Centres of Interest

The centres of interest of my photos here are neither the clouds nor the hills, but the radar stations at the top of Beacon Hill (筆架山). Someone may ask, “Why don’t we build the stations on the Lion Rock (獅子山). The reason is simple enough. The Lion Rock is too steep and difficult to access.

I used to see the large white ball-like multi-faced Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) when I was still living in Kowloon Tong. In the past, it served to detect the movement of planes that flied over Hong Kong for our old Kai Tak Airport. Today it is still there working. This type of radar provides, after processing, the range, bearing, altitude and identity (callsign) of an aircraft. The coverage can reach 250NM. A SSR can provide more useful information than PSR (Primary Surveillance Radar) but is subject to the proper functioning of the aircraft's transponder. To provide the best accuracy of aircraft targets, the SSR is usually paired with a PSR for air traffic control purpose.

The taller and smaller radar beside it should be a modern one which works on Radar Data Processing and display System (RDPDS), Flight Data Processing System (FDPS) and Simulator System (SIM) - (The heart of the air traffic control system) for our Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok.

The RDPDS processes the radar data from various primary and secondary radars to present the aircraft position and its related information, e.g. aircraft callsign, altitude, ground speed, aircraft category, etc. on the radar display. This information is used by air traffic controllers to control the approach/departure, terminal and en-route traffic.

The FDPS processes the flight plan data from aeronautical messages and prints out flight progress strips automatically for use by air traffic controllers to assist in updating/monitoring of the aircraft flight profile, such as flight route, estimated time of departure/arrival, flight level, expected times at reporting points, cruising speed, etc.

The SIM is a replica of the operational system and is used for the training of air traffic controllers and evaluation of air traffic control procedures.

From my observation, the planes coming from north-east (Japan, United States, Canada, ...) usually fly by way over Sai Kung, Shatin, then Tsuen Wan, turn south-westward and land on the airport or they fly by way south of Hong Kong Island and turn north-eastward for landing. Planes coming from the Philippines, countries of Southeast Asia and Australia simply land in north-east direction from the sea.

Discovery of a large Moth

At around 9 o’clock on the night of June 24th, 2010, I found a large moth on a tile of the public corridor of our building. Its light brown colour well matched with that of the tile. Its size was about that of my palm.

To know more about this kind of insects, I turn to Wikipedia:

Below are some extracts.

Moths are not easily differentiated from butterflies. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are crepuscular and diurnal species.

The study of butterflies and moths is known as lepidoptery, and biologists that specialize in either are called lepidopterists. As a pastime, watching butterflies and moths is known as butterflying and mothing. The latter has given rise to the term "mother" for someone who engages in this activity - sometimes written with a hyphen (moth-er) to distinguish it from its usual meaning.

Moths, and particularly their caterpillars, are a major agricultural pest in many parts of the world. The caterpillar of the gypsy moth causes severe damage to forests in the northeast United States, where it is an invasive species. In temperate climates, the codling moth causes extensive damage, especially to fruit farms. In tropical and subtropical climates, the diamondback moth is perhaps the most serious pest of brassicaceous crops.

Some moths are farmed. The most notable of these is the silkworm, the larva of the domesticated moth Bombyx mori. It is farmed for the silk with which it builds its cocoon. As of 2002, the silk industry produces over 130 million kilograms of raw silk, worth about 250 million U.S. dollars, each year. Not all silk is produced by Bombyx mori. There are several species of Saturniidae that are also farmed for their silk, such as the Ailanthus moth, the Chinese Oak Silkmoth, the Assam Silkmoth, and the Japanese Silk Moth.

Moths frequently appear to circle artificial lights, although the reason for this behavior remains unknown. One hypothesis advanced to explain this behavior is that moths use a technique of celestial navigation called transverse orientation.

Nocturnal insectivores often feed on moths; these include some bats, some species of owls and other species of birds. Moths are also eaten by some species of lizards, cats, dogs, rodents, and some bears. Moth larvae are vulnerable to being parasitized by Ichneumonidae.

Nuts from abroad

Recently, Edward sent me some beautiful photos of nuts and Ho Keung and Yin Ping gave me some salted macadamia and cashew nuts as presents when they visited us in Hong Kong.

The flowers of the macadamia are like bushy tails. The green nuts are not conspicuous as they grow. The shells of the nuts turn brown when ripe. Inside the nuts, the meat is as white as coconut and it tastes good and is nice for chewing.

