Happy New Year of 2007!!!

360 degree view of new year at Taipei 101. or click on the new year drop down for other cities around the world.

Click, hold mouse button down and drag in any direction-Zoom in SHIFT-out CTRL - QuickTime Needed. It's kind of cool, like you're looking up into the sky yourself!

Happiest of New Year to you! Peace, joy and love to you and your family!

You're Live on National TV!

On Christmas Day, we went to Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure. In the park, they were taping NBC iVillage Live, a live TV broadcasting show. In the beginning, we were just there to get the free lunch voucher, but it turned out to be an awesome experience! We saw how a TV show is produced and had our 5 seconds of fame with back of our heads on a live national broadcast :)

All of the hosts were very personable. Wesley got to sit next to the nice blonde host as she prepared for her talk. You've got to experience a live show once in your life, it's a lot of fun! They just ask you to clap and create a lot of excitment and energy.

We used the voucher and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, Orlando. They have really good veggie burgers and they have a lot of cool real memorabilia from the rock stars. Visit the Elvis room on the second floor. Very cool!

Beautiful Shades of Purple

Safari sunrise
Matt Duffy
Alta Loma, CA

Important things in life...

Important things in life...
- birthdate
- grow up to be the person you want to be
- family
- friends
- falling in love
- engagement
- wedding
- birth of children
- birth of grandchildren
so on and so forth...

Middle class squeeze

The Bible belt voted for Bush thinking he'll do what's right for our country. In 1998, we had a budget surplus of $70 billion. Now, we have $8.4 "trillion" deficit. Bush may have good intentions, but his team doesn't make the right decisions overall for our country. Katrina made us a laughing stock of the world. We're supposed to be rich and powerful, instead of like a third world country. Bush needs to take better care of the middle class and the poor, instead of his rich friends (they don't need help, do they?) For example, Michael D. Brown, the head of FEMA from 2003 to 2005.

Human civilization went from the agriculture revolution, to the industrial revolution, and now to the digital revolution. In this new knowledge economy and in this new globalize market, education is the leverage we have in order to compete against other country. But our school system and family economic pressures are not up to par with our American dream. Since 2000, it's harder to send our kids through college, with decreased assistance and increased tuition. Education is a way to break the cycle of poverty. Lower class may have a way out, if you sign up to join the military, they will pay for your tuition.

God bless our troops and our intelligence agents. And God bless their family. We haven’t another tragedy like 9.11 yet, but I don’t feel safer in the world today. And seems like there are more Islamic extremist around the world who hate us even more.

Bottom line, Bin Laden hasn't been caught for what he did to us in 9.11, and the costs of living (housing, education, transportation) increase significantly while overall wage stagnant. Middle and lower income class are living a high pressured and stressful life (horrible traffic and long commute), and they are just trying to do the best for their family day by day. America, we need to go back to the basics -- protect our homeland, and improve education so we can better compete in this new service and knowledge economy.

DIY Travel: Los Angeles

Whenever we're in LA, we love to stop by Ranch 99 plaza. You can find authentic Taiwanese food and bubble tea near by the area.

Hacienda Heights
1625 Azusa Ave.Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 839-2899
Hours: 9:00 AM - 9:30 PM(7 days)

Rowland Heights Store
1015 S. Nogales Street, Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(626) 964-5888
Hours: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM(7 days)

You can also visit new Chinatown or Little Tokyo.

Din Tai Fung dumplings reviews.

Once you satisfy your tummy, walk through Hollywood Boulevard. Look down at the stars beneath your feet and find your favorite celebrity in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Go to Grauman's Chinese Theatre court, looked at the stars' footprints in cement. We saw Ryan Seacrest, host of American Idol, giving Hollywood tours and posing photo ops with his fans. Needless to say, we were starstruck!

If you can get the tickets in advance, go see Jay Leno in person at the Tonight Show.

It's also fun driving through the Beverly Hills, look at the mansions, and see if you can spot any stars.

UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) is also near by. Go Bruins.

DIY Travel - Wild West Tour: Las Vegas - Sedona - Pheonix

We rent a van, went on a road trip, and drove across the wild west! Walked the path of Dean Martin and John Wayne at Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sedona and Pheonix.

Las Vegas, Nevada

• Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada


• As soon as you step out of the plane into LAS airport, there's no airport like it! You can hear the ca-ching sounds and see the big JumboTrons all over the wall as you find your luggage. Lights! Glamour! Actions!


