聖誕書展2011

今次是連續兩年逛大眾書局攪的書展，地點同樣是在灣仔的會展，不同的是去年收入場費，今年則是免費。另一點有所不同，我認為比去年做得較差的是書籍分類，記得去年少部份是以出版公司分成一個個檔位，大部份書還是按題材類別來排，所以我輕易找到要看要買的單車書及音樂書。今年卻全部按出版公司來分，個別題材如旅遊要逛足每一檔才看得全。去年我買了四本書，今年？零！除了找書難，可能也和收入場費與否不無關係。

那麼這是否一無收穫？我又不覺得。記得數十年前香港和美日台相比，被認為不存在甚麼閱讀文化，書店一般都把書排得密密麻麻，工具書參考書經典作品再加一點通俗讀物就是一切；還記得爸爸說，和香港人不同，坐長途機的外國客都是人手一卷，外國機場書店生意很好。今時今日，從書展及書局可見，香港人感興趣的題材廣泛了很多，已培養出健康的閱讀文化。今天讀了介紹腕錶、單車遊青藏等書，均是本地作品，水準甚高。

一千港元樓下Android tablet使用報告

雖然不是Apple fans(對於此品牌過份及不合理地受歡迎簡直相當反感)不過一直以來卻是Apple iOS的用家。皆因在美國比Apple便宜很多很多，但功能夠用的電話及tablet，十分難找。回到香港情況很不同，一下機就看到由Twins做封面的E-Zone，介紹一千港元左右的7吋Android tablet。結果我買了最平，$899的Teclast P76ti，之後一期由官恩娜做封面的E-Zone正是用這部機示範升級Android 4.0。我已計劃升級至4.0，不過還是想使用2.3一段日子，將來可以作比較。

使用Android我是零經驗，一開始最不解的是最頂的Status bar，那些icons不是每個按下去都有用，每下載及安裝完App後出現的icons又不會自動消失，Googled才知可以把這個bar向下拉顯示icons代表的notifications，可按Clear清除 icons及notifications。另一個問題是輸入繁體中文，三個預裝的輸入法均找不到如何手寫並出繁體，想從Market安裝倉頡輸入法也找不到合適的。結果還是從預裝其中的Baidu輸入法入手，選取了常規設置中的簡繁轉換，即可手寫出繁體！（本文有一少半是在該tablet上手寫的）

尚未有解決辦法的問題還有一大堆，最嚴重的是battery life流失得頗快，不過幾小時已跌破15%出Notification，在Notification可打開Battery Usage，顯示75%用於Cell standby，問題是這是一部全無流動電話／上網功能的tablet，根本無需費電力於Cell radio之上，更麻煩的是除了該Notification無其他途徑打開Battery Usage！第一樣改的是關掉所有Mobile network的Data相關選項，下一步是嘗試幾個不同的App/widget，包括Juice Defender, NoBars, Battery Widget, Free Power Widget。Battery Widget能顯示Battery Usage頁；而Free Power Widget則可以將機轉至Airplane mode。雖然如此，電池還是流失得比期望中快，更令我失望的是Cell Standby維持在75%左右。

最後想提的問題是有些知名App，例如Rhapsody及QR Droid等，均無法在Market找到；即使裝了Market Enabler這個任用家選擇不同國家／電訊公司對應Market的App，還是找不到以上。裝了幾個免費QR Code Scanner都不能使用，可能和這部機只有一個前置鏡頭有關吧。

短短數天，也發掘了不少好App，讓我介紹／表揚下吧：
1)MapDroyd：可下載各地地圖，在機上離線(offline)使用。
2)ColorNote：簡單易用的寫note軟件。

至於Facebook, Yahoo Mail, GMail, Hotmail, Google Docs, YouTube, Amazon Kindle這些官方App，基本上都符合對那些公司的期望，沒有太多驚或喜。

東涌逸東村來回迪欣湖

「唔踩唔知身體好」繼年初在香港和老友踩單車來回大圍及大尾篤，年尾再接再厲，原班人馬encore轉戰歷史遠不如吐露港悠久的東涌逸東村來回迪欣湖路線。其實此路線比較起上次的要短，對單車技術要求亦不高，只是最後有一小段斜坡，其難度及挑戰性在於路線很迂迴曲折，不是一條單車徑踩到盡，幸好有心的發燒友把發掘出的路線透過網站（本連結）公諸於世，包括沿途拍照，圖文並茂（租車店本身亦有照片），大家既可以按圖索驥；更可以預先下載座標數據至GPS。當然，好勝的我們不願完全依賴前人，走點冤枉路又算得甚麼？

不過我的好勝心比起驚青感還是有所不及，事前曾盡力記憶路線特別蹊蹺之處，無耐歲月不饒人，能記得上的實在有限，迷路自是少不了。

該網頁作者說他邊踩邊拍照，共花了六小時；我們則是邊踩邊吹水講古，亦花了六小時！（其中一秒望到蒙嘉慧，我見到鄭伊健隨其後，所以頗為肯定那是Yoyo）

讓我也分享一點點經驗吧： 1)第一個關鍵，就是要走中石化油站旁那條極不起眼，勉強算是路的路。
2)到達那條橋，只能爬上，推，再爬下，低頭推車穿過橋底，最後再爬上；用勁抬車吧。
3)見到欣澳站，要使用和汽車相同的路線入迪，要踩馬路，見到第一個迴旋處，轉入迪士尼的方向和迪欣湖相同；到第二個迴旋處，迪士尼的方向和迪欣湖完全180度相反，請注意。

Music of the day: Dusty Porch by John Williams

This John Williams is not the famous composer (most well known for his movie soundtrack), not the famous classical guitarist but an acoustic blues musician. I am trying to learn as much as I can about acoustic blues and found his album Dusty Porch on Rhapsody. He has the classic acoustic blues sound.

Music Evolution

I have been reading a new book called "Raggin' Jazzin' Rockin': A History of American Musical Instrument Makers" and watching the documentary "Metal Evolution" recently. It's true that when you think you know a lot about certain topics, there are actually so much more than you don't know. I have listened to drums/percussions in rock/jazz/classical music all these years and just learned that cymbal was originated from the Asia Minor area years ago (i.e., modern Turkey) and was related to the goddess Cybele. The famous cymbal brand Zildjian is the last name of the Turkish alchemist, Avedis Zildjian. He applied his alchemy knowledge into making the loud sounding cymbal. Classical composers started making use of this instrument and its unique effect more and more. His descendents emmigrated to the States and worked with jazz drummers like Gene Krupa to make cymbals suitable for their needs and thus had a big impact on jazz music. I'm still reading the book. The other chapters are about other American instrument makers like Steinway, C.G.Conn......

Before watching "Metal Evolution", I've never thought of the connections between metal and classical/blues/jazz. Most metal fans know Black Sabbath was the forerunner of metal but I'm not sure how many people know the first few notes from their song that bears the same name as the band, Black Sabbath, were inspired by a theme from "Mars" of Holst's "The Planet" suite. Bruce Dickenson from Iron Maiden and Rob Halford from Judas Priest both said they got the high pitch singing and those dramatic moves they made on stages from opera. Also, virtuoso like Paganini could be considered as forefather of metal guitarists. Just like blues, a lot of metal music is based on riffs. And those screaming from blues men paved way to metal vocal. Finally, Bill Ward (drummer of Black Sabbath) cited hard pounding jazz drummers like Buddy Rich as his influence. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Highlights of the weekend: music and sports

The weekend was officially kicked off on Friday night when my daughter's piano recital started. I enjoyed her performance as well as other students'. It really reflected their dedication to music and the effort they put in. I had an early start on Saturday: biking Hillsborough with my buddy. We tried a new route: we turned into Polhemus Rd from Crystal Spring, then rode up Bunker Hill Rd. It was rather steep and we loved it. The only setback was getting a flat tire (and fell), not on the hill but on the bike path back to Foster City! Fortunately I got help from my buddy. BTW, he also shared some of his wisdom during the ride: we talked about high efficiency was causing job losses in the States. Then I told him my frustration with the cable company: I went there twice to get the faulty cable box replaced and still couldn't get one that worked! He said it was a good thing. I've helped the economy. The inefficiency was the reason that service center needed so many staff! 真是聞君一席話，勝讀十年書。

It's band practice night on Sat. I spent a few hours the night before to prepare by making a drum track for "Black Hole Sun" using WinMMA. We made some good progress that night. Really looking forward to the upcoming recital.

