039 - Chinese Character Dictionary links 中 文 字 典

Chinese Character Dictionary links 中 文 字 典

Maybe for about 1 year now, I have done my Chinese to English translations of Chinese characters with paper and electronic references.
One of the best paper dictionaries is the Oxford Chinese-English/English-Chinese dictionary. In the middle of this book is a character/radical table to help with the reverse translation.
On-line resources are speedier but they too require a knowledge of Chinese pronunciation, definition or characters to be useful. User input is by keyboard. Searching for the character or the building elements of the character was very (very) time consuming! I have always wondered why no-one has come up with a program where you would write with a stylus on a computer/electronic tablet, the Chinese character and then have the computer come up with the exact character and definition.

I used these resources painstakingly for years. When I got stuck/frustrated, I would resort to entering my query (usually in the form of an image/jpeg) in a forum often half a continent away and hope some merciful/friendly soul would assist me! ... that is until today.

I stumbled on this wonderful website, where not only can you find a character by: certain code, or meaning or pronuciation, but also by drawing. You click on the "brush" icon and use your mouse to "draw" the chinese character. It works very well. This is almost like getting a birthday present! (Note, your browser needs to have java abilities enabled.) The website is
http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=chardict

Links to other chinese character dictionaries etc:

Software:
dimsum mandarintools.com http://www.mandarintools.com/dimsum.html
hanzilookup http://kiang.org/jordan/software/hanzilookup/
firefox browser addon MandarinPopup https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9931 __(other addons include PopupChinese, and Cantofish)
kanjibrowze http://www.stackz.com/KanjiBrowze/kbr.htm
njstar products http://www.njstar.com/
pablo http://ehaton.blogspot.com/2007/02/learning-chinese-pablo-my-personal.html
wakan http://wakan.manga.cz/ (this is the one I understand the most)

online translation sites:
google translate http://translate.google.com/
babelfish http://babelfish.yahoo.com/
PopupChinese Chinese characters to english: http://www.popupchinese.com/tools/adso

Online chinese character/radical dictionaries; Handwriting input:

• chineselanguage.org http://www.chineselanguage.org/dictionaries/index.php?module=ccdict&lang=en
• chinese-tools http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/sinograms.html
• chinese-tools http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/mouse.html
• kiang.org hanzidict http://kiang.org/jordan/software/hanzilookup/hanzidict.html
• mandarin tools http://www.mandarintools.com/chardict.html
• mdbg.net http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=chardict (click on the brush icon 畫筆 to enable handwriting input)

• nciku http://www.nciku.com/
• popupChinese single character dictionary http://www.popupchinese.com/words/dictionary
• purpleculture.net http://www.purpleculture.net/Chinese-Handwritten-Input.asp
• zhongwen http://www.zhongwen.com/zi.htm

Forum:
chineselanguage.org (this is not a typo) http://www.chinalanguage.com/forums/index.php?

Etymology of a single character:
chineseetymology.org http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterASP/EtymologyHome.aspx

Study tools:
chinese mac [study] http://www.yale.edu/chinesemac/pages/study_tools.html
stroke order Dylan Sung http://www.sungwh.freeserve.co.uk/sapienti/bihua.htm
stroke order wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke_order

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038 - Pit Pub Burger Bar

AMS Pit Pub Burger Bar is simple and solid!

This burger bar is located at UBC, at 6138 SUB Boulevard.
It is a big grill kitchen behind a small counter service window.
There are no frills, but the service is prompt and friendly.(80) [4 stars]
The burgers are 1/4 pound patties. Side orders are fries and chicken strips. They also have veggie burgers. Food Quality = 80 [4 stars]
Atmosphere = fast food/food court (80) [4 stars]
This is the type of place Fred Flintstone would go to. Simple. WYSIWYG.
Prices are competitive.(70) [3 stars]
Overall rating = .......%78 [3.75 stars]

http://www.dinehere.ca/restaurant.asp?r=5825#42763

037 - Moon Noodle Bar

The Moon Noodle Bar is "a fresh taste"
http://www.amsubc.ca/index.php/businesses/category/the_moon

In the SUB UBC food court, next to the Pit Pub, this fast food chinese food/noodle bar provides good value & speed for lunch. I had fried noodles, green beans and beef with black bean sauce, and spicy tofu. The food quality earned 4 stars. One star was deducted because some of the noodles were chewy and rubber-like. (To be fair, perhaps this was just a one time thing).
Service & Ambience was inline for a fast-food place.
The menu had many items. You can also create your own combo as I did above. This place is a hidden gem. For authentic Chinese fast-food taste head toward the Moon Noodle Bar and stay away from the boring mainstream fast-food outlets.

food 4 stars
value 4 stars
ambience 3 stars
service 3 stars
Overall rating .... 3.5 stars

http://www.dinehere.ca/restaurant.asp?r=3286#42761

036 - a few shopping centres on No.3 Road in Richmond

a few shopping centres on No.3 Road in Richmond

1. Richmond Centre is a classic mainstream shopping mall. The decor/atmosphere is vibrant.
(The Skytrain, Canada Line, at the time of this writing, has completed the track concrete foundation from the North next to Richmond Centre.)


