Now here's an interesting project: Encyclopedia of Life

This website / massive database is a collaborative research effort of scientists all over the world with the aim of documenting all lifeforms on Earth. Sounds incredible, doesn't it. They're estimating this to take a decade at a cost of roughly $100M US. In the future, this should be a great resource for kids at their school science projects. As for us adults, it should be a fascinating read whenever we get bored of sitting around at home.

As a side-note, while writing this posting, it occurred to me... does Encyclopaedia Britannica still have door-to-door sales people? Do they now just carry a DVD set instead of a set of heavy books? You used to be able to tell when your friends' parents cared a lot about their education by the 26+ edition leatherette-covered set sitting on their living room shelf. Certainly a sight you'd be hard pressed to find now. You could almost consider that antique!

Welcome to the Internet, Kevin.

I bought a new laptop today, and this is the first time I've connected to the Internet with it. Here's a quick rundown of my new machine.

ASUS F3Jp

General

• Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium
  
• CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83Ghz
  
• Screen 15.4" WXGA
  
• Memory Size 1GB + 1GB DDR2
  
• Hard Disk 120GB
  
• Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
  
• Graphics Card ATI Mobility Radeon X1700
  
• Video Memory 256MB VRAM, up to 512MB Hyper Memory
  
• Communication Modem, Gigabit LAN and WLAN
  
• Card slot 1 x Express Card
  
• Battery Life 4 hours
  
• Dimensions 14.4" x 10.7" x 1.1-1.6"
  
• Weight 6.5 lbs.
  
• Other Features Splendid Video Enhancement
  
• Color Shine
  
• Audio DJ
  
• Touch Pad Lock
  
• Power 4 Gear+
  
• Battery Re-Callibration
  
• 30days Zero Bright Dot LCD
  
• Carry bag/mouse

CPU

• CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo
  
• CPU Speed T5600(1.83GHz)
  
• CPU FSB 667MHz
  
• CPU L2 Cache 4MB

Chipset

• Chipset Intel 945PM

Display

• Screen Size 15.4"
  
• Wide Screen Support Yes
  
• Display Type Wide XGA
  
• Resolution 1280 x 800

Operating Systems

• Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium

Graphics

• GPU/VPU ATI Mobility Radeon X1700
  
• Video Memory 256MB VRAM, up to 512MB Hyper Memory
  
• Graphic Type Dedicated Card

Hard Drive

• HD Capacity 120GB
  
• HD RPM 5400rpm
  
• HD Interface SATA

Memory

• Memory Slots 2 x DIMM
  
• Memory Speed DDR2 667
  
• Memory Size 1GB (added another 1GB for 2GB total)
  
• Max Memory Supported 2GB
  
• Memory Spec 1GB x 1

Optical Drive

• Optical Drive Type DVD Super Multi
  
• Optical Drive Interface Integrated
  
• Optical Drive Spec 8x Super-Multi DVDRW Dual layer

Communications

• Modem 56K
  
• LAN 10/100/1000Mbps
  
• WLAN 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN
  
• Bluetooth Yes

Ports

• Card Slot 1 x Express Card
  
• USB 4
  
• IEEE 1394 1
  
• Video Port 1 x VGA, 1 x DVI, 1 x S-Video TV-out
  
• Audio Ports 1 x Headphone-out jack
  
• 1 x Microphone-in jack
  
• 1 x Line-in Jack

Audio

• Audio Integrated Sound card
  
• Speaker Internal Speakers

Input Device

• Touchpad Yes
  
• Keyboard 19 mm full size 88key with MS-Windows function keys
  
• 2.5mm travel

Supplemental Drive

• Card Reader 4-in-1
  
• Webcam 1.3M Megabyte Pixels Webcam

Power

• AC Adapter Output: 19 V DC, 65W
  
• Input: 100— 240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
  
• Battery 6-cell lithium ion
  
• Battery Life 4 hours

Physical spec

• Dimensions 14.4" x 10.7" x 1.1-1.6"
  
• Weight 6.5 lbs.

