Wangjianshuo's blog

Back to Shanghai

Jian Shuo Wang — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:08:51 +0800

Quick note: I landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport at 12:30 PM, July 11, 2009. From leaving Super 8 at Stanford at 9:00 AM, July 9, it is 51.5 hours (yes. I surely understand that there is 15 hours time zone difference it it), or 36.5 hours on the road.

Interestingly, United Airlines gave me another "Sorry for inconvinience" card. Am I lucky to receive two cards during the trip? One for bad equipments, and service, and another for delay for 10 hours?

I didn't have the energy to update the blog since I am back - what I did was to play a while with Yifan. He loves all the yellow machinery car, the red tractor, and the music book I brought back, and played one of them in turn. I chatted for a long time with Wendy before I fell asleep at 1:00 AM Pacific Time. Now, I wake up at 1:00 PM pacific time. Think it this way, the limit I can sleep in normal days in Shanghai is about 1:00 PM. My internal clock works every well.

Related Entries: San Francisco

Back to Shanghai

July 12, 2009

My United Airlines was Cancelled

July 10, 2009

Baseball Game (San Francisco Giant v.s. Arizona Diamondbacks)

September 16, 2007

Six Apart Office in San Francisco

September 16, 2007

SFO Pictures

December 9, 2005

Flying to SFO

December 4, 2005

Thanks Everyone!

April 28, 2005

Meetup in San Francisco, CA

April 24, 2005

The Silicon Valley Spirit is Back

April 23, 2005

Comments

You're home safe with the people who love you -- that's really all that matters.

Hope you had a good restorative sleep and will be back on Shanghai time very soon :-)

Posted by: Carroll on July 12, 2009 5:28 AM

Obviously I still need more time to adjust - I wake up 4:00 AM here, and cannot sleep any more. But I am sure I will be sleepy in the day time.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on July 12, 2009 6:41 AM

Post your comment

My United Airlines was Cancelled

Jian Shuo Wang — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:10:23 +0800

Too quick to say bye bye to America. I am now still sitting at a bigger table, and a nicer room at Best Western El Rancho Inn & Suite near the San Francisco Airport (so near that I see flight landing just out of window!).

My flight UA857 from San Francisco to Shanghai was cancelled today. It is scheduled to leave tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM, and arrive in Shanghai at 12:30 PM, Saturday.

I would Prefer Bad Service than Delay

... and I would prefer delay than cancellation.

After sitting on my seat 61H on the flight for three hours, slept, waked up, fell asleep, waked up for many times, and replied many emails on mobile phone, I was told that flight was finally cancelled due to the plane engine gas leaking that could not be fixed within several hours.

Then we moved to counter 2 and waited their standing for two and half hours to get 15 USD dinner voucher, and free night at Best Western Hotel. Hmmm... It seems there is no additional financial cost to my trip so far, but my whole day of July 9, 2009 is spent at the SFO airport.

Sensation of Time

I was so bored that I drew a picture of the Spanish style hotel.

Some times, people were forced to do something that they won't do in normal time, like drawing. If there were no such a flight delay, who knows what I will use the time for? At least not in a very interesting way. Sometimes the contrain gives people more focus (nothing to do!), and more focus makes life better.

Related Entries: San Francisco

Back to Shanghai

July 12, 2009

My United Airlines was Cancelled

July 10, 2009

Baseball Game (San Francisco Giant v.s. Arizona Diamondbacks)

September 16, 2007

Six Apart Office in San Francisco

September 16, 2007

SFO Pictures

December 9, 2005

Flying to SFO

December 4, 2005

Thanks Everyone!

April 28, 2005

Meetup in San Francisco, CA

April 24, 2005

The Silicon Valley Spirit is Back

April 23, 2005

Comments

United has obviously been a total disappointment for you on this trip. Sorry to hear about the delay! Safe travels and I'm sure Yifan and Wendy will be so excited to have you back. Travel may be life intensified, but homecoming is a wonderful feeling!

Posted by: elliottng on July 10, 2009 8:20 PM

I remember many years ago I took SFO to PVG (UA), the plane was reported showing fire during take off. Eventually the plane circled above the sea for an hour or so (to get rid of fuel) and flew back to SFO. I guess that experience is more adventurous than yours.

Good luck Jianshuo, thanks for sharing your trip and thoughts. Just remember don't "bad mouth" UA :-)

Posted by: STLPlace on July 10, 2009 9:26 PM

IS UNITED AIRLINES SO BAD? I HAVE BOOKED MY TICKET FM HONG KONG-SAN FRANCISCO N HOPE I WILL BE LUCKY.

Posted by: Fayara on July 10, 2009 11:31 PM

do you have travel insurance? they normally entertain flight delays/cancellation claims!

Posted by: solopolo on July 11, 2009 12:24 AM

Funny UA did not redirect you to LAX/ORD for connection to PVG.

Posted by: stephen on July 11, 2009 1:00 AM

Stephen,
Too late for ORD PVG flight. They leave at 10:45 AM CST.

LAX does not have direct UA flight to PVG. China Eastern has a flight leaves at 1:30 PM PST, could easily be filled with people from SFO.

Jianshuo,
It's all because you love SV so much :-)

Posted by: STLPlace on July 11, 2009 1:39 AM

I really love the collection of drawings you have been making during your travels, Jian Shuo! Very sorry you had to stay over, though. Safe flight to you today -- Wendy and Yifan will be extra happy to see you tomorrow :-)

Posted by: Carroll on July 11, 2009 1:55 AM

Post your comment

End of Noodle Trip

Jian Shuo Wang — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:03:01 +0800

My recent US trip started to form a routine. It always start with a PHO noodle � the Vietnamese noodle somewhere near the hotel I stay, and ends the trip at Tomokazu Japanese Cuisine noodle shop near gate G100 of San Francisco airport.

