Once upon a time, a king had seven pretty daughters. These seven princesses all had long, beautiful hair. Thus, the king gave each of them one hundred diamond hairpins.
One morning, when the oldest princess waked up, she combed her beautiful hair as usual. Suddenly, she found one of her diamond hairpins was lost. She could not find it anywhere, so she stealingly went to the second oldest princess’ room and stole one of hers.
The second princess found she lost one diamond hairpin, and then she stole one of the third princess’. After that the third princess also took one from her sisters. Then accordingly the forth princess stole her sister’s. The fifth princess took her sister’s diamond hairpin, too. And the sixth princess had to steal the youngest princess’. Therefore, the youngest only have ninety-nine hairpins.
The next day, the handsome prince from neighbor country came and told the king, “Yesterday my naughty lark picked back a diamond hairpin. I think it must be one of your daughters’. I am linked with her by ties of fate, and I will marry her. Which princess lost her princess?” After hearing that, the princess all wanted to say, “It is me, it is me.” But obviously there were one hundred hairpins on their hair. Only the youngest princess came out and said, “I have lost a hairpin.” This was the end of the story. They got married and lived happily with each other.
One hundred diamond hairpins is like a perfect life; if there are only ninety-nine diamond hairpins, it is a imperfect life. Why should we pursue perfection by all kind of kind of means? I think there will be some defects in our lives, which is unavoidable. We should face it calmly. In addition, because of these defects, our imperfect lives will be better.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
When we all put on Suit
Last Wednesday, we all put on our suits for the oral presentation in order to look professional and neat. Ms Leo said that our junior should give up wearing suits, but some of us think it is fine to do so. I think it is an interesting and controversial topic to talk about. Actually, there are several reasons why we wear suits. First of all, we want to seize any opportunities to wear suits. In fact, our seniors advised us to buy suits before coming to Singapore. However, when we have arrived Singapore, there are few chances to wear suits. It must be a waste of money if we do not wear suits for the presentation. In my opinion, it is the most important reason. In addition, in this boring English course, we need some stimulant. It is interesting to see how do our friends look in suits, and we do not want to be the only one in casual clothes. Last but not least, some teachers’ advise. For example, Ms Lim told us we should not wear jeans in the presentation. However, I do not have non-jeans pants except the formal pant, so I had to wear suits.
Although suits helped us to look formal, it also makes us feel uncomfortable. It seems that we must do the presentation perfectly for the sake of the suits. Therefore, we felt more nervous than before.
I think the origin of the issue is the seniors. They should not suggest that strongly. Maybe they can suggest us to buy non-jeans instead of the whole suit. If we encounter an occasion requiring suits later, we can just buy the coat in Singapore.
In a conclusion, when we become seniors, we should suggest our juniors to bring necessary things. Things like suits should not be highly recommended.
Our Sloth
Let us look at what most of us may have experienced before:"Today I have several things to do."
"OK, start with this one."
"I will do it later, break for now."
"Watching TV, surfing the net, chatting..."
"Those assignments can be done tomorrow because I still have time."
Obviously, we gave in to our laziness. In fact, everyone has his own dream. Nevertheless, some of them will go through with their tasks as long as they have set up their mind on the goal whereas some always live in their plan. Unfortunately, for those “well-planned” people, their plan is just a schedule stuck to the wall which is daily changed.
There is a story about boiling frogs: Put a frog into a pot filled with water, and then simmer the frog for a while. The frog was sensitive to tiny changes in temperature. However, he might think it is unnecessary to jump out of the pot at once as a result of his laziness. Eventually, he lost his consciousness and was put on the dining table. If we forgive ourselves without principle, one day our passion for life will die out in indulging ourselves.
Someone said being lazy is a kind of instinct. The instinct is something related to natural tendency. To a certain extent, there exists difference between instinct and laziness. In the dictionary, lazy means having the tendency not to change one’s life and working habit, which is not natural. Why do people not want to change? To fulfill the insatiability is the motivation. Actually, for most people, as long as they can dress warmly and eat their fill, they can always find something to satisfy themselves. Apart from that, before one decides to change, he or she will always make a risk assessment. Nevertheless, under most circumstances, they will subconsciously pay extra attention to the advantages of the change or even overstate the risk. That is why few people choose to take the risk instead of living the same life.
