在車站旁邊行人通道走著時，喜見幾個楊桃散佈在地上。從這裡望上去的楊桃樹樹冠非常大，樹枝和葉子生長得極茂盛，一時間要我找到其果實的位置，實在難上加難。當我低頭把這幾個熟透的楊桃一一攝進相機時，突然感覺到有一樣東西掉在背脊上。如我所料，細望地上，正是一個楊桃的兄弟姊妹。這個大半邊綠得可愛，細半邊成熟得要命的楊桃就是這麼早叫我一聲「早晨」。
回想，若果今次掉下來的是個榴槤的話，我相信又要鑽進醫院去了！
Monday, August 19, 2013
天降楊桃
在車站旁邊行人通道走著時，喜見幾個楊桃散佈在地上。從這裡望上去的楊桃樹樹冠非常大，樹枝和葉子生長得極茂盛，一時間要我找到其果實的位置，實在難上加難。當我低頭把這幾個熟透的楊桃一一攝進相機時，突然感覺到有一樣東西掉在背脊上。如我所料，細望地上，正是一個楊桃的兄弟姊妹。這個大半邊綠得可愛，細半邊成熟得要命的楊桃就是這麼早叫我一聲「早晨」。
回想，若果今次掉下來的是個榴槤的話，我相信又要鑽進醫院去了！
Monday, August 05, 2013
KMB buses in new colour combinations
Recently, it is interesting to see KMB dresses some of its new buses in old colours, traditional red and yellow.
Today, Kevin Tsang found one in white and red running route 112 (North point to and from So Uk Chuen). I like particularly its new look and colour distribution.To me, it looks like a tube of Colgate toothpaste.
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Today, Kevin Tsang found one in white and red running route 112 (North point to and from So Uk Chuen). I like particularly its new look and colour distribution.To me, it looks like a tube of Colgate toothpaste.
Friday, July 26, 2013
A Hello Kitty doll
What is this "Hello Kitty" made of?
Please guess. The options are:
1. clay
2. chocolate
3. flour
4. mud
5. foam rubber
6. wood
Friday, July 19, 2013
Late Season
The two-word message, “Late Season”, on the black label of a Sunkist orange in June signifies that this kind of oranges is the last lot of the harvesting season. This obviously means that sweet oranges from America will disappear in our market for some time.Soon different kinds of oranges from South Africa and Australia replace the first-class ones from the States. They are paler in flesh and skin and less sweet even if they are navels. We have to bear the sourness of the current oranges until the sweet oranges come again in a few months’ time.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
A Special Rainy Day for Elly
Elly was happy on her sister’s graduation day of kindergarten (June 16) because it rained heavily the whole morning, a very strong reason which she could bring her new umbrella along to attend the ceremony.
We arrived earlier than Elly and her mother. As Elly was stepping on the stairs at the doorway, I stopped her and told her to turn round so that I could take a few photos of her with her purple umbrella.
Well, I could read the cheerful smile on her face though water was still dripping down where she stood. Here are three interesting and memorable photos of Elly with her favourite umbrella.
We arrived earlier than Elly and her mother. As Elly was stepping on the stairs at the doorway, I stopped her and told her to turn round so that I could take a few photos of her with her purple umbrella.
Well, I could read the cheerful smile on her face though water was still dripping down where she stood. Here are three interesting and memorable photos of Elly with her favourite umbrella.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Watching Sunrise on a Quantas
Looking eastward from a window of the plane, one would find the land below still dark while the distant sky first appeared blue with a narrow margin of yellow. Then the blue colour whitened and the yellow turned orange red. The sun soon showed its face and the brightness glared the lens of any camera on the plane.
In a short while, the sky brightened up and thick clouds of white laid below like a fluffy carpet of wool.The Quantas still flied steadily and speedily, heading for Sydney, its final destination. What an experience!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Black and White
These new-born burgers differ greatly in colours of bread and sesame, being black and white, and in meat, being chicken and beef, but are both packed with marshed potato, lettuce and salad dressing. If one likes to eat beef, then he/she should buy a black burger. On the other hand, if he/she likes to eat chicken, then a white burger.
