A pano stitch portrait

Some random and recent pictures

Somewhere in Ongpin

Fort San Pedro, Cebu

Two girls in Cebu

Erika at home

Up in the clouds

When we got home last night, I noticed that Maita was super happy. This is so typical of her as she’s given to strong emotions. It is quite apparent when she’s happy or sad. And she was obviously up in the clouds yesterday evening.

I asked L why Maita is so high. L told me that she talked to Maita’s pottery teacher when she went to pick up Maita. Maita’s teacher had a lot of good things to say about Maita. She said that Maita is getting better with her artwork and that Maita often has her own ideas on what to do. Maita’s teacher also said that she liked to teach students who have their own ideas.

Incorrect English

There’s an interesting article in a recent issue of the Taipei Times.  It talks about how the internet is feeding incorrect usage of the English language.  The article can be found here.

See if you can correct the mistakes in the following phrases:

Straight-laced
Just desserts
Font of knowledge
Free reign
Slight of hand
Phased by
Butt naked
Vocal chords
Shoe-in

18 thousand kilometers later

Six months, 18 thousand kilometers later, I can say that the new Passat TDI is a great car. Among the things that I like about this car are the following:

• Trip computer – The computer tells you how much you've traveled, the remaining range on your tank of gas (total km), your mileage (liters/100km), average speed, time traveled, and the outside temperature.


• Climatronic temperature control – Driver and passenger side air temperature can be adjusted.


• Bluetooth handsfree system – Although this was not a factory original option, it works well (most of the time anyway) whenever I need to take or make a phone call.


• Sound system – The radio and CD player sound great and I like turning up the volume when I’m driving alone.


• Cruise control – This is the first time that I’ve owned a car with cruise control. It's quite nice to use on those long drives. I understand that there's a higher level cruise control (adaptive cruise control - ACC) available but it’s not offered in the Taiwan models. ACC will automatically adjust the speed depending on the car in front of you.


• Heated seats – This is really useful on those days when the temperature is in the single digits and you can’t wait for the heater to kick up.


• Fuel economy – The fuel economy is just great! I can get up to 17 kms./liter on the highway and average 14 kms./liter on combined city/highway driving.


• Electronic parking brake – To engage the brakes all you do is press a button! To disengage, just put the car in drive and the parking brake disengages automatically.

Despite being an automatic with a manual option, I've really enjoyed driving this car. I always thought that manuals were more fun to drive. But this car shifts very well and is very responsive and quick. It has what they call DSG technology. DSG is essentially two clutches that make the automatic shifting real smooth.

There are, however, some things that I don't like so much:

• Rain sensing wipers – This is what the car has for intermittent wiping of the windshield. It relies on optical sensors on the windshield that detect the amount and frequency of rain falling. These sensors regulate the interval between wipes. Although the sensitivity of the sensor can be adjusted on the control, I find that it’s too sensitive for my tastes. The intervals between wipes is still too short for me and I often just turn off the wiper and wipe manually or just go to the low setting.


• Ashtray and lighter doors in back seat – These are not childproof enough! My two girls with their curious little hands have managed to take these covers off very often.


• Service button – There is a service button which tells me when the car needs to go for service. At the moment it is practically useless as the information is not correct. The VW dealer probably still doesn't know how to program this.


• Auto hold button – This button is for automatically keeping the car stationary when you come to a full stop. It’s supposed to be useful in stop and go traffic. I’ve tried using it but now keep it off most of the time and just use the parking brake instead.


• Bucket seats – I'm no fan of bucket seats. They may feel good at first but your back will hurt if you go for long drives. I had to add an extra pillow to give me some lower back support.

Today is a holiday

We have a holiday today and we took the girls to 18 peak mountain before going to our favorite noodle shop for lunch.  After lunch, we took the girls home for a nap and L and I went to the office to catch up on some work.

On the way to the office, I mentioned an observation on Maita.  It seems that she will frequently choose to stay at home instead of going to school whenever she is given a choice.  Today was a holiday for most companies in Taiwan but Maita’s school is open and could take the kids and have classes if the parents had to work.  Some parents did not have to go to work but still took the kids to school.  We know of one set of parents who sent their two kids to school so that they could enjoy the holiday as a couple without the kids.

On the question of Maita choosing to stay at home, we think this is because she knows that we have to plan some sort of activity whenever we are home with both sisters.  Today, the activity was a hike up 18 peak mountain.  As it was a warm day, there was also the ice cream treat that they expect every time we go up this hill.