Something refreshing in your own backyard

Jeanet went to Taiwan in December for two weeks, and I was alone in Campbell being single again, doing laundry and cleaning up the items in the refrigerator.

I have been swimming at the Campbell Community Center's outdoor pool for seven years. I have seen people running or walking on the all-weather track, but I have never been
there myself until this past Saturday.
It was a beautiful California day in December. I took my walk around the track, walked to the athletic field, and checked out what else was there that I have been missing for all these years.

Campbell Community Center has a variety of outdoor facilities including a football stadium, an all-weather track, an athletic field, an exercise park, tennis and handball courts, an outdoor swimming pool, and indoor Gyms and basketball courts. With the exception of swimming pool, all outdoor facilities are free of charge, subject to rules of reservation in certain popular time slots. I see my tax dollars at work in Campbell :-)

It was not too crowded on the Saturday afternoon. I checked out the outdoor facilities. The track was quite nice, and the grass was soft and bouncy. There were some people running, jogging, and walking on the track. The exercise park was interesting to me with all the equipment dedicated to exercising and building up certain muscles. This sort of park has become popular in many modern cities now. A few people practiced catching a football on the field.

Tennis courts were mostly occupied; the conditions of the court were quite nice. Some families played for fun in the courts and were not too intimidating to watch. The four courts used an honor system to set up your own clock and waiting queue. The rules and the "clocks" were in the center of tennis court compound, as shown to the right.



I strolled into the skate park. The young supervisor asked me if I needed any help. He left me alone after I told him that I would like to take a few pictures. This sport is obviously very thrilling and challenging, but is really dangerous.

A week later on a Sunday afternoon, I went again. This time I was stunned with the crowd, and I had to circle a couple of times to get a spot in the parking lot. The athletic field was filled with children practicing and playing flag football, along with coaches, parents and grand parents.
The field was neatly divided with dark green grass lines into 12 sub-fields in a 4x3 arrangement. When I was there, 11 of them were in use. I remember that my son Joseph in his junior high school years went to Dr. Lum's office to have a few stitches on his tongue after biting himself playing flag football. He used a mouth guard, but the accident still happened.














It felt so good to stroll, and I enjoyed my time there. What a shame to have been in a hustle and bustle mood all those many years. Take some time to pause and wander without an agenda and without a deadline. Life can be very simple and enjoyable. There is no need to go far. You'll find pleasure and peace in your own backyard if you look for them.

English with an American Corporate Accent - 024

This is another collection from recent meetings and trips. It works best if you can find a native English speaker with exposure to corporate America to elaborate on the finer points that I cannot cover well here.

* These documents are managed with a tight leash. [These documents are managed and controlled very carefully.]
* Time is definitely not on our side. Let's see what we can do. [We are running out of time. Let's see what we can do.]
* My management wants me to identify any possible kinks for this release. [My management wants me to identify any possible problems for this release.]
* This way of thinking has to be ingrained in our DNA to prevent that sort of regression happening again. [This way of thinking has to be in our standard practices to prevent that sort of regression happening again.]
* I hope that this is an isolated instance. We certainly don't like to know that this is the tip of the iceberg. [I hope that this is an isolated case. We certainly don't like to know that there are many similar problems to come.]
* I've definitely seen a few emails, but Dan is the one driving it. [I have definitely seen a few emails about this, but Dan is the one leading the effort.]
* In theory, we should have gotten it on Thursday. In reality, we got it on Friday. We just started working with it. [We expected to get it on Thursday, but we got it on Friday. We just started working with it.]
* We'll cross the river when we get there. [We'll make the decision when we get to that point.]
* We talked a few times. He is fully on board with this. [We talked a few times. He is completely aware of this.]
* It is quite a challenge to have multiple things in-flight at the same time. [It is quite a challenge to have multiple things going on at the same time.]
* It's time to shake his tree to see what will fall out. [It's time to get his attention to see what will come out of it.]

Unfamiliar Traffic and Roadside Signs to Chinese Vistors

Xing is not a Chinese word or last name. Xing means "crossing" by combining "cross for X" with "ing." Some visiting Chinese friends thought it was the more esoteric translation of "walk" in Chinese. That is completely coincidental.
Here "PED XING" means that pedestrians might be crossing this roadway.






