life

apathetic, bored, cloyed, cool, disenchanted, disentranced, fed up, glutted, indifferent, jaded, knowing, laid back, lukewarm, mellow, mondaine, offhand, satiated, sick of, sophisticate, sophisticated, surfeited, unconcerned, unexcited, uninterested, unmoved, weary, world-weary, annoyed, blasé, blue*, bored, depressed, discontented, dismal, dissatisfied, down, gloomy, glum, jaded, sated, satiated, surfeited, tired, weary, absent, absent-minded, apathetic, blind, bored, careless, deaf, distracted, distrait, distraught, diverted, dreamy, faraway, flighty, giddy, heedless, in clouds, inadvertent, indifferent, inobservant, listless, lost*, musing, neglectful, oblivious, off guard, preoccupied, rapt, regardless, remiss, removed, scatterbrained*, thoughtless, unconscious, undiscerning, unheeding, unmindful, unnoticing, unobservant, unobserving, unperceiving, unthinking, unwatchful, vague, woolgathering, blah*, blasé, bored, cool*, dulled, exhausted, fagged out, fatigued, fed up*, had it*, laid back, mellow, satiated, sick of*, spent, surfeited, tired, tired-out*, wearied, weary, worn, worn-down, worn-out, absent, abstracted, apathetic, blah*, bored, careless, dormant, dreamy, drowsy, dull, easygoing, energyless, enervated, faint, heavy, heedless, impassive, inanimate, inattentive, indifferent, indolent, inert, insouciant, lackadaisical, lagging, laid back, languid, languishing, languorous, leaden, lethargic, lifeless, limp, lukewarm, lymphatic, mopish, neutral, passive, phlegmatic, slack, sleepy, slow, sluggish, stupid, supine, thoughtless, torpid, uninterested, vacant, aloof, apathetic, blase, bored, bored stiff*, casual, detached, disinterested, distant, hard-hearted*, impassive, incurious, indifferent, listless, remote, thick-skinned*, turned off*, unconcerned, uncurious, uninvolved, unresponsive, weary, withdrawn

booreee

Not that its anything new, but i was feeling terribly bored today, again. yes again.

So sent a few sms, try my luck to see any close friends free. Pauleon happened to be free, treated me to dinner, in the bored and frustrated life, i really appreciate friends and feel blessed.

yes, thank God, i do feel better, blessed, because of family and friends.

10 ways to cyberslack

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Employees all over the world spend up to
a fifth of their working day cyberslacking, or wasting time on
the Internet, studies show.
Here are 10 ways cyberslackers can pass the time at work.
(Warning: Your workplace may prohibit access to the sites)

1. Network:
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) is popular with students
and business professionals. MySpace (http://www.myspace.com)
uses more graphics and video. Companies, bands and celebrities
often use the site to promote themselves.

2. Rant about work:
Rant about fellow employees on the Annoying Coworker site
(http://www.annoyingcoworker.net). Are customers getting you
down? Try Customers Suck (http://customerssuck.livejournal.com).

3. Going once...:
Buy or bid for rare things not usually found in shops. Score
vintage clothes, old music records or even that sword from the
Lord of the Rings movies you've been eyeing on Ebay
(http://www.ebay.com).

4. Judge beauty contests:
Rate people (http://www.hotornot.com), animals
(http://www.ratemypuppy.com) or rooms -- even college dorms
(http://ratemyspace.hgtv.com). Let puppies (http://puppywar.com)
and kittens (http://kittenwar.com) battle it out for cuteness.

5. Catch up on celebrity gossip:
It may be superficial, but it sure is fun. Read about
celebrities' latest exploits at The Superficial
(http://www.thesuperficial.com) or Oh No They Didn't
(http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com).

6. Write in a personal blog:
Post stories, rants and pictures on your own online journal.
Popular hosts include Blogger (http://www.blogger.com) and
Livejournal (http://www.livejournal.com). You can also link to
your friends' journals and exchange comments on separate posts.

7. Put a story behind the face:
Read what it's like to be a waiter
(http://www.waiterrant.net) and you may end up tipping better.
Or read about the life of a coffee barista
(http://baristabrat.blogspot.com), a New York City taxi driver
(http://newyorkhack.blogspot.com) or a London subway station
supervisor (http://lifeonthetube.blogspot.com).

8. All work and no play
Turn the sound down on your computer if people are around
and play online card, arcade or word games at Yahoo!
(http://games.yahoo.com) or MSN (http://games.msn.com).

9. Run your own sports team:
Sports fans can manage their own virtual team in a fantasy
league (http://fantasysports.yahoo.com).

10. I'm no slacker:
Keep your cyberslacking secret. If you are using Windows,
push the Windows button and M to minimise your programs. Or
toggle from the site where you are cyberslacking to Don's Boss
Page (http://www.donsbosspage.com), which displays a fake
spreadsheet to fool your supervisor.

Bush to invoke Vietnam in arguing against Iraq pullout

from here: Bush to invoke Vietnam in arguing against Iraq pullout

The president will also make the argument that withdrawing from Vietnam emboldened today's terrorists by compromising U.S. credibility, citing a quote from al Qaeda leader Osama bin ladin that the American people would rise against the Iraq war the same way they rose against the war in Vietnam, according to the excerpts.

"Here at home, some can argue our withdrawal from Vietnam carried no price to American credibility, but the terrorists see things differently," Bush will say.

HUH......????????? EVERY DAY, there is people dying of car-bombs and chopper crashes, those westpoint kids go to the frontline and die after they graduate, just graduate; and that stopped terrorism? maybe someone can compile a statistics, what is the cost (deaths, financial, time, energy, tension, causing people to be homeless, governmentless etc) per terrorist caught.

everything's broken

I think i have a personal best record, i finished reading a regular sized book in 2 days, working days.

my laptop can be pronounced total death already.

my guitar string broke.

what else am i left to do at home? there's nothing to watch on tv, i read most of the books already, so i coveted this book from dunno who, it was lying there, heroes of the greek mythology, and read. now i know the who's who in greek mythology.

HF redemption

source: FT Alphaville

cause and causality

"A journalist is trained in methods to express himself rather than to plumb the depth of things - the selection process favors the most communicative, not necessarily the most knowledgeable."

(fooled by randomness, Nassim Taleb)

Some claims that medical journalists do not understand andything about medicine and biology, often making mistakes. I am often surprised by what some "professional" financial spokesman comments, and utterly could not stand those information providers that easily attributes certain events to the most obvious cause. Tomorrow morning, when you see the financial news headlines, you will see something similar to "market rallies..." or "market down...", quickly cover the following words in the sentence and make your own guess "due to....". Most of the time, a financially untrained reader will get it right. Just fill in the most current news, for now, its subprime. People attribute everything possible, to 'fill in the blanks' or to find a reason, where two things have no proven causal relationship.

