Computers, first thing in the morning

Gosh. Now, I can tell, I'm totally addicted to... computers. It's what I'm on, first thing in the morning. How hellish can that get?

Gee, time for me to get off, make breakfast, shower, and wash up.

Gesundheit Institute

How can you not be totally moved by Patch Adam's initiative? Lend them a supportive hand.

This is what medical treatment should be about. It shouldn't be about detachment and ruthless efficiency. It should center about providing love, care and comfort. That is what truly fulfils the Hippocratic oath.

And for your information, here's the traditional text of the oath.

I swear by Apollo the physician, by Æsculapius, Hygeia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgement, the following Oath.

"To consider dear to me as my parents him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and if necessary to share my goods with him; to look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art if they so desire without fee or written promise; to impart to my sons and the sons of the master who taught me and the disciples who have enrolled themselves and have agreed to the rules of the profession, but to these alone the precepts and the instruction. I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgement and never do harm to anyone. To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his death. Nor will I give a woman a pessary to procure abortion. But I will preserve the purity of my life and my art. I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art. In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves. All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal. If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot."

I Want To Go Home

All this nonsense surrounding me, and I want to go home.

Home to Victoria, BC, Canada.

Home to warm sun, luscious leaves, and the cooling sea breeze.
Home to white snow, fireplace warmth, and a bowl of hot soup.
Home to incessant rain, blooming flowers, and the call of nesting birds.
Home to balding trees, browning leaves, and the crackle of footsteps on them

Home to the orcas, kelp and the salmon of the seas.
Home to smoked salmon, woodlog fires, and log cabins.
Home to the pine trees, Rocky Mountains, and mountain glaciers.
Home to apple pies, shepherd pies, and crumble pie.

Home to the maple leaf.

It's alright. Thanks. =)

It's okay, you can write about him. I've gotten over most of it. Just that 9 Jan will always remain an important date for me.

And thanks for writing about me too. =)

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks dies at the age of 91. The lady who rocked the faulty foundations of a nation of segregation.

I first read about her in "A Testament Of Hope - The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.", compiled by Harper Collins. He describes her resilience in the face of tyranny in one of his essays, "Our Struggle" (1956). Indeed, he quotes (and now I quote) Mrs. Parks as saying, "It was a matter of dignity; I could not have faced myself and my people if I had moved."

Her resistance was the catalyst for the social rights movement that soon overwhelmed the United States of America like an unstoppable wave. It provided a perspective, a context, for ordinary Americans to see the social injustice that permeated the social fabric, till every nook and cranny of society was filled with it. She stood up for the rights of black men and women, set and example for her people to live with dignity and pride. Not to be disheartened and trampled upon by the demon of unfair treatment. Not to be restricted by the chains and shackles that held them back from living a meaningful life. She was one of the pioneering catalysts for the true realization of American freedom for black men and women. A heroine of her time.

Hmmm... but a part of the social injustice still lingers on. Though I can't pin-point any real examples, one can still detect the hostility and racism when southerners in America still call the Afro-Americans "niggers" and "dirt". But at least from a legal point of view, Afro-Americans, and other minority groups, have achieved full equal status alongside their white brothers.

It seems her death prompted me to have another look at the movie "Remember The Titans". It was another movie about social segregation, about how one high school football coach, Herman Boone united the racially-segregated T.C. Williams High School, and eventually inspired the entire Alexandria, VA town with T.C. William's school spirit. Now that's a real story to take a look at too.

Update 28 October 2005:
--------------------------
Rosa Parks Links (best results rendered from Jux2.com)

• GrandTimes.com Article: http://www.grandtimes.com/rosa.html
• Time 100: http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/parks01.html
• Academy of Achievement: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0bio-1
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks

Sleep Early, Wake Early

Hmmm... So if I sleep at 9, I'll get up at 4. If I sleep at 10, I'll get up at 5. Means that, my body is a 7-hours sleeping machine, and I need 7 hours of continuous sleep. Wonder what that'll mean if I go to university; will I ever get my 7 hours of sleep?

Still Not Good Enough

You're not good enough man. You need to do it one more time. December. Go for it. Gun for perfection.

iPod

I just saw an iPod. As in, the large one. Not the Shuffle, not the Nano, but the big iPod. I want one. I just want one. I want one. I just really, really want one. And if I get one, I'll not get the white one. I'll get the black one. 60GB. Wahahahahahahahaha...

University

Suddenly, I have this big urge to go to university and test out my new concepts of time management. Doesn't sound too promising, though, given that I'll have to wait another 10 months from now before I get into one.

Reviewing Essays

I kinda like reviewing essays that others write. After all, it gives me an opportunity to know other people better. It also lets me help others improve. Yeah. I like it.

Off M$

How nice it feels, to be rid of yet another M$ piece of software. Yes, I'm talking about Microsoft (eew) Office 2003. Finally, I'm rid of it.

You must be wondering, what software do I use in place of it? Why, of course! It's something everybody knows about now. It's something everybody's talking about now. It's OpenOffice.org 2.0! Go get it. It's smaller than M$ Office. Best of all, it costs no $$. ;)

Easy Simple Piece of Cake

Easy, now isn't it? I used to have problems putting everything into one blog. And to think it took me ages to figure out that if I wanted to categorize everything, I might as well set up different blogs for different purposes. That's the best thing to do.

Photo of Myself

Well, if anybody has been actually anticipating this, or wondering what I look like, here's a photo of myself for the world to see.

Hawking

"We are all very very small. But we are profoundly capable of very big things."

Hawking

There was a lady whose name was called Bright,
Who set out one day at the speed of light.
She went round the world in a relative way,
And returned on the previous night!

Miso Soup

The best throat soother I've ever tasted.
Yummy!

Doubles up as food.
Cool!

Best of all, easy to make!
Rocks!

Sick. Damn. Sick

Hoola! I now have an interrupted timetable, stemming from the fact that I fell sick. Seems now that I'm gonna have to do some routine work - MATH - in order to get my body going back on track.

See you, world. Welcome to reality. Sickness.

Such and empty week

Next week will be an empty, boring week. My timetable has tons of blanks after correcting for possible consultations, which I doubt will be a lot. I'm going to make more additions now. Wonder how much free time I'd have left.

I Will Manage My Time

Yes, I hereby vow to manage my time and my life properly, wherever I go to for higher education. Hell, even before that, I swear I'll learn from my younger brother, who can manage his time and study habits even better than I do. Gee.

Following my own path.

So far, I have lived 18 years not trying to fulfil my parents' expectations but my own expectations - what I want, and what I desire. I hated being forced to play the piano, no matter how much my mom tried to brainwash me that I had a talent for it - so I quit it. But I loved playing the harmonica - so I learnt it on my own. Years later, without coersion, I picked up the piano on my own again. I love learning - but only that which is based on my own motivations. I prefer to have the freedom to choose my path, and live by my own interests and passions.

Yet, all around me, most of my classmates are driven simply by what their marks show - they argue with their teachers for marks, I refuse to do so; they say that marks are the most important thing, I refuse to believe so, for what I have internalized is more important than what is reflected in my transcript. Their parents push them hard - tuition classes after tuition classes after tuition classes plague their schedule. I refused tuition, even when my mom advised that I needed it, because I would rather look for a teacher, who would be more capable than a tutor. After all, tuition teachers are generally paid 'nannys' to look after helpless students who need some extra discipline and blocks of time to do work. I would rather do work at my own pace, and I would tune it to follow with my school's curriculum pace.

Just a few random comments from a pensive mind.