Internet Routing in Space (IRIS)

"By the time astronauts make humanity's next giant leap, they may well be getting their e-mail via a dot-space address. "

Internet Routing in Space, also known as IRIS, is a project being conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense to place an IP (Internet protocol) router on a geostationary satellite. The project is intended for military communications but may eventually be used by the private sector as well. If widely implemented, this technology has the potential to dramatically increase flexibility and traffic handling capability compared with existing satellite Internet systems.

In the IRIS system, the satellite will receive packets directly from the source and transmit them directly to the destination, eliminating all intermediate surface nodes and requiring only one round trip to the satellite. This will reduce the latency, simplify the system, improve reliability and lower the overall maintenance cost.

The IRIS project is scheduled to be completed and the satellite launched in 2009. Cisco Systems is designing the software for the on-board router. The hardware is being built by Intelsat, the largest provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. Overall coordination will be done by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency.

你可以成佛，卻不能成為悉達多: 吳九箴

佛法在世間，不離世間覺。

修行是你個人的功課，關佛什麼事？

人生是苦，這是佛陀的體悟，如果你沒有自己去人生苦海裡痛苦一番，你永遠不知苦是什麼滋味，佛陀的苦是佛陀的，永遠不可能是你的。同樣的，佛陀的覺悟和快樂，也是屬於佛陀自己的，如果你不自己去體驗、觀照，你永遠不知道佛陀的悟和快樂是怎麼一回事，頂多是多唸幾次經，根據佛經的描述，自己用頭腦想像罷了。

也希望大家一起推廣「自力覺醒」這個理念，不分宗教、種族、國籍或身份，人人可用，人人都可覺醒，因為，佛說的眾生皆有佛性，是真實不虛的真理，如果你也看見這個真理，就先從自己開始，去找回自己的本來面目吧！

Petaflop, Transforming Science

"Breaking the petaflop barrier, a feat that seemed astronomical just two years ago, won't just allow faster computations. These computers will enable entirely new types of science that couldn't have been done before."

A new crop of supercomputers is breaking down the petaflop speed barrier, pushing high-performance computing into a new realm that could change science more profoundly than at any time since Galileo, leading researchers say.

In June, 2008, IBM's Roadrunner supercomputer was the first to break what has been called "the petaflop barrier." In November 2008, when the annual rankings of the Top 500 supercomputers were released, there were two computers to do so. At 1.105 petaflops, Roadrunner retained its top place from the previous list, ahead of Cray's Jaguar, which ran at 1.059 petaflops.

Petaflop computing will enable much more accurate modeling of complex systems. Applications are expected to include real-time nuclear magnetic resonance imaging during surgery, computer-based drug design, astrophysical simulation, the modeling of environmental pollution, and the study of long-term climate changes.

Today's computer scientists can barely contain their excitement as they imagine what is now possible. "It's very exciting to be alive today and doing computer science. Now we can do some spectacular things."

Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring (Movie)

A stunning tale of now and Zen

A Bumpy road to adulthood -- and to enlightenment

It's a Buddhist fable made to last, a masterful portrait of the seasons of a life. Combining visual luster and stunning emotion, it endorses the heartening idea that a spirit needs not be pristine to be worthy. The film is as spare and unvarnished as a wooden temple floating on a lake, but its reflections run deep, and it can ripple your thoughts for months.

The plot is deceptively simple. Each season is a chapter in the young monk's life, separated by a decade or so.

In Buddhism, we know the "noble truth" that desire is the root cause of suffering, that craving nothing is the path to everything. The young monk learns this the hard, human way, leaving the island and returning years later, still carrying that invisible stone. As the symbolic door represents self-respect more than religious reverence. By circumventing it, the young man is ultimately betraying himself.

