Shopping

It has been a while since Yunyao got her iPhone 4s, which is known for its "superb" camera --- "8MP camera with all-new optics also shoots 1080p HD video". 8MP on a cell phone sounds really impressive, does it? Maybe she finally can leave her big heavy Pentax for a while?

So she tested its performance with her favoriate model: Mayori.

First, let's test it under natural light setting:

"What's up?"

"I am sad ..."

"I am really really sad"

As a cat and modern design lover, I am always looking for cat items pleasant for both the cats and my aesthetic standard. I had my eye on the canine scratcher for a while, but its over 1000 USD price tag made it out of reach. However, recently, I found that it now costs "only" 395 USD. I pulled the trigger w/o too much hestitation since I need to buy the cats a holiday present anyway. However, I was still a little nervious at the purchase, as it would be a huge bummer if the cats don't like it. But I really love the design and can totally see how it fit with the rest of the house w/o screaming "cat furniture".

I recently stayed in Manhattan for a few days during a business trip. My colleague and I were looking for places to buy some special chocolate to bring back home. We asked a few locals New Yorker as well as consulted the web for recommendations. Here are the list of stores we collected.

• La Maison Du Chocola (store website)
• Vosges (store website)
• Jacques Torres (store website)

We only have 3 hours to spend in the city. So we went to La Maison Du Chocola store in the Rockefelle Center, the store closest to our hotel.

As many of friends, I recently acquired a HP Touchpad largely due to its low price. I don't really need a tablet, as I am sitting in front of computes almost all the time. My original plan was to turn it into an interactive cat toy, at least sometimes, so I can keep the two cats entertained while I am working.

Unfortunately, I could only find one game designed for the cats "The Catnip Collection". According to its website, it "is a variety of toys that will amuse and challenge your cat and its human".

The reviews seem pretty decent (4 out 5).

https://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=com.wtflolomgbbq.haxe.vct

China is a fast-changing country. Not surprisingly, the list of popular gifts for Chinese family, relatives and friends keeps on changing as well.  When I return to China, I always do some extensive research to gather an updated shopping list of gifts to buy. Here is a summary based on various gift-giving guides and online forum postings for my recent trip to China.

1. Parents/Elderly Relatives

* Vitamin Supplements

* Wisconsin Ginseng

Health-related gifts have been always appreciated in China. Even though the same product may be available in China, items bought oversea are considered as of higher quality.

2. Women

* Skin Care/Cosmetics

Most Western brands sold in department store such as Clinique, Estee Lauder and Lancome are very much adored by Chinese women. However, if you happen to get any free gift with purchase, don't gift that alone. Many people know that you get it for free, so it would be very insulting if you just give the free gift as a gift.

* Jewelry

I am consistantly looking for new ways to entertain the cats, as they get bored with their toys very quickly. One new toy I have recently bought for them is Hex Ant.

The old cat tree of Mayori and Tom were bought nearly 4 years ago and has started to show its age. I have been shopping for a new cat tree for a while now. I need something that is nicer than the typical carpet covered cat tree and goes well with the rest of the house. At the same time, I want to get something that Mayori and Tom can really enjoy. Unfortunately, there is very limited number of such choices on the market. One of them is Refined Feline Lotus Cat Tower Continue reading »

I have accumulated over 60,000 miles on British Airlines Executive Club reward account for a while now, but keep on having problem redeeming them. First of all, it is difficult to find any reward flight available; secondly, the fee is extremely high --- for a flight from SFO to LHR, I would have to pay 50000 miles + over \$600 fee, while the same flight costs less than \$1000 when paying with cash.

Over the weekend, I have investigated the problem and found out that one of the best ways to spend my BA miles is to redeem for British Airways' partner airline flights. However, it is not straightforward to do so, as BA would show its own flights with steep fee first, except when American Airlines and a couple of other partner airlines operate the same route.