Culture: Cultures You Shouldn't Miss Out

Felix Baumgartner jumped from 128,100 ft
Image from guim.co.uk

There are definitely a lot going on these days, some extremely exciting, some you might not even notice, hence the title of this post.

First off, Austrian Red Bull jumper Felix Baumgartner jumped from the stratosphere at a world record height of 39,045 metres (128,100 ft) or just over 39 kilometres (24 mi) and landed on Earth's soil again safely. He took this risk-taking culture to a height never before!! It was absolutely breath-taking even watching the video clips, madness!!!

This jump really made his own jump from Taipei 101 look super easy!

Some people are asking why there is still gravity at stratosphere, well of course there is!!! Although less than a person is at sea level, Felix still experienced gravity at that height. Think about it, how can there be tides if the moon's gravity isn't affecting the movement of the ocean? There is still gravity even in outer space!! Not hard to see if you still remember this formula from secondary school,

Image from Wikipedia

Image from FOX

Second, America's favourite family The Simpsons is back on TV in the US for another season, but it was not always liked by everyone.

TheFW has an article titled 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘The Simpsons’, Fox television wanted to kill The Simpsons family in the early days, luckily, that never happened and now we can still watch this yellowish family today.

Image from Scott Olson, Getty Image

Former First Lady Barbara Bush didn't like the family that much back in 1990 and told People Magazine that The Simpsons "was the dumbest thing I had ever seen". What happened after that?

Image from FOX

The FW reports,

Soon after the interview hit the stands, the White House received a personalized letter from Marge Simpson addressed to the First Lady. Marge admitted her family wasn't perfect but she told Mrs. Bush that she still tried to instill humility in her children and “believed in my heart that we have a great deal in common. Each of us [is] living our lives to serve an exceptional man.” The letter so moved Mrs. Bush that she wrote a response apologizing for her remarks and complementing Marge for “setting a good example for the rest of the country.”

This 24-season Simpson's culture isn't any cartoon can compare!

Then as I was reading off some news from Google News, I ran into a really interesting website which talks about the things that people often missed out when they watched movies, and that website if ZergNet,

Image from ZergNet

It has many intriguing topics such as

1. 10 Superheroes Who Really Don't Need Their Own Movie, 
2. Top 10 Most Paused Movie Moments, 
3. The 10 Biggest Movie Mistakes, 
4. The 19 Best Movies That You Didn't See in 2011, 
5. The 10 Most Gruesome Deaths In Film, etc.

Everything you really can't miss reading! If you want to get some topics for chats, this attractive website is the place to spend time on. Highly recommended!

Finally, in football gaming culture, there is Football Manager 2013 which will be on the 2nd November!! I have been waiting this since FM 2011 because I didn't play 2012, this upcoming version is definitely something I won't miss. Football lovers who want to taste the feeling of management, buying and selling football players, this is a game you can't live without!

That's all for today!

Vocabulary:
first off / first of all -- before anything else
stratosphere -- (n) [S] the layer of gases surrounding the Earth at a height of between 15 and 50 kilometres, which is not affected by the weather and in which the temperature increases with height
breathtaking -- (adj) extremely exciting, beautiful or surprising
madness -- (n) [U] the state of being mentally ill, or unable to behave in a reasonable way, also means awesome
instill -- (vb) (-ll-) UK (US instill) to put a feeling, idea or principle gradually into someone's mind, so that it has a strong influence on the way they think or behave
humility -- (n) [U] the quality of not being proud because you are conscious of your bad qualities



Resources:

Red Bull Stratos 120000 ft/36km jump Felix Baumgartner HD @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAeB4K8yDT0

Felix Baumgartner Unlikely To Cash In On Red Bull Space Jump
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/10/15/felix-baumgartner-unlikely-to-cash-in-on-red-bull-space-jump/

Felix Baumgartner BASE jump from world's tallest building, Taipei 101 Tower, Taipei, Taiwan @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWojBhx4ooc

The Simpson @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘The Simpsons’ @ thefw
http://thefw.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-the-simpsons/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_29176

10 Superheroes Who Really Don't Need Their Own Movie @ ZergNet
http://www.zergnet.com/news/29894/10-superheroes-who-really-dont-need-their-own-movie

Football Manager 2013 Release Date Announced @ IGN
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/28/football-manager-2013-release-date-announced

The tractor beam pull of the new Football Manager 2013
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/bootroom/id/32?cc=4716

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/american-english/first-of-all?q=first+off
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/the-stratosphere?q=stratosphere+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/breathtaking?q=breathtaking
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/madness_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/instil?q=instill+#instil__3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/humility?q=humility+

Movie & TV: JAWS and I

Image from Michael Offutt

I am a total shark lover as many of you know, I don't eat shark fins or any other shark products, I educate others to love sharks and protect sharks, but how did all that love begin?

