Leslie Ruo's Blog

Victoria Day 2016

2016-05-23T19:02:00.001-07:00

The Ohio Buckeye blossoms are early this year. Not much from the Thunderchild crabapple and the Heyer 12 apple has no blossoms at all. The Norland apple had some blossoms earlier.

Continued on formosa228.blogspot.ca

2015-07-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

New postings are found at http://formosa228.blogspot.ca/.

CBC Museum

2015-07-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

We were taking a picture with Glenn Gould when a CBC employee invited us into the studio to take a look at the live Pan Am coverage. It brought back a lot of great childhood memories when we went to the museum. We also saw Canada beat USA in Men's Basketball on their big screen! Thanks CBC!

Jon Kimura Parker - Fantasy

2015-03-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

This CD arrived today. It has my favorite solo piano work on it - Schumann's Opus 17 Fantasie. I shall add this recording to to put along side Curzon, Anda, Pollini, Perahia and Tryon as versions to set aside as my favorites. It is beautifully recorded. There is not a hint of percussiveness at all! Jon Kimura Parker won the 1984 Leeds Competition - the only Canadian to have ever done so. As a high school student, I remember seeing a clip on CBC news of the end of the Beethoven 4th piano concerto which he played in his winning effort. Parker is on the Faculty of Rice University. Lin Cho-liang happens to be on the faculty there too. Must be a great music school to go to! Now, Colin Zelt, who helped me out in grad school is also at Rice University.

HP Pavilion 500 Reformatting

2015-03-06T18:56:00.003-08:00

When I tried to reinstall Windows 8 on an HP Pavilion 500 Desktop with the restore DVDs I created with the Cyberlink software that came with the PC, it would give me a read error on DVD 4. I managed to restore the computer to Windows 8 from the restore partition, but it would not update to Windows 8.1.

I tried again tonight, but the problems started. The UEFI BIOS wouldn't let me change the boot order even after I disabled secure login (I couldn't access the legacy boot items like DVD-ROM, Primary HD etc). I also got an error message when I tried to restore the computer to factory new condition from the restore partition of the hard drive (that worked previously, but not tonight). So, I plugged in a Lenovo slim DVD burner and booted from USB Optical Drive option in the BIOS. This worked! The Lenovo could read the 4th DVD and the HP Pavilion was restored to factory original condition.

I really dislike how HP only lets you make one copy of the restore disks. I made ISO images of the DVDs with ImgBurn to make sure I could burn restore DVDs for this computer in the future in case the original copies got lost or corrupted.

Andy the Android Emulator Let's You Run Android on top of Windows!

2015-02-26T20:58:00.003-08:00

I just tried the JCG HD Cloud Camera on my Dell Inspiron Touchscreen notebook running Windows 8.1 with the Andy the Android Emulator software! Pretty cool. You have to run Andy Android as an administrator though. Now my kid could play Clash of Clans on his Dell Touchscreen laptop instead of our Samsung tablet (not a very good use of time!). I had tried Bluestacks first, but Andy Android is WAAAY better!

JCG Hackers H1 Router

2015-02-25T20:55:00.001-08:00

I just got one of these JCG Hackers H1 routers today to watch TV on the upstairs flat screen. It is actually an Android computer with routing capabilities. You can browse directly from the router without a computer. You can also mirror the screen of your Apple iOS device onto a TV connected to this router with an HDMI cable. It's possible to do some of these functions on Android devices, but it isn't as easy as with Apple iOS devices (since Apple has the advantage of being a single manufacturer).

The JCG router is connected to the SaskTel router down in the basement via a CAT5 jack in the room. The Ooma Telo is then connected to the JCG router. You can also connect the Ooma Telo to the main router and then the JCG Hackers H1 to the Ooma Telo. You can install apps on the JCG Hacker H1 router that aggregate various media content. Shown below is a video from NASA which streams a Youtube video about the Hubble Space Telescope. The JCG router is using Kodi (formerly XBMC) to aggregate the media to the JCG Hacker H1 (Android device).

Stellarium - the view of Saturn from Titan

2015-02-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

I was asked about planetarium software and found Stellarium and Celestia. Both are multiplatform, open source projects. I had found Celestia really easy to use and there are many scripts available to use with it.

Tonight, I finally got around to trying Stellarium. It is easy to use after you look up a few things on their user guide. Here's the view from Titan!

Delphi XE on Windows 8

2014-12-14T06:08:00.001-08:00

I was moving my Delphi XE installation from a Windows 7 laptop to a Windows 8 desktop when I discovered that the RSS Feed Utility I wrote woudln't compile under Windows 8. Eventually, I traced it to a function I copied and pasted from somewhere which allowed me to download a file from a URL. I had thought the error was from importing an Active X component which I noted two years ago. Looks like Delphi-zine is no longer around. I hope that isn't a sign that Delphi is fading. So, the web references I used were saved as PDF so I would have them in the future.

