Thursday, December 26, 2002
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
114
Last night, I was on my way for Baits I from the stillness of Baits II. It was snowing and windy and at the same time, a weather alert was announced by the local authority. A snowstorm was expected but Ann Arbor didn’t suffer much of the anticipated storm. Nevertheless, the snow has definitely reaffirm that winter is here to stay, at least until the lovely spring comes back.
I was shivering. The fingers were especially numb but I wouldn’t have suffered the numbness if I had been a little bit careful about my belonging.
While walking alone towards Baits I, my eyes suddenly looked upward and saw countless snowflakes falling gracefully from the sky above. My leg stopped walking and my heart stopped beating despite of what my senses were stressing.
The moment was simply exhausting to me. My legs were weakened by the grandiose of Mother Nature. She is so beautiful. I stood alone with my winter gear save the lost leather glove to savor the moment of bliss that was mine. No words could describe the feeling that I felt during the bliss. The only way to describe it is to be in that moment. To describe it with words is simply a fallacy.
The wind was frightfully strong but somehow, I stood against it. The numbness was getting terrible but somehow, I didn’t realize it. I held out my hand into the air and a modest amount of flakes accumulated on my palm. It was cold yes but the feeling was simply what I cherish the most. It was a total bliss.
I was all alone, standing in the middle of a vast open space with a thick carpet of snow covering the floor of the space. The carpet was clean with no trace of being polluted by human presence. It was as white as you could ever imagine. White and clean with peace and bliss.
I wish I would die in that moment while all my senses were numbed. I wish that I had died in that bliss so that any burden won’t troubled me anymore.
A few moments later, I found myself and walked with haste towards Baits I. After all this, I still wonder why human is still blind. My hope is that it isn’t too late to save the world from greed and hate.
Last night, I was on my way for Baits I from the stillness of Baits II. It was snowing and windy and at the same time, a weather alert was announced by the local authority. A snowstorm was expected but Ann Arbor didn’t suffer much of the anticipated storm. Nevertheless, the snow has definitely reaffirm that winter is here to stay, at least until the lovely spring comes back.
I was shivering. The fingers were especially numb but I wouldn’t have suffered the numbness if I had been a little bit careful about my belonging.
While walking alone towards Baits I, my eyes suddenly looked upward and saw countless snowflakes falling gracefully from the sky above. My leg stopped walking and my heart stopped beating despite of what my senses were stressing.
The moment was simply exhausting to me. My legs were weakened by the grandiose of Mother Nature. She is so beautiful. I stood alone with my winter gear save the lost leather glove to savor the moment of bliss that was mine. No words could describe the feeling that I felt during the bliss. The only way to describe it is to be in that moment. To describe it with words is simply a fallacy.
The wind was frightfully strong but somehow, I stood against it. The numbness was getting terrible but somehow, I didn’t realize it. I held out my hand into the air and a modest amount of flakes accumulated on my palm. It was cold yes but the feeling was simply what I cherish the most. It was a total bliss.
I was all alone, standing in the middle of a vast open space with a thick carpet of snow covering the floor of the space. The carpet was clean with no trace of being polluted by human presence. It was as white as you could ever imagine. White and clean with peace and bliss.
I wish I would die in that moment while all my senses were numbed. I wish that I had died in that bliss so that any burden won’t troubled me anymore.
A few moments later, I found myself and walked with haste towards Baits I. After all this, I still wonder why human is still blind. My hope is that it isn’t too late to save the world from greed and hate.
Monday, December 23, 2002
113
It is getting too boring here and I desperately want to get out of this city for the rest of the hols. Ann Arbor is undoubtedly a small town but at least, livelier than some town. West Lafayette, for instance, hmm…
On other note, The __earthinc has received unusual type of visitors and new referrers. I don’t mind about the referrers but the new kind of visitor has made me to be a little bit cautious of what I will write. Of course, I have never criticized anybody that I know personally here. I’ve been very careful with that. My concern is that I’ve mistakenly identify a few IP address belonging to a few particular persons. After staying up in north and physically checking the IP and its port, I sure am surprise to see my failure to identify those IP accurately. Nevertheless, now, I have identified the exact the building. The current need needs me to study how the building network is mapped. Once that is accomplished, my IP directory will be more accurate.
Although I have a list of list, I rather not expose or share it with the public. Exposing people’s IP to the public will no doubt bring too much attention. This is what I’ve learnt from a stranger. He was and still is compiling a HUGE list of IP, comparable to ARIN, APNIC and a few other organizations. Not only he compiled it, he actually posts it on the web and updates it in the interval of a few months. As a direct consequence, legal action is being made against him. The charge made – the violation of privacy.
I am not planning to expose my list but the charge made against this guy is certainly baseless. The only violation he made was spreading the Internet connectivity map (there is a term for it but I am no mood of searching for the exact term) to the public.
IP address is one of the easiest things to get in the internet, or at least for those who are not noobs. Wherever you go, your IP will be transmitted to some computer unless you had configured a firewall to be resilient. There was a time when I was a member of ATU 5’s virtual community, a person bragged on who he managed to trace an anonymous mail back to USC. I, who read the brag could only looked in disgust. Bragging for successfully tracking an IP address is something should not be done in the public. Only noob does that. (This statement is an exception to the earlier paragraph)
It is hard but not impossible to hide the IP but the key to protect oneself in this dangerous World Wide Web is being careful of ports. Yes, ports. Of course, the first thing to find an open port is to search for a particular IP but with a protected port, a hacker will certainly move on to an easier target save if the hacker IS determined to get something from a storage device.
Serious kinds of privacy violation are spams and Bush’s plan. Spams is one of the thing that made me to discount myself from ATU 5’s mailing list and its now dead virtual community. I also almost ask for a removal from UMIMSA’s mailing list last year because of spams. Bush on the other hand is a d*mbf*ck. All his plans are nonsense. Period.
