September 28, 2008
100 hours per week
Working 100 hours per week is crazy. But, I survived.
Posted by renh at 09:50 PM | Comments (0)
September 08, 2008
new hobby
I am happy to find a new hobby now.
I wanted the RDJ and sting duet so much, but couldn't find it in itune. so, I did the old fashioned way. It's actually pretty good. And I find that I can actually edit it with the sony software.
Posted by renh at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2008
two years later
Life is interesting. It's been two years since my life had a dramatic turn. Well, today, at least, I achieved my short-term goal: never stop to walk and faster than the record two years ago.
year,place in age group, overall place, bin #, time, pace
2006, 27, 520, 7286, 28:33, 9:12
2008, 14, 410, 4755, 28:18, 9:07
Posted by renh at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2008
Life is not all about cooking. :)
Well, I got "sound" back on my mac. For a while I thought I lost it and all the wonderful music. I feel an ecstasy of joy. I felt most blessed when I got back what I thought I've lost. I watched/listened to 25th hour again. This time I can notice that I paid more attention to the music/score - it is beautiful.
I am very happy and grateful. Definitely no FV in the future.
Posted by renh at 04:49 PM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2008
2007 tax filed
Posted by renh at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
January 08, 2008
Hippeastrum
Hippeastrum is a popular bulb flower for indoor growing. The bulb is tender and should not be exposed to frost, but is otherwise easy to grow, with large rewards for small efforts, especially those that bloom inside during the winter months.
I miss the flowers blooming in my home in winter.
Posted by renh at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2007
quote
to make money thet didn't have and didn't need, they risked what they did have and did need. and that's foolish.
Posted by renh at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2007
WB letter
I read the WB 2006 letter. It's 23 pages long. not the typical formal and dry annual report. i actually enjoy reading it. The joke about two men looking their wives in the supermarket was really funny. I think he is an old wise guy. The younger generation should learn something from him.
youtube did not disappoint me. I'll finish the work and watch the 90min video. keep motivated.
Posted by renh at 01:53 PM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2007
from marketplace money two cents blog
Q: Is there any downside to increasing one's line of credit besides the inherent psychological boost of the upper spending limit? Will increasing my credit limit hurt, help, or have no effect on my credit rating? I recently called in to my card service provider... and was given the option of increasing my credit line. The offered increase was much larger than I would have expected, so I guess I'm just wondering: what's the catch? Zachery
A: In one sense you are fine. The credit limit does come into play in calculating your credit score with credit cards and other revolving debts. The credit score formula looks at the gap between your credit limit and the amount of credit you're actually using. "The bigger the gap between your balance and your limit, the better," writes Liz Pulliam Weston in her book, Your Credit Score.
Here's what's really going on. I attend the American Economics Association annual meeting every other year. Several years ago it was in New Orleans, and I sat in a session on some research by economists into credit limits. What they found is that consumers that carry a balance tend to have a psychological tendency to spend a set percent of their credit limit. Let's say you had a credit limit of $10,000 and you routinely carried a balance of $1,000. You were comfortable spending 10% of your credit limit. The credit card company knows this. If it increases your credit limit to $20,000, the odds are you'll still carry a 10% balance of your credit limit--but now that adds up to $2,000, an increase that makes your credit card company happy--very happy.
Bottom line: Only raise your credit limit with good reason. Otherwise, leave it alone.
Posted by renh at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2007
about pumpkin
thoughts
Hallowen is coming again. The apartment complex organized pumpkin carving. I carved my pumpkin in a special way. I basically peeled the hard skin, scooped out the seeds, and cut into pieces. I plan to cook it. I think pumpkins should be put into better use than merely decoration. Hunger is a problem for a lot of people around the world, and we should respect the food. If the global warming and energy crisis are real, we human beings need to learn to reduce consumption.
recipes
It's a big pumpkin. So I have to think of idea to cook it. Well, trader joe's booklet says pumpkins grown for decoration tend to be watery, bland and have a lot more fibers, their suger pie pumpkins are better for cooking. I was a little nervous after reading this. But, my pumpkin things turn out to be more than OK.
1. pumpkin cake (sticky rice style). lay the pieces of pumpkins in the glass baking bowl, cover with foil, bake 375 - 400 degree until fork tender. mince with fork or spoon until smooth, add some brown sugar, mix well. add one package of sticky rice flour about 250g. mix well. add crasins, mix well. bake in the oven 375 degrees for about 45min. breakfast and snacks for a week.
