Essays

Emily’s Design UI/UX Design Projects. Project One Emily’s Design Choose Homestead And Find The Most Attentive Care… 半夜凉初透 做人难啊，做人子女更难。面对母亲的心脏骤停已经很焦虑了，还要面对父亲坚决不肯签字做手术这样的难题。 母亲出生就伴随着先天性心脏病，房缺，就是心房里缺了一个口子，二十多年做了个大手术缝合了。在随后的岁月里，她的心跳一直过缓，我就一直担心她忽然死掉。这几年她开始时不时眼前发黑，晕眩，这几个月发生的尤其频繁。前几天更是晕倒失...

做人难啊，做人子女更难。面对母亲的心脏骤停已经很焦虑了，还要面对父亲坚决不肯签字做手术这样的难题。 母亲出生就伴随着先天性心脏病，房缺，就是心房里缺了一个口子，二十多年做了个大手术缝合了。在随后的岁月里，她的心跳一直过缓，我就一直担心她忽然死掉。这几年她开始时不时眼前发黑，晕眩，这几个月发生的尤其频繁。前几天更是晕倒失去意识。在医院戴上24小时监控，仪器显示她的心脏一天之内停跳了440多次，最长一次停止了7秒，医生建议马上装心脏起搏器。 可是父亲并不同意安装，是基于他那给家人带来几十年痛苦的所谓信仰。他是那样的油盐不进，我甚至连生气都无法做到，因为他是如此地相信他的“李师父”，他又是如此地认定...

这篇文章的中文版本是ChatGPT根据我的草稿写得出来的。英文部分则由ChatGPT翻译，有部分修改。The Chinese text below is generated by ChatGPT using my original manuscript. The English version has also been translated by ChatGPT, with minor corrections made by me. 我认为我画画的主要问题不在于手的熟练程度，而是在于大脑对色彩的表达能力。实际上，由于我从小就开始绘画，我的手控制能力很好，基本上可以勾勒出我想要的线条和形态。但...

昨天我给已经干了的几只马克笔补了墨水，深刻认识到如果买了笔又不画画，对笔和颜料来说是很不道义的。于是我拔开笔盖开始消耗颜料，最终涂了一块三文......

暗暗思索了好几天，昨晚终于把书桌搬到客厅了。现在客厅几乎变成我一个人的了，有我爱看的电视，我侍弄的植物，我的书桌，我的画具，还有我的架子鼓。现在我一个人缩在客厅角落里环望四周怡然自得。 我想把生活的重心转回生活本身，聚焦当下，不过分考虑工作的事。说到底，我毕竟是个可以在小屋子里宅到天荒地老的人嘛。...

下午三点多，天阴阴的。我坐在卧室的书桌前，面对着荧荧发亮的显示器屏幕。小鹦鹉Kiki站在我右边的肩膀上。彼时我想着要赶紧回复学生的邮件，可是只要我的手放到那台黄底黑键的复古打字机造型的机械键盘上，小鸟就会顺着我的胳膊攀下来，执意要和键帽过不去。虽然它暂时未能找到扣下键帽的窍门，但是如果放任不管，它很快就能掌握这项高难度技术。从此键盘也再无也完日。 我斜靠在椅背上，耷拉着双臂，目光游移，没法工作。Kiki倒是一副悠然自得的模样。它蓬松了羽毛，小脑袋靠着我的头，时不时用力啃我的耳朵和镜腿，拨弄我乱蓬蓬的头发，或者伸出鸟喙来理一理我脸上的汗毛。我不忍心打断它，索性就暂时忘记工作的事，陪着它一起无所事...

