3/11/2014Tuesday 9:57:26 PM Lifestyle Design---Day 26 My life in the United States Today’s MorningNourishment I enjoy: Rev.7:9 After these things I saw, and behold, there was a great multitude which no one could number, out of every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robesand palm branches in their hands. 17...The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them andguide them to springs of waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear fromtheir eyes. In Revelation 7:9-17 we see the testimony of Jesus as a great multitude....Verse14 says, These are those who come out of the great tribulation.This refers to the tribulations, sufferings, persecutions, and afflictions experienced by God's redeemed people throughout the ages. Because the worldalways afflicts the church (John 16:33), wherever the church is, there will always be a certain amount of persecution. This great multitude has come out oftribulation in a victorious way, for they all hold palm branches, which signifytheir victory over tribulation. Following this, Revelation 12 reveals the third aspect of the testimony of Jesus. Here the figure is a wonderful, universal, heavenly woman (vv. 1-2, 5-6). The sun,the moon, and the stars are all heavenly (Gen. 1:16-17). Thus, the womanindicates the heavenly nature, position, and disposition of the church as thetestimony of Jesus. With her there is nothing earthly, such as casinos,department stores, television, sports, synagogues, cathedrals, or chapels. Everything about this woman is heavenly. As long as we are earthly, we are qualified to be food for Satan . However, there is no serpent on the sun,the moon, or the stars. The position of the church in the spiritual warfare is not on the earth but in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6; 6:12). When the church is inthe heavenlies, Satan is under her feet. Eventually, Satan is cast down anddefeated by the man-child of the wonderful heavenly woman (Rev. 12:10-11). (TheTestimony of Jesus, pp. 135-136, 103-104) MayLord save me from the earthly things, the games, movies, meaninglessrecreational activities, occasional chat and jokes…May Lord keep me in the heavenly position. What should be improved today: Need spend time to relax and recharge. Really feel refreshed during the break of tonight’s PMS class. Just aten-minutes taking some fresh air contributes a lot. Don’t stretch your nerves… What new life hacks learnt today: Know your weaknesses You need to see the enemy in order to beatthe enemy. So, be honesty with yourself. Even better is to ask some friends to be honest with you and let you know what areas you are weak in. Once you identify these weak areas, work on improving them. Try to look for ways to improve themselves consistently. Be content enough to be satisfied and happy,but not too content that you stop growing. Num. Date Books To Be Read In The Coming Days Progress 1 Saturday, March 01, 2014 Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work), in Words and Pictures Paperback by Michael Goodwin Currently reading it 2 Sunday, March 02, 2014 The Cartoon Guide to Calculus (Cartoon Guides) by Larry Gonick 3 Monday, March 03, 2014 The Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Larry Gonick 4 Tuesday, March 04, 2014 The Cartoon Guide to Physics by Larry Gonick 5 Wednesday, March 05, 2014 A Conversation, Book 1: English in Everyday Life, 4th Edition by Tina Kasloff Carver 6 Thursday, March 06, 2014 A Conversation Book 2: English in Everyday Life (Full Student Book) (Third Edition) by Tina Kasloff Carver 7 Friday, March 07, 2014 The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr. (Author), E. B. White (Author), Roger Angell 8 Saturday, March 08, 2014 Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark 9 Sunday, March 09, 2014 The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results Hardcover by Gary Keller 10 Monday, March 10, 2014 Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds Carmine Gall 11 Tuesday, March 11, 2014 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Paperback – Deluxe Edition
3/6/2014Thursday 10:12:25 PM Lifestyle Design---Day 21 My life in the United States What have you been up to on this fine Thursday? Today’s MorningNourishment I enjoy: Matt.13:33 ...The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman tookand hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened. Rev.2:20 But I have something against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, she who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and leads My slavesastray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices. 18:2...Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!... The woman here is the same as the one prophesied by the Lord in Matthew 13:33.There the woman added leaven (signifying evil, heretical, and pagan things)into the fine flour (signifying Christ as the meal offering for thesatisfaction of God and man). This woman is the great harlot of Revelation 17,who mixes abominations with the divine things. Jezebel, the pagan wife of Ahab,is a type of this apostate church. (Rev. 2:20, footnote 1) Babylon originates from Babel....The principle of the tower of Babel involves the attempt to build up something from earth to reach unto heaven.When men built this tower, they used bricks....Stone is made by God, and bricksare made by man. Bricks are a human invention, a human product. The meaning ofBabylon relates to man's own efforts to build a tower to reach unto heaven.Babylon represents man's ability. It represents a