Choosing Food

In the bay area, the closest food to Chinese food, including Chinese restaurants, is actually Vietnamese noodle. I didn�t make a mistake here. I did mean INCLUDING Chinese food. Well, actually there is no such a thing called Chinese food, just like there no such a thing called European food. Most of the Chinese food here are Cantonese cuisine, not the food I am used to. I just need 1) Noodle 2) Hot soup instead of cold (iced!) water 3) Salty food, not just rice 4) with meat AND vegetables in it (cooked not fresh vegetables).

Routines

My personal type is perceiving � not the type of people who enjoys routines. But recent trip to US made me very routine oriented � plan exactly where to have lunch far in advance, and plan who to meet several weeks before. That is what the US society requires (no appointment? Sorry), and that is how I also found effective. By knowing exactly what I am going to do in the San Francisco airport to the detail level of where to have lunch actually save my brain energy and focus it on more important things.

Finished my Noodle, and End of my Trip

Just finished my noodle, and my noodle trip to US ends here. The UA857 to Shanghai is actually delayed to 2:30 � 2 hour delay. Rare, but it happens. BTW, there is no free wifi in San Francisco airport. I miss PVG now.

BTW, this morning, I am very sure I completely get rid of the jet lag � I was violently forced to wake up by several alarm clocks, but I still slept for 10 minutes more. Yes. This is exactly who I am, not the person who wake up 2 hours before the alarm clock, and feeling excited about the new day. Now, the sleepy cat is going back.

I am Back Home, Sweet Home!

Wendy and Yifan, I am back. I am bringing gift to Wendy I am sure she will like, and I am bringing toys to Yifan that I am even sure that he will be extremely happy � the cars � big cars! Cannot wait to see smiles, or screams from Yifan and Wendy.

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

Did you notice the owner of Tomokazu Japanese Cuisine noodle shop is actually a Cantonese?

Posted by: f on July 10, 2009 4:55 PM

Post your comment

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

Jian Shuo Wang — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:52:49 +0800

I am sitting at my small table in the Super 8 hotel at Palo Alto. Yes. It is a small table, and a small room with noisy refrigerator, and it smells. But, I am happy.

Life as an Entrepreneur

Kissing goodbye with 5-star hotels, business class flight and jumping back to the real life of an entrepreneur, I just don't believe I could make a better decision. The corporate style of work is just not my style. Let me tell you, Super 8 is really good - not because of it is good (please fix the noise of the refrigerator!), it is because it symbolize the spirit of cost saving, and the place you pay attention.

Pay attention on what you do, what you think, not where you stay!

Business Ambition

Paul Graham talked about Cities and Ambition. Silicon Valley is the area full of ambition. To be more precious, the ambition is in Palo Alto, in Mount View, in Melon Park, and in Sunnyvale. The ambition flows in entrepreneur's mind.

I am very sure at this quite (again, except the noise from refrigerator) night, there are many entreprenuers are still working hard, or more importantly, thinking hard.

They may be showering now, thinking some hard problems, and forgetting to turn off the water. They may be driving but still thinking something important in the company. They may be in the office alone, when everyone else in the company has already left, so he can see his company from another angle. They do it because they believe in something big that others don't really believe in.

And there are great people on the Sand Hill road, and in downtown Palo Alto. They are ambitious too, and they have a bold vision to the future. This trip actually changed my fundamental impression of how Venture Capital works. Or, to put it the other way, how the really outstanding VC works. It is all about ambition that is far beyond most people's expectation, and the experience to make it happen.

Intellectual Power

There is nowhere like the SV that shows the importance of Intellectual power better. Well. Maybe Cambridge in Boston demos that more clearly. The intellectual power in SV is more mixed with experience and business. It is mixed with pattern recognition - the pattern for great things, or bad things - people smell things.

Interaction with great people here requires a lot of intelligent power. I never get so tired with the same amount of talking time than anywhere else.

Travel

Elliott shared with me his observation: Travel is life intensified. Yes. I had 7 meetings today, and meeting about 20 people. I had more meetings yesterday. I seldom do that in Shanghai, just because we had plenty of time. We should live a life like this in Shanghai also. :-)

Wrapping Up

I'd like to thank everyone I met to take the time to meet with me. To protect people's privacy, I won't list the names, or even initials, but I do want to thank everyone for your time. It is such a privilege to be able to talk with great people like you. Sometimes, I feel to have a hat of "flying all the way cross the Pacific" helped me to get access to people here - remote guests always comes before local people, aren't they?

I have never been happier than staying in this small Super 8 room. I am sure I will keep staying at motel as long as I can. Not about money at all. It is the inspiration, and the message it sends to myself, and to people around me.

Good night America, and Hello, China! I will be back fully refreshed. SV is my source of inspiration.

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

wow

Posted by: Mike on July 9, 2009 11:28 PM

good notes!! Glad you had a good time here, and likewise, you inspire people.

Posted by: jin on July 10, 2009 12:27 AM

Good luck. I really envy you. And you helped me a lot for the information about how to applying shore pass in japan, thank you.

Posted by: Ran Ji on July 10, 2009 5:48 AM

safe trip home!

Posted by: GN on July 10, 2009 12:31 PM

Nice reflections!

A few thoughts and reactions:

1. Entrepreneurship - I'm thrilled about your move into true entrepreneurship and I'm sure this adds to Baixing.com's chances of success -- being independent vs. being tied to Ebay. I loved your thoughts on the importance of keeping things simple. Successful businesses are always more simple than people want to make them. When you don't know what to do to be successful, the temptation is to add complexity.

