You will never stop struggling to stay above the water until the realization of His love and faithfulness towards you quiets the deepest intuition to try to save yourself. It is such faith in God that lets you rest and just float when you know you can’t swim.
Lead me to faith, God. Lead me to Your perfect place of rest. Lead me to those green pastures You talked about; to the place where I will lie down and no longer feel like I must worry about the wolves that come as I sleep. Lead me to You.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 02, 2010
2 Tim
How is it that in verse 12 it says "if we deny Him, He will deny us" and the verse after that then says, "if we are unfaithful, He remains faithful"? Isn't that a contradiction? And yet there must br a level on which it is not. -small explosion in Sicheng's brain- there might be something to be unearthed here...
Ok verse 13 actually says, "if we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, since He cannot deny Himself." My first thought was, 'that last line no link leh.' but then again, if u follow the logic of this scripture, It's saying God remains faithful because He cannot deny Himself, i.e. if God were unfaithful to us He would be denying Himself. Does that mean that if we are unfaithful to God we're denying ourselves? Or is He saying this because He swore upon Himself that He would always be faithful to everyone of us? And this still doesn't resolve the question about how u can deny someone and still be faithful to them... Hmm...
Ok verse 13 actually says, "if we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, since He cannot deny Himself." My first thought was, 'that last line no link leh.' but then again, if u follow the logic of this scripture, It's saying God remains faithful because He cannot deny Himself, i.e. if God were unfaithful to us He would be denying Himself. Does that mean that if we are unfaithful to God we're denying ourselves? Or is He saying this because He swore upon Himself that He would always be faithful to everyone of us? And this still doesn't resolve the question about how u can deny someone and still be faithful to them... Hmm...
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
On a happier note
I've recently discovered the joys of Charlie Chan quotes. :D
Some of my favorites:
"Man who fights law always loses; same as grasshopper is always wrong in argument with chicken."
"If strength were all, tiger would not fear scorpion."
"Impossible to prepare defense until direction of attack is known."
"Innocent act without thinking; guilty always make plans."
"It is unasked question which prevent sleep."
"Joy in heart more desirable than bullet."
"When searching for needle in haystack, haystack only sensible location."
"It takes very rainy day to drown duck."
"Man who flirt with dynamite sometime fly with angels."
"Learn from hen - never boast about egg until after egg's birthday."
"If befriend donkey, expect to be kicked."
hee hee.
Some of my favorites:
"Man who fights law always loses; same as grasshopper is always wrong in argument with chicken."
"If strength were all, tiger would not fear scorpion."
"Impossible to prepare defense until direction of attack is known."
"Innocent act without thinking; guilty always make plans."
"It is unasked question which prevent sleep."
"Joy in heart more desirable than bullet."
"When searching for needle in haystack, haystack only sensible location."
"It takes very rainy day to drown duck."
"Man who flirt with dynamite sometime fly with angels."
"Learn from hen - never boast about egg until after egg's birthday."
"If befriend donkey, expect to be kicked."
hee hee.
I guess the world can't really help it...
After all, they don't really have any other word to call them besides 'church', do they?
But just because you say you're Christian doesn't mean you're actually one, and just because you call yourself a church doesn't mean you're part of THE Church - the body of Christ, the kingdom of God. It pisses me off that a tiny group of people in some corner of this massive country could do something that so clearly communicates so much hatred and not only garner so much attention, but have whole nations call their action that of a 'church' because that's what they call themselves. Heck, that's what they're (probably) legally registered as.
Eph 1-3 talks about the unity of the body - why we're already one in heaven in Christ. If some part of your body starts acting completely counter to what the head wants and wills, then you either treat it or you cut it off. Better to cut off your hand than to sin with your hand right? (That last bit's not from Ephesians.)
So we gotta cut these guys off? Say they're a cult or something I suppose. But that doesn't remove the fact that they claim they're a church, and the world will believe them because they don't know any better.
I'm okay with the fact that the world will persecute the church. (Sort of anyway.) But it really bothers me that some claim to know God, take on the name of Christ and do things completely counter to His heart. I guess that's what taking His name in vain really means, and it's painful to watch - to watch someone publicly defame the innocent name of your hero, your loved one.
What of their boldness to proclaim what they believe is the truth? In the eyes of American ideals, maybe that's valuable. But I'm called to see with kingdom eyes, and I will give no credit to someone who defames God like that. Courage is a gift from God, and they're using it against Him in His name. Yes it's true, we (the Church) need to be bold, to proclaim the gospel and proclaim His kingdom, and not hide behind the veil of political correctness or the fear of men. We do need to be bolder in sharing His kingdom, representing His kingdom and establishing His kingdom. But THIS is NOT how it's supposed to be done.
Thank God it's God who saves, not the church.
