This is a phrase saying even the baddest guys don't harm their own children. Well, this is a regular tiger that is, not a psycho tiger.
Recent local news dominate the headline: dad killing his wife and 3 kids, shot himself and claiming the poor victim wife did it.
Of course, that turns out not to be the case. The father did it!
The Sun-Times talked to experts and come up with this explanation:
Fathers often wipe out their families simply because they're tired of them. They want to be free again, without going through the hassles and obligations of divorce and child support.
Look. What kind of freedom you want to get by wiping out your family? You probably get death penalty, or you lose all your freedom in multiple-life sentences.
The very moment you get married you should expect family. Waita minute, isn't it because you WANT family in the first place to get married? Of course, psychos don't reason.
In America, there may be outrageous situations where you can even get free from murder with some outrageous lawyers. I hope that won't be the case.
When families become burdensome: work with your family, not wipe them out.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Newton and Religion
Everyone knows Newton is one of the most outstanding scientists of all time who discovered laws of motion and calculus (and much more). Amazing are the men (ok, or women) who open up complete new pages in human understandings.
Currently there is a exhibit in Jerusalem about Newton's calculations exhibiting his religious side... He wrote some calculations on the apocalypse based on his interpretations from the Bible! See this link for details.
The problem with the Bible is this: sometimes we take the numbers literally, sometimes we don't. For example, does Jesus really mean forgive people 70x7=490 times or indefinitely? (Matt 18:21-22) I am sure Newton is not too impressed with the Bible's note on π from the temple measurements: 1 Kings 7:23. So the world is really created in 6 days? But if there is no earth going around the sun, what exactly is a "day"? Standard answer is this: Moses isn't trying to write a science book here. All we need to know is God created the world, okay?
I wish I can read Newton's writing and see how he comes up with the year 2060.(Mr. Newton Sir, is that too sloppy writing or is it how everyone writes in 1700s?)
I like science because it allows me to dig into how the world works, objectively. I may find it rather distracting if I see textbook like this: "Gravity is the force that takes an apple to the ground, at the acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2. God created the ground so that you can live in and enjoy the apple, so praise ye the Lord".
So let's keep science and religion as completely different subjects.
Religion is beyond what scientific methods to handle, after all, it deals with super-natural. So I won't attempt to scientifically explore into the scripture like Newton, besides, Jesus said you simply won't know when the apocalypse will come.
Currently there is a exhibit in Jerusalem about Newton's calculations exhibiting his religious side... He wrote some calculations on the apocalypse based on his interpretations from the Bible! See this link for details.
The problem with the Bible is this: sometimes we take the numbers literally, sometimes we don't. For example, does Jesus really mean forgive people 70x7=490 times or indefinitely? (Matt 18:21-22) I am sure Newton is not too impressed with the Bible's note on π from the temple measurements: 1 Kings 7:23. So the world is really created in 6 days? But if there is no earth going around the sun, what exactly is a "day"? Standard answer is this: Moses isn't trying to write a science book here. All we need to know is God created the world, okay?
I wish I can read Newton's writing and see how he comes up with the year 2060.(Mr. Newton Sir, is that too sloppy writing or is it how everyone writes in 1700s?)
I like science because it allows me to dig into how the world works, objectively. I may find it rather distracting if I see textbook like this: "Gravity is the force that takes an apple to the ground, at the acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2. God created the ground so that you can live in and enjoy the apple, so praise ye the Lord".
So let's keep science and religion as completely different subjects.
Religion is beyond what scientific methods to handle, after all, it deals with super-natural. So I won't attempt to scientifically explore into the scripture like Newton, besides, Jesus said you simply won't know when the apocalypse will come.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Northwestern revisited
On Saturday, I went to Leighton's graduation in a master program of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern. I get to revisit my alma mater! I haven't been back to Evanston for so long. The School of Journalism is a totally foreign place to me. I was in the College of Arts and Sciences. After the freshman orientation I never even walk near that area. Medill is named after the famous journalist who was the editor of the Chicago Tribune... Oh he was even the mayor... In order to have a school after you, you must be either a famous for something, or donate a lot of money to the school (which makes you famous).