2. Silicon Valley - I believe SV is unique in the US, and in the world. No other place has the same spirit of innovation and celebrating success *and* failure. In these tough times for the venture industry, places like Boston, New York, Austin, and Seattle are finding that they just don't have the same critical mass as Silicon Valley. Even if 1500 Venture firms disappear in this next cycle, there will still be 1500 around and most of them (except for a handful) is in SV. Boston is #2 but a distant #2 -- much less entrepreneurial and accepting of entrepreneurial failure.

3. Intellectual power - I feel the same way about my trips to China!

4. Travel - I like to believe that outsiders sometimes have unique insights that people locally don't see. I enjoy hearing about your insights about the US, and Silicon Valley. One of my intellectual heroes is Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman who came to the United States when it was just being formed more than 200 years ago. He wrote a book called "Democracy in America" where he observed certain aspects of American society and culture that remain true to this day. The fact that you can get useful insights about America from a Frenchman 200 years ago says something about de Tocqueville's insight, and the fact that the *right* small beginnings, and the work of long time, can create great things.

Best to you and look forward to continued conversations!

Posted by: elliottng on July 10, 2009 8:31 PM

Post your comment

I Just Love Silicon Valley

Jian Shuo Wang — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:03:48 +0800

Before 2005, I always tell people - I love Seattle, WA, because of the great trees, lakes, mountains and great cities. At that time, every of my US trip is in Seattle. It turned out that I said that just because I never visited Silicon Vally. This is exactly the reason people travel - never make decisions about what you want most before you explore more places and lifestyle - the type of seeking for something unknown.

Why I Love Sillicon Valley

Althouh I would say many things: the convinience of access (no transition of flight is needed from Shanghai), the always sunny weather, the bay, the nice spread of cities, and realtively very good traffic, the key is the intellectural power and innovation you can get in this particular area.

I just had a whole day conversation with eight great people in the history of Internet/IT industry, and I admire so much about their clarify of pricinciple and mission, the extereme passion for something that has big impact, and the strong brain muscle to see things through.

Inspiration

People are really group animal - when you stay with people like this mind, you inevitably get affected, and think, and behave the similar way. I, as an ENFP type of person, inspiration, and theory, and people, and something new, and talking, etc, are so important to me. I got exactly what I wanted in this bay area.

I simply love it. It is the best place I can imagine to be (well, learning from the previous lesson, a better way to put it is, it is a better place than Seattle. Period.)

Although with busy schedule and cost concern, everytime I tried to postpone or cancel a sillicon valley trip, but every time, I am so excited about what I see here, and never regret for a single minute that I am here.

If you are technical guy, and especially an ENFP guy, you definitely will enjoy the place as much as I can. For the rest personality type, I think you will like it too (althogh I cannot say since I am not other type).

I am a Local

From the day one I am here, I refuse to use a GPS. I would rather get lost and wander for a while in the unfamiliar street to build my sense of this area than following the GPS direction. Now, for most of the places I go, I just drive there without the help of any map or GPS. The most visited places are the down town of each of the small cities - Castro St. in Mountain view (and Villa), University Ave in Palo Alto, Murphy in Sunnyvale, and Sand Hill/Stanford area. I am also used to be I-280, I-880, I-680, US-101, CA-85, CA-237 highway system here, and also the El Camino Real, Middlefield Rd, the Page Mill Rd... See, I am a local already, and I know where to take nice brunch in the morning in this area. I just hope one day I can bring Wendy to the area (she never been here), and show her my favorite places.

Again, too late, time to sleep. It is 12:30 Pacific Time.

P.S. Wendy SMSed that Yifan got angry with her again. Hmmm... What happened?

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

If you are an entreprenuer thinking about starting a new hightech company of some sort, especially in the computer/internet field, Silicon Valley may still be the place to be, but for the rest of people who are destined to be a worker bee, Silicon Valley's salary would be overshadowed by its extremely high cost of living, from tax to gas price to housing. Silicon Valley is no longer a best cost effective place to run a business. It's hard to say that it would ever regain its past glory in high technology because web has made geographical location irrelevant.

Posted by: jim on July 9, 2009 2:17 AM

That's also how I felt. I visit SV from time to time. I like it from a visitor point of view. But I am always hasitant about moving down there (I work in software field). Expensive housing is one concern. But the thing I am really concerned is work/life balance, it seems like people there usually work more harder than people here in the midwest. Is the extra compensation deserve the extra labor I put in? Something to ponder about.

On the other hand, I understand it's a very good place for startup, and is convenient for Chinese (because of all the stores and restaurant).

Posted by: STLPlace on July 9, 2009 4:27 AM

If you consider having to spend a million dollar to buy a house that would cost only 1/3 of that in other places, all the "extra" in income would have been consumed already. The actual income in the pocket is actually less than people work in similar jobs in less expensive states. BTW, engineers in less expensive states don't earn proportionally less in compensation as compared to difference in housing prices. For example, a software engineer in Austin Texas working for IBM usually earns about the same as his peer working in San Jose. The difference is, cost of housing in Austin is about 1/4 of that in Bay area. Now think about it, how much extra money he can save by not paying the overpriced home.

About Chinese food, yes, Silicon Valley has more choices in Chinese cuisine, but it definitely doesn't have the best Chinese food. Vancouver B.C., or LA in the south definitely have better food there.

Posted by: Jim on July 9, 2009 5:26 AM

Unless you are at the top of echelon in SV, it is not that great of a place to live for a worker bee. So it all depends what you do in SV.

Posted by: Supernova on July 9, 2009 5:35 AM

jianshuo, drop by my place in east san jose; i'll show u this side of paradise, then u can decide if u still like this area

Posted by: woo on July 9, 2009 5:53 AM

It seems like all comments are negative. I just moved here from Sacramento. I lived in LA, La Jolla, Chapel Hill, and another small town 3 hours drive to Tahoe area. They all have different but interesting traits. From the posts I read at your website, I would still think Jianshuo would like Silicon Valley. I don't have much preference for cities, but I like it here. Things are expensive for a reason. Otherwise, no one would be here.

