Prince of Wales Hospital Extension Block

The Extension Block of Prince of Wales Hospital is in full service today, October 28, 2010.

Its foundation work started at the former landing ground of rescue helicopters for the hospital as early as June, 2007. The building site included the original open car-park and the tennis courts. Soon the ground was drilled. Columns of cylindrical hollow steel tubes were pushed into the ground. Muddy water was sucked up and replaced by concrete and steel bars. All these drilling and filling took several months.

When the foundation work had finished, the central part of the site was dug down. A square basement looking like a hall was built. Floor by floor were slowly built. Complicated partitions of rooms were seen. Three tower cranes were erected and they grew taller and taller as the building took shape. Green nets covered the building to protect anything from falling out during the building processes.

It was this January to February, 2010 that the framework of the whole block was completed. Internal decoration started quietly. The main clinical block started service in mid-October. Lastly the Emergency and Trauma Centre was publicly opened today and it received the first batch of new patients who were seriously ill or injured.

I believe this extension block of PWH will improve hospital service to the citizens in Shatin and the New Territories.

Llamas

The llama (羊駝) is a South American pack and meat animal by Andean cultures since pre-hispanic times.

Below are extracts from Wikipedia about this kind of interesting animals:

The height of a full-grown, full-size llama is between 1.7 metres (5.5 ft) and 1.8 metres (6 ft) tall at the top of the head. They can weigh between approximately 130 kilograms (280 lb) and 200 kilograms (450 lb). Llamas are very social animals and like to live with other llamas as a herd. Overall, the fibre produced by a llama is very soft and is naturally lanolin free. Llamas are intelligent and can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. When using a pack, llamas can carry about 25% to 30% of their body weight for several miles.

Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America about 40 million years ago. They migrated to South America about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 158,000 llamas and 100,000 alpacas in the US and Canada.

The ears are rather long and slightly curved inward, characteristically known as "banana" shaped. There is no dorsal hump. Feet are narrow, the toes being more separated than in the camels, each having a distinct plantar pad. The tail is short, and fibre is long, woolly and soft.

The four forms commonly distinguished by the inhabitants of South America are recognized as distinct species:

[1] the llama, Lama glama (Linnaeus)
[2] the alpaca, Vicugna pacos (Linnaeus)
[3] the guanaco (from the Quechua "huanaco"), Lama guanicoe (Müller)
[4] the vicuña, Vicugna vicugna (Molina).

The llama and alpaca are only known in the domestic state, and are variable in size and of many colors, being often white, brown, or piebald. Some are grey or black. The guanaco and vicuña are wild, the former being endangered, and of a nearly uniform light-brown color, passing into white below. They certainly differ from each other, the vicuña being smaller, more slender in its proportions, and having a shorter head than the guanaco. The vicuña lives in herds on the bleak and elevated parts of the mountain range bordering the region of perpetual snow, amidst rocks and precipices, occurring in various suitable localities throughout Peru, in the southern part of Ecuador, and as far south as the middle of Bolivia. Its manners very much resemble those of the chamois of the European Alps; it is as vigilant, wild, and timid. The fibre is extremely delicate and soft, and highly valued for the purposes of weaving, but the quantity which each animal produces is minimal. Alpaca are descended from a wild vicuna ancestor while the domesticated llama is descended from a wild guanaco ancestor, though at this point there has been a considerable amount of hybridization between the two species.

Differentiating characteristics between llamas and alpacas include the llama's larger size and longer head. Alpaca fibre is generally more expensive but not always more valuable. Alpacas tend to have a more consistent color throughout the body.

The most apparent visual difference between llamas and camels is that camels have a hump or humps and llamas do not.

Llamas which are well-socialized and trained to halter and lead after weaning are very friendly and pleasant to be around. They are extremely curious and most will approach people easily. However, llamas that are bottle-fed or over- socialized and over-handled as youngsters will become extremely difficult to handle when mature, when they will begin to treat humans as they treat each other, which is characterized by bouts of spitting, kicking and neck wrestling. Anyone having to bottle-feed a cria should keep contact to a minimum and stop as soon as possible.

When correctly reared spitting at a human is a rare thing. Llamas are very social herd animals, however, and do sometimes spit at each other as a way of disciplining lower-ranked llamas in the herd. A llama's social rank in a herd is never static. They can always move up or down in the social ladder by picking small fights. This is usually done between males to see who will become alpha. Their fights are visually dramatic with spitting, ramming each other with their chests, neck wrestling and kicking, mainly to knock the other off balance. The females are usually only seen spitting as a means of controlling other herd members.

While the social structure might always be changing, they live as a family and they do take care of each other. If one notices a strange noise or feels threatened, a warning bray is sent out and all others come to alert. They will often hum to each other as a form of communication.

The sound of the llama making groaning noises or going "mwa" is often a sign of fear or anger. If a llama is agitated, it will lay its ears back. One may determine how agitated the llama is by the materials in the spit. The more irritated the llama is, the further back into each of the three stomach compartments it will try to draw materials from for its spit.

A Narrow Escape

Cindy Lam, my energetic student in the 70’s, paid a visit to China and passed Hong Kong in September. I joined the tea lunch with her, her classmates and teachers at Tai Koo Shing on September 25, 2010. A week later she wrote me an e-mail about her car accident in Florida.

Here is her story:
“These pictures were taken on Sept 11, 2010 when driving home on I-75 (the same highway that I had my car accident on Oct 3, 2010). It was a foggy morning and it looked so beautiful that I just grasped Canon SD 790. Usually it is easy to drive on this highway. I dropped off Co Co, my adopted dog, to Philip's college home. Never think about I would have a horrifying accident 3 weeks later. I always drive alone to visit my children who attend the same college--UF for the past 7 years.

