O.... so pReTTy...

halo 3 helmet @ Harvard

MIT Hackers Prank Harvard Statue With Master Chief Helmet, Assault Rifle

MIT's known for pranks, or hacks, against rival school Harvard (and sometimes even on their own campus). Their latest hack today enhances the John P. Harvard statue with a battle-ready Master Chief Spartan helmet and assault rifle (with a bullet count of 2E) in honor of Halo day. Other notable, and perhaps more difficult, hacks include assembling a painted MIT Campus Police car on top of their great dome, assembling a MIT Fire Department truck on their great dome, and a gigantic Triforce on top of the great dome. If they somehow got the Harvard Master Chief statue on top of their great dome, we'd declare this the best hack ever.

engineer terrorist

What was your opinion on her arrest in Boston yesterday? I know my personal friends are split in opinions. I also see how it can go both ways..

In response to the horrible misunderstanding yesterday in Boston's Logan airport, this T-shirt shop actually made a very sensible product: (Front and BAck T-shirt images below)




Actually, if you really think about it, I'd have to say that your average terrorist probably is smarter than your avg street dweller, given that they know more about hardware and operations (statistically speaking), not to mention courage and conviction, passion for ideals in life...

Bible - Romans verse

I have always really enjoyed learning from the book of Romans, it's very philosophical and compact with principles.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

Beta Niagara evaluator comment

Excerpts from Chuck Sears (Oregon State University), a beta evaluator:

This product Rocks...I think the key is being able for application developers to
understand what the strengths and weakness of all the various processors
on the market is, then make an intelligent decision on how best to maximize
your return. With Niagara family I really think this is an up hill education
battle because the tradition flops metric really is not a good one.
In our preliminary work so far it is easy to see and justify the amount of work
that this puppy can deliver. The flops are a big win added bonus but the real
key for our class of apps is to see the total amount of sustainable work this
processor can deliver.

If you understand this architecture, start working with the
development tools and you have the luxury of starting over or slowing tweaking
existing codes you have an enormous opportunity to rethink your problem space .
This processor allows you to do things differently since it can sustain so much
throughput.

Tell the team for us that this is a barn burner....

Hard Conversations

A while ago my car got broken into, TWICE within the same week. The M.O. being similar (crack passenger side window) and both times occurred when I parked my car out front on a Sunday night.

The first time, I just blamed myself for being careless with leaving the GPS attachment visible on the window (and leaving the GPS unit in the glove compartment), resulting in it got stolen, along with all the attachment accessories. The thief also took quite a few merchandises out of my car since I just came back from a trip to the shopping mall.

However, it's not until the second time that they broke into my car, dislodged my window, cut out my CD player, took my roller blades, tennis rackets, and swimming gear, etc. that totally *ENRAGED* me. This time I didn't hesitate, and drove straight to the police station, insist that they take down the finger prints (yes, the idiots left clear prints on the window). I also proceeded to vow to catch him/her. Thus I went as far as trying to track down the GPS unit on eBay, and narrowed it down to one suspect seller, managed to get in contact and brought the policemen to their door! Now it didn't turn out to be the thief that stole my unit, but that's besides the point. I realized that I am the determined type to protect MY things all the way to the end. Until I've exhausted my resources and detective routes, one has to protect one's own interest, nobody else will put in more effort than you yourself.

Something of more gravity similar happened in my life more recently. I was angry, sad, and upset initially. But now that the "dust has settled" (so to speak), I am determined to no longer run away but face the situation head on. I am not the type to try to "smooth things" over when the situation is so grave, I am mentally preparing myself to face the challenge and deal with it, so that I can move on with my life, and start the healing process.

It's been some time since I've calmed down and reflected on the whole situation. I know objectively what had happened and what the mentalities involved were. I know where everyone stands and what their current mentality is. However, it's clear in my mind that the situation is severe enough that I don't think "smooth it over" will be the right solution. It needs to have a clear cut closure so that everybody can move on.

I have come to the realization that I am not the type to run away from difficulty, I am more likely to rise to the challenge and figure out a way to deal with it. I only pray that God will give me the strength and the wisdom to handle the aftermath of the situation properly, so that I am just and objective and maintain a cool head.

Shel Silverstein selects

ATIONS

If we meet and I say, "Hi,"
That's a salutation.
If you ask me how I feel,
That's consideration.
If we stop and talk awhile,
That's a conversation.
If we understand each other,
That's communication.
If we argue, scream, and fight,
That's an altercation.
If later we apologize,
That's reconciliation.
If we help each other home,
That's cooperation.
And all these ations added up
Make civilization.

(And if I say this is a wonderful poem,
Is that exaggeration?)

