User Comments - matt

Posted on: Petty Chicken Idioms

Perfect :)

Posted on: Petty Chicken Idioms

After posting the question here, I asked my wife, who is a native of southern China.

Matt said (12:48 PM)

what does 偷鸡摸狗 mean?

It is in the chinesepod lesson today, but the online dictionary gives a different meaning

cathy says

have illicit sexual relations with women

Posted on: Petty Chicken Idioms

Why does the online MDBG dictionary say for 偷鸡摸狗 : to dally with women/to have affairs?

It is a nuance that could lead to some embarrassment for beginning students of Chengyu. :-)

Posted on: Wheelchair Access to the Great Wall

I think a good part of Chinesepod is that it gives the listener a sense that the world is not a uniculture. Therefore Chinesepod shouldn't have to conform to, or be handicapped by, the union of all its audience's 'political correctness'.

Posted on: First Snow of the Winter

It snowed in Shanghai in 2005 as well. My Guangdong gf's first time to see snow. Two times in five years doesn't mean "never" :)

Posted on: Dog Meat and Animal Rights

Some interesting information, from when I was in Qingyuan, Guangdong in January.

Dog meat costs about 10 yuan/jin

Cat meat costs 11 yuan/jin 

Goose meat (famous in that city) cost 20 yuan/jin

Probably pork meat costs more than all of these, but not as much as yanjing she (300 yuan for a small one)...

In my opinion, eat one of these animals, you may as well eat any of them.

Posted on: Afraid of Dogs

I find dog meat quite common in 广东, particularly in my most frequented city of 佛山. It's impossible not to find it in a wet-market in the winter-time. And my 湖南朋友 also tells me it is common eating in her province.

Posted on: Mosquitos and Olympics

Those zappers don't just kill bugs indiscriminately; they kill the ones attracted by light in favour of those which are not attracted by light. That's quite logical - but the zapper manufacturers don't tell you that mosquitoes are attracted by carbon dioxide rather than by light. I've seen some zappers here in Singapore which have include CO2-producing chemicals.

We use a zapper because the mosquito:other bug ratio is so high that we get a significant hit rate and its preferable to inhaling who knows what chemicals from those coils that just deter rather than murder...

Posted on: China Fruit and Pre-Marital Sex

Betel nut consumption has been associated with increased occurence of oral cancers. See http://www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/perspectives/HealthPolicy/980908Betel.html for example.

We are fortunate enough to have imported bayberries in Singapore. I saw some at the Chinatown "wet markets" just this sunday, but opted for kilogram bunches of lychees instead...

Posted on: Discussing Photography

I agree with user42993. Scott's comment of Aug 9, 2006, is full of much more useful terminology for photographers like myself who are not professional but also not keen on point-and-shoots. Even a "can I take your picture please" would be very handy...