I'm making good progress on my essay.
2 1/4 pages left, yeh!
L'origine de Bert
Thursday, March 27, 2003
The Story of Bob by David M. Payne
A little rambly at times but this piece is incisive and shows many of the problems with consuming the Opiate of the Masses.
Someone's comments:
'Parody and satire can be a most effective way of pricking the balloon of irrational doctrine. Reaching the mind of the believer is a daunting task at the best of times, but exposing absurdity is often achieved by presenting it in the context of a different kind of absurdity�one designed to force re-examination of those beliefs. Religious dogma is usually an insult to the thinking person�s intelligence, whether it be creationism, original sin through eating an apple, or the claim that the appearance of one man at a single time and place is the sole source of universal salvation. Parody and satire are themselves a form of reciprocal insult to jolt the believer into seeing his ideas in a different light and bring home the irrationality of it all. Clever pieces of parody like �The Story of Bob� (and they have to be clever, and well-written) can sometimes do more to effect that jolt than even a good academic book on the subject. The truth is, we need both.
I enjoyed David�s wit and ingenious repetition of motifs, and I applaud his treatment of the �Isms��those modern bedevilments of atheism which the believer likes to throw in our faces. Nicely neutralized and deflated in a couple of paragraphs. And yes, the �call to Bob.� Too bad it weren�t that easy, we could all go home and do something else. It would all be so funny, if it didn�t reveal the truly tragic situation the human race has managed to mire itself in as part of a process of evolution that really has no intelligent mind behind it. Rather, evolution, in its own mindless wisdom, has thrown up its own intelligence to create the needed direction. In David�s Story of Bob, that force is 'the freethinkers.'"
If you're grounded by SARS, you can also try this:
Historical Jesus or Jesus Myth: The Jesus Puzzle
More stolen stuff:
The Age of Reason
"Today, parents, churches and even some schools teach our children irrational views on the history and age of the earth, the development and diversity of life. Sending them to university to obtain any kind of science degree while believing that the world is less than 10,000 years old, or that evolution is an atheist plot, is like sending them to study obstetrics or gynecology still believing that the stork brings babies... People are cast adrift from the one secure basis of knowledge and laid open to superstition and outlandish ideas, to an emotional dependence on otherworldly delusions. Dogma based on ancient petrified writings discourages the development of our own wisdom to determine proper ethical behavior. It fosters prejudice and discrimination against homosexuals; it works to deny women the right to control their own bodies and life choices; it endangers a wide range of human rights. Proscription against the practice of birth control as being a contravention of "God�s law" threatens to dig the grave of the planet through overpopulation. Belief in angels and devils and supernatural forces fosters superstition, mental instability, the undermining of scientific and rational views of the world. Faith systems which regard this life as of lesser importance, an antechamber to some other, unseen and undetectable dimension, outlooks which denigrate the life and world and bodies we live in as evil, fraught with dangers and temptations which jeopardize our eternal fates�such things cannot help but impede the improvement of our existing world and the progress we could be making in social and intellectual advancement. Not to mention the development of a healthy human spirit.
When beliefs and attitudes toward the world are not based on evidence and scientific investigation they can never be universal. Not all people and societies will come up with the same irrational beliefs. This variety of irrationalities sows division, conflict, even war and terrorism. It fosters prejudice and racism (since specific races tend to have specific religious beliefs). Science and rationality, on the other hand, are the great levelers, the great unifiers. Natural laws demonstrable in the laboratory, views based on logic and reason, will be true anywhere in the world, in any society."
INGERSOLL'S VOW
Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899) was a famous attorney and orator whose brilliant lectures drew thousands. As a political figure, he came close to achieving the Republican party's nomination for governor of Illinois, but prejudice and intolerance denied him the opportunity because he was an atheist.
When I became convinced that the universe is natural�that all the ghosts and gods are myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the dungeon was flooded with light, and all the bolts, and bars, and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world�not even in infinite space.
I was free�free to think, to express my thoughts�free to live to my own ideal�free to use all my faculties, all my senses�free to spread imagination's wings�free to investigate, to guess and dream and hope�free to judge and determine for myself�free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the "inspired" books that savages have produced, and all the barbarous legends of the past�free from popes and priests�free from all the "called" and "set apart"�free from sanctified mistakes and holy lies�free from the fear of eternal pain�free from the winged monsters of the night�free from devils, ghosts, and gods.
For the first time I was free. There were no prohibited places in all the realms of thought�no air, no space, where fancy could not spread her painted wings�no chains for my limbs�no lashes for my back�no fires for my flesh�no master's frown or threat�no following another's steps�no need to bow, or cringe, or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free. I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously, faced all worlds.
And then my heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heroes, the thinkers who gave their lives for the liberty of hand and brain�for the freedom of labor and thought�to those who proudly mounted scaffold's stairs�to those whose flesh was scarred and torn�to those by fire consumed�to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land, whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then I vowed to grasp the torch that they had held, and hold it high, that light might conquer darkness still.
Most people, however, are already entrenched in one school of thought or another, though, so all this might not have any effect. It's rather sad to talk to people who won't even give alternate truths a thought, and carry on the way they are blindly - indeed deliberately, because they are addicted to this drug. "I'm happier with faith, so there". Right. I could be happier with marijuana, but does that mean I should consume it? (I don't think soft drugs are all that bad, but for the sake of argument I'll assume that I am)
It's good to try to spread the gospel of truth though, nonetheless.
A little rambly at times but this piece is incisive and shows many of the problems with consuming the Opiate of the Masses.
Someone's comments:
'Parody and satire can be a most effective way of pricking the balloon of irrational doctrine. Reaching the mind of the believer is a daunting task at the best of times, but exposing absurdity is often achieved by presenting it in the context of a different kind of absurdity�one designed to force re-examination of those beliefs. Religious dogma is usually an insult to the thinking person�s intelligence, whether it be creationism, original sin through eating an apple, or the claim that the appearance of one man at a single time and place is the sole source of universal salvation. Parody and satire are themselves a form of reciprocal insult to jolt the believer into seeing his ideas in a different light and bring home the irrationality of it all. Clever pieces of parody like �The Story of Bob� (and they have to be clever, and well-written) can sometimes do more to effect that jolt than even a good academic book on the subject. The truth is, we need both.
I enjoyed David�s wit and ingenious repetition of motifs, and I applaud his treatment of the �Isms��those modern bedevilments of atheism which the believer likes to throw in our faces. Nicely neutralized and deflated in a couple of paragraphs. And yes, the �call to Bob.� Too bad it weren�t that easy, we could all go home and do something else. It would all be so funny, if it didn�t reveal the truly tragic situation the human race has managed to mire itself in as part of a process of evolution that really has no intelligent mind behind it. Rather, evolution, in its own mindless wisdom, has thrown up its own intelligence to create the needed direction. In David�s Story of Bob, that force is 'the freethinkers.'"
If you're grounded by SARS, you can also try this:
Historical Jesus or Jesus Myth: The Jesus Puzzle
More stolen stuff:
The Age of Reason
"Today, parents, churches and even some schools teach our children irrational views on the history and age of the earth, the development and diversity of life. Sending them to university to obtain any kind of science degree while believing that the world is less than 10,000 years old, or that evolution is an atheist plot, is like sending them to study obstetrics or gynecology still believing that the stork brings babies... People are cast adrift from the one secure basis of knowledge and laid open to superstition and outlandish ideas, to an emotional dependence on otherworldly delusions. Dogma based on ancient petrified writings discourages the development of our own wisdom to determine proper ethical behavior. It fosters prejudice and discrimination against homosexuals; it works to deny women the right to control their own bodies and life choices; it endangers a wide range of human rights. Proscription against the practice of birth control as being a contravention of "God�s law" threatens to dig the grave of the planet through overpopulation. Belief in angels and devils and supernatural forces fosters superstition, mental instability, the undermining of scientific and rational views of the world. Faith systems which regard this life as of lesser importance, an antechamber to some other, unseen and undetectable dimension, outlooks which denigrate the life and world and bodies we live in as evil, fraught with dangers and temptations which jeopardize our eternal fates�such things cannot help but impede the improvement of our existing world and the progress we could be making in social and intellectual advancement. Not to mention the development of a healthy human spirit.
When beliefs and attitudes toward the world are not based on evidence and scientific investigation they can never be universal. Not all people and societies will come up with the same irrational beliefs. This variety of irrationalities sows division, conflict, even war and terrorism. It fosters prejudice and racism (since specific races tend to have specific religious beliefs). Science and rationality, on the other hand, are the great levelers, the great unifiers. Natural laws demonstrable in the laboratory, views based on logic and reason, will be true anywhere in the world, in any society."
INGERSOLL'S VOW
Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899) was a famous attorney and orator whose brilliant lectures drew thousands. As a political figure, he came close to achieving the Republican party's nomination for governor of Illinois, but prejudice and intolerance denied him the opportunity because he was an atheist.
When I became convinced that the universe is natural�that all the ghosts and gods are myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the dungeon was flooded with light, and all the bolts, and bars, and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. There was for me no master in all the wide world�not even in infinite space.
I was free�free to think, to express my thoughts�free to live to my own ideal�free to use all my faculties, all my senses�free to spread imagination's wings�free to investigate, to guess and dream and hope�free to judge and determine for myself�free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the "inspired" books that savages have produced, and all the barbarous legends of the past�free from popes and priests�free from all the "called" and "set apart"�free from sanctified mistakes and holy lies�free from the fear of eternal pain�free from the winged monsters of the night�free from devils, ghosts, and gods.
For the first time I was free. There were no prohibited places in all the realms of thought�no air, no space, where fancy could not spread her painted wings�no chains for my limbs�no lashes for my back�no fires for my flesh�no master's frown or threat�no following another's steps�no need to bow, or cringe, or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free. I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously, faced all worlds.
