Locky's English Playground: 03/01/2014

Sunday, 30 March 2014

Event: Earth Hour 2014

Image from WWF

Locky's English Playground has pinned!!! What about you???

Image from WWF

Definitely lights off tonight!!! What about you???

Image from WWF

I'm always ocean smart!!! What about you???

Resources:

Earth Hour
https://earthhour.wwf.org.hk/en/eh-around-you/pin/5/15831

Friday, 28 March 2014

Food & Dining: Rendang Beef Ginger Rice Set @ Toast Box

Image from Locky's English Playground

Okay, this is going to be a quick one. A couple of weeks ago I went to Grand Century Place in Mongkok and realised that almost the entire mall is being renovated. I wanted to go to Fairwood but instead I found a food court. After rounds of search I ended up at Toast Box, a pride of Singapore.

Image from Locky's English Playground

After 5 minutes deciding whether I should go for laksa or the Rendang Beef Ginger Rice Set, I finally went for the rice. It cost a whole $50 for the set with a drink included, which is terribly marked up, but if it tasted great then it might make me feel better.

Image from Locky's English Playground

And here it is! The Rendang beef, which I counted there to be about 6 pieces at reasonable size, the ginger rice with fried garlic on top, some pickled cucumber and carrots, two pieces of prawn crackers and a cup of hot teh tarik, which was not "pulled" in any way by the barista.

For a change, I will give you my scores first.

Scores:

Look: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Taste: ★★★☆☆ 3/5

Smell: ★★★☆☆ 3/5

Textures: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Temperature: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Overall: ★★★☆☆ 18/25

Honestly, it looked quite pretty and tidy, no faults at all, though it did not taste as hot and spicy as I expected it to be. Smell was pretty much unnoticeable but the beef was tender and easy to chew, meaning that it had been nicely stewed. The set came immediately out from the kitchen and so the food was hot enough when served, and so in conclusion, it is an alright meal, good for those with a small local stomach (I didn't eat the prawn crackers, I've never liked them). I suppose the same set will taste better in Singapore as I expect it to be more spicy. There's nothing fancy here and what you see is what you get. Don't expect any surprises other than the price you pay.

Vocabulary:
teh tarik -- (n) [U] (literally "pulled tea") is a hot milk tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls and kopi tiams in southeastern Asian countries of Malaysia and Singapore. Its name is derived from the pouring process of "pulling" the drink during preparation. It is made from black tea, condensed milk and/or evaporated milk. It is also considered as the national drink of Malaysia.
barista -- (n)[C] a person who serves customers in a coffee shop (= small restaurant that serves coffee)

Resources:

Toast Box Official Website

http://www.toastbox.com.sg/

Teh tarik @ Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teh_tarik

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/barista?q=barista

Thursday, 27 March 2014

Listening & Video: LegCo's YouTube Page

Image from YouTube

After watching the video below posted by a member of the Tesla Motors Club, I discover this great channel on YouTube which is highly recommended. Great for listening practice and tonnes of English words to learn.

I have also included the Chinese version for your reference.

I'm not going to say much in this post, except the following:

Dr. Fernando Cheung is really unintelligent and he should learn more about the EV productions and battery recycling first before making his points. He should read what I have included below or go read some articles from Tesla Motors Club. There are tonnes of members who have done their research for you, you just need to click and read up.

Dr. Kwok Ka-ki might as well stop using his smartphones and tablets, or even start suggesting taxing smart devices users in Hong Kong because with one more electric device, there will be more greenhouse gases emitted, and there will be energy loss in the process of making it, energy loss in transmission, bla bla bla... Mind him, the total electricity used in the entire Hong Kong is many times more than the electricity used in EVs! Considering the smartphone penetration in Hong Kong is 87%!!! As for Norway, quoting from The Guardian,

"Battery-powered cars in the world's fourth richest country are not just exempt from high rates of purchase tax, and VAT, but pay no road and ferry tolls or parking fees, cost less to insure and can be charged up for free electricity from thousands of points. Local government will also subsidise the installation of charging points in homes. Research suggests the subsidies could be worth nearly £5,000 a year per car."

So FRT is nothing when compared to the EV push in Norway.

I do agree that EVs are not actually a solution to reduction of greenhouse gases, green energy is, and that's why Tesla works with sister company SolarCity to install solar panels everywhere in the States. Hong Kong government should really do something with green energy, then the EVs will truly be green. Which gasoline vehicle can truly be green? None! None!

