Today is the day to celebrate our country's independence.
Frankly speaking, it isn't a particularly exciting day for me. The reason I say this is that achieving independence wasn't anything hard for us. We didn't have to fight for it through blood and fire, as many other countries did. At the time we became independent, Britain was already in the process of disengaging from all her colonies, so we would definitely have got our freedom whether delegations were sent or not.
If we had never been ruled by Britain, I think we would have been worse off. First off, there probably wouldn't be a Malaysia, but instead Kedah, Melaka, Johor, etc would all be individual nations. Secondly, the British did guide the development of rubber plantations, mines and other sources of income for Malaysia. Thirdly, they left us a good set of laws and a democratic political system. So when Mahathir was railing against the West, I have no idea what he was making all the fuss about.
What we should remember is that the British have left us to mold our own destiny, and we should do it well. Malaysia has done better than many other young countries, but clearly, it could do better. In the spirit of Merdeka, I would like to ask that my tax money not be spent on ridiculous things like tall buildings anymore. Please do something useful like promoting tourism better or installing more solar panels.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Cowboys and Aliens
Actually I haven't watched the movie yet.
The thing is, I'm really not fond of Daniel Craig. Not saying that he's not a good actor, but he really doesn't strike me as a JAMES BOND. After watching Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan, Daniel really doesn't seem handsome enough for a Bond. He is decent looking compared to an average uncle, but a Bond should be held to a higher standard. It's like, Bumblebee is okay-sized for an average Transformer, but he has to take some EnfaGrow if he wants to be a Prime. Different criteria for different positions.
Coming to the movie itself, first up, I would like to say that all the movies about humans bravely fighting off alien invaders are garbage. If aliens really came and wanted to take over the planet, that would be it. Humans might be able to fight a guerrilla war to make things troublesome, but in a straight up fight, human technology against aliens that can cross light-years to reach us would be like spears and arrows going against machine guns and tanks.
However, given that from the trailer, Daniel has a weird-looking device on his arm that can shoot energy pulses, my guess to the storyline is as thus:
1. Humans have already been subjugated by aliens in the future.
2. Somehow they got hold of some alien technology (Daniel's arm device)
3. Somehow they sent him back in time to defeat the aliens when they first arrived.
Let's see whether my guess is right or not!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Zen Story
Have you heard this story?
A young man went to learn Zen from an old monk. The old monk invited him to come into the temple and served a pot of tea. The young man started telling the monk all that he understood about Zen. As he went on and on, the monk resumed pouring tea into the young man's cup, which was already full, causing it to overflow.
"Stop stop! It's already full, master!" the young man exclaimed.
"You are also full like this teacup. If you do not empty yourself, how am I going to teach you?" the monk said.
Ah.
The story stops here.
Yet, there is a deeper level of meaning to this.
How does the monk know that the young man is not going to say something profound? Before the young man has finished explaining his understanding, the chance that he might say something enlightening to the monk, however small, is still there.
So the monk has judged his own knowledge as superior to that of the young man before giving a full hearing. Is this not, in it's own way, a sign of a "full teacup"?
That's why before I comment on the lack of open-mindedness in others, I reflect on myself first (or at least I would if I were less proud of myself).
NOTE:
Guin's explanation to this story is even more amazing and Zen-like:
"monk like to waste tea"
A young man went to learn Zen from an old monk. The old monk invited him to come into the temple and served a pot of tea. The young man started telling the monk all that he understood about Zen. As he went on and on, the monk resumed pouring tea into the young man's cup, which was already full, causing it to overflow.
"Stop stop! It's already full, master!" the young man exclaimed.
"You are also full like this teacup. If you do not empty yourself, how am I going to teach you?" the monk said.
Ah.
The story stops here.
Yet, there is a deeper level of meaning to this.
How does the monk know that the young man is not going to say something profound? Before the young man has finished explaining his understanding, the chance that he might say something enlightening to the monk, however small, is still there.
So the monk has judged his own knowledge as superior to that of the young man before giving a full hearing. Is this not, in it's own way, a sign of a "full teacup"?
That's why before I comment on the lack of open-mindedness in others, I reflect on myself first (or at least I would if I were less proud of myself).
NOTE:
Guin's explanation to this story is even more amazing and Zen-like:
"monk like to waste tea"
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Work hard, play hard
Every day when I walk to work I see these laptop advertisements with the caption "Work hard, Play hard" on them. To think of it, I see this phrase everywhere, with people taking great pride in living up to it. I also heard that many prestigious firms like employees who have this spirit.
What's wrong with people who, after working hard, like to go back and sleep, may I ask?
Let's look at the meaning of "work hard, play hard". I suppose a person who embodies this phrase would be one who works very long hours, then goes to have parties and have tons of fun after that. Sounds not bad, but let me ask one question.
Where's the time to rest and sleep?
On the face of it, it seems strange that employers would like people who do this. Shouldn't they like those who go back and rest well so they can work well the next day too? That would save them medical costs as well.
However after giving careful thought, I think the reason why they like people like that is as follows:
A. (person like me) Works 14 hours at the office, spends a couple hours on transport and eating, sleeps the remaining 8 hours.
B. (workhardplayhard) Works 14 hours at the office, spends a couple hours on transport and eating, parties another 4 hours, sleeps 4 hours only.
