The SWord for freedom

A few days ago I talked to an US friend Jeff about the history of piracy in China, so I wrote this article. I would like to show the era of piracy of video games and computer software that I saw, from about 1990 to the present. 1990-1995 China's folk computer technology originated around 1990. Before that era, the most pirated was NES (the American version of Famicom). I went through the Atari 2600 period but I was too young. Now it is speculated that the 2600s are original because the market is too small. Piracy of the NES has continued to today. Yes, you can still buy various NES copycats and games in China today. My parents bought me a pirated NES in the mall, made in Taiwan. At the time, such a machine with a cartridge would require a monthly salary of 2 adults. Compared with the massive pirated NES, Genesis as the main competitor of NES, there are fewer pirated cartridge. Because Genesis's market share in China is too small. These early pirated NESes ...

It was a childhood event that I would never forget, a big impact on me. When I was about 12 years old, my family moved to the west of the city. There is a lot of land there, and each household has been allocated a small piece of land to grow various vegetables. Many Chinese people love to grow vegetables, right? My family grows coriander, lettuce, carrot and spring onion. At the time, each household had such a small land Although I looked like a obedient kid, I was actually naughty. Once I with kids ran to other vegetable land, picked some eggplant and beans. Almost all Chinese children did this kind of thing when they were young. Of course now I know this is not right. But at that time it seemed that everyone thought it was not a serious matter. Why do I pick other's vegetables? I forgot what the reason was, but definitely not because of hunger or affordability. Because it's fun? maybe. Anyway, I picked some and put them in my clothes and took them home. I went h...

A Chinese woman wears a protective mask in Beijing, Feb. 3. PHOTO: KEVIN FRAYER/GETTY IMAGES Original article  of this pic and I did not feel offended Although there is a lot to write about the coronavirus, I just talk about what I have experienced and thought about during this COVID-19 epidemic. 1. News Sources Do not get news from Chinese Internet. China has always been very strict with information control, and it has become stricter in recent days. The latest speech censorship laws came into effect on March 1. Several of my friends' WeChat or SNS accounts have been banned. For a long time, I am almost silent on Chinese Internet. Fortunately, I have always been freedom to access the Internet. In mid-December 2019, I heard that patients were infected with unknown pneumonia. Several of my relatives who are doctors have confirmed this. I reminded my friends in Wuhan , the center city of the epidemic, and did not make it public. Because at the same tim...

I recently wanted to write some articles about a big city in Asia. He is my friend, who is the citizen of that city, tells me that don't write anything even on blogger.com, for safety. because I still live on this land. Knows everything I said to him. When we said see you, I whimpered when I hugged him. I am a coward, maybe. You are all heroes. Always. ============================================================== Updates 2024, on the land of the United States: Now I can say the name of the city: Hong Kong. All my friends from Hong Kong have left it. In a few short years, Hong Kong has become what it is today. Taiwan people , cherish your freedom and your vote!

Today, I closed the WordPress blog and back to Blogger.com. I gave up the original domain name for some reasons including privacy considerations. Now you see a new domain name, but I have not made a decision whether to continue blogging. Now my available time is getting less and less, and only some of the time is on the podcast. Should I continue to blogging? What to write? There is a lot of content to write in the surrounding environment, but it is difficult to change. I should still try to change myself and vote with my feet. And privacy is what I have always been concerned about now. I would rather remain anonymous and invisible. So blogger.com outside the China GreatFireWall are still an important consideration for me. I also deleted and intend to delete most of the comments in the original articles, in order to protect the privacy of the commenters. In the next period of time, I will adjust the parameters of this new blog, delete most of the original articles, and gradua...

In China, when we were young, there was a profession called popcorn workers. They make popcorn for kids. We provide rice or corn, pay worker processing fees (usually a few cents in the 1980-90's). Worker put rice into a sealed metal pot, mix rice with sweetener then heat. When the pressure reaches a value, the worker kicked the pot open, with a loud bang, the air is full of yummy flavor, done. Mythbusters also have a episode of this.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhTdAMWiYeo , but they did not use a sack when the pot was opened. Typical street popcorn equipment It is so delicious and cheap,  the joy of all kids. We often line up. Of course this popcorn is very rare now. When I was in primary school, I had a master named "HaiLong". We lost contact for years. I called him "master", not because he taught me Kung Fu, but he is older than we are, he lead us play also to protect us. The middle is "master". All the kids were forced to...

