| Eric 的个人资料Eric - Dragon Tail照片日志 |  工具  帮助 |
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Eric - Dragon TailThe wind of freedom blows 1月13日 Spread the stupidity (source: internet/email: Spread the stupidity) Only in America, do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front. Only in America, do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke. Only in America, do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters. Only in America, do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage. Only in America, do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight. Only in America, do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'. Only in America, do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering. (Braille: a system of writing for the blind that uses characters made up of raised dots) EVER WONDER .... Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin ? Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed? Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"? Why is "abbreviated" such a long word? Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour? Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food? Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes? Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections ? You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?! Why don't sheep shrink when it rains? Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together? If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress? If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal? 12月9日 Light inside the dark Sometimes in order to see the light, you have to risk the dark. - a movie. 9月8日 Flying...Taking a plane is common but I have always wondered what it feels like to actually fly one. Today I did it. Well, not exactly. I just co-pilot one. Okay, I admit, basically I just got to play with it when it is taxing on the runway and when it is flying in the air. First, the instructor showed me how to inspect the aircraft before take-off: tire, wires, bolts, fuel, engine oil, etc; making sure there is no water in the fuel, which may come from condensation. From what I can tell, the aircraft is pretty "primitive" comparing to those commercial airplanes we used to fly with. Then I realized that I do not have enough life insurance... The instructor then called for a fuel truck and more fuel is added to the plane. Unexpectedly the fuel is stored in the wings. With everything set, it is time to board the plane. I got to sit in the pilot seat. The cabin is very small: 2 front seats, 2 back seats and a small storage area at the back where some people can use to smuggle drugs or weaponry. No air conditioning and I was sweating like a pig. The instructor taught me how to make turns on the ground using the foot pedals. After some taxing, the instructor took over the control for take off. Radio: "Skyhawk 491, you are clear for take off". Contrary to big planes, this one only need a few seconds and we are already in the air! It feels more stable than I expected and we climbed higher and higher. He handed over the control to me soon after we ascended. Basically: pull up, push down, one hand on the wheel and one hand on the thottle. It is not difficult at all and it is a new feeling to feel control in the air. We got to as high as 2500 feet and feels like we are moving slowly. The airspeed is about 150miles/hr. If regular commercial airplane is a Harley, this aircraft is a scooter. The instructor kept asking me to look for planes out there and if so, tell him. It sounded to me as if he wanted to take a nap and let me fly the plane. We flew over some lakes and some rural area neighborhood in NJ. We flew back to the airport after 30 minutes. Then of course, the instructor took care of the landing as well. As expected, the most complicated part is take-off and landing. I was told that there is no black box on the plane. Our conversation is transmitted to the airport tower and recorded there. To get a pilot license, one need a minimum of 35 hours of training but most students there took around 50-70 hours before taking the written test, oral test and the flight test. There are different ratings too. One needs more training to fly using instruments when visibility or weather condition is poor. Final note: every plane has a registration. US ones begins with an "N" and Canado with a "C". 3月29日 FireFox Rocks!I have just formated my harddisk and reinstall some programs. I used to like IE as my default browser but this time I tried Firefox 2.0.0.3. It is much better than I thought. I think the best thing about Firefox is that it allows others to create add-ons functionality and they are very easy to install. In addition, sometimes browsers are closed unexpectedly (shutdown, windows crash, etc). When opening firefox again, you can choose to restore the web pages (restore sessions) in the browser. Now I only keep IE6 for windows updates and IE only pages.
