以前在曼克頓Midtown工作，鼎鼎大名歷史悠久氣派不凡的Waldorf Astoria Hotel僅隔兩條街，記得姐姐來探望時就住在那裡，十分羨慕，希望有朝一日也去住住
。可惜Waldorf Astoria「好睇唔好住」，悠久的歷史換來失修的房間，空調窗簾浴缸去水都有不少問題。無論如何，今次總算一償夙願！就地點而言亦的確「無得彈」，subway E train站只隔兩個街口，Grand Central, 5th ave, Rockefeller Center, Time Square, United Nation等等都是走一段路就到。
相比之下，在華盛頓住的Embassy Suite (at Convention Center)可謂意外驚喜，這間中價位酒店我們在其他城市住過幾次，都是一房一廳，這間也不例外，單是房已和Waldorf Astoria面積相若，再加上廳，不但大而且新淨，插頭又多，叉電方便。地點亦是一流，步行廿分鐘可到唐人街及Museum of American Art。不過大家最喜歡的還是每天黃昏5:30-7:30的Manager's Reception:小食任吃酒任飲！以後再去DC，這間酒店必屬首選。
Friday, September 14, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
紐約+華盛頓：交通篇
和我的朋友不同，我甚少出外公幹及旅遊，「新」航空公司Virgin America在2007年啟航，今個月我才第一次乘坐，印象十分不錯。雖然有點刻意營造和傳統不同的casual and young feel，但她的飛機內籠及設備的確夠新，自選衞星電視我就未曾在其他航空公司用過；回SF時看了現場直播美國對墨西哥的足球友誼賽（美國隊有史以來首次在該地贏墨西哥！），及德州騎兵對紐約洋基的棒球賽，過足睇波癮！
我在十幾年前數次來往SFO<->JFK機場，在JFK坐過地鐵(Subway)的A Train去midtown，今次下榻位於midtown的Waldorf=Astoria，已計劃好同樣坐A Train。原來2003年JFK建成AirTrain，不只接駁A Train站，還有E J Z Train可選擇。從subway圖可見，E Train應該更快，事實上亦然。美中不足的是AirTrain收費每位五大元，雖然如此，一家人總花費還是比Limo或的士便宜很多。
另一樣差不多廿年前坐過的，是由紐約Penn Station開往華盛頓DC的Amtrak火車。記得那時Penn Station三教九流人士出出入入，今次印象改善不少，雖然警覺性不減。我們預早兩天在網上買票，十分昂貴：三個小時車程成人單程收$150，比德國及奧地利的火車都貴得多了。由大堂到月台，自動電梯欠奉，拖著又大又重的行李，真是一大挑戰。車票無劃位，要四個相連的坐位是Mission Impossible，幸好好心人甚多，肯讓坐換位，我們總算可以一個大人照料一個小朋友。坐定之後倒是頗為舒適，DC的總站Union Station更是極具氣派，離我們在市中心的酒店亦近，坐的士也很划算；雖然坐地鐵(Metro)也甚方便。
第二天一個人去參觀火車站旁的郵政博物館，原本打算坐Metro，卻在站外看見bikeshare站(即歐美逐漸普及的自動租還單車系統），以前從未用過，這次有機會當然一試，縱使比我坐Metro貴一點（單日租車「底價」$7無限次租還，每程租及還時間多於三十分鐘額外收費；我踩兩程都無超時所以只付「底價」$7；而兩程Metro應是$5樓下）總括而言，這個bikeshare系統算易用（有手機app幫忙找車及計劃路線），單車condition也可以接受。
去DC Dulles機場時「臨別秋波」坐的也是的士，皆因問過其他途徑如Shuttle或call車都要$60-$75不等，的士司機說價錢差不多（按跳錶計，結果總共付了$80，比預算多花了點，雖然換來flexibility，始終有點介懷）不過這個的士司機甚為獨特兼有品味，沿途為我們介紹所經景點（如五角大廈）又把收音機轉台至古典WETA，這程的士我整首Pictures at an Exhibition由頭聽到尾，也算難忘經歷。
有圖有真相
我在十幾年前數次來往SFO<->JFK機場，在JFK坐過地鐵(Subway)的A Train去midtown，今次下榻位於midtown的Waldorf=Astoria，已計劃好同樣坐A Train。原來2003年JFK建成AirTrain，不只接駁A Train站，還有E J Z Train可選擇。從subway圖可見，E Train應該更快，事實上亦然。美中不足的是AirTrain收費每位五大元，雖然如此，一家人總花費還是比Limo或的士便宜很多。
另一樣差不多廿年前坐過的，是由紐約Penn Station開往華盛頓DC的Amtrak火車。記得那時Penn Station三教九流人士出出入入，今次印象改善不少，雖然警覺性不減。我們預早兩天在網上買票，十分昂貴：三個小時車程成人單程收$150，比德國及奧地利的火車都貴得多了。由大堂到月台，自動電梯欠奉，拖著又大又重的行李，真是一大挑戰。車票無劃位，要四個相連的坐位是Mission Impossible，幸好好心人甚多，肯讓坐換位，我們總算可以一個大人照料一個小朋友。坐定之後倒是頗為舒適，DC的總站Union Station更是極具氣派，離我們在市中心的酒店亦近，坐的士也很划算；雖然坐地鐵(Metro)也甚方便。
第二天一個人去參觀火車站旁的郵政博物館，原本打算坐Metro，卻在站外看見bikeshare站(即歐美逐漸普及的自動租還單車系統），以前從未用過，這次有機會當然一試，縱使比我坐Metro貴一點（單日租車「底價」$7無限次租還，每程租及還時間多於三十分鐘額外收費；我踩兩程都無超時所以只付「底價」$7；而兩程Metro應是$5樓下）總括而言，這個bikeshare系統算易用（有手機app幫忙找車及計劃路線），單車condition也可以接受。
去DC Dulles機場時「臨別秋波」坐的也是的士，皆因問過其他途徑如Shuttle或call車都要$60-$75不等，的士司機說價錢差不多（按跳錶計，結果總共付了$80，比預算多花了點，雖然換來flexibility，始終有點介懷）不過這個的士司機甚為獨特兼有品味，沿途為我們介紹所經景點（如五角大廈）又把收音機轉台至古典WETA，這程的士我整首Pictures at an Exhibition由頭聽到尾，也算難忘經歷。
有圖有真相
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
紐約+華盛頓：地標篇
美國最多地標的大城市，紐約和首都華盛頓(DC)可算數一數二。我們一到紐約放低行李就直闖聯合國(United Nation)大厦。個人認為聯合國本身看頭不大，只是不到不可；入面不能不做的倒是從聯合國郵局買聯合國郵票寄明信片回家，我在十五年前寄的現在還好好保存著呢。（聯合國郵票只能在聯合國郵局而不能在美國郵局使用）
下一站是帝國大厦(Empire State Building)，它是80年前全球最高的建築物（紀錄保持了40年），911世貿倒下之後，帝國大厦再次成為全市最高。無論如何，它都是充滿傳奇色彩，值得排隊上一上頂眺望紐約市景。
第一天到紐約怎能不去時代廣場(Time Square)呢？黃昏時候我們由酒店行過去，微雨時下時停，在陽光普照的西岸坐慣車的我們要適應一下；不過時代廣場商店林立，找幾家避避雨倒不成問題。
