求遊其巡
看透世界，到處留跡。。。(便遺增籽)
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BART Review:
Posted on February 16th, 2010 No commentsNow, over the weekend, I was given some staunch criticism, for comparing the Bastilla made in one Moroccan Restaurant in San Francisco to Casablanca, in Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii. They kept saying “Well if you wanna’ go back to Hawaii, be my guest!” Well, I just like to say that I know quality when I see it, and I expect perfection in my food. More so, I expect public transportation to be the best it can. If you don’t like fact that I’ll be comparing the BART to Asia’s public transportation system, don’t read any further…
For starters, the cleanliness…
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The upholstery and the floors use this material that either isn’t easy to clean, or just hasn’t been kept up with. Most subways and rail systems in Asia don’t even have carpet for their trains, because it’s ridiculous and doesn’t serve any purpose. Their seats are composed of some plastic or metal depending on the train, with a dip for you to put your butt in. Simple.
America, on the other hand, likes to use this stuff which is hard to clean. At least they have some padding on their seats, but isn’t any much more or less comfortable to its counterparts in Asia (in other words, whatever cushioning is there, is useless). - The windows for the BART seem like they haven’t been cleaned in ages.
- The population in Asia is much more dense, so to pack more people in, the seats are arranged along the walls, and has enough space for people to stand in the middle, grabbing onto hand grips hanging from the ceiling.
The Bay area has a lot of people, but not enough to warrant such a need for hanging grips. Its seats are perpendicular to the walls, seating two people on each side, with enough space for people to get out in the middle. You can also bring your bike onto the BART as well –Yes, a rare comment for the BART. -
In Asia, all stops and their following destinations are announced by an automated voice which is clear enough so that you can hear them easily.
The BART has its conductors mumble the stops for you, through barely audible speakers, filling the air with static. The static box announcing your orders at McDonalds’ Drive Thru is clearer than this. -
Surprisingly not being well known to accommodating the deaf and blind, there are auditory announcements and flashing lights in Asia that tell which doors (right or left) you should exit through. In fact, it’s in the local language and English usually. Sometimes (such as the case with Hong Kong), a non-native, non-English language like Mandarin is also supplied.
The BART expects its blind people to guess their way out of the subway. At least it doesn’t waste its time like Hong Kong does, announcing things in every language it can think of. America’s too diverse for that.To be honest though, Hong Kong doesn’t accommodate its Tagalog speakers and people that speak any languages from India, so why bother with Mandarin on top of things? - The BART is too loud. I nearly went deaf, having to listen to the agonizing tracks that we were riding on, intensified by the small tunnels bouncing back the noise right at us. I never got that in Asia (In such a case, a flashing light indicating which door to exit from would be wonderful).
- Some of Asia’s systems go through bodies of water as well, but I’ve never felt my ears pop like I was riding an airplane. I’m not sure how deep the San Francisco Bay is, but is there really no way to solve the pressure issue?
As a result, the BART just doesn’t measure up to what’s possible. Californians are trying to build a rail system that connects major cities together, but I hope they can do much better, and keep up the maintenance.
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The upholstery and the floors use this material that either isn’t easy to clean, or just hasn’t been kept up with. Most subways and rail systems in Asia don’t even have carpet for their trains, because it’s ridiculous and doesn’t serve any purpose. Their seats are composed of some plastic or metal depending on the train, with a dip for you to put your butt in. Simple.
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Grace Cathedral
Posted on February 14th, 2010 No comments，加州，三藩市。。。
本來想借個兜來用，點知佢外面地上有個迷路圖就好奇走入去。 之後仲有埋三個女人跟埋來。呢個圖正如人生一樣，有個目標（如圖中嘅中心）就去追。途中會有人在你身邊陪你一下就消失，有緣就有聚。
。。。6點了Grace Cathedral 嘅教堂鍾響啦。IPod嘅鬧鐘發出嗶嗶聲了。還有兩個鐘頭才能看黃子華棟篤笑。
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Po’ Tarts!
Posted on January 19th, 2010 No commentsSo I’ve been obsessing over how to make portuguese-style tarts ever since my cousin took me to this one place in Macau, and then all of a sudden, I found this site… “Are You Gonna’ Eat That? – MACAU: Portuguese Tarts”. Which features the exact cafe my cousin bought these at! AWESOME! Not only that, I think I went to the cafe exactly a year before the author wrote this article.