In my opinion, the main surprise from these burgers comes from the marshed potato. Only the tastes of meat differ and that of bread are the same, but the colour dyes of food do create a completely new look to the burgers.
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Night Views of Yellow Duck at Tsim Sha Tsui
This 16.5 metre sculpture has arrived at Hong Kong for some time and will stay until June 9. Before this, it has travelled to famous cities of the world, such as Osaka, Sydney, Sao Paolo and Amsterdam. The man who creates this over-sized bath toy is the Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. "I see it as an adult thing. It makes you feel young again. It refers to your childhood when there was no stress or economic pressure, no worry about having to pay the rent," said Hofman.
The Next stop for Rubber Duck is the United States. The exact destination is a closely guarded secret. I guess it to be San Francisco.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
投訴劇
今天下午五時許，我隱約聽到街上有人在演講似的，沒有在意下面發生什麼事情。後來發現下面有一名男子站在行人天橋頂用自己的手提揚聲器向著一位警方人員訴說一些東西。
原來那時消防隊已經張開了救生墊以防該男子跳下輕生或失足跌到街上。這位戴上帽和口罩的男子披著寫滿中文字的白布步步為營，不時左顧右盼，恐怕有消防員或警察去接近他似的。警方談判專家不斷用揚聲器與他對話。
可惜的是我一些都聽不清楚談判專家與該男子之間的對話。從管理員口中，大約知道該男子是控訴威爾斯親王醫院不給予其癌病母親適當治療。
擾攘了個半鐘頭之後，該男子终於肯返回地面，隨著警察上了救傷車，相信是他要接受調查。大約十五分鐘之後，救傷車駛往威爾斯親王醫院急診室作檢查及解決其問題，同時間各消防車與警車陸續開走，終於一場投訴劇下幕了。
The largest mirror in the world
The Uyuni salt lake of Tunupa, covers 12,000 sq. km, making it the biggest salt lake in the world. It is located 3650 metres up in the mountains of Bolivia, and is considered as one of the seven natural marvels of the world.
After rain, the film of water on the salt-covered floor acts as a mirror which creates very beautiful reflections.
Another Snake Bus
In a skilful manner, the bus driver closed the doors of the empty bus and left it there. Most probably he should be on his way for his convenience.
The snakes on the bus were cartoon-like, nothing fierce at all as compared with the KMB’s. This NWFB bus is painted in pink while last time the KMB appeared in red.
I wonder if any snake-buses of this kind wiggle slowly through the streets of Hong Kong and Kowloon.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
難得的雨傘景
上星期五是佛誕日(香港公眾假期之一)，時睛時雨。在這裡，行人和車輛皆稀少，想不到我竟然可以照到一張這麼美麗的相片(左面那幅)。
讓我指出這張照片特別之處:
[1] 這個時刻行人過路燈正是亮起──幾位途人不約而同沿對角綫走過十字路口，而他們手持的雨傘顏色特別艷麗奪目。
[2] 剛好下了一陣雨，地上表面留下一層薄薄的水膜，正好造成一塊平面鏡，產生了一些優美的倒影。
[3] 雨傘下的人究竟是男抑或是女直是一些謎，待我們去估一下。
[4] 相片的構圖不可能由我控制的。它的好與壞要視乎途人走動的方向而構成的，所以這張相片肯定是撞彩攝回來的！
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Look like blotting papers
These orchids look like blotting papers with purple ink soaked in. I don’t know their names. Hopefully some day someone tells me so. Meanwhile, let this kind of flowers be a mystery to me.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
A Deduction Game
Here is a photo in which Elly was ready to go to school.
On this day of each week, she does not need to wear school uniform. As a matter of fact, school and P.E. uniforms are worn alternately in 4 consecutive days. On the day the photo was taken, Elly wore something differently and some tiny stickers were stuck on her T-shirt. Elly knew that on the same day someone she meets every day twice would be invited by school to attend a birthday party.
