After making a wish, you can draw in the pupil for one eye. This alerts Daruma to your wish and motivates him to help you so that he can regain full sight, symbolically reaching enlightenment. You can draw in the second pupil only after you’ve achieved your goal or your wish has come true.

A couple weeks ago, 4th year medical students participated in Match Day. At 12 PM EST, all the students across the country opened envelopes that revealed where they would be going for residency. That moment is the culmination of years of school and a long application / interview season. I had applied to be an internal medicine resident and interviewed at 20 hospitals across the country, including an unbelievable stretch of 5 interviews in 5 straight days in 3 different states. I can guarantee nobody else did something like that because it was a combination of extremely lucky scheduling and pure desperation on my part to squeeze in as many interviews as possible.

Ultimately, I matched into my #2 choice out of 24 programs, and I am heading back to California!! I graduate from medical school in 2 months and will be taking a 3,000+ mile, 11 day roadtrip driving across the country back home to Los Angeles.

It was not easy and I am very lucky and grateful for the opportunity. If I had known how difficult it would be to return to CA either for medical school or residency, I very possibly would have went to either UC Berkeley or UCLA for college instead of fleeing the state. But the reason I left in the first place was for those supposed “life experiences” being in a different part of the USA. If I could re-live my life, it’s hard to say what I would choose to do…

But at last, my Daruma now has achieved enlightenment.

After nearly 20 years of not building Lego, I developed a sudden itch when I randomly came across Lego’s Ultimate Collector’s Series (UCS). These are large, elaborate Lego sets targeted towards young adults and resemble models more than toys. Unsurprisingly, they’re also expensive but are true collectibles. After selling a UCS set retail for a couple years, Lego retires it forever and the value skyrockets on the flourishing aftermarket. The most famous example is the UCS Star Wars Millennium Falcon, which was retired in 2009 and is now worth $2,000+ from a MSRP of $500.

I fell in love with the UCS Star Wars Imperial Shuttle, one of the iconic spacecraft from Star Wars. It retails for $260 and will likely be retired next year. Very expensive, but I justified it because of its strong value in the used market and appreciation in the future. So I can easily get my money back if I want to sell it, or even make money if I’m willing to wait a couple years.

Look how amazing it looks! And I finally have my very first Lego set, all these years later!

This is a monster of a set with 2,503 pieces and FOUR booklets with step by step instructions. Building Lego according to instructions is a very foreign concept to me, since as a kid, everything I made was free-form and only limited by my imagination.

First step was to sort all the big pieces for more efficient building, rather than having to hunt for specific pieces in a mountain of Lego. I kept small pieces in their plastic bags until I needed them so I wouldn’t lose any.

Creating a lumberyard of Lego. But that’s just a glamour shot for the camera because once I start building…

… it’s time to get dirty. I wanted to keep my instruction booklets in mint condition in case I sell the set later, so I downloaded the PDF instructions from Lego’s website. Watching Top Gear on my second monitor for double the entertainment.

12 hours of building later, I’m finally done! Construction was not that challenging, even for a Lego novice like myself, although there were a couple times when I realized I messed up and had to backtrack. The Imperial Shuttle is a magnificent model worthy of being a centerpiece for my entertainment center. This photo doesn’t convey how immense the Shuttle is, standing nearly 3 feet tall. The box is gigantic also.

The Shuttle incorporates some neat engineering with gears so that the wings can be folded up and down. This is the landing position with wings up. Doesn’t look as awesome as full deployed mode though!

Time for a photoshoot out in the Endor forest.

So much swagger.

I have been following Jeremy Lin since the record-breaking 2009-2010 Harvard season — my brother is a student at Harvard University and as a Taiwanese-American myself, I read many Taiwanese blogs that jumped on Jeremy early — but I in my wildest expectations did not see this level of a breakout performance coming.

Writers have been scrambling to discover new unique angles to cover Jeremy Lin, so by now he has been dissected fairly thoroughly and videos from his past are all over the place.

