Amy Cho : The Blog

IBM Press Release: IBM & SJSU Academic Collaboration Initiative

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-09-23T06:15:07Z

I took a course that was offered by SJSU & IBM in Spring 2007 and now work for IBM as a technical co-op, so they asked me to participate in the media roundtable announcing the collaboration between IBM and SJSU.

IBM Press Release:
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/25184.wss

IBM Teams With Universities in California, Illinois and China to Help Students Prepare for Careers in Business and IT

SAN MATEO, CA - 22 Sep 2008: Researchers at IBM's (NYSE: IBM) Silicon Valley Lab have teamed with educators from San Jose State University, California State University Long Beach and Sacramento State University campuses, Illinois State University and Tongii University in Shanghai, China to develop new courses that provide students with marketable business and IT skills for the mainframe.

This first-ever collaboration of this type between IBM and these universities will help increase and prepare the number of qualified job candidates entering the workforce. According to labor analysis firm SkillPROOF, the average number of job openings for IT professionals in California increased 60 percent since 2004. This amounted to about 16,220 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. Employers are seeking job candidates with a balance of business skills such as consulting and management combined with specific "hot" mainframe skills including database administration, SOA and virtualization, to fill these positions.

IBM and the partner universities are creating four courses focused on using and configuring IBM's DB2 and database applications running on the IBM System z mainframe, the most powerful enterprise computer platform in the world today.

This project is part of IBM's continued commitment to cultivate and grow opportunities for database engineers, systems integrators, and business process consulting experts for the mainframe computing environment.

This Fall and Spring, San Jose State University expects several dozen students to complete its newly created Intro to DB2 for z/OS course which is also currently being taught at Tongjii University in Shanghai, China. California State University in Long Beach and Illinois State University both plan to incorporate the course into their respective Enterprise Computing programs this winter with other schools to follow. The remaining three courses will be available later this year and into 2009 at all four institutions. Topics include: Application Development for DB2 on System z and Optimization and SQL Performance for DB2 for z/OS. IBM is currently putting a team together to develop a fourth course called DB2 for z/OS Database Administration to be completed in Fall, 2009.

All courses were developed by the cross IBM - University team focused on developing key skills such as using and configuring DB2 and database applications on the mainframe.

"IBM is building skills for globally integrated enterprises by fostering collaboration between worldwide academic teams who are developing enhanced courses on skill areas that are in increasing demand, such as database engineering and mainframe experts," said Gene Fuh, Distinguished Engineer at IBM Silicon Valley Lab who oversees the collaboration. "As companies have grown more complex, there is a need to have a more detailed understanding of data generated by the organization. Helping companies unlock the value of data is what IBM's Information on Demand strategy is all about. Since IBM has built a track record of growing mainframe and database skills in emerging markets, the company is teaming with California's state universities to do the same in this hot job market area."

"IBM's first ever academic collaboration to develop courses that combine the complexities of databases and mainframes will give students an opportunity to get exposed to the kind of in-depth knowledge that will set them apart from their peers," says Amy Cho, a graduate student from San Jose State University who is preparing for a career in database quality assurance. "It's difficult for a company to hire new graduates that have no knowledge of these systems whatsoever. They'll have an advantage if they take these well structured classes to ease them into the industry."

Besides teaming on all four courses, San Jose State University is one of the first schools in California to implement a new interdisciplinary approach to curriculum design called Science Service Management and Engineering (SSME) with over 60 students taking part so far. The SSME approach gives business students exposure to key IT skills, while engineering students obtain a greater understanding of business dynamics. As a result, employers can tap higher value job candidates for IT positions.

Similarly, more than 300 business students at San Francisco State University, San Jose State University and the University of Southern California are now learning Business Process Management (BPM) skills with IBM's "serious video game" called Innov8. Innov8 simulates real-world business challenges using a video game environment to bridge gaps in understanding between business leaders and IT teams in an organization. As the 'gamer' generation enters business, computer science and engineering college classes, professors are using IBM's Innov8 as a teaching tool to attract and maintain student interest in services science such as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Business Process Management (BPM).

"In a fast paced, globally-integrated business world, IT skills are important for a wide range of graduates around the world. In particular Computer Science and Computer Engineering graduates should have these skills as well as IT and MIS graduates. This is why it is crucial for academia and the industry to work together to get these skills into the classroom, whether it is China or Silicon Valley, and whether it is CS or IT," said Kenneth Louden, Professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department at San Jose State University.

Virtual access to DB2 for z Skills
IBM Academic Initiative members can now participate in the new Information Management instructor-led, online (ILO) training courses focused on data management. These courses allow members to interact with the instructor and other students in a remote classroom environment enabled by Citrix software. Students can also use voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) to communicate with instructors and classmates -- saving travel time and travel costs while advancing their skills. These resources can be found at: http://www.ibm.com/university/scholars/products/data/education.html

In addition, two of the courses developed by international academic teams on the topics of Application Development and Optimization and SQL Performance covering both DB2 and System z will also be offered online in 2009 through IBM's Academic Initiative's website.

IBM Academic Initiative faculty members world-wide can access over 1000 other hardware, software and services training resources at no cost by visiting: ibm.com/university/scholars/academicinitiative/

IBM Academic Initiative members may also participate in hands-on training sessions at any of its 40 IBM Innovation Centers worldwide. For more information, visit: http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/innovationcenters.

Silicon Valley Business Journal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/09/22/story5.html?b=1222056000^1702377&brthrs=1

Friday, September 19, 2008
IBM, San Jose State develop program to teach mainframe operation
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Mary Duan

In the 1960s and 1970s, engineers who were experts at mainframe computer systems were common because mainframes were about all that existed. Fast-forward to 2008, and those seasoned veterans are about to start retiring in droves. Expertise in mainframe engineering has been overwhelmed by expertise in the Web, and companies are beginning to wonder whether they will get people needed to build and maintain their systems.

