大學生了沒之前有兩集的主題是多層次傳銷。這是我看到節目中討論最激烈的一集吧。
節目請來的就是前陣子(註一)在台灣新聞出現的森青利通的五名員工，其中三人是大學休學來做直銷。
註一：這裡中文電視播出的時間比較晚，我寫這篇又 delay，更晚。
我喜歡這一集陶子的主持，我覺得大部分的時候她都盡量保持中立，也一直分析大學生的問題和來賓的回答，再將重點以比較平實的方式敘述出來，讓兩方專注在問題的重點，減少被比較情緒化的言語模糊焦點。但是當傳銷業者迴避問題甚至用沒有根據的資料來辯解時，陶子跳出來提出她知道的確切資訊來嗆業者，看了挺爽的。
(在這一段)
森青的來賓自己講的，直銷不等於他們。因為如果我是那些拿牌子的同學的話，我的立場是節目前是中立，在節目最後變成了反對。我還是覺得應該有比較良性的多層次傳銷公司，但是看了森青，開始懷疑到底有沒有良性的直銷公司，還是所有公司都像他們那樣。
我覺得森青的來賓迴避了很多問題，很多問題都答非所問，一直說要澄清，卻轉移話題，有時又用不合理的例子來解釋(例一)，讓我對他們很不信賴。
例一：森青有人提Yahoo的創辦人楊致遠也休學創辦Yahoo.
話說有朋友真的被他朋友找去做直銷，憑了一句義氣就答應下去，之後就後悔了，錢也要不回來，後來兩人就翻臉了。
不過這件事對他長期來講好像不錯，現在感覺他百毒不侵，有一點要拉他直銷的徵兆他馬上察覺。也都看透會有什麼招數，都能全身而退。
對於多層次傳銷，我覺得那是一種銷售的方式，我不覺得他本身是錯誤的。一種說法是傳銷免去了媒體廣告的費用，是以這些會員來推廣產品，所以省下廣告費用回饋到會員身上；另一種說法是傳銷的上線下線就像是一般商品的大盤商、中盤商、零售商等，所以原本通路的費用就由會員來賺。(這在節目中也有提到)
反正，傳銷只是一種方式，會員們只是花時間心力做一種工作，得到報酬，像上班拿薪水一樣。沒那麼罪惡，也沒像森青講得拯救地球那麼偉大。
是推銷工作，不是傳銷人員愛說的"分享"。
我覺得良性的傳銷：
- 要誠實，不誤導
- 要注重推廣產品而不是拉人頭。
很多讓直銷得到臭名的直銷公司都只是要拉人頭，產品只是個幌子，所有會員在拉人頭，沒人買產品，最後支撐不了就倒了，老闆大概也落跑了。據說我朋友之前那家也是這樣。
拉人頭通常是親戚、朋友、同事、客戶，所以也會施以人情壓力，所以會讓人覺得為難。
拉人頭的過程也都會故意製造情境，也都會說得很動聽，森青的廣告以找兩個人月入百萬來號召，結果因為全公司包括大老闆都沒有月入百萬，所以被判廣告不實要罰錢。
更仔細的分析可以看看這篇分析直銷的文章，還滿有邏輯。
最後，如果你要拉我進直銷的話，謝謝再聯絡。推銷/業務員這種工作不是我的興趣，更不是我的專長。
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
It is time to act music
TC asked me to go to a "concert" last Friday. We only knew it was organized by her high school ex-classmate, Christina. I also knew because we went on the same tour of our high school orchestra and choir group.
The name of concert was "It is Time to Act Music". We didn't know what to expect. It was at the Pumphouse. We weren't the ones to enter the venue but first few rows were empty. Don't know why people avoid those rows. Too close? We sat in the middle of the first row with a very close view.
After the show started and there were several piano performances by children. They were Christina's students. So the concert was mostly to showcase Christina's students to friends and family. I saw parents who came to the front rows and took pictures at different camera angles when their children were on the stage.
The concert was mostly piano performances. There were 15 students or so. There were also a couple of vocal performances. They mentioned that some of the songs will appear in a staged drama(?)/musical(?) that they'll perform next month.
The very last part of the concert was something different. It was the performed by a "special guest", a band called "Infinite Flying Kick", which is the band that Christina is in. Should I say it's a rock band? Well, they played 3 or 4 songs that sounded rock to me and they sure were loud. Or maybe they were in contrast with the prior piano performances.
A few songs by Infinite Flying Kick can be found on their MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/infiniteflyingkick
Bio, news, and photos can found on their web site:
http://www.infiniteflyingkick.com/
Looks like they've been performing here and there in Auckland for a year or two.
By the way, when I saw them, I thought that vocal/guitarist guy looked familiar. I thought I might have seen him during the high school period. Was that guy Willis in my maths class or something? Maybe Hari can give me a second opinion.
The name of concert was "It is Time to Act Music". We didn't know what to expect. It was at the Pumphouse. We weren't the ones to enter the venue but first few rows were empty. Don't know why people avoid those rows. Too close? We sat in the middle of the first row with a very close view.
After the show started and there were several piano performances by children. They were Christina's students. So the concert was mostly to showcase Christina's students to friends and family. I saw parents who came to the front rows and took pictures at different camera angles when their children were on the stage.
The concert was mostly piano performances. There were 15 students or so. There were also a couple of vocal performances. They mentioned that some of the songs will appear in a staged drama(?)/musical(?) that they'll perform next month.
The very last part of the concert was something different. It was the performed by a "special guest", a band called "Infinite Flying Kick", which is the band that Christina is in. Should I say it's a rock band? Well, they played 3 or 4 songs that sounded rock to me and they sure were loud. Or maybe they were in contrast with the prior piano performances.
A few songs by Infinite Flying Kick can be found on their MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/infiniteflyingkick
Bio, news, and photos can found on their web site:
http://www.infiniteflyingkick.com/
Looks like they've been performing here and there in Auckland for a year or two.
By the way, when I saw them, I thought that vocal/guitarist guy looked familiar. I thought I might have seen him during the high school period. Was that guy Willis in my maths class or something? Maybe Hari can give me a second opinion.
Friday, October 26, 2007
It's a girl!
I was writing a cover letter and I didn't know whether to use Mr or Ms to address to Jo, the person I was writing to. A quick search landed me on this site, Baby Name Guesser. It can analyze a first name and tell you how commonly it is used as a male or female name. This was exactly what I needed. It told me that it is 3.303 times more common for Jo to be a girl's name.
Then I tried the name “Jess”. It is 7.099 times more likely to be female.
As I expected. It's more common to be a female name. That was probably why Jess changed his name to Jest. (I still don't know which name he actually uses, though.)
The name "Jest" is less ambiguous indeed. It said:
:P
Then I tried the name “Jess”. It is 7.099 times more likely to be female.
As I expected. It's more common to be a female name. That was probably why Jess changed his name to Jest. (I still don't know which name he actually uses, though.)
The name "Jest" is less ambiguous indeed. It said:
It's a girl!
Based on popular usage, it is 61.752 times more common for Jest to be a girl's name.
:P
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Regular posting
OK. Here is the thing. As Hari said, I could write more regularly. I've thought about it for quite some time too. But I have a commitment problem :P
Anyway, I'll start writing more regularly. I think 2 posts per week is fine for now. The posts can be boring and trivial and they can be as short as a few words. But just need 2 posts. Let's see how long I can stay committed to it.
Anyway, I'll start writing more regularly. I think 2 posts per week is fine for now. The posts can be boring and trivial and they can be as short as a few words. But just need 2 posts. Let's see how long I can stay committed to it.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture - Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
I recently downloaded and watched the presentation of a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University talking about "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". I enjoyed it and I was impressed by the positive attitude of this professor.
The computer science professor Randy Pausch has been diagnosed with cancer and is expected to have only 3 to 6 months to live. This presentation is known as his "last lecture". Throughout the lecture he showed a lot of energy, told many funny stories and had fun. "I'm dying and I'm having fun," he said.
The title of the presentation was Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. How to achieve your childhood dreams. How to enable the dreams of others. But it was broader than that. He offered words of wisdom on things such as attitude towards people, and why everybody should become a professor :P
Because I'm in the computer science field (I think). It was also interesting to see his work on virtual reality.
As Randy wrote on his home page, "I'm hardly unique". Indeed, you might not find this presentation extraordinary, but it doesn't diminish what a positive person he is and his contribution to students and the people around him.
The presentation can be found on Randy Pausch's home page:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/
The duration of presentation is 104 minutes. The size of the download version is 252MB. My friends in Auckland can copy the file from me if you want to save your broadband data usage. Just hand me your SD card/flash disk/MP3 player/CD-R.
The computer science professor Randy Pausch has been diagnosed with cancer and is expected to have only 3 to 6 months to live. This presentation is known as his "last lecture". Throughout the lecture he showed a lot of energy, told many funny stories and had fun. "I'm dying and I'm having fun," he said.
The title of the presentation was Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. How to achieve your childhood dreams. How to enable the dreams of others. But it was broader than that. He offered words of wisdom on things such as attitude towards people, and why everybody should become a professor :P
Because I'm in the computer science field (I think). It was also interesting to see his work on virtual reality.
As Randy wrote on his home page, "I'm hardly unique". Indeed, you might not find this presentation extraordinary, but it doesn't diminish what a positive person he is and his contribution to students and the people around him.
The presentation can be found on Randy Pausch's home page:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/
The duration of presentation is 104 minutes. The size of the download version is 252MB. My friends in Auckland can copy the file from me if you want to save your broadband data usage. Just hand me your SD card/flash disk/MP3 player/CD-R.
Site feed again
I came across this 4 minute video explaining RSS and how to use it in plain English, with Chinese subtitle.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1881080775770831914&hl=en
-----
I thought there's only RSS feeds for web sites such as blogs. I just found out there is another common feed format called Atom. In fact, I've been using Atom feed for my blog instead RSS which I thought I was using.
Most feed readers such as Google Reader handle all the formats anyway. So it shouldn't be a problem.
My blog hosting site "Blogger" provides both Atom and RSS feeds, with Atom as the default. My understanding so far is the Atom feed URL is
http://lungchenz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
and the RSS feed URL is
http://lungchenz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
so ND, if one feed doesn't work on your cellphone, you can try the other.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1881080775770831914&hl=en
-----
I thought there's only RSS feeds for web sites such as blogs. I just found out there is another common feed format called Atom. In fact, I've been using Atom feed for my blog instead RSS which I thought I was using.
Most feed readers such as Google Reader handle all the formats anyway. So it shouldn't be a problem.
My blog hosting site "Blogger" provides both Atom and RSS feeds, with Atom as the default. My understanding so far is the Atom feed URL is
http://lungchenz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
and the RSS feed URL is
http://lungchenz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
so ND, if one feed doesn't work on your cellphone, you can try the other.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
RSS
FYI. Just to mention this RSS thing. Hopefully some might find it useful.
If you subscribe to the RSS feeds of web sites, it notifies you when there are new articles on the web site.
For example, I subscribe to RSS feeds of my friends blogs. So I check my RSS reader to see if there are new articles on their blog. I don't need to open each blog page one by one to see. It's like checking the mailbox for new mails.
I subscribe to certain types of news on NZ Herald. For exmaple, if there's a new article about "Chinese in New Zealand". I'll see the feed in my RSS reader.
I start to use it to subscribe it to job web site too. So I get notified when a new job get posted.
(A Screenshot of Google Reader)
To get started, you need a RSS reader/aggregator. You might try one of these:
Google Reader
http://www.google.com/reader/
SharpReader
http://www.sharpreader.net/
I use Google Reader nowadays because it is web based, so I can move between computers without setting up all the feeds again.
If you subscribe to the RSS feeds of web sites, it notifies you when there are new articles on the web site.
For example, I subscribe to RSS feeds of my friends blogs. So I check my RSS reader to see if there are new articles on their blog. I don't need to open each blog page one by one to see. It's like checking the mailbox for new mails.
I subscribe to certain types of news on NZ Herald. For exmaple, if there's a new article about "Chinese in New Zealand". I'll see the feed in my RSS reader.
I start to use it to subscribe it to job web site too. So I get notified when a new job get posted.
(A Screenshot of Google Reader)To get started, you need a RSS reader/aggregator. You might try one of these:
Google Reader
http://www.google.com/reader/
SharpReader
http://www.sharpreader.net/
I use Google Reader nowadays because it is web based, so I can move between computers without setting up all the feeds again.
Sad sports results
All Blacks lost.
Chien-Ming Wang lost badly twice and Yankees lost.
What a sad week.
Chien-Ming Wang lost badly twice and Yankees lost.
What a sad week.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
超級星光大道 on my TV
I wanted to choose something to watch on TV today and an idea popped up. I could connect my notebook computer to my TV and watch whatever video I have on my computer. So I connected them up. Then I tried to open to open the videos files and found that I have no players/codecs for them. (One Jap drama needed Real Player, another movie needed DivX.)
It actually led to something better. I thought I could just go on YouTube to play the videos and I watch them on TV. That's what I did. I found the video clips of the latest 超級星光大道 episode. I played some of them and watched them on TV!
The stuffs that made this work were:
YouTube + Wireless LAN + laptop + TV
I'm making use of the mobility of "Wireless LAN + laptop" at home while I still can. It's convenient. I can take the laptop around the house and it keeps the connection to the Internet. Dad Skyped me in my room last weekend. A while later I took the laptop to the lounge to find my mum. We could talk there. In the old days we used to cram into the study, and somebody had to stand or sit on the floor because the room was too small. Then we did Internet voice calls there because that's where our desktop PC was.
好個科技始終來自人性
An even cooler thing to do is to find out how to play the live broadcasts of MLB postseason games on the TV for free. But I doubt I'll find any free broadcasts.
It actually led to something better. I thought I could just go on YouTube to play the videos and I watch them on TV. That's what I did. I found the video clips of the latest 超級星光大道 episode. I played some of them and watched them on TV!
The stuffs that made this work were:
YouTube + Wireless LAN + laptop + TV
I'm making use of the mobility of "Wireless LAN + laptop" at home while I still can. It's convenient. I can take the laptop around the house and it keeps the connection to the Internet. Dad Skyped me in my room last weekend. A while later I took the laptop to the lounge to find my mum. We could talk there. In the old days we used to cram into the study, and somebody had to stand or sit on the floor because the room was too small. Then we did Internet voice calls there because that's where our desktop PC was.
好個科技始終來自人性
An even cooler thing to do is to find out how to play the live broadcasts of MLB postseason games on the TV for free. But I doubt I'll find any free broadcasts.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
缺了四萬 就不精采
在 Nova 用現金價買東西，去領錢被 ATM 拒絕，再試一次又不行，看明細表上寫的意思好像跟跨行有關，想說好吧，去外面在台北的午後大雨之中找一個本行的ATM，在便利商店找到也成功領出鈔票，可是奇怪，怎麼明細表上的餘額數字掉了那麼多？！之前兩次的提款失敗但是錢還是把我扣掉啦！4萬塊莫名其妙不見了。
接著拿起ATM旁邊的銀行熱線電話跟銀行人員講了講，告訴他明細表上的資料，隔天缺的錢有回來。
這個故事告訴我們，領錢之後要檢查餘額，而且明細表要收好。
不過，我還是相信這個系統，從溝通過程之中我感覺如果我沒有打電話去詢問的話，銀行的機制第二天還是會把錢退回來。更何況，這種系統每天運作量龐大，後果又是重要的，我相信做這系統的工程師除非是跟做高鐵訂票系統一樣，不然這種小問題一定是有考慮到的。
當然，發生問題還是要主動爭取自己的權益。
後來又有一次我去用 ATM，結果要吐鈔的時候等了很久，然後ATM機器的燈就暗掉了，接著螢幕上也黑了，幾秒後，看到的電腦重開機了，還看到Windows NT的開機畫面勒！哇，第一次看ATM重開機ㄟ！太厲害了，我好像也滿賽的。
接著拿起ATM旁邊的銀行熱線電話跟銀行人員講了講，告訴他明細表上的資料，隔天缺的錢有回來。
這個故事告訴我們，領錢之後要檢查餘額，而且明細表要收好。
不過，我還是相信這個系統，從溝通過程之中我感覺如果我沒有打電話去詢問的話，銀行的機制第二天還是會把錢退回來。更何況，這種系統每天運作量龐大，後果又是重要的，我相信做這系統的工程師除非是跟做高鐵訂票系統一樣，不然這種小問題一定是有考慮到的。
當然，發生問題還是要主動爭取自己的權益。
後來又有一次我去用 ATM，結果要吐鈔的時候等了很久，然後ATM機器的燈就暗掉了，接著螢幕上也黑了，幾秒後，看到的電腦重開機了，還看到Windows NT的開機畫面勒！哇，第一次看ATM重開機ㄟ！太厲害了，我好像也滿賽的。
Sunday, August 12, 2007
漫畫博覽會
跟ND去逛在世貿展出的漫畫博覽會。
路上看到捷運盃街舞大賽的決賽再進行，張惠妹在評審席上觀看，可惜只看到側面。
進了展覽ND就要找鋼彈的展覽，這是他的重點呀。
我勒，就跟著隨便逛，反正也只看過死亡筆記本這部漫畫，是去看看沒看過的展覽。
死亡筆記本攤位有限量的紀念 T-shirt，一件$699，圖案是 L 的那一件比較搶手，已經賣完了。
牆上還有介紹死亡筆記本驚喜福袋裡有什麼內容，我們想說"驚喜福袋"該不會一打開就會心臟麻痺 :P
我覺得最厲害的是，很多攤位的手提袋也要用賣的，一個50或100。去遊戲展或電腦展，這些袋子都是送給觀眾，希望他們拿著這些印有商標的袋子作為行動廣告。在漫畫展，這些有漫畫圖案的袋子是要買才有得拿。
原本希望在會場看到一些 cosplay，但是不多。據說上個月在台大聚辦的動漫祭比較多 cosplay.