I recently came across a couple interesting videos that nobody in the Western media has seen yet. Even before the Jeremy craze, I regularly browse through Youtube Taiwan to stay on top of news and funny videos from Taiwan. A Taiwanese celebrity was visiting New York a few weeks ago for vacation and happened to sit courtside at Jeremy Lin’s very first game at Madison Square Garden on January 31st. In that game, he was still an unknown player and only played garbage time, the last few minutes when the score is so lopsided that the game is essentially over and all the star players have already sat down.

Jeremy Lin’s first game at Madison Square Garden, before the Linsanity
This first video shows courtside footage of Jeremy’s first game at MSG, filmed by the celebrity. In 5 minutes, he scores 4 points and has 4 assists. What’s also interesting is the celebrity’s discussion with his wife. Chen Chien-chou (陳建州) is a former professional basketball player in Taiwan and shows a lot of insight talking about Jeremy’s game, how he would fit in well with Coach D’Antoni’s system, and how he just needs one good chance to prove himself.

Talking to Jeremy Lin post-game in lounge
Second video shows the celebrity visiting Jeremy Lin after the game in the New York Knicks players’ family lounge. He also chats to Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony briefly to ask what they think about Jeremy. Jeremy’s parents are also here.

One last video for the road: a couple of Taiwan news reporters demonstrate the Jeremy Lin / Landry Fields handshake. I crack up every time I watch this.

Chinese New Year was still a few days away, but Vegas was already getting ready for the Year of the Dragon. CNY is one of the biggest money-making holidays for Vegas, thanks to Asian tourists flooding into the city. Not surprisingly, Vegas rolls out the welcome mat for them. It was cool seeing Chinese New Year decorations all over the high-end casinos and shopping malls. I spent most of my trip in the center of the Strip, so I only took photos of the CityCenter complex (Aria, Cosmopolitan, Crystals) and Bellagio.

Aria, the main casino of the CityCenter megacenter, went all-out with decorations. A giant banner that is impossible to miss was pasted over the main entrance to greet visitors. Two Chinese chimera statues stand guard outside the entrance.

Humongous paper dragon in the main lobby, flying under an army of lanterns.

Buddha statue surrounded by bamboo. His belly is gleaming gold after countless rubs for good luck.

Dragon structure outside a couple restaurants.

Delicious-looking chocolate dragon outside the Jean Philippe patisserie in Aria.

Banners everywhere.

Dragon in Crystals, the luxury shopping mall in CityCenter

Cosmopolitan is the newest property in Vegas, opening just over a year ago. It is the final piece to the $9 billion CityCenter megacomplex. No Chinese New Year decorations were found inside, but here are a few photos anyway since it was my first time visiting Cosmopolitan.

The centerpiece of Cosmopolitan is a three-story lounge / bar surrounded by a giant “chandelier”. Very impressive and pretty.

Cosmopolitan felt like a very girly boutique hotel to me. Doesn’t help that there’s high heel imagery all over the resort.

Bellagio’s main entrance with a couple lion statues on guard.

Front desk decked out with banners and lanterns.

The Bellagio conservatory is famous for its seasonal displays and holiday commemorations.

Performer playing drums and a Chinese lute.

I didn’t know people actually used iPads for taking photos and videos. The camera is terrible and on par with the one in iPod touch. But as they say, the best camera is the one you have with you…

Two dragons fighting for a mythical pearl.

Dragons, dragons, and more dragons!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Ultrabooks are ultrathin, light-weight laptops running mobile versions of the newest generation Intel CPUs with targeted prices of sub-$1000. Apple’s MacBook Air would technically fit into this product category, although it is not officially designated as an ultrabook. Acer and ASUS released their first ultrabooks just a couple weeks ago, and Lenovo and Toshiba are next in line. I have been admiring the ASUS Zenbook ever since its announcement, and now that I finally have it in my hands, I am delighted that it does not disappoint.

First, a run-down of its specs. The ASUS Zenbook comes in 11″ and 13″ flavors with a few options for storage capacity and CPU. I decided to go with the 13″ base model as I have played with the 11″ MacBook Air before and felt more comfortable with a larger screen.

