Groundbreaking programming psychology research

http://synesthesiam.com/?p=218

slashdot:

How Experienced And Novice Programmers See Code

http://developers.slashdot.org/story/12/12/19/1711225/how-experienced-and-novice-programmers-see-code

Man, the novice took a long time to read the code. Their eyes dart all around the code, building a picture of where everything is and then trying to understand it all in one go.

That's a bit slower to do. What one should do is to skim the code, separate it into non-submersible units and then understand what each unit is doing. For more inter-connected/complex code, the first step will also include identifying the relationships between the non-submersible units.

It's an interesting difference that distinguishes experienced and less experienced people, and can ultimately make the difference between being able to trace the code and getting stuck in a loop of code-skimming. (I've been there.) 

So the question I want to answer to know is if this can be taught. I think it can be, and there are two ways to do that. The first way is to try tracing code without this technique first and then applying the technique, to note the difference. The alternative is to learn the technique first and then always trace code in this structured way. Both seem fine, but to me, there's a crucial difference. Learning in the first way gives you self-knowledge and appreciation of intelligence the other does not. Perhaps the latter even feels a bit robotic and is more likely to be unlearnt. The reason for this is simple - there was no choice given. The learner has to just take it in or revert to his own natural method of reading code.

Hopefully, this example has given an illustration of the subtle and often overlooked importance of choice in learning. 

That's what we said!

I like the bit about wanting to hurl calculator at wall.


http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/12/14/214231/ask-slashdot-replacing-a-ti-84-with-software-on-a-linux-box

Government growth is not based on reality

Educational Example: Government will find other ways to grow. 

The graphs below demonstrate the huge increase of citizens incarcerated for non-violent crimes in the last 20 years.

PLA Drills 07122012 (1000-1100)

This time, I was prepared.

OK, it's still a cheap old camera, but 5x zoom is better than no zoom.

Objects of Interest:

What's up with the rescue operations and flares?

Who are the people watching from the ferries?

Who are the people in the speedboats?

The aircraft overhead has not been sighted or mentioned before. It was circling before the drills began. What is it doing here? Why is it completely unmarked? It's too small to be a BA Jetstream-41 and clearly appears to be a drone. It also has a camera/sensor hump on the underbelly. 

How to Reduce the Size of Government

1. Build Communities: 
If you have communities, you need less government in times of trouble, crisis, problems of all sizes. Strong communities is the difference between rural China and metropolitan China.
Example: If you have lots of smart friends in the same course, you don't need a TA. Studying together is better for everyone than running over to the TA.

2. Think how you can solve the problem before you appeal to community, and only go to the state as a last resort:
The more you rely and utilize on something, the fitter and stronger it gets.
Example: The TAs are underpaid for the work they do. Ask your friends first and learn together, and leave the TA to do his research in peace.

3. Understand that there is no free lunch - either you're paying for it or someone else is paying for you! (or they're borrowing and paying interest!)
Example: If you want more public housing, you're just telling the government to tax someone else so that you have a flat, because you know you can't just go to your rich friends/neighbors and tax them for 100K.

4. Don't expect to be able to control a government from the outside:
For most of history, trying to control the government from the outside has historically led to tragedies.
Today, you can expect fierce competition from other big interest groups trying to do the same, when everybody wants a share.

5. Reduce your tax obligations:
Fiscal budget surpluses lead to calls for more government spending, which leads to big government with alphabet agencies.
Also, don't expect to get your share of government services back after a lifetime of paying taxes when big government and lobbyists misspend your hard-earned money.

6. Avoid Big Business with the government:
Big government wants your personal information and respect so they will always be and increasingly relevant to you.
Example: Marriage. Why should one get a license to prove love, or declare their relationship? Unless you are like so sure it'll be great forever, keep it to yourself and don't declare it to the Government. Avoids the messes you can see so often on TV drama, and in the statistics.

7. Know that government is ultimately an illusion
Government does not really exist, but all the symbols, objects, people, uniforms, government spending puts you in the reality everyone else is in. Know that when you deal with government, it is a lot of disconnected entities. Divide and conquer, and study the parts. It makes everything governmental easier to think about.

Doing so, remember that your beliefs will be open to all sorts of challenges and eroded, to the extent that people eventually give these beliefs up - which leads us to the next point.

8. Get to know people who think about the same things as you

All ideas bond people to each other, and people are ultimately social beings to varying degrees. Get to know people who think about the same things as you. Growing intellectually together is an awesome experience, as you may feel/have felt at college. Action eventually becomes easier as a group.




to be continued...

The Ethics of Driverless, AI Cars

I love these futuristic morality problems.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/11/27/1846209/how-do-we-program-moral-machines

The statement most nasty is the "'Within two or three decades the difference between automated driving and human driving will be so great you may not be legally allowed to drive your own car, and even if you are allowed, it would immoral of you to drive, because the risk of you hurting yourself or another person will be far greater than if you allowed a machine to do the work. "

What's wrong with it you say? Driving is equivalent to right to travel. The government would be banning your right to travel on the road if you did not let your AI friend do the driving. 

Long Answer:

People use the roads, in particular, the highways/freeways because while they could decide to fly, they accept the risks associated travel on the road. This also makes people responsible for managing this risk to their lives and property. There is nothing immoral about this.

But now, some people think we shouldn't be taking this risk and responsibility - they will let somebody be responsible for their own lives and property on the road. They want to let the government, car manufacturer and AI take the responsibility. And they want to force everybody else into this deal, by legislating and enforcing laws that restrict the kind of car you're allowed to ride in and who gets to drive it. Now, this use of force IS immoral. As is putting the control of an automobile in the hands of a government mandate, or taking responsibility from where it is rightfully due.

On the other hand, if machines were really that awesome, most weary commuters would simply decide to let their AI do the driving. But that would be personal choice. And you should still bear the responsibility to whatever happens, as if you were driving. 

In conclusion, this question is almost identical to the charge that "if you are eating fatty foods that cause heart disease, you are creating a burden on society and the healthcare system." Yes, but only if you had a universal healthcare program that forces other people to pay for your illnesses.(And then, you should be finger-pointing at the government, that taxed and forced you to pay for that patient) Not when you have healthcare choices.

The last thing I wanted to see after a day of visual studio

What is this. The temple of microsoft .net?

Why is the software/computer industry developing so quickly compared to everything else?

It's the least government regulated industry everywhere.

An Android Tutorial Nobody could Follow

Imagine 150 newbie secondary school students and teachers in a lecture theatre, trying to follow a very fast talking TA who knows Android development through and through. I was caught in the middle of the fray as a student TA.

At first, most people were ok. It was easy interface building and we informed them to be prepared and preview.

But before long, everybody was stuck in some kind of issue. We were were 5 student TAs facing 50 problems.
It was impossible. As we tried our best to answer the problems, it dawned on me that if every problem takes just 3 minutes to solve, It would take about 35 minutes of full working time, running around, to solve the issues-and then there would be new ones on the way.

While I was thinking, participants' hands were becoming sore, they put them down, resigning to their fates and went to feed on facebook...