• On the Strip (Las Vegas Blvd South), we loved walking through Bellagio


• Magic shows - Lance Burton, David Copperfield, Xtreme Magic Starring Dirk Arthur


• Las Vegas Outlet Shopping - get the coupon book at the info desk if you're a AAA member. My parents love this outlet.


• Long Life Vege Restaurant was delicious!


• Veggie Delight had the most authentic food, it's like eating home food. We liked their noodle soup and seasoned tofu & seaweed. There's a bread store around the corner that's pretty good too. There are many Asian stuff in that area.


• All you can eat buffet at Souper Salad was a good deal


• South Coast Hotel's room was by far the best with flat screen TV and beautifully decorated. The hotel looks brand new. Luxury stay for decent price. It's not on the strip, but it's not outrageous priced either. They have a nice pool with Bose speakers to hang out and relax in the sun. They have a big parking garage on the side. It's not far from the strip, it’s south of the strip, but if you have a GPS, it's easier to know where to turn. You'll pass the outlet and walmart grocery store is near by. Traffic on the Strip is not too bad if you don't drive at night during the peak time. Parking is not a problem. All of the casino allow you to park for free, so you can spend some money there.


• There are many Walmart supercenter to stock up on drinks

Hoover Dam

Grand Canyon, Arizona - South Rim

• Grand Canyon is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.


• Admission is good for a week, and you can come in and out.


• Canyon View Information Plaza by Mather Point has nice facilities and souvenir store


• Rooms in the park fill up fast, so book it as soon as you can. Nothing like the views by the rims. Maswik Lodge is not by the rim, but it's clean and quiet. We liked the cafeteria there the most. We also enjoyed interacting with the international exchange co-ops students.


• Their free shuttle bus is convenient, but slow. It's the only way to get to the Hermits Rest Route. Drive your own car if you're trying to catch the sunrise so you won't miss it by the seconds.


• Walk around the rim to look at the Grand Canyon in all different angles. You can spot the Colorado River, mull trails, and birds. Prepare to take lots of pictures.


• Grand Canyon looks different during sunrise or sunset. The colors magnified. During certain days, you can catch sunrise and moonset at the same time.


• If you want to take a break from walking, check out the National Geographic's IMAX theatre, located just outside of the park.


• We went there during Labor Day week, to miss the summer vacation crowds and before school tours show up. The weather was chilly especially for the sunrise, so bring warm jackets.

Sedona, Arizona

• Sedona has amazing landscapes.


• Matterhorn Lodge was comfy and has a nice view.


• Tlaquepaque shopping center is nice to walk around for artworks, crafts and jewery.
• Because of the beautiful scenaries, Sedona and Pheonix used to be the movie capital with John Wayne's cowboy and wild west movies, which are my dad's favorite. It was neat, he happened to catch one of tv while we were there!

Scottsdale, Pheonix

• For good food, go to Pei Wei Asian Diners.


• Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center was super nice. Be sure to ask for the room facing the golf course for beautiful views. We walked around their promenade to casitas, and had a nice swim in the pool at night. It was super relaxing, a nice way to end the trip.

View on Immigration

On 25 Oct. 2006, I saw this headline on CNN.com, "Dobbs: Middle class victims of illegal immigration." Rather, I think it's the lower class that is the victim of illegal immigrants.

I saw illegal immigrants standing on the streets looking for jobs and working for less than minimum wage. Middle class are crunched for cash and always looking for deals at Walmart. Unless you want to pay a lot to build your house or to buy your vegetables, I think most American benefit from this pool of hard working labor.

I don't think they're taking jobs away from American. They're doing jobs nobody wants to do. Let's not forget, we're living in a competitive globalized world and capitalist society. We should change our policy and law to adjust to the reality and implement a working visa program for them. If we have a work program, foreign workers can apply for it; and if they don't have criminal background, they should be allow to travel through boarder safely. Young women are risky their safety and lives in order to find a job in America. If they work in America for more than a decade and became Americanized, they're hard working and law abiding citizen, they can apply for citizenship. If they don't have anyone to vouch for them, or if they're dangerous to our society, then we don't want them on our streets.

Do-it-yourself (DIY) Travel: New York City tour

Central Park

Nintendo store by Rockefeller Center where you can see the new Wii.

Walking in NYC

Naked Cowgirl in Time Square.

only in America... you gotta love it!

... and the cowboy

Chinatown

Drive
Don't leave home without an EZ-Pass, if you're driving to NYC. It reduces wait time at toll significantly.

