Fate, Destiny and Bullshit

Ok I think this one is going to be a bit deep, so be pre-warned. When I write about this kind of stuff I tend to ramble on a bit, thus the section is denoted as Rambling Thoughts…perhaps plain old Bullshit would be more apt.

These thoughts are things I’ve dissected many times and I quite familiar with, they just happened to emerge today due to an MSN conversation I was having with a dear friend.

We were talking about choices, ‘having‘ to do things and destiny/fate.

Destiny or fate in this context being defined as your life having a pre-determined path, which if you think about the deeper meaning is rather scary…it means you have no choice, or even if you do, it doesn’t matter what you choose, things will end up the same.

I personally don’t see it this way, and that is what I explained to her and I wish to explain to you, if I can manage to articulate it correctly..twice in one day.

I see it this way, fate has a meaning on the macro scale, the larger scale, the bigger picture…as for each person, you are pretty much irrelevant in the great map. Some things are pre-destined or fated, but there are also different paths to take, you have choices on how to live your life, the end of course is destiny…we all end the same, in death.

A morbid but true thought, don’t fear death, it’s going to happen to you one day. A lot of people don’t dare to think about dying, but well it doesn’t bother me, I am not one to fear what I don’t understand, I embrace the ‘different‘, the unexpected and the abnormal. Death is inevitable..it’s going to happen, today tommorow or in 65 years…no-one knows when.

The crux of the discussion was that we all have choices, if we are in bad situations we can be proactive and CHOOSE to get out of them, most people don’t they accept their ‘fate’ as they call it, and live whinging about the misery that unluckily fell upon them. This pretty much as low as using Religion as a crutch as many do (This I will discuss another day), blaming your mistakes or weaknesses on a higher power, or something out of your control. Accept responsibility, accept the fact you can do something about it. Life is about choice, I choose not to live my life sacrificing for others uncessarily, no I am not heartless, yes I care for people, but I only have one life and I intend to make the most of it.

If you are unhappy with your life, do something about it..

To quote Robert Frost, there is always a Road Not Taken.

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

We all have choices, there’s nothing we CAN’T do, only things we feel we can’t do, or things we feel obligated not to do.

This is the key, we put ourselves in this situations, thus the logical conclusion is we can get ourselves out.

Choose your paths wisely..make your own fate, we will all end in the same place but how you get there is your own choosing.

About Bullshit…I seem to have a gift for it, someone said not many people have a gift for writing as I have, sadly most the time I just abuse my talent but well with SFDC at least I’ve done a lot of positive things with my knowledge/talent/bullshit..I pretty much have a PhD in bullshitology, fortunately this allows me to articulate some of the complex things that occur inside the mystical power that is my brain.

The above is one of these things..

I hope it helps you, motivates you or stirs you to thought in some way.

Continue Reading · 2 Comments · Deep Thoughts

Japanese Food and Japanese Horror

Fortunately the food I had wasn’t the horror, it was actually great.

I had the hugest Salmon Sashimi the world has ever seen…I wish I’d taken my camera, then I could make everyone envious…

I’ll go there again and take a snap to immortalise the size of the portion.

Following that went to the Cinema to watch a Japanese Horror flick, One Missed Call[/url] AKA Chakushin ari.

Pretty formulaic Japanese horror, a lot like Ringu[/url] but with phones. If you want real horror…watch A Tale of Two Sisters[/url].

At points it was scary, at points disgusting and at points just plain weird. But worth watching nevertheless.

Still haven’t caught White Chicks[/url] yet, supposed to be funny, so that’s next on the list.

Reading a new book now too, Exploiting Software: How to Break Code[/url], for a review for SFDC I’m way overdue on about 7 books…so trying to catch up a bit.

Continue Reading · 2 Comments · General Nonsense, Movies

Update….The Insecurities of Internet Exploder and more..

Ok as you may have noticed…or some of the less observant amongst you may not..I have added some stuff.

A new sexy header ^^ (For the non tech, that means 2 arrows pointing up, so look to the top of the page), which I intended to do from the start…but had neither the software nor time.

I’ve filled in the contact page[/url] with some ways to stalk me, so if you want to abuse me feel free to do so via the contact form.

