Magic Time

Today I showed Zoe a simple coin magin which amazed her so much that she kept asking me to reveal the secret behind it.

I then disclosed to her the sleight of hand that makes the magic work. After learning it by heart, Zoe was in no hesitation to show her newly-learned ploy.

Voila! The coin disappeared! You know what happened? The sliver coin slipped right into her bra and she failed to remove it from her body by giving herself a big bra shake! I envy that little coin, "who" could get so closer to her! @_@

You are really my queen Zoe!

Websites Could Get Film-Style Ratings

I happened to bump into an interesting news tonight when surfing Google news. The news said English websites could soon get rated in a way that similiar to the one the movie industry is doing. What would be your response if you are not allowed to view a website because it is rated 'not suitable' for you? Would you scream out 'freedom of speech forever' and then hurl straight your mouse into monitor? We have been censoring through out our lives. We got censored on TV, newspaper and virtually all major offline media available on earth. Unfortunately, we couldn't escape the gorgeous censorship by turning to online world. What have you got online? Great Fire Wall! So website censorship is no news to me, as our government has for ages helped us, willingly or unwillingly, sort out the online material in a bid to 'protect' us. What a government! Thank you!

What do you think about this website rating system?

Dormant for a While

I've kept this blog dormant for a while as my whole body and soul had been engaging in choreography for an annual show next month. I have to admit that I'm dancing-challenged, so I had to spend double time, or even treble, on the pre-set dancing steps. Ache crawled over my entire body after a backbreaking training yesterday, so that's why I can sit here now typing out this piece, though with great pain in both my arms and legs. Anyway, I enjoy the dancing game very much and will try to give the best of myself in the upcoming show. Cross my fingers!

Guangzhou Pork King

If you are still doubting the hidden power of selling pork, you should think again. Guangzhou Pork King, Mr.Chen, who left his post as a civil servant years ago and turned himself into a pork vendor, had now become a millionaire.


I was struck when hearing the pork king said in an interview 'I don't compete with the rich, and I don't compete with the smart. Since selling pork is 'shameful' in the eyes of the rich and smart, so I could succeed in this field more easily.'

His word struck my mind like a lightning out of the blue. Yes, he is absolutely right on this. Why should we again and again push ourself into battleground for something hot? Why shouldn't we be a little bit clever to avoid all those unnecessary business warfares by turning ourselves to an unwanted market? As a marketer, we should learn to take advantage of an unexploited soil, where the true treasure may well lie beneath.

This is a lesson for all of us -- focus on not the fully-competed but the undeveloped market.

How to Cancel Scandisk?

The very disgusting scandisk can be ultimately removed by first running regedit.exe.

Then locate the bane at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager and clear the value BootExecute autocheck autochk *

Done!

Deep Throat Died, Aged 95

Today BBC ran a front page news about the dead of a larger-than-life figure -- Deep Throat(深喉).

Deep Throat, one of the most widely-known figure in Nixon-era, has died, at an age of 95. Even thought you may not know this oldie well, the name should ring a bell. He was a former FBI-member who literally orchestrated a resignation of the then president Richard Nixon.

The review on Deep Throat was mixed. Some says he was a hero who helped overthrow a corrupt government. Other criticized his berayal, calling him a traitor. Whether you are for or against him, what you cannot deny is that he have done something that put him eternally in a history book.

Little bonus knowledge point: Deep Throat was named after a popular pornographic movie of the time. I intend to post the poster of the pornographic Deep Throat here, but after thinking twice, I think the best strategy for me is to skip this part. If you do want a peep of the pornographic Deep Throat, go directly to Google and do an image search with the sure-fire keyword Deep Throat movie. =D

Shoe Throwing Game

Well, do you remember that I've talked about the shoe throwing incident in an Iraq news conference at my blog early?

This famous press conference has inspired a spate of Shoe Throwing Games. Though it's still not certain about how the history book would record deeds of George W. Bush, he has successfully registered his name on game industry. It's not easy, at least, to earn a pair of shoes from your audience and make that into a widely-played online Flash game.

Joshua Persky Gets Job Again

Joshua Persky is not a common guy, at least in my eyes. A MIT grad has been trudging the Manhattan streets for half a year, in efforts to get himself hired again. This is not truly innovative to me. I'd seen reports on TV this kind of job-hunting or mate-hunting in the past, some of those stunt were even more spectacular. But in US, this guy appeared to be the first. Persky has attracted rich media attention since his 'take-on-street' strategy beginning in June this year. His perseverance is something worth our notice and reflection. He has again got a nice job all by his own efforts. Do you have the same determination and pserseverance like Persky to get something that you really want? This is a food for deep thought.

Crammed Christmas Eve

People are absolutely overreacting to a western festival -- Christmas. I was on board a Christmas Eve tube yesterday night to have a first-hand experience of this US-imported festival. To say that I was like in a crammed sardine can was an outright understatement. A few bouts of savage elbow fighting finally ensured me a place in the compartment. Everyone on board was dressed to the nines, seemed heading for an important audition. The scenario was tantamount to Chinese new year. I couldn't help asking myself how and when Christmas started to invade into China in the first place? Is China being assimilated subconsciously by western powerhouses? Should we be conscious and aware of this ongoing "harmless" assimilation? Whatever the answer, it is a trend.

I myself is not a fan of Christmas and have no intention to embrace it in the imminent future. But I'm not totally against it or deny its widespread penetration. Maybe the lacking of a western culture background was why I couldn't melt myself in this widely-enjoyed festival. The only way out? Live it or leave it!

Panda Diplomacy

Today we see the cliche panda diplomacy again. China has just sent two giant pandas to Taiwai, naming Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan respectively, in yet another effort to reunite the politically-unstale island. Panda diplomacy is a guesture that China frequently resorted to in the past, however, it seems there is no magic in the two Taiwai-bound pandas this time. Taiwai has been actting indocile for decades in the eyes of Chinese leaderships. Since the end of the Chinese civil war, China has tried, in vain, to reunite Taiwai through a host of strategies, from diplomatic gestures to military threats. But generation of leaderships have failed to find a way to budge the isle a bit closer to mainland. The relationship between China and Taiwai has been ebbing and flowing with no visible improvement. These two pandas, IMHO, will do nothing than a commonplace publicity. How can we reunite Taiwan? This is a tough question for our 'country boss.'

Sense of Disappointment

"Never overpromise but underdeliver." I once thought this golden slogan should be strictly applied to business environment, however, today I realized that it should also be strictly applied to your personal life.

I'm not in a good mood now, bcuz I'd disappointed her.

I should have figured out how important my words were. My words carry weight and also convey confidence to her. But I failed my words. I didn't realize that. I sucked.

Thinking backwards, this sense of disappointment was not too unfamiliar to me. I'd experienced the same feeling months ago, when she quitted learning En cold turkey. Yes, my heart was stung and the disappointment struck me hard.

Feeling disappointment is one of the great pains you can possibly suffer on earth. I'd like to confess that it's very easy to disappoint someone, bcuz we tend to boost our bragging right. On the other hand, it's really hard to "undisappoint" as you have to keep your stream of commitment fulfilled day after day.

Sorry Zoe.

But luckily, I'm someone who can learn from my own mistakes.

And I did learn. What about you?

This is a Personal Blog

Starting from today, this blog will be limited to talk about personal issues only, no technology, no politics, no language learning lessons and other trivial unrelated bullshit pieces.

My professional freelancer life will be moved to my Sina blog, so this place will again be positioned as a restful paradise for Dennis and Zoe, pure and spotless.

UPDATE: well, the blog is still a hodgepodge as of 2009.

Again, A Blocking Game

Here is a bad news to all English learners. China has just blocked access to the New York Times Web site, online edition of the prestigious UA newspaper, the second time. My mind was swiftly brought back to a few years ago, when New York Times, CNN, BBC and a slew of other online US media were unaccessible then due to China's strict censorship. These long-barred websites were allowed access during the Summer Games held in August. I'm sorrily sad to say the history has just repeated itself. Now we are again be put into an informational dark. Good bye New York Times. Maybe we will have to wait for the next Olympics in order to get a panorama of New York Times.

Bluekai

In an age of reduction and bankruptcy, it is uncommon to see a skyrocketing company. Bluekai, a previously unheard company, has secretively shot to fame these days in a seemingly doubtful business model.

The company, with only 13 staffers, doesn't sell any physical products. Its main staple is what it called 'intent data'. Bluekai collected customer intention from websites around the world and then organized, aggregated or disaggregated the messy data accordingly. After an in-house processing, they will start to match these customer intentions with marketers. It looks like that Bluekai is selling privacy data, right? Bluekai didn't deny, but added that they sold the privacy data in a friendly way. Furthermore, there is also a opt-out system at hand for consumers to tick on/off their privacy info at any time.

Bluekai is acting against other IT companies if we take a closer look at its business model. While most of the IT firms are trying to expand and aggregate, Bluekai is disaggregating himself into a very little service piece. Disaggregation is one way to survive in this tough economic time. I'm sure, before long, disaggregation will be all the rage.