Ironically, it all began in a movie, JAWS.

Image from Wikipedia

Originally written by Peter Benchley, JAWS was the novel that attracted then-27-year-old direction Steven Spielberg and turned it into a summer blockbuster in 1975. Audience around the world were horrified by the shark thriller and marked an extremely negative image of sharks in their minds like a scorch mark on the face.

Except for me. I just fell in love with sharks in first sight.

I just think they are extremely beautiful animals of the sea -- so powerful yet so gentle when they swim, so streamlined and smooth yet so rough and fearsome when hunting, so lonely yet so sociable, so complex their characters yet so unique in every individual; some eats seals, some eat whales, some eat human trash, some eat nothing but as tiny as planktons.

Not sure if Peter Benchley knew he had created love for sharks for people like me, I think most likely not, but definitely what Peter Benchley didn't know was that his story, after being blockbusterised by Spielberg, became the very root reason of decades of mindless shark massacre.  He himself was extremely upset after he discovered that his novel and the movie he co-screenwritten brainwashed the world, thus he went on to write many non-fiction works to educate and advocate shark conservation.

Discovery Channel celebrated Shark Week 25-Yrs and one of the episodes How JAWS Changed The World talks about exactly how a single movie changed the destiny of an entire species of fish, both in good ways and horrible ways.

One of the few good ways not known to many, was that the movie which eventually drove many people to maniacal shark killing was also the movie that sprung up the occupation of marine biologist, thanks to the character of Matt Hooper. I also dreamed about becoming a marine biologist one day, I still do, but for the living, that dream has to wait.

Long-fin Blue Sharks
Image from The Fine Art Print Gallery

How JAWS Changed The World is a must-watch for anyone especially for younger generations. The future of the sharks, the oceans and human race depend on the them. The show tells many sides of the story by adding the latest scientific researches and findings on sharks, correcting many misconceptions and even unravelling mysteries about these apex hunters that has lived since the age of the dinosaurs. Highly recommended!

If you too want to watch the show, here's a BT seed, https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9emHQBd5COmSXZMOXg1WlAtaHc

Footage seen at the end of every House M.D. episode
Image from House M.D.

Finally, I have watched the movie JAWS over 100 times in my life, sometimes twice a day when I was a child, this is how much I love sharks. But the last time I watched it was probably 15 years ago. It was only till yesterday when I watched it again that I found out exactly what every line in the movie was actually saying. To my surprise, I also discover the origin of the line "That's some bad hat, Harry!" which I hear every time when an episode of the drama House. M.D. ends.

Image from JAWS

And this is really cool! I never knew that this line was in fact from JAWS.

No Trading, No Killing.

Vocabulary:
blockbuster -- (n)[C] a book or film that is very successful, especially because it is exciting a book or film that is very successful, especially because it is exciting
scorch -- (vb) [I or T] to (cause to) change colour with dry heat, or to burn slightly
plankton -- (n)[U] very small plants and animals which float on the surface of the sea and on which other sea animals feed
decade -- (n) [C] a period of ten years, especially a period such as 1860 to 1869, or 1990 to 1999
mindless -- (adj) disapproving stupid and meaning nothing
massacre -- (n) [C] an act of killing a lot of people
advocate -- (vb) [T] to publicly support or suggest an idea, development or way of doing something
conservation -- (n) the protection of plants and animals, natural areas, and interesting and important structures and buildings, especially from the damaging effects of human activity
maniacal -- (adj) describes a cry or laugh that is loud and wild
unravel -- (vb) [I or T] If you unravel a mysterious, unknown or complicated subject, you make it known or understood, and if it unravels, it becomes known or understood
apex -- (n) figurative the highest point or most successful part of something


Resources:

JAWS @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_(film)

Peter Benchley @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Benchley

The Inspiration for Jaws | How Jaws Changed the World -- Shark Week 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55c0hXx-mBU