Just that I will write in English in the future. This blog has been hosting to wordpress.com, part of it can not be accessed in China, so I can focus on writing. I know that has not been updated for a long time. Because there are more meaningful things out of the Internet. I just did not have time to blogging, and will not give the blog to a closed protocol, such as WeChat. I always insist rss full-text output for free browsing. Insist on reading, insisted independent thinking. The heart of Love freedom, democracy never stops. God loves me. Courage is with me.

Kindle has purchased 1 entire year. Although at that time I spent a Bitcoin (later a Bitcoin can buy 5-10 units), I still think it is worth. Because kindle changed my lifestyle and thinking habits, these are priceless. Initially expected to be read 20 books, and now it's more. This is the best electronic device I have in recent years, satisfaction over Xbox and any Nexus phone. Anytime, anywhere, simple, pure, extreme. Sum up this year's book list: (* for recommended personally):

His name is Kongrong, 4yrs old. He has five big brothers and a young brother. One day they eating pears at home, brothers let Kongrong take it first, but he chose the smallest one. His father was surprised and asked,"Why did you take the smallest one?" Kongrong answered "Because I am the youngest, the biggest one should be for the elder." His father asked again,"But you have a younger brother, you are older than him." Kongrong replied, "I am older than him, so I should leave the bigger one for my young brother." On hearing these words, his father was satisfied with his answer and smiled happily. What a good boy Kongrong. Children should learn from Kongrong. Kongrong share the pears This is a well-known story in China. Everyone was educated in this story when he was a child. Because I have no independent thinking at that time, so the teacher said Kongrong is a good boy, then he is. Now I think that Kongrong has inconsistent, confuse...

The object of this experiment is myself. The last time disconnected the Internet was go to Beijing in 2001. There was no smart phones and mobile Internet, so disconnected with the world as long as two weeks, when I got home, typing hands are stiff. Recently move to a new house, I suddenly realized that all these years has not been real quiet, so I thought: why not try life without the Internet? Gmail also blocked completely by China's goverment (of course I can access it), I do not learn some fools seclusion, just think in these took too much time. Well, I will spend more time to join parties underline, cooking, watching movies, reading, writing articles, playing consoles, sleeping. As an IT and Internet practitioner, disconnect is not an easy thing. My plans are: Not to install fiber-optic and broadband. (Completed) Log off / stop all social services except Facebook. (Completed) The only connection that can be used is a cell phone network and Wechat app. I can watc...

Switch from Nexus One to Nexus S , then Galaxy Nexus . Should Google give me a prize? 😁 GN looks beautiful, the screen is much larger, but the touch is average. The black screen of SAmoled is outstanding, but it has graininess and high contrast. The overall screen performance is not as good as NS. The hardware is of course improved, and the battery life is good. In short, GN does not give people a stunning feeling, it is just a regular upgrade of NS. Looking forward to the fourth son this Christmas!

On the night of heavy rain in Beijing , I slept well. I haven't followed the news recently because there is no news. It is said that Beijing is calling on people to donate for the disaster. You see, there is really no news. If North Korea announced that Kim was not the head of state, that would be news. But speaking of donations, I remember two things a few years ago. ONE. The 5.12 Wenchuan (a city in Sichuan Province, China) earthquake in 2008 when I was working for an advertising company. The company organized several donations, and I didn't pay a penny. Whenever the donation box is sent to our office, I always shake my head with a smile. I still remember the accountant asked me with a slightly ridicule: -"Why don't you donate?" -"Is it forced?" -"It's not forced." -"Then I won't donate." -"Why?" -"I don't believe my money will be used on the right path." I like this straightforwar...

