Here is a more “active” version of a common saying which I have always thought to be passive and defeatist-sounding.
“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”
James Allen
Temporary fix for comments
I have become aware that commenting on this site is still not working fully. I suspect it all started after I upgraded my :mt: installation from 2.x series to the 3.x series, and perhaps I had made some errors while modifying the comment template!? Well, anyway, instead of getting to the bottom of this, as I have the intention of switching to :wp: when version 1.3 comes out, I think I will just leave things as they are.
Comment spams
Had my first serious encounter with comment spamming today, when I received well over 400 poker-related comment spams! This prompted me to install the MTBlacklist plugin which hopefully can keep this internet-wide problem under control. I will however need to keep an eye on whether or not some legitimate comments get filtered out as well…
Boring??
A slightly longer one from Maslow, a social psychologist of the hierarchy of needs fame. Incidentally he was born on April Fools’ Day! Not that anyone really took him for a fool, haha…
There are no perfect human beings! Persons can be found who are good, very good indeed, and even great. There do in fact exist creators, seers, sages, saints, shakers, and movers… even if they are uncommon and do not come by the dozen. And yet these very same people can at times be boring, irritating, petulant, selfish, angry, or depressed. To avoid disillusionment with human nature, we must first give up our illusions about it.
Abraham Maslow, 1908-1970
Weblogs vs email
It seems each day, weblogs are discovering more ways of invading into the territories of other more traditional means of communications and discussions. How to discover all the information ‘out there’ effectively efficiently? The time stamps (hence chronological ordering) has certain psychological effects, as alluded to in this entry, a rather interesting discussion of the usefulness of weblogs vs emails. The subsequent (when news item is open to comments)inter-connection of responses from interested readers can further stimulate the information flow.
Web project
As I mentioned <a href="”>earlier, have been working with some people on the redesign of a website recently. In fact, this is a not-for-profit volunteer group in Singapore. Just doing my part for community service, I guess!? The site is almost ready for prime time and it’s called Donorweb, which provides information on blood donation drives, as well as relevant educational materials – some directly from the Singapore Red Cross. As usual, previous incarnations of Donorweb can be seen by using the Wayback Machine.
Peace to all
Of all the material objects in this world, we are truly masters of one thing: ourselves. Before we ask the world to change to accommodate us, need we not ask the same of ourselves first?
First keep the peace within yourself, and then you can also bring peace to others.
Thomas A. Kempis
The solution
Very appropriate for the theme of this site.
It is rewarding to find someone you like, but it is essential to like yourself. It is quickening to recognize that someone is a good and decent human being, but it is indispensable to view yourself as acceptable. It is a delight to discover people who are worthy of respect and admiration and love, but it is vital to believe yourself deserving of these things.
For you cannot live in someone else. You cannot find yourself in someone else. You cannot be given a life by someone else. Of all the people you will know in a lifetime, you are the only one you will never leave or lose.
To the question of your life, you are the only answer. To the problems of your life, you are the only solution.
Jo Coudert
The Rule of Four
Have been reading The Rule of Four (by the way, do take the time to follow this link and try out the game!) lately. This is another book which is quite addictive, that, once started, I found it most difficult to put down. In fact, hard to believe this is the first by the two close friends – according the bio, the authors have been friends since they were 8.
Catch
A friend sent me this. It’s fairly religion-neutral and not affiliated with any faith in particular. Sometimes, it is necessary to ask ourselves some tough questions, just to shake ourselves out of the comfort zone. After all, if you don’t care enough about the present state of the world in the first place, the questions hold no meaning.