Posted by: famus on July 10, 2009 5:17 AM

I have to agree with most people who made the comments here. You would be right if you said this 10 years ago. But today Silicon Valley is losing its edge in almost every aspect, even in the area of technological innovation. As for the weather, I think southern California is better. Do you realize that you can rarely swim in the ocean of northern California coast even in the summer? :-)

Yes, you may need to see the other side of paradise. But don't have to be in east San Jose. Just cross Highway 101 from where you stay to see East Palo Alto...

Posted by: JH on July 10, 2009 5:58 AM

Unless you can run your own show in SV, one doesn't have much time to be "intellectual" other than running round and round the wheel like a hamster day after day. That's why I moved. I think SV offers a very narrow sense of intellectualism (the obvious being in the area of high-tech). Other than that, not much.

Posted by: supernova on July 10, 2009 8:03 AM

Have a cup of tea + reading you blog, is the one of the most enjoyable thing duirng a day!

Posted by: Bruce on July 10, 2009 10:26 AM

Post your comment

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

Jian Shuo Wang — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:17:47 +0800

How embarrassing!

I got a ticket for overtime parking in Palo Alto downtown today.

I parked the car into the purple zone. Then I visited Tina and have lunch together. It is the first Monday after the Independent Day. We walked to many restaurants from her list one by one, only to find out all them are closed, and one even closed for two weeks!

15 minutes later, we stopped the Palo Alto downtown guided tour and went to the Japanese restaurant to have Sushi. We had wonderful conversation, but jet lag hit me at about 1:30 PM. I could not stay awake, and proposed to have a cup of coffee.

The 2 hours at Coupa Cafe was great. The small road reminded me to Shanghai - some streets in the French concession is exactly the same. If you watch the phoenix trees, and some Chinese girls walking along the street - I just feel that I am in Shanghai.

Then we chatted a lot of things, and enjoyed the "Shanghai" misconception, and the beautiful weather, the sweet to death Cafe Mocha...

But Tina's question broke all the nice things, and seems to be a stop sign of a nice music: Jian Shuo, where did you park?

.......

1 minute later, we were at the side of my car, and found the ticket was already comfortably lying on the window of the car. Tina regretted that she should have asked and give me permit to display on the window.

Well. My first overtime ticket! I know Randy will be very happy to know that, and say "Welcome to America" to me again.

It is $30. I remember I saw the person enforcing the purple zone 2 hour parking when I left my car. He is using a hand-held scanner to do it.

Sorry for that, and I will pay it the day after tomorrow when I have other meetings in Palo Alto again.

In China, there is no such a thing of zoned parking, and 2 hour enforcement. Need to pay attention the next time. Hmm... How embarrassing it is to have a ticket.

Meanwhile, I know my friends in China are busy moving their cars on Kaixin001.com to avoid vitual ticket. I got the real one. How embarrasing it is (Have I said I was embarrased before?) Hope my painful experience brings some joy to you.

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

HI, Mr Wang, Have you ever joined the Advanced Translation Examnation? I will join the exam in September this year. Can you give me some advice? Thanks.

Posted by: Melody on July 7, 2009 5:28 PM

nah, 2 hours parking is just stupid. most places just make u pay for more time. ok that being california its something to expect. anyway as long as the ticket is paid no one will care about it. yeah as long as CHIPS dont ticket you, your fine :) get it.. ok bad joke. enjoy your USA TRIP.
Your Neighbour.

Posted by: Andy on July 7, 2009 7:18 PM

You are so lucky!!! only $30, if they towed your car, the price will rock. Last time I got a parking ticket under this kind of sign in downtown Baltimore, and unfortunately got towed. It is $330 :(

Posted by: Dihua on July 7, 2009 8:43 PM

Some parking spaces in Switzerland are ridiculously short -- 15 minutes. That's only enough for a bathroom break or to snatch a bread + paper. And they charge you -- I think the equivalent of CNY 6 or 7 for 15 minutes!

(That purple zone color theme reminds me to Shanghai Metro Line 10 -- only a bit paler.) ;-)

Worry not about the overtime parking. We all make mistakes.

I know how it works in China. Park as long as you want and either prepay and add later or pay when you're going. At times they don't even collect your payment (especially in Beijing -- officers on a tea break?), so you basically "get away with it"...

Posted by: David Feng on July 8, 2009 10:23 AM

Don't worry too much about it, Jianshuo. You can decide to pay it or throw the ticket off.

On positive side, I recall President Obama had received 17 parking tickets while at Harvard. And I also had received at least 3 parking tickets over the years.

Remember parking tickets is much better than running red lights or speeding tickets.

Posted by: STLPlace on July 8, 2009 11:56 PM

Did you pay your parking ticket yet, JS? You should try the online payment with credit card. It's so much more convenient than going down to City Hall.

Posted by: seine on July 9, 2009 12:31 AM

Post your comment

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

Jian Shuo Wang — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:36:02 +0800

Just one quick question: why people in California always have their car light on even in day time? It seems waste of energy, and pretty annoying. On the rented car, the light switch default to AUTO, but does it mean to shut it down in automatically in sunny California at day time?

BTW, I inherited this habit of forgetting to close the light when I am back to Shanghai (completely manual lights), and Wendy always reminded me about that.

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

In Denmark, having lights on all day is required by law. I much prefer it that way and always had my lights on when driving in China. Of course the lights are useless for illumination, but they are very useful for identifying moving cars at a distance because it is easier to notice moving light sources than to identify the shape of a car and looking at their much weaker signal
lights.

Posted by: Guan Yang on July 7, 2009 5:04 AM

The headlights are definitely for other cars to see you better, than to help you see better. As you noted, it is useless for the latter purpose in broad daylight. In the US, it is required by law to have headlights on when it's raining, with the rule of thumb being that headlights should be on if your windshield wipers are on.

