Mr Buffett tends to write allegorically when in defensive mode

Mr Buffett tends to write allegorically when in defensive mode. The allegorical phrases are in red. Interesting read.

Buffett admits Berkshire battered but stays bullish -- In typical fashion, Mr Buffett told investors that 2008 "was devastating ... for corporate and municipal bonds, real estate and commodities. By year end, investors of all stripes were bloodied and confused, much as if they were small birds that had strayed into a badminton game". Mr Buffett also warned that the greater reliance on government aid was likely to lead to unwelcome and lasting consequences for the wider economy: "In poker terms, the [US] Treasury and the Fed have gone 'all in'. Economic medicine that was previously meted out by the cupful has recently been dispensed by the barrel. These once-unthinkable dosages will almost certainly bring on unwelcome after-effects. Their precise nature is anyone's guess, though one likely consequence is an onslaught of inflation."
While conceding there was little reason to expect a quick improvement in the global economy, Mr Buffett stressed Berkshire Hathaway would remain "Gibraltar-like" in its financial strength and invited investors to consider that its insurance arm, Berkshire Hathaway's biggest business along with the group utilities investment division, "delivered outstanding results in 2008" and has "excellent prospects".

Gibraltar 定义是 An invincible fortress or stronghold; an impregnable stronghold.

Very minor nasal congestion still exists. I feel great about it, in a way.

I tried to head back to Hunan yesterday night but failed. I figured it wasn't gonna be enough time to get the ticket and to board the train. I'd rather leave today and board the train at leisure.

English Phrase

• I had nothing better to do, so I thought I'd go[come] along for the ride (凑热闹).
• The journalists gave the Prime Minister a pretty rough ride (给某人出难题、是某人难受).
• Thatcher's visceral (【文】（信仰态度）出自内心的、发自肺腑的) dislike of the European Monetary System.
• "Have a nice time, darling," she trilled. (“玩得开心点，亲爱的。”她欢快递高声道。)
• trill: 用颤音唱；发出颤音：birds trilling in the trees (在树上鸣啭的鸟)
  

There exist a certain pattern with catching a cold. The cold that I got isn't really over when I thought it should have been over during the night in Hong kong sleeping at Stanley's place. Today, in the office, my head and body is so heavy that I told DG that I got to leave for home to get some sleep. DG told me to try sleep on his bed. I tried, but I got up after an hour for the flimsy quilt could hardly keep me warm. Nonetheless, the hour of sleep recharged me. I got back to work. I kept myself sober and sane till 5pm and the cold symptom strike again.

castigate
verb [T] FORMAL
to criticize someone or something severely:
Health inspectors castigated the kitchen staff for poor standards of cleanliness.
Martina castigated her boyfriend for not remembering her birthday.

eyrie
noun [C]
1 (MAINLY US aerie) the nest of an eagle or other large bird which eats meat, usually built in a high, distant place
2 a room or apartment that is high up in a building:
I interviewed the chairman of the company in his seventh-floor eyrie.

chicanery
noun [U] FORMAL
clever, dishonest talk or behaviour which is used to deceive people:
The investigation revealed political chicanery and corruption at the highest levels.

Blogger's labeling seems useful, but having all the key phrase and keywords adding into the labels for this post seems a bit tedious and the right column looks awful after a few editions of the keywords and after they pile up. Perhaps I'd have to treat the label as topics instead.

Waked up 11:30am this morning. The word that I'm going to learn today is beset and at the coalface.

beset
adjective [after verb]
troubled (by); full (of):
With the amount of traffic nowadays, even a trip across town is beset by/with dangers.

at the coalface UK
doing the work involved in a job, in real working conditions, rather than planning or talking about it:
At the coalface with a deadline looming, you sometimes feel under a lot of pressure.
The new methods will help teachers working at the coalface.
If you work at the coalface, you deal with the real problems and issues, rather than sitting in a office discussing things in a detached way.