MRR ESPA pre-launch version (3D printer board using ESP32 running Marlin 2.0) now available

Using mostly components available on hand, a limited number of the MRR ESPA is now available here. They give a new meaning to in-house production; I literally made them in the house after work. 😅

A recap: the MRR ESPA is a 3D printer control board based on the ESP32 microcontroller. It comes with WiFi, allows the use of up to 4 stepper drivers (and Trinamic SPI drivers can be easily configured using jumpers), and has a optocoupler for heated bed control, which means a separate power supply can be used for the heated bed. It is built especially for the Marlin firmware, and using a custom fork of Marlin 2.0, supports the ESP3D web interface allowing full control over any web browser.

The pre-launch version will ship with the custom fork of Marlin 2.0 and ESP3D web interface already flashed onto the board. The board will thus boot up as a WiFi access point "MARLIN_ESP" and default password of "12345678". The web interface (available at 192.168.0.1) can then be used to set up the board to connect to your router. After which it will basically operate off your router, and can be updated via OTA with a copy of the firmware configured for your own needs.

Some social media pages for the MRR ESPA:
Facebook page
Facebook group (for discussions, etc.)
YouTube video

Trump declares death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Remarks by President Trump on the Death of ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

This is a heavy blow to ISIS, but I am a pessimistic person and I think it is a matter of time before someone else comes in to fill that leadership void.

Trump described al-Baghdadi as "whimpering, screaming, and crying"... and Trump is thinking of disclosing video footage of such behaviour in order to discredit al-Baghdadi. Which sounds like Trump, and like all things Trump does, may end up backfiring on him.

Obviously, Trump doesn't understand what al-Baghdadi was saying, what he was screaming about. I don't too. But what if, just what if, in his final hours, al-Baghdadi was screaming "death to the American devils" and whimpering and crying because he was prostrating himself to God and asking God to "strike down the American infidels"? Airing such a video footage then becomes great propaganda for ISIS, and make al-Baghdadi a matyr.

It may end up rallying people to join the ISIS cause.

The ISIS leader is dead. There is no need to sensationalize it. Trying to make it bigger news than it should may end up fanning flames elsewhere, flames that you would rather not have.

Sustainable spending

U.S. government's annual budget deficit largest since 2012

Yes, the U.S. has a huge budget deficit for this year. So does Japan. Budget deficits, in effect, are governments borrowing money to spend today, and hoping that future generations will be able to repay that debt.

Is it sustainable?

Well, it really depends on the outlook for the future. In growing economies, it is highly possible that future government receipts (aka taxes) will be much higher than current levels due to private-sector growth (which brings in more corporate and personal income taxes). In such cases, the government borrowing money today to fuel infrastructure development (to assist further private-sector growth) becomes a sustainable model.

The converse is true, too. In economies which are not expected to grow much, it is unlikely that future government receipts will grow significantly. This presents a problem: current borrowing comes at a price, of course, in terms of interest. If taxes do not grow at a rate higher than interests being paid on current debt, the government will end up in a negative vicious cycle of debt.

Another way to look at it. If borrow money to buy a store in a new booming town, with high prospects of growing business in that town, it is likely that your earnings in the future will allow you to repay that loan. But if you are stuck in a job with little prospects for promotion, and are borrowing money to pay your apartment rent, it is unlikely for you to break out of that loan cycle anything soon.

In the case of the U.S., countries continue to lend the U.S. money (through buying of Treasury bonds) because they believe in the U.S. economy. They also lend the U.S. money to help their own economies. The U.S. government's spending has a multiplier effect that injects money into the economy, which means the private sector and individuals have money to spend on goods and services, some of which are offered/imported from foreign countries (those countries that finance U.S. debt). This win-win situation facilitated by trade is incentive for other countries to finance U.S. debt.

The worrying point then, is what happens should trade become more expensive. When protectionism is practiced. When countries find it harder to benefit from trade with the U.S., how likely are they to continue financing U.S. debt, since part of that incentive no longer exists (or becomes less attractive)?

Google Doodle: Sylvia Plath

Google Doodle: Sylvia Plath

Depression is a terrible thing.

A person may deliver great work. But that does not mean he or she is not struggling.

《备量天下》

The third song in a series of songs by a Chinese vocaloid set in the Three Kingdoms. This one is about Liu Bei.

