Google Keep: Will it be closed by Google like Reader?

Google Keep, a Evernote competitor from Google, was launched. The UI seems good, as well as the features highlighted by Google.

However, I'm not willing to try it, or at least I will not really use it. Why? Let's recall Google Reader. Reader has good UI and good features too. But, Google closed it because it can not bring profit to Google. Google Notebook, a lightweight version of Google Keep, indeed is just another widely used product closed by Google. If now I transfer my notes to Keep and start to use it as my notebook instead of Evernote, what can I do if it is closed by Google some day?

Google has lost its faith.

Multi-terrain for cycling at Fragrant Hill

This entry starts a series of introduction to the multi-terrain of Fragrant Hill, Beijing, for cycling.

Braker

 

Shifter

 

Forecasted My Death Time

http://www.deathforecast.com/result.php?record=297785

It seems to be of some funny and some scientific reliabilities. Thanks for biking everyday, I have good heart and lungs.

Rear Hub and Cassettes

 

Wheel Hub

 

Curve of Change Rate of Canadian Dollar to Chinese Yuan

In my opinion, the change rate of CAD to CNY is very regular. From the curve left (from my Chinese version of blog) , you can see an obvious period of fluctuation. Further more, the fluctuation is not small, the change rate can change 2% in only a month. So it is necessary to choose a best time for changing the money, especially to the Canadian travellers.

Mountain Bike Component Tutorial

1. Rear Derailleur
   
   
   
2. Crank Set
   
   
   

Shopping in China: buy something the cheapest but also good!

Made in China was famous in the world for its low price. In contrast to made in China, shopping in China was supposed to be unvalued, for most advanced industrial products, such as cars, computers, etc., were more expensive in China than other developed countries.

Things are changing. Now, more and more commodities are going to be cheaper and cheaper in China, especially that produced in China locally, for example, many consumer digital products are cheapest in China than anywhere else.

But, the market in China is strange. The sales often offer different prices to different guests. To get the lowest price, you need some professional shopping technics. This is very hard to foreign travellers. So, if there is a third-party agent, must be neutralism and reliable, shopping in China will be a good experience.

Feed Meter: acknowlegement to your hard work of blogging!

I also placed a feed meter on my blog. Different to FeedBurner, feed meter acknowledges my work on blogging instantly.

It's a long time waiting for a considerable count of subscriber of my feed. So, my FeedCount will stay at zero for a while. What a depression for a hardworking blogger like me.

But feed meter is lovely. The meter will be updated immediately when you've posted a new article. Then you can see your efforts through the higher update frequency. It gives me a lot of encouragement.

Benefits of adding FeedBurner to your blog, make your blog more professional!

According to a piece of advice suggested by an older blogger, I added my blog to FeedBurner to make my blog more professional, at least seems to be.

Sure, adding blog to FeedBurner not only makes your blog seems to be professional, but also brings a lot of benefits to your blog.

1. FeedBurner is a way of publishing your blog. If your blog is added, the feedburner will notify other services such as My Yahoo, Bloglines, etc. when your blog is updated.
2. FeedBurner is one of the most popular RSS provider. Users will be glad and easy to subscribe you blog if added to FeedBurner.
3. There are some little cool functions provided by FeedBurner. FeedCount gives popularity statistic directly; Headline Animator is very suitable to be your signature in forums.
4. ...

Picasa: two most frequently used features

Picasa is a photo software what I really need. Photoshop is too comprehensive to me, and also too expensive, too complicated. On the other hand, ACDsee is too simple.

Picasa offers a very good function of cliping/cutting. It provides a way of making expanded pictures without wide angle lens, such as the pictures I post in previous blogs. To landscape pictures, this feature can make you photo more attactive if you cut out a 4:3 picture to large than 16:9.

Another cheerful feature of Picasa is stacking. For portrait photos, some just so so pictures may create a wonderful portrait art through stacking. Examples will be here later.

Find a teaching job or a local partner for trip in Beijing through SMTH BBS

The SMTH BBS is one of the most popular BBS/Forum site in China. But, the great difference between SMTH and other BBSs is that most of the members of SMTH are students/graduates in Tsinghua Univeristy, Peking University, etc. Normally, there are about 15000 members online on SMTH and many of them are finding a private language teacher or a travel partner.

So, it's very easy to find a suitable teaching job in Beijing or a good local partner for trip through SMTH. However, the key challenge is that Chinese characters are full of screen. If you can NOT read Chinese, it's nothing. What a pity! I wonder to suggest that SMTH should generate a data miner and translate some related messages to English. Then it will be a very good resource for foreign friends.