Sometimes, I forget to thank the people who make my life so happy in so many ways. Sometimes, I forget to tell them how much I really do appreciate them for being an important part of my life. Today is just another day, nothing special going on. So thank you, all of you, just for being here for me!
My first time to use skype, and I chatted with her over an hour over the Internet with voice - for free, just can't imagine ! The technology is so wonderful.
We got the update since last time, from job, vacation, weather, life to food.... we had 7 hours time difference, thus, by the time I needed to fix my dinner, she got her lunch.
She also told me that she is going to cook barbecue pork and duck for her reunion dinner in her Germany home on Monday night, with her mother, brother and sisters; her sister is going to cook Chinese mushroom with oyster sauce - delicious dinner.
Anyway Siu is a good cook, I miss her cooking and her company.
My careless, I told my high school teacher the location of the restaurant with the above name, and she could not find this restaurant in Venetian, luckily, she got my mobile number and she called and I went to pick her up.
Well, this could be an interesting story for part of the dinner.
We had very wonderful talks with our teachers, really appreciated their time to join our gathering, hope we could have more gatherings in future.
Another careless was I got the wrong Skype account for Siu, thus Germany side and Macau side waited for each other over 3 hours....
At last, we fixed the problem, and the midnight's skype with Siu was also a very good experience, with 10C outside the car, we could chat and saw each other's images over Internet,very amazing! When we were in high school, we might not imagine this new technology, wonderful!
Went to the bank for making some transactions, as a premium customer, needed not to queue the long line, and when I got the waiting coupon, realised that I needed to wait for one customer.
I started to read my accounting information..... I didn't go to the bank for long time, the cheque which I was going to deposit, had changed the name for long time.
Can't believe that I still needed to wait more than 18 minutes for my turn, for only 1 customer... though the teller was nice and efficient.
By the time, asked for my friend Mr. F, however, she told me that he retired 1 year ago, Mr. F was not so old.......... this is the real world, as I heard the stories of this bank before, from time to time, they ask the old and experience staff to retire and save the expensive salaries, thus more and more new faces in the bank.
Because of several transactions I needed to make, I spent more than 15 minutes over there.
By the time I left the bank, I got two things in my head -
1. When someone is young, it is happy only if he or she has a lot of money to get retire, otherwise, what should one do if the employer ask he/her to have an early retirement.
2. Going to bank to have a transaction is expensive, not only the bank staff, but also the customer - time is money.
#8. JetBlue Incidents per Flight: 0.0000776 17 documented incidents out of approximately 219,000 flights
#7. American Airlines
Incidents per Flight: 0.0000701
87 documented incidents out of approximately 1,241,000 flights #6. United Airlines Incidents per Flight: 0.0000407 49 documented incidents out of approximately 1,204,500 flights
#5. Delta Airlines
Incidents per Flight: 0.0000386 77 documented incidents out of approximately 1,994,725 flights
#4. Continental Airlines
Incidents per Flight: 0.0000260 23 documented incidents out of approximately 884,395 flights
#3. US Airways
Incidents per Flight: 0.0000212 24 documented incidents out of approximately 1,131,865 flights
#2. Southwest Airlines
Incidents per Flight: 0.0000203 23 documented incidents out of approximately 1,131,500 flights #1. AirTran Incidents per Flight: 0.0000196 5 documented incidents out of approximately 255,500 flights
New Year's cake symbolises "getting higher year after year (年年高升)". The custom of having New Year's cake in Lunar New Year evidences hopes for progress and advancement in the new year. New Year's cake used to be consumed only in Lunar New Year, but it is now a dish commonly found in Chinese restaurants all year round. New Year's cake dishes vary in ingredient. Cantonese New Year's cake is sweet, sticky and brown in colour. It is usually pan-fried, sometimes with beaten egg. Shanghai New Year's cake looks totally different. It comes in rod-shaped pieces, which have to be sliced. Small slices of Shanghai New Year's cake are usually stir-fried. It is chewy and white in colour.
