Moving mountains ...

Once upon a time, I had the notion that in order to make things work, I must always have the correct tools in order get them done. Be it a proper chart creator, a fancy hardware or a state of the art development software. The right tools needs to be at hand in order for it to be done perfectly.

Today, I know that its not entirely correct.

Getting things done is all about setting our mind in its proper state.

Under normal circumstance, the tools might help get me to the end point a little faster but it does not necessary dictate my ability to complete the task successfully.

Of course there are tasks that depends on (or is) the equipment itself. For instance a computer software does require the usage of a computer that will allow us to compile codes into a running application. But does the type of computer dictate our ability to deliver the designated task?

In reality, no.

As long as the computer meets the basic requirement of being able to process a list of computer instruction then our hardware need would be theoretically fulfilled. Even the oldest "punch card" mainframes are considered usable for delivery. A damn steep climb to reach the top but still workable.

My point?

Simply that the primary parameter that dictate the successfulness of a task predominantly resides with our mind set and not the tools. It is our minds that fuel the initiative to find better and bolder solutions to the task at hand. Bending the rules of possibility to achieve what was previously deemed impossible.

I know that there are more than enough arguments that can be had with my examples. The whole notion is based upon very shaky ground. But I stand by my principle that getting things done always starts from within us, the tools are just there to help get us get going.

If we can make a 640,000 KG pile of steel fly in the air then we can basically achieve anything we set our mind to accomplish.

2:38AM in Taipei ...

Its 2:38AM in Taipei and I am waiting for my clothes to finish its dry cycle.

If you haven't guess already, I am currently not where I am normally at this time of the year.

I have tried to write travel blogs before but it never seem to come to a proper conclusion. I put up a few pre-post (like movie trailers) but I never follow it through to the end.

This time is not going to be any different either.

Am no good with posting about my vacations or trips to other places.
I don't mind putting up some of the pictures with comments.
But not a play by play run down.

Seriously, its harder than it seems to be.
Thus people like Sharon should be commended for their ability to put up all those post of their trips around the globe.

So here are some pictures that I snapped while going around a Taipei hotspot.

Its tremendously busy and crowded.


And here is a gem I found among the mass of human flesh.


To tell the truth I am rather surprised at the alarming amount of cute people I see in Taipei. Everywhere I look I tend to see cute looking humanoids.

My current running theory is the quality of the water supply that gives the people here that fine shiny skin.

Even I feel as if I am much better looking while looking in the mirror here.
If this can be proven, more people will start visiting Taipei.

The new Visit Taiwan tag line will be ...
"Come visit Taiwan. We make people pretty."

Valentines Day ...

Am sitting in a foreign country,
holding my love of life in my hands.
Enjoying the February breeze going through our hair.
Thinking ...
... this is what life is all about.

More than meets the eyes ...

Its like this, apparently Valentine's Day is now a day in which sinful acts are tightly associated. And further more these said acts are an integral part of a religious practice as per Valentine's Day ritual.

So say the guy with a stick up his nether regions.

It's not to say I don't understand where his views are coming from.
The sheer fact that I do understand it means I know what his complaining about.
But why in the world must he request that Valentine's Day itself be banned?

Yes, my fellow friends.

The good Samaritan wishes to BAN Valentine's Day because according to his understanding, the celebration of love is just a precursor to abandonment of moral values and free flow sex romps.

It is from a statistics somewhere which somehow implicates that the number of "unwanted babies" left in the hospitals/dumpsters/roadsides are highest for impregnation during certain periods of time where one of which is Valentine's Day.

This is a simple case of people blaming the wrong thing for the right reason.

The problem of baby dumping is a very serious social issue.

But it's not cause by celebrating Valentine's Day.
It is caused by people who do not owe up to their actions.
This kind of irresponsible action can happen anytime, anywhere.
Pegging a "holiday" and blaming it as the cause is like saying a woman will be raped because she was born beautiful.