No. 012346. This paper should be kept properly, wait for the fat guy  to pay back!😄 I read the first sentence and lol: "The man who wrote this proof now owe a lot of money inexplicably "...

"The Red Scarf is a corner of the national flag, dyeing with the blood of martyrs." On June 1st, 1988, as the first group of honorable young pioneers in the first grade of primary school, the teacher said this to us. So there was a bloody scene in my mind: There were dye tanks on the ground, and martyrs stood in line. Each martyr walked to the front of the tank, his arm was cut, and blood flowed into the tank. Bandaged when the blood was about to run out, the next martyr was cut and continued to bleed... Another group of workers has to do the work of cutting the national flag. Each national flag can make three red scarves--see the picture, the upper left corner is not available, because it is not good to cut to that or the people --Finally, the cut flags was put into the dyeing tanks and then dried to make a red scarf. My imagined red scarf making process My feeling at the time was: It's so tough to be a martyr, you have to be caught and bleed to make a r...

No expect domestic fundraising in China, I do it myself. During the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake , the state and enterprises launched a large number of fundraising and forcing donations. I didn't donate a penny. The reason is that the using of these donations is not transparent. I can't believe that these funds will not be corrupted--don't tell me that it's good that even 10% funds reach the disaster area and you can donate, that 's you-- but I chose something more meaningful. Now  3.11 Japan earthquake , no government or organization has asked me to donate, but I want to make this step. There is a Chinese proverb that "when you drink water, don't forget the person who digs the well." Many items in my life are made in Japan, and they give me a lot of convenience. Japan has given us so much help, and we should help them within our ability. I trust Google the most. There is already a donation section on Google's special topic page . However, w...

I have been paying close attention to UED. Here are a few things I have experienced. If the designer thinks more, these embarrassments can be completely avoided. Freak out after-sales manager He told me he received a user complaint a few days ago, like this: "Liar! the microwave popcorn isn't ready at all! I unpacked it and it was full of hard corn kernels and a pile of oil! Can't eat it at all! I microwave it and caught fire! I spent more than 1,000 yuan to buy a new oven! My oven worked for 5 years and it was burnt by your popcorn! Give me compensation for the loss! ... " The manager was down. He told me and couldn't laugh or cry. Think of users as idiots In the summer of 2004, I worked on user interface (UI) design for a period of time. At that time, the project manager said to me: "Just treat users as idiots." He explained the meaning: Because the user's knowledge and experience are not on the same level, we must consider the dumbe...

Made two stickers, support Google ! Very eye-catching…So had the following conversation: "How much did Google pay you for advertising it this way?" ---- Print shop owner "What does this mean? China Mobile?" ---- Delivery colleague (he saw the same Google logo on my phone) "Are you showing this to Google's satellites?" ---- Colleague "Google quit China, are you calling it back?" ---- Car store owner My answer was: "No, I welcome it to leave, don't suffer in this land." (It's not "Google quit China", but "China quit the Internet".)

I was busy all day until I found a list of articles in Google Reader during dinner, all about Google's quit from China. google.cn has redirectd to google.com.hk. This day should have come long ago. If Google compromises, then we have made the wrong choice. Now what can we do besides cheering Google? Google is indeed our Google! Even if Google is blocked, we will, must, able to use Google. =========================== Extended link: The following links have been blocked in China. Mainland China service availability Google quits China, vilify campaign begins

At its core, Honda is a rebellious and alternative company. It is reluctant to follow the mainstream and disdain to play the second best in the market in order to be safe. However, its success is not inferior to Toyota whose personality is quite different. Since 2002, Honda's operating income has increased by about 40%. Not only that, its operating margin of 7.3%-9.1% is also rare in the automotive industry. A report released by Honda on January 30 this year showed that In 2007, its global production and sales both set a new record. Among them, the sales of automobiles reached 3.767 million and the sales of motorcycles reached 13.476 million, with year-on-year growth rates of 6% and 7% respectively. The lean manufacturing and the spirit of continual improvement process are considered to be the key to Toyota's success. So, what are the underlying factors of Honda's success? Honda / Acura was my favorite auto brands Mountain climbing from the best route It sho...