Ranking is funny

Yes, ranking is funny. See the following:

Newsweek Top 100 Global Universities:
27. University of Texas at Austin

The Top 100 Global Universities - Newsweek: International Editions

And at the same time...

U of Texas-Austin tops party school list

BTW, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is number 60 in the newseek list.

Actual lessons from Kiko

Kiko just sold their business using eBay and they posted the lessons they learned regarding their business. A good read.

Actual lessons from Kiko

Doraemon Air Gun Toy

This is definitely a cool Doraemon toy that I really want to own! I want it NOW!

HKUST RP and ELP completed!

Finally finished both UST's Residential and Experience Learning Program (Total 5 days). I certainly learned a lot from the last two weeks. Especially in team work and management issues because I usually work alone in my company.

In RP, we were asked to work on many different assignments and presentations within three days. We learned things like better decision, team work, etc. We worked so hard that we didn't even get enough sleep at all.

In ELP, we learned through experience. I think we should better call it situational simulation. We need to push our limit by performing physical and psychological demanding activities. It made us think more on personal potential and risk taking. We found out that time management and role definition are very very important for every tasks.

The RLP and ELP definitely help because I am taking on a more leadership role in some of the coming work assignments and I believe I am more equipped to handle them.

If you want to see some photos of our team and us, please go to our team blog! Thanks Joseph for putting that up.

Finally, I would like to thank every single one in our team for their effort and support. Without you we cannot made it. I really value their feedbacks because only through feedbacks I could know what to improve. THANKS!!

Windows Lives Writer Beta

I tested the Windows Lives Writer blogger application and I really like it. It contains many tools to make your blog interesting. Unfortunately, it doesn't seems to support image posting for blogger.

 

Hey Google, please makes a similar posting software, otherwise people may switch to Windows Live Spaces instead.

Krispy Kreme in Hong Kong and its marketing act

While walking on the street in Causeway Bay last Saturday, we saw people holding boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. I was very excited because I have a lot of great memorize with Krispy Kreme in the US.

So we actually looked for the store and prepare to buy a box of original taste. We found out that there was a very long line standing in front of it. The reason? Krispy Kreme was giving out FREE boxes of donuts. So we stand in line too because I was very hungry. We didn't get a whole box eventually, but I was happy with three free donuts.

It certainly generated a lot of attention on that day. However, from a marketing point of view, it is hard to know whether this is really successfully. We actually think that the act will generate bad publicity instead, mostly based on the following two points:


1) The FREE donuts that was given out was COLD. So people in the line does not experience the taste of a fresh and hot Krispy Kreme dount that it is famous of.
2 ) The coldness of the donuts makes it sweeter. Chinese doesn't like food that is too sweet.

So the donuts were too sweet and cold. If this is my first KK experience, I will not tell other to buy it.

Having said that, maybe it is not a fully planned marketing event after all. As they were having a private party on that day. The donuts that were given out were probably leave-overs.

Anyway, I will still go to KK for its Hot and Fresh original donuts. But I highly doubt I will buy a whole box again like I was in US.

I do hope it is successfully in HK. Maybe Wan Chi or Central is a better place for the store? There are probably more foreign worker wanting donut as breakfast.

What?! Stupid Design in Japan!

I took this picture from one of the hotel room in Osaka, Japan. Did you notice the light switch on the right? What did you see? Yes! There is an electric outlet right under the white button.

So what's the big deal? Imagine that you have just finished using the restroom...you wash your hand.....go out......missed the button and.....zzZZZAAAPPPP!!!

Of course, you need to have a small finger to actually get eletrocuted. But didn't you mom always ask you not to put your finger in an electric outlet??

I never thought I would see this kind of thing in Japan! 

Testing Meebome Chat Widget

I am testing the meebome chat widge in my blog. Just look at the right column and find it. I may be online and feel free to chat with me. Unfortunately, it requires me to login to the meebo site.

[Java Tips] How to convert between different Unicode and Chinese character sets with only 3 clicks!!!

I was given a task to add simplified Chinese support for an existing application yesterday. I talked to myself: "It isn't that bad, I just need to create another ResourceBundle file in Simplified Chinese". Than I notice that the current Traditional Chinese ResourceBundle file contain HTML Unicode data, not Java Unicode. That means I cannot use the JDK's native2ascii tool to convert it back. Does it mean that I have to type all those texts in simplified Chinese all over again?? I talked to myself:" This is insane! I am not going to sit here all day and re-type the whole thing in HTML Unicode simplified Chinese!".

I decided to find ways to make my life easier. And this is the steps that I took to do it.

Before the start of the process, install Alibabar to your IE. I have this installed long ago already. It will add the following toolbar to your IE.

1) Goto this Unicode converter page. (Works in IE only)
2) Select HTML Unicode on the top menu, you could also use java Unicode, depending on your needs.
3) Copy and past the traditional Chinese resource bundle data to the lower left text box, than click the "Decimal Code to Characters" button under it.
4) You will see the original data on the top textbox. For me, I saw the original Traditional Chinese Characters.
5) Remember Alibabar? Now click the "Simplified Chinese" button in the Alibabar toolbar. This will convert exiting traditional Chinese data to simplified Chinese. Just like magic!!!
6) Click the "Characters to Dex, Hex Codes" button. Viola! You will see the converted text in the lower text box again! It is now in HTML Unicode formatted Simplified Chinese! No need to retype all of these!

