China

China is quickly replacing the U.S. as the consumer capital of the world.  

In March, the Chinese bought 1.1 million vehicles, while Americans bought fewer than 900,000. According to 2009 estimates, China's car sales could top 11 million.  That's a staggering amount for a developing country.   When you have such a huge market, there are bound to be some strong companies.  

There are two Chinese companies that I think are threats to LG, Samsung, and Hyundai.  

The first is Haeir.   They are a consumer electronics manufacturer with a wide range of products.  Haeir makes everything from refrigerators, washers, air conditioners, to beer dispensers and cell phones.   Although a lot of manufacturing is automated, the labor in China is still dirt cheap.   The average assembly line worker in China earns around $200 a month. Therefore, Haeir has an incredible price advantage over LG or Samsung.   

The second company is BYD.  BYD is one of the world's leading manufacturers of batteries. They sell cell phone batteries to Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung.  In addition, they are developing batteries to store solar and wind power.   Warren Buffet is so confident in this company that he invested $230 million for a 10% stake.   Also, since 2003, BYD has been selling cars.  They've already developed an electric plug-in hybrid.    The selling price of an F3DM will be around $16,000, which is cheaper than most gasoline-powered automobiles.   How can Hyundai compete with them? 

I believe this is a crucial period for several Korean firms.  Samsung dethroned Sony a few years ago.  Will Haeir dethrone Samsung?  

Will Hyundai Auto's fate be the same as the British brands in the late 1970s?   England used to be a top manufacturer of cars with brands like Jaguar, MG, Cooper, Triumph, etc.  However, the high cost of labor and hard-core labor unions spelled "death" for these once proud and successful companies.  A labor union strike at Hyundai Auto seems to be an annual event.   

Do you think these companies will survive?    

Pool Cues

Recently, I've been shopping for a new pool cue. Most billiard halls in Korea only have billiard cues. Pool cues are a little longer and thinner than billiard cues. In addition, pool cues are lighter. The differences exist because pool balls are smaller and lighter than billiard balls. Whenever I play 4-ball or 사구, I feel like I'm hitting a watermelon. =) The balls feel very heavy.

Here's what I've found:

1. The standard tip diameter is 13 mm.

2. The weight of a pool cue varies from 17-20 oz. (about 500-700 grams).

3. The average length is 57-58 inches (or 145-148 centimeters).

I decided to get a 57 inch 19 oz. pool cue with a 13 mm tip, a Pro taper (The Pro taper has the same diameter from the tip to 30-35 cm down. The European taper is conical and widens towards the joint), a hard maple shaft, and an irish linen wrap.

Anyway, I've spent a lot of time researching pool cues to find one suitable for me. I also found this great video. You can see how pool cues are made. I love Discovery Channel.

TEPS

Most of my students are familiar with TEPS (Test of English Proficiency by SNU).

Today, I took two parts of the SNU TEPS practice test -- perhaps out of boredom or simply because I enjoy taking tests.

In the third portion, "Vocabulary," students have 15 minutes to answer 50 questions. I was able to finish this in 6:51 and scored a perfect 50 out of 50. I don't think I can finish this section in a faster time and I probably won't try.

In the second section, "Grammar," students have 25 minutes to answer 50 questions. I finished it in 11:18. However, I made three careless mistakes. My score was 47/50. I'm attributing these mistakes to my desire to finish under 10 minutes. My goal is to finish the grammar section with a perfect score within 10 minutes. I believe this is within my grasp.

SNU releases a new TEPS practice test once a month.

Why don't you join me and try to beat my time and score?

I believe this test contains some very useful English expressions.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

My Oldest/Newest Hobby

Lately, I've been playing a lot of pool (aka pocket billiards). "Pool" originates from the French word poule, which means "stakes, bounty, or plunder." Or in other words, money. I guess it was meant to be a game for gamblers. "Billiards" is either from the French word "billart," which means stick or "bille" (a ball). If you haven't guessed, the game was popularized in France in the 15th century.

I played a lot of pool when I was a senior in high school. Recently, I've been playing again.

Here are the reasons I love this game:

1. It takes skill. You need coordination and a smooth stroke.

2. Eight-ball is like a chess match. There are so many options: should I play solids or stripes, which ball to hit first, should I play safe, how can I finish this table, etc. You have to run through every option and make the best decision. I'm naturally impatient. Therefore, I'm forced to learn patience with this game.

3. How should I hit it? Center ball? English? Draw? Bank? Cut?

4. It requires focus and concentration. After a few hours, I'm mentally drained. However, this is a great way to escape from your mundane life.

Pool idioms:

Behind the eight ball - in a difficult situation

Call the shots - to tell someone what to do

If you want to get better at pool or anything else in life, observe great players and practice. I think most people fail at the first. They're just watching and not really paying attention.

Here's one of my favorite players.

Here's a great video on the jump shot.


This website has a ton of educational videos.

Am I Getting Sentimental?

Lately, on my iPod I've been listening to rock songs. It seems like Coldplay, Keane, and David Cook get the most "earbud-time."

If you don't know David Cook, I'm ashamed to say he was an American Idol contestant. However, I really like his interpretations of popular songs.

Here's his version of Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby:"



Here's Cook's version of "Hello." Yes. It's a cheesy song, but I like his version.



Since Cook was an American Idol contestant, I decided to start watching the show this year. Here's this year's frontrunner Adam Lambert. I really like his version of "Tracks of My Tears."

Politicians

"Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it." - Mark Twain

There are 535 members of Congress (435 House and 100 Senators).

Here are some interesting 2005 statistics from Capitol Hill Blue:

79 members have low credit scores.

64 have personal and financial problems

31 members have been accused of spousal abuse.

33 have been arrested for drunk driving. 34 if you include former President Bush.

24 are being sued.

9 have been accused of writing bad checks.

14 have drug-related arrests in their background.

How do you feel about politicians?

Tidbits

Chinese Consumers

China has surpassed the U.S. in terms of car sales. In January, China sold an estimated 790,000 vehicles. The U.S. had sales of 657,000 vehicles in January. This is historic as China is becoming the consumer capital of the world. No wonder every auto manufacturer has set up shop there. China will play a key role in leading the world out of this recession.

The Buffet Formula

Buffet has a formula for timing the market.

Total market capitalization / GNP

Total market cap. would be the value of the entire stock market. For Korea in 2008, that's around $623 billion. The GDP of Korea in 2008 was $969 billion. Basically, if the market capitalization is around 70% of GNP, stocks are cheap. Based on the above figures, Korean stocks are undervalued at around 64% of GDP.

Unions

Every year I seem to dislike unions more and more:

1. The recent scandal at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and attempted cover-up.

2. Ssanyong Motors workers were actually planning to strike before the company went bankrupt. Can they see the forest from the trees?

3. 20,000 AT&T workers are planning to go on strike during one of the worst recessions since 1982.

Why aren't people just thankful that they have a job?