I am a free man

Resigned from my postdoc position today and currently living without any formal affiliation. I will remain a free man for the next 2 weeks or so. It actually feels kind of weird this way, perhaps I have spent too much time at work.

It is official!

The contract for my new job finally arrived, so I guess it is safe to say this out loud now: I will join the Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology at Academia Sinica in Taiwan this summer as an Assistant Research Fellow (a tenure-track position that's equivalent to an Assistant Professor in the universities).

We are all very excited about moving back to Taiwan, however, how we are going to handle the upcoming move remains as an unsolved mystery...

A man of many talents

My most memorable line from the movie "The Sound of Music" is when Captain von Trapp sarcastically refers to himself as "a man of many talents". I don't really know about Austria, but recently I realized that home-ownership in the US provides plenty of trainings for me to move toward that goal.

When we bought our first house a couple of years ago, I started with some simple woodworking and gradually moved up to making furniture, replacing windows and doors, fixing toilets, replacing faucets, and today, advanced to mixing mortar and setting tiles. I never thought that I will learn all these, more or less all by myself (with a bit of help from the For Dummies books and Google) when I grow up in Taiwan (where people hire professionals for almost everything). I wonder what will be the next in my curriculum.

The secret handshake

Finally my boss approved that I am worthy material and granted me the privilege of reading his treasured copy of "Academic Gamesmanship: How to Make a Ph.D. Pay" by Pierre van den Berghe (ISBN: 0200717154). The author's cynical view on the inner working of academic world was hilarious, which makes the reading experience some sort of a guilty pleasure. The level of sarcasm is truly astonishing; Bill Bryson's work reads like children's literature in comparison. Too bad the book is out-of-print now (1st edition was in 1970) and the price of a used copy is simply outrageous (ranging from $35 to $468 on Amazon), otherwise I'd want one just for the fun of it.

Frustration, frustration, frustration

My brother said "... My little brother has a bright career in science, making a shitload of money is not his top priority in life. It's just like I am in business and you can't judge my success by counting how many research papers I have published...."

My mom heard "blah blah blah. Your second-born is a loser. blah blah blah. Your first-born is a failure. blah blah blah"

Seriously, WTF?

hPDA rocks

As a part of my recent experiment with GTD, I started using a hPDA to organize things in my life. Incidentally, I had to make yet another intense week-long business trip to Taiwan earlier this month, which provided a good opportunity to test out this new system.

I am happy to say that the ingenious hPDA works great for me, particularly when things are getting crazy with an international trip that was filled with dozens of important meetings in a week. The flexible formatting of hPDA worked much better than any app that I can find for my iPod Touch. Furthermore, the portability/robustness/responsiveness of a hPDA is way better than any electronic alternative. Although backup and syncing remains as an issue with hPDA, I think I am hooked.

Lost & found (plus a new one)

Perhaps this is just another variant of the Murphy's Law: if you can't find something, it will show up when you buy a replacement. This is exactly what happened to me recently.

Several weeks ago I was frustrated about my tremolo harmonica went missing. As I keep looking for it, my urge of wanting to play a harmonica grew stronger. Although I still have a diatonic one, somehow it just doesn't feel right and playing with it did nothing to help; in fact, it was more like pouring fuel on fire. Finally I broke down and ordered a new tremolo. Not surprisingly, the old one surfaced right after I received the shipping confirmation.

Initially I was a bit upset about this. However, I am quite happy after I received the new toy today: a shiny 24-hole Suzuki 2 Timer tremolo harmonica in A major. It is for sure a big step-up from the Hoher Echo Celeste that I have. As soon as I tried out the scale, I was shock about how well it performs. It is effortless to play and every note coming out of it is so clean and beautiful, despite the fact that I am still a unskillful player after all these years. In addition, this is my first experience with a harmonica that's not in C-major, and I am quite pleased by the different feeling it brings. Although the $27 price tag is almost twice that of a Hoher Echo Celeste, the joy it brings me certainly more than justified the cost. No wonder people are willing to pay some crazy price for good quality music instruments. Good thing that I am only into harmonicas, not violins. Even buying a Suzuki Humming or other top-of-the-line models won't break the bank.

On a side note, the name "2 Timer", like the English name of many other Japanese products, are positively confusing (Sony Walkman is a classic example), and worse, doesn't sound good at good. Is it referring to the double-reed design of a tremolo harmonica? I have no idea.

