Joke
"Well, I got a cactus plant and after a couple days it died. It made me very depressed and got me thinking... "Man! I'm worse than a desert!"
November 27, 2007
November 05, 2007
Chinese Urban Development
As China continues to grow and prosper, development of proper planning techniques are often neglected and put off to the side for more urgent needs of the population. Growing cities such as Beijing are always under fire for their growing use of resources and massive amounts of pollution among its citizenry. Problems stemming from untreated sewage, a population that’s soaring, and the environmental damage currently underway presents itself into a unique challenge for urban planners. With birthrates as high as it is now, urban planners need to take into consideration the future of their country and how development needs to be catered to plan for a more sustainable urban landscape.
Under the new plan, designers have created a concept where they put the pressure of infrastructure not on the outside of the community but utilize a containment type of planning where everything needed is generated within the neighborhood without needing to use resources (i.e. land, power, etc) outside of the city. This type of planning not only promotes energy conservation and water efficiency; it also creates an energy efficient layout where pedestrian walkways, cycling, and the use of public transportation are widely used. Waste is also handled within the community where wetlands and swales are going to be created within this huge 56 acre development project.
This is a huge undertaking from China where their “superblock” model relies heavily on outside infrastructure to handle its waste and energy production. These “superblocks” are very typical around China and as many as 11 of these supersized “superblocks” are built yearly to account for over 11 million units per year. The impact of these “superblocks” is stacking against Chinese officials, where they estimate that their environmental damage and sustainability efforts are often close to impossible to achieve in these designs.
The United States and urban planners across the country should note this grand experiment in China. To develop for the masses, energy, pollution, and consumption needs to be planned meticulously and scientifically to reduce the impact on the environment.
Pakistan? A new source of destabilization?
The tension surrounding Pakistan is growing steadily as recent moves by President Pervez Musharraf tightens his grip upon the country and detains hundreds of opposition leaders around the country while suspending the Constitution. Pakistani news media sources are still off the air as President Musharraf continues to call for independent elections this coming January even though nothing was said publically to Pakistani citizens. The U.S. embassy issued the following comments noting that Pakistan is falling gravely ill with its recent detention strategies rounding up human activists and lawyers around the country. That the country should not take a step backwards in democracy and allow open and clear dialogue by allowing media and citizens to take a “constructive role” in bringing back peace into the country. Citizenship participation is key to growing a successful democracy and with Pakistan’s recent move in tightening public media stations and rounding up opposition leaders; it’s hard to think whether or not Pakistan would come out of this normally. When the rights of citizens can be thrown away and detained without due process to protect the power of the President, it can be viewed as a very bad step to a more fundamental government swayed easily by the threats and concerns of growing Islamic body in Pakistan. The growing tension is in the growing mist of the war on terror and its ties to the unpopular war in Iraq. With President Musharraf holding the post as general in the country, its viewed as unlikely that Musharraf will be stepping down anytime soon with the recent disbarment of Supreme Court leaders taken days before a decision whether or not his re-election on Oct. 6 was still valid. This is truly a test of Musharraf and to see if he would buckle under the stress of his own population, the international community, and within his own political party. To resume democratic elections and to restore citizenship participation is the only clear option into restoring the faith and transparency of this government or else the future of Pakistan will become another key breeding ground for “Talibanization”
Los Angeles QUIMBY Program
With the recent discovery that the Recreation and Parks Department of Los Angeles has collected more than $120 million dollars in fees (Quimby) without building adequate parks comes at a time when government transparency is at an all time low. The QUIMBY program is a fee charged to developers in the city of Los Angeles on each unit they build ranging from $9,000 - $12,000 per unit for the development of public parks and recreation. If the developer chooses to pay for this, the developer has the option to skip the construction of their own recreational area for their residents.
The admission from the Recreation and Parks Department not only shows its incompetence in management and planning, but it also gives an unsavory light on how gross the accounting and accountability is within Los Angeles city’s general city manager’s office. The reason why funding of this size hasn’t been dispersed is the time it requires to plan out appropriate projects and to find suitable locations to fit the Quimby ordinance requirements. As Recreation and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk said, “The department has neither the staff nor infrastructure to efficiently track and manage Quimby funds” (LA Downtown).
