ChaoWu

Moral values and CA sponsorship

2 Comments

CA board is discussing CA’s sponsorship policy. From http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/moral-values-faq.htm,

Moral values are the standards of good and evil, which govern an individual’s behavior and choices. Individual’s morals may derive from society and government, religion, or self. When moral values derive from society and government they, of necessity, may change as the laws and morals of the society change. An example of the impact of changing laws on moral values may be seen in the case of marriage vs. “living together.”

From Wikipedia on family values:

According to Dictionary.com, “family values” is defined as “the moral and ethical principles traditionally upheld and transmitted within a family, as honesty, loyalty, industry, and faith.”[2]

According to Merriam-Webster, “family values” are “values especially of a traditional or conservative kind which are held to promote the sound functioning of the family and to strengthen the fabric of society”.[3]

According to OxfordDictionaries.com, “family values” are “values held to be traditionally learned or reinforced within a family, such as those of high moral standards and discipline.”[4]

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Some board members, including me, do not want CA events sponsored by casinos. Some other board members do not want CA events sponsored by tobacco, alcohol, fire-arm companies, etc. Then some other board members think this is a moral/family issue and we should not force moral/family issues into CA policy.

In today’s society, political correctness is something that many people are afraid of. Even “studying hard at school”, a good moral/family value for a long, long, long time, is a discrimination to a certain group of people by their standard and then they are the most vocal group. Media would love to give them coverage too. Many moral/family issues are in the fine line there. Then some media is pushing people to cut the line: Either with them or against them. In many issues, there is no middle ground any more. How sad!

High speed train finally comes to US

It will be built between California and Los Vegas. After people try it , I believe people will love it. I really wish we have a true high speed train between NY, DC, Baltimore, PA, etc. There are enough needs for such trains. It takes our leader’s vision and hard work to make it happen. 

CA by Numbers ( Part I) (The Villager 2015-8)

CA by the Numbers (Part I)

By Chao Wu

The village and CA are quiet and people are on vacation. After I came back from my vacation in late July, I found that the uneven sidewalks in front of my house were fixed. That is really nice. And I received a large handbook and a bill from the Columbia Association (CA), as many of our residents did. Yes, CA is collecting money from us in the name of “Annual Charge”. In this issue, I would like to share some general information with you.

Columbia Association’s Board of Directors (CABOD) will hold a pre-budget public input forum on Thursday, Sept. 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Slayton House, 10400 Cross Fox Lane in the Wilde Lake Village Center. The forum will be hosted by the Board’s Planning and Strategy Committee and is open to the public.

Representatives of CA’s BOD will join our River Hill Board of Director’s meeting on Oct. 5 in order to reach out to our residents. Please come and share your thoughts.

1.     CA Responsibility

Some people in our neighborhood are confused about what CA does versus what the county does. On the CA website, we can view the following table and find CA actually is doing many things for our residents. CA contributes to funding for River Hill Community Association staff and the operations of Claret Hall, River Hill’s community center, and the Meeting Room too. The following table is extracted from CA website http://www.columbiaassociation.com/about-us/who-handles-what:

River Hill Community Association

Columbia Association

Howard County
Enforcing covenants Maintaining fitness facilities,
golf clubs, tennis and basketball
courts and swimming pools		 Schools and library
management
Advocating for residents
at the village, Columbia
and county level		 Operating the Columbia Ice Rink,
Columbia Horse Center
(via lease), Columbia
SportsPark/SkatePark		 Water and sewer
management
Facilitating information sessions
and community meetings		 Operating the Columbia Art
Center, Youth and Teen Center
at the The Barn, Columbia
Archives and Volunteer Center
Serving Howard County		 Road maintenance
and snow removal
Hosting individual village
events and partnering with
all villages for Columbia-wide		 Providing Before and After
School Care to Howard County
students		 Waste and recycling
collection
Creating village master plans Developing plans to protect
and restore Columbia’s
watershed		 County parks and
recreation facilities
Communicating to residents
via newsletters, websites
and social media		 Organizing free summer
concerts and films at the
Downtown Columbia Lakefront		 Watershed management/
restoration
Providing resources and
referral services for residents		 Providing summer camps Inspections, licenses
and permits
Fostering partnerships between
villages, Columbia Association,
Howard County, local businesses, and non-profits		  Maintaining approximately
3,600 acres of open space		 Planning and zoning
management
 Managing, maintaining and
renting out CA’s village buildings
and neighborhood centers		  Developing plans to improve
the connectivity of the
pathway system in Columbia		 Historic preservation
Offering programming, including classes, camps
and lectures		 Police, fire and rescue
services
Encouraging neighbor-to-neighbor
connectivity via
block parties, beautification
grants and block captains

