Dan

foot in mouth

2009-02-11T22:09:31Z

Friend: XYZ (boyfriend) suggested that I need to go on a diet. He's such an asshole.
Dan: Yes he is, he should accept you for who you are.
Friend: Do you think I am fat Dan?
Dan: Not at all.
Friend: What's the hesitation?
Dan: Well, you're not fat. You're just... a little bit thick.
Friend: What! What does that suppose to mean!
Dan: Well... thick, you know, not fat, just thick, like thick in lipids.
Friend: (silent)
Dan: I got to take this a phone call...

Blah, talking about putting your foot in your mouth..

IQ test

2008-06-03T05:26:14Z

I finally caved in and took an online IQ test. The result is very high, and I think there must be something wrong with the test, because I know for sure I am not that smart. But then came to think about it, I scored one point higher when I took my last IQ test, which was when I was about 10, so the result has been consistent. Anyway, here's the test:

http://www.free-iqtest.net/

If you're really bored, please take this test and let me know how do you. If everyone who took this test scored super high then I will be rest assured the test is inaccurate.

Kabob

2008-04-04T23:50:14Z

I just had a lamb kabob and it was so good... I normally do not like chicpea and they put it in the kabos, but still, it was sooo goood. I think it's because I am just so hungry now.

ok, out for swing dancing. The weekend has began!

A cappella

2008-03-01T22:42:08Z

Nothing beats a bunch of White and Asian nerds singing Dr. Dre:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TjNNxnKVEpQ&feature=related

Lol

2008-02-21T03:56:14Z

I was sawing the a samples in my bathroom last night (2:20AM) when I heard someone knocking on my door. I open the door and saw a hot, distressed blond in her 30's standing there in her pajamas and said "are you sawing something?" and I said "Did I play my music too loud?" and she said "are you sawing something" and I said "oh man I didn't know you can hear me" and she screamed at me: "I can totally hear you" and I said "ok, I will do it tomorrow morning instead." I feel really bad about it, but somehow I can't stop laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

Blogging Under Big Brother - Backdated January 2 2008

2008-01-11T10:22:34Z

I arrived in China last week. I wanted to post about my time here but couldn’t. The Chinese inertnet police blocked my blogger site, livejournal.com. A few years ago a blogger in the US posted his view on Tiananmen Square on livejournal, so the internet police blocked the entire site.

Every morning I am being reminded that the Middle Kingdom is still the land of 1984: When I go for breakfast I see the secret police outside my building. Why are they here you ask? There is an old lady who lives three floors above me. She is over eighty years old and widowed. Three years ago she said what many many Chinese people have been quietly thinking: that the Chinese people should be able to directly elect their president. But instead of keeping that dangerous, non-proletariat view to herself, she wrote an editorial on an independent newspaper. What did the secret police do? They shut down the paper and stationed two secret policemen outside her apartment. The secret polices live in a car and they come in three shifts, 365 days a year. I saw them in 2005 when I was in Beijing, and they are still there this morning. These secret polices do not look you in the eye, they don’t talk, they don’t even acknowledge your presence when you walk by. Like two cursed gargoyles, their presence serves one and only one purpose: fear. They are here to remind the old lady, and the entire community, that Big Brother is watching. Like the Gestapo that terrorized the German Jews, the Clansmen that lynched those who dared challenged the Jim Crow norms, the Chinese Secret Police use the same fear to keep its 1.3 billion people in place, in silence. The Chinese are only caged pigeons, living within cubicles of the stainless steel structures they call home. Thirty years after Mao’s death, twenty years after the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, Big Brother is still watching over the Middle Kingdom. The same Big Brother that ordered tanks into Tiananmen Square before my eyes in 1989; the same Big Brother that concealed the AIDS epidemic that ravaged the countryside; the same Big Brother that still threatens Taiwan with talks of Armageddon.

I used to be very much against the idea of an independent Taiwan, but I had a change of heart in college. Half of me thinks that the island should get as far from China as possible. The more optimistic side is hoping that the island will, in the words of Taiwanese president Chen Shui Bian, “serve as a guiding torch of democracy for China out of its darkness of totalitarianism.”

new tech

2007-11-26T08:50:33Z

This new technology is very promising:

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2007/green/item_59.html

Interesting History Article on NYTimes

2007-10-29T13:55:24Z

By FRANÇOIS FURSTENBERG

Montreal

MUCH as George W. Bush’s presidency was ineluctably shaped by Sept. 11, 2001, so the outbreak of the French Revolution was symbolized by the events of one fateful day, July 14, 1789. And though 18th-century France may seem impossibly distant to contemporary Americans, future historians examining Mr. Bush’s presidency within the longer sweep of political and intellectual history may find the French Revolution useful in understanding his curious brand of 21st- century conservatism.

