Free HDTV airs tonight!

Ok. The dancing part of the commercial is just laaamee..

Most of the people living [Approx. 2 million] in the areas supported by TVB and aTV's broadcast signal will be switching to high-definition TV tonight at 7 PM. Almost all of Kowloon, part of the New Territories and Hong Kong Island will be able to enjoy the free HDTV channels. This launch has aiming for a advance in Hong Kong's technology as well as crystal-clear, with no "ghost” and “snow” effects [which most TVs suffer from] free viewing. Another purpose is to enhance popularity of next year's Beijing Olympics 2008 and Hong Kong's own equestrian events. The cons of HDTV are quite obvious; most of the TVs in Hong Kong are not yet HD-Ready/Full-HD so many people would be buying new ones and throwing their old TVs out instead of bothering to recycle them. Another negative side is that the decoders cost up to HK$2000 which is a bit pricy, though you can get a HDTV USB plug in a Computer Centre for around HK$600 which recieves low quality signals.

NP360 Cable Car Reopens

In less than 2 hours, Ngong Ping 360 will reopen officially since its plunge a few months ago in June. For the last few days, MTR Corporation (new operator of 360) has been giving out free tickets for staff and their family members to try the NP360 in a trial scheme to get stronger public confidence. During the trials, news reporters interviewed several children which said they bought Life Insurance just in case.

The original operator, Skyrail-ITM (Australia) has been charged by the HK Government for not properly maintaining it, therefore causing the crash. Since then, The cable car has been in debt as local shops are abandoned and expensive safety checks have been performed in addition to the free trials. Though public confidence has gone up, the number of tickets sold for today's grand opening has only amounted to 450 [advance tickets]. We [My Family] was hoping to buy tickets, but, eventually didn't due to the long lines we may face.

Ngong Ping 360 outside of Tung Chung MTR Station

Talk with Santa over MSN

Yesterday, in my inbox, I recieved an email from Windows Live (operator of Hotmail) and they said I could chat with Santa. I thought it was a joke, so I tried it out (northpole@live.com-USER DELETED AS OF 25 DECEMBER). Santa could really chat with me (with limitations) and he's online 24/7! It's really weird, and funny at the same time.

At the same time, Windows Live also tries to promote you to use their games (they get money somehow) by programming Santa to say "Ok (username), we could really use your help in the factory. We play a game up here called Factory Frenzy. Would you like to play? I wonder what they'll think of next.....

Google: Cheaper than Coal

As you know, Google isn't just a search engine, the company is also helping the world in our global warming crisis. On the 27th of November, Google unveiled a "hundreds of millions US Dollar" plan to develop energy cheaper than coal. The plan's name is currently named as an inequality (as in mathematics), (Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal). [Sorry, I can't use the greater than symbol, Blogger thinks it's a HTML error, so I used an image]

"Our Goal is to produce 1 Gigawatt [which is enough to power a city the size of San Fransisco] of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal. We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades," said Larry Page (co-founder of Google).

In order to succeed in the plan, the renewable energy must range from 1 to 3 US cents per kilowatt-hour to "beat" coal, the dirtiest, but cheapest energy source available.
Although they are working to improve electricity consumption, the web search leader would not disclose the energy consumed in powering its online services. Local energy experts claim it is one of Silicon Valley's [Google's HQ] biggest energy customers. Even though it's a con, 1 GW is more than enough to fuel Google and they're still ahead [in terms of friendliness to the environment] of Yahoo Green, in which they don't do anything, only news about climate change. It's action we need!!!

KMB lowers fares

Hong Kong's largest double-decker bus operator, KMB is now lowering fares. Back in September, KMB applied for a 9 percent fare hike to counter rising fuel costs and maintenance fees. The fare hike was rejected by the Transport Department because it was too high and unacceptable. Now, Hong Kong residents are amazed and overjoyed that there would be a decrease in fares a few months after the risk of the fare hike.

