我想要的2008

低调的2007年马上就过去了。

2008，注定不平凡，充满了期待：

这一年在事业上开始突破，实现梦想！

这一年重新认识自己，做好新的自己！

这一年重新放开心，回到原点，选择新方向往前走！

这一年得到更多的爱，也更多的爱别人！

这一年踏上别的大陆，游历世界！

这一年为奥运加油，为中国加油！

这将是精彩的一年！

How many places I have been in China

This is where I have been in China up to 07. I wish to cover the rest half of China in next 10 yrs. Most likely Fujiang and Xinjiang as next travel destination. create your own China map

亲爱的GRD II

GRD II终于开始铺货了，明知等一段时间价格会便宜下来，还是第一时间拿下我的第三台GRD。明天去南方的农村晃悠，可以用新机了。Life is about maximising utility, so sometimes we do irrational things. 买GRD II可不是冲动购买，拿在手里似乎就是拿着GRD，熟悉的感觉，象再见到老朋友。

机身经典的设计保留很好。显示屏大了些，也更明亮了。Power键按下后会发光，漂亮。模式出现了MY1, MY2，以后可以更多用个性化的设置了。闪光手动弹出，相当好，对GRD的用户来说，越多可以手动控制机器的选项越好。

开机试拍一下，初步感觉高ISO的表现有提高。 试试微距，现在可以方便的手动调节微距下的焦点了，相当好。

其他改进有待慢慢体会。网上的测评刚出来，总得来说，GRD的好二代都在，GRD不好的GRD II也改进不少。老规矩，三年内我的DC就是它了。

和谐

周末出汗,发呆,想想什么是和谐。以前咱们的目标是共产主义社会,现在换个讲法,叫和谐社会了。看看我们的国家

• 我们是全球第三大经济体，我们有12000亿美元外汇储备
• 按市值计算，全球前十大公司中有五家是中国公司
• 我们有世界顶级的豪华建筑和极致的装潢
• 我们有世界唯一的商业磁旋浮
• 我们的商场有世界最大的LED天幕
• 我们有世界最好、最宏伟的zf大楼
• 我们有一大批先富起来的人，是全球第三大奢侈品消费国家,占全球销售额的12%, 仅次于日本41%和美国17%的市场份额
• 我们将来有全球最大的市场，目前中国国内居民消费占GDP比重不到40%，发达国家是65%，拥有20%世界人口的中国占世界消费总量只有3%，增长的空间非常广阔。

一个国家经历了文革、改革开放、市场化、全球化，中国愈发强大了，不过再细看，我们有：

• 摩天大楼下就是里弄棚戸, 有不肯搬迁的刁民
• 商业化的高校,剥夺农村孩子受教育的权力
• 同样商业化的医疗体系
• 大量的弱势群体，不光是活人，死去的烈士也得不到安息（官员、商人可以串通直接把烈士陵墓铲平）。

这一切相安无事，表面平静，这就是今天的中国。一方面我们觉得中国似乎无比强大，大国崛起令人兴奋。但是实际上中国及其脆弱，矛盾众多。

全球化下，我们是血汗工厂、垃圾顷到场和目标市场，经济模式所造成的巨大的资源和环境代价以及国家形象和质量信心危机就不用说了。单单看看人民生活就知道社会的脆弱。今天去超市买菜，发现食品价格真的是很贵，这个低收入阶层的感受会非常明显。在通货膨胀时期，如果生活必需品的价格上涨过快，其他方面的花费不得不能省就省了。我们总说要扩大内需，其实在CPI 6.5%并且人民普遍预期通货膨胀持续的情况下，大家不得不紧巴巴的过日子，大头都花费在住房上了。土地说是全民的资源，但是zf把土地很便宜的征用，然后加价出售给开发商，房子盖出来再轮番包装和炒做、卖出天价，结果就是全民、包括经济逐渐被房地产绑架，zf赚了钱，开发商更占据富豪榜的显著位置，国民财富向少数阶层集中。然而集中的财富又不能有效对兼租房、教育、医疗投入，返还不到民众，最后就是全体人民来买单。BusinessWeek最近一期封面文章是"Can China be fixed?"作者的答案是"No"，他认为如果没有根本的政治体制改革的话，不会有大的变化只会有小的改进。文章提出些不太实际的建议，比如 get the party officials out of business，party official wealth reporting policy等。我们自己知道很多事都属于中国国情，而且事情还不能深究，免得最后就究到政治体制上了，这是绝对的禁忌。 明白人知道和谐只是少数上层权势阶级的。大众呢，弱势群体呢？我看不到。所谓和谐，这个命题也只有在中国才有。一切留给历史吧，我还是相信中国总会有好的国运。

08北京的夏天注定hot

08北京的夏天注定hot，至少在费用上。。。 最便宜的如家最大涨幅743% 截至08年2月28日，269元 不含早，早餐10元 3月1日－7月23日，1999元 不含早，早餐40元 7月24日－8月4日，1399元 不含早 早餐40元/人 8月5日－8月25日，1999元 8月26日－8月31日，1399元 9月1日－12月31日，269元 不含早 中档的中服，最大涨幅925％ 截至08年5月31日，398元 含早 6月1日－9月15日，3200元 另收15％服务费，含早 9月16日－12月31日，500元 酒店升级，含早 5星级的暂时没查到，估计10倍以上的涨幅。 结论，去北京看奥运的话要么住亲戚朋友家里，要么还是住中高档酒店，反正钱也要花，就当享受了。如家这种经济酒店没必要，不值这个价，而且有段时间会贵过中档酒店。

清澈的眼睛

最看不惯瞧不起我们的工人、农民、少数民族的人。

说我们的人民愚昧、素质低，以为自己生来高人一等的人都TM操蛋，典型的装B。如果不是因为人为的障碍，社会的不公平，谁高谁低还说不定呢。

对我来说，很多勤劳、善良的贫苦之人有最清澈的眼睛，某些所谓的高等人士不过是些蒙蔽心灵和眼睛的人。

all photos are from web.

荷

CD will be meomeries

I have not too many CDs, less than 100. I am thinking to collect them as the old things, but will not buying more, even if there are new versions like SACD or HDCD. It's simply not the right way to listen to music from CD in this era.

What I will buy is a music player with big storage to put all my media in it, and can edit playlists to playback whatever I want it to play, it can be a standalone mini machine or has a HDMI sort of connection to amplifyer.

A HTPC or Apple Tv, Mini Mac can do such things. But they are still a bit complicated if I just want to listen to music quickly as a traditional CD player do. They are more suitable to play high def. videos as a AV system. I still want a single and easy to use music player. Other functions such as Internet media capability, wireless speakers to share music in other rooms, Iphone/Ipod connections will be a plus.

Such players are already out there by companies such as Phillips. The music industry is already changed significantly for yrs, some companies are introducing new generations of music players to meet changing needs of consumers and record business. Currently they are not perfect, they are still too thick, storage is just 40GB, and MP3 quality is only up to 160kps, etc.

I am not replacing my JVC EX-A10 in short time, I still listen to CD at home and listen to Iphone/Ipod outside.

There are always newest electronics available every couple of months. I find that to get 100% out of each machine is far more interesting than constantly chasing the new ones. I like to buy products that work good and with style (not neccessary luxiuries), when I fully understand it and make it do the work, it's a lot of fun. Perhaps in the two or three years, the value of CDs is for memory, just like the old big balck long-playing record. (Right, many DJs also like the scratching value of LPs).

The dream system?