false Christianity, a Christianity which does not allow the HolySpirit to have authority. It does not seek the Holy Spirit's guidance; it doesall things by human effort. Everything consists of bricks baked by man;everything depends upon man's action . Anything that is halfway and not absolute is called Babylon. I should be watchful towards this matter! God hates the principle of Babylon more than anything else . We need God to enlighten us so that in His light we may judge everything in us which is not absolute toward Him. LordJesus, lots of my being are still not absolute for You. May You save me fromBabylon. Lord Jesus, You draws me; I will run after you. What should be improved today: Ate too much meat and fish today, I am running a fever, catch a Canker Sores …Should pay attention to what you eat next time. Eat balanced food with plenty of vegetables and fruits. What new life hacks learnt today: Find a person who has the life or job you want. As a result of their own ego, this person will tell you how they got where they are, and how you can too. Even he or she is a person you are not familiar with, donnot hesitate to drop them an email to ask if you can buy them a coffee and talk about their job. 1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but be a pattern to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 4:13 Until I come, attend to the public reading, to the exhortation, to the teaching. 4:14 Do not neglect the gift which is in you, which was given to you by means of prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 4:15 Practice these things; be in them, that your progress may be manifest to all. Must Do Tasks in the Coming Week Num. To Do List Priorities Due Date Yes/No 1 Review Structural Dynamics Chap.1-5 1 Sun. 21:30pm 2 Review Soil Engineering Chap.1-5 1 Sun. 21:30am 3 Submit the final version of the Paper 1 Thur. 10:00pm Yes 4 Finish all due Homework 1 Wed. 10:00pm To Do Lists on Friday Num. To Do List Priorities Due Date Yes/No 1 Review Soil Engineering Chap. 123 1 Fri.8:30pm 2 Review Structural Dynamic 1 Fri.21:30pm 3 Meeting with advisor 1 Fri. 16:15pm 4 Make road test appointment online 2 Sun.21:30pm 5 Pick up books in the library. 3 Next week Num. Date Books To Be Read In The Coming Days Progress 1 Saturday, March 01, 2014 Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work), in Words and Pictures Paperback by Michael Goodwin Currently reading it 2 Sunday, March 02, 2014 The Cartoon Guide to Calculus (Cartoon Guides) by Larry Gonick 3 Monday, March 03, 2014 The Cartoon Guide to Statistics by Larry Gonick 4 Tuesday, March 04, 2014 The Cartoon Guide to Physics by Larry Gonick 5 Wednesday, March 05, 2014 A Conversation, Book 1: English in Everyday Life, 4th Edition by Tina Kasloff Carver 6 Thursday, March 06, 2014 A Conversation Book 2: English in Everyday Life (Full Student Book) (Third Edition) by Tina Kasloff Carver
2/24/2014 Monday 10:01:52 PM Lifestyle Design---Day 11 My life in the United States Welcome to day 11! Yes, It is getting little harder too. Just have to stay motivated to write and learn. May Lord empower me. Rev. 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must quickly take place; and He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slaveJohn. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.. The revelation of Jesus Christ means that this revelationis of Jesus Christ, through Jesus Christ, and concerning Jesus Christ. Godfirst gave this revelation to Jesus Christ and then gave this revelation to usthrough Him. All the revelations in the Bible are focused on Jesus Christ and are for the purpose of revealing Him . (CWWN,vol. 34, p. 163) Lord Jesus, may You reveal Yourself to me whenever I touchYour word. Again a 3-hour course---structural dynamics this evening. Unlike usual, I pray to Lord before class this time, telling Him I’m tired, and I cannot focus on it. I need His shepherding and nourishment. Praise the Lord, He answered my prayer, Lord strengthened my spirit, my soul and my body. What a wonderful lesson, and I even asked a question, talked with the Professor afterwards... This experience really motivate me to turn to Lord in everything I do, He is my source of power. Lord I need You! Now I talk a little bit about my Spanish learning experience today. Undoubtedly, Spanish is what grabs me. I really feel like I am actually having fun doing it. A very important principle I learnt today: “Masculineand Feminine Nouns: In Spanish all nouns are masculine or feminine (pretty much unbelievable…but sounds fun…). Usually, nouns that end with an o are masculine, andnouns that end with an a are feminine. For example,manzana (apple) is feminine and diario (newspaper) is masculine. The articles el and un are used with masculine nouns, and the articles la and una are used with feminine nouns.The apple is la manzana and a newspaper isun diario.------From Duolingo Progressis not linear, may be some days you will feel you know little, and then the other days you will feel you were born in Madrid . So keep it up! Just a little every day and I'll get there faster than I think. Besides,I’m a quick person, so learn to slow down in this process, and enjoy Lord,learn Spanish with Lord, His the linguist. Psalms: 23:1 Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing. 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside waters of rest. 