第二天的目的地是自由神像，我們在家預先買了十時由碼頭啟航的船票，以為八時起床時間綽綽有餘，全錯！船票寫著Battery park，我從地下鐵地圖看到Battery park city，找到最接近的車站: 世貿(World Trade Center)，九時四十分出站向那邊走，行了三十分鐘終於見到碼頭狀物體，行去一問，原來自由神像島(Liberty Island)的船不在該處出發而在South Ferry，只怪我們準備功夫不足，我在那裡居住已是十年前的事，而且少去遊客區。South Ferry的名字依稀有點印象，行到那裡剛好夠鐘上十一點的船，幸好我們買了的十點船票依然有效。航程雖短風景卻極佳，下船後可免費使用資訊豐富的audio guide，介紹了興建神像的歷史、挑戰及意義。回航時停Ellis Island，我們下船參觀位於該處的移民歷史博物館，以前坐船移民美國的會先在Ellis Island經過移民局審查（包括體檢），不合格者會被遣返，該地見證了不少悲歡離合。我們再上船，下一站回到曼克頓，5分鐘路程即到Bowling Green，那是股市大好友的「吉祥獸」Charging Bull的所在地；再走上幾條街，就是掌握全球經濟命脈的華爾街(Wall Street)， 之後理所當然到唐人街吃晚餐！
第三天主打Central Park，自稱十幾年前去過，其實只是在溜冰場踩過冰而已，這個跨越幾十條街的中央公園，景點甚多；我們有如劉姥姥入大觀園，連忙上網找推介路線，決定先行"The Mall"，在Bethesda Terrace看那噴水池及湖，美景透心涼。Belvedere Castle不算大，但那窄窄的樓梯也頗有特色；再走一會就是Metropolitan Museum of Art. 不如讓山地車好手Chris Clark帶大家遊遊Central park（有趣的是我們在旅程結束回到灣區那個週末去Oakland看Pedalfest才認識來自新澤西的車手Clark。）
MY BACKYARD CENTRAL PARK: with Chris Clark from Matthew Benjamin Canada on Vimeo.
第四天我們「遠征」Yankee Stadium，早知那天沒有開放接待遊客，皆因當晚上演重量級足球戲碼：皇家馬德里大戰AC米蘭，即使只能在外面逛逛也算是到此一遊吧。這是新落成的建築，外觀相當有氣派；不過外面具歷史性及紀念性的只有Babe Ruth銅像，這方面遠比不上SF巨人隊的球場了。
首都華盛頓的「首席」地標應屬紀念開國總統的Washington Monument，和其他總統紀念碑不同的是，它是唯一的方尖碑(Obelisk)，方尖碑歷史可追溯至古埃及和古西亞亞述(Assyria)。雖然現正在維修中不開放參觀，倒也不太重要，從外看已足夠。
還有兩個值得一提的紀念總統的地標：一是林肯的，另一則是Thomas Jefferson的。前者是傳統希臘神殿式；後者乃模仿羅馬式圓拱形頂建築。
餘下的地標就是第二次世界大戰紀念碑：由56條柱組成，包括了戰後1945年美國48個洲及其他領土（菲律賓當時也是）原來2004年才建成，難怪我全無印象！
有圖有真相
Saturday, September 01, 2012
Vacated wins vs forfeits
What's the difference? The reason I'm looking into this is of course related to Penn State's recent penalty for the scandal. I wonder if Wisconsin will get a few more wins in their records because of this. Well, no. Vacating a win of one team does not award the opponent the win. It is as if the game has never been played. The penalty that award the opponent the win is forfeit.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
書山學海
個幾月沒有去過SF唐人街，不變的是金門餅家依然在放假
而那個五毛老祖長駐的街角，諷刺地成了其老板對頭宗教打
City College Of SF那副韓愈的對聯好像是新的：
走過Transamerica Tower那個小公園，這邊廂是live blues，那邊廂是太極。
而那個五毛老祖長駐的街角，諷刺地成了其老板對頭宗教打
City College Of SF那副韓愈的對聯好像是新的：
書山有路勤為徑略嫌不夠含蓄，但勝在人人看得懂。
學海無涯苦作舟
走過Transamerica Tower那個小公園，這邊廂是live blues，那邊廂是太極。
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
紐約+華盛頓：博物館篇
在我心目中，紐約Metropolitan Museum of Art可算是全美頭號美術館，規模及展品名氣皆無出其右。我們精選觀看最有興趣的樂器收藏部（包括古今歐亞非吹打拉弦樂器）、古希臘羅馬雕塑、印象派油畫、美國藝術（例如Tiffany創辦人的兒子設計的擺設及Frank Lloyd Wright設計的客廳），僅有的兩小時過得十分充實。
兩個孩子都對建築頗有興趣，所以不能不帶他們去去Guggenheim藝術館（那是我們紐約之旅最後一站！）該館主攻現代藝術，大量抽象作品，也有一些印象派油畫；當然，建築物本身就是一件藝術品。
在DC Union Station一下車，就見到郵政博物館(Postal Museum)，我到達DC第二天早上便去了參觀。可算是頗為冷門之選，遊人甚少。該館主要介紹美國郵政服務由殖民地時代至今的發展史；美國地廣民居分散，原來多年前民眾及商業郵購刺激郵政服務發展，其中一種重要商品竟然是種子。另外還展出世界各地的郵票，我就看了香港1862年的郵票。該館商店可供購買的相關郵政產品卻很少，只提供目錄作郵購之用！
DC眾多博物館的「龍頭」要算是Museum of Natural History，小朋友對大蛇昆蟲等等展覽都看得津津有味。我們一同看了一套IMAX 3D電影，主題是北極生態危機：冰川不斷融化減少，改變了當地動物的生活；相當煽情。中學時代訪美印象最深刻的DC博物館卻是Air and Space Museum，那是穿梭機一飛衝天去的年代，今次去最吸引我的反而是Wright Brothers在發明飛機前製造的單車！這些博物館同屬Smithsonian Institution旗下（全部免費入場），SI的informational center形如古堡，也是一大景點。它們位處的幾條街合稱為National Mall，還包括Museum of American History（展品林林總總，總之就和美國歷史有關，例如歷代總統及第一夫人的服裝餐具等等用品，又如美國海陸交通網的發展，還有幾支名電結他，和早年測試重要商業電腦程式語言COBOL的部件-一部把程式由打字鍵盤錄到磁帶及另一部大如雪櫃播放磁帶把程式傳到電腦的器材）還展出一支曾在Baltimore飄揚的大型美國旗及相關史事，據聞是美國歌The Spangled Banner的靈感來源。
展品其實不限於館內，National Mall有幾個館外的雕塑花園(Sculpture Garden)，例如展出現代藝術的Hirshhorn museum外就有艾未未（他在美國似乎頗有市場）創作的現代派十二獸首（題材當然源自圓明園那十二個）至於古代雕塑，可在National Gallery of Art之內看到。作為國家畫廊，當然亦有大量歷代名畫。可惜Gallery東館正在裝修，它和西館的古典式建築相反，充滿現代感，是貝聿銘備受讚賞的作品。
在National Mall以外的Smithsonian博物館就有Museum of American Art and Portrait Gallery，美國藝術部顧名思義，全為美國藝術家作品，部份出自黑人藝術家手筆。總的來說，歐洲藝術界的影響固然明顯，遼闊草原山谷風景畫卻顯美國獨有的特色；最特別的是從藝術角度欣賞電子遊戲的展覽。肖像部則包括美國歷任總統以至體壇樂壇巨星。雖然因為關門時間甚晚而參觀，卻比想像中有看頭，算是意外收獲。
另一極具美國歷史學習價值的地方是林肯總統遇刺身亡的Ford's Theater，該館提供導賞團（免費門票須預先索取）解釋事件詳情。和罪案有關的還有間諜博物館(International Spy Museum)，各種竊聽偷錄喬裝暗殺器材及技術層出不窮，小朋友極感興趣；至於間諜界的名人佚事，大人也看得入神。
