Tarotoast’s Stuff

上一次離開台灣好像是 2000 年的暑假, 那時候完全沒想到下一次回去是要六年後. 睽違了六年的台灣, 想必跟印象中差很多吧.

雖然心裡想著要見他們, 但是在台灣的友人們畢竟也都有自己的天下了. 腦中對他們的記憶還是停留在六年前吧? 中間多多少少聽了一些 MSN 上有聯絡的同學們給的 update, 但是現在大家聚在一起時候, 還能夠有以前的那種歡笑嗎? 大概不久後就會知道吧… 回台灣後最大的難題是多認識一些新的朋友吧.. XD

家裡呢? 對我而言變的最多的就是陪著我長大的狗兒們已經全部都不在了. 後院的溫室也因為昆蟲蜘蛛(?)氾濫而拆除了. 沒有了狗後似乎花草多很好生長, 所以後院變的很整齊, 不知道該不該高興. 狗兒們真的是陪小孩子長大的好朋友, 或許不只吧? 除了他們不會說話外, 對於牠們的回憶其實與家人們沒有什麼差別.

以前家裡養過的狗有 4 隻, 從最年長到最年輕分別是 Gentleman, Pipi, Candy, A-Bai. Gentleman 雖然叫做 Gentleman (紳士的意思), 但是實際上發音是 "捐~特~", 是一隻白色的日本狐狸犬. 牠剛加入我們家庭時候我以為牠是螃蟹, 因為老爹下班時候提著一個裡面有東西在動的塑膠袋問我們裡面是什麼. 牠還小的時候喜歡隨地大小便, 再來是喜歡把沙發皮抓破. 搬到鳥松後最大的天敵是掃把和蜥蜴, 最討厭的動物是郵差, 抓著坐搖椅睡著後醒來會暈椅嘔吐, 被丟到池塘裡面後發現其實會狗爬式. 牠一生的遺憾就是太矮, 所以家裡唯一的母狗在發情時候因為身高差別過大, 唔… 關於 gentle 愉快的回憶真的很多阿, 不管是拿著掃把接近讓牠生氣, 還是在牠尿完後把牠的尿蓋過所以牠得再尿一次, 回憶起牠的臉是在笑的. 對阿, 狗的臉有表情, 養過狗的人應該就知道. 狗在高興除了會搖尾巴和舔你外, 還會快樂的對你笑喔.

光打 Gentle 的事情? 因為 Gentle 是我的狗嘛… XD Pipi 算是(?)妹妹的狗, 然後 Candy 是被拋棄沒人愛 (好可年~), 最新的那隻 a-bai 我實在跟他不熟耶 orz… 話說牠小時候剛生出來時候是真的很 q 啦, 不過好像長大之後就露出機車的天性了. 實際上最親近的狗應該還是 Gentle 跟 pipi 吧.

不知不覺這篇變成打狗兒們的回憶錄了 orz, 回台灣後再來好好仔細回憶吧. 這篇的重點是, 期待回台灣呢.

Here is a list of current (as of last updated time/date) PageRank (PR) 10 pages that are actually useful:

• Adobe Reader – Download: Place to get the slowest PDF reader available.
• Apple iTunes: Place to get the DRM software for the most popular MP3 player.
• FirstGov.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal: Citizens, Get It Done Online!
• Google: Handle all your searches nicely without(?) being evil.
• Macromedia: There's an useful "Get Macromedia Flash Player" button at the bottom.
• StatCounter: A PR 10 Counter!
• World Wide Web Consortium: Web standards.
• The W3C CSS Validation Service: CSS validation for compatible browsers that are compatible with standards.

More useful PR10 pages are to be added.

[16:25-/root-] # apt-get
apt 0.5.15cnc6 for linux i386 compiled on Dec 21 2004 20:44:11
Usage: apt-get [options] command
       apt-get [options] install|remove pkg1 [pkg2 ...]
       apt-get [options] source pkg1 [pkg2 ...]

apt-get is a simple command line interface for downloading and
installing packages. The most frequently used commands are update
and install.

Commands:
   update - Retrieve new lists of packages
   upgrade - Perform an upgrade
   install - Install new packages (pkg is libc6 not libc6.rpm)
   remove - Remove packages
   source - Download source archives
   build-dep - Configure build-dependencies for source packages
   dist-upgrade - Distribution upgrade, see apt-get(8)
   clean - Erase downloaded archive files
   autoclean - Erase old downloaded archive files
   check - Verify that there are no broken dependencies

Options:
  -h  This help text.
  -q  Loggable output - no progress indicator
  -qq No output except for errors
  -d  Download only - do NOT install or unpack archives
  -s  No-act. Perform ordering simulation
  -y  Assume Yes to all queries and do not prompt
  -f  Attempt to continue if the integrity check fails
  -m  Attempt to continue if archives are unlocatable
  -u  Show a list of upgraded packages as well
  -b  Build the source package after fetching it
  -D  When removing packages, remove dependencies as possible
  -V  Show verbose version numbers
  -c=? Read this configuration file
  -o=? Set an arbitary configuration option, eg -o dir::cache=/tmp
See the apt-get(8), sources.list(5) and apt.conf(5) manual
pages for more information and options.
                       This APT has Super Cow Powers.
[16:28-/root-] # apt-get moo
         (__)
         (oo)
   /------\/
  / |    ||
 *  /\---/\
    ~~   ~~
...."Have you mooed today?"...
[16:28-/root-] #

跑跑看就知道了.. XD

This is what I used to believe:

(via: http://freda.auyeung.net/5senses/taste.htm)

Apparently, what I learned in elementary school is WRONG!!!!

There are five senses of taste that your brain can interpret:

1. Sweet: sugars
2. Sourness: acids involving H+ ions
3. Saltiness: primarily Na+
4. Bitter: alkaloids
5. Umami: glutamate

Umami? According to Wikipedia:

The four well-known receptors detect sweet, salt, sour, and bitter, although the receptors for sweet and bitter have not been conclusively identified. A fifth receptor, for a sensation called umami, was first theorised in 1908 and its existence confirmed in 2000 (see [1]). The umami receptor detects the amino acid glutamate, a flavor commonly found in meat, and in artificial flavourings such as monosodium glutamate.

In very easy to understand way of explaining, it's the tastiness that MSG brings.

Further Readings:

• The Sense of Taste
• Basic Taste
• The lecture note last quarter

Just saw this on CNN TV, I can’t find a link to the news on the web. Little over 1 AM tomorrow, some digital clock will display like this:

01:02:03 04/05/06

Interesting time I’m living in…