I don’t hate taxes. I just hate filing taxes.

The IRS and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue have made perhaps the most convoluted forms and instructions I’ve ever used. No wonder tax preparation software is so popular.

Also, WHY in the world would Pennsylvania make people round to the nearest dollar for all amounts? It’s a prescription for inaccuracy and accumulated rounding. I’m sure there are accountants out there cringing at the very thought.

Every pencil-and-eraser user’s greatest annoyance is getting rid of eraser shavings. The top YouTube result for “how to remove eraser shavings” is a rarely-viewed video (~300 views right now) showing the use of a compressed air canister:

No, that’s not how you do it!

Using compressed air to blow eraser shavings, or the simpler equivalent of blowing them off one’s desk… only move eraser shavings to the ground, where they will remain until you vacuum the floor. I don’t call that cleaning.

In the case that you don’t have a breadcrumb-type, portable handheld vacuum, try following my advice.

My solution: lint rollers

Yes, these things.

Roll one gently across the surface of a desk, and they’ll clean up eraser shavings as well as some of the dust. Peel off the sheet when you’re done and the eraser shavings will follow, into the trash, where they belong.

Another neat cleaning application

You can also use your favourite lint roller to remove dust and particles from your mousepad!

This kind of violence on a defenceless victim should be condemned and strictly prosecuted. The Chicago police and prosecutors have a responsibility to bring those involved to justice.

I’ve been attending classes for nearly three weeks here at the University of Pennsylvania, and in this short month I have already experienced many aspects of college life: meeting new people, making new friends, learning new things, trying new things, seeing new places, and so on… (This post was originally drafted in September 2011 but has been revised for December 2011; the new intro follows.)

Update (January 28, 2012): I’ve decided to remove password protection from this post and open it up to the world.

I just completed my first semester at the University of Pennsylvania. The past three months have brought me many joys: new friends, new experiences, and new knowledge. It’s been a rollercoaster of sorts—the cycles of stress due to impending exams, strange sleeping patterns, and a litany of decisions from picking courses to prioritizing assignments. It has been, however, rewarding.

For those who have not yet left the warmth and comfort of a family home, the most important thing to know is that university life is quite unlike high school life. (You probably knew that already, but I wanted to confirm it nevertheless.) Yes, there will still be classes with people you know, but lectures are much bigger, and it is entirely possible that TAs and professors will grade your papers/tests without ever meeting you face to face. Of course, university life is also different in that you will be running your own life. I’ll elaborate on this later.

For those who are experiencing university for the first time as well, it will be interesting to compare your experiences to mine. Every university has its own unique atmosphere, level of academic rigour, diversity of students, breadth of opportunities, and social climate. Of course, there are some common traits, such as students’ immense freedom, increased responsibilities (not only in time management, but in eating well, shopping for basic living needs, doing laundry, etc).

To anyone who is reading this post, I want to make it clear that anything subjective I write is only my personal opinion. My perception of Penn, or of college life, may differ significantly from that of someone else in a different social circle, program of study, or undergraduate school; it may also differ from that of someone who is living a (virtually) identical life. Even if I am experiencing something joyful at Penn, I cannot guarantee that you would make the same conclusions after the same experiences. The same goes for anything I complain about. Still, this post will contain objective information about the educational experience at the University of Pennsylvania.

Locust Walk, University of Pennsylvania

Notice of Americanism: I will use the term ‘college’ to refer to four-year institutions, like the University of Pennsylvania, interchangeably with the term ‘university.’ Don’t let this confuse you, my non-American reader.

Let’s jump right into how I feel about life at university in general.

College Life in General, and Independence

Hanging out with friends. Finding a solitary spot in a silent location to read. Grabbing breakfast on the go. Running across campus between classes. Studying together for an impending midterm. Going downtown to shop. Attending a show by various campus performing arts groups. Doing laundry—and rushing to catch the washing machine before someone else claims it. Sleeping after 3 a.m. Learning to deal with loud neighbours.

