Inappropriate Recommendation

I left my Kindle on my office desk and when I came back I see this:

Seriously?

Amazon does very well in recommending me books in my account but why can't it do the same in my Kindle?

I don't read this genre of books and on top of that I upkeep my professionality at work. 

Kindle certainly isn't helping. 

pearlie

Jujubes?

Do you know what this is?

It's jujubes, what becomes red dates when they are dried up. I have not seen it before, have you? It was selling in the supermarket today and so I bought some to try it out. 

Surprisingly, there is not much of a taste to it but it's still good and crunchy. 

But how does it turn dark red?

pearlie

I don't read the news

Yes, you heard me right. I don't read the news. I always forget to. 

And I would feel guilty and left out and stupid when people talk about the big headlines. 

Until I read Chapter 99 of The Art of Thinking Clearly. Anyway, this will be the final post on that book, for now. But it will still be a book I will refer to every now and then. It is indeed very useful to train myself into thinking more clearly. 

Ok back to Chapter 99, on the News Illusion. 

Dobelli says, "We are incredibly well informed, yet we know incredibly little. Why? Because two centuries ago, we invented a toxic form of knowledge called 'news'. News is to the mind what sugar is to the body: appetizing, easy to digest—and highly destructive in the long run."

Really? 

But isn't news suppose to keep us in the loop, inform us about current issues and what matters?

I am still not sure about this.

But Dobelli brings out three points:

1. Our brains react disproportionately to different types of information. It is attracted to the sensational, shocking and scandalous. It filters out the subtle, complex, abstract, and profound. Think about it, would we rather read The Star or The Edge?

2. News is irrelevant. It is difficult to remember what we read and much of the time we can still get by not knowing. 

3. And as a result, news is a waste of time. He took the example of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. He said, "Out of sheer thirst for recognition, terrorists murdered two hundred people. Let’s say a billion people devoted an hour of their time to following the aftermath: They viewed the minute-by-minute updates and listened to the inane chatter of a few “experts” and “commentators.” This is a very realistic “guesstimate” since India has more than a billion inhabitants. Thus our conservative calculation: One billion people multiplied by an hour’s distraction equals one billion hours of work stoppage. If we convert this, we learn that news consumption wasted around two thousand lives—ten times more than the attack. A sarcastic but accurate observation."

I still want to be in the know, but I won't worry too much now about missing out on current issues. I will still do what I do now—scanning headlines in Google News. I only read a couple that I find interesting. 

And the rest I will go read up when I hear people around me talking about it. 

What do you think?

pearlie

What on earth is expensive junk?

Someone said something to me today I am still trying to figure out what it means. 

He said something along the line of stop eating expensive junk. 

But what is expensive junk? 

I don’t eat much junk food and so Dorito’s is out of the picture and therefore what on earth is expensive junk?

Are all the expensive food—and food is very expensive these days!—I’ve been eating junk?

So pray tell me what is expensive junk so I can stop eating it. 

pearlie

The dreaded bell curve

pearlie

Facebook never fails in reconnecting us with old friends

Something amusing happened to me in Facebook today. 

I received an message from a really old classmate, only to realize that I sent her a message for us to reconnect back in 2011!

And it took her exactly 6 years to reply. 

The irony is she said she accidentally saw my message. After 6 years. 

That's quite amusing. 

pearlie

See what Air Asia gave me for my birthday

I received an e-Gift voucher from Air Asia for my birthday. They called me ahem, a Big Shot and so I was really curious as to what they will offer me. 

So I filled in my details to find out. 

I wasn't expecting much since I have not been traveling at all. But what they offered was quite a joke.  Here is what they gave me:

A RM5 voucher? Haha. Are you kidding me? I am not sure whether to laugh or to cry. 

I asked several people to guess the value of the voucher and the answers I got was RM100 and RM200, which means I'm not alone in thinking this is funny. 

Seriously, I am not expecting anything at all but if they want to give me a RM5 voucher, they might as well not give me anything. It's not even enough to buy a pack of nasi lemak in the plane. 

pearlie

Why didn't Jesus calm the waves first before walking on it?

I was reading Matthew 14 and something struck me when I read this popular passage about Jesus walking on water. 

Matthew 14:24-33 (NLT)

Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. 

In their fear, they cried out, "It's a ghost!" 

But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!" 

Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water." 

"Yes, come," Jesus said. 

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink.

"Save me, Lord!" he shouted. 

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. 

"You have so little faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?" 

When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. 

"You really are the Son of God!" they exclaimed.

