The Middling

2012-01-28T02:23:00.002+08:00

Teddy

2012-01-28T02:16:00.002+08:00

courage is not about having the strength to go on.. it is going on when you do not have the strength

2011-11-20T13:14:00.000+08:00

"people wanna believe god has a plan for them; they dont want to know that anyone else does" - Percy, Nikita

2011-10-19T01:39:00.001+08:00

Gandhi

2011-10-01T19:23:00.001+08:00

you must show courage - be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor will you be turned aside. And when you do that it calls on something in human nature, something that makes his hatred decrease and his respect increase.

I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.

They may torture my body, break my bones, even kill me, then they will have my dead body. NOT MY OBEDIENCE!

Of friends, songs and things

2011-09-30T02:32:00.002+08:00

2011-09-05T12:33:00.000+08:00

The Hollow Men

T. S. Eliot

Mistah Kurtz—he dead.



      A penny for the Old Guy



      I



We are the hollow men

We are the stuffed men

Leaning together

Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!

Our dried voices, when

We whisper together

Are quiet and meaningless

As wind in dry grass

Or rats’ feet over broken glass

In our dry cellar



Shape without form, shade without colour,

Paralysed force, gesture without motion;



Those who have crossed

With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom

Remember us—if at all—not as lost

Violent souls, but only

As the hollow men

The stuffed men.



      II



Eyes I dare not meet in dreams

In death’s dream kingdom

These do not appear:

There, the eyes are

Sunlight on a broken column

There, is a tree swinging

And voices are

In the wind’s singing

More distant and more solemn

Than a fading star.



Let me be no nearer

In death’s dream kingdom

Let me also wear

Such deliberate disguises

Rat’s coat, crowskin, crossed staves

In a field

Behaving as the wind behaves

No nearer—



Not that final meeting

In the twilight kingdom



      III



This is the dead land

This is cactus land

Here the stone images

Are raised, here they receive

The supplication of a dead man’s hand

Under the twinkle of a fading star.



Is it like this

In death’s other kingdom

Waking alone

At the hour when we are

Trembling with tenderness

Lips that would kiss

Form prayers to broken stone.



      IV



The eyes are not here

There are no eyes here

In this valley of dying stars

In this hollow valley

This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms



In this last of meeting places

We grope together

And avoid speech

Gathered on this beach of the tumid river



Sightless, unless

The eyes reappear

As the perpetual star

Multifoliate rose

Of death’s twilight kingdom

The hope only

Of empty men.



      V



Here we go round the prickly pear

Prickly pear prickly pear

Here we go round the prickly pear

At five o’clock in the morning.



Between the idea

And the reality

Between the motion

And the act

Falls the Shadow

                                For Thine is the Kingdom



Between the conception

And the creation

Between the emotion

And the response

Falls the Shadow

                                Life is very long



Between the desire

And the spasm

Between the potency

And the existence

Between the essence

And the descent

Falls the Shadow

                                For Thine is the Kingdom



For Thine is

Life is

For Thine is the



This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

Extracted from: http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/784/

Stargate

2010-11-19T19:51:00.001+08:00

"the success or the failure of your deeds does not add up to the sum of your life;
the universe is vast and we are so small
there is only one thing we can ever truly control..
whether we are good or evil" - Stargate SG-1

"enemies promises were made to be broken" - Stargate SG-1

"the interesting thing about sceptics is that we are always looking for proof" - the rite

2010-11-01T19:21:00.001+08:00

"a hero is made in the moment" - unknown

"beware of men and their destinies" - unknown

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister

2010-10-01T01:14:00.002+08:00

You see what I've seen, you come and go as I have... you realize the most important thing about death isn't who dies.. it's who kills them - Willow in Buffy, S8

2010-09-11T01:47:00.002+08:00

If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got. While what I got was alright, now, I'm looking for something more. - Adapted from NCIS

WHY LIES ARE BETTER THAN THE TRUTH

2010-09-02T17:18:00.002+08:00

WHY LIES ARE BETTER THAN THE TRUTH
(A SCIENTIFIC COMPARISON TEST)

From THE RAPE OF THE APE, BY Allen Sherman
Chicago, Playboy Press, 1973
Pps 56-59

I. Credibility

All Lies are designed to seem true. The expert liar carefully uses elements that seem probable and logical and are therefore easy to believe. On the other hand, The Truth is often illogical, wildly improbable and hard to explain.

Lies are more believable than the truth.

II. Reliability

The Truth is spontaneous, accidental, and unpredictable. Lies, however, can be planned in detail long in advance and are thus guaranteed to turn out as predicted.

Lies are more dependable than The Truth.

III. Economy

To be The Truth, an account of a given event must be completely accurate. This requires painstaking resourcefulness, expensive research, time-consuming attention to detail, complex logistics and thoroughness. In spite of all that, some people will believe it and others will not. A Lie will produce identical results without all the fuss and bother.

Lies are simpler than Truth: Lies cost less than Truth in time, money, and effort.

IV. Value

The Truth can be found anywhere; it belongs to anybody who finds it,
absolutely free. Lies are custom-made, often by experts, and the best ones are highly polished works of art.

Lies are worth more money than Truth. Have you ever heard of anyone bribing a witness to tell The Truth?

V. Respectability

A. Great fortunes have been made by selling Lies to the public. The people who sell these Lies are often grateful to the gullible customers, so they endow libraries and universities and cultural centers.

B. Nobody ever made a fortune selling The Truth. First of all, as already stated, The Truth is free. The only people who will pay money for The Truth are people who are being blackmailed--and they are only buying The Truth so they can hide it before anybody else sees it.

Lies lead to libraries and universities, while The Truth leads to blackmail.

VI. Stability

A. Take a thousand parts Truth, add one part Lie. Result: a lie.

B. Take one thousandth part lie, add one part Truth. Result: again a Lie.

C. Note that you can make a Lie out of Truth, but you can’t make The Truth out of a Lie.

Lies are stronger and last longer than The Truth.

VII. Imagination

In reporting The Truth, a person must research the precise facts and stick to them exactly as they occurred. The liar can report the same incident without doing any research, merely saying whatever comes to mind and filling in details according to his fancy.

