Towers of........
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Xps
1. You can’t change other people, and it’s rude to try.
2. It is a hundred times more difficult to burn calories than to refrain from consuming them in the first place.
3. If you’re talking to someone you don’t know well, you may be talking to someone who knows way more about whatever you’re talking about than you do.
4. The cheapest and most expensive models are usually both bad deals.
5. Everyone likes somebody who gets to the point quickly.
6. Bad moods will come and go your whole life, and trying to force them away makes them run deeper and last longer.
7. Children are remarkably honest creatures until we teach them not to be.
8. If everyone in the TV show you’re watching is good-looking, it’s not worth watching.
9. Yelling always makes things worse.
10. Whenever you’re worried about what others will think of you, you’re really just worried about what you’ll think of you.
11. Every problem you have is your responsibility, regardless of who caused it.
12. You never have to deal with more than one moment at a time.
13. If you never doubt your beliefs, then you’re wrong a lot.
14. Managing one’s wants is the most powerful skill a person can learn.
15. Nobody has it all figured out.
16. Cynicism is far too easy to be useful.
17. Every passing face on the street represents a story every bit as compelling and complicated as yours.
18. Whenever you hate something, it hates you back: people, situations and inanimate objects alike.
19. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s works alone can teach you everything you need to know about living with grace and happiness.
20. People embellish everything, as a rule.
21. Anger reveals weakness of character, violence even moreso.
22. Humans cannot destroy the planet, but we can destroy its capacity to keep us alive. And we are.
23. When people are uncomfortable with the present moment, they fidget with their hands or their minds. Watch and see.
24. Those who complain the most, accomplish the least.
25. Putting something off makes it instantly harder and scarier.
26. Credit card debt devours souls.
27. Nobody knows more than a minuscule fraction of what’s going on in the world. It’s just way too big for any one person to know it well.
28. Most of what we see is only what we think about what we see.
29. A person who is unafraid to present a candid version of herself to the world is as rare as diamonds.
30. The most common addiction in the world is the draw of comfort. It wrecks dreams and breaks people.
31. If what you’re doing feels perfectly safe, there is probably a better course of action.
32. The greatest innovation in the history of humankind is language.
33. Blame is the favorite pastime of those who dislike responsibility.
34. Everyone you meet is better than you at something.
35. Proof is nothing but a collection of opinions that match your own.
36. Knowledge is belief, nothing more.
37. Indulging your desires is not self-love.
38. What makes human beings different from animals is that animals can be themselves with ease.
39. Self-examination is the only path out of misery.
40. Whoever you are, you will die. To know and understand that means you are alive.
41. Revenge is for the petty and irresponsible.
42. Getting truly organized can vastly improve anyone’s life.
43. Almost every cliché contains a truth so profound that people have been compelled to repeat it until it makes you roll your eyes. But the wisdom is still in there.
44. People cause suffering when they are suffering themselves. Alleviating their suffering will help them not hurt others.
45. High quality is worth any quantity, in possessions, friends and experiences.
46. The world would be a better place if everyone read National Geographic.
47. If you aren’t happy single, you won’t be happy in a relationship.
48. Even if it costs no money, nothing is free if it takes time.
49. Emotions exist to make us strongly biased towards or against something. This hinders as often as it helps.
50. Addiction is a much greater problem in society than it’s made out to be. It’s present in every person in various forms, but usually we call it something else.
51. “Gut feeling” is not just a euphemism. Tension in the abdomen speaks volumes about how you truly feel about something, beyond all arguments and rationales.
52. Posture and dress change profoundly how you feel about yourself and how others feel about you, like it or not.
53. Everyone thinks they’re an above average driver.
54. The urge to punish others has much more to do with venting frustration than correcting behavior.
55. By default, people think far too much.
56. If anything is worth splurging on, it’s a high-quality mattress. You’ll spend a third of your life using it.
57. There is nothing worse than having no friends.
58. To write a person off as worthless is an act of great violence.
59. Try as we might to be otherwise, we are all hypocrites.
60. Justice is a human invention which is in reality rarely achievable, but many will not hesitate to destroy lives demanding it.
