Cherry Blossom in March

Wanna see more Miss J's pretty pics, click here!

Too much Fun!

Japan PM apology on sex slaves
Intel's $2.5bn China chip plant
China car firms gear up for booming sales
Divorce fears for Japan baby boomers

Jamaican anger over slave trade
Inside the Silicon Valley tech bubble
Americans follow African slave trail
Gelato XTC HK

Chinese plant rolls out first MG
NZ vitamin C row hits Ribena firm
China to raise Tibet investment
Here comes the science... , just in time when I am shopping for moisturizers!!
一次夢會偶像 改寫阿娟人生very crazy fan, it's beyond belief.

Paper Recycling Soared Last Year
San Francisco passes plastic-bag ban
王建民, starting pitcher for NY Yankees, he is not playing though. His profile in ESPN.

Attention Pizza lover:

Pizza as health food? Food chemists say yes

I should have sticked with my food science option!

Mocha, she is adorable!

Hi, my name is Mocha & I am a 9 weeks old female & I live in Edmonton w/ the dorks: Mike & Patrick. I am a new addition to the fam. I am a Husky, pure blue-eyed Siberian husky.

Grandma's trip to the village

My grandma is going to travel to Fuzhou with my aunt, nicknamed no.2 (second of eight children) for about 20 days. She will be visiting the final resting place for her sister in law. Some of the family will travel from Taiwan for the proceedings. She was 99 and the last of the Wong of her generation.

3.24.07

I went to c-town to check on the house. a new coat of paint on most of the interior surfaces, probably won't get to redo the outside paint. Hopefully, it can generate some buyers' interest.

wedding celebration for Brian & Christina.

Knut

Knut

Forest

Bryce canyon & Pretty pic of the Narrow from Zion

Loneliness

劉德華 Andy Lau - 練習

加油!

For Joy & Fiona!

Random Read

Sushi Police

Painful Memories for China's Footbinding Survivors, I'm sure glad that they don't do this anymore!

YWGS

Chinese restaurant food draws criticism

Tripping the mill fantastic

I spent my field trip in a lot of meetings, making a very busy week even more tiring. I have been very overwhelmed by the experience of being two people in one. Meanwhile, trying not to forget anything as I am doing a lot of relocation work on the phone & email.

I spent a lot of time getting ready for my albany trip and meetings that I either facilitate or where I have to present something. The highlight of my meeting agendas was my presentation on Cost & ops for the leadership team. I was happy to hear that they found my speaking to be loud and crisp, and they recommended that I take some time to teach my presentation skills to some other members of the management team. The presentation was made much easier by the robust performance of February, where the machine performed well. Explaining the "march madness" we've been experiencing lately will be more difficult.

默契

for my homies!

Happy B day, mom!

48 hour outage outrage

After Double Overtime, we finally got the sheet going. I feel bad that I couldn't wait for the battle to end, but my mechanical aptitude is somewhat limited. I could have been there to supervise and monitor safety, but relocation duty called in C town. Seven days waiting for the house to move. Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

What a silly holiday... just another excuse for everyone to get wasted. Enjoy!

Start-up mode was in progress at 1:30P, smoke came out from #10 roll; with a bent journal and bad bearing, machine continued to stay down till further notice.

Work Week 7 & 8 & 9 &10

Exciting Stuff:
An intern may be coming this summer to work under the engineering dept. leadership! I have been asked to teach at the local community college for the pulp and paper program, I would be a guest lecturer if I decide to try out in the next seminar! A top furnish operator has accepted the team leader position. Eddie is a great guy, besides being very capable technically, he is friendly. All great news to me!

Funny stuff:
One of my partners in crime, production manager is having few aliases with affection. His first nickname is Inspector gadget because he loves gadget, email notification, blackberries etc. The break detection/monitoring system was down once because it was trying to send him break email 6 different times. That went really well with the operator whom was trying to restart & the reboot the system! Second was Elvis Costello, because of the resemblances.

Music selection: Hikaru Utada, Joy’s present! Thanks!

Big W:
OSB, that business section seemed to be under the water lately!