The author has a very good grasp on ho the Portuguese tarts are made in comparison to how they’re made in Hong Kong (adding coconut milk, in the Macau version… THAT’s the secret ingredient, eh?), but also they have an address!!!
Margaret’s Cafe e Nata
Edificio Kam Loi, Rua Almirante Costa Cabral, Macau
853-2871-0032.Wow, you’re awesome! I’m gonna’ have to subscribe.
Now, the only thing I have to do is go to Portugal, and see how it’s made in the originating country.
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Lights and Livelihood.
Posted on January 9th, 2010 No commentsWhen I was young, I remember the Alhambra/Monterey Park/San Gabriel area used to be very lively at night. Lots of people, tons of eating and whatnot, up until the early morning. I miss that. What happened?
I want to bring that atmosphere back with my cafe I’m planning on opening. But tonight, I drove around, and it was really wierd. As early as 11pm, many places were closed (yes, that’s early for nightlife, even if there’s no alcohol involved). At first, I thought that in order to have a successful business, I would have to have it in a good location with enough foot traffic already like Main St. or Valley Blvd, but then I looked at those streets, and there were only pockets of activity going around. It was wierd. For instance, two places offering similar products would be opened at the same time, yet only one of them would have a lot of people in it. Very wierd. Then, there are restaurants that have been around for about 20 years, and they just closed recently. Or, some places that used to have a lot of traffic a few years ago, barely have anybody in there today. Just as wierd, was that when I thought if you have two similar places right next to each other, one would suffer horribly, but then, I saw two cafes right across the street from each other, both on the same side of Garvey Ave., and they had a lot of people. WIERD!
So I’m convinced location doesn’t matter all that much. But I’ve been to a lot of these places, and the food is just about the same quality. So it’s not about the product. Is it the atmosphere? Is it the marketing? I don’t know…
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掙一啲死咗
Posted on December 21st, 2009 No comments我啱啱送完個朋友去蒙特雷機場，喺返來六十八號高速道路經過DLI後球場嘅時候駕車失控，而我轉都對面條lane，面向著條lane嘅方向。好采有人急時見到我停咗喺度，若果唔係又撞到人。仲好采嘅係我部車冇繼續轉過撞攔鋼轆落山崖。
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AM 천육백오십! (죽을 수 없는) 라디오 서울!
Posted on December 3rd, 2009 No comments추수감사절의 긴 주말이끝나서 부모님을 뵙다가 다시 몬테레이로 돌아 가야 한다. 10번 고속도로를 타고 5번 북쪽으로 달아 가서 저는 AM1430(광동어 라디오 station “華美廣播[화미광파])를 듣다가 static이 너무 많아서 AM1650을 바꿨어요. 계속 가서 Route 33의 출구를 지나간 다음에 static때문에 잘 안 들려도 그 나머진 목소리를 아직 들을 수 있다. 갈 수록 static이 더 크게 늘려서 드디어 NEES Ave출구를 지난 다음에 전혀 들을 수 없었다.
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Berkeley Sucks Balls!
Posted on September 6th, 2009 No commentsI’d rather go hit up San Francisco***!
I pride myself in being a liberal. In fact, I’m an atheist, and not much of a patriot, but I’ve done more than my fair share for “God and Country” during my short 6 years in the Navy.
However, if there’s any one thing I hate the most: Hobos. Don’t get me wrong, some of them have reasons beyond their control, and find themselves in such a horrible situation. Problem is, some of them wallow too much in their own self-pity, that they can’t seem to find a solution, like going to a homeless shelter. They can then get an address, and use that to apply for an ID, and a job. Then of course, I’ve also heard from homeless people that homeless shelters aren’t the best of places to be in. If that’s the case, maybe they need help with donations. If that’s the case, more media attention should be given to the situation. Until then, they have no other choice, because begging on the street is just wrong.
Aside from that though, I just saw too many people who weren’t even just begging. They were just sitting there, as if they had nothing else better to do. Young, able-bodied people. Maybe we should give them all one-way tickets to China, to “compete and take back American jobs!” Or, maybe they can learn to adapt, and take advantage of government-sponsored programs to retrain people to diversify their skills so that they can be used in the workforce.
Then, there’s the worst of them all: The con-artist. We were at Bowser’s Pizza, on Shattuck Avenue. Here, this guy comes in:
INT. Bowsers Pizza
David and Justin are sitting at the table, waiting for their food. Then, suddenly, a man comes in…
CON-Artist
(urgently)
對不起，講國語嗎？ [Sorry, do you speak Mandarin?]
