Job Pitch

I'm going on the job market!

I wrote up a pitch about what I want to do.  I will probably want to keep editing it a bit.

Investors as well as environmental activists could be more effective if they better understood the pressures corporate boards face from the finance industry. For example, perverse incentives in the financial system may make long term planning difficult.
Corporations should sometimes be insulated from these pressures. I want to analyze how financial incentives influences corporate governance regarding climate change. Then I can help environmental organizations and long-term investors develop ways to respond.  Ways that corporations benefit from managing their emissions may also need to be identified and better publicized to the financial industry.
I'm also interested in improving corporate data management for GHG emissions. These software systems help corporations manage emissions reduction as well as report results to stakeholders such as investors or consumers. These systems always need to be customized for each organization because the operations of different organizations vary so much. As a result, experimentation and iteration is always needed. However, in order for the information to be useful for external stakeholders, these systems also need to be compatible with each other to some extent. For example, managing and reporting the emissions of a supply chain where suppliers have many other customers, can be challenging.

Jeff Goldblum and Conan

I've been watching a lot of videos while recovering and de-stressing from accident.  It's like procrastinating on steroids.  In addition to movies and Chinese TV shows, I've been watching many Conan interviews.  My favorite guest is Jeff Goldblum.

Over the years, Jeff Goldblum has kind of developed a character just for Conan's shows.  I really enjoy watching this character that always takes the show to strange places as it interacts with Conan.  This episode from May 2, 2006, is probably my favorite episode.  The Goldblum on Conan character emerges during the interview, or maybe it's really just Jeff Goldblum getting comfortable.

Robin Williams Was Depressed

Yesterday, I found out that Robin Williams committed suicide.

Since then I've been reading more about how many comedians are depressed.  It's especially sad to realize that Robin Williams was depressed, though, because so much of his work is about giving people hope, motivation, inspiration, and of course, comic relief.  He plays a mentor in many of his roles, like the Genie in Aladdin.  You can tell he really cared about other people.

Teeth

I was in a bicycle accident last month.  Of all things, my teeth sustained the most damage.  Everything else, lips, wrist, and leg, is healing fairly quickly, but teeth don't grow back.

after getting back

from the hospital

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

dental damage 

Anyway, I'm getting 2 implants and many crowns.  I already got 2 bone grafts to prepare for the implants.  I'm becoming quite the expert in dental work so one day, probably more like when you're 70 and need a dental implant, you can ask me for outdated information.

Also, drivers and cyclists beware of dooring!  Especially when parked or riding downhill because doors are more likely to swing out (because of gravity).  

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms probably wouldn't count as a pillar of Chinese culture, but it should be at least a gargoyle.  It's a novel from the 14th century attributed to Luo Guanzhong.  It is a dramatic retelling of the struggles between the three kingdoms in the 2nd and 3rd century in China.  There are many many Chinese movies and TV shows and other adaptations about this period of time based on this novel.  Sometimes they decide to be more accurate than the novel, sometimes less accurate.



I've heard the names of various characters for years but never really knew what they did or the whole story.  I've recently watched several movies based on this period of time, the most notable of which is Red Cliff, and read about the Three Kingdoms on Wikipedia.  I found that the prevalence of the story in Chinese culture is kind of like the Trojan Wars and the rise and fall of Julius Caesar.  Now I feel that learning about history and classic stories such as this is actually an essential part of learning the Chinese language if the primary goal is to communicate with Chinese people.  These stories illustrate the Chinese thought process as well as values, which in many ways is more important to communicating than words.  I wish this was a greater focus during Chinese school when I was growing up.