2.     CA Income and Expenditures

Let’s look at CA’s income and spending. These numbers are important as a reference since CA’s board of directors is working on a new two-year budget (2017-2018). In FY2015, CA’s revenue totaled $70.576 M. CA’s Sport and Fitness programs, which includes the income from Package Plan memberships and fees for fitness classes, generated the greatest amount of income ($28.103M). The following data was extracted from “CA at a Glance, Columbia Association Annual Report 2015”:

2015 CA Incomes by Percentage

2015 CA Income by percentage

2015 CA Spending by Percentage

2015 CA Spending by percentage

  1. Large CA Vendor Expenditures in FY 2015 (quarter ended on April 30, 2015)

CA’s Annual Report itemizes all vendor spending greater than $25,000. In order for you to have a sense of CA’s large expenditures, I have listed those greater than $300,000:

Vendor Paid Description
Autlex Electric 354,971 Electrical work-various facilities
BGE 1,388,306 Utility
Brinton Building Services, Inc. 1,112,752 Construction services multiple locations
Crawford Advisors, LLC 2,907,225 Benefit advisors
DLA Piper US LLP 312,379 Legal services
Fidelity Engineering Corp 344,749 HVAC maintenance and repair Ssrvices
Fidelity Investments 2,604,275 Employer/employee 401kpension service fees
JP Morgan Chase Bank NA 1,416,928 Procurement card payments
Marsh USA, Inc. 628,544 Insurance broker and insurance Premiums
Paetec 306,632 Telephone and Internet services
Redhead Companies, Inc. 376,937 Creative advertising services
Scott-Long Construction, Inc. 4,690,871 Hobbits Glen Golf Club construction services
Shapiro &Duncan, Inc. 399,208 HVAC repair and maintenance
The Baltimore Sun 338,895 Advertising and recruiting
Two Center East Business Trust 624,158 Rent-headquarters building
Whiting-Turner Contracting 4,134,136 Haven on the Lake construction services

I am concerned about keeping CA’s expenditures reasonable and that new programs and facilities provide a good return on investment. Although the Annual Charge and membership fees increase yearly, even when there is no new construction project underway the costs of maintaining and running the facilities also rise annually. As more facilities are built, even more money is required to operate and maintain them.  The CABOD has to make difficult decisions during the budget process and cannot fund all budget requests. ………….

Thanks for reading this. Hopefully the data are . Let me know what you think and where you’d like CA to focus its efforts inFY17/18 and beyond.

Chao Wu, Ph.D.

River Hill Representative to Columbia Council

Columbia Association Board of Directors

Email: superbwu@gmail.com  Tel: 240-481-9637  Website: http://chaowu2016.com

Disclaimer: This letter only represents Dr. Chao Wu’s personal opinion. It does not represent River Hill Board of Directors nor Columbia Association’s Board.

A study result for building 100 apartments on the Columbia Gym’s parking lot (updated)

2 Comments

Updated: CA owns the land and has not aproved anything on this land yet. So we should be a little at ease.

I was shocked to hear that a study result for building 100 apartments on the Columbia Gym’s parking lot. This is 200 meters away from my home and I walk by there everyday. The parking lot is overflown with cars in the rush hour. Columbia Gym is really popular for our neighborhood because CA offers the service our residents want and there are no other substitute in this area.

The Clarksville Pike (108) Corridor plan is posted on the county website http://www.howardcountymd.gov/Departments.aspx?id=163. On page 14, it is showing intended development on the Columbia Gym parking lot in 2035.
Land Use Forecast in River Hill

CA seems not aware of this yet. I am wondering how DPZ can work out such a controversial proposal. CA, local residents and churches nearby will fight for sure.

Work, family and volunteer

A week ago when I met an old friend and he asked me: it seemed you had many volunteer work in CA, how did you handle them?

