Chess is Anti-Kindness

"You cannot play chess if you are kind-hearted."

-A French proverb

Clear Your Plate

The choice is always simple enough: Clear your plate if you want dessert.

Author Unknown

Life is like Chess

"Life is a kind of chess, with struggle, competition, good and ill events."

- Benjamin Franklin
1706-1790

Why God Allows PAIN?

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering ...

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children?

If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things." The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber! finishe d his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist." "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me." "Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

So, if you want to argue with your barber, let him finish his cutting first, okay?

Bobby Fischer's Words on Chess

"You can only get good at chess if you love the game."

"I like to make them squirm."

"If I win, I'm a genius. If I don't, I'm not."

- Bobby Fischer
1943- Present

Don't Lose Faith?

Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.

Steve Jobs
CEO
Apple Inc.

Chess and Pickpocketing

"A man that will take back a move at chess will pick a pocket."

- Richard Fenton
1837-1916

What the Minds Discuss?

Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people."

You? Huh...nevermind!

Some are wise; some...otherwise! Ha...ha...ha...!!!

Judge or Love?

"If we judge people, we have no time to love them.

- Mother Therasa

Dog as Exercise Machine?

A dog is the only exercise maching you cannot decide to skip when you don't feel like it.

Carolyn G. Heilburn

Einstein's Chess Ideas

"Chess holds its master in its own bonds, shakling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer."

- Albert Einstein
1879-1955

Being Imperfect

The only nice thing about being imperfect is the joy it brings to others.

Doug Larson

Chess in the words of Duchamp

"Chess players are madmen of a certain quality, the way the artist is supposed to be, and isn't, in general."

"Not all artists may be chess players, but all chess players are artists."

"I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art - and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position."

"Chess is a sport. A violent sport."

- Marcel Duchamp
1887-1968

All Men are Equal...

That all men are equal is a proposition to which, at ordinary times, no sane individual has ever given his assent.

Aldous Huxley

PS: Though some are 'more' equal than others, you know ...

Chess and Timidity

"Chess is not for the timid."

- Irving Chernev
1900-1981

Reflect the Right Things!

Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

Charles Dickens

Chess and Luck

"The good player is always lucky."

- Jose Capablanca
1888-1942

Change from Inside Out

"If you want to achieve more money, a happier lifestyle, or any other goal in life, you have to change from the inside out - the reverse order from what you've probably been taught.

Ask yourself whether your most dearly held beliefs are serving you or not. Do they help you create the life of your dreams? Or, do they limit you and the people you love?

Be bold enough and smart enough to see past where you are right now and take hold of what's rightfully yours. You deserve to decide for yourself exactly what and who you'll become, and what you'll acquire along the way."

"YOU ARE CREATING A LIFE NO MATTER WHAT, SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE IT ALL".

Yes, you CAN have it all!
If you know the formula.

Chess is a Waste of Time

"Life is too short for chess."

- character from Henry J. Byron's play
"Our Boys"

Don't Be Distracted

"Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you."

Zig Ziglar
Author and Speaker

Chess is an Art

"Chess is the art of analysis."

"Chess is the art which expresses the science of logic."

- Mikhail Botvinnik
1911-1995

Look Carefully!

If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more.
If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough.

Oprah Winfrey

A Knight Planted Wrongly

"To have a knight planted in your game at K6 is worse than a rusty nail in your knee."

- Efim Bogoljubow
1889-1952

Politics is ...

Politics is a profession; a serious, complicated and, in its true sense, a noble one.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

NUS Karaoke Competition - 李香兰

Last night, I went down to NUS Guild to sign up for the NUSS Karaoke Competition ON THE SPOT! Yeah, you are right, no preparation. Gung Ho arhhh???

I chose a song while I was driving to the Guild House, and started practising on the go. When I arrived, okay, they have the song. Guess what? Half way through it, the song stop playing!!!

Reason: Disc corruption (@#!%$^&*#@)

So I was given 5 minutes to re-select. This is my replacement song: 李香兰. Yeah right, last minute, things can happen will usually happen (to me lah!).

Result: Advanced to quarter-final!!!

Yeahhhh hooooo....!

歌曲：李香兰
歌手：张学友
专辑：张学友93演唱会

恼春风
我心因何恼春风
说不出
借酒相送
夜雨浓
雨点透射到照片中
回头似是梦
无法弹动
迷住凝望你
裉色照片中

碍…像花虽未红
如冰虽不冻
却像有无数说话
可惜我听不懂

碍…是怀酒渐浓
或我心真空
何以感震动

照片中
那可以投照片中
盼找到
时间裂逢
夜放纵
告知我难寻你芳踪
回头也是梦
仍似被动
逃避凝望你
仍深印脑中

woo... woo...

碍…像花虽未红
如冰虽不冻
却像有无数说话
可惜我听不懂

碍…是怀酒渐浓
或我心真空
何以感震动

Chill Out!