选择

所谓选择，不过是因为类似的东西太多。如果有一个最好的，那就简单了。

物、事、人，莫不如此。

彩云之南

暂时逃离钢筋森林， 让身心游走在彩云之南， 空灵的高原躺在鲜活的阳光下， 心开始被渐渐点亮。 消失的地平线上， 那是永远的香格里拉。。。

Investment strategy

Q3 of 07 is begining of a new stage of China's bullish stock market. A large percentage of personal investors began to lose money and 90% of mutual funds did not outperform the index in Q3. I selected some stocks in July, util Sep, I earned over 80% profit, beat the index growth at same period, which is 22%.

Maybe I was lucky, but I think there are two things for sure, firstly, safety is top priority, lose money is inevitable in the market, but always earn more than lose. Second, China's stock market is far from mature and so dynamic, so it is very important to review the influencing factors, market trend periodically and formulate the most effective strategy for each stage.

Overall objective: at least beat inflation over time and try to outperform average market performance. (means at least over 10% return annually). I follow the below strategies currently.

1. Never invest in a zero-sum market, such as gambling, it is a mathematical certainty that you will go broke. Most markets are positive-sum game including the stock market. Investment is to rent capital to market who can make more effective use of it, this adds more value to excess capital and can help beating the inflation over time. 2. Reading about a 'hot stock' in Wall Street analyst's buy recommedation won't bring above average return on the stock. Because everyone else has access to the same information. This is the essence of the efficiency markets theory. The effecient market theory says that asset prices already reflect all available information. According to Morningstar, only 30% of actively managed funds have performed better than the S&P 500 over the past five years, and only 15% of such funds have done so over the past two decades. The simple index fund, our morden equivalent of a monkey throwing a towel at the stock page, did better. And behavioral economics, did not beat the traditional effecient market theory. 3. By point 2, I did not mean reviewing company fundamentals useless. In fact, not every one in market is so effective or the big fishes in market is doing something else to maximize the utilization of capital, I am competiting with them, and moreover, only understand the true value of the company, I won't buy any stock not worth its value. Buy low, sell high is the principle everybody knows, thus I need to find out what's undervalued (it's better that WSJ analysts didn't promote it recently) and the efficiency markets theory will do the rest, the value will be capitalized sooner or later, as long as valuation model is correct and industry/company fundamentals remain strong, the only risk is time cost of capital might be very high. 4. After picking stocks, at least reviewing its quarterly report. I once made a mistake, I picked two stocks and at the begining made good profit, then the price went to the downward trend and finally I lost all the profit and had to sold them out. The lesson is to track the fundamentally on timely basis so don't miss critical information so as to make more informed investment desicion. All information I can get is public, but as said ealier, it is possible to outperform institutional investors and ordinary investors. Comparably, insitituonal investors move slower than me, I react more responsively to market change. Compare to personal investors, because the mass population is in market now, I certainly make more rational decisions than many people. 5. Take risks, earn reward. It's not a shame the stock I pick actually fall, because it's the thing I can't predict matter. As stock prices settle at a fair price given everything that we know or can reasonably predict, prices will rise or fall in the future only in response to unanticipated events-things that we cannot know in the present.Nothing is impossible in the market, remember the magic words: Enron, Enron, Enron. I don't keep money in stock all the time, grasp limited opportunities in each year is enough to reach my objective. 6. Save, invest, repeat. The gain from market is the rent I can command from financial market. Thus, if I have diversified portfolio (significantly lower the risk of serious losses without lowering the expected return) and invest for the long turn (I am certainly sure stocks is much higher in 25 yrs time than it is today, day trading incurs all the costs of trading without any of the benefits that come from holding equities for the long run), I will make profit. Furthermore, It is not realistic to expect the market always being a crazy bull, consistently beat the index is already a mirable. Remember Buffet, his annual average return is about 20%, after lasting for several decades, he is the richest guy in the world. There is no need to be impatient, what matters is to find out the best investment strategy working for myself and stick to it. I expect the rest of 07 will be a fluatuating market, returns will not jusify risks. But I am optimistic about 08, there should be a significant opportunity before Olympics ends. Just watch it closely and looking for best timing to enter again.

GRD II is coming, I will have my third GRD soon.

"GR-D II并没有大刀阔斧的升级，设计理念保持了一定的连续性，机身设计、镜头几乎没有任何改变，但改善了RAW存储时间、镜头对焦噪音等用户抱怨较大的问题。

GR-D II采用1/1.75英寸 1001万像素CCD，最高拍摄分辨率3648x2736。支持同时存储为JPEG和RAW格式，相比GR-D的11秒RAW存储时间缩短了约3.8秒。另外，GR-D II支持1：1比例画面拍摄。

GR-D II搭载最新的GR ENGINE II影像处理引擎，在画面降噪方面有了较大进步，并支持手动开关降噪功能。使用和第一代同样的28mm定焦镜头，F2.4，ISO 80-1600。液晶屏从上代的2.5寸升级到2.7寸，约23万像素。支持30FPS 640x480动态影像拍摄。内置54MB存储，支持SDHC/SD/MMC存储卡扩展。电池续航能力从上代的拍摄250张提高到370张。

GR-D II将于11月22日在日本上市，售价约8万日元，折合人民币在5200元左右。目标市场仍然定位在那些已经拥有单反相机摄影师手中的第二台便携机型。同时，理光也没有忘记老客户，GR-D将在明天发布最后一次固件升级，通过软件支持一些GR-D II的新功能。"

总得来说有些强化，虽然不是特别大。用GRD一代的可以不用升级了，差价30％不太合算。GRD II的画质、对焦准确性改善等机子上市一段时间才能看出来。打算上市几个月入手一个，以前自己的2个GRD都送给家人了。GRD吸引人的地方还是在于经典的外观以及便携性，画质不错，没想象的好，和单反也不用比，定位就是便携的单反辅机，也不能要求太多了，毕竟GRD也是口袋机的顶级产品了。

如果以后出GRD III的话，我希望能加大CCD面积配合新图像处理引擎，闪光灯位置改到中间，如果这都不能改的话，那就加上GPS和无线传输模块（照片直接无线传输到手机或电脑上）。对单反相机的期望也是一样。

Mobile blogging

Web 3.0 starts from my iPhone. Pretty cool.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college. And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5￠ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over. I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together. I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle. My third story is about death. When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now. This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960’s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions. Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Thank you all very much.

Love Apple

According to WSJ, Apple's profit climbed 67%, fueled by growth in its Macintosh computer business and momentum in the new iPhone. Apple's share price also reached historical high at $ 174.36. In my opinion, Apple will contines to grow fast in the foresable future. I have bought 3 ipod, the ipod video 80G, the ipod shuffle and the iphone. And I am pretty much impressed by Mac OS 10.5, the Lepoard, system and plan to replace my sony VAIO with MacbookPro later and probably also buy a Macintosh desktop system as well.

The reasons why Apple totally turn around and starts to gain significant share in each of the market it competes include at least the followings: 1. innovative products appealing to broad customers

As everyone knows, ipod has redifined the mp3 market, now iphone is a truly innovative product, it offers almost everything I need or many are beyond my expectations. Overall it is much better than mobile phones I used before. I just like it. Of course, Apple's products are not perfect, but there is no perfect product in the world, the inperfection is just a like a small bite on an apple, not bad actually. Furthermore, the design of Apple is definitely art, every product is beautifully designed. I admit probably 50% of the reason I want to swith to Mac is because of the 'beautiful' feeling, both the stunning and user friendly interface and the appearance.

2. creative marketing The marketing paperganda "Think Different" is so successful, so buying an Apple is not just buying a product, it is more buying a lifestyle, it means taste, simplicity and state of art new technology. Do you want that lifestyle? Yes? Then you have to buy an Apple. In addition, Apple's products are beautifully advertised.

