Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is coming next week. The year 2008 will be gone soon.

A lot of things happened this year. Renee moved back to San Francisco from Chico (so far, we lived apart longer than we lived together), I finally graduated from school and got a postdoc position in Emeryville. We moved to the East Bay just before I started new job, not too far away from San Francisco. We also found a new church--my old pastor from Buffalo came to serve in a church not too far away, so we decided to go to his church.

There was a tragedy in my family: my little cousin Timmy was shot and killed the day before Super Bowl game. He was only 17. Since the tragedy, I stopped watching news because whenever shooting victims are on TV, they remind me of Timmy. And several months ago, Renee had a miscarriage. All the excitement of starting a family vanished in a day, but I did not allow myself to be sad about the loss because I wanted to stay strong for her.

So what am I thankful for this year? I know what I am supposed to be thankful for... but really, what am I thankful for?

Postseason Baseball: Part II

So who else is watching baseball? Soon after I moved to San Francisco 6 years ago from New York, I noticed that not that many people in northern California are into baseball games.

It is so sad that I don't get to share the excitement of the postseason baseball with coworkers. Well, I guess I sort of understand because the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants are not doing great job to promote the beauty of the game. So sad. You people are missing out.

I'm just glad that I got Renee into watching baseball... but I didn't expect that she was going to be a fan of the Boston Red Sox...

Postseason Baseball

As a Yankees fan, I would like to see the LA Dodgers play the Boston RedSox in this year's World Series. It would be fun to watch the Sox lose to the Dodgers.

Stupid Yankees...

Doing some math...

financial market: those individuals who are responsible for this market should be jailed. what's the update on federal investigation on these financial firms?

$700 billion: how long would it take for an ATM machine to dispense that much money? if it can dispense $100 every second without stopping 24/7, it will take 222 years to spit out $700 billion. in another words, 222 ATMs would have spit out $100 bills without stopping for one year to dispense $700 billion. on average, a major bank branch has about 2.5 AMT machines (would you agree?). so 222 ATMs is equal to 89 branches. where can you find 89 branches of banks in one place? i assume not that many places... only in big cities. imagine ATMs in Manhattan spitting out $100's every second for an entire year.

now bank robbers don't look as bad as these greedy financial institutions...

Nature photography 101 by JPark

Nikkor 80-200mm f/22, 0.6 sec. Cropped

Last year, Renee and I enjoyed hiking in many different places in northern California. I would say the summer of 2007 for us was mostly about discovering the beauty of northern California. One of those places that we visited was Lassen Volcanic National Park.

I'm still a newbie in photography, but I was newbier last year when I took this photo of the base of Kings Creek Fall in Lassen; it is actually one of very few surviving photos of Kings Creek Fall--the Nikkor lens I rented (80-200mm) was too heavy for my relatively inexpensive tripod, and most of my photos with long exposures did not come out nicely.

So here are some of the stuff that I learned that day. Most of these are obvious, but I thought I'd write them down...

Lesson 1: Make sure that the tripod can hold the weight of your camera body and lens.
Lesson 2: Better yet, don't bring heavy lenses, especially when you are going to hike more than 3 hr.
Lesson 3: Carry lots of drinking water. Make sure you have enough food for all day. For this reason, do not bring heavy lenses.
Lesson 4: Study the area carefully on the first day (e.g., hiking route, the location of the sun relative to the target at different time points, etc.). Now that you have a better idea about the lighting condition, revisit the site at the right moment and take photos.
Lesson 5: Always stay on the hiking trail and be alert (watch out for black bears that may be attracted to the smell of your food).
Lesson 6: Wear comfortable hiking shoes.
Lesson 7: Remember to enjoy the hike!

Take a little breath... and start again...

Photo: Nikkor 18-55mm f5.6 ISO400, major crop! (I really need a macro lens to take better photos of bugs...)

Hey brain, wake up! (I've been sort of procrastinating lately...)

Introducing ebloT-3

My desktop is finally set up and running--thanks Yu-Hung!

Updates on random stuff

I just finished doing dishes and cleaned up a little after Renee and I had dinner together at home. All of sudden I started feeling hot, so I decided to come out to our apartment patio and write a blog (because I have not done this in a while...).

