If everybody owns it...

2 years ago, I watched the Michael Moore documentary, 'SICKO' - A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and shared some HMO horror stories [read the synopsys at imdb]. The film pushed the praises of Universal Healthcare systems in Canada, France, and Cuba.

After watching the film twice, My wife and I were sold on the virtues of Universal Healthcare. That is until I took my economics class as part of my MBA program taught by Dr. Bill Boyes who figuratively slapped some economic sense back into me. The key takeaway was this:

If nobody owns it. Nobody takes care if it.

If somebody owns it. somebody takes care of it.

If everybody owns it. Nobody takes care of it.

In case you're wondering who everybody is - everybody is the Government.

So think about... Why is the global environment is in shambles, but your neighborhood's yards are beautifully landscaped? And have you seen the yard of the house in foreclosure down the street?

So back to healthcare. Lets keep it out of everybody's hands. Let the healthcare practitioners run their practices and give them the freedom to give you the care that you're willing to pay for. Let the drug companies invest in R&D and sell their drugs, so that you can feel better, or at least not get worse. Let the medical device companies innovate and sell to the hospitals so that they can save your life. Take your personal health into your own hands, not everybody's hands.

Socialism For Dummies

I received this email the other day, puts the whole socialsim thing in a very simple concept.

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class.

--------------------------------------------

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said, "Okay, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade, so no one would fail, and no one would receive an A.”

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the third test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them, “Socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.”

It cannot be any simpler than that.

(Please pass this on.)

Changing Views III - Socialists vs. Capitalists

I've always believed in the free market - even before I knew what it meant. It just makes sense though. I didn't grow up receiving an allowance, but as the son of two business owners, I quickly learned the value of a dollar and how incentives worked. My dad paid me to wash the car, and rewarded me for doing chores or helping out during the week by taking me out on Saturday mornings for hot chocolate and donuts.

College was paid for by student loans mostly. My parents did help out a bit my freshman year with dorm expenses. In fact, I just paid my undergrad loans off 2 years ago, just in time to take out more loans on my MBA. I recall a conversation I had with my friend Bryan towards the end of my undergrad years when he asked me why I wanted to get into real estate sales. I told him something along the lines of, "First, because I genuinely like helping people, especially on potentially their biggest purchase to date. Second, because real estate is a nearly perfect market of buyers and sellers. Supply and Demand. It just makes sense. Third, I get paid on a commission - I sell a bunch of houses, I make a bunch of money. What a great incentive to excel."

Changing Views II - On Friends

In the last few years, I've found that my tastes and my views have been changing radically. Perhaps a part of my growing life experiences, my education, and my maturity. I find myself stepping back to take a look at the world around me, and wondering where do I see myself fitting in that world. This is part of a series of blogs about CHANGE.

When I first moved from the Bay Area to Phoenix, Tracy and I sat down and talked about what we would do after we both graduated from our respective Grad Schools. I asked her, "If you could clean the slate, and live anywhere in the United States, without respect to where we've lived before, family ties, friends, or history ... where would that be?" Well we both answered that San Diego would be the ideal place. Gorgeous weather, beautiful beaches, just urban enough. So we agreed, we'd move to San Diego.

Well as the months and years dragged on in the sweltering 107 degree heat of Arizona, I started to realize the importance of the friends and network that I had developed over the last decade. Truly good friends are not easy to come by. So I started spending my few weeks off back in the Bay Area to hang out with old friends, and it made me realize what I had left behind. I can't quit you.

Tracy and I have since reevaluated our plans, and are looking to move back to the Bay Area - provided we are able to find suitable new careers there.

Here is a little tribute to my core circle of friends. We call them the Casa View friends, because that's the street of the house that most of the guys were roommates at. And of course the honorary roomates and significant others that could be found there at anytime of day. Here's to you Casa View.

How I Met Casa View from Ray Huang on Vimeo.

A video slide show for my Casa View friends.

Changing Views I - On Marriage

In the last few years, I've found that my tastes and my views have been changing radically. Perhaps a part of my growing life experiences, my education, and my maturity. I find myself stepping back to take a look at the world around me, and wondering where do I see myself fitting in that world. This is a jumping off point to a series of blogs about CHANGE. Yes We Can.

I recall being 25, stopped at a red light on my motorcycle waiting to turn left from Saratoga Avenue to the 280 on-ramp. I was in deep thought as I often was when riding (I recommend driving with the radio off for a few days to really get in touch with your thoughts), thinking how there is absolutely no reason for any sane person to get married... aside from perhaps religious reasons. No financial upside; Doesn't make a relationship stronger; Wedding costs are ridiculous; Diamonds are even more ridiculous and a total racket by DeBeers; Sure its nice if you had kids to be married, but being not-married doesn't make raising a child any different, except maybe on who gets the tax write-off (not sure how that works). Strip away all the emotion and tradition out of marriage, and all you have is a loosely legally binding contract to validate a relationship.