Deep Throat Died, Aged 95

Today BBC ran a front page news about the dead of a larger-than-life figure -- Deep Throat.

Deep Throat, one of the most widely-known figure in Nixon-era, has died, at an age of 95. Even thought you may not know this oldie well, the name should ring a bell. He was a former FBI-member who literally orchestrated a resignation of the then president Richard Nixon.

The review on Deep Throat was mixed. Some says he was a hero who helped overthrow a corrupt government. Other criticized his berayal, calling him a traitor. Whether you are for or against him, what you cannot deny is that he have done something that put him eternally in a history book.

Little bonus knowledge point: Deep Throat was named after a popular pornographic movie of the time. I intend to post the poster of the pornographic Deep Throat here, but after thinking twice, I think the best strategy for me is to skip this part. If you do want a peep of the pornographic Deep Throat, go directly to Google and do an image search with the sure-fire keyword Deep Throat movie. =D

Eblitz is Open for Register! Hurry Up!

Eblitz, dubbed herself as an online learning center, from where you can download via torrent format a sea of ebooks and audio books, is surely something worth a big cheer! You can now easily access to hundreds of thousands of dream books that you can never reach otherwise. How can you miss out on this fantastic site? Bookmark it today to level up your knowledge through a stack of downloadable e-tome! =)

Bluekai is Growing

In an age of reduction and bankruptcy, it is uncommon to see a skyrocketing company. Bluekai, a previously unheard company, has secretively shot to fame these days in a seemingly doubtful business model.

The company, with only 13 staffers, doesn't sell any physical products. Its main staple is what it called 'intent data'. Bluekai collected customer intention from websites around the world and then organized, aggregated or disaggregated the messy data accordingly. After an in-house processing, they will start to match these customer intentions with marketers. It looks like that Bluekai is selling privacy data, right? Bluekai didn't deny, but added that they sold the privacy data in a friendly way. Furthermore, there is also a opt-out system at hand for consumers to tick on/off their privacy info at any time.

Bluekai is acting against other IT companies if we take a closer look at its business model. While most of the IT firms are trying to expand and aggregate, Bluekai is disaggregating himself into a very little service piece. Disaggregation is one way to survive in this tough economic time. I'm sure, before long, disaggregation will be all the rage.

Affiliate Venue

Look no further to seek affiliates! AffiliateSeeking is the fortune that you have been looking for. Spend some time on it and you will definitely land yourself a chance to rich!

A World for Real Buck - BlackHatWorld

BlackHatWorld is a hidden place for real bucks. A place where you can find a host of money-making theories and strategies. You can either find here a short cut to wealth or a long-tern path for prosperity.

Shoes Dodging Acrobatics

How many shoes can you dodge in a conference? Two! This seems to be a very weird Q&A. I had this question in my head after seeing a dodging acrobatics performed excellently by Bush. How responsive Bush was to a danger! Well, so now you see it is not gonna be easy to assassinate this oldie. XD

Site Point and Digital Point

I have to bookmark two more sites today, namely, Site Point and Digital Point, from where you can find a lot of useful marketing info. These two sites should be frequently surfed to keep your marketing knowledge up-to-date and to absorb fresh ideas from marketing gurus. Anyway, start hitting them today!

Should We Celebrate Christmas?

For me, there is always a point for argument. I don't really know how I was adrenalized to write this piece. There was just an inside writing rush that pushed hard, forcing me to print my thoughts onto papers.

If you think a little bit deeper before celebrating the upcoming Christmas, you would find your mind twisting in an endless abyss about why Chinese should celebrate Christmas at all. Digging into Wikipedia, we finds that Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. So are Chinese religiously bound to Jesus? Or are Chinese celebrateing the reincarnation of a virtual Jesus? Sorry to all of those Christmas celebrators, I've been wondering why some of us are so crazy about Christmas. You may cite globalization as a pro, but I deem that very weak.

So what's your opinion on this?

No Worry about Future

Different living styles would together mix the most beautiful color of life. Darling, I've been appreciating your earn-it-yourself living scheme. Yes, you shopped a lot, you bought a lot, be it commodity or luxury. But you never overdrive. Actually you had a little gear deep down your heart to control the money tap. I believe in you. My "unflamboyant" language style tells that I am a practical and realistic guy. With our conerted efforts, we will overcome whatever obstacles lies ahead on our way to felicity.

Some Chic Words

1. dis = disrespect

I was supposed to meet these guys in front of MacDonald's at noon, but nobody showed up. What happened I don't know but maybe they dissed me by going someplace else without telling me.

2. props = proper respect

I really have to give you a lot of props.

3. veg = to engage in relaxing or passive activities. Often used with out.

I'm so glad that the week is almost over! I've had too much work to do. So I'm staying home and vegging this weekend. I won't do anything not even think about my deadlines next week.

4. chill = to calm down or relax; to pass time idly;

Oh, no! Mom's going to be so mad that we broke the window, and we'll be in deep trouble. We've got to chill and think about what story we can tell her, so she won't get too angry.

We didn't do much yesterday. Tim came over to my house, and we pretty much chilled there all day. We watched TV, played a few video games, and had some snacks -- nothing special.

The Variants of Drunk

Now if you want to say someone is drunk, think twice! Here is a "drunk" list which will come in handy in your future writing.

The man was intoxicated after several rounds of drinking spree.

The boy was tipsy but continued to ask for more drinks.

He’s had a drop too much.

You don’t want to drive here on a dark night if you’re a bit tiddly.

The man was in his cups and talking very loudly.

A Get-Together with Zoe's Relatives

On a breezy day, I was on my way to an all-important get-together -- a so-called face-to-face gauge by Zoe's relatives. It seemed everything was on its right track at first. I got the time and place, and hit the road early just in case any traffic jam. We were supposed to meet at 万佳 so I ignored a mall named 万家. But when I got off board, my intuition informed me that there must have been something wrong. I tried to call up Zoe, but her phone turned me down, for unbeknown reasons. And the next thing happened was that I was stranded on a packed street with no foreseeable goal in sight.

But when the time seemed to have moved at an unbearable pace, she SMSed me! And from there, my day started to grow bright! =D

Zoe's is truly a fairy. Yup, that's why I've been falling heavily in love with her. ^3^

Upcoming Terminator Salvation

John Connor is back, but this time is not with the muscular Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has been starring Terminator in the last three sequels. Again we will be involved into a terrible secret of possible annihilation of mankind. Who will finally come out ahead? Mankind or Robot? The answer will be revealed 6 months later!

I have been a big terminator fan since 1984, when I was truly amazed, the first in my life, by the abilities of a liquid robot, which was set as an opponent of the Schwarzenegger-starred terminator. As a whole, terminator series has outperformed the later-released robotic flick Transformer in many aspects, including but not limited to the story lines and plots. I'm really looking forward to this upcoming blockbuster and I think you should never miss a marvellous chance to explore a futuristic and robotic universe that would totally beyond your wildest imagination.

By movie aficionado Dennis

Office is Nothing But a Pressure Cooker

Office is nothing but a pressure cooker. In a company meeting yesterday, my boss roared and hit the ceiling when he was presented a cluster of messy data, and went on to blame us for the losing streak. Fine, to be frank to the world, I almost collapsed these days. Overwhelming by tons of frivolous stuffs on a minutely basis and executing a six-day working schedule packed with painful tasks had prevented me from loosening up, both physically and mentally. The company top dogs who have been milking me from the first day I worked for them had finally irritated my ego. Don't treat me like a working machine. Don't increase my workload but decrease my pay. I demand fairness and justice! But, will there really be fairness and justice in work place? This question must have been translated into a big question mark on every employee's head. =(

Superman Story 2

While something big was about to happen, it make no difference to a pretty girl who has just nestled her head into a puffy pillow, and dipped into a sound sleep minutes before.

The story between a brave man and a pretty girl has just begun.

International Debate Education Association

IDEA, a place to get ideas for debate. If you are wracking your brain for a debate topic, you should go check IDEA ASAP. There you will see a complete list of debate topics filtered by theme. Next time you don't necessarily need to earn yourself a big headache if you are assigned to organize a debate. IDEA makes your life way eaiser by providing you a simple way and full access to a vast universe of neat topics.

A Rigged Vote

Today I was involved in a rigged vote for the excellent staffer in 2008. The entire voting procedure was a farce with one of our bosses rigging the final result overtly. What did it mean to sit in a packed room and being controlled to vote for a particular staffer? To me, it was outrageous and I felt I was raged throughout the voting process again and again. Stop all the bullshit! The people in managerial level need to be cleansed and purged so as to root out all the ugliness hidden everywhere in our company.

I will never again get myself involved in such a headless ballot. Never!