We need to start training people now because in five to 10 years, many of our experienced people will be at retirement, said Thomas Cotton, director of mainframe strategy at Charles Schwab & Co. You cant just come out of college and hit the ground running in this arena. It takes years to develop the skills and its of utmost importance to Schwab and industry around the world. It cant be underestimated the importance that universities give students the basic skills, Cotton said.

To deal with that challenge, IBM has worked with San Jose State University and 400 other schools around the world to develop a curriculum to give students the fundamentals of DB2 software for IBMs System Z mainframe.

Jasminder Singh, IBMs information management manager of DB2 for Z development, said the mainframe is the backbone of IBMs core businesses. Its scalability and resiliency make it an excellent choice to support mission-critical applications, he said.

IBM also has shown mainframe revenue growth for seven of the past nine quarters. In 2007, 600 new applications were introduced for the IBM mainframe.

System Z mainframes are used at 59 world banks, 23 of the 25 top U.S. retailers and nine out of 10 global health insurance providers, Singh said.

When I share these fun facts, it drives it back to the reality of the situation, he said. Who is using it? Its all these big customers with mission-critical applications, businesses that cant have downtime.

Kenneth Loudon, professor and chair of the computer sciences department at San Jose State, said mainframes are an area that perhaps arent spotlighted well as people are much more familiar with the Web and the personal computer market.

That backbone is kind of invisible, and as a result, students dont perceive the need for the critical skills necessary to support this kind of enterprise computing, Louden said.

This semester, only about a dozen students are taking the introductory course at San Jose State.

We do have some enrollment this semester. It hasnt been overwhelming because students havent been made aware yet of the extent to which they will need these skills, Louden said. I believe in future semesters there will be greater demand as word gets out.

Amy Cho, a San Jose State graduate student in computer science, is studying database programming for the mainframe and doing an internship at IBMs Silicon Valley Lab. The beta class she took in the spring of 2007 on application programming provided her with great insight into how industry approaches problems.

The courses definitely will help students transition into industry, she said.

Its a really exciting program, Cho said. Many universities dont have courses in mainframe systems, its quite a specific market, and its extremely difficult to just jump into it. I think it will give San Jose State students an advantage over others.

San Mateo County Times:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_10503478
Video game helps students prepare for information technology careers
By Neil Gonzales
SAN MATEO COUNTY TIMES
Article Last Updated: 09/18/2008 10:07:11 PM PDT

SAN MATEO A video game is helping area university students prepare for careers in business and information technology.

At the San Mateo IBM Innovation Center on Thursday, San Francisco State University student Andrey Lyubimov played a simulation on a large screen in which he came across various "co-workers" at a call center some helpful but others not so much, including a character more interested in getting coffee than addressing a crisis.

In an interactive way, the program teaches students how to make decisions and gather information when they face various obstacles in the workplace.

The IBM-developed program is part of a new collaboration between universities and the information-technology industry to fill positions for database developers and other computer-systems experts.

At the center, Lyubimov joined academics and professionals in exploring this collaboration.

The partnership has "really opened up a whole great deal of knowledge of how things can be done technology-wise and on the business side," said Lyubimov, who is majoring in finance and information systems at San Francisco State.

More than 300 students at San Francisco State, San Jose State University and University of Southern California are now learning real-world business scenarios with the simulation called Innov8, according to IBM.

"It's taking video-game technology but applying it to business," said Chris Badger, an official for San
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Mateo-based Forterra Systems Inc., an IBM partner.

"It's a fantastic new medium to train new employees and solve business problems that are very complex."

The partnership has also led to new courses focused on database applications at San Francisco State and other higher-education institutions. The courses are designed to provide students with the latest business and information-technology skills.

The industry needs "to collaborate with universities," said Amy Cho, a San Jose State computer-science graduate student.

"It helps students get up-to-date and makes them more marketable to get jobs."

IBM spokeswoman Jennifer Clemente noted that, according to the labor-analysis firm SkillProof in Connecticut, the average number of job openings for information-technology professionals in California increased by nearly 70 percent between 2004 and 2007.

By working with those in the industry, educators are realizing what kinds of students employers are looking to hire, said Stephen Kwan, a professor in the College of Business Management Information Systems at San Jose State. "We're doing a better job in preparing our students and developing curriculum that's relevant to their job search."

New America Media:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=13d509017510466bbfe9eec83de59ed9

U.S. Colleges Turn to China for IT Training

New America Media, News Report, Donal Brown, Posted: Oct 08, 2008

SAN MATEO, Calif. The United States, faced with a shortage of IT workers, is turning to China to train its students in information technology.

American colleges are seeking help from a Chinese scholar to design curricula to train students in the United States in crucial areas of information technology and database administration.

IBM, which made the announcement in September, hopes that this will provide them with a high-tech work force. The courses will also be taught to university students in China, who may be hired by companies like IBM that have prominent enterprises there.

The labor analysis firm, SkillPROOF, reports that in California alone, the average number of job openings for IT professionals in 2008 is 16,220. This represents a 60 percent increase since 2004. There are currently 140,000 IT job openings nationally. There is an additional incentive to find new workers as an entire generation of IT professionals reaches retirement age.

While technology training is the focus of courses at U.S. universities, Chinese universities will also emphasize working collaboratively, a skill that is required in many IT jobs.

Min Wang, who is pursuing a doctorate at Tongjii University in Shanghai, says that since most of the worlds largest companies maintain a presence in China, it is important for Chinese universities to educate their students in IT and business skills. But, he adds, they also need to learn to work cooperatively across borders.