Turnip cake (蘿蔔糕) is a dim sum that, to a certain extent, resembles New Year's cake. Its ingredients include dried shrimps (蝦米), Chinese sausages (臘腸) and shredded turnip. It is steamed and usually pan-fried before consumption. Other Lunar New Year delicacies include taro cake (芋頭糕) and water chestnut cake (馬蹄糕).
In the last issue of "Now and Then" we talked about the chunyun (春運) period, which is a period round Lunar New Year when people who are away from home in college or earning money travel back home to be reunited with their families. People try to get home before Lunar New Year's Eve because it is a tradition to have family reunion dinners (團年飯) in the evening of that day.
Dishes served at a family reunion dinner are supposed to bring good luck. For example, dried oyster with black moss (髮菜蠔豉) sounds like fa cai hao shi (發財好市), which means making a lot of money and doing a lot of business. Another New Year dish is dumplings, in which people used to put a few coins, which symbolise wealth. Now people rarely put coins into dumplings, but the tradition of having dumplings at family reunion dinners is strictly adhered to.
There are several dishes I like to eat in this " Kai Fong" restaurant; it is located in the Estrada Repouso, near the Cinema Veng Lok.
The other time I read information from Internet, and notice that many people from Hong Kong also know this restaurant.
Didn't go there for long time, it was my uncle and aunt took me to this restaurant many many years ago; and the last time I ate there, it was with my line dance teachers and classmates, they told me that they discovered a restaurant with delicious food!
Last Saturday, went there and had a dinner - I still like the deep fried chicken slice with sweet and lemon sauce, so wonderful!
I am really looking forward to trying the 先生炒飯, I never got the chance to try, as the chef needs sufficient time to prepare the ingredients, thus the customers need to order in advance - however, with the luxury ingredients and the preparation work, the price is expensive, and the minimum serving is for 12 persons!
On the last Sunday morning, when I called F about the arrangement of the dinner on 29th, she said she would try her best to contact Ms. Tang,however, she might have difficulties as she didn't have her telephone number.
Few minutes later, on my way to go out for shopping, I met Ms. Tang on the street ( For the past few years, I only met her on the street for less than 5 times, unbelievable!!)
It is so wonderful to meet a person on the street, especially when one wants to talk with this person.
Last weekend, spent few hours in the famous Bailian Cave Park of Zhuai, I have passed this park for many many times, on riding the bus No 2, but visiting was really the first time.
The park itself is not far away from Gongbai, it took about 4 stops, and the neighbourhood was so quiet -(吉大).
Inside the park, the air was so fresh and I could see the 板樟山far away, with a lot of beautiful trees. I was amazed that the park is big,and there are a lot of green trees and there is a lake; as it was weekend, there were many people spending their leisure time over there.
Next to the park, there are several newly built residential buildings - Glorious Garden, I also stopped by and appreciated their beautiful furnished apartments. The scenery from the apartment balcony and windows - super super, very wonderful views, what a lovely home!
Father reminds me tomorrow will be the date for thanking the Kitchen God (謝灶君), in doing so, he has bought some sweets for offering the Kitchen God - rice crackers, tangerines, cane sugar (通米,桔,蔗糖).
Actually, on my way home in the evening, I also saw a small notice in a small shop in the wet market, reminding people to buy the sweet stuffs.
I remember when I was small, my mother told me the story - there were two dates to thank the Kitchen God, 23rd and 24th, the 23rd was for the high officials, while the 24th was for the general public, but as time passed, people would like to consider them as higher status, they would like to offer the nice food to the Kitchen God on the 23rd day of December.
Before that date, mother would work very hard to clean the kitchen, made sure the Kitchen God was nice, comfortable and happy with our kitchen.
I like the sweet rice cracker, though I didn't eat it very often. Can't remember when did I try it, many years ago?
