moses choi

As one of my friends always says, when there’s nothing to talk about, people in Canada will talk about weather. I doubt that’s a Canadian thing, but probably a North American thing. In any case, I will write about the weather as it has changed drastically over the last few days in Toronto. The temperature has dropped to below zero, snow and ice cover the ground like frosting on cake. The cold signifies the coming of Old Man Winter, or rather, it’s evidence that Old Man Winter has come, set up camp and is here to stay for a good 6 months. I didn’t mind the winter that much when I was younger, but now I’m finding it makes me long for sunny California. I used to love the brisk morning air and the sound of snow crunching under my feet, but these things have now just become mnemonics to my years past and only bring out feelings of nostalgia, let alone a smile.

I look forward to the spring and summer for another great season of golf. This year was the year that I had my own set, sized and fitted to my specific swing and height. This was also the year that I started golfing with people who were really talented. Put these two factors together and the result is a much improved golf game for me. The equipment helped me achieve a level of comfort with my swing and provided tremendous forgiveness. My friend and de facto golf coach was a member of the Canadian national team a few years ago and played varsity golf at Queens; his insight and advice really helped me, especially in my drives. My short game and putting still has a lot to be desired, but at least I can be fairly confident with my drives now. A turning point in my young golf career was when I won the long ball contest at a company tournament. I had been consistently hitting the ball really far for a few weeks prior to that, but it wasn’t until that moment that my improvement had been validated. It’s a great feeling to hear the *ping* and watch the ball fly straight ahead 280-310 yards. It’s amazing what a few simple adjustments can do to your game. Now, I need to really concentrate on my short game as it’s much more important than just being able to consistently launch the ball off the tee. What a wonderful excuse to buy one of those putting greens for my cubicle at work!

Back to the reality of winter. Skating and snowboarding are the order of the day. I’m a decent skater at best and an absolutely terrible snowboarder but these are the activities that I’d like to do a bit more of this year. I haven’t been on the slopes since my first year of college, and haven’t been on a rink consistently since my 3rd year. Hopefully some outdoor activity can allow me to embrace the great Canadian winter. I remember when I was young, I loved snow (like all kids really) and went tobogganing and sledding once or twice a week and went to the local hockey rink to skate every Saturday morning. Those days were really fun and who says a 20-something year old can’t have fun like that anymore! So here’s to a brighter winter.

My friend Kyu, a proud graduate of UCLA recently wrote to the LA Times regarding academics and athletics in American universities and here is his email.  I’m putting it up here because I think he brings up very valid points and sheds some light on what some may regard as the excessive commercialization of collegiate sports in the US.

Subject: Academic standards vs. Athletic performance

Dear Mr. Kurt Streeter:

I am a UCLA alumnus and an avid supporter of UCLA athletics as well as academics.  I am in absolute agreement that we should have a balance of academic standards and athletic performance and that college athletics should not be solely based on wins and losses.  Although winning will bring in revenues for an academic institution, I do not believe academic institutions have to sell college athletics for the all mighty dollar.  This is one of the problems we face in this society and I am in full support of your fight to bring ACADEMIC standards to ACADEMIC institutions.

I really hope that UCLA can sell itself as an academic institution, first, which also has a quality Division I athletic program and not the other way around.  I do not want UCLA to become an institution where the major source of its publicity comes from its athletic programs.  That means an institution like a Cal, UCLA or a Stanford must have higher standards on their student-athletes and I am not only talking about on-the-field performance.

I’d rather UCLA produce individuals like a Jackie Robinson, a Arthur Ashe, a Kareem Abdul-Jabber, than a Michael Vick or a Barry Bond.  Men and women of character, who uses their God-given talents as a tool to put them on stage to make a positive statement in society.  If those are the individuals that UCLA is producing under coach Karl Dorrell, I am fully supportive of that effort.  Because, as you and I know, it takes years to build a reputation of a school and an athletic program, but it takes only one scandal to ruin a reputation.

(On a side note, I do not advocate for a coach like a Nick Saban, who happens to be a great football coach but also compares college athletic catastrophes to historical tragedies.)

