More items and 15%off plus free shipping in ChiayenMurano.com

ChiayenMurano.com has more items for you to shop now. Moreover, from now till Feb 15th, ChiayenMurano.com is offering 15% off storewide on top of the current sale price, plus FREE ground shipping!!

金都海鮮(Captial Seafood Restaurant) in 爾灣(Irvine) 要開幕了!!

Irvine又有一家新的港式飲茶餐廳要開幕了 --- 金都海鮮 !!
常常經過這家店, 一直看見他們在裝潢, 從11/2009開始就一直說要開幕, 終於今天經過的時候, 看到他們的告示說, 明天1/16/2009要正式開幕了!!
從他們餐廳的外觀和菜單上看起來, 應該包含飲茶點心, 港式料理, 還有bar台, 和自助餐外帶區.
飲茶點心價位在$2 - $4.25 一碟
自助餐便當部分: $4.59一菜, $5.59兩菜, $6.59三菜
週末9點就開始營業, 而且晚上還開到12點喔!!
Monday - Friday: 10:30am - 12:00am
Saturday, Sunday: 9:00am - 12:00am
以後吃飯又多了一個選擇了!! 去試了好不好吃後, 再回來post吧!!

大門:


Dim sum menu:


裝潢:


吧台區:


Express外賣區:


金都海鮮(Captial Seafood Restaurant)
2700 Alton Pkway, Suite #127
Irvine, CA 92606
(949)252-8188

網址:根據他們門上貼的廣告是這個: http://www.captialseafoodrestaurant.com, 可是似乎不能work
倒是可以參考這個集團網址: http://www.csrgweb.com

Disneyland trip for Christmas 迪士尼的聖誕節

每年的November和December, Disney都會特別把他們的園區裝飾得非常有Chrismtas的氣氛, 不管是街道旁的裝飾, 幾個主要遊戲的佈置, 經典遊行的音樂和人物, 還有最後睡美人的城堡和煙火, 都是非常的"Christmas"....
今年的Christmas並沒有出遠門的計畫, 可是又覺得還是要去感受一下Christmas的感覺, 所以就跑去離住的地方只有開車15 minutes不到的Disneyland去玩!!
到了現場買票的時候, 看到他們還有一年會員票分期付費計畫, 只要先付當天$69的票, 剩下的價差以一年12期0%分擔 (他們有不同票價for不同等級, 可以參考這裡), 而且當天可以進去玩, 不算block-out day......想到一月可能又要陪家人去玩, 而且又離住的地方很近, 想玩就可以馬上去玩, 當下心動, 就買了年票進場
我們是12/23去玩的, 那天又是那個week天氣最好的一天(已經連續下雨好幾天了), 人很多, 小孩也很多!! 當天Open till 12am, 為了要能撐到看晚上的煙火, 我們中午才進去園區 (人老了, 已經沒辦法從早上9am撐到晚上), 雖然玩到最後回家都已經11pm, 很累, 可是很好玩.......真的覺得Disney很會營造Christmas的氣氛

這邊是一些我們拍的video:

1. 小小世界:


2. 遊行:


3. 睡美人城堡前的煙火:

Marukai supermarket in Costa Mesa and 大黑家拉麵

在Irvine爾灣的Asian food大概好吃的就那幾家, 而如果想要吃點日式又想順便買菜, 大概都會去在South Cost Plaza 附近的Mitsuwa日本超市, 他們有food court (火頭山的拉麵還不錯), 日本書店,和超市. 今天我們去試了另外一家Marukai 會員制 supermarket和他們的food court:

在Marukai的food court裡面,有一家麵包店 (with beard Papa's)和四家餐廳: 大黑家Daikokuya(拉麵店), Korean Kitchen(賣BBQ & Teriyaki), Sushi Boy (價錢看起來還蠻便宜的, 只是不知道新不新鮮), and Bistro Dmare (賣Spagetti Pasta)


這家"大黑家拉麵店"就是在LA Little Tokeyo (小東京)那家大黑家的分店, 所以想吃大黑家而住在Orange Couty的朋友就可以來這裡吃得大黑家的拉麵, 他們還有提供Combo餐, 我們點了一個Daikoku Ramen(蠻大碗的, 滷蛋是一整顆, 裡面蛋黃還是那種半熟的) + 炒飯 + 一碗Salad, $10.95, 兩個人吃剛剛好....


