Vickie Guan

Alaska and Yunnan-Tibet travel

2022-07-10T00:00:00-07:00

Travel - the world is big

Alaska and Yunnan-Tibet, the wonderful wilderness

The Alaska trip in 2022 reminded me a lot of the scenery I experienced while backpacking on the Yunnan-Tibet route(滇藏线) in 2008. Mighty snowy mountains, vast expanse of tundra, countless braided rivers, indigenous people, and their historic native cultures. Alaska and Yunnan-Tibet have so much in common, but each has its own unique characters. Many places in Alaska are only accessible with waterway or airway. The proximity to Arctic and vast coverage of frost-white glaciers makes Alaska so mysterious and powerful. You would hear the power of nature when iceberg calving occurs from a distance (ice chunks breaks from the edge), it sounds like a crash of thunder but much louder because you could be just a few hundreds meters away.

Unlike Alaska faced the ocean, Yunnan-Tibet is an uphill 1200-mile long route in the west of mainland China, the whole journey is on the high altitude. The starting point, Kunming, is at 2000 meters(≈7000 feet) which is already considerably high. From there, the route is getting higher each stop all the way to the Tibetan regions which range from 3500 to 4500 meters (12000 to 14000 feet) in elevation, the worst challenge on that route was not the constant uphill part, it was the altitude sickness caused by reduced oxygen and change of air pressure. However, because of the extreme elevation,the route covers the lushest scenery and best-preserved traditional cities. 14 years later, the time spent in Alaska reminded me all the wonder experienced on that route, but not always the same.

Prince William Sound and Whittier - the sound appears so elegant and wild! It can be accessed through 3 major ports. We accessed the sound through Whittier which is a peaceful, odd, eerie, and gorgeous tiny town born in WWII after the Pearl Harbor attack. It’s a bizarre outpost built as a secret military installation. After military pulled out in 1960s, the buildings had fallen into despair,ruined and some of them remain in limbo. In danger of becoming a ghost town, it somehow survived and become a popular cruise ship port. Nowadays Whittier economically relies on fishing and tourism, all of 200 residents live in an incongruous 14-story apartment tower, I spotted a few trailheads near the tower during a morning run, but I was a bit too afraid to go in. Roads are unpaved, dirt and gravel throughout the town. I chose Whittier because it’s an easy drive from Anchorage and a stop of the Alaska Railway. Getting in Whittier involves in driving through a tunnel that was also built for military purposes. Despite how bizarre it is, I found it rather interesting given the history. Besides, it has offered the best experience we had in viewing glaciers!

Spencer Whistle is a stop on Glacier View route by Alaska Railroad, only accessible by train or helicopter. It’s one-hour scenic ride from Whittier. Peaceful and remote with spectacular views, the only way to get close to glaciers is by kayaking or hiking. With small children, we turned round after 3 mile hike. It’s a place that I would come back for staying above the glaciers overnight.

Kenai Fjords National Park – located on Kenai Peninsula southwest of Alaska, one could spend a month in Kenai and still just see a fraction of the region, it is massive! Top pick for lots of explorers and it offers the true wilderness adventure. Kenai is dominated by marine mammals -humpback whales, finback whales, orcas, porpoises, sea otters, seals resting on the ice, bears strolling on the beach. We saw them all in there! City of Seward is the gateway to the Kenai Park and can be easily accessed by boat, road, and rail, very touristy, overly crowded at the harbor and downtown. It is the port where major cruise lines dock and tons of cruise ship passengers flood in town. My first impression about Seward is that it looks like a mini version of Santa Cruz. In comparison with other many other authentic Alaskan towns, Seward is a place to recharge, time to refill groceries, food, gas, tools and everything else.It’s convenience but overall, I feel it’s a bit too “civilized” for Alaska.

Talkeetna – a sleepover town on the way to Denali. By nature, it’s more of a village that has maintained many traditions and things from 100 years ago. It can be very simple, amazing, old school, and artsy. Standing by the river of Talkeetna on a sunny day, you could see the peak of Denali appear above the clouds. The view was surreal!

