Once Upon A Dreamer

What is Your Deepest Fear

2008-01-22T22:49:00.000+08:00

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves,
    who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually,
    who are you not to be?

You are a child of destiny.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
We were born to make manifest the freedom of choice that is within us.
It's not just in some of us;
    it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
    we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
    our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

Temptations

2007-07-13T11:48:00.000+08:00

As a book lover and tech gadget enthusiast I have been on a self appointed quest of holy artifact. This magical trinket, this temptation of men, this device which contains all the good and evil in this world can be think of as my personal Holy Grail. For 6 long and futile years I have searched and not found.

This sacred device is none other than an E-Book Reader. To me, a portable library is one definition of wealth. Imagine the sum of human knowledge that can fit comfortably on the palm of your hand. I have trouble remembering everything I see, so the idea of having information at the tip of my finger is extremely attractive. For the longest time I thought about buying an iPod and use it as a document reader. My friends called me crazy. They denounced my plan as a criminal waste. Yet, through all the disbelief and chuckle, I couldn't get the idea out of my head.

There is this image in my mind, of a man holding up an Apple, standing in the Garden of Eden. To possess the Apple is to know Good and Evil. Simultaneously, I would imagine me, holding an Apple iPod, and peering into depth of its screen.

Alas, this purchase would not be economical. For the price of 80G iPod at 350 dollars, I can buy a cheap laptop that not only read documents, play music, show movies, but also run programs.

This is a common problem with all the e-book reader devices. Sony Reader costs $300. The iLiad costs $700. Hanlin eReader V8 costs $300.

I know it is ironic, for I have just proclaimed the pricelessness of a portable library then I turn around and complain that $300 is too much.

I confess, I am full of contradictions. I keep working towards a sense of consistency, of harmony. Sadly I have not yet achieved that inner peace.

If you are familiar with Arthurian Legend, only the pure of heart may possess the Holy Grail (In my case, the e-book reader). The notion is made particularly memorable by Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "He who is valorous and pure of heart may find the Holy Grail in the aaaaarrrrrrggghhh..."

We don't know where aaaaarrrrrrggghhh is located. Life is like that, directions aren't always very clear even with Google Maps and GPS. In fact, even when I do achieve my Holy Grail, I might find the reward vastly different from what I have imagined. Having sums of knowledge in my hand is not the same as knowing or understanding.

"This brings us to another point of view on the Grail", Tracy Twyman said it best in her paper, What the Hell is the Holy Grail:

[T]hat it is a spiritual experience. The Grail is described as the most worthy thing that one can seek, and those who embark upon the quest for the Grail must be completely pure of heart. One does not merely “find” the Grail; one “achieves” it, and at that point is initiated into its secrets. Just seeing it causes an overwhelming, trance-like state of awe and reverence, and the experience causes a complete transformation of the soul.

I hope you have your own Holy Grail Quest. Maybe it is a girl or perhaps that new job. It is the journey towards your treasure that will transform you.

Einstein sums up this mythical moral lesson of Arthurian tale well, "You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created." Therefore, in order to achieve your dream, you must grow into it, and make it real. For me, that means before I can go buy an e-book device, I must go and raise my income level =)

~Random thoughts on pricey e-book devices.

P.S. I am also debating if I should buy the following items

Digital Camera:
Canon SD850 Combo [$389.97] or Canon SD1000 [$206.99].

Graphics Table:
Cintiq [$2499]
I don't need it, I am not skillful enough to utilize it, but by all that is holy I want one.

External Hard Drive:
~~My Book Essential 500GB 7200RPM [$124.99] or My Book Premium [$179.99].~~
I bought the premium one.

Computer Upgrade: CPU and Heatsink
~~AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Toledo 2.0GHz Socket 939 Processor [$69]~~ Bought it.
Cooler Master RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm CPU Cooler [$26.99]

I will probably hold off on the digital camera, I don't take that many pictures. I want to buy the Toledo and update my computer in Taiwan and add the My Book Premium as a file depository between my Macbook and Desktop.

I also have this desire to build myself another custom computer and transform my Taiwan desktop to a XP/Ubuntu system. This plan is tentative, I will have a better idea once i get back to Taiwan.

Quick Update

2007-05-31T08:15:00.001+08:00

Shows I enjoy has a tendency to get canceled. Firefly was a daring mix of sci-fi, western, and East meets West. The vision was too daring for the Fox Network. The show was canceled after only eleven of the fourteen produced episodes were aired. However the strong DVD sale resurrected the show. The ill fated series came back as a 2005 film Serenity and shined for one last glorious appearance.

Recently another show I enjoy was dead. Jericho was canceled after only 1 season. Even worse, the season finale ended with a cliff hanger that may never be resolved.

I came upon the show Scrubs late on the end of its 5th season. I enjoy it immensely, so you can probably guess what fate awaits this show now that I watch it and love it. Yes, scrubs was almost canceled after season 6. By some miracle, the network decided to extend the show for one more year.

Is it possible for a person to possess a super power to end television shows? This has to be one of the most useless super power out there if possible.

Some other shows I watch from time to time are Heroes, 4400, and Avatar. Hopefully they won't be cut tragically short too.

Here are 10 news songs I enjoy.
Snow Patrol - Run
Amanda Abizaid - A Place in Time
The Fray - Over My Head
Mat Kearney - Nothing Left to Lose
Nickelback - Far Away
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Thirteen Senses - Into the Fire
Five for Fighting - World
Goo Goo Dolls - Better Days
Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved

Taiwan MTV top 20 chart link.

On a personal note, I got my hands on Total Pimsleur Japanese Cassette Program and has started the lessons.

Also, on the day dreaming side of my life a.k.a. impractical life planning, I am adding a plan to get a dog. Getting a dog itself is not that weird and impractical, at least, not until I explain my reasoning. I want to get a dog and train it to sniff out cancer. I have tons of these kind of weird impractical pet project listed, maybe someday I will have the time and money to try them.

- updated side bars
- updated songs
- updated clock
- updated slider (added a song that plays when the blog loads, feel free to disable it with the sound button in slider)

-plan to add another section to side bar
-if i have time, construct my own Slider.

Advance on Emergency Medicine

2007-05-02T10:20:00.000+08:00

Fascinating read on emergency medicine. The definition of death has always been changing with the advance of medical technology. Just 100 years ago, death is equated with the stopping of the heart. Now we have defibrillator that shock the heart into functioning. Another similar discovery is now coming into light.

It appears we might be able to resuscitate a person who has stopped breathing for an hour. Under modern medicine it seems most people aren't dying from oxygen deprivation and cell break down. In fact, cells of a person who has "died" for an hour has no signs of cellular break down. The startling discovery is that we actually die from the re-introduction of oxygen into the system.

You see, once the cell has been deprived of oxygen for too long (about 5 minutes) then get re-introduced to oxygen, our body will stop recognizing those cells as friendly. Our body treat these "unfriendly cells" as abnormal cells - aka cancer. The standard body cellular response is programmed cell death - to stop the spread of these "abnormal cells".

So it is kind of ironic, under modern medical care, most of us will die under these involuntary cellular response to false cancer alert.

Now, knowing the real reason of how we die, emergency medicine can be extended up to an hour after breathing stops.

I am wondering how brain damage from oxygen deprivation fit into the article, since it wasn't mentioned. But still, this discovery is a great step towards better medical care.

EDIT: the same story reached Slashdot: Treating the Dead. Read it there.

Weddings

2007-05-02T08:45:00.000+08:00

Billy-Bob and Julia 8/4/2007 Wedding coming up

Mikey-Poo and Jessica 9/30/2007 Wedding coming up

Economy, People, and Faith

2007-05-02T05:23:00.000+08:00

My interest in economy is growing. Numbers has always been interesting to me, but add the human intent of 6 billion people behind those financial statistics, the reports almost unfold like a drama. Maybe it is just my over active imagination and lack of economic background, but I found it a challenge to separate facts from propaganda. More often than not, I had to read the same event from the US News Source, Chinese News Source, Digg's comments, and Europe News Source to get the full picture.

I am currently learning about world economy in terms of birth-rates. Without a formal study of economic, I started with some assumptions. Such as - 1. finance is driven by people, 2. supply and demand is not artificially conjured by companies, 3. competition is relatively free to reflect that supply and demand. In another words, I am trying to figure out financial trends in-terms of human psychology. I am interesting in the long term overall picture of the interaction between money and people.

An interesting thing to note is that China is having a baby boom right now due to a slight change in the One Child per Family Policy. I am still trying to figure out how that factors into world economic trends. How does a baby boom of the world's more populous country shape spending trend? I plan to take a look at the US baby boom after world war and see if the two can be compared and the trend predicted.

China's population is expected to reach 1.36 billion by 2010 and 1.45 billion by 2020. The peak will come in 2033 with a total population of 1.5 billion, according to a report issued by the State Population and Family Planning Commission this January.

On similar news, Japan's baby boomers started to retire this year and US baby boomers will begin to retire soon (see 3.Shifting Demographics of Western Civilization from Global Intelligence Briefing for CEO).

It seems developed nations has a trend of lower birth-rate. I am interested in finding out why. Is it the taxes? the social pressure? government regulation? Is the lower birth-rate an essential element towards becoming a developed nation or is it a by-product of becoming a developed nation?

China seems to think it is an essential element judging by the implementation of One Child per Family policy, but i am not quite convinced - then again, I don't even know enough to ask the right questions yet.

There are some million-dollar questions that countries would love to find the answers. How to maintain a stable economy with a society that is heavily populated with elderly. By 2020 Japan will have 1 in 5 people over age 70. Japan's birth-rate is 1.3 and you need 2.1 to maintain stable population. Japan will loose 60 million in population number by 2020.

Some things are easy to foresee, even for me. Housing cost will decrease in a society that decreases in population. In fact that has been happening for 14 straight years in Japan. The same real estate trend will happen in US as US baby boomers start to retire. The problem is that Real Estate has been one of the 3 backbones of US, along with Stock and Auto-Industry. A tripod missing one leg is shaky and unstable. In fact, I think it is urgent for US to rethink its fundamental planning.

Before, trying to encourage new housing and production of cars, US tend to build houses far apart, with wonderful yards and separate commercial and living zone to the point that everyone must have a car to buy milk. The zoning makes sense before because it props up auto-sale, but is now hurting the economy. As oil price rises, driving everywhere is costly. Baby boomers that get older would also be better served to live in a tighter community, with public transportation.

Of course, Urban planning at this late stage won't save or change the economy in the short term. But I think it is a wise long term investment. What US will have to do short term is shift and update its service industry to cater to elderly. Which I am surprised I have not seen yet. There are not nearly enough nurses for home care, there are no competent public transportation to allow elderly to travel freely, there are no education for elderly to ease them from retirement to a life of productivity.

I found it odd that we have required education to ensure children acquire the minimum skill to function in society but no such education for elderly. Such education for elderly can serve many purposes, not the least it will enable elderly to form new social networks. It can inform elderly of voluntary services that will mutually benefit society and the retiree. It can educate about rampant elderly fraud. It can teach about health care issues. The list goes on and on. On a similar note, why isn't practical money management a required course of high school or college? Just a simple course to teach kids about the dangers of credit cards, about loans, basic tax preparations and keeping receipts. This kind of practical course will be beneficial and pays for itself by cutting down credit card debts.

The more I learn about economy the more abstract it becomes. At first, it is all numbers and trend, products and service. But more and more it is about intents and demands, fears and hope. In fact, at one point I was thinking how much similarity religion and money have in common. Religion is about faith, the more a person believe in it, the more power it has to change your life. Money is about faith, the more people believe in it, the more purchasing power it has to buy things. Both system are build upon faith. Both are imaginary to begin with. Money without faith backing it is just pieces of useless paper. Religion without faith backing it is just a gruesome fairy tale. It makes me slightly uncomfortable that out of the two faith based system I find money more real than religion.

Life

2007-04-24T10:37:00.000+08:00

Things to write down so I can forget

2007-04-17T17:19:00.000+08:00

What's the point of having a good memory if you still make the same mistakes over and over?

A person who believes in nothing is at least as mistaken as a person who believes in everything.

Reading the same book twice I always find something new in it. Since the words has been the same ink on the same paper, I must assume it was me who has changed.

I once read that art is the result of a stable society, that after enough food and security is achieved, art naturally flourish. Yet when I look around, many of the best art are achieved under the darkest of human conditions. I am convinced art is a tool for survival and not the result.

In the absence of external pressure, your body's internal pressure becomes deadly. Perhaps, in the absence of small talk - these little white noise acting as external pressure, our own internal turmoil becomes unbearable too.

Star Shine, Star Bright

2007-04-16T08:23:00.000+08:00

Beautiful night sky.

The Space in Between

2007-04-16T03:36:00.000+08:00

Space and Time is interchangeable. Look far enough into the universe and you will see the past staring back at you. The distance involved is astronomical. In order to visually re-live 1 single second that has passed, you must look past 3x10^8 meters - roughly the distance of 7 times around Earth. Such is the value of a single second.

Now, to bridge the gap of one year, that distance moves to 9.46x10^15 meters - enough to travel from Earth to Sun 65,743 times.

Is it any wonder couples with an age gap sometimes have a hard time communicating? To be so far apart as to render the term long distance relationship inadequate.

~ Random thoughts after reading "The Speed of Dark" by Elizabeth Moon

Writing Advice: Kurt Vonnegut

2007-04-12T13:25:00.000+08:00

Kurt Vonnegut recently died. A notable author in the literary world, he has this to say about writing:

Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.
Start as close to the end as possible.
Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Those words are the extend of my knowledge regarding the man. I found his words useful and I hope you find some good use for the advice too.

p.s. If you want to know more about the man. Here are some more of his own words, spoken at 82. Enjoy.

Far Away

2007-04-02T05:10:00.001+08:00

Pride and Prejudice has never been my favorite book. Though my valiant English teacher from long ago tried very hard to bring forth light and wisdom of classical literature to the barbarian that is me, she did not succeed. My love went to the science fiction, the space opera, and the fantasy. However, I thought this song compliments Pride and Prejudice very nicely. Together they inspired a desire in me to reread Pride and Prejudice. My English teacher would be proud, perhaps I am not a complete lost cause - just someone far away looking for his way home.

For some reason this song made me thought of Carol. I miss you. Hope you are doing well.

Glimpse

2007-04-02T05:01:00.001+08:00

If you don't understand the video don't worry about it. It represents a world that you do not live in. Enjoy the music. It is now my favorite song.

One

2007-03-08T14:10:00.000+08:00

Felt a little lost when I found out hotchocolatte's blog is gone. It had been months since I last visit her site. Her last post, dating back maybe a year, ended on a troubled note. Something about a personal relationship. I wonder how she is doing now.

The funny thing is, I can't really remember how I came upon her site. Our path crossed by accident. I believe she was in Philippine, and I was in Taiwan. Our only common ground was our blogs, it is kind of amazing how people hundreds of miles away cross paths through simple html codes and a simple desire to write.

Where ever she is, I hope she is well. The impression she left on me was a smart and capable girl. Pretty artistic too judging by her tastefully done website. So this one is for her. This one i am leaving as her footprint for remembrance.

Promise

2007-03-07T13:30:00.000+08:00

I promised Carrie some pictures, here are some from past weekend. It was a trip to Indianapolis to see Carol and some misc picture from the construction site.

Waiting

2007-03-07T10:49:00.000+08:00

Just sitting here, waiting.
Waiting for breath, calm, and peace of mind.
Waiting for the pebbles of life to sink into the bottom of one's lake.
Waiting for the ripples to spread and spread and fade.

It is easy to stare into a cup of green tea and imagine the lake of dark water staring back at you. Sometimes I wonder if my older relatives' ease and grace came from a life time of drinking these green tea. Absorbing that sense of peace and soak that rich aroma into their soul. Surely if I learn to sit still and enjoy this cup of tea, the warm water will someday round out my jagged edge and make me smooth.

It seems rather a lot to expect from a little cup of tea. Still i drink. Still I hope.

A Brief Technical Note

2007-03-05T00:03:00.000+08:00

Found an old friend on Facebook, I do believe we first met during middleschool. She was the first person I could really talk to, so this has been a pleasant surprise. Since my blogs are linked on my facebook and she might visit this site, I decided to do a little "house cleaning".