Question 1: On which week day was it?
Options: A. Monday B. Wednesday C. Friday
Question 2: What weather was the day?
Options: A. sunny B. cloudy C. rainy
Question 3: What subject did the stickers convey?
Options: A. road safety B. school bus C. road signs
Suomi stamps of Moomins
Suomi (Finland) issued these stamps of Moomins in 2007, which was five years or so ago. I know very little of the stories behind nor the characters until yesterday. Then I played the game of matching myself with those six characters on the stamps. I dug them out from Wikipedia and found that I could distinguish who they were.
Here I extract all the characters for your matching if you are interested:
Moominpappa: Father of the family, but boyish and adventurous. He likes to be present when something unusual happens. He is philosophical at times and likes writing his memoirs.
Moominmamma: The calm mother, who takes care that Moominhouse is a safe place to be. She wants everyone to be happy, appreciates individuality, but settles things when someone is wronged. She always brings good food as well as whatever else may be necessary on a journey in her handbag.
Moomintroll (Moomin in the English translation): The little boy of the family, interested in and excited about everything he sees and finds, always trying to be good, but sometimes getting into trouble while doing so, he is very brave and always finds a way to make his friends happy.
The Hemulens: Creatures that believe in order and like to boss other people around, but find it difficult to listen to anyone and lack a sense of humor. Many hemulens like collecting stuff, and have little time to think about much else.
Sniff: A small rodent-like creature, who lives in the Moomin house. He likes to take part in everything, but is afraid to do anything dangerous. Sniff appreciates all valuables and makes many plans to get rich, but does not succeed.
Snork Maiden: Moomin’s best friend. She is happy and energetic, but often suddenly changes her mind on things. She loves nice clothes and jewelry, is a little flirtatious, and dreams about finding her prince charming.
The Snork: Snorkmaiden’s brother. He is an introvert by nature and is always inventing things. The residents of Moominvalley often ask Snork for help solving tricky problems and building machines. Snorks are like moomintrolls, but change colour according to their mood.
Snufkin: The lonesome philosophical traveller, who likes to play the harmonica and wanders around the world with only a few things, so as not to make his life complicated. He always comes and goes as he pleases, is carefree and has lots of admirers in Moominvalley. He is also shown to be quite fearless and calm in even the most dire situations, which has proven to be a great help to Moomintroll and the others when in danger.
Little My: A mischevious tomboyish little girl, who lives in the Moomin house and has a brave, spunky personality. She likes adventure, but loves catastrophes, and often does mean things on purpose. She finds messiness and untidiness exciting and is very down to earth, when others aren’t.
The younger Mymble, also referred to as "the Mymble's Daughter": Little My’s amiable and helpful big sister, and half-sister of Snufkin. She often has romantic daydreams about the love of her life, particularly policemen.
Too-Ticky: A wise woman, and good friend of the family. She has a boyish look, with a blue hat and a red-striped shirt. She dives straight into action to solve dilemmas in a practical way. Too Ticky is the one of the people in Moominvalley, who does not hibernate, instead spending the winter in the cozy sauna building of the Moominhouse.
Mrs Fillyjonk: A female rodent-like being who believes order and principle are vital to life, and she does not want her three children to learn bad habits. She easily loses her temper and even the slightest misfortune depresses her. She is often seen cleaning the house.
The Hattifatteners Mushroom-like silent creatures, that wander around the world eternally, often in large groups, wanting to reach the horizon. They travel by boat and get attracted by lightning, when they become electric and quite dangerous.
Thingumy and Bob: Inseparable twins, with their own funny language, which a Hemulen deciphers, consisting largely of spoonerisms and similar inversions of words and syllables.
Moomin eventually gets the hang of it, while Sniff thinks they are speaking a foreign language. They like to hide in small places, but to others it is not always clear what they are up to. They do not know what is theirs and steal Moominmama’s handbag to live in, which they soon return when they realise how much she needs it. The ruby they stole is, however not returned to the groke at all. They swap the ruby for another ruby with the Hobgoblin (Finn Family Moomintroll).
