Homeless blog

I moved again

2006-05-18T23:13:00.000-04:00

Guys, I moved again. This time, it's a Sina blog. The link is here:

http://mrhenryko.mysinablog.com/index.php

Please update your bookmarks and RSS accordingly. Thank you. And sorry for the frequent changes...

New blog probation...

2006-05-13T11:43:00.000-04:00

Starting today, I will start blogging at my new blog here.

See how much you guys like it, and let me know later.

Enjoy!

True taste of life...

2006-05-13T00:20:00.000-04:00

As most of my fds know, I am a wine lover. Not an alcoholic, but a lover. I used to drink a lot. Lots of beer, wine and hard liquor.

But then I came across this article recently, which talks about the tasting of wine. This got me thinking, what kinds of tastes do I look for in wine? Why do I enjoy wine so much? Is it the alcohol that I like? Is it the symbol of knowledge of how much I know about wine in front of other ppl that I like?

Well, I will have to say, NO.

I didnt drink as much as I used to now. Believe it or not I still got bottles of wine stacked away in my living room. If I like wine just for the alcohol, why dont I just keep drinking anyway?

Then it got me realize, it's not the wine that I love, it's the lovely time that I truely enjoy while poping out a bottle of wine with fds that makes me enjoy wine so much.

Time just flew by so fast, as I realize it. It's been a few yrs since my undergrad convocation. 90% of my fds already left. Most of them going back home for jobs. That makes me having fds in every corner of the world. However, right here, at the city that I am living in right now, I have to say, I am kinda lonely.

My routine each day is to wake up in a hurry, rush myself to school, working on my research. Worrying about deadlines, exploring new areas for research, or dipping deeper into a state-of-the-art area. I am all surrounded by work. I dont get so much social life as I used to have anymore. Is it sad?

Well, it's yes and no. Yes becuz I have to work so hard everyday, almost seemingly losing the point on why I work so much. And no becuz I convinced myself that all this hard work I put in now, will repay me in the near future.

So, when I drink wine now, the different tastes will relate to my wonderful life as a flashback.

The bitterness reminds me of the sad childhood, and the struggling life as a student.

The sourness makes me realize the lonely life I have here.

The sweetness brings back all the happy memories that I experience.

The tartness recalls the difficulties to live in the cruel reality.

The complexity jogs my memory on the level of success I am at now.

And the alcohol gives me hope to my future!

So, wut tastes do you find in the little glass of wine in your hand?

Wut messages does that bottle of wine trying to tell you?

Listen hard next time, my fds.

When will summer come?

2006-05-12T09:56:00.000-04:00

It was so nice and warm (high of around 22) in the beginning of the week, so, i decided I should start putting out my winter clothings and wash all my jackets so that I can hide them in the closet.

But man, starting Wednesday night, suddenly the temperature comes down again. And now, I am seriously hesitating whether I should bring my jackets back out...

I hate this kind of weather! Why cant it be summer already?

BTW, seems no one really cares where I am gonna put my blog. In that case, I will take my time to decide whether to actually move to Wretch....

Time to move again?

2006-05-08T17:12:00.000-04:00

I just wanna have a survey to all my friends, about wut do you guys think if I move my blog.

Well, it's a tough decision. So I wanna see how much it's gonna affect my fds first.

The blog that I will move to is this here.

Let me kinda show the comparison for the two blogging platforms:

Bloggers:

Support javascripts, so that i can put so many fancy stuff, such as the clock, the flickr badge and Adsense on my blog. Friends already know the place, and the RSS feed too.

Wretch (my new blog):
Has comment RSS, photo album RSS, has category, has photo album, has guestbook. background music (although i probably wont use it), but since i cant put javascript, the blog wont be fancy. haha

Both the same:
Anyone can comment, I can still put pics, and embedded videos on blogs. Still have RSS Feed thru feedburner.

What do you guys think? Please leave me comment to let me know.

OMG...No wonder driving on road is more dangerous than flying a plane...

2006-05-08T15:52:00.000-04:00

Well, it's a relaxing afternoon, so I get the chance to read my RSS feeds in a little bit more detail, and that's y I came across this news about ppl driving in the UK.

