Daily // July 2006
July 29, 2006
After an hour of tennis in the morning, we traveling to a flea market about 1 hr away. Honestly, we were surprised (and shocked) by the market's poor sanity and style. But what can you expect a flea market to be?
Another worthwhile thing to mention today is this developing app by Microsoft - Photosynth. It takes large collections of photos of places, analyze their similarities, and form a 3D space/model. Will this become something big; or is it just another technological novelty? Read more about it here.
July 28, 2006
Today I simply stayed at home to catch up some of my summer readings. Around dusk, we headed to the famous (because of tv ads) Olive Garden for dinner. The food was great.
It's nice to have this kind of daily recap, right? Anyway, I plan to play some early tennis tmr, so I better sleep early.
July 27, 2006 Random
Sometimes when you're looking at what you've done that day, it's hard not to wonder what you had done on the same day a year ago. People say that the past make us grow and help us learn, and that it shapes us into what we are today. What if you can't let go of the past? Is it possible to dwell in a myriad of past experiences and memories? Is the past our friend or our enemy?
Sometimes when you're looking at things to do for tomorrow, it's hard not to ponder what to do in the near future. People say that we should always look forward and be farsighted, and that it carries countless possibilities. What if we're unsure of the future? Is it possible to hope for too much of the future? How farsighted should we be - months, years, decades?
I choose to live in the present.
July 26, 2006 New archive system + Galleria
Today, I found an alternative to the php 'if' and '$mode' functions that I heavily depended on. You can't keep pushing the boulder in front of you, right? Instead, I have each archive page include other files. I also used a new method to attribute each page to it's month and year for indentification. Can't follow? Let's expatiate on it:
Structure of each archive page:
<?php include "header.php" ?>
<raw entries>
<?php include "end_tags.php" ?>
Place $pageid tag on each archived page:
<?php $pageid="Example: June 2006"; ?>
Place the following code in header.php:
<head><html>
<title>Login U // Archive / <?php if ($pageid!="")
echo "$pageid"; ?></title>
<meta name="keywords"
content="<?php if ($pageid!="")
echo "$pageid, "; ?>keyword1, keyword2, keyword3" />
Result generated when you load an archive page:
<head><html>
<title>Login U // Archive / Example: June 2006</title>
<meta name="keywords"
content="Example: June 2006, keyword1, keyword2, keyword3" />
Now each page has it's own identity, and in case a modification of the layout is needed, I only need to edit a few files.
From now on, 'friandise' will be replaced by 'galleria' for intuition purposes. You can view the latest pictures taken in Disney World there as well.
P.S. Many thanks to Gordon who gave useful advices the past few days.
July 25, 2006
After some tests and trials as well as discussion with Gordon, my initial speculation is that the 'if' function is not working, skipping through all the coding of the archive.
Sometimes it's easy for us to loose our priorities. What we shouldn't do is whine or act like the world is falling on us. We must forward, do what's right, and hope for the best.
July 24, 2006
Disney World was very fun. We visited the Epcot and MGM-Studios. Somehow Disney still carries the magic that melts children's hearts and delights big kids.
Well, I might put some pics here tmr. Over the weekend, my hosting server had moved. I'm sure that you'll notice a much faster loading speed. Right now there're still some configuration problems (mostly php) that trips the archive system. It'll be fixed soon, I promise.
July 21, 2006
Search all you want
Kudos to those who guessed correctly - the new feature launching today is a search engine! Have you read something here before but don't know how to find it? Or want to find about certain events but don't know which month and year they're from? Now you can search what you want in just a few clicks. The easiest way is to type in the blank space/invisible box right next to the search button. I also made a instruction image for reference.
In the mean time, my family will be traveling to Disney World Resort for the weekend. We'll most likely visit two of the six theme parks; maybe Epcot and MGM studios. Thus, it is unlikely that I'll be here tmr night.. Cya in Sunday and enjoy your weekend.