So it is June, all the students are gone for the summer. I didn't see any young students with Northwestern T-shirts playing frisbees and hitting the books. I didn't see any posters on the floor for student events... Besides those attending graduations, it is mostly quiet.
There are two lakefronts at NU. One is the real lake front and there is a landfill area with a lagoon with a water fountain. It is beautiful place to walk around... Yikes, the Class of 1980 stone chair got ripped off. What's going on? Is it broken? Oh and there are weeds so high now. No one taking care of the grasses by the lagoon?
The Deering Library is the most interesting place in NU. There is a tunnel that leads the modern library to the 1800s library like a time tunnel! The building climbing plants (what do you call it?) are covering a LOT MORE area than it was when I was undergraduate! They are devouring the old buildings fast!
The undergraduate years surely is a unique experience... Oh I am at my current job longer than I have been in NU, and I don't grow as much in the years at work as the years in school... So school was actually more exciting.
Folks, learning does not stop at graduation. One keeps learning. Graduation merely means I completed a prescribed set of required courses. Unfortunately, work life has less interesting things to learn.
So it is June, all the students are gone for the summer. I didn't see any young students with Northwestern T-shirts playing frisbees and hitting the books. I didn't see any posters on the floor for student events... Besides those attending graduations, it is mostly quiet.
There are two lakefronts at NU. One is the real lake front and there is a landfill area with a lagoon with a water fountain. It is beautiful place to walk around... Yikes, the Class of 1980 stone chair got ripped off. What's going on? Is it broken? Oh and there are weeds so high now. No one taking care of the grasses by the lagoon?
The Deering Library is the most interesting place in NU. There is a tunnel that leads the modern library to the 1800s library like a time tunnel! The building climbing plants (what do you call it?) are covering a LOT MORE area than it was when I was undergraduate! They are devouring the old buildings fast!
The undergraduate years surely is a unique experience... Oh I am at my current job longer than I have been in NU, and I don't grow as much in the years at work as the years in school... So school was actually more exciting.
Folks, learning does not stop at graduation. One keeps learning. Graduation merely means I completed a prescribed set of required courses. Unfortunately, work life has less interesting things to learn.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Rubik's Cube
On Fox News This morning I saw 3 (young) people solve the Rubik's cube: one person was blindfolded, another kid (with a π T-shirt) uses just 1 hand, and another kid with both hands.
Whoa. the blindfolded guy did it, in less than 1 minute! But the other kids are very close to solving it. Amazing.
The Rubik's Cube was a phenomenon in the 80s. It is simple and colorful and tough to solve. I have never able to solve it. The only way I can do this is to rip apart the cube and put it back together.
The cube is frustrating because I can't use divide-and-conquer. If I try to solve one side I will mess up another side, or mess up the current side. However, if I study the solutions and try a few times, perhaps I can eventually solve it. I just needed the time and patience to do this.
So the TV anchor asked the champion: what's your secret? He says: look for the hundreds of entries with google for solutions, and a LOT of practice...
Some would do DIFFICULT things for fame and honor, like figure skating. Some may do it for a living! Like training to perform in circus.
But one may ask, but why spend time on solving the Rubik's Cube?
Well it is a challenge. Sometimes we attempt difficult things even there is no reward (other than the YEAH! I DID IT),like someone would train really hard to climb a mountain. With training and the will, some people can do amazing things.
Life perhaps just need some goals to achieve. So I won't say the Rubik players are wasting their time. Go ahead, do what you think is fun, as long as don't hurt others.
The kid who attempted to use 1 hand to solve Rubik's cube was wearing a T-shirt with digits of π. Although I am not seeing the connection of Rubik's cube and π or any math, I LIKE that T-shirt. I also would like to have a fractal tie... A t-shirt with Maxwell's equations or Euler's formula! Ok I just have a line of business in mind: Mathgears. Ok here is a math question: how many customers would I have?