刚刚学习了16年的世界咖啡师冠军粕谷哲的「4:6法」，一种「5段式」手冲咖啡手法。学习新方法的契机是因为一直用的蓝瓶子滤杯的滤纸用完了，而V60滤杯的滤纸还有很多，不能浪费，于是找出许久未用的V60滤杯，重新学习V60的手冲方法。前两天已经学习了07年世界咖啡师冠军James Hoffman的一种针对少量咖啡（15克）的手冲方法，这两天一直在练习这种方法，冲出来的效果很好，风味很稳定。今天刷视频的时候看到一个日本人在讲述他发明的手法，我才知道他就是「4:6法」的创始人，名字是粕谷哲。于是开始学习他的「4:6法」。我希望通过对比两种方法，加强对手冲咖啡的理解。我觉得写出来能够帮助自己消化这些知识...

“I’m in the middle of nowhere.” The night had descended, enveloping the road in darkness. The only illumination came from the bright beam of the motorcycle’s headlamp. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning sliced through the sky, casting an eerie glow across the landscape. The leaves rustled in ...

Aaron陪Emily去眼科复诊。通常Emily离开候诊大厅去诊疗室问诊时，Aaron会耐心坐在大厅里等。但是这一天，因为眼睛的毛病迟迟解决不了，Emily心情不太好。于是她纠结要不要他陪着进入单间，一同面对医生。但是另一方面，Emily又觉得似乎没这个必要。她把心里的小纠结告诉了Aaron。Aaron觉得都行，如果Emily需要，他就会陪她进去。Emily不置可否，坐在大厅里，一边等待护士叫号，一边胡思乱想。 坐在他们前排的一对七八十岁的老人准备起身离去。妻子麻利地穿好羽绒外套，快速拉上拉链，而高高瘦瘦丈夫佝偻着背，迟缓地站了起来，眼中有一种垂垂老矣的混沌。Emily开始想象自己年老以后的情...

回顾2022年在家都干了些什么，发现这一年过得并没有想象中的无聊，而是一起经历了很多有意思的事情呢。 1月空气凤梨开花一起建造因纽特冰屋一起练习射箭 2月学习水彩和丙烯 3月终于买到 xbox series x一起逛水族馆 4月一起看马戏团表演在市中心酒吧登台唱歌咖啡树大规模开花 5月热衷户外炭烧和制作章鱼小丸子和舞校同学上台跳芭蕾舞一起在街头拍人文摄影 6月一起参加排骨节扔飞斧一起教学楼里玩光绘一起观看全美老爷车比赛抓捕果蝇大作战 7月一起前往落基山国家公园露营 8月Aaron的小手术学做黑芝麻糖沉迷手办和迷你家具 9月去献血报名马术训练学习3D打印和激光切割 10月-11月会议论文投稿，参...

肯定的是，在M1芯片的Macboook和Mini上是完全可以安装和使用Revit的。我自己经过反复尝试，在安装成功后决定把过程记录下来，以供其他人参考。 安装成功的设备：M1 Pro macbook 16/512 和 M1 Mac mini 8/256目前 macOS 版本：Ventura 13.0 所需的三个软件： 虚拟机 Parallels 18：在 Parallels 官网下载。有免费试用期。试用期过去后需要订阅或购买。 Windows 11：在虚拟机安装后会自动安装 Windows 11，不需要自己下载安装。安装成功后无需要激活就可以安装Revit。 Revit：在Autodesk官网...

Like other drawing enthusiasts heavily influenced by Japanese manga, I have been dreaming of becoming a manga artist for years. With all the love and hate stories, the only tools I’d ever had were pencils. As a school kid, I doodled on textbooks and exam papers, designed figures with personalities, costumed my characters, and armed them. I spent most of my middle school time creating women’s faces and immersed myself in the story of my own weaving. I didn’t color faces, nor did I draw bodies often. I had no color medium and knew nothing about body movements. I stopped… Read More »Watercolor: The Manga Style Young Lady

昨天经过书店的日漫区，竟然发现了被我称之为“如果小时候就拥有了现在说不定就是漫画家”的那种超可爱漫画式人体模型： 当场我将它称为“漫画作弊器”……哈哈，买回来以后摆动作摆得不亦乐乎，真的好玩。如果我少年时就能拥有这样的工具多好。那时候画仕女图最怕画动作，只会一直重复重复画脑袋，要不就是只能画简单单调的动作。 接着我又在亚马逊订了好几个类似的模型，有小孩子，有男人。要接着画下去才是，说不定到50岁我也可以画出好的漫画作品。总之，加油！...