Lastly, the mighty Denali!

The continent’s highest mountain. Highly popular in the summer for backpacking and camping. It requires 4-6 months to plan and make reservations. I planned only 2 nights at Denali National Park, which I found not realistic only when we got there. For kids, it might be enough, but for Denali itself, it’s not even enough time for a start. Denali, in native language, means “the land”. It’s everything Alaska was meant to be. June is one the best months to view Denali because the tundra comes alive with hundreds of animals, clear sky with the views of Denali mountains. Hunting was never allowed.

There is only one road through the park - the 90 miles unpaved Park Road which is closed to private vehicles after 15 miles. Park shuttle buses are the only transportations to get in further other than hiking and trekking. It’s indeed a place where you bring all your gears and camp out in the wild mountains for as long as you wish, because it’s the only way to fit in and feel the Denali! The clear view of the Denali peak(Mt McKinley) resembles Meili Mountains(梅里雪山) I saw near Tibet, it was also the most magnificent view along the Yunnan-Tibet route.

We couldn’t hike inside too much further during this trip,but it has brought me back the memories of hiking in the wilderness for days and nights at my 20s. I would love visiting this place many times during my lifetime because there is so much more than just the view. It’s a lifetime experience, and the view just happens to be the reward.

We’ll come back whenever everyone is ready. We’ll be back on the road again!

Manila and Boracay

2022-01-01T00:00:00-08:00

Travel Archive - the world is big

I went to The Philippines in 2009, it was my first time to experience island countries in Southeast Asia which is commonly known as the exotic and exciting paradise.

Philippines consists of thousands of islands, countless beaches, but my trip was for business, so I ended up spending most of my time in office buildings and hotel conference rooms in the capital city Manila. Despite the intense work schedules, I managed to spend a day to tour the historical part of the city and visited San Agustin Church, Manila Cathedral, and Fort Santiago which were the most important historic sites in Manila. Those were built in 1500s and went through several times of destruction and reconstruction during the time of Spanish Empire and World War II. Even though I loved to explore the historical charm each time I visited a new place, Metro Manila was more impressive with its vibrant night life and street food. There were parties everywhere! Cover bands performed in every restaurant and bar, mixed crowds of locals and tourists all came out sitting outside in the balmy, warm summer night enjoying music and delicious street food.

Sisig, which is a typical Filipino dish that can be found everywhere on the street, is hot, sizzling pig face with lots of herbs and chili peppers seasoning and a runny egg on top. Spicy,chewy, and fatty, possibly the best thing one could ever eat with a cold beer!

During the weekend, I flew over to Boracay for beaches. I remembered reading from a travel magazine that Boracay was awarded as the best island in the world that year, and famous for many things. Well, I happened to be in the country, why not to go check it out! I didn’t have time to see everything, but there were 2 things I wanted to check out – one is the white beach, the other is scuba diving. I remembered taking a short flight, a local motorized tricycle, then a boat to get to the beach. There are many small islands around Boracay, the main one has all the water activities and great nightlife experiences. The scenery is beautiful! I must admit that it’s the most beautiful beach I have seen, it still is! Among all the beaches I have visited - in Southeast Asia I went back to visit a few more times later, in Mediterranean, Europe, North and South Americas. I didn’t find anywhere that was as calm, gentle, and fine as Boracay beaches.

It’s so true that Boracay was such a lush tropical paradise, and diverse, too. It’s a place that attracts people around the world, some people visit, and visit again, eventually settle down and live there. My diving coach was just like that. I forgot his name but remembered the story he shared - he came from Singapore and wanted to dive for the rest of his life, he was looking for beach that looks like a paradise and settled in Boracay. Learning and trying scuba diving just came naturally when staying in a place like that, you always wondering what’s like under the paradise. The lessons were short but very intense. I had to digest lots of knowledge, to learn about the gear, and to practice the skills in a very short period given my limited time there.