DIP (This means that the road way depression that can surprise the drivers, so you should slow down.)









Speed Bump Ahead
(A special obstacle designed to slow down your driving.)





Mobil Phone Area (An area designated for parking and making cell phone calls, especially near the airport)








No Through Traffic (That means do not come in unless you are a local resident. Quite often the street is also a dead end.)








Click-It or Ticket
(The rhyming words remind drivers that they should click the seat belts, or they'll get ticketed.)












Loading Zone (It is an area for loading and unloading shipping materials, and usually is reserved for delivery trucks.)






No Parking Tow Away Zone (Cars will be towed away to somewhere. This is not the Chinese style that clamps and locks the wheel so that you have to pay for the fines to the parking attendant.)




















Use Shoulder Only (This means use the shoulder of the road, not the shoulder on your body :-) )









Game Crossing (Game means "animal" and not any sort of entertainment activity. These animals might cross the roadway. The driver should slow down and pay attention as required.)

English with an American Corporate Accent - 023

This is another collection from recent meetings and trips. It works best if you can find a native English speaker with exposure to corporate America to elaborate on the finer points that I cannot cover well here.

* I'll ask the questions first. Please feel free to chime in. [I''ll ask the questions first. Please feel free to add yours.]
* If we have to jump through hoops to get there, we have a bad design at the outset. [If we have to do through extraordinary steps to get there, we have a bad design to begin with.]
* It is a totally bogus question. Why do you have to ask what the system is like? [It is a totally nonsense question. Why do you have to ask what the system is like?]
* This one-stop shopping will be convenient for the customers. [This one single contract point will be convenient for the customers.]
* We got twenty minutes to the top of the hour. We should be able to complete this review. [we have twenty minutes to the end of the hour. We should be able to complete this review.]
* I like to get your usage model in order to talk to my engineers. [I like to know how you use this in order to talk to my engineers.]
* Let me call you right after this concall to get to the nitty-gritty of this requirement. [Let me call you right after this conference call to get the details of this requirement.]
* Another option is to tinker with the new hardware to get a feel of it. [Another option is to play with the new hardware to get a feel of it.]
* Enough doom and gloom for this difficult technical issue, let's move on to the next topic. [We have discussed enough on the down side of this difficult technical issue, let's move on to the next topic.]
* Going forward, the intention is to maintain this transparency so that customized code can be removed. [From now on, the intention is to maintain this compatibility so that customized code can be removed.]
* We will not comment on this news; this is the party line. [We will not comment on this news; this is the the official stance.]
* That is Ninja programming to me; you have to know what you are doing. [That is really some programming to me; you have to know what you are doing.]
* You have the pen, you have the control for the project. [You are the one writing the requirement document, you have the control for the project.]

Our Mother - Always in Our Hearts

Our Mother

Our mother, Yuhsin Ko Lee, was born on August 21, 1927, in Shan Yao, Jiangxi Province, China and passed away on July 15, 2011, at her home in Davis, California, at the age of eighty-five.

Growing up in a farming village, mother developed a tenacious and intrepid character after losing her mother at a young age. She was spirited and bright, though the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War stopped her schooling. In the midst of war-torn China, mother met father, Hsueh Lee (deceased), and they married in 1947 in her hometown. Due to civil unrest, mother fled with father to various places. Their longest stay was three years in Hong Kong, where their eldest child, Tzong-yu, was born, and where mother heard the Gospel, received Jesus Christ as her Savior, and was baptized. In 1954, the family moved once again, settling in Taiwan, where the rest of her three children, Maria Li-ching, Churng-fung, and Si-yang (deceased), were born. While father held a middle school teaching position for the following thirty-plus years, mother devoted herself wholeheartedly to the family. Not only did she faithfully manage the household and lovingly raise her children, she fastidiously monitored her children's learning. As a result of her dedication, we were each able to complete our college education despite difficult circumstances. Mother's selfless devotion to the family had been our greatest blessing and model. For twelve years, she tirelessly cared for our youngest sister Si-yang throughout her ongoing illness until her eventual passing. In his later years, father suffered from three strokes. It was also mother who patiently and uncomplainingly cared for him and supported him. Even the grandchildren, all grown now and leading productive lives, trace their upbringing to their grandparents.

