Catfight - As Promised

Callie had been hissing at Gregg for a while. It took Gregg close to 2 weeks to lose his patience and show some color to Callie. The first 'physical argument' I noticed was during their meal time.

Gregg and Callie

Just adopted them on Saturday from the animal shelter. I was actually looking for a HUGE cat like George. I actually found one, but he was mean and not friendly at all. I found the other one, which is not as big, but she is too shy.


Black cat was named Gregg by the caretakers in shelter. M and J decided to nickname him Goyo. He is 7-yr old, medium size, all black except a small white patch on his chest. Gregg grew up in the animal shelter, some one dropped him with his 8 siblings by the shelter and all his siblings were adopted except him. Probably because he is black. Very very smart cat, and seems to understand what is happening when he was adopted. But he doesn't like to take picture, cause he always turn away or frown at the camera. Planning to try to teach him some trick such as sit etc.



Patchy one (Calico) was named Callie. M and J nicknamed her Lupe, after Guadalupe. She is 1 yr-old. Callie could be really big, since her paws are bigger relative to her body, but I am going to spay her on Friday, so she might not be that big after all. Callie arrived at the shelter 2 weeks before being adopted and just had her 7 babies. She hissed at Gregg when Gregg is around her. Gregg will just meowed at her a little, seems like telling her to chill down, then Gregg will back away.

九月二十三日...

九月二十三日...二零零七年....

Unknown

Haven't been blogging for quite a while. I was never a good blogger and I think I will never be a good blogger. Its too big of a commitment to make and I have some sort of phobia for commitment. The biggest commitment I made so far is to pursue my academic achievement, that is, if you can call that a commitment.

Many things happened lately. Some good, some neutral and some not-so-good. I don't know where to start, where I should start with and what I should or shouldn't be blogging. With so many unknown, my natural solution will be --> not to blog them.

Its really early in the morning now. I was working on some stuff just now and my brain ceased to fully function. I decided that I should stop working and go to sleep. All went well until I turned off my computer and trying to fall asleep, I found out that my brain activity is back. Now I figured out why my brain wasn't fully functioning. Its probably due to the fact that I had been working on that freaking model since Wednesday the last and I still didn't get anywhere close to where I want to be. Its time to let the freaking model to incubate.

Looking forward to Wednesday, big cheese will be out of town for 2 days.....

生日快樂

生日快樂

iScream!

Saw this from Evil 4's blog....

MS Office 2007

It was announced on the college daily email update a couple days ago, that Office 2007 is available for students to download. I wasn't very enthusiastic at the beginning. JC was interested in it and he downloaded the software. So I installed it on my laptop and later, on my work desktop.

I was editing some of my work that includes tables and figures using the MS Words 2007 for the first time. One of the new feature on MS Office 2007 is something called "Ribbon", which is a bunch of commands, but instead of using text only user interface, it comes with a graphical user interface. This ribbon thingy is taking up more working space than it is worth, so I hide them when not in use. Then another problem arise, when you need to search for a command, you need to CLICK from one ribbon to another, instead of just gliding from one to another like the older version and the menu will drop down. What a waste of motion economy!

MS effort to 'revolutionize' the office is definitely a good one. I needed to open up another word document, and I can't find the "File" menu. So fine, I will use CTRL + O, CTRL + S etc. I needed to format some of the sections, adding a Heading etc. and I can't find the "Format" menu. I tried to insert a row in my existing table and I can't find the freaking "Table" menu!!! I decided to customize the freaking ribbon thingy and change back to the older text version and guess what, I CAN'T!!!! I tried to customize it and I can't figure it out. It might be embedded in the software, but I can't find it. I tried to use the Help function, and frankly, after 10 minutes, I gave up.

Just the thought that I need to re-learn everything again, after so many years using Office just turned me off. Then, thinking about my dissertation, I am seriously considering uninstalling the MS Office 2007.

Piece of advice, if you do not have hours to learn everything from scratch, then DO NOT install MS Office 2007. @*^%(#&$^!^$&%$&#@^%*$^@!#$^!)@&#%$^*!^%^@)$#^&@$^%@$&%

假期...

