renh's blog: January 2007 Archives

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January 30, 2007

2nd run

Last Sunday 01/28/07
30min, 3.76miles, treadmill on the right

Posted by renh at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)

Jenny says

Artist: Cowboy Mouth
Song: Jenny Says

I've got no reason for the things I fear
The things that plague me when I see and hear
A dime's a nickel and a nickel's none
I throw myself into the Sunday sun
That summer Sunday when you went insane
You said you're going, but instead I came
I'm throwing oranges in an apple cart
The ties that bind are tearing me apart

Jenny says turn off the radio
Jenny says turn off the light
Jenny says turn off the video
You beat yourself up to bring yourself down
Let it go, let it go, let it go
Let it go, let it go, let it go
When the world keeps coming down on me
I let it go

I've got no reason for the things I say
She turned toward me then she turned away
There's lots of voices in a modern world
They take their toll upon a modern girl
I've got no reason for the things I fear
The things that plague me when I see and hear
I press my finger on an itchy trigger
What once was small right now is so much bigger

I've got no reason for the things I do
The dealer deals and then the deal is screwed
You throw your cards up on the playing table
My name is Cain and I am now unable
I've got no reason for the things I fear
The things that plague me when I see and hear
A dime's a nickel, a nickel's none
I throw myself into the Sunday sun

Jenny says turn off the radio
Jenny says turn off the light
Jenny says turn off the video
You beat yourself up 'cause you love it
Let it go, let it go, let it go
Let it go, let it go, let it go
When the world keeps coming down on me
I let it go
Let it go, let it go, let it go
Let it go, let it go, let it go
When the world keeps coming down on me
I let it go
I let it go, let it go, let it go
I let it go, let it go, let it go
I let it go, let it go, let it go

Posted by renh at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2007

first run

I tried running today. Amazingly, I finished 3 miles within 27min with elevation. I couldn't believe it. Last year, when I was at my best shape, I only managed to do 28min33sec for the Ann Arbor Dexter Run 5k. Seriously, I think there is something wrong with the treadmill display.

Posted by renh at 12:33 AM | Comments (0)

Chinese bun

I made some bun tonight. For the filling, I start with scrambled eggs and chopped them down. Then I sauteed sliced bokchoy and diced rehydrated mushrooms with garlic and minced shrimp. After I mixed all the ingredient together, I added salt, sesame oil, five spice powder and fresh grounded black pepper.

After 20min steaming, the buns are ready to eat. Very nice! This is the first time I cooked buns after Mom left. Not bad at all. For the filling left, I used it to cook dumplings.

Posted by renh at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2007

North america international auto show

Today I went to Detroit Cobo Center for the 2007 North America Internationa Auto Show. It's good for the first-time viewer. But I probably won't go next time.

The most impressive car for me is Ryuga. pronounced as ree-yoo-ga, in Chinese Liu2ya3, in Japanese meaning gracious flow. It's a concept car. The exterier body design is amazing. It caught my eyes, when I was strolling across the exhibition hall. The color is darker metallic red. "the color of the Ryuga is meant to evoke flowing lava, with tones and hue that vary from yellow to blue to red depending on the light. " - I absolutely agree with this. The whole car does look like something, lava probably, flowing. It's presence was quiet, but what it brought the viewers was something shocking. I could not keep my eyes off it for a while. I like this car. Not every concept car looks so amazing. One girl said in a kind of mean tone- "what is this thing?!", when she spotted another concept car near the scion exhibition area.

There is Audi TT. The little cute one. White color, clean design, and retro-looking interior. The base price was not listed. I asked the staff, and she told me they actually just got the price two days ago. The convertible model costs more. But overall it below 40 thousand dollars, that's a good news for me. Besides, TT's got good reviews from cartalk.com.

Another car that caught my attention was BMW hydrogen7. "The car is touted as the first hydrogen-drive luxury performance automobile for everyday use. The BMW Hydrogen 7 will be built in a limited series, and sold to select customers in the U.S. and overseas in 2007. The engine in the Hydrogen 7, a derivative of the 7 series 12 cylinder engine, is capable of running on gasoline or hydrogen, and produces 260 hp. The car will accelerate from 0 to 62.1 mpg in 9.5 seconds. The ability to run on both gasoline and hydrogen gives the Hydrogen 7 a range of more than 400 miles. The high tech hydrogen storage tank has a capacity of approximately 17.6 lb of liquid hydrogen, giving the Hydrogen 7 a cruising range in hydrogen mode upwards of 125 miles. The gasoline mode accounts for an additional 300 miles of cruising range. The driver is the one who decides which fuel to use, with a smooth transition between both operating modes, since the engine power and torque remain identical regardless of the fuel used. " CleanEnergy (as labeled on the body), indeed. It's a plain looking car, but I think it is probably the most techologically innovative automobile at the show. BTW, I like the BMW engine exhibition.

One clear trend is that more and more makers start to have hybrid models. But sometimes it may seem a little ridiculous to me that the heavy SUV or trucks are made hybrids. If you do want to save energy, just drive a smaller and more fuel-efficient car.

The most affordable and practical car for me is probably Toyota Yaris, base price $14000 something. It's really a basic car, 1.5 L engine, only the necessary equipments inside, simple and plain. However, I don't know whether it gets good custermer reviews or not. Toyota Corolla is only a couple thousand dollars more than Yaris.

Smart Fortwo is an interesting car made by Mercedes-Benz, and coming to US in 2008. It's mighty small. At the first glimpse, I thought it looked somehow like the miniVan popular in China. It's supposed to be safe. But I kinda doubt about that.

Lexus has a very attractive feature for me. The car can automatically measure the distance between itself and other cars, thereby it improves safety. Also because of this function, it can do parallel and backward parking automatically without the driver stering the wheel. My parking skill really suck. I really wish I could have a smart car like this.

Overall, I think I learned a lot from the show. But the show on the last weekend was way too crowded. And the air was not fresh at all. For a while I have to stay the end of Toyota exhibition, just because the air is fresher and colder.

Posted by renh at 06:22 PM | Comments (0)

January 08, 2007

Dick and Jane

very sad story for the victims of the corporate crimes.
lessons learned: diversify the portfolio.

Posted by renh at 02:28 AM | Comments (0)