12Helv
12/22/2023
. Memories are like jumbled jigsaw puzzle pieces. Some fit perfectly. Some are so strange that you can’t figure out where they belong. I just found a stash of old photos my dad gave me before he died. Several photos of me spanning back more than sixty years: an infant on his mother lap, a young lad in Boy Scout uniform, a first year college teenager student arriving in Long Beach airport. The “me” in the photos seemed to be a stranger, but also had the vague familiarity of memories long faded.
04/20/2013
. Science is based upon careful observations, empirical evidences and rigorous testings, typically across many disciplines by separate, independent and unbiased observers/scientists. The purpose of scientific study is to discover principle, rule(s) to support or contradict a theory. Science does not rely upon speculation. Bertrand Russell's teapot is the analogy to demand burden of proof upon speculation. Carl Sagan paraphrased as "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
. Quantum physics is not speculative: in my work we have to adjust satellite atomic clocks regularly thanks to quantum effects and relativity; laser light demonstrates the quanta property of electromagnetic radiation, tunnel diodes are real.... Science cannot argue the possibility of life after death because proving a negative (example: prove that unicorns do not exist) is not possible nor is a scientific method. Science is "organic" meaning if there is evidence/discovery identifying a certain principle violating current understanding science will change.
03/13/2013
It snows outside. The house is almost quiet except for soft whispers of the fire in the fireplace. For a while I sat in silence watching the snow outside the window gently falls onto the ground... I started and listened to the sensual music of Dusty Springfield then Marianne Faithful... "If you go away", "You don't have to say you love me" Dusty Springfield then Marianne Faithful's "As tears go by" brought much nostalgia; a gentle sadness came to me.
I really enjoy the free time to re-educate myself with books, Netflix, magazines, newspapers, online Wikipedia,...
The difference I find that books [those I mentioned before] are much more complex and are difficult to present in a different media such as TV. I don't deny the power of visual presentations; we were quite impressed with Netflix's "Downton Abbey" series and other science programs from PBS. "Mao's last dancer" movie on Netflix was also quite a powerful message. But it is not easy to present ideas from "The Swerve" or Lisa Randall's "Touching Heaven's..." books in video format.
12/30/2012
tica L
the last afternoon of the year
it's so cold and the sky's leaden.
yesterday rain did not wash away all the clouds.
i sat here looking out watching the maple leaves frolicking in the wind.
It’s all quiet except the soft guitar singing the Largo.
probably it's not more than three in the afternoon.
but wintry days die fast.
oh! last afternoon of the year,
don't leave so quick.
09/20/2012
i was thinking of you
i woke up in midst of the night .
it was so quiet i could hear my child's breath,
and some late raven lost in thick of the night.
started up the fireplace and poured one coffee afresh,
i could see the steam embrace the leaping flame.
and songs of the nutcrackers' suite softened the darkness.
outside the thick fog parted letting the moon-light to traverse,
laying bands of cold silver on the window-sills.
i wondered if you're still up at this time of late
to gaze upon the same lovely moon i was beholding .
somehow the fire cracked to remind the end of the music
just the soft silence and scattered sparks to let love slumber on.
04/20/2012
Spring
it's springtime,
but the rain hastened the afternoon into autumn eve
streaks of cloud dashed across the darkening sky,
and the cold wind teased the evergreens
shaking away leaves off the eucalyptus.
with the rain almost stopped now,
i'd only hear the soft raindrops.
one by one they slowly fell to the ground.
the late sun emerged,
with sudden burst of the loveliest blue light.
it covered everything with gentle calmness.
12/20/1991
Greetings to all.
We are settling into our home in Boulder. It was very hectic getting here from California. The packing and unpacking during a v ery difficult phase of a project at IBM was unpleasantly exhausting. I have been putting in about 16 hours daily from 9 o'clock in the morning to 1 or 2 o'clock the next morning. IBM is only 8 miles away and the traffic out here ‐ I don't have to tell you ‐ compared to LA, the worst traffic jam here is about the lightest there. Brian has been an extremely good kid: he eats hisbreakfast, prepares his lunch and cooks for himself dinner.
Life will get much better about March 1992 when the project is winding down. I may not have any job by then. This is a very sad situation: a terrible job for a short time then nothing for a longtime. The economic picture is very grim: IBM is laying off thousands of employees. I am very concerned about the future and I cannot do anything about it.The house and the new neighborhood are new and OK. The neighbors are quite nice so far. It is a kind of hip city: university town and resort all rolled together.
The first days here we were greetedby our new neighbors; they brought cakes for us and introduced themselves. That was nice and reminded us much of Palos Verdes Estates. Brian is enrolled to Eisenhower Elementary School nearby. Next year they will implement the Midlle School deal. The school is pretty progressive. Brian was quite impressed with the available facilities including several hundreds IBM computers donated by, of course Big Blue. I wish that I can have more time with him to assist his school work. It is quite warm this year here. There was one snow storm about 2 weeks ago. Now it is about 60 degrees during the day. It drops down to about 35 at nite. We have the view of the Rockies from our backyard.
The house is larger than what I had before. With a basement for storage it is comfortable. There are quite a bit to see in nearby areas: Vail, Aspen are within driving distance. Boulder is not Banf, but it can be pleasant. How is life in Orange County? My work here is not something that I would consider to be my forte: RF equipment testing. But I am learning other processors (RISC/6000 and IBM 3090) and keep my eyes open for other opportunities including in commercial world. So wishing you all a good Xmas and a better new year.
Attached is the gift check to be allocated as follows:‐ Grandparents 100.00‐ Andy 20.00‐ Thai Chan 20.00‐ Vu 20.00‐ Mai 20.00‐ Hien 20.00‐ Tram 40.00‐ Thang 40.00‐ Hai 40.00‐ Tri 40.00Hope and wish that (big) Hai will be admitted this coming year. So long and try to keep in touch.
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