I’ve added a powered by section in the footer, so you can see all the geeky kind of things I’m using to build this site. I use TextPad[/url] mostly for editing stuff, FileZilla[/url] for my FTP client, PaintShop Pro for graphical manipulation and the almighty browser FireFox[/url] for well…browsing duh..

Ok well here goes a semi-rant.

PLEASE YOU FOOLS STOP USING INTERNET EXPLODER!

Ok that being said…it’s slow, it renders HTML incorrectly (MS once again have effectively defined their own standards…”Oh look a missing closing tag, nevermind we’ll render it correctly anyway, we know what they meant”)…You may think this seems like a good thing, but trust me it’s not, it means people can be sloppy and get away with it, they don’t have to care “IE will render it fine”, it crashes a lot, it’s fat and it’s the number 1 target for Spyware.

One of my students yesterday complained about having a TeenXXX dialer shortcut on her desktop she couldn’t get rid of, so I quickly cleaned her machine with my trust SpyBot S&D and explained patiently to her why she had so much spyware (60+) whilst no one else had any.

If you have problems with Spyware I suggest the following:

[list][*]Download and Install Ad-Aware[/url], update it and run a full scan
[*]Download and Install SpyBot S&D update, immunize and run a full scan
[*]If you are still infected grab HiJackThis![/url] and post your log here: SFDC HJT Logs[/list]After this you should be cool.

THEY WERE USING FIREFOX!

Ok that being said…FireFox[/url] is great, tabbed browsing is great, the Bookmarks Toolbar is great, the huge amount of extensions[/url] are even greater…and it’s FREE and it’s OPEN SOURCE

IE has also had SO many major insecurities it’s not even funny…this also bust Outlook Express and Outlook wide open as they use the same HTML rendering engine.

If you want to know more details about the insecurity of IE you can read HERE.

If you do have to use IE, make sure it’s patched to the hilt and you apply some of the 3rd party stuff to make it a bit better (Google Toolbar[/url] for example), or even use one of the better versions of IE such as MyIE2.

Continue Reading · 7 Comments · Hacking & Infosec, Ranting, Site News

I am a Pundit blogger..


You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read.
Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few.
Continue Reading · 2 Comments · Stupid Me Mes

About page, DaVinci Code and John Q

Woohoo I finally bothered to do the about page[/url]…was kinda bored last night..If you know me and think I should add anything else give me a hint.

Also…I suck at bowling, I knew it before, now I know it again..

Actually at one stage I used to be quite decent, now I fear all past bowling skills have evaporated.

Also I watched John Q[/url] last night, awesome…really emotionally charged film with another stunning performance from Mr Denzel Washington..I’ve been meaning to watch this film for some time actually, I heard it was good, but never actually had chance.

I also finished reading The DaVinci Code[/url]….

Really sometimes I hate books that gripping…hmm just read a couple of chapters before bed…turns into OMFG it’s 2.30am and I have to get up in 5 hours!

Honestly a rollercoaster thriller, if you haven’t read it yet, DO IT.

Seriously a good book, especially for those of you that think religion is mostly bullshit (especially those religions that follow 2000 year old values and standards which are no longer relevant in modern society and follow these values and standards that were made by humans to control other more naive humans..)

Ok this could turn into a religious rant…but I am a little short for time now…so perhaps I’ll save it for later.

Hmm anything else new? I fear not…afterall I am still in Brunei.

Praise the lord anyway, Suanie[/url] got a new desk and perhaps has re-kindled her zest for writing abstract bullshit in a way only she can.

Continue Reading · 2 Comments · Books & Literature, Movies, Site News

Brunei…OMG Another 4 weeks..

More pertinent to the title…another 4 WEEKENDS..

Ok I just finished my first weekend here…let me rephrase that..I just SURVIVED my first weekend here.

That’s what it felt like anyone, I was left feeling like my sanity was only hanging on by an almost translucently fine thread..

If I have to spent another weekend in that ghost house I think I might well go insane..