There were 2 championship events on Sunday (both are outside the 4 major US sports) NASCAR's Sprint Cup season concluded in Miami. Before this last race, Tony Stewart trailed Carl Edwards in the championship standing by only 3 points. And it was all about these 2 guys in the race. They finished 1-2 and Stewart won the championship. The last 10 "playoff" race of the season was really exciting to follow. I enjoyed this season. (Of course, it helped when it's not Jimmy Johnson winning the championship again)

Next, it was the MLS cup final between LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo. This is the type of final I enjoyed the most 'coz would be happy to see any of them win. Of course I was a bit happier when the Galaxy won. This could be David Beckham's final MLS game. At the end, star power prevailed: Beckham and Keane assisted Landon Donovan to score the lone and winning goal. I also want to mention one more championship event on Sat (that I didn't watch) It's the President's cup, the USA vs International team golf competition. USA clinched it when Tiger Woods won his single match. It gave me a glimpse of hope that the old Tiger will be back. This post is special because it's likely to be the last one automatically sync from 00zine to Facebook Notes. Facebook will be turning off the RSS sync functionality on 11/22. [Update: it "missed the boat" and never made it to FB]

Music of the day: Worlds Torn Asunder by Warbringer

Found this on Rhapsody Editorial:

This Cali neo-thrash quintet finds some tasty dynamics amid the machine-gun playing, exclamation-point yelling, and gallows humor of their third album.

Sounds like good old thrash metal to me.

Sports highlights: Breeder's Cup, MLS Playoff

I know we're in the middle of the college and pro football season but the most high profile game: #1 LSU vs #2 Alabama was a snoozefest. I'd rather write about 2 not-quite-mainstream events from the past weekend. First, there was a horse race, the Breeder's Cup, on Saturday. 'Game On Dude' was in the front for most of the race but Drosselmeyer came from behind and outside to beat it by a neck. Even more interesting was the back story: winning jockey Mike Smith was the ex-boyfriend of the jockey on Game On Dude, Chantal Sutherland. She is a former model and part time actress, and she would have been the first female rider to win the race. Then were semifinals of Major League Soccer in US on Sunday. I usually dislike any team from LA but Galaxy is an exception, thanks to David Beckham. They played against Real Salt Lake Sunday night, around the same time as Sunday Night Football. I had both games on and actually paid more attention to the former. So glad to see they won and going to the final, with an assist from Beckham and a goal from Robbie Keane. Their opponent in the final would be Houston Dynamo. I don't mind either team winning it all (the current Houston team was moved from San Jose originally)

Music of the day: the pop songs that my daughter knows

The Chinese channel was showing a Taiwanese drama and was playing its theme song, which is basically a generic "adaptation" of current US pop music. I asked my daughter "doesn't the chorus sound like Firework?" (Katy Perry's hit song from last year) She thought about it a bit and agreed. Then she told me the song Dynamite (which I don't like) was also very popular. I said "don't you think the verse of this song also sound like Dynamite?" It was one of the moment I felt I was so connected to my daughter and her generation.

Music of the day: 楊雪霏

一個可能令人想起台劇偶像的名字。她那散發著藝術家氣息的外表，對我來說可比擁有天使面孔（可能是人工）的台劇偶像吸引得多。楊雪霏是中國第一位進入音樂學院的古典結他演奏家，十四歲那年在馬德里演出包括Rodrigo的名曲時，Rodrigo也是坐上客！結他宗師John Williams亦欣賞楊的演奏，送了兩支他的結他給她和她就讀的音樂學院。兩年前她來SF演出我因事忙不能出席，幸好今年她重臨SF。音樂會上半部包括大家耳熟能詳改編自Bach無伴奏小提琴的Sonata No.1，幾首西班牙名家作品，包括她十四歲那年在馬德里演奏的Rodrigo作品。下半部亦同樣由舊至新，演出改編自Chopin的兩首waltz，難度奇高；新的則是巴西風：bossa nova大師Jobim以及紀念Baden Powell的作品。可見她的風格十分廣泛。我今年只看了一場古典結他音樂會，算得上貴精不貴多。

Music of the day: Bay Area Thrash

I had a post about my 1990 experience earlier this month and I'm writing another one again :P Those years were indeed special to me. I learned about my favourite bands then, e.g. Metallica, Testament, Slayer (yeah, there were some non-metal bands like the Cure, Depeche Mode and Pink Floyd) I could still remember my first metal concert, Slayer and Testament, at Austin City Coliseum 20 years ago. I headbangged all night and the neck was sore the next day :P I tried to catch Testament's concert whenever I can in the last 20 years and I've listened to every album they released (I haven't done that for any other band, not even Pink Floyd and the Beatles :P) I guess it's because of their consistency: they released a new album every few years (except 99-08 when the vocalist Chuck Billy was recovering from health issue) and they stick with their original root and never abandon their fan base by selling out like Metallica did (I mean, it's OK to experiment. OK to have a fun album like Garage Days but songs from Loaded are just lame. Even the most commercial album of Testament sounded heavy) I went to Testament's concert at Warfield last night and it was special (yeah, every concert is special :P) because it symbolized the revival of thrash metal, at its birthplace (SF Bay Area) no less! The opening bands included Death Angel, who also hailed from the Bay Area like Testament did. (BTW, they closed their set with a song, Relentless Revolution, which was indeed a reflection of our time)
Even though Testament's co-headliner Anthrax was not from the Bay Area, they talked about the heydays of thrash metal when they had concerts at Kabuki (now became a restaurant) in SF. Of course, the Warfield Theatre had its share of fame in thrash metal too: Slayer's classic concert video was shot there. If I remember correctly, this was the first time I saw Anthrax live. I actually had bought only one of their album, State of Euphoria from 1988, on a cassette (heavy metal on cassette was hard to find in HK. I didn't listen to any Testament and Slayer until my dad bought me a CD player. My classmate's older brother recorded his LP of Metallica's And Justice for All... for us.) I gotta admit I didn't enjoy Anthrax at first but a US$5 cassette was a lot of money to me and I'm willing to listen to it a few times before I put it aside forever (It's sad that in the US$0.99-per-MP3 era, music doesn't get 2nd chance) Even after a few times, I only liked the song Antisocial, which was a cover version ironically. (Yes, I learned the word from this song) I sang the loudest when Anthrax played Antisocial last night! It's also a reflection of our time: the lyric is all about greed of the riches. They are the ones that are antisocial! (BTW, the original lyric by Trust was in French and was even more critical of the dehumanizing pace of modern life and work in large cities.)
These guys are not afraid of speaking the truth and that's why I am a thrash metalhead for life!

[Update: I was wrong about the first time seeing Anthrax live. I forgot I saw the Anthrax with John Bush as vocalist live at the Roxy's in NY back in 2000]

Sports lowlights: Goodbye Dan Wheldon

I have been following the IndyCar season all year long. It was an up-and-down season for me because I hoped to see Will Power successfully challenged the 2-time defending (3-time overall) champ Dario Franchitti. Will Power had a good lead during the 1st half. Then he had a bad stretch until Franchitti suffered the same fate. Power regained his lead after the last few road courses and lost it again on oval. The race at Las Vegas on Sunday was supposed to bring the whole series to a new height by having yet another title decided on the very last race of the season. Unfortunately, 2-time Indy 500 winner and former series champ Dan Wheldon died from a 15-car crash during this race. He was a well-liked fellow on and off the track. It was a great loss of the motorsport community. For a skillful driver like him, it's strange that he didn't get to compete the full schedule of IndyCar. While he wasn't racing, he worked as an announcer for IndyCar broadcast and also helped testing the next generation chasis. Ironically, this new chasis tested by him and will be used next year is supposed to be safer in the sense that it is harder for a car hitting the end of another car and got airborned (which cause Wheldon's death) The chasis will be named after Wheldon. And he will surely be remembered by motorsports fans. RIP.