Lately I tend to view my own site with firefox or Safari, ever since I got my MacBook Laptop. My first step of house cleaning was to check to see if IE renders my site properly. It turns out, with an 800x600 resolution on IE, the 3rd column is broken and pushed down.

This kind of issue usually invovles an unusually long word or link that exceeds the column width. I found the culprit and shortened it.

While logging on to Blogger I got an offer to upgrade the account to the newer version of Blogger that has been in beta for over a year. Of course, curious to see what I have been missing, I spent a couple minutes and upgraded the account.

They have this new label system for each post now. So now I can label posts as technical (boring, only for my own amusement), or label by area (such as Chicago), or label by mood, events, time, occasion...etc. The end result is that you the reader can sort my writings easier and find what you wish to read much faster. (provided I take the time, dragging my lumbering lazy soul, and add a couple tags)

The new blogger system has a downside, the Navbar is displayed prominently on the top, which unfortunately blocked out part of my blog title. I tried shifting the whole blog down by 40px, but alas, the columns refuse to shift.

what i had to do is code in a css to hide the navbar.

#navbar-iframe /* Indicating to the Navbar ID */
{
height: 0px; /* Reducing the height of the Navbar to 0px */
visibility: hidden; /* Reducing the visibility to hidden */
display: none; /* Remove the display option(indirectly hiding it */
}

people who have taken out their navbar in old blogger might notice many similarities with the old code

#b-navbar /* Indicating to the Navbar ID */
{
height: 0px; /* Reducing the height of the Navbar to 0px */
visibility: hidden; /* Reducing the visibility to hidden */
}

instead of the old b-navbar, we simply replace the old code with navbar-iframe. Here is a more detailed walkthrough if you need more help.

I also added Marie and Mike's websites to "Footprints", these two are their official band website, and deserves a mention. I am personally musically challenged, that is part of the reason I didn't add their website to my personal links till now.

There is also this promise of mine to Carrie, for a blog update, to show that I am still alive and well. Let me assure you this is not that update. It will be cruel and unusal to make her read through this boring post. The more interesting post with pictures will come later in the week, once I uploaded the photos from my digital camera.

Heroes

2006-12-05T09:42:00.001+08:00

Scrubs 6th Season Episode 1 has been very disappointing. This is the last year of the show and the age is starting to show. Everyone looks a bit tired and the material is getting dated.

However, Heroes came to the rescue. The show is literately named Heroes. Episode 11 will begin in 8 minutes, so I have to cut this short and go watch it. You should too.

update: NBC the premiere channel for Heroes has generously released Hero on their website for anyone to watch, free.

A good place for theories, speculation, and all around discussion is NBC Heroes Forum. This can be your harbor to tie you through till Jan 22, the next new episode.

To Do List

2006-11-28T15:21:00.001+08:00

The year is almost over. I would like to start my New Year Resolution and Reflection a month early - because there is no better time to start than now.

- Start Learning Japanese (set a schedule and follow through)
- Learn to deploy and utilize SQL database (this one is not likely, my hope is to create my own interactive quotation database...kind of like bash.org)
- Learn to type faster in Chinese (practice, practice practice)
- Learn to read simplified Chinese fluently (I am only fluent in Traditional Chinese. I will start with the most common 1000 words used daily. Mainland China uses Simplified Chinese, this will create more job opportunity.)
- Find an Aikido class and join it. The eventual goal is the mastery over oneself.
- Jog on a regular basis, not just when I feel like it.
- Stretch. I would love to be flexible again.
- Be a vegetarian for a month. (overall, eat less meat, eat more veggie, drink more water)

Other big projects that will take a more than 10 years
- Buy and own a house, then remodel it to be a zero energy house that is self contained.
- Write 2 books.
- Live forever
- Open my own library or bookstore

Obviously, living forever is not likely. But I figure I would aim high for the moon so when I fall short I would at least land amongst the stars.

Okay, those should be enough to keep me busy for a while.

The Story

2006-11-27T18:02:00.001+08:00

Can't sleep.

It doesn't seem right a person can feel so tired but unable to sleep. Surfing through TV channels at 1 am revealed some pretty weird commercials - the kind of commercials you just have to wonder "Are there actual people in this world that these ads are targeting?"

I hope not.

In the end, I settled on this old movie "The Story of Us". Have you ever wanted to see what happens after a fairytale ends with "...and they lived happily ever after."? If you do, then "The Story of Us" is made for you. There are no witches and poison apples - no easy common enemies - no black and white answers. What you have are two person who loves each other and have to live through the mundane chores of life. This movie is about love after 15 years.

Surprisingly I found the film engaging and very watchable. It doesn't hurt that Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer did the talking. In fact, of all the super hero roles Bruce Willis played - Armageddon, 5th Element, or Sin City - I thought this struggling husband is his most heroic. When I first saw this movie 3 years ago I didn't appreciate this movie as much. There wasn't any action or much humor. It is just about two people. I suppose the movie didn't change, but I did.

The fact I understand this film makes me a little sad. It is a sudden realization of this lost of innocence. Yet for the life of me I can't figure out where I lost it.

Weather forecast says it will rain tomorrow. 95% chance of rain. Nothing seems certain now a days, not even about condensations in the air. That is just life for you, and for me.

10 Most Played Song of Nov 2006

2006-11-16T03:47:00.000+08:00

Once again, updated top 10 songs of the month and placed them on the right side column.

The Fray - How to Save a Life

Colin Hay - Beautiful World

Hinder - Lips of an Angel

Switchfoot - Learning to Breath

Del Amitri - Tell Her This

Kutless - All of the Words

Guided By Voices - Hold on Hope

Mary Beth - Daydream Believer

范瑋琪 - 黑白配

光良 - 童話

周蕙 - 寂寞城市

TV Online

2006-11-15T12:05:00.001+08:00

My unhealthy and slightly unnatural binge known as Scrubs is now officially over. Many hours was wasted in enjoyment and vegetation. It was great ^_^

While in pursuit of Scrubs goodness, I may have inadvertently bump into the next trend of technological fad - TV Online.

Everyone knows about Youtube, the 1.5 billion dollar video deposit purchase by Google. People upload vblogs, webcam diary, movies, and TV shows.Also increasingly networks are placing their shows online, such as The Daily Show. Check it out, you might enjoy it.

Scrubs Quotes

2006-10-16T12:56:00.000+08:00

John Dorian

It's the kid inside of us that keeps us all from going crazy.

===================================

J.D.:(Thinking) All right, tell him how you feel, but try not to sound like a girl for once.
J.D.: (Saying Out Loud) I miss you so much it hurts sometimes.

=====================================

[Dr Cox tried to drink himself to death due to the death of his 3 patients. JD made a speech 2:30 into the video:]
I didn't come earlier [to visit you] because...I was scared.
I guess after all these time, i still think of you like this super hero that will help me out in any situation I am in. I needed that. Well, that's my problem and I will deal with that.
I guess I came over here to tell you how proud of you I am. Not because you did the best you could for those patients, but because after 20 years being a doctor when things go badly you still take it this hard...that's the kind of doctor I want to be.

===================================

J.D.'s thoughts on loneliness

Carla:

[2:47 into the video] Please, Elliot, this is not about Paul... This is about you! This is about you not being able to commit, because committing means saying goodbye to whatever unfulfilled fantasy of love you've concocted after seeing too many Meg Ryan movies. But men don't come and make everything all better - they're only human. And you shouldn't punish him because you were forced to grow up so fast you never learned how to let someone else take care of you. He's not your father, okay, he's not necessarily gonna disappear at the first sign of trouble. And, as scary as it is to consider letting yourself be truly vulnerable with another human being, what's even scarier is that deep down inside you know you picked this man...and if you run away from him now, you'll be running away from being the kind of person you always wanted to be.

Dr. Cox:

Listen Vanessa Janice Tiffany Amber (in a sing-song voice)Thiessen. I'm gonna go ahead and give ya a little something I call Perry's Perspective.
if the guy in front of me in the coffee shop can't decide what he wants in the 30 minutes it takes for him to get to the register, I should be allowed to kill him.
I'm fairly sure that if they took all the porn off the Internet, there'd only be one website left, and it would be called Bring Back The Porn.
and most important, to be respected as a doctor, nay a man, you must be an island. You're born alone, you damn sure die alone, (looks over and speaks to a cadaver rolling by) isn't that right Spike? My point is, and you may want to jot this down... only the weak need help.
===========================================

Relationships don't work they way they do on television and in the movies. Will they? Won't they? And then they finally do, and they're happy forever. Gimme a break.

Nine out of ten of them end because they weren't right for each other to begin with, and half of the ones who get married get divorced anyway, and I'm telling you right now, through all this stuff I have not become a cynic. I haven't.

Yes, I do happen to believe that love is mainly about pushing chocolate covered candies and, y'know, in some cultures, a chicken.

You can call me a sucker, I don't care, because I do believe in it. Bottom line: it's couples who are truly right for each other wade through the same crap as everybody else, but the big difference is they don't let it take them down.

One of those two people will stand up and fight for that relationship every time. If it's right, and they're real lucky, one of them will say something.

Janitor

[The Janitor usually doesn't get any lines with depth or emotion. This Video shows him as a real person.]

Elliot Reid

Frick!
Double frick!
Frick on a stick!
Frick on a stick with a brick!
Well isn't that just the pickle on the giant crap sandwich that is my day.

Julie aka Mandy Moore: Julie's Song!
My Fault
Dr. Cox's Happy Place

p.s. one of my friend's grandma died. I was never sure what to say in these situations. But hopefully when I ask, "will you be okay?", she will answer "yes", like this scrubs video.

Scrubs

2006-10-15T05:15:00.001+08:00

I fell in love with the TV show Scrubs. My top 5 favorite episodes are:

My Lunch
My Screw Up
My Advice to You
My Catalyst
My Way Home

I will probably go out and buy the DVD once I have some free time.

Feelin' A Bit Down

2006-10-08T11:21:00.000+08:00

The title contains the whole essence. It would probably be better for me to talk to a 'real' person as suppose to posting on a blog. However, I have never felt comfortable laying my burden on other people.

So I took a couple minutes and updated the side bars and the slider. Being productive usually makes me feel better. Oh, and music. Music makes me feel connected to the world, it is a common ground in which we all stand. One may not always understand the language of the song, but that doesn't matter - true music evokes understanding. I updated 10 most listend to songs in Oct 2006. These music video are found on YouTube, which I assume is promotional music video uploaded by the artist themselves or else they would have been taken down from YouTube.

Enjoy the music even if you might not understand Chinese. 4 of the 7 songs are in Chinese. The other 3 is in english.

Enjoy life even if you might not understand its meaning or purpose. Between us, I hope at least someone is doing well.

wise words wondered by the wise man

2006-08-28T07:17:00.000+08:00

I saw this post from a friend's brother and think the saying is very wise.

Title: Standing on two feet never seemed so hard...

no one told you to carry a burden you just kinda took it when it fell on your head.

I bet Emily would appreciate the sayings too.
I wonder what she is up to?

Emerging Super Power

2006-07-05T12:19:00.001+08:00

The issue of China versus US is of great interest to me. Two giant rocks with Taiwan the soft egg in the middle. Since I am Taiwanese the interest is not merely academic but also personal.

It is with no small alarm that I see US becoming more and more like the old china - acting with secrecy and lack of regard for personal rights. It is with irony I see China acting more and more like US - relaxing economic market for relatively free competition and spending ten's of billions on equalizing rich-poor standards.

There is a majority of voice that thinks China will become a superpower within this century, along with US. There is a minority of opinion that China will replace US as the world leader. Then there are the doubters, few in number, who think China will collapse under its own weight and lack of infrastructure.

Reading through New Economist's "Can China Overtake US?", FAS.org's "The Emerging Super Power", Wikipedia's "China-US Relation", "Potential Super Power - China", and "Economy of China" a broad view on the issue was gained.

China has the great fortune of actually having a smart leader at the moment whose immediate attention is not on personal gain but on national welfare. The 20th century has been a turbulent time for China, from Japanese occupation to civil war, from the painful emergence of Communism, from the clash of much more technologically advanced western nation culture and unfamiliar ideology. China is not used to being technological inferior. Majority of its 5000 year history China was the Super Power in its own known world. It is the shifting and breaking of a 5000 year mold that marked the last 2 centuries. The slow and painful decline, the shame and confusion. The First Opium war was the beginning of the first lesson, and perhaps the most important. Trade is important in this world, foreigners will go to war and sell drugs for financial gain. The Second Opium War reaffirms the idea.

The past two centuries planted this desire in Chinese for China to become great once again. It is a collective consciousness. Perhaps it is because much of the shame and lost can be traced to foreign profiteering, China embedded the desire to combat universal greed. Through that eagerness and simple-minded plan, it is not too surprising China took the step towards Communism. In theory it is a plan of universal equality, different from the invaders who act on profit, and vastly desirable to a nation who is seeking to change and grow. Little did China know that first step was too big, like a child who tries to run before learning to walk. So she stumbled.

The second step came around 1980, the Great Economic reform, and the world is still seeing its impact 26 years later. Since 1980 China has been growing on average, even adjusting for inflation, at 9% for 26 years. The shortcoming of being a 5000 year civilization is the difficulty to adapt on the fly, too much culture, too many baggage. It takes a while to figure out which to obsolete. Yet the plus side is China tends to think long terms. Infrastructure for the country was planned 50 years and centuries at a time. In fact, just last week the 50 year project to connect Tibet to china through the world's highest railway was completed. The project took 4.2 billion dollars and was invested at the earliest time - right after ROC retreated to Taiwan at 1949. As soon as People's Republic of China has the mainland to itself it started thinking and starting multi-decade long project. Three Gorges Dam is another good example and just recently finished. It would produce a good portion of electricity for the growing China.

China, fortunately, has Hu Jintao as leader at the moment. He is a brilliant man, reportedly with a near photographic memory. Yet more importantly, he has an engineering background - a builder. In fact, all top 9 leaders of China at the moment are all graduates of engineering discipline. It is one of the key factors of amazing growth for a developing China.

Many people compare China's rise to Japan back in the 1950s. There was the fear that Japan will overtake US and become a superpower. It didn't happen. The fastest growth of a nation is at the industrial stage, which China is going through at the moment. Japan, once it hitting 75~80% of US Per Capita GDP, dramatically slows its growth. If China where to follow Japan's track, its amazing growth will end in about 35 years. It makes sense, it is easy to follow the leader and its footstep. But once China is near US in GDP, it will have to discover its own path and find out what works and doesn't work. Experimentation takes time, money, and an educated work force. So it is with a certainty that the slow down of China's economic growth in relation to US will occur.

Yet look at PPP for a moment. China has 1.3 billion people, US has 0.3 Billion. Even if China only has 50% of US GDP, its overall spending power as a nation will be twice that of US. So it is not hard to argue China will be a superpower looking from a pure economic standpoint. In fact, by 2020 China will match US in absolute spending power. Money, however, is just one form of influence.

In terms of military spending and power, China is only about 20% of US. Even with the largest standing army in the world, it has little capability in terms of Navy and Air. It has inferior means of transporting troops and lack air or sea superiority. Further more, it is not in China's interest to build up and match its military in the next 20 years. US has been pretty paranoid about military build-up and difference in ideology; Judging from Vietnam, Iraq, and Korea. Furthermore, with Soviet Union as lesson, it shows that military arms race is neither profitable nor desirable. A developing nation needs and wants a stable environment. It is in China's interest to maintain peace, to continue trade, and to catch up on technology. China will modernize its military, because it is suicidal to be rich in resource and products but weak in military, as it has learned from Opium War, but it will not start an arms race. In terms of military, US will likely still reign supreme in military.

Superpower also indicates superiority in technology. China is a historically inventive nation, inventor of gunpowder, paper, compass, soccer (world cup season, thought i would mention it), pizza (Marco Polo brought pizza back to Italy), printings and more. What China is horrible at is implementing devises once it is invented. Chinese tends to build one prototype, document its existence, and then go on to other things. There was little external pressure for it to turn the ideas into practical use on a national scale. It is more likely China will match in research output in 20 years, but lagging in capitalizing its finding.

