Category: Sharings

Two Computing Books I’ve Read Before

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There are many computing books I’ve read before, but there are two I thought would be interesting to share.

The first is “Mind at Play: The Psychology of Video Games” and the second is “The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity”.

Mind at Play: The Psychology of Video Games

I read the first book in my teens from the school library (TKSTS) when I was crazy writing games in the mid 80s.  It didn’t teach me how to write games as far as programming languages were concern, but it explored what made people tick.  What makes games compelling?  Why do people play games?  Back in those days, it was a gem, for it gave insights into how I could design the games I was writing to make it interesting and fun.  Challenging and not insurmountable, rewarding and not trivial.  How to get others hooked onto my game?

Now as a monk, I think back about that book and ponder about how there are much parallel between what the author discovered and shared in the book and what the Buddha taught 2500++ years ago.  Understanding how people get hooked onto games, offers some insight into how people get hooked into other things and concerns.  In turn, it helps me appreciate the Buddha’s teaching on how people can get unhooked, not just from games but also from the things and attachments that binds and bogs us down.

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity

This is an interesting book I read when I was working in R&D as a software engineer in the late 90s.  It explores Human-Computer-Interaction instead of Human-Computer-Interface.  The crux of the book is about relooking computer software design, not as an after thought or bug fix, but as a key project goal.  To design computer software, targeted at real user personas and not just code an app against a checklist of functions.

This is, to me, a must-read for any designers, computer or otherwise.  The design tips goes beyond computer software applications and is equally applicable to other design fields as well.

The Asylum book is really a good design book to read.  Maybe for those who are into designing, this book would be a fun read as well.  For me, it was rather insightful and offered a fresh alternative approach towards software development.

Take a look, and let me know what you think.

Meanwhile, I’ve a pet project coming up for Vesak. 😉

n
 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Play-Psychology-Video-Games/dp/0465046096

http://www.amazon.com/Inmates-Are-Running-Asylum-Products/dp/0672326140

Check Your Motivation

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A sharing from a Buddhist on Checking One’s Motivation to become a monk.

 

“So what makes you want be a monk?” the nun asked me back

I explained to her that my Lama had previously done a divination for me: I was a monk in my previous life

“So I wanna continue the good work that I did in my previous life, and I thought that life as a layman is quite a waste of my past life’s efforts” I explained

 

Read it here … http://boh-tak-chek.blogspot.com/2010/03/check-your-motivation.html

Earthquakes in the Past Few Weeks

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Today, an 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey.  This follows the series of earthquakes that occurred in the past few weeks.  It is easy for us to forget how fortunate we are to have whatever peace and safety we presently have, until we see how terribly wrong things can turn out.

In the “Sutra on the Eight Great Realization of Great Beings” 《佛說八大人覺經 》, the first stanza of the first realisation is

世間無常，國土危脆

The world is impermanent, the country and land are fragile.

Let us not take things for granted and assume things will be, must be or should be in a certain manner tomorrow just because it is today.  For all are impermanent, and that which is impermanent is subject to change.  Something that is subject to change, tends more towards agitation than not.  Something that is subject to change and tends towards agitation brings uncertainty, anxiety and unease.  This in turn does not promote happiness.

If we forget this, we become complacent and start having presumptions about things and people around us.  We become used to how things are and when they suddenly change, or more rightly exhibit significant change, we fret, we tremble, we are vexed.

References

Earthquakes in the past few weeks
Please join me in dedicating to those who perished or are still suffering.

8 March 2010 – Strong quake hits eastern Turkey

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8554857.stm

TURKEY — A strong earthquake has struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 38 people, officials have said.

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck the village of Basyurt in Elazig province at 0432 (0232 GMT). It was followed by several aftershocks.

4 March 2010 – Strong earthquake hits Taiwan; injuries reported

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jG5hZlCCO3i3V4jYnlNrmMShKbrAD9E7IR500

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan on Thursday, causing widespread damage and disrupting communications around the island. Local news reports said several people were injured.

The quake was centered in the county of Kaohsiung, and struck at a depth of about 3.1 miles (5 kilometers). Kaohsiung is about 249 miles (400 kilometers) south of the capital Taipei.

No tsunami alert was issued.

27 February 2010 – State of Catastrophe Declared
in Chile After Massive 8.8-Magnitude Quake

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587565,00.html

CHILE — Chile’s president declared a state of catastrophe in the aftermath of a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake Saturday that left bodies, crumbled buildings and outages in its wake.

Chile’s interior minister says at least 214 people had been found dead as of Saturday afternoon, and the pre-dawn quake, the most powerful quake to hit the country in a half century, also cut electricity, water and phone lines to many outlying areas, meaning there was no immediate word of death or damage there.

The quake also unleashed a tsunami across the ocean, putting much of the Pacific Rim on alert for potentially devastating waves.

12 January 2010 – A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8455629.stm

HAITI — The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. The tremor hit at 1653 (2153 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards.

There is still no official word on casualties and the extent of the devastation is only now becoming clearer with dawn breaking

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/earthquake_in_haiti.html

HAITI — Tuesday afternoon, January 12th, the worst earthquake in 200 years – 7.0 in magnitude – struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0. Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed, from shantytown homes to national landmarks. It is still very early in the recovery effort, but millions are likely displaced, and thousands are feared dead as rescue teams from all over the world are now descending on Haiti to help where they are able. As this is a developing subject, I will be adding photos to this entry over the next few days, but at the moment, here is a collection of photos from Haiti over the past 24 hours.

 

My Pet Theory about Time

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing1 Comment

(Drafted on 17 January 2010.  Time flies!)

Ever heard about how time starts to go faster as we grow older?  I heard that when I was a kid and over the years, I begin to observe this phenomena myself.  As a kid, we could play for a really looong
time and find that it is only lunch time, and still have the whole afternoon to go.  Or in some cases, do some boring homework for a long time and still have even more to go.  We would check the time and it would only be 5mins into the homework session.

When we are in our teens, we start to experience our day go by a little faster.  Maybe it is because we cannot wait for the lessons to end or to get home to do what we want.  But by the time we go past our teens and reach our 20s, time continue to speed its way past.

This is my theory, a pet theory.  Time, is a product of our perception of our experiences as it happens.  But our experience and perception of time itself is coloured by our past experiences of time.  More accurately, it is compared unconsciously with our past experience of time.

Read More …

Earthquake in Haiti

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Earthquake in Haiti

Tuesday afternoon, January 12th, the worst earthquake in 200 years – 7.0 in magnitude – struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0. Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed, from shantytown homes to national landmarks. It is still very early in the recovery effort, but millions are likely displaced, and thousands are feared dead as rescue teams from all over the world are now descending on Haiti to help where they are able. As this is a developing subject, I will be adding photos to this entry over the next few days, but at the moment, here is a collection of photos from Haiti over the past 24 hours. (48 photos total)

Let’s send metta, food, aid and support for our friends in Haiti!

May they be guided and protected by the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha!