Dark Day in Spring

The day was much darker today.

Suddenly clouds moved in,

rained terribly, mood sank.

Meetings were filled with useless arguments.

Emails rebuked with little reasons.

Nascent news from far away turned to lament.

Passion came back demanding retribution.

The price we have to pay, when we realize we are all just grass, bending unwillingly to the wind.

It was a dark day today.

A Whole New Mind or Out of your Mind?

A nice grad student brought me a set of books on innovation. "This is a must read", she pointed to Dan Pink's "A Whole New Mind".

Pink's articles in Wired and other places were entertaining to me so I picked the book and started. A great read. But the book falls into the similar trap of most books by professional reporters and writers: they write the book mostly based news reporter's observations. The mind set of the news reporter is to create information product that people are welling to purchase, not science backed up by research. It made entertaining read but if anyone will shape their values or career strategy based on these types of books, they will be misled and very disappointed.

The book, like the famous "Flat World" book, if read by someone already have a strong and sound believe system and intellectual maturity, should provide invaluable pieces of information and insights that can be very beneficial. For someone who does not have a firm knowledge foundation, those books can be misleading and down right dangerous since the scattered pieces of news and a few author's "revelations" usually are not coherent and can not stand the test of time. And by the time, I don't even refer to generations or centuries, I mean just a few years. Pick a best seller 10 years ago and try to read it, most of them are whimsical and laughable now. Remember "Dow at 30000"?

Back to the "New Mind". I completely agree the holistic, long term, creative, emotional capability (the L-directed mind) is as important, if not more so, than the analytical, logical, test taking capability (R-directed). The author's pitfall is to declare this is a new phenomenon starting 2000 A.D. while it is the case through out the human history. The best among us have both, even some don't show one side as much as the other. Use both sides of your brain!! That is the old, the new and the only mind. No recognize that is, well, out of your mind!!

Sisyphus is my middle name

Often I am driven to pick difficult challenges knowing at the end of it, all will turn to nothing but dust in the wind. But the struggle itself provides meanings.

Yes, I sweat, weep and bleed. Yes, I have many visible scars and more invisible ones. Oh, Yes, many times I am crushed and humiliated.

But No, no regrets; and Never, Never give up.

Secretly I smirk at the unbearable hardship and often openly enjoy the horrible circumstances. Many despise me because of this. I just tell them my middle name.

Reflection upon 2009

Stopped counting the years passing. Instead, the milestones are no long the calendar, but the events. 2009 is an overwhelming and hectic year. It is filled with many success and challenges:

Finance, boy, what a year, investment was down 70% during the first three months because I hold on to risky equities and not reacted fast enough. Since March, I started to watch and market closely, woke up every morning by 6:30 AM and actively managed my portfolio and took on more risks!! This is against most of the investment book I have read. Fortunately, till the end of the year, I recovered most of my investment and gained 50% on top that. The fund is now enough for a basic level of financial independence.
Career, slow but steady forward. Selected, trained, monitored several managers in ITCD and CALMAT, they are true stars. Each is very capable and enthusiastic. Started the Institute for Innovation project in the summer. The institute project was not on my plan but it was dropped on my and I felt obligated to assist the university in getting the institute started. Published a couple of papers; helped WASC to review several degree programs including one remarkable trip to Prague. CALMAT is moving forward, it is still in its infancy, needs a lot of attention and handwork, but I am rather happy with the results so far. We started with nothing but a dream, now we have all basic structures and have continuous operation.
Personal, had my second cello recital, stopped tennis, got a dog, got a covertable, learning how to pace myself, had a better time management...

Moscato plus Rachmaninoff: Cheap, yet deep, enjoyment

Life sometimes gets in the way of having deep enjoyable moments.

Lately I was lucky enough to find some other than driving a convertible in the chilly 55F sunset: Moscato plus Rachmaninoff

The $9.99 special sweet white wine from Trader Joes and a few YouTube recordings of the prelude in g are all I need to escape from the crushing responsibilities, unrelenting ambitions and

carnivorous daemons deep in my soul pushing me to make something out of my meager self.

The strong aroma from the Carmel Moscato and the pounding notes from the Russian maestro take me away. To a abstract, visual-less, journey of nameless emotion. After three glasses and five different renditions of the prelude, I am revived. To fight the daemons again with a refreshed mind. Life is sweet.