People point out many factors that China will never become a super power. One of the great concerns is China's political system. I am not sure. I tend to agree communism can easily lead to corruption, judging from the fall of Russia and China's Great Leap failure prior to 1979. Yet it is hard to explain how China can be doing so well now if communism is not working. Is it still communism that China practices? It is open for free trade and competition since 1980. Maybe there is another more precise term for China's political system now than simply communism. All I know is China is throwing hundreds of billions of dollar into infrastructure, education, and equalizing both rich and poor. The news source is even from the west's own newspaper like Times, Tribune, Reuter...etc. I have the habit of typing in China into Google News and read the first 10 major news. Try the same, and judge for yourself what China is doing. I also set my Google News to US version and read everything, it is kind of upsetting I see mostly bad news the past 5 years. I am hoping US will do better once the next president comes into office.

One Child policy, I think, will harm China in the long run. It means that the intelligent and/or law-abiding citizen will only be producing one child. While the ignorant and/or comparatively less rule conscious people will produce 2~3 children. The result is a slow down of population growth that will have to support a vast number of elderly in about 50 years. Just about 15 years after the probably slow down of Chinese economy. It might be one reason for China to be so actively pursing Space Technology. After modernizing China, where clean air, energy, and water is no longer a concern for population. China would likely recall the policy, estimating around 2050. At which time the only limiting factor would be land. The possibility of utilizing moon eventually for living space is a very very very long-term solution to China's population problem. Then again, China tends to think long term.

Ironically, the disproportion of male and female ratio, which people proclaim will hurt China drastically is what I think might save China. One Child policy means that in a male favored society like China, people would often abort the child and retry just to get a male. The result is that 117 male to 100 females born. In our monogamous world, that means 17 males having to find a mate outside China, or the death of his gene. That is direct evolution competition - escalated evolution competition. In general humanity pick the better mate when possible. The one that is smarter, better looking, funnier, or taller. It is this internal pressure that I think will give China the edge for the next generation.

Other people even argue China's giant 1/5 world population will be the weight that pulls china apart. 700 million peasants is alright during agriculture revolution and even industrial revolution because of the cheap labor. But for Technological revolution, information revolution, and biotech revolution it is not the number that counts. It would be the worker's skill and intelligence. China, even during its century of civil war and complete transformation from Emperor Dynasty to Republic of China, then to People's Republic of China retained a 91% literacy rate. Not great when comparing to developed nations (99.9%), but definitely above world's literacy rate of 84%. In fact, the controversial study of racial intelligence indicated that East Asians' average IQ is 106. 6 points above the mean. For real world example - At Harvard, Asian American and Jewish students together make up 51% of the student body, though only constituting roughly 6% of the US population.

If there are no major war conflict with China involved for the next 20 years, and the government doesn't become corrupt. It is inevitable that China will become a superpower. Similarly, unless another George W. Bush gains US office for the next 20 years, and another stupid pointless war gets started, US will remain a superpower. The balance will most likely result in the second space race. In the main time, India will also quietly become a third world power some time after China. The concentration of Economy will be dominated on the side of Asia, with China, India, and Japan contributing significantly. Like Wall Street replacing London to become world's most powerful financial center, a similar shift will occur in China within this century.

Lastly I offer one last food for thoughts on Why China will rise to become a superpower in the world:

British Woman

American Woman

Russian Woman

German Woman

Chinese Woman

Notable Reference:
Will China Overtake US?
China as an Emerging Super Power

I Had A Dream....

2006-06-30T10:00:00.000+08:00

Google just launched their PayPal equivalent service - Google Checkout.

If you know me, you know I hate buying things online. Similar to a Stone Age man who is afraid of fire, I am a computer age man afraid of online transaction. I would rather walk 10 blocks and go into a store rather then click on that shinning online paying form.

It is perhaps an unjustified fear. Somewhat akin to how people felt about paper money without gold backing at first. Money is all about trust. This form of exchange in goods is like magic. If collectively enough people believe in it, then money holds value. If not enough people believe in it, it is just a piece of paper with numbers on it.

Finally here comes Google, someone I trust to hold my digital account. No longer will I have to walk in the nice outdoors for an hour, enjoying the birds and breeze, just to arrive at the store and buy my CDs and my cold drinks. No longer. Now I just have to sit on my comfee computer chair and move my index finger.

The first thing I should buy online should probably be a treadmill, I foresee a drastic decrease in physical activity. Maybe I should buy an even more comfortable chair too, seeing how I will probably spent more time sitting on it.

I have an odd priority on purchase. Many people would rather spend lots of money and buy a nice car. Not me, a Honda Accord is plenty good. I spent money depending on how much time I spent using the product. Car I use maybe an hour a day, so it simply has to be functional. Chair I sit in 5 hours a day, so I buy the best I can. Bed I slept in 1/3 of my life, so buying the best bed is important. Computer I keep on 24 hours a day, so I build my own to my specification. Strange how most people I know just use any bed and chair but try to buy the shiniest car.

Speaking of computer, there is a rumor Microsoft will shut down windows that doesn't have the latest GWA validation. Strange move, Vista isn't even out yet. I doubt people will go out and buy a new copy of XP at the end of XP's life cycle. Hopefully people will use this chance and upgrade to Mac and OSX. Dare I hope maybe even upgrade to Linux? Give Ubuntu a try people, it is free. Ubuntu is one distribution of Linux; the name is of South African origin and roughly means "Humanity Towards Others". How cool is that? Fits in perfectly with the open source spirit of Linux.

Lately I have been very interested in learning bits and pieces of different languages. Too bad I don't have a gift for them, only interest. There is an insane desire to move to Japan just to immerse myself in their culture and language. I am a pretty lazy person, without the environment at my back and a knife at my throat the chance of me being fluent in Japanese is nil. Sink or Swim. I have always excelled under pressure and necessity. I grow complacent when comfortable. Dropping myself at a strange country will be painful in the short run but productive in the long haul. At least that is how it turns out the last time at another strange country - namely US.

Some languages I am interested and looking into at the moment: Japanese, Spanish (supposedly easy to learn), plus another European Language: possibly German, French, or Russian.

Lastly, there is a faint but hopefully dream at the back of my mind. Barely a whisper. If only Google starts their own credit card! Google seems to have a talent for picking out corruptive service and breeze a breath of fresh air into the service. Does anyone remember email storage being 2MB anymore? That was before Gmail brought the standard up to 2GB. Anyone remember skipping the first page of search result due to useless spam and ads? That was before Google Search. Even the blog you are reading at the moment is from Blogger, a google service. (sigh, I wish Blogger has LiveJournal's tag function, friend listing, and calendar though...). If Google starts their own credit card company, they can start the trend of reasonable interest. No more 18% interest rate if your payment is late by 1 minute. A bank only pays you 2% interest for long term saving. 18% interest rate charged by credit card company is almost criminal. I personally stick with debit card and cash. Now if only Google starts Google Credit~! I would then feel safe knowing that they play fair.

Sigh, someday, I hope.

A World of Pain

2006-06-26T17:12:00.000+08:00

I have started excercising regularly again and my body is not used to it yet. I am also a bit concerned that I can no longer reach my toes. My body has convinced itself it is at least 10 years older than 25 - and I can't blame my body.

Having a desk job means sitting mostly for 8~10 hours a day. On-site project inspection means maybe half an hour of walking. Engineering is really mostly about paper work. At least, at my level.

Keeping track of who to order from, what to order, translated the contract, making phone calls. It is not just the fossilization of my body that worries me. I am also concerned about my mind slowing down. After you know what to do a job is mostly routin. It would be ironic to get an education just to become a robot.

There must be some little thinking excerises out there I can do. A co-worker recommend crossing my hands when I type for 10 minutes. "It is like using chop-sticks with your left hand", he says, "It trains you to use different parts of your brain."

So if you see me typing with my hands crossed, please know that I am not crazy. I am merely distinctly unique - and very very bored.

p.s. typing with my hands crossed is a lot harder than i thought.
p.p.s. A friend suggested this to keep my mind sharp. A fun Game.

In Search of the Perfect Penguin

2006-06-22T12:06:00.000+08:00

There comes a certain point in a man's life that he must ask the unavoidable question - Which Linux Distro should I install? The time has come for me.

If you know me, you know I oscillate between introvertness and extrovertness. If you don't know me, then you will probably just wonder why I sometimes disappear for months. I can feel one of these quiet self reflecting period coming up. Going outdoor doesn't hold as much appeal at the moment. The thought of meeting new people makes me tired. This is definately the begnning of another solitude period.

It is not to say I simply find a hole and hide underground. Politness dictates that I still must fulfill certain social functions like birthdays and occosional movies. But if someone I just met asks me to go to Japan with her for 5 days I probably would say no this time.

This is a period for reading, thinking, writing, and drinking my hot jasmin tea. Which seems like a perfect time to mess around with Linux. I can even tell people who are worried about me that I am broadening my scope on Computer Operating System. But the truth is, I really do prefer to be by myself during these times. Yet I learned that you can't just out and say things like that to people. They get worried. It would seem unnatural for an outgoing person to suddenly want time by himself. I learn it is best to start a project. People understand hobbies and projects; people don't understand solitude.

Which brings me back to the topic of Linux. Here are some things I am looking into.
Distro: Mandriva or Ubuntu. I am leaning towards Ubuntu
KDE or GNOME: I am Leaning towards KDE

Ubuntu comes with Gnome. A subversion is called Kubuntu that comes with KDE. I will most likely download and burn an install CD from that.

Slowly I am working towards tri-booting Mac, Windows, and Linux. World domination is just one step away...

Or not.

Update

2006-06-09T17:04:00.000+08:00

Many things happened since I last wrote in my blog.

I went to Japan 5 days and came back.
Met a couple interesting new people - Eve, Julia, Emma, Eve, Eric, and Rita.
Gained 3kg.
Discovered Picassa2 for photo editing.
Discovered Google Web Accelator.
Saw half of the Broke Back Mountain and half of Syriana.
Saw Mission Impossible 3 twice.
Saw De Vinci Code.
Went rock climbing.
Convinced my boss to switch from IE to Firefox.
Got a new credit card.

I have visit the local food shop at work so often that the owner knows me by face now. I always order the same thing, they seem amused by that. 10 dim sums please.

Apple has a nice deal that if you buy a Mac computer you get 175 dollar rebate towards any ipod product. I might get that. There is also a friend who works at a global shipping company. She says she can get me a 15% discount. Not sure which way to go yet.

Taipei has been raining for a solid week now.

Nothing really long term on my mind right now. Lunch with friends on sunday. X-men3 movie coming up. KTV on Monday. Computer security training at computer headquarter on Tuesday. I have been feeling very social lately, I wonder how long this will last.

I really need to excerise, sigh, but no motiviation. It also seems a bit odd to run in the rain. Maybe I should just use the indoor bike in the living room.

Picassa is wonderful, I sort thought 500 some pictures in very little time. I usually use ACDSee but that would have taken me at least 2 days. Picassa is not only free but better. The only function I miss from ACDSee is the maintain ratio function in cropping from ACDSee.

I am thinking about going into business for myself. The economic trend in Taiwan favors people who is in the position of hiring other people. Labor cost is low. I need to look into this more.

I am still waiting for the stock market to crash. Then again, I have been waiting for a while now. Not sure what is keeping the US economy going. I am a bit worried about the after shock.

You know who you are, if you read this, I miss you.

Tides

2006-05-30T15:24:00.000+08:00

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune."
- Julius Caesar (Act IV Scene 3 line 218) by William Shakespeare

These are the tides of life that I have come to accept. There comes moments of longing, the wanderlust, of a soul that feels restless and must go out to meet the new world, to see new people, and to try new things.

Then comes periods of stillness, the overhwelming desire to find a quiet corner and think, to get away from the crowd and journey into another world no smaller than the one visible.

Either world would take a life time for me to explore, to find my place, to fit myself in and grow into whatever destiny has in store for me. I don't mind turning out badly, I am more afriad of never turning out at all, of never been. How can a tree take root if it keeps getting transplanted?

In real life, the tides of sea is gravitated by the presense of the moon. I wonder to what the tides of my life gravitates. I wonder what drives me.

Just chatting

2006-05-30T14:57:00.000+08:00

Took 3 quick online quizzes and the picture they present is suprisingly congruent. Using these 3 data points to triangulate and a pretty consistent view shows up.

I am consistently inconsistent - according to the survey. "Unconventional", "You are just you", and diverse interests ranging "from riding a unicycle to writing poetry".

"a friend to everyone" and "most compatible with: everyone" says the same thing.

"You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them." It is perhaps a bit alarming that they judge me to be 50% boyish and 50% girlish. I believe the technical term is "androgyny".

So "Unconventional", "Friendly", and "Average (androgyny)" - that's me. I sense irony.

Oh, wait, you mean the answer to life is not on the Internet?

What's Your Inner Blood Type?

2006-05-30T14:51:00.000+08:00

Your Inner Blood Type is AB!

Your personality is hard to define - you're very unconventional.
And even if your personality could be defined, it would be completely different next week!
Outgoing and shy, sensitive and thoughtless, you tend to have a very split personality.
This makes you unpredictable. You can be a total angel - and a total devil.

You are most compatible with: everyone!

Famous Type AB's: Jackie Chan and Marilyn Monroe

What's Your Inner Blood Type?

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

2006-05-30T14:42:00.000+08:00

You Are Big Bird

Talented, smart, and friendly... you're also one of the sanest people around.

You are usually feeling: Happy. From riding a unicycle to writing poetry, you have plenty of hobbies to keep you busy.

You are famous for: Being a friend to everyone. Even the grumpiest person gets along with you.

How you life your life: Joyfully. "Super. Duper. Flooper."

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Future Unknown

2006-05-30T12:48:00.000+08:00

I took a breath, for courage,
then dipped my hand into the water of life and drank,
deeply.

Basic Mac Softwares

2006-05-19T16:20:00.000+08:00

I am looking to buy the new MacBook DualCore. There has always been an urge for me to cross over and play with an Apple Macintosh. The ability to dual boot Window and OSX made the laptop very attractive and the base price seems really reasonable at USD 1099. I upgraded a few compenent, such as 512MB Memory to 1GB, 60GB hard drive to 80 GB, and the iWork package. I also chose the 2.0GHz with DVD±RW option. The final amount is $1520. My pointer hovers over the comfirm purchase button and I just can't make up my mind.

While I am locked in my internal struggle. I figure I can use the left over thought process to research on the necessary softwares I might need to buy or download for Mac. Those little hidden prices or nice open source programs might swing the decision for me. Below is a basic list of softwares I think I would need. The list is posted for people who is looking to tryout Mac for the first times. Hopefully I can save you an hour or two.

Operating System:
OSX*,【Boot Camp】, Windows XP Service Pack 2 Home$ or Professional$,

Internet browser:
【Safari*】,【Firefox】,

Text Editing:
TextWrangler2$,【TextEdit】, Stickies*,

P2P Download:
【BitTorrent~】,【iRC】,

Office Work Suit:
Applie iWork*$, Microsoft Office for Mac*$,【Open Office~】, Adobe Acrobat$~,

Instant Messenger:
【Fire】, iChat*,【MSN Messenger for Mac】,【AIM for Mac】,【Skype~】, 【Yahoo Messenger~】, 【Gaim~】,

Graphic:
ACDSee$~, iPhoto*, Adobe Photoshop$~,【GimpShop~】,

Video:
【VLC~】,【QuickTime~】,【Windows Media Player for Mac】,

Music Player:
【iTunes*】, 【FoxyTunes】,

Compression Utility:
Stuffit$,

Archive Viewer:
【FFView】,【Comic Book Viewer】,

Organizer:
iCal*,【Google Calender~】,【ReminderFox~】,

Remote:
【Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection Client】,

Burning Software Comes Internal with OSX.

* = comes with MacBook purchase
$ = needs to buy
~ = runs on both mac and pc
【】 = free software
*$30 day free trial comes with MacBook purchase

怡岑生日 Birthday Pictures

2006-05-01T13:38:00.000+08:00

台中腳踏車 Biking Trip

2006-05-01T06:39:00.000+08:00

George W. Bush the Worst President Ever?

2006-04-20T11:44:00.000+08:00

George W. Bush's presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace. Barring a cataclysmic event on the order of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, after which the public might rally around the White House once again, there seems to be little the administration can do to avoid being ranked on the lowest tier of U.S. presidents. And that may be the best-case scenario. Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history.

Now, though, George W. Bush is in serious contention for the title of worst ever. In early 2004, an informal survey of 415 historians conducted by the nonpartisan History News Network found that eighty-one percent considered the Bush administration a "failure." Among those who called Bush a success, many gave the president high marks only for his ability to mobilize public support and get Congress to go along with what one historian called the administration's "pursuit of disastrous policies." In fact, roughly one in ten of those who called Bush a success was being facetious, rating him only as the best president since Bill Clinton -- a category in which Bush is the only contestant.