《备量天下》

东汉末 狼烟不休
常侍乱 朝野陷 阿瞒挟天子 令诸侯
身新野 抚髀何求
继宗室 承汉统 祖中山靖后 指英雄
纵天下几变春秋
取西川 得汉中 借东吴荆州 鼎足留
战赤壁 东风纠纠
三顾恩 求贤渴 获卧龙凤雏 美人裘
耳垂肩 玉冠面容
聚桃园 鞭督邮 命帝王之胄 谁敌手
战四方 至白帝休
和诸戎 抚蛮南 成王室偏安 恩泽犹
千秋过 再难回首
问古今 兴亡事 几人耀青史 芳名留
笑谈间 云烟已久
终留下 万古叹 先帝高祖风 汉贼羞
运帷幄 英雄几拂袖
阴谋 阳谋 明仇 暗斗
化作一江浊浪东流
君不见 七星坛 借东风 万船连环
也不见 抗曹贼 并东吴 长江上鏖战
延汉室 正大统 鼎足于 天府之上
弘宽厚 知人士 图霸业 鸿志存于胸
军帐内 孔明智 孝直谋 奇谋无穷
战火中 云长勇 子龙忠 万夫不当勇
纵使有 千万种 寂寞和孤单相伴
既受终 冠帝冕 龙椅上 成败也笑看
锦屏城 难攻易守
诚君臣 权干略 于百千雄师 凯歌奏
唯仁德 能与服叩
嘱马谡 惜魏延 知人定天下 名利收
定山河 弘毅宽厚
军心定 民心向 木牛与流马 封武侯
连东吴 金矢之钩
定南蛮 合戎越 七擒又七纵 取怀柔
残垣下 枯木凋朽
想当年 樊城内 放水淹七军 于禁收
举樽酒 艳染神州
叹乱世 几时休 天下归一统 谁人由
称帝王 威震敌仇
只可惜 帝贤德 白帝所托孤 无蜀愁
千年后 遗恨难收
再何寻 青梅下 惊雷投著筷 吾与寇
运帷幄 英雄几拂袖
阴谋 阳谋 明仇 暗斗
化作一江浊浪东流
君不见 赵子龙 单骑骏 孤身救主
也不见 武侯琴 坐空城 惊退仲达
唯贤德 任能臣 凭勇将 共谋江山
不偏私 论刑赏 昭平明 就汉室兴昌
征越吴 赏六军 至虢亭 一马平川
鱼腹浦 孔明计 巧布阵 水流石不转
固江河 成帝业 立国家 终归于乱
光阴逝 千载过 功成者 都付笑谈间
君不见 七星坛 借东风 万船连环
也不见 抗曹贼 并东吴 长江上鏖战
纵使有 千万种 寂寞和孤单相伴
既受终 冠帝冕 龙椅上 成败也笑看
君不见 七星坛 借东风 万船连环
也不见 抗曹贼 并东吴 长江上鏖战
延汉室 正大统 鼎足于 天府之上
弘宽厚 知人士 图霸业 鸿志存于胸
君不见 赵子龙 单骑骏 孤身救主
也不见 武侯琴 坐空城 惊退仲达
唯贤德 任能臣 凭勇将 共谋江山
不偏私 论刑赏 昭平明 就汉室兴昌
纵使有 千万种 寂寞和孤单相伴
既受终 冠帝冕 龙椅上 成败也笑看
固江河 成帝业 立国家 终归于乱
光阴逝 千载过 功成者 都付笑谈间

Lyrics source: https://www.douban.com/note/553238835/

Closing door, opening door

China will keep door open to foreign investment, global industry despite trade tensions

As one door closes, another opens.

It is of concern because this open policy of international trade and investment has helped the U.S. to become the biggest economy in the past. Open doors help spur growth by encouraging foreign investment into domestic industries, allowing needed goods to flow in, and goods produced to flow out. The result is that countries can take advantage of their relative advantages in certain fields, allowing them to also reap economies of scale.

When doors are closed, things become inward-looking, and any development is limited by domestic resources. Also, it is harder to exploit relative advantages, and given the diverse domestic needs to be fulfilled, resources may be diverted to areas which are relatively expensive to produce domestically. Resource use is not optimized, and the result is slower growth and maybe even wastage.

Should we practise protectionism? Should we blame our domestic problems on others? Let us base our decisions on facts, not emotions. It is easy to jump to conclusions, but meticulous analysis is what brings the greater benefit.

《操戈天下》

The second in a series of songs about the Three Kingdoms sang by a Chinese vocaloids. This one is about Cao Cao.

