Saturday, January 26, 2008

The Generation Gap

I am currently watching FRONTLINE: Growing Up Online on PBS. This episode is about kids and the internet and parent. It is very un-bias compared to other news source. There are both kids and parent talking about the good and bad situation of the internet.

They say the internet created the biggest generation gap. I have to agree with that. They show some nice statistic.

Any way, check that out if you can. Frontline is great. But now I am writing about the generation gap, and why it is good and bad.

Parent, like most human, are afraid of unfamiliar things. Like most human we all want privacy, but yet like most human we also want to invade people's privacy.

I know they want to keep an eye on us so that they can make sure we are safe, but over protection will just drag us down. We need a big generation gap to insulate our self from the last generation's grasp that are trying to stop us from advancing our self. We are constantly evolving, but they don't want us to. They are too insecure to let us go. They are too afraid of what new and thus they them self are stuck in time.

They make decision base on their experience, that is good. But most of the time they make decision without thinking of the result that will be put on us. We are then corrupted by the last generation. A generation gap is needed to prevent the corruption of primitive thinking of the last generation to ruin the innocent thinking of this generation. But at the same time a generation gap would prevent the passing of wisdom of the last generation to be pass on that will aid the evolution of this generation.

Wisdom: science, history, love, peace, non-violent resistant, diplomatic achievements, etc. etc.
Corruption: war, arrogance, anger, hate, lustful thinking, greed, etc.

We need the wisdom of the pass to understand how to work towards our future. But we can't let the corruption of the past to slow down our progress. How will a balance in the generation gap do this? How can it let wisdom pass, but stop corruption? Question, Question, Question. These question will also be ask by the next generation. These question will be asked by the next generation because we have already been corrupted.

Now a days, with upto five generation living together, it is hard to insulate youngest two generations from the rest. This problem will stay in a paradox for a while...

Splinter Cell trouble

I love Splinter Cell. I love how you can sneak up behind enemy and stab their back. I love the story of government bureaucracy and military intelligence.

I recently got Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent. I first got some problem. It was easily resolved. Two patches fixed everything. The single player is good. There are some minor graphical glitches, like pixelated shadow, or the safe that can't be cracked unless you increase your walking speed. I still haven't finish the single player yet. I am looking forward to the cliffhanger ending.

One day I try playing Multiplayer. It crash. Right after I click on multiplayer and crash. The unreal logo load up, then crash. A window popup and it say there is a problem and program the to be shutdown.

I look on the forum and many people have this problem. More people have single player problem. I guess I am a lucky one to play single player without much trouble. I do have crash in single player once in a while, but that really not a issue.

I am mildly pissed and disappointed. I expected more from Ubisoft.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Question about grief?

This human emotion is weird. We all have them, but we all show it differently. We all show it towards differnt stuff and for differnt reason.

Human grow attachment to each other, that's why we grief when one of us pass. But at the same time, we are capable of killing each other and not feel a thing. We are just all alike, shouldn't we all care for each other? But if we are like this, then why do we need guns?

When one thing dies, even if it is not human, the person close to it will feel grief. Because of emotional attachment for what ever reason. But if we can have these kind of feeling for non-human, then why cant' we have the same feeling for others?

We also grow attachment for non-living thing. As a little kid, we might have attachment for a toy. We are sadden when that toy is lost or get broken. As we get old, we have emotional attachment for other stuff. Video game system, car, computer, house, and a country. We have the same emotion toward any other thing that we are close to, just like people.
But why? They are just inanimate object, do they really need us to feel for them?

No one can answer that, our brain chemistry is too complex.
But as technology advance, computer get more and more sophisticated, and computer AI or robots will be very common. We would grow attachment to them like how we are attach to other human. What would happen then? If our computer crash, would we have a funeral for it? But will we treat them the same way? Will we treat robots like a human friend or a manufactured slave? Will we grow emotional attachment toward them?

There was one study that I've read in a magazine while I was shopping in mijer. It was about an experiment where a group of scientist putting a robot baby into a group of real babies. They used babies as test subject because the are not taught by society to treat anything differently. The robot acts like a real baby, but don't really look like a real baby. After a while the real babies grew attachment toward the robot baby. They shared toys and played together. The real babies treat the robot baby like his peers. But after the while, the robot baby is programed just to dance. The real babies soon lost interest.

The babies in that experiment was too young to have the grief emotion. But what if this experiment was done on a group of older people? Will they feel grief if the robot suddenly lost it humanity like programing?

Human are too complicated for anyone to have a definite answer to answer these kind of question.
Hell, why am I even asking these kind of questions? I know no one can answer them.
Why do I over analyse these thing? Why am I so interested in the thought process of our self?

I can't find the art in me.

Lately I can't feel the art in me. I don't know why, but I don't feel creative. I sort of lost my mojo. I feel like I am lazier than usual. I don't know why. Maybe I don't have much inspiration or just got bored, but I hope it is not bored.