Historians do tend, as a group, to be far more liberal than the citizenry as a whole -- a fact the president's admirers have seized on to dismiss the poll results as transparently biased. One pro-Bush historian said the survey revealed more about "the current crop of history professors" than about Bush or about Bush's eventual standing. But if historians were simply motivated by a strong collective liberal bias, they might be expected to call Bush the worst president since his father, or Ronald Reagan, or Nixon. Instead, more than half of those polled -- and nearly three-fourths of those who gave Bush a negative rating -- reached back before Nixon to find a president they considered as miserable as Bush. The presidents most commonly linked with Bush included Hoover, Andrew Johnson and Buchanan. Twelve percent of the historians polled -- nearly as many as those who rated Bush a success -- flatly called Bush the worst president in American history. And these figures were gathered before the debacles over Hurricane Katrina, Bush's role in the Valerie Plame leak affair and the deterioration of the situation in Iraq. Were the historians polled today, that figure would certainly be higher.

Even worse for the president, the general public, having once given Bush the highest approval ratings ever recorded, now appears to be coming around to the dismal view held by most historians. To be sure, the president retains a considerable base of supporters who believe in and adore him, and who reject all criticism with a mixture of disbelief and fierce contempt -- about one-third of the electorate. (When the columnist Richard Reeves publicized the historians' poll last year and suggested it might have merit, he drew thousands of abusive replies that called him an idiot and that praised Bush as, in one writer's words, "a Christian who actually acts on his deeply held beliefs.") Yet the ranks of the true believers have thinned dramatically. A majority of voters in forty-three states now disapprove of Bush's handling of his job. Since the commencement of reliable polling in the 1940s, only one twice-elected president has seen his ratings fall as low as Bush's in his second term: Richard Nixon, during the months preceding his resignation in 1974. No two-term president since polling began has fallen from such a height of popularity as Bush's (in the neighborhood of ninety percent, during the patriotic upswell following the 2001 attacks) to such a low (now in the midthirties). No president, including Harry Truman (whose ratings sometimes dipped below Nixonian levels), has experienced such a virtually unrelieved decline as Bush has since his high point. Apart from sharp but temporary upticks that followed the commencement of the Iraq war and the capture of Saddam Hussein, and a recovery during the weeks just before and after his re-election, the Bush trend has been a profile in fairly steady disillusionment.

Read the rest of a very detailed analysis of Geroge W Bush by Rolling Stones.

Ranomd Thoughts

2006-04-13T13:45:00.000+08:00

The creation is always at the mercy of the creator. The ownership does not change until the desire to become its own master overcomes the balance.
~Random thoughts

I wrote that thought down because the idea doesn't make sense to me. I tend to forget those ideas that I don't understand. To a certain degree, it is hard for me to comprehend what is drastically different from me. I suspect it is a unversial human condition, yet what do i know? I only have my own point of view to judge from.

$2900 NT

2006-04-10T16:17:00.000+08:00

It is raining in the evening. It hasn't rained in a while to my knowledge. Of course, what do I know? I go to work at 8am and comes home at 10pm. I hardly ever see what the weather is like working from the basement of a very tall and impressive building. Why worry about security issue and place the office in the basement when you build an impressive tall building? Seems like a waste.

It was nice actually feeling the rain. I was inbetween buildings and meetings. For a minute I just stood there, right outside under the open sky, and felt the rain. Pretty sure some of the busy walkers though I was crazy standing there and letting the rain fall on me. But it was alright, the nice memory will probably last freshly in my mind until next week, the strangers occupying the same street will probably never be seen again in this city of millions.

Speaking of millions, the company asset this year is roughly 1.5 billion NT. Which means 125 million every month, 41 million every day, 174 thousand NT every hour, 2900 NT every minute, and 50 NT every second. Every second, the cost equal to a meal is being earned by the company. Puts a new perspective on what I choose to do with my seconds. That 60 seconds standing outside in the rain was $2900 NT to the company. I suppose I can think of that rain as a bonus for a job well done. I wish it would rain more often; I wish I am outside more often.

Trivility: The Hero

2006-04-10T15:15:00.000+08:00

Hero Name: Unknown
Hero Age: 25

Title: Company Sales Assistant, On Site Engineer, Office Translator; aka Do-What-Needs-To-Be-Done.

Level: 1
Hit Point: 13
Special Attack: Long Speeches that Puts Enemies to Sleep (Magic Sleep Spell Level 2)
Weakness: Alcohol (very low tolerance)

Brief Synopsis: Technically, we are not very sure if "Mr. Unknown" is a hero or not. Normally it is a very clear-cut case. If you can walk into a random house, grab all the treasure from another person's cabinet without objection. You are the de-fact-to hero of the story.

Another way to tell if you are the hero is the abundance of dialog, where as a poor grunt will usually only have one or two things to say, then henceforth repeat the same line over and over until the end of time. In this case, some people "Mr. Unknown" knows really do repeat the same thing over and over like a broken record.

Usually a hero has something at stake, something that requires saving; either a girl or the world. In this case, all the girls "Mr. Unknown" knows are all strong and capable. They don't require any saving. The world is not under any immediate and dire threat either, which rather obsoletes a hero's job. Perhaps, the only person that requires saving is "Mr. Unknown" himself. Can a hero arise from the rescue of his very own self? No one knows.

A hero also has sidekicks, usually a healer (preferably a girl in this case), a brute (usually a guy), and a thief (someone fast, usually thin and small). Looking around at the male co-worker who shares the same office, he doesn't look like a brute. I also question his desire to join in as my sidekick on this odd adventure. He is good at On Site Inspection, and his special technique involves a sliding ruler. He is also looking at me funny at the moment. The girl sharing the same office is not exactly a healer either. Nor is she a nurse or doctor, but I assume she knows a bit of first aid simply because she is a mother of 2. Any mother should be qualified as an honorary nurse. Her special skill is typing, in Chinese. She does that very well. Her MSN skill is legendary. However, I don't think she would wish to be my sidekick either. When you have two hell-raisers I imagine any free time you have would go towards sleep. The last category is hard to fill too, I don't know any thief. However, I have met some politicians. But they seem too busy to join me. Besides, I think those politicians are already hired by the "other side".

yes, "Mr. Unknown" has no side kicks at the moment. Not even a dog, "Mr. Unknown" has never had a warm-blooded pet in his whole life. He did, at one point or another, have had a gold fish. But you can hardly call a life form who lives in an entirely different median of atmosphere "pet". You can't really walk a fish, nor can you hug a fish. On a whole, fish makes a pretty lousy pet.

So, going back to the original question. Is "Mr. Unknown" a hero of his own life, in this game of existentialism? I don't know, but I sure wish "Mr. Unknown" figure out where that save and reload button is located. That would make this game a lot easier. Short of that, is there a walkthrough guide "Mr. Unknown" can download and read?

Awards

2006-03-31T15:13:00.000+08:00

Ignoble (adj.)
1. Not noble in quality, character, or purpose; base or mean.
2. Not of the nobility; common.

Every year since 1991 a little known award is quietly handed out in the honor of insignificent scientific contribution and human progress. The award is the "Ig Nobel Prize", a play on the word ignoble and Nobel Prize. Yearly it lists "ten achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think."

I haven't laughed this hard in a while. The following are a sample of some winners.

1992
------------------
Archeology - Eclaireurs de France, the Protestant youth group whose name means "those who show the way," fresh-scrubbed removers of graffiti, for erasing the ancient paintings from the walls of the Meyrieres Cave near the French village of Bruniquel.
Chemistry - Ivette Bassa, constructor of colorful colloids, for her role in the crowning achievement of twentieth century chemistry, the synthesis of bright blue Jell-O.
Nutrition - The utilizers of SPAM, courageous consumers of canned comestibles, for 54 years of undiscriminating digestion.
Art - Presented jointly to Jim Knowlton, modern Renaissance man, for his classic anatomy poster "Penises of the Animal Kingdom," and to the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, for encouraging Mr. Knowlton to extend his work in the form of a pop-up book.

1993
---------------
Psychology - Presented jointly to John Edward Mack of Harvard Medical School and David M. Jacobs of Temple University, for their conclusion that people who believe they were kidnapped by aliens from outer space, probably were -- and especially for their conclusion, "the focus of the abduction is the production of children".
Biology - Presented jointly to Paul Williams Jr. of the Oregon State Health Division and Kenneth W. Newel of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, bold biological detectives, for their pioneering study, "Salmonella Excretion in Joy-Riding Pigs".
Visionary Technology - Presented jointly to Jay Schiffman of Farmington Hills, Michigan, crack inventor of AutoVision, an image projection device that makes it possible to drive a car and watch television at the same time, and to the Michigan State Legislature, for making it legal to do so.

1994
-----------------
Biology - Presented to W. Brian Sweeney, Brian Krafte-Jacobs, Jeffrey W. Britton, and Wayne Hansen, for their breakthrough study, "The Constipated Serviceman: Prevalence Among Deployed US Troops," and especially for their numerical analysis of bowel movement frequency.
Medicine - Two prizes. First, to Patient X, formerly of the US Marine Corps, valiant victim of a venomous bite from his pet rattlesnake, for his determined use of electroshock therapy. At his own insistence, automobile sparkplug wires were attached to his lip, and the car engine revved to 3,000 rpm for five minutes. Second, to Dr. Richard C. Dart of the Rocky Mountain Poison Center and Dr. Richard A. Gustafson of The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, for their well-grounded medical report, "Failure of Electric Shock Treatment for Rattlesnake Envenomation."
Entomology - Presented to Robert A. Lopez of Westport, NY, valiant veterinarian and friend of all creatures great and small, for his series of experiments in obtaining ear mites from cats, inserting them into his own ear, and carefully observing and analyzing the results.
Mathematics - Presented to The Southern Baptist Church of Alabama, mathematical measurers of morality, for their county-by-county estimate of how many Alabama citizens will go to Hell if they don't repent.

1995
----------------
Nutrition - Presented to John Martinez of J. Martinez & Company in Atlanta, for Luak Coffee, the world's most expensive coffee, which is made from coffee beans ingested and excreted by the luak, a bobcat-like animal native to Indonesia.
Psychology - Presented to Shigeru Watanabe, Junko Sakamoto, and Masumi Wakita, of Keio University, for their success in training pigeons to discriminate between the paintings of Picasso and those of Monet.
Public Health - Presented to Martha Kold Bakkevig of Sintef Unimed in Trondheim, Norway, and Ruth Nielson of the Technical University of Denmark, for their exhaustive study, "Impact of Wet Underwear on Thermoregulatory Responses and Thermal Comfort in the Cold."

1996
----------------
Medicine - Presented to James Johnston of R.J. Reynolds, Joseph Taddeo of U.S. Tobacco, Andrew Tisch of Lorillard, William Campbell of Philip Morris, Edward A. Horrigan of Liggett Group, Donald S. Johnston of American Tobacco Company, and Thomas E. Sandefur, Jr., chairman of Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company, for their unshakable discovery, as testified to the U.S. Congress, that nicotine is not addictive.
Physics - Presented to Robert Matthews of Aston University, England, for his studies of Murphy's Law, and especially for demonstrating that toast often falls on the buttered side.
Peace - Presented to Jacques Chirac, President of France, for commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Hiroshima with atomic bomb tests in the Pacific.

1997
-----------------
Biology - Presented to T. Yagyu and his colleagues from the University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland, the Kansai Medical University in Osaka, Japan, and the Neuroscience Technology Research in Prague, Czech Republic, for measuring people's brainwave patterns while they chewed different flavors of gum. [1]
Entomology - Presented to Mark Hostetler of the University of Florida, for his book, That Gunk on Your Car, which identifies the insect splats that appear on automobile windows.
Economics - Presented to Akihiro Yokoi of Wiz Company in Chiba, Japan, and Aki Maita of Bandai Company in Tokyo, for diverting millions of person-hours of work into the husbandry of virtual pets.

1998
------------------
Safety Engineering - Presented to Troy Hurtubise, of North Bay, Ontario, for developing and personally testing a suit of armor that is impervious to grizzly bears.
Biology - Presented to Peter Fong of Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for contributing to the happiness of clams by giving them Prozac.
Peace - Presented to Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, for their aggressively peaceful explosions of atomic bombs.

1999
------------------
Biology - Presented to Dr. Paul Bosland, director of The Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, for breeding a spiceless jalapeño chile pepper.
Peace - Presented to Charl Fourie and Michelle Wong of Johannesburg, South Africa, for inventing the Blaster, an automobile burglar alarm consisting of a detection circuit and a flamethrower.
Managed Health Care - Presented to the late George Blonsky and Charlotte Blonsky of New York City and San Jose, California, for inventing a device (US Patent #3,216,423) to aid women in giving birth -- the woman is strapped onto a circular table, and the table is then rotated at high speed.

2000
------------------
Psychology - Presented to David Dunning of Cornell University and Justin Kreuger of the University of Illinois, for their modest report, "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments."
Physics - Presented to Andre Geim of the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and Sir Michael Berry of Bristol University, England, for using magnets to levitate a frog and a sumo wrestler.
Computer Science - Presented to Chris Niswander of Tucson, Arizona, for inventing PawSense, software that detects when a cat is walking across your computer keyboard.

Here is the complete listing of Ig Nobel Prize Winners.
For another similar award, see the Darwin Award and its listing of Darwin Award Winners.

Science is still at its infancy, barely a couple hundred years old. It is nice humanity is learning to take itself less seriously. From time to time, it is healthy to laugh at yourself.

Answer to the Universe

2006-03-28T01:23:00.000+08:00

This article strikes me as extremely interesting. In order to fully appreciate this story you would need to know Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its reference to the number 42. It would also help if you have heard of Riemann's Hypothesis, a math concept. This math concept is briefly refered to in "A Beautiful Mind" and has to do with the mathematical pattern prediction of prime numbers.

Yes, I am a nerd, but it would please me to introduce you to this highly amusing article at 1:30am on a Tuesday night ^_^

Venusian Treen writes "In their search for patterns, mathematicians have uncovered unlikely connections between prime numbers and quantum physics. The gist is that energy levels in the nucleus of heavy atoms can tell us about the distribution of zeros in Riemann's zeta function - and hence where to find prime numbers. This article discusses this connection, and introduces two physisicts who tell us 'why the answer to life, the universe and the third moment of the Riemann zeta function should be 42.'"

In their search for patterns, mathematicians have uncovered unlikely connections between prime numbers and quantum physics. Will the subatomic world help reveal the illusive nature of the primes?

by Marcus du Sautoy Posted March 27, 2006 12:40 AM

In 1972, the physicist Freeman Dyson wrote an article called "Missed Opportunities." In it, he describes how relativity could have been discovered many years before Einstein announced his findings if mathematicians in places like Göttingen had spoken to physicists who were poring over Maxwell's equations describing electromagnetism. The ingredients were there in 1865 to make the breakthrough--only announced by Einstein some 40 years later.

It is striking that Dyson should have written about scientific ships passing in the night. Shortly after he published the piece, he was responsible for an abrupt collision between physics and mathematics that produced one of the most remarkable scientific ideas of the last half century: that quantum physics and prime numbers are inextricably linked.

This unexpected connection with physics has given us a glimpse of the mathematics that might, ultimately, reveal the secret of these enigmatic numbers. At first the link seemed rather tenuous. But the important role played by the number 42 has recently persuaded even the deepest skeptics that the subatomic world might hold the key to one of the greatest unsolved problems in mathematics.

Prime numbers, such as 17 and 23, are those that can only be divided by themselves and one. They are the most important objects in mathematics because, as the ancient Greeks discovered, they are the building blocks of all numbers--any of which can be broken down into a product of primes. (For example, 105 = 3 x 5 x 7.) They are the hydrogen and oxygen of the world of mathematics, the atoms of arithmetic. They also represent one of the greatest challenges in mathematics.

As a mathematician, I've dedicated my life to trying to find patterns, structure and logic in the apparent chaos that surrounds me. Yet this science of patterns seems to be built from a set of numbers which have no logic to them at all. The primes look more like a set of lottery ticket numbers than a sequence generated by some simple formula or law.

