Kelobyte

Photo from Alaska Trip

2007-09-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

LOL. Soundwave!

2007-07-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

National Zoo

2006-10-29T08:07:00.000-08:00

We went to the National Zoo last Saturday. Here are some pictures. All animals were very lazy, especially the pandas. I think they need more exercise, both physically and mentally. I will give them some of my bugs in BLT if I can. They probably can't fix them, but some of these animals eat bugs. Overall, the zoo is a very nice place. I definately will go visit it more often.

Rock&Roll Dave, Incredible Corey

2006-08-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

It is a rainy day. We say goodbye to Dave and Corey today. I don't think I am a good goodbye person, since I don't like to say goodbye, I like people around stay around. Anyway, I decide to change the name of the links to Dave's and Corey's sites. I see Dave and his band play once. They are much better than I've expected. Now no longer my boss Dave, you know I mean it since I have no reason to lick your shoes now. :) So I name your link Rock&Roll Dave. As to Corey, I plan to mark your link as Hold'em Corey. But for now, you are Incredible Corey. This is not only because you are Jack Jack's daddy. I am pretty sure you will do just as well as Mr. Incredible in an insurance company, helping old women get their claims paid and throwing your boss through walls.

夏威夷游记之七

2006-08-20T03:49:00.000-07:00

早上起了个大早,因为今天要去的HANA来回要开四个小时的车.我们要开的这条HANA高速公路(也就是名字叫做高速公路,这路其实是超级低速公路)上还有很多景点要停.我们,尤其是我,对这条HANA高速公路有很高的期望.很多书里都把它列为貌疑岛必到之旅游点.

还没上HANA高速,我们在路边一个卖水果花卉的小棚子稍做歇息.在夏威夷有很多这样的小棚子,当地农夫把一些水果和花卉摆在棚子里,也没有人看着,棚子里放一个小钱箱,游人拿了东西以后按照标价把钱塞进箱子里.这就是一没有电子化的自动售卖机.

我们买了几条本地香蕉(从夏威夷回来,兔宝就再没让我买香蕉,说是没有夏威夷的好吃),继续上路.这条HANA高速的弯曲程度真是很夸张.整整两个小时的车程,没有一段直路!无穷无尽的转弯,把兔宝转得晕头转向,我这司机开起来还满好玩.路边的风景有些让我们很失望.本来以为一路上都是海景,但大多数时间我们是在树林里开,偶尔开到开阔的地方,海才露个面.

路上有很多地方有瀑布看,但都是些小瀑布.在中国的山里,瀑布多了去,这些个小不点瀑布我们自然是没什么兴趣.开了一阵,我们进了路边一个叫"亚当花园"的地方.这个小小的花园居然还收十块钱门票.里面没有什么很特别的东西,有些孔雀和野鸭子.我们把带的干粮掰了些喂孔雀.这些家伙也是被喂习惯了,一点也不怕人.

中午的时候,我们到了HANA.这是貌疑岛东边的一个城市.我们在HANA海湾找了点东西吃,随便照了几张相就往回开了.HANA本身并没有什么好玩的,是开去HANA的这条路上很有意思.也许是因为老美喜欢开车吧,他们给了HANA高速很高的评价,而我们觉得这很一般.无论如何,我们是到此一游了.

虽然今天的行程没有很精彩的亮点,但还是很幸运的一天.我们在HANA高速中途停车看风景的时候,差一点儿把车倒进路边的一条水沟里.停好了车下来,我们才发现车轮子就压在水沟边上,一身冷汗.看来前几天划伤脚的坏运气都跑掉了,庆幸庆幸.

夏威夷游记之六

2006-08-20T03:11:00.000-07:00

今天是离开大岛的日子了,因为几天以后还要回来,所以并没有依依不舍,而是更向往我们即将见到的"貌疑"岛和"苦阿姨"岛.我们搭乘的是IslandAir航空公司的小飞机.这种飞机只做岛间飞行,飞行的高度很低,在云层之下,因此看到机窗外的风景倒是比一般的大飞机要好很多.虽然只是一个小时的飞行时间,但酒店租车机场等等杂七杂八的事情还是很耗费时间,我们一大早就出了门,下午两点多才在貌疑安顿了下来.