千呼萬喚始出來 .... 我終於等到老闆到邁亞米去度假, 我終於自由了!! 雖然只是短短的五個星期, 而且還得繼續寫我的論文和德州交通部的研究工作, 可是老闆不在, 我們就沒有那麼多的約束, 開會準時出席, 該做的事做好就行了.

今天早上睡到日上三竿, 才心不甘情不願的起身. 這是這幾個月以來第一次可以睡這麼久, 也是這麼久以來第一次有這個需要. 覺得好累, 尤其是過去的兩個星期, 老闆快要去度假, 就拼命地把他之前不願意完成的工作趕完. 城門失火, 殃及池魚.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille!!~~

I went to watch the matinee show today with JC, NW, PA and AM. We didn't expect any crowd since Ratatouille premiered last Friday. However, we were wrong. There wasn't a crowd for Ratatouille, but there was a huge crowd for Transformer. We were in line for the ticket for about 20 minutes. When we got our ticket, it was around 2 pm and the ticket for Transformer was sold out all the way till 4.35 pm show.

Overall, the movie was superb, it was beyond what I had expected. The animation was excellent and I love the way that the animators paid attention to minute details. Some might consider the story line to be a common one, but for me, the important thing is, how you tell the story, not what is the story. I worked in a dining hall and I know a little about the equipment in a kitchen. It was amazing to me the way the animators put the equipment to 'work' toward the end of the movie. The scene with the dishwasher and the act in the kitchen that follows, I was cracking up very hard.

I love Ratatouille, especially the main characters: Remy and his brother Emile. They were hilarious. I had a good time with Ratatouille and I am seriously considering watching it again and buying the DVD when its in the market. That's how much I love the movie.

Transformer

NW, JC and I went to watch Transformer matinee show today. NW is big transformer fans, JC is HUGE transformer fans. So you can imagine what it felt like to go with two fanatics on the first day of the showing. JC was actually thinking of going to the Monday midnight show, but because we have Toastmaster meeting on Tuesday morning at 6.30 and he has to give a speech, so he decided against it. The funny thing is, the matinee show wasn't as crowded as we expected, there was still a good crowd, but it wasn't that bad till we can't get three seats together.

As for the review of the movie, I think I can safely skip that in my blog, since there are already too many reviews by other movie-goers on the Internet. All I will say is, it is an OK movie but I love it, the special effects are superb and the main actress is hot. I know that it sounds confusing, "Its OK but I love it" but that's how I felt after coming out of the theater.

However, JC LOVED the movie. When we got out of the theater, he had to rush to the restroom because he refused to step out during the movie and miss any part of the movie. On our way back, I can see the sparkle in his eyes, like a little kid who just found a new and exciting toy and couldn't let go of it. I remembered watching Transformer cartoon, but I do not recall all the details of the cartoon. He was keeping me update with all the characters in the movie, like Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee, Megatrone, Decepticons etc. So, I got some education on Transformer on my way back.

Kalama Sutta

Saw a posting on EY's blog on this. Just remembered that I came across something similar and saved it on my computer a while back. This is the version I came across.

Do not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many.
Do not believe in anything (simply) because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with your reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all then accept it and live up to it.

Buddha Angettara Nikaya
Vol. I, 188-193 P.T.S. Ed

Happy Birthdays!!!

I am a lazy person. This is a statement and not a question. Since you guys knew that very very well already, I am going to take a 'detour' with my birthday wishes then. Here they are:

April 12
Happy Birthday KY!
Now that you are no longer 21, how's that feel? I bet its not that big deal anymore. :) Did you get your dad to pay off you loan?? hahaha..... good luck with that!

April 13
Happy Birthday Sally!
By the way, where are you now? I am pretty sure that you are unaware of the existence of this blog. But it doesn't matter, I just wanted to wish you all the best in whatever you are doing now. The courage you mustered to drop everything on hand and to pursue your dream really impressed me. Never thought of you as one of those people when we were back in high school. Happy birthday to you!

April 14
Happy Birthday Helen!
Hope that everything is moving well for you.

