An Unexplained Phenomenon

The usual hotmail message window popped up when I first logged onto msn this morning. Though it was a facebook-related message, rather than the normal friend update email which I used to get, it consisted of the following:

[Person 1] has tagged a photo of you in [Person 2's] album "[album name]"

To see the photo, follow the link below: [Link deleted for privacy reasons]

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

There were two noteworthy items before curiosity took over me by clicking on the link:

1. I do not know Person 1.

2. I have not seen Person 2 in a long time, though I have added this person onto my facebook friends list a few days ago. (How can I be in a picture with Person 2?)

The guy in the picture was obviously not me, therefore I quickly removed my personal tag without the slightest moment of hesitation.

How on earth did this happen? It's most likely that I have discovered a technical chink in the armour on facebook, or else it was a human error on Person 1 by accidentally checking my name instead of another person's. If not, then someone should put my story into the collection of unsolved mysteries on the Internet.

An Interesting Question

This happened in my final year of studies at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby (part of Greater Vancouver), BC -- and some of you have already heard about the following from me when I ranted sometime ago on msn:

When I passed outside one of the large lecture halls (K 9500), a guy was standing at the doors, holding a cute female puppy with a near bowtie placed on her top. Apparently he was waiting for his girlfriend, whom came out, took the puppy, and went off with the ever-faithful fella (and both were holding hands for obvious reasons).

The question therefore is: Which one is the bitch?

Today I am still having a difficult time determining which is which.

On my personal motto

Though I am still in the process of fully applying the following in my life, nonetheless it provides me with some insight on how to survive my short stay on Planet Earth.

信長之果斷, - The decisiveness of Nobunaga (1)
家康之能耐, - The resilience of Ieyasu (2)
武藏之堅定, - The firmness of Musashi (3)
政宗之善變. - The adaptability of Masamune (4)

The motto is drawn from four important characters in the Japanese Sengoku (Warring States) Period (~1500-1615): Oda Nobunaga (織田信長), Tokugawa Ieyasu (德川家康), Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武藏), and Date Masamune (伊達政宗). With the exception of Miyamoto, whose spirit and teachings on Japanese swordsmanship is hailed by people worldwide and was the author of the Book of Five Rings, the rest were powerful warlords (daimyos) in this turbulent age.



(1) Nobunaga conquered Central Japan after decisively defeating the large force of Imagawa Yoshimoto (今川義元), though the former's army was outnumbered 7-to-1. Nonetheless his ruthlessness eventually led to his downfall in 1582.


(2) Ieyasu, though initially a vassal to the Imagawa and Oda families, became the winner in the Sengoku Period by founding the Tokugawa Shogunate, the last of its kind in Japan, in 1615. His resilience and patience when things were not going his way was the main reason for his victory over rival daimyos. It took a lot of guts for him to ask one of his sons to commit suicide on Nobunaga's orders, though his subordinates were ready to give their long term allies a fight before doing so (however Ieyasu had to rely on Nobunaga in order to survive at that time).

(3) Musashi's firmness and determination to become the best swordsman in Japan resulted in his victory over his archrival Sasaki Kochiro (佐佐木小次郎) (though the latter was more skilled than Musashi) just before Ieyasu ascended to the title of Shogun. Despite all the fanfare after his death, Musashi was alone for most of his life, which does not fit considering that social networks are the key to success in today's society.


(4) A latecomer to the Sengoku stage, Masamune showed the rest of Japan that he was a force to be reckoned with in the North after the swift unification of the province surrounding Sendai within 2 years at the age of 24. However it was impossible for Masamune to further challenge the dominance of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豐臣秀吉) and Ieyasu, as both have long solidified their positions as hegemons to Japan. He first declared his allegiance to Toyotomi, then later switched to the Tokugawa camp, while maintaining a large degree of independence from the two as they wrestled against each other to determine the ultimate winner (Masamune was right in choosing the latter). It was his adaptability to the changing tides that led to the survival of his clan to this day, though dreams of establishing a Date Shogunate became just a dream. (Edit: The current head of the Date Clan, Date Yasumune, has set up an official website, which can be accessed here: http://www.datemasamune.com/ )

On the deaths of Brown, Ford, Saddam, and the Turkmenbasi

The final weeks of 2006 was characterized by the deaths of James Brown, Gerald Ford, Saddam Hussein, and Saparmurat Niyazov. These people were all talented in their own ways during their stay on Planet Earth, which translated into hordes of admirers -- and haters (maybe except for Brown).