Some of my add-ons are:
Bookmark Duplicate Detector 0.6.3
-it reduces the "messyness" of your bookmarks by showing you the duplications and allow you to choose which ones to delete. CustomizeGoogle 0.55
-when searching in google, often there are similar words and it sometimes generate different results. -this add-on allow you to see the number of results of the results as you are typing. Dictionary Search 2.0.1
-highlight a word on a web page and you can link to look it up in a dictionary. -I also added an entry to mine to link to look up words in google. Download Statusbar 0.9.4.6
-get rid of the little annoying download window and put the download info on the status bar. FlashBlock 1.5.2
-Many pages of full of useless Flash animations these days. -with this add-on, you have more control of whether to load Flash on a page! open some web pages faster! Map + 1.1.0
-highlight an address on a web page and you can open a small map OpenBook 1.3.4
-expand the bookmark window (when adding a bookmark) Tab Mix Plus 0.3.5.2
-better control of tabs. some good ones are new tab, duplicate tab, undo closed tab, merge windows, etc it also includes a session manager. You can decide whether to restore sessions when opening browser. Some other add-ons I have but havent quite used are:
Adblock Plus 0.7.2.4, Advanced Bookmark Search 0.3, Bookmark this Page 0.3.2 3月17日 只要到了……source: internet
到了 日本 才知道 死不认账还会很有礼貌。。。
到了 泰国 才知道 见了美女先别慌拥抱。。。
到了 印度 才知道 人还得给牛让道。。。
到了 阿拉伯 才知道 做男人有多么骄傲。。。
到了 法国 才知道 性骚扰也会很有情调。。。
到了 巴西 才知道 衣服穿得很少也不会害臊。。。
到了 荷兰 才知道 男人和男人当街拥吻也那么火爆。。。
到了 瑞士 才知道 开银行帐户没有10万美元会被嘲笑。。。 到了 希腊 才知道 迷人的地方其实都是破庙。。。 到了 非洲 才知道 人吃人有时候也是一种需要。。。 到了 阿根廷 才知道 不懂足球会让人晕倒。。。 到了 奥地利 才知道 连乞丐都可以弹小调。。。 到了 古巴 才知道 雪笳有N种味道。。。 到了 两极 才知道 随地小便有多么糟糕。。。 到了 网上 才知道 不出门都可以把全天下都逛到。。。 2月25日 男人一致觉得赞的文章(source: email/internet. just found it in one of my emails. received long long time ago...) 情境： 晚上十一点五分。热线电话中。女人说得正起劲，男人不小心打了呵欠。 不懂女人心的例子： 女人（试探地问）：「你想睡觉了喔？」 男人：「对啊。今天上班好累。」 女人（故作体贴状）：「好吧，不吵你了。快去睡吧！」 男人：「喔，好。那你也早点睡。」 啪。男人挂下电话。 五分钟後，电话铃响。 被吵醒的男人：「喂！？」 女人：「．．．．．．」 男人：「谁啊？」 女人（一肚子委屈状）：「你是不是对我感到不耐烦了？」 男人：「啊？什麽？」（丈二金刚摸不着脑袋） 女人：「．．．．．．」 男人：「怎麽了啊？」 女人：「你是不是觉得我很烦？」 男人：「很烦？？为什麽？」 女人：「．．．．．．」 男人：「到底怎麽了啊？你不说我怎知道？」 女人：「人家讲到一半，你就打呵欠，又自己先跑去睡觉．．．．．．」 男人：「可．．．可是，是你叫我先去睡的啊？」 女人：「你都说要睡了，不然我还能怎麽样？」 男人：「唉！如果你要我听你讲话，就直接说嘛。干麽叫我去睡，结果自己又在那边生闷气？」 女人：「我那有生闷气？」 男人：「这样还说没在生气？好啦好啦，下次我不睡了嘛。可以了吧？」 女人：「那有什麽意义？我要你自己心甘情愿，想听我说话才听，而不是因为怕我生气！」 结局：男人又多花半小时安抚对方。实际就寝时间：十一点四十分。加上先前争执的缘故，睡觉时情绪有点闷。明天搞不好女人还会冷饭重炒一次。 深谙女人心的例子： 女人正在兴头上，男人打了呵欠。 女人（试探地问）：「你想睡觉了喔？」 男人（语气虽然疲累，但表示出兴致）：「嗯。有一点。今天上班比较累。不过你还没说完啊，继续说。我在听。」 女人（得到安抚）：「喔，不过你累了。不然你先去睡好了。」（还是有试探意味。千万不能中计，马上挂下电话） 男人：「今天没午休，的确比较累一点。不然明天早一点打给你，我们再聊久一点，好不好？」（解释原因，并且提出补偿） 女人：「喔，好吧。快去睡。你一定很累了。」（已经愿意放你去睡觉了。不过打铁趁热，别停下来） 男人：「那你打算几点睡？」 女人：「不知道，再过一下子吧。」 男人：「好啊。不过不要太晚睡，对身体不好。我会心疼耶。」 女人（娇嗔状）：「好啦。」 男人：「我最爱了。」（眼皮垮下了也要记得说，功亏一匮可就不来了） 女人：「我也爱你。好好休息喔。」。（终於心花朵朵开了） 男人：「嗯。」 啪。女人挂下电话。 结局：十一点十分，完美的句点。男人顺利就寝。睡得香又甜。隔天说不定还有morning call。 结论1：女人要的是感觉。很多时候，不能用理性的脑袋去思考她们的逻辑。 结论2：多花几句唇舌，讲几句贴心话，可以让你省下超过半小时的宝贵时间。 结论3: 遇到这种情况，要让女人先挂电话。以免後患无穷。 结论4：如果你的女人不像上述例子这样，那麽恭喜你。请好好珍惜她；如果你的女人和上述例子一样，请别指责她「无理取闹」。她要的其实很简单。 1月26日 Internet Videos (Music)Comptine D'un Autre EteL'apres Midi - Yann Tiersen (Music)
Canon in D modified in concert (Music) Because I'm a Girl - Kiss (Korean Music Video) Scarborough Fair - Sarah Brightman (English Music Video) All Love Can Be (A Beautiful Mind Soundtrack + Animation) Somewhere Out There (Animation Soundtrack) "Reflection" in the Animation Mulan (English) First Love - Utada Hikaru MTV LIVE All I ask of you, Think of me, Phantom of the Opera (from "Phantom of the Opera")
On My Own (sub), Master of the House, Castle on a Cloud, Confrontation (sub)(from "Les Misérables") 1月19日 A numberA friend told me that 30 is just a number. I guess it is right if you are doing well. For me, big pieces of the puzzle are still missing... 1月15日 What is enjoyable in life?I was recently asked the question "what is enjoyable in life?" I am not qualified to give a good answer but I want to record my current understanding here:
1. Creation:
It can be anything from making a movie to composing a poem, from writing a book to drawing a painting, from producing a song to constructing a building. It can even be the creation of our own character.
