Sep 15, 2008  •  In Finance, NYC, Personal
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Another Gloomy Day in Manhattan

The beautiful weather today does little to quell the current situation in Wall Street.

My morning commute was a somber one. Thumbs flew across BlackBerries with more flurry than usual. Newspaper headlines flashed:

“Anxious Morning on Wall Street as Lehman Makes Chapter 11 Filing, Merrill Is Sold, AIG Seeks Cash” (Wall Street Journal)

“Stocks Slide as 2 Wall St. Banks Falter” (New York Times)

“Bank Shot: Wall Street Catastrophe for Lehman and Merrill” (New York Post)

“Wall of Fear: Markets brace for morning after massive bank shakeup” (New York Daily News)

The subways and streets were strangely devoid of financiers, as those who still have their jobs intact had already reported to work hours earlier.

It’s strange to think that New York, once a seemingly-indestructible giant in finance, now only boasts two securities firms (Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs).

J and I do not work in finance so the recent turn of events does not affect us directly. However, we have many friends and family who do – we’re sitting on pins and needles as we wait for our phone calls, emails, and messages to be returned.

Meanwhile, I can’t help but worry myself sick as stories like these flood my Google Reader:

Panic on Trading Floor: Lehman Files for Bankruptcy, Gothamist.

The Day Wall Street Died, Curbed.

Wall Street Debacle Will Have Ramifications for Manhattan Housing, True Gotham.

Lehman Files For Chapter 11, BoA Buys Merril Lynch, Consumerist.

“America’s financial system was shaken to its core on Sunday,” Boing Boing.

I even happened upon this eBay listing, from an ex-Lehmans employee who is selling his Lehmans swag after being laid off over the weekend:

Lehman Brothers Employee swag-Operating Principles Cube

Own a piece of Lehman Brothers history as its being made.

As of now an ex Lehman Employee (just a programmer… I didnt make the mess!), I don’t have much to show for my years there. One memorable item I did grab is a neat bit of office swag that we all found on our desks one morning in 2007 to help us all keep in mind the Operating Principles. It’s a cool cube made of smaller cubes that opens up in different ways and you can read all the different principles like… “Demonstrating smart risk management” (photo 2)

I had mine at my desk in good shape but a colleague broke it… so he gave me his UNOPENED and still shrink wrapped. I kept it that way. It comes with an enclosed note from managment talking about the success of the firm (See photo 3). And the box it came in. If only they could have seen ahead to now…

I am taking this opportunity to at least get something back from my years there. This is a real one-of-a-kind piece of corporate memorabilia in MINT condition. Its employee swag not even client swag so you won’t find these around. I wish management listened to the same things on this cube! Then my good friends…talented people wouldn’t be out of a job. Anyway how you like it and enjoy it…

I still can’t decide whether to laugh or cry over this listing…

Let’s all pray for the best.

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Sep 12, 2008  •  In Funny
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McCain & Nighy

Is it just me or does Cindy McCain look like Viktor (Bill Nighy’s character) from the movie Underworld?

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Sep 11, 2008  •  In Thursday Geek-isms
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Thursday Geek-isms

Last night, while walking in SoHo, I noticed twin, parallel spotlights glowing just south of us. Being the idiot that I am, I asked, “Ooh, what’s going on over there? Is it a party? A premiere? Let’s go check it out!”

You may now commence throwing your stones at me.

The city of New York is eerily solemn today. I can’t believe it’s been seven years, because it feels like it was just last year that I watched the smoke rising from the Twin Towers.

9/11…a day to remember and reflect.

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Sep 11, 2008  •  In Personal
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A Spike in Traffic

Yesterday, the great and mighty Neatorama linked to my Top 5 Star Wars Designs and What Inspired Them post in their 6 Things Inspired by Einstein.

I almost let out a scream when I saw the one-sentence reference to my lil’ ol’ blog on one of my favorite sites on the web. Needless to say, I was ecstatic and beyond delighted. My feet even moved to perform a little jig under my desk while I was seated at my desk at work.

My traffic continued to grow as other sites – even TheForce.Net (!!!) –  picked up on the story. Usually my Google Analytics graph resembles this:


(image via Flickr)

This morning, my traffic graph looked like this:


(image via Flickr)

A big thank you to Neatorama and all the other sites that linked to me yesterday! And welcome to all my new visitors!

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Sep 10, 2008  •  In Funny, Geek
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We’re Still Alive!

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, we’re still alive! The LHC has successfully completed its first round of testing!

Here is a picture from the control room:


(image via Slashdot)

Yeah, I have no idea what it means either.

However, just because the first beam test worked doesn’t mean we can rest easily. This was only a test, people! Who knows what will happen in the coming months as they start really colliding particles in this thing?