And for the determined few, we told them to just download and understand the code, so that they could do it at home.

To be continued...

The American Experiment: Failed

By now, I would be denying reality if I said that American Experiment was still ongoing.
It's obvious that it has failed, period.
The American Experiment that began over 236 years ago was began by people who wanted small, minimal government.
Yet, it has become the biggest, most over-bloated government in the history of this Earth. 

Unless you believe yourself to be more clever than all the political thinkers and leaders that have existed before you, you're going to have to admit that it's an unsolvable problem in the long run.

So, where does that leave us as individuals?

Assuming that one wants to live,

A Most Eventful Midterm Examination

I learnt a powerful lesson today, just before an exam... two, actually.

Part 1:

Someone had raised up their hand to get a switch of places, because the chair-table was for lefties and this guy is a rightie. He gets his rightful place (pun intended).

Reminded that I was sitting at a leftie seat, I requested a change of seats. The Professor and TAs scrambled about the lecture theatre to find a spare seat. One was located and I got a seat up at the top.

My friend, who was conveniently located the seat above at another leftie-table and behind me, not wanting to be left out, requested the third change of seating. By now, the crowd is roaring with laughter and booing at this annoyance. The Professor personally dragged a table with a label stating "RESERVED" across the carpeted lecture-theater floor, placing it where I previously sat. When the Prof stopped pushing, applause ensued.


Part 2:

While I was scratching my head over some heavy weight multiple choice questions (worth 5pts/100 each, 6 of them in total), one of my sneaky classmates was sitting there blankly, discretely looking in my direction. When I would tilt my head in his direction, his head would scramble back to rightful place. After many minutes of this thinking-dueling, I decided to hide my good answers in a deliberate manner while looking at him. The TA came over and told my sneaky mate to scoot over, into the middle of the row, too far to see my answers.

There are a lot of spare kidneys in the world!

Legalize organ sales!

- Demolish organ harvesting, organ Black Markets, organ availability only to rich and powerful people in China!

- You don't need 2 kidneys, you only need one! Everybody is a ready donor. Virtually nobody will die from kidney problems or have to suffer dialysis.

- If everyone could sell it, great compatible organs will be available to everyone who needs it.

- If it is legalized, it can be formally regulated and accepted by society, eliminating the medical terror associated with organ transplants due to organ harvesting and other currently sick images we have of this.

- Speaking of medical terror, I think that's what is blocking a lot of people's minds from everyone becoming a donor. That, and you can't sell a kidney to buy Apple products.

- "WELCOME, to the WORLD of the FUTURE!!!" Futurama, S01E01. 
Cryogenics, stem cells and all controversial medical procedures are cool and awesome in Futurama, so it's fine in real life!!

Course Overloading

Overloading on courses are made me feel many feelings one cannot get while on the normal course. I feel the strain that comes with understanding many things well in a single day. I feel just how big the whole universe is if one digs deep on everything in sight. But with that feeling, you also get the wonder of just how related everything actually is. You also feel that the mind has grown a little stronger and more logical, so much in fact, I think it clashes with the non-linear, dynamic. With this arises the need to wind down and go get something creative and unrelated to do after a day of work. 

I haven't tried this lifestyle before. I'm finding it new right now, but time will tell if it's right for me. I think it depends heavily on the mindset brought into this kind of lifestyle. If there is no real choice, I find it difficult to do. This experiment was done purely for choice and curious fun. 

What? SQRT(4)=2 and not just -2

I was doing simple linear approximations today and this came up.
Apparently, sqrt(y) where y=4 must be 2 and not also -2, or else the equation is wrong and doesn't work.
It's because there is no change in sign if you square root both sides to find the answer.

answer^2 = 4
answer = sqrt(4)

The sign is naturally positive outside the square root.

The Question:






Find the linear approximation of the function at the point (-7, 4).

My Day

After 2 years of evolution and optimization, this is my routine. I am tweaking to make it more interesting and natural.

Wake up at 0730.
This gives 2 hours to fizzle, watch the sun rise above Sai Kung, enjoy breakfast slowly, comment on my day to the rommate and check homework due that day. Also go to business departments to get China Daily, Epoch Times, 经济日报.

Go to classes.
Get someone to eat lunch with me while doing so.

Go to lunch.
Randomly pick something. They all cost more or less the same. Tastes are average.

Digest lunch.
Revise next lesson while at it.

More Classes
Until late afternoon...

Homework time!
Goal is to skirmish the TODO list, down a few tasks. Read slashdot.

Entertainment Please.
As I lose concentration in the late afternoon, I do the fun stuff of the day. Like go shoot bullseyes with crappy bows and arrows with the Archery Club, or public forum on some socio-economic-political issue.

Go to Dinner.
More fun, but like serious fun.
Team meetings and programming done here while I digest, until I slip into a semi-dream state.

Watch a movie.
By now, its like 10pm. Time to end the day.
If I have too much to do, I pick off the most rewarding task and complete it. Otherwise, I watch a movie to provoke creaticity its also the most creative time of the day, as the rigidities of logic are too much effort to uphold.

Sleep.
Hear my roommate pray before bedtime in some language I dont comprehend. It helps me sleep better.

Routines

I seem to have fallen into a routine.
It crept up on me and just touched me.
I said, "But I don't want a routine!"
And off I go to break it.

There is no difference between Mainland and Hong Kong people

Anything saying otherwise is just trolling or using an unfair comparison. Because if you look at people in the same economic group or social group, they cant be that different-especially if they are in HK.
We like money, they like money.
We want nice jobs and opportunities, they(mainland students) want PhDs.
Theyre scared of falling off mountains, HK Kids are scared of mountains.

The only difference is language, but the fact is both HK and mainland students hate English and want to use their own languages.

Another one is grades. They get better grades. But thats because they have to better to get in here. So really, the answer here is to get them in your projects and have them teach you how to do better.

Anyway, its also counterproductive, giving HK a bad (and false) reputation. We want them on our side so they are more likely to care about HK events, and love their freedom here.

The Lamma Island Crash Accident

A lot has been said about this. But I hope the government doesn't say too much, or they're not going to get the few critical factors that lead to this.

- Hong Kong people rush too much. In this case, they were rushing over to watch fireworks. They are not the only ships to do this. When people are rushing, they forget about lots of things and get tunnel vision.

- From point 1, they were probably sailing too fast at the time, and not in great visibility, at night.

- The ship that hit in the front leads a very fast deceleration. Maybe captains should be trained how to crash ships safely? A small change in angle may have decreased the sudden deceleration. (Just as one learns to safely fall off a horse in horse-riding?)

- Probably a lot of casualties had head injuries. Protect your braincase so you are not knocked unconscious and brace.

- Ships should have quick release seat belts.

- HK mostly has collisions. If they solve this problem, there would be less accidents. (Eg. The Ukrainian tugboat collision in 2008.)

- There's very little time to put on any life jackets unless you're close to one. Locate yourself close to them and the exits so you don't get caught in the struggle. If there is no way you can get to them, just hug some distinctively colored objects and try to stick with other survivors.


- Travel by ship is very safe compared to by car in HK. And we were rushing up some hill to watch fireworks too.