I have been dreaming of a repeated scenario for years. In those dreams, I starved my small pets, like ducks, chicks, hamsters, and silkworms, by leaving them alone in cages for a long, long time. I have no idea why I didn’t put enough food or water, nor did I get home early. I haven’t seen any dead bodies, and animals just disappeared or shrunken. Some strongest individuals were still alive, and they even reproduced broods. But newborns were so tiny and deformed as they suffered malnutrition. I always woke up with deep regret and anxiety, and then I gradually… Read More »Don’t starve, I mean it.

十年前的夏天，我在科罗拉多州落基山国家公园山脚下的小镇里打暑假工。虽说地处山脚，小镇的海拔也有两千三百米高。记忆中那里的的夜空湛蓝如水墨，每当停下放工后匆匆赶路回宿舍的脚步，抬头望去，待眼睛适应黑暗，满目的星云璀璨总是密集的让人起鸡皮疙瘩。那时候我还没有一台正经相机，深夜星空也好，清晨高山湖泊飘荡的氤氲雾气也好，都没有办法记录下来。 十年后我计划着重返科罗拉多州，回到那个记录了我人生中一段悠闲美好青春富足时光的，被我笑称是「第二故乡」的地方。旅行计划中很重要的一环是拍照。为了拍好星空，我和华叔开始了拍摄练习。 今年入夏以后，我开始关注夜空状态。这个六月，有时候天空多云，有时候月亮升起太早，直到...

最近一直在纠结是否应该再买一台无反相机。三年前买的佳能M50，现在出门一般都是Aaron在用。如果人手一台，外出游玩两人都能拍，我就不至于拿个iPhone拍拍拍了。说到底iPhone所出之图，看个热闹很好，稍微仔细看两眼，那涂抹，那扁平，那过分的锐化……哎，还是过不了自己这关啊。 目前我主要是在佳能M6-2和R6之间徘徊。 M6-2我担心APS-C还是不够看。而且EF-M的镜头里要么是广角没有大光圈，要么大光圈没有广角，夏季夜晚就不好拍银河。而其他厂的镜头我又不了解。 R6则太贵，镜头更是无底洞。而且听说R7快要出来了，我还是保持观望比较好。 两者比来比去，期间我又给M50添置一枚等效35mm...

@ Twin City, MN —— Our school postponed all the architectural study trips during the Pandemic. Aaron and I were supposed to visit Chicago with 3rd-year students in 2021. This year we finally came to Twin City, MN, with 2nd-year. We had the same trip years ago in Fall, and this time we got a chance to appreciate the spring. The weather changed rapidly during the trip. It was a windy, wet, and cold welcome, as expected. But everything went according to plan. We visited all places and got warm receptions by almost every director/doorkeeper. I took some reference photos… Read More »2022 MN Study Trip

I reckon that painting with watercolor is much more convenient than using acrylic. I can grab the paint box and a brush, start painting in a second and never dirt my hands. Also, watercolor needs less deck space or palette space. My coffee tree is bearing now. One hundred whole beans are expected.