巨星隕落

我想大家都知我指的是Steve Jobs，他去世後，連日來一大堆人吹捧他為天才甚至偉人，略嫌誇張。不過以他的星級魅力，稱他為巨星，絕對實至名歸。雖然我不欣賞他公司旗下大部份產品，但一部Apple][就已贏得我對他一份尊敬。今早踩單車我特地繞道到他家憑弔，街邊已放了防止泊車及禁止汽車駛入橫街的圍欄，相信周末場面會更墟冚。以前我們為蘋果日報寫矽谷手記專欄的日子，必定會寫這單大新聞。想不到今天竟然倒過來被蘋果日報記者採訪！

My Rodeway Inn Story

Most of you knew that I've recently participated in the Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge Gran Fondo, a biking event in Santa Rosa. Thank you all for your support and advices. What I'd like to share in this post though, is a little story about the motel I stayed at before the ride (Santa Rosa is 3 hours from where I live so I decided to stay at a motel nearby the night before instead of getting up at 3am in the morning to drive there from home :P) The budget (i.e., cheap) motel chain has very special meaning to me even though I've never stay in any Rodeway Inn before last weekend. The story went way back to 1990, the year I came to University of Texas for undergrad. My family has decided to allow/sponsor me to study in US a little bit less than a year before. When I got admitted to UT and decided to study there, it was only 2-3 months before the school started (Aug 1990) Almost no one in my family and circle of friends knew much about studying in US and we pretty much prepared the whole thing on our own, based on the info/suggestion from the foreign student office of UT. Regarding housing, I found out I had way passed the deadline to apply for domitory so that was out of the equation. Foreign student office recommended me to contact the Hong Kong Student association (HKSA) immediately for help with temporary accomodation (e.g., staying at one of fellow student's place) There was also a list of motels in case I couldn't get any help. That was the days before internet was popular. I had to write a letter and mailed to the address of the chairman of HKSA. I got no reply before I boarded my flight so I was prepared for Plan B (take a cab when I touchdown to the first motel on the list, Rodeway Inn Austin)

View Larger Map In fact, I've practiced what to say to the cab driver and the motel reception in my head many times on and before the flight!

So, how come I said earlier I've never stayed at Rodeway Inn? Well, it's all because of the curiosity of one gal named Angel (Hello if you read this) It turned out the chairman was out of town and never get to read the letter. His apartment was subletted out to another dude. Angel was his girlfriend and saw the letter lying around his apt, a few hours before I arrived. For some reason (sixth sense?), she thought it might be a good idea to open and read the letter in case it has any importance (maybe because it's addressed to HKSA) They decided to help but they didn't have a car so they called another dude (nicknamed 周昌) and 周昌 arrived literally seconds before I got off the plane and heading to the taxi stand! So instead of taking cab and staying at Rodeway, I was picked up by fellow HK student and stayed at their place. Not only did I save some money, but also I got a ton of advices from them. They were so kind to even take me around to look for long-term apartment. I'm still thankful to their help after all these years.

Bye Ozzie

Referring to former Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who is expected to be "traded" from Chicago to Florida Marlins. As a White Sox fan, I'll miss him for his rants (Ozzie always has something to say no matter right or wrong) Any manager who could lead a team to win the World Series gotta be pretty good at it but I also think it's time for the Sox to part way with Ozzie. Ozzie's way has proven not working in Chicago in the past 2 seasons. Looking forward to an improved Sox in 2012!

Music of the day: Dr. Sun Yat-sen

I would have never heard of this opera if its scheduled performance in Beijing was not cancelled. Well, why did it make the news headline? This work was actually sponsored by the Hong Kong government and commissioned by its cultural department to commemerate the 100th anniversary of the revolution in China that led to the demolition of monarchy. You would think such an "official" piece must have passed all the political censors. Surprise surprise! Now I really want to hear it (maybe on CD or DVD?) The cast of the performance in Hong Kong (next month, not cancelled :P) will include the #1 tenor in HK, Warren Mok. And the story itself seems interesting (a love story in disguise!) enough.

Sports highlights: Football, NASCAR Championship Chase #1, last IndyCar race in Japan

My Texas Longhorns had a down year last year. Losing to UCLA at home was a low-light. Fortunately we won the rematch this year convincingly. Coupled with a few upsets at the top, Texas has finally returned to Top 20. I know it's a long road for us to climb all the way back up but this is good progress. Our new QB is Colt McCoy's brother. I hope he's the real deal. There were actually quite a few Texas-California matchup this weekend. Another big game was of course Dallas Cowboys visiting 49ers in SF. I didn't have too much faith in Da Boys based on the poor performance last season as well as this season's opener. On the other hand, 49ers were supposed to be improving. And the new coach Jim Harbaugh, who had success in college, certainly brought the team some positive vibes. I was so glad to see Cowboys overcoming adversity to beat the Niners.
I didn't watch either game though. My only available time was spent on the 2 races. First, IndyCar in Japan was expected to be the race where Will Power could finally overtaken the point lead from Dario Franchitti and this was indeed the case. And this was actually indirectly affected by the earthquake earlier this year! When IndyCar races at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, it usually races at the oval track rather than the road course (Yes, Motegi has a special design that features 2 tracks). However, the oval track was damaged by the earthquake so the race was held on the road course instead, where Will Power usually performed well. In fact, he won the (Mario Andretti) trophy for being the best IndyCar road course driver 2 years in a row! Now there are only 2 more races left this season. I still think Franchitti has a better chance to win the overall championship because he outperforms Power on oval more than Power outperforms him on road courses. And both races left are on oval :(
There are nine more races left this season for NASCAR, after the 1st race of the chase completed on Monday (it was postponed from Sunday because of the rain) Just when it looked like Jimmie Johnson was gonna win and had a good headstart for his sixth consecutive championship (BORING!), there was a caution (It almost seemed like all cautions benefitted JJ but this one didn't) Tony Stewart got to the front and won this race that was decided by fuel mileage. JJ actually ran out of gas and got a bad finish. I was also glad to see that Dale Earnhardt Jr. got on the podium and improved his position in the championship chase from last to 6th. Can't wait to watch the next race!

Musicians of the day: Arch Enemy

I've recommended their music before. I'm a big fan but this post is beyond music.

Arch Enemy has joined forces with the worldwide human rights organization Amnesty International to help raise awareness of social injustices around the world. Amnesty International booths will be present at many of the upcoming dates on Arch Enemy’s headlining US tour, “North American Khaos 2011,” to hand out flyers and accept fans’ signatures in support of the cause.

Arch Enemy vocalist, Angela Gossow, stated, “We have invited Amnesty International to join us on the ‘North American Khaos’ tour to help raise awareness for defending human rights, freedom of speech, and saving lives. We are living in very extreme and turbulent times and it is important to take a stand. We hope one day everybody is allowed to freely say what they think, that no government has the right to punish and kill those who do not conform and that those who are oppressing the masses will be brought to justice. It will be a long and hard struggle, but it’s a goal worth fighting for. The metal scene is non-conformist, alternative and revolutionary – We know how to practice what others preach. So let’s go out there and support the cause!

Here is the link.

Greatest guitarists of all time

I have been hearing this term a lot lately because the local jazz (and a little bit blues) radio station is planning for an all-day tribute to B.B.King soon. It keeps mentioning B.B. as the #3 Greatest guitarists of all time. So I got really curious and wonder who else would be on the list, especially #1 and #2. (I googled and found that "the list" being referred to was published by the Rolling Stones magazine in 2003) I could easily think of Hendrix being #1. However, who should be between Hendrix and BB? To me, Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page are all great guitarists but I won't put them higher than BB. I thought of Wes Montgomery or Paul McCartney. (BTW, George Harrison was #21 on the list. I should have thought of him as the representative for the Beatles. Sir Paul's main role was bassist and certainly belongs to the Top 10 bassists of all time. He did play lead guitar on a few Beatle's songs.) So, who's #2 according to the magazine? Duane Allman (of The Allman Brothers Band!) I gotta admit I don't know enough about Southern rock to tell whether he deserves it or not but this choice was definitely controversial (e.g. this post)

While researching the topic, I came across a post regarding top overrated guitarists. This list has Slash on #5 (I agree. Both him and Axl Roses didn't do much after Appetite for Destruction) and Jimmy Page on #1. The latter was a bit shocking to me but that writer had a point: Led Zeppelin's biggest hit, Stairway to Heaven, might not be all that original.

Sports highlights: IndyCar at Sonoma

I watched the NASCAR race at the same track (Infineon) earlier this year and I thought I watched enough live racing this year. I hate to admit this but I enjoyed watching races on TV more than live because TV has better coverage of the race and has different angles. It was a pleasant surprise when Infineon raceway sent me a free ticket to the IndyCar race as a gift (maybe because of me attending the NASCAR race?) When I arrived, I actually got to choose my seat and I just told the ticket lady to give me a good one. My seat was at Turn 9, which was indeed about as good as you could get at Infineon (even better than the grandstand where you can't see the uphill battle at the first turns.) There were a few things notable about this race: (1) it's the last IndyCar race for Danica at Infineon before she jumps to NASCAR next year (and I don't expect her to be racing on a road course that she's not good at next year for NASCAR too)

Danica didn't do well during the race and got lapped. (2) it's the first IndyCar race featuring a Chinese driver, Ho-Pin Tung. His day was not bad until he crashed near the end of the race.