BAD news:
There will be no ambassadorship for me! No trip to Japan this year!
I am going to Albany for PMO. there is no but! I guess ALB should feel good about the free labor!

There was a seam burst on the 3rd dryer top felt, the 3rd bottom felt was also damaged and dryer can 3 was knocked off its rocker. The root cause was still being investigated, but the felt chemical treatment prior to the burst was one of the possibilities (dodo for me). I left at about 3 AM, got 6 hours of rest. The machine shutdown is extended and estimating start up time is 1 PM. I would NOT be around for that!!

No good!

PM! won't be having a sheet on the reel by the schedule start time. The shut gonna be 24 hrs+!!!!! We just wracked 2 felts and saddles at the dryer section, defintely having a giant step backward, funny thing is that: the felts was the sole reason of my presence in this morning! We just chemcially treated them and now they are damaged from the wrack!

Time for me to get zzzzz!

UT Mountain man

Smurfit-Stone to pay US$325,000 for clean-air violations at former printing plant in Schaumburg, Ill.

CHICAGO (PRNewswire-USNewswire)

Thursday, March 15, 2007

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Illinois have reached an agreement with Smurfit-Stone Container Enterprises Inc. on alleged clean-air violations at a printing plant formerly owned by the company at 1228 E. Tower Road, Schaumburg, Ill.

The agreement resolves a complaint filed in November alleging Smurfit failed to control smog-producing volatile organic compound emissions from its printing lines and failed to meet state VOC emission credit requirements. The company agreed to pay penalties totaling $325,000 - $162,500 to EPA and $162,500 to the state of Illinois.

Smurfit has installed a thermal oxidizer to destroy its VOC emissions and has demonstrated compliance through testing. It has also met its state VOC emission credit requirements.

Schaumburg is in the Chicago metropolitan area, which fails to meet national outdoor air quality standards for ground-level ozone (smog). Smog is formed when a mixture of air pollutants is baked in the summer sun. Smog can cause a variety of respiratory problems, including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest pain. People with asthma, children and the elderly are especially at risk, but these health concerns are important to everyone.

Shooter at Bridgeport village.

Analyst: Weyerhaeuser Overvalued
Weyerhaeuser considering options; REIT in future?
UBS downgrades shares on doubts; Company hopes Congress will act

Chief got a raise

Weyerhaeuser Chief Got Some $3.8M

Blue Heron Paper to close its 140,000 tonnes/year Pomona, Calif., newsprint mill due to sagging prices, demand
Mar 9, 2007 — Blue Heron Paper

Forestweb rewrites headlines for editorial clarity. The original story and headline begin below.

Original Headline: Press Release

OREGON CITY, Ore., March 9, 2007 (press release) — Blue Heron Paper Company regrettably has issued a WARN notice related to the indefinite closure of their 140,000 tonne/year, 100% recycled, newsprint mill in Pomona, California. "A combination of high waste paper prices, high energy prices and sagging price and demand for the products the mill sells has led to this unfortunate announcement," said Mike Siebers the Company president. Increased export demand for waste paper has driven up pricing in the Los Angeles basin over 30% in the last 5 months. In addition, continued lower demand for newsprint North America has caused newsprint prices to fall. The combination has resulted in the Pomona Mill becoming unprofitable. 'With no change in sight it doesn't make sense to continue to operate the mill at a loss," said Mr. Siebers. The Pomona Mill employs approximately 125 workers and has been in business since 1967. "Unless something improves dramatically and quickly the mill is expected to close on or about May 6th. It is unfortunate," said Mr. Siebers, "that such a good operation with dedicated employees may be coming to an end. Our employees did nothing wrong. These jobs are being exported along with the waste paper that provides the raw material resources the mill has used over the year."

Based in Oregon City, Oregon, Blue Heron Paper Company was formed in 2000 and produces newsprint and high brightness specialty paper products from a predominantly recycled fiber base. The Company is 100% employee owned through an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) structure. The Company has two manufacturing operations, one in Oregon City and the other in Pomona. The Oregon City Mill is expected to continue to operate at full capacity.

All news reports are copyrighted by the respective papers.

