Author Archives: Tim

About Tim

I'm a Chinese/Taiwanese-American, born in Taiwan, raised on Long Island, went to college in Philadelphia, tried Wall Street and then moved to the California Bay Area to work in high tech in 1990. I'm a recent dad and husband. Other adjectives that describe me include: son, brother, geek, DIYer, manager, teacher, tinkerer, amateur horologist, gay, and occasional couch potato. I write for about 5 different blogs including 8Asians. When not doing anything else, I like to challenge people's preconceived notions of who I should be.

Chinese or Asian? Work for the CIA!

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Tim

Apparently the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) did some recruitment with advertisements placed in Southern California’s Chinese language newspapers during the recent Lunar New Year. According to World Journal, a full-page CIA advertisement with a majestic tiger figure and “Happy … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Southern California | Leave a comment

San Jose Gets A Vietnamese-American Deputy Chief Of Police

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Tim

If you’re familiar with San Jose local news, then you’re already aware that the city’s Police Department isn’t in the best standing with the local Vietnamese population. This following the police shooting of mentally-ill Daniel Pham in the backyard of … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Current Events, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Call for Artists: Asian Heritage Street Celebration

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Tim

There’s a Call for Artists for the Asian Heritage Street Celebration Poster Contest in San Francisco. The Asian Heritage Street Celebration, Kearny Street Workshop, and NEW PEOPLE are hosting the annual poster competition for the 6th Annual Asian Heritage Street … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Announcements, San Francisco Bay Area, The Arts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Chinese in America? Join the Wall

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Tim

The World Expo 2010 is scheduled to take place this year from May 1 to October 31 in Shanghai. The USA Pavilion, in partnership with the Committee of 100, will feature an exhibit on “The Chinese in America”. The objective … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Family, The Arts | Tagged , | 1 Comment

No Surprise: Asian-American Students Take Harder Classes

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Tim

The recent Freshman survey by the Higher Education Research Institute (Heri) has received a lot of press over its discovery that freshman have a hard time paying for college and are worried about their finances. Buried in that report is … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Lifestyles | 5 Comments

The Best Chinese Restaurants in the U.S.

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Tim

The awards for the best Chinese Restaurants in the U.S. were handed out earlier in January at the sixth annual awards ceremony in Las Vegas for the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants. I was surprised to hear about this, as I … Continue reading →

Posted in (featured), (simple), Food & Drink, Local, San Francisco Bay Area | 5 Comments

Asians More Likely to Use Online Banking

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Tim

Nielsen recently released a study showing that Asian Americans are much more likely to use online banking than other ethnic groups. 75.3% of Asians bank online versus 67.4% for everyone else. In addition, the younger and more affluent tend to … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Business, Technology | Leave a comment

Asian Web Domains Among Safest and Riskiest

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Tim

It’s no surprise to anyone familiar with web security that China’s domain, .cn would be near the top of the list of riskiest domains to surf when on the web. McAfee recently released their 2009 Mapping the Mal Web report, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Technology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

SoCal Asians Choose Rabbit Ear Antennas Over Cable TV

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Tim

Bucking the national trend of moving away from over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts, nearly 20,000 Asians in Southern California switched back to rabbit ears to get OTA signals for their televisions. The draw is better quality TV (HD quality) along with more … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Local, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, TV | Leave a comment

Does Santa Exist For Asian Americans?

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Tim

I came to the U.S. when I was only 2 years old. As an Asian American immigrant child in a family where money was stretched thin, there wasn’t even the hint that Santa could be real in our household. We … Continue reading →

Posted in (featured), Family, Observations | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

The Art of Gift Giving

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Tim

As we get fully entrenched in this holiday season, now best known for getting and giving gifts, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the cultures that have really perfected the art of giving gifts. Asian cultures specifically of … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Observations | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Taiwanese Farmer Potty Trains Pigs, Saving Water and the Environment

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Tim

Apparently, in Taiwan, there are 6.5 million pigs, which are a major source of river pollution. One Taiwanese farmer has potty trained his pigs to use a litter box, which apparently has conserved about 50% of the water used prior … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Current Events | Tagged , , | Leave a comment