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May 30 虽然最近很忙，还是去考察了一下AMC Rosedale新装的IMAX，博物馆之夜2，价格比平常的贵4块，就是说平时9块，周末13块。进去看了这个IMAX果然够烂够山寨啊，虽然我很有心理准备了但是还是没想到居然有这么烂。跟原来这个厅的普通屏幕大小几乎没区别，比Marcus Oakdale的那个Ultra-Screen和Burnsville那个Super-Screen都小很多。网上有些人说这个不是主要的，也许吧，但是分辨率也太差了，我甚至觉得有些重影，虽然边缘是没有光晕的，但是看人脸就看的出来轮廓里面的颜色不均匀，看着很假，有印象派绘画的感觉。座位也没看出跟原来有什么区别，去掉了最前面几排？也许吧，反正我从来不坐最前面几排。座位的角度没有变化，还是一般的stadium seating的倾斜角度, 坐在横向走廊后边第一排对屏幕的视角跟以前一模一样。画面颜色比一般的格式稍微鲜艳一些，但是这个区别就相当于我在家看电视把显示从theater view调成game view是一样的。总而言之，就是把原来一样的效果(其实我真的觉得不如原来的)直接改了个名字并且涨了价。不明白怎么还会有人会说重要的不是屏幕大小，而是immersive的experience。 这个分辨率有个P的immersive experience。 村里来的连好一点的DLP屏幕都没见过的可能会这么觉得，业内人士这么说不就是睁着眼说瞎话么。 还有人说本来不同IMAX影院的屏幕大小就是有区别的，拜托知道啥叫量变到一定程度就质变么。看来美国网上的5毛党还是很多的。而且IMAX的CEO居然无耻到说不能标出屏幕大小是因为新的IMAX theater去掉了前面几排座位所以屏幕显得比实际的大。这个么，以前老的IMAX本来就没有前面几排座位的，而且座位基本上接近垂直，他是想说现在这种去掉前面几排座位就比以前接近垂直的座位还好么。人怎么能这么无耻+无视逻辑啊。超级讨厌那个IMAX CEO. 之前他举的那个宝马的例子不就是把消费者当傻子么。7系列也是宝马，3系列也是宝马，没错。可是人家宝马标明了3系列和7系列阿。宝马这个商标相当于IMAX这个商标，你对应人家的系列呢？哪里去了？你标出屏幕尺寸不是刚好才对应人家的不同系列么。这种话也亏他好意思跟媒体讲哦。坚决抵制digital IMAX这个山寨货。希望AMC Rosedale早点把这个破厅关掉，换上Sony的4K projector, 真的比这个IMAX强多了。看完博物馆之夜，我又去另外一边一个同样大小的屏幕(AMC Rosedale有两个最大的屏幕，以前没有IMAX的时候新片都是用这两个)看了Drag me to hell, 感觉真的比那个所谓的IMAX强多了，画面真实很多，而且音响效果实际上也很好啊，而且这个根本不多收一分钱，只要新片上映的时候去看就好了。以后要看便宜一些的大屏幕还是要去Oakdale, 7块钱就能看Twin Cities仅次于动物园的大屏幕，而且几乎每周最火的电影都可以放，不局限于IMAX那几部电影，分辨率跟AMC这个伪IMAX比就是天上地下啊。要看真正的IMAX还是要去动物园(不过我估计动物园这个命不久矣了, 呵呵，还好我还在这儿也就呆一年了)。其实St. Michael那个电影院短命的IMAX效果最好了，可惜Twin Cities撑不起这个市场，那个厅就放了一部The Dark Knight就死翘翘了，呵呵。
写了这么多，最重要的还是要警告大家，看变形金刚2的时候，一定不要被IMAX没有区分的网站欺骗，去AMC看这个伪IMAX啊。100%看不出什么效果的，放心好了。去那里只会贡献伪IMAX票房让IMAX继续胡扯这个跟以前的没区别。现在去这些地方看Star Trek和博物馆的人我相信90%都是被坑蒙拐骗的消费者。IMAX现在就忙不迭地说大家纷纷表示影响不大了，他也不想想人家没见过它这个新的如何当然要像我这样先考察一下咯，过一段时间看看他还能不能这么说吧。
另外，Drag me to hell真是好片啊，又吓人又搞笑。整部电影充满了能让你先吓得惊叫一声然后把下巴笑掉下来的镜头，很久没看过这么好看的鬼片了，强烈推荐。
May 14 从小到大我都觉得社会总是进步的，现在才第一次感受到原来有些东西也不是越来越先进的。本来看到AMC网页上把Rosedale加到将要新添的IMAX影院里面挺开心的，以为很快可以在很近的地方看IMAX了，后来网上一搜才发现原来AMC从去年开始加的IMAX厅都是山寨货。而且看IMAX的意思，以后就专攻山寨了，有放弃追求最好效果的打算了。去年的The Dark Knight才开始有人用IMAX摄影机拍大片，现在IMAX自己先放弃了，呵呵，这个世界上的事情还是很ironic的。今年不看变形金刚的话，可能以后再也看不到IMAX摄影机拍的大片了。 http://www.lfexaminer.com/20081016.htm Is IMAX the next "New Coke"? An editorial by James Hyder, Editor/Publisher
In April 1985, the CEO of Coca Cola held a press conference in New York City to announce that the company was changing the century-old formulation of its famous soft drink. The new version was officially given the “Coca Cola” name, and production of the original formula was halted that week.
