Cara cara Navel Oranges

What I discovered, a few days ago , at one of our supermarkets in Hong Kong were the Cara cara navel oranges. They come from Sunkist, U.S.A. What interests me most is its red flesh. The colour and texture look more or less like that of a grapefruit.

As you know, grapefruit is a little bitter and less sweet. These Cara cara oranges are less sweet, but not bitter at all. I like its light sweet taste. At the time of eating one, I imagine I were eating a “specially sweet” grapefruit.

Let us look at the origin and characteristics of these oranges from Wikipedia:

The Cara cara navel, or red navel orange is an early-to-midseason navel orange believed to have developed as a cross between the Washington navel and the Brazilian Bahia navel. Discovered at the Hacienda de Cara Cara in Valencia, Venezuela in 1976, the parentage is apparently uncertain enough to occasionally warrant the distinction of a mutation, with only the tree on which it was found—the Washington navel—being an accepted progenitor. Cara caras did not enter the U.S consumer produce market until the late 1980s and were carried only by specialty markets for many years thereafter.

This medium sized navel is sweet and low in acid, the flavor is more complex than most navel varieties and has been described as evoking notes of cherry, rose petal and blackberry.

From the major growing regions, South African cara caras are ready for market starting in August, Venezuelan fruits arrive in October and Californian fruits make their seasonal debut in late November.

I am happy that this kind of oranges has arrived at Hong Kong. I hope I am one of the supporters of these wonderful oranges.

The photo in the bottom left corner shows two kinds of Sunkist navel oranges from U.S.A., the ordinary ones and the Cara cara. They look almost the same. How can we distinguish the two kinds from each other without cutting them up?

The Pretty and the Ugly

Here in display is a pretty peacock which shows her beautiful feathers to visitors at the Japanese Garden, Sydney. It is rare to see this kind of scene unless we have the patience to wait for this precious moment.

The peacock is spreading her feathers out like a fan. At a glimpse, tens of eye-like patches of green, blue and yellow spaced out evenly. What is the peacock thinking at this moment of her feather display?

The body of peacock looks pretty too because the green and the ‘peacock blue’ match in perfect harmony.

The back view of the peacock is a completely different picture. The look is just ordinary. Perhaps its mate always looks at it from the front.

In one of the photos here, a pretty and an ugly bird meet. The former is the peacock and the latter is the emu. To describe the emu, I will say that the bird is wearing a light brown fur coat of feathers, nothing attractive to its spectators. Its beak is much bigger than that of the peacock. Maybe it is due to the reason: the emu eats more and the peacock eats less.

Please click at the collage photo to get bigger views.

Emu and Kangaroo

Let us see the lovely Emu and Kangaroo that appear on the Coat of Arms at the Parliament House, Canberra as well as those real ones at Koala Park, Sydney. It was interesting that we could feed both animals in the same park.

The emu that we saw at Koala Park in December 2006 lived with a lamb in the same enclosure. At first I puzzled at the patches of green painted on the lamb. After deep in thought for a while, I supposed that it might be easier for recognition in case the lamb had run away.

When Ho Keung was feeding the lamb with some bread through the fence , the emu was so clever as to bump into the lamb so that the latter lost the bite at the bread and it snatched and swallowed the bread instead. This showed us that the emu we saw was clever. From my observation at the park, an emu has a long neck and a thick body. Its feathers are not as colourful and attractive as those of ordinary chickens.

The kangaroos at the park were very tame. They did not fear of humans at all. Some drank water from an aluminium sink. Some lay on the ground leisurely as if they were sun-bathing. Some small baby kangaroos stood beside their mother and one even climbed back into his/her mother’s pouch for nursing or milk feeding.

Ochre Restaurant

Ochre Restaurant is located at Shields Street, Cairns (凱恩斯) , Queensland, Australia. It serves seafood as well as traditional Australian food.

Of all the food placed on the long platter of food in the bottom left photo, the main interest comes from two wontons of crocodile meat.

The red roasted meat of emu with cheese on top may attract those customers who aim at tasting the large flightless bird on the Coat of Arms (symbols) of Australia.

The fillets of kangaroo (another representative animal on the Coat of Arms) look very much like beef with a meat pate at the top.

The prawns with chilli sauce create another desirable dish.