Soon after the storming of the Bastille, pro-Revolutionary elements came together to form an association that would become known as the Jacobin Club, an umbrella group of politicians, journalists and citizens dedicated to advancing the principles of the Revolution.

The Jacobins shared a defining ideological feature. They divided the world between pro- and anti-Revolutionaries — the defenders of liberty versus its enemies. The French Revolution, as they understood it, was the great event that would determine whether liberty was to prevail on the planet or whether the world would fall back into tyranny and despotism.

The stakes could not be higher, and on these matters there could be no nuance or hesitation. One was either for the Revolution or for tyranny.

By 1792, France was confronting the hostility of neighboring countries, debating how to react. The Jacobins were divided. On one side stood the journalist and political leader Jacques-Pierre Brissot de Warville, who argued for war.

Brissot understood the war as preventive — “une guerre offensive,” he called it — to defeat the despotic powers of Europe before they could organize their counter-Revolutionary strike. It would not be a war of conquest, as Brissot saw it, but a war “between liberty and tyranny.”

Pro-war Jacobins believed theirs was a mission not for a single nation or even for a single continent. It was, in Brissot’s words, “a crusade for universal liberty.”

Brissot’s opponents were skeptical. “No one likes armed missionaries,” declared Robespierre, with words as apt then as they remain today. Not long after the invasion of Austria, the military tide turned quickly against France.

The United States, France’s “sister republic,” refused to enter the war on France’s side. It was an infuriating show of ingratitude, as the French saw it, coming from a fledgling nation they had magnanimously saved from foreign occupation in a previous war.

Confronted by a monarchical Europe united in opposition to revolutionary France — old Europe, they might have called it — the Jacobins rooted out domestic political dissent. It was the beginning of the period that would become infamous as the Terror.

Among the Jacobins’ greatest triumphs was their ability to appropriate the rhetoric of patriotism — Le Patriote Français was the title of Brissot’s newspaper — and to promote their political program through a tightly coordinated network of newspapers, political hacks, pamphleteers and political clubs.

Even the Jacobins’ dress distinguished “true patriots”: those who wore badges of patriotism like the liberty cap on their heads, or the cocarde tricolore (a red, white and blue rosette) on their hats or even on their lapels.

Insisting that their partisan views were identical to the national will, believing that only they could save France from apocalyptic destruction, Jacobins could not conceive of legitimate dissent. Political opponents were treasonous, stabbing France and the Revolution in the back.

To defend the nation from its enemies, Jacobins expanded the government’s police powers at the expense of civil liberties, endowing the state with the power to detain, interrogate and imprison suspects without due process. Policies like the mass warrantless searches undertaken in 1792 — “domicilary visits,” they were called — were justified, according to Georges Danton, the Jacobin leader, “when the homeland is in danger.”

Robespierre — now firmly committed to the most militant brand of Jacobinism — condemned the “treacherous insinuations” cast by those who questioned “the excessive severity of measures prescribed by the public interest.” He warned his political opponents, “This severity is alarming only for the conspirators, only for the enemies of liberty.” Such measures, then as now, were undertaken to protect the nation — indeed, to protect liberty itself.

If the French Terror had a slogan, it was that attributed to the great orator Louis de Saint-Just: “No liberty for the enemies of liberty.” Saint-Just’s pithy phrase (like President Bush’s variant, “We must not let foreign enemies use the forums of liberty to destroy liberty itself”) could serve as the very antithesis of the Western liberal tradition.

On this principle, the Terror demonized its political opponents, imprisoned suspected enemies without trial and eventually sent thousands to the guillotine. All of these actions emerged from the Jacobin worldview that the enemies of liberty deserved no rights.

Though it has been a topic of much attention in recent years, the origin of the term “terrorist” has gone largely unnoticed by politicians and pundits alike. The word was an invention of the French Revolution, and it referred not to those who hate freedom, nor to non-state actors, nor of course to “Islamofascism.”