The new soda, which became widely (but unofficially) known as “New Coke,” had received favorable reactions in taste tests and focus groups. But ultimately, millions of customers, angered that the company would suddenly change the product it had labeled “The Real Thing,” pressured it to reintroduce the original flavor. The company hurriedly returned it to store shelves less than three months later, re-branded as “Coke Classic.” Coke executives were widely ridiculed for underestimating their customers’ devotion to the brand and for their perceived highhandedness in tinkering with a classic.
In September 2008, Richard Gelfond, co-CEO of Imax Corporation, told members of the Giant Screen Cinema Association that “we don’t think of [IMAX] as the giant screen.” Rather, he said, “it is the best immersive experience on the planet.”
The company takes this position because it has chosen not to differentiate its new digital projection system in any way from the 15/70 film systems it has been installing in giant-screen theaters since 1970. This despite the fact that, according to Imax VP Larry O’Reilly, its two major digital partners, AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment Group, both originally wanted to brand the new screens as “IMAX Digital.” And based on the reaction Gelfond’s announcement received in New York (and on many conversations I’ve had since) many, if not most, institutional IMAX operators would prefer this as well. In short, virtually all of Imax’s customers and partners would like to see a distinct new identity for the digital system.
But Gelfond flatly rejected this possibility, offering an absurdly flawed analogy with BMW automobiles. He said that the German carmaker offers the 7-series line of larger, more powerful, luxury models as well as the smaller, entry-level 3-series cars. “People don’t say ‘The 3 isn’t a real BMW because it’s smaller.’”
Of course, this ignores the fact that the model numbers, to say nothing of the prices, clearly distinguish BMW’s different product lines in consumers’ minds, while maintaining the unity of the brand. No car buyer believes he has bought a $125,000 760Li only to receive a $30,000 328i.
Yet this is the position in which Imax is now putting customers who pay $15 to see Eagle Eye: The IMAX Experience at New York City’s new AMC Empire 25 IMAX digital theater, with its 28x58-foot (8.5x18 meter) screen. They see the IMAX name on the theater and have no idea until after their ticket has been torn and they walk into the auditorium that that screen is about the same size as the one in the adjacent 35mm auditorium, and less than a quarter the size of the one in the AMC Lincoln Square IMAX 15/70 theater, 26 blocks away. The screen in the older film theater is 76x98 feet (23x30 meters). Here’s a graphic representation of the difference: 
Gelfond explained that the company feared an “IMAX Digital” brand might cast the older film-based theaters as “second-class citizens” in the public’s mind, since “digital” generally has connotations of “newer,” and “cooler.”
Although this apparent concern for museums and other “old school” operators is touching, it seems far more likely that the company was worried that ticket buyers who noticed the difference between the average 4,800 square-foot (450 square-meter) 15/70 film screen and a digital one 1,250 square feet (120 square-meters) in area wouldn’t return to the smaller if they could see the same movie on the larger.
In other words, “IMAX Digital” might become the next “New Coke.” Widespread public preference for the “classic” experience would harm Imax’s return on the tens of millions of dollars it is investing in the 170+ joint venture deals it has signed.
The “wow” factor
Gelfond claimed that the company only puts IMAX digital systems into multiplex auditoriums that meet certain criteria. He jokingly said, “It’s a very scientific test. It’s called the ‘wow’ factor. So if you don’t go in and go ‘wow,’ we won’t do it.”
In more than 24 years in the business, I have personally been in 132 giant-screen theaters of all brands, formats, and sizes, including four MPX (15/70 film) theaters and five IMAX digital screens. I may be jaded, but none of those nine coaxed even a faint “wow” from my lips, because all were merely ordinary multiplex houses that had been modified slightly. The seating rake was unchanged and nowhere near the 20–25-degree angle that is standard in purpose-built IMAX theaters. The room’s depth, from the screen to the last row, may have been reduced slightly by moving the screen forward and removing a few rows of seats. But most were still significantly deeper than the width of the screen, thus providing the audience a narrower (i.e., less immersive) average field of view.
But most importantly, of course, the screens were only a fraction of the size of a “real” IMAX theater screen. And all were shorter, 1.9-aspect-ratio screens, not the tall 1.44 screens of classic IMAX theaters. And let’s face it, the biggest aspect of the “wow” factor is height. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that even a very wide screen is not nearly as impressive as a one that towers six or eight stories high.
The screen door effect
Using two high-powered digital projectors, the IMAX digital system projects an image that is bright, with good contrast and slightly better resolution than other digital projectors. But every IMAX digital theater I’ve been in has also had a noticeable “screen door effect,” that is, a visible dark grid pattern separating the pixels. It is particularly noticeable in lighter image areas, and is less visible the farther you are from the screen. But even with my 53-year-old eyes, I was able to see it from the front half of most of the five theaters I’ve been in. If you move back to eliminate the pattern, your field of view becomes narrower, and hence no different than an ordinary movie theater.