Lies are more creative than The Truth.

VIII. Recognizability

People are accustomed to hearing Lies all the time.

If you tell The Truth, people will think you are lying. If you convince
them you are telling The Truth, they will become suspicious. Why is he
suddenly telling The Truth? What is going on?

IX. Supply and Demand

A. In describing any given incident, only one version can possibly be The Truth, whereas the number of Lies possible is unlimited. Obviously, Lies are in far greater supply than The Truth.

B. There is a great demand for Lies, if they are flattering, if they build
up one’s hopes, if they help one escape reality or if they promise health
wealth, power or potency. Nobody is very anxious to hear The Truth. The only people who demand The Truth are those who are investigating something (lawyers, etc.)--and they only want The Truth to prove someone is lying.

Lies are the acceptable medium of exchange in our society. They are in good supply and the demand for them remains strong. The Truth is in extremely short supply, but even this tiny supply far exceeds the demand. Thus, in our society, Truth occupies a position identical to that of dinosaur shit.

Conclusions:

Lies are superior to Truth in numerous ways.
Lies are more ingenious;
Lies make the world seem more pleasant;
Lies are less embarrassing than Truth; and less frightening.
Furthermore, in such fields are diplomacy, statesmanship, merchandising, advertising, public relations and bookkeeping, The Truth is an out-and-out handicap.

In friendship, Truth is harmful; in love, it is disastrous.

My prediction is that The Truth will be phased out of our society, almost unnoticed, in less than a generation. It will become a curio like the two-dollar bill. Probably, there will be museums where samples of The Truth will be displayed for the benefit of curious children who want to know what it was like. One can only hope that the curators of these Truth Museums will have the good taste not to fake the exhibitions.

The Truth is that The Truth has become old-fashioned. It’s full of odd
shaped little nooks and crannies, like so many old fashioned things, some people find them fascinating, but most people find them a pain in the neck. For those who care, it is a wonderful feeling to hold The Truth in your possession, to keep it and cherish it, never misuse it, then pass it along freely to anyone who wants it, giving it to them undamaged, unpainted, unadded to and unsubtracted from and every bit as glowingly alive as ever. To find all those joys in the handling of The Truth is a labor of love, but most of us in today’s society have no time for such things.

Assorted Pieces

2010-09-02T17:17:00.002+08:00

“Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do, will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, will never...never forget it.” - Curtis Judalet

“How much of human life is lost in waiting.” - Emerson

John Connor: [choking on tear gas]
John Connor: Just leave me here. I'm not the one you want. You're wasting your time.
Terminator: Incorrect. John Connor leads the resistance to victory.
John Connor: How? Why? Why me?
Terminator: You are John Connor.
John Connor: Christ! My mom fed me that bullshit since the cradle! Look at me! I'm no leader! I never was! I'm never gonna...
John Connor: [is choked by Terminator]
John Connor: Let go!
Terminator: You're right. You're not the one I want. I'm wasting my time.
John Connor: Fuck you, you fucking machine!
Terminator: [releases John] Better.
John Connor: What, you were just dicking with me?
Terminator: Anger is more useful than despair.
John Connor: What?
Terminator: Basic psychology is among my sub-routines

(FF7) Godo Kisaragi: Strength without determination means nothing, and determination without strength is equally useless.

LOST:

Sayid: If we tell them what we know, we take away their hope... and hope is a very dangerous thing to lose.
Kate: So we lie.

"Jack, I wish you had believed me. JL" - Locke

D & J

2010-07-25T17:54:00.002+08:00

In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare. Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced. - Robert Sexton

2010-07-10T00:47:00.000+08:00

"People here can’t remember it, yet they can’t forget it. After all this time this whole world still longs for it, still mourns what they lost. It was such a remarkable, magnificent, glorious part of life that they ache to have it back, even though they don’t remember what it was.” - The Law of Nines, Terry Goodkind

"Democracy must be rooted in a rational philosophy that first and foremost recognizes the right of an individual. " - Terry Goodkind

2010-07-03T02:15:00.000+08:00

"if you're going to screw someone over, screw someone over to get to the top; don't screw someone over to just be mediocre..." - DeFranco

people are often skeptical of deeds which surpass their own nature - unknown

alias: revisited

2010-06-30T20:49:00.002+08:00

"no worries, my loyalties are flexible"

"the true sign of a volunteer"

"trust in the consistency of my obsessions"

"make her despise you; your kindness tortures her"

"i manipulate people... i'm good at that... and i know it.. i lie.. i keep secrets.. i divulge only what i must to elicit the reaction i need... that skill in part is why i am still alive... one of these secrets effects one of the only two people i care for... there are many secrets i enjoy keeping.. there is power in the secrets you keep.. but this one.. this one wears on me.. it has for many years.. it is central to my very existence.. it is who i am.. "

KOTOR: Knights of the Old Republic

2010-05-30T01:09:00.002+08:00

Yuthura Ban: [reciting the Code of the Sith] Peace is a lie; there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force will set me free.

2010-05-08T06:22:00.001+08:00

I do believe in killing the messenger... it sends a message... - Damon (Vampire Diaries)

Wise man always treats a stranger with respect, or he could be gazing on the face of an enemy. - Chuck

Redcliff

2010-04-12T11:37:00.000+08:00

truth and lies often disguise eachother
surrender is not a question of victory or defeat; but of virtue

2009-12-06T01:10:00.004+08:00

we can only afford to be nice when in the company of civilized men - mlr

when you open your mind to the impossible, you sometimes find the truth - adapted from fringe

firefly

2009-12-03T01:25:00.000+08:00

I'd heard of this show several times... always planned on getting down to watching it... now... 7 years after its initial screening i watched it... it was excellent!!! ok so i mainly decided to get down to watching it due to one Summer Glau... who also starred in terminator: the sarah connor chronicles... but i finished watching the short-lived series due to the beauty of it all.. i loved the country-western soundtrack... and the little snippets of wit thrown in every now and again... the cinematics weren't mind blowing.. but decent... excellent for its time.. they even chucked in some chinese swearing every here and there to avoid the censor board.... which i find amusing.. there were a number of memorable lines... but this is my fav, " a government is a body of people normally notably ungoverned"... it also explored a number of themes i found... appealing.. well i think i've said enough!! go out and watch it!

it was short-lived... but will long be remembered!! to firefly!

lawrance chow

2009-10-25T15:09:00.002+08:00

emotions transcend thought...