2. pumpkin rice stoup. boil rice and sweet brown rice together. when almost done, add small pieces of pumpkin cubes, continue to boil. when use for breakfast, heat up and add milk. good for breakfast on a cold morning.
3. stir fry pumpkin. julienne pumpkin. stir fry with garlic, green onion, and prickly pepper. in the end, add salt, suger and chinese vinegar to taste. this is the stuff, my family used to make.
4. pumpkin pie - chinese style. thinnly shred pumpkin, mix with minced garlic, five-spice powder, salt, and egg. make a dough, and make two pieces of "pie crust". use the mixture as the filling. cook this "pie" in skillet with EVOO.
4. roast pumpkin seeds in the oven. yum-O.
Posted by renh at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2007
wow, tomato!
Wow, the tomato is divine! The best I've ever tasted so far. Very sweet and flavor is so mild, yet distinct. That's a tomato! It's different from the ones in the supermarket.
too bad, the weather is getting cold. I really like the fresh produce from the farmer's market.
Posted by renh at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
July 30, 2007
EDF
EDF: Eric Drew Foundation
I heard this amazing story about Eric Drew on NPR.
"Fighting for his life
Air Date: 07/27/2007
Eric Drew had his identity stolen while he was in the hospital - and he pursued the thief even while he was undergoing treatment. "
It took me a while to find the podcast, because "the story" confused me with npr podcast story of the day. here is how: http://thestory.org/, and subscribe the podcast.
I can totally feel the empathy toward Eric, when he told the story. I had been in the similiar situation, and I can understand the frustration and anger of the patients who just want to get the right treatment both medically and humanely.
Posted by renh at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2007
boston gal personal finance blog is good. I found I share some sentiment with her.
Posted by renh at 08:38 PM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2007
fix the car
I was pulled over by the officer twice. Finally, I realized the problem needed to be resolved as soon as possible. I called the brewers and was told that it would cost $200. After discussioin with bear, I changed my mind and decided to choose DIY. On a very hot noon, I went to autozone and got some small parts. I got a red tape for temporary fix of the lens and a kit for temporary/permanent fix. I cut the red transparent board and attached the patterned paper on top of it. Finally, I stick it onto the broken lens with the white sticker that came with the kit. on top of the white sticker, I attached the red tape just to make it look better and more durable, hopefully.
The staff at autozone were very friendly and helpful.
Posted by renh at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2007
toronto impression- update
the building i saw in bloor district is royal ontario museum.
Posted by renh at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2007
toronto impression
I am not ready to dedicate a long article about the toronto trip. Toronto is a big city, pretty good. but it did not stand out for me.
we lived on the king street. one thing good about the location is that it's in the entainment district and has good restaurants around it. the first day we went to a Japanese restaurant called mizu. it should be neo-japanese food, somehow too far away from authenticity, and plus the lousy service by the waiter, it failed to make a positive impression on us. honestly, i like the sushi in ann arbor much better. later on, i tried the urban for a three-course lunch. i like the decoration of the restaurant. the first course was gnocchi with tomato sauce. i wasn't a big fan of gnocchi, and the acidity from the sauce made me uncomfortable. the main dish was cold poached salmon with asparagus and potato salad. the salmon tasted bland, the asparagus was little, and I had way too much potato from the gnocchi. the only i really liked was the mushroom from the potato salad. the desert was fruit with some cream. not bad. over all, it was OK experience. I also tried thai princess. I ordered curry lamb, simply because it was too cold that day. love the lemongrass soup, the spring roll tasted good, but i might like the cold roll better. the curry lamb tasted good. I like this one. Of course, during the stay, we also went to a couple of restaurants in the Chinatown. typical greasy chinatown food, i did not enjoy it very much. but at least it was budget friendly. i kinda like tim horton's food a lot. I had a breakfast sandwich at the niagra fall, omg, it was that good. And their turkey bacon club did not disappoint either. one morning, i had a blueberry muffin, and that was the best muffin I had during the stay in Toronto. I also found some good eats at the st Lawrence Market. i like this sort of in-door food-stand market. i bought some baked goodies, the chocolate lacey, coconut macaroon, and a cranberry biscotti. very nice, i found my sweet tooth satisfied.