The cashew nuts are kidney-shaped and it is white when raw, but become golden brown when roasted. The taste is equally good.

Here I link up Edward’s photos with mine. I arrange some macadamia and cashew nuts from Australia to form separately a letter “E” and a letter “A” which represent Elly and Abby respectively. I create a smiling face too for my grand-daughters.

A Potted Mimosa at CCSC

On the first day I returned to CCSC recently, my eyes shone with surprise when I saw a potted Mimosa (in Staff Room 2) on the bookshelf of our present P.E. teacher, Ng Chi Kin, also my past student. He was not the owner of the plant, but Miss L.S. Chan.

In recent years, students are encouraged to grow plants in pots in the open spaces of our school premises and they have to take care of them, watering and feeding them with nutrients at times. These plants are for internal competitions.

Miss Chan brought this plant indoors and found that it branches out healthily. Miss Chan said that the plant flowered in the past and the flowering period was quite short.

The potted plant is placed on Mr. Ng’s bookshelf simply because it is near the windows so daylight is adequate for the plant. The plant can live peacefully and comfortably in an air-conditioned room in hot summer and surely enough Miss Chan will water it at regular times in a week. Of course the leaves are often touched so that fun arises when they droop in a way as if they were bowing.

Insects at Tai Wai Station

Large colourful decorative insects such as butterflies and dragonflies are over-hanging the spaces where escalators are delivering passengers down to the hall below.

These insects are much larger than the real ones. Their sizes may be 1000: 1. From my observation, they are made of metal and ceramics. The silvery veins in the wings of these insects are clearly shown. The legs are long and segmented and the bodies are artistic to the look. It is really nice to see interesting art and craft work displayed in a public place like this.

Mimosa pudica

Two days ago at Shatin, I was delighted to find a plant of Mimosa (含羞草 = 怕醜草) at the riverside. Its distinguishable compound leaves and purplish pink flowers were different from the others.

Let us study some information about mimosa from Wikipedia:

Mimosa (pudica = shy) is a sensitive, creeping annual or perennial herb often grown for its curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, re-opening minutes later. The species is native to South America and Central America, but is now a pantropical weed.

The common names of mimosa can be :

[1] sensitive plant [2] humble plant [3] shameful plant [4] sleeping grass [5] touch-me-not.

In is interesting that the stem is erect in young plants, but becomes creeping or trailing with age. The stem is slender, branching, and sparsely to densely prickly, growing to a length of 1.5 m (5 ft).

The leaves are compound, with one or two pinnae pairs, and 10-26 leaflets per pinna. The petioles are also prickly. Pedunculate (stalked) pale pink or purple flower heads arise from the leaf axils. The ovoid heads are 8–10 mm in diameter (excluding the stamens). On close examination, it is seen that the floret petals are red in their upper part and the filaments are pink to lavender. The fruit consists of clusters of 2-8 pods from 1–2 cm long each, these prickly on the margins. The pods break into 2-5 segments and contain pale brown seeds some 2.5 mm long. The flowers are pollinated by the wind and insects. The seeds have hard seed coats which restricts germination.

Mimosa pudica is well known for its rapid plant movement. Like a number of other plant species, it undergoes changes in leaf orientation termed "sleep" or nyctinastic movement. The foliage closes during darkness and reopens in light.

The leaves also close under various other stimuli, such as touching, warming, blowing, or shaking. These types of movements have been termed seismonastic. The movement occurs when specific regions of cells lose pressure, which is the force that is applied onto the cell wall by water within the cell vacuoles and other cell contents. When the plant is disturbed, specific regions on the stems are stimulated to release chemicals which force water out of the cell vacuoles and the water diffuses out of the cells, producing a loss of cell pressure and cell collapse; this differential turgidity between different regions of cells results in the closing of the leaflets and the collapse of the leaf petiole. This characteristic is quite common within the Mimosoideae subfamily of the legume family, Fabaceae. The stimulus can also be transmitted to neighboring leaves.

It is not known exactly why Mimosa pudica evolved this trait, but many scientists think that the plant uses its ability to shrink as a defense from predators. Animals may be afraid of such a fast moving plant and would rather go and eat a less active one. Another possible explanation is that the sudden movement dislodges harmful insects.

