Wallace S.T. Chan, my economist co-host, and I talked about Bitcoin and the two Federal Reserve Chairs Bernanke & Yellen in our first 2014 show. The video discussions in Cantonese and English contain similar but not identical information. We were able to sneak in a little bit more (and slightly different) content in our English chat.
Discussions re cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is very brief, early and preliminary and we didn’t preclude more extensive discussion about cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin or other much improved versions) may happen in the months/years to come. And given we only had 10 minutes or so for our Bitcoin chat, much more technical (crypto) and economics stuff could NOT be discussed. Here is a brief New York Times post by Nobel Prize winning economist Mr. Paul K. bashing Bitcoin to a pulp!
P.S. Sorry to my tech friends (sorry Austin Hill) who love Bitcoins. Well, I am a technologist/geek at heart but I also try to ground myself in solid Economics and real world insights. Yes, I allow myself to be interested by Bitcoin because it is cute and cutting-edge, whether it is useful or something I trust, that is a different matter. Have a read of what Paul wrote.
P.P.S. Paul is NOT always right but I happen to agree with him here in his way of bashing Bitcoin.
Have you done this week’s prep step: creating a communication plan? In this brief follow-up segment, Kempton Lam and Stormy Henderson show how they did it, so you’ll see how easy it is.
Here is an example communication plan, where you decide who will do what, and how. Keep keep written copies in your wallet, purse, and emergency kit.
CONTACTS
John Doe: (123) 555-1212 (neighborhood contact)
Louise Doe: (456) 555-1212 (out-of-state contact)
WHO DOES WHAT
If travel seems safe, Lisa comes home
Otherwise, Stormy goes to her
WHERE DO WE GO?
If she can’t drive, Lisa will be at her office, the campus shelter, or a designated friend’s house
If she can drive, she’ll go home, to her dad’s house, or to her sister’s house.
HOW DO WE GET THERE?
Leave a note with destination and route, call contacts if possible and tell them
Primary route between work and home: Old West Point Road, HWY 45-A, Churchhill Road
Alternate route between work and home: HWY 82, HWY 45-A, Churchhill Road
In Episode 1 we learn how to think about emergency preparedness in a new way, what disasters you should prepare for, and how to create a family communication plan.
Dr. Sarbjit Sarkaria (Sarb) is my long time super smart friend and former colleague at MDA where we both worked on the Transport Canada large scale software project CAATS (Canadian Automated Air Traffic System). Here is a long ago tidbit of information that even Sarb may have forgotten but not me. You see, Sarb was also the super forward-looking smart person who introduced me to the then little known research search engine Google years before it becomes popular. I remember at the time DEC’s AltaVista was the popular search engine that I used frequently.
So why are we guilty as charged?! What roles did we play in coaxing Howie? Well, you are in for a special treat! “Crimes/pranks” have never quite been captured like this, from the inception, to the coaxing, to the actual execution, and then the final we laughing our heads off all over a few short minutes! Have a watch of how we created this magical #videobomb moment right in our Fox LA Google+ Hangout!
“Everything I’ve ever been punished for, expelled for, hit for, is what I seem to get paid for and now I’m being distinguished for it, but the thing is the people who supported me are the people who love like, and those were few and far between, my family and my friends, but when I got into this business, what’s amazing is it’s such a group effort so any cameraman that I’ve ever worked with, any script writer that I’ve ever worked with, any producer, network executive or anything, they’ve all supported me and made this possible.
All I do really, and this is what Woody Allen says, is “I just show up.” 90% of success is just showing up and I’ve always done that from day one, from when my career started. I didn’t even have a career, I wasn’t pursuing a careers. I’m still not really pursuing a career. I’m not, I showed up at Yuk Yuks in April 1977 I showed up at Yuk Yuks because I don’t dance, and didn’t like going to discos and they’d opened a comedy club in Toronto and I showed up to see a show and I was fascinated […]“
I can’t speak more highly of Howie as great comedian and as a frank, blunt and honest person willing to talk about his own life challenges. And if you have time, also watch this insightful interview of Howie by Howard Stern which I watched to prepare my Google+ Hangout questions for Howie.
Concluding Thoughts about our Google+ magic
I’m a Google+ Hangout News Consultant and I’ve been using using Google+ Hangout since the beginning in July 2011 and Google+ Hangout On Air (G+ HOA) since its launch in September 2011. To me, G+ HOA is one of the most powerful new broadcasting tools available. But like in the world of cooking, even if you have a great knife, an awesome mixer, etc you still have to have great chefs and first rate ingredients to createmagic!
Nov 7th, 2012 Update: After the announced election result from last night, I got my swing state Nevada (Reno) friend DeAno Jackson to talk election result with me.
