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博客更名事宜 2009年02月02日
本人的英文博客已更名为Hanrizon，新地址为http://hanrizon.blogspot.com，订阅地址为http://feeds2.feedburner.com/hanrizon。谢谢支持！
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Calling for name suggestions for my blog 2009年01月29日
I have decided to resume using my Blogspot blog. However, since I want to change it to a place primarily for academic and socio-analytical writing, a new title is needed for it. It may be related to my name (Han), my field of study (economics), my place of residence (Beijing and Hong Kong), or a combination of a few and other things related. Do you have any suggestions? Please be as imaginative as you want!
You can view the blog currently at f-jing.blogspot.com. However the style of it will probably be changed as well as its content after this renovation process. I will post my new blog address here afterward. Thank you very much.
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2009年1月5日 北京鼎钧大厦考场GRE AWA 2009年01月05日
之前去探过路，但由于家远，还是天没亮就来了。八点半考试，我七点多点就到了，应该是第一个。考试的房间是五楼最西头门里，探路时因为看不到里面，以为只是一间机房而已，今天进去发现别有洞天。今天除了来考GRE的还有考别的的，每种考试在不同的机房进行。进了那扇门，先是一个休息室，一排排的座位。我是快八点才进去的，有工作人员发填写试验的纸，简单看了一下内容和条款，把誓言抄了一遍，签了字。之后工作人员给介绍了注意事项，听完后可以再上一趟卫生间，回来就可以检查证件进场了。进入后先不去机房，在类似“楼道”的地方确认个人信息（包括地址），并拍照。之后在进场时间旁边签字就可以入场了。确确实实是只可以带入证件和工作人员分配的储物柜的钥匙，像白水、铅笔什么的都不允许带入。先前听有些人说考场不允许脱衣服，没有这回事儿。只要你不影响别人，为了调节温度脱件外套是没有关系的。我事先仔细阅过GRE的官方Bulletin，也确实没有这项规定。另外进入机房后每个人的两支铅笔放在计算机主机的顶上，台面上有一个有四张纸的草稿簿。之后就是填写个人信息和一堆tutorial，我还是大略看了看的，但确实都没什么用。那个人信息是ETS的一项服务，就是说如果你填了，他们会把你的信息放在他们一个学生pool里面，如果有研究生院满足你的要求，你也合适他们，ETS就会联络你。这个服务好像不用注册GRE也可以参加，就在ETS的网站上，大家有兴趣可以试试，我没研究过。这些内容如果想跳过就跳过吧，但别忘了在选考场的地方要打住！是从一个下拉菜单选，所以不用记考场的什么信息。选完之后大概还有一两屏，就开始考试了。我是在把我选好的题目的提纲都列好后才确定选择这个题目的，这样以防到时候写不出来想换题换不了。两场考试间的tutorial不知道可以停多久，反正我差不多歇了一分钟就继续了。总体上两篇文章发挥都不错，起码时间利用的比较充分，到时的时候基本写完并查完一遍。Issue写了七段话，估计六百多字；Argument五段，可能四百多字吧。我没有太多模考经历，所以每篇作文都要有构思时间，所以可能写的不是很汪洋恣肆、一泻千里，但毕竟GRE也不是比谁最高产。另外就是平时写没有感觉，因为心理上有点应付，而到考试时就很有感觉了，写的内容很着调。之后就填送分学校。考试前一定查好并记住送分学校的名字和所在州（或国家），不过工作人员说如果不知道也可以到休息室来查自己要选的学校的信息，如果根本就没有准备也可以在机考后多少天内发邮件联系ETS选择免费送分学校。最后电脑会显示你已经完成了这个考试，可以拿好东西拍屁股走人了。这时候要把草稿纸和自己的证件带好，在机房门口做登记，把自己的个人物品拿好还回钥匙就可以走了。祝考试顺利！ -
“左”与“右” 2008年12月27日
读《庄子》的时候，看到注释中对“左”和“右”这两个字的解释。清代诗人屈复：“相背曰左，相助曰右”。唐朝经学家孔颖达又在《左传•襄公十年》疏中说：“人有左右，右便而左不便。故以所助者为右，不助者为左”。可见“左”之相违义以及“右”之相助义（衍字如佑、祐）皆出于人之左右手。想起英文中表示左右的“left”和“right”，恐怕也有这样一层意思。Right除了有“右”这个意思外还有“正确”义，想应为使用右手为正确、得当的行为，故以右为right。查《在线辞源词典（Online Etymology Dictionary）》证：right来自古英语的riht，本义为“好、得当、适合、直接”，也就是right的另一层意思。而在古英语里表示“右”的词是swipra，本义“强壮”，亦相似。而古印欧语里“右”的词根是*deks(i)-，由它引出的英语词汇有dexterous（灵巧）等。而“left”亦源自古英语里的lyft-，意为“弱、愚”。可见中、英语中的“左”、“右”的意思都是和左右手的属性相联系了的，且这是一个由人体创造词汇的范例。 -
Why oil prices rose and then fell? 2008年10月31日
We have witnessed huge fluctuations in oil prices in recent months. Price has plunged more than half since its peak in July. Yes, OPEC can still cut their production, but what would consumers respond?
