As the mess in Europe has been keeping unfolding, I for one has gotten to know the differences of economy and society between the group of Germany and U.K. and that of Greece and Italy.

And I guess I've become wary of the latter.

Simmons and Simons

I used to be ignorant about the difference between the Simons (pronunciation: /'saimons/), which is a Quebec fashion retailor, and the Simmons (pronunciation: /'simons/), which is the American flagship mattress company.

By the way, Simmons was translated to Chinese as "席夢思". What a fine translation!

Not everything new is an opportunity. One shouldn't get muddied over that.

In terms of measurement, a cup is different than a cap.

How much has the phenomenon of information overload been bedeviling average Joes and Janes?

1756 - 1763 年，英、法两大欧洲强权在北美洲这个 new world 为了争夺国土和经济利益，Seven Years' War 打得白热化。

英国从本土动用超过 5 万的陆军、超过 160 艘 warships 的海军，参与这远隔大洋的 Seven Years' War，和法国陆军、海军在北美洲艰苦对决。

同一时段，中国为大清帝乾隆统治，闭关锁国、“禁海、毁船、禁船、迁界”，完全扼杀航海（见 http://www.tianya.cn/publicforum/content/no05/1/161560.shtml ），真的是不知今夕何夕。明、清二朝，没能与时俱进，框定中国几百年的衰弱落后格局。

It seems that every mass migration of an ethnic group which is forced by another government causes tremendous misery and poverty for that group. For instance, the Acadians were forced by arms to leave their homes in Acadia for other British colonies in North America in 1755.

See The Acadian Odyssey. I read the section "A Day of Great Fatigue" in it.

And this poem Evangeline seems to be powerful and gripping.

When we compare two countries' military forces, maybe there's not much difference on the individual level, say, country A's best sharpshooter isn't that different from country B's best sharpshooter, but it's the organization level and technology level which make all the differences.

It's said that Quebec City has always been more pompous and stuffy than Montreal historically.

Typically a man in his thirties and forties feels hemmed in by his work and family obligations.

I'm not sure if our baby daughter has displayed some trace of providence.

After having been cut off from most people's diets, lard has become a delicate which gets really enjoyed on occasions, ironically.

See this online post: 炒芥兰.

It seems that Netflix, which was the one up-and-coming competitor which drove Blockbuster out of business, has been on the cutting edge of some technological fronts, for instance, recommendation system.

However, it seems that particular company has also been quickly losing customers' hearts. It's even been reported that people think Netflix, along with Kodak, RIM and the like, will not be in existence in 2015. It's that bad for the once renowned pioneering Netflix.

When it rains, it pours.

Untitled

That tree did not know
How to love itself
It only cared about sky
Since it was made by the spy

If time could back flow
It would still not know
But now it loves itself
Softly

You want to be kind. Sometime you have to be a doormat.

I don't know anything about the mechanism of the formation of canker sores.

The racing car was tumbling out of control on the computer screen.

Maybe Canada's welfare system is something like a judo mat, which one can fall back on and so doesn't get completely hurt and then can stand up again and continue to strive. However, some people mistake the purpose of it.

Freedom is an authoritative right for individuals in Canada. How to make good use of it?

Fie on our irritable baby daughter. She's too ungentle sometimes.

My wife and I will have to tame her a bit in the future when she can effectively communicate with us.