3 hrs before leaving apartment; 6 hrs before departure.

It is time to say Good Bye to US, Seattle, and Redmond. I love the 5 months’ time during my stay in US.

Today is my last working day in US. It has been almost 5 months. Great! The day before departure. I will be on the flight home tomorrow morning.

Thanks for everyone’s help during my trip in US.

Read the rest of this entry »

Amazing, only 5 days left for home. I’m so excited.

It’s terrible that w/o any power, the storm.

Ready to say good bye to Redmond, Seattle, and USA.

本次飓风是1993年以来Inauguration Day Storm以来，最强烈的一次。

来自Seattle Times的消息：

Fierce windstorm headed our way
By Sandi Doughton
Seattle Times staff reporter
Hang onto your garbage cans and stock up on batteries.

While many folks are still mopping up from Wednesday’s big blow, an even stronger windstorm is headed for Western Washington tonight.

Or as University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass puts it, we’re about to be stung by the “poisonous tail” of a nasty low-pressure system.

“There’s absolutely no doubt this storm will happen,” he said. “The only question is how strong will it get.”

For the Puget Sound region, the National Weather Service (NWS) is forecasting sustained winds up to 40 mph, and gusts up to 65 mph. For the Strait of Juan de Fuca, winds will average 50 to 60 mph and gust up to 90 mph.

The highest gusts in Seattle on Wednesday were 47 mph, according to the NWS.

“It has the potential to be a memorable storm,” said NWS meteorologist Dennis D’Amico.

Inauguration Day storm
On Jan. 20, 1993, the day Bill Clinton was sworn in as president, one of the strongest storms in recent years lashed Western Washington.

• Winds reached 88 mph in Seattle and 95 mph in Hood Canal.

• Six people were killed.

• 700,000 utility customers were left without power.

• Damage was estimated at more than $100 million.

Source: Seattle Times archives

The winds should start picking up this afternoon, and peak overnight.

The winds will be significantly stronger than those that swept through the region Wednesday, disrupting power to thousands, uprooting trees and slowing the morning commute.

In fact, the low-pressure system approaching the coast is forecast to be more intense than the one that triggered 1993’s Inauguration Day windstorm, which left six people dead, knocked out power to 700,000 homes and did more than $100 million in damage throughout the region. But this time the storm’s path is slightly different, which might weaken the winds, Mass said.

It all depends on where that tail hits.

It’s not the center of the low-pressure system that really kicks up the air, but the long tail that drags after it, Mass explained. Pressure changes rapidly in the tail, which creates the most powerful winds.

With the center of the approaching low projected to pass slightly to the north, the tail is well-positioned to lash the Puget Sound region.

“The path is crucial,” Mass said. “It has to go north of us to get the strong winds.”

While any forecast comes with uncertainty, all the computer models agree that winds are coming, D’Amico said. “But there’s still a little leeway on the timing and position of the storm.”

Though 40-mph winds are sufficient to cause considerable damage, this week’s winds have already knocked most of the remaining leaves off the trees, Mass said. Bare trees are less likely to be uprooted. Weak branches have also been “pruned” by previous storms.

Tree branches downed by high winds on Wednesday were responsible for numerous power outages, mostly in North Seattle, said Seattle City Light spokesman Peter Clarke. As of 5 p.m., only about 200 City Light customers were still without power, down from the 13,000 customers affected by outages earlier in the day.

Northgate Mall and several Seattle schools were without power for at least part of the day.

About 22,000 Puget Sound Energy electrical customers were without power in scattered areas throughout King County at the peak of the winds, but the number had been halved by the afternoon, said Dennis Smedsrud, Puget Sound Energy spokesman.

In Snohomish County, about 6,000 utility customers were without power at the height of the winds, mainly in parts of Bothell, Maltby and parts of Monroe and Clearwater, said Snohomish County Public Utility spokesman Neil Neroutsos. The number was down to about 200 by 6 p.m. Wednesday, he said.