Every car produces certain level of pollution during manufacturing, and I say "every car", so do not target the EVs. EV batteries can become pollutants if not well-handled, like every part of gasoline vehicle, but for one thing, EV batteries can be recycled in an contained environment to minimise pollution. You tell me, which parts of the gas vehicle batteries can be recycled?

FRT waiver does not mean the Hong Kong government is using tax payers' money to subsidize the EV buyers, it just means that the government is not going to earn the buyers' money as tax.

Resources:
Council meeting(2014/03/26)-III.Motions:Resolution under the Motor Veh.(1st Reg.Tax)Ord. @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfB7YCCnYfM

立法會會議 (2014/03/26) - III. 議案: 根據《汽車(首次登記稅)條例》動議的擬議決議案 @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXXT_mH0jNE

TMC Community @ Tesla Motors Club
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/forumdisplay.php/85-TMC-Community

iPhone doesn’t really use more power than fridge @ MarketWatch
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iphone-uses-100-times-less-electricity-than-fridge-2013-08-20

Tesla's Closed Loop Battery Recycling Program @ Blog | Tesla Motors
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/teslas-closed-loop-battery-recycling-program

Norway has fallen in love with electric cars – but the affair is coming to an end @ Environment | theguardian.com
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/29/norway-electric-cars-sale

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Investment & News: Hong Kong Missing Out On Alibaba And HKTV

Jack Ma's Alibaba is NOT coming to Hong Kong
Image from vulcanpost.com

A huge disappointment for all IPO investors and for Hong Kong, for missing out on one of the biggest initial public offerings in the world of the decade. A big win for New York(ers).

Who is to blame for all the loss of cash? The rigid rules and regulations of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange? Or the "innovative" governance structure that Alibaba insists?

HKTV chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay
Image from SCMP
Photo by Felix Wong

Some will say, rules are rules, and we must follow the rules strictly as to do so, it is the job and the right thing to do. Like the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) continuously tells HKTV to do -- play by the rule. But let's not forget, rules are created by us, and rules must move forward as we move forward. In a world of rapid technological advancement, we are eventually the ones to suffer if we stick to our old rules.

In a South China Morning Post article, Eliza Lee Man-ching, director-general of the OFCA said "Wong seems to have mixed up his role, thinking he is the regulator and asking us to make suggestions as to the broadcasting formats that would ensure legal compliance ... For the first time, I have heard a licence holder demand from the watchdog a promise that they would not be prosecuted if they violated the law," Lee said.

I say, asking yourself, the OFCA, to make suggestions as to the broadcasting formats that would ensure legal compliance is exactly the kind of thing you should do all along over the last 10 years and not to wait until the problems surface, definitely not to wait until the HKTV chairman has to tell you that your lousy VCD-standard broadcasting format is so semi-century!

We are lucky to have true innovators who have the guts and are willingly, constantly fighting for the betterment for the citizens, for mankind. At the same time, we are unfortunate to have politicians who put their own benefits before the people and too many innovation pacifists who hug the ground for stability.

Elon Musk
Image from TIME

Tesla Motor's Chairman, Product Architect & CEO Elon Musk recently wrote a letter to the People of New Jersey on the company's blog after the New Jersey passed a ban on Tesla direct sales model, which means customers cannot buy their cars from the Tesla stores in New Jersey and Tesla cannot talk about pricing to their customers.

Quoting Elon's words, "Governor Christie had promised that this would be put to a vote of the elected state legislature, which is the appropriate way to change the law. When it became apparent to the auto dealer lobby that this approach would not succeed, they cut a backroom deal with the Governor to circumvent the legislative process and pass a regulation that is fundamentally contrary to the intent of the law."

Yes, that means New Jersey decided that they want to protect their auto dealers and allow them to go on ripping off the customers.

"As anyone who has been through the conventional auto dealer purchase process knows, consumer protection is pretty much the furthest thing from the typical car dealer’s mind." -- Elon Musk.

Governor Chris Christie
Image from Tesla Motors Club

Politics kill creativity, every time.

So, back to our Alibaba chat, who are the losers? It's always the general public.