After father passed away in 1991, mother moved to the United States. First, she accompanied Churng-fung's family to Wisconsin where Churng-fung pursued her advanced degree. Following those blissful years, she joined Li-ching's family in California and settled there, returning occasionally to Churng-fung's home in Taiwan. Throughout those past twenty years, mother participated in church life, increasingly depending on the Lord, calling often on His name and enjoyed His love. Early this year, mother was confined to bed rest due to her congestive heart failure condition. All of her children rallied to care for her -- Li-ching tended her full-time; Tzong-yu traveled to Davis regularly, spending innumerable weekends with mother; while Churng-fung made a special trip from Taiwan to visit mother in May. During those months of illness, whenever mother heard brothers and sisters singing and praying out in the living room, she would joyfully echo with "Amens" from her bed as she enjoyed the Lord's comforting. At the time of her death, both Tzong-yu and Li-ching, who resided in the States, along with their families, surrounded her, accompanying mother to peacefully complete her journey on earth. The comfort that mother received in the Lord and from the saints was evident from her countenance. We are grateful to the Lord for His grace toward her.

We thank the Lord for giving us such a mother.

[NOTE: These will be used in the Memorial Service for my mother on July 23, 2011. I came up with a Chinese draft with Li-Ching. Churng-Faung did the beautiful final editing. My niece Tina took this and translated to an English draft while I did the final editing. We are proud to do this for her and we are sure that she is proud of us as well. She is always in our hearts.]

我們的母親

我們的母親 李柯玉馨女士，生於1927年8月21日中國江西上饒，卒於2011年7月15日美國戴維斯家中，得年85歲。

母親生長於農村，因年幼喪母，養成堅忍獨立的性格；母親生性開朗健談，聰敏過人，惜因中日戰爭爆發而輟學在家。1947年母親在家鄉與父親--李雪先生(已逝)相識相愛，在戰亂中結為夫妻。跟隨父親輾轉流離，在香港調景嶺三年中，生下長子宗虞，期間聽得福音，接受耶穌為救主，受洗歸依主名。1954年一家人再度遷移，在台灣相繼生下三女：麗卿、春芳與思琰(已逝)。在父親擔任中學教職三十餘年間，母親勤儉持家，無微不至的照顧兒女，同時嚴格督促子女課業，使我們都得以完成高等學業，在無依困頓的環境中得以自立。母親對家庭盡心竭力，成了我們兒孫最大的祝福與榜樣。么妹思琰天生殘疾，母親日夜照料長達十二年；父親晚年三度中風，也多虧母親耐心照顧扶持，無怨無悔，如今孫輩也個個長成，品性端正，都源於父母親的恩澤所賜。

父親於1991年辭世後，母親遷居美國，先到威斯康辛州陪著春芳一家求學，享受天倫之樂，後再與麗卿一家長居加州，也間歇往返台灣春芳家休養。二十年期間參加召會生活，對主耶穌愈發信靠，常呼求主名，享受主愛。今春(2011)，母親因心臟衰弱臥床靜養，麗卿全力照護，宗虞來回奔波照應，春芳亦於五月飛美探望。臥病期間，當母親聽見弟兄姊妹在客廳唱詩禱告時，都會喜樂地在臥床上以“阿們”回應，得主撫慰。母親臨終之際，在美居住的宗虞與麗卿兩家兒孫們，隨侍在側，平安地陪伴母親走完她在地上的行程。母親在主裡在聖徒中所受之安慰，洋溢於眉宇之間，使我們感謝主對她的恩典。

感謝主，把這樣一位母親賜給我們。

National Parks: Cross-country Drive (3/3)

Mount Rushmore was normally out of the way for many of our travel plans. But I decided to visit this National Memorial since I was quite close to South Dakota after visiting St. Paul, Minnesota.

We ran into two thunderstorms. I had to drive through one head-on on I-90 for about 20 minutes on our way to Rapid City, SD. Michael drove through another one in Custer State Park near Hot Springs, SD. We actually pulled over for 10 minutes to wait out the pea-sized hail storm. These were some driving experiences.

The visit to South Dakota's Custer State Park was quite worth it. There were so many animals that you could see from the side of the road, including deers, elks, bisons, prairie dogs, wild turkeys and even a donkey herd.
