I never thought of it before but it suddenly dawned on me why didn't Jesus still the waves first before walking on water towards to disciples on the tossing boat? It may not be a full storm yet since Jesus and the disciples were having a conversion, albeit a frantic one on the disciples's side. 

An obvious answer will be to say that he wanted to teach the disciples a lesson and show them he is the Son of God. He has already calmed a storm before (Matt 8:23-27), and now on top of that walking on water would show more how the world is really in his hands.

But I thought maybe Jesus also has a fun streak in him. Hey, a storm? Wouldn't walking through it be fun too? 

Wouldn't it be like our version of a roller coaster, whizzing up and down, twirling and curling in loops in the safety of the carriage and laws of physics? 

Later in the evening, I led a short devotion at the beginning of our Grace Notes practice from Jack Coleman's Crescendos and Diminuendos, Meditations for Musicians and Music Lovers. I have chosen the chapter on legato for the devotion. 

Legato is to play music or sing a song in a smooth, sustained, and connected manner without any perceptible interruption between the notes. And if applied to life, we all want a smooth sailing life with minimum problems or issues, basically no storms in our lives. 

But wouldn't you think that would be a very boring life to live, as much as a full length of music in legato would be a boring piece to listen to, and actually quite difficult to play or sing and still make it interesting. 

We need to have some storms in our lives, some ups and downs. Sure, it will be difficult but don't forget, Jesus walks with us in it and we will in the safety of the carriage and the laws of physics. 

pearlie

I asked if am I too ambitious. I definitely am.

I bought the Mandarin version of Divergent yesterday and thought I'd try reading it within the year. 

Fat chance!

I spent one and a half hours just trying to read three iPad pages of the book and I don't even understand exactly what I'm reading. 

I need another strategy to read in Chinese. 

pearlie

How a dog I don't have stopped a break-in to my house

Someone tried to break into our house at 5:45 this morning. But we got down just in time to avert it. My hubby got down to switch the porch lights back on, and the perpetrator ran away. 

This was how they tried to break in. I thank God we managed to stop them in time. 

But how I was woken up to realize what was happening is quite amazing I think. And I firmly believe that it was my God who woke me up to take care of the situation before it was too late. 

And with that, God certainly has a good sense of humour. Here's what happened:

Firstly, we don't have a dog. Having a dog in such a circumstance will be useful but we don't. 

But in that exact same time that morning, I dreamt I had one and it was barking frantically outside my house. I got down to open the door and when I did, my dog flew through the door railings towards my head and because of that I woke up with a jump. 

That was when I heard the grating noise downstairs and woke my hubby to check it out. 

Now you tell me God did not send me a dream dog to wake me up to chase the perpetrator away. 

And maybe it's time to get a real dog. 

pearlie

I hope I am finally learning Mandarin

I finally decided to purchase the RM105 Anki iOS flashcard app. It's crazy right? Especially when all three of the computer, web and Android apps are free of charge. 

I have never spent so much on an app before. The last time I spent about RM60 was on a GPS app, before Waze was available. 

I have decided to get it because I can see that it is quite a powerful app and I am actually learning a language. I found this free HSK1 deck that suit my needs and I ended up purchasing the whole set from HSK1 to HSK5. I got it with a very good discount from here. 

HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) or the Chinese Proficiency Test is an international standardized exam which tests and rates Chinese language proficiency. Here is a sample of one of its flashcards in Anki:

It comes with a recording of the sentence. Using the SRS method, if I got it right, I can either tap to review it again in one or four days time, depending on my familiarity with it. 

I like it that it presents the HSK characters in sentences rather than just words. I once bought the StickyStudy app with HSK1 but I found it so hard to learn it character by character. It was boring and I can't put them in any context and meaning. With Anki, I hope I will be able to at least learn some basic Mandarin within the next few months. 

I hope I will graduate from being a banana to not be one anymore! (Banana, being a Malaysian slang for "outside yellow, inside white".)

pearlie 

Play Tetris to lose your cravings

I read an article today about crushing unhealthy cravings in three minutes by playing Tetris. 

Really?

I have a lot of cravings lately for food, desiring to eat and satisfy my tastebuds. I did put on some weight as a results and now I have willed myself to lose them, and more. 

I don't play Tetris but I do have this game called Drop7 that I do play once in awhile. Would it work?

The article said that playing Tetris may "provide a visual distraction which helps people control their cravings."

So maybe I shall go search for a Tetris app and try it out for three minutes everytime I have a craving. 

pearlie 

Do you know what the extra teacup is for?

 

I was out for dinner with my hubby and we ordered a pot of Chinese tea for two, and as usual, they supplied three cups; one for each of us, and another one extra. 

Have you ever wondered why?