Lean manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing is a new thing I learnt from a former WY_ALB process/project engr. He seems to know what to say about A_mill, its personels, and the bell-curved performance evaluation system. Anyway, it's educational and daily, I am more convinced that my transition was a right choice and a blessing. I couldn't believe that I did not see that thru 9 months ago.

至少還有你

Tokyo Ramen was alright at Kappaya, what captured my attention was the bearded patron and his/her cross dressing male companion.

Another day at C-town was very stressed but a lot of progress were made (w/a u-haul) and I am a mi-ni step closer to my goal. I was very grateful that (mum, mel &) JOY came along and kept me company with her help. My 2 4-legged friends were supervising to keep us in line. After a bowl of soup at mom's, We went out to K"3-1" to have Pakistani and Indian food for dinner. We ordered garlic naan, chicken palak & chicken tikka botti. They were edible but I wouldn't go for a second try. The night was early as we returned to padddr, where we hooked up the karaoke machine and sang the night away.
The supervisors refused to look at the camera no matter how Joy and I tried.

Folks, there are the American idols with Panda as a loyal audience!

Wiki: SLAM 林憶蓮, Sandy Lam

至少還有你

作詞：林夕　作曲：Davy Chan
我怕來不及　我要抱著你
直到感覺你的皺紋　有了歲月的痕跡
直到肯定你是真的　直到失去力氣
為了你　我願意
動也不能動　也要看著你
直到感覺你的髮線　有了白雪的痕跡
直到視線變得模糊　直到不能呼吸
讓我們　形影不離
如果　全世界我也可以放棄
至少還有你　值得我去珍惜
而你在這裡　就是生命的奇蹟
也許　全世界我也可以忘記
就是不願意　失去你的消息
你掌心的痣　我總記得在那裡
我怕來不及　我要抱著你
直到感覺你的髮線　有了白雪的痕跡
直到視線變得模糊　直到不能呼吸
讓我們　形影不離
我們好不容易　我們身不由己
我怕時間太快　不夠將你看仔細
我怕時間太慢　日夜擔心失去你
恨不得一夜之間白頭　永不分離
在那裡

Work as usual on Sunday with acid-base buffer equilibrium, titration, soluability, free energy & entropy, in addition, I learn alot about soccer and paintball games.

Does Emily look like a cow? Well, Rom thinks so; he nibbles on her back leg often. They gotta find a way to get Rom’s brain checked and tell him to leave Emily alone.

It was a nice visit with the Kahrs.

終身美麗 鄭秀文

塔尖仍舊記得　這擁抱極美好
愛有千斤重　重過無涯的鐵路
你那手指再笨拙再粗　肌膚也被你修補
從前那一位　永未能做到

是你去喚醒我　努力才能被愛慕
但回頭目睹你　為我好自己不好
我這幸運兒合著眼睛　只得你沉重身影
如果這記憶非愛情　連天都不會太高興

＊莫非可終生美麗　才值得勾勾手指發誓
　對你不止感激敬禮　當你知己才是虛偽
　莫非多一分秀麗　才值得分享我的一切
　給我自信　給我地位　這叫幸福　不怕流逝
　任他們多漂亮　未及你矜貴＊

記憶無論再輕　輕不過脈搏聲
靠你的手臂　抱我人潮中暢泳
我這幸運兒幸運到一轉身找得到你　來為我打氣
如果可抱起這愛情　連天都會替我高興

REPEAT＊

因有自信　所以美麗　使我自卑都放低
在半空之中親你　不管身世


PS. My house is listed.

Goosed

"Will the mean men give me back all my stuff? " A 5-year old would say as the truck which contained his belongings drove away. I know how he feels. At this point forward, I am motivated to complete my relocation. I take a lot of deep breaths and tell myself that things will work out eventually.

Mel and I went to doggy park with Rom, but he never got off the leash and it seemed that he likes the people at the parks, more than all other doggies.

Here he is, look dazed and confused.


I could tell that people miss me when I was gone. First, they greeted me with welcome back and bright smile. Then, a team leader have a pet name for me "nene"! Little did he know that he had insulted me by calling me a Hawaiian goose.

