updates on the presidential election.  On the way back to the cabin, we stopped to take pictures at the famous Bixby Bridge, we were far enough to see the grand view of the bridge above the rocky Pacific Ocean and the cliff above the water.  My acrophobia was getting the better of me and left me in awe.

Back to the campgrounds, we shot some hoops and even had fun climbing the cargo net, only to find that we were no longer the age to get to its top.

We cooked T-bone steak and squash for dinner at the well equipped kitchen.

Day 4, November 8

Another short hike to the Pacific Ocean at the Andrew Molera State Park concluded our Big Sur trip. We stopped by Monterey for lunch,  there was no crowd and it reminded us of the cold weather and the impact of the pandemic.  

As we headed back to internet civilization, I made a pledge to not let my mobile phone take away that much of my time. 

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A Complete History of China | History of China
100 episodes of Chinese history on YouTube

75 hours of Chinese history on Youtube make for great learning.  In this 100-episode series, the first episode has  attracted 1.4M views, while the last episode only earns 87K views.  I highly recommend the series to anyone who wants to know more about the Chinese history.    If you do not have time for the whole thing, there may be a few that could interest you.

Episode 12 Confucius
Episode 18 Qin unification of China
Episode 22 Glorious Han Dynasty
Episode 31 My most favorite person in Chinese history 諸葛亮
Episode 42 Among the best emperors 貞觀之治 in Chinese History
Episode 74 Marco Polo and China
Episode 91 Qing unification of China
Episode 93 Taxation in China
Episode 96 Opium War, every Hongkonger should watch
Episode 98 Sino-Japanese war
Episode 99 Revolution against Qing Dynasty

The Great Influenza
John M. Barry

Cover art

The 1918 – 1920 Influenza killed tens of millions, and there was panic everywhere when very few were spared from its impact.

The Influenza happened at a time that US doctors were far less respected than their peers in Europe when Europe was consumed with the World War I. John chronicled the Great Influenza; and gave us a great account how some colossal figures transformed the US medical training and profession; and how the political climate profoundly affected the communication and the responses to the Pandemic.

It feels strange the book reads like the current Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Is history repeating itself? We seem to be not any better in addressing the situation. Just like the Great Influenza, the political climate has overshadowed the medical judgement for a pandemic; just like the Great Influenza, the government cannot be trusted to put our health at the top priority; just like the Great Influenza, the politicians put blame on others regardless of evidence and is lack of.

This book tells you everything to know about the 1918 Pandemic and humbles us that we have yet to learn our lessons from it.

The Matchmakers: The new economics of multisided platforms
By David S. Evans

Amazon.com: Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms (9781633691728): Evans, David S., Schmalensee, Richard: Books

I recently joined a product development group with the goal to build an ecosystem for voice computing platforms.   Building a multi-sided platform is among the hardest challenges.  The book explains the different considerations for a multi-sided platform from a regular product business and raises good questions to increase the chance of a multi-sided platform.  

This book would be useful to those who are in the position to lead the development of a multi-sided platform.

Good economics for hard times
By Abhijit v. Banerjee and Esther duflo

Good Economics for Hard Times: Banerjee, Abhijit V., Duflo, Esther: 9781610399500: Amazon.com: Books

Written by the 2019 Nobel prize winners in economics, the book gave an in depth look on a fairly broad set of topics: the social impact of global trade , the inertia of people to move for the better life , the unequal impact of global trade, the appropriateness of government intervention, the bias of society towards economic growth, the challenge of class mobility, the argument for universal basic income, the importance of any social welfare program to keep people’s dignity and respect in mind.

The broad brush on these economics leaves me dazzled with the impression there is just so much to be done to better the society.

Little Fires everywhere 
By Celeste Ng 

Amazon.com: Little Fires Everywhere (9780735224292): Ng, Celeste: Books

The story portrays distinct characters in two families, with contrasting ways of living & drastic differences in their approaches to lives: the so-called fit-ins and the outcasts.  It provokes thoughts on hard choices between choosing a poor biological mother and an adoption promising a better life; the hard choices between a comfortable life and an uncertain life following the passion; the fear of losing someone vs the actual loss of someone.  The novel has since been adopted into an American drama TV series.  I enjoyed this book.

