其 實 . . . 你 都 可 以 的

其實... 讀者們（你！）是可以留言的，只要跟上圖方法就可以了。
歡迎任何意見，謝謝！

暑 假 加 時 完 了

讀了廿多年書，畢了無數次業，今次的暑假真的是人生最後的一個，下一次將會是四十年後退休了。

數碼港不愧為數碼港，真的很靚，不過只不過是以前的公司的大廈太舊了。今次大機構，但香港部就只有八人，而各同事也好好，公司設備很新和豪！交通方面還可以，每天也是乘搭綠巴直達；午餐方面，有幾間餐廳／茶餐廳／foodcourt，價錢比市區再要貴十至二十元左右。

當然不會在這裡講太多，我不想連路人甲知道我是誰，這個社會太複雜了。

迷 幻 號 忙 命 Van

忙命van，相信各位都坐過唔少，但迷幻號忙命van又坐過未呢？

話說尋晚送完小女子歸家後，小弟唔係好想坐廿幾個站既地鐵返歸，所以就走去福來邨後面搭忙命van。上次搭都係成年幾前既事，果次兩點幾坐廿分鐘出到銅鑼灣，成120km/h行西九龍天橋，駕駛技術之高超令小弟深感敬佩，只因司機把豐田石油氣小巴之極限發揮得淋漓盡致。

今次就... 首先等車已用了十分鐘。正當小弟想離開之際，一輛迷幻藍光小巴駛至，小弟心想：今次一定又破荃灣-銅鑼灣圈速了！上車後發覺司機位周圍都被小量藍光包圍（對，只是數條鴨記藍光管罷了）開車時已覺得不妙了，車上只有五丁友！五丁友＝坐唔滿，所以要經大窩口、葵興及葵芳！司機大佬係一名廿多三十歲中國籍迷幻男，全程不斷從複做以下動作：打電話、講電話、笑、講walkie、上半身典來典去、聽慢了十年的流行歌（例如老黎的su-su-sugar in the marmalade等）。上高速公路後，還以為他會忙命去，點知... 70就行72，有時行76，最快最快行81，終於知道點解佢要典來典去啦，因為行得唔快飄移唔到所以就自己坐係到飄移！明白了！

出西隧後見到了一單交通意外：小巴的士相撞，的士車頭嚴重損毀，小巴好似無事。當然迷幻司機又係walkie同D行家吹水報料，順便話自己技術好唔會撞啦！

就係禁，聽歌既聽歌，講電話既講電話，出到銅鑼灣了。真的破了圈速呀... 四十分鐘呀！真的他媽的！

對，到了銅鑼灣後，我是坐地鐵回家的..............（下刪九千字)

識 飲 識 食 之 越 南 篇

星期六，陰。

打唔成風後，本週末同小女子走到太古城寧字平台地下之越南菜館發洩一下。其實都唔係第一次黎架啦，所以都知道有D咩野好食同知道（除lunchtime外，全年不用排隊等位）。



蒜蓉炒芥蘭， $35， 一般啦， 都可以入口既。



燒豬頸肉撈檬，$32，豬頸肉係魚露浸左一兩個字都仲脆，不俗。



酸辣炒青口，$52，又唔酸又唔辣，青口有少少怪味，令我諗起係英國騙鬼佬的sweet 'n sour系列。



越南炸春卷，$28，脆，但料不合廣東飲茶的好味，整體還可以。

另叫了一杯椰汁紅豆冰及龍眼冰，各$13，不寫了。

兩個人$196，ok啦，都食到很飽。

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東峴越南軒
太古城太裕路3號順安閣地下G512-513號鋪
2569 7928
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聲 色 犬 馬 之 軟 硬 演 唱 會

