New Year? New Day? New Beginnings? Pssfftt...

One of the biggest jokes of the year is the New Year. People begin the new year saying things like "This is the new year, I have a chance to start anew" or make ridiculous resolutions that they know they won't keep. The new year is just a new day. If we are ever begging so hard for an opportunity to change, why wait for the new year? To push it to the extreme, why even wait for a new day? If you want your 6-pack abs, or that elusive 24-inch waist-line, or the discipline to be a "good" student, or sleep with at least five guys this year, or find your dream guy, or to save enough money to travel the seven seas, why do you have to wait for a new year?

Nevertheless, all this is way easier said than done. But as usual, the first step to big dreams is self-awareness. Abraham Lincoln said in his "House Divided" speech in 1858:

If we could first know where we are going and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it

Simply, it means that it is important in every decision process that we know where we are and not just where we are going. We can only know "whither we are tending" if we know where we are. So for those of you who still think you are in your lofty worlds with all these big dreams, I hope that after you have read this, you will re-think where you are, and not just about where you want to go. It is pointless to know where you want to go if you don't know where you are.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a multi-talented writer from Germany in the late 18th-early 19th century added:

What you can do or think you can do, begin it.
For boldness has magic, power, and genius in it.

To translate, in the words of Nike, "Just do it".

Some of you may also remember Celine Dion singing about a new day and NOT a new year. I know that's lame but I am going to use it as an example to drive my points home. Here is a link to that song for those of you who were born too late to know who Celine Dion is:

A New Day Has Come - Celine Dion

If you try to see beyond the mushy lyrics of the song, I think it can be applied out of the context of love as what was intended by Celine. Anyway, here are the lyrics:

A new day has...come

I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun
A new day has...come

Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy

Hush, love

I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun
A new day has...come

A new day has...come
Ohhh, a light... Ooh

Hence, we don't have to wait for a new year to make changes in our lives. All we need is a day. My best wishes to you in your future endeavors.

Full Circle

This post is probably long known to be inevitable. My final semester at BU did not begin with a bang, nor did I expect it to. Life as I have come to know it, is only as exciting as we make it to be. It's not that I am not excited about what I need to study for this semester, in fact, I have the three most interesting courses that I have ever taken in my college life. They had to wait until the last semester to give me what I really love to do. But then again, maybe it is because I have only discovered what I love to do during my later college career. Anyhow, my college career is approaching its end and I'd like to think that the first quarter of my life is coming to a close. When I look back at how I have spent my college time, it is inevitable that there are a few kinks here and there. But I think I made the most of the opportunities that were presented to me. I had fun, made some cool friends, did everything a college student is supposed to do. Could I have done more?

Anyway, this is also a period for job hunting and my hopes seem slim. It would seem that the harder I try, the more I have come to realize that the chances of me being hired are not too good. Nevertheless, I have zero doubt about my abilities as a person. I just have huge doubts about how the system works. How can they send a representative and talk to you for about 30 minutes and then they get to decide if you should be recalled for a second interview. Well, but that's how life works and I just have to live with it.

My plans now are to secure a job in Melbourne. I will go there after I graduate and check out the companies and see where I end up. It will be exciting. Life is actually beginning! I have to find my own place, pay for my own food or cook, and pay bills etc. As intimidating as it may seem to some people, it actually sounds exciting and fun. The only thing that is left for me to desire is to be able to do something that I will enjoy. I don't have to love the job or anything, but to be challenged and to enjoy the challenge would be pretty ideal.

I have also realized that I have saved a decent amount of money now and I can afford to buy myself a few presents before I go home. I have also sold off some of my textbooks, some of them even at a profit after using them. I am just that good at sales pitching. What can I say? Hahaha... So my plans are to purchase a camera, a long-term investment for me. I also recently purchased a suit, which cost about 200 USD. According to the people I talked to, that's a good price to pay for it. In fact, it's a bargain.

You could say that I am on a kind of a splurge right now. But after four years of "hard" work, I think I deserve slightly more than a pat on the back and a "Job well done". Besides, I think the camera is more of a shared property between Ern and I.

With all that said, and a quarter of my life gone, I can foresee that this will be a good life. I just know it. Now let's go fall down so that we can learn all the ways to climb back up :)

4K.Grubby: Fickle balance

Fickle balance

Some useful definitions:

fickle adjective 2. liable to sudden unpredictable change; “erratic behavior”; “fickle weather”; “mercurial twists of temperament”; “a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next”

balance noun 1. a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.

fickle balance 1+2. a state of equilibrium liable to sudden unpredictable change; “fickle balance”; “a quicksilver strategy, strong and unbeatable and one moment, utterly fragile the next”

Metagame: the strategic analysis of a single strategy, or the most commonly played strategies in any given region of the country, in the hopes of creating a strategy that will be more likely to beat strategies of the original type when played in a tournament environment.

