Friday, April 25, 2008
Well-done by Passion
Great song by this artist called "Passion"...written for his grandma...check out his other vids...he's a great musician!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Theater-style game
Better than watching ads before a movie in the cinema! though i'd probably still like to watch some movie previews...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Strangers (cover)
This used to be one of my favorite songs back in secondary school...this is Rick Price at his best...i hope i did this song justice :)
Sam Hui covers
I really should have done this long time ago...but somehow I always felt i can't sing with the same kind of sincerity as Sam did...anyhow, my girl Tam surprised me recently by bringing me to Sam Hui concert in Singapore...i still love that guy man! so here goes...2 songs here, hopefully many more to come :)
浪子心声:
Such meaningful lyrics!
夜半轻私语
浪子心声:
Such meaningful lyrics!
夜半轻私语
More Jason Mraz
I gotta learn this song man!
Cool rendition of "Billy Jean"
Incidentally I came across Chris Cornell's version of Billy Jean after David Cook covered it in American Idol...pretty cool too
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Brilliant use of Wii remote!
This has gotta be one of the best ideas i've seen this yr! I want to make one myself! Don't know why it took me so long before i found out about this...nevertheless this is super cool!
Minority-report-style sensor
Head-tracking using Wii remote
Low-cost electronic whiteboard! awesome stuff!
Foldable displays!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Al Gore's new talk!
He talked about "generational mission"...we need a sense of urgency to this true crisis...
Friday, March 28, 2008
Having a dream vs 脚踏实地
Yesterday I had a chance to meet with a senior executive from my company. He was giving us advices and such; one thing really stood out for me was when he emphasized the importance to "not have an inflated ego, especially at your young age".
I couldn't agree more to what he said, and I consistently try to remind myself that 一山还有一山高. At the same time, I can't help but realize the often contradicting "statements of truth" in life. There're plenty of examples regarding this yin and yang of life philosophies. Here's one that I always struggle with: "Jack of all trade, master of none" vs "You can't do sketches enough, Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh" (a case of depth of knowledge vs breadth of knowledge). But here I want to talk about this thing about "not having an ego" or I guess more aptly, "脚踏实地" vs " having a big dream".
This senior executive is not the first "mentors" of mine who has advised me, out of good intentions, the importance of having your feet firmly on the ground. Yet, I often feel that true greatness, the kind that really changes the world, comes about because of certain men's willingness to ignore the conventional wisdom or in Google CEO Eric Schmidt words "have a healthy disregard of the impossible".
I always find it an inherently contradicting to be 脚踏实地 while at the same time trying to chase that big dream. It becomes even harder when you try to achieve your ambition without appearing egoistic. The very fact that you have got a big dream would mean you have to be ambitious, which in some context (probably more so in asian mentality) may mean that you "don't know your place".
I try to rationalize this contradiction using what Peter Senge described in his book Fifth Displine (and I thought he explained it very well). He coined the term "creative tension", that driving force that propels you to your dream from where you are now. He envisaged the concept like a rubber band between the dream and current reality. The greater the gap between the 2, the greater the "creative tension". You can have lofty dreams, but without a realistic check of one's current standing, an "inflated ego" would easily close that gap and reduce this "rubber band tension". Hence I always give myself out-sized goals, the kind that I think some people may frown upon as being "over-ambitious"; but at the same time I try to consciously remind myself everyday that I'm still miles and miles away from what I want to achieve in life.
So yes, it's good advice to always keep one's ego in check. But never surrender to conventional wisdom or what others may say "you'd have to wait for your time". Once again, I find that Steve Jobs sums it up much better and with much more authority than me:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
I couldn't agree more to what he said, and I consistently try to remind myself that 一山还有一山高. At the same time, I can't help but realize the often contradicting "statements of truth" in life. There're plenty of examples regarding this yin and yang of life philosophies. Here's one that I always struggle with: "Jack of all trade, master of none" vs "You can't do sketches enough, Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh" (a case of depth of knowledge vs breadth of knowledge). But here I want to talk about this thing about "not having an ego" or I guess more aptly, "脚踏实地" vs " having a big dream".