How Two Boarded a Bus by NOT Paying Full Price

This is real and not fictitious. Last night we did something that would be called a "deed". Me and Zoe got on board a bus by paying a mere 1.2 yuan. How could we do that? I didn't really know how but I'd like to repeat the whole event here.

First we rushed onto an uncrowded bus, I didn't beep my "electric card" upon boarding, instead I was holding 1 yuan on my hand waiting at the doorstep, appearing to be checking if Zoe had enough charges. At the same time, Zoe was scouring her handbag for money. In a few seconds out of nowhere she conjured up some coins and plunk them into the slot, while I slipped the note into the slot in a rather calm way. It's clear. We did it! What Zoe plunked into the money-box was 2 coins worth 0.2 yuan. And me, slipped into a one yuan note with a composed mind.

You see, life is magical and colourful! It's all because of you, Zoe.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Found a great site today, Online Etymology Dictionary. Through this site, you can peruse explanations of what English words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago. It's a great reference site for English learners. Well, it does require advanced English skills in order to plough through the etymology universe, but anyway I decided to mark it down here for any future reference.

Our Program is On The Way

Yes, it seems a bit in a hurry but our program is really shaping itself up. Well, admittedly, if I take this English learning program as part of my job, I will soon be exhausted and dead. So I've been telling myself at the very beginning to never consider this a job or the like, simply make it one of my hobbies. Don't dream of turning a shabby and underinvested blog into a cash cow. Be realistic and down-to-earth by creating the blogsphere merely to spread the knowledge of English and fun. That's all!

Thank you Zoe, you have been so supportive! I love you!

Why a Black Friday?

They are many Black Fridays showing up in recent newspaper articles, but have you wondered why it is Black Friday? Why not Green Friday, or Red Friday?

Black Friday received its name because it historically was the day when a surge of shoppers helped stores break into profitability for the full year. However, you may still have no idea how the color black take a seat in this phrase.

To explain this, we need to look at another common phrase - in the black. We say a business is in the black when it is making money, and of course, in the red when a business is operating at a loss.

So are you clear how the black climbs onto the phrase now? =)

Superman Story 1

It is now 2046. In a serene night that sees moon and stars hang still over the pitch-black sky, no one will ever think of an unusal thing is about to befall on earth, and an unusal guy is about to emerge, who will be changing every bit of life on a now-tranquil small town -- Zonis.

Lois & Clark: New Adventure of Superman

It' over, it's gone.
I can't stop from feeling hopeless.T_T
I will miss them, Lois and Clark, for my whole life.

About ten years ago, I saw them first time. Now, I'm 24 years old, I'm still loving them. Watching the entiry seasons in rencent weeks, from they met to they had a baby, it likes a jounery which I grow up again. The Daily Planet was like a window of my chilidhood, I look world through it. A fantasy world had hero, love and truth. It was attractive to me sooooo much that I wanted to be a part of them. But now, I am adult, they are getting old....I know it is impossible, but can't stopping from yearning it.T_T. Oh, I'm sick....
Whatever, I will miss them forever. NO matter what they are, where I am, and how old all of everybody will be.


My superman belt, it makes me feel sweet.

Because of You

It's all because of you,

Why I have been waiting that 26 bitter years for a taste of love,

It's because of you,

Why I have been closing my heart in bygone days till the moment we engaged,

It's because of you,

How I have been acting like a boy till the instant you planted me a kiss and I knew from that very moment that I would start to act like a man.

It's all about you,

Zoe, I live because of you, and my life is all about you.

Magento and Zen Cart

Magento - eCommerce software platform for growth that promises to revolutionize the industry. It offers modular architecture and unprecedented flexibility.

Zen Cart - open source shopping cart software, which offer to put your business online in a simple way.

These two sites/services may be very useful in my later life, blog them down for reference purpose.

Europeana

Europeana, Europe's digital library, museum and archive, which will be bringing you digitised books, films, paintings, newspapers, sounds and archives from Europe's greatest collections.

Europeana.eu was launched on 20 November and huge use - 10 million hits an hour - meant an inevitable crash. Now Europeana is doing its best to reopen in a more robust version.

All in all, Europeana is an online library that merits your expectation.

Ivy is Gone

This is yet another striking news within days, Ivy has quietly moved away in a mantle of secret. First Jerry, then Ivy, you will certainly wonder who will be the next in this storm of resignation.

Anyway, I'm also someone planning to leave. Maybe this is a warning sign that the super UE cruiser will soon sink.

Moved to A New Project Team

Haha, finally, I was moved to a more important project. Familiar to this self-boasting line? Yes, it appeared many times on my resume. XD But this time is not a funny move. I will be starting the insurance project from scratch and the road aheads is both long and tough. Anyway, I will still try my best as I believe I will learn a lot along the way! Head up and move forward!

Two Jerries Quitted at The Same Time

Well, a very coincident event took place at my company and Yahoo headquarter days ago. Two Jerries resigned almost at the same time and I sensed something secretive was happening underground in our corporation which directly resulted in such a rush resignation! And the most amazing about this is that Zoe foretold the misfortune of the UE-Jerry, a nearly humanly impossible feat! This prediction produced a lot of laughter between us. XD

Zoe, can you predict the top prize for the next week's lottery?

A Haphazard Tube Interaction with a Chinese Speaking Indian

My mail to a happen-to-meet Indian. XD

Hello Shivi,

I'm Dennis, the guy who had a healthy and funny dialogue with you in subway today. Nice to meet you in China! Well, I'd like to straighten out the fact that why I speak awkward Chinese here as I hadn't got the time to tell you the backdrop in such a brief interaction today.

I was sent to Canada when I was a lil kid for high school education, but the western country didn't fascinate me much, so later I came back to Hongkong, China and worked in a Flash animation studio. Since I was kinda IT-savvy then, so I was soon scouted for a position in UE, a big IT firm specializing in MMORPG services, MMORPG is short for massively multiplayer online role playing game, headquartered in HK and has branches in United States and Guangzhou. Ok, back to the point, so why my Chinese is broken? You know in HK, people speak Cantonese, not Mandarin or Putonghua. So I had some trouble to catch your Mandarine words today. =)

I've checked your websites, http://www.suryafashions.co.in/ and http://www.checknquote.com/ and I hope you don't count on them for business. I've been working as a webmaster and project manager for around 3 years and my sense told me that you need to hire a more skilled web designer for your websites. =)

Ok, so much tonight and have a good night!

Best wishes,

Dennis

I Am Your Superman

Misfortune strikes us on a regular basis. No one can avoid ill luck for life. I witnessed a sad part in our office a couple of days early and also felt the agony that was thrown on the sad soul.

Zoe told me a litany of sad stories around her friends. In fact, I put on blinders to all those larger-than-life tales because I belive in myself and my true love. I believe in my role played in my life. I will be a superman guarding her all along her life. I don't look like a handsome prince, but I am qualified to be a superman because I have the very gut to walk down the street in a red underwear!

Remember, Zoe, I will always be around.

From 打酱油 to 做俯卧撑

Meeting 打酱油 many times a day in forum posts, I decided tonight to figure out what the term really conveys. After a swift search on Google, I found out that the term originated from a piece of news and then soon spread across Internet to become a pop jargon. It's really interesting to see how these jargons sprang up and came to be prevalent in our everyday language. Many controversial topics offline had easily found their ways online due to the widespread use of Internet, which gave virtually no bound and limit to its users.

We will definitely see more Internet jargons coming out in the near future. Just remind you, don't forget to take note of news and topics that draw huge attention from the mass, otherwise, you would risk being called "illiterate and ignorant", or even "out-of-date".

Mint Candy and Its Best-Before Date

This is a funny moment that I planned to jot down on my blog long time ago, but somehow slipped my mind.

Way back, one day I stumbled upon a very embarrassing thing which made my darling laugh for minutes on end.

During working hours, I took out from my drawer a case of mint candy, which serves as a kind of "bad-breath remover". After feeding myself a mint pellet, I accidently found out from the case that the candy had already passed its best-before date! Zoe and Ring watched me when I ungracefully coughted up the pellet from my mouth. Just later Zoe found out that I was misled and pointed to a right best-before date.

Anyway, this post is just for laugh. Darling, does this entry remind you of that funny moment?

Late Night Acne Detected

It's not usual to spot an acne on Zoe's face, but this time, you can feast your eyes on this spectacular view. A big big acne was grown on her forehead like a vicious volcano.

Jazz up My Life

I've spent the whole day reading a book related to persuasive marketing, but throughout the day, I felt my life kinda bland. Without Zoe jazzing up, adding colors and sparkling happiness into my life, my days, to a certain extent, went on with no passion.

I miss you Zoe.

Father and Mother

昨晚，在一次面对面的交谈，我发现岁月的痕迹已经悄然蔓延到我爸爸和妈妈的脸上。我的心突然的一阵痛。多少年来，我一直在爸爸妈妈无私的爱下成长着。他们每日每夜都想我过得开心，每分每秒在为我着想。爸爸妈妈，我一定不会另你们失望的，我一定不会让你们20多年的灌溉付之东流。

爸爸妈妈很希望看到她，我很想满足他们的愿望。

What should I do?

