theduo

The Political Compass, take 2

I was looking through my old posts on this blog, and I noticed this political compass a while back. Here is a link to my previous response. I’ve gotten a little more authoritarian, but remarkably more moderate in terms of my economic stances. Here is a link to my more recent run through the test.

And here is a link to some more information regarding the analysis.

I guess the past couple of years has altered my stance on things. It’s mainly been, I think, AP Comparative Gov’t in high school, and probably the greater time I’ve spent among Christians. (I think it was mainly AP Comparative :P)

Re: “iPhone Developers: apps cloned, Apple no help | iLounge News

I don’t think it’s really Apple’s responsibility to persecute creators of cloned applications. If someone were to clone, say, a computer game that, say, Ubisoft created for a Dell computer running Windows, it wouldn’t be the responsibility of Dell or Microsoft to persecute whoever cloned the game. Legal action would be expected to come from Ubisoft.

With that said, it’s pretty messed up that people are directly cloning things and hardly even changing the name, and getting them approved by Apple…

Haha...

Bike, used: $175
Wheelset (Velocity deep-V): $280
Front ALEX R450 wheel: $80
Cogs and lockrings: $60
Origin-8 track crankset: $72
MKS Sylvan Track pedals: $30
MKS toe clips: $12
Toshi single toestraps: $45
Continental Ultra Gatorskin tires: $90
Soma Urban Pursuit bars: $40
Cinelli cork grip tape: $15
Cane Creek left brake lever: $15
Selle San Marco Ponza saddle: $15

Total: $929

This doesn’t include other tires, tubes, tools, labor costs, etc.

A Road Bicycle With A Fixed Wheel

So for those of you who don’t know, I’ve really gotten into riding fixed gear bikes. Preferably mine. =P

(As a side note, I should be studying for my CS midterm right now)

My bike is a 1983 Panasonic Sport 1000, converted into a fixed gear bike. Of course, I don’t ride brakeless…and I sometimes wear my helmet (more often, of late).

For those of you who don’t already have tire irons (or tire levers), or if you have cheap, crappy ones (like I did), just go out and get a pair of Soma steel core levers. I’ve snapped at least one of my cheap tire levers, on a Soma Everwear (700x23c), and the Soma steel core levers feel much stronger and stable.

Beginning Again

It’s not as though I have plenty of time to blog, but I’m going to try to post a little more often. I don’t regularly have anything to say, either. I suppose that this is one of those times. =P

It’s a little interesting that my last post was a grocery list, for the time the TIC people came for food.

The first round of midterms is over, and I came out having done alright. I’ll need to do a little better next time.

Grocery List

brown sugar
Dijon mustard
8 salmon fillets
3 pints of strawberries

Library Moments?

Well. It’s May now. The last time I wrote was February. A whole year at Cal has passed. Finals are creeping up.

I sit here, in one of the classrooms above the sanctuary, and listen to the birds chirping outside. My bike is leaning against a wall in front of the church, and the temperature outside is a nice 73˚.

“Do everything without complaining or arguing” – Philippians 2:14

And so, even though it’s BEAUTIFUL outside, I will study my hardest, since God has called me to be a student at Cal…

"Lent" and Thoughts on Retreat

The pastor at my new church here at Cal, Pastor Ken, suggested that we try something somewhat similar to Lent, not so much for the tradition and whatnot, but more for the abstinence of some fleshly indulgence for the sake of making more room for God. I decided that I would give up soda (that is, carbonated beverages in general). I never realized that I relied so much on soda as something to drink. Now, it was never really in the way or keeping me from seeking God, but like I said, I had really underestimated how much I took it for granted, and just consumed it regularly. While I have been substituting soda with drinks like orange juice and water, I do feel that resisting the temptation to just walk over and grab a Coke from the fridge in my dorm is a strength that God gave me, and has really reinforced the idea that with God, anything is possible. =)

Over the long weekend, I will be going back to my home church, to serve as a counselor/small group leader and worship leader at the high school fellowship’s winter retreat. I can only pray that I will be an effective small group leader, and be able to focus the discussion of my small group. The speaker hasn’t sent out his questions yet, so I’m not sure what he’s going to talk about, exactly. All I’ve decided on so far is to have my small group write out prayer requests, and then choose names out of a hat or something, and pray for their person through the retreat, and hopefully, beyond (I guess there’s a chance for some follow-up with that). The theme of the retreat is “Holiness in an Unholy World”. I can only foresee that the messages will somehow involve purity. Another thing is that I’ve never led a small group before, so I’m not sure how discussions will go, if Bryan (my cohort in crime…er…co-small group leader) and I will be able to command authority, or if my small group members will share insightful experiences and thoughts. An awkward silence during every small group discussion would be horrible!

Since I’m one of the worship leaders, I assume that my responsibilities will include playing the guitar, as well as singing. While I have played and sang on worship teams before, I’ve never formally led a group (besides my own small group here at Cal). Of course, my worship is all for the Lord, but I am still leading the fellowship, and I pray that my leading will be helpful to the Oasis kids, and that my communication with the rest of my group, if any, will be clear. Also, I’ve been trying to think of songs that might fit the theme. Some suggestions that people have given me are “Give Us Clean Hands”, “Refiner’s Fire”, “Unfailing Love”, and “Perspectives”.