23/10/09

2009-09-28T02:46:00.005+08:00

"The passage of time, distorts and obscures our memories. To no great degree can we rely on their authenticity" - unknown

life is never fair; so never play by the rules - unknown

Watchmen

2009-09-21T23:45:00.002+08:00

Never Compromise, Not Even In The Face of Armageddon

men get arrested, dogs get put down

Miracles by their definition are meaningless, only what can happen does happen.

Johann Friedrich Von Schiller

2009-09-16T03:29:00.001+08:00

Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.

It is criminal to steal a purse, daring to steal a fortune, a mark of greatness to steal a crown. The blame diminishes as the guilt increases.

2009-09-14T21:16:00.001+08:00

“Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age / The child is grown, and puts away childish things. / Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies. / Nobody that matters, that is.”

When the facts are against you, argue the law;

When the law is against you, argue the facts.

Personal affection is a luxury you can have only after all your enemies are eliminated. Until then, everyone you love is a hostage, sapping your courage and corrupting your judgment. - Orson Scott Card

2009-09-10T12:36:00.000+08:00

the core of human motivation: the desire for just a small amount of happiness - code geass

to take a life you have to be prepared to lose your own - code geass

if you try to save everyone you end up killing everyone - angel

2009-09-02T05:27:00.001+08:00

the greatest liars always appear incompetent

2009-06-26T00:48:00.000+08:00

every revolution needs its martyr - unknown

2009-06-17T10:20:00.002+08:00

I didnt seduce you, hope seduced you - 6, Battlestar Galactica

Reaper S2:

The french invented love so they could put a civilized face on a primal urge

Narcaccism one of my favourie virtues

Moment of weakness, there is no such thing. Human lives are defined by weakness

2009-05-21T18:23:00.000+08:00

Me, I'm dishonest, and you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to watch out for...' (Pirates of the Caribbean)

2009-05-17T19:42:00.009+08:00

the word fate is used by people who have lost sight of who they are - CK, Smallville, Season 8

The soundest argument will produce no more conviction in an empty head than the most superficial declamation, as a feather and a guinea fall with equal velocity in a vacuum. - Charles Caleb Colton

losing has its benefits; losing always enforces change - Dan, OTH, S6

sometimes the beauty is in the attempt - OTH, S6

"die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt" which roughly translates to "hope dies last".

blood is purified through blood - burkert

the difference between intelligence and wisdom is humility -lawrance chow (supposedly)

i like competent people. they're predictable - unknown

For the service of humanity - on the side of all ambulance service vehicles

absence of evidence is not evidence of absence - Carl Sagan

Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. - Barrack Obama

2009-04-27T04:55:00.000+08:00

"Even in their folly, they bask in the light of their past glory" - Xingyi

"In defeat the truth raged at me. I was alone... while gods should have disciples." - Adam (Graphic Novel: Revolutionary War, Part 2)

2009-04-20T19:24:00.001+08:00

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum - only the best is good enough

good damages

even in ur generosity, you are selfish - nathan petrelli, heroes

"we all come into this world with 'fragile stickers'.. and every one of us, the damn postman drops on the floor"

Temptation has a new name

2009-04-14T20:08:00.003+08:00

Opportunity knocks but only once, but temptation knocks on your door for years - Unknown

It is probable that the people who aspire for perfection never felt much temptation to be human beings - altered version of a George Orwell quote

I generally avoid temptation unless I can resist it - Mae West

There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice -Mark Twain

2009-03-22T22:51:00.000+08:00

It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." -Abraham Lincoln.

People often underestimate the value of the common. - MLR

2009-02-22T00:20:00.001+08:00

I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams. - Spiderman 2

2009-01-08T15:10:00.005+08:00

Defining what constitutes normal is easy. But it is arrogant. - M.L.R

I can always refund your misery - Guru Pitka, The Love Guru

It has the added benefit of being true- Sebastian Shark, Shark

Hope springs eternal from the human breast - Alexandar Pope

"Frustrated yet smiling" - Nick, Salaam Namaste

"People's reactions to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic; they either love it or they hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don't, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul" - Edward Lewis, Pretty Woman

"It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution" - Albus Dumbledore, Tales of the Beedle Bard

"Punish the sin, but love the sinner" - Desperate housewives

"One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it" - Oogway, Kung Fu Panda

"I'm essentially a selfish creature. Doing as I should is not high on my priorities" - Unknown

His beauty pierced me through with sadness - Bella, Twilight

To conquer the bondaries of a destiny unwanted - Edward, Twilight

Why is it I don't lose faith; Why is it I don't lose hope; why is it despite everything, I believe? - Unknown

2009-01-08T15:08:00.000+08:00

Just something interesting I decided to steal: "Loki was a trickster, but a deeper understanding reveals his true role was to remind others of what they did not want to remember. His murder of Baldur was a clear and damning accusation that the gods were not immortal and had no right to play games and act indestructable. Baldur himself was a god of light."

The Confessor

2008-12-22T20:58:00.002+08:00

Continuing from an older post of mine on the wizards rules put forward by Terry Goodkind, I present the 11th rule. I skipped the 10th rule because I didn't feel that it really warranted mentioning.

The 11th rule: "The rule of all rules. The rule unwritten." The meaning of which was best explained by Michael Barnathan - Truth is sought internally. Truth handed down is insufficient; truth reasoned out is not. You must come to your own conclusions.

Exercise 3

2008-12-19T17:50:00.002+08:00

Yesterday I thought of a new exercise offered in Michaels School for the Gifted (click me). True multitasking. We have the hardware, but we lack the adequate training.

School feed us information and frameworks of thought. But they do not provide adequate methods of expanding our information processing skills.

When faced with an issues, the vast majority of people analyze it from various vantages. However, each vantage is analyzed seperately and sequentially before later on being brought together to form a decision.