It was actually a kinda boring race. The Top 5 starting cars ended the race in the same order (in fact, the order almost remained the same throughout the race other than during pit cycles) The race was similar to the one last year which #12 Will Power also led from the beginning to the end. I was glad that the winner was the driver I rooted for.

My week in Maui

0 post here for 2 weeks! Well, I have not abandoned my 00zine blog but I have been busy blogging over at http://bigmaui.blogspot.com/ Please check it out.

RIP Jani Lane

From the biggest hit song of Jani Lane's old band, Warrant:

Heaven isn't too far away
Closer to it everyday
No matter what your friends might say

Lies that bands tell

That's the topic of a blog post by Alex Skolnick. To be honest, I would not have read it if it's not written by Skolnick, who is my guitar hero (He plays lead in the legendary metal band Testament. And BTW, he also plays jazz) I'm glad that I read it because it's insightful, coming from someone who has been in the music business for so long. What he said makes a lot of sense: bands craft their image carefully and always show you the side they want you to see that would advance their career. I mean, it would be strange if that's not the case!

Sports highlights: Aussies ruled

I'm not talking about Aussie Rule Football but the 3 winners of 3 races during the past weekend, all Australians! First we saw Cadel Evans edged out Andy Schleck during the time trial stage to win the Tour De France. He was in the third place behind both Schleck brothers but erased the deficit by his exceptional performance during this stage. Then I saw Casey Stoner winning the MotoGP US Grand Prix live at Laguna Seca raceway (near Monterey)! The track was long and it was hard to watch live. I basically hiked back and forth the hilltop to follow the frontrunners but it was great seeing Stoner making two passes to claim victory. Finally, another Aussie, Will Power, won the IndyCar race at Edmonton. Power has always been good on IndyCar's road races but it is still tough for him to bounce back from his poor result at the previous race (also on road course. His rival Dario Franchitti ran into him and ruined his race)

California Audio Show

I took last Friday off to attend this show. Audio equipments always have a special place in my life, all the way back from the days I listened to mono earphone out from a portable cassette player. During my glorious audiophile days in late 90s, I had a turntable, vacuum tube amps setup with a decent pair of speakers. That was the first time I attended a Hifi show, hosted by the biggest name in audio business, the Stereophile magazine, in St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco. That show only comes to SF every few years and I went to another in 2003. This California Audio show is hosted by a lesser known company at a less fancy hotel (Crowne Plaza in Burlingame) but there was no lack of big names. There are a few things I like about hifi show: 1) I get to listen to extremely expensive equipments, 2) the shows usually feature live performances, 3) audiophile-grade CD were being demo-ed and promoted. No exception this time. The usual suspect of outrageously expensive speakers like Wilson Audio and MBL were all there. A pair of Acappala speakers (with horns) went for $80k. On the other hand, I also listened to some very reaonably priced speakers like the small bookshelf Martin Logan ($800 a pair) and Audio Space LS3/5A ($1800/pr) and everything in between, like Anthony Gallo and Sony. The latter was a big surprise. Even though Sony has a good reputation in terms of sound quality for their consumer products, they are only well-known for their CD players among high-end audiophiles. The Sony speakers at the show did its job of making a statement: Sony is capable of playing the high-end game too (just that they don't play it often, especially outside Japan) Another observation I had is that digital file-based media is on the rise. It was non-existent at the 97 show and barely present at the 03 show but it is getting its share (a smaller one) alongside CD and vinyl. Many demo-ed solutions with iPod docks or harddrives for music storage, and iPad as controller. The highlights for me were Blue Coast Record's room and 2 live recording demo sessions. During these sessions, they recorded live musicians playing there and playback the recordings to the audiences right after. It was very educational. And I enjoyed guitarist Greg James' playing a lot.

Musicians of the day: The Great Guitars!

That's the name of the trio of jazz guitarists Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd. Of course, they lived up to the high standard of that name. I enjoyed the DVD of their concert a lot. Guitar Player, the magazine, has made available theirinterview dated back to 1974 from the archive. It was a good read.

Local sports radio newcomer FM95.7

I found this station when I was looking for Oakland A's radio broadcast this season (like the Raiders, these team changes radio station almost every season, which is not the case of their crosstown neighbours, the Giants and 49ers) Surprisingly it's a full-time sports radio station and it's on FM, not an usual combination! And it's growing on me. I used to listen to AM680 or 1050 (when they do not simulcast) a lot but they have lost quite a bit of my time to the newcomer. I enjoy the shows featuring Dan Dibley (formerly 680) and Chris Townsend covering A's. It's always good to have competitions.

Sports highlights: NASCAR at Sonoma

There are a few interesting sport events in the weekend: Super 15 Rugby playoff began its first round, the wildcard round. Those follow NFL would be familiar with this format: top 2 seeds get a bye week with the next 4 seeds playing each other. Both the Crusaders (they are like the recent years' Patriots of NFL) and the Blues advanced. The next weekend will be even more exciting. It was also fun watching the Giants swept the Indians despite their low-scoring offense.
The biggest highlight for me though, is watching NASCAR Sprint Cup race live at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, for the first time in my life :D Here were a few of my observations:
- The most popular driver seems to be Jeff Gordon, who was born in Vallejo, a city nearby. He got a tons of cheer, especially near the end of the race, where he reeled in cars in front of him one-by-one and eventually finished 2nd, after not being that competitive most part of the race.
- The least popular driver is definitely Kyle Busch. He was boo-ed during introduction. And when his car hit Montoya's and sent both spinning right in front of our section (turn 3) late in the race, lots of people cheered :P
- These cars are powerful and required tons of skills to drive. Even for a slight turn (like those described on mapping websites) that seems to be a no-brainer to go through, some lines were better than others. In fact, most drivers picked a particular line, which apparently is a good one.

蘑菇山遊記

前幾天再闖Stevens Creek水塘，今次不環塘，而是一嘗本地著名斜路Montebello Rd（不知為何該路名總令我想起蘑菇，其實portobello才是一種蘑菇的名稱！）感覺上該路比我以前踩過的都要辛苦，因為既長且斜。4.5英里上斜有3英里都很斜！翻查斜路排行榜，原來Montebello排名比大名鼎鼎的Old La Honda要高，卻稍遜於早前上過的Mt Hamilton（雖然我覺得今次上Montebello斜一點，可能Mt Hamilton從另一邊上更斜，或者排名和路的長度有關，從SJ上Mt Hamilton超過11英里）上到一半，往下一望，水塘已小得像面盆；忽然想起曾經爬過我頭的車手應該是時候下山吧，為甚麼沒見到？心中不禁一寒，唯有唱唱歌壯膽，立時想到：
獨自在山坡　高處未算高
命運在冷笑　暗示前無路
浮雲遊身邊　發出警告
我高視闊步

雖知此山頭　猛虎滿佈
膽小非英雄　決不願停步
冷眼對血路　寂寞是命途
明月映山岡　倍覺孤高

Musicians of the day: Stan Killian and David Binney

Both are jazz saxophonists. Killian plays tenor while Binney plays alto. I found this good review on Stan Killian's recent album, Unifed. David Binney plays alto on three of the tracks. While on Rhapsody, I also checked out a CD with David Binney as leader called Cities and Desires from 2006. It's a very interesting concept: each tune is about a different city, including LA, Rome, Montreal, London, Lisbon... etc.

Music of the day: And I Love Her

So, which cover version of this great Beatles' hit am I talking about? It's jazz guitarist Pat Metheny's version from his new album "What's it all about" just released this month. I heard it on the local jazz radio station KCSM this morning. What a surprise! I thought the days of discovering new CDs by listening to "traditional" radio have gone. Aren't we all rely on the new online media/channels/services like iTunes and Pandora? I don't think so. From my experiences, these services tend to recommend stuff I knew already or I'm not interested. For example, after I listened to Katy Perry, I'd get recommendations for Kelly Clarkson and Lady Gaga, who aren't my cup of tea. After I "favourite" Joe Pass, I keep hearing, guess who, Joe Pass! I think "hand picked" recommendation still has its place this day of age. I recently read that Pat Metheny said "A big chunk of early jazz history was largely improvising using chord tones and improvising around the melody. Those are two valuable entry points" I definitely hear a lot of the latter.