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Oct 4

3 Days at North Lake Tahoe

by ccue

The pandemic has grounded us mostly for air travel. After ruling out international travel, we researched for a fall foliage trip to the East Coast, or a trip to Hawaii.  We have our own doubts about travel safety for ourselves and for others, so we started with small short trips that are within driving distance.  We went to North Lake Tahoe to celebrate a birthday and mid-Autumn festival. 

Pandemic reminds us how we  miss  the treasure in our lives.  Lake Tahoe is such an illustration that we miss beauty right in front of us.  We occasionally go there skiing in winter.  Yet in spite of its natural beauty, and its offering of many summer lakeside activities, we used to have too many choices in summer to consider Lake Tahoe.  

Incline Village, a small community of around 9,000, is located north of Lake Tahoe.   It offers plenty of outdoor activities from hiking, to biking to skiing; and it has a slight feel of Hawaii, but not quite as touristy.  The mansion, facing the Lake with its private dock, can still cost close to ten millions. Yet compared to the Bay Area, it is still much cheaper to own a home and stay during summer months.

Day 1

We got concerned with the unpredictable air quality due to the wildfire throughout California, it was too late to change plans. We got our rental car in the morning and packed up to go.  On our way, we stopped for lunch at Hanami Sushi in Auburn, we enjoyed the food, the warmth of the sun and the outdoor setting.  

Shortly after crossing  the California-Nevada state line, we arrived and were pleased to find that the weather was great with blue sky, the air quality was moderate, and good enough for outdoor activities. The airbnb is a 765 sq. ft 1 bedroom 1 bathroom, built in 1982.  I like its room layout and can imagine living in a compatible home during my retirement years.   It  has nice touches and thoughtful designs such as the high ceilings above the dinner table, and the space-efficient fully equipped kitchen. 

After settling down, we  went to explore Lake Tahoe.  Hidden Beach is 2.3 miles from our airbnb.  We got tricked by the Google Map ,which first stated we were 7 minutes away, then it changed its mind and claimed we were 30 minutes away.  We got lost with Google Map.  With  the technology, we were so used to following step-by-step instructions, and  no longer had that big map in our mind.   In hindsight, it was simply Google Map could not guide us to make an unusual (and possibly illegal) U-turn. Once we missed the destination, we had to drive another 20+ miles for a big loop on the highway to get back to the beach.   Hidden Beach is beautiful, we dipped our feet in the cold-but-not-freezing water, it was refreshing, there were only a handful of swimmers, while a few others relaxed at the beach, quietly enjoying themselves, without wearing masks.  We took some pictures and watched a very beautiful sunset over Lake Tahoe.  The sunset happened quickly, from the full sun to its disappearing, it only took 2 minutes. 

We bought some food from a nearby grocery market, and had dinner at the airbnb while whatsapping with our children on the birthday of my husband.

Day 2
We planned to do some hiking and picked the 7-mile moderate Tunnel Creek Trail.  After parking at the Bullwheel Parking Lot, there was no sign of the trail head, and we asked and got in the wrong direction.  After 30 minutes or so of walking, we finally asked another person, and discovered that we were on a different trail.  We were reluctant to backtrack, and decided to continue on this easy and flat East Shore Trail.  The trail is paved with concrete, and offers plenty of picture moments along Lake Tahoe.  We passed by Hidden Beach, the Emerald cove, the Sunset cove and to the Sand Harbour.  The East Shore Trail is a 5-miles round trip from the Bullwheel parking lot. It is one of the most scenic trails, with beautiful views of the piers, beaches and the lake.  If you only have time for one hike in North Lake Tahoe, this probably should be the one. 

After the hike, we had burgers and some delicious garlic fries at the nearby Burgers and Brews.  After some rest, we went to the nearby Inclined Beach, a private beach, to do nothing.  The lake water is super clear and cool.  It is a bit rocky at the waterline, the sand becomes silky smooth just a few feet into the water.  My husband did a short swim and I told a picture of him sharing the lake with a paddling of ducks.  We were tired after the hike and the beach outings, we barely finished a movie before retiring to bed early. 

Day 3
We gave another try to the Tunnel Creek Trail for a panoramic view of Lake Tahoe.  The weather and the air quality both cooperated.  The air outside was cold and refreshing, the streets were quiet with one or two athletic looking joggers.  

