Super Mario Galaxy - 結局？？

好不容易，馬力歐終於集到了足夠的星星，開著太空站到了宇宙中心。
打了上百個galaxy之後，顯然我的功力已經提昇得還不錯，沒有花太多時間就把大魔王打敗了，也終於解救了被他控制的宇宙，galaxy能夠恢復正常。

破關之後，原本以為遊戲就到此為止（可以專心做研究了？？？）不過回到太空站卻發現Rosalina跟我說另外再集滿50顆星星，可以解開隱藏的關卡。看來這個遊戲還真的是值回票價，打完大魔王後還有這麼多的關卡可以讓我有空慢慢玩。

剩下的這些隱藏關卡想必都是挑戰性極高的，例如要蒐集三顆綠色星星才能解開的trial galaxy，就有可以測試你會不會手振的Rolling Gizmo Galaxy跟Electric Labyrinth。（當然youtube上面有影片，可是還沒過關以前千萬不要看！！）想到有50個挑戰性高的galaxies心理就高興～

馬力歐的結局？？看來還有一陣子我才會知道了。

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Riverside Church, New York

幾個月前去New Jersey玩，順手在Hudson River對岸拍了一張Riverside Church的照片，放在Flickr上面。沒想到前一個禮拜，竟然有一個旅遊網站(Schmap New York)寫信給我請我授權讓他們使用我的照片。

這個旅遊網站看起來滿有意思的，首頁放了一張互動式的紐約地圖，旁邊的旅遊內容，是依照歷史或主題分類的。再配合上Flickr裡面的照片，旅客們應該很容易就可以找到心目中理想的景點。有興趣的朋友可以在我網站右下角看到縮小版的地圖。

除了Riverside Church, 這個網站我再粗略地看了一下，該有的紐約景點應該都有包含了，不過就介紹而言，內容似乎稍嫌單薄，每個景點都是一個paragraph簡單帶過。不過既然這是一個免費的網站，大家就看看照片跟簡單的景點介紹，想要深入再Google別人的遊記好了。這邊想到一點它的好處：這個旅遊簡介有pack成電腦上可以直接執行的一個小程式，可以download再在自己電腦上看。假如有PDA的話帶著出去玩應該就很方便吧。

接下來是對應我照片的旅遊景點說明：

Riverside Church

490 Riverside Drive

New York, NY 10027

Tel: +1 212 222 5900

www.theriversidechurchny.org

A soaring neo-gothic church with architecture inspired by the cathedral at Chartres, this church houses the world's second largest carillon in its impressive tower. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. gave the bells to the church in memory of his mother. Construction was begun 1927 and completed by 1930. Riverside Church, which is interdenominational, is also a thriving multicultural community center and sponsors a wide array of programs including anti-racism and anti-poverty initiatives. Carillon recitals are held on Sundays and on special occasions. Check the schedule for regular services and tours.

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Super Mario Galaxy - Wii

記得上次玩馬力歐已經是超過十年以前的事了。一個多月前我Paper送出去後，好不容易狠下心來買了一年多來一直嚷著要買的Wii。這段日子除了打打網球跟拳擊，也一直上網研究各個Wii遊戲的評價，想要物色Wii Sports每一項運動都變成Pro之後要玩的遊戲。

到了感恩節，看著Buy.com上面有著Google Checkout新用戶有$10折價的優惠，發現目前各大遊戲評論網站上評分最高的馬力歐銀河（Super Mario Galaxy：IGN rating= 9.7，GameSpot= 9.5），算算竟然價錢只要$38。當然這個價錢還是滿貴的，可是相對於其他Circuit City, Best Buy等賣場$49.99的高價位（還要另外加銷售稅），這個免稅免運費的價錢大概一輩子再也找不到了。當場二話不說，登錄了一個新的Google Checkout帳號，下訂等待馬力歐的到來。

忙碌的日子使等待銀河馬力歐的時間變得並不是很漫長。不過實驗室的繁忙並沒有使我失去對馬力歐的期待。馬力歐一到，我馬上拆開包裝上機開始作戰。其實大家都知道，馬力歐的目的非常的簡單，就是打敗大魔王，救出公主。銀河馬力歐也不例外，只是這次的戰場移到了太空，有數十個銀河系需要馬力歐（跟蘑菇頭還有Lugi）去探索搜尋Power Star的存在。等到蒐集到足夠的Power Star之後，馬力歐所在的太空觀測站就可以變成太空船，載著馬力歐到宇宙的中心跟大魔王決鬥。

因為沒有偷偷看馬力歐攻略，現在我也不知道我現在打的進度到哪邊。只知道現在太空觀測站已經完全電力恢復，只差22顆星星「就」可以啟動引擎飛到宇宙中心了。目前我對這個遊戲的感覺是：前面一段的關卡非常非常的容易，容易到會一邊打馬力歐一邊覺得「這個遊戲會不會是給五歲還設計的？一點挑戰性都沒有！」不過到了後半段（觀測站電力全部恢復之後），就會有一些比較有挑戰性的關卡（galaxy）了。

現在在遊戲還沒有全破之前，我還沒有辦法做完整的評論，假如要我評分，我目前會給個8.3/10左右的分數吧。當然假如後半段的關卡的挑戰性比較強、困難度足夠，我相信我會給這遊戲更高的分數。

這是其中一段我覺得滿有挑戰的戰鬥，剛好YouTube上也有，不過一堆日文只好請看倌們自行翻譯了。


遊戲在IGN上的介紹：

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雞肝粥

取雞肝1具洗淨切成小塊；將小米50克洗淨入鍋，加入適量豆豉及生姜片煮粥；水沸時加入雞肝，快熟時放入鹽、味精等調味，再煮至粥熟。宜溫熱眼含，日服1劑，常食為佳,具有養血明目、補肝養胃功效。實用于肝血不足.頭暈眼花及夜盲症患者。

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Winter has finally come!

今天紐約市終於「正式地」下了今年第一場雪。
希望隨著這場雪，心情能有所轉換，不愉快順心的事能夠隨風而飄去。

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Mastering Your Ph.D.: Countdown to Your Thesis Defence

Time to prepare for my thesis defense, although it might still be one year away... Gotta plan early!!!

Source: Nature by Bart Noordam, Patricia Gosling, Netherlands, 23 November 2007

For a couple of years, you have been doing research, research, and more research. But now the final deadline for your Ph.D. is in sight, and it's time to transfer your research results into a thesis. Where do you even begin?

You've got a lot of things to do before you can actually start writing, and you will have to work in a more structured way than you probably have been used to for the past couple of years. Here we provide a five-step framework to guide you toward your goal.

1. Establish your achievements.
Presumably, you sketched out a plan for your research projects at the beginning of your Ph.D. program, so now you need to get a clear picture of where you are in that process and see how it will all fit together in your thesis. Start by making a list of the projects you've finished, such as the research you've already published in a journal article that only needs a bit of editing to fit into your thesis.

