Grand office buildings are no longer palms, I suppose.

The Razor-Qt desktop environment is interesting.

In China, the portentous housing bubble will bring forth big trouble in the future.

Steamed pears can soothe coughing.

The choices of GNU/Linux distros are overwhelmingly many.

Life is short.

And J wants to have a go at building a great life.

Whoa. I didn't know Lululemon is headquartered in Canada. In Vancouver, to be precise.

Wow, the nascent so-called bank account tax for Cypriot bank accounts appears to just violate people's rights to private property.

Where's the line between public property and private property?

During the time of China's Ming and Qing dynasties, how differently did the Western royalties' courts look from their Chinese counterparts?

And, much more importantly, how differently did the former work from the latter?

It seems that innovations don't get encouraged at many large companies. Not e'en at Google nowadays.

China appears to be increasingly on the razor's edge. Which most needs reform seems to be its redistribution arrangement.

J's joint business adventure is picking up steam.

International fora are sort of informal negotiation tables.

Looking back, when Larry Page took over from Eric Schmidt as Google's CEO in April 2011, that was an important portent of the dramatic changes of how the company does things as we've seen in recent 2 years.

Sigh.

Nonetheless, Google's stock price has almost doubled in these 2 years.

Everything's just peachy in the early days.

I rummage my days for some more little chunks of time.

I for one took the liberty of embarking on an entrepreneurial journey.

Americans may be uppity. But they've contributed greatly to innovations used by the world.

The West is always busy fulminating its earthly cohabiting nations.

Where do the Western countries' strengths come from? It seems to be that their justice systems are always upheld and trusted by common people.

Where's all that dodgy Chinese money? In Switzerland?

Southern Asia is inflicted by high rates of acid attacks.

What a tragedy.

Acid throwing victim, Cambodia 

These attacks are most common in Cambodia,[8] Afghanistan,[9] India,[10] Bangladesh,[5][6] Pakistan[5] and other nearby countries.[7] Globally, at least 1500 people in 20 countries are attacked in this way yearly, 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_throwing

It's lucky for a working person to have a shopping district in her backyard.

Down with the way Google's treating consumers nowadays.

Google Reader's shutting down. The party's over. Google's offering public service no more.

I for one have this typical reaction: you yank so many services, then I distance myself away from you. On the other hand, I'm grateful for all the great services Google has offered in the web sphere in the past.

I used to mistake the word "rebounce", which is nonexistent and conjured up by me, for "rebound".

Today's education institutions in Canada and China probably will in the future draw flak for dumbing down and watering down education.

The word "e'en" looks strange, doesn't it?

It's the literary form of "even". Listen to how it pronounces. Oh my goodness. You need to squeeze out the sound from between your teeth.

Many people are apt to think that the fountainhead of wealth is the possession of money.

I disagree. I see that is hard work and talents instead.

I tend to mistake "cluster" for "clutter".

Now I'm apt to think that it's probable that Chinese, as a group, can no longer get away with its relatively weak moral education.

Well, I for one am afraid that nearly all the past hype about Alberta oil will be razed by the wild runaway success of fracking in the U.S.

Sitting still and not shifting is never in order in IT.

To stonewall is the opposite of to be cooperative.

Short internet meme video - Harlem Shake (original army edition)

Internet memes have been going very strong. Months ago, there was the Gangnam Style originated from Korea, now it's Harlem Shake.

By the way, it's been reported that some Israeli troops who presented themselves in another published video piece are being sent to and locked into military prison. Duh.

Nowadays, "Vatican", "pope", "conclave", and so on are hot words.

Now Korean companies have run away with the hardware sector.

At the beginning it's the American companies, then Japanese ones, then Taiwanese, now Korean.

Who're next? Chinese companies?

I think that entrepreneurial endeavors are normally treks instead of helicopter lifts.

Rare are the examples of the success stories of Google and Facebook.

Rummage sale is quite different than garage sale (a.k.a. yard sale), in terms of their purposes and locations.

My better half seems to like pork attached to bones.

Normally good are the Canadian way of no frills and no fuss. But to food it shouldn't be applied.

Is Southeastern Asia in the backyard of China or India?

Bootleggers used to smuggle alcohol, cigarettes, and so on. Nowadays formula milk is also on their shopping lists.

