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.