So here I was, at the peak of my bachelorhood, swearing off marriage. Fast forward two years, and you'll have found me head over heels in love, engaged (under no coercion), helping my fiance plan a marriage. Ready and willing to move to a land far away (Arizona) from everything I've known.

I can't tell you exactly what it was that changed my view on marriage. But now, 5 years removed from that painfully long red light, i get excited that several of my friends are getting married.

Want more on marriage, check out my cousin Bonnie's blog on The Dichotomy of Marriage.

Sleep-Tweeting

For those of you not on the Twitter bandwagon... (I just started in the last couple months)... Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Essentially, you let people know what's going on around you or in your head, in 160 characters or less.

So last night, I was having a bad case of Insomnia, as I frequently do. But last night was a night when I really needed the sleep... it was the night before a long Vegas weekend for a friend's bachelor party. It was a combination of the excitement/anxiety of going to Vegas, the fact that I tried to go to bed 2 hours earlier than usual, and my allergies acting up. I had hundreds of random and not-so-random thoughts that fluttered in and out of my head over the next 6 hours. And at about 6:00 this morning, I decided to stop trying to sleep because I found myself thinking about all the random thoughts that kept me up, and how interesting it would be if I had been a Sleep-Tweeter.

RayHuang Going to bed now. Good night!
about 6 hours ago from web

RayHuang Did I set my alarm? yea. I set my alarm. ok. night.
about 6 hours ago from bed

RayHuang Nose is stuffy. Must resist blowing or agitating for fear of causing yet another bloody nose.
about 6 hours ago from bed

RayHuang Trying to play out the origins of my characters (from the screenplay / story that plays in my head every night)
about 5 hours ago from dream

RayHuang Did I pack everything??? shirts? check; pants? check; swim trunks? check; underwear? hmmm... check;
about 5 hours ago from sleep

RayHuang I should get Phil to buy some booze and supplies since he's local.
about 5 hours ago from sleep

RayHuang So they were recruited ... like in The Recruit.
about 5 hours ago from dream

RayHuang I wonder if the Palms would hook us up with a Limo to get to dinner.
about 4 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang Ugh. Nose is all stuffed up. Can't breath
about 4 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang Limo? or a Shuttle. Whatever, We're not picky... if its comped.
about 4 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang Disruptive technology... Twitter is a disruptive technology right?
about 4 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang Thirsty. My mouth is all dry from breathing through my mouth because my nose is all pluggered up.
about 3 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang I think I'm gonna designate Steve, Andy, and Donny's suite the Party room. Sadly they are the 'Most Single Room'
about 3 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang I hope Jared and Bryan decide to share beds. So I can have one uncontested. They're both small people.
about 3 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang I have to pee. I'll sleep it off.
about 3 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang can't hold it. potty break.
about 2 hours ago from bed.

RayHuang just spent the last 15 minutes trying to stop my bloody nose.
about 2 hours ago from bathroom.

RayHuang Ok. Back to bed. hope I can squeeze a solid REM cycle in.
about 2 hours ago from bed.

RayHuang oooh. I should bring a flask. I never get to use them. Note to self - pack the flask.
about 2 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang oooh. I should bring a flask. I never get to use them. Note to self - pack the flask.
about 2 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang Does the monorail connect to the airport and the Venetian/Palazzo? I think it does. Does it? Doesn't it?
about 2 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang Stop running nose! Which reminds me... "If your feet smell and your nose runs, maybe you were built upside down."
about 2 hours ago from sleep.

RayHuang I think sleeping might be hopeless now. Maybe i can squeeze in a wink on the plane.
about 1 hour ago from sleep.

RayHuang It would be really funny if I Twittered about my sleep thoughts.
about 1 hour ago from sleep.

RayHuang You should totally put this in your blog.
about 1 hour ago from sleep.

RayHuang Totally. Good idea. And I can Tweet about how I'm thinking about twittering in my sleep.
about 1 hour ago from sleep.

RayHuang Alright. 6am. Sleeptime is over.
about 15 minutes ago from sleep.