I just can't get myself working. I have to finished this drawing for the quizbowl team, but I don't have the will power to do so. I haven't draw anything for a week. What the hell is wrong with me? I can't open my book draft and continue writing it. I have idea for the story but I just can't some how.

I don't know why, but I don't really feel like myself.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Why are there so many kids on medication?

So many brains are being screw up by medication.
Most kids are taking meds for AD(H)D. And more and more are taking meds for bipolar.
Experts say that the symptoms of these illness include hyperactive and tantrum. Most of the time, kids are put on mind-altering drugs just by these two symptoms alone. Most of the time the people who tell the parent to get their kids check out are teachers. Most doctors who prescribe the meds are not psychiatric experts, they are just normal pediatrician.

Well, here is my non-professional opinion: What kid are not hyperactive, what kid don't have tantrum? Kids should be hyperactive. Kids have tantrum. The teachers who urge parents to put their kids on medication are just lazy and incompetent. The parent who didn't have recommendation and just request doctors to put their kids on meds are fucking horrible piece of shit who are just to god damn fucking lazy and patient to raise children.

The human mind should be just left alone if it doesn't have major illness/disorder. What I mean major are cancer, mental retardation, and head trauma. What I consider non-major illness/disorder and the brain should be left alone are ADD, ADHD, and autism. Some autistic people are genius, savant.

We should let our mind be.
The human brain is not broken, we should not fix what is not broken.
The human mind should be free, no one else or thing should control how our neuron move.
The human mind is primitive, yet a wonderful and beautiful thing, we should not try to improve what is already near perfect.
The human mind is sacred. Holier than any thing else.

Memory, memory

My new computer is working quite well.......... if it doesn't crash. The graphics and RAM is working really well. But since my operation system is Vista, some time my games crash. This is very annoying. But every thing else work really fast and look awesome.

One thing that is already a big problem is that I only have a 80 GB hard drive. I only have about 3GB left.
I have to move Splinter Cell to my external hard drive, which only have about 50 GB free space out of 250GB. The game is 11.4 GB. Every thing on Steam that I have is about 19.1 GB.

I wish I had told my dad to order a bigger hard drive.

Today I bought Sims 2: Night Life and Open for Business on sale. But I don't know if I should keep it. My interst in the Sims franchies shrunk a little. Also I don't know if I should keep my attension on games too much. I think I should keep my focus on writing my books....

My week

My first week back was great...... well.

School: Classes are good.

My Chinese class has a new teacher. She is ok, I guess. I am not used to her teaching style, but I am sure I'll get used to it. The classroom is much bigger, but we only have about 20 students. Bad: our classroom smell like paint. Good: the area outside of the classroom where we wait for the previous class to end is big and have chairs and sofa. The building don't have air condition, so spring won't be pleasant.

Econ class is ok. The class time is late and long, but I get friday off, so that's good. The class is huge, I mean every seat is fill. The instructor is good, she is funny and cute. But she don't give out bonus points and we will have homework.

At the high school, it pretty much the same. I officially don't have first period, but I still have to come in to work on my metals project which was dude a few month ago.

Lunch is quiet. Half of the people I sit with are gone in C lunch. I miss every one.
Now I have all the lunches are on thursday instead of friday. I sit with differnt people...

non-school:
My mom complained to me that my texting from last month cost $5. I don't usually text, but our plan suck. T-mobile sucks ass.

The city put a no parking sign in front of our house, now we have to park across the street...

I guess this week is one of my best that wasn't durning break.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Best place to be other then Japan.....

....is Hong Kong for people who love anime.

Many Otaku, anime, and manga blogs that I've read say that Hong Kong is the best place for anime lover beside Japan.

Since I come from that awesome city, I am proud of that. I grew up there and I can agree, but am amazed but not very surprised at what those Otaku said. We were the first to import anime from Japan. Mong Kok (旺角) is sort of like the Hong Kong equivalent to Akihabara (秋葉原 ["Field of Autumn Leaves"]) in Japan.

Just like Japan, there are shopping center that are dedicated to anime merchandise. Anime are very common on TV. Most people prefer anime than American animation. Gundam is extremely popular. Cosplay and Lolita is getting common. Maid cafe are also becoming popular. There are even Dōjinshi fest and many Dōjinshi circles.

I really miss that place. Half more year to go befor summer so I can visit Hong Kong again!

Happy New Year!

It have been a long time. I almost for got I have this blog thingy.

Christmas is wonderful. The best one in my life so far.

I've been writing my book, slowly but surely. I should also be working on a picture for the quiz bowl team. But I spent too much time playing Half Life 2 and Splinter Cell Double Agent.

Next semester will be much better. I don't have a first period. My afternoon college class is only on monday and wednesday. But my metal project is still not finished.

I don't want the break to end!