And then my heart was filled with gratitude, with thankfulness, and went out in love to all the heroes, the thinkers who gave their lives for the liberty of hand and brain�for the freedom of labor and thought�to those who proudly mounted scaffold's stairs�to those whose flesh was scarred and torn�to those by fire consumed�to all the wise, the good, the brave of every land, whose thoughts and deeds have given freedom to the sons of men. And then I vowed to grasp the torch that they had held, and hold it high, that light might conquer darkness still.
Most people, however, are already entrenched in one school of thought or another, though, so all this might not have any effect. It's rather sad to talk to people who won't even give alternate truths a thought, and carry on the way they are blindly - indeed deliberately, because they are addicted to this drug. "I'm happier with faith, so there". Right. I could be happier with marijuana, but does that mean I should consume it? (I don't think soft drugs are all that bad, but for the sake of argument I'll assume that I am)
It's good to try to spread the gospel of truth though, nonetheless.
Post ID: 91470865
Sunday, March 23, 2003
Gah. Every time this happens, I tell myself - never again, but a few months later I inevitably succumb to temptation again.
I fell asleep at 9:00pm or so, see, and woke at around 4am. Gah.
Luckily my mother had helped me to do some things, so I'm grateful to and for her.
I went swimming with Yiliang, Andrew and Nigel yesterday. I haven't been swimming for a while - since my BMT categorisation test (aqua-jogging doesn't count), so it was nice to frolick for a while in the water... until the security guards came to chase us off, that is. Maybe they didn't like our 'Hiroshima's and 'New World Order's (I've no idea what the hell those terms refer to, but Yiliang claims that those who have watched Cradle 2 The Grave will know). Nigel's friend lives in the condo whose pool we were using, but he wasn't around at the moment, see.
So after being unceremoniously shooed off the premises, we had a spot of early lunch, then went down to Bugis. Somehow, I started feeling very drained on the train, and a malaise afflicted me for the rest of the day, and I was uncharacteristically laconic, even.
The basement of Bugis Junction was filled with all manner of Japanese outlets selling assorted snacks. There was one shop selling 'Japanese Sponge Cakes' and when I saw that they were made from 'Japanese flour', 'Japanese honey' and other 'Japanese' ingredients, alarm bells started ringing in my head. Now a general rule for Japanese things is that they are nice, but come in small quantities. This is especially evident with food products made in Japan, thanks to the sky-high tariff protection that the lazy and spoilt Japanese farmers (but aren't most rich world farmers that way, demanding protection as if it were their birthright?) enjoy. Yiliang bought two packs of 15 sponge cakes, and indeed they weren't as nice as the free samples, while being comparable in price to his cigarettes!
From then till I left, Andrew was shopping for the best price on a Clie SJ22 / SJ30/ SJ33. And he kept cajoling me into buying one! I did not give in to his blandisments, though. I did get to try out some Clies through the course of the day, however. The profusion of models is really overwhelming. I think Sony wants to try to overwhelm the consumer so they can't compare models effectively :) Clie buttons all suck, especially the Up/Down buttons. Palm buttons are much easier to depress. I might understand if the application buttons were depressed so the unit would not turn on accidentally, but why did Sony make the Up/Down buttons so hard to press? Argh. The Clie styli are also pathetically small. I also don't like the brushed metal lookof Clies. Maybe I'm conservative. Or maybe I'm just too used to Palm models. I tried writing on Nigel's Clie but it seems my Grafitti skills have deteriorated after a year of atrophy. Oh well.
Later we went to Sim Lim to look at even more toys (and to try to find freebies for Andrew's Clie). On the way we had dessert at a hawker centre - the heat was even worse than if we were in the sun. No wonder air-conditioned places can afford to charge such a high premium. I asked for an Ice Jelly, but the stupid hawker gave me an Ice Jelly cocktail, but by then I was too dazed to complain.
YMCA was conducting a blitz on Saturday, and students with their cans were all over Singapore. Earlier Andrew had graced one girl with $2 at Choa Chu Kang, a most generous donation, ad on the way to Sim Lim I donated $0.50 to a Raffles Guy (which earned me a rebuke, of sorts, from the former - "Donate to your own school right!"), but refused the sticker she proferred, as I have decided to forswear these stupid flag day stickers.
At Sim Lim, there were many nice things - not only PDAs - that I want to get, like a CD-RW drive and MP3 player, but I'm just too lazy. Maybe after I ORD. Also, in a secluded corner near the top, there was this girl selling pirated CDs with Application Software from the top of a carton. Looks like the raids can't deter the hardcore sellers from ths hallowed haven of priacy!
As I work laboriously on my tract (which few will start on and even fewer will finish), bringing it slowly to completion, I realise that my beef isn't really with the putative god or his existence.
More, it's the vagaries of man-made, organised and interpreted religion, which often is used to manipulate people, imbibe them with illiberal and/or conservative beliefs and use their money for questionable causes, all under the guise of following the will of this god. Bah.
I fell asleep at 9:00pm or so, see, and woke at around 4am. Gah.
Luckily my mother had helped me to do some things, so I'm grateful to and for her.
I went swimming with Yiliang, Andrew and Nigel yesterday. I haven't been swimming for a while - since my BMT categorisation test (aqua-jogging doesn't count), so it was nice to frolick for a while in the water... until the security guards came to chase us off, that is. Maybe they didn't like our 'Hiroshima's and 'New World Order's (I've no idea what the hell those terms refer to, but Yiliang claims that those who have watched Cradle 2 The Grave will know). Nigel's friend lives in the condo whose pool we were using, but he wasn't around at the moment, see.
So after being unceremoniously shooed off the premises, we had a spot of early lunch, then went down to Bugis. Somehow, I started feeling very drained on the train, and a malaise afflicted me for the rest of the day, and I was uncharacteristically laconic, even.
The basement of Bugis Junction was filled with all manner of Japanese outlets selling assorted snacks. There was one shop selling 'Japanese Sponge Cakes' and when I saw that they were made from 'Japanese flour', 'Japanese honey' and other 'Japanese' ingredients, alarm bells started ringing in my head. Now a general rule for Japanese things is that they are nice, but come in small quantities. This is especially evident with food products made in Japan, thanks to the sky-high tariff protection that the lazy and spoilt Japanese farmers (but aren't most rich world farmers that way, demanding protection as if it were their birthright?) enjoy. Yiliang bought two packs of 15 sponge cakes, and indeed they weren't as nice as the free samples, while being comparable in price to his cigarettes!
From then till I left, Andrew was shopping for the best price on a Clie SJ22 / SJ30/ SJ33. And he kept cajoling me into buying one! I did not give in to his blandisments, though. I did get to try out some Clies through the course of the day, however. The profusion of models is really overwhelming. I think Sony wants to try to overwhelm the consumer so they can't compare models effectively :) Clie buttons all suck, especially the Up/Down buttons. Palm buttons are much easier to depress. I might understand if the application buttons were depressed so the unit would not turn on accidentally, but why did Sony make the Up/Down buttons so hard to press? Argh. The Clie styli are also pathetically small. I also don't like the brushed metal lookof Clies. Maybe I'm conservative. Or maybe I'm just too used to Palm models. I tried writing on Nigel's Clie but it seems my Grafitti skills have deteriorated after a year of atrophy. Oh well.
Later we went to Sim Lim to look at even more toys (and to try to find freebies for Andrew's Clie). On the way we had dessert at a hawker centre - the heat was even worse than if we were in the sun. No wonder air-conditioned places can afford to charge such a high premium. I asked for an Ice Jelly, but the stupid hawker gave me an Ice Jelly cocktail, but by then I was too dazed to complain.
YMCA was conducting a blitz on Saturday, and students with their cans were all over Singapore. Earlier Andrew had graced one girl with $2 at Choa Chu Kang, a most generous donation, ad on the way to Sim Lim I donated $0.50 to a Raffles Guy (which earned me a rebuke, of sorts, from the former - "Donate to your own school right!"), but refused the sticker she proferred, as I have decided to forswear these stupid flag day stickers.
At Sim Lim, there were many nice things - not only PDAs - that I want to get, like a CD-RW drive and MP3 player, but I'm just too lazy. Maybe after I ORD. Also, in a secluded corner near the top, there was this girl selling pirated CDs with Application Software from the top of a carton. Looks like the raids can't deter the hardcore sellers from ths hallowed haven of priacy!
As I work laboriously on my tract (which few will start on and even fewer will finish), bringing it slowly to completion, I realise that my beef isn't really with the putative god or his existence.
More, it's the vagaries of man-made, organised and interpreted religion, which often is used to manipulate people, imbibe them with illiberal and/or conservative beliefs and use their money for questionable causes, all under the guise of following the will of this god. Bah.
Post ID: 91195678
Saturday, March 22, 2003
My father kindly brought me down to the computer repair shop at Bukit Merah, and the shop I got the power supply from at Sim Lim just now.Apparently the motherboard's fried too.Whee. Hope the HDDs are okay, as I didn't backup my data (!)
I think I'll be better off buying a new rig. 1 year and 4 months the current system has served me, and with not a few problems too. I appreciate Chris helping me to assemble it, but somehow things just don't seem towork out. Maybe I'm just suay. Or it's bad feng shui.
I think I'll be better off buying a new rig. 1 year and 4 months the current system has served me, and with not a few problems too. I appreciate Chris helping me to assemble it, but somehow things just don't seem towork out. Maybe I'm just suay. Or it's bad feng shui.
Post ID: 91174339
So I come back from Sim Lim with my spanking new power supply, screw it in, plug in all the cables and turn on my CPU.
It powers down after a few seconds. I think the power switch got stuck. I turn it on again.
Bang! With a deafening sound and a giant white spark flying out of the rear of my system, my power supply gets fried (or so I assume because I care not to open it at this time). A faint burning smell can be smelt in the air. My CPU won't turn on again. I check the back of the power supply, and the voltage is correct. What could have gone wrong?