At the New York demonstration, I was seated in the fourth row next to a long-time IMAX theater manager. I had not said anything to him about my perceptions of the IMAX digital theaters I had already seen. But the moment the first image came up on the screen — it was the MPAA rating card for the first trailer — I heard a gasp as he noticed the screen door pattern that made the card’s white-on-green text look “jaggy.” He later confirmed being stunned at how obvious and distracting the pattern was.
Although many people I spoke with after the demo shared this reaction, to my surprise not everyone found the pattern as noticeable or distracting as I had. Some didn’t see it, others did, but didn’t mind it as much.
But for me it is clearly the biggest reason to say, “This is not IMAX.” I grant that the image is bright and contrasty, and has good color. And it only took hearing a shuttle launch in Space Station 3D to know that the new sound system is fully up to IMAX standards. I might even be willing to compromise on the aspect ratio.
But IMAX — real IMAX — presents reality. Not reality as seen through a screen door.
And even though it beats conventional 2K for brightness and contrast, IMAX digital is not, in my opinion, better than Sony’s 4K SXRD system. At ShoWest in Las Vegas last spring, I saw 21 in 4K on a screen that was at least 60 feet wide, maybe bigger. I intentionally took a seat less than one screen-height from the screen, right next to David and Patricia Keighley, as it happened. I found the Sony’s image to be bright, contrasty, and sharp, and as good or better than film would have been at that size. And most importantly, I couldn’t see any pixels or patterns.
Conclusions
Let me make one thing clear: I am not opposed to digital projection in principle, or to the IMAX digital system in particular. I think the change to digital projection in the giant-screen world is inevitable. And I fully admit that the IMAX digital system is superior, in certain respects, to some other digital systems.
But I object when anyone claims that two patently different things are the same. Where I come from that's known as “lying.” And call me naïve, but I don’t believe that any company whose business plan is based on deceiving its customers can succeed with that strategy for very long.
Imax Corporation, whose very name means “image maximum,” has spent four decades persuading the public that that name is synonymous with “big,” with giant screens, with an experience that is completely unlike that of conventional multiplex cinema.
If, for perfectly understandable business reasons, Imax now has to move into those smaller screens, let it distinguish this new product from the other screens in that theater, as a “premium multiplex experience,” as Sydney’s Mark Bretherton has suggested.
But expecting the ticket-buying public to believe that that experience is identical to one on a screen three or four times larger is insulting. People who have been to a true giant-screen theater will realize they have been misled, and will be disappointed, if not angry. Those who haven’t will wonder what the big deal about IMAX is, and will assume that any real giant-screen theater they come across in the future has nothing better to offer and perhaps never will have the real IMAX Experience.
By not distinguishing between two different products, Imax has degraded its brand with all customers. And far from protecting the film-based theaters from second-class status, it has lowered the public’s perception of all IMAX theaters. This has even led some theaters in the institutional segment to consider dropping the IMAX brand from their marketing and perhaps even their signage. When your oldest customers want to disassociate themselves from your brand, something is wrong.
The tragic irony is that, forty years after Imax Corp. started trying to persuade Hollywood to shoot with IMAX cameras, the success of Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the first to do so, has finally encouraged several other directors to follow suit. Three or four coming films may incorporate 15/70 footage. And yet, by the time these movies open, the majority of IMAX theaters may be digital screens with 1.9 aspect ratios that make the dramatic transitions in resolution and image size all but invisible. What a waste!
The lesson from Coca Cola is clear: Although the “New Coke” incident was initially perceived as embarrassing to management, the company’s reputation was ultimately enhanced by its prompt response to customer concerns. With two distinct products, “Coke Classic” and “New Coke,” sales rocketed and the company regained the top market position it had lost to Pepsi years earlier. It has remained number one ever since. April 27 在网上看到一个人贴了这么一组照片，觉得还挺有意思的。其实这里这些画在墙上的所谓艺术，美国每个中等以上城市都有很多，现实中看我觉得都是很丑的，而且大多都脏兮兮的，很多乱糟糟的跟垃圾没什么区别。不过阳光好的时候拍在照片上看着还挺舒服的。美国这点挺好的，不管多破的地方拍在照片上都是能看的。 link: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=167134 
这个跟环境很搭调，是我觉得看上去最舒服的，尤其是那个坐着的人，还是很有感觉的。 
这个也还可以吧，那两把椅子摆得起到好处，感觉就像是在墙上画的草里一样。下面的就都比较random了 
