~C4Chaos

What would you like all fathers to know?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for June 15, 2008)

You're more of a role model to us than movie stars, athletes, artists, nobel laureates, business moguls, or rock stars. But when all things are said and done we're the ones who will shape our own destinies. So it's enough that you were there being an instrument in giving us the opportunity to witness what love, sadness, happiness, and life are all about.

Thank you and Happy Father's Day.

Happy Mother's Day! Any way the wind blows...

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for May 11, 2008)

What have you learned from your mother? If you could share something with your mum, wherever she is, what would you say? How has your mother inspired you?

My mom thought me patience, kindness, humility, compassion, forgiveness, and the Golden Rule.

I love you, Mama. Thanks for bringing me into this world. I'm sorry for the times I'm not there when you needed me. So here's one of the greatest songs ever written for a super mom like you. Any way the wind blows... I'm always thinking of you.

What would you choose to make a film about?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for May 10, 2008)

Today is Pangea Day, a global event meant to bring the world together through the use of film.

If you could make a movie about something, knowing it would be seen around the world, what would you choose? What story would you tell?

A film about a post-singularity world when humankind had achieved convergence of technology and spirituality on a planetary scale. The Matrix, Blade Runner, and Star Trek all rolled into a futuristic dystopian saga.

I'm still thinking of a working title...

Happy Earth Day!

(Earth Energy photo via Auntie K)

Today is Earth Day. I'm contemplating on our human footprint and celebrating Earth Week. Aside from ecological observance, this day is relevant to me since I also work at Gaia -- another stroke of serendipity.

But instead of just the usual environmental theme, I'd like to look at the Earth from a grander cosmological perspective and reflect on why the 21st century is a pivotal moment in the history of humanity. So here's a video of Sir Martin Rees at TED.

Here's to our only planet!

Kicking Off Earth Week

(Crossposted from ~C4Chaos @ Gaia)

(photo via ~jjjohn)

I believe that every day should be Earth Day. Whether we care or not, whether we're conscious of it or not, we're part of the Earth; we belong to the Earth; we'll return to the Earth; we are Earth.

Tomorrow is Earth Day. In observance of this annual celebration, I'll be blogging about green things for the entire week and will tag my blogs with Earth Week. Keep on watching http://coolmel.gaia.com/blog/tags/earth+week

To kick off Earth Week, here's the original 1983 video of "The Global Brain" by Peter Russell. This video is from the 80s but it rings truer today. It's a powerful visualization tool for stepping back and taking a much much bigger and more embracing perspective than we normally do in our every day lives.

What is the best way to show someone you love them?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for April 13, 2008)

Depends on the nature of love that we are expressing towards another.

For Eros or romantic love, I show it by means of respect, constant reminder of admiration (cheesy as it may be, the words "i love you" still packs a powerful punch when delivered at the right moment when the other person least expect it), whispering sweet nothings about the past and the future, and a transcendent kiss to my beloved.

For Philia (or friendship love), I show it by being honest, loyal, and available when the person needs me; by being a good friend with no-bullshit. This means keeping my circle of friends small and cozy.

For Agape (or universal love), I constantly attempt to improve on this by being as compassionate and open-minded as I can towards other people's beliefs, but with minimal idiot compassion. This is where the Golden Rule (or Ethic of Reciprocity) comes in handy.

Who has been a beacon for you recently?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for April 10, 2008)

This woman is the beacon in my life. 'Nuff said.

What is your own inner Fool saying?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for April 01, 2008)

My inner fool is fooling around in virtual reality right now. I've always wanted to do Tai Chi while wearing an expensive silk kimono. It sounds foolish but it looks cool in-world.

What have you learned from having your heart broken?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for March 21, 2008)

That nothing is permanent and broken hearts eventually heal. A broken heart heals faster once we realize that there is no heart to break after all. Even happiness is temporary. Life is too short for self-pity. Opening our hearts and minds to serendipity leads to serenity. Serenity is the state I prefer to be.

What is the biggest project you've taken on?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for March 13, 2008)

The Year 2000 Problem. Yep, you heard it. The Y2K Bug! Allow me to reminisce...

I had the opportunity to move to the U.S. because of my ability to talk to big computers (mainframes) using antiquated languages. I hated those languages. Damn you, COBOL, JCL, Assembly! I was more fluent talking to computers with elegant languages like Pascal and C. For a computer science graduate who wanted to design games and do cool graphics, tweaking ancient code was like computing hell. This was exacerbated by the fact that most of my co-workers at that time were almost double my age. But practicality and serendipity reigned over me. And so I ended up working on boring projects hunting down those pesky Y2K bugs. It was a dirty job. But hey, someone's got to do it!

Then the Year 2000 passed by and the dire predictions of worldwide disruptions didn't happen. But instead of being thankful to those people who worked their asses off on the most boring computing project ever, some people had the self-righteous audacity to proclaim that the Y2K bug wasn't a "real" problem after all. I could only gasp and scoff at those ignorant people. It's true that the disaster scenarios (like elevators and planes crashing) were sensationalized by journalists, "non-fiction" writers, politicians, and the IT industry, but the potential business, military, and economic disruptions from the Y2K bug were warranted. If businesses and government institutions didn't do their part in solving the bug then their operations would've been severely impacted and it would've costed them more to fix it after the fact (all the while with angry customers breathing down their necks for not doing their part on being Y2K compliant). The problem was real, but the collective hysteria, was overblown.

In the end, I'm glad that I had a small contribution in fixing that problem, no matter how mind-numbing it was for me to sift through mountains of printouts and stare at verbose redundant codes. My motivation was intrinsic: to get paid well so I could support my family back home while living a decent life of my own. No regrets. I'm happy where I'm at right now.

The Y2K problem was an inverse Black Swan -- something expected to cause worldwide disruptions but never happened. It's the Black Swan that gave me an opening to travel to developed countries. I'm grateful for that Black Swan. It's serendipity all the way up, all the way down.

P.S. It's hard to resist the temptation of comparing the Y2K bug with Global Warming. But unlike Y2K there is no solid cut-off date for Global Warming (yes, there are projections of CO2 saturation in the atmosphere based on climate models, but that too is still debatable depending on who we believe). The sensationalism of disaster scenarios along with clashing philosophical, political and economic ideologies make Global Warming several magnitudes bigger (and murkier) than the Y2K issue. I can only wonder twenty years from now.

What do you love?

(This is in response to the Questions and Reflections for February 14, 2008)



I love spending Valentine's Day (while together) with ~myDakini. Long distance is so dead :)

Red ~C Diary: On Gaia and Zaadz Nostalgia

(Crossposted from ~C4Chaos@Gaia)

It's barely a day since Zaadz transformed into Gaia and I'm already feeling a pinch of nostalgia. Most members have embraced the change. Some members have expressed sadness and protest. We (the team) feel their zaadness. We have our reasons. Zaadz will always be special to us. We've (the team and members) taken a cryptic Dutch word and gave it a new meaning in cyberspace. We've made it hot. We've made it fluffy. We've made it cool. We'd like to thank all 150,000+ members who made Zaadz a sweet success.

Our deepest gratitude to all of you! 

But the time has come to practice what we preach -- to be the change so we could change our world. And there's nothing more fitting than this serendipitous quote from William Butler Yeats.

"Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing." ~William Butler Yeats

Thanks again to all our members. If you've grown to love Zaadz, you'll love what Gaia has in store for you (and that purple color will sink in too :)). We're just getting started. Here's to more adventures that lie ahead.

Keep on growing and flowing...

w00t! Zaadz is now Gaia!

http://www.gaia.com/community