Most newer cars now have the AUTO headlight feature. It turns on the lights automatically when you turn on the engine, and it also shuts the lights off automatically when you turn off the engine. Some cars even have smaller daylight driving lights designed specifically for this purpose.

Posted by: seine on July 7, 2009 5:45 AM

In many states in the US it is the law to have lights on during the day. It does not waste any energy as the engine is running, the alternator is recharging the battery. It would waste battery if you left them on after you turned off the engine, but most American cars automatically shut them off when the engine is off anymore.
It does help with visibility of on-coming cars, like a gray car on a gray day.

Posted by: ja on July 7, 2009 9:57 AM

does your car in Shanghai beeping if you pull out the car key without turning off the headlights?

Posted by: GN on July 7, 2009 1:26 PM

I am not aware of this law "In many states in the US it is the law to have lights on during the day." although I have driven in many states in last 10+ years in the US.

The only reason I can think of is "we are Americans, we don't care" or "even if we use world 25% of oil with less than 5% of world population, so what".

Posted by: STLPlace on July 7, 2009 2:47 PM

@GN, my car actually turns off the light when the engine goes off, so I typically don't bother to turn it off. But the second morning, when I start the engine, it is on, and I need to mannually turn it off.

In Shanghai, I would say, NO car turn the head lights on in the day time - well, there may be one or two of this car I see once in a month, but it is really rare.

I don't know if there is any law to require it to be off, but I remember I saw a TV drama which the driver was stopped by policeman just because he had his car light on in day time.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on July 7, 2009 3:28 PM

In Canada, lights on while driving is required. In fact, a lot of cars when put into gear will turn on the light, no matter your light switch is on or off. I think it has to do with the northern weather. It's generally more gloomy in the north, especially in the winter snowy days, which are exceptionally long.

Posted by: PC on July 7, 2009 11:53 PM

This is Day Time Running Light and is the standard equipment in all vehicle sold in U.S. and Canada. The devise is operated on 25% of the high beam capacity as to enhance the visibility of the appraoching vehicle during day time but does not cause glare to the driver.

During night time the driver still needs to turn on the standard lighting as DRL does not activate the tail lights and low beam.

Posted by: stephen on July 8, 2009 12:05 AM

I lived in CA and OR... neither has a daytime-headlights-on law. And I have a 4Runner and an old Mersedz, neither turns headlights on automatically. On the roads, there are always signs at areas where lights on are required, tunnels, mountain area, and forests roads... etc. And you do know that you need to turn on the lights when it's raining or foggy... that's commend sense. We had one night driving out for Chinese food takeout forgot to turn on the headlights got pull over and was told to turn the lights on... that's it.

It is a safety issue... it doesn't use any more energy, and it maybe a nice option to have for some people... elderly, for example.
So,
@STLPlace, Take A Hike... 八杆子打不着的。

Posted by: GN on July 8, 2009 4:11 AM

In Switzerland as is the case in northern Europe, this is required at all times. It seems useless, I know, until you look in the back mirror -- trust me, a car with its lights on is instantly more recognizable than one without it.

Posted by: David Feng on July 8, 2009 10:18 AM

This is another one of those issues that people never stop arguing about. "It does have an effect", "It does not have any effect", "It disturbes oncoming traffic", etc. etc. Consult the Wikipedia entry for a more rather take on this issue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lamp

By the way, for those claiming that DRL does not consume any extra energy: I think it is time you pull out your old middle school physics text book.

Posted by: Bonjour Thomas on July 8, 2009 11:17 AM

OK... don't think I know my physics... is there any actual date on this? I searched online, it is another he says she says issue... sounds like it should be submitted to Mythbusters.

Posted by: GN on July 8, 2009 2:08 PM

Stephen is right, these are running lights which are different from the headlights you turn on at night. What you are seeing is not people "turning on" their headlights during the day (I don't think anyone in the US does this) but new cars that have running lights on automatically. I believe it's now a requirement for new cars.

Bonjour Thomas, please don't be so literal. Of course lights require energy. The point is that the car is generating electricity anyway when the engine is running, so the running lights are not decreasing your gas mileage - at least, not to any measurable extent. So STLPlace, your comment about how much oil Americans use is pointless here, but thanks for trying, we love you too.

Posted by: ddjiii on July 9, 2009 5:09 PM

Stephen is right, what you are seeing is running lights, which are different from the headlights that you turn on at night. I don't think anyone in the US purposefully turns on their lights during the day under normal conditions, but a lot of new cars include this equipment automatically. I actually thought it was a requirement for new cars, but according to the Wikipedia article not so.

Posted by: ddjiii on July 9, 2009 5:21 PM

It is rediculous to think that daytime running lights do not use energy "to any measurable extent". When you are talking about tens of millions or hundreds of millions of cars with daytime running lights the additional energy usage is measurable, large and completely unnecessary. It would be one thing if these lights had built in sensors to only turn on below a certain level of ambient light, but daytime running lights that are always on are horribly ineffecient, wasteful, and have not been proven to increase safety.

I'm glad Wang Jian Shuo mentiond this - it's easy for someone who hasn't seen this type of running lights before to recognize them and question why they are being used if they are wasting energy and not necessary.

Posted by: Jon on July 10, 2009 1:53 AM

The DRL is designed to increased the conspicuity of the vehicle and to avoid possible accident, since accident never happens, how can statistics show the positive comparison especially when DRL have been installed for almost 20 years.

Nevertheless, I hope you don't treat DRL like the "light pollution".

Posted by: stephen on July 10, 2009 5:08 AM

Please disable DRL as it wastes energy and has no effect or increase accidents rate. Plus, people forget to turn real headlights on when raining. I had to cut a wire on my car computer to disable it with guidance from the car manufacturer bulletin. Pulling the fuse didn't work.

