"Yard", "yarn", and "gage" are all simple words which are used often in old English.

Last week, a water main broke in downtown Montreal, and it caused a deluge and then ice all over.

Montreal's infrastructure will need to be upgraded.

Courtyard provides a good additional function to a building.

For toddlers, Souri Mini makes nifty snow suits, but it seems they don't sell really warm mittens.

For parents with a toddler, household chores can often eat up almost a moiety of their waking hours.

By way of learning by doing, one can be seized of all the necessary skills and assets to make a successful biz, as long as he works hard and is courageous but doesn't get over-confident.

Everyone has moments of "monkey see, monkey do".

Some people squash their cardboard boxes before recycling. Then you know they care.

The ratification of Americans' gun ownership is by no means clear enough in the United States Constitution, it's been reputed.

"The wind moaned in the trees" is such a widely adopted expression in the English language.

You see that many people have used it: http://goo.gl/IJu6A .

Deposit is there to be forfeited in case of breaching a promise.

One shall not kill another. It's ratified by law and morality.

But then, caveats come in. What if in a war? What if the law is corrupt and does not carry justice? And so on.

Samsung has become so nifty and nimble.

Apparently, South Korean industries have soared beyond the other 3 Asian Dragons. Taiwan has got some serious troubles with its almost out-of-mode PC component industries, and with its HTC's market share being taken by Samsung.

Amazon has gone gangbusters in recent years.

And Jeff Bezos has been touted as a genius.

The additive process of increasing my English vocabulary has been taking me at least three years.

All in all, it has to be done by learning new words one by one.

It's said that the old-fashioned brand names Pierre Cardin and Montgut are out of mode.

It's inevitable that people in Montreal must squash through the mud of melted snow for multiple times every year.

That's life.

It appears that in China, more and more civilians publicly moan the loss of their only child in accidents, where couples are not allowed by the government to have more than one offspring.

There appears to be not much chivalry in the running of the Chivalry whiskey.

See the section "Not so Chivalrous" at http://www.whisky-pages.com/stories/news-06-2011.htm.

A "hit man" doesn't just want to hit, but he aims to murder.

Many people preclude opportunities for themselves by not behaving.

I don't have time to check out the whole story about the Idle No More movement's causes, intentions, and goals.

But one thing is clear, the whole Canada has got a ratified treaty with the Aboriginal People of Canada, and the treaty must be understood and respected by Canadians, including aboriginals.

Marketing is surely within the purview of an organization's head.

Movies are a useful invention which fills people's downtime.

I'm apt to confuse the word "pare" with "pair", but not to do "hare" with "hair".

Compact, contract, covenant, and agreement.

All the above words can apply to one thing - international treaty.

I was slayed by this article by Mr. Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2012/11/06/steve-forbes-romney-will-win-decisively/ .

At the current seemingly prevalent price point, it appears nearly impossible for Z. O. to scale up his little side business.

I'm not sure if the fillers such as "you know" and "I'm like" are bad English.

Failing to address one's competence issues other than academic ones, such as EQ and etiquette, simply taking on more formal academic courses doesn't bring much additive value, I'm afraid.

The world esteems President Obama not because he's black, but because of his actual achievements as a U.S. president.

If a war between China and Japan really breaks out, I for one doubt how many Chinese soldiers and military technical personnel will act valiantly in pivotal combats, particularly given the well-known fact of the ever exacerbating situation of pervasive corruption and money-worship in China's society.

Besides, is it really necessary for China or Japan to start a war and send troops to fight and die and let their parents groan and cry? And what about Russia?

"Later on" just means "later". Just that.

Now with more and more domestic artists and civilians daring China's government to move to a more democratic sovereignty, I for one am not sure what will happen to China in 10 years and in 30 years.

Scientists say that foods larded with sugar, salt, and fat are somewhat intrinsically addictive for humans.

Now picture those people gobbling down large hamburgers along with soda drinks day in and day out. They are addicted to quite unhealthy diets.

Sometimes parents groan with near exhaustion after taking care of their babies, when the latter give the former a hard time, which happens from time to time.

Women in China's large cities are apt to be emulous of others' carrying a Louis Vuitton handbag or something.