Mimosa pudica is native to South America and Central America. It has been introduced to many other regions and is regarded as an invasive species in Tanzania, South Asia and South East Asia and many Pacific Islands. It is regarded as invasive in parts of Australia and is a declared weed in the Northern Territory, and Western Australia although not naturalized there. Control is recommended in Queensland. It has also been introduced to Nigeria, Seychelles, Mauritius and East Asia but is not regarded as invasive in those places. In the United States of America, it grows in Florida, Hawaii, Virginia, Maryland, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The species can be a troublesome weed in tropical crops, particularly when fields are hand cultivated. Crops it tends to affect are corn, coconuts, tomatoes, cotton, coffee, bananas, soybeans, papaya, and sugar cane. Dry thickets may become a fire hazard. In some cases, it has become a forage plant although the variety in Hawaii is reported to be toxic to livestock.

Gifts from Grandchildren

Yesterday I received two beautiful hand-and-foot paintings created by Abby and Elly as gifts to me on Father’s Day. The two paintings were organized and designed by Mother Connie. What a nice thought of sending me such lovely unique pictures of immense love from my two grandchildren, my daughter and son-in-law!

The signature of Abby is truly funny and interesting. Her “A” loses one of the legs. The two holes of her “B” float apart. The “G” looks like a knotted string. Abby packed the last three characters together to avoid damaging her hand-print. The normal ones are the “i”s. The date “June 2010” runs like a worm.

I am happy to see Abby pick up her pens to “write”. Although the letters she writes do not look much like those we adults do, her eagerness and acceptance of writing something out with her hands may improve her writing skills. I wonder if Elly can write better than her big sister in future.

The Match that I will never forget

Portugal Soccer Team won a beautiful match against North Korea (7:0) yesterday. They showed their skill in passing the soccer right to the spot where a team-mate got it and kicked or knocked it into the net.

Although the “Star” of the team, Cristiano Ronaldo (基斯坦奴) scored only one goal, like a delivery machine, he passed the soccer several times to his team-mates to score.

The seven goals Portugal scored were from six of its players. What a fruitful and exciting match Portugal fans must-see! I could see Cristiano smile with satisfaction when his team scored goal after goal.

A Beautiful Slice of Blueberry Cheese Cake

I cannot imagine that this piece of Strawberry Blueberry cake (top left photo) looks so beautiful through my camera lens.

Flooded with bright light, the half strawberry at the top of the cake looked juicy and shone with lustre. The translucent skin appeared an inviting red colour. Its meat in the centre was a completely different white. It is usual practice to place strawberry halves on cakes showing their red skin, but this one was an exception.

The white cheese cake was topped with a layer of whole and mashed blueberries and thick cream. The creamy round wall of the cake was well decorated with a few pieces of chocolate. On the chocolate chips were printed some “Treble Clefs” which were musical to the mind of the diner.

To me, those mouthfuls of multi-taste - fruit, cream and cheese (as a dessert) were perfect and enjoyable soon after I finished the main course at Ladies’ Purse, JC.

Renovation

Our favourite fastfood shops such as Fairfood (last day today) and 一粥麵 (suddenly disappeared earlier) at Ngan Shing Commercial Centre, City One, are forced to close down recently owing to renovation.

We love the congee, rice rolls, won-ton noodles (雲吞麵) and potted rice (煲仔飯) served at 一粥麵. The prices of breakfasts here are usually fifty cents cheaper than those at Café De Coral although they belong to the same party.

We notice that 一粥麵 is often the base where some mothers of the students of the nearby primary schools assemble each school morning. These mothers sit at two different tables after they have taken their children to school. They talk of their children's progresses, the school activities, the teachers and the funny things that happen at school. One of the ladies has a strong voice that we can hear every word she speaks.

We are satisfied with the breakfasts, afternoon snacks and dinners at Fairwood except once we were disappointed to find the price of food at dinner time was not proportional to the quantity, some thirty dollars for just a few pieces of chicken, rice and an almost “clear water” soup.

Now that the centre is under renovation and soon it will have another look in three to four months' time, we are sad to say goodbye not only to Fairwood and 一粥麵, but also to the shops that we often step into. Most likely, the centre will bear a new face with shops like a Park-in Superstore and a “Fortress” Electric Shop this October.

Disappointing Soccer Matches in the First round

It is this soccer that makes the World crazy these days. Soccer fans support their favourite teams. I am not an exception. This year I support the Spanish team. They showed their skill in 2006, but unfortunately they could not enter the finals.