"Alibaba's choice is a blow to Hong Kong's financial industry, in terms of lost prestige, fees and trading volumes. The absence of a large, dynamic tech company will sting the Hong Kong exchange as it tries to diversify its publicly traded stocks away from Greater China financial and property companies, bolstering its status as a global financial centre," Keith Pogson, managing partner for financial services at consulting firm EY in Hong Kong told Reuters.

And the loss keeps increasing by the days as Alibaba continues to go on a shopping spree, first buying 54.33% of Citi 21CN, then 60% of Chinavision, then spending US$215M on messaging and free-calling app Tango, who knows how many more companies he will buy to boost his IPO debut price? What I do know is, the more he buys, the more Hong Kong loses.

For more information, do read From Alibaba To Weibo: Your A-Z Guide To China's Hottest Internet IPOs.

Vocabulary:
watchdog -- (n)[C] a person or organization responsible for making certain that companies obey particular standards and do not act illegally:
lousy -- (adj) Informal very bad
semi-century -- (n)[C] half a century. A time period of 50 years.
innovation pacifist -- (n)[C] people who believe that innovation is wrong, and so opt for not creating anything new

Resources:
News & Opinions: Dark Age of Hong Kong @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2014/03/news-opinions-dark-age-of-hong-kong.html

Barclays Said to Miss Out on Alibaba IPO Fees: Best of the Week @ Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-20/barclays-said-to-miss-alibaba-ipo-fees-by-defying-softbank-s-son.html

Ofca's Eliza Lee slams HKTV's Ricky Wong amid mobile television row @ South China Morning Post
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1449635/ofcas-eliza-lee-slams-hktvs-ricky-wong-amid-mobile-television-row

Ricky Wong and HKTV must play by the rules @ South China Morning Post
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1452289/ricky-wong-and-hktv-must-play-rules

OFCA rejects HKTV complaints @ MENAFN.com
http://www.menafn.com/97d1fc12-2d14-496f-aa46-73931e1bc01c/OFCA-rejects-HKTV-complaints?src=main

To the People of New Jersey @ Blog | Tesla Motors
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/people-new-jersey

After New Jersey ban, Tesla Motors fights to keep Ohio sales @ San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25360831/after-new-jersey-ban-tesla-motors-fights-keep

Alibaba's choice of U.S. IPO spurred by rivals, Hong Kong impasse: sources @ Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-alibaba-ipo-idUSBREA2I0OA20140319

CITIC 21CN (00241.HK) places shares to Alibaba @ AASTOCKS.com - News
http://www.aastocks.com/EN/News/HK6/0/00241/NOW.586332.html

<Resumption Ann>Alibaba buys 60% interest in CHINAVISION (01060.HK) @ AASTOCKS.com - News
http://www.aastocks.com/EN/News/HK6/01060/NOW.593502.html

Alibaba Sinks $215 Million Into Messaging App Tango, Valuing It At More Than $1 Billion @ Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/03/20/exclusive-alibaba-sinks-250-million-into-messaging-app-tango-valuing-it-at-more-than-1-billion/

Pick me (and only me), Alibaba and JD.com told banks @ South China Morning Post
http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1453135/pick-me-and-only-me-alibaba-and-jdcom-told-banks

From Alibaba To Weibo: Your A-Z Guide To China's Hottest Internet IPOs @ Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2014/03/19/from-alibaba-to-weibo-your-a-z-guide-to-chinas-hottest-internet-ipos/2/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/watchdog_1?q=watchdog
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/lousy_1?q=lousy
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_semi_century?#slide=2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/pacifist?q=pacifist
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/pacifism?q=pacifism

Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Slang: 3 X 9 Urban Dictionary Definitions (Rated R)

Image from BuzzFeed

Busy and lazy, but doesn't mean I stop learning. Many new urban words /slang words are basically word play based on portmanteau. For more detailed description of portmanteau, do read Vocabulary: Do You Wordplay? -- Portmanteau and Vocabulary & TV: Do You Wordplay? -- Portmanteau (Advanced).

Now, let's watch and learn!

Subnote:

Moobs is a portmanteau of "man boobs".
Cock block is someone who prevents another from scoring sexually.

Subnote:
disasterbate -- (vb) see Vocabulary

Subnote:
spork -- (n) = spoon + fork
spooning -- (n) A form of affection between a couple. Where the man lays front to back with the girl. They fit together like spoons.
shexting -- (n) = see Vocabulary

So, do you like it? Told you English is a playground! It's much more fun to learn than Oxford's update.