從各大報章也看到不少有關軟硬演唱會的報導，小弟也稍為講下。










帶了相機但只有極少量可以出到街；無計，太遠了。

入場時每人都會有 ‘Pong Bong stick‘ 一對及限量十二萬軟硬面具一個，五十年後勢必軒起炒風！

舞台設計為八十年代大廈天台，有不少機關，但也是升升降降而已。現場氣氛十分好，由頭帶到尾；入場的大多數都是廿幾三十歲903粉絲，當然是不會有十靚歲亂叫的死靚仔女。（軟硬全盛時代，那班死靚仔女連奶也未學飲）新歌的反應（我覺得）不及舊歌，如果新碟係兩個月前plug就更好了；全場一半唱歌一半talk show，在坐每一個人都會期望軟硬講野架啦。嘉賓古巨基於中段出場，但本人對他並沒有甚麼期望；軟硬一如對上三場改了古巨基＜愛與誠＞之歌詞，但都不及一句 “位元堂，靈芝孢子，軟硬出來了” 精警。

某程度上，這也是一個903的show，不少DJ在開場前後都有幫手做VO，而當軟硬提到光仔German時，全場也立即起哄；但身邊的小女子竟然問：邊個係光仔，German呀？哈！果然是港台的間諜！

完場後九巴的特別車廿分鐘內由紅館返到荃灣，只坐了一半人都開車，九巴算係禁啦。

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下一場：
九月三日－草蜢！
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識 飲 識 食 之 茶 餐 廳 + 居 食 屋 篇

星期天，晴。


這是第一篇的飲食誌。

大清早（其實已經下午一點）就殺入荃灣，接過小女子後就到銀龍茶餐廳食晏。



如圖中所見，本人叫的干炒海鮮沙嗲意，當然不是即叫即炒啦，$30有湯有野飲仲想點呀！小女子則叫了常餐，有火腿奄列，雪菜肉絲通粉及飲品．合共$60，算OK啦。

餐後立即坐忘命van飛奔入黃埔（其實也不是忘命了，司機幾乎全程行80km/h，個錶一響立即收油，但都可以十五分鐘內入到紅磡，好過坐成個鐘的30X）去黃埔其實是為了方便晚上的軟硬show。

係黃埔UA看了電影＜魔怪屋＞，沒有甚麼太特別的地方，畫工到了2006年也不可能不好了，只是配音比較鬼馬。全場九成滿，大部分都是一家大細的。未開場時極為噪吵，開場後竟然極為安靜！（當然前排有三個廿尾三十頭無人要的八婆係又笑，唔係又笑，黑我憎！）

晚餐到了吉之島內的仆街咖啡，可能是新裝修，地方都幾新淨，坐得舒服．看過menu後知道原來仆街未又係一間日本居食屋！



日式魚生飯，$58，當然唔可能同半年前在日本築地市場吃的比較。（在日本築地，早上三時還在海中游，九時已給我痾出來了！哈哈！）吃魚生飯的時候，起碼有兩個伙計想收碗！難道他們真的很肚餓嗎？真可憐啊！



燒三文魚腩，比較淡口，還可以。$35



一口壽司，八件，$68，八件壽司的材料分別是：三文魚、牛肉、吞拿魚沙律、中華沙律、日式火腿、士多啤梨、蛋、和蛋！哼！被騙了....

另叫了兩杯飲品及香蕉船，太太太太太普通，不提也罷。

合共$326!!! 仆街咖啡，真的仆街！

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銀龍茶餐廳
新界荃灣眾安街65號地下
2490 0963/2611 9788
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Pokka Cafe
紅磡黃埔花園第五期地庫B5-18（吉之島超市及KFC中間）
2515 7227
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SoftHard Live! 2006 軟硬

第一篇中文網誌！

明天晚上八時正，期待已久既軟硬Long Time No See演唱會終於有得睇啦！雖然近日各大小報章已經將演唱會內客講得七七八八，但我唔信真係晚晚一無一樣。希望真係好似其他人講到禁好睇啦！

Canada / USA 2006 Part III

Last part (finally!)...

Day 09
Started off the day by visiting Lake Louise and Moraine Lake (shown below).


I swear, the water colour has not been modified in photoshop!

After that we continued our journey on the Bow Valley Parkway (south) and stopped in the middle for a place called Baker Creek Chalets. Only one tiny restaurant was there, but to our surprises, it was very elegant and food was prepared and served nicely!