61. Kids will usually understand exactly what you mean if you keep it to one or two short sentences.
62. Stuff that’s on sale usually has an annoying downside.
63. Casual swearing makes people sound dumb.
64. Words are immensely powerful. One cruel remark can wound someone for life.
65. It’s easy to make someone’s day just by being uncommonly pleasant to them.
66. Most of what children learn from their parents isn’t taught on purpose.
67. The secret ingredient is usually butter, in obscene amounts.
68. It is worth re-trying foods that you didn’t like at first.
69. Problems, when they arise, are rarely as painful as the experience of fearing them.
70. Nothing — ever — happens exactly like you pictured it.
71. North Americans are generally terrible at accepting compliments and offers of help.
72. There are not enough women in positions of power. The world has suffered from this deficit for a long time.
73. When you break promises to yourself, you feel terrible. When you make a habit of it, you begin to hate yourself.
74. A good nine out of ten bad things I’ve worried about never happened. A good nine out of ten bad things that did happen never occurred to me to worry about.
75. You can’t hide a bad mood from people who know you well, but you can always be polite.
76. Sometimes you have to remove certain people from your life, even if they’re family.
77. Anyone can be calmed in an instant by looking at the ocean or the stars.
78. There is no point finishing a book you aren’t enjoying. Life is too short for that. Swallow your pride and put it down for good, unfinished.
79. There is no correlation between the price of a brand of batteries and how long they last.
80. Breaking new ground only takes a small amount more effort than you’re used to giving.
81. Life is a solo trip, but you’ll have lots of visitors. Some of them are long-term, most aren’t.
82. One of the best things you can do for your kids is take them on road trips. I’m not a parent, but I was a kid once.
83. The fewer possessions you have, the more they do for you.
84. Einstein was wiser than he was intelligent, and he was a genius.
85. When you’re sick of your own life, that’s a good time to pick up a book.
86. Wishing things were different is a great way to torture yourself.
87. The ability to be happy is nothing other than the ability to come to terms with how things change.
88. Killing time is an atrocity. It’s priceless, and it never grows back.
2. It is a hundred times more difficult to burn calories than to refrain from consuming them in the first place.
3. If you’re talking to someone you don’t know well, you may be talking to someone who knows way more about whatever you’re talking about than you do.
4. The cheapest and most expensive models are usually both bad deals.
5. Everyone likes somebody who gets to the point quickly.
6. Bad moods will come and go your whole life, and trying to force them away makes them run deeper and last longer.
7. Children are remarkably honest creatures until we teach them not to be.
8. If everyone in the TV show you’re watching is good-looking, it’s not worth watching.
9. Yelling always makes things worse.
10. Whenever you’re worried about what others will think of you, you’re really just worried about what you’ll think of you.
11. Every problem you have is your responsibility, regardless of who caused it.
12. You never have to deal with more than one moment at a time.
13. If you never doubt your beliefs, then you’re wrong a lot.
14. Managing one’s wants is the most powerful skill a person can learn.
15. Nobody has it all figured out.
16. Cynicism is far too easy to be useful.
17. Every passing face on the street represents a story every bit as compelling and complicated as yours.
18. Whenever you hate something, it hates you back: people, situations and inanimate objects alike.
19. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s works alone can teach you everything you need to know about living with grace and happiness.
20. People embellish everything, as a rule.
21. Anger reveals weakness of character, violence even moreso.
22. Humans cannot destroy the planet, but we can destroy its capacity to keep us alive. And we are.
23. When people are uncomfortable with the present moment, they fidget with their hands or their minds. Watch and see.
24. Those who complain the most, accomplish the least.
25. Putting something off makes it instantly harder and scarier.
26. Credit card debt devours souls.
27. Nobody knows more than a minuscule fraction of what’s going on in the world. It’s just way too big for any one person to know it well.