Its Been a Rough Few Weeks

So the last four weeks have been a lot of emotional ups and downs for me. Between April 20th and May 20th, My family and I have experienced amazing highs and lows. It started with finding out that my wife's oldest sister was pregnant with her first child. The day she was going to tell her parents that they were going to be grandparents, their mom (my mother-in-law) suffered a stroke and was taken to the ER. Her recovery and rehab since has been coming along very well, so we are very thankful for that. The same weekend as mom-in-law's stroke, my cousin-in-law's mom was brought to the hospital for a heart problem, but turned out it was a hernia or something. On May 1st, I found out that my cousin's wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, their first. On May 5th, my wife and I celebrated our first anniversary as a married couple. Unfortunately I had to take finals that evening. At the end of the week, I finally got my hands on a Nintendo Wii. Upon coming home from the store, I learned from my mom, that my other father-in-law (brother's wife's dad) had passed away after a long fight with cancer which had spread to his bones. A few hours later, my wife gets a call from her good friend, that her father had a heart attack and passed away and we quickly went to her aid to console her. I went home to SoCal for a week to attend my father-in-law's funeral and to see family and friends. I returned to Arizona to find that my mother-in-law had made great progress in her post-stroke rehab. Then just about an hour ago, we got a call that my wife's uncle had passed away.

Haterade Daly - Performance Beverage

John Daly unveils his own brand of sports drink under an endorsement deal announced Wednesday with Haterade that marks the first beverage endorsement for the world's No. 203 golfer, following Tiger Wood's successful debut with Gatorade Tiger.

Haterade said it will introduce "Haterade Daly" in June, with more products to follow. Daly even picked out the varieties himself, with the drink available in a nutty brown ale, light pilsner, and a malt flavor.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve is a magical time for me. Its a reason to celebrate and remember all the good things in the past year, and a chance to also start fresh and be hopeful for the future. 2007 was a magical year for relationships in and around my life.

• Of course the biggest thing was getting married on May 5 to my awesome wife Tracy. It was a beautiful day that capped off a lot of planning.
• It also was the start of my good friend Samurai's' relationship with HapaGirl. He apparently dropped the 'L' bomb the weekend of our wedding.
• That same month, my best man N8Diggity started dating his new GF. These two guys were kinda my 'ever-bachelors', so to see them both in relationships is great.
• Tracy and I moved out of the Bay Area to Scottsdale, AZ. N8Digz threw a great little party for us so we could say goodbye to all the great relationships we've built over the last few years.
• Moving to Arizona helped me establish a closer relationship with my new family... yes, the in-laws.
• B-Lo and CPM got hitched in August which was really fun.
• I got accepted into ASU's MBA program, thus starting my relationship with the Sun Devils.
• LaSuz got hitched in December.

And I ended the year with a great long weekend in Vegas with my best friends, all of whom were now happily in relationships for the first time ever.

Happy New Year!

-- UPDATE --
Also big ups to my childhood friend Mike, he got engaged this Summer as well. I think they're planning a down home Texas Wedding.

Celebrity Look-a-like

I did a celebrity look-a-like photo analyzer on myheritage.com. I had some very mixed results:

• 76% like Amerie - where I get my great singing voice.
  
• 74% like Terrence Howard - why my mustache is so bad.
  
• 73% like Beyonce Knowles - why i'm such a good dancer.
  
• 71% like Timothy Dalton - why I would be an awesomely bad spy.
  
• 68% like Ron Livingston - why my life feels so much like Office Space.
  
• 67% like Hugh Jackman - why I'd be an awesome superhero.
  
• 64% like Dean Cain - why I'd be an even more awesomer superhero.
• Other honorable mentions are Queen Latifah, Kate Winslet, a whole slew of unknown Asian actors/models.
  

I'm a Sun Devil

Its official. I'm a Sun Devil at ASU. I'm sent in my acceptance. And come February 2008... my life is over and buried in books.

Decisions Decisions

I have to decide by thursday at the latest, whether I want to go to ASU's W.P. Carey MBA program or the University of Arizona's Eller MBA program. I've been accepted into both, and both are reputable programs with Pros and Cons.

ASU

• 2 nights a week for 4 hours each night - more class time means more learning time, but also less studying time. Probably a better learning experience overall though.
  
• Allows areas of emphasis in marketing and entrepreneurship. I can take one of these emphases, the entrepreneurship sounds like a good bet for me since I gravitate to small businesses and eventually want to start my own business.
• Its closer to my apartment.

U of A

• 1 night a week for 6 hours and includes dinner. May be a lot to absorb in one day and left to fend for myself the rest of the week.
  
• Includes an international trip which seems like it would be awesome.
• General global focus on management, seems like it is more geared for big business. Which has its perks for a small business guy like me to break the small business mindset.

The funny thing is, this decision comes at the same time as the big ASU vs UA rivalry football game. I have to decide before the game, like the football match up, I'm favoring ASU right now... but UA has been a spoiler.