Next, list the unfinished projects you are working on and identify the steps you'll need to take to finish them, whether it's sorting out the relevant data, writing and running a data-analysis programme, extracting a message from the data you've collected and analysed, writing up your findings, or all of the above. You'll also have to think about how you want to write up these last few experiments: You'll need to balance the short-term benefits of writing it up as a thesis chapter--which will save you the time of finishing a peer-reviewed article--with the longer term benefit of adding a journal article to your list of publications.

Once you have a good idea of what you have accomplished so far and what it will take to finish the ongoing projects, you should verify your achievements with your supervisor.

2. Determine what should be included in your thesis.
Mastering Your PhD cover art

You and your supervisor will likely agree about what you've accomplished so far and what still needs to be done to complete your ongoing projects. However, opinions might diverge when it comes to whether you need additional material for your thesis. You should meet with your supervisor (and thesis adviser, if different from your supervisor) to discuss exactly what should go into your thesis. Perhaps you believe that finishing ongoing projects will provide sufficient content for a thesis, whereas your supervisor wants you to include a minor (or major!) addition, and your thesis adviser wants you to start a new, ambitious project.

Coming to agreement on these issues will not be easy, so you should be well-prepared when you meet to discuss your thesis content. You will need to decide what you believe is a proper balance between the quality and quantity of the content and the time it will take to finish your research and start writing. If there is truly a need for you to do one more project, make a comprehensive and very specific plan for it.

In the course of these negotiations, remember that even if your adviser's motives for keeping you around are self-serving, the extra time and effort you spend to extend and sharpen your work might make a big difference in your career. So don't stretch it out too long but, assuming you can keep food on the table, don't be in too much of a hurry, either.

3. Make a countdown list.
Now that you have established a "still-to-do" list, make a plan for when to do it. This will be your countdown list, a schematic timetable that describes week by week how you plan to finish your thesis by your target deadline. Most of the activities on your list should directly contribute to thesis chapters.

Use your still-to-do list to estimate the amount of time you'll need to finish those last few projects and allocate that time on your countdown list. Then, draft a table of contents for your thesis. Estimate how many weeks it will take to finish each chapter and block off that time on your countdown list as well.

Next, allocate time for other activities, such as arranging for the printed version of your thesis, preparing for the defence, and setting up job interviews. In reality, you will be working on several tasks in parallel, but writing down the tasks sequentially will help you get an impression of the total time the thesis preparation will take.

Finally, toward the end of writing your thesis, you will have to deal with the procedures that come with submitting it for approval. The university likely has a long checklist of these usually extraordinarily complex and often time-consuming tasks. Make sure you know well in advance what needs to be done and when, and include them on your schedule.

Once you've created your countdown list, you may realize that writing your thesis is going to take longer than you thought. Don't panic. This is the time to hone your time-management skills and your ability to focus on what is important. Your schedule is tight, so good planning will count. Try to minimize delays caused by others.

4. Anticipate uncertainties.
It may be difficult to plan how much time you will need for some tasks. Perhaps that one last set of experiments relies on a sample that needs to be prepared by other people, and you can't count on them delivering it when you need it. Without that sample, the project will be impossible to complete.

If you foresee such problems and potential bottlenecks, it may be useful to have a back-up list to your master countdown list. The master list assumes you'll get the samples on time, and the back-up list assumes the research will come to a halt until you get the sample. For this back-up plan, reschedule the order of your activities to make use of the newfound time, perhaps by identifying a (small) project that can replace the sample project. Don't adjust your overall deadline just yet. Estimating these risks up front will enable you to discuss the various scenarios with your supervisor. Most importantly, this type of forward planning will minimize the uncomfortable feeling that you have a potentially critical problem ahead that is completely out of your control.

5. Discuss your planning with your supervisor.
Now comes the tough part. This meeting might feel more like a negotiation than a discussion. At one end of the table is you, the hard-working Ph.D. student who wants to wrap up the work in a reasonable amount of time. At the other end of the table is your supervisor, possibly hungry for more research results that can be used in a future presentation or publication. Hopefully, some disagreements about how much work you need to do can be curtailed by giving your supervisor your proposed table of contents and your countdown list in advance of the meeting. These documents will show your progress and demonstrate how much you already have accomplished.

If there is a major disagreement, try not to get angry. Instead, summarize the issues you don't agree about and ask for some time to reflect on your supervisor's point of view. Sometimes these planning discussions can't be finished in a single meeting, but that's okay; it's worth doing properly. You will save yourself quite a bit of thesis-preparation stress if you can structure a countdown plan on which all parties can agree.

If, during the course of your research, you find that the project is taking much longer than anticipated, your first reaction may be to work even harder and longer hours or to go into denial about how much time you really need to finish. Rather than sticking your head in the sand, face your situation, make a new plan, and discuss it again with your supervisor.

The last year of your Ph.D. is distinctly different from the ones that have come before it, because you'll focus primarily on transforming your hard work into thesis chapters. Moreover, new activities will become more important, such as finishing projects before a pressing deadline or looking for a job for after you get your degree. This multitasking requires a more structured approach than you've probably taken previously, so be sure to plan your activities. Your countdown plan will show you what needs to be done and will force you to prioritize those activities. Effective communication with your supervisor will establish a commitment to reach your final goal together.

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Barcode scanner

今天在玩我的MacBook，發現Mac上面好玩的東西還真不少。

其中有一個很有意思的程式，Delicious Library，這個玩意兒能夠建檔案清單，管理你所有大大小小、從幼稚園到現在買過，在床頭櫃、書架上、電視旁的堆積如山的小說、CD、跟DVD。

能管理書本清單並不是一件大不了的事，Delicious Library吸引我的地方，是他精美與使用者友善的介面，建檔之後，一本一本的書整齊的列在螢幕中的書架上，讓人忍不住驚嘆自己擁有書籍之多、學識之廣博。看著這有質感的桃木書架，好像比拿到博士學位還神氣。

Delicious Library最方便的地方，就是你可以用你那小巧玲瓏的webcam，來充當barcode scanner。稍稍對一下焦之後，書本的條碼立刻被Delicious Library辨識而登錄在你的資料庫中。一眨眼，七本哈利波特就掃描完畢正式進入我的個人圖書館了。

可憐的Windows使用者，Delicious Monster（Delicious Library的製作公司）已經明白表示你們在可預期的將來是不可能享受到Delicious Library帶給你們的便利（還有視覺上的享受）：Delicious Library將會留在Mac的世界朝極致美學的目標邁進。不過沒有關係，來玩個網路版的barcode掃描器過過乾癮吧！拿出你塵封已久的web cam，對準書櫃上離你手邊最近的那本書，享受掃描建檔的樂趣吧。

註：請先按accept開始使用這個程式介面。



延伸影片：David Pogue on New York Times

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自己做yogurt

剛剛跟朋友聊天，他提到他最近的新嗜好：自己做yogurt。
方法聽起來很簡單，只需要牛奶跟一罐超市買的yogurt。跟我們實驗室養酵母菌（或其他菌類）一樣，只要保有一些yogurt菌，就可以不斷的繼續製造新鮮的yogurt。新鮮的yogurt早上加蜂蜜吃應該是一大享受。

這邊是我查到的詳細作法，理想中有一個yogurt maker應該會比叫好控制溫度：

1. Sterilize the milk. Even though your milk has been pasteurized, it will still contain bacteria. Pour a quart of milk into a pot and use a metal spoon. Heat the milk until it is almost boiling. You'll see small bubbles form around the edges and steam beginning to rise. Checking the temperature is a good idea. It should be around 180-185F (82-85C). A candy thermometer comes in handy. Remember to heat slowly and stir often to prevent scorching. A double boiler may also be used.

