L.A. Hospitals

* Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
8700 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
# 14 Heart and heart surgery U.S. News Score: 32.5 Reputation: 4.5%
# 16 Digestive disorders U.S. News Score: 29.3 Reputation: 6.4%
# 23 Hormonal disorders U.S. News Score: 29.8 Reputation: 2.8%
# 27 Neurology and neurosurgery U.S. News Score: 31.5 Reputation: 0.4%
# 28 Gynecology U.S. News Score: 33.5 Reputation: 3.2%
# 37 Orthopedics U.S. News Score: 29.0 Reputation: 0.9%
# 44 Kidney disease U.S. News Score: 34.6 Reputation: 2.5%

* Children's Hospital Los Angeles
4650 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90027
# 16 Pediatrics Reputation: 7.7%

* City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, Calif.
1500 East Duarte Road
Duarte, CA 91010
# 43 Cancer U.S. News Score: 32.7 Reputation: 4.0%

* Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Downey, Calif.
7601 East Imperial Highway
Downey, CA 90242
# 13 Rehabilitation Reputation: 7.9%

* UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles
10833 Le Conte Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90095
# 1 Geriatrics U.S. News Score: 100.0 Reputation: 45.4%
# 4 Urology U.S. News Score: 52.4 Reputation: 26.2%
# 5 Digestive disorders U.S. News Score: 46.7 Reputation: 21.9%
# 5 Ophthalmology Reputation: 34.7%
# 6 Orthopedics U.S. News Score: 42.3 Reputation: 13.6%
# 7 Gynecology U.S. News Score: 49.0 Reputation: 12.4%
# 7 Rheumatology Reputation: 24.2%
# 8 Cancer U.S. News Score: 40.6 Reputation: 6.7%
# 8 Kidney disease U.S. News Score: 65.6 Reputation: 14.6%
# 9 Ear, nose, and throat U.S. News Score: 50.2 Reputation: 13.8%
# 9 Neurology and neurosurgery U.S. News Score: 46.8 Reputation: 14.9%
# 11 Hormonal disorders U.S. News Score: 38.1 Reputation: 11.0%
# 12 Pediatrics Reputation: 8.5%
# 13 Heart and heart surgery U.S. News Score: 32.8 Reputation: 6.7%
# 15 Respiratory disorders U.S. News Score: 34.6 Reputation: 8.2%

* UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Los Angeles
760 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095
# 5 Psychiatry Reputation: 22.6%

* University of California, Irvine Medical Center, Orange
101 The City Drive
Orange, CA 92868
# 41 Gynecology U.S. News Score: 30.8 Reputation: 2.7%

* Doheny Eye Institute, USC University Hospital, Los Angeles
1500 San Pablo Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033
# 7 Ophthalmology Reputation: 17.6%
# 25 Gynecology U.S. News Score: 34.2 Reputation: 5.5%
# 29 Neurology and neurosurgery U.S. News Score: 31.5 Reputation: 2.3%
# 29 Orthopedics U.S. News Score: 30.1 Reputation: 2.7%
# 34 Ear, nose, and throat U.S. News Score: 33.9 Reputation: 3.3%
# 49 Hormonal disorders U.S. News Score: 26.3 Reputation: 2.4%

Next April You'll Have Liver Cancer--the Pig Brain Type

明年四月你会得肝癌症，猪脑类型的。

Last night I had a terrible dream, which woke me up. I dreamed that I went to the hospital to check my brain (for what reason I don't remember now). The doctor has such a bad memory that he always forgets things (e.g. mixing up people's names), but the nurse was a capable lady--and outspoken, too. By the time my results were ready the doctor couldn't remember or find it (of course!), so I asked a technician, who did the test and knew the result. He told me I have to take medication (not a good sign). LS and I were on the way to see my father, who is also admitted to the hospital, when we walked pass the nurse, who told me the devastating news: I will have cancer next April. "Pig brain type," she added.

I remember being shocked and standing there with LS, who is also shocked. "What?!" She said. The nurse just stood there, apperently remembering that she probably shouldn't break the news to us in such a casual way. She wanted to say something, but she didn't.

Two things went through my mind immediately: 1) they must have discovered my liver cancer by the way of examining my brain, 2) the cancer must have spread to my brain already. For a moment, my head feels like it was hit by a brick. My heart probably skipped a beat, and if there were something I was holding (e.g. a coffee cup), I would have definately dropped it on the floor.

The next thing I remember is I gain some conciousness, realizing that it was a dream, but I was not yet completely awake. Then I thought I need to create a blog to write things down for my son, who is much too young now to understand anything, so he can read it when he grows up. Thanks to Steve Jobs who gave me this idea in his speech when he was talking about death.

Then my wife woke up. It was around 2:30 a.m. We laid there and had a long talk about my dream and other things that have been troubling us lately. One thing we agreed was to get my annual physical, ASAP.

I think God is using this to shake me up a little. I've been free-falling and keep setting record lows. Although, I know God's love is deep enough that no one can fall through it. Faith is about the only thing I have these days in my struggling spiritual life. I pray that God will catch me on the fall and lift me up again. He must. I only don't know if this was it.

When I got up this morning, I felt much better. Things were so gloomy these days I remember asking God to make this the last day of my life. (Take heart, I never want to kill myself. I only asked God to take me home.) Yesterday I asked God to make this day the first day of a brand new life for me. I finally understand what the old pastor meant by 'start all over again.' In God we can. I only don't know if this was it.

Time will tell!

I need to get an appointment for the physical now. Who knows what it would reveal; and who knows what will happen next April.

Pig brain type?!

Maps of L.A. and Cities in L.A. & Orange Counties

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

Modeling

[121 Thoughts]

I'm not talking about the fashion industry, but the building of a scientific (usually mathmatical) prototype to explain a given phanominum. It seems that my mind is built or trained to always try to find out the governing law behind a natural or socioeconomic hehavior. In gradschool I was in a lab that strives to discover the constitutional relation of materials. We put the material under all kinds of conditions and try to summarize its behavior in mathmatical equation(s). Likewise, using selected known behaviors (say in a stock market) I try to imagine a picture to explain those behaviors, and check if all known behaviors fit the picture. Ultimately this model will then predict unknown behaviors. Modeling is one of the most natrual habits of my mind. The hardest ones would be modeling of abstract things, such as musical cords, when I don't see a way to picture it. But of course it's also a bad example to use the stock market, which has been scrutinized ever since its inception and still no one has a good model, and probably never will. Modeling is fun, and I have to say there must be many many like minds out there.

Stock orders

1. Limit Order
Order to buy or sell a stated amount of stock at a specified price or better. [It guarantees the actual strike price to be better than specified (lower for selling and higher for buying).]

2. Stop Order
A stop order is an order to buy or sell a stock once the price of the stock reaches a specified price, known as the stop price. When the specified price is reached, your stop order becomes a market order, [which means the acutal price is not guaranteed to be better. The stop price is just a trigger point to activate the order.]

3. Stop Limit Order
An order to buy or sell at a specified price or better (called the stop-limit price) but only after a given stop price has been reached or passed. For example, an order to buy 100 MSFT 55 Stop 56 Limit, means that if the market price reaches 55 (stop price) or better (in the case of a buy, it would be less than 55) the order is then triggered to execute the order as a limit order at 56 or a better (lower) price. [the order is activated after the price hits 55, and will conduct the trade for anything better than 56, which could be 55.5 for buying, for example] Stop-limit orders avoid some of the risk a stop order has, but like all limit orders, carries the risk of missing the market all together, since the specified limit price or better may never occur.

Help me understand this...

As I often do when I think something is overvalued, but I don't really want to sell, I looked at the possibility of selling call options on my position. The December $300 call options were fetching $36 a share, meaning I could realize a further 15% gain if I sell the calls now and Google shares are above $300 in December. Then again, I could just sell some shares, even recouping all of my initial investment. One savvy friend of mine recommended selling a third of my position outright, selling covered calls on a third, and holding a third, which strikes me as a prudent course.

On Converting Old Analog Tapes to Digital

From Google Group:

Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How much quality loss?
All 8 messages in topic - view as tree

jfaugh...@spamcop.net
Mar 18, 11:32 am show options
Newsgroups: rec.video
Followup-To: rec.video
From: jfaugh...@spamcop.net - Find messages by this author
Date: 18 Mar 2005 11:32:17 -0800
Local: Fri, Mar 18 2005 11:32 am
Subject: Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How much quality loss?
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

I've a question on video signal degradation when transferring analog
video output via a mini-jack A/V cable vs. an S-video cable.I'm rather
hoping Steve McDonald will see this and post a response, based on the
quote from a Jan 2005 message of his he knows this domain rather well!

Here's the specific question:

How much quality is lost when a @1998 SONY Hi8 analog camcorder
transfers Hi8 output with a high-quality (Monster $40) RGB RCA (3
component) to mini-video jack cable VERSUS a high quality S-video cable
with a separate audio-only RCA to mini-jack cable?

Here's the background if needed:

I have a @ 7 yo SONY analog Hi-8 camcorder with S-video I/O. I just
bought a Canon Elura 90. I have 30 days to return the Elura if I want
something else.

Here's the problem. The 2005 Elura 90s don't have S-video input/output.
They use an all-in-one mini-jack connector for analog I/O -- similar to
what digital cameras use.