Yes, if you want violation of privacy, it’s spams, not a list of IP that includes yours.
It is getting too boring here and I desperately want to get out of this city for the rest of the hols. Ann Arbor is undoubtedly a small town but at least, livelier than some town. West Lafayette, for instance, hmm…
On other note, The __earthinc has received unusual type of visitors and new referrers. I don’t mind about the referrers but the new kind of visitor has made me to be a little bit cautious of what I will write. Of course, I have never criticized anybody that I know personally here. I’ve been very careful with that. My concern is that I’ve mistakenly identify a few IP address belonging to a few particular persons. After staying up in north and physically checking the IP and its port, I sure am surprise to see my failure to identify those IP accurately. Nevertheless, now, I have identified the exact the building. The current need needs me to study how the building network is mapped. Once that is accomplished, my IP directory will be more accurate.
Although I have a list of list, I rather not expose or share it with the public. Exposing people’s IP to the public will no doubt bring too much attention. This is what I’ve learnt from a stranger. He was and still is compiling a HUGE list of IP, comparable to ARIN, APNIC and a few other organizations. Not only he compiled it, he actually posts it on the web and updates it in the interval of a few months. As a direct consequence, legal action is being made against him. The charge made – the violation of privacy.
I am not planning to expose my list but the charge made against this guy is certainly baseless. The only violation he made was spreading the Internet connectivity map (there is a term for it but I am no mood of searching for the exact term) to the public.
IP address is one of the easiest things to get in the internet, or at least for those who are not noobs. Wherever you go, your IP will be transmitted to some computer unless you had configured a firewall to be resilient. There was a time when I was a member of ATU 5’s virtual community, a person bragged on who he managed to trace an anonymous mail back to USC. I, who read the brag could only looked in disgust. Bragging for successfully tracking an IP address is something should not be done in the public. Only noob does that. (This statement is an exception to the earlier paragraph)
It is hard but not impossible to hide the IP but the key to protect oneself in this dangerous World Wide Web is being careful of ports. Yes, ports. Of course, the first thing to find an open port is to search for a particular IP but with a protected port, a hacker will certainly move on to an easier target save if the hacker IS determined to get something from a storage device.
Serious kinds of privacy violation are spams and Bush’s plan. Spams is one of the thing that made me to discount myself from ATU 5’s mailing list and its now dead virtual community. I also almost ask for a removal from UMIMSA’s mailing list last year because of spams. Bush on the other hand is a d*mbf*ck. All his plans are nonsense. Period.
Yes, if you want violation of privacy, it’s spams, not a list of IP that includes yours.
Friday, December 20, 2002
112
Behold. The first The __earthinc’s yearly award. Muahahaha.
Below are the things that, in my opinion, deserve to be mentioned before the year sets in the horizon.
The news of the year – United Nations’ weapon inspection on Iraq
Space news of the year – Ariane 5 explosion
Environmental news of the year – The sunken Prestige off Spain
Sport news of the year – US reached the World Cup 2002’s quarterfinal in Korea/Japan
Crap of the year – Football (reads soccer) shootouts cause heart attacks
Person of the year – George Bush
Joker of the year – George Bush
Loser of the year – The Democrats
Beauty of the year – Jennifer Aniston
Bitch of the year – Christina Aguilera
Fucker of the year – Ann Arbor Police
Critic of the year – Bal (give him a visit at bal.mit.edu)
News feeder of the year - Reuters
Computer of the year – None (Self-assembled is the best)
Quasi-computer of the year – Anything related to Apple Computers
Motherboard of the year – ASUS P4G8X
Processor of the year – AMD Athlon
Video card of the year – ATi’s Radeon 9500 Pro
Sound card of the year – Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum
Speaker of the year – Creative Inspire 6.1
Mp3 player of the year (hardware) – NOMAD Jukebox Zen
OS of the year – MS Window XP
Programming language of the year – C++
Web browser of the year – IE 6
Firewall of the year – ZoneAlarm 3.0
Tracker of the year - VisualCare
AV of the year – Norton Anti-Virus 2002
Digicam of the year – Fuji FinePix 2650
Image editor of the year – Adobe Photoshop 7.0
HTML editor of the year – MS Notepad 5.1
Search engine of the year – Google
Portal of the year – Yahoo!
Messenger of the year – MSN Messenger 4.6
Media player of the year - RealOne
Mp3 player of the year (software) – Winamp 3
Game of the year – Star Wars’ Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Gamer of the year – Mohd Saiful Mohd Bohari (You wouldn’t believe how many ORIGINAL games he bought)
Weblog publisher of the year – Blogger.com
Weblog of the year – Samizdata.net
Fast food of the year – Subway
Restaurant of the year – Penang in Chicago
Coffee shop of the year – Starbuck
Pop of the year – Mountain Dew
Dining Hall of the year – South Quad’s
University of the year – University of Michigan
Campus of the year – Central Campus
Zoo of the year (Special Award) – University of Michigan’s North Campus
Reshall of the year – West Quad
Organization of the year – Solar Car Team
Workspace of the year – SCT’s workshop in Ypsilanti
Professor of the year – Myron Campbell
GSI/TA of the year – David Winn
Course of the year – EECS 280
Building of the year – Umich’s EECS Building
Hangout place of the year – Underground, Michigan League
Day of the year – Tuesday (It was EECS 280’s deadline)
Swear word of the year – Mother Fucker
Planet of the year - Saturn
City of the year – Chicago, Illinois
Mall of the year – Somerset in Troy, Michigan
Freeway of the year – I-90, USA
Street of the year – S. University St. in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Car of the year – Toyota Celica
Book of the year – The Turk by Tom Standage
Magazine of the year – Computer Shopper
Text book of the year – Savitch’s Absolute C++
Football team of the year – AC Milan
Sport site of the year – uefa.com
NCAAF team of the year - Iowa
Movie of the year – Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
Disappointment of the year – Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Flop of the year – Jason X
Shit of the year – Jason X
Short Film of the year – BMWFilms.com’s The Hire
Cartoon of the year – South Park
Sitcom of the year – Friends
Group of the year - Tool
Song of the year – Broken by 12 Stones
Well, hope that wrap the year. Next year, I'll take vote for some entries but this year, to hell with democracy I say.