Hotel
Stay at Fairfield Inn East Rutherford Meadowlands, NJ with Marriott (join club and use the points to stay for free) so you don't have to drive into downtown and get stressed out. Hampton Inn is also nearby. We requested a room facing the meadows (versus facing the street), it was quiet and we had a good sleep. Free Internet and free breakfast with coffee, juice, bagels, milk, cereal, yogart, banana, CNN, newspaper, etc. Sofa and carpet need to be replaced though. If you use GPS, be sure to plug in this address instead, else GPS will take you to a marina out of no where. 10 Murrayhill Parkway, East Rutherford, NJ 07073. Here's the hotel review.

Transportation to NYC

There's a bus stop right in the front of the hotel. Bus 163/164 Local! will take you to Time Square via Port Authority in just 15-20 min. depending on the wait time in Lincoln Tunnel. It costs $3.10 per person, one way. Hotel is at East Rutherfod (Paterson Ave. at Hackensack St.) and you get off at New York Port Authority bus Terminal. The bus was very puntual and notice the gate and time frame where you catch your bus back to the hotel. Be sure to ask the hotel check in desk for the bus schedule and subway map.

Subway
Once you're in the Port Authority, you can buy 1 day unlimited pass is $7 in newstand stores. Use care when entering the station through turnstyle, because you can only go into station once like every 15 mins. (to prevent multi-people from using just one pass). Once you figure out how to ride subway, it's fairly easy. One color might have various names/numbers, just depends on the final destination, but if you're just in Manhattan, names/numbers might not matter as long as you know if you're going in uptown, or downtown entrance. Streets are in grids. Horizontals are Streets. Vericals are Avenues. It may help to have a compass to you know which way is N / E / W / S. Common rules in major city applies -- don't walk alone at night, go where there are people around, casually notice your surroundings, watch out for thief who target your bag or wallet, and be casual and bend in like one of New Yorkers.

Be sure to wear comfy shoes and prepare to walk a lot.

It might look seem far to walk two or three blocks, but it's actually not too bad, if you're in good shape.

It's useful to have cell phone charged or a meeting place determined, since it's easy to get lost in the crowds.

Time Square
If it's a nice day, you can walk from Port Authority to Time Square on the street level. Time Square has a Toy R Us store, which is fun to visit. Go to basement for the game room and the magic tricks.
Virgin music store is still there. To find out about the origin of this store, read Virigin's founder entrepreneur Richard Branson's fasinating book.
Nakes Cowboys, Cowgirl, and various drummer and entertainers are in various street corners. Leave some change in your pocket makes it easier if you want to tip them, so you don't have to take out your whole wallet.

Watch out for crazy taxi drivers and pedistrian lights to cross the street. With all the stores and things to look at, it's easy not to pay attention where is safe to take the next step.

5th Ave.
To save your energy, take the subway to 5th Ave. and 59 St. by Central Park. If you've seen trees, ponds, and grass, it might be more fasinating to walk on 5th Ave instead. Walk toward south, you'll see Apple store, Trump Tower where Apprentice was filmed, and Tiffany (bathrooms at upstair are really nice) - Breakfast at Tiffany's movie was filmed there. After a few blocks, you can get to Radio City, and Rockefeller Center to see the lights and people skating. walk by NBC Today's studio. Nintendo store is also by there, where you can see the new Wii.

As an American, if you have never visited Statue of Liberty, it's well worth it. Seeing and feeling what she symbolize, my experice was compariable to seeing 4th of July firework in Washington D.C. Also, you're not only taking a boat ride, but to experience how original immigrants feel like when they first arrive New York.

If you have time, you can catch a broadway shows. if you like ABBA music, Mamma Mia is really fun.

"Sex in the City" fans
If you're a "Sex in the City" fan, a show about four smart, pretty and fun girl friends looking for love, career success and life in NYC, you can find their spots in Manhattan. Carrie's apartment is at Upper East Side (245 east 73rd street, New York). The show grabs viewers, because the show is smart. It shows the depth of relationships in life. It's about young professional women looking for love and making choices about their lives. And it's fun to watch their life in NYC.

Thoughts
NYC is a densely populated place, so its easy to see the haves and have nots. It made me believe even more about the oppotunity to receive good education, and to work hard, because at the end of the day, it'll make a difference. Even if you have the dough, you still need the smarts to know what to do with it to keep it. If you have just enough, question is how do you maximize it to make your life most enjoyable. Live long and prosper as Spock says.

