Reading Time: < 1 minute 再说说software rewrite：我在上班的地方，参加过两次rewrite （重写）的项目，现在的项目是其中一个，大概做了两年多了：中间换了不知道多少contractors，现在好像还没有看到the light at the end of the tunnels。每次此类项目，management 一开始都有非常optimistic 的expectations：但实际工作中不是这样。 Why rewrite is hard? Or the hardest? I can think of a few reasons. 1) Management usually has very realistic (overly optimistic) expectations. I don’t know what kool aid the management drinks, but somehow there is current “sort of working system”, somehow lead

Reading Time: < 1 minute 最近四次经过上海，我一般都住虹桥火车站CBD旁边的凯悦嘉轩酒店也就是 Hyatt Place，她家就在火车站/地铁站🚉天桥对面：可以走路走到，前提是最好手上不要拿太多的行李🧳。具体地址是：虹桥商务区申虹路9号, 上海, 中国, 201106. 我一般是用凯悦 World of Hyatt 的点数换的：一般是五千点一个晚上，我觉得还可以。凯悦的点数我是直接从 Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) Ultimate Rewards 那里转过来的，一点换一点。一般认为CSP Ultimate Rewards 一个点值2美分，五千点相当于1百美元。 她家上海店的布置跟美国的很像，但是她家的早餐自助餐比美国的要多很多选择。我开玩笑说早上吃得饱一点，到下午四五再吃晚饭就省了一顿饭的钱（again开个玩笑）。其实我发现到了我现在这个年纪，尤其要注意吃饭吃个七分饱，要避免桌上美食的诱惑，与肚里的馋虫作坚决的斗争。这次我带了家眷一起住酒店。好像她们也考虑了我的想法：一个房间有两份免费自助餐，再加上12岁以下小孩全免。市场价自助餐大概是68 还是 128 元。我这次就把自助餐让给了我的家眷：我去了永和大王，以前我也去过那里吃过中餐或者晚餐。这次我发现点餐完全是微信小程序：我的手机漫游有时不是很给力。 除了虹桥天地 The HUB 以外，那个旁边还有一个龙湖天地天街 Paradise Walk – 我喜欢那里的西贝莜面村。这两个地方都有相当多的吃饭的地方，中外的都有不少。嘉轩酒店旁边还有一个很不错的浙江台州的餐馆叫台乡缘（在甬虹路上，从嘉轩/金臣中心过马路就到）。我最近经朋友邀请，去吃过，她们哪里的海鲜和台州菜相当不错。大屏幕上的台州风土人情也是非常好。我老家是宁波，在台州北面，我们都靠海。台州菜和宁波菜有相通之处。风土人情也是：比如说摘茶叶，我小时候摘过。随着城市后的发展，以前一些农村的小吃慢慢地就消失了，还有方言，因为慢慢地大家都讲普通话了。 如果你喜欢咖啡，那一带有相当多的咖啡店：我想得起来的有 – 星巴克，瑞幸咖啡，加拿大的 Tim Hortons, 上海本土走高端路线的 Manner 咖啡，美国的 Peet’s coffee, 醒美咖啡 SayMay Coffee, 等等，应该还有很多。在龙湖天街那边有一张地图，上面标着大多数的咖啡店。很多牌子的店，不止一家：比如说星巴克，瑞幸。 备注：虹桥火车站，地铁站，再加上虹桥机场，加在一起，又叫虹桥交通枢纽（地面上还有长途汽车站）。地下，路面都比较复杂。我记得我2017年第一次从火车站到旅馆，花了点时间才找到，走到。我上面写了地址。油管上有不少关于火车站的介绍，也可以看看我的一个短视频介绍。我在虹桥天地那里，有时也会给人指路。这一次也指了一次：帮助一对夫妻从虹桥天地 THE HUB的地下，搭乘 Cordis Hotel（康得思）电梯到旅馆门口，坐上车。 最后我把嘉轩酒店 Hyatt Place