Aimee在1996年參加亞特蘭大殘障奧運會，憑其堅毅意志，最終成為百米短跑和跳遠的破紀錄者。她在運動會中一炮而紅，由於外表漂亮，被雜誌和設計師邀請作模特兒，於是開始了其「無腳的模特兒」生涯，亦不時到世界各地參與論壇及演說，兩度在有名的美國論壇TED conferences之上發表演說，內容感動不少聽眾，被視為新一代爭取平等機會的活躍分子。
Aimee來香港參與的「變則通、創不同」（Make a Difference（MaD））工作坊，在葵青劇院舉行，活動主題為「發現、創意、創新、創業」，「周年全會」邀請了20多名來自世界各地的星級講者，21至23日一連三天來港演說，昨日已經結束。但27及28日將有電影馬拉松及其他創新工作坊等活動，希望啟發年輕人的新思維，創一條最不一樣的道路。
News from Macau Business: Caesars Entertainment Corp., formerly known as Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., is accused of having built an unlicensed private road to connect its Cotai golf course to one of the main roads in the area.
The government officially halted the project yesterday.
The company had already applied twice to build the road, but the government said it had denied both requests.
The two-lane road has not been completed yet.
The alleged illegal construction included digging up a huge amount of waste that was afterwards stored in the open air, nearby the road.
Caesars Golf Macau is located on a reclaimed land zone, at a site previously occupied by a garbage dump.
The construction may have also impacted on the reclaimed land’s impermeable membrane, allowing for some polluted water to flow out.
Needed to go to office at 8 AM because of a meeting, in the street, met students hurried to school. Seldom meet them at around 9AM in normal working days - my TIME.
Largo do Senado was lovely, as there were not many people.
Had a warm and quick breakfast - congee, turnip cake and "Siu Mai"...... with colorful sauce - I like it - sesame sauce, sweet sauce, spicy sauce..... delicious.
I am reading this book now, there are about 141 stories written by different reporters/journalists, wonderful and touching stories, I can't stop putting down the book during night time!
I am really touched by their passion and professional attitudes.
Once in a while, I miss the Berea's convocation very much.
Even though I was busy on my course work, I really enjoyed the great events organised by the college, the weekly convocations enriched my student life as well as the cultural learning in the states!
Convocation Rules
Convocation events constitute a significant part of the General Education Program at Berea. These events bring to the campus notable speakers, scholars, performers, and programs on a variety of subjects to enlarge the intellectual, aesthetic, and religious dimensions of campus life. In addition, our student performing ensembles provide convocations addressing similar issues through music, dance and theatre. Providing rich experiences for students, faculty, and staff alike, convocations help build and sustain a sense of curiosity and intellectual challenge so basic in an academic community. They make available information and insights on important topics likely to be considered in academic courses.
Just remember I talked with F the other day that I would like to make the hiking trip at least once every 2 months in this year, don't know whether I can make it or not, but will try.
Suddenly, some plans come up to my mind..... I would like to make the following trips, I know I may not make all the trips, but I would rather to put them on the list, so that I won't forget:
visit S who is in Germany
visit E who is in Texas, US
visit F & C who are in Vancouver, Canada
visit R who is in NC, US
visit C who is in Tanzania, Africa
visit T who will be back to Malaysia after the long time travelling
BEIJING — No one knows exactly when China’s economy might overtake that of the United States, but no one should discount the possibility that it might, after it sailed past Japan last year to become the world’s second-largest.
So as President Hu Jintao prepares to head to the United States next week for a state visit that many hope will improve badly strained ties, Americans from President Barack Obama to ordinary citizens might wonder what drives Chinese people — especially those born after 1980 who will be moving into positions of influence and wealth around the time the shift may take place.
1. Touchscreen phones that won't work when you have gloves on
The capacitive touch displays on the latest and greatest Android and iOS handsets are tops when it comes to tapping out messages with a light touch. Winter gloves, however, will block the electrical charge from your fingertips that capacitive screens use to register a tap — bad news if you're trying to answer a call in a blizzard.
Becky's solution: Cut a tiny slit in your wool gloves (assuming you don't mind slicing up your winter wear) to allow a finger to pop out whenever you need to start tapping.