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me on the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 23:4 Even though I walk Through the valley of the shadow of death, I do not fear evil, For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, They comfort me. 23:5 You spread a table before me In the presence of my adversaries; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me All the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of Jehovah For the length of my days. Must Do Tasks in the Coming Week Num. To Do List Priorities Due Date Yes/No 1 Finish Structural Dynamics homework 1 Mon. 05:00pm Yes 2 Fellowship with Br. Luke via Skype 1 Tue. 10:00am 3 Finish Soil Engineering Homework 1 Wed. 06:20pm 4 Prepare for Road Test Documents 1 Wed. 10:00pm 5 Road Test Practice at Test Center 1 Wed. 05:00pm 6 Hand in the assigned draft paper 1 Fri. 04:15pm 7 Draft the Goals to be achieved in March 1 Fri. 23:15pm 8 Finish assigned tasks in daily schedule 1 Sun. 23:30pm To Do Lists on Monday Num. To Do List Priorities Due Date Yes/No 1 Finish Structural Dynamics homework 1 Mon. 05:00pm Yes 2 Finish assigned tasks in daily schedule 1 Mon. 23:30pm Yes 3 Fellowship with Br. Michael 2 Mon. 10:00am Yes 4 Print Road Test Appointment Details 2 Wed. 06:20pm Yes 5 Road test Practice 2 Wed. 17:30pm Yes 6 Prepare for Road Test Documents 3 Wed. 10:00pm No 7 Finish 2 pages of the Draft paper 3 Fri. 04:15pm No To Do Lists on Tuesday Num. To Do List Priorities Due Date Yes/No 1 Finish 2 pages of the Draft paper 1 Fri. 04:15pm 2 Finish assigned tasks in daily schedule 1 Mon. 23:30pm 3 Fellowship with Br. Luke via Skype 1 Mon. 10:00am 4 Finish Soil Engineering Homework 2 Wed. 06:20pm 5 Road test Practice 2 Wed. 17:30pm 6 Prepare for Road Test Documents 2 Wed. 10:00pm 7 Finish Soil Engineering Homework 3 Fri. 04:15pm
2/16/2014 Sunday 10:41:25 PM Lifestyle Design---Day Three My life in the United States “I’ve found that small wins, smallprojects, small differences often make huge differences.” – Rosabeth Moss Kanter Now comes the third day, small wins, well done! Try to hang on and I already see the differences! Today is Lord’s Day. I am not fully enjoyed in the gathering, may Lord forgive me. The past week is totally busy, and my daily schedule was thrown out…Many things were distracting me from Life. “That He would grant you, according to theriches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into theinner man,” (Ephesians 3:16) The coming week will still remain challenge. May Lord grant me His daily grace! Lord Jesus, at the end of theweek, I still turn to You, and I consecrate the coming week to You, Lord Jesus,the week is Yours, Lord You lead me walk in the path of life, no panic, nocomplain, no excuse, no delay, no negative thought. Besides, finishing the daily schedule, four major tasks in the following week is: Revise the draft paper for adviser toreview---due on Friday; Discuss the project topic with group member----dueon Tuesday; Complete the assignments of three coursesand review structural dynamics and soil engineering, make up quite a lot ofleeway, other you’ll fall behind-----Saturday Start the first road test practice with David, at least two hours! Come on, the test is inthe next week. Getting results in today’s landscape is noteasy, and sometimes may tough. The worldchanges faster than we can keep up. Evenworsen is that we don’t always have the best practices for focus, managing ourtime, managing our energy, or even our personal productivity. Matt Cutts, asoftware engineer in Google, may give you some assistance with how to manageyour life more efficient. http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html Also, in the book, Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement, TonyRobbins shares the keys to getting whatever you want, by asking moreeffectively. According to Tony Robbins here are the steps get whatever youwant: Ask specifically Ask someone who can help you Create value for the person you’re asking Ask with focused, congruent belief Ask until you get what you want
My life in the United States 2/14/2014 Friday 11:55:21 PM New Year, new atmosphere, new goals! Come on man! “So then if anyone is in Christ, he is anew creation. The old things have passed away; behold, they have become new.” (Corinthians5:17) Here we are at the beginning of a new year.Another opportunity to look backwards and learn, another chance to look forward and stretch. “I do not account of myself to have laidhold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretchingforward to the things which are before” (Philippians 3:13) Time was cracking on, seven months had gone, since I first arrived in the United States on August, 20th ,2013. One of the most important things I learned is that if you want to survivehere, language is the first obstacle you have to overcome. The truth is my English hasn’t been greatly improved in the last months. Pretty rubbish at the beginning, somewhat frustrating… “And looking upon them, Jesus said to them,With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew19:26) So, it is never too late to clear up thepast and begin resolution! Good language environment, learning methodand enough time absolutely count, but, my experience tells, practice, eventually,makes perfect. My challenge in this following days is—youguessed it—to be fluent in English. Start from now, practice in trifles and details,read extensively, speak and read more and grasp language rules of English proficiently and even blog in English, and that’s my first English blog! For the world, I am determined to complete the thing. You’ll hear more about it as I see the end in sight. Good nigth, tomorrow is another day ! I'm looking forward to it !
