Charlotte, NC

Charlotte, NC

Week 39: Crush & burn and we all live.

Nope, I don't work in a zoo and those are NOT animal droppings. I called them pulp turds. They are some great mysterious discovery in the system that we are researching. What a week, can you image? I had trials, auditors on site, presentation at WE mtg, many mtgs on we chemistry, product etc.. Great Week!!! October will be even crazier, I have 4 trials lined up already.

We are into HYBS and Bs, so cool to see those paper sacks. Reminded me the good o' days and I miss the sacks. Maybe Wendy, Donald and the King are our new friends.

News flash, a new rep?!

Charlotte, here I come!

Week 39

匯豐美國子公司結業 次按風暴未停, wow even HSBC USA is impacted by sub-prime rate
環保姨姨
Darkoogle, an energy saver?
Food blog & Chinese Banquet
Beyond the pale? & Bridget Jones, she got it eaay, the stigma of dark skin?! Why!?
Global warming leaves Russians cold
Asian spacefarers race for the moon
中秋浪漫
China dam 'catastrophe' warning
香港廉潔度全球排14, 美國排二十
只有小店真情趣, 蒜茸蒸象拔蚌仔 looks so yummy!
Putting Money on the Table, this is interesting, I think, about having honey without money, hm...
《色，戒》

Tue & Wed: My crash & burn trial is officialy over, actually, it went well and I am hoping to run an extended trial for 2 machines in about 2 weeks. Dom also reached 6 months safety record! Celebration is in planning.
Thursday: outage on PM2

Jane Goodall says biofuel crops hurt rain forests
OL, this is interesting.
海洋插逾億喉管抗暖化 冷水泵到海面 刺激海藻生長吸CO2
美耗油量新測試 本田豐田最慳油
Why Women Worry So Much
科大MBA躋身全球20強 蟬聯亞太第一 畢業生薪金排包尾, MBA, I am thinking about UW!
Most Expensive and Most Affordable Housing Markets, you wanna pack your bags for Killeen, Texas?

Happy B day, 劉德華 Andy Lau

- 我得你

心只有你

Andy's blog

Happy B-day Nick!

Linus Pauling Memorial Lectures

Here we go, I am so excited about the Thursday lecture series, starting on Oct 18th. Have my fingers cross about getting my OWN free tickets.
Last meeting of tennis tonight, then starting in October Wed: Uke night!

Did you eat a moon cake?

The Top Ten Greenest Cities

Source
Portland, Oregon
Austin, Texas
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Boulder, Colorado
Burlington, Vermont
Madison, Wisconsin
New York, New York
San Francisco, California
Santa Monica, California
Chicago, Illinois

The end of summer: 等 LIVE & 一千個傷心的理由

Depression

Ukulele

Ukulele weeps by Jake Shimabukuro

I got a flea uke at artichoke music after my first PUA meeting. At the meeting, I did not realize till the end of it that Lyle Ritz, the father of jazz uke was sitting on my left. Wow, silly me, he played 2 songs in open mic and I totally missed out on an autograph opportunity on his latest release. Here is the npr story about him. He is having an performance in the first week of Oct in Portland, but I will be Charotte, NC. Ding it.

Bill Tapia and Lyle Ritz at So Cal Uke Fest October 2004


Pearl Jam - Soon Forget

PS. I am also an member in CUA as well. WOW, so official!

Last day of summer

Highlights from the rafting:
Kimi & Panda are super cool and good times, to meet my own kind that all work at the same site, ok , next store and across the river, but close enough. There were lots of brain power on that raft.
I definitely have fun getting wet, cliff jumping and swimming in the icy cold water.

The moon club was alright, my moon buns were not a big hit, well, I expected anyway.

Team building activity with the ladies

I am so excited about rafting on the White Salmon river this weekend. The trip is 8 miles in length and the first 5 miles is continuous class III+ & IV rapids! Awesome!

Look at all these rafting rivers with rapids in OR & WA: Deschutes River, White Salmon River, Clackamas River, Klickitat River, Wind River, Sandy Gorge, North Santiam, Rogue River, Skykomish River, Owyhee River. They are all within driving distance from where I am.

Currently listening to...

a cd book of Mayflower, learning about the Pilgrims and the Puritan.

Carpool time: Huskygal is listening to "Baits" & "Temptation".