In the Rose Hill area of Kirkland, a fallen power line ignited natural gas in an underground pipe, pushing flames about 10 feet out of a utility-access cover. The Kirkland Fire Department had to be called to control the blaze, said Smedsrud.

Also on the Eastside, at least two homes were damaged by falling trees, one in the Juanita area and one in Sammamish.

In Tukwila, a 70-foot evergreen tree fell onto a school bus on Highway 99 south of Highway 509. No children were on the bus. The driver, a 31-year-old Renton man, swerved to miss the tree and lost control of the vehicle before coming to rest in a ditch, he said. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to Swedish Medical Center, said State Patrol Trooper Jeff Merrill. The driver was cited for driving with a suspended license and for failing to have the proper license for driving a school bus, Merrill said.

In downtown Seattle, a chain hooked to a tower crane at a construction site spun in high winds, smashing glass panels on the adjacent Bank of California building, said Scott Holbrook, operations manager for Turner Construction. The crane is designed to spin in the wind to lessen wind resistance, Holbrook said, explaining that the brakes were intentionally left off Tuesday night. But the chain should have been removed, he said.

“I saw it actually whack the building … and I could see debris fly off,” said Frank Cordell, an attorney whose office is on the 40th floor of a building at 1001 Fourth Ave.

Harbor Patrol officers rescued a windsurfer from Lake Washington after heavy winds snapped the mast on his sailboard, according to Seattle police. The man, who was windsurfing east of Magnuson Park, was pushed about a half-mile north by the wind just after 1 p.m., said police spokesman Jeff Kappel. The man was swimming toward Kirkland when he was pulled from the water by police, Kappel said. The man was not injured.

来自CNN.com的消息：

Unrelenting wind, cold whip Pacific Northwest

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) — Residents of the Pacific Northwest struggled to stay warm Saturday after the worst windstorm in more than a decade knocked out power to more than 1.5 million homes and businesses and killed at least six people.

Nearly 700,000 customers in Washington and Oregon still had no power Saturday, and utilities said some might have to wait into next week for their lights to go back on.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency, and with temperatures expected to drop over the weekend, officials warned people not to use outdoor grills, propane heaters or other carbon monoxide-producing equipment indoors.

Firefighters in Kent found 33 people from four families suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning Friday night, fire Capt. Kyle Ohashi said. They had taken their barbecues inside to cook or heat their apartments as temperatures dipped into the 30s.

All were expected to survive, Ohashi said.

In Oregon, a family of six was sickened by carbon monoxide from a generator set up in a garage in Gresham, police said. Three children were hospitalized in critical condition late Friday, while one child and both parents were listed in good condition.

Wind gusted to a record 69 mph early Friday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking the old mark of 65 mph set in 1993. Wind was clocked at 113 mph near Mount Rainier.

Power was knocked out at one of the airport’s concourses, canceling dozens of flights. Flights were also canceled at Portland International Airport in Oregon, and Amtrak canceled service between Seattle and Portland because downed trees and mudslides blocked the tracks.

Two people were killed in Washington in traffic accidents involving windblown trees, while one died after getting trapped in her flooded basement. A fourth person was killed in his sleep by a tree that fell on his home. On the Oregon coast, an elderly couple died in a fire caused by candles they were using for light.

Puget Sound Energy, Washington’s largest private utility, had restored power to about 260,000 customers by Saturday afternoon but 440,000 others were still without power, according to the company.

It would be “several days — definitely through the weekend,” before everyone was restored, PSE spokeswoman Martha Monfried said. The utility had lost more than half of its transmission system, and crews struggled in the mountains to reach downed lines that carry the electricity from Columbia River dams.

More than 57,100 customers of Seattle City Light remained without power at midday Saturday, down from a peak of 175,000, and 15,000 were still blacked out in the Snohomish County Public Utility District north of Seattle.

In Oregon, Portland General Electric said it had about 82,000 customers without power Saturday morning, and Pacific Power said about 32,500 of its customers still had no service.

