Does anyone see anything yet?

This is a brand new spankin’ 300×250 Google video ad (in theory). If you see something, please comment on it in this post!

Two weeks ago I went to Shanghai for the first time. Prior to last week, all I had heard about China was always secondhand. The only experiences I had of China were stories from my parents from decades past, visits to Hong Kong (which isn’t really like most of China), and a short jaunt to Hainan Island for a conference.
Perhaps Hainan Island was truly a China experience. The island is just now being discovered by Western tourists as a place where you can find sun and fun, as well as short drive from a true third world environment. The resorts are very modern, complete with beautiful, new hotel rooms and swimming pools, the golf courses nice and trimmed.
A ten minute drive lands you into a small town, with buildings that have been built decades ago and are minimally maintained. The markets sell all sorts of wares, but much of it is for the tourists (Chinese entrepreneurs know tourists love the Chinese stuff). We stop in for a foot massage, which is a tiered room that has rows upon rows reclining couches. I think the massage costs about $5 US. Next we go into a DVD shop, complete with pirated DVDs of every movie you can imagine. But outside, it is a mix of the modern and the old. Nobody looks to have much money at all.
Walking into Shanghai is a completely different experience. Imagine New York City’s skyscrapers extending off the horizon with no end in sight. I check out the Museum of Urban Planning and there is a model of the city with every building on it, present and future. It is a staggering sight.
Everything is so clean. In older cities like London or NYC, there are decades of black soot built up on the sides of the buildings. No such soot in Shanghai. Nothing has been around long enough to attract that soot. Most of it has been built in the last 10 years or so.
The streets are filled with people and the class distinctions are clear. People with old, dirty clothes ride on creaking bicycles by a Ferrari/Maserati dealership. My friends tell me it’s the gangsters who drive those cars. I can see that people who make very little money survive in this city next to people who make way too much money.
I have lunch at Jean Georges at the Bund, which arguably is the most expensive restaurant in the city and it only costs about $100 US for two people. In NYC, Jean Georges would probably set me back at least $200 or more. I also stayed at the JW Marriott which was clearly one of the top hotels in Shanghai, and it was only about $150 US/night.
The Chinese are practical; all the street signs are written both in English and in Chinese. Somehow, they just know that the English language has come to dominate business and to help the Westerners, they make sure all the signs are readable by them.
It is also amazing how many Westerners are present in the city. Almost everywhere I go, I see non-Chinese walking around, or at restaurants, or in popular bars. It reminds me of London, where I was just amazed at how much of a melting pot it is for all of Europe to gather in one place.
And at night, the light show is fantastic. A tribute to technology, rampant advertising, and the resilience of their power grid, Shanghai lights up across the horizon like no other place I’ve seen. Each building is an architectural wonder, as if architects have free rein to do whatever tickles their creative fancy, and at night they light up in multi-color splendor.
I hope to get back there soon – and I know that when I go back, the place will change yet again.

…the price I paid last week to fill my Honda CRV with 12 gallons of gas in LA, at about $3.49/gallon.
Unbelievable, to fill up at nearly $50. And my Honda CRV is relatively sedate with respect to MPG. I shudder to think about other peoples’ SUVs and the gas guzzlin’, huge gas tankin’, monstrosoties they are.
I just bought a Toyota Prius. But sadly, I think the Prius or any hybrid, or any kind of gas consuming car isn’t going to make a dent in gas prices, or how it affects your wallet, where gas is concerned.
Think about it. The gas companies exist to make a profit. They see anything that reduces gas purchases as a threat. And their shareholders will want to see continual growth in profits. So what do they do. They raise gas prices. The same goes for our Middle Eastern friends. They live in mansions and have diamond chandeliers. They own Maseratis and Bentleys and love being unbelievably rich and the don’t want to give up any of the benefits. Seeing that all go away isn’t in the plan – they too will raise prices in a vain effort to maintain their standard of living.
So despite the fact that I may actually use less gas with my Prius, I’ll still end up paying the same, if not more, over an equivalent amount of miles or time.
It’s a vicious money and wealth driven cycle.
The only way we’re going to get out of this is to really build up alternative energy sources. And when the oil cartels and companies raise prices, it will only hasten their demise. High prices drive up dissatisfaction; entrepreneurs see the opportunities; they ramp up their development whereas previously there was less motivation when gas prices were lower.
It’s sort of like running in quicksand; the faster and more you move, the faster you die.
I am looking forward to driving my fusion-solar powered car soon.