October 3, 2010, I drove alone on way back home. I drove around 80 mph (normal speed) in highway I-75. I was on the slowest lane as the traffic was busy and a lot of drivers had no patience on the road. Suddenly, a SUV cut into my lane and in front of me. I horned, stepped slightly on brake and my car shifted to the right onto the emergency lane. My car skidded for 20 - 30 feet as I applied the brake. It hit something and it rolled over and fell to the ditch of a grassy slope. It kept on rolling for a few times. I held the steering wheel firmly until the car stopped rolling. My seat-belt protected me from flying out of the car. The 2 college students who cut my lane stopped and a few cars stopped too. They helped me call the police and ambulance. The kids kept saying sorry to me. The driver said that he cut the lane in his blind spot and that he didn't pay attention at that time.

Both of us, Co Co and I, had no severe bleeding, just a few abrasions. I got a bruise near the upper lung made by the safety belt. I also found my Mother Mary聖母像 and玫瑰經印本 facing up just in front of my thighs. My cell-phone was just next to me while my handbag was emptied as all the things had been flying everywhere in the car. I was able to call my husband, my kid and my church friends before ambulance tucked me on stretcher.

These days, I take rests by avoiding stress and tensions. The goal is to loosen my spasm on the neck, shoulder and muscle above the bra line---that was what the doctor said. I shall have 3 chiropractor therapies a week. I do simple cooking at home ever since discharged. I am allowed to do light chores for 15 min only. Then I should take a rest and do anything again for another time.

I went to church and shared my blessing and my experience. The people at the church all agreed with me -- God's Grace and my Guardian Angels are with me. Ocala Hospital sent my med record to Dr. Hsu (primary DR.).He examined them which showed all good standings right after admission to ER. Chest was clear, heart and other organs all have top rate functioning level and the brain scan was also excellent. I had left upper pulmonary contusion.

I had my first therapy today. Dr Tu (Chiro. Dr.) gave me heat pad for 10 min, trigger point therapy, ice-heat pad treatment and stretching exercises. I did great for the whole section and my neck-c4,c5 feel a bit better. Sore at my shoulder came to the surface but a light one. I will have my second therapy tomorrow. Dr. Hsu was pleased with the result and exceptionally complimented on my speedy recovery. He emphasized me to keep on the Chiropractor therapy. I request for a pulmonary consultation to identify early bad signs if I had any.

As for the 2nd therapy this afternoon, Dr. Tu was also impressed by my wellness at this early stage. I think he is worried about the insurance claim money which might be drained off from hospital bill. I had expensive scans on my head, chest and abdomen, heart fluid monitor, and kidneys function. Now he said I might not need as much therapy as he estimated. Yes, I feel good. I will have 2 more therapies before any further evaluation. The pulmonary appointment is on Oct 25. Do I have any voluntary driver???

I sincerely thank Carol, Jane, Vicky, Elaine....... who offer their extra help to all the doctor visits. I promise I will be a better person under God's Love.”

Wooden Pumpkins and Lovely Dolls

The Festival of Halloween brought me big surprises this year. Yesterday eve at New Town Plaza, Shatin, face to face, I saw big lovely dolls with eyes closed.

I was stupid enough not knowing the name of these dolls. Since they were so beautiful and cute, I could not resist taking a few photos for my blog.

The next attraction came from the well-decorated mega wooden-pumpkins . Suddenly, I felt as if I were one of the dwarfs in Gulliver’s Travels.

The inside of these pumpkins were like small rooms, each with its theme. In one of pumpkins, several drawings of the lovely dolls as I mentioned above were displayed. Many visitors liked the display here, so their children, wives and lovers together with the dolls and pumpkins became the targets of cameras. I was only a cameraman at that time. I could not stop for long because I was actually hurrying upstairs to meet my wife and son. My son wanted to buy a new pair of shoes in one of the sports-ware shops on the 5th floor.

Activities of Grandchildren

Today I collect 12 photos of Abby and Elly taken from Skype recently.

These are their activities:
[A] Elly is playing a Hula Hoop
[B] Elly is using a cell-phone
[C] Elly is drinking milk out of a bottle
[D] Abby face-touches a muppet in Sesame Street called Abby Cadabby
[E] Elly is pushing a green cylinder into its hole of a toy cube with her right hand
[F] Elly is turning herself anti-clockwise with her right arm curved to show her direction of turn
[G] Elly is taking photos with a real camera while Abby is making a pose for her sister
[H] Abby is demonstrating a pose of Yoga
[I] Elly is making a pose when Connie says that she is “beautiful”
[J] It seems to us that Elly is left-handed
[K] Elly is holding a pumpkin
[L] Elly is holding a camera and a remote control

Legends at Equator

Here are some legends at Equator.

[1] Eggs can stand perfectly stable on the head of a nail.

[2] Water will drain straight down right at the spot of the Equator, whereas away from the Equator, water will drain in an anti-clockwise direction whirl in Northern Hemisphere, but a clockwise direction whirl in Southern Hemisphere.

[3] It is easy to break up the “knot” made by the fingers of a person by another person.

A tourist guide at the monument of Quito, Ecuador, demonstrates these to the tourists. Please study the photos here and do experiments of draining water in your area to see if the legend, or better say, if the natural phenomenon is true or not.

The beautiful lady uses her mobile GPS system to test her location. She finds that the reading from the system is extremely close to 0 degree 0 minute 0 second (latitude of Equator).

A City at the Equator

San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains.

The elevation of the city's central square (Plaza de La Independencia or Plaza Grande) is 2,800 m (about 9,186 ft), making Quito the second-highest administrative capital city in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia), and the highest legal capital (ahead of Sucre, also in Bolivia, and Bogotá, Colombia).

The central square of Quito is located about 25 km (15 miles) south of the equator; the city itself extends to within about 1 km (0.6 miles) of zero latitude. A monument and museum marking the general location of the equator is known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), to avoid confusion, as the word "ecuador" is Spanish for equator.

Quito, along with Krakow, were the first World Cultural Heritage Sites declared by UNESCO in 1978.