2. Cool the milk to grow the yogurt. Allow the milk to cool at room temperature or place it in the refrigerator. Stir frequently in order to accurately check the temperature. It should reach 112F (45C). Don't proceed until the milk is below 120F(49C), and don't allow it to go below 90F (32C). 105-110 (41-43) is optimal.
3. Add nonfat dry milk, if desired. If you wish, adding about 1/4cup to 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk at this time will increase the nutritional content of the yogurt. The yogurt will also thicken more easily.
4. Add the starter. All yogurt needs "good" bacteria. The easiest way to do this is to add some existing yogurt. The first time you make your own yogurt, use store-bought plain yogurt. Be certain it has "active cultures" on the label. For each quart of your cooled milk, you'll need 2 tablespoons of yogurt. Let the starter yogurt sit at room temperature while you are waiting for the milk to cool. This will prevent it from being too cold when you add it in. Alternatively, specialty stores may carry freeze-dried bacteria cultures, which are more reliable as starters.
5. Allow the yogurt bacteria to incubate. Pour your milk into clean individual containers. Cover each one tightly with a lid or plastic wrap. Keep the yogurt warm to encourage bacteria growth (between 105F and 122F (41C and 49C) is ideal). Your oven is a great place, just make sure the thermometer is accurate. You'll need to use your candy thermometer and perhaps turn your oven on and then off again periodically or keep the oven light on to warm. Most ovens don't have set temperatures this low. To check the oven temperature, place your thermometer into a bowl of water inside the oven. Wait until the yogurt is thick, about the consistency of pudding. (A simple solution for good results is a large thermos).
* Important: Keep the yogurt still during this process. Jiggling won't ruin it, but it makes it take a lot longer. It can take anywhere from 8-14 hours to incubate. The longer it incubates, the thicker and more tangy the final yogurt will be.
6. Refrigerate the yogurt. Place the yogurt in your fridge for several hours before serving. It will keep for 1-2 weeks. If you are going to use some of it as starter, use it within 5-7 days, so that the bacteria still have growing power. Whey, a thin yellow liquid, will form on the top. You can pour it off or stir it in before eating your yogurt.
7. Add optional flavorings. Experiment until you develop a flavor that your taste buds fancy.

Tips:
* Next time, you can use some from this batch to start the next batch.
* Try whole milk, 2%, 1%, skim, pasteurized, homogenized, organic, raw, diluted evaporated, dry milk powder, cow, goat, soybean, and more!
* Other methods for keeping the yogurt warm are available and numerous. Just use your thermometer and best judgment. Options include hot water in a sink, stove burner, crock-pot, warming tray, heating pad, a sunny window, in your car on a sunny day, etc.
* Placing your yogurt into the freezer to cool it prior to moving it to the refrigerator will result in a smoother consistency.
* If you use skim (or nonfat) milk, add some nonfat dry milk powder for a better, thicker consistency.
* A trick to maintain a consistent low temperature in the oven is to leave the oven light on after preheating it to the desired temperature. The heat generated by the light will usually be sufficient to maintain the temperature.
* Pie filling in a can makes great flavoring.
* Jams, maple syrups, and ice-cream fudges are good choices of flavorings too!

來源：How to make yogurt.

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未來的紐約市容 - 上西城區

想像一下未來的紐約，假如我們可以把所有地面上的交通問題解決，這個城市會變成什麼樣子呢？紐約會是一個行人friendly的好住所嗎？


See more events at: Livable streets

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美國的柚子

很多人以為美國沒有柚子，中秋的時候假如不去Chinatown買就沒有辦法享受吃柚子賞月的樂趣。

其實呢，這是不正確的。在美國超市是買得到柚子的，只是他的形狀跟顏色都和台灣的柚子差了十萬八千里。更不要說看到柚子的英文名字(pomelo/ pummelo/ pommelo)你可以反射想到：「哇！有賣柚子ㄝ！」

這邊我買過的柚子都長得跟保齡球一樣大，標準的圓球狀。賣相絕對比Chinatown那些醜不啦嘰又扁的進口柚子漂亮。口感也不輸記憶中的台灣柚子。

Anyway, 去看看家附近超市有沒有賣pomelo吧！

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烤栗子

先把栗子用水洗一下，再用毛巾擦乾淨，然後用小水果刀往栗子圓圓滾滾的那邊刀尖刺一下，然後小刀向旁邊轉一轉，這樣子栗子殼就開口了。放入烤箱烤到熟之後拿出。怎麼樣是烤好呢？聞到栗子香味就表示好了。

不過這次買的栗子好像不太有味道ㄝ。在Chinatown買的，長得大顆，烤的時候香氣逼人，可是吃得時候就是沒那麼甜。下次還是去Fairway買好了。

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地下鐵的小金人

紐約的地下，除了忍者龜外，還住了許許多多的小金人，一不小心他們就會跑道你身旁，提醒你不要迷失在這個紙醉金迷的城市。

其實這些各式各樣的小金人，是一位知名藝術家Tom Otterness的作品，大家可能對這個名字一點都不熟悉，但是他的雕塑其實早已出現在大家生活周遭而不自覺。

很多人都有到過Times Square「註」，也看過這個大時鐘。再張大眼睛仔細看看，是不是隱約有個小金人在跟你揮手啊？沒錯，這個時鐘也是出於Tom Otterness之手。


（取自Tom Otterness網站。）

如果到他的網站看，可以發現他的作品遍佈全球，紐約、舊金山、德州、北卡、西班牙、以色列...而且不是只有小金人喔～還有許多稀奇古怪的可愛雕塑。住在紐約的朋友們比較幸運，除了許許多多地鐵中的小金人，還可以到The Museum of Modern Art跟The Whitney Museum of American Art去看他的作品。最近十月到十一月初Marlborough Chealsea藝廊有展覽 The Public Unconscious，有興趣的朋友可以去逛逛，看可不可以把小金人帶回家：）



再回到地上的世界。到隔壁Godiva吃個巧克力吧。


延伸約讀、相關連結：
Tom Otterness: Web Wikipedia
Marlborough Chelsea: 站覽連結
Tom Otterness本人現身介紹小金人與subway art：影片 1 影片 2 （一定要看！）
紐約時報專文：A Fractured Fairy Tale Set on Broadway

地鐵藝術位置：
"Life Underground," on the A, C and E subway platforms at Eighth Avenue and 14th Street.

