A couple of days ago, in the Hong Kong streets, we passed by this store called WiseKids. Here’s a picture.

And a close up of the panels on the bottom right side, reading:

Hi! I am Wise-Kids Toynado. I will overwhelm all kids with a violent but constructive whirlwind of educational toys, and bring lots of fun too!

So maybe next time you should go to that store and support them by buying their whirlwind of educational toys!

Aside from that, yesterday we went to Shenzhen in China. We walked around mostly in the Luo Hu Commercial City, a big mall-like structure, home to many small stores on several floors. You can buy some stuff there, but a lot of the shops are pretty much the same. Watch out, though. People will bother you as you walk by their stores, trying to advertise their wares. That’s nothing though. Not only do they shout at you as you walk by; sometimes they will follow you, continuing to persuade you to go to their shop.

They will say things like “Handsome boy!… DVD, PS2, X-Box, Gameboy…” but in Cantonese, of course. Well, you can’t exactly say DVD, PS2, X-Box, and Gameboy that well in Cantonese, so that would be in English. One time one of them was talking to us on the escalator, trying to show us photos of what he was trying to sell. Usually, the best thing to do is to simply ignore all these people. When they go up to you, shake your head for a no as they try to tell you things. Here’s a picture of stairs and some shops in the commercial city. It’s not very descriptive of the place though– you will take note of it mentally mostly while you are walking through the narrow halls, passing by shops with people bothering you.

Ok, so I was in the Incheon International Airport (right next to Seoul) in Korea the other day. If you need to go somewhere in Asia and you have the chance to connect at that airport, then do so. The transit area is really nice, and it feels like a mall. Since the airport is new, everything is so modern-looking and really is modern. The escalators and such have “automatic sensor systems.” If no one else is using the escalator, you might think the escalator doesn’t work… until you step close to it. Water fountains are automatic too. Move your body close to the sensor, and water begins running. Nifty. In the transit area you can use a computer there to do things online for free, watch TV on Samsung “Life’s Good” Plasma flatscreens (two at every gate, plus more at the lounges), and play in the arcade room.

So here’s a decent representation of the airport:

Well, somewhat. ;-) Here are some other pictures.

They also had places like the Yahoo! Internet lounge, where I saw people at Playstation 2 booths alongside people using computers. They have shower rooms as well, if you want to shower in between your flights, but be aware that using them costs money. Maybe I’ll post some more pictures later.

Meanwhile, I met Marcus today. First time in… two years? Last time I saw him was at TIP at Davidson. Unfortunately there really aren’t that many places to play DDR around, and those that are around are pretty far from here.

My mom gave me this article. Maybe I really should go to Duke. ;-)

Duke University to Provide Freshmen With Apple IPods As Part of Learning Experiment DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Freshmen showing up at Duke University this year will get their own Apple iPod, part of an experiment by the school to see if the popular portable music player can double as a learning tool. In a first-of-its-kind deal for Apple Computer Inc., the university will distribute 1,650 iPods for the pilot program. Duke would not say how much it will pay for each 20-gigabyte iPod, but said it will receive a discount from the retail price of $299. The program fits into university plans to use more technology in teaching, said Tracy Futhey, Duke’s vice president for information technology. Since its introduction in 2001, the iPod has taken off as the trendiest gadget for storing and playing digital music. IPods can store other kinds of data as well, and Duke students will receive models stocked with school-related information, including freshman orientation details, the academic calendar, campus tours and even the school’s fight song. The university also will create a Web site modeled on the Apple iTunes online music site from which students can download songs and course content from faculty, including language lessons, lectures and audio books…

The original here.

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