Toilet Anecdote

Today is my lucky day as I again bumped into that embarrassing situation of running out of toilet paper. After shitting heavenly, I found the toilet "paperless" and I was penned as a result of that. I listened out, and attempted to jump from where I was stranded to another toilet chamber. But the bustling people outside soon eliminated such a faulty idea.

All of a sudden, I thought I had figured out a very smart way to escape -- to wait for a person who doesn't know me well, so I will be nameless to him and will also be free from a face losing. Brilliant idea and it worked very well! Skipping a few unbecoming candidates, my savior finally appeared and helped me out after spending 20 meaningless minutes in the closet.

Yeah... This is my lucky day. XD

Easy come, easy go. T_T

Yesterday, we dug out a bag of bargains from a clothes mountain.
Today, these bargains of 5 top, 2 socks, 1 scarf and 1 underpants were totally destroyed because of been dyed by one red vest of them. I was almost mad when I pick them up from the bucket I marinating them. Every pieces of them were colorful, pink, sanguine, and carmine! Then I began to wash them by hand with great care, in the hope of having chance to save one or two piece. But really disappointing, even though the color of water turn to red, the color on these clothes didn't fade a little. T_T
When I could find no way out, an ideal suddenly appeared in my brain. Since the red vest is easy to fad its color, so if I can use it as a pigment to dye all other cloth into pure red? I was really exciting with this idea, I put a most-dyed one into the red water, them mixed round and round. Disappointing again, the clothes didn't become pure red also. T_T



Do you think I had gave up?
No, you are abesouletly wrong!
I still have another desperate remedy!
I will bring some disinfector tommorrow, to kill the bloody red!

Correction of "Birthday, not happy."

Birthday, not happy.

Today is my birthday, I'm not happy, yet not sad.
I think I'm old enough to know the uncertainty of life.
But the uncertainty still kind of upset me in sometimes.
This gloomy emotion made me feel guilty, because I had a suspicion it came form my personality disorders. I knew immersing myself into this messy emotion was wrong, but I still could not escape from it, especial when I was alone.
I don't know where to ask for help, I understand all the things come and go. Yes, I am still young and weak, with a perplexed mind, can't survive.

====================================

I miss Zoe so much tonight so I dug up one of her past pieces and did a removal of all the errors or mistakes found. Please take note of the words in bold.

1.
Original: But the uncertainty still kind of upset me in sometimes.

Upset should be upsets because the subject of this sentence is the uncertainty. Drop the "in" before sometimes.

Revision: But the uncertainty still somewhat upsets me at times.

2.
Original: because I had a suspicion it came form my personality disorders.

Revision: because I had a suspicion that came from my personality disorders.

3.
Original: especial when I was alone.

Revision: Especially when I was alone.

4.
Original: I understand all the things come and go.

Revision: I understand all the things that come and go.

Finally, I'd like to give a thumb-up to the word "perplexed"!

Zoe, do you find this correction useful?

Watch Your Hands, Zoe!

Rome was not built in one day. The same goes to English. English was not mastered in one day neither. You have to use what you have learned everyday to strengthen your English skills. My darling said he could not figure out what to write because she was just going through the same routine over and over again. But actually that's not the story.

Here you may find an example of what you can take as your writing material.

My darling has an age-old habit of scratching her face with her dirty hands, hands that have been working on a bacteria-laden keyboard. Even my all-out efforts to remind her of not doing so, she is skill in the habit now. My online report of women having a lot of bacteria living on their hands didn't threaten her to quit the habit. I think the best way to insure her of getting rid of the habit is for me to become her bodyguard and restrain her hands when she has an itch on her face. What do you think Zoe?

Search Others for Their Virtues

Yes, people, I've made a promise early to write as often as I can due to my career orientation has been reset advisedly by myself to be an editor in chief. So here is yet another attempt to hone my writing skills.

I want to write something about how to hate a person less today. In real life, many of us tend to spend a great deal of time on finding faults in people we deal with on a daily basis. If, instead, we try to search other people's characters for what we like about them, we will make our hate slighter. That will, in turn, make your world less daunting because you would free yourself from many hostile relationships in everyday life.

Let's start today! If you have a boss, colleague or neighbor who you disliked to some point, try my recipe today and turn your hatred into love. =)

Bargain Shopping Trip

On a breezy day me and my darling Zoe were on a shopping trip aiming at bargain stuff.

Our first stop was a store selling socks, with everything inside pricing at 1RMB. What a price! Zoe fanatically buried herself into a huge stack of socks while I waited patiently outside. We ended up there with twelve socks and one underpants. Next we came aross a small mountain of clothes on the floor with a poster on the wall saying "Buy Three for 5RMB". Again Zoe dove into it in an insane manner and dug up a total of six! After a whistle-stop at a celebrated restaurant, we restarted out journey by reaping a T-shirt for 20RMB. Then the most memorable moment came in, my darling slashed a 80RMB skirt down to 30RMB! It was a real bargain and my darling was very proud of making such a deal! You know darling, I am proud of you too and I really enjoyed this trip with you! GGGG!

The First Black President In US

Getting a seat for president is way easier than to answer the questions from fretful electorate, or to provide his nation a package of solutions to a great many deeply-rooted problems. As the president-elect Obama noted in his winning speech, there is a long road ahead and the problems US facing are not going to be fixed in one or two years. Good luck US. I will be watching here across the Pacific Ocean to see how you would alter your track from a wrong to a right one under the lead of a black.

Zoe, what do you think of this historic election?

I'm an English-Chinese

I'm learning Chinese now. It seems very absurd for a Chinese to learn Chinese at my age. More absurb is that Chinese is like a second language to me! But frankly speaking, I've just reached the ABC of Chinese, the elementary level of Chinese. I've forgotten strokes of many Chinese characters and also failed to understand most of the Chinese phrases and idioms. My pronunciation is inferior, and my vocabulary is insufficient. Am I a Chinese? Sometimes I question myself like this. It might be a mistake by fate for me to be a Chinese, however, I will never forget the color of my skin, and of course, the language of my motherland.

Zoe, you will not be alone on your way to Chinese lore as I have decided to join you half way. Don't leave me alone and help me catch up with the flow.

Birthday, not happy.

Today is my birthday, I'm not happy, yet not sad.
I think I'm old enough to know the uncertainty of life.
But the uncertainty still kind of upset me in sometimes.
This gloomy emotion made me feel guilty, because I had a suspicion it came form my personality disorders. I knew immersing myself into this messy emotion was wrong, but I still could not escape from it, especial when I was alone.
I don't know where to ask for help, I understand all the things come and go. Yes, I am still young and weak, with a perplexed mind, can't survive.

Stand and Lie

Sometimes we stand or lie in different ways, let's check them out now!

Stand on one's hands

Stand on one's knees

Lie on one's back

Lie on one's side

Lie on one's stomach

Zoe, do you know what these phrases mean?

Road to an Editor in Chief

Since I've made up my mind to pursue a dream of being an editor in chief, I would have to double my reading and writing in the days ahead. To get a job that earns money marinly from a pen or a keyboard is not an easily accomplished task. I cerntainly understand where I am standing now and how far I will need to trek to reach that point of expertise. I am not selling myself short, but I know the gap.

Cheer up! The road will never be smooth, but I am ready on day one!

CEO Ling's Birthday Party

Today we held a birthday party for CEO Ling. The pics say it all!

Zoe contributed a crab on the white board, which looked cute! XD

Let's Pack a Punch

If someone can pack a punch, they can hit very hard when they are fighting.

For example:
He's a big guy - I should imagine he can pack a fair punch.

Zoe, tell me how you would use this word in other ways.

Will you still love me if I am a lamia?

Painted Skin is a film about a war between tow women. Xiao Wei and Peirong had asked a same question to Wangsheng:" Will you still love me if I am a lamia?" Wang gave both of them the same answer. To Xiaowei, his true love, Wangsheng said "I love you whatever you are." To Peirou, his wife, he ssaid:" I will always be with you even though you are a lamia."

I don't know this is only a conceit of the direct or such idea exists really, but I have to give my assent to Peirong's action of defending her love. She was wise and composure to contend with Xiaowei. On the other hand, even though Xiaowei is a one thousand year's old fox lamia, but she is still a green hand to complicated love of human being. She thought she would win Wangsheng's love by defeating Peirong, but Wangsheng choose to use himself's live to save his wife.

May be say I love you is easy, but hurt is also easy. So lamia is not a problem, the problem is how to love for long. Lack of trust or support, love will die. May be this is what direct wanted to tell us.

Determination

I've gained strong determination from my darling as she said she would make up her mind to study English from now on. I don't want to lose the edge. I want to keep my top post as an English expert before her. I will work even harder so I'm here to say sorry to my darling. Zoe, you will never catch up with little D. XD

Anyway, English language is a life-long course for me, but I will also keep Chinese in my mind at the same time because it is a cousre that I will have to take before getting a permit to marry my lovely Zoe.