《操戈天下》

狼烟四起 战不休
董卓据长安 酒池肉林乐无忧
孝廉出世 志九州
矫诏倡义兵 平定董贼起陈留
面威容 心有鬼谋
黄巾乱中救 奉迎天子令诸侯
风流春秋 六合游
铁骑踏平川 席卷八荒威风抖
剑指四方 皆俯首
汉中破马超 征战官渡平凉州
拍案发兵 报父仇
凡负我之人 斩尽杀绝不可踌
惊雷雨天 煮梅酒
论天下英雄 使君与操二人留
笑谈之间 云烟旧
沧海传诗篇 碣石今世身影犹
青史册 几笔数春秋
勿回首 自留七十二疑冢待后人何时能看透
奇袭惊天 乌巢大破袁军十万
入董营间 只身将七星剑借献
霸业无边 金戈铁马逐鹿中原
亲身征战 兵书作枕火光中眠
奉孝智仙 万里外已料敌在前
元让武全 咫尺内啖眼也当先
不受帝冠 为世人谋太平人间
机关算遍 谋事在人成事在天
挥手投鞭 断水流
看星罗棋布 何时才能平争斗
用人不疑 忠义守
唯能人是举 高明远识魏武侯
自削须发 以代首
严整军中纪 自身不例万人叩
深情重义 明哀愁
代为葬关羽直教东吴孙权羞
叹生苦短 堪回首
生灵犹涂炭 几多春秋战不休
天下不定 志未酬
何时熄烽火 安得繁荣民衣裘
惜膝下子 怨已久
同根亦相煎 奈何泣下釜中豆
千古霸业 不易守
司马狼顾 自此一留魏不再走
青史册 几笔数春秋/勿回首 自留七十二疑冢 待后人何时能看透
奇袭惊天 乌巢大破袁军十万/入董营间 只身将七星剑借献
霸业无边 金戈铁马逐鹿中原/亲身征战 兵书作枕火光中眠
奉孝智仙 万里外已料敌在前/元让武全 咫尺内啖眼也当先
不受帝冠 为世人谋太平人间/机关算遍 谋事在人成事在天
一夫当关 使周瑜江陵无功返/自不贪欢 占半壁江山多少年
扬善惩奸 胸中自有着蜜与剑/岂肯偏安 将心中志向天下宣
奇袭惊天 乌巢大破袁军十万/入董营间 只身将七星剑借献
霸业无边 金戈铁马逐鹿中原/亲身征战 兵书作枕火光中眠
奉孝智仙 万里外已料敌在前/元让武全 咫尺内啖眼也当先
不受帝冠 为世人谋太平人间/机关算遍 谋事在人成事在天

Lyrics source: https://www.douban.com/note/553238835/

A protest hijacked may cause the pearl to become a pebble

We all know about the protests in Hong Kong. I previously mentioned it is an opportunity lost. Let me elaborate more.

When the protests first started, it was a peaceful march. And that was what caught global attention, and that was what caught Beijing's attention. If the protests had remained peaceful, Beijing would have budged. Because a peaceful protest sends a very powerful message: that people are willing to come out to support a cause, and they are not afraid to show their support for that cause.

But then, certain radical elements hijacked the protests, adding a violent element to it. And that was when Beijing won. Because now, Beijing can label the protests as riots, the protesters are rioters, vandals, and criminals. And because violent protests are bad for business, Beijing knows that eventually, economics will help it bring an end to the protests. Violence and instability are bad for business. The reason why "rule of law" is so important is because it guarantees a certain level of stability, a certain level of certainty that allows businesses to base decisions on. When things become unstable and uncertain, businesses will start to pull out. Because the Hong Kong violent protests have shown businesses the possibility for instability. In the short-term, businesses may pressure employees to help persuade their friends and relatives to end the violence. But in the medium-to-long-term, they will start hunting for more stable ground, because who knows when the violence will return?

And as a city so linked to international business, when businesses start to leave Hong Kong due to the instability, only the Hong Kong people will suffer. Expats may leave, but they have homes to return to. Companies can shift their operations to Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, etc. as Hong Kong is no longer the only nor best gateway into China. It is those people who are stuck in Hong Kong--the very protesters--that has the most to lose.

Yet, in their short-sightedness, they allowed the few radicals to hijack their cause, and turn it into a victory for China. When businesses leave Hong Kong for greener, more stable pastures, the Hong Kong people will be left with broken infrastructure and fewer job opportunities, and a long-term decline into insignificance.

And Beijing will be able to use Hong Kong as a message to everyone else: the Pearl of the Orient can become a pebble if it goes against the will of Beijing. All Beijing has to do is wait for the violence to continue, and let economics handle the rest.

And when the pearl becomes a pebble, Beijing will just kick it out of sight into the sea.

So is there a way out?

Yes. End the violence. Stop the burning and the trashing. Turn up in peace, show the world and Beijing that the Hong Kong people are capable of controlling themselves. This sends a much stronger message than Molotov cocktails and laser beams. It undermines Beijing's efforts to label the protests and protesters. It brings the moral high ground back to the protesters and their protests. And moral high ground is very important in the Chinese context. Beijing's efforts to delegitimize the protests and the protesters is about giving Beijing the moral high ground. Do not cede that to Beijing.

Show up in peace. Prevent violence. Two million people showing up on the streets for a cause is more fearful than 200,000 burning the streets of Hong Kong.

《权御天下》

The first in a series of Chinese vocaloid songs about the Three Kingdoms. This one is about Sun Quan.