With this insight, why doesn’t the city take over the department and refocus the agency to partner up with another agency such as the CRA/LA? The Community Redevelopment Agency seems positioned to really make an impact and propose radical changes that can benefit the residents of Downtown LA. With over $120 million collected and only $17 million dollars allocated, a major shift needs to happen to increase the rate of development in parks and recreational areas. Major sources of these funds were from new downtown development sites (such as luxury condos/apts) and residents worry that these fees wouldn’t stay near downtown because of the high cost of land and the scarcity of available sites for parks.
Advocates worry that these fees would be used by other areas of the city even though Quimby ordinance restricts funding outside of the 2-mile range of the collected development site. City officials are looking over to reversing that ruling which is expected to pass without much resistance but is a wrong move if the City wants to see an improvement in the façade of Downtown Los Angeles.
-Phillip Yang
September 28, 2007
Quotes
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
September 19, 2007
Town hall discusses Tenants' Bill of Rights
Town hall discusses Tenants' Bill of Rights USG makes plans to create a Student Tenants' Association to hold landlords accountable. By: Natalie Jarvey Posted: 9/19/07 Students came together Tuesday night at the Undergraduate Student Government Town Hall to air out longtime concerns and find solutions for off-campus housing woes.The focus of the evening was USG's plans for a Student Tenants' Association, which includes an off-campus housing website with resources for students and a Tenants' Bill of Rights.
The Student Tenants' Association has been in the works since USC President Sahil Chaudry and USG Vice President Max Slavkin took office in the spring.
Although the housing website went live on Tuesday, it is still in its beginning phase and will continue to evolve, said Paul Jansson, USG director of residential affairs.
It is expected to provide resources for students to find housing around USC, discuss landlord complaints and take legal action against landlords if necessary.
The Tenants' Bill of Rights will keep landlords accountable to their tenants in ways such as fixing problems quickly and keeping conditions liveable, Chaudry and Slavkin said.
Landlords that sign the Tenants' Bill of Rights will then be endorsed by the university through the accompanying website as an acceptable housing option, they added.
USG has been receiving complaints about housing from students over the last several years and felt it was time to make a change, said Caitlin Mattias, USG senior director of communications.
"A lot of students come to us and say 'I haven't gotten my security deposit or my air conditioning has been out for three weeks,'" Mattias said. "There are a lot of problems with landlords."
By using a Town Hall format, Slavkin sought to provide a forum for students to voice their housing concerns and to educate students on their rights as tenants in non-university housing.
"Everyone knows there is a problem, the forum will be used to help students follow the right steps," he said.
Many students such as Brad Zazzara, a sophomore majoring in business and psychology, need guidance in learning how to deal with landlords.
"We are just starting to live on our own and most of us don't know hardly enough about what our rights are," Zazzara said.
Despite wanting to protect students from landlords, Slavkin said that the Student Tenants' Association is not meant to drive housing companies out of business.
"We need housing. We just want to show landlords that they can't keep doing what they've been doing," he said. "If they break the law, we will call them out on it."
Housing complaint forms were passed out at the beginning of the meeting and Slavkin prefaced the event by saying that complaints should be limited to these cards and not brought into discussion regarding student action.
Meredith Hankins, a junior majoring in chemical engineering who sued Conquest Housing in a small claims court this summer after she did not receive her security deposit within 21 days of ending her lease, spoke at the Town Hall.
"Know your rights. You can get your problems solved," Hankins told students.
In order to inform students of their rights, Slavkin presented a PowerPoint with resources for students to take advantage of as well as important tenant laws within the state of California.
One point they stressed throughout the night was keeping track of all deals with landlords, including photos of the living space and documentation of maintenance requests.
USG brought in David Payab, an attorney who specializes in housing and has informed USG about tenants' rights.
Payab, who also provides free legal counseling to students on Wednesdays, found that most of the complaints he received were related to housing.
He covered a variety of topics and informed students on how to protect themselves when signing contracts and entering into housing agreements with landlords.
"Overall, [the Tenants' Bill of Rights] will benefit students. Out-of-state students are not privy to certain local rules and this will educate them about what they can expect and protect their rights," Payab said.