But just because you say you're Christian doesn't mean you're actually one, and just because you call yourself a church doesn't mean you're part of THE Church - the body of Christ, the kingdom of God. It pisses me off that a tiny group of people in some corner of this massive country could do something that so clearly communicates so much hatred and not only garner so much attention, but have whole nations call their action that of a 'church' because that's what they call themselves. Heck, that's what they're (probably) legally registered as.
Eph 1-3 talks about the unity of the body - why we're already one in heaven in Christ. If some part of your body starts acting completely counter to what the head wants and wills, then you either treat it or you cut it off. Better to cut off your hand than to sin with your hand right? (That last bit's not from Ephesians.)
So we gotta cut these guys off? Say they're a cult or something I suppose. But that doesn't remove the fact that they claim they're a church, and the world will believe them because they don't know any better.
I'm okay with the fact that the world will persecute the church. (Sort of anyway.) But it really bothers me that some claim to know God, take on the name of Christ and do things completely counter to His heart. I guess that's what taking His name in vain really means, and it's painful to watch - to watch someone publicly defame the innocent name of your hero, your loved one.
What of their boldness to proclaim what they believe is the truth? In the eyes of American ideals, maybe that's valuable. But I'm called to see with kingdom eyes, and I will give no credit to someone who defames God like that. Courage is a gift from God, and they're using it against Him in His name. Yes it's true, we (the Church) need to be bold, to proclaim the gospel and proclaim His kingdom, and not hide behind the veil of political correctness or the fear of men. We do need to be bolder in sharing His kingdom, representing His kingdom and establishing His kingdom. But THIS is NOT how it's supposed to be done.
Thank God it's God who saves, not the church.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Ephesians 3
The fullness of the God of the universe. Think about what that means for a second. How vast is God? How deep and high is God? Who is He? What is He? He is infinitely wide, infinitely big, infinitely deep, infinitely wise in infinite dimensioned. He has no limits, no boundaries, no lack in the slightest. He is absolute substance, so vast that anything you can even remotely imagine is merely contained in Him.
And here is Paul praying for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith. Why? So that we would know the infinitely wide, deep, thick, real love of God, a love so strong and multi-dimensioned no words can even come close to describing it in any manner of sufficiency. Why? “That you may be filled with the fullness of God.”
Cue video of a massive nuclear explosion visible from space. Talk about a big concept.
Here’s another way to read this passage (or more specifically, the use of the semicolon in this passage). I don’t know if this is true to the original Greek, but it’s at least an interesting consideration. V19: “[that you] may know the love of Christ which passes knowledge - i.e. that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Here’s the breakdown: In the first interpretation, knowing the full extent of the love of God brings you into a realm where you, yes you, are filled with God's fullness (is that even possible? I guess He makes the impossible possible... hence verse 20! haha). In the second one, knowing the full extent of the love of God IS being filled with His fullness. Either way, knowing His love is pretty darn important.
I propose to you that this is the ‘mystery’ that Paul talked about earlier in the chapter. The fullness of God. The love of God. The substance of God. Paul calls it “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (verse 8). It was hidden (v9), so that NOW the wisdom of God may be made known to every demon in hell. (Well, demons aren't in hell yet, but you get the point.)
How ironic is it that what Paul calls unsearchable (v8), he then prays for us to search out only a few verses later? Is he daft? Or being sarcastic? Or perhaps… he’s being completely serious. Consider this: If one day, when you were a kid, your dad called you over, moved a bookcase you never knew could be moved and led you down a secret passageway, under the house you’ve grown up in all along, to his secret underground office, you’d know immediately that this was an important place you were in – Hiddenness reveals the importance of that which was hidden. Perhaps it was so ridiculously important for us to know the mystery of God that God absolutely had to hide it… until we were ready.
And now we are ready, because we have Jesus (Eph 1 and 2). Go on, search Him out. The ‘No Entry’ tape has been taken away. I know, I know… the tape’s been there for so long that you look at it and you think you still can’t go in… but you can now. Really. In fact, He wants you to, and your soul compels you to too. Search out the unfathomable depths of God, that they may become fathomable to you. Engage with Him, know Him, wrestle with Him, love Him… because you can do no wrong that hasn’t already been paid for and forgiven.
What then of the things that distract us? What about the ‘sin that so easily ensnares’ (I forget where that’s from), the battle not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers? Check out verses 8-10 (I love this!) – we are to know the mystery of God, so that all of the demonic realm would be defeated. In other words, the mystery of God isn’t just our mission – it’s also our solution to every distraction and temptation! So forget the things you’ve left behind. Forget yesterday’s mistake, forget your past sin (which, if you think about it, is every sin, unless you’re in the midst of robbing a bank or something), and press on to know Him. And when you find yourself dealing with a problem, don't worry about solving it first. Just turn to God, seek Him out, enjoy Him… and Satan will be squished.
And here is Paul praying for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith. Why? So that we would know the infinitely wide, deep, thick, real love of God, a love so strong and multi-dimensioned no words can even come close to describing it in any manner of sufficiency. Why? “That you may be filled with the fullness of God.”