晚上去饒河夜市逛，然後等了太久的公車才回家... 如果是在比賽該找更聰明的方法。
想到一件事， ND有在死亡筆記本那裡買"死亡N次貼" :P
不過應該不會有危險，死亡筆記本使用方法不是說要知道姓名和長相嗎？ND之前提過說他看人都看不清長相，也記不清楚。所以ND在N次貼上面寫姓名也沒有效用，因為記不得長相 :P
路上看到捷運盃街舞大賽的決賽再進行，張惠妹在評審席上觀看，可惜只看到側面。
進了展覽ND就要找鋼彈的展覽，這是他的重點呀。
我勒，就跟著隨便逛，反正也只看過死亡筆記本這部漫畫，是去看看沒看過的展覽。
死亡筆記本攤位有限量的紀念 T-shirt，一件$699，圖案是 L 的那一件比較搶手，已經賣完了。
牆上還有介紹死亡筆記本驚喜福袋裡有什麼內容，我們想說"驚喜福袋"該不會一打開就會心臟麻痺 :P
我覺得最厲害的是，很多攤位的手提袋也要用賣的，一個50或100。去遊戲展或電腦展，這些袋子都是送給觀眾，希望他們拿著這些印有商標的袋子作為行動廣告。在漫畫展，這些有漫畫圖案的袋子是要買才有得拿。
原本希望在會場看到一些 cosplay，但是不多。據說上個月在台大聚辦的動漫祭比較多 cosplay.
晚上去饒河夜市逛，然後等了太久的公車才回家... 如果是在比賽該找更聰明的方法。
想到一件事， ND有在死亡筆記本那裡買"死亡N次貼" :P
不過應該不會有危險，死亡筆記本使用方法不是說要知道姓名和長相嗎？ND之前提過說他看人都看不清長相，也記不清楚。所以ND在N次貼上面寫姓名也沒有效用，因為記不得長相 :P
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
瑪莉颱風襲台
不是很有創意的 title，Mary 在台灣正好是兩個颱風來的時候。我們碰面的那一晚正是颱風夜。
Mary 又在暑假附近來台灣，照舊，除了這次頭髮沒編起來。
捷運門要關了Mary還慢慢走，被Ami和我推進車廂。
聚餐時有蕭敬騰和楊宗緯歌迷的較勁，和自行車騎士強調單日騎一百公里。
下回在另一地碰面時請多照顧。
Mary 又在暑假附近來台灣，照舊，除了這次頭髮沒編起來。
捷運門要關了Mary還慢慢走，被Ami和我推進車廂。
聚餐時有蕭敬騰和楊宗緯歌迷的較勁，和自行車騎士強調單日騎一百公里。
下回在另一地碰面時請多照顧。
Sunday, August 05, 2007
張懸有MV
張懸出新專輯，叫作 "親愛的...我還不知道"。而且，居然在電視上看到她的 MV，哇，又一個轉主流的創作歌手嗎？Hari 你實在很會預期會轉主流的非主流的歌手ㄟ。
我有點驚訝 MV 的感覺是個有化妝的美女唯美地唱歌，我原本預期的是樸素的創作歌手拿著一把吉他自彈自唱，哈。
這是電視上看到的 MV："討人厭的字"
By the way, I add video links in my blog sometimes. Why don't I embed the videos in the page so they load and play on the blog page? It's because some of my friends are still using broadband Internet services that are limited by the amount of data transferred. I don't want you people to blow up your data usage each time you view my blog. So I try to keep blog page light. If you want to watch the videos, you can link to the external pages to watch them.
我有點驚訝 MV 的感覺是個有化妝的美女唯美地唱歌，我原本預期的是樸素的創作歌手拿著一把吉他自彈自唱，哈。
這是電視上看到的 MV："討人厭的字"
By the way, I add video links in my blog sometimes. Why don't I embed the videos in the page so they load and play on the blog page? It's because some of my friends are still using broadband Internet services that are limited by the amount of data transferred. I don't want you people to blow up your data usage each time you view my blog. So I try to keep blog page light. If you want to watch the videos, you can link to the external pages to watch them.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
傑森包恩
上次跟朋友看到 The Bourne Ultimatum 的電影廣告，覺得怪怪的。
中文片名叫 "神鬼認證：最後通牒"。我們想問，認證什麼呀？要怎麼考一張神鬼認證呀？
平面廣告上有這一句 "麥特戴蒙就是傑森包恩"，難道 Matt Damon 真實身分是特務嗎？不管，最怪的是"包恩"，念起來就是不順。
Bourne 翻成包恩也讓朋友想到 bash 這電腦名詞，全名 Bourne-Again Shell，所以應該叫做 "包恩再次貝殼"，哈。
嗯，真是電腦工程師 insider joke 冷笑話的一篇。久違了，好一陣子沒被工程師圍繞了。
中文片名叫 "神鬼認證：最後通牒"。我們想問，認證什麼呀？要怎麼考一張神鬼認證呀？
平面廣告上有這一句 "麥特戴蒙就是傑森包恩"，難道 Matt Damon 真實身分是特務嗎？不管，最怪的是"包恩"，念起來就是不順。
Bourne 翻成包恩也讓朋友想到 bash 這電腦名詞，全名 Bourne-Again Shell，所以應該叫做 "包恩再次貝殼"，哈。
嗯，真是電腦工程師 insider joke 冷笑話的一篇。久違了，好一陣子沒被工程師圍繞了。
Thursday, August 02, 2007
答對的同學有獎品
這個年紀當學生居然還會拿到小獎品。上電腦課時，老師讓我們做一個練習，並且說程式這樣作法會有一個缺陷，正確說出錯誤的同學可以得到一份小獎品，聽起來實在不像是在教我們這些成年的學生。
獎品是一個手掌大小的填充玩具，聽起來沒什麼吧，可是那個玩偶是 Duke！它是 Java technology 的吉祥物. 長得這副怪樣子。
哇，突然覺得還滿想要的， SpongeBob 的玩偶現在很容易買到，Duke 的玩偶還不知道哪裡買勒。
嗯，是有個 idea，不過有個女同學已經在回答了，所以先讓她答，老師認為答案不夠清楚，又給了提示，我舉手，但是那位同學又開口回答，卻還是不完整，看來她也識貨也想得到。想說她有她的機會了，我就答了，拿了。
就是這一個。
老師說沒關係，還有機會，下次會送大隻一點的，我猜可能 15或20公分高吧？啊，聽了就心動。下次該不會又要跟同學搶吧？
學校的門口放了一隻超大的 Duke 玩偶，應該有過一公尺高吧！超酷的。老師說那一隻大概要十萬塊吧。
嗯，以前聽別人說過，電視上看過別人搶 "I'm not a plastic bag"購物袋，這次自己倒是第一次感覺到限量的吸引力. And it's for a silly little stuffed toy...
自己在幻想，如果有賣全台限量 100 隻20公分高的 Duke 玩偶，每隻賣50元，會不會有一群工程師去排隊搶購，場面跟搶 "I'm not a plastic bag"購物袋一樣。
完全想太多...
可是還真的有朋友去買微軟標誌的鑰鎖圈，怪，工程師追求另一種名牌。
獎品是一個手掌大小的填充玩具，聽起來沒什麼吧，可是那個玩偶是 Duke！它是 Java technology 的吉祥物. 長得這副怪樣子。哇，突然覺得還滿想要的， SpongeBob 的玩偶現在很容易買到，Duke 的玩偶還不知道哪裡買勒。
嗯，是有個 idea，不過有個女同學已經在回答了，所以先讓她答，老師認為答案不夠清楚，又給了提示，我舉手，但是那位同學又開口回答，卻還是不完整，看來她也識貨也想得到。想說她有她的機會了，我就答了，拿了。
就是這一個。老師說沒關係，還有機會，下次會送大隻一點的，我猜可能 15或20公分高吧？啊，聽了就心動。下次該不會又要跟同學搶吧？
學校的門口放了一隻超大的 Duke 玩偶，應該有過一公尺高吧！超酷的。老師說那一隻大概要十萬塊吧。
嗯，以前聽別人說過，電視上看過別人搶 "I'm not a plastic bag"購物袋，這次自己倒是第一次感覺到限量的吸引力. And it's for a silly little stuffed toy...
自己在幻想，如果有賣全台限量 100 隻20公分高的 Duke 玩偶，每隻賣50元，會不會有一群工程師去排隊搶購，場面跟搶 "I'm not a plastic bag"購物袋一樣。
完全想太多...
可是還真的有朋友去買微軟標誌的鑰鎖圈，怪，工程師追求另一種名牌。
Sunday, July 29, 2007
惹人生氣
有時，我說一些話，或說一半的話，原本無意，結果惹人生氣。
尤其常惹到原本滿友好的朋友。
發覺，表達的能力太差，方式錯，扯得遠，說的不清楚或不完整，原本無意，卻讓聽者有心。
有時是沒好好考慮對方的感受，冒犯到別人。
我知道我錯了，對不起！
不希望再讓我關心的人生氣。
I'm sorry! Really sorry.
我對不起你！
也向我曾經惹到的朋友們說聲對不起！
I'm sorry!
尤其常惹到原本滿友好的朋友。
發覺，表達的能力太差，方式錯，扯得遠，說的不清楚或不完整，原本無意，卻讓聽者有心。
有時是沒好好考慮對方的感受，冒犯到別人。
我知道我錯了，對不起！
不希望再讓我關心的人生氣。
I'm sorry! Really sorry.
我對不起你！
也向我曾經惹到的朋友們說聲對不起！
I'm sorry!
Monday, July 23, 2007
An angel flies
An angel flies over the sky today.
Flying across the Tasman Sea
into the Oz land.
I must be intoxicated,
Hari.
(It's a poem for Hari. No, it doesn't make sense.)
Flying across the Tasman Sea
into the Oz land.
I must be intoxicated,
Hari.
(It's a poem for Hari. No, it doesn't make sense.)
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Farewell at 金色三麥
2 months ago I left my workplace. What do you know? My ex-team leader was the next to go. Her farewell party was at 金色三麥, a restaurant/bar that specializes in serving beer. All her previous team members were invited. So I skipped my class to go.
There were 12 of us. and we ordered 2 glasses of 500ml beer for each. There were so many glasses on the table! We drank a lot of beer but little food. I actually drank close to 3 glasses. I was drunk..? Well, I was dizzy but I could walk a straight line. So I don't know if that's drunk or not.
It was nice to see all these people. I haven't seen some of them for a long time. I might not see them much in the future either. It was nice for us to gather for one more time.
Wish my team leader a good holiday. Also, hope she'll go to a new workplace where she can better shine.
There were 12 of us. and we ordered 2 glasses of 500ml beer for each. There were so many glasses on the table! We drank a lot of beer but little food. I actually drank close to 3 glasses. I was drunk..? Well, I was dizzy but I could walk a straight line. So I don't know if that's drunk or not.
It was nice to see all these people. I haven't seen some of them for a long time. I might not see them much in the future either. It was nice for us to gather for one more time.
Wish my team leader a good holiday. Also, hope she'll go to a new workplace where she can better shine.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
公館做啥呢
晚上跟ND碰面，想說ND應該還沒去公館晃過，就約去公館。其實也不知道在公館要做什麼，就吃吃台大學生吃的餐，路過一下台大校園，逛逛學生逛的運動服飾店和書店，吃吃學生吃的臭豆腐把自己弄的臭臭的，就是個淺嚐台大學生生活圈而已。
不知道ㄟ，到底公館那一區要逛什麼勒? 從來也不太懂. 有聽說什麼排隊買車輪餅和青蛙撞奶什麼的，不過好像也不算很有特色?
沒差，反正就繼續帶ND去一些莫名的，他還沒去過的台北地方。雖然我也不那麼 local.
不知道ㄟ，到底公館那一區要逛什麼勒? 從來也不太懂. 有聽說什麼排隊買車輪餅和青蛙撞奶什麼的，不過好像也不算很有特色?
沒差，反正就繼續帶ND去一些莫名的，他還沒去過的台北地方。雖然我也不那麼 local.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
八通關古道 - 爬山去 - 非理性
走到太累.. 累到暫時不想寫.. 因為一寫可能會寫的跟山路一樣長. (Actually, it's hard to beat that.)
先放個 entry.
ok, 開始.
我跑去爬山，我想我是瘋了。
平常愛走路，有前同事找我去爬山，去走玉山附近的「八通關古道」，本來就想爬比較遠的山，只在紐西蘭爬過一次 Tongariro Crossing，接下在台灣的時間也不多，機會難得，就答應了。越接近出發時，發覺要準備的東西一堆，I started question what I did this for. Why did I spend so much effort and money to put myself out of the comfort of home and to a place where I may be cold, wet and hungry.
So I came to conclusion that people who go hiking must be irrational in some ways. They must have decided to do it based on some passion or some kind of emotional motives. It's not logical to spend money on the equipments, take time off work, to put yourself in a physically uncomfortable situation.
Anyway, 就去了，第一天先到山腳下的民宿住，夜晚全員約20人圍著營火，一邊讓大塊的肉慢慢放著烤，一邊聽原本要陪我們上山的嚮導彈吉他。不會彈背叛，有彈新不了情，也唱了紅蜻蜓(那時Ferro就真的打給以前同事，我稱呼蜻蜓姐姐)，嚮導也唱了他們原住民的抒情歌。
(The camera doesn't capture the atmosphere with the flash on. But it doesn't capture anything if the flash is off.)
晚上睡在三人的小隔間，雖然有人在外面走動還是聽的到，天也亮得很早，至少還是有好好睡了幾個小時。
第二天早上6點起床整理整理，啃了饅頭大家就上車前往登山口。大概 7點半開始從登山口開始走囉。前面的路段風景比較有變化，有瀑布，橋，懸崖等。
一路上大部分坡度都很緩，沒有那種一直走樓梯往上走到喘那種路段，就是往前走上緩緩的上坡。但是絕大部分都很平緩好走之外，就會忽然走到一個路段是斷崖，路看起來像是坍崩過的，只剩下很窄的面積能踏上去。這種路段，大家就要慢下來，一個一個通過，都要側著身，面對崖壁，手腳並用的橫行過去，但是手只能當支點，不能用力拉/壓，不然崖壁上的石頭可能會坍塌下來，人就跟著摔下去了。
(別看照片以為落差只有幾公尺，掉下去可是幾百、上千公尺)
這個路段讓我想到電影裡面主角在高樓外壁沿著牆壁側走的情景，差不多。
不過，高度可能比高樓還高，海拔超過一千公尺，有石頭從崖邊掉下去，我們過了五秒、七秒都還聽到石頭滾動撞到東西的聲音，實在很深，掉下去就無望了吧。
後來整個爬完的時候，有回想，覺得奇怪怎麼自己在這些危險路段時沒有感到可怕，因為有其他的年輕人通過那個路段後一副ㄘㄨㄚˋ到的樣子。我覺得，可能當時完全 focus 在要踏穩腳，扶好，穩穩得通過那個路段，沒空想掉下去那些可怕的事，所以反而沒在怕吧。
走了好幾個小時，大約中午走到路程一半的地方，大家在那休息吃午餐。午餐是有local饗導幫忙準備好，是兩個原住民壯漢背了大大的道具和食材，跟我走同樣的路上來，不過他們太厲害，超越我們，在我們到休息點之前就已經把東西架好準備好。我們一到就開始煮午餐了，就是簡單的麵加一些菜和料。吃完了旁邊就有山泉水可以洗一下餐具和手。
吃完午餐，有精神多了，繼續上路，但是我們這一行人走的很慢，常常停下來照相或休息，走了很久。而且途中還碰到下雨，他們有些去爬過三、四次的人說之前爬山從沒碰過下雨，嗯，我們這些第一次參加的是帶賽嗎？
實在走了很久，大家覺得晚上住宿的山屋怎麼還沒到，Ferro 就說是像 Shrek 的 Far Far Away. 那中文應該就「遠得要命山屋」吧。真正到山屋的時候已經快要下午6點了，而且我們還沒有去原本這天行程要去的「八通關草原」，去八通關草原再回來應該要2個小時左右。
We were exhausted. We sat on the bed and waited for the dinner, which was finally ready after 7pm. Shortly after dinner, we tried to go to sleep. It was only 8 o'clock. Nevertheless, some people say they wanted to extend our plan to go further up to the summit of 八通關山. If that's the case, we had to get up at 1:30am in the morning. It would add a 6 hour route to our plan.