28. Most of what we see is only what we think about what we see.
29. A person who is unafraid to present a candid version of herself to the world is as rare as diamonds.
30. The most common addiction in the world is the draw of comfort. It wrecks dreams and breaks people.
31. If what you’re doing feels perfectly safe, there is probably a better course of action.
32. The greatest innovation in the history of humankind is language.
33. Blame is the favorite pastime of those who dislike responsibility.
34. Everyone you meet is better than you at something.
35. Proof is nothing but a collection of opinions that match your own.
36. Knowledge is belief, nothing more.
37. Indulging your desires is not self-love.
38. What makes human beings different from animals is that animals can be themselves with ease.
39. Self-examination is the only path out of misery.
40. Whoever you are, you will die. To know and understand that means you are alive.
41. Revenge is for the petty and irresponsible.
42. Getting truly organized can vastly improve anyone’s life.
43. Almost every cliché contains a truth so profound that people have been compelled to repeat it until it makes you roll your eyes. But the wisdom is still in there.
44. People cause suffering when they are suffering themselves. Alleviating their suffering will help them not hurt others.
45. High quality is worth any quantity, in possessions, friends and experiences.
46. The world would be a better place if everyone read National Geographic.
47. If you aren’t happy single, you won’t be happy in a relationship.
48. Even if it costs no money, nothing is free if it takes time.
49. Emotions exist to make us strongly biased towards or against something. This hinders as often as it helps.
50. Addiction is a much greater problem in society than it’s made out to be. It’s present in every person in various forms, but usually we call it something else.
51. “Gut feeling” is not just a euphemism. Tension in the abdomen speaks volumes about how you truly feel about something, beyond all arguments and rationales.
52. Posture and dress change profoundly how you feel about yourself and how others feel about you, like it or not.
53. Everyone thinks they’re an above average driver.
54. The urge to punish others has much more to do with venting frustration than correcting behavior.
55. By default, people think far too much.
56. If anything is worth splurging on, it’s a high-quality mattress. You’ll spend a third of your life using it.
57. There is nothing worse than having no friends.
58. To write a person off as worthless is an act of great violence.
59. Try as we might to be otherwise, we are all hypocrites.
60. Justice is a human invention which is in reality rarely achievable, but many will not hesitate to destroy lives demanding it.
61. Kids will usually understand exactly what you mean if you keep it to one or two short sentences.
62. Stuff that’s on sale usually has an annoying downside.
63. Casual swearing makes people sound dumb.
64. Words are immensely powerful. One cruel remark can wound someone for life.
65. It’s easy to make someone’s day just by being uncommonly pleasant to them.
66. Most of what children learn from their parents isn’t taught on purpose.
67. The secret ingredient is usually butter, in obscene amounts.
68. It is worth re-trying foods that you didn’t like at first.
69. Problems, when they arise, are rarely as painful as the experience of fearing them.
70. Nothing — ever — happens exactly like you pictured it.
71. North Americans are generally terrible at accepting compliments and offers of help.
72. There are not enough women in positions of power. The world has suffered from this deficit for a long time.
73. When you break promises to yourself, you feel terrible. When you make a habit of it, you begin to hate yourself.
74. A good nine out of ten bad things I’ve worried about never happened. A good nine out of ten bad things that did happen never occurred to me to worry about.
75. You can’t hide a bad mood from people who know you well, but you can always be polite.
76. Sometimes you have to remove certain people from your life, even if they’re family.
77. Anyone can be calmed in an instant by looking at the ocean or the stars.
78. There is no point finishing a book you aren’t enjoying. Life is too short for that. Swallow your pride and put it down for good, unfinished.
79. There is no correlation between the price of a brand of batteries and how long they last.
80. Breaking new ground only takes a small amount more effort than you’re used to giving.
81. Life is a solo trip, but you’ll have lots of visitors. Some of them are long-term, most aren’t.
82. One of the best things you can do for your kids is take them on road trips. I’m not a parent, but I was a kid once.
83. The fewer possessions you have, the more they do for you.
84. Einstein was wiser than he was intelligent, and he was a genius.
85. When you’re sick of your own life, that’s a good time to pick up a book.
86. Wishing things were different is a great way to torture yourself.
87. The ability to be happy is nothing other than the ability to come to terms with how things change.
88. Killing time is an atrocity. It’s priceless, and it never grows back.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Richard Wright: The Great Gig In The Sky
Another Brick Out of Wall
Wright, who played the keyboard and wrote music for classic albums The Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here, died aged 65 after a short battle with cancer.
