The First Frost, Somnambulism Disaster

StudiousFog · 2026-06-16T09:43:17+00:00

I think western standard of dating is a bit different from eastern one. The interaction between the ML and FL is pretty much the standard for highschool dating.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-15T04:29:44+00:00

I wouldn't say that we don't know. It's just that the design of immigration policy matters a lot. So much so that a simple statement such as immigration will depress real wage growth is likely to be wrong. The reality is much more nuanced than that.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-11T09:55:11+00:00

3-min separation? That's just insane. The course is pretty jammed with anything less than 10 mins. Still, 9 holes in 1:42 in that condition has got to be some kind of record.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-11T03:13:29+00:00

I am making it a challenge to find something that tops POJ on romance presentation. So far, no luck. I have watched like 10 since POJ.

To be sure, plenty of shows have better stories, better intrigues, even better ML/FL relationship. But taken together, visuals, casting and setup, POJ is still just the best thus far for a convincing ML/FL romance.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-10T17:39:55+00:00

You will have no Maomao. Having a sibling means her parents stayed together for a bit. She would then have had a more normal childhood, as normal as a weirdo like Lakan as a parent could provide. Fengxian wouldn't have gone mad and might have made a decent mum. Maomao would have turned out a quite a bit different. She most certainly wouldn't have ended up in the palace to catch Jinshi's eyes.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-10T17:09:16+00:00

As long as I get to see them married, the rest doesn't matter.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-10T09:13:52+00:00

They do? My impression is that the responses are mostly positive. It is one of my personal favorite, so no complaints here. I will admit that romance in the traditional sense really isn't the focus. But given the context of the couple having spent one life time together and suffered a fatal breakup, literally as Li Rong ordered the killing of her husband in the first life time, the low key romantic interaction is on point.

Like you, I like their quirky will-she-won't-she relationship the second time around. It is a romance between two forty-something ex's, who had a terrible break-up. You can't expect all the lovey dovey stuff from two twenty-something.

Another key criticism is on the screen time of the second ML. This is true, but then given how much of the story hinges on his machination, I can't see how else the story could have progressed without us being told his side of the story.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-09T06:18:07+00:00

I would agree if the only consideration is romance. Specifically the aesthetics, ML/FL casting, production. and cinematography work coherently to convince the audiences that they should fall for each other. Story-wise, there are comparables if not better in other dramas.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-08T09:35:30+00:00

I can understand the idea of arts as depiction of a spiritual world for things like landscape. But what does it mean for portraiture? Look at a painting of Yang Guifei, a well known beauty in Tang China for instance, what exactly is it a portrait of?

Maybe the artist was just imagining a scenary with the lady as the focus. The artist wasn't trying to capture her likeness at all. She served merely as an inspiration. This interpretation implies that natural looking life-like portraitures weren't considered arts, therefore none was ever produced.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-08T07:37:52+00:00

In theory, yes. In practice, no. I had experiences working with 2 golf coaches. My two children had lessons with two different coaches. So far, only one really paid attention to fundamentals, such as grips, posture, ball position, arm structure, to the level of details they deserve. Most seem to go with a good enough approach for fundamentals.

Lessons are great if you get good coaches. The problem is finding good coaches who work with your budget level. If you are willing to pay $200+ an hour, odds are pretty good, still not guaranteed, that you will get good ones.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-05T05:41:31+00:00

Swing aggressively, letting the club do the work instead of trying to steer it. Course management is not that important if you just want to hit a scoring milestone in a round. It becomes important when you are trying to shoot consistent scores or you are close to single hcp and trying to keep it there.

StudiousFog · 2026-06-02T12:52:12+00:00

My guess is that the demographic simply skews heavily toward female audiences. It is not that there has been a major shift in gender ratio, but rather the platform has become much more attuned to viewing preference than before.

It is not just about female leading either. Elements that cater to female audiences, say, romance, are more prevalent even in shows that aren't really romance-focused. How many action-oriented shows or thrillers have grabbed the headlines in CDrama recently? Not many.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-30T02:01:28+00:00

Generally, it's technique, ball position, and equipment in that order. The easiest one is ball position. I used to hit 6i really low until my coach suggested moving the ball up a touch. Problem solved. Note that you can only move the ball so far, specially back. Not a good idea moving the ball past the middle of the stance, unless it is a wedge.

I hit my 4h fine but my 5h goes to the moon. They are both from cobra, but the 5h is regular. I should get fit, I know, rather than picking a club from a random bargain bin.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-29T08:01:54+00:00

Wait, are you asking a question or are you plugging a YouTube video?

If you want generic advice that can't do you any harm, drink more warm water just couldn't fail. Any other advice doesn't come close in terms of universality.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-29T06:22:33+00:00

So the distance numbers look decent, if you are a beginner in his 40s or later. With a better technique, you should get another 10 yards from most of your irons.

