大曦百科全书（Daxipedia）

无敌的脂肪细胞

2013-09-23T13:44:00.001-04:00

看看wiki上的叙述，大致就可以解答为什么增肥容易，减肥艰难了。

" 一，一个普通成人大约有300亿个脂肪细胞并重达13.5千克。如果一个成人增重过多，在脂肪细胞分裂及增加其现有绝对数量前，其大小会增长近四倍。

二，在显著的减重后，脂肪细胞的数量并不减少，只是细胞中的脂肪减少。脂肪细胞只会变得丰满或萎缩但会保持数量上的恒定。然而，一旦现有细胞充分饱满之后，细胞的数量就会增加。"

无敌的脂肪细胞，原来只会增加而不会灭亡的！当你摄入大量能量，而这些剩余能量要转化成脂肪的时候，脂肪细胞就会分裂，产生新的脂肪细胞来贮存这些脂肪；当你消耗大量能量的时候，脂肪细胞中储存的脂肪作为备用能量就会分解，可是，脂肪细胞并不会因此而凋亡，却仅仅只是干瘪，等待下次脂肪的充盈！

更加悲催的是，增重之后，人也就必须保证通过加大进食来满足增多的那些饥饿的脂肪细胞。胖子需要的能量更大，如果摄取不足，那就是饿啊！这样恶性循环，吃得多了，消化系统功能也增强，胃也越撑越大，越发得难满足了！

我想起有些姐妹说，怀孕胃口实在太好，控制不了了，不过没关系，等待生产之后再努力减肥。要是她们知道了这个事实怎么办呢？《七宗罪》里面第一个死掉的死胖子，至今还是我的恶梦呢。还是不要“先污染后治理”。人需要从各个方面学会自控，不要被欲望蒙眼了。

另外，脂肪细胞可以产生雌激素。这个是曹医生早年就跟我说过的，我们当时还讨论说，为什么瘦女无女感，胖男不长须。

How to print multiple address labels

2013-09-06T15:39:00.000-04:00

Linda姐姐突然打来电话，打头便言you are smart，说是正在给上个项目的participants寄信，苦于不会用Access数据库直接打印地址，所以打电话问我有没有办法。我其实并没有接触过label打印，可是觉得应该不是难事，拆开来看就是两件事：

第一，简单的SQL：把Access数据库里满足条件的记录的某几个字段（姓名，地址，城市，邮编）抓下来，做成一张表；
第二，用Office的label打印功能排版打印。

临危受命，我也不敢自吹自擂，于是就照直说，我没有这方面的经验, 但是可以试一试。尽管Linda姐姐说，知道我在忙其他工作，她只是试探性地打来问问，如果我不会，也完全没关系，不需要特地去钻研。挂电话之前还加一句，你不知道这个事，可是在我心里你还是很smart。话都说到这份儿上了，我还能无动于衷吗？手头上的事情，没有deadline，而且都是些重复劳动的活，对比起来，帮Linda姐姐解决这个“难题”反倒成了有技术含量，能大显身手的事情了。

说干就干，马上Google之。没想到Google到的是微软的帮助文件，那叫写的一个烂。我只好看个大概，然后自己摸索。

原来Word2003以上就有Mailing Tab,在其下找到Start Mail Merge的group,选择"Select Recipients"菜单，然后把所有人的地址信息（我这里是存成了Excel表的形式）导入；然后在“Write and Insert Fields”的group中，选择“Match Fields”对字段进行匹配；然后插入所需字段，并调整格式，比如姓与名之间来个空格，住址在第二行，第三行是城市和邮编等；然后update一下；最后在“Finish”的group里选择编辑就完成了。

几个傻瓜版的顺手的在线工具

2013-09-06T11:17:00.005-04:00

        一年一度的教师节近在咫尺。今年师弟师妹们用心良苦，向散落在世界各地的师姐师哥们发来邀请，希望为我们的晖姐准备一份特别的礼物。礼物创意虽然简单，但是浓情蜜意的，也够让人动容了。就是每人选一张近照，写几句祝福语。
        我一早就收到邀请，但因为最近突然所有事情都堆到一起来，竟然下班之后没有丝毫时间做这件事。今天早上一到办公室，就收到师弟催促的邮件，实在觉得过意不去了。想动手的时候，方才想起，照片躺在笔记本里了，于是只好用网络来解决。
       由于我没有权限在单位的电脑里安装任何软件，我决定全部由网络来搞定。

一，QQ在线
web.qq.com
登陆之后，从我的空间里下载一张靓照；

二，想一句祝福语。这个难不倒我，尤其是我和晖姐关系不一般。

三，艺术字体在线生成
http://www.qt86.com/
把想好的文字可视化，完全在线生成，不需要安装字体

四，图片处理
http://xiuxiu.web.meitu.com/这是随便搜出来的，结果发现是大名鼎鼎的美图秀秀！我以前没有接触过，但就在线版来说，做的还是十分贴心的。

         大功告成！赶紧给师弟发信，道歉，感谢！

极致的穿越小说: 你们这些还魂尸

2013-07-12T11:26:00.005-04:00

All You Zombies

By Robert A. Heinlein

2217 Time Zone V (EST) 7 Nov. 1970-NTC- "Pop's Place": I was polishing a brandy snifter when the Unmarried Mother came in. I noted the time-10: 17 P. M. zone five, or eastern time, November 7th, 1970. Temporal agents always notice time and date; we must.

The Unmarried Mother was a man twenty-five years old, no taller than I am, childish features and a touchy temper. I didn't like his looks - I never had - but he was a lad I was here to recruit, he was my boy. I gave him my best barkeep's smile.

Maybe I'm too critical. He wasn't swish; his nickname came from what he always said when some nosy type asked him his line: "I'm an unmarried mother. -- If he felt less than murderous he would add: "at four cents a word. I write confession stories. --

If he felt nasty, he would wait for somebody to make something of it. He had a lethal style of infighting, like a female cop - reason I wanted him. Not the only one.

He had a load on, and his face showed that he despised people more than usual. Silently I poured a double shot of Old Underwear and left the bottle. He drank it, poured another.

I wiped the bar top. -- How's the "Unmarried Mother" racket? --

His fingers tightened on the glass and he seemed about to throw it at me; I felt for the sap under the bar. In temporal manipulation you try to figure everything, but there are so many factors that you never take needless risks.

I saw him relax that tiny amount they teach you to watch for in the Bureau's training school. -- Sorry, " I said. -- Just asking, "How's business? " Make it "How's the weather?

He looked sour. -- Business is okay. I write 'em, they print 'em, I eat. --

I poured myself one, leaned toward him. -- Matter of fact, " I said, "you write a nice stick - I've sampled a few. You have an amazingly sure touch with the woman's angle. --

It was a slip I had to risk; he never admitted what pen-names he used. But he was boiled enough to pick up only the last: "'Woman's angle! "" he repeated with a snort. -- Yeah, I know the woman's angle. I should. --

"So? -- I said doubtfully. -- Sisters? --

"No. You wouldn't believe me if I told you. --

"Now, now, " I answered mildly, "bartenders and psychiatrists learn that nothing is stranger than truth. Why, son, if you heard the stories I do-well, you'd make yourself rich. Incredible. --

"You don't know what "incredible" means! "

"So? Nothing astonishes me. I've always heard worse. --

He snorted again. -- Want to bet the rest of the bottle? --

"I'll bet a full bottle. -- I placed one on the bar.

"Well-" I signaled my other bartender to handle the trade. We were at the far end, a single-stool space that I kept private by loading the bar top by it with jars of pickled eggs and other clutter. A few were at the other end watching the fights and somebody was playing the juke box-private as a bed where we were.

"Okay, " he began, "to start with, I'm a bastard. --

"No distinction around here, " I said.

"I mean it, " he snapped. -- My parents weren't married. --

"Still no distinction, " I insisted. -- Neither were mine. --

"When-" He stopped, gave me the first warm look I ever saw on him. -- You mean that? --

"I do. A one-hundred-percent bastard. In fact, " I added, "no one in my family ever marries. All bastards.

"Oh, that. -- I showed it to him. -- It just looks like a wedding ring; I wear it to keep women off. -- It is an antique I bought in 1985 from a fellow operative - he had fetched it from pre-Christian Crete. -- The Worm Ouroboros... the World Snake that eats its own tail, forever without end. A symbol of the Great Paradox. --

He barely glanced at it. -- if you're really a bastard, you know how it feels. When I was a little girl"

"Wups! " I said. -- Did I hear you correctly? --

"'Who's telling this story? When I was a little girl-Look, ever hear of Christine Jorgenson? Or Roberta Cowell?