Cue video of a massive nuclear explosion visible from space. Talk about a big concept.
Here’s another way to read this passage (or more specifically, the use of the semicolon in this passage). I don’t know if this is true to the original Greek, but it’s at least an interesting consideration. V19: “[that you] may know the love of Christ which passes knowledge - i.e. that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Here’s the breakdown: In the first interpretation, knowing the full extent of the love of God brings you into a realm where you, yes you, are filled with God's fullness (is that even possible? I guess He makes the impossible possible... hence verse 20! haha). In the second one, knowing the full extent of the love of God IS being filled with His fullness. Either way, knowing His love is pretty darn important.
I propose to you that this is the ‘mystery’ that Paul talked about earlier in the chapter. The fullness of God. The love of God. The substance of God. Paul calls it “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (verse 8). It was hidden (v9), so that NOW the wisdom of God may be made known to every demon in hell. (Well, demons aren't in hell yet, but you get the point.)
How ironic is it that what Paul calls unsearchable (v8), he then prays for us to search out only a few verses later? Is he daft? Or being sarcastic? Or perhaps… he’s being completely serious. Consider this: If one day, when you were a kid, your dad called you over, moved a bookcase you never knew could be moved and led you down a secret passageway, under the house you’ve grown up in all along, to his secret underground office, you’d know immediately that this was an important place you were in – Hiddenness reveals the importance of that which was hidden. Perhaps it was so ridiculously important for us to know the mystery of God that God absolutely had to hide it… until we were ready.
And now we are ready, because we have Jesus (Eph 1 and 2). Go on, search Him out. The ‘No Entry’ tape has been taken away. I know, I know… the tape’s been there for so long that you look at it and you think you still can’t go in… but you can now. Really. In fact, He wants you to, and your soul compels you to too. Search out the unfathomable depths of God, that they may become fathomable to you. Engage with Him, know Him, wrestle with Him, love Him… because you can do no wrong that hasn’t already been paid for and forgiven.
What then of the things that distract us? What about the ‘sin that so easily ensnares’ (I forget where that’s from), the battle not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers? Check out verses 8-10 (I love this!) – we are to know the mystery of God, so that all of the demonic realm would be defeated. In other words, the mystery of God isn’t just our mission – it’s also our solution to every distraction and temptation! So forget the things you’ve left behind. Forget yesterday’s mistake, forget your past sin (which, if you think about it, is every sin, unless you’re in the midst of robbing a bank or something), and press on to know Him. And when you find yourself dealing with a problem, don't worry about solving it first. Just turn to God, seek Him out, enjoy Him… and Satan will be squished.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day 9: Leaving Kansas :'(
I was sad to leave... :/
The flooded road that led me to accuse my GPS (Clar's GPS actually) of telling me to drive into a river
The view from the top of the arch!
When I finally got there: Kozey, his mom and one of his Golden Retriever puppies!
The flooded road that led me to accuse my GPS (Clar's GPS actually) of telling me to drive into a river
The view from the top of the arch!
When I finally got there: Kozey, his mom and one of his Golden Retriever puppies!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 5: Colorado Springs, CO to Kansas City, MO
We met Natalia's friends Shaina and Logan there (they're engaged to be married!). I stayed with Logan. They had a kitten called Tails. I felt it was strange and rude to video Shaina and Logan, but not to video Tails. I literally saw him fall asleep while sitting up! Too bad I didn't catch THAT on camera...
Day 3-4 of my roadtrip: Colorado Springs, CO
I didn't record any videos from days 3-6 because I was with friends and I thought videoing myself would be a little weird. :P
Day 3:
I sleep in (yay) at Tal's house. We have leftovers from her fridge for lunch, go for a short hike in this place that's only 5 minutes from her house (story of everyone's life in Colorado I imagine), and go meet Dan & Kayla. They're starting a Chi Alpha at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs campus so we go and prayer walk the campus with them.
After that we drive through this place called Garden of the Gods. Really interested rock formations, including this rock that looks like it's been performing a balancing act for however many centuries its been there:
We end up at this lovely cosy little coffee shop that looks like part coffee shop, part photo studio (downstairs), part Christian library of old Christian books that I imagine Glen would like. We get there just as the rain starts, so we sit there on comfy sofas for about 2 hours, sipping coffee and chatting as the rain pours outside. I miss good rain storms. This would easily be one of my favorite coffee places to go to if I lived in Colorado Springs.
OH and we shared a cream cheese panini. SO GOOD. Cream cheese with raspberry jam... kind of like a crepe, except toasted and crispy and a little soft. :)
Day 4: Er... I didn't really do anything. Oh but there was a rainstorm... check out this video (this is the only video I took from Day 3-6):
Day 3:
I sleep in (yay) at Tal's house. We have leftovers from her fridge for lunch, go for a short hike in this place that's only 5 minutes from her house (story of everyone's life in Colorado I imagine), and go meet Dan & Kayla. They're starting a Chi Alpha at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs campus so we go and prayer walk the campus with them.