Vocabulary:
farte blanche -- (n) The liberty to pass gas freely without fear of discovery

bropocalypse -- (n) = bro + apocalypse, A large gathering of bros on a mission to do one thing, to get bombed, tanked, or wasted usually ending in some people doing something stupid.

make it snow -- It is similar to "making it rain", except that instead of throwing dollar bills, one is so rich that they are able to throw diamonds. In effect, making it snow. Diamonds can be substituted for a large quantity of cocaine.

dankrupt -- (n) = dank + bankrupt, to be out of marijuana

dank -- (n) Also an expression requently used by stoners and hippies for something of high quality.

moob -- (n) = man + boob, this is what happens when fat gathers in a male's chest area, and gives him the appearance of having breasts.
Usually seen in overweight males, but can strangely also occur in men who are not really overweight.

clam jam -- (n) The female equivalent to the cock block.
cock block -- (n) One who prevents another from scoring sexually.

nocialize -- (vb) = no + socialise, to ignore your friends in public for your smartphone

meat sweat -- (n) To consume an obscene amount of meat resulting in perfused sweating.

screwvenir -- (n) anything that you keep (whether stolen or given to you) from someone's house after you've slept with them.

YOLO -- Abbreviation for: you only live once. The dumbass's excuse for something stupid that they did. Also one of the most annoying abbreviations ever....

rendezbooze -- (n) = rendezvous + booze, when a group of people (friends, co-workers, acquaintances) get together to drink.

struggle bus -- (n) Used to metaphorically describe a difficult situation, as in hard school work. The word struggle can also be used in conjunction with other modes of transport, describing the depth to which one is struggling (i.e. struggle scooter, struggle skateboard, struggle footwear).

sniff test -- (n) To test if an item of already worn clothing is suitable to wear out. common amongst students who cant be bothered to do their washing.

chipmunking -- (n) The act of watching numerous recorded university lectures at 2x speed in a futile attempt to cover an entire semesters material the day before the final exam.

dweet -- (n) = drunk + tweet, a Twitter tweet sent when drunk.

shamble -- (n) when an event degenerates into a random, confusing state; a complete mess.

peegret -- (n) the feeling that you made a terrible mistake by not taking a leak at the office or home or wooded lot that you just left because you are, or know you soon will be, DYING to take a piss and you don't have an acceptable place to do it.

ninja sex -- (n) having noiseless sex (no squeaking springs or vocals) while one or more people are passed out in the same room.

college morning -- (n) afternoon

disasterbate -- (v) = disaster + masterbate, the act of maserbating and someone interrupts the act, just at the point of climax but before the actual ejaculation, so you have no option but to just put your junk back in you pants and cum all over the the inside of your shorts.

sporking -- (n) = spoon + fork, the act of spooning with the addition of an erection.

spooning -- (n) A form of affection between a couple. Where the man lays front to back with the girl. They fit together like spoons.

store d'oeuvres -- (n) = store + hors d'oeuvre, snacks and food samples that a grocery store will serve at various locations in order to tempt the patrons into buying something they weren't planning on (pizza, chips and dip, sausage, etc.). Usually happens on the weekend.

hors d'oeuvre -- (n) (literally "apart from the [main] work") or the first course, are food items served before the main courses of a meal, typically smaller than main dishes, and often meant to be eaten by hand (with minimal use of silverware). The French (singular and plural) is hors d’œuvre.

clutch oven -- (n) to fart in a car full of people, crank the heat for maximum effectiveness.

man stand -- (n) The act of a man standing outside a shop while his wife/girlfriend/partner shops inside. Man Standing involves looking into space, at other women, or in the case of multi story shopping centers, leaning on the railings of an upper floor watching the people below.

nerdjack -- (vb) to dominate conversation wit talk of obscure passionIn conversation, digressing into extreme and/or unnecessary detail about one’s passion (music, coding, gaming) to an otherwise uninitiated layperson, without awareness or acknowledgement of the listener’s rapidly waning interest or lack of understanding of the subject at hand.

irish handcuffs -- (n) when a person is carrying an alcoholic beverage in both hands at the same time.

manther -- (n) = man + panther, the male version of a cougar; an older man who preys on younger women.