Don't want to cut holes in your gloves? Try the Pogo Stylus, a pencil-sized metallic stick with a specially made tip that works with capacitive displays.
2. Dirty cell phone cases
That case you bought for your smartphone looked pretty spiffy when you first slipped it on. After a few months, though, you'll be in for a rude shock when you take the case off and look inside. Where did all that gunk come from? On second thought, don't tell us.
Becky's solution: If it's a one-piece silicone case, just toss it in the dishwasher — done. Beware, though: Plastic cases with multiple, glued-on parts will come apart if you give them the dishwasher treatment.
3. Wet gadgets
News flash: Gadgets and water rarely mix. If you do manage to leave your cell phone, camera, or other battery-powered gear out in the rain — or worse, drop them in a toilet — the prognosis is usually pretty grim.
Becky's solution: Before you give up hope, try dropping your soaked gear into a Tupperware container full of rice to draw out the moisture. (Check out more details on this method from Popular Mechanics.) Or, as a general preventative measure to keep moisture away, save some silica gel packs (you know, the ones you'll find in boxes of new shoes or beef-jerky packages) and stuff them in your cell phone or camera case.
4. Scratched DVDs and CDs
There's nothing quite as annoying as a skipping music CD or a DVD that randomly jumps seconds or minutes ahead, without warning. In some cases, you might be dealing with a dirty laser in your CD or DVD deck; more often, however, the culprit is a scratched disc.
The good news is that it is possible to repair scratches in the polycarbonate plastic coating that protects the underlying layer of data on a DVD or CD, as long as the scratch isn't too deep.
Becky's solution: Polish the scratches with a little furniture cleaner, perhaps with a follow-up dose of car polish. Just be sure to start from the center of the disc and rub outward, in a straight line; whatever you do, don't rub in circles.
5. Work PCs that sign you out too quickly
Code-clearance NSA operatives performing top-secret data entry at secure terminals should probably skip this tip. For the rest of us, however, here's an easy way to keep your paranoid PC from signing you out the moment you turn away from the screen.
Becky's solution: Take off your watch (assuming you still have a watch, of course) and lay your mouse on top of its face; the ticking hands will fool the optics in your mouse into thinking it's still in motion.
6. Not enough D batteries for your flashlight
The power's out, and you've got your flashlight — minus one more D battery. D'oh!
Becky's solution: If you've got a spare C battery floating around in your junk drawer, you're in luck; just drop it into the D-cell slot and fill the remaining space with a stack of quarters. Sounds crazy, but Becky promises it'll work. (Just make sure to pick up some more D batteries the next time you're in the hardware store.)
Today is a very special day, I didn't realise until I finished my work in the evening - 11.1.11 - what a wonderful number!
The weather is getting very cold (tomorrow is going to have 7C in such wet and windy weather).....and at night time, having a bowl of hot soup is so wonderful.
It is like a glass of hot chocolate - warm my heart!
Huffington Post recently put up a story called You're Out: 20 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade. It's a great retrospective on the technology leaps we've made since the new century began, and it got me thinking about the difference today's technology will make in the lives of tomorrow's kids.
I've used some of their ideas and added some of my own to make the list below: Do you think kids born in 2011 will recognize any of the following?
Video tape: Starting this year, the news stories we produce here at Money Talks have all been shot, edited, and distributed to TV stations without ever being on any kind of tape. Not only that, the tape-less broadcast camera we use today offers much higher quality than anything that could have been imagined 10 years ago -- and cost less than the lens on the camera we were using previously.
Travel agents: While not dead today, this profession is one of many that's been decimated by the Internet. When it's time for their honeymoon, will those born in 2011 be able to find one?
The separation of work and home: When you're carrying an email-equipped computer in your pocket, it's not just your friends who can find you -- so can your boss. For kids born this year, the wall between office and home will be blurry indeed.