Family website remodeling

I wonder how often a "normal" person would say "Hey, it's Friday night. Let's write some Perl scripts for fun!" But anyway, that's exactly what I just did.

Several years ago, I decided to setup a website for our family, mainly as a way for our parents in Taiwan to see the photos of their grandchildren. Gradually, the site evolved into a huge archive of all our family photos. It works out wonderfully for us because we all enjoy having convenient access to all the old photos; the kids always want to see what silly things they have done when they were babies. However, with the ever increasing capability of the digital camera, the file sizes (particularly for videos) have now become too big for our parents to view over the slow connection. Finally, I got the chance this evening and converted all the thousands of video files into flash format. Now, while I am waiting for the files to upload, let me polish my geek badge a bit. :)

On being a good son-in-law

Because of my boss has joint appointment in different departments, and also because UA is doing some departmental reorganization to deal with the budget crisis, my appointment here gets transferred around quite a bit for accounting reasons. Within a year, I have been associated with three different departments. Fortunately, my boss told me to stick with the first one on my CV, so I don't appear to be job hopping like crazy.

My latest appointment, starting from this month, is in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. When I found out about this today, I thought it is quite funny. Everyone in Ann's family, with the exception of Ann, is a chemist. By being a postdoc in a chemistry department, I am truly becoming a part of her family, maybe even more so than she does. Ann got so excited and instantly called her parents when I told her about this, and they just couldn't stop laughing.

I wonder how many people out there has this kind of strange experience.

The rainbow bikes and my new helmet

Ever since my bike helmet celebrated its 5-year old birthday in April, Ann has been trying to convince me to get a replacement. Being a cheap bastard, I can be very stingy even though it is my head that's on the line. Finally, after realizing how much money I have been saving by bike commute and how much time I have been spending on my bike, I agreed that it is time to buy a new helmet.

Initially I was thinking about getting a Bell Alchera after trying out a bunch of different helmets in our local Performance Bike shop. Unfortunately, they do not have a red one in stock and Ann insisted that I get one that matches the color of my bike (no, no more blue helmet with a red bike). So after lunch, I took Alyssa and Vivian with me to another bike shop to see if I can find something there. Before we left home, I jokingly asked Ann that if I can't find a good helmet that matches my bike, can I get a matching bike to go with a new helmet. To which, Ann replied with a smile and said do whatever I want. :)

So on the way to the next bike shop, I joked with the girls about how I am going to get new helmets and bikes in all colors, such that I can ride a red bike on Mondays, an orange bike on Tuesdays, a yellow bike on Wednesdays, and so on. Then somehow Vivian got the idea of getting a "rainbow bike" that has all the colors for her. I told her that I don't know where to find such bikes, and Alyssa quickly responded: "Vivian, when you get into elementary school, grandpa will give you a laptop, and then you can take a look at www.rainbowbikes.com and see what kind of rainbow bikes they have for sell". I was quite shocked to hear about this. How come young kids these days know so much about these kinds of things?

As it turned out, the second search was not fruitful either. However, when we went to Target to do some grocery shopping after dinner, I saw a Bell Adrenaline in the store that looked quite good. Initially I was skeptical about anything the claims "one-size-fits-all". Luckily, this one turned out to be a perfect fit for me. In fact, it fits even better than all other ones that I had tried in the bike shops. What's even better is that it carries a $22 price tag, which is something you don't often see in the bike shops. So I am really happy with my new helmet and looking forward to the bike ride tomorrow!

Finding a part of life that I missed

Just watched this great movie that was written and directed by Steve Stockman: Two weeks (Official website at http://www.twoweeksmovie.com/movie/, IMDB link at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448166/).

The story was about the days that four siblings spent with their terminally ill mother. The movie brought up a lot of feelings and emotions because it reminded me the fact that I was not there for it when my dad died. This is something that I can never make up for it for the rest of my life, and I can't help but having some mixed feelings of regret, sadness, and loss whenever I thought about my father's passing. Particularly, I feel sorry to my brother as I "cheated" by living in the U.S. and leave our parents to him all these years.

The most embrassing event of the year

THE GOOD: got the page proof, made corrections, and sent it back on the same day.

THE BAD: I misspelled my boss's name, twice, in the references.

THE UGLY: I didn't catch the mistake, my boss did.