It is actually pretty challenging for me sometimes. So I have to optimize my time.

I put work and family first. I love my primary job and enjoy solving tough problems.  Right now, I am learning deep learning” this week and try to apply that to my work. It is amazing to know that computer programs with this technology can recognize images better than humans now. And I also need the salary to support my family. So I try my best to handle work-related stuff in the company and read personal email during lunch time. After returning from work, I spend all time with the family until they go to sleep.

Then after that, I am on my own. I spent some time reading news, especially technology, reading some work related stuff too just to refresh myself. Then I handle everything else, writing an article for the newspaper, researching some social topics I am interested in.

Some volunteer work, such as Board of Director of CA, is not so daunting. I need to listen to staff’s presentations, read CA’s reports, and meet some other BODs at weekend. At the same time, I will always tell local residents that I am their representative and would like their feedback on CA’s work. I think efficiency is the critical part.

Columbia Association spending II

Columbia Association’s Annual Report itemizes all vendor spending greater than $25,000. In order for you to have a sense of CA’s large expenditures, I have listed those greater than $300,000:

Vendor Paid Description
Autlex Electric 354,971 Electrical work-various facilities
BGE 1,388,306 Utility
Brinton Building Services, Inc. 1,112,752 Construction services multiple locations
Crawford Advisors, LLC 2,907,225 Benefit advisors
DLA Piper US LLP 312,379 Legal services
Fidelity Engineering Corp 344,749 HVAC maintenance and repair Ssrvices
Fidelity Investments 2,604,275 Employer/employee 401kpension service fees
JP Morgan Chase Bank NA 1,416,928 Procurement card payments
Marsh USA, Inc. 628,544 Insurance broker and insurance Premiums
Paetec 306,632 Telephone and Internet services
Redhead Companies, Inc. 376,937 Creative advertising services
Scott-Long Construction, Inc. 4,690,871 Hobbits Glen Golf Club construction services
Shapiro &Duncan, Inc. 399,208 HVAC repair and maintenance
The Baltimore Sun 338,895 Advertising and recruiting
Two Center East Business Trust 624,158 Rent-headquarters building
Whiting-Turner Contracting 4,134,136 Haven on the Lake construction services
Others ignored xxx Other spending less than 300,000
Total 34 millions Around 48% percent of total spending
Image

Back to Shanghai after ten years

Last time when I was in Shanghai, I met several old friends. Everybody was single and young. Now we are all married with kids.  Many more tall buildings have risen up too.

It is really not like the life here. For ten years, I did not see much changes at all. The 495 is as congested as before. I am not quite sure it is good or bad. Sometimes, I do feel a little boring.

Shanghai tower

Shanghai tower

Ellen Pao and Tim Hwang

After I read the post by Tim Hwang( graduate from our MD area) about the Asia American bamboo-ceiling effect

See http://fusion.net/story/136525/asian-americans-and-the-hidden-bamboo-ceiling-in-the-tech-industry/

and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Hwang

and the high-profile litigation case by Ellen Pao,    

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Pao

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I find it will be helpful for people to realize that minority, especially Asian American and women in the tech industry have to work extra harder to gain respect and a fair treatment.

Who do you vote for president?

1) Previous President’s wife

2) Previous President’s son

3) Previous President’s little brother

4) a ten billionaire

….

n) Previous President’s daughter ( Chelsy Clinton’s turn)

当仁不让的勇气

2 Comments

当仁不让的勇气

伍超， 2015-5-17

上周五，我跟其他马里兰州Howard County Chinese Parents Group(HCCPG)以及80-20 DC chapter的人参加了在DC National Press Club举办的亚裔申诉哈佛大学录取歧视的新闻发布会。数据显示，哈佛大学亚裔录取比例近十年来一直在20%左右，但是亚裔人口的增长却超过50%。 活动发起人赵宇空先生和李春燕教授讲的都很好，我们华人终于走出来这一步。华人被当成 “silent minority”，这个非常致命。本来在美国，很多时候利益需要自己争取。Minority，本来就是劣势；silent那就是作茧自缚。在美国，逆来顺受，没有人说你气魄好，有度量的。