Moon festival 9.25.07

Lantern pictureSource, at page 6
Korean: Chuseok
Chinese: Mid-Autumn Festival
Vietnamese: Tet Trung Thu
Mooncake

Rafting advice

Gonna get ready for the weather though!
For Cooler Weather:
Shorts (quick drying shorts are best, ie nylon) and a T-shirt or bathing suit.
Long Sleeve shirts and a hat if you get burned easily.
Long underwear (couple of layers, both top and bottom), a fleece top, these items are essential to provide maximum warmth.
Wool Socks
Gloves (wool or neoprene), stocking hat if you get cold easily.
Old Tennis shoes, neoprene booties or Sandals (Teva type are best)
Sunglass Strap for both sunglasses and prescription glasses (Croakies or Chums).
Sunglasses
Waterproof Sunscreen (with a SPF of 20 or higher).
Change of clothes for drive home.
An Attitude To Have A Great Time!

Headline

I saw these headline!

Oregon investors working to buy former International Paper mill site in Gardiner, Ore.; agreement made for on-site wastewater treatment plant

《新股上市》群星紙業上市籌１６億元，最低入場費為５４０４元, source: Yahoo news ; 群星紙業 今招股 訂價合理
Chinese Paper Power Producer: 玖龍紙業

Week 38

Work highlights:
35+ hrs outage on PM3 this week, cool capital project in place, C&O & maybe a chemical trial this week, I saw some ALB folks this week and maybe I will see the third group again in about a month for the 3rd audit!

May/December Couples Boost Human Lifespan, now we know!
Mega-city plans for Hong Kong, oh no, that's a insane idea!
Chernobyl to Get New Protective Shelter, where is Chernobyl?
China to hold first-ever 'no car day' on Saturday
Australia navy in breast op row , can you believe that? The miltary paid for your boob jobs!
Eyes Can't Resist Beautiful People, no more lame excuse now, honey, we can stare all we want now, we just can't help it biologically!
World's oldest man turns 112 , listen up, he likes milk, rice, miso and seaweed! No alcohol or smoke and HE READS NEWSPAPER DAILY!! Go Shimbun!
Bush calls for expansion of spy law, are we living in a place liked the former GDR with the secret police?
US family tries life without toilet paper, will you dare to follow?
Big future beckons for tiny chips, NanoAge!! Moore's Law, remains intact.
1st. Series: Has China's one-child policy worked?
Southwest keeps open seats with a twist, the busing system is strange for the first timer, but guess what, it is better than the assigned seat!
One in three Americans expects recession, concern, concern, concern! The job in Thailand is looking better now! Not so fast, see No housing woes in booming Washington state. Ah hah, I may stick around then!
Can China make the polluter pay?
低糖月餅竟含糖量12茶匙, don't be tricked by the less-suger moon cake.
港百歲人瑞1510個, wow really? 1510 of them!
I have tears in my eyes when I read 106歲人瑞獨居深圳拒返港 無依無靠 獨守祖屋
Glamorous politician wants law to allow 7-year itch in Germany. an very interesting idea in a Catholic country.
Mattel sorry for 'design flaws'
Bill Gates leads Forbes rich list. This is absurd with the amount of wealth these people have!
Chile court extradites Fujimori, it's about time!
Very bad guilty pleasure of mine, Starbucks Grande White Chocolate Mocha, 480 calories, 20 grams of fat (with whole milk). And Cinnabon Classic Roll, 730 calories, 24 grams of fat.
Ecuador seeks oil 'compensation'
The politics of guidebooks
Olympic torch will bypass Taiwan, Taiwan is being fussy!
2nd. Series: China's 'perfect child' generation
3rd. Series: Grey areas in China's one-child policy
Rather: Government influencing newsrooms, I think this drama is gonna get ugly.
House prices to drop much lower: Greenspan, he is such a downer! Overall, the outlook looks dimmer for big-W!

New machines, NOT in N. America?! Metso to deliver containerboard line to Mondi Packaging , Metso supplies board machine to Lee & Man Paper in China

George Nozuka_Endora's fave

George nozuka - talk to me - music video


George Nozuka - Stay Up- no visual


Last time

Heard of this? National Singles Week, Sept. 16-22.