IBM is heavily invested in China with its China Research Laboratory, established in 1995, and with Intel, which opened in 2006 to help China exploit its energy resources more efficiently. To make these enterprises successful, the companies will need well-trained Chinese nationals who excel in math and are able to collaborate with other workers.

The need for better communication skills, Wang says, poses a great challenge to Chinas traditional higher education, which usually emphasizes exams and has relied on textbooks for dozens of years.

To facilitate the development of appropriate curricula, Wang and another graduate student from Tongjii spent six months in Silicon Valley. They worked with Professor Teng Moh from San Jose State University and Hsiuying Cheng from IBM to develop a course in DB2 for System z database software integrated with mainframe to allow for data management and the various manipulations of information that help a business thrive.

IBM is taking the lead in developing this course and three others, and informing prospective students of these course offerings at California State Universities in San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach and Sacramento. The courses will also be offered at Illinois State University in Normal, Ill. They will train students to be database developers, systems administrators and mainframe experts.

Every business, from IBM to a small 50-employee startup company, needs employees trained in IT. The data from all aspects of a companys operations including employee data, sales, stock, payroll, marketing, and research and development are fed into DB2 for System z and then analyzed through software applications.

Amy Cho, a San Jose State graduate student and IBM employee, says the training will be invaluable for students who need IT skills. Cho is studying for a career in database quality assurance. She will learn more than simple language for the DB2 query system, including how information is pulled up and which information to filter out. It takes a lot of computing power so from the courses I learn how to filter out the information we dont want, she said.

At a recent press conference, company representatives and university professors from San Jose and San Francisco State Universities emphasized the importance of close collaboration of industry and academia to develop IT curricula. Much progress has been made in this area according to Professor Stephen Kwan of San Jose State. To make sure their courses met the needs of changing demands of the business world, universities used to hire survey companies, but companies are now taking the initiative to provide that information.

Cho says she gained much from the close relationship of San Jose State and IBM when she enrolled in the first course under development. Dr. Gene Fuh of IBM came and taught the course on DB2 and told us how he would approach problems, and it gave us great insight, she says.

Representatives from industry and universities agreed that it was crucial to get students involved in IT who were not only hard-working but had communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills. Both San Jose and San Francisco State Universities educate students by assigning them real world projects. Some companies even outsource their problems to universities through offices like the Center for Business Solutions at San Francisco State University.

The courses being developed by IBM and the universities to train students will be offered by the fall of 2009.

Min Wang stresses how important the collaboration has been for China. Sharing the educational resource is especially important to the universities in developing countries like China, where the most advanced resources are less accessible, she says. Wang hopes that the courses developed in IBMs Silicon Valley Lab will also be adopted by the Ministry of Education and spread to universities throughout China.

The articles above were propagated to many other news sites so I won't bother linking those.

Like a fishie

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-06-30T04:34:40Z

I love swimming and underwater hockey!

Best summer ever. =)

Aid to Children Without Parents (ACWP)

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-06-04T04:06:47Z

Aid to Children Without Parents (ACWP)

A Bay Area non-profit organization started by dedicated members of our community 20 years ago to help Southeast Asian children. Programs include cattle raising, new school, education sponsorship, child sex trafficking prevention, corrective surgery, vaccination, crisis relief.

If you're interested in volunteering, you can contact them online or you can go through me.

Their office is in:
134 Martinvale Lane
San Jose, CA 95119

Volunteers range from young to old. The volunteers I have met are amazing, smart, kind-hearted people.

If you want to help change the world, then change it "one child at a time" (that's ACWP's motto).

Run! Pedal! Pedal!

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-05-23T05:20:10Z

I've been getting back in shape. So far I've been exercising for around 7 days. The first few days I've been just running a mile on my treadmill in my garage. Just yesterday, I thought running 1 mile was ineffective so I added 1 mile of biking on my stationary bike in the garage. That also felt ineffective so today I decided to pump it up to 10 miles. I ran 1 mile (16 minutes) and biked 9 miles. It's a good burning in my thighs but I also need to work on my upper body but my problem area is my abdomen and thighs (particularly inner thighs). Burnt 450+ calories. After the 2nd mile, I realized I could keep going. Biking is a lot easier on the legs than running. The first 3 miles were solidly ran under 18 minutes, 6 minutes for each 1 mile exactly. Total time for biking took about 70 minutes so total exercised 86 minutes.

I think I'll pump it up to 20 miles tomorrow. Then I can burn about 1,000 calories.

I'm 130 pounds. The goal is to lose 20 lbs, even better would be 25. Got to burn more than intake. No more junk food! I can do it! It's going to be so hard since I love junk food so much. Will power!

Anyways, this summer, I plan to work full-time, research topics for my thesis proposal, exercise, read for leisure, and hang out. Maybe I'll get back into anime, manga, and video games.

My Kids

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-03-28T03:09:30Z

These are my sponsored children. Never thought I would have kids at age 22!

Yega Tenzin (India)

DOB: November 24, 2006
Yega is from a very poor Tibetan refugee family now settled in India. The father has been provided with a small piece of land by the Indian Government, where he works for long and tiring hours, but earns only a pittance of about US $113 per annum, to support the family. The mother tries hard to make ends meet with what is at hand, but there is abounding privation. Keen on educating this child, but unable to do so on their own, the parents sought aid from this project. Yega is too young to attend the school. She is growing sweetly under the loving care of her mother. She enjoys playing with toys. Her health is normal. She has short hair. Yega has one brother.

