红酒·绿茶 / Red Wine & Green Tea / Vin Rouge et Thé Vert

This was the pop/jazz duet performing a catchy French song. Enjoy!

Ottawa-Gatineau Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . With such a beautiful view, I couldn't help making a panorama of Ottawa-Gatineau.

Julius Caesar and Alexander Severus Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Next day we went to Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts). It was a middle-sized art museum with some very nice collections. I liked the way they put Julius Caesar and Alexander Severus, two Roman emperors together. Jue from Shang Dynasty Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Their Chinese collection was small but quite good. Jue (爵) is an ancient wine vessel made of bronze. Unknown Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . This was a modern painting, of which I'm sorry to have forgotten the painter, full of eroticism and violence. Reminded me Edward Munch. Sisley Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . And last but certainly not least, fine collections of French Impressionists. Sir Winston Churchill Pub Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . After the visit to the museum, we had a sunny brunch in the Sir Winston Churchill Pub on rue Crescent . Mont

Ottawa is good; but Montréal is great. There are so many things I like about Montréal that I don't even know where to start. Métro Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . The first thing you'll notice when entering Montréal is that the ubiquitous bilingual public signs now begin with French, instead of English in Ottawa. The French language brings lots of good things usually associated with France, such as a great taste in art. Houses on rue Square Saint-Louis Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . After settling down in Auberge de Paris , a nice and clean hostel, we walked through the Square Saint-Louis to rue Prince-Arthur, where there were lots of posh restaurants. Without a good research about Montréal restaurants, we chose ours by guts: Caprice , a nice Mediterranean cuisine restaurant. Chapel of Sacred Heart Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . We started our visit with Basilique Notre-Dame (Notre-Dame Basilica), the largest church in Montréal with a

Ottawa Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Our next stops were the National Gallery of Canada and Canadian Museum of Civilization , which were both completely walkable from the Hill. We were happy to take advantage of the free admissions on Thursday afternoon. The "Spider" Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . The National Gallery was marked my its spider-like sculpture in front of the building so you would never miss it. There was a great collection of Canadian art in the Gallery but we weren't allowed to take pictures. Parliament Hill in Sunset Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . So I'll indulge my obsession of the Parliament Hill by showing more pictures of it. Parliament Hill and Me Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . And finally, me. We enjoyed the Cornerstone Bar & Grill near the Byward Market .

Parliament Hill Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Ironically, my trip to Canada was initiated by a business with United States Embassy, with which I had a pleasant encounter this time. Nine hours, 530 miles drive took us from Baltimore, which is close to Washington, DC, to Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. We stayed in a cozy hostel called Ottawa Backpackers Inn . Setting in a townhouse, it had a warm and homely atmosphere. East Block Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Having finished our business the next morning, we started our visit of Canada from the Parliament Hill . House of Commons Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Thanks to its low pollution, Canada was extremely photographic. I just couldn't stop taking pictures. We followed a guided tour in the Centre Block of the buildings, learned some history of this country... Ottawa River Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . ... and ascended the Peace Tower to get a beautiful overlook of

Went to Shaw Orchards again for pick-your-own cherries. This time I grabbed a ladder and got some good ones from the top of the trees. Picked more than eight pounds for weeks to eat. Good to have some country fun.

Whitewater Rafting Originally uploaded by nuance1979 , courtesy of Michael. Went to a great rafting trip on the Youghiogheny River in the Ohiopyle State Park, PA with Wilderness Voyageurs , courtesy of the wonderful GSA . We had four persons on the raft so there was a little shortage of horsepower. However, we invented an amazing move which could not be performed by six: Whenever we were unable to turn our raft's front pointing forward, which, by the way, happens a lot for beginners, we just turned ourselves back and started using the back as the front. It worked fairly well. Our biggest problem was synchronization. Other than that, we were pretty solid. In one of the hardest places, the formidable Dimple Rapids ( map ), we handled like pros. However, each of us took a dive in the water at least once. It was outrageously fun. Many thanks to Michael for this well-captured picture! Click here for more pictures he took of this trip.

There are only two kinds of people in EE/CS: those who were allured to this field by video games and those who were not. And I am not one of the latter. But I am a bad gamer; there are few games in which I excel. If you played any video games, you would know that only when your opponent is a human, things become really competitive, exciting and emotional. Back in college, everyone has to have a game to brag about. And people are identified with the game they are good at. For example, F.R.F. was good at racing games like "Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit" ; O.Y. was a competitive Tetris guru (It's "competitive" in that every time you clear a row, your opponent will be punished by raising a row.); J.H.J. was a master of fighting games like "Samurai Shodown II" ; L.X.M., nickname "moden", was and still is the invincible "StarCraft" legend. (Granted, their excellencies were at various levels with most of them being just good enough for

Maria Sharapova advanced in French Open with a stunning performance, saving two match-points and 9-7 in the third game.

On the same trip, we spotted some street dancers playing basketball tricks near the Central Park.

On another NYC trip three years ago, we bumped into this group of bellydancers who took a whole Saturday afternoon gracing the lower Manhattan. Their sexy outfits and provocative dance moves literrally stoped traffic and attracted eyes and films.

I was browsing my old photos and found this video I took almost five years ago. It was an energetic performance by street musicians in a New York City subway station. We were hooked at once and I turned on my camera's video capturing function immediately. My Sony DSC-F707 isn't great in video at all but I had no other choice. I didn't know the name of that song until recently: "Just My Imagination (Running Away From Me)" by The Temptations. New York City has so much to offer that it never bores me. Every time I go, I find something fresh and new. Hope you like it as well.

And it strikes hard. WORST ALLEGY SEASON EVER!