Maybe I have rust-spreading fingers.
It powers down after a few seconds. I think the power switch got stuck. I turn it on again.
Bang! With a deafening sound and a giant white spark flying out of the rear of my system, my power supply gets fried (or so I assume because I care not to open it at this time). A faint burning smell can be smelt in the air. My CPU won't turn on again. I check the back of the power supply, and the voltage is correct. What could have gone wrong?
Maybe I have rust-spreading fingers.
Post ID: 91172322
Friday, March 21, 2003
Vanilla Coke, which Andrew had been raving about, is finally in Singapore. I've had it twice so far - the first time it reminded me of Coke with sour plum (seng guei) flavour, with some Baygon insecticide sprayed in (though maybe that was because Meng Kiat planted the thought in my head) and the second time like Coke with Vanillin added. Interesting.
Someone was searching Yahoo! Auctions for Men's underwear... because he claimed he wanted to sell his own. Bah - no one wants male underwear. Only female underwear is in any demand.
The next time someone uses the cliche - "It takes two hands to clap", I think I'm going to respond with "But it only takes one hand to punch someone". Next cliche!
I saw this advertisement for a SMS chat service on the bus. It had pictures of Japanese girls, and guys of indeterminate race, all over it. Bah. And the number to call is "76969". Bah. I wonder why they didn't make the cost per SMS sent 69 cents too, instead of 88 cents.
I got arrowed to go outfield for about 48 hours this week. Yeh. This was my second outfield experience since BMT, and the first overnight one. It's still as bad as ever. Well, not quite. In units you get certain... luxuries. No one eats combat rations, for one - and since we only got vegetarian and muslim combat rations somehow, despite being a unit with no muslims, we were even less taken with the idea of consuming them. My diet for the two days consisted mainly of instant and cup noodles, bread, Nutella, luncheon meat, sausages and tuna kindly provided by the people from S3 branch, though I did offer them some of the measly supplies I brought myself, having little food suitable to bring outfield. I also drank ice cold Chinese Apple Drink, Season's Chrysanthemum and Coke, thanks to the copious amounts of ice we brought. I must go buy them a drink someday.
I was outfield as a Medic, but I only saw action three times - once to give someone Panadol, once to dress the wounds I got cutting myself with my jack knife while trying to open a can and once when Eron got injured doing the same thing *g*
On the second night, everyone was bored so after an abortive game of 7-up, ended when people got tired of doing jumping jacks for forfeits, they started playing the sort of games that my class played in JC 1 - games involving trying to spot hidden, non-obvious patterns while avoiding information that is apparent but irrelevant, and so guess a certain attribute - the time, whether something occured, a quantity or such, while conspiring to keep clueless people out of the loop. Perhaps some examples will illustrate the point better. The person posing the question designates one hand as a fence and another representing sheep and mimes the sheep jumping over the fence, all the while making noises, then asks: "How many sheep jumped over the fence?". The obvious answer (the number of times one hand went over another) is wrong, and players of the game are challenged to figure out how man sheep *have* jumped. The correct answer is the number of syllables (or words) of the line: "How many sheep jumped over the fence?" - either 8 or 9. A variant of this is to replace "sheep" with "mair mairs", "white mair mairs" or such, and the new answer is the number of syllables of the words replacing "sheep". Another example: Black (or whatever colour you want) Magic. The poser declared that they are playing Magic of a certain colour, and then mentions certain objects, asking if they are what he has in mind. Now, the correct object is the object AFTER the one which is of the same colour as the Magic being played. For example, the object sequence for "Black Magic" would go: "The Moon, my uniform, Paul's Spectacles, Eron's boots, Sergeant Daniel's underwear". Now, I have always ignored these games, because they are inane, pointless, dumb, stupid and irritating. More importantly, I'm lousy at them, but that's another story altogether. The others were tormenting Eron, as he was trying, but failing, to guess the answers to the games, so I advised him that, since he was ignorant, he should be apathetic too ;)
While outfield, I was struck by the truth of the statement, by Marx, that religion is the opiate of the masses. I was touch more on that in my vapourware essay, but I also happened to think about censorship. Books, plays, films and such are frequently banned or cut because parts of all of them are deemed offensive or dangerous, but almost all materials of this nature possess these qualities in a form or another, as they induce thinking. If stability is paramount, perhaps the world of Fahrenheit 451 (Hah! Something I will always treasure from the Core Reading Program [CRP]) is the future.
Today, I was at Amoy Quee camp covering the NCC Precision Drill Squad Auxiliary Instructors' course, held at HQ NCC (where I believe some of my friends are. Most of my friends are incredibly lucky). Or its ending, at any rate - all the cover I did was done indoors, mostly sitting inside a theatrette, presumably in case anyone got frostbite from the air-conditioning. Somehow, most of the trainees were male, and the few females that were there were all Malay.
Sinsiang was telling me sometime back that a plus point of doing NCC cover is that the cadets have to call you "Sir". I think that this is a rather cheap, transient and pointless thrill. As Krusty has pointed out to us many times, even when you go to McDonalds, you get greeted as 'Sir'. Rather cheapens the whole experience, I think :) A more exciting perk of the whole thing, I think, was that I woke just after 7:30am today! Unfortunately there was no breakfast, so I had to eat the night snack again (Tuna sandwiches - argh! We had been eating lots of tuna outfield I think I've eaten enough tuna for a month in this week)
I wonder why people like to join the NCC. Join the National Cadet Corps! Get knocked down! Suffer some of NS before you are forced to! Whee. Why are these kids so eager to experience a little Slavery? Granted NCC is to National Slavery as Iraq's army is to America's, but why suffer any more than you have to? Ah, the folly of youth!
The NCC have a song. Complete with jingoistic lyrics and badly rendered, artificial sounding and shrill MIDI music, all horribly sung by some people sounding like Alessandro Moreschi. I was forced to listen to the tape while waiting in the theatrette, and though it couldn't get any worse. Then the Guest of Honour came and the cadets started singing. Horribly, and out of tune. The shivers running down my spine were going to send me into convulsions, but luckily the song was mercifully short.
At the end, I was invited to be in the picture, so if you happen to come across the next NCC newsletter, do look to the edge of the back row to see a fat medic standing there looking somewhat bewildered :)
One guy's certificate got lost and he was crying. Now, I have no qualms with males crying, but I don't understand why the cert is so important. Especially for a course like this.
For some reason the MC described the passing out ceremony as an "auspicious" occasion. Wha?
Last night, some strange activities were taking place. I saw some boys with 'breasts', and apparently there was [male] pole dancing too. And then this morning one female cadet lieutenant chased after this guy after he told her, "Don't tell me you don't watch porn". I guess he was asking her to do a pole dance. Maybe NCC makes people depraved too, or it's just adolescent hormones.
For some reason, the cadet lietenants kept singing "ORD loh" this morning, and one said he had half a year left. Wth? These boys must be seriously deluded.
This guy was singing a melancholy song, alternating between falsetto and tenor, and some boys from Deyi were making a lot of noise, so the Malay girls from Tanglin were scolding them. One even scolded, "Wah lan eh". How inappropriate (not in the prim way)!
Quotes:
The supercomputer thing is not true right... There's this page on your site. Your friend has a supercomputer. [Me: What do you think? It also says he got 14 A1s]
I'm infuriated at the thought of orgies involving 28 year old women... It sucks. Literally.
[Me on a song: Something like: What can take away all your worries? What can make you happy forever?] Tell him: Sex. Sex and violence.
[On the Nokia 8910i costing more than $1000 even on a plan] Why so expensive? Can watch TV ah?... Watch TV, watch porn.
Gabriel, what are you reading? Economist. Chao Chee Bye... [Tosses me Newman magazine] [Me: I flipped through it while on duty yesterday. *tosses it back*] I'll give you something more suitable for an RJ student. [Tosses Sophie's World at me] [Me: Nah, I heard that gives you headaches. *Tosses it back* Let me finish my periodical first] 'Periodical'? You dareto use the word 'periodical' on me outfield?
The last time I said 'Thank You' on the comms I got fucked... [Someone: Foxtrot Yankee {Read: F* You}]
[On my Nano Nano] Before you eat you must know how to sing the song (eat it)
[On the hexamine fuel in the combat rations which smells like fish mixed with dog food] Come and smell the pussy hair [Someone: Chao Chee Bye!]
[On canned spiced pork cubes] Take this to the Malay cemetary and eat.
Someone was searching Yahoo! Auctions for Men's underwear... because he claimed he wanted to sell his own. Bah - no one wants male underwear. Only female underwear is in any demand.
The next time someone uses the cliche - "It takes two hands to clap", I think I'm going to respond with "But it only takes one hand to punch someone". Next cliche!
I saw this advertisement for a SMS chat service on the bus. It had pictures of Japanese girls, and guys of indeterminate race, all over it. Bah. And the number to call is "76969". Bah. I wonder why they didn't make the cost per SMS sent 69 cents too, instead of 88 cents.
I got arrowed to go outfield for about 48 hours this week. Yeh. This was my second outfield experience since BMT, and the first overnight one. It's still as bad as ever. Well, not quite. In units you get certain... luxuries. No one eats combat rations, for one - and since we only got vegetarian and muslim combat rations somehow, despite being a unit with no muslims, we were even less taken with the idea of consuming them. My diet for the two days consisted mainly of instant and cup noodles, bread, Nutella, luncheon meat, sausages and tuna kindly provided by the people from S3 branch, though I did offer them some of the measly supplies I brought myself, having little food suitable to bring outfield. I also drank ice cold Chinese Apple Drink, Season's Chrysanthemum and Coke, thanks to the copious amounts of ice we brought. I must go buy them a drink someday.