March and April will turn out to be very frantic months with travel between Grunge town, the rusty rivertown & the smelly town by I-5. I will find my way back to ALB for foreman duties in PMO (get to see Karen and many others, W_SP_Genius Dave and Scott, too), and in W_N I begin to take on a leadership position in a speical project with the whole process engineer group. I will also go to a customer visit in Seattle and maybe take a few courses in corporate headquarters, if $$ is coming thru! Tom's AP exam is in May, got works to do!

BTW, Cousin Eric is back! He was the courier to deliver me the chocolate, red pockets and presents from Grandma and A. Cindy! My mama got a red pocket from Granny too!

盆菜

I had a busy weekend. I went to Corvallis on Saturday for a pre-cleaning and to relocate my cannibal friend. We took a good look around the house, picked up some critical items & left just enough room for a fish. Amazingly, the fish is still alive, it survived the trip to Portland, proving once again it is a survivor. Joy & I met the fish at Pinki's wedding at Tillamook in Sept of 05. He was one of the 9 fish that came home with us as wedding presents. We set them up with a tank and over a couple months, they began to disappear. At first, it wasn't clear why they were disappearing but some of them appeared to have been chewed on. Eventually there were 2 fish left and one of them began to show signs of being eaten. Soon, there was only 1. We have concluded that this fish is a cannibal! He has gone on to survive illness, starvation, extreme cold, losing his fins and living in unchanged water for months. He was well loved and not everyone gave up on him. We finally decided that it was unlikely he would survive in a storage unit, so we rescued him before the movers got him. Can you imagine what the packers would do to the gold fish?

I met up with the girls for a 60 plus persons banquet at Chopsticks. We had a 9 course meal, which included a poon choi 盆菜. We were too stuffed for dessert but not for mahjong. We needed a fourth, so we invited a willing victim from the banquet. Before we started the game, JOY warmed up with DDR, the 1st X-box release, UltraMix and David followed with a higher scoring using his hands. He is still under doc's order to avoid jumping. Believe me, Miss S was happy in the event, the pic did not do her justice if you were there to see her content look. Sunday was usual with work, and a stop to Roberta's crib was interesting!

From Angry Man with BCC links:

I've decided that this is a deep wound that will never be healed, as long as there are stubborn people like this leading nations... yesterday, Japan's nationalist prime minister Shinzo Abe denied that the country's military forced women into sexual slavery during World War II, backtracking on a landmark 1993 government statement acknowledging these crimes: Japan's Abe: No proof of WWII sex slaves. This is ridiculous. I guess we won't be seeing a formal, unequivocal government apology or reparations any time soon, as many have been pushing for. And I'm sure this does magical wonders for relations been Japan and its neighboring Asian countries: Sex slave denial angers S Korea. Abe has essentially said that there is no proof the so-called "comfort women" were forced into prostitution. This isn't just a refusal to own up to past atrocities—this is flat-out denial. More here: Abe questions sex slave 'coercion'. It seems that we will never be able to move forward from this...

New addition to the fam

Mr.R(022707) has a friendly tongue and a friendly bladder. Rom would lick anything and pee anywhere. He greeted me with a kiss and a leak. He is the friendiest lap dog I ever see. He is not a shepherd but a cattle dog. He likes to wash his feet in his water bowl and chase squirrel. He may go not a road trip. When he sees Emily, he will do one of two things: he will lick her or pee in her general direction. Or he might just bark. He seems to be more cat smart than Emily.

Poor E!

Emily keeps sticking her nose to where she doesn't belong. So first she got her nose caught in a cat, the Siamese greeted her with claws and teeth. Emily got an educational introduction. Just when you thought she learned from the Siamese, Emily got too friendly with a puppy from the neighbor and got her face chewed up by the puppy. Poor Emily is just too friendly for her own good.

2.26.07
Pulp mill running, but fallout remains about WY at Cosi.

3.01.07
3 of Camas mill's 5 paper machines shut down

Mr. Noodle

Space-age funeral for 'Mr Noodle

Lunch: avacado supreme!