Those are just some of the things that seem to define college life. There is so much flexibility and freedom that students must take advantage of, which, of course, come with a great burden of responsibility. There is no longer a parent looking over my shoulder, telling me to sleep, calling me downstairs to dinner, or worrying if my whereabouts are unknown during the wee hours of the night. Meeting with friends is a decision to be made on my own; there is no one to consult anymore.

I enjoy this kind of lifestyle. Many high school students seek the sort of independence that living on their own provides. Going to school very far from home certainly adds to that aspect of independence. It’s also different, I would surmise, even for those who are accustomed to life at a boarding school, since there are few boundaries or rules enforced by the institution with regards to a student’s personal life and activities.

A very real problem for college students—at least, those who care.

It’s important, as an independent young adult, to balance my priorities, just as it is for all others undergoing post-secondary education. College life invariably means some mixture of academic work with extracurricular involvement and socializing. Sleep is in the list of three things to pick from mostly because it is a biological necessity. At times, it truly takes effort to complete a lab report, write an essay for Intro to Bioengineering, prepare for a physics quiz, and get enough sleep (but not too much, since the lab starts at 9 in the morning)—all in one night.

Academics at Penn

 That brings us to the academics. Penn is, of course, an Ivy League peer, and has a reputation built on its standards, in addition to its opportunities. (That’s not to suggest that other universities, such as Stanford, MIT, Duke, Chicago, or Berkeley, do not match or exceed us in their own ways.)

The University of Pennsylvania offers a full range of programs, from the oft-ridiculed Communications major in the College of Arts and Sciences (henceforth “College” with a capital C) or the Finance concentration that might as well become Wharton’s core curriculum, to the typical pre-med Biological Basis of Behavior (BBB) major with an 88% med school acceptance rate, to such competitive cross-school dual degree programs such as the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology (M&T), the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, and the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management (Vagelos LSM). Penn’s most heavily burdened (you might say overworked) students are often found in M&T, the Vagelos Scholars Program in Molecular Life Sciences (Vagelos MLS), and the dual-degree program in Nursing and Health Care Management. Then there’s the new Integrated Studies program, in which students live together and learn to approach problems from an interdisciplinary perspective, just like the polymaths of the Renaissance.

Penn provides the opportunities for a motivated student to learn to his or her heart’s content. There’s also a great amount of flexibility to take classes in other undergraduate schools. For instance, although I am enrolled in the School of Engineering and Applied Science (henceforth “SEAS” or “Engineering”), I am taking a macroeconomics course in the College, a statistics course and an accounting course in Wharton next semester. Strong undergraduates are also able to take graduate-level (e.g. MBA or Master’s) classes with approval. Benjamin Franklin Seminars, too, provide enrichment at a level unusual for undergraduate education.

None of this, however, means that classes are insurmountable. 4.0 GPAs are, at least through the first year or two, achievable—and in tough classes, too. Due to the holistic admissions process, the student body is diverse enough to comprise individuals who are, variously, strong in academics (96% of students were in the top decile of their class in high school), leadership, or athletics (and not necessarily all of the above). The grading policies, which usually grant grades on a curve, also account for variations in difficulty across sections and courses. Consequently, the “true” academic stars—especially those who find little trouble adjusting to university—will continue to receive top grades, even if they elect to take Honours classes or place out using AP credit. (Students whose marks in high school were inflated, or who are valuable to the university community for reasons other than academic excellence, may be disappointed to learn of their actual achievement at Penn.)

While Penn lacks the kind of core curriculum that other institutions such as Columbia, Duke, and Chicago have embraced, each of the undergraduate schools at Penn (College, Engineering, Wharton, Nursing) has designed common requirements that encourage a balanced education. All freshmen must take a writing seminar. Most undergrads, except those in Engineering, have a foreign language requirement as well. Wharton freshmen take a portfolio of classes across departments so that they can sample the various concentrations before focusing their path. College students have General Education requirements such as Formal Reasoning & Analysis to build a reasonable liberal arts foundation. Engineering majors also need to fulfill Social Science and Humanities requirements, including a depth requirement in one specific field.