Behold. The first The __earthinc’s yearly award. Muahahaha.
Below are the things that, in my opinion, deserve to be mentioned before the year sets in the horizon.
The news of the year – United Nations’ weapon inspection on Iraq
Space news of the year – Ariane 5 explosion
Environmental news of the year – The sunken Prestige off Spain
Sport news of the year – US reached the World Cup 2002’s quarterfinal in Korea/Japan
Crap of the year – Football (reads soccer) shootouts cause heart attacks
Person of the year – George Bush
Joker of the year – George Bush
Loser of the year – The Democrats
Beauty of the year – Jennifer Aniston
Bitch of the year – Christina Aguilera
Fucker of the year – Ann Arbor Police
Critic of the year – Bal (give him a visit at bal.mit.edu)
News feeder of the year - Reuters
Computer of the year – None (Self-assembled is the best)
Quasi-computer of the year – Anything related to Apple Computers
Motherboard of the year – ASUS P4G8X
Processor of the year – AMD Athlon
Video card of the year – ATi’s Radeon 9500 Pro
Sound card of the year – Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum
Speaker of the year – Creative Inspire 6.1
Mp3 player of the year (hardware) – NOMAD Jukebox Zen
OS of the year – MS Window XP
Programming language of the year – C++
Web browser of the year – IE 6
Firewall of the year – ZoneAlarm 3.0
Tracker of the year - VisualCare
AV of the year – Norton Anti-Virus 2002
Digicam of the year – Fuji FinePix 2650
Image editor of the year – Adobe Photoshop 7.0
HTML editor of the year – MS Notepad 5.1
Search engine of the year – Google
Portal of the year – Yahoo!
Messenger of the year – MSN Messenger 4.6
Media player of the year - RealOne
Mp3 player of the year (software) – Winamp 3
Game of the year – Star Wars’ Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Gamer of the year – Mohd Saiful Mohd Bohari (You wouldn’t believe how many ORIGINAL games he bought)
Weblog publisher of the year – Blogger.com
Weblog of the year – Samizdata.net
Fast food of the year – Subway
Restaurant of the year – Penang in Chicago
Coffee shop of the year – Starbuck
Pop of the year – Mountain Dew
Dining Hall of the year – South Quad’s
University of the year – University of Michigan
Campus of the year – Central Campus
Zoo of the year (Special Award) – University of Michigan’s North Campus
Reshall of the year – West Quad
Organization of the year – Solar Car Team
Workspace of the year – SCT’s workshop in Ypsilanti
Professor of the year – Myron Campbell
GSI/TA of the year – David Winn
Course of the year – EECS 280
Building of the year – Umich’s EECS Building
Hangout place of the year – Underground, Michigan League
Day of the year – Tuesday (It was EECS 280’s deadline)
Swear word of the year – Mother Fucker
Planet of the year - Saturn
City of the year – Chicago, Illinois
Mall of the year – Somerset in Troy, Michigan
Freeway of the year – I-90, USA
Street of the year – S. University St. in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Car of the year – Toyota Celica
Book of the year – The Turk by Tom Standage
Magazine of the year – Computer Shopper
Text book of the year – Savitch’s Absolute C++
Football team of the year – AC Milan
Sport site of the year – uefa.com
NCAAF team of the year - Iowa
Movie of the year – Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
Disappointment of the year – Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Flop of the year – Jason X
Shit of the year – Jason X
Short Film of the year – BMWFilms.com’s The Hire
Cartoon of the year – South Park
Sitcom of the year – Friends
Group of the year - Tool
Song of the year – Broken by 12 Stones
Well, hope that wrap the year. Next year, I'll take vote for some entries but this year, to hell with democracy I say.
Sunday, December 15, 2002
Entry 111
Altruism. It’s a funny word isn’t it?
It is a word that means unselfishness which in turn means doing something without thinking of one’s own benefit. It is a good notion no doubt but I have reasons of not trusting the existence of altruism although I myself have gone through this so-called altruism.
I believe that things happen for at least a reason. War occurs because of greed and prosperity exists because of greed too. Hate is caused by jealousy and love is also, not jealousy but again, greed. With three to one, it is safe to claim that the world is based on greed. Greed is everything.
Take this for an instance – the United States without covering its intention wants to attack Iraq and thank god the world stands in the US way. Russia on the other hand is against any unilateral action against Iraq. Vladimir Putin does this not because he hates the American but instead, it is about money. Iraq owes Russia billions of Rubles, and if the US was allowed to invade the gulf state, Russia thinks Iraq won’t be able to pay up the Russian. The Muslim nations on the other hand are against the US’ move since they are jealous of US. Plus, seeing the US gaining the riches of the Arab is the last thing they want to see. Therefore, in the end a war based on greed was prevented by greed itself.
Greed’s hand is far reaching. War was prevented by greed and this simply points to another uneasy thinking – peace is also greed. It is only during peace our so-called needs and wants could be satisfied. Needs and wants are economy’s complicated term for greed. When you are in a class, certainly it will be troublesome to hear supply and greed instead of hearing supply and demand.
When we sits in a class especially business related, we are learning Greed 101 or greed 345 in reality. Sure, some of you say I sit in the class to further my knowledge which in turn will benefit the society. Sure, I will respect you for that but somewhere in the way, you will earn fame and money while serving the society. And isn’t that the true goal of us learning? To earn respect, power and money no matter how hard you deny it? See, even when we are doing a virtue, in the end, it is greed along, like Satan in the mask of an angel.
Love is a virtue too but trust me, it is no shorter than greed. Love is a greed of owning someone else, to have the other’s tender and kindness without sharing it with another.