cougar -- (n) An older woman who frequents clubs in order to score with a much younger man. The cougar can be anyone from an overly surgically altered wind tunnel victim, to an absolute sad and bloated old horn-meister, to a real hottie or milf. Cougars are gaining in popularity -- particularly the true hotties -- as young men find not only a sexual high, but many times a chick with her shit together.

mompetition -- (n) = mon + competition, the one-up rivalry that moms play making their child seem better, smarter, and/ or more advanced than yours. May involve two or more moms and any number of children, even full-grown.

interesting -- (adj) Something which arouses no interest at all.

shexting -- (n) = shitting + texting, texting your friends, loved ones or even your annoying co-workers whilst taking a dump on the porcelain throne. Shitting plus texting equals shexting.

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Science & Videos: Cool Science Cool YouTube Channels

The Principle of Comparative Advantage
Image from OUlearn

What am I watching these days? Well, science, technology, auto, the usual, except that my scope has broadened. Today I would like to share some of the great channels and video with you all!

First and foremost, Hard Science, hosted by Antony Carboni and Tara Long from DNews. The science, the knowledge and the demo are amazing, it's real, and the cinematography plus the editing is awesome! The multi-camera filming from different angle, the bokeh, the cuts are all just entertaining and delightful to the eyes!

Tested.com has a YouTube channel that talks about all awesome IT stuff and I particularly like the videos that have Mythbusters host Adam Savage in them because he always has incredible toys to share.

We know Hong Kong companies like Hot Toys can do wonders with Ironman, now there is another one, Robugtix!

Vsauce by Michael offers quick yet info-packed scientific summaries of unapparent everyday norms in his videos. He asks great questions and then answers them with research data he did through intensive reading, something that every researcher, including myself, should do and learn to do.

Nature Hates You is evil-wittily hilariously voice-overed by Anthony Carboni from Dnews. I enjoy watching every episode to date!!! Pay special attention to the text / speech bubbles without bubbles in the videos, they are the best!!! "Subscribe or Die!"

And we have our final one for the day, OUlearn, from The Open University. They have many "X seconds in ubject Y" or "Y minutes in subject Z" that are excellent to learn! And the best part is, it's cartoon!!!! Total motivation boosters as we go into the science of economics, languages and of course, science itself.

Here's one:

So learning can be this fun through YouTube!!!

Resources:
Winter Sledding in the Summer - Hard Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmBnGH9cfjk

Exploding Elephant Toothpaste - Hard Science @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Pl0WTkOBg

Inside Adam Savage's Cave: Awesome Robot Spider! @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vVblGlIMgw

Event: Iron Man 3 Hot Toys "Suit Up At Hysan Place" @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2013/04/event-iron-man-3-hot-toys-suit-up-at.html

TV & Vocabulary: Mythbusters & English Idioms @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/11/tv-vocabulary-mythbusters-english-idioms.html

How Much Money is There on Earth? @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2tKg3E53DM

Robugtix
http://www.robugtix.com

How Much Does a Shadow Weigh? @ YouTube

http://youtu.be/Do1lm9IevYE

BABIES HATE YOU! @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/moYp1hZSNJo

BACON HATES YOU! @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/RUo1SUJfSSI

60 Second Adventures in Economics (combined) @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/LCRNI04tnN8

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

News & Opinions: Dark Age of Hong Kong

Titled: "Hong Kong: The Facts"
Image from gov.hk

What has Hong Kong become?

Is there any fairness or justice?

It is a dark age Hong Kong is in.

"You pwned it all!!!"
Image from SCMP
Photo by Felix Wong

"I think it's not obstructing me and HKTV but all Hongkongers," entertainment entrepreneur and businessman Ricky Wong said in yesterday's press conference.

Can governments change policies abruptly and silently to target certain company they are against?

Supposedly, morally, legally? No. Ludicrously and brutally? Yes.

Betrayal? Ultra vires? Naive? Eating its own CCI (cultural and creative industries) words? Government's U-turn is a common sense?

Perhaps creative industries in Hong Kong is one whole pile of jokes.

Perhaps nothing matters ...

Perhaps only stability matters. If nothing changes, then nothing will go wrong.

But is this true? This reminds me of a famous quote,

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil,

but because of those who look on and do nothing." -- Albert Einstein

Creativity involves risk-taking, requires one to break rules, think out of the box! And HKTV isn't even breaking rules or laws!!! They are just being bullied and suffocated to death by sheer political powers!

