• Getting kids involved in a team sport, like soccer.  I’m worried about the time commitment, but we generally agreed it’s essential for a child’s development.
• Creating a team web page. Facebook Page is more popular now. However, not everyone is on Facebook – especially the older folks.
• College investment.  Is it worth it to have higher education degree and entry level job is less than $60k?  It may just pay off in the long run.
• More IT jobs are available.  We’re not sure why this is happening, but recruiters are having a hard time finding qualified people in IT.
• Finding jobs in China. With the bad economy in USA, more people are moving to China. Standard of living is rising in China.
• Costco’s American Express has a cash-back limit on gas.  Apparently, the limit is $3000 per year – then it switches to 1% instead of 3%.

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Lunch Bits – Edition 42

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• California elections.  Some of us are absentee voters, aka vote-by-mail.  We discussed some of the candidates.  I’m more partial to vote non-career politicians like Carly Fiorina.  I did like Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor.
• Stock market.  We speculated why stocks go down.  Apparently, their value is about the anticipated performance, not based on today’s earnings.  A good example was Apple stocks that went down.
• Disconnect to connect.  Some of us were using their smartphones while we talked. It was quite rude.  This video below sums up how cell phone distraction can affect relationships:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ZrK2NryuQ

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Lunch Bits – Edition 41

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• Soccer: World Cup.  Watching the first half of Germany vs. Spain game.  Result was 0-0.  A tight game.
• How many countries participated for this World cup?  Apparently there’s 202 teams in FIFA world rankings.
• There are 195 UN recognized countries.  Which begs the question: where did the other 7 teams in the World Cup come from?
• India had a soccer team, but they didn’t qualify in 2010.
• Mahindra Satyam.  Apparently it’s renamed from Satyam Computer Services.  One theory for the name change was because of the financial fraud case.
• LAX finished their renovation of Tom Bradley International Terminal – and cost tax payers $737 Million.  That’s a lot of money for a small renovation project.

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Lunch Bits – Edition 40

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• Iron Man 2.  Watched it in IMAX for maximum viewing size and earth shattering sound.  This latest installment is a tribute to Marvel’s The Avengers.  The movie itself was totally awesome!
• Advance Placement (AP).  Apparently in high school, AP programs counts as a credit in certain US colleges.
• Expensive iPads.  Seriously, why does anyone need an oversized iPhone that can’t even make phone calls, or even a camera?  Saw someone use it in the theater and all he did was stare at the background wallpaper.
• Home Owner’s Associations.  Are they useful?  They have their use, but most agree it’s useless.
• We know Chinese people who speaks Spanish.  Apparently there is a Spanish to Chinese dictionary.
• Shanghai World Expo.  It’s a big event.  The US almost didn’t make it, and they were the last one to join.
• Visiting Macao.  China has the largest casino, The Venetian, opened in 2007.
• Recommended iPhone app for kids: Talking Carl.

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Lunch Bits – Edition 39

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• Ordered: Hot & spicy fish fillet with soft tofu, Salt & pepper pork ribs, Stir fried lamb with cumin, and Eggplant with garlic sauce.
• Where is Szechuan province?  It’s in Southwest China, aka Sichuan Province.
• Filipinos love their karaokes.  Some even got into fights (and killed) over Sinatra’s “My Way”.
• Tax time.  Most of us don’t have complicated filings, so we use either Turbotax or Taxcut software.
• What’s better, UC or CSU college? UCs are mostly for research.  CSUs are more practical.

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Lunch Bits – Edition 38

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• Purse hooks.  A colleague brought hers from 30 years ago.  Apparently, it’s a classic item that’s making a fashion comeback.
• Which Chinatown is bigger: San Francisco or New York?  According to Wikipedia, San Francisco’s Chinatown is the biggest.  A tour guide in NYC said New York’s Chinatown is growing to the lower east side.
• Lotus leaf sticky rice (aka Lo Mai Gai).
• Serving food on banana leaves.  It’s more economical, biodegradable, and practical.
• Holiday vacations.  My vacation wasn’t all good.  Others had a great time.

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Lunch Bits – Edition 37

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• Most of us ordered the Zuppa Toscana soup.  It was great.
• The all-you-can-eat bread, soup, and salad meant we can max out, and have the main course to-go for dinner.
• Going to wear a suit and tie to work tomorrow for my manager’s appreciation day.
• A good credit score can still get us a $600k loan these days?  Apparently, for a qualified person, it’s still easy to get a mortgage.
• Smart Car = Golf Cart.
• Home Theater versus Home Stereo.  Audiophiles like just the stereo – and an ideal room to listen in.
• Home Basements.  They’re more common in cold climate areas.  No basement in Las Vegas because it cost more to excavate and there’s plenty of space there.
• “You’ve Got a Bat in the Cave” – a code for “you’ve got a booger on your nose”.  Motioning a nose rubbing seemed like the polite way to tell the other person.
• Missed the movie “Better off Dead” from the 80′s.  Gotta watch it, one of these days.
• When do we stop counting by months for babies or toddlers? In general, after 2 years old.
• Facebook. Facebook Apps. Posting Facebook pictures via MMS.
• Who invented the wallet?
• One of our co-worker’s weekend workout (joke):
  Acrobat Loves His Dramatic Music – watch more funny videos

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Lunch Bits – Edition 36

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• Broadband woes.  Still not cheap.  We suspected it was done on purpose, because they can just overcharge and we still pay for it.
• Kanye was a jackass.  Not very presidential for Obama, but still commendable since he finally told the truth.
• Financial companies sharing information to third party.  Are they sharing our financial numbers, or just our shopping habits?  Could be anything. Scary!  They make it difficult to opt-out, too!
• Next vacation.  I just visited The Getty Museum.  Maybe Palm Springs is next?

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Lunch Bits – Edition 35

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• Paternity Leave.  The company allows for 3 weeks of paid leave. But the State of California also adds partially paid paternity leave for upto 6 weeks (with exceptions)!  However, caution for taking State benefits because an employee can lose his/her job.
• What’s in Los Angeles?  We’ve been to Griffith Observatory, Kodak Theater, Ghetty Museum, Farmers Market, and the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame.  I have yet to find Michael Jackson and Bruce Lee‘s stars on that street.
• Koreans only buy Korean cars.  A co-worker noticed even in Seoul, Korea, he only saw Korean cars.   No surprise because imported cars in Korea get slapped with high taxes and tariffs.

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Lunch Bits – Edition 34

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• The free burrito offer with a drink purchase.  I had the Steak Mexicano.  Not bad for only $1.59!
• Bollywood and Korean movies.  Bollywood has a lot of singing and dancing, while Korean ones have a lot of crying.   Mentioned a different type of Korean movie called Gwoemul (The Host).  It’s a monster movie with anti-American messages, and poked fun at the Korean culture.
• Bicycle shopping.  A co-worker and I are interested in buying one.  I’ll be dropping by a local bike shop to look around.  I’m tempted to get a hybrid electric version, but that would defeat the purpose.
• Cheap housing at Inland Empire.  We were told a 3-bedroom house can be bought for $100k!  Mortgage will be about $600/month, which is awesome!  But there might be many offers for them.  OC Register did report less foreclosures on the inland side.
• Long term contracting.  Some companies like hiring long-term consultants.
• The pains of American work visas.  One day I’ll need to dedicate a post (or two) to chronicle my experience.

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Lunch Bits – Edition 33

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