Did anyone else see/hear lightning/thunder (at around 3am)? At first I heard some rain that I thought might be sprinklers. Then I swear I heard thunder.. Turned the lights off and sure enough saw a flash of light before another roaring boom…!

The weather is certainly not boring this week..

(Yes I’m up late.. this is fairly normal for me lately.)

I’m sure everyone knows about this already but in case you’re like me and don’t pay attention… here’s the latest from the official website.

I assumed it would be closed only for 3 days because it was supposed to be “over labor day weekend”, but it’s actually going to be closed from Thursday, Sept 3 to Tuesday, Sept 8, almost 5 days.

Judging from last time, I’d assume that to be an overestimate and for them to be done before the 8th.

(Ironically, I can’t remember what “last time” is, but I remember them finishing way earlier than the estimate)

erm.. Today:

1. went to Roy’s for lunch to try the annual dine about town in SF,

2. worked in a cafe that had really bad ergonomics (chair was too high for the table) so now my back hurts from hunching over to use my laptop (for 4 hours),

3. watched up (brought the 3d glasses home :p), and

4. met up with a really old friend (elementary school)! [who told me about putting the glasses together to see the polarization so now I want to do that too]  stupid ochem – the first thing I thought of about the glasses was the D & L configurations  so I didn’t even think about putting them together!

There. =)

Self-explanatory…

http://coupon.hangintherejack.com/fry-drink.php

As an addendum to my last post, I’m including some pictures I took for the 228 memorial park in Chiayi. I have pictures of the one in Taipei as well, but I know there are plenty of those out there! =)

I liked the park, even though it felt pretty run-down.  First thing was the museum:

With it’s nifty sign (it’s directly across from the entrance shown in the first photo).

Next, the Totem Pole (it was in the middle of the museum (there was a small courtyard):

With an explanation of the different parts on the pole printed on the glass inside the museum… Sorry, you’ll have to zoom in or squint or something.

This is what the pole looks like from the other side of that gate:

Here’s another view  of it (through the other main structure in the park).

Now for a close-up of the deer in the previous picture..

They’re drinking water which is the source of a mini-waterfall (which doesn’t exist b/c park maintenance decided to shut down that mechanism):

The deer is framed in the back by some sort of arched and curved structure that towers over everything… here’s a close-up of it…

And.. that’s enough for the bombardment of pictures.  Hope you enjoyed them. There are a few more on my flickr page but those are the main ones.

February 28, 1947 was the catalyst for uprisings against the corrupt Chinese government in Taiwan.  Uprisings which were later suppressed brutally and which began decades of martial law and the period known as the “White Terror”.

For more on the history, please visit this site.

In the interest of completeness, I looked up a few articles on the events this year:

1. report from India – only “foreign” report I could find, added for perspective’s sake.

2. sit-in rally – group of people made the words “do not forget 228″ in Liberty Square.

3. Tsai’s Criticisms, Lin Criticisms, Civic Truth Group- a couple articles with criticisms of Ma and his actions/lack of action.  The civic truth group article is more of a plea to open KMT party files on 228-related cases.

4. Ma’s promises – an article reporting Ma’s promise to restore funds and probe 228 cases.  I only included one because they’re all about the same.  If #2 is any indication, it looks like a reaction to the criticism on a crucial day.  And possibly a reaction to the heckling during his speech.  We’ll see if he follows through.

5. 2 day conference – commemorating the 62nd anniversary

6. historical bias – accusations of historical bias about the incident, though it seems the guy is pretty biased himself.

#6 is ironic because history is inherently biased.  History is basically the telling of a story (His+story?), and every story has a side.. there’s really no such thing as un-biased history… You could accuse people of biased reporting of an event.  Or untruths in the story or specific accounts… but a “biased history” is really just stating the obvious.

… someone puts a smile on your face.”

Is it odd that I always associate that sentence with random strangers?

I can certainly see it applied to friends making you smile, but when I read that, my first thought is of encounters with random strangers.

Does that mean my friends don’t make me smile, or that I’m already smiling all the time so they don’t have to? I can’t always be smiling, can I?

Or maybe it’s because it’s unexpected from a stranger so I remember it better?

What do you think of when you read that?

I’ve been eating Lunchables lately when I either don’t feel like cooking or I’m too hungry to wait till I finish making something.  I bought a bunch on sale at Safeway for $1 each… that hasn’t happened in years!

Long story short, I went online to look for info and came across the yelp page.  Who knew they had a page devoted to Lunchables?!  I sure didn’t.

The reviews made me sad because it seems most of the negative comments were written by people who’ve never had them.  And what kind of review is “no”?

There were two main points which I’ll address:

Low Nutritional Value

I agree about the new pizza/taco ones.  They stepped over the line when they added those.  Addding a capri sun, and dessert, ok.. but cold pizza and tacos?  You could get real ones that taste way better and is more filling for the same money.

The original ones, on the other hand, have decent nutrition – carbs, dairy/calcium, and meat/protein.  That’s three of the food groups.  Compare that with pb & j – carbs, some protein (peanut-), oils (-butter), sugar (jelly), and a tiny bit of fruit (or the flavor).  hmm.

That’s an obvious choice for me…I think of lunchables as portable ham/turkey and cheese sandwiches.. except more fun and less soggy.

Bad Parenting

Let’s be realistic.. “bad” parents who would rather spend $4-5 on Lunchables than make their kid a sandwich, would probably also just give them money (which they’ll spend on soda and chips).  Considering the alternative, I think Lunchables are preferable.  Don’t blame the product for human fallacies.

However, it’s a good point.  I applaud the guy whose parents made lunch with them, but..

I was under the impression that parents made lunch FOR their kids (rather than WITH).  In that case, it would be bonding time gained because they can read a story to their kids before going to bed instead of being in the kitchen making sandwiches.

Other thoughts on Lunchables (and disclaimer)

1. They’re way overpriced.  As a kid, I knew not to ask for it unless it was $1 or less.  You can make a real sandwich complete with lettuce for less than their original price.   It’s really a trade-off between convenience and value. Convenience wins when it’s on sale.

2. They’re overrated.  You can make your own with ritz crackers, cheese, and lunchmeats.. and there’s no limit on how much of each you can get.  Again, trade off is convenience/time.. it takes time to cut the cheese and meat, and there’s no easy way to pack it for school.

Just noticed the new feature on wordpress… very nice, but not so useful at this point considering how few comments I’ve been getting!

It would have been great back when I first started this blog.  Neverthless, I’ve decided to activate it just in case my blog gets busy again (right, in forever and a day).

Oh and you might have noticed that my blog has turned pink.  What is that supposed to indicate if I prefer pink to the other colors..? other than that I’m being girly. :p

On another note, resolutions have been a bust but that’s ok they’re only really guidelines.  I don’t consider it failing if i don’t accomplish it every day, since that’ll just make me give up.

Besides, bedtimes take a while to reset.. especially when you occasionally have sleepless nights.  And the flickr update has been a few pictures rather than a whole album because I feel like I’m starting to run out of pictures.. haha

I know, boring post.  Hopefully the next one will be slightly more interesting.  For once I know what it’s going to be about!

I just found this group on flickr.  It’s specific to SF but after looking at the photos on there, I think it could be specific to any city you’re in.

Anyway, I just thought it was a nice idea to capture your city in ways most people don’t think about/notice.  It’d be a good project someday. =)