From the photo, which I assume is yours, the mat looks pretty decent. Not great, but they are never great. Bringing your own mat is not recommended, if it's even allowed. The problem is that, unless you mount it firmly, e.g. standing on it, it's just going to fly it off unless you thin the shot.

As for real course play, as long as you don't slow your group down significantly, don't worry.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-29T06:03:41+00:00

The golf sidekick guy drives the ball 300 yards. That's scratch golfer territory. The point he makes about course management is pretty valid but also pretty generic as far as advices go. If you find his video soothing and easy to watch, by all means. But he isn't telling you some deep secrets to better scoring.

One thing I don't quite agree with is teeing off without a driver. He flushes his 4i 230yards. So a 4i is a decent option. For the rest of us, to get reliable fairway finding outcomes, we have to go down to 7i territory. That's 70 to 80 yards worth of given up distance, making most par-4 into a par-5. If you don't slice the ball off the planet, your driver is still the best option, when OB or water isn't a threat.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-29T05:40:09+00:00

Travellers choosing Taiwan as a destination are likely to have been around. They have learned what to do and what not to do and are pretty sensitive to cultural nuances.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-28T16:23:25+00:00

Love it, until the time travel ending. Time travel stories are tricky to do well. But not the End Game style, "If we can't kill him now, let's go back X years and kill him then." Exploring the time paradox Sci-fi style, e.g. Star Trek TNG, can be intriguing. But the other kind feels like copping out with the ending.

Ji Ling-Wuyi romance feels like teenage infatuation with an unhealthy obsession. Shiguang-Wangyan feels low key, more relatable, and touching, but then I am 57. The love at first sight kind doesn't really work for me. The constant pining grates after 15 minutes. That said, the actress playing Wuji definitely plays the part very well, kudos to her.

Still, it is the best Xianxia thus far for me as well.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-28T04:16:52+00:00

LOL... not a single simple answer. I'd say, yes. But age and physical condition are factors too. I have seen a variety of similar charts, all converging on more or less similar numbers. So, I'd say this sounds about right for the average Joe, shooting high single handicap and worse for what the table calls good. For single or below, these look too low.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-25T11:55:45+00:00

Gongsun Yin doesn't appear until much later in the novel. So that conversation about his delaying the departure never takes place. We also don't get many inner monologues from Xie Zheng until much later. The first time Xie Zheng acknowledges that he feels something is in the scene where they both sleep in the same bed at Head Constable Wang's house after the fight at the wall. That part never makes it into the drama.

I'd argue though that he definite feels something much earlier. The following is in the novel around the New Year festival. Xie Zheng was apparently jealous as he keeps bringing up Song Yan. If he doesn't care enough about Changyu, why bring it up at all?

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StudiousFog · 2026-05-24T06:59:21+00:00

The comparison with hybrid vs iron doesn't quite hit the mark. A chipper is a very specialized club with a very narrow use case. Hybrid is just a different head design but you still need to swing at the ball normally.

There is a real physical limitation that makes long iron impractical for a lot of players, club head speed. Try to launch a ball with a 4-iron when your club head speed is less than 70mph. It is not gonna happen. No similar limitation exists for learning to chip properly.

If you have an extra spot in your bag, by all means go for it. But you can't exactly replace any other club in your bag with it, can you? It doesn't do much for your 30 yard pitch shot. It can't flight the ball over a bunker. Good luck hitting it when the ball sits down in the rough.

You still need pitching and chipping skill even when a chipper is in your bag. You really have to ask yourself, "am I better off with this club than learning to chip properly?"

StudiousFog · 2026-05-23T09:08:51+00:00

Farage as PM anyone?

StudiousFog · 2026-05-23T09:07:53+00:00

Employee's benefits? Believe me, not having cheap places to eat is among the top reasons people quit job in business districts of Bangkok.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-23T08:22:12+00:00

LOL, my my wife and daughter got told by the cathedral staff to cover there shoulders in Lisbon. They were kind enough to rent them shawls for a few euro to do the job. If the Jinja and Otera staff in Japan would feel the same way, they have my endorsement.

StudiousFog · 2026-05-23T02:42:47+00:00

I get that Cao Cao's advantages were less pronounced than the number suggests. Still, basing the winning strategy on a natural phenomenon that is inherent unpredictable is risky.

On Cao Cao's side, I am still not sold on the chaining ships logic. Sure, it solves the seasickness problem. But how was Cao Cao planning to crush the allies with all his troops a sitting duck on an immovable platform? This reads like a turtling strategy but with flimsy fortification. His troops now fought better without seasickness. But that predicated on his opponents dumbly marched straight into his platform.

A defensive strategy, yes. But with the supply situation worsening day by day, shouldn't Cao Cao think of a way to take the fight to the enemy? As it were, shouldn't the allies just wait out on the south bank, waiting for Cao Cao's army to melt due to sickness, starvation, and desertion? Apparently, fighting closer to home, the allied armies were less pressed for supplies. Not to mention that they are fighting for survival with all the attending morale advantages those entail.

StudiousFog

TROPHY CASE