Operations Director Tim Ip has denied that KMB has been thinking of strategies to counter the fare reduction of the railway merger (refer to my post before). Tim Ip also claims that they have been studying the scheme for a long time and making preparations. Coincidentally, the day of the fare decrease would be on December 2, the same day as the railway merger.

Example of Fare Decreases (Comparision)

Ping Shan Heritage Trail

It's been so long since I've been to the Yuen Long area, well, I rarely go there anyway (3 times since I've gotten to Hong Kong). This time, I went with my class, when I heard the words "Ping Shan Heritage Trail (屏山文物徑)" a month ago, I thought we were going hiking.

The Trip

Finally, at 9:00 we left in a coach (with a tour guide hired by our school) and headed for Tin Shui Wai. We passed Ting Kau Bridge (汀九橋) via Tsing Yi Island and arrived at Ping Shan. The whole village was quiet and as we got off, the village was suddenly deafening. We did cause trouble, but we also helped (a lot), there was a little shop run by villagers and they just opened, after 3 minutes, sold out. They were amazed and thanked us. The village had a lot of temples and other historical buildings but it was still boring. As we were leaving, the tour guide told us about their water supply (see picture) which was very vulnerable to diseases (I wouldn't want to live there). Well, I have to admit, transportation there is state-of-the-art, buses to many places and two train stations.

BBQ

After that we went to a BBQ, but it was a disaster, nobody was full because we didn't have patience. One person from another class didn't know how to cook food over a grill, so he ate a chicken wing with blood (UGH!!!). I think I've written enough.....

Let's take the MTR

On December 2, Hong Kong will say goodbye to the century-old KCRC. The two railway companies in HK will merge and become 港鐵路公司 (literal translation: "Kong Railway Corporation"), but in english, the name will still stay the same, MTR. All passengers in Hong Kong will benefit from it, when assuming that a adult passenger takes the train around 20 km every day, they'll save up to HK$100 (US$13) in a year. Still, it's a shame to see KCR's history vanish in thin air, only to save a few dollars everyday. Mong Kok KCR Station will also have a name change, after 2 December, it will be Mong Kok East (旺角東). Below are also some "before and after" photos of KCR made by me and from BVEHK.net.

Don't play with your food MTR

KCR Light Rail renovation

Even the news channel logo (Newsline Express) needs to be changed

Youtube Hong Kong

Youtube has just unleashed a new country's site, guess which one.....of course Hong Kong. Over the past few months, Steve Chen, one of the founders of Youtube has been monitoring uploaders based in Hong Kong. He claims that Hong Kong citizens have a talent for music videos and other things. Several Hong Kong users have also complained to Google that they don't have a Youtube site in chinese so they always click the wrong buttons when uploading and watching. One of the ever so popular videos is the MTR Song as seen below.

A very famous song in Hong Kong about Mass Transit Railway based on the song "Do-Re-Mi, Sound of Music".

The World, Our Home

Finally, it's Blog Action Day. In case you don't know, I'm a student in Hong Kong trying to save the world from destruction. Ok, to tell you about my background, I've been complaining to a lot to EPD and other companies (48 messages, isn't that shocking?!). But, something I don't like about it is the punctuality of messages. They keep on redirecting me to other departments/people and it's getting us nowhere to improving Hong Kong's air quality. "Since ---- Department is in a better position to handle your enquiry, we have referred your enquiry to them for their consideration and necessary action" and "Thank you for your email dated 13.9.2007. We shall forward your email to our relevant officer for follow up. Thank you".

Hong Kong has been also thinking of banning idling engines which is a major step, but it's not perfect step to solve the global warming situation. Minibuses and Taxis are complaining that they'll lose passengers to competitors if there's no A/C ready for them when they board.

Mainland China is also a major polluter to Hong Kong. Regularly, the factories there emit hazardous level pollution and winds blow it over here. A popular dessert product in Hong Kong (made in China Factories) is very un-environmentally friendly. It uses a lot of paper and nearly 50% of the box is filled with sugar with only 2 pieces of Coffee Jelly. What a waste of resources! I've complained to EPD and they replied "We are regret to inform you that we are unable to process your case as food quality usage is outside Environment Protection Department's jurisdiction". Their attitude is worse even than before, they didn't even refer me to another department.