之后马上拿出夏威夷宝典找地方吃饭,路上折腾了半天,饿.这夏威夷宝典就是一套旅游书,详细介绍每一个岛的特色,一个岛一本书.我们这一趟夏威夷之行可是全靠了这些书了.书里图文并茂,尤其是对餐馆的介绍很实用,我们照着书吃遍三个岛,真是大饱了口福.在貌疑的第一餐,我们找个间叫DA KITCHEN的小馆子.这里吃的是夏威夷当地食品.据说夏威夷人都很喜欢吃肉,所以当地人大多很肥胖.我们这一试果不然,一盘子的烤肉,还有些有鱼味的粉丝,味道还真不错.不健康的食品往往味道是很棒的.

吃完饭,我们准备进行兔宝进水工程.经过多日的修养,兔宝脚上的伤已经好多了.为了保险起见,我给兔宝包上了两层防水的止血贴,再穿上REEF SHOES.我们准备就在酒店附近的沙滩下水.这个沙滩也许是我们这趟夏威夷之行到过的最好的沙滩.人很少,沙很细,水很清,而最重要的是兔宝终于能下水了!我们在水里也不知道泡了多久,反正就是不想上来了.这是非常放松的一个下午,之前受伤的阴霾都被一扫而空.

晚上的活动没什么特别,在间越南餐馆吃的晚饭.本来随便吃点越南粉就结了,我傻乎乎地要了厨师特别推荐,一个又贵又破烂的海鲜杂烩.这才想起以前在家附近的越南餐馆SAIGON CAFE吃的厨师特别推荐,十块钱三只虾.以后再也不能随意相信越南餐馆里的特别推荐.吃完饭出来,太阳已经落山了,明天要开那出名的HANA HIGHWAY,都是些九曲十八弯的山路,我需要养足精神,于是早早打道回府.

夏威夷游记之五

2006-08-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

由于去火山的旅程相当辛苦，今天是修养生息的日子．早上睡了个大懒觉，中午出去吃饭购物，下午周围走走，照照相．晚上隔壁新入住的房客半夜在阳台上讲手机，把我们吵醒了，相当郁闷．我大喊一声"shut up"不管用．兔宝继而上前严厉斥责，吓退敌人，继续睡觉．

夏威夷游记之四

2006-08-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

今天的任务是相当的艰巨.一早起来就往南开,先到了SOUTH POINT，这里是美国领土的最南端．风很大，但没有想象中那么大．到处是风吹草低现牛羊的景象，怎么也不会想到这里是夏威夷．之后向着东部的火山公园进发．这里到处是熔岩，还有很多牌子写着这是哪年喷的，都不是很久以前，很多是七八十年代的，可见这火山真是满新鲜的．整个火山公园就是绕着一火山口转一圈．这火山已经没有流出红红的岩浆了，但还是有些热气冒出来．我们又开了２０多英里的下山路准备去看流岩浆的活火山，谁知道准备不足，没有带上手电，风衣和足够的水，加上兔宝的伤，只好打道回府．晚上在火山村附近吃的泰国餐，没想到这么偏僻的地方的餐馆也很不错．席间和一对德国来的夫妇谈得很来劲．晚上一路开回去，看见满天的星星是相当的壮观，又过一天．

夏威夷游记之三

2006-08-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

虽然游玩的时候是相当的兴奋,时间过得是相当的快,回来以后游记却写得是相当的缓慢.我在此就先写个大纲,然后慢慢再填入些细节和相片.

第三天,去大岛北部的kohala地区,有众多的度假村和很好的沙滩.我们找了个人少的沙滩,兔宝在岸上晒太阳,我就下水玩了一会.有只海龟就在附近睡大觉.在水下我也抓住一只.海龟的背上滑溜溜的,象是长了很多青苔的石头.中午在一间意大利餐馆吃饭,比桑饼相当的好吃,也许是我吃过最好吃的pizza.下午继续往北开,经过一个叫Hawi的小镇,在地图上看还以为是个城市,结果是个连镇都算不上的小地方,街上仅有的一间小商店让我想起了小时候回乡下见到的乡村百货铺.下午我们到达了北端的一个outlook,hike下山去到一个黑沙滩.回程的时候太阳就快下山了,我们在另一个沙滩逗留了一会儿,照相,收工.