Shot in the environs of a 200-year-old man-made body of water in Korea's North province, "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. . . and Spring" has a rural beauty so timeless that it's a shock when the director drops hints that we're in the present day. The images turn pungent, hyperreal, and mythic over the course of the decades: The boat that ferries the elder monk to shore becomes both a symbol and a plain character in its own right, as does the ornamental gate on the shore, and the wintry ice that chokes both. A cat's tail becomes a calligraphy pen; a foundling child becomes a savior; the seasons swing 'round as cyclic existence in samsara.

Gettysburg (Movie)

Fate made them soldiers;

War made them brothers;

Courage made them heroes.

"Gettysburg" avoids all of those war movie cliches. This is a film, pure and simple, about the Battle of Gettysburg in the summer of 1863, about the strategies, calculations, mistakes and heroism that turned the tide of the Civil War decisively against the South.

With stars such as Martin Sheen (Robert E. Lee), Jeff Daniels (Joshua Chamberlain), and Sam Elliot (Kentucy-born,Union Calvary General Buford), there's plenty of talent on board to pull it off. Sheen's Lee is surprisingly convincing, and Daniels is outstanding as the principled Chamberlain. Yes, it's long but it's also very engaging.

And most of all, we experience the horrifying reality of battle itself. What Lee called on his men to do was walk a mile across open ground, in the face of withering fire, and engage Union troops who were fortified behind a stone wall. That they would do this - that they still had the will to fight when they got there - is evidence of the deep, almost fanatical conviction that both sides brought into the war.

It has drama, action and character development. An important movie which also happens to entertain! Although it gave me chills with some war scenes, I still highly recommend it for movie-goers.

Noise Violators Sentenced to Listen to Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs" may begin with the line, "I've been alive forever,"' but for noise ordinance violators, listening to Manilow may feel like forever.

Fort Lupton Municipal Judge Paul Sacco says his novel punishment of forcing noise violators to listen to music they don't like for one hour has cut down on the number of repeat offenders in this northwestern Colorado prairie town. About four times a year, those who plead guilty to noise ordinance violations are required to sit in a room and listen to music from the likes of Manilow, Barney the Dinosaur, and The Platters' crooning "Only You".

"These people should have to listen to music they don't like," said Judge Paul Sacco. Sacco began the program years ago when he noticed that many of the repeat offenders simply showed up at his courtroom to pay their fine with cash.

Fantastic idea. Don't you think?

KOST 103.5 FM is in full holiday mode

Need some holiday spirit? If you are like my sweetheart, then you'll love station KOST 103.5 FM. You should see him jumping ups and downs when his expectation of Xmas music finally arrived. They are playing their Christmas Music now 24 hrs 7 days a week. It's great. We both love this time of year!

Next thing I look forward to is the Xmas tree, plus the joy of decorating it. If you think me as a fanatic, think again. Our former neighbors' habit of putting out Xmas lights as early as October each year cheered us.

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. It's the most wonderful time of the year regardless of the economic slow-down!

Chinese Dance Festival 2008

Chinese American Dancing Group presented Bravo! Chinese Dance at San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in November 2008.

I joined the group in March this year after my retirement. This group has the reputation of capturing the beauty of Chinese dance, skillfully combining the rhythms of basic movement and the graceful choreography of Chinese dance. In two performing nights, we showcased some of the best performances in the culture and lifestyles of various Chinese tribes with beauty.

The two programs I danced were From the Yellow River's Plateau (陜西風情) and Dance of the Yi Tribe (彝族的都火與搶親). Both are traditional Chinese folk dances with spectacular costumes and unique tribal music. It was a blast!

To Work With or Against China?

China is stepping up its computer espionage attacks on the American government, on defense contractors and on businesses, according to a report by a congressional advisory panel published Wednesday.

The United States-China Economic and Security Review commission said in its annual report that China’s military modernization and its “impressive but disturbing” space and computer warfare capabilities “suggest China is intent on expanding its sphere of control even at the expense of its Asian neighbors and the United States.”

In addition, Beijing’s “continuing arms sales and military support to rogue regimes, namely Sudan, Burma, and Iran, threaten the stability of fragile regions and hinder U.S. and international efforts to address international crises, such as the genocide in Darfur.”