看左边那个房子，这就是我经常说的美国房子让人不能忍的侧面。 
April 14 以前觉得10块钱4箱12罐的就很便宜了，这次买菜发现百事集团的只要7.76就2箱24罐的，真是不买都觉得过意不去啊。
在长志的诱拐下，跟他一起喜欢上了Hannah Montana, 看了很多迪斯尼频道演的这个电视剧，还跑去看了电影版午夜首映场，跟很多放映前都要尖叫的小女生同流合污。。。不过真的很喜欢啊，很多歌都很好听，虽然从电影的角度来说不能算是一部很好的电影。下次她来开演唱会的话我一定要去听。Miley长得有美国村姑+山东傻妞的气质，声音也很亲切，呵呵。另外3D的Monsters vs. Villians也不错哦。唉，我最近怎么净看些小孩的东西。High School Musical我也很喜欢的，1, 2, 3都看了一遍，这个电影让我对歌剧的喜欢更加深了。
April 06 让自己忙起来，生活充实起来，就会比较喜欢自己，也就会喜欢自己呆的地方，没有那么多抱怨。比如每天关心建设就会发现建设速度很慢，每天关心商店就会发现没有什么新店开张，每天出去吃饭就会发现没什么好吃的，等等。其实这些东西都应该是偶尔做一次，这样一般就不会觉得什么, 可能还会有小小的惊喜也说不定。而人的大部分时间是应该用来工作的，以前自己让一些leisure的东西喧宾夺主，所以才会搞得自己很depressed。工作没有做好，而物质层面的东西也很难满足自己由于过于频繁的check it out造成的过高的期望，所以两方面都会比较失落。回首想想，人生可以尽情挥霍浪费的青春已经不再了，剩下的，更多的应该是一种责任感，对自己和自己身边的人负责。好奇心需要保持，人生也还需要继续explore, 可是最黄金的时间已然逝去，以后应该静下心来，用心过好每一天繁复工作和锅碗瓢盆的日子。 March 14
The Sears Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, will soon become the Willis Tower. (Tribune photo by Alex Garcia / January 15, 2009)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-sears-tower-name-change-willis-march12,0,7014962.story
世界在改变阿，没有什么是永久的。
Come this summer, Chicago's iconic landmark known around the world is getting a new moniker: Willis Tower.
Willis Group Holdings, a London-based insurance broker, announced Thursday that it will consolidate its area offices to Sears Tower and as part of the deal, gets to put its own name on the 36-year-old skyscraper.
Willis will move nearly 500 associates into Willis Tower, at 233 S. Wacker, initially occupying more than 140,000 square feet on multiple floors. The company said the move to the new space, at $14.50 per square foot, will result in significant real estate cost savings, and that there is no additional cost to the company associated with renaming the building.
"It was part of our negotiations," said Willis spokesman Will Thoretz. "We are actually not having to pay anything for renaming the building."
The rental information is accurate but the terms of the deal are incomplete, said a Sears Tower spokesman, who declined to provide additional information.
"The details that have been disclosed are not a complete picture of the agreement," the spokesman said. "We view the economic terms to be proprietary information and do not reveal those for any of our transactions."
The move is a coup for Willis, which counts Aon Corp. as one of its main competitors. Come this summer, Willis' name will be on a tower taller than Aon Center.
"It's a tremendous boost for the Willis brand in North America," Thoretz said. "We're especially well known in the U.K., but we're relatively unknown in North America. We really feel this will make us a household name in the U.S."
A spokesman for Aon said, "Chicago is firmly established as a global financial center so we welcome their support for the city."
But what of any potential backlash, or the inability of Chicagoans to call the building anything but Sears Tower? "Old habits die hard but we feel that ultimately people will come to embrace the Willis name," Thoretz said.
That remains to be seen. For building tenants, the name change will cause them to re-evaluate how they refer to their workplaces and, more importantly, how they direct visitors to their offices.
"I'll suppose I'll tell them the structure formerly known as Sear Tower," said Ronald Safer, managing partner at Tower tenant Schiff Hardin LLP, in a nod to 'the artist formerly known as Prince.' "It is a sign of the times. These former institutions, the names will change as the bidding dictates."
The addition of Willis partially offsets the loss of Ernst & Young, which announced late last year that it would leave its 387,000 square feet in Sears Tower this summer and relocate to John Buck Co.'s new building at 155 N. Wacker.
Sears, Roebuck & Co., now based in Hoffman Estates, finished construction on the office building in 1973 but has not had offices in it since 1992. At the time it was the tallest building in the world and built for what was then the world's largest retailer. It was eclipsed in 1998 and is now the tallest in the Western Hemisphere.
A spokeswoman for Sears said the retailer was not approached about striking a deal to keep its name on the building. "We're saddened but we don't own the rights to the building." March 10
Ph.D. Student Qunzeng Liu and Professor Sachin Sapatnakar win Best Paper Award from ISPD
2009-03-09 12:00-05.00
Electrical and Computer Engineering Ph.D. student Qunzeng Liu and Professor Sachin S. Sapatnakar, Liu's advisor, have won the Best Paper Award for "Synthesizing a Representative Critical Path for Post-Silicon Delay Prediction" from the International Symposium on Physical Design (ISPD). The award will be presented during this year's opening session at ISPD's international symposium in San Diego. This symposium provides a high-quality forum for the exchange of ideas and results in critical areas related to the physical design of VLSI systems. The symposium's scope includes all aspects of physical design, from interactions with behavior- and logic-level synthesis, to back-end performance analysis and verification.