《权御天下》

东汉末 狼烟不休
常侍乱 朝野陷 阿瞒挟天子 令诸侯
踞江东 志在九州
继祖业 承父兄 既冕主吴越 万兜鍪
纵天下 几变春秋
稳东南 面中原 水师锁长江 抗曹刘
镇赤壁 雄风赳赳
夺荆楚 抚山越 驱金戈铁马 灭仇雠
紫发髯 碧色眼眸
射猛虎 倚黄龙 胆识过凡人 谁敌手
御天下 半百之久
选贤臣 任能将 覆江东云雨 尽风流
千秋过 再难回首
问古今 兴亡事 几人耀青史 芳名留
笑谈间 云烟已旧
终留下 万古叹 生子该当如 孙仲谋
运帷幄 英雄几拂袖
阴谋 阳谋 明仇 暗斗
化作一江浊浪东流
君不见 军赤壁 纵野火 铁索连环
也不见 御北敌 联西蜀 长江上鏖战
继遗志 领江东 屹立于 神州东南
尽心力 洒英血 展伟业 剑气指苍天
军帐内 公瑾智 张昭谋 奇策频献
沙场上 太史勇 甘宁霸 一骑当十千
纵使有 千万种 寂寞和 孤单相伴
既受终 冠帝冕 龙椅上 成败也笑看
铁瓮城 难攻易守
旌旗立 苍空蔽 逾百千雄师 万蒙舟
善制衡 眼光独秀
擢鲁肃 劝阿蒙 聚贤成霸业 名利收
固疆土 施德恩厚
军心定 百姓安 富国又强兵 重耕耨
交远好 未雨绸缪
联南洋 合林邑 行军远渡海 驻夷洲
残垣下 枯木凋朽
想当年 麦城边 截兵缚关羽 终其寿
凭栏倚 横看吴钩
叹乱世 几时了 天下归一统 没其咎
称帝王 壮心仍稠
却无奈 自孤傲 同室亦操戈 子嗣斗
千年后 恚恨徒留
再何寻 军帐里 将士聚欢饮 赏箜篌
运帷幄 英雄几拂袖
阴谋 阳谋 明仇 暗斗
化作一江浊浪东流
君不见 吕子明 踏轻舟 白衣渡川
也不见 陆伯言 烧连营 火光上冲天
善制衡 选贤臣 任能将 共谋江山
听忠言 摒逆语 树威严 宝剑斫书案
夺荆州 抗刘备 合曹操 共克襄樊
守夷陵 任陆逊 剿敌军 火计破蜀胆
固江河 成帝业 立国家 终归于乱
光阴逝 千载过 功成者 都付笑谈间
君不见 军赤壁 纵野火 铁索连环
也不见 御北敌 联西蜀 长江上鏖战
继遗志 领江东 屹立于 神州东南
尽心力 洒英血 展伟业 剑指苍天
君不见 吕子明 踏轻舟 白衣渡川
也不见 陆伯言 烧连营 火光上冲天
善制衡 选贤臣 任能将 共谋江山
听忠言 摒逆语 树威严 宝剑斫书案
纵使有 千万种 寂寞和 孤单相伴
既受终 冠帝冕 龙椅上 成败也笑看
固江河 成帝业 立国家 终归于乱
光阴逝 千载过 功成者 都付笑谈间

Lyrics source: https://www.douban.com/note/553238835/

No more Doral for G7?

Trump abandons plan to host 2020 G7 meeting at his Florida golf resort

Actually, it is not really surprising. Especially because the only way to prove that he is charging the U.S. government "at cost" is to disclose financial details regarding the resort. And when that happens...

1. If he has overstated the resort's expenditure in the past to pay lower taxes, the discrepancy between a lower cost now compared to previous years will show. Then he gets investigated for tax fraud.

2. If he shows high costs for the resort, then people will question why the high costs, and why cheaper alternatives are not chosen. He will then need to further disclose the selection process and convince people that the selection process is fair by all standards, which may be hard to do based on costs alone. It will eventually link back to allegations that his is profiteering from this, and he gets investigated anyway.

And of course, there is always the chance that he gets impeached before G7, and ends up having to host Pence (or worse, Pelosi!) at his resort... at no profits for him! That would be a double whammy.

Stuck to the past

Japanese PM's offering for shrine sparks criticism from Seoul

Another minister, 100 cross-party lawmakers visit Yasukuni Shrine

One wonders why Japan continues to stick to this past.

Our history makes us who we are. But it does not have to define our future. It does not have to dictate our actions. We cannot remake history, but we can learn from it. But learning from mistakes does not mean honoring those mistakes.

And we must remember: victims are the ones who remember transgressions the most vividly.

Just like how Japan continues to remember the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the countries invaded by Japan will continue to remember Japan's invasion. When President Obama visited Hiroshima, he made headway. If Japan is able to take some form of substantial action to show the countries invaded that Japan is truly remorseful, there will be headway made in mending those relationships.

But until then, those countries will continue to remember.

And the day may come when some will find ways to regain face lost. What will Japan do then, when it is the one losing face?

Spreading successful models

We all have different ways of doing things. A system of such ways can be thought of as a model. Like the U.S. model of democratic political system. Or the Chinese model of economic development. And inherently, we all want to implement good and successful models, because such ways of doing things improve lives for everyone under that model.

The controversy is in the way that such models spread beyond those who came up with them.

There is no dispute that the U.S. model for economic development is successful and proven. It is, after all, the top economy in the world. The Chinese model, too, has been proven to work well. The difference, then, is in the way these model are spread.

The U.S. takes an active approach toward spreading its model, plus accompanying models like its model for political system. The starting point is good; the U.S. only wants others to benefit from its successful model. The issue, though, is with the way the U.S. tries to spread its model. This active approach, which borders on coercion and sometimes, even forceful implementation (think Iraq) tends to leave a bad after taste. Yes, those societies may be better off implementing the U.S. models. But the unwilling are not going to thank the U.S. for it; they will only remember being forced to do things.

