User Comments - davidfong

Posted on: Western Brands in Chinese

You will probably also be shocked to see that most of the Starbucks have closed down in Australia as a result of fierce competition from the many, many individual shops and some local chains. 竞争很激烈！

Posted on: Rowing a Boat

can 划船 also be used to describe the recreational activity of sailing a small boat/dinghy/catamaran 帆船 fan1chuan2?

I know recreational sailing is virtually unheard of in China, but I have often found it a fun activity in Australia when I have Chinese visitors from overseas!

(Recreational sailing is such a strange activity in China, that my Chinese friends are also uncertain as to the correct verb to use, though I one more sporty type suggested that 划船 has been used in sports media.)

Posted on: I don't smoke

if we find smoke from cigarettes irritating, can't we say something like "I'm terribly sorry, I'm allergic to smoke 不好意思, 我对抽烟有过敏 (bu4hao3yi4si, wo3 dui4chou1yan1 you3 guo4min3)" (or anything else we don't want to be exposed to....).

As hephoto says, perhaps expressing embarassment at our discomfort is being much too obsequious to smokers...

Posted on: I don't smoke

I agree, 介意 jièyì is a great new word for me, too!

Posted on: I don't smoke

In China, I take every opportunity to tell university students that smoking is mainly a disease of the poor and under-educated in Australia (unfortunately, that group doesn't exclude those with fame and media exposure).

It really wasn't that long ago when lots of educated people in health-fields also smoked in Australia. It is interesting to think about the steps taken by countries like the U.S.A. or Australia to cut down smoking, such as taxation, public television advertising, restrictions on cigarette advertising, restrictions on sale, occupational health and safety rules and the threat of litigation (e.g. from office workers against their employer).

After all, Australian hospitals have still been recently struggling with the restriction of cigarettes in mental health (psychiatric) facilities. http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2520766.htm

Posted on: Flu Vaccination

I didn't realize any country in the world still immunises against smallpox. After all, the last smallpox case was decades ago.

Some vaccines are cheap and widespread (diptheria 白喉 báihóu /tetanus 破伤风 pòshāngfēng/pertussis) and protect against common illnesses (e.g. hepatitis B 乙肝 yǐgān, measles 麻疹 mázhēn /mumps 流行性腮腺炎 liúxingxìng sāixiànyàn /rubella 风疹 fēngzhěn) and so are very common in schedules worldwide.

Some vaccines might be relatively cheap, but the disease prevalence may have fallen in some countries. Australia stopped giving BCG (tuberculosis ?what's the Chinese for BCG?) vaccines to babies more than ten years ago.

Other vaccines are new and frightfully expensive (varicella/chickenpox 水痘 shuǐdòu and meningococcal C vaccine, rotavirus vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine 肺炎球菌 fèiyánqiújūn) and each country needs to make a decision whether the cost-benefit ratio is appropriate.

The decision to deploy some new expensive vaccines in the 'standard childhood schedule' may also have political overtones (I am going to stick out my neck here, and include Gardasil/HPV vaccine in this list).

The timing of vaccines depends on when the vaccine can become effective when given children, how long the vaccine will 'last' in the child (and how long the child is considered potentially vulnerable. Australia may re-introduce the 18-month DTP booster soon after concerns that the remaining 2,4,6 month pertussis 百日咳 (bǎirìkè, very descriptive!) vaccinations is not enough to protect the child until the next scheduled dose at age five years). The timing of vaccines needs to consider child safety (protect as soon as possible, considering the risk), parental convenience (as few visits as possible. more planned visits = more missed visits) and to some extent the availability of multivalent vaccines (who would have guessed we would one day give six vaccines with just one needle?)

The schedule might even be different for different populations in the same country, due to different levels of estimated risk. For example, hepatitis A vaccine is government-funded in Australia for indigenous children only.

Posted on: Flu Vaccination

Can't find this particular question in Mandarin, but you can find the way to ask questions like "MMR 疫苗会导致自闭症吗？ (MMR yìmáo huìdǎozhì zìbìchèng ma? Does the MMR vaccine cause autism?)", and the answers in Mandarin too!, in the '有关免疫力和免疫接种的一些常见问题 (yǒuguān miǎnyìlì hé miǎnyìjiēzhòngde yīxiē chángjiàn wèntí. A few common questions about immunity and vaccinations.' section of the Chinese version of the Australian government brochure 'Understanding Childhood Immunisations (Chinese title 免疫接种 miǎnyì jiēzhòng. I suppose that translates to something like 'Creating immunity through vaccination')' http://www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/ucibooklet-mandarin

Posted on: Chinatown Diary

I can't help but mention that there is at least one 新金山 (xin1jin1shan1 - New Gold Mountain) in the world, both from what I heard and also as advertised in one "Big Country's" Shanghai Expo exhibit...although this name is hardly ever used anymore.

Posted on: Shut down by Pimples

and after reading that very interesting 'marketing success story' article, can some-one be so kind as to show the nutritional information panel of 王老吉 (Wong Lo Kat) compared to, say, 可口可乐 （Coca-Cola）?

in fact, if it hasn't been done already, perhaps an intermediate lesson on 'reading the nutrition information panel' of various drinks ("that milk ain't low-fat!" or "if i mix coca-cola with that green-tea soft drink, it would make the green tea more healthy!")

Posted on: Reinstalling Windows

i think the situation of Chinese websites has gradually improved over the past few years, or perhaps the Mozilla Firefox browser is gradually improving. I agree that VirtualBox is the most reliable standby. If you are truly determined to not use VirtualBox, you could also try the Opera browser on Linux.

When some computers at a company I worked with had terribly corrupted Internet Explorers (thanks to viruses), and yes, no-one could find a Windows install disk, I installed (Chinese) Firefox, which the local workers were still using a year later.

In any case, I always write a complaining letter if a website does not work with Firefox, particularly if the English version of a Chinese website is affected. Sadly, neither CCTV9 or 南方航空公司 (South China Airlines) have acted on my complaints!

You can check WINE compatability at winehq.org or at the commercial version (Crossover) at codeweavers.com e.g. http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=15 (for IE6, which is listed as 'having flaws')