NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO

(CVN-76 USS Ronald Reagan)
(3 Ticonderoga class guided missile cruisers) (CG-52 USS Bunker Hill)

("For Taiwan Crisis 1996" from Bunker Hill official web site)

My wife took a long break and had a chance to visit US. She took some photos during a boat tour at Naval Base Sen Diego. Thought she was not sure what she was taking, I still found some good photos. You can see from these pictures, there are one of the most powerful nuclear aircraft carriers in the world, the CVN-67 Ronald Reagan; also 3 Ticonderoga class cruisers.

The most interesting is one of the Ticonderoga class cruisers, CG-52 USS Bunker Hill had been to Taiwan Strait, due to the Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996. I wonder if US government will take the same action if China has another ballistic missile test now.

BIG RAINBOW

These photos of big rainbow were taken on Sept. 24, 2007 in Hsintien City, Taiwan. I have not see such a big rainbow for a long time.

WHEN TRADITION MEETS MODERN

(sidekicks of Matzu)
(the drum play group)

(the modern lion dance by 2 kids)

September 16 was the Worship Day(祈福行腳，巡行踩街) of Matzu Festival(媽祖文化節) in Taipei and I was happened to be there to watching this event. Matzu is an important goddess in Taiwanese culture; people believe that she protects people away from dangerous and brings peaceful life. The activity of the Worship Day is a big parade with a lot of traditional Taiwanese cultural performance groups. I saw a quite interesting drum play group; their performance combined of tradition and modern music and lion dance. Check the videos!

MORE PHOTOS

WORLD TRADE CNETER, NY CITY

(World Trade Center, view from Hudson River)
(World Trade Center and US Coast Guard "Dallas")
(Ground Zero, Oct., 2006 by Jane)

Tomorrow will be the 6th anniversary of 911. Luckily I had a chance to see the World Trade Center when it was still there. In December, 1992, that was my first winter break in US. I went to New York City to visit my cousin and had a chance to take a good look at this big city for a month. NY city is quite an amazing city; you can see the best and the worst of US there. I did enjoy visiting museums, watching my first Broadway show and experiencing this melting pot of different cultures. But I did not like the terrible traffic and the unsafe feeling.

I visited World Trade Center and enjoyed the view from its observation deck, but I have never thought it collapsed in 2001 by a terrorist attack. I though it was a movie trailer when I first saw it on TV, and later I realized it was REAL! I really felt sorry for those victims and their families.

Tomorrow will be another 911, and I will take a flight to Japan. One of my colleagues asked me if I really want to do so? Well, I have to, it is a business trip, and I am not afraid at all.

AN INTERESTING MERCEDES BENZ TV COMMERCIAL

(Mercedes Benz TV commercial from Youtube)

Usually I don't like to copy some one's photos or videos for my blog, because I prefer to show originals. But this time, I just can not help to post this commercial!

As most formula one fans know, the competition (both on and off track) between 2 McLarne's drivers is so obvious. This time Mercedes Benz made it real in TV commercial. It is quite a funny and creative work, and you can see 3 F1 stars in this commercial; Alonso, Hamilton and Hakkinen.

"EL TANOURA", THE EGYPTIAN SPINNING DANCE (VIDEO UPLOADED)

During the Egypt trip in 2004, we had a dinner cruise on the Nile River in Cairo and enjoyed watching belly dance and El Tanoura which is the Egyptian spinning dance. I have seen several times belly dance on TV, but it was the first time to see El Tanoura; it was quite impressive and amazing to see a dancer performing such a dance for over 30 minutes without feeling dizzy.

My uncles said he also saw belly dance and El Tanoura in Turkey, but they are more like a part of religious ceremony.

MiG-29 AEROBATIC SHOW IN MALAYSIA, 2005

(formation of MiG-29N flew over Sepang International Circuit)

(formation of 4 MiG-29N)
(another view of MiG-29N formation)

After the open house of Sung Shan AFB, friends complained the air shows were not as exciting as seen at other AFBs, because the formations were not low enough to impress visitors. They could not feel the power of jet engines.

I did not see any air show in Taiwan before, but I agreed with my friends. I think air force cared more about safety than exciting performance, because Sung Shan AFB is also an airport for domestic flight and it is near residential area.

During the Formula one Malaysian GP, Malaysian air force performed MiG-29N aerobatic shows for 3 days. 6 MiG-29N (4 for formation, 2 for solo) really impressed visitors and gave them a unforgettable good memory. Maybe their performance was not as exciting as Thunder Bird, Blue Angels, and Thunder Tiger, but I did enjoy the shock from powerful jet engines.

Maybe this kind aerobatic show costs too much, so they canceled the show since 2006.

OPEN HOUSE OF SUNG SHAN AIR FORCE BASE

(Mirage 200-5DI from Shin-Ju AFB)
(F-16B MLU from Hwa-Lian AFB)
(F-CK-1 from CCK AFB, Taichung)
(paratrooper show)
(BH-1900C and a female pilot who is a major )

For celebrating 70th anniversary of 814 Victory, Air Force arranged an open house at Sung Shan air force base in Taipei. In fact, this event has been delayed twice due to 2 typhoons.

It is really hard to see such a air force event in Taipei, so I grabbed my camera and went to the base around 9 o'clock. It seemed this event did get people's attention, it was so crowded there; I even met some friends!

Because Sung Shan air port is also for domestic flight, so there was no aerobatic show, but quite a full display of all equipments and aircraft of R.O.C. Air Force. It was a great event for airplane fans and general public; at least we knew how air force spent the tax money.

More photos...

MY FIRST PRIVATE RIFLE

(shooting type 56 carbine)
(loading ammo)
(target at 50 meters)

OK, you can call me gun maniac! I bought my first private rifle just few weeks after my student life started in US. Because Georgia is one of the earliest 13 states, so they still keep the tradition for owning weapons for sporting, hunting, and self-defense. At that time (1992), I just needed to show my driving license, filled up a form to answer some funny questions and paid around USD100 (cheaper than any one of my BB gun today). Then I could have my rifle.

This rifle is a Chinese made type 56 semi-auto carbine which is the SKS rifle in Russia. I kept this rifle for almost one year till I traded in for another rifle. I enjoyed sports shooting pretty much due to the cheap Chinese ammo. (USD110 for 1000 round 7.62x39 ammo).

p.s. I have to thank the owner of the gun store. I could not enjoy sports shooting without his assistance.