I pray, and I ask those of you who know the Lord to pray for me, that I would have a humble heart, a servant’s heart. I pray that God would remind me that this work is work that I do for His glory, and that in everything I do, I should be worshipping Him. I also pray that my Father would use me to reach out to the high schoolers, to help them become more spiritually mature, that God would use me as a gardener to cultivate the seeds that He has planted in their hearts. Finally, I pray that the retreat would run smoothly, and that we would be kept safe by God’s watchful and loving hands.

Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
   They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

Hello All!

I know, it’s been a while. But here I am, at Cal, about half an hour before I turn 19. Nothing special, really. I have homework to do, homework that I’ve already completed. I feel as though I’ve already fallen into the routine of things.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I’m turning 19. That’s not the important part. The important thing was that someone that I rarely ever talk to posted on my wall on Facebook. My roommate said earlier today, “Facebook. The bane of social responsibility.” I agree. Facebook’s announcement of upcoming birthdays allows people you barely know, yet have “befriended”, to wish you a happy birthday, regardless of whether or not they actually knew or cared.

So, should people still wish their “friends” a happy birthday? Of course. With, perhaps, the exception of the friends that are barely spoken to. That seems to make sense, doesn’t it? It certainly does to me.

But enough about that horrid time sink. February 9th is worship training at my new church here in Berkeley (CFC Berkeley). I guess I’m on the rotation to lead or be in the worship team. I’m really excited to be in this kind of ministry…being put in this kind of position to bring people to bow down before the Lord and worship Him.

I should go soon. I’m going to go running with one of my small group leaders in the morning. Hahaha!

Fervor

I have had the most hectic past few months ever. In an attempt to reorganize everything and prepare for recruiting, I have revalutated myself and established a more intense focus on my activities. The duo has been horribly neglected and what few readers we have left should be rightfully angry and disintrested, but we do out best to come back every so often and give a glimpse of our lives. Currently, I am completely focused on recruiting and have put most things second. This does not mean however that I am neglecting them. Class, friends, and extracurriculars are still important, but I have decided I cannot enjoy them until I have acquired a job after school ends. If I do not, it will be hard to enjoy. I have not given up my everlong goal of pursuing happiness, but that happiness cannot be obtained unless I set up opportunities for myself. I sound like I’m justifying my actions to myself and if you believe this, you are entirely correct. I know what needs to be done, what should be done, and what is in my best interest so I must align my current goals to attain what my future self will want. It’s all convoluted, but sadly that is how my thinking works at the moment. Juggling a thousand thoughts and tasks, cramming gigabytes upon gigabytes of information, and in a beautiful explosion it crumbles, reassembles and organizes itself to a neat little pile of reason. I have left this entry in unrefined and raw state to give you a view inside my head. What? What indeed.

Update? =P

It’s been a long time…hahaha…Sorry. I’ve been…distracted…by a certain girl. But here I am at TMF in Tolman. I need to start memorizing my verses for Sunday school…...

[untitled update]

So here I am, a little bit more than a month older than my last post. What’s changed since then? For one thing, I’m going to either Cal or UCLA, although it’ll probably be Cal. I can’t really think of anything else to say…

過世

My grandmother has passed away and although I remember my memories of her. I cannot say I am moved to the point of breaking down. I am not so emotional as I was when dealing with Joyce this summer. How can someone of my own blood not cause as much emotional distress in me? Maybe, I romanticize the ideas of death and love too much, so much so that it is a fault. Maybe I just believe, as does the majority of the world, that the death of a relative should equate to emotional detonation. Does this mean I do not like my grandma? No. I enjoyed having her around very much. Maybe, I’m just cold, distant, and uncaring. Maybe, I am too selfish and too self-centered. Maybe, I’m not relgious enough. But shouldn’t the lack of belief in an afterlife cause me to be even sadder? However, I don’t deny the existence of an afterlife nor do I believe it. I’ll miss you, grandma. This is the truth. I just wish things could have been much happier for you before you went away. R.I.P. Chui King Lau. I will do my best to make you proud.

A Phone? What's that?!

9:37:06 PM teajayng: sorry about that
9:37:09 PM teajayng: phone call
9:37:12 PM KS: haha
9:37:14 PM KS: its okay
9:37:23 PM teajayng: i know, i can’t believe that i got a phone call!
9:37:29 PM teajayng: (well, it was from Bryan)
9:37:33 PM teajayng: we were joking..
9:37:41 PM teajayng: “Dood, do you remember when we used to use these old things?!”
9:38:08 PM teajayng: “YEAH! I was looking at the number, and thinking that it looked really familiar!”
9:38:19 PM KS: AHhaha
9:39:44 PM teajayng: yeah
9:39:56 PM teajayng: my phone conversations with guys are like
9:40:02 PM teajayng: “Hey.”
9:40:03 PM teajayng: “Hey.”
9:40:07 PM teajayng: “Where you at?”
9:40:15 PM teajayng: “Dude, you know where I’m at. Where you at?”
9:40:19 PM teajayng: (no, i’m kidding)
9:40:42 PM KS: hAHahha
9:40:42 PM KS: well if it were real
9:40:42 PM KS: that would b hilarious!

Is there a correlation?!

A while back, I referenced this document:

Well, in the Contra Costa Times, there was an article about some schools trying more instructional time. Note that S. Korea has the highest amount of instructional time. Then, look at the previous document, and note the high ranking of [South] Korea. Could there be a correlation here?