Photo from left to right, top to bottom:
[1] monument at the location of the Equator; the lady is walking along the orange line on the ground which is our Equator
[2] city sight
[3] Cotopaxi, stratovolcano (18874 feet i.e. 5753 metres)
[4] a church
[5] monument from a distance
[6] city sight
[7] street between houses
[8] The Virgin of Quito statue
[9] high mountains of Quito
[10] a bird-like decoration of church
[11] skyline of city
[12] a beautiful lady standing on the line showing Equator, her left foot is on Northern Hemisphere while right on Southern Hemisphere
[13] a reptile decoration on church
[14] a lady standing near the statue of Virgin of Quito
[15] Basilica del Voto Nacional, a Roman Catholic church at Quito
[16] a bird-eye view of the city

Halloween Decorations

The photos here show the Halloween decorations at Sunshine City in Ma On Shan this year (2010). It is so easy to go to this shopping centre by MTR trains.

Spiders, pumpkins, bats, cakes and haunted houses are common decorations.

Same time a year ago, I was walking in the streets of Vancouver. House to house, I watched the beautiful decorations at their front yards during the Halloween week. Their decorations were well-designed and at night, they were lit with electric light bulbs and so both the atmosphere and night scenes were very nice.

Haggis

Recently, I saw a TV programme about travels in Scotland . Inside I found Haggis. The Scots eat it in their usual breakfast.

Haggis (肉餡羊肚) is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.

Haggis is a kind of sausage, or savoury pudding cooked in a casing of sheep's intestine, as many sausages are. A book describes it this way, "Haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour".

The haggis might be considered as a traditional Scottish dish or rather as the national dish of Scotland by Robert Burns' poem, Address to a Haggis in 1787. Haggis is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties" (Scots: swede, yellow turnip or rutabaga and potatoes, boiled and mashed separately) and a "dram" (i.e. a glass of Scotch whisky), especially as the main course of a Burns supper. However it is also often eaten with other accompaniments.

Starting in Vancouver, British Columbia, and having since spread in popularity, Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners, celebrating a fusion of Scottish and Chinese cultures, have been hosted since 1998. These dinners include traditional haggis as well as haggis-stuffed won tons and haggis lettuce wrap.

Faces of Smiles

I liked to look at the facial expressions of Miss L.S. Chan and my old colleagues at the tea lunch yesterday. Faces at the table were forever changing – smiling, laughing ones or serious ones.

For long after retirement, we do not have to pour food into our mouths at lunch time. If we had not retired, we would have rushed back to school for afternoon lessons at such an hour.

L.S. shared a little of her retired life with us. She said she took her mother out for breakfast each morning and later let her meet other elders in a nearby elderly centre.

Miss Ng paid some time talking into her cell-phone. Perhaps she had new appointments with her friends, relatives or students. She ate little at first because she was busy talking. Her moving hands built up her gestures.

Miss Y. Poon mentioned the terribly long meetings held at school in the past. The meetings seemed never to end. Hunger always reminded her that it was already seven o’clock.

Miss Su has just returned from China. She cares about the poor students in China in recent years.

Mrs. Helen Lo has moved to a cosy, new home recently.

Mr. Fung is quite active now. He joins many functions of school, for example, Sports day(s) and very often he meets colleagues and students at lunches or dinners.

Mrs. Diana Chan often turns up at gatherings with old colleagues and students.

Mrs. Ko is furnishing a new flat for family.

Mrs. J. Wong keeps herself cheerful and humorous at all times and said that she joined aerobic dances.

Mrs. Hui did not mention about the dancing lessons with Mrs. Wong this time. I wonder if she still loves this social activity.

A New Retiree

Miss L.S. Chan has newly retired and joined our team of retirees at CCSC this September. She has taught in our school for 29 long years, almost three decades.

Yesterday she was so kind as to invite us to a tea lunch at a restaurant in North Point.
We, eleven of us, including L.S. have been working hard at school for a long time as colleagues, teaching different subjects. We were under the same roof, but never did we quarrel. We respected each other and shared our thoughts, joy and worries. All through these 30 to 40 years, all of us threw ourselves wholly to the school and students with open hearts. As for me, as well as my old colleagues treated our students as our sons and daughters and friends too. Most of our students are smart, but still we found some who were lazy and lacked of eagerness to learn.

From her dress yesterday, L.S. looked as fresh as a young lady. L.S., I may say, is actually still young when compared with us at the table. She retires just because she who wants to take good care of her mother at home. What a good daughter she is!

To see us clearly,please Double-click the photo!

Resemblance

A Strelitza flower looks like a bird while a table napkin is a cloth we use at a meal.

How can a flower link with a piece of cloth we use in a restaurant?

I was amazed to see the “folded” table napkins on the table at the restaurant we (CCSC teachers) were sitting looked very much like the Strelitza flowers.

Do you agree with me that a table napkin can be “folded” into something we see in Nature?

Who are these men?

For the first time I see photos of “men” printed on a national flag. How funny it is!

Who are these men?
I know who they are. How about you?

Options:
[1] Members of the parliament of the country
[2] Blood donors
[3] Miners
[4] Heroes
[5] Rich men in the country

Which country is it?

To find out this country, look at the collage photo as well as the hints below:

[1] It is a low-lying country at 5 ﾟE and 52ﾟN.
[2] Its national flag has three colours, red, white and blue.
[3] There are many polders and dikes in this country.
[4] The name of its Capital begins with the letter ‘A’.
[5] Tulips are associated with this country.

Fire Drills

Fire Drills in Hong Kong do not only apply to schools, firms, factories, but also to hospitals. As the new extension block of Prince of Wales Hospital has been built, furnished and ready to serve, fire drills are common in recent days. Take for example, on October 6, several fire engines arrived at 10:42 a.m. to start a fire drill at the newly-built hospital block.

I saw the ladder of one elongated to level 4 as if it were an arm stretching out during morning exercise. The raising of the ladder was fast. Some fire hoses had been connected and water flow checked. Firemen seemed relaxed during the practices since it was only a drill. I think drills in this manner are necessary because firemen have to learn where to find water sources and get used to the floor plan of the hospital.

Night fire drills repeat themselves regularly this week. Once there is one, red lights twinkles through the windows at the “affected” floors so that firemen from outside know where to go.

