Jonathan Young's Weblog
Saturday, July 16, 2011, 11:11 PM PDT - Memories
I want to write this down for historical purposes. I was just digging around some old files of mine, from the days when my primary PC was an 80386. One of the files in the root directory was called BONE with a timestamp of June 15, 1996, 10:43 PM. I remember downloading this file on that evening. My family was preparing to fly to Hong Kong for the summer, and the NBA Finals between the Bulls and the Sonics was going on. I was getting in some last minute web surfing (on 14.4k dialup, of course), and I found the lyrics to a popular song at the time, "Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Due to the last minute nature of my surfing, I hastily saved the file in the root directory, and it's been there to this day.
My 386 is no longer operational, but I still have mirrors of the original files and folder structure on the two 40 megabyte hard drives that I had.
Ah, memories!
Thursday, July 14, 2011, 11:04 PM PDT
After a hard day at work, what better way is there to unwind than with Skywarp, Thundercracker, and a glass of 18 year old Glenfiddich? Sometimes life really is what you make of it...
Wednesday, July 6, 2011, 11:34 PM PDT - Hello
It's been awhile since I've kept track of my days and written down my thoughts and feelings. Perhaps that is why I have been feeling pessimistically about life. After not writing myself in such a long time, it feels a little strange, like trying to write a letter to someone that you have lost touch with. I feel a little hesitant about revealing my thoughts.
Lately I have been feeling unhealthy. I am still in my early thirties, but it won't be long until I'm in my mid thirties. When I was in my 20s, I looked down upon some of the thirty-something guys that I played basketball with. They looked pudgy and loose, and I often commented that I would not be like them when I was their age. Well, here I am, and I have become like them. Whether it is being busy with work and not finding time to exercise, or being stressed at work and de-stressing in unhealthy ways, I have allowed myself to become what I did not want to become. At dinner time, I eat until I am full, and then I continue to eat, deriving some sort of pseudo-pleasure from it. I guess what I'm trying to do here is to write about it so that I will remember how bad it feels when I overeat, and when I look in the mirror.
Tomorrow, there will be a company lunch to bid goodbye to a colleague. I will try not to overindulge. Good night.
Friday, May 27, 2011, 1:16 PM PDT - Up Late
I love staying up late. The late night world is so much different from the daytime world. It is quiet and peaceful, and time seems to stand still. I eat a late night meal. I do the dishes, and clean the kitchen. I hear the rubber-to-asphalt sound of the occasional car passing by.
It's very interesting, my staying up late. It seems that no matter how hard I try to sleep and wake up early, I eventually revert to staying up into the early morning hours. I mentioned in my previous post that I stopped working for three years. Although at the time I felt shame for not working, I sometimes look back at those times with fondness. Those were times when I would stay up late all the time and watch Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. Lupin the 3rd, to be specific. Sometimes I would drive out to Jack in the Box to get myself a late night meal to enjoy while watching the show. Afterwards, I would play Star Trek: Armada II until the wee morning hours. Ah, those were the days.
Tonight, I am reliving a little bit of that time. Something else which brings me comfort is knowing that my loved ones are soundly asleep. Back then, it was my mother and sister. Now, it is my wife. Somehow, by staying awake, I feel like I am protecting them. I feel very happy that they are around me. I think about them while I do the dishes.
Today I looked at airfare and hotel for 3 weeks of travel to Hong Kong. The cheapest fare was $3,000.00. Ouch. The past few years I have been returning to Hong Kong in the summer, but perhaps I will not do so this time around. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.
That's all for now. See you later.
Sunday, April 10, 2011, 10:29 PM PDT - One Year Already?
Has it really been a year since I decided to restart the site? Some restart, eh? Other than some photos and some postings of previously existing content (e.g. the SQL Cheatsheet), there hasn't been anything new on this site.
I do have an excuse, a typical excuse, which is work is always busy now. When I first started JYCS, I was not working at all. In the period between 2001 and 2004, I gave up on looking for a job. Then, I decided to go back to school and work a part-time job. That part-time job has become a full-time job and I have become an important part of the firm that I work for.