Speaking shortly after his death was announced, Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour said his musical partner and friend was "gentle, unassuming and private".
He added: "His soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound.
"Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously.
"I have never played with anyone quite like him."
In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright was seen as the group's dominant musical force, composing masterpieces such as The Great Gig In The Sky, and Us And Them.
"Without Us And Them and The Great Gig In The Sky, what would The Dark Side Of The Moon have been?" Gilmour said.
"Without his quiet touch the album Wish You Were Here would not quite have worked.
"In my view all the greatest PF moments are the ones where he is in full flow."
London-born Wright mastered the trombone, saxophone, guitar and piano in his teenage years, and had hoped to emulate Miles Davis and John Coltrane, before enrolling in architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic.
There he met fellow band mates Roger Waters and Nick Mason, and they went on to form the Pink Floyd Sound in 1965.
Their first studio album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn was released in 1967.
After tensions with Waters, Wright left the band shortly after recording sessions for The Wall in 1979.
He released two solo albums including Broken China in 1996, but they never attracted the band's level of critical acclaim.
Gilmour said that the musician had "lost his way for a while" during that time.
He officially returned to the band in 1987, playing the keyboards and adding vocals to the A Momentary Lapse Of Reason album.
"In the early 90s, with The Division Bell, his vitality, spark and humour returned to him," Gilmour said.
Wright performed on every Pink Floyd tour and played with the surviving members of the band at Live 8 in 2005.
His performances during those times were "uplifting", Gilmour said.
"It's a mark of his modesty that those standing ovations came as a huge surprise to him, (though not to the rest of us)," he said
Friday, August 01, 2008
XCUSE ME
Starving:
I'm hungry now. Too tired to walk. Nothing left for my boy to nurse. Can you see me here?
Fed:
I'm sorry, but no time right now. I have to take my children to their shiny sc hool after their pancake breakfast.
Starving:
Do you see my boy. My heart is broken afresh every day that I cannot feed him. Fed:
Sorry? What was that? I'm late you know. Have to go. We'll chat later.
Starving:
Somehow I have to walk another 15 miles. It's said there's water there. Can you see me here?
Fed:
No time, no time, I have back to back meetings today. Important business, important plannings.
Starving:
Perhaps your wife then?
Fed:
Oh no, no no. She's busy, booked up with chores and errands and things we need.
Starving:
Oh.
Fed:
Now don't be that way. We help, you know.
Starving:
How? Do you mind if my boy and I lie down now. We're very tired.
Fed:
(wiping hands) Er, um, of course. Well, we give. Money. To charity. Starving: We don't want your money.
Fed:
It's not our fault, you know. Starving: We don't care whose fault it is. We're just hungry. And sick.
Fed:
I don't have time for this right now. I have important planning to do. Starving: We don't want your time.
Fed:
I'll help tomorrow. That's what. I'll book 5 minutes for you at one. Starving: We can't make it.
Fed:
What?
Starving:
We're dead at 6:00 today.
Fed:
Oh. It's not my fault you know.
Starving:
I still don't care.
Fed:
I'm doing important work here. You'll see.
Starving:
Not us. We won't.
Fed:
Well, those after you. Next year. We're making some beautiful buildings. They'll change things.
Starving:
When? Not for us.
Fed:
You'll see. Well those after you. Our buildings will bring in only the best people. Only the best. They're the ones.
Starving:
We need you. Now.
Fed:
No time today. No time. Important meetings, plannings. What was it you wanted? Starving:
Just a glass of milk. For my boy. So he can die without his stomach hurting.
I'm hungry now. Too tired to walk. Nothing left for my boy to nurse. Can you see me here?