The Shark Cage from Jaws | How Jaws Changed the World -- Shark Week 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndHsMjA8Swc

Shark Week 25 Yrs @ Discovery Channel
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/shark-week/tv-shows.html

Michael Offutt: Is Jaws the only good shark story?
http://slckismet.blogspot.hk/2012/09/is-jaws-only-good-shark-story.html

Shark.Week.2012.How.Jaws.Changed.The.World.480p.HDTV.x264-mSD.torrent
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9emHQBd5COmSXZMOXg1WlAtaHc

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/blockbuster?q=blockbuster+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/scorch_1?q=scorch
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/plankton?q=plankton+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/decade?q=decade+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mindless?q=mindless+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/massacre_1?q=massacre+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/advocate_1?q=advocate+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/conservation?q=conservation
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/maniacal?q=maniacal+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/unravel_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/apex_1

Grammar: In / At / Of / On / For / From ... Which (Active Voice)

Image from funderstanding

In today's lesson, my student Tommy asked me a nice question and it is worth a lengthy article on the English Playground.

In FORMAL writing, we often see the structure " In / At / Of / On / For / From ... Which", most of the time they are easy to understand when reading, but not so simple when one has to write like that.

Let's begin with the ACTIVE VOICE, since they are easier to understand. My examples will be casual ones for your easy understanding.


eg.
ParkNShop is a supermarket which sells various products.

I guess no one will have trouble with this sentence.

1) ParkNShop is a supermarket in which you can buy various products.

In this case, in which is the same as WHERE, and we can understand this because we also say "in a supermarket"

2) ParkNShop is a supermarket at which you can do shopping.

Again, because we also say "at a supermarket", so we can use at which and it has the same meaning as where once again.

Thus, from the previous examples, we can easily see 1) and 2) are transformations of the sentences,
"You can buy various products in a supermarket such as ParkNShop" and
"You can do shopping in a supermarket such as ParkNShop".

I'm not promoting for ParkNShop, just use it because it sounds more familiar to our Hong Kong readers.

____________________________________

Moving onto "of which".

To make it obvious that I'm not promoting ParkNShop, here are some new examples,

eg.
3) There are many fruits for sale. All of which are/is overpriced. 

You can see of which means THEM or THOSE. Are is more common than is.

4) There are many fruits for sale. Some of which are/is rotten. Are is more common than is.

Same as 3).

5) There are many fruits for sale. One of which is banana.

Same as 3) and 4).

6) There are many fruits for sale, of which the cheapest is banana.

Same as "the cheapest of those is banana."

____________________________________

Moving onto "on which","for which" and "from which",

The basic rule of grammar still stays, which means that on, for (in fact, with in, at, of) depends on the SUBJECT.

eg.
7) The day on which I lost my wallet was the day I went to do my grocery shopping.

Same as "that" or "which".

8) My desktop PC had been a tool and a friend for which I am grateful.

Same as "I am grateful for my desktop PC as it had been a tool and a friend to me".

9) The country from which I came was at war all the time.

Same as "I came from a country which was at war all the time".

A point I must emphasize is that this list is NOT at all exhaustive, other possible usage will hopefully be covered in another entry in the near future.



Vocabulary:

overpriced -- (adj) too expensive
grocery -- (n) [C] (UK also grocery shop , US also grocery store) old-fashioned a grocer's from groceries [plural] the food that you buy in a grocer's shop or supermarket
exhaustive -- (adj) complete or thorough

Resources:


Learning English @ BBC World Service
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv286.shtml

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/overpriced?q=overpriced
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/grocery_1?q=grocery+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/grocery_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/exhaustive?q=exhaustive

Technology & Opinion: "You're Holding It Wrong!" Apple Explains iPhone 5 Camera Flare

Purple flare from iPhone 5 Camera
Image from inquisitr.com

Man! Last week I just wrote an article Technology & Opinions: My Views on Android VS iOS expressing my appreciation of the iPhone 5, and it was just a weekend before Apple ruined it all again!

In my last article, I never mentioned the iPhone 5 camera flare problem, mainly because it was actually a really minor problem. It is a mistake in terms of hardware design but it is nothing that a software update (iOS 6.1 or 7) cannot solve. No big deal really!

But Apple decided to turn a small deal to a BIG DEAL.