In work and in life, I often find myself wanting to try (and learn) new things. SBS 2011 is out? OK, let me try that on a test server. Spanish For Dummies is on sale? Ooh, I want to learn Spanish. Civilization IV for $5 on Steam? Man, gotta get it. The problem with all of the above is that I start a lot of things but then I don't finish them. I have stacks of video games that I have played for only 5 minutes. I have books where I have read only the first chapter.
Because of this behavior I often become depressed, lamenting the fact that I cannot finish anything. It is rather depressing though, wouldn't you say? So, I've been thinking to myself how I can get rid of these feelings and this behavior, and I believe I have come up with the answer: do one thing at a time.
It sounds so simple, but in today's society we see that it never happens. Children play soccer, go to school, and then learn piano. At work, we often start new projects before a previous one is complete. We can be so greedy as people sometimes. We want material things, but we also want achievements.
So, back to my new mindset: do one thing at a time. My thinking is, if I focus on a single goal, and then spend all my time on that goal, then I will actually finish something and then feel better about myself. Sounds pretty simple. The key is to not set a goal that is too high. Also, I'd only be able to apply this in my personal life. As I mentioned above, work is always busy, and it's not always up to me to decide what projects to work on.
Here is my first goal: finish Gran Turismo 5 A-Spec. Use joyojc.com to track my progress. Create a list of other goals that I wish to achieve. Rinse and repeat.
As this iteration of JYCS enters another year, let's see if I can make a difference in my own life. And, if you happen to be in the same predicament as I am and want to try this method, let's see if it makes a difference in your life. Good luck!
Sunday, September 26, 2010, 10:22 PM PDT - Life, Existence
I was looking at a photograph earlier this evening and started thinking about existence. The photograph was taken in the summer of 2008, in or near Sai Kung Country Park in Hong Kong. Among those in the photo were my aunt, my wife, and myself.
My aunt passed away earlier this year. Her body, and perhaps her consciousness, no longer exist, but in my memory and imagination I can see her face, I can hear her speaking to me, and I can feel her touch. Does this mean that she still exists? I suppose that depends on how we define existence.
If I wanted to, I could completely recreate my aunt in my mind. But would it still be her? Or would it just be what I think she should be? Would she be considered existing?
When I am with my wife and we are happy together, I sometimes ask the question "why do we have to die and be apart someday?" It just seems like a cruel joke to bring people together, make them love each other, care for each other, and then break them apart at the end. People say that we should treasure the people around us, and the moments that they share with us. I wonder how much of a difference that makes, because it doesn't make saying goodbye, or the prospect of saying goodbye, any easier. In the end, we all die.
I can still feel the warmth of the sun on that hot and humid summer day in the park. I see the giant ants crawling along the sidewalk. I feel my impatience at being out in the heat and not in the air conditioned saloon of my uncle's van. Maybe that's all existence is, just a collection of brain cells that can replay a memory over and over again. When the last memory of something fades, then that something stops existing, and it is as if it never existed. Not a very funny joke at all.
Thursday, August 5, 2010, 8:47 PM PDT - Appreciation
The past 4 days I have been in Seattle for a software training. Being away from my normal life has reminded me of just how good my life is. Basic things like sleeping in my own bed, driving my own car, using fast Internet, playing PS3 games, working at a large desk, and eating home cooking were all things that I missed while I was in Seattle.
I always try to remind myself of how fortunate I am to have the things that I have, but sometimes thinking is not the same as doing, and the things that you have must now and again be taken away from you before you truly feel just how empty your life is without them.
Some other things that I'll be happy to have again:
- A computer screen bigger than 12.1 inches
- A computer desktop larger than 1280x800
- My own bathroom
- Wearing clothes from my regular wardrobe as opposed to wearing business attire
- Waking up when I am rested instead of at a designated time
I'm on the plane now, but when I am back home uploading this post I will be glad and I will once again feel what it is like to truly appreciate something.
After 4 years I've finally decided to update this site. A lot of things have happened over the years but I've always maintained my hunger for knowledge and for sharing that knowledge. I'm also older and more cynical which is why this site will no longer only be about computers. I'll write about anything that piques my interest, be it computers, things I see in the news, etc.
If you're looking for the original Jonathan Young's Computer Site, please go to the Technology section and follow the links. You'll find my original articles there for now, while I update them to fit into that same section.