The Chinese way of doing things, on the other hand, is a lot more passive. Unlike the U.S., China does not actively seek to export its models of doing things. Instead, it seems to think that if its models are good, people will copy them on their own. The Chinese seem to think that the best way to spread its models is to make them successful, and show people the models' successes.

A quick dive into history, and we see a bit of link with belief systems. Christianity takes a more proactive approach toward converting people. The Western powers have a history of proselytizing, which is basically spreading their model of belief to others (and yes, sometimes by force). Contrast this with China, which, in the past, has been more of a "if you like Confucianism, you are free to take it back with you" approach toward spreading its belief system. This, of course, probably has more to do with the Confucian thinking about setting good examples. Here, we see how traditional Chinese thought continues to influence modern-day actions.

There is no right and wrong way of spreading good and successful models. But the way we do things is very much rooted in our culture.

《生僻字》

A song putting together many obscure Chinese characters that are rarely, if ever, used nowadays in daily life.

《生僻字》
Singer: 陳柯宇

我們中國的漢字
Wǒmen zhōngguó de hànzì
落筆成畫留下五千年的歷史
luòbǐ chéng huà liú xià wǔqiān nián de lìshǐ
讓世界都認識
ràng shìjiè dōu rènshí
我們中國的漢字
wǒmen zhōngguó de hànzì
一撇一捺都是故事
yī piē yī nà dōu shì gùshì

跪舉火把虔誠像道光
guì jǔ huǒbǎ qiánchéng xiàng dàoguāng
四方田地落谷成倉
sìfāngtián dì luò gǔchéngcāng
古人像形聲意辨惡良
gǔrén xiàng xíngshēng yì biàn è liáng
魃魈魁鬾魑魅魍魎
bá xiāo kuí jì chīmèiwǎngliǎng

Wu 又雙叒叕
Wu yòu shuāng ruò zhuó
Wu 火炎焱燚
Wu huǒyán yàn yì
Wu 水沝淼㵘
Wu shuǐ zhuǐ miǎo màn
㙓
kuí
煢煢孑立 沆瀣一氣
qióngqióng jié lì hàngxièyīqì
踽踽獨行 醍醐灌頂
jǔ jǔ dúxíng tíhú guàndǐng
綿綿瓜瓞 奉為圭臬
miánmián guā dié fèngwéiguīniè
龍行龘龘 犄角旮旯
lóng xíng dá dá jījiǎo gālá
娉婷裊娜 涕泗滂沱
pīng tíng niǎonà tì sì pāngtuó
呶呶不休 不稂不莠
náonáo bùxiū bù láng bù yǒu
卬
áng
咄嗟 蹀躞 耄耋 饕餮
duōjiē diéxiè màodié tāotiè
囹圄 蘡薁 覬覦 齟齬
língyǔ yīng yù jìyú jǔyǔ
狖軛鼯軒 怙惡不悛
yòu è wú xuān hù è bù quān
其靁虺虺 腌臢孑孓
qí léi huī huī ā zā jiéjué
陟罰臧否 針砭時弊
zhì fá zāngpǐ zhēnbiān shíbì
鱗次櫛比 一張一翕
líncìzhìbǐ yī zhāng yī xī
我們中國的漢字
wǒmen zhōngguó de hànzì
落筆成畫留下五千年的歷史
luòbǐ chéng huà liú xià wǔqiān nián de lìshǐ
讓世界都認識
ràng shìjiè dōu rènshí
我們中國的漢字
wǒmen zhōngguó de hànzì
一撇一捺都是故事
yī piē yī nà dōu shì gùshì

現在全世界各地
xiànzài quán shìjiè gèdì
到處有中國字
dàochù yǒu zhòng guó zì
黃皮膚的人驕傲的把頭抬起
huáng pífū de rén jiāo'ào de bǎtóu tái qǐ
我們中國的漢字
wǒmen zhōngguó de hànzì
一平一仄譜寫成詩
yīpíng yī zè pǔxiě chéng shī




煢煢孑立 沆瀣一氣
qióngqióng jié lì hàngxièyīqì
踽踽獨行 醍醐灌頂
jǔ jǔ dúxíng tíhú guàndǐng
綿綿瓜瓞 奉為圭臬
miánmián guā dié fèngwéiguīniè
龍行龘龘 犄角旮旯
lóng xíng dá dá jījiǎo gālá
娉婷裊娜 涕泗滂沱
pīng tíng niǎonà tì sì pāngtuó
呶呶不休 不稂不莠
náonáo bùxiū bù láng bù yǒu
卬
áng
咄嗟 蹀躞 耄耋 饕餮
duōjiē diéxiè màodié tāotiè
囹圄 蘡薁 覬覦 齟齬
língyǔ yīng yù jìyú jǔyǔ
狖軛鼯軒 怙惡不悛
yòu è wú xuān hù è bù quān
其靁虺虺 腌臢孑孓
qí léi huī huī ā zā jiéjué
陟罰臧否 針砭時弊
zhì fá zāngpǐ zhēnbiān shíbì
鱗次櫛比 一張一翕
líncìzhìbǐ yī zhāng yī xī