One of the most debated and controversial issues in the Warcraft III scene, is that of balance.

We humans have an irresistible urge to categorize everything that we see. In order to understand new data that we come across more readily, we put these pieces of information in boxes with fitting labels. In this way, we build a vast library in our brains concerning all topics, especially those topics that we are concerned with most in our daily life. For many of us, a game has become part of our routine and often these games require us to study and learn great amounts in order to advance. By organizing the information in our head, we create new neural pathways in our brain for actions we do repeatedly. Calling upon our memories and skills for certain actions will go increasingly faster as we repeat these actions more often. Hence the saying, ‘practice makes perfect’.

We are intent on creating ranks for everyone and everything. I myself have noticed that the majority of people have a strong desire to know at any given point, all year round, exactly who are the top 10 players for each race and which Country produces the best players.

Last but not least, we are obsessed with finding out which race is the strongest and which is the weakest. Game balance comes in to play in our community when people attempt to use facts based on balance to produce a ranking of the races, which they at heart feel most comfortable with.

If Rick’s favorite player is the Undead user FoV then it is unlikely that Rick will be willing to accept arguments that support Undead being the strongest race. This is because FoV’s accomplishments will appear far more convincing to Rick if Undead was the weakest race. FoV would lay a spanking despite the shortcomings of his race, which would then be all the more impressive to fans. Some spectators take this one step further by also attempting to convince everyone else that FoV is constantly fighting against the odds because Undead is the weakest race. However, this attempt is most likely futile as usual (since everyone plays a different race and has different favorite players); it would be good to remember the basic motivation that people crusade against each other on forums.

People are very good at deluding themselves to obtain peace of mind. We do this when faced with concepts we aren’t comfortable with. For example, believing in resurrection to help us accept death is similar in a lot of ways to believing that orc is imbalanced so that we may accept loss, without being forced to admit that the other player is more skilled. Personally I have no problem allowing people their reasons so that they may find peace of mind, so long as people don’t mistake these arguments for irrefutable proof of their claims.

The greatest wisdom can be found by considering all points of view before coming to a conclusion. Which strategy is balanced and which is imbalanced? It seems there is an opinion for every grain of sand in the Sahara Desert and like the sand; they are blown away just as easily with every gust of wind. Indeed, I find that the balance in Warcraft III can be viewed just so: waves ripple through the community with a fresh wind every few weeks and completely shatter our previous suppositions. Those people that stick with their earlier conclusions find themselves outnumbered by the ones who ride the wave, unless their mind stays unchanged until the next wave when a strategy becomes imbalanced – for the second time.

A good example of this wave theory is the Druids of the Talons strategy. It was early 2005 when Moon had chills of despair running down the spine of every Orc player with his unbeatable DotT strategy. Those who did not have the misfortune of meeting the father of the DotT strategy Mr. Moon, would meet one of his many followers attempting to replicate his strategy, and with great success. Orcs were helpless for a year, or longer, against the DotT’s, winning only when the Orc apparently out skilled the Night elf by a huge margin. With no new patch at all, there was a sudden shift of power. A new wave rippled across the WarCraft III community, not because the balance had changed, but the balance as we perceive it.

Was it not after I defeated Moon 3 to 1 in WEG Masters (on Night elf biased maps, no less) that it seemed the DotT strategy had lost its once dominant appeal? It was shortly before the WEG Masters semi finals that players had begun to pick up on playing Druids of the Claw instead. This was a notion that would become all the more attractive after the conclusion of WEG Masters. Orcs were starting to counter DotT strategies all across battle.net, now claiming ‘it’s not hard to play against’, and ‘bears are much more difficult’.

I find that the balance of confidence is often a large influence on the outcome of matches. Don’t be overconfident, but have a firm resolve and believe that you can win as long as you play it right. The confidence of all Orcs increased after I beat Moon in China.

The confidence of Orcs would once again decrease after the figureheads of the race start to lose matches yet again (you’d be surprised how quickly this wildfire of despair spreads if you haven’t seen it!). It is certainly no boost to the morale when I watch Satiini or Satiini clones defeat Lyn 2 – 0 again and again or how Zacard tries to hold his own with the mass of experienced Chinese Night Elves.

Some players become desperate when their fellow race users start to lose; to them it seems impossible to win.