Fisher Fine Arts Library, University of Pennsylvania

Academic Support & Resources

I’ll just summarize some of the amazing resources that we have access to:

• A tremendous library system, with interlibrary loans within the entire Ivy League + MITas well as another exchange with colleges in the neighbouring Pennsylvania region
  • Thorough access to online scholarly databases, electronic guidebooks and collections
  • Study spaces that can be reserved for group collaboration in all of the libraries, many College Houses, and some buildings where classes are held (notably Jon M. Huntsman Hall)
  • Powerful computing hardware and software, with multimedia suites and even rooms for film/audio editing
• Countless free tutoring services for students who need help and a centre for learning disabilities, another for writing, etc etc etc…
• Professors, many of them enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their fields of teaching and research, who are directly accessible during office hours
• A center for undergraduate research to connect students with such enrichment opportunities
• Academic enrichment in College Houses through residential programs and coordinated activities (for example, certain professors who live in Ware College House help students with paper-writing)
• Faculty advisors and peer mentors who guide students through course/curriculum planning—some are unhelpful, but my faculty advisor is knowledgeable and amazing
• Study-abroad and exchange programs to broaden students’ perspectives
• An office for career services to assist with career planning, graduate admissions, and employment search—from the time of matriculation to the end of an alumnus’s life

Sound like an ad? This isn’t meant to be; I’ve personally seen and/or used many of these resources. When a university is this great, students like me become their best salespeople.

4-year graduation rate: 92%
6-year graduation rate: 96%

Student-to-faculty ratio: 6:1

To put it succinctly, if you are a high school student with your sights set on elite American universities, do not dismiss the University of Pennsylvania.

Living & Social Life

“Okay, I get it,” you say. “Penn is a great school. But I don’t want my four years just to be about my education—I want to meet people and have fun too!”

You’re reading the right post.

The student population at Penn is diverse. Some people excel at certain academic areas, while others have non-academic skills in networking or community service. Some are boundlessly passionate about politics, while others might focus their passion on computing and technology, and yet others choose music and the arts. Some come from Philadelphia, while others hail from halfway across the globe. Some are the first in their families to go to college, while others are the sons and daughters of doctors, lawyers, or professors. Some receive federal Pell Grants and Penn’s generous no-loan financial aid, while others’ families pay tuition and fees in full. Some are staunch atheists, while others are devout Christians; yet others make up a large Jewish population. While we each seek out friends with whom we share commonalities, we also learn to appreciate them for their differences.

In my first semester, I realized how much I loved my College House. For those of you who are unaware, Penn’s residence system isn’t just a bunch of dorms and buildings; immense communities exist within them, and they are often freshmen’s first place to make friends. Residential programs, such as the Study of Infectious Diseases floor in Ware (in which I currently reside), create clusters of like-minded individuals who have common interests and who take part in enrichment activities. Study breaks, hall brunches, house dinners, orchestra/ballet outings… all serve to foster student communities that are inextricably linked with the faculty of the House.

Stepping outside the safe haven of the Quad, one finds 468 student organizations, with clubs for people of every background and interest. Ethnic groups, faith-based groups, performing arts groups, student government groups, civic groups, publications, LGBT support groups… the list goes on and on. Those who are so inclined may party with the fraternities and sororities and pledge starting in the spring of freshman year. Those who don’t crave these groups will still build their own friend groups out of shared interests and existing friendships; I know my friends and I are totally capable of enjoying ourselves on our own.

