jogging with time

2003-09-04T21:15:00.000Z

I'm the 57,260,365 richest person on earth!

Discover how rich you are! >>

2003-08-17T18:52:00.000Z

http://www.all-story.com/index.cgi
A lovely website has the Walter Mitty story at
http://www.all-story.com/issues.cgi?action=show_story&story_id=100

& another short story site - Save Our Short Story.

2002-08-20T12:36:00.000Z

Fast Food Nation --- Eric Schlosser
I was shocked with many facts revealed in this book: the dirtiness of the fast food, the cruelty of the companies to their employees, and the irresponsibility of the companies to their customers and environment, to name but a few!
I remember McDonald’s has once boasted in China saying ‘what we sell is cleanness, besides hamburgers’. Certainly, these McD's restaurants in China looked much cleaner than most local restaurants when you spent similarly much money to have a meal. But, McD's has never said how the food has processed before transported to their restaurant, which might turn you stomach upside down.
The US has been claiming themselves as the leader on democracy and human rights. The fast food industry in the US certainly makes this claim a fake. It seems to me that the US is still in the early stage of a capitalist society, compared with the western European countries.
The McLibel case is pretty interesting, and demonstrates all of us can do something on it. I won’t step into McD’s for a meal again.

2002-08-15T21:03:00.000Z

15 August
1945 - V-J Day. Victory over Japan in World War II.

2002-08-12T17:37:00.000Z

Den of the RED DEVIL
It's the first time I visited the Old Trafford Stadium yesterday after I have been living in Manchester for 3 years and 4 months. The home of Manchester United is just about one mile away from the place I've been living in the last 1 and a half years. The facts are enough to prove that I'm a pseudo-football-fan, and certainly not a Man Utd supporter.
But I like watching football, good football. Therefore, whichever teams play well, I support them. To a large extend, I do support Man Utd by watching them play (on the TV), as they play so well most times. I was astonished by so many trophies they have won, which are exhibited in the museum. The stadium is colossal. I immediately felt the atmosphere on entering the stadium based on my experience watching the match between England and Paraguay in the Liverpool Anfield Stadium.
Although most items shown in the museum can be found on the internet, it's still worthwhile for a visit to Old Trafford. One might gain better understanding why the red devil has been so successful on football and business-wise. My gain of the visit is that I'll buy some shares of the devil when I get some spare money.

2002-08-08T17:22:00.000Z

Honesty --- No compromise
How much do we incline to lie if being honest seems to be so hard some times, especially with the temptation of immediate benefits and lucky escape. Whatsoever, being honest without compromise is essential for a truly happy life. If one find it's too difficult to be absolutely honesty, David Hume might be able to persuade one from lying.
Hume's arguments go far beyond things like avoiding an embarrassment in a party. He also pointed the way we view the world and approach knowledge. Once accepting those principles of Hume, one might no long have any appetite for the 'lying' dish, which is in many cases followed by a much bitter main course to swallow.

2002-08-06T09:07:00.000Z

Einstein's Credo
I just finished reading "Einstein - a life in science" by Michael White and John Gribbin in a rough manner. This highly-acclaimed biography didn't impress me much, although I did like the simply but clear language used to tell the magnificent life of Einstein. What really caught my eyes was Einstein's Credo appeared in the appendix of the book. I would say I understood more about Einstein through his Credo, than through the whole biography.
In general, I believe the best way to know somebody like Einstein(?) is to read what he's done and said, rather than what someone else tells, when possible.

"It is a special blessing to belong among those who can and may devote their best energies to the contemplation and exploration of objective and timeless things. ...... Our situation on this earth seems strange. Every one of us appears here, involuntarily and uninvited, for a short stay, without knowing the why and the wherefore. In our daily lives we feel only that man is here for the sake of others, for those whom we love and for many other beings whose fate is connected with our own. I am often troubled by the thought that my life is based to such a large extent on the work of my fellow human beings, and I am aware of my great indebtedness to them. ...... ...... Privileges based on position and property have always seemed to me unjust and pernicious, as does any exaggerated personality cult. I am an adherent of the ideal of democracy, although I know well the weaknesses of the democratic form of government. Social equality and economic protection of the individual have always seemed to me the important communal aims of the state. ...... The most beautiful and deepest experience a man can have is the sense of the mysterious. It is the underlying principle of religion as well as of all serious endeavor in art and science. He who never had this experience seems to me, if not dead, then at least blind. To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is a something that our minds cannot grasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness. In this sense I am religious. To me it suffices to wonder at these secrets and to attempt humbly to grasp with my mind a mere image of the lofty structure of all there is." --- A. Einstein

These paragraphs certainly give me better understanding of human's existence on the world, the relations with the society and the attitude to arts and science.

2002-08-04T22:42:00.000Z

Take it personally, but how?
Nowadays people care more about environment. And more people start to take actions: denoting money to charities that work on environment issues, joining in protests against some government decisions and big corporations. Meanwhile, some people begin to consider environment in their daily lives, when choosing clothes, shopping food, and washing themselves. Is it more environmentally friendly to buy a T-shirt made of pure cotton or synthetic fabrics? Many decisions of this kind might not be as easy as they used to be when taking account of the environmental responsibilities. But help is at hand. Here are some hints from New Scientist (*You might need to register to access the article").

2002-08-01T14:03:00.000Z

Removed my old website on AOL and uploaded to Yahoo-geocities. Links to it on the left of this page.

2002-08-01T10:50:00.000Z

I have once asked by a French friend, who wanted to work in China, to tell him more about China. I found it's hard. Now I came across the Special Report on China at Guardian Unlimited, which give a fair and comprehensive report on China.

2002-07-19T10:25:00.000Z

Travel --- Chatsworth House
I visited Chatsworth House last Saturday.

2002-07-15T15:15:00.000Z

Busy with my PhD thsis and still not quite get the ideas behind weblog.

2002-07-12T13:21:00.000Z

Came across an introduction of weblog on Guardian Unlimited and found it rather interesting than a normal website. Now this is the consquence.