– Intel Core i5 2557-M “Sandy Bridge” CPU
– 1600 x 900 resolution 13.3″ screen (very unique to have such a high resolution on a 13″)
– 4 GB RAM
– 128 GB SATA III solid state drive
– USB 3.0
– 0.71″ (1.8 cm) at thickest point
– 2.86 pounds
– Up to 7 hours battery life with 2 second instant-on resume
– $1,099

You can probably guess that this laptop is a direct competitor to the MacBook Air (some might call it a copy). Not only is it $200 cheaper compared to the equivalent MBA, this Zenbook also has a higher resolution screen and USB 3.0. The Macbook Air is a well-engineered product and clearly influential on the Zenbook’s design. In a classy gesture, ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih fittingly gave Steve Jobs a moment of silence during his recent Zenbook press event.

Photos don’t do the Zenbook justice. It is a marvelous product to gawk at and hold in person. Constructed with an aluminum unibody frame with aluminum keyboard and an ultrathin profile, the Zenbook makes a striking first impression. The brushed metal texture is not as gaudy as may appear in photos and feels more elegant than ostentatious.

The performance matches up to the gorgeous looks. This is a fast machine. I recently upgraded to a new desktop computer, which the Zenbook is not quite as powerful as, but this laptop definitely smokes my old desktop and likely would impress you if you have not bought a new computer in the past year. For benchmarks and lots of graphs, head over to AnAndTech.

I cannot underestimate how impressive the 2 second instant-on feature is and how it changes the way I use a laptop. Thanks to its speedy solid state drive, I do not hesitate to put the laptop to sleep whenever I have to step away, even for a minute. Then when I need to use it again, I just flip open the lid and I’m back in business, nearly instantaneously. This can stretch out the 7 hour battery life quite a while and make the battery last at least a full work-day without charging. Obviously you can put any laptop to sleep, but I frequently loathe to do so when I have to wait for the laptop to wake up. With instant-on and no moving parts thanks to the SSD, I treat the Zenbook almost like it’s a tablet.

In fact, it practically is as thin as a tablet. Here is the Zenbook compared to the iPad 1.

Compared to my Lenovo Thinkpad T60

Compared to my ASUS EEE PC Netbook. I still remember the days when I was so impressed by how light and portable the EEE netbooks were. The 13″ Zenbook is not in the same class thanks to its 3″ larger screen, but boy the 11″ Zenbook would humiliate the netbook.

The package comes with a surprisingly nice case made out of ballistic nylon with a leather flap and soft interior. It is sufficiently professional looking that I will proudly be using it on a series of business trips over the next few months.

I am supremely happy with the Zenbook and can’t recommend it highly enough. Gamers looking for a gaming laptop should look elsewhere, but for general users who want a powerful, speedy, ultraportable laptop with beautiful design at a reasonable price, the Zenbook is a magnificent machine.

Of note, there have been some well-publicized glitches with erratic trackpads and wireless strength (which tech blogs have slammed the Zenbook for in reviews), but ASUS has quickly addressed those issues with updates to download from their website. The biggest problem now for interested customers is getting their hands on one. As is the case with many ASUS product launches, supply streams out in a trickle and nobody can buy one anywhere. Head to the ASUS website to find stores that carry it and to find more information about the Zenbook.

In-car camera recorders are very popular in Taiwan to have video evidence of violations and to protect drivers against liability in case of collisions. With the advent of Youtube and these recorders, Taiwan has developed an interesting subculture of citizen traffic cops. Randomly browse through Youtube Taiwan’s most viewed videos in the Auto category and you’ll discover an abundance of videos uploaded by drivers with in-car cameras. Frequently, they’re just sharing their latest recordings of crazy events on the road (this one is a must watch!), but users will help identify license plates of hit-and-runs and submit videos to the police. Particularly popular videos can force the police to take action and make it onto TV news broadcasts. For example, this video was broadcasted a couple days later on national TV.