External Links:
The Standard Hong Kong
Clear The Air -- Hong Kong
An Inconvenient Truth (Movie)-I'm seeing it soon!! :P

Lok Ma Chau 落馬洲

--HONG KONG--

"Lok Ma Chau Spur Line provides a fast and convenient new way for passengers to cross the boundary and travel to Shenzhen. To get there, passengers can simply board a train heading for Lok Ma Chau at any station between East Tsim Sha Tsui and Sheung Shui along East Rail. No interchange is required" (From KCRC Website). Lies...Lok Ma Chau Spur Line is new, but, really inconvenient, once you go down the escalator, you can never go back up. Also, recently, before opening, KCR showed commercials promising companies that hundreds of people will alight on every train. Another lie, there were barely even 20 people on that 12-car train (and that was peak hour). When I walked past the shops, all the clerks and shopkeepers were literally grabbing for me. And the beautiful wetland they promised? Well, that was only the size of the station and was very poor in appearance. Well, overall, Lok Ma Chau is only a bit better than the overcrowded Lo Wu, with better in technology in the toilets :P

Trial Run of KCR Lok Ma Chau SP1900 train

Carfree Day

This coming Saturday will be Carfree day. Every year on September 22, all motorists (except public transport drivers) are urged NOT use their cars. Why?...The world is melting, if we don't do something soon, major cities that currently are successful will be flooded. The wealthy, developed countries such as the USA should enhance public transport, like Hong Kong. People here take public transport like a luxury, now with TVs onboard all trains and buses and a First-Class compartment on all East Rail KCR trains. I quite like public transport compared to our Acura. People are quite aware of Global Warming, but, do they do anything....no....just search on Google and there's thousands of pages about it. Oh well, I've done all I can, now, will you? Please visit www.freewebs.com/fightingpollution, a little website I created about fighting global warming.

Cathay City

Yesterday, I went to Cathay Pacific's HQ, CX City (國泰城). It was a very small place for Cathay, one of the world's best airlines. But their environmental consciousness there was good, big windows to let in sunlight and signs that say "take the stairs when possible". We visited the Pilot Training Flight Simulator, Airbus/Boeing mock-up, and the crew recreation centre. They didn't allow many pictures to be taken, so if you want more, go to this web album (That visit was not organized by Air Cadet).

This was weird, Thai Airways (Rival of Cathay) Tickets on the check-in desk

Flight Attendant Model in front of check-in desk

Ad for Cathay: "Cathay Pacific owns one of the world's youngest aircraft fleet"

No CX City visit is complete without a souvenir

OTHER AVIATION NEWS:

First first-class ticket on Singapore Airline's new A380 was sold to an Australian for USD $100,380.00 today. Info was from PRWeb.

Downgrading back to XP

It's final, our family's new DELL 531s is downgrading back to XP. As many people have said, Vista is still unstable until its Service Pack 1 is released. For us, we can't access many websites including Microsoft itself. We've called one of Dell's technicians up here twice, but, the problem still exists. The problem seizes temporarily after reinstalling Vista, but, after rebooting, the issue comes back (Restores Default Settings). Until then, I'll be sticking with XP Home that Dell sent.

CONFIGURATIONS:
Dell 531s
Windows Vista Premium (EN)
2.31 GHz AMD processor
Windows Experience Index: 3.0

Operation Falcon

Today, I went to abandoned Kai Tak Airport. From there, we took off on a EuroCopter 120B for a 16 minute trip around HK. Sitting among the most tragic cadets. With no window spaces, stuck in the middle with no headset. Water dripping from the air-conditioning. Barely saw Tsing Ma Bridge because of the fog, couldn't see Ocean Park (-_-). Hope next time will be better.