China Town
Take the subway down to Canal Street - China Town. Walk toward East to Mott Street for some authentic food. They have bubble tea, bakery, peking ducks, fruit/vege stands, restaurants and purses.
Restaurant Read revews on line. Buddha Bodai's snow pea tips was pretty good.
Don't buy any of the DVD from the street vendors, horrible quality and not worth the cost. However, if you look like tourist who like to shop, you might get invited to the secret back room where they sell look alike hip juicy purses. So to sum up, it was the ultimate NYC experience in one day.

Advice from Carly Fiorina - Maryland MBA

My advice is to give everything you've got to the job you have and recognize opportunity when it knocks. Don't be afraid to go after it.

Throughout my career, I have never spent time thinking about the next job. I've spent time doing the current job to the best of my ability. I did that when I was a secretary, and I did that when I was a CEO.

Choosing people is the most important choice a manager or leader makes. I put wrong people in wrong jobs, or left them in jobs for too long.

•The workplace is not gender blind, but women get further by focusing on possibilities, not limitations.
•Quarterly reports are a look through the rearview mirror. Focus on leading indicators such as customer-satisfaction trends.
•You can't make everyone happy. Leaders motivate people to do things they resist.
•Focus on the job, not the next promotion. When opportunity knocks, go for it.

About Fiorina
•Born Cara Carleton Sneed in Austin. Attended high schools in Ghana, England, North Carolina and California, because her father, a law professor and later a judge, moved a lot.
•B.A. in medieval history and philosophy, Stanford, 1976; MBA, University of Maryland, 1980; Master's in management, MIT Sloan School of Management, 1989.
•Married, two stepdaughters.
•Secretary at real estate investment brokerage company, 1976-77.
•Worked 20 years at AT&T and Lucent Technologies. CEO at HP 1999-2005. Fortune magazine's most powerful woman in business six years in a row, 1998-2003. Remains in top 10.

(Source: USA Today, October 16, 2006)

Travel

"Travel always transforms us - whether we like it or not - in subtle ways or in permanent ones. It gives us new perspectives, new ideas about ourselves and the world we live in."
Travel + Leisure Sept. 2006

I’m proud to be an American

God Bless the U.S.A.
By Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,
From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there’s pride in every American heart,
and it’s time to stand and say:

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

Pretty Photos

taipei moment in space took your breath away

Taipei 101 at night

from this photo club
1-2-3 Taiwan/一二三 到臺灣, 臺灣有個阿里山

by Fishtail a great artist!

How to fight bullies in court

Interesting blog. Bob Parsons' advice to you is simply this: Never let anyone push you around. First, try to defuse the situation. If you can’t do that, stand up and defend yourself.

Web surfing top ranked sites

Top 100 Ranked Sites by # of feeds that reference

Inspirational Junkies

For the inspirational junkies out there, check out The Daily Motivator website http://www.greatday.com/ you can also make this your default home page!

Tampa, Florida

Tampa, FL

Palm Trees!

Nice place if you like lots of sun shines and palm trees.

watch out for alligator!

Busch Gardens

DIY Travel: Taipei 101 - God of Heaven - Year of Dog

Taipei 101 in Forumosa Taiwan-- World's Tallest Building, 1,679-foot-tall

& World's fastest elevators, ground floor to 89th floor in 39 seconds!

Here is a good brief video about Taipei 101. the observatory to the top is interesting. There are several good restaurants in the Taipei 101 Mall. Within walking distance of Taipei 101, there are Warner Village and department stores like Mitsukoshi. many good yummy food everywhere.

the National Palace Museum is an interesting place to visit with many culture things to look at. even though it's a little bit out of the city, but it's worth it. check out this short video. If you're looking for something closer, the National Concert Hall in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall may have concerts or events. there's a cafe and gift shop. the grounds are beautifully maintained like a park.

Taipei City Guide

Wiki Forumosa

Taipei Lantern Festival - Year of Dog

Celebrate birth of God of Heaven during the lunar new year. Actually, they look kind of ghostly with dark red face and long black beard, maybe to scare of the evil spirits!

Pizza Pub at Lai Lai with our friends Angela, Leo, Jonathan & Lin family. The wood-fired oven pizza is fabulous and their live entertainment takes requests.

DIY Travel: Hawaii 2006

O'AHU - HONOLULU

Rent a car and drive around the island is a lot of fun. Lots of things to see. Prepare to find rainbows in the sky.