2. Involving in others' creations
Maybe helping others to achieve a goal. Raising a baby, helping it to create its own path.
3. Appreciating others' creations
Watching a movie, reading a book, listening to music. Understand the world from other people's eyes. Admiring others' creations. Traveling from place to place. Feeling the different cultures created. Then of course, I believe nature is a creation itself.
Maybe it does not matter what the creation is. What matters is the passion and that in the process you discover something about yourself, about life, about the universe. Kinda remind me of the Chinese saying "朝聞道，夕死可矣". 1月9日 Apple iPhoneNot for sale yet but I think it is so cool. http://www.apple.com/iphone/ The target for-sale date is June 2007 in USA and 2008 in Asia. Target price is $499 (4GB) and $599(8GB) with 2 year contract. If you are interested, watch the iPhone introduction (it is fun until the cingular guy comes in) http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/j47d52oo/event/ Apple stock is already up 8.31% today on this release. However, I suspect one of the main concern with iPhone may be battery life. It is mentioned in the presentation that battery life is 5 hours (talk time/video) or 16 hours (music). It would be fun (and appealing to the people around you) to watch videos/listen to music/surfing net with iPhone until battery dies and you end up with no phone to use. A secondary concern may be security/loss of phone. Nonetheless, the possibilities are endless. Imagine combining it with 3G, internet on airplanes, GPS, video phone, ... Now is just the start.. 1月5日 A drama on and off the stage.There was a show in U.S. called "Americas Got Talent ". One of the performances is shown here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RB-wUgnyGv0 The concept is interesting and their presentation is entertaining.
This couple was invited a few times back on the show and here was the last time they came back:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dl2roCEKffM The comment from Piers is controversial. In the video responses, many people disagreed with him but there are also others who shared his opinion.
Here are my thoughts:
1. The comment is a bit harsh and rude (by the way, it also makes the show more dramatic and attractive). It is in the judges' power to ask them back on the show and so even if the judge is disappointed at the repeated performance, it is mostly his/her own fault. 2. By doing so, Piers was able to stand out from other judges. Yes, disdained but at least he is being remembered, which is probably the smart thing to do in show business. 3. It is not hard to figure out that most of their "magic" is in the design of the clothes. Just notice that there are layers of clothes. The upper part of the lady’s dress gets "thinner and thinner" as its lower part get longer and longer. 4. The art of quick-change is different than singing or drawing. By economics sense, the fixed cost is much higher whereas singing basically has no fixed cost. So I think it is unfair to draw comparison between them. 5. However, even with the same clothes, I think it is possible for them to juice up their presentation more. For example, changing the sequence, adding/removing tools, making the process into a story, or combining with other magic tricks, or even adding another performer. 6. From a bigger picture. I guess it also reveals some theory of life. First time wonder, second time nice, third time boring. If you don't improve, eventually you will be phased out. 12月28日 Commencement Speech by Steve Jobs at Stanford 2005Quotes from the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005
"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. "
"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle. "
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. "
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."