A year ago, I added the function to download from a URL as we had to host the RSS feed on a different server and I could no longer use FTP. A Google search "delphi download file from url" led to this from StackOverflow.com. I used the second answer that used an API call. I had to figure out how to use that API call (needed to make sure the WinINet unit was included in my uses clause). I also had to PChar() the URL which was stored in a string variable.

Now, as I was trying to figure this out, I thought the problem was Delphi XE didn't work well with Windows 8, so I was installing RAD Studio XE3. When I tried to compile the fixed Delphi XE project with Delphi XE3, it gave me compile errors on the Active X control. That I couldn't figure out (yet). One step forward, two steps back. Sigh.

Spring-like day in December!

2014-12-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

It was above freezing last night! Quite a refreshing break from winter weather as the solstice approaches and I look forward to lengthening daylight again. The system map (2:00 PM) says it all. The jetstream is arcing nicely over Saskatoon (wish it was even further north). One more day of above freezing tomorrow and then above average temperatures stay.

GFA Missionary Package Arrived Yesterday

2014-12-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

I received my Gospel for Asia missionary package yesterday. I am sponsoring a women missionary who is from Odisha and grew up as a Hindu. She is working in the Bihar region of India. My younger son really likes watching Veil of Tears. He watched some of it again today. I have to say, I'm very impressed with Gospel for Asia because they really do put Jesus First.

The coldest day of 2014 in Saskatoon (so far)

2014-11-30T16:16:00.002-08:00

This guy ran to hide behind the pile of snow as I was driving up to the driveway today. It was the coldest day of the year so far at -30°C in the morning. It's hard to believe there was NO snow on November 21 and it was raining! The next day, the dump of snow began. and more followed throughout the week.

Mozart's Last Piano Concerto

2014-11-28T20:13:00.003-08:00

I've been reacquainting myself with Annie Fischer's Mozart Piano Concerto recordings this past month. After listening to K P Yohannan's messages these last two weeks, it seemed to me that the Larghetto from Mozart's final piano concerto reflects the brokeness that Brother KP talks about that drew him to the Road to Reality. It happens that KV 595 is also one of two Mozart piano concertos that Murray Perahia rerecorded with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He also made a DVD of the performance. Murray Perahia also adds quite a bit of ornamentation in his playing whereas Annie Fischer plays what is written in the score (that was the tradition back in 1959), KV 595 was Clifford Curzon's favorite Mozart Piano Concerto. He made several recordings of it for Decca, but only authorised the release of the recording he made with Benjamin Britten. Curzon also adds some ornamentation in his playing too. They are all recordings I treasure of Mozart's most poignant piano concerto IMHO. Benjamin Britten made a recording of Mozart's Prague Symphony which I just love, but I only have it as a London LP. Tis the season for Mozart it seems for me, my first love in classical music.

Annie Fischer was born in 1914

2014-10-26T20:09:00.001-07:00

I didn't realise Annie Fischer was born 100 years ago. I really admire her in the way I admire Clara Haskil, Géza Anda, Murray Perahia, Leon Fleischer, Maurizio Pollini and Stephen Kovacevich. As an undergrad in Toronto, I bought every Mozart piano concerto CD that she recorded for EMI (KV 466, 467, 482, 488, 491 and 595). She plays Busoni's cadenza in KV 482 and it's really out there in comparison to Géza Anda's tasteful cadenzas. I really love how she plays this concerto (Mozart's longest piano concerto I believe). The passage work is so clean and she doesn't play 'dainty' Mozart. It is quite a contrast to Wilhelm Kempff's recording from 1982 (when he was well into his 80s). I like that recording too, but I think Kempff's age kept him from playing it so fast and fluid like Annie Fischer did in 1959 with the Philharmonia. In grad school, my Hungarian colleague bought two Hungaraton CDs for me on a trip back to his homeland. One was a Mozart concerto disk (KV 456 and 466) and the other was Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto with some Mozart and Schubert solo fillers. I finally cracked open this 2 CD set. I listened to Opus 111 first and yes, it's a winner for me. I'm putting together an Annie Fischer MP3 CD for my car. Brava!

A fine fall omega block will mean a glorious week

2014-10-20T13:20:00.001-07:00

This is why we're going to have a beautiful week in Saskatoon this week. It's the classic omega block that arcs the jetstream north of Saskatoon. With the clockwise rotation of the high pressure system, we'll get nice warm air pumped up from the American midwest.

Our driveway is also getting mudjacked by Superior Slabjacking today. It was great they could get the job done today!

Thanksgiving 2014

2014-10-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

I was sent an email from BibleGateway today which was from Gospel for Asia. I recalled that they sent me a book a few years ago. I found it in the basement and saw that it was from 2004 - they sent me Revolution in World Missions back then. They have some free resources here. I also put some here. Anyways, I decided to sponsor a girl in India. GFA puts 100% of my donation to the child I sponsor, so it's quite an impressive record. I sponsor a boy in Nicaragua through World Vision too.

