馬太福音是一卷從「以馬內利」到「以馬內利」的福音書。
作者首先用「以馬內利」來介紹這位天國君王的降生，又以天國大使命的應許，即耶穌常與履行大使命的人同在來作結。「以馬內利」是指與我們同在的意思，神是與「我們」同在，並不是單單與「我」同在，神的臨在關乎一個「群體」，而不單是一個個獨立的「個體」。因此，透過大使命來擴展這個「我們」，實在很有意思。
作為天國的子民，倘若我們願意過以神為王的生活，我們就當在生命裡實踐大使命。這位君王也就真的常在我們心裡掌王權，我們也樂意叫更多人讓基督掌王權。
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Online Photo Editing
http://pixlr.com/editor/
This is a very powerful online photo editing website. If you're using a netbook like me or with a less than powerful desktop PC, this website is going to be great for you. No installation, fast startup and powerful indeed.
When people were switching their local storage to the cloud, we can even switch our application software to the cloud. It's a full realization of the concept that "the network is the computer" as proposed by Sun Microsystems.
Highly recommended.
This is a very powerful online photo editing website. If you're using a netbook like me or with a less than powerful desktop PC, this website is going to be great for you. No installation, fast startup and powerful indeed.
When people were switching their local storage to the cloud, we can even switch our application software to the cloud. It's a full realization of the concept that "the network is the computer" as proposed by Sun Microsystems.
Highly recommended.
Friday, December 9, 2011
差之毫釐, 謬以千里!
預備講章時有感, 這也是我傳道的 passion 所在!
到底我們要在聖經中尋找蒙福的秘訣, 還是察驗那常施憐憫的神的恩手?
到底我們要在聖經中尋找得勝的方程式, 還是留心哪些違反方程式的神蹟?
到底我們要在聖經中發掘小人物的敬虔, 還是專心仰望那位偉大的真神?
真正基督教的信仰最寶貴亦最可怕的地方就是, 恩典是無條件的, 你不用做甚麼, 也真的不能做甚麼! 對此存著一丁點懷疑的人, 總愛找方法或是以敬虔來賺取祝福, 那只會是徒然!
到底我們要在聖經中尋找蒙福的秘訣, 還是察驗那常施憐憫的神的恩手?
到底我們要在聖經中尋找得勝的方程式, 還是留心哪些違反方程式的神蹟?
到底我們要在聖經中發掘小人物的敬虔, 還是專心仰望那位偉大的真神?
真正基督教的信仰最寶貴亦最可怕的地方就是, 恩典是無條件的, 你不用做甚麼, 也真的不能做甚麼! 對此存著一丁點懷疑的人, 總愛找方法或是以敬虔來賺取祝福, 那只會是徒然!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Giving a new life to an aged notebook
My Sony Vaio U3 was designed for Windows XP and it has been doing
well in the past, and it runs smoothly. However, with the accumulated security update and new functionality, it was
getting slower and slower gradually to a point which is near useless.
I've tried to reinstall the whole thing from scratch but then it was
still slow to an unacceptable level.
Without a bootable removable device, I proceeded to do a PXE install via network. I found tfptd32 a perfect and simple application for that purpose since it serves as both DHCP and tftp at the same time. At first, I tried to install Ubuntu but after the long installation process, I found it's too slow as well.
I suspected that it was a result of imperfect Crusoe support (probably obsolete) in newer kernel. By following the instructions here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LongRunHowTo
I managed to verify that my initial worry was invalid. Then, I proceed to install lubuntu instead. lubuntu has no PXE boot in mind, but then you can always install the base system via any other Ubuntu favor. When you were asked what packages to install, you may skip all packages and do it by hand afterward. Detail instructions on PXE install can be found here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/Netboot
After the installation of the base system, you may login via a text screen. And then you may install the lubuntu-desktop package via apt-get. And believe it or not, this is even faster than a straight PXE installation.
And after that, it would be nice to do the following:
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras
in order to install a number of non-free stuff.
Without a bootable removable device, I proceeded to do a PXE install via network. I found tfptd32 a perfect and simple application for that purpose since it serves as both DHCP and tftp at the same time. At first, I tried to install Ubuntu but after the long installation process, I found it's too slow as well.
I suspected that it was a result of imperfect Crusoe support (probably obsolete) in newer kernel. By following the instructions here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LongRunHowTo
I managed to verify that my initial worry was invalid. Then, I proceed to install lubuntu instead. lubuntu has no PXE boot in mind, but then you can always install the base system via any other Ubuntu favor. When you were asked what packages to install, you may skip all packages and do it by hand afterward. Detail instructions on PXE install can be found here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/Netboot
After the installation of the base system, you may login via a text screen. And then you may install the lubuntu-desktop package via apt-get. And believe it or not, this is even faster than a straight PXE installation.