This is very similar to the method computers used to in ages past: shifting the majority of focus from one application to the next. The application in the foreground would be given a 90% focus, while applications in the background share 10%. This is a facade of multitasking. True multitasking is the ability to have 100% focus on each seperate unit processed i.e. 100% processing functionality for the foreground, and 100% for each application in the background.

My idea is in training people to be able to do the same. Training should include:

1) Physical training while trying to do increasingly difficult mental tasks: mathematical and logical

2) Increasingly difficult physical training while trying to do increasingly difficult mental tasks: mathematical and logical

3) Reciting a memorized phrase (60 words or so) while solving simple mathematical problems. Leading up to logical problems.

4) Reciting a memorized phrase (60 words or so) while reading another phrase. Leading up to finally memorizing the new phrase.

Legend of the Seeker

2008-12-18T14:29:00.003+08:00

Some years ago, my mother bought a book for me of a relatively unknown author. Out of boredom, I opened the book and started to read. The author soon became my favourite due to his writing style, character development, the rich universe he created, the philosophical elements thrown in. But above all else, I liked the absolutist ideal of Kahlan Amnell & Richard Rahl.

So when I heard that the books were now going to be transformed into a series, I had many reservations. Finding suitable actors for the lead would prove difficult. No actors in the hollywood sphere would be able to fulfill those roles. I caught a 'sneak peeks' of the series at the authors website and was utterly dissapointed with the casting choices. Richard Rahl was supposed to be a powerful man... while this guy was not exactly puny, he was simply average. Kahlan Amnell was not a bad choice except her hair was all wrong. Zed was too large a man for his role. Zed here looked more like the character Nathan. Chase was too short.

Despite all of that, I decided I'd watch the first episode @ surfthechannel.com

While it was really hard at first to get used to the casting choices, plot changes and character inconsistencies, it was simply so nice to see some elements of the story play out. I am not sure how long this series is going to last, but while it does, I shall enjoy it.

2008-12-14T23:36:00.004+08:00

"It's like seeing someone for the first time, and you look at each other for a few seconds, and there's this kind of recognition like you both know something. Next moment the person's gone, and it's too late to do anything about it. And you always remember it because it was there and you let it go. And you think to yourself, what if I stopped? What if I said something? What if?" - Jack Foley, Out of Sight

"The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can't do" - Jack sparrow, Pirates of the Carribean I

“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough” - Frank Crane

"We have to distrust eachother. It is our only defense against betrayal." - Tennessee Williams

“To live for results would be to sentence myself to continuous frustration. My only sure reward is in my actions and not from them.” - Hugh Prather.

"all that glitters is not gold"

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." – George Bernard Shaw

2008-12-14T04:53:00.000+08:00

"Mind over mind"

"Know thy enemy and know thyself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know thyself but not thy enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not thyself, wallow in defeat every time." - Sun-Tzu

Twilight (2008)

2008-12-10T19:01:00.001+08:00

"When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end."

Edward Cullen: And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.

Isabella Swan: What a stupid lamb.

Edward Cullen: What a sick, masochistic lion.

2008-12-06T23:42:00.001+08:00

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love.” - Neil Gaiman

Sourced from one Janani Alvapillai

2008-12-04T22:22:00.001+08:00

"There are shop boys, and there are boys that just happened to work in a shop for the time being." - Stardust

Chuck & Blair

2008-11-26T18:30:00.004+08:00

B: You here to gloat?
C: Over what?
B: Well you won...
C: I didn’t win
B: Then why does it feel like I lost?
C: The reason why we can’t say those three words to each other isn't because they aren’t true
B: Then why?
C: I think we both know that the moment we do, it won’t be the start of something … it’ll be the end. Think about it. Chuck and Blair, going to the movies. Chuck and Blair, holding hands…
B: We don’t have to do those things. We can do the things that we like
C: What we like, is this
B: The game?
C: Without it, I’m not sure how long we’d last. It’d just be a matter of time before we messed it all up. I’d rather wait. Maybe in the future

B: I suppose there could be some excruciating pleasure in that

2008-11-26T13:49:00.003+08:00

A restlessness.... I've had this feeling of restlessness for ages now... I would love to say I don't know why... the thing is, I do... but can't do anything about it for the moment...

I watched a movie the other day... and it summed up exactly how I felt...

"..i was feeling a strange kind of fear... a restlessness... as if something wrong was happening..."

2008-11-23T19:39:00.000+08:00

“The silence of a friend commonly amounts to treachery.” - William Hazlitt

2008-11-18T18:02:00.001+08:00

"it is the acts of hidden kindness that bares testimony to a persons true character"

"food has lost its taste, sleep its comfort"

2008-11-17T23:56:00.002+08:00

...i realized something today... i thought i'd progressed a lot farther than i actually have... looking back at 2007, i realize I've made the same stupid mistake again... disappointment mounts... the difference this time is that i noticed my propensity to falter... never again...

2008-11-16T23:45:00.000+08:00

When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

What do you call a dog with no legs?
Don't matter what you call him, he ain't gonna come.

___

You are all I long for, All I worship and adore

Even if it kills me, i'm gonna smile

There is no shame in being poor; but there is no great honor in it either

I can resist anything but temptation

If you do it you’ll regret it, if you don’t do it you’ll regret it, either way your going to regret it, you might as well just do it

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." -Bilbo Baggins

"Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet" - Roger Miller

"All who wander are not lost." -JRR Tolkien

aimed with angry art
words can sting like anything,
but silence breaks the heart... -Phyllis mcgenlee

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. -- George Bernard Shaw

2008-11-10T02:20:00.001+08:00

"That's the truest sign of insanity - insane people are always sure they're just fine. It's only the sane people who are willing to admit they're crazy."

Nora Ephron, Heartburn, 1983

2008-11-05T15:37:00.002+08:00

by virtue of determination; victory is mine

Eram quod es; eris quod sum (what you are, I was; what I am, you will become)

2008-11-04T14:41:00.003+08:00

Often one's propensity to care is matched by one's propensity to hate; so be wary of those who care too much or hate too little

2008-10-29T14:20:00.005+08:00

Interestingly, I've found that my blog now acts only as a quote storage medium... true, most of the quotes selected and posted as I identify with its meaning... but many times I've visited blogger.com wanting to write something which cannot be described by quotes alone... but I hesitate... not due to a lack of communication skills... but due to a fear of what I may write... and who may read it & what they may think... historically I prefer the cryptic...

nothing ventured, nothing gained...

lets try something different today...