Sports highlights: Congrat to Dallas Mavericks, the new NBA Champ

I gotta admit I'm not really a basketball fan but as a sports junkie I do follow NBA news. After all, basketball is probably the second most popular sports in the world (next to football) and US (next to American Football) My favourite NBA team is the Houston Rockets (watched legendary center Hakeem Olajuwon and coach Rudy Tomjanovich winning 2 titles in the 90s) but I'm happy to see the other teams from the great state of Texas winning the title as well (like the Spurs did it 4 times in the past decade) Now the Dallas Mavericks have joined the rank of NBA Champ as well. I guess I'm in the majority rooting for the Mavs because (1) LeBron James is the most hated sports star in US after his move to Miami. This bitter comment he made says it all (see the responses here) and (2) players like Dirk Nowitzki deserves a title (just like David "The Admiral" Robinson did it with the Spurs)

Sports highlights: "green" auto racing!

4 of the races I watched during the past 2 weekends all came down to the drivers who were able to save fuel! First, at Indy 500 we saw all those pre-race favourites ran out of fuel and had to pit. Too bad the rookie JR Hildebrand, who was leading and still had fuel left, was not able to pull off a victory because he crashed on the last corner of the very last lap. Unfortunately, his name will be in the history book forever for one of the biggest choke job ever (Another one was French golfer Jean Van de Velde squandering his 3 shot lead on the last hole at the British Open in 1999.) The race actually started out seeming to be yet another boring race in which Dario Franchitti wins again by taking advantage of Will Power's mistake (who drove off the pit road when one wheel was still not completely on yet.) Power ended up finished higher than Franchitti at Indy and actually improved his lead in the overall season standing. Later on that day we had the NASCAR race, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte, also decided by fuel strategy. The late race caution never came (everybody was planning to refuel then) Dale Earnhardt Jr almost won it except he ran out of fuel on the last lap and finished 7th. Who could have predicted the next NASCAR race at Kansas also has to do with Dale Jr and fuel? Again, the leaders had to pit and refuel which allowed Brad Keselowski and Dale Jr to come to the front and they finished 1-2. The Nationwide race on the same weekend at Chicagoland was ended similarly except the front runner Carl Edwards ran out of fuel on the last lap and was thus caught up by Justin Allgaier, who also ran out of the fuel later but coasted across the finish line with a victory. I have been rooting for Allgaier this season. He went through some tough times when he lost his ride because his sponsor Verizon was forced out of NASCAR. Of course, the media's focus was Danica Patrick's brief return to NASCAR (this is just one race in between her IndyCar "breaks") BTW, even though I am a fan of hers, the coverage of her leading Indy 500 for a few laps because her team decided to pit last in the cycle was a bit too much.

Movie of the day: Princess and the Frog

We watched this movie at the BlueLight Cinema in Cupertino (ticket costs only $3.75!) I thought it would just be a rehash of the good old version of the story but it turns out to be quite different. Even though it's still full of stereotype and political correctness like your usual Disney movie, I did enjoy it. How could I not like a movie that played a lot of Dixieland jazz as background music? It's too dark for my kid's taste though.

美國人也反高鐵

和香港一樣，在加州力推的高鐵計劃也遇到重重阻力。
這位史丹福史學家指出過去美國政府推行的鐵路計劃，效果欠佳；今次恐怕又會重蹈覆轍。得益者只會是政客及建築商，不會是普羅大眾。他又指政界經常引為模範的中國高鐵，乘客增長率亦遠遜預期。

Music of the day: Chinese classical music

I found this Chinese classical music radio program by accident (got a link to listen to another RTHK program) It seems to be a biweekly broadcasted ~15 minute program. Good for casual fan like me. (Another choice would be the DJ-less stream that is available on Shoutcast)

Sports highlights: NASCAR at Darlington, Lakers swept, Man U defeated Chelsea plus more

The most exciting moment I watched was Regan Smith winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington. The race wasn't much until the final laps, when big crash wiped out Kevin Harvick and teammate Clint Bowyer. Pit strategy came into picture: the leader Carl Edwards and most decided to take 2 new tires while the rest gambled by taking none. Regan Smith was among the latter group and the gamble paid out! He restarted first and maintained his lead over Edwards until he got the checkered flag. It's nice to see one-car team like his beating the big guns from Roush Fenway, Hendrick and Childress.
I didn't watch the game at all but I was really happy to hear that the hated Lakers (well, by most people outside SoCal, especially NoCal people like me) was swept by Dallas Mavericks. It's no fun to see the same team winning over and over again...... unless you are a fan of that team, which, in my case, applies to Man U closing in on another EPL title again, by beating the 2nd place Chelsea 2-1. Go Man U!
This might not be the biggest headline on the Sports section but we have lost a golf legend, Seve Ballesteros, this weekend. He was a well-known great golfer way before I started following golf but he always showed his charisma whenever he's on TV. I remember him captaining the European team to victory in 1997. Another sad piece of news was that cyclist Wouter Weylandt died at Giro d'Italia. May them rest in peace.

Music of the day: Nicole Scherzinger performs Black Dog with Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience

Nicole rocks on this song! (Well, I'm totally biased because she's Lewis Hamilton's gf. Not sure if I will be as positive if it's anyone else)

潭巫排山遊記

古籍有云：「地神倒海，潭巫排山」位於三藩市以北的Mount Tamalpais，據說就是出自這個典故；又有另一說法，指山中水潭旁邊一排排參天紅木，乃係女巫棲身之所，故名。（以上當然本人老作。不過這座山有不少傳說倒是事實，既有睡美人之稱，亦和女巫有關。詳見維基百科）星期天一早五時半起床，六時開車前往北灣Marin縣的Fairfax市，一路交通暢通無阻，途經三藩市，這麼早好像還是第一次！七時半和其他三名車友集合，八時正式出發踩單車！一開始便爬山，頭四里已爬了差不多900呎，跟著輕鬆下山三里，到達Alpine Lake的水壩，風光不俗。不過好戲在後頭！接著十里路要爬1700呎，一段路上上落落七次，遊人稱之為七姊妹（不是老作）。在Tamalpais山頂遠眺三藩市金門橋及海灣，景致更佳！論風景、好玩（及辛苦）程度，比上次上南灣Mount Hamilton Lick Observatory有過之而無不及。

其中一名車友是新相識，踩起車來一點都不似實際年齡（五十幾），他在該地玩山地車(mountain bike)比山地車老祖Gary Fisher還要早！玩公路車(road bike)亦同樣了得，我今次獲益良多。除了單車，此君亦熱愛高爾夫球及滑雪，當然亦甚擅長。其實另外兩位車友亦是興趣多多，樣樣皆精。此行我有些感想：（一）中國人一向認為：「勤有功，嬉無益」「書中自有黃金屋」又曰：「玩物喪志。」今時今日我想不能一成不變地跟從。靠顯赫學歷飛黃騰達之士，固然不少。但條條大路通羅馬，只要有拼勁，就有機會創一番事業。要鍛鍊拼勁，靠體育音樂等「課外活動」又何嘗不可？這幾位車友從小就熱衷於運動，如今皆事業有成，想必有點關係。

（二）本地熱門的單車路線，我都去過不少，包括Los Altos Hills,Portola Valley,Woodside,Hillsborough,Stevens Creek Reservoir,Mt Hamilton,加上今次Marin County一役，發覺這些地方有一個共通點：附近一定是有錢人聚居地！如果說有錢人喜歡踩單車，所以發掘了屋企附近的單車路線，並將之發揚光大，未免說不通；皆因玩單車豐儉由人，昨天路上看到不少租的單車，都不是高價貨色（我的單車更不在話下）另一個解釋，是熱門單車路線多數風景宜人，有山有水，這些地方附近的房子，自然平極有限。

最後想講講早幾天放假另一次單車「旅程」：我心目中由Palo Alto過Dumbarton bridge到Fremont下Milpitas沿237旁小路經Great America到Moffett上Mountain View回Palo Alto的50里大圈算是一個壯舉；尤其想一試踩單車過揼爸藤橋的滋味，即使該路線好評不多。試完之後，的確不想推介給其他車友，因為（一）只得平路（二）要跨過幾條大highway的intersection（三）風十分大。

以下是這兩次的路線圖：

Bay loop over Dumbarton Bridge

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Music of the day: Eliesha Nelson performing complete viola works by Quincy Porter

This album won a Grammy this year (for best engineered album, but the performance itself is also superb. It's music by modern composer that doesn't sound too weird to most. Read the reviews on my link) I learned about this album when I was reading about Grammy reducing its number of awards, including some from the Classical category. This particular award seems to stay but the 2 best solo instrumentalist performance, with or without orchestra, will be combined into one. I guess the consolidation makes sense.
Speaking of viola, the Northern California Viola Society will be hosting a few workshops, at which participants will be playing a new viola piece together. Check out their blog for more details.