For 2,000 years the problem of the pattern of the primes--or the lack thereof--has been like a magnet, drawing in perplexed mathematicians. Among them was Bernhard Riemann who, in 1859, the same year Darwin published his theory of evolution, put forward an equally-revolutionary thesis for the origin of the primes. Riemann was the mathematician in Göttingen responsible for creating the geometry that would become the foundation for Einstein's great breakthrough. But it wasn't only relativity that his theory would unlock.

Riemann discovered a geometric landscape, the contours of which held the secret to the way primes are distributed through the universe of numbers. He realized that he could use something called the zeta function to build a landscape where the peaks and troughs in a three-dimensional graph correspond to the outputs of the function. The zeta function provided a bridge between the primes and the world of geometry. As Riemann explored the significance of this new landscape, he realized that the places where the zeta function outputs zero (which correspond to the troughs, or places where the landscape dips to sea-level) hold crucial information about the nature of the primes. Mathematicians call these significant places the zeros.

Riemann's discovery was as revolutionary as Einstein's realization that E=mc2. Instead of matter turning into energy, Riemann's equation transformed the primes into points at sea-level in the zeta landscape. But then Riemann noticed that it did something even more incredible. As he marked the locations of the first 10 zeros, a rather amazing pattern began to emerge. The zeros weren't scattered all over; they seemed to be running in a straight line through the landscape. Riemann couldn't believe this was just a coincidence. He proposed that all the zeros, infinitely many of them, would be sitting on this critical line--a conjecture that has become known as the Riemann Hypothesis.

But what did this amazing pattern mean for the primes? If Riemann's discovery was right, it would imply that nature had distributed the primes as fairly as possible. It would mean that the primes behave rather like the random molecules of gas in a room: Although you might not know quite where each molecule is, you can be sure that there won't be a vacuum at one corner and a concentration of molecules at the other.

For mathematicians, Riemann's prediction about the distribution of primes has been very powerful. If true, it would imply the viability of thousands of other theorems, including several of my own, which have had to assume the validity of Riemann's Hypothesis to make further progress. But despite nearly 150 years of effort, no one has been able to confirm that all the zeros really do line up as he predicted.

It was a chance meeting between physicist Freeman Dyson and number theorist Hugh Montgomery in 1972, over tea at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, that revealed a stunning new connection in the story of the primes--one that might finally provide a clue about how to navigate Riemann's landscape. They discovered that if you compare a strip of zeros from Riemann's critical line to the experimentally recorded energy levels in the nucleus of a large atom like erbium, the 68th atom in the periodic table of elements, the two are uncannily similar.

It seemed the patterns Montgomery was predicting for the way zeros were distributed on Riemann's critical line were the same as those predicted by quantum physicists for energy levels in the nucleus of heavy atoms. The implications of a connection were immense: If one could understand the mathematics describing the structure of the atomic nucleus in quantum physics, maybe the same math could solve the Riemann Hypothesis.

Mathematicians were skeptical. Though mathematics has often served physicists--Einstein, for instance--they wondered whether physics could really answer hard-core problems in number theory. So in 1996, Peter Sarnak at Princeton threw down the gauntlet and challenged physicists to tell the mathematicians something they didn't know about primes. Recently, Jon Keating and Nina Snaith, of Bristol, duely obliged.

There is an important sequence of numbers called "the moments of the Riemann zeta function." Although we know abstractly how to define it, mathematicians have had great difficulty explicitly calculating the numbers in the sequence. We have known since the 1920s that the first two numbers are 1 and 2, but it wasn't until a few years ago that mathematicians conjectured that the third number in the sequence may be 42--a figure greatly significant to those well-versed in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

It would also prove to be significant in confirming the connection between primes and quantum physics. Using the connection, Keating and Snaith not only explained why the answer to life, the universe and the third moment of the Riemann zeta function should be 42, but also provided a formula to predict all the numbers in the sequence. Prior to this breakthrough, the evidence for a connection between quantum physics and the primes was based solely on interesting statistical comparisons. But mathematicians are very suspicious of statistics. We like things to be exact. Keating and Snaith had used physics to make a very precise prediction that left no room for the power of statistics to see patterns where there are none.

Mathematicians are now convinced. That chance meeting in the common room in Princeton resulted in one of the most exciting recent advances in the theory of prime numbers. Many of the great problems in mathematics, like Fermat's Last Theorem, have only been cracked once connections were made to other parts of the mathematical world. For 150 years many have been too frightened to tackle the Riemann Hypothesis. The prospect that we might finally have the tools to understand the primes has persuaded many more mathematicians and physicists to take up the challenge. The feeling is in the air that we might be one step closer to a solution. Dyson might be right that the opportunity was missed to discover relativity 40 years earlier, but who knows how long we might still have had to wait for the discovery of connections between primes and quantum physics had mathematicians not enjoyed a good chat over tea.

Marcus du Sautoy is professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, and is the author of The Music of the Primes (Source: HarperCollins).

Strange

2006-03-24T11:38:00.000+08:00

My lack of excerise actually led to weight lost. For the past 3 weeks I have not jogged nor hiked. Sometimes, while watching tv I would do some sit-ups. I lost about 5 pounds. This is a strange world. I feel like Bridget Jones.

IQ

2006-03-24T11:08:00.000+08:00

Your IQ Is 135

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average

Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius

Your General Knowledge is Genius

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Ha~ My logical intelligence is below average >_<

5 Questions to Love

2006-03-24T10:44:00.000+08:00

It seems everything has gotten faster in this modern day and age. Fast food, fast car, fast men and women, 30 minute tv time span. Yet this survey seems a bit extreme on the over simplification. Is it possible to know thyself base on 5 multiple choice questions?

Your Love Life Secrets Are

Looking back on your life, you will only have one true love.

You're a little scarred from your past relationships, but who isn't?

You expect a lot from your lover - you want the full package. You tend to be very picky.

In fights, you love to debate and defend yourself. You logic prevails - or at least you'd like to think so.

A break-up usually comes as a shock to you. You always think things are going well.

Your Love Life Secrets, Revealed

I wonder who is that "one true love" the survey was refering to?

Birth Order?

2006-03-24T10:40:00.000+08:00

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty.
At work and school, you do best when you're researching.
When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often.

In friendship, you are considerate and compromising.
Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking.
You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

The Birth Order Predictor

They actually guess my birth order right. The statments they made about me are also vague but true.

Random Thoughts

2006-03-20T23:25:00.000+08:00

Call me lifegiver, for I am your sustenance. I burn, and by my burning you live. I stand, and in standing supply your anchor. Space curls around, my blanket, and funnels down to mystery in my bowels. Time beats his scythe on my forge.

Living thing, does Entropy, my wicked Aunt, notice our joint conspiracy? Not yet, I think, for you are yet too small. Your puny struggle against her tide is a fluttering in a great wind. And she thinks I am still her ally.

Call me lifegiver, oh living thing, and weep. I burn endlessly and, burning, consume what cannot be re-placed. While you sip daintily at my torrent the font runs slowly out. When it empties other stars shall take my place, but oh not forever!
~David Brin, Sundiver

Sometimes I don't fully comprehend a source of writing but find the words strangely moving. The sing song quality of phrases touche me and invoke images. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse was such a book. Along with those images form emotions and questions that I never knew existed. It is this transformation of words into motion pictures rigth inside my head that fasinates me. A single book, read by each person, is a slightly different movie playing in their head. I am only limited by my imagination.

It unsettles me why it is usually something I don't fully understand which moves me so. Religion for one and suffering for another. Religion has always baffled me, yet I can't deny its comfort, this urge to believe in something without understanding. Some people call it faith, other call it foolishness. Regardless, the more I read on the topic, on each holy book from each religion, the less I know. What is certain is the force that is behind those words which forms love, hate, war, sacrifice, and redemption.

Suffering is something that I don't completely understand either. We as a species seems to treasure pain, the ability to give and to break ourselves. Greek has a love for tragedy. The struggle seems to be the important thing, the experience. Think back on the moments you hold dear, the times which you recall most clearly. It may be marked by triump or failure, yet I can safely say it is marked with pain.

We make fun of it. This suffering. Our jokes tend to have someone facing their humanity, the pain and defect which we can't overcome. It is which that makes us human. Tripping on a banana peel, funny? Having heavy object falling on someone, humorous? Those are crude and direct jokes, yet they serve as a good example. The jokes we laugh at are the limitions which we possess. Our stupidity, our mortaility, our way of life. That which we are powerless to change, we laugh. Maybe that is why humor is so important to us, it keeps us sane.

Of course, I don't understand females either, but it is safe to say they are strangely moving. The ability to appreciate what we don't understand might be what enables us to reach for the First Fire, while in awe of the dancing amber and flame.

Things of Interest

2006-03-13T08:49:00.000+08:00

Major Technology News:

Google to start online word processor.
Fuel cell in laptop by early 2007.
Google working on online calender CL2.
Styrofoam eating bacteria found, great news for environment!
Human genes still evolving...
AIM protocol opened to developers~!!! (one step closer universal messenger)
Pebble Bed Reactor, the future of Nuclear Technology? (might expand to full post to organize my thoughts and information)

Political News:

Good news, Cheny didn't shoot any innocent bystander this week.
Bad news, Bush and Cheny still in charge.
Dubai Port controversy.
2006 Philippines Coup. (to my Philippine friends, good luck. if things get worse come and move to taiwan, i have a spare room)

Currently Playing:

Note Worthy Game Coming Out:

Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion (March 20, 2006)

Excerise in the last 2 weeks:

Situp - none
Jogging - none
Judo - none

Reading Materials:

THSRC ECS contract.
Dune Series
Vorkosigan Series
Low Temperature Thermal Desorption Process
Indirect Thermal Remediation

Plans:

Update webpage (side bar)
Organize quotations
Research GalCivII
Research US tax laws
Organize manga
Sort through 300 some songs
Organize classical painting collections
Find a good movie so I can go to the theater

Random Quotes:

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow. ~Dan Rather
If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. ~Henry David Thoreau
I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far. ~John Muir
Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven. ~Rabindranath Tagore, Fireflies, 1928
I have settled for so many things in life, let love not be one of them.
We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person. ~W. Somerset Maugham

Comet Sushi

2006-03-06T08:44:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I try so hard to please other people I loose my ways. Most of the time it is just small things, an hour or two over time at work, eating out at restaurants that my friends enjoy, or just emptying that extra glass or two of "social business" drinks, because it is the polite thing to do at business dinner.

I know these are just compromises in life, and life is about taking a little and giving a little. But sometimes there are so many compromises it feels more like a full-blown retreat. Once in a while I would step back and look at myself and say, "this is not who I am". I don't like to drink, I am not a vegetarian, I like to get home by 10pm from work.

Take this blog for example, at the beginning, it is a place to come and talk with myself. Now when is the last time I even talked about my life? More and more I try to add stuff to the blog to make it seem more interesting. Customized. To please the imaginary audience that I don't really have.

It is, really, my own fault. Intellectually I know it is impossible to make everyone happy. Yet there is always the desire to try then there would come the inevitable result of failing to please.

I sometimes daydream that I am a stronger person. Able to go that extra mile, to protect everyone I love. Sometimes I wish I can go without sleep and get that next report done, to squeeze in an extra hour to talk to someone I care. Sometimes I wish.

Yet in the end, I am only human and can only do so much. I am not even all that good of a person. Unlike some people who can just give and give like a never drying fountain. I dry up sometimes. When that happens I go away, to sleep my 14 hours and recharge, to take a run at night, to be by myself and examine my life. It is true, I came to accept that I cannot be good to all people all the time. Every so often I just need some time to myself. It is who I am.

So maybe that is how my life will run, like a comet circling the sun, inevitably drawn close by the gravitation and need, then inevitably going further away on my own journey into the unknown.

Words

2006-03-02T10:06:00.000+08:00

“Begin at the beginning”, the King said, gravely, “and go till you come to the end; then stop. ”
~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another.
~Anatole France

If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.
~Ludwig Wittgenstein

I'm old enough to know better, but I'm still too young to care.
~Wade Hayes

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
"Pooh!" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?'"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you."

Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.
~Michael Caine

There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.
~Woody Allen

She's been everyone else's girl; maybe one day she'll be her own.
~Tori Amos

Frankenstein the Wise

2006-02-21T14:16:00.000+08:00

My person was hideous and my stature gigantic.
What did this mean?
Who was I? What was I?
Whence did I come? What was my destination?
~Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Immortal words spoken by a man-made being. The struggle against his own imperfection is a mirror reflecting everyone's mind. Sometimes we also loose ourselves and echo the same question but perhaps not so elegantly - "What the hell is going on?"

The order of his words is important. He seek to understand who he was first, before asking where he is going. The logic is obvious, how do you know which direction to go if you don't know where you are?

The simple issue then, is to define oneself. Are we nothing but our name? Is it not the first thing we introduce to people? Curiously there is a common believe that our life is destined. Some say the time of one's birth determines partly one's way of life, such as star signs. Some say one's blood type determines personality. Then there is the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, which groups you into 1 of 16 types.

There are a lot of information on each personality type. Read through the description and you might find out more about who you are. They have some something to say regarding "personal growth", "relationships", and "common career types" vs personality.

p.s. If you read chinese here is a good site for information on Star Signs.

Birthday

2006-02-21T09:33:00.000+08:00

P.S. did you know after loading your picture on blogger you can change the size of picture appearing on your blog? It is simple, just use your mouse and drag the box into appropriate size. The little trick is what made this layout.

For more pictures of the birthday party (120), checkout my MSN Space Photo.

Old Games for Old Timers

2006-02-16T10:36:00.000+08:00

Do you enjoy obscure games from decades ago? Games that is qurky and with terrible graphics but you get nostalgic none-the-less? Then here is a nice website for you - Home of the Underdogs. They host information or actual copies of discontinued computer games for you to relive the good old days.

I am ashamed to admit I like a really old and crappy pc game called "Magic the Gathering" that used to run on my windows95. Well, the game is no more - mainly due to buggy programming and terrible implimentation. There is no explaining why I like the things I do. But Underdogs took the pain to port the game into Windows XP and modify the game speed to cope with the fast modern processor.

They took the original game "magic the gathering" and bundled it with the sequel "duels of the planeswalker" and add-on "spell of the acient" then included "mana-link". The download is 78mb. There is also an unoffical patch of v1.32. You can find all that here.

Simple instructions for getting it installed and working: Extract that somewhere, run 'setup.bat', wait for it to finish, then move it all to c:\magic\Program, double-click magic.reg to make sure it gets into the registry (setup.bat tries to do it but might not succeed or something), then download the unofficial 1.3.2 manalink patch (from the link on that page), and install that (It expects MTG to be in c:\magic\Program). After that's all done, you can move it where-ever you want, and just run magic.exe to run it."

This worked a treat and even solves the CPU speed issues. This game still rocks!

Important tips are: 1.After doing ALL the above run the game exe's in Windows2000 compatablity mode 2.Use Y/N to buy cards in town 3.If when switching between areas you find yourself with a blank screen simply left click once and the graphics pop right up.

-source from ntcompatible

They even have a link show casing all the great old games hosted, aptly named as "Hall of Belated Fame".

Another game I enjoy from decade past is Marathon, made by Bungie. Now the company is better known as the producer of Halo. But back in the days, they started their career on Macontosh and the Marathon Trilogy is what first put bread and fame on their table.

Bungie is an amazing company. After the trilogy became obsolete due to time, they released the code and executable so fans can tinker with the game. The result is a free trip down the memory lane. The old game has been modified and will run on Windows XP or Mac. The files are hosted by Bungie themselves - Trilogy Release. The trilogy release link covers the second and third game, namely Marathon 2 and Infinity. The first game is so old that it takes slightly more to make it work, but some dedicated fan went through the trouble so you can play this awesome 1994 game. Code name M1A1, this lets you play the original Marathon on Windows. I am not sure where to find the Mac version but there should be a version for Mac somewhere. I don't own Apple computer so I didn't look very hard.

Lately I have been thinking about getting a notebook computer. So far with very little research I am leaning towards Dell Inspiron or Apple Notebook (PowerMac?). I seem to enjoy thinking about buying something and researching on it more than the actual purchase. I will just keep talking about wanting to buy laptop on and off for the next couple months - it gives me something to do.

If you enjoy modern graphic. A project Marathon Ressurection ported the game with Unreal Tournment engine.

If you are interested in the background and story. Here is a comprehesive archive of every terminal shown in the game with text.