One of the dishes we've ordered: Prawns with a sauce taste like salad - CAD $10.00

Continuing our journey after lunch down the Bow Valley Parkway and reached Banff after roughly 45min. However weather was not good at all, so we decided (I decided actually) to go east a bit on the Trans-Canadian Highway to a neighbouring town - Canmore. Took us just 20min, and everything there was just (a lot) cheaper! We then found a motel, had dinner, did laundry, and called it a day.

Day 10
After breakfast (continential - I really really hate this kinda b'fast now), we drove back to Banff. Visited Cave & Basin and went up the Sulphur Mountain (by Gondola, CAD$23.50 each) before going back to town centre for lunch. We, again, had mexican - basically coz it was nearest to our carpark! (I was so hungry that I bought a Mars Bar on the Sulphur Mountain souvenir shop so that I had the energy to claw back to the car, drive to town centre and find a restaurant!)


Here we go: needless to say, Nachos - CAD$10.95

We walked around in the town centre for a while after lunch before getting back to our car and continued the trip to Lake Minnewanka (also in Banff NP), which was then followed by a 2-hour driving to Calgary. We stayed in our relative's apartment in city centre in Calgary, which was near Chinatown! God... after dinner @ Chinatown, it's not hard to find old Chinese immigrants sitting in parks staring at us in a horrible way... Seriously, what's the point to move all the way from China and just sit in parks every day and wait until that moment? (needless to say what moment rite?)

Day 11
Considered as the most boring day of the entire trip - Calgary city trip. Nothing special, city centre was the same as in Vancouver. However we had the best lunch today - the famous Canadian AAA Alberta Angus Steak!


Here we go... 10oz AAA grade Alberta Angus Steak! - CAD$28.00 @ Metropolitan Grill on 8th

After lunch, we got back to our car and visited several places:

• Canada Olympic Park
• University of Calgary
• Northhill Mall

That's it for the day. (oh yea, and also dinner with relative @ Chinatown)

Day 12
Had Chinese dim sum with relatives for breakfast, then we started our ultra-long trip back to Vancouver. First stop was at Baker Creek, just coz we liked that restaurant very much. Took us 2.5 hours from Calgary - and on the highway just passed Banff, I was stopped by the cops... speeding!!! He said (in strong Canadian accent), 'you were going at 118km/h!' (ok... speed limit was 90km/h. Aparently he was a nice guy coz he didnt give me any ticket! (probably coz of my HK license instead of holding a BC licence) After that (at least for that afternoon) I was driving right up to the limit... god! Here're some excuses: 1) road's too straight and wide; 2) vehicle's suspension + sound proof was too good; 3) other cars were going too slow! Well, anywayz...

After lunch, we visited Johnston Canyon. This was the last spot we visited in Banff National Park. Then we drove to the park next to Banff - Yoho National Park. The same sort of things really, Takkakan Falls, Emerald Lake, Natural Bridge... then stopped at Golden (in BC) and rest.

Day 13
After breakfast at our beloved A&W, we drove to Rogers Pass inside Glacier National Park. Comparing to Jasper and Banff, Glacier was a smaller NP and therefore nothing much for us to see. We stopped at Revelstoke, about 1 hour from Rogers Pass, for lunch and a little break. This was a semi-self-served restaurant, which served (surprisingly) good food!


Chicken - Southern Fried Chicken to be exact - CAD$8.99

After lunch, yes, driving again! Continue to go west on Trans-Canadian Highway, we briefly stopped at Salmon Arm - just another small little town with nothing much to see. We were supposed to stop for the day at Hope, which was about 3 hours drive from Salmon Arm BUT dad worried I was tired so decided to stop at Meritt which was just 2 hours from Salmon Arm. However, hotels/motels there were extremely expensive (c.f. normal price) coz of a music festival that evening! We didnt continue to Hope, instead we drove (ok... I drove) to the nearest small town... actually didnt know where that town was, how far and even the name! It was 20.00 and the SUV's tank was quite low. I was worrying (my parents werent worried coz they couldnt see the tank reading) so I stopped right in the middle of no where (I SWEAR! NOTHING but just several farm houses) and asked for direction. Luckily, that little town was just another 20km ahead. I then speed through country roads (again, as usual, despite that gas tank was very low and unknown road condition ahead) and finally reached Logan Lake! It was probably the smallest town we've visited so far with just 1 gas station and 2 motels. We (firstly and most importantly) filled up the tank! and then settled down in one of the motels, had dinner there and zzzzzzzzzzzzz.................