I really support your efforts to bring that to the forefront and I hope you can continue to write about such subjects with a passion.  I really hope you can write about a student-athlete being a student first and an athlete second, and not an athlete first and who also happens to be a part-time student.

(Also, a side note, yes, I think the statistics on minority coaches in Division I must be addressed, because it seems like there is equality on the field–as in the proportion of black, hispanic and white athletes–but that has not been translated onto the management ranks of the coaches or athletic directorship.)

Respectfully,

Kyu Sin

UCLA alum ’05

With Nokia’s hold on the smartphone market worldwide at around 50%, Windows Mobile taking a big chunk of the market and RIM’s BlackBerry and Apple’s iPhone capturing the rest of the market, is Google’s Android platform going to be a disruptor or just another player? I have been thinking about this since Google’s announcement of the Android platform but wasn’t sure how to answer this until I saw this, an official demonstration of Android. It really makes analysis easier when you see something in action instead of trying to visualize an abstract description in your head. After watching the demonstration, I’m convinced that Android has the potential to be a disruptor, however there are hurdles involved in that there are huge incumbents that can throw money at development and to a large extent replicate the experience. The hope would be that with the release of the Android SDK, the development community, as a collective force, can create innovative software. To provide incentive, Google has set aside $10 Million in prizes for the best applications developed.

Google will likely bid on the upcoming 700Mhz spectrum auction and if they end up acquiring it with or without a carrier partner, it is a huge step for the search engine. What started as an extremely sophisticated search algorithm has morphed into a company with the 4th largest market capitalization in the US and the backbone of the internet. It is without a doubt one of the most innovative companies of this generation. The purchase of spectrum and the release of Android signifies what pundits all over the world have been talking about for years, that the internet will move to the mobile wireless arena and its growth will be exponential. Just recently there was a report published saying that global handheld sales outpaced that of desktop PCs. Convergence of the internet, wireless service and computers will continue and only those companies that can re-invent itself will be left when the dust settles.

Android, internet, spectrum and the organization of the world’s information are the ingredients for Google’s strategy in these rapidly converging industries. I think in the longterm, Android will end up becoming a huge threat to the Windows Mobile platform and will overtake them. As for the BlackBerry software, there is nothing, that the Apple or even Google (with current information) can do to penetrate the enterprise market that RIM holds so dear (as for the consumer segment, the jury is still out on that). The main difference between RIM’s strategy and everyone else’s is that they provide end-to-end solutions for email starting with the email server, network infrastructure to hardware to the OS. This is the crux of RIM’s strategy, success and survival from the enterprise perspective. As long as they can keep that barrier to entry by way of defending their IP, they will be good for many more years to come in the enterprise space.

What makes Google so dangerous to the traditional carriers, handset manufacturers and software developers is that they aren’t jumping into wireless to make money in the same way that everyone else has been, but to provide yet again another platform to deliver its services like Gmail, Google Search and Google Checkout, which all of course serve as platforms to deliver targeted ads. The more accessible these services become, the more sticky or convenient it is for people. It will be through the way Google operates itself in wireless, rather than through the actual product they offer that it will disrupt wireless.

Whatever the outcome of the spectrum auction or the adoption of Android, I would love to see Google, RIM and Apple battle it out for the consumer space. Competition from these guys will only benefit the little people like myself.

Here are my initials thoughts on Apple’s latest rendition of Mac OSX. I just received my upgrade DVD from Apple even though I ordered it in the middle of October and was told via email that I should be receiving my copy by October 29. I waited until October 29 only to be disappointed that I didn’t receive it and that the tracking number given to me meant nothing and did nothing on the Purolator and Canada Post website. I called into Apple’s call center and was put on hold for about 20 minutes before I was told that my DVD could not be tracked and that they’d send me a new one instead. I was told the new order should be delivered by November 5. It arrive on the 5th and on the 7th, I received my original order in the mail. So now I have two copies of Leopard.

