Chinese Chess (象棋)

Those of you who have been to China know that 象棋 (Chinese Chess) is a very popular game. I have enjoyed learning the strategy and the so called "art" of the game. I have searched the web for a long time trying to find a site that was user friendly and where I didn't have to pay. I finally found a great site to play Chinese Chess.

The format is simple, and you can play with people from around the world. The site originates from Poland. Hope to see you there.

Flash Player 9

这个blog原来是在英文写的,但是最近Renaun的blog开始有中文版。我自己觉得翻译电脑方面很难。真了不起!说实话, 我是跟他的blog连接起来就是为了帮他做广告。原文(英文和中文)就在这儿。

Renaun写的:

Flash Player 9 只出台了8天。据悉这浏览器应该获得比以前版本的普及率又多又快,这是因为新的装置方法。
从2006年4月, 以前的普及率为97.7%。想看比较详细的数据按这儿。这些数据表示总数增加从645百万到723百万用户和 Adobe Flash Player 的普及率也从630百万增加到706百万。
上网时碰到 Flash Player 9.0.16 下载网站在 Downloads.com。这网站说从2006年7月7日有 6,433,676人下载了这软件。所以每天有804,209人下载这个软件。所以两年左右才能达成97.7%。1.44年内可以达成 60% (424百万) 和1.9年内可以达成80% (565百万)。Adobe(以前的Macromedia)的投影是12月内会达8成。上述的数字是从 Downloads.com 而已。我想知道Adobe 网站的下载率。Flash Player 9 只出台8天和这些数字还需要计算。我先睡觉好了…

Here's the Church, here's the Steeple, open the door and see all the...rubble?

China tore down a newly built Christian church that was built without "proper" approval. The police also arrested two people. The Church was located in an eastern city of Hangzhou.

After authorities sought to demolish the church around 3,000 Christian residents in Hangzhou clashed with police. 20 of the residents sustained injuries. The building of the church began on July 17, but was not registered and had no official approval.

Supposedly the church occupied an area in the booming industrial suburb where a commercial center was planned. Though they tore down a church, the government, out of the kindness of its heart "negotiated" with the Christians and offered a plot of land nearby for use. No doubt this kind of negotiation was like the negotiations the U.S. had with the Indians back in the 1800's, which if you remember, also provided a good plot of land for use. Translation: the land was useful and the government wanted it.

The Chinese Communist Party tolerates religions that accepts official supervision of the government. In recent years some 80,000 protestant (in the literal sense) Christians have fought over building houses of worship.

Linese-- What does it stand for?

Linese is a "Learn Chinese" website run by the Chinese government. The content looks pretty good. Its got podcasts, blogs to read, cultural information, teaching aids and the like. What I don't get is, what in the world does "Linese" mean? Learn Chinese? Living Chinese? I dunno.
Anyhow, it seems to prove a viable tool for foreigners.

Why You Should Learn Chinese

I recently read an article that can be found at here. The Chinese language is an increasingly important language, listed below are some reasons why you should learn it!

• Over 1.2 billion people speak the Chinese Language. It is spoken by one out of every five people on earth, more than any other language in the world.
  
• The Chinese civilization is over 6000 years. Learning the language is the key to explore and appreciate the cumulative knowledge and experience of one the world's oldest and exquisite cultures.
  
• China is fast becoming a dominant player in the international economic and financial system of this century. When China joined the WTO, it created huge demands for a greater understanding and trading with the world's fastest growing nation
  
• The United States government designated America's relations with China as one of the most important foreign policy issues. Ever-broadening U.S./ China relations in various business fields increased the importance of Chinese presence in American communities.
  
• Chinese is one of the four "critical languages" for Americans. Understanding and proficiency in the Chinese language are of critical importance to the United States in economic advantages and opportunities.
  
• Chinese communities in all countries around the world, play many important and vital roles. These include: Science, Business, Education, Arts, and many more. Learning the Chinese language benefits you greatly in being able to communicate with and better understand the members of any Chinese community wherever you are in the world.
  
• Learning Chinese not only satisfies your desire to grasp a foreign language, it also becomes the greatest asset to your career advancement. The opportunities for government and business careers, as well as for scientific, scholarly and cultural exchanges are virtually mushrooming and you are standing on the threshold of a booming and expanding Chinese economy. You can be part of that exciting ride!

Year of the Dog??

Skip this post if you are a dog lover!!



To celebrate the Year of the Dog, China has killed over 50,000 dogs in just 5 days. The reason? Rabies. But we all know what really happened—there was a surplus of democratic dogs, Tibet sympathizing dogs, and religious dogs. China reports about 2000 deaths per year from rabies, but did you know that in 2006 alone, 25 dogs were killed for each fatal case of rabies last year, this doesn't even count how many were killed for the local "Beef stew"!! Military guard dogs and police dogs were spared, because they can’t get rabies, and becuase they aid in propagating propaganda.

