work environment

In my whole career as a computer programmer I have never worked in
the company that cared less for the work environment of their
developers, or had a client who cared less, then the place I have
been working at for over a year. For anybody who knows what are the
consulting rates today (not low, I assure you) you'd expect that they
give you a good place to sit and actually do your work, or that they
actually get interested in what you are doing, no such luck.

Cogito, ergo sum - Decartes

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With
our thoughts, we make our world."
- Sakyamuni Buddha, Dhammapada 2,600 years ago
People back then may not have Sony TVs, or Apple computers, but they
knew the same facts that about psychology that every self-help book
on the shelves of the Borders will tell you.
Decide to live the free and happy life and your stress will be
greatly reduced. Make your mind to success, set goals, follow them,
and you will succeed. Smile at life and to people and they will start
smiling back to you.
Definitely worth trying.

One man's trash is another's treasure

Today, I went to the Goodwill. Most of the people drop off their unneeded stuff, so do I, but I realized that that place is a goldmine and I've gotten whole bunch of quality wooden furniture. The cherry TV cabinet, the tall wood and glass display cabinet and 4 tall nicely carved chairs. All of that for total of $120. It really looks great in my 1942 brick home and fits into the wood decore. I also feel good about recycling of the wooden goods.

AIKO

AIKO  - "The Child of Artificial Intelligence" (in Japanese "ko" means child; "ai" means love denoting the "emotional intelligence" aspect of the project)

Both, the most advanced science, the quantum physics, as well as the millennia of spiritual training in Zen have brought the humanity to some interesting conclusions. Everything is of the same nature - the flux of energy, everything is relative, furthermore it can exist in multiple states at the same time. 

If the wisest of us recognize these principles, why then the computer science, that practically runs our modern world, is so fixated on the narrow-minded idea of "true" or "false" and nothing between?

Most of the computing nova-days is created based on hard rules and predefined knowledge-base which is the cause of its many shortcomings. It is not flexible, not adaptable, and specialized in the very narrow area of expertise. 

If we compared it to the living world it would be like a chicken raised by a certain fast-food chains. Too heavy to be effectively supported by the body, unable to feed itself in the nature, surviving only in the machine-fed, confined, cage. As much as I hate the malicious hackers myself (let them burn in hell forever for all that spam and havoc they create), I must say that even today's computer viruses are pathetic, they take the advantage of a very particular security hole and as soon as the breach is closed they are useless. This "brilliance" of today's programs pales in comparison with the simplest living bacteria which when placed in a new environment starts to adapt and within almost hours its future generations embrace the change. Evolution.

In the AIKO project I will attempt to combine the evolutionary approach to the software growth, affective computing, emotional intelligence, pattern recognition, simple language recognition.

AIKO may have infinite applications; for example is can be used as a personal assistant, a tutor, a smart filing manager with the industry-specific applications for particular file types. 

by: Uki Dominque Lucas 

original concept:  November 9, 1999

Dreams

"Most of the time my dreams have nothing to do with the good night sleep." - Uki.

embrace the change

"It is not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change."
- Charles Darwin

Art of doing things

Strive to learn everything you can about your thing in life, learn the mechanics of it, every aspect, until it become a second nature, natural and without thinking. Then you'll forget all you have learned and develop a Zen-like gut feeling, an intuition, about the subject. Only then you will be able to make an art of it.

Should we get involved in others' matters, or should we mind our own business? - asked US citizen.

Today, I failed to heel my own advice: "Do your very best at this moment and let go of the attachments and delusions."

In the forest, you don't argue with beautiful birds and wild flowers. You take time to admire them for what they are: smell the flowers, watch the birds do their own thing. Right or wrong means nothing. Mu.

Zen & The Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

For the last 12 years, I have repeatedly re-read that fascinating book. 

I meditated the Zen for even longer period of time.

Only today, I realized that the question which I asked myself for thousand times "What is Quality?" is a Koan, a question that has only one purpse - to transend the the intellect, intuition into the enlightenment, or madness.

This profound realization left me in awe and humbled by my blindness over the past 12 years.

Amazon

your sweet lips - poem

morning dew from rosy petals

men will want it more than medals

source of life, the holy grail

It’s so sacred - needs a veil

gate of heavens, your sweet lips

rosy colored with wide hips

fruit forbidden, nectar, honey

virgin spring - keep it running

forest thick, or baldy dune

worship service each afternoon

on my knees I cherish

true divine, 'til I'll perish

A Cook and Master Ikkyu

One day a man came to the famous Japanese Zen master Ikkyu. The man said:
- "Master, I work hard as a cook, yet the inn-keeper treats me like a worthless dog. Master, please help me with the inn-keeper, you are a very respected man in the town."
Ikkyu, without a word moved on to make a tea. After the tea Ikkyu send the man away with these words:
- "Go and become a good cook"
The men went away a little offended and disappointed, but out of the respect to the great master, he did study the art of cooking. After the while he came back to the master and said:
- "Master, I work hard and I became one of the better cooks in town, the inn-keeper is better now, but she still yells at me and pushes me around. Master, being a great cook is not working... please help this time."

Master Ikkyu tasted the sweets that the man brought and indeed they were first class. The cook thought - "Now the master will send the word to the inn-keeper for me"
Ikkyu upon finishing the sweets said "Observe and learn the art of being the inn-keeper, understand how your master thinks."
This was the strangest request, thought the cook, but he went away as it was not a custom to argue with the master.

A while later the cook comes back to Ikkyu and says:
"Master, I work hard, I became the best cook and I learned the art of inn-keeping, I realized I could go and work for anybody I would like to, yet I decided to stay in my inn because the keeper became quite agreeable."

"Was it she, or you that changed?" asked master.
"Ah, Master, indeed it was I" the cook replied.

"Now you know the true path: 1) work hard, 2) study your art, become good at what you do, 3) be mindful of others around you and 4) be mindful of your own thoughts."

Auschwitz "Au Revoir Les Enfants" (Goodbye Children)

I watched the movie "Au Revoir Les Enfants" (Goodbye Children) set in the Catholic School in France during the German occupation.

The school was for the boys from the rich families to keep them away from the dangerous cities. The priest, the principal of the school, together with the staff took in a couple of Jewish boys. The story unfolds until the boys get arrested by the Gestapo and are carried away, we learn that they get killed, one of them eventually dies in Auschwitz.

Auschwitz was one of the biggest concentration camps set by the Nazi, during the war about 1.1 million people were killed in there, 90% of that were Jewish. 

Why do I write this? - because it strikes a personal note. 

Auschwitz (Oświęcim) is 88 km from my hometown, the distance you can drive in 1.5 hour. 

I visited the place when I was a child and I still bear a deep scar, some 20 years later. 

People please don't hate each other: black and white, Jewish and Arabs, Catholics and Protestants, Shi'a and Sunni - we are no different from each other and with a little soul-searching and mindfulness we can find the peace for each other.

I shall write about the experiences of my family during the war...