This was probably the best Chinese style cooking by a non-Chinese chef. Quite tasty (just forget the rice)... CAD$13.95.

Day 14
Again road trip for today. Continue speeding on the Route 5 from Meritt, which then merged with Trans-Canadian Highway 1 at Hope. We had a piss stop there, then continued on 1 back to Vancouver. In order to save time + gas, I changed to local roads at 70km away from YVR. Route 10, then route 97 then 99. I missed the junction to the ferry terminal BUT this gave me something I didnt expect - NANDO'S!!! Oh god... I missed it so damn much!!!


Half chicken with two sides - fries and my favourite Nando's rice! - CAD$11.99

After Nando's, Tsawwassen was our next destination. This was just 10min away from Nando's, and was where the ferry terminal was. This ferry was to Swartz Bay, a big island on the west of Vancouver. The journey took just 1.5 hours roughly, but at a cost of CAD$87.05!! (4 people + car + fuel surcharge) There were signs asking drivers to park within 24 feet of the vehicle in front. This was what I got:


One word: SKILL!!!

My parents asked me to back up a bit before getting off the ferry (in case any accidential reverse by the car in front)... em... obviously they didnt know what bumper was for... haha

Anyway we drove to Victoria after got off the ferry. Not a long drive... just 20-30min and we started our motel/hotel hunt rightaway. An hour later (yes! typical time for motel/hotel hunt!) we settled down, pissed, got back to the SUV, and started sightseeing in Victoria. It was obviously a tourist place - BC Museum, BC Parliament building, tourist street... that's it!


Last shot of Victoria at night before heading back to hotel for sleep.

Day 15
Breakfast at McD.
First spot: Beacon Hill Park, which was also the starting point of the Trans-Canadian Highway 1.
Then back to the Royal BC Museum (didnt go inside... too expensive)
Lunch was at the harbourside - Canoe Pub


Brunch menu dish - Pancetta Benny - CAD$12.00

After lunch we started our way back to Vancouver. We took another route, that was route 1 to Departure Bay Terminal instead of Swartz Bay coz we wanted Horseshoe Bay for our destination in Vancouver. Took us 1 hr 40min to get to Departure Bay from Vancouver BUT the line was so long that we had to wait 3 hours for our ferry back! (we arrived at 16.05, ferry at 17.00 was full so we had no choice but took the 19.20 one) As a result we had dinner onboard and spent rest of time taking pics like this one below:-

Day 16
It was our last full day in Vancouver. In the morning after b'fast, we visited BC Place Museum, then spent two hours downtown before going south to Richmond. In Richmond, my parents went to have lunch at the Richmond Mall while I went to visit my friend there. 2 hours later, we continued south to Steveston (just a tiny fishing village) then back up to Granville Island for dinner... our last dinner @ Vancouver. And yes, at Bridges again!


We havent ordered much for main course coz we wanna try out the desert. This is fresh berries with cream and ice-cream! Very tasty! CAD$9.00


And this is probably the best lemonade on earth! CAD$3.25 (no free refills... damn!)

We headed to Gastown quickly after dinner for last-minute souvenir shopping then back to hotel in Richmond.

Day 17
Last day of our trip in Canada. Breakfast was in hotel (continential again!), then straight to Stanley Park for mainly souvenior shopping. We were supposed to have quick lunch in Gastown but time was running out after parking so we just headed to the airport straightaway. Car returned, GST refunded, checked-in, then had lunch at the airport.

Same as before, we were on the upper deck on B747-400 again, but this time with much more legroom!


As you can see, view from my seat on the upper deck. It was actually an emergency exit seat. Cabin crews were serving drinks and snacks at that moment.


Lunch onboard JAL flight 11 to Tokyo. It was beef with noodles and was not bad.

Arrived at Tokyo at 17.20 one day later. We then walked to another gate for our flight home. We were all virtually dead by that time due to seriously jetlag so didnt take much photos. Dinner on that flight wasnt good anyway. This marked the end of our 17-day trip to the N.America West Coast.