Manufacturer Warranty

• Parts 2 years limited
  
• Labor 2 years limited

Overall, the specs are pretty solid. Asus has been making pretty big ground in the notebook industry lately, along with Acer. After looking through reviews, comparing specs and prices, this notebook seemed to fall in the right place. The price was a nice NT$39,900 (after adding another 1GB DDR2), and I'll get my tax back at the airport when I head back to North America (saving another 5% = NT$1,900). So, $38K even.

So far, in its limited use, I haven't found much to complain about. One thing I immediately don't like is the trackpad buttons - there are two buttons that look like one button (with left and right clickable areas). But there is a 1+ cm space between these two buttons that's not clickable; which I think it a huge gap. But I guess I'll have to get used to it. Oh, the other thing I'm not all too happy about is the pre-partitioned 120GB HD. It's factory partitioned, and it seems I can't re-partition it the way I want. But I'll have to look into that more.

The other daunting task I have is figuring out Windows Vista. There are some pretty significant changes from XP, especially with the Control Panel. Along with sophistication comes complication and frustration. So, I'm going to need to spend more time on that. One last initial annoyance is all the Bloatware that comes with this package. Means I need to uninstall a whole bunch of crap... but I need to know what's worth keeping (say, a new Vista feature), and what's not.

All in all, I'm happy to be moving away from this 3-year nightmare provided by my eMachines laptop. It might take me a while to port all my data and install all the applications I need, but in the end, it'll be plenty rewarding... at a cost of NT$38,000.

I was involved in soap-making today. There was a tent at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall organized by Tetra Pak, promoting some different Earth-friendly activities. The main activity was making all-natural soap with oil + water + some alkaline chemical + tea tree scent and powder. The soap-making was hosted by Ann Chen, Taiwanese Olympic Tae Kwon Do Champion turned Handmade Boutique company entrepreneur. For the most part, we all just stood around while helped mixed all the ingredients - with us helping with a few simple steps. The final mixture, half-settled, was poured into empty Tetra Pak containers we brought (as instructed). That will harden after the temperature cools down. Then we have to wait another month for the chemical reaction to complete and the soap is safe to use. I think this is pretty much what Lush makes. And we did it... for free. Yay for us.

I saw a guy wipe out on his scooter today.

I was coming out of a shoe store after having picked up some leather shoe protection spray. Just as I was putting on my helmet, I heard that familiar sound of a bump followed by hard heavy plastic grinding on concrete. Turning my head over my shoulder, I watched a scooter sliding down the main road with a guy doing "the roll" (you know, like in the movies when people jump out of moving vehicles) -- with his left hand still clutching his cell phone. Made me chuckle, because I can't stand it when scooters talk on the phone which riding. It's illegal and makes them ride half-assed. Good for him.

He got up immediately and ran to his scooter, picked it up, and scootered off. That's kind of the way most scooter accidents (self-induced) happen. The injured often aren't too bad, most severely to the ego.

I'm sure he hasn't learned his lesson yet, so I hope he has another accident soon while chatting on his cell.

This past week, I've been doing a significant re-org at home. I decided to get rid of the clunky computer table in my room (provided by the landlord), and bought 3 shelves to take its place. I wasn't using it anyway, so it was just taking up valuable real estate. My room feels several times more comfortable, but also because I've been cleaning up a lot of unneeded junk.

You know when you reach into your jeans pocket and find a $20 bill, you're pretty happy, right? Well, while I was cleaning up some stuff I brought from Canada, I found a sealed envelope in the sleeve of a binder. In it, $1000 US. Of course, it didn't really make me all that happy, because I can readily spend USD. However, I am making a trip to San Diego in 1.5 months. So... woohoo!!

Martial Arts movie classic Bloodsport just finished on HBO. I was a huge fan of this movie, and looking back, it's probably the only Jean-Claude Van Damme still worth watching. Guess it's not that hard to believe, but it's been 19 years since Bloodsport was released. Pretty long ago, huh. Forest Whitaker is there too, with all the typical mediocre acting popular in the 80's. Bloodsport also has one of the best villians in a martial arts movie, Chong Li played by Bolo Yeung. I always felt he was one of the coolest characters, and a good role model. "CHONG LI! CHONG LI! CHONG LI!" What I didn't realize until I looked him up on IMDB is that he was already 50 (!!!) in that movie. I don't know if they got his birth year right, but if so, that makes him a freakin' muscular 50-year old.