Alcohol and drugs are, like at any other university, a part of some students’ lives. (Alcohol more so than drugs.) One might even say that it’s part of the act of networking. Even aside from frat parties, clubs usually have casual BYOs at restaurants, creating chances for students to socialize in a different kind of atmosphere. It speaks volumes, however, that students take part in mandatory alcohol/substance education prior to freshman year, and those who choose not to partake in these activities are in no means obligated to; there is no widespread campus culture of substance abuse. Although underage drinking is illegal, the university seeks to rehabilitate rather than punish students who do so. Disciplinary action for underage drinking in the College Houses usually consists of a mandatory session with a trained counsellor, and rarely progresses much further. A liberal medical amnesty policy ensures students’ safety and health above all concerns of disciplinary responses.

If you want something to do aside from student clubs, house activities, parties, and BYOs, there’s always downtown Philadelphia (Center City) a few subway or trolley stops away. Restaurants, malls, the orchestra and ballet, and classy as well as quirky shops can all be located on the other side of the river. If you like to play sports, Penn Park was recently built and boasts tennis courts, soccer and baseball fields… not to mention the picnic area.

Penn Park

What does all this mean?

Allow me to be blunt and straightforward:

I have greatly enjoyed my first semester at Penn, and cannot wait to see what the next three and a half years will bring.

If you are a student in high school, I want you to come to Penn. I don’t know what effect this post will have had on you, but I hope you get the idea: I love it here. I think you would, too.

Back in the days before I applied to Penn, I posted about the 5 best university admissions videos. If nothing else, I implore you at least to take a look at Penn’s.

This last video isn’t targeted to admissions, but it also captures the university in film.

Happy New Year’s, everyone.

- Frederick J. Ding

It’s ridiculously easy to get back into Canada from the United States, it seems, especially for a Canadian citizen.

“Where do you live?
“What were you doing in the States?
“What are you bringing with you?
“Any alcohol, tobacco, or controlled substances?
“Any weapons or firearms?”

Meanwhile, the guy is processing my passport in a reader. The whole interaction was under 20 seconds. Efficient enough, it seems.

When I entered the US on F-1 status, on the other hand, baggage had to go through an X-ray machine, questions were asked about fresh produce (why does that even matter), officers grilled other people for a long time, and the overall trip time gained about two hours from the border.

I don’t think there’s any difference in effective border safety/security on the two sides of this bridge.

3D in my browser, rendered by my browser? I gotta get this.

Right now*, I stand among several dozen patients at Health Center #3, operated by the Philadelphia city government to provide clinical care to residents in a way that is available even to those without insurance or wealth. I’ve nearly been waiting for two hours for a quick skin test.

My alternative is Student Health Service, on another edge of campus, where there is a comfortable environment, shorter waiting times, and probably better trained personnel.

Instead of taking advantage of the benefits afforded to me by my student health insurance plan, a consequence of my attendance at the University of Pennsylvania, I chose this clinic because I could get the test done on an earlier date. I imagined it wouldn’t be as great of a place as SHS, or the expansive, top-tier hospitals of Penn Medicine, but what I am experiencing has convinced me, even more so than I thought before, of the epic failures of the American health care system.

* This post has since been revised and reformatted, although it was initiated during my time in the clinic.

A comparison

Those who are fortunate enough to have employer- or school-sponsored health insurance may have access to HMO hospitals, clinics, and doctors.

Those who attend a comprehensive university like mine may have access to the combined resources of a student health clinic and a set of university hospitals merely a block away.

Those who are in the lower strata of income and status, or whose recent unemployment leaves them uninsured, are relegated to public institutions such as these health centers, left to understaffed clinics, long wait times, and expensive, unaffordable medications. Some of these people are also caught outside the eligibility criteria of governmental programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

I’m from Canada

If timing weren’t an issue, I would just do this skin test back at home in Ontario, Canada. Sure, the skin test itself might not be covered by the provincial OHIP program, but at least every resident (after a certain number of months of residence) has access to physicians and walk in clinics at no basic charge beyond their taxes; those who are below the low-income cutoff might even pay $0 in federal and/or provincial taxes.

