Break the GFC with UM's VPN

Because of Great Firewall of China, my Chinese friends and me cannot log on to my own blog or Facebook when we go back to China.  However, UM provides its students a free access to VPN, which can be used to "Break the GFC". I'm going to show the method step by step with some pictures. 

首先我们需要的是VPN的软件。链接里有windows和mac两个版本。如果暂时访问不了这个网站，也可以直接链接到下载项，或者在我的115网盘里下载。

First of all. we should get the software, VPN. If you are not able to visit this linkage, the software can also be downloaded through 115.com






windows 32位 版本 115链接

windows 64位 版本 115链接

mac OS 10.4 版本 115链接

mac OS 10.6 版本（需安装10.4版本） 115链接







以下说明将以windows 32位版本为基准。

点击continue，出现下载页面。按照你自己的系统选择下载链接。

The following instructions are based on my own computer, which is windows 32bit.

Click continue. the following page appears. Select one of them based on your own computer.

下载完，安装。安装完需要重启电脑。
Install the downloaded file. Restart the computer after installing.

重新启动电脑后，双击桌面图标打开，你应该会看到UMVPN - Only U-M Traffic和UMVPN - All Traffic两个选项

After opening the computer, double click the shortcut. The following picture appears.




点击上图中的Modify，在transport标签下选择第二项：IPSec over TCP，点击保存

Chick the "Modify" in the picture above, select the second one "IPSec over TCP" under "transport". Then click "Save".





在退出后的主界面点击connect，这里需要输入你的UM ID以及密码作为验证。

Then click "Continue". You have to input your UMID and password to verify your identity.

连接上以后，就可以访问国外的一些网站了.

Now, you can log on to Facebook!

如果连接不上, 点击Import，载入以下2个文件

If you can not connect to the Internet, click "Import" to import the following two files.


UMVPN - Only U-M Traffic.pcf

UMVPN - All Traffic.pcf

Magic Maple

As a transfer student, I got a lot benefit from the experience of transfer. I have the chance of taking the same course in two languages in two countries and I learn a lot from the comparisons.

I took Advanced Math I and II in my freshman year in China. The contents of them are almost equivalent to calculus courses here in America, which are the sum of Math115, 116, 215 and 216 here in the UM. My credits for Advanced Math I and II were transferred to credits for Math 115 and 116, thus, I took 215 and 216 last fall and this summer, respectively. Since I have already learned the same content and they are easy as well, I had an easy time in solving the problems. Although these two courses somehow are like reviewing my Advanced Math II, I learn a lot from them, especially utilizing mathematical software.

For Chinese college math courses, we rarely use calculators or software for solving problems. On one hand, we are able to deal with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, even solving equations since our primary school. On the other hand, the objective of the college math courses is teaching us the methods of solving complicated mathematical problems by hand. However, there are labs, purposes of which are introducing mathematical software to students for either Math215 or 216 here in the UM. The knowledge for software is entirely new knowledge for me and they are really interesting. Not only math courses, I also learned to use professional software, ChemDraw from Chem216.

In my opinion, western education pays more attention to teaching the use of software; however, Chinese colleges are focus more on practicing by hands.

I learn to use Maple and Matlab on Math215 and 216. They are professional mathematical software. I’m going to show some simple and famous curves drew by Maple14 following. The Maple commands are behind the corresponding figures. You can try them yourselves by copy and paste into a Maple program.  


(1) Folium of Descartes

with(plots):a:=1:
curve:=implicitplot(x^3+y^3=3*a*x*y,x=-2..2,y=-2..2,thickness=3,grid=[100,100]):
display(curve,scaling=constrained,title="folium of Descartes",tickmarks=[0,0]);

Folium of Descartes and its asymptote

with(plots):with(plottools):
tuxing:=implicitplot(x^3+y^3=6*x*y,x=-5..8,y=-5..8,thickness=3,color=red,grid=[100,100]):
zhixian:=line([-5,3],[3,-5],color=blue,thickness=3):
display(tuxing,zhixian,scaling=constrained);


(2) Devil's curve

with(plots):a:=5:b:=5.3:
curve:=implicitplot(y^2*(y^2-a^2)=x^2*(x^2-b^2),x=-a-1..a+1,y=-b-1..b+1,thickness=3,grid=[100,100]):
display(curve,scaling=constrained,title="Devil's Curve",tickmarks=[0,0]);


The reason of its name is given by Devil can be found at: Devil's curve.


(3) Fat circle

with(plots):a:=2:
curve:=implicitplot(x^4+y^4=a^4,x=-a..a,y=-a..a,thickness=3):
display(curve,scaling=constrained,title="fat circle",tickmarks=[4,4]);


(4) Lemniscate

with(plots):
tuxing:=implicitplot(2*(x^2+y^2)^2=25*(x^2-y^2),x=-5..5,y=-3..3,thickness=3,color=red,numpoints=10000):
display(tuxing,scaling=constrained,title="Lemniscate");


(5) Cardioid

with(plots):
tuxing:=implicitplot(x^2+y^2=(2*x^2+2*y^2-x)^2,x=-1..2,y=-1..1,thickness=3,color=red,numpoints=7000):
display(tuxing,scaling=constrained,title="Cardioid");

The logo is Maple is a piece of maple.

