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Thursday, May 25, 2006

V for Victory ... (for Killer Robots)

I am a techy, there's no question about that. Whenever the latest and coolest gadgets come out, I dream about them and drool (OK maybe I won't drools, but you know what I mean). One of my friends and I were talking about this once and she started calling me a "techno-whore." Lovely ... just lovely ...

However, there are times when technology gets scary. Just take for example the Terminator movies where killer robots come and destroy the human race, or in War of the Worlds where robotic aliens come attack us, or even the Matrix, where humans became batteries for machines. Scary stuff!

This piece of news reminds me that those movies may not be so far off after all. Those sneaky Japanese scientists have figured out how to control a robot using brain waves! Yes ... BRAIN WAVES! Doesn't this scare you? Imagine 10 years from now when we'll be driving cars with our brains, we'll be turning lights on and off with one simple thought (sadly, this will spell the clapper's tragic end).

I don't know how this new technology is going to help me though. Considering how much I think about useless stuff, the machines will probably go into system failure very quickly. Knowing me, I'm going to be the one swerving on the road because I can't decide whether to turn right or left. And I can definitely see myself accidentally command my robot to kill a cute squirrel or kick an innocent pedestrian in the shins for no reason at all. I admit it, I have a depraved mind. Save me ...

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Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Happy Birthday to Me!

If you haven't gotten the hint already, it was my birthday a couple days ago. Woohoo! Thanks for all the cards, meals, cookies, cakes ... etc. It's a blast growing older with you guys.

My friend said this about me once, "on the outside he's serious but when business is over he likes to surround himself with people who are silly and can make him laugh." I guess that's true, that's why I love this card I received this year. Enjoy!




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Big Bad Bears devour Poor Monkey!

I love the discovery channel, I think I can watch that, TLC, and the history channel non-stop for days without stopping. It's just so engaging and interesting, to find out the weird quirky thing that animals do and the dumb things that people do.

Because of my love for the discovery channel, I would've loved to have seen this in person. It's not that I have ill feelings toward monkeys, as someone has suggested, but it's just that it would be a perfect illustration of the "survival of the fittest" concept. Plus, it happened at a safari park, it is supposed to emulate the wild! Kudos to the Dutch zoo keepers!

So here's a moral for you: Don't mess with big bad bears or live right next to them.

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Sunday, May 14, 2006

All Downhill from Here ...

Symptoms:

1) Lower back pain (detriorating muscles)
2) Aching joints (arthritis)
3) Decrease in height (shrinking bones)
4) Wrinkles (darn you gravity)
5) Memory Loss (losing brain cells)
6) Decrease in mobility (can't run as fast or jump as high)
7) Decrease in metabolism (fat fat fat)

This is what 25 years on earth can do to you. As I ponder on this, a famous quote from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness comes to mind:


THE HORROR! THE HORROR!!!!

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Saturday, May 13, 2006

The Jigsaw Puzzle

I don't believe in coincidences. Things happen for a reason. Sometimes you see why, but most of the time you don't. It's not your job to make sense of everything, you just roll with the punches and trust that someone out there knows what he's doing.

It's interesting how once you learn about something, you start noticing it more and more in the world around you. This happens to me pretty often: I would learn an obscure word that I was certain I have never heard of before, and then the moment after I learn it, I start hearing it everywhere I go ... on the news, in the mall, at the office, on the web. It's like as if a small piece of darkness have been removed from my world, and I start seeing things in a whole new way.

For example, the word Antediluvians, the name our cell group adopted for ourselves because it's somewhat related to H2O (water). Right after I found out what it meant, I started seeing the word used in the books I read, I start seeing it in Starbucks (Akeelah and the Bee), I start using it like a short adjective.

Or even tonight, my friend Matt was telling me to go visit him in Oregon, tempting me by saying they have the biggest bookstore in the whole world there. Pretty obscure fact, right? Then not even 10 minutes later, I was reading a book and the author mentioned how he went to Powell's, the biggest bookstore in the world, for a book reading. My brain started cranking and putting it all together ... Powell's - biggest bookstore - Oregon - Portland - oh ... it all makes sense! And even more strangely, my friend just confirmed it for me on his blog by noting that he had went to Powell's just earlier tonight.

Life can be strange like that. One second you're waddling in ignorance, then the next everything becomes clear. I wonder if everyone had used these obscure words or name these obscure places all along but I was ignorant enough not to notice it.

I think that's how God is like to some people. To them, God is like this obscure word they think they have never heard of. He has always been there, but they were too ignorant to notice or acknowledge Him. All it takes is for someone to tell them who God is, to show them with their life, by their love, with their time ... then everything becomes clear. All the pieces come together, and they start to see God in everything. They think back and realize that God has been there all along. But only in their ignorance, in their denial, have they missed out on Him.

Father, release me from my own ignorance. I think I know and understand so much, but it has done nothing but to feed my ever expanding pride. Humble me before you, oh God, break me down so you can piece me together again ...