我們中國的漢字
wǒmen zhōngguó de hànzì
落筆成畫留下五千年的歷史
luòbǐ chéng huà liú xià wǔqiān nián de lìshǐ
讓世界都認識
ràng shìjiè dōu rènshí
我們中國的漢字
wǒmen zhōngguó de hànzì
一撇一捺都是故事
yī piē yī nà dōu shì gùshì

現在全世界各地
xiànzài quán shìjiè gèdì
到處有中國字
dàochù yǒu zhòng guó zì
黃皮膚的人驕傲的把頭抬起
huáng pífū de rén jiāo'ào de bǎtóu tái qǐ
我們中國的漢字
wǒmen zhōngguó de hàn zì
一平一仄譜寫成詩
yīpíng yī zè pǔxiě chéng shī
優美旋律自宮商角徵羽
yōuměi xuánlǜ zì gōng shāng jiǎo zhēng yǔ
眾人皆說成之於語故成語
zhòngrén jiē shuō chéng zhī yú yǔ gù chéngyǔ

Lyrics source: https://musicacrossasia.blogspot.com/2018/12/chen-ke-yu-sheng-pi-zi-lyrics-with.html

《琵琶行》

A favorite poem, with a present-day presentation. I really love the way it was arranged and expressed; I think it really brought out the meaning and emotions of the poem.

《琵琶行》
作者：白居易
元和十年，予左遷九江郡司馬。明年秋，送客湓浦口，聞舟中夜彈琵琶者。聽其音，錚錚然有京都聲。問其人，本長安倡女，嘗學琵琶於穆、曹二善才。年長色衰，委身為賈人婦。遂令酒，使快彈數曲。曲罷，憫然自敘少小時歡樂事，今漂淪憔悴，轉徙於江湖間。余出官二年，恬然自安，感斯人言，是夕始覺有遷謫意。因為長句歌以贈之，凡六百一十六言。命曰《琵琶行》。

潯陽江頭夜送客，楓葉荻花秋瑟瑟。
主人下馬客在船，舉酒欲飲無管絃。
醉不成歡慘將別，別時茫茫江浸月。
忽聞水上琵琶聲，主人忘歸客不發。
尋聲闇問彈者誰，琵琶聲停欲語遲。
移船相近邀相見，添酒回燈重開宴。
千呼萬喚始出來，猶抱琵琶半遮面。
轉軸撥絃三兩聲，未成曲調先有情。
絃絃掩抑聲聲思，似訴平生不得志。
低眉信手續續彈，說盡心中無限事。
輕攏慢撚抹復挑，初為霓裳後祿腰。
大絃嘈嘈如急雨，小絃切切如私語。
嘈嘈切切錯雜彈，大珠小珠落玉盤。
間關鶯語花底滑，幽咽泉流水下難。
冰泉冷澀絃凝絕，凝絕不通聲暫歇。
別有幽愁闇恨生，此時無聲勝有聲。
銀瓶乍破水漿迸，鐵騎突出刀槍鳴。
曲終收撥當心畫，四絃一聲如裂帛。
東船西舫悄無言，唯見江心秋月白。
沉吟放撥插絃中，整頓衣裳起斂容。
自言本是京城女，家在蝦蟆陵下住。
十三學得琵琶成，名屬教坊第一部。
曲罷常教善才服，妝成每被秋娘妒。
五陵年少爭纏頭，一曲紅綃不知數。
鈿頭銀篦擊節碎，血色羅裙翻酒污。
今年歡笑復明年，秋月春風等閑度。
弟走從軍阿姨死，暮去朝來顏色故。
門前冷落車馬稀，老大嫁作商人婦。
商人重利輕別離，前月浮梁買茶去。
去來江口守空船，繞船月明江水寒。
夜深忽夢少年事，夢啼妝淚紅闌干。
我聞琵琶已歎息，又聞此語重唧唧。
同是天涯淪落人，相逢何必曾相識。
我從去年辭帝京，謫居臥病潯陽城。
潯陽地僻無音樂，終歲不聞絲竹聲。
住近湓江地低溼，黃蘆苦竹繞宅生。
其間旦暮聞何物，杜鵑啼血猿哀鳴。
春江花朝秋月夜，往往取酒還獨傾。
豈無山歌與村笛，嘔啞嘲哳難為聽。
今夜聞君琵琶語，如聽仙樂耳暫明。
莫辭更坐彈一曲，為君翻作琵琶行。
感我此言良久立，卻坐促絃絃轉急。
淒淒不似向前聲，滿座重聞皆掩泣。
座中泣下誰最多？江州司馬青衫濕。

Source: https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E7%90%B5%E7%90%B6%E8%A1%8C

For full annotations:
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%90%B5%E7%90%B6%E8%A1%8C/69544

Divide to win

In human history, we have a tendency to use division to win. We highlight differences so that we can divide into "us" and "them". This division forces people to choose sides (hopefully, they choose "us") so that we can then harness the "us" to fight the "them".