Image from 9to5mac

No one can help Apple if they want to make a fool of themselves, taking photos at an angle or shielding light with your hand, what an irony!!! How to take good photos without good lighting? Long-term solutions, dude, not short-term palliatives.

So sorry for those guys who like to include the sun, bright light, reflections in their photos, because iPhone 5 is not going to allow that kind of photography. Light iPhoneography bye bye.

Image from Gizmodo

Now, getting people to pay big money for your sub-par iPhone 5, fine; denying and normalising the problem, bad bad bad; implying that the users are holding the phone wrong and shift the blames to the users, unforgivable!!!

A camera must be capable of taking any photos no matter where the user points the camera to, otherwise, it is simply unqualified. Asking the users to perform certain maneuver to avoid the problem is laughably ridiculous! How on earth can Apple even allow this kind of answers from their customer support? Don't they know this is going to earn them a very poor reputation? Why not just go into the root of the matter and say "we'll be rolling out a fix in the next iOS update very soon to remove the magenta flare"?

Another public apology waiting for Tim Cook.


Vocabulary:

shield -- (vb) [T] to protect someone or something
irony -- (n) [U] a situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result has the opposite or a very different result
palliative -- (n)[C] formal something that makes a problem seem less serious but does not solve the problem or make it disappear 
sub-par -- (adj) worse than the usual or expected standard:
normalize -- [I or T] to return to the normal or usual situation
maneuver -- (n) [C] a movement or set of movements needing skill and care
laughably -- (adv) from laughable -- (adj) silly and not deserving to be seriously considered


Resources:

Technology & Opinions: My Views on Android VS iOS @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/10/technology-opinions-my-views-on-android.html

iPhone: Camera image effects @ Apple.com
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4436

Weekend Tidbits: Apple explains lens flare, AT&T returns cut to 14 days, T-Mobile gets iPhone 5 nano SIMs @ 9to5Mac
http://9to5mac.com/2012/10/07/weekend-tidbits-apple-explains-lens-flare-att-returns-cut-to-14-days-t-mobile-gets-iphone-5-nano-sims/

Apple Acknowledges iPhone 5 Camera Problem, Says You're Holding It Wrong @ Gizmodo
http://gizmodo.com/5947972/apple-acknowledges-iphone-5-camera-problem-says-youre-holding-it-wrong

Apple Addresses iPhone 5 Camera's 'Purple Halo' Issue @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OS3FS5knNM

Photography: Galaxyography VS iPhoneography @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2012/07/photography-galaxyography-vs.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/shield_2?q=shielding+#shield_2__3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/palliative?q=palliative
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/irony_1?q=irony
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/par?q=sub-par
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/normalize_1?q=normalising+#normalize_1__3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/maneuver?q=maneuver+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/laughable?q=laughable

Technology & Opinions: My Views on Android VS iOS

Android vs Apple
Image from imagesexplore

I used to have a strong stand as to why Android is better than iOS, and why Android devices are better than the Apple devices. I used to think people should all switch to Android devices, but now I'm happy to say, I no longer think the same. I have learnt to appreciate Apple more and the importance of having Apple in the smartphone industry. That doesn't mean I have switched away from Android or Samsung, I will still choose Android or Samsung over iOS or iDevices, but good things must be appreciated, and here's my new perspective in this technological smart mobile tug-of-war.

"People see what they want to see." -- Gregory House M.D.

If you remember that in an earlier article, I posted a video of Americans actually given an iPhone 4S while being told it was an iPhone 5 subconsciously thought the "new" phone was better, lighter and faster.

Some may think that is really funny to watch, but being capable of implanting this idea in so many people's heads, Apple had to do some miraculous marketing in order to reach this level of mindset altering. Creating Halo Effect is easier said than done, but Apple managed to achieve this with immense success.

The iPhone 5 has been mocked by many as being nothing special but longer and harder; the Apple Map was so terribly inaccurate that Tim Cook has to publicly apologise;

the design cannot be distinguished even if I look at the 4S and the 5 side by side, I even think the longer-yet-not-wider iPhone 5 looks laughable,

Which is 4S and which is 5? No cheating with the connectors!!!
Image from Locky's English Playground

but undeniably, the iPhone 5 has improved its toughness by a dozen times making this even-thinner (but not the world's thinnest as claimed, because the Motorola RAZR XT909, the Motorola DROID RAZR and the Motorola RAZR XT910 are the world's thinnest at 7.1mm) iPhone highly drop-and-scratch resistant. From a hardware design's perspective, this is truly game-changing! Even if the HTC Evo 4G can match with the toughness of the shell, it too cannot match iPhone 5's hardness of the glass and its slimness. Fighting back from the defeat by the Galaxy S2, iPhone 5 has really surprised me this time round!