Telling people that they are going to go to purgatory when they commit such a sin does not create the same kind of effect as it did 30 years ago.

Educating people that we are all responsible of our own actions does not cut down the act of committing the crime as well.

So what can we do to help build a better morally inclined society.
Where the sense of Justice is strong and doing the right thing is not just a socially expected behavior.
It needs to be a part of us, our principle to all that we do.

Its a much deeper issue than just "Not celebrating Valentine's Day".

Pushing beliefs and moral justification upon those who do not live by it is but the first step of instigating a rebellion. It forces them to close their mind and heart from listening. And if push any harder, what we get is a lot of people doing a lot of stupid things because they are angry at being told that they are wrong.

No one likes to be told that their wrong, even when they KNOW that they are wrong, let alone in this case, they don't believe that they are wrong to begin with.

So all this noise will only get negative reactions from the very people that we are trying to help.

"So what do YOU propose we do, smarty pants, huh?"

If I knew the answer, I would be at the level of the likes of Gandhi.

But what I do know is this.

Pushing beliefs on people who holds opinions different from ours will always turn out badly for us at the end and no closer to our goals.

So I will end this post by sharing what I tell my juniors whenever I try to teach them what proper design is all about.

"The way in which the proper designs are done, is by understanding the business rules that drives the outcome. Don't just focus on the results but instead try to find the motivation for producing it as well. By knowing why it is done and what gets done, will show you exactly how it can be done. And if we are lucky, we might even learn how to live a good life as well"

Make it so ...

The thing that I am constantly going on about of these days is "Choice"
I can't stop talking about it.
Almost all my conversation with my friends and relatives is about our ability to choose what we want to be in our life.
Me, the young buck telling my seniors that they can be different by just choosing it to be.
Of course, they tell me otherwise.
They know better and that my notion that change is our right is "non-practical" and "non-realistic".
Change is but an illusion.
Something that they tell children, along with Santa and the Easter Bunny.
Nothing ever changes.
The outer layer might be different but deep down, it's always the same.

Jaded?
Yes.
Misguided?
Not really.
They have their point.
The world have shown us again and again that it is reluctant to change.
No matter how much we push it to another path, it pushes back so that it ends up the same again.
There are people that have given their entire life trying to change the world into a better place and got burned for it.

Yet does that mean that change is an illusion?
To me, it is just something not easily accomplished.
Then again everything worth doing is never easy either.

So we come back to choice.
Are these choices that we make worth the price we pay for?
The majority says "No"
But in the history books, it is the minority that believes which manages to change our world.
If not by a lot but a little better than it was before.

It is these choices that our forefathers make which gave us our freedom today.
It is these choices that created our society as it is now.
It will be these kind of choices that we make that helps mold the world of our children.

Choose to be true to our hearts.
Choose on a change for the better.
And the world will be a better place because we care enough to do what needs to be done.

Dear Sharon ...

I think most of us actually know that we don't fit in.
We just TRY to fit in.
After all, we are all unique individuals.
Our actions, our thoughts, our motivation, all vary in some degree.

For those who fits in nicely are the ones who are most comfortable with being themselves.

Look around and observe a bit.
You see people always flocking to the one with the most confidence.
They stand out among the crowd not because of their height, but because of their shine.

Do they fit in?
No, they don't.
What they do is just being themselves.
And people love them for who they are.

They are of course the exceptions.
Like me for instance.
I don't flock over to these shiny objects in the sky.
Not because I dislike the warmth they give, but because I don't like the crowd.
I prefer the quite sceneries of the lesser.
2 or 4 people at most is already enough.
But even if I was the only one walking around, I would still be content.
Because I enjoy life as it is.

My point?
Being a misfit is not a problem.
Not liking ourselves for being misfits will eventually be a problem.

Happy Chinese New Year Sharon.
May the year of the Rabbits bring you the cheerfulness that all rabbits bring.

PS: You look is Stunning in this picture.