because of the packed meeting schedule, I did not get much time to wonder around the city. I finally went for a self-guided tour on the last day. I started from the theatres near the hotel. at the corner, there was an old church surrounded by modern high-rises. I found this mixture between old and moden quite common in toronto, sometimes harmonious, sometimes striking contrast. one extreme is the building in the bloor-yorkville district. the new metal/glass building fused with the old victorian building, it almost seemed that the sharp edgy building grew out of the old building like crystals. (DSC00595)(later, i found out it's royal ontario museum). My favourite building is the Osgoode Hall. The exterior is grand and solemn. in the busy downtown Toronto, this hall is surrounded with trees and grass, seems to be an isolated green island, very peaceful yet possesses the power (of something I am not sure how to describe, maybe justice). The interior is more impressive. I like the antique arm chairs sitting quietly in the corners. The chandeliers are lovely. And they light up right in the middle of the arches, with the elegant pillars standing on both sides, it's perfectly framed. Together with these are the parquet floor, the paintings of queen victoria and former chief justice, and the bronze sculpture. Compared with the Osgoode Hall, the old city hall looks like it's made of graham crackers, I did not like it too much. According to the map, the architect revenged the city elders by featuring them as the hideous gargoyles above the front steps, because his request of carving his name on the building was rejected. I couldn't find the hideous creatures. There were more people both inside and outside the building, the entry was kinda dirty, no camera was allowed inside the building. I didn't find this hall particularly attractive. Then next to it is Eaton Center, the shopping place. It's just like a mega briawood mall. not very unique. It's very windy and cold outside, but i couldn't find any cheap and warm clothes. By this time, I decided to go to the bloor-yorkville district. Finally I got a comfortable jacket at Jacob. I was kinda disappointed with this district. I was expecting to the victoria style renovated buildings, I found some, but not very impressive. I took the subway to king street and walked to st Lawrence Market. St James Cathedral looks magnificant, too bad I did not have enough time to tour inside.
We also went to the niagra fall. to me, it's just tons of water falling by gravity. I care about the culture aspect more than the natural wonder. The scene along the niagra parkway was wonderful.
Posted by renh at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)
peony Garden 2007
Just before I left Ann Arbor for Toronto, I noticed the peony flowers at the roadside and realized that it's the peony blosom season again. I immediately went to the Arb for the peony blosom.
I love the flower - the magnificant color, the elaborate the pedals, the impressive size and shape, and the splendid blosom.
It's been a year since last year's blosom. I got sentimental again.
年年��花相似， ��年年人��。
I was happy that I still got the chance to watch the blosom.
Posted by renh at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2007
gifts
to find the perfect gift can be a daunting task. but i think what's important is not the gift itself, what matters the most is the thoughts that come along with it.
i ventured into the beads gallery by chance and found several pretty beads. one of them is a bright pink tear-drop shaped and slightly twisted glass bead with sliver pattern on it. i asked the salesgirl to put a pinhead through it and made a circle on one end. this would make a pretty pendant, i thought. a couple of days later, i went to the briawood mall and got a white gold chain to match it. the chain is very thin and flexible, but shiny and solid. i want to create the flow for the tear-drop bead. the chain came with a black box. this made a mother's day gift for my mom. i remember i talked with the salesperson at the jewery shop in the mall. she asked me what kind of the stone it was. i said it's worth nothing but means a lot to me.
i bought wilco's new sky blue sky album as a gift for myself.
when it comes to gifting, one has to think on the behalf of the recipient, culture, age, gender and personal taste. it's funny to think about the "embroidery" story.
Posted by renh at 01:18 PM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2007
farmer's market
I went to the farmer's market last saturday. This was the first time I went to the Farmer's Market (FM). I always love FM. the weather was very nice. there wasn't much produce for sale, but there were a lot of flowers and herbs for gardening. I got asparagus, eggs, garlic, cheese bread, chewy brownie, and baby spinach. then I went to the kerrytown shop and got avocado and red onion. rose was only $1 per stem. I can feel the impulse to buy one, but somehow i suppressed it.
Posted by renh at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2007
chicago delusion
last weekend i went to chicago (april 15-16th).
i like chicago, especially the shopping experience. long time no shopping like this.
Posted by renh at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2007
youtube
There is ipod, then there is youtube.
I love youtube.
It is a terrific way to express yourself.
I am definitely amazed by the technology avaible to the general public today.
I think in a way it promotes democracy so much better than, let's say, starting a war.
I looked it up for american history X, fight club and the painted veil.
I started by searching for the trailers that were no longer available from IMDB.
However, I was astrayed from the original aim and started web surfing on youtube.