Whoa. the blindfolded guy did it, in less than 1 minute! But the other kids are very close to solving it. Amazing.
The Rubik's Cube was a phenomenon in the 80s. It is simple and colorful and tough to solve. I have never able to solve it. The only way I can do this is to rip apart the cube and put it back together.
The cube is frustrating because I can't use divide-and-conquer. If I try to solve one side I will mess up another side, or mess up the current side. However, if I study the solutions and try a few times, perhaps I can eventually solve it. I just needed the time and patience to do this.
So the TV anchor asked the champion: what's your secret? He says: look for the hundreds of entries with google for solutions, and a LOT of practice...
Some would do DIFFICULT things for fame and honor, like figure skating. Some may do it for a living! Like training to perform in circus.
But one may ask, but why spend time on solving the Rubik's Cube?
Well it is a challenge. Sometimes we attempt difficult things even there is no reward (other than the YEAH! I DID IT),like someone would train really hard to climb a mountain. With training and the will, some people can do amazing things.
Life perhaps just need some goals to achieve. So I won't say the Rubik players are wasting their time. Go ahead, do what you think is fun, as long as don't hurt others.
The kid who attempted to use 1 hand to solve Rubik's cube was wearing a T-shirt with digits of π. Although I am not seeing the connection of Rubik's cube and π or any math, I LIKE that T-shirt. I also would like to have a fractal tie... A t-shirt with Maxwell's equations or Euler's formula! Ok I just have a line of business in mind: Mathgears. Ok here is a math question: how many customers would I have?
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Library and rules
My aunt used to work for a bookstore, and she delivers fun readings for me once a while. (Thanks Aunt!) All kids should be given inspiring fun stories! Besides fun stories, we get some introduction books too. One article I read was about a library.
The description of library is something like this:
"Library is a place where people read. We keep quiet in the library and we keep the books clean so others can read."
So that was the expectation of the library I've had when I was about 5.
Then one day my dad took me to a local libray. (Thanks Dad!)
Yikes it wasn't quite like my expectation! Some kids are talking loud! When I check out some books, some books are decorated by drawn stuff! Some even have corners torn apart. The librarian can only mildly scold at a very small number of offending kids. From that day I know there are differences between theoretical behaviors and actual behaviors.
In my elementary school in HongKong, we line up and walk a few stairs before reaching the classrooms. (Well fed Americans may DEMAND elevators in that school.) On the first day of school we were told to walk quietly. But my classmates were laughing and talking and even pretended to be kungfu masters. I realize more that some people just don't follow rules. These kids are not considerate for others.
Of course, some older kids (adults) also don't follow rules.
Rules are what make this world orderly, and of course you may have serious consequence if you don't follow. I am sure everyone enjoys the security from rules. I feel fairly secure if I walk along in downtown in daylight without being afraid of being robbed.
It is easy to realize why robbing is bad: how do YOU like being robbed.
But there are those rules that you are not as likely to get caught, such as downloading and watching that new movie illegally.
While MOST people follow obvious rules, we should apply the same (golden) rule: how do YOU like if you spent so much money and produce a movie just to have someone download it for free.
Ok, I'd like to ask those kids I met when I was 5: how do YOU like disrupted by noisy kids when you expect a quiet library. And to the kids who drew on the library books: how do you like it if I draw on your book?
It is easy to follow rules when you can think for others. Of course, greedy offenders don't do that.
The description of library is something like this:
"Library is a place where people read. We keep quiet in the library and we keep the books clean so others can read."
So that was the expectation of the library I've had when I was about 5.
Then one day my dad took me to a local libray. (Thanks Dad!)
Yikes it wasn't quite like my expectation! Some kids are talking loud! When I check out some books, some books are decorated by drawn stuff! Some even have corners torn apart. The librarian can only mildly scold at a very small number of offending kids. From that day I know there are differences between theoretical behaviors and actual behaviors.