Canada / USA 2006 Part II

Here we go again:

Day 05
We went to Boeing Factory @ Everett 1st thing in the morning. My highlight of this trip really. Here are just some snapshots for you:


Brand-new Boeing 787 that will be in service in 2008. Notice the extra-huge windows comparing to nowaday standard.


Here we have today's standard: demonstrated on a Boeing 767 mockup.


Overlooking Boeing field: 3 new aircrafts ready for delivery. They are (from left) Cathay Pacific B777-300, Air New Zealand B777-200ER and Japan Airlines B777-300ER.


Going back to the souvenir shop: LOADS of models!!! These were nice but were slightly more expensive than in HK... so I didnt buy any at all!


Dinner back at Denny's in North Vancouver. Shown here is roast beef with caramel apple(!) and coleslaw. CAD$10.29


Desert: Caramel apple crisp. This one was EXTREMELY sweet! and the apple crisp was not crisppy at all. CAD$4.29

Day 06
Today marked the start of our ultra-long east-bound semi-transcontinental driving experience. Starting from North Vancouver, first stop was at Whistler via Highway 99. Lunch was at Zeuski's Taverna in Whistler Village.


Kalamari: nothing special. CAD$9.00

Continuing our journey on Highway 99 and at the end of it was the town Cache Creek.


Dinner was at a Greek Restaurant Heartland Restaurant. Pic: beef souvlaki - CAD$15.95

Day 07
Road trip again. This time on route 5 up to a place called Clearwater. Lunch was there at Wells Gray Inn.


Garlic chicken wings CAD$6.95.


Dry Garlic Rib (notice: ketchup wasnt Heinz... it was homemade!) CAD$6.95.


This poor thing was just one of the million inserts killed by my SUV. After spending 2 hours at the Wells Gray Provincial Park, we continued the journey northward and stopped at a place called Valemount after 2 hours. Dinner was at Great Escape in Valemount.


Wrangler burger - CAD$9.50


Spaghette Meatball - CAD$12.50


Shrimp Tossed Salad - CAD$8.25


Roast beef dinner set - $12.95

Day 08
Breakfast was at motel's restaurant.


Standard american breakfast - CAD$3.99

After breakfast we started our day by a 1.5 hour driving east on route 5 then 16 and arrived at Jasper National Park before 11am.


This is the beautiful Medicine Lake inside Jasper.


Lunch was at Maligne Lake, right next to Medicine Lake. It was chicken soup (!!) in the photo. CAD$5.00


Greek salad - CAD$6.95

After lunch we had quite a rush trip to Columbia Icefield via the Icefield Parkway (route 93). Took us 1.5 hours with stoppings in between.


No I wasn't driving here. We joined the Glacier Experience (CAD$33.95) which enabled us travelling on the coach with mega wheels. The coach went all the way up to the glacier, on top of over 500m of ice!


A close-up on the glacier icefield, with water running on top!


It was already 19.30 when we finished the tour and we were still some 100km away from our destination: Lake Louise. I had no choice but stepped on the gas real hard under this kinda road condition. (average speed: 120km/h)


Finally arrived at Lake Louise at 9.00pm. After checked-in at hotel, we went straight to a nearby restaurant for food. This was amatriciana (spaghetti basically) CAD$18.50!!


We also ordered this: beef kalbi (again stole from China) CAD$18.50!!!

To be continued...

Apple Bluetooth Mighty Mouse

Features:

• Wireless (of course)
• Laser tracking (instead of standard optical)
• Touch sensitive buttons (same as previous)
• Scroll ball (same as previous)
• Squeezable on both sides (same as previous)
• HKD$520 (thank you very much)

Compare with the Apple Wireless Mouse I'm using right now:

• Wireless (of course)
• Optical tracking (of course)
• One button (that's more than enough)
• HKD$420 (actually HKD$700 for both keyboard + mouse)
• Exactly the same design as Mighty Mouse

Conclusion: no thanks. I wont buy the new one (unless someone buy me one!)