Despite this tragedy, 2 people are feeling very lucky right now.

- The white-haired man we were hiking with in Aberdeen/Peak: HK Electric engineer who just retired. He left HK for the US that day.

- My Dad: His position was in Maritime Safety and Accident Investigations. A high-profile accident of this casualty rate would be a very big investigation indeed.

At least this accident lead to some happy people....

Rules of software engineering

Rules of software engineering:

- Be the guy who starts off the project. It doesn't take much, but most people find that difficult. It's well worth the effort.

- When stuck, always ask for help. When really stuck, do whatever you need to do to get that assistance. Never just sit there and think - that leads to other people not knowing what you're up to and though your solution may be correct, it does not work with the others.

- Do what you're good at first. You do no justice if you hog the parts you find hard, because chances are, somebody does it better than you.

- "Be patient and think through it." This is the most weird part - you're under all sorts of deadlines, but still have to be patient and thinking. Yet, it is precisely because your intuition cannot handle that "problem" that it becomes one.

- You can plan all you want, but from my experience, a string of difficulties will lead to unaccounted delays. So, you have to know what your capabilities are.

Lightly Distracted

I just realized I work better when lightly distracted.

Lightly can mean listening to music, talking to someone, chat online...

It appears there are two parts of the mind clearly differentiated here. There is the automatic one in charge of everything of no conscious mental effort, and the one that handle the mental load-bearing. When load-bearing is required, it is possible the load-bearing to be considered rather great and shocking, tripping my decision track back to automatic, which sometimes leads to procrastination and overtime.

Out of all, I think chatting to someone online is the best for focusing mental effort and stimulating thinking. Talking physically is always more than just talking - there is both verbal and non-verbal communication. I also don't seem to have as much dedicated hardware to socializing behavior, so it actually takes more energy than I have for other things.

Listening to classical music takes less mental energy than rock, pop and other trendy musics. I wonder why?

Blogging takes very little of my energy, so I try to get it done very quickly. Back to coding prototype twitter classification systems.......

Clint Eastwood @ GOP Convention

He does not directly endorse anybody.

Don't be Masochists! Vote for someone you really want in office.

Statement of the Day 8

Sometimes, systems become too complex to fix from the outside - they must fix it from the inside.

My cousin had a crying fit tonight. I think it had to do with some traumatic event at school, but he prefers to cry than talk. Crying is an internal mechanism of emotional release. I believe that trauma-response patterns build up over time so that the same response is triggered for similar events in the present and future.

Ron Paul Tribute Video at RNC

Amazing how they can make something so critical and important as an election look so lighthearted and superficial.

The Republican National Convention - Day 1

Ron Paul did not really stand a chance today at the RNC, but today's RNC was a corrupted game well-played. There have been many great moments. Many great delegates bravely stood up against corruption and expressed their opinion. I won't talk about the corruption and "fun and games" - that is for all to see.

The things to remember about today is that it is not the end, and they are not going to play fair.

2 Statements of the Day 7

"Peace will not come until we have mastered both sex, war and happiness."

"The attitudes of the animal-rights movement on killing animals mirror the Victorian attitudes to sex."

Statement of the Day 6

"Women should marry men who are 5-6 years younger to avoid being widows for that long."

Statement of the Day 5

"Pick and Choose your clients, as they have picked and chosen you!"

Background: When I tell people I study computers, I often get ridiculously hard problems to solve. I got one of those from a friend, about his Android phone. Some techie wiped out his phone and has left me to get everything back.

Fortunately, stuff is still on his SD card, so I thought it was just a matter of restoring it. But when I did restore it, the wifi did not work at all. This was frustrating to no end. I told him to go upgrade his android.

It didn't work.

So he comes back and shows me his phone-brick. Now I knew I shouldn't have told him to do anything!
The phone cannot even go into Recovery Mode now. 

But seriously, Android. How can you make updating possible to screw up? It's just nasty.

Statement of the Day 4

"The more technological advanced and sophisticated any organization is, the steeper the cost of immoral activity to its survival."

Statement of the Day 3

*** OH NO! Not Another Steve Jobs quote! ***

 "What happened was that mothers started working and they didn't have time to spend at PTA meetings and watching their kids' schools. Schools became much more institutionalized and parents spent less and less and less time involved in their kids' education. What happens when a customer goes away and a monopoly gets control, which is what happened in our country, is that the service level almost always goes down... And that's certainly what the public school system is. They don't have to care."

Statement of the Day 2

You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give it to them. By the time you get it built, they want something new. Steve Jobs.

Prop. 37: Will California be first state to label genetically modified food?

Christian Science Monitor
By Daniel B. Wood | 08:25 am

"Another multimillion-dollar fight over a ballot initiative — with big implications for the country — is brewing here in California. The initiative, which is on the ballot this November, has a mouthful of a name: the “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.”
If Proposition 37 passes, California will become the first state in the nation to require that food manufacturers appropriately label all food — raw and processed — that contain ingredients made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). That term refers to scientific procedures that have altered the genetic material in various organisms.
Proponents say that consumers have a right to know what kinds of food they are buying and eating, while opponents say it would produce a system too burdensome on food sellers and distributors and needlessly costly to consumers. ......."

Being in California, I find that unnecessary - organic ("No GMO ingredients" or "USDA Organic") is always written on the organic food anyway. There is no necessity to write another one on it. Companies are almost all smart enough to market the fact that it is organic. People do get organic whenever they can here - it is a big and growing market. 

The gist of all this is whether people think people are smart enough to look for organic certification on the packaging. And this is not simply a yes or no question, because if you think people are observant and make policy accordingly, you are also giving a chance for less observant people incentive to get observant.
Conversely, GMO labeling would eliminate benefits of reading existing organic labels.

Labels also don't look very nice. 

Having said that, it's not all bad. GMO food manufacturers would never otherwise put "GMO" labels on packaging, because it might do a bit to scare people.

Whatever the outcome, it's great that people are talking about this and consider highlighting the difference between them. 

Statement of the Day

Education by the state is a contradiction in terms.

Cruise

Wow, has it been a long time since I wrote a blogpost. Anyway, here is one. I just came back from the 8-day cruise to Alaska and Canada from Seattle. I was onboard the cruise ship Norwegian Jewel, with my family and new cousin. What makes this cruise particularly interesting is having a toddler to look after.

The COMPANY

NCL is 50% owned by Star Cruises, which always seems to have a cruise ship docked in Tsim Sha Shui. We didn't choose them particularly, it was just that they had the best sailing itinerary.

The SHIP

- The Norwegian Jewel was built in 2005. Jewel's sister ship Norwegian Pearl caused a power outage in Northern Germany while still under construction. I read this from a news article yesterday. The Pearl was featured in this cruise documentary: http://www.hulu.com/watch/64392. They make it look a bit better in that, but you get the idea of what a great system they run 24/7 on the ship. Norwegian Jewel is essentially the same except they have a climbing wall at the back of the ship.

- You can see the Bridge Cam of the Norwegian Jewel online.  http://www.norwegiancruises.com/fleet/jewel/webcam.htm
I used this aboard the ship to see if there was anything interesting ahead.

