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A China Adoption Story
Every time I visit China, I always see Western families in the hotel lobby with their Chinese adopted children in tow. If you ever wonder what exactly become of them, how they are doing, and what struggles and challenges they face, here’s an interesting essay I found by Elizabeth Holmes, a Chinese adoptee, who won…
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Macao Leaving Las Vegas Behind
New York Times: Macao Surpasses Las Vegas as Gambling Center. Macao surpassed the Las Vegas Strip to become the world’s biggest gambling center in 2006, measured by total gambling revenue, according to industry analysts and government figures released today. I suppose this is good news if you own or run a casino in Macao. But,…
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No More Pearl Milk Tea
I love the pearl milk tea at Fantasia Coffee & Tea. My favorite flavors are taro and red bean. However, a recent study may give pearl milk tea lovers some pause. While drinking tea can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, these benefits do not extend to drinkers of pearl milk tea, also…
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Ancient Chinese Bar Stools
As if seeing Chinese furniture at Target wasn’t enough, i head to Costco and find the same. However, they were passing these off as bar stools. I’m sure that’s not what these types of chairs are called in China though. Where next? Crate and Barrel?
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Antique Chinese Chairs
So, how do these chairs compare with the museum-quality one. Good from afar, but far from good? I couldn’t quite decipher the symbol carved on the back of the chair. Definitely did not appear to be anything I’ve seen before on any antique Chinese furniture. Oh, I found those chairs at Target. I also saw…
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Antique Chinese Furniture
I love antique Chinese furniture. A great place to view antique Chinese furniture is along Hollywood Road in Hong Kong, which is packed with shops selling furniture, jades, fossils and other assorted antiques. Recently, I came across a couple stores in the United States selling “Chinese” furniture. I was surprised, as you will be, when…
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9th Guangzhou Convention of Overseas Chinese Scholars in Science and Technology
I attended the Guangzhou Convention of Overseas Scholars in Science and Technology last month in Guangzhou, China. Needless to say, my most recent trip to China left me extremely impressed. Here’s a quick run down of the hits and misses. The Convention. Very organized. Had no problems with the convention, the accommodations or the transportation.…
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Top 8 Reasons to Learn English
The United States requires applicants for naturalization to be able to read, write, speak, and understand English. However, the U.S. exempts older applicants who have resided in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for a long duration or those with a medical impairment that affects their ability to learn English. While green card…
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Google Patent Search Gives Glimpse Into U.S. Racist History
This week, Google launched Google Patent Search, which lets you search the entire collection of patents made available by the USPTO. As of the launch date, Google Patent Search covered patents issued from the 1790s to the middle of 2006. Now, this is not the first patent search engine, so let’s take a look and…
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Bad Loan or Bad Financial Decisions
The Los Angeles Times ran an interesting article today on pay option loans. Essentially, these home loans work just like credit cards in that each month the lender only requires a minimum amount due. This minimum amount though does not even cover the interest due, leading to negative amortization. In other words, by just paying…