After that we drive through this place called Garden of the Gods. Really interested rock formations, including this rock that looks like it's been performing a balancing act for however many centuries its been there:
We end up at this lovely cosy little coffee shop that looks like part coffee shop, part photo studio (downstairs), part Christian library of old Christian books that I imagine Glen would like. We get there just as the rain starts, so we sit there on comfy sofas for about 2 hours, sipping coffee and chatting as the rain pours outside. I miss good rain storms. This would easily be one of my favorite coffee places to go to if I lived in Colorado Springs.
OH and we shared a cream cheese panini. SO GOOD. Cream cheese with raspberry jam... kind of like a crepe, except toasted and crispy and a little soft. :)
Day 4: Er... I didn't really do anything. Oh but there was a rainstorm... check out this video (this is the only video I took from Day 3-6):
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
My Epic Road Trip, Day 1
On Monday (Jul 5) I began a road trip across the country. My first leg: Mountain View, CA to Wendover, UT. Drove 659 miles, left Mountain View at about 8:40am and arrived in Wendover UT around 7:30pm. Except I had changed time zone, so it was actually 8:30pm.
Here's my video logs from the first day. :)
Here's my video logs from the first day. :)
Monday, July 05, 2010
Day 1
I set off at 8:40am this morning. Left my sunglasses in Clar's car and discovered last night didn't bring my toothbrush. But I had another pair and Clar had an extra one.
11 hours, 657 miles, about 25 wheat thins and 4 full bottles of mineral water / apple juice later, I arrived in Wendover, Utah at around 7:40pm or so. Except Utah is on Mountain time so it was actually 8:40pm.
The scenery was great. Too bad I'm too tired to upload anything. Maybe tomorrow.
11 hours, 657 miles, about 25 wheat thins and 4 full bottles of mineral water / apple juice later, I arrived in Wendover, Utah at around 7:40pm or so. Except Utah is on Mountain time so it was actually 8:40pm.
The scenery was great. Too bad I'm too tired to upload anything. Maybe tomorrow.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
The Epic Journey
Is about to begin. Tomorrow I start my cross-country trek in this very fully packed car:
And that's only the trunk. The backseats are filled to the brim, with just enough space left for me to see out my rear window. I'm delivering this car to New York for my friend Will, and taking the chance to meet up with a few people on the way. The first leg tomorrow: Mountain View, California to (hopefully) Salt Lake City. Whee.
I love driving. Pray that doesn't change after this trip... :P
And that's only the trunk. The backseats are filled to the brim, with just enough space left for me to see out my rear window. I'm delivering this car to New York for my friend Will, and taking the chance to meet up with a few people on the way. The first leg tomorrow: Mountain View, California to (hopefully) Salt Lake City. Whee.
I love driving. Pray that doesn't change after this trip... :P
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Sunday, May 02, 2010
My first a cappella gig in a while...
Solomon (another ex-Mendicant) got a few of us to sing the background to Michael Buble's Everything, one guy per part, while he sang to his sister at her wedding yesterday.
It's not super in tune, but it has its good stretches. =) And THANK GOD we started in tune (our soundcheck start was pretty darn disastrous).
It's not super in tune, but it has its good stretches. =) And THANK GOD we started in tune (our soundcheck start was pretty darn disastrous).
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Acronyms Shmakronyms
I'm working on a consulting-style research paper on Tesla Motors, and briefly on some of their competitors in the electric vehicle market.
All these acronyms of electric vehicles are driving me CRAZY. There's EVs (electric vehicles), BEVs (battery electric vehicles), HEVs (Hybrid electric vehicles), PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles), and E-REV (extended-range electric vehicles, which is basically GM's way of hiding the fact that they're essentially producing their version of a plug-in prius by pretending they're making a whole separate genre of vehicles).
arrrggghhhhhhhhhhhh. Why does everyone feel this need to make their technology 'official' by creating their own acronyms?!?! Didn't know this disease wasn't unique to Singapore...
:P
sorry. Had to vent.
All these acronyms of electric vehicles are driving me CRAZY. There's EVs (electric vehicles), BEVs (battery electric vehicles), HEVs (Hybrid electric vehicles), PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles), and E-REV (extended-range electric vehicles, which is basically GM's way of hiding the fact that they're essentially producing their version of a plug-in prius by pretending they're making a whole separate genre of vehicles).
arrrggghhhhhhhhhhhh. Why does everyone feel this need to make their technology 'official' by creating their own acronyms?!?! Didn't know this disease wasn't unique to Singapore...
:P
sorry. Had to vent.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
My very uninformed take on the iPad and all other things Apple
I am a fan of Apple. I was merely curious about Macs before I came to Stanford, then realized that MAS was giving me money to buy a laptop and, for the first time ever, Apple laptops were approaching the prices of PC laptops (the Macbook). I've loved them ever since.