Maybe you find a person you so called trust, that recommends you to something, say, a real-estate proposition, or more commonly for us, a financial-plan (what a gloss, just means sell insurance la - basically i sell you a insurance, whether life/term/investment-linked, then if you are younger, i put more money into equity, if you are older, i put more money into bonds/money-market. what risk-profile, nice-words that means little, do they truly understand the risk associated with bond/equity? ask your insurance agent next time you meet him/her what is the method one quantify the risk of a bond/equity). Have you ever, ever wondered whether these trusted acquaintances of yours really know what they are recommending? As much as i trust a sony salesman to sell me only sony products, i would trust an "expert" of one company to only recommend me the product of his own company, right?

The question is, do you even bother to do your own research to protect yourself? Well, most of us are trusting, unlike me, opinionated, cynical and critical, right?

We often claim that we are an agent of a greater governing value or cause, may it be what you believe in or may it be a greater divine purpose, purports to truth and depth; but most of the time, we are just forwarding our egoism in self governing ideas (everybody has their OWN RIGHT to express their own views/this is MY interpretation/this is MY life). Emotions are often used as an excuse for certain behavior, or i-am-mere-human claims. Time, equated to a factor directly contributing of healing and reconciliation. Priorities, a reason for things undone; incompetency, a resort of unwillingness.

How much a person claims that we have different profiles or personality and we can live or not live with uncertainty, all of us need a reason. Those that say they can live without a reason is pure bollocks. That is why a need for news, a need for gossip, love of tabloid, need of "sharing" and "unloading". Having this need for us to find a reason, makes us arrive at conclusion swiftly without consideration; makes us associate and lay down causal relationship to events that are possibly non-related.

Then there comes this thing called "belief" or "faith", and faith is not suppose to be blind. (or was it love?)

So if we cannot just put faith in things then how are we to live? No we can't because "faith" gives us certainty in life! With faith, we then can push anything we do not want to face or solve to, "ok i trust in a greater power or vision", or oh anything i cannot solve or lazy to put effort is, "by faith"; well or even more refined way is, to use "by faith" to move forward things we already planned in mind to achieve, blame it on the greater purpose, anyway the greater purpose won't bite you back right, might as well.


Merovingian: But do you? You think you do but you do not. You are here because you were sent here, you were told to come here and you obeyed. [Laughs] It is, of course, the way of all things. You see, there is only one constant, one universal, it is the only real truth: causality. Action. Reaction. Cause and effect.

Morpheus: Everything begins with choice.

Merovingian: No. Wrong. Choice is an illusion, created between those with power, and those without. Look there, at that woman. My God, just look at her. Affecting everyone around her, so obvious, so bourgeois, so boring. But wait... Watch - you see, I have sent her dessert, a very special dessert. I wrote it myself. It starts so simply, each line of the program creating a new effect, just like poetry. First, a rush... heat... her heart flutters. You can see it, Neo, yes? She does not understand why - is it the wine? No. What is it then, what is the reason? And soon it does not matter, soon the why and the reason are gone, and all that matters is the feeling itself. This is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it, we fight to deny it, but it is of course pretense, it is a lie. Beneath our poised appearance, the truth is we are completely out of control. Causality. There is no escape from it, we are forever slaves to it. Our only hope, our only peace is to understand it, to understand the "why". "Why" is what separates us from them, you from me. `Why' is the only real social power, without it you are powerless. And this is how you come to me, without `why,' without power. Another link in the chain. But fear not, since I have seen how good you are at following orders, I will tell you what to do next. Run back, and give the fortune teller this message: Her time is almost up. Now I have some real business to do, I will say adieu and goodbye.

hmm house items

Some chair where u can park your manhood.. hmmm

Cool knives.. i need a set of these..

modern

What do you think of modern Manhattan mothers? “They’re these overqualified women with nothing to do. They’re frustrated and miserable so they become controlling, neurotic, or just self-obsessed.” —Laura Linney

Not that man are any better, but i think the above describes woman in the city very well, especially big cities. not just mothers. ahem.

coffee

The coffee from the foodcourt opposite my office is actually quite nice.. most of the time that is.. nothing can be consistent, in this world..

some chinese local writer once said that life is like coffee.. with the richness and aroma, carries a little of bitterness.. well it wouldn't be nice if there is no bitterness.. coffee that's too sweet is boring and un-tasteful.

Yes, we are wretched. we don't want things that are all good or all sweet. don't want things that makes perfect sense.. common sense is the most uncommon feature around. fine and well, maybe that's what gives life a kick..

bored bored bored

Tears
Death

I'm bored til.

范晓萱 - 氧气(缺氧版)

沉入越来越深的海底
我开始想念你
我好孤寂
跌进越来越冷的爱里
我快不能呼吸
我想要你
人活著赖著一口氧气
氧气是你

如果你爱我
你会来找我
你会知道我
快不能活
如果你爱我
你会来救我
空气很稀薄
因为寂寞

跌进越来越冷的爱里
我快不能呼吸
我想要你
人活著赖著一口氧气
氧气是你

To live like you were dyin' - Tim Mcgraw

He said I was in my early forties, with a lot of life before me
And one moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days, looking at the x-rays
Talking bout' the options and talking bout' sweet times.

I asked him when it sank in, that this might really be the real end
How's it hit 'cha when you get that kind of news?
Man what did ya do?He said

I went skydiving
I went rocky mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chew
And I loved deeper And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin'

And he said some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin'

He said I was finally the husband, that most the time I wasn't
And I became a friend, a friend would like to have
And all of a sudden goin' fishin, wasn't such an imposition
And I went three times that year I lost my dad

Well I finally read the good book, and I took a good long hard look
At what I'd do if I could do it all again
And then

I went skydiving
I went rocky mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chew
And I loved deeper And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin'

And he said some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin'

Like tomorrow was a gift
And ya got eternity to think about what to do with it
What could you do with it
What did I do with it
What would I do with it

things that makes us Malaysian/things that bring Malaysians together

I read this in today's STAR, N17, 50 things Malaysian:

• Food - 1. nasi lemak, 2. nasi kandar, 3. roti canai, 4. teh tarik, 5. kajang Satay, 6. ramly burger, 7. char koay teow, 8. ABC(air batu campur), 9. rojak, 10. yee sang
• Expressions - 11. lah, 12. maachan, 13. brudder, 14. ta pau, 15. cin-cai, 16. aiyo, 17. (my favourite, most of the time used sacarstically) malaysia boleh
• .......the rest lazy to type.. haha..