I did not regret.
I admire the originality/creativity/imagination/thoughts that the authors put into these videos.
1) American history X. one video about the crime derek committed, it is so good that I watched it again and again. and the music just blended in flawlessly.
2) fight club.
3) I enjoyed one video made by valentine142 (can't remember exactly). The music and the video matched perfectly. I like the song, after some search I bought it from itune.
I like the editing talents shown by the authors, which demonstrated that how they understood the movies, how they would interprete the movies, and more importantly the escence of their impression and recreation of the movies.
In the end, I bought three songs from itune: where is my mind (pixies), ghost of you and me (BBMak), and this night (black lab).
Posted by renh at 12:59 AM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2007
memoir of ventura - Sunday
Airplane arrived at LAX on time 11:30am.
looked around at the airport for some food,
a snack wrap from big M plus a bottle of water was enough for me.
finally got to at the Crowne Plaza at 3pm.
too tired to look around,
slept well with the soothing sound of the tide/wave,
and the whistles from the train.
PS, before I went to sleep,
I found a pink silky bag on the table -
"ear plugs?!"
Posted by renh at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)
memoir of ventura - pre
the last friday at ventura,
the sun was shining,
it was warm and breezy,
and there is no more crazy meeting schedule.
I was wandering on the ventura pier (which was built in 1871),
bathing in the sun,
breathing the ocean.
several men were fishing.
"how is your catch so far?"
"Nothing yet, but those guys over there are doing good."
"what kind of fish do you usually get here?"
"croaker, ..., halibut;
and pigeon, ...,human, (laugh), that's the flying fish"
(smile)"good luck!"
several step away was another guy's bucket,
I took a peek,
three crabs and some fish.
walking back,
water rushing to the shore line,
a kid digging sand and building something.
in my ipod,
the eagles were singing hotel california.
quiet, relaxed, beautiful, simple but elegant,
this is the impression I have for ventura.
it was kind of surreal to me...
I decided to write it down
Posted by renh at 01:28 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2007
cell phone and travel
I still remember that I was appalled by the 800 something cell phone bill. Since I placed several phone calls in Ventura this week, I was worried about the roaming charge. I called the verizonwireless service line today. Luckily, Ventura is still considered as my home service area. :)
Suggestion: before travel, *228 option 2, to make sure the maximun verizonwireless tower coverage.
Alert: Calls made in Toronto, Canada will be charged for roaming. 69 cents per min. but text messaging won't be charged for roaming.
This is some tricky business. I've learned my lessons in a hard way.
Posted by renh at 06:44 PM | Comments (0)
this week at Ventura
I stayed at Ventura CA this week for the GRC.
Ventura is a wonderfully charming small southern california town. I love the beach, the fresh air, the friendly folks, and especially the fantastic conference.
I was able to run every day. I felt physically refreshing, although mentally exhausting, but in a good way. The information I received at the conference was overwhelming. I need to organize my notes and digest it. I'm working on the feedbacks for my poster right now. The jet-lag made me tired and somehow lost the track of time.
Posted by renh at 05:17 PM | Comments (1)
March 16, 2007
second project
the first project was the pink (light violet) skirt I made last year. It's 100% hand made, stitch by stitch. The final product is wearable. However, I did ask Mom for help with the final touch.
Now I am working on the second project, half for fun and half for science. I ventured into Homedepot last weekend to buy the tool set and small parts. It was definitely less adventurous than I had expected. It took me less than 30min to shop for the stuff that I needed. I bought dremel 400 tool set, valves, epoxy and quarter-inch tubes. Today, I asked jaehyun to show me how to use the drill when he came to use the luminometer. We struggled a little to assemble the drill properly. I was excited and a little nervous/worried, after I heard that it could cause serious personal injury. Nevertheless, I am ready for this project.
Posted by renh at 12:11 AM | Comments (1)
March 13, 2007
A beautiful day
Today is a beautiful day. I should be happy, but I was sad. I don't know why, but I understand something that I wasn't able to understand before.
Kill Bill Vol 2:
Beatrix Kido, aka the bride, black mamba, killed bill finally. She locked herself up in the bathroom. On the floor, she was crying and laughing at the same time.
Marley and Me:
There goes the Irish luck. Jenny was pregnant again. This time they were able to videotape the grainy image of the fetus and hear the heart beat. "you should be happy, kid. why are you crying?" asked the doctor.