註：是Times Square而不是Time Square，不要拼錯喔！Times Square的命名由來是因為那邊是紐約時報（The New York Times）的總部（Times Building）所處之地。

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paper

Paper仍然在修改中。 請繼續努力。
要是我畢業前能上Nature就好了。
趕快加油！趕快畢業吧！

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Moon Festival

Time to have some moon cakes.
住在紐約，雖然擁有四十分鐘內到達Chinatown的便利，但是要找盒好吃的月餅還真是不容易。好不容易今年在朋友的推薦下，興沖沖地跑到Flushing（法拉盛），買了一盒好吃的手工月餅。


酥脆的外皮

裡面是可口的心型蛋黃


有一點咖哩味的


棗泥月餅


就是這一家糕餅店，老闆不太裡人，態度有點跩，可是東西真的很好吃！店名是一美芳，Main Street地鐵站出來轉個彎就到了。

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Yankees game 9/22/07

Game on Sep 21, 2007 vs. Toronto Blue Jays. Wang pitched a good game but didn't get offense support from the Yankees. The Yanks came back on the bottom of the 9th inning, crushing Halliday and made up a 4-run deficit. The incredible comeback was then unfortunately ruined by Brueny in the 14th.

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Ramen noodles

山頭火拉麵---不是火頭山喔～ 跟古中文一樣，日文也是會從右邊寫到左邊的。

住紐約住好幾年了，一直想去這一家有名的日式商場---Mitsuwa。
聽說這商場內，可以找到所有你夢想中的亞洲食物跟商品，拉麵、豬排、紅豆餅等等應有盡有。
身為貪吃鬼，到Mitsuwa當然要找一家好吃又有的餐廳吃囉。

Mitsuwa最有名的，大概就是這家山頭火拉麵了。我們在一個週末，從紐約曼哈頓四十二街的port authority，搭乘shuttle bus前往Mitsuwa「註」。

山頭火拉麵的菜單很基本，到這邊就是吃拉麵囉，你只要選想要的湯頭（鹽、正油、味增），要加辣與否（辛?），以及你想要多少肉（e.g.特選的話你會有一整盤的肉，一般的話就只有兩三片）。另外還有幾組套餐，可以讓你加小菜跟滷蛋。

反正我自己會滷滷蛋，就只點了拉麵。在經過漫長的等待（大約三十分鐘～沒錯，先去逛逛超市或商場吧！），終於等到了。照片中的正是這碗得之不易的正油拉麵。


正油就是醬油，跟所有我在日本吃的拉麵一樣，這家的拉麵湯頭也會稍鹹。不過他的麵跟叉燒肉都是一級棒，薄薄的肉有入口即化的感覺。


Mitsuwa Marketplace - New Jersey Store

Web site: http://www.mitsuwanj.com/
595 River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020

TEL: (201) 941-9113
FAX: (201) 941-5437


View Larger Map

註：這部專車滿小的，大概只能做二十幾個人吧，所以假如有興趣搭shuttle bus前往Mitsuwa，一定要盡早出發喔，排隊隊伍很長的。

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Migrating from PC to Mac - Day 1

Just got a new MacBook and it's time to find out how to work on a Mac. It's my first day seriously working on a Mac. First thing to do for me: set up remote desktop access so I can get hooked up to my Linux box. I usually use the VNC server to open a desktop and edit my documents/run my programs on it. As opposed to using the xterms, this wayI can resume my work with everything as is by calling up the same desktop when I got home. Since my Linux box is behind a firewall, I gotta open a secure channel to connect to my VNC server.


1. Port forwarding (secure shell tunneling): setup the connection to the firewall and open a local port that leads directly to the machine behind the firewall. Unlike on Windows, the Mac OS is fully capable of getting this business done. Just open a terminal and use the ssh command:

E.g. ssh -L 1234:machine_behind_firewall:23 username@firewall

2. Connect to the Linux box through the local port with the VNC viewer. There are several choices. Chicken of the VNC is famous but the latency is a bit too long and you run the risk of getting stuck in the full-screen mode. Try TightVNC or Vine instead.

That's it and you are all set to go.

Several VNC software:
RealVNC: www.realvnc.com/
TightVNC: www.tightvnc.com/
Vine: www.redstonesoftware.com/products/vine/

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大提琴歷險記

今天看了馬友友的表演（林肯中心，電視上現場轉播），順手查了一下他的資料。想不到之前他的寶貝大提琴還經過這麼驚險的一段冒險。


In Concert, Searchers Retrieve Yo-Yo Ma's Lost Stradivarius
Yo-Yo Ma, the world's most famous living cellist, could not have planned a more dramatic and nail-biting performance in New York City yesterday.

And an array of New Yorkers, including a phalanx of police officers and city officials and a cabdriver in Queens, could not have composed a more gracious reception: the safe return of his $2.5 million cello.

It was 1 P.M. when Mr. Ma, still exhausted from playing at Carnegie Hall on Friday night, got into a yellow cab at 86th Street and Central Park West, putting his 18th-century cello in the trunk.

But 18 minutes later, when he got out at the Peninsula Hotel on 55th Street, he forgot the cello.

''I made a stupid mistake,'' he said later at a news briefing on the steps of the Peninsula Hotel, ''and I just left without it.''

What followed -- an all-points search for the rare instrument -- was more Hollywood than Haydn.

All the thunderstruck musician had was the receipt for his ride, which had the taxi's medallion number on it, which he gave to hotel security officers.

They alerted the Midtown North precinct on West 54th Street, which put out an all-points bulletin to patrol cars around the city to hunt for the taxi. It also contacted the Mayor's office, which in turn called the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The commission sent its inspectors on the road to find the taxi.

Close to 3:30 P.M., the 108th Precinct in Long Island City, Queens, sent a patrol car to the taxi's home base, the Maria Cab Company on 44-07 Vernon Boulevard.

It just so happened that the taxi driver, Dishashi Lukumwena, was getting off work at 4 P.M.

With worried police officers and curious taxi drivers standing by, he opened his trunk. There was the rare instrument, in its oversize blue plastic case.

The Venetian cello, known as the Montagnana, was made in 1733 by Antonio Stradivari. Mr. Ma had instrument makers in London and Paris restore the bridge and the tailpiece of the cello, known for its spacious baritone sound.

As he said in February: ''I always felt a little bad putting the Strad under all this pressure, souped up for maximum horsepower. You're always trying to find the right way to make an instrument sing.''

