Monday, February 02, 2009

Start your blogger, just in 10 minutes!!

Wanna share your life with friends and family? You don't have to wait them come to your house. Just post few words on your blog, they will know you are doing well. Or put your picnic photo on it, then everyone can see the group pictures!

To establish your own blog, you need 10 minutes only. If you don't have 10 minutes, probably you will come back late. I highly recommand the google blog "Blogger". It's easy to use and free. Google is a big company and they have the best computer science people in the world. If there's a problem, they will find the answer before you find the problem. The following steps will guide you to your first blog.

Step 1. Do you have a email?

If you have a email, use your email. Jump to Step 3.
If you don't, try the gmail form google. If you have a email, but you don't use it or you can remember, then apply a new gmail. Gamil is free and relible. Trust me!

Step 2. Apply a Gamil.

Open your inter explorer (or Firefox), then type www.google.com on it. Then you'll see this.



then click the "Sign up for Gmail" on the right side.



then you'll see this. Fill out the name, choose a name for your gmail, passwords.



Then Click "I accept. Creat my account". Finish! Now you are in the google family.



After this, Go back to google. (Type www.google.com on your browser)



Step 3. Creat you blog in Blogger.

Type blogger in google. You will see "Blogger", then click it.



Step 4. Fill out your information.

You can use the same password for gmail, then you don't have to remember so many passwords. Click the box "Acceptence of Terms" and click Continue.



Stpe 5. Name your blog.

Name your blog title and blog address. Use a name that everyone can remember like "My Loco Family" or " Loco Blood". You can write down your blog address in case you forget it. Then click Continue.



Step 6. Choose a template.

You don't have to be an artist. Google has done that for you. You'll find more if you scroll down. Choose the one you want. Don't spend too much time on it. You can always change it to other template afterward. Click Continue if you decided.



Step 7. You are done. Start your first blog now.

Now you can start your first blog. Click "New Post" to write the blot. You may edit your profile later.



Step 8. Blog yourself

Think of a tltle like "My first blog start in 2009". Then write whatever you want on the space blow. When you decided, click "Publish Post" then the world know your blog.
That's it. Just that easy.



Stpe 9. Add pictures on it.

If you want to add pirctures, click the small blue button, and up load your pictures before you click "Publish Post" on Step 8.


After upload your pics, you my see a lot of strange number/word on the space you are typing. Don't worried or delete it, that's the code for the pictures.

That's it. You are all set. Next time you want to add a new blog, just go Google → Sigh in→ My accound (on the up-right of your screen)→ Blogger

What are waiting, tell your friends the blog address and start your blog today!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

RoadTrip D10 French Quarter, New Orleans 紐澳良

Day 10, 12/31 New Year's Eve in French Quarter

After brunch, we drove to French Quarter and parked neat the ferry. The steamboat on the Mississippi river shows the perfect image of south and reminds me the Cartoon "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"

We don't have time for the steamboat, though it's a good idea to experience the south. I find the best way to feel it, is to look at it sailing on the river slowly with the steam.



Next stop is the Jackson square and French Quarter. The whole area was French before. The streets, houses, church, and smell are different. The street is narrow, old with a strong cigar smell. The cigar stones are around the corner, and it seems you can smoke and drink anywhere in the street. Horse-draw carriages go thorough the streets touring the its long history to the visitors. Two-floor old house decorated as European style are coffee shops or paint galleries.



Before it gets dark, we found people throw down the beads form the second floor. I know this! I've heard about Mardi Gras tradition "boobs for beads" for a long time. Although it's way to early for this, people still do this for fun.

The beads on Kathleen is from the children upstairs. It seems her dress today is not attractive enough.



NO ONE WANT TO EXCHANGE FOR KATHLEEN'S BOOBS!!! ha, it's ok. I don't see anyone showing either.

When the night came. We walk on the Bourbon street, the most famous and notorious one. More than 30 crazy bars and pubs making a lot of noise. Strip bar.. is too much for me. Half drunk people holding a "hurricane" on their hands sang and shouted on the street. Couple


Strip show girl came out for the throng.

When we walk around, I found a humor T-shirt says "Watch pickpocket and loose women". Funny!

Suddenly!! I saw it!! Really!!

A women's showing her @@ to exchange the beads. oh, no.... Ma'am, you're way too old for this...


[there is no boobs on this photo]

Before the midnight, we walked down the riverside and joined a small music concert. Alex and Kathleen do some dance there, and we had a good time for the last minutes in 2008. Happy New Year!

*

Monday, January 26, 2009

RoadTrip D10 New Orleans

Day 10, 12/31 Fisherman's Cove! Best Oysters!

[大推] 紐澳良便宜的oyster bar!! 只有當地人才會去的店 Fisherman's Cove
一打開好的生蠔才六塊! 比French Quarter那些觀光客去的店便宜一半(約12塊)。

Sleeping in the best hotel we have in this trip, we waked up late this morning. In order to keep our budget, we usually choose the cheap motel like Super 8. The quality of these inexpensive one is variable, but most of them are old building and furniture, sometimes with bad smell. I bade a 3 start hotel at Priceline.com and it's almost the same price as those cheap hotels. What a excellent deal!



We went to a local oyster bar "Fisherman's Cove", a restaurant that only local people visit, for our brunch.

The outside of Fisherman's cove. It's a basically a fish market with a oyster bar on the side. Surprisingly, it was full of people at 11:45 on a Wednesday morning. We wait for a while, but it's worthy. Because their oysters are so good, very fresh and inexpensive, only $6 a dozen. (The price of the oyster bar at French Quarter is around $12) We also try the famous crayfish and darken fish. The darken fish is so so. But the oysters are really yummy, almost bring me to the heaven.