It's reported that many Canadians, both teenagers and adults, don't have time or the will to exercise their bodies.

The consequences will come home to roost for themselves, and for the medical care system of Canada.

"Claude" is a unisex name in French.

By the way, Claude Monet left so much heritage. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Monet.

In terms of learning about English vocabulary, I'm not sure if the word "fag" (cigarette) is really not etymologically related to "faggot" (no offense to homosexual guys).

Now I suspect with the ascendance of the education level of average Joes and Janes, which in itself is a very good thing, more and more people have got reading addiction to some degree, as a side effect.

I see it in Canada. And I see it on Douban.com .

During the journey to re-define the future, sometimes one has to sacrifice significant short-term monetary gains in order to seek higher long-term profits.

I did that.

Ignorant sanguinity is not what I want.

Cash in, and cost out. That's one's life of consumption.

More and more whispers about getting rich in Africa have been circulating among Chinese.

To work in Africa is not my cup of tea, though.

Patience is a necessary additive for most sorts of work towards achievements.

I've noticed in Montreal that many Chinese people go easy on news from outside the Chinese media. But it's always not my case.

Pneumatic seat height adjustment is a helpful technology on swivel chairs, in my layman's eyes.

But I'm just lazy and don't want to really check out how it works.

"No problem. Please feel free to ask my wife and me any questions about caring for a baby. Take care," J said.

Some people say that ambition is capital for an individual. I agree. On the other hand, I would say that ambition is a sore.

What it is mostly depends on how one feels at a particular moment or at a given life stage.

The Huawei mobile WiFi routers are interesting.

See http://www.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/productFamily.do?method=index&directoryId=5009&treeId=3619.

However, with the omnipresence of free WiFi spots and 3G/4G network coverage, I wonder how many people in Canada constantly use it.

Mostly, trust is what divides Mainland Chinese suppliers from Western ones on a consumer's mind, I'm afraid. Or it will be so before long.

W. M. is busy with getting his little house into shape in his off-work hours.

Having seen so many boys and young men who appear to be addicted to video games, I can't help but think that virtual reality has already descended upon us long time ago.

During full-scale wars, impressment is often inevitable for civilians.

Diplomas have become increasingly pro forma, in this era of lifelong learning and the democratization of university education.

Actually many typical Chinese dishes are made by frying julienned vegetables. And they are delicious.

There's a fine line between being well informed and being an information addict.

The family names "Carpenter" and "Wright" have very similar meanings. Interesting.

I saw three small well-made see-through glass boxes hanging on a light pole in Montreal Botanic Gardens the other week.

At first I thought they were roosts for those sparrows who hung around. Then I realized they were feeders instead, after careful observation.

"Gee. Early birth, wasn't it? I'll pay a visit to your place later on," J said.

It seems that sangria drinks are for women more than for men.

Elegant look the implements of Japanese cuisine, I think.

Then, their eating utensils, i.e. chopsticks and spoons, are just as commonplace as the Chinese ones.

Within the activities of "buy low, sell high", there must be additive values.

Otherwise they would be sheer speculation.

To mart is to serve, if you will.

This probably is the fifth or sixth time that I look up the difference between the meanings of the words "glove" and "mitten/mitt". Duh!

I for one am observant of news. It's trainspotting or "trendspotting" if you will. :-)

Unfortunately for U. Q., the chickens will come home to roost.

Vintage music videos - Scorpions - Wind of Change

The lyrics are here:
http://www.lyrics007.com/Scorpions%20Lyrics/Wind%20of%20Change%20Lyrics.html

There appears to be so many food produces in China with improper additives in them that I for one become more and more reluctant to consume foods imported from China.

We have two swivel chairs - one is so-called manager chair, and the other task chair.

And the current condition of the flooring under the task chair is much worse than that under the manager chair.

I don't understand why.

Good now, French foodstuff really tastes superior.

Many a time, one's extreme sanguinity exposes his ignorance.

Sometimes I would want to smite the English language, if such a thing existed physically.

There are so many new words whose meanings have to be learned, and worse than that, there are so many new words I encounter every month!