而Marukai超市的東西還不錯, 有些比Mitsuwa還便宜又新鮮, 可是因為是會員制的, 如果不是會員,每次shopping要多付$1, 所以可以加入他們的會員: Annual fee $10, 開辦當天, 10% off, 以後每次就不用再繳$1


By the way, food court旁邊還有一家樂立杯 Lollicup, 現在有波霸奶茶 for $1.99, 而且還蠻好喝的, 波霸也蠻Q的, less sweet就已經夠甜了.

Marukai supermarket in Costa Mesa:
2975 HARBOR BLVD., COSTA MESA, CA 92626
(714)751-8433
Mon-Sat 9:00AM-9:00PM / Sun 9:30AM-8:30PM
http://www.marukai.com/index-e.html

大黑家拉麵 Daikokuya
(714)436-0151
Mon-Sun 11:00AM-7:00PM
http://www.daikoku-ten.com/dk_home.html

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - 班傑明的奇幻之旅 (1)

上個星期六耶誕假期, 我們跑去看了"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (台灣翻譯為: 班傑明的奇幻之旅) 電影. 雖然整齣電影長為2個小時又47分鐘, 卻讓人一點都感覺不到, 是一部值得一看的電影。

這部電影改編自名作家Fitzgerald, Francis Scott 1921年的同名短篇小說"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"。 一句Mark Twain的名言"It was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end." (最讓人遺憾的是，生命在最美好的部份開始，卻在最糟糕的時候結束。) 的靈感, 讓F. Scott寫出這部令人沈思人生意義的小說。電影的情節和原著確有差別, 可是都是值得一看的電影和小說。

加上堅強的製作和演員陣容:
導演David Fincher: 善用另類和挑戰的視角來發掘或許是人性陰暗面或許是深層意像面的東西, 挑戰觀眾去思考他想表達的真正意境, 曾導演: Alien 3 (1992), Se7ven (1995, with Brad Pitt), The Game (1997, with Michael Douglas), Fight Club (1999, with Brad Pitt), Panic Room (2002), and Zodiac (2007)。
編劇Eric Roth: 曾以Forrest Gump (1994)贏得The Best Writer Oscar Award, 也在2000 and 2006 再度得到Oscar nominations。
男主角Bard Pitt: 這不用介紹了..........只到打出他的名字in the cast list, 大概就有百萬婦女願意花錢進電影院看電影, 不只擁有俊美的外表, 也兼具實力派的演技, 從"A River Runs Through It" (1992, 大河戀)開始就受人矚目。
女主角Cate Blanchett: 曾以The Aviator (2004)贏得The Best Supporting Actress Oscar Award, 也在2000, 2007, and 2008得到Oscar Nominations, 並在1999以Elicabeth贏得金球獎Best Actress.。


5 Golden Globe Nominations 金球獎五項提名:
Best Picture
Best Director (David Fincher)
Best Screenplay
Best Actor (Brad Pitt)
Best Original Score

8 Critics' Choice Award Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Director (David Fincher)
Best Actor (Bard Pitt)
Best Actress (Cate Blanchett)
Best Supporting Actress (Taraji P. Henson)
Best Writer (Eric Roth)
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Composer (Alexandre Desplat)

"Eli Stone" Show of ABC

在美國, 晚上不像在台灣那麼熱鬧, 大部分的店家都關門, except theater or pub. 所以常常吃完飯, 就看看美國的電視劇, 這些電視劇的編劇都很厲害, 都可以編出這些情節出來, "Prison Break", "Lost", "Heros", "Gossip Girls", "Grey's Anatomy", "House", "Dirty Sexy Money"都是我們有在follow的....可是其實我覺得最好看的..............應該算是每個星期二晚上ABC的"Eli Stone"

"Eli Stone"並不是說劇本最好, 或是演員最好, 或是製作成本最多, 或是最科幻.... 可是我覺得他的故事其實很適合啟發人心, to find out the good side inside your heart, to make you want to do good things.

"Eli Stone"是敘述原本一位現實的San Francisco Lawyer, 在他事業有成, 也將跟老闆女兒結婚的同時, 突然開始看到一些身歷其境的visions, 而且這些visions最後都會跟他將要接的cases或是自己的人生有關. 他也開始理解自己的mission, 也開始了解他幼年時, 他父親一些奇怪的行為也是同樣原因造成...........
因為這些visions, 他開始轉變人生的態度, 更關心他的客戶而不是利益, 更關心周遭的人而不是多接有錢人的cases.
在猜測這些visions maybe came from the Almighty的同時, 卻也發現這些vision卻是他得了brain aneurysm壓迫神經所造成, 而且如果不馬上手術, 可能致死, 可是如果手術好了, 卻可能也永遠失去了看到這些visions的能力.....which he thinks is a gift from the Almighty
在面臨許許多多的交叉點, 他要如何去面對, 如何去fullfill his missions...