不過成人世界最受歡迎的應是印銀紙廠(Bureau of Engraving and Printing)該廠同樣提供導賞團（免費門票亦須預先索取，我們八時半到，還拿到九時半的票，實在不錯）展示印刷、剪開紙幣的詳過程。
DC內部裝修最華麗的建築物則是國會圖書館(Library of Congress)，由志願人士帶隊的導賞團詳細解釋每一處裝飾的意義（例如壁畫展示文明由口述到筆錄至印刷的發展過程），館內的國寶級展品包括一本顧驣堡印刷術製成的完整聖經。
國會圖書館收藏了大量書籍錄像照片等等，不過和美國歷史息息相關的重要文稿原本卻是收藏於National Archive，包括美國獨立宣言、憲法及Bill of Rights；還有英國人要求國王改革的大憲章(Magna Carta)
為DC之旅作結的則是新聞博物館(Newseum)，介紹新聞出版的歷史及相關技術的發展，世界各地新聞自由度，還有展出位於世貿911被炸毀的一截廣播發射天線，以及一段被拆下的柏林圍牆。最好玩的莫過於女兒扮新聞主播，我用$5買下錄像留念。
有圖有真相
兩個孩子都對建築頗有興趣，所以不能不帶他們去去Guggenheim藝術館（那是我們紐約之旅最後一站！）該館主攻現代藝術，大量抽象作品，也有一些印象派油畫；當然，建築物本身就是一件藝術品。
在DC Union Station一下車，就見到郵政博物館(Postal Museum)，我到達DC第二天早上便去了參觀。可算是頗為冷門之選，遊人甚少。該館主要介紹美國郵政服務由殖民地時代至今的發展史；美國地廣民居分散，原來多年前民眾及商業郵購刺激郵政服務發展，其中一種重要商品竟然是種子。另外還展出世界各地的郵票，我就看了香港1862年的郵票。該館商店可供購買的相關郵政產品卻很少，只提供目錄作郵購之用！
DC眾多博物館的「龍頭」要算是Museum of Natural History，小朋友對大蛇昆蟲等等展覽都看得津津有味。我們一同看了一套IMAX 3D電影，主題是北極生態危機：冰川不斷融化減少，改變了當地動物的生活；相當煽情。中學時代訪美印象最深刻的DC博物館卻是Air and Space Museum，那是穿梭機一飛衝天去的年代，今次去最吸引我的反而是Wright Brothers在發明飛機前製造的單車！這些博物館同屬Smithsonian Institution旗下（全部免費入場），SI的informational center形如古堡，也是一大景點。它們位處的幾條街合稱為National Mall，還包括Museum of American History（展品林林總總，總之就和美國歷史有關，例如歷代總統及第一夫人的服裝餐具等等用品，又如美國海陸交通網的發展，還有幾支名電結他，和早年測試重要商業電腦程式語言COBOL的部件-一部把程式由打字鍵盤錄到磁帶及另一部大如雪櫃播放磁帶把程式傳到電腦的器材）還展出一支曾在Baltimore飄揚的大型美國旗及相關史事，據聞是美國歌The Spangled Banner的靈感來源。
展品其實不限於館內，National Mall有幾個館外的雕塑花園(Sculpture Garden)，例如展出現代藝術的Hirshhorn museum外就有艾未未（他在美國似乎頗有市場）創作的現代派十二獸首（題材當然源自圓明園那十二個）至於古代雕塑，可在National Gallery of Art之內看到。作為國家畫廊，當然亦有大量歷代名畫。可惜Gallery東館正在裝修，它和西館的古典式建築相反，充滿現代感，是貝聿銘備受讚賞的作品。
在National Mall以外的Smithsonian博物館就有Museum of American Art and Portrait Gallery，美國藝術部顧名思義，全為美國藝術家作品，部份出自黑人藝術家手筆。總的來說，歐洲藝術界的影響固然明顯，遼闊草原山谷風景畫卻顯美國獨有的特色；最特別的是從藝術角度欣賞電子遊戲的展覽。肖像部則包括美國歷任總統以至體壇樂壇巨星。雖然因為關門時間甚晚而參觀，卻比想像中有看頭，算是意外收獲。
另一極具美國歷史學習價值的地方是林肯總統遇刺身亡的Ford's Theater，該館提供導賞團（免費門票須預先索取）解釋事件詳情。和罪案有關的還有間諜博物館(International Spy Museum)，各種竊聽偷錄喬裝暗殺器材及技術層出不窮，小朋友極感興趣；至於間諜界的名人佚事，大人也看得入神。
不過成人世界最受歡迎的應是印銀紙廠(Bureau of Engraving and Printing)該廠同樣提供導賞團（免費門票亦須預先索取，我們八時半到，還拿到九時半的票，實在不錯）展示印刷、剪開紙幣的詳過程。
DC內部裝修最華麗的建築物則是國會圖書館(Library of Congress)，由志願人士帶隊的導賞團詳細解釋每一處裝飾的意義（例如壁畫展示文明由口述到筆錄至印刷的發展過程），館內的國寶級展品包括一本顧驣堡印刷術製成的完整聖經。
國會圖書館收藏了大量書籍錄像照片等等，不過和美國歷史息息相關的重要文稿原本卻是收藏於National Archive，包括美國獨立宣言、憲法及Bill of Rights；還有英國人要求國王改革的大憲章(Magna Carta)
為DC之旅作結的則是新聞博物館(Newseum)，介紹新聞出版的歷史及相關技術的發展，世界各地新聞自由度，還有展出位於世貿911被炸毀的一截廣播發射天線，以及一段被拆下的柏林圍牆。最好玩的莫過於女兒扮新聞主播，我用$5買下錄像留念。
有圖有真相
Replace split with explode
It has nothing to do with relationship. I'm writting this because I found out the PHP function split has been deprecated (actually for a long time) I didn't know until I saw my browser default page hosted by GoDaddy errored out. I guess GoDaddy just upgraded to a newer version of PHP for everyone last week. Well, for an IT guy like me, I can't leave my page broken, can I? So just like work, I googled for a solution: replace split with explode (I dunno why the developer picked that name. Seems violent to me) which could do the same thing (splitting a string using a given delimiter) Then I found there are other deprecated calls in the code I didn't write (the feed2js library used by my page) and upgraded feed2js to the latest. Problem solved.
Monday, August 27, 2012
紐約+華盛頓：飲食篇
既不是食家也無甚食神，不過出外旅行總會比較放縱，食得好一點。隨著年紀漸大兼有家室，倒會吃得比較小心，避免太過刺激的，反正SF或香港差不多要吃甚麼
有甚麼；更重要的是啱小朋友口味，總不成餓壞他們！所以今次之旅晚餐差不多一半是他們吃慣的中餐及日本菜：
NY 鹿鳴春: 這是當年我在曼克頓生活年代逢親友探訪必去的酒家，例牌要等位。想到這裡，不是因為馳名的蟹粉小籠包，卻是之前一晚吃pizza，兒子沒有幾多到肚，夾硬逼不是辦法，如此旅行也太掃自己的興，唯有找家稍為接近他平日口味的，果然奏效；而我們在星期一未夠六時去到，尚有枱（但要搭枱）$33埋單，更重要的是人人吃飽。