The first first collision won’t happen until October 21, 2008. Mark your calendars!

Just in case you’re wondering, here’s a simple website to see if the large hadron collider has destroyed the world yet:

http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

Enjoy!

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Sep 9, 2008  •  In Funny, Geek, Personal
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In Case the World Comes to an End Tomorrow…

Unless you have been living in a cave, you should know that CERN is flipping the ‘On’ switch on its $10 billion Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tomorrow.


(image via the NYTimes)

The LHC hopes to re-create conditions that last existed when the universe was less than a trillionth of a second old. This comic by PHD Comics explains:

Imagine two beams of particles traveling at 0.999 the speed of light…

Each made of protons bunched together carrying the equivalent energy of an aircraft carrier at 60 km/h and squeezed into an area the size of your pinky finger.

The two beams circle each other around a 27 km underground tunnel near the Swiss Alps until…

…and operator hits a switch and they collide!

What happens next?

While the legendary Stephen Hawking has bet against the success of the machine, some have theorized that the world will come to an end tomorrow – heck, scientists are even getting death threats!

However, according to an official statement from the LHC Safety Assessment group, the world will most likely not end tomorrow – you have a greater chance of “suddenly evaporating while shaving.”

Good to know!

But just in case the world does come to a screeching halt tomorrow and we are sucked into an abyss of pain and torture à la Event Horizon (aka the scariest movie ever), there are a few things I would like to say to a a few select people, in no particular order:

I’m sorry that your kids are ugly.

Remember that hot night we had at __________ on ______? Turns out it wasn’t that hot.

Calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people.

I would turn into a lesbian for you.

I know you snuck in late to our wedding. And thanks for the no gift!

I would rather get a thousand paper cuts and be dipped into a vat of sweat than spend another minute with you.

Size does matter.

I have recurring dreams about you, alternating between my beating the crap out of you with a golf club and us making out passionately at Chuck E. Cheese.

I miss you so much it hurts sometimes.

Obviously I can go on and on, but I’ll stop.

You can watch the LHC in action, live, at http://webcast.cern.ch/index.html tomorrow at 9am CEST (GMT +2).

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Sep 8, 2008  •  In Career, Finance, Marketing/Advertising, NYC
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The Best Salesman in the World

The last time I was in San Francisco, I ran into the world-famous Bushman as many other tourists do at Fisherman’s Wharf. After getting the crap scared out of me, I had a little chat with him, and even asked, “Do you make enough money doing this?”

“Hell yeah, I sent two kids through college doing this.”


(image source)

Now I have no idea if this claim is true or fale, but his Wikipedia page indicates that he makes up to $60,000 a year – well above the U.S. average annual income.

I was reminded of the Bushman as I read a blog post titled The Best Salesman in the World at Get Rich Slowly.

Joe Ades, dubbed “the gentleman grafter,” may possibly be the best salesman in the world.

Mr. Ades was born the seventh child of a poor widower in Manchester, England. He now owns a 3-bedroom Park Ave apartment. He and his wife dine at some of the finest establishments in New York, and never get turned down for a table.

So what exactly does Mr. Ades do? How has he found such success?

Wearing pristine British gentleman garb, Joe Ades sits at a corner of midtown Manhattan and sells potato peelers. At $5 a pop.

See him in action here:

Get Rich Slowly estimates that Mr. Ades makes about $200/hr selling these potato peelers.

I’ve never had the chance of running into Mr. Ades, but after watching this video I have a sudden urge to go seek him out – because I now want a peeler!

Joe Ades’ remarkable story even made the pages of Vanity Fair last year. If you have the time, read it – it’s a terrific narrative of a New York legend.

It just goes to show that you don’t need to go the conventional route to succeed. If you have a special talent or an extraordinary idea, keep pushing forward with it. Because even at $5 a pop, you can still become a financial success.

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Sep 5, 2008  •  In Thursday Geek-isms
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Thursday Geek-isms

Football season has officially started! Although I’ve always enjoyed the sport, I was never into it as much as basketball. However, this season I decided to join my first fantasy football league in order to get more exposure from the most popular sport in the US.

J is overjoyed at the prospect as he is a football nut and joins multiple fantasy football leagues every year. He was genuinely happy, helping me with my draft and coaching me on the finer prospects of the online game.

He also has ulterior motives: he knows that due to my nature, I will research the subject like crazy, making multiple charts, graphs, and spreadsheets as I organize the information I have absorbed. “And you know that, as your husband, [albeit not legally] I am privy to this data,” he said with a smirk.

We’ll see, mister.

  1. Eraser with 28 Corners, TokyoMango. I used to be one of those wasteful children who would discard erasers as soon as they lost their corners. This design is ingenius. I wish I can research product design forever.