For example, ancient China divides between "civilised China" and the "barbarians". For centuries and centuries, China continued to fight against the "barbarians", sometimes winning, sometimes losing. We even see this during the early 20th century, as Westerners are labeled as "foreign devils".

The U.S., of course, is no stranger to this. In its early days, every native American was an "Indian" to be afraid of, to fight for the land with. During the Cold War, countries were either with the U.S., or with the Soviets. (There were also Third World countries who sought to stay out of the Cold War by not aligning with either side.)

Today, we see this behaviour in U.S. politics, as Trump seeks to divide the nation into "us" and "them". On the international stage, he again divides between "us" and "them" by pursuing an "America First" policy that separates the U.S. from the rest of the world.

But is "divide to win" the only way? Or the best way?

Maybe I am idealistic, but I believe that we all have differences. And it is this diversity that makes the human race so resilient and strong. Instead of exploiting our differences so that we can win at the expense of others, should we not be trying to find common ground so that we can develop win-win solutions?

Should we be worried about AI?

I had shared some of my thoughts about AI, its development, and how we should use it.

Thoughts on "Should AI Research Try to Model the Human Brain?"

And if there are better models, what is the implication of their very existence? Does it mean the human brain can further evolve to that better model? Or does it mean that there may be a day when intelligent life based on this other model can appear?

Determining what AI will replace

And finally, my biggest fear: uncurbed, we will one day develop machines that are so intelligent, they no longer need human beings for their further development. They can develop themselves into even better and better versions able to do more and more things. Will we then find ourselves as second-class citizens of our own societies?

Recently, there is another article that came out about whether we should be worried about AI.

Many Experts Say We Shouldn’t Worry About Superintelligent AI. They’re Wrong

The article reflects my thoughts, and I shall leave readers to digest for themselves the arguments brought forth.

Just remember, any intelligence, organic or inorganic, is still intelligence as defined by our understanding. And when there are more than one intelligent species on Earth, we need to think about how we will go about sharing the limited resources on hand.

Machines that help us in our lives can help improve them. But machines capable of replacing us in certain fields... how do we make sure they do not replace us in other fields? How do we make sure they do not end up replacing us totally?

The fallacy of "communism is bad"

I know, this is very very controversial. But if you really think about it, as an ideology, there is nothing good or bad about communism. After all, good and bad, right and wrong, these are value judgments, and depend on the values of the person making that judgment.

So why have we come to this "communism is bad" thinking?

Blame the U.S. And the Soviets. I think the reason why "communism is bad" came about because of its association with the Soviets. If you really think about it, it is not communism that is bad; it is Stalinism that the U.S. was really targeting. But because the ideology became a synonym for its implementation, it came to become the "evil" that needs to be defeated.

And along with such a thinking, every other country that practises communism. Like North Vietnam, and China. Leading the U.S. to see the Vietnam War as a contest of ideologies, when it is really a contest for national independence. Leading the U.S. to see China as an enemy, when China shares so many similarities with the U.S. Like developed cities along the coast, with a poorer inland population. The income divide between the racial majority and the racial minorities.

It also allows the U.S. to conveniently work with autocratic, and even oppressive, regimes as long as they go under the names of "democracies".

A "democracy" can offer less freedom for its people than the Chinese government. The important thing is not to look at labels, which are convenient, but to actually see what is the reality, and base our judgments on facts, on what is being practised. We should be trying to find similarities between peoples and nations so that we can use those similarities to help us work together. We should not be focusing on our differences and using those differences to divide us and them.

When we focus on differences, and use that to shut people out, to exclude them, we alienate them, forcing them to find alternatives, other ways of doing things which are detrimental to us, further reinforcing our "correctness" in shutting them out in the first place. This is just a negative self-fulfilling prophecy.

Humanity can be so much stronger, if only we work on bringing people together to unite our strengths, rather than focusing our energy on pushing people apart.

Suppressing minorities

A recent CNN report shows the Chinese government seemingly targeting Uighur minorities in Xinjiang.

Disturbing video shows hundreds of blindfolded prisoners in Xinjiang

It is extremely sad to see minorities being targeted.

As the supposed leader of the free world, the U.S. has called on the Chinese government to stop its repression of minorities.

Locking up native minorities in camps, taking over their lands, pushing them into corners, widening income gap between the native minorities and the newcomers... this may sound like Xinjiang in 2019, but one must remember that this was also the case with the U.S and the native Americans. And is still the case, as native Americans continue to be segregated in reserves, their lands in the hands of the white men who came from across the seas.

After pushing the native Americans off their own lands, and developing it into their own booming economy, the newcomers are not going to just "give the land back" to the native Americans, right? Expecting the Han Chinese who have moved into Xinjiang to do the same with the Uighurs is similarly wishful thinking.

Telling others "What you are doing is wrong, stop it" is one thing. But another better way of doing things is to set an example, and show people "This is how you should be living in harmony with the native minorities in co-prosperity." If the U.S. can do that, it will be the true leader of a democratic system which believes in equality and human rights.

Until such a day comes, people in glass houses should not be throwing stones at others.

