My Beijing Violin

Posted on March 10, 2012 | 1 Comment

A typical violin store in Beijing.

我知道我很久没有在博客上写东西。我最近很忙，没有时间写博客。另外一个原因是我在加油学中文，所以不太想写英语文章。但我挺怀念博客的，就趁机用中文写个最近刚发生的一件事，也顺便练习自己的中文写作。

I know I haven’t written a blog post in a while. I’ve been busy lately and haven’t had the time to write. One reason I haven’t posted is because I’ve been learning Chinese, and I’ve lacked the motivation to write in English. But I feel like I should update more, in addition to learning Chinese, so I’ll take this opportunity to write a blog post in Chinese. It will also improve my Chinese writing abilities.

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I am going Linsane. You should too.

Posted on February 7, 2012 | 4 Comments

Lin doing what Lin does.

Something amazing has happened in New York City over the past few days; and it has nothing to do with the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Basketball fans have been going insane over Jeremy Lin, the new starting point guard and momentary savior of the New York Knicks. Underdogs rise and surprises happen – that’s the beauty of sports. But the story of Jeremy Lin is absolutely incredible. I am impressed beyond measure by Lin, and the reasons go far beyond his accomplishments on the court. Here’s what Jeremy Lin has taught me, and I hope you’ll be inspired too.

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It’s no longer okay to not know how the internet works

Posted on January 29, 2012 | 3 Comments

According to the Mayan calendar, our World is set to end in 2012. And according to the behavior exhibited by our elected public officials, 2012 is also set to be the end of the World Wide Web as we know it. While the end of the World is highly unlikely to take place, a cataclysmic destruction of the internet is very much a reality – unless a greater number of people are willing to take the time and effort to understand and defend the internet. Many of the services and benefits of the internet that we take for granted are at risk of being stripped away, something that I am extremely fearful of for both our generation and the generation to follow. The World Wide Web sits at a critical juncture at this moment, and our actions (or inaction) will likely set the precedence for the future of the internet; which is why it is important for you, and everyone else you know, to understand that it is no longer acceptable to not know how the internet works!

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Technology in 2012

Posted on January 17, 2012 | 1 Comment

The theme for laptops in 2012: Ultrabooks

2012 is here and before we get too far into the year, I wanted to make some predictions/trends within the technology industry to look out for over the next twelve months.

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Lessons from Steve Jobs

Posted on January 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

The book referenced in this post.

One of my goals for the New Year is to read more. But before I dive into my next book (either Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics by Yasheng Huang or Lords of Strategy by Walter Kiechel in case you wanted to follow along), I wanted to do a final reflection on the last volume I read at the end of 2011: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Normally, I am skeptical about biographies published before or shortly after the subject has left us, as there will inevitably be a lot of spin and control done to ensure “accuracy” in the eyes of the source. You may as well call these biographies autobiographies, as the author must satisfy the subject in addition to his audience. With that said, I took away a few lessons from the novel which I’d like to share.

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2012

Posted on January 4, 2012 | 6 Comments

A new friend I made in Beijing!

I love New Year’s. While there is admittedly little literal significance between December 31st and January 1st, the symbolism it represents is quite momentous. New Year’s represents a unified moment in time when the entire world figuratively writes the concluding sentence on its most recent chapter, and together turns the page to begin scripting the next segment of history. And so, as we stand between the end of another chaotic holiday season and the resumption of our academic and professional careers, I’d like to spend time reflecting on three observations I made in 2011, and on professing three resolutions I have established for 2012 – in hopes that it may inspire you as much as I believe this will motivate me.

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Equality

Posted on October 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

Grabbing dinner in Shanghai.

Recently, I had a lecture on the economics of China’s evolving labor market. The lecture began by discussing the transition of China from a planned economy to a market economy. During the planned economy period, household roles were determined by the government, everyone was paid relatively equally and there was essentially no external market for labor. However, in the past couple decades, China has moved towards a capitalistic system with socialistic characteristics. This meant that households had the freedom to allocate their own time and employers were empowered with compensation and hiring decisions. On the other hand, unemployment would begin, job mobility will appear and inequality would arise. The class then began to focus on the inequality aspect of this transition, particularly the concept of inequality within the family. More specifically, an extensive discussion on the role of women within the household arose – a subject I would like to expand on.

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