在這個星期的episode裡面, 他對著一個將會對人類有重大貢獻(because he saw the vision)卻身陷官司的天才少女說: "I understand you have a gift. But a gift is something that is given. You don't own it. The world does. The world is asking you to use it, and you don't get to say no."
其實他也是說給正在徬徨 and feel longly的自己聽

很發人深省的句子, 如果每一個有錢的, 有權的, 或是身負聰明才智的人, 都能從help the world去出發, 認為自己現在所有的都是some things given, 而需要去回饋the world, 而不是只想到自己的利益, 要貪更多錢或要更多權力 ..........那這世界將會變得更美好...

Eli Stone official web site:
http://abc.go.com/primetime/elistone/index?pn=index
You can watch the previous episodes there.

The Old Vine Cafe in the CAMP

星期天我們跑去試了另外一家Cafe for our brunch. 位在"The CAMP"裡面.

"The CAMP" is a shopping mall with an eco-friendly attitude offers specialty restaurants, outdoor wear stores, a yoga studio and other retailers. The CAMP剛好位在405, 55, and 73交叉的三角形地帶, 離Irvine不遠, 我之前也寫過去吃過那裡的一家素食餐廳"The Native Food", 還不錯.

這次我們去試的是"Old Vine Cafe", 裝潢還不錯, 掛了一些畫作, 也有一些收藏的酒可以買, 空間雖然不是很大, 可是用餐感覺不錯, 而且裡面外面都有烤暖的設備



Menu是釘在一個畫布上的



我點了一個"Gourmet Sausage and Eggs", 我選garlic chicken flavor的sausage, 很好吃!, 附考English muffin和Kiwi Marmalade醬 (吃起來覺得應該是手工製作的), $9.5

`

我老婆點的是Omelet Espana, 還有附兩片考吐司, 塗的醬是Pistachio Butter, 也很好吃! $10.0



他們塗麵包可以選擇: Kiwi Marmalade, Apple Butter, Strawberry Marmalade, Pistachio Butter, Macadamia Butter , 而且吃起來都是很新鮮, 手工製作的!

另外我們也點了Berry Lemonade and a coffee, Coffee只能算是OK, 不過還附上一個小餅乾, 很好吃, 後來我們跟Waiter問他們怎麼做的, Waiter見我們很喜歡這個小餅乾, 還進去拿了一個小碟子多裝了五六個給我們吃........可惜光顧吃餅乾, 卻忘了照起來....

總體來說, 應該以後還會再來.........:]

The CAMP:

2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA, 92626

(714) 444-4267
http://www.thecampsite.com

Old Vine Cafe:
2937 Bristol St. Suite A-102, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714)545-1411
http://www.oldvinecafe.com

起霧的Irvine

上個星期, 突然有幾天整個LA County和Orange County區域都在起霧, 早晨開I-5去公司和晚上回來的時候, 都是在濃霧中行駛
靄靄白霧, 尤其是在一年四季充滿陽光的南加州, 倒是難得
置身其中的我, 倒也想起台灣的那種有時多雲, 有時多雨, 有時山區又常起霧的氣候. 也曾經跟著一群朋友, 騎在台北陽明山區的山路上, 穿過一層雲霧, 到達山頂的氣象觀察站, 俯瞰市區, 片片的白雲(或是霧)就在眼腳下的山坡上緩緩地移動著....
每次想到台灣, 總覺得台灣是個美麗的寶島....

晚上回到家, 拿起傻瓜相機就往窗外拍下難得的霧景

Chiayen Murano is ON SALE!!

Holiday season is coming! Many stores are on sale this weekend, and same as Chiayen Murano! Right now, chiayen murano offers another 15% off + FREE USPS ground shipping on top of the original 20-40% off sale price till 12/19/2008!!
Go to www.ChiayenMurano.com to get your handmade murano glass gift for yourself, your family, and your friends now!