The ROUTE

The ship set sail from downtown Seattle, Washington in the US. We cruised up the very calm waters of the Inner Passage, only heading out to the Pacific on the way back. It was really a very calm route with almost no big waves above 1.5m tall and some sort of land always visible.
The best part was navigating the narrow canyons of the Tracy Arm, Alaska. 

The SECURITY

Even though there are security cameras in most public areas, security checks only happen whenever we get on or off the ship and includes metal detector, x-ray screening and ID check by a security guard.  It takes 5 seconds - way faster than any airport check.They seem more interested in catching passengers who bring their own booze. How? They give your bottle a swirl and watch the bubbles.

The SCHEDULE

"Freestyle cruising" is the company "Norwegian cruise line"(NCL)'s way of saying you can do whatever you want, whenever you want on board. You get a daily newsletter "Freestyle Daily" of the day's schedules, special offers, showtimes, shore excursions and those notices for switching time-zones. Very effective public communication, old style.

On shore, we tend to be on a tight schedule (6-7 hours on shore), so there was only time to hit the best parts of the town/wilderness before heading back. This often made tours necessary. I though it was quite enough fun, but not nearly enough time to sit back and relax.

The SHORE

Alaska is just awesome, period. I just wish I had time to climb all those mountains with snowy peaks and build cairns on the top.

Stuff is generally cheaper there than in similar stores in HK. However, some stores owned by the cruise ship companies are to be avoided.

The guides all know how to crack some jokes, know the history and specialties of the place, and even happy to stay in contact, after a brief chat or Q&A. We met some guides who are actually upstanding members of their communities, like radio host or local bus driver. They just know the whole place, people, prices and history.
Some guides are not local, but love the place so much they have to go there every summer. With them, we shared the common appreciation appreciation of the land and nature. "It's the adventure, stories and solace."

Despite the awesome unlimited food supply onboard, I enjoyed supporting local businesses, trying cakes and pies from the cafes recommended by the locals. I think it's not about quality - quality was about the same, but the warm coziness and smiles that comes from that local business proprietor and not an employee. Sometimes, it's the icing on the cake that matters.

The FOOD

No cruise would be complete with the all-you-can-eat food (not free... it's included in the fee). We mostly ate at the buffet places, because those are simplest for the toddler, with the most choices.
The other restaurants are pretty good too. Some are free and others require a cover charge. Personally, I didn't think the cover charge was worth it for most restaurants, but all of them have some really good dishes.
In all, there is so much food I was having a spoonful of each just to try all of it.

The best food was probably the dessert specials, pool grill, Indian food and steaks. The desserts just keep coming and one spoonful of everything was enough to make me fat. Indian food was awesome because there are quite a few Indian chefs who really know how to make good curry and lots of people who try it. The pool grill was especially exciting, with Alaskan salmon chowder.

The worst was the Chinese steamed fish - it looked Chinese but the fish was too hard (I don't think they had a Chinese chef). Almost everything else tasted better than the land average.

The SPORTS

It makes great sense to talk about sports after food - with an estimated intake of 5000 calories in total, I had to burn it all out. I tried out the sports on the ship, especially the ones I didn't do on land, like the shuffleboard. The pool was good fun and lukewarm despite the freezing deck with sweeping winds, except it was a bit too small for swimming and had lots of splashing kids. Running around the ship (about 366 yards of track) is lots of fun. But best of all, the air was fresh and crisp, compared to the almost musky and polluted in Singapore and Hong Kong. I actually want to breath it all in.

The CREW

Crew come from all over the world, though there are a lot from the Philippines. There are about 1000 crew in total, which means a crew to passenger ratio of about 1 to 2.5. I was actually quite surprised at this, but then a cruise ship is technically a small floating city with engines. Crew were all very nice, hardworking, professional people, despite the very long working hours and as I heard, no holidays for 10 months of the year. I'm impressed at how they can keep up their quality day in and day out.

The COUSIN

Having a toddler living along makes life more interesting. The toddler always demands set meal times, napping times, milk times... and toddlers can be very punctual. (Someone taught him to read the watch, so he knows the time!) He listens to no schedule but his own.

Pushing him around was really lots of fun. But the best part was trying to understand how this little guy learnt his vocab so fast. He knows words from Cantonese, Mandarin and English, but prefers to speak Mandarin. It is amazing to speak to him and then hear him use the same words, calling us by names. We didn't have to directly teach him.

It's fascinating to return to the child's point of view, because that's how I can retrace my own path of development.

The GUESTS

Most people on board have a decent sense of humor and fun. It was easy to strike up a game of shuffleboard on the deck, or a game of Bridge in the games room. However, Americans being Americans, the personal space is pretty large, so one can't bump into others without some kind of apology or remark. It is very freestyle and I think what that does is let us decouple from the world for 8 days.

The INTERNET CONNECTION

Internet was much faster than I thought, though it did cost me about HKD $6 per minute. It wasn't fast for youtube, but surfing was just fine from any part of the ship.

By the end of the 8 days, I did gain less than 1kg, which I thought was pretty good given all that awesome food averaging at more than 5000 calories a day. On the other hand, I think I burned about 4000 calories in the gym, running around the ship and sports.
Actually, I skipped lunch on the way home and only started to feel hungry at dinner-time. I can conclude that it is a great idea to fast a little and let the existing food go completely through first.  

I learnt a lot in a short time about human development and Alaska. I can also say that I've been to Canada since I crossed the border from Alaska. We didn't stay very long in Alaska, but maybe it was the best balance between experience and learning about my new cousin.

"Breach of Contract" - Sexual Politics

"If today's women are living for themselves, and social expectations of men are going to continue, it is not in the advantage of men to marry."

The critical problem in the statement is that not all men and women can be placed into classifications. While this may be the majority, one should move on to find greener pastures, for people who don't hold such expectations, so that we can live for ourselves.

Batman (and the Batman shooting): A lesson for all

Near the end of the movie, police officer John Blake says "systems become shackles". The movie could not better illustrate this point. When evil decides to destroy Gotham City, the movie showed the now default responses of governments - do not negotiate with terrorists, and stand down (holding perimeter) in a hostage situation to avoid risking lives. Police engaged in massive but strategically useless and dangerous actions that presented the opportunity to eliminate the entire city police department. These are to be a disastrous course of actions and that's why Batman must save the day.


Back to the Batman shooting, there is a most ironic link. Both scenarios have entire lots of helpless and unarmed people, unable to decide their fates in the face of overwhelming firepower. But unlike the movie, there was no Batman to save the citizens from the dangerous criminal - only the police to clean up afterwards. Neither scenarios would have been possible had there been upstanding citizens with arms.

But what do I know - it does make it fun for some people.

Privacy: problem or opportunity?

With so much face data available on Facebook and already the ability to detect faces almost close to real time, this is a major problem to the future freedom of humanity. What's next?

What I see, it's a challenge in the evolution of humanity. We are being asked "What the role of government ought to be?", but more specifically, "What absolute rights does a human being have?". The more practical problem presented can be bluntly stated as "Now that government can identify everybody, what is the counter-balancing force?".