It was strange to find the school opposite the new hospital also had a fire drill immediately after the fire-engines left. Students of the school walked slowly from different corners of the school to assemble at the open courtyard. There was not a moment of excitement to the students and teachers. All knew that it was just a fire drill after all.

Musee Picasso

Antibes (安提比斯) is a resort town in Southern France between Cannes and Nice. The area around Antibes finally emerged from its long slumber around the middle of the 19th century, as wealthy people from around Europe discovered the beauty of the place and built luxurious homes there.

In 1926, the old castle of Antibes was bought by the local municipal town and later restored for use as a museum. Pablo Picasso came to the town in 1946 and was invited to stay in the castle. Over the period of his six-month stay, Picasso painted and drew as well as crafting ceramics and tapestries. When he departed, Picasso left a number of his works for the town. The castle has since officially became the Musee Picasso (Picasso Museum).

The top left photo shows a painting of the castle, a long distance from it. The castle, made of stone, looks strong. At the top of one of its towers flies the National flag of France. There are sculptures on the low walls facing the Mediterranean Sea. Inside, visitors may find the paintings drawn by Pablo Picasso. These master pieces have influenced and inspired a lot of artists.

Fly Away

The Super Voice Graduation Concert was broadcast last Sunday night. The judges and Jade watchers (I am one) were happy to see the young contestants again. After months of learning, training and competing, they have become good singers. At the concert, they danced and sang the song, “Fly Away”, to express their feelings on how they strive for singing.

Let us study the lyrics of their song:

Fly away, 不管流下多少眼淚，
堅持下去的動力還在，
Nothing I will be afraid.

Fly away, 不管流下多少眼淚，
堅持下去的動力還在，
Nothing I will be afraid.

清晨的微風 如此的平凡
看似簡單 霧氣驅散

溫柔陽光中 慢慢醒了過來
準備面對挑戰

在新的世紀 該拋開過去
是好是壞 要放得開

往夢想的路 沒有想像簡單
我還要更勇敢

回憶就像漩渦它將我拉走
時間的鐘響起我不該逗留

Fly away, 不管流下多少眼淚
堅持下去的動力還在
Nothing I will be afraid.

Fly away, 不管未來有多少困難
我真正能感覺心跳還在
Nothing I will be afraid.

在新的世紀 該拋開過去
是好是壞要放得開

往夢想的路 沒有想像簡單
我還要更勇敢

回憶就像漩渦它將我拉走
時間的鐘響起我不該逗留

Fly away 不管流下多少眼淚
堅持下去的動力還在，
Nothing I will be afraid.

Fly away 不管未來有多少困難
我真正能感覺心跳還在
Nothing I will be afraid.

Sea Nestle

Sea Nestle, Chrysaora melanaster (獅鬃水母), is the largest jellyfish of the Arctic.

To study this kind of beautiful, but poisonous jellyfish, let us look how the following the authors, Kevin Raskoff & Russ Hopcroft described it on August 20, 2010:

Size:
• bell up to 60cm
• tentacles and lips may stretch more than 3 m

Color & Characteristics:
• Color: white, brown to orange stripes
• 24-32 long orange-red tentacles
• 4 long curtain-like lips
• 8 marginal rhophilia (sense organ), spaced between 32 lappets
• 16 dark brown/black radiating streaks on subumbrella between 8 stomach pouches
• tentacles can produce a nasty sting to humans

Habitat:
• Epiplegic (surface waters) to ~100 m depth
• Nertic (shelves) and over basins
• Commonly observed by divers or ROVs, its abundance to and size make it rare to capture in plankton nets
• Benthic form has not been observed in the Arctic, suggesting the species may be seasonally imported from the subarctic

Feeding:
• Diet includes copepods, larvaceans, other jellies, larger zooplankton and small fish

Life cycle :
• An obligate benthic phase, that strobulates (buds) to release ephra larvae
• larvae mature into adult body-form that releases eggs and sperm
• Fertilized eggs settle to seafloor to produce a small non-colonial benthic form
• Life span in Arctic unknown, possibly only one season

When looking at the photos here, you may find some small fish swimming alongside the jellyfish. The former seek shelter and protection from the latter. The fish may have a coat of sticky coating on their skin so that they are not harmed by the poison of the jellyfish. Another thing is that the fish are skilful swimmers. They can sway according to the movement of the jellyfish to avoid touching the stinging cells of the tentacles of the jellyfish.

Fruit and Vegetable Sale at Pike Place Market

Southern California is famous for its produce of fruits. Pike Place Market in Seattle sells fresh fruits and vegetables chiefly from farms in the State. The colours of these fruits and vegetables are inviting and they make visitors to the Market mouth-water.

Remember to double-click the photo to see a larger image.

The top left photo shows raspberries, black currants, black mission figs, rainier cherries, black plums, peaches.

The top centre photo shows jumbo cauliflowers, yellow wax beans, baby artichokes, patty pan squash, super sweet corn, “Blue Lake” beans, sweet rainbow carrots and asparagus.

The top right photo shows mushrooms, onions, corn, English peas (peas in the pod)…

The centre left photo shows navel oranges, crisp green apples, plumcot (plum + apricot), lemons, peaches, pineapples, bananas, plums, mangoes, melons, grapes,…

The central photo shows the centre of interest, the elephant garlic wrapped in striking purple bags, jalepeno, gingers, ripe avocados, tomatoes, shallots,….

The centre right photo shows the-ripe-on-the-vine tomatoes, fingerling potatoes and ripe avocados.

The bottom left photo shows orange and yellow peppers, red peppers. The former ones are dearer than the latter ones by US$1. Then there are green peppers and broccoli and carrots.

The bottom centre photo shows the perfect shaped and colour pineapples, juicy sweet grapefruits, navel oranges, chunky sweet pink lady apples, green apples, Fuji apples, cantaloupes and water-melons.

The bottom right photo shows Diamond Pearl white Nectarines, black berries and strawberries. The peaches are so precious that the shop-keeper warns people not to touch them with cards written, “Don’t Touch ME. Don’t Squeeze ME until I’m Yours.”.