Sometimes, one has to fight hard to overcome the emotional drama, physical trauma, and all the set-backs. when fighting, one simply has no time for sentiment. But once everything settles down, it is emotionally overwhelming to look back, to remember the struggles, to appreciate the good wills and generous help, and to finally let the reality sink in.
Posted by renh at 01:23 PM | Comments (1)
March 11, 2007
What defines happiness?
Q: What is happiness?
A: Happiness is to set up a goal, try hard and achieve it. Repitition like this is happiness.
This week is hard for me. But I did what I had planned to do. So, in the end I was happy.
Last Sunday, I worked until 2:30am to prepare powerpoint file for MCDB 426. Monday morning, I had to meet Cunming at 9am to discuss the presentation for his class on Wednesday. It's really tough to get up and fight to stay awake. On Monday night March 5th, I suddenly realized that I forgot to email Barbara my abstract for the Diabetes symposium. It was 10pm. The very next day, I started to work on some quick experiments. Actually, those did not work out very well. On the same day - Tuesday, I had to be in the lab at 8am, in order to remove stuff and prepare for installing the biological safety cabinet. Tuesday night, I finalized the presentation files for Cunming's Mol Endo MCDB 426 class and added notes in the PPT file. It was about 1am, when I went to sleep. Wednesday morning, I had doctor's appointment at 9am to check out a mole near my right eye. Then I headed for the DENN bldg for MCDB 426. I was worried at the beginning, but I was delightedly surprised by the remarkable students in the end. that wednesday morning, I had a medium espresso, which helped me to last the whole day with only a little food. I stayed up until 3:30am on Thursday morning working on my poster. Thursday morning, I had a large-sized espresso and went on the whole day without any food. I had to annotate my poster. Plus, we had lab meeting that afternoon, that took a couple hours off. I was able to turn in my draft for Cunming's proof reading at 6pm. I understood that it'll at least take me several hours to assemble the whole thing into one ppt slide, and Cunming probably would not change that much of it, because he's already approved the logic flow. I decided to assemble the poster by myself, so that I stayed up until 2:30am. Friday, as I expected, it was not changed that much. I checked the details and went to DC north campus to print it out. by 2:30pm I came back to the lab. at pierrepalm commons, I bought a case for the poster at the book store. i struggled a lot to roll the poster up and put it into the tube-like case. I did not want to put it on the ground b/c I did not want and blemishes on the poster, and I did not want any unecessay folding marks on it. It took me quite some time at the entrance to PPC to roll it. awkard, frustrating and clumsy. as soon as I arrived in the lab, i started to update my resume and print out the driving route for the genentech fair. it just so happened that travis stopped by, it was always delightful to talk to him, esp now pete is gone. around 4pm, i rushed out of the lab. at home, i fixed my hair and other stuff. by 4:30pm, i was on my way to the hotel. The fair was rather depressing, b/c a->it was targeted for the pfizer lay-off people, b-> as a phd student just graduated, i can only expected a postdoc position, however, I was advised that it is a good idea to submit resume to their website directly. I took a nap 6:20-8:20pm. after i woke up, i went to ccrb and felt really good afterwards. I drove back at 10pm. i called family and friends, layed out outfit, went to sleep at 2:30am. Saturday morning, i woke up at 7am and drove to the mini-symposium at 8:30am. It was a good experience. The first talk was good, I took a nap during the second one, I left to fetch poster half way through the third one, I skipped most part of the fourth one. I explained the poster to Kasper, talked to travis for a long time. His generosity and expertise just reminded me how much I missed the "science chat" ever since pete left. Christi was nice and she gave me good advice about making connections. It was somehow unexpected that she is so down-to-the-earth and so accessible. I realized that I was probably too shy, but I was learning step-by-step. plus a good work-out for two hours in ccrb. I finished up some work that I promised for jhp at the beginning of this week afterwards.
Nothing to regret, growing up is pain, cherish every moment present and live the life to its fullest.
Posted by renh at 01:38 AM | Comments (1)
March 05, 2007
Mom dad email QQ
Mom and dad learned to use the computer and email.
They sent me emails.
I was very happy for them.
But when I saw the picture they took at home,
I felt the overwhelming sadness.
I don't know why.
I miss them.
"Be calm, be gentle, be patient to others."
that's the advice from my Dad.
Posted by renh at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2007
dinner last night
Yan, Jin Hee, me and Jia Ning (new student for interview) had dinner together. Yan was the host.