Remember when guys used to use ploys to meet women by bringing a baby or a little dog to the park? You’d walk the baby or dog in the park and these women would come up to you and exclaim, “OOO He’s SO cute!”, and then you’d strike up a conversation and off you go.
Two times now it’s happened to me. Well, not exactly in the same way. I’ve been travelling a lot and am going through airport security like it’s going out of style. When you put your stuff into the X-ray machine, you are required to take your laptop out and put it in its own tray.
So I take out my stylin’ Sony VAIO VGN-T250P, one of those super slim, very compact laptops that Sony makes. It is a few models behind the current TX series, but no less cool. The top panel of the VAIO is a beautiful dark blue. It is only 1″ thick and the screen is smaller than normal, and also with a compact keyboard. But with builtin WIFI, a classic super bright LCD, Intel Mobile Pentium running at 1.2 GHz, and the ability to burn DVDs makes this little PC a joy to use. And being only 3.1 lbs., this baby doesn’t hurt my back lugging it around.
I let it go through the X-ray scanner and then I hear “OOOO That’s SOOO cute!” I turn and see a woman admiring my laptop and we strike up a short conversation as we get our things.
So far this has happened twice to me! All I can say is, the world has changed.
At one time, you’d need to walk a dog to attract a woman to have a conversation with you. Now all you need is a stylin’ Sony VAIO.
Geeks of the world unite! Your time has come!

In a previous post, I noted that I was getting back to TV and got hooked on Desperate Housewives and Lost.
But in watching Desperate Housewives, I found myself desperately trying to watch it. The crazy antics of the wives of Hysteria Lane (how aptly named) started making it supremely hard to watch this show. While they were very funny in the beginning, I began to find them less attractive for me to come back – there were too many parallels with what I’ve experienced with women in the past. So now I struggle with getting through Season 2.
The nutty adventures of each woman are basically the exaggerated traits that people would consider stereotypical for women in those life stages. Hollywood exaggerates them to make them more interesting and throws witty storylines around them to make a hit show.
Insecurities with men and with themselves, selfishness, obsessiveness, uncontrollable curiosity (nosiness?), manipulation, and all wrapped up in love for their own family…and sometimes with themselves.
One of the original reasons I liked the show was the fact that these traits, being exaggerated, allowed me to more fully understand them, and to appreciate what these women were going through. Then, I started thinking about how women in real life experience these feelings, and then I started thinking about the actual women in my life whom I knew were in these life stages. I could remember these exaggerated traits coming out in small and large form, and an epiphany occurred for me. I could see how these underlying feelings could manifest themselves and affect others around them in subtle or not so subtle ways….and sometimes with disastrous results – just like in the show.
It was the same for me with Sex in the City. While it was extremely funny and well done, it also brought out the stereotypical plight of single, 30+ women in NYC amidst a dating scene that was almost legendary. I could actually see where the writers got their material, as I observed and talked to women in the Big Apple. Although I did not come to find it difficult to watch Sex in the City, there were definitely times where I found myself cringing at the activities of the four friends, but not as much as I do in Desperate Housewives.
I do not know if I’ll make it through Season 2. I guess these exaggerated traits are hitting too close to home for me.

Well we had to change our name. Better than getting sued! Chroma Ventures.