When life is hard and . .
.
Payday is still so far away . . .
.
. . . there is only one thing to do . . .
.
.
. . . and count the days.

Chess as Drug and Poison

"Of all the drugs in the world, chess must be the most permanently pleasurable."

"In chess, just as in life, today's bliss may be tomorrow's poison."

- Assaic

When You Think You Can, You Can!

Oops...was it a typo? No.
Did I read it right? Yes.

It is interesting how a small little play of word can have so vast a difference in meaning. You are probably more familiar with the original quotation by motivational guru & speaker, Denis Waitly, "If You Think You Can, You Can". Well, that make good sense and sound, of course.

But wait. Don't you agree that the "If" at the beginning of the sentence sounds too "iffy"? It is almost conditional as if it's not likely to happen. So, when I change the "If" to "When", I wanted to add in some kind of turbo effect. For I strongly believe & am convicted that when you think you can, you will unleash the power of positive thinking in your life.

Negativity will begin to recede into the shadows. Now that's interesting, isn't it? What you may not consciously consider as possible may turn out to be do-able after all! History are filled with such examples. I will share 2 here.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (hope I got his name spell right) once commented on the effect of a confident attitude on performance. He referred to the 500 pound barrier in the clean-and-jerk event in weight lifting, which is equivalent to running the long one mile in under 4 minute.

Now, the guy was Valery Alexis, the world record holder at 499 pounds. He came to lift, and was told that the bar was at 499 pounds. Approaching with confidence, he lifted it. Later, the judges checked and found that it was actually several pounds heavier! Alexis had broken the barrier!! Now, interestingly, within a short time, 6 others went over 500 pounds. And Alexis himself did 520! Soon, the record went to 564!!

The other was the famous 4 minute mile run. For years, the 4-minute mile was considered not merely unreachable but, according to physiologists of the time, dangerous to the health of any athlete who attempted to reach it. For Roger Bannister, it was vindication.

When he crossed the finish line with a time of 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds, he broke through a psychological barrier as well. John Landy, considered one of the great milers of that era, never had gotten closer than within 1.5 seconds of the 4-minute barrier before. Within 46 days of Bannister's breakthrough, Landy surpassed the record with a 3:57.9 in Finland.

Bannister and Landy raced later in the year in the "Mile of the Century" at Vancouver, a run off to decide who was the faster miler. Bannister won in 3:58.8 to Landy's 3:59.6, the first time two men in one race had broken 4 minutes. By the end of 1957, 16 runners had logged sub-4-minute miles.

When you think you can, you can. But if you think you cannot, even your body will not co-operate with you. Trust me on that. Somehow, somewhere, the reserves are not marshalled to give that extra boost. For the battle is fought & won first in the mind. The sad thing is too many people don't even bother to try becasue they don't think they can. So no effort is made, unfortunately confirming the self-fulfilling prophecy. You see, you can't win unless you first take part.

For now, I took part in the coming Standard Chartered Marathon Run come Dec 2. I will be doing the half-marathon event this year. I did the 10 km last year & got addicted! Once this is achieved, I will do the full marathon next year! Then the mini Iron-man the next, and then the Iron-man. But first, I will have to prepare for the 20km ahead.

See you at the finishing line!

Chess ... Master?

"Chess will always be the master of us all."



- Alexander Alekhine

1892-1946

The Reason

"I quote others only the better to express myself"

Michel de Montaigne,
1537 - 1593

Many who check out my blog or read it regularly have asked me why I like to put up other people's quotes. I have been trying to do this diligently, everyday. Well, here's my answer above.

This blog has started with a few objectives: to pen thoughts, to scold people (ha...ha...), to "suan" (hokkien word - meaning to sneer or mock) the garmen, to journal, to keep pictures and videos, to let others know what songs I like, to update my clients with some financial market write-up, etc. But among others, it has a precise purpose: to meet a need - a need for providing daily inputs for those who want to make things happen in their lives.

So if you think I use this blog to make money or friends, sorry, this is not the blog for you. I have a lovely family and a healthy image of self. I have made enough friends over the last three-and-a-half decades, but I forgot to make enough time for all of them. No, I don't need more friends, cos I really can't keep up with all of them. I just need to be a better friend to them. And to some, be their best friend, if I can.

I am glad if these collections of quotes inspire & motivate you. You can read them over and over again, if you like. Good for you. But I do not claim credit for all these. God is my witness. It is He who made all these possible.

"Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand. O Lord, our God, as for all this abundance ... it comes from You and all of it belongs to You."

I Chronicles 29:14-16

Be an eagle with me, but please, soar like one.

Mistress vs Master

"Chess is a good mistress but a bad master."

"In chess there is a world of intellectual values."

- Gerald Abrahams
1907-1980

Chessmen and Ideas

Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start on a team, but one man cannot make a team."

