August 28, 2008

Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace

Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center is in Madison, Wisconsin, very close to the State Capitol and facing the Monona Lake.
Such a great spot for residents, travelers to take some rest and enjoy a fantastic lake view.

I visited every day while we stayed at Madison. No matter reading, writing, eating or doing nothing, it is a very welcoming center for me in the city.

I never imagined that Madison is such a quiet and neat place. My limited knowledge to Wisconsin was only their dairy business thanks to the TV series "Spin City". Hahaha

Frank Lloyd Wright was born here in Wisconsin and has become the best well-known master of the American modern architecture. This is the 3rd design of Wright that I've seen after Guggenheim and Falling Water. I do not know much about architecture but his design is really inspiring as how he balanced what he creates with the big nature. I'm very looking forward to seeing more works of his in Chicago Oak Park.

August 22, 2008

Best Colleges 2009

Today there comes out the best colleges 2009 ranking: Though it is not necessarily the golden rule but good reference for young generation.

1. Harvard University, tuition $36,173, acceptance rate 9%
2. Princeton University, tuition $34,290, acceptance rate 10%
3. Yale, tuition $35,300, acceptance rate 10%
4. MIT, tuition $36,390, acceptance rate 12%
4. Stanford University, tuition $36,030, acceptance rate 10%
6. Caltech, tuition $34,437, acceptance rate 17%
6. University of Pennsylvania, tuition $37,526, acceptance rate 16%
8. Columbia University, tuition $39,326, acceptance rate 11%
8. Duke University, tuition $37,525, acceptance rate 23%
8. University of Chicago, tuition $37,632, acceptance rate 35%
11. Dartmouth College, tuition $36,915, acceptance rate 15%
12. Northwestern University, tuition $37,125, acceptance rate 27%
12. Washington University in St Louis, tuition $37,248, acceptance rate 17%
14. Cornell University, tuition $36,504, acceptance rate 21%
15. Johns Hopkins University, tuition $37,700, acceptance rate 24%
16. Brown University, tuition $37,718, acceptance rate 14%
17. Rice University, tuition $28,996, acceptance rate 25%
18. Emory University, tuition $36,336, acceptance rate 27%
18. University of Notre Dame, tuition $36,847, acceptance rate 24%
18. Vanderbilt University, tuition $37,005, acceptance rate 33%
21. University of California - Berkeley, tuition (in-state $8,932, out of state $29,540), acceptance rate 23%
22. Carnegie Mellon University, tuition $38,844, acceptance rate 28%
23. Georgetown University, tuition $38,122, acceptance rate 21%
23. University of Virginia, (in-state $9,300, out of state $29,600), acceptance rate 35%
25. University of California - Los Angeles, (in-state $7,034, out of state $26,102), acceptance rate 24%
26. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, (in-state $11,111, out of state $32,401), acceptance rate 50%
27. University of Southern California, tuition $37,740, acceptance rate 25%
28. Tufts University, tuition $38,840, acceptance rate 27%
28. Wake Forest University, tuition $36,975, acceptance rate 42%
30. University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, tuition $37,372, acceptance rate 35%

33. New York University, tuition $22,294, acceptance rate 37%
34. Boston College, tuition $37,950, acceptance rate 27%
35. University of Wisconsin - Madison, (in-state $7,568, out of state $21,818), acceptance rate 56%

41. University of Washington, (in-state $6,802, out of state $23,219), acceptance rate 65%

44. University of California - Davis, (in-state $8,635, out of state $28,656), acceptance rate 59%

47. University of Texas - Austin, (in-state $8,130, out of state $25,722), acceptance rate 51%

53. George Washington University, tuition $38,530, acceptance rate 37%
53. University of Maryland - College Park, (in-state $8,005, out of state $23,076), acceptance rate 47%

56. University of Ohio - Columbus, (in-state $8,679, out of state $21,918), acceptance rate 59%

71. Virginia Tech, (in-state $7,397, out of state $19,605), acceptance rate 67%

80. St Louis University, tuition $30,728, acceptance rate 80%

83. American University, tuition $33,283, acceptance rate 53%

96. University of Arizona, (in-state $5,542, out of state $18,676), acceptance rate 80%

102. Howard University, tuition $14,685, acceptance rate 54%
102. Illinois Institute of Technology, tuition $27,513, acceptance rate 57%

August 20, 2008

Comcast finally agree to refund us $150

This morning Comcast called and after 20 minutes talking with my husband, Comcast finally agreed to refund us the $150 they overcharged us half year ago.

The long long story started Sept, 2007 when we just moved in the new apartment and saw the website promotion deal and we signed for it but after month, we found the amount of bill was not correct, then we unsubscribed it after 3 months and hence starting the complaints to Comcast.

Why Comcast finally agreed to refund today but not earlier? The truth is that Comcast sent their service team to negotiate with us but not successfully. After they took the Comcast box back from us, my husband sued the case to Better Business Bureau. After a few while, BBB responded us with Comcast's answer and asked us if we are not satisfied with their answer, need to raise it up within 10 days. So we did and did it three times because "we don't have the record" or "we cannot locate the customer" didn't appear the right direction for the solution, not even close.

After a while BBB sent us an email saying: unfortunately you are still not satisfied with service of the provider's answer...etc. Sounds like not much progress... At the end my husband would only want Comcast to get a ticket for what they did to customers, nothing more to expect.

Today Comcast management team called and finally they said they will send us $150 check to compensate the extra charge done to us. Seems finally Comcast management team do not want to see a customer complaint listed in their record for too long. Good that my husband insists on what he thinks needs to be done.

August 12, 2008

Ten Schools

I read an article of a magazine and they talk about the best 10 Boarding Schools in USA:

1. Choate Rosemary Hall: Connecticut
2. Deerfield Academy: Massachusetts
3. The Hill School: Pennsylvania
4. The Hotchkiss School: Connecticut
5. The Lawrenceville School: New Jersey
6. The Loomis Chaffee School: Connecticut
7. Phillips Academy: Massachusetts
8. Phillips Exeter Academy: New Hampshire
9. St. Paul's School: New Hampshire
10. The Taft School: Connecticut

Connecticut has 4, Massachusetts 2, New Hampshire 2, New Jersey 1, Pennsylvania 1.

They are schools that the rich families would send their children to study. :)

August 8, 2008

Midwest Trip Part I


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Where is Midwest of USA?
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri!

We have the luck to drive through cities like Indianapolis of Indiana State, Saint Louis of Missouri and Columbus of Ohio in the beginning of June. And in the end of August, we'll go visit Milwaukee and Madison of Wisconsin & Chicago of Illinois.