GIMP Expo

I am practising GIMP. Here are some of my work.



Used in an academic presentation about personal genomics and smithlab at USC http://smithlab.cmb.usc.edu/


(These works are based on material from the internet and for personal use only)

Will Apple be a Great Company

The title seems bombastic and I don't have a plan write a complete paper with this title. It came into my mind when I read the book From Good to Great.

There are plenty of evidence supporting that Apple is great companies. It looks like a superstar among technology companies. Macintosh transformed the way we use computers; iPod changed the way we enjoy music; iPhone redefined what a cellphone should be. With all these innovations, Apple brings continuous revenues for investors. It is a great success in terms both of technology and profitability. No one company has ever attracted so much attention since 1970s.

It seems no doubt that Apple was and is a legendary company, however our question now is "will Apple be a great company"? The past success of Apple should give substantial credit to its founder Steve Jobs. His pesonal vision dominated the development of Apple. His influence was so profound that Apple suffered ten years loss during Jobs was out. Luckily, Steves returned and Apple re-emerged.

However, there is a mounting danger that Apple has to face. Steve suffers from health problems and eventually Apple has to evolve without Steve someday. Jim Collins reported in his research of so-called "good to great" companies that great companies usually benefited from so-called "level 5 leaders", who "build enduring greatness through a blend of personal huminity and professional skills" and "set up their successsor for even greater success in the next generation".

While Steve Jobs himself is a superstar leader, he seems to fail to set up a sustainable development framework for his successors. When Jobs announced in Janary he would leave for a period, the stock price of Apple plumpted several points. Investors and analysists shared the concern the Apple without Jobs will not be as successful as it is now. Apple's situation looks like that of Kingdom of Shu of the Three Kingdoms period in the history China. When the founder of Shu, Liu Bei, was alive, Shu was able to recruit great people and eventually held the
Xichuan district. But once Liu Lei was dead, the Kingdom of Shu collapsed within a generation.

What will be the fate of Apple in the future? Apple still have time to find an answer but the time seems very limited.

Yosemite Trip Schedule

I just came back from Yosemite National Park and my heart is still lingering in the scenery of Yosemite. Here is our schedule. I hope it is helpful when you are also planning a trip to Yosemoite during spring break.

The trip lasts two nights and three days, from Saturday to Monday (March 14th - March 16th). The following schedule is very relaxed and we may add more activities when we have the energy.

Saturday:
7:00AM Go to LAX to pick up the car.
Link http://www.thrifty.com/
LOS ANGELES AIRPORT, CA, USA (LAX)
5440 W. CENTURY BLVD
LOS ANGELES, CA UNITED STATES 90045
(877) 283-0898

8:30AM Leave LA

12:00PM Fresno County Blossom Trail
Website: http://www.goblossomtrail.com/
Fresno County Office of Tourism
2220 Tulare Street, 8th Floor
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 262-4271

This part is not worth an intentioned stop. Actually you can see many trees in blossom along highway #99.

1:00PM Continue to Yosemite Southern Entrance
The scenery along highway #41 is fantastic. You will see ranches, flowers and tree decorated hills.

2:30PM Mariposa Grove
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariposa_Grove
http://picasaweb.google.com/songkaiyuan/YosemiteNationalPark#5180785567499148434
In Mariposa Grove, we will see one of the tallest trees in the world: the giant sequoia. The road to Mariposa Grove is closed, so be ready for a hiking about 6miles.

6:30PM Go to our lodge
link: http://www.yosemitelodging.com/
http://www.yosemitelodging.com/studios.html
Yosemite's Four Seasons Office
7519 Henness Circle
Yosemite National Park, CA 95389
209 372-9000 / 800 669-9300

6:00PM check in & dinner & night life
We played a new board game, Bang!, this time. It is very interesting.

Sunday
8:00AM Get ready to today's activities

8:30AM Tunnel View

9:00AM - 5:00PM Yosemite Valley
The exact places and time depends on our interest. Here are some interesting places:
Bridalveil Fall
Merced River
Yosemite Village
Anwahneechee Hotel
El Captain (Hiking)
Yosemite Fall (Hiking)
Mirror Lake (Hiking)

5:30PM Go back to the four seaons lodge
6:30PM Dinner & night life

Monday
8:00AM Get ready to today's activities

10:30AM - 3:30PM Hetch Hetchy
Link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetch_Hetchy_Reservoir
http://picasaweb.google.com/songkaiyuan/YosemiteNationalPark#5180776427808741506

Hetchy Hetchy is sometimes called small Yosemite Valley. It is very sceneric. We will have a hiking there.