There were hardly any cars in the Bullwheel Parking Lot and it almost felt too quiet.   At the trailhead, we saw and heard some California blue jays happily chirping with each other.    The trail is well paved, just like walking on fine and hard sand, and easy for the feet.  It shapes like many consecutive S-letters, sloping upwards.  We were rewarded with the gorgeous Lake Tahoe views among the clusters of Jeffery Pines. 

There are occasional signposts on the tree species and the effort to return the environment to how it has been; and how fires are sometimes planned to burn down some trees to create better forest spacing. There were pine cones almost everywhere. It was early in the morning, so we saw just  a few hikers.  We listened to the radio stations of Hong Kong and Spotify music along the way.  The lake looks peaceful and calm from afar.  We stopped often to take pictures, or called on Google Assistant to take our selfies.  We could only afford two hours on the hike to be back at the airbnb to checkout. 

We stopped for lunch near Donner Lake, had deep fried pickles, salad and smoky meat.  The fried pickle was good and reminded us of the movie “An American Pickle” The smoky meat was too salty.  Next to the restaurant is a Boba Tea shop, I could not have imagined a Boba Tea shop in this location, and spent $6 to get a Lavender Boba Tea.   

I just booked another trip to South Lake Tahoe next May, and would look forward to visiting Lake Tahoe in the upcoming summer season. 

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Hooked – how to build habit-forming products
By Nir Eyal

I recently joined a product development group for a high tech product. After several years in the  market, the product still faces significant headwinds to find product  market fit.   Amassing millions of users is no longer good enough, the economic value of a product  is a function of the strength of the habits it creates. Increasing addiction to a product is key to drive sustained value.  This  book covers a recursive framework from trigger, to user action, to variable reward, to investment of users, and back to trigger.  It is simple to understand and is a great read.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
By Gail Honeyman.

My children’s pediatrician is retiring from her practice and will go volunteer in Kenya.  A friend, recently retired from various NGOs, suggested a book would make a good gift.  This book has great Amazon reviews.  I bought two copies, one for her and one  for myself.  I really enjoyed reading it.  The genius of the author is to pick a seemingly vulnerable and unappealing woman as its main character.  Eleanor is competent but lonely and antisocial with a childhood trauma that has left a scar on her face as well as her mind.  After she gets off work on Friday, she spends her weekends drinking vodka until she is back to work on Monday.  Everything changes as she and Raymond, her IT office support, save this kind old man Sammy .  Through the kindness of Raymond and Sammy, Eleanor is able to get out of her isolation and face her past.  The author weaves together a funny and charming story while  portraying the loneliness and mental vulnerability of many living in a city.  


十二週,練出慢跑肌力
12 weeks of Muscle Training Stretching

I did it without missing a day in the last 12 weeks.  The daily exercise only takes a few minutes.   I am ready to restart again soon.

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Sep 5

The adaptable Homo Sapiens

by ccue

Restaurants, salons, gym in Bay Area continue to be mostly shut down from spring to fall. We are back to times without all these conveniences.  

We do not need an office, I work from home.  We do not need a gym, I can do stretching at home and jog in the neighbourhood.  

We prepare our own meals.  Lunch is often a choice of instant noodles, dumplings sandwiches, cereal that I can prepare quickly.  Dinner time, my husband cooks a complete meal as I finish up my work from home. On weekends, we try some new dishes to cook.  My son has made ratatouille and pancakes from wheat; my daughter has made Dutch baby pancake with spiced plum, baked curry buns and pineapple buns; I have made paella rice, oyakodon, soy sauce chicken, my husband has created the sous vide duck leg and bbq pork .  Cooking is a habit forming and is rewarding.  Our kitchen pantry is all stocked up with tens of ingredients and seasonings; home cooking becomes more convenient than ordering take outs (bad for restaurant owners).  We also have done gardening and harvested carrots, kale, rosemary mint as well as beet.  I have used mint to make tea with honey, interesting but not gourmet.  Carrots are so fresh to eat right after harvest.  Most of the time, the harvests are used to cook or make soup.  

