What a change? I'm now staying at the Century Star Holiday Hotel (582 Fengqi Road, Xiacheng District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, 310000) and it is *brilliant*!
It's not the classiest place in the world -- not by a long way. However, it is relatively cheap (198RMB for a double room -- about GBP13), has nice, clean rooms and the shower is brilliant (I can get hot, cold and any temperature in between -- the water pressure is even good!). What's more it is within walking distance (even in this hot weather) of the West Lake. From what I can gather the West Lake is the most famous lake in China, or something. My book suggests there are some 35 other lakes named after this one. But to be honest, after visiting it earlier on today it looked just like a plain old lake to me.
We didn't get much sleep last night due to the appalling conditions of the last hotel and I was planning to get an early night (especially as I want to get up early tomorrow morning to catch dawn at the West Lake). However... as I decided to check for any wireless hotspots on the offchance (I've started doing this less frequently now after not finding a single one so far) I noticed one called "wireless". Woohoo! Only problem was that it was WEP-encrypted and I have no "tools" (or time, for that matter) to deal with it. We decided to call reception to find out if we could use it but unfortunately nobody was around that could give us the information. That was the end of that... except for the fact they had mentioned a wall socket that we could use. Excellent! So to cut an already too long story a little bit shorter -- I'm now sat quite happily in my cool hotel room with Internet access, albeit exceptionally slow.
I'm a happy camper today!
Thursday, 30 June 2005
Wednesday, 29 June 2005
Hotel from Hell
I'm in Hangzhou city now, which is the capital of Xiaoxiao's province (her city being Taizhou). We caught a lift with one of the Vivi drivers who was driving to Hangzhou airport to pick up a couple of the company executives -- as it happens it was the same driver that Xiaoxiao's father had arranged to drive is to Yandangshan just days earlier. The guy seemed fairly friendly to me and a lot of the time in Yandangshan I was with him only (Xiaoxiao was "tired" and spent most of the time sitting about at the numerous stalls... sleeping mostly) -- not that the dialogue between us was much to go on. In fact... the dialogue mostly consisted of "yes", "no" and "okay", along with a great many hand and body gestures to show our meaning.
But anyway, Hangzhou today. We arrived around 4pm after a three hour drive from Taizhou. For once the weather wasn't scorching -- we were caught by a thunderstorm as we got dropped off. I was beginning to wonder if the Chinese hadn't invented clouds yet but I have now managed to obtain conclusive evidence (in the form of some snapshots out of the car window) to the contrary. In fact, they even have thunder and lightning!
Stupidly I let Xiaoxiao arrange the hotel. We followed the taxi driver's recommendation for cheap accommodation and he "went in to check if there were still availabilities" (read: he went in to inform the reception that the next couple coming in where "his punters" and that he would be back later to collect his commission). Unsurprisingly there was an abundance of free rooms and we duly paid our 130RMB fee (approximately GBP10 for a room with two beds) as well as an extortionate "deposit" of 170RMB. The room... well, it has a light in the "hall". One of the two lights above the mirror works and the bedside lamps work (if you count a 10W bulb as a light source). The ceiling just about stays up, although I wouldn't be surprised if there was a puddle of water on the floor in the morning. The desk sags worryingly... I daren't open the drawers as they look as they may be providing the structural support to keep the whole thing in one piece. As for the shower... I don't even want to go there -- suffice to say it took us 30 minutes to get hot water and that was just one of the problems we had.
So where did we go wrong?
# Took the driver's advice
# Agreed to stay before confirming the price
# Didn't ask to see room before confirming price (or agreeing to stay)
# Paid too much
# Stayed
As far as I can see we (Xiaoxiao) went wrong at every stage, which is why I have decided to be in charge of arranging hotels from now on. I think we might try the tourist-translator routine (that I just made up) whereby Xiaoxiao pretends to be my translator and arranges to receive a commission on the total price I pay (which we still bargain down as much as we can). Seems to be a win-win situation for Xiaoxiao and I.
I'm rather annoyed with Chinese cinemagoers -- they are lazy. We checked two Chinese cinemas today to try and watch a film (any film would have done, although Batman Begins was released in China today) but none use the original language, opting to dub in Mandaring and provide no subtitles. I don't know how they get away with this -- dubbed films are horrible to watch (apart from Kung-Fu films) not only because the audio is synchronised properly, but also because they have a nasty habit of doing really cheap dubbing whereby they dub over the full soundtrack, instead of dubbing just the speaking and not the special effects, etc. But anyway... no films for us and I'm not happy about it -- I didn't watch House of Flying Daggers with a dubbed English soundtrack, did I?
So just about the best thing that happened today was that I found the watch I lost last year in a big department store in Hangzhou. A whopping 125RMB (about GBP8) and I am now the proud owner of a really great watch. I was particularly keen on it the first time I bought it but I'm glad to have it again.
It does make me wonder what exactly I'm doing in China this year. I mean... I know what I'm doing -- I'm travelling and teaching -- but I keep finding myself in situations almost identical to last year -- for example the restaurant at Yandangshan, the "new" watch, staying with Xiaoxiao and spending some time with just Xiaoxiao's aunty. I'm sure it will all be quite different once we get into the swing of it a bit more -- now we're on our own we have a lot more control over what we do, when we do it and how long we stay. Obviously I fully appreciate all the help Xiaoxiao's father has given me (I would be very much lost without it) but I also want to do a lot of these things on my own -- without even Xiaoxiao's help. Some of them are fairly simple -- I was going to go into the cinema and ask if the films were in English (I could just about manage this by saying "ta men de ingwen ma?" (approximately "do they have English?")) but Xiaoxiao asked instead. Not to worry -- there are plenty of chances left for me to ask people questions and work things out for myself, especially when I spend two+ weeks on my own (actually, Gogo (one of Xiaoxiao's friends from high school) is in Beijing and hopefully I will spend some time with her as well as the English teacher Yu Lu, another foreigner who is teaching with me and maybe Mandy, the girl I met on the airplane).
Right, I'm bored of this and it is time for me to get some sleep -- we're up for 8am tomorrow and it is already approaching midnight now. Hope everybody is enjoying England -- I hear the weather is pretty good :)
But anyway, Hangzhou today. We arrived around 4pm after a three hour drive from Taizhou. For once the weather wasn't scorching -- we were caught by a thunderstorm as we got dropped off. I was beginning to wonder if the Chinese hadn't invented clouds yet but I have now managed to obtain conclusive evidence (in the form of some snapshots out of the car window) to the contrary. In fact, they even have thunder and lightning!
Stupidly I let Xiaoxiao arrange the hotel. We followed the taxi driver's recommendation for cheap accommodation and he "went in to check if there were still availabilities" (read: he went in to inform the reception that the next couple coming in where "his punters" and that he would be back later to collect his commission). Unsurprisingly there was an abundance of free rooms and we duly paid our 130RMB fee (approximately GBP10 for a room with two beds) as well as an extortionate "deposit" of 170RMB. The room... well, it has a light in the "hall". One of the two lights above the mirror works and the bedside lamps work (if you count a 10W bulb as a light source). The ceiling just about stays up, although I wouldn't be surprised if there was a puddle of water on the floor in the morning. The desk sags worryingly... I daren't open the drawers as they look as they may be providing the structural support to keep the whole thing in one piece. As for the shower... I don't even want to go there -- suffice to say it took us 30 minutes to get hot water and that was just one of the problems we had.
So where did we go wrong?
# Took the driver's advice
# Agreed to stay before confirming the price
# Didn't ask to see room before confirming price (or agreeing to stay)
# Paid too much
# Stayed
As far as I can see we (Xiaoxiao) went wrong at every stage, which is why I have decided to be in charge of arranging hotels from now on. I think we might try the tourist-translator routine (that I just made up) whereby Xiaoxiao pretends to be my translator and arranges to receive a commission on the total price I pay (which we still bargain down as much as we can). Seems to be a win-win situation for Xiaoxiao and I.
I'm rather annoyed with Chinese cinemagoers -- they are lazy. We checked two Chinese cinemas today to try and watch a film (any film would have done, although Batman Begins was released in China today) but none use the original language, opting to dub in Mandaring and provide no subtitles. I don't know how they get away with this -- dubbed films are horrible to watch (apart from Kung-Fu films) not only because the audio is synchronised properly, but also because they have a nasty habit of doing really cheap dubbing whereby they dub over the full soundtrack, instead of dubbing just the speaking and not the special effects, etc. But anyway... no films for us and I'm not happy about it -- I didn't watch House of Flying Daggers with a dubbed English soundtrack, did I?
So just about the best thing that happened today was that I found the watch I lost last year in a big department store in Hangzhou. A whopping 125RMB (about GBP8) and I am now the proud owner of a really great watch. I was particularly keen on it the first time I bought it but I'm glad to have it again.
It does make me wonder what exactly I'm doing in China this year. I mean... I know what I'm doing -- I'm travelling and teaching -- but I keep finding myself in situations almost identical to last year -- for example the restaurant at Yandangshan, the "new" watch, staying with Xiaoxiao and spending some time with just Xiaoxiao's aunty. I'm sure it will all be quite different once we get into the swing of it a bit more -- now we're on our own we have a lot more control over what we do, when we do it and how long we stay. Obviously I fully appreciate all the help Xiaoxiao's father has given me (I would be very much lost without it) but I also want to do a lot of these things on my own -- without even Xiaoxiao's help. Some of them are fairly simple -- I was going to go into the cinema and ask if the films were in English (I could just about manage this by saying "ta men de ingwen ma?" (approximately "do they have English?")) but Xiaoxiao asked instead. Not to worry -- there are plenty of chances left for me to ask people questions and work things out for myself, especially when I spend two+ weeks on my own (actually, Gogo (one of Xiaoxiao's friends from high school) is in Beijing and hopefully I will spend some time with her as well as the English teacher Yu Lu, another foreigner who is teaching with me and maybe Mandy, the girl I met on the airplane).
Right, I'm bored of this and it is time for me to get some sleep -- we're up for 8am tomorrow and it is already approaching midnight now. Hope everybody is enjoying England -- I hear the weather is pretty good :)
Tuesday, 28 June 2005
UFraw CVS (with Nikon D70S encryption hacked!)
Finally! I've spent the last age figuring out how to make a very rudimentary Debian package after pulling the latest ufraw source from CVS. I've now got a .deb file that provides ufraw and the GIMP ufraw plugin that incorporates the latest Nikon NEF encryption stuff properly!
I've attached it to this post as I've noticed that my entries are usually in the top five when searching for ufraw and D70S. I make no guarantee this will leave your system in a usable state but I can confirm it works well for me.
Last night I figured out how to get Nautlius to display the embedded (white balance encryption-free) thumbnails too, so I now have a better all-round solution than most Windows and proprietary Nikon software users do.