Party Of One
Singles Are Happy Being Single
The 10 Best Things About Being Single, I think this list is silly because one can be married and still be able to do some the items on the list, but NONO on #3.

In contrast, see 8 Things No One Tells You About Marriage

Winston Churchill

To look is one thing. To see what you look at is another. To understand what you see is another. To learn from what you understand is something else. But to act one what you learn is all that really matters.

-Winston Churchill-

HappyFish's Weekend adventure!

Beautiful Bike!
HappyFish came home happy with all her limbs!
Zoey, Lydia & Abby
HappyFish w/Zoey
HappyFish, HappYDave, HappyBiker & GreatDad
24 hrs coverage for the new grades production was uneventful last Friday. I enjoyed the opportunity to have an all-stars femme team that made a very good looking sheet. But the real learning was about developing team dynamic. It has been a difficult week to see Huskygal suffered but I don't know what to do to help.

BBQ at the Peeks was something I was looking forward to all week long, nothing was better than to have yourself surrounded by good people full of joy, love and laughter. I remember Emma (from NB), but Zoey is very much liked Emma, esp. her very playful attitude (liked Emily) and her lightening speed. Oh Abby has grown so much since I last saw her. I can’t wait to go to her B-day party in December. Saturday was an awesome day for me, it was great to see old pals, being goofy & just played hard. I went on a bike ride with happybiker in his BMW motorcycle. He is so happy about his new job and we both can say that we did the right thing! HappyDave talked of a new job prospect where it's summer all year long with many tapioca roots! Hmmmm.....well he says he needs a few good engr!

Sunday at driving range sucked. That’s all I gotta say.

Pac- 10 did well this weekend except the Huskies and UCLA. Ducks, Beavers, Cougars both kicked butts. Wow, Utah, impressive.

Week 37

Japan's embattled PM vows to stay
港膺全國最安全城市 不敵北京古今交融 最美麗排名居亞
Chinese inflation at decade high, do you know who is the world's biggest consumer of pork?
Federer makes it four straight at U.S. Open, Djokovic lets it slip away

Weyco: Closures, cuts on the horizon from Longivew Daily News, my heart is sinking!
China bans lead paint on toy exports
Can't quit chocolate? Don't fret, it's no addiction. That's heavenly!

The Good Shepherd
The Lives of Others, can you imagine being watched in every move? Well, our government do that already, they can eavesdrop without warrants on terror suspects.

Monday:
Accounting figures from August came out and once again PM1 broke speed plan (5th month in a row, baby!). I might sleep better tonight, knowing that I was not in red zone last month. I was dressing in red severely in the 2nd quarter & I have been working very hard to turn that around. I can’t afford to overdose the machine. However, despite all the hard work from everyone, the bottom line was red. (-$$$$)

Tuesday:
There was a fire at one of the machine, the fire department was called to the scene. Luckily everyone worked safely through the ordeal and there was no significant damage to the equipment. There was a tour for some Japanese customers at the time, I wonder what they would think of us?

Double decker at I-5 S-bound at Longview, weird? He was really crusing under the posted speed limit
以前多生男 現全球多女
北極地區或無人繼香燈
多氯聯苯（PCB）& 滴滴涕（DDT), so what is 滴滴涕 ?
黑朱古力可防中風
每日一杯健力士 減患心臟病風險
口服避孕藥 減患癌風險 36年研究4萬婦女 風險降3至12％
China shoppers 'to boost growth'

Wednesday: Volunteering the day at the Progress Center Neuromuscular Clinic
The day was great! We did painting, weeding and moving furniture around. I got paint on my hair (new highlight), my shirt and my shoe and a day off from work for a good cause. Tennis night and I am ready to hit some balls!

2 days later, the headlines read After Abe's Exit, Will Japan Retreat?; What led Shinzo Abe to resign?

Animal Extinction, a very sad topic
Conservation alone 'is not enough'
Gorillas head race to extinction
Rare river dolphin 'now extinct'

Reducing newsprint capacity in Europe
Rise of far right alarms Germans
Swiss citizenship system 'racist'
Italy urged to go on pasta strike
Manga shares gain on leader hopes, good for business, the industry that I am in!
Dirty energy threatens health of 2 billion: study
Welcome to Stockton: foreclosure capital USA

Thursday:
Huskygal new motto: I know I was to blame for everything that happened.(In Spanish: Sé que debía culpar por todo que sucedió.)