4:00PM Going back for LA
We can directly do back to LA along route 99 or if time avaiable, we may go to Highway #1
and finish our trip with the scenery of pacific coast.

11:00PM Home! Sweet home LA!

Wakling cup

This is a gift from my former housemate Crisanto. He is a really fun guy and very artistic. Unfortunately when I wanted to know more of this man, he left LA for Michigan.

Book Review: The Call of the Wild

Image source: http://www.hautman.com/jim.html

Some phrases have the mysterious power to arouse the deep hidden feelings in your heart. "The call of the wild" is one of them. Since the first time I heard about this phrase at junior high school, it has been carved in my memory. From time to time it comes into my mind, sometimes when I am actually longing for the wildness, sometimes when I need to made decisions in front of uncertainties. The phrase is not only associated with adventure, deserts, mountains, forest, rivers, breast, but also associated with freedom, courage and ambition.

This phrase has been inspired and excited me since then. But it is not until now that I read the novel with the same name. This novel is authored by Jack London. The story is set in Alaska during the Gold Rush. The main character, a dog named Buck, who was raised in Santa Clara Valley as a domestic dog, was accidentally abducted to Alaska where he served as a toil dog. From the original world of love and peace to the world of fang and club (fight and blood), the hidden instinct of his ancestors emerged and finally Buck returned to a pack of wolves, living a life of his ancestors in the great plain of Alaska.

Besides this theme of Buck's struggle, I am more impressed by another theme: the process of a man growing up and adapting to the society. From this view of point, it talks about friendship, loyalty, loneliness, work ethic and determination.

We can interpret Buck's life at Judge Miller's mansion as a man's childhood. It is a troubleless time. As Pink Floyd describes in "The Thin Ice", "mom loves her baby, daddy loves you too". Parents carefully protects you from any dark side of the society.

Then after you grow up and have to face this world by yourself.

You meet different persons. Some of them are your classmates, some your colleagues, some your supervisors. You will discover various facets of humanity.
[to be continued]










The dog book

the cat book

Swimming Diary

Progress:
2008-12-02
OK. my swimming lesson this semester is over this week. I had a great time in the pool. I swam one hour every workday for the whole semester. This semester was stressful and I got some precious relief in the water.

I am preparing for the finals. Here is a link to swimming jargon: http://www.ccbswordfish.org/?p=swimming_vocab
A book on swimming training http://tiny.cc/Oq0t9


2008-11-17
Today I picked up sidestroke. I can do well on the left side, but usually leaped backward too much on the right side.

2008-11-14
I did not swim as much as before because the course work is heavy; Additionally, we switch to winter time now, as a result it is already dark when PED pool opens. I cannot see clearly.

I swam one hour this noon. I have mastered some basic skills; now I need to focus on balance and endurance.

2008-11-01

"Michael Phelps & me"



2008-10-29
Four full freestyle laps! Hurry!


2008-10-22
A remarkable progress: I somehow learned to breathe in freestyle, though it seemed awkward, un-orchestrated, and lack of rhythm. I was really excited when I suddenly found myself swimming across half lap.

Also I began to practice breaststroke.

Keep swimming! Floating Rock!

The amazing beauty of dolphin kicking: just like a fish

2008-10-15
"A rock got such a good score!"
Thank you, William!
I should be practitioner, but not be satisfied with being a theorist

2008-10-14
It was an busy and depressing week last week because of midterms and homeworks. I didn't swim as often as before.

Now I am preparing for the swimming course midterm. Here are some notes:
1. History of Swimming
Founder of Red Cross swimming program: Wilbert E. Longfellow
Dominant swimming stroke used in Europe in the 16th century: breaststroke

2. Survival Swimming

H.E.L.P
Short for Heat Escape Lessening Posture.

1. Keep your legs together
2. Press both arms against your upper body
3. Keep your head out of the water

This position protects core area of the body from rapid heat loss.

Disrobing

Disrobe yourself of your shoes, socks, pants, belt, shirt, hats, etc. Inflate trousers for shirts as a floating device.