April 16
Happy Birthday JJ!
Where's my oil painting?? Is it still in your mind? hehehe......

April 17
Happy Birthday LP!
I don't like to gossip, but I think I will call up CNN and Fox News to spread the word that you got a new house in where-is-that-again? Joking.... (:

What a week.........

心情雜記

今天早起, 原本想到實驗室一趟, 把一些未完成的文件弄好, 星期二就可以交貨了. 起身後往窗外一望, 車子還是被四吋厚的雪覆蓋着. 看著這一情景, 想到我必須要除去車子上的雪, 我就提不起勁出門了. 昨天大清早下了一場雪, 整天的氣溫停留在零度C 左右, 所以到了今天雪都還沒溶化. 看了今天的氣象預測, 氣溫應該會升到七度左右, 希望明天早上車上的雪就會溶完了. 我喜歡雪, 喜歡下着雪的時候到外面走走. 可是當我已經把所有冬天的衣服收起來了才下雪, 我就很懶得出去了.

因為天氣冷, 地上還累積着雪, 這整個週末我總覺得懶懶的, 提不起勁來做些我該做的事. 昨天早上原本想到 Driving Range 一趟, 可是因為下雪, 就打消念頭了; 又想到書店逛一逛, 可是想到要鏟雪, 我又懶了. 最後我就待在家里, 看了幾齣戲: 霸王別姬, Sabrina(1995), Full Monty 和 Casino Royale. 現在明白了, 原來看戲看多了, 也是會累的, 尤其是沒有間斷的看.

今天早上決定了不去實驗室後, 就上網閒逛, 左看右看的, 想著既然沒事做, 不如就到自己的部落格塗鴉塗鴉. 最近, 我發現到我的部落格記載的東西, 大部分都是身邊所發生的事情, 很少文章是和自己的心情有關. 曾經有人告訴我, 我的部落格很沒有 "個人的味道", 冰冷冷的, 感覺不到我的個人情緒和心情, 看到的只是我身邊所發生的事情. 所以我今天就決定要寫一寫我的心情, 那就是, 我現在很無聊, 同時也在享受著無聊所帶來的樂趣.

Happy Birthday L.B., Ph.D., UE

Today's LB birthday. We decided to celebrate his birthday yesterday, since that's the day when everyone in the LSS group is here. We got him a cake and a homemade T-shirt (sounded like food -- homemade). I went to Market Street on Wednesday evening to get a chocolate cake. I requested the employee to write on the cake "Happy Birthday L.A.B., Ph.D., UE" in pink. The lady showed a quizzical look when she saw the word UE. So I told her that stands for Umemployed. She was laughing really hard, and I was thinking, "Hey, don't laugh too hard when you are writing, you could mess up the cake." After she was done with the writing, she told her colleague the UE thing, and I can see that her colleague was laughing too. Oh well, LB was the one who came up with the UE acronym.

This is a snapshot of what we had on the T-shirt for him.

It was quite an adventure in getting his gift ready, and hilarous too. I went to the SP Mall on Wednesday to check out the little booth that (used to) provides T-shirt printing services, and found out that they were out of business. I checked the yellow pages for T-shirt printing companies, visited their websites and found out that most of those websites were just a one-page website, i.e. just the main page with their phone, fax number and address. Then I called a number of companies and shops on Thursday morning. They were either too expensive for us, or they plainly (and politely) told me that they don't do screen printing for just one unit. So we resolved to buy some Print 'n Press - Iron On Transfer Paper and DIY on Thursday afternoon.

AG was suggesting a pink shirt, NW was for baby blue, SC was suggesting a purple, PA was for grey. We got an ash grey, cause PA was the one getting the shirt. PA went to HobbyLobby and got the T-shirt and transfer paper, then went home to get her iron. PA and AG will work on the T-shirt. LB had to teach a class from 12:30 ~ 1:50 p.m. After his class, NW went out for lunch with him and J. We told NW to keep him there at the restaurant until we call her. Meanwhile, I went over to SUB to get a birthday card.