我们华裔要有当仁不让的勇气。 即使我们自己将来可能叶落归根中国，但是我们的孩子是没有退路了。 当初我们飘洋过海的来美国，却发现我们被歧视着，让我们情何以堪？如果我们的美国梦，仅仅是一份工作，那也太卑微了。我们同是美国人，却仅仅因为长着亚裔的面孔，就没有被平等对待。而我们自己要么习以为常，要么麻木不仁，没有质疑的勇气，没有奉献的精神，何以做个自豪的爸爸妈妈？

当天新闻发布会后，美国中文电视（SinoVision）采访我。林记者问我，你的孩子申请大学吗？我说没有。她又问我孩子多大，我说大的五岁，小的一岁。她问那你为什么来参加呢？ 我说：我不能因为当前我的孩子不面临这个问题，我就不参加。我们要时刻关注着我们孩子生存的大环境。从远去的排华法案，到忽隐忽现的加州SCA5，都可以看出，华人地位堪忧。随着美国种族比例的变化，我们更应该居安思危。更何况，我们连“安“都谈不上。当我第一次知道很多东部的华人连加州的SCA5都没有听说过。我很是震惊。我们自己也许可以生活在一个独立的角落，家里讲着中文，看着中文电视，做着我们看来还不错的工作，那我们的孩子呢？

有人说你太敏感。有人说我现在比在中国好多了。这个就是明显的对比失误。我们在美国，我们要跟美国社会的公平来对比。种族歧视，对于大部分华裔来说，可能只有来美国才能经历过。我第一被很明显的歧视，是我唯一的一次骑自行车去马大，经过一片住宅区，被一群年龄不一的女孩子扔石头，高叫着“滚回中国去“。我当时很愤怒，丢下车子就追，她们做鸟兽散。从此我对这个问题就开始留心起来。当公立学校称呼母语不是英文的家长为”international parents“，这就是一种歧视，隐形而已。

NPR现场提问，你们要追求公平的大学录取，你们有没有问黑人，墨西哥人的意见？我认为，我们不是要减少他们的录取名额，我们只是追求应得到的公平利益。我们反过来可以帮助他们，传授我们华裔重教育，重家庭，注重家庭财政健康的优良传统。

亚裔孩子，尤其是男孩子被歧视，有人专门提出了这样的问题。这里面隐藏的歧视，看来越来越得到大家的注意了。这种歧视，对于我们华裔族群实际上致命的。当孩子长大以后，他们因为自己被歧视，也相对少了勇气为下一代的亚裔发声。这也就是华裔在美国历史虽然很长很长，却没有什么政治势力的另外一个原因。当年谣传华盛顿州长骆家辉要选副总统，于是他被要求滚回中国去的时候，他连怒斥这是种族歧视的勇气都没有。

我们要有当仁不让的发声的勇气。不久前听NPR一个节目，谈到教堂对男性的歧视。其中一个例子就是去教堂男女比例40/60，还有教堂喜欢叫听众“love Jesus“，让很多男人不舒服。刚听到的时候，我觉得这个节目多么荒谬啊。可是NPR却给了一个小时的时间。从采访中的数据分析，我也慢慢认同了被采访者的观点。我的印象中，除了说中国不好，NPR很少有一个节目给华裔这么长时间。所以很多时候，我们要能够不停的发声，对于我们华裔来说，只可能是理性的发声了，才来让我们自己更关注我们的利益，同时让社会关注到其中的不公平合理。即使短时间没有效果，但是持续发生，才可能有量变到质变的可能性。

我们这个群体很多人太习惯于平庸了。但是生活中到处是政治，你无处可逃：办公室政治，国家选举的政治。工作中开会不发言，拼命的工作，还加班。公司面试新人不参加，怕浪费时间。开会不举手，怕英语不好出丑，怕问题不深刻显自己浅薄。PTA会议不参加，孩子还有好几个补习班需要上呢。很多时候，舞台在那里，只需要我们轻轻前进一步。

文章的结尾，我想给大家一个挑战，主要是Maryland Howard County的父母。我们Howard County Chinese Parents Group希望家长们能够轮流参加Board of Education的会议。一年参加一次会议，这个时间应该不难吧。我们希望每次重要的会议，都有我们的代表参加，而且我们还要站起来提问。英语不够好也没有问题，把问题写好念出来。别人听不懂，我们就重复一次。重复一次还听不懂，那是别人的问题。有兴趣的，请联系我。