After this huge international joke, who is ever willing to invest in creative industry in Hong Kong?

)

Vocabulary:
ludicrously -- (adv) stupid or unreasonable and deserving to be laughed at:
brutally -- (adv) cruel, violent, and completely without feelings:
betrayal -- (n) [C or U] an act of betraying someone or something, or the fact of someone or something being betrayed:
ultra vires -- (n) Ultra vires is a Latin phrase meaning literally "beyond powers", and slightly less literally (from interpolating the definite article "the", not found in Latin) "beyond [the] powers", although its standard legal translation and substitute is "beyond power". If an act requires legal authority and it is done with such authority, it is characterised in law as intra vires (nearly literally "within [the] powers", after interpolating "the"; standard legal translation and substitute, "within power"). If it is done without such authority, it is ultra vires. Acts that are intra vires may equivalently be termed "valid" and those that are ultra vires "invalid".
U-turn -- (n)[C] (figuratively) A reversal of policy; a volte-face, a backflip
suffocate -- (vb)[ I or T] to (cause someone to) die because they do not have enough oxygen:
sheer -- (adj) [before noun] used to emphasize how very great, important, or powerful a quality or feeling is; nothing except:

Resources:
News & Opinions: HKTV and the Hong Kong People @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/10/news-opinions-hktv-and-hong-kong-people.html

TV road comes to a dead end
http://thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=143392&sid=41786371&con_type=1

Ricky Wong plans court action as HKTV plans hit 'dead end' @ South China Morning Post
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1446403/hktv-postpones-mobile-tv-launch-after-unfavorable-reply-broadcasting

The Four Key Industries and Other Selected Industries - Publications @ Census and Statistics Department
http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp80.jsp

Hong Kong: The Facts @ Gov.hk
http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/creative_industries.pdf

Why Liars Are More Creative @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/e5fTLeJMf4E

Albert Einstein @ Wikiquote
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

Ultra Vires @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_vires

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/ludicrous?q=ludicrously+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/brutal?q=brutally+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/betrayal?q=betrayal+
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/U-turn
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/suffocate_1?q=suffocate+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/sheer_1?q=sheer

Friday, 7 March 2014

Culture & Baby Care: "Don't Wash Your Hair!" -- 10 Weirdest Traditional Chinese Advices On Pregnancy in Hong Kong

Pregnancy in Hong Kong is more than just having that baby
Image from memecentre.com

Talk to any Hong Konger in Hong Kong and they will know tonnes about traditional Chinese "advices" on pregnancy. Here are some of the weirdest:

1. Don't wash your hair after giving birth (don't even touch water if possible)!!

Oily hair?
Image from popsci.com

Why is water such an evil for the new mother? Logical theories behind this is that water could get into the wounds causing infections. Illogical theories go further to say even your hands, face an even hair should not come into contact with water because doing so will allow "cold wind" to enter your body, causing joint pain and headache at old age.

IMHO, who doesn't get joint pain and headache at old age anyway? Also, this might be true in the old days when people live in cottages and farmlands without electricity such that they cannot enjoy a quick body dry with a heater and a hairdryer, but we are now lucky enough to have them accessible almost immediately allowing us the warmest air the moment we step out of the water! How on earth can anything cold get to us?

The key is to maintain good personal hygiene, especially when the mother is still at hospital. You don't want your baby to drink dirty milk or touch by your germy hands!

What my wife did is, she showered and washed her hair since day 1 and then lied to all our parents.

2. Use ginger peel to boil water for bath (to remove "cold wind" from the body)!!

Ginger peel
Image from penandfork

"Okay, if you must have shower or bath, use boiled ginger peel water." Most Hong Kong mothers will consider this an amazing moment when their parents finally let them touch water after a month of "dry spell". While Chinese medicine believes that ginger does have the "expelling wind" property, how much "wind" can be expelled from the body while having that water running down the body in seconds? Take note, you don't get continuous water flow from the shower head in this case, just water from buckles. Yup, the Japanese bath house style.

Japanese bathing
Image from melbuttle.com.au

3. Don't say anything good or bad about your baby!!

"I heard you say good things about me! Now I'm gonna be bad! Real bad!!"
Image from cookylamoo.com

This is classic! I am the victim of this rule for all so many times!!! When I praised by baby, my parents will snap at me,

"Don't you say that! The baby will get angry!"