July 20, 2006
Today I found out who my roommate is. So, what's better than to greet him right here? It seems that Nick and I will be sharing a double room in AMR II next year. It's not my first choice actually..I originally signed up for Wolman. But I guess God has his reason to put me there.
Meanwhile, Kevin has already guessed what the new feature is. Anymore guesses? If you still can't figure it out, you'd want to find out about it's usefulness when it appears tmr.
July 19, 2006 Surprise coming on Friday night
The worst time for an airconditioner to break down is in summer, and it happened to us yesterday. So today we called maintenance and got it fixed. It turns out that the entire compressor unit was broken down, which basically means we need to get a new one. We had to do it, right? There's no other choice..
Meanwhile, I spent sometime working on a new element for my site when our aircon was being fixed. The progress is going quite smoothly, so I can confidently say that this feature will launch on Friday night around 9pm. What is it? I can give you a hint here..
A little boy loses his favoite toy,
how can he recover it with little difficulty?
If you are this little boy,
you'd want to know how this feature brings you jubilee.
Okay..you should slap yourself if you can't guess what the feature is.. Meanwhile, you're listening to our last song by Jheena now.
Audiophiles' Corner - Jheena Lodwick
When you tell me that You Love Me is a very difficult song to sing. It has dramatic dynamics and a vehement love theme. The best setting would be to listen this with your other-half..which I cannot confirm because I haven't tried it yet. Rambling aside, I hope you've enjoyed all three of Jheena's songs.
July 18, 2006
Our aircon has broken down..and it's too damn hot to type. Please excuse me for today..
July 17, 2006
Google Earth 4
Although we own two TomToms (GPS device) and they guide us to our destinations straightforwardly most of the time, I sometimes use Google Earth to find out more about the place beforehand. For example, during our search for Korean markets in the past week, many were eliminated because they looked cramped in Google Earth. It saved us time (and fuel). This new 4.0 version brings faster performance and a cleaner interface. Whether you're a globe addict or just a casual user, you'll find the program very enjoyable.
Today we drove a short distance to a supposedly-very-famous-and-big mall in Largo. From the directory, it is described as "one of the most popular place in the neighborhood". But we didn't find that valid at all.. It is important to know that most malls in the US are scattered around outdoors, unlike the gathered together, indoor ones in HK. That means we had to drive and park from store to store, and endure the blistering sun and unbearable heat trapped inside the car each time. Maybe that's why people here have so many freckles..
July 16, 2006
There always seems to be some good and bad news surrounding me. For now, I suspect that something has happened and it's gravity depends on how you view it. To me, it would be discouraging..
Meanwhile, I hope to finish my last driving course tmr.
July 15, 2006
Today we found a nice Korean market after some failures last week. It urged us to cook Korean noodles for dinner. What kind of noodles? The semi-transparent, golden kind. Meanwhile, I ask you to enjoy the new song.
Audiophiles' Corner - Jheena Lodwick
Tears in Heaven is a ballad written and performed by Eric Clapton about the pain he felt from the death of his 4-year-old son, Conor, who fell from a 53rd story window in his mother's New York City condominium in 1991. Jheena added a touch of lightness to it. This song is most enjoyable when you're in a calm, settled mood. It is such a soothing song that you can turn it on repeat and listen to it over and over again without getting bored.
July 14, 2006 America's Got Talent 2
I just realized that Joey sang 'Super Star' in her One Live, One Love Concert (or '莫拉維亞交響樂團音樂會'..). Joey did a great job stepping out of her comfort zone and singing this tough song, but it is a long, long way from Jheena's version.
As for the driving test, well, I didn't finish it.. I still have a lesson to go through before actually taking it. For now, let's review what happened in the semi-finals of American's Got Talent:
Taylor Ware back to yodel! Her amazing and unique talent got her to the finals
Kevin Johnson, the ventriloquist, just got better
Terrific synchronization, but wasn't enough to excite all the judges
The Miller brothers. Well, the younger brother who plays the harmonica was good enough to carry the judges away
July 13, 2006
I'm going to finish my driving written test tmr. Hope it goes well.