People don't like Apple call Apple fans as "apple snob", and they claim that IQ of Apple users is notably lower PC users. Porbably true, who cares, Apple is just so refreshing in a world used to be dominated by PC.

3. great value

I think Microsoft is more important in the WinTel alliance. Everytime Microsoft launch a new OS, the demands for new hardware surge. But the actual using experience is not very different. Honestly, the PC can do more things today, but for similar functions, the overall speed is not much faster than several years ago. This is because although the processing power of hardware is much faster, but the software is much more heavy loaded and in certain degree, less efficient than before. Just looking at the size of Vista and Office, I don't think the money we paid to upgrade hardware and software justify the value.

Apple, however, has an advantage, especailly after it swithed to Intel from PowerPc. Lepoard can run on a Mac made 7 years ago, it indicates the Mac OS is actually much more efficient than Windows. More importantly, Apple is transforming from a computer company into a more diversified company offers handsets and mp3 players, the transformation is very successful, thanks to the great integration of Apple's hardware and software. Iphone is an example, because the device is powered by Mac OS, there is obvious accumulative advantage, it is much more advanced than other mobile phones. Another point is the bootcamp, which is built in Leopard, enables nearly zero switching cost from PC, it offers everything we need, thus, the price premium of a Machintosh computer is less significant switching barrier.

Just loves Apple.

The Congress

The 17th xxx Conference just finished. Overall it is exciting, as expected, the leader re-emphasized the importance to develop economy and clearly pointed out key areas to ensure social harmony and sustainable growth. I am happy with the sucess of the conference and wish the local gv. can implemente central gv. policies. However there is also something not that "harmonous" 1. The construction ministry head said "we should carefull analyze if there is bubble in cn's housing market". Look at the readers' comments, many are angry or desperate. It indicates that the gv is in fact have no clear objective of controlling market. (CN's gv will never hesitate to interven anything in China). I think now it is more or less clearer now, that the gv's intention is NOT to drop the price but just cool down market so price doesn't go up too fast. I guess the housing price might go down for a short while, probably 10-30 percent in mid 08, and then go up again. 2. The vice president of China Securities Regulatory Commission said "they are analyzing the possibility to exchange H shares and A shares". This is very surpursing to me, I doubt when they make a policy, how much do they considered cn people's interest. It is totally give windfalls to overseas investors at the cost of mainland investors. I really doubt when high position officials make public speech, do they only represent their own opinons or it reflect state policies. For sure, there are still so many inefficies of policy making and implementation. I am a little frustrated when reading such news.

Blogger is back AGAIN

It is just unavailable again after writing "the congress". Now I can only access blogspot from the backstage console. Go to hell, GFW, which banned blogger for over 3 years now. Blogspot时断时续，迟迟不能解禁。曾经想过用其他的博客站，可惜国外的太慢，国内好的太少，我想要的就是简洁、好用，如Google，牛博这样的。继续自己在blogger涂鸦了。 Below was I wrote yesterday. Obviously, GFW just had a snap. 8 months later, Blogger is back again, I hope this time is finally and official, probably Google China reached some aggrements with GFW. Flickr is still blocked, and sadly, Youtube is banned although it is part of Google now. Anyway, it is a good news me that blogspot functions again, to me, it is more useful than Youtube because we cannot upload videos to Youtube in China, so the useness is very limited. Based on web news,YouTube blocked in China; Flickr, Blogspot restored. Google, keep it on, bring us full functionning Youtube. Yahoo, pls. try hard to bring us Flickr. I wrote in April, 07 Blogger is back. There is no information on blogger's FAQ regarding this issue. I can access the console which means the server is working, but I just cannot access the blog homepage, it is known that blogger is blocked from time to time (unpredictable timing) in China for unknown reasons (it is too free? China requires bloggers to submit their real IDs). It's great to see blogger is back and I hope this time it can be accessible for long long time. But it is frustrated that I know there is great chance that it is blocked again sooner or later, it is just a matter of time. Ultimately, this depends on Chinese government's attitude. Sometimes, I really feel there is some down sides of staying in China.

Professor's life lesson

This is one of the best presentations I saw this year. Professor Pausch's speech is so encouraging. Lessons learnt: 1. I has to be very very energytic and passionate to live a life! I am gonna keep having fun everyday I have left. Being a tigger. 2. Dreams are to be achived. Bricks walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things. Awalys have faith! Never lose the child like wonder. 3. Mentors, Parents are so important, I will do my best to help my child realize dreams. Have fun! 4. Be good at something: it makes you valuable. 5. Don't complain, work harder. what' s your secret? 6. Find the best it everybody: no matter how you have to wait for them to show it. No one is all evil. Don't forget helping others. 7. Be prepared: "luck" is where preparation meets opportunity 8. Respect authority while questionning it. 9. Belive in Karma. Tell the truth, be earnst, apologize when you screw up, focus on others, not youself.