Ok my options for entertainment here are:

  • Read (I have a limited amount of books)
  • Watch TV (There are only about 6 channels)
  • Watch DVD’s (I rarely get chance to go out and buy any)
  • Go on-line (Prepaid net access, which keeps running out…and it’s DIALUP)
  • Stare at the floor/wall/ceiling (My primary pass-time)
  • Smoke (A LOT)
  • Wonder why the hell I am here..
  • Think (Also a lot…not such a good thing at the moment)
  • Read (Did I already mention that?…)

And well that’s about it..I manage to get the cinema occasionally..and mostly eat at the same salty Indian joint every day….which is nothing to shout about

Well I grabbed some DVD’s last week, I watched Calcium Kid[/url], with Orlando Bloom[/url] over the weekend..Actually a pretty decent film, even with the mockney accents, and super cliched characters. It was pretty accurate of the South London boxing scene..and funny in places, although not a touch on Snatch[/url] or Lock Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels[/url] (Both legendary films, yes Guy Ritchie[/url] is a genius…even though he married Madonna).

The guys in the class said we can’t really go out at the moment because it’s still Ramadan[/url], so they have to take it easy for a while. A quick summary for those of you that don’t know, Ramadan is a month of fasting for those of the Islamic faith:

It is during this month that Muslims observe the Fast of Ramadan. Lasting for the entire month, Muslims fast during the daylight hours and in the evening eat small meals and visit with friends and family. It is a time of worship and contemplation. A time to strengthen family and community ties.

On another note, I tried the KFC here, and it sucks. Fatty to the bone..

On a completely different note, I tried the new DOTA 4.4[/url] and OMG it actually ROCKS. Thanks quantum, you are the king baby. New characters are sweet, may need a little bit of balancing…that tree dude is a crazy seiger man, what with that monkey poot Twizm tree business AND his summons AND his obscene amount of armour at level 7. But anyway I recommend you try it…it kinda rocks my socks.

Hmm what else oh yeah…I managed to make it out of the house last night…and I watched Shark Tale[/url], that’s some pretty funny shiznit. Honestly it’s got nothing on Shrek[/url] or Monsters Inc[/url]…but well it’s worth passing an hour or so…especially here..

I brought some games here to play aswell….just started with Hitman[/url] after my single players DOTA[/url] extravaganza..OMFG that game is hard…it pwns me.

It took me like 8 goes to get past the first stage…about 25 to get past the second stage and I still haven’t done the 3rd stage..

It’s sneaky, you have to think sneaky..you have to drag bodies into drains, shoot people from certain sides so they fall into holes and various other Hitman like activitives. All in all pretty entertaining..but damn bloody difficult. I also brought Hitman 2 along…so if I get bored I can try that 🙂

I think that’s all for now..

Continue Reading · 1 Comment · Brunei, Trips & Travel

D to izz-O, T to the izz-A

Goes along to the song of “Izzo H.OV.A.” by Jay-Z:

(PD singing)
D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 8th wonder of the world
The game of the century.. oh it’s timeless.. DOTA!
Thanks for hostin up tonight
You coulda been anywhere in the realm, but you’re here with East
I appreciate that.. uh..

D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A
Fo’ shizzle my nizzle used to push down early mid lanes
Was hurtin ’em in the tree of protectors; got xp cheap for them
Plus if they was short with cheese, Fuzzy work with them
Brought in Naix, got rid of that corpse for them
Wasn’t born inhouse, I was pubbin’em
D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A
Fo’ sheezy my neezy Frosty’s bite so freezy
Can’t leave edits alone the game needs me
Titan want me clapped and stunned it ain’t easy
SA wanna pop me, DK wanna box me in
But somehow, beat NE charges with Void-Stop, see
D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A
Not guilty, he who does not pool me
is not cool to me, therefore he doesn’t exist
So poof — lag out, son of a b****!