It's impossible to stop a trend dead in its tracks, but it is possible to get control of it and steer it another way. Perhaps the trend of increased connectivity and connectiveness coupled with greater diversification and hence the search for direction has boosted the drive for more freedom.

The trend remains to be seen.

Prometheus

"If there is anything to get from the film, it is that there are those who, even having evolved so far as to have an intelligent mind, would still revert to inter-species conflict. But there is also the alternative to this age-old state of affairs, through a true search for life and the meaning of it."

In the opening of Prometheus, we are first shown the "Garden of Eden" - the age of no humans. The music is raw and the scene is magnificent and full of raw power (the waterfall), real and deep in 3D. An "engineer" alien sacrifices himself, sowing the DNA that codes for human beings at a magnificent yet raw waterfall, signifying a point of no return. The metaphor is one of fertilizing Earth.

Man's discovery of the aligning dots has defined the position of the stars the engineers came from, triggering the search of the meaning of humanity - why the human race was created. Those who believed that humans were created by alien forerunners fund further research.

The starship Prometheus sets off into deep space in search of this planet. They eventually find one with special alien buildings on it.  The alien structures look like mounds, with cave systems inside.These eventually turn out to be alien spacecraft.

Man's survival in space is dependent on many Faustian bargains. The robot technology that created David has extended the arms of evil powers, but has also made long term space travel possible. David may have killed Holloway, but Shaw must now depend on David to get off the planet.
Biotechnology has also been a Faustian bargain. It has allowed the Aliens to create humanity, but also destroyed them when the slime creatures destroyed them all.

Vickers is most likely a robot because no human could match David in strength, rank in the leadership hierarchy (answering to Weyland) or style (Vickers and David have similar style, appearance in uniform and mannerisms). She is also desperate to prove her humanity by offering sex to the captain. The human females onboard are very different in personality.
David and Vickers do sound like adam and eve, except their creator is Weyland, a human. So, everybody is made by someone else. This is a plausible way of thinking.

Who are the enemies in the film?
Was it the "Engineer aliens" or the "chestbusters"? Or was it the Weyland Corporation people?
Both. Weyland believed he got the tech and that the tech made him a god, but at the expense of other people. The aliens also believed themselves as being superior beings - they didn't care for what they created. And the chestbusters? They were the parasites that embodied conquest by sucking the life out of its hosts and destruction.
Everybody who wants to be god was a deadly threat to the protagonist Shaw. If there is anything to get from the film, it is that there are those who, even having evolved so far as to have an intelligent mind, would still revert to inter-species conflict. But there is also the alternative to this age-old state of affairs, through a true search for life and the meaning of it.

Looking back at the title, Prometheus is in a sense, an ironic title. Prometheus is supposed to bring fire to mankind, but instead, it nearly brought about the total destruction of mankind by the engineers. And instead of the sharing of technological knowledge, the hierarchical elite aboard Prometheus are always trying to find some secret for themselves at the cost of others - a dark agenda always loomed above, unknown to most of the crew. They do not bring light and fire, but darkness.

Yet, perhaps it is the ending that inspires to the story of Prometheus. Humanity (Shaw) and technology (David) ride out into the stars in search of the true meaning of life, leaving the carnage behind. It is they who truly embody the spirit of Prometheus and enlightenment, not the elite who believe they are gods and masters.
I believe this is the spirit we hope to gain from the movie - to kindle an undying fire in the heart and a light in the mind to live despite all evil, darkness and destruction. It is not enough to desire knowledge, but also the motive why, for it can always be used against oneself.

While it may be great to end the analysis here, I believe there is another explanation. The Engineers, being a strong and powerful species, most likely embraced strength. It is  possible that this adventure was only the trial to see whether humanity was worthy of more knowledge of its past, and its destiny. And why do the Engineers want to destroy their creation anyway?

HTML5 and locking users in.

I'm wondering if we can really just do away with the Android Java SDK and iOS development in favor of web technologies like HTML5.

HTML5 is more open. And when I develop with HTML5, I don't need to translate from one app language to the other. And there is no real advantage in using the app system apart from being forced to use it. 

When will people realize that being locked into a system is not really in their interests?
When you realize that people are willing to get locked in because there is something they get out of it as a result.
Is it not difficult to see the reasons that makes platform independence a great option in the long run. You see, locking people in isn't the best way to really create value for customers, though it may be the safest way to guarantee business when you know customers don't have that many choices. But when customers do have good choices, it is supporting good standards that makes the most sense.

Having spotted that HTML5 is great stuff, perhaps Chrome has locked on to the right market there. And perhaps while an open-source free browser like firefox does not need to be the most popular, just the leading one in supporting the open standards and occasionally setting the standard for everyone else to follow.

The URL bar

I just realized how little I now type websites into the URL address bar. It is as if it were too much of an effort, or too tedious or simply just too random to care about. Or maybe it is simply unnecessary. For the sake of convenience, we now love our rounded square buttons.

A Sleep Post

Historically, people slept 8-10 hours due to the day-night cycles and not having lights. That is what we are built for.
Today, people hardly sleep 8 hours in general, and then try to catch up on weekends. Then, try to cheat yourself into believing it's ok.

Either people figure out a way to not need to sleep, or sleep more per night. The simplest solution is just to sleep when one feels tired, end of story. Follow your instincts first, because science does not always give you the answers you need, when you need it.

Firefox vs Chrome Self-chat

As this round of the browser wars is steadying in influence, the next phase has begun. I believe that next phase is to turn the browser into a fast and efficient OS capable of connection to any computer, laptop, phone or device with a web browser. In this trend, Google wants everybody to have a web profile - everything you surf, input or use will be part of it, and it will always be there. With its connections, it can reach out to Facebook and other internet corporations, combining it into one big operating system of the web.
Chrome is more than just a browser. Just look at all those apps on the Chrome Web store. I don't know where Google really wants to place it in the market, but the stuff on it are pretty cool and useful, so users are probably supposed to "locked in" to the browser.  This is the way to incept the idea of the private browser.

Firefox represents the other side of the story. It is the open-source alternative to all the others. It stands for open standards. People know this, and Firefox has a friendly community image. But this may not a good enough reason for most of the population. A great percentage of firefox users are also not updated to the recent versions. New features and speedups are not reaching some people. This is a vulnerability for Firefox and leaves an effective update system to be desired.
The other thing Firefox has is extensions. It makes browsing awesome, new, fresh and interesting. It puts you in control on how you want to view the internet.
To me, it puts the individuality into webpages that look the same to millions of viewers. and helps me get what I want out of it.

The extensions in firefox also don't look as corporate or that simplistic sleek modern marketing or design. Maybe they will be redesigned, but that is something that really sets the Firefox feel truly different and closer to the heart. While Chrome is fast, techy and has a cool feel to it, Firefox can't help but feel warm, bodily warm.

And IE? IE is tied to Microsoft Windows OS. People don't get IE if they're on some other platform, because it has no particular ability the others cannot do. As people say on Facebook, it is the browser to download another browser. Most people don't voluntarily use IE.