This logo can also be drew with Maple.

Imitations of "See me or Not"

In my last post, I introduced a poem, “See Me or Not” or “The Silence of Vadjra Guru Peme”. The reasons that it was popular online in China are not only it is implicit and beautiful, but also its structure is very simple. The simplicity of the structure makes it very easy to imitate. Since the movie I mentioned last time, If You are the One II, was showed, lots of imitations of “See me or Not” appeared. Most of them are for fun. I also wrote one when I was very depressed, which was not exactly like the original piece because I made some changes structurally.


This one is mine.
你出，或者不出国，命运就在那里，无人知晓；

你想，或者不想家，父母就在那里，无法尽孝；

你好，或者不好，朋友就在那里，默默关怀；

你蛋疼，或者没蛋，assignment就在那里，无法蛋定；

你乳酸，或者不酸，mid-term就在那里，都是作孽；

你寂寞，或者不寂寞，final就在那里，遥遥无期；

你浮云，或者不浮云，GPA就在那里，全是杯具。

你见，或者不见我，我就在那里，不可能不悲不喜；

你念，或者不念我，情就在那里，不可能不来不去；

你爱，或者不爱我，爱就在那里，只减不增。

给我一杯忘情水，忘掉爱我的和我爱的，相欠的爱无法补偿，付出的爱无法收回；

给我一杯忘情水，让我沉沉睡去再不清醒，梦里无泪，枕边无痛；

默然，寂静。

These are from Internet.
粉与不粉：
你粉，或者不粉我，我就在那里，不悲不喜；
你顶，或者不顶我，人就在那里，不来不去；
你回，或者不回我，贴就在那里，不增不减；
你看，或者不看我，我的贴就在你的吧里，不舍不弃；
来我贴里，或者让我去到你的吧里，默然，回贴，浮云，而已！



堵车版：
你开，或者不开车，路就堵在那里，不走不动；
你买，或者不买车，油价就在那里，只增不减；
你撞，或者不撞车，事故就在那里，撞上就完；
你上，或者不上高速，收费站就在那里，不交钱不起杆；
出门挤高峰，或者让高峰来挤你，着急，郁闷，憋尿，焦躁！



微博版：
你转，或者不转帖，微博就在那里，不多不少；
你冒，或者不冒泡，粉丝就在那里，不离不弃；
你辛，或者不辛苦，劳累就在那里，渐多渐少；
你幸，或者不幸福，牵挂就在那里，不增不减；
让我偶遇你，或者让你偶遇我，幸福，快乐，牵挂，祝福！



加班版：
你病，或者不病倒，老板就在那里，不管不顾；
你休，或者不休息，工作就在那里，不来不干；
你拼，或者不拼命，工资就在那里，不涨不减；
你辞，或者不辞职，地球还是会转，不停不歇；
让我中500万大奖，或者让我傍个大款，幸运，扯淡，蛋疼，杯具！



外企版：
你concall（电话会议），或者不concall，客户就在那里；不悲不喜；
你MSN，或者不MSN，疲惫就在那里，不来不去；
你bill（做报表），或者不bill，工作就在那里，只增不减；
你research（调查），或者不research，email就在那里，不多不少；
来contrart（合同）的怀里，或者让memo（备忘录）住进你的心里，淡定，淡定，淡定，淡定！



减肥版：
你舔，或者不舔，零食甜品就在那里，不吃不腻；
你喝，或者不喝，冻柠奶茶就在那里，不喝不涨；
你蘸，或者不蘸，咖喱牛腩+烤饼就在那里，不辣不甜；
让雷哥立马减掉200斤，或者干脆让他不进高档餐厅，减肥，扯淡，悲催，伤悲！



考试版：
你看，或者不看书，分数就在那里，及格不及格；
你开，或者不开卷，态度就在那里，不紧不慢；
你抄，或者不抄，答案就在那里，不抄不会；
你挂，或者不挂科，命运就在那里，大悲大喜；
让我背会考题，或者让考题住进我的心里，及格，掉蛋儿，淡定，欢喜！



工资版：
你烦，或者不烦，工资就在那里，不上不下；
你愿，或者不愿，工作就在那里，不多不少；
你哭，或者不哭，压力就在那里，不重不轻；
你笑，或者不笑，新目标就在那里，不远不近；
你纠，或者不纠结，麻烦就在那里，不繁不简；
你怨，或者不怨，欺负就在那里，不隐不蔽；
让你向老板申请加薪，或者让老板主动给你加福利，扯淡、滚蛋、郁闷、玩完儿！


三国版：
你杀，或者不杀，主公就在那里，不躲不闪；
你复，或者不复，文字就在那里，不多不少；
你奸，或者不奸，身份就在那里，不忠不反；
你蠢，或者不蠢，智商就在那里，不高不低；
你傲，或者不傲，爱情就在那里，不冷不热；
你雷，或者不雷，张角就在那里，闪完就劈；
你装，或者不装，闪电就在那里，劈死你丫装B的！



