Daily // June 2006
June 30, 2006
Martina shocked out of Wimbledon
This is a sad day to end an otherwise colorful June. Martina, unable to sustain her focus as she led 3-0 in the third set, lost to Ai Sugiyama by 5-7, 6-3, 4-6. She actually won more points than her opponent (90 to 87) and had better overall stats, yet she couldn't convert the break/important points while Sugiyama converted all of them. She did wear the rumored outfit today though (check May 29's entry) and she looked stunning. Sadly this didn't helped her continue the wonderful comeback journey she's had so far.
June 29, 2006
Happy 18th Birthday, Kevin.
Well, today was a rather normal day. I helped my brother in some school admissions documents and that's about it. I should really take my driver's written test soon. Why? Because Independence Day is coming next week and the offices will be busy all week.
Ever want to turn simplified chinese into traditional chinese (or vice versa) when you're viewing a website? I found of program that could do so directly. It's called <<龍之旅>>. You can get it here: http://input.foruto.com/cccl/cccl_article019.htm. Enjoy.
June 28, 2006
I finally set up my Hopkins email. For some reason, sending out email is fine but receiving is hours behind. For now, I wouldn't recommend sending things in there, but hopefully it'll work out in the future. The email address is: eyoung@jhu.edu. An article to show today.
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羽毛的故事 從前有個女人為了一些小事，用最狠毒的說話，傷害了她的最好朋友。 說話一出口，她已經後悔不已，不用多說，她的朋友亦因此和她絕交了。 這位女士想嘗試彌補這天大的過失，向高人請教， 高人聽了之後對她說：「彌補的方法有兩個步驟，但不知你能否做得來。」 女人誓神劈願說一定依從。 高人叫她：「你今晚回家把枕頭弄破一個泂，從枕頭中取出一條條的羽毛，然後逐一放在方圓十里之內所有鄰居街坊的門口，直至最後一條羽毛。」 女人依照指示，在日出之前完成了。 然後，她興高采烈地回到高人面前：「現在告訴我下一步吧！」 高人不慌不忙指示她：「唔！現在你要去把昨晚放在各家各戶門口的羽毛收回來，放回枕頭套內，一條也不能少！」 女人呆住了：「這怎麼可能？！一點風就會把羽毛吹走，你沒有事先告訴我要取回羽毛，否則！」 高人回答她：「每一隻狠毒的字、每一句傷透別人的心的話，就像風中的羽毛，一 出口，就無論你用多大力、多懊悔、多痛恨自己，都不能再收回。以後，請小心你的 一 言一語，尤其是在你的至愛面前！」 |
Last but not least, let's wish a premature Happy 18th Birthday to Kevin since it's already the 29th in HK.
June 27, 2006
Martina breezes through first round
After a rough rain delay, Martina Hingis gave no chance to the 18-yr-old Olga Savchuk and won 6-2 6-2. Her match was actually played at Court no.2, a court most people refer as "The Champions' Graveyard". Well, Martina didn't fall, and she jovially stated that she actually enjoys playing on Court 2 since she's never lost there! Isn't she the Swiss Miss or what?
Spiderman 3's teaser is out. Unlike a trailer, which may sometimes only show one to two scenes, a teaser actually reveals something about the storyline. So what is revealed about the storyline? Highlight to read: the villains are Sandstorm, Venom and possibly Green Goblin II (remember Harry)?
It is likely a substantially darker movie than the previous ones. I recommend that you download the HD version of the teaser from Apple here.
June 26, 2006
Life is just incredibly boring here. Weather is hot - close to 30C in daytime and doesn't drop much at night. I guess the explanation is that the seawater stores heat from the sun and releases it at night. Anyway, one of my main goals in July will be getting my driver's license. We'll see how that goes.
By the way, Wimbledon 'started' today. I put the quotations because rainy weather impeded all first round matches and not one player advanced to the second round. The good thing is that Hingis is leading her opponent by a set (6-2) before the rain caught up. Play should resume tmr, if weather permits playing.
More..
MsgPlus! Live is finally out. The new, simplified preferences window is much more intuitive and easy to setup. I enjoy the tabbed conversation windows most, though its performance could be improved. You'll know what I mean when you use it. You can get it here: http://www.msgplus.net/.
This window's transparency is about 5% and this "crazy little boy" is, well, my brother.
June 24, 2006
Time is now 2:01am.. I wonder how I stay up so late these days.. Good nite.
June 23, 2006
Wimbledon starts in three days
As today's title says, the Wimbledon Championships starts in three days. This year, all the line person, ball-boys-and-girls and umpires have new uniforms, tailored by Polo. Looks quite nice, ya?
If you were one of the commited readers of my site in the past two weeks, you should have memorized the background music (Imagine by John Lennon).. Finally, we have a new song. It's one of my favorites in Nakashima Mika's latest album - BEST. You can find all her lyrics' translations here: http://www.cherryblossom-garden.com/3/nakashimamika.html. Eitherway, you can view the japanese lyrics by clicking the now playing button on your left.
June 22, 2006 Eugene, where have you been?
Hello everyone. For the past eight days or so, I have mysteriously disappeared. So where have I been these days? Let's have a short breakdown:
June 14-16
Our internet service got cut, so crudely I couldn't update.
June 17-19
A small trip to San Francisco was made. It was a long, long 7 hr drive. We visited numerous places both along the way and in SF, including but not limited to the Hearst's Castle, Yosemite National Park, Fishermen's Wharf and Golden Gate Bridge.