For those singaporean readers out there, roti canai is like roti parta but NOT i repeat, NOT equivalent, cos roti canai much nicer. hahaha.. ABC is like ice-kacang la, but of course, not equal, for the same reasons. Some food are also more equal.

things you can do when you balik kampung in Ipoh

1. EAT the pinnacle of good Malaysian hawker food. laksa, beef noodle, cow-stomach, white coffee, etc etc etc
2. SLEEP sleep in Ipoh is much more peaceful than in Singapore, for me. Such strange sense of security and peace when i sleep in my own room
3. CHANNEL SURFING endlessly. Astro, and i have only patience to watch every channel for abour 5 mins average
4. WATCH MOVIES RM5 for Wednesdays, and RM8-10 for weekends. Its the same TGV cinemas that you get in Singapore mind you
5. PLAY WITH COUSIN'S KIDS many many of them. all age ranges. My favourite pair is my cousin sister's 2 daughters. so cute.
6. VISIT MY FAVOURITE 3RD AUNTIE my mum's closest sister. auntie my family is very close to.
7. READ MAGAZINES many many magazines selling at low prices (since i earn Sing $$, God bless MAS). economist sells cheaper, some funny hongkong art/fashion magazines, and KLUE. BTW i read this in KLUE: How to make use of Vodka Beyond Drinking: 1. stretching the life of razorblades - after shaving, let the blades soak completely into cup of vodka, will disinfect the blade and prevent rusting. 2. treating dandruff - mix one cup vodka with two teaspoon crushed rosemary. let it sit for two days, then strain the mixture out. massage it into your scalp (hmm.. not so sure about this). 3. keep cut flowers fresh - add few drops of vodka to vase water with 1 tsp. sugar minimises the growth of bacteria, which cause flowers to rot.
8. BLOG duh

True

The mountains and the seas
The lark and the gulls
The draping leaves and howling wind
The gathering sads, pouring rain

Its all for you

The sea and the penguins
The sigh and the song
The flake of a snow
Its all for you

To sing and to dance
To run and to laugh
To safe and to salvation
Its all for you

To jinggle and to pray
To cry I may say
To breathe without restrain
Its all for you

True freedom is this
that you will live true indeed

down with M

two of the largest PC makers in the world, Lenovo, and Dell is going to use Linux as their operating system for certain PC models they pushing out.

"The PC maker, at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo beginning Aug. 14 , will announce a plan to pre-load Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 on one of its ThinkPad notebooks, sources familiar with the two company's plans said.

Lenovo, whose ThinkPads have long been a favorite of Linux users, will become the first PC manufacturer in recent history to allow individual customers to buy one of its notebooks, a ThinkPad T60p mobile workstation model, with the operating system pre-installed, the sources said. " (quoted)

Its high time. Microsoft does not deserve the kind of market share. so much cash in the company only means that private equity should raid it, squeeze it dry. Let the open source rise up. Let the free people rise up.

Bat-sy's Batpod

yea, everybody wants a piece of apple rite, everything pod, now BATpod, gosh..

The businessweek's writer has a verdict, which i thought was quite funny : Seriously cool. But where's Robin going to sit?

well, guess he just has to run along, ain't it?

bellwether

Wether is a ram, usually to be the leader of the sheep herd, with a bell around its neck. Therefore, bellwether.

Nowadays, this tem is synonymous with trendsetters, or leaders of a pack. Something or someone that influence the industry or similar followings.

More on sheeping, ram is usually a term for a intact male of a sheep, meaning, reproduce-able. While a wether is usually castrated. Proud as it may be, being the leader of the pack, it has.. erm.. no balls.

So why the need? apparently for taming purposes. Those lifestocks that are castrated grows bigger and fatter (chicken, pig etc), easier to be tamed for haulage and plouging (for the case of horses and bulls).

"
In so far as the shepherd views the castrated male leader as a member of the flock, it belongs to the category of the dominated group. But being castrated, he is alienated from being an essential element of the flock's reproductive process. From the point of view of the culture or learnt behaviour of the sheep, the flock leader is an agent of the dominator. Tani's thesis is that the bellwether is a mediator between the dominating shepherd and the dominated flock. If most of the flock consists of ewes, the wether takes the role of the guardian of the female group.
Any technique of herd control can be regarded as a pastoralist people's cultural expression of how they look upon and treat their domestic animals, and, in the past, their slaves. From this premise Tani goes on to propose that the position of the eunuch in ancient human societies corresponded to that of the castrated male flock-leader. The eunuch was a mediator between the king, (the dominator) and his harem, (the dominated). "

interesting piece i read about domestication of animals. So, the bellwether is made to be a subdued leader of the shepherd, kinda like a middle-manager. Mediator, hmm.. you go think about the anology yourself.

models

There is an apocryphal story about a bar in New York, a hangout for models. It is about a cruel joke played on a young, 20-something quant* employed in an investment bank. The traders suspected that the geeky young man had never had a date. They took him to the bar and told him that it was frequented by his type of woman - modellers**. The young man was dubious, sensing that he was being set up, but he desperately wanted to bond with the traders to reduce the constant ragging that he endured.

They took their places at the bar and fuelled themselves to an appropriate level of intoxication. 'You see that girl,' a trader nudged the quant. The quant focused his glasses on a tall woman sitting at a table. 'She's giving you the eye,' the trader continued. 'Go over,' he commanded. 'Talk to her.'

The quant sensed danger; this was not smart. The other traders now joined in, urging him to make a move. Left without choice, he pushed back his chair and began to walk in the general direction of the woman. The traders were taking bets on the result of the encounter: the betting favored the quant being slapped and told to 'F*&$ off'.

The quant made his way to the table. 'Can i join you?' he asked. The woman scrutinized her suitor. He did not look like a sexual deviant. She nodded.

The quant set down, thinking of a way to start a conversation. He remember they were modellers. 'I'm working on a new model that adapts the Black-Scholes framework to incorporate mean reversion in commodities,' he blurted out. The woman looked at him strangely. 'You know,' she drawled. 'I did my PhD on a similar problem. That's before i realized that there's more money in strutting up and down catwalks in your underwear.' She smiled at the young man. 'Where are you from?' The quant smiled back broadly. Models*** are sometimes full of surprises.

The worlds of derivatives and models frequently collide..

(adapted from Traders, Guns & money - Satyajit Das, 2006; good entry level book to know about derivatives beyond the classroom.)