For my birthday a few months back, my parents bought me this fancy video recorder system by one of the leading Taiwan developers of this tech. It’s called the Hermes MVR 102 by Witness Technology (English site). Some people use their iPhones/Android phones as makeshift dashboard cameras, but this is more sophisticated and can record 4 video inputs simultaneously. The product is a custom rearview mirror (with 2 built-in cameras) that clips onto your pre-existing rearview mirror, with support for 2 additional cameras that can be installed wherever you wish. While an in-car video recorder isn’t as vital for protection in the USA compared to Taiwan, I have been using this device for months and love it.

The best thing about this video system is the convenience. It starts recording automatically whenever I turn on the ignition and never stops recording. Even when the SD card is full, it will instantly overwrite the oldest file so that there’s no interruption in the recording. This means I never have to fiddle with the recorder and most of the time, I even forget it’s there.

Installation was easy too. The system is powered by the cigarette lighter power outlet in the car and clips onto the pre-existing rearview mirror. There’s no awkward attachments hanging from the windshield glass or sitting on the dashboard, which seems to be the standard for similar video recorders. The 2 forward-facing cameras that come mounted onto the device can be adjusted to any direction. Those cameras only account for 2 of the 4 maximum video inputs. If you wish, you can plug in 2 more cameras and set them up wherever you want.

I only have 3 cameras total, one of them facing the rear. Installing this rear camera was a little more tricky. The ideal location is in the trunk above the license plate so the video is clearer and not distorted by glass, but I already have a back-up camera there. So I had to stick the 3rd camera inside the car, mounted to the ceiling with push pins, and hide all the wiring under the car interior panels. Not the best solution but it works. Some people use the 4th camera to film the interior while others install it in the side mirror to film the side of the car (which would probably require professional installation).

An example of someone’s set-up. Here’s also a sample video. There’s a ton of these videos on Youtube Taiwan by people using the Hermes MVR 102, and it’s interesting to see how different people install their cameras.

Once everything was in place, I didn’t need to worry about it and just let it record automatically. Videos are in mpeg-4 format and can be transferred to a computer for archiving. The downside is that the video resolution is only 640 x 480. The Hermes MVR 102 is the 2nd generation of this device and was just released in the past year, so the next model may be a couple years away. I would love to have a HD version of this product, but considering that the current model already costs several hundred dollars, a version with multiple HD cameras is likely currently too expensive for them to produce.

Because of the SD video resolution, I’m somewhat hesitant to recommend this product wholeheartedly. I am not too familiar with competing products, but from what I’ve seen, the ones with a HD camera only support one video input, so it’s not possible to record front, rear, and interior views simultaneously with the same system. Also, they all seem to involve awkward attachments to the windshield or dashboard. So this product is quite unique on the market. I definitely love it and feel extra peace of mind while driving. In fact, whenever I ride in a “normal” car now, it feels strangely naked, like there’s no watchful bubble surrounding the car. This model will do for now, but I can’t wait for a HD version and will upgrade when available.

UPDATE: I found this great post by a Mazda driver in Hong Kong who had his system professionally installed. Lots of nice photos to get a more in-depth look at the cameras and how he had it installed.

Sonic Generations will be out late 2011, unfortunately missing the June month of the anniversary. But to commemorate the occasion, I decided to finally open a Sonic statue I had purchased a couple years ago. Built by First 4 Figures, this is a hand-painted 12″ statue limited to 1,500 pieces. It cost over $100, but is well constructed with a reassuring heft and makes quite a nice collectible.

I remember these statues selling out rather quickly, which is surprising considering the cost. I was sent number 810 out of 1500.

Sonic’s skinny arms would be the first to break in a shipping accident, but luckily he arrived undamaged. It is cruel to tie down a speed demon who yearns to run, so let’s set him free!

Very beautiful model that will be showcased in my entertainment center. Happy 20th birthday, Sonic!

While I consider myself a technology enthusiast, I don’t follow the PC hardware world much until the time approaches for an upcoming upgrade. Luckily, PC builders are passionate and extremely helpful so it’s very easy to get caught up with the latest developments and make an informed purchase decision. Building a PC is a three step process: 1) picking out and buying components, 2) assembling the PC, and 3) software installation. It’s a lot of fun and easy as well, even if you’ve never built your own PC before. If you can put together Ikea furniture, you can build a PC. It’s like Lego for adults.