It was so hard for me to sleep. I think I managed to sleep earlier in the night. However, I got sometime in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep. The bed was hard and there were occasional noises in the room. There were about 15 people sleeping in that room. I found that I was easily affected when somebody snored or turned over. I tried various postures but it hurt somewhere on me nobody which way I rest. I felt terrible that I was so tired but I still couldn't sleep.
By the time we were about to get up, I did manage to sleep a bit more. But then it was time to get up and start another long day of walking. It was 4:30am. The guide decided that we wouldn't go for the extended route because we were too tired and walked too slowly. So he woke us up at 4:30am instead. It was a good call because it did take a long time for us to walk. We probably wouldn't finish the extended route on time.
It was dark in the morning, that's when the headlamp is useful. But I brought only a hand-held flashlight. It was less convenient to do things when only one hand was free. So I should have followed their advice and have brought a handlamp instead.
After breakfast, we headed out for the 八通關草原, which we did not reach the previous day.
There are supposed to be 法國菊 there. But we didn't see many. We saw a bit of historical artifact, though.
(海拔2827m的草原，一下晴天一下整個籠罩在霧裡)
Then we started heading down the mountain. We walked the same path we came up. So we had to deal with the cliffs again. People were eager to get out of the mountain. We went down faster than we went up. Still, it was a long way. We finally got to our bus at the bottom of the mountain around 3:30pm.
We then went for a hot spring spa. However, I think the best thing was we had a shower. Because we were short of time, we only went in the spa for a few minutes before coming out. It was more like shabu shabu. After that, we had a celebration dinner, then we headed back to Taipei with sore feet.
After all this, I think my previous idea has been validated. We must be irrational, if not somewhat crazy, to put ourselves through that. We walked for about 20 hours in 2 days. We walked for more than 30km. We might be crazy.
風景來說，其實上次 Tongariro Crossing 的風景比較特殊，有雪山，火山口，火山湖等等；這次則是青山綠水，草原瀑布，斷崖。
從懸崖邊回來，有兩個感覺，一個是，要珍惜生命；另一個是，沒在怕的啦。真是矛盾。
再加一句，當你沒有後路時，不要想失敗會怎樣，專心想辦法不要失敗。
(因為掉下去真的很難救吧...)
同事的感想則覺得更清楚自己要做什麼：「就把握有限的時間吧！做做自己能達到的」
「不是每個人都能一次走完八通關，外加上玉山，可是還是可以好好走到自己八通關，先讓視野開闊」
嗯，我們想說，該不會是缺乏睡眠的長期走路有這種療效？
喔，還有，要穿登山鞋，千萬不要穿底會滑的鞋子。我是穿平常的慢跑鞋，雖然沒滑倒、扭傷，但是覺得還是有穩一點鞋子比較好，尤其當你面對斷崖的時候...
而且，走過小溪流時很容易濕，登山鞋就不會。
後來某天要穿鞋子時才發現原來鞋子都是泥，全髒了。
奇怪的是，我居然是同事三人中腳最沒受傷的，可能是一個穿新鞋，一個沒穿厚襪子緣故吧，我穿了兩三層襪子在走。
後來小腿大概酸痛了兩天，下樓梯時特別痛，不過之後就 OK 了。
下次還會不會去爬山？再看吧。自己平常不會規劃這麼遠的行程，哪天聽到有朋友要往山中去，可能又會想說機會難得，又非理性的跟過去。
先放個 entry.
ok, 開始.
我跑去爬山，我想我是瘋了。
平常愛走路，有前同事找我去爬山，去走玉山附近的「八通關古道」，本來就想爬比較遠的山，只在紐西蘭爬過一次 Tongariro Crossing，接下在台灣的時間也不多，機會難得，就答應了。越接近出發時，發覺要準備的東西一堆，I started question what I did this for. Why did I spend so much effort and money to put myself out of the comfort of home and to a place where I may be cold, wet and hungry.
So I came to conclusion that people who go hiking must be irrational in some ways. They must have decided to do it based on some passion or some kind of emotional motives. It's not logical to spend money on the equipments, take time off work, to put yourself in a physically uncomfortable situation.
Anyway, 就去了，第一天先到山腳下的民宿住，夜晚全員約20人圍著營火，一邊讓大塊的肉慢慢放著烤，一邊聽原本要陪我們上山的嚮導彈吉他。不會彈背叛，有彈新不了情，也唱了紅蜻蜓(那時Ferro就真的打給以前同事，我稱呼蜻蜓姐姐)，嚮導也唱了他們原住民的抒情歌。
(The camera doesn't capture the atmosphere with the flash on. But it doesn't capture anything if the flash is off.)晚上睡在三人的小隔間，雖然有人在外面走動還是聽的到，天也亮得很早，至少還是有好好睡了幾個小時。
第二天早上6點起床整理整理，啃了饅頭大家就上車前往登山口。大概 7點半開始從登山口開始走囉。前面的路段風景比較有變化，有瀑布，橋，懸崖等。
一路上大部分坡度都很緩，沒有那種一直走樓梯往上走到喘那種路段，就是往前走上緩緩的上坡。但是絕大部分都很平緩好走之外，就會忽然走到一個路段是斷崖，路看起來像是坍崩過的，只剩下很窄的面積能踏上去。這種路段，大家就要慢下來，一個一個通過，都要側著身，面對崖壁，手腳並用的橫行過去，但是手只能當支點，不能用力拉/壓，不然崖壁上的石頭可能會坍塌下來，人就跟著摔下去了。
(別看照片以為落差只有幾公尺，掉下去可是幾百、上千公尺)這個路段讓我想到電影裡面主角在高樓外壁沿著牆壁側走的情景，差不多。
不過，高度可能比高樓還高，海拔超過一千公尺，有石頭從崖邊掉下去，我們過了五秒、七秒都還聽到石頭滾動撞到東西的聲音，實在很深，掉下去就無望了吧。
後來整個爬完的時候，有回想，覺得奇怪怎麼自己在這些危險路段時沒有感到可怕，因為有其他的年輕人通過那個路段後一副ㄘㄨㄚˋ到的樣子。我覺得，可能當時完全 focus 在要踏穩腳，扶好，穩穩得通過那個路段，沒空想掉下去那些可怕的事，所以反而沒在怕吧。
走了好幾個小時，大約中午走到路程一半的地方，大家在那休息吃午餐。午餐是有local饗導幫忙準備好，是兩個原住民壯漢背了大大的道具和食材，跟我走同樣的路上來，不過他們太厲害，超越我們，在我們到休息點之前就已經把東西架好準備好。我們一到就開始煮午餐了，就是簡單的麵加一些菜和料。吃完了旁邊就有山泉水可以洗一下餐具和手。
吃完午餐，有精神多了，繼續上路，但是我們這一行人走的很慢，常常停下來照相或休息，走了很久。而且途中還碰到下雨，他們有些去爬過三、四次的人說之前爬山從沒碰過下雨，嗯，我們這些第一次參加的是帶賽嗎？
實在走了很久，大家覺得晚上住宿的山屋怎麼還沒到，Ferro 就說是像 Shrek 的 Far Far Away. 那中文應該就「遠得要命山屋」吧。真正到山屋的時候已經快要下午6點了，而且我們還沒有去原本這天行程要去的「八通關草原」，去八通關草原再回來應該要2個小時左右。
We were exhausted. We sat on the bed and waited for the dinner, which was finally ready after 7pm. Shortly after dinner, we tried to go to sleep. It was only 8 o'clock. Nevertheless, some people say they wanted to extend our plan to go further up to the summit of 八通關山. If that's the case, we had to get up at 1:30am in the morning. It would add a 6 hour route to our plan.
It was so hard for me to sleep. I think I managed to sleep earlier in the night. However, I got sometime in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep. The bed was hard and there were occasional noises in the room. There were about 15 people sleeping in that room. I found that I was easily affected when somebody snored or turned over. I tried various postures but it hurt somewhere on me nobody which way I rest. I felt terrible that I was so tired but I still couldn't sleep.
By the time we were about to get up, I did manage to sleep a bit more. But then it was time to get up and start another long day of walking. It was 4:30am. The guide decided that we wouldn't go for the extended route because we were too tired and walked too slowly. So he woke us up at 4:30am instead. It was a good call because it did take a long time for us to walk. We probably wouldn't finish the extended route on time.
It was dark in the morning, that's when the headlamp is useful. But I brought only a hand-held flashlight. It was less convenient to do things when only one hand was free. So I should have followed their advice and have brought a handlamp instead.
After breakfast, we headed out for the 八通關草原, which we did not reach the previous day.
There are supposed to be 法國菊 there. But we didn't see many. We saw a bit of historical artifact, though.
(海拔2827m的草原，一下晴天一下整個籠罩在霧裡)Then we started heading down the mountain. We walked the same path we came up. So we had to deal with the cliffs again. People were eager to get out of the mountain. We went down faster than we went up. Still, it was a long way. We finally got to our bus at the bottom of the mountain around 3:30pm.
We then went for a hot spring spa. However, I think the best thing was we had a shower. Because we were short of time, we only went in the spa for a few minutes before coming out. It was more like shabu shabu. After that, we had a celebration dinner, then we headed back to Taipei with sore feet.
After all this, I think my previous idea has been validated. We must be irrational, if not somewhat crazy, to put ourselves through that. We walked for about 20 hours in 2 days. We walked for more than 30km. We might be crazy.
風景來說，其實上次 Tongariro Crossing 的風景比較特殊，有雪山，火山口，火山湖等等；這次則是青山綠水，草原瀑布，斷崖。
從懸崖邊回來，有兩個感覺，一個是，要珍惜生命；另一個是，沒在怕的啦。真是矛盾。
再加一句，當你沒有後路時，不要想失敗會怎樣，專心想辦法不要失敗。
(因為掉下去真的很難救吧...)
同事的感想則覺得更清楚自己要做什麼：「就把握有限的時間吧！做做自己能達到的」
「不是每個人都能一次走完八通關，外加上玉山，可是還是可以好好走到自己八通關，先讓視野開闊」
嗯，我們想說，該不會是缺乏睡眠的長期走路有這種療效？
喔，還有，要穿登山鞋，千萬不要穿底會滑的鞋子。我是穿平常的慢跑鞋，雖然沒滑倒、扭傷，但是覺得還是有穩一點鞋子比較好，尤其當你面對斷崖的時候...
而且，走過小溪流時很容易濕，登山鞋就不會。
後來某天要穿鞋子時才發現原來鞋子都是泥，全髒了。
奇怪的是，我居然是同事三人中腳最沒受傷的，可能是一個穿新鞋，一個沒穿厚襪子緣故吧，我穿了兩三層襪子在走。
後來小腿大概酸痛了兩天，下樓梯時特別痛，不過之後就 OK 了。
下次還會不會去爬山？再看吧。自己平常不會規劃這麼遠的行程，哪天聽到有朋友要往山中去，可能又會想說機會難得，又非理性的跟過去。
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Bridge: second hand low, third hand high
Just to keep a note about what I told Ray about basic strategies for the card game bridge.
"Second hand low, third hand high."
"Second hand low, third hand high."
Friday, July 13, 2007
Kiwis in the CD store
When I was at the CD/book/electronics store Fnac, I saw the new album of Hayley Westerna. She's now also in a vocal group called Celtic Women. There are TV ads of their new album recently. I guess Hayley is the best known NZ singer in Taiwan. You can find her albums in most CD stores.
I was surprised to spot another Kiwi in the CD store. Bic Runga's new album Birds, which I don't have yet. I thought Bic Runga is only known in NZ and a few English speaking countries like Australia and UK. I didn't know her album had been exported to Taiwan. What a pleasant surprise!
I like to compare Bic Runga in NZ as like A-mei in Taiwan. They are both singers of high profile in their countries; They've both promoted their music outside their country, which is usually difficult for NZ singers; They both have heritage of indigenous people. In Bic Runga's case, her father is Maori and her mother is Chinese according to this Wikipedia article.
I put the album back on the shelf that day. I'll buy it when I'm in NZ. Hopefully somebody else will see that album on the shelf and knows a bit about her.
I tried searching for other NZ music at Fnac, especially Zed, Nesian Mystik, Scribe and Brooke Fraser, but I didn't find any.
Talking about Bic Runga reminds me of 2 funny things.
First is my sister told me that her classmate from Australia once made a point that Australia is better than NZ because "we have Kylie Minogue, you only have Bic Runga" ;P
(By the way, we have Brooke Fraser now.)
Another one is when I was at uni, my British-New Zealander classmate saw my media player displayed that I was listening to the The Corrs. He was surprised that a Chinese guy listens to an Irish music group. I said I listen to English music as well as Chinese music. "I listen to NZ music like Zed and Bic Runga too." Then he said, "Because she's Asian."
I was surprised to spot another Kiwi in the CD store. Bic Runga's new album Birds, which I don't have yet. I thought Bic Runga is only known in NZ and a few English speaking countries like Australia and UK. I didn't know her album had been exported to Taiwan. What a pleasant surprise!
I like to compare Bic Runga in NZ as like A-mei in Taiwan. They are both singers of high profile in their countries; They've both promoted their music outside their country, which is usually difficult for NZ singers; They both have heritage of indigenous people. In Bic Runga's case, her father is Maori and her mother is Chinese according to this Wikipedia article.
I put the album back on the shelf that day. I'll buy it when I'm in NZ. Hopefully somebody else will see that album on the shelf and knows a bit about her.
I tried searching for other NZ music at Fnac, especially Zed, Nesian Mystik, Scribe and Brooke Fraser, but I didn't find any.
Talking about Bic Runga reminds me of 2 funny things.
First is my sister told me that her classmate from Australia once made a point that Australia is better than NZ because "we have Kylie Minogue, you only have Bic Runga" ;P
(By the way, we have Brooke Fraser now.)
Another one is when I was at uni, my British-New Zealander classmate saw my media player displayed that I was listening to the The Corrs. He was surprised that a Chinese guy listens to an Irish music group. I said I listen to English music as well as Chinese music. "I listen to NZ music like Zed and Bic Runga too." Then he said, "Because she's Asian."
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Can you say A to Z?
A primary school ex-classmate of mine wants to learn English and he asked me to teach him English. Why me? I'm not an English teacher. Anyway, he brought along a friend of his. The three of us sat in McDonald's and just chatted casually. They asked me about how to say something in English and I'd tried my best to answer them. I guess they could pick up a few things but there are much effective ways.
About 2 hours later we actually got an English teacher to join us. She's also our ex-classmate. She just finished her work, which is teaching children English.
She worked overtime last night by teaching our group. She got really into it after a while. She asked us to say the letters from A to Z. It was harder than I thought. She corrected my ex-classmate that H should sound like "eich" not "etch", J should be "jay" not "街", and X should be "aks" with a long flat vowel sound, not something like "eiks".
Similarly, she asked us to count from 1 to 10. She was strict on the pronunciations. She spoke fluent English with American accent herself. When the students didn't understand a word, she explained it in English and gave examples by using the word in other sentences. I felt that she's more like somebody who's lived in an English speaking country than I am. :P
After all that, I'm no longer sure if I can say the 26 letters correctly. However, I know that I still say the last letter Z as "zed" instead of "zee". hehehe :P
About 2 hours later we actually got an English teacher to join us. She's also our ex-classmate. She just finished her work, which is teaching children English.
She worked overtime last night by teaching our group. She got really into it after a while. She asked us to say the letters from A to Z. It was harder than I thought. She corrected my ex-classmate that H should sound like "eich" not "etch", J should be "jay" not "街", and X should be "aks" with a long flat vowel sound, not something like "eiks".
Similarly, she asked us to count from 1 to 10. She was strict on the pronunciations. She spoke fluent English with American accent herself. When the students didn't understand a word, she explained it in English and gave examples by using the word in other sentences. I felt that she's more like somebody who's lived in an English speaking country than I am. :P
After all that, I'm no longer sure if I can say the 26 letters correctly. However, I know that I still say the last letter Z as "zed" instead of "zee". hehehe :P
Friday, July 06, 2007
Transformers
I went to watch the movie Transformers with my previous co-workers last night. Probably most of your friends have told you that it's a great movie. Perhaps they've written blog entries recommending it. The robots are so cool and stuffs. Well, I'll leave the recommendations to them.
It's an action movie. The action part was great. It had the most sound effects coming from every angle that I've ever experienced in movie viewing. I guess we were lucky that we were in a cinema with excellent acoustics.