The visit to Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD was quite accidental. Our motel was in Hot Springs and it was a 5-minute drive. I liked pre-historical things and this was a real pleasure to see.
It was an ancient karst sinkhole and turned out to be a deathtrap for large animals as they could not climb out on the slippery slope. There were many unearthed Columbian mammoths and there were some Woolly mammoths as well. The excavation is still underway, and everyone can participate. It is my fancy to do a little of that in the future. South Dakota has no income tax. It is a bit too cold in winter though.


I visited Yellowstone National Park almost thirty years ago. This time I saw a whole lot more animals in the wild. I think the re-introduction of bisons to the park is a success story.

It was 47 degrees Fahrenheit midday Thursday in Yellowstone National Park, and with the wind-chill factor, it was freezing. We stopped by the Old Faithful Inn for a couple of coffee after watching the geyser do its magic.
The same beautiful 5-story high lobby is still there.

The geological wonders and the volcanic activities distinguish Yellowstone National Park from others like Yosemite National Park in California.

On the way back to California, we literally passed through the Grand Teton National Park. We wished that we had more time for these two National Parks.

Flaggs Ranch Resort is located outside of the South Gate of Yellowstone National Park. It has a nice but expensive restaurant. There are no other places to eat :-(
There was no cell phone coverage in Flaggs Ranch Resort (between south gate of YNP and Grand Teton NP).
No WiFi obviously. That evening was the only exception for the entire trip, i.e., no cell phone coverage and no WiFi.











The GPS took us to the northern route through Idaho when we specified our destination in Nevada directly from Moran, WY (south gate of Yellowstone National Park). Originally I thought we would pass through Salt Lake City.

Lodging:
Americas Best Value Inn at Hot Springs, SD @ $76.46 per night
Americas Best Value Inn at Cody, WY @ $125.38
Brandin Iron Inn at West Yellowstone, MT @ $153.90
Flagg Ranch Resort at Moran, WY @ $193.32
Motel 6 at Winnemucca, NV @ $73.91
Grandma's home at Davis, CA
Home sweet home at Campbell, CA

Where we went and miles driven:
MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, NV, CA

Sunday, June 19, 4:30 pm @46258 - Sunday, June 12 10:00 am @43642 = 2616 miles
Total miles driven from Avon, Connecticut @41326 is 4932 miles. It was almost 5000 miles.

Changes in America for the Worse:

These are disappointing observations in this trip. I had higher expectations for the Americans that I remembered.
1) Free refills for dine-in customers only at McDonald's. Isn't that obvious?
2) Some people fill their ice chest with Motel 6's ice machine?
3) The vending machines need to be protected in cages (in one of Idaho's rest areas). In this case, it is very likely that the cage is used to fend off wild animals, not to prevent human vandalism.






























Finally,
we were happy to arrive at Davis, California, Saturday to see grandma (my mom) after a 3-week absence. She was weak physically, but she was happy to see us. She was always in our thoughts when we were on the road. The night without cell phone coverage made me a little worried. Officially the trip ended on Sunday when Michael drove the last leg from Davis to Campbell in less than two hours.















A few links we used to search or call for lodging:

Travelocity http://www.travelocity.com/
CheapHotels http://www.cheaphotels.com/
Motel 6 http://www.motel6.com/ - It is absolutely no-frills, $2.99 for WiFi. Overall it is a value proposition. It is interesting to note that "Americas Best Value Inn" is becoming a good alternate for a good value proposition. They have free simple breakfast and free WiFi.
Hotwire http://www.hotwire.com/index.jsp - It is a hit-n-miss sometimes as you won't know what you'll get exactly until you commit to it. Overall, we have no bad experiences.
Yellowstone agent http://www.usparklodging.com/yellowstonenationalparklodging.php (10 percent surcharge) - Looks like that in a busy travel season, you have to pay to solve the complicated lodging requirements. There are many agents to choose from. The park is "big" and you should plan your direction of travel, and make reservations accordingly at different locations in the park. In our case, we stayed at Cody, WY, and went in at the East Gate. We drove through the park west/north bound and the next night stayed near the West Gate. We then drove south/east bound and stayed the last night near the South Gate.