春爆遊記

又到一年一度「奉旨」放假的Spring Break，過去連續兩年都回香港，今年因為政府派六千元細節未定，加上剛在聖誕節回過（元氣大傷），所以決定貢獻給本地經濟。
總共拿了四天假，第一天早上帶小朋友去看電影HOP，主角是一隻不願乖乖繼承父業的復活節兔。電影班底據講來自Despicable Me，但情節舖排就遠遜於後者，不過小朋友沒有太計較。下午趁空檔去踩了一轉單車，由於只得四小時空檔，加上半夜要出車，結果選擇了較為簡單的路線：沿相當平直的Foothill南下Stevens Creek水塘，經Mt. Eden繞一圈再北上接回Foothill，水塘路段總算有點斜。
星期三凌晨三時出車，主要目標是聖地牙哥動物園。計劃是星期四一早到該處玩到下午，星期三如何打發？我們選擇了先到LA（正確來說是Arcadia）吃餐好的（鼎泰豐小籠包始終有水準，其餘的牛肉麵及蒸餃不過不失，紅豆rice cake就麻麻地）然後到Malibu（正確來說是Pacific Palisades）參觀Getty Villa。我們在兩年前參觀過LA的Getty Center， 覺得搞得不錯。雖然不是件件頂級珍藏，但建築本身相當有特色及氣派，派發的小冊子亦吸引小朋友探索藝術館各處。Getty Villa其實是Getty Center的前身，建築模仿古羅馬湮沒於火山灰中舊城大宅，所以極具特色，不枉一行。
下午三點半離開Malibu，遇上避無可避的大塞車，七時終於抵達聖地牙哥市中心的酒店。到酒店前經過一堆政府建築（法院及監獄），有點赫人，不過酒店其實也很接近食肆林立的蒲點Gaslamp Quarter，我們快快check-in就到了那裡，幾經辛苦找到一間menu頗為啱小朋友口味的意大利餐廳Operacaffe，結果也頗為啱大朋友口味！
星期四依計劃到動物園，先坐一坐圍園行走的巴士（下次最好坐右邊）了解一下路線，見熊貓無人排隊，決定以牠們作第一站，之後再按小朋友要求看他們有興趣的動物。其實動物園的安排不盡合理，如先看熊貓，基本上看其他動物就要走上走落走不少冤枉路，總算運動個夠吧！晚餐查了一陣網上reviews，選擇了可免費泊車的Joe's Crabshack。那裡是碼頭，景色不錯。我們叫了兩籃蟹，多得差點吃不完！飯後我一人再闖Gaslamp：除了食肆外，還有很多live music bar。我去了Jimmy Love's及Croce's。前者大概比蘭桂坊水準高一點，在後者演出的小號手Gilbert Castellanos及其latin jazz樂隊確係有料，收五元cover charge也值回票價。
最後一天高層指示要去名字相當配合春爆的爆煲園（Balboa Park），我下載了Balboa Park的app，發現其中有不少景點值得一遊。出發之前又再到Gaslamp Quarter的Cafe 21吃個brunch，店主夫婦來自亞塞拜疆，倒沒有期待omelette同pancake有太多西亞風味。餐後順道行行露天商場Horton Plaza然後出車。不得不提聖地牙哥的路牌做得頗差，前一天由動物園回downtown，其實路程極短，但指示奇差，白白浪費了半小時。這次由downtown去Balboa Park（其實動物園是Balboa Park的一部份），又兜了一大段路。
不過見到那個品種繁多、目不暇給的玫瑰園，心情頓覺開朗！欣賞完大自然後，輪到欣賞人工產物，就是博物館那堆建築物，都甚有特色。而在頗熱的天氣下，賣Hawaiian Shave Ice的街邊檔更覺合適。之後參觀了全球最大的室內模型火車展覽館，心境永遠年輕的我和小朋友同樣看得興奮。最後我們去了免費的美術館和植物園（温室），才踏上那長達十小時的歸途（因為途經LA，小不免塞車兩小時。）
照片連結在此。

出奇遊記

出奇是我為加州及內華達州交界的城市Truckee改的中文譯名（靈感抄自香港Chuck E Cheese的中文名）是次旅程亦名副其實地充滿奇趣（請看下文）
我因為這次旅行請了一天假（星期五），預備在下午開車到Truckee；早上有五小時空檔，決定「遠征」嚮往已久的Lick Observatory，該天文台座落於海拔四千英尺的Mount Hamilton。我先開車到半山（海拔二千英尺）的Joseph D. Grant County Park



然後踩11英里單車到山頂。上山的路徑巧合地分為兩段：前段在3.7里開始稍為回落至4.8里，騎者可以回一回氣，後段約6里基本上不停的爬山。我全程來回用了三小時，在正午返回起點，匆匆回家。
一時半終於起程，行680過了Concord才想起全家人人都有帶備厚褸，準備在滑雪場穿著，但我卻忘了，只帶了一件薄風褸。連忙上網找附近的Walmart，打算買件新褸；按地圖指示出Fairfield卻找不到（只見Jelly Bean工廠Jelly Belly，準備下次去參觀），唯有作罷。在Sacremento前後塞車塞了好一陣子，幸好之後無驚無險，找到友人一早預訂了的度假屋。同行的三家朋友其中兩家比我們早出發先到達，已經開始煮美味的晚餐（包括牛扒）飯後一同觀賞十多年前拍下的旅行及派對錄像，看到大家當年的老樣子，好笑得不得了。
第二天（星期六）是今次旅程的戲肉：帶一班小朋友到Squaw Valley滑雪！小朋友一身裝備，專心聽導師指示，努力在雪地上一展身手，實在可貴（師兄指可匹敵一支Hillside Select）。午飯後，又到Tahoe Donner的Recreation Center玩雪(tubing & sledding)，我們幾位大人反反覆覆拉那些tubing坐的大「水泡」（類似救生圈）上坡，總算消耗了不少連日吃下肚的美食。我雖然沒有厚褸，幸好事先pack好一件base layer，一件fleece（這些都是我在冷天氣踩車常穿的），再加一件長袖Tee及薄風褸，總算抵得住雪場出奇地不算太冷的天氣(50至60度華氏）只是沒有冷帽，寒風冷雨撲面不太好受。所以在雪場不少時間躲在Starbucks或入口接待處的長凳，用免費wifi上網，看看Cricket世界盃決賽戰況。晚上當然是繼續享用美食美酒！
第三天沒有安排出外活動，不用趕著七時叫醒全屋起床，幾位大廚慢慢出招炮製brunch：包括腸蛋，鰻魚risotto，焗雞等等，還有牛扒壓軸！飽餐一頓，一時左右大家收拾好（包括心情）離開，回程竟然沒遇上甚麼大塞車，四小時左右就回到家。出奇之旅圓滿結束。

Sports highlights: NASCAR and more NASCAR news

I was out of town this weekend and for some strange reason my DVR didn't record the Martinsville NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Sunday so I missed all those passes that sound exciting near the end of the race: Earnhardt Jr. passed Kyle Busch and then got passed by the eventual winner, Kevin Harvick. I did watch another eventual winner, Johnny Sauters, passing Kyle Busch, in the truck race on Friday, 'coz the place we stayed at has Speed Channel available. Another Kyle Busch related story is even bigger: former F1 champ Kimi Raikonen will be racing with the truck team owned by Busch! He'll be joining another former F1 driver, Nelson Piquet Jr., in that series. What's the motivation for him to race in the States? The money? Or the challenge? Who knows?

TV News goes Hollywood

The title refers to the news media coverage of the Fukushima nuclear crisis after tsunami hit Japan. You gotta admit that TV nowadays tend to picture the crisis like a Hollywood disaster movie. I think it's more likely than not that it is exaggerated, even though I'm no nuclear expert and have my own share of fear about how bad it could get. I like this quote from this article:

Not so long ago, the professionals showed all the deferential, forelock-tugging paternalism of the dept of "Keep Calm And Carry On". That era lasted into the 1960s. Now the driving force is the notion that "We're all DOOMED – and it's ALL OUR FAULT" that marks almost every news bulletin.