Say the time comes when there is a crazy project and we need to work EVEN HARDER. Person A will naturally feel very sleepy once he/she is forced to sleep less. Person B, on the other hand, can convert his/her partying time into working time with less sleepiness resulting.
So the simple truth of it is that Work hard, Play hard can be converted easier into Work like Crazy, while Work hard, Sleep well is harder to convert into Work like Crazy.
That's the underlying truth behind that nice-sounding phrase.
What's wrong with people who, after working hard, like to go back and sleep, may I ask?
Let's look at the meaning of "work hard, play hard". I suppose a person who embodies this phrase would be one who works very long hours, then goes to have parties and have tons of fun after that. Sounds not bad, but let me ask one question.
Where's the time to rest and sleep?
On the face of it, it seems strange that employers would like people who do this. Shouldn't they like those who go back and rest well so they can work well the next day too? That would save them medical costs as well.
However after giving careful thought, I think the reason why they like people like that is as follows:
A. (person like me) Works 14 hours at the office, spends a couple hours on transport and eating, sleeps the remaining 8 hours.
B. (workhardplayhard) Works 14 hours at the office, spends a couple hours on transport and eating, parties another 4 hours, sleeps 4 hours only.
Say the time comes when there is a crazy project and we need to work EVEN HARDER. Person A will naturally feel very sleepy once he/she is forced to sleep less. Person B, on the other hand, can convert his/her partying time into working time with less sleepiness resulting.
So the simple truth of it is that Work hard, Play hard can be converted easier into Work like Crazy, while Work hard, Sleep well is harder to convert into Work like Crazy.
That's the underlying truth behind that nice-sounding phrase.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Why is Barack Obama called black?
Seriously, I have no idea why people call Obama black.
He is HALF BLACK AND HALF WHITE, DAMMIT. Half/half doesn't qualify a person one way or another; you don't call a person who is half boy and half girl a boy or a girl, (s)he's a hermaphrodite. Same applies for race.
Now. let's think why they keep calling him black. Let me give an example: say an Indian-Chinese mixed blood became the president of India. Everyone would go "Wow a Chinese became the president of India!!!". On the other hand, if the same dude became the president of China, everyone would say "Wow an Indian became the president of China!!!"
From this we can derive what I call Billy's first law of sociophysics:
"A mixed blood person in a society is always identified with the minority race in his/her composition."
Now, you may say to me there are exceptions. Mahathir, who was once our prime minister, was half Indian but people don't think of him as Indian. Right?
True, but there are several factors that make him the exception.
One. He looks Malay.
Two. He has a Malay-sounding name and identifies himself with the Malay culture. If he called himself Muthu Arisamy or something like that I bet he wouldn't make it to the Prime Minister post.
Three. Other politicians at the time still took potshots at him because of his Indian heritage.
So although Mahathir has bent my first law a tad bit, I think it still holds in general.
Iron Throne
Look carefully at the photo below:
It's basically a chair made of swords. If you want to know its origins, go watch "Game of Thrones" on HBO, or better yet, read the series.
This chair was built by a king for him and his descendants to sit on. "A king should never get too comfy on a throne," he declared, and I quite agree. Only that applies to others as well. Like bosses. Bosses should sit on chairs like that, so they don't get too comfortable there giving orders and asking for this and that. Clients too. Especially clients. They should sit there when thinking of more requirements for other people to do, maybe that would make them think "is this really necessary?"
Otherwise when one gets too comfortable, one keeps thinking of what to get other people to do, which is not a good thing for the "other people".
Now to think of it, government officials should sit there, especially members of parliament. Then maybe they would have more things to worry about than 'Batu Gajah MP tiap tiap bulan bocor" and other assorted worthless statements. On the other hand, due to the discomfort of resting on their asses, they might be more fond of standing up and waving kris (what's the plural of kris? krises?) in the air, which would not be a great thing for the country overall.
It would also make people exercise more if they had to sit in it, because oversized butts might get cut. The only drawback of this seat, as I see it, is that it wouldn't be very good as a toilet seat. Otherwise nobody could relax on it, and people would never get their business done.
It's basically a chair made of swords. If you want to know its origins, go watch "Game of Thrones" on HBO, or better yet, read the series.
This chair was built by a king for him and his descendants to sit on. "A king should never get too comfy on a throne," he declared, and I quite agree. Only that applies to others as well. Like bosses. Bosses should sit on chairs like that, so they don't get too comfortable there giving orders and asking for this and that. Clients too. Especially clients. They should sit there when thinking of more requirements for other people to do, maybe that would make them think "is this really necessary?"
Otherwise when one gets too comfortable, one keeps thinking of what to get other people to do, which is not a good thing for the "other people".
Now to think of it, government officials should sit there, especially members of parliament. Then maybe they would have more things to worry about than 'Batu Gajah MP tiap tiap bulan bocor" and other assorted worthless statements. On the other hand, due to the discomfort of resting on their asses, they might be more fond of standing up and waving kris (what's the plural of kris? krises?) in the air, which would not be a great thing for the country overall.
It would also make people exercise more if they had to sit in it, because oversized butts might get cut. The only drawback of this seat, as I see it, is that it wouldn't be very good as a toilet seat. Otherwise nobody could relax on it, and people would never get their business done.
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