Monthly Archives: July 2006

Happy Valentine's Day

The 7th day of the 7th lunar month is Chinese Valentine's day. That's today (July 31st) this year. There is a touching story behind it. It started with a mortal (Muggle in Harry Potter speech) orphan boy who grew up … Continue reading

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China Driver's License

What a man wouldn't do to earn the right to gloat? Yes, I passed on the first try. A China driver's license now bears my name. What's the big deal? Millions have license to drive. Even my 16-year is about … Continue reading

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Freakonomics

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner ISBN: 006073132X Pub. Date: April 2005 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers I am now a Steven Levitt wannabe. So much. Have an observation. Develop a theory. … Continue reading

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Trees in TianAnMen Sq.

Around the famed TianAnMen square, Beijing government is replacing the trees — all 160 of them. Yep. Trees. The old trees never grew well, said the city officials. Few died and many are sick or weak. This does not look … Continue reading

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QQ: a Car Story

Chery (奇瑞), a car manufacturer in China, introduced this tiny gem in 2002. The key reason for its wild success is the whopping 40,000 price — no, not in US dollars, China Yuan (or RMB). That's US$5k. For this price, … Continue reading

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Fish Head with Soaked Bread

鱼头泡饼 (Yu Tou Pao Bing), by its name, you will probably not venture it. Paul and I were searching for lunch. We walked toward the dumpling (饺子: JiaoZi) restaurant, knowing that is really the fail-safe choice. Just 50 meters before … Continue reading

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The Wisdom of Crowds

The Wisdom of Crowds James Surowiecki ISBN: 0385721706 Pub. Date: August 2005 Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group I was trained and am proud to be analytical. Give me a problem, I will analyze it and come up with a plan of … Continue reading

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