A terroriste was, in its original meaning, a Jacobin leader who ruled France during la Terreur.

François Furstenberg, a professor of history at the University of Montreal, is the author of "In the Name of the Father: Washington’s Legacy, Slavery and the Making of a Nation."

Me being stupid

2007-10-08T22:41:16Z

A person whom I met at a Chinese festival 2 weeks ago invited me to a meeting to discuss business opportunities. It sounded rather suspicious, so I asked her whether it's multi-level marketing scheme and she said no. She said it's a group of business people gets together and talk business opportunities. Being a business person myself I drove to Bethesda for the meeting after our Sunday afternoon dim sum.

10 seconds after I entered the room I knew I walked into a MLM scam. The service they sell is financial advisory. The business model is not too different from other MLM schemes I have seen. There are two differences that distinguish World Financial Service from other MLM presentations I have been to (I have been conned into two other). #1, the presentation is given in Chinese. Subsequent research shows that this MLM group targets mostly immigrant community, especially those from China. The second difference is the demeaning attitude of the presenter. He said "oh, you're late. If we charge $10,000 per presentation I bet you'd be on time." I think he is trying to use this arrogant attitude to make people think he holds all the leverage.

Anyway, so I was about to walk out of the presentation when this lady stopped me and asked to talk to me. She's a statistician who has been doing this MLM as a side job for 3 years. She hasn't re-cooperated her money back yet, and she still thinks that this is the best thing that has happened to her (despite the fact that the business model clearly does not work).

So I wasted about 2 hours on something utterly useless. I feel kind of stupid because of that. What amazes me is the level of infiltration of MLM in today's society. Since I moved to DC in May of 2006 I have encountered several friends who are into MLM (and has been actively trying to recruit me into it).

1. One of my high school friends asked me to visit him in Philadelphia on my way back from NYC to DC. After I got there, he gave me a sales pitch on joining AmWay. That was the most time I have ever wasted on a MLM scam. My high school friend is an engineer with a degree from Carnegie Mellon and is currently working for Lockheed Martin.

2. One of the guys I played Magic The Gathering with asked me to join Pre-Paid legal. I told him I am a lawyer and don't need it. He said Pre-Paid Legal is hiring young lawyers like myself (and lots of other bullshits).

3. One of my friend at swing dancing tried to get me into a multi-level marketing scheme. When I asked her whether it's MLM she said no, but later conceded that her company is not called Multi-Level Marketing, but it's called infinite level marketing. Stupid bitch...

4. A person I almost hired as consultant got me to go to a healthcare product MLM company called Nikken. Same story - told me it was a business meeting, and by the time I get there it was a little too late to leave. She has a MD and was a practicing doctor. 3 other MDs were also in the room and were members. Needless to say, I didn't hire her to work for me after that.

So what can I conclude form this? Smart people are not always smart on everything. I think often Greed blinds people's eye from seeing reason.

Ok, that's my rant.

Creepy Old Guy

2007-10-08T18:17:14Z

So far I really love my apartment. The location is great, the rent is reasonable, the view is splendid, and I get to live by myself, which is very comfortable. The only down side is that down the corridor lives this creepy old guy. There are a lot of old people living in my apartment and I always try to be as nice to them as I can. But this creepy old guy remind me of this (http://tvmedia.ign.com/tv/image/article/743/743859/familyguy-toloveanddieindixie-herbert_1162591879.jpg) character from Family Guy. I mean, it's nothing wrong with him on surface, but I just have a creepy feeling when I talk to him. I try to avoid him as much as possible but he bumped into me in the elevator today. Very uncomfortable 30 seconds listening to him ramble.

Political Dork

2007-09-21T06:17:29Z

Ok, since I am a dork I am going to give a prediction of the 2008 Senate race. I think the Democrats are going to pick up anywhere between 3-9 seats, as follows:

Virginia - Best chance of picking up a seat. Mark Warner is going for John Warner's seat. I put the chance of the popular ex-Democratic governor winning at 2-1 against Tom Davis, who is most likely going to be his opponent.

New Hampshire - Very good chance of picking up a seat. Republican Sonunu is running in a blue state in a time when the nation is very upset about the war. I put the chance of his Democratic challenger Jeanne Shaheen, a former governor, beating him at 2-1. Shaheen is up 15 point in the polls at the moment.