Alert at the end of print: custom commands on ESP3D

As some may know, I have been working on a 3D printer control board based on the ESP32 microcontroller. It basically allows control of the 3D printer via any web browser. The underlying firmware is a custom fork of Marlin, while the web interface is the ESP3D webUI.

Recently, the webUI has been expanded to allow the handling of custom commands sent from the firmware using M118 gcodes. For example,
M118 [esp3d]eop
will print the message
[esp3d]eop
on the serial interface, telling the webUI the print has been completed ("eop" for "end of print"), triggering the webUI to play a short beep. This is a useful command that can be added to your end gcode.

Another custom command is
M118 [esp3d]beep(1000,300)
while will tell the webUI to play a sound of 300Hz for 1s (1000ms).

Right now, these are the only two custom commands that have been included in the webUI. But users are free to modify the custom.js file to add in addition commands that they want the webUI to handle. You can see how the above two commands were implemented in the file, and modify it to suit your needs. BTW, the webUI works on other hardware that runs the ESP3D firmware too.

Video shows Hong Kong police shooting in self-defence

Hong Kong continues to be in turmoil as protesters continue to take to the streets with their five demands. But the problem is, some of the protesters are more violent than others, and we have seen cases of people being beaten, property destroyed (smashed or set on fire), and clashes with the police. Yes, the protesters don't have firearms, but blunt weapons like metal pipes can still deliver fatal blows. And they have Molotov cocktails too.

So it was big news when the police shot one of the protesters with a live round. The global media basically exploded with "Police shot protester" headlines and news. The initial coverage seemed like the police using disproportionate force.

Until the video of what happened before the shooting came out.

And then, people see that it was the protesters who were being extremely violent, assaulting a lone policeman with blunt weapons like metal pipes and hammers. When other policemen turned up to assist, the protesters attacked them too. Which led to the shooting.

Such news coverage brings to question the protesters' legitimacy. One of their demands was about police violence. But with such a video now, it would seem that the police are not the violent ones, have been exercising restraint, and any use of force was in self-defence.

It also brings into question the global media's past coverage of the protest. Had the media been too one-sided in its coverage, playing up the legitimacy of the protesters while purposely trying to portray the Hong Kong government and police in a more negative light? Can we trust the media to be unbiased in its reporting?

Whatever the case, the violence of the protesters cannot be denied, with subway stations being torn apart and set on fire. Public buildings being attacked. Vandalism, destruction of public and private property, trespassing, the list of crimes goes on. And anyone who condones such action cannot be said to be a law-abiding person, cannot be said to be someone who promotes the rule of law.

The moment the protest turn violent was the moment the protesters lost their legitimacy, their morale high ground. Now, they are just a bunch of thugs sticking together so that they cannot be caught and tried. If they had not turned violent, they stood a chance. Now, everything is just going to go downhill.

Hong Kong protest: an opportunity already lost

Singapore's history of separation sets it apart from Hong Kong: Historian Wang Gungwu

This article is actually got an insightful read on why Singapore was able to survive through independence while Hong Kong is in a totally different scenario. Geographically, Peninsula Malaysia is Singapore's hinterland, but Singapore has never been very reliant on its hinterland, instead trying to source for resources from further away. As an international port who main purpose was to move goods, the focus has always been further away.

But Hong Kong is a different place. It served as a gateway for the West into China, and as such, there has always been that strong relationship with its hinterland, China. Even during British rule, Hong Kong businessmen have ventured into China in search of cheaper labour. This is all the more after the handing back of Hong Kong; Hong Kong is economically tied so closely to China that it is hard to imagine how an independent Hong Kong can survive. Remember, China is not reliant on Hong Kong; it now has other ports for international trade, other outlets for the products of its Guangzhou manufacturing sector. But Hong Kong has no other hinterland, and on its own, no resources to speak of. With the door to China closed, how many will continue to see Hong Kong as a beneficial trading partner?

So while I applaud the protesters for their determination to get greater freedom from Beijing, I think they need to think through about what is the final shape of things that they want. "Five demands" is not the endgame, and it serves no logical end except as a "feel-good" thing for the protesters. If they are really serious about effecting political change for the better of their society, they need to come up with a plan, not demands. Giving demands, and then bashing things up when the demands are not met... that's like a kid in a toy store, smashing toys in the store until the parents give in and buy the kid a toy.

And the longer this drags on, the worse it gets for the protesters, not Beijing. The protesters are making life difficult for the people of Hong Kong. In the beginning, they may have public sentiments on their side, but as inconvenience drags, and business starts to become adversely affected, there will be rising public resentment instead. The protesters should have sat down and tried to negotiate a better deal the moment Carrie Lam relented. That was the lost opportunity. Now, that opportunity is lost, and as time goes by, the attention of the global media will be drawn to other new things, and soon, the protesters will be left forgotten, their cause unfulfilled.

They didn't see the opportunity, and now have lost it. All that remains is for the media attention to die down, and this protest will be like a fire, slowing dying out after consuming everything within its reach.

And then, the Beijing hammer will strike down hard. And the protesters will have no one but themselves to blame. For they were the ones who lost that opportunity for a better deal.