There is no such thing as a general practitioner who will turn you away because you “belong” to another unaffiliated insurance company. Low income citizens do not have to go to a crowded government “health center” for basic medical care; any privately-operated walk-in clinic, or a family doctor who is accepting new patients, will do. The UK also demonstrates how access to prescription medicine can be broadened.

Even those who are insured in the US are shocked when they find the cost of health care to be much higher than budgeted.

• Students on our private university-organized insurance plan still must pay a $100 co-pay to go to the emergency room, although the co-pay is waived under restrictive conditions
• There’s a co-pay of $35 for an X-ray diagnostic test. I had a chest X-ray done as a matter of an annual physical examination over the summer in Canada, and it was covered by OHIP.
• Flu vaccinations are $24 (at least) in the vicinity of this university. While private health insurance may cover the cost, it’s surprising that this basic tool of public health isn’t free; municipal governments in Ontario almost universally administer them at no charge, and they are available through doctors’ offices, public health clinics, walk-in clinics, and even some pharmacies.

Even if we forget entirely about how much this sucks compared to medical care in Canada—which admittedly has its own issues—the disparities in access to, and quality of, health care between classes here in the United States should be appalling.

Dr. David Himmelstein of The Cambridge Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues, authored a paper in the International Journal of Health Services in 2004 on the inefficiencies in the American health care system. One of the most potent conclusions is summarized in the abstract:

The United States wastes more on health care bureaucracy than it would cost to provide health care to all its uninsured … Only a single-payer national health insurance system could garner these massive administrative savings, allowing universal coverage without any increase in total health spending.

He also concludes that, in the US in 1999, “administrative spending consumed at least 31.0 percent of health spending… [i]n contrast, administrative costs in Canada… are about 16.7 percent of health spending.” I imagine some people are profiting from this spending.

Closing

I am a student, who, as a matter of circumstance (i.e. parents’ hard work) and fortune, have access to one of the top hospital systems in America. Not everyone is as fortunate. And it takes a bit of altruism to be able to stand up in a position like this and advocate on behalf of those who can’t.

Experience has shown that a weak populace is easier to rule over. One wonders if the goal of weakening the populace, especially the poor, is the reason that America continues to fail at reforming health care.

Neat-o.

The guy who played Alan Shore in Boston Legal took over Dundler-Mifflin Scranton and Sabre?! How did he talk the previous CEO (Jo Bennett) into giving him her own job?

Rick Perry’s worst marks

Trigonometry (D), organic chemistry I (D), organic chemistry II (F!), organic chem lab (D), Shakespeare (D), economics (D), Keats (D), “writing for professional men” (D)…

How did he ever get a Bachelor’s degree in animal science?

Drawing connections

It’s no surprise Governor Perry denies evolution (“a theory that’s out there”) and global warming (“a contrived phony mess”). The lack of training in economics might also explain his ridiculous stance towards the role of an independent Federal Reserve and its chairman.

Given his educational record, one might speculate that his lacklustre efforts in university translate to his cost-cutting approaches to public/higher education in the state of Texas. 61.3% of high school students graduate? That’s terrible! One shudders to think of what might occur if he were president.

Organic chem must have been a requirement for his program of study. One wonders why he didn’t switch to a program a little more appropriate for his aptitudes.

Dawkins’s rebuttal

Elegantly and poignantly written:

There is nothing unusual about Governor Rick Perry. Uneducated fools can be found in every country and every period of history, and they are not unknown in high office. (Richard Dawkins, emphasis mine)

Dawkins is the author of several titles, such as The Greatest Show on Earth and The Selfish Gene. Part of his rebuttal to Perry’s mis-characterization of evolution as “just a theory” is an observation that is unfortunately true: while the United States is home to millions of intelligent beings, some of whom are undoubtedly the geniuses of today, some voters inexplicably seem to prefer unqualified, anti-intelligent candidates!