Canada / USA 2006 Part I

The whole journey last 17 days, visited two countries, three counties and millions of towns and cities. Please refer to my photo album at Picasa Web (picasaweb.google.com/moksimon) for more photos. Here I'll just select some interesting ones to show you (mostly food :P) Here we go:

Day 01


Why is my mouse lying at HK airport??


This is breakfast onboard JAL flight to Tokyo and yes! it was Singaporean fried rice noodles! It was surprisingly delicious!


View out of window from my seat from Tokyo to Vancouver on B747-400. Two things worth noticing here: 1) I sat in front of the wings; and 2) I sat above the wings by quite a lot! No I wasn't travelling on Business Class (I wish!) JAL does use its 747's upper deck for economy class. I was on upper deck for two legs of my journey and drew one conclusion: it was quieter, no baby crying, little bit more spaceous (due to the extra storage underneath the window still) and that's it! It was still economy, still with tiny, shitty PTV entertainment and food was still crap. Pilot and FO were both Japanese and none of us understood what he said apart from 'Thank you for flying Japan Airlines'. One HUGE advantage in flying JAL thou... cabin crews were mostly JAP!!! muahahahahahaha


A Hertz rental Chrysler SUV for the trip. Looks quite shit from the outside to be honest but it was very comfy... leather seats, dual-zone climate control, front seats seat-back heating etc etc... However it drank gas at a rate of 7.3km/L... quite a lot really.

Day 02


Lunch @ Granville Island. Shown here is Piadini chicken wrap. CAD$15


Mediterranean platter - CAD$26


This is probably the BEST seafood caesar salad I've ever had! CAD$21


... and this restaurant was Bridges @Granville Island, YVR.


For those who can read - Grouse Mountain Admission Fee (mainly for the gondola), at a rate of CAD$30 + tax per adult!!!


This is what you'll get for CAD$30... (speechless)

Day 04


Taken in Seattle, an African restaurant right in the city centre. Trust me, I was starving at that moment!


I'm proud to introduce: African cuisine. This is my portion: beef with tomato and other veg. and wrapped by a layer of skin-like bread... very good food and cheap also: USD$8!!


This is what my mum's ordered: chicken with a creamy, fruity sauce with rice. Very good also. USD$8 too!


Now we move to another part of the world: Mexican. This one is seafood rice. Big portion, too creamy really. This one is little bit more expensive: USD$13.


I'm sure the Mexican stole this from China! Mexican-style stir-fry beef, prawn and chicken...


... with rice, bean mixture (taste like mixture anyway) and salad. USD$15.

That's it for now... to be continued.......

HKU Degree Show 2006

Ok it's really late... my apology.

There are mainly two purposes for holding this degree show:
1) show off - to potential employers so that we can get jobs without sending letters
I'm lucky enough to be one of the few who were asked to interview for jobs at architectural firms.
2) show off - let the world know what the hell we did in the past 8 months
More importantly this let my parents and friends know what the hell I learnt in the past 6 years since 2000 and hopefully make them think it's worthwhile to spend vast amount of money on me!


This is my thesis, the final 'homework' before ending my architecture education. The whole process took approximately 8 months, from Oct 2005 'til May 2006. Each of us have different topics as well as different sites. Mine's about tourism and conservation of world heritage; and my idea is to design an air-floating hotel that hovers above ground. This avoids direct contact with heritage sites and natural environment and, in-turn, reduces pollution.


A closer look at my main presentation, which is of a size of 10 A1s. This is the standard requirement for all projects at thesis level.


This is a setional model in 1:20 scale, showing typical structural bay for my hotel system. Part of the 1:100 scale model can be seen on the top-left corner of photo. Both models are actually suspended above floor from ceiling at the exhibition space.

Other (interesting) projects from my colleagues are displayed here:-


Sunny's 'millennium wheel' at the Peak!


Ar Yu's 'Remarking Neighborhood' at Shek Kip Mei


Erik's housing scheme at Tseung Kwan O. Dont care if the structure works or not, it's definitely pretty damn impressive.


Last but not least, Connie's mass-produced mobile, collapsible hospital for emergency situations and disease outbreaks.

Well done everyone! (Well, most of us anyway)