It's nice to know that Jin Hee and I have something in common - foodnetwork and comedy central. We both know the shows from foodnetwork by heart. She likes to make dissert. Good to know. :)
Comedy central becomes my recent favourite TV channel. Because I go to home too late at night, I can only watch 11pm' the daily show and the Colbert report after that. I actually like Steve Colbert better and better. truthiness is a good word.
Posted by renh at 03:05 PM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2007
itunes
Maybe it should be categorized in music session,
No, it should be here.
Because, this is not about music.
itunes is very user friendly,
really friendly,
as a matter of fact- maybe too friendly,
you even do not need to type in your credit card information,
just click ok,
the next thing you know is- it'll be billed to your credit card.
GOOD OR BAD?!
It's too easy to spend,
and when you do the purchasing act,
you hardly realize that you're spending.
credit card is bad, plastic, just swipe and the transaction is done,
then you are responsible for the balance;
but itunes is worse,
without typinig in the credit card number every time,
it is even harder for young people to realize the cash they're spending.
Who should be blamed for credit card debt?
the consumer, of course;
but how about the companies that made spending too easy?
Posted by renh at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)
tax
2006 tax forms filed 02/11/2007, mailed 02/12/2007 around 11:30am at the liberty postal office.
Posted by renh at 02:09 PM | 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)
August 15, 2006
SUDDEN DISRUPTION
This could be the most important article in the Life section at my blog site.
Never thought this could happen to me. Well, maybe not never, but certainly it is a huge surprise for myself and a sharp turn for my life. (Never say never)
June 20th, it's a Tuesday, around 10pm at night, I was ready to go home.
Next thing I knew was that something happened to me, and I was in the hospital bed. I don't recall this part of the memory at all, except a couple of fragments. I did hear somebody was saying "backpack (has) reflector", and it seemed that that person repeated this several times. Somebody touched the back of my neck, I gave a painful expression. I tried to say something, but all I can give out was a little noise and a painful expression.
When I opened my eyes, I could not see clearly. I mean I can see several people in front of me, the image was not fuzzy, but it was double vision. As I told them later that every person I saw had two heads on their shoulders. I guess those were doctors and the room was very bright. Someone talked to me and asked me to push his or her hands with first my feet/toes and then my hands. I still did not know what happened to me. I think I passed out again.
-- What I did know at that time was that my life was going to be put on hold for at least 3 months.
Posted by renh at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2006
Officially summer
Now it is officially summer. Maybe it is because here harsh winter usually lingers over half a year that the people become so cheerful to celebrate the beginning of summer. Every year when the mulberries start to ripen, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival begins. This year it starts from Friday June 16 and ends Sunday July 9th, featuring live music and movies as usual. The tents are set up along the Washington St. in front of Rackham. I had a big chunck of waiting time Friday evening, so I took my papers out and sat outside the League to enjoy the festival. The music was good; a lot of kids running around or splashing water from the fountain; tons of teenagers gathering here and there; girls with beautiful summer dresses; people dancing while the band was playing... It's such a relaxing scene. The local bands were Jeremy Kittel Acoustic Trio (celtic and jazz fiddle trio) and Bugs Beddow Band (Trombone-driven party blues). I do not know much about music, but it sounded cheerful to me, HAPPY! Got plan for Saturday (Kerrytown, farmer's market, work, & exercise) and Sunday (SDB meeting, work, & movie).
I love summer. "The spring and summer (here) make all the suffer in the winter worthwhile." Remembered a conversation a couple of days ago at the picnic,
- "is that your dog? is it a border collie?"
- "Yeah, she is a mut, maybe has some border collie blood."
- "How old is she?"
- "eleven years old."
- "Doesn't look like an 11-year-old dog at all. actually very active."
- "Yeah, still like a puppy."
- "What's her name?"
- "SUMMER."
Posted by renh at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)
Bargain Sushi
In the middle of the experiment, I felt hungry, but did not bring lunch with me. Well, I'll treat myself a little bit, cause yesterday's workout was too hard. Sushi.come is close and should be quick to serve. To my disappointment, neither the sushi&sashimi lunch special nor bento is available. I ordered salmon, tuna and california roll, one for each. I haven't been here for a long time, and the california roll looks totally different from what I used to have (the chef is even lazier now?!). Salmon and tuna in the rolls are quite substantial, but the texture is not firm enough. The service still sucks, just like last time I came here. The good thing is that it is their Sunday happy hour now, so I get 20% off discount. That's why I call it a bargain. Still thinking about Gandy Dancer, maybe next week, maybe.