Generally petroleum is a kind of necessity nowadays. People cannot live without transportation, and there’s no close substitute for transportation by cars, thus a fairly inelastic demand for gasoline, in the short run. However, inelastic demands may change to be elastic in the long run. When people are used to take public transportations and local facilities, the demand for oil will fall.
Besides, prices are no definite indicator to revenues of petroleum exporting countries. Revenue is price times quantity. After you force the market into a zone of elastic demand, cutting production will not increase your revenue but diminish it further – even if the prices turned to rising! So, misters, be careful with what you are going to do.Han
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在线免费中英文辞书推荐 2008年10月01日
这个时代，网络在我们生活、工作、学习中所作用越来越多。辞典，作为一个受过良好教育的人生活的必备，也渐渐从厚重的大部头书籍搬到了网上。而网上辞典由于不受体积的限制，其所涵盖的知识又是传统辞典所难及。作为一个奔走于异地的学子，随时携带辞书乃力所不及。然幸生于当代，有了方便快捷的网络，传统字典的烦琐便可抛诸云端了。在我一年的对网上辞书的探索后，筛选出了以下几部常用的，希望能给有需要的朋友一点帮助。另外由于网上资源的多变性，这些信息恐怕只适用与当代当时，和不远的将来。但希望这些优秀辞书网站能再接再厉，给社会创造更多便利。
汉典
http://www.zdic.net/
一部广博而细致的中文辞典。作者旨在弘扬中华文化。分为字典、词典和成语典。收字很全，多过新华字典、现代汉语词典等常用辞书。释义古今皆收，包括说文解字、康熙字典等，并附字源。另有英文释义。
Dictionary.com
www.dictionary.com
收有Random House Unabridged Dictionary，The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language，Online Etymology Dictionary，WordNet®，The American Heritage® Science Dictionary，The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary，Investopedia，Wall Street Words，Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary，Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary，The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary等。界面也比较整齐清新，是比较推荐的一个网站。
Answers.com
www.answers.com
集结了大量辞书的一个网站，不仅包括词典，还有很多专业性极强的辞书，适合做专业研究的时候查询。由于涵盖面极广，可以做到一步到位。Answers.com将辞书分成多个领域的categories，方便使用者查找自己需要的一个领域的辞书。录有McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms，The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language，McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction，A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology，The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia，The Austin Symphony，Wikipedia，The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary，Translations by WizCom Technologies Ltd等等（很难举穷）。
Online Etymology Dictionary
www.etymonline.com
词源网站。作者是一位作家及编辑，他在参考了多部相关著作后修改及总结得到了这部词典——网上第一部英语词源词典。Jorge Luis Borges说词根是种神奇的东西，当你习惯用这部词典来深究词汇的深层含义的时候，你也一定能有如斯体会。此资源在Dictionary.com中也全部收录。
Wikipedia
www.wikipedia.org
这个我就不用多说了，每天有成几十万人使用的人人都可以编辑的巨大百科辞洋。虽然其内容是变化的，但由于出现纰漏后迅速会得到其他浏览者的更改，况且它永远不删除过往的版本记录，故已经成为一部非常具有权威、表现了各种人们不同观点的名副其实的百科全书。词资源在answers.com中全部收录（但更新并不很及时）。
Inogolo
www.inogolo.com
英语发音字典。载有常见和不常见的人名、地名及其他的发音。
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Your favorite MSN username 2008年09月30日
Months ago when the Windows Live domain live.cn was introduced to China in addition to hotmail.com, people rushed to register accounts that suits their most desired usernames (their names, where they live, etc.). In days many accounts bearing popular Chinese names had been taken and those who fail to get their first choice had to redesign their user-defines.