—— in 2020 —— The sun warms the earth as the ice melts. Bare twigs swing in the spring breeze, waiting for the first new buds. March is the best time for spring outings. The grass hasn’t sprouted yet, and we decided to have a half-hour road trip yesterday. Unlike big cities on the east and west coasts, Fargo has a sparse population. The whole country is fighting with the coronavirus while people here try to stay calm. When we drove by the streets, we saw people walking their dogs in threes and fours. We live in an apartment building… Read More »Life in Fargo 1

——纪念那一朵姗姗来迟的咖啡花—— 今夜我心心念念着的第一朵咖啡花终于盛开，距离我第一次发现疑似花骨朵的芽苞已经过去了两个月。 小时候院子里种了一棵桃树，就在它即将开花结果的那一年，家里人砍掉了它。没能看桃花桃果，是我童年的一大遗憾。那个小院子里来来去去生长着葡萄树，香樟树，可惜最后因为种种原因都被砍掉。长长久久地拥有一棵树，尤其是果树，是我对童年的补偿。...

I went to a bookstore and took an acrylic painting instruction book home. I’ve found less interest in acrylic, which is dry drastically fast. Instead, I’ve devoted myself to watercolor for the last few months. But I prefer to use acrylics up.I’ll follow the book to achieve 50 paints in a month. Here are the first four: 16 paints are accomplished.

2021. 11. 12

2021.10.27

My first clay art work.I didn’t expect to do so well before I started.

...

I worked into wee hours last night to make an acrylic painting wall art and was too excited to fall asleep after finally making it. I planned to draw three pumpkins on the blank wood sign I bought from a local craft store, but eventually, it went five. I feel drowsy all day today and promised myself to sleep early tonight. The last thing I planned o draw was pumpkin stems, but I was too tired to do so. I got a brainwave and fetched some polymer clay from a bookshelf. I shaped the white clay into five pentagon masses,… Read More »Wall Art: Pumpkins and 3D Stems

Last night, Aaron and I decided to have a drawing competition. Aaron was okay with Acrylic, a new medium for him; I preferred Oil painting, and I had no experience in it either. Although sometimes I call Aaron my “in-house expert,” I have self-confidence in drawing and would be a strong competitor. Two hours had passed, midnight approached, then we stopped. Acrylic dry quickly, Aaron was able to add reflections on each cheery and had plenty of time to correct his painting. I, unfortunately, didn’t have enough time to do such things on a wet canvas. I posted both. Wasn’t… Read More »Acrylic vs. Oil, Aaron vs. Emily

—— And rat Snowy —— A friend in San Francisco asked me to draw her a sunflower. I was unsure if I could make it, so I started a small sample on a piece of wood, as acrylic works fine on it. I didn’t expect the pigment to dry that fast, but I soon got used to it. Let me Introduce my pet rat Snowy. She’s over two years old and is the eldest and cutest rat among the four. Keep practicing. Draw on an 8′ x 10′ sketch paper. It is my first all-made-by-color-pencil drawing ever.

For autumn lovers.

—— The answer was a raven —— My colleague Milt once introduced me to the Inktober program in 2019. Milt mainly uses the iPad to draw, and I enjoy watching his sketches on Facebook and Instagram. But I never thought about dusting off my drawing kits for the last two years. One of the Inktober drawing topics this year was Raven. I’ve hit by a sudden inspiration, and I picked up my newly bought Apple Pencil, trying to draw on my iPad Pro. The beautiful raven surprised me at last. I haven‘t drawn in a long while. This raven can… Read More »How Did All Things Start

Fargo是一座拥有一百五十年历史的城市，与一河之隔的明尼苏达州的Moorhead相比，是一座相对年轻的城市。因为它的年轻，使我们有机会看到城市设立之初的大量照片。借助这些珍贵的资料，我们可以身临其境般地感受一个半世纪前的美国市井生活的方方面面。这些先驱者为什么要来到这片土地，如何来到这片土地？我不禁感到好奇。想到十九世纪七十年代的那批先民，或拖家带口，或踽踽独行，前赴后继踏上这片荒芜草原。他们历经寒冬风雪，艰难生存，繁衍至今。一百五十年过去了，Fargo-Moorhead地区如今拥有十二万居民，约占北达科塔州人口总数的四分之一，并成为了该州最大的城市。 一座北国小城的一百五十年，对于人类发展...