WHO AM I?
Circa 2011 – my official headshot from work.
This is a question that can be interpreted in so many ways. It’s almost like the meaning of life or some other all encompassing and philosophical question. I have a couple of ways to answer this question and I’ll let you pick which you prefer!
By INTERESTS
My interests have changed dramatically throughout my life. Some events (like having a family) altered the time allocation for my interests, but my interests remain quite the same. Even if I haven’t had a chance to fly an R/C aircraft in a decade, they still interest me and I have all the paraphernalia hanging in my garage.
I am a tech junkie. Internet, computers, gadgets all interest me. I get a great deal of satisfaction checking out new technologies. My friends often come to me with questions that are tech related. It could be a new mobile phone, a new home theater component, home automation, or just the latest laptop; I usually have studied it deeply and even tried it out.
I have an unusual (some say weird) knowledge of cars of all types. Specifically I am interested in performance cars. I’ve owned many of the famous marques (Ferrari, Porsche, Pantera, Mercedes) and hanker to own a few more when my familial duties are minimized.
And yes, my Family takes over as the #1 interest in my life at this time. Duties to the kids and wife trump everything I do, and in fact are the primary reasons that I don’t spend much time on my hobbies. Hey, they should be your #1 interest too!
By JOBS
I am going to leave all the gory details for this category in my resume that I’ll post later. For now, I’ll give you a rapid sampling of what makes me – me.
- Paperboy – Dallas Morning News and Dallas Times Herald
- Busboy – Sampan Chinese restaurant
- Cook – Sirloin Stockade
- Manufacturing of Brass Belt Buckles – The Brassworks
- Computer Sales – Computers to Go
- Store Manager – The Byte Shop
- Programmer – Consulting Applications and Management Systems
- System Engineer – Borland International
- Senior Acct. Representative – Open Access Systems
- Product Manager – Borland International (Quattro Pro)
- Senior Product Manager – Borland International (dBASE Win)
- Director Marketing – Frame Technology / Adobe
- VP Marketing – NetTools / DeltaPoint / Site Technologies
- Founder – Passky, Inc. / PubliCard
- Founder – iMiner / PriceRadar / eBay
- VP Products & Marketing – Mediabolic / Macrovision
- VP Marketing – Home Director
- Founder & VP Marketing – Soonr, Inc.
- VP Products, Mobile and Platform – Rearden Commerce, Inc.
- VP Products – People Power Company
- VP Products and Technology – Equilar, Inc.
By GEOGRAPHY
I was born in Taiwan and moved to the USA when I was quite young. I grew up in Dallas, TX and then spent my High School years in Kingsville, TX. College was in Austin, TX. and then my first job (Borland) took me to Chicago, IL. After traveling all over the USA for work, I went down to Houston, TX where I met my wife. Eventually I moved to California to go back to work for Borland. I have been in Silicon Valley (CA) ever since. I love the weather, culture, and entreprenurial spirit here. There is no better place in the world to begin to change the world through technology.
Hi Song – I like the new look Web site. Which hosting provider do you use and/or recommend?
Big shout out to LunarPages. I have been buying domain and hosting services from them for over a decade. I believe they are in Southern California, but who knows with the web!
I have been super happy with their service and the pricing. I now run about 6 different websites and services with them. I have both personal and business sites with them. Give them a call or visit. I think you’ll find what you need.
Saw your comments/pix re Volvo cracked seat repair on Mathews Volvo Forum. Where did you get Leather Magic ?? I cant’t find it. Did it really work as good as pix show ?? filled cracks in leather so they don’t show?? Incredible !!
Don Henderson Fresno 559-435-8874
Hi Song,
thanks for your blog, I was in the Silicon Valley a decade ago in Apple and I like cars… and Macs too 🙂
After fast cars I needed a secure auto and I buy a Volvo XC90: not so fast like Ferrari but more family car!
Now I’m in Italy. All the best
francos
Hi Song,
I love your tech reviews; keep up the great work! What iPad2 cover do you recommend? I need a balance of style (leather?) protection and function.
Sincerely,
Kyle in Dallas
Hey Kyle, I ended up going with a bit of a hybrid to protect my ipad2. Let me describe it and then I’ll try and get a picture up shortly. First of all, to protect the front of the iPad, I used the OEM Apple magnetic cover. I like how slim it is and also that it acts as a switch and a stand. That leaves the back unprotected though. So I used a vinyl skin on the back of the iPad with some custom company graphics on it. Then on top of the skin, I got a Belkin smoke thermo plastic urethane cover. It wraps around the back but leaves the front free so that I can still use the Apple magnetic cover. So that’s what I have for now.
I do like the stand/cover that I got for my Kindle Fire though. I have been considering getting an iPad version of that. We will see.
Hello, I was just reading about how you fixed the flip key for a volvo. Would you be willing to fix mine or point me in the right direction for that service. If so, please email. Thanks!
Adam, if you go look at a thread to Matthew’s Volvo Site, you’ll see that there’s actually a guy doing repairs. I really can’t do it as I might not do as great a job. I was just experimenting with my own and decided to document it. This other guy does a lot of them. He’s your best bet.
Hi Song,
So I’m about to embark on changing the AC evaporator on my 1998 Volvo and have seen your picture post as being listed as the best guide to getting this done. Unfortunately it looks like the pictures we taken done in July 2012.
Would you have a link to where they are now (hopefully) listed?
Thanks,
Paul
About a year ago I embarked on the evaporator core exchange after the local Volvo dealer said that it was leaking. Like many folks, I was wondering if I could do this myself as the part wasn’t too expensive ($100) but the labor was ridiculous ($1,400). So I thought I would try it. Here are the fruits of my efforts.
Link to http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=10f8s0wj.8zl8j8h7&x=0&y=o2vyri&localeid=en_US
Paul,
The link broke when Kodak Gallery was purchased by Shutterfly. It took about 6 months for them to make the move. All ofthe pictures moved over, but unfortunately all of the comments and captions are gone.
Here’s a link to the new home for those pictures.
http://v70evapcore.shutterfly.com/
One thing I would have done differently is to replace all seals and clips for the heater core. I’ve noticed in the years since this swap that I can smell coolant at times in the A/C or Heater system. I suspect I have a bit of a leak. The Evap core has been performing admirably though. The A/C is super cold and has not lost any pressure.
Let me know if you have any questions.
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