Fed:
I'm sorry, but no time right now. I have to take my children to their shiny sc hool after their pancake breakfast.
Starving:
Do you see my boy. My heart is broken afresh every day that I cannot feed him. Fed:
Sorry? What was that? I'm late you know. Have to go. We'll chat later.
Starving:
Somehow I have to walk another 15 miles. It's said there's water there. Can you see me here?
Fed:
No time, no time, I have back to back meetings today. Important business, important plannings.
Starving:
Perhaps your wife then?
Fed:
Oh no, no no. She's busy, booked up with chores and errands and things we need.
Starving:
Oh.
Fed:
Now don't be that way. We help, you know.
Starving:
How? Do you mind if my boy and I lie down now. We're very tired.
Fed:
(wiping hands) Er, um, of course. Well, we give. Money. To charity. Starving: We don't want your money.
Fed:
It's not our fault, you know. Starving: We don't care whose fault it is. We're just hungry. And sick.
Fed:
I don't have time for this right now. I have important planning to do. Starving: We don't want your time.
Fed:
I'll help tomorrow. That's what. I'll book 5 minutes for you at one. Starving: We can't make it.
Fed:
What?
Starving:
We're dead at 6:00 today.
Fed:
Oh. It's not my fault you know.
Starving:
I still don't care.
Fed:
I'm doing important work here. You'll see.
Starving:
Not us. We won't.
Fed:
Well, those after you. Next year. We're making some beautiful buildings. They'll change things.
Starving:
When? Not for us.
Fed:
You'll see. Well those after you. Our buildings will bring in only the best people. Only the best. They're the ones.
Starving:
We need you. Now.
Fed:
No time today. No time. Important meetings, plannings. What was it you wanted? Starving:
Just a glass of milk. For my boy. So he can die without his stomach hurting.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The International Food Policy Research Institute shows that 40 per cent of the world's underweight children under five live in India. Add disadvantaged groups like the poor and women who have a hard time feeding themselves and you get 400 million people. Priests and activists point the finger at corruption and bad governance.
A researcher named Kris Kaspersky claims to have found a way to hack into any computer with an Intel processor at its core, independent of the operating system running on the system. Kaspersky claims to have found a way for an attacker to take control of an Intel-based system by using JavaScript and TCP/IP.
For those of you who would like the technical details, here is the basic rundown. Many processors contain bugs, known as errata, which can be exploited using certain instruction sequences and knowledge of how Java compilers work, allowing an attacker to take control of the compiler. As of now, there are plenty of bugs in Intel processors, though they are not noticeable since they do not affect processing abilities, they are a major security risk nonetheless. While some may just crash the system or give full control of the system, some others may attack just Vista, disabling all security restrictions. Manufacturers (like Intel and AMD) try to patch these bugs by providing solutions in the BIOS but sometimes vendors do not implement the latest BIOS, making the system vulnerable. Kaspersky, who opened this can of worms, has promised to tell all but at his terms. These terms are the stage and the nature of the revelation.
For those of you who would like the technical details, here is the basic rundown. Many processors contain bugs, known as errata, which can be exploited using certain instruction sequences and knowledge of how Java compilers work, allowing an attacker to take control of the compiler. As of now, there are plenty of bugs in Intel processors, though they are not noticeable since they do not affect processing abilities, they are a major security risk nonetheless. While some may just crash the system or give full control of the system, some others may attack just Vista, disabling all security restrictions. Manufacturers (like Intel and AMD) try to patch these bugs by providing solutions in the BIOS but sometimes vendors do not implement the latest BIOS, making the system vulnerable. Kaspersky, who opened this can of worms, has promised to tell all but at his terms. These terms are the stage and the nature of the revelation.
Stage:
Hack in the box security conference at Kuala Lumpur
Time:
October
Nature of revelation:
An attack on Intel based computers running the latest patched versions of Windows (XP,Vista,Server 2003,Server 2008), Linux and BSD at the conference and public distribution of the attack code. Well for those of you running Intel computers here's something for you to watch out for in the future
Thursday, July 24, 2008
SUN's new 'Datacentre in a Box'
" S E X Y "
" S E X Y "
an all-weather, indoor/outdoor, instant-on, datacentre inside a shipping container.