B-KOZ of Hong Kong Aviation ClubTsing Ma Bridge (青馬大橋)

Summer Bridging Programme

These few days, I've been going to school. I know you must be thinking, "HUH? So early?!". It's not really proper school week, It's just to help us Form 1 (Grade 7) students adapt to the school better. In addition to my normal classes from Primary 6, they've added IT (Information Technology), (Design and Technology), and Integrated Science (using the chemistry lab). Although they've added those classes, there's still a part of the schedule that sounds unreasonable. Lunch, is from 11:45 to 1:00, over 1 hour! There's nothing to do except for walking around after my 15-minute lunch.

Sanya (三亚), China

The last few days I went to Sanya in Hainan (Most southern part of China). The scenery there was great, but, like most of China, very unhygienic and dirty. The taxis and buses were very cheap (5 yuan-taxi and 1 yuan-bus). ---1 YUAN=0.13 USD---The buses were all overloaded, 20 person bus can fit 35 people, so easy to breakdown. While walking on the street, suddenly, many taxi drivers come and shout "Where are you going?!" and blocked our way. China's soda is so weird, Fanta smells like the sewage there, and Coca-Cola tastes funny. Also, it's very hard and dangerous to cross the roads, no traffic lights. Inside restaurants, everybody smokes (UGH!)-even in the airport.

TRIP (Shatin to Sanya)

Ride train to Lo Wu (Lo Hu in China)-->Ride minibus to Shenzen Airport-->Take plane to Sanya (delayed 2 hours)-->Ride van to hotel

Above: Hainan Airlines Boeing 737-800

Above: Boeing 737-800 cabin (interior)

Above: Disgusting Airline Food (rice with canned meat and squash)

Above: Our Hotel (apartment style)

Above: Sanya HNA Airport (very little people)

Above: Word ELDERLY Spelled Wrong :)

Chili Plant

Yesterday, after my Secondary School registration we took the MTR to Prince Edward. From there, we walked to the Flower Market (旺角花墟). My mom wanted to buy a "mosquito repelling" plant, but, it was out of stock. Instead, I found a chili plant and bought it. Everything (plants) there is quite cheap, HK$15 (1.9 USD) for a medium-sized, healthy plant. It's also very clean and hygienic. If you're in Mong Kok, I recommend you to visit it.

Nikon Coolpix 4500, 1600x1200

Samuel Chan, 13 JULY 2007

BVE Train Simulator

Today, I found a new train simulator (freeware), BVE. The unique thing about it was the person who created it was a graduate student from Japan. It's almost as well designed as Microsoft's Train Simulator. You can download new trains and routes from all around the world for around 10 MB each. I prefer Hong Kong's West Rail with the Sp1900 train which you can get here. Another good feature is BVE only requires a small fraction of memory, less than 100 MB (BVE+Framework 2.0+2 Train Routes). The only thing bad about it is the hassle of downloading it, they tell you to download WinZip, which you don't need.

IMPORTANT STEPS TO AVOID HASSLE:

1. BVE (Download Version 2-More user friendly)
2. Go to BVE-routes.com or search on Google to download a train route
3. Download the ZIP file and unzip it.
4. Unzip the files to C:\Program Files\BVE
5. Play and enjoy the game!
6. Still Can't Play? Email me (email address on sidebar)

10th Anniversary HKSAR

Today is the 10th Anniversary of HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). Exactly 10 years ago, the British left Hong Kong and Hong Kong was returned to the "motherland", China. I'm also sick today, sore throat, fever, and a chill.

360 Cable Car Plunge

The Ngong Ping 360 (a famous Hong Kong tourist attraction) is now officially shut down after yesterday night's accident (Picture by AM730). Everyday, the cable cars all get tested. Yesterday night, during the emergency stop test (after operating hours), a cable car fell down over 50 metres (164 feet) and right next to a support tower. The whole frame was broken and the windows broken. It's the longest cable car route (5.7 km/3.5 miles) in Asia, still, they should've thought more throughly before building it.