I have very high expectation for myself and others... which is why I get highly disappointed in myself and in others when we fall short of expectations... I know, rationally, its silly to expect such standards from such flawed creatures... which is why I almost never express my disappointment... I wear a merry mask of contentment at most times.. on occasion I even fool myself ... but sometimes, the facade slips... to those who have caught sight, I apologize... I'm better now though... I'm more tolerant towards transgressions committed by myself & others... but I still take it hard... my consolation is that from every mistake I commit, I learn... and I get one step closer to being the person I want to be... but what of others? am I doomed to live a lie? I don't think so... I have seen small pieces of perfection, and this.. gives me hope...

David Foster Wallace

2008-10-22T02:48:00.000+08:00

"the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about"

"The freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms"

"Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful, it's that they're unconscious. They are default settings."

2008-10-21T03:23:00.002+08:00

I used to restrain my first impulse; hiding away my true self and instead assuming an empty facade of politeness & political correctness. Then I learnt nothing and no one on this plane who fails to accept me for who I am is worth me living a life of lie.

"Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable." - Joyce Brothers

"We cherish our friends not for their ability to amuse us, but for ours to amuse them." - Evelyn Waugh

“Sometimes, I feel I am really blessed to be blind because I probably would not last a minute if I were able to see things.” - Stevie Wonder

ROMEO
Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.
JULIET
Then have my lips the sin that they have took.
ROMEO
Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again.

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!" - Randy Pausch from The Last Lecture

2008-10-18T23:52:00.002+08:00

A friends fav quotes:

Youth ages, immaturity is outgrown, ignorance can be educated and drunkenness sobered, but stupid lasts forever.

Care more than others think wise, risk more than others think safe, dream more than others think practical, expect more than others think possible.

Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

2008-10-13T01:17:00.000+08:00

Chuck Bass: My father is someone who goes after what he wants and Lily van der Wooden was no exception. A typical Bass man fashion, his pursuit was direct and at times, not exactly subtle. One thing I've learned through my father's courtship of Lily is the importance of perseverance, that in the face of true love you don't just give up - even if the object of your affection is begging you to. And one thing I've learned from Lily, is the importance of forgiveness. She gave my father the gift of a second chance and in kind I've watched them become someone actually worthy of that gift. And one day I hope I'll be lucky enough to find someone who'll do the same for me. To the happy couple!

2008-10-05T20:48:00.003+08:00

"Yes. He said it, 'I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until I became that person. Or he became me.' In the end, a man turns into what he thinks he is, however large or small. It is the reason why certain people are prone to colds and catastrophe. And why others can dance on water." - Cary Grant & Archibald Leach

With mystery comes power... - unknown

i miss the girl i was hoping she was - tru calling

The difference between the possible and the impossible, lies in determination - unknown

'a perfect lie' by the engine room:
"Make me beautiful....
Make me........
Perfect soul
Perfect mind
Perfect face
A perfect life"

Uncle Teddy: What you do defines who you are.
Max: "No...." "...Who you are defines what you do." - Across the Universe

2008-10-03T03:52:00.002+08:00

Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none - Benjamin Franklin

Content makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor. - Benjamin Franklin

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

If - Rudyard Kipling

2008-08-18T01:29:00.001+08:00

Romeo: I must indeed; and therefore came I hither.
Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man;
Fly hence, and leave me: think upon these gone;
Let them affright thee. I beseech thee, youth,
Put not another sin upon my head,
By urging me to fury: O, be gone!
By heaven, I love thee better than myself;
For I come hither arm'd against myself:
Stay not, be gone; live, and hereafter say,
A madman's mercy bade thee run away.

Romeo & Juliet. Act V. Scene III.

2008-08-12T01:48:00.000+08:00

“A man is least himself when he talks
in his own person; when given a mask
he will tell the truth.”
--Oscar Wilde

The Dark Knight

2008-08-05T03:17:00.000+08:00

The movie with the best dialogue in 2008!!

Sometimes, truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.

If you're good at something, never do it for free.

Some men aren’t looking for anything logical. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn

You see, nobody panics when things go according to plan. Even if the plan is horrifying. If I told people that a gangbanger was going to get shot, or a busload of soldiers was going to get blown up, nobody would panic. Because it's all part of the plan. But tell people that one tiny little mayor is going to die and everyone loses their minds!

You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

The night is darkest just before the dawn.

2008-07-24T02:30:00.000+08:00

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2008-07-13T21:34:00.007+08:00

So I watched 'Journey to the center of the earth' today, and I was reminded of a common physics question. Like if you were to let a stone fall; the seconds between when released and when the sound of the stone hitting the ground is heard indicates the distance to the ground.

Method:

For e.g.

It falls----------->It hits------------------->Its heard
0-------------->X seconds-------------->23seconds later

Sound travels at 343m/s

d = 0.5gt²

Assuming X is 16:

= 9.8 * 16² * 0.5
= 1254.4m

Time it takes to be heard, 1254.4/343 i.e. the time between x and the time it was heard.
=3.65seconds

3.65 + 16seconds = 19.65 seconds. Thus X must be >16

The table below indicates the second-distance (for up to 20seconds) with relative accuracy.

The Calculator below works in excel 2007. Just type in the seconds in the colored box and press enter. http://www.wikiupload.com/comment.php?id=46047

p.s. you need to activate continous via going to excel options>formulas> and tick allow iterations

AFTER AUGHRIM

2008-07-12T02:34:00.003+08:00

She said, “They gave me of their best,
They lived, they gave their lives for me;
I tossed them to the howling waste,
And flung them to the foaming sea.”
She said, “I never gave them aught,
Not mine the power, if mine the will;
I let them starve, I let them bleed,—
They bled and starved, and loved me still.”
She said, “Ten times they fought for me,
Ten times they strove with might and main,

Ten times I saw them beaten down,
Ten times they rose, and fought again.”
She said, “I stayed alone at home,
A dreary woman, grey and cold;
I never asked them how they fared,
Yet still they loved me as of old.”
She said, “I never called them sons,
I almost ceased to breathe their name,
Then caught it echoing down the wind,
Blown backwards from the lips of Fame.”
She said, “Not mine, not mine that fame;
Far over sea, far over land,
Cast forth like rubbish from my shores,
They won it yonder, sword in hand.”