We made our mask from bandana at the beginning when masks are nowhere to be brought.  It was functional but not comfortable and we stopped making ours once the masks are available for sale.  When the tissue paper was in high demand, we learned that the lamb’s ear that grows quickly in our garden could be a substitute, we never get to use that.  

My hair used to be a low maintenance activity, still we need to cut it  once in a while. With the salon shutdown stretching from weeks to months , the hair becomes more of a concern, so we also learn to help each other to do each other haircuts at home.  That brought back memories of a haircutting class I took long long time ago. That class took place in a rather untidy studio inside an unassuming  building in an average neighborhood.  Every student was given a head with a full  body of hair, every lesson we would trim it and practice different techniques.  My fingers were clumsy, often I could not hold on to the hair, and ended up with a head that looks quite disastrous.  It was humbling as I observed the better looking heads in the hands of my classmates.  Fortunately the head was not for a real person, I could not remember if I finished the class or it looked so bad that I just could not continue with it, probably the latter. I concluded that I did not have the talent, that was in the years that we believed talents, not passions,  are needed  to be successful.  With the pandemic, I just did a haircut for my husband using the modern multi grooming trimmers.  The result looks reasonably tidy and neat , he can go meet friends though it is better to have no one looking closely.  And what is the difference between a good haircut and a bad one ? Two weeks (hahahaha).

Amidst the adaptation and making the best out of the situation, I miss my hairdresser a bit more than the salon .  I miss the coworkers at work more than work. I miss meeting friends in restaurants more than the restaurants. I miss going to places more than the hotels or airports.  Nature once again reminds us of its prowess, and I miss nature and the outdoors so very badly.

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From Toni Morrison : its examination of the hazards and hopes of black male life is as profound as it is revelatory.  This is a required reading to more deeply understand “Black Lives Matter”, a phrase so frequently heard in recent months. The book is a long letter from a father to his son, depicting what life has been like and will be like for the black people in the States. From the author’s perspective, race is the child of racism and the American dream is reserved for the white people.  Black people have been intentionally excluded from the dream.  In his first hand depiction, the author learns to live in fear, learns how to disguise his fear with what we come to know as typical black people behavior in the inner city, how he finds camaraderie in Howard university and a new sense of freedom  in Paris.   Many names, events and places references are unknown to me.  As I Google them up, I am shocked at how many of these dark sides have been buried.  If you are affected by the recent social events on the brutality towards the black people and want a deeper understanding of their history and their struggle, this is a must read.  

I have always wanted to join a book club.  I finally joined one and facilitated some discussion.  It has been fun and educational.  This first book we read is about how to make your already successful career to be more successful.  It is full of the author’s coaching experiences, with many CEO-to-be clients. My book club discussed the 20 habits that the very successful business people may need to let go for further successes.  My book club members are not CEO-to-be yet, and we feel many of these habits are the reasons to be successful, we need to be successful first before thinking of more successes.  I had a chance to ask the author this same question and his response has been, at the beginning, we need to care about those habits such as winning, adding value; as our career progresses, we start letting go of some of these habits.   Because of the book club, I enjoy the book more and feel that it helps to retain the learning. 

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Jun 28

Father’s Day during Coronavirus Pandemic

by ccue

On Father’s Day last week,  my son cooked mom and dad a brunch, then we went hiking at the Slacker SCA trail in San Francisco.  It was so beautiful to spend a few hours in nature and to give the body the much needed fitness challenge.  

Who would have thought that the year would turn out this way?  Who would have predicted a global pandemic?  Who would  have known the death of George Floyd triggering deep reflection and realization of social inequity?  Who would have guessed that the United States, as the only world superpower, would be so flawed in managing public health and so flawed in its society?

New York and California are among the first states to have shelter-in-place (similar to a lockdown). Since the shelter-in-place started mid March, my family, spanning from NYC to California Bay Area, has stayed at home. On workday, I literally spend my day at home sitting in front of my computer for over ten hours with hardly any break at work. In the beginning weeks,  my eyes hurt so much in the evening. It still feels unreal that we are in this world war against pandemic while my day mirrors a working day full of meetings similar to before.  My coworkers and I work as hard as before, if not harder.  Life is very hard with the pandemic (and even harder later with the social unrest after the death of George Floyd).  In these usual times, I have stayed at home for weeks without leaving home. The weekend has become very long, the time has flown very slowly and there has not been much change of landscape between weekdays and weekends. 

