Beijing's spring is not for everyone. I was here last spring, but I didn't last very long. I am here again, and wonder how many days I can stay this time...
Sitting in front of my laptop, suddenly I heard raindrops. It's so refreshing. If I am not mistaken, Guangzhou could use some rain. I don't mind if it rains the whole morning, but I hope it will stop after lunch (because I don't like to get soaked as I did one summer morning 2-3 years ago, when I had to give my lectures barefoot).
Ms. Ref. No.: GLOPLACHA-D-11-00263R1 Title: Interannual and spatial impacts of phenological transitions, growing season length, and spring and autumn temperatures on carbon sequestration: a North America flux data synthesis Global and Planetary Change Dear Dr. Chaoyang Wu, I am pleased to confirm that your paper "Interannual and spatial impacts of phenological transitions, growing season length, and spring and autumn temperatures on carbon sequestration: a North America flux data synthesis" has been accepted for publication in Global and Planetary Change. Thank you for submitting your work to this journal. With kind regards, Kendal McGuffie Editor Global and Planetary Change
When I go out each time, my tears start to run down after a short while, and my nose and my face itch. So, I decide to stay indoor as much as I can manage. However, the room temperature gets warm sometimes. The central a/c is not working yet, so I get natural air whenever I turn the "a/c" on. I sneeze every time after the "a/c" is on for a while, and my eyes itch. I wish I could make a count of the dist or pollen in my room. I bet it's linearly correlated with the length of the "a/c" being turned on...
I hope that's all I have, though I am not around hay and probably have no fever. I decided to air my rooms yesterday, and spent quite sometime outdoors. While walking on Tsinghua's campus, my nose got very itching. I think I'd better stay indoor today...
Having a visitor is necessary for some families, like mine. I don't invite people over, because I don't want to have to clean up the place for their visit. Yes, you guess it right. I like to use my limited space FULLY, leaving things around as long as I don't have to walk around or over them. As you can imagine, things then pile UP and UP. Thanks to UW's spring break, I will have to clean up my living room so that the table is ready for sit-down dinner, again...
There are seasons in Hawaii, but more in terms of rainfall than temperature. However, these days many trees are blossoming, as if spring just arrived in Hawaii... Who knows my name? Here is a close-up.
Finally, I sat down and opened the book, "Silent Spring." A book I heard about when I was a little girl, from my mother who was an environmental scientist by the government's order in the late 1950s. (I became a meteorologist in China, also not by my own choice.) Even for someone who has been involved in co-teaching "Global Environmental Change" since spring 2008, the book impressed me greatly. I love the author's ability to express herself, with such a force, and am taken by her knowledge and vision of the Earth as a living being. A friend was afraid that this book would be too depressing to read. Well, yes and no. Maybe I refuse to get depressed. While I am still only half way through the book, I THINK there is hope for the Earth. Why? This is because most people would agree with me that today's America is a beautiful country (when compared to many heavily polluted developing countries). If the America could recover from the chemical assault lasted from the 1950s through the early 1970s, we surely can expect similar recovery in other countries. So, do not give up, when you see polluted food, air, water, and land in your country. It will pass, IF people stand up and speak out... Link to 《寂静的春天》 http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=306792do=blogid=456147
Fornew readers and those who request to be “ 好友 good friends” please read my 公告 栏 first. It just occur to me that during the time I was at Harvard (from the spring of 1961 to my last paycheck in July of 2007), the university produced two world famous dropouts (i.e., they started at Harvard but did not finish their studies and graduate). These two persons, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, bear some strong resemblances: 1. They both became billionaires while still in their twenties and not married 2. They are both computer nerds 3. They were both disciplined by the University during their time in college for computer related “indiscretions” 4. They both made their money in information technology Gates needs no introduction. Zuckerberg probably is less well known since I understand his social network product the FACEBOOK is blocked in China. Here are some interesting news about him: a. He founded the company only in 2004 b. He refused an offer to buy his company for 1 billion dollars from Hewlett-Packard c. Microsoft just invested 250 million dollars for 1% ownership of his company d. He was TIME magazine man of the year for 2010 e. The un-authorized biographical movie “Social Network” was a 2010 hit f. He recently donated 100 million dollars to improve the public school system of the city of Newark NJ. g. He is one of signatories of the Giving Pledge philanthropy started by Buffet and Gates h. There are 500 million members of Facebook i. His live-in girl friend is a Chinese-American, Priscilla Chan, studying to be a medical doctor j. His company, Facebook, recently received 1.5 billion investment from Goldman-Sachs, the investment banking giant. If making money is your goal, then I wonder what lessons you can learn from them
It's 73F (23C) at 3:00 pm in my living room, the coldest temperature I have ever noticed since Christmas 2008 (unless the digital clock is sick). It's overcast, with low clouds, outside.
I know I should not complain no matter how cold or hot it gets in Hawaii. This morning, the temperature in my living room (on 12th floor) is 73F (about 23C), the coldest since I got this digital clock with temperature reading as a Christmas gift in 2008. Even if this is part of the global cooling, we should still be concerned about CO2 emission because of ocean acidification. ps. I didn't know Today is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. when I wrote my Blog. It is no guarantee of spring-like weather, but officially the season's start comes around at the same time each year nonetheless. Well, sort of... To read more, go to: Why spring starts today
标签: spring