From a medico psychologist’s perspective, laziness is detrimental to mental and physical health. It will weaken people’s adaptation to the environment, leading to premature senility.
In fact, our sloth is a result of helplessness. Because we cannot or do not want to change our lives, we decide to escape from reality. Most importantly, we cannot afford the lapse of time. It is impossible for someone to strive for something if he cannot manage to take charge of himself. Also, our sloth suggests us to gain more rewards with less cost. That is why we extremely lack in initiative. As our laziness is too powerful, lots of things will not be done until we have no other choice.
We cannot forget our sloth, which is our archenemy. We should not trust “sloth”, because tomorrow does not equal to hope. Every day we have “tomorrow”, but we do not have “present”. However, our hope is based on every “present”.
How to overcome our laziness? Take actions! Remind ourselves every now and then. Yes! Take steps now. It is not enough to just set up our mind. Moreover, we need to warn ourselves that if we cannot overcome our laziness, nothing can be done.
Our life is limited, there is no second for each of us to squander. We should live every day as if tomorrow we would end our life. Cherish the moment!
Staying Up Late
Staying Up Late
Through our research, I found that I am not the only one who likes to stay up late in the night. And this adverse habit is specially common among boys. I like to stay up late, nevertheless I do not know why I like to do this. When I was in China, I always tried to stay up late. However, my parents did not give me the free pass for that. They were worried that staying up late too often may causing procrastination of body booming. As a rebellious teenager then, I always locked my room door and secretly watched movie or played computer game till two or three o’clock in the morning.
Now, I finally get out of the tentacle of my parents', which means I do not have to be bothered by their nags. In the first few months of coming to Singapore, I excitedly stayed up late for every day, or even stay u the whole night. I felt like I finally fulfilled my dream of living without supervision. Out of my expectation, after experiencing staying up late by person, I do not really want to do that any more.
It was a normal staying up for a whole night, playing computer games. The next day, I felt just ok in the morning , nothing abnormal. When it came to the afternoon, something weird happened. I was sitting at my desk and completing my homework. Suddenly, a gale of dizzy hit me, I felt numb in the head for a while. I recovered soon after this. The painful feeling did not end yet. Following the dizzy, sour feeling rapidly creped my whole body like a snake was sliding all over my place and squeezing tightly and tightly. So frightened I was that I went to bed for I do not think I could hold any more seconds. I felt much better after a restorative nap. Rethinking what had happened to me, I started to wonder it was the consequence of accumulative staying up late. I swear to myself I will not stay up that late again.
The genuine detrimental experience alert me for how terrible it is to stay up late. I will never stay up that late, because I know that it does nothing good but damage. Please get rid of living habits and live healthily.
Cloud? Cloud!
(Last time, I said I’d continue writing something about New Moon. However, I’ve decided to abort the plan. Most of the time, a sequel is not comparable with the original one since the interest and curiosity of the audience has been completely sucked by the original one. So, I must find something new to write about.)
You think I would write the fuzzy intangible agglomeration up in the sky? No way. What I am really going to write about is the down-to-earth technology of cloud computing. Before I came here, my father told me that IBM was negotiating a large contract with our local government to land a “cloud factory” in my hometown, the very first of its kind in China. At about the same time, a new service named document was provided by the new giant Google. It allows people to edit their documents, spreadsheets and slides online. Since then I could see an inevitable trend that all software and even platforms will be provided in the form of “cloud” in the future.
Actually, cloud is a new way of thinking in computing. The concept incorporates infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) as well as other recent technology trends that have the common theme of reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. Cloud computing services usually provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers. The “cloud factory” mentioned above is a typical example of IaaS. The factory is actually a centre fully equipped with advanced computers to perform grid computing, which allows astronomical data to be analyzed and pocessed within several hours. Google’s new service is a SaaS as it functions just like the software Office provided by Microsoft.
The greatest advantages of cloud computing could be seen in the cost cut and stability. As all the services will be provided online, the capital expenditure will be hugely cut down as the consumption will be based on utility. It means there will be no upfront cost and consumers will only pay for what they have used or the time they have used. Cloud computing largely simulates the displacement of electricity generators by electricity grids early in 20th century. Moreover, the data for common users would be much safer as they are stored on servers instead of PCs, whose stability are really doubtable.