So what should I write about... Well, for the past three months or so I have been gradually gathering stuff to build a new PC to do some serious photography work. The major thrust to take on this project came when I realized that none of my computers can handle today's softwares (as you can see, I haven't worked on photography for a while). I guess I could have just purchased a budget PC from Dell, like I always used to do. But when this calendar year started, I wanted to build a computer by putting together individual parts because I have never done it before and I thought it was a cool personal project. Things are almost done--I am just waiting for a hard drive and monitor calibrator. The machine will run under Intel Quad Core 2 and 4GB of memory. I am going to start with 1.5TB HDD for now, but I am sure more storage space will be added on later.

Something that I noticed in the past two years is that as I spent more money on my personal projects (camera and computers for now), I spend less money on clothes, shoes, and other stuff. I hate to admit, but I am a sucker for well-constructed computer bags and comfortable shoes (*sigh)--I usually don't go after good looking ones (otherwise, I would be labeled as 'metro'). But I can't resist temptations to get better fit computer bags and more comfortable and water resistant shoes (I hate getting my socks get wet when it rains). There, I said it--I am a sucker for bags and shoes.

On to a different subject... Church: recently, Renee and I have been going to Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek. My old pastor from Buffalo, NY moved to Walnut Creek about two months ago to lead the church as the senior pastor there. The last time I saw him and his wife was back in 2002 to say 'good-bye' just before I moved to San Francisco (yes, I drove 7 hr from New York City to say good-bye in person). I thought that was the last time we would see each other face to face. Now, they live only 30 min away from me! After the second visit to the church, Renee and I decided to attend there regularly. Sadly, that meant that we had to leave Richmond Baptist Church. But I hope to keep friendship and continue fellowship in Christ with them, because we are no strangers and we live so close to the church.

Let's see... what else... Oh, I have been biking to work on a regular basis, about three times a week. Since one way is about 6 miles, I bike about 36 miles of total distance every week. I biked on and off, mostly on weekend when I had to go to work. On my first week of riding bike on weekdays, I tried three days straight--the first day was tough... the second day was the toughest... and the third day I had the most pain on my legs. So I am riding bike to work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If I keep exercise like this and eat healthier, maybe I will lower my cholesterol and blood sugar level.

Work... well, I don't want to write anything about my work any more. But I can talk about science in person and make it interesting! I am still a rookie-postdoc, and learning to swim here and there. It is kind of hard to tell where I can go two to three years from now after I am done with the postdoc appointment. But I try not to distract myself with that kind of thoughts for now.

Wii Fit

According to Wii Fit, I am overweight.

How is that possible??? Maybe the game is programmed to Japanese standards. At least, my fit 'age' is 30, which is not too bad at all. :)

Teaching Science

One day after I started postdoc work last week, I was told that I am co-mentoring a summer intern starting that day. Earlier today, I was told that there will be another summer intern for me next week.

It's kind of strange to start work with mentoring interns, because I did not expect to have any opportunities for teaching science at my new work place. It's not that I am complaining--I think I secretly like teaching science (well, I guess it's not secret any more) as long as I feel comfortable with the subjects. As an undergrad, I had my own tutoring classes for chemistry and physics on weekends. When I was in graduate student, I had to oversee five rotation students and one summer student. So I am not new to this area, but I really have to figure out a way to manage my time at work to have these interns happy while I focus on my research work.

The contents of this blog is supposed to be non-work related, but I have been writing work related stuff lately... Sorry, I will try to put some photos next time. :D

Going back to the real world

After 5 years and 10 months, I finally received my Ph.D. degree from UCSF. I feel like I gained so much from school--not only knowledge and expertise, but also close friends whom I hope to keep for the rest of my life.

But I know for certain that I will never miss graduate school.

I started my postdoc work at the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville as an employee of Sandia National Laboratories. I'm in Deconstruction Division for Enzyme Engineering. The laboratory at JBEI is not fully operational yet, so earlier this week I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing. It's finally getting better, so I'm happy about that. It took me a while to get used to hear people introduce me as 'Josh, our new POSTDOC'(most of times) or 'DR. Park'(rarely).

For those who are not familiar with postdoctoral positions--these jobs in academia and industry are offered for recent graduates with a doctoral degree in science or some disciplines of engineering to gain more work experience for faculty jobs in academia or scientist jobs in industry. It is similar to residency programs for medical doctors. The reason why I chose to do postdoc is to expand my background in protein biochemistry and molecular biology to gain expertise in protein engineering. By the grace of God, I found an opportunity to work on biofuels research, which is very different from what I have been doing in laboratories for the last 11 years or so as an undergrad, research technician, and grad student.