Sports highlights: auto racing

It's all about auto racing this weekend (yeah, I know "The tournament" is going on but who cares about VCU and Butler :P) Both Formula 1 and IndyCar's new season started on Sunday. I didn't watch the former but judging by the result I haven't missed much (The 2 cars started 1st and 2nd finished 1st and 2nd. How exciting!) IndyCar's race at St. Petersburg was slightly less predictable: the 2 cars started 2nd and 1st finished 1st and 2nd. What was predictable was that the broadcast focused way too much on Danica Patrick (that's an objective assessment. As a fan of her, I really didn't mind the focus. After all, I want to know where she was during the race most of the time and what happened to her car) The unpredictables were that Tony Kanaan (the former champ who just joined a new team this season) and Simona De Silvestro (the 2nd year "another female" driver) both did so well, finishing 3rd and 4th. In fact, the only battle worth watching was between these 2 at the end of the race. On the other hand, NASCAR delivered yet another exciting finish this season, with 3 drivers fighting for 1st during the last lap at the Southern California race. And we almost have the 3 series champion (Vettel, Franchitti, Johnson) winning all 3 races on Sunday if not for Kevin Harvick spoiling the party at the last seconds. For a moment I thought Kyle Busch was gonna win again (At the races I watched in the past 2 years, he was hard to beat when he had a lead near the end of the race) but he was passed by yet another Hendrick Motorsports driver (Jeff Gordon passed him in the 2nd race this season to win and Jimmie Johnson passed him this time) Just when we thought JJ was gonna have his 1st victory this season, Harvick took advantage and passed both of them. What a finish!

The SFJAZZ center: good for the music?

I am subscribed to SFJAZZ's newsletter (it's because I've probably been to one of the jazz concerts organized by them) and found out last week that there is a plan to build a dedicated center for this organization, with concert hall (to host their jazz concerts, of course), recording studio and offices for their staff, right at the heart of the "art and culture" district of San Francisco, near the symphony hall and opera house. They are getting funding to build it. One of the fund is a matching one (i.e., when others donate a certain amount, the fund will donate the same) On one hand, as a jazz fan, I'm excited to see jazz getting its recognition as a high-art form on par with classical and opera. I had the impulse to donate because of the matching fund. However, is having a dedicated building the best way to promote the music? After all, there are already plenty of venues for jazz music. I'm just worried that it will become a white elephant. Will maintanence of such a building result in higher ticket prices or musicians receiving less of the cut? I think instead of donating I'll just attend more jazz shows to support the scene.

Topic of the day: FM 92.3 abandoned rock (again)

Classical radio station KDFC moving from the frequency 102.1 to 90.3 earlier this year was a surprise to me, and it was not a pleasant one because it used to have decent signal strength through out the SF Bay Area but you can't receive it in South Bay anymore after the switch. I haven't done much frequency surfing for a long time until then. And that's when I found out KSJO 92.3 was broadcasting alternative rock again. I started listening to 92.3 way back as it is one of the few rock station but I stopped in 2004 when it was switched to Mexican oldies format. It seems that the station was sold and switch back to rock in 2009 but I just found out recently. Well, it has abandoned rock again. Back in 2004 when the switch to Spanish happened, I wrote about the company was chasing the growing market of Spanish listener at that moment. Back then I was wondering if Chinese will be next, after Spanish. Well, my prediction was right on! Yes, 92.3 is broadcasting Mandarin pop music now. Now it's time to move my preset to another frequency. And I won't be the only one judging by the responses here.

Topic of the day: fast food and health

I always think those ultra-health conscious people are no fun and refuse to be one of them. However, I am way past the age that I could just eat without considering the effect to my health. High cholesterol and diabetes, to name a few, are serious threats that we should not ignore. As a result, I do limit my visits to fast food chains (yes, the Jack in the box burger and KFC I had earlier this month was G-Double O-D good) I also avoid taking kids to fast food chains as much as possible (sorry, no happy meal toys if I'm taking care of you) Two recent news that were related to food and health caught my attention: a runner is having McD food for a whole month before the upcoming marathon and the spokesperson of Heart Attack Grill died from pneumonia at the age of 29

Let me start with the first one. Not sure if you have watched the documentary "Super Sized Me," which documented how eating nothing but McD's food (and super size whenever possible) could affect one's health. What this marathon runner did seems like trying to contradict that movie at a first glance. However, he is preparing for the marathon and running 100 miles per week! By burning all those calories, the effect of fast food might not be that obvious. Moreover, he's picked the relatively healthier items on McD's menu, like chicken sandwiches.

Again, not sure if you have heard of Heart Attach Grill. It's a hospital themed restaurant at which waitresses dress like nurses and serve food with extra high calorie contents (e.g. a burger with 8000 calories. I dunno how many miles you need to run to burn that off! My bike computer says I burn ~1500 calories when biking for 25 miles. And it probably overestimates. Go figure!) It's a little bit extreme to say the government should ban such restaurant. On the other hand, obese people are known to be more likely to get pneumonia so it's hard to say his death is not related to his lifestyle.

Sports highlights: NASCAR surprises in Phoenix and Vegas

The sports week started with Jeff Gordon winning the Sprint Cup series race in Phoenix and ended with Danica Patrick finished 4th in the Nationwide series race in Vegas. Jeff Gordon is 5th on the all-time NASCAR's winner list. So it should not have been a big surprise except he hasn't won in his 66 prior races. And this victory was an impressive one as he battled the talented Kyle Busch at the end. Busch was really good at late race restarts usually and had won 2 other events on the same track that weekend already. It sounded like lots of fans rooted for Gordon to win and I was one of them, which was another mild surprise, because Gordon dominated NASCAR in the 90s to the point that it got really boring (just like Jimmie Johnson did in the past few years) More surprising was Danica's good finish. This race really showcased her skills as you could see her passing other cars with confidence. And it's a continuation of the trend started this season: she looked much more comfortable racing stock cars than last year. Obviously she learned a lot from her experiences. BTW, it was nice to see Mark Martin winning that race. He is a class act. Also glad to see Justin Allgaier finished 2nd. This guy got talent.

GDC = Game Developers Conference

Just found out what those people I saw near SF Shopping Center (and at the food court) on Monday afternoon were! A lot of them were wearing a big badge with the big letters GDC. While there were a whole bunch of Asians, there were also a good amount of Caucasians. And I just read this article mentioning it being held at the nearby Moscone (Conference Center. BTW, the article was about one of the company attending the conference used balloons to promote its new game but drew heavy criticism because all those balloons went into the bay!) I have not been to the downtown shopping area since X'mas. Sad to see that yet another store was closing: the big Borders bookstores inside SF Shopping Center. I bought two magazines at 40% off. All those stores in that area with stuff that interested me seem to have gone out of business: CompUSA, the Virgin Megastore, Cody's, Stacey's and now Borders! It seems that only stores that sell clothes and food could survive these days! (I heard from the news that Old Navy didn't do well though) Things like books/music/movies have all gone online. (Even the Blockbuster in my neighbourhood is going out of business!)

山坡路遊記

Hillsborough正式中文譯名不知是甚麼，山坡路是我亂取的名字，因為我在那裡的確是踩單車上上落落山坡的路。今天晨早天未全亮載著單車開車，原本想過叫住在那裡附近的友人同行，幸好沒有，不然就連累他跟我一同走寃枉路（容後再詳述）到San Mateo B St的有蓋停車場時是6:45左右，氣溫華氏38度；由那裡出發，經Crystal Spring轉上Skyline，感覺上比280至Portola Valley那一段Alpine Rd斜一點（但沒有那麼長。其實這裡我以前也到過，因為著名的Sawyer Camp Trail入口就在那裡，多年前已踩過，近年對那樣的平路興趣不大。）到高爾夫球場轉入Hayne，那是Hillsborough的住宅區，竟然在那裡偏離了原訂路線（GPS也幫不上忙，真不該！）就沿著Hayne下山，頗為斜（不知原訂行Ralston的路線會否較為好踩？）東找西找，終於沿El Cerrito Ave重返San Mateo。起程回家時是8:15，氣溫華氏48度。這是原訂路線圖，下次打算找友人同行，不會要他迷路吧？

We Dare

If I'm 15 years younger, I'll definitely be looking forward to playing this game (on Wii or PS, developed by Ubisoft) described here. "We Dare is a sexy, quirky, party game that offers a large variety of hilarious, innovative and physical, sometimes kinky, challenges," goes Ubisoft's pitch. "The more friends you invite to party, the spicier the play!"