The storm was the most intense to hit the region since the Inauguration Day storm of January 20, 1993, which killed five people and caused about $130 million in damage, said Clifford F. Mass, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

在度过了一个漆黑的夜晚后，周六的早上，依然是没电。

我们决定尽早去SafeWay买点吃的，本想顺路去Leasing Office问问是否有来电的消息之类的，刚到门口，却看到一张通知：Puget Sound Energy does not know when the power could be resume. Over 700,000 people without power。完，也不用进去了；看来不止我们关心什么时候来电阿。

在SafeWay买了几瓶罐头，然后回来就无聊的待着，因为天冷，我早在昨晚，就把同事（他们已经回国了）的被子也盖上了。回来也只能在被子里面待着，因为即便是在屋子里面，也是很冷的。

回来的路上，经过银行，居然里面的店员说，Redmond Downtown已经来电了。真是幸福。

直到晚上5点，天已经黑了，我在即将想进入梦乡的时候，突然，来电了。 欣喜若狂阿~~~

今天是停电的第二天，风和雨都停止了。一早起来看到还没有来电，也没当回事，就准备上班去了。

看到小区里面的景象，真是惊人。满地的松枝，树被连根拔起，车被砸坏，小区围挡坏了好几块，地下的柏油路面也被树给掀了起来。小区里不少工人在忙着清扫大块的树枝和树干。

半路上，碰到一个开车回来的美国人，问我：

- Are you going to Microsoft?
- Yes.
- You don’t need to. The campus is close.
- Really?
- Yes, because there is no power.

我这才注意到， 连公路上的红绿灯都已经不工作的。

扭头回来，去楼上找同事。才意识到，没电对于我们这样地区的人，以为着什么：

• 没有照明
• 没有冰箱
• 没有暖气
• 没办法做饭
• 没有任何热水

看着小区里面的人，他们都去SafeWay买了不少薯片之类的。我们也决定去采购一点儿，总不能饿死。

本以为SafeWay开门，Top和QFC也应该开门。结果Top门口写着“Due to the power outage, we are closed”；人家QFC更简单，就一个“Closed”。

没辙，跑去SafeWay买东西吧。人家还好，虽然店里的照明不是很好，人也不少（看起来这是附近唯一一家开门的超市了）。买了点儿饼干、罐头之类的，先凑合吧。

很强的是，即便是没电的情况下，人家居然还能用电脑收款，还能刷卡。

今天晚上的雨格外的大，风也格外的大，是我在美国生活的半年里最大的一次。似乎预示着什么不好的事情的发生。

晚上吃完饭，在电脑前看着电影，突然觉得屋子里面的灯一明一暗的。开始以为是眼睛有问题了，后来听楼上的同时说他也是如此，就放心自己的健康问题了。

接下来在一个居住在西雅图的华人的Blog（Andy的西雅图垃圾堆）里面，看到说即将到来的Storm的消息，说：

今天傍晚至明天早上的 Storm 將是自 1993 年 1 月 20 日 (Inauguration Day Storm) 以來最強的 Storm.

郊區要有可能斷電的準備. 要注意安全哦!!!

在接下来的时间里面，我先后两次看到瞬间断电的情况，第1次是1秒，第2次大约是5秒左右。问题在于，这个时候，我正在看《咒怨》（啥叫一个恐怖啊）。

后来想，早点儿睡，即便停电，也和我没关系了。就在11点多的时候早早的睡觉了。

我的习惯是不关Restroom的灯，所以会有灯光从Restroom里面照出来。但……我半夜醒来的时候，却没有发现这个灯光。意味着……停电了。Okay，既然停电了，就老老实实地睡觉吧。

有个挺有意思的题目：
1000瓶葡萄酒里知道有一瓶是有毒的，你可以用10只老鼠测试，老鼠喝到毒酒2小时后会有中毒反应。请在5分钟内给出最佳方案（就是2小时后最多能确认多少瓶酒是安全的）

是道逻辑题；你知道答案吗？ Read the rest of this entry »