2. North several blocks, and just west off of No.3 road, is the new location of XS Cargo.

A store, selling discounted and refurbished items.

3. Around the 4600 block on the west side of the road is The Real Canadian Superstore.


4. Across the street is Hon's Wun-Tun House restaurant.



5. Next to (North of) Hon's is Parker Place (百 家 店), an Asian retail mall.



Photo by Arnold C and Buchanan-Hermit
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parkerplace.jpg

6. Across the street northbound fom Parker Place is the Aberdeen Centre,
時 代 坊 another Asian mall.

Photo by Christopher Dewolf; cross reference with http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2007/03/08/gung-hay-fat-choy-notes-from-vancouver/

This mall has your typical Asian retail boutiques much like Parker Place. There is a neato food-court on the 3rd floor. Two stores caught my attention though.
--i) Daiso http://www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/english/ is a Japanese version of a "dollar store". If you have 5 or 10 bucks burning a hole in your pocket, then, this is the store for you. Actually, not all of the (cra*), I mean goods, are a waste. There are many items which are practical. However, if you can't tell what a product is for and you can't read Japanese, then the best advice is not to buy it. Funny though, all these Japanese labeled goods are made in China. No surprise here as the cost of labour/manufacturing is lower.
--ii) Cube inc. is the other neat store. http://www.cubeinc-bc.com/ I am so mad at myself for not being able to come up with a retail concept like this store. It is a paradigm shift for me. This store is on the 3rd floor. It rents/leases clear plexiglass cubes to other retailers. The store staff have keys for each locked cube. When a customer sees an item he/she is interested in, the staff opens up the cube and sells them the item. All the proceeds go to the cube renter. The store itself just makes money on the rental fees. If you just have to see one store in Aberdeen Centre, make it this one.

7. President Plaza 統 一 廣 場 is 1 block north on No.3 Road at Cambie Road.

Photo by Arnold C and Buchanan-Hermit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pres-ext1.jpg

-
It is comprised of retail and professional services including the 2 main companies T and T Supermarket 大 統 華 超 級 市 場, and the Radisson President Hotel.



8. North of President Plaza is the Yaohan Centre 八 佰 伴 中 心


Photo by SqueakyMarmot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37804160@N00/285237963/

.
(These pics come from their website http://www.yaohancentre.com/) . This mall is best summarized as: "An Asian supermarket with an adjacent Asian food court beneath some small shops."
The supermarket here is called OSAKA Supermarket 大 阪 超 級 市 場
It is a sister store of T n T Supermarket 大 統 華 超 級 市 場. It is a busy place. If you like Chinese/Asian fast-food, this is one the best place to go for variety.

9. North of the Yaohan is Canadian Tire near Capstan Way.

035 - Hon's Wun-Tun House Restaurant in Richmond

Today I read some poor reviews of Hon's Wun-Tun House restaurant 漢 記 麵 家 (http://www.hons.ca) in Richmond on the internet.


image source http://www.menunette.com/?q=node/3044 <-- click here for current menunette.com viewing

I have eaten there before, a long time ago, and I can't believe the poor reviews.

negative reviews:
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/180842/restaurant/Vancouver/Hons-Wun-Tun-House-Richmond-Richmond#
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~crowley/restaurant.html
http://www.tasteof604.com/1/8/Default.aspx?dmdid=22&rid=13286
http://www.dinehere.ca/restaurant.asp?r=448
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/107507

positive reviews:
http://chowtimes.com/2007/09/10/hons-on-no-3-road-revisited/
http://www.yelp.ca/biz/hons-wun-tun-house-richmond


There were several statements about the poor quality of the food, the service and the hygeine.

So, armed with my bias, I went to Hon's today for lunch and I am happy to report I am 1 satisfied customer. I had the Wor Won Ton soup (ironically, the spelling on the menu, Won Ton, is different than the restaurant name, ie. Wun-Tun,). It is a well balanced dish with won ton, bbq pork and small bok choy.
It was filling and the price was reasonable. I would return there again.

One staff seated me promptly, and another quickly got me some tea. Another took my order. For the type of restaurant that Hon's is, the service is appropriate. It is a busy Hong Kong style type soup and noodle house and the staff need to be fast and efficient. I didn't find any rudeness at all.


Photo by Steve Portigal
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveportigal/3289047158/

The washroom cleanliness was o.k. Certainly it gets a passing grade. I think the negative reviewers don't understand that it is a fast food environment and not a fine-dining venue.


food 4 stars
service 4 stars
value 4 stars
ambience 4 stars
Overall rating ... 4 stars
My grading of this eatery is... a Passing grade and then some: %80

(this review now posted at http://www.dinehere.ca/restaurant.asp?r=448#42762)

034 - Dyson Air Blade

Dyson Air Blade hand dryer (from the maker of the vacuum cleaners?)
http://www.dyson.com/airblade/caen/

I seen 2 of these so far. The first one in Alberta (Calgary??) and the second one in Aberdeen Shopping Centre in Richmond B.C.

