Overseas Chinese Web Guide

I upgraded to Mac OS X Leopard last week and have been struggling with various “issues” that have come up. The latest involves Firefox. I’ve already come across two web sites that use drop-down menus; however, the menus don’t drop. Who wants to browse through a menu by hitting the up arrow / down arrow and viewing one item at a time? Back to Safari for those sites.

The Firefox release notes said, “On OS X 10.5 (Leopard), drop-down selection widgets on some websites may not function.”

“Your World. Delivered.” Or, so they say. Anyone try to get a FamilyTalk plan that includes cell phones with phone numbers from different area codes? I think this can be done, but after spending 50 minutes talking to various customer service people within AT&T, I have run out of patience. I don’t need this that badly. I don’t think there’s a technical reason it cannot be done, just a marketing excuse. And that is the lamest reason to turn down a cash-paying customer.

For some reason, the telecommunications industry is locked into a bizarre old world mentality. Tell me how does forcing an established customer to surrender a long-held phone number breed customer loyalty? It doesn’t. It just reminds me how behind the times your business practices and perspectives are. Sure, AT&T forced us to all have phone numbers from the same area code now, but every time I’m dialing that phone, it reminds me that my world wasn’t delivered. AT&T probably spent some big bucks to come up with their marketing slogan. Instead, I just wished they had hit a few keystrokes (which is probably all it would have taken) to let all of us be on the same FamilyTalk plan with our original phone numbers, even if they were from different area codes.

Beard Papa’s is now open in Cupertino. I was in the area for other purposes and happened to discover a Beard Papa’s right in front of me. So, I had to stop in (of course) for their delicious cream puffs. So, I started off by asking what was the special flavor of the week. Vanilla. I gave a puzzled look. So, the cashier explained that they were only serving vanilla right now. If I wanted something other than a vanilla cream puff, I had to come back in a few weeks. The official grand opening will be this weekend. However, a few weeks wait for something other than vanilla? I think they need a few weeks to iron out some kinks in their system.

I don’t have an address for the Cupertino Beard Papa’s, but they are located in that shopping mall across from Cupertino Square (f/k/a Vallco) and in the same complex as Potsticker King, Merlion and the Elephant Bar.

Hope you all were able to enjoy the Moon Festival with your family members. I couldn’t figure out how to take a photo of the full moon, so I looked it up online. I set the Nikon D50 to manual, then set the ISO to 200, aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to 1/200. Worked like a charm.

To change the ISO, press the ISO button and turn the right-hand dial until it displays 200.

To change the aperture, press the +/- button and turn the right-hand dial until it displays F16.

To change the shutter speed, press the shutter release lightly, and turn the right-hand dial until it reads 200. So combined with the above settings, you should see 200 F16.

In preparation for the Mid-Autumn Festival, I bought some moon cakes from my local Asian supermarket. Usually, I’m not a big fan of moon cakes because I don’t like the dried yolk in the middle and I’m not too hot on the traditional flavors. So, while shopping around, I came across of box of tea-flavored moon cakes. Green tea anyone? I love the green tea smoothie at Jamba Juice and I also love green tea ice cream. And, the green tea moon cakes did not disappoint. Absolutely delicious. The oolong tea moon cakes and jasmine tea moon cakes were equally well-received. That’s the long tail at work. A flavor for anyone and everyone, even for me.

Bloomberg.com: Chinese-Made Cribs Recalled After Three Children Die. The maker of Graco and Simplicity cribs recalled 1 million Chinese-made cribs after three children died.

Another China scandal right? Or so the headlines would lead you to believe. However, if you delve deeper into the news story, it reports that “[t]he problem with the recalled cribs was caused in part by design flaws.” I’m guessing that the design work was the crib was done in America, not China. Why mention that the cribs were Chinese-made? It fits into the current hysteria around shoddily-manufactured Chinese goods.

That’s not reporting. That’s propaganda. American-Designed Cribs Recalled After Three Children Die should have been the headline.

Would you believe that you can find a place in Palo Alto for under $100,000? Yes, it’s true. Under the Below Market Rate Program, a buyer purchased a 2 bedroom 1-1/2 bath residence for $98,800 back in April 2007. However, to be a qualified buyer, you must meet the Palo Alto Housing Corporation’s income and asset limits. So, what’s the catch?

With a deal this good, you have to join a long waiting list. Palo Alto Housing Corporation estimates a wait of 5 to 10 years or more for people currently seeking to join the wait list. If you are fortunate to be given the opportunity to purchase a residence under this program, well, there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that if you finance with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, you can lock down your housing costs. You won’t be subject to changes in the general housing market, including interest rate fluctuations or annual increases in rent. The bad news is that unless you manage to dramatically improve your finances, you will not be moving out anytime soon. If you ever have to move, you do not benefit from the current market rate of housing in Palo Alto. Instead, you must sell to another Below Market Rate buyer at a price indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Buy low, sell low.

I tried another two recipes from Simple Chinese Cooking this past week. The Steamed Fish Cakes were exquisite. This dish features a marriage of fresh diced fish, spring onions, carrots, cilantro and shiitake mushrooms. I used fresh rock cod from the Farmer’s Market in my version. I loved the flavors and the fish cakes cooked extremely quickly. I loved the combination of all flavors. However, the prep work did take some time. Maybe I need a mandoline to quickly julienne my carrots.

The Stir-Fried Beef with Sichuan Pepper and Salt and Lemon wasn’t as big a hit. Not sure what happened here but the flavors were quite ordinary in comparison to the other dishes I have prepared from this same cookbook. Also, I like to pair meat with vegetables when I cook. Not a big fan of straight meat dishes.

San Francisco Chronicle: BofA squeezes another buck out of noncustomers. Bank of America is leading the way, pushing up its ATM charge for noncustomers to $3 from $2 at 10,700 of its cash machines across the country as of last July. Other big banks are expected to follow suit.

The “money” quote is that Bank of America “argued that higher fees benefit its customers by driving away noncustomers who might clog up its branches.” How much does Bank of America spend on advertising and marketing to lure new customers? And, the moment a prospect walks into a branch, the Bank turns around and tries to nickel-and-dime them to drive them away and prevent them from clogging up their branches? How about wowing them with excellent service? If I was running B of A, I would want all these people to walk away thinking “Damn, my bank doesn’t treat me this well. I really should move my account here.” If you don’t like customers, you shouldn’t be in the customer service business.

I stopped by the Palo Alto Airport Day festivities this afternoon. I saw quite a few small planes on display, as well as helicopters from the Santa Clara County sheriff, U.S. Coast Guard and Stanford Hospital. The San Francisco Bay Area offers many fun activities and events. Many charge admission, but some are free. I really enjoyed the visit to the Palo Alto Airport. Wish I had time to join the Palo Alto airport tower tour though.