Brown was widely regarded as the Godfather of Soul with his unique style of music, and his funeral was more like a carnival. The world will remember this talented singer as he sold more albums than anyone else not named Elvis Presley. Gerald Ford was remembered as the person who stabilized America after the debacles in Vietnam, yet his records were marred by the decision to pardon Richard Nixon. Saddam Hussein was seen as a friend to the Regan Administration (for going against Iran -- America's #2 public enemy behind the former USSR) and a demi-god to the Sunni Muslim population around Tirkrit in Iraq, but his ruthlessness and savagery to the Kurdish and Shiite population to the north and south eventually led to the split of Iraq after he was toppled by American forces in 2003, in an apparent revenge by President George W. Bush for attempting to assassinate his father, former President George H.W. Bush.


His Holiness the Saintly Writer of the Ruhnama Turkmenbasi Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan was without doubt my favourite dictator of all time, and was likely a victim of deathbed betrayal by his subordinates. He was famous for the numerous and wacky presidential decrees that put Kim Jong-Il to shame. Also Kim's mushroom cloud hairdo certainly looks awful compared to Niyazov, who sported a sleeky jet-black hair that made Elvis proud.

Where are the Real Deals on Boxing Day?

People lining up in front of a well-known fashion chain only for a regular 25% off "sales event..." Shoppers thinking they are getting their bang for the buck by falling into the common "buy one get 2nd at 50% off" gimmicks... Throngs of desperate souls filling major electronic stores reaping anything they could find in sight, which brought me to the memories of brainless zombies purchasing Nortel stocks before the explosion of the all-mighty tech bubble in 2001 (the satisfaction of having a breath of fresh air was comparable to getting a 20 karat diamond ring)...

These were the common sights when I visited Coquitlam Centre on Boxing Day. I simply couldn't imagine what it was like in Metrotown, Robson Street, or Richmond Centre. Perhaps we should rename today into "The Day of the Apocalypse," as the term perfectly described the absolute chaos out there in malls and other major shopping districts.

Who told me to wake up so late this morning at 8:30? All the real deals were gone out within the first 30 minutes after the stores opened its doors (usually between 7-8am). However, increasingly stores are acting like scrooges in terms of boxing day sales as years progressed. I was able to land myself some items during the late 90s, but I was shut out from getting anything on Boxing Day for the past four years... and counting. This year was no exception.

Oh well, enough with the ranting. I should start packing for the return trip to Toronto.

Before I resign from my faithful laptop, here is a nice little music video on NBC's Saturday Night Live featuring Justin Timberlake (which is the number one video for the past two weeks after it was uploaded onto Youtube)...

Back in Vancouver... with a Stomach Flu

What else can I say? Even though I had the flu shot two weeks ago when I was still in Toronto*, unfortunately I am not immune to stomach flu (it has been bugging me since I first had my annual flu shot 5 years ago -- after getting hit with the bug every Christmas). I even vomited this morning after drinking two cups of water, and was sleeping for most of the day. This means the end of my plan of heading out to take pictures in Downtown Vancouver and Spanish Banks this week.

*It was free to all students and faculty at York, but we had to be guinea pigs for nursing students so they can practice poking needles at people. Thankfully my shot was as painless as it could be.

The Nintendo 64 Kid and Macrohard's Voice Wreck-cognition

First video:



Even though this is half a year old (not to mention about the console itself), but I still find the video to be very funny...

Meanwhile, is this the reason why Macrohard delayed the launch of Windows Vista?



Even Bill Gates fell victim to the Blue Screen of Death when promoting Windows 98 in Chicago ages ago.