In my elementary school in HongKong, we line up and walk a few stairs before reaching the classrooms. (Well fed Americans may DEMAND elevators in that school.) On the first day of school we were told to walk quietly. But my classmates were laughing and talking and even pretended to be kungfu masters. I realize more that some people just don't follow rules. These kids are not considerate for others.
Of course, some older kids (adults) also don't follow rules.
Rules are what make this world orderly, and of course you may have serious consequence if you don't follow. I am sure everyone enjoys the security from rules. I feel fairly secure if I walk along in downtown in daylight without being afraid of being robbed.
It is easy to realize why robbing is bad: how do YOU like being robbed.
But there are those rules that you are not as likely to get caught, such as downloading and watching that new movie illegally.
While MOST people follow obvious rules, we should apply the same (golden) rule: how do YOU like if you spent so much money and produce a movie just to have someone download it for free.
Ok, I'd like to ask those kids I met when I was 5: how do YOU like disrupted by noisy kids when you expect a quiet library. And to the kids who drew on the library books: how do you like it if I draw on your book?
It is easy to follow rules when you can think for others. Of course, greedy offenders don't do that.
Random thoughts about life
Through links of links of some friend's blog I found out that someone in my church (whom I don't know well) has a prematurely born son who passed away after just 10 days. Not long ago we have seen similarly touching stories of parents writing daily blog for a baby who has serious problems at birth too. The trauma that parents go through in moments like these must be tremendous.
How come I didn't hear this in the prayer items from the church bulletin?
Did I over look it?
I hope the babies rest in peace.
Life is SO precious. We put so much efforts in saving lives. So many people are struggling to stay alive.
Yet we also have the most advanced weapons to take away lives at warzones.
Instead of battling each other, can we turn focus to battling things like diseases instead? (Now that's naive)
But if we have all success in battling diseases and no one dies at all, what kind of world will this be? Life AND death are natural... But yikes, death of babies are so painful.
No one understands why good folks have bad circumstances, and that the real death-deserving guys live long and propser and oppress good folks. This is an age-old question that has no satisfying answer. Parents, you MUST teach your kids and don't let them become death deserving bad guys. But can effective teaching prevent evil?
How come I didn't hear this in the prayer items from the church bulletin?
Did I over look it?
I hope the babies rest in peace.
Life is SO precious. We put so much efforts in saving lives. So many people are struggling to stay alive.
Yet we also have the most advanced weapons to take away lives at warzones.
Instead of battling each other, can we turn focus to battling things like diseases instead? (Now that's naive)
But if we have all success in battling diseases and no one dies at all, what kind of world will this be? Life AND death are natural... But yikes, death of babies are so painful.
No one understands why good folks have bad circumstances, and that the real death-deserving guys live long and propser and oppress good folks. This is an age-old question that has no satisfying answer. Parents, you MUST teach your kids and don't let them become death deserving bad guys. But can effective teaching prevent evil?
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Notes from a helpless American
Recently I glanced a few pages of Al Gore's latest book: The Assault on Reason. So he was upset that Americans are all over the constant coverage of entertainment news and outrageous murder cases while not focusing on critical events that really matters such as the war on Iraq. America's reasoning ability is under assault by our addiction to TV media...
I wonder what kind of world it is going to be if he won the 2000 election. What would he do differently after 9/11?
A while ago an anti-war mother of a killed soldier gave up peace movement after exhausting money and everything. She claimed her son died for a country "which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives."
Yes, Americans watch American Idol and follow closely to soap opera style news stories. If you want to look for statistics that make Americans look even worse, you can point to obese statistics and our horrible reading and math scores.
But there is nothing wrong with watching the American Idols.
The truth is this: I can watch the American Idols (although I don't) but I can't do much to help the quagmire of Iraq and other criticial issues. Nothing. I am no powerful politician. You suggest me to write to my congressmen? What do they care. Heck, I don't even know any of their names except the 2 senators.