See Hong Kong arrests baby milk smugglers. The offenders won't be able to get away with light fines. They "are subject to a maximum penalty of two years in jail and a HK$500,000 fine."

Such an international laugh at the quality of some Chinese products. Is it a tip of the iceberg?

I suspect that this information era has caused almost everyone to chase his/her tail.

Among the ranks of officials, there is always balderdash from the mouth of at least one. Be him/her an American one or a Chinese one.

But the percentage of Chinese officials who speak nonsense appears to be significantly higher than that of their American counterparts.

Do opportunities thin out in the old economy? You bet.

Worries have been pressing people, with Canada's GDP growth rates nearly razed in recent 5 quarters.

Is the fountainhead of religions the curiosity about and fears of death, which has been possessed by the humankind throughout history?

I think the Arial font is pretty.

Western countries' governments had given their imprimatur to financial firms to do almost anything they please.

That has angered most people, who have been paying a dear price for the practice.

It's apparent that financial firms' activities often cause negative externality, in Economics' terms. For that matter, some high financiers must have swooned when people and their democratic governments realized it.

When getting refused, it is in order to accept the refusal gracefully and then talk to other candidates.

That's the beauty of free market and free society.

A player occupies more space on a tennis court than on a basketball court. So, intrinsically, playing tennis is more costly than playing basketball.

"For the most part" is an interesting idiom.

Sentences run like this: "for the most part, so and so." But where are the other part(s)? :-)

When you see 10 successful entrepreneurs, you see at least 9 resolutes among them, I think.

I've become increasingly appreciative of jeans' sophisticated yet no-frills style.

Gee. ABInBev, headquartered in Belgium, owns Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, Beck's, Labatt Blue, so on and so forth.

Many people run away with the notion that they can achieve things alone.

Maybe that's why securities markets across the world are saturated with individual investors.

"Then that's what your friend's business is doing. Let's watch his future destiny," J said.

To be in tune with the current emotions and feelings of young Canadians is different than to be in tune with the market demands of Canadians.

I used to mistake "better half" for "the better part".

Well, that half is better than this half. And that part is better than this part.

Boeing's Super Hornet fighter jet (超级大黄蜂战斗机) is interesting to watch.

It's involved in a dogfight for governments' contracts with Lockheed Martin's seemingly more glamorous F-35, which has failed to deliver so far and become more and more like a sitting duck if you will.

The word "ashore" looks more poetic than "aforesaid", although both appear antique.

This pic is of a restaurant courtyard in Beijing, China. Lovely, isn't it?

Reminiscent of the lifestyle of Chinese people of previous generations.

See http://www.foodnut.com/i/No-16-Courtyard-Restaurant-Beijing-China/No-16-Courtyard-Restaurant-Beijing-China-Courtyard.jpg.

The restaurant info. is at: http://www.foodnut.com/425/no-16-courtyard-restaurant-review-beijing-china/.

China's state-run banks can always get away with lending huge sums of money to relatively incompetent state-run companies, which may not even boost employment.

Is unwriting history a crime?

"I think I'll just go with a Linux single booting, and add virtualized Microsoft Windows if needed," J said.

In a world with an abundance of crises, we still do what we do.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. (大英百科全书公司) owns the venerable reference book. And it owns Merriam-Webster Dictionaries, beside others.

Interestingly, it is not a public company.

Now I more and more believe that only in kingdom come, an undemocratic country's government would PERSISTENTLY care about the life of its civilians.

T. X. had tried to get away with paper towels worth tens of dollars but got caught by the company.

In terms of vegetables consumption amounts, typical Canadian diets are so unhealthy compared to their Mainland Chinese counterparts.

Due diligence is important. But, it shouldn't be carried to the extreme where it stifles or suppresses customer needs.

I dislike the bureaucracy and red tape that I lately encountered from a sales clerk at a Videotron store.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs don't have the nous to make it.

That's life.

Stamp duty (印花税) is an interesting term.

I for one wonder how many remote places in China are gradually becoming somewhat lawless.

The officials over there think they can do anything to the local people?

Tar sands (a.k.a. oil sands) can also be called "bitumen".

In the job market, there's an imbalance which job seekers often don't pay attention to, I think.

For the most part, when a person applies for a job position, he actually needs a job, otherwise he wouldn't bother to apply for it. On the other hand, when an employer posts a job position, it may not have real intention to get it filled, for whatever reasons.