Books, magazines, and newspapers: Like video tape, words written on dead trees are on their way out. Sure, there may be books -- but for those born today, stores that exist solely to sell them will be as numerous as record stores are now.
Movie rental stores: You actually got in your car and drove someplace just to rent a movie?
Watches: Maybe as quaint jewelry, but the correct time is on your smartphone, which is pretty much always in your hand.
Paper maps: At one time these were available free at every gas station. They're practically obsolete today, and the next generation will probably have to visit a museum to find one.
Wired phones: Why would you pay $35 every month to have a phone that plugs into a wall? For those born today, this will be a silly concept.
Long distance: Thanks to the Internet, the days of paying more to talk to somebody in the next city, state, or even country are limited.
Newspaper classifieds: The days are gone when you have to buy a bunch of newsprint just to see what's for sale.
Dial-up Internet: While not everyone is on broadband, it won't be long before dial-up Internet goes the way of the plug-in phone.
Encyclopedias: Imagine a time when you had to buy expensive books that were outdated before the ink was dry. This will be a nonsense term for babies born today.
Forgotten friends: Remember when an old friend would bring up someone you went to high school with, and you'd say, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them!" The next generation will automatically be in touch with everyone they've ever known even slightly via Facebook.
Forgotten anything else: Kids born this year will never know what it was like to stand in a bar and incessantly argue the unknowable. Today the world's collective knowledge is on the computer in your pocket or purse. And since you have it with you at all times, why bother remembering anything?
The evening news: The news is on 24/7. And if you're not home to watch it, that's OK -- it's on the smartphone in your pocket.
CDs: First records, then 8-track, then cassette, then CDs -- replacing your music collection used to be an expensive pastime. Now it's cheap(er) and as close as the nearest Internet connection.
Film cameras: For the purist, perhaps, but for kids born today, the word "film" will mean nothing. In fact, even digital cameras -- both video and still -- are in danger of extinction as our pocket computers take over that function too.
Yellow and White Pages: Why in the world would you need a 10-pound book just to find someone?
Catalogs: There's no need to send me a book in the mail when I can see everything you have for sale anywhere, anytime. If you want to remind me to look at it, send me an email.
Fax machines: Can you say "scan," ".pdf" and "email?"
One picture to a frame: Such a waste of wall/counter/desk space to have a separate frame around each picture. Eight gigabytes of pictures and/or video in a digital frame encompassing every person you've ever met and everything you've ever done -- now, that's efficient. Especially compared to what we used to do: put our friends and relatives together in a room and force them to watch what we called a "slide show" or "home movies."
Wires: Wires connecting phones to walls? Wires connecting computers, TVs, stereos, and other electronics to each other? Wires connecting computers to the Internet? To kids born in 2011, that will make as much sense as an electric car trailing an extension cord.
Hand-written letters: For that matter, hand-written anything. When was the last time you wrote cursive? In fact, do you even know what the word "cursive" means? Kids born in 2011 won't -- but they'll put you to shame on a tiny keyboard.
Talking to one person at a time: Remember when it was rude to be with one person while talking to another on the phone? Kids born today will just assume that you're supposed to use texting to maintain contact with five or six other people while pretending to pay attention to the person you happen to be physically next to.
Retirement plans: Yes, Johnny, there was a time when all you had to do was work at the same place for 20 years and they'd send you a check every month for as long as you lived. In fact, some companies would even pay your medical bills, too!
Mail: What's left when you take the mail you receive today, then subtract the bills you could be paying online, the checks you could be having direct-deposited, and the junk mail you could be receiving as junk email? Answer: A bloated bureaucracy that loses billions of taxpayer dollars annually.
Commercials on TV: They're terrifically expensive, easily avoided with DVRs, and inefficiently target mass audiences. Unless somebody comes up with a way to force you to watch them -- as with video on the Internet -- who's going to pay for them?
Commercial music radio: Smartphones with music-streaming programs like Pandora are a better solution that doesn't include ads screaming between every song.
