About Myself

Interests

Reading - here is my book list and my favorite books
Learning - I like to learn all kinds of things. Probably that comes from the urge of curiousity and overcoming the fear of unknown.
Thinking - try the links to my discoveries or my writings (nothing up yet)
Travel - I like taking a tour book and a map to walk around a city. IMHO, this is the only way you can experience a city. No more traveling agencies for me unless I go to countries that English/Mandarin/Cantonese/Japanese don't work.
Walking - I walk very fast, so beware if you happen to walk with me :)
Social Dance - I started learning social dance since February 2000. I think I like social dance. It really helped me to get physically more comfortable with other people. I know many dances at the beginner level but I am particularly fond of International Waltz, International Foxtrot, International Rumba, International Cha-cha, International Samba and Hustle. Recently, I became a member of the Stanford Ballroom Dance Team.
Karaoke - I think I like to sing even though I don't consider myself a good singer. ^_~ If you happen to take me to karaoke, you will know that I don't know many recent songs but usually I can pick up a song by listening to part of it. Many people were amazed by that. Maybe that means I have some musical talents? Unfortunately, that doesn't mean I am a good singer though. ~.~ Recently, I also tried to sing some Japanese songs. So don't be surprised when you don't know what I am singing next time! ;)
Video Games - I have been playing Video Games since I was 10. I am leaning more towards Japanese-style RPGs and Strategy games.
Workout - I could do 155 pounds on bench-pressing (ie 55 pounds on each side of the bar) But that was when I was in college... My new roommate happens to know something about workout. So he and I now go to the Stanford gym regularly. It seems to me both of us are getting bulky every day. =)
Basketball - After playing every Saturday at Sunnyvale Washington Park, plus I am getting stronger due to workout, I think my current level is at intermediate after I got bulked up! Recently, I met a guy at a basketball court who taught me the right way to do spin moves and how to shoot off the dribble. I have been practicing these ever since. I hope these new moves will take me to the next level!
Skiing - Finally mastered the basics of skiing in my first trip to South Lake Tahoe. Mostly I learned how to control speed but I can also zig-zag down the slope. After that, I thought about the Physics of Skiing at home. In my second trip there, I am now even confident enough to teach beginners in my group how to ski!
Photography - The search for my next digital camera exposed me to the world of photography. Now I understand what is aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, etc. I also read materials about how to compose pictures. I guess I need to develop a portfolio and post it here some day! =)
Current Photography equipment:
Body: Canon Digital Rebel
Lens: Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
Lens: Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
Flash: Canon Speedlite 550EX
Tripod Legs: Velbon Ultra LuxiF
Tripod Head: Velbon PH-145Q Quick Release Panhead

Other activities I can join if you let me

Wine Tasting - Living next to the world famous Napa Valley, it is unavoidable that you have to sip some wines. There was also news that red wines are good for your heart. Plus, there were some social occasions I attended involved wines. As a result, I began to drink wines regularly. Now I learned the names of different wines and also what kind of food to go with each.
High Performance Driving - Since I joined the Bay Area S2000 Club, I participated in several autocross and track events. They both improved my driving skills immersely. However, I am still a beginner. Hopefully, I will get better over time. I wish I can be a good driver one day so that I can drive my S2000 to its limit. :)
Piano - Piano is also one of the things I want to learn when I was young.The reason being that I have long fingers. People always told me I got the piano hands. There were also some beautiful tunes I heard from video games that I always dream to play. Therefore I took some classes at a community college. Now I can play some simple tunes. However, I know I am still a long way to go to play my favorite tunes. Probably at some point of life, I will find a private instructor.
Pool - I lived in San Jose State University Moulder Hall for in June and July 1999. Pool was free there. Therefore, I started playing. After two weeks, I beat quite a few people in the dorm. I guess my skill level should be intermediate now. But after two years of slack... I become a novice again... ~~
Ping-Pong - My company bought a ping-pong table not too long after we moved to Sunnyvale. It happens many employees in the company know how to play ping-pong. I played a lot with them. I believe I am an intermediate now as an amateur. My new company doesn't have a ping-pong table anymore. I think I am back to a beginner now... :(
Swimming - After throwing myself into water for two months in the University of Michigan. I finally can swim from one side to the other by breaststroke. Hopefully, after I spent another month in water, I can swim longer. Recently, I also signed up swimming classes at De Anza college, now I can swim 25 yards of free-style, backstroke and breaststroke without problem. But I need to practice more to swim longer... ~~;
Ice Skating - I know how to move around but I can never do any twists and flips =). Now I know social dancing, maybe I can try some moves there?! ;)

Intellectual Interests:

1. Biology
   • Genetics - Eugenics, Gene Therapy and the ethical issues related are both intriguing and controversial. More fundamentally, genes determine our biological potential and features. It tells us why we become who we are apart from things we acquired after birth. What fascinates me is that Mother Nature created a systemic and elegant way to maintain heredity.
   • Nutrition and Fitness - In the process of trying to lose fat, I read many textbooks from Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, Medical Physiology, Endocrinology and Biomechanics and wrote a Scientific Fat Loss page.
2. Business Administration
   • Sales and Marketing - I think learning how to sell things is quite important in one's life. It is all about how to communicate effectively with another person and match your needs to their needs.
3. Economics
   • Game Theory - Game Theory is the study of how agents behave when they are given a set of strategies to choose from in a game with different pay-offs for each strategic combination chosen by the agents. It assumes that agents are all trying to maximize their welfare. Most of the Game Theory materials are dedicated to find out the Nash Equilibrium for a particular game. But the area that intrigues me the most is one of its subfield - Mechanism Design. Game Theory introduces an idea that if the game designer is talented, he/she can design a game such that he/she can direct the behavior of the agents subtlely without they being awared of it.
4. Foreign Languages
   • Japanese - I played too much video games, so I guess it is quite natural to learn Japanese. Actually Japanese is quite an interesting language because its structure is subject-object-verb instead of subject-verb-object. In fact, Chinese and English have more in common in this aspect. ;)
   • Korean - Watched too many Korean dramas and loved to sing some of the songs there, so I decided to learn the Korean alphabets (Hangul). I find out while Hangul is relatively easy, it is a lot harder to sing in Hangul. :(
5. Linguistics
   • Social Linguistics - I was hooked to this field after I read Language in Thoughts and Actions. It is about how important language is in our everyday life. I also learned some techniques on how to communicate more effectively.
6. Physics
   • Car Physics - Well, I drive a car every day. Wouldn't it be nice to learn more about the niceties of driving a car to its limit? ;o)
   • Relativity - Since I was a child, I was always fascinated by the results of Einstein's Relativity. Time Dilation, Mass Increase, Mass-Energy Equivalence and many other unexpected phenomenon are the result of Special Relativity. It is nice to learn the mathematical basis of this beautiful theory.
7. Philosophy
   • Epistemology - This is the philosophy of knowledge. It is concerned about how to obtain it and how to determine if something is knowledge or not. My favorite philosopher in this field is David Hume for his striking insight on the nature of cause-and-effect.
   • Political Philosophy - It is about how political systems come about. My favorite philospher in this field is John Locke for his work on the modern day democracy.
   • Moral Philosophy - This concerns about what is right or wrong. I like to think about this myself. One day, I will write everything down into a short essay.

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