A BIT ABOUT THE NGONG PING 360:

The Ngong Ping 360 (opened in mid-September) and has been very unstable for the last few months. It stops very often and strands people for around a hour. I've haven't ridden it yet, but, my teacher says it's frightening when it goes over the river, the cable car goes at a 30° angle above the river, due to the wind (all year round). The accidents might actually not be the design's fault, I suspect some Buddhists to be sabotaging the cable car since they're making the Buddha statue into a money-making tourist attraction. I'm not Buddhist, but if I was, I would be angry.

Graduation Day

Right now, I'm at my dad's office.....eating sushi and pasta with meat sauce.....hillarious. Ok, lets change the subject, I can't wait until Graduation Day at my school. My class will be going to a restaurant for lunch with a budget of 3,000 HKD (which seems a lot.....but when divided up, so little). Also, a marine police boat trip from Ma Liu Shui (UNKNOWN DATE: We were supposed to go on the boat in November, he keeps on dragging the date later and later). My principal is also planning a all-school water fight on the last day of school.....hope the teachers brought spare clothing.... :)

JUNE 26-Last Day Of School

A Day in Tsuen Wan

Last night, I went to my uncle's shop in Tsuen Wan District. He gave me a new pair of New Balance (720), so happy, but, they're heavier than my other one. Both of them have cushioning on the bottom for off-road running. Then, at 10:00, we went to Pizza Hut and bought the NEW Cheesy Bites Pizza (well, new in Hong Kong). For all my friends in America, Pizza Hut is so much different from America. The crust on the pizza has melted cheese inside and the facilities are just like a 3-star restaurant. My uncle was so crazy, after we left, he was watching the AC Milan vs. Liverpool game at around 4-5:00 AM (HKT). The score was AC Milan 2, Liverpool 1.

School "Tuck Shop"

Tomorrow, our class will open a "tuck shop" (referred to as Snack Shop in America) as part of our IPC unit on marketing. Yesterday, during school hours, we all went to Park N' Shop and bought all our food (Total: HK$750). I'm in the section in charge of snacks. We're planning to sell:

• Calbee Chips (BBQ, Pizza, Hot and Spicy)
• Doritos (Nacho Cheese, Spicy Nacho)
• Seaweed
• Dried Phillipine Mangos
• NEW Lightly Sweet Oreos (not avaliable in America)

All profit earned will go to our school. I hope we don't lose money.

Beach Day '07

On Friday, my school had the annual Beach Day at Shek O Beach, one of the best beaches in Hong Kong (Rated by Water Quality-EPD). It was mostly boring, no swimming, the "red flag" was up. "The ~waves~ are too big" said the beach's staff. They weren't that high, they were only approaching rapidly (every 7-15 seconds). Still, we went into the water, but, we couldn't swim. We played tag rugby on the sand. I also figured out, I was almost the same speed as Quinton while we were racing on the sand. During the 5 hours, I got a minor sunburn, now, so many people think I'm darker now.

Our sandcastle and defence wall was being destroyed by the wave, so we moved it up the beach a bit (Just for interest-I'm in the striped shirt in the middle).

AOL and YAHOO! Homepages

Have you seen the new AOL beta homepage? It's nearly an exact replica of YAHOO! The mail, weather, radio buttons on the right. The search button looks exactly the same, only a different color. The directory on the left side. Completely the same except for the ad on AOL's. They just took out their Xerox Copier Machine, added a few extra features and optimized it for AOL's network. YAHOO! might sue them sooner or later. Below are the screenshots from my Windows XP.