Colorado - Another Republican retirement. The swing state, which went for Bush in 2004 with a slight margin, has no strong Republican candidates declaring at the moment. With the national mood I put the chance of Democrat pick up at 3-2

Nebraska - Chuck Hagel just announced his retirement. Very good chance of a pick up.

Ok, the above 4 states are states where I think the Democratic odds are higher than the Republican. The following states have a 2-3 chance of a Democratic pick up.

Maine - Susan Collins is vulnerable. The state is very blue and she is not as stable as Olympia Snow. She did raise a lot of money and so far no strong Democratic challenger emerged yet. I hope the state's Democratic party get their act together and find someone strong.

Oregon - This one is tricky. The state is blue and the senator, Gordon Smith, is not very popular. The Democrats need to find someone good to challenge him.

Minnesota - My favorite race, because one of my favorite Democratic candidate is running. Al Franken from the left is challenging Norm Coleman from the right. Coleman currently has a 45% unfavorable rating, and Al has out-raised Coleman in money. The Republican national convention is going to be held at St. Paul in 2008, so it'd be great to give them a slap on the face with a defeat in Minnesota. Despite all that, Al Franken is a little troublesome candidate. I think his strait talk humor might get him into trouble with the Midwest farmers. I am putting this one conservatively at 2-3 chance, but I think Al could very well make us proud by squeezing his Jewish ass into the senate.

The final 3 are the long shots:

Alaska - Ted Stevens has been investigated by the FBI. If it weren't for the investigation he's a safe bet. Now with the ethics investigation he could be vulnerable. I am not counting on this one because Alaska has been red for sooooooooooo long...

New Mexico - Same story: a safe Republican senator Pete Domenici is now under ethics investigation, which makes him vulnerable. But he still has high favorable ratings in New Mexico so I am not counting on this one.

North Carolina - Elizabeth Dole is a safe seat unless former governor Mike Easley (who got term limited out of office) runs. Polls of Dole / Easley match up yields 41 - 44% results in favor of the Democrat. So if Easley do decide to run I will move this race up to tier one as one of the favored race. If Easley does not run then it's a safe seat for Republicans.

Those are all the senate seats in play. So if Democrats play their cards right and the stars align in place, we should be able to pick up anywhere between 3 to 9 seats. A nine seat gain, which is highly unlikely, would put Democrats into a filibuster proof majority. But realistically, I think the Democrats are going to pick up 4 seats: Virginia, New Hampshire, Colorado, and one wild card state. This would give us a 55-45 majority like the Republicans had last year.

God did I just write all that at 2 in the morning? Time to go to sleep.

Hillary Clinton

2007-09-05T05:36:19Z

I went to a Hillary Clinton fundraiser tonight. It suppose to cost $500 but I got in for free by latching to one of my friends. I have always been a bit suspicious of Clinton's ability to win the general election, especially if she goes against Rudy, a Catholic who's a national hero in 9/11. Anyway, I heard her speech and I was really amazed by her public speaking skills. I always thought she sucked in giving speeches, but she did a good job tonight. I think her charisma, while lacking compare to her husband, is enough for the American audience, which is not too bright in the first place. I have always been an Obama fan, but I think Obama's speeches are too intellectual, where as Clinton dumbed it down to normal people's level. I have no doubt that both Obama and Clinton are extremely intelligent, but the ability to dumb things down is important.

Anyway, I got close enough and shook hand with Clinton. I gave up a photo opportunity because I took a picture for my friend with Hillary, but I am sure I'll have more chances in the future. I also bought a Hillary for president t-shirt. I think overall my impression is very good. I think hearing her speech dispelled some of my doubt of her electability. Personally I think either Obama or Clinton would make a good president, but realistically I think Clinton is going to win. I will post some photos in a few days.

Maya the singer was also there supporting Clinton and she looked really hot. I mean, she looks good in movies, but in person she looks even prettier. I got to say hi to her too, so I am happy :) I also made some friends while standing in line before I got in. I met some students from American University and talked to them for about half an hour.