Champagne Phones in a Beer Economy

The recent release of the Vertu $10,000 Ferrari phone left me wondering who buys these things, and will they still be buying them in the tanking economy?

And of course there has been the pricey Prada Phone, Armani phone, and who knows how many others. “I think a lot of those sales are drying up right now,” said mobile phone analyst Avi Greengart. “From what I am seeing conspicuous consumption is going out of style.” You think?

But perhaps the best reason? You are looking at it. “If you look at the publicity they generate,” said Mr. Greengart, “it’s almost a marketing expense.”

Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint (Movie)

"Milarepa" is the story of a young man in the 11th century whose initial search for vengeance leads him to singular enlightenment as one of Tibet's greatest mystics. "Singing Saint" Milarepa was a sinner in early life, but he began to regret his action and became a Buddhist. Milarepa joined up with a Buddhist wise man called Marpa. The pair founded the Kargyupa school of Buddhism, and Milarepa became Tibet's greatest saint. He wrote down thousands of Buddhist songs and became a teacher of other holy men.

Bhutanese director Neten Chokling's fantastical biopic dramatizes the early years of Milarepa (Gimyan Lodro), the 11th-century man who would become Tibet's preeminent mystic. Born into privilege, Milarepa (Thöpaga) is plunged into a life of darkness when greedy relatives stage a power grab after his father's death. The young man learns black magic to seek vengeance, but some unexpected life lessons along the way steer him onto a more spiritual path. In the end, however, Thöpaga realizes that revenge is a dish best left unserved. His enlightenment guides him toward the path that will make him Tibet's great poet, mystic and cultural hero.

Filmed in India's Spiti valley near the Tibetan border, the movie's spectacular scenery and compelling message counterbalance the somewhat plodding pace and wooden performances by a cast of non actors. Like other aspects of the production, we overlook the problems because of the sincerity and import of the film's message.

If you'd like to learn how Milarepa got enlightened, expect the sequel in 2009.

Asia's Economic Lessons for the U.S.

The U.S. is mortgaging its future by outsourcing technological inventions in exchange for short-term cash. The current economic crisis should be a wake-up call that the U.S. needs to boost its productive capacity and win in global markets—something we've been neglecting for the last 40 years.

Outsourcing is necessary when the technological and manufacturing investment required of these businesses is too high for any nation, let alone an individual company, to handle on its own. The question is not whether or not to outsource, but are you outsourcing to advance your competitive position in the industry or are you really just on your way to exiting the business altogether?

In the case of the VCR, the TV industry, and most consumer electronics, U.S. companies chose to exit each business. Better profits were available elsewhere. But the price paid by the U.S. for this choice relative to its industrial competitiveness is enormous. For the last 40 years the U.S. has reduced its productive capacity and its ability to innovate, all for the sake of short-term profits and cash flow.

Without giving it a second thought, the U.S. has been willing to trade long-term national competitiveness for short-term cash. If this continues, the present may be ours, but the future will in the hands of someone else.

Life List?

After seeing the movie 'The Bucket List', my ex-coworker Bill Murrell told me that he put his life list to paper. His is currently 69 things long. And he also encouraged me to make my own 'life list' and work on it. Here is my reply:

There are things in life that we can never imagine ourselves doing, but we celebrate those who do. My list includes bungee jumping, jumping out of an airplane for "fun," running into a burning building and being a professional educator.

I understand the rush that you feel when bungee jumping or sky diving is awesome; I'll take your word for it. I am awestruck by the many men and women who risk their lives every day in service of our country, whether in the military, law enforcement or fire services. As a Buddhist, now I want to focus on the one and only goal, which is, 'To be enlightened before I hit the bucket'.

John Goddard was an exceptional to make 127 things at age 15. I only had one thing in mind at that age: 'To be a successful ballerina'. Nonetheless, dancing is still my favorite hobby. I just finished our annual Dance Performance last weekend and it was a blast for me.

Endeavor on your life list, my friend. I'll share your glory.