What this means is, the baby will behave just the opposite of what good has been said about her as soon as she hears it. Taboo!! At first, I found this laughable, but after much snapping from both my mum and MIL, I have learned to try very hard to shut up. The most ridiculous thing is, they are allowed to say good things about the baby, just not me and my wife!!!

If you consider this a logic, then saying bad things about the baby would work. Unfortunately, wrong again! I still get snapped! What am I supposed to say about my baby then? Should I say "I think she is really ****!"?

4. Don't tell anyone you are pregnant in the first 3 months (or first trimester)!!

Shhhhhh!!!!!
Image from doggenie.com

Yet another taboo is to tell others you are pregnant in the first 3 months or the first trimester because the foetus will get angry and decide to opt for a miscarriage.

WHAT ON EARTH!! Does this make any sense to you? I would really love to know the statistics for this myth because if miscarriage is that easy, then that will be a great news for countries with birth control problem!

5. Drink more fish soup, then you'll have more breast milk!!

Fish soup or fish meat? Or simply meat?
Image from whatsonxiamen.com

I understand the rationale of a protein-high diet, but why must it be fish soup? Haven't all dieticians already said that drinking soup alone does not add much protein but instead one should eat those meats in the soup?

So don't just drink soup, eat soup!

But then if one should eat meat, then why must it be from the soup? Why can't the meat be an individual dish?

6. Don't let pregnant lady touch your baby's head!!

If a pregnant woman touches your baby's head, your baby will get sick!
Image from aboutyournewborn.files.wordpress.com

This one is related to the transfer of bad luck from the foetus to the baby? Or is it the absorption of the baby's good luck by the pregnant mum then transferring it to her own foetus? No idea! I don't think the possibility of casting a curse by a normal female is high in this case, just make sure she doesn't have a wand in her hand and she doesn't say "Avada Kedavra!"

8. Rest at home and don't go anywhere a month before and after delivery!!

Friends gathering and shopping really help a pregnant woman psychologically
Image form humptybumptykids.com

I get it, it is to stay away from germs and bacteria, dusty air, pollutions and dangers, but hey, one will get crazy and all moody if one is being locked up for 2 whole months!! What about all those psychological health issues? Don't we need to care about it? My wife had a breakdown after much pressure from her mum and all these weird advices! I seriously think that post-natal depression is actually caused by ill advices from mothers!!!

The solution? Ran out, escaped and shopped!!! So gentlemen, encourage your wife to get out there!

9. Eating "cold" food will lead to miscarriage!!

So, consuming "cold" food in the Chinese term, refers to fruits such as watermelons, mango, etc. and actually cold food in terms of temperature such as ice-cream, cold soda, etc. AGAIN will kill the baby in the first 9 months of pregnancy, but they are fine in the final month.

Statistics! Where are you? Hello!

For the fruits, I can only see the health benefits of them. For cold food, it takes so little energy to warm the cold food back up in the stomach! The mother's body regulates the temperature and so none of those cold stuff will actually get pass your baby's umbilical cord!

10. Don't put nails on anything, don't move your bed, don't renovate your house!!

Moving Earth?
Image from CNET

Feng shui has this thing called "Moving Earth", if you do any of the above, you are "moving earth" and so you disrupt the stability of your home, hence your baby in the wome. Is it fine then after baby's delivery? Well, Feng shui-speaking, yes, but you don't want your baby breathing in chemicals and dust anyway.

Okay, but this only explains why you shouldn't renovate your house, what about moving bed and nailing things? I don't see a single logical argument in these two.

I'm sure there are so much more you can think of, why do you share with me some from your culture?

Vocabulary:
IMHO -- (internet slang) In My Humble / Honest Opinion
snap -- (vb) [I or T] to say something suddenly in an angry way:
MIL -- (internet slang) Mother-in-law
taboo -- (n)[C] an action or word that is avoided for religious or social reasons:
dietician -- (n)[C] (also dietitian) a person who scientifically studies and gives advice about food and eating
foetus -- (n)[C] (US also fetus) a young human being or animal before birth, after the organs have started to develop
post-natal depression -- (n) Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, typically after childbirth.
umbilical cord -- (n)[C] In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or funiculus umbilicalis) is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta.