Dadon Tenzin (India)

DOB: September 2, 2006
Dadon is from a very poor Tibetan refugee family now settled in India. The father has been provided with a small piece of land by the Indian Government, where he works for long and tiring hours, but earns only a pittance of about US $113 per annum, to support the family. The mother tries hard to make ends meet with what is at hand, but there is abounding privation. Keen on educating this child, but unable to do so on their own, the parents sought aid from this project. Dadon is too young to attend the school. She is growing sweetly under the loving care of her mother. She enjoys playing with toys. Her health is normal. Dadon has one brother. Your sponsorship is a great blessing to this needy family.

Belaynesh Ayele (Ethiopia)

DOB: April 13, 2004
Belaynesh was born in Mush a small rural village at the Northern part of Shewa Region, to a farmer Orthodox Christian family. She is cheerful, lively and healthy child. She likes playing with toys, volleyball and skipping rope with her age mates. She also helps at home by running errands. She lives with her poor family in a small mud-made hut that is not enough to accommodate the whole family. The mother, being a housewife, takes care of the household chores. The father is a farmer though what he gets from the small plot of land does not satisfy the basic needs of the family. The family makes an annual income of less than $400.00.

Martin Macharia Ndwiga (Kenya)

DOB: February 25, 2003
Martin comes from the Eastern Province of Kenya. His parents are living and work hard to provide their family with basic necessities but it has been difficult since they are unskilled and jobs are scarce. The father is a casual worker and the mother is a peasant farmer but even with their combined efforts, they cannot make ends meet. The boy was brought to our program for assistance. The family's annual income is 140 dollars. Martin is in school and he likes number work. He enjoys playing with homemade balls.

Geoffrey Kasandha (Uganda)

DOB: May 27, 1997
Geoffrey Kasandha was born in Buwenge village, Jinja district, Eastern Uganda. He has siblings and lives with both parents with an average income of less than US120 dollars annually, hence unable to feed, clothe and educate these children. They are Basoga by tribe and Protestants by faith. They live in a grass thatched house made of mud and wattle. Geoffrey Kasandha is in school now and likes mathematics as his best subject. His health and general progress is good.

Micro-Financing

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-03-28T02:16:13Z

Everyone knows that to become rich or at least fairly well-off, one must either have a high salary that is at least 6 digits or have investments. Many people in Silicon Valley have a great deal of money and live well settling into the upper middle class--one can easily see this by traveling near southeast San Jose and viewing the million dollar houses.

It seems to me that there is a rise in start-ups and that means funding from venture capitalists is slowly increasing. These venture capitalists are investing in a service, technology, or product whether tangible or not. I personally prefer to invest in people.

If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I'm a believer in volunteering and donating. If you are considering in doing the same, you can donate physically, temporally, monetarily, and skillfully. I consider the latter two to be the most useful types of donation although physically and temporally is by no means a waste.

Like business, non-profit organizations/events must be well-organized, efficient, and smart; the only difference is the profit. What are important components to businesses? The investments in skilled people who can move a product forward and the monetary funding it first receives and manages later on. So taking skills that are not common to volunteering such as money management and proficiency in technology are in high demand (and more valuable). If you are a skilled person, try to find a volunteer position that fits well with your specialty. A similar way of thinking can be applied to the monetary donation.

True, sponsoring a child or donating periodically to feed and clothe children and families is a noble and great way of using your money. But again, the saying "feed a man a fish and he eats for one day, teach a man to fish and he lives until he is killed by the mercurial poisoning from the fish he caught everyday," applies here. The monetary sponsorship can instead be expanded to not just one child or family but to the community through a practical and business-like method of micro-financing. You can give money to a micro-financing institution that loans out money to a family to invest in their farm. The family can support themselves by increasing the size of their crops and then hire other young workers. Then those young workers are able to support their own families and so on. It's about giving in such a way that it affects the nation's economy in a positive way. So if you are ever to donate monetarily, then I definitely suggest micro-financing programs in third world countries.

Here are some links below:
Kiva - a really great organization that links investors (you) to entrepeneurs in other countries. Company is full of Stanford graduates (think Google).
Christian Children's Fund
Christian Children's Fund - Family Livelihood

Yue Junior - Sofie

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-03-10T05:22:04Z

She's so beautiful.

For those of you not familiar with CyberSource

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-02-19T00:46:04Z

CyberSource, the company I am currently employed at, is somewhat ignored and unknown by most people. No one ever thinks of it unless you are a merchant yourself and own your own business. In fact, we are the leading provider of secure e-commerce solutions for enterprise businesses and with the recent acquisition of the Authorize.Net, small businesses. In the following article, you will see our massive growth in the stock market and see some of the major clients we have: Google, Nike, Harvard, Playboy (yea that's right, we get a lot of revenue from that because even during the recession, men need their porn). Get to know us. We're growing. We're expanding quickly into the global market as well.

eBay Jitters? Consider CyberSource

Editor's note: This column was submitted by Stockpickr member Kurtis Anders, a university student majoring in accounting and finance.

eBay(EBAY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) is feeling the force of its recent disappointing earnings results and gloomy forward guidance. One company's pain might just be another's gain.

Shares of eBay fell hard after the closing bell on Jan. 23, following subpar first-quarter earnings expectations from the Internet auction company. One week later, on Jan. 29, however, CyberSource(CYBS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) reported its highest ever quarterly revenue.

The electronic payment services company met or exceeded analysts' expectations throughout all of 2007 and beat by an average of 23% each quarter. I believe this company will be able to capitalize on the enormous future in e-commerce.

Management at the company gave a great conference call, and I believe it can take advantage of the fear that many eBay users have when shopping or transacting business online. CyberSource provides secure electronic solutions to e-commerce businesses.