And after that, it would be nice to do the following:
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras
in order to install a number of non-free stuff.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Glory without suffering is heretic!
以賽亞書有兩幅很難融合的圖畫, 一幅是受苦的, 而另一幅卻是榮耀的, 但它們都是預言和形容同一位彌賽亞。
最難叫人認出耶穌就是基督的原因, 或許就是這個！
登山變像就是把榮耀的彌賽亞與受苦的彌賽亞清楚的表達，門徒無法相信基督受苦，這位曾預言自己要受苦的卑微夫子，就在他們面前改變形像，好讓他們認出祂就是基督。
最難叫人認出耶穌就是基督的原因, 或許就是這個！
登山變像就是把榮耀的彌賽亞與受苦的彌賽亞清楚的表達，門徒無法相信基督受苦，這位曾預言自己要受苦的卑微夫子，就在他們面前改變形像，好讓他們認出祂就是基督。
Sunday, October 23, 2011
人的敬虔
彼得看見，就對百姓說：「以色列人哪，為什麼把這事當作希奇呢？為什麼定睛看我們，以為我們憑自己的能力和虔誠使這人行走呢？」(徒 3:12)
容易高舉人的敬虔, 希望大家都要學習某些美好的宗教情操, 有時他們甚至製造出「屬靈偉人」這類詞語, 但這合乎聖經嗎?
畢竟人只是器皿, 神總不需要人去完成祂的工作, 甚至連人的敬虔也不是神所需要的! 神當然喜悅人過敬虔的生活, 但我們卻不要把人的敬虔抬得太高
因此, 讓人看見背後那位偉大的神豈不更好?
誇人的軟弱, 總比誇人的剛強與敬虔更有意思!
容易高舉人的敬虔, 希望大家都要學習某些美好的宗教情操, 有時他們甚至製造出「屬靈偉人」這類詞語, 但這合乎聖經嗎?
畢竟人只是器皿, 神總不需要人去完成祂的工作, 甚至連人的敬虔也不是神所需要的! 神當然喜悅人過敬虔的生活, 但我們卻不要把人的敬虔抬得太高
因此, 讓人看見背後那位偉大的神豈不更好?
誇人的軟弱, 總比誇人的剛強與敬虔更有意思!
Friday, October 14, 2011
歷史被邊沿化
香港人大概都知有個宋王台, 但我相信大概沒有人會特意去這個地方:
這裡除了石碑, 基本上甚麼都沒有
此外, 這地方十分狹少
還有, 這地方是交通交匯處, 四面都是繁忙的馬路, 跟本沒有人會步行經過
因此, 這地方大概跟墳墓沒有大分別, 更慘是墳墓每年都會在春秋二祭有人到訪, 這裡卻沒有!
在這個一切以經濟掛帥的地方, 歷史只好被邊沿化了
這裡除了石碑, 基本上甚麼都沒有
此外, 這地方十分狹少
還有, 這地方是交通交匯處, 四面都是繁忙的馬路, 跟本沒有人會步行經過
因此, 這地方大概跟墳墓沒有大分別, 更慘是墳墓每年都會在春秋二祭有人到訪, 這裡卻沒有!
在這個一切以經濟掛帥的地方, 歷史只好被邊沿化了
A good leader?
With the death of Steve Jobs, people praise him highly to be an excellent innovator and leader.
On the text book, we believe that a good organization should not depend too much on a single person, and likewise, a good leader should not make his team so much dependent on him.
A good leader should be one who manage to motivate and enable the whole team, rather than to make everyone follow and even dependent on him.
Having said that, the most objective or even the most appreciated metrics for measuring a successful company is the revenue and the value of the company, and in that case, it seems like Steve Jobs was violating the above principle, but yet he and his company managed to earn.
So what's the problem?
On the text book, we believe that a good organization should not depend too much on a single person, and likewise, a good leader should not make his team so much dependent on him.
A good leader should be one who manage to motivate and enable the whole team, rather than to make everyone follow and even dependent on him.
Having said that, the most objective or even the most appreciated metrics for measuring a successful company is the revenue and the value of the company, and in that case, it seems like Steve Jobs was violating the above principle, but yet he and his company managed to earn.
So what's the problem?
甚麼是氣質?
人們常說氣質, 但到底氣質是甚麼呢?
中國人說各花入各眼, 情人眼裡出西施, 或外語說 "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", 無非都是說明美麗其實很難定義, 但另一方面, 對於美麗的東西, 人們大概都有相當共識, 所以許多年前, 我這樣總結:
美麗沒有定義,但卻有共識 :-)
那麼氣質又是甚麼呢? 通常給人形容為有氣質的人都不會太過美麗, 起碼總不是那些所有人都有共識的美麗, 對嗎?
