Anonymity is an illusion
Posted by jiang
Vivian Balakrishnan said, in an article published on CNA.com recently:
Anonymity in cyberspace is an illusion… If need be, we can identify you, and if we have to, we are prepared to persecute you.
For those who dismiss this as nothing but an empty threat, think again. They persecuted three persons under the Sedition Act in 2007.
So what can we do? Fervently scrub our websites free of contact details and real names? Pay more for private domain registration?
Or just simply write responsibly.
Face it. The Web is so prevalent and ubiquitous, you can’t just ignore its effects on people anymore. It is more than just a teenage geek’s obsession. It is now a growing part of people’s lives. What one scratches on one’s blog is no longer just some private rambling. It can, and will, affect others. It may even cause a breach of confidentiality and trust or unknowingly leak military secrets. It is time the law comes in to bring this unwieldy realm under control.
Two Frogs
Posted by jiang
Found this story in my inbox.
Two Frogs
Two young frogs fell into a bucket of milk. Both tried to jump to freedom, but the sides of the bucket were steep, and the milk didn’t help much either.
Seeing little chance of escape, the first frog soon despaired and stopped jumping. After a short while he sunk to the bottom of the bucket and drowned.
The second frog also saw no likelihood of success, but he never stopped trying. Even though each jump missed the mark, he kept on struggling. Eventually, his persistent efforts churned some milk into butter. From the now hardened surface of the milk, he managed to leap out of the bucket.
FireScope
Posted by jiang
Geeks alert. This is UBER cool.
It puts Firebug on steroids. Allows you to look up any CSS property, HTML element/attribute through the Firebug panel! Sure to be useful.
Flight
Posted by jiang
It was dark.
Holding the rope in my right hand, I inched towards the edge of the deck and tugged at the bundle of bamboo poles that was hanging by the side of the vehicle. It shifted upwards slightly, then quickly caught a jutting ledge. Impatient, I took another step outwards and pulled again.
It suddenly got cold. The wind seemed to have picked up abruptly. Strangely, my limbs felt free. My hands were light - I must have dropped the rope. Flying? Huh? Oh no. I was falling over the edge.
I stretched out my left arm and ankle and braced for the impact. It took longer than I expected.
A bolt of pain shot through the left side of my skull. My hands? Leg? What happened? People were shouting and running towards me. I heard Kun Jie. Vivek. Something hit the ground somewhere to my left. Someone shone a torchlight in my face. I grabbed my head with my hands and crouched.
“Don’t touch me! I am fine. Fine.” I shouted.
Thank God I am still alive.
This Life
Posted by jiang
Life is infinite.
Or at least effectively infinite. There is more than enough space for any one of us to use and too much time for any one of us to conscientiously monitor. Multiplied together, they provide us a reality of limitless events and happenings. Ergo, life is infinite.
Yet, fortunately or not, we are limited. We only have so much energy to use per day, so much mental effort to spare per task, and so much physical strength to muster. We can only be at one place at a time and be acquainted with so many people in our lifetimes.
And, when I wake up every morning, I am who I am, where I am, when I am. Suddenly I am bewildered. I do not understand why I am me, here, or now.
Perhaps, this bewilderment is ubiquitous, and it is this that feeds religions around the world. Perhaps, as long as I am a free thinker, I will never find an answer.
Or perhaps, it is all random.