今天从下午开始，就是持续的雨，很大的风。在我这次的美国行之中，还是第一次碰到。

据称，今天傍晚到明天早上的Storm将是1993 年 1 月 20 日 (Inauguration Day Storm) 以来，最强的一次Storm。

另据从RPIN（Regional Public Information Network）上得知，SR-520高速公路Evergreen Point bridge段封路。

在美国的这半年里，感受了西雅图至少最近4年最坏的天气（提早的雨季、11月的大雪、10多年一见的Storm）。

招商银行以前一直是我最喜欢的中国的银行。因为他们网上银行一直做的非常好，而且也是中国第一家提供网上银行和电话银行服务的。可最近招行逐渐在网上银行的“安全”方面加大了力度，而且是“形式的”安全。

先说他的财富账户专业版，取消了以前的文件证书登录。这倒是无可厚非，毕竟财富账户只支持移动证书登录。接 下来，专业版退出的时候，必须把Key拔掉，否则无法退出。说他是安全吧，总觉得很怪异。虽然表面上看上去帮助用户增加安全了，但是考虑一个特殊情况：我 这样的用户很熟悉电脑操作，一般不怎么看提示。那么在我点“退出”之后，按个Yes，然后就闪人了。这是安全了，还是不安全了？（Key还在机器上，专业 版并没有真正退出）。

也许有点儿强词夺理。但我觉得，虽然招行这种操作是为了用户着想。是不是改个方法更好呢？先把专业版退出来，然后弹 出个提示，说用户还没有拔出Key，为了更安全，应该把Key拔掉。这样是不是更好些呢？因为目前的设计，不拔Key就不能退出，实际上是降低了用户安全 度的（因为你退出的操作都没做，拔不拔Key如何是增加安全呢？好歹你得先退出吧？）
再说安全，密码是账户的保证。可招行证书的密码却只能使用6到16的字母和数字，为什么不能用符号呢？这个可以非常简单却极大程度的增加安全度。
最近又听说招行专业版的几个措施：

1. 必须设置Windows密码，否则以后将不能登陆专业版；
2. 必须关闭Remote Desktop，否则专业版将强制关闭

不太清楚招行现在是什么角色。但可以明白招行的用意：Windows密码是为了防止别人访问机器从而安装什么不好的软件；Remote Desktop也是如此。

但是，能否访问自己的机器，不应该是招行说了算的。这样的限制未免太过于形式化了。招行毕竟做的是网银，毕竟是软件。

我 们夸张的想象一样，按照招行目前的思路，以后还是自己开发一套操作系统，该系统仅能运行专业版软件，这样不仅不能安全其他软件，还能限制他人访问。要不， 干脆做个硬件机器，像电话或者POS机似的，岂不是更安全？再来，单独开辟一条网络线路，还能限制数据不被其他人截获。

可能上面说的偏激 了。我不是反对安全，但安全本身就是相对的，你不能因为安全就限制用户的功能，限制用户按照他的习惯使用计算机。另外，招行在业务、软件上的差的还不是一 星半点（最起码专业版的Crash还是经常能够出现的，很多业务做的还是不够），与其这样形式地增加安全，不如多提高一下产品质量、功能和业务。

Update 2007/1/4：最新发现，软件主页面上有“退出”和“重登录”两个选项。点“退出”要拔出Key，Okay，我认了。问题在于，我要重登录，居然也要我拔出Key？！什么逻辑？

已经2次了。我两个同事的邮件地址都被写错了。

前提：我们住的地方本来是：

15201 NE 16th Pl Apt8-32
Bellevue, WA 98007 (map)

后面的Apt 8-32是我们公寓的房间号，8是楼号，32是房间号；因为15201本来就是8号楼，所以8-可以不写。

好了。第一次是我同事的入境许可延期申请（I-539）的回执，从发出开始1个月都没有收到。按理说，快的话不到1周就能收到；慢的话，2周怎么也到了。快 1个月的时候，同事打电话到DOHS（Department of Homeland Security）询问。经过2个下午的查询，结果是：申请收到了，回执寄出去了，收件地址是….. Apt 8, Bellevue, WA 98007。少了个-32，问他们为什么，他们居然说：地址写不下了，所以就没写那个-32。我们大惊。

