卧虎藏龙 ———— aTiger's Space: 美国生活

休息，休息一下

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 02:41:05 GMT

最近，偶感晕眩症，请假在家休息，暂时停止回答问题。

在医生检查后，我被诊断为 Benign Positional Vertigo （BPV or BPPV）。根据医生的诊断书，“This type of vertigo can last for up to 6 weeks, but usually lasts for a shorter period of time. It is not a dangerous or serious condition but it can cause a lot of inconvenience”。所以经过简单的治疗和几天休息，目前已大为好转。只是在症状完全消除前，不能开车，不能做实验。最后，谢谢大家的关心，我会尽快回来的！

家用小机器人

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:48:51 GMT

今天是“三 ‧ 八妇女劳动节”，我就给女同胞们介绍一款能帮你做家务的小机器人吧。

前不久在 Katie 的空间里看到了这款家用机器人，当时心就动了，总想给老妈也买一个，把她老人家从家务劳动中解放出来。可能是因为从小就喜欢琢磨这些好玩的电器产品，所以读评估、找 Deal、甚至到店里看了实物。现在对这个叫 Roomba 的小家伙算是有了比较全面的了解，就在这里介绍一下。

这款家用小机器人是美国 iRobot 公司的产品之一，iRobot 公司则是由来自麻省理工学院（MIT）的机器人专家们所创建的。经过十几年的发展，iRobot 开发出的军用机器人、家用机器人已经转化为成熟的产品，无论是在伊拉克战场上，还是在欧美的千家万户，都能看到它们的身影。这款英文大名叫 Roomba 的小家伙，简单说就是一个吸尘器，不过称它是机器人，那就和普通的吸尘器的工作方式不一样啦！具体怎么个不一样，请先点击下面的电视屏幕，开始看录像吧（2.5MB 的文件，下载可能会持续1－5分钟）。

Roomba 的主要优点：

可以通过遥控器设定工作时间，当主人不在家时能自动开始工作，完全不影响主人的家庭生活
强力的吸尘功能和旋转毛刷可能充分清扫地面，而侧面的小毛刷则能把墙角和家具周围积累的污垢清扫出来
能自动探测地面污物，如有必要，会自动在原地转圈，直至清理干净为止
遇到障碍能自动转弯，而且小巧紧密的结构，可确保机器人进入平时难以清扫的家具下方工作，使整个房间变得一尘不染
能探测地面特性，自动调节清扫程序，以适应地毯和硬质地面，达到最佳清扫效果
防坠落探测器能避免机器从楼梯或高处跌落
当工作完成或者电池电量不足时，会自动回到充电器所在位置开始充电

看完上面 Roomba 的介绍，你是不是也动心了呢？心动不如行动，这 200 美金绝对花得值！

（目前国内是否有卖的，我不清楚，不过 iRobot 公司已于2002年在中国大陆注册了商标，估计是要进入中国市场的。If you try to buy a Roomba in the United States, please take a look at the price of Roomba 4210 and Roomba 4230. ）

A Good Deal from Enterprise

Wed, 20 Jul 2005 23:36:02 GMT

Summer is coming. If you plan to go out during weekend, maybe this deal is good for you.

Enterprise has a great weekend deal of $9.99 per day for a rental car. Offer valid at parti-cipating Ohio locations only for rentals reserved in advance, ending on or before 12/31/05. Not valid at airport locations. Offer rate applies to an Economy car rented on Friday and ending on the following Monday, for a three day total of $29.97 and includes 150 miles per day. Offer rate does not include tax and/or additional surcharges, $0.25 or less per mile for excess miles, licensing fees of $2 or less per day, refueling fees, additional driver fees and optional damage waiver. Check your auto policy and/or credit card agreement for rental vehicle coverage. Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other offer, coupon or discounted rate. Normal rental qualifications apply. Vehicle availablility is limited and other restrictions, including holiday and blackout dates, may apply.

I tried this deal three times this year. From my own experience, there may be some modification of the offer rules. First, unlimited mileage not 150 mile per day. Second, a two day rental from Saturday to the following Monday is also good with the offer rate, total of $19.98 plus sale tax. Third, no license fee is applied. Last weekend, when I arrived the Enterprise rental office, they do not have any economy car available. So they gave me a Pontiac G6, a powerful and cool car! The best thing was that Enterprise picked me up from my home on Fiday and gave me a ride to my office when I returned the car on Monday. Too good to be true? Try it and enjoy yourself! (YMMV)

Wendy's Frosty Deal

Thu, 12 May 2005 04:49:07 GMT

This weekend Wendy's is giving away free, cool and creamy Jr. Frostys. Icy-cold, chocolaty refreshment, absolutely Free. No coupon needed. No purchase necessary. Just come in and say "Free Frosty". A "please" would be nice, but not required either.

Available in the US, its territories and select international markets. At participating Wendy's while supplies last. Limit one per customer. Friday, May 13th through Sunday, May 15th, 2005.

PS. I really like Wendy's food. In my opinion, Wendy's hamburgers and salads are more delicious than McDonald's. I also enjoy the chili soup in Wendy's. Try it, you may like it too. :-)