Posted by: famus on July 10, 2009 5:32 AM

Post your comment

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

Jian Shuo Wang — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:09:50 +0800

Another exciting day in Sunny silicon valley just ended. I would say every time I visit the Silicon Valley, I just love it more and more. The valley is all about new ideas, inspiration, and thoughts about the future. I chatted with Reid, and Jin, and my friends in the Chinese entreprenure community at lunch (with a side trip to Costco to get the shopping list I got from my friends filled). All of the meetings were very good. In Silicon Valley, what the future looks like really matters for many people, and you can just go ahead to talk about it without getting a strange look (like in Shanghai or Luoyang). With Jin, I got very excited about the future of Smart Grid - the power management system, although it may be 5 years or 10 years from now. It seems to me just like another Internet. This is also my first introductionary talk about clear energy. Not to mention Reid's wonderful mind - some of the tips are still singing besides my ear now.

It is pretty late (0:25 AM local time) now, and I hope to get to bed quickly, and don't over sleep tomorrow morning. Good night!

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

Amazing! There were people at our party (on the other side of the house from where you were most of the time) talking about Smart Grid too, Jian Shuo!! I hope you will be able to come back in five years and see it in action. You're right -- this is a pretty exciting place to live :-)

And if you even went to Costco, well, you've had the complete experience of living like a local!

Posted by: Carroll on July 7, 2009 2:11 AM

i love silicon valley too, but just too expensive to live here, even with all this recession, still cant afford to buy a decent house

Posted by: woo on July 7, 2009 2:23 AM

Just curious, what did you get at Costco?

Posted by: Ali on July 7, 2009 3:22 AM

In Costco? Just the Cal tablet, Fish Oil - many bottles.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on July 7, 2009 3:23 AM

Post your comment

Tax Rate in China is Low?

Jian Shuo Wang — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:16:49 +0800

Just get back from the party. We talked about the tax rate in China, and it gave me the impression that the tax rate in China is low.

Business Tax

5% of revenue as operating tax, and 20% of profit - for an Internet company.

For other type, like the trading cmopany, they do not pay according to revenue - they pay value-add tax.

For certified high-tech company, the tax of the first 3 years will be 0, and half of the tax due in the following two years.

Personal Tax

Basically it is about 20% for most people, and up to 45% for the rich.

Is it high or low?

My 2 cents: I think the problem for today's tax structure in China is not how high/low the tax is, it is about the government collecting the tax but do not provide the service they should.

Related Entries: Government

Tax Rate in China is Low?

July 5, 2009

Controlling Software is Everywhere

June 16, 2009

Bribe for Driver's License?

May 26, 2009

Bad Behavior, Its Reason, and Future

March 13, 2009

Visited Police Station Today

January 20, 2009

The Death of A Citizen

November 27, 2008

Chinese Government is Like a Company

October 12, 2008

My National ID Duplicated with Another One

April 7, 2008

Security Messures in Radio and TV Station

March 4, 2008

Comments

OF COURSE TAX RATE IN CHINA IS HIGH

Posted by: Fayara on July 5, 2009 11:52 PM

Seems high to me. I think the US corp. income tax rate is about 33%. But big global companies like GE has ways to pay a rate about 15%.

At personal level, the federal income tax is progressive, the tax rate ranges from 5% to 35%, depends on personal income and deductions.

I think one obvious problem in China income tax system is ordinary guys (people who do regular jobs) paid income tax (payroll deduction), while the fat cats (rich guys) don't necessarily pay their fair share. The collection system and legal system are not there yet.

As to the use of tax payer money, the transparency is improving. For instance, I heard one story the people's congress hall paid 150,000 Yuan for two toilet rooms renovations :-)

Posted by: STLPlace on July 6, 2009 5:35 AM

hiahia~~~~~~Jianshuo, you got it, the key point is that "the government collecting the tax but do not provide the service they should."
Support what you said!!!!

Posted by: Christina Hou on July 7, 2009 3:22 PM

bingo JS, it is high when you consider the service... when this topic arise I always think about the medical facilities here...

Posted by: DC on July 7, 2009 5:54 PM

Post your comment

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

Jian Shuo Wang — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:36:12 +0800

Thanks Carroll to inviting me to her wonderful party again. There are very nice conversation going on and great food, and there are fireworks! Look at the wonderful fireworks and view!

Credit: Photo taken by Jian Shuo Wang.

Credit: Photo taken by Jian Shuo Wang

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

As always, Jian Shuo, it was ***wonderful*** to have you here!) I think I forgot to give you a special hug to take home for Wendy, so if you don't mind giving her one of yours, next time you are here I promise to replace it :-)

I hope that the rest of your business meetings go well, and that we may see you again very soon!

Posted by: Carroll on July 6, 2009 1:16 AM

Post your comment

Drawing of Stanfod

Jian Shuo Wang — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:13:46 +0800

I should otherwise be sleeping at hotel, if there were no meeting that afternoon. Since I got to the Stanford anyway, it was nice to hang out for a while and take some pictures, and make some drawings.

Hoover Tower

Stanford has a nice tower - the Hoover Tower:

Credit: Photo by Jian Shuo Wang

I was there on July 2nd, when I just landed from SFO airport. I took several minutes to draw what I saw. It is embarrassingly bad drawing

Hand-drawn by Jian Shuo Wang

Stanford Bookstore

Then I sit down in the Stanford Bookstore to rest a little bit, then I drew another picture of what is inside the Bookstore.

Drawing by Jian Shuo Wang on July 2, 2009

The actual picture is like this. Not exactly the same - I "moved" the shelf at the front, and as any drawing, ignored a lot of details. Anyway, I still think it is a OK drawing.

