The Rogers News

Category: Our Experiences

Tales of my life as told by me.

  • The Number 8

    I think I should wear a shirt with the number eight on it when I go to China in a month. To the Chinese the number eight is symbolic of fortune and wealth, and has a large influence on all parts of their life. For example, they will often invest in stocks with ticker codes with an eight or multiple eights. The Beijing Olympics will start at 8pm on 8-8-2008.

    Contrary to the number eight’s goodwill is the number four, which is symbilic of death.

    More in this WSJ article:

    The 6, 8 and 9 keys on ATMs made by Diebold Inc. wear out first because those “are considered lucky numbers in China”…

    Investing is likened to what we (Americans) would consider gabling…

    Brokerages are set up like casinos. Investors drink tea, smoke and chat as they make trades on computers lined up like slot machines. Instead of dropping in coins, they swipe bank cards to pay for shares…

    In China, individuals, often with little understanding of financial concepts, make up 60% to 80% of trading, unlike U.S. markets dominated by financial giant (firms).

    There is no free press in China, which means that information can be misleading, their stock market is largely comprised of personal investors that view it as a high risk endeavor based on lucky numbers, and their GDP growth is ridiculously high. Is it a matter of if or when their economy implodes?

  • Third Places from 9am to 5pm

    Awhile ago I wrote about “3rd places” – those places people go to gather, do work when not at work, or just hangout. Coffee shops are a prime example of third places. Bookstores, diners, etc. Often the common denominators between third places are a wifi connection and coffee.

    One of the most bizarre things about going back to school in August of 2006 was the daily freedom. No longer did I feel obligated to sit at a specific desk in an office with co-workers. While some of my fellow students preferred to study in the library, sitting in the same spot day after day, I’ve never had a high tolerance for libraries. Instead, I prefer either home or a diner. There is something about having a medium amount of commotion that helps me focus in on what I need to get done. Perhaps, the distractions remind me that I want to be done so that I can get on with my day and enjoy what else there is to do – walk around outside, go see a movie, or hangout with friends.

    A recent article posited the question of what are all the people doing that walk around during the day. Don’t they work? This isn’t as interesting of a question as it may have once been. When I did work, I hardly worked a 9-to-5 job. I had relative freedom to set my own hours when we weren’t super busy, which allowed me to work from a coffee shop near my house on Fridays or travel and work.

    Seeing people hanging out at 3rd places between the hours of 9am to 5pm seems more normal than weird these days.

  • Visiting Asian Cities

    Two rules for visiting Asian cities (link – NYT)

    1. Don’t walk — seeing an Asian city on foot is like cruising the Caribbean in a rowboat
    2. Don’t attempt more than three things per day — each will take far longer than expected.

    The article goes on to say that the Beijing metro is 3 yuan, the base fare for a taxi is 10 yuan and if you can stand the heat, a bicycle rental is only 20 yuan for the entire day. However, I would assume that means you have to store the bike at each place you visit and return it to the rental shop, which is probably confusing.

    I’m wondering if taking a compass would be a good ideas so that I can remain oriented if I go on a walk or bikeride. Having absolutely no knowledge of the language I anticipate getting lost frequently.

  • Subway Systems to Scale

    This is really cool…subway systems of the world, presented on the same scale.

    The San Fransisco subway looks the biggest, but it isn’t very “dense.” London’s on the other hand is large and a lot “denser.” And it looks like Marseille is the smallest system. My favorite is the Beijing subway, which is just a straight line with a square that intersects it. I look forward to traveling on it this summer.

    It would be interesting if someone would animate the construction of each system against time and include some socio-economic data regarding whether the subway system drove development of suburban areas or if it responded to it.

    WMATA, the subway system that serves Washington D.C. and the surrounding area, is planning to extend the Orange Line further west as far as Dulles International Airport. I used to work beyond the reaches of the Orange Line, and I and my many co-workers who lived in D.C. would have used the metro everyday if it had reached our office in Herndon, VA. As it is now, the metro goes about half-way out. There is huge growth along the route of the proposed Orange Line, and the traffic was always horrendous both to and from work. So it seems the extension would supply vital demand for metro transport.

    Here’s another version.

    Some subways I’ve traveled on:

    * NYC – MTA
    * Chicago – CTA
    * Paris – RATP
    * Wash DC – WMATA
    * Los Angeles – MTA

  • Fun IP Exam

    Prof Fields:

    You can bring you’re mother to the exam if she’s not a patent attorney.

  • Meme: 5 Sites

    Five sites I visit everyday are:

    1. Google Homepage, which has my rss reader, calendar, and todo list on it.

    2. Popurls.com, but only the top three columns, which are the top Digg stories, the top del.icio.us stories, and the top Reddit stories.

    3. Oneword.com, which prompts you with a new word each day and gives you sixty seconds to write about it.

    4. Flickr.com to look at the most interesting pictures of the last seven days. I can flip through these endlessly. Fun images.

    5. Twitter.com, lately. It’s kindof addicting.

  • University of Michigan Admissions

    In 2003, three years after I had been admitted to the University of Michigan, the constitutionality of the points based admissions process was challenged. The case, Gratz v. Bollinger, reached the Supreme Court. The admissions process was held to be unconstitutional because it was not narrowly tailored enough to not violate the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the United State Constitution.

    You need 100 points to be admitted.

    Academic factors (100 points):

    • 80 – High school GPA
    • 12 – ACT or SAT score
    • 10 – Quality of high school
    • 8 – Strength of high school curriculum

    Non-academic factors (40 points):

    • 10 – In-state resident
    • 4 – Alumni relationships
    • 1 – Outstanding essay
    • 5 – Personal achievement
    • 20 – Other, including
      • Socioeconomic disadvantage
      • Underrepresented minority
      • Athletic recruitment
      • Provost’s discretion

    Looking back, I spent way too much time on my essay.