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January 09 我的空间中在右上角的我的博客，您可以点击下面的图片看到了我的博客翻译成中文。这是使用谷歌翻译，所以可能不准确。或点击下面的图片。
On the top right of my blog, you can click the picture seen above to have my blog translated into Chinese. It’s using Google Translate, so it may not be totally accurate. January 07 Play Governor of Poker OnlineIn my spare time, I like to play a little online poker. No real money, just for fun. Recently, I’ve been playing Governor of Poker. It’s not against real players, but it’s still fun. Check it out. Click the picture below to open it up and play. Have fun!
Alternate website at: January 06 Too Cute Animal PicturesReally Cute animal pictures! Check out the Cute Animals Photo Album
http://cid-da3e08396ceedb11.skydrive.live.com/play.aspx/Cute%20Animals%20Part%202?ref=1 China’s Crazy TrafficI’ve lived in China for more than two years now and I can’t say the traffic has improved. Each month, traffic seems to get worse. More cars, more e-bikes and more people fill the streets. There seems to be no traffic law whatsoever. The general rule seems to be, if your car can fit, just go for it. Wrong way, wrong side of the road, red light, green light, oh, those are just suggestions. You don’t have to follow them. Parking – well, again, if your car can fit, just park there. Doesn’t matter if the sidewalk, driveway or the middle of road. There are so many traffic accidents everyday, but people don’t seem to care. I guess this is China’s way of population control? What’s a blind spot? Chinese drivers don’t seem to know what a driver’s blind spot is. They make turns or blind intersections with no yield whatsoever. They just keep driving without slowing down. When I first came here, I was visiting the countryside. The driver made a quick right turn onto a high speed highway without even stopping! There was a building on the left corner, so you couldn’t see oncoming traffic. As we pulled onto the highway from the turn, there was a big truck right on our tail. I thought I was going to die! Whatever happened to yielding on blind corners? In most countries, sidewalks are for pedestrians. In China, sidewalks are for pedestrians, bicycles, baby strollers, wheelchairs, e-bikes, cars, trucks, basically whatever fits. As a pedestrian, no matter where you are outside your home, you must be careful not to get run over by something with wheels. As many have said, driving in China is relatively new with many inexperienced drivers. Imagine all the drivers are 16 and just got their license. It’s scary! As for traffic law enforcement, well, that’s a joke. Police rarely give tickets and if they do, as long as you know the right people, you can get your ticket/fine canceled. In the city where I live, they do have a lot of traffic webcams which take pictures of traffic violations. They are then sent to you traffic tickets via mail. From a birds eye view, the country has all the infrastructure for traffic, like painted dividers, double yellow lines, cross-walks, stoplights, etc. But these are just guidelines. There’s really no law in actually using these lines or technology. I think a quote from Pirates of Caribbean describes China’s traffic law enforcement best: Elizabeth: You're pirates. Hang the code, and hang the rules. They're more like guidelines anyway. Jack Sparrow: I thought you were supposed to keep to the code. Right now, driving is relatively new in China, so it will take some time to adopt, implement and enforce traffic laws. But with so many accidents and deaths, you would think the improvement would come a little sooner rather than later.
Here are some excerpts from different articles about Chinese traffic: Although crash statistics are not very reliable, nearly 100,000 people reportedly died in road traffic accidents in more than 450,000 traffic accidents during 2005 in China, and 26 percent of those deaths involved pedestrians and automobiles. “Pedestrians jumping tall, metal barriers between sidewalk and street in order to jaywalk” “Bicycles, motorbikes, and the latest newcomer—electric bikes—sharing sidewalks with pedestrians to provide more room on roadways for cars” “Haphazard law enforcement” “Fading crosswalks because the cost of maintaining even this least expensive pedestrian crossing option is too high” “Dangerous behavior by pedestrians, whose lack of experience with motorized vehicles causes them to misjudge risk” “there are reports of a growing number of deaths and injuries among children on China’s roads” Part of the problem is unfamiliarity with motorized traffic and how long it takes a vehicle, such as a bus, to stop for a pedestrian in the road. Parents, too, who are used to jaywalking tend to override instructions given to children at school on when and where it is safe to cross a street Further complicating pedestrians' safety was a decision by transportation officials to move bicycles, motorbikes, and the newest fad—electric bikes—from roadways to a center lane on sidewalks. Now pedestrians must dodge swarms of bikers as they make their way to bus stops and intersections at the edge of the sidewalks Pedestrians cross under a little-used sky bridge.