不要觉得少你一个不要紧。真的，也许你就是那唯一的一个。上次我竞选Columbia Association council representative，在哈维中文学校开了一个见面会，来了两个人。虽说一个不能够给我投票，一个是我们隔壁邻居。我非常感激他们。来一个是一个。

我们要以当仁不让的勇气，参与到孩子的生活当中，而不仅仅是自己可以掌控的SAT。我们的参与，是孩子前进的另外一种动力。

这一刻从不晚

这一刻从不晚
伍超， 2015-04-28
谢谢各位的鼎力相助，我已经成功当选为马里兰州新的Columbia Association （CA） 的 Council Representative. 那天我自己投票的时候，看到其他华人也朝投票处走，就知道他们也是去给我投票的。非常谢谢他们。

这是一个很小的地方选举，也是我工作后在美国的第一次选举。不需要资金赞助，但是需要拉选票。之前在马里兰大学读书时，我竞选过中国学生会主席。那是第一次拉选票。一个朋友一个朋友的拉着去给我投票，最终顺利当选。之所以参加竞选，是因为看到CA好像老是花钱搞一些花狸狐哨的建设。而且听说钱还不够用，要加税。心里有些不平啊。一年将尽七千万的花费，都是我们交的钱，怎么管理我要发个言。我要想办法改变这个。

坐而论道，不如起而行之。我们这个社区建立25年来，每年有十个Council Representative, 我们社区亚裔超过27%，但是据说我是第一个亚裔来参选。从我决定竞选起，就受到很多认识的朋友，不认识的人的鼓励和支持。以前，只是跟邻居点头微笑，大部分时间只跟华人朋友来往。投票前一周，每天晚饭后我带着女儿，挨家挨户去发传单，第一次认识到我们社区的多样性。有一天傍晚我一手抱着一岁多的儿子，一手给人递传单，几乎每个人都很热情的跟我聊聊选举，感谢我站出来。

有一天去拉选票，一个华裔问说，你可以给我带来什么好处啊？我回答他说：没有什么直接的好处。但是如果你选我，将来你有什么问题，我可以在社区管理层次帮你反应并设法解决。同时如果有什么问题涉及到我们亚裔的利益，我会第一时间通知大家。也可能你什么问题都没有，但是你选我，这就是一个亚裔声音的代表。我们不能够太功利。不是不能够想着直接的好处，而是眼光要放远一点，没有直接利益也要投票啊。

不参与，就容易被边缘化；不发声，就容易被别人代言；不投票，很可能就只有接受的命运。

听到有人说： “serve the people”, 让人有点肉麻； “make an impact”， 有点空乏。我却不这样认为。不管是哪一种，能够站出来，很多时候没有直接的利益，反而还要搭上很多的时间，都是一种勇气。这种求新，求变的勇气，可以帮助第一代华人在职场上和社会中，带来更大的进步。更重要的是让我们的下一代，勇敢的参与社会，不被歧视，不被忽略。 前年我带女儿一起去DC抗议ABC节目的Jimmy Kimmel的“Kill all Chinese”的言论时，看到少的可怜的第二代华人的时候，我就非常担忧。那次全美20多个城市同时发起的声势浩大的游行抗议，美国大媒体基本没有报道。我们的后代， 是American, 更是Chinese American，无法改变。我们需要站出来的勇气，领导我们的后代，向前看。

参与社会，发出声音。 捐钱，投票，是美国社会的一种常态。作为后来者，我们更应该加入这种常态，发热发光，照亮我们后代的前程。我们要以理直气壮的心态，参与这个社会，推动有利于我们的变革。只有当哪一天，“Kill all Chinese”的言论不被言论自由庇护，而是受到谴责的时候，我们才能够稍微歇一口气。

这一刻从不晚。

Love Columbia Swim center

Went there yesterday. Especially the kids pool. It is clean, large and safe for 16-month old. The water is a little warmer comparing with the temperature in the Columbia Gym and other outside pools. The design for this pool is unique with an transparent, triangular cover. Probably it can take some sunlight in to warm the pool. And some water from the underground hose is warm.

Hello world!

Hello World, these are the two words when I first learned my C programming 20 years ago.

Tried to get a chaowu2015 and could not get it. So let’s roll over another year to 2016.