However, I'm not a fan of action movies. Worse, I'm not into robots. So other than enjoying the special effects and the occasional jokes in the movie, it wasn't that exciting for me. The plot is quite silly and the characters are quite dull, except for the jokes they make. I agree a lot with this movie review. Some plots don't go anywhere. E.g. What were the signal analysts for? What was that guy from the TV show Las Vegas (Josh Duhamel) for? I guess it doesn't matter, though. It just serves up one action sequence after another.
Among my ex team mates, the girls of my age enjoyed the movie more than I did. From our after movie chat, I think they probably played with toy robots more than I did I was a kid. ha :P
However, I programmed a silly little uncool robot when I was at Engineering school. Another way of playing with the robots. :P
Based on so many positive reviews by friends and people, I guess many people would enjoy Transformers.
As for me, I guess I'd be better off if I go watch those dramatic foreign films with Hari. :P
Or, I should find a girl to watch chick flicks with :P
It's an action movie. The action part was great. It had the most sound effects coming from every angle that I've ever experienced in movie viewing. I guess we were lucky that we were in a cinema with excellent acoustics.
However, I'm not a fan of action movies. Worse, I'm not into robots. So other than enjoying the special effects and the occasional jokes in the movie, it wasn't that exciting for me. The plot is quite silly and the characters are quite dull, except for the jokes they make. I agree a lot with this movie review. Some plots don't go anywhere. E.g. What were the signal analysts for? What was that guy from the TV show Las Vegas (Josh Duhamel) for? I guess it doesn't matter, though. It just serves up one action sequence after another.
Among my ex team mates, the girls of my age enjoyed the movie more than I did. From our after movie chat, I think they probably played with toy robots more than I did I was a kid. ha :P
However, I programmed a silly little uncool robot when I was at Engineering school. Another way of playing with the robots. :P
Based on so many positive reviews by friends and people, I guess many people would enjoy Transformers.
As for me, I guess I'd be better off if I go watch those dramatic foreign films with Hari. :P
Or, I should find a girl to watch chick flicks with :P
Sunday, July 01, 2007
羽毛球社收網
上週五，羽毛球社打了最後一場球，不再續租球場了。
羽球社在我進公司後沒多久開始恢復打球，在我離開後不久結束，大約兩年。
期間有從一開始呼朋喚友找來的八人、十人，一陣子後只剩我跟老K兩人在撐，又到後來新血加入，同事們又衝到八人左右，到後來快結束時又只有大約四人。
出場人物前前後後也不少。有早早離開的 Jerry；人不來拍子繼續來的孟秋；老K那些會叫我"紐西蘭"的朋友們；動作優美的 Loomi；很狠的Christopher；中段有 Andric, Honesty, Francis, Richard, 彥谷等都打得不錯，加上 Alicia 會讓隊友發揮潛能；ferro大概也從這時開始打，後來也都固定來；去年下半年還有熱情的 Jenny 會喊 "合作無間"；Claire；Bryson 和 Eric Hsueh 也來打過幾次。我呢，則是從頭打到尾，哈！其實一開始不太固定，後來大部分都會到啦！
有些則是來客串一兩次的，就不多提。人物太多，如果忘了誰，歹勢呀。
當然啦，特別要提從頭到尾努力招人、安排打球的老K，您辛苦啦！
無法繼續下去了吧，老K, ferro 和我離職後，羽毛球社會變成像是同學會而不是公司的社團了吧(其實上面一串名字有不少人都不在公司了)。尤其老K是社長，除非後續有人也這麼熱心的辦羽球社，不然應該就沒了吧。
老K實在很熱心，是好人呀！
All this time... I had fun. Bye bye 啦
羽球社在我進公司後沒多久開始恢復打球，在我離開後不久結束，大約兩年。
期間有從一開始呼朋喚友找來的八人、十人，一陣子後只剩我跟老K兩人在撐，又到後來新血加入，同事們又衝到八人左右，到後來快結束時又只有大約四人。
出場人物前前後後也不少。有早早離開的 Jerry；人不來拍子繼續來的孟秋；老K那些會叫我"紐西蘭"的朋友們；動作優美的 Loomi；很狠的Christopher；中段有 Andric, Honesty, Francis, Richard, 彥谷等都打得不錯，加上 Alicia 會讓隊友發揮潛能；ferro大概也從這時開始打，後來也都固定來；去年下半年還有熱情的 Jenny 會喊 "合作無間"；Claire；Bryson 和 Eric Hsueh 也來打過幾次。我呢，則是從頭打到尾，哈！其實一開始不太固定，後來大部分都會到啦！
有些則是來客串一兩次的，就不多提。人物太多，如果忘了誰，歹勢呀。
當然啦，特別要提從頭到尾努力招人、安排打球的老K，您辛苦啦！
無法繼續下去了吧，老K, ferro 和我離職後，羽毛球社會變成像是同學會而不是公司的社團了吧(其實上面一串名字有不少人都不在公司了)。尤其老K是社長，除非後續有人也這麼熱心的辦羽球社，不然應該就沒了吧。
老K實在很熱心，是好人呀！
All this time... I had fun. Bye bye 啦
Saturday, June 30, 2007
宜蘭：好山好水好無聊
My mum learned this phrase while she's in Taiwan. "好山，好水，好無聊". One of my uncles describes 宜蘭 as such. My mum quickly applies that to New Zealand, too.
Little did I know that I was really going to 宜蘭. Basically, it was like on the day of the trip, my uncle said, "by the way, you and grandma are coming with us tonight". I went along without knowing much about what we were going to do in 宜蘭.
Well, as it turned out, not much. I don't think it confirmed "好山，好水，好無聊", I think it was because we didn't really plan where to go and what to do, so we didn't really do much except driving around. The notable things we did were, hot spring spa at the hotel, cold spring spa at 礁溪 (礁溪冷泉), and had some fried seafood at 大溪漁港. That's about it. Other than that, it was mostly hours of driving, with a 1 year old kid growing impatient in the car, haha.
By the way, going through the tunnel is much faster than driving along the coast. It took just over an hour when we went to 宜蘭 on the first night. Then it took hours of driving when we drove along the coast on the way back.
hm, maybe 童玩節 at the 冬山河親水公園 would be nice. But it doesn't start till July...
Little did I know that I was really going to 宜蘭. Basically, it was like on the day of the trip, my uncle said, "by the way, you and grandma are coming with us tonight". I went along without knowing much about what we were going to do in 宜蘭.
Well, as it turned out, not much. I don't think it confirmed "好山，好水，好無聊", I think it was because we didn't really plan where to go and what to do, so we didn't really do much except driving around. The notable things we did were, hot spring spa at the hotel, cold spring spa at 礁溪 (礁溪冷泉), and had some fried seafood at 大溪漁港. That's about it. Other than that, it was mostly hours of driving, with a 1 year old kid growing impatient in the car, haha.
By the way, going through the tunnel is much faster than driving along the coast. It took just over an hour when we went to 宜蘭 on the first night. Then it took hours of driving when we drove along the coast on the way back.
hm, maybe 童玩節 at the 冬山河親水公園 would be nice. But it doesn't start till July...
跟家人集體行動的幾天
這篇是流水帳。這幾天都在跟家人在一起，比較沒自己的時間。
週六中午跟以前同事在公司附近吃午餐，下午冒著大雨去外公家誦經。
週日告別式。
週一入塔位。
週二跟爸媽出去逛一逛，晚上和爸爸這邊的姑姑叔叔家人們吃晚餐，晚餐後直接和叔叔嬸嬸往宜蘭去。
週三在宜蘭玩，和沿著北海岸慢慢開回台北。
週四陪隆媽媽，晚上送去機場 :'(
一年不見隆媽媽，這次回來也大都在處理事情又匆匆走了。
不知道ㄟ，感覺起來以後會越來越多這種搬來搬去的生活型態，家人就聚少離多。也許有些國家可能現在就很尋常了，像大陸、美國這種大國家，可能家人在不同的省或州是很平常的事；紐西蘭這種小國家則是市場太小所以很多年輕人去別的國家工作？
不過之前跟同事、同學聊，感覺起來在台灣有些人能想像到的最遠距離是台北─高雄。但是也有人開始考慮台北─上海、台北─深圳這種距離了。
週六中午跟以前同事在公司附近吃午餐，下午冒著大雨去外公家誦經。
週日告別式。
週一入塔位。
週二跟爸媽出去逛一逛，晚上和爸爸這邊的姑姑叔叔家人們吃晚餐，晚餐後直接和叔叔嬸嬸往宜蘭去。
週三在宜蘭玩，和沿著北海岸慢慢開回台北。
週四陪隆媽媽，晚上送去機場 :'(
一年不見隆媽媽，這次回來也大都在處理事情又匆匆走了。
不知道ㄟ，感覺起來以後會越來越多這種搬來搬去的生活型態，家人就聚少離多。也許有些國家可能現在就很尋常了，像大陸、美國這種大國家，可能家人在不同的省或州是很平常的事；紐西蘭這種小國家則是市場太小所以很多年輕人去別的國家工作？
不過之前跟同事、同學聊，感覺起來在台灣有些人能想像到的最遠距離是台北─高雄。但是也有人開始考慮台北─上海、台北─深圳這種距離了。
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Melbourne Baby
Hari has told me that he's going to work in Melbourne.
"Melbourne Baby", as he says on his MSN nickname.
I so feel eager to sing a song to express my feelings. Say, maybe 千里之外?
But Hari's such a close friend. He deserves this one. 再見 我的愛人
We should sing and cry like that. haha. Hari, let's do that if I meet you in Auckland.
"Melbourne Baby", as he says on his MSN nickname.
I so feel eager to sing a song to express my feelings. Say, maybe 千里之外?
But Hari's such a close friend. He deserves this one. 再見 我的愛人
We should sing and cry like that. haha. Hari, let's do that if I meet you in Auckland.
旋轉跳躍我閉著眼
I had 旋轉跳躍我閉著眼 as my MSN nickname message and a friend of my messaged and said
"your nickname is so funny, seems you are a big fan of Jolin...haha"
haha ... not quite.
It's an insider joke la. somehow my ex-coworker used Jolin for comparison. so I said
旋轉跳躍我閉著眼
工程師的喜悲沒人看見
He likes the second sentence and used that in his nickname. So my one is the 上聯, sort of.
Anyway, Jolin is very popular ya. Her performances are eye-catching. I don't mind being thought as a fan of hers.
"your nickname is so funny, seems you are a big fan of Jolin...haha"
haha ... not quite.
It's an insider joke la. somehow my ex-coworker used Jolin for comparison. so I said
旋轉跳躍我閉著眼
工程師的喜悲沒人看見
He likes the second sentence and used that in his nickname. So my one is the 上聯, sort of.
Anyway, Jolin is very popular ya. Her performances are eye-catching. I don't mind being thought as a fan of hers.
Friday, June 22, 2007
金曲獎
最佳年度歌曲獎:寶貝,小情歌,千里之外都輸給今天妳要嫁給我!!? 評審是最近要結婚還是被Jolin迷惑了嗎?
隨便一首都比那首好。當時在宣佈「入圍的有...」的時候，先看到「千里之外」，我想說，這首好了；然後出現「寶貝」，我說，這首超越了，就這首了；再來又有「小情歌」，我又說，好難選喔，可能這首吧。最後出現「今天妳要嫁給我」，我堅定的說這首不可能。
結果真的就是... 當時頒獎人是張信哲和 MC Hotdog，我覺得 MC Hotdog 當時心中應該很不爽吧？ In this case, 我還滿希望他在台上把獎座折斷或什麼的 :P
完全不接受... 哇勒 Jolin in da house. DT in da house. @@
不過後來 MC Hotdog 得到最佳國語專輯獎，他大概心情好很多吧。不過，這也是我沒想到的得獎人。
Hari 實在很厲害，又是早早就在聽蘇打綠、張懸、Tizzy Bac 這些比較"不紅"的歌手、團體，又是在金曲多項入圍，蘇打綠和 Tizzy Bac 也的確得了獎。
Hari 之前就在這些人不紅的時候就聽陳奕迅、黃力行、蔡健雅，後來都得了金曲獎，Hari 是不是有混在評審團之中呀?
蔡依林得最佳國語女歌手獎，應該是 Hari 在評審團中對造型部份給了高分吧 :P
謝金燕得最佳台語女歌手獎ㄟ， OK, I don't actually listen to her music. But I just find that cool.
電音搖滾台語英文混合歌曲... 整個很國際化的台。
(HotDog 來串場： "我愛台妹，台妹愛我")
Anyway, 推薦大家聽張懸和蘇打綠囉！As for Tizzy Bac, ask Hari.
之前同事 Jenny 一直聽小情歌...
"就算大雨讓這個城市顛倒 我會給你懷抱"
也推薦了這首可愛的歌，寶貝
"我的寶貝寶貝 給你一點甜甜 讓你今夜都好眠"
就去聽吧，去唱吧。
不過 Hari 點太冷門的話別人可能沒辦法接受，哈，唱到上次 K 姐在 KTV 說不想再看到唱蘇打綠，後來還是靠小情歌來為他們平反一下。
隨便一首都比那首好。當時在宣佈「入圍的有...」的時候，先看到「千里之外」，我想說，這首好了；然後出現「寶貝」，我說，這首超越了，就這首了；再來又有「小情歌」，我又說，好難選喔，可能這首吧。最後出現「今天妳要嫁給我」，我堅定的說這首不可能。
結果真的就是... 當時頒獎人是張信哲和 MC Hotdog，我覺得 MC Hotdog 當時心中應該很不爽吧？ In this case, 我還滿希望他在台上把獎座折斷或什麼的 :P
完全不接受... 哇勒 Jolin in da house. DT in da house. @@
不過後來 MC Hotdog 得到最佳國語專輯獎，他大概心情好很多吧。不過，這也是我沒想到的得獎人。
Hari 實在很厲害，又是早早就在聽蘇打綠、張懸、Tizzy Bac 這些比較"不紅"的歌手、團體，又是在金曲多項入圍，蘇打綠和 Tizzy Bac 也的確得了獎。
Hari 之前就在這些人不紅的時候就聽陳奕迅、黃力行、蔡健雅，後來都得了金曲獎，Hari 是不是有混在評審團之中呀?
蔡依林得最佳國語女歌手獎，應該是 Hari 在評審團中對造型部份給了高分吧 :P
謝金燕得最佳台語女歌手獎ㄟ， OK, I don't actually listen to her music. But I just find that cool.
電音搖滾台語英文混合歌曲... 整個很國際化的台。
(HotDog 來串場： "我愛台妹，台妹愛我")
Anyway, 推薦大家聽張懸和蘇打綠囉！As for Tizzy Bac, ask Hari.
之前同事 Jenny 一直聽小情歌...
"就算大雨讓這個城市顛倒 我會給你懷抱"
也推薦了這首可愛的歌，寶貝
"我的寶貝寶貝 給你一點甜甜 讓你今夜都好眠"
就去聽吧，去唱吧。
不過 Hari 點太冷門的話別人可能沒辦法接受，哈，唱到上次 K 姐在 KTV 說不想再看到唱蘇打綠，後來還是靠小情歌來為他們平反一下。
Thursday, June 21, 2007
SCJP test
Yup, I finally got around to take the SCJP test today.
We got home late last night and left me with no time to squeeze in some last minute studies for my Java certification. I didn't care much because when I signed for the test, there was a promotion to give the candidates to retake the test once for free.
In the early parts the test I thought I'd run out of time and actually make use of the free retake. When I finished the test I guessed I might just pass. In fact, I passed, and well above the passing score. A nice surprise! :)
So yeah, I've got my very first probably useless computer certificate.
I feel like babbling some more :P
Things aren't done until you've done it.
I first had the idea of getting this certificate when I just left university. But it isn't until today that I actually did it.
I still hear a few friends casually say they'll get this certificate. But just saying doesn't get you anywhere.
hm, same for driver's license. I got my full license after university. Quite late. :P
Anyway, I just feel that it's what you do that counts, not what you say you'll do. I observed that in my last job. :P I guess that's for life in general too.
End of babbling.
We got home late last night and left me with no time to squeeze in some last minute studies for my Java certification. I didn't care much because when I signed for the test, there was a promotion to give the candidates to retake the test once for free.
In the early parts the test I thought I'd run out of time and actually make use of the free retake. When I finished the test I guessed I might just pass. In fact, I passed, and well above the passing score. A nice surprise! :)
So yeah, I've got my very first probably useless computer certificate.
I feel like babbling some more :P
Things aren't done until you've done it.
I first had the idea of getting this certificate when I just left university. But it isn't until today that I actually did it.
I still hear a few friends casually say they'll get this certificate. But just saying doesn't get you anywhere.
hm, same for driver's license. I got my full license after university. Quite late. :P
Anyway, I just feel that it's what you do that counts, not what you say you'll do. I observed that in my last job. :P I guess that's for life in general too.