Personally, I am really looking forward to the upcoming service Gdrive of Google, which the beta has already been released. Gdrive will install a virtual drive on your PC and all the documents put in it would be uploaded to Google’s servers. Then you do not need to worry about your data since they are stored on Google’s server. It would be a huge relief for people like me who have experienced breaking-down of the operating system( which equals to the loss of all data in my computer). Though some people are concerned about the privacy problem, I believe it would be solved soon.
Oh! Come on, Gdrive.
You think I would write the fuzzy intangible agglomeration up in the sky? No way. What I am really going to write about is the down-to-earth technology of cloud computing. Before I came here, my father told me that IBM was negotiating a large contract with our local government to land a “cloud factory” in my hometown, the very first of its kind in China. At about the same time, a new service named document was provided by the new giant Google. It allows people to edit their documents, spreadsheets and slides online. Since then I could see an inevitable trend that all software and even platforms will be provided in the form of “cloud” in the future.
Actually, cloud is a new way of thinking in computing. The concept incorporates infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) as well as other recent technology trends that have the common theme of reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. Cloud computing services usually provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers. The “cloud factory” mentioned above is a typical example of IaaS. The factory is actually a centre fully equipped with advanced computers to perform grid computing, which allows astronomical data to be analyzed and pocessed within several hours. Google’s new service is a SaaS as it functions just like the software Office provided by Microsoft.
The greatest advantages of cloud computing could be seen in the cost cut and stability. As all the services will be provided online, the capital expenditure will be hugely cut down as the consumption will be based on utility. It means there will be no upfront cost and consumers will only pay for what they have used or the time they have used. Cloud computing largely simulates the displacement of electricity generators by electricity grids early in 20th century. Moreover, the data for common users would be much safer as they are stored on servers instead of PCs, whose stability are really doubtable.
Personally, I am really looking forward to the upcoming service Gdrive of Google, which the beta has already been released. Gdrive will install a virtual drive on your PC and all the documents put in it would be uploaded to Google’s servers. Then you do not need to worry about your data since they are stored on Google’s server. It would be a huge relief for people like me who have experienced breaking-down of the operating system( which equals to the loss of all data in my computer). Though some people are concerned about the privacy problem, I believe it would be solved soon.
Oh! Come on, Gdrive.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Ideal life style
Ideal life style
Since I came to Singapore, I got to have a clear idea about the so called liberty and democracy. Of course, I am not intended to talk about politics here. What I want to say is where people’s desire lay when living in a democratic and liberal country.
Many people would consider making money as the most important thing that we need to do. According to many economists, this kind of desire can help form a sound system and adjust itself to changes and make progress, thus our economy can develop. However, I think the development of economy is just the methods while not the destination though I agree with Marx that the society tends to become more productive. To put my point of view clear, that is to say, Marx means we all hope a better life which is based on the development of economy, then we try to make a lot of money which, on the whole, will improve the economy, and thus benefit our life; noticing that making money is just a method and being happy is the destination, what if making money itself is not so happy. Analyzing this matter as a whole, we can also say that development of economy’s benefiting our life is not sufficient to conclude that we must have it to be happy. It is necessary but not sufficient.
Then, what is the ideal life style? I mean when people do not have to worry about where to get money. It is a difficult question. Or maybe, when we reached this point, life will be totally nonsense. That is about human telos, which reminds me of EVA. If we really reach the utopia, I think there must be a lot of philosophers.
However, let us focus on the present. We still need to run for money, and we often forget what is most important. For me, I do not want to have much money. I just want to find a girl who is willing to be isolated with others and to be with me. We work while travel around the world. Then find a quiet place to bring up our children. Learn as much as possible, in the whole life. Think of difficult problems, in many areas.
It is too vague and too far to be true. Maybe I myself do not like it when it comes to reality.
Since I came to Singapore, I got to have a clear idea about the so called liberty and democracy. Of course, I am not intended to talk about politics here. What I want to say is where people’s desire lay when living in a democratic and liberal country.