The benefits of PC building over buying complete PCs from a retail store? Cheaper computers and learning about your PC components come to mind (even superficial knowledge can be helpful if your computer breaks down in the future and you need to troubleshoot). But most of all, you get a sense of ownership and pride with your shiny new PC that you built with your own hands!

First I have a few photos of my new PC, then at the end of this post, I will provide some handy resources that were very helpful after a 4 year absence from PC building.

All prices include tax, shipping, and/or rebates

Here’s all the new parts that I purchased. My system configuration hits the “sweet spot” for price vs. performance and is a speed demon perfect for PC gaming and everything else I need a PC for. I replaced almost everything from my old PC, including the case, so this was a near total upgrade. I only kept a 60 GB SSD (solid state drive) and a Windows 7 Professional disc that I bought a couple years ago and haven’t used yet. More information on Windows 7 upgrade discs at the end of this post.

I purchased these components at excellent prices, almost everything from sales on Newegg.com. They have deals on computer parts so often that I would recommend picking out all the components a month or two in advance of your planned build, then following the SlickDeals front page or Twitter feed on a regular basis. You’ll likely find discounts for nearly every component you’re looking for or at least a similar model. I even could have saved an additional $40, but I had some free time this weekend and was in a hurry to build my PC, so I bought my motherboard and DVD drive at a Microcenter retail store instead of through Newegg.

I spent a little more money than necessary on a nice case because a good one can last you for multiple builds. My old one was decent but quite noisy and lacked the nice features of modern cases like cable management and tool-less hard drive trays. The sleek, minimalist design of this case is really appealing to me, plus the case is padded with sound dampening material for whisper quiet operation. The empty case is beckoning — let’s start building!

Isn’t this motherboard gorgeous? I love the black circuit board with all those blue accents. The wavy blue heatsinks are especially awesome. Spectacular job by ASUS.

The finished PC! I did my best to hide / organize the wires for a clean appearance. This involves snaking wires through portals built into the computer case and hiding the bulk of the wires behind the motherboard panel. I didn’t do a perfect job, but I am very pleased with how everything turned out.

My happy place. I am so glad I finally upgraded my computer from my old Intel E6750 PC. Everything is working great, and I can not believe how fast this machine is. Blistering speed!

Step 1: Selecting PC parts

This step may take the most time, depending on how picky you are and how much research you want to do.

• Great buyer’s guide that provides recommended system configurations broken down by budgets. Within each component category, it also discusses features you should be looking for.
• All-purpose guide from Reddit’s Build-A-PC forum that leads to many useful links and covers everything from picking parts to putting it all together
• Popular NeoGAF forum thread where users can get advice. Unfortunately, you need to be a registered member in order to post, but the first page is regularly updated with helpful information and you can browse through the latest pages and likely see people asking about a computer build similar to your future one.

Step 2: Building the PC

Getting your hands dirty and assembling everything may be especially daunting to someone who has never done this before. I find that watching how-to videos is more helpful than reading a tutorial. Here’s a few good ones:

• Detailed 1.5 hour video by Tested.com. They discuss the components they picked and then build the PC in real-time
• NCIX video that’s a little shorter (half an hour)
• Great video if you’re interested in getting tips about cable management to make your case interior clean and tidy

Step 3: Software

Installing Windows and all the applications you need is the final step. This part is mostly up to you. I do want to discuss an issue that came up for me though. Years ago, I had purchased a 32-bit Windows 7 Professional upgrade disc through my school. For my new PC, I wanted a 64-bit version so I can use more than 4 GB RAM. Also, Windows 7 upgrade discs technically can’t be used for “clean installs”, meaning that you need either Windows XP or Windows Vista installed before you can upgrade to Windows 7. I didn’t want to install Windows XP first but here’s a solution for both problems.