--(Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic)

How Many, How Much
`
How many slams in an old screen door?
Depends how loud you shut it.
How many slices in a bread?
Depends how thin you cut it.
How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live 'em.
How much love inside a friend?
Depends how much you give 'em.
`
Put Something In
`
Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-grumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.
`
Reflection
`
Each time I see the Upside-Down Man
Standing in the water,
I look at him and start to laugh,
Although I shouldn't oughtter.
For maybe in another world
Another time
Another town,
Maybe HE is right side up
And I am upside down.
`
The Little Boy and the Old Man
`
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the little old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy,"it seems
Grownups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.
`
The Oak and the Rose
`
An oak tree and a rosebush grew,
Young and green together,
Talking the talk of growing things-
Wind and water and weather.
And while the rosebush sweetly bloomed
The oak tree grew so high
That now it spoke of newer things-
Eagles, mountain peaks and sky.
"I guess you think you're pretty great,"
The rose was heard to cry,
Screaming as loud as it possibly could
To the treetop in the sky.
"And now you have no time for flower talk,
Now that you've grown so tall."
"It's not so much that I've grown," said the tree,
"It's just that you've stayed so small."
`
The Bridge
`
This bridge will only take you halfway there
To those mysterious lands you long to see:
Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fairs
And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.
So come and walk awhile with me and share
The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known.
But this bridge will only take you halfway there-
The last few steps you'll have to take alone.
`

"A Boy Named Sue"

- Compare "The Giving Tree" to "A Boy Named Sue"

Shel Silverstein also wrote a well-known country song entitled "A Boy Named Sue", which serves as a counterpoint to "The Giving Tree". It tells the bawdy and humorous tale of a father who names his son "Sue" and promptly deserts him. In so doing, he guarantees that his son will grow up tough and self-sufficient (Sue gets into many fights over his name) and then makes himself completely unavailable. Another meditation on parental responsibility, the direct opposite to "The Giving Tree" both in tone and in message.

Shel Silverstein written, Jonny Cash performed song "A Boy Named Sue" lyrics:

JOHNNY CASH LYRICS

"A Boy Named Sue"

My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."

Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."

He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

Milk and Cookies images

Patagonia images

and this image of the Perito Moreno Glacier is Incredible! This is very similar to what I saw on my Alaska cruise.

H2O from the tap vs. bottle

I think I am sticking to my tap water for now, it's safer and much more standardized.
I think this would make a nice case study to demonstrate the power of
marketing in BSchool.

Japanese dining styles

kaiseki - Ryokan Kaiseki introduction

Kaiseki-ryori is an artistic and gracious Japanese seasonal cuisine. In fact, it can be said that kaiseki ryori is the ultimate Japanese cuisine. In Japanese, ryori means dishes, so what does "kaiseki" mean? The meaning comes from the story that said Buddhist priests in strict Zen training used to keep a hot stone (seki) in their kimono pocket (kai) in order to make their fasting more bearable. The kaiseki-ryori was originally served during traditional tea ceremonies and is also called cha (tea) kaiseki. It was thought that the tea would taste better if the people weren't starved. So the word "kaiseki" is used for the light meal served during the tea ceremony.

Kaiseki-ryori uses the fresh ingredients of the season and are cooked in ways that enhance the original taste of the ingredients.

Each dish is simply seasoned and presented beautifully in nice dinnerware. Often, things from nature, such as tree leaves and flowers, accompany the dish. Kaiseki-ryori was vegetarian in its origin, but nowadays, the modern kaiseki meal may include meat and seafood.

Japanese people go to a kaiseki restaurant during special occasions. If you need to entertain your special guests, kaiseki-ryori is a good choice. Kaiseki is a meal of courses, consisting of a number of small dishes: steamed dishes, simmered dishes, and grilled dishes. It often includes sliced raw fish (sashimi), tempura, grilled fish, soup, rice, and so on.

The basic cha kaiseki course served in a tea ceremony includes one kind of soup and three kinds of vegetable dishes. In addition, a cup of clear soup called hashiarai (which means washing chopsticks), a plate called hassun, which presents a few kinds of vegetables and seafood, and pickles called konomono.

---

kappo - introduction

Among the many types of Japanese restaurants is kappo, fine cuisine served "in the kitchen," as it were, with the chef and customers facing each other across a counter. Behind the counter, the chef prepares the dishes before the customers' very eyes, slicing sashimi, roasting fish, ladling simmered foods from pot to dish—and so adding to the appreciation of the meal.

---

Kikkoman (who else?!) offers a great "Food Forum" website for discussion on Japanese ryori in general.

Flowery border punches

what do you think of the following border punches? which one do you like the best? let me know. =)

iPhone phenomenon

IPhone outsells smartphones in July

Tue Sep 4, 9:54 AM ET

Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone outsold all smartphones in the United States in July, its first full month on sale, accounting for 1.8 percent of all U.S. mobile handset sales, research group iSuppli said on Tuesday.