Image from Tat Fung

The box of iPhone 5 is the best iPhone box design since iPhone! I have always disliked the earlier versions of box design, so dull, so flat, the phone's so over-enlarged, so non-minimalist, but I really like the iPhone 5 box this time as we finally see the entire phone at an angle, the shading, and the larger white background, truly minimalist for the post-Steve Jobs iPhone. Two thumbs up!

Good points must be credited.

Sharp's new 443 ppi 5-inch smartphone displays on show at CEATEC 2012
Image and caption from Engadget

Wait, am I being stingy with my praises for the Super HD Retina Display (326 ppi)? Why didn't I mention it? Well, that's because the Retina display is actually manufactured by Sharp, a well-known Japanese company, which just showcased their own 443ppi 5-inch smartphone and their 498ppi 6.1 inch panel at the CEATEC annual trade show in Japan 4 days ago. iPhone 5 was the sharpest smartphone for about a week, but it is not the sharpest any more. In this case, Sharp takes the credit.

Plus, does that mean the iPhone 5 display is better than HTC ONE X or the Samsung Galaxy S3? Well, it really depends on your requirement. XDA Developer TV Erica has a very very detailed comparison video of the screen technologies of these devices, listing out all the strengths and weaknesses of all the displays. A video highly recommended!!

She definitely gave 100 times more information than I did in my article, Technology: Phabletious!! Samsung Galaxy Note II.

But at the end of the day, why do I still choose Android over iOS? I'll reserve my answer for a little longer, but XDA Senior member Zedomax has some of my keys reasons (from 3:50) for liking Android much more. 

And here's my answer now.

If you like giving more than taking or if you are someone who long for freedom, you will naturally like Android because Google Android allows sharing and the freedom of making changes as most of the codes are open-sourced. Everybody can own a copy of the software code and modify it, change it, make it fit your personally needs.

Various Themes for Android devices, install as apps
Image from Google

We Android users need not know anything about programming but yet we can do whatever we want, however we want with the Android devices we own with a few simple taps on the screen. When we go out to the streets, we compare our phones and see how UNIQUE they are in every aspects: icons, themes, layouts, sounds, live wallpapers, speed, even hardware such as metal cases and skins. We like to be different, we want to be different, we enjoy being different, and at the same time, we enjoy the right to be different. Android allows us to do all these.

Various Custom ROMs
Image from blogdoandroid

We Android developers hack our phones for love and for fun! We root our devices, play with customization, install custom ROMs, change kernels, select voltages, overclock them to push their performance to the maximum, and many more. We develop amazing ROMs, kernels, apps for the devices we love, always help out each others' technical needs and share our work with the Android community to create new software that has and will continue to rock the world! The most important thing is, anyone can be an Android developer and anyone can make a difference in the Android world because Google welcomes creativity at the base level.

Apple's doesn't.

Resurrection Remix Custom ROM
Image from Westcrip

Image from Naver LINE

We don't want limited creativity, or creativity that is build upon what is permitted by a company. We don't buy the concept of having just one way to create things -- the Apple way, we want the freedom to explore, the freedom to make changes to something we own, the freedom to simply say "NO!"

That's my answer.

I'm not saying iPhone is not good. I have grown to appreciate iPhone 5 more than ever in fact, because speed wise and design wise, it is really really good! No doubt about that.

I just think this argument between which is better should not go beyond the personal level.

I think iPhone users should love their iPhone for their preferred reasons and Android fans should learn to understand that love, sometimes, just doesn't need an explanation. The iPhone fans, on the other hand, should also realise that not everyone on this planet are satisfied with what has been presented to them while at the same time being told that "this is the best, you can't get anything better than this" and be controlled by that forever, because then there won't be any self-improvement, there will only be spoon-feeding and blind obedience.

Finally, as a summary, iPhone is good for most common users because Apple does a good enough job for those who doesn't need customization and are happy with the given default elegance, whereas Android phones are more suitable for advanced users who likes tweaking ROMs and kernels, adding new things to make his device truly unique.