*quant, root word "quantitative". name for person who's highly educated in quantitative methods or mathematics, hired by trading desks to create mathematical models. Usually PhDs in finance or physics or any other quantitative science. Often known as rocket scientists, some of them, incidentally, really are rocket scientists before dabbling in the world of finance
**people who create mathematical models
***pun. fashion models, not mathematical models in the sentence's first intentions. But both intended

Come and listen

Come and listen, come to the water's edge, all you who know and fear the Lord.

Come and listen, come to the water's edge all you who are thirsty, come.

Let me tell you what He has done for me.

Let me tell you what He has done for me,He has done for you,He has done for us.

Come and listen,come and listen to what He's done.

Come and listen,come and listen to what He's done.

Praise our God for He is good.

Praise our God for He is good.

Praise our God for He is good.

Praise our God for He is good.

He has done for me,He has done for you,He has done for us.

Come and listen,come and listen to what He's done.

Come and listen,come and listen to what He's done.

heart beating

Saw this on friend's msn sub-nick:

"
she turns and says "are you alright?" I said "I must be fine cause my heart's still beating"

"

yes. my heart's still beating.

Whale

A teacher was telling a little girl that it is impossible for a whale to swallow a human being because although it is a large mammal, it has a very small throat. But the little girl insisted that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.

The teacher repeated his point only to be refused by the little girl, saying, "I will ask Jonah when i go to heaven,"

The teacher, frustrated, asked ,"what if Jonah went to hell?"

The little girl replied, "you will ask him, then."

stupidity

“Stupidity - Quitters never win, winners never quit, but those who never win AND never win are idiots.”

“Procrastination: Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now”

-Larry Kersten

there is no stupid lie, only stupid people
there is no stupid life, only stupid people
there is no stupid questions, only stupid pple
there is no stupid reply, only stupid pple

there is no stupid people, but only stupid people

My gorgeous

My gorgeous is back! Its me and my gorgeous again :)

gooooooooood...

Awkward places

Inside the lift, is one of those awkward places. When there is a lot of people standing in the lift, most of them will face the door, and its fine. But when there is only two person or three person, its creates a awkward space.

If you are with your friend, and there's another person inside the lift, you would refrain from chatting about personal things. If there is only two person in the lift, people either look at the mirror, adjust their hair, clothes; or just look down on their shoes, hands in the pocket; or just stair at the screen showing the floor number, as the lift ascends or descends.

Its awkward because both are trapped in a space, unintended, unplanned. Its will continue to be awkward because nobody would think that such a short time is worth making the effort to chat or know each other. Its awkward because its socially inappropriate to initiate anything.

Awkward spaces often stays awkward because of people's behavior or inner-barriers. Imagine while we are working, walking on the street, living in the same building; there are often awkward spaces in between that we can't see.

what the iphone needs...

source: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/you-know-it/what-the-iphone-needs-276046.php

The world clock

Saw this on think.com.my:

http://www.poodwaddle.com/clocks.htm

look at the world temp.. save the penguins... don't use so many sms and tissue paper and turn on your comps less...

Argentina and Tevez

Argentina better win this Copa.. I supported Argentina since young. Did you know that Maradona said Messi was the most like himself, that's a great praise from one of the best Argentina players in history. Tevez is going Man-U, does it mean now my favourite team in Premier league is Man-U? hmm..

Go Argentina!!!

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

I don't want to be a dull boy.

People in the present world does not know how to play. One of my fondest memories is to make a kite and fly it with my dad when i was young. I played gasing with the kids in the neighbourhood and was inspired by how my dad used to make his own gasing from a chunk of wood and a nail, and told myself i would do that someday, well something i have yet to do (maybe i would do it with my boy(s) next time, i would definitely make a kite and fly it with my kid).

Maybe i am blessed with no drag-n-drop and no nintendo (we couldn't afford it). My only first-hand possession of toys is a box of assorted lego blocks. I first played video game, touched a APPLE-II computer, and later played the first SEGA console in my friend's house. I first saw a M.A.S.K switchblade toy in school when my classmate with a silverspoon brought it to school. I saw many toys, but never owned them.

We used to create our own game-books in school, we wrote the story line, draw out the characters, and write the steps of the game-book. In school, we have hand-motion RPG, where a person will use his hand and fingers as a character walking in a story line, with the other hand as villians and other characters, where we created special-moves for the characters-to-choose from, and drew them out in game books.

We have all-year-round tournament going in school for eraser-fighting and 围棋 on pages torn out from mathematics exercise books (our teacher used to punish those students with very thin mathematics exercise books). I was quite good at 围棋, but sucked at erasers. We have rankings, and for every period of time, people knew who is the king of the hill at that time (you need to win the top ranked for a few times convincingly in order to be recognized). Each person devised special strategy, and we know each other's strategy and constantly think of ways to counter it. Each person's strategy is usually in the macro level, but in the micro level, there is vanilla strategies like 两头蛇 that everybody employs and knows how to counter. (people in Malay school play other games).

The fact is we can't afford a lot of things, so we have to create our games by hands on. Do kids still do this in school? I wonder.

-------

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY - "The sentiment expressed by this proverb was first recorded thousands of years ago by the Egyptian sage Ptahhoptep, who wrote in c. 2400 B.C., 'One that reckoneth accounts all the day passeth not a happy moment. One that gladdeneth his heart all the day provideth not for his house. The bowman hitteth the mark, as the steersman reacheth land, by diversity of aim.' The more familiar modern saying appeared first in James Howell's 'Proverbs in English, Italian, French and Spanish' (1659), and was included in later collections of proverbs. Some writers have added a second part to the proverb, as in 'Harry and Lucy Concluded' (1825) by the Irish novelist Maria Edgeworth: 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy/ All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy'." From "Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993). quoted

The Merits of Play

I've noticed since young, that many of the 'smart kids' that do not seem to study, but have superior academic skills, spend much of their time playing. Kids that grew up playing video games are smart, those that play with a lot of hands on things, build their own toys etc are usually creative, and those that do alot of role play, imaginative plays when they are young have great ideas growing up. Forget about what playful play and productive play, play has not meant to be productive in the sense that we defined productivity; only then, we're true to our playing. Kids need to play, kite, tops, marbles, throw stones in the streams, go waterfall, pick up shells, hide-and-seek, spraying the garden hose, etc. Not drag-n-drop, not superior mathematical theorerms, nor scoring in MENSA tests. Those are the products of play, i would think.

---------------------


The Merits of Play

Play is not just about having fun, it is serious business.