But did they need to? Days ago I just registered my new Windows Live account bearing my exact full name, which is quite a popular spelling in China. But how? Obviously it had already been taken under either hotmail.com or live.cn or even live.com, which is a United States domain, however, scores of Windows Live domains lies out there!
On this webpage http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/11/14/register-windows-live-id-with-hotmail-livecom-or-windowslivecom-or-local-domains/, you can find a list of localized Windows Live domains. Someone may exclaim, “The interface’s in Japanese! How can I use it?” No worries. The Windows Live services supports all its 35 languages whatever your domain is! That means even if you registered a Hotmail address ended with live.co.kr, which is localized for Korea, you can still change the interface to Simplified Chinese and use it completely no differently from an account registered under live.cn, except that you have your favorite and easiest-to-remember username now! Of course, the registration page and default user interface have to be shown in the local language, but such interfaces are identical among different languages, thus you may well refer to the same page in your own language in another tab to finish the registration and initial language setting.
Other than looking for the localized registration pages from the webpage mentioned above, you can also find it on your own by changing the webpage language preference in your browser. This does not change your browser’s interface, so you do not need to worry about failing to use the browser correctly after the change. As in Firefox, click through Tools>Options>Content>Languages>Choose, and select any a language that Windows Live offers to add to the languages of preference. Move the newly added language to the top of the list then click OK. Go to register for Windows Live at www.hotmail.com and choose the localized domain.
Besides these localized domains, Windows Live also has other customized domains. Following is a service offered for India (but non-exclusive!) by Windows Live to register Windows Live accounts under quite a long list of domains: http://www.coolhotmail.com/whoi_am.asp. They work the same as any other Windows Live domain.
My new Windows Live account was registered under live.hk, and I already have my full name perfectly as the username for Windows Live. Why don’t you get yours now?
Fun Fact: Hotmail, the essence of Windows Live services, wasn’t initiated by Microsoft! See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotmail#.
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Freedom of speech has always been a worldwide political issue. It is not always guaranteed for all. Internet access censorship is one major obstacle for those seeking freedom in this Information Age, and I believe there are quite a handful of ways to deal with such barriers, and setting up Tor connection is one.
One or two years ago, during the period when Wikipedia was blocked in China, I learned this trick from my friend Nelson to access encyclopedia articles. Over the year(s), there are often friends requiring me about this method, which made me think that I should record it down thus everyone can enjoy this little liberty. And here it is:
1. If Firefox is still not on your computer, download one from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ and install it onto your computer. As Firefox supports a wide variety of add-ons, Tor accessing is easier with it.
2. Using Firefox to access https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2275 and thus install the add-on ‘Torbutton’ to your Firefox.
3. From your Firefox menu, find Tools>Add-ons>Extensions, then ‘Torbutton’ and make sure it’s enabled.
4. Download the applicable version of Tor Bundle from http://www.torproject.org/download.html.en and install it.
5. From your start menu, run Vidalia and Privoxy from folder ‘Vidalia Bundle’.
6. Find the ‘Torbutton’ (showing either Tor Disabled or Tor Enabled) at the lower right corner of your Firefox browser, and if Tor is not yet enabled, click it.
7. Now browse any website as you like!
Note that due to the functionality of Tor, accessing is mostly slower than usual browsing. Should you have any problems, please leave your message and contact.