Source: Engaget

As we all know, european are so high tech that most of their cars are equipped with GPS, which is supposed to be a good thing, right? until ppl actually trust their GPS more than their eyes!

"In the most recent case, drivers passing through the village of Luckington have found themselves landing in the River Avon, by following a GPS-recommended route that pointed to a bridge that has been closed for a week. Despite warning signs on both sides of the road, and nothing but water straight ahead, local villagers have found themselves pulling an average of two cars a day out of the river for the past week. "

Oh, come on! Ppl actually drive onto a river even if there is no road just becuz the GPS told them to do so? No wonder studies say driving on road kills more ppl than airplane accidents...

PS. On a side note, the new here shows how the GPS on a Land Rover can actually be used to fly a plane! Neat, eh?

Work over...For 2 days

2006-05-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

Finally, I finished the paper, and submitted to a conference.

Right after I finished my comprehensive exam, without rest, I was hurried since thursday to finish this paper, which has a submission deadline on Monday 9am EST. And now, I finally finished it. It's not the best paper I wrote, since I am already too tired to pick out the numerous mistake I made while writing the detail technical paper. But at least the quality of it is acceptable. So I think I should be happy about it...

Now that my exam is over, and this paper is done, I finally get 2 full days of holiday when I am ordered not to think about work at all. So now, in the next two days, I just need to use my mind to deal with all the minor things in my life. That includes: going to the dentist for routine check up. Cleaning up my apartment (I cant stand the bathroom anymore), tiding up my computer, possibly changing the layout of my blog, and handles stuff about my bank accounts.

Seems like it wont be a free holiday after all. But hey, at least I dont have to use my brain so much.

If you guys see this blog, and think u can have free time to meet me, drop me a msg or give me a call, since finally I will have time to meet friends in the next 2 days!

It's May, the departure season again...

2006-05-06T01:11:00.000-04:00

Well, it's that time of the year again: Beginning of May, or I usually call: The departure season.

It's the beginning of May, when exams finish, and ppl are leaving the school to go home, or summer jobs, or interns. For some, it's just a temporary departure. They are leaving to gain more work experience, and life experience. But then for others, it may not the case.

Undergrad, usually a four year experience, during when you will suffer from being tortured by tedious homework and nerve racking exams. But it's also in these four years, you usually meet some of your best friends, who you'd think the friendship is gonna last forever.

That's y, when May arrives, when ppl finish their undergrad, and head to the cruel real world, they will realize how hard it is to get the same pure friendships you had with ur fds in school. You realize how easy it was to just need to spend 3-4 days studying for an exam, instead of working in an office everyday trying to fix some real problems.

Being an oversea student myself, I am lucky to be able to meet so many fds from all parts of the world. Although we may not be able to meet each other and help each other as we are all apart, we still share experiences, and joy once in a while thru the occasion MSN chat or email.

I really hope I can visit all of my friends more often, sharing my experiences, or even lend my helping hands in cases when I can be of use. Afterall, I wont be in the position I am in now if not becuz there were so much help, trust, believes and supports from all of my friends.

Thank you all!

Time for the beautiful Sakura

2006-05-05T12:34:00.000-04:00

Source: Torontonist

It's spring time again, and it's time to watch the beautiful Sakura boom in TO!

But then again, it's spring time again, and it's allergy season!

This allergy thing already brought me enough trouble during my comprehensive, since i was sneezing, tearing, running nose all the time, which makes me super hard to concerntrate on reading. Now that my exam is over, the allergy also gets worse, and now I even get headaches from time to time...

I've been taking Claritin, and seems it's not working very well. Any suggestions?

Getting rich...

2006-05-04T15:08:00.000-04:00

Anyone wanna start your own company? While u use your current job as the launchpad?

Here is a link that teaches you how to use ur existing salary as seed money, ur existing boss as ur business partner, ur existing company as customer.

Read it, you'll be amazed!

Source:Business2.0

Guys night out!

2006-05-04T15:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday night was soooooooooo good.

I passed my exam, and have a guys night out, with Ricky and Jerome.