One of the main things I want the Elura to do is reasonably high
quality conversion of my legacy Hi-8 tapes to digital format. I'll then
edit the digital tapes over time on my purchase-pending G5 iMac and
burn DVDs to archive.

--
john
john faughnan
jfaugh...@spamcop.net

meta: jfaughnan, jgfaughnan, digital video, Canon, SONY, passthrough,
pass-through, A/D conversion, video editing, Hi 8, Hi8

-------------------

Steve McDonald wrote:

(http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.video/msg/3d4be74dd7d39d44)

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
> ... Although S-Video equipped VCRs have a lower band of recording
> frequency for the chroma sub-carrier and a higher band for the
luminance
> portion, the signal comes off the medium in composite form and then
is
> separated into two circuits to be output on an S-Video connector.
> Composite-only equipped VHS, 8mm and consumer Beta VCRs work the same
> way, but don't separate the two portions before they are output.
They
> also use the same "color-under" chroma sub-carrier and higher
luminance
> recording frequency system. You will note that a standard VHS
recording
> can be played on an S-VHS VCR and output as an S-Video signal, as
well
> as in composite form and an S-VHS recording playback can be output as
> either an S-Video or composite signal.

> S-VHS, Hi-8 and ED-Beta VCRs don't record a signal as "S-Video"
on
> tape. S-Video exists only as a transfer protocol on connecting
> circuits, except in a TV set with an S-Video input. There the signal
> remains as separate chroma and luma, for processing and onscreen
> display. If a TV receives a composite signal, it is separated into
> chroma and luma, as part of its pre-display process. The only
advantage
> of S-Video, is to keep the chroma and luma separate during the
transfer
> and this reduces the "crosstalk" or interference between the two
> frequency segments. This allows for more pure and richer color
> transfer, but it's only a relative benefit, not an absolute one.
> It appears that in most or perhaps all cases, component signal
> converters send a better video image than either S-Video or composite
> protocols will do..

> There are professional analog component recording formats, such
as
> BetaCam and M2, that have two separate recording tracks, one for
chroma
> and one for luma. With most digital video formats, it's all encoded
> into a single recording track.

> Equipment that has component outputs separates the output signal
> into three chroma circuits for RGB; the luma signal is derived and
> reconstituted from them in the unit to which they are sent.

> Steve McDonald



jfaughnan
Mar 18, 11:53 am show options
Newsgroups: rec.video
From: "jfaughnan" - Find messages by this author
Date: 18 Mar 2005 11:53:11 -0800
Local: Fri, Mar 18 2005 11:53 am
Subject: Re: Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How much quality loss?
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

CORRECTION:

I wrote:

How much quality is lost when a @1998 SONY Hi8 analog camcorder
transfers Hi8 output with a high-quality (Monster $40) RGB RCA (3
component) to mini-video jack cable VERSUS a high quality S-video cable
with a separate audio-only RCA to mini-jack cable?

The RCA output is NOT RGB. It's video and two audio. May apologies.

So this should read:

How much quality is lost when a @1998 SONY Hi8 analog camcorder
transfers Hi8 output with a high-quality (Monster $40) RCA (1 video
composite, 2 audio) to mini-video jack cable VERSUS a high quality
S-video cable
with a separate audio-only RCA to mini-jack cable?


C.J.Patten
Mar 18, 12:19 pm show options
Newsgroups: rec.video
From: "C.J.Patten" - Find messages by this author
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 15:19:32 -0500
Local: Fri, Mar 18 2005 12:19 pm
Subject: Re: Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How much quality loss?
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

There are a lot of factors involved but, all things being equal, go with the
s-video connector.

The most graphic demonstration I've had of the difference was a Sony
Playstation hooked to a 32" Sony XBR TV, first with RCA jacks then with the
S-video.
Absolute night and day difference. The RCA seemed messy in comparison with
the s-video, almost smudged.

Try both hooked up to a TV and switch between them. I'd be surprised if you
ever used the RCA jack again when you can avoid it.

C.

"jfaughnan" wrote in message

news:1111175591.570754.200300@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...

- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
> CORRECTION:

> I wrote:

> How much quality is lost when a @1998 SONY Hi8 analog camcorder
> transfers Hi8 output with a high-quality (Monster $40) RGB RCA (3
> component) to mini-video jack cable VERSUS a high quality S-video cable
> with a separate audio-only RCA to mini-jack cable?

> The RCA output is NOT RGB. It's video and two audio. May apologies.

> So this should read:

> How much quality is lost when a @1998 SONY Hi8 analog camcorder
> transfers Hi8 output with a high-quality (Monster $40) RCA (1 video
> composite, 2 audio) to mini-video jack cable VERSUS a high quality
> S-video cable
> with a separate audio-only RCA to mini-jack cable?



jfaughnan
Mar 18, 1:35 pm show options
Newsgroups: rec.video
From: "jfaughnan" - Find messages by this author
Date: 18 Mar 2005 13:35:57 -0800
Local: Fri, Mar 18 2005 1:35 pm
Subject: Re: Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How much quality loss?
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

You've convinced me! I'll return the Elura 90 and get a camera with S
video input.

Another correspondent kindly sent a list of resolutions related to
video media. This isn't directly related to the issue of using the
S-video vs. mini-jack/composite video connectors, but it does show that
when one has recorded in Hi8 there's a lot to lose with an inferior
output solution. If VHS is comparable to 8mm, the jump from VHS to Hi8
is comparable in magnitude to the jump from Digital camcorder to HDTV.

The following list provides maximum playback resolution for different
camcorder video sources:

8MM - Up To 240 Lines of Resolution
8MM XR - Up To 280 Lines of Resolution

Hi-8 - Up To 400 Lines of Resolution
Hi-8 XR - Up To 440 Lines of Resolution
D8 (Digital 8) - Up To 500 Lines of Resolution
Mini DV - Up To 530 Lines of Resolution

High Definition - Up To 1080 Interlaced Lines of Resolution


Steve McDonald
Mar 19, 3:42 am show options
Newsgroups: rec.video
From: bigrocketm...@webtv.net (Steve McDonald) - Find messages by this author
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 03:42:25 -0800
Local: Sat, Mar 19 2005 3:42 am
Subject: Re: Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How ...
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

I sent a personal reply on this to jfaughnan. He can share it if
he likes. In brief, I vote for S-Video for this transfer purpose.

Steve McDonald


jfaughnan
Mar 19, 6:34 am show options
Newsgroups: rec.video
From: "jfaughnan" - Find messages by this author
Date: 19 Mar 2005 06:34:03 -0800
Local: Sat, Mar 19 2005 6:34 am
Subject: Re: Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How ...
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

Steve's email message may have been zapped by my spamcop filters. I've
sent him a different email address to use and if he's able to resend
I'll post here.

I'm also summarizing this discussion on my blog, so it will have an
update too:

http://googlefaughnan.blogspot.com/2005/03/recvideo-google-groupsusen...


John Faughnan
Mar 19, 3:22 pm show options
Newsgroups: rec.video
From: "John Faughnan" - Find messages by this author
Date: 19 Mar 2005 15:22:17 -0800
Local: Sat, Mar 19 2005 3:22 pm
Subject: Re: Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How ...
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

Below are excerpts from Steve's. Other than the value of S-video, he
urges the use of very short connectors. He has one composite plug cable
that's only 4 inches long!

.... If you want to do a lot of conversions with your new
camcorder, there would be a noticeable weakening of the colors with an
RCA composite connector....

...Myself, I wouldn't settle for anything other than S-Video for
transfering my Hi-8 recordings and I've been doing plenty of that. I'm
very pleased how well my old analog metal tapes have held up and how
good the images look when put on digital tape.

If you do use composite to transfer the Hi-8 footage, a
high-quality video cord, that is as short as possible, would be best.
I
wouldn't use an audio cord, even though it would match the connectors
and work, as they usually don't have wires that are as thick or
well-shielded as those intended for video...

... One of my Sony 4-pin composite video/audio plugs has just 4-inch
wires
that end in female inline jacks, for connecting with separate composite
and audio cords.


andreifilip...@gmail.com
Apr 4, 4:04 pm show options
Newsgroups: rec.video
From: andreifilip...@gmail.com - Find messages by this author
Date: 4 Apr 2005 17:04:21 -0700
Local: Mon, Apr 4 2005 4:04 pm
Subject: Re: Analog transfer via S-video vs. mini-jack from Hi8 source: How much quality loss?
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse

The easiest way to compare: send both signals to the monitor.
Technically S-Video connection was invented as something in between
composite (one cable) and component (3 cables) types of connection. You
actually have 2 cables in one S-Video cord. One is used for the
Luminance (brighter-darker) signal, second is for color information.
Presumably the signal loss is less with S-Video compare to RCA, since
you don't have to mix two signals on one end and separate them on the
other.

