That's right...do not underestimate the power of the Googe. In this case, her brain power.

"Rise of the Machines" Answer!!

This month's issue of the Scientific American explains exactly how vending (or cash) machines work!! I am so excited to share this important piece of information to all my fellow bloggers! Basically, inside those machines, there is something called a BILL VALIDATOR. Googi, Kudos to you for your enlightened idea... it's exactly how the bill validator works! The bill validator has rollers that pull the bill inside.... it even has a "tail end" beam light to ensure that the entire bill has been inserted (to avoid anyone from pulling it out half way) The bill's magnetic ink, the position of the portrait, and the density of the bills makes each note unique. There is then a light beam that scans for these characteristics and then compares the data against a table of reference values to determine the bill's denomination and authenticity. And within seconds, the machine will be able to tell what denomination the bill is! Cool, isn't it??

http://www.sciam.com

There is something wrong with WTW's blogsite. Every time I try to click on it, the macro script starts to run and gives me all sorts of error messages. Maybe WTW had too much fun with his bachelor's party that even his blogsite has a hangover. Thanks for organizing it.

Everytime I get congestion from a cold, my doctor insists that I have allergies. He would always give me free samples of Allegra. The truth is that I don't have allergies. I just get congestion from colds. Once the cold is over, I'm back to normal and the congestion is gone.

There is a website called Free Biz Mag that gives you free subscriptions. All you need to do is to answer a few questions and based on your answers, you will be qualified to receive certain free subscriptions. It doesn't hurt to claim that you're an executive who makes certain important decisions on a daily basis. Heck, non-fat or low-fat? Latte or Mocha? Those are important decisions we make every day!

I hate doing personal things for people too...that's why I can never be a good EA. Thank God everyone does their own shredding and conference-room booking here. Otherwise, I will go insane. I used to envy this EA at my old workplace for making over $50k a year just screening calls and buying lunches. But actually, come to think of it, it's a tough job. I would never be able to do that kind of work. It really takes a certain type of personality to be able to stand it.

Sometimes I ask if I'm just slow or too hard on myself? I have been in this position for about 5 months now, and yet, I still feel like I don't know anything. I know there is always a learning curve, but how long do these curves last? Every time I get questioned about something, I feel really stupid for not being able to answer quickly enough. Or just flat out don't know how to answer. I came into this position with high recommendations and I feel like I'm not meeting expectations.

"Quiet Morning"

The cats are away for an off-site meeting, so the mice are in the office blogging. Hehehe. It has been a really busy week (month) for me. I've noticed that whenever you're planning leave from work, your workload suddenly explodes. My vacation starts on Sept 4 and I'm already counting the days. I am so anxious to go on this vacation, which includes a 1-week stay in Thailand, and another 1-week stay in Hong Kong. It has been over 4 years since I last traveled abroad. Traveling is always fun -- you have no schedule, no work, nothing. Everyday you wake up whenever, eat whatever, do whatever. No rules, no restrictions. I think that's the best thing about a vacation. Oh, I'm already in my dream land...and it's only 9am in the morning!

"L" for Lotto

It's only the middle of the day, and all of us are dreaming already. Well, I guess it's doesn't hurt. What would I do if I win the lotto? I would definitely give in my 2-weeks notice (for the reasons I listed in the previous entry). I would use the money like this:
- pay off my house and all my family's houses
- buy 10 more houses (3 in the Bay Area, 1 in Sacto, 1 in NYC, 1 in Hawaii, 1 in HKG, 1 in Boston, 2 in Europe somewhere) so I'll never have to rent a hotel room again
- buy 2 AUTOMATIC, 4-Door nice luxury cars for me and Sean and 1 extra for Googi to repay back to her friend so she won't feel guilty anymore
- go on a year-long continent-hopping vacation
- open a business (don't know what yet)
- Create a trust fund (and let Red run it any way she likes to)
- Also take my girlfriends on a shopping spree and yes, WTW, you can come along to hold our bags so we can buy more!!

Wow, I just realized that I have a pretty long list. How my little mind can get carried away so easily....now, back to work.

"What did I say?"

Checked my blogger banner ads this morning and sure enough, something came up. Outsourcing? Haha... only I wish I am in the power to outsource work.

For the past week, everyday I've been thinking about winning the lottery. Really wish I win so I can walk out of my job any minute. Red, Kudos to the receptionist for taking the action to walk out on her job. I remember when I was hired into this company, the guy who held the position before me just walked out on the job, literally. He came to work one day, had enough of the crap, went to lunch, and simply did not come back. His paperwork was on his desk the way he last left them; his computer still turned on; and even his favorite CD was still in the CD-ROM. The only thing that he left behind that indicated he was never coming back was a square yellow post-it with the words, "SEE YA!" on it. After HR got involved, they found out that NO, he was not missing or kidnapped; he was not murdered; he simply had enough of his job. No wonder when I first started the job, my boss would come by my desk everyday after lunch "to see if I was ok." Haha.

Googi, I don't think you should put that added pressure on yourself. Things ALWAYS happen for a reason, for better or for worse.

"What the #%$@^?"

I just typed up this looong entry and when I clicked on "Post & publish" the entry just disappeared!!! What!? This is soooo dumb -- now I have to remember what I wrote....

To Googi and WTW -- interesting observation on the banner ads. I've never noticed the ads until you pointed it out. I just noticed that I don't have any ads on mine -- at least not yet. (I'm sure the minute I post this entry up, the blogger.com people will load it with all kinds of ads. It always happen like that). I'm trying to guess what they would post up since my entries are all over the board in terms of topics. Let's see -- I've been talking about lay-offs, so maybe "hotjobs.com" or "monster.com" will probably pop up. My anti-social entry will probably get me "match.com." And as for my technology ignorance on telephone cords and vending machines, "techweb.com" will be next. hehehe... let's wait and see!

To Bozodo -- you're absolutely right about outsourcing. I have to admit that our company is one of the culprits. Our entire 30th floor used to be employed with all the techies, from programmers to project managers. Now, our company is negotiating with our landlord to break the lease on the 30th floor. All of our tech support has been relocated to Singapore. So whenever we dial for our help desk, someone with a thick accent answers the phone. In addition to tech support, they are staffed 24-7, monitoring systems and data transfer. They do everything from maintenance to upgrades. Some of our system enhancements have been outsourced to India, where a team of tech guys spend day and night to write customized programs for us. I'm sure they get paid a fraction of the cost. I know outsourcing of manpower to a low-cost country is not the best practice and is bad for our economy. But if you're the CEO and have to answer to the Board and shareholders to reduce overhead, that's probably the only and smart thing to do. The P&L is realistic and when business is bad, it's hard, very hard... *Sigh*

Anyhow, happy Friday to all and I sure hope that this entry gets posted correctly!!