About Happiness

The path I choose, The happiness I want The below are some writings from WSJ. 为你开启幸福之门 2007年08月28日09:52 我们会以为财富的多少是与一个人的幸福程度成正比的，但研究显示，美国人如今对生活现状的满意程度不比三十年前高多少，要知道当时的生活水平是远远不及现在的啊。那么，如果财富无法增加人们的幸福感，什么能呢？通过对“幸福”的研究，我们列出了下面七大关键因素。要增加人们的幸福感，不是没有办法──但仅有鼓囊囊的钱包是不够的。 1. 关注那些真正重要的事。 并不是收入越高就越感觉幸福。但如果被问及对生活的满意程度如何，高收入群体给出肯定回答的几率往往会比较大。 为什么会如此？因为这个问题会引发他们去思考自己的社会地位，从而意识到自己其实是非常幸运的。从中可以看出：如果你有一套重量级的资产或是一份丰厚的薪水，时不时地想想自己的好运吧，这也许会提升你的幸福感。 而如果你不是“大款”，就尽量避免那些让你感到财不如人的情况，想想那些人无我有或是人有我优的东西。还有，与其在富人区里买幢最便宜的房子，不如和那些与你生活水平相当的人住在一起。想知道自己到底身价几许时，别去想家境殷实的姐姐，多想想一贫如洗的哥哥好了。 2. 拒绝单身。 研究发现，已婚人士的生活要比单身一族幸福。 英格兰华威大学(Warwick University)经济学教授安德鲁•奥斯瓦德(Andrew Oswald)指出，婚姻给人们带来了两种幸福之源，“性福”和友谊，它对人类的影响是无可估量的。 谈到友谊，与朋友的相聚也能提升你的幸福指数。研究表明，日复一日的上下班是生活中最无趣的活动之一，照看孩子也是一项苦差，虽然我们不愿承认，而享受美味则算得上是人间一大乐事。 但所有这些如果有了朋友的陪伴，趣味性就会明显提升。与人结伴同行会让行程没那么乏味，如果和另一个大人一起去逗孩子，你会更容易发现其中的乐趣所在，而相比独自进餐，与他人共享美味也会让你更加乐在其中。 3. 幸福感源于安全感。 人到中年往往容易缺乏幸福感。这或许是因为身处不惑之年，中年人上有工作压力，下有子女等待抚养，这让他们觉得似乎无法掌控自己的生活。 相比之下，身居高位者、退休人士以及那些端着铁饭碗的人，他们大都过得十分幸福。对此有一种解释，那就是他们对自己的日常生活有着较好的掌控能力。 奥斯瓦德教授谈到，一个人幸福与否，与其是否拥有足够程度的安全感有着千丝万缕的联系。他指出，老板要比下属感觉幸福；那些成天担心失业的人，这种忧虑情绪对他们的精神健康来说是一个大大的减分，而那些不愁工作不保的人，这种积极的情绪则是一个大大的加分。 4. 用每一次进步鼓励自己。 虽有研究显示我们喜欢玩、不喜欢工作，但这并不表明工作就总是让人烦心的。如果工作驾轻就熟，而且能感到自己就是这个工作的一份子，我们还是很喜欢这种感觉的。 加利福尼亚大学(University of California)圣迭戈分校的管理学教授大卫•施卡德(David Schkade)说，工作当然也有好坏之分，如果你常常在工作中找到一种归属感，这对你来说就是一份好工作。 但施卡德教授也指出，工作的真正乐趣或许在于我们事后所体会到的成就感。“我们知道，进步会让人觉得开心，因此你所规划的人生应该能让你享受到这种进步感。” 工作还有一个好处，它能让你更加深刻地体会到闲暇时刻的甜美与惬意，施卡德补充说。这也许就是为什么位高权重者在退休之后抱着放松休闲的目的外出游玩，但每每却是乘兴而去、扫兴而归的原因吧。 5. 放慢追求物质的脚步。 在追求进步的过程中，加薪、豪华跑车和彩票中奖都是我们为之奋斗的目标。 可是，一旦得到了梦寐以求的东西，我们的不满之心很快就又会被其他的物质欲望撩拨得蠢蠢欲动，随后便开始新一轮的物质追逐。学术界对此有一个专门术语──享乐水车或是享乐适应症。 我们或许可以慢下这种不断追求物质享受的脚步。如果我们出去庆祝一下新近的晋升之喜，这种喜悦之情将持续得更加长久。如果我们去年买了新房，不妨停下来欣赏欣赏这个新家，这或许能帮你找回最初的兴奋。 我们还应该想想如何花钱才有意义。与商品相比，经历带给我们的幸福感似乎更能持久。 比如说你买了辆新车，这个曾经一度带给你骄傲和快乐的宝贝最终在你眼中会变成一堆破旧轮胎外加发出阵阵怪声的废铜烂铁。但如果我们把钱用于和朋友聚餐或是与家人度假，这些经历会成为你的美好回忆，而且随着时间流逝，这些往事会变得愈加珍贵。 6. 适应挫折。 虽然适应性在我们身处顺境时会让我们很难停下追逐物质利益的脚步，但当我们身陷逆境时，它却能成为生活的拯救者。假如好友离世，我们会觉得以后的生活不再会有笑容，此时人的适应性会帮你度过这段痛苦的岁月。 奇怪的是，如果一个人遭受了一场重大打击，而且事情已经到了无法挽回的地步，那么当事者的适应速度会更快。如果我们突然残疾，这时的适应速度可能反倒会极其惊人，但如果我们的配偶是个邋遢的人，我们也许永远不会适应。 原因之一在于，我们总觉得自己的配偶还是有机会作一个清爽利落之人的。 7. 赠人玫瑰，手有余香。 如果你愿意的话，做做好事，或是与人为善，这常常会让你无比开心。 纯粹利他主义？不，这似乎是人类的一种古老本能。《都是基因惹的祸》(Mean Genes)一书的作者之一、波士顿基金经理特里•伯恩汉姆(Terry Burnham)指出，在古代社会，行善之举是会受到奖励的。 “美德已在我们心中深深扎根，因为我们知道美德是会获得回报的，”他说，“在小型社交圈中，人们都明白作一个好公民的好处，一旦践踏法律，将会受到严厉的惩罚。” 不管我们的真实动机如何，与人为善总是件好事，而且它还可以让我们觉得更加幸福。 Jonathan Clements 不同的时代 不同的“幸福” 2006年03月07日21:57 在Pew Research Center最近所作的有关幸福的民意调查中，在我看来，最有趣的结论并不是在接受调查的3,000名美国人中有84%的人认为自己“很”或者“非常”幸福，也不是15%的人认为自己不那么幸福。最让我感兴趣的是，有1%的受访者（30人）说不出他们是幸福还是不幸福。 我猜，也许这些“说不出”的人都是历史学家吧，因为过去2,500年来，学者、神学家和政治家在“幸福”的定义、也就是是什么让人快乐的问题上互相纠缠不休。幸福究竟是什么？是感官的愉悦、还是愿望得到满足？是免予悲伤和痛苦？是有意义的劳动还是悠闲的生活？是运气、金钱、仁慈？或者，它只是一种生物学上的偶然──有人似乎天性就愉快，而有人则生来脾气暴躁？ 也许是因为美国《独立宣言》将追求幸福列为人类不可予夺的三大权利之一吧，所以，美国人在他们的幸福受到阻碍时似乎特别地愤怒。比如，达林•麦克马洪(Darrin M. McMahon)在他的新书《幸福》里写到，十九世纪时，美国人在联邦或州法院有数百件官司指控政府或其他公民妨碍了他们追求幸福的神圣权利。但是，据说当有一位美国人向本杰明•富兰克林(Benjamin Franklin)抱怨称他的国家没能实现对公民的承诺时，富兰克林这样回答他：（《独立宣言》）只是给了你追求幸福的权利，你得自己去找到它。 美国最早的定居者像他们在欧洲大陆的先人一样，对于于道德或基督教无关的幸福持怀疑态度。 莱茵霍德•尼布尔(Reinhold Niebuhr)在《美国历史之讽刺》(The Irony of American History)一书中写道：“清教徒将美德视为财富的基础，而不是反将财富视为美德的基础”。约翰•黑金森(John Higginson) 1663年在马萨诸塞殖民地法庭演讲时说，上帝鼓动他的臣民中的许多人来到这个蛮荒之地时，不是为了世俗的财富或更好的物质生活，他们也没有任何的理性依据可以期待在这样的地方得到这些。 但在阿里克西斯•德•托克维尔(Alexis de Tocqueville ) 1831年游历美国的时候，这种看法已开始改变：幸福已经不再强调事物本身是好的，它更多是说感觉是好的。在美国这样一个似乎有无尽资源的地方，帮助人们利用资源的新技术也层出不穷，所以，任何人只要愿意劳动就能获得可观的财富。如果幸福像让•雅克•卢梭(Jean Jacques Rousseau)所说的那样，是吃饱的肚子、温暖的炉火和几件心爱的小玩意，人们希望得到它们主要是因为邻人们想要，那么，或许无需等到进天堂，你就能得到幸福。 