Tasks to be accomplished in the year 2008:

Spiritual:

1. Know God more.. finish reading the Bible
2. Improvement in service, able to lead, be more commited and more outspoken
3. More commited in prayers n quiet times
4. Be more of salt and light to others
5. Hate sin more

Academic:

1. Have to be a 'full-engineer' (though it's actually 7/8) by the end of the year
2. Understand analog and digital circuitry more thoroughly
3. Understand economy, finance, marketing, operations n supply chain management, and start reading more 'business-flavoured' books.
4. Understand QM2 and photonics, classical mechanics (lagrangian n hamiltonian mechanics), basic statistical mechanics, linear algebra 2, and improve on my knowledge about computer softwares (have to take up modules or learn by myself)

Others :

1. Start thinking about relationship, perhaps establish a right framework first
2. Be more commited in sneaking up lectures, while able to maintain balance so that my CAP can still be sustained, haha.. =p
3. Exercise!
4. Use time more effectively
5. Be more serious in everything
6. Battle my 'passiveness'
7. Better relationship with families, friends, etc
8. Improve my handwriting and get rid of my bad habits -_-"

Practical monthly resolutions :

January :

Bible reading : 1 Kings - 2 Chronicles, Read 2 books related to business, Read Joshua Harris, read FNA 2004 txtbook 3 chapters, Read Clamech lect 1-2 + tuts, Read QM2 chapter 3, watch 12 lecture videos.

February :

Bible reading : Ezra - Ester. Read 1 book related to business, read Joshua Harris, read FNA 2004 txtbook 4 chapters, read Clamech lect 3-4, Read QM 2 Chapter 4, watch 12 lecture videos.

March :

Ecclesiastes - Isaiah. Read 2 books (unspecified), read FNA 2004 textbook 4 chapters, finsihed reading clamech, watch 12 lecture videos.

April :

Jeremiah - Ezekiel. Read 1 book related to business, finish FNA 2004 textbook, Chapter 1 of statistical mechanics, watch 12 lecture videos.

May :

Daniel - Malachi. Read 1 book related to business, Read operations management textbook Chapter 1-3, Chapter 2&3 of statistical mechanics, watch 12 lecture videos

June :

Acts - Romans. Read 2 books related to business, Read Knowing God - J.I. Packer. Chapter 4&5 of statistical mechanics, watch 12 lecture videos.

July :

1-2 Timothy, Titus, Jude, Revelation. Read 2 books related to business, Chapter 6 of statistical mechanics, Finish QM2, Operations management textbook 3 chapters, watch 12 lecture videos.

August :

Leviticus - Deutoronomy. Read 2 books related to business, Read 1 other book (unspecified).

September :

~ to be continued. The schedule might get updated....

Had this idea for a very long time actually.

Every law digitizes the analog nature of choices of morality. For a law, the possible situations is either obey, or you don't obey it. Here, I'd just give two examples.

For a law that says 'Thou shall not steal', it is either you obey, or you don't obey.

For a law that says 'You shall not eat chicken', it is either you obey, or you don't obey.

Now, there is a problem for such laws. Any law actually has this problem. It is because we can imagine of scenarios that blurs the term 'steal', or 'eat', or any other verbs. What is stealing? What is eating?

The idea of 'stealing' has nowadays be extended and developed that it created regulations such as copyrights, patents, etc. Is copying somebody's idea counted as stealing? Is copying a sentence from a book counted as stealing? What about a word? How many words must be copied before it is counted as stealing? Is stealing just count when you steal an idea? But what if you had that idea long ago, just that you forget, and then someone proposes that idea of yours that was forgotten and get it published? Can you now steal it? My point with all these is this : Law digitizes a whole continuous, analog terrain of possible situations. An analogy is like striking a boundary in the middle of a continuous line, dividing the left as 'obey', and the right as 'disobey'. The question is, where would you strike? Now doesn't this make laws just like conventions? Why don't you put the line a bit to the left or to the right?

In the 'eating' example, we can also blur things. What is eating? Putting something into your mouth and swallowing it. What about if that something goes through your nose? And how much of a thing that goes into your stomach that is considered eating? What about (the extreme case) an atom of that thing which is prohibited to eat? Again, there must be a convention to determine where to strike the line to differentiate between obey and disobey.

Actually these had made me to come up with the conclusion that it is indeed true, that morality is not determined by the law. It is, rather, determined by our motives. By love. Well.. and Christian ethics is therefore very reasonable.   

Went to CVCF event today.. It's such a warm feeling to have a fellowship in Chinese.. Actually it's kinda weird.. I could feel a sense of belonging during the fellowship. I imagined that I might be one of them if the story of my grandparents twisted somehow.. Hm, undescribable feeling anyway. Or perhaps I'm just feeling comfortable to see the richness of the Kingdom of God, when I saw our hardworking brothers and sisters in Christ in CVCF? I dunno, but I'm delighted! ^_^ hehe.. 

We sang this song, and I think it's a really beautiful song..

耶穌愛你

這世界有個千年不變道理，那就是耶穌愛你，

(In this world there's a thousand-years unchanged rule, that is Jesus loves you)

 在世上沒有任何的逼迫患難，能使我們與神的愛隔絕，

(On above the earth there's no any hardships that could set you apart form God's love)