minlin space

inside rodeo field

riding the fun

yesterday took the kids to the evergreen start fair to watch the rodeo show. this is the first time i watch rodeo in person. it is a pro rodeo tour and is coming to seattle every year. there are also some fun activities for the kids. kevin and chris actually went up to the stage and participated in the stage wrestling - to bust the bollaons layed on the fields and try to find a bollaon that has an award. the kids are having fun running and chasing each other on the field.

i am flying a jet!

there are other activitites, like mini-golf, petting farm, motocycle ride, padelling, boating, airplan, train ride, etc.

this is a visit to carnation family fun park at relinger farm in late June. it is a quite small town about 40 min drive from sammamish. The farm has a big strawberry field which we can go and pick up strawberry. It is a u-pick style, and the rule says: you can eat as many strawberry as you want while picking up the strawberry, but you need to pay a small fee if you want to take home.

MBA 101: negotiation skill

Chris got to work right away. he started picking up whatever strawberry he can get his hands on. but after a while i did not see much berries in his bucket - guess he just keep eating the ‘free’ strawberries. i was wondering how he know it is free:-) . the little girl nana who went with us did pick alot strawberries. When Chris saw that, he gets an idea - it is more efficient to just get the free berries from nana’s bucket. one of the photo recorded his negotiation skill while trying to talk nana into giving him the berry. and he was successful.

chris gets what he wants to:-)

the family fun park is pretty fun, far exceed my expectations. there are lots of entainments that are of good quality, such as the cart ride, the boating, the pet farm, the rollercoster, the swinging horse, the comedy show, pony ride, etc. one added advantage of this fun center is there are not many in the line. this is quite a comparison to disney world as we had experience early that month when we were there. almost every entaintament has a long line of people waiting to get in.

Kevin and Chris had a really good time and did not want to leave until they close the park.

chris on pony ride - look at me

kevin pony ride - it was easy

i am riding on a bus can't you see?

ready - go!

rollercoster ride

this is soooo funny

hum, how are you?

good timing

摇啊摇。。

kevin is ready to go to kindergarten. the sammamish children school held a graduation party for his class. in the party, kevin weared the graduation cap, received a certificate, it is a proud moment for him.

I went to the party, kevin was pretty active in class, running around and playing with his classmates. The projector was showing the interesting pictures taken throughout the years. Talked with a few families and everyone were excited and looking forward to their kids upcoming kindergarten. I grabbed chris along to the party. here are some pictures took during the party. his two teachers are: Ms Terry and Ms Kumi.

[Show as slideshow]

attended my company’s global service training about living our values and here are some take away:

• Integrity & honesty
  • communicates in a direct and truthful manner
  • consistently earns the trust of others
  • acts in accoudance with core values
  • readily admits mistakes
  • speaks the truth even if it is not popular
• Open & Respectful:
  • fosters candid discussions
  • shares information appropriately and quickly
  • integrates diverse perspectives when making decision
  • maintains objectivity when conflict arises and does not personalize
  • assumes the best motives in others
• Willing to take on big challenges and see them through
  • takes smart risks and accepts the consequences that go with them
  • focuses intensely on the important tasks at hand
  • looks beyond the obvious to uncover critical issues
  • uses startegic and creative thinking to solve difficult, persistent problems
  • focus on critical projects with high returns
  • courageous but not reckless
  • persistent but not inflexible
  • visionary but not impractical
• Passion
  • builds and maintains long-term relationships with customers
  • gains the trust and respect of others
  • trrves to invent new and innovative processes, thcnologies and application to meet customer needs
  • strives for win-win situation with partners
  • is energized but not overbearing
• Accountable for commiments, results & quality
  • takes responsibility for results achieved by themselves, their team, and group
  • does what they say they will do
  • develops practices and procedures to get things done the best, most effective way
  • plans accordingly based on anticipated problems and roadblocks
  • does not confuse activity with results
  • delegates when necessary anad holds others responsible for their commitments
• Self-critical, questioning & committed to person excellence and self improvement
  • asks and constructively uses feedback about strengths and weaknesses
  • see opportunities for personal and professional growth
  • views each experience as an opportunity for learning
  • sets measurable and challenging goals
  • willingly shares information, ideas, and experience to strengthen the performance and growth of others

it is a good character to be honest, integral and be nice. parents and teachers often tell the kids to be nice to their peers. but sometimes being too nice would actually come back and hurt you. it is not to say you should not treat people right, but it means you sometimes need to be tactic, need to aware what is considered to be too much and when to withhold, or be straight-forward.