NY Cafe Zaiya: 這其實是一個時代廣場附近41街與日式minimarket相連的餐飲部，日式飯及烏冬便宜得來又啱口味。
DC 台山酒家：我們光顧了兩次，外賣炒河炒飯，味道尚可，闊闊的河粉賣相有點怪，而且價錢不菲，大概比SF貴三四成。為了照顧兒子口味，不能太計較。其實我寧可吃對面Fuddrucker's（唐人街及附近店舖建築全有中文招牌，它的是「全世界最好吃漢堡」）拿外賣回酒店，職員以為我是外賣仔，「好心」地教我叫住客到大堂取貨好了，我說我住在此，反而教她尷尬。
DC 中國拉麵店：被門口師傅表演拉麵吸引，點了炒麵、小籠包和窩貼；炒麵不錯，後兩者味道和味全急凍版差不多。
DC Hooter's：當然吃它的雞翼，女兒則點了mini-burger。女侍應都穿著其著名制服，不過SF那間的漂亮一點。
其餘多餐都在博物館或景點的昂貴food court解決，乏善足陳。反而有兩餐從supermarket (NYC's Morton Williams)買Roast beef sandwiches，相當不俗。
最正的一餐在Theater District的意大利餐廳Becco，頭盤是炸魷魚，多得可作兩個孩子的正餐有餘，另外點了（一人）三款任吃pasta，一個檸檬雞，位於紐約黃金地段，該餐價錢不算貴。
有圖有真相。
NY 鹿鳴春: 這是當年我在曼克頓生活年代逢親友探訪必去的酒家，例牌要等位。想到這裡，不是因為馳名的蟹粉小籠包，卻是之前一晚吃pizza，兒子沒有幾多到肚，夾硬逼不是辦法，如此旅行也太掃自己的興，唯有找家稍為接近他平日口味的，果然奏效；而我們在星期一未夠六時去到，尚有枱（但要搭枱）$33埋單，更重要的是人人吃飽。
NY Cafe Zaiya: 這其實是一個時代廣場附近41街與日式minimarket相連的餐飲部，日式飯及烏冬便宜得來又啱口味。
DC 台山酒家：我們光顧了兩次，外賣炒河炒飯，味道尚可，闊闊的河粉賣相有點怪，而且價錢不菲，大概比SF貴三四成。為了照顧兒子口味，不能太計較。其實我寧可吃對面Fuddrucker's（唐人街及附近店舖建築全有中文招牌，它的是「全世界最好吃漢堡」）拿外賣回酒店，職員以為我是外賣仔，「好心」地教我叫住客到大堂取貨好了，我說我住在此，反而教她尷尬。
DC 中國拉麵店：被門口師傅表演拉麵吸引，點了炒麵、小籠包和窩貼；炒麵不錯，後兩者味道和味全急凍版差不多。
DC Hooter's：當然吃它的雞翼，女兒則點了mini-burger。女侍應都穿著其著名制服，不過SF那間的漂亮一點。
其餘多餐都在博物館或景點的昂貴food court解決，乏善足陳。反而有兩餐從supermarket (NYC's Morton Williams)買Roast beef sandwiches，相當不俗。
最正的一餐在Theater District的意大利餐廳Becco，頭盤是炸魷魚，多得可作兩個孩子的正餐有餘，另外點了（一人）三款任吃pasta，一個檸檬雞，位於紐約黃金地段，該餐價錢不算貴。
有圖有真相。
Sunday, August 26, 2012
籃球低手
廿幾年未掂過籃球，事實上當年培正體育堂教各種運動，我都興趣不大，尤以籃球為甚！不過舊年返培正晶社加冕見校友對老師的比賽，想想我們禮社三年後不知何人出賽，可能我現在練定到時可當個大後備呢？想還想卻無實際行動，直至今日。因為要兒子增高，加上他的大哥哥好朋友又是籃球好手，成功推動他打籃球，但我這個籃球低手就要出動陪太子打波，唯有把以前阿Sir傳授我僅餘的記憶盡力施展。打了半小時，不知有否耗掉剛才吃那杯雪糕新地的一半呢？
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Samsung Galaxy Note Ice Cream Sandwich update
This is ironic: I have been waited for the official ICS release for G-Note since the beginning of the year, months before I bought the phone. I couldn't wait longer and pulled the trigger 2 months ago. Finally, AT&T and Samsung release the update last month. Yet, I'm still on the old version of Android. Why? As usual, OS upgrade almost always resulted in complaints about worsen battery life, for any smartphone I know of! Check out this post. It's scary but not TOO bad. I guess I'm going to take the plunge soon.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Musician of the day: Michael Pedicin
Normally my morning commute ended ~9am but it got pushed to 9:45-ish recently because of the start of the new school year. So I got to listen to the part of KCSM (local jazz station) broadcast that features guest interviews. Today's guest is a really interesting one: jazz saxophonist Michael Pedicin. First of all, he grew up in a musical family with his father Mike Pedicin, being an early pioneer/sax player/bandleader in a different genre, rock'n roll. (Think Bill Haley) In his mind, they are not really related musically. He discovered the jazz greats like Cannonball and Coltrane on his own (yeah, same for me) Second, he went to Med School (and quit because he needed to gig with the likes of Maynard Ferguson. Who wouldn't anyway?) and eventually got a degree in clinical psychology. So he's not only talented in music but also in academics! The few tracks of his band played by the DJ were quite interesting. All of those tunes were played by Coltrane before and I could hear the influences. (Well, Coltrane has played many tunes and who isn't influnced by him?) Michael Pedicin will be playing at Yoshi's SF tonight. I think it will be a great show.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Who is the longest-tenured player on the A's current 25-man roster?