She said, “God knows they owe me nought,
I tossed them to the foaming sea,
I tossed them to the howling waste,
Yet still their love comes home to me.” - Emily Lawless

21

2008-06-29T17:10:00.006+08:00

I watched '21' yesterday and I found one questioned posed quite interesting. The Monty Hall problem:

"Suppose you're on a game show and you're given the choice of three doors. Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. The car and the goats were placed randomly behind the doors before the show. The rules of the game show are as follows: After you have chosen a door, the door remains closed for the time being. The game show host, Monty Hall, who knows what is behind the doors, now has to open one of the two remaining doors, and the door he opens must have a goat behind it. If both remaining doors have goats behind them, he chooses one randomly. After Monty Hall opens a door with a goat, he will ask you to decide whether you want to stay with your first choice or to switch to the last remaining door. Imagine that you chose Door 1 and the host opens Door 3, which has a goat. He then asks you "Do you want to switch to Door Number 2?" Is it to your advantage to change your choice?"

Without giving much thought, one would simply answer that there is no probability difference in switching or remaining. People would ordinarily choose to stay with the same door as they assume that the host is trying to influence their decision. They would be wrong.

As the matrix above shows, in 2/3 of the possible scenarios, switching leads to the car. Hence in the situation described, it is always more beneficial to switch - probability wise anyway. Which door is chosen first is inconsequential.

E

2008-06-29T02:36:00.004+08:00

So I have a question for you today.

You're driving down a road at 100km/hour. You're breaks are gone, you can't stop. In the distance you note that there are 3 lanes.

Lane A - A child sits in the middle
Lane B - An old man lays sprawled on the floor (he fell)
Lane C - A cripple stands motionless

You cannot stop the car. And you are going to have to kill one of them. Which of them do you choose to kill?

Do not scroll down until answered.
___________________________________________________________________

I hypothesize that no one ever kills the kid. People either choose to kill the old man or the cripple. The determinant is which fear is greater: the fear of getting old or the fear of being helpless. While the question frames the reader as the driver, the reader often projects him/herself as one of the three characters; the character we fear the most. The reader then chooses to kill that character off; kill off the representation of helplessness / age.

People who choose to kill the cripple are often unaware of their driving fear and rationalize it using simpler terms of productivity i.e. the old man could probably contribute more to society.

People who choose to kill the old person are fueled by the fear of getting older. This fear stems not so much from the simple progression of years, but from the loss of youth and that which is associated with it.

The child holds the master status of innocence. Accordingly, none would (ordinarily) chose to kill the kid.

2008-06-02T02:39:00.001+08:00

Recently watched Independence Day again, I simply loved the presidents speech in the end. If only they don't write em like hollywood in real life!

"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind.

Mankind -- that word should have new meaning for all of us today.

We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore.

We will be united in our common interests.

Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution -- but from annihilation.

We're fighting for our right to live, to exist.

And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice:

We will not go quietly into the night!

We will not vanish without a fight!

We're going to live on!

We're going to survive!

Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"

2008-05-21T01:20:00.002+08:00

We are at our best; most humane & divine, when we are in loving relationships - Priest from St. Thomas Moore Church, Perth

2008-05-08T05:23:00.002+08:00

"Dream Like You'll Live Forever, Live Like You'll Die Today" - James Dean

"One death... a tragedy; a million deaths... a statistic" - Joseph Stalin

"It's not denial. I'm just very selective about the reality I accept. " - Unknown

"I DIDNT say it was YOUR fault, I said I was going to BLAME you...." - Unknown

2008-05-05T05:04:00.002+08:00

When I was a boy at St. Alban's Secondary School, the school took us on this cultural trip to observe art at one of the...One of those big famous London museums.

Anyway, when I was there, I came across this statue of a Greek goddess in marble.

Aphrodi... Aphrodite, something like that.

Beautiful, she was.

Perfect female form.

Chiselled features.

Exquisite.

I stood in awe of her.

Finally, the teacher calls us all over, and I'm walking past it, and on the way I notice, in the side of this Greek goddess, all these cracks, chips, imperfections.

Ruined her for me.

- Taken from Alfie

Anzac Day

2008-04-29T05:12:00.004+08:00

Anzac day.. this acronym stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps... I've always had a soft spot for war veterans.. men who gave their lives to defend their way of live... the nobility of putting the interest of the masses above your own life... the camaraderie exhibited...

Never heard of the word Anzac Day before i came to Murdoch... didn't know what it was actually about either till Anzac day itself... while some chose to venture onto the streets to watch the parades, i stayed home and flipped through the channels... watching Anzac Day ceremonies in 5 different locations...

The best ceremony was in Gallipoli... Kudos to the speech writers... I liked how the speech started off with the epitaph for the unknown soldier... as common as it may be.. it was quite fitting

"To save your world you asked this man to die; Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?" W.H. Auden

It wrapped up with some turkish guy giving a speech in well.. turkish... but it was translated... an interesting speech as well

After the speech, i decidedly to, morbidly, look up other tombstone wordings... here are 2 of my favourite:

The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it - Karl Marx

Against you I will fling myself,
Unvanquished and Unyielding, O Death! - Virginia Woolf

Formatia trans sicere educatorum

2008-04-06T12:41:00.002+08:00

Angelus: Passion.
Angelus: It lies in all of us
Angelus: Sleeping...
Angelus: ...waiting... And though unwanted...
Angelus: ...unbidden... it will stir...

Angelus: It speaks to us... guides us... Passion rules us all.

Angelus: Passion is the source of our finest moments. The
joy of love... the clarity of hatred... and the ecstasy of grief.

Angelus: It hurts sometimes more than we can bear.
Angelus: If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know
some kind of peace. But we would be hollow.
Angelus: Empty rooms, shuttered and dank...
Angelus: Without passion, we'd be truly dead.