Sports highlights: New NASCAR season

Two months of off-season for NASCAR was too much for me and I'm glad that the new season has finally started last weekend! Daytona speedway was re-paved last year (that had to be done to avoid causing troubles for drivers like the Daytona 500 of 2010) and because of this, the new way to race there was to have 2 cars drafting together in tandem (that's the new word I taught my son during the race) It was interesting to see how the drivers made use of this. The Nationwide Series race on Saturday was pretty good. Danica Patrick led at one point (not because of other drivers went to the pit) The finish was exciting too. And then the Sprint cup race on Sunday was even better, having the youngest winner ever in Trevor Bayne. Adding a 5th Daytona 500 victory to the legendary racing team Wood Brothers was a feel-good story. On the other hand, we saw the current top team, Hendrick Motorsports, suffered during this race, in which all 4 of their drivers crashed.

Movie of the day: Just Go With It

Gotta admit I'm biased because it's starring my favourite Jennifer Anniston but I think it deserves higher grade than those B-/C+ given out by critics. The storyline was predictable but the movie was funny and often heart-warming, i.e., your typical Adam Sandler comedy. That was nothing not to like for me. Swimsuit model/actress Brooklyn Decker was hot. Jennifer was still hot. Nicole Kidman was pretty as usual (and funny too!)

Los Gatos Creek Trail

I seldom cycle on bike trails these days but I did two days in a row! It's a huge coincidence. I had 2 hours to kill near San Jose City College but I wasn't able to find any recommended bike routes nearby on the web in a rush and ended up just biking around aimlessly. I biked along S. Bascom Ave and biked across the Hwy 17 overpass (it has an funny spiral ascent and descent) to Campbell and saw the "historical" Campbell downtown (the farmer's market was closing and I missed the music performance :( ) When I came back I still have more time to kill so I went further south along Bascom and discovered the entrance to Los Gatos Creek trail! The trail was a bit more crowded and narrower than the Alameda Creek Trail I biked with my buddy the day before but it was still nice.

How to spend 3 days in SF: Day 3

On day 3 we're back to SF. I met my friends at the Ferry Building. We're supposed to have an early lunch at 11:30 at Hog Island (known for its oysters) but it opened late that day (the day after superbowl! Someone partied too much I guess) so we ended up having a not-so-early lunch but it was still tasty as expected. Next, we drove to the Pacific Ocean. They missed seeing the ocean very much because there's none where they live. Then we headed to the beautiful Golden Gate Park. The tulips under the windmill and the Conservatory of flowers were all worthy of taking a few pictures. From there we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge (the drive was surprisingly quick. It's really a short distance and there wasn't much traffic on a Monday early afternoon) and I drop them off at Sausalito. They took the ferry back to the Ferry Building and walked to Japan town for ramen for dinner (Man, they could really walk a lot :D) That's how 3 fun-filled days were spent!

How to spend 3 days in SF: Day 2

After hitting the major tourist spots in the city on day 1, we switched our focus to THE "Silicon Valley", which I loosely defined as places between SF and San Jose that are related to computer technology. My friends started their day walking around Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square and China town. Then I drove them down South 101. Our first destination was the headquarter of Oracle at Redwood Shores. It was a pretty day with the fountain operating and the BMW Oracle Racing Yacht USA-17 on display at "Lake Ellison" We have also visited the campus of another Silicon Valley heavyweight: Google! While Oracle's HQ had that big corporation feel, Google's was more in line with the stereotypical "free-thinking" IT workers. We saw a few families playing at Google's beach volleyball court that Sunday. And we drove by (didn't go in) Steve Job's house in Palo Alto. Of course, we needed to visit his company at One Infinite Loop in Cupertino (their security guys were very hard working and immediately asked us to leave the parking lot) Finally, we went to where all these Silicon Valley ideas were originated from: Stanford University. (No exaggeration! Stanford's Dr. Terman was widely known as the Father of Silicon Valley) We had a good walk around the campus and reminisced about our college days. Finally we headed back north to Burlingame and had a good prime rib dinner at Broadway Prime. Stay tuned for Day 3!

[Update: found a visitor's guide to Silicon Valley, which is quite similar to what I mentioned]

How to spend 3 days in SF: Day 1

That's what I did last weekend 'coz my friends Eric and Lea (my best friend from high school!) visited from out of town. They followed my advices and booked a hotel at Fisherman's Wharf. The first place I took them to after they got off the plane, was a Hong Kong style restaurant in Millbrae for lunch (yeah, the airlines are so cheap these days and actually charge for those horrible airplane meals) Then I drove them to checkin to hotel. And I suggested them to take the cablecar from Fisherman's Wharf to downtown (Powell & Market) Unfortunately none of the cablecar (from Taylor or Beach St) worked and they ended up just walked around Ghiradelli Square. The next stop was Cliff House (and we stopped before Golden Gate Bridge since it's on the way anyway) and the beautiful pacific ocean, where we saw a bit of the sunset. Finally, we had dinner at Thanh Long, famous for its Vietnamese crab made with its secret recipe. It was really crowded of course (To be continued...)

Sports highlights: Packers did it again

Green Bay Packers are not my favourite sports team but they have been #2 on my NFL list since 1993. (Well, if they win a few more super bowls before the Cowboys getting their act together, I might need to switch my allegiance!) I'm really happy to see them winning this year (I picked Pittsburgh to win even though they were the underdog. I thought their experience would have helped a lot.) One person I have to thank is Clay Matthews Jr, father of Green Bay Linebacker Clay Matthews III. He has been to 2 NCAA National Championship games that his sons have played in (USC vs Texas and Oregon vs Auburn) and the Titans vs Rams Super Bowl that his brother played in. We all knew the outcome (not to mentioned the few AFC Championship games himself played in, against the ultimate winner, Denver Broncos) So he decided enough was enough and did NOT attend this one.

And I agree with this Rolling Stones (Magazine) review that the halftime show was BAD. I have nothing against Black Eyed Peas but sometimes too much is too much. Their trademark exaggerated looks and moves might be cool in a music video but I'm not sure if it fits into a major sports event. Judging from the better reviews of past performances by the likes of U2 and the Who, I think they should ask Genesis next year.

Tech of the day: Debian static IP

My Dockstar has been getting its IP via DHCP. And I want to assign it a permanent IP address so I followed this guide. Basically commented out the line for dhcp in /etc/network/interface and add static IP like:
iface eth0 inet static
[tab]address 192.168.1.200
[tab]network 192.168.1.0
[tab]netmask 255.255.255.0
[tab]broadcast 192.168.1.255
[tab]gateway 192.168.1.1
[tab]dns-nameservers 192.168.1.1

Then I restarted networking:
/etc/init.d/networking restart

Musician of the day: Jon Eriksen

I picked up harmonica again recently. (Harmonica and I went way back! It was the first instrument that I attempted to learn by myself, and with a bit of input from my mom. She taught me how to play the scale. That's all :D What my mom bought me was a tremolo harmonica that is really popular in Asia. A few years ago I took a break from guitar and tried playing 10-hole diatonic harmonica. The hurdle I couldn't get past was bending/overblowing so I wasn't able to play any tunes with accidentals! This time I bought myself a chromatic harmonica, on which I could play accidental without bending/overblowing, which I should learn eventually but at least I could play some real music!) It was a great coincidence that I saw jazz multi-instrumentalist Jon Eriksen playing during lunch time at Rincon Center. His playing was great on both harmonica and vibes. Check out his page on Jazz Harmonica Summit.

我很老土

記得小時候（八十年代），父母喜歡聽徐小鳳鄧麗君，那時我們都聽Alan Leslie 陳慧嫻陳百强，所以覺得父母很老土。如今想起來，實在要為他們平反！為何要平反？皆因今日已為人父母的我和當日的他們相比起來，更老土得多！事實上，當時聽徐小鳳鄧麗君的歌，只不過是十年或以內的舊歌。我喜歡聽的流行曲（古典及爵士不應計在內）有多舊？都是八十年代的歌！前一排抄了一大堆落memory stick放在車裡，早幾天才播來聽：簡直首首喜愛！例如Alan的Don't Say Goodbye呀，Leslie的愛慕呀。至於電台頻道，聽得最多的也是以播舊歌為主。當今最流行的歌，例如Ke$ha, Jay Sean甚至Black Eye Peas唱那些，都覺得實在難聽。喜歡的只有Katy Perry一個！