I'll have a go at playing around and maybe upload some photos shortly.
I've attached it to this post as I've noticed that my entries are usually in the top five when searching for ufraw and D70S. I make no guarantee this will leave your system in a usable state but I can confirm it works well for me.
Last night I figured out how to get Nautlius to display the embedded (white balance encryption-free) thumbnails too, so I now have a better all-round solution than most Windows and proprietary Nikon software users do.
I'll have a go at playing around and maybe upload some photos shortly.
Sunday, 26 June 2005
Coincidence
I don't know how I managed to forget the two weird things that happened since I last posted.
First of all I was in the nearby McDonald's yesterday and I bumped into a Canadian lady at the till. The conversation was fairly short (along the usual lines of "So, where are you from? Oh, really? Yes, I'm from XXX") but it just happened this lady was from Canada (bells begin to ring) so I asked: "We met each other last year, didn't we?"
And we did, too. I suppose it isn't that bizarre as she's teaching at a nearby school and there are only about three of four "Western" places to get food. Still, rather a strange encounter, if you ask me.
The second thing that happened was today at lunchtime. Xiaoxiao and I were being driven around by a Vivi driver and we asked him to pick the restaurant (if you can call them that in tourist areas). As it happens he picked *exactly the same place as last year*! No intervention, nothing. To make things even more weird he managed to go ahead and pick *exactly the same room as last year*! It was a sort of prolonged Deja-vu, I guess. They seemed to have cleaned the place up a bit since last year -- there wasn't so much damp and mould on the walls but it was still far from what I would consider a (an?) hygenic place to eat. So I didn't.
Right, I think I've found my decryption stuff for the RAW files now and I've replied to all my emails so it is time for me to head back and give this stuff a go!
First of all I was in the nearby McDonald's yesterday and I bumped into a Canadian lady at the till. The conversation was fairly short (along the usual lines of "So, where are you from? Oh, really? Yes, I'm from XXX") but it just happened this lady was from Canada (bells begin to ring) so I asked: "We met each other last year, didn't we?"
And we did, too. I suppose it isn't that bizarre as she's teaching at a nearby school and there are only about three of four "Western" places to get food. Still, rather a strange encounter, if you ask me.
The second thing that happened was today at lunchtime. Xiaoxiao and I were being driven around by a Vivi driver and we asked him to pick the restaurant (if you can call them that in tourist areas). As it happens he picked *exactly the same place as last year*! No intervention, nothing. To make things even more weird he managed to go ahead and pick *exactly the same room as last year*! It was a sort of prolonged Deja-vu, I guess. They seemed to have cleaned the place up a bit since last year -- there wasn't so much damp and mould on the walls but it was still far from what I would consider a (an?) hygenic place to eat. So I didn't.
Right, I think I've found my decryption stuff for the RAW files now and I've replied to all my emails so it is time for me to head back and give this stuff a go!
Yandangshan
I'm back in the Internet cafe next to Xiaoxiao's house after having spent the whole day at Yandangshan. Last year it was one of the best places I visited and it was good again this year. Unlike last time I didn't take a flying leap off any bridges, much as I wanted to. I've got some great shots (I think) of other people doing it though -- that AF-C mode my camera has is really handy for something!
I'm still struggling with my Nikon RAW files but I discovered today I'm using a fairly old version of dcraw (the utility to convert the RAW files to files editable by my graphics application). I've now got the latest version downloaded, which I hope to get working when I get back later on. I spent the whole day shooting RAW today so, assuming I can decrypt the white balance information, I hope to upload some fairly decent photos of the place tomorrow.
Yesterday I got up really late (mid-day) and didn't go out until about 3pm as Xiaoxiao wasn't feeling too well. In the end I went out on my old but had some great fun wandering around the "back streets" taking photos. In the evening I asked to visit a tall building to have a go at taking some long "night" (read: twilight) exposures to try and get the really cool streaky-headlight photos. We ended up at a brand new hotel (built to a five star standard but it is so new it doesn't have the official status) where we went straight to the top floor to the restaurant.
I don't think I've really been anywhere quite as posh as this one before but I was surprised to find that the prices weren't too outrageous (rich Chinese seem to enjoy paying money for the sake of it) -- a Coke was approximately the same price as in England. I managed to take a few shots but unfortunately there were far too many lights on in the building (although they actually switched some off when Xiaoxiao's Dad asked). I'm fairly happy with the results though -- with a little more practice and a better location to shoot from (i.e. outside, not through a window) I reckon I can get some really great results.
Tomorrow we are spending the whole day shopping (yay (!)) as Xiaoxiao claims she has no suitable clothes. The following day we are travelling to the adjoining province to do some "touristing". Maybe if I can convince Xiaoxiao to be quick with her shopping we can set off tomorrow evening.
I'm still struggling with my Nikon RAW files but I discovered today I'm using a fairly old version of dcraw (the utility to convert the RAW files to files editable by my graphics application). I've now got the latest version downloaded, which I hope to get working when I get back later on. I spent the whole day shooting RAW today so, assuming I can decrypt the white balance information, I hope to upload some fairly decent photos of the place tomorrow.
Yesterday I got up really late (mid-day) and didn't go out until about 3pm as Xiaoxiao wasn't feeling too well. In the end I went out on my old but had some great fun wandering around the "back streets" taking photos. In the evening I asked to visit a tall building to have a go at taking some long "night" (read: twilight) exposures to try and get the really cool streaky-headlight photos. We ended up at a brand new hotel (built to a five star standard but it is so new it doesn't have the official status) where we went straight to the top floor to the restaurant.
I don't think I've really been anywhere quite as posh as this one before but I was surprised to find that the prices weren't too outrageous (rich Chinese seem to enjoy paying money for the sake of it) -- a Coke was approximately the same price as in England. I managed to take a few shots but unfortunately there were far too many lights on in the building (although they actually switched some off when Xiaoxiao's Dad asked). I'm fairly happy with the results though -- with a little more practice and a better location to shoot from (i.e. outside, not through a window) I reckon I can get some really great results.
Tomorrow we are spending the whole day shopping (yay (!)) as Xiaoxiao claims she has no suitable clothes. The following day we are travelling to the adjoining province to do some "touristing". Maybe if I can convince Xiaoxiao to be quick with her shopping we can set off tomorrow evening.
Friday, 24 June 2005
Fixed entry
Oops! I screwed up the sauna entry -- I've fixed it now so you can go back and read it. It *should* be fairly amusing. Right, I've got to go now. Tata!
Vivi
I'm sat in the "President room" at the main Vivi office in China right now... although I'm in a rather hot room (we can't find the remote control for the air conditioner) for Internet access.
Vivi is Xiaoxiao's father's company that designs and manufactures electronic toilets -- the kind people always seem to ask about when you bring up Japan. To be honest, I'm still undecided on the topic -- some of the features are actually quite good and work well, while others are not so great. As I've explained to Xiaoxiao's father; I think it is just a matter of getting accustomed to it.
I've spent a couple of hours working on translating the manual for the latest toilet and a few other bits and pieces. By translating I mean rewriting computer translations so they make some amount of sense. I don't really like doing it (it gets boring fairly quickly) but I'm glad to as there is little else I can do -- everywhere I go somebody pays for me, takes me places, etc. In fact, the only money I've spent has been on my camera, a bag and battery and food at McDonald's (and then only because only Xiaoxiao came with me). I bought some toothpaste too, but I was on my own then.
I've got my laptop synchronised with CompSoc again, which is good, although I've still not yet copied any photos. I've not really taken any worth keeping yet. I've been bitten by the Nikon RAW encryption too -- while dcraw itself is capable of working around (read: "cracking") the encryption, it seems the gimp ufraw plugin (that uses dcraw) hasn't yet been updated. I guess I'll have to shoot fine JPEG for a little while -- I guess it doesn't matter too much while I'm still figuring things out anyway.
Here's another tip -- website mirrors are good, very good. The Ubuntu China mirror allows me to get around 150KB/s while the regular UK mirror Ubuntu found on install was giving me less than 5KB/s.
Vivi is Xiaoxiao's father's company that designs and manufactures electronic toilets -- the kind people always seem to ask about when you bring up Japan. To be honest, I'm still undecided on the topic -- some of the features are actually quite good and work well, while others are not so great. As I've explained to Xiaoxiao's father; I think it is just a matter of getting accustomed to it.
I've spent a couple of hours working on translating the manual for the latest toilet and a few other bits and pieces. By translating I mean rewriting computer translations so they make some amount of sense. I don't really like doing it (it gets boring fairly quickly) but I'm glad to as there is little else I can do -- everywhere I go somebody pays for me, takes me places, etc. In fact, the only money I've spent has been on my camera, a bag and battery and food at McDonald's (and then only because only Xiaoxiao came with me). I bought some toothpaste too, but I was on my own then.
I've got my laptop synchronised with CompSoc again, which is good, although I've still not yet copied any photos. I've not really taken any worth keeping yet. I've been bitten by the Nikon RAW encryption too -- while dcraw itself is capable of working around (read: "cracking") the encryption, it seems the gimp ufraw plugin (that uses dcraw) hasn't yet been updated. I guess I'll have to shoot fine JPEG for a little while -- I guess it doesn't matter too much while I'm still figuring things out anyway.
Here's another tip -- website mirrors are good, very good. The Ubuntu China mirror allows me to get around 150KB/s while the regular UK mirror Ubuntu found on install was giving me less than 5KB/s.
Thursday, 23 June 2005
Internet
Finally! I've just "uploaded" the last three days entries now that I'm in an Internet cafe near Xiaoxiao's house in Taizhou city. They didn't want me to use my laptop so I'm using some crappy computer. It'll do the job but it scares me a bit to use my normal username and password -- I'd be surprised if there wasn't any password-sniffing software installed!
Today was spent shopping... not really for me, but for Xiaoxiao. She has picked up a nice pair of shoes and will probably find some clothes tomorrow. I've done okay too -- a bag for my camera (a whopping GBP3) that will hold the camera and lens (attached), at least two CF cards, a spare battery (which I also bought for just over a tenner) and the lens hood. I looked at some sunglasses (as I left the pair I bought last time at home) but didn't really see anything I liked.
I've been playing around a little with my camera today but I'm still not confident with everything it can do. The user interface is excellent though so it shouldn't take long to find out. Still no tripod, which is very annoying as I'm desperate to try some long exposures for those cool "car light" photos.
Another thing I'm not too sure about is "depth of field" and the "circle of confusion" (whatever that is). I get the theory but in practice it doesn't seem to work out for me. Having said that... I'm still only just getting to grips with the practice of lens aperture, shutter speed and film "sensitivity" -- another thing that looks fine on paper but isn't as easy for me in real life. Hopefully practice will make perfect.