Greed may well perhaps gave birth to socialism and communism. These two ideas are against greed but they themselves reflect the greed and jealousy of the lower class. They are dismayed with the greed of the upper class because they themselves want that richness and power. Therefore, while democracy is the upper and middle class’ greed, communism is the lower class’ greed. (After years of reading nonsense, I still can’t draw a clear line between socialism and communism. I once remember the difference but now, I’ve lost it)
Religions are against greed as far as my knowledge enlightens me. But yet, religions promote love and stuffs that would promise the believers a good health in the afterlife. Of all virtues, altruism in religion’s sense is the closest you could get to the real meaning altruism. Nevertheless, one that practice altruism has the greed for the afterlife. So, no matter how hard the believers say, in a way, being a believer is caused by another kind of greed.
"It's too bad the world is based on greed."
- Papa Roach, Between Angels and Insects. 2000
Altruism. It’s a funny word isn’t it?
It is a word that means unselfishness which in turn means doing something without thinking of one’s own benefit. It is a good notion no doubt but I have reasons of not trusting the existence of altruism although I myself have gone through this so-called altruism.
I believe that things happen for at least a reason. War occurs because of greed and prosperity exists because of greed too. Hate is caused by jealousy and love is also, not jealousy but again, greed. With three to one, it is safe to claim that the world is based on greed. Greed is everything.
Take this for an instance – the United States without covering its intention wants to attack Iraq and thank god the world stands in the US way. Russia on the other hand is against any unilateral action against Iraq. Vladimir Putin does this not because he hates the American but instead, it is about money. Iraq owes Russia billions of Rubles, and if the US was allowed to invade the gulf state, Russia thinks Iraq won’t be able to pay up the Russian. The Muslim nations on the other hand are against the US’ move since they are jealous of US. Plus, seeing the US gaining the riches of the Arab is the last thing they want to see. Therefore, in the end a war based on greed was prevented by greed itself.
Greed’s hand is far reaching. War was prevented by greed and this simply points to another uneasy thinking – peace is also greed. It is only during peace our so-called needs and wants could be satisfied. Needs and wants are economy’s complicated term for greed. When you are in a class, certainly it will be troublesome to hear supply and greed instead of hearing supply and demand.
When we sits in a class especially business related, we are learning Greed 101 or greed 345 in reality. Sure, some of you say I sit in the class to further my knowledge which in turn will benefit the society. Sure, I will respect you for that but somewhere in the way, you will earn fame and money while serving the society. And isn’t that the true goal of us learning? To earn respect, power and money no matter how hard you deny it? See, even when we are doing a virtue, in the end, it is greed along, like Satan in the mask of an angel.
Love is a virtue too but trust me, it is no shorter than greed. Love is a greed of owning someone else, to have the other’s tender and kindness without sharing it with another.
Greed may well perhaps gave birth to socialism and communism. These two ideas are against greed but they themselves reflect the greed and jealousy of the lower class. They are dismayed with the greed of the upper class because they themselves want that richness and power. Therefore, while democracy is the upper and middle class’ greed, communism is the lower class’ greed. (After years of reading nonsense, I still can’t draw a clear line between socialism and communism. I once remember the difference but now, I’ve lost it)
Religions are against greed as far as my knowledge enlightens me. But yet, religions promote love and stuffs that would promise the believers a good health in the afterlife. Of all virtues, altruism in religion’s sense is the closest you could get to the real meaning altruism. Nevertheless, one that practice altruism has the greed for the afterlife. So, no matter how hard the believers say, in a way, being a believer is caused by another kind of greed.
"It's too bad the world is based on greed."
- Papa Roach, Between Angels and Insects. 2000
Saturday, December 14, 2002
110
After this semester, no more calculations for me, ever or at least the way it seems right now. I don’t know whether taking this side step is going to be better for me. I am taking a risk, a huge risk for my future.
Although I am glad that this semester is almost over, I am going to miss it. Of all semesters, I think I like this semester the best – cool professors, nice teaching assistants and lovable friends.
As I was trying to keep my heart rate down in 170 Dennilson, Lynda, my classmate in Physics class sat right beside me, saying something about she is going to miss Bryan and me after this. I for once was not being nostalgic but after hearing that, I certainly going to miss arguing with Khateeb each time in lecture, listening the Prof. Campbell’s entertaining lecture and stuffs. Yeah, although I did some thing that is going to cost me my future this semester, I still think this semester is the best yet.
I just wish that I could stop time.
Well, just one more killer exam and then I will once again writing and logging off from 314 Cambridge House, West Quad.
P/s – Dow has a new CEO. Victory for the Greens.
After this semester, no more calculations for me, ever or at least the way it seems right now. I don’t know whether taking this side step is going to be better for me. I am taking a risk, a huge risk for my future.
Although I am glad that this semester is almost over, I am going to miss it. Of all semesters, I think I like this semester the best – cool professors, nice teaching assistants and lovable friends.
As I was trying to keep my heart rate down in 170 Dennilson, Lynda, my classmate in Physics class sat right beside me, saying something about she is going to miss Bryan and me after this. I for once was not being nostalgic but after hearing that, I certainly going to miss arguing with Khateeb each time in lecture, listening the Prof. Campbell’s entertaining lecture and stuffs. Yeah, although I did some thing that is going to cost me my future this semester, I still think this semester is the best yet.
I just wish that I could stop time.
Well, just one more killer exam and then I will once again writing and logging off from 314 Cambridge House, West Quad.
P/s – Dow has a new CEO. Victory for the Greens.
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
109
I need to study, need to stop surfing, need to stop wasting time, need to stop blogging.
I can't study, can't stop surfing, can't stop throwing time out of the window, argh!!!
I got this from godslonelyman.blogspot.com
------
At the end of one of the Jurassic Park sequels, a dinosaur drove a boat and crashed it into B Street Pier in San Diego. Now, I know about how sophisticated and smart the dinosaurs were, but driving a boat? I gotta draw the line somewhere. I've never seen a dinosaur drive a boat, and I bet you haven't, either.