Posted by renh at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)
June 17, 2006
Saturday brunch
It's a nice day today. It's sunny and breazy. I rode my bike to school. After I finished the experiment, I went to the Kerrytown to have some good eats. First, I stopped by the farmer's market. This is my first time to shop at the farmer's market this year. There are a lot of herbs and flowers for sale, but the produce is quite limited. I stroll around. Finally, I bought a dozen large brown eggs (supposed to be free range) from the "Pepper Boys" (I used to buy sweet peppers from them often). The other thing I bought is fresh broccoli, 2 for $5. It's not the typical broccoli crown, but stems. I like these, good for boiling or steaming. I also picked up a bunch of raddish. I am not a raddish person, but with so limited produce, the fresh lovely colored raddish is simply irresistable to me. Thinly sliced to mix into salad or steam seems to be fine.
It's noon, and I am hungry. All of a sudden, I saw Gelato di Roma. Nice! I decided to try gelato today. I heard of gelato before, but have never tasted it. Gelato di Roma has a large variety of flavors. It took me a while to finally decide which one to have. By the way, gelato is the Italian ice cream, and supposed to have thicked texture and richer flavor than the ordinary ice cream. The reason is that gelato has more solid and less air in it. The gelato here is not as good as I'd expected, it still looks like ice cream, not the ideal silky fine texture (ie not perfect consistency). I'd like to try something with simple flavor, so that I can taste the gelato itself better. I always love toffee flavor, but this might be too strong; French Vanilla, maybe too simple; Purple Cow, a little weird; Borracha Cream, maybe too risky; Tiramisu, totally have on idea; Chocolate, maybe later ... Hummm, well, Cappucino it is. I am a big fan of coffee flavored ice cream, and like to compare the same flavor from different ice cream shops to judge which one is better. After a spoonful taste, I officially made my order, a small sized cup of cappucino gelato. Rich coffee flavor, mild bitter taste, maybe a little too sweet, it's all right. Took a peak at the poster on the wall, low fat?!, instantly felt less guilty. :) So gelato plus a slice of pizza made my Saturday brunch. Now need to get back to work.
PS, I found an article on-line, I quite agree with the author's opinion about this gelato place. Pasted here,
------------------------------------------------------------------
"If Zingerman's and Zenaida are trying to do right be gelati, the relatively new Gelato di Roma at 226 N. Fourth Avenue near Kerrytown, just a two blocks from the Next Door, is doing much to retard the progress of good gelato eating in A2. An myriad of bright, some neon, coloured gelati offer an array of artificially flavored-tasting gelati. To be sure, if you can get over the color and the taste, the consistency is pretty good - not great, but at least, well, consistent. Unfortunately, if you aren't blinded by the glowing offerings, your tastebuds might be blind-sighted by the unusually sweet and almost candy-like flavor. "Cinnamon," which has turned from red to brown in the months that the store has been opened, still tastes like red hots. "Root Beer Float," while novel, is nothing short of root-beer candy. *Boo!* There's also a "Purple Cow" - haven't gotten that adventurous (or stupid?) yet.
There's also some flavor confusion going on. "Tiramisu" is, as far as I can tell, is simply a sweeter version of "Cappucino." "Borracha Cream," which has marsala wine could be a poor zabaglione - except with lady fingers, is more like Tiramisu... but then, one would never guess that tiramisu could be electrifyingly bright yellow. "Ameretto" tastes like almond flavoring - almost fruity... but then, not surprisingly, so does "Almond."
Don't get me started on the sorbetti, which have a waxy lip-gloss-like appearance - scary. And, those little black dots in the "Strawberry," however convincing, are definitely not real strawberry seeds... I don't know what they are. For $2.96 (includes tax), one can order a small, which is two generous 1/4 cup scoops of any flavor you like."
------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by renh at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2006
pinic
Today the department has a picnic at the Delhi Metropark.
It was a nice experience. The food was good. I had two burgers as usual. :) "Your metabolic rate is like a 3-year-old boy", yeap, probably. It's nice that they have caters here.