Some parts of southern China are very poor, so, to enlist the aid of the common folk, dog owners were offered 5 yuan (about 63 cents) for each animal they killed. Last year, the average income for China’s lower class was 7,400 (US$890) yuan. I think the scheme worked, because the poorest farmer probably realized that if he went out and killed 120 dogs, he would make one months worth of his normal income! Lets just say, dogs are not mans best friend in China. I won't mention that people who took their dogs out for a walk not only returned home a little more healthier, they also had dinner, courtesy of the local police man who beat their dog to death on the spot.

Good news though, due to an unexpected surplus in dog meat, Chinese resturants have lowered their prices!

Reuel Erickson

Reuel Erickson will be putting on a pretty cool show in Las Vegas this Friday (8/4/06) @ the valley auto mall. He'll be jumping over some cars, and showing off his awesome bike tricks like the superman decade. KVBC 3 Las Vegas has been airing several commercials of Reuel showing off his stuff, to help promot the event. Here are a couple of snippets about Reuel and what he is doing, on tour and in the community.

http://www.dewactionsportstour.com/modules.php?name=Articles&mv=ShowArticle&ArticleID=155


http://www.dewactionsportstour.com/modules.php?name=Athletes&mv=ShowAthlete&AthleteID=84&subnav=Sports&SportID=5&page=Athletes

黑客简介

如果你是跟我一样,你想要知道为什么我们的电脑需要防火墙.或反病毒的软件。黑客真的是一种威胁吗? 他们怎么找到我的私人信息?
第一步:得到服务器的IP地址。知道服务器的IP地址之后黑客可以猜测谁是跟这个服务器连接起来。黑客控制了一台连接于入侵目标网的计算机，然后从网上断开以让网络服务器误以为黑客是实际的客户端。
第二步:当实际客户想要与服务器连接起来的时候他会传送一些信息, 但是因为黑客断开实际用户与服务器的连接,黑客收到用户所传的信息。现在黑客可以看这些信息重不重要而继续传送到服务器。服务器想要与用户传送信息时也会通过黑客的电脑。
第三步:当两个电脑传送信息的时候他们两个一定靠数据包。每一个数据包也有了IP地址在内。所以这对于黑客造成一个问题。因为他的IP地址跟用户的IP地址不一样,如果服务器看到这些数据包是不一样他不能进去,所以每一个数据包的IP地址需要改过来。因为黑客有很多黑客软件这算小事。他安装这个软件就没问题。当黑客作完上述的步骤,他能留下一个后门,病毒或者特洛伊木马,这些病毒都能够让黑客更容易控制你的电脑,或者利用你的私人的信息包括银行密码,信用卡等等。
当然这些步骤我讲的非常简单, 但是还有更多的办法。通过防火墙很难吗? 防火墙也是靠数据包来证明信息的可靠性。所以如果一个黑客想要通过防火墙他只消得到数据包的信息。一般的黑客会在一个交换机的镜象端口布置一种窃听器，窃听流经网络的所有数据包，查找匹配的包，来得到入侵的信息源。

漂亮妈妈 (Breaking the Silence)

这部电影开始的时候是巩俐哄着他的儿子(正大)通过小学的口头考试。如果他考得上, 正大能上普通小学。因为正大是聋的,他长大的经验跟别的小孩不一样, 学会发音对孩子是非常简单,但是对于正大这个聋孩子学会发音很辛苦。巩俐自己教正大怎么发音。后来,我们了解到当夫妇发现正大是聋的,巩俐的先生走了。他是出租汽车的司机,赚钱不多,但是他还是付部分的赡养费。他也有再婚。巩俐在一个工厂里工作但是这份工作要求太多时间,也不让他花很多时间在正大的身上。正大考得不好,与小学们发脾气时助听器弄坏了。最后巩俐为了正大的教育机会辞职了,而找到不正常的工作。这些不正常的工作机会让巩俐剩下很多时间教育正大怎么发音。因为巩俐是穷而被强奸,为了正大的教育机恐吓生命而偷了钱,利用这些钱买了更新助听器给正大。
这部电影真的让我忘掉剧本的不足之外,而了解到中国社会服务机制不是完美的。虽然这部电影不是张艺谋导演的,但是对我来说这个故事很象"秋菊打官司"。这部电影试图把中国的社会问题说清楚。我也感觉到一个单身妈妈生活的可怜性。当巩俐的同性恋的女朋友请他卖书的时候观众可以看到在中国摆摊子是很难。警察说为了摆摊巩俐需要一个许可证。美国的立法是一模一样,但是我想在中国除非你有钱或权,很难以得到这个许可证。最好笑的部分是巩俐想要告诉正大他的爸爸死了。因为正大没有接触过,他不了解死亡是什么,但是巩俐一直给正大看一些有人流血的图片, 或者用活虾子跟死虾子举例子,正大觉得死亡就是人变红。