When I got back from the SUB, PA and AG were in a 'crisis'. They were ready to iron on, then they figured out that they need to mirror the words, or else it will not show up right. They were trying to figure out how to mirror the words and they were having a hard time getting it right. With a little help here and there, we figured it out. We ironed the correct one on the back of the shirt. Then we thought, since we already printed the other one incorrectly, we might as well just ironed it on the front. And so we did it, right here in our office.

The whole process was hilarious, with Dr JLS sitting there on one of the student's desk, watching the whole 'show' and timing for us when we did the ironing. We were in a hurry to get it done, we were concerned that NW might not be able to retain LB in the restaurant long enough, we were eager to see the result. But, after all, we all had fun, lots of them.

Good thing that LB liked it, well, at least he showed that he liked it. Else, I would have smacked him. HAHA. Anyway, Happy Birthday Dr. LAB.

Library

EY was telling me about 'the most boring job in the world' as defined by one of his professor, i.e. clock watcher (or something like that) in the Navy. I asked him, do you know why is this job important and he didn't know. So I suggested him to read a book by Dava Sobel, entitled "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His time".

EY tried to look up the book in his school library online database and he couldn't find it. From my understanding, I believed that the school library should have it. So I searched his school library online database and I found it. To make life easier for him, I copy and paste the call number for that particular book on the messenger for him and told him "That's the call number for the book. "

To my great surprise, he asked me "What is that?" I was shocked. I told him "There should be more than 100,000 books in a university level library, not including the journals that library collect. If you ever need a book, remember to go through the 100,000 ++ books in alphabetical order to find the one you need." Finally, I figured I should give him a hand here if I want him to read more. So, I explained to him how does a library function, went through the floor map of his school library, helped him figure out the floor and section where that book is located, how does a library shelf the books and how does the call number work.

A 70++ year-old professor in Management, who was trained as a Mechanical Engineer in his bachelor degree, went back to his alma mater for 50 years reunion recently. He told us, one of his fellow ME classmate bragged that he had never set foot in the university library all through his undergraduate study. Now I could see that how can this be possible.

清明

<清明> 杜牧
清明時節雨紛紛, 路上行人欲斷魂.
借問酒家何處有? 牧童遙指杏花村.

這是小學時念過的詩句. 昨天晚上媽打電話來, 說她和爸剛從彰崙離開, 現在正在 Padang Sera 清明. 聽了後, 我才想起現在正是清明時節. 好快哦, 才剛過完農曆年不久, 現在已經是清明了. 再來就是端午,中元, 中秋, 重陽, 冬至, 然後又是一年了.

小時候總覺得時間過得真慢, 要等好久好久, 好不容易才盼到這一些節日的到來. 現在卻總覺得時間過得太快了, 這些節日來也匆匆, 去也匆匆, 沒有什麼值得回味似的. 或許是因為身在它鄉為異客, 身邊的人都不知道這些節日, 更別說慶祝了. 因為沒有慶祝, 所以就沒什麼好回味的吧.

Racist Crow

Its spring. Its the season where every living thing except human seems to get a little weird. Human might too, just that human are good at concealing, which sometimes closely resemble something called "hypocrisy" and that's why other human didn't notice the weirdness. Anyway, by weird, I mean the 'rites and rituals' performed the living things before copulating.

Last evening, after helping out with the Beer Game for a class, NW and I came back to our office and was getting ready to leave. Dr M came by to drop off something for me. Then, outside the glass panel, I saw a huge flock of black birds (because its black; I don't know the specie) swarming toward a tree as if they were attacking their enemy, rest on the tree for a while, then flew away in a flock and then repeat the 'ritual', over and over. Its amazing to watch that.

Seeing the flock of birds swarming, I told NW: "Watch out! They are coming for you." NW replied: "I know! I had been watching closely for that." Dr M was there and he was lost. So I had to tell him that NW was attacked by several crows in several occasions and that led her to believe that crows are racist. (Note: NW is African American) Dr M cracked up, really badly. If you happened to be in the second floor of IE building, you could hear him laughing all way down the hallway.