Below: AOL

Below: YAHOO! (United States)

Microsoft Flight Simulator X

Microsoft Flight Simulator X is a award-winning simulation game where you can steer passenger aeroplanes (airplanes) and jets. I want it so much, but, it's so expensive, even on eBay. My friend, Ko, has the 2004 version and likes the Boeing 747. Now, you can even download the all new A380 (Airbus) .The best thing about the game is it doesn't require a lot of RAM, only 256 for XP and 512 for Vista. I want it so much!! Screenshots from Flight Simulator X:

Above: Airbus A330 taking off

Above: Cockpit view of airport

Railway Museum

Today I went to the Hong Kong Railway Museum 香港鐵路博物館 (九鐵) in Tai Po. It's the site of the previous Tai Po Market Station (Ceased operation in 1983). I contained the old trains and even the tracks were still there, decayed of course. We even got a chance to go into the old locomotives (compartments). I have to admit, it's a really strange place for the KCR station. It's hard to get to (We walked for a long time from Tai Wo KCR), and it's on a hill. It's still next the "working" railway tracks, between "new" Tai Po Market and Tai Wo Stations. Here are a few pictures I took, and for more information about the Hong Kong Railway Museum (currently managed by LCSD), click here.

Above: Behind those gates are the tracks currently in operation, you can also see a train :)

Above: Most trains in KCR British Section were made by the japanese train company Kinki Sharyo (also maker of today's KCR Millennium Train)Above: Ad in First-Class train compartmentAbove: Poster about KCR trains, then and now ("now" trains are on the bottom-left)Above: Decayed tracks caused by precipitation, people etc.

Easter Break-Movies

This morning, I went to UA Shatin. We were supposed to watch Mr. Bean's Holiday (戇豆放大假)-Comedy, but, there were only 2 BAD seats left, one at the front row-right corner (next to the screen) and one at the back left corner. So we watched Meet the Robinsons (羅拔神奇家族(粵語配音版)-Cantonese Version instead. It was ok, but, $15 more expensive than the Morning Show (9:50). The show was at 11:00, so we went to IKEA Shatin, I forgot that it wasn't open yet (10:30). We also went to the Jumpin' Gym (NOT a gym), it's one of those places where you play games and exchange your tickets from prizes. By the time we finished playing, it was 10:50, nearly 11! We raced back to UA Shatin.

--About The Movie (Released on April 5-HK)

I have to admit, it wasn't that bad. Although, in the beginning, I thought we were in the wrong room, it started with a Mickey Mouse film (I know...weird). If it was the English version, I would've fallen asleep. I'm quite impressed with how they translated the movie into Cantonese. The whole "moral" of the movie is: Look in front of you, It's the future.

--About The Theatre

This is interesting about the theatres in Hong Kong. In HK theatres, there's not a lot of air-con and not as loud as the U.S. ones. They're also a lot smaller (not enough room in HK), also, the seats are all on the same level, no "upper seats". Also, less commercials :)

April Fools!

NOTICE: All Products are HOAXES by Google (see note at the end of post)

A new product revealed today (April 1, 2007), Google TiSP. This new product by Google is a free in-home broadband service that uses the toilet.....It uses a optic-fiber wire (same as found on bottom of ocean), and goes all the way down the sewage pipe. If you want to go online, you must flush first. It's a joke, since it's April Fools Day. The official logo of it is: For more information about this FREE broadband service, click here (Service is only avaliable in USA and Canada right now).

Requirements:

Windows XP/Vista (Mac and Linux support coming soon)
Internet Explorer 6.0+ or Firefox 1.5+ with the Google Toolbar
Round-front or elongated toilet providing at least 1.0 gallons per flush (No Water-Saving Ones)
Use of automatic toilet bowl cleaners is not recommended

Another Joke?

Gmail Paper is a product that is also FREE. It lets you send the email(s) to Google, and Google sends them back, in the form of "snail mail".
All are HOAXES, part of Google's yearly April Fools (Click for more hoaxes, since 2000) Feel free to leave comments :)

HK Sevens Pictures

During the Hong Kong Sevens, the whole stadium was so loud....filled with cheers and boos. Once, I appeared on the "Close-Up" TV, but, I didn't see myself, I was getting something in my backpack. The stadium was ok, but, everything was expensive, $40 for a double-cheesburger, $15 for a coke.....Well, here are the pictures

U.S.A vs. France, U.S.A. WINS!!!!!

Welcome To Hong Kong Sevens (Cathay Pacific Airways)

"Close-Up" TV

So Bright....(7:50 PM)

Japanese players tackle Canadian player