------
A good example on how Hollywood has insulted the intelligence of the public.
p/s - Wuargh!!! The credits in my account has dropped below USD 1000 for the first time. Wuargh, gotta stop spending but I want that NOMAD!!!
I need to study, need to stop surfing, need to stop wasting time, need to stop blogging.
I can't study, can't stop surfing, can't stop throwing time out of the window, argh!!!
I got this from godslonelyman.blogspot.com
------
At the end of one of the Jurassic Park sequels, a dinosaur drove a boat and crashed it into B Street Pier in San Diego. Now, I know about how sophisticated and smart the dinosaurs were, but driving a boat? I gotta draw the line somewhere. I've never seen a dinosaur drive a boat, and I bet you haven't, either.
------
A good example on how Hollywood has insulted the intelligence of the public.
p/s - Wuargh!!! The credits in my account has dropped below USD 1000 for the first time. Wuargh, gotta stop spending but I want that NOMAD!!!
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
108
Hear ye, hear ye!
Ajax has beaten Roma with a convincing two to one score line. It may look closed but never judge a book by its cover.
Ajax dominated the game early on and asserted its dominance by an early goal by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the amazing Swede player. However, it could be argued that it was luck by nature but Litmanen’s goal was certainly a world-class goal. To prove how Ajax dominated the game, it is only necessary to mention that Roma sent shiver to Ajacied’s spine in only two occasions; the first thunder was in the first half, the 20th minute to be precise by the Brazilian Captain Cafu and the second one was a goal by Gabriel Bastituta in the final minutes.
Ajax was expected to fight an uphill task with six key Ajax’s players succumbed to injury and suspension. Five of them were Ajax’s impressive goalie, Didulica, defenders Chivu and Galasek, forward Van der Vaart and Sikora. However, Ajax, like in the previous game, refused to listen to the odd and came out of the game as a winner.
Following the win, Ajax now sits on top of Group B of the Champions’ League with Arsenal. Both teams have four points to their credit. Not far behind is Valencia with two points and last is Roma, with no point at all.
The next CL game is going to be in February 2003 against Arsenal.
Well, May de magish van der meer always emerge victorious.
Jari Litmanen after scoring Ajax's second against AS Roma. Photo taken from uefa.com
Hear ye, hear ye!
Ajax has beaten Roma with a convincing two to one score line. It may look closed but never judge a book by its cover.
Ajax dominated the game early on and asserted its dominance by an early goal by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the amazing Swede player. However, it could be argued that it was luck by nature but Litmanen’s goal was certainly a world-class goal. To prove how Ajax dominated the game, it is only necessary to mention that Roma sent shiver to Ajacied’s spine in only two occasions; the first thunder was in the first half, the 20th minute to be precise by the Brazilian Captain Cafu and the second one was a goal by Gabriel Bastituta in the final minutes.
Ajax was expected to fight an uphill task with six key Ajax’s players succumbed to injury and suspension. Five of them were Ajax’s impressive goalie, Didulica, defenders Chivu and Galasek, forward Van der Vaart and Sikora. However, Ajax, like in the previous game, refused to listen to the odd and came out of the game as a winner.
Following the win, Ajax now sits on top of Group B of the Champions’ League with Arsenal. Both teams have four points to their credit. Not far behind is Valencia with two points and last is Roma, with no point at all.
The next CL game is going to be in February 2003 against Arsenal.
Well, May de magish van der meer always emerge victorious.
Jari Litmanen after scoring Ajax's second against AS Roma. Photo taken from uefa.com
Monday, December 09, 2002
107. It seems that this website has, day by day become more like a quasi-personal-diary to me although I try everyday to deny that.
Being hapless is one of those feelings that I hate. It is the feeling that you know what is going to happen but you can’t do anything about it. Nevertheless, you still try to make it better but all tries are useless.
I hate that feeling, especially when it involves losing.
Imagine in a chess game, one is the white’s Machiavelli, building up structure in the middle of the chess board early in the game and in one's mind, thinking of launching a dangerous attack against Evil across the board. He is so confident. He sees his loyal pawns conquered the mid-board without much hassle but at the same time, he sees Evil does some slow but confusing stunt. Nevertheless, Evil’s slow maneuver won’t be able to cope to my rush – he says that to himself. He is certain of his strategy and launches his attack only to see that the Evil has anticipated his every move. He looked hopelessly straight into the eyes of Evil. It has read his mind, he doesn’t know how but he insists that Evil has read his mind.
A few moves later, the mid-game is in the hand of Evil and worse, he is under heavy siege. Seeing the advances made, the only possible answer to this particular game is anything but winning for him. Still, Evil has everything in its hand to force his lose.
Evil, perceiving Good diminishing chance to check his king, launches attacks confidently. Confident aren’t you says him. Confidence has obscured Evil’s eyes. He looks from Evil’s face to the chessboard, smiling…
Being hapless is one of those feelings that I hate. It is the feeling that you know what is going to happen but you can’t do anything about it. Nevertheless, you still try to make it better but all tries are useless.
I hate that feeling, especially when it involves losing.
Imagine in a chess game, one is the white’s Machiavelli, building up structure in the middle of the chess board early in the game and in one's mind, thinking of launching a dangerous attack against Evil across the board. He is so confident. He sees his loyal pawns conquered the mid-board without much hassle but at the same time, he sees Evil does some slow but confusing stunt. Nevertheless, Evil’s slow maneuver won’t be able to cope to my rush – he says that to himself. He is certain of his strategy and launches his attack only to see that the Evil has anticipated his every move. He looked hopelessly straight into the eyes of Evil. It has read his mind, he doesn’t know how but he insists that Evil has read his mind.