  2. Want Video Games To Appeal To Women? Make ‘Em Pink & More Child-Like, Jezebel. Am I the only one who finds this insulting? I enjoy complex video games, and yes, many of them are violent. I like it when men shout at the screen, because heck I do it too. What I dislike are pink, jewel-encrusted gaming hardware or men who expect me to watch them play and  “help spot snipers.” This panel is a disgrace to women gamers everywhere.

  3. Study: Musical improvisation shuts down your brain’s “overthinking”, Collision Detection. While I have been known to improvise once in a while, I do not particularly like it. I could never put my finger on the cause, but now I think I’ve figured it out. Many have told me over the years that I think too much…and I like to think. Is this the problem? Because the “overthinking” parts of my brain get shut down, leaving me feeling powerless and unproductive? Hmm…

  4. HOWTO dispose of murdered bodies, Boing Boing. I love Ask Metafilter. It’s one of my favorite time-wasters, filled with humor as well as practical advice and random information. Well, this featured question takes the cake. Too bad I knew most of the answers from watching too much CSI.

  5. A Profile of a Profile of Charlie Kaufman, Mental Floss Blog. My favorite magazine plus my favorite screenwriter. Need I say more?

  6. Daewoo Takes Room Divider into 21st Century: Digital Screens in the Screen, Gizmodo. As a person of Asian descent, I am very familiar with these screens/room dividers. In fact, my parents used to make them – my father the painting and assembly, my mother the embroidery. Although this is a pretty dope concept and looks nice, to boot, I like the originals better.

  7. 40 Creative Design Layouts: Getting Out Of The Box, Smashing Magazine. The thing about web design is that there are probably less than 5 original web layouts…and all the rest are variations of the original. These aren’t groundbraking, but still some great, “thinking out of the box” designs.

  8. Dr. Frankenstein’s Browser: The Strangely Obvious Ancestry of Google Chrome, Gizmodo. My Google reader was abuzz with article after article about Chrome, the new web browser from Google. I had trouble trying to decide which one to feature…then Gizmodo went and did it again by presenting an over-talked topic in a different way. (As a side note, I was quite angry that I found out about Chrome with the rest of the population. J defended his silence by asking, “Do you want me to get fired?” Hmmph. Fine, keep secrets from your pseudo-wife!)

  9. EARN: Helping Low-Wage Workers Learn to Save, Get Rich Slowly. There are many non-profit, financial education/assistance programs out there…but this was the first in years that really got me excited. While I have no use for the program, I can’t help but be hopeful for those who are eligible.

  10. Japanese wives wanting a divorce hire professional seducers, Boing Boing. In a nation where “irreconcilable differences” just don’t cut it, more “thinking out of the box” companies swoop in to cash in. Morally correct? No. Amusing read? Yes.

  11. Is Cuil Killing Websites? TechCrunch. Another step back for the company that marketed itself as the “Google Killer.” I’m starting to feel somewhat sorry for the guys.

  12. Knicks acquire F Patrick Ewing Jr., Yahoo Sports. Holy pressure Batman! Will the boy be able to live up to his father, or is he doomed to forever linger in his dad’s shadow? (And that’s quite a large shadow, indeed.)
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Sep 4, 2008  •  In Geek, Korean, Personal
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만화방 (Korean Comic Rooms)

I used to love reading comic books as a child.

Korea has huge, thick comic “magazines” that feature some of the more popular series of comics. These monthly compilations would almost always include cliffhangers would keep me whining and salivating for the next month’s issue. My favorite while growing up was 보물섬 (bomoolsum), which means “Treasure Island.” I’m pretty sure that 보물섬 is no longer printed, as I could only find pictures of old issues.


(image source)

Koreans (and the Japanese) are known for for creating specialized bangs, or rooms/spaces, that can be rented for popular hobbies. Some of the most popular Korean ones are:

  • 노래방 (noraebang) – karaoke rooms
  • 비디오방 (video-bang) or DVD방 (DVD-bang) – movie rooms. Please note that these are usually very seedy and are places where couples go to get it on.
  • PC방 (PC-bang) – computer rooms, always always with high-speed internet where masses of adolescent boys go to play MMORPGs.
  • 보드게임방 (boardgame-bang) – boardgame rooms!

So it’s only natural that 만화방 (manhwabang), or comic book rooms, should be included on this list.

It used to be that I would rent comic books by the bulk when my parents went to rent their Korean video tapes. However, this habbit slowly died down as the availability of rent-able comic books dwindled. Soon, I had grown quite distant from my beloved Korean comic books of the past.

In 2001, I started dating a Korean FOB (fresh off the boat). He lived in Northern Virginia, which has one of the largest Korean populations on the east coast. As our relationship developed, so did my further immersion into popular Korean culture.

