SIS Class of 2010 Reunion - 2014

I have finally caved and decided to write this post.

Reunions are pretty daunting.

Before the Reunion, I did some "research".

http://www.buzzfeed.com/laraparker/stages-of-being-invited-to-your-high-school-reunion#.pbO8K1zAjo

http://greeblehaus.com/2013/08/guest-post-how-i-avoided-high-school-reunion-anxiety.html

I was anxious. Are people going to be better than me, in my own eyes? Then I looked back at myself and saw how I wasn't the person I said I wanted to be back when I graduated. I thought I would be a lot more.

Here's what I learnt.

People regress to the mean.

Without perfect information, we can always assume that people will lie close to the mean. And most observations confirm this.
My fears of being inferior are generally unfounded.

Some people seem to have found their thing, most haven't. Like most people in their 20s (so I've been told), we are exploring, trying stuff out and having fun.

You are mortal. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Even though I didn't personally know the classmates who have passed away, it's certainly and truly broken my sense of immortality. 

Success, failure, happiness, sadness, anger are only ever temporary states. Enjoy everything life throws at you, and do what you want to do, what only you can do.

Same goes for reunions. If I enjoy it, or I don't enjoy it, it's still going to go on. 

Being normal is a f***ing waste of time.

It's been 4.5 years since the great waste of time known as school, for which this blog is named after. I learnt a lot, experienced a lot, but it's nothing compared to the odd homeschooling folk. Why be in class when you could be fulfilling your purpose for living, experiencing life instead of reading about it in a classroom? For example, there are home-schooled kids devoting time everyday to gymnastics classes. Since it takes at least 10,000 hours to become an expert at something, and being at school take 7 hours of productive time out of every day, school kids have 7 hours less time to do what they want to do.

And that's if the school kids even know what they want to do. Having followed a routine for the past 15+ years, coming out to the real world and having to set your own path gets daunting, especially for the shy and relatively sheltered.

Being given the freedom to set one's own course from the beginning means that by the 20s, they will be competent captains and sailors on the waters of life.

Comparing oneself to others is a 100% successful way to destroy self-worth and lose yourself.

Never compare yourself to others. There will always be someone better than you. Rather, look within yourself to find out why you do this. 

Oh, and also, there's no external solutions to emotional insecurity. One can try, as I have tried, but it'll always fly back in ones face until you learn this.

The 6 Pillars of Self-Esteem.

See soon-to-be linked article.

Conclusion

I guess this is the first of many reunions to come.

Live long and prosper!

Version 1.0 04012015

Change of Habits 2015 (Part 1: Coffee)

I have recently adopted a coffee routine.  I'd have a small cup everyday. just to see if I will get addicted. And also because it's refreshing and recharging, in a lasting sense.

Ingredients:

Organic, Fair-Trade Coffee.
Support organic farming! Keep FairTrade alive! Screw Nestle!

Glass Cup.
No chemical leaching. Handles hot well.

Boiling Water. Ice Water

How it's made:

Add a teaspoon of pure coffee powder to cup. Add 100ml of hot water and dissolve. Smell it! Then, immediately fill the rest with as much ice-cold water as you wish.

Benefits:

Hot water seems to denature the flavor but release the aroma. Cold water preserves the flavor but reduces the aroma. I try to preserve both.


http://petergiuliano.tumblr.com/post/22177089634/why-you-should-stop-cold-brewing-and-use-the

Stock Photo Madness

While getting Teamviewer for a new computer, I realized I've seen that stock model elsewhere my curiosity peaked. Who is that model? Why am I seeing that everywhere?

http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx

It's so strange looking at ads now. I mean, people ascribe meaning to everything, but a lot of stuff is just nonsense. It's like the Ad makers are lazy and copied & pasted smiles, and people are eating it up...

I have upgraded my BS filters.

The Christmas Truce

Among this chaos, I think we can all take little consolation in an event that happened precisely a century and 2 days ago. 

The Christmas Truce of 1914, on the Western Front.

That's real courage. The courage to rise above all the evils of war, delusions of nationalism and following orders, if just for a moment. I wonder how they felt going back to following orders and killing each other after that. 

The truce tells us what leads to world peace in the short run - principled disobedience, and obedience to virtue.

Sailing Insights

You know, I had a lot of time to think this weekend out sailing.

I used to think that you were either for the status quo, or against it. Against a trend, or against it. Against the winds, or with it.

Until I stopped worrying and learnt to love the close haul!

A Good Sailor Always keeps the wind in his sails. It doesn't matter where you are going, what you are doing - the wind is your power.

Life

1. Direction
I have a strong tendency to just go where the wind blows and enjoy the maximum speed.
This is fun, but you aren't going to get anywhere.The maneuvers are what really matter.

Gearing up

1. Always use gloves.

Slippery rudder extensions, rough ropes, saltwater and flayed wires makes the equipment dangerous to the sailor hands. Wear snug-fit gloves for easier knot tying and untying.

2. Bring your own wetsuit.

Here at the LCSD centers, the wetsuits reek of salty dead fish and human stink. 

Don't use them. On my first lesson, I tried them. On my second, I went to sea with only swim pants. On my third, I brought my own.

3. Water shoes.

Make sure they are the kind that have sticky rubber soles. I have seen some pretty terrible ones which leave the user prone to slipping all over hard plastic hulls.

4. Wear a hat under the helmet. (Wear a helmet)

A hat provides extra protection, cushioning from boom strikes and shade. In fact, the hard part in front is good for front strikes.

5. Wear sunglasses or high-vis swim goggles.
Sunglasses filter UV and makes the ocean less bright. Also protects eyes from ocean spray.

Single-Sailing/Helmsman

1. Sailing is a lot like horse-riding. If you are scared, horse gets it, and it becomes scared too. Laser Picos are the same - fear and indecision leads to inaction when action is required.

2. Watch the ropes. Keep them away from you. They can be entanglement hazards.

3. Check rudder is fully lowered and secured. A partially lowered rudder leads to a poor rudder control (heavy rudder)

Wind

1. Watching the wind:
Stick a thin piece of string to the boom to indicate wind. Or just use the nearby windsock.

2. Watch for gusts by watching the water surface.

To be Continued...

Purism Librem

I want one!
Give damn Apple a run for its money!

https://www.crowdsupply.com/purism/librem-laptop

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2849795/purism-librem-15-linux-laptop-blends-high-end-hardware-with-totally-free-software.html