It was only a matter of time before a talented and hard working Night Elf player would pick up the DotT strategy again and play it so effectively that it would create a new shift in the meta-game.

HoT has started playing DotT’s again, not like Moon once had – but a new way. With subtle nuances he has reshaped the strategy just as so many other players reshape existing strategies time and time again. In the end it’s not about an arbitrary truth of how the balance really is. It is in fact a constant shift and waves of the meta-game which has players always trying to stay one step ahead of everyone else.

Many people ask me how to make it to the top. The most important thing is not to get carried away on the waves, on waves of opinions of other people. Only your own opinions matters when you are determining your own luck.

The first step is to get to know your equipment well, your utensils and all the hotkeys of the game.

Secondly you must follow the example set by others, so that you understand the meta-game. Thirdly you must be stubborn, because being on the top means not being just another sheep in the flock.

Lastly I’d like to mention that the real challenge is not the climb to the top, but staying on top once you are there. This is not a static position, but an ever-moving one.

It doesn’t get any easier once you are there.

Source: http://www.esportsglobal.com/articles/1

Afternoon Delight

This is the song of the day after I watched Good Will Hunting :)

Afternoon Delight - the Starland Vocal Band

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight
gonna grab some afternoon delight.
My motto's always been; when it's right, it's right.
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night.
When everything's a little clearer in the light of day.
And you know the night is always gonna be there any way.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite
looking forward to a little afternoon delight.
Rubbin' sticks and stones together makes the sparks ingite
and the thought of rubbin' you is getting so exciting.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Started out this morning feeling so polite
I always though a fish could not be caught who wouldn't bite
But you've got some bait a waitin' and I think I might try nibbling
a little afternoon delight.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Please be waiting for me baby when I come around.
We could make a lot of lovin' 'for the sun goes down.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.
Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Can't Take That Away From Me

I have two job interviews tomorrow and even though there is a small chance that I am going to get the job, I will not accept the fact that I am not good enough to be hired. It just can't be true. It is a high chance that I won't be hired because I am a foreigner, and also because I am not a genius. What I can say for myself is that I know I am above average, and I will, unlike many other people, contrary to popular belief, work hard and do my utmost best to get to where I want. If all else is lost, I know that I will always have my desire, the burning desire to be all I can be. They just can't take that away from me.

Can't Take That Away From Me - Mariah Carey

Mmmmh
Whoaaa

They can say,
Anything they want to say,
Try to bring me down,
But I will not allow anyone to succeed hanging clouds over me,
And they can try
Hard to make me feel that I,
Don't matter at all,
But I refuse to falter in what I believe or lose faith in my dreams

'Cause there's,
There's a light in me,
That shines brightly,
Yes, They can try,
But they can't take that away from me
From me

No no nooo

Oh they,
They can do
Anything they want to you,
If you let them in,
But they won't ever win,
If you cling to you pride, and just push them aside,
See I..
I have learned,
There's an inner peace I own,
Something in my soul that they can not possess
So I won't be afraid and the darkness will fade

'Cause there's,
There's light in me me,
That shines brightly,
Yes, They can try,
But they can't take that away from me

No oh oh,
They can't take this
Precious love I'll always have inside me,
Certainly the Lord will guide me where I need to go

Woah, woah
They can say
Anything they want to say,
Try to bring me down,
But I won't face the ground,
I will rise steadily sailing out of their reach,
Oh, Lord, they do try,
Hard to make me feel that I,
Don't matter at all
But I refuse to falter
In what I believe or lose faith in my dreams,
'Cause there's a light in me,
That shines brightly

Yes, They can try but they can't take that away from
Me
From me
No no nooo
Me

Ode To Joy

There are just days where no words can explain them. They are just what they are. Nevertheless, we have the opportunity to celebrate life, hence, I have decided to give you guys Mozart's Ode To Joy, no words, simply an ode to joy.

Mozart - Ode To Joy

Life Soundtrack

One of my professors, Karl Voss, wisely said that one of the greatest shortcomings of life is that it lacks a soundtrack. You should have happy music playing in the background for happy times, sad music for sad times, romantic music for romantic times. I tend to agree with him. So from today onwards, I will start a project, of creating a soundtrack for my life, and I will post a download link for the song that basically describes the general outcome at the end of each day, and I take no responsibility in justifying or confirming what you may think or deduce about my life from the songs that I post. I just hope you celebrate life with me, in a more melodious way.

I posted below the song "Had a Bad Day" by Daniel Powter, not because I had a bad day, but because some other people did and I wish them well and hope that they can bounce back and exhibit their true worth eventually, of course, better sooner than later.