A day of shopping and letting go

Of course, London is a place to make use of the money painfully earned through patience and self discipline. I forgot the white shirts though:(

My partner in crime got a crash course in crowd navigating and bargain hunting, even if it was very difficult on a crowded Saturday on Oxford Street...and also a cold lesson in ignoring strangers..but she certainly failed that one...Being too nice in the city doesn't get you anything but annoyance and disturbance.

Instead, pouring your heart and soul into producing unheard of sounds in the confines of a not-so-soundproof room is the best way to let go of all the worries and stress...and vapor of alcohol..

"the reason money is to be feared is that it can take away all you have"

Is it too late for a philosophy lecture? I guess I have never thought about it this way. And yet it is so true. When I am busy acquiring and spending money, more tendency to spend I admit, I have never understood that truth. Is that why monks prefer to live on donations? to rely on human kindness, pity?

As I try to plan for the tomorrows to come, I need money. It feels money is easier to gain. I am not good at gaining people's loyalty. Yet I know I am indebted to different friends. Or does debt void the friendship relationship? If you think about it, friends shouldn't be tied by debt. There are people whose goal is to build empires, acquire companies, accumulate vast amount of money. There are those who aim to defend their families, protect their loves ones. And everyone is in both situations really.

Am I defeated because the reality is too harsh?  NO. Because I still have the memory of the quiet silent mornings cuddled with loved one, the smiles of my dear family, and moments of discovering beautiful feelings, amazing people and ones I could call friends.

I am glad I encountered that quote. Being naive has it's benefit. But being aware is better.

Flash visit

A visit from far away home,

After watching the Barber of Seville.

Good lies

Today was a sh@@$^% day but it started almost nicely. When I entered the office, and my virtual cubicle area, I was told the sun has entered the area, referring to me...it made me smile, even if it was admitted 30sec later that it wasn't an honest comment. A perfectly good example of a useful good lie.

Until Friday evening, I have to lie to my tired brain to keep it from collapsing under stress(countdown before exam) and worry (what the h&&&$% do I wear tomorrow?), and guilt(half marathon training reduced to zero). I am using the pacifying method of "thinking of a happy place"...

I haven't met you yet - Michael Bublé

Half marathon training DAY 1

An hour cross training ended up in jogging to the lake and back, finding a colorful balloon hung above the park close to home...Oh what a beautiful feeling, oh what a beautiful day.

Am wide awake at 8am, just craving for water...

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet" (W. Shakespeare)

So back in the days, an alias, or screename was already put on the debate table. So Montague could be Cruise, and Capulet be Amigdala...or Anonymous.

I cannot find the origin of the catchphrase "my name is Nobody", but I was sure it was some chapter in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Lately it seems, the question arose on the question of one's privacy, it's place in society, and how one's identity seems to matter, or not.

Almost everyone is registered to an online social network or two these days. The ones I know usually requires a screename or a name to be picked to identify yourself. I have never thought about the weight of a name: its origin, how it describes you, it is your trail to make you accountable, it singles you out.

I was pleased to read about 4chan on this article. Maybe I was feeling suffocated and needed reassurance that having bad thoughts is no big deal and can still be expressed somehow. Of course, being Anonymous all the time would b unpractical, but it sure is a relief every now and then. Maybe that is why I enjoy moving so often.

Today is my science/technology day

Tired of looking at the Mont Blanc from the window, my mind gravitates to my multiple email boxes, then to f46&Buuq, then to email again, to finally settle on more serious and compelling publications:
Science Magazine,  Technology Review, and the New Scientist.

It is always surprising when the unthinkable technologies used in science fiction novels of the 1980s come to reality before our own eyes. For example in Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984), online data are used to predict trends or behaviour or events, which is then used by the super evolved Artificial Intelligence Wintermute. Isn't this article on data mining and mood swing on the Internet getting closer to that?

Or what about that scene in Minority Report, when Mr Anderton (T. Cruise) enters a shop and a synthetic voice greets him with his name and offers him an array of product. That scene popped to mind with this article on location sensing indoors that would soon be used by real shops.

The Science magazine is a bit more molecular and chemistry oriented, but also has some interesting behavioral science as well.

Someone said "dare to dream" but I wonder how far? I am curious to read today's science fiction novels. All in all, those articles force to ask one's self what the impact would be on the daily life. What if you can buy a synthetically generated organ? Would you bear the spamming upon entering a shop or prefer it to save some time? Will your children be OK to have their DNA put in a database from birth or later on for X reason? How would you protect your privacy?

I love science, I love technology. And it is mainly because they bring change.
Checking  out TED is always entertaining, as the discussions often bring out differences in morals, philosophies and ideas...

With only those readings everyday, life is about finding out what is in for me...:)

Sakurambo (Ai Otsuka)

To jump into september with energy, I need to yell this song karaoke style, while taking a break from studies...