Rob Cheng’s Blog

Rob Cheng’s Blog

Formerly, My Stoned Thoughts

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Are We Airline Customers or Guests in Delta’s Home?

I have not flown Delta in close to a year now. I have flown probably close to 100,000 miles personally, and my family has flown combined another 100,000 miles and none of it has gone to Delta. I am still mad over the episode. I still have the unfulfilled ticket I purchased for my oldest son which Delta refused to honor nor refund.

I received a lot of comments about sharing my horrible experience with Delta. Thanks for all the comments. But three comments from a poster named DL Employee caught me eye. Here’s a clip from one of the three comments.

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Stoned Thoughts July 2010

  • Am I getting my rated speed from my ISP?
  • We could get out of the current economic crisis, if all the people that had excess funds, like me, spent it rather than hoarding it. But that isn’t going to happen.
  • Would Las Vegas be a good place to live?
  • Read More »

My Résumé

When I look back at when I was a teenager, I was always trying to figure out a way to make money. I wasn’t in love with money, nor was I materialistic, but I loved the independence of money. Back in the 1970’s, I burned almost all of my money on calculators and music. Find below, the work that I did, that really never found its way on to a résumé. I have accomplished a lot in my work life, but I am equally as proud of my pre-career as well.

One important note. Somehow, somewhere, something changed. When I was a boy, me and all of my friends wanted to work. We wanted to learn how to make money, become independent of our parents, and not have an allowance. Today, it is clear that not all teenagers work. It seems almost as if the ones that work are looked down upon, by the non workers. For me, that seems upside down. Read More »

Angra dos Reis - More Photos

We just got back from one of the most awesome vacations ever. Angra dos Reis is the most beautiful place that I have ever been. I don’t say that lightly. I have traveled throughout the entire world, and up to now, I thought that Yosemite National Park was the most beautiful. I visited there in 1983.

Angra has everything. There are many mountains and water falls very near the beach. But perhaps most beautiful, are all the islands off the coast. They say that there are over 300 islands of all different sizes. Because of all the islands, there are very few waves and boating is very peaceful. Three times, we rented a boat and tried to explore new places. There are many private beaches and restaurants that are only amenable by boat. Many of the islands do not have electricity, only by generator. I really love to swim and I could spend hours just swimming in the clear waters with the fish. While swimming I saw many many fish of all colors and sizes, star fish, and a big tortoise. It was so much fun. The water is so clear that you can see everything in the water while swimming which probably has the best snorkeling in the world.

Here are our pictures of this marvelous place although pictures do not do it justice.

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Angra dos Reis

We are on our first day of a much needed vacation. We are staying at a place called Hotel do Frade which sits on the beach but also has a golf course which nestles against the mountains. I woke up early and decided to run the gofl course TWICE. I am not sure how far I ran but I am estimating between 10-11 miles. Then we went swimming in the hotel pool. Later, we went bike riding on the golf course for about an hour. It was a good full day and a great start to the vacation. Read More »

10 Reasons Why Brazil Will Become A World Super Power

I have now lived in Brazil for close to 7 years. I have married a Brazilian woman, and I have two children, one which was born in Rio de Janeiro. So I am very embedded in Brazil, but I believe that I can state in an unbiased manner why I believe that Brazil is set to become an economic super power. When I look at the facts, it is a stark and scary difference to compare the fundamentals of the American economy with that of Brazil.

1. No wars or enemies

Only 25 years ago, Brazil was a military dictatorship. But since that time, Brazil has avoided military conflict. This of course is in stark contrast to the United States, where we manufacture reasons to go to war (weapons of mass destruction).

2. Made in Brazil

By and large, Brazil’s trade policy has been protectionist. Still today, many conveniences of American modern life are either non existent or very expensive. One area where they could improve greatly is in technology such as computers. Computers are still very expensive in Brazil and hence internet adoption and basic computing skills lag behind other developed nations. That said, the upshot of this policy is that Brazil produces almost everything it consumes. A great example are cars. Cars are affordable in Brazil, and I would say that 90% of the automobiles in Brazil are made in Brazil.

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Stoned Thoughts

  • Develop a system to identify people in movies and photos.
  • What is the best way to ignore people without shutting off communication?
  • Determine the standard deviation of daily television viewership by channel.
  • Market a restaurant as having the best desserts in town.
  • Read More »

Christmas 2009 Photo

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! No matter how I look at 2009, it was a tough, tough year, but that said, there is still so much to be thankful for. We made it back to Myrtle Beach in mid December, and it was very hectic. On top of that, December 29th, is also Jesse’s birthday. So to commemorate all the the things to be thankful for, I decided to have a nice photo shoot of me and my wonderful family. The pictures turned out great. Read More »

My Stoned Thoughts

  • Do memorable things with your family.
  • I can remember my grade point average every semester in college.
  • Create a college scholarship based on perfection. As soon as they get a B, they lose the scholarship.
  • Read More »

Bubble Myths


14 months ago the American economic bubble burst bringing about the worst recession since the Great Depression. Since that time, in the age of internet enlightenment, we have all watched as the Fed has done everything in is power to re-inflate the bubble. It is a very weird time in the history of our country and I hope I can bust a few myths related to our economic bubble.

Our economy is not improving

They are quick to rush out any sign that the economy is improving because GDP is on the rise. The best measure of the strength of our economy is not GDP; it’s employment. No matter how you cut it, the unemployment numbers continue to grow. Plus if you add in the people that were searching for a job and have given up, the picture looks even worse.

Although the Fed and the government would like us to believe that things are improving, it is a hard pill to swallow as long as unemployment continues to rise. If one takes into account, all of the illegal aliens and transient workers that have left since the economy imploded, the employment picture looks abysmal.

The Stock Market is not a proxy for the economy

The Dow has hit over 10,000 and is up to over 30% from its lows a little over a year ago. Wow! That is great growth. The problem is that in times such as these, there is little or no relation to stock market performance and that of our economy. Read More »

Polls

All time home run champion, Barry Bonds, was recently indicted for perjury. Which one of the following outcomes is most likely?

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Books Read

Game Change
by John Heileman
Read in Aug 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
Fatal Flaws
by Stuart Yudofsky
Read in Aug 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
How an Economy Grows
by Peter Schiff
Read in Aug 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
End of Wall Street
by Roger Lowenstrein
Read in Aug 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall
Read in Jun 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
13 Bankers
by Johnson Kwak
Read in Jun 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
The Big Short
by Michael Lewis
Read in May 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
Word of Honor
by Nelson Demille
Read in May 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
Accidental President of Brazil
by Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Read in Apr 2010
Check it out at My Book List.
Secrets of the Temple
by William Greider
Read in Apr 2010
Check it out at My Book List.

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