I remember my late grandmother telling me once not to use the extra cup because it is meant for the "other guest", the spirit at the table. 

I can't be sure if I remembered that correctly. Is that its purpose? 

But we would use the extra cup for ourselves anyway, not for any so-called extra guests. 

I did a search in the Internet but couldn't find anything to confirm that story. 

Does anybody know?

pearlie 

Migraine and memory loss

I have had migraines since my university days and I've suffered through them with as little medication as possible. I would usually just take painkillers and once in awhile I'd take migraine pills when it's really bad. 

I took some yesterday and I noticed something quite unusual. I found that I could not remember the simplest of stuff, yesterday and today. I was in a few conversation with my boss and colleagues and I could not remember names and words. 

I did some research and learnt that memory loss is one of the many side effects of migraine medication. 

I think that is quite scary and I will now not take any until I really, really cannot stand the pain. 

pearlie

I am a llama for one day

I am not that very active in Facebook except to post my daily blog entry in there and once in awhile to check out on what my friends are up. 

But this one thing became one of the most fun thing I did on Facebook: being a llama for one day. 

Doug Joseph put up a challenge that anyone who gives a wrong answer will have to post a picture of a llama in their Facebook profile for a day. I took a look at the riddle and thought, hey I know this.

But too bad, it was not the correct answer and had to put up a llama profile picture. I used the same

llama picture Dous used, which looked kind of dorky. I didn't mind, because I should have thought a little bit more before answering. 

 

A few of my other friends took the challenge and got caught as well, and accompanied me as a llama for a day. Just that these two good friends of mine, both sisters, Rose and Allie, used really awesome looking llamas. 

Isn't this the coolest looking llama with an awesome hairstyle?

 

And Allie drew her own: a sweet and docile looking one:

It was definitely quite a fun day llama-ing along. 

pearlie 

A book chain mail? Not for me.

I inadvertently took part in a chain mail-like event, except that it has to do with books. It says:
"Wanted: Participants for a book-loving social experiment...Buy your favourite book and send it to a stranger. You will only send one book to one person. The number of books you will receive depends on how many participants there are."

What attracted me to it was "book-loving social experiment", note the word "experiment" and "favourite book".

So I signed on and wondered how this "experiment" would work and how the results will be tabulated and I thought that the sending of your favourite book adds a nice touch to it.

When I received the instructions, it did not first occur to me that this is nothing other than a book exchange chain mail. But it did dawn on me that this sounds very pyramidal - that it will only work for you if you are early in the game.

I thought more about it and felt that since it does not meet the initial reason why I would take part in it, I made up my mind that I would not be participating in this. And so I opted out. 

pearlie

Weird coincidences?

People tell me not to believe in coincidences but sometimes things happen to me in such a coincidental way that I can't help but notice it. Or is it because of my connectedness, the fact that I am a natural at seeing connections in life?

I started a new training programme at work today and I used the 16 type personality tool to help managers get to know themselves and their team better. After completing the day's session, I received this image below from Vince, a friend from my cell group.

And later in the evening, I receive a hello text from my former staff who is currently a training provider of the same programme.

Now, tell me that is not weird.


pearlie

Humility and humiliation

I was chatting with my colleague and happened to use "humility" and "humiliation" in one sentence, and I wondered if they were related. 

I checked the etymology of the words and found it here:

humiliation (n.)

late 14c., from Old French humiliacion (14c.) or directly from Late Latin humiliationem (nominative humiliatio) "humbling, humiliation," noun of action from past participle stem of humiliare "to humble," from humilis"humble" (see humble (adj.)).

humility (n.) 

early 14c., "quality of being humble," from Old French umelite "humility, modesty, sweetness" (Modern French humilité), from Latin humilitatem(nominative humilitas) "lowness, small stature; insignificance; baseness, littleness of mind," in Church Latin "meekness," from humilis "humble" (see humble (adj.)). In the Mercian hymns, Latin humilitatem is glossed by Old English eaðmodnisse

They seem to be related somehow, but currently one is used positively and one negatively. Was humiliation used positively back then, as in to humble oneself?

pearlie

Source: www.etymonline.com

I left my iPhone behind, twice!

I do not know what's wrong with me today. I left my iPhone behind not once, but twice! But I got it back! First in the restaurant and the second time in the washroom. I am so, so thankful. 

Was my mind too occupied? Was there a change in my habits? What there a change in my routines?

I think my mind was too occupied. I admit I was so busy thinking today it is a wonder my brain did not explode. 

I can feel a headache coming. Oh! Where is my phone?

pearlie

What do you think they were looking at?

pearlie

Photo by Teresa Lee