Contrasts

The boy is a Palestinian holding a toy gun... the soldier is an Israeli holding a real gun...

That kid is so cute - isn't there some way to fix all this crap?

Mooo ( x 2 )

I was shocked to read on the BBC today that the US has judged cloned beef to be fine for eating.

Now, I know, it probally is fine to eat. And I know, I'm probally over-reacting here. But I have three chief concerns.

1 - Do we really need to be doing this? Is there some kind of shortage of beef in the US? Last I saw my hometown, there were cows everywhere. And the midwest if full of 'em.

2 - Have we been doing this test long enough to know the long-term results? Just because the flesh seems ok, and the genes seem to be acting normal, that doesn't really mean that ten years from now we won't all get new, funky diseases.

3 - Doesn't this seem a little creepy to anyone but me? I mean, I know it's not "Brave New World" come to pass, but it surely isn't too far off. We're all still debating what GMO crops do and what they mean to everyone, including the soil that supports them (and can't be used to grow anything for several years after GMO crops have been there). Besides, this really seems like something I saw out of a Marvel comic book.

Rumblin' & Tumblin'

Earlier this week I had my first earthquake... nothing special, I was sitting in my room at night and the room kind of "creaked" before the floor seems to sway a bit. I sat at my computer feeling dizzy and wondering if the whole thing was from too much browsing, when my roomates shouted out "earthquake". Small thing, nice way for me to have a first earthquake... life went on.

But then, shortly after Christmas, when I was in a large building in downtown Taipei, I had my second earthquake, with a cute little aftershock too. That was no fun. The Christmas tree in the room started swaying, the hanging lights were swinging, the windows were shaking, it was a little scary.

Turns out, I still had it kind of good - in the south of Taiwan some buildings collapsed and some people even died. The whole thing reminded me how small we puny little humans are next to nature.

Who needs a Ferrari?

Here at NTU, everyone has a bike. Some people have more than one... I myself used to have three at one time... two were stolen, and woke broke on the way to Spanish class. After the last incident, I decided not to get another one, and went for more than a year without a bike. It was only recently then, that I got a new bike!

Bikes here are cheap, $400NT, which is about $9 USD. The lock was $200NT, which is almost as much as the bike...

So without further ado, I present to you my bike, called "Red Tofu Lighting!"

The Joy of Marketing...

This is me and my marketing group hard at work on important marketing issues... feel the power.

Great Taste AND Healthy Teeth

I was suprised to see that the toothpaste I've been using recently is... "whitemen". Apparently, I not only look fine, but fight cavities and plaque... I wonder if I am the whitening kind too?

Interesting, I wonder if they are an equal opportunity organization...

Xia Tai!

In an effort to experience a protest of the likes I have never before seen, I went with some friends to a demonstration against the president in Taipei... of course in the end it didn't work, but it was cool... and fun to do! I think it was kind of historical too - it went on for a month or more. They had a parade and everything... we stayed there for a while but eventually went home. I felt a little funny being a foreigner there, at a Taiwanese domestic issue anyway.

Family & Home

"Not going home is already like death."

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."

"My home is not a place, it is people."

Newfound treasures...

I found a new singer today... she is wonderful... classical piano with an amazing voice... and great lyrics... it's one of those great moments when you realize there is a new artist in your life, and they have a whole list of art you will be enjoying for the first time in the days to come...

Chantal Kreviazuk

The point

“People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them.They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

The effectivness of science...

The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe.

— Stephen Hawking

The line between too far and not far enough...

A lot of thoughts and questions to me these days about the whole illegal immigrant thing in the United States. Currently there are a lot of Mexican workers who are there illegally, and have a lot of groups such as the churches (hungry for members) and the ACLU fighting for their "rights" to stay in America, despite having run into the United States illegally... A lot of immigrants come the United States, and do so legally, so I think that this illegal population is, among other things, discrediting the work and sacrifice made by immigrants who became citizens the legal way, and are proud of it.

But how else to explain it? Does not wanting mexican immigrants make me a racist? Or predjudiced? Or too conservative? I don't think so at all... and I don't think this population, until legitimized, has a right to even be here. Look at it this way...

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

Recently large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Congress is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration. Certain people are angry that the US might protect its own borders, might make it harder to sneak into this country and, once here, to stay indefinitely. Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests.