New York Times editorial

Krugman of the New York Times points out in “Republicans Against Science” that “the G.O.P. [...] is becoming the ‘anti-science party.’” I highly recommend reading this article, if only for the brilliant realization at the end: (recall that The Wall Street Journal is a conservative media outlet operated by Murdoch’s News Corp, which is also responsible for Fox News)

Lately, for example, The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page has gone beyond its long-term preference for the economic ideas of “charlatans and cranks” — as one of former President George W. Bush’s chief economic advisers famously put it — to a general denigration of hard thinking about matters economic. Pay no attention to “fancy theories” that conflict with “common sense,” the Journal tells us. Because why should anyone imagine that you need more than gut feelings to analyze things like financial crises and recessions?

Now, we don’t know who will win next year’s presidential election. But the odds are that one of these years the world’s greatest nation will find itself ruled by a party that is aggressively anti-science, indeed anti-knowledge. And, in a time of severe challenges — environmental, economic, and more — that’s a terrifying prospect. (emphasis mine)

For various reasons, I walked down Yonge Street today from Finch Avenue right down to Lake Ontario.

Accounting for stops and detours, and the little walk I took at the lake shore, Google Maps estimates a 17.4 kilometre trip, or 3 hours and 32 minutes of walking time if I had walked continuously.

Timeline

According to the audio clips I recorded in Evernote, text messages and instant messaging chats…

• 10:00 exactly — Arrived at Finch Avenue & Yonge Street
• 10:14 — spent almost exactly 15 minutes at Staples, bought a pack of pens
• 10:37 — bought a 1.5 L bottle of water from Shoppers Drug Mart
• 10:40 — reached government office and got out at 10:45
• 10:58 — took a detour around the Yonge/401 intersection because that’s how the sidewalk works on the East side of Yonge Street
• The next half hour-ish — walked through sparsely populated area with huge houses, hills upon hills, and large open green spaces/parks
• 11:38 or so — arrived at Starbucks in an affluent uptown area and ordered a light ice green tea lemonade; by the way, the wifi signal is really weak at this place

Light ice green tea lemonade from a certain Starbucks

Amount of ice left over -- not bad!

• 11:57 — observed person walking by with a Harvard T-shirt
• 12:21 — reached Elginton Avenue & Yonge Street and at last observed lots and lots of people
• 12:27 — light drizzle; first hints of impending rain
• 12:50 — reached St. Clair Avenue & Yonge Street; things are looking okay for a short moment
• 12:55 — suddenly heavy rain begins; ran a distance holding umbrella before pausing under a bridge
• 13:00 — reached another Starbucks; ordered a sweetened iced coffee with soy milk that came in this cup:

Is that blood?

• 13:25 — okay, enough rest (although still hungry!); the rain stopped a while ago, so I returned to walking down Yonge Street
• 13:35 — reached Bloor Street & Yonge Street; this is such a vibrant part of the city
• 13:44 — reached Wellesley Street & Yonge Street
• 13:50 — passed College Park and got to the construction site at Gerrard Street & Yonge Street; the crowd is getting bigger
• 13:56 — beginning of a one-hour–long visit to the World’s Biggest Bookstore and a nifty little place called BMV Books right next to it

A not unordinary sight on a Toronto street

A whole row of APA Publication Manuals!

After I left the bookstore around 14:55, I stopped keeping track of where I was at given points in time. After eating lunch, I proceeded down Yonge Street, used my receipt from a previous Starbucks purchase to buy a light ice black tea lemonade for $2 + tax…

… and walked all the way to the lake, arriving at around 15:40.

Lake shore at Queen's Quay & Yonge Street

I walked around a little near the lakefront area before returning home. There’s a video on Google+ if you’re a friend.

Reflections

Taking this walk through Toronto allowed me to appreciate the city once more for its diversity, its liveliness and the rapidity with which things are changing. This is still a city I love and one to which I hope to return.