"Uh, sex-change cases? You're trying to tell me-"

"Don't interrupt or swelp me, I won't talk. I was a foundling, left at an orphanage in Cleveland in 1945 when I was a month old. When I was a little girl, I envied kids with parents. Then, when I learned about sex-and, believe me, Pop, you learn fast in an orphanage-"

"I know "

"-I made a solemn vow that any kid of mine would have both a pop and a mom. It kept me "pure, " quite a feat in that vicinity - I had to learn to fight to manage it. Then I got older and realized I stood darn little chance of getting married - for the same reason I hadn't been adopted --. He scowled. I was horse-faced and buck-toothed, flat-chested and straight-haired.

"You don't look any worse than I do. --

"Who cares how a barkeep looks? Or a writer? But people wanting to adopt pick little blue-eyed golden-haired moron. Later on, the boys want bulging breasts, a cute face, and an Oh-you-wonderful-male manner. -- He shrugged. I couldn't compete. So I decided to join the W. E. N. C. H. E. S. --

Eh? --

"Women's Emergency National Corps, Hospitality & Entertainment Section, what they now call "Space Angels'-Auxiliary Nursing Group, Extraterrestrial Legions. --

I knew both terms, once I had them chronized. We use still a third name, it's that elite military service corps: Women's Hospitality Order Refortifying & Encouraging Spacemen. Vocabulary shift is the worst hurdle in time-jumps - did you know that "service station" once fractions? Once on an assignment in the Churchill Era, a woman said to me, "Meet me at the service station next door -- - which is not what it sounds; a service station" (then) wouldn't have a bed in it.

He went on: "It was when they first admitted you can't send men into space for months and years and not relieve the tension. You remember how the wowsers screamed? - that improved my chance, since volunteers were scarce. A gal had to be respectable, preferably virgin (they liked to train them from scratch), above average mentally, and stable emotionally. But most volunteers were old hookers, or neurotics who would crack up ten days off Earth. So I didn't need looks; if they accepted me, they would fix my buck teeth, put a wave in my hair, teach me to walk and dance and how to listen to a man pleasingly, and everything else - plus training for the prime duties. They would even use plastic surgery if it would help - nothing too good for our Boys.

"Best yet, they made sure you didn't get pregnant during your enlistment - and you were almost certain to marry at the end of your hitch. Same way today, A. N. G. E. L. S. marry spacers - they talk the language.

"When I was eighteen I was placed as a `mother's helper'. This family simply wanted a cheap servant, but I didn't mind as I couldn't enlist till I was twenty-one. I did housework and went to night school - pretending to continue my high school typing and shorthand but going to a charm class instead, to better my chances for enlistment.

"Then I met this city slicker with his hundred-dollar bills. -- He scowled. The no-good actually did have a wad of hundred-dollar bills. He showed me one night, told me to help myself.

"But I didn't. I liked him. He was the first man I ever met who was nice to me without trying games with me. I quit night school to see him oftener. It was the happiest time of my life.

"Then one night in the park the games began. --

He stopped. I said, "And then? --

"And then nothing! I never saw him again. He walked me home and told me he loved me-and kissed me good-night and never came back. -- He looked grim. -- If I could find him, I'd kill him! "

"Well, " I sympathized, "I know how you feel. But killing him-just for doing what comes naturally - hmm... Did you struggle? --

"Huh? What's that got to do with it? --

"Quite a bit. Maybe he deserves a couple of broken arms for running out on you, but-"

"He deserves worse than that! Wait till you hear. Somehow I kept anyone from suspecting and decided it was all for the best. I hadn't really loved him and probably would never love anybody-and I was more eager to join theWE. N. C. H. E. S. than ever. I wasn't disqualified, they didn't insist on virgins. I cheered up.

"It wasn't until my skirts got tight that I realized.

"Pregnant? --

"He had me higher "n a kite! Those skinflints I lived with ignored it as long as I could work-then kicked me out, and the orphanage wouldn't take me back. I landed in a charity ward surrounded by other big bellies and trotted bedpans until my time came.

"One night I found myself on an operating table, with a nurse saying, "Relax. Now breathe deeply. "

"I woke up in bed, numb from the chest down. My surgeon came in. "How do you feel? " he says cheerfully.

"Like a mummy. --

"Naturally. You're wrapped like one and full of dope to keep you numb. You'll get well-but a Cesarean isn't a hangnail.

" Cesarean" I said. "Doc - did I lose the baby? "

Oh, no. Your baby's fine. "

Oh. Boy or girl? "

"'A healthy little girt. Five pounds, three ounces. "

"I relaxed. It's something, to have made a baby. I told myself I would go somewhere and tack "Mrs. " on my name and let the kid think her papa was dead -no orphanage for my kid!

"But the surgeon was talking. "Tell me, uh-" He avoided my name. "did you ever think your glandular setup was odd? "

"I said, "Huh? Of course not. What are you driving at?"

"He hesitated. I'll give you this in one dose, then a hypo to let you sleep off your jitters. You'll have 'em. "

"'Why? I demanded.

Ever hear of that Scottish physician who was female until she was thirty-five? -then had surgery and became legally and medically a man? Got married. All okay. "

'What's that got to do with me? "

"'That's what I'm saying. You're a man. "

"I tried to sit up. What? "

"Take it easy. When I opened you, I found a mess. I sent for the Chief of Surgery while I got the baby out, then we held a consultation with you on the table-and worked for hours to salvage what we could. You had two full sets of organs, both immature, but with the female set well enough developed for you to have a baby. They could never be any use to you again, so we took them out and rearranged things so that you can develop properly as a man. He put a hand on me. "Don't worry. You're young, your bones will readjust, we'll watch your glandular balance - and make a fine young man out of you. "

"I started to cry. "What about my baby? "

"Well, you can't nurse her, you haven't milk enough for a kitten. If I were you, I wouldn't see her-put her up for adoption. "

"'No! "

"He shrugged. "The choice is yours; you're her mother - well, her parent. But don't worry now; we'll get you well first. "

"Next day they let me see the kid and I saw her daily - trying to get used to her. I had never seen a brand-new baby and had no idea how awful they look - my daughter looked like an orange monkey. My feelings changed to cold determination to do right by her. But four weeks later that didn't mean anything. --

"Eh? --

"She was snatched. --

"'Snatched? --

The Unmarried Mother almost knocked over the bottle we had bet. -- Kidnapped - stolen from the hospital nursery! " He breathed hard. -- How's that for taking the last a man's got to live for? --

"A bad deal, " I agreed. -- Let's pour you another. No clues? --

"Nothing the police could trace. Somebody came to see her, claimed to be her uncle. While the nurse had her back turned, he walked out with her. --

"Description? --

"Just a man, with a face-shaped face, like yours or mine. -- He frowned. -- I think it was the baby's father. The nurse swore it was an older man but he probably used makeup. Who else would swipe my baby? Childless women pull such stunts - but whoever heard of a man doing it? --

"What happened to you then? --

"Eleven more months of that grim place and three operations. In four months I started to grow a beard; before I was out I was shaving regularly... and no longer doubted that I was male. -- He grinned wryly. -- I was staring down nurses necklines. --

"Well, " I said, "seems to me you came through okay. Here you are, a normal man, making good money, no real troubles. And the life of a female is not an easy one. --

He glared at me. -- A lot you know about it! "

"So? --

"Ever hear the expression "a ruined woman'? --

"Mmm, years ago. Doesn't mean much today. --

"I was as ruined as a woman can be; that bum really ruined me - I was no longer a woman... and I didn't know how to be a man. --

"Takes getting used to, I suppose. --

"You have no idea. I don't mean learning how to dress, or not walking into the wrong rest room; I learned those in the hospital. But how could I live? What job could I get? Hell, I couldn't even drive a car. I didn't know a trade; I couldn't do manual labor-too much scar tissue, too tender.

"I hated him for having ruined me for the W. E. N. C. H. E. S., too, but I didn't know how much until I tried to join the Space Corps instead. One look at my belly and I was marked unfit for military service. The medical officer spent time on me just from curiosity; he had read about my case.

"So I changed my name and came to New York. I got by as a fry cook, then rented a typewriter and set myself up as a public stenographer - what a laugh! In four months I typed four letters and one manuscript. The manuscript was for Real Life Tales and a waste of paper, but the goof who wrote it sold it. Which gave me an idea; I bought a stack of confession magazines and studied them. -- He looked cynical. -- Now you know how I get the authentic woman's angle on

an unmarried-mother story... through the only version I haven't sold - the true one. Do I win the bottle? --

I pushed it toward him. I was upset myself, but there was work to do. I said, "Son, you still want to lay hands on that so-and-so? --

His eyes lighted up-a feral gleam.

"Hold it! " I said. -- You wouldn't kill him? --

He chuckled nastily. -- Try me. --

"Take it easy. I know more about it than you think I do. I can help you. I know where he is. --

He reached across the bar. -- Where is he? --

I said softly, "Let go my shirt, sonny-or you'll land in the alley and we'll tell the cops you fainted. -- I showed him the sap.