Pedestrians don’t want to walk all the way to a sky bridge to cross the road. Here’s a video from an Australian reporter about driving in China The Power of Makeup – Celebrities with and without their makeupCelebrities are pretty, but without their makeup, they can look quite scary! Check out these photos. If you don’t know the celebrity, just rollover your mouse to find out who it is.
January 05 Watch the NFL Playoffs and many more sports and TV programs live online for free.Watch the NFL Playoffs and many more sports and TV programs live online for free. On www.channelsurfing.net you can watch live TV programs online for free, no downloads required. When you click on the show, a pop up will open. See the screenshots below of the Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles playoff game. The screen is small, but if you’re out of the country and can’t watch the NFL, it’s better than nothing. Next week’s NFL Divisional Playoff matches that you can watch online are:
Saturday, January 10 Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans 4:30 PM EST Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers 8:15 PM EST Sunday, January 11 Philadelphia Eagles at NY Giants 1:00 PM EST San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers 4:45 PM EST
The website only lists today’s TV sports programs, so you may not see a future event on the site. Just bookmark the website and when the event occurs and you want to watch it, just open the site and it should be there. I’m hoping to watch the next NCAA Bowl games here as well as the BCS Championship game. Remember, TV programs are shown live, so be sure to account for time differences. FEDEX BCS National Championship Game
Thursday, January 8 No. 2 Florida vs. No. 1 Oklahoma 8:00 PM EST The website also has other programs you can watch live online for free too. Here’s a list of some of the other programs/channels/sports you can watch online: CNBC News
CBA Basketball
ATP Tennis
NBA Basketball
World Series of Poker
NCAA Basketball
NCAA Football
NHL Hockey
MLB Baseball
Soccer Rugby and much more, like CBS, CNN, Spike TV, The Movie Channel, CW….! January 04 Watch NFL Playoffs Live Online Free & other sports NBA, NHL, NCAA and more!I was looking for a website to watch the NFL Playoffs live online for free and I found a website which is pretty good. It’s www.channelsurfing.net. A lot of websites for watching TV online require downloading software or a one time fee, but on this website, you can watch absolutely free with NO downloading. Just click on the link and a pop up will open up with the TV. I just finished watching the Cardinals beat the Falcons on NBC. Getting ready to watch Colts vs Chargers. Go Colts! Go to www.channelsurfing.net and watch for free! You can also watch other sports too. NBA, NHL, NCAA as well as some movies. December 31 Year in Review 2008 Pictures – News and SportsCheck out these picture slide shows of the best pictures and news stories of 2008. It has voice and music too, so don’t forget to have your speakers on. NEWS Click on the link below: The Year in Pictures 2008 - News SPORTS Click on the link below: The Year in Pictures 2008 - Sports Amazing photos you must see! Enjoy! Article from MSNBC – Famous last words on the financial crisis
I got this article from MSNBC. It’s funny, but all true. Of course when looking back, these comments seem silly. You would think that high ranking people like these should have a little better idea what they’re talking about. Introduction
Few could have predicted the financial tsunami that hit the U.S. economy in the latter part of this year, but a handful of powerful men should have at least had an inkling. Instead, the individuals who had their fingers on the pulse (or who should have had their fingers on the pulse) of the nation’s economic health seemed to be out golfing when it came to assessing the financial sector. Here's a wrap-up of the five dumbest things said about the economy in the past two years by political and financial leaders:
Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA
"The problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained." This unfortunate collection of words by Bernanke has been quoted, and misquoted, over and over again as proof the Fed chief did not grasp the gravity of the subprime debacle. He made this comment as part of testimony he gave to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, and it came back to haunt him when the financial sector began to collapse. Here’s an excerpt of that testimony: “The ongoing tightening of lending standards, although an appropriate market response, will reduce somewhat the effective demand for housing, and foreclosed properties will add to the inventories of unsold homes. At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained. In particular, mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers continue to perform well, with low rates of delinquency.” Boy, did he turn out to be wrong. Many economists now point to the subprime mess as a key reason for the nation’s recession.