Two Ears

Today when I look at the big tree with a hole as a beehive, I am surprised to find another hole swarmed with bees. I can proudly say that this tree bears two “ears”, one on the left and the other on the right, which are the homes of bees.

What great attraction has it come from this tree? Maybe it is due to either the charm or the inviting smell of the tree.

One interesting thing I find today is that there are two bees flying in mid-air near the second “ear” as if they were welcoming other bees to come.

A Classic Train

Last Sunday I was deeply attracted by the classic train at the beginning of the film “Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”.

Even without stream-line, the locomotive looked elegant with its long barrel, a larger chimney at the very front for exhaust smoke of burning coal and a smaller one behind for steam. Its wheels were driven by the few bars like strong arms attached to them from the engine. The steam engine was so powerful that it could pull a line of carriages behind it.

Please double-click the photo to see the train better.

The children, Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter sat in a small compartment of the train with long seats face to face. It provided privacy for them unlike our modern trains in Hong Kong.

The medium small station they passed along the way looked much better than ours in Hong Kong in the old days. I remember that the small stations (such as Ma Liu Shui and even Shatin in the 50’s or 60’s) along the railway line of the New Territories were too primitive with just a small booking office for selling tickets and a raised platform without cover for rain or strong sunlight.

To the children in the story, they did not enjoy the journey on the countryside because they were sent away by their parents for safety to a place far from London.

It must be enjoyable to travel on a train like this in the English countryside if it is not at time of war.

Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Last September, I saw this lovely film “in loose pieces” at Abby’s home in Canada. Abby loves watching this film with the DVD. She asked me for permission to watch it. With my consent and putting the DVD into the player, she operated everything by herself with the remote control.

The DVD film had been sliced into different sections. Here were the four sections she often played and watched.

[1] The very beginning of the film when German planes (in World War II) flew over London and air-raided it. The family went for shelter underground. The four children of the Pevensie family, Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter were sent away by their parents by train to a safer place away from London.

[2] Lucy found a wardrobe in an empty room. When she opened the wardrobe door and went in through the hanging coats, she walked out from the other side of the wardrobe to find a forest covered with heavy snow. There he met a half man and half animal, called Mr. Tumnus. They became friends. Tumnus told Lucy that she was in the country Narnia.

[3] Edmund followed his sister through the wardrobe into the land of Narnia, but lost sight of her. He met the white witch, Jadis, who cursed Narnia that it would always be winter, but never Christmas. The land was then populated by talking animals and ruled over by the benevolent (kind and helpful) lion god Aslan, but the world was in a state of perpetual winter.

[4] The battle scene Asian, the lion, with the four children (for the salvation of Narnia) against the white witch, Jadis, was really interesting because it was a battle between wild animals, such as a lion, leopards, bulls, half men and half horses, eagles, dwarfs, youths and a witch.

I was happy to see Abby enjoy watching the film. She jumped sections. That is why I never see the complete film until yesterday when it was on show in the Pearl network.

A Dish of Sweet and Sour Fish

Recently, the Sweet and Sour Fish (咕嚕魚) I ordered at Ladies’ Purse at JC disappointed me so much. It was the fish wrapped in thick layer of flour that made me feel that “flour is much cheaper than fish”. The bite at each piece of fish was like chunking at a hard rock. The red and green pepper, the sweet and sour sauce and the pineapple were okay. They helped me finish the bowl of rice that was for the main course.

Back to my appetizer, I found three small purple dice of tuna fish, absolutely raw, placed on some salad vegetables. There were two sets of a thin asparagus on top of a slice of tomato in a way as if each were a magnetic pointer on a cork floating on water to show the direction of North in an experiment.

My wife ordered a lamb chop as main course, 30% raw. The lamb came in twin pieces. I did not like to eat mutton, but politely accepted a small piece from her.

The tendon-like beef (牛腱) was her favourite appetizer. It was richly covered with sesame seeds. I liked it except that it was a little dry.

The Fish Ladder at the Chittenden Locks

Pacific salmon are anadromous: They hatch in lakes, rivers, and streams—or, nowadays fish hatcheries—migrate to sea, and only at the end of their life return to fresh water to spawn.
The fish ladder at the Chittenden locks is unusual because it is located where salt and fresh waters meet. In normal cases, fish ladders are located entirely within fresh water.

When the Corps of Engineers first built the Chittenden Locks and dam, they changed the natural drainage route of Lake Washington. The locks and dam blocked all salmon running out of the Cedar River watershed. To overcome this problem, the Corps built a fish ladder as the locks were constructed to allow salmon to pass around the locks and dam.

The ladder was designed to use attraction water: fresh water flowing swiftly out the bottom of the fish ladder, in the direction opposite which anadromous fish migrate at the end of their lives. However, the attraction water from this first ladder was not effective. Instead, most salmon used the locks. This made them an easy target for predators; also, many were injured by hitting the walls and gates of the locks, or by hitting boat propellers.

The Corps rebuilt the fish ladder in 1976 by increasing the flow of attraction water and adding more weirs: most weirs are now one foot higher than the previous one. The old fish ladder had only 10 "steps"; the new one has 21. A diffuser well mixes salt water in gradually through the last 10 weirs. As a part of the rebuilding, the Corps also added an underground chamber with a viewing gallery.

The fish approaching the ladder smell the attraction water, recognizing the scent of Lake Washington and its tributaries. They enter the ladder, and either jump over each of the 21 weirs or swim though tunnel-like openings. They exit the ladder into the fresh water of Salmon Bay. They continue following the waterway to the lake, river, or stream where they were born. Once there, the females lay eggs, which the males fertilize. Most salmon die shortly after spawning.

The offspring remain in the fresh water until they are ready to return to the ocean as smolts. In a few years, the surviving adults return, climb the fish ladder, and reach their spawning ground to continue the life cycle. Of the millions of young fish born, only a relative few survive to adulthood. Causes of death include natural predators, commercial and sport fishing, disease, low stream flows, poor water quality, flooding, and concentrated developments along streams and lakes.