拆迁版：
你怕，或者不怕我，拆迁就在那里，不怠不慢；
你躲，或者不躲我，车轮就在那里，不缓不急；
你听，或者不听我，彪汉就在那里，不慈不善；
你服，或者不服我，你的命就在我手里，不逃不离；
来我怀里，或者让我把你按进车轮里，默然，存亡，寂静，欢喜！



出租车版：
你飞，或者不飞圈，油就在箱里，不跑不耗；
你拉，或者不拉活，钱就在人兜里，不拉不给；
你拒，或者不拒载，客管就在那里，罚款扣车；
你找，或者不找活，人就堆在那里，太多拼车；
让交警都不罚你，或者让客管都不找你，天真，扯淡，没门，做梦！



失落版：
你见，或者不见我，我都已不在，不停不歇；
你念，或者不念我，情都已不在，若即若离；
你爱，或者不爱我，爱都已不在，可有可无；
你跟，或者不跟我，我的心都存在于虚空里；
来我身边，或者让我住进你的心里，漠然，无措，束缚，倦怠！



跳槽版：
你进，或不进大学，围城就在那里，不悲不喜；
你出，或不出差，疲惫就在那里，不来不去；
你加，或不加班，工资就在那里，不增不减；
你跳，或不跳槽，公司就在那里，不舍不弃；
来人人的怀里，或者，让KPI住进你的心里，漠然，淡定，寂寞，欢喜！(KPI：绩效管理)


风云版：
你玩，或者不会玩，风云就在那里，三台四台；
你懂，或者看不懂，高手就在那里，不多不少；
你菜，或者不菜鸟，水平就在那里，不高不低；
你强，或者不强大，排行就在那里，三亿四亿；
给你点时间，或许不久的将来你就会超越，技术，四亿，华丽，通关！


残流版：
我静，或者不静，心态就在那里，或喜或悲；
我等，或者不等，时间总在流逝，从不停留；
我痛，或者不痛，只在一念之间，不卑不抗；
我逝，或者不逝，终会轮回，毫无期待；
给我一个目标，或者，让我拥有一个理想,奋斗，醒悟，执迷，终逝！

见与不见 See Me or Not

This video is the ending song of the Chinese series “Jade Palace Lock Heart”, which was popular in China among teenagers about half a year ago. I’m not going to talk about this series because I didn't watch it at all. I’m going to talk about the lyrics of this song.

The lyrics is originally a poem. Some people believe the author is Tsangyang Gyatso (1 March 1683 – 15 November 1706), who was the sixth Dalai Lama. This statement was very popular because of the poem. The first time that people take notice of this poem was 8 months ago when a movie, If You are the One II, was shown in China. The most touching scene in this movie was a girl reading this poem at the pseudo-funeral of Xiangshan Li (He was diagnosed with cancer and he held a farewell party for him and his best friends before his death in the movie). This poem was very popular at that time and people believed it was written for love and life.

Vadjra Guru Peme

Later, netizens of China found out that this poem was not a work of Tsangyang Gyatso, but a current woman, Xiaojing Tan (her net name is Zha Xi La Mu·Duo Duo) , who is a very sincere Buddhist. She wrote it in 2007 and declared later that this poem has nothing to do with romantic but the faith of a master in his/her disciples, which was inspired by a saying of Vadjra Guru Peme (莲花生大士); he once said “I will never turn my back on people who believe me, or even do not believe me, although they cannot see me, my children, I will guide you all with my mercy forever and ever. ”

In my opinion, it does not matter what was the poem for originally, what matters is that different people learn different things from it. It is beautiful no matter it is expressing belief or love. There are several editions of its translation online; I’m going to give my edition, which is based on other’s work.

The name of the original poem is “The Silence of Vadjra Guru Peme” (“班扎古鲁白玛的沉默”). The netizens who love this poem gave it another name, “See me or not” (“见或不见”), because they believe it was for love. I’m going to use the original name in my translation below and the title of this blog is the new name.

The original piece:

班扎古鲁白玛的沉默

作者：扎西拉姆·多多

My verstion of its translation:

The Silence of Vadjra Guru Pema

It doesn't matter if you see me or not 

I am right there 

Without joy or tear. 

It doesn't matter if you miss me or not 

Feeling is right there 

Despite the change of year. 

It doesn't matter if you love me or not 

love is right there 

And won’t my heart sear. 

It doesn't matter if you are with me or not 

My hand is in your hand 

And I am not going to let go. 

Let me embrace you 

Or 

Let me live in your heart to eternity. 　 

Silence Love 

Halcyon Joy

Worldwide "It is Chinese to me"

当一个人听不懂另一个人在说啥的时候，他会怎么发牢骚呢？各国群众纷纷表示：
How do you complain something is totally incomprehensible to you? Here are worldwide idioms:


英语English（“简直就是希腊语/汉语/荷兰语！”）

"It is Greek to me!"
"It is Chinese to me!"
"It sounds like double Dutch to me."

What about Dutch?

荷兰语Dutch
Dat is Chinees voor mij 
- That's Chinese for me
Dat is Latijn voor mij 
- That's Latin for me


What about Latin?


