Colin's Blog

Another nice flash animation by Cary Huang. Sometimes I think it is a hubris of all theoretical physicists to speculate about what is happening at scales 10⁺ orders of magnitudes away from the observables that we know, but the picture here is truely stunning!

    12个月，365个日夜

    9个半月在大不列颠

    1个月在欧罗巴大陆

    1个半月在魔都

    人生中多了2个非常好的密友

    到过9个国家

    有36天在旅途

    读了10本小说

    上电影院看了4部片子

    写了31篇博客

    发了1448条推

    跑步累计205km

    长了2kg的膘

    换了1台本本

    换了1部手机

    仅打了16场毛毛球

    却打坏了用了近7年的球拍

    番茄炒蛋练至100级

    修了10门课

    水了1篇论文

    过了5个月几乎每天22点以后回家的日子

    刷掉了30+支水笔圆珠笔

    打了1个月的工挣了点零花钱

    收到了0个offer

    生活还在继续

    说好的世界末日放鸽子了

    所以，2012，继续加油吧！

    My old pal Palm Treo 650 finally retired after five years of service. It was recently replaced by a ZTE V880 Blade phone. It's quite a funny story that the new android phone, which was manufactured by a Chinese brand, was supposed to be exported to Japan but was then updated to a latest Swedish version by me on the first day it got home. I soon found that I couldn't visit the android market to download softwares. Nor was I able to sync my phone with my Google account. Big problem! 

    This blog post is about how I resolved the problem of not being able to connect the android market, hope it would also work for any other android users who also encounter simliar problems.

    IMPORTANT: Please note that the system files will be modified in this approach. If you decide to do the same thing, do remember to backup the files under the \system folder of your device before copying and pasting new files.

    All the files you need are

• GSM Service Package
• Root Explorer
• Android Market

    Then try to follow the basic instructions of the solution

1. Unpack the GSM package. There are about a dozon .apk files under the folder \system\app\. These are the key files (which were originally missing on my phone) to getting access to the android market. Copy them to your card.
2. Copy these .apk files from your card to the RAM folder \system\app\ using Root Explorer (see attached). The action has to be done in a R/W mode. If the same files are already in your RAM, then you can forget about everything written here and hopefully find other solutions...
3. Edit the Permissioin options for all these copied files using Root Explorer. Authorize Owner/Group/Others the permissions to read, write and execute. You may need to make settings for the .apk files one by one.
4. Reboot your phone. Install the android market program. Check whether your phone becomes tamed XD

    Yes, Rome is truly the most popular destination for travelers from all over the world. Swarms of tourist can be seen everywhere. The tourism groups are taking a who-can-block-the-entrances-and-the-passages-more-tightly competition. No use to say ‘excuse me’, it never works here. Also get prepared to wait for hours to get admission to the most well-known attractions. The lines waiting to enter the Vatican Museum extend to about a half kilometer at 9am, the opening hour of the museum. Even if you have preordered a ticket online, you still need 5 minutes to skip the lines, I mean, to walk pass all these people waiting out there. The situations at the Colosseum are no better. The only difference the the line at the Colosseum is curved so it seems to be shorter. If you want to take a portrait photo at these sites without other guys in the screen, please forget it. I beg you. Just don’t think about it.

    Apart from the crowdedness, the other one deep impression that Rome left on me is its disorder. There are as many annoying vendors as swarms of tourists near the places of interest. It gave me an illusion that I was back in China. At every corner you see vendors selling all kinds of ludicrous souvenirs. I could never understand in what universe that a tourist visiting the historical sites in Rome would want to buy a bouncy rubber pig. Nor could I know from what ages that guy who asks to take photos for tourists with an old-styled instant digital camera comes, when everyone has their own cameras. Near the Colosseum, dozens of guys dressed in ugly gladiator costumes warmly welcome tourists to take photos with them and then ask for an unbelievably high fee. I wonder why they don’t wait until midnight and use their sword to rob someone? It’s much easier and more time-saving, isn’t it? At the Vatican Museum, ‘yellow bulls’ offering a skipping line priority ticket can be found every 10 steps. As a Chinese, I feel like home. At a stone throw’s way from the Roma Forum, I see street musicians playing jazz or dancing flamingo. Something is just not right.

    The tourist offices are also badly organized. Following the directions from the terminal train station, you will get to the main tourist office which no longer exists. If you do manage your way to a tourist office, you will find a lot of introductions about the Roma Pass, also introduced by many travel guides. Roma Pass seems to be a nice toolkit to wander around in the city. However, this turns out to be one of the most ridiculous city passes I have ever seen. The pass only allows the holder to get into the first two museums for free. From then on, they so kindly give the pass holder a reduced price for entrances, normally 25% - 40% off a full ticket. What kind of ‘pass’ is this? Maybe I should call Oxford Press to revisit the definition of ‘pass’. Let alone the Vatican Museum, the most famous and important museum is NOT included in the city pass!