The diving group had 7 people including the diving master, we flopped off a boat into the middle of ocean. The deepest point I went down was about 35 feet below the water where I saw some really cool eels, I don’t know the kind, but they were dark purple color and teeth were visible when I swam close to them, I was reaching out to them before they slipped into corals and rocks. It was astonishing! It felt like landing on a foreign planet that is so full of bright colors. It’s so stunning that at some point, you would just forget that you are a human that must use gear to dive and breath! A couple of year later, I did scuba diving in other places, but the experiences in Boracay always seem to be more dazzling!

硅谷一滴血的故事

2021-12-15T00:00:00-08:00

故事发生在旧金山湾区的南湾，也叫做硅谷。

在斯坦福大学与帕洛阿托市（Palo Alto）交界处有一个科技研究园叫做 Stanford Research Center。这个地方从50年代开始就陆续出现了不少科技先驱，创始人，发明家。比如乔布斯（Jobs），扎克伯格(Zuckerberg)，惠普(Hewlett and Packard)，马斯克(Musk)等。

2003 年,一个19岁的女孩从斯坦福大学辍学，在斯坦福科技园里注册了一家医疗科技公司，并依靠家里的资助申请了十几项专利。这家公司的名字就叫做Theranos。这个女孩就是故事的主角：伊丽莎白 · 霍普斯（Elizabeth Holmes）。后面就称为“霍姐”。

一，童话里的独角兽

霍姐出生在一个富裕的家庭，幸运的考进了著名的斯坦福大学，进修化学工程专业。前途看似一片光明。除此之外，霍姐的相貌也很出众，一头亮丽的金发，一双超大的眼睛，冰蓝如水，摄人心魄。有一天，霍姐突发奇想，如果抽血能不用针管，只用指尖的几滴血就能检测出健康指标和潜在的病患，那不就是医疗界革命性的创新吗？她越想越热血沸腾，无法专心学习。终于有一天，她找到医学院的资深教授 - 菲利斯教授。菲利斯是一位经验丰富的中年女性教授，听到霍姐绘出的梦想蓝图后，就直言说她的想法在物理操作上行不通，只是个理论，可惜无法实现。菲利斯教授一片好心，直言快语，忠言逆耳。但霍姐也不是轻易放弃的人，她转身去找化学院院长。这个院长的态度和菲利斯教授有天壤之别，他不仅夸奖霍姐的主意好，还表示愿意投资协助。于是这个斯坦福大学的院长成了霍姐未来公司的第一位投资人。

我们都知道，医生有时需要病人的血样数据来进行诊断和治疗，检验往往有血量的要求，如果需要的数据多，还要抽多管的血，然后送到指定实验室，由专业人员检验并制作报告。不同检验对象对血量的需要也不一样，但基本至少都是一针管。霍姐的梦想是就用指尖的一滴血去达到同样的检验效果。不仅如此，还要把这个验血的技术推广到大街小巷，各大药房，不管有没有医疗保险，人人都负担的起，人人都验的到。没有可怕的针头，没有漫长的等待，没有高昂的费用。这是改变世界的想法啊，万一成功了，绝对是医疗领域突起的一只独角兽！

二，Fake it till you make it!

意思就是：假扮直到你成功。硅谷之所以叫硅谷，大部分都归因于这是一个生长科技新理念，新主意的土地。目前世界上大部分跟计算机科技有关的发明，都是诞生在这片土地上。可是发明是从有疯狂想法开始的，还需要很多的钱。如果是容易实现的事，那就谈不上创新了，所以要大胆去想去做热爱的事，万一实现不了也没关系，先把牛皮吹出去，投资人找好了，钱圈进来，然后再慢慢发明，发明不出来呢，就装！就像在很遥远的距离外插上一根标杆，能不能达到那个标杆，好多企业家一开始并不知道，有些人真的达到了，有些人貌似达到了。现实中，真发明家，假发明家都混在一起。达到标杆之前你到底装了多久也没人知道，也不重要。可达不到标杆的那些最终要承担欺骗的后果。这就是硅谷的创新艺术！