Let's say I break into your house. Let's say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave. But I say, "I've made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors; I've done all the things you don't like to do. I'm hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters, not only must you let me stay, you must add me to your family's insurance plan, educate my kids, and provide other benefits to me and to my family (my husband will do your yard work because he too is hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part).

If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my right to be there. It's only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than I do, and I'm just trying to better myself. I'm hard-working and honest, um, except for well, you know.

And what a deal it is for me!! I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of selfishness, prejudice and being an anti-housebreaker. Oh yeah, and I want you to learn my language so you can communicate with me.

At what cost?

Only Media Producers, intent for bad or scary news to report, and terrorists, hiding in caves or within their government offices, could call this sort of thing a "success" for Lebanese people. Will anyone ever learn to see what really happened here? Nothing good... but as long as someone always declares victory, I guess no one will ever have a lasting peace.

The effectivness of hypocrites

What kind of world is this when citizens of a nation love a group of people who shoot missles at others, hoping to kill kids and old people, kidnap and kill soldiers unprovoked, and hide behind the children of those they are "standing up for"? What's worse, what kind of world is this when the country being hit with missles aimed at their old and young all the time (pre and post invasion) are blamed when they fight back, and accidentally (key word!) kill civilians of the other nation when trying to kill the militants who hide behind them... (keep in mind, it's likely these militants made the citizens stay in the danger zone and "shield them")

Israel could have flattened any town/city is south Lebanon before any western or arab nation even knew what was happening, but they are trying to kill as few civilians as possible as they fight to kill stupid, ignorant idiots who care more about "standing up to israel" than they do about their own families, futures, or lives.

Citizens in Lebanon need to stop blaming Israel for trying to destroy this militia group. They should realize that if you let something militant grow in your country, you need to take responsibility for it - either by marching against it yourself or watching another country march against it. You cannot let a group live in your country, kill people in another country, have a parade in the street when it happens (or let your friends have a parade in the street), and then expect everything to be OK. If you march against this group and they try to kill you, then you know they are not interested in your safety afterall, and you should work twice as hard to get rid of them.

Personally, I think Israel should leave the Middle East... if you lived in a town of ignorant idiots who shot their hunting rifle at you everyday, wouldn't you want to put your house up for sale? Let them kill each other after you leave - from "Enemies of Israel" to "Enemies of the Shia" or "Sunni" or whatever other group is out there... good riddance.

All those terms...

chipset

"A number of integrated circuits designed to perform one or more related functions. For example, one chipset may provide the basic functions of a modem while another provides the CPU functions for a computer. Newer chipsets generally include functions provided by two or more older chipsets. In some cases, older chipsets that required two or more physical chips can be replaced with a chipset on one chip."


I often forget a lot of terms and definitions that I learned before... especially in the IT world... this one was "Chipset". I knew what it was, generally speaking, but with the latest news of AMD buying ATI (yes, this is important for you too), I wanted to know exaclty what was going on.

I actually think this could be a bad thing for AMD, as an annoyed NVidea could end up moving to the Intel side of life. If NVidea wanted to punish AMD for buying and therefore teaming up with their competitor, all they had to do would be to make a minor change in their Chipset configurations, and BAM! AMD would suffer major setbacks (yes, you do find this interesting!!!)

A good leader doesn't need a good situation...

"Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm."

— Publius Syrus

This is a pretty good point... but I'm not sure it's true... just look at what G.W. has managed to pull off in 4 years... he had a great situation when he was elected, and still managed to make all sorts of mistakes and trouble... he actually made waves!

...

It's really not fair... I am growing old and dying in my little island cage.

...

Sometimes in your life you have those moments... when everything is turned upside down... right is wrong, left is right... everything you let yourself believe changes cruely and unfairly. Sometimes it happens over and over and over... some people get more of this than they deserve - others are allowed the pleasure of avoiding it.

In the end, what is there for someone to do? After awhile, what's the point of trying over and over again. Maybe the real peace comes in accepting emptiness - accepting the ever-changing and unfair situation that will always repeat and repeat and repeat.

Sometimes the best way to defeat a problem is to get up, dust the pebbles and dirt off - once again, and accept the fact that the world truly is as cruel and dark as it seems. And that it will most likely never change... it's not worth working at. That is the manner of things.

Time

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."

— J. Lubbock

In a sad statement... most people I know today would call this a waste of time, or being lazy... but why live to work when you should work only to live a better live?

Some days...

Somedays you just feel like complaining... this year would be one of those days for me~