In terms of my own political stance, I feel like I am moving closer and closer to Libertarianism. Lately I feel growingly distant from popularists like John Edward (whom I supported in the 2004 primary) and taking even more cynical view towards the religious right. I mean, I was a free trade, anti-affirmative action, pro-gun Democrat in the first place. I have been watching the Bill Maher show a lot since I moved to DC and I think he's pulling me towards the Libertarian direction.

update

2007-08-30T22:18:51Z

Alright, someone nudged me for an update, so here it is:

1. My company is going well, business is going smoothly. Got a large hospital as client on Monday, so I am happy about it. Also, I salvaged a SPAC deal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_purpose_acquisition_company) for my dad this week. The deal collapsed and I devised a compromise for my dad and his business partner, and now the IPO is scheduled in October. I am proud of myself, those ADR skills from law school is paying off.

2. Dating front: nothing yet. I feel like I need to get out there and start meeting people. I don't think bars is a good way for me to meet people, so I have to think of a venue where I can meet a lot of girls. Maybe volunteering, social gatherings, or just through networking. Actually, there are a lot of hot law students in my building. I met one of them yesterday and she was super nice. I am kind of getting excited about the prospect of dating in DC. I have never been on the dating market before, I have always just dated my friends around me. Actually I am kind of lazy about it. I just want a nice girlfriend without having to put in the search effort, could we just skip the dating part? Lol, I know the world doesn't run that way, so hopefully I don't have to date too many girls before I find a good one to settle down with.

3. George Sunny visited me last weekend. It was nice seeing him again, I put him to good use by get him to do some heavy lifting at IKEA. He didn't change much, still the big nerd I know of from undergrad (I think he gained like 10 pounds, must be those dorm room food). He didn't get to stay for my housewarming party because he had to leave for Phili. Talking about it, the Saturday night housewarming party was a big success. A lot of my friends came and we ran out of food at the end, which I guess is a good sign. Will have another one in a few months, watch out for an invitation.

4. I wanted to try this restaurant for a long time ( www.2amyspizza.com ). Anyone up for it?

Friends only

2007-08-02T04:48:48Z

To all:

Most of my journals are friends only. So if you want to read them send me a friends request :)

Love
Dan

work

2007-08-02T04:48:05Z

For the last two weeks I've been working and working and working. I wake up usually around 10 in the morning. Since I work from home, I jump into the shower and I start working, and I work until about 2 AM everyday (except last night when an addictive game introduced to me by Kellev kept me up playing it until 1AM). It's going to be like this for the next 2 months I think, which is not too bad. I actually enjoy what I do a lot, it's just that I wish I had more time to socialize, especially that now I am moving into DC. I wanted to have a housewarming party on the 11th, but it seems like I have to cancel it due to work. I am going to reschedule it for sometime in October.

Ok, back to working :)

Oh by the way, if I haven't told you, I am moving to Cleveland park this weekend. I can't wait.

Break Up Lawyer Style

2007-07-21T21:12:37Z

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rpS51QBpqQM

I knew this before already, but still makes me angry

2007-07-11T00:21:28Z

WASHINGTON, July 10 — Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional committee today that top officials in the Bush administration repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.

Dr. Carmona, who served as surgeon general from 2002 to 2006, said White House officials would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues because of political concerns. Top administration officials delayed for years and attempted to “water down” a landmark report on secondhand tobacco smoke, he said in sworn testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

He was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of every speech he gave, Dr. Carmona said. He was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings, at least one of which included Karl Rove, the president’s senior political adviser, he said.

And administration officials even discouraged him from attending the Special Olympics because, he said, of that charitable organization’s longtime ties to the Kennedy family.

“I was specifically told by a senior person, ‘Why would you want to help those people?’ ” Dr. Carmona said.

The Special Olympics is one of the nation’s premier charitable organizations to benefit disabled people.

Dr. Carmona joins a list of present and former Bush administration officials who assert that politics often trumped science within what had previously been nonpartisan government health and scientific agencies.

His testimony comes two days before the Senate confirmation hearings of his designated successor, Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr., who was nominated this year by President Bush. Two members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions have already declared their opposition to Dr. Holsinger’s nomination because of a 1991 report he wrote that concluded that homosexual sex is unnatural and unhealthy. Dr. Carmona’s testimony may further complicate Dr. Holsinger’s nomination.

Bill Hall, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the Bush administration disagreed with Dr. Carmona’s statements about political pressure. “It has always been this administration’s position that public health policy should be rooted in sound science,” Mr. Hall said.