He let go. -- Sorry. But where is he? -- He looked at me. -- And how do you know so much? --

"All in good time. There are records - hospital records, orphanage records, medical records. The matron of your orphanage was Mrs. Fetherage - right? She was followed by Mrs. Gruenstein - right? Your name, as a girl, was "Jane" - right? And you didn't tell me any of this - right? --

I had him baffled and a bit scared. -- What's this? You trying to make trouble for me? --

"No indeed. I've your welfare at heart. I can put this character in your lap. You do to him as you see fit - and I guarantee that you'll get away with it. But I don't think you'll kill him. You'd be nuts to - and you aren't nuts. Not quite. --

He brushed it aside. -- Cut the noise. Where is he? --

I poured him a short one; he was drunk, but anger was offsetting it. -- Not so fast. I do something for you - you do something for me. --

"Uh... what? --

"You don't like your work. What would you say to high pay, steady work, unlimited expense account, your own boss on the job, and lots of variety and adventure? --

He stared. -- I'd say, "Get those goddam reindeer off my roof! " Shove it, Pop - there's no such job. --

"Okay, put it this way: I hand him to you, you settle with him, then try my job. If it's not all I claim - well, I can't hold you. --

He was wavering; the last drink did it "When d'yuh d'liver 'im? -- he said thickly.

He shoved out his hand. -- It's a deal! "

"If it's a deal-right now! "

I nodded to my assistant to watch both ends, noted the time - 2300 - started to duck through the gate under the bar - when the juke box blared out: "I'm My Own Grandpaw! " The service man had orders to load it with Americana and classics because I couldn't stomach the "music" of 1970, but I hadn't known that tape was in it. I called out, "Shut that off! Give the customer his money back. -- I added, "Storeroom, back in a moment, " and headed there with my Unmarried Mother following.

It was down the passage across from the johns, a steel door to which no one but my day manager and myselfhad a key; inside was a door to an inner room to which only I had a key. We went there.

He looked blearily around at windowless walls. – Where is he? --

"Right away. -- I opened a case, the only thing in the room; it was a U. S. F. F. Coordinates Transformer Field Kit, series 1992, Mod. II - a beauty, no moving parts, weight twenty-three kilos fully charged, and shaped to pass as a suitcase. I had adjusted it precisely earlier that day; all I had to do was to shake out the metal net which limits the transformation field.

Which I did. -- What's that? -- he demanded.

"Time machine, " I said and tossed the net over us.

"Hey! " he yelled and stepped back. There is a technique to this; the net has to be thrown so that the subject will instinctively step back onto the metal mesh, then you close the net with both of you inside completely-else you might leave shoe soles behind or a piece of foot, or scoop up a slice of floor. But that's all the skill it takes. Some agents con a subject into the net; I tell the truth and use that instant of utter astonishment to flip the switch. Which I did.

1030-VI-3 April 1963 - Cleveland, Ohio-Apex Bldg.: "Hey! " he repeated. -- Take this damn thing off! "

"Sorry, " I apologized and did so, stuffed the net into the case, closed it. -- You said you wanted to find him. --

"But - you said that was a time machine! "

I pointed out a window. -- Does that look like November? Or New York? -- While he was gawking at new buds and spring weather, I reopened the case, took out a packet of hundred-dollar bills, checked that the numbers and signatures were compatible with 1963. The Temporal Bureau doesn't care how much you spend (it costs nothing) but they don't like unnecessary anachronisms. Too many mistakes, and a general court-martial will exile you for a year in a nasty period, say 1974 with its strict rationing and forced labor. I never make such mistakes; the money was okay.

He turned around and said, "What happened? --

"He's here. Go outside and take him. Here's expense money. -- I shoved it at him and added, "Settle him, then I'll pick you up. --

Hundred-dollar bills have a hypnotic effect on a person not used to them. He was thumbing them unbelievingly as I eased him into the hall, locked him out. The next jump was easy, a small shift in era.

7100-VI-10 March 1964 - Cleveland-Apex Bldg.: There was a notice under the door saying that my lease expired next week; otherwise the room looked as it had a moment before. Outside, trees were bare and snow threatened; I hurried, stopping only for contemporary money and a coat, hat, and topcoat I had left there when I leased the room. I hired a car, went to the hospital. It took twenty minutes to bore the nursery attendant to the point where I could swipe the baby without being noticed. We went back to the Apex Building. This dial setting was more involved, as the building did not yet exist in 1945. But I had precalculated it.

0100-VI-20 Sept. 1945 - Cleveland-Skyview Motel:: Field kit, baby, and I arrived in a motel outside town. Earlier I had registered as "Gregory Johnson, Warren, Ohio, " so we arrived in a room with curtains closed, windows locked, and doors bolted, and the floor cleared to allow for waver as the machine hunts. You can get a nasty bruise from a chair where it shouldn't be - not the chair, of course, but backlash from the field.

No trouble. Jane was sleeping soundly; I carried her out, put her in a grocery box on the seat of a car I had provided earlier, drove to the orphanage, put her on the steps, drove two blocks to a "service station" (the petroleum-products sort) and phoned the orphanage, drove back in time to see them taking the box inside, kept going and abandoned the car near the motel - walked to it and jumped forward to the Apex Building in 1963.

2200-VI-24 April 1963 - Cleveland-Apex Bldg.: I had cut the time rather fine - temporal accuracy depends on span, except on return to zero. If I had it right, Jane was discovering, out in the park this balmy spring night, that she wasn't quite as nice a girl as she had thought., I grabbed a taxi to the home of those skinflints, had the hackie wait around a comer while I lurked in shadows.

Presently I spotted them down the street, arms around each other. He took her up on the porch and made a long job of kissing her good-night-longer than I thought. Then she went in and he came down the walk, turned away. I slid into step and hooked an arm in his. -- That's all, son, " I announced quietly. -- I'm back to pick you up. --

"You! " He gasped and caught his breath.

"Me. Now you know who he is - and after you think it over you'll know who you are... and if you think hard enough, you'll figure out who the baby is... and who I am. --

He didn't answer, he was badly shaken. It's a shock to have it proved to you that you can't resist seducing yourself. I took him to the Apex Building and we jumped again.

2300-VIII, 12 Aug. 1985-Sub Rockies Base: I woke the duty sergeant, showed my I. D., told the sergeant to bed my companion down with a happy pill and recruit him in the morning. The sergeant looked sour, but rank is rank, regardless of era; he did what I said-thinking, no doubt, that the next time we met he might be the colonel and I the sergeant. Which can happen in our corps. -- What name? -- he asked.

I wrote it out. He raised his eyebrows. -- Like so, eh? Hmm-"

"You just do your job, Sergeant. -- I turned to my companion.

"Son, your troubles are over. You're about to start the best job a man ever held-and you'll do well. I know. --

"That you will! " agreed the sergeant. -- Look at me - born in 1917-still around, still young, still enjoying life. -- I went back to the jump room, set everything on preselected zero.

2301-V-7 Nov. 1970-NYC -"Pop's Place": I came out of the storeroom carrying a fifth of Drambuie to account for the minute I had been gone. My assistant was arguing with the customer who had been playing "I'm My Own Grand-paw! " I said, "Oh, let him play it, then unplug it. -- I was very tired.

It's rough, but somebody must do it, and it's very hard to recruit anyone in the later years, since the Mistake of 1972. Can you think of a better source than to pick people all fouled up where they are and give them well-paid, interesting (even though dangerous) work in a necessary cause? Everybody knows now why the Fizzle War of 1963 fizzled. The bomb with New York's number on it didn't go off, a hundred other things didn't go as planned-all arranged by the likes of me.

But not the Mistake of "72; that one is not our fault-and can't be undone; there's no paradox to resolve. A thing either is, or it isn't, now and forever amen. But there won't be another like it; an order dated "1992" takes precedence any year.

I closed five minutes early, leaving a letter in the cash register telling my day manager that I was accepting his offer to buy me out, to see my lawyer as I was leaving on a long vacation. The Bureau might or might not pick up his payments, but they want things left tidy. I went to the room in the back of the storeroom and forward to 1993.

2200-VII- 12 Jan 1993-Sub Rockies Annex-HQ Temporal DOL: I checked in with the duty officer and went to my quarters, intending to sleep for a week. I had fetched the bottle we bet (after all, I won it) and took a drink before I wrote my report. It tasted foul, and I wondered why I had ever liked Old Underwear. But it was better than nothing; I don't like to be cold sober, I think too much. But I don't really hit the bottle either; other people have snakes-I have people.

I dictated my report; forty recruitments all okayed by the Psych Bureau - counting my own, which I knew would be okayed. I was here, wasn't I? Then I taped a request for assignment to operations; I was sick of recruiting. I dropped both in the slot and headed for bed.

My eye fell on "The By-Laws of Time, " over my bed:

Never Do Yesterday What Should Be Done Tomorrow.

If at Last You Do Succeed, Never Try Again.

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine Billion.

A Paradox May Be Paradoctored.

It Is Earlier When You Think.

Ancestors Are Just People.

Even Jove Nods.