Research has shown that play - particularly unstructured, spontaneous games vs. scheduled activities like music lessons and football practice - is a powerful force in human development. Play experts such as Stuart L. Brown, founder of the Institute of Play, early childhood professor and author Vivian Gussin Paley, and Yale research scientist Dorothy G. Singer believe that spontaneous play and fantasy play help children learn about the world, cope with life's pressures, and process negative emotions such as fear, anger, even worry. They have found that role-playing prepares us for real-life situations, allowing us to practice, for example, making decisions under pressure, leading a group, or thinking abstractly. Group play teaches us to socialize and to cooperate. Play also gives us a chance to better know ourselves through self-evaluation and self-reflection, which are critical development tools according to Robert Heffer, a clinical psychologist with Texas A&M University. Play also encourages creativity. Says Edgar Klugman, Ed. D. and author of Play, Policy and Practice, "Good make-believers are often better at imagining things," and a good imagination is hardly reserved for childhood.

Research has also identified two types of play: Playful play and productive play. Playful play is doing an activity for the pure joy of doing it, such as skipping rocks on a pond, rolling down a hill until you are dizzy and giddy, or playing air guitar. Jeri Robinson, vice president of early childhood programs at the Boston Children's Museum, defines playful play as "exertion without serious consequence."

Productive play has consequences, a specific outcome, and goals other than pure pleasure. It has a specific purpose, such as producing a tangible thing, like a new and better widget, or playing tennis to win a tournament versus just for fun. Although both types of play teach us valuable skills, productive play is the type we can easily weave into our work. (Blurring the Lines By Kevin Carroll )

"Work and play are words used for the same thing under differing conditions." - Mark Twain

About Ken

Ken Costa, vice-chair of Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), one of the biggest invesment banks in the world, wrote a book on God at work. Financial Times blog, put it across in yesterday's entries. A more in-depth reporting of his beliefs can be see in this article:

http://godatwork.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/investment-banker-who-is-comfortable-taking-his-religious-beliefs-to-the-office.pdf

Its interesting some of the things that he expressed inside the article, its mostly what i've believed. Good to know that someone like this is out there.

God versus the Bank of England
Edited by Emiko Terazono
Published: July 10 2007 03:00 Last updated: July 10 2007 03:00

Investment bankers are not often thought to harbour religious beliefs, other than a desire to bow down before the altar of mammon. Ken Costa has set out to challenge that view by publishing a book called God at Work: Living every day with purpose.

In the slim volume, the vice-chairman of investment banking at UBS sets out deeply personal views on reconciling his faith with the City, where he has spent his entire working life.

Mr Costa, who was born and brought up in South Africa, writes that the apartheid regime initially turned him away from Christianity, but that his belief was revived while studying at Cambridge University in the 1970s. He joined SG Warburg in 1976 and embarked on a stellar career that saw him rise to the upper ranks of the investment bank.

But he retained a sense of perspective. In one passage, he describes being impressed by the looming facades of the Bank of England and Swiss Bank Corporation. "But then, in a flash, I saw the truth," he writes. "No bank - Swiss Bank or the Bank of England - would survive the promised return of Christ. Strong as they appeared, their apparent security would be broken in an instant."

marriage and long life

Using 1989 and 1997 data from the National Health Interview Survey and the National Death Index respectively, measuring a sample size of different demographics and people group, research shows that you'll live longer if you stay married rahter than split up. Those that are married are less likely to suffer death from external factors such as infectious diseases and have a better life expectancy than those who are not. ("Marry or die" The Atlantic, Dec 2006)

Marriage, was meant to be.

Neuroeconomics

"In this game, one player divides a pot of money between himself and another. The other then chooses whether to accept the offer. If he rejects it, neither player benefits. And despite the instincts of classical economics, a stingy offer (one that is less than about a quarter of the total) is, indeed, usually rejected. The question is, why?" (Money isn't everything, Jul 5th 2007, From The Economist print edition)

Psychologists has done experiments that people actually prefer to be paid 70,000 to live among the people that are paid 60,000 per year; rather than 80,000 among people who are paid 90,000 per year.

Reading a book on complexity economics, about economics that evolves itself. Its a branch that seeks to explain the failure of traditional classical economists trying to explain the world using simplified assumptions, such as people make decisions rationally. Talk more about it.

Nothing Can Stop Us Now

I remember during the only year i study sec school in SMJK Sam Tet (Ipoh), the guy that sits besides me is a son of a professor. He's always reading old old books of form4/5 or form 6 chemistry and tells me all about the structures of the molecules and the properties etc. All i can remember is that i always tries to entertain him (repeat whatever he says the day before to him etc), and the only thing i remembered him telling me is Benzene (C6H6); which is the main component of crude oil. Its funny, i really enjoyed him though, beacause he's a really patient and funny guy, and because he is so learned, our whole gang calls him 老子.

BUT, what i really remember is this 老子, is always reading academic stuff like this, but yet, he listens to alot alot of songs, stuff like meatloaf, scorpions, guns and roses etc, those very classic stuff. Amazing guy. AND of course he also tells me alot about them.

Probably you could only meet one guy like that in a lifetime. I really cherished the one year i had in that school. I still think that its not only the best boys school in Ipoh, its one of the best in Malaysia (we used to have some years where our STPM is top Malaysia).

Remembering this song caused me to remember my sitting partner in school last time. Last i heard he went to Malaysia U major in Chemistry if im not wrong, thought he would end up in oxford or MIT something, im pretty sure its because of a choice or financial problem that stops this from happening. So this is the song i remembered:

Many of us know the song "heaven knows" from Rick Price, but this is another song that I really liked since young, another song is of course "fragile". Great old ballads from the past. Im more sentimental than i looked. haha...

. :Rick Price - Nothing Can Stop Us Now : .
Soft as a rainbow
Like stardust and moonglow
I see the love in your eyes
Like autumn leaves falling
And the first call of morning
It came to my surprise
True love calls just once in a lifetime
Why should we wait
When now is the right time?

Nothing can stop this love we're making
Nothing can stand in our way
Nothing can block this road we've taken
Nothing can stop us now

The joy of surrender
So strong yet so tender
I give my heart to you
You know you can trust me
And that's how it must be
No matter what we do
Faithful friends and lovers forever
Right to the end we'll always be together

Nothing can stop this love we're making
Nothing can stand in our way
Nothing can block this road we've taken
Nothing can stop us now

When love comes sweetly to your door
Embrace completely
What your soul is longing for

Nothing can stop this love we're making
Nothing can stand in our way
Nothing can block this road we've taken
Nothing can stop us now
Nothing can stop us now

事实胜于雄辩

一只熊拉了一坨大便，把小兔子熏的喘不过气
一只狮子拉了一坨屎，把小兔子熏死了
在树上的小猴看到了，说：“事实（狮屎）胜于熊便（雄辩）啊

here you go...