I was outfield as a Medic, but I only saw action three times - once to give someone Panadol, once to dress the wounds I got cutting myself with my jack knife while trying to open a can and once when Eron got injured doing the same thing *g*
On the second night, everyone was bored so after an abortive game of 7-up, ended when people got tired of doing jumping jacks for forfeits, they started playing the sort of games that my class played in JC 1 - games involving trying to spot hidden, non-obvious patterns while avoiding information that is apparent but irrelevant, and so guess a certain attribute - the time, whether something occured, a quantity or such, while conspiring to keep clueless people out of the loop. Perhaps some examples will illustrate the point better. The person posing the question designates one hand as a fence and another representing sheep and mimes the sheep jumping over the fence, all the while making noises, then asks: "How many sheep jumped over the fence?". The obvious answer (the number of times one hand went over another) is wrong, and players of the game are challenged to figure out how man sheep *have* jumped. The correct answer is the number of syllables (or words) of the line: "How many sheep jumped over the fence?" - either 8 or 9. A variant of this is to replace "sheep" with "mair mairs", "white mair mairs" or such, and the new answer is the number of syllables of the words replacing "sheep". Another example: Black (or whatever colour you want) Magic. The poser declared that they are playing Magic of a certain colour, and then mentions certain objects, asking if they are what he has in mind. Now, the correct object is the object AFTER the one which is of the same colour as the Magic being played. For example, the object sequence for "Black Magic" would go: "The Moon, my uniform, Paul's Spectacles, Eron's boots, Sergeant Daniel's underwear". Now, I have always ignored these games, because they are inane, pointless, dumb, stupid and irritating. More importantly, I'm lousy at them, but that's another story altogether. The others were tormenting Eron, as he was trying, but failing, to guess the answers to the games, so I advised him that, since he was ignorant, he should be apathetic too ;)
While outfield, I was struck by the truth of the statement, by Marx, that religion is the opiate of the masses. I was touch more on that in my vapourware essay, but I also happened to think about censorship. Books, plays, films and such are frequently banned or cut because parts of all of them are deemed offensive or dangerous, but almost all materials of this nature possess these qualities in a form or another, as they induce thinking. If stability is paramount, perhaps the world of Fahrenheit 451 (Hah! Something I will always treasure from the Core Reading Program [CRP]) is the future.
Today, I was at Amoy Quee camp covering the NCC Precision Drill Squad Auxiliary Instructors' course, held at HQ NCC (where I believe some of my friends are. Most of my friends are incredibly lucky). Or its ending, at any rate - all the cover I did was done indoors, mostly sitting inside a theatrette, presumably in case anyone got frostbite from the air-conditioning. Somehow, most of the trainees were male, and the few females that were there were all Malay.
Sinsiang was telling me sometime back that a plus point of doing NCC cover is that the cadets have to call you "Sir". I think that this is a rather cheap, transient and pointless thrill. As Krusty has pointed out to us many times, even when you go to McDonalds, you get greeted as 'Sir'. Rather cheapens the whole experience, I think :) A more exciting perk of the whole thing, I think, was that I woke just after 7:30am today! Unfortunately there was no breakfast, so I had to eat the night snack again (Tuna sandwiches - argh! We had been eating lots of tuna outfield I think I've eaten enough tuna for a month in this week)
I wonder why people like to join the NCC. Join the National Cadet Corps! Get knocked down! Suffer some of NS before you are forced to! Whee. Why are these kids so eager to experience a little Slavery? Granted NCC is to National Slavery as Iraq's army is to America's, but why suffer any more than you have to? Ah, the folly of youth!
The NCC have a song. Complete with jingoistic lyrics and badly rendered, artificial sounding and shrill MIDI music, all horribly sung by some people sounding like Alessandro Moreschi. I was forced to listen to the tape while waiting in the theatrette, and though it couldn't get any worse. Then the Guest of Honour came and the cadets started singing. Horribly, and out of tune. The shivers running down my spine were going to send me into convulsions, but luckily the song was mercifully short.
At the end, I was invited to be in the picture, so if you happen to come across the next NCC newsletter, do look to the edge of the back row to see a fat medic standing there looking somewhat bewildered :)
One guy's certificate got lost and he was crying. Now, I have no qualms with males crying, but I don't understand why the cert is so important. Especially for a course like this.
For some reason the MC described the passing out ceremony as an "auspicious" occasion. Wha?
Last night, some strange activities were taking place. I saw some boys with 'breasts', and apparently there was [male] pole dancing too. And then this morning one female cadet lieutenant chased after this guy after he told her, "Don't tell me you don't watch porn". I guess he was asking her to do a pole dance. Maybe NCC makes people depraved too, or it's just adolescent hormones.
For some reason, the cadet lietenants kept singing "ORD loh" this morning, and one said he had half a year left. Wth? These boys must be seriously deluded.
This guy was singing a melancholy song, alternating between falsetto and tenor, and some boys from Deyi were making a lot of noise, so the Malay girls from Tanglin were scolding them. One even scolded, "Wah lan eh". How inappropriate (not in the prim way)!
Quotes:
The supercomputer thing is not true right... There's this page on your site. Your friend has a supercomputer. [Me: What do you think? It also says he got 14 A1s]
I'm infuriated at the thought of orgies involving 28 year old women... It sucks. Literally.
[Me on a song: Something like: What can take away all your worries? What can make you happy forever?] Tell him: Sex. Sex and violence.
[On the Nokia 8910i costing more than $1000 even on a plan] Why so expensive? Can watch TV ah?... Watch TV, watch porn.
Gabriel, what are you reading? Economist. Chao Chee Bye... [Tosses me Newman magazine] [Me: I flipped through it while on duty yesterday. *tosses it back*] I'll give you something more suitable for an RJ student. [Tosses Sophie's World at me] [Me: Nah, I heard that gives you headaches. *Tosses it back* Let me finish my periodical first] 'Periodical'? You dareto use the word 'periodical' on me outfield?
The last time I said 'Thank You' on the comms I got fucked... [Someone: Foxtrot Yankee {Read: F* You}]
[On my Nano Nano] Before you eat you must know how to sing the song (eat it)
[On the hexamine fuel in the combat rations which smells like fish mixed with dog food] Come and smell the pussy hair [Someone: Chao Chee Bye!]
[On canned spiced pork cubes] Take this to the Malay cemetary and eat.
Post ID: 91116650
Thursday, March 20, 2003
I trust that everyone has, by now, heard of this?
The school's too prudish, really. AJC rocks :P
Book thoughts:
Colin Cheong - seventeen
A book from the other side - Giving a human face to Hualalalala.
The concept of this book was most interesting - JC fiction. For those of you who are deprived (like me), reading this book might, erm, enrich you. That didn't come out very well, but I'm lazy so I'll leave it as it is.
The reader can tell that this book is predicated on JC life a long time ago, but most of it remains a poignant reminder of the joys of JC life (or maybe NS life is just too droll in comparison, I don't know). The writer makes JC relationships sound so very sweet - it sounds wonderful to be in the same school asyour significant other.
I didn't like the chaotic introduction, with the seemingly nonsensical and unlinked sentences, which gave me no idea what the writer was talking about. Actually I suspect it is a literary device used by insecure writers to give their works a veneer of sophistication, but luckily the narrative picked up and resolved into something intelligible after a few pages. In the rest of the book, the writer neglects to use any inverted commas, so it's sometimes hard to tell if someone is speaking. Again, I think this is an attempt at faux sophistication, but the book was still interesting enough - or played on the nostalgia factor sufficiently - to keep me reading. Otherwise, the writing was a little raw, but fresh.
Something that I'm somewhat disturbed by - what's the deal about Convent Girls? Extracts from Pages 12-13: "I'm going to Catholic [JC] too. Where the Convent girls are, Heaven is too... Uni or girls, man, you have to choose, Tim says. I think he just wants to keep the Convent girls to himself... In any case, at the tender but turgid age of 16, I wisely choose my future over Convent girls."
I didn't like the ending of the story, though, as it left me rather disturbed. The ghost bit was very unbelievable, and the death was too abrupt: it put me in the mind of the stories I used to write for my own chinese essays. The dramatic (if cliched) ending does make the story more memorable, but it doesn't sit well in my stomach. One is tempted to suspect that the tragedy is inserted for its sake - and at such an opportune moment, too. One calamity is more than enough - why have another? That said, I did feel like crying for the protagonist, so the writing was rather emotive.
The school's too prudish, really. AJC rocks :P
Book thoughts:
Colin Cheong - seventeen
A book from the other side - Giving a human face to Hualalalala.
The concept of this book was most interesting - JC fiction. For those of you who are deprived (like me), reading this book might, erm, enrich you. That didn't come out very well, but I'm lazy so I'll leave it as it is.
The reader can tell that this book is predicated on JC life a long time ago, but most of it remains a poignant reminder of the joys of JC life (or maybe NS life is just too droll in comparison, I don't know). The writer makes JC relationships sound so very sweet - it sounds wonderful to be in the same school asyour significant other.
I didn't like the chaotic introduction, with the seemingly nonsensical and unlinked sentences, which gave me no idea what the writer was talking about. Actually I suspect it is a literary device used by insecure writers to give their works a veneer of sophistication, but luckily the narrative picked up and resolved into something intelligible after a few pages. In the rest of the book, the writer neglects to use any inverted commas, so it's sometimes hard to tell if someone is speaking. Again, I think this is an attempt at faux sophistication, but the book was still interesting enough - or played on the nostalgia factor sufficiently - to keep me reading. Otherwise, the writing was a little raw, but fresh.
Something that I'm somewhat disturbed by - what's the deal about Convent Girls? Extracts from Pages 12-13: "I'm going to Catholic [JC] too. Where the Convent girls are, Heaven is too... Uni or girls, man, you have to choose, Tim says. I think he just wants to keep the Convent girls to himself... In any case, at the tender but turgid age of 16, I wisely choose my future over Convent girls."