Xiaoxiao's mother and cousin have just walked in and woken Xiaoxiao up (who had fallen asleep next to me). I can't really remember if I've said this already but I've got a SIM card sorted now so you can give me a ring (give me somebody different to talk to!) on +8613621927525. I've got a 'phone card too -- just send me an email and I'll give you the details so you can use an 0800 (or 020) number to call me for free.
That's it for now, time to check out Slashdot and a few other things. I'll upload some photos when I've taken some decent ones. Bye.
Today was spent shopping... not really for me, but for Xiaoxiao. She has picked up a nice pair of shoes and will probably find some clothes tomorrow. I've done okay too -- a bag for my camera (a whopping GBP3) that will hold the camera and lens (attached), at least two CF cards, a spare battery (which I also bought for just over a tenner) and the lens hood. I looked at some sunglasses (as I left the pair I bought last time at home) but didn't really see anything I liked.
I've been playing around a little with my camera today but I'm still not confident with everything it can do. The user interface is excellent though so it shouldn't take long to find out. Still no tripod, which is very annoying as I'm desperate to try some long exposures for those cool "car light" photos.
Another thing I'm not too sure about is "depth of field" and the "circle of confusion" (whatever that is). I get the theory but in practice it doesn't seem to work out for me. Having said that... I'm still only just getting to grips with the practice of lens aperture, shutter speed and film "sensitivity" -- another thing that looks fine on paper but isn't as easy for me in real life. Hopefully practice will make perfect.
Xiaoxiao's mother and cousin have just walked in and woken Xiaoxiao up (who had fallen asleep next to me). I can't really remember if I've said this already but I've got a SIM card sorted now so you can give me a ring (give me somebody different to talk to!) on +8613621927525. I've got a 'phone card too -- just send me an email and I'll give you the details so you can use an 0800 (or 020) number to call me for free.
That's it for now, time to check out Slashdot and a few other things. I'll upload some photos when I've taken some decent ones. Bye.
Wednesday, 22 June 2005
Zhejiang and my camera
Just a quick entry -- I'm back in Taizhou, Zhejiang now and I'm sat in Xiaoxiao's house watching some dubbed English film set in Manchester about drugs. Not very exciting.
Today was almost another all-Chinese food day, except for the two double cheeseburgers and large fries I had an hour ago. Unfortunately the Internet here isn't working so I *still* can't upload these entries, but I'll do my best to find an Internet cafe tomorrow... after I've found some light trousers and long-sleeve t-shirts to combat the damn mosquitos.
Today was almost another all-Chinese food day, except for the two double cheeseburgers and large fries I had an hour ago. Unfortunately the Internet here isn't working so I *still* can't upload these entries, but I'll do my best to find an Internet cafe tomorrow... after I've found some light trousers and long-sleeve t-shirts to combat the damn mosquitos.
Tuesday, 21 June 2005
Of saunas, flimsy-pants and McDonald's
First of all I'll make an apology about the really thoughtless subjects for all of the entries so far. Thinking up a clever and aplicable name is far more effort than I can really muster. (Update: I changed the subject from just "Sauna" when I finished and I think this is a rather exciting and curious title -- don't you agree?)
For the second half of today we went to a big "sauna" place in Shanghai. I'm not too sure what it was called but it covered four floors (maybe more), had four restaurants, multiple hot tubs (well, tubs of varying heat), pool tables, a hairdresser, spa and a great big entertainment hall. There are probably plenty of other things I missed out on too. I was told we were going for a sauna which I really wasn't looking forward to (sitting around naked in a stupidly hot room is not my idea of fun when I'm in China and spend all day trying to escape the ridiculous heat and humidity!) but as it turned out I was quite mistaken. I don't know if we have a word for what the place is but the idea is this: enter the "sauna", swap your shoes for sandals, remove all clothes and carry around the provided towel, proceed to hot tubs and splash about. At this point all sorts of things can happen -- since it was Xiaoxiao's father's business friend that was taking us Xiaoxiao's father and I were required to lie down (naked again) and have all of the dead skin scrubbed from out body. Then you get a shower, have some more fun in the hot tub before proceeding to another room where you are provided with some flimsy pants and are required to wear -- time for a break; there is a mosquito sat on my pillow.
(20 minutes later) Okay... I hit it with my China book twice so I *think* it is dead but I can't see it. That's the second this evening but this time the bugger got me on the back and my shoulder has already swollen. Something tells me I am absolutely allergic to mosquito bites as the speed that these things swell up is unbelievable. I've had a few nasty bites when younger and I really suffered last year so it doesn't look good. I foolishly forgot to pack the mosquito guard but I'll make sure to get some tomorrow. Who cares if I smell? At least I won't be swollen all over.
Okay, where was I? Oh, yeah, the flimsy pants. As well as those you get to put on some stupid looking pyjamas (with special pocket for mobile 'phone ;) and then meet the members of the opposite sex (us boys got white pyjamas but the girls wear pink, much to my amusement). For the rest of the duration you have to remember that we are wearing pyjamas at all times.
So picture this... 25 tables with up to seven people per table in a fairly small room. Maybe that averages out at about 125 people wearing stupid-looking pyjamas while eating dinner. Most bizarre. I wish I a) had a camera; and b) had had it with me. The food wasn't all bad but was only "edible" instead of nice or tasty. Amazingly I ate a prawn, some crazy seafood, raw chicken (eugh! I didn't know it was raw!), pork off the bone, fish, Chinese leaf, weird beef (bought just for me, not that I had any say in the matter) and some other weird and wonderful things. I actually ate "all Chinese" at lunch too -- pork and pepper, rice, "other stuff". The problem this time was that there was no rice. Newp, none at all. That meant I couldn't get away with my usual tactic of sitting about slowly eating the rice, occasionally picking up something from the dishes and keeping it sat in my bowl for as long as possible to prevent people "offering" me more food. I'm proud of myself -- I did well and haven't starved. Bar the seven Pringles I ate an hour ago today's food has been entirely Chinese! That would sound more impressive if I felt a little more full and my tummy wasn't growling and gargling at me. Tomorrow... McDonald's!
McDonald's and I have a sort of love-hate relationship. Sometimes I really enjoy tucking into a Big Mac or Double Cheeseburger with fries. But most of the time I really can't think of anything else I'd rather eat less (well, except for Chinese food). But in China our relationship is all love. I love McDonald's here. Not because it's good, cheap or tasty but because you can't really tell it was ever alive. It doesn't come with eyeballs, bones and a beak (at least, not usually) and it is _the same as in England_.
Genius. Pure genius.
Since I visited Japan last year it McDonald's food has been one big circle. (Almost) every day in Japan: McDonald's. (Almost) every other day in China: McDonald's. Not fun and not by choice. But back in England: no McDonald's for months and months. Four months before flight to China: McDonald's a couple of times. Back in China: (well, not yet, but I guess it will be) McDonald's. I guess I'll *really hate the stuff* when I get back (but who wouldn't after three long months of "Chicken MuckBurger"?
I digress, but I suppose it had to be said sooner or later. Once the eating was over we headed to the entertainment room where about six tall Chinese girls (who might all have just been clones) were dancing -- my impression... the dance was designed just so the girls got to walk around holding up their skirts at the front so you can see their pants.
Genius. There's lots of it around today!
A lot of the other stuff was far from interesting (omoshiroi in Japanese, out of interest) -- AH CRAP, I just saw another mosquito! There was me feeling happy about a safe bite-free night -- but that was partly due to the fact it was in Chinese and I dun't hear Chinese so good. Having said that, there were five acrobats that were particularly impressive and received lots of raise from the "clappy hands" I had. That's a neat trick -- provide everybody with something that makes the maximum amount of noise with minimum effort.
I've run dry now and it is already 1:30am so I need to get to bed. With any luck I'll be the proud owner of a D70S later on today. I should also be in Zhejiang so I will be able to use Xiaoxiao's Internet to post all of the stuff I've written so far. Looking forward to hearing from you ;)
For the second half of today we went to a big "sauna" place in Shanghai. I'm not too sure what it was called but it covered four floors (maybe more), had four restaurants, multiple hot tubs (well, tubs of varying heat), pool tables, a hairdresser, spa and a great big entertainment hall. There are probably plenty of other things I missed out on too. I was told we were going for a sauna which I really wasn't looking forward to (sitting around naked in a stupidly hot room is not my idea of fun when I'm in China and spend all day trying to escape the ridiculous heat and humidity!) but as it turned out I was quite mistaken. I don't know if we have a word for what the place is but the idea is this: enter the "sauna", swap your shoes for sandals, remove all clothes and carry around the provided towel, proceed to hot tubs and splash about. At this point all sorts of things can happen -- since it was Xiaoxiao's father's business friend that was taking us Xiaoxiao's father and I were required to lie down (naked again) and have all of the dead skin scrubbed from out body. Then you get a shower, have some more fun in the hot tub before proceeding to another room where you are provided with some flimsy pants and are required to wear -- time for a break; there is a mosquito sat on my pillow.
(20 minutes later) Okay... I hit it with my China book twice so I *think* it is dead but I can't see it. That's the second this evening but this time the bugger got me on the back and my shoulder has already swollen. Something tells me I am absolutely allergic to mosquito bites as the speed that these things swell up is unbelievable. I've had a few nasty bites when younger and I really suffered last year so it doesn't look good. I foolishly forgot to pack the mosquito guard but I'll make sure to get some tomorrow. Who cares if I smell? At least I won't be swollen all over.
Okay, where was I? Oh, yeah, the flimsy pants. As well as those you get to put on some stupid looking pyjamas (with special pocket for mobile 'phone ;) and then meet the members of the opposite sex (us boys got white pyjamas but the girls wear pink, much to my amusement). For the rest of the duration you have to remember that we are wearing pyjamas at all times.
So picture this... 25 tables with up to seven people per table in a fairly small room. Maybe that averages out at about 125 people wearing stupid-looking pyjamas while eating dinner. Most bizarre. I wish I a) had a camera; and b) had had it with me. The food wasn't all bad but was only "edible" instead of nice or tasty. Amazingly I ate a prawn, some crazy seafood, raw chicken (eugh! I didn't know it was raw!), pork off the bone, fish, Chinese leaf, weird beef (bought just for me, not that I had any say in the matter) and some other weird and wonderful things. I actually ate "all Chinese" at lunch too -- pork and pepper, rice, "other stuff". The problem this time was that there was no rice. Newp, none at all. That meant I couldn't get away with my usual tactic of sitting about slowly eating the rice, occasionally picking up something from the dishes and keeping it sat in my bowl for as long as possible to prevent people "offering" me more food. I'm proud of myself -- I did well and haven't starved. Bar the seven Pringles I ate an hour ago today's food has been entirely Chinese! That would sound more impressive if I felt a little more full and my tummy wasn't growling and gargling at me. Tomorrow... McDonald's!
