Sunday, June 7, 2015

What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0072

3551.  Success does not insure health, wealth or happiness;
3552.  Airport lounges can be rather nice (specifically the oneworld International Business Lounge at LAX) . . . free food and drinks!
3553.  There are a lot of 7-Elevens in Hong Kong;
3554.  One U.S. dollar is worth 7.75 Hong Kong dollars (in May of 2015);
3555.  Hong Kong is 12 hours ahead of D.C.;
3556.  The weather in Hong Kong (at least in May) is similar to the weather in D.C. during the summer . . . 85 and humid;
3557.  Central Hong Kong reminds me of downtown Miami (i.e., Brickell). . . . I think it’s (because of) the palm trees;
3558.  Hong Kong has a unique smell to it;
3559.  The food in Hong Kong is very meat and starch heavy.  There aren’t a lot of vegetables (at least in the restaurants);
3560.  Evaporated milk is homogenized milk with 60% of its water removed and vitamin D added for nutritional purposes.  Sweetened, condensed milk is a mixture of whole milk and about 40 to 45% sugar, which is heated until about 60% of the water evaporates;
3561.  You don’t need to tip in Hong Kong;
3562.  In Hong Kong, you can buy liquor at 7-Eleven;
3563.  They still use bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong;
3564.  The driver’s seat is on the right side of the car in Hong Kong;
3565.  You have to custom order cars in Hong Kong. . . . Land is just too expensive for car dealerships;
3566.  You have to pay for bags in Hong Kong;
3567.  An insane number of people use the (Hong Kong) M(ass )T(ransit )R(ailway);
3568.  The escalators in the (Hong Kong) MTR are twice as fast as the escalators in the Washington Metro;
3569.  The (Hong Kong) MTR reminds me of the London Underground;
3570.  Electricity is really cheap in Hong Kong.  Apparently, it's (highly) subsidized by the (Hong Kong) government;
3571.  (I've been told) you go to Hong Kong for the food and (the) shopping, not the culture (i.e., because of all of the redevelopment from the lack of land);
3572.  Johnny said I have some “game;”
3573.  Every chromosome in the body has a little protective cap, called a telomere, on its end, which determines how quickly the body's cells age.  Exercise lengthens those telomeres, according to the first-ever controlled trial of telomere length, published in The Lancet Oncology.  The result: Fewer illnesses and a longer life, says lead author Dean Ornish, M.D., founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute;
3574.  When researchers from McMaster University (in Ontario) biopsied the skin of adults 40 and older, they found that those participants who regularly exercised had skin that, on a microscopic level, was similar to that of 20- to 30-year-olds;
3575.  When researchers asked a group of sedentary folks, aged 65 and older, to jog or cycle at about 65% of their maximum aerobic capacity for 30 minutes twice a week, it only took three months for their skin to resemble the skin of 20- to 40-year-olds.  Researchers believe that the various substances released by your muscles during exercise may be behind the suppleness;
3576.  In one Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, adults who performed regular exercise for just one year increased the size of their hippocampus (i.e., the memory center) and turned back their brains' clocks by about two years;
3577.  Apparently, it’s tradition for you to wash your dishes and eating utensils with hot tea at dim sum restaurants (in Hong Kong);
3578.  My (paternal) grandfather is a big fan of fish . . . and egg custard;
3579.  The rain and the mist are warm in Hong Kong;
3580.  It amazes me how people were able to haul up to (the summit of) Victoria Peak (i.e., a mountain) all of the materials needed to build an eight story shopping center;
3581.  I can say I’ve ridden in a Maserati;
3582.  Apparently, cars cost twice as much in Hong Kong as they do in the U.S. (because of the high import tariffs);
3583.  Wayne reminds me of an Asian Peter Griffin;
3584.  Yes, fried French toast is a thing;
3585.  The floating villages in Hong Kong don’t really exist anymore;
3586.  McDonald’s tastes different in Hong Kong.  The buns are fluffier and less chewy and they don't have a sour aftertaste. . . . The hash browns taste different too.  Apparently, they don't put salt on them;
3587.  My (paternal) great grandfather used to own shipping docks in Hong Kong(, which are probably worth billions today);
3588.  Most cars are black, gray, silver or white in Hong Kong;
3589.  Hong Kong has beaches. . . . Who knew?
3590.  There are 6 developed/main islands in Hong Kong;
3591.  The Sham Tseng area of Hong Kong is famous for roast goose;
3592.  If you want to get food smells and grease off your hands, try dipping your fingers in hot (black) tea;
3593.  Tsui Wah (TsuiWah.com) is (like) the McDonald’s of Hong Kong;
3594.  Apparently, there aren’t any open container laws in Hong Kong;
3595.  Yuzu is kind of like lemon;
3596.  There aren’t a lot of “to go” street food stalls in Hong Kong anymore;
3597.  There’s a great view of the Hong Kong skyline from the Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade in Kowloon;
3598.  The Tian Tan Buddha (i.e., “Big Buddha”) in Hong Kong isn’t that old.  It was completed in 1993;
3599.  There are wild dogs at the Tian Tan Buddha . . . and wild cattle;
3600.  My uncle used to be (the) treasurer for the Hong Kong Jockey Club;