here's the whole speech:
12月15日 Childhood Memories...Laputa (a.k.a. Castle in the sky)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdVrbtPaCTw Laputa (Trumpet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzyKbAkmFNw Gundam F91 Eternal Wind for F91
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rqjHyX3lQU Kimagure Orange Road's Anime Clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j8il4zHJ6I Kimagure Orange Road 1st OP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42frPeDMLJo Kimagure Orange Road 2nd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJcMFtRJELY Kimagure Orange Road 3rd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9S77Zbfy7U Dragon Ball
11月22日 天才From "天才" in <<壹週刊>> by 黎智英
学 习 任 何 东 西 ， 开 始 时 我 们 都 会 学 得 较 快 ， 跟 进 度 放 缓 ， 继 而 便 会 像 碰 到 尽 头 那 样 再 难 进 步 。 好 些 人 都 没 有 破 这 道 屏 障 所 需 的 耐 性 、 韧 力 和 斗 志 ， 一 碰 到 困 难 ， 便 以 为 自 己 的 天 分 已 到 了 极 限 ， 接 受 命 运 的 安 排 而 放 弃 。 成 就 卓 越 、 被 人 冠 以 天 才 光 环 的 人 ， 都 看 不 见 自 己 的 能 力 有 个 尽 头 、 锲 而 不 舍 向 前 。
这 些 人 可 能 天 生 蛮 劲 ， 更 可 能 是 他 们 在 艰 辛 乏 味 的 奋 斗 中 体 味 到 别 人 体 味 不 到 的 乐 趣 ， 就 算 是 困 扰 烦 躁 亦 甘 之 如 饴 。 这 超 乎 常 人 的 忍 耐 力 让 他 们 面 对 困 难 亦 不 致 绝 望 。 然 而 他 们 跟 我 们 一 样 ， 都 是 要 沿 学 习 曲 线 往 前 行 的 ， 只 是 他 们 的 步 伐 比 我 们 坚 毅 、 耐 力 较 我 们 大 ， 因 而 走 得 比 我 们 遥 远 ； 在 我 看 来 那 才 是 他 们 的 天 分 所 在 ， 而 不 是 他 们 脑 袋 的 构 造 有 别 常 人 。 不 管 是 做 什 麽 事 情 ， 导 致 出 错 的 原 因 是 不 会 完 完 本 本 地 呈 现 在 眼 前 的 ； 要 找 出 错 误 的 根 由 ， 便 要 以 想 像 力 填 补 事 实 、 数 据 的 不 足 。 单 凭 体 力 是 不 能 填 补 事 实 、 数 据 不 足 形 成 的 「 逻 辑 缺 口 」 ， 而 必 须 作 智 力 的 探 索 。 练 习 不 只 是 体 力 劳 动 ， 更 必 须 是 个 不 断 了 解 、 检 讨 、 摸 索 、 想 像 的 过 程 。 只 有 不 断 地 作 这 样 的 练 习 ， 才 可 以 从 记 忆 中 提 炼 出 见 识 、 想 法 和 概 念 来 增 加 想 像 力 ， 提 供 更 多 的 资 源 来 填 补 「 逻 辑 的 缺 口 」 。 大 师 的 卓 越 成 就 都 是 这 样 得 来 的 。
世 间 上 要 是 真 的 是 有 什 麽 天 才 的 话 ， 那 便 是 大 师 们 不 屈 不 挠 的 奋 斗 精 神 ， 而 不 是 他 们 天 生 异 禀 ， 有 特 殊 天 赋 。 只 要 有 恒 心 和 斗 志 ， 常 人 也 可 以 成 为 天 才 。 我 们 永 远 都 不 可 能 知 道 这 样 的 天 分 从 何 而 来 ， 是 来 自 遗 传 因 子 、 父 母 的 教 导 和 培 养 、 自 己 的 顿 悟 决 心 、 环 境 朋 辈 的 影 响 ， 抑 或 是 个 人 际 遇 ？ 又 或 者 那 是 这 些 因 素 的 总 和 ？ 对 这 个 问 题 ， 至 今 还 未 有 个 确 切 的 答 案 。 我 在 这 里 跟 大 家 讲 天 才 ， 主 要 是 有 感 於 太 多 人 相 信 有 天 才 这 回 事 。 很 多 人 都 宁 愿 相 信 ， 他 们 是 有 天 才 的 天 分 的 ， 只 要 投 身 适 合 的 事 业 ， 他 们 的 天 分 便 自 然 会 发 挥 出 来 ， 而 卓 越 的 成 就 也 唾 手 可 得 了 。 这 个 想 法 是 很 危 险 的 ， 因 为 有 了 这 般 想 法 ， 每 当 遇 上 困 难 ， 便 会 认 命 ， 以 为 自 己 没 有 这 个 天 分 ， 因 而 放 弃 。 这 想 法 是 个 悲 剧 ， 不 管 做 什 麽 事 情 都 不 可 能 避 免 令 人 气 馁 、 甚 至 令 人 近 乎 绝 望 的 困 境 ， 要 是 拿 不 出 坚 毅 的 斗 志 突 围 ， 我 们 便 不 难 一 生 无 成 了 。 让 我 们 都 从 天 才 梦 中 醒 过 来 吧 。 10月29日 Metaphorsource: internet
把沉香烧成炭卖
很久以前，有一位年长者的儿子，到海中打捞沉香这种木料。过了一年，才打捞了一车，并把它运回家。他把沉香木拿到市场上去卖，由于价格昂贵，一直没有人买。过了许多天，他都没能卖出去，感到很疲劳厌烦，十分苦恼。他看到卖木炭的，都很快地将木炭卖了出去，便想：“不如把沉香烧成木炭，这样就可以很快卖出去了。”于是就把沉香木烧成木炭，运到市场卖掉，只卖了不到半车木炭的价钱。 |
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