Old Internet Joke

Came across a joke that should be quite old but decided to post it nonetheless..

Recently one of my friends, a computer wizard, paid me a visit. As we were talking I mentioned that I had recently installed Windows on my PC, I told him how happy I was with this operating system and showed him the Windows CD.

To my astonishment and distress he threw it into my micro-wave oven and turned it on. I was upset because the CD had become precious to me, but he said: 'Do not worry, it is unharmed.' After a few minutes he took the CD out, gave it to me and said: 'Take a close look at it.'

To my surprise the CD was quite cold and it seemed to have become thicker and heavier than before. At first I could not see anything, but on the inner edge of the central hole I saw an inscription, in lines finer than anything I have ever seen before. The inscription shone piercingly bright, and yet remote, as if out of a great depth:

4F6E65204F5320746F2072756C65207468656D20616C6C2C204F6E65204F5320746F
2066696E64207468656D2C0D0A4F6E65204F5320746F206272696E67207468656D20
616C6C20616E6420696E20746865206461726B6E6573732062696E64207468656D

'I cannot read the fiery letters,' I said. 'No,' he said, 'but I can. The letters are Hex, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Microsoft, which I shall not utter here. But in common English this is what it says:

'One OS to rule them all, One OS to find them, One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.'

God is not a voyeur

Had a light chat with a colleague recently on the topic of religion. Let me say once again that I am an agnostic - I believe that the evidence for or against the existence of god is inconclusive. It wasn't that long ago when people believed that the world was flat or that earth was the centre of the universe.. How can we expect to prove the existence of god or spirits when we can't even find the bloody dark matter!?

Some people believe in fate or destiny.. Their god must be a hell of a scriptwriter, cos our lives are intertwined with millions of others in this lifetime. Imagine "Man A must be born and Woman B must be born. A and B must meet and mate to allow Child C to enter the world. Man D must be there in Year X to give Child C a job in 20 years time. Child C owed Child E a debt in lifetime Q. Thus Child E must pass his driving test and get his car to knock down Child C in Year Y. In doing so, Child E will inevitably incur a debt towards Man A and Woman B, to be returned in lifetime T.." Nonsense..

Likewise, I do not believe in the general assumption that good people go to heaven while evil ones are condemned to hell. It is difficult for your boss to give you a fair appraisal for one year's worth of work alone, not to mention a lifetime of deeds/misdeeds! I shudder at how huge a HR dept god must maintain to keep score of believers/non-believers, continuous assessments, etc.. I cringe at the monstrosity of the database needed to maintain such information.. "Man A covered under Islam Scheme 201 from Year X to Y, since switched to Christianity Scheme 101, to write off rewards points earned under Scheme 201 and revise the Heaven Grade Access Plan accordingly.." Rubbish..

As Steven Weinberg said, 'the more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless.' Who is to say that there is a benevolent designer behind everything anyway? Perhaps 'the good gets rewarded' is just wishful thinking, not unlike people of the past who used to dance to pray for rain.. What if this higher being is more interested in dollars and cents? Maybe you can take it with you after all - if rich people go to heaven!

A Solemn Post

Made a couple of major decisions recently, all of which will greatly impact my life. The simplest one was to get my dodgy knee fixed once and for all. The latest MRI scan and x-ray diagnosis showed that my ACL was no longer visible, the meniscus pretty screwed while the cartilage is damaged too. Hope that with the surgery, I'll be able to return to the field and run down the wing once again. Competitive by nature, this injury has been holding me back for half a decade. Time to get into shape once and for all.

Also had to drop a precious gem which has accompanied me for three years. This gem has always been there for me and I really treasure it a lot. Countless memories. At the end of the day though, I cannot bring it along where I'm headed towards. How do you drop a precious yet fragile gem on the road, knowing that you'll cause it to shatter? Heartlessly. The shattered pieces have cut deep into my soul and it will take time to heal. Perhaps it is best that no other gems cross my path until I have found my way.

Am also giving serious consideration to taking the GRE in the near future. Will probably take more time to ponder it over, just in case this intellectual thirst is just a passing phase.