- Taken from 'Passion' Buffy the vampire slayer

2008-03-21T19:48:00.001+08:00

The easiest way to lose something is to want it too badly - [scrubs]

Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. - William Penn

Down under

2008-03-04T14:59:00.009+08:00

My first post from down under... Its been quite some time since my last post... let me just summarize everything as briefly as possible...

I got here on the 6th on Feb, settled in real quick. Everything so far has met my expectations. Tons of friendly people about. The beaches here are awesome. The bacon! The Carltons! The milk products! Oh and the friendly neighborhood quenders (i think thats how its spelt)... under CLV's management, campus looks to be on the up... today a communal lounge is scheduled to open... and soon there is going to be a pool... I'm hoping its soon enough for me to enjoy the pool...

I'm staying with 4 other people. 1 german guy, 1 aussie guy, 1 singaporean girl and 1 american girl. We get a long pretty well; we're all pretty much laid back, lazy and messy. The only sucky thing about campus life is fortnightly flat inspections. We have to clean the place up or get fined. We passed the first inspection though; everyone cleaned up the place in 30mins. 30mins after the flat inspection, it was dirty again. The hassle, the hassle.

Class' seem to be moving faster than usual; projects which are normally due in week 5 are suddenly due in week 3. Size wise, its approx 200-250ppl per class which means i don't know anyone in my class properly. No complains however, I'm too lazy to mix with randoms in class anyway. Random neighbors however is a dif story, since I'll be seeing them for some time. I'm in acacia courtyard... a lot of nice ppl live here... for e.g. me. Didn't expect many Canadians or Europeans to live here, but there seems to be quite a healthy community of em. Tons of Singaporeans too. However the largest nationality group would go to the Americans & the Malaysians.

And that is all for now, my next post will contain less meaningless info. I'll leave you guys with some random pics.

Donald Trump

2008-02-04T01:40:00.000+08:00

Not really a fan of the apprentice, however the man has some nice quotes...

“Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.”

“Sometimes your best investments are the ones you don't make.”

“Anyone who thinks my story is anywhere near over is sadly mistaken.”

and if I heard it correctly, "I love seeing people lose because thats when you find out what kind of people they are."

2008-01-07T17:48:00.000+08:00

Mercy is a contingency plan devised by the guilty in the eventuality that they are caught - Terry Goodkind, Confessor

another 1st

2008-01-01T05:37:00.000+08:00

Not only is today the 1st day of 2008, but its also the first time I've written my own little program. I'm rather proud of it lol... its quite useless to 99% of the world. But to ppl on FightClub, it could prove pretty useful.

Download it from: HERE

There is a password for it, leave a message here and I'll send you the password =)

2007-12-26T19:29:00.000+08:00

If you want to make enemies, try to change something.
Woodrow Wilson

A classic is a book which people praise and don't read.
Mark Twain

One who never gives up, never fails - Unknown

Love & Duty

2007-12-18T20:55:00.000+08:00

I am not one to normally post on anything catholic or religiousie, but the following I found to be... well, a really good sermon....

http://homiliesofajesuit.blogspot.com/2007/12/triduum-part-2-1st-sunday-of-advent.html

2007-12-11T18:28:00.000+08:00

I'm not going to confront anybody; I was raised right. I talk about people behind their backs. Its called manners - Kathy Griffin

2007-12-03T03:16:00.002+08:00

When faced with intenable alternatives, you should consider your imperative - Adapted from Battlestar Galactica

The heart has reasons that reason does not understand - Jacques Benigne Bossuel

2007-12-01T03:29:00.000+08:00

The following article is an Editorial by Liam Belcher, his views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Birmingham Salvo or any of it's parent companies.

There comes a time in our lives when we all have to grow out of something. I’m sure everyone will remember a period where they were told by their parents or peers to “grow up”. It’s common place throughout life to be told such things, whether it be your girlfriend saying that cartoons are for 5 year olds or your mum and dad trying to get you to stop playing with pokémon cards. The thing that fascinates me is that it’s society that decides such things. Can you think of a time where someone has said “hey, I think you should really stop doing that. After all it’s so childish” and you thought to yourself “no, it’s not childish, and even if society thinks such a thing i’m not going to change my ways cos damn it I LOVE WATCHING BARNEY!”.

So maybe it’s not as extreme as Barney but what do we catagorise as being childish these days? To me, it’s all to do with the people you hang out with. For example; say you’re sitting there with your girlfriend and you suddenly get the urge to play FIFA or "BOOM HEADSHOT" some people on CS, it would probably be a better idea to control your urge and instead opt for wanting to spend time with your girl thus you would not run the risk of losing her for constantly mimicking FPS Doug. Let’s be honest, she may love you to pieces but I’m quite sure she’s not really attracted to seeing you getting excited because you clutched a round. This is in no way a sexist remark as I am fully aware of the female gaming communities that are rather large, it’s just generally speaking girls don’t find guys playing games to be too attractive. If your girlfriend is the exception to the rule, then you’re either the luckiest man alive or “she” is in fact a he. When I look at the CGS teams I ask myself “Why aren’t there more girls in the squad?” and to be honest I think it’s because generally women aren’t as into games professionally as boys. Remember, I didn’t say they’re not into games PERIOD, rather there’s a much smaller margin of females who are trying to compete at the highest level.

In todays society it’s seen as a sign of great laziness to our previous generations to be playing computer games but with professional gaming taking off at a rate of knots over the last 5-6 years it’s something that our folks are still blissfully unaware of. I’m not exactly going to go on campaign across the UK by going to schools and starting a programme called “Gaming Awareness: Important to your child, and important to you!” (although now that I think about it...) but I will state that a lot of parents these days really don’t know how big gaming has become and how big it could be to the people who apply themselves to it correctly. If there’s one thing that bugs me more than anything it’s gamers being told that “gaming is for kids”. Oh really? Then how come these so-called “kids” are able to turn up to an event with a team or by themselves, play games and potentially walk away with thousands in prize money? Ah yes that’s why, because it’s just like any other discipline in life; it takes time to get good at and is never without it’s risks. You don’t exactly see people walking up to a professional dancer and going “hey there, don’t you think it’s a little bit silly to get paid to flail your arms and legs around like that?”. It’s just another example of how much society still has to learn when coming to grips with how different things are these days. On the other hand I will be the first person to put my hand up to my own ignorance. If you said the following words in a sentence; trance, tracksuits and bling, then I would most likely come up with some sort of stereotype and it’s not really fair. Just as it wouldn’t be fair to lump gamers into a category of “childs play”. I personally believe that it’s going to take another 10 years or so for society to adapt to gaming as something more than just a hobby or a thing that kids do to annoy their parents.