苹果先生@office says:
cuz they can not see the little window at the bottom
k
give me the address

尹寰* says:
猴址
ohshimah.blogspot.com

苹果先生@office says:
so that if i can not find it i can always get a cab

尹寰* says:
this is the address: ohshimah.blogspot.com
not funny

苹果先生@office says:
ok

猴与熊掌，不可兼得

have not seen my JC roomate LJJ for a long time since he went UK to study archi. was chattin on MSN with him (before this part, i wrote a short song/poem/verse about monkey to him modeled after 我爱夏天,by 脱拉库(Tolaku) ), so the rest of the conversation goes like this:

苹果先生@office says:
是“不曾吃到”
笨
and why does a monkey want to cook another monkey

尹寰* says:
吃不成嘛
不同意义
食猴族

苹果先生@office says:
then it should be吃不成
oh
then it must be those monkeys on the bubu

尹寰* says:
哈哈哈哈哈哈哈
本是同树生，相煎何太急

苹果先生@office says:
monkeys are not fruits

尹寰* says:
i want to say 本是同猴生
but its disrespect to elders
this is only between u and me
hahaha
the battle of the tree dweller and the junger roamer

苹果先生@office says:
ok
bring it on bear

尹寰* says:
oh but can u bear with me

苹果先生@office says:
show me that you are not made of fur
yeh, sure
i can keep monkeying around till you are ready

尹寰* says:
hahahahahahahaha

苹果先生@office says:
then we'll get serious

尹寰* says:
serious then do what

苹果先生@office says:
see who is the true king of the jungle

尹寰* says:
you think u gorrilla ah, king of jungle, you only monkey

苹果先生@office says:
fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee
ever heard of that?
monkey fist

尹寰* says:
熊掌
ironmonkey fist
臭猴拳

苹果先生@office says:
yesh

尹寰* says:
鱼与熊掌，不可兼得阿
怎么啦，无言以对啊？

苹果先生@office says:
o(∩_∩)o...哈哈

尹寰* says:
纯棉不觉晓，处处闻猴啼
苹果先生@office says:
see the sun shine on my face?

尹寰* says:
怎么没猴啼？
what sun shine
*春眠

苹果先生@office says:
wait ah

尹寰* says:
春眠不觉晓，处处闻猴啼(屎）

苹果先生@office says:
haha
you wanna smell my shit

we had so much fun staying in the hostel together, everyday its this see-who-is-cornier/wittier/lame-r kind of conversation. he really look like a monkey, and because he owned a ACJC teddy-bear (funorama merchandise), he calls me a bear since JC times (cannot find anything else to retaliate). But bears are much cuter yea.

so i shall spare u all of the rest of the conversation. yes, this is the nonsense that we spout everyday last time. ah, i miss the laugh, i often laugh till my stomach is piercing with pain. LJJ you Chinaman, i will make an exception to say that a monkey is a good friend, for once :)

我是一粒椰子

我是一粒椰子
幼时绿，老了褐
绿时甜，褐有内

我是一粒椰子
漂泊海上像不知去向
但又一日会遇岸深根
会深根成树成材

我是一粒椰子
但愿用处多却不为人知
但愿简单却能贡献
但愿单纯却美丽

我是一粒椰子
椰树长花却没人知
花却没人赏

椰子好像没有梦想
椰渣只是配角
可知漂流是为了寻岸
像无方向但有意义

椰子没有伟大要求
只要你知

等待

等待，不是永久的；等待，也尽可能绝非短暂。等待，是因为有所期待，等待，是因为有希望存在。友说，人总是处于等待，可能是等待一个季期；也可能是等待完结的到来。在一个起点与终点的之间，就是等待。

如果等待是永久，那还叫等待么？我们都是一生的旅人，路过的，为了完成一个使命的。那如果一季还没结束，另一季又能够启发么？又有人说，可能是要有另一季的到来，那现有的一季才能真正宣告截止。那试问在一季结束后到另一季的之间，又称为什么呢？

那每一个时间，每一霎那，是否只允许一个旅程，一个季？或者说，每一个人生的一幕，又可能是有几个季的重叠。或是在这一面的季，只处于起点，而另一个同一时间进展着的季，已陆续到了重点。

季节的来临，是无法控制的。相等的，等待也可能是必然的。对我来说，可以控制的可能是渡过季节的步伐，快与慢；是有旨地等待，还是荒废的悠游。如果决心的截止一个季，另一季可能在你不知觉中，已在身边了。

Gold, silver and copper

Yesterday, was reading Matthew 10:9,

Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts... (NASB) - the version i read
Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start (The Message)
Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses (King James)
Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts (NEW King James)
Don’t take any money in your money belts—no gold, silver, or even copper coins (New Living)

At first, I was intrigued, because Gold and Silver are precious metals, and understander-bly used as a medium of currency/buying. But behold, copper is categorized as quite precious too. I am learning alot about copper in my job and that caught my attention.

As I search on more of the different versions, look at King James that says "brass". Brass is an alloy that contains copper and zinc. Then i wonder would it be that the root word bears the same meaning for both copper and brass?

While copper is fetching very high prices now, it was not much of a precious metal during the olden days, although being one of the oldest trades of mankind. So naturally i thought of it being a medium of exchange that represents value comparable to gold and silver, so the only thing that can do that is to validate it as currency. while looking at the New Living translation, it states "copper coins".

Matthew is a "publician", or tax collector, as he penned down his own occupation as. He is well-versed with money. So shouldn't be any error there. If you read other gospels, there's mention of the bags and belts (Mat 10:9b), while no mention of money. A little occupational hazard there.

I like the Message version, do not go on a fund raising campaign. Food for thought isn't it, for us to go out there like "sheeps among wolves", with no financial support at all, no extra 2 coats, no bags (prob to carry food and coat, water bottle even), no belts (to carry money), no staff (defensive weapon maybe). Basically, nothing. Doing the Lord's work starting with nothing at all. However, without any of these sorts, we are still required to be "shrewd as a serpent and gentle as dove".

In investment, its always high-risk, high-reward; low-risk, low-reward. In this endeavor, we start with nothing, we end with nothing (of this world), naked we come from the womb, naked we depart, as travellers. But we gain treasures in store for us in heaven. A rather good investment proposition there, wouldn't you think so?

梁与朱

My friend told me that this singer is nice, so i went to listen, 曹格。 so i searched for his song for those 试听ones and saw this song, so i tried to listen. its called "梁山伯与朱丽叶". its quite catchy chinese pop music, i haven't been listening for a while, so the chorus goes like this:

Fill in the blanks:
我爱你，你是我的____________;
我愿意成为你的______________.