To conclude, I am going to continue to use Firefox & Chrome at the same time, simply because both have useful features. I don't think either will destroy the other, but I think people just want the browser that works or is at hand. They don't really have a big preference. Chrome has gained the advantage because it was and is the simpler and sleeker browser that felt new. Firefox seems to have been considered an old browser, so it needs to update its brand image and updating system. Web browsers should not merely be the passive eyes of the web, but rather allow the user to take control of their experience of the web. Users may not know it yet, but they need a personal browser that doesn't just look customized and efficient, but what the user wants in the web that the webpage cannot already do.

Why am I getting sunburns more easily?

I didn't actually get a sunburn, but I am questioning a prevalent trend of my body.

I used to get sunburns a lot less easily - doing outdoor activities in the HK/California sun without sunscreen was never a problem. I did get a little darker, but it was nothing. There was not the slightest redness that occurred afterwards.To keep a fair comparison, I did not use significant amounts of sunscreen anytime.

I have come up with several explanations -

• Overall Skin aging. Everybody's skin ages. Big UV exposure in the past increases aging in the future.
• Lack of extra secretions - from 10 years old onwards,  I experienced an increasing amount of body oil secretions, and sweat. This protects the skin in general and is the body's natural protection against the sun. After 19years old, I have reduced amounts of skin oil, so that is less protection.
• Repeated sun exposure - I did not have any winter this year. Winter is a great way to let everything go to normal. Going to Singapore, a tropical area where there is sun almost everyday means lots of repeated exposures. Coming back to the HK summer, there wasn't time to recover fully. I also hike on a daily/semi-daily basis, so that gives me about 1 hour of UV exposure daily, which is quite a lot on most days. I wear a hat and use spray on sunscreen, but wiping sweat may wipe it off too. Diving in the summer also makes sun protection difficult, because any sunscreen going to get rubbed off and dissolved away in the sea.
• Dryer skin - I find that I do have somewhat dry skin. Dry skin is more susceptible to damage. 
• UV hole in the sky? - Maybe there is more UV coming through?
• Genetic reasons - Some people get sunburnt more easily than others.
• Diet? Does the changes in food production (GMO, artificial hormones, antibiotics, artificial food additives) lead to more skin problems/photosensitivity of skin?
• Sleeping late? Sleeping later than 0000 reduces the time there is to repair skin and related organs. Also more light exposure from light sources. This leads to less strong skin.

To conclude, I find the Repeated Sun Exposure, diet, sleeping late, decrease in skin secretions, dryer skin and overall skin aging to be the reasons why I am getting sunburns more easily, in order of importance.

The easiest fixes would be to sleep a little earlier, eat better, use a moisturizer and apply sunburn measures more frequently while doing outside sports.

The Uncanny Valley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNdAIPoh8a4

Why does the Uncanny valley exist?

On the surface, let's start with the part between corpse and healthy person. This region is what we are familiar with - it is the way people judge each other subconsciously. It is indicative of health and whether physical, mental status.

We tend to feel worse about zombies than corpses, because corpses, at the least, tend to look peaceful and not in pain or any negative emotion. Zombies look awful and when we substitute ourselves into it, also feels dreadful. Yes, we invariably use what we know and feel about ourselves to fill in what we do not know about someone, to come up with an idea of what a person is like, solely based on appearance and actions.
The scientific evidence supporting this is the activity spike in parietal cortex of the brain, which has lots of mirror neurons, responsible for imagining the performing of actions. Now, if we don't feel like being in that sort of a body and acting like that, we also imagine the emotions and feelings. And that's when we don't like it.

The solution to the valley is either to avoid ticking off the imaginative mirror neurons by being humanoid, or make it look and act so human that the robot/model can really pass as a human. Of course, once the cover has been blown and the truth is out, the mechanical nature is out and I don't think most people will feel very well when imagining themselves with wires and hydraulics.

In the reverse, humans who act too well can also fall into the uncanny valley, but only if we find them strange. Beauty tends to invoke another set of responses, which negates this one. This may be what happens to any "transhumans", so I don't think they fall into the uncanny valley at all. Unless, of course, circumstances has invoked our judgmental senses.

The same effects happen in when people from different races observe each other. People from one race are usually going to think people from their own race look most human. And people with one skin color find it hard to imagine their self-image into something opposite. If one gives up or rejects the image of someone, it can become difficult to accept the rest. That's probably where racism originates too.

At the left end of the curve (left of corpse/zombie) is the range between neutral, cute and not looking cute or funny at all. This part is really kind of a feeling thing with multiple dimensions, except that the scale might as well be called naturalness!

"Facebook Addiction"

Why DO people around me almost always have Facebook on (especially females)??

I am a little annoyed at how the internet is so unimaginably gigantic and growing exponentially all the time, yet people will still habitually surf Facebook. Many people have been locked into Facebook, and maybe that's why the company is on the stock market now. But I find it disturbing to see lots of people huddling over their facebook while the book shelves lie quiet.

Is it that Facebook somehow gives the feeling of being interconnected? Is it that people like to be spoon-fed information to devour for the short attention spans, and feel the shocks?  Or that we prefer gags and trivial fun to more profound emotions as comfort, satisfaction, cognitive dissonance...

Out of all the Facebook feed I found myself consistently looking into the Slashdot/.science related ones. People CAN BE exciting, but they seem to be there for the kicks - the bursts of emotion and reactions that are fun for a tiny spike of time.

I guess we just have to be amazed at how powerful habits can be in really dominating our behavior. 

I went out and got a mechanical keyboard!

I went out to Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po and Wan Chai computer centers and found the cheapest mechanical keyboard with good build quality. Turns out, very few shops have these around. It's really quite a niche item, apparently. I was told that most people don't stock them because people are put off by the price.

Which I agree with, because at $680, it got me thinking too. Eventually though, I did get a deal for it at $600, which I found more appealing and less pricey than expected. The sound of typing on it was just too nice on my ears, the feel of high build quality. And there was also the option of very soft/silent typing, as the activation region of the keys are quite broad and the initial resistance feels just right.

When I got home, I found that I was able to type at least 10wpm faster on it compared with my home (and with somewhat fewer mistakes), while listening to the music of the keys. I guess that was quite worth it. The switches and keys feel very precise, and the psychological effect for me was to make me more precise, clear and structured in programing/writing.

They say that there are people who learn better with more actions and feelings are involved. I had no idea that was so important to me before I set my fingers on a mechanical keyboard. Now, I just find the keyboards the rest of the world is using to be quite interesting, but feeling somewhat less precise.

Twitter (i)

After a brief time of using Twitter, I find it rather unresponsive. I know many things take time to grow, but then I also realize how facebook had seriously succeeded in this respect by realizing that people need an initial base group to start with. 
On Twitter, I am behind just one of millions of accounts that do not have high initial status. I feel like I am talking to dead space. I'm going to interest/provoke people if I want better conversations. And a better way to get responsive followers.

Oh Wait, on Facebook I am the same.

Keyboards! (I)

I am going to admit it - I get keyboard itchy and then feel like typing. I like really silent, highly-responsive keys without bounce or tacile feedback.