This senior executive is not the first "mentors" of mine who has advised me, out of good intentions, the importance of having your feet firmly on the ground. Yet, I often feel that true greatness, the kind that really changes the world, comes about because of certain men's willingness to ignore the conventional wisdom or in Google CEO Eric Schmidt words "have a healthy disregard of the impossible".
I always find it an inherently contradicting to be 脚踏实地 while at the same time trying to chase that big dream. It becomes even harder when you try to achieve your ambition without appearing egoistic. The very fact that you have got a big dream would mean you have to be ambitious, which in some context (probably more so in asian mentality) may mean that you "don't know your place".
I try to rationalize this contradiction using what Peter Senge described in his book Fifth Displine (and I thought he explained it very well). He coined the term "creative tension", that driving force that propels you to your dream from where you are now. He envisaged the concept like a rubber band between the dream and current reality. The greater the gap between the 2, the greater the "creative tension". You can have lofty dreams, but without a realistic check of one's current standing, an "inflated ego" would easily close that gap and reduce this "rubber band tension". Hence I always give myself out-sized goals, the kind that I think some people may frown upon as being "over-ambitious"; but at the same time I try to consciously remind myself everyday that I'm still miles and miles away from what I want to achieve in life.
So yes, it's good advice to always keep one's ego in check. But never surrender to conventional wisdom or what others may say "you'd have to wait for your time". Once again, I find that Steve Jobs sums it up much better and with much more authority than me:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Dreams are for...fools?
Something happened at work today. Without going into the details, it suffice to say that it was a "wake-up" call...it wasn't like I didn't perform or make a major mistake at work, but it reminded me of how little I really care about what I was doing. I knew I needed some direction, and naturally, I went to YouTube and searched for Steve Jobs' commencement speech again...
It was still as inspiring as the first time i heard it. One part stood out for me:
"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."
Then I remembered that little piece of paper I pasted on my office desk. I wrote it on my first day at work last year, as a reminder to myself..similar to the "Why am I here?" note I had during my 4 years of college...and it (the one on my office desk) read something like this:
"Why am I here?
1. To keep an open mind
2. To keep learning
3. To stay humbled
4. To do something for society
5. To live today as if it's my last"
I barely get a chance to look at that piece of paper nowadays. And when I do, I feel a sense of shame...that I'm short-changing myself...yes, i guess i'm learning new things...i try to keep an open mind but i realize it gets harder these days...controlling my ego is one thing that i'm managing so far but i feel that i've let down myself when it comes to point 4 & 5...and when I listen to Steve's speech..and his point on asking yourself in the mirror every morning about whether one would do what he/she's about to do for the day if this should be his last...i'm afraid this is a question i cannot say yes to for the past whole year...
the passion is missing...it is not healthy at all...something needs to be done...
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." - Steve Jobs
It was still as inspiring as the first time i heard it. One part stood out for me:
"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."
Then I remembered that little piece of paper I pasted on my office desk. I wrote it on my first day at work last year, as a reminder to myself..similar to the "Why am I here?" note I had during my 4 years of college...and it (the one on my office desk) read something like this:
"Why am I here?
1. To keep an open mind
2. To keep learning
3. To stay humbled
4. To do something for society
5. To live today as if it's my last"
I barely get a chance to look at that piece of paper nowadays. And when I do, I feel a sense of shame...that I'm short-changing myself...yes, i guess i'm learning new things...i try to keep an open mind but i realize it gets harder these days...controlling my ego is one thing that i'm managing so far but i feel that i've let down myself when it comes to point 4 & 5...and when I listen to Steve's speech..and his point on asking yourself in the mirror every morning about whether one would do what he/she's about to do for the day if this should be his last...i'm afraid this is a question i cannot say yes to for the past whole year...
the passion is missing...it is not healthy at all...something needs to be done...
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." - Steve Jobs
Sunday, March 23, 2008
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