Mid-West: Cross-country Drive (2/3)

We changed the route at the last minute so that we could have a lunch stop at State College, PA, to meet my friend LL and his parents, who were visiting from China. It was a small world that I found out about this a few days before I started the trip. I got to know LL in Beijing's Toastmasters' circle a few years back.

Ann Arbor, Michigan is where I had my first full-time job in the United States.
It was at Sycor, which later became Northern Telecom Inc., and then Bell Northern Research. Now this 100 Phoenix Drive building belongs to Borders.
Jeanet also worked in Ann Arbor with Warner Lambert, and with Double A Products in Manchester, MI. Those two companies were also gone and/or morphed into something else.













We bought our first home on Marian Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1979. I took a picture again and I waved at the current owner when he happened to drive out from the garage. He will never know that I lived in that house 30 years ago. Life is a mystery ;-)

Joseph was born in the University of Michigan's Women's Hospital in 1980.

I attended SIU at Carbondale to get my Master Degree in Electrical Engineering. I have fond memories of this school. The financial support I received made my first two years worry free, and everything I encountered had a serious impact on my understanding and appreciation of this new country and culture.

Two interesting signs of our time:
1) Condoms for sale from Motel 6's vending machine. It is not cheap for the name brand Durex.
2) Reserved parking spaces for expectant mothers in front of the Borders' main office.

Lodging:
Motel 6 in Ann Arbor, Michigan $55.49 per night
Motel 6 in Marion, Illinois $46.61 per night
Motel 6 in Caseyville, Illinois $52.05 per night
YJN's apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota

Where we went and miles driven:
PA, OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, MN
The Yahoo! Map planning tool originally had us going through St. Louis, Missouri, and then Iowa and Minnesota. Somehow, our GPS directed us back towards Chicago, crossing the Wisconsin border and then to St. Paul from the Wisconsin side.

Friday, June 10 7:30 pm @43642 - Monday, June 6 9:00 am @41701 = 1941 miles

We hit record-high temperatures on June 8 and June 9, we both felt a bit sick from heat stroke. It was near 98 degrees in those two days.

Whom else or what else we saw:
1) University of Michigan Women's Hospital, Joseph's birth place.
2) Ann Arbor apartment where we stayed for the first year.
3) Ann Arbor's home for the second year.
4) My work place at Sycor, Inc.
5) Jeanet's work place in Warner Lambert in Ann Arbor and Double A Products in Manchester, Michigan.
6) Southern Illinois University Electrical Engineering Department and the campus lake.
7) SIU's apartment and old house I called home for a total of two years.
8) Minnesota visit to the family of YJN, who is doing his sabbatical at the University of Minnesota.
9) Mississippi River and its most upstream lock in Minneapolis near the old Flour Mill Tower.
10) A 9-hole golf game at Roseville, Minnesota near YJN's beautiful apartment. YJN's family and Korean food and hospitality were so memorable. I got to know YJN 9 years ago at IBM Almaden Research Center when he came for a year of visit.

East Coast Wrap-ups: Cross-country Drive (1/3)

This is the East Coast part of the cross-country drive home. I flew out from SJC to BDL through DEN Friday, June 3, 2011. We packed Michael's belonging and left Avon Saturday morning 11:30am.





This is our 2006 Honda CR-V, which will take us back to California. The starting odometer reading was at 41,326 miles.





Lodging:
Holiday Inn Princeton $86.22 everything included (tax recovery charges and fees is $16.22).
Best Western $79.99 everything included in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Where we went and miles driven:
CT, NY, NJ, PA
Saturday June 4 11:30 am @41701 - Sunday June 5 8:00 pm @41326 = 375 miles

Whom or what we saw:
1) Kennedy Medical Center, Michael's birth place.
2) Edison, New Jersey home which we lived in for 5 years.
3) Holmdel's Bell Labs location where I worked for 5 years. This once housed 6000 people, but now has been for sale for quite some time and is closed to visitors. The front access lawns are home for wild geese now. This tower is supposed to represent a transistor, which was invented at Bell Labs.
4) Michael's nanny, SL.
5) My old boss at Bell Labs Holmdel, YW.
6) my Bell Labs colleague, BF.

Here we have two pictures of Michael about 21 years apart in front of the same Edison house.