China cracks down on one-child violators
How do you know you are healthy? So really, how do you know?
Fibre turns a profit
Never Give an Umbrella as a Gift in Beijing
市面「健康飲品」含糖超汽水
Rare Mormon book up for bid

Hey, I talked to cutie Mosquito today!

I am a HappYFisH!

But then, I found out that I will be working late tonight for trial support! Oh well.....no more friday nite catching up beauty sleep time.

The Paperboys

Tod invited me to the Paperboys show with the opening act of the Stephanie Schneiderman Band.


Tom Landa interview on Worldbeats

Paperboys-Fragile

This is "fall down with you" MV. It's my fave song from the show.


See The Paperboys at: official site, you tube, wikipedia, myspace

See The Stephanies Schneiderman band at: official site, myspace & a very brief description of Dirty Martini in wiki

細水長流 - 蔡齡齡

細水長流 - 蔡齡齡

曲：M.Alejiandro/M.Beigbeder | 詞：林振強 | 編：Richard Yuen

不管為何 沿途如何 它都長流 鐵和石也可割破
這是過山的河水 它奔前流流流 不管蹉跎
為流入滔滔大海 方會安心而存在 不管為何
沿途如何 它都長流 我懷內那些愛 也像這一江河水
永為你也永向你一生奔流 現時 昨天將來都也因你而存在
* 若你雙眼是深海 你已經浸沒我 誰令我現能去愛
你已否知到麼 我感激我們遇見 在今生像河與海
你那臂彎溶匯結合我 盛我在內 若有天要被分開
我遠山也踏破 尋辦法又流向你 你會否等我麼
你可知每凝望你 便彷彿像河看海 你那暗湧如在叫喚我
喚我入內 怎可不奔向你 天空晴朗 雷霆來時 它都長流
我懷內那些愛 也像這一江河水 永為你也永向你作一生奔馳
現時 將來 都也因你而存在 天空晴時雷霆來時它都長流
似懷著某種意智 這是過山的河水 它奔馳流流始終堅持
為流入滔滔大海 方會安心而存在
(重唱 *)

FOREIGN ETIQUETTE TIPS

Source: usatoday

The following advice by Sue Fox, author of Business Etiquette for Dummies, may help business travelers avoid an embarrassing gaffe abroad.

Argentina: It is rude to ask people what they do for a living. Wait until they offer the information.

Bahrain: Never show signs of impatience, because it is considered an insult. If tea is offered, always accept.

Cambodia: Never touch or pass something over the head of a Cambodian, because the head is considered sacred

China: As in most Asian cultures, avoid waving or pointing chopsticks, putting them vertically in a rice bowl or tapping them on the bowl. These actions are considered extremely rude.

Dominican Republic: When speaking to someone, failure to maintain good eye contact may be interpreted as losing interest in the conversation.

France: Always remain calm, polite and courteous during business meetings. Never appear overly friendly, because this could be construed as suspicious. Never ask personal questions.

Greece: If you need to signal a taxi, holding up five fingers is considered an offensive gesture if the palm faces outward. Face your palm inward with closed fingers.

Egypt: Showing the sole of your foot or crossing your legs when sitting is an insult. Never use the thumbs-up sign, because it is considered an obscene gesture.

India: Avoid giving gifts made from leather, because many Hindus are vegetarian and consider cows sacred. Keep this in mind when taking Indian clients to restaurants. Don't wink, because it is seen as a sexual gesture.

Japan: Never write on a business card or shove the card into your back pocket when you are with the giver. This is considered disrespectful. Hold the card with both hands and read it carefully. It's considered polite to make frequent apologies in general conversation.

Malaysia: If you receive an invitation from a business associate from Malaysia, always respond in writing. Avoid using your left hand because it is considered unclean.

Mexico: If visiting a business associate's home, do not bring up business unless the associate does.

Philippines: Never refer to a female hosting an event as the "hostess," which translates to prostitute.

Singapore: If you plan to give a gift, always give it to the company. A gift to one person is considered a bribe

Spain: Always request your check when dining out in Spain. It is considered rude for wait staff to bring your bill beforehand.

Vietnam: Shake hands only with someone of the same sex who initiates it. Physical contact between men and women in public is frowned upon.