一直对自己的学术没什么信心, 抱怨多多。PhD的最后一年(鉴于现在毕业即失业，也可能不是最后一年^_^!)，拿到这个小奖，也算是对自己一个鼓励和安慰了。当然，拿这个奖感觉运气占了很大成分，这个做的东西其实还是比较初级的, 所以也没有特别兴奋。老板还是很开心的，他这种东西很多了，肯定是不在乎的了，看起来是为我开心，赫赫。他可能觉得一直给我打气都没有效果，这个奖或许能多多少少改变我有些浑浑噩噩的的状态吧。老板是好人，嗯。以后不管什么事情，还是要积极地去面对。
March 09 今天收到ISPD general chair的信，说大家虽然注册了会议，但是都不住开会所在的那个宾馆，导致他们很难跟宾馆和ACM交涉服务工作，可能还会影响ISPD跟ACM的contract什么的. OMG.
其实我本来也想过住他们宾馆的。老板给我的budget是一千，他们那个宾馆是Marriot Mission Valley, 一晚上170，号称是参加会议的discount价格, 4个晚上就是680，跟机票加一块大概刚好1000左右。但是这样我就不能租车了，有车还是要方便些，所以还是在网上找了deal, 附近一家Days Hotel, 真的比这个便宜很多很多，加上租车的钱也远远少于一千，而且也有免费网络什么的。
唉，心里有一点愧疚，不过希望是给老板省了钱吧，其实我分不清开会的钱哪些是学校报哪些是老板报，比如说这个吃饭吧都是按着学校的规定来的，也不知道老板的每次的budget剩下的是能roll over还是就给学校剥削了，不过还是本着给老板省钱的原则计划的，对不起ISPD了。经济危机大家都不容易，以前的时候我觉得学生不住会议指定宾馆天经地义吧，住了还觉得奢侈了，总归都有很多人会去住的。 March 08 我紧跟时代潮流:
1. 每天自己做饭。从国内回来之后下了两次'馆子', 一次小四川，一次Applebee, 吃遍双城计划彻底搁浅，不过好像也没什么好吃的可以explore了。还一直怨念的就是Azia, 以前经常在Eat Street上路过说以后去吃。
2. 尽量不出远门，车基本用来买菜。从国内回来以后只加过一次油。
3. 所有吃的能买Cub Foods牌就买Cub Foods牌，除非Cub Foods牌比其他的还贵。上周连冰激淋都换成了Cub Foods牌，表扬一下自己。想起以前自己还奢侈的吃哈根达斯，痛不欲生ing.
4. 不再逛街。从国内回来以后再也没有逛过街，于是就没有买过衣服。本来还想研究一下护肤去痘的，现在也基本搁浅。基本的洁面和保湿产品要等打折再买，不打折就用以前买了的旧的，即使不好用也得用完再说。
March 06 U.S. loses another 651,000 jobs
Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal - by G. Scott Thomas
America lost another 651,000 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate above 8 percent, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That means the nation has suffered a decline of 2.6 million jobs during the past four months. A total of 4.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007.
Unemployment shot up from 7.6 percent in January to 8.1 percent in February. The number of unemployed Americans increased by 851,000 during the month, rising to a total of 12.5 million.
The ranks of the long-term unemployed -- those out of work for 27 weeks or more -- increased by 270,000 in February to a total of 2.9 million.
Employment declines occurred in most sectors in February, with health care a notable exception.
The sharpest drop was recorded in the field of professional and business services, which lost 180,000 jobs in February. Other sharp losses occurred in manufacturing (down 168,000 jobs), construction (down 104,000 jobs), and financial activities (down 44,000 jobs)
Employment in health care actually increased by 27,000 jobs in February.
希望经济危机不要影响到上海中心大厦的修建, 632米，现在已经开始动工了，呵呵 :)
March 01
前几天租了电影The Hours, 好好看啊，很久没看过让我这么感动的电影了，太沉重了。尤其是对Nicole Kidman的样貌和演技都有了新的认识。 其实她还是很有天赋的，只不过可能后来变懒了而已。
February 26 停工近20年，平壤开始完成他们那座105层的饭店。居然在上面铺玻璃了，太牛了． 其实从skyline的角度来看，平壤并不算很差的, 尤其考虑到他们已经20年没搞什么建设了，就是楼房上色的不多，给人一种死气沉沉的感觉，晚上肯定也不会很亮。
February 23 大奖都跟大部分人预测的一样，那天at the movies节目预测的也全对了。最佳影片，导演，男主角，男配角，女主角，女配角，全对，大家都好厉害啊。之前网上流行的那个所谓的获奖名单泄密倒是错了不少。 Slumdog Millionaire拿下8个奖项，去世的Heath Ledger拿到最佳男配角，The Duchess最佳costume值得特别点一下。这是第一个我看过几乎所有提名影片的奥斯卡，对比影片和提名以及获奖情况，感觉收获还是很多的。 February 22 挺真实。我觉得留在美国的人，应该很多都是这样的心理路程吧。当然了，这是在美国经济好的时候，
不是像现在这样到处都找不到工作的境况下可以考虑的了。
标 题: 归与不归---我的心理路程
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Sat Feb 21 15:22:43 2009)
第一阶段，归
刚来美国的时候，20出头，那时候算是新新人类，对国内的潮流时尚了如指掌，去了一
个穷乡僻壤念书，学校里二三百中国人，不乏来美国N多年的人，对国内早已陌生，觉
得他们思想观念陈旧，对中国变化一无所知，从国内大城市的喧哗下乡到那种偏僻地方
的落差，让自己产生了强烈的海归愿望。第一个暑假就回国了，还找了一份internship
,虽然挣得不多，还是觉得很满足，对于将来回国势在必行。
第二阶段，很想归。
后来毕业给在一家中国有业务的公司实习，有一次工作机会回国，和家人表达了强烈的
海龟愿望。老爸不同意，说我这样的，没有工作经验的在中国的发展未必长远。后来静
下心来，换了个名校读金融。
第三阶段： 趋于平淡
毕业就赶上好年景，第一份工作就>十万，于是工作的前两年，忙着享受生活，买车买
房，经济上没有什么压力，又开始办身份。海龟的想法，就淡下来了。
第四阶段，有点迷茫
工作两三年后，重新拾起当年的回国愿望，自己在工作上渐渐的看不出会有实质上的飞
跃，工作虽说稳定报酬丰厚，可是人越来越懒惰不思进取。回国的问题上，开始考虑到
很多...