I didn't like the ending of the story, though, as it left me rather disturbed. The ghost bit was very unbelievable, and the death was too abrupt: it put me in the mind of the stories I used to write for my own chinese essays. The dramatic (if cliched) ending does make the story more memorable, but it doesn't sit well in my stomach. One is tempted to suspect that the tragedy is inserted for its sake - and at such an opportune moment, too. One calamity is more than enough - why have another? That said, I did feel like crying for the protagonist, so the writing was rather emotive.
Post ID: 91055371
My computer is down again.The power supply blew, this time. Why am I so jinxed, I wonder?
In other news, my mother went to wash Blue Bear again. Gah. I hope no fur fell off.
ETA for my mega-essay (it's exceeded 32767 characters already - I should write a book instead): Unknown
Re: this should have been worthy of gabriel's mention, being as inane and childishly anti-establishment as he is, and equally spastically impotent in achieving anything aside from online chuckles.
Bah. I'll have you know that my material is of infinitely higher quality and lucidity. And I'm not anti-establishment for the sake of being anti-establishment - it's just that I tend to be freer with my criticism than with my praise (which I dole out silently). Besides which, just because something won't achieve anything concrete does not mean you shouldn't do it.
Why else is Saddam resisting? Why else are Chee Soon Juan and friends (or otherwise) continuing trying to up their total of Parliament seats from the current measly *2* to a grand, effective total of 3? Why else are you going to hike your skirt up? *quizzical peer*
In other news, my mother went to wash Blue Bear again. Gah. I hope no fur fell off.
ETA for my mega-essay (it's exceeded 32767 characters already - I should write a book instead): Unknown
Re: this should have been worthy of gabriel's mention, being as inane and childishly anti-establishment as he is, and equally spastically impotent in achieving anything aside from online chuckles.
Bah. I'll have you know that my material is of infinitely higher quality and lucidity. And I'm not anti-establishment for the sake of being anti-establishment - it's just that I tend to be freer with my criticism than with my praise (which I dole out silently). Besides which, just because something won't achieve anything concrete does not mean you shouldn't do it.
Why else is Saddam resisting? Why else are Chee Soon Juan and friends (or otherwise) continuing trying to up their total of Parliament seats from the current measly *2* to a grand, effective total of 3? Why else are you going to hike your skirt up? *quizzical peer*
Post ID: 91051790
Sunday, March 16, 2003
My essay goes on and on, and I think I'm almost a third finished. Whew. I hope it's not getting more and more incoherent.
Anyone want to help me edit it?
This is amusing. Apparently some Muslims were unhappy at Answering Islam, so they came up with Answering Christianity.
Both are shrill and take digs at each other. It's amusing to see how they try to put each other's religions down. They criticise each other incessantly, yet gaping holes are visible in both's arguments. Even such an un-learned one as I can spot a myriad of errors and omissions in their slamming, flaws in their logic and how they conveniently ignore common and crystal-clear rebuttals to many of the points they make about the other's religion :)
I wonder if there's one against atheism ;)
Anyone want to help me edit it?
This is amusing. Apparently some Muslims were unhappy at Answering Islam, so they came up with Answering Christianity.
Both are shrill and take digs at each other. It's amusing to see how they try to put each other's religions down. They criticise each other incessantly, yet gaping holes are visible in both's arguments. Even such an un-learned one as I can spot a myriad of errors and omissions in their slamming, flaws in their logic and how they conveniently ignore common and crystal-clear rebuttals to many of the points they make about the other's religion :)
I wonder if there's one against atheism ;)
Post ID: 90766864
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Our cookhouse seems to be very taken with the merits of Minestrone soup for the times they have Pseudo-Western food. Well, it's minestrone in name only; it's been getting worse as time passes and now it's more like Cream of Tomato soup with noodles and chili. They should just have gone back to the previous fixation with Cream of Chicken.
It's very sad. Ever since I started imitating him, Kiong hasn't been laughing his inimitable laugh! How to describe it? It's starts as a rasping sound in the throat and then proceeds to sound like a vocal exercise I used to do during choir, one where you hit the top note and then glissando your way down.
An interesting consequence of my JC friends all either being Officers or in OCS, studying overseas, or downgraded (and many from both categories being in stayout, non-operational units) is that I seem to have cornered the market for English writing. So from time to time, I'm asked to smoke up something suitably impressive for someone's use. Somewhat flattering, actually, especially when I see people salivate over the results :) Oh dear, I better not grow too big for my boots.
Someone, as a joke, told me to tell someone else that he was cute, had kissable lips, was well hung and that he could blow him the whole day. The latter's response: "Tell him if he does that I'll go and fuck him... [realises his mistake] Tell him if he does that I'll go and whack him". Haha.
Many people in camp seem to have a powder fetish. I attribute this partly to the touting of the merits of powder during talks in BMT. I've always been skeptical about the benefits of applying powder, and the few times I -have- tried it have left me wanting. Especially repellent is Prickly Heat powder. Perhaps for the same reason people love to trick their mouth and tongues into thinking that they are on fire by eating foods with chili, people love to feel the vulgar, faux-cool/heat that comes from a liberal application of that wretched substance, which has a most vile odour about it, to boot. Those most guilty of this sin are Yongsiang and Melvin (who always has powder around his collar - tut tut). I wouldn't mind if people engaged in powder baths everyday, really, but the thing is all the powder emitted into the atmosphere inevitably lands on my artefacts. And I've no way of knowing where the powder was previously. For all I know it could have been caressing someone's gonads before landing on my bedsheet!
I realise that, apart from the Airport, I haven't seen a Starhub payphone anywhere for a long while. I wonder if they finally recognised the futility of the whole enterprise.
I was discussing our Chief Justice's sentences with someone, and neither of us could recall an instance where he didn't increase someone's sentence on appeal. Probably this is because such cases aren't reported, but I do think it's a little unfair to increase people's sentences just like that, especially when he doubles (or worse) their sentences. Appeal courts aren't supposed to punish you even harder than you have been.
I notice the police didn't arrest the "Lettuce Ladies" from PETA even though they didn't have a permit. Ahem.
I'm quite pissed out (even more than usual) with the tack that those companies offering Breast Enhancement services are taking nowadays. "Local men encouraging wives to take up bust enhancement program". I think we should boycott PrettiSlim and its PrettiBosom program!
The International Criminal Court is finally up. Of course, the USA is not participating because many lawmakers are unreasonably paranoid that the court will be used to persecute US soldiers. It's interesting to see how the USA has been paranoid in many regards, in cases like these. Usually it's only Communist Regimes that are this insecure and neurotic. This, combined with the arrogance coming from being the pre-eminent state in the world today, and the fear that some people are trying to put America down (some are, surely, but the paranoia exhibited is plain ridiculous) goes some way towards explaining much US foreign and domestic policy of dubitable utility.
Quotes:
[Me: Let me weight myself] Weigh yourself? Wait, this I must see.
[On my recording of someone's laughter] His laugh is even more bone-chilling
[On my recording of someone's laughter] It sounds, like Diablo
[On kicking the wall during Unarmed Combat to practice the sliding side kick] And now, gentlemen, I teach you how to vandalise the SAF property (I'll, SAF)
[Me: Your uniform looks very very fresh] It's always been. [Me: How do you keep it so radiant and vibrant?] Ask my maid.
GP car hai2 shi4 (Translation: or) admin vehicle? [Driver: GP car] Yes! Yes! [Sings] I love GP car
[On going somewhere on official business] Bye. I'm off to the zoo.
You can't come in. *** is masturbating.
[On my CPL rank being sewn on shoddily] Jialat. Yours is even worse than mine. Nevermind. This one is called, 'I fucking don't care'. Right? I respect you.
Derrick requests the pleasure of your presence in Room 4 [People start laughing]
[On my chocolate] I want! Can give me one?... Eee, what happened to the colour? (Can you)
You should aspire to be a spec [Specialist]. Then you can do important things like conducting warmups.
It's very sad. Ever since I started imitating him, Kiong hasn't been laughing his inimitable laugh! How to describe it? It's starts as a rasping sound in the throat and then proceeds to sound like a vocal exercise I used to do during choir, one where you hit the top note and then glissando your way down.
An interesting consequence of my JC friends all either being Officers or in OCS, studying overseas, or downgraded (and many from both categories being in stayout, non-operational units) is that I seem to have cornered the market for English writing. So from time to time, I'm asked to smoke up something suitably impressive for someone's use. Somewhat flattering, actually, especially when I see people salivate over the results :) Oh dear, I better not grow too big for my boots.
Someone, as a joke, told me to tell someone else that he was cute, had kissable lips, was well hung and that he could blow him the whole day. The latter's response: "Tell him if he does that I'll go and fuck him... [realises his mistake] Tell him if he does that I'll go and whack him". Haha.
Many people in camp seem to have a powder fetish. I attribute this partly to the touting of the merits of powder during talks in BMT. I've always been skeptical about the benefits of applying powder, and the few times I -have- tried it have left me wanting. Especially repellent is Prickly Heat powder. Perhaps for the same reason people love to trick their mouth and tongues into thinking that they are on fire by eating foods with chili, people love to feel the vulgar, faux-cool/heat that comes from a liberal application of that wretched substance, which has a most vile odour about it, to boot. Those most guilty of this sin are Yongsiang and Melvin (who always has powder around his collar - tut tut). I wouldn't mind if people engaged in powder baths everyday, really, but the thing is all the powder emitted into the atmosphere inevitably lands on my artefacts. And I've no way of knowing where the powder was previously. For all I know it could have been caressing someone's gonads before landing on my bedsheet!
I realise that, apart from the Airport, I haven't seen a Starhub payphone anywhere for a long while. I wonder if they finally recognised the futility of the whole enterprise.