In the first tournament, the Spanish team lost the match to Switzerland by 1 goal. I felt as if a pail of cold water had been poured onto my head. How depressed did I feel!

The soccer is made in China. Football players say that it is light and so it is likely that the ball will fly over the goal instead of going into it. If the players cannot get used to the nature and weight of the soccer, obviously they will miss the ball when passing or lose control when they strike at it.

Looking at the first round of matches, I find that most of matches are in low scores. The average number of goals is 25/16 which is 1.56.

Group A: South Africa – Mexico 1 : 1 ; Uruguay – France 0 : 0
Group B: South Korea – Greece 2 : 0 ; Argentina – Nigeria 1 : 0
Group C: England – U.S.A. 1 : 1 ; Algeria – Solvenia 0 : 1
Group D: Serbia – Ghana 0 : 1 ; Germany – Australia 4 : 0
Group E: Holland – Denmark 2 : 0 ; Japan – Cameroon 1 : 0
Group F: Italy – Paraguay 1 : 1 ; New Zealand – Slovakia 1 : 1
Group G: Ivory Coast – Portugal 0 : 0 ; Brazil – North Korea 2 : 1
Group H: Honduras – Chile 0 : 1 ; Spain – Switzerland 0 : 1

I believe the matches in the second round will be more exciting. Some teams will fight for a Win, or otherwise they will leave South Africa.

Vuvuzelas have landed

Today I chanced to pass a KFC fast-food shop. I was surprised to see several vuvuzelas placed on a table. This was of course a promotion to KFC food . To redeem one, on top of at least HK$20 of food, a customer has to pay another $15 for the toy.

It is not bad to own one. If they are meant to be gifts to small children, it will be a nightmare at home. The noisy sound may reach 127 decibels which is really harmful to the ears of young kids.

A Pictorial World Map

How incredible it was to see a large pictorial map of the World displayed on the field of Soccer City Stadium in South Africa during the Opening Ceremony of World Cup Soccer 2010!

The world map was created by a number of large colourful cloths linked together in such a way that they formed up our Continents of which Africa looked the biggest with the island of Madagascar in an attractive pink colour.

In a matter of a few minutes, the world appeared before the spectators of the event. Most probably, the footprints indicated the marks left by the footballers of different countries of the World.

Were they drying bed sheets?

In the Opening ceremony of the World Cup Soccer 2010, some colourful cloths were spread out. Were they bed sheets to be dried in the sun?

Why were the people spreading out the large cloths at that time?

10 South African Stadiums for 2010 Soccer World Cup

The final 10 stadiums to be utilized for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa are:

Five of South Africa's football stadiums have undergone major renovations for 2010:

[1] Soccer City Stadium (足球城球場) in Johannesburg
Capacity: 95 000
[2] Ellis Park Stadium(埃利斯公園球場) in Johannesburg
Capacity: 60 000
[3] Loftus Versfeld Stadium (洛夫托斯球場) in Pretoria
Capacity: 45 000
[4] Royal Bafokeng Stadium (皇家巴佛肯球場) in Rustenburg
Capacity: 40 000
[5] Free State Stadium (自由邦球場) in Bloemfontein
Capacity: 40 000

Two new stadiums have been built or another three rebuilt:

[6] Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga (newly built)
Capacity: 40 000
[7] Nelson Mandela Stadium (曼德拉灣球場) (newly built) at Port Elizabeth
Capacity: 50 000
[8] Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane (rebuilt)
Capacity: 40 000
[9] Moses Mabhida Stadium (德班市球場) in Durban (rebuilt)
Capacity: 70 000
[10] Green Point Stadium (綠點球場) in Cape Town (rebuilt with a retractable dome)
Capacity: 68 000

These ten stadiums were introduced on a very large screen in the Opening Ceremony (June 11) in Soccer City Stadium and the directions of these stadiums were indicated by ten lines of colourfully-dressed performers in the centre of the field.

Vuvuzelas

It is interesting this year to see soccer fans blow their long colourful plastic horns, vuvuzelas at World Cup soccer matches in South Africa. Although they are quite noisy when blown, they could have added much fun and good atmosphere to the matches.

The vuvuzelas are blowing horns, approximately one metre long. They require some lip and lung strength to blow and emit a loud monotone sound like that from a foghorn or an elephant.

The name vuvuzela may have originated from Zulu for "making a vuvu noise," directly translated "vuvu-ing".

