Author Archives: sinyaw

Feeling poetic

Posted on March 20, 2007 by sinyaw

Perrine's Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry (9th Edition) Thomas R. Arp (Author), Laurence Perrine (Contributor), Laurence Perrine (Author) ISBN: 978-0155030282 Pub. Date: January 1, 1997 Publisher: Harcourt Brace College Publishers; 9th edition (It appears that the latest edition … Continue reading →

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9/10ths of the law

Posted on March 15, 2007 by sinyaw

After 14 years and 7 trials, NPC (National People's Congress) enacted Property Laws (物权法) today (March 16th, 2007) in Beijing. This is a landmark legislative event. Modern China has followed the constitution that emphasize on the government's rights on all … Continue reading →

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Comparative Advantage of a Software Engineer

Posted on March 11, 2007 by sinyaw

Comparative advantage, as an economic concept, is intellectually understood, difficult to practice, and even harder to verify if it really works. “That it is logically true need not be argued before a mathematician; that is is not trivial is attested … Continue reading →

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DaShanZi (大山子)

Posted on March 10, 2007 by sinyaw

By area, Beijing is 20 times larger than New York City and 7.5 times than Tokyo. By population, it is 10% more than New York, 70% more than Tokyo, and about the same as New Dehli. Taiwan is 35,980 km² … Continue reading →

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Lantern's Festival

Posted on March 6, 2007 by sinyaw

Every Beijing would say, “正月十五雪打灯 (On the 1st full moon of the new year, the lanterns are covered with snow).” This is a unusually warm winter in Beijing. On March 2nd, two days before the new moon, it was 15°C. … Continue reading →

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Management 102

Posted on March 1, 2007 by sinyaw

I wrote about “Management 101” long time ago. By now, you should have mastered the basics. Right? 🙂 A while ago, few senior managers got together in Santa Clara, California. We talked about what a new manager must master to … Continue reading →

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Year of the Pig

Posted on February 20, 2007 by sinyaw

February 18th began the Chinese year of the pig. This is no ordinary pig, it is said to be golden. Kids born in this year will enjoy a life time of prosperity. Young couples are making plans like never before. … Continue reading →

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Two peaches kill three knights

Posted on February 9, 2007 by sinyaw

Amiram talked about the coincidence of Chinese and Jewish calendars. They are actually more similar than most people think. Unbeknown to even most Chinese, the traditional farmer's calendar, or YinLi (Lunar calendar), is solar. It divides a solar year into … Continue reading →

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HuKou (戶口)

Posted on February 7, 2007 by sinyaw

I heard that only 1% of the US population are farmers. That makes US just about the most efficient farming country in the history of mankind. US exports foods and use surplus for industrial purposes, such as turning corns into … Continue reading →

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Who drink this stuff?

Posted on January 31, 2007 by sinyaw

Folklore has it that during the SARS year, a young boy was not even infected, against all odds that everyone around him was and died, because he drank BanLanGen (板蓝根) everyday. Since then, whichever year a nasty cold or flu … Continue reading →

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