End of babbling.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
端午 with family
I was with family on 端午節 the whole day this year. In the morning, I got woken up early to go out with mum and day for breakfast. Mum just arrived in Taipei the evening before that. I was with the father side family later in the morning and lunch time. Played with 1-year-old cousin; Did a bit of 端午祭拜.
My parents and I then went to my mother side's family's place. We joined the relatives to 誦經 for my granddad who recently passed away. The session lasted all afternoon. We stayed for dinner and chats afterwards. I was with my extend family the whole day.
By the way, I didn't eat any 粽子.
My parents and I then went to my mother side's family's place. We joined the relatives to 誦經 for my granddad who recently passed away. The session lasted all afternoon. We stayed for dinner and chats afterwards. I was with my extend family the whole day.
By the way, I didn't eat any 粽子.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
今天要弄倒哪家餐廳
上次跟K姐在台北車站附近找餐廳吃晚餐，去看了兩家之前去吃的餐廳，結果都關了！一家的門口還貼了告示說餐廳老闆支票跳票什麼的。
有上次經驗，今天跟K姐碰面時，她問說要去哪吃晚餐，我就說：「看你今天要弄倒哪家餐廳。」
結果去台北東區，去看看一家之前一起去吃過的素食餐廳。
沒開！貼了告示說租約到期 blah blah..
太強了，我們已經吃三家倒三家！
我說是K姐太賽了，吃了就會倒。K姐反駁說她自己吃就沒事，跟我一起去吃之後才倒。雖然我還是覺得她帶賽的成分居多，以前一起在奧克蘭的 food court還會碰到火災警報亂響。
K姐說我們應該去網路上招標，看有誰要出錢弄倒別人餐廳，我們就一起去那家吃。
我提議去吃鼎泰豐，如果真的倒了就太強了！可惜K姐吃素不能去。
另外又是K姐帶賽(exceptional luck)，居然我在東區地下街碰到以前的同事，是我認識的另一個 Claire 姐姐 :P 兩個 Claire 姐姐居然碰面了！
同事跟我聊了一下。同事離開後，K姐說那個女生長的好可愛喔，我說她也叫 Claire。K姐說：「叫 Claire 的都是可愛又漂亮的女生嗎？」
喔，受不了，都不會臉紅喔？
ps. 後來我又想到，之前我們有一起去「台灣故事館」門口，Claire有去問他們的餐點，沒有去吃，想說哪天多找一些人再一起去，結果大概兩三週後台灣故事館就關了。追加台灣故事館到倒店名單上。
有上次經驗，今天跟K姐碰面時，她問說要去哪吃晚餐，我就說：「看你今天要弄倒哪家餐廳。」
結果去台北東區，去看看一家之前一起去吃過的素食餐廳。
沒開！貼了告示說租約到期 blah blah..
太強了，我們已經吃三家倒三家！
我說是K姐太賽了，吃了就會倒。K姐反駁說她自己吃就沒事，跟我一起去吃之後才倒。雖然我還是覺得她帶賽的成分居多，以前一起在奧克蘭的 food court還會碰到火災警報亂響。
K姐說我們應該去網路上招標，看有誰要出錢弄倒別人餐廳，我們就一起去那家吃。
我提議去吃鼎泰豐，如果真的倒了就太強了！可惜K姐吃素不能去。
另外又是K姐帶賽(exceptional luck)，居然我在東區地下街碰到以前的同事，是我認識的另一個 Claire 姐姐 :P 兩個 Claire 姐姐居然碰面了！
同事跟我聊了一下。同事離開後，K姐說那個女生長的好可愛喔，我說她也叫 Claire。K姐說：「叫 Claire 的都是可愛又漂亮的女生嗎？」
喔，受不了，都不會臉紅喔？
ps. 後來我又想到，之前我們有一起去「台灣故事館」門口，Claire有去問他們的餐點，沒有去吃，想說哪天多找一些人再一起去，結果大概兩三週後台灣故事館就關了。追加台灣故事館到倒店名單上。
Friday, June 01, 2007
港澳行：佛心來的
這次 hostel 住的房間真的滿容易被干擾的。凌晨 1, 2點還會聽到走到上有人的活動、談話聲，今天連早上 6 點也聽到有人已經起來走動、梳洗。被吵醒後，想去上廁所再回來試著睡，沒想到踏出第一步就摔了一大跤。四肢各有破皮、瘀青等傷勢，痛！臉撞痛了但還好沒破相。這次帶著上次在新加坡買的OK繃，沒想到真用到了。(看來旅遊會增加我受傷機率。)
一開始想到的詞是最近學的台語"雷殘"，後來想到這裡是香港，應該是用"PK"那個代表倒在街上的那個詞。
其實這兩個詞詞意都不符合我跌到的狀況啦。
右手肘關節附近貼了兩個OK繃，痛，還是試著回去睡覺。又痛又吵睡的也不熟，好像一會兒又過了幾個小時。雖然累，想想還是該起床了，不然今天搞不好來不及走遠，就只能待在市區裡。
因為我昨天實在太 enjoy 南ㄚ島的沙灘，今天還想說如果時間夠的話還想再去，或是就不去看天壇大佛，直接再去南ㄚ島。但是摔了這麼一跤，手腳破皮受傷，如果去海裡游傷口可能會很痛吧，感染的話就更糟。也許摔這麼一跤真是佛心來的，有意讓我排除其他行程，一定要去景仰一下大佛。
所以哩，就去坐了昂坪360纜車上山去，總共坐了快半個小時。
(這張圖沒什麼好看，只是顯示纜車走得高，看得遠。)
一開始想到的詞是最近學的台語"雷殘"，後來想到這裡是香港，應該是用"PK"那個代表倒在街上的那個詞。
其實這兩個詞詞意都不符合我跌到的狀況啦。
右手肘關節附近貼了兩個OK繃，痛，還是試著回去睡覺。又痛又吵睡的也不熟，好像一會兒又過了幾個小時。雖然累，想想還是該起床了，不然今天搞不好來不及走遠，就只能待在市區裡。
因為我昨天實在太 enjoy 南ㄚ島的沙灘，今天還想說如果時間夠的話還想再去，或是就不去看天壇大佛，直接再去南ㄚ島。但是摔了這麼一跤，手腳破皮受傷，如果去海裡游傷口可能會很痛吧，感染的話就更糟。也許摔這麼一跤真是佛心來的，有意讓我排除其他行程，一定要去景仰一下大佛。
所以哩，就去坐了昂坪360纜車上山去，總共坐了快半個小時。
(這張圖沒什麼好看，只是顯示纜車走得高，看得遠。)嗯，我覺得這樣的觀光纜車還滿酷的，讓遊客輕鬆看view，又方便遊客到一個比較偏僻的景點。請自己來體驗吧！
其實不能自己來體驗了，因為這一篇是回國幾週後才寫的，纜車在上週才發生了脫落墜毀的事件，現在停駛。
News Link:
香港昂坪360纜車脫落 車廂全毀
纜車的終點是昂坪市集，行前看別人的旅記寫說是一個人工市集，沒錯，的確很人工，完全是為觀光客打造的街道與店家，幾乎所有的店鋪都在賣紀念品方面的商品。這時一個人旅遊總算有好處了，這些東西全跳過，大步向大佛走去。
大佛.. 就是大佛，還能介紹什麼呢？看圖。
其實走上去要爬滿多層階梯的，這張照片照的位置已經是快走到頂了。從下走階梯時陸續看到其他遊客停下來休息，猛然有個想法試試能不能不中斷地走到頂端，還真的給我走上去了，有莫名又無趣的成就感。佛心來的。
之後，這一天就比較沒什麼，就在東涌、尖沙嘴、中環各晃了一下，稍微特別的是看到這個"New Zealand Educated"廣告吧：
後來晚上在去機場前還跟 Kenny 在旺角碰面，短短的逛了一下。而且還真的找到了一張媽媽要買但是在 NZ、台灣都沒找到的 CD.
在機場則終於吃了"許留山"的甜品。"大家樂"的鼓椒牛肉飯意外地好吃。接著就上飛機啦。
擔憂昨晚沒睡好，降落時又會爆眼，不過這次降落時我一直深呼吸，居然沒爆眼，但是整個人感覺還是怪怪的，好像皮膚裡外的壓力不同所以還是怎樣感覺怪怪的。Anyway，平安降落啦，又回到台灣了；再次從方便的赤臘角機場進入，從動線奇怪的漏水航廈出來。
其實不能自己來體驗了，因為這一篇是回國幾週後才寫的，纜車在上週才發生了脫落墜毀的事件，現在停駛。
News Link:
香港昂坪360纜車脫落 車廂全毀
纜車的終點是昂坪市集，行前看別人的旅記寫說是一個人工市集，沒錯，的確很人工，完全是為觀光客打造的街道與店家，幾乎所有的店鋪都在賣紀念品方面的商品。這時一個人旅遊總算有好處了，這些東西全跳過，大步向大佛走去。
大佛.. 就是大佛，還能介紹什麼呢？看圖。
其實走上去要爬滿多層階梯的，這張照片照的位置已經是快走到頂了。從下走階梯時陸續看到其他遊客停下來休息，猛然有個想法試試能不能不中斷地走到頂端，還真的給我走上去了，有莫名又無趣的成就感。佛心來的。之後，這一天就比較沒什麼，就在東涌、尖沙嘴、中環各晃了一下，稍微特別的是看到這個"New Zealand Educated"廣告吧：
後來晚上在去機場前還跟 Kenny 在旺角碰面，短短的逛了一下。而且還真的找到了一張媽媽要買但是在 NZ、台灣都沒找到的 CD.
在機場則終於吃了"許留山"的甜品。"大家樂"的鼓椒牛肉飯意外地好吃。接著就上飛機啦。
擔憂昨晚沒睡好，降落時又會爆眼，不過這次降落時我一直深呼吸，居然沒爆眼，但是整個人感覺還是怪怪的，好像皮膚裡外的壓力不同所以還是怎樣感覺怪怪的。Anyway，平安降落啦，又回到台灣了；再次從方便的赤臘角機場進入，從動線奇怪的漏水航廈出來。
Thursday, May 31, 2007
港澳行：local, pseudo-local and frequent visitor
I finally got to meet Michael and Kenny in Hong Kong. For the past two times I came to Hong Kong, Michael was out of town or something. We finally met.
Actually, I still got bad timing this time. They were all busy, even at weekends. Michael's working endlessly. And Kenny, well, spends time with his girlfriend.
Anyway, we finally met up. Yey! Time for dinner. When I am by myself, I wouldn't go to restaurants that are for a group of people. Finally a nice dinner tonight. Even better, I'm led by a local (and a pseudo-local) too. So we met up and went to 蘭桂坊 for... Malaysian food?! well, it's like a mixed style restaurant, not traditional Malaysian food. They said they came here last time when Joseph passed by Hong Kong. I thought we'd go for Cantonese food, though. I guess that'd be boring for, though. Anyway, the food was decious. I enjoyed it. Just that those 2 finished the food in Hong Kong speed while I chewed in Auckland speed. haha
And those two also chatted in Hong Kong speed. Talk talk talk. In Mandarin, English, and occasionally Cantonese when talking with the waitresses.
They haven't for met months either. So they talked about their friends and things in Hong Kong and there were quite a few topics I didn't catch on. Anyway, the general impression I got was, they were busy and bored in Hong Kong. Ha, Kenny, if you're bored in Hong Kong, where else can you find interesting? :P
Oh, another impression was Kenny always has girls in mind. :P
Later we went to 滿記甜點 for snack. One of its famous dish is the durian flavoured snack. For the first few bites, it was surprisingly delicious. However, a few bites later, I began to find it stank so much.
We also each had a bowl of sweet ice snack. That was delicious.
Soon after, the local, the pseudo-local and the frequent visitor went their separate ways. I wonder when these 3 will gather in one place next time?
Actually, I still got bad timing this time. They were all busy, even at weekends. Michael's working endlessly. And Kenny, well, spends time with his girlfriend.
Anyway, we finally met up. Yey! Time for dinner. When I am by myself, I wouldn't go to restaurants that are for a group of people. Finally a nice dinner tonight. Even better, I'm led by a local (and a pseudo-local) too. So we met up and went to 蘭桂坊 for... Malaysian food?! well, it's like a mixed style restaurant, not traditional Malaysian food. They said they came here last time when Joseph passed by Hong Kong. I thought we'd go for Cantonese food, though. I guess that'd be boring for, though. Anyway, the food was decious. I enjoyed it. Just that those 2 finished the food in Hong Kong speed while I chewed in Auckland speed. haha
And those two also chatted in Hong Kong speed. Talk talk talk. In Mandarin, English, and occasionally Cantonese when talking with the waitresses.
They haven't for met months either. So they talked about their friends and things in Hong Kong and there were quite a few topics I didn't catch on. Anyway, the general impression I got was, they were busy and bored in Hong Kong. Ha, Kenny, if you're bored in Hong Kong, where else can you find interesting? :P
Oh, another impression was Kenny always has girls in mind. :P
Later we went to 滿記甜點 for snack. One of its famous dish is the durian flavoured snack. For the first few bites, it was surprisingly delicious. However, a few bites later, I began to find it stank so much.We also each had a bowl of sweet ice snack. That was delicious.
Soon after, the local, the pseudo-local and the frequent visitor went their separate ways. I wonder when these 3 will gather in one place next time?