If you follow A's talk on the radio like I do, it's a well-known fact that Kurt Suzuki was the one, well, before he got traded at the beginning of the month. After I watched another A's victory on TV last night, I'm curious to find out who the current one is and found the answer here. As the article mentioned, he is better than most people (including me) think.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Nostalgic Greenwich Village
During my recent trip back to NYC, I tried looking for all those places I used to hang out often in the village. Found a few of them. Also learned that many have been closed, including one of my favorite coffee house/bar with live music: Kavehaz. It seems that it moved from SOHO to Chelsea after I left and the Chelsea location has also been closed. Here is an article about Kavehaz (scroll to the bottom).
Saturday, August 04, 2012
冷飯重温: 1998 Euro 豬仔團 trip
Because of my recent trip, I dug out what I wrote for my first trip to Europe (10/8/1998 - 10/16/1998) It was hosted on Geocities which was taken out of service by its parent Yahoo.
Day 1 - London
This is actually day 2 on my itinerary 'coz I spent a day on the flight from SF-NY-London. I arrived in the morning and faced my first problem: finding a place to have lunch. Fortunately there's a train station nearby. I went to the food court and ate at the only fastfood joint where I couldn't find in the States: (McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Burger King had invaded most of the places I visited) I had a sandwich made of French bread (i.e. the really hard bread) and I had this kind of sandwich for lunch most of the time during this trip.
I visited the Tower of London in the afternoon. These towers were built by various emperor of England to defend against foreign invasion. The oldest one were 900 years old. They have witnessed many historical events, including the rise and fall of dynasties, kings and queens during the long history of England. The jewels of the royal family, including the crown jewel of the queen, were displayed there. And the famous London bridge is right next to the towers.
I took subway (called tubes by the local people) to Leicester Square, which claimed to be the hippest place in London, in the evening. It was very crowded, and surrounded by places like Odeon Theatre (where I witnessed the premiere of the movie "Mulan" in London), Fashion Cafe, Capital Radio Cafe (where I had dinner. They have a in-house DJ and DJ booth. Pretty cool) After dinner, I walked to the famous Soho area, which was full of bars and restaurant. It's a cool hangout place.
Day 2 - London
I took a city sightseeing tour and visited St. Paul Cathedral (where Prince Charles and Princess Diana was married. Many famous historical figures, like Winston Churchill and Duke Wellington who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, were buried there), St. James Palace (the official residence of Prince Charles), Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey (where Princess Diana's funeral was held) and most importantly, Big Ben!
I visited Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world, in the afternoon. It was also 900 years old. It was magnificent both outside and inside. The interior was luxurious: decorated with paintings, tapestries, furnitures, chinas. I went to Soho again this evening to attend a jazz show. That was a cool jazz club with good atmosphere.
