110 years ago...

闻大东沟战事感作 （郑观应）

东沟海战天如墨，炮震烟迷船掀侧。致远鼓楫冲重围，万火丛中呼杀贼。

哀旅顺 (黄遵宪)
海水一泓烟九点，壮哉此地实天险！ 炮台屹立如虎阚，红衣大将威望俨。
下有洼池列钜舰，晴天雷轰夜电闪。 最高峰头纵远览，龙旗百丈迎风飐。
长城万里此为堑，鲸鹏相摩图一啖。 昂头侧睨何眈眈，伸手欲攫终不敢。
谓海可填山易撼，万鬼聚谋无此胆。 一朝瓦解成劫灰，闻道敌军蹈背来。

哭威海 (黄遵宪)
敌未来，路已穷；敌之来，又夹攻。 敌大来，先拊背；荣成摧，齐师溃。
南门开，犬不吠；金作台，须臾废。 万钧炮，弃则那；炮击船，我奈何?
船资敌，力犹可；炮资敌，我杀我。

台湾行 (黄遵宪)
我高我祖我祖父，艾杀蓬蒿来此土， 糖霜茗雪千亿树，岁课金银无万数。
成败利钝无所睹，人人效死誓死拒， 百代流求在我手，万众一心谁敢侮。

有感 （谭嗣同）
世间无物抵春愁，合向苍昊一哭休。四万万人齐下泪，天涯何处是神州！

Shaolin Temple is online and open-source!

http://news.sina.com.cn/s/2004-08-03/15053914120.shtml

The Shaolin Temple's website http://www.shaolin.org.cn/html/index.html is going to opensource some of their once-secrete notes on Chinese Kongfu!

I really appreciate this approach. In Chinese novels (Jin Yong or Gu Long), ancient Chinese knights chase and kill each other to get the secrete Kongfu notes... Finally, the most secrete area is now open. Really, I do think this is a sign of civilization :-)

The city that does not drive.

Everytime I drove into San Francisco, I frown -- the traffic is terrible. One-ways, 45 degree steeet corners, 45 degree uphills, scarce street parkings, expensive parking fees, and be careful: don't leave anything visible in your car. Someone may break your window to get everything in your car, even just for a quarter!

But today, I finally understood San Francisco. It's a city that does not drive! Once I realize this, it becomes so lovely.

Take a walk along the hilly streets, my feet fit the uphill so well. The picture in my eyes is changeing as I climb higher and higher. Stop and take a photo shot wherever I want. And talk to strangers here and there -- we all people that do not drive:)

Get tired? jump onto a cable car. See how the cable car driver controls the car, listen to the bells -- different conductors ring the bell in different ways! If you are not afraid, stand outside and say hi to the cable car passengers coming in the opposite direction.

I haven't tried riding bicycle in SF yet. But I guess it must be very cool. We can ride along the sea shore, we can ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, or to the top of the Marin Headlands and enjoy the bridge in sunset...

Give up the car -- SF is wonderful.

We all passed Prof Liu's 3000M test!

Many times when I go long jogging with several new friends, some of them got exhausted and gave up in the middle. But yesterday's jogging was an exception. The two new friends, at least ten years older than me, were leading the jog and continued to the end.

I was so curious and asked where they finished college. Oh well, they are all from CS@Tsinghua! All 9#ers! And we all remember Prof Liu, the PE Professor who drove every 9#er to go 3000M jogging every week.
Think about that, the rule was so cruel that no one can get graduated unless he passes Prof Liu's 3000M test in 15 mins (later the rule was relaxed to 17 mins after Liu's retirement, not sure now...) People hated him so much for that rule. But people also love him so much, for his dedication to our department and his enthusiasm to sports. And people used to call him "Lao Liu". Every afternoon, you could see Lao Liu in campus, driving some class of 9#ers running and running.
In my last year of college, Lao Liu retired and helped his children to manage a restaurant outside Tsinghua. I still remembered he "awarded" us extra soup when we finished hiking and had a great hot pot in the restaurant. :)

Now, three years later, four years later or ten years later, we are so proud to be from 9#, to have been trained by Lao Liu and to have survived the 3000M test. Confidently, we can work healthily, for fifty years.:)