第五阶段--不归
这是我现在的思想阶段，也许以后也会有改变。回国的好处,大家都总结的很多了，这
是我主观在乎的几个方面：
1。事业上升的空间 -- 实现的可能性70%，因为语言熟悉，有国外的工作经验，名校背
景，机遇一定要比在美国多。但是,还有30%的可能还不如现在，主要是：国内人际关系
相对复杂，这么多年的国外生活已经让自己比较的单纯+LAYBACK，如果不加倍努力，把
握住机遇，可能还不如现在，虽说没有什么CHALLENGE,但是朝九晚五压力不大。
2。物质生活的丰富，实现的可能50%吧。正如大家都讨论的，名牌的东西这里其实更便
宜，我倒不是那么在乎名牌这些虚荣的东西，但是买房买车是不可避免的--我现在已经
有房有车，几乎都没有怎么费劲，可到了国内，不一定会这么轻松自如。反过来，国内
便宜的豆浆油条，FACIAL按摩，这又是在美国没法儿比的。所以好处各半吧。
3。精神生活的丰富--60%地实现可能性。吃喝玩乐声色场所多了，这是毋庸置疑的，但
是我关心的还有，个人自由，比如不习惯被别人问隐私啊；环境污染，这个几乎是自己
无法改变的；要防火防盗啊，这些在美国都已经习惯掉以轻心了。
4。亲情。离父母比较近，可以照顾他们，逢年过节不会有‘遍插茱萸少一人’的落寞
--这是唯一一点100%可以实现的。
说白了，我重视的这些方面，除了亲情，没有一点是可以让我死心塌地非要回国不可的
，事业上如果回国的话，自己可能还是有能力更上一个台阶的，但是，在国内争我目前
的工资，我可能至少要付出两倍的努力，青春易逝，真不知道那样值不值。
而亲情，一部分原因是自己担心父母年事已高，自己心有力而无法孝敬他们，但是，我
可以尽可能的在他们身体许可的时候接他们来美国常驻，身体不好的时候，我辞职专门
回国伺候他们也可以。
还有就是,我老妈给我灌输的:中国人有四种：
1。没钱的，生活无保障的，保姆啊，打工的，这些人很累很辛苦；
2。有钱的，但是渠道不干净的，当官的，违法乱纪钻空子的，这些人也许不辛苦，但
精神压力很大。
3，有钱的，靠自己努力得到的，这些人往往工作很累，压力很大，责任很多。
4，没钱的，但生活还能保障，这些人要么就是想得开，知足者常乐；想不开的，则抱
怨多多，但又没有能力改变自己现状。
所以，老妈总结，只有第三种，或者知足常乐的第四种，还算是活得比较快乐的；而鉴
于我这人不怎么知足，所以，我只能争取做第三种人。
但是，我现在在美国，物质生活比较丰富，又比较清闲的，算是第五种人，在中国除了
继承大笔遗产而不用做事的人，几乎看不到有这种工作的人。所以，我妈认为，你这第
五种生活，其实比第三种还好，那就别回来了。
我在国内同龄的朋友们，绝大多数混得不错，但不是顶尖的，他们心里都羡慕着当年我
在年龄尚小的时候就能出国扎根，如果现在给他们机会他们也还是愿意出来的，而我们
却挣扎着是不是要回国---围城啊。
February 17
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/02/16/daily24.html?surround=lfn
While government leaders were well-intentioned in setting up the Troubled Asset Relief Program, it’s a “lousy program,” U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis said at a business leaders forum Tuesday.
The U.S. Treasury told, not asked, U.S. Bank to participate in the program, which is a Darwinian attempt to “synthesize” weaker banks into stronger banks through consolidation, Davis said at the forum, held at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Minneapolis. U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB) sold $6.6 billion in preferred stock with warrants to the U.S. Treasury in November through its capital purchase program.
“There’s no A, R or P in TARP,” Davis said, adding that “troubled” is the only word in the phrase that’s accurate. “The ‘asset relief program’ has yet to occur.”
The problems with the U.S. Treasury Department’s program are that its goals and rules have changed since its inception last fall, it’s poorly defined and it’s caused collateral damage to healthy banks.