But Representative Henry A. Waxman, the chairman of the House oversight committee, sharply criticized the Bush administration, saying it was putting politics above health issues.

“Political interference with the work of the surgeon general appears to have reached a new level in this administration,” Mr. Waxman said in his opening statement, adding, “The public expects that a surgeon general will be immune from political pressure and be allowed to express his or her professional views based on the best available science.”

In his testimony, Dr. Carmona said that at first he was so politically naïve that he had little idea how inappropriate the Bush administration’s actions were. He eventually consulted six previous surgeons general — Republican and Democrat — and all agreed, he said, that he faced more political interference than they did.

On issue after issue, Dr. Carmona asserted, the Bush administration made decisions about important public health issues based solely on political considerations, not scientific ones.

“I was told to stay away from those because we’ve already decided which way we want to go,” Dr. Carmona said.

He described attending a meeting of top officials in which the subject of global warming was discussed. The other officials concluded that global warming was a liberal cause and dismissed it, he said.

“And I said to myself: ‘I realize why I’ve been invited. They want me to discuss the science because they obviously don’t understand the science,’ ” he said. “I was never invited back.”

He said the science is clear that effective sexual education efforts must offer what he called a “comprehensive approach.”

“However, there was already a policy in place to only support sexual education efforts that discussed only abstinence, he said.

After serving one full term as surgeon general, Dr. Carmona was not asked by the White House to serve another. Before becoming surgeon general, he was in the Army Special Forces, earned two purple hearts in the Vietnam War, was a trauma surgeon and a leader of the Pima County, Ariz., SWAT team. He is now vice chairman of Canyon Ranch, a resort and residential development company.

New Apartment

2007-07-09T05:30:32Z

So Kazoojew and I went to see a few apartments today and I really liked an apartment in Woodly Park. It's fairly big, metro accessible, and the landlord feels pleasant. I am hoping they are going to accept my application.

If I get to live there, I will be 15 min walk from both Kellev and Kazoojew, which would be great. Also, the place is full of young people. I feel very refreshing when I was there.

Must see! Great 1 Bedroom apartment only 2 blocks from the Woodley/Zoo metro on Red Line. Has a large kitchen with 10 foot solid oak counter and cabinets, walk-in closet, even comes with a sauna and wood burning fireplace (perfect in the winter).

Wall to wall carpet, central air conditioning (a must this summer!), and
recessed lighting throughout.

Apartment can rent as early as July 15 but no later than August 1st.
Apartment is on basement level with private, gated entrance in a
townhouse. Would love to show it to you.

Requires year lease and at least one month security deposit. Utilities
are included.

Due to unexpected trip, we were not able to show the apartment last week. We will be showing it again this weekend on Sunday, July 8th from 11:00 - 3:00 pm. Please call for appointment. 202-285-5905 or 202-986-3230 Address: 2629 Garfield Street, N.W.

Directions: Metro: Redline to Woodley Park/Zoo. From elevator, 1 block
north up Connecticut, left on Garfield. Half block, house on right side.

By Car: Take Connecticut North from Downtown DC or South from Beltway.
Garfield is off Connecticut Avenue between Woodley Road and Cathedral.

Neighborhood Details

Restaurants and Nightlife:
Walking distance to three great neighborhoods: Woodley Park, Cleveland
Park, and Adams Morgan. Each neighborhood has many fine restaurants,
bars, grocery stores, and services.

Metro and Transportation:
2 blocks walking to the Woodley Park metro station. Also easy access to
Rock Creek Parkway. By car, only 5 minutes to Georgetown and Watergate,
10 minutes to Memorial Bridge, 15 minutes to National Airport.

Nearby Hotels:
Only a couple blocks from the historic Marriott Wardman Hotel and the
Shoreham Hotel.

Recreation and Attractions:
Close to National Zoo, Rock Creek Park for biking, hiking, picnics, and
the historic Uptown movie theater which has the largest movie screen in
the city.

whining

2007-07-02T20:22:31Z

I am having a stomach ache, ouch :*(

Candidates' names are tough in Chinese

2007-06-27T15:06:42Z

Mitt Romney's been called many things as he runs for president, but chances are "Sticky Rice" isn't one of them.

That's how his name might be read on some ballots, according to state Secretary William Galvin.