拉丁语Latin
“Graecum est; non potestlegi.”
- It's Greek for me.



Actually, lots of other countries mention Greek as well.

挪威语Norwegian
Det er (helt) gresk for meg 
- It's (totally) Greek for me


波斯语Persian
Yunaani nemifahmam
- I don't understand Greek


瑞典语Swedish
Det är rena grekiskan

- It is pure Greek

意大利语Italian
per me è arabo
- it's Arabic to me


What about Arabic?

阿拉伯语Arabic
hal ana batkallem hindi? هل أنا بتكلم هندي؟
-Am I speaking Hindi?


保加利亚语Bulgarian
Говориш ми на патагонски (Govoriš mi na patagonski)
- You're speaking to me in Patagonian!
Това ми е тъмна Индия! (Tova mi e tãmna indija!)
- It's dark India to me

Then, what about Patagonian?

葡萄牙语Portuguese
É grego para mim
- It's Greek to me
É chinês para mim
- It's Chinese to me

-Greek-Chinese-Dutch

南非语：“Dis Grieks vir my!”（又是希腊语）
South Africa: “It is Greek to me!”
-Greek

拉丁语：“Graecum est; non potestlegi.”（还是希腊语）


葡萄牙语：“E grego para mim.”（继续希腊语）
波兰语：“To jest dla mnie greka!”（仍然希腊语）
但是波兰语也有另一种说法：“To jest dla mnie chinszczyzna!”（汉语）
荷兰语：“Dat is Latijns voor mij!”（拉丁语，这是最常用的一种说法，另外倒霉 的还有汉语和西班牙语）

那么被大量群众围观的希腊语又是怎么来表示这个意思的呢？
希腊语：“μου φαινεται κινεζικο”（“听着就跟汉语似的”）

然后汉语开始惨遭围观：
希伯来语：“Nishma c'moh sinit!”（“它听起来像汉语！”）
罗马尼亚语：“Parca e Chineza!”（“看着像汉语！”）
俄语：“Это для меня китайская грамота.”（“对我来 说这就是个汉语文献。”）
塞尔维亚-克罗地亚语：“To je za mene kineski.”（“对我来说这是汉语。”）
据说汉语还被另外的语言围观了，但是找不到具体说法，包括：爱沙尼亚语，弗勒芒语，匈牙利语，瑞士德语，塔加路族文

还有些语言同时围观了汉语和其他语言：
芬兰语：“Onpas Kiinalainen jutuu!”（“这都什么汉语似的玩意儿啊！”）
芬兰语：“Se on minulle taytta hepreaa.（“这对我来说就是希伯来语。”）

希伯来语也经常被围观：
法语：“C'est de l'hébreu pour moi.”（“对我来说这是希伯来语。”）

德语和捷克喜欢围观西班牙语：
捷克语：“To je pro mne Spanělska vesnice.”
德语：“Das kommt mir spanish vor.”

那么西班牙语围观谁呢：
西班牙语：“Para mi es chino.”（又是汉语……）

意大利语围观土耳其语：
意大利语：“Questo e turco per me.”

土耳其语围观阿拉伯语：“Anladimsa arab olayim.”（“我能听懂的话我就是阿拉伯 人了。”）
阿拉伯语围观波斯语：“Kalam ajami.”（“对我来说像波斯语。”）
波斯语围观土耳其语：“Turki gofti?”（“刚才你说的是土耳其语？”）

然后有一些语言实在不知道围观谁才好了，就：
保加利亚语：“Tova za mene sa ieroglifi.”（“我看这些像象形文字。”）
丹麦语：“Det er det rene volapyk for mig.”（“对我来说这纯粹是沃拉普克语。 ”这句话太强了，我去google了一下才搞清楚：沃拉普克语（Volapük）是人工语言较成功的第一个，是世界语的先驱。）

最后是最强大的一个说法：
汉语：“简直就是听天书！” 只有上帝才能制服汉语了……


The relationship is given by:

It seems that Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world.  I also found an interesting article,  "Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard", written by David Moser, who is a professor of University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies. Somebody has translated to Chinese, "为什么中文这么TMD难", however, the original one is much more interesting. 

Hilarious Menu——Do You Dear to Eat them?

I found a Chinese post,  中式英文令人啼笑皆非 美国人英译中菜单更搞笑(图), which is a story about some hilarious mistranslated menu used by the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. The Chinese translations are incredibly different from the original meanings. Some eople believe that the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line used Google Translate for that. However, I tried Google Translate and found the results are different from the ones on these photos.  I have to see that the Google Translate provide muck better translations than they did. Since I do not understand the other languages, I'm not sure if they are right or wrong.


"Corned Beef Hash" was translated to “盐腌的牛肉杂乱信号”, which means "salted beef jumbled signal".
Google Translate gave "咸牛肉哈希", which means "salted beef 'Ha Xi'(nonsense word in Chinese)".


"Ham and Bamboo Shoot Salad"  was translated to “笨拙的演员和竹子的沙拉”, which means "clumsy actor and bamboo's salad".
Google Translate gave "火腿和竹筍沙拉", which has exactly the same meaning with the original name.