我们都知道托马斯·爱迪生(Thomas Edison)是一个非常伟大的发明家和企业家，他名下有2000多项专利，其中对世界影响最大的有电灯泡，摄影机，留声机，直流电力系统。电灯是他比较早期的一项发明，在招揽投资人积累资金的时候，他并没有把握，而且实验接二连三的失败。每次投资人来看进展，他就伪造糊弄过关，就在把钱和信用差不多都耗光了的时候，灯泡亮了！实验成功了！这个故事在硅谷人尽皆知，霍姐也不例外，而且霍姐很崇尚这个精神，她的指尖验血神器就起名叫“爱迪生”。

三，我就是相信她！

霍姐有一双炯炯有神的美丽大眼睛，它们会不眨的凝视，闪烁着迷幻的光芒。霍姐恰好又很会讲故事。数据往往没人看，可是故事总有人爱听。数据没有情绪和感觉，故事正相反。如果你有先知的本领，那你有没有卖出去的本领呢，怎么让别人相信？霍姐就有本事让别人相信，于是资金源源不断的滚来。

上面说的这第一位出资人斯坦福大学化学院院长，除了提供金钱，还提供了他的社会影响，人脉。这些通通都被霍姐灵活利用，去招揽更多的资金。刚才还说了霍姐出身富贵，家里的影响带来了媒体，加大了她的出镜率。再加上霍姐那双深邃的大眼睛，她看起来就是一个真诚，聪明，勇敢，创造未来的天才。在公司成立的7年里，霍姐没网站，没产品，全凭一身魔力获得商界，政界很多知名大佬们的支持。2013年她的创业公司Theranos融资到4亿美元，而市值达到顶峰接近45亿美元，雇员800多人。再看看她的大佬级投资人董事会是个什么构成：GeorgeShultz（前国务卿），William Perry （前国防部长），Sam Nunn（参议员），Richard Kovacevich（富国银行主席），Rupert Murdoch（传媒巨头默多克），Larry Ellison（甲骨文CEO），沃尔玛兄弟。除此之外，霍姐还获得海军上将和陆战队将军的大力支持，以便日后为美国军方服务做铺垫。对公司内部呢，她扮演一个魅力十足的偶像领导者。她让员工深信他们改变世界的使命，员工们士气高昂。

值得一提的是，霍姐很会看人，她瞄准年长，有权势的男性。这些人有什么特点呢？有钱，有社会影响力，更重要的-有政治背景，而且喜欢年轻貌美的姑娘。硅谷本来就是科技主导，男性主导，男性领导的职场环境。可能一个世纪才出现一个有先知的天才女科学家，加上年轻貌美，如此难得的一枝独秀，怎么会不支持？霍姐深知她的优势。她的投资人都是爱听故事的人，他们对她深信不疑。

四，潘多拉宝盒与魔法棒

霍姐的的魔法全藏在她的宝盒里，盒子里有天机，对外绝不泄露，这就是之前提到的爱迪生验血仪。这盒子看起来是个黑色半米长左右的立方体。这个爱迪生怎么操作呢？患者提供指尖的几滴血，把血放在一个内匣子里，再把匣子放进爱迪生里。仪器内部进行机械操错，化学反应，几分钟后结果出来，由实验室人员做成报告，反馈给患者。听起来就像变魔法一样！但是在硅谷，这主意就是卖的出去。可投资人们也不是傻子，他们几千万几个亿的资金砸在这个装满魔法的爱迪生里，这里面的神奇不让看，总能听个解释吧。这就是霍姐解释的原话：

“Chemical reaction occurs generating a signal, from the interaction with the blood sample translating into a result, which is reviewed by the laboratory personnel.”