July 12, 2006 Jheena Lodwick
Please raise your legs if you press the escape key or the 'stop' button in IE when you visit my site in order to stop the bg music. Okay, put them down.. Well, I personally believe that music can be contagious, good music that is. Today I introduce to you an amazing singer - Jheena Lodwick. Originally from the Phillipines, Jheena is a vocal audiophile who voice touches many hearts. In the next ten days, you'll experience some classic songs sang by her right here. Tune up, listen and enjoy (and sing along if you want to).
Audiophiles' Corner - Jheena Lodwick
Super Star has some moody acoustics and dramatic climaxes. I've heard it in many settings, but the best setting is alone, late at night. It's the perfect song that gives the lonely, quiet and longing-for-love feel.
P.S. This might be irrelevant now, but you really can't blame Zidane for headbutting Materazzi if you look at the latter's filthy behavoir in the past. It is said that he verbally abused Zidane's sister and even twisted his nipple seconds before the headbutt. You can see it from this well-angled video here.
July 11, 2006
Sometimes you plan to do something long time ago and when that time comes, you can't do it. It's not a matter of ability, but will. Well, this time always seems to be summer to me. But today I've finally started something I actually wanted to do.
I suddenly feel the urge of watching a movie..
July 9, 2006
BBQ
After a long day of ballgames - tennis and football respectively, where Roger Federer successfully claimed his 4th straight Wimbledon title and my favored team France lost in the World Cup finals - we decided to barbeque. Actually we decided yesterday and were fully prepared/stocked up for tonight. A fun time was had by all.
Btw, my Hopkins email is working fabulously now. You can try emailing me at eugeneyoung@jhu.edu.
July 8, 2006
Fishing
Today we had some hands-on experience in shallow water fishing. It was fun, but not my favorite activity. Why? Because, besides boredom, there is much more to cope with. And after about 5 hrs of boat riding, I still subconsciously feel the waves rocking our boat.
July 7, 2006 America's Got Talent
Well, I wish I could write more, but my source of topic is rather limited. So today I'll just show some video clips from American's Got Talent:
A young girl who sang in Yodel - a falsetto-pitched song of Swiss and Tyrolean mountaineers
Two very entertaining jugglers
Want some new clothes? How about a quick change
Don't know what a ventriloquist does? Take a look.
July 6, 2006
Sorry to skip yesterday, but the internet service was suddenly cut off. Why? Because the company sent our bills to a wrong address. More tmr.
July 4, 2006 Independence Day
We didn't go to the beach today. Why? Because after an unanimous vote, we decided to stay home and watch the Germany vs Italy match. (Sadly Germany didn't live up to our hopes and lost.) We then went for a shopping spree at Target to prepare for a BBQ session. It was fun.
Someone said that my life appears to be really carefree. Well, I hope it is too. But there are too many uncertainties in front of me that sometimes I just act carefree to avoid them. Anyway.. Enjoy the new song.
July 3, 2006
Well, it turned out that I have to take a course before actually taking the written test. Wasted my morning - though I got to read some books in Borders.
Guess what's special about tmr? Yes, it's Independence Day. Fireworks were all over the city tonight. Some were organized by the city mayor while others were simply bought in stores by those interested. We might go to the beach tmr. We'll see what happens.
July 2, 2006
It appears that I'll have my driving test taken tmr. God bless me.
July 1, 2006
My favorite teams continued to fall today. Needless to say, England lost an unfortunate and ill-fated match against Portugal. As my hopes turned to Brazil, they lost to France! Well, with these two teams gone, Germany seems to be the favored team. But who knows what will happen?
The total visits in June turns out to be 491, and the average visits per day is 16.37. It's not too bad, right? Of course it would be great if it could reach the 20-per-month milestone.. Thanks for your continual support.