McDonald's and I have a sort of love-hate relationship. Sometimes I really enjoy tucking into a Big Mac or Double Cheeseburger with fries. But most of the time I really can't think of anything else I'd rather eat less (well, except for Chinese food). But in China our relationship is all love. I love McDonald's here. Not because it's good, cheap or tasty but because you can't really tell it was ever alive. It doesn't come with eyeballs, bones and a beak (at least, not usually) and it is _the same as in England_.
Genius. Pure genius.
Since I visited Japan last year it McDonald's food has been one big circle. (Almost) every day in Japan: McDonald's. (Almost) every other day in China: McDonald's. Not fun and not by choice. But back in England: no McDonald's for months and months. Four months before flight to China: McDonald's a couple of times. Back in China: (well, not yet, but I guess it will be) McDonald's. I guess I'll *really hate the stuff* when I get back (but who wouldn't after three long months of "Chicken MuckBurger"?
I digress, but I suppose it had to be said sooner or later. Once the eating was over we headed to the entertainment room where about six tall Chinese girls (who might all have just been clones) were dancing -- my impression... the dance was designed just so the girls got to walk around holding up their skirts at the front so you can see their pants.
Genius. There's lots of it around today!
A lot of the other stuff was far from interesting (omoshiroi in Japanese, out of interest) -- AH CRAP, I just saw another mosquito! There was me feeling happy about a safe bite-free night -- but that was partly due to the fact it was in Chinese and I dun't hear Chinese so good. Having said that, there were five acrobats that were particularly impressive and received lots of raise from the "clappy hands" I had. That's a neat trick -- provide everybody with something that makes the maximum amount of noise with minimum effort.
I've run dry now and it is already 1:30am so I need to get to bed. With any luck I'll be the proud owner of a D70S later on today. I should also be in Zhejiang so I will be able to use Xiaoxiao's Internet to post all of the stuff I've written so far. Looking forward to hearing from you ;)
啸啸 (Xiaoxiao)
By the looks of it the bug I got last night was in fact the mosquito that got me earlier on in the day. So I've not got any more bites but I have a jawline like Desperate Dan... but only at one side. My arms are both swollen and my right leg is lumpy in some really odd places.
But it doesn't really matter. We picked up Xiaoxiao at the airport this morning. The plane was amazingly on time, but we didn't see her until about 10:30... easily enough time for me to witness the bizarre "change of guard" involving a mutual salute, silly circle walking, two more salutes and then a very out-of-place casual swap of the walkie-talkie. The three beautiful girls working for the Shanghai MagLev train were right at the front of the queue and randomly said "Welcome to MagLev train!" and the equivalent in Chinese. I have no idea what the theory was behind who received the greeting but some of the non-Chinese looked pretty amused by it all, while the Chinese seemed to ignore it entirely.
On the topic of the MagLev train I can quite definitely say there are just two criteria (two critereon?) for being employed as staff -- gender (female only) and beauty (very). They do a very good job picking the cute uniform too... not quite as nice as the weird sailor outfit Japanese girls wear to school but very close and mature looking (as opposed to the Japanese girls, who dress to be 12).
Xiaoxiao's flight was pretty good -- she got plenty of sleep thanks to the travel sickness pills and has been given a really shiny new mobile 'phone by her Dad. One of those super-crazy thin Motorola ones but in black, which I've not seen before in England. I personally think it would be much better in my pocket as it matches my laptop very nicely.
Just hanging out at the Vivi office in Shanghai for a while as Xiaoxiao's Dad has some prospective business associates to talk to. From what I understand we are going out for a meal later and doing some travelling around Shanghai in the evening. Tomorrow morning we will be going camera shopping (or even camera buying!). Roll on tomorrow!
But it doesn't really matter. We picked up Xiaoxiao at the airport this morning. The plane was amazingly on time, but we didn't see her until about 10:30... easily enough time for me to witness the bizarre "change of guard" involving a mutual salute, silly circle walking, two more salutes and then a very out-of-place casual swap of the walkie-talkie. The three beautiful girls working for the Shanghai MagLev train were right at the front of the queue and randomly said "Welcome to MagLev train!" and the equivalent in Chinese. I have no idea what the theory was behind who received the greeting but some of the non-Chinese looked pretty amused by it all, while the Chinese seemed to ignore it entirely.
On the topic of the MagLev train I can quite definitely say there are just two criteria (two critereon?) for being employed as staff -- gender (female only) and beauty (very). They do a very good job picking the cute uniform too... not quite as nice as the weird sailor outfit Japanese girls wear to school but very close and mature looking (as opposed to the Japanese girls, who dress to be 12).
Xiaoxiao's flight was pretty good -- she got plenty of sleep thanks to the travel sickness pills and has been given a really shiny new mobile 'phone by her Dad. One of those super-crazy thin Motorola ones but in black, which I've not seen before in England. I personally think it would be much better in my pocket as it matches my laptop very nicely.
Just hanging out at the Vivi office in Shanghai for a while as Xiaoxiao's Dad has some prospective business associates to talk to. From what I understand we are going out for a meal later and doing some travelling around Shanghai in the evening. Tomorrow morning we will be going camera shopping (or even camera buying!). Roll on tomorrow!
Monday, 20 June 2005
Xiaoxiao's father
So much for my sleep! No sooner did I finish my last entry did I receive a knock on the door. I quickly put my shorts on and went outside to see who it was. There was nobody there but at the other end of the hall was a very familiar looking figure -- Xiaoxiao's father. He's staying in the same "hotel" for the night (or maybe two) as Xiaoxiao is due so early tomorrow morning (a four hour drive isn't that appealing at the crack of dawn ;)
I've spent the last hour or so sat in his room along with two of his employees talking about Vivi, their new product and how to break in to the English market. Now all of this is very impressive considering there was one guy who could read very basic English that I wrote down and answer based on that. A really simple question took a couple of different explanations and translations before we managed to agree we both understood each other. It was actually very interesting -- they've got the new intelligent toilet coming out in October and they've got some really great CG designs of the shops they plan to open across China (starting with Shanghai followed by Beijing).
Anyway, that really is enough for my first day. Time to get some sleep. Bye!
I've spent the last hour or so sat in his room along with two of his employees talking about Vivi, their new product and how to break in to the English market. Now all of this is very impressive considering there was one guy who could read very basic English that I wrote down and answer based on that. A really simple question took a couple of different explanations and translations before we managed to agree we both understood each other. It was actually very interesting -- they've got the new intelligent toilet coming out in October and they've got some really great CG designs of the shops they plan to open across China (starting with Shanghai followed by Beijing).
Anyway, that really is enough for my first day. Time to get some sleep. Bye!
Dinner
For some reason the McDonald's nearest to Xiaoxiao's aunty's house was closed... but not to worry! -- there was a Pizza Hut takeaway restaurant right next door. I've been well fed, got some money (I cashed five $20 cheques) to keep me going and, best of all, I've visited the camera shop that I found via eBay China! From what they'd said I was very much expecting a shop covering one floor of the building, but it turns out it is a fairly small office, with a grubby little room complete with grubby table and grubby chairs that we were directed into. I was with Xiaoxiao's aunty but that didn't help very much as we can't really communicate. There was one guy (the boss, I think) that could speak a few phrases but he wasn't really much help.
I pretty much just said "Nikon D70S" and they went away into an equally tiny store room piled high with Nikon boxes and brought out the D70S = 18-70mm lens kit and three other lenses, including a large telephoto model that I guess would likely cost a similar price to the D70S kit! They then left me, so I opened the box, attached the lens, inserted the battery and asked for a CF card. Eventually I got a slow 128MB one but for some really odd reason it wouldn't store more than three exposures on the highest JPEG compression! Half an hour later somebody who knew what he was doing came, took the card and brought it back working. I'm guessing he just formatted it properly -- one card we used to have didn't work if you deleted files from Windows and not the camera, presumably it was a similar problem.
I've read 90% of the manual so I'm fairly confident with how to use the camera so I had no trouble in testing the basics to make sure everything was in order. It took me quite a while to figure out how to enable multi-shot mode where shots are taken continuously (while I hold down the shutter release) until the camera's buffer runs out. I can quite confidently say that the D70S can shoot at almost 3fps and hold four RAW files in the buffer. I'm still seriously impressed and I really can't spot anything odd with the kit (apart from the odd location and iffy service (although it is much nicer to be left alone in a room for ten minutes than it is to stand at one side of a counter while a sales representative fusses over you)). Two warranties were included in the box and they looked to be in order (but I would call Nikon before buying to confirm this and possibly even a serial number on the lens and body) although thinking back I recall them being for Nikon Hong Kong. The location of the warranty doesn't really matter to me, anyway.
The service was actually good, in a way. They were fairly helpful, even calling Nikon to confirm some details for me, and were not at all pushy, which goes down very well with me. I've got the boss' card which I will check out with Nikon (they claim to be a dealer, which I think may be true -- they had nothing in the office but boxes of Nikon gear), as well as looking at their eBay feedback. The price they quoted me was a little higher than the one I got over the 'phone but with some heavy bargaining I'm sure I'll get that sorted in no time. I think the equivalent of GBP600 is what I'm looking to pay with the cost for a PL filter and 2GB Lexar 80x CompactFlash card to go on top (they don't sell this stuff). I've also got another place to check up -- a really big camera market that hopefully Xiaoxiao and I will go to tomorrow.
I'm up at 8:30 tomorrow morning to meet Xiaoxiao at PuDong airport for her flight arriving at 9:55 -- plenty of time considering the plane will be delayed by at least 30 minutes and she will have to make her way through customs and the baggage carousel. I've not yet called anybody in England to let them know I'm here. I now have a Chinese SIM card (a rather expensive RMB110 (about GBP7)!) but can't call internationally with it and I had difficulty explaining what I wanted to do to Xiaoxiao's aunty. I'll probably have gotten in touch with a few people before I post this, but my number is +8613621927525 if you want to call me! I've got a 'phone card with an 0800 number I can let you have the details for too, which makes calling free (just drop my an email and I'll pass the details along).
I'm looking forward to meeting Xiaoxiao and her parents tomorrow but in the meantime I plan on having some of the best sleep I've had in a while thanks to air conditioning. That is if the bug I squished just as I started writing this entry was, in fact, the mosquito that bit me three times while I had a quick two hour nap earlier on!
I pretty much just said "Nikon D70S" and they went away into an equally tiny store room piled high with Nikon boxes and brought out the D70S = 18-70mm lens kit and three other lenses, including a large telephoto model that I guess would likely cost a similar price to the D70S kit! They then left me, so I opened the box, attached the lens, inserted the battery and asked for a CF card. Eventually I got a slow 128MB one but for some really odd reason it wouldn't store more than three exposures on the highest JPEG compression! Half an hour later somebody who knew what he was doing came, took the card and brought it back working. I'm guessing he just formatted it properly -- one card we used to have didn't work if you deleted files from Windows and not the camera, presumably it was a similar problem.