They didn't inspire me the way they had when I was a recruit; thirty subjective-years of time-jumping wears you down. I undressed, and when I got down to the hide I looked at my belly. A Cesarean leaves a big scar, but I'm so hairy now that I don't notice it unless I look for it.

Then I glanced at the ring on my finger.

The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail, Forever and Ever. I know where I came from - but where did all you zombies come from?

I felt a headache coming on, but a headache powder is one thing I do not take. I did once - and you all went away.

So I crawled into bed and whistled out the light.

You aren't really there at all. There isn't anybody but me - Jane - here alone in the dark.

I miss you dreadfully!

Python_Learning: A example to understand the Object-oriented Programming Language

2013-07-11T16:53:00.000-04:00

# import the system time
from datetime import datetime
now = datetime.now()
print now

# Then the variable "now" has all attributes and functions of datetime data type!! you can easily get any of them, using dot notation. For example:
print now.year
print now.month
print now.day
print now.hour
print now.minute
print now.second

The result:

As a matter of fact, "now.year" equals to "datetime.now().year"

Notably, "print now.year" the result is "2013", and it is a numeric data type. Use str() to convert it to string data type.

#To display the system time in a pretty way
print str(now.month) + "/" + str(now.day) + "/" + str(now.year)
print str(now.hour) + ":" + str(now.minute) + ":" + str(now.second)

The result:
07/11/2013
16:51:57

GIS Learning: How to thread waypoints in line?

2013-07-11T16:39:00.002-04:00

Python script

import arcpy

from arcpy import env

env.workspace="C:/data"

arcpy.PointsToLine_management(input, output)

Python_Learning: An example of python syntax

2013-07-11T16:22:00.002-04:00

# Display "What is your name?", then store the string user entered and assign it to the variable name.

name = raw_input('What is your name?')

# Display the question, and the user enter the string, then assign it to the variable.

age = raw_input('How old are you?')

# Display the question, and the user enter the string, then assign it to the variable.

color = raw_input('What is your favorite color?')

# print the whole sentence connecting all the variables. %s stands for certain string in the offset (name, age, color)

print "Ah, so your name is %s, and you are %s, your favorite color is %s." %(name, age, color)

Python_Learning: How to write comments

2013-07-11T16:05:00.002-04:00

Two ways you can write comments in your code.

1. Short comments, usually in a line.
Simply use pound at the beginning
#

2. Long comments, multiple lines
use triple quotation mark
"""......"""

Python_Learning: Dot Notation

2013-07-11T16:01:00.000-04:00

Dot Notation

variable.upper()
variable.lower()

The above function work on the string data type, using Dot Notation.
For example:
>> song="old mcdonald had a farm"
>> print song.upper()
OLD MCDONALD HAD A FARM

However, the function of len() and str() can be used on different types of data, not only string, no Dot Notation. For example:
>>song="old mcdonald had farm"
>>print len(song)
23

'tis

2013-07-11T15:52:00.000-04:00

'tis: it is

飞砂走奶

2013-07-08T16:19:00.001-04:00

就是素咖啡。动词很炫的感觉。

西化中文, 不要如此不伦不类。余光中"怎样改进英式中文"

2013-07-02T13:05:00.002-04:00

余光中〈怎样改进英式中文？──论中文的常态与变态〉
辑自《明报月刊》(1987年10月号)