FAQ Video, http://faqvideo.com

Days of a week

[121 Words]

日* 日曜日 * Sunday * Dimanche * Sonntag
一* 月曜日 * Monday * Lundi * Montag
二* 火曜日 * Tuesday * Mardi * Dienstag
三* 水曜日 * Wednesday * Mercredi * Mittwoch
四* 木曜日 * Thursday * Jeudi * Donnerstag
五* 金曜日 * Friday * Vendredi * Freitag
六* 土曜日 * Saturday * Samedi * Samstag

Life insurance in plain language

1. Term Life:
   - Fixed premium in fixed period of time (e.g. 10, 20 years--hence the name "term");
   - only pays if death happens within term, otherwise money is gone;
   - pure death benefit;
   - no cash value;
   
   
2. Permament Life:
1. Whole Life:
   - like Term Life except it's till death;
   
2. Variable Life
   - fixed premium;
   - premium includes insurance cost (basically a whole life policy, this part is fixed) and the 'subaccounts' for investment (this is the variable part)
   - has garanteed minimum value, but can go above it;
   - make mutual-fund-like investments within the policy;
   
3. Variable Universal Life
   - variable premium (makes it 'universal'), with the possibility of reducing or even eliminating it, but can go the other way also; the idea here is to have a high investment portion so the gain from the investment will cover the insurance cost, which can be quite high when you're older;
   - variable value;
   - more flexible;
   

All about termite and fumigation

Chemicals for fumigation:
1. Vikane Gas Fumigant (Sulfuryl Fluoride)
2. Methyl Bromide (stopped using in CA since September 2000)

detrimental vs. beneficial: 有害 vs. 有益

[121 Words]

Halcyon Life = 幸福美满的生活

[121 Words]

Eighty percent of life

Is just showing up (Woody Allen). If that's true, perhaps the other twenty percent is the efforts to finish well or making a decent exit.

EQ 的最高境界

应该可以归纳为「收放自如」四个字吧。

Bed sizes

• Twin: 39 x 76 inches
• Twin X-Long (this is for a slightly longer twin bed, which is commonly found in dorm rooms): 39 x 80 inches
• Full: 54 x 75 inches
• Queen (the most common bed size): 60 x 80 inches
• King: 76 x 80 inches
• California King (or "Cal King" - found mostly on the West Coast, longer and narrower than the regular King): 72 x 84 inches.

Hurricane Katrina

It devastated some of the Mexican Gulf costal areas. Among the most hit, New Orleans. Eighty percent of the city is under water (see pictures, streets that are dark are under water) mainly because the average elevation of the city is below sea level (some say the city is a bowl). I saw the video of a car sinking into the moving flow of flood water, and the camera crew ran to rescue the driver inside. Another story is a man who lost his wife (probably dead) to the flood water after holding on to her hand for as long as he could. And the last words he heard from her was 'You can't hold on to me...take care of the kids.' Two school-age boys were standing behind the man, looking lost. I suppose there would be thousands of heartbroken stories that have yet to be reported. The death roll of the catastorphy is feared to be into the thousands. Now the problem at the hands of the authorities is how to get the water out of the bowl.

Filial Piety (孝顺)

[121 Words]

黄淑帧

[121 People]

艺海拾贝 科海探珠 — 访第三届“上海市巾帼创新奖”获得者黄淑帧
□王 阳 摘自：上海妇女2004年3月刊

　　黄淑帧，生于1938年，1957年就读上海第二医科大学医疗系。毕业后，在上海市第六人民医院、市卫生学校、市儿童医院医学遗传研究室工作。1985 年，赴美国科罗拉多医学中心及贝勒医学院任访问教授，后又在美国国立卫生研究院任高级研究员。现为上海市儿童医院医学遗传研究所研究员，上海交通大学医学院教授。
黄淑帧长期从事医学遗传学和胚胎工程学的研究，在遗传病的基因诊断、基因治疗、转基因动物和干细胞等领域成绩卓著，在国内外已发表论文 400多篇，30多次荣获国家级、省部级和上海市的重大科技成果奖，现已授权发明专利3项、实用新型专利1项，申请发明专利5项。作为首席科学家，黄淑帧连续5次获得美国国立卫生研究院科学基金。

曾经有一个艺术梦
学生时代，黄淑帧并没有学医的打算。那时，她热衷于文艺，忙着学琴，练声，演话剧。在上海市第三女子中学念书的时候，她担任学校话剧团团长。
市三女中，是黄淑帧心中最留恋的地方，她的组织能力都是高中三年锻炼出来的。那时候，为了排一台戏，从舞台灯光、道具、布景、服装到导演全都由她这个团长来统筹，舞台上的门窗请木匠师傅帮忙做，演出的服装请家长帮忙裁剪，最要紧的是，她还要给每个人安排角色。一台戏，只有一个主角，作为团长，她要协调，要做 “演员”的思想工作，更要以身作则。在《祥林嫂》里，黄淑帧就演别人不想演的角色“媒婆”，可当她扎着一块头巾，摇着一把扇子，活灵活现地走上场时，却一下子赢得了满堂彩。
除了演戏，黄淑帧还参加班里的女声小组唱。清晨7点，8个女中学生就开始在琴房里练声。她们的无伴奏合唱 《田野静悄悄》，让专家赞不绝口。而在练声的过程中，黄淑帧也渐渐懂得了怎样保持团队的和谐——不要突出个人，要用心倾听别人的声音。
花一样的年华总孕育着花一样的梦。临毕业时，颇有艺术天分的黄淑帧想报考音乐学院钢琴系。她7岁开始练琴，接受过很专业的训练。可后来，她又觉得弹钢琴不合适，“我不是个很安静的人，喜欢动脑子，让我整天面对一架钢琴恐怕不行。”
黄淑帧说自己小时候的性格象男孩，没有女孩的忸怩，不爱哭鼻子，整天都是风风火火，忙进忙出，即使是考大学那阵子，还惦记着排戏。而且好奇，什么都想学，每年的寒暑假一定要学一样东西，打字，拉手风琴，学唱越剧，指挥……
虽说黄淑帧的这些爱好最终都没有成为她的专业，可对艺术，她仍然兴致勃勃。毕业工作后，她曾在市工人文化宫独唱“蝴蝶夫人”，用美声来唱评弹“蝶恋花”，还得了优秀演出奖。
黄淑帧属于“玩兴很浓”的一种人，可她也绝对是一个很用功的学生。从小到大，黄淑帧一直是学校里的优等生。
黄淑帧说，弹钢琴，英语叫play piano，玩也是学习。玩得越多，知识面越广，读书就越轻松。
投身医学，成果斐然
选择医学，是因为黄淑帧看了一部苏联电影《没有说完的故事》，影片讲一名乡镇医生通过努力，让一位全身瘫痪的病人从病榻上站了起来。这部电影让黄淑帧对医生职业充满了敬意，她甚至觉得做医生治病救人，要比搞文艺有意义的多。于是，报考了上海第二医科大学医疗系。
黄淑帧上的是二医大医疗系本科，后来却被选入了在当时很超前的重点培养班生物物理专业。毕业后分配到上海市第六人民医院生化研究室工作。这是一个新筹建的实验室，她在室主任的带领下，凭着在学生时代培养锻炼出来的能力，从零开始，着手于实验室的建设和各种生化分析技术的建立，并很快适应了新的工作，作出了突出的成绩——和复旦大学遗传所合作发现了中国第一例异常血红蛋白HbM病。
可是正当黄淑帧踌躇满怀，准备在事业上大展宏图的时候，文革开始了。她被安排到第六人民医院626病房，当时病房推行“医、护、工一条龙”，晚上一个人值班，既要开医嘱，又要冲葡萄糖，凌晨三点，她要到楼下把水车推上来，冲满每个热水瓶，接着拖地板，搞卫生，然后为病人盛粥，换药，吊针，开刀……
在那个年代，黄淑帧没有对自己的工作感到失望，而是抓紧机会学习，培养了自己承受挫折的能力。
文革结束后，黄淑帧调到上海市儿童医院医学遗传研究室，继续她那中断了10多年的血红蛋白病研究，组织并参加了全国血红蛋白研究协作组，开展了大规模的血红蛋白病调查，发现了八种世界新型异常血红蛋白变种。随着改革开放，黄淑帧走出国门，两度赴美。黄淑帧说，她去美国，既不是赚钱，也不是镀金。当时儿童医院医学遗传研究室已发展为上海医学遗传研究所，她的丈夫，该所的所长曾溢滔希望妻子在美国能建立一个据点，和美国研究机构建立长期合作关系。
在国外七年，黄淑帧代表研究所和美国国立卫生研究院的科学家进行合作，在血红蛋白病研究方面取得显著的成果——获得了美国的专利，在国际顶级杂志发表研究论文，并以首席科学家的身份，申请到了美国国立卫生研究院5项科学基金。
1996 年，上海医学遗传研究所接受了一项极具挑战的国家863重大课题——转基因动物/乳腺生物反应器研究，曾溢滔所长给妻子打电话，要她回国。没有太多的考虑，黄淑帧就辞别了美国国立卫生研究院的合作伙伴，放下了正在进行的分子生物学研究，携带着转基因羊研究所必需的实验用品飞回了上海。
飞机抵沪，已是晚上9点，黄淑帧没有回家，直奔实验室。黄淑帧说自己是个喜欢做事情的人，有事情做，最开心了。
转基因羊的研究，对黄淑帧来说，是一个全新的领域。之前，她对羊的认识仅限于图片，电视，并没有接触过真正的羊，而现在，她却要让羊的乳腺按需分泌药物。为了尽快掌握羊的胚胎发育情况，黄淑帧来到了条件艰苦的农村，解剖了近百只山羊，进行了数千次的实验，通宵达旦地查阅国外文献资料，反复研究山羊生殖器的结构。经过无数个不眠之夜，她终于掌握了家畜胚胎发育的规律，设计和完善了转基因动物的研制路线，并制作了山羊非手术的胚胎移植器。这一科技创新使得转基因山羊的成功率提高了一倍多。1998年春，运用这些新技术获得的转基因羊咩咩坠地，黄淑帧如愿以偿地从它的乳汁中得到了用于治疗血友病的人凝血因子IX！这意味着人类通过动物乳汁来大量生产珍贵药物成为可能，该项研究被两院院士评为98中国十大科技进展之一。
在成功培育出转基因羊之后，黄淑帧又将视线移到了年产量远高于羊的牛身上。她带领课题组的同事们构建了人血清白蛋白的重组DNA载体，并于1998年5月进行了转基因试管牛的试验。1999年 2月，国际上第一例携带有人血清白蛋白基因的试管牛“滔滔”问世，这一成果再次被两院院士评为1999年中国十大科技进展之一，被科技部评为1999年中国十大基础科学新闻之首。
除了在转基因动物领域成绩卓著外，黄淑帧在地中海贫血的基因治疗和大量获取干细胞上也做出了巨大贡献。
“地中海贫血”是一种遗传性血液病，因无药可医，患者只有靠输血才能维持生命，但输血过多又会引起患者体内铁质含量沉积，导致心脏衰竭而亡。经过十多年系统和深入的研究，黄淑帧首次采用药物羟基脲来治疗地中海贫血，获得成功，成为国际上采用这一方法治疗地中海贫血的范例。同时，在对中国人特有的地中海贫血类型的发病机理进行深入研究的基础上，黄淑帧又构建了特异的反义RNA表达载体对该病进行实验性基因治疗研究，取得了满意的效果。该成果获得了2002年度上海市科技进步一等奖。
作为国家十五863项目的负责人，黄淑帧还首次建立了人/山羊异种移植嵌合体模型，在活体水平上证明了移植的山羊体内存在人源性细胞，为探索人类疾病的干细胞治疗提供了科学依据和一种可行的途径。在该领域，她申请了4项发明专利。
　
从医四十多年，黄淑帧因突出的科学成就而先后被评为上海市三八红旗手、上海市劳动模范、上海市先进女职工标兵和上海市优秀专业技术人才。
当获得这些荣誉时，黄淑帧非常认真地说，那都是领导的功劳，更是大家的功劳。“是领导发现了我，我只是一个工作人员，干事情的人，得不得奖都一样工作。”
黄淑帧的想法就是这样简单，对她来说，认准一件事去做，没有太多的患得患失，没有太多的包袱，工作充满着乐趣。
女儿，母亲骄傲的话题
采访之前，我们就听说黄淑帧还得过一个特别的奖——在第二届全国五好文明家庭表彰大会评出的十家“全国五好文明家庭标兵户”中，黄淑帧的家名列榜首。
黄淑帧的丈夫曾溢滔是中国工程院医药卫生工程学部的首批院士，国际著名的遗传学家，他完成了20多项具有国际水平的科研成果，曾被授予“国家级有突出贡献的中青年科技专家”称号，并获得全国五一劳动奖章。
如果说黄淑帧和曾溢滔这对科学家夫妻的结合是强强联手的话，那他们的女儿更是青出于蓝胜于蓝。
提起女儿，黄淑帧一脸的骄傲。
1992年，女儿曾凡一从美国6000名优秀大学毕业生的激烈角逐中脱颖而出，被美国宾夕法尼亚大学医学院录取为医学和生物学双博士生，成为当时被录取的第一位来自中国大陆的双博士留学生。
女儿承继了父母的衣钵。可让人称奇的是，端庄美丽的曾凡一极具音乐天赋。受酷爱艺术的母亲的影响，曾凡一四岁开始学琴，后又学声乐。她曾在上海首届外国流行歌曲大赛上，荣膺桂冠；在中央电视台举办的MTV大奖赛上，获得特别奖；在美国华盛顿，她成功举办了个人独唱音乐会……
问黄淑帧如何教女有方，黄淑帧笑了。她说她和丈夫平时工作忙，一直很注重培养女儿的独立能力。曾凡一上小学一二年级时，和外公外婆住在一起，夫妻俩每星期给女儿一定的生活费，让她安排每天的支出。在女儿的生活上，她这个做母亲的不用操很多心。该吃什么，该穿什么，该买什么，女儿从小就懂。
对女儿的学业，黄淑帧也不是“盯”得很紧，功课全凭自觉，只要做好了，就可以看电视。成绩考砸了，就分析原因，哪里跌倒，哪里再爬起来。不过，黄淑帧也有逼着孩子去学习的，那就是学钢琴，钢琴不练不行，这是为了磨练她的意志，干一件事就要把它干好，不能半途而废。
那一年，曾凡一准备出国。走之前，黄淑帧夫妇俩和她谈话，说，在上海你什么都有，前途一片光明。到美国，你所有的学费、生活费都得自己解决，一切从零开始。曾凡一没说什么，临走时，她给父母录了一首歌“大约在冬季”，她唱道“没有你的日子里，我会更加珍惜自己，没有我的岁月里，你要保重你自己”，请父母自己保重。还写了一张纸条，声明是自己要求去美国的，在美国一定努力学习，以优异的成绩来报答父母，请父母放心。
这首歌和这张纸条，让黄淑帧至今感动不已，女儿的独立，女儿的责任意识，让她颇感欣慰。
鉴于曾凡一在学业、人品、才艺上的优异表现，我国驻美使馆选派她为唯一参加世界女青年会百年庆典的中国代表。当曾凡一身着旗袍，手擎五星红旗款款步入会场时，不凡的气质赢得了在场所有人的喝彩。
而此时，在大洋的彼岸，黄淑帧、曾溢滔夫妇也为女儿的成长自豪并幸福着。