MCQ choices
a) 罗密友与朱丽叶
b) 梁山伯与祝英台
c) (any other glorious love story couples you can think of...)

I must confess that after losing touch with the chinese pop scene (my friend mentioned the name of the singer, i said "oh the one with the superwoman song ah?" then my friend say, wah lau.. now so many more albums got superman already.. i thought pulling my leg.. superman, actually really have one), its quite catchy la the tune, keep playing in my head now haha..

I should listen to less complicated things like this more, makes me more human probably haha..I was quite boh liao so try to put some of the lyrics on my MSN personal msg like "我爱你，你是我的朱丽叶".. then after a while, i also feel 不好意思 so took it off.

I mean to give credit, im sure there are much better songs that he sings ( I trust my friends' taste, and also he is a Malaysian.)

Bloomberg

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2007
No. 205
www.nyc.gov

STATEMENT BY MAYOR BLOOMBERG ON PARTY AFFILIATION

“I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party. Although my plans for the future haven’t changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our City.

“A nonpartisan approach has worked wonders in New York: we’ve balanced budgets, grown our economy, improved public health, reformed the school system and made the nation’s safest city even safer.

“We have achieved real progress by overcoming the partisanship that too often puts narrow interests above the common good. As a political independent, I will continue to work with those in all political parties to find common ground, to put partisanship aside and to achieve real solutions to the challenges we face.

“Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles and that good ideas should take precedence over rigid adherence to any particular political ideology. Working together, there’s no limit to what we can do.”

-30-

Contact: Stu Loeser (212) 788-XXXX

--------------------

I really like Bloomberg and how he managed New York. If he runs for presidency, I would have voted for him (if im an American). I first knew him through using a Bloomberg terminal (of course), the financial terminal with the biggest market share, then later found out more about his company and read his book, Bloomberg by Bloomberg. He came from the golden era of Soloman Brothers (read: Liar's Poker by Micheal Lewis). Business times has a very good writeup on him last week.

There is no better way to manage a city/country like a business entity really. Look at Singapore, able to establish itself in different economic frontiers by establishing an edge, competitive advantage. The GIC and Temasek are now the de facto of managing foreign exchange reserves and country assets, with China, with the world's largest reserves, wanting to model after Singapore.

A Good Year

Rented "A Good Year" last Sat evening, a show that i wanted to watch when it first came out but missed it. Really liked it. A story about life's simple pleasures, with a tint of romantic overlay, based in a picturesque setting of Château La Canorgue during the 2005 harvest in the Luberon area of Provence.

Was it the punchlines that Max Skinner delivered, or the cinematography, or the clever yet entertaining details, or was it because Max Skinner's profession is one that i can identify with, yet the background of summers in a small town setting is nostalgic, or was that love Max has for his uncle? I'm not sure really, but I really enjoyed this show, surprisingly, a so called love story. But really, the main theme of it may just be about kinship, Max's posture towards the uncle, the daughter that Max's uncle never knew, the warm servants, the meaning that little things bear for a person all because of the memories that is attached to it. Afterall, maybe men's needs has always been that need to relate, which without it as a foundation, any other higher tier need like money and status, will just be built shaky.

Not new, but still have a dream to own a vineyard. I am working towards it, many more than just this thing from this film.

Pardonne mes lèvres. Elles trouvent la joie dans les endrois les plus inhabituels
Forgive my lips. They find joy in the most unusual places

早雨

如果有一个愿望
那怕多么远，名华权就又算什么？
在这深处又渴望些什么？

被祝福，因他取力于祢
深居祢圣殿里，祢的住居是多么美丽
生命渴望祢的一切

就似山谷变成一道溪
似早雨盖过是祢的祝福

与祢一天豫胜过一切美丽
让我站在祢殿门守候，直到见到了祢

Horse steak, pig innerts and such

"If the president ever apppoints you liaison to the intelligentsia or if you find yourself at the Havard Faculty Club for any other reason, you will be well advised to order the horse steak. That shows that you are one of us. The horse steak has been on the menu since the World War II meat shortages, and the Harvard cognoscenti, always alert for new taste thrills, found it gamier and more interesting than plain old cow streak, especially when washed down with an amusing little Australian Pinot Chardonnay. So it stays on the menu, a permanent fixture. Horse steak is the symbol of the open, questing mind, which is how Havard likes to think of itself" (quoted, The Money Game, Adam Smith)

Eccentricities signifies abnormality, undeniably any form of eccentricities possess a measure of exclusivity. While in many cases, more desirable emotions of eclusivity is being projected to overshadow the un-norm. The westerners digusts at Chinese that eats everything, but have you ever wonder why Chinese eat every single part of a pig, from head to toe? Because they are poor, and have to make full use of the whole animal, during the olden day war times, that's my theory. Therefore, it becomes a "permanent fixture" on the menu, not unlike the horse steak. The Germans' eat pig trotters, the French eat Foie Gras etc.

Well, probably the chinese is just happy and contented to enjoy their own pig innerts and trotters and not care about what others say about them (乐在其中), while giving it a twist will definitely increase the taste of exclusivity, as a delicacy.

Having said that, still interested to taste the horse steak with chardonnay. Besides trotters, one of my favourite dish of my mum's cooking, maybe i would say i quite like pigs ear.

Jackpot

In the questions, most will choose the second option, with some kind of hope of hitting the jackpot, but however, when counted with probability, the expected outcome is the same for both options.

Men are never rational are they? Very willing to take their risks when there is a perceived return (often when calculated with expected return, is not higher than not taking the risk at all). This goes for the stock market, and all sorts of speculation like buying toto, and maybe even, going after a girl?!? haha..

well well, or it simply shows that men are just bad in mathematics. hahaha... (that was my point to defend mankind from the person that showed me this article)

In Nietzsche's book Beyond Good and Evil, he said that "Madness is something rare in individuals -- but in groups, parties, peoples, ages it is the rule" However, have you ever realize that alot of times, when you are left to make your own decision, you look for some affirmation of your choice? Easily swayed, that is why madness exists when there is groupthink, as Barton Biggs mention in his book Hedgehogging, groupthink is groupstink. But i digressed.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." (Matthew 7:24,25). The world celebrates that you have a mind of your own, you have your conviction in making decisions, your own perspective, going after your own passion. Maybe afterall, we fall unconsciously under the spell of groupthink, sub-culture, follow the crowd. If anyone would hear the words of what is written in the Book, and followed, one would have escaped the groupthink trap.

Rain comes down on the top, wind blows lateral, and streams rose from below. He said that if those words are being put into practice, one will be able to stand against adversaries from all sides and not sway.