When I finally went out to the neighbourhood park or did some grocery shopping, it felt like the body needed adjustment to the outdoors, to the brightness of the sun and to the open.  It was a great feeling though. If freedom of movement has a smell and a taste, maybe this would be it.  With restaurants still close for any sitdown meals, we cook and eat most meals at home with a couple of takeouts every week.   As the country opens up more, I go out for grocery or bakery shopping once every week.  After the grocery, it takes time to wash hands, wipe the groceries, put them in the fridge, and then wash hands again.  Some mornings I would do a 13-laps jog around the driveway, that is only a few hundreds meters in total distances, then write some journal before beginning my ten hours of work in front of the laptop and the monitor.

It was a special Father’s Day in this unusual time.  The hike of moderate intensity turned out to be a stretch of body fitness to say the least.  While San Francisco is a 45-minutes drive, it has  been the furthest we have gone since mid March.   The hike had some uphill climb and downhill moments, with over three months of shelter-in-place, it turned out to be quite exhausting.  It is a scenic hike with gorgeous views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco skyline, the Angel Island and the Alcatraz.  The sky was a clear blue with no cloud on the horizon, and the weather was perfect for hiking.  Along the 5-mile trail, we saw quite a few fellow hikers, and every time some fellow hikers were within our eyesight, we would put on our masks; for the trail, I put on and off my mask about forty times.   It felt more like a training on father’s day than celebrating father’s day!  The muscle pain has lasted for a few days indeed. 

In this unusual time, it is a great feeling to be out in nature, to be under the beautiful sky, to feel the warmth  of the sunlight and to appreciate the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge from different angles.  It has been a memorable and beautiful hike on this Father’s Day.

More time reading during the shelter-in-place. For a while, libraries have been closed, bookstores have been open. A book on AI and its commercialisation. Read more like AI for the beginners.

Written by his friend and personal assistant, the book gives a glimpse of how the very charismatic Jack Ma journeyed from being an English teacher to become the founder of Alibaba and how he cultivated a very unique company culture and group of followers.

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Feb 23

Gratitude, Nature and Goodreads

by ccue

Since  Chinese New Year,  I have spent a few minutes daily jotting down three things I am thankful for.  In days when I am not in the best mood, it takes more effort. Habit shapes our character.  These few minutes almost always pivot my mind onto something positive, and has the effect of a more positive outlook in spite of challenging moments like difficult work, fake news or bad news. 

 

My husband and I visited Yosemite National Park on Valentine’s day.  We hoped to watch the firefall at the Horsetail Fall.  Yosemite is a 4-hour drive from home, and we stayed at the well maintained and cozy Yosemite Valley Lodge.  The reception forewarned us this year, there was no water, and therefore no chance of any glowing waterfall at sunset.  We were already there, might as well do some walking. From the lodge, it was a 45 minutes easy walk to the Horsetail Fall. To avoid damaging nature with too many human footprints, the rangers have set up  a driving lane to be a pedestrian-only path. It was a bit cold, we were there around 5pm, and waited for the sunset. There were about a dozen photographers setting up their cameras in the area. Without the water,  it was still beautiful to see the turn of color on the rock from granite color to shining yellow to golden then to red, before the sun was down. We joked about seeing “firerock” rather than “firefall”, we took pictures to capture the changes of colors on the El Capitan .  

The next morning, we had a delicious breakfast at the cafeteria, and it was pleasing to see the many visitors in full hiking gear, looking happy for whatever they have planned for the day. It reminded me about school trips, though these are mostly strangers. We took an easy hour-long hike to the Mirror Lake.   The perfect reflections and the absolute calmness of the lake have been healing, calming and just pleasing. 

On our drive back, we stopped at almost every pharmacy, to look for earloop face masks. Along that 180+ miles, there was only one pharmacy shop that had 3 boxes of masks, I grabbed one, leaving the other two on the shelf.   

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Do No Harm by Henry Marsh
Do No harmWritten with candor and compassion, neurosurgeon Henry Marsh shares first insights into the joy of brain operating, the successes and failures of his surgeries, the delicate balance of being emotionally detached from patients and being compassionate, and  how he faces approaching his patient with no hope of getting better.  