这么模糊的解释，说了跟没说一样。霍姐的目的就是要说了跟没说一样。反正投资大佬们也不是化学医学上的专家。至于仪器里到底发生什么了，知道真相的人除了霍姐，还有参与研发仪器的科学团队。这问题就来了，霍姐有瞒天过海的本领，可她手下的科学家们是实打实不会撒谎的技术人员，经过几年的研发，这仪器到底是否行的通，科学团队里总会有人质疑，第一个质疑的人是一个叫Ian的化学家，他在2012年指出爱迪生验血仪在物理理论上不会成功，并通过实验和报告证实了这点。可霍姐是谁啊！她早有预备，她有强大的科学团队，可她的律师阵容更厉害！律师团里各个都是牛人，以David Boise（伯利兹）为首。这个伯利兹在美国是个让人闻风丧胆的律师，他闻名于有颠倒黑白的本事，接手的客户都是大有来头。他曾经把微软告的体无完肤，还代理了好莱坞导演Harvey Weinstein高调性骚扰案件。霍姐有他保护，自然不把这些科学家放在眼里。霍姐把各种法律责任和违约后果摆在Ian的面前，采用心理战术，不断施压，以撤销专利和身败名裂为威胁。Ian毕竟是个简简单单的科学家，哪里是霍姐的对手，他不愿意身败名裂，又不愿意撒谎骗人，他选择了自杀。Ian的自杀在Theranos里是一个警示，没有人知道到底发生了什么，但是敢于出来讲真话的人越来越少。

与此同时，霍姐的公司里传播着一种很诡异的氛围。团队之间不许沟通，员工之间不许交换信息。任何事情都是超级机密，每个人的邮件和行踪都被监视和跟踪。员工各个神经兮兮，连交换眼神都要小心翼翼。霍姐的办公室也装上了防弹玻璃，进出有保镖跟随。可是爱迪生的研发还是要继续，霍姐面临着两大难题：第一是散热问题，仪器里有上百种硬件，同时运作，温度过高产生机械故障。第二是血量问题，指尖抽取那么一点点血，确实验不出来数据。于是霍姐挥出魔法棒 - 稀释！血量问题解决了，可这稀释完出来的数据有多可靠就不好说了。于此同时，霍姐大张旗鼓把精力搞在品牌和市场上，她出席各种科技名流活动，在政界，商界的名人圈里出入自如，媒体们更是紧随其后。她频繁出现在各大杂志封面，报纸头条，财富榜首，到处能看到她与各大政界名流的合影，甚至拉拢奥巴马，并邀请当时总统后选人拜登来硅谷出席演讲，支持她神圣的使命。你敢说的她的产品不靠谱，那是你没有创新精神，不适合在硅谷生存！

霍姐在外面无论如何光鲜亮丽，可是产品还是没出来，她的爱迪生验血仪什么事也干不了，这是铁打的事实。她心里清楚的很，可是她拿了投资人那么多的钱，哪个她也得罪不起，既然没有退路就继续装吧。当投资人的钱花的差不多了，她需要新的资金。于是，霍姐又挥出了魔法棒，她盯上了药房的生意。为了取得药房的信任，霍姐把广告打的更狠，牛皮吹的更厉害，她承诺爱迪生一分钟可以做200个血样检验。前面提过，她要把她的创新推广到千家万户，于是她先找到了美国第一大药房- Walgreen，凭着霍姐华丽的外表，摄人的眼神，光彩照人的知名度，还有背后董事会的大佬团，Walgreen二话没说就把合同签了，最先与她合作的是位于美国西南部阿里桑那州的Walgreen连锁，2013年，霍姐就这么莫名其妙的上线了！可是，她的爱迪生什么也干不了，她拿什么上线？霍姐有策略，那就是病人验血不需要医生的下单。这样的她的潘多拉魔盒就可以足不出户，继续藏在公司机密的实验室里，什么也不会泄露出去。这是一个什么概念呢？就是验血好像在餐厅吃饭一样，你在菜单上勾选就好。比如你是一名患者，医生说需要验血数据来进行诊断，于是你可以选择去药房的Theranos验血站去购买你要验血的项目，然后贡献指尖上的几滴血就好。费用低廉，没有等待。至于那几滴血带到哪去了，怎么检测的，报告有多可信，就是天大的机密了。