Mr. Ma was the one singing yesterday, when the police called him at 4:15 to say that they had retrieved the cello safely, clearing the way for Mr. Ma's planned performance last night at the Anchorage, under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn.

And awaiting it eagerly, he was not alone. By 4:30 P.M., the Midtown North precinct was abuzz with television news crews. ''They have the cello,'' one reporter called out, as a police officer carried in the large case with its delicate cargo.

Meanwhile, a worried-looking Mr. Ma sat in the reception area of the Peninsula Hotel, wearing blue corduroys and a sweater and talking on a cellular phone.

Outside, the growing crowd was worthy of a Presidential motorcade. A horde of reporters, police officers, hotel security staff and gawking passers-by jammed 55th Street, with cars spilling into the intersection of Fifth Avenue.

''Who's coming?'' asked one woman, rolling down the window of her white Mercedes.

''The cello,'' someone in the crowd yelled back.

As Lieut. Keith Green carried the instrument out of a black police sedan, Mr. Ma addressed the crowd: ''I thought music was the glue that brought people together. But today, I think we are seeing some good examples of teamwork.''

He then thanked the rescuers.

When asked why such a famous musician was taking a mundane yellow cab, he responded: ''I'm like a regular person. I like to hear Jackie Mason tell me what to do.''

But Mr. Ma's sound is far more eloquent than the taped messages that plague New Yorkers.

One fan, Joan Bowden, who happened to be passing through the crowd, said: ''I've heard him play. It
will bring tears to your eyes.''

Source: The New York Times

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Apple Fifth Avenue Store

Finally got my first Mac laptop. It's a 13-inch MacBook with duo processors and 1 GB of RAM. Technically it's not my laptop, but my boss is generous enough to let me use it on a daily basis. I did fall in love with this MacBook instantly but it might still be long time before I transfer all my work to the Mac platform.

I remember the first day Apple opened its Fifth Ave store in 2006. It was already in late May but the chilly weather made people to don heavy coats still. The long line waiting to get into the store extended several blocks but it never stopped the avid Apple fans. A shiny glass cube about 30 feet tall stood about hundred yards in front of me. It was then it came to me why Steve Jobs said: “With outstanding service and an amazing location open 24 hours a day, the Apple Store Fifth Avenue is going to be a favorite destination for New Yorkers and people around the world.”


I dug out this old video from Apple Store Fifth Avenue. I was among this huge crowd swarming to be the first to see the Store. Time to find Waldo!

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Chade-meng

Chade-meng最近是網路上的大紅人，當然也是real world中的大紅人。這個人紅到什麼程度呢？看他跟Clinton、達賴喇嘛、卡特總統等人左擁右抱你就曉得了。難道他是哪一個不知名國家的總統嗎？？？

No, No, No! You are totally wrong!

Chade-meng是一位孤狗（Google）工程師，但是他獨特的氣質跟幽默感，使他在公司內廣受歡迎。從己年前卡特總統到訪孤狗，巧遇並與他合照之後，他已經從請名人讓他合照，變成每位到孤狗的名人都要找他合照，看來他已經變成孤狗的一項特色/旅遊景點。

延伸閱讀：
Chade-meng的好笑網站： http://www.serve.com/~cmtan/Meng/
他所有的名人照：http://picasaweb.google.com/chademeng
紐約時報故事：here

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Google Reader and my presentation...

Just watched this video on the Google Blog. What amazed me was not what Google Reader can do, but how the G boys totally revolutionized the way of presentation. When I was in college, not too many Profs. used PowerPoint in class. Students had to squint hard to see what the profs were showing. Hand-drawn tables and figures were rarely readable. Math equations? Forget about it! Power Point slides then became the main stream when I started grad school. You had to show cool graphics and animation to catch people's attention.

Now this whole thing is getting so retro. AND I LOVE IT! Next time I present to my boss I'll be bringing in pieces of paper and shove the figures across the table. I won't draw on the table though...

Back to the Google Reader... I don't think it really helps me to absorb information. Things are just piling higher and deeper... Hey, G Boys! Listen! You guys need to ORGANIZE INFORMATION. You need to do some serious clustering or stuff to help the users. Adding some on-line learning algorithm would be a nice way for the Google Reader to know how the user categorize/read things.

Watch the video below. EOF.



Souce: Find a needle in a feedstack by Google Reader

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剛到紐約的新生請注意！

剛到紐約的新生們，這是一個五光十色的大城市，不管你從哪邊來，請注意下面幾條注意事項，嚴格遵守：

紐約時報建議：
- Don’t fall asleep on the subway.
- Don’t drink too much beer and use the street as a toilet.
- Don’t ask a cabbie (or anyone else) to take you to “HUGH-ston” Street.
- Don’t play chess for money with the hustlers in Washington Square Park.
- Don’t try to swim in the river.
- Don’t count on following the highway signs to get to Yankee Stadium.
- Don’t spend money on condoms when the city gives them out for free.
- Don’t order bottled water.
- Don’t light up in a bar.

高登市民報建議：
- Don't sign up for free credit cards just for a t-shirt or potential airline miles.
- Don't go to clubs on the West Side - police raids and the like.
- Don't travel in huge packs and walk five people abreast.
- Don't confine yourself to the borough your school is in - visit others!
- Don't call subway lines by their colors.
- Don't fall for the You Broke My Glasses scam (when someone claims you broke something of theirs and they demand you pay for the goods)
- Don't go to chain restaurants when there are so many others out there (like why go to Pizzeria Uno when you can go to DiFara?)
- Don't be a Metrotard


延伸閱讀：
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/nyregion/30students.html
http://gothamist.com/2007/08/30/what_the_class.php

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走～投票去！

常坐地鐵嗎？相信大家一定對紐約的地鐵有許多不滿, 心中有股怨氣想要發洩. 現在是大家表達意見的時候了：紐約市捷運局(MTA)最近舉辦了乘客意見調查, 評估各條地鐵線服務的品質. 最新出爐的結果評估的不是別的, 正是台灣人可能最常坐的7 號線[註].




7號車得幾分呢？根據MTA發佈的成績單, 7號車的總成績是C-, 最差的幾項分別為Adequate room on board (D), Station announcements (D+), 以及Train announcements (D+). 我相信地鐵其他這麼多條線, 大概這幾項都不合格吧！這後兩項如果要合格, 我想首先就要請列車長們上車前把嘴巴裡的滷蛋吐掉,這樣你們宣佈列車動態才有人聽得懂啦～

下面十項是 7號車最需要改進的地方.
1. Adequate room on board at rush hour
2. Minimal delays during trips
3. Reasonable wait times for trains
4. Train announcements that are easy to hear
5. Station announcements that are easy to hear
6. Cleanliness of stations
7. Working elevators and escalators in stations
8. Sense of security on trains
9. Cleanliness of subway cars
10. Sense of security in stations

我覺得 7號車週末沒有特快車真的是很麻煩的一件事. 也因為如此, 我已經好久好久沒有去Flushing打牙祭了.