美国人对他们没有的好东西从来不会停止追求。没有人能像美国人那样为了幸福孜孜以求、辛勤劳作，直到最后，“死亡到来了，在他对彻底然而总是躲着他的幸福的毫无结果的追求感到厌倦之前，迫使他停下了”。 的确，在欧洲，幸福取决于不用工作、特别是不用体力劳动，但在美国，工作却越来越多地被人们认为是产生满足感乃至幸福感的源泉。这种观念对美国当时资本主义的发展非常有利，不断增长的消费让工业增长的炉火越烧越旺。十九世纪直至二十世纪初，数以百万计的移民逃离贫穷的祖国来到美国，追求那种“免予匮乏”的幸福。但是，随着人们很快就对更高水平的富足习以为常，许多人发现他们踩着经济学家所谓的“享乐主义的水车”停不不来了，他们不得不更加努力地工作、挣更多钱、去买那些能让他们感到快乐（但也只是暂时快乐）的东西。 “幸福”一词的英文happy出自古挪威语happ，意思是机会或运气， hapless出于同一词根，意思是“不幸”。在过去两个世纪之前，幸福一直被认为是上帝或众神赐予的礼物；人们可以追求它，但不能控制它，而且，当然也不能通过强迫得到它。这种观念20世纪也发生了变化，获取幸福已经变成一个关乎心灵对于物质的的问题。1952年，挪威人文森特•皮勒(Vincent Peale)在其畅销书《积极思考的力量》(The Power of Positive Thinking)中宣称，人们可以按照自己的思路争取成功或幸福。 人们可以借助物质和精神产品的恰当结合设计自己的幸福这样一个理念，产生了一个必然的推论：那些不幸福的人是失败的。就像麦克马洪在书中写道的那样：在这样一个社会里－－对幸福不受阻碍的追求被视为一种与生俱来、上帝赐予的权利，在追求幸福的道路上不能稳定前进，将不可避免地被认为不合常规，是事物自然秩序的中断。 这样再一想，在Pew的调查中，最有趣的统计结果或许也不是有30位受访者称不知道他们是否幸福，而是那认为自己不幸福的15%（450人）的受访者，他们是在承认，虽然自己生活在一种相信幸福可以购买、可以凭借意志去实现、可以选择的文化里，但他们却没能实现在一些人看来是一个好公民职责所在的幸福。 为什么你会永不满足 2007年05月02日18:57 我们或许拥有生命和自由。但对快乐的追求却进展得并不那么顺利。 作为一个国家，美国比以往任何时候都要富有。但调查显示，美国人并不比30年前更快乐。关键的问题是：我们并不擅长找出快乐的源泉。 我们不停地追求更新奇的轿车和更高的薪水，而且刚得到这些东西时我们的快乐感确实提高了。但我们的满意度随后会迅速消退，很快我们又开始渴望其他东西。 同样，我们告诉朋友说孩子是我们最大的快乐。但研究表明，孩子的降生会降低父母的快乐感，因为他们要开始应付抚养孩子的艰辛。 由此引发出一个不容回避的问题：为什么我们要不停追求这些东西？专家们给出了两种解释。 --我们生来就不是享福的，而是受苦的。如果我们的祖先不奋力养家、护家，今天也没我们了。所谓快乐，不过是自欺欺人的花招罢了。 波士顿的投资经理特里•伯恩汉姆(Terry Burnham)声称，快乐是为我们基因进化服务的一种奖励制度，正是对快乐孜孜不倦的追求才使我们有了生活的动力。 这样看来我们是被一些与生俱来的古老本能欺骗了，不满意这种解释吗？要怪就怪社会信仰吧。 努力工作和抚育子女可能并不会使我们更快乐。但相信这能使我们快乐的信仰确可使社会顺利运转，那些有这一信仰的人过上了好日子，他们把这种价值观又传给了自己的孩子。 --我们不擅长预测。这是丹尼尔•卡尼曼(Daniel Kahneman)和大卫•施卡德(David Schkade)两位学者给出的解释。 他们问美国中西部和南加利福尼亚的大学生说，美国哪里的大学生更快乐些，回答都是加利福尼亚的大学生，原因主要是那里的天气更好些。但被问到对自己生活的满意度时，这两组大学生打出的分数却是相同的。 身为加州大学圣迭哥分校管理学教授的施卡德说：“当你想移居加利福尼亚时，你想到的是那里的海滩和天气。但你没有想到的是你还得花大量时间去杂货铺淘货或干家务。人们事先想到的是那些显而易见的不同之处，但却忘记了那些共性。” 当我们预测什么将使自己快乐时，我们也会被眼前的感觉所影响。如果我们把每周例行的食品采购放在午餐后，我们就会精挑细选得多。其结果是：不出几天，我们就将对着空空如也的冰箱发呆。 或许最为重要的是，我们预料不到自己对改善后生活习以为常的速度有多么快。当我们搬进更大的住房后会认为一切都好极了。但我们没有意识到，只消几个月，我们就会认为那多出的居住面积是自然而然的事情。 人生经验应该有助于我们避免重复这样的错误。但实际上却做不到，哈佛大学心理学教授丹尼尔•吉尔伯特(Daniel Gilbert)认为，这一定程度上是因为我们无法准确回忆起当初的真正感受。 例如，我们会拼命工作以期得到进一步提升，因为我们确信这将使自己感到快乐。但我们忘记了，自己上一次升职后感到的是一丝失落。 如果能够知晓我们很容易被这些人类缺陷所左右，那也许有所裨益。 但吉尔伯特认为，先见之明并不能完全替代实地考察。假设你认为如果自己移居到一个乡村小镇，收养一个孩子，或是辞去现职找一份高中数学老师的工作，你会更快乐。这时可不要听那些居住在小镇、已经收养了孩子或已身为教师者的一面之词。你应该花些时间去实地观察一下这些人，看看他们是否真的快乐。 吉尔伯特教授说，从事教师工作“听起来很浪漫”，但只消置身于高中数学教师之间，你的这种想法可能就会迅速消失。 Jonathan Clements 还不是超级富豪？那你够幸运…… 2007年10月23日13:11 人们对于财富的那种艳慕似乎过了头。 每当我的孩子们看着一处豪宅、一辆疾驰而过的法拉力(Ferrari)惊叹不已时，总让我觉得如鲠在喉。总有一天我会忍不住对他们说，不应该被这些财富的表象东西所吓倒。 这种言论出自一位个人理财专栏作家之口听起来有些奇怪。不过，现实情况是：拥有足够多的财富让人高枕无忧固然是件好事，但金钱并非衡量自我价值的标尺、不一定就能带来快乐，也不会因此而被人铭记在心。 忘记尊重 当我们见到那些挂着显赫头衔、日进斗金的超级富豪时总习惯于坐直身板，并对之报以相当的关注。然而拥有这些并不表示他们就是天才或是品德高尚的人。证据？看看帕丽斯•希尔顿(Paris Hilton)就够了。 财富可以被继承，这就意味着那些含金钥匙出生的继承人们只要从娘胎里爬出来就算是成功完成了自己的财富“奋斗历程”。伯克希尔•哈撒威(Berkshire Hathaway)董事长、股神巴菲特(Warren Buffett)曾经将“出生豪门如同中奖”的想法形容为“无耻”。 那么白手起家的又如何呢？我们是否应该更敬重他们一些？尽管他们的艰苦奋斗和坚强意志值得尊敬，但因此就将他们奉若神明似乎有些草率。 今天，如果你对于判断一宗收购交易能否成功有着敏锐的嗅觉，那么经营一家专门从事合并套戥的投资基金将会让你赚得盆满钵满。然而如果倒退到13世纪的英格兰，你的能力就远没那么值钱了──在21世纪的阿富汗也是这样。 换句话说，在另一种社会环境或者时代背景下，你特有的技能也许会为你赚回大把大把的钞票。然而在今天的美国，你不过是普通的工薪阶层罢了。 钱财流失 看起来很风光的有钱人其实未必一定有钱，住的豪宅也许全是用贷款买的、车可能是租的、而且没准儿还欠着庭院设计师的帐没付呢。 即便有那么一些富人确实能轻而易举地负担这些奢侈品，这些东西本身也不是富有的标志，只能表明他们花出去了多少钱。那些挥霍在靓车、豪宅、珠宝上面的钱就像泼出去的水。 诚然，这些东西总还可以卖掉，但最后能否回本就不好说了，况且平时维护它们还需要投入大笔的资金。 不要误解我的本意：花钱并没有错，进行储蓄和投资的目的就是让自己以后有钱可花。因此，难以想像如此的挥霍会对我有吸引力，我也不敢肯定富豪们真的会从挥霍中找到快乐。 感受压力 老话说得好，金钱难买幸福。当然，那些高收入、有钱人往往表示他们更幸福。 但这也许正是所谓的“聚焦幻觉”吧。当这些有钱人被问及他们对自己生活的满意程度时，他们会对自己的社会地位进行一番思考，并意识到自己十分幸福。 然而研究发现，如果在工作日中、定期向那些高收入者询问其情绪状况，没有人会说自己比别人更快乐，倒是更有可能说自己感到焦虑或愤怒。 