The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by hk-reader:

I was born in late '65 and remember the moon landings of '69 (almost 4 years old).

I remember thinking Neil Armstrong was called that because his arms were strong.

What I consider the Hong Kong version of the diner is the Chan Chaan teng.

One of my favorites was called The Dragon Boat and was on the waterfront in Sai Kung Town. They used to have a great curry that used french fries instead of potatoes and an Indonesian Fried Rice that has ever served as my benchmark of how it should be. Unfortunately, they appeared to get a new cook a few years ago, and the quality of those two dishes fell off.

When I am out of HK, I miss them. So filling and such value for money.

You think ranting poets are bad...? Here is a Truly Bad Idea whioh is a day-to-day for millions of people.

In Hong Kong, commuters are trapped by the bus companies and the KCR (Kowloon Canton Railway) who have screens playing info-adver-tainment.

The television screens run set programs in several places on the buses without any possibility of control by the commuters. After some complaints, the downstairs sections are now silent (but the screens still go).

I used to love sitting on the upper deck of a bus and looking out. I still do, but now I have to try and position myself carefully to filter out most of the TV screen.

On the KCR, the screens go in all the cars of the train (including first class) except one, the designated "Quiet Car".

Even some of the minibuses run them.

There is a group trying to stop this practioe, called Hush The Bus but so far they have not met with much success.

I tried it and it worked brilliantly until line 8, it got kind of clumsy and didn't scan so well.

Same w/ Mack the Knife...

Singing it to Amazing Grace works a bit better.

And to the tune of Old 100th! Fits like a glove.

Thanks!

re:indoor hypothermia

I lived in Taipei in the late 1980's and was shocked to find out how chilly it could get in the winter (I arrived in the height of summer). No place had heat, and most of the buildings were made of uninsulated concrete. I had a friend whose bronchitis swiftly turned to pneumonia, you could see you breath in her bedroom. If it was 4 C outside, it was likely to be 4 C inside, and *damp*.

One thing I discovered, which has helped me cope w/ cold there and here in HK (which is a bit further south and warmer) is the habit of drinking hot water and using a cup or mug with a *lid* (to keep the heat in) and to drink it often to keep warm. This is also why most home in Hong Kong have hot water machines so hot drinking water is always available (in the old days, people used thermoses, which you still get in most hotels in China).

So, if you're working in an office indoors with no heat, keep your coat and hat on and drink lots of hot water.

A popular frugal version for large consumption is to use an old Nescafe jar with tea leaves floating in it. Unscrew the lid to drink and add hot water as needed.

I've heard there is still no heating in public buildings south of the Yangtze - even though it might still drop below 0 C.

Some "may become invasive" roses *can* be a real headache. My mama lives in Massachusetts and she bought a house w/ a big garden (w/ a small orchard of about 8 apples and a pear and a plum). The previous owners had brought in some yellow roses years before. In the last year or so, before my mama bought the house, the previous owners neglected the garden and these yellow roses became very...FERAL.

When I arrived to visit in the July after she bought the house, to try and help put the garden in order, the roses were choking a couple of apple trees and I had to dig them out in several other places, they were almost as bad as wild raspberry or blackberry.

I've been fighting these roses for 3 summers now...

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