June 20
Flight to Florida, where I am now.
At most nights I was too tired to type up a well-written entry, so I decided not to. I'll stop gibbering; instead let's take a look at the photos during our SF trip.
June 21, 2006
Ha, I'm still alive, after some very long tiring days. Full write up and explanation tmr..see you.
June 13, 2006
Sometimes I find life in US overwhelmingly boring. Unlike in HK, you can't travel to somewhere through five methods. Here, your only option is to drive; and since I have yet to learn this much needed skill, I'm technically handicapped. Maybe I'll take driving lessons this summer. But then that means I will participate in polluting the earth. Do you know that, in LA, the total number of vehicles is 3x the population of people?s
P.S. I read that from Snapple facts during our trip to the Farmer's Market.
June 11-12, 2006
Sorry for being so irresponsible these past few days.. But when I come back every night, I felt like I could go straight to bed. As for now, enjoy the pictures from the two trips we took. See you tmr.
June 10, 2006
Touring around in LA
After two hours of tennis in early early morning, we headed out to the Farmer's Market in Fairfax. Do the shops sell groceries? Well, yes. But besides those flea-market style shops, there's also the modern brandname shops, most notably the Apple store. You know, MacBook is better than I thought. In fact, I think I'm in love with the black version.. I really hope that apple will solve the heat issues - the top right bottom feels overheated.
After a quick lunch, we drove to Santa Monica Beach, one of the favorite tourist places in LA. If a picture is worth a thousand words, there're over ten thousand below..
June 9, 2006
Six Flags
There isn't much to write up for a trip to Six Flags.. You just enter the gate and ride roller coasters. Here's a list of the coasters we conquered:
Goliath - Best, fastest ride ever
Scream
Colossus - First time on a wood coaster!
Batman the Ride
Déjà Vu
Ninja
Sadly, we didn't get to try the newly built Tatsu, since there was a two hour line.. Here are some pix:
June 8, 2006
"One hundred percent of the shots you don't take don't go in."
I have yet to find any inspirational articles, so I began with a quote. You never know the outcome without trying. Do well and see what it brings you.
Meanwhile, when I was listening to the radio during our drive to yum cha, I caught this old classic. Hope you like it.
P.S. Oh, btw, we've decided to go to Six Flags tmr! Hopefully it'll be a sunny day.
June 7, 2006
To all Lasallians: good luck in exams. Starting from tmr, I'll write up inspirational features to lighten up your workload.
To everyone else: check back tmr for, maybe, a new song.
June 6, 2006
On this 20060606, Martina sadly lost her encounter against Kim, losing 7-6 (5) 6-1. Let's hope for better times for her in Wimbledon.
That's it for this uneventful day..
June 5, 2006
Martina continues run in Roland Garros
After splitting sets yesterday, Martina Hingis finished off the 17-year old Israelite and booked her spot in the quarter-finals. Guess who she faces next? Kim Clijsters, the same woman who knocked her out in this year's Australian Open.
However, it'll be a different story this time. Martina has raised her confidence and improved her game, winning her first comeback title two weeks ago in Rome en route to the French Open. She smilingly said, "I was happy to get through the first round in Australia, but now, I'd be disappointed if I didn't reach the quarters." Isn't she just ever so confident? Well, may the better player win tmr.
June 4, 2006
These days at night I often watch a taiwanese talk show. The hosts are extremely funny. Last night it talked about how men would never admit their mistakes. Then came an anecdote: Eddie Murphy, the famous comedian, suggested that if you were ever discovered cheating on your wife, you should admit it. But how should you admit it? You should say, "I make love to you, but I fxxk her."
Okay, that may not be age-appropriate.. But it's a good 'excuse', isn't it? Anyway, I've been out the whole day (and had a nice dinner with aunt), so good nite for now.
Firstly, I hope you like the suddenly announced and implemented facelift. It does improve readability alot, right? At least it uses more screen space and is no longer confined by a preset-size.
As you can hear, a new song is inrtoduced. I wish I found this two weeks earlier.. Its melody just naturally reminds me of friends, schoolmates and, of course, graduation.
Meanwhile, I finally got to play some tennis today. With who? Some Koreans I met in a tennis store where I got my rackets strung. We played from 7-9 in the morning, which is ideal since the temperature rockets to ~30C after 10am.
June 2, 2006
ultimax+ coming tmr
Surprised? I am too. After stating publicly yesterday that there won't be any facelifts before the next layout, I changed my mind. This coming facelift will bring us from ultimax to ultimax+, and it mainly improves on readability. Since facelifts are usually small changes that cause big improvements, nothing too radical is done. Below is a small sneak peak. Its entity will be launched at 9pm pacific time tmr.
Speaking of facelifts, Mercedes-Benz E-class is getting one. Honestly, it doesn't look much different..except the new tear-drop shaped headlights (in place of oval ones) and the tail lights. The facelift will likely arrive in 2009.
June 1, 2006 Start of the Month Exclusive
The month of June always brings up great memories. I've decided to stick with my plans and launch a new layout, and leave the impression of this layout unchanged. But when will I be able to finish it? And when will I launch it? There aren't really any special days in June..well, maybe 29th, but that doesn't seem like a present..
Just to let you know, the monthly visits cut of May was 521 (713-1234), averaging 16.806451612903224 visits per day. That's a 25% increase from the past month. Thank you for your support!