鴻兔大展

這是同事為我準備的賀卡，一定要秀一下的啦！

[Video] To the life that used to be.

早在去年8月，網友就提醒，音樂劇悲慘世界25週年音樂會，將在去年 10月初倫敦表演。雖然沒機會躬逢其盛，但是透過網路，我們還是「間接」參與了這場盛會。


或許是期望過高，或許是被十週年紀念音樂會影響而有先入為主的「偏見」，坦白說，我對這次的表現有點小失望。比如說，經典的 One Day More 絲毫感受不到激情，謝幕前做為 encore 曲再唱一遍時，老歌手的表現固然點燃了全場熱情，但這回擔綱 Marius 的 Nick Jonas 缺乏大將之風的缺點曝露無遺。


平心而論，雖然 Marius 的表現令人失望，其他的角色還算到位，編曲、舞台、噱頭爆點的設計比起十五年前猶有過之。有些曲子還是有些亮點的，比如說 Drink with Me 中 Grantaire 的情緒爆發就比十週年的含蓄慢板要更符合原著精神，也更有舞台效果，可惜當 Marius 在曲終沉痛深情的問  Will you weep, Cosette, for me?，Nick Jonas 怎麼也不及 Michael Ball 表達出的情緒起伏。


看著歌詞，

Drink with me to days gone bye
To the life that used to be 

不禁想到月前胡亂湊的前人集句：「獨酌無相親，誰共從容」！

25 週年版 Drink with me

10週年版 Drink with me

是的，我們都需要祝福和勇氣

[Video] Who give me strength to journey on.

雖然 Colm Wilinson和 Michael Ball 因為年齡的關係，沒有參與悲慘世界25週年音樂會的演出，但是他們讓 Jean Valjean 和 Marius Pontmercy 永遠活在我的心裡。

三杯通大道，一斗合自然

Drunk scientists pour wine on superconductors and make an incredible discovery

又一個舉杯的理由，薄酒不僅能讓墨客「酒發雄談，劍增奇氣，詩吐驚人語」，還能提升科研成果，突破瓶頸。「方知一杯酒，猶勝百家書」，古人誠不我欺！

日本國立材料科學院，一個研究超導體的研究團隊，在某次慶功小聚中，喝的有點多的研究人員，酒意上頭之後，決定把研究材料放到“許多、許多”酒 （原文是 many many liquor）中。

事後檢測，這批泡過慶功酒的材料，傳導性比平日的實驗結果好得多 （疑問：這些人原本要慶祝什麼？）。 進一步比較後發現，日本燒酒的成績比平日材料好 23%，泡過紅酒的材料則改善了 62%。但是根據報導，這宴會還供應威士忌和啤酒，莫非這兩種酒的表現不大好！？

我想，以嚴謹為尚的研究人員，應該還要比較混合不同酒類比例，以及不同廠牌的影響才是。

不論如何，一定很多人愛死這篇報導的結論了，”So, a little sip of something turns out to make potential superconductors much better at their jobs. And, perhaps, scientists better at their jobs as well.“。

三杯通大道，一斗合自然，如果喝一斗，就能生一篇SCI文章，....

只有更囧，沒有最囧

本以為這個月初 Vodafone Australia 泄露四百萬客戶資料的事已夠駭人聽聞，沒想到加拿大統計局 (Statistics Canada)諸君的豐功偉業才真是登峰造極令人髮指。

多倫多太陽報這個月10號在一份報導中整理過去五年 Stats Can 的犯行，在 2007年，他們把一個裝了敏感訊息的檔案櫃當作多餘的傢具賣掉，還有一次，統計局的幹員把某家公司的調查資料，留在其他的調查對象的辦公室，太陽報很客氣的說這只是 some examples of breaches.....

OCT. 2010: Purolator envelope containing 11 unencrypted, non-password-protected CDs for the Vital Statistics Program in Alberta addressed to Ottawa head office sent July 9, 2010 is discovered missing. It contains more than 21,000 electronic images of confidential information about individual birth, death, stillbirth and marriage registrations. It is found Nov. 30, 2010 locked in a rarely-used filing cabinet.

SEPT. 2009: Stats Can library's password access protocol constitutes "major security breach."

DEC. 2008: A briefcase with documents and personal notes is stolen from the car of an interviewer from Quebec. Confidential addresses of respondents were included.

JULY 2008: An error in transmission meant e-mails of 108 subscribers of Health Reports notifications were "inadvertently revealed" to all recipients of message - constituting a breach of Privacy Act and Stats Can policy.

JUNE 2008: Stats Can is informed that on Feb. 12, 2008 Surrey RCMP and Canada Post recovered completed 2006 census questionnaires from a private residence in a bust of a major identity theft ring. Other items included equipment related to credit card/ID theft, drivers' licences, 3,000 pieces of stolen mail, government-issued cheques, fake currency and more than 100 CDs with thousands of personal data profiles. Census questionnaires were not in the hands of census staff - it is believed they were obtained by tipping mailboxes or break-ins to homes and cars.

AUG. 2007: A laptop containing personal information about individuals who participated in the Labour Force Survey or Canadian Community Health Survey is stolen from the residence of an employee in Abbotsford, BC. Password was written on a sticky note stored in laptop case. Police called, affected people are informed and interviewer receives verbal reprimand.

JUNE 2007: Laptop with three completed household spending surveys stolen in home break-in in Delta, B.C.

MARCH 2007: Edmonton regional office reports two laptop thefts from field interviewers' vehicles. Staff are reminded about protocol for securing material.

MARCH 2007: Privacy Commissioner's office advised of inadvertent disclosure and loss of personal info after surplus filing cabinets with Records of Employment about 66 2006 census workers were sold at a Crown Assets Auction in Edmonton. Affected individuals are contacted and Stats Can implements more stringent procedures to avoid a recurrence.

JULY 2006: Enumerator leaves completed questionnaire instead of blank at Scarborough, Ont. respondent's home.

APRIL 2005: Blank forms faxed to a business include additional pages of confidential information related to two other businesses. Staff receive retraining and posters/notices are displayed as reminders.

FEB. 2005: Marketing information collected for one user is reviewed by another user and possibly four other unknown individuals in a Corporations Returns Act survey.

FEB. 2005: Laptop being shipped from Williams Lake, B.C. to Edmonton containing 23 Survey of Household Spending cases - including 11 completed ones - goes missing. A flurry of e-mails ensues among senior managers at Stats Can and officials "pester" Canada Post to find the lost item. Confidential statistical info is encrypted. Laptop is found two weeks later.

[Video] The courage to be imperfect

Garr Reynolds 寫了一篇很長的文章介紹Brene Brown 最近在 TEDxHouston 發表的演講 The power of vulnerability：勇於面對我們的不完美，才能真正和他人有真正的連結，生命的意義才能真正體現。