I was discussing our Chief Justice's sentences with someone, and neither of us could recall an instance where he didn't increase someone's sentence on appeal. Probably this is because such cases aren't reported, but I do think it's a little unfair to increase people's sentences just like that, especially when he doubles (or worse) their sentences. Appeal courts aren't supposed to punish you even harder than you have been.
I notice the police didn't arrest the "Lettuce Ladies" from PETA even though they didn't have a permit. Ahem.
I'm quite pissed out (even more than usual) with the tack that those companies offering Breast Enhancement services are taking nowadays. "Local men encouraging wives to take up bust enhancement program". I think we should boycott PrettiSlim and its PrettiBosom program!
The International Criminal Court is finally up. Of course, the USA is not participating because many lawmakers are unreasonably paranoid that the court will be used to persecute US soldiers. It's interesting to see how the USA has been paranoid in many regards, in cases like these. Usually it's only Communist Regimes that are this insecure and neurotic. This, combined with the arrogance coming from being the pre-eminent state in the world today, and the fear that some people are trying to put America down (some are, surely, but the paranoia exhibited is plain ridiculous) goes some way towards explaining much US foreign and domestic policy of dubitable utility.
Quotes:
[Me: Let me weight myself] Weigh yourself? Wait, this I must see.
[On my recording of someone's laughter] His laugh is even more bone-chilling
[On my recording of someone's laughter] It sounds, like Diablo
[On kicking the wall during Unarmed Combat to practice the sliding side kick] And now, gentlemen, I teach you how to vandalise the SAF property (I'll, SAF)
[Me: Your uniform looks very very fresh] It's always been. [Me: How do you keep it so radiant and vibrant?] Ask my maid.
GP car hai2 shi4 (Translation: or) admin vehicle? [Driver: GP car] Yes! Yes! [Sings] I love GP car
[On going somewhere on official business] Bye. I'm off to the zoo.
You can't come in. *** is masturbating.
[On my CPL rank being sewn on shoddily] Jialat. Yours is even worse than mine. Nevermind. This one is called, 'I fucking don't care'. Right? I respect you.
Derrick requests the pleasure of your presence in Room 4 [People start laughing]
[On my chocolate] I want! Can give me one?... Eee, what happened to the colour? (Can you)
You should aspire to be a spec [Specialist]. Then you can do important things like conducting warmups.
Post ID: 90758106
Had a department barbeque yesterday. We were supposed to gather at Big Splash at 3pm, or at the pit at 5pm, for those who couldn't make it at 3pm, but Ban Xiong and I were the only idiots there at the time. Sergeant Melvin came a while later, at 3:15, so we had many hours to stone, since Boon Wei came only at 5:30 and the rest at 6:30! At least we got a treat from him at Viking Hotdog :)
Big Splash is a very boring place. Apparently it's been charging no admission since someone died there a few years ago, but the biggest, meanest slide is closed, so it's no wonder no one wants to go there. The whole place, too, looks so 1970s. I wonder if the sales of overpriced drinks and ice cream is not nearly enough to keep the whole place afloat.
While we 3 were waiting at the BBQ pit, we were bored so we alternately slept on the stone tables at the pit and watched a sideshow taking place a way away from us.
Now, this couple from ACJC was frolicking in the sand. The guy was still in his uniform, but the girl had changed out of her skirt into gray jeans. From a far distance, the blue inner lining of their collars was visible, which was how I identified them and did an IFF (Identification Friend or Foe). It was only 5 plus, not even 6pm, but they were already turning up the heat on the beach; petting and cuddling on the sand. Later, they moved on to french kissing and necking, and though we could only see them from the back, we could conjecture which targets the guy's hand and mouth were seeking. When sunset came, the two moved up and down the beach, finally settling at a spot further from our location.
Ban Xiong remarked that it was no wonder one of his friends from ACJC was a father. I was intrigued, and on making further enquiries, I discovered that this ACJC father - in our year - was not the same ACJC father that I already knew. What a happening school, to have at least *2* fathers in one year! We also speculated on why the ACJC blouse was so much more transparent than the ACJC shirt. Perverted uniform makers, maybe. Geraldine claims ACJC girls wash the blouses more, but I doubt that's the reason (maybe they do wash them more, but not to keep them clean...). Apparently there was other action going on around us, from other players, but I didn't see it.
I saw a male toilet cleaner in a female toilet at East Coast. Go Men's Lib!
The food at the BBQ was rather well bought/prepared, with a wide variety and high quality of food. I think it's one of the better barbeques I've been to recently, really.
While we were eating, troops in Full Battle Order from 10SIB suddenly appeared and marched past us. It must've been a torture seeing all the barbequers eating and enjoying themselves while they were slogging, but at least they were marching at night, when it's cooler. Even when we're out of camp, we're not free from reminders of bondage! Gah.
As Chinx said in the Days of Yore, there is always too much food at barbeques. And for some reason the organisers always feel compelled to try to finish the food, so they attempt to stuff everyone to bursting point. Then later people throw some away, bring some back and feed the rest to the cats, who play with the sausages. I suggest that, when BBQs are held near beaches, the food be buried. I buried some myself and I think crabs are now feasting merrily.
Maybe because he's going to ORD, and because the night was cool and we were full, the person who has some degree of animosity with me was talking to me yesterday. We effected a sort of rapprochement, I think. I am glad :)
Quotes:
You should write: AC blouses are see-through. [Me: You didn't know that?] You can even see the colour of her bra... Perverted uniform makers.
Ohh... sand got in her blouse. And he's taking the opportunity to help himself. Under the watchful eyes of Gabriel Seah.
Nothing is happening at the sideshow. The show has not started yet. [Me: No, there was a show just now. Now they're taking a rest.]
When the sun goes down, they'll go where the sun don't shine.
He's on top of her [Me: Wishful thinking. He's lying beside her] Now he's beside her. In 30 minutes he'll be on top of her.
[Me: The sideshow has moved to the table] Both sitting on the table? That's not right. [Me: What, one {should be} sitting at the table and one kneeling in front?] I didn't say that.
Big Splash is a very boring place. Apparently it's been charging no admission since someone died there a few years ago, but the biggest, meanest slide is closed, so it's no wonder no one wants to go there. The whole place, too, looks so 1970s. I wonder if the sales of overpriced drinks and ice cream is not nearly enough to keep the whole place afloat.
While we 3 were waiting at the BBQ pit, we were bored so we alternately slept on the stone tables at the pit and watched a sideshow taking place a way away from us.
Now, this couple from ACJC was frolicking in the sand. The guy was still in his uniform, but the girl had changed out of her skirt into gray jeans. From a far distance, the blue inner lining of their collars was visible, which was how I identified them and did an IFF (Identification Friend or Foe). It was only 5 plus, not even 6pm, but they were already turning up the heat on the beach; petting and cuddling on the sand. Later, they moved on to french kissing and necking, and though we could only see them from the back, we could conjecture which targets the guy's hand and mouth were seeking. When sunset came, the two moved up and down the beach, finally settling at a spot further from our location.
Ban Xiong remarked that it was no wonder one of his friends from ACJC was a father. I was intrigued, and on making further enquiries, I discovered that this ACJC father - in our year - was not the same ACJC father that I already knew. What a happening school, to have at least *2* fathers in one year! We also speculated on why the ACJC blouse was so much more transparent than the ACJC shirt. Perverted uniform makers, maybe. Geraldine claims ACJC girls wash the blouses more, but I doubt that's the reason (maybe they do wash them more, but not to keep them clean...). Apparently there was other action going on around us, from other players, but I didn't see it.
I saw a male toilet cleaner in a female toilet at East Coast. Go Men's Lib!
The food at the BBQ was rather well bought/prepared, with a wide variety and high quality of food. I think it's one of the better barbeques I've been to recently, really.
While we were eating, troops in Full Battle Order from 10SIB suddenly appeared and marched past us. It must've been a torture seeing all the barbequers eating and enjoying themselves while they were slogging, but at least they were marching at night, when it's cooler. Even when we're out of camp, we're not free from reminders of bondage! Gah.
As Chinx said in the Days of Yore, there is always too much food at barbeques. And for some reason the organisers always feel compelled to try to finish the food, so they attempt to stuff everyone to bursting point. Then later people throw some away, bring some back and feed the rest to the cats, who play with the sausages. I suggest that, when BBQs are held near beaches, the food be buried. I buried some myself and I think crabs are now feasting merrily.
Maybe because he's going to ORD, and because the night was cool and we were full, the person who has some degree of animosity with me was talking to me yesterday. We effected a sort of rapprochement, I think. I am glad :)
Quotes:
You should write: AC blouses are see-through. [Me: You didn't know that?] You can even see the colour of her bra... Perverted uniform makers.
Ohh... sand got in her blouse. And he's taking the opportunity to help himself. Under the watchful eyes of Gabriel Seah.
Nothing is happening at the sideshow. The show has not started yet. [Me: No, there was a show just now. Now they're taking a rest.]
When the sun goes down, they'll go where the sun don't shine.
He's on top of her [Me: Wishful thinking. He's lying beside her] Now he's beside her. In 30 minutes he'll be on top of her.
[Me: The sideshow has moved to the table] Both sitting on the table? That's not right. [Me: What, one {should be} sitting at the table and one kneeling in front?] I didn't say that.
Post ID: 90757583
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
[a sneak peek]
Skepticism and Christianity
1) Disclaimer
2) Why do people need religion?
3) Personal history and the stimulus of the Sabah retreat
4) First principles - Is there a God? Brief meta-physical discussion, since I've no training in philosophy/meta-physics.
5) Rebutting the untenable claims and ludicrous beliefs of literalists.
6) Circular arguments and inescapable flowcharts in finding God etc
7) Some fundamental precepts of Christianity - eg sin, sex as a sin. This is not a book, merely an essay so a short discussion will suffice.