Davis said he would be “darned” if Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank would suffer collateral damage from the government’s “sloppy attempt at nationalizing the [banking] industry.”
The Twin Cities is lucky to have large, strong, healthy banks such as U.S. Bank, Wayzata-based TCF Financial Corp., St. Paul-based Bremer Bank and Wells Fargo & Co., which is based in San Francisco but has a large Minnesota presence, Davis said.
Other cities have tried to lure U.S. Bank away from Minneapolis, but Davis said that as long as he’s leading the company, it will keep its headquarters in the Twin Cities.
U.S. Bank, which has $247 billion in assets, was the sixth-largest commercial bank in the country as of the end of the third quarter of 2008. It has more than 2,500 banking offices in 24 states.
另外一则消息，原来Southwest Airlines现在这么大了。MSP机场彻底除了前十了，现在前两名航空公司都是Dallas的了。
Airline passenger levels plunge in November
Eagan-based Northwest Airlines ranked seventh among U.S. airlines based on the number of passengers, but it saw the biggest decline from a year ago, falling 20.7 percent to 3.3 million in November 2008.
Northwest’s parent company, Atlanta-based Delta (NYSE: DAL), ranked third with roughly 5.6 million passengers in November 2008, down just 2.9 percent from the November 2007.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. finished first with more than 7.4 million passengers for the month, down 10 percent from a year ago. The airline will begin serving Minneapolis, with flights to Chicago, in March.
Through the first 11 months of 2008, the number of scheduled domestic and international passengers on U.S. airlines dipped 3.5 percent to 684.1 million, the Department of Transportation said.
During that period, Northwest ranked sixth among U.S. carriers with about 45.3 million passengers (down 8.6 percent from a year ago) and Delta was third with 65.8 million (down 2.1 percent). Southwest again finished first with 94 million passengers (up 0.1 percent).
Meanwhile, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remained the busiest U.S. airport during the first 11 months of 2008, with 39.6 million domestic and international passenger boardings. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport did not crack the top 10.
February 14 随便写一点，有些牵强附会，呵呵。
最好看的电影: Slumdog Millionaire
最面面俱到的: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
最值得收藏的: The Dark Knight
最想睡觉又不能睡的: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
看的最投入的: The Visitor
最搞笑的: Vicky Cristina Barcelona
演得很搞笑的: 1. Doubt 2. Revolutionary Road
最好的悬疑: Tell No One
最傻的悬疑: Righteous Kill
最超出期望的: 21
最低于期望的: Narnia 2
最有中国特色的: 1. Kung Fu Panda 2. Hellboy 2 (色彩和武打)
有些感人的: 1. The Duchess 2. Rachel Getting Married 3. The Visitor 4. The Reader
觉得应该至少被提名一项奥斯卡结果没有的: Brideshead Revisited (至少除了演员感觉都不比The Reader差)
制作最好的动画片: Wall-E
奥斯卡所有提名里面画面最不清晰的: The Wrestler
奥斯卡最佳影片提名里面画面最不清晰的: Frost/Nixon
印象最深刻的角色: 1. The Reader的女主角 2. Appaloosa里面那个女的
取景我最喜欢的: 1. Brideshead Revisited 2. Sex and the City 3. The Visitor (前两个是好看，后一个是真实有代表性)
骂人骂得最爽的: RocknRolla
没有特别感觉，又觉得不错的: Milk
February 13 失事的真多，越发觉得他们那些矶里嘎拉晃来晃去的破飞机不安全。
50 Killed in Plane Crash Near Buffalo
Federal investigators arrived in the hamlet of Clarence Center, N.Y., on Friday morning to begin investigating the crash of a Continental Airlines flight from Newark to Buffalo late Thursday that killed 50 people.
The plane, heading to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, carried 44 passengers, a crew of 4 and an off-duty crew member, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and Continental Airlines. All the people aboard the plane and one person in a house destroyed by the plane were killed, said Chris Collins, the Erie County executive.
Two other people in the house, a 57-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter, suffered minor injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital, Mr. Collins said. Michael P. Hughes, a spokesman for Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Williamsville, N.Y., said that the two had been treated and released. No one in the surrounding houses was injured, officials said.
Intense fires at the site of the crash were being fueled by a natural gas leak, making it difficult for the investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, who flew in from Washington, to retrieve flight data and cockpit voice recorders, said Steven Chealander, an N.T.S.B. spokesman. The cause of the crash is not yet known and will be the subject of the investigation by 14 N.T.S.B. investigators,he said in a news conference.
Among those on board was Beverly Eckert, the widow of Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, according to The Buffalo News.
She was heading to Buffalo for a weekend celebration of what would have been her husband’s 58th birthday, and had planned to take part in the presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School that she had established in his honor, the newspaper reported.
Continental Airlines said the pilot was Capt. Marvin Renslow, the first officer was Rebecca Shaw, flight attendants were Matilda Quintero and Donna Prisco and the off-duty crew member was Capt. Joseph Zuffoletto.
Tony Tatro, who lives near the crash site, told CNN that he was driving home when the plane passed about 75 feet overhead, with its nose pitched lower than normal and its wings tilted. The plane struck the ground moments later, he said.