I've read 90% of the manual so I'm fairly confident with how to use the camera so I had no trouble in testing the basics to make sure everything was in order. It took me quite a while to figure out how to enable multi-shot mode where shots are taken continuously (while I hold down the shutter release) until the camera's buffer runs out. I can quite confidently say that the D70S can shoot at almost 3fps and hold four RAW files in the buffer. I'm still seriously impressed and I really can't spot anything odd with the kit (apart from the odd location and iffy service (although it is much nicer to be left alone in a room for ten minutes than it is to stand at one side of a counter while a sales representative fusses over you)). Two warranties were included in the box and they looked to be in order (but I would call Nikon before buying to confirm this and possibly even a serial number on the lens and body) although thinking back I recall them being for Nikon Hong Kong. The location of the warranty doesn't really matter to me, anyway.
The service was actually good, in a way. They were fairly helpful, even calling Nikon to confirm some details for me, and were not at all pushy, which goes down very well with me. I've got the boss' card which I will check out with Nikon (they claim to be a dealer, which I think may be true -- they had nothing in the office but boxes of Nikon gear), as well as looking at their eBay feedback. The price they quoted me was a little higher than the one I got over the 'phone but with some heavy bargaining I'm sure I'll get that sorted in no time. I think the equivalent of GBP600 is what I'm looking to pay with the cost for a PL filter and 2GB Lexar 80x CompactFlash card to go on top (they don't sell this stuff). I've also got another place to check up -- a really big camera market that hopefully Xiaoxiao and I will go to tomorrow.
I'm up at 8:30 tomorrow morning to meet Xiaoxiao at PuDong airport for her flight arriving at 9:55 -- plenty of time considering the plane will be delayed by at least 30 minutes and she will have to make her way through customs and the baggage carousel. I've not yet called anybody in England to let them know I'm here. I now have a Chinese SIM card (a rather expensive RMB110 (about GBP7)!) but can't call internationally with it and I had difficulty explaining what I wanted to do to Xiaoxiao's aunty. I'll probably have gotten in touch with a few people before I post this, but my number is +8613621927525 if you want to call me! I've got a 'phone card with an 0800 number I can let you have the details for too, which makes calling free (just drop my an email and I'll pass the details along).
I'm looking forward to meeting Xiaoxiao and her parents tomorrow but in the meantime I plan on having some of the best sleep I've had in a while thanks to air conditioning. That is if the bug I squished just as I started writing this entry was, in fact, the mosquito that bit me three times while I had a quick two hour nap earlier on!
中国!
I'm back in China! It's a little odd, actually; as I walked up the gangway to PuDong airport it didn't really dawn upon me until I'd got through the quarantine gate and was just about to start queueing for the customs checks. I just happened to look out a window and spotted a billboard and then it struck home.
Once the initial shock (at seeing the billboard) had died down I wasn't really thinking or feeling much, other than somehow being back in Shanghai seemed right. It sounds absolutely stupid but that's the truth.
I had no trouble getting through customs, found my bag within about three minutes and met Xiaoxiao's aunty waiting for me in the terminal. Within a matter of just a few minutes from landing (quite unexpectedly too -- I knew we were descending but there was absolutely no warning before the wheels hit the tarmack; if anything it was a bit of a let down!) we were sat in her Buick driving down the highway to her flat (and my "hotel" room). I've already spoken to Xiaoxiao in the car even though in England the time was about three or four AM.
I'm back in the same hotel I stayed in previously (the cheap 100RMB/night one) and looking out the window now I can barely recall having been away. I've showered (just -- the trickle of water that comes out of the shower head is probably the reason the room fee isn't higher ;) and got myself all dressed up in my classic "China gear" which consists of a pair of long denim shorts and a cheap (but very nice) Giordano t-shirt, both of which I bought last year. My front jean pockets are bulging with 'phone, passport, wallet and the inevitable Carmex lip cream. On the topic of lip cream... I thought I'd lost one tub (I've had two on the go recently, both of them half empty) so I bought another in the departure lounge at Heathrow only to discover the missing one as soon as I arrived. There is something very disturbing about three little white tubs with bright yellow lids sat about on a table.
Xiaoxiao's aunty has been as friendly and helpful as always -- she met me (as I've already said), dropped me off here (and sorted the check-in for me) and will be back shortly to drive me to get some food from... McDonald's. I actually can't think of anything I'd like less now but after having eaten just a couple of rolls of bread (oh, and those of the girl sat next to me) on the airplane I am more than peckish. I'd probably settle very happily for pork and pepper with some rice, but getting that across to Xiaoxiao's aunty is probably more hassle than it is worth -- especially when my tummy is growling.
I'm actually not on the Internet now, I'm just sat in the hotel room with the basketball on (in Chinese, I might add -- that's another annoying thing about this hotel; for some reason they are the only place that doesn't have CCTV 9 (I hope I got the number right), which is in English) tapping away on my laptop. As soon as I find an Internet cafe or some other means of getting online I'll post this then. I'll back-date it so it appears as if I posted it when I finished (one of the wonders of Drupal!)
There's not much more I can say... I've been here less than an hour, after all. I should mention the girl I was sat next to on the plane. For once I ended up sat next to somebody that spoke English and was talkable-to (as opposed to some people where you just want to pretend you are German, or something). Mandy is visiting her relatives in Beijing and then taking them back to England with her. I don't want to relate all of our conversation or what I know about her (that's just weird) but I'll settle for saying that she was very friendly and I'm glad we ended up sat together. I've actually got her mobile number so I can give her a ring when I get to Beijing to do some teaching. Maybe we can go out and get something (not McDonald's!) to eat.
Well, I've got to get going now. First some food, then a trip to the bank, followed by some scouting for my camera. I hope everybody is well in sunny England (it really was -- probably it was hotter in London yesterday than it is here today... at least if Shanghai wasn't so humid) and I look forward to hearing from everybody. I'll do my best to post something else when I can.
Once the initial shock (at seeing the billboard) had died down I wasn't really thinking or feeling much, other than somehow being back in Shanghai seemed right. It sounds absolutely stupid but that's the truth.
I had no trouble getting through customs, found my bag within about three minutes and met Xiaoxiao's aunty waiting for me in the terminal. Within a matter of just a few minutes from landing (quite unexpectedly too -- I knew we were descending but there was absolutely no warning before the wheels hit the tarmack; if anything it was a bit of a let down!) we were sat in her Buick driving down the highway to her flat (and my "hotel" room). I've already spoken to Xiaoxiao in the car even though in England the time was about three or four AM.
I'm back in the same hotel I stayed in previously (the cheap 100RMB/night one) and looking out the window now I can barely recall having been away. I've showered (just -- the trickle of water that comes out of the shower head is probably the reason the room fee isn't higher ;) and got myself all dressed up in my classic "China gear" which consists of a pair of long denim shorts and a cheap (but very nice) Giordano t-shirt, both of which I bought last year. My front jean pockets are bulging with 'phone, passport, wallet and the inevitable Carmex lip cream. On the topic of lip cream... I thought I'd lost one tub (I've had two on the go recently, both of them half empty) so I bought another in the departure lounge at Heathrow only to discover the missing one as soon as I arrived. There is something very disturbing about three little white tubs with bright yellow lids sat about on a table.
Xiaoxiao's aunty has been as friendly and helpful as always -- she met me (as I've already said), dropped me off here (and sorted the check-in for me) and will be back shortly to drive me to get some food from... McDonald's. I actually can't think of anything I'd like less now but after having eaten just a couple of rolls of bread (oh, and those of the girl sat next to me) on the airplane I am more than peckish. I'd probably settle very happily for pork and pepper with some rice, but getting that across to Xiaoxiao's aunty is probably more hassle than it is worth -- especially when my tummy is growling.
I'm actually not on the Internet now, I'm just sat in the hotel room with the basketball on (in Chinese, I might add -- that's another annoying thing about this hotel; for some reason they are the only place that doesn't have CCTV 9 (I hope I got the number right), which is in English) tapping away on my laptop. As soon as I find an Internet cafe or some other means of getting online I'll post this then. I'll back-date it so it appears as if I posted it when I finished (one of the wonders of Drupal!)
There's not much more I can say... I've been here less than an hour, after all. I should mention the girl I was sat next to on the plane. For once I ended up sat next to somebody that spoke English and was talkable-to (as opposed to some people where you just want to pretend you are German, or something). Mandy is visiting her relatives in Beijing and then taking them back to England with her. I don't want to relate all of our conversation or what I know about her (that's just weird) but I'll settle for saying that she was very friendly and I'm glad we ended up sat together. I've actually got her mobile number so I can give her a ring when I get to Beijing to do some teaching. Maybe we can go out and get something (not McDonald's!) to eat.
Well, I've got to get going now. First some food, then a trip to the bank, followed by some scouting for my camera. I hope everybody is well in sunny England (it really was -- probably it was hotter in London yesterday than it is here today... at least if Shanghai wasn't so humid) and I look forward to hearing from everybody. I'll do my best to post something else when I can.
Saturday, 18 June 2005
T-1
Tomorrow is the day. I've been waiting quite patiently for Sunday to roll around. One way or another I've not done much for the past week -- I was expecting to be working on the house next door with my Dad but that didn't really work out (at most I spent a day overall).
In the course of being home the dog has chewed and swallowed my headphone extension cable. It's probably not worth more than a couple of quid but finding a similar-sized cable will be hard. I used this cable to watch films on my laptops. In particular I had hoped to watch one on the train down to London but it looks like I'll be listening to music and/or reading a book instead. No major worry but I do need to find a replacement and soon!
I've got a "little surprise" in store that the few regular visitors will hopefully notice in a day or two. It's nothing major but I'm hoping it should make most people chuckle a little.
This is quite possibly my most boring post ever, but I can assure you I'm all very excited about it. For the last year I've spent most of my time daydreaming about getting back out to Asia (or anywhere else, for that matter) and the time has finally come.
Next post will probably be from Mainland China. See you soon!
In the course of being home the dog has chewed and swallowed my headphone extension cable. It's probably not worth more than a couple of quid but finding a similar-sized cable will be hard. I used this cable to watch films on my laptops. In particular I had hoped to watch one on the train down to London but it looks like I'll be listening to music and/or reading a book instead. No major worry but I do need to find a replacement and soon!
I've got a "little surprise" in store that the few regular visitors will hopefully notice in a day or two. It's nothing major but I'm hoping it should make most people chuckle a little.
This is quite possibly my most boring post ever, but I can assure you I'm all very excited about it. For the last year I've spent most of my time daydreaming about getting back out to Asia (or anywhere else, for that matter) and the time has finally come.
Next post will probably be from Mainland China. See you soon!