霍姐常常把自己和苹果教父乔布斯比在一起，她崇拜乔布斯，学乔布斯辍学创业，穿和乔布斯一样的黑色高领，常引用乔布斯讲过的话。每次有人质疑时，她说，乔布斯在研发苹果产品的时候，周围的人都阻止他，攻击他，说他行不通，可是Macintosh出来了，然后Macbook，ipod， iphone,，ipad一个接一个的出来了，苹果改革了电脑和数码行业，这些产品进入了千家万户，改变了世界的沟通方式。乔布斯做到了，并证明了那些阻碍他的人都是错的，这是改变世界的必经之路。可霍姐忽略了很重要的一点，乔布斯的产品无关性命。而她的产品，关系到病人的血液，医生的诊断，性命攸关！

与Walgreen的合作给霍姐注入了4亿美元的新资金，并打开了药房的大门，之后霍姐又签了另一大连锁药房Safeway。客户多了，验血的人也越来越多，可霍姐的爱迪生不灵啊，她怎么应付呢？于是她购买了大量市场上销售的第三方传统验血仪器，比如西门子仪器。人变多了，时间长了，她也害怕验血不准，事情败露。她知道血量的事必须解决，于是她要求来抽血的90%的病人提供静脉血。就是说广告打出来指尖一滴血，但病人真去抽的时候，才发现和其他地方一样要通过静脉抽取一针管的血。血样被送去Theranos实验室后，全部是人工一管一管的把血样放进西门子机器，再人工逐个采取数据做出报告。与此同时，霍姐在外面继续鼓吹她的爱迪生是如何的神奇。可毕竟还是有10%的病人采用指尖取血，测不准，就引起了医生的怀疑。陆续有医生和诊所主动联系霍姐的实验室要求解释，可是得到的答案都是模糊不清。

那监管部门从不来检查吗？来啊。FDA和CMS来检查的时候，霍姐就使出各种魅力来魔幻政府人员。为了主动给他们证明爱迪生的神奇，霍姐主动提供服务，收取他们指尖的几滴血后，就带去高级餐厅吃饭。同时，实验室人员快马加鞭的把血样送进西门子仪器并赶出报告，一会儿霍姐带着政府人员姗姗而回，验血报告也准备好了。还有霍姐身后那些强大政治巨头，其实政府人员也只是来例行公事而已。

五，天机不可不泄漏

无论霍姐在外面如何小心翼翼，秘密在公司内部终究不是秘密。她的公司陆续有人辞职。但每个人都签署过保密协议，深知违反协议的后果，因此大部分离开的人即便良心不安，还是选择了沉默。可是纸里终究是包不住火。

艾丽卡是在实验室工作的一名年轻女孩，20岁出头，对科学满腔热情，对未来充满希望。她一开始崇拜霍姐，后来发现事情越来越脱轨。她找到公司的运营总裁（Sunny）汇报血样频繁检验错误的事故，她觉得每次发现错误，都应该公开此事对患者负责。Sunny这个人也很有来头，他和霍姐之间有上下级的关系，也有情侣关系，在骗局的背后，更像是狼和狐狸的关系。他是霍姐的第一个支持者也是第一帮凶，当最终事情败露以后，他也被霍姐当作第一个替罪羊。这里不多说他的事。总之，Sunny听到艾丽卡的回报，简短的回绝了她，”你凭什么认为你有资格做这样的判断？”也是在那个时刻，艾丽卡决定辞职，他们拿患者的病症开玩笑，这样伤天害理的事，她不能再继续下去。艾丽卡离开以后，搬去了湾区北边的一个城市，断绝了和Theranos的一切来往。几天以后，两个陌生男人在她的新工作地点附近找到她，悄悄递给她一份文件，文件里全是威胁和警告，暗示她泄露机密的后果，文件署名为律师伯利兹。艾丽卡非常惶恐，她才20出头，跟本不会应付，也请不起律师。后来有人建议她唯一获得保护的办法就是去找司法部门揭露此事，当第一个吹哨人，告密者！