The Groke: A creature that scares everyone, she says nothing and the ground freezes below her. The other characters are afraid of her, but she is very lonely.
Stinky: A small furry creature that always plays jokes on the family in the house, where he sometimes lives. He likes pinching things, is proud of his reputation as a crook, but always gets found out. He is simple and only thinks of himself.
The Muddler: Living in a coffee tin, this anxious collector stores away all the buttons he finds, but his carelessness with the collection makes him lose and forget things. The Fuzzy is the Muddler’s wife, whom he met on an adventure with Moominpappa. Sniff is their child, but he lives with the Moomins.
To confirm your answers, please visit Oy Moomin Characters Ltd.
Here I extract all the characters for your matching if you are interested:
Moominpappa: Father of the family, but boyish and adventurous. He likes to be present when something unusual happens. He is philosophical at times and likes writing his memoirs.
Moominmamma: The calm mother, who takes care that Moominhouse is a safe place to be. She wants everyone to be happy, appreciates individuality, but settles things when someone is wronged. She always brings good food as well as whatever else may be necessary on a journey in her handbag.
Moomintroll (Moomin in the English translation): The little boy of the family, interested in and excited about everything he sees and finds, always trying to be good, but sometimes getting into trouble while doing so, he is very brave and always finds a way to make his friends happy.
The Hemulens: Creatures that believe in order and like to boss other people around, but find it difficult to listen to anyone and lack a sense of humor. Many hemulens like collecting stuff, and have little time to think about much else.
Sniff: A small rodent-like creature, who lives in the Moomin house. He likes to take part in everything, but is afraid to do anything dangerous. Sniff appreciates all valuables and makes many plans to get rich, but does not succeed.
Snork Maiden: Moomin’s best friend. She is happy and energetic, but often suddenly changes her mind on things. She loves nice clothes and jewelry, is a little flirtatious, and dreams about finding her prince charming.
The Snork: Snorkmaiden’s brother. He is an introvert by nature and is always inventing things. The residents of Moominvalley often ask Snork for help solving tricky problems and building machines. Snorks are like moomintrolls, but change colour according to their mood.
Snufkin: The lonesome philosophical traveller, who likes to play the harmonica and wanders around the world with only a few things, so as not to make his life complicated. He always comes and goes as he pleases, is carefree and has lots of admirers in Moominvalley. He is also shown to be quite fearless and calm in even the most dire situations, which has proven to be a great help to Moomintroll and the others when in danger.
Little My: A mischevious tomboyish little girl, who lives in the Moomin house and has a brave, spunky personality. She likes adventure, but loves catastrophes, and often does mean things on purpose. She finds messiness and untidiness exciting and is very down to earth, when others aren’t.
The younger Mymble, also referred to as "the Mymble's Daughter": Little My’s amiable and helpful big sister, and half-sister of Snufkin. She often has romantic daydreams about the love of her life, particularly policemen.
Too-Ticky: A wise woman, and good friend of the family. She has a boyish look, with a blue hat and a red-striped shirt. She dives straight into action to solve dilemmas in a practical way. Too Ticky is the one of the people in Moominvalley, who does not hibernate, instead spending the winter in the cozy sauna building of the Moominhouse.
Mrs Fillyjonk: A female rodent-like being who believes order and principle are vital to life, and she does not want her three children to learn bad habits. She easily loses her temper and even the slightest misfortune depresses her. She is often seen cleaning the house.
The Hattifatteners Mushroom-like silent creatures, that wander around the world eternally, often in large groups, wanting to reach the horizon. They travel by boat and get attracted by lightning, when they become electric and quite dangerous.
Thingumy and Bob: Inseparable twins, with their own funny language, which a Hemulen deciphers, consisting largely of spoonerisms and similar inversions of words and syllables.