Rational Choices #1

Senario #1:
There is 3 choices in an experiment, one being:
a) you get 100 bucks straight away
b) you toss a coin, if its heads, you get 250, if you get tails, you have to pay 50 bucks

Senario #2:
There is 2 choices,
a) you originally have 500 bucks, but 100 bucks got stolen
b) you have 400 bucks originally, you toss the coin, if you win, you get 200 bucks

Senario #3:
There is 100 bucks to be devided between 2 person
a) if you agreed to divide, you have to take the other person's terms
b) if you disagree to divide, both get nothing
his proposal will be for you to take 1, and he take 99.

give your answers now! write it in the format of the questions. e.g. a,b,b OR a,b,a OR b,b,a etc

The answers and findings will be in the next blog

adapted from: 读者2006 #8

What if what you paint is real

I have not painted for ages, these are obviously quite brief strokes and a little half-hearted, bacause i didn't even bother to outline with pencil, just draw and paint at the same time with colours.
This sketch of a girl that i found in one of my drawing blocks, must have drawn it long long time ago, added colours, she does look a bit pale without "makeup", especially the lips. Now i know why girls need to put make up.

Hmm, what if what you paint can become real? Okie, the old man no need. haha..

Chronos VS Kairos

Chronos, has to do with calendars, seasons, dates, clocks, chronometers. It is the time as defined, quantified and grasped by men, as concept of time. It is also the linear time, a time that goes in a straight line, and does not turn back.


Kairos, is to do with the fullness of time, when circumstances are right for something to take place.


It has always been men's dream to be able to time the Kairos moment correctly, drawing a parallel, the top and bottom of the stock market, most can detect a trend (trending up or down), which has to do with Chronos, but not the Kairos. Gadwell called it tipping point, mathematicians call it maxima/minima. Maybe deep inside us, there is this desire to see the best timing, which is God's timing. we chase after what is seemingly Kairos, as defined in the things of the world.


Maybe Kairos is so elusive that men has given up chasing for it. I like the way its being defined, "the fullness of time", when the time is right. Men also tried ways to find out that, if you know from the formula that Kairos will happen when the "fullness" is reached, you will seek after what makes the fullness and tries to detect it. Similarly in the markets, people try to see overbought/oversold signals, the drying up of liquidity that signifies fullness/emptiness, etc.


Its all so very interesting, because i realize that everything is linked. Men has always have a deepest desire in their hearts to chase after the things that matters to God. However, men are impatient, short-termed, selfish; which makes them substitute something of God to something created by men, to simulate God's things. Markets, fortune telling etc.


Maybe that's why also people could not live without a conclusion, a closing, an ending? Because all those things signifies the fullness, the Kairos? Well, i don't know, but this is all too interesting because its all linked. Elusive, but you can't escape it.

what is it be to me?

started unknowing, recognising yet denying
most will hide it, to subtly express it

fuzzy warm when up
tearing misery when down

hopeless it may seem, hopeful some think wishfully
wretched, sometimes feel yourself; blessed when you receive

search for one in the crowd, or try to be the one often

never certain 'til the last moment
never waiver, until never

always selfless, for only oneself albeit
always giving, wishfully receiving

none like others, but much for ours
what is this?
none other than what you think it is

what would it be to me?
don't guess unless you see
:)

The River

Came across this song lyrics when i was searching for something, nice country song, of course i know Garth Brooks for another song, "Lost in you":

~The River~

You know a dream is like a river, ever changing as it flows, and a dreamer's just a vessel, that must follow where it goes.
Trying to learn from what's behind you, and never knowing what's in store, makes each day a constant battle just to stay between the shores.
Too many times we stand aside, and let the waters slip away, 'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow has now become today.
So, don't you sit upon the shoreline and say you're satisfied.
Choose to chance the rapids, and dare to dance the tide.
There's bound to be rough waters and I know I'll take some falls.
But, with the Good Lord as my captain I can make it through them all.
I will sail my vessel 'til the river runs dry.
Like a bird upon the wind, these waters are my sky.
I'll never reach my destination if I never try.

So, I will sail my vessel 'til the river runs dry.

"The River" Lyrics By ~ Garth Brooks

Everyday pictures 3

drool...

mother's day card

so it started like that, from the outside, then from the inside

then i decided to cut it (actually cos cannot fit into envelope). write some words inside, and that's it. i think it looks best when standing up... oh well, i think next year i'll just buy a card la haha..

Home office

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/14da48c8527e1110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

2 of this please.

Geeks can teach

14 Things Geeks Can Teach The World
We assemble the choicest nerdy nuggets of everyday wisdom from the brightest tech minds around. Start your education now!
By the How 2.0 Geeks
quoted: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/0031cb989f071110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Every group of friends has that one person to go to for tech advice: what kind of TV to buy, the right HTML tags to pimp out a MySpace page, and so on. Believe me, I would know. But although I consider myself fairly willing to share the tech wealth, my powers pale in comparison with the sage wisdom dispersed in the "Ask a Geek" feature found in each issue of Popular Science. Every month, we feed the practical questions faced by everyday netizens to some of the Web's brightest minds—including Gina Trapani (editor of Lifehacker), Merlin Mann (editor of 43 Folders), Jake Ludington (keeper of the MediaBlab blog) and Annalee Newitz (tech writer extraordinaire, Second Life whiz)—, anything from ridding your computer of spyware to using any song file on your computer as a ringtone.

But that’s only the beginning. Here we present a compendium of the choicest nuggets of nerdy advice—get yourself a geek education by launching the photo gallery.

And if you have any wisdom of your own to share, or perhaps a question for our geeks, we want to hear about it over on the How 2.0 Blog. —John Mahoney

Table of Contents:
How Do I Hang My Flat-Screen TV? by Bryan Greenway
How (and Why) Should I Encrypt My Data? by Gina Trapani
Can I Download Streaming Videos Off the Web? by Jake Ludington
Can I Plug In My Prius? by Stephan Wilkinson
Can Viruses Attack My Cellphone? by Eugene Kaspersky
How Can I Make a Personalized Email Address? by Merlin Mann
How Can I Surf the Web Anonymously? by Annalee Newitz
How Can I Guard Against Spyware? by Ben Edelman
Can I Use My Own Songs as Ringtones? by Gina Trapani
What Music Format is Best? by Jonathan Coulton
Why Do Batteries Explode? by Nicole Dyer
Is the Music Industry Still Suing People? by Fred von Lohmann
Can I Wipe My Name off the Web? by Lauren Gelman
How Can I Tame My Overflowing Inbox? by Merlin Mann