Friday, July 28, 2006

Math problems

What is x ? Find x



This is totally hilarious.



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Expand.... LOL

Monday, July 17, 2006

What's being rich?

People think that being rich means having diamonds (bling bling), gold, fast cars, expensive houses, a swarm of hot girlfriends etc..

I think that's rubbish.

First off- having sports cars, gold, diamonds, big houses, expensive clothes- is only a reflection or indication of material wealth. Even then- the person who is wearing it could very well have- bought it on credit- which makes him/her a pretender. Having such things- is not an asset- you need to devote considerable energies to service and protect them. And in the end, esp. for sports cars, they go down in value pretty quickly. They cost a fracking fortune - in insurance, petrol, to maintain and run. And each minute you sit in that thing- is a dollar down the drain.

For that matter- I totally don't understand how Holden can hawk the most POWERFUL sports car in an age of rising fuel costs. Holden spent over a billion dollars to develop this monstrousity. You're obviously going to have quite a few people buying it- but most buyers won't touch it because (its not a big brand name like Porsche, Ferrari), and the COST OF THE FRACKING FUEL. As it is- I can very well see the price of OIL hitting $100 a barrel- which will mean about $2.00 at the pump for us. Which will probably mean its going to cost $200 a week just to run the damn beast. And nooo... no discount petrol... you gotta use 98% octane in that precious engine. And since you have the fastest car in the block- you'll be Mr. or Ms. pedal to the metal. And with the amount of bloody speed cameras out that...

Anyhow... back to the topic. What's being rich? Is it the means to go to the casino and blowing one million dollars on the poker tables and not having to blink?

To some people, yes. But to me- its plain stupid.

What's being rich to me? Being able to do what you want. Being free from worry. Being happy. Being contented.

To do this- you need to have a positive attitude towards life. More on this later...

Balanced Life

I think one sign of a balanced life is inner peace or contentment. Its just a sign though - not a perfect indicator. A person could be an absolute sloth and be contented - :^)

Having a balanced life is a bit like a rough guide - it helps you to parcel out bits of yourself to the various activities without spending too much time - perhaps needlessly - on one particular area, i.e., like spending ten hours watching cartoon TV... or 5 hours a day playing counterstrike... bleh!

The Bible has a few things to say about that area - keeping yourself productive - don't be a busy body - take care of your family - loving and honoring your spouse and older relatives. 1st Thessalonians 4:11, 1 Timothy 5:8, Colossians 3

Click here to read more http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible

But basically a balanced life is about relationships. How we relate to God, the
people around us - family, workmates, neighbours etc.. Christ called us to be the salt of the world. And what does salt do? Its a preservative - prevents things from going rotten. It also adds taste to the food. So basically we are suppose to be good people, help others in need, etc.. If we can't be good people- it simply brings iscredit to the Good News- that Jesus died to save us from our sins.

I don't see how Christians can escape this fact.

But in this pro-active environment we are always cagouled to do this and do that: be productive. Maybe that's right. But we are first and foresome human beings - nothuman doings or production machines. I think who we are - inside - is the thing that matters. Character traits like humility, kindness, compassion, honesty, a listening ear, and a gentle spirit are intangible qualities. They make us the sort of people God wants us to be. I definately want to go to a church filled with people like that.

I wrote this in 2003- I still think the same way.


__________________________________
The Theory of Evolution is like this - you take a box of alphabets and shake it. After millions and millions of years, you will get thousands of well written books. If you think that's ridiculous, you should read Darwin's thesis.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Balanced Life

I think one sign of a balanced life is inner peace or contentment. Its just a sign though - not a perfect indicator. A person could be an absolute sloth and be contented - :^)

Having a balanced life is a bit like a rough guide - it helps you to parcel out bits of yourself to the various activities without spending too much time - perhaps needlessly - on one particular area, i.e., like spending ten hours watching cartoon TV... or 5 hours a day playing counterstrike... bleh!

The Bible has a few things to say about that area - keeping yourself productive - don't be a busy body - take care of your family - loving and honoring your spouse and older relatives. 1st Thessalonians 4:11, 1 Timothy 5:8, Colossians 3

Click here to read more http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible

But basically a balanced life is about relationships. How we relate to God, the
people around us - family, workmates, neighbours etc.. Christ called us to be the salt of the world. And what does salt do? Its a preservative - prevents things from going rotten. It also adds taste to the food. So basically we are suppose to be good people, help others in need, etc.. If we can't be good people- it simply brings iscredit to the Good News- that Jesus died to save us from our sins.

I don't see how Christians can escape this fact.