It was interesting to note the pockets of activity along Yonge Street: a busy block in North York from North York Centre to Sheppard; an uptown district north of Lawrence; a heavily business-oriented area around Eglinton; general shopping facilities between St. Clair & Bloor; an area of total randomness south of Bloor; huge crowds south of College; even denser population moving about the Eaton Centre; a banking/corporate region near King… Each region gradually faded into the next, with some exceptions. (It was uneventful in some of the areas—especially between the 401 and Lawrence; there aren’t a lot of buildings around in those parts.)

If you’re a Torontonian (or someone who lives North of Toronto) with a day to spare (preferably a weekday…), consider trying this walk. Make sure you bring sunglasses (I forgot them), an umbrella just in case (I had to use mine), sunscreen, water (I bought a bottle and a bunch of drinks) and probably some snacks (I brought along chips).

(By the way, this entire walk is a lot more fun when one has someone with whom to talk! So if I know you in real life, we can try doing another one of these this month!)

Toronto is a city worth exploring. This is just the beginning.

When Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud goes down — even just one region — it takes Reddit, Quora, Netflix, Foursquare, Instagram, and many other sites down. It’s like part of the Internet goes dark.

At least that part of the Internet doesn’t include Twitter.

via TechCrunch

I was at a Passport Canada office today, waiting for essentially two hours for my two minutes of attention. (Seriously, it took that long to get from C360 to C364… and all I really did was fill out my address and sign a slip…)

Anyways. That’s not the point of this post.

When I used to work for my local municipality, one of the regulations was that the radio equipment could only be set on certain approved stations. This made sense, because hundreds of patrons (many of them families and young kids) certainly would have objected to hip hop music riddled with vulgar and offensive lyrics.

I thought Passport Canada, a federal government agency, would have similar rules. And I think they do follow them. It’s just that radios are sometimes lax with how family-friendly their songs are.

Good Life by OneRepublic is one of my favourite songs. Compared with some things I experimented with a few years ago, it’s actually not so far a departure from my old classical preferences. Except, of course, the part about the B.S. that don’t work now.

I enjoy this song. A lot. Really. And this is hardly profanity.

But does it really belong in a public waiting room where hundreds of English-speaking patrons come and go?

I keep all of my books organized in Librarian Pro by Koingo Software. Admittedly, the Windows port is a sort-of-slow version of the Mac software, but it’s usable and rather pretty.

The Librarian Pro software I use to catalogue books

Along with this, I use a USB barcode scanner to import items by their EAN/UPC barcodes. Librarian Pro connects to Amazon’s APIs and loads book metadata based on that barcode.

The operative end of a laser barcode scanner

After importing a book, I make sure to tag it with a code of my own, specific to my collection. For that, I have these stickers:

Barcode stickers as book tags

And voila, an electronically-catalogued library of books awaits. It’s pretty easy to add location information to the metadata to help look for books, as well as generate HTML pages to show off or sell used books.

This is a clip from a China’s Got Talent, also known as “中国达人秀”. For those of you who don’t speak/read Chinese, that’s okay—I’ll summarize the boy’s backstory (and the song is in some Mongolian dialect anyways, so few in the audience actually know the lyrics).

Major take-aways (Mandarin speakers skip my notes):

• This boy comes from the Mongolian plains.
• The boy’s dream is, translated literally, to invent a (figurative?) ink of which drops can turn the ground into vast plains of greenery.
• When asked what he’s singing, he responded that the title of the song is (and I paraphrase), Mother in My Dreams. (the song has a distinct ethnic feel)
• “Then, where is your mom?”
  “Mom is in heaven.” (audience gasps)
  “And your dad?”
  “Dad also died, in a car accident.” (more gasps)
  

• In the middle of the performance, one of the people on stage reflects, “this song… we don’t need to know the words, because you should feel what he’s singing.”
• He’s a little off-tune when asked to sing a cappella but soon finds his key. In an emotional moment, this is understandable.