There are other ways to play old games - namely by using emulators. There are NES (nintendo) emulator, SNES (super nintendo) emulator, dreamcast, psx (playstation), sega cd, sega genesis, MEME (arcade) and more. Just do some search on the internet. Almost any game produced a decade ago can be found for free. Which is lucky for someone who doesn't care about graphic or 3D environment - like me.

Happy Single's Awareness Day

2006-02-14T14:06:00.000+08:00

Random Conversation:
AKS: Pretty~
SC: Are you talking about the roses or me?
AKS: I was talking about you, but the roses are nice too.

Happy Valentine's Day

p.s. I got Valentine's Day chocolatte from a guy today, he passed out chocolatte [Ferrero Rocher] to everyone at the office. I wonder if that is normal for Taiwan.

Sweet Dreams

2006-02-11T19:14:00.000+08:00

Dream Catcher

Are you having bad dreams? American Indians believe Dream Catcher will keep away nightmares. I don't know if it works or not, but I think as decoration it looks pretty nice too.

Sweet Dreams.

Dear Cyril Column

2006-02-08T16:31:00.000+08:00

Dear Yahoo!:

What is it about the shower that makes people want to sing?

Barney

Dear Barney:

Much like "How does Paris Hilton live with herself," this is one mystery that may never be solved. (emphasis mine) Although there's no definitive reason why so many love to sing amid the steam and soap, we can offer up a few theories.

As we learned from the San Francisco Exploratorium, the sound of a person's voice actually improves in the small, confined space of the shower. When you sing in an open area, you "basically only hear your voice as it is produced." However, in the shower, the sound waves reflect off the walls, producing a much richer sound, improved bass, and more volume. Goodbye, William Hung. Hello, Bette Midler.

Some theories are less scientific. The book "Sounding the Silence" believes people are inclined to sing in the shower because they feel safe and relaxed. "The quiet solitude creates a space in which our spirit can freely express itself." Or, to put it another way, a shower's privacy allows people to relax and let loose.

In the end, we suspect it's a combination of the improved vocals and the relaxation that comes with being completely alone. It's a comfort to know that once you pull that mildew-stained curtain shut, not only will you sound better, no one's going to laugh if you don't.

[First seen posted by Cryil repost as is][Creative Writing]

A Sea of Cell Phones

2006-02-08T10:09:00.000+08:00

This picture was taken on Chinese New Years, just before the count down. Seems like a lot of people in Taiwan has Camera on their cell phones.

Tagged~ 6 month ago...

2006-02-07T12:32:00.000+08:00

My sense of timing has never been great. I like to run at night when no one else wants to exercise. I start new books when I am busy and can't put them down. I focus on my inner thoughts when I should notice other people's feeling. However, last night SzuFang logged on 30 second before I was going to log off. So for once, everything went right and we talked for a bit. It made the usual Tuesday seem lighter, like there is a change in the gravity field. Or maybe it is that my occasional jogging is finally making a difference.

Speaking of bad timing. Blue tagged me near 6 months ago. So here is a reply. Even though late, maybe it will brighten Blue's day, I know the whole event has certainly made me smile.

Tagged by Blue...

The Book Club Tag

What's in a book?
Worlds and possibilities. Stories and windows into other people's lives.

Number of books on the shelves:
A couple hundred probably, I sort of collect books. My real library is digital on my computer though - a couple thousands in selection. (no, I haven't read them all >_<) Those that I own or bought: I love used book stores, it is one of the fastest way for me to waste money. I typed out a few that I like on MSN Space and I own those all.

Last few books that I bought:
"The Art of War" Chinese version with interpretation. "Pencil Drawings for Beginners". "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out" by Richard Feynaman.

Book that I'm reading now:
Japanese for Beginners. Book 6 of "The Chronicles of Amber" by Roger Zelazny.

Last few books read:
"The Partner" by John Grisham, "The Broker" by John Grisham.

Seven Things That Scare Me
1. Dying alone and have nothing to show for.
2. Disappointing people
3. Losing my mental facility (Alzheimer, stroke, or other disease)
4. George W. Bush as president
5. Mob mentality
6. Giant giant giant cockroach (like one that is big enough to cover a hand)
7. Possessing great power, I am afraid what I might do with it.

Seven Things That I Like the Most
1. Talk to people I love.
2. Read interesting books
3. Sing, just myself along with mp3.
4. Trying out new things once I have been sufficiently rested.
5. Green Tea Ice Cream
6. 牛奶布丁 (Milk Pudding/Flan)
7. Start silly projects. (Programming, writing, drawing, diet projects...etc)

Seven Important Things in My Bedroom
1. Computer~! (Plus the desk to put it on, chair to sit in front, and light to illuminate)
2. My queen size bed =)
3. Pillows
4. TV (plus its stand)
5. Alarm clock
6. My green plant
7. Clothing (plus its closet)

Seven Random Facts About Me
1. Aquarius, born year of the Monkey.
2. O+, INFJ
3. I keep my computer more organized than my room.
4. A blend of technical and sentimentality that changes in proportion like the phase of moon.
5. Both of my pinky bend in a slight angle, it is a family trait from my father's side.
6. I can survive on 5 hours of sleep for a long time, but I usually need 6.
7. Sometimes I like to be by myself.

Seven Things I plan to do before I die
1. Make a positive difference.
2. Learn Judo
3. Learn Japanese
4. Open a bookstore
5. Learn to sing well
6. Buy a house or two.
7. Live forever...

Seven Things I can do
1. With great pain touch the floor with my fingertip, knees not bending.
2. Wiggle my right ear, left ear, or both at the same time. (i know, i am a freak)
3. Build a computer from scratch.
4. I have been told I grill steak well.
5. Get rid of virus from your computer, assuming it is still bootable.
6. Massage
7. Find something good in everyone

Seven Things I Can’t Do
1. Speak and read Japanese (and i so want to...)
2. Match my cloth
3. Remember my dreams
4. Be in a crowd for days on end, I get overloaded
5. Cook complicated food
6. Lie still when I hear the sound of mosquito
7. Sleep without regret when a book is not finished

Seven Things that Attract Me to the Opposite Sex
1. Interesting conversations
2. Nice person
3. Sense of direction
4. Reciprocal in love
5. Honesty
6. A little imperfection (i know, i am strange...)
7. Cute, pretty, good looking...etc

Seven Things You Say the Most
1. Okay
2. Hello, This is Kailay Corporation (when picking up the phone and I say it in chinese)
3. I have a theory...
4. Tag the word "maybe" before making a statement.
5. oh my goodness
6. How are you?
7. ^_^ (just a smile)

Seven Celeb Crushes (whether local or foreign)
Not actually crushes...I just like their attitude/media image
1. An Indian CNN Internaional news achor woman. (she could be malaysians, i don't know, she just looks middle-eastern)
2. The lead actress in Entrapment
3. Clare Dane (the girl in Les Miserable and Romeo and Juliet)
4. Mandy Moore
5. Avril Lavigne
6. the lead actress in The Mummy
7. Helen Hunt

Tagged: anyone who read this webpage ^_^

[Trivial]

Photo-a-day

2006-02-07T01:20:00.000+08:00

Red Car, from a Yellow Car

SF Buckaroo's Vehicles in Motion Series. Taken from a passing train like the one you see here, through an open window, with the camera resting on the ledge.

Blog Roll

2006-02-06T09:34:00.000+08:00

It is always interesting to see who links to your site and Technorati lets you do just that. Near the bottom of Technorati Search Page checkout "Website URL Search". I found this function a bit too late, appearantly "Views in Greens and Blues" was linking to me 176 days ago - but now no longer linked. Still, I found the site pretty interesting, a lot of feelings. I especially like her randomly generated quotation tied to a database. When there is time I will look at her codes and see how she did it. I now belatedly link it to my site under Pieces of Me.

The problem about majoring in Electrical Engineering is that none of my engineering friend writes. It might be an ego thing - an unspoken current of thought that wispers, writing is for those liberal arts. Which is kind of a shame, because even though we might be boring and nerdy bunch, I bet we have interesting things to say from time to time. Anyhow, the end result is that I have no one to link my blogs. They don't believe in blogs. They just write the programs that people use to blog. Or, they build computers, maintain their cars, play computer games...etc. Bill still has me linked, but with the Purdue University Webpage, which doesn't work anymore. Last time he updates was May of 2005.

My Thoughts and Ideas About the World updates once a week, at least back in September 2005. I will keep my hope and see if he updates sometimes this year.

The View From Taiwan is kept by a professor in Taiwan. He even left me a couple messages. I had him linked for a while now. He writes everyday, usually serveral times a day, and always on topics related to Taiwan. Writing must be a passion for him. On the same note, HotChocolatte also left me a couple messages, I enjoy her writings. Just Let Me Say It also shows up from time to time, suprisingly she can also read chinese - what are the odds?

Written Words is a blog on american style comics. I am more familiar with Japanese Manga yet the recent influx of movie adapted from American Comics have peaked my interest. One of my quotation/thought made it on to her blog. Her world seems unique and interesting. I have her linked and will go over her site later.

My blog hack - Rotating Header Images made it on to Fresh Blog. It is a technical blog, which is nice, however I have enough technical stuff in my life so I will just forego linking it. Another technical blog e-piphany linked to my Google Analytics article. On that note, Google has stopped offering analytics for free sign up due to heavy load, it is now an invitation only service. You can submit your webpage to them and hope you will get an invitation.

There are a few blogs that link to my "Baba Yetu" lyric article. Civilization Fanatics' Center, Wikipedia, Cynical Smirk, Mob Wisdom, John & Stephi.

These are the people I met purely through chance. Websites and stories I would otherwise not have known if I didn't blog. Now let's see what next year will bring~

New Year, New Changes

2006-02-05T18:20:00.000+08:00

New layout design. I figure my old site needs a new make-over.

The pretty scrolling bar on top is made by Voluptpat Venenatis. The code source and icons are provided on his website.

The "Stick Clock" to the top left is provided by ClockLink. You can pick from dozens of styles and then modify that to your time zone. They even have a countdown clock and countup clock, if you want to keep track of anniversary or major events. I thought about combining a countdown clock with Death Clock Website. Death Clock Website predicts the day you die based on your body weight, height, MBI, sex, birthday, smoking status, and general outlook on life. According to it, I will die on Sunday, December 12, 2077. The design concept is sound but kind of depressing. I might do it later when I am more morbid.

The "Slider" underneath the clock is provided free by code. You can subscribe to different feed or use your own material. I tied my Slider to current events but you can pick from sports, entertainment, video blogs, and everything under the clear blue sky.

I made some effort and checked the site with IE, Firefox, and Safari. I don't own a mac, so I used a Safari Viewer provided by Snugtech. You enter in a website, it will load that site on their Mac computer (with Safari), take a picture, then load the picture to let you see website.

The profile on top right when viewed with Safari turns out to be white and some texts are masked, I don't know why.

There are still some little issues I am working through, but everything loaded in the right place for all 3 browsers. I have an odd line to the bottom right of my Blog Title Scroller. I don't know where it came from, probably a left over because I failed to close a division class somewhere.

There is also the issue of color. The text of my posts show up as gray in Firefox, but properly as black on IE and Safari. This baffles me. I will try to find the cause when I have time.

A new service offered by FastOnlineUsers shows how many people are currently viewing a particular webpage. Surprisingly simple, only 3 lines of code. Even fewer since I took out the advertising ^^;;;

I also placed a Webband on the top right corner provided by OpenMind. They have a couple different style and wordings. There is also another one offered by MakeProvertyHistory.

The Randomly Generated Photos to the left is provided by Flickr. You can choose to generate from the entire Flickr database or just from your own Flickr picture database. It is a new service called Flickr Badge. This one requires sign up and has 2 Badge styles to choose from. But since Flickr is owned by Yahoo! If you have a Yahoo or AIM ID you can just use that ID to sign in. I highly recommend it. It hosts your picture for free so you can share them over the web, the interface and sorting is also the best I have seen.

The 3 by 4 randomly generated Snap Shots to the right side bar is the 2nd style of Flickr Badge. I like this one very much. I tied this badge to my Flickr picture database. However, I only have 24 pictures linked to the Badge so there are some repeats from time to time, I will upload more pictures when I have time.

I also changed from 2 columns to 3 columns. The blog style was originally Rounder4. I found the following links helpful: Add Side Bars on Both Sides and 3 Column Layout. I don't actually recommend you look at my code to figure out how to do 3 columns. I added so many hacks and I quick patched so many holes the code is pretty ugly. It will probably just confuse you.

The other problem with 3 columns is that I have nothing to put there. So I went into Windows Media Player, looked up my most listened to songs last month and typed it in. I also wanted to put up a wish list just in case someone nice wants to buy me something. But alas, I don't have anything I want at the moment. I thought about putting up books I like to read, but I figure no one would want to know that - if you do you can find the answer on My MSN Space.

I got rid of my old randonly generated header picture. I tried to put it on the bottom but it just looks messy.

I kept my randomly generated quotations and placed them to the top of left sidebar. I want to find some new quotations and replace the old one. It will be done sometimes...

I kept the View Visitor Stats provided by Statcounter. It lets you view as a guest the statistics on my website.

I added a search box to the left side bar since my articles are getting numerous; I kept flipping back and referring to old articles which gets annoying.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

[Blogger Hacks]

Morning Dew

2006-02-03T14:44:00.000+08:00

Behind every pretty flower is usually a drop of tear.

Dew will dry, flower will wilt, and color will fade

What makes the delicate strong is its ability to bend

When the world is filled with color we are often attracted by the elegance of black and white.

Does all beauty fade so easily?

And the dew, evaporates with the rising sun, then disappears.

Sometimes love is not round,
for not even earth is a perfect sphere.

And purity doesn't always comes in white.

Often beauty is brazenly revealed,

So we overlook the broken cornor that calls for our attention.

Tears are our way of expressing ourselves,
and even a blade of grass is entitled to its own tears.

Pearl sent this to me, all credit to her.

Beware, High Voltage

2006-02-03T14:39:00.000+08:00

Translation: On the outside wall of an establishment a sign says: "This location exists high voltage, for your safety please do not pee at this wall"

Priceless ^_^.

Chinese New Year

2006-02-03T14:04:00.000+08:00

January 28th to February 2nd was Chinese New Year. 5 days of national holidy means I temperiorily halted my plan of World Domination and took a well deserved break. I did nothing productive, ate lots of food, and slept 10 hours a day.

January 30th also happen to be my birthday. For some reason I got 3 cakes this year instead of one. One of them was Black Forest, named so because of the amount of dark chocolatte that densely populated the outer layer.

Another one is Japanese Stype Cheese Cake. It "relies upon the emulsification of cornstarch and eggs to make a smooth flan-like texture and almost plasticine appearance".

The last one is Tiramisu Cake. It is "an Italian dessert typically made from Lady Fingers, espresso coffee, mascarpone cheese, eggs, cream, sugar, marsala wine, and cocoa. The name tiramisù means "pick-me-up", referring to the two caffeine-containing ingredients, espresso and cocoa".

I think I have already posted the best pictures here on Blogger, the rest are just people you don't know and places far away. The Cakes~ The Cakes are what's important! But if you want to see some more random pictures, there are 3 more sets on the web space given by MSN Messenger.

[Trivial]

Star Bright, Star Shine

2006-01-26T14:41:00.000+08:00

I injured my thumb, so Judo would have to be put on hold for a little bit, sometimes we don't always get to do what we want, sometimes life doesn't work out to how we plan.

I spent my extra time running now. It is perhaps the one constant thing I always come back to. There is a familiarity to the road that is comforting. It is its nature to be solid and supportive. It has seen me in rage and grief, pain and joy, hope and confusion.

And the road demands so little, just a bit of my time now and then. The conversation would last as long as I want; the road stretches on forever.

Our conversation is simple; a steady rhythmic vibration felt from the bottom of my feet - step after step. There is nothing complicated about running or roads. It is one of the few things I understand. There is beauty in its simplicity.

Whatever problem I may have, running makes it seem smaller. My thought naturally focuses on inhaling and exhaling. The noise of my mind would fade into background. The struggle for breath and air puts other problems into perspective. They become more trivial, more manageable.

It is not often I jog during daylight. I don't jog for the green trees or grass, not for the pretty flower or warm sun; I jog for myself. I found it easier to be myself at night, where it is quiet.