Day 3 - London, Dover, Calais, Brussels
I left London for Dover, a port at South England and took a cruise ship across the English Channel to Calais, France. The ship was big and comfortable. The scenes along the cruise was beautiful. It was an enjoyable experience. The "dummy" tour (i.e. the guided tour) officially begun in Calais. The tour bus took us across the border to Brussels, Belgium.
Day 4 - Brussels, The Hague, Amsterdam
I had a brief city sightseeing tour around Brussels, the capital of Belgium as well as European Union, in the morning. There were not much interesting places, except the Atomium, which is a building that looks like an enlarged molecule: with interconnected balls representing atom and containing restaurants inside. It was built for World Expos in the past.
I left Brussels for the Hague, Netherlands in the afternoon. It's the city where the Netherlands government resides (it's not the capital though) The Peace Palace, i.e. the international court, is in Hague. Then I went on to Amsterdam.
Day 5 - Amsterdam
The tour guide brought us to the first tourist trap of this tour this morning: a diamond "center." Amsterdam is supposed to be famous of diamond. We were shown a little bit of the diamond polishing process.Then we were brought to a room with sales trying to sell us diamonds after educated us with knowledge of diamond sizes and cuttings. They locked the door of the room for about 15 minutes. So we were literally trapped! I wonder who'd buy things that require careful examination and consideration like diamonds under such circumstances. Well, there are always people fall to these traps otherwise these places wouldn't survive.
Then I visited Rijkmuseum, which showed a lot of paintings of Dutch artists, including the famous Rembrandt's. Too bad the Van Gogh museum was under renovation at that time. I had a cruise on the canals of Amsterdam and it is one of the highlights of this trip. Netherlands is a country built on top of water. A third of the country is actually under sea level. Dutch reclaim the land by extracting water from the land using windmills. So water is an integral part of Dutch life. Most of the canals in the city of Amsterdam are constructed, only a few of them are natural. People uses the canals for transportation. The canals also provide spaces for living: there are house boats every where along the canals. Some of these house boats actually seem to be pretty comfortable to live in. There are lots of classic looking buildings, some dated back to 18th century, along both sides of the canals. It's a beautiful scene. A interesting note: some of these old buildings are tilted because wood posts were used to support the building when they were built in the old days and they become rotten by water as times goes by. People living inside need to deal with sloped table surfaces as well as floors. I enjoyed this cruise a lot because of the beautiful scenes as well as the knowledge I gained about the life of people living in Amsterdam.
Day 6 - Amsterdam, Cologne, Coblenz
The tour left Amsterdam for Germany in the morning and began the journey into the area along the river Rhine. The first city I visited is Cologne. One of the most famous thing about Cologne is, of course, Cologne the man's "perfume." The name of the famous brand 4711 actually came from the house number of the place where it was first manufactured. However, what impressed me the most about this city was the Dom, a old Gothic style catholic church. It looked magnificent. The next stop is the German Corner. It is the place where the river Rhine and Moselle meet. I stayed at a small and old yet beautiful country side motel on the river bank near the city Coblenz that night.
Day 7 - Coblenz, Trier
The Rhine journey continued on Day 7. I had a cruise on the river: there were lots of old castles along the river. I was told that the interior of most of these castles were not preserved as they were converted to hotels or prisons! What a pity. One of the landmark I saw during the cruise was the Lorelei rock, which was associated to a legend of mermaid. It was not really special. Then I arrived at the city Trier in the afternoon. Trier has a very long history. It was established by the Roman emperor Constantine as the capital of the western part of the Empire about 1900 years ago. I visited Basilika, the palace built by Constantine. It's a huge hall now became a church. There were also other remaining of buildings from the Roman era, e.g. a bath place, where the Roman people took bath (people did not have private bathroom those days) and an amphitheater, where the Roman watched the cruel games of man fighting against animals and each other. It is also famous for being the birthplace of Karl Marx, the father of communism.
Day 8 - Trier, Paris
I left Germany for France this morning. On the way to Paris the tour took us to visit a winery, specialized in champagne. I was surprised by the large amount of money and effort the winery put into the guided tour (which feature a Disney like train ride around the cave) as well as the decoration of the cave where the wine was manufactured. I wonder how much of these costs were added to the price of the champagne. I arrived at Paris in the evening. Then I went to a cabaret show, which Paris is really famous for. The girls at the show were pretty. The music was good. It was very entertaining.
Day 9 - Paris
I took a city sightseeing tour this morning. I saw the landmarks like Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre and the glass pyramid, the Renaissance style City Hall, Concorde Square, the Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe, and lots of other classical style old buildings. I was simply stunned by the beauty of these buildings. It is difficult to describe the beauty using words.
I visited another palace this afternoon: Versailles. It was built in the 17th century and modified many times since and it was the residence of French Emperor Louis XIV, XV, XVI. I was amazed by the luxurious look outside. I was even more amazed when I saw the luxurious decoration inside! Like Windsor Castle, it is heavily decorated with painting, tapestry, furniture, gold painted ceilings. It also has lots of sculptures of emperors including Napoleon and other famous people (e.g. the scientist Laplace) The most magnificent sight in my opinion is the hall of mirror with the chandeliers. It was fantastic.
I went to a jazz club, Duc Des Lombards, and saw the performance of the Ricardo Del Fra Sextet. They played great hard bop jazz. I was glad to see that the place was packed with fans. The atmosphere was great. I guess the jazz scene in Paris must be alive and kicking.
This is the end of my Europe trip. It was a great experience.
Bonus coverage: Day 10+ - New York
I stopped by New York City on my way back home from Europe. I've been attracted to New York City for a long time because of its sports and music scene. I went to an ice hockey game, New York Rangers vs. Edmonton Oilers, at Madison Square Garden, which claims to be the most famous arena in the world. The arena and the crowd was not really special but the game was exciting (Rangers 3, Oilers 2.)