Hiding: Not long ago, if you didn't answer your home phone, that was that -- nobody knew if you were alive or dead, much less where you might be. Now your phone is not only in your pocket, it can potentially tell everyone -- including advertisers -- exactly where you are.
This is life,
sometimes,
we think our career is everything,
but at the end it is not.
Suddenly,
I remember one quote,
in our life,
we have several balls -
health, family, job, friends.....
but we should remind ourselves,
all the balls can be plastic,
except the ball represents our health,
it is like glass.
All the balls fall down still can get the chance to bounce back,
but not our health.
So, we should treasure our health!
When we get the lemon,
make the lemon juice,
we still can get many chances ahead!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is about a young boy, Huck, in search of freedom and adventure. The shores of the Mississippi River provide the backdrop for the entire book.
Huck is kidnapped by Pap, his drunken father. Pap kidnaps Huck because he wants Huck's $6000. Huck was awarded $6000 from the treasure he and Tom Sawyer found in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck finally escapes from the deserted house in the woods and finds a canoe to shove off down the river. Instead of going back to the widow's house, he decides to run away. He is sick of all of the confinement and civilization that the window enforces upon him. He comes across Jim, Miss Watson's slave, and together, they spend nights and days journeying down the river, both in search of freedom.
While traveling on a raft down the river, Huck and Jim have many adventures and during many long talks, become best of friends. They find a house with a dead man. They end up stealing many things from the house. They find a wrecked ship, and go on it, only to be mixed up with murderers. They get away with money and some other goods. They get separated from each other in the heavy fog, but eventually find each other. A steamboat crashes into their raft and Jim and Huck are separated again. Huck has a run-in with the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons, two families at war with each other. He is reunited with Jim shortly after this. Then, they meet the King and the Duke, and get into a good deal of trouble performing plays. The King and the Duke pretend to be Peter Wilks' long lost brothers from England and try to steal all of the money left behind in his will. They escape before they are caught. Huck finally gets rid of them, but is left to search for Jim, who gets sold by the King. He ends up at Tom Sawyer's Aunt Sally's house, where Tom and Huck rescue Jim.
Through all of the adventures down the river, Huck learns a variety of life lessons and improves as a person. He develops a conscience and truly feels for humanity. The complexity of his character is enhanced by his ability to relate so easily with nature and the river.
【明報專訊】Hillary Clinton (美國國務卿希拉里)
Currently Secretary of State of the US, Hillary Clinton was once a US first lady. She is former US President Bill Clinton's wife.
Mother Teresa (德蘭修女)
Mother Teresa was kind to the poor, the sick, the orphaned and the dying in Calcutta (印度加爾各答). Her perseverance with humanitarian work won her a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Coco Chanel (法國設計師香奈兒)
French designer Coco Chanel, who founded the legendary brand Chanel, is regarded as among the most influential women in the 20th century.
Dilma Rousseff (巴西首位女總統迪爾瑪•羅塞夫)
Rousseff has won an election and become Brazil's first woman president. She was inaugurated as President on 1 January 2011.
Julia Gillard (澳洲總理吉拉德)
Having been in politics for some 20 years, Julia Gillard, Australia's first woman Prime Minister, stands for women's participation in political and social affairs.
Catherine Ashton (英國駐歐盟貿易專員阿什頓)
Ashton is the first Vice President of the European Commission. She has been in office since February 2010.
Indira Gandhi (印度前總理甘地夫人)
Gandhi was the first and only woman Prime Minister of India. She served between 1966 and 1984, when she was assassinated. She was the longest-serving Prime Minister in the world.
By JEFF CARLTON, Associated Press Jeff Carlton, Associated Press– Tue Jan 4, 6:30 pm ET
DALLAS –
A Texas man declared innocent Tuesday after 30 years in prison had at least two chances to make parole and be set free — if only he would admit he was a sex offender. But Cornelius Dupree Jr. refused to do so, doggedly maintaining his innocence in a 1979 rape and robbery, in the process serving more time for a crime he didn't commit than any other Texas inmate exonerated by DNA evidence.