Thursday, 16 June 2005
Public webcams
What a shame I don't have a "Voyeurism" category as this entry would fit in there perfectly. While Stumbling I came across OpenTopia's Hidden Cam site, which collates many good (and some not so good) publicly accessible, live webcams, helpfully organised into categories with a rating system and feedback form.
The actual content is nothing new -- the "exploit" (if you can call it that) was discovered quite some time ago by doing some very specific searching with Google. This site is neat because it cuts the need for obscure keywords and wasted time while trying to find something interesting to watch.
The actual content is nothing new -- the "exploit" (if you can call it that) was discovered quite some time ago by doing some very specific searching with Google. This site is neat because it cuts the need for obscure keywords and wasted time while trying to find something interesting to watch.
Wednesday, 15 June 2005
StumbleUpon and Steve McCurry
StumbleUpon is a brilliant extension for Mozilla-based browsers (Firefox being my choice). I've been using it for a little while now on my laptop -- it has been really handy when I come home at weekends and I've not got much else to do. The principle is straightforward: you pick a few topics that interest you and hit the "Stumble!" button. The extension takes you to a website that has been suggested by other users with similar topics. If you like it, you can click "I like it!" or, if you're not so keen, "Not-for-me". This fine-tunes the future results you will receive, as well as helps promote popular sites.
Obviously you don't have to use StumbleUpon to find a site to rate -- in the new user guidelines it suggests that once you have picked your topics you go to your current favourite websites and register them with "I like it!". At any time a handy website is found, you can click the "I like it!" button to register it with StumbleUpon.
It really is a great concept and for once it works very well. I've found some great photography, humour and computer sites through the toolbar. The first result returned to me today was Steve McCurry's section at Art Department. Of particular interest was his Portfolio, which contains some truly stunning images.
McCurry is most famous for his "Afghan Girl", one of a number of National Geographic front-covers, which is a particular favourite of mine (it made a great desktop wallpaper!). Of the photos at his Art Department Portfolio I have only seen maybe five or six before now (the red Indian boy is another stunning NG front-cover too). I can't quite get over just how stunning some of his work is. I really struggled to pick a photo to include in this entry. In the end I opted for the one I did because it seemed a little different in some way to similar works by other photographers, but I can't really explain how in any detail.
Interestingly, the photo galleries at his website are all of fairly large images, with the dimension tags set in HTML. I'm sure quite a few of those would make stunning desktop wallpapers.
I can't help but wondering if we've all got it wrong... why study so hard (!) at university or spend such long hours at work when we could be jetting off all over the world to take photos of some of the most amazing landscapes and environments? I suppose the answer is simple really... you just need to be a damn good photographer!
Obviously you don't have to use StumbleUpon to find a site to rate -- in the new user guidelines it suggests that once you have picked your topics you go to your current favourite websites and register them with "I like it!". At any time a handy website is found, you can click the "I like it!" button to register it with StumbleUpon.
It really is a great concept and for once it works very well. I've found some great photography, humour and computer sites through the toolbar. The first result returned to me today was Steve McCurry's section at Art Department. Of particular interest was his Portfolio, which contains some truly stunning images.
McCurry is most famous for his "Afghan Girl", one of a number of National Geographic front-covers, which is a particular favourite of mine (it made a great desktop wallpaper!). Of the photos at his Art Department Portfolio I have only seen maybe five or six before now (the red Indian boy is another stunning NG front-cover too). I can't quite get over just how stunning some of his work is. I really struggled to pick a photo to include in this entry. In the end I opted for the one I did because it seemed a little different in some way to similar works by other photographers, but I can't really explain how in any detail.Interestingly, the photo galleries at his website are all of fairly large images, with the dimension tags set in HTML. I'm sure quite a few of those would make stunning desktop wallpapers.
I can't help but wondering if we've all got it wrong... why study so hard (!) at university or spend such long hours at work when we could be jetting off all over the world to take photos of some of the most amazing landscapes and environments? I suppose the answer is simple really... you just need to be a damn good photographer!
Tuesday, 14 June 2005
New shoes!
Yes! I've gone all out to put together a set of decent kit for my holiday. Xiaoxiao and I took the train to Leeds yesterday where I bought a pair of Merrell Stormrider GTX with some new fangled version of Gore-Tex. I've never been a person for spending lots of money on branded clothing or shoes but I'm fairly impressed with these.
Granted, they're not the best looking shoe in the world (although mine do look slightly better in a khaki/grey sort of colour). The "model down" looked pretty smart and the one below that was pretty much perfect. The problem with the cheapest was that it had no "waterproofing"/Gore-Tex, which meant my feet would probably sweat a lot and they might get a little wet in heavy rain. The other pair were great as they had Gore-Tex but they were uncomfy as hell. I spent ages deciding between the two until I finally decided to try the most expensive pair on -- a great fit, comfy and with the Gore-Tex.
I've already got a great big (I mean really massive) rucksack sorted so I'm pretty much set. I'm still missing a few odd bits and pieces: I have no smaller rucksack to carry around but I'm going to borrow Xiaoxiao's (with hindsight I should have bought one of those rucksacks that have a smaller rucksack that zips onto the back); still no camera, but I've now decided to buy this in person in Shanghai -- with any luck I'll have it all bought and sorted the day I arrive (since I arrive early on a Monday morning, Shanghai time); I still have a few bills left to pay and I need to extend my travel insurance (and maybe give the nurse a ring about my Malarone tablets for malaria). My passport (with visa) and flight itinerary are sat in a nice safe place (right by the front door so anybody can steal them) and somewhere I have a train ticket down to London for Saturday afternoon.
I'm staying over in London with a friend on Saturday night, which will give me plenty of time to get to the right terminal at Heathrow for my Virgin flight at around 3pm on Sunday.
Otherwise I've not been up to much. I've been sorting a PC and a laptop out for somebody, as well as shifting a few pantiles about next door. Tomorrow I think we'll be doing a little more work next door -- we have to finish off the floor I talked about previously.
Well, time to go find something else to fill my copious amounts of free time. I guess I could finish tidying up the mess I made when I dropped all of my bags in the front hall...
*Update!* I almost forgot to mention that I really have finally imported the galleries from China, as well as the Kyoto Temple galleries. "By my caculations"... that's the last of them. About time too!
Granted, they're not the best looking shoe in the world (although mine do look slightly better in a khaki/grey sort of colour). The "model down" looked pretty smart and the one below that was pretty much perfect. The problem with the cheapest was that it had no "waterproofing"/Gore-Tex, which meant my feet would probably sweat a lot and they might get a little wet in heavy rain. The other pair were great as they had Gore-Tex but they were uncomfy as hell. I spent ages deciding between the two until I finally decided to try the most expensive pair on -- a great fit, comfy and with the Gore-Tex.I've already got a great big (I mean really massive) rucksack sorted so I'm pretty much set. I'm still missing a few odd bits and pieces: I have no smaller rucksack to carry around but I'm going to borrow Xiaoxiao's (with hindsight I should have bought one of those rucksacks that have a smaller rucksack that zips onto the back); still no camera, but I've now decided to buy this in person in Shanghai -- with any luck I'll have it all bought and sorted the day I arrive (since I arrive early on a Monday morning, Shanghai time); I still have a few bills left to pay and I need to extend my travel insurance (and maybe give the nurse a ring about my Malarone tablets for malaria). My passport (with visa) and flight itinerary are sat in a nice safe place (right by the front door so anybody can steal them) and somewhere I have a train ticket down to London for Saturday afternoon.
I'm staying over in London with a friend on Saturday night, which will give me plenty of time to get to the right terminal at Heathrow for my Virgin flight at around 3pm on Sunday.
Otherwise I've not been up to much. I've been sorting a PC and a laptop out for somebody, as well as shifting a few pantiles about next door. Tomorrow I think we'll be doing a little more work next door -- we have to finish off the floor I talked about previously.
Well, time to go find something else to fill my copious amounts of free time. I guess I could finish tidying up the mess I made when I dropped all of my bags in the front hall...
*Update!* I almost forgot to mention that I really have finally imported the galleries from China, as well as the Kyoto Temple galleries. "By my caculations"... that's the last of them. About time too!
Saturday, 11 June 2005
Top tunes
I've been tagged by Paul. It's all quite exciting really -- I've never been tagged before. Basically, I have to list my top six songs (not an easy task) and then nominate one person for each song to do the same (a harder task).
Anybody that knows me must know pretty well how into my music I am... but equally that I probably couldn't narrow my favourite songs down past 50, let alone to a top six. I'll have a go, but if anybody ever asks me again I can guarantee the entries and order will have completely changed!
Well, as you can see, I've wimped out after finding myself absolutely unable to put these into any sort of order. So, here you have six of my top tunes. Now, the harder part -- I'd like to find out what Crums, DWL, Louise (?), inomine and Xiaoxiao can come up with. Since I don't think any have blogs, just leaving them as comments is probably easiest.
Anybody that knows me must know pretty well how into my music I am... but equally that I probably couldn't narrow my favourite songs down past 50, let alone to a top six. I'll have a go, but if anybody ever asks me again I can guarantee the entries and order will have completely changed!
- Sinnerman -- Nina Simone
- Kashmir -- Led Zeppelin
- Isis -- Bob Dylan
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World -- Thomas Newman
- November Rain -- Guns 'N' Roses
- Masters of War -- Bob Dylan
Well, as you can see, I've wimped out after finding myself absolutely unable to put these into any sort of order. So, here you have six of my top tunes. Now, the harder part -- I'd like to find out what Crums, DWL, Louise (?), inomine and Xiaoxiao can come up with. Since I don't think any have blogs, just leaving them as comments is probably easiest.
Friday, 10 June 2005
Life at home
After a fairly stressful move from our flat in Manchester today, we (Xiaoxiao and I) are back at my parents' house in Howden.
Early this morning we had to get up and take the bus to the Chinese embassy so I could collect my passport and visa, and so that Xiaoxiao could get an extension on her passport -- it expires just five days before her flight departs! I'm now all set but Xiaoxiao has to return to collect her passport, which is a real pain.
Amazingly we managed to pack a large sofa bed, two large (30Kg each) 'speakers and a large desk, not to mention all of our clothes, computers, pots, pans and so on. The van was totally packed but at least we didn't have to come back for a second load.
We've got the stuff unloaded now but I've got to spend a considerable amount of time sorting through my things, doing some organising, as well as trying to put things aside that will be going to China with me. I've actually almost got everything I need with just a few exceptions -- most importantly a decent pair of shoes/boots.
I'm up early in the morning to work next door with my Dad. I have no idea what they're up to now but I'm sure it won't take long to get the swing of it all again. Not to sound too much like a girl but it really messes up my hands -- making it far from comfy to type at anything but a gentle pace. Ah, well, the camera will make up for it :)
Early this morning we had to get up and take the bus to the Chinese embassy so I could collect my passport and visa, and so that Xiaoxiao could get an extension on her passport -- it expires just five days before her flight departs! I'm now all set but Xiaoxiao has to return to collect her passport, which is a real pain.