Logitech only manages to give me more of a bouncy feel and I don't appreciate that. It is like the king of all bouncy keyboards. It is as if stock keyboards don't have enough noise and bounce to them, that one must add more to it.

Right now, I like doing my notes on the computer for this one reason.

When I actually look at the price tag of mechanical keyboards, it does get me thinking whether I actually need it or not. I have yet to break any keyboard, and I don't think I can actually use it very much at school anyway. Hence, I can conclude it is better to get something else more versatile and useful.

On second thoughts, I think I will try and get my laptop keyboard and battery changed at acer tech-support instead, add RAM, uninstall and re-install Windows and give it a good cleanup.

I guess it really needs that mid-life upgrade I can really fully utilize, compared to the keyboard that will live almost forever in computer terms (statistically, over 30 years).

Mt Kinabalu

OK, this is a pretty old post from almost 2 months ago. I found it in the draft pile.

"
Yesterday, we did the mount Kinabalu climb and returned safely.

It was not an easy climb, but I find it less dangerous than Sharp's peak. Maybe I would find it much more ridiculous if it rained on the way down.
We arrived at Kinabalu Park HQ to get climbing permits and a mountain guide. The guide came in the form of a newbie with just 6 summit ascents. In T-shirt, shorts, ankle socks and trainers, he carried a small backpack with only the absolute necessities, and no water. By necessities, I mean a thick windbreaker-jacket, headlight and poncho (our guide brought an umbrella). His technical confidence doesn't stop there.
The intiial stretch of 2km was easy, so my mates made the mistake of walking too quickly and then getting out of breath. At first, the breaks were relatively far beaten, but gradually became very often. Actually, even at 1500m, the air already feels cleaner and thinner. But just 600meters up, it became surprisingly easy to lose one's breath.

And then, something about the path reminded me of our hike up Lantau peak and the "steve method". I found out the best way is to take one breath for every step I took, and the synchronise beating in with taking a step. This way of climbing would make Kinabalu the most relaxing and enjoyable experience in hiking, all the way to the top.
The hill got better as we ascended above the rainforest canopy, towards the top. Stopping to take photos every hundred meters or to catch the breath back was epic.
It took us 6 hours to reach our hut for the night. The hut was very chilly inside and you really couldn't remove most of the layers. It was not until I woke up from the rest that I realized there was a blanket under the sheets. I could really have did with that one.
Being the second least fit out of my group, it turned out I was the least affected by the high altitude. On the way up, you will hear a lot of panting and people stopping every few steps.

But sunrise has its special powers that can give one a kind of energy that flows through the body and inspires the mind to go higher.

I want to do that again someday, but do it faster and summit twice so that I can sit at the top to enjoy the entire sunrise and do the climbing course that traverses a part of the mountain. Having said that, the weather on Mt Kinabalu changes quickly and we really got some very good weather this time.

"

The charm of a secluded spot in the internet

There has been a lot written about the big nodes on the internet and many people do worship these places of pilgrimage as Google, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter.
But those are like public toilets compared to this blog. Everybody "has" to use them. there is all sorts of crap there, people dump their shit there. Today, following/liking/thumbs-up/sharing is almost as reflexive as the involuntary action of excretion. Everybody follows the same format (dumps in the same bowls).
This is in stark contrast with this blog. Here I get to do it freestyle. However. .I. .want. .it.!

There is a fine gap dividing a public toilet and the toilet at home.

Coming up: Blogger's new look

Singapore food

There is quite a lot I have to say about Singapore food.

Canteens:
The food is terrible when you first start, despite the many choices. And then you think "it's not so bad...", and then after a week of eating it, block my culinary imagination to such an extent that I feel like I could eat it forever. Nutritionally speaking, I think Singapore canteens are significantly better than HK cafeterias, which, while offering tastier meals, are almost always unbalanced. Portion sizes are way too small here, so I always feel like eating another set. (I never do though) Dessert options are great. Depending on canteen, it's usually waffles, beancurd, bean-soups and crepes. Fruits are always available, whereas they are scarce in HK canteens.

But something happens every Friday night that revives my taste buds.

Street Food (Food centers):
I go out for food on Fridays because my nearby canteen closes for the weekends.
Street food can be pretty nice, but also disappointing. There is no precise guarantee of quality. Often overrated. 60% probability of being good.

Food courts:
Usually found in malls, their quality is pretty consistent and taste similar everywhere. They look better than they taste, which isn't all that bad, except it usually is a bit bland, lacking in ingredients and soul-less. I don't think anybody eats in these places everyday, considering prices aren't exactly low either.

Which brings me to restaurants:
Like in HK, expect to spend more while in a restaurant. However, quality is usually guaranteed, especially when guided by Gwun Yiu. Good restaurant food costs a bit more than in HK. Budget-wise, restaurant dining offsets the savings of eating at the canteens and food-courts. The 17% extra (10% service charge, 7% GST) is usually the difference in comparison to HK.

What I avoid / what I love:
When eating out, I usually avoid dim-sum, as it just isn't as good here.
Having said that, Indian & Malaysian food is superb here, if one has a taste for these. Japanese food is also excellent, though it usually costs much more. Western food is not particularly attractive here given the Southeast Asian options. HK food is usually quite a bit off in taste here, so I am sticking with Singaporean staples (eg. Laksa, curries, 3/4-dish rice, Self-select noodles, Malaysian rice dishes) that are usually done satisfactorily.

My lunch favorites have got to be Laksa and curry, both of which contain great quantities of coconut milk and spice. I am not so sure they will fit well with the HK summer, but they sure do suit the tropical environment here.

As for dinner, I am still eating around.

Top 5 things people regret when they're dying

From the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
The main theme here is people not doing what they really wanted to do when they were healthy enough to do them.
In an increasingly "interdependent society", it is easy to get the idea that life was either following others or leading others - both actions which have "others" in them, meaning that you will have to adopt the values of others. But that's not the problem - the problems come when the values clash and your values are not fulfilled.

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
The article says that many men have lamented this. I agree. While one is working too hard, it may feel like there is no choice except this.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
I wish they generalized this into "I wish I had the courage to communicate better with other people". Settling with the limited choices provided by poor communication, one confines themselves in life.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Give your friendships the time and effort they deserve.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
I believe it is a GOD-GIVEN right for all human beings to pursue happiness. Yet it is up to us to choose happiness, just as one must choose to exercise their civil rights.

The article can be best summarized as "Find and fulfill your self-interest" - before it is too late!

Relating back to "exchange", I think it is the fastest way to learn these lessons. I think I would have regretted some of the above if I died last semester too. Right now, I am happy.

Google redirects blogs to country-specific URLs

From
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/02/01/2012211/google-begins-country-specific-blog-censorship

bonch writes "Google will begin redirecting blogs to country-specific URLs. Blog visitors will be redirected to a URL specific to their location, with content subject to their country's censorship laws. A support post on Blogger explains the change: 'Over the coming weeks you might notice that the URL of a blog you're reading has been redirected to a country-code top level domain, or "ccTLD." For example, if you're in Australia and viewing [blogname].blogspot.com, you might be redirected to [blogname].blogspot.com.au. A ccTLD, when it appears, corresponds with the country of the reader's current location.'"