I installed Leopard and it was simple and painless. All it took was a couple clicks on the mouse and away it went. About 40 minutes later, my MacBook Pro was rebooting and the new dock and the translucent menu bar was up on my screen. After using the new operating system for about a day now, I like it. I haven’t tried out bootcamp or time machine yet, but spaces works well and I do like the improvements here and there. Like Walt Mossberg from the WSJ wrote, this is an evolutionary upgrade but a worthwhile one. I’ve read about the controversy over the new dock and I personally don’t mind it at all. I kind of like it actually.

If there’s anything strange that comes up while using Leopard, I’ll be sure to document it here!

Back in March, I wrote that I would love to see the next iPhone without the telephone functionality as a future ipod.  It was probably expected by many, but when the announcement came about the new iPod Touch, I was happy to see the form factor and also that what I desired came to fruition (sans the voip) but was disappointed with the storage capacity.  Given some time, the iPod Touch may end up taking the place of the iPod Classic as the regular iPod when storage capacities allow.

I haven’t actually played with the iPod Touch, but if it’s anything like the iPhone, I think I will be pleased with the experience.  However, as much as I’d like to fork over some money to get the updated iPod Touch, I will wait until I see at least an 80gig flash HD in the unit. Until then, I will have to continue using my 5th gen ipod.

The other day at work, I was reading the Globe and Mail and came across this article about Professor Paul Beamish at the Richard Ivey School of Business and how he gives a pop quiz to his EMBA students on the first day of class designed to show the salience of emerging markets for businesses looking to succeed in today’s global economy. Basically in a nutshell, he asks his students to rank the top ten countries by purchasing power parity, gross national income, and population. In all the years he has taught, no student has gotten a perfect score on his test. This test shows two things: Firstly, the future direction of economic influence, and thus political power is shifting to up and coming countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia and etc and secondly, the test shows the general unfamiliarity of many people who are in business to the rapid changes happening around the world. In fact, I would argue that anyone who seeks to be globally competitive needs to understand the geopolitical, historical and economic changes happening all over, and not just be a great contributor at work. It is hard and time consuming, but it’s so essential to success. It comes as no surprise to me that Bill Gates devours every issue of The Economist cover to cover every week (according to my old boss at Edelman who has worked for him). Maybe what I’m trying to say is that many of us need to widen our perspective and try to see how everything interconnects.

What are the essential elements required for a country or a company to be globally competitive? This is a discussion that has probably been beaten to death by many think tanks, consultants and people wanting to have a great discussion but something that I’d really like to learn more about.

- It’s been a really long time since I’ve written in my blog. I guess I’ll start off where I left off last time I was here: the Toronto Raptors. I just watched their home opener against the Philadelphia 76ers and wow, what a great game. It wasn’t a great game by the traditional definition of great games, but it was an indicator of the positive things to come. (note: I started the last sentence a couple nights ago, today was the game versus the Nets and I didn’t catch it this time)

- Anyway, with the start of a new season, comes a new fantasy season and hopefully another season of blogging. 2007 is supposed to be the 10th year anniversary of blogs and blogging. It has come a long way from being an activity that nerds do in their spare time; now, almost everyone blogs in one way or another and it has become a legitimized means of communication, influencing the public and keeping in touch. Perhaps I can find some discipline to continue writing and contributing whenever I can.

- Let me talk about Google Reader. For those of you who love reading online articles, blogs or are looking for a robust, well-designed, fast and reliable RSS reader, look no further than Google Reader. I’ve been using it since it was under development in the Google Labs and it has become my default home page. It allows me to swiftly scan the headlines of the newspapers/blogs/websites I like to read.

- Now that it’s in the public domain, I can now talk about this online. The TELUS BlackBerry Pearl is now available! I’ve been using the new Pearl since early September and I think I have decided that I’m a big fan of SureType. I assumed that I wouldn’t like it, but given sufficient time, the Pearl learns what I want to type and predicts my words. Today, I can confidently say that I can type just as fast on my Pearl as I can on a qwerty BlackBerry. I am happy with the Pearl and even better, I am happy with my RIM shares!