"Garden Greens"  was translated to “花园成为绿色”, which means "garden became green (color)".
Google Translate gave "花園綠黨", which means "garden green party (nonsense)".


"Chicken and Mushroom tart” was translated to “胆小和迅速增长的妓女”, which means  "timid and rapidly grown prostitute(s)". (This one is amazing ....)
Google Translate gave "雞和蘑菇撻", which means "chicken and mushroom hit".


"Regular Milk"  was translated to “规则牛奶”, which means  "policy milk".
Google Translate gave "普通牛奶", which means "regular milk".

"Half & Half"  was translated to “奶油二者各半的混合物”, which means  "mixture of cream two half ....(I can't understand at all).


"Green Split Pea Soup“  was translated" to “绿分裂豌豆汤”, which means  "green separation pea soup".
Google Translate gave "绿色豌豆汤", which means "green pea soup".


"English Bacon" was translated to “英语培根”, which means  "English(language) Bacon".
Google Translate gave the right translation.



"Creamy Italian Dressing"  was translated to “奶油意大利装束”, which means "butter Italy costume".
Google Translate gave "条状意大利式沙拉酱", which means "banding Italian Salad source".

8.10凌晨惊魂事件回顾——蝴蝶记

人在愤怒的时候大脑都是不清醒的，凌晨4点多一睁眼发现一男子靠在卧室门口看着你，这种惊吓着实让我如热油浇头一般激动万分，于是开始了各种胡乱猜想。现在回想一下这件事应该算得上是典型的蝴蝶效应了。故事应该从上周去UHS说起，是这样的:

1.大约在一个多月前，右耳后出现了一片癣，并且很痒，于是下意识没事就挠，以为不出几周就会康复，反正我皮肤一向不是这里出问题就是那里出问题。结果这块癣日益壮大，起皮掉皮异常活跃，而且一直都很痒，想着坚持到回国一切都会好起来的就没有搭理它，直到上上周五下午开始有液体渗出，感觉像组织液，触觉如甘油，无色无味，源源不绝流了整整一小时，害我一直拿纸巾擦来擦去，顿时心里有些不舒服，这要是流到枕巾上或者半袖上不是自找麻烦嘛，于是下定决心要去UHS。第二天周六有两个shift，本来一个是server，一个是greeter，结果通通end up with dishroom，从早上6:45干到下午2:30已经疲软掉，UHS也早已宣告关门了。于是周一下午下课后走进了UHS，遇到了Doctor Bemer,蝴蝶的翅膀扇了一下。

2.Doctor Bemer 看了半天，沉吟了一下，用google translate给我看她的猜测，“herpes simplex virus” ，单纯疱疹病毒，当时我就震惊了，HSV?! 坑爹的吧，这不是小孩子才容易得的么，我都20了，至于这么着返老回童么，一想到这货会引发脑炎而且貌似不好治疗我满脸爬着蚯蚓，幽怨得盯着Bemer, 她见我表情过激，试图安慰我，就开始和我聊，问我什么专业，我说生物的，她若有所思，继续聊，聊到了一个月前和两个AWIS（某学生组织）的Molecular Bio的phd学姐一起去Molin Nature Area做volunteer的事情，她一下子恍然大悟得问我，是不是接触了poison ivy，我一听，啧啧，有门儿~的确是的，树林里好多poison ivy，虽然特意避免接触，因我流汗特别猛，无意用沾染了poison ivy的手套触到了后脖子也是完全有可能的。

Bemer看了一下说感觉不只是poison ivy的原因，还有细菌感染。事情终于搞清了，原来是那天树林里的蚊子对我进行了全身性攻击，包括耳后，结果那块皮肤正好也因接触到poison ivy而发生延迟过敏反应开始起皮，因蚊子叮咬而挠破进而发生了细菌感染，两下一加让Bemer错当成了HSV，于是乎皆大欢喜。Bemer为我开了一个涂抹感染皮肤的cream一个antibiotic的trimethoprim，后者是磺胺类药物，于是乎蝴蝶的翅膀又扇了一下。

3.上周开始用药以后，只三天耳后皮肤明显好转，但是胳膊上和手背上开始有鸡皮疙瘩类似物逐渐浮现出来，到了上周五已经是痒不可耐，到了周末胳膊上，腿上以及脸上，脖子上都充满了这种密密麻麻的疙瘩，一整晚都无法入睡，左臂挠破了都控制不住继续抓挠的冲动。于是我开始怀疑从来对磺胺类药物都不过敏的我居然有了变态反应，这周一再去找Bemer，可惜她有空的时候1:00-2:30pm我正有课，于是预约了这周二8:30am的会诊，她一看与我意见一致，认为很有可能是trimethoprim引发的全身性皮疹和水泡，就为我开了针对变态反应的肾上腺皮质激素Deltason和缓解瘙痒的抗组织胺药Banophen后者的副作用之一就是发晕嗜睡，蝴蝶翅膀大大的扇了一下。