A few moves later, the mid-game is in the hand of Evil and worse, he is under heavy siege. Seeing the advances made, the only possible answer to this particular game is anything but winning for him. Still, Evil has everything in its hand to force his lose.
Evil, perceiving Good diminishing chance to check his king, launches attacks confidently. Confident aren’t you says him. Confidence has obscured Evil’s eyes. He looks from Evil’s face to the chessboard, smiling…
Sunday, December 08, 2002
106
The __earth Inc. has officially changed its name to The __earthinc. Nothing much changed though.
p/s - Eid-ul Fitr to all Muslim readers. Sorry for the delayed wishing.
The __earth Inc. has officially changed its name to The __earthinc. Nothing much changed though.
p/s - Eid-ul Fitr to all Muslim readers. Sorry for the delayed wishing.
Wednesday, December 04, 2002
To the Star Wars fans, enjoy.
Tuesday, December 03, 2002
104 - Who says there is no adventure in today’s life?
I am one of those persons who are in love with history, especially about war. Nevertheless, falling in love with history of wars doesn’t make me to be a nasty person who demands war each and every time chance crosses my path (like Bush). In fact, learning the dates and the factors that started wars makes me falling more and more in love of peace and hence, in the end, resulting me more or less believing in the Green doctrine.
Certainly, the tall tells in ancient battles inspire most of us to a new height. The Peloponessian War, the Napoleon War, the Second World War and lot of others gave birth to many changes. The Peloponessian War were important to the ancient Greek, The Napoleon War redrew the European border drastically and the WWII foreseen the end of Imperialism. War is important but going through it is not very pleasing.
As you guys have predicted, this argument brings us to the present time.
The current war against terrorism seems to have taken a new twist. It started the 11th day of September 2001. It was a day that shocked not just America, but also the very foundation of the world as we now see. Immediately after that fateful day, America declared a war against Afghanistan and quickly overran the Afghan authority without much problem. Later, President George W. Bush declared the members of a so-called Axis of Evil. Now, the war maniac is threatening to topple Saddam Hussein.
The war against terrorism has brought us a new concept of fighting a war. A conventional war will involved at least two entities, two countries with defined borders, much like the Vietnam War or the Korean War. That kind of war has significantly decreased due to United Nations’ Charter that prevents any country from invading another country. Unfortunately, the war of terrorism is a subtler war. It is impossible to declare a war against an enemy that does not have a defined border. Moreover, the enemy is ever hiding in the modern world.
The problem of trying to identify and eliminate terrorism has brought some countries, the US in particular, seeking a revision of the United Nations’ Charter. The main change that they are demanding is the permission to commit pre-emptive strike. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that pre-emptive strike goes directly against the very values that the United Nations is built upon. The world doesn’t need Winston Churchill to rally itself against this suggestion save the US.
The latest advocate of pre-emptive doctrine is the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard. His words agitated Australia’s neighbors and strong words had already been exchanged between Australia and four of ASEAN main members. As usual, the only one that kept his mouth quiet was Singapore.
Although I believe the four ASEAN leaders have overreacted over their Australian’s counterpart comment, nevertheless the development is interesting. Leaders of the four countries made strong statements but Dr. Mahathir had gone one step further by saying it will be an act of war if Australia’s force set its foot on Malaysian’s soil.
Imagine a war where Australia is up against combine might of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. The war will surely hurt the world economy by bringing the most dynamic economies to a standstill. In addition, the Japanese economy will be dragged down even deeper because Japan in one way or another relies on ASEAN’s economy performance. A downward trend on the Japanese shore in turn will bring the already in recession American economy to a worse condition.
If the war came to a reality of which I doubt will, certainly there will some other war here and there and finally bringing a collapse to the United Nations. Iraq on the other hand might exercise its might and Al-Qaida without doubt will be seeking revenge. Russia will step up its authority in Chechnya, war will be omnipresent in Afghanistan, trouble might arise in the Korean Peninsula, Pakistan and India will surely be against each other, and Israel goes without saying. In other word, the Third World War.
Unbelievable but hey, I was arrested by the state police for throwing a snowball.
I am one of those persons who are in love with history, especially about war. Nevertheless, falling in love with history of wars doesn’t make me to be a nasty person who demands war each and every time chance crosses my path (like Bush). In fact, learning the dates and the factors that started wars makes me falling more and more in love of peace and hence, in the end, resulting me more or less believing in the Green doctrine.
Certainly, the tall tells in ancient battles inspire most of us to a new height. The Peloponessian War, the Napoleon War, the Second World War and lot of others gave birth to many changes. The Peloponessian War were important to the ancient Greek, The Napoleon War redrew the European border drastically and the WWII foreseen the end of Imperialism. War is important but going through it is not very pleasing.
As you guys have predicted, this argument brings us to the present time.
The current war against terrorism seems to have taken a new twist. It started the 11th day of September 2001. It was a day that shocked not just America, but also the very foundation of the world as we now see. Immediately after that fateful day, America declared a war against Afghanistan and quickly overran the Afghan authority without much problem. Later, President George W. Bush declared the members of a so-called Axis of Evil. Now, the war maniac is threatening to topple Saddam Hussein.
The war against terrorism has brought us a new concept of fighting a war. A conventional war will involved at least two entities, two countries with defined borders, much like the Vietnam War or the Korean War. That kind of war has significantly decreased due to United Nations’ Charter that prevents any country from invading another country. Unfortunately, the war of terrorism is a subtler war. It is impossible to declare a war against an enemy that does not have a defined border. Moreover, the enemy is ever hiding in the modern world.
The problem of trying to identify and eliminate terrorism has brought some countries, the US in particular, seeking a revision of the United Nations’ Charter. The main change that they are demanding is the permission to commit pre-emptive strike. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that pre-emptive strike goes directly against the very values that the United Nations is built upon. The world doesn’t need Winston Churchill to rally itself against this suggestion save the US.