Father's Love Letter

My Child…

You may not know me, but I know everything about you
…Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up
…Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways
…Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered
…Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image
…Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being
…Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring
…Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived
…Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation
…Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book
…Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live
…Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made
…Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb
…Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born
…Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me
…John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love
…1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you
…1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father
…1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could
…Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father
…Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand
…James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs
…Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope
…Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love
…Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore
...Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing
…Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you
…Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession
…Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul
…Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things
…Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me
…Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart
…Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires
…Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine
…Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager
…2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles
…2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you
…Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart
…Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes
…Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth
…Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus
…John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed
…John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being
…Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you
…Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins
…2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled
…2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you
…1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love
…Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me
…1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again
…Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen
…Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father
…Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child?
…John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you
…Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad. Almighty God

[zz http://www.fathersloveletter.com]

The Cube

4. F-R-U-Ri-Ui-Fi
5. R-U-Ri-U-R-U-U-Ri
6. U-R-Ui-Li-U-Ri-Ui-L
7. Ri-Di-R-D

(Steps:
4: Form top cross;
5: Rotate top edges;
6: Rotate top corners;
7: Flip corners)

Interesting conversations

After pointing out to Sarah that the big old machine in the lab made noices that sounded like the heavy breath of...what's his name...in the Star Wars movie...who wares a black cape...Darth Vader! (Oh, is that his name?), she began to think I was a really funny guy. That was roughly 12 years ago in 1993.

Since then we had another work-related phone conversation that went something like this:

She (in serious voice): You're calling me at the worst possible time!
Me: Oh, really? What's the second worst time to call?
She: Saturday morning...
Me: Oh, can I call you then?
She (giggles): No...

That was one of the few lightest moments in those dry and strenuous days of my life.

Perhaps in hers, too.

Years later in c1, when "Star Wars Episode I" was about to release (and the media hype was at its highest), I had another moment like that with two of my colleagues, J and K. It went like this:

K: xxx is here today.
J (in surprise): He's here?
Me: Yeah. Can't you feel the disturbance of the Force?
K (laughed furiously)...

At about the same period, another unrelated but equally interesting conversation:

Y: What's the guy's name?
J: Neal.
Y: Yeah, but what's his name?
J: Neal.
Y (a bit irratated): I know he's new. WHAT IS HIS NAME?
J: Neal.
Y: ...
Me (to Y): Ok, his name IS Neal.
J (broke out to laughter)...
Y (face turned red)...

Alas. That was the past. I wish I could go back and change a few things...
<>

Star Wars and the Man Behind It

Last night, after over a month of its opening, I watched Episode III with w. It touches me in a strange way--sort of like a distant and remote excitement. I guess I have grown away from the sci-fi lover in me. Now I'm more facinated about Maester George Lucas than the movie itself. What a profound visionary creative genius he is (or if not creative, at least he reads a lot), and what a shrewd businessman (outsmarting big movie studios)! Read the history of SW from http://www.supershadow.com/starwars/history.html--

***

1974 -- George Lucas' first hit film, American Grafitti, was released during August of 1973. It became incredibly successful. The film grossed over $ 115 million at the box office and was dollar-for-dollar the most profitable film in the history of Hollywood at the time. Lucas' profit participation in Grafitti earned him over $ 7 million. Lucas was now a millionaire and one of the most sought after young directors in the world.

Alan Ladd, Jr. (who at the time was the head of Twentieth Century Fox) saw a smuggled print of American Grafitti before it was released in theaters and absolutely loved the film. Ladd was determined that Fox was going to be the next studio to profit from Lucas' genius.

1975 -- George Lucas conceives of and writes the basic story of Anakin Skywalker's rise, fall and ultimate redemption. This story becomes too large for one film and Lucas divides the story into two trilogies. The first trilogy focuses on the life of a young Anakin Skywalker while the second trilogy focuses on the life of Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker. Lucas chooses to make the second trilogy first since it appears to be the most exciting one to film at the time.