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Renee and I moved to El Cerrito, about 35 min drive away from where we used to live in San Francisco. We now live in a 2-bed room apartment, and we love the place! I just bought a hybrid bicycle last week to bike to work. I'm going to have to get used to my bike to ride ~12 mi everyday, but I think I can do it as long as I find a safe bike route to take.

Dinner table

The owner of a convenient store reluctantly asked an Italian immigrant worker to leave, because the owner was pressured by a powerful guy in the district to hire his nephew. The owner could not afford to have an extra worker, so the only option for him was to give up the Italian worker. Realizing what was going on, the Italian guy did not get mad at all. Instead, he sincerely thanked the owner for his kindness for letting him work there.

The Italian guy came home to his wife at the dinner time. He unwrapped a pear that was covered in a newspaper, and placed it on the dinner table as his wife came to the table. “Ah what a nice pear [in Italian],” his wife said excitedly. Just before they started dinner, the husband held his wife’s hand and gave her a kiss.

This image has been stuck in my head since the first time I saw the movie many years ago. For some reason, I was thinking about this scene from The Godfather, Pt. II this morning as soon as I woke up (OK, almost everyone in the scene is Italian). This has to be one of the most beautiful scenes ever filmed.

Another thought that came into my mind was: how come I don't see Mentos commercials any more on TV? I used to love that Freshmaker commercial... :P

Did I fall asleep?

Earlier this morning in the library, I put my head down while I had the internet radio on using my earphone. After a while (I don't exactly know how long) I opened my eyes and wondered if I fell asleep. Apparently I drooled, but I don't remember that part when I closed my eyes. So I guess I fell asleep? But why am I still tired???

Good-Bye PC and Hello Apple!!!

After spending sometime to think about the recent trouble I had with my new Vista/Dell notebook computer, I decided to try out Apple (well, I haven't decided yet on when exactly I'm going to get one). I have never owned an Apple computer in my life, so it is kind of exciting. But at the same time I feel little scared to try out, like jumping off a diving board for the first time in a swimming pool.

So how did I end up with that decision? The failure of Windows Vista, of course. I will never buy another computer with Vista installed. I really liked Windows XP Professional because it was surprisingly stable for more than 7 years in the market. Now that Vista is the new and sexy OS for mid to high-end PCs, there is no reason for Microsoft to keep the old Windows XP in the market because its older OS is the biggest competitor for the new Vista. So I came to a conclusion that XP will soon phase out and I will have no choice but to reluctantly use Vista for my new notebook computer.

Of course, I have an option to purchase a copy of XP and run it on a new machine. After the recent traumatic experience I just had with Vista, I have no intention to help Microsoft until they permanently fix the problem with their OS. Well, I guess I will have to get a copy of the Office 2008 for Mac, but that's all I will do for Microsoft.

I just returned my new Dell back earlier this morning, and it's not coming back.

Peace

Dear readers,

Sorry for not being able to write positive and encouraging blogs lately. Enjoy this photo from Burney Falls! Visit there, if you haven't yet (the drive is about 6 hr northeast from San Francisco without major traffics).

Oh Vista

It's now official: I HATE Windows Vista with so much passion!!!!! I HATE Microsoft for releasing this crap to make money. The operating system on my new Dell notebook computer crashed just 30 min before I was about to go to bed , and I got a variant of the blue-death screen last night. I spent an hour or two to try System Restore, but I couldn't get it to fix the problem. The Windows could not even start.

It really sucked because I finished a draft of my thesis chapter yesterday on the computer. So you can kind of imagine what kind of stress I was under.

Fortunately, I was able to retrieve the files I wanted by using the command prompt. Thank God, I remembered some of the key MS-DOS commands to get those files I wanted! Well, I learned 'xcopy' command and the use of "" for directories with spaces.

Maybe it's time for me to migrate to Mac, though I highly doubt it will happen in the near future. I'm sure Bill Gates is a good person, but his business strategists are bunch of greedy [censored]!!! Wait, is Bill Gates still CEO of Microsoft?

Thanks Renee!

These days I find myself moody and depressed more often than I have ever been. I think my thesis writing is really getting into my mind and screwing me up badly. Fortunately I have Renee who keeps me in check all the time, though I have to admit that there were times I was not nice to her.