ISuppli reiterated its forecast that Apple would sell 4.5 million iPhones this year, rising to more than 30 million in 2011.

The two models of the iPhone on the market sold more than Research in Motion's (RIM.TO) Blackberry series, the entire Palm (PALM.O) portfolio and any individual smartphone model from Motorola (MOT.N), Nokia (NOK1V.HE) or Samsung (005930.KS).

Sales equaled those of LG Electronics' (066570.KS) Chocolate, the most popular feature phone on the U.S. market, iSuppli said.

ISuppli classifies the iPhone as a crossover phone that competes with both smartphones, which have personal computer-like functions such as e-mail, and feature phones, which have extras such as cameras and music players.

"While iSuppli has not collected historical information on this topic, it's likely that the speed of the iPhone's rise to competitive dominance in its segment is unprecedented in the history of the mobile-handset market," iSuppli said.

"Apple achieved this in the face of numerous, well-entrenched competitors."

Most buyers of iPhones in the United States in July were male, under 35 and had a college degree, iSuppli said.

A quarter of those who bought an iPhone switched to operator AT&T (T.N), which has an exclusive service agreement for the iPhone in the United States.

The iPhone will go on sale in Europe later this year.

ISuppli gathered its data through a consumer survey of 2 million participants in the United States that it carries out online once a month.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

BAD - Quechup

DO NOT join Quechup and DELETE their invitations!

As the Worst and most EMBARRASSING thing happened to me last weekend.


I accepted an invitation from a friend to join Quechup, another social network. And when it asked if I want to see if any other of my Gmail contacts are already on the network, which is not an unusual thing to do by social networks, I fell for it.

Little did I know, Quechup went ahead and sent out multiple invitations in MY NAME to my ENTIRE Gmail contact list. Gmail has the habit of making every email address a contact. So all of a sudden, it appeared that I am inviting people I've never even met before. Not to mention estranged friends/Ex-es!!!

I scramble and sent out apology letters to everyone who wrote back to me, and I searched around on the Internet and found these other WARNINGs against Quechup!


and this entry, and this angry victim, and another post on this bad Labour day weekend spam, add to that list another victim! -- ME!!!!
I am going to DELETE my acct now, and if you ever receive a Quechup inviation, no matter who it is from, DELETE it! Their questionable ethics in trying to acquire members is just not right!

Berkeley treasure hunt

Berkeley campus walk, Modern Art Museum, movie theatre

Love @ First Bite


Zachary's Pizza


Chabot Science Center


Schaffen Berger


Yogurt Park

Michelle's Mangoberry

Papamingo's frozen yogurt


Naan N Curry


La Note cafe


Nefeli Cafe


Crepes A Gogo

Existentialism

philosophical movement which claims that individual human beings create the meanings of their own lives. It is a reaction against more traditional philosophies, such as rationalism and empiricism, which sought to discover an ultimate order in metaphysical principles or in the structure of the observed world, and therefore universal meaning. The movement had its origins in the 19th century....

Existentialism differentiates itself from the modern Western rationalist tradition of philosophers such as Descartes in rejecting the idea that the most certain and primary reality is rational consciousness. Descartes argues in his Meditations on First Philosophy that, while humans can doubt almost all aspects of reality as illusions, humans can be certain of their consciousness, which is therefore the only truth ("Cogito ergo sum").

Existentialism decisively rejects this argument, asserting instead that as conscious beings, humans would always find themselves already in a world, a prior context and a history that is given to consciousness, and that humans cannot think away that world. It is inherent and indubitably linked to consciousness. In other words, the ultimate and unquestionable reality is not thinking consciousness but, according to Heidegger, "being in the world". This is a radicalization of the notion of intentionality that comes from Brentano and Husserl, which asserts that, even in its barest form, consciousness is always conscious of something.

[edit] 1.1 Existence precedes essence

A central proposition of existentialism is that existence precedes essence; that is, that a human being's existence precedes and is more fundamental than any meaning which may be ascribed to human life: humans define their own reality. One is not bound to the generalities and a priori definitions of what "being human" connotes. This is an inversion of a more traditional view, which was widely accepted from the ancient Greeks to Hegel, that the central project of philosophy was to answer the question "What is a human being?" (i.e., "What is the human essence") and to derive from that answer one's conclusions about how human beings should behave.

In Repetition, Kierkegaard's literary character Young Man laments:

How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint? ^[2]

total lunar eclipse

Australians had the box-seat viewing position for the total lunar eclipse on Tuesday evening, August 28. This was the best chance to witness a total lunar eclipse in Australia since 2000, and the best until 2011.

Where did you view the lunar eclipse? Were you at an observatory and viewing it through a telescope? Were you at Uluru or on top of the snowies? Or perhaps on a beach in Western Australia? What did it look like from Black Mountain in the nation's capital?