I admire Apple and their products because I think they stand in stark contrast to many of the other computer companies out there. They were the first (in my mind) to produce mass market computers not as utilitarian machines but as consumer products. They make things ergonomic, pretty, attractive - all the bling bling that PC makers thought wasn't important because it wasn't necessary.
So, that being said, I am actually quite intrigued by the iPad. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to www.apple.com and take a look or google 'iPad'.) The base model is only US$500 - quite a steal if you ask me, especially compared to the iPhone. 10 hours of battery life is quite a feat given how big the display is - those screens take up a lot of battery life. And like Steve Jobs kept saying, the actual experience of holding the internet in your hands sounds great. I can just see myself relaxing on a cosy sofa, browsing the internet, playing games that feed my short attention span, managing my schedule, watching TV... I wonder if there's a good way to hook up the iPad wirelessly to a flatscreen TV. That would be SWEET.
I do wish Steve Jobs didn't say "this is amazing/incredible" so frequently throughout his Keynote presentation. I cringed every time he said it, because truth be told, it's a brilliant product that came about by the relatively simple (conceptually anyway) meshing of two preexisting technologies, the iPhone and the Macbook. Nothing very new, hence the disappointed vibe you get in most tech reviews. But I'm going to stop being a spoilt brat and consider the fact that I celebrated the ingenious blending of Indomee with frozen vietnamese meatballs, of milk and Tim Tams. And I'll bet you graham crackers, marshmellows, chocolate and fire all existed long before Smores took off but no one thought of putting them together, until someone did. It takes genius to come up with a good idea, but it sometimes takes even more genius to take two already good ideas and realize they can also make a third.
So Apple didn't come up with some revolutionary technology. They did, though, come up with a new product. A new kind of computer, if you will, that is designed not to be a machine of productivity (unlike tablet PCs) but a machine for entertainment and enrichment. Typing will suck, but that will supposedly be a bearable cost for the sake of the comfort and pleasure of curling up on your favorite armchair watching Youtube, internet TV, reading the online newspaper and playing a game or two whenever you're bored, on your own personal, interactive, vivid, thin-as-a-magazine touch screen interface. The best thing about the iPad, though, is the apps store that can now be applied to a full-sized interactive screen. Imagine the kinds of apps that'll come out... actually, it's kind of hard to imagine. Even better.
But I'd still hesitate to get one, at least for now. Apparently it doesn't yet support flash (unfortunate - no Hulu! Youtube works though), nor does it allow you to run more than one program at a time (unacceptable). :( Do I really need to run more than one program at a time? It'd be nice to. But who knows, maybe I won't notice. Besides, it'd also stop me from checking my email every 5 minutes, which is a good thing.
I thought it'd be fun (for myself) to consider the relevance (or irrelevance) of Apple's entire product line up to my life. I know, it's rather self-serving and materialistic, but hey, it's my blog. ;) I bet this desire to review stuff is rubbing off from my writing for the car blog too.
So here we go:
iPod shuffle: Cute, cheap. Love the stainless steel one, think it looks classy. But this thing is so small I'd lose it in a day. Imagine how easy it'd be for it to hide in reclusive corner of your pants pocket as you wearily throw it into the laundry at the end of a long day.
iPod Nano: I concede that the smaller size and lighter weight might be well worth sacrificing the luxury of being able to carry my entire music collection with me on one device (see next paragraph). My 5th gen iPod was a little heavy on the MRT/subway when I used it to listen to music on the way to work during my summer internship. I wonder what color I'd get though. Maybe the orange.
iPod classic: YEAH. 100% of my music library on one heavy-but-not-too-heavy device!! :D I love being able to carry my ENTIRE music collection with me everywhere I go, because although I tend to listen to the same few albums most of the time (as do most people, I think), my desire to listen to music can be very erratic and spontaneous. It also means that when I'm hanging out with friends and I suddenly think of a song they probably haven't heard of but would like, I can let them hear it on the spot instead of having to go home and email it to them. The downside? My music library isn't anything close to 160GB. Kind of overkill. But hey, I think it's the best value iPod they have.
iPod touch: Eh. Maybe. But only if a) I have money to burn to buy the 64GB one, and b) I don't have an iPad, iPhone or any other iPod. I can see no reason to have more than one internet-capable touch-screen device (i.e. iPod touch, iPhone and iPad).
iPhone: Maybe, but only the 3GS with the 32GB harddisk. If I'm going to have something as heavy as the iPhone (well, heavy compared to an iPod Nano), it had better be able to store all my music and still have room for expansion. At the moment, that's hovering around 21GB for me, including podcasts. It's also nice and compact but bulky enough for me to know where it is, keeps my schedule and contacts, plus it's just cool to be able to look up businesses and directions on the fly anywhere. I highly dislike the iPhone's lack of a physical keyboard though. Also, I am generally suspicious of devices that try to do too many things in one. Then again, the phone quality should be fine, and Apple did make the iPod, so maybe this'll be good. I just have to make sure it's always charged - once it goes dead, I lose my music, phone and calendar all at once.
iPad: Already talked about it enough. Biggest downside? It has the potential to make personal entertainment too, well, personal. I like sharing my life with people. Unless you're just going to use it for calendars and stuff like that, in which case you should get an iPhone or iPod touch instead. Also, given that the unlimited data plans for the iPad and iPhone are the same price (at least in the US), I think it's way more worth the $$ to get the same data on the iPad's bigger, nicer screen. Surfing the web on the iPhone may be cool and convenient, but it also feels slightly claustrophobic to me.
