To love or be loved is to make yourself utterly vulnerable.
We may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving.
Bernard Meltzer.
Castles in the air
One of the greatest beauties of humanity is creativity and adaptability.
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862 (American author and philosopher)
Who are you?
“Too many people over-value what they are not, and under-value what they are.”
Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990)
Houston, we have a problem
Suffered another set-back with my PC last night – but not topping the smoking incident.
On a friend’s advice, I decided to give ZoneAlarm a try. This is a reputable software firewall, which, along with many third-party tools, beats the firewall that came with Windows XP Service Pack 2 any day in my opinion. However, that was when disaster struck.
Firstly the PC would no longer boot into Windows XP. Checking the hard disk using the Recovery Console from the installation CD also did not help. In pure desperation – since I had many photos with no back-up and some personal records on the boot hard disk – I took the boot disk to work and tried chkdsk again. Fortunately, after the first repair, I was able to read most of the data and thereby copy to a safer place. However, subsequent chkdsk’s sometimes made the same disk unreadable.
What can all this mean?
Now, while a number of plausible explanations are possible – from the alpha BIOS which I installed a few days ago, to a dodgy hard disk that was ready to fall over with a light push – it still does not change the basic facts: I have a hard disk whose integrity is in doubt.
A drastic solution is required here. I basically need to get a new hard disk – a perfect excuse for getting a new spanking 200GB SATA disk, since it is about $1/GB! But, given that I will be travelling soon, I think it will be a while before I can bring my system back to full strength. 🙁
Final chapter
Just want to leave a quick update about the Left Behind series. I had started on the final book of the series, Glorious Appearing or Book 12 in the series, about 4-5 months ago and was probably a third of the way into it when I stopped. Guess the thought of the ‘final victory’ made the ending kind of predictable – as would all who is familiar with the Bible!? Have not really managed to get beyond the battle in Jerusalem, but will probably get back to it after I finish Ender 6.
Ender 6
Currently reading the sixth book in the Ender series. The story picks up just after Ender and his sister, Valentine, left earth for a new space colony – never to return. The plot centres around the kidnap of Ender’s ‘jeesh’ (aka clique) still on Earth, which accelerated led to the rise to power of Peter Wiggin, Ender’s equally brilliant but frequently ruthless elder brother.
About a quarter of way through now.
Socialist
While watching the news reports of the Taiwanese (Opposition) leader of the Nationalist Party visit communist China, a few thoughts came to mind.
Firstly, communist China may not so communist after all – more in name nowadays than substance. However, to many this may be just a moot point.
Thoughts to actions
“Do not wait! The time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand and work with whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.”
Napoleon Hill
Part of universe
“You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”From ‘The Desiderata’. Max Ehrmann, 1872-1945
Canadian trip update
After a break of close to one year, finally managed to complete final part of my Canadian trip! Luckily I had some handwritten notes to work from…