The plane, Continental Connection Flight 3407, crashed about 10:20, five minutes before it was due to land. The plane — a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 with 74 seats and twin turboprop engines — was on approach to land. It was operated by Colgan Airways, a feeder airline for Continental.
President Obama said in a statement: “Michelle and I are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic accident outside of Buffalo last night. Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones.”
David Bissonette, the emergency coordinator for Erie County, speaking at a news conference about 4 a.m., said the plane made “a direct hit” on the house, which officials said was located at 6038 Long Street in Clarence Center, part of the Town of Clarence.
“It’s remarkable that it only took one house,” he said. “It could have easily taken the whole neighborhood.”
He said the only recognizable piece of the plane was the tail. The investigation, he said, would be “painstaking” because of the amount of damage to the plane and the house.
Mr. Collins said that about 12 houses had been evacuated after the crash and that a limited state of emergency had been declared.
The crash, which occurred as a light snow fell in the area, was the second major one in a month in New York State, coming weeks after the Jan. 15 forced landing of a US Airways jet into the Hudson River in which all 155 people on board were pulled to safety.
Sandra Baker, who lives on Railroad Street, two blocks from the site of the crash on Thursday, said: “It was just like a huge great big crash, a boom.”
Both of her sons, volunteer firefighters, went to the scene.
“There was this banging sound” before the crash, she said. It was followed by a boom, then a dark cloud and flames and the smell of fuel and fire.
Another woman who lives nearby described the sound before the crash as “a loud roar over my house.”
“It was like the whole house shook,” said the woman, Jennifer Clark, who also lives on Railroad Street. “Then there was silence.”
Ms. Clark said she looked out of her window and saw a ball of flames rising into the sky.
She woke up her husband and said, “I think a plane just crashed.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I feel bad for the people on the plane and their families. I feel bad for the firemen who have to recover the remains of those poor people.”
Ms. Baker described the town as “small-town U.S.A,” a place that will reel from what she was sure would be the biggest tragedy the town has ever seen. February 10 前不久封顶的芝加哥Trump Tower, 以415米的高度成为芝加哥第二高楼，仅次于古老的Sears Tower, 也是美国第二高楼, 世界第9高楼。设计根南京早几个月封顶的Nanjing Greenland Financial Center有些类似。按照官方高度测量方法，现在世界高楼的排行榜如下。 1. Taipei 101, Taipei, 509m 2. Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai, 492m 3. Petronas Tower 1, Kuala Lumpur, 452m 3. Petronas Tower 2, Kuala Lumpur, 452m 5. Nanjing Greenland Financial Center, Nanjing, 450m 6. Sears Tower, Chicago, 442m 7. Guangzhou International Finance Center, Guangzhou, 438m 8. Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai, 421m 9. Two International Finance Centre, Hong Kong, 415m 9. Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago, 415m 11. CITIC Plaza, Guangzhou, 391m 12. Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen, 384m 13. Empire State Building, New York, 381m 排到帝国大厦，因为这个是长久以来高楼大厦的icon, 值得尊敬。下面让我们看一下Trump Tower的雄姿。 
February 09
Fire rages at Beijing luxury hotel after fireworks
1 hour ago
BEIJING (AP) — An unfinished luxury hotel, next door to China Central Television's landmark headquarters in downtown Beijing, went up in flames Monday just after being showered with sparks from fireworks set off during a holiday celebration.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries resulting from the fire.
The Mandarin Oriental hotel caught fire sometime before 9 p.m. (1300 GMT) as the skies above the Chinese capital were filled with exploding fireworks — part of celebrations of the lantern festival that follows the Lunar New Year.
The entire hotel building was engulfed in flames, sending off huge plumes of black smoke and showering the ground below with embers. At least seven fire crews were on the scene and police held back crowds of onlookers and closed a nearby elevated highway to ensure safety.
Li Jian said he saw smoke arising from the 44-story hotel's roof shortly after a huge burst of fireworks showered it with sparks, though it was not clear if they started the fire.
"Smoke came out for a little while but then it just started burning," Li said.
Calls to the Beijing fire service were answered by people who confirmed the fire but said they were unable to release any details.
The hotel, due to open this year, lies on the northern edge of a complex that also includes CCTV's imposing Z-shaped headquarters, a major prestige project for the city. The Mandarin Oriental was due to be one of Beijing's most luxurious hotels, with 241 guest rooms.
Both buildings were designed by Rotterdam, Netherlands, architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren for the firm OMA. Both were nearing the end of construction. Along with Mandarin Oriental, the hotel building was to have housed a visitors center, a theater and exhibition spaces.
Beijing usually tightly restricts the use of fireworks in the downtown area, but waives the rules each year during the Lunar New Year holiday. Monday, the final day of the exemption period, marked the first full moon since the Lunar New Year, and massive fireworks barrages exploded between buildings and in open spaces throughout the city.
Erik Amir a senior architect at building designers OMA said the fire had destroyed years of hard work.
"It really has been a rough six-seven years for architects who worked on this project," said Amir, who rushed to the site after hearing of the fire.
"I think it's really sad that this building is destroyed before it can be opened to the public," he said.
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