4.会完诊后因痒不可耐连吃了两次Banophen，早已困得上下眼皮一顿乱打，但是生生坚持到了下午5点，到USB参加了蝴蝶的第一轮翅膀所涉及的AWIS的broad meeting，于6:30解放，回到家里早已困得两腿发软，于是直奔二楼卧室倒头就睡，并上了7:20pm的铃，以为小眯半小时就好，所以连门都没有锁，只是关上了，然后就进入了梦乡，连日的瘙痒已经几夜没有睡个囫囵觉了，加之两片扑尔敏的强大催眠效应下，这一个小眯就以小时记了....再次醒来已经是10:40pm。睡意已消，就到一楼先锁了门，然后蒸了个鸡蛋羹，填了一下肚子，开始写写essay，算算数学，和kelly扯扯淡，折腾到4:00am，essay没了想法就打算到卧室再趴个10min等有了想法下来接着写，于是没有关一楼大厅的灯就上了二楼卧床上了，结果迷迷糊糊睡着了，然后......

5.本来就没有睡熟，脑子里essay灰来灰去，突然听到了一楼空调，或者叫风箱更合适的噪音，我以为是在梦中，因为我绝对没有开空调，下意识睁了下眼睛，忽然听到了楼梯的声音，家里只有我一人怎么还会有其他人发出来的声音？！我一下子就惊醒了，心里非常紧张，向卧室门口一望，居然！！看到了一个人趴在门框上正看着我！！！卧室不开灯，只有一楼客厅的灯开着，所以我可以看到人形，却辨不清面目以及服饰，而他也不可能看到我是否睁着眼，我只能辨得出其发型是平头，大概1.7m的样子，我一动不动盯着他足足有10s之长，以为他会有什么动静，结果他也只是向我这个方向看着（应该是吧，虽然我根本看不清他的五官），然后我的愤怒早已充满胸臆，于是大吼一声“谁！”...也不知为何居然喊得是汉语，囧...那货绝比是吓了一大跳，立马转身就往楼下跑，我从床上跃起，匆忙穿上褂子，边穿边喊“站住！！”...为毛我还是喊的汉语，大囧...当然他早已冲出了我家，待我进入楼道的时候，他已无踪迹，更为诡异的是，整个apt楼的楼门在晚上开关都会有不小的响动的，而我并没有听到楼门的声音，也就是说这货没有走出公寓楼，想到他居然可以开得了需要楼门密码的楼门以及我家密码的房门，我大惊，怀疑是公寓里的其他住户所为，一定是以前看到我用密码开门记住了然后这次潜入我家中。

我早已是出离愤怒了，当时一点恐惧都木有，返身回家之后立马将两个锁都锁上，查看屋内有何变化，阳台门和窗户都无任何移动的痕迹，此人必是从正门进入，我当即断定是趁我20分钟前上二楼睡觉时的空隙用密码打开了锁进入我家，上二楼被我发觉然后逃跑。更为诡异的是，二楼两间卧室和卫生间都无任何变化还可以理解，他一定是刚上来看到我就被我发觉，但一楼有我的电脑，书包和iphone，均无位移，连我洒落沙发的草稿纸都没有动过，唯二的不同一是空调被打开了，二是用来放置吸尘器的柜子门也是大敞开着，吸尘器一直在客厅放着，所以这柜子应该一直都是空着的。各种疑问差点溢出我那被愤怒塞满的脑袋，他为什么不带走我的电脑和手机逃跑，为什么冒此大险打开噪音这么大的空调，我只睡着了20分钟，而且是在凌晨4点，他怎么能把时机把握的如此巧妙恰好我刚睡着就进了我家，难道他一直在观察着我？难道我屋内有摄像头？还有冰箱有食物都没有动过，一个空柜子却被无故打开，还是大开？为什么要看我睡觉，如果想对我下手为何不一步上来直接了却我这条小命，反而趴在门框上一声不吭盯着我，这到底是什么人，到底是何居心？！

我大怒，睡意也全无，噼里啪啦关了空调，翻了书包发现什么都没少，立马上校内一通大骂。记得以前看的Criminal Minds,里边有几集就是一个serial rapist躲在victim的家里，等target进入家门趁其毫无戒备之时下手，但是一个FBI agent就说人们都觉得家是最能给人安全感的地方，没想到这里居然会发生不幸，这对victim的伤害是非常巨大的，这样的罪犯太可恶了。我表示深深理解了她当时说的这段话，我无法想象这人若是图我的性命的话我是不是已经向阎王老儿要酒喝了，而不是校内上泄愤。

稍稍平静下来以后，我才有些后悔，居然轻易破坏了空调开关上的指纹。我理了下思绪，看了看时间，然后查了下我上楼前保存的Word文档的具体时间，查看了一楼的温度，断定此人在是在我睡着后清醒前短短10分钟不到的空隙内开了空调以及柜子，这个时间的把握也过于精细，上面的疑问也一个都没有解开，此人到底是何企图？行事完全背离常理。