Galvin says the federal Justice Department is pressuring Boston election officials to translate candidates' names into Chinese characters in precincts with prominent Chinese-speaking populations.

But there's more than a little lost in translation, according to Galvin.

Since there's no Chinese character for "Romney," translators have resorted to finding characters that most closely match the sound of each syllable in the name.

The problem is that there are many different characters that could be used to match the sound of each syllable, and many different meanings for each character.

So Mitt Romney could be read as "Sticky Rice" or "Uncooked Rice." Fred Thompson might be read as "Virtue Soup." And Barack Obama could be read as "Oh Bus Horse."

Galvin's own name could be read at least two different ways, as "High Prominent Noble Educated" or "Stick Mosquito."

But perhaps the most perplexing translation would be for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's name, which could be read as "Sun Moon Rainbow Farmer" or "Imbecile," or "Barbarian Mud No Mind of His Own."

"To try to make rhymes or approximations in Chinese, you can have unintended negative meanings," Galvin said. "It leads to confusion. You can render it with a good meaning or a bad meaning."

To add to the confusion, Galvin said, the ballots have to be offered in two major Chinese dialects, Mandarin and Cantonese, leading to even more potential variations of candidates's names.

But advocates for minority voting rights say Galvin's objections are misdirected. If the translations are awkward, they say, the candidates should be free to offer variations, or look to the way Asian language newspapers already transliterate their names.

"We are looking to make sure Asian Americans are able to vote for their candidates of choice," Glenn Magpantay, staff attorney of the New York-based Asian American Defense Fund, told the Boston Globe. "This is difficult to do when voters with limited English proficiency cannot find those candidates."

Cynthia Magnuson, spokeswoman to the Justice Department's civil rights division, said a system is needed to let voters with limited English vote without the aid of election monitors.

"This will allow them to vote independently," she said.

Galvin said he supports translating the bulk of the ballots into Chinese as required by a 2005 agreement with the justice department, as long as the names of the candidates' names remain in Roman letters.

Lost and Found

2007-06-20T21:31:47Z

I lost my cell phone last night on the Metro. I was crouching my legs up because the seat is so tight on the DC metro and my cell phone slipped out of my pocket. Anyway, so this black guy just called me and told me that he found my phone and is returning it to me. I am a happy camper :)

66% of Americans believe in Creationism? That's mind boggling

2007-06-09T00:41:27Z

Fri Jun 8, 2:22 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Asked their views on whether human life is a result of God's creation or a product of evolution, one quarter of Americans chose both conflicting theories, a poll suggested Friday.

"All told, 25 percent say that both creationism and evolution are definitely or probably true," USA Today said.

Overall, more Americans expressed a strong belief in creationism, or the theory that God created humans in their present form at a single period in time within the last 10,000 years.

A full 66 percent said they believed in creationism, with 39 percent of those polled saying it was definitely true and 27 percent believing it was probably true.

But 53 percent said they believed in evolution, the scientific theory that humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life. Eighteen percent said evolution was definitely true, while 35 percent said it was probably true.

The results were released in a USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,007 adults, taken between June 1-3. The margin of error was three percent.

The polarizing issue of how life came to be has worked its way into US classrooms in recent years. Some states have enacted legislation that says teachers must include critical analysis of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory.

More recently, the question divided Republican presidential candidates who traditionally represent the Christian conservative elements of US society, with three answering in last month's debate that they do not believe in evolution.

update

2007-06-07T13:02:19Z

I was in China for the last three weeks for business reasons. The Chinese government deemed livejournal "anti-revolutionary' and blocked it, hence I could not update anything. I am having a pretty bad case of jet lag at the moment and am really hungry. I am plan to go get some food and grocery right now. A more comprehensive update when I get back.

Blogging in Tokyo

2007-05-18T05:33:37Z

I have 4 hour gap time in Japan on my flight to Beijing. There's a free internet cafe in the Narita Airport in Tokyo, so now just cathcing up on things. Surprisingly the 20 hour flight was not that bad, I do not have a headache or anything at this moment. I had a nice shrimp burger at the local McDonald's just now and it was heavenly. The prices here is bloody unbelievable, but the food is good.

Will blog more when I get to China.

China !

2007-05-16T05:49:27Z

I am off to China in about 5 hours. I will be back on June 5th. I will try to post on this journal while I am in China. In the mean time, I will see all of you in DC in June :)