此时此刻在纽约，华尔街日报接到一个电话，是Theranos公司的一个前总监打来的，他不愿意透露姓名，但如实讲述了整个验血流程，虚假的仪器，以及伪造的报告。John Carreyrou（约翰）是当时华尔街日报接手此事的记者，他刚刚调查并报道了关于一件公共医疗保险的丑闻，正在寻找下一个辣眼睛的话题。约翰听后对此事倍感兴趣，他展开调查，联系线人，还亲自飞去阿里桑那州找到一家当地的Walgreen药房去验血。他逐步地找到更多愿意透露信息的前员工，收集信息。2015年11月，华尔街正式公开报道了Theranos的丑闻。文章揭露了该公司借用西门子仪器检验血样的事实，爱迪生仪器的研发失败，血样报告的虚假，给患者的健康和安全造成的隐患等。约翰的报道马上在社会上引起巨大的反响，仿佛也为硅谷敲响了警钟，发明到底是创新还是欺骗？

投钱进去的大佬们呢，终于也把点连成线，霍姐从始至终拒不泄露的科技机密原来是这样一个秘密。有人开始要求Theranos提供全面操作的报告，要求她对华尔街日报的报道给出详细的解释。霍姐呢，我觉得她看到约翰的报道以后一定是气坏了。但她假装沉着冷静，带着她强大的律师团走进了华尔街日报的大楼。除了法律手段，霍姐还去找了传媒大亨默多克，因为华尔街日报隶属下于默多克的传媒帝国。截止2015年默多克给霍姐的公司投资约1.25亿美元，是当时的最大投资。霍姐要求华尔街日报撤销此报道，默多克却拒绝了，他说他相信他的主编们会公平的处理此事。

墙倒万人推。与此同时，另一个受霍姐长期威胁的前员工跑到国家卫生部去进一步揭发并提供更多的证据。霍姐在与华尔街日报开战的同时，她还跑到财经频道Mad Money现场直播台公开抨击该报道。她是这样说的：“一开始人们认为你疯了，然后他们都攻击你，然后有一天你就改变了世界，就像变魔法一样。这种事就是这样发生的”。可魔法只发生在童话里，现实里没有潘多拉宝盒，没有魔法棒，成功也没有捷径可走。

2016年1月FDA要求全面检查Theranos的所有仪器和操错流程。

2016年3月CMS宣布撤销实验室执照和实验室检验相关的一些活动。

2016年4月，联邦调查局和SEC介入展开刑事侦查。霍姐面对来自联邦政府，州政府，投资人的多项起诉。

2017年，霍姐用公司剩下的9亿资产去做赔偿，返还，解决多项诉讼和律师费。霍姐的公司在2018年正式瓦解，霍姐和她的伙伴Sunny被指控误导投资人，电汇欺诈等12项欺诈控罪。短短四年，从市值高峰90亿美元直跌到0.

霍姐在各种确凿证据面前，仍是一脸诚恳，眼睛一眨不眨地声称她的发明是真的，她从没有用过西门子或任何第三方的仪器，所有的血样都是由爱迪生以全自动化的方式来操作的。她的样子仿佛还活在她的童话世界里，守护着潘多拉宝盒，挥舞着发光的魔法棒。