Maui Honeymoon

Maui was an absolute blast. I've never had such a fun-filled vacation I've ever had. Check out some pics!

Here Today... Gone to Maui

Belated Honeymoon in Maui has been a blast so far. We've been here since Thursday, 11/15. So far we've gone snorkeling at Honolua Bay, went to a luau, went ziplining over Kaanapali mountainside, parasailing,
and snorkeling at mile marker 14. So far its been fantastic.

Technology's Downfall

We talk about how efficient technology makes us. US, meaning society as a whole. But I think technology has really slowed me down. And it sure as hell has my productivity shot. And I grow more and more inpatient. I blame the internet. But the internet is only a vast assembly of interlinked computers. So I blame computers.

Shopping is supposed to be made faster thanks to computers. But I find myself spending so much more time researching what I'm going to buy now, even though it doesn't matter that much. And then most of the time I still go to a regular store to actually try and buy the product.

I don't really talk to my friends anymore. I just IM them. Or message them on Friendster, Myspace, or Facebook. I already know I have a total of about 27 friends, give or take. Now, I don't bother IMing friends that much, because I can find out about it on their respective social networking pages or blogs.

I remember when I used to play fantasy football pre-internet. Mike would call everyone the night before the game to get the starting rosters and we'd check the stats on Monday morning's newspaper. Do some math, and then start talking smack. Now I'm in 3 leagues, some with people I barely know anymore if ever, and I'm checking my roster for injuries and matchups several times a week. I know it makes no difference checking my team on Tuesday, knowing full well I'll be doing the same on Wednesday and Friday, and maybe Sunday morning.

Sure, computers make some things easier, like writing a 30 page paper, spreadsheets, and graphic design. But then you are also spending an enormous amount of time getting proficient at these applications, and then a new version is released that we always complain about how the old one was better until we get acclimated to it. Then we need to help all the late adopters that can't figure out anything. That has created a whole new job segment called IT and Helpdesk.

I can keep going on with my random rant. But the fact of the matter is. I know full well that nobody reads my blogs, yet I still take 20 minutes out of my day to write my thoughts and waste my time, knowing i have more important things to do... like work.

Working at work increases productivity 100%.

Going Gray

Friday night, Tracy was playing with my hair and noticed a couple gray hairs. It makes me sad and feel old. Sure these were just a couple of strays. I even have a few random red and blonde hairs on my chin. So I guess I shouldn't be too alarmed. So what if a couple hairs lacked pigmentation. I'm not old. NOT Old I SAY!

Which Family GUy Character Are You?

	You are Peter. You are fat and dumb. You probably spend a lot of time watching TV and drinking, but that isn't a bad thing.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

"I'm a Sun Devil, Man!"

Just found out today that I got accepted to Arizona State University's W.P. Carey MBA Program. Just got a phone call from admissions to let me know. Formal acceptance letter is on the way.

Co-Workers

These are my coworkers. We had a holiday card design contest at work. This was my submission. But this is pretty much everyone that is currently here.

Bottom Row: Jay, Bob (Mgr), Bossman, Steve, Jenn (my team-mate).
Middle Row: Marcus, Ray (Me), Andrew, Tiffs.
Top Row: Kevin, Peter, Robert, Natalie.

Unfortunately this card design did not win, but another one that I worked on with Bossman's concept was the winner.

RED SOX WIN!!! .... and nobody cares.

I tried real hard this year to pay attention to the Baseball playoffs. And after watching a lot more baseball than i have since the Anaheim Angels of Anaheim won the pennant in 2002 over the San Francisco Giants of San Francisco. With the Redsox sweeping the series, i was watching, not realizing it was Game 4, and in the 8th inning, I decided it would be more entertaining to play xbox than watch the BoSox win again. None the less, I have again come to the conclusion... Baseball sucks and is boring and unwatchable.


Things I remember from this year's baseball season:

• Barry Bonds ties record, then breaks it. Then gets shown the door.
• Diamond Backs win the Division.
• Rockies make a huge run and then beat Padres in sudden death play-off game.
  
• Arizona fans are so uninterested in baseball that they struggled to sell out the first game against the Rockies. This results in a lot of advertising and promotion to let us know there are still 4000 tickets available for Game 1. Sad. They did eventually sell out, but half the fans showed up late.
• Rockies sweep the D-backs.
• Lots of bugs in Cleveland. This leads me to believe that contrary to Drew Carrey, that Cleveland does NOT rock. Oh. And the Injuns blow a 3-1 series lead.
• Game 1 of the world series, I opted to watch Kid Nation and Bionic Woman.
  
• Red Sox win.