棘杜鵑

棘杜鵑(Bougainvillea)的原產地是秘魯、阿根廷、巴西等國。

棘杜鵑為常綠蔓性灌木，生長力強。樹枝可向上生，亦能垂下當為籬笆花。大紅、粉紅、紫、黃、白色的，祇是包葉花苞，真正的花朵是白色的，體型實在很細小，成漏斗狀，一生三朵，故又名三角花或三角梅。包葉薄如紙，也叫紙花，正名是南美紫茉莉。

在香港，棘杜鵑與杜鵑同時在三四月盛開。因枝上有刺，故叫棘杜鵑。在南洋則花期很長，可開整年，花重又重 ，故叫九重葛。

Picnic Lunch at Fagan Park

The Picnic Lunch at Fagan Park in Australia was a memorable one. It was December 30, 2006. For the first time, Connie, Philip, Ho Keung, Yin Ping, my wife and I had outdoor lunch together on grass.

Yin Ping first spread the plastic table cloth on the grass and placed on it two loaves of bread, ham, cans of food, nuts and fruits. We sat around the food on mats made from jute .

Connie was most interested in the beetroot on her slice of bread, while my wife some corn and tomato. I was busy taking a few photos of this kind of lunch on grassy field. This lunch was healthy for the ladies because it was almost vegetarian in nature except the ham which I was in favour of. At times, we had to wave our hands to drive away the unwelcome visitors – the flies.

To us, the lunch was an interesting one which required self-served, bread as dishes, art of mixing different kinds of food, high skill in eating without spilling any juice from whole tomatoes or falling of corn from the bread and most important of all, the close watch for flies that might land on the food.

It also reminded me of the pages of picnic scenes of small children in one of my English story books in the primary. The scenes in the book and those at Fagan Park likely match one another.

A New McDonald at City One

Beginning last June, Ngan Shing Shopping Centre at City One was gradually renovated. From time to time, shops were closed in groups. Bank of China was the only bank that remained all through the renovation period except that it was just shifted a little to its right near the main entrance. It had been, for half a year, the Dark Age for the shops there. A new large Park-in Supermarket took shape and reopened in mid-September. Other medium-sized shops, some with familiar names to me, re-appeared. My wife and I were most concerned with the eateries. The Fairwood fast-food shop was reborn and opened in last December. A ‘Fortress’ shop was found selling electrical appliances. A new bigger branch of HSBC bank was set up there as well.

The shops in City One Plaza were also renovated. Only Watsons, Mannings, KFC and Cafe de Coral unmoved. The shifting of shops internally or between the two shopping centres throughout the period was like rapid shuffling.

Yesterday, we were glad to see the new McDonald opened on the ground floor below KFC and Café de Coral. This fast food shop is bigger and much modern than the original one. In front of the shop were two balloon dolls with smiling faces welcoming their new customers.

Inside people can drink its famous coffee or eat burgers of different kinds at new tables and chairs.

One of the photos shows the glass of coffee my student, Alice Chang, bought me in the "old" McDonald after lunch one Sunday in January. The coffee was six to seven inches deep in the glass. On the foam of milk coffee was made the shape of a “heart”. With a slight movement of the rubber stirrer, the “heart” was deformed. I guess it was the foam that moved apart.

I believe Abby and Elly like to visit this new McDonald when they return to Hong Kong.

The Top 10 Best Modern Fighters of the World

The recent top ten best modern fighters of the World are:

1. F22A Rapter
2. F35 lightning II
3. Su - 35
4. EF2000 (Eurofighter)
5. F15E Strike Eagle
6. Su - 30
7. Super Hornet, F18
8. Rafale
9. F16
10. Mirage 2000

French Rafale jet fighters

The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy.

European nations, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom agreed to jointly develop a new fighter in the early 1980s. Disagreement over the fighter's size and project leadership led France and the other nations to split in 1985. France developed the smaller Rafale, while the other nations developed what would later be named the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Three versions of Rafale were in the initial production order:
[1] Rafale C (Chasseur) – Single-seat fighter for the French Air Force
[2] Rafale B (Biplace) – Two-seat fighter for the French Air Force
[3] Rafale M (Marine) – Single-seat carrier fighter for the French Navy

The Rafale carries an integrated electronic survival system named "SPECTRA" which features a software-based virtual stealth technology. The most important sensor is the Thales RBE2 passive electronically scanned multi-mode radar. Thales claims to have achieved unprecedented levels of situational awareness through the earlier detection and tracking of multiple air targets for close combat and long-range interception, as well as real time generation of 3D maps for terrain-following and the real time generation of high resolution ground maps for navigation and targeting.