Do No Harm provides unforgettable human dramas  that take place in a busy modern hospital, with black humor in how the medical system has created more challenges for the doctors who want to focus on just saving patients.  

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Billions and Billions by Carl SaganBillions and Billions
Last book written by Carl Sagan, before he died a  few months later in 1996.  

“Billions and Billions” is a term that he has been quoted saying, but he has never actually said because it was scientifically ambiguous.    This is a beautiful collection of stories where Carl Sagan unpacks many interesting subjects that touch our lives. Beautifully written, he applies scientific thinking to weave together the causes and remedy of ozone depletion, the path towards climate control, pro-choice vs pro-life, the self-inflicted military race, and his own personal life and death ordeal.   

Here is how he sums up the last century: “The twentieth century will be remembered for three board innovations: unprecedented means to save, prolong, and enhance life; unprecedented means to destroy life,… and unprecedented insights into the nature of  ourselves and the Universe”. 

On his ordeal over his terminal illness, he writes  “Six times now have I looked Death in the face. And six times Death has averted his gaze and let me pass. Eventually, of course, Death will claim me…. I’ve learned much from our confrontations – especially about the beauty and poignancy of life, about the preciousness of friends and family, and about the transforming power of love.  In fact, almost dying is such a positive, character-building experience that I’d recommend it to everybody…. I would love to believe that when I die I will live again… I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking”.

The epilogue  by his wife is so very touching.   Carl Sagan stays true to his belief in scientific thinking and he experiences the fullness of life till the very end.

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Jan 26

Happy Chinese New Year of Rat

by ccue

On the first day of many years, I write down a few annual goals on a piece of paper. On the last day of the year,  I was often surprised to discover that some goals have either started or achieved. 

My top goal for 2020 is to stay healthy and to live with a high level of well being.  Just because I enjoy learning, for things that are challenging and less enjoyable, I want to translate the hardship into a journey of learning. 

After reading the book “The Gratitude Diaries”, I have wanted to start my own gratitude journey to write things to be thankful for everyday.  And what better day to start this habit than Chinese New Year day, and that was exactly what I did.

The Gratitude Diaries
By Janice Kaplan

Gratitude DiariesJanice made a New Year resolution to live the year with a gratitude mindset.  From marriage, family, money, career to health, caring and connections, Janice narrated how her year of gratitude has transformed her life. The mindset shift not only has added to her own happiness, but also deepened her connections with family and friends. With a journalist background, Janice is a great story teller.  She brought in a range of experts, and adds their stories to her own gratitude experiments from winter to autumn.

Gratitude has no end.  If we choose to look for it, gratitude is everywhere. 

Range
by John Epstein

The rangeThe world is not lacking experts for every topic and specialization is happening earlier.  This book unveils a refreshing theory that in the modern world, the environment is complex and unique (aka wicked); challenges are no longer repeating itself and they cannot be overcome  by the same specialized solutions. The author debates the wicked world need the range of generalists to bring in the breadth, the creativity, the leverage from different domains to tackle super complex problems  that remain unresolved by specialists for decades. While hyper-specialization works in a repetitive “kind” environment, it argues, with plenty of real-life stories, that the current world problems require the range of generalists as much as the narrow depth of specialists.

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Mar 30

March: Indian Wells Tennis

by ccue

 

Indian Wells, next to Palm Springs,  is about 2 hours drive from Los Angeles.   Situated in the desert, this beautiful city is surrounded by layers of hills, and is a popular retirement destination as well as a winter snowbird destination.  The area strikes a perfect balance of quietness and convenience; for the diners, there are many international choices. It feels like a perfect location for sanctuaries and has been a popular resort for hollywood stars.  Four out of the last five years, we went to watch Indian Wells Tennis Master in March. This year, it was all the more special as we made a detour to UCLA to dine with our son.

Since Larry Ellison became the owner of the tennis tournament, he threw a few hundreds millions to make continuous improvements to the tennis gardens, bring in nice chef, renovate the gardens, improve the fans’ experience and raise the prize money for the players.  As an example of improving fans’ experience, he bought the piece of land next to the tennis stadium, and turned it into a huge grass-surface parking lots. We paid $25 for the parking for a day and took a short walk to the tennis garden.