Pig and Hog

Check out these funny expressions.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.

A hog in a silk waistcoat is still a hog.

Both convey a meaning of do not do something futile.

And we got another two here

Teach a pig to play on a flute. = Doing things impossible.

What can you expect from a pig but a grunt. = Something like don't expect too much from an idiot.

Day One of LoL

My LoL is not Laugh Out Loud. It's Lack Of Love.

A four-day hiatus has been enforced upon us because my darling is now frolicking in her hometown. I bet she must have wolfed down a real lot today and gathered a bit fat on her belly. XD

This is the day one of my LoL.

I miss you Zoe. Do you miss me?

My trip back home

I'm sitting in my home to post this blog.
I had left for hometown for my step grandpa's exequies on yesterday, he was die for throat cancer. The exequies has gone well except the guest were more than expect. He was famous on my hometown for his hobbie - fishing. And my grandma still believes his hobbie coused his cancer.

After the exequies, my old friends invited me to hang out for FB, this FB was expect by me for long. I miss my hometown food sooooooooo much, we started our first station at 4:30pm, ended at 8:00pm, but we only had only ate at 4 places. I found my anti-spicy quility had downgrade, but the food were still great as before. We planed to continue our FB trip tomorrow of the day after tommorrow, I still didn't eat spicy little lobester yet.


D, every piece food I picked up, I imaged what would you be if I were you. LOL!

Do You Know Copyright Law?

Well, I didn't know how but today one of my desires pushed me to take a look at the copyright law. And the copyright law turned out to be a very long explanation, formal but not very complicated.

Here we go!

Copyright law -- This law is enacted, in accordance with the Constitution for the purposes of protecting the copyright of authors in their literary, artistic and scientific works and rights related to copyright, of encouraging the creation and dissemination of works which would contribute to the construction of socialist spiritual and material civilization, and of promoting the development and flourishing of socialist culture and sciences.

Three Idioms of Wax

Today let's talk about three important idioms that contain the word 'wax'.

First, take a look at wax and wane

It means to grow bigger and stronger and then to become smaller or weaker again.

Examples for wax and wane

Their influence waxes and wanes depending on which party is in power.

Religious influence on politics has waxed and waned since the founding of this country.

Next we have this idiom wax lyrical

It means to talk about something with a lot of interest and excitement.

I recall Zoe waxing lyrical about her bargaining prowess.

Finally here is another idiom that we gonna learn the whole ball of wax.

It means everything.

She started working on the project in 1999, and within six months she was responsible for the whole ball of wax.

So now you've put another three idioms into your pocket. Remember to use them as often as possible to make them stay in your memory for life.

Forecast of a Leaving

Tonight I had a very strong intention to forever say goodbye to UE, and I think my forecast will become a fact just within a couple of months. The company culture sucks to the extreme and I got overwhelmed by tons of frivolous stuffs that raping me on a minutely basis. A six-day working schedule packed with painful tasks has been preventing me from loosening up. The capitalists who have been milking me from the first day I worked for them had finally irritated my ego. Employees inside are like sitting zombies, most of them are not really "working" but just "idling" their days.

Well, I got sick of all these stuffs!

My determination is real, and I want to change my job as a chief editor in an English magazine. For now, I will just continue to hone both my English verbal and written skills every day. And I know a chance is not far from me.

Will You Fight Tooth and Nail for Something?

let's remember this idiom because it can be used frequently in your daily language.

fight (someone/something) tooth and nail

It means to use a lot of effort to oppose someone or achieve something.

Here I give a load of examples to make you more easier to remember this idiom.

1. I will fight tooth and nail to make Zoe happy on a minutely basis.

2. We fought tooth and nail to keep our share of the business.

3. They vowed to fight the new legislation tooth and nail.

4. That woman fought tooth and nail during the war to protect her children.

Do You Throw Caution to The Wind?

When you throw caution to the wind, you take a risk.

Let's check out these examples!

As a young man he was always ready to throw caution to the wind.

You could always throw caution to the wind and have another glass of wine.

Throwing caution to the wind, he decided to ride his motorcycle without a helmet.

Batten Down The Hatches

Today the new word is batten, pay attention, not fatten.

We should master two major meanings of this word:

1. To become fat.

Batten/Fatten one's bank account.

2. To thrive and prosper, especially at another's expense:

She battens like a leech on the lives of famous people, a professional retailer of falsehoods.

Slumlords who batten on the poor.

Besides these two meanings, we should also try to remember an idiom containing the word batten.

batten down the hatches

It means to prepare yourself for a difficult period by protecting yourself in every possible way.

Examples:

When you're coming down with a cold, all you can do is batten down the hatches and wait for the body to fight it off.

They just have to batten down the hatches, lighten the load and ride this thing out.

The Pot Calling The Kettle Black

The pot calling the kettle black is something that you say which means someone should not criticize another person for a fault that they have themselves.

Let see how we can use this idiom in our everyday dialogue.

Zoe accused me of being stupid. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! XD

Who's 杜撰?

Yes, this is a story that happened months ago, but, till now, every single reference could produce a LOL from both me and Zoe.

One day on our way home, I strutted out some seemingly beautifully-crafted words and asked my darling where they came from. My darling answered with a firm determination saying that they were 杜撰. My quick response to the answer was "who's 杜撰 anyway?"

Zoe laughed out loud. -_-

Zoe, Can You Fill The Blank?

Zoe, first, please try to remember these dictions.

I want a piece of the action.
I had a flock of questions.
I saw a herd of elephants.
I was attacked by a horde of mosquitoes.

And do you know what should be filled in the following blank? Try to finish it by doing some search online.

I want an ___ of corn.

Do a Whip-Round?

What's whip-round?

Let me introduce this word by fancying a hypothesis.

Next month will be Zoe's birthday, and all the ET members will do a whip-round to buy a joint present for her.

A whip-round is a collection of money among a group of people that is used to buy a present for someone.

Another example for whip-round

We had a whip-round for Zoe's leaving present.

Dooce®

Dooce® is more than a wickedly funny blog about motherhood. It is a blog chock full of advertising, a moneymaking machine indeed.

The blog is talking a lot about a mother's daily life, her dog, and her daughter. And there was even a new word "dooced" coined after the blog became famous. Dooced means to lose one's job because of one's website.

Now everyone wants to turn their blog into a cash cow, with few successes though. But I will definitely pay close attention to this area as blogging is also one of my favorite activities. =)

Five Sentens Tonight

I decided to hunt job again today.
For our better future and easy life, I have to train my English to a higher level.
With D's help and my own endeavor，I believe the result will not disappoint both of us.


Sample from D
sensing no danger, i sneaked into the room where Zoe lived.
With no danger felt, i sneaked into the room.
As i sensed no imminent danger, i sneaked into the room.
I sneaked into the room when i felt no danger around.
I, sensing no danger, sneaked into room as quickly as possible.


Copy from Z
Eating nothing at all tonight, Zoe wolfed down a bow of noddle at middle night.
With nothing ate tonight, Zoe wolfed down a bow of noddle at middle night.
As Zoe ate nothing tonight, she wolfed down a bow of noddle at middle night.
Zoe wolfed down a bow of noddle at middle night because she ate nothing tonight.
I, ate nothing at dinner time, wolfed down a bow of noddle now.

Are You Humorous?

Well, please think twice when you want to say someone is humorous! Dump that elementary vocabulary and upgrade your expression to another higher level.

playful - He meant to be conversationally playful but his voice had no tone.

waggish - Dennis, who is waggish and bearded, projects an air of arrogance.

jocular - Zoe, who is jocular and lovable, wears a fair skin and a good charming look.

See? Today you've learned three words that bear the same meaning of "humorous". Try to put them into your future articles. =)

电话两端的两颗心

darling刚才给我打了一通电话，和她谈完之后，我现在的战斗力达到了沸点了。谢谢你占宇，谢谢你对我的支持。我知道你就是那个behind me的女人，在工作中我常戏言你这样不行那样不行，但在我心中，你是多么的好，给予我无限的支持。

晚安baby。 ^3^

占宇，我越来越想你。

最近越来越发觉没有你在身旁的时光特别地难过。没有你的晚上，我只好一个人静下来看书，但再静的心湖也总会荡起孤独的涟漪。没有你的晚上，我只好一个人疯狂地宣泄力量，但再狂的火山也终会喷发至竭尽。

这就是黎明前的黑暗，我很清楚我需要做什么，我知道接下来要走的路并不会平坦，但我已经准备好了。

占宇，我会好好照顾你一生。

OBJECT

I had planned to write down something about I saw on garden this afternoon. But because of the post below, I am too angry to post a blog now, so I decide to keep silence to OBJECT!

Acne on My Face!