NW's "Racist Crow Theory" and "Crow Conspiracy Theory" were not new to us. NW told us her incidents with the crows when it first happened and we had been laughing at the two 'theories' for a while now. Last summer, NW was attacked by the crow while walking from the parking lot to the office. It happened almost on a daily basis, for about three weeks. NW took it personally, thinking that the crow only attacked her. I had the same experience too, only I wouldn't call it an attack and its definitely not personal to me. The crow just flew by really close to your head when you walked by.

After NW told us her two "theories", these are the reactions: LB told NW: "You sure its crow? I think those that attacked you were doves! OR.... they thought that they were doves."; Dr M asked NW: "What is the color of the crows?"; JS told NW: "Yeah, I heard of black-on-black violence before. Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

NW told us she even thought of parking somewhere else, maybe by the baseball stadium or something to avoid the crows. Then LB told her, "Watch out, the jackrabbit might attack you."

Happy Chinese New Year!

Don't have much to write for this occasion, except to wish all my friends Happy CNY and have a prosperous year. Its been quite some time since I last celebrated this special day with my family. In fact, this is my seventh CNY away from home. Hmm.... seven years..... seven years.... well, it wasn't that itchy.... haha.... shouldn't be saying that, it's so wrong. In case you were lost, the movie "Seven Year Itch" came across my mind when I thought of seven years.... hehe... maybe I should check out the movie.

新年快樂! 恭喜發財!
我在這裡祝賀我所有朋友 (無論您們知不知道我的部落格的存在) 暨所有路人, 在新的一年里, 心想事成, 身心愉快, 萬事如意, 年年有余, 月月有金魚, 天天有龍蝦, 時時有螃蟹, 分分有鮑魚, 秒秒有....鯊魚.....

又來了。。。

今天早上, 我和另外兩個朋友約好, 一齊參加一年一度本地獅子會所主辦的 Pancake Festival. 原本約好只有我們三個, 可是當我抵達約好的地方時, 其中一個朋友, ㄋ 還沒到, 一個則帶了另外一個朋友, 不速之客. 我知道這麼說很不禮貌, 可是那 "第四者" 是之前提過的, 年逾古希的退休教授; 而且我們昨天說好了, 我們三個女人一齊去的.

在整個慶典中, 我們静靜地吃着早點, 雖然還不至於食不知味, 但也接近了. ㄋ和我不知道該說什麼才好. 雖然我們倆都認識那老教授, 可是因為年齡的差距和我們都在不同的社交圈子活動, 我們共同的話題真的很有限. 我不想談些老教授不懂得話題而很明顯的把他拒于門外, 我們和老教授共同的話題已經在我們到會場後的十五分鐘里聊完了. 更何況老教授不是我邀請來的, 找話題和關照他的感受也就不是我的責任了. 這些都還不怎麼困擾我, 雖然沒話題可談, 我還是很開心地觀察着四周圍的人群. 幾乎整個拉拔客的居民出席這個慶典, 很有看頭.

真正困擾我的是我朋友和那老教授之間的關係. 她真的對他有意思嗎? 如果不是, 那為什麼還讓他跟著我們一齊到那慶典? 另一個 "新" 的困擾是那老教授在慶典上的態度. 之前只是在 TM 里和老教授有交集, 所以並沒有機會深入觀察他的態度和為人. 從今天早上我個人的觀察, 我發現他有種族歧視的傾向, 而且他的禮貌和他對人的態度也有點問題. 老教授給我的整體印象是美國人所謂的 "紅頸項". 雖然他受過高深教育, 還是一位榮譽退休教授, 但這並不表示他是個君子. 我朋友這麼做就好比在玩火, 在我發現到老教授並不是君子後, 我比之前更擔心了. 我擔心如果她把老傢伙惹火了, 老傢伙會對她不利.

心有余而力不足. 我還能怎麼樣呢?

"Here's looking at you, kid"

"Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'"
"Here's looking at you, kid."
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
"We'll always have Paris."
"Round up the usual suspects."
"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Some of you might know pretty well from the quotes, I watched Casablanca, again, for the n-th times. I watched it with my IE buddies this time, on a 1980's version of 42-in.-flat-screen TV in our office. For reasons unknown to me, I love this movie. I don't know why and I don't want to know why either, but I am going to buy the DVD, the special edition one.