Hey, the devices that you own really do tell your personalities, don't they?

As for the on-going lawsuits of Apple and Samsung, I think it is bad because no matter who the winner is, creativity will be limited. But in terms of competitions, having Apple, Samsung, LG, Sharp, Nokia, Sony, etc... all  these companies help to push the mobile technology development to go faster and be better, phones will be cheaper and more affordable eventually, so we consumers will always benefit.


Vocabulary:
tug-of-war -- (n) [C usually singular] a type of sport in which two teams show their strength by pulling against each other at the opposite ends of a rope, and each team tries to pull the other over a line on the ground
implant --- (vb) [T] to fix ideas, feelings or opinions in someone else's mind
miraculous -- (adj) very effective or surprising or difficult to believe
altering -- (n) from (vb) [I or T] to change something, usually slightly, or to cause the characteristics of something to change
easier said than done -- informal said when something seems like a good idea but it would be difficult to do
laughable -- (adj) silly and not deserving to be seriously considered
undeniably -- (adv) certainly true
resistant -- (adj) not harmed or affected by something
game-changing-- (adj) 
minimalist -- (adj) belonging or relating to a style in art, design and theatre that uses the smallest range of materials and colours possible, and only very simple shapes or forms


Resources:

Opinion & Technology: Apple's iPhone 5 Fun, Prank & The Halo Effect @  Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/09/opinion-technology-apples-iphone-5-fun.html

Apple CEO ‘Extremely Sorry’ for IPhone Maps Frustration @ Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-28/apple-ceo-extremely-sorry-for-iphone-maps-frustration.html

Sorry, Apple – the iPhone 5 isn’t the world’s thinnest smartphone @ BGR
http://www.bgr.com/2012/09/12/apple-iphone-5-not-thinnest-smartphone/

HTC Evo 4G LTE EPIC SCRATCH TEST @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omIcr-YWwW8

Apple iPhone 5 - Hammer Drop Test @  YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgiF2xnFrto

News & Opinions: iPhone 4 Steve? Siri-ously? What about iPhone 5teve? @  Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/10/news-opinions-iphone-4-steve-siri-ously.html

Sharp's iPhone 5 screen shipping underway after initial hiccups @ techradar.phones
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/sharps-iphone-5-screen-shipping-underway-after-initial-hiccups-1097120

Sharp's new 443 ppi 5-inch smartphone displays on show at CEATEC 2012 (eyes-on) @ Engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/01/sharp-443-ppi-5-inch-smartphone-display-ceatec-2012/

Truth About Mobile Device Screens -- Explanations, Comparisons, Misconceptions @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uypD7QUgcyM&feature=g-u-u

Technology: Phabletious!! Samsung Galaxy Note II @
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/09/technology-phabletious-samsung-galaxy.html

Technology & Economics: Nothing Is Too Big To Fail @  Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2012/03/technology-economics-nothing-is-too-big.html

Redsn0w Can Jailbreak iOS 5.1.1 On iPhone, iPad, iPod touch (A4 Devices) [How-To-Tutorial] @ Redmond Pie
http://www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-5.1.1-ios-on-iphone-ipad-ipod-touch-using-redsn0w-tutorial/


Android Development and Hacking @  XDA Developers
http://forum.xda-developers.com/filter.php?cat=Android#

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What Samsung's success means for Apple @ MSN Money
http://money.msn.com/technology-investment/post.aspx?post=03c0cdb6-4f1a-4a33-aa36-94da1ed64e06

Why You Should Choose Android Over iPhone/iOS! @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wYgofunq3OE#!

Asian winners ready to take on the mighty Apple @ The Standard
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Why I won't be buying the iPhone 5 @ Neowin
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Samsung hits iPhone 5 in eight patent lawsuit @ SlashGear
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http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/tug-of-war
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/implant_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/miraculous?q=miraculous+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/alter_1?q=alter
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/easier-said-than-done?q=easier+said+than+done#easier-said-than-done__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/laughable?q=laughable+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/undeniable?q=undeniably+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/resistance?q=resistance+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/minimalist_1?q=minimalist

Learning Psychology & Methods: Learning Q & A

Image from susky.me

Everyone has their moments of confusion in life. 'Everyone' of course includes myself too. Normally if the trouble isn't serious, I might

1. take a stroll, 
2. look at the blue sky and some green trees, 
3. close my eyes and feel the breeze, feel my own existence, 
4. free myself from work and talk to myself in the head,
5. tell myself that none of these matters to me because they aren't worth my time and energy,
6. tell myself that I am not the first and won't be the last to face such trouble, thus there is nothing to fear,
7. write a blog entry to share my feelings with all my friends and readers,

Sometimes, helping others to solve problems actually helps myself too, especially when I face similar situations.