Moomin eventually gets the hang of it, while Sniff thinks they are speaking a foreign language. They like to hide in small places, but to others it is not always clear what they are up to. They do not know what is theirs and steal Moominmama’s handbag to live in, which they soon return when they realise how much she needs it. The ruby they stole is, however not returned to the groke at all. They swap the ruby for another ruby with the Hobgoblin (Finn Family Moomintroll).
The Groke: A creature that scares everyone, she says nothing and the ground freezes below her. The other characters are afraid of her, but she is very lonely.
Stinky: A small furry creature that always plays jokes on the family in the house, where he sometimes lives. He likes pinching things, is proud of his reputation as a crook, but always gets found out. He is simple and only thinks of himself.
The Muddler: Living in a coffee tin, this anxious collector stores away all the buttons he finds, but his carelessness with the collection makes him lose and forget things. The Fuzzy is the Muddler’s wife, whom he met on an adventure with Moominpappa. Sniff is their child, but he lives with the Moomins.
To confirm your answers, please visit Oy Moomin Characters Ltd.
Gifts from Finland
Recently my son-in-law bought home these sweets, biscuits and stamps as gifts to his family during the escort of his students in a study tour to Finland. This had greatly cheered everyone at home especially the young girls, Abby and Elly.
Besides the fruit-flavoured sweets and lollipops, there are adorable milk and wine chocolates. The biscuits are made into shapes of cartoon Moomin characters while the six linked-up Moomin stamps are a special gift to me since my son-in-law knows that I like to collect stamps.
Besides the fruit-flavoured sweets and lollipops, there are adorable milk and wine chocolates. The biscuits are made into shapes of cartoon Moomin characters while the six linked-up Moomin stamps are a special gift to me since my son-in-law knows that I like to collect stamps.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Kanyakumari
The southernmost tip of mainland Africa is Cape of Good Hope whereas that of mainland India is Cape Comorin (now called Kanyakumari). Cape of Good Hope borders the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean, while Cape Comorin Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Both Capes are popular tourist destinations. People at Kanyakumari like to dip their bodies in sea water instead of that on River Ganges.
Kanyakumari is a town in Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The closest major cities are Nagercoil, the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District, (22 km away) and Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala (88 km).
On two rocky islets just off the shore, southeast of the Kumari Amman temple, are the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, built in 1970 by Eknath Ranade, and the 133 feet (41 m) tall statue of Tamil saint–poet Thiruvalluvar, one of the biggest statues in Asia, completed in 2000 by sculptor V. Ganapati Sthapati.
Kanyakumari is a town in Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The closest major cities are Nagercoil, the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District, (22 km away) and Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala (88 km).
On two rocky islets just off the shore, southeast of the Kumari Amman temple, are the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, built in 1970 by Eknath Ranade, and the 133 feet (41 m) tall statue of Tamil saint–poet Thiruvalluvar, one of the biggest statues in Asia, completed in 2000 by sculptor V. Ganapati Sthapati.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Junior MasterChef Australia
Junior MasterChef Australia is an Australian competitive cooking game show. It is a spin-off of MasterChef Australia, itself an adaptation of the British show MasterChef, and features contestants aged 8 to 12. The first season of the show began production in July 2010 and included 50 contestants. Over 5,000 children from around the nation auditioned for the series.
It was a happy moment yesterday afternoon for me watching young children of age between 8 and 12 taking part in cooking contests. It was a game in Series 2 picking up the last six contestants into the top 20. The children showed their talent in making cakes and Italian pasta. Jack, Aya, Zac and Hannah were among the six children who awarded the white aprons to continue their competition for the title of Junior MasterChef in Australia in 2011. One particular thing to mention here is that the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, attended the contest as a guest and she tasted 15 bits of cakes from the children. The Prime Minister showed much of her kindness and support to the younger generations.
Junior MasterChef was officially renewed on 15 November 2010 due to strong ratings, to return for a second season in 2011. Filming started on 28 July 2011, with the season premiering in October 2011. 11-year-old Greta Yaxley from Western Australia won the Junior MasterChef title for 2011.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
Chocolate from Europe
Which country makes such chocolate? Can you guess?
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