美国 10 年一次的人口普查最近的一次是在 2010 年，根据这次普查结果，美国最富的地方是位于佛罗里达州著名海滨城市迈阿密附近一个的名叫 Fisher Island 的小地方，人均年收入（ per capita income ）高达 236,238 美元 , 而美国 2011 年人均年收入中值只有不到 2 万 7 千美元，而美国家庭年收入中值（ median household income ）也 仅仅刚过 5 万美元。顺便说一下，衡量收入水平有多种指标，除了上述两种外，还有常见的一种就是 median family income, 我个人觉得将 median family income 译为 家庭收入中值更合适，而 median household income 译为 住户收入中值也许更表达真正的意思，上述两种说法（ family and household ）主要是由于美国报税方式引起的差别，而我国的报税方式就注定不存在上述的问题。由于不住在一起的美国家庭成员也可以一起按照家庭报税，所以同期同一套统计数据， M edian family income 比 median household income 稍微要高一些。另外，作为科普，顺便说一下，中值是一个统计学上的名词，与平均值不同，比如上述的 美国 2011 年家庭年收入中值（ median household income ） 5 万美元，就表示美国有 50% 的家庭（更准确的说是每户）超过或者低于 5 万美元。 言归正传， Fisher Island （渔夫岛?)正如其名，如下图片所示，是一个风景优美的小岛，只有 218 户，人口不到 500 人，若论人口，比我国的一个村或者一次街道办事处都要小，仅仅相当于一个社区。但是按照行政区划上，该地不属于任何城市，直属 M iami-Dade County, Fisher Island 的居民几年前想升格为城市，但是一直未遂。另外美国 County ，许多中文媒体上翻译为“县”，个人觉得不妥， County 更像我们以前的地区（相当于现在的地级市），因为，美国的 County 都下辖数量不等的城市，比我国的县显然有更高的行政级别。 （ Fisher Island，Miami, FL) Fisher Island 这样的社区，仅仅看上面照片也可以推测出，这是一个高端社区，事实上，如果仅仅按照收入来衡量，这是一个美国最为富有的地方。在美国收入最高的 100 个地方排行榜上，上榜地方最多的前三个州分别是： 纽约州（ 16 个） , 佛罗里达州（ 15 个）和 加州（ 14 个） , 遥遥领先于其他州，仅仅这三个州，就占了总数的 45% 。这大概有两个原因： 1 ）上述三个州，都位于东西两海岸，阳光、沙滩自然是富人们喜欢的； 2 ）三个州都人口众多，纽约州、佛罗里达州和 加州的人口分别为： 1 9.5, 19.0, 37.7 百万 ，在美国 50 州分列第三、四、一名（第二名为德州，该州也是美国本土面积最大的州），这三个州的总人口占美国总人口的比例超过四分之一。顺便提一下，美国人口最少的州，怀俄明州人口不足 60 万，而其面积相当于东部 5 个小州的总面积。作为对比，我国人口最少的西藏也有 260 万人。 上面提到的 渔夫岛显然不是一般的渔夫所能住得起的，在该岛的居民中，超过 92% 是白人，黑人只占 3% ，而全美黑人的比例为 13% 。 渔夫岛上的居民不少是亿万富翁，当然有些只是把这儿当作是季节性的休假圣地。这些阔人中包括娱乐界和体育界的一些明星人物，如 好莱坞知名喜剧演员金·凯瑞 ( 其中文简历可 参见百度百科 ）和 网球明星鲍里斯·贝克尔（其中文简历可 参见百度百科 ） 。当然这个岛上的长期居民中，最著名的当属 朱莉亚·罗伯茨(Julia Roberts) ，这位大嘴影星演的电影(代表作：风月俏佳人)估计科学网大多数博主都至少看过一部。 一般而言，在美国公认的富人区，白人占绝大多数，而所谓的穷人区则是黑人的天下，经过几年的经济危机，黑人和白人收入水平原本就挺大的差距进一步拉大。比如和渔夫岛同处一个州的 佛罗里达州，最穷的地方是： Belle Glade Camp ，这个只有一千多人的小地方的人均年收入只有不到 5 千美元，和 渔夫岛的居民收入相差几乎是 50 倍，这个地方的黑人比例为 70 ％，白人只占 13 ％。然而上述的“一般而言”自然也有例外，比如纽约州一个收入最低的名叫 Kiryas Joel 的小城镇（人口超过 1 万 3 千），人均年收入只有 ４千多美元， 99% 的居民是白人。这个地方虽然还算不上美国最穷的地方（最穷的是南达卡他州的名为 Allen 的小村庄，人均年收入仅为 1500 美元）。然而， Kiryas Joel 是美国最穷的地方中论大小是最像样的（指大小，“ t he most sizable town” ） , 值得一提的是，在人口过万的地方中， Kiryas Joel 这个小城镇不但是纽约州也是整个美国收入最低的地方，然而这个美国最穷的地方似乎并没有我们想象的那么穷，至少从下面的照片来看，看起来该城镇大部分居民还是车房具备的，这大概还是得益于美国较高的社会福利制度。穷人也有车与房，估计令许多奋斗在我国帝都、魔都的屌丝们满是羡慕、嫉妒、恨。 ( Kiryas Joel, NY) 另外，这场目前看来还在继续的经济危机，对美国普通居民收入的影响是明显的、也是长期的，从下表也可以看出，美国住户收入中值（一般媒体译为家庭收入中值，指年收入，而非我国一般默认的月收入）从经济危机前的峰值， 2007 年的 $55,039 持续下降到 2011 的 $50,502 ，按照这样的趋势，今年（ 2012 ）的数字很可能跌破５万美元大关。 Historical Real Median Household Income for the United States year US $ 2011 $50,502 2010 $51,625 2009 $52,660 2008 $54,349 2007 $55,039 参考文献 : List of highest-income places in the United States ， http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richest_places_in_the_United_States#100_highest-income_places_in_the_United_States , retrieved on November 10, 2012. List of the poorest places in the United States ， http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_poorest_places_in_the_United_States ， retrieved on November 10, 2012. US Per Capita Income ， http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/us/ ， retrieved on November 10, 2012. （王守业写于２０１２年１１月１０日，图片均来自网络，感谢作者，本文引用地址： http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-563591-631286.html ）