多伦多拜访"米粒"一家

2006-08-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

我们家里人的称呼有些让人摸不着头脑,比如说四姨父我们都叫他丁叔叔,我一直在想怎么就没叫我爸宁叔叔呢?但这些个称呼里最奇怪的应该是我二表姐的外号了,我们(准确地说是我和P)叫她Miss Yang.这都是因为她的英文学得好,当初她到广州的时候我们两个小家伙就给她取了这么个洋外号,这一叫就叫了许多年.Miss Yang到了加拿大以后取了个正式的洋名字叫Amelia.我想Miss Yang这个外号也该退休了,以后就叫"米粒".

上个周末,我有幸成为了"米粒"新家的第一位访客,刚到就受到了十菜一汤的款待,实在是受宠若惊.短短两天,行程很满.在这有限的时间里,我见到了"米粒"一家在资本主义土壤里茁壮成长的景象,十分壮观.这里是一些照片.图中人物包括:

"米"(Me)

"米粒"(Amelia)

"米粒"的老公"颗粒"(Chris)

"米粒"的公子"史丹粒"(Stanley)

"米粒"的老爸老妈,也就是俺二姨和"杨叔叔".

夏威夷游记之二

2006-07-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

2006/7/14 早上一觉睡醒,完全不知自己身置何处.夏威夷这个我们向往已久的地方,真的就到了吗?九点钟酒店有个旅游介绍,还有半个钟头的时间,我们就到酒店前面的tide pool上去看海龟了.这个tide pool就是一片礁石,退潮的时候有一部分就露出来了,可以从岸边走过去(照片1,照片2,照片3,照片4).我们身后隔着水的建筑就是酒店,我们所在礁石在涨潮的时候就会被淹没.有两只海龟在石头上晒太阳,懒懒的样子很是可爱.有一只被前面的游人惊走了,我们过去的时候只剩下一个懒鬼(龟)了.在夏威夷,海龟是受保护动物.曾经因为大量捕捉,海龟濒临绝种,受保护以后,数量增加了许多.

九点钟的旅游介绍纯属广告,我们听了一半就开溜了.回到房间,擦足了防晒油,装好了防水相机,我们就准备下水了.这第一个节目,也是主打节目,是snorkeling.这种活动就是带着潜水眼镜,咬着根管儿用来换气(就和电视剧里咬根芦苇躲在水里的侦察兵差不多),脚上再穿上蛙人用的那种蹼一样的玩艺儿,在浅水的地方把头埋在水里看鱼(照片).夏威夷的水很清,鱼很多,水底还有很多珊瑚,是snorkeling的胜地.我们带了自己的潜水眼镜,换气管儿和蹼,可以说是做足了准备.在酒店旁边有一个Kahalu'u Beach Park,是玩snorkeling的好地方.我们找了个人少的地儿就下了水.

所谓人有旦夕祸福.就在我们刚开始享受这天堂一般的生活的时候,出了个事故.因为急于下水,我们的眼镜有些漏水(后来发现是因为眼镜买大了),蹼没有穿好,这些问题都没有很好地解决.我们下水的地方水底情况比较复杂,有很多石头和珊瑚,兔宝脚上的蹼没穿好,加上眼镜漏水,浪一波波地推过来有些站不稳,有点慌,一脚踩到了水底的石头或是珊瑚.开始还没意识到受了伤,过了一会儿才发现.于是我们急忙上了岸.消毒,止血贴,一阵处理以后,我们所有的好心情都耗尽了.兔宝很沮丧,"难道我们的honeymoon就这么被糟蹋了吗?",我一边安慰她,自己心里也很郁闷.

(snorkeling注意事项:如果在运动用品店里买snorkel的潜水眼睛,一定要注意眼镜的规格.所谓的通码(one size fits all)都是胡说的,最好买了在游泳池里先试试.或者去当地租,在租的地方都会有不同规格的眼镜供挑选.至于蹼(fin),店里卖的大多是很长,很薄的硬塑料,穿了不方便踩水.最好找短一些,厚实一些的.或者去当地租.租的一般都挺厚实.最后,一定要注意下水的位置,要找水底比较平实,石头珊瑚少的地方下水.)