Mustafa Quraishi / AP
"The fundamentals of our economy are strong." If you had to pick one line that doomed McCain’s presidential aspirations, this one was probably it. The full thought went like this: "There’s been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street. People are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong." That statement became the centerpiece of Democrats’ assertions that McCain was out of touch and would be unable to steer a faltering economy in the right direction. McCain made the statement during a stump speech on Sept. 15, the same day that brokerage giant Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. Lehman's bankruptcy kicked off a chain of events that led to anything but an economy that was "fundamentally sound."
Lawrence Jackson / AP
"We don't see any pressure on our liquidity, let alone a liquidity crisis." Schwartz was fending off speculation that the investment banking giant was in a cash crunch when he made this statement, trying to reassure investors that Bear Stearns was doing OK. Turns out things were anything but OK, as the firm soon collapsed under the pressure of bad investments tied to the subprime mess. His timing couldn’t have been worse. He uttered the quote on CNBC on March 12, just a few days before JPMorgan Chase absorbed the company for a fire sale price as part of a government bailout.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP - Getty Images
"We have more capital than we need, so we can say to the market that we don't need more injections. We can confirm that we have tackled the problem." The global credit crunch appeared to be behind Merrill Lynch in early 2008 — at least that's what the CEO of the firm told Spain’s El Pais newspaper in March. This positive statement came despite the company losing $8 billion the previous year. Alas, there were more problems to come. The fall brought Merrill to the financial brink, but a white knight, aka Bank of America, came in to save the day, announcing in September that it would be buy the troubled firm.
Yuri Gripas / AFP - Getty Images
"I don't think the government ought to be involved in bailing out companies." Well, maybe he meant certain companies. Bush made this statement, along with declaring the nation’s financial system "basically sound," during a press conference in July where he urged lawmakers to move swiftly in bailing out mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Despite calling for the bailout of the two companies, Bush said the government wasn’t actually bailing out the firms because they would remain shareholder-owned companies. Other quasi billion dollar bailouts that followed included AIG, Bear Stearns and automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. Sports pictures of 2008
Check out these amazing photos of sports in 2008. These are just a few of my favorites.