OMG! My face is covered with acnes. Don't look at me! >_<

Vimeo, People Connecting Through Video

Vimeo is a thriving community of people who love to make and share video. From simple moments to masterpieces, Vimeo is the perfect home for you to upload, store and share all the videos you create. So whether you are an amateur filmmaker, proud mom, restaurant critic, or just a guy with a cellphone, you can find a place at Vimeo easily.

Also I checked the Google Trends of Vimeo and saw it has been soaring like a skyrocket over the past few months. No more hesitating! Come on in Vimeo today!

All Hail to Fenghuang

Our Fendhuang trip is over, well, I should say it was all over weeks ago. It's a trip chock full of wonderfulness and excitement. Here is an all-around textual record of my maiden trip to Fenghuang.

We departed from GZ at around 20:00 after knocking off work. The outbound trip to Fendhuang was proven a torture. Fourteen hours on a bus was not fun at all if you ask me. And we literally ate, slept and lived on the bus in return for a beauty spot. I was wondering in my head if it was worth suffering such a great pain in order to reach a backwoods surrounded by rivers, mountains and hills.

We arrrived the next day at about 11:30. We were exhausted and both wanted to sneaked into a comfortable bed ASAP. A four-hour nap reinjected us with full energy and we started fooling around till midnight. XD

We witnessed a proposal during an open concert under a bridge. We snacked along the streets all over Fenghuang. We were in a paradise indeed...

Well, I'd like to skip the Wulong Mountain trip and other less memorable events happened in there.

Thank you Fenghuang, but, to me, you are only a supporting role. Zoe, you are where all my fun came from.

Without you, even the most beautiful place would become a withered land.

Zoe, be at my side, and let me love you forever, till death parts us.

Stand Someone in Good Stead

If an experience, a skill, or a qualification will stand you in good stead, it will be useful in the future.

Check the examples out below:

She hoped that being editor of the school magazine would stand her in good stead for a career in journalism later on.

His recommendation will stand you in good stead when you apply for a job.

A very handy idiom that we can use in our future articles. =)

Salivate at Something?

Well, I'm just here to introduce this new word, salivate. It means to be full of desire or eagerness for something.

Check out a few examples below:

I salivated at the idea of winning the lottery!
I salivated at the idea of caressing Zoe!
I salivated at the idea of marrying Zoe next year!

Well-Known Marketing Blogs

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Social Proof

I've been reading Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive this morning and I was totally obsessed by its scientific coverage on social proof. The book gave me a lot of insight and greatly expanded my knowledge scope. It's amazing to have my eyes on this book and it should be rated as a must-read for every marketer.

I am sure I will level up after ploughing it though. Thanks to this book, my view on marketing has largely changed. Now in modern times, we should link psychology with marketing to form a new persuasive force, neuro-marketing.

RVSP & by Virtue of Something

Newly learned words from Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways.

RSVP = please reply.
A French abbr. of répondez s'il vous plaît.

by virtue of something = because of.
Many people believe that he will avoid jail by virtue of his money and connections.

I Want to Be With You!

The parting was excruciating and my heart ached. I want to be with you so much. I resisted the temptation tonight by using all my strengths. But a sense of loss still crept into my mind when I was home.

When can I have you sit and sleep beside me? When can we live together carefreely? I will go all out to find the answer, because I need you so much Zoe.

Form or From?

Yesterday my darling wrote on our blog she was impressed by a typo-prone word, 'form'. She always mistook 'form' for 'from', and vice versa.

Here I post an idiom with the word of 'form' to further intensify my darling's memory.

in any way, shape, or form = in any way at all.

Example:
I have never been involved in any way, shape, or form with love betrayal. XD

Yes, the example is for you darling. Can you feel my loyalty?

HttpWatch

HttpWatch is an HTTP viewer and debugger that integrates with IE and Firefox to provide seamless HTTP and HTTPS monitoring without leaving the browser window.

You should put it into your took kit if you are a website developer, as it will give you just another wing to your strengths.

Change the way that you develop, debug and tune websites today!

My Language Life

I've been learning English language for years, and to tell the truth, I see no foreseeable end for English learning. I have to admit even now I run into "new word" almost on a daily basis. English is a fascinating language as it has absorbed words from different cultures successfully for decades.

My darling said she would start to blog down word(s) that impress her, which I did long before even meeting her, like today I blogged down "agony column" and "agony aunt/uncle" which I bumped into during a surf on BBC.

Last but not least, Chinese is also a fascinating language which captivates my mind to the extreme. And I hope I will learn from Chinese guru Zoe and have a better command of Chinese in the imminent future.

Now me and my darling are on a learning curve. Just will be supportive!

From "form"

I always spell mistake, such as "form".
"form 20th to 30th Oct" I wrote today.
My mistakes always make D crazy, and also make me upset.
I don't know how to change this hobby, and D taught me a way today.
It is just what I am doing now.
Put it down on our blog. Not only the word I spelled wrong, but also the words impressed me deeply during day time. Day by day, my vocabulary will increase sharply. Hope so.

From today, I start to put down a word impressed me during day time per day, in the hope of improving my vocabulary.

What Are Agony Column, Agony Aunt and Agnoy Uncle?

agony column: a newspaper or magazine column offering advice on readers' personal problems.

agony aunt/uncle: a person who replies to readers' letters in an agony column.

Very funny expressions so I have to mark them down here to reinforce my memory.

Zoe, feel free to share your words here if you see some new, fresh, vivid or interesting ones in your daily life.

Greasemonkey

Greasemonkey allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript. Hundreds of scripts, for a wide variety of popular sites, are already available at http://userscripts.org. You can write your own scripts, too. Check out http://wiki.greasespot.net/ to get started!

I found Greasemonkey very cool because it can enhance the functionality of Google Analytics, and it gives us a lot of unprovided Google Analytics insight that can help us marketers to reach another level.

Have you installed Greasemonkey already? If No, Click HERE to get started!

Mouse Excrement

Today I found in my drawer two grains of black granule. After a round of inspection by four different people, namely, me, Ring, Echo and Henry, we ended up with a 2:2 draw, as me and Henry was for the idea that those black granules were mouse excrement, and the other two was against that concept. However, later more people confirmed firmly that those little sands were indeed mouse excrement.

I soon held up the feces and hurled them onto Ring's body, with a loud "catch it!". Ring was scared with a start and shouted out rudely to me with a trapezoid reddish face "我顶你个肺啊!" XD

Life is colorful, it is all up to you to paint your life. XD

The Chinese Zodiac

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.

This year is my year of zodiac.

Zoe, got it? =)

Speak It Out 1

Speak It Out a program I set up in an effort to help my darling on her way to English fluency. My sharing on this program will be mainly focusing on everyday spoken English. All we know is that we can divide English into two different parts, written and oral. Darling, let me know if you want a program dedicated to written English, and also please let me know if you like Speak It Out or not.

1. My darling should be home any minute.

Look, now you can replace your 'soon' with this newly-learned word! Remember, don't put 'in' in front of 'any minute'.

2. I totally sniped it from a guy on Ebay.

Here, snipe is a work that carries the meaing of 'grab or snatch'.

3. You got another month, minimum.

A short and concise expression that you can use in many occasions in life.

Let's take a look at another real life example:

D: When will you marry me?
Z: It takes another year, minumum.
D: Whoa.. T_T

Zoe, I love you. Hope you enjoy my lesson.

Color of My Life

After reading my darling's last blog entry, I took a really good look at my wardrobe. I had a full stock of clothes, with various colors and styles. I used to wear vivid clothes, say, bright orange or yellow. But I had somehow developed a liking to black color to the point that black clothes had become my usual wear now.

Well, now clothes is not something very important to me. I see clothes as a piece of rag that served as a covering, no more! So I don't really pay attention to my style now, because I need to save enough attention to boost my knowledge, not my look.

Maybe someday when I am learned enough, I would refocus on my clothing. XD

I'm here to show I'm here

I want to learn English better, at least better than now.
D, are u happy about this?

ok, my diary today.

I bought a red bag on my way home today. Its shape and color is what I have been looking for long.
Course it is autumn now, the little black bag I used in whole summer is too small now, and my old white bag is too big for this season. Fortunately, this red bag meets all my require! And most amazing thing is it only cost me ￥25！！hohohohhohoho~~~~
When I checking the new bag after I arrived home, I found I love red more and more. In the past years, such as 1 year before, I almost never use thing in red. No red clothes, no red shoes and of course no red bag. But in recent days, I bought red under wears( how to say 本命年 in en?), red scarf, red T, and red bag now. Why? I guessed the reason I didn't like red before was my uniform in high school was red. I used to wear in this color day and night for 6 years! As the same, my mother don't like white clothes, course her uniform is white. Hahaa. And now I have no color is the must-follow one, so in the unconscious, I want to repick the color I lost since graduated from my high school ?

D, I think you should try more colors in daily life.

My Company Locations

Do you know how to say your address in English?