自五四新文化运动以来，七十年间，中文的变化极大。一方面，优秀的作家与学者笔下的白话文愈写愈成熟，无论表情达意或是分析事理，都能运用自如。另一方面，地道的中文，包括文言文与民间文学的白话文，和我们的关系日渐生疏，而英文的影响，无论来自直接的学习或是间接的潜移默化，则日渐显著，因此一般人笔下的白话文，西化的病态日渐严重。一般人从大众传媒学到的，不仅是流行的观念，还有那些观念赖以包装的种种说法；有时，那些说法连高明之士也抗拒不了。今日的中文虽因地区不同而互见差异，但共同的趋势都是繁琐与生硬，例如中文本来是说「因此」，现在不少人却爱说「基于这个原因」；本来是说「问题很多」，现在不少人却爱说「有很多问题存在」。对于这种化简为繁、以拙代巧的趋势，有心人如果不及时提出警告，我们的中文势必越变越差，而地道中文原有的那种美德，那种简洁而又灵活的语文生态，也必将面目全非。
中文也有生态吗？当然有。措词简洁、句式灵活、声调铿锵，这些都是中文生命的常态。能顺着这样的生态，就能长保中文的健康。要是处处违拗这样的生态，久而久之，中文就会污染而淤塞，危机日渐迫近。
目前中文的一大危机，是西化。我自己出身外文系，三十多岁时有志于中文创新的试验，自问并非语文的保守派。大凡有志于中文创作的人，都不会认为善用四字成语就是创作的能事。反之，写文章而处处仰赖成语，等于只会用古人的脑来想，只会用古人的嘴来说，绝非豪杰之士。但是，再反过来说，写文章而不会使用成语，问题就更大了。写一篇完全不带成语的文章，不见得不可能，但是很不容易；这样的文章要写得好，就更难能可贵。目前的情形是，许多人写中文，已经不会用成语，至少会用的成语有限，显得捉襟见肘。一般香港学生目前只会说「总的来说」，却似乎忘了「总而言之」。同样地，大概也不会说「一言难尽」，只会说「不是一句话就能够说得清楚的」。
成语历千百年而犹存，成为文化的一部分。例如「千锤百炼」，字义对称，平仄协调，如果一定要说成「千炼百锤」，当然也可以，不过听来不顺，不像「千锤百炼」那样含有美学。同样，「朝秦暮楚」、「齐大非偶」、「乐不思蜀」等语之中，都含有中国的历史。成语的衰退正显示文言的淡忘，文化意识的萎缩。
英文没有学好，中文却学坏了，或者可说，带坏了。中文西化，不一定就是毛病。缓慢而适度的西化甚至是难以避免的趋势，高妙的西化更可以截长补短。但是太快太强的西化，破坏了中文的自然生态，就成了恶性西化。这种危机，有心人都应该及时警觉而且努力抵制。在欧洲的语文里面，文法比较单纯的英文恐怕是最近于中文的了。尽管如此，英文与中文仍有许多基本的差异，无法十分融洽。这一点，凡有中英文互译经验的人，想必都能同意。其实，研究翻译就等于研究比较语言学。以下拟就中英文之间的差异，略略分析中文西化之病。
比起中文来，英文不但富于抽象名词，也喜欢用抽象名词。英文可以说「他的收入的减少改变了他的生活方式」，中文这么说，就太西化了。英文用抽象名词「减少」做主词，十分自然。中文的说法是以具体名词，尤其是人，做主词：「他因为收入减少而改变生活方式」，或者「他收入减少，乃改变生活方式」。
中文常用一件事情 (一个短句) 做主词，英文则常用一个名词 (或名词词组)。「横贯公路再度坍方，是今日的头条新闻」，是中文的说法。「横贯公路的再度坍方，是今日的头条新闻」，就是英文语法的流露了。同理，「选购书籍，只好委托你了」是中文语法。「书籍的选购，只好委托你了」却是略带西化。「推行国语，要靠大家努力」是自然的说法。「推行的国语，要靠大家的努力」却嫌冗赘。这种情形也可见于受词。例如「他们杯葛这种风俗的继续」，便是一句可怕的话。无论如何，「杯葛继续」总嫌生硬。如果改成「他们反对保存这种风俗」，就自然多了。
英文好用抽象名词，其结果是软化了动词，也可以说是架空了动词。科学、社会科学与公文的用语，大举侵入了日常生活，逼得许多明确而有力动词渐渐变质，成为面无表情的词组。下面是几个常见的例子：
  apply pressure: press
  give authorization: permit
  send a communication: write
  take appropriate action: act
在前例之中，简洁的单音节动词都变成了含有抽象名词的片词，表面上看来，显得比较堂皇而高级。例如 press 变成了 apply pressure，动作便一分为二，一半驯化为静止的抽象名词 pressure，一半淡化为广泛而笼统的动词 apply。巴仁 (Jacques Barzun) 与屈林 (Lionel Trilling) 等学者把这类广泛的动词叫做「弱动词」(weak verb)。他们说：「科学报告不免单调而冷淡，影响之余，现代的文体喜欢把思路分解成一串静止的概念，用介词和通常是被动语气的弱动词连接起来。」
巴仁所谓的弱动词，相当于英国小说家奥韦尔所谓的「文字的义肢」(verbal false limb) 。当代的中文也已呈现这种病态，喜欢把简单明了的动词分解成「万能动词+抽象名词」的片词。目前最流行的万能动词，是「作出」和「进行」，恶势力之大，几乎要吃掉一半的正规动词。请看下面的例子：
  (一) 本校的校友对社会作出了重大的贡献。
  (二) 昨晚的听众对访问教授作出了十分热烈的反应。
  (三) 我们对国际贸易的问题已经进行了详细的研究。
  (四) 心理学家在老鼠的身上进行试验。
不管是直接或间接的影响，这样的语法都是日渐西化的现象，因为中文原有的动词都分解成上述的繁琐词组了。前面的四句话本来可以分别说成
  (一) 本校的校友对社会贡献很大。
  (二) 昨晚的听众对访问教授反应十分热烈。
  (三) 我们对国际贸易的问题已经详加研究。
  (四) 心理学家用老鼠来做试验。(或：心理学家用老鼠试验。)
巴仁等学者感概现代英文喜欢化简为繁、化动为静、化具体为抽象、化直接为迂回，到了「名词成灾」(noun-plague) 的地步。学问分工日细，各种学科的行话术语，尤其是科学与社会科学的「夹杠」，经过本行使用，外行借用，加上「新闻体」(journalese) 的传播，一方面固然使现代英文显得多彩多姿，另一方面却也造成混乱，使日常用语斑驳不堪。英国诗人格雷夫斯 (Robert Graves, 1895-1986) 在短诗(耕田) (Tilth) 里批评这现象说：
  Gone are the sad monosyllabic days
  When "agricultural labour"still was tilth；
  And "00% approbation", praise;
  And "pornographic modernism", filth-
  And still I stand by tilth and filth and praise.
「名词成灾」的流行病里，灾情最严重的该是所谓「科学至上」(scientism)。在现代的工业社会里，科学早成显贵，科技更是骄子，所以知识分子的口头与笔下，有意无意，总爱用一些「学术化」的抽象名词，好显得客观而精确。有人称之为「伪术语」(pseudo-jargon)。例如：明明是 first step，却要说成 initial phase：明明是 letter，却要说成 communication，都属此类。
中文也是如此。本来可以说「名气」，却凭空造出一个「知名度」来，不说「很有名」，却要迂回作态，貌若高雅，说成「具有很高的知名度」，真是酸腐可笑。另一个伪术语是「可读性」，同样活跃于书评和出版广告。明明可以说「这本传记很动人」，「这本传记引人入胜」，或者干脆说「这本传记很好看」，却要说成「这本传记的可读性颇高」。我不明白这字眼怎么来的，因为这观念在英文里也只用形容词 readable而不用抽象名词 readability。英文会说：The biography is highly readable，却不说 The biography has high readability。此风在台湾日渐嚣张。在电视上，记者早已在说「昨晚的演奏颇具可听性」。在书评里，也已见过这样的句子：「传统写实作品只要写得好，岂不比一篇急躁的实验小说更具可看性？」
我实在不懂那位书评家以不能说「岂不比一篇……更耐看 (更动人)？」同理，「更具前瞻性」难道真比「更有远见」要高雅吗？长此以往，岂不要出现「他讲的这件趣事可笑性很高」一类的怪句？此外，「某某主义」之类抽象名词也使用过度，英美有心人士都主张少用为妙。中国大陆文章很爱说「富于爱国主义的精神」，其实颇有语病。爱国只是单纯的情感，何必学术化为主义？如果爱国也成主义，我们不是也可以说「亲日主义」、「仇美主义」、「怀乡主义」？其次，主义也就是一种精神，不必重复，所以只要说「富于爱国精神」就够了。