Elegant Fishing Boats

Thanks to these fishing boats and fishermen that bring and sell seafood to the tourists at Steveston. The names of these boats “Jalun River”, “Bold Venture”, “Seldom Come By”, “Judy N” and “Neon Moon” appear very interesting. They park at the pier so that tourists can pick and buy the seafood they like .

I remember that our late CCSC supervisor, Mr. Cheung Yok Lun, owned a large luxurious boat called “Senorita” (金枝玉葉). The word “Senorita” means “a Spanish maid” (未婚的西班牙小姐).

Each summer, he used to invite the teachers of CCSC to a launch picnic so that the teachers could get to know one another well. The destinations were usually the waters around Clear Water Bay, south of Sai Kung. Afternoon tea and buffet dinner were served.

Through such launch gatherings in those early years at CCSC, the teachers became very good friends. Thanks to our supervisor, Mr. Cheung, who aroused our morale in teaching and team spirits in everything at school. His hospitality, generosity and love of CCSC should be praised!

A Three-dimensional Puzzle Soccer

This is my first time in making a 3-dimensional solid from puzzles. Unlike ordinary puzzle pieces which are flat, here the puzzles are so curved that when assembled, they together form a solid. This time it is a sphere. To be exact, it is a "plastic" soccer. On it are printed the names of some countries which are likely to become the champion in this year’s World Cup Soccer held in South Africa.

Each puzzle piece has a number behind. I do not need to look at them because I am quite sure it is easy for me to assemble it. My tactic is to assemble separately the patterns for the countries “Brazil”, “Spain”, “Portugal”, “Chile” and the trade-marks of Coca-cola and then link them up finally.

The price of each box of such 3-D puzzles (60 pieces in all) is HK$29.9. This is not only a toy, but a "symbol" that reminds me of the world soccer matches which will start shortly tomorrow.

A Guessing Game

Here were the photos I took at Steveston where piers, statues, houses, restaurants, cafes, cannery and museum can be seen.

If I name my photos from left to right and down from top as:

1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16

[1] Which photos, do you think, show the Cannery?

[2] Which is the Museum?

[3] Which photos show the flag of British Columbia?

[4] Which photo shows the board "Fisherman's Wharf"?

Our activities at Steveston

Speaking of weather, Vancouver still has fine weather in mid September. The sunshine adds much warmth to us when we reached Steveston, the historic fishing village at the south-west corner of Richmond.

Walking on the wooden platform at the pier and seeing fishing boats around us could bring us a feeling of a fishing village. There were strong breezes of wind at the time of our arrival. The flags of British Columbia were flying high.

Sherrien was my student at CCSC, my daughter’s classmate at U and Philip’s classmate at Regent. She came along with us too. Abby followed this little auntie’s footsteps at the pier.

Philip bought us some fish and chips, clam cakes and soft-drinks from “Pajo’s”, a famous floating fast food shop with people lining up at its counter. Grandma and Abby were sitting at a table before Pajo’s. Abby held her hands on the railings and grandma held her tightly from behind, fearing that Abby would fell into the water below.

We were lucky to find an empty table for seven of us. It was interesting to see some circular holes drilled into the table. Later we learned that they were holding the cone-shaped paper holders for food. Fish and chips were good to taste, but the quantity is a bit small, not enough for me and Philip.

Having half-fed up, we walked about the shore where restaurants, cafes and eateries were crowded with people. A slanting walkway brought us to a leveled long parking platform for fishing boats. The fishing boats here displayed their catches of prawns, fish and other sea-food for sale. Philip and I took quite a number of photos here.

Back to shore, I went into a shop selling souvenirs. I did not miss the chance of buying a 3-D pictorial map of Vancouver and some small souvenir magnets home.

Connie and Philip bought Abby a cone of Italian ice-cream called Gelato. While Abby was enjoyed licking at the cone, I strolled about the few streets at the village. I chanced to see the Museum (a singled wooden house). I did not go into it because I believe it was too small to house anything interesting.

I turned towards the west to find the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. I just took its photo and that of the statues before it from outside. I did not intend to go inside because my family members did not know where I went and they might be waiting for me. I rushed to take some other photos of the shops, houses and buildings to get a better picture of the village. Finally I returned to find that Abby had not yet finished her cone and she was so generous to give me a bite at it.

Please click the photo to take a better view.