这就仿佛你去问一个看似会撒谎的人，树是绿的吗？不是，是红的。没有一棵树是绿的吗？没有，全都是红的。你会突然发现这个人也许没有在撒谎，他可能是色盲，真的把绿看成红。很明显，霍姐不是在乎钱的人，她这样大费周折，折腾十几年的目的是什么呢？肯定不是为了进监狱。可能霍姐真的认为她是女版的乔布斯，她深信自己在改变世界，她的爱迪生有一天会成功；或者她是被耀眼的名誉，明星梦所蛊惑了，她太喜欢成为全世界的焦点；或者她的初衷是好的，但路越走越歪，走的太远则身不由己，导致了坏的结果。

无论霍姐最后罪名是否成立，我都觉得这是一个非常难得的好故事。硅谷丛林里的怪兽们各个深藏不露，有真有假，但生存下来的，一定都是身怀绝技。

Acropolis and the Forbidden City

2021-12-11T00:00:00-08:00

Travel Archive - the world is big

I was in Athens in May 2020. It was the only time I visited Acropolis. I remembered seeing those ancient temple remains located on a rocky outcrop from a distance. I looked up the hill and remembered thinking it was quite a hike to get up there.

Acropolis is a combination of two Greek words “akron” meaning “highest point” and “polis”meaning “city”. Obviously, it’s located at the highest point of Athens.However, the real beauty about Acropolis is that it’s one of the oldest named cities in the world, civilization originated from the fourth millennium BC. I remembered seeing Parthenon under construction, and there was a sign showing that it was built from 447BC to 432BC - too long ago to even imagine! There were construction cranes all around, the local government was trying to restore the temple by attaching new marble stones to the ancient stones to provide structural support. I remembered sitting inside of the remains of Theatre of Dionysos, wondering what show people enjoyed watching 4000 years ago. Like many other ancient cities in the world, Acropolis experienced too many times of prosperity, decline, destruction, recovery, and prosperity again. It’s too hard to save that much in such a long course of history. Whatever has been left by today, it was genuinely beautiful just for the fact it went through thousands of thousands of years. The original stones and other valuable remains were kept for research and study in the Acropolis Museum located on the other slope of the same rock, it’s a modern museum but feels like a time machine when one is surrounded by all the ancient artifacts.

While walking around the Acropolis and respecting the age of the ancient buildings, I couldn’t help thinking about what was happening on the other side of the world in the meantime. It’s about the same time when the first walled city in Beijing was built in about1045 BC (Zhou dynasty in ancient China). Early 1400s, the Forbidden City was built in the heart of Beijing, which is one of the oldest cities in the world with rich history dating back over 3 millennia. Both Acropolis and Forbidden City are the cities in another city, but the latter came 2 thousand years later, perhaps it’s also why it was preserved a lot better.

While Acropolis has the largest collections of ancient temple remains, the Forbidden City is the largest palace in the world still in existence. It’s also the best place to see the heritage of traditional Chinese architecture because it has such a large collection of preserved ancient wooden structure, which developed over millennium in China before spreading out to influence throughout East Asia in 7th century.

The name Forbidden City comes from translation “紫禁城”, I believe there is a misunderstanding in the translation because there was no “forbidden” in the original Chinese name,which simply means “ a city the purple star resides” , In ancient China, “紫” refers to the purple star which is a symbol of the celestial emperor, and “禁” means “ resides” in ancient Chinese, but in modern Chinese, it does have a meaning of “ forbidden”, I think that’s how it was misunderstood.

In my childhood memories, the Forbidden City was commonly called GuGong, which in translation means the “former palace”. Believe it or not, it was more of a place where locals went for a relaxing evening stroll after dinner. I remembered going through the north gate and stroll along the palace and gardens before coming out of one of the side gates where I used to live close by. It was also free of charge for locals. All that was in the old Beijing during 80s. Not long after, the city of Beijing has changed dramatically, it has expanded so much, opened so much, taken in such a large population coming from all places in the world. The Forbidden city, on the other hand, closed its door.

Many years later, I left Beijing, the city where I grew up. But those early memories of evening walks through the Forbidden City during those balmy summer nights were always soft and sweet!