Engaged! WHAT THE…?!
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Archive for September, 2004
For a second season in a row, Alec has been chosen after a quiz by the school to attend a class on a specific type of mathematics called Olympiad.
It is something that I have not only never come across in my math studies all the way to university, but never even heard of. So before his first season with it, I thought it was just a fancy name for an elite math group in Primary 3 last year. But after I have looked through his workbooks, I found that even though the basic solutions in this area is just a lot of basic calculation, the shear number of calculations and process of thinking requires the utmost discipline in logic. Even though I have attended two classes in logic during my postsecondary education, I still find it somewhat difficult to grasp on working out the solutions.
In the above linked website, here is a general example of what it is in a secondary school level calculation; where in Alec’s level, a few of the unknowns would be listed for him….
Find out what number each and every capital letter (digit) represents:
ABCD multiply by 4 = DCBA
And this next example was almost beyond me….
FIVE+TWO+ONE=EIGHT
I don’t even want to begin with this following example, as it doesn’t seem like I knew how.
Perhaps I should practice more in case Alec needed any help.
This is the newer Now TV receiver. It is about 1/2 size of the older model but without the Component output. With the S-Video output, it actually works out just fine for me as I have S-Video connection switcher but no Component connection switcher. I also find the image quality of Now TV is slightly better than my cheap Toshiba DVD player in 480i mode as it does not have progressive mode. Both my 30′ S-Video cable as well as my 30′ component cable only cost about HKD$200 each. I would need to try using S-Video for the DVD player and see if it makes any difference. I have heard that a good S-Video connection has better image quality than Component connection.
The channels that I subscribed also worked out quite nicely. At least I now have more movie channels than soccer channels as oppose to Cable TV.
The remote is also much better. Volume keys work. Online program guides on demand. Favorite channels selection. Program title on demand. Nicam selection.
I miss the AXN channel and TVB/ATV within cable, but love the new Discovery Science channel.
So far so good with no regrets and saves about HKD$34/mth on subscription charges. Rock on!
Incidentally, Cable TV asked M why I had canceled them. M told them because they had lost ESPN/Star Sports. That is not exactly the problem. They lost ESPN/Star Sports with nothing in exchange and same subscription charges remained. Also, “sports” does not mean “soccer only” and I don’t want 3 soccer channels with 2 soccer gambling text channels.
Besides, yearly mating with Cable TV customer supports is not my sexual preference either.
With NowTV’s ESPN and the digital projector, I got to watch the last 2 minutes of Monday Night Football tonight with the Bangles won the Dolphins first time in 27 years, just by a field-goal with 2 seconds left on the clock! The way it is meant to be watched.
about the contrast of the image projected off my white screen, as how the outside rim of the projected image on the white screen, both the rest of the cropped 16:9 image from the 4:3 LCD as well as the rest of the white screen, would never be truly “black” since there will always be some light fall on to it no matter how good or contrasty any projectors are, and how possibly might a black screen work and still be able to reflect an image with good brightness…
Gizmodo reported this Sony black screen just now. The high price tag, even though I couldn’t possibly afford one, is actually on par with some of the current best screens in the market I think.
Two banks called within the hour thanking me for using their credit card services over the years; and in thanking me so, as usual they both tried to sell me more insurances.
Don’t mention it, alright.
No, really DON’T MENTION IT!!! I DON”T WANT ANYMORE INSURANCE!!!
If you can’t thank me properly, DON’T! Thank me anymore this way, I’ll cut the card! Thank me by not calling me, ALRIGHT?!
After a few weeks since I have expressed my dissatisfaction to Cable TV about their losing ESPN and Star Sports and in exchange we get 2 text channels on football gambling rates for the same monthly subscription without any changes from their part, I have canceled Cable TV and subscribed to Now TV today. It’ll take a month to get rid of Cable TV and about 5 days to install Now TV.
For about HKD$35 less than my regular Cable TV monthly subscription, I get the same Discovery Channels and BBC etc, with 2 Disney Channels, HBO and Cinemax etc as extras, as well as ESPN and Star Sports. No more sports gambling or religion craps. And I heard that the receiver comes with Component, S-Video, and Composite video outputs. Perfect for my digital projector.
I am just getting their HKD$19x package with exchanging 2 whatumacallit channels to Cinemax and BBC for about $10 more. For some $3X odd dollars more or order up to $23X dollars worth of programming, I could have gotten an extra modem for the TV, but I chose to live off my existing BB modem and see how it goes first.
“Very comfortable” in English does not mean “glad”, “grateful”, or “gratified” in Chinese.
BTW, “naive” in English does not mean “childish” in Chinese either.
No wonder there has been so many quarrels.
Oh, and ah… “incompetent” in English does not mean “impotent” in Chinese either. So don’t quote me on that in Chinese unless you really are; but I doubt you would post the truth.
Today is the voting day for legislative candidates. Since I do not like any of the legislative candidates in my district, I am not voting for anyone of them; and I find a blank vote does not serve me the way I want. So I am not voting at all.
I wish for a negative vote that I could cast which counts against the one I dislike most. But as voting being a political chore, like Mick sang, “well, you can’t always get what you want”…
WhaUSay?!