TOP TEN TIPS FOR WOMEN BUSINESS TRAVELERS

Source: cnn.com

1. Never put personal details on business cards. Use covered luggage tags and insert either a business card (without a mobile phone number) or a card with your name, airline, flight number, embarkation/disembarkation points and date of travel.
2. Pack lightly. You need to be able to carry your luggage on your own. There will not always be a porter available and it is better to avoid asking someone for assistance.
3. In hotels, ask the receptionist to be discreet when handing you the room key and to avoid saying your room number out loud.
4. At night, ask a member of the hotel staff to escort you back to your room.
5. Use the 'Do Not Disturb' sign at all times. If you need maid service, call housekeeping. If you are waiting for room service, ask the kitchen to telephone your room ahead of the delivery.
6. Take a magazine when you go to the hotel restaurant or bar. It can be a good excuse to help ward off unwanted attention.
7. Use the hotel taxi service. Get a map of the local area, find your destination and follow the driver's route. Always carry a mobile phone.
8. Make friends with the concierge. Ask them to book your restaurants and to warn the managers that you are coming/eating alone and will need a taxi back to the hotel.
9. Carry your important documents and money in a concealed money belt. Leave everything you can in the hotel safe.
10. Be modest in dress and wear no jewelry. The exception is a wedding band, which can be a useful accessory -- for the unmarried, too!

Oregon Duck and Houston Cougar mascots in scuffle

From an Okie relative

The Peek family is expecting, congrats!

Lust, Caution

《色，戒》創傳奇 華人導演三連冠, Lust, Caution

Ang Lee film 'censored for China'
"Symphony No. 3" by Górecki

香港映画＆梁朝偉食堂, « 祝！『色・戒（ラスト、コーション）』ベネチア映画祭にて金獅子賞♪ », official site, wiki-Tony Leung

Picnic!

The B-clan with some extra kids
Yosuke with his lovely elephant
BoringFish at the Grand Canyon slide
BoringFish & Yoko at Bingo

28th Annual Toyonaga golf tournament

Posers!
Trying...
The sure win on-par team
I won this!

孫燕姿 [逆光] MV

Week 36 is short, yeah!

Drive Your Car to Death, Save $31,000 Man, did I make a good investment or what 8 years ago?

Shoppers walk below lanterns in a Hong Kong market. The lanterns are a feature of the annual autumn festival, which falls on 25 September this year. Go moon!

Venturing into unreported China, a really good story to read!

BP's answer to food-based ethanol, Big W can get ethanol from tree too! See this press release.

The celebration and farewell for Bill event was very touchy and sad. I am saddened that a very nice guy is leaving us to go camping all the times. It was good to see Tissue Doug, too.

Physics and Calculus..... here we go again for another year, FUN! I love derivatives and integrals,

WimpyFish for Tennis

My arms and back are so sored from last nite practice! Time for wimpyfish to be tough & strong!
My day is going fairly well as PM1 is having a short shutdown and I have been up since 2:30 this morning, a 15 hours day at work! A short week overall though.

US open: Roger Federer beats Andy Roddick in 3 sets
Go Federer!
Other news: Looted Chinese horse head to go under the hammer; Looted Chinese sculpture to be sold at auction

WimpyFish is getting a new pair of fitted ear plugs to protect her hearing, the super good pair with a 100+ decibels rating.

A month away to my 1 yr anniversary, keep it coming the speed record!

Remember that I mentioned about a 9 yr old math prodigy in the blog "week 34", check this out. University 'very easy' for Hong Kong nine-year-old
Here is another child prodigy, Michael Kearney and his interesting bio.

I hope to go to Burning man with Lance next year. Just a thought, more news on buring man later.

Labor Day weekend

Food:
Korean Food
Pad Thai, Frutti di mare, sunny side up eggs and muffins was my favorite of all, so special!

Labor day weekend
A380 superjumbo gives thrilling morning air show
我阿爸係大佬 山口組頭目女兒 改邪歸正當作家
港人均工時2200 全球最高7地之一

Movies: Puccini for Beginners, Ocean's Thirteen

Yakuza moon by 天藤湘子Shoko Tendo

Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter
Book Review:
Amazon.com, Oxford University Press, Revealed: Shoko's dragon days with the yakuza,Mecha Mecha Media Blog, Reuters , her picture .