Last week I was amazed to have ridden in a real live hybrid Ford Escape Taxi. Following a pronouncement some months ago, the city will transform all of its taxis to hybrids in the next coming years. I think it’s a good move; less pollution, less gas usage, and….MORE COMFORTABLE taxis!
You get normal seats like any other modern car. NOBODY drives cars with seats like in the current taxis any more. They all feel like stiff, dried up leather or vinyl and are totally uncomfortable. But with modern interior design in the Ford Escape hybrid and others soon to follow, I really like it even beyond the environmental aspect.
I am reminded of taxis I’ve ridden in other places.
From LAX to my place in Marina Del Rey, I take a taxi every week. AND IT SUCKS. These cars are the old version of today’s NYC taxis, with barely any leg room at all. Now I’m not a tall guy, but I can barely sit straight ahead because my knees are shoved up against the back of the front seats. In NYC, they used to be like that too a few years ago I recall, and they changed them all sometime between then and now.
In London, they still have those cool retro looking taxis that have TONS of legroom, plenty of space for putting shopping bags, and really comfortable seats. Somebody once told me that NYC used to have taxis like that. Too bad they’re gone. But I love taking a taxi in London. It’s one of the best taxi experiences ever.
And then there’s taxi riding in Taipei. A harrowing experience at best. Nobody follows traffic laws, and there are motorbikes whizzing by you, weaving in between the cars like they got some invulnerability kick. Crazy!
Whenever public transit gets updated, I’m likin’ it. As long as I don’t die by the driving, I’m good.

Somewhere through my Yahoo career, I stopped watching network TV. A loss of interest, a lack of time, a whole bunch of reasons. Just didn’t make it to the TV and nothing really caught my eye enough to want to watch some series over and over again.
I remember the days of Cheers and Seinfeld, and even the anime series Starblazers and Robotech. Something about these shows always drew me back, running back from school or work to watch this week’s episode. But then it stopped happening. I just wasn’t getting it with TV shows for years.
Too many years of reality TV. Gotta be the stupidest phase TV ever went through. Not enough good writing, the shows seemed uninteresting. Combine that with a 12 hour a day job and forget TV altogether.
But it took leaving that job and the advent of the video iPod to get me back into TV. Minus the ads (except that I do like SOME ads), minus the time slot. I am not burdened by needing to be at my TV at a certain time. I can watch whenever and wherever I want.
Today, I decided to check out Desperate Housewives and Lost. I download the pilots and see what this is all about. And you know what…they’re not bad… Perhaps I can stomach TV now that I have TV on my own terms.

One of my rare days is when I’m here in the Bay Area on a Sunday. Thus, I had some time to finally hook up my Tivo to the Internet. Supposedly this allows me to schedule shows to my home based Tivo via the Web; I’ve been itching to try it out. Here goes.
Sometimes I just don’t believe that today’s computerized devices can be connected successfully all the time. They don’t seem to work all the time and debugging them can be a nightmare.
But today must have been my lucky day. I plug in a Linksys USB Wifi adapter and the correct menu in the Tivo spins right up.
I am always worried about plugging in these adapters – it’s the same with buying the wrong wireless router. You never know if it’s really going to work or not. This last year I helped my sister setup wireless networking in their house. They have cable internet, something that I’m not familiar with – I’ve setup three wireless networks in three different parts of the country with DSL. Each one was different. I had to go to different websites, search through pages of tech support, and then figure out how to configure my brand of wireless router. Note that each brand has a slightly different way of setting this up, not to mention the different types of DSL across the nation. I thought I was getting good at setting up these networks. Then, I hit this cable internet. But I get lucky again. I note that it was probably an old model of the wireless router that was causing the problem. So we go get a new model of the same one, and of course it works. Why is that? No idea. Two generations of a wireless router and one works and one doesn’t. Go figure.
Devices just don’t work the way they’re supposed to. We gotta be voodoo doctors to know which magic dust you gotta sprinkle with this setup and hardware.
But I get lucky once again with this Linksys USB Wifi Adapter.
In minutes, the Tivo connects with the Internet and acknowledges that it’s working. I then go to the Tivo website, logon, and schedule a show to test it. It receives the request and queues it for my Tivo.
I then go back to the Tivo and tell it to connect and download data. Minutes later, the Tivo has the information as I check it in its recording queue.
AWESOME. Never miss a show now! And now, back to my dust of frog liver and puree of toadstool…

So like any normal Web developer, I setup my own domain and website and also setup email services. I start mailing people and then realize my email is caught by spam filters!
How annoying! And now I have to argue with my ISPs on why the IP addresses of their mail servers are on watchlists of spam filters. In the meantime, my email is being held for 4 hours or more OR not even being delivered at all.
WTF. This isn’t supposed to be how spam filters work.