Riptides
Riptides, or rip currents, are long, narrow bands of water that quickly pull any objects in them away from shore and out to sea. They are dangerous but are relatively easy to escape if you stay calm. Do not struggle against the current. Most riptide deaths are not caused by the tides themselves. People often become exhausted struggling against the current, and cannot make it back to shore. Do not swim toward shore. You will be fighting the current, and you will lose. Swim parallel to shore, across the current. Generally speaking, a riptide is less than 100 ft. wide, so swimming beyond it should not be too difficult.If you cannot swim out of the riptide, float on your back and allow the riptide to take you away from shore until you are beyond the pull of the current. Rip currents generally subside 50 to 100 yards from shore.Once the riptide subsides, swim parallel to shore and then back to shore.

Boating Safety&Equipment
emergency signal
navigation aids: compass, GPS,
life jacket
navigation lights
communication equipment: radio, cellphone, flares
first aid kit
alternative power: paddles, oares
protective clothing: enough warm clothing
Reference: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/equipment

Sculling
Sliding the hands back and forth through the water creates a force perpendicular to the direction of the movement. This action is know as sculling. In chest-deep water, put your hands out in front of you with your fingers straight and close together. Turn your palms out and sweep your hands and forearms out to the side beneath the surface, then turn your palms in and sweep back to the center. If you scull continuously, you'll be tracing an elongated figure eight. Sculling is used extensively in back float.

Alternate breathing
Breathing every third stroke, you alternate breathing on opposite sides

Hypoxic Breathing
Breath control swimming such as underwater swimming or breathing every fifth or seventh stroke in Front crawl.

negative split

Swimming a Negative Split means that the second half of the distance is swum at a faster pace than the first half. For example, the following set:

1x 600: Negative Split

asks you to swim the second 300 yards at a faster pace and time than the first 300 yards. The idea is to control your pace at the beginning of the swim so that you have the energy necessary to swim faster at the end of the swim.

flutter kick
In swimming (either front crawl or backstroke), the legs are extended straight out in line with the body and then moved up and down, the one leg kicking downwards as the other leg moves up again. The legs are separated to not enhance wingtip vortices. The toes point in the direction of motion to mimic a hydrofoil. The knees are slightly bent to adjust the angle of attack.
http://www.alexandriamasters.com/articles/flutter.htm


2008-10-02
Now I can finish a complete lap by backstroke, but made little progress in freestyle. The main obstacle is breathe. I gradually learn to lean my head to one side to take a breathe, but when my head gets into the water again, my nose feels very uncomfortable. So I have to grab the curb to take another breathe. This makes me a little bit of frustrated.

But I must say I really enjoy swimming. I go to the pool every workday. My muscle is becoming more powerful and I forget all worries and unhappiness in water. Sometimes I go to the deep water area, take a deep breathe and then immerse myself completely in the water. I hope to learn to how to thread the water soon.

2008-09-22
able to do 12-laps of kicking in the 25-yard pool without much difficulty.
able to swim freestyle across the lap with two or three stops
tried to do backstroke and can do few yards. The key point is to lean your head back and to straighten your body

But still don't learn how to breathe in freestyle. If you do, you can say you are able to swim now. Pay attention to the following points: 1) exhale all air out through the nose when you need to breathe . 2) rotate your head to the right side when right arm stroke back. 3) keep kicking and keep balance; 4) inhale quickly and deeply with the mouse

Also you need to learn to threading water so that you will be able to practice in deep water.

Keep the good work!


Learning Material:
1. Treading Water: Mastering Egg Beater


2. Total Immersion Swimming Lesson


Resources from mitbbs swimming board
http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Swimming/31163149.html

"Good Boy"

Here is my car, a Honda Accord of the year 2000. I bought this car about two months ago and gradually began to enjoy this big toy.

Many people are concerned my safety. Especially Laoyifu, who is an experienced driver, called me specially to teach me how to drive safely. His teachings includes: don't drive when you can't calm down; pay your full attention when driving; don't drive with a slippers on; and practice more before driving in freeway . I should feel guilty in regards to the last piece of advice because I mistakenly drove to the freeway on the very first day. I felt a little bit of scared at first; but fortunately there was a heavy traffic at that time as a result the speed was not that fast. I managed to leave the freeway few minutes later. Now I feel more comfortable when driving, both local and freeway, after two months' practice . I would like to thank all people who care about me. As far as now I am all right.

I have driven it to several places around Los Angeles, such as Santa Monica, Getty Center, Six Flags, Chinatown and Huntington Beach. It makes my world even bigger. I love it, good boy!