Beautiful Sunset at Waikiki

Polynesian Cultural Center has the best hula show! You can also get the package with lei greeting, buffet, and show. Prepare to spend the whole day there!

Dole Pineapple Farm

Learn How to Cut a Pineapple and go through World's Largest MazeWaikiki beach

• All your can eat breakfast buffet at Shore Bird Beach Restaurant by the Outrigger Reef Hotel is our favorite, specially if you can find a table by the open window.
• If you would like to visit Pearl Harbor, look for the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center.
• If you want to lay by a famous bay, go to Hanauma Bay. Unless you're willing to swim out there, don't bother with the snorkel gears, and we had to wait in the line forever to rent them. It has a beautiful view from the top of the hill. The walk is easy if you don't need wheel chair or no health problems. Dr Beach named this one of the best beach.
• Best place to shop for souvenir is at Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, but they don't have it daily so check for the hours.
• We like to get their local guava juice in Walmart. Things you can't find anywhere else.
• Hilo Hattie is another fun place to buy souvenirs. Look for coupons in the tourist newsletter.
• Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort has beautiful grounds with exotic birds, African Red-Winged Flamingo, Black Swans, waterfowl, turtles, fishes, and even penguins! Don't miss their Music, Songs & Dance of Polynesia Show. They put on a good show.
• Try the almost authenic Japanese Ramen, go to Ramen Nakamura. The sitting place is crowded and tight just like in Japan.
• We enjoyed Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurant by China town- 100 N. Beretania St., Suite 109, Honolulu, HI 96817. 808-532-8218.
• It's easy to go from one island to another. It's like catching a bus. Compare the price between two airlines: Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airline. Both are comparable, but watch the weight of your suitecase. It's lower than the international flights and they will charge you for the extra weight.
• If you are on route from another island, and need to stay one night by the airport, Honolulu Airport Hotel is our choice, but ONLY stay in the executive room for just a little more. They're nicer and not as far to walk if you have a lot of luggages. Their free 24-hours airport shuttle is good, use courtesy phones in the baggage claim areas.

Surfers at Oahu's North Shore

.

BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII

• When you're on the big island, you getta check out Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Visitor Center. You can tour their factory, free taste test, and they have the best price in town. Bring those freshely made chocolate covered macadamia nuts home for souvenir/gifts.
• If you're by the area, check out Akaka Falls in the Akaka Falls State Park. It's an easy walk to see a 422 feet fall up close.
• There's nothing like it in the world to go see red hot lava! It's adventurous like walking on another planet. Volcano National Park - Prepare to hike through lava rocks. Come prepared! Bring flash light and water. Binocular, video camera. Wear hiking boots and jeans. As you can see in the picture below, you'll have to hike through un-even terrain, for at least 1-2 hours. So you want to start hiking during day light, mid afternoon (depends on when is the sunset). By the time you arrive, it's the best time to view lava, during dusk when you can see glowing red lava without the water vapor smokes. If there's no cloud or moon light, you might even see millions of stars and milky way! It's simply amazing!

Volcano National Park - See lava flow into the Ocean. The view is better during dusk.

H A W A I I Tropical Reef Fish

When you're on the Kailua Kona side of the big island, we always enjoy our stay at Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort. Room with pool view closer to the ocean is the best. Their breakfast buffet is by far our favorite, both American cuisine and Japanese cuisine with guava and miso soup. They have a beautiful grounds, and a terrace where you can look at all kinds of fishes below in the clear water. They have exotic birds and flowers. The sun might go under the clouds and present the most spectacular sunset you have ever seen!

Kahaluu Bay Beach Park is next door, we love to snorkel there (bring your gears or there might be vendors in the parking lot). They had a group of local girls learning hula dance. It's so convenient to be next to the snorkel spot and change in the hotel. Pool towls are by the tour info desk, but they run out fast. We saw turtles and swam next to them. Also bring your underwater camera, we found the digital kind is the best since few shots came out okay. The sunset there is absolutely amazing. It's just a paradise! we wished we stayed there at least two nights...

Orangespine Unicornfish Umaumalei

Octopus with Convict Tang Manini

Green Sea Turtle

Racoon Butterflyfish

Moorish Idol Kihikihi (like the one in Finding Nemo)

If you're coffee lover, when you're in Kona, go check out the coffee farm and see the coffee trees. The coffee in Kona is the best.

If you would like to know a little about the Hawaii culture, go to Pu`uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, A Place of Refuge.