The latest advocate of pre-emptive doctrine is the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard. His words agitated Australia’s neighbors and strong words had already been exchanged between Australia and four of ASEAN main members. As usual, the only one that kept his mouth quiet was Singapore.
Although I believe the four ASEAN leaders have overreacted over their Australian’s counterpart comment, nevertheless the development is interesting. Leaders of the four countries made strong statements but Dr. Mahathir had gone one step further by saying it will be an act of war if Australia’s force set its foot on Malaysian’s soil.
Imagine a war where Australia is up against combine might of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. The war will surely hurt the world economy by bringing the most dynamic economies to a standstill. In addition, the Japanese economy will be dragged down even deeper because Japan in one way or another relies on ASEAN’s economy performance. A downward trend on the Japanese shore in turn will bring the already in recession American economy to a worse condition.
If the war came to a reality of which I doubt will, certainly there will some other war here and there and finally bringing a collapse to the United Nations. Iraq on the other hand might exercise its might and Al-Qaida without doubt will be seeking revenge. Russia will step up its authority in Chechnya, war will be omnipresent in Afghanistan, trouble might arise in the Korean Peninsula, Pakistan and India will surely be against each other, and Israel goes without saying. In other word, the Third World War.
Unbelievable but hey, I was arrested by the state police for throwing a snowball.
103
Follow up.
At 0011, I went down to the battlefield to take some photos.
At 0020, I threw a few snowballs.
At 0021, I was in the police car, hand-cuffed for throwing snowballs. Reason - assaulting a person and felony.
At 0022, I was in the car, having a conversation about how stupid the charge made against me with some stranger in the police car.
At 0040, I was unarrested and name taken by the policeman.
At 0050, I reached my room, thinking of how stupid was the last 30 minutes were.
At 0053, I wrote this entry.
At 0100, messeged Ayun, Ijat, Fahmi and lots of others about this stupid event.
Follow up.
At 0011, I went down to the battlefield to take some photos.
At 0020, I threw a few snowballs.
At 0021, I was in the police car, hand-cuffed for throwing snowballs. Reason - assaulting a person and felony.
At 0022, I was in the car, having a conversation about how stupid the charge made against me with some stranger in the police car.
At 0040, I was unarrested and name taken by the policeman.
At 0050, I reached my room, thinking of how stupid was the last 30 minutes were.
At 0053, I wrote this entry.
At 0100, messeged Ayun, Ijat, Fahmi and lots of others about this stupid event.
Woohoo!!! 102.
The Annual WQ - SQ Snowball Fight is underway!!! I AM GOING DOWN TO KICK SOME SQIANS' ASSES!!!
The Annual WQ - SQ Snowball Fight is underway!!! I AM GOING DOWN TO KICK SOME SQIANS' ASSES!!!
Monday, December 02, 2002
They do reply fast.
----------------------------------------
2030 Dow Center
April 30, 2002
Dear Concerned Citizen:
Thank you for sharing your concerns about the aftermath of the 1984 tragic gas release in Bhopal. We at Dow - along with all of our industry colleagues - were profoundly impacted by the tragedy. I for one can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news. Perhaps the only encouraging news to be gleaned from the tragedy is that it changed our industry forever, for the better.
I would like to share with you Dow's perspective on Bhopal.
As you are aware, in February of 2001, Dow purchased the stock of Union Carbide.
Since that time, our subsidiary in India, Dow Chemical International, Pvt., Ltd. (DCIL) has been engaged in discussions with the leaders of the National Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (NCJB). The NCJB represents survivors of the 1984 tragedy. DCIL is seeking to better understand their concerns and, potentially, to define an appropriate way to direct a portion of our global philanthropic support towards providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Bhopal. Dow Chemical has also met with Greenpeace representatives regarding these matters. It is too early to know what the results of these discussions will be, but I want to assure you that we will continue to work with NCJB representatives and others interested in assisting the people of Bhopal. We are committed to doing so as a continuation of our long-standing practice of corporate giving and good corporate citizenship around the world, especially in the countries where we operate.
As you may know, immediately following the Bhopal tragedy, Union Carbide stepped forward to publicly accept moral responsibility for the gas release. In 1989, the Government of India and Union Carbide reached a $470 million settlement of all claims associated with the disaster - significantly more compensation than victims had been awarded in the past for this type of claim in Indian courts. The settlement was upheld by the Indian Supreme Court, which found this settlement to be "just, equitable and reasonable" and declared the matter closed. The plant site is owned today by the Indian government.
Assigning responsibility properly belongs to the courts, and as such, we believe Union Carbide has fulfilled its obligations in Bhopal. On a separate level, however, we are acutely aware of the needs of the people of Bhopal, and we remain hopeful we can play a part in meeting some of those needs through an appropriate philanthropic initiative.
All of us in industry, especially the chemical industry, appreciate the gravity and human cost of the Bhopal accident. It is a tragedy that should not have happened. Our obligation is to learn from it and to make every effort to see that such a tragedy never happens again. At Dow, we have redoubled our efforts to make protection of people and the environment a part of everything we do and every decision we make. We have taken, and continue to take, strong steps to realize our "vision of zero" - zero incidents, zero injuries, zero environmental harm. No lesser ideal is acceptable to us.
I hope it is evident that we are taking this issue very seriously and doing our best to take a thoughtful approach. Please continue to express your views and concerns on this and other issues in the future.
Sincerely,
Michael D. Parker
President and Chief Executive Officer
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
2030 Dow Center
April 30, 2002
Dear Concerned Citizen:
Thank you for sharing your concerns about the aftermath of the 1984 tragic gas release in Bhopal. We at Dow - along with all of our industry colleagues - were profoundly impacted by the tragedy. I for one can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news. Perhaps the only encouraging news to be gleaned from the tragedy is that it changed our industry forever, for the better.
I would like to share with you Dow's perspective on Bhopal.
As you are aware, in February of 2001, Dow purchased the stock of Union Carbide.