Old, But Definitely Not Frail

It doesn't matter if you like him, agree with him or not, but he is a man with vision, the man who truly understands the meaning of 'change/impermanence' and fully utilizes the advances in technology in order to reach the younger generation. There is definitely something that MY gov. should learn from: utilize (not regulate) the Internet.

Tun Dr. M. speaks out on war on youtube.

己所不欲, 勿施於人

好長的一個故事, 發生在身邊的一個朋友身上. 好想告訴當事人孔子<論語>里的這句, 可是卻無從說起. 有時候所謂的朋友真的是只能共享福, 只能聽取好聽的讚賞的話而已. 當你把心里最真的話說出來時, '朋友' 這個名詞, 有時候就會變成動詞--過去式的.

一個榮譽退休教授, 年屆古希, 已離婚, 行動有點不便, 獨子居住在300哩以外; 一個博士研究生, 年逾而立, 單身. 一個孤獨老人想尋找一個合適的伴侣, 共渡晚年; 一個漂亮, 眼界很高的女人想尋找一個襯得上她的終生伴侣. 這樣的兩個人, 會譜出什麼樣的故事? "一個男, 一個女, 兩種愛"? "一個不甘寂寞的男人愛上一個也不甘寂寞的女人"?

身為那女人的朋友, 我很清楚知道她對他並沒有 '那種' 意思. 雖然她沒有,也不願意告訴我們任何東西, 可是從他的言行舉止, 無意間透露的消息, 我知道他是有 '那個' 意思. 可是她卻堅持地說, 他只是想當朋友, 還頻頻單獨和他出去用餐, 回他的 email, 甚至主動 email 和打電話給他. 既然都不喜歡,也沒可能和他在一起, 為什麼還要這麼做, 讓他以為自己有希望, 然後才殘酷的粉碎他的夢想? 我們幾個朋友看在眼里, 心里明白是怎麼一回事, 她有這前科, 可是我們都沒說些什麼. 等那可憐的男人向她告白後, 她應該是會拒絕, 然後大而化之地來告訴我們這一項 '意外'.

我很不贊同她的做法. 孔子曰:"己所不欲, 勿施於人." 將心比心, 如果您不願意被人怎麼對待, 您就別那樣對待別人. 我不希望被這麼對待, 更不希望身邊的男性朋友被別人這麼玩弄. 我難免會對這一類女性有意見, 也有點歧視她們. 身為她的朋友, 我有責任告訴她這麼做其實很缺德. 可是如果我真的說了, '朋友' 這名詞真的就會變成過去式的動詞了. 她這行為也不是一兩天就形成的, 都逾而立之年了, 現在說什麼不但沒用, 還會破壞我們之間的友情. 她的性格非常固執, 1至10, 10為超級固執, 我認為我是4, 她呢, 沒有10也有9. 考量了這麼多因素後, 我想我還是別說, 就讓她沾沾自喜好了.

我一直認為對待很要好的朋友, 我必須要實話實說, 因為我也是這麼希望我的朋友對我實話實說. 很可悲, 沒想到我也有這麼一天, 這麼不誠實地對待我的好朋友. 友情, 有時候真的很容易就會變成這麼廉價的了. 反省反省, 無論是有建設性的批評還是嚴厲的批判, 我都應該豁達一點, 撇開自尊, 誠心誠意地接受. 唯有這麼做, 我才能保住我的友情, 不讓它貶值.

Malaysia BOLEH!

First they came for the non-gov. newspaper, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a journalist;
Then they came for the established scholars, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a scholar;
Then they came for the renowned bloggers, and I did not speak out--
because I was not renowned;
Then they came for the average bloggers, and I did not speak out--
because I had quit blogging;
Then they came for the blog-commenters, and I did not speak out--
because I had quit commenting;
Then they invaded internet-users' privacy, and I did not speak out--
because I was not affected;
Then they came for me--
I had lost my ability(freedom) to speak
and there was no one left to speak out for me.


