Dried persimmon are a delightfully sweet staple for Chinese New Year in Northern China
Persimmons are a staple Chinese New Year item in Northern China. Persimmons look similar to a tomato but taste sweet. Chinese villages grow them and dry them for some much needed fruit during the winter. Persimmons evoke a feeling of happiness that is difficult to describe, and can be called a comfort food. Grown and dried outside, in the presence of heavy smog, any fruit or vegetable will look bad, and persimmon is no different. Persimmon grown in heavy smog is not fit to consume.
Bicycle path over highway overpass, Xiamen, Fujian province, Feb 9, 2017. The overpass looks long, but the length allows a gradual ascent and decent for cyclists, improving safety
Back in the late 1980s there were more bicycles than cars in Beijing. I thought it was heavenly. People were healthy, Bikes were like a swarm of insects, clustering together, and riding was safe for everyone. While the air during spring had sand swept down from the Gobi desert (风沙), the air was relatively clean most of the year. Fast forward to a 2008 trip where Beijing’s air pollution was terrible and cars choked the city. There was a yellowish haze present in the air even when looking at the building across the street. Terrible air, terrible for your health, and preventable. Xiamen has built a bicycle path that looks very enlghtened. At 7.5km long it includes a highway overpass. If you could use it I think your life would be much better.
Freezing rain in Toronto, Canada, 2017 Feb 07, 13:02. Photo by Don Tai
We are getting a good bout of freezing rain, as two storm fronts merge over the Greater Toronto Area. The first is warm and moist, from the Gulf of Mexico. The second is cold from the north-west. As they merge the warm one rises, dropping its rain. The rain goes through the cold front, which is lower than the warm front, chilling the rain. As it is below zero C the rain hits the ground and freezes. Freezing rain is very hazardous to walking, riding bicycles and driving cars.
Beijing PM2.5 Air Pollution particles lodged in face mask material, under an electron microscope, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Liu Yong, photo2
Fool, it does not take, to believe that the terrible air pollution in Beijing and Northern China, is not fog, and is hazardous to your health. These images are taken with an electron microscope proves the point.
Liu Yong (刘勇), doctoral student from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology (北京化工大学) took these photos of face mask material after about 8 hours of use. The pollution particles lodged into the face mask material was analyzed for hazardous materials. Found were calcium carbonate (碳酸钙), iron oxide (氧化铁), sulfate (硫酸盐)。 The masks are MaiXingRen 霾星人 brand, though the article does not specifically state this.
Students forced to write exams on their school field in suburban Tangshan, Hebei province, when the government closed their school. Terrible.
I‘m not sure why the principal of this school would believe that it is Ok to force students to write their exams outside on their field, when the government closed their school. Some people don’t think. I would be livid if this happened to my kids.
Why would the principal of the school defy government orders for the school closure? He should be reprimanded for risking the health of the students.
Woe is Beijing, China’s air pollution reading. Here is the PM2.5 pollution levels between Toronto and Beijing this morning, ~9:00 EST. Beijing is truly shocking.
The PM 2.5 level of pollution measures air pollution particles that are 2.5 microns or less, or called fine particulate. This particle size will get inhaled and trapped in the lungs. In comparison a human hair is 100 microns in diameter.
Air quality PM2.5 pollution levels, Toronto vs Beijing, 2016 Dec 04, 09:00 EST. Toronto is less than 10% of Bejing’s PM2.5 level air pollution.
This cannot be good for anyone living in Beijing or North-East China.
Sears Kenmore Self-Standing 30″ gas stove model number 223 674 132 10 as well as 790-74132, gas burner, cap on, will not ignite and needs cleaning. Igniter is on the right, in white, with a center electrode. Toronto, Canada, Photo by Don Tai
It has been 2.5 years since we bought our Kenmore 30″ freestanding self-clean gas stove from Sears. The stove is item # is 223 674 132 10 as well as 790-74132. Recently the center burner of our 5 burners has become difficult to ignite. Here is how to clean it.
There is always the first snowfall that is somewhat startling. For us non-believers this is the irrefutable evidence that winter is on its way. Oh, no, as we lament the passing of summer and warmer temperatures. Today is -2C, 60-70kph winds. Cold.
First snowfall for winter 2016-2017, Toronto, Canada. Photo by Don Tai
First snowfall for winter 2016-2017, Toronto, Canada. Photo2 by Don Tai
Recycled soap looks like white chocolate with nougat. Yummy it is not. Clean, it is. Macro shot of a cake of soap. Photo by Don Tai
Looks are deceiving, here in Toronto, Canada. This is recycled soap that I partially melted in a double boiler, cooled, then let sit for a couple of months to get nice and dry. It does look like white milk chocolate with nougat bits, but one bite would tell you otherwise. Most of it is made from Ivory soap!