States of Mind ... Every individual has to consider his or her own criteria for selecting a list of the worst or best states to retire, he said. The best way to start your individual list of best or worst states is to rank, or at least think about, your most important criteria. In his study, Brady focused mostly on fiscal health, taxation and climate. But according to Brady, the full list of factors to consider when searching for a state in which to retire includes: taxes; climate and topography; crime; fiscal health of the state; recreation; transportation; health care; cost of living, including housing; education, including college; cultural resources; susceptibility to natural disasters; proximity to friends and family; and fitting in socially, politically and religiously. And of those, taxes might be the most important. Retirees are affected in different ways by taxes, he said. For instance, the taxation of pensions and Social Security might be better or worse in different states. Ditto, sales taxes. Property taxes can vary widely, as well. For instance, Brady said, property tax can be one of the biggest bills for retirees and it's a category of taxation that's not progressive. You might not have any income, but you will still get taxed on the full value of your house, he said. Of note, some states do have programs to help seniors control their property taxes. Inheritance and estate taxes are also to be considered, though he said such taxes might be viewed as the tax tail wagging the state-of-residence dog. Choosing the best state in which to retire depends on many individual factors, and in truth, said Brady, For any two people, the 10-worst-states-for-retirees list might be a good list for one person, but not for . You can read the whole article, The 10 Worst States for Retirees by Robert Powell, MarketWatch Sunday, December 19, 2010. Blogger: I hope some day people in China will also have the means to plan their retirement in order to enjoy their golden years.
This latest report, Global Research Report: United States , found that: In 1981, US scientists fielded nearly 40 percent of research papers in the most influential journals, by 2009, that figure was down to 29 percent. The US demonstrates heavy output in health and biomedical research, in line with the nations investment focus, with a significant skew away from previous focal strengths in physical sciences and engineering Though total volume output has not risen as quickly as Europe and Asia, average influence of research papers remains high at 40 percent above the world average The structure of the US research base may be a contributing factor to its current position. The 61 US members of the Association of American Universities (AAU), for example, now account for 56 percent of US output in the five-year period to 2009 Though the US is still a dominant force in the global scientific research landscape, this prominence is being significantly challenged by increased competition from Europe and Asia http://researchanalytics.thomsonreuters.com/grr/
标签: States