Macbook: Irrelevant, to me anyway. Apple's way of providing a budget computing option. If I want a cheap computer, I won't get a Mac.
Macbook Pro: Sooo sleek. Pretty. Nice. If I only had one Apple product, this would be it (probably the 15 inch one). Powerful and large enough to be my only computing device, light and small enough to carry around if I desire to.
Macbook Air: Even more sleek and pretty and nice. There is absolutely no reason to have this AND an iPad. It's one or the other. If you have a desktop or another computer you use at home, i think the iPad complements that better than the Air - unless you need something mobile for work (read: you need to type), in which case the Air trumps the iPad hands down. Also, I see absolutely no reason to get both the iPad and the Macbook Air, despite the vast price difference between the two.
iMac: Awesome computer. I love the 1TB harddrive and 3ghz processor. That plus the large screen would be great for sound recording / editing projects (see "Combination 1" below), watching TV and all that good stuff. Without any processor-intensive applications though, I suspect the iMac is somewhat overkill. Also, I'd want something mobile too. The best mobile companion to this is, i think, the iPad. Or maybe the Macbook Air... but the iPad is way cheaper. An iPhone would be good too, but I'd really like something I can take to Starbucks to type up stuff if I feel like it. You can't do that with an iPhone... unless you're a Smurf.
Everything else: Can't be bothered to talk about them.
So what would I get if I decided I could spend the money?
Combination 1 (the super abundant lifestyle): An iPad, an iPod classic (160GB) and an iMac / Macbook Pro:
I say "super abundant" because having any one new apple product is a sign of a pretty abundant lifestyle already.
In most cases I'd prefer the Macbook Pro, except that I'm seriously considering purchasing hardware and software for small scale sound recording at some point, which means I'd need a powerful machine with good processing speed, lots of RAM and a big screen. I'd put the iMac or Macbook at my desk / workstation at home, use the iPad most of the time (at home and carry it around when I go out, unless i'm frequently typing a lot of emails) and store 100% of my music files on my iPod. And why would you spend more money on an iPod touch (vis-a-vis an iPod classic) when you already have an iPad? I just hope there is a way to wirelessly sync all of them, or at least the iPad with the iMac / Macbook (e.g. syncing contacts, calendars etc).
Combination 2 (Lightweight mobile computing): An iPhone 3GS (32GB) and a Macbook Air / Pro (13/15 inch):
Provided I don't need all that processing power and stuff, I'd love to have a Macbook Air that is wirelessly connected to my printer, external harddrive etc. that I can carry around with me anywhere around the house, and take out with me without having an extra heavy load in my bag. I doubt I'd need anything more powerful than the Macbook Air, but I'd save money with the Pro. It all depends on how much I'd still bring my computer around if I had the iPhone. Also, it'd be great to always have all my music with me in my phone.
Combination 3 (the minimalist): A Macbook Air/Pro (15-inch). That's all. Well. I'd keep my 5th gen iPod too, assuming it continue working forever, which of course all computing devices do. But really, how much do I need/want all the other stuff, given that I'd be busy with work most of the day and hanging out with friends or at home the rest of the time?
Final thoughts
Whew. That was a long post. If you're still reading, props to you, and thank you - I usually put stuff on my blog with the presumption that hardly anyone will read it, so I appreciate your proving me wrong.
I was just in downtown Palo Alto earlier today, and I was about to brave the evening traffic to swing by the Apple store in the hopes that they had an iPad there (I doubt they did). Then I realized that while it's fun to imagine what I'd like to buy, it's much more fun to realize that I am here now, I have what I have, and it's great. It's so much better to love life as it is now than it is to love my idea of my future, because often the latter is just a projection of my desire to escape life today, and when I get there I'll probably just find more reasons to escape again, always chasing after rainbows for that pot of gold. No. God is here now, I am loved and accepted now, I have great friends and cool stuff, and my hope is not in more stuff tomorrow - it's in more of Him today. :)
I admire Apple and their products because I think they stand in stark contrast to many of the other computer companies out there. They were the first (in my mind) to produce mass market computers not as utilitarian machines but as consumer products. They make things ergonomic, pretty, attractive - all the bling bling that PC makers thought wasn't important because it wasn't necessary.