He also sees the Tenants' Bill of Rights as beneficial for landlords because those landlords who enter into this agreement will be supported by USG and will, most likely, receive more business from USC students.
Although there was a large turnout, most students did not participate. Those who did chose to relate their own housing horror stories or ask Payab legal questions instead of giving feedback to USG.
Phillip Yang, a senior majoring in public policy and development, presented several ideas to USG about the housing website and what students would find beneficial.
"I think it needs to be a collaboration. It will be a great way to address common questions, show former student housing cases and increase awareness," Yang said.
September 04, 2007
Benefits of a website
A good friend of mine asked me, "Why do I need my own website?.... I have flickr, blogger, facebook, etc"
Good question, here are some good reasons why you might need your own website.
1. It will last forever
Once you purchase the domain name, it’s yours. It’s yours as long as you pay the yearly fee of $5-8 a year and in your lifetime of 50-70 years, that’s around $500-600 within your whole lifetime. You can keep it and do anything with it, without having to worry about anyone else owning something similar and writing bad things under your name. What if you get successful and someone banks off your name? Its an added cost to acquire that name and the frustration associated to getting people to your new website since someone already owns it.
2. Use it to market yourself
You can use this new website to market yourself and show to the world what you have to offer. How useful would it be if you can use this tool to showcase your portfolio? What about putting yourself under the light showcasing your resume and work history? It works, and employers look at this to see how savvy and successful your skills are on the internet.
3. Personal email address
Think about this, which is more professional? phillipyang@gmail.com? Or Phillip@phillipyang.com? Or me@phillipyang.com? I would rather prefer employers or business people to contact me directly through my own domain so that I can store and control how my internet gets handled. Gmail and Yahoo might be great, but privacy and storage becomes an issue. With your own website, its only as large as your hard drive. Plus its free publicity for your own website.
4. Unlimited applications
You can put anything on your website. I’m using a blog tool called moveabletype and anyone can post and create articles on your own website. Flickr is another application you can enable on your site, personal portfolio applications, forums, galleries, anything! You can get very creative and use web 2.0 type applications to enhance the functionality of your website
5. FTP and Storage
You can use your website as storage and a way to get files anywhere with an internet connection. Store your photos, documents and other important docs via FTP without having to carry around a USB connection. Just make sure you secure your FTP so everyone can’t get your personal files.
August 10, 2007
New York & Washington D.C.
I'll be flying to New York and Washington D.C. getting to see both places for the very first time. No ID but hopefully I can still gain access into the bars downtown by dressing a little bit older than i'm used too. Sports jacket anyone?
I haven't planned to see anything in particular yet...I was just planning on following a couple of my friends around town and eating massive amounts of food. My trip is going to last for 8 days so hopefully we can get to see all the cool places around these cities.
Wish me luck! I'll be posting some photos on facebook so let's see!
BTW, my phone is still dead. Sorry for those who tried to call me. Sprint decided it was cool to lock down my voicemail so no one can access it while its broken. I feel like a jerk missing all these calls and not being able to communicate ANYTHING. I missed so many appointments already and now I have to explain this situation 9,000 times. Anyone who tried to call me, SORRY. I'm a jackass and I'm way too slow to repair and replace my phone.
Lesson learned this week: Don't mess with things that work. Keep it simple stupid.
August 06, 2007
Cool Beans
I thought this was funny, just click!
July 31, 2007
How would you describe me?
I wanted people to describe what type of person I was and the first response was mellow. Send me what you think.
mel·low (mĕl'ō) pronunciation adj., -er, -est.1.
1. Soft, sweet, juicy, and full-flavored because of ripeness: a mellow fruit.
2. Suggesting softness or sweetness: “The mellow air brought in the feel of imminent autumn” (Thomas Hardy).
2. Rich and soft in quality: a mellow sound; a mellow wine.
3. Having the gentleness, wisdom, or tolerance often characteristic of maturity.
4. Relaxed and unhurried; easygoing: a mellow friend; a mellow conversation.
5. Slang.
1. Slightly and pleasantly intoxicated.
2. Pleasantly high from a drug, especially from smoking marijuana.
6. Moist, rich, soft, and loamy. Used of soil.