Here are some of the questions my students have raised, and I shall read out my thoughts. Hopefully you can find your answers here too if you also feel the same.

Concern 1:

Being a non-native English speaker, I feel (for a while already) that no matter how hard I try, I still not as good as others, or quite far behind others (my colleagues studied overseas). Know its normal but its quite frustrating sometimes. Seems like completing with others on my weak area..haha! Not easy just like what you said. It really need patience and belief that it worths!

Suggestion: Here's the thing, you are right, it can be a bad bad feeling to be inferior. There are several ways to look at this. You can either try to let this difference settle peacefully in your mind, and continue your life as usual, or you can take a more optimistic approach, turn this weakness of yours into a power to continue learning. For me, I think the later one will help you more if you really cannot control that competitive sense in you.

Plus, being able to speak better isn't everything nowadays, knowing more is. Say you might not be as good in English compared with your colleagues, but you can learn many other things related or not related to work, just to pack that useful brain of yours with knowledge, like what this English Playground is about, then you will naturally feel stronger and have more confidence when dealing with your colleagues.

Remember, we can't always be better than others in everything, but we can always try to be better than ourselves continuously.

Concern 2:

I want to know how to find the topic that you will feel interesting on it. I feel hardly to find my interesting topic and stuff.

You just keep reading and exposing yourselves to everything to find what you like. If you don't see, how do you know? 

A girl might go window shopping for weeks until she finds one thing she likes. Finding a topic you like is no difference. Don't limit yourself by time, don't set a deadline, keep searching. Open your eyes and see more! If you stop at topics which you'll spend longer time reading up, that might just be the hint!

Concern 3:

I want to be able to hear every word of every TV show and understand them. How can I do that?

Well, that is very difficult task indeed. Even at my level now, I can't guarantee I can hear every single word of every TV show.

There are various reasons for us not to hear certain words, the video quality, the sound quality, the speakers dropping their volume as they speak, noises from background, etc. So I will say, no one can really hear 100%.

But for me, I don't keep track of words I don't hear, I just don't feel there are words I don't understand.

When students ask me for this word or that expression they don't hear in videos, I realised I don't actually HEAR them, I follow the story, the context, adding my experience of what people usually say in similar situations, adding with the tones, the answers just APPEAR in my head. In other words, I know the words without actually hearing them clearly as long as the tones are right. Thus my advice is, we can aim 100%, but don't be frustrated when we don't get 100%, just keep going, keep listening, as your experience builds up, you will be able to understand more even without your noticing.

Concern 4:

I have no money. Are there any free English speaking classes in Hong Kong?

Well of course, there are English Corners around the world, people who just want to learn English will gathering each other on social networks and then meet regularly in certain places. I'm not sure who you will meet and what kind of people you will meet, but for some safe suggestions, you can visit universities websites for their open forums, seminars and talks, such as the Big Mouth Corner organised by the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, it is opened to the public and then meet once every Thursday from 7-8pm. For details, please see the link under Resources.

I have written another entry in August 2010, titled, Learning Methods: Have No Fear when Learning, and Learning Method & Psychology: Why Can't I Speak Fluent English?  you may be able to find more questions and hopefully answers from there.

Image from AArambh VIT (VASTRA-SAMAN)

"If you don't try, you won't know." -- Locky

Vocabulary:
stroll -- (vb)[I] to walk in a slow relaxed manner, especially for pleasure
inferior -- (adj) not good, or not as good as someone or something else

Resources:

Learning Methods: Have No Fear when Learning @ Locky's English Playground

http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2010/08/learning-methods-have-no-fear-when.html

Learning Method & Psychology: Why Can't I Speak Fluent English? @ Locky's English Playground

http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2010/02/learning-method-psychology-why-cant-i.html

Big Mouth Corner
http://myweb.polyu.edu.hk/~ecegclub/bmc.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/stroll?q=stroll
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/inferior?q=inferior