One of the must-see thing in New York is of course the famous Broadway musicals. I saw Jekyll and Hyde at Plymouth Theater. The songs are beautiful. Another thing that New York is famous for and what I'm most interested in is jazz. New York is THE capital of jazz. Lots of jazz musicians are working and living there. Most of the famous jazz musicians choose New York City as one of their tour stop. I think you can find one or more big name jazz musicians playing in NYC every night! Many legendary and prestigious jazz clubs, like Birdland, Village Vanguard, Blue Note, are in NYC. Many jazz masters, including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans have played and recorded live sessions at these clubs. I went to Village Vanguard to see the Lou Donaldson Quartet. I also went to a newer jazz club (any place is new compared to those legendary clubs) called Iridium, which books many big name musicians as well, to see the Pat Martino Quintet. The clubs were typical. The music was great. I visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown in upstate New York. It has exhibits about baseball history and it also displays lots of memorabilia items like gloves, bats, jersey...... from legendary players. It was a wonderful experience for a baseball fan like myself. This is the end of my vacation.
Day 1 - London
This is actually day 2 on my itinerary 'coz I spent a day on the flight from SF-NY-London. I arrived in the morning and faced my first problem: finding a place to have lunch. Fortunately there's a train station nearby. I went to the food court and ate at the only fastfood joint where I couldn't find in the States: (McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Burger King had invaded most of the places I visited) I had a sandwich made of French bread (i.e. the really hard bread) and I had this kind of sandwich for lunch most of the time during this trip.
I visited the Tower of London in the afternoon. These towers were built by various emperor of England to defend against foreign invasion. The oldest one were 900 years old. They have witnessed many historical events, including the rise and fall of dynasties, kings and queens during the long history of England. The jewels of the royal family, including the crown jewel of the queen, were displayed there. And the famous London bridge is right next to the towers.
I took subway (called tubes by the local people) to Leicester Square, which claimed to be the hippest place in London, in the evening. It was very crowded, and surrounded by places like Odeon Theatre (where I witnessed the premiere of the movie "Mulan" in London), Fashion Cafe, Capital Radio Cafe (where I had dinner. They have a in-house DJ and DJ booth. Pretty cool) After dinner, I walked to the famous Soho area, which was full of bars and restaurant. It's a cool hangout place.
Day 2 - London
I took a city sightseeing tour and visited St. Paul Cathedral (where Prince Charles and Princess Diana was married. Many famous historical figures, like Winston Churchill and Duke Wellington who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, were buried there), St. James Palace (the official residence of Prince Charles), Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey (where Princess Diana's funeral was held) and most importantly, Big Ben!
I visited Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world, in the afternoon. It was also 900 years old. It was magnificent both outside and inside. The interior was luxurious: decorated with paintings, tapestries, furnitures, chinas. I went to Soho again this evening to attend a jazz show. That was a cool jazz club with good atmosphere.
Day 3 - London, Dover, Calais, Brussels
I left London for Dover, a port at South England and took a cruise ship across the English Channel to Calais, France. The ship was big and comfortable. The scenes along the cruise was beautiful. It was an enjoyable experience. The "dummy" tour (i.e. the guided tour) officially begun in Calais. The tour bus took us across the border to Brussels, Belgium.
Day 4 - Brussels, The Hague, Amsterdam
I had a brief city sightseeing tour around Brussels, the capital of Belgium as well as European Union, in the morning. There were not much interesting places, except the Atomium, which is a building that looks like an enlarged molecule: with interconnected balls representing atom and containing restaurants inside. It was built for World Expos in the past.
I left Brussels for the Hague, Netherlands in the afternoon. It's the city where the Netherlands government resides (it's not the capital though) The Peace Palace, i.e. the international court, is in Hague. Then I went on to Amsterdam.
Day 5 - Amsterdam
The tour guide brought us to the first tourist trap of this tour this morning: a diamond "center." Amsterdam is supposed to be famous of diamond. We were shown a little bit of the diamond polishing process.Then we were brought to a room with sales trying to sell us diamonds after educated us with knowledge of diamond sizes and cuttings. They locked the door of the room for about 15 minutes. So we were literally trapped! I wonder who'd buy things that require careful examination and consideration like diamonds under such circumstances. Well, there are always people fall to these traps otherwise these places wouldn't survive.
Then I visited Rijkmuseum, which showed a lot of paintings of Dutch artists, including the famous Rembrandt's. Too bad the Van Gogh museum was under renovation at that time. I had a cruise on the canals of Amsterdam and it is one of the highlights of this trip. Netherlands is a country built on top of water. A third of the country is actually under sea level. Dutch reclaim the land by extracting water from the land using windmills. So water is an integral part of Dutch life. Most of the canals in the city of Amsterdam are constructed, only a few of them are natural. People uses the canals for transportation. The canals also provide spaces for living: there are house boats every where along the canals. Some of these house boats actually seem to be pretty comfortable to live in. There are lots of classic looking buildings, some dated back to 18th century, along both sides of the canals. It's a beautiful scene. A interesting note: some of these old buildings are tilted because wood posts were used to support the building when they were built in the old days and they become rotten by water as times goes by. People living inside need to deal with sloped table surfaces as well as floors. I enjoyed this cruise a lot because of the beautiful scenes as well as the knowledge I gained about the life of people living in Amsterdam.
Day 6 - Amsterdam, Cologne, Coblenz
The tour left Amsterdam for Germany in the morning and began the journey into the area along the river Rhine. The first city I visited is Cologne. One of the most famous thing about Cologne is, of course, Cologne the man's "perfume." The name of the famous brand 4711 actually came from the house number of the place where it was first manufactured. However, what impressed me the most about this city was the Dom, a old Gothic style catholic church. It looked magnificent. The next stop is the German Corner. It is the place where the river Rhine and Moselle meet. I stayed at a small and old yet beautiful country side motel on the river bank near the city Coblenz that night.
Day 7 - Coblenz, Trier
The Rhine journey continued on Day 7. I had a cruise on the river: there were lots of old castles along the river. I was told that the interior of most of these castles were not preserved as they were converted to hotels or prisons! What a pity. One of the landmark I saw during the cruise was the Lorelei rock, which was associated to a legend of mermaid. It was not really special. Then I arrived at the city Trier in the afternoon. Trier has a very long history. It was established by the Roman emperor Constantine as the capital of the western part of the Empire about 1900 years ago. I visited Basilika, the palace built by Constantine. It's a huge hall now became a church. There were also other remaining of buildings from the Roman era, e.g. a bath place, where the Roman people took bath (people did not have private bathroom those days) and an amphitheater, where the Roman watched the cruel games of man fighting against animals and each other. It is also famous for being the birthplace of Karl Marx, the father of communism.