虽然是出了点事故,我们很快就调整好了心态.接下来的几天是不能下水了,那就多做些陆上活动.不幸中的万幸,兔宝的伤口还不算很严重,走路只要悠着点,没什么大问题.折腾了一上午,我们决定去Bubba Gump Shrimp犒劳自己.这间餐馆在kona的市区,是间以<阿甘正传>为主题的餐馆.在<阿甘正传>里,阿甘在越南的时候结识的黑人战友Bubba是捕虾的,Bubba梦想着退役以后回家去买艘捕虾船.后来Bubba阵亡了.阿甘退伍后回到Bubba的家乡,买了艘捕虾船,最后还阴差阳错地开办了Bubba Gump Shirmp公司,大获成功.餐馆的门口有张长凳,就象是<阿甘正传>里阿甘坐着等公共汽车的那张(照片1,照片2).进到里面,到处都挂满了和<阿甘正传>有关的海报.这里的菜牌是一个乒乓球拍(照片),这是因为阿甘很擅长打乒乓球,在电影里他还到了中国,在挂了老毛像的体育馆里和中国选手打过.在桌子上还摆了个牌子(照片1,照片2),一个上面写着"Run Forrest Run"(Forrest快点跑,Forrest是阿甘的名字),一个上面写着"Stop Forrest Stop"(Forrest停下).如果需要服务员过来,摆出"Stop Forrest Stop"他们就会过来了.这是因为在电影里,阿甘是个很善于奔跑的家伙.他小时候常被别的小孩欺负,每次被欺负的时候,他的朋友Jenny(他后来的妻子)就会大声喊"Forrest Run".因为长期逃跑,他练就了过人的脚力.在大学里,他的奔跑能力使他成了足球明星;在越南战场上,他的奔跑能力救了他的命;在他孤独的时候,他又选择了穿山越岭的长跑,穿越美国.

在BUBBA GUMP SHRIMP吃饭,自然是吃虾了.菜的味道还不错.这里开放的空间也很好,旁边就是海,还有人在冲浪.一边吃饭,一边看冲浪,不时还有些小鸟飞过来讨吃的,这顿饭把早上的坏心情冲淡了许多.

吃完饭,我们在Kailua-kona的市区转悠了一圈.这里有夏威夷的第一座教堂,这虽然只是一间很小的教堂,但白色的建筑在棕榈树和海的衬托下,却别有一番风味.在路边的一个小集市很有特点.在这里可以买到许多手工艺品,比起一般纪念品商店里的”中国制造”,这里的东西更有夏威夷特色.这里还有本地的水果和花卉.在夏威夷,人们都喜欢编一种花环,被称之为LEI.这些漂亮的花环是用一种本地的树上的花编成的.我们在路边就经常见到这种树.每见到树下落的花,兔宝这个采花大盗就要上去采一把,插在她的帽子上.我们花了五块钱买了一个紫色的LEI.真的花环比假的要好看,只是花的颜色会染到白色的的T恤上.为了保鲜,我们按照卖花环人的指示,把花环放在了旅店的冰箱里,谁知道冰箱里太冷,拿出来都冻成了冰花,带着倒是满凉快.

下午,我们到南边的一个公园去打发时间.这个公园里有一些久远以前夏威夷人居住的村落,现在成了出名的旅游点.一路上,我们经过许多咖啡园.夏威夷的咖啡是很出名的,尤其是大岛上出产的kona咖啡.这些咖啡园都对外开放,可以随便进去参观,还可以买到新鲜正宗的kona咖啡.只是我们俩都不喝咖啡,于是就一脚油门带过了.

这个公园是夏威夷洲政府经营的,但是很明显这是个非赢利的公园,五块钱的门票可能都不足以支付看门人的工资.据说很多时候因为没有足够的资金而请不到人.我们几天后第二次到这个公园来照相的时候,就连看门的人都没见到.资金不足以至请不起收门票的人,这真是有点奇怪.

在门口,我们发现了样好东西.这是给残疾人用的推车,但不是普通的推车.推车的前轱轳是个两个象游泳圈一样的充足了气的橡胶圈,这样的车在沙滩上推起来也不费力.于是兔宝就享受了一次残疾人待遇,也好让受伤的脚指少受点折腾.

(待续)

夏威夷游记之一

2006-07-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

我们回到维吉尼亚的莱斯顿村才两三天,在夏威夷的十数天旅程就已变得象是久远以前发生的故事一般,这也许是因为天堂和现实的差距太遥远.在还没有忘记这十几天的美梦以前,让我赶快把每一个细节都记录下来.