8) Questioning applied religion - assumptions and interpretation.
9) Goings-on of the retreat, personal reflections
"If cows and horses or lions had hands,/... Horses would have drawn horse-like gods, cows cow-like gods,/ and each species would have made the gods' bodies just like their own" - Xenophanes
I wonder if I'll manage to complete this essay. I'll try to exercise essay discipline this time to stop it from becoming a vaguely linked collection of ranting paragraphs :) And to keep to my self-imposed 1-2 week deadline! Hopefully I'll have it done by Sunday.
My computer (or at least the area around the monitor) has been infected by ants for the longest time. Gah!
Skepticism and Christianity
1) Disclaimer
2) Why do people need religion?
3) Personal history and the stimulus of the Sabah retreat
4) First principles - Is there a God? Brief meta-physical discussion, since I've no training in philosophy/meta-physics.
5) Rebutting the untenable claims and ludicrous beliefs of literalists.
6) Circular arguments and inescapable flowcharts in finding God etc
7) Some fundamental precepts of Christianity - eg sin, sex as a sin. This is not a book, merely an essay so a short discussion will suffice.
8) Questioning applied religion - assumptions and interpretation.
9) Goings-on of the retreat, personal reflections
"If cows and horses or lions had hands,/... Horses would have drawn horse-like gods, cows cow-like gods,/ and each species would have made the gods' bodies just like their own" - Xenophanes
I wonder if I'll manage to complete this essay. I'll try to exercise essay discipline this time to stop it from becoming a vaguely linked collection of ranting paragraphs :) And to keep to my self-imposed 1-2 week deadline! Hopefully I'll have it done by Sunday.
My computer (or at least the area around the monitor) has been infected by ants for the longest time. Gah!
Post ID: 90581212
Monday, March 10, 2003
Wth. What's this doing in my mailbox?
NB: Personal particulars have been blocked out to protect the sender's privacy
"Subject: The Uncertainty Principle Is Untenable
please reply to ***@***.***
thank you.
THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE IS UNTENABLE
By re-analysing Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope experiment and the ideal experiment from which the uncertainty principle is derived, it is actually found that the uncertainty principle can not be obtained from them. It is therefore found to be untenable.
Key words:
uncertainty principle; Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope Experiment; ideal experiment
Ideal Experiment 1
Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope Experiment
A free electron sits directly beneath the center of the microscope's lens (please see AIP page http://www.aip.org/history/heisenberg/p08b.htm or diagram below) . The circular lens forms a cone of angle 2A from the electron. The electron is then illuminated from the left by gamma rays--high energy light which has the shortest wavelength. These yield the highest resolution, for according to a principle of wave optics, the microscope can resolve (that is, "see" or distinguish) objects to a size of dx, which is related to and to the wavelength L of the gamma ray, by the expression:
dx = L/(2sinA) (1)
However, in quantum mechanics, where a light wave can act like a particle, a gamma ray striking an electron gives it a kick. At the moment the light is diffracted by the electron into the microscope lens, the electron is thrust to the right. To be observed by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A. In quantum mechanics, the gamma ray carries momentum as if it were a particle. The total momentum p is related to the wavelength by the formula,
p = h / L, where h is Planck's constant. (2)
In the extreme case of diffraction of the gamma ray to the right edge of the lens, the total momentum would be the sum of the electron's momentum P'x in the x direction and the gamma ray's momentum in the x direction:
P' x + (h sinA) / L', where L' is the wavelength of the deflected gamma ray.
In the other extreme, the observed gamma ray recoils backward, just hitting the left edge of the lens. In this case, the total momentum in the x direction is:
P''x - (h sinA) / L''.
The final x momentum in each case must equal the initial x momentum, since momentum is conserved. Therefore, the final x momenta are equal to each other:
P'x + (h sinA) / L' = P''x - (h sinA) / L'' (3)
If A is small, then the wavelengths are approximately the same,
L' ~ L" ~ L. So we have
P''x - P'x = dPx ~ 2h sinA / L (4)
Since dx = L/(2 sinA), we obtain a reciprocal relationship between the minimum uncertainty in the measured position, dx, of the electron along the x axis and the uncertainty in its momentum, dPx, in the x direction:
dPx ~ h / dx or dPx dx ~ h. (5)
For more than minimum uncertainty, the "greater than" sign may added.
Except for the factor of 4pi and an equal sign, this is Heisenberg's uncertainty relation for the simultaneous measurement of the position and momentum of an object.
Re-analysis
To be seen by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A.
The microscope can resolve (that is, "see" or distinguish) objects to a size of dx, which is related to and to the wavelength L of the gamma ray, by the expression:
dx = L/(2sinA) (1)
This is the resolving limit of the microscope and it is the uncertain quantity of the object's position.
The microscope can not see the object whose size is smaller than its resolving limit, dx. Therefore, to be seen by the microscope, the size of the electron must be larger than or equal to the resolving limit.
But if the size of the electron is larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx, the electron will not be in the range dx. Therefore, dx can not be deemed to be the uncertain quantity of the electron's position which can be seen by the microscope, but deemed to be the uncertain quantity of the electron's position which can not be seen by the microscope. To repeat, dx is uncertainty in the electron's position which can not be seen by the microscope.
To be seen by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A, so we can measure the momentum of the electron.
dPx is the uncertainty in the electron's momentum which can be seen by microscope.
What relates to dx is the electron where the size is smaller than the resolving limit. When the electron is in the range dx, it can not be seen by the microscope, so its position is uncertain.
What relates to dPx is the electron where the size is larger than or equal to the resolving limit .The electron is not in the range dx, so it can be seen by the microscope and its position is certain.
Therefore, the electron which relates to dx and dPx respectively is not the same. What we can see is the electron where the size is larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx and has a certain position, dx = 0.
Quantum mechanics does not rely on the size of the object, but on Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope experiment. The use of the microscope must relate to the size of the object. The size of the object which can be seen by the microscope must be larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx of the microscope, thus the uncertain quantity of the electron's position does not exist. The gamma ray which is diffracted by the electron can be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A, where we can measure the momentum of the electron.
What we can see is the electron which has a certain position, dx = 0, so that in no other position can we measure the momentum of the electron. In Quantum mechanics, the momentum of the electron can be measured accurately when we measure the momentum of the electron only, therefore, we have gained dPx = 0.
And,
dPx dx =0. (6)
Ideal experiment 2
Single Slit Diffraction Experiment
Suppose a particle moves in the Y direction originally and then passes a slit with width dx(Please see diagram below) . The uncertain quantity of the particle's position in the X direction is dx, and interference occurs at the back slit . According to Wave Optics , the angle where No.1 min of interference pattern is can be calculated by following formula:
sinA=L/2dx (1)
and L=h/p where h is Planck's constant. (2)
So the uncertainty principle can be obtained
dPx dx ~ h (5)
Re-analysis
According to Newton first law , if an external force in the X direction does not affect the particle, it will move in a uniform straight line, ( Motion State or Static State) , and the motion in the Y direction is unchanged .Therefore , we can learn its position in the slit from its starting point.
The particle can have a certain position in the slit and the uncertain quantity of the position is dx =0. According to Newton first law , if the external force at the X direction does not affect particle, and the original motion in the Y direction is not changed , the momentum of the particle int the X direction will be Px=0 and the uncertain quantity of the momentum will be dPx =0.
This gives:
dPx dx =0. (6)
No experiment negates NEWTON FIRST LAW. Whether in quantum mechanics or classical mechanics, it applies to the microcosmic world and is of the form of the Energy-Momentum conservation laws. If an external force does not affect the particle and it does not remain static or in uniform motion, it has disobeyed the Energy-Momentum conservation laws. Under the above ideal experiment , it is considered that the width of the slit is the uncertain quantity of the particle's position. But there is certainly no reason for us to consider that the particle in the above experiment has an uncertain position, and no reason for us to consider that the slit's width is the uncertain quantity of the particle. Therefore, the uncertainty principle,
dPx dx ~ h (5)
which is derived from the above experiment is unreasonable.
Concluson
>From the above re-analysis , it is realized that the ideal experiment demonstration for the uncertainty principle is untenable. Therefore, the uncertainty principle is untenable.
Reference:
1. Max Jammer. (1974) The philosophy of quantum mechanics (John wiley & sons , Inc New York ) Page 65
2. Ibid, Page 67
3. http://www.aip.org/history/heisenberg/p08b.htm
Author : **** *******
Postal address : P.O.Box ***** ****** ****** ****** *****
GuangZhou 510800 P.R.China
E-mail: ****@***.***
Tel: **---**---******"
Hrm.
GainRWeb
The site for Guys and their Guts
"Q: How can I get fat ... NOW? ...OR... I have too high a metabolism. I can't gain, can I?
A: The answer can be given in one word: EAT! Your body makes fat to store up the energy from any extra calories you may consume. So, since it takes 3,500-3,600 calories in excess of the amount your body requires to gain each and every pound ... you must EAT. Eat more than what is required for your body. Eat it every day! If you live a lifestyle that requires that you consume 3,000 calories per day to maintain your current weight - then you must eat at least 700 extra calories each and every day to put on a pound per week.
Now, although that sounds simple, remember, even the very act of eating and digesting those 700 extra calories will cause you to burn more calories.
Your body requires more calories when it is cold than when it is warm - stay warm after each meal.
Your body will use the food in your digestive track first, then go to your fat reserves for the calories it needs. Don't exercise right after eating. The digesting food will be used by the body instead of your fat reserves. That sounds backwards....but the body is more efficient when it uses stored fat, than when it uses digesting food. You want all the calories in your digestive system to turn to fat and then get used. In the long run, you'll get fatter this way."
?!