Lucas offers his Star Wars films first to Universal Studios, the film company that financed American Grafitti. Universal passed on Star Wars because they considered it to be an unfathomable and silly movie idea. This decision ended up costing Universal hundreds of millions of dollars. Every single studio in Hollywood passed on the project except for 20th Century Fox. Fox gave Lucas $ 10 million to make what is perhaps the most influential film in the history of cinema. Fox released Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope in May 1977.

On May 20, 1977 Variety set the tone by stating: "Star Wars is a magnificant film. George Lucas set out to make the biggest possible adventure-fantasy out of his memories of serials and older action epics, and he has succeeded brilliantly. What Lucas lacks in originality is more than made up by enthralling special effects." Star Wars' opening day totaled $ 254,309 from just 32 theaters. By the end of its first theatrical run, Star Wars was the most successful film in North American history with a gross in excess of $ 290 million. Lucas' cut from the box office was more than $ 50 million. Alec Guinness negotiated for 2.5% of net profits, which eventually earned the actor over $ 6 million.

When Lucas negotiated his deal with Fox to make Star Wars, the studio was shocked to learn that the hot director was not asking for a lot of money. Instead, Lucas wanted control. He wanted to have the right to the final cut of the film, 40% of the net box-office gross, all rights to future sequels and ownership of all the merchandising rights associated with Star Wars. At the time, science fiction films were not very profitable. Hence, Fox thought they were ripping Lucas off. Sequel and merchandise rights to science fiction films were worthless at the time. In the end, this deal would eventually make Lucas a billionaire and cost Fox an untold fortune in lost revenues.

1978 -- George Lucas began to discreetly buy up land in San Rafael, California. Lucas purchased the 1,882 acre Bulltail Ranch for $ 2.7 million. Production on the sequel to Star Wars called the Empire Strikes Back was underway. The film was budgeted at $ 18 million to be entirely financed out of Lucas' own pocket. The film encountered severe budget overruns and eventually cost over $ 30 million. Empire hit theaters in May 1980 and grossed $ 222 million in North America. It was the highest grossing film of 1980.

1983 -- Return of the Jedi premieres in theaters in May 1983 and grosses over $ 265 million at North American cinemas. After the release of Return of the Jedi, Lucas retires from making Star Wars movies to pursue other projects. Lucas vaguely promises to make a Prequel Trilogy one day when special-effects technology advances enough and becomes cheap enough so that Lucas can make the films exactly as Lucas envisions them without artistic compromises. True to his word, Lucas walked away from Star Wars and the Prequel Trilogy remained untouched in his five three-ringed notebooks for well over a decade.

1994 -- Front page of Daily Variety announced that: "Lucas The Loner Returns To Wars." Lucas tells Rex Weiner of Variety that work will soon begin on the long-awaited Prequel Trilogy. The first prequel is tentatively scheduled for a 1998 release. Lucas states that the recent advances in computer generated imaging (CGI) as seen in Jurassic Park and Casper make the filming of the new trilogy both inexpensive and technically possible. Also, Lucas states that he will direct Episode 1. This is the first time that Lucas has directed a film since the original Star Wars. The new CG technology will create a new way to make films where a writer's imagination can be fully released without restrictions. With the level of computer animation technology available, Lucas believes that he is now free to write more interesting and complex Star Wars scripts.

1995 -- Lucas is hard at work on writing the screenplay for Episode 1 . . . The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles helps pave the way for the Prequel Trilogy. ILM develops the technology and means to create virtual environments for this landmark television series. ILM packs each hour long episode with hundreds of special effects sequences at very reasonable prices. With the new digital effects techniques developed for Young Indy, Lucas believes that he will be able to make the Prequel Trilogy very economically: about $ 60 - 70 million per film.

May 1996 -- Lucasfilm announces that it has signed a deal (reportedly worth $ 2 billion) with Pepsico (Pepsi, Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell and Frito Lay) for movie tie-ins related to the new Prequel Trilogy. Variety called this "the largest in size and scope the entertainment industry has ever seen."

Late 1996 -- Lucasfilm announces that pre-production on Episode 1 has begun.

September 1996 -- Lucasfilm announces that Leavesdon Studios in Britain will be used to film portions of Episode 1.

Late 1996 -- ILM celebrates its twentieth anniversary.

November 1996 -- Lucasfilm announces that ILM is developing revolutionary computer software that will be used to create the 2000-plus effects sequences that will be seen in Episode 1.

1997 -- Fans learn that Ewan McGregor will play the role of the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi and Liam Neeson will play the role of a venerable Jedi Knight. Natalie Portman won the pivotal role of the young Queen while Samuel L. Jackson will appear as a Jedi Master in Episode 1.

June 1997 -- Principle photography for Episode 1 begins. Lucasfilm's unique style of ultra secrecy is utilized on the set. Despite this security, the plot line of the film is leaked bit by bit to the Internet. By the end of 1998, SuperShadow.com has posted an accurate summary of the Episode 1 script. Thus, SS.com becomes the center of Star Wars fandom on the Internet.

September 6, 1997 -- The first phase of principle photography for Episode 1 ends.

April 1998 -- Lucasfilm announces that 20th Century Fox has won the rights to release the Prequel Trilogy. Fox is rumored to receive only a small distribution fee and will not share in the box-office gross. Fox had lost the right to future Star Wars films when Rupert Murdoch bought the studio in the mid-1980's. Fox' contract with Lucas had a "key man" clause that terminated their rights to future Star Wars films if the studio were acquired by new owners.

While some believe that in 100 years Star Wars will be a religion, the humble Lucas states that one day Star Wars "will be nothing more than a pretty minor footnote in the pop culture of the 1970s and 1980s."

starwars.com announces that Episode 1 will be released in North America on Friday, May 21, 1999.

September 1998 -- starwars.com announces that Episode 1 will be subtitled The Phantom Menace (TPM). This subtitle is presumably inspired by the old Republic movie serials that Lucas grew up watching.

November 1998 -- starwars.com announces that TPM's first teaser trailer will be sneak previewed in 200 of the nation's most state-of-the-art movie houses. The trailer is subsequently released in cineplexes nationwide and is broadcast in full length on many TV outlets such as Entertainment Tonight, Hard Copy, CNN, etc. Lucas later states on starwars.com that he is overwhelmed by the phenomenal response that the fans had after viewing the first trailer.

1999 -- George Lucas announces that he will probably direct Episode 2 and has begun to more fully "develop" the story for Episode 2.

January 1999 -- Lucasfilm's promotion of TPM remains low key to avoid over-hyping the newest Star Wars film.

February 1999 -- In the Star Wars Insider, Rick McCallum states that Lucasfilm will release a more "traditional" movie trailer by March or April 1999.

March 12, 1999 -- Lucasfilm releases the second TPM promotional trailer.

First Week of May 1999 -- Lucas shows The Phantom Menace (TPM) to theater owners.

May 16, 1999 -- TPM is exhibited in several cities to raise money for children's charities.

May 19, 1999 -- TPM makes its theatrical debut in North America and breaks many box-office records.

Many diverse, "insider" sources divulged snippets from the actual script of The Phantom Menace. It became evident from these leaks that TPM will be very similar to A New Hope as Lucas had earlier promised. While Obi-Wan Kenobi serves the role of a venerable Jedi Knight who introduces the young Luke Skywalker to the ways of the Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn serves as a venerable Jedi Knight who introduces the young Anakin Skywalker to the ways of the Jedi.

Meanwhile, while Han Solo served as the wise-cracking renegade in ANH, Obi-Wan Kenobi acts as a wise-cracking renegade in the first prequel. Just as Princess Leia is rescued from the bad guys in ANH, Queen Amidala (Leia and Luke's future mom) is rescued from the bad guys at the beginning of TPM. Likewise, R2-D2 and C-3PO reprise their roles from the first film. R2 helps the heroes when needed while C-3PO serves as comic relief in his brief appearance.

Just as the cheif villain in ANH was named "Darth," we learn that the chief bad guys of TPM are named "Darth." There are actually two Darths in TPM: Darth Maul and Darth Sidious. While the exploits of Luke Skywalker are key to the defeat of the death star, the exploits of Anakin Skywalker are key in Naboo's defeat of the Trade Federation's fighters. Hence, there are many similarities between the first Star Wars film - Episode 4: A New Hope -and the newest one - Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

In an interview with Time Magazine, Lucas states that: "There was a cinematic innovation in the first Star Wars film that made people say, 'Gee, I'd never seen that before. I have the opportunity to do that again with the prequels. The fun part for me is to say, 'You want me to come back and do that for you? I can do that. I'll do it. Here."

After a sixteen year lull, a new Star Wars movie finally returns to theaters on Wednesday, May 19, 1999. Some considered Episode 1 to be the most anticipated film since Gone With The Wind. On its first day of release the Phantom Menace shatters box-office records with the largest single day gross in history: over $ 28 million in North America. Episode 1 goes on to earn over $ 431 million domestically and over $ 461 million overseas for a worldwide total of over $ 922 million. Episode 1 ends up becoming the second highest grossing film of all time second only to James Cameron's Titanic.

2000 -- Filming begins on Episode 2 with the older Anakin Skywalker played by little-known actor Hayden Christensen.

May 2002 -- Episode 2 opened in theaters on May 16, 2002. The film earned $ 110 million in its first four days of release in North America.