Last time Wallace and I talked about the Facebook “investment” before the super hyped IPO. Unfortunately, we were 100% right. What we discussed (the nature of Facebook, what is “investing”, etc) were backed by what we now have seen. And many many people actually lost billions on paper! You can watch our pilot episode here: “林錦堂與陳心田講一講 Facebook “投資”“.)
This time, Wallace and I talked about union’s right to strike/bargaining rights (Air Canada, CP rail). You can watch it here: 陳心田 與 林錦堂 講一講 “工會罷工”. We hope you enjoy our show!
We (Kempton + Anthony) tried to launch a LIVE Cantonese show today (人鬼講東講西 Upside Down East meets West) but ran into some technical difficulties (#fail). We ended up recording a test episode about the famous and long running BBC Sci-Fi show Doctor Who (50th anniversary). Here is the cross-posted Chinese text and Cantonese video. Enjoy.
A traditional TV news show is one that talks to you. You learn about the news form the show. A One-Way Street.
An interactive TV news show is one that talks to you AND lets you talk back to it! A Two-Way Street!
Ground Breaking U_News@4
In the ground-breaking KOMU U_News@4 premiering today (Sept 12th) 4pm CST, Sarah Hill, an eight time Emmy award winning reporter, will use Google+ Hangout to co-host the show with people from around the world. Sarah‘s co-hosts will appear via G+ Hangout video in the studio on her 52 inch monitor!
Love Is In The Air, Everywhere I Look Around
For days before U_News@4 launches . Sarah‘s co-hosts from around the world have been spreading the word about the show. And showing their love and passion about U_News@4. Here are some sample video clips, articles and interview, and many many photos! Enjoy.
User-generated promotional videos from UK and Canada
My parents actually named me “Kempton” after their American boss (his last name) because, according to them, they liked how the name sounded. And my Chinese name “錦堂” is actually a phonetic translation of “Kempton” which sounded nice. You see, “錦堂” turns out to be a very traditional name in its Chinese thinking. (see next section)
One way to “literally translate” the two words “錦堂” is “glory to the family”. Yes, a friend with much cooler sounding abstract Chinese name once noticed this literal translation and explained to me and reminded me how “traditional” (implying “not as cool”) sounding my Chinese name is. (big smile)
Well, how traditional is 林錦堂 as a name? You see, a famed Chinese opera singer’s name is also 林錦堂! (no relation) How cool is this?!! Being a 林錦堂, I am happy to receive the undeserved deep admiration for skills in operatic singing, teachings, plus many adoring fans (see video as proof)! Very cool.
P.S. If my memory serves me, my “operatic twin-brother in name” originally used a different name “林錦棠” in the industry. I remember having to explain to people & friends the slight difference in the last word of our “phonetically identical but different in writing” names. His name being “棠” vs me being “堂” (I like to say “上堂 嘅 堂” meaning “going to school”).
P.P.S. Speaking about names, I also like to mention the famed Chinese/Taiwanese writer Mr. Lin Yutang. His name 林語堂 and my name differs also by one word. In Yutang‘s case, I have been interested in Lin Yutang‘s humourous and deeply insightful writings all my life since I was young in my secondary school days.
How insightful and “cool” is Lin Yutang/林語堂 ? Well, as I quoted extensively here in Chinese “再遇幽默大師林語堂”, Yutangburned his marriage certificate on his wedding day! What?! Yes, he burned his marriage certificate on his wedding day because he said the certificate is only useful in a divorce and he would never divorce his wife so the certificate is useless to him! And yes, he and his wife stay married their whole long life.
Here are some very insightful Chinese quotes by 語堂 (unfortunately unverifiable),
I had a great time chatting with Eric Howell, writer-director of the wonderfully made and heart-gripping short film Ana’s Playground: “an allegory about the moment when a child is forced to choose between ideology and humanity while living and playing in a dangerous war environment.”
When one receive a sweet message from Esquire.com saying,
“In addition to credit and a link, you’ll get our undying devotion and respect, plus the ability to brag that you’ve got a photo up on Esquire.com and all the attention that comes with it.“
It is definitely an offer one can’t refuse! :)
P.S. Special thanks to Ms. E. from Esquire.com for loving my photo and calling it an “incredible image”.
Feel free to watch “Long Hair Revolution” on YouTube to see an atypical Long Hair in 2004 that is calm and reflective during one of the most eventful months in Hong Kong financial and political history.
Library and Archives Canadacollects and preserves Canada’s documentary heritage, and makes it accessible to all Canadians. This heritage includes publications, archival records, sound and audio-visual materials, photographs, artworks, and electronic documents such as websites.
Acknowledgment: Special thanks for all the help from Nicolas and Steve at Library and Archives Canada and Michele for discovering my film in 2008.
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