名词而分单数与复数，是欧语文的惯例。英文文法的复数变化，比起其它欧洲语文来，单纯得多。请看「玫瑰都很娇小」这句话在英文、法文、德文、西班牙文、意大利文里的各种说法：
  The roses are small.
  Les roses sont petites.
  Die Rosen sind klein.
  Las rosas son chiquitas.
  Le rose sono piccole.
每句话都是四个字，次序完全一样，都是冠词、名词、动词、形容词。英文句里，只有动词跟着名词变化，其它二字则不分单、复数。德文句里，只有形容词不变。法文、西班牙文、意大利文的三句里，因为做主词的名词是复数，其它的字全跟着变化。
幸而中文的名词没有复数的变化，也不区分性别，否则将不胜其繁琐。旧小说的对话里确有「爷们」、「娘们」、「ㄚ头们」等复数词，但是在叙述的部分，仍用「诸姐妹」、「众ㄚ鬟」。中文要表多数的时候，也会说「民众」、「徒众」、「观众」、「听众」，所以「众」也有点「们」的作用。但是「众」也好，「们」也好，在中文里并非处处需要复数语尾。往往，我们说「文武百官」，不说「官们」，也不说「文官们」、「武官们」。同理「全国的同胞」、「全校的师生」、「所有的顾客」、「一切乘客」当然是复数，不必再画蛇添足，加以标明。不少国人惑于西化的意识，常爱这么添足，于是「人们」取代原有的「人人」、「大家」、「大众」、「众人」、「世人」。「人们」实在是丑陃的西化词，林语堂绝不使用，希望大家也不要使用。电视上也有人说「民众们」、「听众们」、「球员们」，实在累赘。尤其「众、们」并用，已经不通。
中文词不分数量，有时也会陷入困境。例如「一位观众」显然不通，但是「观众之一」却嫌累赘，也欠自然。「一位观者」毕竟不像「一位读者」那么现成，所以，「一位观众来信说……」之类的句子，也只好由它去了。
可是「……之一」的泛滥，却不容忽视。「……之一」虽然是单数，但是背景的意识却是多数。和其它欧洲语文一样，英文也爱说 one of my favorite actresses, one of those who believe……, one of the most active promoters。中文原无「……之
一」的句法，现在我们说「观众之一」实在是不得已。至于这样的句子：
  刘伶是竹林七贤之一。
  作为竹林七贤之一的刘伶……
目前已经非常流行。前一句虽然西化，但不算冗赘。后一句却恶性西化的畸婴，不但「作为」二字纯然多余，「之一的」也文白来杂，读来破碎，把主词「刘伶」压在底下，更是扭捏作态。其实，后一句的意思跟前一句完全一样，却把英文的语法 as one of the Seven Worthies of Bamboo Grove, Liu Ling……生吞活剥地搬到中文里来。
所以，与其说「作为竹林七贤之一的刘伶以嗜酒闻名」，何不平平实实地说「刘伶是竹林七贤之一，以嗜酒闻名」？其实前一句也尽有办法不说「之一」。中文本来可以说「刘伶乃竹林七贤之同侪」；「刘伶列于竹林七贤」；「刘伶跻身竹林七贤」；「刘伶是竹林七贤的同人」。
「竹林七贤之一」也好，「文房四宝之一」也好，情况都不严重，因为七和四范围明确，同时逻辑上也不能径说「刘伶是竹林七贤」，「砚乃文房四宝」。目前的不良趋势，是下列这样的句子：
  红楼梦是中国文学的名著之一。
  李广乃汉朝名将之一。
两句之中。「之一」都是蛇足。世间万事万物都有其同俦同类，每次提到其一，都要照顾到其它，也未免太周到了。中国文学名著当然不止一部，汉朝名将当然也不会祇有一人，不加上这死心眼的「之一」，绝对没有人会误会你孤陋寡闻，或者挂一漏万。一旦养成了这种恶习，只怕笔下的句子都要写成「小张是我的好朋友之一」，「我不过是您的平庸的学生之一」，「他的嗜好之一是收集茶壸」了。
「之一」之病到了香港，更变本加厉，成为「其中之一」。在香港的报刊上，早已流行「我是听王家的兄弟其中之一说的」或者「戴维连一直以来都是我最喜欢的导演其中之一」这类怪句。英文复数观念为害中文之深，由此可见。
这就说到「最……之一」的语法来了。英文最喜欢说「他是当代最伟大的思想家之一」，好像真是精确极了，其实未必。「最伟大的」是抬到至高，「之一」却稍加低抑，结果只是抬高，并未真正抬到至高。你并不知道「最伟大的思想家」究竟是几位，四位吗，还是七位，所以弹性颇大。兜了一个大圈子回来，并无多大不同。所以，只要说「他是一个大名人」或「他是赫赫有名的人物」就够了，不必迂而回之，说什么「他是最有名气的人物之一」吧。
在英文里，词性相同的字眼常用and来连接：例如 man and wife, you and I, back and forth。但在中文里，类似的场合往往不用连接词，所以只要说「夫妻」、「你我」、「前后」就够了。同样地，一长串同类词在中文里，也任其并列，无须连接：例如「东南西北」、「金木水火土」、「礼乐射御书数」、「柴米油盐酱醋茶」皆是。中国人绝不说「开门七件事，柴、米、油、盐、酱、醋以及茶。」谁要这么说，一定会惹笑。同理，中文只说「思前想后」、「说古道今」。可是近来and的意识已经潜入中文，到处作怪。港报上有过这样的句子：
   在政治民主化与经济自由化的发展道路，台北显然比北京起步更早及迈步更快，致在政经体制改革的观念、行动、范围及对象，更为深广更具实质……
这样的文笔实在不很畅顺，例如前半句中，当做连接词的「与」、「及」都不必要。
「与」还可以说不必要，「及」简直就要不得。后半句的「更为深广更具实质」才像中文，「起步更早及迈步更快」简直是英文。「及」字破坏了中文生态，因为中文没有这种用法。此地一定要用连接词的话，也只能用「而」，不可用「及」。正如 slow but sure在中文里该说「慢而可靠」或者「缓慢而有把握」，却不可说「慢及可靠」或者「缓慢与有把握」。「而」之为连接词，不但可表更进一步，例如「学而时习之」，还可表后退或修正，例如「国风好色而不淫，小雅怨诽而不乱」，可谓兼有 and 与 but 之功用。
目前的不良趋势，是原来不用连接词的地方，在 and 意识的教唆下，都装上了连接词；而所谓连接词都由「和」、「与」、「及」、「以及」包办，可是灵活而宛转的「而」、「并」、「而且」等词，几乎要绝迹了。
(※英：但也不要不当而而而！）
  介词在英文里的用途远比中文里重要，简直成了英文的润滑剂。英文的不及物动词加上介词，往往变成了及物动词，例如 look after, take in皆是。介词词组
(prepositional phrase) 又可当作形容词或助词使用，例如 a friend in  need, said it in earnest。所以英文简直离不了介词。中文则不尽然。「扬州十日、嘉定三屠」两个词组不用一个介词，换了英文，非用不可。
「欢迎王教授今天来到我们的中间，在有关环境污染的各种问题上，为我们作一次学术性的演讲。」这样不中不西的开场白，到处可以听见。其实「中间」、「有关」等介词，都是画蛇添足。有一些圣经的中译，牧师的传道，不顾中文的生态，会说成「神在你的里面」。意思懂，却不像中文。
「有关」、「关于」之类，大概是用得最滥的介词了。「有关文革的种种，令人不能置信」；「今天我们讨论有关台湾交通的问题」；「关于他的申请，你看过了没有？」在这句子里，「有关」、「关于」完全多余。最近我担任「全国学生文学奖」评审，有一篇投稿的题目很长，叫「关于一个河堤孩子的成长故事」。十三个字里，「关于」两字毫无作用，「一个」与「故事」也可有可无。
「关于」有几个表兄弟，最出风的是「由于」。这字眼在当代中文里，往往用得不妥：
  由于秦末天下大乱，(所以) 群雄四起。
  由于好奇心的驱使，我向窗内看了一眼。
  由于他的家境贫穷，使得他只好休学。
英文在形式上重逻辑，喜欢交代事物物的因果关系。中文则不尽然。「清风徐来，水波不兴」，其中当然有因果关系，但是中文只用上下文作不言之喻。换了是英文，恐怕会说「因为清风徐来，所以水波不兴」，或者「清风徐来，而不兴起水波」。上列的第一句，其实删掉「由于」与「所以」，不但无损文意，反而可使文章干净。第二句的「由于好奇心的驱使」并没有什么大毛病 (注四)，可是有点啰嗦，更犯不着动用「驱使」一类的正式字眼。如果简化为「出于好奇，我向窗内看了一眼」或者「为了好奇，我向窗内看了一眼」，就好多了。第三句的不通，犯者最多。「由于他的家境贫穷」这种词组，只能拿来修饰动词，却不能当做主词。这一句如果删掉「由于」，「使得」一类交代因果的冗词，写成「他家境贫穷，只好休学」，反觉眉清目秀。