I realized that I have not been able to appreciate little things from here and there for a while. I have not expressed my appreciation enough to Renee who has been patient with me. Ever since my younger cousin died unexpectedly almost two months ago, I have been fighting so much to get out of depression. After all, he is in a better place, far from here. Unfortunately, it is hard for me to accept certain things and live life without asking 'why'. It really sucks to struggle in one of the most crucial times. But who doesn't struggle, anyway? Life is full of challenges, and that's what makes one's life interesting.

Hopefully things will turn out to be better when I'm done with school. I know there will be new challenges ahead of me, but at least I don't have to deal with school any more.

My Dad

Today is my Dad's 60th birthday. Happy birthday, Dad!!!

I can't believe he's 60 already... I'm kind of sad that I couldn't fly out to NY to see him for his special b-day.

Chewy needs a new home

I wrote a story about a puppy named Chewy earlier this year (scroll down). He is finally available for adoption, after being foster cared for while he was recovering from the leg injury.

Follow the link to see the official ad. This is my first work as a wanna-be photographer!

http://www.virtualpetadoptions.com/adoptapet/pet_details.asp?petid=18811

Yosemite is calling...

Nikkor 18-55mm: 1/15 f-5.6

Renee and I went to Yosemite National Park last March. It was my first visit to the park. There weren't many visitors, so we were able to get a room without a reservation in advance. Honestly, I didn't know about the park and I was new to photography, so when I went there my jaws dropped before the breathtaking views of the giant granites. As Renee and I were returning from the Yosemite Falls, Renee noticed the sunlight directly hitting Half Dome as shown above. I took this photo without a tripod.

This was the first time when I realized photography requires great patience. On the way to the Yosemite Falls (~ 1 hr before we took this photo), I saw several people setting up their cameras on tripods and talking to one another. I also saw a couple with a telephoto zoom lens on a tripod just waiting for something. Later I realized they were waiting for a perfect moment to photograph Half Dome during sunset.

Our trip was cut short because I had an allergy attack in the following morning. Renee drove us home, but I don't remember how we got home (I get really bad attacks with seasonal allergies). Nonetheless, it was an unforgettable trip for me.

Once I'm done with my thesis, I will try to make a photo trip there before the park gets crowded. Anyone want to join me?

Good bye, Chico

Nikkor 18-55mm: 1/80 f-5.6

Today is Renee's last day at work in Oroville. I will load up the car with her stuff and meet her at her work to drive down to San Francisco together later today.

We're so excited to live together again, after living apart for almost 2 years. At the same time, however, I'm kind of sad that we are leaving Chico. We had wonderful time here. Almost everyone in the city we met were really kind. We were able to explore northern California relatively easily because we had a place in Chico--Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mt. Shasta, Burney Falls, and Redding are all located within 2-3 hr of drive from this city.

Remember the news about the FedEx truck that was crushed by the fallen overpass in Oroville last year? It happened just a few minutes before Renee was about to pass that exact spot on her way to work (it took her a while to U-turn away from the crash site). Also, the 3 family members, a father and two children, who were trapped in the snow several days just before last Christmas? The ex-wife of the father works at the Chico office of the same company where Renee works (not the same office, but close enough). Almost every big news from this town was so close to us, unlike all the events happening in San Francisco (well, I do fell earthquakes once in a while).

I don't know if we're ever going to come back to visit Chico. I would love to come back (I would really love to live in this city, if I could find a job), but it is too far away from San Francisco to just visit the city. We are definitely bringing down lots of memories from this place.

Welcome back home, Renee!

Chewbaca

Nikkor 18-55mm: 1/60, f-5.6 (cropped)

My buddy Doug and his wife Misty asked me to take a few photos of Chewy. So I took a photo of Chewy chewing his bone. Chewy is a mix of German Shepherd and Husky (I think that's what Misty told me). Right now he is just ~ 12-week old puppy, but he's going to be a big dog one day. This puppy is so adorable. Even though he just had a surgery on his injured leg, he is so full of energy. Chewy gets so excited with people around him, and is very friendly.

As I was shooting photos of Chewy, I realized how difficult it is to take good photos of animals. It's hard to communicate with them to try different poses and stuff, you know. With the same reason, it is also difficult to take photos of babies. So in my humble opinion, the best strategy for taking photos of animals and babies is to patiently wait for the right moments and be ready to shoot at any time! And take many photos to save a few good ones.

I recently bought a used external flash for my D80 (SB-600) from Jonathan, and I finally had a chance to try it out. I must say I'm really happy with the results! Adobe Lightroom was used for exposure compensation and cropping.