不多說了, 大家趕快去投票吧！1,2,3,4,5,6,7,A,B,C,D一直到Z都可以評喔！

相關連結：

紐約地鐵(MTA)

7號車成績單

紐約時報報導

投票連結：

中文

英文

其他語言

註：7號線的底站位於皇后區(Queens)的法拉盛(Flushing), 是一個許多台灣人聚集的地方, 也因此可以在那邊找到許多台灣美食/小吃. 前一站Shea Stadium是紐約大都會隊(Mets)的球場, 過個街就可以走到USTA National Tennis Center, 這幾天US Open在這邊打得很火熱呢.

New York. Subway.

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可愛的可樂廣告 + 紀錄片 + 小電影

再接下來看mini-movie...

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iPhone被破解了...

相信大家早就知道iPhone被破解了, 之前大家都得乖乖的用AT&T的網路, 現在你可以換到任何一家你想要的carrier了. George Hotz因為家裏用T-Mobile, 沒有辦法使用iPhone手機, 心有不甘, 這個暑假就花了上百小時研究, 找出了破解iPhone鎖碼的方法.

看報紙時得知George Hotz還只是高中生, 但是看到CNBC的訪問還真的是嚇了一大跳... 怎麼看起來這麼小？說他是小學生我也相信～

Anyway, 讓我們看看本尊吧！




註: 這位小天才暑假完就要去上大學了, 他要去的是Rochester Institute of Technology, 不知道他畢業前會不會又破解/發明了什麼東西...

相關連結:

George Hotz已經有Wikipedia介紹了: George Hotz

紐約時報的報導: With Software and Soldering, a Non-AT&T iPhone

iPhone的破解方法, 分成十幾篇寫的: George的blog

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Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Speech

Apple老闆許久之前對Stanford畢業生的演講，在這邊回味一下。

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

[…] Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

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Harder to find jobs for biologists

僧多粥少，誰可以拿tenure呢？

It's official: biology postgraduates in the United States face greater competition for tenure than ever before. A wealth of data released this month will reopen discussions about employment and training in the US biomedical system.

[...] the number of students in US graduate programmes in the biological sciences has increased steadily since 1966. In 2005, around 7,000 graduates earned a doctorate. But the number of biomedical PhDs with academic tenure has remained steady since 1981, at just over 20,000. During that period the percentage of US biomedical PhDs with tenure or tenure-track jobs dropped from nearly 45% to just below 30%. - Nature


原文：Nature News

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Wang's 15th Win

From Peter Abraham:

“This is like last year,” Wang said. “I feel much better. More confident.”

Remember that pitch that Posada missed in the fifth inning? It was a split-finger fastball. I didn’t even know Wang had that pitch.

“I threw it in the minors,” Wang said with a smile. “I still throw it sometimes.”

Said Posada: “That thing moved like a knuckeball. It wasn’t a bad pitch, I just didn’t catch it.

Sources:

• Yankees Pull A Fast Wang New York Post.
• Wang Gives Weary Yankees Exactly What They Need The New York Times.
• Wang returns to form at the right time Peter Abraham.

Chien-Ming Wang

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一週效率分析圖

再偷偷貼一張PhD Comics的漫畫.

剛好今天禮拜四有lab meeting, 不錯不錯, 果然工作效率很高.

聽說禮拜六要聚餐玩卡卡頌是吧？可以預期明天週末來臨前的工作效率～

老闆你趕快幫我改好paper吧～這樣我工作效率會更高的～

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Google 降低你的智商

商業週刊(Business Week)辯論：
Does the search engine make it so easy to get data that users forgo deeper study?





Source: here

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Motivation trending

Where exactly am I?



This chart is cut off for some reason. You should click on the image to see the entire trending (9 years? OMG!). Hopefully my career does not look anything like this.

Source: PhD comics

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原來bagel是麵包馬鐙啊～

老闆消失了一個月, 原來在維也納過逍遙的日子. 跟他一塊去的R 回來group meeting沒報告什麼正經事, 到放了幾張會場附近維也納廣場的照片.

大家七嘴八舌的討論維也納哪邊好玩, 突然老闆用他近視加老花的雙眼, 瞪著廣場照片, 問了今天meeting第一個問題: 「廣場中間那是什麼雕像？」


R的視力好的很, 照片看得一清二楚, 但是不敢得罪老闆, 小聲說道：「I think it's a horse and a general.」將軍加駿馬勾起了老闆的回憶, 老闆兩眼一亮, 篤定的說：「那一定是Prince Eugene! 他當初帶領軍隊擊退了土耳其人！」

這位Prince Eugene是誰啊？？？土耳其跟維也納有什麼關係啊？？？我歷史從來沒有好好念, 臉上頓時冒出三條小丸子麵線. 隔壁的兩位猶太人好像也不知道這位偉大的公子, 露出一臉茫然的表情.

原來古早以前, 土耳其還是偉大的顎圖曼帝國(Ottoman Empire), 勢力達歐亞非三大洲. 統治者曾經兩度攻打維也納, 第一次在1529年, 因為寒冬天氣惡劣不得不放棄. 第二次進攻發生在1683年(即有名的Battle of Vienna), 鄂圖曼派出14萬大軍圍城, 但是因為奧地利的友邦聯軍插手, 反遭到大敗, 也因此終止了鄂圖曼帝國在歐洲的擴張.

但是... 是Prince Eugene率領大軍的嗎？

波蘭裔的P 看不下去了, 開始嗆聲：「不是吧！！是波蘭王Sobieski帶領大軍的！是他拯救了維也納！」

OK, 當初波蘭、德國、奧地利三國一共派了七萬大軍來解救被圍的維也納, 波蘭王帶領大軍也不是什麼稀奇的事。

他繼續說道：「就是因為這場戰役，才有我們今天吃的bagel。」

啥？這是什麼推論啊？是因為為了打仗方便, 發明這種中間有一個洞, 可以用一根繩子串起十個, 方便拎著行軍殺敵的麵包嗎？

P 看大家下巴紛紛掉下, 趕快解釋, 因為維也納居民對波蘭王很崇拜與感激, 戰爭結束後軍隊勝利遊街時, 百姓爭先恐後要摸英勇波蘭王的馬鐙. 麵包師傅趁機開發出馬鐙形狀的麵包, 造成大暢銷, 流傳下來就變成今天我們吃的bagel了.


看來有這麼好吃又方便的bagel, 真的是又謝謝英勇的波蘭王囉...