    Also the public transportation. The Rome metro system is more than horrible. There are two metro lines A and B running under the city. But I have no idea how these two routes were originally designed. Getting off at St Pietre Square station, one needs another 15-minute walk to reach the square. As the unique change station of the two lines, the terminal station is no place like a main metro station. It is so old and shabby that makes me think that the station is supposed to be built like this so it could stand in coherence with the time-honored architectures in the city. The platforms of the terminal station are like a million miles from the ground. The guiding signs are very confusing. One of the signs are simply printed on a cardboard and hanged from the ceiling.

    Well, that is the Rome I see. Totally no idea how these guys could complete such magnificent constructions more than a thousand years ago. I don't think the Rome city today is a nice place to visit, but what can I say? There are crowds of people out there dying to come to Rome and see the ancient wonders with their own eyes, just like what I was looking forward to a few days ago.

    Bonjour, France! The beautiful Mediterranean, wonderful sunshine, what more could go? France is awesome!

    The only thing fretting me is that I feel like an illiterate monkey in this country, without the ability to speak one single sentence in French. I have not expected the awkward moments when talking in English as if it were my native language. I have never expected the even more awkward moments when I communicate with those who don't speak English with all kinds of funny gestures and body language. After the first three days in France, I have convinced myself that I could have been a really good stand-up comedian.

    First stop in Lyon. First of all, many thanks to nevereven for letting me sleepover at his place and treating me so warmly.

    Climbing up to the Fourviere Hill, the great view of the whole city from the above is gorgeous. Sitting on the top of the hill is Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. The style of the  basilica is so different from the cathedrals in Britain. I do think the French architects are nuts. The decorations of the building are highly intensive and luxuriant.

    A leisure walk in the old Lyon city streets is also a nice experience. One may also want to go to Parc de la Tete d'Or, a large park at the northeast of the city. It is a quite interesting park with a lake, a rose garden, a botanic garden, a zoo, and even an art museum. Way better than the London Hyde Park in my personal opionion!

    I visited Marseille after wandering around Lyon. For those who want to explore the city, a Marseille citypass is absolutely a very nice deal, which can be obtained from the tourism office near the Old Port of Marseille. With the citypass one can get access to all the public transportations and museums.

    The Old Port of Marseille (Vieux-Port) must be the first stop for any tourist. I felt so excited when I saw the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.

    From the Old Port, there are boats running every 45 minutes to Chateau d'If, which situates on an island 2km from the land. The Chateau was a fortress and later became a prision. But it became immortal due to Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo. Even the boat I took was entitled Edmond Dantes, the name of the main character from the famous novel.

    The Old Port of Marseille is itself a place of interest as well. It is geographically a natural setting for a habour. Nowadays, it still serves as a harbour. There is a fish market every day at the port.

    From the Port, one can take tram trains up to Notre Dame de la Garde, a landmark of Marseille sitting at the highest point of the city. Also a breath-taking view from the top. The Chateau, the Old Port and many other symbolic buildings can all be viewed from here.

    The Marseille Cathedral is another landmark of Marseille. It is a Roman Catholic Cathedral, and by all means, sumptuous.

   一个非常粗略的英国旅游记录。详细游记照片陆续一万年后更新，敬请期待！

    (Read Full Text...)

    大约半个月过中秋节时候做的鲜肉月饼们。毫无疑问的做过的技术含量最高的料理，尽管只是无脑跟着网上找的教程一步一步做的，还是有必要小纪念一下 XD

    原材料：面粉，猪油，肉糜，姜，蜂蜜，蛋黄，糖，酱油，等等等等记不清。

    这些东西捣成了一坨肉馅，两坨面团。

    其中一坨叫水油面，另一坨叫油酥面，他们俩用一种非常高科技的方式揉和到一起，烤好了就会形成层状结构的外皮。

    在捏饼子的时候，发现怎么都没法让饼子收起口来。不知是自己手太笨，还是面团水油配比的问题。教程上的面粉量是按重量给的，但是我没有秤。于是通过目测面粉包装袋体积，然后除净重，估算出面粉密度大约是水的一半，接下来就拿量杯估测需要的用量了，多半是不太靠谱。。。反正最后又揉了一小团很湿很粘的面团，在每个面饼屁股底下都贴了一张狗皮膏药，防侧漏。。。

    最终成品图，卖相就酱紫了。

    肉汤还是漏出来了，不过月饼的味道还是很好的，特别是外面的酥皮，很 nice！

    最后附赠一张很久以前的自娱自乐，鬼知道我要最什么。。。

    再顺便附赠一份打印版鲜肉月饼制作攻略，请猛击这里。