It's been a long time since the last time we three sat together and enjoy a bottle of nice wine alone.

And when ended up happening?

We talk, and talk, and talk, and talk........

Haha. it's guys night out, of cuz we talked about EVERYTHING. Jobs, marriage, economy, engineering, grad school, high tech, stock, futures.....everything!

And man. how I would love to do that more often....

It all pays off

2006-05-03T21:07:00.000-04:00

I am back!!

Probably you guys noticed that I didnt post anything at all for the last two wks, which is pretty weird considering how often I update my blog.

And Now, I AM BACK!

The last two wks were horrible. I wasnt eating enough becuz I always forgot to eat while reading. I wasnt sleeping well since I lost track of time to study. I wasnt relaxed at all from all the pressure and tension from the exam. And worst yet, I wasnt breathing well becuz spring is here, and my allergy is now back.

I shoulda taken a photo of my room yesterday night b4 the exam, since IT WAS A MESS! I got books lying on the desk, on the bed, and on the floor. I got clothes lying on the chair, on the desk, on the bed, and on the floor. My room has never been so untidy b4, but hey, it's the exam, I pretty much ignore everything else in my life for the past two weeks.

But thanks to the help from all my friends, and thanks to the pressure that my boss gave me, and thanks to the support all my friends gave me, I am pleased to say that:

I PASS THE EXAM!!!!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really, thanks everyone!

Studying, starting today...

2006-04-18T17:17:00.000-04:00

Switching off research mode....

Swtiching on full-power study mode (or nerd mode)...

As of today, I will be studying mad like an undergrad preparing for an exam. The only difference is: I need to refresh my mind on all the stuff that I studied in undergrad a few years ago in two wks.

As I dont have the leisury to think about retaking the exam, I will need 200% of my energy for the comprehensive exam.

Wish me luck!

Robot giving birth?!

2006-04-17T22:27:00.000-04:00

Ever thought about robot giving birth? I mean like robot adult giving birth to robot babies?

Take a look at this:

"The robot, named Noelle, is a life-sized blond mannequin that costs $20,000 and simulates the pertinent vital signs and exports of a pregnant woman, including blood, urine and a baby. Even the baby simulates vital signs, and can change colors from pink to blue to signify oxygen deficiency."
Source: Engaget

So dont worry, we will not be invaded by robots just like wut you see in movies like iRobot, well, at least not yet...

說說自己

2006-04-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

Look back at my recent posts on the blog, I realize that they are all about some interesting news, and nothing personal. Maybe it's time to talk about myself now, so that everyone knows that I am still here, instead of having some automatic blog program to generate those blog entries...

忙了兩個多月了, 自從二月開始起, 我的工作量就一直有增無減. 但是productivity 卻又是出奇的低, 因為就是有太多不同的東西要做, 所以到最後卻只能做好一, 兩件事情. 朋友們都問我什麼時候有空吃飯, 出來TO 走一走, take a break, 就連亨利妹妹也說很久不見, 我的生活是不是真的太忙了點?

Lemstra 對我說過: You know wut problem you have, Henry? You dont know how to say NO!

是嗎? 可能是吧, 想起老闆總會對我說: Henry, I dont wanna overload you. 或是, Henry, I know you are busy, 又或是, Henry, I know your time is precious...

但為何我總是不會和他說, yeah, I am busy, so just leave me alone!

所以到最後, 我還是有堆積如山的工作.

人們說: 能者多勞. 所以我其實也不介意太多工作, 只是看看自己在這麼多的工作之中, 大部份都要花很多精神和時間去完成, 又或是完成不了, 所以也令得我開始壞疑自己的工作能力. 是我太累了嗎?

我的comprehensive exam 快來了, 我想, 只要我能成功的pass 了那個exam, 我的心境會變得好一點, 會對自己找回多點信心吧!

Wish me luck, my friends!

Chinglish!!

2006-04-16T13:57:00.000-04:00

According to this news on Yahoo.HK, there will be over 1 million recognized english words in the fall this year. And among them, 20% of the words will be "Chinglish": english words that are translated according to chinese pronounciation. some examples are:

kung fu = 功夫
wonton = 雲吞
drink tea = 飲茶
kweerboy = 基佬

Man, should we be pround about the use of Chinglish?