Since that time, our subsidiary in India, Dow Chemical International, Pvt., Ltd. (DCIL) has been engaged in discussions with the leaders of the National Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (NCJB). The NCJB represents survivors of the 1984 tragedy. DCIL is seeking to better understand their concerns and, potentially, to define an appropriate way to direct a portion of our global philanthropic support towards providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Bhopal. Dow Chemical has also met with Greenpeace representatives regarding these matters. It is too early to know what the results of these discussions will be, but I want to assure you that we will continue to work with NCJB representatives and others interested in assisting the people of Bhopal. We are committed to doing so as a continuation of our long-standing practice of corporate giving and good corporate citizenship around the world, especially in the countries where we operate.
As you may know, immediately following the Bhopal tragedy, Union Carbide stepped forward to publicly accept moral responsibility for the gas release. In 1989, the Government of India and Union Carbide reached a $470 million settlement of all claims associated with the disaster - significantly more compensation than victims had been awarded in the past for this type of claim in Indian courts. The settlement was upheld by the Indian Supreme Court, which found this settlement to be "just, equitable and reasonable" and declared the matter closed. The plant site is owned today by the Indian government.
Assigning responsibility properly belongs to the courts, and as such, we believe Union Carbide has fulfilled its obligations in Bhopal. On a separate level, however, we are acutely aware of the needs of the people of Bhopal, and we remain hopeful we can play a part in meeting some of those needs through an appropriate philanthropic initiative.
All of us in industry, especially the chemical industry, appreciate the gravity and human cost of the Bhopal accident. It is a tragedy that should not have happened. Our obligation is to learn from it and to make every effort to see that such a tragedy never happens again. At Dow, we have redoubled our efforts to make protection of people and the environment a part of everything we do and every decision we make. We have taken, and continue to take, strong steps to realize our "vision of zero" - zero incidents, zero injuries, zero environmental harm. No lesser ideal is acceptable to us.
I hope it is evident that we are taking this issue very seriously and doing our best to take a thoughtful approach. Please continue to express your views and concerns on this and other issues in the future.
Sincerely,
Michael D. Parker
President and Chief Executive Officer
----------------------------------------
Sunday, December 01, 2002
Finally, 100 posts. The exam weeks are commencing! Wish me luck.
On the last day of this year’s November, the world celebrated the so-called Life Day. The name of such event will somehow make some people just celebrate the day without much hesitations. Of course, who won’t celebrate life after all?
On the contrary, Life Day is not about preaching for a good and a fair ways of living for the Human community but instead, it is about abolishing death sentence.
Death sentence is admittedly, might be the worst judgment one might received depending one’s perception in life and it is not a wonder to see some people would love to see the end of this horrid judgment. However, death sentence, in my opinion at least is important to today’s society.
Although I love peace, no one can preserve peace without fighting back when one is pushed against the wall. Although I hate to mention this, it is true that there will be no peace without war. We could see clearly in history, Pax Romana, the golden age of the Muslim’s civilizations, Renaissance and the era of modern world, all the people who lived in those times had to fight to preserve their civilizations. Analogically, crude methods need to be present in Human society as a way to preserve peace. Death sentence is one of these methods.
The death sentence at least sometimes acts as a deterrent to crime. It announces to the world that every action has a consequence, much like Newton’s Law of Motion. If robbing a person would bring on death sentence on the protagonist, certainly the robber would rethink his or her action or at least, I would (that if I am the robber, if).
The sentence could also keep revenge in check. Sometimes, when peace is undone, the only possible way is to execute to peace violator. If somebody murdered someone and he is allowed to live on, vendetta might arise, as the other side that suffered crime will certainly be unhappy to see murderer of their member sitting happily in the Indian Sea under the sunny sun on the beach.
Finally, it is a way to reduce the population of planet Earth. This might sound silly but one way or another it is a fact. One way to put it is to cleanse the world from evil doers.
Therefore, I am glad that I didn’t celebrate Life Day.
On the last day of this year’s November, the world celebrated the so-called Life Day. The name of such event will somehow make some people just celebrate the day without much hesitations. Of course, who won’t celebrate life after all?
On the contrary, Life Day is not about preaching for a good and a fair ways of living for the Human community but instead, it is about abolishing death sentence.
Death sentence is admittedly, might be the worst judgment one might received depending one’s perception in life and it is not a wonder to see some people would love to see the end of this horrid judgment. However, death sentence, in my opinion at least is important to today’s society.
Although I love peace, no one can preserve peace without fighting back when one is pushed against the wall. Although I hate to mention this, it is true that there will be no peace without war. We could see clearly in history, Pax Romana, the golden age of the Muslim’s civilizations, Renaissance and the era of modern world, all the people who lived in those times had to fight to preserve their civilizations. Analogically, crude methods need to be present in Human society as a way to preserve peace. Death sentence is one of these methods.
The death sentence at least sometimes acts as a deterrent to crime. It announces to the world that every action has a consequence, much like Newton’s Law of Motion. If robbing a person would bring on death sentence on the protagonist, certainly the robber would rethink his or her action or at least, I would (that if I am the robber, if).
The sentence could also keep revenge in check. Sometimes, when peace is undone, the only possible way is to execute to peace violator. If somebody murdered someone and he is allowed to live on, vendetta might arise, as the other side that suffered crime will certainly be unhappy to see murderer of their member sitting happily in the Indian Sea under the sunny sun on the beach.
Finally, it is a way to reduce the population of planet Earth. This might sound silly but one way or another it is a fact. One way to put it is to cleanse the world from evil doers.
Therefore, I am glad that I didn’t celebrate Life Day.
One more to go.
Nearly 500 miles later, Ann Arbor seems to be a little bit dull but at least, it is not cursed - Kalamazoo is certainly the Cursed Town.
Nearly 500 miles later, Ann Arbor seems to be a little bit dull but at least, it is not cursed - Kalamazoo is certainly the Cursed Town.