The company's services allow merchants to accept a wide range of online payment options including credit cards and e-checks. Its business is primarily focused on large enterprises, but the success of its acquisition of Authorize.net is serving as a new growth opportunity in small-business management. Interestingly, this business is growing at a more rapid pace than the larger enterprise business.

On Jan. 8, the company announced the launch of enhanced fraud protection for PayPal Express Checkout. In a recent press release, the company's vice president of strategic markets said, "We've now made it simple for merchants in the United States and the United Kingdom to easily integrate and manage PayPal payments alongside their other payment options, and bring even greater speed and convenience to their customers' shopping experience." Business Development Director Gene Alston noted, "This means more merchants can again access to 164 million accounts worldwide with relative ease."

Fourth-quarter financial highlights were marked by record revenue of $45 million. Billable transactions increased more than 60% over the prior year. In addition, its global acquiring business grew to $15.9 million of total revenue, more than double the revenue for that division in 2006.

A significant milestone for its business was an ability to blow past its expectation of 1 billion transactions in 2007. The company accomplished this goal in November 2007 and actually finished with a 20% higher rate at roughly 1.2 billion transactions for the year.

A very important fact about this milestone was that it did not include the transactions provided by the Authorize.net business, which accounted for an additional two months' worth of transactions for the year. Growth rates in the original CyberSource business were well along the lines of those in 2006 and the addition of Authorize.net resulted in the ability to grow that business at an even greater rate than 2006.

Current large enterprise customers of the company include many world-renowned companies such as British Airways, Google(GOOG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Harvard Business School, Nike.com(NKE - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Overstock.com(OSTK - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), UCLA and new clients such as Air India, Christian Dior, Juniper Networks(JNPR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and La-Z-Boy(LZB - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). The company was fortunate to renew contracts with Lenovo Group, MIT, Reliance Communications and Sirius Satellite Radio(SIRI - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr).

Clearly, the company has a strong grasp on the e-commerce business and in fact, CyberSource processed about 25% of all U.S. e-commerce transactions. It also processed nearly 20% of all worldwide transactions.

With the current state of the economy, you would have to think that CyberSource's business would slow with it. The answer, in a very strong tone from the company, was that it experienced no material slowdown in December 2007. Management outlined several reasons for the company's ability to weather the storm:

1. Growing Internet accessibility, especially with the increase in broadband capabilities.
2. Accelerating growth outside the U.S.
3. Growing use of Internet in business-to-business transactions.
4. Demographic of the e-commerce shopper implying lower susceptibility to economic hardship.

International growth remains a commitment for the company, and its merchant acquiring business in the U.S. and the U.K. looks to be in a strong position to excel in Europe, Asia and India. India was noted as being a key strong point for the company and was marked by success in the airline and online travel industries. Telecom in India is in a boom phase and the company's strong traction with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications looks to strengthen its presence.

When looking ahead to 2008, one would be remiss to forget the opportunity that exists for business in Asia from the Summer Olympics. The company mentioned that large customers are very interested in selling products in China, specifically mentioning this as a catalyst. They have been able to build connections to support local payment types in China and expect to be in full operation by the summer.

CyberSource appears to be in a great position to serve its customers while providing significant shareholder value in the coming years. The stock rallied more than 20% the week of earnings, but I see no reason why investors should wait to get in on this one. The company grew at 60% over the past year and based on 2007 EPS of 39 cents, only trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of around 42. This year, analysts expect 62 cents a share and the risk is very low that the company will fall short of these estimates if history tells us anything.

I expect the company to continue its record of accomplishment of blowing away analyst estimates. Giving this company a multiple twice the value of its growth, there is no reason why shares should continue trading below the 52-week high of $19.63. CEO William McKiernan stated that 2007 marked the strongest position ever for the company, all in the face of a brutal retail environment.

Hope Giving

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2008-01-20T08:19:54Z

Being a young adult who still lives with my parents and earns a steady income without any truly heavy responsibilities, I find that I have everything I could possibly need and want: freedom, loved ones, a house, a car, a college education, a job, a comfortable bed, a computer, and other materials to supplement my life as hobbies (e.g. books, video games, etc.). And even though I have purchased many things, I have also realized how unnecessary a book from Barnes & Noble is when I can simply go to the library (but even that alternative is a luxury since that means I have a car to go to the library and the fact that there exists a library).

Sure, I pay for my tuition and a considerable chunk of my household's bills, but I have still some income to spare. What should a person do with that? Of course, a person's hard-earned money is up to that person to do as he wishes but I believe those that are more introspective of their life ultimately realize that to better their life, they must help others in need. Why? Because helping others in desperate need and seeing their gratitude and smiles are addictive and that can last a lifetime.

Let's take for example Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt... Sure, these two are incredibly famous, rich, and beautiful but why do they decide to spend their time visiting places of poverty and speaking on behalf of those they have seen when they could just sit back and live comfortably (as Angelina had done so before during her "bad girl" phase)? There's got to be something they pull away from those philanthropic experiences. And there is; it's a sense of deep satisfaction that your existence affected another's so vitally and I'm sure everyone has felt that to some degree (like parents with their children). I'm also sure people like helping other people but it's the everyday things like paying for bills and keeping up to date with the latest trends that make people forget that there are people who are hurting and dying young. No ones like to be surrounded or constantly think of impoverished, disease-ridden, or war-scarred people until it hits them or those they love and that's completely understandable. People think their influence only stretches out with a small radius, not realizing their potential to cause ripples in this world, this global community.

Sure, some are pessimistic, thinking that they can have no effect or worse that they will receive no gratitude or benefit. But humans aren't exactly like mathematical functions where the output is known based on a given input. Sometimes we give our hearts and efforts knowing the outcome and with some we do not but we hope the best. And so with volunteering and donating, we gamble on the latter situation. What we give to someone in another country could affect them in so many ways: the receiver of good will could waste the kindness or become a leader and spread what was given to him.

