I've been quietly festering over the past couple of years over how the world has been changing, and at this point, I can no longer stay silent.
First though, a caveat: I design and build computer systems to achieve specific data management/business processes to inject intelligence into the data and actuation that can be controlled by such systems. That particular perspective is the source of my inherent bias in what I am going to say next.
The chief problem with the world today is that everyone seems to be too damn focused with the outcome that they do not stop to think carefully about how they are achieving the outcome. It is a problem because human institutions and systems are largely evolved through trial and error (i.e. mostly reactive) instead of being ``well designed'' on the get-go, mostly because of nearly a century of devolving power to more democratic (or in some cases, socialistic) processes.
This means that precedent plays an outsized role in governing how the systems evolved. Each time something happens, and is successful, it becomes a new precedent that the vox populi use as evidence of its legitimacy. This means that if some ethically/morally sketchy steps are taken just to reach a desired outcome, those ethically/morally sketchy steps are now part of the herd memory as precedents to be trotted out in the eventual uprising demanding a change of the system, no matter who next is in power.
That last emphasis is of utmost importance. The means in which an outcome is achieved is the demonstration of a tool, and while who is in power can change at the whim of an election or revolution, tools tend to outlast everyone. This means that if one is happy with a law that bans discussion of topics that the Other Side loves, that same law, should the Other Side come to power, can also be used against the original side who become the minority.
Thus, in trying to right a wrong, one ends up with a future where the same manner in which the wrong was righted can be used against one.
This is why I get angry at how the world has changed. We are supposedly more knowledgeable than the past, we are supposedly more developed than the past, and we are supposedly more integrated as a whole than the past, ergo we ought to be cognisant of the ramifications should we choose one particular course of action over another. Instead, we are seeing all the tribal loyalties playing themselves out the way feudal systems had been doing for the few hundred years before capitalism and globalisation swept those antiquated systems away, and more importantly, we are seeing each tribe yelling out ethically indefensible actions to be taken against the Other Side. And this is not even a case of the well-educated versus the less educated---such problems cut across the entire education strata, which makes it all the more likely that the primary cause is the type of underlying primal tribal instinct that we would have thought that we had out-evolved by now.
Apparently, we were wrong. All the ``enlightenment'' we had thus far seems to be part of a passing fad, of a glorious golden age that has since passed. I really fear for the future.
Saturday, December 01, 2018
Thursday, November 01, 2018
NaNoWriMo 2018
Yes, it's time for NaNoWriMo once again. I'm sorry that I didn't say anything earlier---just too many things to think about and work on to the point that it was not easy to just bring myself around to writing anything about writing anything.
This is year 10 for me, and may this novel be a fun one! As always, my progress can be tracked in the widget on the side.
This is year 10 for me, and may this novel be a fun one! As always, my progress can be tracked in the widget on the side.
Monday, June 04, 2018
June?
It is June once again. There is usually nothing fantastic about June other than the increased amount of ``summer rain'' and perhaps the start of the natural hotter season in SIN city.
The keyword here is of course, ``usually''.
It's hardly usual around here these days. More changes are afoot, and I cannot tell if they are for the better or for the worse. The metaphorical ground I'm standing on is anything but firm---though it is definitely a little more firm than just a couple of months ago when the rules of the game changed and I, in my somewhat desperate bid to not get thrown out of it, decided that enough was enough, and planted my foot down and declared that it was my new anchor point. That has been working relatively well, I might add, and it has become yet another useful life principle that I am adding to my list.
But back to changes. The team at work has shrunk---two folks have left for greener pastures, their reasons being their own since I did not want to pry. From the larger perspective, the general dynamics of the entire working environment has changed quite drastically compared to two years ago, and it is increasingly hard to see how the changes are aiding in increasing productivity; mind you, I am referring to the overall work culture and not anything that is highly localised. That is as much as I would want to talk about for work.
I'd like to write more music, but am currently in a type of funk, partly because work has been sapping much of my energy, leaving me with little left to do anything else that is creative in nature. Or it could be me trying to do something different---instead of developing my own melody, I am trying to adapt an existing one, giving it just enough changes that it is obviously not just a rearrangement.
The books I have been reading have been too technical in nature for too long---reading up on Ada 2012, the Quran, and an in-depth musicology look at traditional Chinese music all at once is just too much, especially since work got into a higher drive for the past couple of months. That's why I ended up with many other diversive reading, the latest of which is the Cult Trilogy (more commonly known as the ``Metro'' trilogy) by Dmitry Glukhovsky, a post-nuclear war story of survival within the metro system in Moscow.
And strangely enough, that series has a lot in common with Adventure Time, being that it is also about a post-nuclear war story of survival of a world so mutated and evolved that almost nothing of the old life is left. I would say that was when Adventure Time turn from a fun romp into a somewhat deeper and darker story that reminds me of Happy Tree Friends, though the darkness isn't as crass.