近日，我另一个同事在晚上购买商品，USPS的Shipment上再次少写了-47（47是我们楼上）；再问，还是因为写不下了，所以不写了。

自然而然，两次的送货都会是送到Apt 8那家。（这个故事告诉我们：租房子一定要租房间号和楼号一样的，经常会收到以外的惊喜）

我就不明白了，地址这种东西，居然写不下了可以不写~~~美国人的脑子是不是都进水了？干脆都写个US不是挺好的吗？费那劲呢。

另，我有个包裹，UPS送的。但我白天都不在家，所以没办法签收（上周五就给我送了，然后给我留了个Door Tag）。我就给Shipper留了个条子，上面说：

Dear UPS,

I could not be home for the package. Could you please leave the package in the leasing office, which located in the center, next to the swimming pool. Its address is: …

They can sign the package for me as usual we did. (The previous door tag is also attached with my signature, in case you need my signing on it.)

Thanks so much.
-W

很奇怪，当我晚上回来的时候。我的门上还是贴着一个Door Tag，不过换了个新的。上面仍然在“Signature required on delivery (in person)”上tick上了。并且，在“In your absence, The package was left at:”后面的选项中，没有tick任何一个选项。

除此之外，在我给他的message上，他还写了如下的话：

My supervisor has forbidden me from leaving pkgs at the office and from leaving them at the door as well. I will talk to him tonight to see if that policy can be changed.

之后，我在的Door Met下面，看到了我的package。网上查询该笔tracking，也发现状态是Delivered。

让我觉得很奇怪，他的留言上明明写了，不能放在Office，不能放在门口。而且他今晚要和supervisor商量。怪异的是，既然不能留下，为啥我的包裹会在门口呢？

这让我又想到了FedEx送货的另一个包裹。当时说，必须持Photo ID、支付用的信用卡，本人亲笔签收才行；或者签署一个Pre-sign的单子，他们可以把包裹留在指定的位置。但….那天我却查到了，我的包裹被 Office签收了。没有我的签字，没有我的ID，没有我的信用卡，没有我的Pre-Sign Form。

Aha, only 15 days left for home. Great!

Well, I’ve no idea that what should be written here. Just happy~~

美国人真是疯狂。在美国生活的5个月，让我真的觉得美国是个无聊的地方，美国人的生活是非常简单的，几乎没有什么娱乐活动。在第1个月，我觉得美国人竟每周出去玩儿，湖边，Camping，但后来觉得美国人真的是没什么可做的，才会去这样玩儿。

我们在town里面，自然更是无聊的要命。几次去Downtown，都觉得他们的商场人真的很少。11月5号去KeyArena看球的时候，发现Seattle Downtown的大街上已经没什么人了。

Thanks Giving之后，当我再次去Seattle Downtown的时候，却发现不同的景色。晚上的时候，Macy’s、Nordstrom等大商场人头攒动；路边促销的广告牌，促销人员也很是积极；路 边的彩灯、马车，都突现节日气氛。美国人在节日的购买力貌似很惊人的，每个人手里都是大包小包的。看着我手里的Macy’s和Nordstrom的小袋 子，好像蛮小的~~~

Bill SPEIDEL’s Seattle Ungerground Tour（西雅图地下城之旅）的观光是从Pioneer Square（先锋广场）的Doc Maynards Public House酒吧开始的。票价11美元。

1889年西雅图大火之后，为了解决下水道和地面陡峭的问题，市政府在旧路面上重建了一层新的路面。换句话说，原来建筑物的2楼变成了1楼；1楼则成了地下室，也就是所谓的“地下城”。