我想, 氣質就是內在生命的湧流...
i.e. the outward flow (or overflow) of inward quality.
中國人說各花入各眼, 情人眼裡出西施, 或外語說 "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", 無非都是說明美麗其實很難定義, 但另一方面, 對於美麗的東西, 人們大概都有相當共識, 所以許多年前, 我這樣總結:
美麗沒有定義,但卻有共識 :-)
那麼氣質又是甚麼呢? 通常給人形容為有氣質的人都不會太過美麗, 起碼總不是那些所有人都有共識的美麗, 對嗎?
我想, 氣質就是內在生命的湧流...
i.e. the outward flow (or overflow) of inward quality.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Ouma Rusks 的故事
工人姐姐搵倒一包過期食物, 竟然響包裝上面見倒一個簡單而美麗的見證....
話說當年大蕭條 (Great Depression), 有一班婦女聽完一個差傳聚會後, 教會每人分派了一丁點錢讓她們按自己的才幹, 把這些錢倍大, 結果她們按自己家族的方法, 製造出一些產品, 神祝福叫這東西大賣, 所賺得的錢就在經濟低迷的時候供應了宣教士的需要!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Pulling commodity from applications
It's interesting to see that for the last five to ten years, people have been pulling computer applications from computer to make standalone products like VCD player, DVD player, mp3 player, etc. All these were very successful.
However, the trend seems to be reversed these days when smart-phones and tablets were getting popular. You will probably not use a standalone mp3 player, and you will probably not use a standalone DVD player, instead, you watch movies and you listen to music via your tablets there days.
While it could be nice if a single machine could do everything for you, however, it could even be better if things just get smaller. For example, even your tablet is powerful enough to play music but then you will still need a headphone/earphone! What if your headphone/earphone could play the music by itself? If it can, your tablet will not be necessary any more.
Content-wise, putting stuff in the cloud for centralized storage and manipulation should be the best.
However, the trend seems to be reversed these days when smart-phones and tablets were getting popular. You will probably not use a standalone mp3 player, and you will probably not use a standalone DVD player, instead, you watch movies and you listen to music via your tablets there days.
While it could be nice if a single machine could do everything for you, however, it could even be better if things just get smaller. For example, even your tablet is powerful enough to play music but then you will still need a headphone/earphone! What if your headphone/earphone could play the music by itself? If it can, your tablet will not be necessary any more.
Content-wise, putting stuff in the cloud for centralized storage and manipulation should be the best.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
CT-2 Artifacts in Hong Kong
CT-1 is analog technology, only a handful of channels is supported, so it's very expensive. In Hong Kong, it was referred to as 水壼 or 大哥大.
後來有了 CT-2 技術，手機才開始普及。印像中有天地線和步步通等供應商。
因為這些網絡技術是用 cell 來通訊，倘若別人要打入的話，網絡供應商必需知道用戶在那一個 cell 然後才可以打得通，因此初期只支援打出，而不支援打入。用戶必需要同時使用傳呼機 (pager)，當別人傳呼你的時候，你再用 CT-2 電話來回覆。
這個當年破紀錄的長廣告就是展示了這個技術限制:
此外，最初技術亦不支援 hand-off，即你要停留在某一個 cell，才可以確保通訊不會中斷。我大學的時候，就看過不少處理 hand-off 技術的論文。
對於這些站著不能動的電話，今天我們仍能看見一些當年的通訊點還沒有被移除。另一個廣告就正好說明為甚麼供應商要以袋裝電話亭來宣傳產品，因為這是只能打出不能打入的技術，就好像電話亭一樣：
一直到了很後期，CT-2 總算能夠打入，但這也是 CT-2 技術消失的前奏。
Monday, September 12, 2011
通渠佬
香港人一向慣用強酸來作通渠之用, 其實這頗為危險。
我試過有一次使用強酸來通渠, 結果水管因為熱力而彭脹, 最後還鬆脫了! 結果一定都是強酸和污水, 後來還要更換喉管呢！
後來我發現有一類產品, 使用後不會發熱, 也不怕損壞喉管:
它們有粉劑, 也有液態的, 方便不同的環境使用... 使用時, 它們也不會因為接觸到污水或淤塞物而淺出, 或是發出異味, 而且價錢還不貴！
我試過有一次使用強酸來通渠, 結果水管因為熱力而彭脹, 最後還鬆脫了! 結果一定都是強酸和污水, 後來還要更換喉管呢！
後來我發現有一類產品, 使用後不會發熱, 也不怕損壞喉管:
它們有粉劑, 也有液態的, 方便不同的環境使用... 使用時, 它們也不會因為接觸到污水或淤塞物而淺出, 或是發出異味, 而且價錢還不貴！
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Digitalizing your notes
I've just finished a certain master's degree but that left me a huge stack of printed notes along with the personal notes that I've jot down during the classes.