Reading Time: 2 minutes Storytelling is a very important skill to have, especially in a country like the USA, and at the this say of age. I think it’s important to have this skill over the history too. For example, in this article, we can see storytelling helped human beings survive, and I quote below: Since our ancestors evolved

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sometimes called 科学上网 in CHN Mac: VPN Prime – Unlimited Proxy 4+ iPhone, iPad VPN – Super Unlimited Proxy 4+ Both are free, and both have add-ons that are available for purchase. I verified them on my trip and they work for the most part, iPhone app sometimes takes a few tries to get going. The Mac app works out of

Reading Time: 2 minutes Our younger daughter turned to 10 the day before yesterday. And our older daughter is about 4 years older, so basically I have been a dad for a bit over 14 years. Being dad is not an easy job. Last few years are getting a bit more challenging, as my older one is becoming a

Reading Time: 6 minutes Since pandemic, I have been back to China twice, last year in the spring break of school year 2022/2023, which was the 1st time I visited China since pandemic, when the PRC (People’s Republic of China) just relaxed in-bound travel in Jan 2023, and I booked ticket on Jan 29, 2023 via Expedia.com – refer

Reading Time: < 1 minute 航空公司 发现加航🇨🇦的loyalty member (Aeroplan)在飞机上用微信，手机短信等是免费的。不用花钱或点数买inflight WiFi：感觉又赚了一个亿[捂脸]。航空公司其实很难赚钱：成本在那里，固定成本和浮动成本等。但是另一方面愿意额外付钱的客户不多：比如说inflight WiFi, 比如说duty free product sale等等。股神巴菲特也说过类似的话：我估计他老人家在上回pandemic 那次卖了航空股以后就不会再玩航空公司的股票债券了：他老人家今年有93或94岁了。|| 我个人觉得纯从商业的角度出发，信用卡公司的商业模型business model 比航空公司好太多：她们基本上就是高速公路和谷歌的收买路钱的方法。不过在中国大陆感觉支付宝和微信支付基本上打遍天下无敌手，Visa 和万事达两大巨头基本上可以洗洗睡了。前两者的对商家来说成本比信用卡低太多。Alipay 和WeChat Pay 在香港也很拼，有不少商家也开始接受人民币的微信支付/支付宝。不过香港的payment 有点复杂：感觉基本上是八达通Octopus, 信用卡💳包括digital wallet Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Alipay, WeChat pay等；还有出租车也就是的士🚕和地铁🚇需要的港币现钞。我用CS debit card 直接在银行的ATM机上取了些港币现钞。感觉在大陆用现钞的地方比香港少很多，基本上微信和支付宝都可以搞定。|| 离港上飞机之前有个小插曲，紧张程度有点类似于我上次工作中play as tech lead for production release：中间也出了点不大不小的问题，好在最后在超级队友的支持下，有惊无险。我感觉自己还是在这些大大小小的事情中，不断学习，提高自己[微笑] 中国好还是美国好 我被问到的一个常见的问题是：中国好还是美国好？我觉得各有千秋吧。比如说火车：美国的火车客运还停留在中国的绿皮车年代，中国的高铁确实挺牛。Amtrak 没有固定位置: no assigned seat 💺 on Amtrak – reminded me of southwest air the $luv

Reading Time: < 1 minute This is the last night before leaving mainland CHN for this trip, I am listening to 浙江之声 this time (last year march 2023 it was Joy FM in Shanghai). I could not fall into sleep 💤. I am going to listening to it more via 蜻蜓FM once I get back to my current home by

Reading Time: < 1 minute I happened to see this on twitter/X, and I would say the Middle Westeners have both (kind and nice 🙂 I am in HK right now with my family, and my 14 year old commented STL is not as famous for tourism compared to Hong Kong. True. We are on the way from the US

Reading Time: < 1 minute My 14 year old chose to do both Health and PE from Launch, an online program from Springfield MO school district. And she was doing camp or camp counselor duty as well, with Before Care responsibility for the counselor job. It seems this is more like regular school in steroids or turbo-charged. I think I