June 2003 -- Starwars.com opens its special Episode 3 content called Hyperspace. Subscription fee is $ 19.95 per year.

July 2003 -- George Lucas is scheduled to begin filming Star Wars Episode 3 in Sydney, Australia.

November 7, 2003 -- The Star Wars Clone Wars Epic Micro Series debuts on the Cartoon Network.

February 2004 -- Lucasfilm announces that the classic Star Wars trilogy (Episodes 4 to 6) will be released on DVD on September 21, 2004.

April 2004 -- Lucasfilm reveals that Episode 3 will be released in cinemas in North America on Thursday, May 19, 2005.

July 2004 -- Lucasfilm announces that the title of Episode 3 will be Revenge of the Sith.

September 21, 2004 -- Lucasfilm finally releases the classic Star Wars trilogy on DVD.

November 4, 2004 -- The first movie teaser trailer for Revenge of the Sith debuts at starwars.com Hyperspace.

November 5, 2004 -- The Revenge of the Sith trailer is previewed with the Pixar film called The Incredibles.

November 8, 2004 -- starwars.com debuts the Revenge of the Sith trailer for the general public.

March 10, 2005 -- Lucasfilm debuts the second Revenge of the Sith trailer on the Fox TV Network. Trailer appears with the computer-animated movie called Robots beginning Marth 11. Available to all fans at starwars.com on March 14.

May 19, 2005 -- Revenge of the Sith opens at theaters all around the world to record box-office grosses

Carpe diem

[121 Quotes]

Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.

--DEAD POETS SOCIETY, 1989
[http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/quotes.aspx#list]

On social conversation

The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is that your opening line is really not very important, and all this striving for originality and wit is a wasted effort. The fact is that conversational 'openers' are rarely original, witty or elegant, and no-one expects them to be so. The best 'openers' are, quite simply, those which can easily be recognised as 'openers' - as attempts to start a conversation.

The traditional British comment on the weather ("Nice day, isn't it?" or "Doesn't feel much like summer, eh?", etc.) will do just fine, as everyone knows that it is a conversation-starter. The fact that these comments are phrased as questions, or with a rising 'interrogative' intonation, does not mean that the speaker is unsure about the quality of the weather and requires confirmation: it means that the speaker is inviting a response in order to start a conversation.

In Britain, it is universally understood that such weather-comments have nothing to do with the weather, and they are universally accepted as conversation-starters. Saying "Lovely day, isn't it?" (or a rainy-day equivalent) is the British way of saying "I'd like to talk to you; will you talk to me?"

A friendly response , including positive body language, means "Yes, I'll talk to you"; a monosyllabic response (accompanied by body-language signalling lack of interest) means "No, I don't want to talk to you", and no verbal response at all, with body language signalling annoyance or dislike, means "Shut up and go away".

If you are indoors - say at a party or in a bar - and nowhere near a window, some equally innocuous general comment on your surroundings ("Bit crowded, isn't it?", "Not very lively here tonight, eh?") or on the food, drink, music, etc., will serve much the same purpose as the conventional weather-comment. The words are really quite unimportant, and there is no point in striving to be witty or amusing: just make a vague, impersonal comment, either phrased as a question or with a rising intonation as though you were asking a question.

This formula - the impersonal interrogative comment - has evolved as the standard method of initiating conversation with strangers because it is extremely effective. The non-personal nature of the comment makes it unthreatening and non-intrusive; the interrogative (questioning) tone or 'isn't it?' ending invites a response, but is not as demanding as a direct or open question.

There is a big difference between an interrogative comment such as "Terrible weather, eh?" and a direct, open question such as "What do you think of this weather?". The direct question demands and requires a reply, the interrogative comment allows the other person to respond minimally, or not respond at all, if he or she does not wish to talk to you.

In some social contexts - such as those involving sports, hobbies, learning, business or other specific activities - the assumption of shared interests makes initiating conversation much easier, as your opening line can refer to some aspect of the activity in question. In some such contexts, there may even be a ritual procedure to follow for initiating conversation with a stranger. At the races, for example, anyone can ask anyone "What's your tip for the next?" or "What do you fancy in the 3.30?", a ritual opening which effectively eliminates all the usual awkwardness of approaching a stranger.

Unless the context you are in provides such a convenient ritual, use the IIC (Impersonal Interrogative Comment) formula. This formula can be adapted to almost any situation or occasion. Just make a general, impersonal comment on some aspect of the event, activity, circumstances or surroundings, with a rising intonation or 'isn't it?' type of ending. Your target will recognise this as a conversation-starter, and his or her response will tell you immediately whether or not it is welcomed.

There are of course degrees of positive and negative response to an IIC. The elements you need to listen for are length, personalising and questioning. As a general rule, the longer the response, the better. If your target responds to your comment with a reply of the same length or longer, this is a good sign. A personalised response, i.e. one including the word 'I' (as in, for example, "Yes, I love this weather") is even more positive. A personalised response ending in a question or interrogative (rising) intonation (as in "I thought it was supposed to clear up by this afternoon?") is even better, and a personalised response involving a personalised question, i.e. a response including the words 'I' and 'you', is the most positive of all.

So, if you say "Nice day, isn't it?" and your target replies "Yes, I was getting so tired of all that rain, weren't you?", you are definitely in with a chance. Note that there is nothing original, witty or clever about the above exchange. You may even be inclined to dismiss it as polite, boring and insignificant. In fact, a great deal of vital social information has been exchanged.

[zz http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html]

Something in common

Dan [Zhaoyi 但昭义, renowned piano teacher of world-class yound artists such as Yundi Li and Sa Chen], who is 65, grew up in the western hinterlands near the city of Chongqing. His father, a physician who loved music, acquired a piano, a rare possession, but Dan showed little inclination to play.

"We had a set time to practice. I would secretly turn the clock ahead so I could play less time," Dan said, laughing.

(http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/entertainment/special_packages/van_cliburn/11711353.htm)

毛泽东的老友——李振翩

[121 People]

　 　我在驻美国使馆工作期间，有幸结识著名华人医学专家李振翩的女儿李家瑞女士，并从使馆同志那里听到许多李振翩生前为促进中美人民友好事业而不懈努力的动人事迹。

　 　李振翩出生在湖南娄底，大革命时期是湖南湘雅医学院的学生领袖，和毛泽东一起领导过轰轰烈烈的“驱张运动”（驱逐北洋军阀、湖南督军张敬尧）。他在湘雅 毕业后到北京协和医学院当讲师，后到美国路克菲格大学任客座研究员、美国卫生部生物研究专家，在婴儿麻痹症病毒研究方面作出了重要贡献。

　 　 1973年8月李振翩和夫人回国访问，8月24日会见了老友毛泽东。毛泽东握着他的手久久不放，像是在问候一位失散多年的兄弟。他们一起沉浸在缅怀往事的 谈话之中，用湖南家乡话交谈，甚至追忆起当年的简朴生活。李振翩谈到在长沙吃过的各种蔬菜，并问毛泽东现在喜欢吃什么。毛泽东说最喜欢吃的还是冬苋菜和空 心菜这两种叶子蔬菜。李振翩说他也喜欢，可惜在他住的地方没有。当夜毛泽东即派人把一篮湖南蔬菜送到他的住处，说是送给他们的告别礼物，并让人关照饭店厨 师，说明这些湖南菜的做法。美国《纽约时报》专门登了一篇题为《蔬菜的故事》的文章，报道了李振翩和毛泽东的会见。

　　李振翩还会见了他 的老相识 周恩来总理。李振翩热衷于促进中美关系的发展，因此和周总理谈话的主题是关于使两国关系正常化的最佳途径。与周恩来会面后，李振翩给当时的美国驻华联络处 主任乔治·布什捎去口信，问布什是否愿意和他谈谈。布什立即邀他到官邸，与他单独进餐，边吃边谈，足足谈了3个小时。他向布什说明在实现关系正常化以前中 国要求解决3个主要问题：要求美国从台湾撤出全部武装部队；要求美国同台湾断绝外交关系；要求废除现存的美台条约。布什表示原则上同意，并让李振翩把这个 信息回传给周恩来的部属。应该说，李振翩为中美建立正常关系是立了功的。

　　李振翩对中国驻美外交机构的人员也特别关照。中国驻美联络处成立之初，人生地不熟，他就经常邀请联络处主任黄镇、副主任韩叙参加各种集会或郊游，为他们介绍朋友，为联络处打开工作局面而尽心尽力。

　　1974年，他还组织“美中医学科学中心”，是这个组织的创始人和第一任会长，从事美中医学科学交流，以及在美国推广中医学。

　　1984年这位中国驻美使馆的好朋友因病逝世，使馆人员无不为之悲痛。驻美大使章文晋率领使馆的许多外交官出席了他的追悼会，献上了一个个洁白精致的花圈，寄托对他的哀思。

　 　他逝世后，他的女儿李家瑞接替了他的对华友好事业。李家瑞出生在纽约，美国海都博学院（Heidelberg College）生物系毕业后，再到罗物哥大学(Rutgers)深造，获生物硕士学位，任美国卫生部 病毒科学研究员。父亲去世后，她用父亲的全部遗产成立了“李振翩纪念基金会”，用以资助湖南湘雅医学院（现为湘雅医科大学）的科研人员去美深造，还在李振 翩的家乡资助建立了李振翩小学。与此同时，她也与她的丈夫吉金瑞博士保持了与中国驻美使馆人员的友好交往。我和他们结识后，因为我们夫妇都是湖南人，和李 家瑞女士认了乡亲，关系就更为密切，每年都要聚会几次。他们浓浓的中国情、家乡情，一直感动着我。