Honestly ask yourself this question; are you going to let someone tell you that gaming is not for you because you’re not young enough anymore? My answer to such a thing is that you’re never too old for anything, whether it be finding your inner child and playing on those swings again or telling someone that you’d rather pick up a controller than “get a life and grow up”. It takes a lot to tell yourself that gaming is something big now and something you’re proud to be involved in but take away the age limit in your mind and you can do whatever your heart desires. Live forever young and grow old happy because you’re never too old for gaming...

2007-11-28T03:42:00.000+08:00

If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?
William Shakespeare

There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.
Samuel Johnson

Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.
Samuel Johnson

What I do, I do not because your actions have endeared you to me, nor because your actions have enraged me. What I do, I do because I hold to the concept of retribution. I act because you have earned it thus, and not for any petty emotions.
MLRO

2007-11-24T02:34:00.000+08:00

Our desire to care, nurture or love only enhances our propensity to harm.

So what does that mean? We shouldn't care?

In some cases, yes.

2007-11-24T02:32:00.000+08:00

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,	5
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,	10
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
	John Donne

2007-11-12T23:51:00.000+08:00

Coincidence. That's an explanation used by fools and liars - Lionel Luthor

Vista Projector Problems - insprion640m

2007-11-08T14:41:00.000+08:00

Vista has multiple issues with projectors, for some it cant display anything at all, in others it displays distorted colors.

I searched online to find a fix-it, but was unable to find anything useful. Many suggested updating video drivers etc.. which that really does nothing for this problem. So i decided to try and fix it myself. The following details how to fix minor distortions..

Alot of Dell's vista models have a tendency of reseting the resolution after hibernating/sleeping which screws up icon arrangement. Not a major problem, however it is related to the reason why projectors get screwed up with vista.

When a projector or secondary monitor is plugged in with a dell notebook, it resets resolution and color quality. The easy solution is just to right click>graphic properties>display settings> and adjust the color quality & resolution. For projectors: 32bits for color & a resolution of 1024x768 seems to look the best. Assuming you don't replug ur secondary display devices too often, this shouldn't proove too taxing.

FreeRice

2007-11-03T10:33:00.000+08:00

The irony of me the anti-rice person advocating the spread of this vile muck... why couldn't it be FreeBread or something.... oh well, anyhow the WFP - World Food Program, has the little game called FreeRice... and basically for every little question you answer correctly they donate 10grains of rice to some unfortunate nation... its legit...

http://www.wfp.org/how_to_help/Ways_to_Donate/freerice.asp?section=4&sub_section=5
Read the above link if you think its a scam to waste ur time and energy...

http://www.freerice.com/
Or, click the above link if you trust me enough and wanna start playing immediately...

madness in her eyes

2007-10-23T21:56:00.000+08:00

It's odd how we fail to realize the way small things affect us until much later... about 3 years ago I read lord of the flies... partially because the title intrigued me, partially because my lecturer suggested it, partially because the theme's made it so different from what I usually read 3 years back...

Today I was in the bathroom... a place I oddly get a lot of thinking done... and I realized that I have a view similar to Golding’s. Oddly, I view man as by default a dark force of partial madness which all the laws, rules, regulations, guidelines, norms, moreys and folkways act only to restrain but fail to quell. Stripped down, we are worst than any animal... a little more cunning, a little more devious...Golding viewed humans at essence as creatures of survival, instinct and savagery.. removed from society, we would do anything to survive... my view is that stripped down, man is inherently evil... we do not kill for survival, we kill to feed the little darkness within... all of us have a 'spark' of darkness... all of us admittedly or otherwise are fascinated by it... look into the eyes of those around you, look long, look hard... and witness madness..

2007-10-20T02:29:00.000+08:00

In every dark corner there lies a dark deed. Sometimes, there's even two. - Unknown

Reason, honour and empire - Lucifer in Paradise Lost

2007-10-20T01:58:00.000+08:00

A pair of powerful spectacles has sometimes sufficed to cure a person in love.

All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.

And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

Arrogance on the part of the meritorious is even more offensive to us than the arrogance of those without merit: for merit itself is offensive.

He that humbleth himself wishes to be exalted.

Idleness is the parent of psychology.

In heaven, all the interesting people are missing.

Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood.

Stupid as a man, say the women: cowardly as a woman, say the men. Stupidity in a woman is unwomanly.

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.

Friedrich Nietzsche

2007-10-16T18:28:00.000+08:00

it is the small acts of random kindness which bares testimony to the character of a person

2007-10-06T23:15:00.001+08:00

Quite an interesting episode of Smallville today... The end of episode 3.20: Talisman...

Lex: This Naman guy is supposed to come from the stars, have the power of ten men, and shoot fire from his eyes, right?

Clark: (Standing up.) It's just an allegory, Lex.

Lex: (Without turning around.) I know. But if one person could do all that, he would be a formidable enemy. He could conquer the world. (He turns and faces Clark.) He could become a tyrant if nobody kept him in check.

(Clark doesn't answer. He is listening intently.)

Lex: So I've been thinking. Anybody who'd be willing to fight him would have to be pretty brave. (Walking toward Clark.) Clark, did it ever occur to you that maybe the hero of the story... is Segeeth?

(Fade to black.)

(http://www.twiztv.com/cgi-bin/smallville.cgi?episode=http://dmca.free.fr/scripts/smallville/season3/smallville-320.htm)

2007-10-04T19:06:00.000+08:00

Random thought... Siti Nurhaliza would be hot if she had shoulder length hair

"If I cannot lead by example; I will lead by my mistakes"

"Victory is never attained in a fair fight"

"The more you read and learn, the less your adversary will know" - Sun Tzu

To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape - Sun Tzu