But in this pro-active environment we are always cagouled to do this and do that: be productive. Maybe that's right. But we are first and foresome human beings - nothuman doings or production machines. I think who we are - inside - is the thing that matters. Character traits like humility, kindness, compassion, honesty, a listening ear, and a gentle spirit are intangible qualities. They make us the sort of people God wants us to be. I definately want to go to a church filled with people like that.

I wrote this in 2003- I still think the same way.


__________________________________
The Theory of Evolution is like this - you take a box of alphabets and shake it. After millions and millions of years, you will get thousands of well written books. If you think that's ridiculous, you should read Darwin's thesis.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

You know what I really dislike

I really really dislike people who screw things up, and then blame anyone - anything for their mistakes.

From time to time, I have the misfortune to associate with such people. They screw things up. Then compound their mistakes and multiple their efforts and mistakes. What they should have bloody well done- is to say "Hey I made a big mistake... well several... many big mistakes. I need help. What do you need me to do?"

Instead, they usually run away from the problem. Then I step in.

I fix the problem up for them. Hey, I'm not God Almighty- I make mistakes too- and the repairs might not be elegant. But the main problem does get fixed up.

Funny though, later, I get pissed in the ear for helping out. Instead of admitting to their failings. You get a pissful of lame excuses. You know the cynical saying- "No good deed goes unpunished".

As the good book says- Do not make friends with a contentious person - ie someone who is proud, rude, arrogant, and loves to quarrel, do stupid things and cause trouble. Run... flee from such a fool.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Modern Fable

There was this old man who upon retiring offered his two sons two options. The first was the ownership of a newsstand. The second was a flashy new expensive sportscar.

The older son took the flashy new expensive sportscar. By mid morning, he got a bunch of pretty girlfriends and he was the talk of the town. By the end of the week, he had also accumulated a dozen speeding fines. By the end of the month, the cost of running the car had run into a thousand dollars. By the year's end, he was heavily in debt due to repairs, fuel costs, insurance bills, speeding fine tickets, bloody parking tickets.

The 2nd son took the newsstand. It was quite a profitable operation. Everyday, he churned over a net profit of $200. He added a fax service, a lottery service and pretty soon he was making $400 a day. By the end of the year, he had made enough money to buy a flashy expensive sportscar. But he didn't. He bought an investment property with his earnings.

His older brother couldn't understand it. You're rich. Why don't you buy diamonds, get a hot girlfriend, get an expensive car, you idiot.

His brother replied- they are liabilities- you need to pay money to keep them- they just aren't worth it and are often more trouble than they are worth.

The moral of the story is- an asset is something which gives you a positive interest.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Staunton chess set





I picked up a Staunton chess set from England the other day. There is some slight damage but the pieces look magnificent. The King is over 3 inches tall. They all come weighted with the same metal used for coins.

I just love the design. It looks so elegant and pretty. All individually craved from ebony and boxwood. The horse also looks quite humorous and cute.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Staunton chess set





I picked up a Staunton chess set from England the other day. There is some slight damage but the pieces look magnificent. The King is over 3 inches tall. They all come weighted with the same metal used for coins.

I just love the design. It looks so elegant and pretty. All individually craved from ebony and boxwood. The horse also looks quite humorous and cute.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Winter time Gardening and Pruning Roses



Ah... winter time... when coffee taste so much better and having cookies by the fireplace makes so much good sense.

Its Winter time here in Melbourne. Apart from eating Krispy Kream donuts, I've been busy working on the garden.

Finished pruning the roses today. The roses need to be pruned right back during Winter time to help encourage them to produce stronger growth in Spring... two months from now. If you don't cut them back- the roses channel their energy thru weak or old canes/branches. Here's a photo of what they look like now. Looks crappy huh? I'll show you the roses when they come up in Spring.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Waiting for Dawn

Soft is the velvet night sky
Quiet is the black night
A gentle breeze passes by
In stillness I patiently wait for Dawn


Sometimes when the night is warm in Summer. I stay up to meet the coolness of the night air. I'm reading or listening to some classical music. With Mozart or Chopin in the background, the moment is sometimes quite exquisite. It feels so serene and peaceful.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Asterix Pewter chess set



Hmmm... bit of a surprise. I won this auction.

Didn't actually expect to win. Usually the chess sets go for over GBP150.

The postage will be a killer though. And may cost over $100.

Still the chess set looks way way cool and I've been a fan of Asterix since I was a kid. I love how all the Gaulish pawns are individual members of the town- and not one same generic character. It looks like virtually the entire regular cast of the comic series is portrayed here. Sweet.