Resources:
Post-natal depression @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-natal_depression

What do “heaty” and “cooling” in TCM really mean? @ Men's Health Singapore
http://www.menshealth.com.sg/health/what-do-%E2%80%9Cheaty%E2%80%9D-and-%E2%80%9Ccooling%E2%80%9D-tcm-really-mean

What are Heaty and Cooling Foods?
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/heaty.html

Does Drinking Ice Water Burn Calories? @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/DbUa10nJ3r4

Feng Shui 2014 @ Lotus Fengshui
http://www.lotusfengshui.co.uk/yearly-updates/feng-shui-2014/

Umbilical Cord @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbilical_cord

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/snap_4
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/dietitian?q=dietician+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/foetus?q=foetus+
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Killing_Curse

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Auto & News: Tesla's Gigafactory feat. SolarCity

All images from Tesla Motors Blog

This is a really good news for Tesla, for the customers, for the stocks and the world. For one thing, the gigafactory can produce enough of batteries for 500,000 vehicles which could meet Tesla's ambition to sell electric vehicles worldwide, including a huge number expected in China; for another, it helps to lower cost of battery pack cost per kWh by more than 30%. So by the time Gen III or Model E comes out, there will be enough batteries at low cost to go around. Tesla is a fair company, and thus I believe that when the production cost of the battery does lower, they will keep their words to lower the selling price of the Gen III cars by 50%.

There is another perspective for this Gigafactory and I find it pretty interesting, video is embedded below.

I do not agree with the guy saying that the fire is still under investigation, since NHTSA has reaffirmed the Model S 5-Star Safety Rating. What I do agree is that Tesla is moving into a more autonomous company with this gigafactory and should there be any extra batteries produced, it will become a source of income. For one thing, Tesla does not have to sell their batteries cheap if they are not sold with the cars, so if the cars get a lower selling price, the non-EV batteries need not.

Image from SolarCity

Will this benefit Tesla's sister company SolarCity? SolarCity is already working closely with Tesla in terms of the installation of solar panels for the residential and commercial customers. And now that it is even offering an industrial-grade battery built by Tesla to store solar power!

Essentially, what it means is, SolarCity will always be supporting Tesla Motors to go further while maintaining certain amount of stable income. With customers such as Wal-Mart Stores and Google, its business will just get bigger. For the solar industry, it is about the amount of power it can produce, and from its plan to up the ante from 278 Mw this year to 475 Mw-525Mw next year, the company is aiming for 70.9% to 88.8% increase in revenue!

Whether the expectation will drive SolarCity higher or not, Tesla will always benefit first hand! No wonder Tesla's stock market has hit a high 644% this year!

Vocabulary
up the ante -- If you up the ante, you increase your demands or the risks in a situation in order to achieve a better result:

Resources:
Investors unprepared for Tesla’s growing pains @ Yahoo! Finance
http://www.quamnet.com/newscontent.action?articleId=3467418

Gigafactory | Blog @ Tesla Motors
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_attachments/gigafactory.pdf

A Fair Price @ Tesla Motors
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/fair-price

Auto & Opinions: Concerns Of A Prospective Tesla Model S Owner @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2014/02/auto-opinions-concerns-of-prospective.html

What Texas Must Overcome To Land Tesla's Gigafactory @ Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2014/03/03/what-texas-must-overcome-to-land-teslas-gigafactory/?partner=yahootix

Elon Musk calls electric car cross country journey historical milestone @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Op-cRc54sc

NHTSA REAFFIRMS MODEL S 5-STAR SAFETY RATING IN ALL CATEGORIES FOR MODEL YEAR 2014 @ Tesla Motor Blog
http://www.teslamotors.com/about/press/releases/nhtsa-reaffirms-model-s-5star-safety-rating-all-categories-model-year-2014

Tesla Motor's New Battery Factory Could Send SolarCity Soaring @ Fool.com
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/28/tesla-motors-new-battery-factory-could-send-solarc.aspx

Tesla's Industrial-Grade Solar Power Storage System @ Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-06/tesla-s-industrial-grade-solar-power-storage-system.html

SolarCity Uses Tesla's Batteries to Pair Power Storage With Panels @ Businessweek
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-06/teslas-solar-power-storage-unit

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/up-the-ante?q=up+the+ante