Having immigrant parents and witnessing their hardships, their defeats, and their triumphs, I have seen the core characteristics that have made my parents successful: hard work, few hours of sleep, thrifty spending, determination, dedication, high expectations/goals, and hope. My parents came from nothing (my father the most, my mother at least had her parents to help) but they had a lot of hope in their pockets. Where did that hope stem from? It came from the land of opportunity (Gum San/Gold Mountain aka America) that they grasped with their own hands and with a bit of luck. But how much of it was luck and how much of it was their own efforts? I would say one half they went looking for opportunities and the other half they were given opportunities unknown/unrealized to them (this is considered the luck bit). What do I mean by that latter half? Consider many, many years ago when the Chinese and other minorities were limited entering into the U.S. and even then they were treated as sub-citizens. Through the progressive efforts of those who thought and believed that all human beings should be treated with equality and decency, they gave hope to the unknown immigrants by bettering the laws although they did not even know each and every immigrant. That is how my parents were able to come to this country to work hard and get decent jobs, because somebody, some people gave them the chance, the luck, the hope. And so I come to this conclusion that one of humanity's greatest assets is hope; the ability to have and give hope. That is why we must give hope as our legacy, whatever form that hope may come in to another person. It is up to everyone of us what form that hope takes and to whom we give it.

When I was very young, I had sworn to myself that I would help sponsor a child when I was older and had steady money. It started when I saw the Christian Children's Fund (CCF) on television; I became aware that there was more to the world than just me, my family, and the people in my local community. A few months ago I had registered for CCF and was debating on sponsoring one or two children. Then suddenly today I was watching the special Happy New Year episode for the Vicar of Dibley show (hilarious British comedy by the way with some social commentary). At the end of the episode, the female vicar showed her close parishioners why they should wear a white band during the G8 summit in 2005 since the parishioners thought it useless and silly; she showed them an online video of two impoverished children who just lost their parents and had no one else, the little boy crying his eyes out and the sister, who could have only been around 10 years old, could not comfort nor support the boy. And when the online video had finished, the vicar turned around to see her parishioners with solemn, understanding faces and their white bands tied tightly around their arms. The episode ended with a close-up of each actor's face, emphasizing the severity of their belief. To say the least, it was very moving to the point of tears so I ran downstairs, reminded again of what my goal was: to sponsor a needy child in a foreign country. (Who said television was just garbage? I personally have always believed in meaningful public television.)

I signed up to feed two (anonymous) children monthly for only $16 at Feed the Children. Only $16! Can you imagine if you just didn't buy one t-shirt, a hardcover book, or takeout dinner? That could feed two starving children! $16 could mean the life of another human being! At www.feedthechildren.org you could even pay just $5 minimum to help out. I urge you instead of buying a present for someone or yourself, honor that person or yourself by helping an impoverished person. And to think, I thought it was funny when someone on television said they received these "Save a panda certificate in their name" gifts. I truly understand the severity now that I am older. To me that gift would be so much more than a stupid shirt or sweater.

I am also sponsoring a child with the Christian Children's Fund for $24/month (less than $1/day!). If my request went through I will be sponsoring Tenzin, a poor female Tibetan refugee girl in India. I am also thinking of sponsoring an African female child because I think Africa has it the worst, particularly because of the whole AIDS situation. I hope I can make a difference in their lives as I hope I did with my donations to OLPC and 2nd Harvest last year in 2007.

And so that long-winded introduction to my point is that we should stop once in a while and consider what we are and are not doing. It is important to help others, yes, of course, everyone knows that, but that just doesn't mean those people who directly impact/benefit us. Take the time to consider yourself as a member of the global community and how you can better your distant neighbors even if it's just one or two people through whatever means--physically or financially, it matters not. In the end, it may be karmic or not, it may come around or not, but whichever you believe, I hope you feel a positive feeling and experience.

For those who already have a decent mp3 player, laptop, car, and what have you, and are considering a better one when the one you already have is sufficient, I implore you to at least think of what else you could do with that money instead. I'm not saying you can't have nice things, but do analyze what you do have and ask yourself, "Isn't that enough for now?" Has someone you never known or barely know ever do anything nice for you? I know there surely have been people who have helped me and (I don't want to sound all high and mighty) but I choose to pay that kindness forward, and I hope all those who read this do so too.

On a final note, please consider the following links:
Feed the Children
Christian Children's Fund

May you live life happily and give hope as you have been given it.

Hydroplaning and other Car-related Tales

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2007-11-11T07:58:37Z

It's heavy rain tonight. Was driving in the slow lane down 101 South around 60-65 mph at 11pm. Hit a puddle and car started going out of control. Tried to countersteer but the wheel was hard to fight. The car started swerving to the left and then in an attempt to veer to the right, I turned right hard but that made matters worse since my car went completely perpendicular to the flow of traffic. Luckily it ended fairly quickly since I was pumping my breaks. Pulled up to the right shoulder and stopped. A van pulled over in front of me. A man came out to ask me if I was all right. I was all right. Adrenaline pumped but all right. He said I had hit that puddle and then he tried to block the other cars from hitting me. Good man. God bless him. I thanked him and shook his hand and we were on our ways down south.

A few months ago while going to work around 4pm, my front right car tire had ripped off and I had no choice but to pull to the left shoulder on 101 North. Called dad. He came and changed the tire. I took his car while he took mine to go to Costco. Since I was trying to get back into traffic, that meant getting back into the fast lane. My father later told me since he was driving behind me, that as I was pulling into the fast lane, he saw a van had helped me slow the other fast cars by flashing his hazard lights and driving in between two lanes so as to block the other cars from hitting me.