New Company Location:
4/F Jin Ying Da Sha, Jin Ying Street, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Old Company Location:
Unit 307, 3/F, XianHuMingYuan 68, Hua Cui Street, JianYe Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

One of The Three Books is Here!

Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive is now in my hands! So exciting to have my hands on this tome. One of the stories in it had inspired us a very good testing point, and I'm really looking forward to read the other 49 chapters. Hope we can come up with some brilliant ideas after ploughing through this scientifically proven classic!

Bring Her a Pair of Chopsticks

Write it down as an entry in case I would somehow forget this significant thing. Darling, I will bring you a pair of chopsticks tomorrow, so your pretty lips and tongue will not be hurt again in the future by those evil wooden disposable chopsticks! ^3^

Blog Label Revamp

Tonight I made an effort to revamp all the blog labels so now they are more precise.

Where did I get all these momentums? I browsered a content-rich blog tonight and found the beauty of having an active blog. So I think it's time to tidy my little blog up for any possible future exposure. XD

Blogging is great! Both for me and for the people around!

Search Engine Info

These are very useful information for E-marketer.

Google Adwords Traffic Estimator

Google Keyword Tool

Google Insights for Search

Google Trends

Baidu Index

Baidu AdWords

Baidu Analytics

Books Are on Their Way!

Today I am so happy because I've persuaded our boss David to invest on three marketing books.

1. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
2. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
3. Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

$68.52 IN TOTAL!

I will purchase them from Amazon tomorrow and they will arrive around one month later! Cheers!

Old Word, New Meaning

The goal is not to bait the other side or engage in purely political point-scoring. It is more important to engage with the electorate watching at home.

Ok, audience, can you tell me what the bait means in the sentence above?

Generally in your minds, including yours truly, bait means "to entice, especially by trickery or strategy." However, it is not the case here. Here bait takes on a new meaning "to attack or torment, especially with persistent insults, criticism, or ridicule."

Remember, even "old words" can spark a new knowledge. Pay close attention to what you read everyday and find hidden knowledge along the way. =)

Down and Dirty

down-and-dirty behavior is not pleasant or honest.

Example:
He ran a down-and-dirty political campaign.

Well, I learned this compound word from a article on BBC. =)

Learning English everyday! Cheers!

Period is On!

Her perod is on again! This time I didn't come up with some stupid program like "a word a day" which made my darling vexed on her last period. And this time she didn't hurt as she did in the past, which she attributed to "a better sewer." I scientifically agreed to that. Cheers! XD

Star Wars MMO to be Disclosed

It seems that the long-rumored Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic MMO game is true after all, and will be "officially" disclosed later this month.

It's about time BioWare upped and decided to "officially" unveil their "secret" game. Everyone already knows about it. In fact, Electronic Arts' John Riccitiello already let it slip earlier this year that they were working on this would-be-epic.

Last February, an interview with BioWare over the then-mystery MMO revealed that the game will be heavy on RPG element. They planned to have every player act as a primary protagonist in their own narrative, as if the game really were their story, their world.

They sound pretty ambitious. Ambitious enough to go against the likes of World of Warcraft? We'll have to wait days to see.

Business Insight Magazines

eWeek and Strategy+Business are two business mags that offer readers insight into global business. I will add both to my must-read list by which to boost my economy knowledge so I won't be laughed at by my know-it-all darling. XD

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is Internet-based ("cloud") development and use of computer technology ("computing"). The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet (based on how it is depicted in computer network diagrams) and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals. It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided “as a service”, allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet ("in the cloud") without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them.

Cloud computing is a general concept that incorporates software as a service (SaaS), Web 2.0 and other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. For example, Google Apps provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.

Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services is now offering a lot of web services including compute power, storage, datebase and other services.

What's the most attractive selling point? I think is the pay-only-for-what-you-use policy. Here is the introduction for the AWS.

The cost-effective IT alternative
With Amazon Web Services, you pay only for what you use, with no up-front expenses or long-term commitments. To get started, you simply sign up for an account and deploy your first application. AWS manages the infrastructure that enables you to deploy highly scalable and reliable IT solutions.

No contracts or commitments – With AWS, all it takes to sign up is a credit card. And all it takes to cancel is to close your account online. There are no pre-purchase commitments required, and there is no minimum amount of use required.

Pay as you go – You pay only for what you use, no more, no less.

Transparent pricing – Our rate cards are published for everyone to see and there are no hidden fees.

Better economics – As the number of applications running in our cloud increases, the operations, management, and hardware costs to Amazon are amortized over more users. When we enjoy the economies of scale, we pass those savings onto you in the form of lower prices.

Better use of your time – Doing the heavy lifting of running IT infrastructure does not differentiate your business from your competition. Running your infrastructure on AWS enables you to focus your energies and expenses on running your business and adding value for your customers – instead of crawling around your datacenter.

Better environmental impact – From the way we build our datacenters, to the innovative technologies we use to cool and power our hardware, to the inherent green benefits of sharing reusable resources with a global network of customers, Amazon Web Services enables you to maintain a smaller environmental footprint, without sacrificing the scale and flexibility your business demands.

To Book or Not to Book

This Sat. my mind pushed my desire hardly to be with my darling. And after a "bogus" and unsatisfactory spaghetti dine-out at Tianhe and a long persuasive dialogue with my darling, we decided to pinpoint a place to sleep together. I called several 7-Day hotels but got the same answer from all operators "Sorry, the hotel is full now." Then we threw away the idea of settling in 7-Day hotel as we walked along the road aimlessly and tried to hunt down some other bargain hotel. However, after a little calculation, we found we didn't have enough money at hand to check in. We were cashless! Zoe proposed to withdraw money from bank and I agreed with the idea. When we were in the bank, I was stumped because my password failed, twice, for unknown reason(s). At the time of a complete despair, Zoe popped up suddenly another idea that was to live nearby her home so she could withdraw cash from her residence. I pushed her onto a bus with a grin on my face. Another long travel to her home equipped us with enough cash and we were again in a hotel hunting game. Soon we found a hotel nearby and walked into it, but was rejected harshly because we could not identify ourselves, as Zoe had left her identification card at home! We almost flopped and were forced to walk back again to her home to take out the "valuable" card. At around 10:30, we were completely exhuasted, but finally settled in. ^3^

Our life is simple, but also is made colourful by all these funny affairs.

Get Lost

A new way to use the idiom 'get lost.'

Definition:
something that you say when you are annoyed with someone or you want someone to go away.

Those kids told the new girl to get lost.

Get lost, Gary. We don't want you coming with us.

Escape Game

The well-known made in Japan escape game crimson room, viridian room and white chamber are all classics. But today I happened to have found another elaborate escape game named MOTAS, Mystery Of Time And Space in full.

I have to say these escape games are real mind twister. Try them out if you want to twist your mind in an unusual way. XD

Some Top Business Sites

The Wall Street Journal - International and national news with a business and financial perspective.

Business Week - Read the latest international business news & stock market news. Get updated company profiles, financial advice, global economy and technology news.

Fortune - Bi-weekly magazine and home of the Fortune 500. Business, investment, career, management and small business information.

USA Today - Breaking news on weather, sports, world, science, financial, technology, travel, national, economy, and entertainment news provided by USATODAY.com.

Forbes - News and featuresd from Forbes and affiliated magazines.

Red Herring - On-line version of professional magazine. News and reviews focusing on technology, analysis, and research. Investor oriented.

Some Top IT Sites

Cnet - CNET is the premier destination for tech product reviews, news and price comparisons, free software downloads, daily videos, and podcasts.

PC World - Computer and Internet news and information resource. Reviews, how-to's, downloads, product and price information.

PC Magazine - PC Mag is your complete guide to PC computers, peripherals and upgrades. We test and review computer- and Internet-related products and services.

ZDNet - Where Technology Means Business: ZDNet delivers the best tech news, and resources for IT hardware, software, networking and services.

Info World - InfoWorld is the leading technology resource for IT news, product reviews, best practices, and white papers covering security, storage and virtualization.

Computer World - News and product coverage for information technology managers.

Infomationweek - InformationWeek is the leading news and information source for information technology professionals and business managers with technology management.

Bilzzard Announced the System Requirements for WotLK

PC System Requirements

OS:

Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4) or Windows XP (Service Pack 2)

Processor:

Intel Pentium3 800MHz or AMD Athlon 800MHz

Memory:

Minimum: 512 MB RAM

Recommended: 1GB RAM

Video:

Minimum: 32MB 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting, such as an NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card or above

Recommended: 64MB VRAM 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability, such as an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 class card or above

Sound:

DirectX-compatible sound card

Controls:

A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported.

Connectivity:

You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play.

Mouse:

Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended.

Is This Can That Can?

Today I learned a new meaning of the simple word 'can'.

Let's see this example:

John was canned for insubordination.

Here, can means "to dismiss from employment or school."

can someone = give the sack to someone, sack someone or dismiss someone.