欲壑难填 所有这一切可能会让你百思不得其解。因为如果有位园丁为你打理花园、有大厨为你烹饪美味、还有架私人直升机带你周游世界，你的生活显然应当过得更好啊。 假设你突然之间就拥有了上述所有东西，那样的日子简直妙不可言──直到有一天你习惯了这一切。不幸的是，用不了多久，你就会吃腻了珍馐美味，厌倦了专属的旅行，这时候你将开始向往那些好上加好的东西了。 问题是，一旦习惯了最豪华的生活，要想再上一层楼会十分困难。比如，你和你的有钱朋友去城里最豪华的餐馆吃饭，对于你来说，饭菜好得超乎想像，但对于你的朋友来说，不过是平常的一顿饭罢了。可是，再没有更好的餐馆供这些富豪们光顾了。 寻找人生目标 也许你已经想到了，我认为意识到“有钱人以及有钱人的生活并无特殊之处”这一点很重要。但我的目的并不是给那些正努力致富的人泼冷水。说到这里，又要谈回我的孩子们。 不是每个人将来都会成为美国总统、或公司总裁的。不过，我依然不喜欢我的孩子过于敬畏那些高官显贵，以致于相信这种位置对自己来说根本遥不可及。 当然，也许我的孩子对于追求名利并无兴趣，这样也不错。但我不希望他们被任何人吓倒，从而失去追求的勇气和信心，无论这些人是有钱、有才还是有权。 赚到足够多的钱很重要，但钱多不一定就能保证你拥有幸福。重要的是你做了自己喜欢做的事，并让它为自己的生活赋予前进的目标。我可不希望孩子们连这一点都不敢去做。 Jonathan Clements 如何投资幸福？ 2006年10月13日20:10 如果你想变得更快乐，忘了花钱这件事吧--留心如何享受你的生活，才是真的。 诚然，一所更大的房子，一辆更靓的轿车，或许能暂时博你一笑。 然而，学术研究显示，仅仅靠积累更多的财富，并不会永久性地增加你的幸福感。 那什么才能做到这一点呢？我反复研究了一些经济学家和心理学家的工作成果，得出了九点秘诀。 1. 留点时间给朋友。根据华盛顿佩尤研究中心(Pew Research Center) 2006年的一份报告，43%的已婚人士表示他们“非常幸福”，而在未婚人士当中，这一比例仅为24%。 “已婚人士独处的时间较少，”加利福尼亚大学圣地牙哥分校管理学教授大卫•施卡德(David Schkade)说。“人脑中有部分组织会因为其他人的存在而受到刺激。你会变得更活跃，精力更充沛，做事情更投入。”同样地，定期与好朋友碰面也可以提升幸福感。“对于友谊的价值，我们总是能很快找到大量资料加以证明，”英国华威大学(Warwick University)的经济学教授安德鲁•奥斯维德(Andrew Oswald)说。他指出，资料显示，比起把自己的下一步晋升放在第一位，把朋友放在第一位会让你觉得更有意义。 2. 忘了加薪吧。虽然与朋友们定期到城里转转可能会增加你的幸福感，但是如果你花上好几个小时在商店里购物可能就未必能得到相同的幸福感了。诚然，当你刚买下那件新衣服或者那台平板电视的时候，你会感觉很棒。但这种兴奋的情绪很快就会消逝，你又会开始渴望别的什么东西。 你在获得加薪的时候也会如此。不消多少时间，你就会认为加薪是想当然的事，你又会感到不满足。专家称这种现象为“享乐适应”(hedonic adaptation)或是“快乐水车”(hedonic treadmill)。 3. 千万别“嫌贫爱富”。研究显示，一旦人们达到了基本生活标准，即便要使自己的幸福感增加那么一点点，也要额外付出大量的金钱。然而，你的收入和财富可能还远远不够－－如果你开始将自己与周围的人相比较的话。比如说，如果你搬到一个你只能勉强支撑的社区，你就会感到心情很糟。原因很简单：你四周都是富裕的家庭，这会时时提醒你，你没多少钱。 “如果你从窗外望去，看到的都是收入比你低的邻里，你会感到更幸福，” 奥斯维德教授说。“人们总是渴望搬到精英社区。他们并未意识到，他们不会像期待中的那样幸福。” 4. 减少花在路上的时间。如果搬进豪华社区还意味着来回奔波的时间更长了，那可能会进一步伤害你的幸福感。研究显示，通勤是生活中最令人沮丧的活动之一。虽然我们通常很容易适应辛苦的状况，但是人们很难适应通勤的变幻无常。前一天，你在上班途中还是一路畅通，而另一天，你就有可能遇上交通阻塞，被严严实实地堵上45分钟。雪上加霜的是，来回奔波的时间增加意味着休闲时间的减少。研究显示，我们更享受休闲、而不是工作的乐趣。 5. 想想高兴的事情。你从新房子，或是最近一次加薪中得到的快乐可能会逐渐消退。但是，如果你花上几分钟想些高兴的事情，你可能会重新找回一些幸福的感觉。还记得富裕的邻居是怎么让你感到贫穷的吗？其实，重要的是你所关注的东西。试着把注意力放在你拥有的财富上，而不是对邻居的财富念念不忘，这样可能会让你感觉更幸福。 6. 享用美食。调查发现，吃是人类的最大消遣之一。 “吃是一种相对令人愉悦的行为，它可以满足一种基本的需求，”施卡德教授说。“但是，如果你不把精力集中在食物上，你就不会享受太多的乐趣。这也是为什么法国人能更好地享用美食的原因。他们很少自己吃饭，他们在吃饭的时候也很少同时做着其他事情。” 7. 挑战自我。休闲比工作更加令人愉悦。但是，你也应该想想如何度过你的休闲时光。在办公室忙了一整天后，你可能会拖着疲惫不堪的身体回到家中，直接倒在你那台新的平板电视面前。但实际上，研究表明，如果你多做运动，你会感到更快乐。假设你开始了一项锻炼计划。关键是：制定具有挑战、但又可以实现的目标，因为你会享受不断进步的感觉。同时，试着不时地调整一下锻炼计划，这样你从中得到的快乐才不会消退。 定期锻炼还有一个好处，你会变得更健康，进而会增加你的幸福感。根据佩尤研究中心的报告，在那些声称自己健康状况极好的人当中，只有6%的人同时表示他们“并不是太幸福”。相比之下，在那些声称自己健康状况不好的人当中，这一比例高达55%。 8. 参加志愿活动。如果你想帮助自己，先试着帮助别人--让自己投身到慈善活动中去 “这不仅会使你感到自己有价值，你也会看到其他人在做好事，这会让你感觉更好，”施卡德教授说。“这会使你认识到，世界还是一个美好的地方。” 9. 让时间决定一切。调查发现，人生中的幸福感呈U型走势。人在接近40岁的时候，脾气通常会越来越暴燥，而在40岁以后，又会逐步恢复。或许，因为我们没能实现年轻时的抱负，我们的幸福感逐渐下降了，而一旦我们接受了人生的现实，我们的幸福感才会恢复。或许，中年人的不幸福感反映了他们面临的时间压力，因为他们要为工作和家庭奔波。 但是，无论是什么原因，随着年龄的不断增长，你可能会感到更幸福。不大确定上面八个诀窍行不行得通是吗？也许，你只需要把一切交给时间来决定。 Jonathan Clements 中年危机的“幸福研究” 2005年10月05日20:36 的确有中年危机这回事。 如果你已经40出头，那么你工资单上的数字可能比以前任何时候都高，你的投资组合也要比以前任何时候都丰厚。但是且慢，如果经济学家和心理学家的研究有点指导意义的话，你也要比以前任何时候都更加焦头烂额。 这是怎么回事儿？现在该怎么办呢？让我们来看看刚刚兴起的“幸福研究”的几项收获。 很多研究都发现，我们一生的幸福曲线往往都会走出一个U字。快到40岁的时候，人们会对自己的生活越来越不满。但过了这个坎儿，又会一天比一天满意起来。 “这个U形真的是生命力旺盛，这么多国家这么多研究里，处处可见它的身影。”威斯康辛大学密尔沃基分校(University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)的经济学教授基思•本得(Keith Bender)说，“你根本无法彻底摆脱这个过程，但可以想办法让拐弯拐得缓一点儿。” 目前还不清楚为什么人到中年就会忧郁焦虑。有可能是我们终于认识到生活不会事事如愿，也就不再像20岁30岁时那样激情满怀了。但是，随着年岁渐长，我们最终会适应现实，幸福感也就慢慢提高了。 也许，中年的苦恼源于强大的时间压力。40多岁的朋友们夹在亲人的需要和工作的压力中穷于应付。 “中年往往正值事业发展的最高峰，但还有儿女绕膝，时间就成了最稀缺的资源，”加州大学圣地牙哥分校(University of California at San Diego)的管理学教授大卫•施卡得(David Schkade)说，“此时分身乏术，哪里还顾得上奢谈什么幸福感。” 