Christmas 2010

This Christmas, we are spending it with a friend and his family in the United States, so it will be filled with Christmas carols, a real Christmas tree, decorations, turkey, cold (and maybe snow) plus church. Standby for photos post-trip!

Amazon Kindle 3

After hearing about the Amazon Kindle 3 from my colleague, and reading about it on the Internet, I decided that it was the e-book reader for me, and went ahead to get one for myself.

My interest with e-book readers came about because I am going to have to move soon, and having a lot of books is bogging me down. Yet I cannot bear to part with my books. So I have decided that the best way is to keep my books in digital format, while keeping the paper versions of those books that I really want to keep.

So now, I am trying to find digital versions of books that I have, so that I can part with the paper versions...

By the way, for those interested to get themselves the Kindle in Singapore, please read the following:
Jeff's Blog on Amazon Kindle 3
A forum for e-book readers in general
I would advice using Borderlinx... I used VPOST and regretted it. It took almost 11 days from the time I ordered my Kindle before it finally arrived in Singapore... and that was after choosing 2-day delivery from Amazon. Amazon delivered as promised, the choke point was VPOST.

Do note that Amazon Kindle content is not supported in Singapore, so do follow the instructions in Jeff's Blog above. There are two versions, the WiFi only version, and the version that has both WiFi and 3G. If you are a frequent traveller, I would suggest getting the 3G version, else the WiFi version would suffice.

以德服人 Part 2

The other day, someone was saying that Japanese warriors (武士) are formidable because they are always ready to die. And Japanese martial arts are simple and effective, not flashy. When a Japanese warrior draws his sword, he draws it to kill.

Someone rebutted that it is not that Chinese warriors draw their sword without aiming to kill. When a Chinese warrior draws his sword, he draws it to kill too. It is just that he does not draw his sword easily.

I think it is not about race. Whether Japanese or Chinese, the wisdom behind this is the same.
仁者，不以力制人，以德服人。
A person must have compassion for his fellow men, and when he does, it is no longer about how well he fights, because he aims not to use his martial skills, instead relying on his heart to reach out to the people around him. He gains respect not by the number of people he defeats, but by the number of lives he touches with his sincerity.

The old martial artist sitting in the background may not be able to move as fast as when he was young. But he doesn't need to. Because he no longer relies on his hands and legs to defeat his opponents. The strength of his character is his true weapon.

Parting with Dungeons and Dragons

Updated on 2 Dec 2010 at 2330H:

Due to the need to clear out my old stuff in preparation for a move in the near future, I intend to part with some of my Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D) Second Edition (2nd Ed), and Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Third Edition (3rd Ed) stuff like rulebooks and supplements. Most of them are in near mint condition, except for the core rulebooks (Players Handbook and Dungeon Master Guide) for 2nd Ed. Do drop me a mail or leave a comment here for me to contact you if you are interested and we can then negotiate a price and a method of delivery. Most convenient if you live in Singapore.

The books available:
AD&D 2nd Ed:
Players Handbook
Dungeon Master's Guide
Monstrous Manual
Legends and Lore
The Complete Ninja's Handbook
The Complete Psionics' Handbook
The Complete Thief's Handbook
The Complete Wizard's Handbook
The Complete Priest's Handbook
The Complete Book of Elves
Arms and Equipment
Player Option: Skills and Powers
Player Option: Combat and Tactics
DM Option: High-Level Campaigns
Faiths and Avatars
Heroes' Lorebook
D&D 3rd Ed:
Players Handbook
Dungeon Master's Guide
Manual of the Planes
Monster Manual
Oriental Adventures
Sword and Fist
Masters of the Wild

Follow your heart

There are times when no matter how hard we think, how much logic we apply, we come up against a dead end, and we cannot decide on which option to choose.

In those cases, follow your heart. Because when you follow your heart, you remain true to yourself.

以德服人

仁者，不以力制人，以德服人。

That was something that rang in my heart when I heard it.

We should not use fear (the threat of using force) to get people to do things. We should show them that it is because we care for them, which is why we are asking them to do those things. Sometimes, we take the easy way out because fear can be a big motivating factor, but we must always remember that fear only works when the threat is there, but if you gain a person's respect, he will continue to do what you ask even when you are no longer around.

Flowers フラワーズ

A very touching movie, showcasing the lives of women in Japan over the last century.

From the era when marriage was dictated by parents, to the era when women faced prejudice at work, to the modern day when single mothers are accepted as part of society. Six women leading six lives.

Some of the touching scenes:
- When Wabisuke told Rin at their wedding ceremony that he will take care of her. (This was an arranged marriage, and Rin was very apprehensive about her future husband.)
- When Sato told her husband that she wants to show the unborn child in her the world. (Her doctor has advised against her giving birth to the unborn child since it will likely endanger her own life.)

Official site
Wikipedia entry

It is incredible to find six famous actresses to act in a single movie, in which there is no single leading actress, but all six of them are leading actresses in their own right.

Halloween 2010!

It's Halloween again!

Trick or treat!

The haze is back

The haze is back,
Car stains are black,
Cut me some slack,
Good air we lack.

It is here again... the haze... basically, thick smoke from the fires in Sumatra blown here causing poor air quality.

Mother

This is a very touching Japanese drama... it is not the kind that causes you to cry... it takes small pokes at your feelings, wearing it down with small touching scenes until you find yourself weeping away...

What's so special about the drama? It is actually about the love between a mother and child. A mother's love for her child, and the child's love for the mother. Unconditional love... that can be betrayed by an abusive mother. Yet the child continues to bear the abuse because she has no one to turn to... until her teacher takes it upon herself to be her substitute mother (by faking her death and "kidnapping" her).

The touching scenes are all about a child's love for her mother and about a mother's love for her child. About what a mother would do to protect her child, to care for her child. The conflict between caring and disciplining. And a young mother's conflict within herself after the death of her husband... bringing up a child alone has its price... is the young mother willing to pay that price?

The official site
Wikipedia site (in Japanese)

LASIK

Wonder what LASIK is all about? Read about it here at Wikipedia.

Thanks to Shinagawa LASIK Centre, I can now see without glasses.

On trust

We speak our minds when we trust the person we are speaking to. We trust that he or she would take us seriously, we trust that he/she is interested in what we have to say, or what we have to ask.

But we cannot demand trust. We can only earn it. Just as others have to earn our trust, we have to earn the trust of others. It takes time and is never an easy task. But the reward is earning someone whom we can share our thoughts with.

Road hazard!

I nearly got into a car accident today... I almost ran into this:

Just as I was turning into the expressway, this huge water monitor lizard was on the ramp...

Goodbye Mrs Lee

Farewell Mrs Lee. You will always be remembered as the woman who made the man who he is.

Visit to Marina Bay Sands

We visited Marina Bay Sands, mainly to go up to the Skypark... and were not that impressed.

First, the place is big, and very confusing. Carparks were at one part of the building (where the casino is) but the Skypark is located with the hotel in another building. The signs pointing to the hotel were confusing to say the least. Following the signs took up one big round without bringing us anywhere near the hotel. In the end, after asking around a few of the staff, we finally managed to get to the hotel...

Only to have to go down to the ticket counter, and being told that prams/strollers were not allowed, and that I had to make my way up again to deposit mine at the bell desk. The bell desk wasn't that apparent as well... I had to ask around to find it. All that walking, just to get to the Skypark...

The view up there was great, though. The pool is for hotel guest only, so don't count on being able to use the pool just because you paid S$20 to get up there. In the end, unless you love seeing things from high buildings, it probably isn't worth your money to go up there.