They have website here: Fisherman's Cove Seafood and they ship to your door.

RoadTrip D8-9 Galveston and NASA 休士頓太空中心

Day 8-9, 12/29-30 Galveston and NASA



We drove all the way south to Galveston to see the Golf of Mexico. Alex, Kathleen's cousin came with us. He went to the university in Dallas and now in vacation.



I remember when I first met my Loco family, they ask me have you seen the ocean. That was a very interesting question cause I'm from a island. With in one or two hours, you can reach the sea shore and put your feet into the sea water. After staying in US in 2006, I finally realized that if you live in a inland city, you may not see easy to see the ocean.

The birds like Cheetos very much.




I don't remember the last time I go to the beach, it must be more than 6 month. Today, I touch the water of Gulf of Mexico. Maybe next time, I will go to the other side to visit Mexico.



After feeding the sea birds, we went to the NASA Johnson Space Center in south Houston. NASA is dream of every kids. I think many people want to become an astronaut when they are little. That's true! I feel the same way. But when I grow up, the dream seemed away from me for a long time. This time, I really pay attention to all the exhibition in NASA. Read the mission history of every space shuttle and I even tough the rock from the moon! I'm really really excited about this moment. Feel like the dream come true.



Rock from the moon


Titan V Rocket, VERY BIG!!!


NASA總共有六艘太空船,分別是 原型機、挑戰者號 Challenger、發現號 Discovery、亞特蘭提斯號 Atlantis、奮進號 Endeavours、哥倫比亞號 Columbia六艘。除了原型機沒有上過太空以外,其他都有去過。挑戰者號(1986)跟哥倫比亞號(2003)各在一次任務中爆炸。



Now I know NASA has space missions every month and there is a international space station fly around the earth 16 times a day. The scientists doing research up there was also amazing to me.

They are going to launch three space shuttles on February and May from Florida. Maybe we will have a chance to see that.

Astronaut's food. We bought a ice cream flavor. It taste very special, creamy like the ice cream, but in room temperature.

RoadTrip D3-7 Time in Dallas 達拉斯夢

Day 3-6, 12/25-28 Pleno

Kathleen's uncle, Michael, live in Dallas. He is a guy really know how to enjoy the life. He has three labrotors and walk them every morning in a park near by. Kathleen and I go with him once. The fresh air in the morning is really good. But the big dogs are really powerful and hard to control.










Check out the pictures below. My goodness, all these stuff are only in my dream.

Big house with swim pool.


Canon 5D camera


A Hummer H2!!!


A Harley Davidson!!!



Incredible..... I want stay here....

RoadTrip D2 William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, AR 克林頓總統圖書館

Day 2, 12/24 Memphis, TN to Dallas, TX

On our way to Dallas, we took the way in Arkansas, a state full of natural sources and park. We don't have time for the wild life this time. So I decided to stop by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock to gain some knowledge of history.



Bill Clinton is the 42th president of US from 1993-2001. My only memory about him is his sexual scandal. 也就是傳聞中克林頓"速懶趴"的事件。People here seems concentrate more on what he has done to the country and he & his wife are still pretty active in the politics. If this happened in the conservative Taiwan, he may gone forever.

The library is basically his memorial hall and museum introducing the world history of the 90'. Ticket is 7 dollars, not much, but why a library need ticket? The three-floor building lie on the riverside with beautiful scenery. You can see his Lincoln limousine on the first floor. On the second, was demonstrated the affairs happened in 93-01 and a room decorated exactly the same to his office.







The third floor keeps many of his collection gave by other country of people. I saw the calligraphy from Kim Dae Jung, president of Korea, and bicycle from Lance Armstrong, the greatest road racing cyclist ever. Besides, a room decorated as the white house office was there. But I still can stop thinking Miss Monica Lewinsky..









Thursday, January 22, 2009

RoadTrip D1 Night at Beale Street, 夜遊藍調之城 比爾街

People like the blues must know BB King, the King of Blues. He is an American blues guitarist and writer, the greatest blues music performer ever. In 50', BB King become one of the most important names in R&B music.

Before the Club surfing, we stop by the Peabody Hotel for the famous duck show. Peabody located downtown Memphis is a old and classic hotel famous for it's ducks swimming in the fountain of the lobby. The ducks live in the 9th floor and come down to work in the fountain from 9 to 5. At the end of the day, the Duck Master (or duck manager?) with red suit will make them walk of the carpet and go back to their home up stair. That's the tradition of Peabody, but I only think of my favorite 薑母鴨 (a duck dish in Taiwan, sorry).

The Duck Master is introducing their history


Duck's coming


Run! Run!


The night belong to explorers. On Beale street area, more than 30 music clubs contain different music style: Blues, R&B, Elvis?, POP, country, Hard rock cafe and something I don't know. We picked the BB King Club, the most famous traditional blues club, for tonight. They said it is not really safe in this street because it's crazy at night. We saw a lot of police car around the area. But the alleys and the place we parked is really really scary. Although we are from A town, the black capital, still feel not comfortable with the strangers.

Beale Street at night


BB King's Club



The owner of BB King's Club is BB King, as a matter of course. Entrance ticket is 5 dollars and you can buy the drinks at the bar. Tonight is the night before Christmas Eve. Not really crowded on Beale Street. We took two beer and sat at sat corner. There's a dance floor in front of the stage. Many people shake their butts with the music. The band and the singer are excellent and the high light tonight is a black man with bright-red suit and bow tie dance with her wife to celebrate their anniversary. How romantic!