港澳行：南ㄚ島的陽光沙灘
前一天從澳門回來就滿晚的了，早上晚起在住宿附近吃了皮蛋瘦肉粥又逛了一下街，就快中午了，啊，原本今天計畫要去看天壇大佛，但是距離遠，晚上要回到市區和 Michael, Kenny 碰面，就怕時間不夠，所以決定改去原本明天要去的南ㄚ島。
因為渡輪的班次，到南ㄚ島已經快下午 3 點了。今天天氣很晴朗，到達後就立刻感覺到寧靜小島的悠閒氣氛。不過，因為我一個人，6點又要回到市區，我就快步的往我的目標走去，途中經過了海鮮餐廳，據說這裡吃海鮮不錯，啊我沒機會，再來是一些小商店，啊我沒興趣，再走過林中小徑，終於到了，沙灘！
咦，怎麼這麼小呀？是我在找的洪聖爺灣沒錯，不過比我預期的小很多，啊我都是以 Takapuna Beach 來作比較的嘛，Takapuna Beach 從圖書館那邊走到右邊岩壁大概要十來分鐘吧；這洪聖爺灣，嗯，一分鐘就走完？據說週末時很多香港人會到這裡一日遊，天哪，這麼一塊小海灘要怎麼讓大家擠呀。
小歸小，今天的陽光加上眼前的沙灘，看起來真舒服。沙灘上有滿多人在曬太陽，也有一些人在海裡玩水。嗯，其實也不算多，只是聚集在這麼一小塊地方看起來多。我有樣學樣，換了短褲，塗防曬油，也找了一個 spot 來躺著曬太陽，悠閒啊，享受啊。
我已經兩年沒有享受沙灘了。在台北要去一個乾淨的沙灘好像並不容易？上次回奧克蘭時6月天也太冷了，只在 Takapuna Beach 看看海景。所以，今天來南ㄚ島算是我最期待的行程吧。
就在海風與平和的浪聲之中，手機忽然響了，真煞風景，這不是跟電影演的一樣嗎？在海灘上還在講電話談公事。不過我沒工作啦，應該是 Kenny 或 Michael 打來吧。結果不是，是以前同事打電話來問說明晚有沒有空吃飯。我說我在香港，通話就快快結束了。
又繼續躺下來曬太陽。海灘上有些人是怎麼曬那麼暗的呀，還好有白人超越我的白。
看著水中戲水的人們，我也很想下去游，卻擔心自己的東西沒人看管，如果護照掉了我該不會要一輩子困在這個小島上吧？(其實也不錯 :P) 最後還是臣服於美景，把包包拿到離水邊比較近的地方，記住包包的位置，就奔向海裡啦。游一游就偶而注意一下包包，沒人去動。 (在國外東西要保管好，這有風險的動作不鼓勵呀)
水清，還有看到小魚呢！沙灘則乾淨沒垃圾，真是舒服。
接近5點時，上岸趕快整理一下，又用不合島嶼氣氛的速度趕去搭渡輪回港島。一方面滿足於今天的陽光與沙灘，另一方面又覺得，這樣的地方多來幾次都行呀！
因為渡輪的班次，到南ㄚ島已經快下午 3 點了。今天天氣很晴朗，到達後就立刻感覺到寧靜小島的悠閒氣氛。不過，因為我一個人，6點又要回到市區，我就快步的往我的目標走去，途中經過了海鮮餐廳，據說這裡吃海鮮不錯，啊我沒機會，再來是一些小商店，啊我沒興趣，再走過林中小徑，終於到了，沙灘！
咦，怎麼這麼小呀？是我在找的洪聖爺灣沒錯，不過比我預期的小很多，啊我都是以 Takapuna Beach 來作比較的嘛，Takapuna Beach 從圖書館那邊走到右邊岩壁大概要十來分鐘吧；這洪聖爺灣，嗯，一分鐘就走完？據說週末時很多香港人會到這裡一日遊，天哪，這麼一塊小海灘要怎麼讓大家擠呀。
小歸小，今天的陽光加上眼前的沙灘，看起來真舒服。沙灘上有滿多人在曬太陽，也有一些人在海裡玩水。嗯，其實也不算多，只是聚集在這麼一小塊地方看起來多。我有樣學樣，換了短褲，塗防曬油，也找了一個 spot 來躺著曬太陽，悠閒啊，享受啊。
我已經兩年沒有享受沙灘了。在台北要去一個乾淨的沙灘好像並不容易？上次回奧克蘭時6月天也太冷了，只在 Takapuna Beach 看看海景。所以，今天來南ㄚ島算是我最期待的行程吧。
就在海風與平和的浪聲之中，手機忽然響了，真煞風景，這不是跟電影演的一樣嗎？在海灘上還在講電話談公事。不過我沒工作啦，應該是 Kenny 或 Michael 打來吧。結果不是，是以前同事打電話來問說明晚有沒有空吃飯。我說我在香港，通話就快快結束了。
又繼續躺下來曬太陽。海灘上有些人是怎麼曬那麼暗的呀，還好有白人超越我的白。
看著水中戲水的人們，我也很想下去游，卻擔心自己的東西沒人看管，如果護照掉了我該不會要一輩子困在這個小島上吧？(其實也不錯 :P) 最後還是臣服於美景，把包包拿到離水邊比較近的地方，記住包包的位置，就奔向海裡啦。游一游就偶而注意一下包包，沒人去動。 (在國外東西要保管好，這有風險的動作不鼓勵呀)
水清，還有看到小魚呢！沙灘則乾淨沒垃圾，真是舒服。
接近5點時，上岸趕快整理一下，又用不合島嶼氣氛的速度趕去搭渡輪回港島。一方面滿足於今天的陽光與沙灘，另一方面又覺得，這樣的地方多來幾次都行呀！
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
港澳行：澳門，bus trouble
之前已經在香港玩了兩次，市區內的景點大都去過了，這次就想說可以跑遠一點的地方玩，不久前看 Amazing Race All Star 才看那些參賽者從香港跑到澳門，這次我也來試試。
不過，行前對於澳門沒有研究多少，所以多花了一些工夫。也好，訓練像 Amazing Race 到當地去找路的技巧。找了一陣子才找到港澳渡輪的碼頭，買了票，護照又蓋了章，就坐船去澳門囉。三個星期前才看到 Amazing Race 的隊伍也搭這種 TurboJet 渡輪從香港去澳門的說。
我覺得渡輪上的 operation 有最佳化。開船後船員馬上拿 menu 問有沒有人要泡麵、可樂、sandwich 等等。一會兒後會問是否要免稅商品。然後當有些人會點東西來吃，飄出泡麵氣味時，船員又會再把那些泡麵、可樂、sandwich 實際端出來給你看，問你要不要吃。這些都結束後，前面的螢幕才開始播放電視節目，可能怕太早播的話大家就看著看著忘了買東西。
一個多小時後，船靠岸在澳門那邊，護照再蓋了章，啊然後勒，我要去哪？
就先去 Tourist Information 櫃檯那邊拿個 tourist map，開始研究。
嗯，好像最有名就是那個"大三巴牌坊"，就先過去那吧，啊怎麼去？在台北、香港、新加坡都有地鐵/捷運，只要搭地鐵就能去主要的景點了。這下可好，澳門沒有，好吧，研究怎麼坐 bus 吧。在找公車站的途中，有個 taxi driver 要來拉生意，說坐 bus 又慢又看不了這個城市。我這個喜歡便宜大眾運輸工具的還是謝絕了他的好意，沒想到他說的正是預言幾個小時後發生的事。
找了去士中心的 bus, 沒換澳門幣所以上車投了港幣，一邊看街景，看幾個賭場的外觀，注意馬路的名稱，對應 tourist map，順利到達市中心。
嗯，感覺起來很歐式的地方，逛呀逛，從賣 Giordano, bossini 這些一般商店的地方逛到賣葡式蛋塔，肉乾那種地方特產的地方，沒錯，就是到了大三巴牌坊。嗯，然後勒，好吧，拍照拍照，偶而幫其他觀光客拍照。吃個葡式蛋塔，嗯滿好吃的，外皮一層層酥酥脆脆的，口感佳呀！
接著到附近的大炮台看一看。好啦，古蹟看了。那還能做什麼勒？兩個想去的點是澳門旅遊塔和葡京娛樂場(賭場)。澳門旅遊塔被我稱為 Sky Tower Clone，因為長的跟 Auckland 的 Sky Tower 很像，那些高空彈跳 Sky Jump 的活動也跟 Sky Tower 類似。因為這些活動是同一個紐西蘭人 A.J. Hackett 辦的嘛。之前看 Amazing Race All Star 來這邊，所以我就決定要跟隨這路線啦。
Kenny 從香港打電話來！說他 available 了看要在哪裡跟我碰面。我說在澳門。"這樣猛!!" Kenny 就祝我好好玩，明天在碰面。原本 Michael 和 Kenny 好像都是星期三晚上才比較有空，所以想說今天就趕快跑遠一點到澳門玩久一點，因為可能會很晚才回去。當然，預期不一點都跟結果一樣的。有想說要不要跑回去跟 Kenny 碰面，但是覺得好不容易才來到澳門，以後可能也不太會來，就還是先把想看的東西看一看吧。
繼續澳門行程。不過，碰到問題了，怎麼搭車呢？嗯，看地圖上寫的從牌坊這裡到旅遊塔只有一個路線的公車直達，我就走了一段到了地圖上標的公車站位置。奇怪，這邊個公車站怎麼只有往反方向往北的車？問了一下公車亭人員，她說這裡沒有那個車子，要去市中心那邊搭車，所以我又回去最早市中心下車的地方，奇怪，又只有往北方向的車。對面的站牌，ㄟ，根本沒有這一路公車。又去問了一個 tourist information 的人，說是在那邊等沒錯，可是等了好幾班就是沒有往南方去旅遊塔的車。後來再仔細研究公車站牌，也仔細研究 tourist map，才發現這條路線所標的箭頭只有單向。所以這個路線是環狀的，不是同個路線來回，要往南去的要... 不知道去某個地方搭車。
我研究發覺很多公車會到葡京娛樂場，就決定先坐 bus 去那邊轉車。我終於離開那個地方了，已經從天亮在那邊遊蕩到天黑了。到了葡京娛樂場那裡，看著賭場的外觀，想說是不是要乾脆先進去看看，最後只在外面照了幾張照，還是決定要去 Amazing Race 去的 Sky Tower Clone。我那時穿短褲還沒換長褲，也不適合進賭場吧。嗯，這個地點的 bus 就比較多了，不久就搭了一般 bus，哇，我終於到了 Sky Tower Clone! 天已經黑了... 泣... 原本是想傍晚去的，看點日景，然後也許待到夜景。
既然天已黑了，就不急著上去了，先在這邊找東西吃，這裡面沒什麼商店，買了 sandwich 來吃，還半價勒，因為他們要關店了.. sigh.. 一個人在偽天空之塔的底部啃三明治，實在很孤獨，這是這一趟很沮喪的時刻，覺得一個人旅行實在太孤獨了，一切只能自己承擔，想到剛才為了 bus 浪費幾個小時，實在很不值得。如果有兩個人以上，至少可以一起找路，互相鼓勵或吵吵架，就像 Amazing Race 那樣。
啃完三明治，既然來了就去塔上看看吧。跟櫃台問一下開放時間，嗯，9點關，現在8點多了。沒關係，還是該上去看看，櫃檯人員問我有沒有學生證，我說沒有，但是他還是給我了學生票。可能他也知道快結束營業了沒什麼好看的吧。
半價的三明治和觀景台門票是旅遊塔給我的小小安慰?
觀景台上沒什麼人了，繞了一圈大概十個人吧。夜景的確沒什麼特別，和港島太平山的夜景差多啦！可能比較特別的是澳門連到另一個島的幾座大橋，在夜裡是一串串的燈光。另一點特別的是賭場的燈光。這個在正版 Sky Tower 就看不到了。
後來覺得如果再去賭場看的話可能時間太晚，就準備從旅遊塔搭車去港澳碼頭坐渡輪回香港。可是我又錯了，不該坐 bus 的，bus 上沒 GPS 顯示現在到了哪一站，結果我坐過了頭。後來下車後叫了 taxi, 才到了港澳碼頭。然後發覺，其實澳門很小，景點距離不遠，而且 taxi 計價也不貴，今天早先如果坐 taxi 的話，可能就可以省下不少時間。
So, here are my thoughts of the day:
It's not as easy to get around in Macau. It's better to go to Macau early and have more time in Macau.
Macau is famous for the casinos. There are few other interesting sites for sightseeing.
It might be better to see the view from Macau Tower during the daytime.
Learn from Amazing Race. Take taxis!
不過，行前對於澳門沒有研究多少，所以多花了一些工夫。也好，訓練像 Amazing Race 到當地去找路的技巧。找了一陣子才找到港澳渡輪的碼頭，買了票，護照又蓋了章，就坐船去澳門囉。三個星期前才看到 Amazing Race 的隊伍也搭這種 TurboJet 渡輪從香港去澳門的說。
我覺得渡輪上的 operation 有最佳化。開船後船員馬上拿 menu 問有沒有人要泡麵、可樂、sandwich 等等。一會兒後會問是否要免稅商品。然後當有些人會點東西來吃，飄出泡麵氣味時，船員又會再把那些泡麵、可樂、sandwich 實際端出來給你看，問你要不要吃。這些都結束後，前面的螢幕才開始播放電視節目，可能怕太早播的話大家就看著看著忘了買東西。
一個多小時後，船靠岸在澳門那邊，護照再蓋了章，啊然後勒，我要去哪？
就先去 Tourist Information 櫃檯那邊拿個 tourist map，開始研究。
嗯，好像最有名就是那個"大三巴牌坊"，就先過去那吧，啊怎麼去？在台北、香港、新加坡都有地鐵/捷運，只要搭地鐵就能去主要的景點了。這下可好，澳門沒有，好吧，研究怎麼坐 bus 吧。在找公車站的途中，有個 taxi driver 要來拉生意，說坐 bus 又慢又看不了這個城市。我這個喜歡便宜大眾運輸工具的還是謝絕了他的好意，沒想到他說的正是預言幾個小時後發生的事。
找了去士中心的 bus, 沒換澳門幣所以上車投了港幣，一邊看街景，看幾個賭場的外觀，注意馬路的名稱，對應 tourist map，順利到達市中心。
嗯，感覺起來很歐式的地方，逛呀逛，從賣 Giordano, bossini 這些一般商店的地方逛到賣葡式蛋塔，肉乾那種地方特產的地方，沒錯，就是到了大三巴牌坊。嗯，然後勒，好吧，拍照拍照，偶而幫其他觀光客拍照。吃個葡式蛋塔，嗯滿好吃的，外皮一層層酥酥脆脆的，口感佳呀！
接著到附近的大炮台看一看。好啦，古蹟看了。那還能做什麼勒？兩個想去的點是澳門旅遊塔和葡京娛樂場(賭場)。澳門旅遊塔被我稱為 Sky Tower Clone，因為長的跟 Auckland 的 Sky Tower 很像，那些高空彈跳 Sky Jump 的活動也跟 Sky Tower 類似。因為這些活動是同一個紐西蘭人 A.J. Hackett 辦的嘛。之前看 Amazing Race All Star 來這邊，所以我就決定要跟隨這路線啦。
Kenny 從香港打電話來！說他 available 了看要在哪裡跟我碰面。我說在澳門。"這樣猛!!" Kenny 就祝我好好玩，明天在碰面。原本 Michael 和 Kenny 好像都是星期三晚上才比較有空，所以想說今天就趕快跑遠一點到澳門玩久一點，因為可能會很晚才回去。當然，預期不一點都跟結果一樣的。有想說要不要跑回去跟 Kenny 碰面，但是覺得好不容易才來到澳門，以後可能也不太會來，就還是先把想看的東西看一看吧。
繼續澳門行程。不過，碰到問題了，怎麼搭車呢？嗯，看地圖上寫的從牌坊這裡到旅遊塔只有一個路線的公車直達，我就走了一段到了地圖上標的公車站位置。奇怪，這邊個公車站怎麼只有往反方向往北的車？問了一下公車亭人員，她說這裡沒有那個車子，要去市中心那邊搭車，所以我又回去最早市中心下車的地方，奇怪，又只有往北方向的車。對面的站牌，ㄟ，根本沒有這一路公車。又去問了一個 tourist information 的人，說是在那邊等沒錯，可是等了好幾班就是沒有往南方去旅遊塔的車。後來再仔細研究公車站牌，也仔細研究 tourist map，才發現這條路線所標的箭頭只有單向。所以這個路線是環狀的，不是同個路線來回，要往南去的要... 不知道去某個地方搭車。
我研究發覺很多公車會到葡京娛樂場，就決定先坐 bus 去那邊轉車。我終於離開那個地方了，已經從天亮在那邊遊蕩到天黑了。到了葡京娛樂場那裡，看著賭場的外觀，想說是不是要乾脆先進去看看，最後只在外面照了幾張照，還是決定要去 Amazing Race 去的 Sky Tower Clone。我那時穿短褲還沒換長褲，也不適合進賭場吧。嗯，這個地點的 bus 就比較多了，不久就搭了一般 bus，哇，我終於到了 Sky Tower Clone! 天已經黑了... 泣... 原本是想傍晚去的，看點日景，然後也許待到夜景。
既然天已黑了，就不急著上去了，先在這邊找東西吃，這裡面沒什麼商店，買了 sandwich 來吃，還半價勒，因為他們要關店了.. sigh.. 一個人在偽天空之塔的底部啃三明治，實在很孤獨，這是這一趟很沮喪的時刻，覺得一個人旅行實在太孤獨了，一切只能自己承擔，想到剛才為了 bus 浪費幾個小時，實在很不值得。如果有兩個人以上，至少可以一起找路，互相鼓勵或吵吵架，就像 Amazing Race 那樣。
啃完三明治，既然來了就去塔上看看吧。跟櫃台問一下開放時間，嗯，9點關，現在8點多了。沒關係，還是該上去看看，櫃檯人員問我有沒有學生證，我說沒有，但是他還是給我了學生票。可能他也知道快結束營業了沒什麼好看的吧。觀景台上沒什麼人了，繞了一圈大概十個人吧。夜景的確沒什麼特別，和港島太平山的夜景差多啦！可能比較特別的是澳門連到另一個島的幾座大橋，在夜裡是一串串的燈光。另一點特別的是賭場的燈光。這個在正版 Sky Tower 就看不到了。
後來覺得如果再去賭場看的話可能時間太晚，就準備從旅遊塔搭車去港澳碼頭坐渡輪回香港。可是我又錯了，不該坐 bus 的，bus 上沒 GPS 顯示現在到了哪一站，結果我坐過了頭。後來下車後叫了 taxi, 才到了港澳碼頭。然後發覺，其實澳門很小，景點距離不遠，而且 taxi 計價也不貴，今天早先如果坐 taxi 的話，可能就可以省下不少時間。
So, here are my thoughts of the day:
It's not as easy to get around in Macau. It's better to go to Macau early and have more time in Macau.
Macau is famous for the casinos. There are few other interesting sites for sightseeing.
It might be better to see the view from Macau Tower during the daytime.
Learn from Amazing Race. Take taxis!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
港澳行：旺角黑夜
又在香港降落了，之前曾經坐華航和港龍航空都曾在降落時爆眼過，沒想到這次坐長榮的也爆。爆眼是我亂編的詞，其實是在飛機下降時，眼睛會非常非常痛，甚至感覺眼睛爆掉或 pop out！目前還不知道為什麼會發生這件事，只是發覺自己的身體對於壓力變化好像很敏感。
到了機場，text 給 Michael，果然還是回我訊息說今晚沒辦法碰面。也是啦，他太忙了，我到的時間也太晚了。等到我到 hostel 房間時已經晚上10點多了。那還能做什麼呢，住在旺角，外面好像還是很熱鬧，就下去附近走走吧。
嗯，不過 Michael 說這邊幫派份子多就是了，說是像台北的西門町。
的確，出去之後，附近發覺有個徒步區，還是人來人往，我是覺得比西門町週一晚上十點多人很多啦。
後來又走到"女人街"，其實就是就是一個個攤位在賣些小東西，衣服，飾品等等的，感覺跟台灣常看到的類似，只是他們攤位的棚子搭的比較高 :P
快十二點時很多攤位和店家都陸續關門了，就在附近吃了碗牛丸河粉，就回 hostel 休息囉。
不過，在 hostel 也很難休息, 這次這間房間很容易聽到走道上的聲音，快兩點的時候還有一堆人在外面大聲講話，實在是喔...
