21 September 2007

WTF God, really, WTF?

Yesterday at work the safe fell on me. This morning the microwave at work exploded and started billowing smoke clouds, and tonight my car alarm stopped accepting the signals from my 2 remotes, even when I put new batteries in them. WTF God, really, WTF?

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08 September 2007

I'm a Cool Light-Weight Nerd


NerdTests.com says I'm a Cool Light-Weight Nerd.  What are you?  Click here!


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My Bike Was Stolen! :-(

My Schwinn Corvette classic bicycle has been stolen from my covered deck/porch, so I ask for prayers for the thief who thought that he desperately needed it more than me. Thankfully, my daughter's bike, which was chained to it, was not stolen.

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01 September 2007

HOW-TO: Pinyin Pronunciation Guide

Key to Chinese Phonetic Alphabet
a as in fah
ai as in
aisle
an as in
land
ang a as in
fah and ng as in sing
ao like the
au's in sauerkraut
b- like the
p in spay, or akin to b in bay
c- like
t's-h in it's hell, but with more breath
ch- like the
ch-h in teach him, but with the tongue tip curled far back and with more breath
d- like the
t in stay, or akin to d in day
e like the British
err, but spoken with tenser muscle
ei as in
eight
en and in
end, sometimes like the un in unfit
eng as in
length, sometimes like ung in lunger like the American err, but spoken with tenser muscle
f- as in
foolg- like the k in skate, or akin to g in gateh- as in hayi as in machine-i (after z-, c-, s-, zh, ch-, sh-, r-) a vowel produced by keeping the manner for the preceding consonant
ia = i + a (like
Yah in Yahweh)ian = i + en (like yen)iang = i + ang
iao = i + ao (like
yow in yowl)ie = i + e (like yeh)in like ining as in singiong = i + ong
iu = i + (o)u (like
you or yoo in yoo-hoo)
j- like
tch in itching, or akin to j in jeepk- as in kerb, but with a stronger aspiration
l- as in
letm- as in may
n as in
net or in pin-ng as in sing (also forming a few independent exclamations)
ong like
oo in hood and ng in singou as in soulp- as in put, but with a stronger aspiration
q- like
ch in cheap, but with more breath
r- like the r in
crew, but with the tongue tip curled far back
-r a weak form of
er (many Southerners speak Chinese without this suffix)
s- as in
seesh- like the sh in shoe, but with the tongue tip curled far back
t- as in
turn, but with stronger aspiration
u as in
rule, but with more lip-rounding
� (=yu): made by producing the
i of machine with the lips rounded as for the oo of ooze (written as u after j, q, x, y)
ua = u + a (like
wa in wahoo)uai = u + ai (like Wye)uan = u + an (or � + an after j, q, x, y)
uang + u + ang
ue = � + e
ui = u + ei (like
weigh)un = u + n
uo = u + o (like
w-awe)w- as in woolx- like sh in shey- as in yearnz- like t's in it's ours, or akin to ds in bedszh- like j in just, but with the tongue tip curled far back

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