I think that's all I intend to talk about for now. Till the next update then.
The keyword here is of course, ``usually''.
It's hardly usual around here these days. More changes are afoot, and I cannot tell if they are for the better or for the worse. The metaphorical ground I'm standing on is anything but firm---though it is definitely a little more firm than just a couple of months ago when the rules of the game changed and I, in my somewhat desperate bid to not get thrown out of it, decided that enough was enough, and planted my foot down and declared that it was my new anchor point. That has been working relatively well, I might add, and it has become yet another useful life principle that I am adding to my list.
But back to changes. The team at work has shrunk---two folks have left for greener pastures, their reasons being their own since I did not want to pry. From the larger perspective, the general dynamics of the entire working environment has changed quite drastically compared to two years ago, and it is increasingly hard to see how the changes are aiding in increasing productivity; mind you, I am referring to the overall work culture and not anything that is highly localised. That is as much as I would want to talk about for work.
I'd like to write more music, but am currently in a type of funk, partly because work has been sapping much of my energy, leaving me with little left to do anything else that is creative in nature. Or it could be me trying to do something different---instead of developing my own melody, I am trying to adapt an existing one, giving it just enough changes that it is obviously not just a rearrangement.
The books I have been reading have been too technical in nature for too long---reading up on Ada 2012, the Quran, and an in-depth musicology look at traditional Chinese music all at once is just too much, especially since work got into a higher drive for the past couple of months. That's why I ended up with many other diversive reading, the latest of which is the Cult Trilogy (more commonly known as the ``Metro'' trilogy) by Dmitry Glukhovsky, a post-nuclear war story of survival within the metro system in Moscow.
And strangely enough, that series has a lot in common with Adventure Time, being that it is also about a post-nuclear war story of survival of a world so mutated and evolved that almost nothing of the old life is left. I would say that was when Adventure Time turn from a fun romp into a somewhat deeper and darker story that reminds me of Happy Tree Friends, though the darkness isn't as crass.
I think that's all I intend to talk about for now. Till the next update then.
Tuesday, May 08, 2018
La Loca, 傻女, and 傻女的爱
Remember La Loca and 《傻女》? I've finally found the Chinese version of 《傻女》 (it is called 《傻女的爱》).
But wait, there's more!
Someone actually took the time to splice them all together to make it more obvious that they are related:
There's another song that I am currently obsessing, but I will leave it for another post for another time. Back to work I go!
《傻女的爱》——陈慧娴Lyrics courtesy baidu.com
今夜再度想起那被遗忘的故事
去年此时的相遇 为何依然清晰
仿佛一种神秘的气息 带我走回那过去
你我曾共舞的那一夜 已消失在爱的边缘
把脸颊轻轻贴在你温暖的心上
让长发像夜温柔 覆盖你的胸堂
炬火在眼中荡漾 泪水无意中滑落
爱上你是痴狂 爱过像梦一场
啊 阳光不要叫我起床 冰凉的枕上
我不断回想你曾经怎么讲
缠绵一生只是荒谬的幻想
独自一人才是人生的真相
何不把爱当作是游戏一场
我不断回想那段爱的时光
笑里掩住多少心碎和感伤
美丽的故事已是褪色模样
我踩着孤独的脚步直到天亮
But wait, there's more!
Someone actually took the time to splice them all together to make it more obvious that they are related:
There's another song that I am currently obsessing, but I will leave it for another post for another time. Back to work I go!
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Meandering Start
Let me be honest---I'd be lying if I said that I felt a compelling need to write an entry here today. But that said, I looked at the pathetic state of this blog and have decided that today is the day that I write something in it, mostly as a way of keeping whoever is still reading this up to date on the goings on in my life.
We're basically in the middle of April now. Normally, this would be the time for my annual long vacation away from work so that I can get away from everything and just reset, having spent most of the year giving the best that I can. I like my work, but even then there is that need to just take a break from it all, mostly to avoid burn out.
That is not happening this year because of a few reasons, but is likely to be happening in September/October this year instead. Among other more pragmatic reasons that I will not elaborate here, I think that it is time to change things up a little by visiting my friends in the US over Autumn instead of Late Winter/Early Spring (Late Winter mostly because of the generally abnormal climate issues). More on that when the time is coming soon I suppose.
But back to the topic: I don't really feel a compelling need to write an entry in this blog. It's not that I don't have much to say, but more of the things that I'd like to say are no longer things that can be put on this public platform. The recent trends of governance over the use of words in public does not bode well for anyone who doesn't toe the official party line, no matter where they are or where they are from. It is actually very chilling if one thinks about it beyond a cursory one. The steady rise of populism and increased regulation/control over words on the 'net means that even if one were utterly capable of providing the necessary evidence and argument to explain and prove a point, it doesn't matter. Because reason is thrown aside in favour of either pandering to the majority, or that of pandering to whoever is enforcing the current set of rules and regulations that are at play.