Amazingly we managed to pack a large sofa bed, two large (30Kg each) 'speakers and a large desk, not to mention all of our clothes, computers, pots, pans and so on. The van was totally packed but at least we didn't have to come back for a second load.
We've got the stuff unloaded now but I've got to spend a considerable amount of time sorting through my things, doing some organising, as well as trying to put things aside that will be going to China with me. I've actually almost got everything I need with just a few exceptions -- most importantly a decent pair of shoes/boots.
I'm up early in the morning to work next door with my Dad. I have no idea what they're up to now but I'm sure it won't take long to get the swing of it all again. Not to sound too much like a girl but it really messes up my hands -- making it far from comfy to type at anything but a gentle pace. Ah, well, the camera will make up for it :)
Tuesday, 7 June 2005
All the time in the world
Here's a song for you: _All the time in the world_ by Beth Nielsen Chapman.
Just a really great song and sort of gives me the feeling that I'm having now. I just looked at one or two photos of temples in Kyoto and I can practically feel the heat and everything. It's not long for me now, but I'm more than a little envious at Karen... who jets away to Hong Kong tomorrow!
Just a really great song and sort of gives me the feeling that I'm having now. I just looked at one or two photos of temples in Kyoto and I can practically feel the heat and everything. It's not long for me now, but I'm more than a little envious at Karen... who jets away to Hong Kong tomorrow!
That's all folks!
And very glad of that fact I am too!The last exam didn't go brilliantly but my knowledge of the subject wasn't so hot either. While doing revision procrastination I worked out I needed 41.93% in the exam paper to pass the module (not including scaling). I really don't know how well I've done but I do hope to get a mark somewhere around 50 or 60%. Then, assuming I've not failed algorithms, I should be fine. Even if I have failed algorithms... well, I'm hoping they might make an exception as the other module I failed was networks, which was an absolute shocker -- I hear a really high percentage of the department failed it.
Here is to some very serious hardcore hoping!
I'm packing up and moving out on Thursday morning (after I pick up my passport and visa from the Chinese Embassy) so until then Xiaoxiao and I have got lots of packing, cleaning and films to watch. It's a pain not being able to go out this evening... but that's what happens when you're flat broke like we are.
Now to spend some time daydreaming about the beautiful camera I want...
Monday, 6 June 2005
China the chicken
When you think about it... China (including Tibet) looks quite a lot like a chicken. Now, this is not the kind of thing I think about frequently (or even talk about, for that matter) but this deserves some special attention.I have a rather worrying feeling this is the kind of story that only works in person, but I'll go ahead anyway -- just bear it in mind (try and visualise me saying it to you, or something (or don't, if that's a little too scary)).
Shortly after I handed in all the documents for my Chinese visa today, Xiaoxiao and I headed to Pizza Express for lunch. As we're sat down waiting, Xiaoxiao decided to tell me about the Chinese English teacher she stayed with a few years ago. The teacher was around 30 and one of the best in her class. The problem is, China is a fairly "closed" country so some of the more common vocabulary is not learned, as well as the fact that often Chinese students' grammar is excellent, while their speaking and listening skills are a little below par.
So, anyway, there's this Chinese English teacher in England, learning English. As far as I can tell she was at a school with lots of other English teachers, being taught by (presumably)... and English English teacher (so there are lots of teachers).
(in case you haven't noticed I'm trying to pad it out a little and generally make this whole entry fairly interesting in case the interesting bit at the end really doesn't work)
When this English teacher was asked to describe the map of China she did so, quickly and accurately. However, the English English teacher (the English teacher of the English teachers) found the answer absolutely hilarious and just laughed out loud when she heard the answer. Once she was done she said no more.
So the Chinese English teacher gets home and, quite confused by the response, decides to ask Xiaoxiao and the house mother what was so funny: "She asked what the map of China was like so I said it looked like a big cock."
Well, that's all. Cracked me up and given the right circumstances I reckon it would get most people. Maybe if you try and imagine a petite Chinese lady saying: "China is like a big cock" it will work better? Nah? Oh, well... worth a try.
Saturday, 4 June 2005
KubrickFlexible
Well, I've almost finished combining Kubrick with KubrickFlexible for XOOPS. It seems to have come off quite well and while it doesn't look as good as the fixed-width Kubrick or K2, it will hopefully do wonders for the resolution of images in my galleries.
I've got a couple more things I want to tweak and play around with but eventually I will submit this theme to the Drupal Theme Garden for other people to use.
I've just gone and modified the colours a little. I quite like the Kubrick bar as it is, the visited link is a reasonable colour but I think the regular URLs are a little too bright. Or maybe they're just a little too... green? Any ideas what I should do with them?
I've got a couple more things I want to tweak and play around with but eventually I will submit this theme to the Drupal Theme Garden for other people to use.
I've just gone and modified the colours a little. I quite like the Kubrick bar as it is, the visited link is a reasonable colour but I think the regular URLs are a little too bright. Or maybe they're just a little too... green? Any ideas what I should do with them?
The Tale of the MiniDisc Player
I'm a little strapped for cash right now, but about two weeks ago I managed to order Xiaoxiao a blue Sony NetMD from Amazon. I couldn't not really -- it was a brilliant price and has turned out to be a really nice little player.
It doesn't come with some of the new features, including HiMD (1GB discs), the battery compartment is a little large (but it takes AAs which is a Good Thing(TM)) and the remote control has no display. Still, I'm impressed with it myself.
Xiaoxiao's old player (which cost £200-upwards at the time) was an all-metal body and very slim. A nice little unit indeed, but unfortunately it was faulty -- I'm not sure what was wrong exactly. At least she will be content when on the 12-hour plus (about 14 hours, including the changeover time in Germany) flight from Manchester to Pudong International Airport, Shanghai.
Anyhow, we've just hooked it up to the hi-fi here and I don't think she's been this content in ages. All I can hear from my little room is a little tune and lots of whistling along. Could it be the MiniDisc player... or is it just the fact she's just finished her exams today?
It doesn't come with some of the new features, including HiMD (1GB discs), the battery compartment is a little large (but it takes AAs which is a Good Thing(TM)) and the remote control has no display. Still, I'm impressed with it myself.
Xiaoxiao's old player (which cost £200-upwards at the time) was an all-metal body and very slim. A nice little unit indeed, but unfortunately it was faulty -- I'm not sure what was wrong exactly. At least she will be content when on the 12-hour plus (about 14 hours, including the changeover time in Germany) flight from Manchester to Pudong International Airport, Shanghai.
Anyhow, we've just hooked it up to the hi-fi here and I don't think she's been this content in ages. All I can hear from my little room is a little tune and lots of whistling along. Could it be the MiniDisc player... or is it just the fact she's just finished her exams today?
Friday, 3 June 2005
Of exams, films and photos
Well, today was the "big day". I say that because quite a few people impressed upon me that graphics would be the hardest of all of the Computer Science exams this year (most notably Paul). Quite how true that is, I don't think I could really say.
So I'm now three-quarters of the way through my exam timetable for these end-of-year exams. So far I have sat algorithms and data structures, operating systems and graphics. With just one exam left (coincidentally I have been told this is likely to be the easiest exam) -- databases -- I am feeling much happier than a few days/weeks ago.
So far I feel reasonably happy/confident about graphics and operating systems. However, I have that worrying feeling I have failed the algorithms and data structures exam quite miserably. I wouldn't mind _too_ much, but I did fail one exam in January (oddly enough I think it was networks -- but that was possibly due to stupid questions). If I have, in fact, failed the algorithms exam that could mean the university will want me back in the last week of August to re-sit that paper, as well as the paper I failed in January. Let's just say this is hardly an appealing thought considering: 1) I would otherwise be in China; 2) re-arranging my flight would cost me at least £50 (although I would save money once I returned to England (maybe this isn't true -- I'd visit more people in the Hull area, which could be expensive)); and 3) re-sitting exams is never fun.
This year, like last year, I've taken a fairly lax attitude towards lectures and examples classes. Too lax? Well... I'm not really sure, actually. On the whole I believe that my knowledge of the subject before going into each exam is probably the same as it would have been had I gone to "more" lectures. If not the same, then only marginally less. I maintain that had I spent, say, a week "revising" (learning) for each subject I could have absolutely aced every paper and question. Unfortunately, this wasn't quite the case. On the whole my learning structure has been: read through and take notes on the lecture notes during the latter half of the day before the day before the exam (yikes!); make more detailed notes on the day before the exam, try and cover topics that didn't make a massive amount of sense the day before; most importantly -- visit Samia, Ceyda and Karen in the evening (around 6PM) so we can sit together and pool our knowledge to find satisfactory answers to the past paper questions.
Without doubt this is the best revision structure I've ever had. I have yet to find out how well I'll do, it probably won't be that great, but if I were to extend it a little I can see it going far. So maybe the only thing I did wrong with the algorithms exam was to not spend as much time going through the past papers. The brilliant thing about working together on the answers is just simply that each of us are better/worse at different areas so we can explain it to each other. I hazard to guess that sitting down like this in a small group is massively more productive than being bored half to death in a lecture theatre... but then again, what would I know?
Having just had a look at ARCADE (the Computer Science marks database) I was surprised to find that my highest lab mark is in algorithms at 74.9%. My OS and graphics marks are about 55% (I actually dropped as few as five marks across *both* of these subjects; unfortunately I have a nasty habit of forgetting to get extensions (or at least leaving before they are handed out)) while my databases mark is a lowly 35.5% -- partly due to the fact that I was quite reluctant to sit in front of a keyboard like a chicken and insert data into tables (something not helped by the fact that the Oracle sqlplus command has no command history, which requires _the full re-entry of data if a single mistake is made_ in the previous attempt!). The lab marks only contribute 10% towards the final course mark (I wonder why I bother, really) -- maybe, just maybe, the seemingly decent 75% in algorithms might just bump up my exam mark enough to give me a pass, or at least very close. Here's to hoping!
Anyway, the graphics exam was fairly straightforward: the first section was multiple guess. Of all the multiple guess papers I've ever sat this was likely the easiest of them all, with just two or maybe three questions where the answer was not immediately obvious. So, with any luck I'll have got close to full marks with that section (let's say so far I have 37% (almost 100% in section A plus my lab mark) -- I need just 3% more to "pass"). Section B was equally straightforward -- I opted to answer the question on compression, which covered lossy and lossless compression, details of GIF's lossless compression (including RLE), and JPEG compression (fairly straightforward for a 10-mark question; chances are I messed a few little bits up and got eight out of ten). The only place were I didn't feel quite so homely was section C, thanks largely to the fact that when I tried to convince Samia and Ceyda that we should go though *exactly the same question* because *I was sure it would come up* they went for a shower and some food. I forgot to go through it myself :(
After the exam there was the promise of watching Sin City at theprintworks, as well as getting some much-required grub after just one meal the previous day (and no breakfast!). Unfortunately this was (for me, at least) not to be. More than a little upsetting as I was particularly looking forward to seeing this film having very pointedly not downloaded it and watched it at home. I guess I'll just have to wait a little longer.