2006/7/13 早上七点多的飞机的确是个不小的挑战,911以后的美国机场,安全检查变得格外繁琐.去夏威夷的旅行怎么能误了飞机呢?于是我们定了俩闹钟,五点半起床.然而小概率事件永远是无法避免的,两个闹钟居然都没有响!所幸的是我从小培养起的"出外旅行前特别兴奋症状"发作了,平时常常是九点钟还在呼呼大睡的我,居然在五点四十五分的时候忽然蹦了起来.然后当然就是一片忙乱.终于还是赶上了飞机.只是那个在楼下多等了十分钟的老印出租汽车司机很是不高兴.天阴沉沉的,但是我们啥都不在乎了,心情格外地好.

飞机上拥挤得一塔糊涂,我们俩本来还想着和航空公司说这是我们的蜜月旅行,弄个免费的头等仓.结果连两个连在一起的座位都找不到.我们只好隔着坐了.兔宝的旁边坐的是一对美国夫妇,带了一个很可爱的小孩,名字叫做MAX.有意思的是这对夫妇也是去夏威夷的.我们开始并不知道.后来转飞机,拿行李,租车的时候又接连碰到他们.MAX的妈妈是个天文学家,到夏威夷是出差顺便旅行(在夏威夷的Big Island上有一些天文台,之后我们会去到),这差事倒是不错.在租车公司和他们分手的时候,兔宝和MAX照了张相以做留念(照片).

飞机终于降落在夏威夷的Kailua-kona机场了.这是我们的第一站,Big Island,夏威夷最大的一个岛,也叫夏威夷岛.之后我就称之为"大岛"吧(不是"大岛茂"喔, 哈哈).在飞机降落的过程中,我们就已经注意到了周围一片都是黑乎乎的.大岛上有还在喷发的活火山,整个岛上到处都是象蜂窝煤一样的火山石头(照片).在大岛上,需要用到石头或是砖头的地方,都是用的火山石,比如说马路牙子,房屋,围墙,到处都是黑黑的.我们后来去的两个岛都没有这样的景象.虽然已经在书上读到过,但是kona机场的简陋还是让我们大吃一惊.整个机场就是几个茅草棚(照片).Kailua-kona是一个在大岛西部的城市.在大岛的中部有两座很高的火山,Mauna Kea和Mauna Loa.这样的地势形成了大岛西部阳光充足,东部雨林茂密的特点.海上来的风暴一般都是从东边过来的,给大岛东部带来充足的雨水,而高大的火山挡住了恶劣的风暴,使得大岛的西部成为了阳光明媚的旅游胜地,尤其是大岛的西北部Kohala地区,有很多高级的度假村都建在那里.

岛上的路相当简单,一条主要的公路是沿着海岸线的,虽然是主要的公路,但也只有一条车道.据说交通堵塞是家常便饭.开着车,我们一边感叹这岛之破烂,一边感叹海天之蓝.我们的酒店在机场南边,这是个满有特点的酒店.酒店有一部分是伸到海里去的,几乎所有的房间都有海景.放下行李,我们就迫不及待地打开了阳台的门,扑面而来的是海风带来淡淡的腥味儿.海的蓝,海浪的声音,完美也就是这个境界了吧.

景色再美也不能填肚子,长途飞行后我们是又累又饿.于是我们在酒店旁边的百货店买了些盒装的寿司和本地香蕉,回酒店泡了些方便面,草草地解决了这夏威夷的第一餐.说起这香蕉,还有后话.因为这些本地香蕉比一般美国店里的要好吃很多,我们想在回程的时候带一些,结果在机场被扣下了,因为水果是不能带进或带出夏威夷的,以免把果蝇带进或带出,给农产品带来灾难性破坏.在大岛的行程中,我们还听说在岛上有一种草就是从外地带入,结果严重破坏当地的植被.饱餐之后已经是傍晚时分,我们在酒店周围转悠了一圈,照了些日落的相片(照片1, 照片2, 照片3, 照片4, 照片5, 照片6).天黑以后,有些当地的小孩子在酒店的大堂表演夏威夷歌舞.扛不住疲倦,我们早早就回房,伴着海浪拍岸的旋律入睡了.