Visitors to the locks can observe how the Salmon from the open sea return to their freshwater birthplace at the head of the river to spawn. In so doing, the salmon have to traverse a long journey going against swift water currents.

Although the viewing area is open year-round, the peak viewing time is during spawning season, from about the beginning of July through mid-August.

One of the photos here shows the specimens of salmon eggs at different stages of development. The main source of materials here is from Wikipedia.

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks are located at the west end of Salmon Bay, part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. People call them locally as the Ballard Locks.

The locks serve three purposes:
(1) To maintain the water level of the fresh water of Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20–22 feet above sea level.
(2) To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes.
(3) To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.

The complex includes two locks, a small (30 ft x 150 ft, 8.5 m x 45.7 m) and a large (80 ft x 825 ft, 24.4 m x 251.5 m).The complex also includes a (235-foot, 71.6 metre) spillway with six gates to assist in water-level control. A fish ladder is integrated into the locks for migration of anadromous fish, notably salmon.

There is a visitors’ center as well as the Carl S. English, Jr., Botanical Gardens at the locks.

When boat traffic is low or when the lakes receive less inflow, the small lock is used to conserve fresh water during summer . Whenever one of the locks to be drained for maintenance, the other lock will be used without blocking all boat traffic.

The locks can elevate a 760-foot (230 m) by 80-foot (24 m) wide vessel, 26 feet (7.9 m) deep, from the level of Puget Sound at a very low tide to the level of freshwater Salmon Bay, in 10–15 minutes. The locks can handle both pleasure boats and commercial vessels, ranging from kayaks to fishing boats returning from the Bering Sea to cargo ships. Over 1 million tons of cargo, fuel, building materials, and seafood products pass through the locks each year.

Missed the First Chance

Yesterday morning, we learned from “Roadside” source that the first Night-blooming flower in our public garden had blossomed the night before. From past experience, these flowers opened quite late at night and I did not expect them to open at such an early hour at eight, so I missed my first chance of watching it bloom.

At the corridor, we chanced to meet one of female gardeners who told us that the second flower might bloom later the night.

I promised myself I must witness the second blooming yesterday night. Last time the first blossom appeared at around 8:40. To my amazement, the plant seemed to know how to read the time on this second night. Throughout the next one to two hours after 8:40, the second flower showed their beautiful white petals. Some passing-by residents said that the flower gave out some fragrance, but my poor nose could not sense it at all. I was too happy to say that I could capture the “grand” opening of this nocturnal flower with my small digital camera.

Paper mats from Pizza Hut

These 4 paper mats are found in our post box downstairs. What interests me is the design.
Of course, the main elements of the cartoon mats are advertisements:

They read as follows, ‘Order for the “Hot”’ delivery food; “Say cheese!

The mats provide some fun-games such as 3-6-9 game and Sudoku for the customers. I think customers can play the games while waiting for food inside the restaurant. It is better for Pizza Hut to create some newer games for customers to play.

Night-blooming Cereus

The gardener in our public garden told my wife yesterday that she had intentionally placed a pot of Night-blooming cereus (曇花) at the most noticeable spot along the corridor so that more people could see it. According to her experience, the flowers would bloom in these few days.

I am happy to see this old friend once more because I witnessed the blooming of such white flowers at home many years ago. This kind of flowers does not give out the kind of sweet fragrance I like. From my observation, the flowers rarely bloom. If they do, they open for just one to two hours after mid-night and soon they drooped.

Let us read what Wikipedia describes about these short-life flowers:

The Night-blooming Cereus is often called Queen of the night and also known as the lunar flower, moon flower and luna flower. This plant is native to the Sonoran Desert in North America. The plant grows as a thin, almost dead looking stick from a single stem in the ground. They bloom just on one or two nights of the year, typically around May 30. Beneath the ground is a large tuber, often the size of a watermelon. It was eaten by Indians and early settlers because of its nutritious content. Pack rats often eat these blossoms before morning, so catching a glimpse of them can be fleeting (曇花一現) . They often stay open until the early morning hours, but then close up for another year.

Fanapi Movements

It is always fascinating to see the movement of a typhoon each time when it comes to Hong Kong. In the past, typhoons were created east of the Philippines and travelled north-westwards. Recently typhoons are created east of Taiwan. Some go northerly towards Shanghai or further to Korea and Japan.

This time Fanapi travels westward, crosses Taiwan proper and go onshore somewhere between Fujian and Guangdong. It goes by the backdoor of Hong Kong and is going to sweep most of Guangdong. Fanapi has flooded Taiwan with much rain water. I wonder if the typhoon brings heavy rain to Hong Kong as well. Let me see!

Funny Soap

This thick piece of soap looks very much like a piece of mixed ham. Its variation in colour is more interesting than those cakes of ordinary soap for cleansing in the bath-room. One of its edges is round and the others are straight. I guess it must have been cut out from a large piece. It is totally wrapped up with opaque waterproof paper with a label telling customers what it is.

Last September when I was in Vancouver, I came before a shop selling soap. I found soap placed in various buckets and they had different colours and shapes, more or less like rock sugar. The immediate thought to me was that the soap here must be sold by weight, not by piece.

In the old days, rice was sold in the same way. One may buy a certain amount of rice. The shop-keeper would weigh the rice according to the demand and shovel it into a bag made of jute, unlike nowadays rice are normally sold in 5, 8 or 10 kg plastic bags.

The colour and shapes of soap nowadays are in revolution. Recently we use several pieces of soap with different smells and colours. I remember that we have used one which has a lemon smell and one with honey (one edge seems to be part of honeycomb). How interesting it will be to me if it has the smell of mango or chocolate!

I can tell you that the piece of soap here does not have the smell of ham.

Fanapi

Fanapi (凡亞比) is a typhoon coming westward at a speed 20 km per hour from Taiwan across the strait and going inland at the shore between Swatow (汕頭) and Fujian (福建). It will pass the backdoor of Hong Kong like the previous typhoon.