We had a turkey lunch today. Much to give thanks for!

Harvest Sunday 2014

2014-10-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

It has been just beautiful the past week. Above normal temperatures make for a pleasant fall. The 1/2 split at Lakeridge School were given some plants last spring and we actually got some tomatoes from the two plants. Our last Russian mammoth sunflower is starting to bloom as well. The largest head I cut off was rotting when I cut it off. The seeds from a second head are harvested and a third head is still out to dry. I gave the neighbour a fourth head.

A glorious start to Thanksgiving Weekend

2014-10-10T19:44:00.002-07:00

What a beautiful fall day. It's not an omega block, but it was sunny and warm today. And, it's going to be a great weekend too.

edX Design and Development of Educational Technology started yesterday

2014-10-09T08:38:00.001-07:00

This interesting course started yesterday. The course syllabus can give you an overview of what this course is about as well as the intro video:

Recovering from a lost password

2014-09-26T22:34:00.003-07:00

For some reason, a Dell Windows 7 Pro laptop 'forgot' its password. I took the hard drive out and recovered the data to an external hard drive and a DVD. I had to connect this laptop hard drive to one of my desktop computers to do that.

I tried a system restore back from the boot menu, but that didn't work either. So, I tried to reinstall Windows 7 Pro by using my DVD. Didn't work.

Next, I used a Dell Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit DVD to install the OS successfully. I then got the driver for the network and downloaded the Dell utility to create restore disks. That process is going on right now. I hope to use the restore disks to make the hard drive 'factory fresh' with Windows 7 Pro again.

This is why one must not use an administrator account to do daily work. If this password was corrupted on a standard user, the problem could have been easily fixed by using the admin account to reset the password of the standard account.

Instead, this is turning into a multi-hour saga ...

Almost two full weeks of glorious weather

2014-09-26T22:30:00.003-07:00

The omega block is weakening as the high pressure system that was over Chicago has moved east. Sigh. It was a beautiful day again and yesterday was a perfect day for the Terry Fox Walk at Aden Bowman. The sunflowers grew quite a lot this past week. Unfortunately, that is not going to continue with cooler weather. Hopefully, I will be able to harvest 3 more heads the next few weeks. Not ideal growing conditions at all.

The last day of summer is Michael Faraday's birthday this year

2014-09-22T16:30:00.002-07:00

The omega block is staying put and it was 28°C today. This is also the day Michael Faraday was born in 1791. This is the IET (formerly IEE) Faraday bio webpage I read almost twenty years ago.

A glorious day thanks to the Omega Block

2014-09-21T19:47:00.001-07:00

It's been nice all week and it's thanks to where the jetstream is. I love it when we have days like this thanks to an omega block. Clear skies and counter clockwise cycling of warm air from the south make for above average fall weather.

This makes for great sunflower weather too.

And, I saw this face in the sky as the sun was setting:

Tomorrow is Michael Faraday's birthday and the fall equinox. The days are getting shorter. Sigh.

My first Tableau Public

2014-09-20T19:29:00.003-07:00

Learn About Tableau

I got this data from StatsCan and had to clean it up (data here). I added the first 3 digits of the city postal codes as Tableau Public couldn't seem to figure it out from the city names. It still didn't recognise the postal codes because it defaulted it to USA, not Canada:

Click on unknown in the corner

Edit the locations

Change country from USA to Canada

Happy Birthday Valerie Tryon

2014-09-05T21:31:00.001-07:00

Half a decade ago, I came across Valerie Tryon's CBC CD of Chopin's Scherzi and Ballades in the cutout bin at L'Atelier Grigorian in Oakville (I went there this past summer and they are now closed!). From then on, I was hooked. I subsequently bought her APR CD with my favorite solo piano work (Schumann's Fantasie). This was followed by her 3 CD Chopin a Chronological Journey. I listen to the third CD in this set quite often (Third Piano Sonata, Barcorolle, a Nocturne). Then I got the APR CD of two of my favorite Mozart Concerti (KV 491 and KV 503). She plays Godowsky's candenza in KV 491, but also supplies a track with Hummel's cadenza (which Annie Fischer played in her EMI recording from 1959). Very enjoyable and a source of much pleasure over the years. I bought 3 more APR CDs from Presto Classical this week as a birthday present for myself (Mendelssohn and Ravel).

Well, Valerie Tryon is 80 years old today. It is amazing how solid her technique is, but she is truly an artist. There was this recent article in the Hamilton Spectator about her. She also helped a fellow pianist as noted in this Ottawa Citizen article. Enjoy this interview from Youtube. Many happy returns to you Valerie Tryon. You've touched my heart and I hope many more people discover your art.