One of my favorite activities to do with him as a couple was to go to one of Virginia’s many manhwabangs.

Romantic? No. Cheesy and geeky? Yes. Exactly my cup of tea.

The manhwabangs of yore used to be small, cramped spaces with poor heating/cooling, carried mostly old and stained books mostly tailored for kids.


(image source)

Modern manhwabangs are pretty nice, with spacious, comfortable couches, a vast selection of books, and a clientele that mostly consists of an older crowd.


(image source)

Some even offer food, like ramen…


(image source)

오징어 (dried squid)…


(image source)

쥐포 (dried filefish)…


(image source)

Many other yummy snacks…


(image source)

And a wide assortment of beverages.


(image source)

Whew! I’m getting hungry writing about this! Back to the point!

I haven’t been to any good manhwabangs since I’ve moved back up to NY. There were numerous ones in Virginia – my favorite one was a manhwabang and a PC-bang combined – and I’m starting to miss them a lot.

I know that J would enjoy them too, because the larger ones (at least the ones in VA) have Japanese comic books which he is able to read. Not to mention, he too is a comics-lover with a huge collection at home. When I described some of my favorites from my childhood, he knew them as well, having read the Chinese translations when he was a kid.

The only manhwabang that I’ve been to in recent years is a small one in Palisades Park, NJ. It was dark and cramped, and none too impressive.

I’ve heard of some in Flushing but living in NJ, Queens is quite a trek for us. And if there are any in Manahattan, I’m sure it’s just as overpriced as the rest of the city.

I shall continue my quest for a good manhwabang in the northern NJ/Manhattan area. I really miss immersing myself in a good comic book series, munching on snacks while popping a cold one.

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Aug 30, 2008  •  In Personal
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Tagged!

The delightful Ellie over at The Lucky Nest has tagged me to participate in the Six Random Things About Me game. As she is the reigning queen supreme of typewriters, irresistibly large dogs, and a whimsical writing style that makes you wish you were her BFF, I must acquiesce to her demands.

Here are the rules of this tag game:

1. Link to the person who tagged you

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Write 6 random things about yourself

4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them

5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

Six Random Things About Me:

1. Whenever I’m in a bad mood I clean, scrub, sew, and iron. Ironing particularly relaxes me because while I may not be able to remove all the wrinkles in my life, I can do so with my clothes. However, you better watch out when I’m donning my yellow rubber gloves and on my knees the bathroom! Step one toe over the line and you may get a Tilex spray right into the eyes. (image source)
2. When I was a kid I would buy tons of paper dolls. I would then spend hours painstakingly cutting out every last piece perfectly, then throw everything away. I guess I liked the scissor work better than the dolls themselves. (image source)
3. I was a total nerd in my teenage years. Big glasses. Bad hair with bad bangs. Braces. I even wore orthodontic headgear! I was ashamed of my chest and hid behind loose, oversized men’s shirts. I was painfully shy and would tremble when talking to boys. At the age of 17, when I had still yet to kiss anyone, let alone score a boyfriend, my mother asked me, “You like boys, right? I mean, you’re not a…lesbian…are you?” (image source)
4. I learned today that 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,320 (image source)
5. As my family was preparing to immigrate to the US 20 years ago, I thought that American streets would be filled with horse-drawn carriages, the men would be dressed in 3-piece suits with tophats, and the women would wear long poofy gowns à la the 19th century. Boy was I disappointed to see cars and people wearing the same clothes as they did back in Korea! (image source)
6. I have a thing about strangers touching me – namely, that they shouldn’t. For this reason I never get manicures, pedicures, facials…even massages! I guess this is a good thing in the long run, because I save tons of money by never seeking these services that so many women desire. (image source)

I tag:

  1. sadelion23
    – Sandy is smart as a whip, creative, hilarious, and all too adorable. She may be small in stature but her larger-than-life personality will rock your socks off and keep you laughing throughout the night.
  2. Onigiriman – The O-Man has always been, and always will be, one of my favorite blogs. His writing and fanbase speaks for itself.
  3. spiritedsherry
    – Sherry is one of those people you want to hate because everything about her seems so perfect…but you end up falling in love with her because she’s so irresistible!
  4. inspire & be inspired
    – Wai Sze is currently on her way to Costa Rica in celebration of her first year wedding anniversary…but I’m sure this sweet, DIY diva will join in when she returns!
  5. Pink Thumb
    – I always considered myself a city girl, but this lovable, hard-working domestic goddess has single-handedly made me consider moving to the suburbs just to start a garden.
  6. jigg
    – Ray is living proof that a man can write passionate, articulate, and personal blogs. I have been reading his blog for years and I always find myself looking forward to his updates and musings.

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