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Greater Danger

"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

Michelangelo Buonarroti
1474-1564,
Italian Renaissance Painter and Sculptor

NOTICE!!!

NOTICE:

If you notice this notice, you should notice that this notice is not a notice! :)

Decide to Believe, Now!

"You are always a valuable, worthwhile human being, not because anybody says so, not because you're successful, not because you make a lot of money, but because you decide to believe it and for no other reason."

- Dr. Wayne Dyer

天使之光

天使之光

词：吴琼
曲：熊汝霖

在无尽的天际
自由飞翔
无限的力量
又听到又看到
神的遐想
自由的愿望

焦土中 长眠
谁的身躯前世的轻狂
冰雪中 徜徉
闪烁的白光
是谁 是谁的模样

我一直在等待
乘风而来
感受自由
温暖的光

我一直在等待
穿过河流
思绪呼唤
挥舞洁白的翅膀
一如既往

夜太长 梦太远
百转千回
欲挥翼离去
光环下 笼罩着
灰色荒园
是我的孤寂

迎着风 怒吼
踏上足迹
世俗的沙砾

背靠山 面朝海
崛起着醒来
是我 光芒肆意

我一直在等待
乘风而来
感受自由
温暖的光

我一直在等待
穿过河流
思绪呼唤
挥舞洁白的翅膀
一如既往

一夜一夜的回忆
一步一步的离去
一丝一丝的呼吸
我一直在这里

一夜一夜的回忆
一步一步的离去
一丝一丝的呼吸
冬日的
天使之光

A New Beginning, A New Journey!

Today is the 10th of Oct, 2007. Three more years from now, at 10 a.m. in the morning, it will be 10-10-10-10. Anyway, just a silly thought.

I wake up today excited. Why? Because I realised that today marks a fresh start, a new beginning, a clean break. Yesterday ended last night; today is brand new. Nothing stale, nothing leftover. Brand new, understand?

I often thought about this: We wake up in the morning but forget to leave yesterday behind. Sad, but true. Leave what's yesterday yesterday. Today is today. Symbolically, yet very practical, we have to brush our teeth again. No matter how many times we have brushed before, we need to brush once more. The past & previous brushing are not valid for today!

Yes, I want a new start; I needed one. A new beginning, a new journey. Just like my play station, there is this little button that says "Reset" or "Replay". Well, fortunate for me, today is that button. The power to reset everything new, to start all over again - to begin.

Best of all, a new destination! Commencing today, life can be different, for better or for best! And the good news is: yes, it can be for the better!!!

So, right from the start this morning (while I visited my usual holy shrine a.k.a toilet to offer my usual "offering"), I set out the following thoughts:

1. I need to know what I want, very clearly.

Not wishy-washy, or fuzzy-wuzzy. Hey my friend, that's a damn good rule for life, you know! And just as good for any marriage, my marriage! Yes, I leave no uncertainty. I will stamp my desire clearly. Let it be known. Mostly to myself.

My friend, it is a negative world out there but I choose to be positive. I want to be an achiever, an overcomer, a true winner! And I believe it's mine for the taking!!! But first, in order for me to make a new start, I must leave the old behind. New wine needs new wine skins. Otherwise, as the wine matures, the old skins have no more stretch in them and will burst. Then all is lost.

2. I need a new mind set.

That's what I am aiming for today. Don't you know that nothing actually enters your life without first entering your mind? In a way, it becomes stored as part of your database. All decisions are first checked & tallied with this database, like my spell-checker in the Microsoft Word program. In a sense, the database means you have already pre-decided.

Anyhow, mindset change is a bit hard and difficult if you don't know what you like to change to. A new mind set is easily said than done, because it takes real hard effort to correct warp thinking. Just like puppy love (or guppy love). Have you ever experience this strange feeling of liking someone when you are in your early teens, say back in Primary 5? You think you are in love. You think that love will last. But today, you look back and laugh about it because it didn't.

By the way: what's love?

Someone said that love is a feeling you feel when you felt it. For me, I feel nothing now. Love is more than a feeling! It's a decision!! And between me and my better half, it is more than a decision - it's a covenant. A covenant is an agreement built on trust. Some married couple's marriage is a contract. A contract is an agreement built on mistrust!!! Sad, but true. Think about that. Does anybody know what AGAPE love is anymore?

For some, love is just a word. But to some, love is not a word but a sentence - a life sentence!!! A death sentence!!! God help them, and their meaningless marital contracts too.

Yes, it take cruel effort to really pan out AGAPE love. Someone told me that it was not the nails that kept Jesus on the cross. It was (is) His love - AGAPE love!!! For me to follow His steps to love my wife unconditionally takes more than effort. I need His grace. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Thankfully, spirit can change; not so for the flesh.