註一：請不要問我甜甜圈是不是波蘭王發明的, 謝謝！

參考資料：
Prince of Eugene: here
Battle of Vienna: here

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Multi-touch interface

Low cost, scalable multi-touch sensing technology. Looks really awesome to me! If big interactive walls of such multi-touch panels can be built, it would be really great for data visualization and management. I guess one thing I'm skeptical about this technology is how it would work in the sweltering summer when your hands sweat so much and your fingers are so sticky to slide easily across the screen. But whatever, who cares? We are going to use it in well air-conditioned meeting rooms, right?

I haven't touched any of these multi-touch screens but I think this clip is definitely worth watching. Jeff Han is a research scientist at NYU. More information can be found at the bottom of the post. You can also visit SolarisLabs to see another type of technology that does not require you to touch the screen. A wave of the hand can handle the objects just as well!



The introduction by Jeff Han: here
The technology behind multi-touch sensing: here

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Wang's 13th win!

Chien-ming Wang's 13th win of the year!



Source: Wang brings a sense of relief. The Daily News

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Clocks - Coldplay

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How to steal the Harry Potter manuscript?

You have to scan the entire Harry Potter book and put it on the Internet before its release date. What should you do???

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Easy lunch

I'm totally sick of the food at the med center. I seriously doubt how people there can survive eating the same food over and over again. Famiglia pizzas, Wendy's, the Korean deli, Mike's bagel, it was basically my menu Monday through Friday during the past two years, with one random day spent at Subway, some Mexican deli, or Carrot Top. I'm not saying the food is lousy. But it's definitely time for a change.

For a long while, I managed to have lunch at home before coming in to the office. In the morning I would read papers and use VNC to work on my lab computer. But I've really got a lot of work to do lately and have to come in earlier in the morning. Sandwiches are now handy to me. See some basic sandwich recipes below:



Grilled Ham Sandwiches
INGREDIENTS:

* 1 red onion, sliced 1/4" thick
* 1 yellow onion, sliced 1/4" thick
* 1/2 lb. ham slices
* 2 Tbsp. honey
* 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
* 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
* 3 Tbsp. butter, softened
* 8 slices whole wheat bread
* 1/4 lb. Cheddar cheese, sliced

PREPARATION:
Preheat dual contact grill. Combine honey, Djon mustard, and thyme leaves. Brush on onion slices. Grill onion slices for 3-5 minutes until tender and marked with grill marks. Remove from grill and set aside.

Grill ham slices for 3-4 minutes until heated through. Spread butter on one side of each piece of bread. Make sandwiches with the grilled onions, ham, and cheese, assembling sandwiches with buttered side out. Grill each sandwich for 3-6 minutes until hot and cheese is melted. 4 sandwiches

Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
INGREDIENTS:

* 8 slices whole wheat bread
* 1/4 cup prepared pesto
* 8 thin slices mozzarella cheese
* 1 tomato, thinly sliced
* 8 thin slices Provolone cheese
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1/3 cup milk
* 1/8 tsp. white pepper
* 1 Tbsp. flour
* 3 Tbsp. cornmeal
* 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION:
Preheat dual contact grill, waffle maker, or panini maker. Spread one side of each slice of bread with pesto. Make sandwiches, enclosing a thin slice of tomato between two slices of cheese, one mozzarella and one provolone.

On shallow plate, beat eggs with milk and pepper.

On another shallow plate, combine flour, cornmeal, and Parmesan cheese. Dip sandwiches into egg mixture, then dip into flour mixture.

Cook for 4 minutes on grill until crisp and golden.

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Blueberry pie

從Ann Arbor採了好多好多的藍莓, 本來想說在BY家做果醬, 做個十瓶帶回來, 可是又怕坐飛機時果醬被沒收, 一猶豫之下果醬又沒有做了. 回到紐約打開一大袋的藍莓, 想說這麼多藍莓一定夠做果醬, 結果沒想到我一邊查做法, 一邊吃著藍莓, 等到食譜查到時, 藍莓已經沒有剩那麼多了...

查果醬做法的時候看到了這個藍莓派的食譜, 雖然這次的藍莓幾乎都跑到肚子裡, 沒有辦法做派了, 我還是在這邊把食譜貼上來, 下次有機會再做一個新鮮的藍莓派...

Filling ingredients:
3 pints of blueberries, cleaned and stems removed
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (for thickening)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Egg wash ingredients:
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk

1 Prepare crust. If you have made dough, on a lightly floured work surface, roll out half of the dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle, about 13 inches in diameter. Drape dough over a 9-inch pie pan and put into the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes. If you have purchased frozen pre-rolled circles, allow them to defrost and place one of the circles on and in the pie pan.

2 Whisk egg and milk together to make an egg wash and set aside.

3 Combine blueberries, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and sugar and place in the chilled bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot the top with butter pieces. Roll out the remaining dough to the same size and thickness. Brush the rim of the crust with the egg wash, place the other piece of dough on top, trim to 1/2 inch over the edge of the pan, and crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator to chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425°F.

4 Remove from refrigerator. Brush the top with egg wash. Score the pie on the top with two perpendicular cuts (so steam can escape while cooking). Bake for 20 minutes at 425°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more or until juices are bubbling. Let cool before serving.

Source
Related: blueberry picking

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Blueberry picking

Where to pick blueberries?

We went to Dexter Blueberry Farm, a U-Pick blueberry farm. They provide buckets. Call ahead of time before going, since you want to go on a day when the crop is good. A bucket of blueberries was about 4 dollars.

Location:
Dexter Blueberry Farm
11024 Beach Rd.
Dexter, MI
(734) 426-2900


View Larger Map

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Ann Arbor Art Fair

Art Fair是Ann Arbor這個小鎮一年中最盛大的活動了. 平時平靜的小鎮, 一下子湧入了人潮, 為的就是參與全美最大的戶外藝術展覽. 超過1,200位藝術家帶著他們的talent與作品, 讓Ann Arbor增色了不少.

這是我第一次到Ann Arbor, 雖然居住在紐約, 之前從來也沒有去過規模這麼大的藝術展. 這邊數不清的作品都充滿了藝術家的創意與巧思, 有抽象的作品, 寫實的攝影, 也有實用的室內裝飾. 藝術家們都很和善與健談. 我們到每一個有興趣的棚子內, 跟藝術家們問東問西. 記得有位藝術家做彩繪玻璃, 一次平行設計將近三十片件作品, 每件作品都經過七到八次的過火(firing), 一次要創作這麼多件作品, 看來除了要有設計的美感, 記憶力也是要超強.

這麼傳神的金屬網人偶, 是用蠟先做出人像, 再把金線銀線慢慢纏繞上去, 最後用熱把蠟融掉做出來的.

宮廷的小丑, 相當的「高貴」喔！



這邊大部分的藝術品都很有「價值」, 像我們這種窮學生大概只能花十幾塊買塊Motawi精美磁磚(Ann Arbor高級磁磚)帶回家做紀念.

