I woke up this morning to a small face peering at me, counting.. "eleventy-one, eleventy-two..."
Then it went down to "sixty-one, fifty-nine..." and finally, "AUNTY LINLI! ARE YOU AWAKE??!!" in surround sound.
I opened my eyes to the Counting voice.. ah.. It was our friend's 3 year old who was staying the night. Maybe I should have gone to bed when she did.
Anyhows, she is a real character and makes me laugh on my insides and we are going to have breakfast now while I ponder the origins of "eleventy-five".
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Gmail appearances
I really like the "teahouse" setting on gmail. It features a fox at a japanese/asian teahouse, engaging in various activities through the day and night.
Harvesting chrysanthemum flowers, eating noodles, doing calligraphy...I can start to see the draw of other virtual friend/pet programs like Animal Crossing, Neopets and even, Civilizations. Basically, something cool is happening and you are in some way connected to that world. Would I like to be living in a Japanese teahouse? sure! (not that I've ever tried, but the concept sounds tranquil and fulfilling) Lonely? This fox has friends that come round at 4pm when I'm checking email. There are even a bunch of ghosts that come round at 3AM if I'm checking email. (that was a little scary though. I haven't checked email at that time since.)
Anyhows, kudos to the designer of this setting ;)
Harvesting chrysanthemum flowers, eating noodles, doing calligraphy...I can start to see the draw of other virtual friend/pet programs like Animal Crossing, Neopets and even, Civilizations. Basically, something cool is happening and you are in some way connected to that world. Would I like to be living in a Japanese teahouse? sure! (not that I've ever tried, but the concept sounds tranquil and fulfilling) Lonely? This fox has friends that come round at 4pm when I'm checking email. There are even a bunch of ghosts that come round at 3AM if I'm checking email. (that was a little scary though. I haven't checked email at that time since.)
Anyhows, kudos to the designer of this setting ;)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Salt trucks
From Pitts. newspaper:
"If you've ever thought that the city of Pittsburgh street you travel was forgotten by the salt truck crews, you may have been right, according to an audit released yesterday by Controller Michael Lamb.
"If you've ever thought that the city of Pittsburgh street you travel was forgotten by the salt truck crews, you may have been right, according to an audit released yesterday by Controller Michael Lamb.
The 34-page report suggests that the "war on snow" declared by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl last year is far from won.
Applying the microscope to just one of the city's six public works divisions, and looking at the 106 streets about which there were multiple complaints of poor snow removal, Mr. Lamb found 39 streets that weren't slated for plowing or salting.
That's just one of the problems with the city's street maintenance program, which also suffers from sub-optimal salt storage, pothole patching and decision-making on street resurfacing, according to the audit.
Case in point was yesterday's morning commute, when, despite relatively warm morning temperatures, Tuesday night's serving of snow and ice snarled traffic deep into the day."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09029/945309-85.stm
oh well...
Transport
As cold and snowy as it is, we are pretty lucky that its not worse. And in many other parts of the US, it is worse.
There was a news story of trees collapsing from the weight of the snow, onto power lines. Imagine being in sub-zero temperatures and not having heat. For a few days. An elderly lady lit a stove in her basement to keep warm and somehow the rest of her house caught fire :(
Trucks go out to salt the roads, to make it less slippery, but the salt truck that services our area broke down yesterday. We didn't go out yesterday, but our neighbor tells us that most people parked their cars at the bottom of the condo area and walked (since it was too slippery to drive up...this is a hilly area). Looking out the window, there IS no road. Just lots of snow. Most schools were also closed yesterday and set back 2 hours today, if not cancelled.. that probably goes for most people's meetings and activities.
This kinda reminds me of what a chinese physician told me, that having four seasons is actually healthier for people, because it forces them to slow down once a year and be less active, resting their bodies and minds. Then comes the other 3 seasons where you can get pumped up again...
There was a news story of trees collapsing from the weight of the snow, onto power lines. Imagine being in sub-zero temperatures and not having heat. For a few days. An elderly lady lit a stove in her basement to keep warm and somehow the rest of her house caught fire :(
Trucks go out to salt the roads, to make it less slippery, but the salt truck that services our area broke down yesterday. We didn't go out yesterday, but our neighbor tells us that most people parked their cars at the bottom of the condo area and walked (since it was too slippery to drive up...this is a hilly area). Looking out the window, there IS no road. Just lots of snow. Most schools were also closed yesterday and set back 2 hours today, if not cancelled.. that probably goes for most people's meetings and activities.
This kinda reminds me of what a chinese physician told me, that having four seasons is actually healthier for people, because it forces them to slow down once a year and be less active, resting their bodies and minds. Then comes the other 3 seasons where you can get pumped up again...
Winter
Back to the US~ winter time...
Happy Chinese New Year! The Lo Hei at the bottom (traditional Singaporean New Year dish) was taken just before I left...
Happy Chinese New Year! The Lo Hei at the bottom (traditional Singaporean New Year dish) was taken just before I left...
Friday, January 16, 2009
Looking Younger
I met my wedding gown designer today and for some reason, she looks younger than I remember. I also thought this when I saw an ex-colleague, that she looked younger. It's not flattery, but they really did look younger... and more refreshed.
Am I just getting older?
Perhaps, they had a good year-end break.
Am I just getting older?
Perhaps, they had a good year-end break.
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