Trails in Irvine

最近在報紙上看到Orchard Hills in Irvine有開了一條新的trail, 看起來蠻不錯的:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/irvine-trail-open-2237086-raetz-ranch
然後做了一些research about trails around Irvine, 發現其實Irvine附近不只是有靠海的地方可以去, 其實還不少平常可以去走or biking的trails, 而且還有一些團體辦的guided tour可以參加喔:
http://www.irvineranchwildlands.org/land/
http://www.irvineranchwildlands.org/activities/index.asp
Google一下網路, 發現一些人post的照片, 看起來還不錯
http://socaltrailgirl.smugmug.com/Trail%20Running/654488
大家要不要一起去hiking啊?!

Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center in Irvine (鑽石廣場在爾灣)

出差前一個星期, 跟老婆經過了Irvine的Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center, 開車進去晃晃, 想看看開了沒, 因為之前就聽說Summer要開幕, 一直到現在都還沒有正式開幕....

剛好在85度C的餐廳前遇到一個類似工作人員(or老闆)的歐吉桑......跟我們說..........85度C大概會在九月26 or 27號左右開幕喔!!!
這樣Irvine又多了個地方可以吃飯了和買菜了!! Cannot wait!

Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center 網址: http://www.diamond-jamboree.com

Make a better world for you and me

Bike Trail (自行車小徑) in Irvine

搬來新的社區已經有一個半月了, 我們很喜歡這裡的環境, 社區也剛好在one of the bike trails in Irvine的旁邊, 上次已經跟老婆去騎了一段, 今天又趁著微風徐徐吹來的涼快傍晚, 又去騎了一次, but 這次是往山的方向走 (上次是往newport 方向), 順便帶了camera, 紀錄了沿途的風景

社區的小門出來就是一條bike trail:

整條的路面很平, 很好騎, 旁邊是一條大排水道, 可是有些段長滿了植物, 還有鳥類棲息

在經過一些主要道路的地方, 這條bike trail則採用幹道方離的方式, 由下面穿過去, 所以整條bike trail都可以避免跟車子競道, 非常的棒!

然後有些路段, 沿途還有路燈, 非常的體貼, 當然如果要晚上出來騎, 還是建議要有一些反光甚至燈光配備

有時候, 經過一些其他社區, 會有另外一條bike trail分出去, 往不同的方向去:
而剛剛提到, 這條大的排水道, 有些水多的地方, 會有鳥類棲息:
我們還看到有一個地方, 竟然還有分自行車騎的還是可以給騎馬的走的, very cool....... I wish I have a horse, too...:P

越來越覺得Irvine真是一個不錯的City. 有關bike trail around irvine, 可以參考這兩個link:
1. Bike Trail Map
2. Safety tips and information before biking

The "Native Foods" in "The Camp"

Today, we went to a restaurant called "Native Foods" in "The Camp" green mall.

The restaurant is just like a big Mongolian style tent. The seats are surrounding the counter which is in the center. High translucent ceiling with a big fan, with glass window surrounding half of the tent. It's eco-friendly nature bright. Of course, they also offer outdoor seats.
"Native Foods" provides healthy, delicious, organic scrumptious vegetarian foods. It's very interesting that there is a chalk board full of "I will not eat animals today."
What we had today is a Twister Warp with Native Fries and Green Salad. The Twister Wrap looks like having checken inside, but actually it's not checken meat, but still tastes good!
By the way, you can try their iced tea (the one in the above picture). They said the iced tea is sweeten by "Agave" not regular sugar oh!

Here is their website: http://www.nativefoods.com/
And their location is Costa Mesa: (They also have restaurants in Aliso Viejo, Westwood village of L.A., Palm Springs, and Palm Desert)
The CAMP
2937 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 751-2151

好康道相報

有幾天沒寫Blog了........今天來說一個在打折的東西!!
今天從朋友那裡知道一個在打折的好東西: 創見的移動硬碟 with FREE SHIPPING!
從大學的時候買電腦零件自己組裝的時候, 記憶體都會要挑創見(Transcend)的, 這是一個不錯的台灣公司. 現在他們在這個網站做Labor Day Sale with FREE Shipping on some selected items, 可以去這裡看看喔:
http://www.transcendstore.com/----portable-external-hard-drive.html

我大概跟Fry's和Bestbuy相類似的competitors比較, 價錢還不錯喔! 又不用自己跑到老遠的Fry's因為有free shipping....

而聽他們說這款: http://www.transcendstore.com/ts160gsj25m.html, 是符合美軍標準 (military grade), 所以防摔 (well.......這個自己去試試看吧, 我可不敢摔摔看..:P)

如果你有很多相片, Videos, 軟體需要備份的, 現在是時機去買一個來用用看喔, 做做文件備份, 以防重要文件lost, 然後讓你的電腦有多一點space, 就可以做硬碟重整 (這可以幫助你運行程式時, 可以快一點, 硬碟壽命也會比較長, 建議每隔一段時間就做一次, but 也不要太長做....)