I recently heard a female friend of mine said she don't mind co-habit with another man. Yes, staying together but not married; no contract, just condoms. It's like "I want you now, but I can also don't want you later if I change my mind". She obviously doesn't understand what love is. She said if things don't work out, if the "love" is gone, and the song stop playing, well, at least she can part ways without losing her financial assets. Gosh! I don't even know how to describe this kind of love she espoused. Nevermind, it's her life anyway. Maybe those foreign men she goes out with are eyeing her financial assets only. This is also very pathetic. I mean, does she really know what true wealth is?

Okay, back to me. I am making a fresh start. I need a slight new change in my behaviour, hence in my thinking. Good. But I am not rushing. I will take my time. It won't be overnight, overlunch, overtine/ milo ?? ... but over time.

You see: Things don't just happen. I must decide to make them happen. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is hard currency. Today is cash! Today is current!! Today is the present. Today is a gift!

And tomorrow begins today!!!

Greatness

In great deed, something abides. On great fields, something stays. Forms change & pass, bodies disappear but spirits linger to consecrate ground for the vision place of the soul. And reverent men & women from afar & generations that know us not & that we know not of, shall come here to ponder & to dream & the power of the vision shall pass into their souls.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
1828 - 1914

Everything Has a Price Tag, Really.

"Every worthwhile accomplishment has a price tag attached to it. The question is always whether you are willing to pay the price to attain it - in hard work, sacrifice, patience, faith, and endurance."

John C. Maxwell
Author

Kind Words

"Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. Mental trouble was never known to arise from such quarters. Though they do not cost much yet they accomplish much. They make other people good natured. They also produce their own image on men´s souls, and a beautiful image it is."

- Blaise Pascal

Courage to Begin

If you could get up the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.

David Viscott

iPhone

I finally got my hand on the much talked-about iPhone (8 GB).

.

Price: Not telling (A little give away: Under S$950)

.

Why I go ahead: It has been a long time since I do something foolish. So here is it.

.

I still plan to renew my Starhub contract in 3-mths' time and get a free phone. With the iPhone, I ended up subscribing to the Max-Mobile plan, allowing some kind of GPRS downloads for my financial news & updates (another $10 per month).

.

Still, the new toy kept me busy all weekends. Now I can say that I have a handphone, an iPod, and a mobile computer all-in-one in my hand.

.

So far, I cannot recall who had asked me about it. It must have been a hundred or two...maybe three. After seeing the gadget, they all always have the same reaction: Don't let me see it, ohh...please...any longer & I will want to get it NOW!!!

.

Steve Job...job well done huh!

Gift of Fantasy

"When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge."

- Albert Einstein

Rules?

"There ain't no rules around here!"

- Thomas Edison

Fun???

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."

- Walt Disney

Is Your Aspirations Reckless?

"The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to extraordinary success."

- Vauvenargues

Never too Soon, Just Too Late

"You and I can never do a kindness too soon, for we never know how soon it will be too late."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

错了再错

歌曲：错了再错
歌手：张栋梁
专辑：王子

退到了绝境再退
破碎到不能破碎
能挽回什么
你就不肯说
我只能猜疑却都错

泪水灌溉这伤悲
绝望是你赐给的安慰
为何你说谎
我却受惩罚
你不如就用刀刺下

我可以痛了再痛
你可以错了再错
不甘心
不闪躲
只为那失真的承诺
我转身让你换着活
你存心用尽我宽容
为什么
连谎言
你也刺破

爱或痛彼此纠结
悲和我无法分解
厌倦的疲累
成了一片黑
伤痛都已无法消灭

泪水滋润着泪水
背叛是你另一种慰藉
完美的借口
泪无辜留下
你不如用乱箭射吧

即使我头也不回
这悲剧猛向我追
情愿你全部摧毁
别留着燎原的火堆
给你的自由将我吞没
给我的爱像一根绳索
你放手却捆住了我

不甘心
不闪躲
全为了失真的承诺
为什么
连谎言
你也给刺破
为什么
连谎言
你也不说

Audacity of Imagination

"Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination."

- John Dewey

Go Farther

"Don't let minor setbacks cloud your vision of the future. Be like Captain James Cook, the famous English explorer. He faced monumental obstacles, but he kept sailing on. Said the captain, 'I had ambition not only to go farther than any man had ever been before, but as far as it was possible for a man to go.'"

- Neil Eskelin

Decide What's Right & Desirable

"Imagine no limitations; decide what's right and desirable before you decide what's possible."

- Brian Tracy

Logic & Innovation

"We must beware of needless innovation, especially when guided by logic."

- Winston Churchill

The Power of Human Touch

"I've learned that everyday you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back."

- Maya Angelou

Individuals are Important

"It's important to feel that you're expected to make a difference, and that you're qualified to do so. Innovation requires a fundamental belief that individuals are important."

- Robert Dennard