No longer hurried to play Bach cello suites anymore

Stopped taking cello lessons for 3 months now. Progress and stress are both diminishing. Little regret, I understand there is always sacrifice. Much has been let go for career ambition. Sigh.
I remember when the teacher assigned me the Bach suites 1 prelude in G a year ago, I was so thrilled that I practiced hours on ends until fingers became numb. Some of more intricate parts would take hundred of times of repetition to perfect. Those days are gone. I still play the beloved piece often, not nearly as well as before, but now I enjoy it more. No longer hurried. One good thing of getting old.

Counting my blessings

Sunday is usually a great day to reflect since I usually leave it as open as possible so I can have some white spaces for reflective, creative thinking and long term planning.

After working on the major federal grant to get the construction of the institute for innovation started for the last two months, able to relax a little today is especially rewarding. Woke up as late as 8:30am but watch PBS in bed was a treat. Went to look at a couple of open houses and decided to submit an offer on a short sell house in Hamilton Ave, Seaside. It will take a few months to know if the offer is accepted or not. How strange the real estate market these days. Plan to purchase 2-4 houses in the next year or so, the price is probably as low as it gets.

The most enjoyable of the day is taking yoyo, the yellow lab, out for a run. We zipped through Carmel mission, River Beach and spent about half an hour running on the edge of the waves, watching sun set, on Carmel Beach. I listened to Warren Buffet's MBA talk when I was walking. Truly an expert on investing, he made things sound straightforward.

On the way back, it is already dark. I kept pressing on, Yoyo was a bit tired. Panting hard, I felt content when we reached home. Not much to worry about, not finance, budget, planning, start-up, health, tax, projects, just a simple run through the beach with yoyo. A true blessing.

Reflection in a quiet morning

It seems to be a warm day and my spirit is upbeat. Maybe because of flu that bothered my last week is gone, maybe because the semester is entering a more stable period, maybe because the labrador is getting used the home and quieter, maybe because the book "tipping point" I read last night, maybe because the chat I had with friends, maybe because the walk I had with yo-yo, maybe because I have arrange the SF conference, maybe because I can open up the top of Starbucks, or maybe because the girl smiled at me when I came in the school building.

Feeling that my talk to people these day bores them. Feeling my public service position is at a standstill. Worried about CALMAT.

Like the song said,

Already embarked

Can't ask where is the route

Against the wind we go

Is the only direction

Against the wind we go.

The meaning of life!!

Well, yes, I finally found it. Not easy, since it took me almost fifty years. Not special, since many people have mentioned something similar numerous times. This came just before I delivered my talk in the Serious Tourist speech. The three things I am looking for in life: Knowledge, Service, Experince. In order to do that, I have to Learn, Help and Take Risks.

The conclusion is not earth shaking, so it seen trivial, but the process is difficult. Everyone has to go through a lot of hardship, reflection in order to reach it.

Measurements of success

Excerpted from motivation speech: "Success is measured not by the miles, but inches".  I can not agree more.  More than often, it is the small tasks immediately in front of us that make all the difference.

A message to the prospective employers of ITCD graduates

The School of Information Technology and Communication Design is committed to developing graduates who can apply state-of-the-art information technology to solve real world communication problems in a socially responsible way. In addition to the technical knowledge and skills they master, graduates of ITCD programs excel in communication, collaboration and innovative problem solving.  

The School of ITCD is leading the charge in the new era of technology education: our cutting-edge faculty excels both in research and education; our instruction integrates both a timeless theoretical foundation and timely real-world skills; our interdisciplinary curriculum help students solve problems using both hard technical and soft inter-personal skills; our outcome-based education and project-based learning has generated successful graduates in Monterey, Silicon Valley and around the worlds.

I have been told time and time again by our graduates and by employers like you that the distinct education our students gained during their years in ITCD is invaluable for their organizations, especially in a business environment that is fast changing, collaboration essential and globally connected.  You will find the quality and ethics of our graduates are unparalleled. I encourage you to provide an opportunity for them and discover for yourself the value they can bring to your company.

Eric Tao, Ph.D. Director and Professor