Wing Tang Wong

Knowing What You've Got... And What You've Don't Got

If I were to ask just a random person on the street about Monster cable, they probably would have heard of them. They are a well marketed company that produces a lot of cables. They also produce various portable music player accessories, kits, and their price tag implies top quality stuff. Many people swear by them, others would rather just buy bulk and be done with it.

Now, if I were to ask those same random people on the street, whether they have heard of Blue Jeans Cable, they would probably not have. However, they are also a fine provider of quality cables, and are actually well covered in the audiophile world.

Both companies make cables for rather standard ports and connections. Sure, there are differences here and there, but for the most part, most of the proprietary stuff is specific to how the companies produce their cables, compositions, etc.

So, while it wasn't much news that Monster Cable issued a cease-and-desist letter to Blue Jeans Cable, it WAS news when it turns out that the president of Blue Jeans Cable, Kurt Denke, used to be a lawyer.

This is something that many other sites have reported on and is actually quite amusing to read, as it can serve as cheap education in how not to release the legal hounds... until you've done some digging.  read more »

• Gizmodo's Coverage
• Audioholics Coverage ( This is where I first read the article! )
• Engadget Coverage
• AudioJunkies Coverage

It Starts With Opening One's Mouth...

Let's face it. We're creatures of habit. No matter how well we think we are pro-active and establishing strong lines of communications... we can always do better. Usually, much better. Whether in the workplace, at home, or just when you're out and about, communicating is a key part of life. And it seems that the majority of people take a pretty laid back approach to it.

Learning to talk as a child is hard. But it was only one of a few things that truly occupied your attention. Learning to talk as a teen is hard. But that is because of the social and cultural pressures that are present. Learning to talk as an adult is hard. This is due to the fact that we are busy with so many other things.

So, when do we really learn to talk? To communicate?  read more »

Stuff I Think Is Great To Read

Hey, here's my read list. I've grouped them into various categories.

Programming, Coding, and Sysadmin

• C Programming Language (2nd Edition) (Prentice Hall Software)
• Introduction to Algorithms
• Introduction to the Theory of Computation, Second Edition
• Operating System Concepts (7th Edition)
• Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation (3rd Edition) (seriously, this book changed my life!)
• Advanced Programming in the UNIX(R) Environment (2nd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
• Learning MySQL (Learning)
• High Performance MySQL: Optimization, Backups, Replication, and More
• PHP and MySQL Web Development (3rd Edition) (Developer's Library)
• Beginning PHP and MySQL 5: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition
• Learning Perl, Fourth Edition
• Advanced Perl Programming
• UNIX System Administration Handbook (3rd Edition)
• Essential System Administration (Nutshell Handbooks)

Team and Project Management

• Time Management for System Administrators
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Lean Six Sigma (Complete Idiot's Guide to)
• Six Sigma for Dummies
• Agile and Iterative Development: A Manager's Guide (The Agile Software Development Series)
• Agile Estimating and Planning (Robert C. Martin Series)
• The Art of Agile Development
• The Art of Project Management (Theory in Practice (O'Reilly))

Legal & HR

• HR Handbook for California Employers
• Doing Business in California: An Employment Law Handbook
• Labor and Employment in California: A Guide to Employment Laws, Regulations, and Practices
• Equal Employment Opportunity: Labor Market Discrimination and Public Policy (Sociology and Economics)
• Discrimination, Jobs, and Politics: The Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity in the United States since the New Deal

Marketing/Advertising, Design, and User Interfaces

• Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
• Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Interactive Technologies) (Interactive Technologies)
• Web Analytics: An Hour a Day

Food, Cooking, Eating

• I'm Just Here for the Food: Version 2.0
• I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking
• Martin Yan's Feast: The Best of Yan Can Cook (Yan, Martin)
• Martin Yan Quick and Easy
• Martin Yan's Invitation to Chinese Cooking (Yan, Martin)
• Martin Yan's Asian Favorites: From Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand

Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, and Public Policy (CESifo Seminar Series) asin: 0262112876

The Book of Letters: How to Write a Letter for Every Occasion author: Peter Breen asin: 186508669X

Economic anthropologists carry out research in all parts of the globe, producing ethnographic studies, cross-cultural comparisons, and theoretical works. They explore how growing markets, new technologies, and expanding capital affect marginalized people or the control of wealth between genders. The empirical studies of economic anthropologists are based on participation and observation and provide an information bank for testing formal theories.  read more »

author: Ann Matsuhashi asin: 0893914177 binding: Paperback list price: $43.95 USD amazon price: $43.95 USD

This volume focuses on how writing is produced both during the moment-to-moment process of inscribing a text and during real time broadly conceived as the context for studying the writing process as writers plan, draft, revise, and confer with others. The chapters break open these generic categories by studying special populations of writers not studied before, by specifying the writing environment, by developing more detailed models of the writing process, and by offering critical analyses of current research methods and paradigms.  read more »

author: Stephen McGinty asin: 0897896645 binding: Hardcover list price: $110.95 USD amazon price: $110.95 USD

Publication is the coin of the realm in the academy. Careers depend upon a strong publication record, and journal editors occupy powerful positions in the publishing process. This study examines the careers of thirty-five scholarly journal editors through in-depth interviews that cover their rise to positions of influence, their views of the work of journal publishing, their assessment of the electronic revolution, and the role played by personal networks in the conduct of their duties.  read more »

asin: 0805833668 binding: Paperback list price: $49.95 USD amazon price: $44.80 USD

The ability to use language in more literate ways has always been a central outcome of education. Today, however, "being literate" requires more than functional literacy, the recognition of printed words as meaningful. It requires the knowledge of how to use language as a tool for analyzing, synthesizing, and integrating what is heard or read in order to arrive at new interpretations.  read more »

What Does Amazon's Current Initiative Mean To Independant POD Authors?

That is the question I've been asking myself.. and of Lulu.com's live chat support folks. When asked directly, whether Amazon/BookSurge will be printing my book, I received a very round about answer, essentially stating that books sold through Lulu.com will be printed by Lulu's printers, while books ordered through the distribution chain will be handled by the distribution chain printers, which Lulu has partnered with.

After some 15-20 minutes of chatting with a service rep, I could not get them to mention or answer anything directly, about Amazon. Which... is what one would expect, when you consider that it seems the contractual agreements between Amazon and any POD that has signed n with them states they are essentially prevented from talking about the relationship, either directly or indirectly.

Yes, as a customer and as a writer, I'm certainly feeling the warm fuzzies...  read more »