會講。
CON-Artist
你可不可以幫我一下？我剛剛從台灣來，英文不太好。 [Can you help me out? I just came from Taiwan, and my English isn't good]
I immediately get up to help this poor tourist/immigrant from some misunderstanding.
INT. At the doorway
CON-Artist
blah blah blah, 我要回到西雅圖。只差二十塊錢 [I need to get back to Seattle, I only need $20], blah blah blah.
可是我沒有錢。 [But I don't have any money.]
So the con-artist leaves very angrily.
Fuckin’ crap, it ain’t the first time, someone’s come to me peddling for money! There was this one guy who kept going to the Greyhound Bus Station in LA every time I was there. Hell, after that one time I told the cops about him, I saw him at LAX doing the same thing. These people are just fucking scum!
Then, to top things off, after I sat down, our food had come, and we took a couple slices, a hobo walks in asking for money. FUCK!
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Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA
Posted on September 6th, 2009 No commentsI just got back from this place morning. Guess what? Really beautiful. Was it worth the drive? Yeah… For the most part. Just to see the redwoods, is really nice. Unfortunately, when you’re going up the Redwoods, don’t forget to go into the “Avenue of Giants“, or else you’ll completely miss the visitor’s center for the camp. No, there aren’t any obvious signs from the 101 saying, “Hey, dumb-@$$! You should exit here, if you want to go to the redwoods”. Apparently, the Avenue of Giants was actually that sign.
Not bad for my first camping trip. Too bad we forgot our tent. So we had to drive up to Eureka to buy another one, after checking in. Of course, we checked in after having missed our exit, and then turned around to look for the damn thing.
What else did we forget/overlook/things we need for next time?- Tarp: To put the tent over.
- When putting in the meat into the ziplock bag with marinade, make sure to squish around and ensure that meat slices seperate.
- Skewers: to hold the marshmallows (for the S’MORES) over the fire with.
- Mallot: To hammer stakes into the ground.
- Inflatable Mattress that doesn’t require AC outlet: To prevent backache.
At least we remembered to bring the cookware (plates, cups and knives and forks), the stove, and we bought some propane gas for the gas burners beforehand. Unfortunately, the propane heater and propane lamp I’d rented didn’t work for crap. Also, the damn GPS I rented didn’t work either. It just stalled and stalled. Next time, I’m gonna’ have an IPod Touch with a GPS attachable unit instead. NO MORE RENTALS!
One thing that sucked, is that at Myer’s Flat, you had to pay to drive through the redwood trees, and they were closed when we got there. Maybe we should’ve driven along Highway 1? Either case: LAME!
Not a bad experience, but that last part really defeats the purpose in why we chose to drive to that location. Next time, I’m choosing a park where the nearby rivers aren’t “catch and release”. Also LAME.
We were gonna’ go hit up the Phở Garden in San Francisco, but were too tired, and hurting real bad from sleeping on the hard floor. Luckily we didn’t, becase the I-80 was closed, so the 580-W was backed up.
Did I have fun ultimately though? Yes.
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Search for Bike-friendly Cities
Posted on September 3rd, 2009 No commentsI’m always touting of how Tokyo’s such an urban bike-friendly city in Asia. But according to this article, Top 10: Bicycle-Friendly Cities, Portland Oregon comes in at #6 among all of the places featured. But somehow, BeiJing was still at #9? I’m surprised. I actually thought all the bikes were practically pushed away by cars at this point in Beijing.
Some day, I will visit both places with my bicycle: Portland, and Beijing. Any place that is urban bike-friendly has to be cool. Something tells me however, I’m gonna’ like the air quality in Portland more than in Beijing.
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San Francisco Sucks: Hobos
Posted on March 24th, 2009 No commentsSo, on my way to the certification course this morning, I had two people ask me for some money. The first guy was cool, when I said, “Sorry, dawg, I’m unemployed!” He just said, “Good luck man!”
The second one was pretty interesting. As I entered her targetting range, she immediately teared up, asking me woefully, “Do you have $100 bucks, Sir?” My only reaction was, “嘩喺?! 唔係呀嗎?!” Right when I get to you, is when you start crying and asking for money? And $100 at that now? Come on now!
Why don’t I give you an oscar for your synchronous cue?