且不论中年苦恼的原因到底是什么，怎么也不要指望下一次加薪就能一劳永逸解决种种烦恼。当然，薪水越高人就会越开心；又当然，加薪会让人精神一振。 但很快你就会对涨后的薪水习以为常，再次坠入苦恼忧虑的深渊。专家们有时把这种现象称为“快乐水车”(hedonic treadmill)，或者“享乐适应”。也就是说，人们很快就会把生活的改善视为无物，对幸福的感受没有丝毫改变。 “享乐适应”并不是只出现在每次加薪的时候，人们在其他情况下也出现这样的心绪，无论事情是好是坏。 对生活不满？那你可以尝试结婚或者生孩子，这都能提升幸福感。同样地，如果能换一份工作，让时间安排更加灵活、或者路程更近、或者工作时间更短，或者职位更高，都能让人感觉更加幸福。 “最重要的事情，如果你能做到，那就是确保工作稳定。”英格兰Warwick大学的经济学教授安德鲁•奥斯瓦尔德(Andrew Oswald)说。“从国际性调查研究和美国研究得到的数据来看，这是与整体工作满意度相关性最强的一项。” 但是，以上种种均非万验灵丹。升职或者更加稳定的工作当然好，但不太可能让幸福指数大幅度、永久性地上升。一次大幅度的加薪之后，人们很快就会适应周围种种变化，然后幸福指数较之以前只会有很小幅度的上涨。 与孩子有关的幸福度的变化就更大了。要个孩子的想法能让一切变得更美好吗？种种研究表示，随着第一个孩子的降生，父母的幸福指数的确步步攀升。但是，研究数据也表明，父母的幸福感在孩子降生之后就会大幅下滑。 “养孩子有可能是个长期有利因素，”密歇根州立大学(Michigan State University)心理学教授理查德•卢卡斯(Richard Lucas)说，“但养育孩子会带来众多日复一日的麻烦”，让本来就时间不宽裕的父母更觉得疲于奔命。 幸福指数暴涨之后就会渐渐消退，这真是个令人丧气的消息。不过，我们还是能看到一线希望。 诚然，丧偶、失业、疾病和离婚都会带来巨大的痛苦。但是，慢慢适应也是一条救赎之道。人们会逐渐调整适应种种打击，过几年，幸福感就会回到原来的水平。 面对这一切该怎么办呢？尤其是你已经40出头，而且苦恼不已的时候，该怎么办呢？让我们看看以下三条策略： 首先，研究结果表示，你可以通过“想想自己现在的幸福”来提升幸福度。听起来假惺惺的？但专家们都说，不时停下脚步，回顾并珍视现有的一切，可能会帮人们减缓将一切视为当然的进程。 其次，仔细考虑如何享受闲暇。通常人们都会做些看起来很有趣或者很轻松的事，尤其是在办公室里忙得焦头烂额之后。 但是，研究表明，如果尝试一些能够充实生活，或者充满挑战的活动，很可能会让我们感到更加幸福。施卡得教授举例说，做义工或者尝试新的锻炼项目，都是不错的选择。但一定要注意把各项活动安排得当，让自己总是为此充满激情，这样才不会再次陷入“享乐适应”的怪圈。 最后，广交朋友。研究表明，朋友是幸福感的重要来源之一。想要证据？在人们最感到享乐的活动中，与朋友交往仅次于性生活，排名第二。 2008 年 12 月 08 日 11:29 买东西不看价钱，看快乐 时下，减价出售的住房、汽车和其他贵重消费品比比皆是，实在让人心动；但在拿出支票簿之前，不妨先考虑一下这个问题：捞到这笔好买卖真的能让你更快乐吗？ 这个问题很难回答。正如行为经济学家和心理学家所指出的那样，买到便宜的好东西会让人感觉很爽。“买到物美价廉的商品，本身就是一种价值。“科罗拉多大学(University of Colorado)博尔德（Boulder）分校心理学教授利夫·万博文(Leaf Van Boven)说道。 上个月，James Smith在一家百思买零售店购买了 一台等离子电视 然而，低价格也可能诱使我们买下本来并不需要的东西。我们甚至可能在从捡到便宜货的狂喜中冷静下来后，发现自己根本就不喜欢这玩意儿。所以，“在买东西之前，最好自问一下：‘我为什么要这么做？’”万博文博士说道。 好消息是，有些消费支出真的能让你更快乐。研究幸福感的专家发现一个规律，人们在与家人及朋友一起、或者从事能充实自己生活的活动（比如个人爱好）时，最能感觉到快乐。花钱多少并不重要，重要的是这种体验本身的品质；因此，简单的一次野餐聚会也可以得到与周末外出度假相同的满足感。 “人类是一种社交动物，所以可想而知，导致我们欢喜悲伤的最大源泉，就是自己的社会关系，” 哈佛大学(Harvard)心理学教授丹尼尔·吉尔伯特(Daniel Gilbert)说道。有些商品，比如iPod，恰恰切断了我们与外界的联系。“从赋予幸福感这一角度来看，那些让自己能与朋友同乐的消费品，要好于那些取代朋友的消费品。” 这种观点也适用于金额更大的投资。买房时，我们可能倾向于选择上流社区，但社区配备的学校、教堂、或上班远近可能对你更重要。事实上，关于幸福感的研究也许能为你在众多选择中指点迷津：不要考虑什么品牌，而只要看所买的东西能给你自己带来什么好处。下面给出的是这一原则在购买贵重消费品上的一些具体应用： 买房：房价可能下跌，令人生畏，让买家不敢轻易下手，卖家也无法脱身。然而，如果你是首次购房，或想换套大房子，或想搬到房子更值钱的地段，这时候买入是个不错的机会，因为房地产价格下跌时，高价房往往比低价房的跌幅更大。 我在达拉斯住了很久，我从未在售房中赚到钱，但是我两次利用房地产市场低迷的机会，把自住的房子越换越好。每次换房，我们享受到的面积都超出了我们原先经济上能够承受的范围。第二次换房时，我们在卖掉原来的房子时亏损了不少，但买到的新房是被行使止赎权的房子，让我们捡了个便宜，它所在的社区邻里关系密切，而且学校也很棒。权衡利弊，得大于失。 现在，很多人都想把房子卖出去，以历史标准衡量，利率也处于比较合理的水准，所以接下来的几个月应该是买房的好时候。重要的并非能不能抄到底，而是这次换房能否让你有更多的时间与家人和朋友相处，同时不会增加额外的预算。毕竟，房屋首先是一个居住场所，而不是单纯的投资。 装修：目前的房屋开工数量急剧下降，越来越多的装修公司和建筑商都在寻找工程项目。与前几年相比，装修工程的完成速度会更快，价格也可能更优惠。因此，如果你需要修缮房屋，或已经攒好钱准备对房子大动一番，现在是个好时机。 不过，你别太关注装修对房屋价值的提升作用，而是要设想一下将来你对房子的改变会有何种看法、对家人会有何种影响，以及是否要举债来进行装修。厨房重新装修后，家人使用起来会更舒适方便吗，还是只不过换个外观？搞一个朋友聚会用的露天平台、或者把一个房间专门用于自己的兴趣爱好，是不是比更换洗手间设备更有意义？当然，你还应该至少向两三个建筑商询价，了解一下他们的装修质量，选择一家信誉良好的。 买车：自2007年夏天以来，汽油价格不断上涨，股市也频频跳水，导致新车销售量持续下降。现在，汽车制造商和代理商正在千方百计促销，很多还向信用记录优良的顾客提供低利率贷款。 然而，买车带来的乐趣就像新车的味道一样，很快就会消退，所以，新车也许并不会象其他买到的便宜货那样让你活得更开心。当然，我们会有很多时间在车上度过，但新车不一定能改善我们与家人亲朋之间的关系。因此，你不妨减少买车的预算，把省下来的钱放在退休账户里，而不是买更多的车。 新款的二手车可能是个更具吸引力的备选方案，而且在经济上更容易负担。即使现在油价有所回落，二手车的价格仍在下跌，自2008年9月以来又跌了10%左右，Kelley Blue Book公司负责市场分析的杰克·奈罗德(Jack Nerad)说。“卖家将承受巨大的贬值冲击，”他说，“而你作为买家，可以享受到（新款二手车的）所有先进功能，以及很长的使用寿命。” 电视机、电脑和其他大家电：根据市场研究机构NPD Group的报告，过去一年中，滚筒洗衣机、笔记本电脑和液晶电视的销售价格平均下降3%到4%，而等离子电视的平均售价已经下跌17%。2008年底销售旺季的优惠活动可能会使这些大家电的价格进一步跳水。 这些消费品的价格下跌很快，而且使用寿命相对较短，实在不值得为此承担信用卡债务。但如果正在考虑购买，而且你手头有现金，那就只需权衡一下这些东西是否适合自己。 好几年来，我一直对大萤幕电视垂涎欲滴，去年终于忍不住买了一台50英寸的放在家里。事实证明，这是我这么多年来买得最值的东西之一。为什么？听上去可能有点傻，但一年来我过得最快乐的两段时光，一是和家人朋友开了个看超级杯橄榄球赛的派对，一是和我上大学的女儿们一起，整整看了两个星期的奥运会实况转播。