• When you buy a copy of Windows 7, you’re really paying for the license key. That means that you can legally download a sanctioned copy of Windows 7 and use that license key to register the downloaded Windows, although you’re only supposed to use the key on one computer. Here’s a Windows 7 ISO download link for all versions of Windows 7.
• Your license key is valid for both the 32-bit and 64-bit of the Windows 7 version you bought. So although I only have the disc for Win 7 Professional 32-bit, I can download Win 7 Pro 64-bit through the above link and use the same key.
• When you download the ISO, you have to either burn it onto a DVD, or you can make a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows. I did the USB method and it worked great.
• To clean install Windows 7 using an upgrade version, here are several methods to try that worked for me.
• One final tip: here’s some solid state drive articles about how to set-up your SSD and how to save drive space. At current market value, SSDs are kind of a luxury item, but they are tremendously faster than a standard hard drive and can dramatically improve your PC experience. The 60 GB SSD I have was gifted to me by my brother, but I didn’t get a chance to install Windows on it until now. It makes a HUGE difference in how fast your computer boots up into Windows as well as your day-to-day computing use.

That’s all I have! Happy PC building!

Unfortunately, the trip was not for pleasure so I did not have much opportunity to explore. I did manage to take a few photos and paid a special visit to the striking Boston Public Library.

This is the view of the HMS quad from the street entrance. The dreary gloom of winter continues and makes for some bleak and desaturated photos.

In this climate, some of the buildings look a little spooky, almost like haunted houses.

A spring photo for comparison. Hmm… still looking a bit formidable.

The medical library. Notice the mini reading rooms hanging over the central atrium — scary! I think of them as the library version of a Japanese capsule hotel.

A common hang-out area for medical students inside one of their main educational buildings.

Found this place while wandering around, probably just an administrative office. Minimally invasive surgeries are awesome, and if you remember my surgery rotation post, I call them the world’s most sophisticated and expensive video game.

Big, glassy research center that opened in 2003.

The medical student dorm located conveniently right across the street from the school.

Central area surrounded by dorm buildings. The rooms are nothing special and look like your average college dorm rooms. After living in a cushy apartment for a few years, I would find it difficult to go back to a dorm environment with shared bathrooms and kitchens. But Boston apartments are ridiculously expensive, and obviously you can’t beat the location of this housing.

One afternoon, I hopped on the subway and checked out the Boston Public Library. It consists of two main buildings, one being a more modern wing that isn’t particularly out of the ordinary.

Now this is what I came here to see!

Can you believe this is a library?

Awesome reading room where I stayed for a couple hours. I normally can’t study in libraries because I get easily annoyed when people murmur and ruffle pages. There’s a lot of people here, but surprisingly despite the massively high ceiling, sound seems to be dampened somehow. Very quiet in here and a fantastic place to study and get some work done!

This new focus has coincided with a new interest in photography over the past year. My first camera was a Powershot S400 in 2005 that I used virtually only on vacations. In fact, to this day, travel is still my major motivation for photo shooting. My daily life doesn’t present many opportunities for photography, but I am training myself to become more observant and to mentally frame and compose so that I can improve without actually holding a camera in my hands.

I was organizing my hard drive and decided to go through my photos from the past 5 years and pick out some highlights so I can have a mini portfolio to track my development. I call myself a “postcard photographer” because rather than producing artsy, creative photos, my practical goal in photography is to make appealing wallpaper for my computer desktop. Seriously.

Artistic creativity has never been my strength — however, I feel that as I improve my skill in exposure, composition, focus and other technical aspects, I can better capture the exact photo visualized in my head and the creativity will develop organically.

A selection of favorite photos from 2005-2010 is posted below. Photos are arranged roughly in chronological order. Hopefully you will think I have improved over the years as you scroll down the page!

Taiwan vacation in 2005.

Las Vegas trips in 2006 and 2007

Trip to Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong in 2007 and 2008

Harvard Medical School classroom

Trip to London and Paris in 2009

Homemade soba noodles

Custom arcade stick

Bape tie collection

iPod Touch 2nd, 4th gen comparison

Las Vegas trip in 2010 featuring the newly opened CityCenter

Season’s Beatings, a major fighting game tournament