From the World Trade Center in 1994

I received an email today from TouchNote today, saying "it's been over a year since you sent this photo as a Touchnote postcard! It's probably still out on display somewhere being enjoyed, too! Why not make someone's day with another postcard?"

The postcard shows a sunset view from the top of the World Trade Center at Lower Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, 20 years ago in 1994 when I first visited the Big Apple. The original World Trade Center featured landmark twin towers, opened on April 4, 1973 and destroyed in the September 11 attacks in 2001.

DIY Soy Milk Breakfast

I used to order soy milk with the Chinese fried bread sticks for breakfast in Las Vegas Chinatown in the Sunday morning. However, I found out how easy it was to make my own fresh soy milk after I got a high speed blender Vitamix. All you need are 1/2 cups of dried organic soybeans and four cups of water. With a high speed blender, you don't even have to soak the beans overnight. Blend on high for a minute; let it settle for 30 seconds; then blend it more for another minute. Filter it through a cheesecloth or a stainless steel mesh strainer. Put it in a large pot and bring it to boil, then let it simmer for 20 minutes, which will deactivate enzymes in the soy milk and get rid of the beany tastes.

The postcard was sent to my parents via TouchNote showing the first cup of my Do-It-Yourself (DIY) soy milk, serving with some Chinese fried bread sticks and cereals for a complete breakfast meal.

Go ATOM Trefl Sopot!

ATOM Trefl Sopot is a professional volleyball team from Poland that won double-champion. The team is currently playing in Confédération Européenne de Volleyball (CEV) European Champions League in 2014 for the third consecutive time.

Postcard US-2615864 sent via TouchNote to Poland shows billboards featuring the team in New York City, a composite image made by PhotoFunia with team photos from their Facebook page. Good luck ATOM Trefl Sopot! Maybe we will see you on billboards in New York City for real in the future.

Color Clay Pottery from Gansu: in Paper Cut Art

Postcard US-2452508 to Netherlands received on November 22, 2013 was a replacement card via TouchNote, showing an art piece of Chinese paper cut that depicts a color clay pottery container from an image scanned moment before it was sent. The original large-postcard-sized art piece, while not exactly a postcard, was sent in an envelop on October 14, 2013. As discussed in my previous blog, after traveling for more than 30 days, more than a dozen cards sent on that day are now overdue and none of the originals is registered. I have re-sent the cards, and some of the replacement cards were already registered so far. However, this one is unique and I don't have a duplicate.

Cover of the Color Clay Pottery from Gansu: in Paper Cut Art

The art piece was part of the collection produced by the Gansu Provincial Museum in Lanzhou, China. The other pieces sent earlier included US-2180320, etc.

Space Shuttle's Last Launch

Last Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis

It was the end of an era today two years ago when Space Shuttle Atlantis launched for the last time on July 8, 2011. The mission STS-135 marked the 135th and the final mission of the American Space Shuttle Program. Overall, it was the 33rd flight of Atlantis; 37th shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS); 110th post-Challenger disaster shuttle mission; 22nd post-Columbia disaster shuttle mission, and the 100th daytime launch.

I had seen several launches when I lived in Florida, I decided that I had to be there during the final launch. So, I flew in to Tampa from Las Vegas on July 7, 2012 and drove to Cape Canaveral the next morning. A young family in the crowd told me that they were from Oklahoma and also came just for the event.

The postcard was sent to Finland as US-1740602. Thanks to TouchNote's Challenge in May 2013, I got a copy for myself free.

The High Dive: Stars in Danger

TouchNote Card Featuring 2012 London Olympics Diving Events

It reminded me that I had received this TouchNote card featuring a diver during their 2012 London Olympics promotion when I was watching the finale of Jiangsu TV's show "The High Dive: Stars in Danger" on YouTube. It turns out that it has a Fox counterpart that "puts celebrities from widely different backgrounds in peril as they take the plunge into a whole new discipline... DIVING". Similarly, the contestants in this Chinese version show have received coaching by world class divers and Olympic medalists in a short period of time. They compete in a variety of different dives for an expert judging panel and in front of a live TV audience. I like the fact that the winner was once ousted but managed a come back. And it was a challenge to turn impossibles into a reality.

It's FourSquare Day!

My FourSquare Badges

Foursquare is a location-based social networking service for mobile devices. Users "check in" at venues from a device by selecting a nearby venue from a list located by GPS and/or network location. Each check-in awards the user points, and unlocks specials if offered by the venue. Badges are earned by checking in to certain venues or by completing certain tasks.

Foursquare declared April 16 "Foursquare Day" as April being the 4th month and the 16th being equal to four squared (4²).

My postcard US-2139832 sent to Germany on March 19, 2013 shows all the FourSquare badges I earned by then.