We have just returned from a European cruise and one of the highlights of the trip was visiting the
Leaning Tower of Pisa
比薩斜塔
我們剛從歐洲郵輪之旅回來，旅途精點之一是參觀了世界有名的比薩斜塔
The mystery of the tower, what causes it to stay leaning for hundreds of years?
我們剛從歐洲郵輪之旅回來，旅途精點之一是參觀了世界有名的比薩斜塔
You may have seen and read theories why the tower is leaning and I won't bore you with the same hearsay, let me present my findings after visiting many ruins and digging up historical documents in Rome.
I found a document which recorded that in 13th century a fitness craze swept through the town of Pisa and runners were often stretching and warming up their bodies by pressing against the base of the tower thus asserting great pressure to the tower for hundreds of years.
神秘的斜塔，是什麼原因導致它傾斜了幾百年？
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| 13世紀時跑步健身熱潮席捲比薩城，人們經常撐著塔柱做熱身所以對塔身有很大的壓力，過了幾百年就把塔推歪了. |
A recent unearthed construction field memo recorded that one important day when concrete columns of the tower were to be erected and the Architect Luigi was on site directing the works by using hand signals.
Just when the concrete was beginning to pour, a gorgeous woman walked by the field which caused stir and roars among the all men construcion crew. Architect Luigi could not contain himself but reacted instinctively, just like an Italian man would naturally do, by whistling and waving his hands to show his admiration for the beauty. The half dazed workers misinterpreted his hand signals and adjusted the final positions of the columns accordingly, which were slightly off the plumb line.
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| 我意外的發現了一頁施工記錄，記載著在那個很重要的日子，建築師路易吉在現場用手信號指揮混凝土灌注豎立塔柱. 當混凝土剛開始灌注的時刻，一個婀娜多姿的美女正巧経過，所有工人都看傻眼了，七魂六魄都去了九霄雲外，同時，就如義大利男人對看到美女的正常反应，路易吉很自然的对該美女揮舞雙手，吹口哨, 現場工人在如醉如癡中曲解了他的手勢，調整了塔柱的最終位置，但不知卻稍微偏離了垂直綫。水泥乾了才發現柱子歪了，路易吉從此成了設計歪塔的千古罪人. 後來，歷史學家確認這位讓路易吉神不守舍的女人原來是現在蘇菲亞羅蘭的曾曾曾祖母。 |
Later, historians have identified the attractive woman to be the great great great grandmother of Sophia Loren.
Recent discovery of a picture of
the architect Luigi which showed that the architect was born with an
unique set of eyes. That was the proof that the tower was designed and
constructed straight and level, according to the Architect's line of sight. That evidence should clear his bad name for ogling a woman at the
construction site and caused the tower to be leaning.
最近新發現了一幅路易吉的畫像，發現他有異於常人的視力，所以從他的長相可以看出當時他的計是正常的所以和他色迷迷地盯著一個女人造成塔傾斜的罪名無関.
So the tower was doomed at very beginning.
Other fun pics about the tower,
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| 危險，下跌遊客。 |
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去呀，現在沒人等上廁所.
不急，我不想溼了腳.
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導遊說，我們的身體應在24小時內恢復正常。
我希望如此。
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The leaning tower of Pisa may not be the only leanest towers in the world. Other contenders are trying to claim the title, such as:
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In June 2010 Guinness World Records certified the Capital Gate building in Abu Dhabi, UAE as the "World's Furthest Leaning Man-made Tower".[23] The tower has an 18-degree slope, almost five times more than the Pisa Tower; however the Capital Gate tower has been deliberately engineered to slant. The Leaning Tower of Wanaka in New Zealand, also deliberately built, leans at 53 degrees to the ground.[24]
比薩斜塔可能是唯一在世界上最歪的塔。其他的競爭者都想把它比下去，如：德國15世紀的廣場斜塔 Tower of Suurhusen，第14世紀的 Bad Frankenhausen。
2010年6月在阿布達比，首都門大廈，金氏世界紀錄認證為“世界上最歪的人造塔斜塔＂.
Hyatt Capital Gate Abu Dhabi
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In my opinion, the design could have been inspired by $$$:
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在我看來，設計靈感來自於錢堆
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OK, enough for crooked facts, let's face the more serious business around us.
