From Lark Rise to US Post Office Closure List

Paul just sent me a Wall Street Journal article entitled Post-Office Closure List Sent.

It is like a reconfirmation that post-offices are always confronted with competitions whenever a new technology emerges. Anyone who has seen Lark Rise to Candleford will remember Dorcas Lane's fight for the survival of her post office when a railway was built and passed through the area. The only differenc is that the same competitions are now fiercer and multifaceted with the evolution of Internet.

July: a Great Month

July 4 is the birthday of the United States of America. It is the anniversary of the day on which the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress - July 4, 1776. Independence Day was first observed in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776.

July is a special month to our family. On July 2, 1997, Nick, accompanied by his grandmother, came to the States to live with us in Santa Cruz. In July 2002, we adopted our Chippy on the steps of Santa Cruz Main Post Office. It is also a birthday month shared by my mother, nephew and myself.

Happy Birthday, Elijah & Chippy!!

It is a birthday for Elijah and Chippy today. They are nine now. Ever since, Gail and I found them on the steps of Santa Cruz Post Office, these two siblings have been a bundle of joys to two families. with their respective families, they have been through good times and hardships in life.


Happy Birthday to Elijah & Chippy!

James Durbin Going to Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Paul and I decided to join Santa Cruzans to welcome home James Durbin, American Idol's newest reject this afternoon. As it happened, we drove by Louden Nelson Community Center and saw a big crowd cheering Durbin who showed himself on the second floor with his guitar from time to time. We parked our RAV-4 and proceeded to the Boardwalk. As the concert goers were too numerous for us to have any decent view, we left and found ourselves a roomy beach bench.

Paul told me that it was the best site, for it would be the route for Durbin to go through to the stage. After an hour's wait, we saw the formal band parading first, flanked by many police cars and then 4X4s and fire trucks. I actually screamed and waved enthusiastically at Durbin who waved at us beach crowd. Here is one of the pictures taken by Titangos Photography Studio:

Another Special Gift for Mother's Day

Every year, Lee Anne and Nick will bestow on me unique Mother's Day gifts. I really love this year's, especially its bright colors and beautifully conceived concept. Thank you.

Happy Easter!

Our family had a wonderful Easter together, despite unexpected rain. Last night, we went to our church for a midnight service by Father Tom and a feast afterwords. We are so thankful that we are all safe and sound with a new beginning to look forward to. Our Easter ended with a CBS special 60 Minutes on Mt. Athos.


The above are some greetings from Lee Anne's kid and our Chippy.

Fourteen Citations for Our 2009 Paper!

Google Scholar Alerts sent me another alert today: there has been a new citation for our Learning Library 2.0: 23 Things @SCPL, published by Library Management in 2009. Those 14 citations are from Australia, Canada, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Korea, Taiwan and U.S.

Watson Won a Million-Dollar Prize

Per Ying's reminder, Paul and I watched a three-day Jeopardy show (Feb. 14-16, 2011) featuring Watson competing with Jeopardy's two all-time champions, Brad and Ken. With ups and downs, Watson managed to become a final winner of the one million dollar prize.

It is a very interesting endeavor not only in the sense of entertainment value, but more so in that IBM has pioneered in transforming science fiction into reality. In the process, Watson has revealed his weaknesses such as being born with no hearing, bulky hardware, and some algorithmic errors in missing key parameters like answering Toronto when the question was concerned only with US airports.

However, Watson has shown tremendous potential to many aspects of our life. One of them, as my colleague Heidi pointed out, is that he can help doctors determine drug interactions for their patients who take multiple drugs.

The growth of Watson is just like that of us human beings, from imperfect to perfect. His infrequent lack of confidence has helped to demystify the myth perpetuated by science fiction that solving all our problems is just a computer keystroke away.

Happy Valentines!

Happy Year of Rabbit: 2011!

Who are rabbits?
People who were born in 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999

What are rabbit people's characteristics?
People born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract.

What does the year of rabbit signify?
According to The Holidays Spot, A placid year, very much welcomed and needed after the ferocious year of the Tiger. We should go off to some quiet spot to lick our wounds and get some rest after all the battles of the previous year.

Which animals come before and after the rabbit?
2008 is the Year of the Rat
2009 is the Year of the Ox
2010 is the Year of the Tiger
2011 is the Year of the Hare (rabbit)
2012 is the Year of the Dragon
2013 is the Year of the Snake
2014 is the Year of the Horse
2015 is the Year of the Ram (sheep, goat)
2016 is the Year of the Monkey
2017 is the Year of the Rooster
2018 is the Year of the Dog
2019 is the Year of the Pig (Boar)