Ayame 日本餐廳

今天和老婆去試了一家網友介紹的"Ayame", 最後認為這個決定是不錯的, 還值得下次再去:

"Ayame" locates in Orchard Hills Village center (3923 Portola Pkwy, Irvine, CA). It's not big, but when we got there, it was around 7pm, but still many available seats.

我們點了一個 combo "B" (beef teriyaki, tempura, sashimi with rice, soup, and salad) $19.xx
waitress還問我說beef teriyaki要幾分熟, 後來拿來才知道, 原來不是一片一片的, 而是有厚度的小塊牛排, 而且煎得表皮又脆, 中間又很軟, 很好吃!
sashimi也很嫩很新鮮, tempura也炸得剛剛好, miso soup也好喝, salad也好吃!!

我們還點了一個烤魚下巴, 也很嫩, 很juicy, $12:

然後還點了一個soft shell crab cut roll, $9
也很好吃, 海苔外皮外面還包了應該是用黃瓜削出來的一層皮, 真是有創意又好吃:


最後結帳, 所費不貲, but 好吃..............尤其在irvine要吃到我覺得好吃的日本餐廳, 這個算是其中一家, 而且服務態度很好, 星期五晚上去, 沒有太多人, 不用排隊, 又很安靜, 外面還有座位可以坐著吃飯, 或許下次就帶著我們家的mochi一起去吃...:D

Google Maps

前一陣子, 因為工作的關係, 把Google的產品大致都go through過一遍.

Google really did some good stuff. Especially, right now they have teams in Taiwan, so they are working on some more convenient tools for people in Taiwan.

For example, you can go to http://maps.google.com.tw, and you can see some useful links at the left side, like "台北市即時停車場資訊" (這個是利用google maps的marking技術, 加上由台北市政府網站透過web service功能提供的即時資訊, 結合起來, 所顯示出來的), 或是可以點擊"熱門地圖瀏覽工具" or "查看更多地圖"來看到更多由其他網友努力的成果.

如果你懂寫程式的話, 你也可以go to "Google Map APIs"去看看怎麼利用Google Map提供的技術來開發你自己的Map喔!!

懷念的台灣和台灣小吃

每次看到有人介紹台灣的小吃, 不管是在台灣的或是在美國的, 就會覺得好飛回台灣去待個幾個星期好好過過癮.........尤其是我家就住在師大路夜市旁邊, 出門就有吃不完的美食................我到現在還從來沒有把師大夜市所有的店都吃過一次....因為太多了!!!

在這裡要推薦一個茶店, 小小的店舖, 口味卻不同於一般的泡沫紅茶店, 去的話, 一定要點他們的霜乳茶喔(可以選很多種base, like 烏龍, 普耳, 紅茶, 綠茶...etc.), 可以參考這個link: 奉茶師大店

然後在這裡看到有人介紹10 places of Taipei, 可以參考參考喔!

FDMA, TDMA, and CDMA

My first master thesis is about mobile computing at a Computer Science and Engineering department. I remembered learning those knowledge about mobile computing and wireless communication was very interesting and exciting because those technology are so powerful and change the way people communicate totally.

People are talking about FDMA (frequency division multiple access), TDMA(time division multiple access), and CDAM (code division multiple access) when talking about how to utilize wireless signal channel to communicate with each other. There is a very easy example to understand their difference:

There is a room (one wireless signal channel) in which people wish to communicate with each other. To avoid confusion, people could take turns speaking (time division), speak at different pitches (frequency division), or speak in different languages (code division). People speaking the same language can understand each other, but not other people.

Therefore, with using those 3 methods, even sharing the same channel, different pairs of people can talk with each other at the same time without any problem.

So....do you understand it?

A beautiful moon

We just moved in our new apartment for one month, and we really like it. It was built in2004, and comes with in-house washer/dryer. So we don't need to carry heavy laundry basket with lots of clothes to do our laundry. Also, the community provides the tenants with business center, club house, covered parking garage (with storage space), 24-hour gym, and 2 heated salty swimming pools with jacuzzi. Also, the maintenance service is good. The maintenance guy always came on time, and was nice.

Our apartment is facing south-east, so we got sunshine in the morning, and don't feel so hot in the afternoon. Also, in the evening, we can see the beautiful moon.
it's really pretty.