[Chorus]
D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A
Fo’ shizzle my nizzle used to push down early mid lanes
D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A
Cow as -random? man i can’t stand’em
D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A
Not filthy y’all got to pool me
D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A
Cow as -random? man i can’t stand’em

Holla at me…
I do this for some lovin’,
To let ’em know what a map look like, when a map triggers customs
Show ’em how to spam in a lane full of Hunts-and,
flashin trees shady, creeps need to be taken over
xp deniers hate me I’m raisin my level so up
I’m overnukin leshrac for what he did to the po’ Hunt
Play us like you own us for all the necro skellies rose up
We can talk, but manny walks so stack mo’ bucks

[Chorus]

Yeah…
DOTA’s back, life stories told through maps
people actin like it smoke like crack
Like I told you no bugs; no, patch did that
so hopefully you won’t have to go through that
I was raised in the beta, vamp lisks for strats
lich out back, freezin towers so tough
Lookouts on the corner, pinging on the map
DM in the window, ancients gettin tored up
Me under a damn host, why he got a slot closed?
Stacks in for long, watchin the long wait of the stall
So you know I seen it all before
I seen DE dreams deflate like a Manny who lanes
To lag and to bail, the two things I hate
Succeed in this map game, the two things that’s great
D to the izz-O, T to the izz-A
What else can I say about dude, my ping bizz-ay

[Chorus]

Continue Reading · 6 Comments · DOTA Classic

Brunei….Part II

Ok well it’s not so bad here..

Had lunch at the only shopping mall in Brunei…it seems ok, food was lousy though, seems like a recurring theme here…they seem obsessed with Salt, everything is damn salty

At least they have a cinema there and some pirated DVD’s so I can get something to watch whilst I’m wasting my hours here.

We usually eat at an Indian resturant…as the guys I stay with are Indians, and well let’s say it’s putting me off Indian food…super salty Indian food at least..

I had a great Sharwarma last night though, there is some good Arabic food here with plenty of kebabs.

Went to play pool last night also…(HELLO A POOL PLACE YOU CAN’T SMOKE IN?? WTF)..

No competition really, beat everyone in a row…so was a bit boring, after that went to watch Taxi as outlined below, pretty funny movie.

People just tend to ‘lepak’ (hang out) here..and modify their cars, there’s like a HUGE max power scene going on. My observation is there’s really nothing much else to spend your money on…the houses are huge, the cars are PHAT (I’ve never seen so many tuned Subaru[/url]‘s, but I’ve yet to see an EVO) and that’s about it..

Few people gaming here…mosty C&C though *yawn*

Anyway that’s that for now…training starts tommorow and I got back late last night by Brunei standards so I need to sleep..(8am start here is normal..)

If you wish to know more about Brunei you can find out here:

Brunei Government[/url]
CIA Factbook

Continue Reading · No Comments · Brunei, Trips & Travel

Taxi

I watched this movie last night..Taxi[/url] is a ‘modern’ remake of the 1998 Luc Besson French comedy of the same name.

It has horrible reviews and got totally slated..which is odd because for some reason I really enjoyed it.

I mean it was pretty stupid, brainless and banal..but I laughed all the way through

It had hot chicks, fast cars, guns/shooting and explosions, I mean what more could a guy want from a movie?

Yum!

If you want something deep, don’t watch this movie, and PLEASE don’t compare it to the original.

However if you want to watch a dumbass movie and don’t mind laughing at some *REALLY* stupid jokes, then be my guest and check it out.

Continue Reading · No Comments · Movies

I am a Blue Wolf..

This thing is pretty damn accurate actually..

Blue Wolfs are really extremely downright sort of person, but because they tend to be shy, people think them as gruff and difficult person to deal with.
It takes a while for others to understand the real you, but once they get to know you, everyone would trust your honest character.
You are a person of kind heart.
You can not say “no” to favors, and will carry out that favor no matter what.
It can be your positive point, but you should think twice before you take on favors, because if you can’t resolve it, there will be far greater consequences.
You have your own world, and can come up with very original ideas.
You can not be satisfied with the all-too-common stuffs, and therefore you establish your own ways of doing and thinking.
The problem is you tend to be weary rather fast.
You need to make an effort to finish what you have started.
People consider you as an off-beat and arrogant person, but you also have a very sensitive side as well.
You have a strong will and are not influenced by your mood, and are indifferent to what’s going on around you.
You are full of new, innovative and unique ideas, and have the energy to put that into action.
You will be good at fields of research and development.

From: https://noracom.net/eng/fortune/color_cheki1.php

Continue Reading · 1 Comment · Stupid Me Mes