"Learn to be Independent"

When I went to one of Gwun Yiu's relative's places for Chinese New Year, the relative told me something that I think exemplifies the male ideal in Singapore.

"Learn to be Independent."

Independence is easy. You just have to have nobody to depend on!

I think to really actually begin socialization, one should be independent first. Otherwise, socialization does not really bring its results, and that is mutual understanding of each other (instead of having a shoulder to cry on or someone to lean against).

Independence is completely different from isolationism.

Project firefly essay

Identify the major players that determine US foreign policy. Who are directly or indirectly controlled by the US president?

What are the goals of the US foreign policy?
1) Security
2) Economic

Can you think of examples of US foreign policy priorities that are eternal?
In what ways could an election campaign alter how a foreign policy matter is framed or debated?
Are there any significant events that might happen in 2012 in the United States or elsewhere that could influence the US presidential election?

Can Man and Woman be Purely Friends?

THE CHAT:

And the main topic of the whole time was whether men and women can be purely friends?!

Eugene Wong
I argued that friendship just had many levels.
and expressions.
Samuel Poon
walking in the rain => pretty tough
was your band of friends just guys?
Eugene Wong
no, 2 guys and 1 gal. (I feel weird calling a female 5 years older than I am a girl)
Samuel Poon
outcome ? [;)]
Eugene Wong
She stubbornly insists it is possible. I personally think this sort of platonic attraction is really difficult for MEN and WOMEN.
The other guy got bored and started playing with his many camera lens.
Samuel Poon
lol
i understand the difficulty
i dont' think it's impossible
though
Eugene Wong
The thing is, our definition of friends are different
Samuel Poon
gay people probably wont have much problems
i wont have problems with my sister
then it's a bit out of your scope
Eugene Wong
Of course. It was about heterosexuals and previously strangers.
I think women use their idea of friendship with other women when friends with men, and same with men.
And then they expect it to work.
And are surprised when it doesn't, because we think differently and there can be attraction.
I surprised myself even, when I personally said "Why would a man and a woman want to be just friends if they really have so much interests and values in common, that brings them together? Is it so terrible to not be purely friends?, or is it not better to be more than just friends?"
Samuel Poon
they could already have a spouse
Eugene Wong
but that doesn't mean they are purely friends, at least they may not see each other as just that.
Of course, that's where things can clash, but that's what some people inevitably run into.
And if all fails, you could always "pretend" to be just friends, as some people pretend to like each other

--------

The definition of friends is really different from one to another.
The nature of the relationship is viewed from 3 perspectives - the 2 people involved each have their own and sometimes different views of the relationship. the outsider's view is the third.
A person in this friendship may be attracted to the other but the other person may not be attracted, yet A person may believe self to be attractive to the other.

The person who is unattracted to the other and also does not feel that the other is attracted to him/her will see that it is a friendship. The other combinations (eg. attracted to / is attractive to) are not friendships.

A friendship, among all other things, means different things to different people, and the difference is not necessarily communicated.

Wikipedia's SOPA/PIPA is working!

I saw 4 people in the library today who, apparently, had no idea what SOPA/PIPA were, and were visibly shocked to find wikipedia had blacked itself out. Most proceeded to check it out.

In response to " Hong Kong City-State "

Liberty and free-market capitalism is a global issue. Hong Kong isn't the only place where these are heavily and increasingly contested, with far reaching consequences for us and future generations.

There are mutual benefits for both, except that Hong Kong has never been independent politically in the first place. Nothing has changed. Hong Kong has always had outsiders controlling it. Before it was Chinese, then British, then now Chinese again. And HK people have always been a flexible and adaptive bunch. That was the only constant. The others always changed.

When HK people in HK cease to be flexible and highly adaptive (because they weren't thinking that way, or it wasn't allowed), it isn't the Hong Kong we know it to be anymore. People who are will move elsewhere or be changed. They would immigrate, as people did back in 1996/1997, to better places.

The values of Hong Kong that makes it as it is, is the hard-working ethic and the flexibility and adaptibility that makes free-market capitalism and freedom intuitive to us and compatible to our way of life. When these are no longer the political intuitions, it won't matter how autonomous Hong Kong is.

Hong Kong is one tip of a big melting iceberg.

---------

How was integration defined in the book?

A few things I found out about myself during exchange (so far)...

A few things I found out about myself during exchange so far...

1) When I am sleeping less than 9 hours, I am not talkative. There are more awkward pauses. Sleeping more than 9 hours, I can chat up business students, and those people I find a bit boring normally.

2) I like my computer more when I sleep late.

3) Running late at night seems to make me sleep better.

4) There exists females who make extremely challenging running partners. They want to chit-chat while running at a 10km/h pace for 2++ hours at 0100. I guess with males, female companionship (or "motivation") makes every feat possible. (And I didn't know that before. It just came out of nowhere. She made me do at least 24km every night for 4 nights in a row and wants to do half-marathon back in HK.)

5) Singaporean food is an acquired taste. I hated durian at first, but after having durian ice-cream a few times, I was ready for the real thing. It's great when you don't try to smell it.

6) Laksa looked weird before I tried it. I find now that I like Chilly Laksa so much I have to have at least a bowl of Laksa noodles everyday. I leave no food left behind.

7) I caught myself self-talking in Singlish, but it does not show up at all when I actually speak. I wonder how that works.

more to come!

Exchange Life 1

"Life is so chur here" "There are so many uncertainties ahead"

This is a common thought for many HK exchange students. There is always that free day in which somebody has to put forward ideas of what to do for the day.

Without that leader, HK students spend big amounts of time hea-ing in cafes and have dinner after 8pm (late by Singaporean standards, where people will eat as early as 5 if they get out of school or work.

Thankfully, Gwun Yiu is in Singapore and knows his way well around here. He knows great places to eat so we don't have to half-fill our stomachs with Food Court canteen food. He gets a bit annoyed when we insist on the nearest food-court because we don't want to queue up.

I have discovered that some people here on exchange have existential problems and don't really know why they're here. "Why did I come to exchange?" they ask. I guess we're answering that right now being here. It is not an answer most of us know fully yet, but I guess we liked the direction exchange would bring us.
So, the solution, I guess is to do what we value - the expression of values.

And to do that we are finding out our values first. Clarifying values.

To be continued, part 2...

Big and Small

Throughout history, the big turns have always been driven by a small but determined minority, who, by choice and intellect, felt they wanted something else.

The minority leads, the majority follows.

Note that being a minority still means being in connection with everyone. It doesn't mean isolation. It means leadership.

"International Lounge"

There's this noisy room in NTU with a starbucks and several TVs with different channels on.
When you look at them, most of it is commercials.
BBC and CNN talk about the exact same thing is pretty much the same way.
"Iran scientist Killed"... "New Hampshire Primary"... Expert telling you the obvious in suits.
NatGeo is talking about how much drugs are coming through Miami

No one is really watching.
And The best thing to watch seems to be about making induction cookers.