So, that being said, I am actually quite intrigued by the iPad. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to www.apple.com and take a look or google 'iPad'.) The base model is only US$500 - quite a steal if you ask me, especially compared to the iPhone. 10 hours of battery life is quite a feat given how big the display is - those screens take up a lot of battery life. And like Steve Jobs kept saying, the actual experience of holding the internet in your hands sounds great. I can just see myself relaxing on a cosy sofa, browsing the internet, playing games that feed my short attention span, managing my schedule, watching TV... I wonder if there's a good way to hook up the iPad wirelessly to a flatscreen TV. That would be SWEET.
I do wish Steve Jobs didn't say "this is amazing/incredible" so frequently throughout his Keynote presentation. I cringed every time he said it, because truth be told, it's a brilliant product that came about by the relatively simple (conceptually anyway) meshing of two preexisting technologies, the iPhone and the Macbook. Nothing very new, hence the disappointed vibe you get in most tech reviews. But I'm going to stop being a spoilt brat and consider the fact that I celebrated the ingenious blending of Indomee with frozen vietnamese meatballs, of milk and Tim Tams. And I'll bet you graham crackers, marshmellows, chocolate and fire all existed long before Smores took off but no one thought of putting them together, until someone did. It takes genius to come up with a good idea, but it sometimes takes even more genius to take two already good ideas and realize they can also make a third.
So Apple didn't come up with some revolutionary technology. They did, though, come up with a new product. A new kind of computer, if you will, that is designed not to be a machine of productivity (unlike tablet PCs) but a machine for entertainment and enrichment. Typing will suck, but that will supposedly be a bearable cost for the sake of the comfort and pleasure of curling up on your favorite armchair watching Youtube, internet TV, reading the online newspaper and playing a game or two whenever you're bored, on your own personal, interactive, vivid, thin-as-a-magazine touch screen interface. The best thing about the iPad, though, is the apps store that can now be applied to a full-sized interactive screen. Imagine the kinds of apps that'll come out... actually, it's kind of hard to imagine. Even better.
But I'd still hesitate to get one, at least for now. Apparently it doesn't yet support flash (unfortunate - no Hulu! Youtube works though), nor does it allow you to run more than one program at a time (unacceptable). :( Do I really need to run more than one program at a time? It'd be nice to. But who knows, maybe I won't notice. Besides, it'd also stop me from checking my email every 5 minutes, which is a good thing.
I thought it'd be fun (for myself) to consider the relevance (or irrelevance) of Apple's entire product line up to my life. I know, it's rather self-serving and materialistic, but hey, it's my blog. ;) I bet this desire to review stuff is rubbing off from my writing for the car blog too.
So here we go:
iPod shuffle: Cute, cheap. Love the stainless steel one, think it looks classy. But this thing is so small I'd lose it in a day. Imagine how easy it'd be for it to hide in reclusive corner of your pants pocket as you wearily throw it into the laundry at the end of a long day.
iPod Nano: I concede that the smaller size and lighter weight might be well worth sacrificing the luxury of being able to carry my entire music collection with me on one device (see next paragraph). My 5th gen iPod was a little heavy on the MRT/subway when I used it to listen to music on the way to work during my summer internship. I wonder what color I'd get though. Maybe the orange.
iPod classic: YEAH. 100% of my music library on one heavy-but-not-too-heavy device!! :D I love being able to carry my ENTIRE music collection with me everywhere I go, because although I tend to listen to the same few albums most of the time (as do most people, I think), my desire to listen to music can be very erratic and spontaneous. It also means that when I'm hanging out with friends and I suddenly think of a song they probably haven't heard of but would like, I can let them hear it on the spot instead of having to go home and email it to them. The downside? My music library isn't anything close to 160GB. Kind of overkill. But hey, I think it's the best value iPod they have.
iPod touch: Eh. Maybe. But only if a) I have money to burn to buy the 64GB one, and b) I don't have an iPad, iPhone or any other iPod. I can see no reason to have more than one internet-capable touch-screen device (i.e. iPod touch, iPhone and iPad).
iPhone: Maybe, but only the 3GS with the 32GB harddisk. If I'm going to have something as heavy as the iPhone (well, heavy compared to an iPod Nano), it had better be able to store all my music and still have room for expansion. At the moment, that's hovering around 21GB for me, including podcasts. It's also nice and compact but bulky enough for me to know where it is, keeps my schedule and contacts, plus it's just cool to be able to look up businesses and directions on the fly anywhere. I highly dislike the iPhone's lack of a physical keyboard though. Also, I am generally suspicious of devices that try to do too many things in one. Then again, the phone quality should be fine, and Apple did make the iPod, so maybe this'll be good. I just have to make sure it's always charged - once it goes dead, I lose my music, phone and calendar all at once.
iPad: Already talked about it enough. Biggest downside? It has the potential to make personal entertainment too, well, personal. I like sharing my life with people. Unless you're just going to use it for calendars and stuff like that, in which case you should get an iPhone or iPod touch instead. Also, given that the unlimited data plans for the iPad and iPhone are the same price (at least in the US), I think it's way more worth the $$ to get the same data on the iPad's bigger, nicer screen. Surfing the web on the iPhone may be cool and convenient, but it also feels slightly claustrophobic to me.