Waita minute, I am not totally powerless. As a citizen, I have the right to vote. Ok, even Gore won the popular votes he didn't win the presidency. What kind a of strange power we are given?
For those given power in elections: remember the regular citizens have empowered you, do what is good for the country! However, for most politicians, the desire for political power has probably overcame the desire of serving the people perhaps in day 2 of their job.
Given this helplessness of individual Americans, we go back to the TV for entertainment.
I wonder what kind of world it is going to be if he won the 2000 election. What would he do differently after 9/11?
A while ago an anti-war mother of a killed soldier gave up peace movement after exhausting money and everything. She claimed her son died for a country "which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives."
Yes, Americans watch American Idol and follow closely to soap opera style news stories. If you want to look for statistics that make Americans look even worse, you can point to obese statistics and our horrible reading and math scores.
But there is nothing wrong with watching the American Idols.
The truth is this: I can watch the American Idols (although I don't) but I can't do much to help the quagmire of Iraq and other criticial issues. Nothing. I am no powerful politician. You suggest me to write to my congressmen? What do they care. Heck, I don't even know any of their names except the 2 senators.
Waita minute, I am not totally powerless. As a citizen, I have the right to vote. Ok, even Gore won the popular votes he didn't win the presidency. What kind a of strange power we are given?
For those given power in elections: remember the regular citizens have empowered you, do what is good for the country! However, for most politicians, the desire for political power has probably overcame the desire of serving the people perhaps in day 2 of their job.
Given this helplessness of individual Americans, we go back to the TV for entertainment.
Monday, June 4, 2007
More 5th grader thoughts
Last Thursday I watched another episode of "Are you smarter than a 5th grader". I wish the pace is a bit faster in this 1 hour program.
So one geography question is "Which ocean does France border?"
This geography question is EASY, the Atlantic, of course. I am glad the contestant can handle that. Obviously the producers may think this can be a difficult question. Although this piece of information is not a practical one for most people but I think everyone ought to know this basic fact.
As a basic minumum for geography, I think students should be able to find some major countries in the world map. If you live in USA, be able to name a few states at least.
Another question on the chart is worth half a million, a measurement question. In that show, measurement often refers to obscure British sytem that even the British people themselves have abandoned it for the metric system. How many pecks in a bushel? Ok I don't blame anyone who does not know this. After all, almost no one deal with these units.
So just what do we expect kids to learn and retain? Do we just feed them useless information and have them all forgot when they become adults? This is something to think about.
Contestants: for big money, it is worth memorizing that obsure British unit conversion chart found in good old school folders. Also, review the textbooks that typical fifth graders read. Study old stuff and learn something new (now that's an ancient Confucious proverb).
BTW, I am not afraid of ANY grade school level math questions, even 5th grade. Bring them on.
So one geography question is "Which ocean does France border?"
This geography question is EASY, the Atlantic, of course. I am glad the contestant can handle that. Obviously the producers may think this can be a difficult question. Although this piece of information is not a practical one for most people but I think everyone ought to know this basic fact.
As a basic minumum for geography, I think students should be able to find some major countries in the world map. If you live in USA, be able to name a few states at least.
Another question on the chart is worth half a million, a measurement question. In that show, measurement often refers to obscure British sytem that even the British people themselves have abandoned it for the metric system. How many pecks in a bushel? Ok I don't blame anyone who does not know this. After all, almost no one deal with these units.
So just what do we expect kids to learn and retain? Do we just feed them useless information and have them all forgot when they become adults? This is something to think about.
Contestants: for big money, it is worth memorizing that obsure British unit conversion chart found in good old school folders. Also, review the textbooks that typical fifth graders read. Study old stuff and learn something new (now that's an ancient Confucious proverb).
BTW, I am not afraid of ANY grade school level math questions, even 5th grade. Bring them on.
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