旅行的意义———王小慧

1995年我去意大利南部，只有几天时间，但对我一辈子都有影响。意大利南部很贫穷，但我看到人们在贫穷之中也生活得很快乐，由衷地快乐，无论是村妇还是 小贩，都可以轻松地享受爱情、友谊和简单的生活，也许他们每天只吃相同的西红柿酱面；一个退休老人也可以有他的女朋友，这个女人可能只是一个胖老太太，他 们一起在阳光下聊着天喝着苦咖啡，日子过得悠哉游哉，没见过愁眉苦脸的表情。相比起来德国人抱怨多得多。我忽然觉得我原先的生活太沉重了，老是在痛苦的漩 涡中打转。我觉得我们中国人的性格当中也有种亲近痛苦的倾向，欧洲不同地区的许多国家的人也有完全不同的性格，甚至在意大利北部都感受不到南部人的那种 “生活之轻”。我深深地被他们的乐观情绪所感染，突然发现旅行能带给我那么多乐趣，从此我爱上旅行。此后那五年时间几乎游历了大半个世界，四海为家浪迹天 涯这也是另一种自由，我经常说我要追求我没有的东西，我有的是这种自由，没有的是自己的家庭和孩子。如果我要去苦苦追求不可能有的东西那就是不智慧。有时 候放弃了就能得到更多。当时觉得失去了很多，经过一段时间后想法会改变，世上没有一成不变的东西。 一本值得一读的书，尽管读者评论褒贬不 一，我到觉得她对内心感觉的描写很真实。人生就是一种态度，小慧不但书写了她的经历，还在视觉上表现了出来并且很有艺术感。其实看多了在技术上无可挑剔的 摄影作品，还是觉得看实质多于形式的片子有意思。摄影重在传递一些感觉，而很多时候表现实质的作品给人的感觉更微妙，感受更深刻。

Is this country going straight to hell?

最近两年来人民币已经有一定升值，而且持续升值是在所有人预期之中的。其实大家都清楚，这不仅是一个经济问题，但也是政治上的砝码。美国的理由是中国人为 低估人民币，获得了不公平的竞争优势，然而美国不是傻瓜，他们知道人民币升值后，美国的进口无非是转移到其它低成本地区罢了，对美国总的经济态势是于事无 补的。 中国现在是世界工厂，世界500强几乎都进入了中国，但是中国得到了什么？解决了失业问题、地方政府的税收？没错，在现阶段我们自 己的初级模式下，的确是非常受益于外国投资的，但90%的利润是被国外投资者赚取了，中国得到的很低的工资，巨大的市场开放，极大的资源耗费。当然，我们 自己的发展模式也有问题，中国产品在很多外国人眼中就是low quality， extremly cheap price的代名词。我们要卖多少纺织品才相当于外国企业卖一台等离子电视或一辆汽车呢？利益总是双方的，欧美人其实应该感谢中国，否则他们怎么可能尽情 消费这样大量的来自中国的廉价产品。 对目前的中国来说，还没有国际上一流的大公司，我们这一代必须具有赢者的思维，为了国家的前途，向发 展的下一阶段前进了，改变目前大量耗费资源、但没有相应产出的经济发展模式。现在国内比较完整的产业集群已经逐步建立，帮助我们与其它更低成本地区的竞 争，也为下一步追求效率的发展奠定了基础。 网上看到一些悲观的贴子，有一定道理，不过过于悲观了，our country is not going down, it is moving up to the top of the world.

I could be the one

I could be your sea of sand I could be your warmth of desire I could be your prayer of hope I could be your gift to everyday I could be your tide of heaven I could be a hint of what’s to come I could be ordinary I could be the one...

Two movies

Watched two DVDs, quite different story. Alfie 　“I'd rather skilled at hiding my feelings...I will not commit, I will never marry. when I look back on my little life, and all the women I've known, I can't help but think about, all that they've done for me...and how little I've done for them. How they looked after me, cared for me...and I repaid them by never returning the favour..." The Terminal I will wait…wait for my final destiny, wait for my love… These are common attitues of love, they seem to be conflicting but can even exist in one person. The bottom line is follow our true hearts.

Haerbin

今年的哈尔滨是暖冬，我们走后的一天才下起了大雪。所以第一感觉没觉得特别冷，少了些雪中漫步的体验，不过也没辛苦到。哈尔滨人很热情，有东北人的豪爽。东北菜、秋林的哈尔滨大蒜红肠和风干香肠是不容错过的。 Haerbin collage

除夕 07

07农历新年除夕夜。窗外的烟火整晚都没停过，美好的夜！ 希望自己在新的一年里万事如意，有所突破！！！看了猪年运程，总的说来相当不错，但是要低调一点，待人、处事要浪漫一点。