英文的副词形式对中文为害尚不显著，但也已经开始了。例如这样的句子：
  他苦心孤诣地想出一套好办法来。
  老师苦口婆心地劝了他半天。
  大家苦中作乐地竟然大唱其民谣。
「苦」字开头的三句成语，本来都是动词，套上副词语尾的「地」就降为副词了。这么一来，文章仍然清楚，文法上却主客分明，太讲从属的关系，有点呆板。若把「地」一律删去，代以逗点，不但可以摆脱这主客的关系，语气也会灵活一些。
有时这样的西化副词词组太长，例如「他知其不可为而为之地还是去赴了约」，就更应把「地」删掉，代之以逗点，使句法松松筋骨。目前最滥的副词是「成功地」。有一次我不该为入学试出了这么一个作文题目：〈国父诞辰的感想〉，结果十个考生里至少有六个都说：「国父孙中山先生成功地推翻了满清。」这副词「成功地」在此毫无意义，因为既然推而翻之，就是成功了，何待重复。同理，「成功地发明了相对论」、「成功地泳渡了直布罗陀海峡」也都是饶舌之说。天下万事，凡做到的都要加上「成功地」，岂不累人？

白话文一用到形容词，似乎就离不开「的」，简直无「的」不成句了。在白话文里，这「的」字成了形容词除不掉的尾巴，至少会出现在这些场合：
  好的，好的，我就来。是的，没问题。
  快来看这壮丽的落日！
  你的笔干了，先用我的笔吧。
  也像西湖的有里外湖一样，丽芒分为大湖小湖两部分。
  他当然是别有用心的。你不去是对的。
喜欢用「的」或者无力拒「的」之人，也许还有更多的场合要偏劳这万能「的」字。我说「偏劳」，因为在英文里，形容词常用的语尾有-tive, -able, -ical, -ous等多种，不像在中文里全由「的」来担任。英文句子里常常连用几个形容词，但因语尾变化颇大，不会落入今日中文的公式。例如雪莱的句子：
  An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying king──
一连五个形容词，直译过来，就成了：
  一位衰老的、疯狂的、瞎眼的、被人蔑视的、垂死的君王──
一碰到形容词，就不假思索，交给「的」去组织，正是流行的白话文所以僵化的原因。
白话文所以啰嗦而软弱，虚字太多是一大原因，而用得最滥的虚字正是「的」。学会少用「的」字之道，恐怕是白话文作家的第一课吧。其实许多名作家在这方面都很随便，且举数例为证：
   (一) 月光是隔了树照过来的，高处丛生的灌木，落下参差的斑驳的黑影，峭楞楞如鬼一般；弯弯的杨柳的稀疏的倩影，却又像是画在荷叶上。
   (二) 最后的鸽群……也许是误认这灰暗的凄冷的天空为夜色的来袭，或是也预感到风雨的将至，遂过早地飞回它们温暖的木舍。
   (三) 白色的鸭也似有一点烦躁了，有不洁的颜色的都市的河沟里传出它们焦急的叫声。
第一句的「参差的斑驳的黑影」和「弯弯的杨柳的稀疏的倩影」，都是单调而生硬的重迭。用这么多「的」，真有必要吗？为什么不能说「参差而斑驳」呢？后面半句的原意本是「弯弯的杨柳投下稀疏的倩影」，却不分层次，连用三个「的」，读者很自然会分成「弯弯的、杨柳的、稀疏的、倩影」。第二句至少可以省掉三个「的」。就是把「灰暗的凄冷的天空」改成「灰暗而凄冷的天空」，再把「夜色的来袭」和「风雨的将至」改成「夜色来袭」、「风雨将至」。前文说过，中文好用短句，英文好用名词，尤其是抽象名词。「夜色来袭」何等有力，「夜色的来袭」就松软下来了。最差的该是第三句了。「白色的鸭」跟「白鸭」有什么不同呢？「有不洁的颜色的都市的河沟」，乱用「的」字，最是惑人。此句原意应是「颜色不洁的都市河沟」(本可简化为)「都市的脏河沟」，但读者同样会念成「有不洁的、颜色的、都市的、河沟」。
目前的形容词又有了新的花样，那便是用学术面貌的抽象名词来打扮。再举数例为证：
  这是难度很高的技巧。
  他不愧为热情型的人。
  太专业性的字眼恐怕查不到吧。
「难度很高的」是什么鬼话呢？原意不就是「很难的」吗？同理，「热情型的人」就是「热情的人」；「太专业性的字眼」就是「太专门的字眼」。到抽象名词里去兜了一圈回来，门面像是堂皇了，内容仍是空洞的。
形容词或修饰语 (modifier) 可以放在名词之前，谓之前饰，也可以跟在名词之后，谓之后饰。法文往往后饰，例如纪德的作品 La Symphonie pastorale与 Les
Nourritures terrestres，形容词都跟在名词之后；若译成英文，例如 The Pastoral Symphony，便是前饰了。中文译为「田园交响乐」，也是前饰。
英文的形容词照例是前饰，例如前引雪莱的诗句，但有时也可以后饰，例如雪莱的另一诗句：One too like thee--tameless, and swift, and proud 。至于形容词片或
子句，则往往后饰，例如：man of action, I saw a man who looked like your brother。（※英：此例极佳，请注意！）
目前的白话文，不知何故，几乎一律前饰，似乎不懂后饰之道。例如前引的英文句，若用中文来说，一般人会不假思索说成：「我见到一个长得像你兄弟的男人。」却很少人会说：「我见到一个男人，长得像你兄弟。」如果句短，前饰也无所谓。如果句长，前饰就太生硬了。例如下面这句：「我见到一个长得像你兄弟说话也有点像他的陌生男人。」就冗长得尾大不掉了。要是改为后饰，就自然得多：「我见到一个陌生男人，长得像你兄弟，说话也有点像他。」其实文言文的句子往往是后饰的，例如司马迁写项羽与李广的这两句：
  籍长八尺余，力能扛鼎，才气过人。
  广为人长，猿臂，其善射亦天性也。
这两句在当代白话文里，很可能变成：
  项籍是一个身高八尺，力能扛鼎，同时才气过人的汉子。
  李广是一个高个子，手臂长得好像猿臂，天性就会射箭的人。
后饰句可以一路加下去，虽长而不失自然，富于弹性。前饰句以名词压底，一长了，就显得累赘，紧张，不胜负担。所以前饰句是关闭句，后饰句是开放句。
动词是英文文法的是非之地，多少纠纷，都是动词惹出来的。英文时态的变化，比起其它欧洲语文来，毕竟单纯得多。若是西班牙文，一个动词就会变出七十八种时态。
中文的名词不分单复与阴阳，动词也不变时态，不知省了多少麻烦。(阿房宫赋) 的句子：「秦人不暇自哀，而后人哀之。后人哀之而不鉴之，亦使后人而复哀后人也。」就这么一个「哀」字，若用西文来说，真不知要玩出多少花样来。
中文本无时态变化，所以在这方面幸而免于西化。中国文化这么精妙，中文当然不会拙于分别时间之先后。散文里说：「人之将死，其言也善」；「议论未定，而兵已渡河。」诗里说：「已凉天气未寒时」。这里面的时态够清楚的了。苏轼的七绝：「荷尽已无擎雨盖，菊残犹有傲霜枝。一年好景君须记，最是橙黄橘绿时。」面的时序，有已逝，有将逝，更有正在发生，区别得准确而精细。
中文的动词既然不便西化，一般人最多也只能写出「我们将要开始比赛了」之类的句子，问题并不严重。动词西化的危机另有两端：一是单纯动词分解为「弱动词+ 抽象名词」的复合动词，前文已经说过。不说「一架客机失事，死了九十八人」，却说「一架客机失事，造成九十八人死亡」，实在是迂回作态。
另一端是采用被动词语气。凡是及物动词，莫不发于施者而及于受者。所以用及物动词叙述一件事，不出下列三种方式：
  (一) 哥伦布发现了新大陆。
  (二) 新大陆被哥伦布发现了。
  (三) 新大陆被发现了。
第一句施者做主词，乃主动语气。第二句受者做主词，乃被动语气。第三句仍是受者做主词，仍是被动，却不见施者。这三种句子在英文里都很普遍，但在中文里却以第一种最常见，第二、第三种就少得多。第三种在中文里常变成主动语气，例如「糖都吃光了」，「戏看完了」，「稿写了一半」，「钱已经用了」。
目前西化的趋势，是在原来可以用主动语气的场合改用被动语气。请看下列的例句：
  (一) 我不会被你这句话吓倒。
  (二) 他被怀疑偷东西。
  (三) 他这意见不被人们接受。
  (四) 他被升为营长。
  (五) 他不被准许入学。
这些话都失之生硬，违反了中文的生态。其实，我们尽可还原为主动语气如下：
  (一) 你这句话吓不倒我。
  (二) 他有偷东西的嫌疑。
  (三) 他这意见大家都不接受。
  (四) 他升为营长。
  (五) 他未获准入学。
同样，「他被选为议长」不如「他当选为议长」。「他被指出许多错误」也不如「有人指出他许多错误」。「他常被询及该案的真相」也不如「常有人问起他该案的真相」。
目前中文的被动语气有两个毛病。一个是用生硬的被动语气来取代自然的主动语气。另一个是千篇一律只会用「被」字，似乎因为它发音近于英文的 by，却不解从「受难」到「遇害」，从「挨打」到「遭殃」，从「轻人指点」到「为世所重」，可用的字还有许多，不必套一个公式。
中文的西化有重有轻，有暗有明，但其范围愈益扩大，其现象愈益昭彰，颇有加速之势。以上仅就名词、连接词、介词、副词、形容词、动词等西化之病稍加分析，希望读者能举一反三，知所防范。
常有乐观的人士说，语言是活的，有如河流，不能阻其前进，所谓西化乃必然趋势。语言诚然是活的，但应该活得健康，不应带病延年。至于河流的比喻，也不能忘了两岸，否则泛滥也会成灾。西化的趋势当然也无可避免，但不宜太快、太甚，应该截长补短，而非以短害长。
颇有前卫作家不以杞人之忧为然，认为坚持中文的常规，会妨碍作家的创新。这句话我十分同情，因为我也是「过来人」了。「语法岂为我辈而设哉！」诗人本有越界的自由。我在本文强调中文的生态，原为一般写作说法，无意规范文学的创作。前卫作家大可放心去追逐缪思，不用碍手碍脚，作语法之奴。
不过有一点不可不知。中文发展了好几千年，从清通到高妙，自有千锤百炼的一套常态。谁要是不知常态为何物而贸然自诩为求变，其结果也许只是献拙，而非生巧。变化之妙，要有常态衬托才显得出来。一旦常态不存，余下的只是乱，不是变了。

Fonts

2013-07-01T15:54:00.001-04:00

它们也是象形字

2013-06-28T17:05:00.000-04:00

来: 原指“麦“
它 : 和”也“一样，都是指蛇
自: 这是”鼻“的象形字

汉语，从综合语到分析语

2013-06-28T16:34:00.001-04:00

古汉语是一种综合语, 有用读音（音调）来区分词性或词义的现象。如《汉书·韩信列传》: “汉王授我上将军印, 数万之众, 解衣衣我, 推食食我。” 名词和动词虽然字形一致，却读音不同。好比英语中以重音区分词性的现象: 'record（名词）, re'cord（动词）

海水朝朝朝朝朝朝朝落, 浮云长长长长长长长消

Python_Learning: The Zen of Python

2013-06-27T16:29:00.001-04:00

The Zen of Python
Beautiful is better than ugly.
Explicit is better than implicit.
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated.
Flat is better than nested.
Sparse is better than dense.
Readability counts.
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
Although practicality beats purity.
Errors should never pass silently.
Unless explicitly silenced.
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than *right* now.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!

Mandarin is simple

2013-04-22T00:25:00.001-04:00

mandarin：
xi（习）；xi（曦）；xi（系）；xi（西）；xi（吸）；xi（息）；xi（夕）；xi（席）；xi（溪）；xi（锡）

cantonese： zaap（习）；hei（曦）；hai（系）；sai（西）；kap（吸）；sik（息）；zik（夕）；zip（席）；kai（溪）；sek（锡）；

Excel Tips_How to Replace Strings

2013-04-18T14:58:00.000-04:00

I 'm working on the mass excel data refining. All the abbreviates need to be replaced in their original look. Those abbreviates are different format, like "St", "St."or "ST", I have to find all of them and replace with "Street". Sounds easy, but not true. If you simply look up "St" / "ST", you may also find words which including that string, for example, "Study".

Tips:

1, Since every Street has a name before it, to find "St" or "ST", just put a space before it when use Ctrl+H, say " St" / " ST". This step could avoid words in the cell which start with "St"
2, Remember to check "Match case"
3, Replace with " Street"
4, Then you will find some "Streetreet"s, don't worry, try Ctrl+H again to find all of them
5, Replace with "Street"
Done!

how to connect two laptops

2012-07-30T14:40:00.001-04:00

心得篇：粤语入声字尾韵的读法

2011-11-29T13:07:00.001-05:00

最近通过练习，我在读k、t、p这三个尾韵上有一些心得。

1、这三个尾韵都不真正发音，而是做出发音的动作便戛然而止；
2、p音要合嘴；
3、k音要舌根顶住上颚；
4、t音要舌尖顶住上齿。

亨氏签证受限指数Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index

2011-11-16T17:12:00.001-05:00

https://www.henleyglobal.com/fileadmin/pdfs/content/hvri2010_globalRanking.pdf

亚洲国家里只有日本排进前十

而中国，则是和尼泊尔、也门并列第88名

而名列倒数的是伊拉克和阿富汗两兄弟

俺做啥恁吃啥——第一周

2011-11-02T18:01:00.000-04:00

榜样的力量啊！拥有好生活习惯的室友是很好的，大黄也开始尝试早睡早起跑gym（学习Guidann姐姐好榜样），以及中午回家吃顿饭（学习Cesar叔叔好榜样）。小曦本来每天早上做早餐的时候顺便把大黄的午饭便当搞定，现在要一天三顿都认真做了。近来研究厨艺，所以趁机把一日三餐向博客汇报，也做一个笔记，一遍以后开启心爱的食品小屋，能从中制造菜单。