And it was only this past Thursday night while at work that I realized my front left car tire seemed a bit flat (the hubcap wasn't quite touching the ground yet so I thought [a] it was a punctured tire or [b] the tire just needed more air) but I took the bet that it was [b] and it could take me home as long as I drove in the right lane down 101 South, staying 60-65 mph. I made it home safely without event. Told dad. Dad pumped the tire back out but he already knew he had to change the tires since he could see the wires exposed in the tire which means it's completely worn out. However, I heard a whizzing sound of the tire. The tire was flat. An hour later, I inspected the tire since dad didn't believe me when I said I heard whizzing sounds since he's partially deaf. The hubcap was touching the ground, the tire was completely flat. Dad looked at me without saying anything but I could tell from his look what he was thinking.

My parents always said I was lucky.

Just glad no one got hurt during these 3 incidents. Drive safely, everyone.

Summer's Over

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2007-09-27T06:13:04Z

I haven't updated since mid-June. Let's try to recall what has happened...

The Good:
Hung out with friends. I can't recall every outing though. Visited Jas' brother Kanwal's apartment complex. Slept over at Jas' sister Harinder's house. Went shopping with Jas and Steph. We went to the Carmel Beach in Monterrey. The warm, white sand between my toes was a great feeling. Uyen and I went to my company picnic at Great America and then went to Nha Trang (Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai) for dinner. Went on rides with manager Al and his family. The water rides were awesome. Had a girls day out with QA; went to Cha Seng Won Tea House on El Camino Real for lunch (Korean) and had tea, cakes, and abalone porridge. It was light and delicate, just the way I like my rice porridge. Then we went to watch Superbad at the AMC theater on Wolfe. Then went back to SGD Tofu House on El Camino Real for dinner (Korean).

Was accepted to Santa Clara University for grad school and was seriously considering going but then the tuition just didn't seem to be worth paying since I plan on more degrees, so I would like to go a "nice" school for my last degree.

Just working. Being put on one project after another even though I had other projects going on. I'm placed in Payment but I did Infrastructure projects as well. Got great feedback and praise from my higher ups. My coworkers and managers are all very professional and considerate. Great people to work with. Too bad there are just way too many projects.

Yue Wang had her 8.6 lb baby on September 19, 2:30am! Her baby is Sofia Chen. Today while I had time, I went to school early and picked up the commencement book that Marty Froomin had saved for Alvin and me. Then went to Yue's house to see how they were doing. Yue Junior is so adorable and soft! Sofia is already so well-behaved, she doesn't cry in front of guests. She's already a week old!

Mom bought these new silk sheets that are so warm. They're toasty and makes me want to stay in bed all day.

Bought a large bookshelf that is situated next to my bed. Now it holds all of my books meant for leisure and my alarm clock. The old bookshelf now just contains my textbooks. Cleared my desk of all the papers and books. Fixed the laptop with Dell service; good thing the warranty still lasts. Although I must admit I would rather have a Lenovo ThinkPad. Finished reading Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies". The short stories were bittersweet as usual.

Bought a white Nintendo DS Lite with games: Cooking Mama, Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright: Justice for All, Under the Knife: Trauma Center, Final Fantasy (I forget which one), some game related to the Dragon Quest slimes and of which the title escapes me, and Touch Detective. I can see why the DS sold very well. It's extremely fun and more interactive.

The Bad:
My grandfather was assaulted on the streets by some large man. The attacker struck my grandfather's right ear, obviously very hard. The man apparently did not steal anything so he was not a mugger; just a sick man who wanted to hurt an elderly man.

Alvin recently injured his finger while playing football at his company picnic. He is going to need hand surgery since the joint bone broke off still attached to the tendon so he is unable to move his left finger. Hopefully he can get worker's compensation. If he doesn't, that's pretty shady of the company then.

Too many projects to complete at work. I don't just mean for me but the entire department has been getting more work. There are 10 people but 15 projects! There are 15 projects that are to be released in October. Impossible with just the resources that we have now. Don't have a laptop since it's first come first serve but my higher ups are fighting to get me one. I'm covering the 1am morning push tonight since I had class during the 5pm night push.

Started school at SJSU for grad. Taking CS247 with Chun and CS166 with Stamp. Was originally taking CS249 but that was at 5:30pm which is during heavy traffic so I don't want to scramble and be late for class on a test day. Classes have been good so far. If only they weren't back to back though from 7pm to 10pm on Monday and Wednesday. So if I'm not at work or school, then I'm at home doing homework. CS166 gives homework every week which is burdensome but it at least drills the material into the student. Chun and Stamp are great teachers with vigorous, challenging, and student -tested and -proven curriculum. They are tough but fair; most important of all, you learn what they teach you. I will never forget what they have taught me. I put the whole school section under "The Bad" because well, it's school, regardless of the great teachers and enjoyable subjects I have!

My weight hasn't changed. Still stuck at 125 lbs. Having a sedentary life doesn't seem to be helping. Haven't been running 1 mile daily like I wanted to. Been snacking more. Haven't been able to get up in the mornings. Been sleeping at least 10 hours everyday.

Summer is over and I will never have a summer vacation like I did when I was a student. I'm growing up...*gulp* becoming an adult with responsibilities.

22 and still going

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2007-06-14T05:20:42Z

It's been real crazy.

Graduated from SJSU with my BSCS degree. Finished the semester with pretty good grades. Now I'm just working full-time. No time to do much else for myself only now.

Had went to San Francisco to take grandparents out to dinner with mom and Alvin; went to Fook Yuen which I think is a good restaurant.