For own interest, it is a custom to me to take photos of the sky before a typhoon comes. In these few days, the sky is blurred with grey smog, something like a fog or smoke. The colour of the sky turns a strangely red or purplish red at sunset.

Yesterday the temperature in Shatin reached as high as 35 degrees Celcius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). To me, the hot feeling was no good and unbearable. We do not turn on the air-conditioners at home unless it is really necessary, but yesterday the irritating heat that pierced through the windows into our home made us surrender.

At the moment when I am writing, it begins to rain. I hope the rain will drive away the heat and bring us cooler weather.

The World's Steepest Street

Believe it or not, Baldwin Street, in the suburban part of Dunedin (達尼丁) (a southern city of New Zealand), is claimed as the world’s steepest street.

Baldwin Street is a short straight street, 350 metres long, rising from 30 metres (98 ft) above sea level at its junction with North Road to 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level at the top, an average slope of slightly more than 1 : 5. At its maximum, the slope of Baldwin Street is approximately 1 : 2.86 (19° or 35%).

From my rough measurement at the photos here, the street inclines at about 20 degrees to the horizontal. Heavy vehicles are advised not to climb this road.

In one of the photos, it seems that a house has sunk into the soil.

To experience the steepness of the road, the lady from a Taiwan TV team walked up the street and finally bought a certificate at NZ$2 from a local shop to certify that she had walked up the steepest road in the world.

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca (的的喀喀湖) lies between Peru and Bolivia, so the boundary cuts the lake roughly into two halves. It sits 3,811 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. By volume of water, it is also the largest lake in South America.

The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department.

Lake Titicaca is fed by rainfall and melt water from glaciers on the sierras that have a common boundary with the Altiplano. Five major river systems feed into Lake Titicaca.

Titicaca is notable for a population of people who live on the Uros, a group of 42 or so artificial islands made of floating reeds 蘆葦 (totora, a reed that grows in the shallow parts of the lake). These islands have become a major tourist attraction for Peru, drawing excursions from the lakeside city of Puno (普諾). Their original purpose was defensive, and they could be moved if a threat arose. Many of the islands contain watch towers largely constructed of reeds. Large or small boats were made from totora and they are used for navigation on the lake.

Dancing Bees

To end the query raised, I attempt a closer look at the brown insects that crowd round the crack of the same old tree in Shatin today. From the photos I take, I see that they are definitely bees with black and brown stripes.

One interesting thing about these bees is that they shake and dance at the same time. To take a clear picture of them needs steady hands and the right moment when they stop dancing.

I am glad to have a very clear picture of the bees that find a tree hole as their home. Maybe I can say, these bees are Dancing Queens at their stage.

Mag Lam has won!

In the final round of the singing contest, “The Voice 2”, the top three contestants had to sing a song unplugged each. Piano is the only musical instrument used by them. The total marks for the two songs each contestant sang will decide the winner of the contest.

In this order of singing, Sheldon Lo sang the song “Apologize”, Hubert Wu “可惜不是你 and ”Mag Lam “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?”.

Sheldon finally got 170.5 marks, Hubert 171.3 and Mag 171.5. Mag beat Hubert by 0.2 marks.

In my heart, I always look upon Mag to be the winner and Hubert to come next. My expectation has come true. I do hope “The Voice 3” will come soon in the coming months so that I can be the “Invisible” judge again.

Tree-hole = Beehive?

What a strange sight when I saw a tree-hole become a beehive!

Today my wife and I took the same route home after breakfast. Some fifty to hundred brown bees crawled in or out of a narrow opening of an old tree. Parts of the bark of this tree had long fallen off, leaving cracks behind.

The bees, I believe, might find this tree to be their home. I wondered how deep and how far the bees had gone inside. Perhaps the bees had already found much room to hold their family.

Sooner or later, this tree may become hollow and fall down if the bees over-expand their territories.

Dog Assembly

It is so nice to see these American dog-owners bring their dogs together at a park. Most of them are furry pet dogs, small in size and different in colours – white, grey, black, brown and golden yellow. There is one big dog here, but it seems quite tame. Even a girl dares to touch and speak to it.

These dogs are happier because they have a holiday and make friends at the park. They become sociable and are never bound to their own backyards.

The dog-owners can easily exchange conversations and share their experience on how to keep their dogs and some even show their dogs’ skill at one time.

Encouraging Prizes in “The Voice 2”

Prizes were given to the contestants in “The Voice 2” who gets the top votes through Internet.

I totally agree with the results through votes from the public.

These are the prizes presented:
[A] 網上人氣巨聲獎 – 林欣彤
[B] 飛躍進步巨聲獎 – 胡鴻鈞
[C] 金曲獎項 – 我最喜愛金曲巨聲獎(最高票數之三首)
(1) 歲月的童話 – 陳慧敏
(2) 夢一場 – 吳業坤
(3) 愛請問怎麼走 – 林欣彤 (最高票數)

To hear how the contestants interpret the songs, it would be better to visit HKTVB website on “The Voice 2”.

20100912 The Voice 2 (Final)

Yesterday night, I enjoyed watching and listening to TVB’s Singing Contest, “The Voice 2”, among the 6 finalists.

The 6 contestants, in order of singing in the first round , were as follows:
[1] Penny Chan (陳國峄) singing 洋蔥 (original singer: 楊宗緯)
[2] Hubert Wu (胡鴻鈞) singing 原諒我 (original singer: 蕭敬騰)
[3] Sheldon Lo (羅孝勇) singing Speechless (self-written by Sheldon)
[4] Mag Lam (林欣彤) singing A Moment Like This (original singer: Kelly Clarkson)
[5] James Ng (吳業坤) singing 夢醒了 (original singer: 那英)
[6] Brian Tse (謝東閔) singing Piano (original singer: 范逸臣)

Their marks in the first round were
[1] Penny Chan 82.8
[2] Hubert Wu 87.0
[3] Sheldon Lo 84.5
[4] Mag Lam 87.8
[5] James Ng 83.3
[6] Brian Tse 84.1

The top three contestants could enter the final round and each of them were to sing an unplugged song.