December 30 Worst Predictions of 2008 - Funny
I saw this on MSNBC. All true. 1. "A very powerful and durable rally is in the works. But it may need another couple of days to lift off. Hold the fort and keep the faith!" -- Richard Band, editor, Profitable Investing Letter, Mar. 27, 2008 At the time of the prediction, the Dow Jones industrial average was at 12,300. By late December it was at 8,500. 2. AIG "could have huge gains in the second quarter." -- Bijan Moazami, analyst, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, May 9, 2008 AIG wound up losing $5 billion in that quarter and $25 billion in the next. It was taken over in September by the US government, which will spend or lend $150 billion to keep it afloat. 3. "I think this is a case where Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are fundamentally sound. They're not in danger of going under I think they are in good shape going forward." -- Barney Frank House Financial Services Committee chairman, July 14, 2008 Two months later, the government forced the mortgage giants into conservatorships and pledged to invest up to $100 billion in each. 4. "The market is in the process of correcting itself." - President George W. Bush, in a Mar. 14, 2008 speech For the rest of the year, the market kept correcting and correcting and correcting. 5. "No! No! No! Bear Stearns is not in trouble." - Jim Cramer, CNBC commentator, Mar. 11, 2008 Five days later, JPMorgan Chase took over Bear Stearns with government help, nearly wiping out shareholders. 6. "Existing-Home Sales to Trend Up in 2008" - Headline of a National Association of Realtors press release, Dec. 9, 2007 On Dec. 23, 2008, the group said November sales were running at an annual rate of 4.5 million -- down 11% from a year earlier - in the worst housing slump since the Depression. 7. "I think you'll see (oil prices at) $150 a barrel by the end of the year" -- T. Boone Pickens, June 20, 2008 Oil was then around $135 a barrel. By late December it was below $40. 8. "I expect there will be some failures. I don't anticipate any serious problems of that sort among the large internationally active banks that make up a very substantial part of our banking system." -- Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, Feb. 28, 2008 In September, Washington Mutual became the largest financial institution in US history to fail. Citigroup needed an even bigger rescue in November. 9. "In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules." -- Bernard Madoff, money manager, Oct. 20, 2007 About a year later, Madoff -- who once headed the Nasdaq Stock Market -- told investigators he had cost his investors $50 billion in an alleged Ponzi scheme. 10. A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win, the title of a book by conservative commentator Shelby Steele, published on Dec. 4, 2007. Mr. Steele, meet President-elect Barack Obama. December 25 Funny Snowmen Comic StripsCheck out these funny comic strips all about snowmen! Happy Holidays!
Funny Pictures!Santa gets caught by the Empire!
3rd Grader writes about horses
Chemistry Test paper How you get men to save money
The real Pamela Anderson December 19 Play Shock and Awe – How Many Times Can You Hit Bush with Shoes?The Bush games just get better and better. The latest shoe throwing game is called Shock and Awe.
Just click on the picture above and play. (A new window will pop up) The site may have bandwidth problems. If you the picture link doesn't work, click the link below: Happy Throwing! December 18 Download Britney Spears Circus MP3 Free & Music Video Plus LyricsDownload Britney Spears new song called Circus. Just Right Click on the link below and Save As Target. http://121.254.138.11:51000/stream/music/01/0000/0081/9964/contents/mp3/src/666469.mp3
Watch Britney Spears - Circus (The Director’s Cut) Music Video
Lyrics: There's only two types of people in the world Funny US President George Bush videos and picturesUS President George Bush is almost done serving his term. No doubt many sites will review his long presidency. Take a look at these funny pictures and short videos. I especially like the dancing video!
Videos Bush Busts a Move & Plays Drums
Here’s Bush trying to get out the wrong door.
Here’s a compilation of Bush’s funniest moments
A little more dancing from Bush
And don’t forget to play the Bush games on my site, like Bush Boot Camp and Bush Shootout! Play Bush Shootout: http://fgoningbo999.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!DA3E08396CEEDB11!3077.entry Play Bush Boot Camp: http://fgoningbo999.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!DA3E08396CEEDB11!3053.entry Also, see pictures of Bush at the 2008 Beijing Olympics: http://cid-da3e08396ceedb11.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/President%20Bush%20at%20the%20Beijing%20Olympics/president%20bush%20getting%20freaky%20with%20the%20volleyball%20team.jpg
December 17 Play Bush Shootout online – Get Bush and Condoleezza out of the White House!If you liked playing Bush Boot camp, you’ll have to try this game. It may take a while to load, so be patient. It’s called Bush Shootout. Play it and see how you do!!! Object: Make sure Bush and Condoleezza get out of the White House!
Click the link below to play: |
![clip_image002[12]](https://a5tncw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1mfsyzdCe6wk08o6asCKnB4X8gKWznPAqqBZQ5WPoWnKLuliv4sGW79Zm0Rg9Bg8jVUFIVxfXQaF3f45pJ7wuv0yRaaJdM7CCcKo_Nwd1ZusAWykmaM3CshfBQn-uYnSq7RZjA79sDNhk/clip_image002[12][7].jpg "clip_image002[12]")
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