Self-censorship is singularly the most terrible thing to be inflicted with. When self-censorship becomes the norm, it seems to suggest that the environment is no longer conducive to the [relatively] free exchange of ideas, where ideas can stand on their own arguments/evidence in competition with other ideas. While ``freedom of speech'' never truly meant ``freedom from consequences'', self-censorship just makes it that much harder to talk about controversial topics that can affect people's lives in a profound way.
I find that over time, I am starting to veer away from hard-core computer science and moving towards this ``new-media'' centric evaluation of how technology and life works with/against each other. To me, it almost seems like the increasing proliferation of technology is acting more as a reflection on the behaviour of society than it is as an enabler for [say] the weakest members of the same society.
And sadly, the image in the reflection is plain terrible.
Maybe one day we'll be sufficiently enlightened: governments will strive to build a civic society capable of honestly debating policy regardless of political affiliation; citizens being more proactive at attempting to learn as many sides of the problems/policies that they face instead of latching on to the official/loudest mouthpiece; those who have benefitted from the system being more aware of their privileged situation and actually coming up with better policies that help people break the poverty/ignorance cycle if they are hardworking enough in the right areas; corporations and other wealthy interests will not have a superlatively greater influence on public policy compared to that of the citizens; politicians finally representing the interests of their constituents who voted them into power, and not be completely based on party loyalty.
But of that wish list, there is no way to know if we are anywhere near the goals, or are we actually extremely far from them.
Till the next time, I suppose.
We're basically in the middle of April now. Normally, this would be the time for my annual long vacation away from work so that I can get away from everything and just reset, having spent most of the year giving the best that I can. I like my work, but even then there is that need to just take a break from it all, mostly to avoid burn out.
That is not happening this year because of a few reasons, but is likely to be happening in September/October this year instead. Among other more pragmatic reasons that I will not elaborate here, I think that it is time to change things up a little by visiting my friends in the US over Autumn instead of Late Winter/Early Spring (Late Winter mostly because of the generally abnormal climate issues). More on that when the time is coming soon I suppose.
But back to the topic: I don't really feel a compelling need to write an entry in this blog. It's not that I don't have much to say, but more of the things that I'd like to say are no longer things that can be put on this public platform. The recent trends of governance over the use of words in public does not bode well for anyone who doesn't toe the official party line, no matter where they are or where they are from. It is actually very chilling if one thinks about it beyond a cursory one. The steady rise of populism and increased regulation/control over words on the 'net means that even if one were utterly capable of providing the necessary evidence and argument to explain and prove a point, it doesn't matter. Because reason is thrown aside in favour of either pandering to the majority, or that of pandering to whoever is enforcing the current set of rules and regulations that are at play.
Self-censorship is singularly the most terrible thing to be inflicted with. When self-censorship becomes the norm, it seems to suggest that the environment is no longer conducive to the [relatively] free exchange of ideas, where ideas can stand on their own arguments/evidence in competition with other ideas. While ``freedom of speech'' never truly meant ``freedom from consequences'', self-censorship just makes it that much harder to talk about controversial topics that can affect people's lives in a profound way.
I find that over time, I am starting to veer away from hard-core computer science and moving towards this ``new-media'' centric evaluation of how technology and life works with/against each other. To me, it almost seems like the increasing proliferation of technology is acting more as a reflection on the behaviour of society than it is as an enabler for [say] the weakest members of the same society.
And sadly, the image in the reflection is plain terrible.
Maybe one day we'll be sufficiently enlightened: governments will strive to build a civic society capable of honestly debating policy regardless of political affiliation; citizens being more proactive at attempting to learn as many sides of the problems/policies that they face instead of latching on to the official/loudest mouthpiece; those who have benefitted from the system being more aware of their privileged situation and actually coming up with better policies that help people break the poverty/ignorance cycle if they are hardworking enough in the right areas; corporations and other wealthy interests will not have a superlatively greater influence on public policy compared to that of the citizens; politicians finally representing the interests of their constituents who voted them into power, and not be completely based on party loyalty.
But of that wish list, there is no way to know if we are anywhere near the goals, or are we actually extremely far from them.
Till the next time, I suppose.
Friday, January 05, 2018
Quick Summary
So, a quick summary of what I had written in 2017:
Other than that, nothing much to report really. It's just another year at this point.
Onward to the next one...
- 1 poem posted here
- 8 essays/rants posted here
- 0 prose/story posted here
- 1 NaNoWriMo winning entry available here
- 6 pieces of compositions/rearrangements posted here
- There is a large chunk of writing that I am working on that isn't ready for release yet---it is a rewrite of the existing 笛箫 Materials (if link is dead use this one when it is live).
- There's a substantial chunk of phone-written literature put together when I was in Seattle that I had not gotten around to putting it onto my prose/story blog.
Other than that, nothing much to report really. It's just another year at this point.
Onward to the next one...
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