In my opinion, in the first round, Hubert could keep his standard. Sheldon had great improvement and Mag could not sing as well as last week (last time she got 92).

A Birthday Dinner

Recently, Mrs. Ko requested some of CCSC colleagues to her birthday dinner. Not to mention, it was a delicious dinner to everyone.

Here I am to write something about each participant at the dinner.

1. Mrs. Ko received her birthday card from all of us.
2. Mrs. D. Chan, requested by Mrs. Ko to be a coordinator, wrote e-mails to us about the details of the dinner.
3. Mrs. Hui has an eye operation recently and her eye-sight has been improved.
4. Mrs. J. Wong has another grandson and she was so kind to give us some sweet vinegar with ginger and pig’s legs to eat before dinner.
5. Julienne Ip flied back to Hong Kong from Vancouver to stay with her daughter’s family in Hong Kong.
6. Edith Mak has a better knowledge of the capability of cameras in terms of pixels than I do.
7. Helen Lo‘s daughter did not show up this time at the dinner.
8. Yvette Poon showed her beautiful ear-rings to us during the dinner.
9. Mr. Fung and Mrs. Fung took a tram home that night.
10. Nancy Hui told us that there were only secondary one classes this year.
11. Rosa Wong said that she was going to be a form-mistress this year.
12. I was one of the photographers at the dinner.

Miss M. Ng, Miss Su and Mrs. Ma were unable to join us that evening.

Glory's Prey

Cats catch mice, but Glory catches possum.

Glory is Felix’s faithful dog at home. I remember her when she sniffed me for the first time at her master's house in April, 2006. I stood stiff, never to move an inch, when she examined me for a few seconds because it was then really a big dog. Perhaps she was learning and recording my odour in her memory when doing so.

Felix told me what happened one recent night at his house.

“The possum is such an ugly animal that everybody was kind of scared when we saw it for the first time. They belong to a group of animals called the marsupials, which rear their young in a pouch for the early part of their lives, like the Kangaroos. Basically they are quite harmless, but to us, they have a very vicious look. I think someone said they have sharp claws.

My dog Glory, of course, does care whether they are good looking or not, but she will fight anyone who invades into her territory, and thus kills the possums. That night, I was already sleeping but Glory climbed to our bed and woke me up by pushing me many times with her front claw. I thought she needs to pee and open the door for her to go out into the yard. She dashed out to the yard, but after quite a while I didn't see her appear at her usual pee location, so I went out and found Glory biting something. She did not bark but was just "doing her work". The possum was lying on the ground. I didn't let Glory eat her catch. I picked up the body and threw it away in a garbage bag.

I am not afraid that Glory will get Rabies because she is already vaccinated against rabies and certified.”

I can see a shovel on the ground, which I think Felix would use it to put the possum into a garbage bag and throw it away.

Skydive in New Zealand

Nzone in Queenstown, New Zealand, provides skydive to visitors. A video-shooting team from a Taiwanese TV programme about tours experienced skydive over this southern city in South Island.

The sweet lady in black dress and the cameraman first signed papers and changed into proper uniforms, each accompanied by an experienced parachutist. They were to jump from a Cresco Turbine aircraft at a height of 15000 feet above the ground.

The jumps were successful ones. The two colourful parachutes, one pink and one purple, were in rectangular shapes. Two by two, they glided down and landed safely on the ground.

If I name my 16 photos here in order from left to right and top to bottom with numbers 1 to 16. What do you think is the order of the photos?

Earthquake near Christchurch Today

An earthquake with magnitude 7.1 occurred in the South Island, New Zealand at 04:35:44 AM local time (16:35:44 UTC), Saturday, September 4, 2010. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 16.1 kilometers (10.0 miles).

The epicenter was located 30 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of Christchurch. The earthquake was reported to have caused widespread damage and power outages. Several aftershocks were also reported. Christchurch residents were awaken by the heavy shakes of the earthquake and reported chimneys have fallen in through roofs, cracked ceilings and collapsed brick walls. Some of the cars were damaged by fallen bricks and debris.

Some of the water pipes were broken and thus flooded some of the streets. Articles of shops fell onto the floors when the earthquake struck. Some residents stayed outside the streets and some even drove to high grounds for fear of Tsunami.

Christchurch

Back to August 30, 2007, Ho Keung and Yin Ping reached Christchurch (基督城), the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand.The photos they took before the interesting houses looked as if they were in the city of Lilliput (小人國) in Gulliver travels. The houses were really beautiful. They also took a photo of Christ’s College (the one with a red tram) and at the Botanic Garden inside Hagley Park.

At the centre of Christ Church is Cathedral Square, surrounding the Anglican cathedral. There are chesses almost the sizes of people for play at the square. The area around this square and within the "four avenues" of Christchurch (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue) is considered the central business district of the city. The central city also has a number of residential areas, including Inner City East, Inner City West, Avon Loop, Moa Neighbourhood & Victoria. Tourists could ride trams to tour round the city.

The Voice 2

I love watching “The Voice” ever since last year. At this moment, the “The Voice 2” has become red-hot because eight contestants will become six in the coming programme. Two will be disqualified. The last six contestants will compete and soon the winner will appear.

Last Sunday, an outstanding singer, Jeanie Lee(李幸倪), from Malaysia challenged one of the contestants in Hong Kong. I think her singing is up to perfection.

To me, I predict Mag Lam (林欣彤)will be the winner of this contest in the final. The runners-up will be among James Ng(吳業坤), Hubert Wu (胡鴻鈞) and Penny Chan(陳國峄). Let me see if I am right.

I enjoy watching and listen to the songs the contestants sing. Each time, I myself pretend to be one of judges. I am quite happy to find that the marks I give to each contestant are very close to those given by the judges.

In the photo, the top left is Mag Lam; on her right is Hubert Wu; the lady in red dress is Jeanie Lee, the Malaysian singer; the centre right is Penny Chan; the bottom right is James Ng.