Macbook: Irrelevant, to me anyway. Apple's way of providing a budget computing option. If I want a cheap computer, I won't get a Mac.
Macbook Pro: Sooo sleek. Pretty. Nice. If I only had one Apple product, this would be it (probably the 15 inch one). Powerful and large enough to be my only computing device, light and small enough to carry around if I desire to.
Macbook Air: Even more sleek and pretty and nice. There is absolutely no reason to have this AND an iPad. It's one or the other. If you have a desktop or another computer you use at home, i think the iPad complements that better than the Air - unless you need something mobile for work (read: you need to type), in which case the Air trumps the iPad hands down. Also, I see absolutely no reason to get both the iPad and the Macbook Air, despite the vast price difference between the two.
iMac: Awesome computer. I love the 1TB harddrive and 3ghz processor. That plus the large screen would be great for sound recording / editing projects (see "Combination 1" below), watching TV and all that good stuff. Without any processor-intensive applications though, I suspect the iMac is somewhat overkill. Also, I'd want something mobile too. The best mobile companion to this is, i think, the iPad. Or maybe the Macbook Air... but the iPad is way cheaper. An iPhone would be good too, but I'd really like something I can take to Starbucks to type up stuff if I feel like it. You can't do that with an iPhone... unless you're a Smurf.
Everything else: Can't be bothered to talk about them.
So what would I get if I decided I could spend the money?
Combination 1 (the super abundant lifestyle): An iPad, an iPod classic (160GB) and an iMac / Macbook Pro:
I say "super abundant" because having any one new apple product is a sign of a pretty abundant lifestyle already.
In most cases I'd prefer the Macbook Pro, except that I'm seriously considering purchasing hardware and software for small scale sound recording at some point, which means I'd need a powerful machine with good processing speed, lots of RAM and a big screen. I'd put the iMac or Macbook at my desk / workstation at home, use the iPad most of the time (at home and carry it around when I go out, unless i'm frequently typing a lot of emails) and store 100% of my music files on my iPod. And why would you spend more money on an iPod touch (vis-a-vis an iPod classic) when you already have an iPad? I just hope there is a way to wirelessly sync all of them, or at least the iPad with the iMac / Macbook (e.g. syncing contacts, calendars etc).
Combination 2 (Lightweight mobile computing): An iPhone 3GS (32GB) and a Macbook Air / Pro (13/15 inch):
Provided I don't need all that processing power and stuff, I'd love to have a Macbook Air that is wirelessly connected to my printer, external harddrive etc. that I can carry around with me anywhere around the house, and take out with me without having an extra heavy load in my bag. I doubt I'd need anything more powerful than the Macbook Air, but I'd save money with the Pro. It all depends on how much I'd still bring my computer around if I had the iPhone. Also, it'd be great to always have all my music with me in my phone.
Combination 3 (the minimalist): A Macbook Air/Pro (15-inch). That's all. Well. I'd keep my 5th gen iPod too, assuming it continue working forever, which of course all computing devices do. But really, how much do I need/want all the other stuff, given that I'd be busy with work most of the day and hanging out with friends or at home the rest of the time?
Final thoughts
Whew. That was a long post. If you're still reading, props to you, and thank you - I usually put stuff on my blog with the presumption that hardly anyone will read it, so I appreciate your proving me wrong.
I was just in downtown Palo Alto earlier today, and I was about to brave the evening traffic to swing by the Apple store in the hopes that they had an iPad there (I doubt they did). Then I realized that while it's fun to imagine what I'd like to buy, it's much more fun to realize that I am here now, I have what I have, and it's great. It's so much better to love life as it is now than it is to love my idea of my future, because often the latter is just a projection of my desire to escape life today, and when I get there I'll probably just find more reasons to escape again, always chasing after rainbows for that pot of gold. No. God is here now, I am loved and accepted now, I have great friends and cool stuff, and my hope is not in more stuff tomorrow - it's in more of Him today. :)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
From the car blog...
From a few months ago. One of the guys made this very cryptic flow chart of cars NOT to buy. I thought it was hilarious.
(source: http://middleclassmotoring.com/past-crush/2009/10/9/something-slightly-different-for-the-weekend.html)
The article from one day before's pretty good too
http://middleclassmotoring.com/past-crush/2009/10/8/19k-for-a-honda-fit.html
If you like cars, keep watching the car blog! I've got a couple of writeups up there now and one more coming tomorrow. :)
(source: http://middleclassmotoring.com/past-crush/2009/10/9/something-slightly-different-for-the-weekend.html)
The article from one day before's pretty good too
http://middleclassmotoring.com/past-crush/2009/10/8/19k-for-a-honda-fit.html
If you like cars, keep watching the car blog! I've got a couple of writeups up there now and one more coming tomorrow. :)
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