News

Seoul ain’t so bad

I just read that Seattle, my hometown, is now enduring its 22nd consecutive day of measurable rain.  I can only speculate what "measurable rain" means on an average, daily basis, but I know it must be miserable for Seattleites.  I know, because I lived there for many years.  I’m sure that Vancouver and Portland residents are experiencing similar misery.  Cold, wet rain isn’t much fun, especially when the day is windy and blows it in your face.  Umbrellas are rendered useless, and rain ponchos are a last resort.  The weather in Seoul has been cold but mostly dry.  It snowed a couple of inches last night, and driving was a bit slick this morning.  It warmed up though and melted away by the evening.  Lately the temperatures here have varied from frigid to bearable when the sun shines.  I often tell people I miss the Seattle weather, a seemingly oxymoronic quip I must quickly clarify to mean that I miss Seattle summers.  I don’t really miss Seattle winters at all.  During the summer, there’s no place like Seattle.  The weather is balmy, and when the sun is out, it is an absolutely gorgeous place in which to live.  The quality of life can’t be beat if you’re a fan of nature.  Of course, you only have to bear nine months of moisture-laden Winter and Spring to enjoy it.  Fall weather is mixed.  I am still waiting for the worst days of winter in Seoul, when the temperatures here are absolutely frigid, making you thankful you’re not a soldier exposed to the elements.  So far though, this winter has been relatively mild.
 
Today our community association’s new business center opened.  Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the opening ceremony.  Our general manager was there representing the association.  The business center is the second of three openings this month.  The first was the cafeteria, which opened last week.  The second is the business center.  The third will be our coffee shop, which will open later this month (keeping fingers crossed).  It’s been a busy month for us, to say the least!  It will take the business center awhile to attract a strong customer base, but I think it will ultimately be successful.
 
Note to Skobb77:  Thanks for your comment and for reading World Adventurers.  I appreciate it.  It’s true I don’t write too much about what I do for a living.  I have to be careful what I post online, so I’ve steered clear of too many specifics and details about what I do.  The trade-off is that I can write about whatever crosses my mind on a given day.  I do try to avoid discussions about politics and religion because they tend to be very sensitive topics.  I also try not to be too critical of my host country (currently Korea).  
 
You asked whether Sun Microsystems is a good investment as a result of its alliance with Google.  No, I don’t think so, and here’s why.  As of yesterday’s close ($4.58 per share), Sun was close to its 52-week high of $4.85.  Its share price since mid-2002 has hovered between $3.00 and $6.00 per share.  The recent run-up in Sun is largely the result of a hot stock market.  The Google-Sun alliance announced late last year barely budged Sun’s share price, because the announcement did not offer any significant technology advances.  In my opinion, Sun must capitalize on a breakthrough innovation in order to reignite its business and boost its share price.  Apple did it, and Hewlett Packard is doing it now, so maybe Sun could too.  Unfortunately, Sun CEO Scott McNealy is no Steven Jobs or Mark Hurd.  He has too strong a grip on his company and is much too set in his ways to instantly become an innovator in the mold of Steven Jobs.  Sun’s share price could spike if Sun is acquired, although it is not often mentioned as takeover bait.  It frankly is not very attractive to many technology firms beyond some of its software patents, notably Java.  I expect Sun to continue floundering for a long time.  That said, you could make money by shorting Sun stock or wait until it drops below $4.00 and accumulate some shares.

A few victories for the community

Our community association scored a couple of major victories this week.  If you recall, I took over as head of our association in late September.  We faced a few setbacks.  We haven’t had a cafeteria since last March, one of our coffee vendors left us high and dry, we lost a few board members, and our roof has remained unrepaired since January.  Good weeks seem few and far between for the association.  This week, however, we brought on three new board members, sealed the deal with the new cafeteria vendor, and drew up the contract to sign with the new coffee shop vendor.  We will sign the contract next week.  While the roof is still in work, it’s a great feeling to have worked through these three major issues, not to mention completing the general manager’s new contract.  Work lately has been a struggle as I prepare to move on to yet another area, so it’s been nice to have these victories in hand.  I won’t be truly happy until both th cafeteria and coffee shop open next January and the roof is done.  It’s especially satisfying knowing that tasks that have taken months to complete are finally getting done, and the community at large will benefit once they open.
 
You probably have been in a similar situation at some time.  Perhaps you feel like nothing is going right in one area of your life; say, your at your workplace or in your home life.  However, in another aspect of your life, things are going well in an area that may have recently been problematic.  Although the aspect or aspects that trouble keep your focus, it’s nice to have something to fall back on and savor.  Do you agree?

Pearl Harbor on my mind

Today is Pearl Harbor Day.  On this day 64 years ago, the Japanese launched a military attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, sinking virtually the entire U.S. Pacific fleet.  2,390 people lost their lives in the attack, including 1,777 sailors who were aboard the U.S.S. Arizona.  The battleship, submerged in Pearl Harbor, now serves as a graveyard and a memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives.  Most Americans know the story of Pearl Harbor and the day that "will live in infamy," even those of us who were born long after the attack.  Although surpassed in magnitude by the events of 9/11/2001, the attack on Pearl Harbor still stands as one of the greatest tragedies in U.S. history and as the event that triggered U.S. involvement in World War II.  I still remember visiting Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in 1998.  I was surprised to see so many Japanese tourists visiting the site while I was there.  I believe it’s a testament to how relations have improved between the U.S. and Japan that so many Japanese visit Pearl Harbor on vacation, just as many Americans visit the A-Bomb Dome left standing in remembrance of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945.  Times have changed, thankfully.
 
I pondered the ramifications of Korea’s connection to Pearl Harbor as a former colony of Japan.  Many of the U.S. naval vessels used to liberate Korea from Japan and during the Korean War are or were based at Pearl Harbor Naval Base.  As a Japanese colony, Korea unwillingly supplied materials such as coal and steel to support the wartime Japanese military-industrial complex.  It’s unclear whether any Korean materials made their way into weapons or military vessels and aircraft used to attack Pearl Harbor.  However, a Korean man stationed in Hawai’i at that time could have changed the course of American history.  Haan Kil-soo, an intelligence officer for the Japanese consulate in Honolulu, reportedly warned several U.S. officials of the impending attack on Pearl Harbor shortly before it happened, including Iowa Senator Guy Gillette.  Mr. Haan purportedly mapped out areas of Hawai’i and gave these maps to Japanese officials to help them prepare for the attack.  One can only conjecture as to why Mr. Haan warned U.S. officials of the Japanese’ plans.  Perhaps Korean patriotism played a role, because in 1941 many Koreans living in Hawai’i were hopeful that the Allies would liberate Korea from Japanese rule.  Mr. Haan may have felt likewise.  Perhaps he felt sympathy towards the Americans he knew would be killed in the attack.  Whatever the reason, it seems clear that he did warn U.S. officials of the attack beforehand.  He also went on to live a long life as a Korean American, living in both Korea and in the United States.  One can only conjecture as to why U.S. officials did not heed his warnings.  I will let you, Dear Reader, ponder that.  Suffice it to say, the actions of one Korean man living near Pearl Harbor in 1941 might have dramatically altered U.S. history and perhaps even World War II.