Finally, I've imported some more photos. "By my calculations," I have just my China photos left, and I should get those done by Sunday, at the latest. I've re-evaluated which photos to include this time and I picked them by a rather different strategy. I call this strategy "include as many photos as possible, discarding only duplicates and really crappy or boring shots". Needless to say there are quite a few previously "unseen" (unless you saw my own full-size archive) photos now.
All the images are sorted into hierarchical galleries, along the lines of: Places->China->Beijing->Badaling. This works out nice enough but I'm still not sure if I'm entirely happy with it. Navigating quickly to a given picture can be a bit of a pain but at least I don't have a single page with a zillion different galleries as I did last time. I might juggle this around a bit later, if I can come up with a better solution.
Otherwise, the only thing left for me to sort out is larger preview images. As a result of using the Kubrick theme on my site, I have to limit the maximum width of previews to a rather less-than-generous size. This works just fine for portrait shots as they still have a lot more height but it leaves landscape shots looking tiny. I guess it doesn't help that about 90% of my photos are landscape, either. As I see it there are three solutions to this: 1) have small previews; 2) switch to a variable width theme; 3) try and hack Kubrick into a variable width theme. I think I'll try those in reverse order. Jolly good... time for some CSS hacking for me!
So I'm now three-quarters of the way through my exam timetable for these end-of-year exams. So far I have sat algorithms and data structures, operating systems and graphics. With just one exam left (coincidentally I have been told this is likely to be the easiest exam) -- databases -- I am feeling much happier than a few days/weeks ago.
So far I feel reasonably happy/confident about graphics and operating systems. However, I have that worrying feeling I have failed the algorithms and data structures exam quite miserably. I wouldn't mind _too_ much, but I did fail one exam in January (oddly enough I think it was networks -- but that was possibly due to stupid questions). If I have, in fact, failed the algorithms exam that could mean the university will want me back in the last week of August to re-sit that paper, as well as the paper I failed in January. Let's just say this is hardly an appealing thought considering: 1) I would otherwise be in China; 2) re-arranging my flight would cost me at least £50 (although I would save money once I returned to England (maybe this isn't true -- I'd visit more people in the Hull area, which could be expensive)); and 3) re-sitting exams is never fun.
This year, like last year, I've taken a fairly lax attitude towards lectures and examples classes. Too lax? Well... I'm not really sure, actually. On the whole I believe that my knowledge of the subject before going into each exam is probably the same as it would have been had I gone to "more" lectures. If not the same, then only marginally less. I maintain that had I spent, say, a week "revising" (learning) for each subject I could have absolutely aced every paper and question. Unfortunately, this wasn't quite the case. On the whole my learning structure has been: read through and take notes on the lecture notes during the latter half of the day before the day before the exam (yikes!); make more detailed notes on the day before the exam, try and cover topics that didn't make a massive amount of sense the day before; most importantly -- visit Samia, Ceyda and Karen in the evening (around 6PM) so we can sit together and pool our knowledge to find satisfactory answers to the past paper questions.
Without doubt this is the best revision structure I've ever had. I have yet to find out how well I'll do, it probably won't be that great, but if I were to extend it a little I can see it going far. So maybe the only thing I did wrong with the algorithms exam was to not spend as much time going through the past papers. The brilliant thing about working together on the answers is just simply that each of us are better/worse at different areas so we can explain it to each other. I hazard to guess that sitting down like this in a small group is massively more productive than being bored half to death in a lecture theatre... but then again, what would I know?
Having just had a look at ARCADE (the Computer Science marks database) I was surprised to find that my highest lab mark is in algorithms at 74.9%. My OS and graphics marks are about 55% (I actually dropped as few as five marks across *both* of these subjects; unfortunately I have a nasty habit of forgetting to get extensions (or at least leaving before they are handed out)) while my databases mark is a lowly 35.5% -- partly due to the fact that I was quite reluctant to sit in front of a keyboard like a chicken and insert data into tables (something not helped by the fact that the Oracle sqlplus command has no command history, which requires _the full re-entry of data if a single mistake is made_ in the previous attempt!). The lab marks only contribute 10% towards the final course mark (I wonder why I bother, really) -- maybe, just maybe, the seemingly decent 75% in algorithms might just bump up my exam mark enough to give me a pass, or at least very close. Here's to hoping!
Anyway, the graphics exam was fairly straightforward: the first section was multiple guess. Of all the multiple guess papers I've ever sat this was likely the easiest of them all, with just two or maybe three questions where the answer was not immediately obvious. So, with any luck I'll have got close to full marks with that section (let's say so far I have 37% (almost 100% in section A plus my lab mark) -- I need just 3% more to "pass"). Section B was equally straightforward -- I opted to answer the question on compression, which covered lossy and lossless compression, details of GIF's lossless compression (including RLE), and JPEG compression (fairly straightforward for a 10-mark question; chances are I messed a few little bits up and got eight out of ten). The only place were I didn't feel quite so homely was section C, thanks largely to the fact that when I tried to convince Samia and Ceyda that we should go though *exactly the same question* because *I was sure it would come up* they went for a shower and some food. I forgot to go through it myself :(
After the exam there was the promise of watching Sin City at theprintworks, as well as getting some much-required grub after just one meal the previous day (and no breakfast!). Unfortunately this was (for me, at least) not to be. More than a little upsetting as I was particularly looking forward to seeing this film having very pointedly not downloaded it and watched it at home. I guess I'll just have to wait a little longer.
Finally, I've imported some more photos. "By my calculations," I have just my China photos left, and I should get those done by Sunday, at the latest. I've re-evaluated which photos to include this time and I picked them by a rather different strategy. I call this strategy "include as many photos as possible, discarding only duplicates and really crappy or boring shots". Needless to say there are quite a few previously "unseen" (unless you saw my own full-size archive) photos now.
All the images are sorted into hierarchical galleries, along the lines of: Places->China->Beijing->Badaling. This works out nice enough but I'm still not sure if I'm entirely happy with it. Navigating quickly to a given picture can be a bit of a pain but at least I don't have a single page with a zillion different galleries as I did last time. I might juggle this around a bit later, if I can come up with a better solution.
Otherwise, the only thing left for me to sort out is larger preview images. As a result of using the Kubrick theme on my site, I have to limit the maximum width of previews to a rather less-than-generous size. This works just fine for portrait shots as they still have a lot more height but it leaves landscape shots looking tiny. I guess it doesn't help that about 90% of my photos are landscape, either. As I see it there are three solutions to this: 1) have small previews; 2) switch to a variable width theme; 3) try and hack Kubrick into a variable width theme. I think I'll try those in reverse order. Jolly good... time for some CSS hacking for me!
Thursday, 2 June 2005
ATM remuneration
Just a quick question. I'm hoping somebody will know the answer and I'm not quite sure where else to ask!
If somebody goes to an ATM, withdraws some money, collects their card and then *walks off without the money*, is there any comeback? I heard a story a year or two ago about somebody hard of hearing taking a bank to court, claiming the beeps were not loud enough -- no such factor in this case, the person was just in a real hurry and forgot.
Any ideas at all?
If somebody goes to an ATM, withdraws some money, collects their card and then *walks off without the money*, is there any comeback? I heard a story a year or two ago about somebody hard of hearing taking a bank to court, claiming the beeps were not loud enough -- no such factor in this case, the person was just in a real hurry and forgot.
Any ideas at all?
Image galleries imported
Once again I've imported my image galleries. Where possible I've imported the original images so clicking the "view original" link will take you to a fairly hefty JPEG file.
Every gallery *but* the China, Hong Kong and Japan galleries have been done. Hopefully I'll get those done after the graphics exam on Friday.
Enjoy!
Every gallery *but* the China, Hong Kong and Japan galleries have been done. Hopefully I'll get those done after the graphics exam on Friday.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, 1 June 2005
EU constitution
Since everybody else has in some way made some highly intellectual comment on the EU constitution I thought I'd have my say:
*What have they been buggering about at all this time for every single country§ to go ahead and reject it?*
It makes me wonder to what lengths they went to ensure that there were at least one or two clauses for each country to pick out and complain about. It seems to me to be a pure work of genius.
*What have they been buggering about at all this time for every single country§ to go ahead and reject it?*
It makes me wonder to what lengths they went to ensure that there were at least one or two clauses for each country to pick out and complain about. It seems to me to be a pure work of genius.
Summer of Code
Google have gone ahead and made some fairly large pledges to GNOME today. There are some that I think are well worth the money. In particular $4500 to reduce the initial login time (anything like this is great), Gmail-style threads in Evolution and a Search Party plugin for Firefox.
The Search Party plugin seems quite interesting to me -- for example, I was searching for "deer park ubuntu" this morning after Alpha 1 was released of the upcoming Firefox 1.1 browser. Unfortunately I could find no releases for Debian or Ubuntu. Maybe with this search party plugin somebody would have struck gold and shared the rewards, or, somebody might have turned around and said "I'll make a .deb file, you guys can have it when I'm done".
Check out the full list at http://www.gnome.org/bounties/Google.html
The Search Party plugin seems quite interesting to me -- for example, I was searching for "deer park ubuntu" this morning after Alpha 1 was released of the upcoming Firefox 1.1 browser. Unfortunately I could find no releases for Debian or Ubuntu. Maybe with this search party plugin somebody would have struck gold and shared the rewards, or, somebody might have turned around and said "I'll make a .deb file, you guys can have it when I'm done".
Check out the full list at http://www.gnome.org/bounties/Google.html
Ping Pong
It's quite amazing that a film called "Ping Pong" about... yep, you guessed it, ping pong, could be so good.At a guess the first thing anybody will think of after having *seen* Ping Pong is -- Rocky. The film isn't particularly groundbreaking; there have been plenty of films made about sports, competition, falling behind to eventually overcome the odds and be the champion.
But somehow this film is a little different -- it manages to encorporate a "hero" with a mask and everything. It brings a whole new perspective to a game that, to me, looked to be little more than knocking a little piece of crappy white plastic about the place.
For me, I think it is the emotion that does it -- it's not quite as good as Rocky but it comes very close, and that is seriously impressive considering these people aren't battling it out in such a literal sense.
Well worth watching, even if Japanese films don't usually take your fancy (or maybe I'm just getting too used to reading subtitles that it couldn't matter what language a film is in any longer?)
Check out what IMDb has got to say about the film at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328258/
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