Music Boosts Exercise Endurance

A report says that listening to music when you are working out can boost endurance. I am very glad to hear that because this is actually my way of training up. I like to fill my ears with rocky music when working on my muscles. Well, maybe that's why I succeeded in swelling up my arms in a sustainable way. A secret that you don't know is my darling loves my muscle so much that she bites me every now and then for the sake of excitement. XD

OK, let's hit the dumbbells tonight!

Octazen

Do you want to go viral? This is a web service I would like to bookmark in my blog in case I need it someday in my future. Octazen is a company working on address book contact importer scripts and social network invite sender scripts. It claims that it can import contacts from 26 different popular web mails, and send messages or posts to contacts in SNS(Social Network Service) sites.

Start leveraging your members' network of friends!

I'm trying its demo now. Hope it works well!

SeoQuake

This is a firefox add-on that was designed completely for SEO(Search Engine Optimization) purpose. After installation, you will see a little SQ icon on your browser status bar. When activated, SeoQuake can show you a slew of info, including Page Rank, Search Engine Index, Alexa Rank, Internal Links and External Links, all are essential info a SEOer will possibly need.

SeoQuake is absolutely a very handy tool for any SEOer.

Splash Fighters

Splash Fighters is a free-to-play 3D MMOFTG. There are a dozen of characteristic fighters for you to choose, and you can also DIY your own character if you like. Every character is an expert in practicing different weird kungfu instruments, such as Half-Orc can transfigure to a Tauren when his mana is allowed, and the Revive Man can throw his head to attack his rivals. Splash Fighters is the North America version of GetAmped, which is in the course of Open Beta Test.

Also I would like to tell you that 热血英豪 is its Chinese version.

New Idioms Learned

dead heat

Definition:

1. A race in which two or more contestants compete evenly or finish at the same time.

2. A political campaign or other contest that is so close that it is impossible to predict the winner.

keep your eye on the ball
take your eye off the ball (opposite)

Definition:
to give your attention to what you are doing all the time.

If you're a manager, you can't afford to take your eye off the ball for one minute.

the gloves are off

Definition:
if the gloves are off in an argument or competition, the people involved have started to argue or compete in a more determined or unpleasant way.

She gave a second interview later that year but this time the gloves were off. Her ex-boss, she said, was 'a tyrant and a fraud'.

too close to call

Definition:
impossible to guess the result in advance.

Tonight's semifinals match is too close to call.

Hasee, The Cheapest Notebook

Hasee is leading the price battle with its cheapest notebook Q120c, which is priced at 1,999 RMB. Hasee claims Q120c is a zero-profit product that is made to aim at low-end market. I do want to know how cheap a notebook can be. Will we see a 999 RMB notebook within a or two years?

SNS

What's SNS? SNS is short for Social Network Service.

Here is a list of some prestigious Chinese SNS sites.

开心网, 海内网, 蚂蚁网, 360圈, 占座, 校内网, 聚友网, Facebook中国, 51网, 一起网, 5G网, 同学录, 同学, 雅虎关系

Financial Terms

reserve requirement

The reserve requirement (or required reserve ratio) is a bank regulation that sets the minimum reserves each bank must hold to customer deposits and notes.

accounts receivable

Money owed to a business by customers who have bought goods or services on credit. Accounts receivables are current assets that continually turn into cash as customers pay their bills.

securitize

Commerce. Convert (an asset, esp. a loan) into securities, usu. for the purpose of raising cash by selling them to other investors.

solvency

solvency is the ability of an entity to pay its debts with available cash.

credit crunch

Credit crunch is a term used to describe a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or "credit"), or a sudden increase in the cost of obtaining loans from the banks.

Baby Idioms

be like taking/stealing candy from a baby = to be very easy.

Example:
Beating them was the easiest thing in the world - it was like taking candy from a baby.

Selling my mother something I made is like taking candy from a baby — she can't say no.

something is your baby = you are in charge of something

Example:
The whole plan is your baby.

Animate Your Life

animate v.t.

Definition
To give life to; fill with life, to impart interest or zest to; enliven:

Example:
The party was animated by all kinds of men and women.

I Miss You Zhanyu

In the morning when I wake up,

I feel an aching in my heart,

That's when I realize,

How much I really miss you,

At different times throughout the day,

I find I'm missing you,

And I wonder if, perhaps a bit,

Maybe you miss me too,

I miss you in my home,

When I'm in there all alone,

And when I want to hear your voice,

I call you on the phone,

And When I check our blog,

but find there's nothing there,

I think by now it's due to say,

That I miss you very much,

And my heart will never be the same,

Since it suffered your tender touch.

I Speak Like a HKer

I found something interesting when I was watching HK news on TV today. A HK offical was being interviewed and I found he liked to spatter English in his Cantonese words, which reminded me so much of my own talking style. Actually I am the guy who loves to disseminate English in Cantonese dialogues. I have no answer about when this habit was formed in the first place and how it developed so quickly. Is this a good habit? Tell me please.

Miu!

Today I'm going to talk about a web-based game that I tested weeks ago, Miu!. The first glance of this game was satisfactory though I would like to refrain from using the word "impressive". The eye candy was actually the graphics, as Miu excelled at other web games in graphical field. In order to see the truth, I drilled a little bit deeper and found some playability within Miu. However, the age-old Achilles' heel existed, the game couldn't provide gamers a long-term goal. You get bored when your toon was at high level because you would have to grind the same bunch of monsters over and over again with no other things to do. One of its selling points I have to mention here is its casualness. You don't need to stare at the monitor to play this game, you can play it at a very slow pace, which is in accordance with the prime principle of a real web-based game. In general, this game is both a success and failure, it did attract players into the game, at this point, it succeeded, but it couldn't retain them for long.

Six Chinese Big Wheels in MMOG Field

Shanda (Nasdaq-listed)
Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (Nasdaq: SNDA) is a leading interactive entertainment media company in China and offers a portfolio of diversified entertainment content that is accessible via the Internet.

NetEase (Nasdaq-listed)
NetEase.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES), one of China's leading Internet and online game services providers, today announced that it will report its financial results for the third quarter 2007 on Wednesday,November 7, 2007 after the close of the U.S. markets.

The9 (Nasdaq-listed)
The9 Limited is a leading online game operator in China. The9's business is primarily focused on operating and developing MMORPGs for the Chinese online game players market.

Perfect World (Nasdaq-listed)
Perfect World is a leading online game developer and operator in China as measured by the popularity of its games in China in 2006, according to a report published by International Data Corporation, or IDC, a leading market research firm.

Kingsoft (SEHK-list)
Since having commercially launched its first office applications software, WPS 1.0 in 1989, Kingsoft Corporation Limited has now become a leading software developer, distributor and service provider in China.

ZT Network Science Technologies (NYSE-list)
ZT Network Science Techonologies will be on NYSE soon, with the help from Merrill Lynch and UBS. I'm sure it wil be a real giant in China. Don't doubt!

MMOG Reporter Dennis

The Wings of the Goddess

The Wings of the Goddess expansion is slated for release this November, a pretty good news for all our Final Fantasy XI fans. The new FFXI expansion comes after Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia and New Treasures of Aht Urhgan as a gift to mark the fifth anniversary of FFX. It will be built mainly upon the history of the previous Crystal War and gamers will sure enjoy the upcoming challenges from all the new scenes, monsters, magics and features in The Wings of the Goddess.

I have always been wondering when the FFX magic would die away as it has been a cult for many generations. Will FFX live forever? This is an answer that I can't tell at this age.

MMOG Reporter Dennis

I Was Hit

I was hit by Zoe! What a fist!

Slideshow Feature Added

Cool, after hours hard work, I've finally set our online photo album done!

Go to Picasa Web Albums and log in using my ID. Upload your photos to the Dennis and Zoe public album and then all your uploads will be showed neatly in the slideshow feature.

More features will be added to our blog, stay tuned!

Say Rich in Various Ways

Think about it for a moment if you are going to say "Zoe is rich". Have you had some words in your pocket that can replace the cliche word "rich"?

Here is a list of word(s) that can be used when you want to say someone is rich.

1. well-fixed;

2. well-off

3. well-to-do

4. well-heeled

5. well-situated

6. affluent

7. prosperous

8. financially secure

Subjective or Objective?

In one scenario at a suppermall, me and Zoe orchestrated a set of funny dialogues.

SET ONE:

lil D: Darling, you are so attractive and seductive, I can't turn my eyes away from you!

lil Z: Subjective or objective?

lil D: Objective!

lil D + lil Z: LOL~~~

SET TWO:

lil D: How old do I look?

lil Z: Around 60.

lil D: What?! Subjective or objective?

lil Z: Subjective

lil D + lil Z: LOL~~~

Life is full funniness, just take a good breath and feel the fun around you.

My First Show-up On The Internet

Picture says it all!

A handsome guy and a handsome man lying on the ground to form a big "P". For what? Just for a business promotional campaign!

Amazing? Yes, one of the duo is me. XD