地下城部分仍然保持了以前西雅图的景观，很多地方还可以看到以前商铺的门窗。

导游不仅介绍了西雅图的拓荒史，也风趣的介绍了Seattle下水的问题，说Seattle冲厕所的水会随着水流流向位于南侧的Tacoma居民~~~

西雅图地下城之旅全程有非常风趣地英文导游（有翻译，但没有中文；进门的时候，导游就热情地告诉我们是否需要翻译，估计是看我们是Tourist，但我们没要）。

花絮：在地下城，还见到一个Microsoft New York的人，和我们聊了半天。

卡布奇诺

一天在东方广场约网友MM见面，不想显的太土，约在星巴克。

等MM时觉得不买点东西不合适，就到柜台点咖啡。

服务员问：您要点什么？

当天没带眼镜，咖啡厅灯光昏暗，我使劲看价牌，还是看不见……..

就说了一句：“看不清楚！”

服务员：“好的，卡布奇诺！”

于是我就喝到了在星巴克的第一杯Cappuccino ………

菜鸟

一个刚刚到公司工作的小伙子抱着一搭文件站在碎纸机前犯愣，

这时老板的秘书经过，看到后就说：“真是菜鸟，连这个都不会用”

说罢抢过文件，放到机器里按动了电源,很快文件就被切碎了。

这时小伙子说：“真是谢谢您了,可是复印件从哪里出来？”

女秘书：……….

人事部

一天，人事部的张主任调到别的部门去了，一位他的朋友打电话找他，结果是别人
接的 ——

“请问张主任在吗﹖”

“很抱歉！他已经不在人事了！”

朋友说：“什么！这是什么时候的事？前天我才刚刚跟他通过电话的，怎么就不在人
世了？”

Go a head

某公司经理叫秘书转呈公文给老板，“报告老板，下个月欧洲有一批订单，我觉得公
司需要带人去和他们开会。” 老板在公文后面短短签下：“ Go a head”经理收到之
后，马上指示下属买机、拟行程，自己则是整理行李。临出发那天，被秘书挡下
来。

秘书：“你要干什么？”

经理：“去欧洲开会啊！”

秘书：“老板有同意吗？”

经理：“老板不是对我说 Go a head 吗？”

秘书：“来公司那么久，难道你还不知道老板的英文程度吗？老板的意思是：去个
头！”

代班

冯小姐生重病进医院，公司的同事一起前往探病，“我请假的这段时间，一定把代班
的人给累坏了，真不好意思”。她带歉意地说。一位男同事回答道：“还好啦，大伙儿
分摊了你的工作，我负责看报，张小姐打电话聊天，李小姐负责和总经理打情骂
俏……”

打折鲈鱼

某兄喜欢吃鱼。

沃尔玛的鲈鱼9块一斤，要是死了放冰上的就7块两条，一样新鲜

某兄下班，就赶紧跑去买，还是经常被人买走了

某兄就站鱼缸前等啊，有时候好半天都不死一条

某兄就用网进去捞，用把手敲鱼的头

服务员实在看不下去了，过来跟该兄说：

“先生 昏过去的不算……”

Finally, we signed off the product. Four months work, we reached the end ….

It was really exciting when I sent the Sign off email; Although there were several time of sign off chances.

HOOOOOOORAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!

这事儿已经炒得沸沸扬扬的，今天在cnbeta上看到评论，说“实名制最多只能满足权力的管理幻觉”。

我之前一直没觉得这事儿怎么着，刚看到的时候，也就是觉得“无稽之谈”。但是每每看到这样的报道，感觉这事儿越来越近的时候，觉得“博客实名制”真的会实行吗？

我觉得博客实名制和好几年以前“北京公交车排队进站”的事件类似，感觉规则的指定者就是练脑子都不带动的，拿板砖拍一下脑子，就想出来的。

有限实名。前台匿名，后台实名。OK。从监管者的角度上说，无可厚非。可反过来想想。如果在厕所安装个摄像头，说是：我们是为了监管，保证人民群众的健康。只有我们监管者能看到，其他人看不到。监管者看不看自己？

极端一点，这样的实名，不如给每个人的身上都埋个无线发射器。这样，不只能监管blog了，连语言、行动、位置、思想都能监管了，岂不是更好？

脑子进水了~~~