可愛貓咪專門店

明年再會囉！

官方網站:

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Silent Hands Behind the iPhone

台灣上紐約時報(New York Times)的次數屈指可數, 最近好不容易因為Apple的iPhone熱潮, 搶到了一篇business版, 介紹台灣這個小島國在科技上的成就. 文中除了提到製造組裝iPhone的公司(鴻海, 廣達)外, 也介紹了其他幾家台灣的通信系統商, 以及台灣的競爭策略.

雖然產品在世界上佔有率很高, 跟韓國比其來, 台灣的廠牌在世界上其實能見度還是很低. 就算產品是自己設計, 掛原公司的牌子, 而不是代工製造, 一般人還是不知道他們買的優良產品是台灣做的. 另外坦白說, 沒有人會因為ipod, PDA, 或laptop是台灣製造的, 就認為台灣是一個強國, 台灣還要加把勁, 才能得到更多的國際知名度跟尊敬.

紐約時報原文

相關廠商:
Hon Hai
Quanta
D-Link
Garmin
Mitac
BenQ
Acer

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Parkour

Always wanted to finish posting this one but never got time to get to it...

Parkour is a form of "urban gymnastics" and has certainly made some noise lately in the US. It's kind of like doing the stunts we all are very familiar with in Hong Kong movies. The "traceurs" can throw themselves into walls and somehow move into a completely different direction with a kick of the foot. They can jump off from 5 stories high and land on the ground in one piece like a cat. Not to mention their creative ways to overcome obstacles to get to their destinations (the spirit of parkour: command and discipline oneself to move from point A to point B as efficiently and quickly as possible). My friend LS always wanted to do this. Actually there are now training sessions in several cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. And some are even on campus. You can read this New York Times article for more details.

This is the famous video:


And here you can read about the physics.

Disclaimer:
Parkour can be a dangerous activity. There are inherent risks in any physical activity, and Parkour is no exception. I do NOT encourage the practice of Parkour by an average person like you and me.

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渴望 iPhone

我並不是一個蘋果迷. 可是iPhone的設計實在令人嘆為觀止, 也難怪Apple各旗艦店在iPhone上市時會大排長龍.

David Pogue是紐約時報的專欄作家, 每週都以幽默的文筆報導最新的科技動態. 最近這篇video報導裡, Pogue 獻聲唱出他多麼地渴望iPhone.

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Piano Man - Billy Joel

One of my favorite songs.

Piano Man - Billy Joel

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says, "Son, can you play me a memory?
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes"

La la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

Chorus:

Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone

Chorus

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

Chorus

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Biking in New York City

買腳踏車也一陣子了. 之前一直以為紐約市這個都市叢林裏面, 騎腳踏車是件很危險的事情. 後來發現市政府其實有完整地規劃腳踏車道, 只要沿著曼哈頓島周圍的腳踏車道, 基本上都是很安全的. 沿著腳踏車道可以帶你去許多曼哈頓著名景點, 在此我稍稍介紹一下.



學校附近Riverside park是一個理想的入口. 往北邊可以騎到華盛頓橋(George Washington Bridge)下的小紅燈塔(Little Red Lighthouse), 假如有興趣, 可以轉到橋上往紐澤西行, 去Fort Lee買東西或到Palisade park玩. 假如想留在曼哈頓島上, 可以繼續騎到Cloisters Museum, 這是大都會博物館的一個分館, 主要是中世紀的修道院古文物. 往南的話, 可以先騎到七十九街的船塢(boat basin), 這是電影電子情書(You've got mail)中Tom Hanks跟他老爸在船上討論人生大事的地方. 往下再繼續騎會經過網球場、籃球場、棒球場跟足球場, 來到夏天每個禮拜可以賞夕陽看電影的河濱碼頭.

基本上循著這條環島的腳踏車道, 可以帶你到曼哈頓南邊許多的景點. 假如有興致, 體力又不錯, 不彷騎到South Street的渡輪碼頭, 每天定時都有免費的渡輪可以載你去Staten Island. 渡輪的中層可以讓乘客牽腳踏車進入. 開往Staten Island的途中可以觀賞海景以及著名的自由女神像, view絕對不輸花五六十塊才坐得到的商業渡輪.




相關聯結:
Staten Island 渡船:
時刻表
渡輪資訊

Staten Island 棒球場: 咱們王建民之前小聯盟就是在這邊投的.
http://www.siyanks.com/

紐約腳踏車道路線圖:
page 1 page 2

有一個腳踏車友網站定期會組織腳踏車出遊, 接下來最近一次是7月29日, 到Harlem Valley鄉間小徑享受自然風光. 路程分為20, 55, 75, 跟100 miles四組. 有興趣請參考下面連結.
http://www.bikenewyork.org/

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Ichiro at All-Star Game

Ichiro's first inside-the-ballpark home run.
Pretty amazing and ruined it for the National League...

BTW, I love the swimming doggie...

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Wang's 9th win!

It's beeeen hot lately. This afternoon we went to root for Wang. With the help from GL, we got tickets on ebay for two fantastic seats behind the home plate (well, still some distance from the top, but the view was great!!). The best thing about these seats is that we were sitting underneath the roof and the shadow kept us from being scorched by the sun. The temperature was about 95 degrees, you can imagine how those people sitting under the sun felt, sweating and crying for water (well, beer actually, spend 8 bucks for one Becks!!!).

With the loss yesterday after the extra inning efforts, we thought the Yanks would be pretty tired and frustrated today. Losing so many games must have worn out their spirits. But the game turned out to be totally different. First inning, with two men on base, Matsui clubbed a home run and gave the Yankees an early big lead. Wang wasn't steady in the beginning but somehow managed to strike out two batters and allowed no runs.


A-Rod and Cano followed Matsui and hit two three-run homers in the fourth. Such a big lead actually made me lose focus a little bit and I started to wonder when the Angels would get a hit and make it to first base. Throughout, there were only five sporadic hits today and brought me the only disappointment of this afternoon: there were not double plays for Wang because there were not many people on base!!! And the ground balls he induced were way too easy for Jeter to handle. I was waiting for Jeter's jump and making a perfect throw the first base. Regardless, the Yankees won and closed their gap with the Red Sox to a mere 10 games (look how happy I am). Keep up the good work! Take some good rest during the All-Star week! I'm still hoping the Yanks can make it to the playoff and eventually win a number 27!!!

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100 Years - Five for Fighting

I'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
I'm 22 for a moment
She feels better than ever
And we're on fire
Making our way back from Mars
15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live
I'm 33 for a moment
Still the man, but you see I'm a they
A kid on the way
A family on my mind
I'm 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I'm heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life
15 there's still time for you
Time to buy, Time to lose yourself
Within a morning star
15 I'm all right with you
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live
Half time goes by
Suddenly you’re wise
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on...
I'm 99 for a moment
Dying for just another moment
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
15 there's still time for you
22 I feel her too
33 you’re on your way
Every day's a new day...
15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to choose
Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

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Superman - Five for Fighting

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