部分没有整理过的HAWAII照片

2006-07-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

照片

Proudly, we improve chicken's life.

2006-05-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

If you work at AOL, you can go to the cafeteria at the headquater and verify this. According to one of the poster, AOL is not buying eggs laid by chickens raised in a battery cage. By doing so we improve the life quality of millions of egg-laying birds, said a VP at AOL. I think the company should also do something to improve the life quality of hundreds of (or thousands of) bug-laying AOL engineers. Since chickens are all out of the cage, we can take their space and be in the cage, like we used to be in the old days.

下雨的天气

2006-04-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

我曾是很讨厌下雨的,也许是讨厌那湿碌碌的地,又或是讨厌那阴沉沉的天.从来不觉得下雨的天气有什么好意境.今天早上起来,窗外浠浠沥沥地下起了雨.我很有兴致地架起了三角架,用新买的相机照了几张相.

外面一片的绿意盎然,在雨中更是显得新鲜.原来所谓的意境不只是环境,更多的还是心境.现在是星期六的早上,外面的天气都不那么重要了.

-17 != 0xef.

2006-04-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we omit the very basic. This morning, I was looking at this code:

char c1, c2, c3;
....
if (c1== 0xef && c2== 0xbb && c3== 0xbf)
{...}

I was reading a file, checking the first three bytes and verifing whether the file is a UTF-8 encoding file with signature. In the watch pane of Visual Studio, I saw the value of c1 was 0xef, value of c2 was 0xbb and value of c3 was 0xbf. But the if statement returned me false. It turns out that c1, c2 and c3 are all char type, which has a range of -128 ~ 127. Even if c1 == -17 and -17 has the same bit string, 11101111, as 0xef, c1 != 0xef. When I changed c1, c2 and c3 to be type of unsigned char or BYTE, which have a range of 0 ~ 255, everything worked fine.

郎朗的独奏会

2006-04-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

星期四的晚上,我们去看了郎朗的独奏会.因为前两个星期刚看了李云迪的,所以看之前是抱着去比较比较的心态.毕竟这两人是目前在世界上最出名的中国钢琴家.到了现场,根据满座的程度可以看出郎朗在美国的名气要比李云迪响一些.大使夫妇也到场了.

以前在中国文化节的时候看过郎朗的演奏,所以他大幅度的动作倒不是很让我们惊讶.在春节联欢晚会表演的时候,他可是文静许多.春晚的时候,毕竟全国有那么多大爷大妈在瞅着电视看他.

整场演出看完还是相当满意的.他和李云迪的风格不同.我时常觉得他是在做指挥,身体的动作相当entertaining.有几段高潮的时候,他就象是在砸琴一般,难怪有人觉得他把钢琴弹得太随便.相比之下,李云迪弹得就很谨慎.我倒不觉得谁更好,一个是泰国炒饭,一个是糯米鸡,吃起来各有各的味道.有趣的是演出后签名时候的一个小插曲.排到我们的时候,前面的美国老太太和老公公希望郎朗给他们写点特殊的,因为是他们两人结婚五十周年纪念.郎朗忙说:"happy wedding day".也许是他忙昏了吧,anniversary楞是给他说成了wedding day.接着他一边给老头老太签名,一边跟旁边一人嚷道:"嘿,肚子饿了,咱们一会儿去哪儿吃点东西行不,叫上那谁."演出了两个小时,肚子饿了也是正常的.只是看着他一边鬼画符一样地在老头老太的CD上随便划着,一边操着东北腔大声嚷着一会儿要去吃饭,顿时没了艺术家的风范.也许在他的理解艺术就应该是通俗的,又或是下了舞台他就不再是那个艺术家郎朗了.想起李云迪签名时候小心翼翼的样子,觉得郎朗真是个很逗的人.

Programming contest. Interesting.

2006-04-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

I read a news on CNET.com about international college programming contest. Surprisingly, only one US school (MIT) is in the top 10. Hmm, maybe schools like CMU didn't attend the contest. Anyway, the contest problems remind me of the old days in college when programming is all about solving hypothetical problems. I think sponsoring such a competetion is good for building up company image. It's not necessary a college competition but a competition open to the public. Macromedia holds this kind of competitions once in a while. If we are releasing Boxely to the public, just a hypothesis ;), a competition is one thing we can do to promote it.