The tournament has grown in the past few years.  This year, we had a hard time to get the tickets for the final, and ended up paying $500 per ticket.  We were somewhat lucky to be treated with two great finals, both went the distance of three setters. Seated so much closer to the tennis court, we felt the pace and the power.    While disappointed that Federer lost to Thiem in a tight final, it was not meant to be , and it was hard to dislike Thiem.

On the day before, we thought we were luckier to hold that $70 semi-final ticket, to witness the 39th match between Nadal and Federer.  The ticket could be easily resold at five times of the original price tag on the tournament website.  Much to our disappointment, Nadal withdrew hours before the match.  He should have come play a few games, and it would have made it so memorable for the 14,000 tennis fans in the stadium.  The tournament organizer did a great job to put together a last minute double substitute with Djokovic/Sampras against McEnroe/Haas.

Indian Wells Resort maybe the hotel of choice for the tournament.  I saw Haas, the tournament director, at the hotel lobby. And had a brief eye contact with Thiem, the subsequent champion, at the hotel entrance as he got ready to the stadium in the morning of the final.

After Indian Wells, this may be the year to make the ultimate tennis pilgrimage to Wimbledon.

 

Investing in REITs
By Ralph L Block

Many middle class look into rental property as they journey beyond mid-life.  Few talk about the nuts-and-bolts of tenant management, property management, its opportunity cost and its relative return on investment.   Different from buying a few shares of stock, a rental property is a larger and often illiquid investment with longer term impact. There is some risk and a bad tenant makes a bad day for you.  

REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is the closest liquid investment that is accessible and achieves similar investment diversification as buying a rental property without the nuts-and-bolts, and also without the same pride of home ownership.     

In its fourth edition,  this well-written, well-organized REIT book is perfect for new investors; and is a good refreshing course for seasoned ones.   Last revised in 2010, it gives an overview, the REIT categories, the investment principles, the how-to set up REIT portfolio, without getting into tons of charts nor complex math.

This book provides solid fundamentals towards investing in REIT which could be an alternative to owning rental property.

 

The Miracle of Mindfulness
by Thich Nhat Hanh

In this small book, Thich Nhat Hanh uses gentle stories and simple exercises on how to be more mindful and be conscious of the moment.  It starts with some simple breathing exercise, some simple tips to focus on the moment, and progresses through the deeper buddhist meditation experience.

I find the simple medication to be calming and am convinced that a daily meditation can sharpen the mind and the concentration in the daily hustle-rustle.

 

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Mar 3

February: Health

by ccue

February is a short month with two festivals : Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day.

Chinese New Year Eve, we had a lot of dishes for the two of us with leftover enough for the remaining week.  New Year Day, we drove to ChinaTown and served ourselves vegetarian dish. This tradition is hard to keep up in America, but we tried as much as possible.   Near Valentine’s day, we did a date-night cooking class with a 3-course meal and a creme brulee dessert.

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Many days in this month I suffered from stomach bloating.  My gastroenterologist suggests the low-fodmap diet (FODMAP = Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols).  In simple terms, this diet contains a long list of common foods suitable, such as rice, banana, lactose-free milk products, a variety of vegetables and fruit), and also a long list of common foods that need to be eliminated.

Over the years, my stomach complains once in a while.  There was a period when I was a teenager that my mom cooked “bird-nest” congee which was considered very good for stomach. Believe it or not, it was cured and did not come back for years.  This stomach issue came back a few years ago, and was cured after some months of controlled diet. When I shared my health issue, the most frequent reactions from others have been “are you stressed?”  In my experience, the causation effect between stomach issue and stress has not been as obvious, though the health issue creates stress when the bloating pain can come anytime and is sometimes limiting the day-to-day activities.

My theory is that when the stomach is at a sick state, even if it is the same food that uses to cause no problem, the stomach  would randomly complain about. I have this personal challenge to put the stomach back to a healthy state, so that it is not as sensitive to what gets in it.    Coincidentally, I read the “miracle of mindfulness” for inspiration of mindfulness, just in case some relaxation can help along the way.