Once a while, even under the polluted sky a few stars would come through. Then it would just be the road, the stars, and me. "Stars are far apart from each other," she says. "They do not have to touch to know each other. They shine at each other from far away." I like that statement, it makes me think how people I know are all connected, perhaps by the ray we generate within.

Meaning

2006-01-26T14:07:00.000+08:00

The pursuit on the meaning of life is universal and eternal. In all the history of man no consensus has been made on this subject. The thought then occurred to me, perhaps there is not just one meaning to life. After all, even a single word contains multiple definitions; thus life, which encompasses all words, would no doubt contain more than one answer.

I have erred in hoping to seek meaning from a universal point of view, like how man hope to track space and time absolutely. Space and time is relative so must be judged from a reference, and this is how i came to view life and its meaning.

The meaning of life depends not only on the point of view, but also of the time. i believe the basis premise of life is the ability to change, influence, reproduce, and survive. The first two factors are closely related, one is the ability to change oneself, the other is the ability to change others or the environment. The last two are equally related. Reproduction is the survival of one's gene and survival is the preservation of one's life. Looking from this way, life at its most basic is change and survival.

The meaning of life then is how we define those two basic things. People view survival differently. Some find family and the continuation of gene to be utmost important. They find meaning in love of family. Other find spirituality to be utmost important in survival, thus they emphasize on religion. Then there are others who think true immortality can only be found in their work, thus projects were built, books were written, and great tombs are constructed. Some find survival in friend's memory and find meaning in that, so they judge friendship important.

Since there is not just one answer, I don't have to declare one truth over the other, I don't have to just pick on meaning and live by it. I may find family more important on New Years Eve, I may find Friends more important on their birthdays, I may find my projects important during work hour. Meaning of life is dependent upon time.

It is also more than that. Life itself is limited by time. If I have eternity then I would find my priority very different from if I have just one more day to live. So partly, the meaning of life is determined by time. An 80 year old man may tell you honestly of the meaning of life and it would not apply to you. Some wisdom is only true when you are at the right stage to receive it.

[Thoughts]

Surf Privately with Privacy

2006-01-21T19:07:00.001+08:00

Well, Seems like the Bush Administration is asking all major internet search company to hand over millions of user search data. So far Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL were asked and have handed some data over. Google was also asked but refused in order to protect user privacy. Here are the details in a couple different sources.

I am sort of sick of all the bad news coming from US. So I am not going to speak ill of Bush administration nor will I mention any names.
I am just here to tell you how to protect yourself. There are easy ways to surf the web anonymously. The easiest way is to surf by proxy. There are many many privacy website that serve as a middle point hub, insulating you from contacting the website you access.

In effect, the websites you access won't see you surfing the website, they will only see that middle point hub. These kind of websites are called "anonymizers". I never actually use them because website loads a bit slower when going through a middle point.

The one that is more frequently used on my blog site by other people is anonymization. I am not sure why people come to my site anonymously, I find it slightly amusing. Only about 0.5% of people use them though, I suppose it is better to be careful and surf privately, I just never remember to use it.

Here is a link that compiles all the proxy server and website out there probably a couple hundred links with description. I have not tried any of them. Let me know which one you like better and I will update this blog reflecting your opinion.

[Politics][Technology]

Just Another Saturday

2006-01-21T17:32:00.000+08:00

Where is the nurse when you need one?

We moved office today.

The construction project has finally reached final stage and they are now working on the ceiling right above our old office. The main contractor decide the best way to spent a sunny saturday is to make it into a giant moving day. This is why I went in for work on this lovely day.

The day is not as bad as i thought. 11 office tables, 6 desktop computers, 2 conference tables, a mountain of paper work, a dozen man-sized filing cabinet, a drinking fountain, and one evil hippo-sized office printer. We finished moving in 7 hours, but have not organized anything yet.

So why is the hippo sized printer evil? well, it sort of landed on my hand, causing a respectable bruise right on my thumb. My thumb-nail now looks purplish; my thumb swollen to twice the original size. This post is typed entirely with my left hand.

There is one good news though, I now have a chance to test out the camera function on my new cell phone and the quality of pictures looked nice. Considering the new office doesn't have light nor electricity at the time, I think the cell phone camera is decent.

My Fat Thumb [Side View]

My Purple Thumb [Top View]

I injured myself while carrying the hippo-sized evil printer with a young lady. Interestingly, another male worker also hurt himself while carrying the conference table with her. We couldn't figure out if she carry somesort of negative energy or if it is pure chance. We were waiting for a third accident to happen but that third data point never arrived so we couldn't triangluate the cause and calculate probable risk in relation to distance with her.

Here is the other poor guy's injury.

Bashed Middle Finger >_< [Top View]

Bashed Middle Finger After Proper Rescue [Front View]

Yes, He just pointed his middle finger at you. The rest of the article include pictures taken during the rescue operation. These pictures are graphic because Iodine [the red stuff used to cleanse would] looks likes blood. So the following pictures looks like someone took a chainsaw to our fingers.

Do not click on the below link if:

You are my girlfriend. (well, you can if you really want to)
You are eating.
You faint at the sight of blood.
You dislike horror movie.

...Read more

We decided to treat our wounds with Iodine to disinfect. It hurts like 10,000 paper cuts with salt on top.

Top of my hand with Iodine [Top View]

We decide to drench the other guy's middle finger in Iodine just to be safe. His injury seems pretty bad. We think his nail will fall off >_<.

Other guy's middle finger in Iodine Lake [Top View]

My Thumb [top] and His Finger [bottom]

Lastly, that guy's finger drenched in blood (well, actually iodine)

The Little Things in Life

2006-01-20T17:33:00.000+08:00

I was just checking to see what kind of accessories I can buy for my new cell phone. This one takes the cake.

I was tempted to buy one just to say I have one but in the end common sense prevailed. I end up getting a normal leather casing for my Nokia6230i.

PS. I also bought Logitech's QuickCam Fusion.

Random Quotations

2006-01-18T14:33:00.000+08:00

"I really hope he calls today, so I can hang up on him.
~Ally McBeal

Jack Taylor said to his 6 year old daughter, "Maggie, when you grow up and are incredibly beautiful and intelligent and possess a certain sweetness that's... that's like a distant promise to the brave, to the worthy, could you please not beat to a pulp every miserable bastard that comes your way simply because you can? Could you not do that?"
Maggie Taylor said sweetly, "Okay Daddy."
~One Fine Day

"This above all: to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day; Thou canst not then be false to any man."
~William Shakespeare, 'Hamlet,' Act I, Scene iii

"The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues makes them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed."
~Ernest Hemmingway A Farewell to Arms

John after he told Ally he love her: "Well, that‘s the trouble I suppose in coming to people with honesty, they sometimes counter with it."
~Ally McBeal

"Anything you lose automatically doubles in value."
~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

"There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. When the affection is the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. Under no circumstances can the food be omitted."
~Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behaviour

WebCam

2006-01-17T03:21:00.000+08:00

One of my friend, actually my girlfriend, wanted me to get a webcam so I did a little research. Logitech seems to be the leading company for these type of electronic gadget and Creative is another big name.

The cheapest webcam on Logitech (which is the only website I looked up because it is 3:26am and I am lazy) is 40 USD. The one that seems to have the best review for USB2.0 port connection is QuickCam Fusion - 99 USD.

The Design is intriguing, instead of a clip like most webcam, it uses a counter balance and hangs on the top of your LCD monitor. Which means if you don't have an LCD monitor, a USB2.0 connection, and a pretty fast computer, you don't want to buy this webcam. The shape of this equipment is almost organic as you can see from a side view.

On the same note of shopping, I probably won't be getting a Nokia8800. It doesn't seem as impressive when I went into the store and held the cell phone to my hand. It just doesn't seem to be worth the 1,000 USD price =P Also all reviews indicated it has a terrible battery life.

I am now leaning towards Nokia6230i [3100 NTD] and Sony Ericsson W550i [4800 NTD]

References:
Mobile Phones UK Online Guide
Nokia Taiwan
Sony Ericsson Global Phone Portfolio
1 US Dollar = 32 NT (Taiwanese Dollar)

[Trivial]

Heaven

2006-01-16T09:49:00.000+08:00

If there is a heaven in the religious sense, then all beings must have an equal chance of gaining entrance. I would imagine heaven is full of trees, for trees never seem to do much harm and always good.

Seems like an odd image, I know. Other people's image of heaven is usually white and full of clouds. Mine is strangely full of animals and trees. Human beings are really just one of billions of species. I would imagine by virtue and chance we would only occupy a very small amount of space in heaven.

Recently my friend's cat passed away. It was a good cat. It did no harm except to leather furnitures and shoes. I think if there is a heaven, that cat would be there.

Maybe I am biased, but I hope the gates of heaven doesn't admit too many mosquitos. Even though heaven would be perfect and the mosquitos wouldn't have to drink my blood to live, I have came to really hate the unique sound they make while flying around. I will heed the wishes of cows, pigs, and chicken to stay away from them in heaven. I wonder if mosquitos will listen and stay away from me as well.

Of course, I am assuming a lot by saying I will be in heaven and that heaven exists. Still, it is something interesting to think about.

I have never been very good with deaths. This would have to serve as a tribute to my friend's cat 咪咪. May the cat find peace and many leather things; may each of us find meaning and resolution in our limitations.

[Thoughts]

Captured Memory

2006-01-15T12:25:00.000+08:00

The Bike Trip started around noon. I was the funny looking guy with the Judo uniform.

Before excerising, we all agree it was a good idea to fuel up first ^_^ Can't bike on an empty stomach.

With light steps, they walked forward.

But of course, not before more pictures.

Someone thought her red hat would look good on me.

...and we biked and biked and biked. Here is a picture when we took a break. I love this particular picture. She looks thoughtful. I wonder what she was thinking.

14 miles later we took an afternoon tea break at one of the cafe. We were very pleased to find they have both coffee, tea, cakes, and mozerilla sticks.

We then took a boat across the river.

The water glittered like stars.

We looked at the sunset, and pondered about the last 13 miles we have to bike ^_^

I like photos that are taken from the side or the back. They seem to capture emotions better. Or maybe it is just that my active imagination puts the emotion into the empty canvas

The more complete set of photos are on my MSN Space.

Silly Me

2006-01-14T02:20:00.001+08:00

3am, I really should be sleeping. Yet there is a strange desire to stay up and simply think quietly. To most people, the choice would be clear - either the oblivious peace of sleep or wakeful troubling ponderance.

I never seem to pick the easy path.

Neither in this case can i justify it as the right path. I have Judo at 10:30am and Biking in the afternoon. I should get some sleep so I might be good for something tomorrow.

Yet there is a sense of expectancy, like a pause of total silence in the middle of a song, which made me think if I just wait a little bit a revelation would come to me. Then this mysterious aching need would be fulfilled and everything will be put to right.

I looked around, nothing came. Maybe if I just stay up for a little longer the answer will come to me.

[Thoughts]

Lack of Cannery Factory?

2006-01-13T11:10:00.001+08:00

There are many interesting issues lately, "Taiwan Breeds Transgenic, Fluorescent Green Pigs" for one - does it not remind you of Dr. Seuss's poem Green Egg and Ham? Those wacky taiwanese scientist, what would they think of next?

There is also "Tapping Trees for Electricity". Currently they can get 2 volts out of a single tree but no mention of the relevent current. I found the concept strangely disturbing and matrix-like. But instead of us being the battery we are making another living being (trees) into our power source. However, I suppose we already cut them down and burn them for fuel, so this could be argued as no worse than what we have done for thousands of years. Yet still, I find the concept disturbing, perhaps I am just old fashioned and out of step with time.

I always have this strange idea that plants and trees talk. It is just that we don't listen very well. I also think it would be a neat idea to have a precise language translator for animals. Maybe one for dogs, one for cats, and another for birds. I bet animals have something interesting to say. Sometimes I think we humans talk so much we never really had time to settle down and listen to other life-forms. ^_^ Sometimes we talk so much we don't even listen to the people around us. When is the last time you say hello to someone and really stop to listen to the reply? Maybe such is the price for a modern and busy society. Everything must be faster, better, and cheaper.

It reminded me of a story I read once. A business man by chance met a fisherman and started a friendly conversation.
"That is a nice fishing boat you got there!" Business man said while eyeing the boat with speculation.
"This old piece of wood? It floats on water, which is good enough for me." Fisherman says with a hint of pride.
"With a boat like this I bet you can make enough to retire in 20 years" Business man said with excitment.
"Retire in 20 years? How would I do that?" Fisherman asked with interest.
"First, you catch enough fish for the first few years to save some money to buy a second ship. Then you can hire some hands to work for you and be a capatain of a small fleet. 10 years later, you will have enough money to start a Cannery Factory to make canned fish and supply the town. In 15 years you would be able to expand through out the country. In 20 years, you would have enough money to retire!"
"What do I do once I retire?" Fisherman said with some doubt at this 20 year plan.
"Why, you can just sit around and fish in the morning and then spent time with your family in the afternoon, it would be wonderful!"
"But I already do that, I catch my 10 fish then I go home to my family, why do I need to wait 20 years to do that?"

What the fisher man says struck me as true. I have enough to eat, a place to sleep, and the love of a few. I am mostly satisfied - as I should be.

But what the business man says also struck me as true, because sometimes, unexpectedly there would be an emptiness I can't explain. Perhaps that emptiness is because of the lack of my own cannery factory? ^_^

[Thoughts]

自行車之旅(關渡-八里)

2006-01-12T10:21:00.000+08:00

關渡大橋

Group Bike Ride this Saturday. Seems like a good way for me to exercise and for my camera to flex its tiny muscle. I promise some pictures in the days to come ^_^. Some of Ruey's friends seem like master planners. They made a campaign out of this bike trip, date, time, price, logistics, alternative plans, schedules, and even a word of prayer for good weather at the end. The Army recruiter is definitely missing out; some of these girls would make a fine General.

自行車之旅(關渡-八里)

日期:1/14(六)

集合時間&地點: 關渡捷運站-捷運族P.M.12.00

關渡宫小吃廣場-開車族PM:12.20(車子可停關渡宫停車場)

P.S.停車資訊:

關渡捷運站停車場 50元/次

知行路平面停車場 20元/時北投區知行路260巷內 24小時營業

關渡水岸自然公園平面停車場 30元/時北投區知行路、關渡官前營業10-18

行程:

12.45 由關渡租借站出發(沿途走走停停) – 13.45 八里碼頭 (在八里騎車、活動與午餐,可以吃小吃或到左岸會館喝咖啡)

方案一: (甲借乙還車)

15.30 在八里還車,搭渡輪到淡水盡情的逛老街,繼續的吃,在淡水看夕陽後,搭車回台北或到關渡取轎車

方案二: (一般車)

15.00 由八里連同自行車搭渡輪到淡水碼頭,稍微逛一下街(因為有自行車,所以不是很方便活動)

16.00 由淡水出發沿著捷運的自行車步道回關渡

17.00 回到關渡還自行車後,回台北

方案三: (一般車)

16.00 由八里沿著原路線回關渡,我想應該可以看到黃昏美麗的淡水對岸

17.00 回到關渡還車,返家

費用預估:

協力車 $300 (關渡借八里還,租半天約4小時)

一般車 $200~300(關渡借八里還,租半天約4小時.)

P.S. 如果不是租借甲地乙還的車,會更便宜且時間可使用更久, 一般自行車使用一天約$180

渡輪人(全票) $18

渡輪車 $20

Earliest Memory

2006-01-11T09:13:00.000+08:00

My earliest memory is of birds. More specificly, white pigeons. I remember the overwhelming desire to lay my tiny hands on the bird.

Whenever my parents took me outdoors my eyes would invariably follow the path of the nearest bird - usually on the ground pecking seeds.

Strangely, I never thought about capturing one of the them, nor harboring any desire to bring one back home. I just very much wanted to touch the white feather upon the warm body.

"How would it feel?" That is perhaps the first curosity I can recall.

Like a well trained puppy,
the boy is eyeing the nearest bird.

p.s. yes, I did wear my pants well up to the middle of my stomach when I was 2. It was probably more of a horrendous mistake as suppose to an early fashion statement ^_^

[Thoughts]

Cell Phone Designs - 手機類型

2006-01-10T10:21:00.000+08:00

I was doing some research to see what type of phone I want to buy. Suprisingly there are no webpage defining various types of cell phone designs. Took me hours just to figure out how the industry refer to each model. Here are the results in both chinese and english.