I just got in from watching game six of the Nets-Raptors first round series. The crowd at Jack Astors near my workplace was going completely nuts throughout the game. The game was so close and so intense to watch that at times I could not bear it. However, it was so damn entertaining. I guess it’s better than being blown out by the 2nd quarter and suffer a completely demoralizing defeat. Prior to this season, also known as the dark-era, I was only a casual fan, keeping tabs on the struggling team after “Vinsanity” left town. Of course, during the first few years of the franchise I was a pretty big fan until 2001ish. But I started to lose interest as other things started occupying my life. But now, I’m again starting to feel optimistic about our future.

Tonight’s game was so awesome but too bad we lost. It could’ve gone either way and unfortunately the Nets pulled it off. We did have a great season, a season characterized by growth and turnaround. Go Raptors! Go Jays!

Next year is looking bright!

By the way, congrats to Golden State for knocking out Mark Cuban’s team!

I’ve been using the Google Apps for this current domain and I love it! I’m a big fan of these services. I wish there were some improvements or changes, but overall, I’m quite happy with Google’s offering. I’m also looking forward to seeing their web-based presentation application coming out soon too.

Anyway, I was on the Google Apps page and just clicking around and reading up on their services. I know, it’s a geeky thing to do, but it’s what I do. I then started to type in random domains to see which domains might have signed up to use Google Apps. I typed in utoronto.ca and I got the message that this particular domain was already registered! Now, I know that someone might have just tried signing up with the utoronto.ca domain and it was declined or something like that, but there is a chance that U of T might be thinking of implementing or testing the Education Edition of Google Apps. This is good news to me because I still use my school email quite extensively. The current webclient that U of T uses is absolutely atrocious. I would like to see students have access to Google’s slick suite of services offered through the school. I think U of T would be the largest Canadian institution to implement Google App campus-wide if they do indeed offer this.

I hate the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The TTC, also known as the “Red Rocket” for its ancient streetcars is okay at best and completely unreliable at worst, but mediocre on average. Its service is so unreliable that many people would tell you that the TTC actually stands for “Take The Car”. As I used to work at City Hall with the former chairman of the TTC, I am aware of the constraints that the TTC operates under, I understand the financial problems that the service encounters so I don’t want to blame the city only for this mediocre service. I think it’s a systemic problem with a lack of concerted effort by the entire Canadian governmental system to innovate and fund public transporation.  It is also a problem with bureaucratic paper pushing and political squabbling that leads to nothing being accomplished or built.

Last week, on my way to work on the subway, the entire trip took twice as long as usual.  The train went at halfspeed and during the entire trip, I was fuming.  I was muttering obscenities under my breath and sharing exasperated looks with my neighbours.  The stop-and-go traffic underground was ridiculous because people usually take the subway to avoid the morning rush, but I guess it just goes to show that one should indeed Take The Car. Another thing that drives me nuts is when the subway stops at a station and kicks everyone off to go back in the other direction. These things always seem to happen when you’re in a rush or really tired and looking forward to going home. When I read stories of bus drivers being assaulted, subway drivers being threatened, or people throwing bricks through the windshield of a bus, I completely understand why people would do such things. I’ve thought of doing those very things too.

Just recently, the TTC and the government announced some changes to the current system. The proposal was to build a LRT that criss-crosses the city. Hopefully this LRT is a step up from the Scarborough RT, because the RT is a loud out-of-date system that would drive people mad with its 100+ decibel noise levels. This proposal is good because it allows for dedicated transit that is free from problems associated with automobile traffic. It is also a cost-efficient way to transport people in areas of lower population and to stimulate population growth. Once the population is large enough to justify and sustain the construction of actual subways, a network of LRTs may be sufficient, given it’s built quickly and sensibly. However, I somehow doubt it’s going to be built quickly and sensibly…

I think the solution to the issues at hand are: increased funding by all levels of government to public transportation, a concerted effort to make mass public transportation an issue of national priority, more automation to reduce the number of personnel employed and to increase efficiency, and to get rid of the paper tickets. I wish change would happen more quickly and more efficiently. Perhaps one Torontonians can have a transit system that is reliable, fast and well thought out.