Google Earth may be used for many things.

2006-04-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

For example, promoting magazine. If the movie Cast Away were shot today, the director may have the rescue team locate Tom Hanks on Google Earth.

Is leaking OK? Maybe it is.

2006-04-10T17:32:00.001-07:00

As all, especially C/C++, programmers know, leaking is bad. It is more than bad. It is evil. But leaking seems to be OK out of the programming arena. As president Bush explaining why leaking was OK, I saw news program discussing whether the US was going to bomb nuclear facilities in Iran. The program even showed a movie clip of the facility that might be bombed. Well, if this is not leaking intelligence data, then the news program is fooling us with a clip shot in someone's backyard. What are those editors thinking? At least they should postpone the program until 12:30 and let Conan report it.

The "we sell it on ebay" store.

2006-04-08T18:44:00.001-07:00

When I was having dinner at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Falls Church, Jasmine Garden, I saw a sign on the store next door, "We sell it on ebay". And then I realized that is the name of the store. The store is providing service to sell items for people on ebay. People can dump their used items into this store like throwing out trash, and they get money back later when their items are sold. Well, it sounds like a very good deal. But I just can't believe there are enough lazy people out there making this business profitable. Someday I may be able to carry dishes to a store after dinner and let them wash it for me. Maybe that store is there already, but "not evenly distributed" yet. :)

It is time to have a new name.

2006-04-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Corey told me that he's going to call me "keke" in order to differentiate my name "ke" from "key". He has been using "key" a lot in his everyday conversation lately as he works on the new databinding stuff. And I responsed to him several times when he was actually talking to Veronica about "key". Then I realize things can be worse if Don Box is working with us. When we took the coffee break, I learned that middle name is not neccesary inherited from parents. So I started to think about the middle name of my future child(ren), and also a middle name for myself. Spring is the season for new stuff, for example, new names. America Online Inc. just becomes AOL LLC, and I might soon become Ke Franken Ning.

What a great pianist!

2006-04-01T20:29:00.001-08:00

I just went to a piano recital of Yundi Li in Strathrmore Music Center last night. I didn't notice there is a music center there before. It is located on 355 in MD, very closed to the belt way and 270. The concert hall is smaller that those in Kennedy Center, but it is of a good size for piano recital. The concert was phenomenal. Li is a great pianist. After he won the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in 2000, he is getting lots of attentions not only in China but around the world. I remember he was in a Nike commercial once. Yes, a pianist in a Nike commercial. Li looks much more handsome than he does in photos. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera. This is not just my opinion but from my fiancee and her lady friend. We all agreed that Li needs to hire a better photograhers. And he also needs a host. He didn't speak at all but played and smilied because he doesn't know much English. And he looks like an introvert. He does have a very good smile though. The whole concert was not very interactive. It would have been a better concert if there is a host who can introduce Li a little bit and what is he going to play. A pretty lady host is even better. However, he is so good at playing piano that we don't care much about anything else. He stunned the audiences with his skill.

Beside Li, Lang lang is another Chinese pianist who is well-known here in the United States. Lang did not won any big competition like Li did, but he is more famous in the US than Li because he came to the US in 1997. He speaks English. And he is an extrovert. As a result, more people know him here and the ticket price of his concert is more expensive thatn Li's.

I love simplicity because I am busy (or lazy).

2006-03-30T17:34:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Michael, I just update the personal photo section of my site using Simple Viewer, and lock it.

Everyone loves simplicity. Blogger.com makes updating website easy, SimpleViewer makes updating pictures easy, AOL makes getting online easy... As a result people love Blogger.com, SimpleViewer and AOL (at least some of them used to love the floppies and CDs we distributed). Simplicity is not only for dummies but also for skillful engineers who can do everything by themselves. Without websites like Blogger.com, most of my colleagues and I myself may not start to blog. We are just too busy or too lazy.

I am looking for the next thing that can made our lifes easier. So far, I come up with these:

A website that provides outlines of books, so I don't have to read the whole thing.

Similar to the first idea, a website that provides outlines of TV series like Lost, so I don't have to watch the whole thing.

A software that I can use to file my tax for the next 10 years in advance, just like what we do with Teamplayer.

吃柚子

2006-03-26T19:30:00.000-08:00