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where I share my journey with you

Old blog

 

Most of the posts here were written originally many years ago but they were transferred to this new home in 2024. The dates are transfer dates.

Hong

September – month of Chinese brainwashing show

Routers This month is turning out to be a month of Chinese brainwashing products exhibit. It was triggered by the chronic dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands. With implicit encouragement of the Chinese regime, the anti-Japan protesters are vividly displaying the results…

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Hong

Enhance computer performance by SSD

Solid State Drive (SSD) price has dropped to about $1.5/GB. I think its prime time for deployment on desk top PC’s has come. It has been the default choice for tablet PC’s storage device, the choice for laptop PC’s storage by demanding users. The following…

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Hong

Tofu

Brand Quality Texture Chang Shing A Great House Foods A Excellent K-town Tofu B too firm Raw Nature B too firm Sansui B too firm Soonyeowon B too firm

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Hong

EV Charging

For most EV drivers in the US, EV charging couldn't be more convenient. One can plug into a regular 110V 20A electric outlet to charge an EV overnight when the vehicle is not used and the electricity rate is the lowest. The challenge may arise…

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Hong

False claims of rechargeable battery capacity.

Many generic Ni-MH rechargeabel bateries are claimed to have very high capacities (e.g. 1800 mAh, 1350 mAh) that are grossly exagerated. It is not easy to test a battery's capacity quickly, but there are many ways to do it. The easiest way is using an electronic gadget…

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Hong

Uninstall a program on a Windows PC

The standard installation/uninstallation feature of Windows is unreliable, especially for uninstallation which may require files that do not exist anymore. Microsoft installation/uninstallation troubleshooter is a handy tool to fix these problem.

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Hong

Sell Used Car

Get appraisal from Cargurus and dealers interested in the car. $11,725 Submit a request to Harbro Auto. Get an offer from Carvana. $11,600 Post a listing on Facebook Marketplace Post a listing on Craigslist Most responses to the ads on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are…

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Hong

Video Card

Ever popular 4K monitors require a video card with at least 4 GB RAM. GTX 1050 with 2 GB is not sufficient because it often has to resort to slower system RAM. RX 570 should be sufficient.

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Hong

Owned Cars

Nissan Stanza (bought for $200 in Graduate School) Mercury Topaz. Chevy Lumina Mercury Sable 1993 Mercury Sable 1997 Mercury Sable 2001 (never sent to a garage for repair) Mercury Sable 2005 (never sent to a garage for repair) Chrysler Sebring 2008 Nissan LEAF 2009 Nissan…

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Hong

Green Card Renewal

It is done by filing I90 - APPLICATION TO REPLACE PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD online. The instructions are good. The filing can be done in less than 30 minutes. The filing fee is $450. The receipt notice is sent out immediately upon the filing. Another notice to…

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Hong

EDID problem for some monitors

Some EDID problem may cause a monitor unable to use the correct resolution. For example, Acer AL2416W is detected by Windows 7 as a generic monitor. The best resolution (the only appropriate resolution, in my opinion), 1920x1200, is not on the available resolution list. To remedy…

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Hong

RTSP/RTP over TCP has very limited value

RTSP/RTP over TCP can address UDP blocking problem, but it has both the overhead disadvantage of RTSP over HTTP and requiring a port that may be often blocked. RTSP over HTTP almost guarantees firewall traversal. RTSP/RTP over TCP has no advantage over HTTP tunneled RTSP.

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Hong

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter

In light the current Palestinian bid for the UN membership, I repost this review originally published on Amazon.com in 2007. The Israel- Palestine mess is heartbreaking and frustrating for people who care for both peoples. It is also very complicated - so much history and…

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Hong

Prisoner of the State

This review was originally published on Amazon.com in 2009. Anyone who has any interest in contemporary Chinese history or current state of China should read it. Even those who have no interest in China can benefit from reading this book (I will explain this later).

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Hong

Midwest Trip (August 2024)

12 States: MA-CT- NY-PA-OH-IN-IL-MO-IA-NE-IA-MN-WI-IL-IN-OH-PA-NY-MA 6068.9km 08-16 8:00 FRI Nouria Convenience Store, Worcester Crowley Nissan, Hartford Tom Hesser Nissan, Scranton Bald Eagle State Park, Howard, PA 08-17 8:00 SAT Keystone State Park, PA Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburg Baker's Motel, Norwich, OH 08-18 8:26 SUN…

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