Shall we call it an "imbalance of good faith"?

Do I sound like I'm grumbling? Anyway, I'm not looking for a job right now. Just some observation of mine from others' examples, some of whom are job seekers and the others of whom are (potential) employers.

Apple's decision makers seem to be so resolute in the keeping of their walled garden so far.

For instance, Apple hasn't ported their iTunes software to Linux. That's to their own detriment, IMHO.

Samsung has run away with the consumer hardware battle, in terms of market share.

Is it entering the consumer software field now?

Long is the list of the word "list"'s definitions.

"List" is a good word, as Lisp is a good programming language.

Beijing and Shanghai will always stay to be real squashes with the government policies of China tremendously favoring the two mega cities and so people flocking there.

I guess the better part of people would roll their eyes if you talk with them about job security.

In this information era, we are using so many software technologies. The better part of them appear to be erroneous from time to time.

Life is chaos for an information consumer like me.

I for one am afraid that moans of despair will emerge about actual polluted food chains resulted from oil sands extraction in Alberta, Canada.

Some people run away with the idea that powerful or capable businesspersons can keep making a lot of money by simply making phone calls and things like that.

People in the skirts of China, so to speak, cannot imagine how busy a typical Canadian's life is.

The life of Canadians and Americans is too technologically complicated. That's bad. People need to slow down.

A yard isn't always necessarily green.

It's that people often make it green out of their own preferences.

The world in various historical and cultural contexts

I'm fluent in two exclusive languages: Chinese and English. To me, the world still appears to be a difficult place to explore and maneuver, in historical and cultural contexts. Latin America, Oceania, Southern Asia, Southeastern Asia, Northern Europe, and Eastern Europe. Any of their histories I don't know. And their historical figures and their names look so strange and foreign to me.

For example, Bhai Baghel Singh "is celebrated in Sikh history as the vanquisher of Mughal Delhi." And the architectural wonder Taj Mahal in India "was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal." So these two historical items are closely related, cue the keyword "Mughal". But look, how many foreign words there are simply in those names!

I guess that if what one wants is a steady income, then he may vaguely or clearly regret over unimproved opportunities in the latter half or the end of his life.

I for one like the look and flair of Scotland Yard.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_Yard.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New-Scotland-Yard-Victorian-building-Big-Ben-1890.jpg / GNU Free Documentation License)

The American mettle has somewhat influenced the Canadian one, I guess.

Obstreperous factions, blocs, influences, and forces are everywhere.

A food court is within the building, and a court/courtyard is outside and adjacent to the building.

Raising a baby is super busy and gnarly, but having no baby probably will be eventually tragic.

RRSP is one's covenant with his old-age financial security.

If one's more than 50 years old and he doesn't have RRSP, that is precarious.

I don't think I had ever eaten squash in China before coming to Canada.

The notorious traffic jams and air pollution in Beijing make such a massive groan that it's no longer a livable city, unless one has huge profit to pursue in it.

Yet many people choose not to hear it.

The fracking manna in the U.S. is so unexpected.

Labor, and job

It seems that in essence, workers in capitalist societies are detached from their jobs, so to speak. After they've spent years on a certain job or in a certain organization, naturally they would somewhat feel it's their own backyard. However, it happens in reality that the employer can just lock them out and tell them the jobs don't need them any more, without any advance notice, not even on the day before.

A worker doesn't own the job, he only owns his labor.

A worker sells his labor, and an employer buys it. And no one is selling a job, and no one is buying one. So, perhaps "job market" is a false name. And "labor market" is a much more suitable one.

厨艺

如果你想变得做菜好吃，生个孩子。

如果你想变得做菜好吃又快速，生两个。

如果你想变得象餐厅大厨一样专业，做菜好吃快速又成本低，生三个孩子吧。

:-)

MS Windows has increasingly become a nifty OS for power users.

However, its market share is doomed to decline largely.

In the marketplace over the past several years, the Windows operating system is not vanquished by Mac OS and iOS from Apple, it is done by Linux and its mobile derivative, which means Android.

It happens against the backdrop in the mobile computing sphere that many past and current Apple fans have switched to or been contemplating Android.

And, in the desktop computing sphere, I for one need Linux more than Windows.

Everything said, Windows is not without its own merits and advantages. For instance, I quite like the Windows Aero desktop environment present in Windows 7 and so on.