Anyways, eventually I'm gonna kick ass. Release the kraken.

Is the notion just a visceral myth that China will become the No. 1 or 2 power in the world in several decades, which various people often claim?

We must keep in mind that things, as well as history, always don't develop linearly.

Music video - 春天里 - 汪峰

词：汪峰  曲：汪峰

The Labatt Bleue Dry beer isn't bad.

The competitive landscape of the computing devices sector, be they traditional or mobile, has been shifting tectonically, in quite complex manners.

The major players have been Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung.

Effectively, the traditional Taiwanese PC and phone makers are in great trouble, especially the possibly moribund Acer, I guess, although it appears to be marketing its computers aggressively in Canada.

In fact, it's been reported quarters ago that Acer had to sell some of its significant real estates in Taipei to offset some of its losses on its P&L statement. That doesn't bode well for Acer.

"Blub" is solely a British English word, while "blob" exists in both American English and British one.

And their forms are so simplistic and easy to be confused with each other.

A well written sentence

Billy dozed off first, and roosters were crowing somewhere in the distance when Saxon's eyes closed.

-Chapter II, The Valley of the Moon by Jack London

Naturally, seeing and being close to sunshine makes me feel sanguine.

About the flick Exiled

Intriguingly, the Jonnie To movie Exiled has only a Hong Kong box-office gross of HK$687,434 and merely a U.S. box-office gross of US$49,413.(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exiled#Box_office.) By contrast, the film won quite a few awards, including Hong Kong ones and international ones. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exiled#Accolades.) Plus, the particular Wikipedia web page has got a PageRank of 4, which indicates the web page, hence the movie itself, is important.

Anyways, I watched the flick months ago. And I must say it's not my cup of tea. It's largely only appreciated by experts, critics, and real buffs of movies, I'm afraid.

Time goes by quickly in the noises of the news about this and that social networking website coming up from nowhere.

About the novel A Christmas Carol

From Ten things you never knew about Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, we know:
1. The Dickens novel has been really popular.
2. Pirating others' work did exist in England. For instance, Parley’s Illuminated Library, an ephemeral magazine, pirated that novel of Dickens. It's only the laws and their enforcement which can prevent pirating.

Short video - North Korean military march

What a martial stalk by North Korean military women in the first half of the video piece.

Many stagnant businesses dream of turnarounds.

But it's always very tough to make turnarounds happen, unless you only want to split and sell business units, so to speak.

A crossing guard may be paid or a volunteer.

The Linux kernel rules the roost.

However, when people purchase Windows computers, they are NOT buying the Windows NT kernel, but they are buying the convenient access to all the useful applications available in the Windows ecosystem. For instances, OCR software programs, and audio and video editing programs.

The word "jump" has an obsolete meaning - "exactly", as an adverb.

I frown at information overload.

But what can I do?

I must keep relevant.

It's said that Bill Clinton is a power broker and kingmaker in American politics.

Why, and how?

It seems that McGill University's head is called "Principal", while Queen's U's head "Rector".

Confusing.

Only now I've known that Maritimes and Atlantic Canada are almost synonyms.

I for one don't like to see bad blood between teachers and the government over labor disputes.

Should all schools be privatized and all parents get monetary vouchers and then get to choose their children's schools freely? i.e. let the free market mechanism, instead of unions and the government, decide which teachers get paid more and which ones less?

It appears that many pundits have sanguinely predicted that we'll PROBABLY see an economic boom by the end of the current presidential term of Obama.

Facebook wants to parlay its success in desktop sphere into another one in mobile sphere.

Let's watch. Anyhow, I've always felt Facebook is a little stale. Maybe it's just me.

Having seen Canadian hi-tech firms smitten, or bought up, by competition doesn't leave Canadians sanguinity about the country's tech sector.

Nortel, ATI, RIM, ...

I had lost a certain prospect with a cost-driven project.

I never felt loss for that.

The parley between Israel and Palestine has been on the focus of world media, again and again and again.

See Israel and Palestine: Barriers to peace | The Economist.

风漫天，雪舞银蛇。

在这个雪夜，想起了姜夔的“夜雪初积”（《暗香》）。