Many people would consider making money as the most important thing that we need to do. According to many economists, this kind of desire can help form a sound system and adjust itself to changes and make progress, thus our economy can develop. However, I think the development of economy is just the methods while not the destination though I agree with Marx that the society tends to become more productive. To put my point of view clear, that is to say, Marx means we all hope a better life which is based on the development of economy, then we try to make a lot of money which, on the whole, will improve the economy, and thus benefit our life; noticing that making money is just a method and being happy is the destination, what if making money itself is not so happy. Analyzing this matter as a whole, we can also say that development of economy’s benefiting our life is not sufficient to conclude that we must have it to be happy. It is necessary but not sufficient.
Then, what is the ideal life style? I mean when people do not have to worry about where to get money. It is a difficult question. Or maybe, when we reached this point, life will be totally nonsense. That is about human telos, which reminds me of EVA. If we really reach the utopia, I think there must be a lot of philosophers.
However, let us focus on the present. We still need to run for money, and we often forget what is most important. For me, I do not want to have much money. I just want to find a girl who is willing to be isolated with others and to be with me. We work while travel around the world. Then find a quiet place to bring up our children. Learn as much as possible, in the whole life. Think of difficult problems, in many areas.
It is too vague and too far to be true. Maybe I myself do not like it when it comes to reality.
learning to swim
Learning to swim
A few weeks ago, I went to East Coast Park, where there is a big swimming pool. I did not know how to swim at all. I had learnt swimming in China, but never once could I get the idea of how to swim. However, when I saw the pool, I just cannot help wanting to jump into it.
When I really jumped into the pool, I found that the water was sea water and it smelt terrible when mixed with disinfectant. As it was sea water, I wanted to test whether I would float in it or not. Then I found that I floated! I told my friends that when I was in China, I never floated, and I thought it was because of the higher density of sea water that I could float here. They laughed at me and said that it was not a big deal if we compared the density of sea water and pure water. Then I thought maybe I gained fat here.
I found breaststroke the easiest to learn, or rather, easiest for me to keep floating. I had always thought that the force that pushed me forward should come from my pushing away water, and the harder I pushed, the further I would go. However, it did not work. I found myself struggle and stay at the same place all the time. “Why?” I began wondering. Luckily, some little girls who were also learning to swim helped me. I watched them and found that it was when the close their legs that they went forward fastest. I felt embarrassed as I had learnt physics for so many years, and I did not understand where the force came from. Then I tried the way these little girls used, and found myself move forward a few meters! I was so happy and swam all around the pool. After I cooled down, I decided to cover the whole distance without stop. When I reach the middle of the pool, I choked. I dared not give out breath under water and the time my head being above the water was too limited to complete an entire process of breathing. So, when I came to the middle there was no air in my lung. It was time to go, though I do not want to leave.
What a pity I left my learning half-done. However, it was a lot of fun. Besides, there was BBQ waiting for me.
A few weeks ago, I went to East Coast Park, where there is a big swimming pool. I did not know how to swim at all. I had learnt swimming in China, but never once could I get the idea of how to swim. However, when I saw the pool, I just cannot help wanting to jump into it.
When I really jumped into the pool, I found that the water was sea water and it smelt terrible when mixed with disinfectant. As it was sea water, I wanted to test whether I would float in it or not. Then I found that I floated! I told my friends that when I was in China, I never floated, and I thought it was because of the higher density of sea water that I could float here. They laughed at me and said that it was not a big deal if we compared the density of sea water and pure water. Then I thought maybe I gained fat here.
I found breaststroke the easiest to learn, or rather, easiest for me to keep floating. I had always thought that the force that pushed me forward should come from my pushing away water, and the harder I pushed, the further I would go. However, it did not work. I found myself struggle and stay at the same place all the time. “Why?” I began wondering. Luckily, some little girls who were also learning to swim helped me. I watched them and found that it was when the close their legs that they went forward fastest. I felt embarrassed as I had learnt physics for so many years, and I did not understand where the force came from. Then I tried the way these little girls used, and found myself move forward a few meters! I was so happy and swam all around the pool. After I cooled down, I decided to cover the whole distance without stop. When I reach the middle of the pool, I choked. I dared not give out breath under water and the time my head being above the water was too limited to complete an entire process of breathing. So, when I came to the middle there was no air in my lung. It was time to go, though I do not want to leave.
What a pity I left my learning half-done. However, it was a lot of fun. Besides, there was BBQ waiting for me.
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