VTIC'07 is over now and it went well. It was really fun. Great group of people. I had been there at the hotel since Friday night until Sunday morning.

Got accepted into the MSCS program at SJSU so probably going there this Fall.

Just turned 22. So much has changed.

Thank you to all those that took the time out and wished me a happy birthday. Thank you very much. It really made my day brighter. =)

Had steak and cake for dinner. Jenny joined us since she came to drop off gifts.

Oh, yea for automation testing, never use WebKing unless you're desperate.

Too bad I won't have summer vacations anymore.

Bought dad a nice office chair for Father's Day.

Weather is getting warmer. Just last night I had to wear shorts and leave my window open when going to sleep.

Coming to a close

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2007-05-13T05:05:30Z

Last day of instruction is on May 15. Finals begin May 17.

Been going to school, work, volunteer meetings. Been writing papers, finishing projects, proofreading papers (4 revisions so far), programming some small utilities for work, coming up with agendas, reading as much as I can from my leisure books. Just been hitting the bed hard when I come home. Sending out a lot of emails. Finished submitting graduate applications, just mainly need to wait for replies or confirm with the schools that they received the documents. Spent time with Jas watching some movies. Loved Fanaa. Finished reading Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake and my friend's published book Bittersweet Memories by Jenny Katherine Luu.

Now that the school semester is coming to a close, I just have a project, 8-10 page paper, practical final, last access path tuning homework, and finals to complete. Once that is over, I will officially have completed my undergraduate work and earned my BS degree in Computer Science. Then it will just be work everyday and side projects for fun. So much technology to catch up with. The VACETS VTIC'07 conference will be from June 1 to June 3 so that will be soon, so volunteering for that event will be done with soon. I should get into other volunteer efforts.

Must get in touch with other people I've lost contact. Hema had her baby and I haven't had proper time to visit her and her baby boy.

Red Envelopes make for excellent bookmarks

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2007-04-18T04:31:57Z

I haven't updated in a while and this is for two reasons:
1) I'm busy.
2) I don't have much to say besides "I'm busy" so it is rather boring since I just record my what I did since the last entry.

What I have recently discovered is, like the title of this entry states, that lucky red envelopes make for excellent bookmarks. They really do. So here comes a personal admission: I don't throw away red envelopes. NEVER. I even keep my brother's envelopes. I keep them for "luck" and I see it as a crying shame that such lovely looking things are even thrown away, so I've saved all of them since as long as I can remember. I have A LOT.

Regrettably, they never held a large amount of money. However, I do see value in the envelopes themselves. These little folded red pieces of paper say a lot about the person who gave them if you think about it. Some envelopes carry the mark of the surname, others not. Some have bright and colorful pictures. Regardless, they are all quite eye-catching especially the Hello Kitty ones, I must admit.

Recently, I've been reading a handful of books here and there so I skip around from book to book without actually finishing one before moving on to the next. I do this because a book has come to a rather boring point so I move onto another which interests me at the moment. It's like multiprogramming with one CPU but much slower (I think of everyday life rituals in hardware and software terms now thanks to Dr. Chun). But I digress so back to the point. And so I figured that it wastes time to flip through the pages to figure out where I had left off and wastes energy and memory to remember the exact page number although I do remember the story. I passed by my containers of red envelopes and a "eureka" thought hit me and realized that I could put them to better use. Now I use them for fiction books I read in my leisure time and for textbooks which I really need since I need to mark important spots. Unfortunately, I cannot write on the red envelopes like I can do with post-its because I refuse to defile them that way. But that's a small price to pay for the joy I get from using the red envelopes instead. So remember not to throw away too many of those red envelopes.

Could it all be falling into place? Dare I jinx it?

nospam@example.com (Amy Cho) — 2007-04-02T00:07:26Z

Had done my second round of interviews at CyberSource. They offered me the job and I'll be working there starting this coming Tuesday. Duy asked if I was interested in volunteering for VACETS' VTIC event (I encourage you to join: www.vacets.org). I agreed and so I'll be coordinating the equipment that will be used on the day of the event and handling any registration details between the website form and the database if there is any need to do so. Students can register for the event for FREE from June 1 to June 3 (weekend).

The first Saturday of the Spring Break, my dad's sister and her children came up to visit the cemetery. I cleaned up my room and the cars. Did a lot of errands. Went to the San Mateo cemetery then went back home and I was tired. Offered and prayed at home. Picked up Round Table pizza for dinner to accompany the traditional meal meant for our grandparents. Then Sunday, mom and I went to San Francisco. Took my dad's sister and her daughter with us since they wanted to walk around Union Square and Chinatown. Mom and I went to the cemetery on my mom's side of the family. Mom and I took her parents home and ate. Then mom and I went to pick up dad's sister and her daughter. Mom and I walked around Chinatown and went to the Natural Teashop and met up with dad's sister and her daughter. Went to Ocean Delight back in San Jose for dinner with dad and Alvin.

Monday after, dad dropped his sister and her family at the airport. I went to work. The rest of the week was pretty much filled with work at school. Went to Jas' house one night since I got her "The Suitable Boy". Got it while I was browsing around Barnes & Nobles and purchased lots of books. Got "The Namesake", "The Interpreter of Maladies", "The Red Tent", etc. I read halfway through "The Hobbit" and "The Namesake" so far. Didn't really touch the two assignments due soon after break. Called Dell about my LCD display. Still have a lot to do. Went to Costco Saturday with Alvin. Sunday today I'm finishing up the assignments due soon so I had went to the library and got books on bog people. Just have to write an abstract and provide 10 non-web sources. Then have to complete 267 assignment. Didn't get to bum around as much as I wanted to this Spring Break.