Lost? Follow these trails...
Walk With Us
RantingsbyMM
Kickdefella

P.S.: I do not claim any originality on this poem.
c.f. Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

La Vie En Rose - Edith Piaf

Lyrics by Edith Piaf
Music by Louiguy
enr. 9 octobre 1946

活着 :: Alive

Being alive is the solution to ALL problems.
***
人生,就是由一連串的問題所組成:
小時候,怎麼說話,怎麼走才不會跌倒是問題;
小學時,怎麼把書讀好並考上好的中學是問題;
中學時,怎麼把書讀好並考上好的大學還是問題,偶爾還會有戀愛的問題;
大學時,還是同樣的問題,可能還多了分不分手或'還是單身,怎麼辦?'的問題;
畢業後,找工作是問題,經濟獨立是問題;
找到工作後,公司里的人際關係是問題,升職是問題,換不換工作是問題,成家立室是問題;
結婚後,要不要有外遇是問題,另一半不忠是問題,養育小孩更是問題;
孩子到了升學年齡,經濟是大問題,時間的分配是問題,怎麼維持一段婚姻是問題;
孩子大了,從新適應只有夫婦倆的生活是問題,怎麼要孩子偶爾回家來坐坐是問題;
老年時,牙齒沒了可是還想吃美食是問題....
可是,這些問題,只有活着,才能找到解決方法;只有活着,才能好好的享受人生.
活着,不是問題的開始,而是問題的解决方法.
***
工程系待太久了...

Nerd

I finally decided that its time to backup everything I have on my computer and external hard drive. Its been 2 years since I last backed up my work. If you know me well, you would know that I am an organize-maniac. There's no 'orphan' file in my computer. Every file belongs to one folder and every folder belongs to one bigger category. When I am backing things up, I want to preserve the way I save my files. Since I have a DVD burner now, I decided that I should backup with DVDs, because it could hold more information and I don't have to break any folder into two separate disc.

I have A LOT of folders with various sizes that I need to back up. For folders smaller than 4GB, I was trying to fit several folders into one DVD. I used the software that came with my computer and choose folders by random to burn on one DVD. I kept getting the message "Exceed the limit on DVD" from the software I was using. I began to lose my patience, I was getting frustrated.

Then, it came very naturally to me: "Why don't I write an optimization program using simplex algorithm that would tell me which folders should go together into one DVD with the objective of minimizing the number of DVDs I need?" And subconciously, I already created the whole simplex table in my mind, with all constraints and numbers needed and I was beginning to make secondary plans: I could add more constraints, re-run the program and see which combination suits my 'taste' without increasing the number of DVDs I need. How could I assess the efficiency? Maybe I should try to add more constraints until the program fails, just to check the robustness of my program.

This train of thoughts happened very very fast, like a spark. Then I realized something was not very 'right'. I told myself, "STOP!! What were you thinking?" Something was indeed very WRONG here!

This is a life example of what academic can do to you. Though I didn't end up writing the program, the thought of doing it did count. But maybe I should do it, and maybe sell it to some burner software maker as an add-on to their software....day(night)-dreaming now....

Hank Williams Sr. - Why Don't You Love Me

Words and music by Hank Williams, Sr.

Well, why don't you love me like you used to do
How come you treat me like a worn out shoe
My hairs still curly and my eyes are still blue
Why don't you love me like you used to do.

Ain't had no lovin' like a huggin' and a kissin'
In a long, long while
We don't get nearer or further or closer
Than a country mile;

Why don't you spark me like you used to do
And say sweet nothin's like you used to coo
I'm the same old trouble that you've always been through
So, why don't you love me like you used to do.

Well, why don't you be just like you used to be
How come you find so many faults with me
Somebody's changed so let me give you a clue
Why don't you love me like you used to do.

Ain't had no lovin' like a huggin' and a kissin'
In a long, long while
We don't get nearer or further or closer
Than a country mile;

Why don't you say the things you used to say
What makes you treat me like a piece of clay
My hairs still curly and my eyes are still blue
Why don't you love me like you used to do.