Let us study the Rafale Ms on board the Charles De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier:

This is the carrier-borne version for the Aéronavale, which entered service in 2002. The Rafale M weighs about 500 kg (1,100 lb) more than the Rafale C. Very similar to the Rafale C in appearance, the M differs in the following respects:

[1] Strengthened to withstand the rigors of carrier-based aviation
[2] Stronger landing gear
[3] Longer nose gear leg to provide a more nose-up attitude for catapult launches
[4] Deleted front centre pylon (to give space for the longer gear)
[5] Large stinger-type tailhook between the engines
[6] Built-in power operated boarding ladder
[7] Carrier microwave landing system
[8] "Telemir" inertial reference platform that can receive updates from the carrier systems

On 19 March 2011, French Rafale jets reportedly conducted reconnaissance and strike missions over Libya in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. On 24 March 2011 it was reported that a Rafale shot down a Libyan Air Force G-2/Galeb light ground attack/trainer jet. A few hours later an armed forces spokesman specified that the plane was destroyed on the runway with an AASM air-to-ground missile just after it had landed.

Charles De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier

It is my first time, through TV, seeing the Nuclear - powered French Aircraft Carrier, Charles De Gaulle (R91) 戴高樂號, join a combat in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lybia.

This vessel can carry at most 40 aircraft : mostly the French Stealth jet planes, Rafale M (range 3,340 km), Super Etendard (range 1,682km) and three E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft (of great importance in protecting the air-carrier and its planes on board). The ship will also support the AS 565 Panther or NH 90 helicopters.

The main deck consists of a main runway angled at 8.5° to the ship's axis and an aircraft launch area forward of the island. These are each equipped with a catapult, capable of launching one aircraft a minute. The runway is 195m long and the whole deck measures 260m x 64m. The carrier is fitted with the Sagem Defense Sécurité DALAS laser landing aid.

An Arctic Trip

My sister-in-law is so kind as to send me some photos she and my eldest brother recently took during their trip in arctic Norway.

ML says : KS and I had taken a trip to northern part of Norway within the Arctic Circle to watch the Northern Lights.

We cruised along the coast of Norway heading North till near the Russian border. The Winter scenery of the Fjords of Norway was very beautiful and there were onshore excursions that we could enjoy the activities on land. We also reached the most north part of the continent, the North Cape.

The weather was really very cold but we were excited to experience the Husky-ride; the Reindeer-ride and to stay in the Snow Hotel (Igloo) for one night inside a sleeping bag. We were lucky to have the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) every evening and we watched them on the open deck under the cold strong wind.

One evening while in Tromso (the Arctic capital), we were guided by a professional photographer to stay on the snow mountain for 6+ hours to chase the Northern Lights. Nature did put on an amazing "Light Show" for us, we took a lot of photos but could not capture the beauty of the true scene.

象牙花

象牙花 are beautiful deep red flowers (some orange) growing out of Ivory Coral Trees (Erythrina speciosa).

Erythrina speciosa is a tree native to Brazil, South America. The tallest may reach 4 metres. It is often cultivated and has been introduced to Africa and India. Hummingbirds love visiting its flowers and help their pollination.

The flowers look very much like ivory and usually open in March, but they do not bear fruit in Hong Kong. Each leaf is compounded and composed of leaflets in threes.

My Good Wishes

Today I would like to make good wishes to
[1] Philip who is now writing his thesis earnestly for an A+.
[2] Connie who is a Great mom taking care of her two lovely children. I give her two A+s.
[3] Abby who is talented in art – drawing, pottery, in home economics – washing dishes, cooking, in extra-curricular activities – swimming, ballet dancing. I give her a large number of A+s.
[4] Elly who is learning quickly in distinguishing different shapes, animals, fruits and in matching. Elly loves sleeping. When she is awake, she is energetic and full of mobility about her home. Her attentiveness is A+. Her love to food is also A+. Her cleverness is A+ too.
[5] Felix who is working hard at his office as usual and a speedy A+ recovery at his ankle.
[6] Loretta who is raising her new-born A+ baby son with ease.
[7] Loretta’s parents who can handle 4 A+ grand-children at a time.
[8] My CCSC students who are studying with A+ results or working with A+ happiness in society.