旺角黑夜，好像是個港片的名字，Hari你到底看過沒？喔對喔你不希望我沒事在 blog 裡提你的名字 :P
到了機場，text 給 Michael，果然還是回我訊息說今晚沒辦法碰面。也是啦，他太忙了，我到的時間也太晚了。等到我到 hostel 房間時已經晚上10點多了。那還能做什麼呢，住在旺角，外面好像還是很熱鬧，就下去附近走走吧。
嗯，不過 Michael 說這邊幫派份子多就是了，說是像台北的西門町。
的確，出去之後，附近發覺有個徒步區，還是人來人往，我是覺得比西門町週一晚上十點多人很多啦。
後來又走到"女人街"，其實就是就是一個個攤位在賣些小東西，衣服，飾品等等的，感覺跟台灣常看到的類似，只是他們攤位的棚子搭的比較高 :P
快十二點時很多攤位和店家都陸續關門了，就在附近吃了碗牛丸河粉，就回 hostel 休息囉。
不過，在 hostel 也很難休息, 這次這間房間很容易聽到走道上的聲音，快兩點的時候還有一堆人在外面大聲講話，實在是喔...
旺角黑夜，好像是個港片的名字，Hari你到底看過沒？喔對喔你不希望我沒事在 blog 裡提你的名字 :P
Monday, May 28, 2007
An Inconvenient Truth
Dad said there are free screenings of the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". So we went to watch it. There were few people, probably because the free screenings run for months so many interested people have been to them already.
It was an engaging documentary. It really makes me wonder about where mankind is heading, and what's the world going to be like for our grandchildren, children, or even for ourselves in 20 years.
This film convinced me that global warming is a fact. (actually I'd never doubted it.) We should really do something about it now. It's human nature to put off things that don't have immediate impacts. But this problem needs to be dealt with by us. If we don't, it may become too late and we'll lose our world, our only Earth.
Yes, I think the title is appropriate, an inconvenient truth... We don't want to deal with it now so we deny the truth. People do that to a lot of issues too. On a personal level, I probably have some issues I don't deal with either.
Problems won't be solved by itself. Something has to be done. I hope people would all watch this film and be aware of Global Warming and start act on it.
I hope politicians will really start dealing with the problems, not just deny them and try to shift attention away to some other issues they make up.
Politicians, stop bickering over silly stuffs! Especially those in Taiwan. If you really care about this land, make regulations to cut down greenhouse gas emission, ratify the Kyoto Protocol! 這就是愛台灣啦~
希望陳總統對於文化多樣性與永續發展的致詞不是說說而已。雖然我覺得只是說說，but I hope I'm wrong.
Please have a look here to see the actions you can take in everyday life to reduce your impact on climate changes.
Reduce your impact. The things you can do to help.
It was an engaging documentary. It really makes me wonder about where mankind is heading, and what's the world going to be like for our grandchildren, children, or even for ourselves in 20 years.
This film convinced me that global warming is a fact. (actually I'd never doubted it.) We should really do something about it now. It's human nature to put off things that don't have immediate impacts. But this problem needs to be dealt with by us. If we don't, it may become too late and we'll lose our world, our only Earth.
Yes, I think the title is appropriate, an inconvenient truth... We don't want to deal with it now so we deny the truth. People do that to a lot of issues too. On a personal level, I probably have some issues I don't deal with either.
Problems won't be solved by itself. Something has to be done. I hope people would all watch this film and be aware of Global Warming and start act on it.
I hope politicians will really start dealing with the problems, not just deny them and try to shift attention away to some other issues they make up.
Politicians, stop bickering over silly stuffs! Especially those in Taiwan. If you really care about this land, make regulations to cut down greenhouse gas emission, ratify the Kyoto Protocol! 這就是愛台灣啦~
希望陳總統對於文化多樣性與永續發展的致詞不是說說而已。雖然我覺得只是說說，but I hope I'm wrong.
Please have a look here to see the actions you can take in everyday life to reduce your impact on climate changes.
Reduce your impact. The things you can do to help.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
上班的最後一天
上班的最後一天，心情很亂。之後，我就不會像平常一樣每天來這個熟悉的地方了，可是對其他同事們來說，明天又是下一個普通的工作天。
一方面覺得耶，終於等到這一天了，嗯，是不是要照相留念，跟同事最後聊一聊，把想說的話說一說；看看同事們又覺得，這只是對我自己特別的一天，對他們還是一個 working day。
反正，就這樣啦。也不希望停在這種情緒裡。
一方面覺得耶，終於等到這一天了，嗯，是不是要照相留念，跟同事最後聊一聊，把想說的話說一說；看看同事們又覺得，這只是對我自己特別的一天，對他們還是一個 working day。
反正，就這樣啦。也不希望停在這種情緒裡。
Thursday, May 10, 2007
在台大打羽球
不知為何被台大畢業的同事找去打他們資管系的羽球比賽，雖然跟我一點關係都沒有，但是既然有機會去台大打球，就把握機會去台大的體育館看看。
可惜，他們缺的是女生。男生其實已經夠了，無法排我上去打男生的名額。不過他們有個規則是女生不夠的隊伍可以派男生用左手(非慣用手)來打女生的比賽。我就莫名奇妙的被派去打女單的比賽，在開始前又左手練了幾球，實在打不到幾球，後來我那一隊的人就說這場算棄權，讓我用右手打。我才用了右手跟這個滿強大一女生打了場，最後輸了幾分，see, 不用左手讓也會輸呀。
後來就沒再打其他的比賽了，只是趁場地有空檔跟同事去練練球。OK 啦，沒真的打到比賽，不過有機會來這裡打打球也不錯，以後大概也不會來這裡了吧 (除非我去讀台大，哈)。
可惜，他們缺的是女生。男生其實已經夠了，無法排我上去打男生的名額。不過他們有個規則是女生不夠的隊伍可以派男生用左手(非慣用手)來打女生的比賽。我就莫名奇妙的被派去打女單的比賽，在開始前又左手練了幾球，實在打不到幾球，後來我那一隊的人就說這場算棄權，讓我用右手打。我才用了右手跟這個滿強大一女生打了場，最後輸了幾分，see, 不用左手讓也會輸呀。
後來就沒再打其他的比賽了，只是趁場地有空檔跟同事去練練球。OK 啦，沒真的打到比賽，不過有機會來這裡打打球也不錯，以後大概也不會來這裡了吧 (除非我去讀台大，哈)。
Monday, May 07, 2007
Gathered up for Spider-Man 3
After about 6 months, the ex-Aucklanders have finally gathered up again. Well, some of them. This time, we introduce the new member, ND. Alright, he's been in Taipei for half a year. But we haven't gathered for just as long. So they haven't met him.
This time we had Cantonese food for lunch. hm, I thought Tony would suggest steak or BBQ because Claire didn't come, but he didn't. We actually went for a cheaper lunch this time.
After that, we went to watch Spider-Man 3. I still remember I went to watch Spider-Man 2 in Auckland years ago with a large group of people that were from different sub-groups. hehe. The villain and action of that one was underdeveloped. I hoped it'd be better in this one. And it was! There were so much action and so many troubles in this one. It actually feels a bit dizzy sometimes. The story had to move on quite quickly. Maybe too quickly that I felt some plot devices were weak.
There was a part when Peter Parker wore the Black Spider-man suit and became kind of evil. It reminds me of 夜神月 of 死亡筆記本. What a pity that Peter Parker didn't go for becoming the god of the new world :P
A part I found funny was when Sandman was bombed and a part of his head was blown off. That was literally "腦殘". hehehe
This time we had Cantonese food for lunch. hm, I thought Tony would suggest steak or BBQ because Claire didn't come, but he didn't. We actually went for a cheaper lunch this time.
After that, we went to watch Spider-Man 3. I still remember I went to watch Spider-Man 2 in Auckland years ago with a large group of people that were from different sub-groups. hehe. The villain and action of that one was underdeveloped. I hoped it'd be better in this one. And it was! There were so much action and so many troubles in this one. It actually feels a bit dizzy sometimes. The story had to move on quite quickly. Maybe too quickly that I felt some plot devices were weak.
There was a part when Peter Parker wore the Black Spider-man suit and became kind of evil. It reminds me of 夜神月 of 死亡筆記本. What a pity that Peter Parker didn't go for becoming the god of the new world :P
A part I found funny was when Sandman was bombed and a part of his head was blown off. That was literally "腦殘". hehehe
Monday, April 30, 2007
故宮, 大英博物館 250 年收藏展
Dad and I went to 故宮 again today and tried to go see the popular 大英博物館 250 年收藏展. We got up early and went there earlier this time. There will still queues for ticket sales and entry. But the lines were much shorter compared with last time. However, we still lined up for about 40 mintes before we actually entered the exhibition area. It was just about the time for the 10:30 guided tour.
The guided tour had a large crowd. The guide was an art student from a university in Tainan. She volunteered to do this work in the museum. Man, this is far away from Tainan. She took us to several areas and explained the exhibits. We got to know about the Greek and Rome statues, the chess pieces made of ivories, a sketch by Da Vinci, a Buddha statue that is a mixture of Eastern and Western style, an African wooden carving, Native American leather clothes, and a modern Maori wooden carving, and some others along the way. That took an hour already. Then, she went on to explain the remaining exhibits without taking us to those areas because those areas were too crowded. Afterwards, dad and I went to cover those areas, which included a mummy, a major attraction of this exhibition.
Judging from this visit and a previous exhibition last year, "One Day in Bombay", I found the guided tours are quite interesting and useful. The exhibitions may not have a lot of exhibits that made me go "wow" when I first saw it. However, with the explanations given by the guide, I could appreciate them more and have better understandings about how these things related to people's lives at that time.
There was such a crowd. In the museum, there were many people in front of the exhibits. Sometimes you have to line up and wait to be able to see some of them. It was quite noisy in some areas too. However, I guess it's a good thing that people are interested in these events. Even though most people, like me, probably don't understand and appreciate the exhibits as much as the artists or historians, we can still learn a bit about different people's lives in different times and places.
Thank Jenny for recommending this exhibition.
The guided tour had a large crowd. The guide was an art student from a university in Tainan. She volunteered to do this work in the museum. Man, this is far away from Tainan. She took us to several areas and explained the exhibits. We got to know about the Greek and Rome statues, the chess pieces made of ivories, a sketch by Da Vinci, a Buddha statue that is a mixture of Eastern and Western style, an African wooden carving, Native American leather clothes, and a modern Maori wooden carving, and some others along the way. That took an hour already. Then, she went on to explain the remaining exhibits without taking us to those areas because those areas were too crowded. Afterwards, dad and I went to cover those areas, which included a mummy, a major attraction of this exhibition.
Judging from this visit and a previous exhibition last year, "One Day in Bombay", I found the guided tours are quite interesting and useful. The exhibitions may not have a lot of exhibits that made me go "wow" when I first saw it. However, with the explanations given by the guide, I could appreciate them more and have better understandings about how these things related to people's lives at that time.
There was such a crowd. In the museum, there were many people in front of the exhibits. Sometimes you have to line up and wait to be able to see some of them. It was quite noisy in some areas too. However, I guess it's a good thing that people are interested in these events. Even though most people, like me, probably don't understand and appreciate the exhibits as much as the artists or historians, we can still learn a bit about different people's lives in different times and places.
Thank Jenny for recommending this exhibition.
Friday, April 27, 2007
"加油"努力的英文
同事問我"加油"的英文怎麼說，是要更努力加油認真唸書的"加油".
一時我直覺回答 "go hard". 感覺這是比較口語的說法就是了。(而且字典好像查不到，這個說法是我的幻覺嗎?)
查了一下網路上的字典，感覺 "go at" 和 "push on" 這兩個算是順眼。
偶而會被問到一些自己也不知道的英文，就跟著學吧。
上次有人問我約會的"電燈泡"的英文，查了之後才知道 "third wheel" 這個說法。
嗯，還滿該學這個字的，以前學生時滿常當 third wheel 這角色 :P
一時我直覺回答 "go hard". 感覺這是比較口語的說法就是了。(而且字典好像查不到，這個說法是我的幻覺嗎?)
查了一下網路上的字典，感覺 "go at" 和 "push on" 這兩個算是順眼。
偶而會被問到一些自己也不知道的英文，就跟著學吧。
上次有人問我約會的"電燈泡"的英文，查了之後才知道 "third wheel" 這個說法。
嗯，還滿該學這個字的，以前學生時滿常當 third wheel 這角色 :P
Condom with Happy Meal
I came across this news article when I read Taiwanese news:
紐西蘭麥當勞快樂兒童餐禮物竟送保險套
Then I found the article by NZ Herald:
Child's McDonald's meal comes with condom
In the NZ Herald one it says the grandparents found the condom first and the Taiwanese one says the 7-year-old girl actually saw it.
This tells us, don't believe everything in the news. It might not tell the whole truth.
It also tells us that Happy Meals do wish you a happy day, or night. :P
紐西蘭麥當勞快樂兒童餐禮物竟送保險套
Then I found the article by NZ Herald:
Child's McDonald's meal comes with condom
In the NZ Herald one it says the grandparents found the condom first and the Taiwanese one says the 7-year-old girl actually saw it.
This tells us, don't believe everything in the news. It might not tell the whole truth.
It also tells us that Happy Meals do wish you a happy day, or night. :P
Thursday, April 26, 2007
桌曆, 不低調
剛好好幾個 team member 都去開會，想說就跟 team leader 訂個時間吧。拿個桌曆就跟老闆在會議室坐著聊。沒想到又講了好久，開會的人後來回來了，看到我、老闆加桌曆。唉，又不低調了。
結果，講那麼久，時間還是要我自己安排一個出來... 也對啦，自己的事自己負責。
結果，講那麼久，時間還是要我自己安排一個出來... 也對啦，自己的事自己負責。
Upaper 五分埔達人, 莎莎
ND 今天叫我看 Upaper，有我會有興趣的事. 我是不看捷運站內報紙 Upaper 的，這次特地跑去它的網站看一下，喔，原來是莎莎呀。
【達人帶路】五分埔招牌美味 莎莎推薦
ND說今天有三張都是她。嗯，我也不知道為什麼她是五分埔達人？一張介紹美食，兩張介紹變裝。也許是她之前當外景主持人有去那邊採訪過？所以對五分埔熟？
天哪，看來我身邊的人都被我弄到知道莎莎了，不知何時更多人會知道，而且不只是看過她是房屋仲介電視廣告女主角。不過那房屋仲介廣告還增加曝光滿多的。每個分店都也貼那份廣告。也有看到公車側面也有貼那個廣告。如果能看到自己的臉被公車載著跑，應該滿奇特的吧！
【達人帶路】五分埔招牌美味 莎莎推薦
ND說今天有三張都是她。嗯，我也不知道為什麼她是五分埔達人？一張介紹美食，兩張介紹變裝。也許是她之前當外景主持人有去那邊採訪過？所以對五分埔熟？
天哪，看來我身邊的人都被我弄到知道莎莎了，不知何時更多人會知道，而且不只是看過她是房屋仲介電視廣告女主角。不過那房屋仲介廣告還增加曝光滿多的。每個分店都也貼那份廣告。也有看到公車側面也有貼那個廣告。如果能看到自己的臉被公車載著跑，應該滿奇特的吧！
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
辦公室十災
鼠災
蚤災
蟑螂災
霉味災
跳電災
馬桶堵塞災
網路斷線災
冷氣停轉災
伺服器當災
長子加班災
前一陣子電影 The Reaping 一直在廣告，重複播那十災。原本我只是模仿寫下辦公室裡發生過的"災害"。過了一陣子發覺，發生的頻率比我想的還頻繁 @@
蚤災
蟑螂災
霉味災
跳電災
馬桶堵塞災
網路斷線災
冷氣停轉災
伺服器當災
長子加班災
前一陣子電影 The Reaping 一直在廣告，重複播那十災。原本我只是模仿寫下辦公室裡發生過的"災害"。過了一陣子發覺，發生的頻率比我想的還頻繁 @@
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
ZM Sealed Section
I listened to a NZ radio station ZM today (over the Internet) and they were having this Sealed Section thing. The callers call the radio station to ask questions about sex and the "experts" will answer. The questions and discussion I heard were quite explicit. (which is why I don't give examples here :P) At first I was surprised that they could discuss such issues so openly on radio. But after a while I realized that those are common issues that people face and they are not taboo topics.