一天的两节课结束后，坐下来好好调理了下呼吸，才想明白了这人在我屋中整个的行动。他绝不可能是在我睡着的那短短十分钟内“碰巧”用密码开了门进入我屋内的。他一定是在我7pm-10:30pm这段我睡死的期间，直接打开了房门进入我家，当时我并没有锁门，根本无需密码就可直接进入，那时电脑还在书包内，iphone在我枕旁，不知道他那时是否也看了我睡觉（艹，想想都觉得恶心，居然有人偷看别人睡觉！！），然后听到我醒来后的动静，就藏身于柜中，等我再次入睡，没想到我居然折腾到了凌晨4点，想他匿身于柜中，既不敢发出声响又闷热难耐，也有些可怜。好不容易我上了楼，他才得以蹑手蹑脚出了柜子，待几分钟后，我没了动静，或者说他再次偷看发现我已睡着（啊啊！！）就开了空调好生舒了口气。然后这货居然上了二楼偷看我睡觉被我逮了正着，于是转身逃窜。至于他没有出楼门原因应该是他藏在了地下一层的洗衣机房内，大概是猜到我没有胆量一个人在楼道里挨家找人。我也果然立马锁了屋门没再追查。

一篇流水账，终得解心累。

惟愿苍天佑，保我全身退。

SULFA ALLERGY

I am suffering a rash caused by sulfa allergy now. This is the first time that I got the allergenic reaction triggered by sulfonamides. All of a sudden, I got the sulfa allergy and it has never happened in the past 20 years. I think this might be the birthday gift to me given by so-called God... Thus, I collect some information about sulfa allergy which also based my own experience and knowledge.  

-What is sulfa allergy?

"Sulfa allergy" is a term used to describe adverse drug reactions to sulfonamides. It is well-known for students who have had biological classes in China that antibiotic sulfonamides were the first antibiotics used to treat infections. However, they are less likely to be used because of their common side effects.

My allergy was caused by Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (or Septra, Bactrim) given by a doctor of UHS to treat my skin’s infection. I would rather try my own “prescription” next time because I know exactly what kind of medicine I should use but it is really a pity that most antibiotic medicine cannot be bought without medical prescription in America. Although sulfonamides are the trigger of allergy, not all drugs which contained them could cause allergy. The difference is that it has antibiotic characteristics or not. The antibiotic sulfonamides are different structurally from the non-antibiotic sulfonamides, and appear to be much more likely to result in allergic reactions. Many of the sulfa non-antibiotics do not cause problems in people with sulfa antibiotic allergy.

-How common is sulfa allergy?

The overall incidence of adverse drug reactions to sulfa antibiotics is approximately 3%, similar to other common antibiotics such as penicillin. Certain groups of people have a higher risk for it, including those with immune problems such as AIDS.

-What symptoms are common in sulfa allergy?

~Skin reactions. 

Skin reactions are the most common adverse reactions to sulfa medications, ranging from various benign rashes to life-threatening Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.  

Hives and increased photosensitivity are also possible. There is a possibility that if the sulfa medication is continued despite a mild rash occurring, the rash could progress to a more severe form of skin reaction.

I have to wear long-sleeve clothes and hat no matter how hot the day is nowadays because I am really sensitive to sunlight. Here are two pictures of my arm and hand.

~Liver and kidney injury.

People with sulfa allergy may also develop a type of hepatitis, and kidney failures.

~Lung reactions. 

Sulfa allergy can also affect the lung with pneumonia-like reactions, which could worse asthma and vasculitis.

~Blood reactions. 

Sulfa allergy can also affect various blood cells, resulting in decreased white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.

-How is sulfa allergy diagnosed?

Unlike penicillin, there is no skin test or blood test available to diagnose sulfa allergy. Therefore, the diagnosis is made when a person, who is taking a sulfonamide medication, experiences symptoms consistent with those seen mentioned above in sulfa allergy. In my case, I got the rash after taking 3 pieces of Bactrim and it was getting worse after two more pieces. Actually, the only method of determining whether it is sulfa allergy or not is taking more medicine containing sulfonamides and watching if the symptom worsens. If it gets worse, it is sulfa allergy.

-How is sulfa allergy treated?

In most cases, if a person is experiencing an adverse reaction to a sulfa medication, that medication should be stopped at first. The symptoms of the reaction need to be treated as soon as possible especially in those experiencing Stevens-Johnson syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis. Antianaphylaxis are necessary for treating allergy reactions. Prednisone is a common used medicine works on immune system. Banophen (diphenhydramine) is a kind of antihistamine, which used for temporary relief from symptoms of upper respiratory allergies, hay fever, sneezing, runny nose, itchy, etc, most of these are allergy reactions. One of the side effects of the latter is drowsiness, which caused lots of troubles to me.

-What medications should sulfa-allergic patients avoid?

~Sulfa antibiotics. 

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Septra, Bactrim and generics), sulfadizine, sulfisoxazole, and dapsone.

 Sulfacetamide eye drops/shampoos/creams, silver sulfadiazine cream, and sulfanilamide vaginal preparations.

~Diuretics (water pills). 

The risk for sulfa-containing diuretic medications causing reactions in sulfa-allergic patients is low. Many diuretic medications, such as hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and furosemide (Lasix) are sulfa-based, while ethacrynic acid (Edecrin) is not.

