User Comments - rods

Posted on: The North Has Central Heating

Well, that's what I was wondering about bodawei. Some older buildings here still use central steam heating (NB Canada).The local university still heats its buildings this way. And the maintenance problems are the same here too. 

I was just looking at the average winter temperatures for some of China's southern cities, and noticed that it doesn't actually freeze (very hard) in many of them. The reason I mention that is because if I were to turn the heat off here for any length of time, all the water pipes (drinking etc.) would freeze and break.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/climate/

Presumably, newer Chinese buildings will have central (with air ducts) heating and cooling throughout. But nothing beats a warm sweater!

Posted on: The North Has Central Heating

So then, looking at vann0000's pictures, these 空调/kōng tiáo things are called "packaged terminal air conditioners/heat pumps" in English ... (ductless systems) hmmm. I believe the Chinese have won another battle in the brevity wars.

@bodawei  I think you're referring to a "bow" or "bay window." They're quite common in North America.

Posted on: Using a Character Dictionary

Thanks Jenny and John! Nǐmen jiāo de zhēn hǎo!

Posted on: Using a Character Dictionary

Since I'm a newb/elly, I guess I must be a jíxìngzi since I rushed ahead and downloaded this one. But I'd been wondering how one would go about using a Chinese dictionary. 'kinda suspected they might be organized by radical. Now I know! Good thing I learned about dān and shuāng in yesterday's elly too. Okay, I'll stop bothering the big kids now. :-)

Posted on: Executive Plan, Newbie Changes, and More

Thanks Guys:

@ John--Yes, I suppose Ken is due for a break. Maybe you can spend a couple minutes reminiscing about your early days in China... trans-Siberian rail stops etc. :-)

@ suxiaoya--Thanks. I'll keep that demo link in mind. It's going to be a few months before I can really get into Chinese Pod's offerings to the degree I hope to. Right now, I'm just trying to keep my foot in in the door.

Posted on: Executive Plan, Newbie Changes, and More

Hi bababardwan: Sounds like the ideal way to learn the language, especially from afar. I'm a noob to Mandarin, but even after a fair bit of German and French I still find short frequent lessons much more useful than long infrequent ones. Maybe I'll give it a shot someday... but now, back to my Brecht homework! :-/

Posted on: Executive Plan, Newbie Changes, and More

Hi thinkbuddha, That's my super power!

On another note, I'd assumed the Executive Plan was for executives--strictly business themes. But I gather from today's news that the topics can vary according to the students needs. Is that correct?

Posted on: Executive Plan, Newbie Changes, and More

I've got, I think, pretty well all of the old Newbie lessons in my iTunes folder. I enjoy shuffling through them when I have some free time, and I've gotta say, they're pretty timeless. Not much sense in reinventing the click wheel. One concern, though, does this mean less Ken? ... Not to suggest that John isn't great too.

Posted on: Which Time Zone?

@dogupatree

"you've just used a lifetime's ration of leap seconds reading this..."

Funny! Just think how many leap seconds ESL teachers must burn through trying to explain how Greenwich is pronounced.

Posted on: Picking Up a Friend at the Airport

This was another great lesson. Each new lesson seems to become my latest favorite! I especially enjoy the cultural insights both Ken and John add.

I am, however, a little puzzled by Jenny's interpretation of her Canadian relatives question (as to whether or not she would be jiē-ing them at the airport).

Assuming they're Canadians of European descent (or who follow that cultural norm) I would suggest that what they were actually trying to say was, "Jenny, we know you're very busy but, but if it's not too much to ask, please pick us up!"

I would expect Jenny's (non-Chinese) relatives to pick her up at the airport if the situation were reversed and she was flying from Shanghai to Vancouver or Toronto for example. I would think them somewhat inconsiderate otherwise.

What I think is being missed here, is that while a Canadian (i.e. Western) host has certain obligations, the guest is also obliged not to impose on her host. We must not demand anything. To me,  Jenny's guests asking "when are you picking us up?" would have sounded too forward (demanding).

It might be a different story if Jenny flew in and out of Canada frequently (say monthly) and while here visited this one and that one, was traveling for business and so on. I don't know, would that make a difference in China?