Hope this tips help you in dealing with language convert for Java or other applications.

Free call to HK landline and mobile

Gizmo is offering free phone call from other country to Hong Kong for free, even landline and mobile number.

My name is getting less popular...

...what about yours? Find it out here

旅行後的後遺症

十天的大旅行過後, 又要面對種種的煩惱: 錢, 工作, 人事等。這數天的心情都不大好。要快點回復狀態才行。

Back from the trip.

I am now back to Hong Kong. I didn't have internet access for the last week so I didn't get a chance to check email or post anything. Anyway, I will post some of my travel experience here in the future.

It was a wonderful trip, I wish I have more money to travel more!

Japan Trip Day 2.

Went to Tokyo DisneySea today and it is a lot more fun than I expected! The shows are fun, the games are cool and I had a wonderful time with my wife. I am glad that it didn't rain for most of the day. The final show is great and if people tell you that DisneySea is not fun, don't listen to them!

We also had Mos Burger for late meal and the burger tasted very very good! I orodered this and my wife like it soooo much that she want to go and order this again in the next few days.

Since I don't have my computer with me, I am using a computer in an internet cafe.

Let's see whether I could stay up and watch World Cup tonight.

Windows Mobile 5...

As a long term PalmOS users, I tried to swtich to PPC once by buying a HP 4700 PDA. I was so frustrated with it and sold it for a lost later and got a Treo 650 instead. Life is good!

The funny thing is that for some funny reasons, my wife is using a Gigabyte PDA TV phone with Windows Mobile 5 now. The Windows Mobile OS has improved a lot compared to the HP4700, but I don't think I will switch to Windows Mobile just yet. I still like Palm's simplicity and speed. Given that she is using WM, I have to become the de facto WM support guy at home and has to get familiar with WM again...

Hopefully the WM5 version of the Missing Sync software will be released soon so she could sync her data to the phone on her mac.

Funny Game TV Ads.

A list of weird game tv ads. I think the Legend of Zelda one is strangest! These also bring back the old memoy......oh the Nintendo Disc System!

The Code Monkey Song

All developers should listen to this Code Monkey song (Direct MP3 Download Here). It is so funny....and true! We all have similar experience while being a developers. :)

Lyric below:

Code Monkey by Jonathan Coulton

Code Monkey get up get coffee
Code Monkey go to job
Code monkey have boring meeting, boring manager Rob
Rob say Code Monkey very diligent
But his output stink
His code not functional or elegant
What do Code Monkey think
Code Monkey think maybe manager wanna write goddamn login page himself (Best line in the song! Haha!)
Code Monkey not say it out loud
Code Monkey not crazy just proud
Code Monkey like Fritos
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew
Code Monkey very simple man
Big warm fuzzy secret heart
Code Monkey like you
Code Monkey like you
Code Monkey hang around at front desk
Tell you sweater look nice
Code Monkey offer buy you soda
Bring you cup bring you ice
You say no thank you for the soda ’cause
Soda make you fat
Anyway you busy with the telephone
No time for chat
Code Monkey have long walk back to cubicle
He sit down pretend to work
Code Monkey not thinking so straight
Code Monkey not feeling so great
Code Monkey like Fritos
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew
Code Monkey very simple man
Big warm fuzzy secret heart
Code Monkey like you
Code Monkey like you lots
Code Monkey have every reason
To get out this place
Code Monkey just keep on working
See your soft pretty face
Much rather wake up eat a coffee cake
Take bath, take nap
This job fulfilling in creative way
Such a load of crap
Code Monkey think someday he have everything even pretty girl like you
Code Monkey just waiting for now
Code Monkey say someday, somehow
Code Monkey like Fritos
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew
Code Monkey very simple man
with big warm fuzzy secret heart
Code Monkey like you
Code Monkey like you

巴士阿叔的事後感

這數天不停地聽到巴士阿叔的金句。其實這件應該令我們明白兩件事。

1. 香港人(或中國人)吵架到將會打架也沒有人會出聲, 聽說在外國有一個國家(好像是英國)有一條法律說人們如果看見罪行發生而不去幫忙, 政府有權告你的。
2. 人們在外的一舉一動也會被人看到, 或許這件事會令香港變成一個懂以禮待人的城市呢!

VS.NET 2005, C# and Resharper

I have been using IntelliJ IDEA for a long time and I am a big fan of it. I am playing with VisualStudio 2005 and C# today and found out that it is really a big pain to switch IDE. I than goto the JetBrains website and download their VS.NET Add-in product called ReSharper. I am very happy to find out that most of the IDEA keyboard shortcut are there! I could use "outv" instead of "soutv" to do a println again! And being able to CTRL-click a method name again makes me very happy. Suddenly, life is good again!

Stupid professor and a disgrace to Chinese and UT Austin!

From this news:

"Professor Chen had created the original Hanxin chips simply by grinding away the top surface of some of Motorola's Freescale DSP chips with sandpaper and having them reprinted with the Hanxin logo.... Professor Chen, a 38 year-old who earned his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin..."

What was this professer thinking?! Did he get a PhD of stupidity and criminality? I also graduated from UT Austin and I still cannot imagine why he could do such a thing that disgrace the Chinese, the univeristy, and all of its alumini!