CCSC OSA Annual Dinner 2011

This year CCSC OSA held its annual dinner at a restaurant in Causeway Bay on March 18. The dinner is organized by old students of different years, unlike the previous ones by fresh Form 7 graduates.

On that night, there were around 20 tables. That meant that approximately 200 or more people - old students, teachers, former or present, managers of the school board, supervisors, principals gathered.

The MCs conducted the ceremony by a short introduction of the current committee members of OSA, then the school song led by Principal Yuen and Miss Winnie Wong. Next, Principal Yuen made a short speech (see the second photo) and then the managers, present supervisor, Chan Kam Toi and the VIP raised their glasses of “wine” and made a toast to all who joined the dinner (see the third photo).

Next, dishes of food were served. In the midst of the dinner, there was a lucky draw. Among the presents were five framed photos, two taken by me, two from Miss M. Ng and one by Mrs. Tsang (Cheung Wai Ming), our old student as well as old colleague.

During the dinner, I went to most of the tables to take photos of or with my old students. We chatted a little and some still recognized me as their class teacher or Mathematics teacher. Group photos of students and teachers were taken at times on the raised platform.

By the end of the dinner, some young students of mine came to greet me. I was pleased that they had entered their favourite universities.

This year some students are so busy that they cannot attend the dinner. I wish that many more old students will join the next OSA annual dinner.

The top photo shows the old students gathered at the raised platform for a group photo. The bottom photo shows the group photo of teachers with the supervisors, managers and principals of the school.

An Interesting Matching Game

Tony brought home some photos from U.S. and Canada. On his flight from San Francisco to Vancouver, the plane passed an airfield. I am deeply interested in finding out where it is, so I search it with the 3-D Map of Bay Area of SFO I bought from Las Vegas.

Soon I find it on my map which shows that it is a former U.S. naval base with runways for planes. Another surprise comes from the air-craft carrier which is USS Hornet museum (it appears both on the photo and map).

Further proofs come from San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge and Yerba Buena Island in the distance.I am totally absorbed in this sort of matching game.

Terrifying Scenes when Tsunami struck

Here were some recent terrifying scenes in Japan recorded at the sites where tsunami swept ashore.

Boats were lifted, crashed into each other, carried away from their anchorage and was crushed into pieces when they hit the bridges.

Cars were lifted and they drifted as the currents flew. Planes were pushed away from their airfields and drifted away as well.

Tsunami at Sendai

Today (March 11, 2011) at 13:46, an earthquake, reaching Richter magnitude scale 8.9, occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 130 kilometres east of Sendai. Not long, a tsunami moved towards the harbour at Sendai, swept the low houses, vehicles and destroyed everything along its path across the farmland near the coast. The tsunami created floods, destroyed roads and bridges and struck boats ashore or overturned them.

Blue Mountains Blue

We have blue sky and blue seas. Why do Blue Mountains (New South Wales) look blue?

HKTVB tells me that the effect comes from the evaporation of the oil at the leave surfaces of the many Eucalyptus trees (尤加利樹) (native to Australia) that grow on these mountains.

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters is a rock formation in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. They are close to the town of Katoomba and are one of the Blue Mountains' best known sites, standing above the Jamison Valley. Their names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m) as shown in the photos above.

The Sisters were formed by erosion. The soft sandstone of the Blue Mountains is easily eroded over time by wind, rain and rivers, and the cliffs surrounding the Jamison Valley are being slowly broken up. Formations like the Three Sisters are created when water seeps into small cracks in the rock, gradually enlarging them over time to form large indentations. Eventually, the Sisters will be eroded away completely.

The commonly told legend of the Three Sisters is that three sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back.

Our Hong Kong comedian, 王祖藍, here told us the legend and joked that the three sisters in the photos from left to right are 盧覓雪, 阮兆祥 and 鄧小巧.

The photo below was taken in December, 2006.

Scenic World at Blue Mountains

To explore and know more about Blue Mountains, Australia, there are 4 ways:

[1] Skyway – A hanging cable car moving horizontally across the deep gorge to the other side of the mountain to have a closer look at the famous rocks, “Three Sisters”

[2] Railway – The world steepest incline passenger carrying railway. At certain parts, the railway inclines at 52 degrees to the horizontal

[3] Cableway – A large cable car running between the terminal at Scenic World and the valley floor

[4] Walkway – A 2.5 kilometre elevated boardwalk winding through the forest on the valley floor