周溢潢 《人民日报》 (2001年08月31日第十一版)

鄧麗君十年

[121 People]

一個很偶然的機會，買了一張鄧麗君的精選CD。 也許是聼過太多的模仿者，才覺得原唱的不同凡響。也可能是老了，開始喜歡一些舊歌。聼得心裏酥酥的，竟然像以前那些叔叔阿姨那樣如痴如醉，都不 知如何是好了，不禁啞然失笑。曾幾何時，覺得她的歌都太肉麻，是上一輩人的音樂。現在怎麽也......哎，可見是老了。

上網一查，才發覺前幾天正好是鄧麗君逝世十周年紀念。不禁感慨了一番。歌聲依舊，人已經離去十年了。聼著那甜美中又帶著一絲幽怨的歌聲，心中竟然泛起淡淡的悲哀，惘然若失。畢竟是無緣一睹她的風采。

好在網上不少有關的資料，可以幫助追憶，緬懷，也算讓心裏得到一點滿足。看著一張張的照片，一會兒覺得她這個角度像一個認識的人，一會兒又覺得她那個表情像 另一個朋 友。鄧麗君俏麗而接近平凡，是一種親切的美（有機張舊照中的臉龐胖乎乎的，十分可愛）。不知那些清純的笑臉後面，是否也有許多無奈和失落呢？

不久之前，也在無意中看到林青霞早期的照片，也是頗為驚艷了一番。才發覺那真是個令人感懷的年代。

To the point...

is probably the best advice to myself now. Hit as hard and as concentrated at the head of the nail, and then you can finish the work with few more smaller hits around the area.

Sometimes I wish I know the art of painting, which is in many ways a lot like giving a presentation. If you have the time, you'd make a draft, then the first layer then second and so on. But sometimes you can only have time for a few strokes, or required to finish in a single stroke.

Have a finished product in mind is a real challenge. But then I'm digrassing again.

Quickly come back to the point is another important skill. If you're losing the audience, finish the sentence and come back to...

The point!

Database joins

Use a LEFT JOIN operator to create a left outer join. Left outer joins include all of the records from the first (left) of two tables, even if there are no matching values for records in the second (right) table.

Use a RIGHT JOIN operator to create a right outer join. Right outer joins include all of the records from the second (right) of two tables, even if there are no matching values for records in the first (left) table.

Use a FULL JOIN operator to create a full outer join. Full outer joins include all of the records from both tables, even if there are no matching values for records in the other table.

It's simple enough. But here's a analogy--family trip: the Li family has two boys and the Huang two girls. A trip with the Li family plus the two Huang girls (+ sign here) will be a left outer join on kids; a trip with the Huang family plus the two Li boys (+ sign here) will be right outer join on kids; a full join will be the two families go together. An inner join for kids will be the two boys and the two girls. If only one family goes then no join is needed. That's all.

Proverb

[Dollars and Sense]

I take this as one of the the best advice for managing money (esp. stock):

He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son (Proverbs 10:5).

When the time comes, take the harvest and store it for later use. Timing is always a judgement call, but it can be learned.

If I only knew then what I know now... Alas, let by-gones be by-gones. A lesson to remember for life nonetheless. But wealth is so uncertain (Timothy 6:17):

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle (Proverbs 23:5).

Isn't that true!

The Deluge

[121 Words]

The Flood that Noah survived.

Antediluvian -- those lived before the Flood.

100句最经典台词 (zz)