Day 8 - Trier, Paris
I left Germany for France this morning. On the way to Paris the tour took us to visit a winery, specialized in champagne. I was surprised by the large amount of money and effort the winery put into the guided tour (which feature a Disney like train ride around the cave) as well as the decoration of the cave where the wine was manufactured. I wonder how much of these costs were added to the price of the champagne. I arrived at Paris in the evening. Then I went to a cabaret show, which Paris is really famous for. The girls at the show were pretty. The music was good. It was very entertaining.
Day 9 - Paris
I took a city sightseeing tour this morning. I saw the landmarks like Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre and the glass pyramid, the Renaissance style City Hall, Concorde Square, the Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe, and lots of other classical style old buildings. I was simply stunned by the beauty of these buildings. It is difficult to describe the beauty using words.
I visited another palace this afternoon: Versailles. It was built in the 17th century and modified many times since and it was the residence of French Emperor Louis XIV, XV, XVI. I was amazed by the luxurious look outside. I was even more amazed when I saw the luxurious decoration inside! Like Windsor Castle, it is heavily decorated with painting, tapestry, furniture, gold painted ceilings. It also has lots of sculptures of emperors including Napoleon and other famous people (e.g. the scientist Laplace) The most magnificent sight in my opinion is the hall of mirror with the chandeliers. It was fantastic.
I went to a jazz club, Duc Des Lombards, and saw the performance of the Ricardo Del Fra Sextet. They played great hard bop jazz. I was glad to see that the place was packed with fans. The atmosphere was great. I guess the jazz scene in Paris must be alive and kicking.
This is the end of my Europe trip. It was a great experience.
Bonus coverage: Day 10+ - New York
I stopped by New York City on my way back home from Europe. I've been attracted to New York City for a long time because of its sports and music scene. I went to an ice hockey game, New York Rangers vs. Edmonton Oilers, at Madison Square Garden, which claims to be the most famous arena in the world. The arena and the crowd was not really special but the game was exciting (Rangers 3, Oilers 2.)
One of the must-see thing in New York is of course the famous Broadway musicals. I saw Jekyll and Hyde at Plymouth Theater. The songs are beautiful. Another thing that New York is famous for and what I'm most interested in is jazz. New York is THE capital of jazz. Lots of jazz musicians are working and living there. Most of the famous jazz musicians choose New York City as one of their tour stop. I think you can find one or more big name jazz musicians playing in NYC every night! Many legendary and prestigious jazz clubs, like Birdland, Village Vanguard, Blue Note, are in NYC. Many jazz masters, including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans have played and recorded live sessions at these clubs. I went to Village Vanguard to see the Lou Donaldson Quartet. I also went to a newer jazz club (any place is new compared to those legendary clubs) called Iridium, which books many big name musicians as well, to see the Pat Martino Quintet. The clubs were typical. The music was great. I visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown in upstate New York. It has exhibits about baseball history and it also displays lots of memorabilia items like gloves, bats, jersey...... from legendary players. It was a wonderful experience for a baseball fan like myself. This is the end of my vacation.
Thursday, August 02, 2012
2012 Euro Cycling and Art Trip
I have been back from this trip for 4 days already and spent most of my free time blogging it. It's finally finished and published:
Prologue
Munich
Salzburg
Wachau
Vienna
Epilogue 1
Epilogue 2
Hope you enjoy reading it. I certainly will in a few years when I forgot everything :P
Prologue
Munich
Salzburg
Wachau
Vienna
Epilogue 1
Epilogue 2
Hope you enjoy reading it. I certainly will in a few years when I forgot everything :P
Monday, July 23, 2012
Squeaky disc brake on a mountain bike
I have been biking for many years but I can't say I'm familiar with bike maintenance (I'm as lazy as you could imagine when it comes to maintenance.) Mountain bike and disc brake are especially new to me. My 2 month old bike started squeaking when I squeeze the brake. It sounded really scary and I worry about not having braking power when I need it the most: going downhill on narrow trails. I wonder if I did something wrong with brakes (misaligned it by accident?) but it turns out disc brakes just need more cleaning than the V-brake and C-brake that I'm used to. Thanks to this article. I didn't even use rubbing alcohol but plain water and it worked like a charm.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Fantasy Symphony Contest
I am no stranger to fantasy sports, in which I handpicked a sports team to compete with others' teams. And I am pretty good at identifying lesser known talents, especially in football and baseball. However, when it comes to fantasy symphony, I'm no where near these guys. You might ask: what the heck is fantasy symphony anyway? Well, I just learned this term yesterday from the Stereophile magazine. Each fantasy player pretends to be in charge of a symphony orchestra and comes up with the program for a whole season (of 7 concerts), which cannot include works of the top 12 most popular composers (e.g. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms......) The editors have picked, subjectively, the winning programs. If you like to challenge your musical taste like I do, you should start listening to some of the pieces from these programs. Some are really "ear" openers!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
週末派對
聽起來就像青春片的名字，卻是我們這幾天的寫照，心境青春即可！第一個是西式：其中一位賓客是小提琴家（也是我們當晚弦樂三缺一重奏一位成員的老師），承蒙她指點了我們一二，一首貓王金曲總算玩得成個樣子；另一位是她從事樂器交易的男朋友，聽了不少他游走國際的趣事。第二個是中式：舊同事主人家兩位是青島及揚州人，嚐嚐揚州菜，再聽聽揚州話讀唐詩，十分攪笑！一席話題倒不止於唐詩宋詞，總之就是大江南北。最後一個是運動式：在泳池慶祝太太放大假，之後當然大吃一場補充消耗了的能量:)
Friday, July 13, 2012
Hard rock 101
I was listening to FM 96.5 on the car radio while taking my son to camp. It played its slogan: "Lite rock, less talk" after a Kelly Clarkson's song. My son asked me the difference between lite rock and hard rock. I figured it'd be easier to explain with an example so I switched to the next station on the preset: 107.7 and surely it was playing Led Zeppelin. Enough said.
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