I guess I've watched too much Taiwanese news. They dramatize, and ridule with every bit they can dig up and try to use private issues of public figures to scandalize the audience. I got used to thinking of those issues as scandalous. That's just not healthy @@
OK. Less stupid news. More books and ZM :)
I guess I've watched too much Taiwanese news. They dramatize, and ridule with every bit they can dig up and try to use private issues of public figures to scandalize the audience. I got used to thinking of those issues as scandalous. That's just not healthy @@
OK. Less stupid news. More books and ZM :)
Monday, April 23, 2007
貴子坑親山步道
還是記錄一下好了，我又跟爸去走了一個台北市的親山步道，貴子坑。
還是沒什麼好講的，感覺又是莫名奇妙。
一直走樓梯往上會很累。
貴子坑那邊有個露營區(跟步道無關)，有興趣的人可以去查詢一下。
報告完畢。
還是沒什麼好講的，感覺又是莫名奇妙。
一直走樓梯往上會很累。
貴子坑那邊有個露營區(跟步道無關)，有興趣的人可以去查詢一下。
報告完畢。
Saturday, April 21, 2007
下下步是什麼
今天跟大老闆聊了，大老闆講的幾個重點是，要知道自己要什麼，要去想下下步做什麼。
就像下棋一樣，要想下下步做什麼，選擇下一步時才能往那個方向去。
當然，人生不想下棋一樣都在你的掌握之中，能想到的就想，其他的就 have faith 加隨緣囉。
因為 team leader 把我帶去堵大老闆，在會議室談，太不低調，team member 發覺了就來問我怎麼了... aiya...
就像下棋一樣，要想下下步做什麼，選擇下一步時才能往那個方向去。
當然，人生不想下棋一樣都在你的掌握之中，能想到的就想，其他的就 have faith 加隨緣囉。
因為 team leader 把我帶去堵大老闆，在會議室談，太不低調，team member 發覺了就來問我怎麼了... aiya...
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
No compilation error
It's kind of weird that I got very few compilation errors for the whole day today. I worked on a small program that modifies our test data to add some extra information in it. I didn't code it quickly but it was surprisingly smooth. There were a few times that I had been coding for half an hour or even an hour. Then I compiled the code after so many code changes, and it compiled successfully! And many times, the code ran properly too!
Hm, maybe my SCJP study does help me to write Java programs more carefully. I remembered to add to catch exceptions on the PrintWriter before I compiled it today. I used to have the compiler complaining about it all the time.
Notes to self: It helps to first know what's the expected program behaviour, then think through and design it, then start coding. When coding, take the time to ensure a part is correct before moving on to the next part.
Hm, maybe my SCJP study does help me to write Java programs more carefully. I remembered to add to catch exceptions on the PrintWriter before I compiled it today. I used to have the compiler complaining about it all the time.
Notes to self: It helps to first know what's the expected program behaviour, then think through and design it, then start coding. When coding, take the time to ensure a part is correct before moving on to the next part.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Meetings and more meetings
I was in meetings and discussions one after the other today. In total, I probably spent about 5 hours in those.
Some were useful for sorting things out. Some were possibly too slow and unnecessarily involved too many people.
Dehydrated again.
Some were useful for sorting things out. Some were possibly too slow and unnecessarily involved too many people.
Dehydrated again.
Monday, April 16, 2007
紐西蘭雪梨橋歡度75歲??
I post this rather late. Anyway, here it is.
紐西蘭, 澳洲給他傻傻分不清楚...
All "紐西蘭" in this article were replaced by "澳洲" a few hours after I captured this image, though.
紐西蘭, 澳洲給他傻傻分不清楚...
All "紐西蘭" in this article were replaced by "澳洲" a few hours after I captured this image, though.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
週六晚上十點的捷運
補上班 + 加班. 週六晚上十點才坐上捷運回家. 明顯感覺人多又吵，自己在聽的隨身聽的聲音都被蓋過去了，此起彼落的談話聲混在一起，也聽不清一段對話。
是否要去搭另一班生活列車？這期間應該也會聽到許多人的不同聲音，甚至會把自己心中的聲音混淆或蓋過。無論如何，列車的行進不會因誰的聲音而改變，我只希望自己不會被影響而在車門前卻步。
是否要去搭另一班生活列車？這期間應該也會聽到許多人的不同聲音，甚至會把自己心中的聲音混淆或蓋過。無論如何，列車的行進不會因誰的聲音而改變，我只希望自己不會被影響而在車門前卻步。
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Time for a decision, and execution
This is about the time to finalize a decision and start doing it.
Wish me luck. More importantly, wish me courage.
Wish me luck. More importantly, wish me courage.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
IKEA, dehydration
Don't know if there's anyone like me who goes to IKEA without the intention to buy any furniture. I just went there because I heard about it occassionally but I had never been there. And because my dad and I were looking for a place to go that rainy afternoon after we visited the museum in the morning.
In a way, IKEA is like a museum too. The goods are displayed to create a cozy or stylish feel to them. Different types of goods are placed in different zones, with a carefully designed path to lead the customers to go through one zone after another, after another, after another...
It took a long while to go through them. By the time we reached the exit, we were tired and thirsty. Dehydration, that's the impression IKEA has left on me.
In a way, IKEA is like a museum too. The goods are displayed to create a cozy or stylish feel to them. Different types of goods are placed in different zones, with a carefully designed path to lead the customers to go through one zone after another, after another, after another...
It took a long while to go through them. By the time we reached the exit, we were tired and thirsty. Dehydration, that's the impression IKEA has left on me.
故宮, 翠玉白菜
Dad and I intended to go to the 大英博物館250年收藏展 in 故宮博物院. As we approached the museum, we found that more and more people were heading for the museum. The traffic was jammed around the museum. When we got there, we saw long lines of people. One winding line was for entering the British Museum Exhibition. Another line was for buying the tickets. Both lines were really long. One museum worker announced that it will take 20 minutes to buy the tickets then line up for 60 minutes before entering the museum.
We tried to figure out how to get into the queue for the tickets. There were lines of people everywhere but we could see the end of the line. After tracing the line for a while. We finally saw the end of it. No, it definitely will not take only 20 minutes.
In the end, we decided to go to see the regular museum exhibition instead. The long queues were discouraging. I was more concerned that we wouldn't be able to comfortably see the items if it was too crowded inside, though.
There were many people at the regular museum exhibition too, but much less than the other one. The museum had been reburbished. It just re-opened recently. It looked more modern. We felt that there were less items on display, though. Many exhibition rooms were closed.
Due to the recent appearances on TV news, many visitors were interested in seeing 翠玉白菜. While we were in the museum, we could here somebody mention 翠玉白菜 every 2 minutes or so. There were actually signs at various spots that says 翠玉白菜 is in Room 30x. Many people did gather in that room. A crowd flocked around 翠玉白菜. I guess that's kind of a must-do for the tourists.
Although we had seen it before, I was still awed by the creativity and craft when I saw it.
It's interesting to go to a musuem to brush up my Chinese history once in a while. Hope there will be less people next time so we can easily go to the British Museum Exhibition.
We tried to figure out how to get into the queue for the tickets. There were lines of people everywhere but we could see the end of the line. After tracing the line for a while. We finally saw the end of it. No, it definitely will not take only 20 minutes.
In the end, we decided to go to see the regular museum exhibition instead. The long queues were discouraging. I was more concerned that we wouldn't be able to comfortably see the items if it was too crowded inside, though.
There were many people at the regular museum exhibition too, but much less than the other one. The museum had been reburbished. It just re-opened recently. It looked more modern. We felt that there were less items on display, though. Many exhibition rooms were closed.
Due to the recent appearances on TV news, many visitors were interested in seeing 翠玉白菜. While we were in the museum, we could here somebody mention 翠玉白菜 every 2 minutes or so. There were actually signs at various spots that says 翠玉白菜 is in Room 30x. Many people did gather in that room. A crowd flocked around 翠玉白菜. I guess that's kind of a must-do for the tourists.
Although we had seen it before, I was still awed by the creativity and craft when I saw it.
It's interesting to go to a musuem to brush up my Chinese history once in a while. Hope there will be less people next time so we can easily go to the British Museum Exhibition.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Firefox 學長
我大多是用 Firefox, 而不是 Internet Explorer.
不知為何，逛到中文 Wikipedia 的 "Mozilla Firefox" 的描述, 發覺 0.7 版到 1.0 版的 code names 都是一些熟悉的地名，接著讀到這句:
Three Kings, Royal Oak, One Tree Hill, Mission Bay 和 Greenlane 都是紐西蘭奥克兰市内的地名；Whangamata 是紐西蘭科羅曼德半島一個靠海的城鎮。這些名字是由在奧克蘭長大的古德杰所命名的
難道, Firefox 開發團隊中有個主要的工程師是紐西蘭人嗎? 趕快搜尋一下 Ben Goodger 這號人物. 發現他不但是奧克蘭人，還是我同科系早一年的學長。我也沒看仔細，至少知道他有帶領 Firefox 的 project. 現在他是 Google 的僱員。
原來，我們這個科系的畢業生有在軟體產業這麼有成就的呀。也覺得有趣，讀這個科目感覺該去做 IC 設計, 微處理器, 嵌入式系統 etc. 我聽到滿多人是去做軟體的. Me too.
嗯, 要和學長看齊 :P
Wikipedia (Chinese) - Mozilla Firefox
Wikipedia (English) - Ben Goodger
Ben Goodger's blog: millenium | ten
不知為何，逛到中文 Wikipedia 的 "Mozilla Firefox" 的描述, 發覺 0.7 版到 1.0 版的 code names 都是一些熟悉的地名，接著讀到這句:
Three Kings, Royal Oak, One Tree Hill, Mission Bay 和 Greenlane 都是紐西蘭奥克兰市内的地名；Whangamata 是紐西蘭科羅曼德半島一個靠海的城鎮。這些名字是由在奧克蘭長大的古德杰所命名的
難道, Firefox 開發團隊中有個主要的工程師是紐西蘭人嗎? 趕快搜尋一下 Ben Goodger 這號人物. 發現他不但是奧克蘭人，還是我同科系早一年的學長。我也沒看仔細，至少知道他有帶領 Firefox 的 project. 現在他是 Google 的僱員。
原來，我們這個科系的畢業生有在軟體產業這麼有成就的呀。也覺得有趣，讀這個科目感覺該去做 IC 設計, 微處理器, 嵌入式系統 etc. 我聽到滿多人是去做軟體的. Me too.
嗯, 要和學長看齊 :P
Wikipedia (Chinese) - Mozilla Firefox
Wikipedia (English) - Ben Goodger
Ben Goodger's blog: millenium | ten
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
CSI: 南宋
這個週末在電視上看到在播"大宋提刑官"，之前聽說這部是中國的 CSI，好像還不錯，就停下來看看，一個週末總共播了三集，看了三集一個案子都還沒破。
大宋提刑官的背景在南宋，敘述提刑官宋慈如何利用犯罪科學、法醫鑑定的方式來找出真相，破解命案。聽起來很像CSI，只是時代是在中國宋朝，沒有許多現代的儀器和科學知識，但是還是可以從線索著手，在犯罪現場模擬狀況，用科學方式來推理。凶器、傷口、證物、不在場証明、時間、證人、動機等等...
比起 CSI, 大宋提刑官劇情牽扯的比較遠，討論角色之間關係也用了較多的篇幅，也有些是描述主角本身的性格等。
可是，實在是太慢了，古代辦案真是古代速度呀。看習慣 CSI 那種一個小時破一兩個案子的節奏，來看大宋提刑官覺得劇情進展的太慢了，而各段的對話等也太慢或太長。上網查了一下，原來我看到的這個案子總共要演 6 集，天哪，如果是 CSI 的話, 應該一集，或最多兩集就夠了。
大宋提刑官的背景在南宋，敘述提刑官宋慈如何利用犯罪科學、法醫鑑定的方式來找出真相，破解命案。聽起來很像CSI，只是時代是在中國宋朝，沒有許多現代的儀器和科學知識，但是還是可以從線索著手，在犯罪現場模擬狀況，用科學方式來推理。凶器、傷口、證物、不在場証明、時間、證人、動機等等...
比起 CSI, 大宋提刑官劇情牽扯的比較遠，討論角色之間關係也用了較多的篇幅，也有些是描述主角本身的性格等。
可是，實在是太慢了，古代辦案真是古代速度呀。看習慣 CSI 那種一個小時破一兩個案子的節奏，來看大宋提刑官覺得劇情進展的太慢了，而各段的對話等也太慢或太長。上網查了一下，原來我看到的這個案子總共要演 6 集，天哪，如果是 CSI 的話, 應該一集，或最多兩集就夠了。
Sunday, March 25, 2007
台北燈會小惡魔角
台北燈會小惡魔角
之前在台北燈會看到不少人頭上戴者發光的小惡魔角，後來想到，可能是之前萬聖節留下來的
原本我還想是哪個電影宣傳完留下的.. Devil Wears Prada? Love Actually?
也有同事覺得那是豬耳朵, 豬年應景. hahaha
不知.. 有人賣, 有人買. To me, 這些惡魔角反而成為今年燈會的特色
幾個有惡魔角照片的 blog page:
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/puddings274&article_id=8634011
http://wiselyview.net/plog/read-805.html
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/ahao823&article_id=13962471
之前在台北燈會看到不少人頭上戴者發光的小惡魔角，後來想到，可能是之前萬聖節留下來的
原本我還想是哪個電影宣傳完留下的.. Devil Wears Prada? Love Actually?
也有同事覺得那是豬耳朵, 豬年應景. hahaha
不知.. 有人賣, 有人買. To me, 這些惡魔角反而成為今年燈會的特色
幾個有惡魔角照片的 blog page:
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/puddings274&article_id=8634011
http://wiselyview.net/plog/read-805.html
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/ahao823&article_id=13962471
Friday, March 16, 2007
請修好漏水
每次去桃園機場都希望下雨。期望見到它的獨特之處。
進出了幾次第二航廈，每去一次就會罵它一下。
看了網路上的新聞和留言，發覺大家都已經把爛的地方寫出來了。
簡單的說，就是動線差，會漏水。
真的，會漏水。不過，要看到漏水要有點運氣，畢竟大部分的人都偶而才會去機場，看漏水還得去第二航廈，而且可能是出境才行，入境大廳在出境大廳之下，漏水可能不會從出境大廳再漏下去??
當然去的那時後還得有下雨才行，越大越好。
進出了幾次，也只有幸運的碰過一次。四、五年前，雨天，第二航廈，出境大廳，驚奇地目睹雨水從屋頂多處滴下來，滴進放在地上的水桶。負責清潔的女士則拿著拖把站在一旁，偶而在某些積水的點拖過幾遍。
搭台北香港的航班更是會覺得，兩小前後所進出的兩個機場，怎麼差這麼多。
嗯，據說漏水漏了六、七年了，現在還在漏。機場改名字倒是很快呀！
嗯，小時候就有聽說台灣要成為亞太營運中心。是我太沒耐心，還是它只是喊爽的？
我覺得呢，有兩種作法。一種就是把漏水修好，規劃對旅客更便利的動線，更清楚的標示，也讓那些空蕩的餐廳和商店多點客人吧。
另一種呢，反正這麼多年都沒有修漏水的決心，就乾脆利用漏水，規劃室內的流水造景。可以搭配燈光、音樂、景物，甚至在某些區段還可以加入色料、香精油、花瓣、紙船什麼的。
並且，改名水源機場。
網路上的新聞, blog, 留言等:
改名 不如改善國家門面
桃園機場全球85名 國際評比0顆星
中正機場第二航廈的動線實在不知道是怎麼設計的……
(圖) 漏水的二期航廈
從曼谷新機場落成啟用看台灣的危機
進出了幾次第二航廈，每去一次就會罵它一下。
看了網路上的新聞和留言，發覺大家都已經把爛的地方寫出來了。
簡單的說，就是動線差，會漏水。
真的，會漏水。不過，要看到漏水要有點運氣，畢竟大部分的人都偶而才會去機場，看漏水還得去第二航廈，而且可能是出境才行，入境大廳在出境大廳之下，漏水可能不會從出境大廳再漏下去??
當然去的那時後還得有下雨才行，越大越好。
進出了幾次，也只有幸運的碰過一次。四、五年前，雨天，第二航廈，出境大廳，驚奇地目睹雨水從屋頂多處滴下來，滴進放在地上的水桶。負責清潔的女士則拿著拖把站在一旁，偶而在某些積水的點拖過幾遍。
搭台北香港的航班更是會覺得，兩小前後所進出的兩個機場，怎麼差這麼多。
嗯，據說漏水漏了六、七年了，現在還在漏。機場改名字倒是很快呀！
嗯，小時候就有聽說台灣要成為亞太營運中心。是我太沒耐心，還是它只是喊爽的？
我覺得呢，有兩種作法。一種就是把漏水修好，規劃對旅客更便利的動線，更清楚的標示，也讓那些空蕩的餐廳和商店多點客人吧。
另一種呢，反正這麼多年都沒有修漏水的決心，就乾脆利用漏水，規劃室內的流水造景。可以搭配燈光、音樂、景物，甚至在某些區段還可以加入色料、香精油、花瓣、紙船什麼的。
並且，改名水源機場。
網路上的新聞, blog, 留言等:
改名 不如改善國家門面
桃園機場全球85名 國際評比0顆星
中正機場第二航廈的動線實在不知道是怎麼設計的……
(圖) 漏水的二期航廈
從曼谷新機場落成啟用看台灣的危機
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