說了一堆東倒西歪的趣事，讓老朽談些有関在美国正在發生的民間趣事.
October 16th is Boss's Day, did you remember to buy your wife a gift?
你知道明天10月16日是慶祝老闆曰，男士們, 你還記得替你的妻子們，自家的大老闆，買禮物嗎？
Do
you know, in addition to the national holidays, there are less well
known days in October being observed/celebrated by some of us, such as:
*International Day of Older Persons: 1
*Vodka Day: 4 Link
*You Matter To Me Day: 7 Link
*National Face Your Fears Day: 8 (2nd Tuesday)
*National Coming Out Day: 11
*World Egg Day (2nd Friday): 11 Link
*National Kick Butt Day: 14 Link (Second Monday)
* National Grouch Day: 15
*Hagfish Day: 16 (3rd Wednesday) Link
*Wear Something Gaudy Day: 17
*Birth of the Bab: 20
*Chucky, The Notorious Killer Doll Day: 25 Link
*Cranky Co-workers Day: 27
*Create A Great Funeral Day: 30 Link
According to the source of the above list http://www.brownielocks.com/october.htm
I counted that there are 176 special days in October alone. Don't ask me how they would be able to observe and celebrate all the special days in the month of October which has only 31 calendar days.
I counted that there are 176 special days in October alone. Don't ask me how they would be able to observe and celebrate all the special days in the month of October which has only 31 calendar days.
根據http://www.brownielocks.com/october.htm,我數了數，單單在10月，有176個特殊的日子。但你我都知道，10 月只有 31 天，如何能慶祝所有的特殊日呢？不必太認真啦.
Also,
October 1 is the birthday of People's Republic of China and October 10
is the birthday of the Republic of China, aka, Double 10th Day, and of
course, the Halloween is on the 31st.
此外， 10月1日是中華人民共和國的生日，10月10日是中華民國國慶，又名雙十節，當然，別忘了萬聖節或鬼日是10月31 日。However, while the poor worker bees have often been suggested and steered by the greedy card/gift hawkers to "celebrate" the Boss' Day or some would appropriately call it a kiss axx day, how many of us actually know there is an Employee's Day or Employee Appreciation Day on the 1st Friday of March? http://www.recognition.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=495
Now is October, have you ever received a card, gift from the boss or get a day off? Dream on.
然而，可憐的上班族往往被貪婪卡/禮品商人暗示要替老闆慶祝和送禮，俗稱舔屁屁日，但有多少人知道有一個員工日，就是3月的第一個星期 五？ http://www.recognition.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=495
現在是10月了，你有沒有從老闆那裏收到一張賀卡，或放一天假？美夢耶.
HMMM,
its my humble opinion that the Boss' Day and Halloween should be
combined and celebrated together. After all, don't you agree that only
the bosses are having fun giving treats or tricks to their employees,
anyway their hearts desire?假如，老闆日和鬼日併一天來慶祝，是誰會被整呢？
Throughout my working life, I have been bossed around and I never liked it. So the
only way I could fight back is to try to poke fun on the companies.
Some of the bosses did not take it lightly which obviously negatively affected my career advancement but a few of them do understand my wacky sense of
humors were, just harmless humors.
Years
ago, I worked for United Airlines as a Facility Architect at its
corporate office in Chicago and one of my projects were to create a
security partition for the safety of the CEO and his senior staffs. I created the following cartoons, Life behind the glass curtain. The cartoons were only shared with many of
my close colleagues.
One day a senior security officer of the company visited me and asked me for a better copy of the cartoons because his copy was a copy of many generations of bad copies. I was shocked to learn that my cartoons had been wildly distributed quietly among the employees. He told me that CEO Ferris had a copy and thought these cartoons were funny and often shared with his staff and friends. I asked the officer if the CEO knew who did these cartoons and he says yes. OUCH! but I was not fired over this incident.
One day a senior security officer of the company visited me and asked me for a better copy of the cartoons because his copy was a copy of many generations of bad copies. I was shocked to learn that my cartoons had been wildly distributed quietly among the employees. He told me that CEO Ferris had a copy and thought these cartoons were funny and often shared with his staff and friends. I asked the officer if the CEO knew who did these cartoons and he says yes. OUCH! but I was not fired over this incident.
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