The laws of medicine

The Laws of Medicine: Field Notes from an Uncertain Science
by Siddhartha Mukherjee

I read this after the award winning book “The Emperor of Maladies” by the same author.  A small book, written years earlier, when Siddhartha was a young, exhausted and isolated medical resident.   In this book, he identified the three key principles that govern medicines.

  • A strong intuition is much more powerful than a weak test.
  • Outliers teach us laws
  • For every perfect medical experiment, there is a perfect human bias.

I am not giving the book away.  Siddhartha has the talent of telling stories and explaining principles that makes his book memorable.  This book is a must read, whether you are in the medical field or not.

Sometimes BrilliantSometimes Brilliant by Larry Brilliant

Larry has been selected as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.   He was the  inaugural Executive Director of Google.org,[1] the charitable arm of Google established in 2005.  He became a co-founder and chairman of Seva Foundation, an international, non-profit, health foundation which has given back sight to more than 3 million blind people through surgery.

Decades ago, he went to India as a spiritual seeker.  His guru Maharaji called him “Doctor America” by his Maharaji, urged him to join WHO and prophesied the eradication of smallpox.   With an unwavering belief in the prophecy, Larry started this impossible adventure, which took him to WHO.   In this book, he chronicled how the team overcame the relentless social/political/business challenges to finally eradicate smallpox.   It is not only a victory of medicine but also the discovery of himself along the journey.

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Feb 3

January: Happy New Year

by ccue

First week of the month, my daughter and I went to watch a beautiful lights show by the artist Bruce Monro. 

As the children went back to college, my spouse and I slid back to empty nester.  Australian Open came and gone, the miraculous 2017 and the slightly less but still spectacular 2018 did not repeat.  Towards the end of the month, we set up a raised garden bed which has been a gift sitting in the garage for years.  We planted the lovely herbs Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, Cilantro, some Kale and some pepper seeds. The money spent on the garden soil, seeds and the plants could easily afford us a month or two of expenses in vegetables, not to mention the labor, the water and later the fertilizers.   This again reminds how little farmers earn, and yet play such an important a role in our society.

I finished reading two non-fictions.  The first book, written by ex-GM of Google China, covers and analyzes Artificial Intelligence (AI), a topic that everyone is curious about.  The other book, written by a physician and claimed the Pulitzer prize, covers a topic that people rather whisper about.

 

AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order
by Kai-Fu Lee

The book has both the Chinese and English version.  I read the Chinese version.

Many of us are curious about “who would win the AI race?”, “how would AI affect the world?”, “how many jobs would be eliminated?”, and even further, “is human, as a species, going to become extinct?”  This book provides a comprehensive coverage of AI technology impact to the world, to the superpowers, and to each of us.

Once the GM of Google China, he decomposes the four success factors for AI: Data, Entrepreneur, Talents/Technicians, and Government; and provides a structural comparison how the two superpowers, China and United States, would compete with each other.   On a broader scheme of things, it provides a thought provoking analysis how AI would affect the society and its wealth distribution; and ends with a hypothesis how AI can play a role to enrich human life.

From his near death encounter with a deadly illness, the author reckons human future lies in our spirit of humanity and most importantly, our ability to love.

The Emperor of all maladies : A biography of cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee

How would a book on such a dire illness, win the Pulitzer Award?

The book is among the most engaging,  educational, and absorbing read of all the books I have read.   I can’t help but admiring how the author weaves narratives of the scary radical surgery, the poisonous chemo trials, the difficult battles against the tobacco industry and the serendipitous “invention” of mammogram and pap smear.

Far from brutally fearsome, this eloquent chronicle of cancer is full of humane spirit and surprisingly heartwarming, with its first documented appearances thousands of years ago, through the decades of battles to prevent and cure, to the latest gene mutation research of the illness.

Through the experience of Carla, a patient who survived, we cannot but realize the potential immortality of cancer with its prowess originated from the exact human capacity to grow, adapt spread and thrive.   It leaves us the question not if we will encounter cancer in our lives but when.

It ends with the author’s final meeting with another cancer patient, Germaine, who spent six years fighting, and finally found herself stare into an empty vault of resourcefulness and resilience.  Such is the chilly reality for the four-thousand-year-old war against the disease.

Rather than a defeatist, it leaves us with a profound insight into, and a deeper connection to the millions who has or will have an encounter with this emperor of all maladies – cancer.

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