Credit: Jian Shuo Wang. I hope I didn't break the rule of no photos - didn't notice such sign at entrance

Hey. Did anyone say that drawing can cure jet lag?

Just kidding.

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

Not bad drawing at all

Posted by: Mike on July 6, 2009 9:29 AM

Wow! You are really talented in drawing!

Posted by: Michelle on July 6, 2009 10:54 AM

Love the drawings! That's really good for just a few minutes. Sorry I missed you this trip. Definitely let me know next time you are in town. I'm at University Cafe all the time. : )

Posted by: Jennifer Dulski on July 7, 2009 5:41 AM

Hehe, they are realy good, I prefer to the first one. Good!

Posted by: Christina Hou on July 7, 2009 3:27 PM

Jennifer, I am still in town. Have time to meet?

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on July 7, 2009 4:35 PM

Post your comment

Morning America, and Good Night China

Jian Shuo Wang — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:00:02 +0800

It is another sunny morning in bay area. So lovely weather, and I am sitting in my favorite (or OUR favorite?) University Cafe. Interestingly, although I love new travel destinations, I always enjoy have meal or cafe at exactly the same location. So I arranged most of my Palo Alto meetings in the same place: University Cafe, 271 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA. I am enjoying my nice orange juice, and expecting my breakfast:

Breakfast Burrito: eggs, Bacons, Turkey, Breakfast Sausages, Potatoes, Cheddar & Jack Cheese, Side Salsa.

It is so nice to be able to read menu, and know what to expect, the result of my menu learning effort.

Update: This is the final food.

Related Entries: San Jose

End of Noodle Trip

July 10, 2009

Wrapping up my Trip in SV

July 9, 2009

I Just Love Silicon Valley

July 8, 2009

Got a Overtime Parking Ticket

July 7, 2009

Why Car Lights in US are Always On

July 7, 2009

Inspiration is the Key in Silicon Valley

July 6, 2009

Fireworks in Sillicon Valley

July 5, 2009

Drawing of Stanfod

July 4, 2009

Morning America, and Good Night China

July 4, 2009

Comments

Sounds like an American breakfast. Hope you have a pleasant stay... and a happy 4th.

Posted by: GN on July 4, 2009 11:58 AM

название интересное

Posted by: dass on July 4, 2009 3:34 PM

Try Max's Opera Cafe! It's on the Stanford campus.

Posted by: egg on July 6, 2009 10:08 PM

Post your comment

United Airlines is Bad

Jian Shuo Wang — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:02:56 +0800

I wrote United Airlines is Good 7 years ago, when I just started flying to US. On one hand, my expectation was lower than today, and on the other hand, they were much better in the good economy. The trip UA858 leaving PVG on July 2, 2009 for SFO was really bad. However, this time, I was not the same person many years ago, and I started to investigate this company from the business perspective.

Morale Issues

Obviously the morale of the company was hit by the bankruptcy, the job cut, and the recent financing problems. Why I saw this? The attitude of the service attendants have never been so bad.

The guy serving the back rows asked to an elder person to put her baggage to the overhead luggage space: "You only have two choices: put it there, or out of the plane". Then he opened the cover of the luggage space, and looked at the passenger. The behavior was unbelievable, and many passengers rose and shouted: "How bad the service are!", "How can you be so mean!", or "It is YOUR duty to help the passenger!" This alone does not mean a bad morale, just bad customer service, but when I saw the other flight attendants passed by indifferently, and seemed didn't care about what their peers were doing, that was obviously a company morale issue. Who cares about this "little" things in a sinking boat? I experienced this in eBay China before.

The other thing is the Channel 9. The fewer and fewer time can I listen to the Channel 9 on flight of United Airline flights. Channel 9 is the channel for pilots to communicate with traffic control tower, and United was the first (is it the only one) offering the voice channel to all the passengers. What a great idea, and how ambitious they were to build the best airline when they launched this? Channel 9 worked before 2006 (I remember), and never worked afterwards.

No to mention Channel 9. Even the Channel 1 didn't work - the audio of movie program. I watched three movies briefly with no audio at all - the only thing from the earphone was noise.

Details? Customer Satisfaction?

Besides the details of customer service, channel 9 (innovation), and channel 1 (basics), there are other things that added up to the bad impression.

Some of the reading light was broken, while the overhead background lights could not be turned off. It lit up for some time, and then went off for some time, and lit up again. The whole flight alternated from light to dark. Only when this happened did I realize that most flight should be completely dark during the night journey. I guess that is the main reason they gave me a apology card, and allowed me to enjoy 10% discount of next flight.

Ironically, the almost broken and shaking movie screen showed something like "Customer Satisfaction is Our Priority". Actually, United is in big trouble: their satisfaction rate was lowest in DOT
and received 2.6 complains for every 100K passengers and was lowest since 2001. You see, the passengers can feel it.

Business behind it

Now I understand that when customer service has problem, it is not the VP of customer service, or VP of flight attendants or anyone who should be responsible. It was the strategic choices the CEO made.

Actually, customer service is not that important if United wants to be another Southwest Airlines, whose mission is to provide lowest possible fare. United really need to lower the cost of their service. However, that does not mean the attitude issue should not be solved. United was stuck in the middle: they cannot provide service at the same standard as before due to cost constrain, and they cannot lower the cost further to compete with the low cost players in this bad economy. Something must be done to save this company.

Related Entries: Business

United Airlines is Bad

July 3, 2009

Eatery is Really Small Business

October 21, 2008

Winter for Startups is Coming

October 16, 2008

Stock Market Big Drop

June 26, 2008

Jeff Immelt on Business

March 5, 2008

Motel 168 Going Public?

February 13, 2007

Will Shanghai be the Next Silicon Valley by 2009?