be nice, but dont be too-nice.

saw this murphy’s love law, some are crazy, some are quite to the point, and yet some can make you wonder… the original is here:

• All the good ones are taken.
• If the person isn’t taken, there’s a reason.
• The nicer someone is, the farther away (s)he is from you.
• Brains x Beauty x Availability = Constant.
  This constant is always zero.
  Sent by Van Den Bossche Jochen
• The amount of love someone feels for you is inversely proportional to how much you love them.
• Money can’t buy love, but it sure gets you a great bargaining position.
• The best things in the world are free — and worth every penny of it.
• Every kind action has a not-so-kind reaction.
• Nice guys (girls) finish last.
• The good ones die first.
  Sent by Henry
• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• Availability is a function of time. The minute you get interested is the minute they find someone else.
• The more beautiful the woman is who loves you, the easier it is to leave her with no hard feelings.
• Nothing improves with age.
• No matter how many times you’ve had it, if it’s offered take it, because it’ll never be quite the same again.
• Sex has no calories.
• Sex takes up the least amount of time and causes the most amount of trouble.
• There is no remedy for sex but more sex.
• Sex appeal is 50% what you’ve got and 50% what people think you’ve got.
• No sex with anyone in the same office.
• Sex is like snow; you never know how many inches you are going to get or how long it is going to last.
• A man in the house is worth two in the street.
• If you get them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.
• Virginity can be cured.
• When a man’s wife learns to understand him, she usually stops listening to him.
• Never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself.
• The qualities that most attract a woman to a man are usually the same ones she can’t stand years later.
• Sex is dirty only if it’s done right.
• It is always the wrong time of month.
• The best way to hold a man is in your arms.
• When the lights are out, all women are beautiful.
• Sex is hereditary. If your parents never had it, chances are you won’t either.
• Sow your wild oats on Saturday night — Then on Sunday pray for crop failure.
• The game of love is never called off on account of darkness.
• It was not the apple on the tree but the pair on the ground that caused the trouble in the garden.
• Sex discriminates against the shy and the ugly.
• Before you find your handsome prince, you’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs.
• There may be some things better than sex, and some things worse than sex. But there is nothing exactly like it.
• Love your neighbor, but don’t get caught.
• Love is a hole in the heart.
• If the effort that went in research on the female bosom had gone into our space program, we would now be running hot-dog stands on the moon.
• Love is a matter of chemistry, sex is a matter of physics.
• Do it only with the best.
• Sex is a three-letter word which needs some old-fashioned four-letter words to convey its full meaning.
• One good turn gets most of the blankets.
• You cannot produce a baby in one month by impregnating nine women.
• Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
• It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
  Anonymous comment:
  The person who said that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all…NEVER loved and lost!
• Thou shalt not commit adultery…..unless in the mood.
• Never lie down with a woman who’s got more troubles than you.
• Abstain from wine, women, and song; mostly song.
• Never argue with a women when she’s tired — or rested.
• A woman never forgets the men she could have had; a man, the women he couldn’t.
• What matters is not the length of the wand, but the magic in the stick.
• It is better to be looked over than overlooked.
• Never say no.
• A man can be happy with any woman as long as he doesn’t love her.
• Folks playing leapfrog must complete all jumps.
• Beauty is skin deep; ugly goes right to the bone.
• Never stand between a fire hydrant and a dog.
• A man is only a man, but a good bicycle is a ride.
• Love comes in spurts.
• The world does not revolve on an axis.
• Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation; the other eight are unimportant.
• Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.
• Don’t do it if you can’t keep it up.
• There is no difference between a wise man and a fool when they fall in love.
• Never go to bed mad, stay up and fight.
• Love is the delusion that one woman differs from another.
• “This won’t hurt, I promise.”
• Nothing improves with age.
• An ex-wife/husband will always be “till death do us part”.
  Sent by Leesa.
• When a man wants his wife to hear, she doesn’t listen.
  When that same man doesn’t want his wife to hear, she’s all ears.
• It’s always easier to get a partner if you already have one.
• Although it may seem like that on the outside, no one is having fun being single
• If you’re heart is broken, sweep up the pieces.
  There will always be someone who will want to put it back together.
  The last four laws were sent by David
• Love and high-school must NEVER go together.
  Sent by GonzRock
• If a man speaks deep in the forest and there is no woman there to hear him; is he still wrong?
  Sent by Ray Williams
• Show me a husband who won’t, I’ll show you a neighbor who will
• It doesn’t matter HOW good it was, if you end up worrying or regretting it, it was bad sex
• You get the best sex from the worst one for you
• Never trust a woman who acts like you are so sexy she can’t help herself but drag you to bed
• No one is as fascinating as they think
  The last two laws were sent by Jack Betz
• If you believe a relationship can’t work, but feel the need to try, it won’t.
  Corollary: You will later find out that your lack of belief caused it to fail.
  Sent by Greg
• The duration of a relationship to a person is inversely proportionate to the importance of person to you.
  Sent be Sweatnpup
• The Key to a woman’s heart is an unexpected gift at an unexpected time.
  Sent by Finding Forrester.
• The two thing no man can ever understand; Women and what makes all men complete damm fools over women.
  Sent by Jack Betz