It's a simply briliant design - it uses less power, much less space and it's fully recycable and refurbishable, with a commitment from Sun for responsible disposal.
Now they should publish the design as an open standard of some sort, to encourage everyone to make these things so you don't have to be a Sun shop to reap the benefits.
- Project Blackbox will give customers the flexibility to move applications to optimal locations to take advantage of lower energy rates, avoid power outages, and tap cheaper, greener energy.
- Customers who select a configuration with the Sun Fire CoolThreads technology-based servers will save about $1,000 a year per Sun Fire T2000 or Sun Fire T1000 server in energy costs, in addition to cost savings provided by the container's cooling advantage over existing datacenter implementations.
- Sun will extend its electronic waste and hazardous material leadership by taking back Project Blackbox containers and their systems for upgrading, reuse, recycling, or responsible disposal.
It is the kind of line to prick a newspaper editor's conscience. Early in his new book, The End of Poverty, Professor Jeffrey Sachs comments that every day our newspapers could report "more than 20,000 people perished yesterday of extreme poverty". But it doesn't work that way. The story is too big for the news.
The death of more than 20,000 people on a single day would be one of the most momentous stories of the year - full of heartbreak and horror, particularly as so many of the victims were children.
The headlines would be massive, the news coverage extensive, the analysis compelling and in the days ahead, the letters page would be full of reader feedback.
But because this event happens every day of the year, for complex reasons that are hard to solve, it makes little news.
The problem with worldwide poverty and the unimaginable death toll, is that it is happening everywhere, all the time.
There is no sudden trigger or cause. It is a disaster without a single cataclysmic event. No single site of the tragedy. A mundane horror.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Jimi Hendrix’s torched guitar to sell for £500,000 at auction
July 17, 2008
London, July 17
( The first guitar to ever be torched by late American guitarist Jimi Hendrix is expected to fetch at least 500,000 pounds when it goes under the hammer.
Hendrix torched the guitar during a gig in 1967, when he poured lighter fuel over the 1965 Fender Stratocaster and then lighted it.
While he got treatment for his burns, his pal Tony Garland retrieved the guitar – and it landed up in his garage for 41 years.
Garland had later stored the instrument at his parents’ garage in Hove, East Sussex, where his nephew found it last year.
“The owner had forgotten he had it. When he found it he thought, ‘Bloody hell, I remember what that is.’ He thought it might be worth £10,000,” the Sun quoted rock memorabilia expert Ted Owen as saying.
The guitar, which made history at the Finsbury Astoria, North London, was one of several Hendrix burned and will be auctioned at the Idea Generation Gallery, East London, in September.
Other lots include Jim Morrison’s last notebook and a song-sheet of USA For Africa’s ‘We are the World’ signed by Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan. (ANI)
July 17, 2008
London, July 17
( The first guitar to ever be torched by late American guitarist Jimi Hendrix is expected to fetch at least 500,000 pounds when it goes under the hammer.
Hendrix torched the guitar during a gig in 1967, when he poured lighter fuel over the 1965 Fender Stratocaster and then lighted it.
While he got treatment for his burns, his pal Tony Garland retrieved the guitar – and it landed up in his garage for 41 years.
Garland had later stored the instrument at his parents’ garage in Hove, East Sussex, where his nephew found it last year.
“The owner had forgotten he had it. When he found it he thought, ‘Bloody hell, I remember what that is.’ He thought it might be worth £10,000,” the Sun quoted rock memorabilia expert Ted Owen as saying.
The guitar, which made history at the Finsbury Astoria, North London, was one of several Hendrix burned and will be auctioned at the Idea Generation Gallery, East London, in September.
Other lots include Jim Morrison’s last notebook and a song-sheet of USA For Africa’s ‘We are the World’ signed by Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan. (ANI)
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