May

30

Los Angeles Times: It’s Not a Bubble Until It Bursts

In the face of irrational exuberance in the housing market, a rational question home owners can ask themselves is - own or rent?

It is well known that house price has appreciated over 50-70% since 2001 in some regions. It is understandable one worries about the eventual decline in real estate price. Another question to ask, in an economy that is growing 3-4% annually, how much/fast should real estate price appreciate? Probably should be faster 3-4%.

May

25

High Net Worth

May 25, 2005 | 34 Comments

Recently the Spectrem Group, a wealth research group out of Chicago, released its newest study on wealth accumulation in the U.S.

The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or higher (exclusive of primary residence but inclusive of second homes and other real estate) passed 7.5 MILLION households, i.e. about 10% of total US households. This is a record number, surpassing even the 1999 time frame where 150 millionaires a day were being created in the Internet stock bubble.

The number of households with more than $5 million in net worth climbed to 740,000 — up 38% from the past year.

May

17

Totally to my surprise, yesterday I received a royalty payment check from ProQuest for my Ph.D. dissertation I finished in 2003. Suffice to say that I am pretty excited. It is not a lot of money but it is truely satisfying to see that someone else is interested in your work.

Maybe I should start thinking about writing a book, seriously …

May

17

By web content guru Gerry McGovern:

If you don’t have good metadata and appropriate classification, then your content becomes much harder to find. Your search will become much less effective and your navigation much less useful.

Content management must always be about quality first, quantity second.

Prioritize. Limit. Choose. A relentless focus on quality should be at the beginning, middle and end of your publishing process.

The same is probably true for personal weblogs, albeit to a lesser degree. But if you ever want your weblog be read by others, paying attention to content quality seems a must to me.

May

15

Ever wondered how many information security certifications are there, what do you need to gain an edge in the field?

First, to show that you have basic understanding /experience of network security you need to know the inside-out of these security devices: firewalls, antivirus solutions, and intrusion detection devices. A Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) can help you here.

To venture further into broader security arena, you can probably look at these options. Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is a good place to start, and is frequently mentioned in job ads. This certification denotes a recognized mastery of an international standard for information security. The exam measures understanding of 10 main security areas.

Other certifications include: Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) (founded by the SANS Institute), CompTIA Security+, TruSecure ICSA Certified Security Associate (TICSA), Security Certified Network Professional (SCNP), Security Certified Network Architect (SCNA), Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP).

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