They dry your hands in 12 seconds, with unheated air at a speed of exceeding 640km/hr!

Before this I was impressed by the Xlerator.
http://www.exceldryer.com/products/xlerator.asp
This device claims to dry your hands in 10-15 seconds.

033 - my path in Lower BC June2009

my path in Lower BC June 2009

June21 Sunday: Richmond | shopping along No.3 Road
June20 Saturday: Surrey | Central City & Guildford Shopping Centres
June19 Friday: ******* Wild Goose Chase day
June18 Thursday: Burnaby, rough one Vancouver
June17 Wednesday: New Westminster
June16 Tuesday: Vancouver | rsch
June15 Monday: Abbotsford, Langley, Vancouver

032 - Army & Navy Stores (Canada)

Vancouver Army and Navy Store
photo from http://ryanchen-wing.com/2008/12/19/working-in-aunt-vs-yard-on-my-monday-in-vancity/

Army and Navy Stores (Canada) are still thriving in Canada!

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Army_%26_Navy_Stores_(Canada)&oldid=292276498


It was such a treat to discover an Army and Navy store in New Westminster. It is located next to the Burr Theatre.
For some reason, I assumed the last remaining store was the Calgary location. To my surprise, it appears there are six locations operating: Vancouver, New Westminster, Langley, Calgary, Edmonton South, an d Edmonton Londonderry Mall. http://www.armyandnavy.ca
--Photo by DennisSylvesterHurd
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennissylvesterhurd/3487397114/sizes/l/

.

This photo is from Christine R.
http://www.yelp.ca/biz/army-and-navy-department-store-ltd-new-westminster


Photo by JMV
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmv/2666242627/

The New Westminster store has traditional decor. It has 4 levels and a working escalator. Photo prints of vintage store locations are hung up throughout the store: Vancouver, Regina?, Moose-Jaw, Saskatoon and others. The interior orange and black store signs are new but they retained the classic font. ... what you call "Army and Navy" font.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilphotodevil/354244857/

Wikipedia says the location used to be an Eaton's store. There doesn't appear to be any Eaton's atmosphere at all. The shelving and color scheme and merchandising are classic Army and Navy.

Other Army and Navy links:
http://collectionscanada.ca/mailorder/029006-150.1-e.php?uid=029006&uidc=CollectionCd&sk=31&&&&PHPSESSID=kv7bg03hakugj2p6obu70p3p05

http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cpm/catalog/cat2401e.shtml#1247636

http://www.axionet.com/bcreport/web/990913f.html

031 - Tower1 of Trays

Tower1 of Trays
From Dec2008 to June2009
This is the first stack of trays that Steven and I built:

Here are the rest of the pics:
http://s556.photobucket.com/albums/ss4/jcpma/20090602vTrays/

030 - gasoline update 2009-06-09 final

gasoline update 2009-06-09 (**final)

The last price change, a 2 cent decrease, happened on May 28 (twelve days ago).

↑ 3 cents| On 2009-06-19 I noticed the gas price at "Safe-way" and "Co-op" was increased 3 cents from
$ 0.969/Litre to $ 0.999/Litre



** note: this is the last gasoline price update for Calgary

029 - Puck Monster hand held electronic game by Gakken

Puck Monster hand held electronic game by Gakken

This is the international version of the North.American table top electronic "Pac-man"

http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Gakken/Puck.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuxapYRrxEk

028 - the definition of WASP

the definition of WASP

This posting is for my toy friend (grammar?) Outdoor Josh.
On an older radio broadcast of Terry O'Reilly's advertising program, The Age of Persuasion, the demographic term WASP was used. When I seen Josh I asked him if he knew what it meant. He thought it could mean White and Socially Priveleged, definitely not White and Sexy Person. I had taken some advertising classes in skool, but I forgotten what the term WASP stood for.

Josh was very close! Here is the term from dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wasp) :

WASP
  /wɒsp/ Pronunciation [wosp] Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.
–noun
1. a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant.
2. a member of the privileged, established white upper middle class in the U.S.
–adjective
3. Waspy.
Also, Wasp.

Origin:
1955–60

===

on Google book search (http://books.google.ca/books?id=0f5Grm_DkCoC&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=demographic+term+wasp&source=bl&ots=J3OF7ECVAk&sig=hLE2_mp4T6lUb7ZeAcCSlc1Dgq8&hl=en&ei=_9QqSq-EFY_ItAPjkZnvCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#PPA61,M1)
Eric P Kaufmann's book Rethinking Ethnicity mentions the abbreviation: (page 61)
... White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) Americans ...

==

so there you have it. probably not the most politically-correct term as it may encompass elements of prejudice, racism & reverse racism.