~Sulfonylureas. 

Oral medications used for the treatment of diabetes, called sulfonylureas (such as chloropropamide, glyburide, and glipizide), are structurally similar to sulfonamides. Although there are a few reports of these medications causing problems in sulfa-allergic patients, they should take care when taking these medications.

~Sulfasalazine. 

Sulfasalazine is a sulfonamide that is related to aspirin, and is used for inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

~Zonisamide. 

Zonisamide is a sulfonamide medication used for the treatment of seizures. It has been associated with severe skin reactions, which are typically sulfa allergenic reactions.

“(I) loved you once” =……= “agony”

“谐音” is a way of playing words just like what I have showed in the last blog. In English, people use “4” instead of “for”; in Chinese, people use “520” instead of “我爱你”. However, this method can also be applied between two languages, and it would be really interesting in doing so. In addition, this is exactly the way of “giving sense to the words” as I have mentioned before.

Most English words are multisyllabic and Chinese characters are monosyllabic. Thus, a single English word can be “translated to” multi Chinese characters when applying “谐音”. “谐音” is based on pronunciation, which is one of the two factors of memorizing an English word—pronunciation and meaning, the latter of which would be yielded after applying this transaction. “谐音” can bridge the spelling and meaning of a word in a very funny way. I’m going to give several examples of using it to “translate” English words into Chinese. These multisyllabic words will be separated into multi syllables, each of which will be translated to a Chinese character by “谐音”. In the following examples, I will use Pinyin to indicate the similarity of the pronunciations of a syllable and its corresponding character.

1. ambulance

a) Separate (the separation is based on one`s own demand not on formal pronunciation rules): am-bu-lan-ce
b) Correspond (the original syllable is before the dash and the corresponding Pinyin is behind the dash): am—an, bu—bu, lan—neng, ce—si.
c) Translate (the Pinyin is before the dash and the corresponding Chinese character is behind the dash): an—俺, bu—不，neng—能, si—死.
d) Combine (combine the individual characters): an-bu-neng-si——俺不能死 (I can`t dye)
e) Explain (explain the connection between the meaning of the original word and the meaning of the result of this whole transaction) Ambulance is a vehicle with special equipment and used for taking patients to a hospital. It would be quite reasonable for the patient who are waiting for an ambulance to shout out “I can’t dye!”

The whole process in reverse is given by “I can’t dye” = “俺不能死” = “an-bu-neng-si”= “am-bu-lan-ce” = “ambulance”.

This whole analyzes looks horrible but it is very simple for a Chinese to make sense from it and it would cost only few seconds for him/her to catch the connection. Personally, this is a good method to memorize some long or rare words. The most interesting part in this process is last step, which is finding out the connection between the meanings of the original word and Chinese words.

2. agony 

a) Separate: a-go-ny
b& c) Correspond & translate: a—ai—爱, go—guo—过, ny—ni—你.
d) Combine: ai-guo-ni——爱过你 ( (I) loved you once)
e) Explain: I have never involved in any romantic relationships but I have some friends who part with their boy/girlfriends. As I can see, they were really heartbroken at first and it took some time, which was weeks even years for them to recover. They must have experienced extreme mental pain, which is agony.

“(I) loved you once” = “爱过你” = “ai-guo-ni” = “a-go-ny” = “agony”


3. hermit

a) Separate: her-mi-t
b& c) Correspond & translate: her—he—何, mi—mi—觅, t—ta—他.
d) Combine: her-mi-t——何（处）觅他 ( where to find him)
e) Explain: A hermit is a person who lives alone and apart from the rest of society, especially for religious reasons. Since hermits are intended to stay away from the others, they are hard to find. “Where to find him” is the question you always have to ask when looking for a hermit.

“where to find him” = “何(处)觅他” = “he-mi-ta” = “her-mi-t” = “hermit”


4. ambition

a) Separate: am-bi-tion
b& c) Correspond & translate: am—an—俺, bi—bi—必, tion—sheng—胜
d) Combine: am-bi-tion——俺必胜 ( I must win)
e) Explain: The explanation of ambition is given by “the desire or determination to be successful, rich, powerful, etc”. For a man who is filled with ambition, “I must win” must be his /her mantra.

“I must win” = “俺必胜” = “an-bi-sheng” = “am-bi-tion” = “ambition” 

5. economy

a) Separate: e-co-no-my
b& c) Correspond & translate: e—yi—依, co—kao—靠, no—nong—农, my—min—民.
d) Combine: e-co-no-my——依靠农民 ( depends on farmers)
e) Explain: China is the biggest farming country in the world. We have almost 800 million farmers in China and it is the truth that China’s economy mostly based on agriculture in the past. Even though China is experiencing economy reconstructing now, this country still has to depend on the 800 million farmers.

“depends on farmers” = “依靠农民” = “yi-kao-nong-min” = “e-co-no-my” = “economy”


This word game is not only interesting but also a good method to memorize some hard words. I hope this blog can act as a trigger for more interesting methods to memorize vocabulary because I also suffer “agony” in memorizing them.