May 20, 2004

United EasyCheck-In

November 5, 2002

United Airlines is Good

November 4, 2002

Comments

Actually the service at Southwest Airlines is very good.

Posted by: Realclearchina on July 3, 2009 6:37 PM

Yes, Southwest flight is pretty nice. I like their safety instruction announcement especially (not the typical announcement you will hear). I remember once the flight attendant sing a song after landing.

Back to United. I remember seeing a verbal fight between passenger and flight attendant in a flight between ORD/PVG (don't remember which way). It seems to me the fault is at the passenger side (too aggressive), that being said, the flight attendant has a hot temper. I think a lot things look strange is due to culture difference. Here in the US, if a passenger is very aggressive, the pilot can ask that person to leave the plane (security risk). This is just a reality after Sept. 11. If the passenger has a legitimate complaint, he/she can ask for the supervising flight attendant.

Posted by: STLPlace on July 3, 2009 9:36 PM

wow, thanks for the update. i live in shanghai (from new york) and was thinking of flying UA home for a visit next month. now i'm thinking i'll try another airline, maybe AA out of beijing.

Posted by: kole on July 4, 2009 6:33 PM

cute... hehehe

Posted by: kbguy on July 4, 2009 8:46 PM

All big US airlines are pretty much the same when it comes to the service quality. I don't know it there will ever be a cure. Maybe one day they will all disappear and be replaced by foreign companies?

Posted by: JH on July 5, 2009 4:40 PM

Post your comment

Hello from Palo Alto

Jian Shuo Wang — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:38:39 +0800

Just landed. Palo Alto is much nearer than San Jose. This is the first time I stay in Palo Alto. The previous many time, I was always in the San Jose area.

Just landed. Stayed at 3200 El Camino Real - the Super 8 Hotel, a cheap hotel that I stayed once the last time. The United Airline UA 858 flight I just finished was the worst experience I had so far. I may write about it. Even the crew felt that it is so bad that they gave many of us a "Please Accept Out Apology" card, and a series number on it. With the card, I can get 10% off from the next international trip, or $150 certificate...

When I left eBay and started the adventure journey, I know as a company, we have made a decision to be on our own, and the journey of low cost operation. I no longer stay in five star hotels, and no longer fly business class - I said goodbye to my business class seat the last time I flied, and I know, for a very long time, evern when economy allows, to stay low cost is the right thing to do - Bill Gates always fly economy long after Microsoft became the software giant.

The next thing for me to do is to find a PHO restaurant as soon as possible - get the noodle and then sleep.

Update This is noodle house I went to finally.

Related Entries: United States

Hello from Palo Alto

July 3, 2009

Bye Bye Shanghai for Few Days

July 2, 2009

Checklist for US Trip

July 1, 2009

Conversion of San Francisco and Beijing Time

June 23, 2009

Visiting US in July

June 17, 2009

Only J (Not P) Survives in US

September 19, 2008

I Decided to Learn to Read Menus

September 19, 2008

Call Back China from Abroad: **139*#

September 14, 2008

Starting the Longest Day

September 13, 2008

Comments

Welcome to the Bay Area! I share your pain about the airline experience. Somehow, Asian airlines fare much better in terms of service. I get a feeling that we "owe them a living" to fly with them and that it is "beneath" them to offer us a good service. But I guess with this economic downturn, we ought to be frugal and fly cheaply. Have a good rest and wish you good luck in your trip here!

Posted by: Khan on July 3, 2009 5:29 AM

jianshuo, what are you doing here?

Posted by: Tony on July 3, 2009 6:36 AM

Tony, I think he's here because it's the only place he can get really good "rabbit food" :-)

Posted by: Carroll on July 3, 2009 12:14 PM

i never liked UA858. NW is much better.

Posted by: cookie on July 3, 2009 12:21 PM

I am here for business trip. Will be back on July 9th. Carroll, I started to enjoy seafood here, but lunch was still PHO noodle.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on July 3, 2009 1:02 PM

Welcome, Jian Shuo! Let us know if you have time for a meetup. Also, you may find some places closed over this holiday weekend. Many businesses and government offices will be closed tomorrow, but stores and restaurants should be open. Lots of stores and some restaurants will be closed on Saturday but keep looking, you will always find someone who wants to make money even on a holiday. If you want to see a characteristic American Fourth of July parade, they have a very good one in Redwood City -- you could even take Caltrain there.

Posted by: Nina Thorsen on July 3, 2009 1:27 PM

Hi Nina, nice to hear from you again. This time, I will spend my one week trip only in Palo Alto, with a side trip to Mount View, and San Jose for two meetings. That's it. So there is no meetup this time. Hope the next time.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on July 3, 2009 1:32 PM

You left eBay? I thought you were still with kijiji which is a part of eBay...

Enjoy your stay in the Valley.

Posted by: JH on July 5, 2009 5:01 PM

Not completely left. :-) Baixing was rebranded from Kijiji, and we remains as eBay family company.

Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on July 5, 2009 10:34 PM

Post your comment

Bye Bye Shanghai for Few Days

Jian Shuo Wang — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:16:51 +0800

I just packed everything, and a taxi is waiting downstairs to Pudong Airport. I am leaving for San Francisco Airport, and stay in Palo Alto for some days - near the Stanford university, and be back to Shanghai at night of July 10th.

Bye bye Shanghai for a while, and I will be back soon. I don't expect the trip will interrupt blogging - I will just suffer a little bit of time zone difference, and not sure how to keep the one post per day guideline - so I just post "randomly" when I want to.

Related Entries: United States

Hello from Palo Alto

July 3, 2009

Bye Bye Shanghai for Few Days

July 2, 2009

Checklist for US Trip

July 1, 2009

Conversion of San Francisco and Beijing Time

June 23, 2009

Visiting US in July

June 17, 2009

Only J (Not P) Survives in US