Posted by renh at 08:07 PM | Comments (0)
June 06, 2006
Peony Garden
Last Sunday evening, I went to the Arb. The Peony Garden is very beautiful. I was very excited to see Peony blosom. All of a sudden, I was a little homesick. Peony was first cultivated in China more than 2000 years ago. I remember back in my hometown, when I was young, my parents always took me to see the peony blosom in late springs. Now, here in the States, the peony just looked the same as the ones I used to see back home. The blosom was magnificent, and the flowers seemed to be regal. Interestingly, the most beautiful flower I saw was the one on the ground. It was so heavy that the stem could no longer support its weight. I carefully pushed it up and took a closest shot at it. The rich red color overwhelmed the whole picture, and that's the effect I wanted.
Posted by renh at 08:42 AM | Comments (0)
June 04, 2006
5K run and taste of Ann Arbor
I finished the 5K this morning. I woke up at 5am, and had a huge breakfast (2 fried eggs, cereal, milk and ham-cheese sandwich). By 6am, I was on my bike to my department. It was drizzling and I was wet, which made me uncomfortable. I arrived at the lab around 6:25am. After a quick change into the shorts I brought with me, I rushed out of the building to the gathering site to take the bus to the starting line. I had a running partner, Anita, she is a first year grad student in our department. We arrived at the starting line at 7am. But the race would not start until 8:20am. It’s quite boring during the waiting, but we had a nice conversation. When finally the race started, there were a lot of people, and quite a few people with baby strollers. We weaved our way to the front part and then the race started. Before the race started everyone had to tie the timing chip on the shoe, so when you actually crossed the start-line the magnetic field would activate the timing chip. Anita and I ran most of the first 1 mile together. I felt good on the way. This course has got a nice view with Huron river right beside it. The last mile was the toughest part – there were a couple of hills and I did not where it’s going to end. Nevertheless, there were some people along the way playing music to cheer up the runners, and just running with so many people makes me feel good. I kept a constant pace and was able to accelerate a little bit in the end. I did not feel tired at all. Actually I thought I could have done better. Cause I always run on the treadmill, so in the real field I did not have a clear idea of my pace and how much was left in the course. Had I been more familiar with the course, I would have definitely done better. But overall, I was not disappointed. A pace of 9:12 min per mile is OK for me. I got my reward - a finisher’s T-shirt. Then I hurried to find Anita and cheer her up in the end. At the end there were fresh fruits (banana, grape, apple and orange), water, yogurt, bread and energy bar. We enjoyed the food and felt totally refreshed. And what’s the best is that it’s FREE.
We walked back to our department. I finished some experiments in the lab. I walked to the Main Street at noon. There was an event – taste of Ann Arbor going on. Basically, it is the restaurants (mostly on Main Street) set up their food stand and selling bite-sized portion. You purchase the “tickets� and then use the tickets to get what you want. Each ticket is 50 cents. Different food has different price. I tried several different things. Bread pudding from Cafe Du Jour is very delicious. Chocolate ganache from the Earle is mediocre, but the white chocolate cheesecake is a total knockout. I also tried some Indian food, Masala dosa is similar to the “Jian1bing3guo3zi1� in China, but has curried potato in it; it tastes good but the three sauces coming with it are too spicy for me. I like the Indian drink, Mango lassi. A lot of Indian people chose this restaurant and the Masala dosa, so I reasoned it should be authentic; but for me it is still a little too spicy and I may stay away from it in the future. Blue Nile serves Ethiopian food which I am always curious about. I had a choice of meat combo from Blue Nile, chicken leg in mild sauce and injera (a pancake-like sourdough bread). I like the injera, but the chicken leg just tastes bland. A more substantial plate is from the Pepperz, barbecue ribs with chips. I got a generous serving with four pieces of ribs. The ribs are very tender, although the sauce is a bit salty. I haven’t had ribs for a long time, so I happily devoured all the ribs. Interestingly, there was a guy who asked me where I got my ribs. Needless to say, the ribs are quite tantalizing for the general crowds. I like the Real Seafood company, but their stuff is also pricy. I had the cheapest item on their simple menu – Gazpacho. It’s like the liquid salad or cold tomato soup. I was quite thirsty at that time, so the sourness of the Gazpacho did a good job at cooling me down. Overall, I had a good time. In general, the life in small college town Ann Arbor is boring, but I’ve got to find some fun for myself. Recently I am also reading English books. I “freeloaded� Memoirs of a Geisha and Da vin ci Code from the bookstore (I think the two books are much better than their movie version). Then I bought A Walk Across America and Elisabeth I. I’ve finished the first one. And I am working on the second one now. PS, book reviews will come soon.
Posted by renh at 06:53 PM | Comments (0)