2011-11-2
早餐：豆浆（昆明买的干黄豆浸泡一碗一碗，九阳豆浆机）；葱油饼
午餐：番茄炒鸡蛋；蒜蓉炒苋菜；海带虾米汤
晚餐：罗宋汤；蒜香吐司

2011-11-3
早餐：洋葱牛柳面
午餐：水晶南瓜；青椒牛肉；豆渣酥
晚餐：蒸鸡蛋；青椒肉片；海带猪蹄汤

下周就要搬家了，时间紧迫，我便早一些开始收拾打包。昨天在线上遇到老友，问我最近忙不忙，我就说忙着搬家呢。在她说“搬家最辛苦了”的时候，我还沉浸在搬家所带来的新鲜的喜悦感之中。今天随便收拾一下，就让我尝到了“辛苦”的滋味。今天菜也没有好好做，连续两顿吃牛肉，连续两顿吃青椒炒肉，晚餐也被善意地投诉了——猪蹄炖得太烂，吃起来发腻。不过，中午的水晶南瓜第一次做就获得了好评，大黄甚至说“这个菜打一百分”。不过也有瑕疵——南瓜本来就很甜了，勾的芡汁里面就不要加糖了。

西班牙海鲜饭paella大受欢迎

2011-10-31T11:53:00.002-04:00

停电了将近40个小时之后，打开邮箱，发现里面躺着这么一封邮件，对热爱厨艺的我来说，绝对是一份温暖。

我一早就想在大曦上公开我版本的paella，但一直懒懒的。paella已经做过好几次，每次都叫好，而且中间还经过西班牙的小露西亲自点拨（虽然大黄说她做的都没有我做的好吃，但我始终认为人家西班牙人要正宗一些），并给予好评。今天看到这个邮件，一激动就立马回复了，然后就懒懒地把邮件直接抄过来。

不好意思，我们家停电停了30多个小时，刚刚来电。

那个海鲜饭就是自己琢磨的，大家能喜欢真是让鄙人受宠若惊！其实做法很简单，重点是要有藏红花saffron。这个料很贵，真正的藏红花料是用花蕊做的，一公斤要800美金呢！我一般就买花瓣做的，在伍斯特downtown的墨西哥超市compare food就可以买到，一小袋就几块钱。下面我就大概写写做这个海鲜饭（西班牙语paella，读作“拍呀”）的步骤吧：

1、准备材料：一个带盖子的平底锅；橄榄油；大米（免淘洗）；鸡腿肉；高汤；彩椒；洋葱；西红柿；海鲜（我是在越南店mekong买的一包的海鲜mix，有海红肉、虾、蟹肉等）；柠檬；黑胡椒；盐；藏红花

2、平底锅烧热，放入橄榄油，把洋葱和蒜末炒香；

3、放入鸡腿肉炒到断生，加入盐和黑胡椒；

4、放入彩椒翻炒两下；

5、放入大米翻炒；

6、加入高汤高过大米一些（不要太多，海鲜饭是夹生饭才好吃）；

7、把海鲜均匀铺在锅里；

8、撒上藏红花，挤几滴柠檬汁；

9、盖上盖子，小火煮一会儿；

10、待汤收了，就可以上桌吃了：）

另：海鲜，最好是去Shaws买一袋海红blue mussel，用一个深一些的锅加黄油融化，把洗好的mussel炒一炒，然后盖上锅盖焖一会儿，待哪些mussel都开盖了，香气四溢的时候就可以盛出来，到步骤7时，把mussel插到饭里就可以了。

写完了，就那么简单，不是吗？这个是纯粹中国人写的菜谱，材料的用量全都没有具体写，都是适量，呵呵，因为我每次做也都是按感觉加料，但是奇怪的是，每次做出来的味道都还不错呢！

洋娃娃

2011-10-26T00:51:00.001-04:00

粤语里的尾韵

2011-10-25T16:02:00.002-04:00

小曦最近在中文学校教kindergarten的小朋友们中文。根据教材的设置，我们是从中文的数字开始学起的。学习一种新的语言，不是从吃喝拉撒衣住行这种最生活的东西开始，而是从数数开始，这确实让人说不出道理却又总习惯去做。我很小的时候就开始学习英语，老人见了我，问我英语学得怎么样，让我表演表演，我开口就是“汪，土，水，火……”。而到了挪威，想跟朋友学学挪威语，也是劈头就问人家怎么用挪威语数一到十。粤语也是一样，我看到很多人都说自己会一些粤语，让他们说说看的时候，他们就开始“呀，咦，三，噻……”。我自己也一样，认为把粤语里的一到十都说得很溜了，后来认真学习粤语拼音才发现，粤语的发音可是有玄机的。粤语不但声调比普通话多，而且还有很多带韵尾的字，而韵尾的概念是普通话里根本没有的。就拿数字一到十举例，除了“二”、“四”、“九”这三个字的发音跟普通话类似——也是“声母+韵母”的模式之外，其余几个都是很特别的。以下是我的一些心得，不一定完全准确。

“一”，拼作“jat1”，格式可以解读为声母“j”+韵母“a”+韵尾“t”，调号为“1”；因为有了韵尾t，所以收尾短促，并且以舌顶上齿、欲发“t”音但尚未发出的状态作结。因此，读“一”的时候，要短促而有力，而不是很多人读的“呀aaaaaa”；

“二”，拼作“ji6”，可以读得拖一些；

“三”，拼作“sam1”，收尾的时候要闭嘴，做出发“m”音的状态；

“四”，拼作“sei3”；

“五”，拼作“ng5”，这个音最有意思，因为发这个音的时候，嘴从始至终都没有张开过，而是从鼻子里哼出一个调子，类似于普通话里的“嗯”。粤语里常用“唔”取代“不”，这个“唔”也是和“五”类似的发音（拼作“ng4”）。比如“不用”在粤语里是“唔使”，我最喜欢和大黄说这个词，说的时候，就是鼻子里憋一口气先哼一声读出“唔”，再顺势张开嘴读出“使”；但大黄说的时候，就会说成“毛塞”，就是读“唔”的时候没有把嘴巴闭起来的原因。

“六”，拼作“luk6”，这个音带着韵尾“k”，和“一”一样，也是一个入声字。虽然“k”不真的发出来，但是已经有这个趋势了。如果这个字后面再跟上一个字一起读的话，有些时候就能听出韵尾“k”了。比如，英语“taxi”，粤语翻译成“的士”，这个音译就比普通话的音译“出租车”要更接近原来语言的发音，因为“的”（dik1），当它和“士”（si3）拼在一起的时候，就读作“diksi”，是可以听出“k”音的！

“七”，拼作“cat1”，参看“一”；

“八”，拼作“baat”，这个韵母“aa”比“a”的嘴型要大些，韵尾的读法同上；

“九”，拼作“gau”；

“十”，拼作“sap”，韵尾是“p”，收尾的时候又是要闭嘴的。我想起一部港片里，一个内地人甲跟香港人乙赔礼道歉后说了句，“这样的话，你接不接受啊？”结果那个香港人一听就火了，为什么呢？因为甲不懂韵尾，他把“接”按照普通话的习惯读成了“zi”，而不是“zip”！“zip sau”和“zi sau”，仅仅一“p”之差，前者是“接受”，后者听起来就像是“折寿”了。谁听了不生气！

========================================

【转】粤语拼音解读：

声母表:
b p m f d t n l
g k ng h z c s
gw kw j w

说明:ng等于国语的ng,等于英语的ng,只是做为声母
kw等于国语的guan的gu
gw等于国语的kuan的ku
j 等于国语的y,等于英语的[j]
z,c,s应该像国语的j,q,x那样
n 年轻广东人都经常把 n 发成 l 了

-----------------

韵母表：
aa a e i o oe eo u yu m ng
aai ai ei oi eoi ui
aau au eu iu ou
aam am em im
aan an en in on eon un yun
aang ang eng ing ong oeng ung
aap ap ep ip
aat at et it ot eot ut yut
aak ak ek ik ok oek uk

说明：aa像国语的a(口张得大一点),像英语的[a:]
a 像国语的a(口张得小一点),
像英语的[v^],(^表示把前一字母倒过来看),即sun中的u的音
e 等于英语的[e]
o 等于国语的o,等于英语的[c^]
oe等于法语的[oe],像国语的yue中的ue,其实是嘴唇变圆然后发[e]
比较难发,我觉得oeng大约可发成[ec^ng],
eo等于法语的[o/]([o]中音加一撇),其实是嘴唇变圆然后发[ei]
比较难发,我觉得可以u代替它.如eoi发成ui
yu等于国语的yu,等于法语的[y]
m 作单独的韵母,即闭着口,从鼻子呼气
ng作单独的韵母,作出ng的口形,从鼻子呼气,年青广东人都发成 m 了
ui是[ u ]+[ i ],注意:国语的ui是uei的简写,而粤语是真的[ ui ]
un是[ u ]+[ n ],注意:国语的un是uen的简写,而粤语是真的[ un ]
iu是[ i ]+[ u ],注意:国语的iu是iou的简写,而粤语是真的[ iu ]

-----------------

音调:
1调(55) 2调(35) 3调(33) 4调(31) 5调(13) 6调(11)