Happy Father's Day to myself, part 7

I am still kind of shocked that I have been in this tough business for so long (even more so for surviving it). It certainly didn't get any easier with time, in fact, it has gotten harder and harder over the past seven years. But I guess I should "enjoy" it while I can, considering that a guy at the post office just reminded us this yesterday: "Your kids are really cute! Too bad that they are going to turn into teenagers some day".

Anyway, I had a very enjoyable Sunday. Kids were behaving pretty well the whole day, even made me some nice cards and crafts. I spend a fun and eye-opening afternoon visiting the Total Wine, which turned out to be a crazy super-doper-big store; I mean, holy moley! How can someone pick a bottle out of that store without going nuts is totally incomprehensible to me. Knowing my recently developed interest in wine, Ann got me a very nice set of wine accessories; I look forward to putting them to use soon. After the kids went to bed, Ann also told me a surprising secret. The kids consulted her several days ago about getting me a fountain pen for the Father's Day, because "We think that's daddy's favorite thing". They then decided not to get one because they figured a nice one is way beyond what they can afford on their allowance.

I was deeply moved. My daughters know me so well and have the thought and full intent to make me happy. I am so happy and don't even know how to express that.

The long and the short of my FP addiction

Originally posted at FPN as my self-intro.

The one pen that started it all
Sometime back in elementary school, possibly when I was around 10 to 12, my brother brought home a really cool looking pen (a Platinum Standard) and explained to me how this strange looking thing works. I was immediately taken by it and decided that I must have one. After saving up my allowance for quite some time, I finally got a shiny blue one of my own. The sensation of gliding the nib across papers got me hooked for good. This pen accompanied me all the way to college. The tip has been completely worn out by then so I was forced to replace it with another pen (a Cross Townsend this time). I still have the Platinum with me and it will remain as one of my most cherished collections.

Early stage of addiction
With the help of the Cross Townsend (along with a Rotring 600 that joined later), I made it out of the college 4 years later. To celebrate the event, I used my first paycheck to buy a Pelikan M800, the pen that has been my daily user for the last 10+ years. Soon after the Pelikan, I was bitten by the vintage bug and started to collect pens. Wahl-Eversharp Doric and and Parker Vacumatic are my favorites.

Passing the point of no return
With the arrival of our first baby, my fountain pen collection frenzy came to a screeching stop. While I still use FPs daily, I no longer have the time and energy to think about getting more. In a sense, I was almost cured.

Unfortunately, my father passed away in Dec 2007. After the funeral, I watched a lovely Japanese film "Closed Note" on the flight back home. Curious about the pens featured in the movie (possibly a Nakaya, I have never seen Urushi pens before that), I did some googling and found FPN (which I shouldn't have done, darn it).

Wondering through the FPN re-ignited my passion for FPs. With all the great info (and many evil enablers), my FP/ink collection went through an explosive growth in 2008 (I know for sure that I am not alone on this). It didn't help that my wife has been more than understanding about my addiction. She said things to me like: "Honey, you really need to have that Bexley Americana to celebrate you PhD degree.", "Your birthday is coming up, what kind of pens do you want?", or "Hey there's a pen show coming up, do you want to go?".

Where I stand now
After going through all these, I finally have a better idea about what I like (or at least I think I know). Now I prefer non-expensive full-size modern pens (say under $200-300), ideally light and colorful. That said, a nice Urushi pen from Nakaya/Danitrio remains as my dream pen. Maybe this can be my next milestone pen when I finally land a permanent academic job.

My biggest regret
Just very recently, I remembered that my late grandpa had a FP, possibly a Parker 51. I lived with my grandparents for the first 3 years of my life and was extremely attached to them. Sadly, them both passed away very early (when I was in high school). The pen, along with all other of their stuff, was cleared out of the house long ago and nowhere to be found. I soooooo wanted to have that pen as something that I can keep in their memory (I do have a jade pendant from my grandma that I wear on a necklace all the time). Alas, such is life.

Nonetheless, one must learn from history and look at the bright side of life. I am proud to say that, my three kids, along with all my future grandkids, will have no trouble getting my pens should they want to do so. Now, isn't that a great excuse for me to get some more pens? ;)

One more good reason to buy pens

Reading a thread on FPN about pens that stay in the family makes me really wish that I had a pen from my dad or my grandparents. While I did get a nice watch that belonged to dad, it is too precious for me to wear. If I could have some pens from my dad/grandparents, I can ink them up and put them on my desk. That way I can feel warm inside whenever I sit down to write and never have to worry about losing or damaging an irreplaceable treasure.