转载一个很搞笑的文字：

原曲：心太软

你总是腿太软
腿太软空自一堆人和球到前
你无怨无悔的爱着那个杯
我知道你根本没那么坚强
你总是腿太软
腿太软把所有体力都耗在上半场
领先当然简单 想赢太难
不是你的 就别再勉强
(白)球迷啊：
夜深了你还不想睡
你还在想着赢吗
你这样痴情到底累不累
明知他不会给你安慰
只不过想好好看场比赛
可惜他无法为你得分
多余的牺牲他不懂
取胜你应该不要痴想那一座杯
哦算了吧 就这样忘了吧
一比就输 再想也没有
用傻傻地等 再等也冲不出来
你还为自己想什么未来

it is a great olympics in many ways, especially for chinese people. closing celemony is as successful as the opening ceremony. watched the broadcast in NBC. I have heard some controversals and harsh comments related to this game in NBC during the past two weeks. first this lip-syncing thing and the faking of the 29 firework foot, then the age issue with the chinese women’s gym team. I was expected to see some of the negative comments as it closes the broadcasting today. but to my surprise, all i heard are very positive comments from nbc hosts and a geniue thanks to the chinese hosters for a successful event. This is defitnately a pleasure to note.

这个对CHINA很不友好的 BOB COSTUS 能说出今天的话，真是不容易，第一次把如此多的赞誉给了CHINA，而且看的出来不是做秀，真的是满怀感情的，很真诚，如果你们录了下来，可以重放下，看他的眼睛，很有感觉

在他之前的另一个嘉宾，不知道是谁，他的感情更丰富，好象激动的都要哭了，他甚至说，这么好的奥运，这么多的友好的人民，如果不是仅仅的2个星期，而是2个月，2年，甚至永远，该多好啊，看他的样子，的确是非常的激动。

这些语言和感情不是用钱能从美国主持人口中买来的，他们是通过自己亲身的感受来说出自己的体会的，在黄金时间，在所有美国人关注的时刻，表达了自己对中国的看法，虽然仅仅是通过奥运来体会的，但足够了，真的足够了，我们开奥运的目的已经100%的达到了，这是无法用金钱来实现的。

proud to be a chinese!

someone send a p2p link that can be used to view all the live olympics games. i tried and the quality is great. this is amazing. you can watch the game live right from the internet with almost the same speed and quality as in TV.

i know p2p technologies for quite sometime, but my early experience with p2p was not good. the quality is far worse than TV and i did not pay much attention then.

many things that sounds like a science fiction a few years ago are now a reality. it feels good.

life will be better tomorrow.