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Friday, May 12, 2006

The Google Intuition

Contextual Advertising ... that's what Google claims about the ads on the side of the Gmail client. I was checking my emails as usual last week and noticed some weird "contextual ads" in some of my emails. For example:

Ad:
Parent to Parent
Are Your Child's Play Dates Safe? Don't Take Chances
www.playdatesecure.com
Topic:
Relating to God as our Heavenly Father

Ad:
Get Your Ex Back
Get a powerful plan for restoring your relationship with your ex. $24
www.exback.com
Topic:
My friend talking about she felt unworthy of God's love for her

Ad:
How to Captivate a man
Make Him Fall in Love with You- and want to give you the world.
www.relationshipheadquarters.com
Topic:
Same topic as the previous entry

Ad:
Rap Lyrics
Opportunities for singing talent of all ages and genres available now!
www.talentrock.com
Topic:
I told my friend in EA I'll rap (codeword for pray) for them

Ad:
70 Day Life Makeover
Get organized, manage time, money health, esteem - Begin today!
changeyourlifechallenge.com
Topic:
Happy Birthday!


Contextual ads, huh?

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Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Flying Teddy Bears ...

Japan is the land of wacky inventions. If you have a crazy idea that you think will never catch on in the US, just go to Japan and you'll find swarms of people buying your wacky invention. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it can be pink, people will buy it. You'd be smart to make it cute and put some stickers on it too, because you know how Asians love the cute stuff.

The latest Japanese invention has teddy bears being shot out of guns. The cuddly projectile will be wearing a parachute and will slowly descend upon wily wedding guests, all of which will be fighting each other to grab one of these bears. What a wonderful idea for a wedding. I just might have to buy one and bring it to the next one I'm attending.


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Monday, May 08, 2006

E.V.I.L

It's against my principle to perpetuate evil in this world, and that is why I'm here to WARN and ALERT you of something you should NOT do. It's like when DARE came to your elementary school and showed you what drugs looked like, then proceeded convince you not to use them after they have piqued your curiosity in narcotics.

My evil friend Matt just released a lesson on how to create an evil laugh. You should definitely check it out because 1) it's very informative 2) it's pretty hilarious 3) you'll know what evil sounds like from now on.

Remember ... EVIL is bad.

MuaHaHaaHa (oops)

P.S. - As a side note, Matt thinks that Ken Makes Kids Happy ... he also seems to think I'm omniscient too!


MuaHaHaaHa...HeHeeeHe (did I do it again?)

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Tuesday, May 02, 2006

The Beauty of it all ...

Weddings always leave me in a state of awe. I love every aspect of it, I love how two souls can become one in perfect union ... to love and cherish, to hold each other fast through the thick and the thin, to be committed to a covenant of faithfulness to each other until the dying end. When I saw Matt & AJ take their vows last Friday, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of it all ... it was just too perfect. Two people who are in passionate love relationships with God coming together in marriage, it really does leave me speechless.

When I gaze on the beauty of this occasion, there lies an inner conflict of hope and shame. On the one hand, I long for the beauty of this moment for myself, but at the same time, I feel completely unworthy of such a thing. Lately I have felt the same way about my relationship with God as well, whenever I take time to reflect on the depth of love and the breadth of grace that He has shown me and continues to show me, I feel inadequate and scared. I look deep within my heart and all I could see is utter darkness. It's starting to make sense why Moses hid his face from the Lord in Exodus 3, when he was afraid to look at the Holy God. Or when Isaiah exclaimed, "Woe is me, for I am ruined ... for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts" in Isaiah 6. And even David felt the same in Psalm 139, "... such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?"

So as I sat there during the ceremony, silently screaming because of the conflict within, I wonder if my turn will ever come ... when all things fall into place. Perhaps it never will, for what am I but a wretched undeserving sinner?

... then I remembered this thing called grace ...

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The Reunion


My body is rebelling against me once again, relegating me to nothing more than a walking zombie. I fed it 8 good hours of sleep last night, but it's still craving for more. I don't blame it though, after all, I've been depriving it of sleep ever since last Thursday. It is all worth it: the late night compiling of the wedding slideshow, the 10-hour round-trip drive to the boonies of western PA, the crazy Cornell escapade to Denny's, and loitering at the hotel lobby until the wee hours of the night. Here are some photos.

The highly anticipated mega reunion did not disappoint one bit, and I was reaffirmed once again how good I had it at Cornell. It's interesting to stop and see where my friends are three years after graduation: a good number of them are in law school, others working for their PhD, while others are in seminary or working ... everyone is intelligent and ambitious, but none of them have sold their souls for the fleeting things in life.

That's what I love about them though. Whenever we get together, I am humbled. Not because I feel inadequate before them nor am I overwhelmed by their spiritual righteousness, but because when we're together, I catch a glimpse of something far beyond myself. Concretely, we learn from each other, from our struggles and our conquests in this spiritual war. In some strange way we exuberate trust and respect for each other, we genuinely love and care. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but it's something special, and I hope I can find it again elsewhere in life.

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