Well, at least I am doing what I can to make sure that my kids won't have similar regret. Hey, I do have 3 kids you know. :)

Nice weather makes me a wimp

The temperature this morning was in low 40s and my thought was "Gosh, this is too cold to ride my bike to work."

Even though I have a mild cold and a 10 mph headwind weighing on my side, I still feel my argument was kind of weak. Then I thought to myself "Heck, if I can ride in Iowa's winter, where there was snow on the ground and the sky was depressingly gray, how come I can't ride on a beautiful sunny day in Tucson?"

And with that thought, I hopped on my bike heading to work. Fortunately the ride was not as painful as I've expected. Better yet, the work out helped to soothe my stuffy nose a bit when I got to my office.

*Sigh* Looks like I am completely spoiled by the nice weather in Tucson.

Anger and hatred

Several weeks have passed since my bike was stolen and I have finally gave up the hope of ever getting it back. Now I am really mad about the whole situation as the reality is kicking in. The amount of time, effort, and money involved in getting a replacement is way more than what I have expected.

One thing I learned is that the regular inflation index certainly does not apply to bikes. I was so shocked when I see the same model is selling for about 50% more than when I got the bike a few years ago. What's the deal with that? I mean, yes, the spec is somewhat better now, but the huge price spike certainly is in no way justified.

What's even worse is that the shopping process made me realize how much I missed my old bike. I thought shopping for a new bike will make me happy (just like all my previous experiences of getting big new toys). Unfortunately, I can't help but to think about my old bike when I stare at those shiny new bikes in the store. Before losing the bike, I thought I wasn't very attached to it. The way I think about this is to ask myself an hypothetical question: if someone offers me to trade a new one of the same make and model for one of my toys, will I take up the offer?

I thought about this question some time ago and my answers are:
fountain pens? no way!
motorcycle? maybe.
bicycle? sure! why not?

Sadly, I learned it the hard way that I am way more attached to my bike than I thought. And whenever I think about it, I have this outrageous anger and hatred toward the thief who stole my bike. The whole thing is really scary because I'd never have guessed that a quite insignificant event like having a bike stolen can get to me like this.

Old habits die hard

English works much better for this one; the direct translation of the equivalent phrase in Mandarin would be something like "Dogs can't change the habit of eating shXt".

Among all the "toys" that I own (and continue to buy more), books are certainly the most sizable (both in terms of weight and value). Ever since I have disposable income at 12, a good chuck of my play money went into buying books. As a consequence, they create a huge headache for me every time I move. Before our last move from Georgia to Arizona, I told myself that this can't go on forever and I made the resolution to do something about it (Book-Collector Anonymous?).

Sadly, old habits die hard (how surprising...). Even with the fact that that my books still fill my room in my parents' house in Tainan, a storage room in my in-laws' house in Hsin-Chu, and an embarrassing number of unopened boxes in our current house, I find myself started to buy more books again after a 2-month break.

I really don't know what to say.

Oh happy life

Step by step, we are adapting to our new life here in Tucson better and better and I am really enjoying it.

Work is interesting and challenging. I do enough to be productive and still wanting to do more. Those crazy 100-hour weeks (and the accompanying I-hate-myself-and-everyone-else feelings) are such a distant past it seems like they never happened.

Outside of the work, I got enough time to be with wife/kids and still got some chances to go out for short rides on my Ninja every once in a while (did I mention that some great winding roads are only minutes away from our home?).

The best and the worst of times

Not surprisingly, I find myself at the most exciting (it's a new field with so many challenging questions yet to be asked/answered!) AND the most frustrating (so what the hell am I doing exactly?) stage of a research project one month into my new postdoc position. One minute I thought that I know exactly what I am doing (and how important/innovative my research project is), the next minute one (or several) of the followings happens:

1. Yes, it is a good idea indeed. Unfortunately someone else has written a nice paper about it already.

2. Theoretically it is a good idea. Unfortunately the idea involves too many technical complications and does not appear to be solvable now.

3. Maybe it is doable (and somewhat important). However, the question is just not interesting enough for me to keep working on it.

4. I am an idiot and have not idea what I am doing.


All these feelings are quite familiar actually. After all, I have experienced these several times in all the long years that I spent in the graduate school. One thing the is notably different this time is that I seem to be getting better at the construction and destruction of research ideas. Things just happen at a much faster pace compare to only a year or two ago. Looks like years of training is starting to pay off now.