　　 001创业：有条件要上，没有条件创造条件也要上。
　　 002党的女儿：我代表党，代表人民宣判你的死刑。
　　 003少林足球：做人要是没有理想，那和咸鱼有什么区别呀？
　　 004阳光灿烂的日子：古伦木，欧巴！
　　 005卡拉是条狗：只有在卡拉面前，我才觉得自己有点人样……
　　 006开往春天的地铁：我不知道该说什么，我只是突然在那一刻很想念她。
　　 007苏州河：如果有一天我走了，你会象马达那样来找我吗？
　　 008花样年华：如果，我多一张船票，你会不会跟我一起走？
　　 009重庆森林：不知道从什么时候开始，在什么东西上面都有个日期，秋刀鱼会过期，肉罐头会过期，连保鲜纸都会过期，我开始怀疑，在这个世界上，还有什么东西是不会过期的？
　　 010无间道：往往都是事情改变人，人却改变不了事情。
　　 011阿飞正传：这一分钟，你和我在一起，因为你，我会记得那一分钟。从现在开始，我们就是一分钟的朋友。这是事实，你改变不了，因为已经完成了。
　　 012饮食男女：人生不能像作菜，把所有的料都准备好了才下锅 。
　　 013东邪西毒：如果感情可以分胜负的话，我不知道她是否会赢，但是我很清楚，从一开始，我就输了。
　　 014少林足球：大家不要紧张，我本身是一个汽车维修员。这个扳子呢，是我工作时用来上螺丝的，很合理吧？
　　 015大话西游：爱一个人需要理由吗？不需要吗？需要吗？不需要吗？需要吗？不需要吗？我是跟你研究研究嘛，干嘛这么认真呢？需要吗？
　 　 016河东狮吼：从现在开始，你只许疼我一个人，要宠我，不能骗我，答应我的每一件事都要做到，对我讲的每一句话都要真心，不许欺负我、骂我，要相信我。 别人欺负我，你要在第一时间出来帮我，我开心了，你就要陪着我开心，我不开心了，你就要哄我开心，永远都要觉得我是最漂亮的，梦里也要见到我，在你的心里 面只有我。
　　 017有话好好说：安红，俺想你——
　　 018不见不散：(咦，这谁的钱包啊？)哪呢那呢？我看见了，我看见了！这是爱情的力量啊！
　　 019闪闪的红星：我胡汉三又回来了！拿了我的给我送回来，吃了我的给我吐出来！
　　 020东宫西宫：这不是贱，这是爱情。
　　 021手机：你开会呢吧？对。说话不方便吧？啊。那我说你听。行。我想你了。噢。你想我了吗？啊。昨天你真坏。嗨。你亲我一下。不敢吧？那我亲你一下。听见了吗？听见了。
　　 022红色恋人：如果不能骄傲的活着,我选择死亡!
　　 023卧虎藏龙：就算坠入最黑暗的地方，我的爱，也不会让我成为永远的孤魂。
　　 024向左走向右走：生命中充满了巧合，两条平行线也会有相交的一天。
　　 025喜剧之王：(干什么？)走了？(是啊。)去哪里呀？(回家。)然后呢？(上班喽。)不上班行不行？(不上班你养我呀？)喂。(又怎么了？)我养你呀！(你先照顾好你自己吧，傻瓜！)
026沙家浜：垒起七星灶，铜壶煮三江。摆开八仙桌，招待十六方。来的都是客，全凭嘴一张。相逢开口笑，过后不思量。人一走，茶就凉，有什么周详不周详……
　　 027冰山上的来客：阿米尔，冲——
　　 028玻璃之城：我手上的爱情线、生命线和事业线，都是你的名字拼成的。
　　 029 2046：我曾经试做另外一个梦，然而，我却失败了。我终于明白，我的梦只属于那个离去的人。我也发现，有梦原来是一件痛苦的事
030没完没了：(大伟，想吐吗？) 想吐，想吐我也不吐，十八，路易的……
　　 031英雄本色：有信心不一定会成功，没信心一定不会成功。
　　 032半生缘：我要你知道，这个世界上有一个人会永远等着你。无论是在什么时候，无论你在什么地方，反正你知道总会有这样一个人！
　　 033绿茶：这世上没有好人和坏人，只有生意人。
　　 034玻璃樽：人生下来的时候都只有一半，为了找到另一半而在人世间行走。有的人幸运，很快就找到了。而有人却要找一辈子……
　　 035大话西游：跑都跑得那样帅，我喜欢。
　　 036变脸：猜疑、撒谎。妈的，这越来越象婚姻了。
　 　 037国产零零柒：你以为躲起来就找不到你了吗？没有用的！象你这样出色的男人，无论在什么地方，都像漆黑中的萤火虫一样，那样的鲜明，那样的出众。你那 忧郁的眼神，稀嘘的胡喳子，神乎其神的刀法，和那杯dry martine，都深深地迷住了我。不过，虽然这是这样的出色，但是行有行规，无论怎样你要付清昨晚的过夜费呀，叫女人不用给钱吗？
　　 038笑傲江湖之东方不败：有人就有恩怨，有恩怨就有江湖。人就是江湖，你怎么退出？
　　 039青春之歌：冬天来了，春天还会远吗？
　　 040南征北战：看在党国的份上，拉兄弟一把吧。
　　 041停不了的爱：小时候,看着满天的星星，当流星飞过的时候，却总是来不及许愿。长大了，遇见了自己喜欢的人，却还是来不及。
　　 042开往春天的地铁：我一直怀疑27岁是否还会有一见钟情的倾心。
　　 043红玫瑰与白玫瑰：也许每一个男子全都有过这样的两个女人，至少两个。娶了红玫瑰，久而久之，红的变了墙上的一抹蚊子血，白的还是床前明月光。娶了白玫瑰，白的便是衣服上的一粒饭粘子，红的却是心口上的一颗朱砂痣。
　　 044黑三角：曲径通幽处，禅房花木深。
　　 045保密局的枪声：说不说？不说就让你白刀子进去，红刀子出来．走着进来，躺着出去！
　　 046一江春水向东流：好人命不长，坏人活千年。
　　 047海霞：我是你的哥哥，阿泰呀！
　　 048南海风云：中共高级将领，身穿高级毛料制服，请总座立即采取行动
　　 049开国大典：打仗我不行，打牌你不行，长江防线就全靠你们几位仁兄啦！
　　 050周渔的火车：心里有就有，心里没有就没有。
　　 051英雄：人若无名，便可专心。
　　 052决裂：同学们，今天我给大家讲一讲马尾巴的功能——
　　 053我爱你：(你闭嘴，说，你到底爱不爱我？) 我告诉你，我在屠刀下从不回答问题。(别废话了，你爱不爱我？ )我讨厌你呀，唉哟。(你这人一辈子没说过什么实话，今天你死到临头了，你就说一句实话吧。) 我爱你。
　　 054芙蓉镇：活下去，象狗一样的活下去！一定要活下去！
　 　 055东宫西宫：(你到底是男的，还是女的？)这不重要，当你想爱的时候，你就是男的。当你想要承受爱的时候，你就是女的。没有比这更不重要的事情了。我 为什么要是男人或是女人？我可以是你喜欢的任何人，也可以是男人也可以是女人。你可以践踏我的一切，只要你允许我爱你……
　　 056瞧这一家子：打懵，把他打懵！把他打懵！
　　 057活着：小鸡长大了就变成了鹅；鹅长大了，就变成了羊；羊再长大了，就变成了牛；等牛长大了，共产主义就到了。
　　 058堕落天使：当你年轻时，以为什么都有答案，可是老了的时候，你可能又觉得其实人生并没有所谓的答案。
　　 059卧虎藏龙：我愿意游荡在你身边，做七天的野鬼，跟随你。就算落进最黑暗的地方。我的爱，也不会让我成为永久的孤魂。
　　 060九品芝麻官：看什么看哪你，没见过美女啊？
　　 061小兵张嘎：别看今天闹得欢，小心日后拉清单！
　　 062少林寺：贪吃、贪睡、不干活，不可教也！
063榴??飘飘：(结婚了吧，傻逼了吧，以后挣了钱都两个人花——)原始社会好，原始社会好，原始社会男女光着屁股跑。
　　 064不见不散：这是喜马拉雅山，这是尼泊尔，这是青藏高原。由于印度洋暖湿气流的影响，尼泊尔王国温暖湿润，四季如春，而山的北麓由于寒冷则终年积雪，如果沿着山腰打开一条通路，将湿气引到山的这一边来，那中国的青藏高原该会变成多少鱼米之乡呵！
　　 065夏日的么么茶：你不要对我这么好，你对我这么好、要是有一天你对我不好了，我会很伤心。
　 　 066唐伯虎点秋香：禀夫人，小人本住在苏州的城边，家中有屋又有田，生活乐无边，谁知那唐伯虎，他蛮横不留情，勾结官府目无天，占我大屋夺我田，我爷爷 跟他来讲理，惨被他一棍来打扁，我奶奶骂他欺善民，反被他捉进了唐府，强奸了一百遍，一百遍，最后她悬梁自尽遗恨人间。他还将我父子，逐出了家园，流落到 江边，我为救老爹，只有独自行乞在庙前，谁知那唐伯虎，他实在太阴险，知道此情形，竟派人来暗算，把我父子狂殴在市前，小人身壮健，残命得留存，可怜老父 他魂归天，为求葬老爹，唯有卖身为奴自作贱，一面勤赚钱，一面读书篇，发誓把功名显，手刃仇人意志坚！从此唐寅诗集在身边，我铭记此仇不共戴天！
　　 067青松岭：去，给我烙两张糖饼！
　　 068青蛇：姐姐，你千年修行，为了一个许仙值得吗？
　　 069没事偷着乐：云芳，世界上最好的就是这饭，饭里边最好的就是这面，面里边最好的就是里边这蒜，蒜再好，也不如你好看。云芳，你就算了吧——
　　 070红高粱：你个娘们，脱了裤子和我风流快活，穿上裤子你就不认帐了？
　　 071不见不散：黑夜给了我黑色的眼睛，我却用鼻孔迎接光明。
　　 072东京攻略：你打我可以，只是不要弄乱我的头发！
　　 073侠盗高飞：我说了不要动手，你当我放屁吗？
　　 074喋血双雄：朋友之间无所谓谁欠谁，不然要朋友来干什么？
　　 075监狱风云：我悄悄的来，我悄悄的走。不带走一片朵云，只带走你我的友情……
076中南海保镖：好功夫是没有用的，感情这种事啊，功夫再好也是挡不住的。遇到这玩意儿啊，男人就死定了，不然怎么叫英雄难过美人关呢？
　　 077功夫：别以为长得帅我就不打你！
　　 078洪湖赤卫队：人老了,弦也调不准了。
　　 079和平饭店：一个人杀了一个人，他是杀人犯，是坏人。当他杀了成千上万人后，他是大英雄，是好人。
　　 080甜蜜蜜：傻丫头，回去泡个热水澡，睡个好觉，明天早上起来，满街都是男人，个个都比豹哥好。
　　 081可可西里：见过磕长头的人吗？他们的脸和手都很脏，可是心灵却很干净。
　　 082都市情缘：因为感受别人对你的感觉，是很痛苦的。
　　 083春光乍泻：当我站在瀑布前，觉得非常的难过，我总觉得，应该是两个人站在这里。
　　 084金光大道：谁穷了，谁狗熊。谁富了，谁光荣！
　　 085青春祭：孔雀开屏漂亮吗?可她露出了什么啊……
　　 086小武：我跟他说过，等有一天他结婚了，送他六斤钱。
　　 087顽主：晚上睡觉别盖太厚的被子，别穿过紧内裤，早睡早起，多想想共产主义事业。
　　 088堕落天使：人家说爱情可以改变一个人。我发现我越来越帅，越来越有魅力了。连头发也变成了金色。
　　 089小兵张嘎：你就是用条帚疙瘩下了鬼子盒子枪的罗金宝叔叔？
　　 090东成西就：我是一只小鸭子呀,依呀依呀哟……
　　 091烈火中永生：上级的姓名住址我知道，下级的姓名住址我也知道，就是不告诉你们！
　　 092平原游击队：要想抓住狐狸,必须比狐狸更狡猾。
　　 093东邪西毒：最了解你的人不是你的朋友，而是你的敌人。
　　 094董存瑞：同志们，为了新中国，为了毛主席，冲啊!
　　 095芙蓉镇：运动了，运动了……
　　 096上甘岭：要送,要送,不管花多大代价,一定要送!
　　 097平原游击队：皇军好。皇军不杀人、不放火、不抢粮食，你看这多好啊！
　　 098阿飞正传：我这一辈子不知道还会喜欢多少个女人，不到最后我也不知道会喜欢哪一个？
　　 099南征北战：又喝到家乡的水了!
　　 100林海雪原：天王盖地虎，宝塔镇河妖。莫哈莫哈，正晌午说话谁也没有家。脸红什么？精神焕发！怎么又黄了？防冷涂的蜡！这么说你是许旅长的人了？

一支小雨傘

     ＊咱二人　做陣拿著一支小雨傘
    雨越大　我來照顧你　你來照顧我
    雖然雙人行相偎　遇著風雨這呢大
    崁坎小路又歹行　咱著小心行
    你甲我　做陣拿著一支小雨傘
    雨越大　渥甲淡糊糊　心情也快活

    咱二人　做陣拿著一支小雨傘
    風越大　我來照顧你　你來照顧我
    你我雙人同心肝　不驚風雨這呢大
    黑暗小路又歹行　咱著小心行
    你甲我　做陣拿著一支小雨傘
    風越大　渥甲淡糊糊　心情也快活

    重唱　＊

    心情也快活 (x4)

Magic and a memory block

Sometimes I rather not knowing the truth. Magic is one of those rare cases. You know the magician is playing a trick on you, and with amazement you keep guessing how he did it. Even though you cannot satisfied yourself with what you could come up with, it's more interesting to have the multiple possibilities than the single truth. Because once the truth is known, the fun is spoiled.

Alexander is B's friend and a celloist who could do a few tricks, such as making a handkerchief or a coin disappear in his fist. But when asked how he does it, he'll never answers directly. Instead he'd shift your attention to something else, say, your kid. Although a bit secretive, I'd rather so.

Sometimes one tends to volunteer information unnecessarily. "I asked you to show me what you have in your pocket. You don't have to take off all your clothes!"

I was thinking about it on my way to work Friday and was cracked up with that thought. But while in the office I could nolonger remember what was so blog-worthy except for the magic part. It simply slipped out of my mind.

Then this morning, when again driving in the car on the way to work. It suddenly came back to me as something about 'volunteering information.' Somehow it just came back when I was mulling on something someone said in the radio (actually the guest was someone from Havard's Kennedy School of Government, and the topic North Korea's recent missile test).

I did say a prayer for remembering it. And this is how amazing it is even on such trivial matter.