Well, in any case, as bad as that Bloodsport may seem now, it has always been one of my favorite movies.

Hockey playoffs, here we go! For the first game of the first series, I'm wearing my Linden 16 Canucks shirt, courtesy of IC and SC (thanks!). And, for the first time this year, I'm watching an NHL hockey game! I'm using a SopCast video feed, but I can't connect to SopCast at work... so, I'm home! :) Well, I'm working from home. I'll head to the office later. 3-2 after two periods. Let's hope this score holds up.

The little things remind me of home.

I bought a box of Kellogg's Frosties (which I've grown up calling Frosted Flakes) yesterday, and had a mug-full at breakfast this morning. Most excellent. Nothing beats this kind of sugary goodness, with the best part being that energy-supplying sugar-milk after the last bite of soggy cereal's gone. They truly are grrreat! But they're grrreat at a cost. A cost of 125nt (about $4.50 CAD, but no tax on top) for 400g. Is cereal in Canada this expensive? Next time you go to the supermarket, take a look for me.

I was recently asked by a member of the Canadian Alumni Network in Taiwan to help by providing a write-up for their next Homecoming event. The idea of the write-up is to introduce myself, my education, my experiences in Taiwan and how my Canadian life has affected it, and anything else seemingly worthy of adding. I think there should be two submissions from each Canadian university. So here's mine.

I tote a different story from many returning Taiwanese in that I’m not really “returning”. Born and raised in Canada to Taiwanese parents, I did both undergraduate and graduate studies at SFU in Engineering. After 3.5 great years at Spectrum Signal Processing, Inc as a Systems Engineer / FAE, it was time to move on. My decision to come to Taiwan was an amalgamation of wanting to find my roots, improve my Chinese, get more worldly experience, and ride a wave in the technology industry that saw many engineers get rich. Closing in on 3 years since my coming to Taiwan, I've achieved 3 of 4 goals. You guess which 3. I'll give you a hint: I still scooter to work.

Employed at [Employer] in Hsinchu's Science Park, my title is Senior Engineer (which means very little). While I don't usually don headwear, I wear a lot of different hats at work. Aside from earlier responsibilities of doing FAE work, Verification Team consultant, publications, and giving internal and external training, I've made a recent diversion to lead our department's marketing efforts. It's been an exciting change for me, and a welcomed challenge. So, I'm looking forward to the next little while before I one day return to Vancouver.

Having a Canadian upbringing sets me apart from those around me in that my eyes are wider open. Like many experiences, having lived in or been in a different country gives you another thing to add to your portfolio of life. And for this, I've made an effort to travel to more Asian countries while staying in Taiwan. My background also encourages me to do things differently, bring creativity to work, and stand my ground on my decisions – even if it means going against my boss. Having English as a first language is always helpful too when dealing with international affairs.

In contrast, my experiences in Taiwan have humbled me. Here I've come to understand Taiwanese people and culture more (that includes understanding my parents more, as well). I've also learned that not all Taiwanese are wealthy like those who've immigrated to Canada. Living in Hsinchu, I lead a modest lifestyle. There's nothing fancy about this city, and certainly nothing fancy about living in a small 套房. But as far as I'm concerned, this is character building.

There are definitely advantages to being a CBC in Taiwan; though that hasn't saved me from getting scootering tickets. In fact, I even got scolded by a Taipei police officer as I pretended not to speak any Chinese when he was writing me a ticket. Well, you win some, you lose some.

Our company cafeteria is now operational. Late last year, our second building (constructed behind and connecting to the original building) opened. Finally we've got a catering service selling food on the 2nd floor at a subsidized price for employees. The meals are in a buffet fashion, where you can take one piece of meat (which might be a chicken leg or a slice of pork) and as much veggies and rice as you want. There's a simple hot broth as well. The price? 40nt per person.

Call it Frosh Week for the catering company; today being the first day of operation. The menu included marinated (with soy sauce) chicken legs, sauteed cabbage, small cucumber wedges, scrambled eggs and tomatoes, stewed minced pork, and white rice. As far as Taiwanese simple lunches go, pretty standard stuff. Not bad however, and it suffices for a basic lunch if we don't feel like going out - such as when it's pouring rain like today.

Consider this good news. Who can complain about having a convenient cheap meal alternative?