And while we are at it, why dont people include instant message based english? Some examples are:

ppl = people
lol = lots of laugh
wtf = wut the fxxk
nvm = nevermind
88 = bye bye

in this case, there will be well over 1 million words in the english dictionary! haha

PS. Thx Souffle for the link...

Foam Test

2006-04-15T23:57:00.000-04:00

Without further ado, i introduce you to this link to see what will happen if a foam test goes wrong!

Source: Cellar.org

It's hilarious!!!

Wut a pity cat...

2006-04-14T12:52:00.000-04:00

Go here to see this pity cat...

Image Festival 2006

2006-04-13T16:30:00.000-04:00

For anyone who has time to enjoy the long wkend, here is something that may interest you:

It's the imagine festival organized in Toronto! So if you love taking snapshots using the crappy camera in your cellphone, or taking pro pics using high-end expensive gadgets, probably you dont wanna miss this!

The power of high-tech companies

2006-04-13T16:23:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder how big companies can actually affect your lives? or better said, ever realize that a big company, especially high-tech co. can influence how a town, or a city look?

Well, here is an example. As everyone know Nokia, based in Finland, is the leader in cellphone technologies. And one way the company influences the town where they based at, is to give out cellphone to all its employees according this this news from the globe and mail.

Another example about how big high-tech companies can affect a city is San Jose, CA, USA. It's considered as one of the most high-tech cities in the world, just because giant companies like Microsoft, Intel, Google, AMD are all based there, providing cheap and available access to cutting-edge technologies for the community.

So, next time you buy something, you may wanna consider the geographical location of the brand name that you are supporting. Who knows, if you support them enough to make them big, they may give something back to the community in the future!

I love this issue of Dilbert

2006-04-12T14:39:00.000-04:00

Sudoku

2006-04-11T15:06:00.000-04:00

I heard about Sudoku for a while now, and I noticed that students in HK are going crazy about that. I never understood why it was so popular, since I really had no mood to try something that's so much math.

But today, as I was enjoying my crappy lunch in the office, i realize that I actually have a Sudoku widget in my Mac OS. So, well, since I dont wanna work during lunch, I may as well just do something that looks interesting to so many ppl.

It turns out, it's not so math after all. It's all about begin logical and carefulness and patient. And it is actually quite fun when I can actually learn to solve a puzzle in medium level in 20 mins the first time I actually tried it.

So from now on, I guess I have one more thing to entertain myself during lunch!

PS. For free Sudoku puzzle, go here, and go crazy!

你的邏輯性強嗎？

2006-04-10T02:35:00.000-04:00

你的邏輯性強嗎？如有興趣, 來做這個測驗吧！不過提醒你, 問題挺tricky 的. 幸好, 我的result 是:

0-13分者为优秀（上限10％）；14－19分者为良好（20％）；20－25分者为中等（30％）；26－48分者为不佳（下限40％）。你的分数是8分，属于优秀。

厲害吧?!

Dinner with old friends

2006-04-09T23:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I can find the time to go to TO, so, when I mentioned I will come out to some old friends, I really appreciate that they also tried their best to meet me while I am out.

This time, the old friends that I met were Christine, Edwin and Evan. The last time I saw them was definitely over half a year. So, when we got together, it's non-stop talking!

It feels so nice to catch up with old friends, especially knowing that they are having some good news: preparing to get married! I am really happy for them, although at the same time, I kinda wonder about myself too...When can I get out of here?!

I am really happy for Christine and Edwin, since ever since I got to know them well, they are already together, and they can stay together for so long, despite any problems happened in the mean time. But this just shows how much they are meant for each other!

Congratulations, my friends! Just dont forget to send me the "red bomb" to the wedding party!

Bio-batteries

2006-04-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

From Business2.0, some MIT researchers have introduced a way to alter the gene of virus in order to make tiny batteries in the nanometer scale. This means that we may have longer lasting batteries for our future, more sophisticated mobile devices, or battery powered devices like electric cars, or even planes. Think of the possibilities!!

Link