Jacknife, Swivel, Rotator, [旋轉式]:
I call it Jackknife, because of the way it opens - horizontal circular motion. But the more popular and official term is Swivel Phone.

Clamshell, [貝殼掀蓋式]:
A specific type of Flip Phone that is very popular. It is more round like a sea-shell.

Flip Phone, Flip-Flop, [折疊式]:
Any phone that flips open.

Brick, Boxtype, Tower, [舊型大哥大]:
This is the old type of cell phones. Big, black, tall, and heavy. You can double it as a baton to defend yourself ^_^

Stick, Candybar, [直立式]:
Candybar Model Cell phone is made famous by Nokia. It is their signature look.

Spring Action Slide, Slider, Extractor, Slide, Slim Slide, [滑蓋式]:
Mostly known as Slider Phones, these type are somewhat new. The style is first made popular in Korea by Samsung. This is the type of phone I am looking to buy.

Twist, [旋轉式, 反旋式, ]:
The newest type of phone. I have only seen Nokia with these type of phone.

I am leaning towards Nokia 8800, Motorola U6, and Nokia 7360.
I also like LG F7200 but it is only offered in US >_<

Nokia 8800

Motorola U6

Nokia 7360

LG F7200

Glove on the Ground

2006-01-10T09:12:00.000+08:00

I was walking home from work and saw a lonely glove abandoned on the ground. No one else really noticed it. People are just coming and going, with a purpose, and never once did anyone look down. Not sure why, but the inanimate glove seems a little sad to me.

Nothing much I can do, but I took a picture before moving on. For remembrance.

Exhibit

2006-01-10T08:45:00.000+08:00

The place I work has some public display for casual viewing pleasure. The exhibition changes roughly every 2 months.

I took my newly acquired camera, now nick named Pinocchio, and snapped some exhibits that I found interesting.

So why is my new digital camera named Pinocchio? Honestly, it is just the first name that came to mind. But here might be one justification - One is a wooden boy trying to become a real boy; the other is a mechanical device trying to imitate the appearance of life with 2D visual pixels.

思念有翅膀的女生

2006-01-09T09:17:00.000+08:00

遇到她是偶然的，就像是兩片落葉被風吹起在空中相遇。

我這片秋葉是被老闆的東風喚醒，
"去這英文的四天人力資源會議，公司需要你!"
"Sir, Yes Sir!" 被喚醒的秋葉很靈敏的回答。

她這片綠葉是被教授的西風吹起，
"去臺灣發表妳的論文吧，不然我不會承認妳的論文!"
"Sir, Yes Sir!" 被吹起的綠葉很靈敏的回答。

這兩道大風也許幾個月前就決定要起風了，
而我們的相遇也就是定局了。
但是兩片落葉要等久一點才知道自己的何去何從。

想想也很奇妙，生命就是這樣嗎?
我們的未來在幾個月前就被決定了。
但是她剛好選擇坐在我後面應該是落葉自我的輕舞吧?

她的選擇也許是因為當天的陽光從窗戶灑落在桌子上，
也許是她喜歡右邊的位子，也許是因為那天是星期六，
也許沒有人知道為什麼。

如果她沒有坐在我後面，我們也許不會交換名片吧。
如果我們沒有交換名片，我當天晚上不會約她出去散步吧。
如果我們沒有散步到咖啡廳，我們也許不會聊三個小時吧。

我有一位朋友問我，"你為什麼這麼喜歡她?"
我想了一想不確定要如何回答，我才認識她三個禮拜。
我如果說我喜歡我們之間的談話，我朋友會理解嗎?

我如果說她似乎了解孤獨的感覺，我朋友會理解嗎?
我如果說我想多了解她，我朋友會理解嗎?
也許這是我的自大吧，我想我可以帶給她快樂，我朋友會理解嗎?

我慢慢的回答，"因為她請我吃牛肉麵。"
"厚~就因為這樣! 你太容易滿足了吧?"
"是ㄚ，也許愛就是牛肉麵，也許這就夠了。"

[Thoughts]

Camera and I

2006-01-09T07:09:00.000+08:00

I bought a camera ^^

[Pictures]

For Hotchocolatte

2006-01-09T03:53:00.000+08:00

Alice came to a fork in the road. "Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."
~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

I hope you figure out the complications in life. Wish you well and wish you joy.

Dream

2006-01-07T23:44:00.000+08:00

This is the place I wish to be.

A friend of mine once told me she sees people in color. She called it an aura. I was informed with authority that my aura is blue of deep ocean shade. Yet if I get to pick my own color, I would wish my soul to be deep forest green like the picture.

My friend never explained to me what the colors mean. Whenever I ask there would be a mysterious smile. After a while, I stopped asking, except when she is depressed because it is the surest way to get her smile again. It is rather curious. The answer to the question doesn't seem important anymore. What became important is the question itself. It makes her smile. It is one of the few times I wish an answer would never arrive. Because then I wouldn't get to ask the question again.

[Thoughts]

Plans

2006-01-07T19:37:00.000+08:00

Here is what I am buying with my New Year Bonus:

Digital IXUS [銀狐]
$14588 NT

iPod 30G
(I found a store a block from my home selling ipod!)

Mobile Phone: Sony Ericcson
(not sure which brand, but maybe Sony Ericsson since my sister can get one half price for me through "connections")

Judo
中山柔道館
台北市林森北路511號新興國中內
練習時間
星期一~五下午4:30~6:00 晚上7:00~9:00
星期六早上10:00~12:00
莊文良老師 02-2531-8985 02-2567-4878
(starts now)

-also-
Judo
(this one starts 2/27)

尾牙

2006-01-07T17:33:00.000+08:00

Most corporations have an end of the year celebration, my company is no exception. What made this particular party interesting however, is I have to host part of the show. The opening speech is compose by me and edited by a fellow hostess, it took a lot of practice to memorize and runs for 30 minutes.

The opening ceremony was done with 768 guests as audience. The practice run is part of the reason I was so busy lately.

Some of the over-zealous female co-worker decided that I need some make up before going on stage. They put some sort of lip gloss to my lip look more "shinny". It was pretty odd, I don't recall ever putting make up on before. They also took some pictures as evidence. They promise to sent me a copy. I haven't seen it yet. >_<

The picture below is taken by a client who attended the party. He sent the photo to congratulate me on a job well done.

[Trivial]

Singing

2006-01-03T00:01:00.000+08:00

Rumor has it, Ruey has a couple friend who can sing superbly. She is mobilizing her friends this weekend for a KTV gathering. Someone will teach me how to sing ^_^ I am excited~

Once Upon A Dreamer

2006-01-02T01:47:00.000+08:00

The time for words are over, I am putting some of my thoughts into action.

I have finally figured out what I want; now there is nothing left to do but put my whole soul into the project. Everything seems so clear now; there is a simple beauty to motion with purpose.

I have also never been so afraid in my life. The fear of failure, of never achieving my desire. It is a rather curious feeling. I think I enjoy it. I actually have something to loose now. Before, life was like a dream, inconsequential.

[Thoughts]

Random Thoughts

2005-12-29T17:30:00.000+08:00

The best things in life can't be given, it must be earned.
The most precious knowledge can't be told, it must be realized.

Don't decide someone else's course for them, even in the best intention, because it is the surest way to leave no future for them.

Don't start the game if you don't intent to have fun. Don't quit until the game is over. Don't brag about your victory, because such act trivializes the win. Don't belittle the lost, because such act trivializes yourself.

If you love someone, tell them. If you can't return the love, tell them too. Half truth are no better than complete lies, and perhaps more crippling in the long run.

Honesty above all else.

Don't do everything for the person you love, it weakens the person. Rather if possible show her how to do it; or even better - inspire her dreams so that the light generates from her own self.

Don't take everything too seriously, i don't see how sex can be possible without some sense of humor - it is such a messy and awkward thing.

There is nothing wrong with you, sometimes life is about pain. Stastically speaking 50% of your life is spent in relative discomfort, the other 50% in joy. People are sometimes sad, it is normal and you are not alone - you just feel alone, that's all. And yet, perhaps that is everything. How would we know the world if not through how we feel?

There is a different sort of economy that most people don't realize but trade daily. It is the Economy of Life and the coinage are words. The price of coinage is backed by trust and fluctates up or down. Some people's words are worth as much as gold, other people's words are worth nothing. We all unconsciously keep count of this stock market even though not everyone know there is such a stock market.

Reality is nothing more than promises kept. The promise between you and god. The promise between you and the government. The promise between you and natural laws. A disruption on a foundmental promise is an assult on sanity. Sanity is very important to human beings.

Sometimes it is easier to believe lies than truth, to keep the disruption of reality down. Sometimes truth are not as important. For what good are truth if you destory the person by giving it?

I contridict myself, a lot.

People before regulations. It is in the interest of people that regulations derives. The care of a person must come first. The priniciple will take care of itself.

The worse kind of human being break rules, the average human being follow rules, the best of human beings break rules.

Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well.

If you don't have good memory, don't lie, it will come back and bite you in the ass. If you have a good memory, don't lie, it will come back and bite you in the ass.

If life is change and change means pain, does life equate to pain?

Wearing 3 layers of pants make my legs look fat.

To conquor an alien species perhaps all we need to do is introduce alcohol and tobacco to them. They are such vile and potent weapons. More people are killed by alcohol then all the wars combined, and that is only counting drunk driving.

singing too hard makes you loose your voice

if i don't love someone i don't have the right to change her. if i love someone i wouldn't want to change her.

aim high, because even though you still might miss the target, you won't shoot your own feet off.

some people don't know how to be happy, don't force it on them. just like some people don't know how to deal with pain, and you certainly don't want to force pain.

the debt you owe your parents can never be repaid, you can only simply do the same for your children.

Love should start with mutal unconditional surrender. It is the only way it will work. As soon as any one side start thinking of winning, it would have been lost.

the quickest way to kill a plant is not by drying it out, it is by over watering, the stench of root rot is formiddable too. Maybe love is the same way.

[Thoughts]

Tagged

2005-12-27T21:04:00.000+08:00

Name: Albert

Birth date: January 30, 1981
Birthplace: Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Current Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Eye Color: brown
Hair Color: black
Height: 5'7"
Righty or Lefty: righty
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

TWO: On The Inside

Heritage: Taiwanese
Shoes you wore today: brown, sorry that is all i can tell you, i am not very good with articles of clothing.
Weakness: consistency
Your fears: disappointing people who i care about
Your perfect meal: someone who i can have an interesting conversation with + Gree-tea Ice Cream or 奶酪 (a kind of pudding made with milk) for dessert.
Goal you'd like to achieve: make a noticable positive difference, or failing that, make one person happy.

THREE: Past , Present , Future

Your most overused phrase on AIM: ":)"
Your thoughts first waking up: 5 more minutes and I will get up...
Your best physical feature: my skin, never had skin problem.
Your bedtime: 10pm~2am, depending who I am talking to online.
Your most missed memory: i don't know, i must have lost it...

FOUR: Your Pick

Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi but I really much prefer water, juice, or tea.
McDonald's or Burger King: Burger King in US, McDonald's in Taiwan
Single or group dates: single
Chocolate or vanilla: vanilla
cappuccino or coffee: cappuccino

FIVE: Do You?

Smoke: never
Cuss: no, supposedly it sounds funny when i swear , so i try not to do it
Sing: only in the shower
Take a shower everyday: only when i sing
Have a crush: seems more like a bump as suppose to a crush
Think you've been in love: yes, i think.
Like(d) high school: yes
Want to get married: still waiting for a girl to inspire that desire.
Get motion sickness: no
Think you're a health freak: no
Get along with your parents: yes
Like thunderstorms: sometimes
Play an instrument: triangle? okay, no i don't play an instrument

SIX: In the past few months have you...

Drunk alcohol: yes, but it was for business
Smoked: no
Done a drug: no
Made Out: no
Gone to the mall: yes
Eaten sushi: yes
Been on stage: yes
Been dumped: no
Gone skating: no
Gone skinny dipping: no
Dyed your hair: no
Stolen anything: a pen from the office because i was heading into a meeting without anything to write with. I give it back 2 days later.

SEVEN: Ever...

Played a game that required the removal of clothing: no. well, does water sport count? hmm...no.
Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: no
Been caught "doing something": no, but on related note, caught my roomie doing something and had to pretend i was asleep till the business was done - twice. Two different roomies, two different occasions. They are nice people though just very....passionate.
Been called a tease: no, i think when guys do that they call it horny
Got beaten up: in highschool it was football and wrestling, in college it was judo. never outside of sport arena though.

EIGHT: Getting Older

Age you hope to be married: 2-3 years after i find that someone.
Numbers and Names of Children: however many she wants, hopefully not more than 2 though. I would like to name the girl Hermione, because with my last name Shih her nickname would be Her-Shih, which sounds exactly like Hershey (the chocolate). Or I would like to name her name Susana, because her nick name would be Sue-Shih, which sounds exactly like Sushi (the food). Maybe I just shouldn't have kids, these names seem like cruel and unusual punishment. I also like the names Nuwen and Albert. Not sure if Nuwen is a girl name or boy name though.
What do you want to be when you grow up: a kid, someone who can tell for sure what is right and wrong, because adults will wonder the gray area. A kid, someone who can love an ice cream with his whole heart and soul, because an adult wouldn't value the trivial things in life - ice cream or otherwise. A kid, who says what he thinks and not merely what is socially acceptable.
What country would you most like to visit: Japan

Ground rules: The first player of this "game" starts with the topic "Five Weird Habits of Yourself" and the people who get tagged need to then write an entry about their five quirky little habits as well as state the rules of this game clearly. In the end, you need to list the next five people who you want to tag.

i wear socks all the time, even when going to bed.
when talking to a pretty girl, i have a hard time looking into her eyes, must be a fear of falling in or something...
hair cut makes me feel happy, which is nice, because i get those once a month.
i don't particularly like eating tomato but i am fine eating ketchup (with something).
when i am bored i like to re-read parts of books in my head, sometimes i even laugh out loud if that part of the book is funny. [to people who were near me, i am not crazy....really]

5 People:
絲方, 采珊, Megan Ertle, and Emily Haslinger, and Ani Gangopadhyaya.
Sadly I don't think any of them reads my blog, since they probably don't know I have a blog. This blog is like a secret pleasure, they might be suprised to find that I actually write.

[Trivial]

I am worried...

2005-12-26T01:07:00.000+08:00

Wondering about my future....
Yet with no risks there can be no great rewards, right?

Smile~

2005-12-25T22:36:00.000+08:00

A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.

Google Earth

2005-12-25T12:40:00.000+08:00

Aerial pictures are taken with Google Earth ^_^
[Click on the picture to enlarge]
You too can see your home from Bird's Eye View

Earth

Taiwan

2 Home in Taiwan

Home in Taipei

Taipei Home Aerial View 01

Taipei Home Aerial View 02

Taipei Home Aerial View 03

Taipei Home Aerial View 04

Taipei Home Aerial View 05

Elmhurst Home - USA, Illinois

Elmhurst Home and Park

Elmhurst Home

Elmhurst Home

Taichung Home, Taiwan

Taichung Home

Taichung Home

Purdue University - USA, Indiana, West Lafayette

Purdue University

Purdue University - Engineering Mall

Earth Light

2005-12-24T00:45:00.000+08:00

Courtesy of NASA: Visible Earth Project
[Click on the picture to enlarge]

Why do men die younger?

2005-12-23T01:08:00.000+08:00

I inspire many idiotic arguments. One of these on and off discussion with a friend is why men tend to die younger than women. In US men's average life span is 72 and women 79. From time to time I would complain to her about the unfairness of it all. Little did I know, she would provide an argument that makes men's shorter lifetime seem logical and justified...
My argument:

Men has only one X chromosome, no redundant back-up of important genetic information like women who has XX.
Society discourage men to express emotion, more specifically men are discouraged on the act of crying. Suppressed emotion over a life time is harmful to one's health.
Estrogen lowers harmful cholesterol and raises "good" cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein).
Testosterone increases aggression and competitive behavior in young men; it also increases levels of harmful cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein).

Her argument:

I think she won.

Happy Holiday ~ Hug!

2005-12-22T21:19:00.000+08:00

Fly High

2005-12-22T01:25:00.000+08:00

Sometimes we soar high only because of other's help... >_<