NB: Personal particulars have been blocked out to protect the sender's privacy
"Subject: The Uncertainty Principle Is Untenable
please reply to ***@***.***
thank you.
THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE IS UNTENABLE
By re-analysing Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope experiment and the ideal experiment from which the uncertainty principle is derived, it is actually found that the uncertainty principle can not be obtained from them. It is therefore found to be untenable.
Key words:
uncertainty principle; Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope Experiment; ideal experiment
Ideal Experiment 1
Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope Experiment
A free electron sits directly beneath the center of the microscope's lens (please see AIP page http://www.aip.org/history/heisenberg/p08b.htm or diagram below) . The circular lens forms a cone of angle 2A from the electron. The electron is then illuminated from the left by gamma rays--high energy light which has the shortest wavelength. These yield the highest resolution, for according to a principle of wave optics, the microscope can resolve (that is, "see" or distinguish) objects to a size of dx, which is related to and to the wavelength L of the gamma ray, by the expression:
dx = L/(2sinA) (1)
However, in quantum mechanics, where a light wave can act like a particle, a gamma ray striking an electron gives it a kick. At the moment the light is diffracted by the electron into the microscope lens, the electron is thrust to the right. To be observed by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A. In quantum mechanics, the gamma ray carries momentum as if it were a particle. The total momentum p is related to the wavelength by the formula,
p = h / L, where h is Planck's constant. (2)
In the extreme case of diffraction of the gamma ray to the right edge of the lens, the total momentum would be the sum of the electron's momentum P'x in the x direction and the gamma ray's momentum in the x direction:
P' x + (h sinA) / L', where L' is the wavelength of the deflected gamma ray.
In the other extreme, the observed gamma ray recoils backward, just hitting the left edge of the lens. In this case, the total momentum in the x direction is:
P''x - (h sinA) / L''.
The final x momentum in each case must equal the initial x momentum, since momentum is conserved. Therefore, the final x momenta are equal to each other:
P'x + (h sinA) / L' = P''x - (h sinA) / L'' (3)
If A is small, then the wavelengths are approximately the same,
L' ~ L" ~ L. So we have
P''x - P'x = dPx ~ 2h sinA / L (4)
Since dx = L/(2 sinA), we obtain a reciprocal relationship between the minimum uncertainty in the measured position, dx, of the electron along the x axis and the uncertainty in its momentum, dPx, in the x direction:
dPx ~ h / dx or dPx dx ~ h. (5)
For more than minimum uncertainty, the "greater than" sign may added.
Except for the factor of 4pi and an equal sign, this is Heisenberg's uncertainty relation for the simultaneous measurement of the position and momentum of an object.
Re-analysis
To be seen by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A.
The microscope can resolve (that is, "see" or distinguish) objects to a size of dx, which is related to and to the wavelength L of the gamma ray, by the expression:
dx = L/(2sinA) (1)
This is the resolving limit of the microscope and it is the uncertain quantity of the object's position.
The microscope can not see the object whose size is smaller than its resolving limit, dx. Therefore, to be seen by the microscope, the size of the electron must be larger than or equal to the resolving limit.
But if the size of the electron is larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx, the electron will not be in the range dx. Therefore, dx can not be deemed to be the uncertain quantity of the electron's position which can be seen by the microscope, but deemed to be the uncertain quantity of the electron's position which can not be seen by the microscope. To repeat, dx is uncertainty in the electron's position which can not be seen by the microscope.
To be seen by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A, so we can measure the momentum of the electron.
dPx is the uncertainty in the electron's momentum which can be seen by microscope.
What relates to dx is the electron where the size is smaller than the resolving limit. When the electron is in the range dx, it can not be seen by the microscope, so its position is uncertain.
What relates to dPx is the electron where the size is larger than or equal to the resolving limit .The electron is not in the range dx, so it can be seen by the microscope and its position is certain.
Therefore, the electron which relates to dx and dPx respectively is not the same. What we can see is the electron where the size is larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx and has a certain position, dx = 0.
Quantum mechanics does not rely on the size of the object, but on Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope experiment. The use of the microscope must relate to the size of the object. The size of the object which can be seen by the microscope must be larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx of the microscope, thus the uncertain quantity of the electron's position does not exist. The gamma ray which is diffracted by the electron can be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A, where we can measure the momentum of the electron.
What we can see is the electron which has a certain position, dx = 0, so that in no other position can we measure the momentum of the electron. In Quantum mechanics, the momentum of the electron can be measured accurately when we measure the momentum of the electron only, therefore, we have gained dPx = 0.
And,
dPx dx =0. (6)
Ideal experiment 2
Single Slit Diffraction Experiment
Suppose a particle moves in the Y direction originally and then passes a slit with width dx(Please see diagram below) . The uncertain quantity of the particle's position in the X direction is dx, and interference occurs at the back slit . According to Wave Optics , the angle where No.1 min of interference pattern is can be calculated by following formula:
sinA=L/2dx (1)
and L=h/p where h is Planck's constant. (2)
So the uncertainty principle can be obtained
dPx dx ~ h (5)
Re-analysis
According to Newton first law , if an external force in the X direction does not affect the particle, it will move in a uniform straight line, ( Motion State or Static State) , and the motion in the Y direction is unchanged .Therefore , we can learn its position in the slit from its starting point.
The particle can have a certain position in the slit and the uncertain quantity of the position is dx =0. According to Newton first law , if the external force at the X direction does not affect particle, and the original motion in the Y direction is not changed , the momentum of the particle int the X direction will be Px=0 and the uncertain quantity of the momentum will be dPx =0.
This gives:
dPx dx =0. (6)
No experiment negates NEWTON FIRST LAW. Whether in quantum mechanics or classical mechanics, it applies to the microcosmic world and is of the form of the Energy-Momentum conservation laws. If an external force does not affect the particle and it does not remain static or in uniform motion, it has disobeyed the Energy-Momentum conservation laws. Under the above ideal experiment , it is considered that the width of the slit is the uncertain quantity of the particle's position. But there is certainly no reason for us to consider that the particle in the above experiment has an uncertain position, and no reason for us to consider that the slit's width is the uncertain quantity of the particle. Therefore, the uncertainty principle,
dPx dx ~ h (5)
which is derived from the above experiment is unreasonable.
Concluson
>From the above re-analysis , it is realized that the ideal experiment demonstration for the uncertainty principle is untenable. Therefore, the uncertainty principle is untenable.
Reference:
1. Max Jammer. (1974) The philosophy of quantum mechanics (John wiley & sons , Inc New York ) Page 65
2. Ibid, Page 67
3. http://www.aip.org/history/heisenberg/p08b.htm
Author : **** *******
Postal address : P.O.Box ***** ****** ****** ****** *****
GuangZhou 510800 P.R.China
E-mail: ****@***.***
Tel: **---**---******"
Hrm.
GainRWeb
The site for Guys and their Guts
"Q: How can I get fat ... NOW? ...OR... I have too high a metabolism. I can't gain, can I?
A: The answer can be given in one word: EAT! Your body makes fat to store up the energy from any extra calories you may consume. So, since it takes 3,500-3,600 calories in excess of the amount your body requires to gain each and every pound ... you must EAT. Eat more than what is required for your body. Eat it every day! If you live a lifestyle that requires that you consume 3,000 calories per day to maintain your current weight - then you must eat at least 700 extra calories each and every day to put on a pound per week.
Now, although that sounds simple, remember, even the very act of eating and digesting those 700 extra calories will cause you to burn more calories.
Your body requires more calories when it is cold than when it is warm - stay warm after each meal.
Your body will use the food in your digestive track first, then go to your fat reserves for the calories it needs. Don't exercise right after eating. The digesting food will be used by the body instead of your fat reserves. That sounds backwards....but the body is more efficient when it uses stored fat, than when it uses digesting food. You want all the calories in your digestive system to turn to fat and then get used. In the long run, you'll get fatter this way."
?!
Post ID: 90448053
Back from Sabah.
Tim was right. The retreat actually *was* very good. It forced me to examine many issues and questions that I'd been ignoring (conveniently) for a long time, being a semi-skeptical non-denominational Christian, and to reflect. I still need some time to meditate on everything, though, but for now, I'd classify myself as a hopeful skeptic.
Naturally, I took copious volumes of notes (about 4 A4-sized sides, in my usual spidery handwriting). Look for the essay to come up in 1-2 weeks.
Tim was right. The retreat actually *was* very good. It forced me to examine many issues and questions that I'd been ignoring (conveniently) for a long time, being a semi-skeptical non-denominational Christian, and to reflect. I still need some time to meditate on everything, though, but for now, I'd classify myself as a hopeful skeptic.
Naturally, I took copious volumes of notes (about 4 A4-sized sides, in my usual spidery handwriting). Look for the essay to come up in 1-2 weeks.
Post ID: 90447923
Thursday, March 06, 2003
No offense intended!
Oh i just had to put this down! At the OCF free bbq yesterday, PL and i were at the welcome table commenting on the quality of RY's hair, and she asked him what shampoo he used.
RY said "All you have to do is pray for salvation for yr hair, and it will get re-born!"
Oh i just had to put this down! At the OCF free bbq yesterday, PL and i were at the welcome table commenting on the quality of RY's hair, and she asked him what shampoo he used.
RY said "All you have to do is pray for salvation for yr hair, and it will get re-born!"
Post ID: 90232837
Monday, March 03, 2003
Just had a talk with Timothy's father about the Sabah retreat. He seems awfully enthusiastic for me :) My mother, on the other hand, is anxious and unsure.
Oh well, I guess there's only one way to find out :)
For obvious reasons, I won't be able to blog when I'm there, so my next post will probably be on the 10th of March.
Toodles.
Oh well, I guess there's only one way to find out :)
For obvious reasons, I won't be able to blog when I'm there, so my next post will probably be on the 10th of March.
Toodles.
Post ID: 90050892
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