Therefore, the best way is to scan them all and to keep them in your computer, index them properly so that I might read them again when required.
The scanning process is quite tedious even I've a scanner with auto-feeder. The problem comes when I'm scanning double-sided notes but the feeder jammed in the middle of the process. Anyhow, it's still way better than scanning one by one.
After scanning, I would keep those pages with one side blank and to send the double-page sheets to the recycler...
Therefore, the best way is to scan them all and to keep them in your computer, index them properly so that I might read them again when required.
The scanning process is quite tedious even I've a scanner with auto-feeder. The problem comes when I'm scanning double-sided notes but the feeder jammed in the middle of the process. Anyhow, it's still way better than scanning one by one.
After scanning, I would keep those pages with one side blank and to send the double-page sheets to the recycler...
健康食物
現代人喜愛健康食物, 因為覺得吃了健康... 此後, 人們就把食物分類, 有健康的, 也有所謂不健康的...
細心想一想, 其實食物本身沒有健康不健康的, 因為健康本來就是形容人, 而不是用來形容食物的!
因此, 只有健康的人, 和不健求的人...
對於健康的人, 一切食物都可以很健康!
但對於不健康的人, 才有所謂不健康的食物... 但對於這類人, 就算是健康食物也不能吃太多! 這樣, 不健康的人才是問題本身, 這個命題就變得更真實了!
細心想一想, 其實食物本身沒有健康不健康的, 因為健康本來就是形容人, 而不是用來形容食物的!
因此, 只有健康的人, 和不健求的人...
對於健康的人, 一切食物都可以很健康!
但對於不健康的人, 才有所謂不健康的食物... 但對於這類人, 就算是健康食物也不能吃太多! 這樣, 不健康的人才是問題本身, 這個命題就變得更真實了!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
以神為中心的靈修
這個暑期我開始每晚都跟兩個女兒靈修，採用的是一本兒童聖經，但這只是素材，內容還是根據真實的聖經來講。
經過幾年神學反省，我認為認識神才是讀聖經的最終目的，其它如道德教訓等都是次要，除非聖經明言要我們學效，否則我們也不必從人物中找學習的功課。這就是我所指的以神用中心的讀經。
讓我先舉些例子：
1. 當讀到約瑟的生平時，我並沒有指出約瑟有甚麼好學習的地方。約瑟固然有可以學效的地方，但他的生命也不是沒有瑕疵的，如果要憑我們的喜好或理性去做選材，那麼我們就是把我們的喜好和理性放於聖經之上，我們總沒有權去這樣做！以神為中心來看，世界實在充滿罪惡，約瑟竟然被自己的哥哥出賣，忠心服事的約瑟也被人陷害，或被人遺忘，但神總不忘記人。約瑟晚年總結自己的一生，他肯定週遭的人或許心存惡意要害他，但神的意念卻是好的，他先去到埃及，就是要救活許多人。神的能力與安排總勝過人的罪惡！
2. 當讀到摩西生平時，我們就看到神的能力。出生時，神竟能把摩西藏在敵人的家中，不但生命得以保存，也有學習埃習知識的機會。年青時，摩西想仗自己的力量去救以色列民，就人來看，那時他確實滿有能力，但神卻不使用人的力量，唯獨等摩西老了才藉他施行拯救，好叫人只能把榮耀歸給神，人根本就都不濟事。
神在野地賜嗎哪，與主耶穌的五餅二魚一樣，叫人在野地裡得飽足。現代人謎信金錢，以為沒有錢就沒有東西吃；古代人謎信農業，以為要耕作才有得吃，但神卻能在野地裡叫人得飽足！天空的飛鳥也不種也不收，但神就供應他們。
到賜十誡的時候，我又叫女兒們有一幅更大圖畫。神應許亞伯拉罕要成為大國，那麼他們那時已經有許多人民，而且還向迦南地前進，可見神的工作從沒停止！要成為大國亦要有君王與律法，十誡就是這個的律法。
每天靈修後，女兒們無不驚歎神的作為，我們也學習藉信心一起過生活，願榮榮歸與神。
經過幾年神學反省，我認為認識神才是讀聖經的最終目的，其它如道德教訓等都是次要，除非聖經明言要我們學效，否則我們也不必從人物中找學習的功課。這就是我所指的以神用中心的讀經。
讓我先舉些例子：
1. 當讀到約瑟的生平時，我並沒有指出約瑟有甚麼好學習的地方。約瑟固然有可以學效的地方，但他的生命也不是沒有瑕疵的，如果要憑我們的喜好或理性去做選材，那麼我們就是把我們的喜好和理性放於聖經之上，我們總沒有權去這樣做！以神為中心來看，世界實在充滿罪惡，約瑟竟然被自己的哥哥出賣，忠心服事的約瑟也被人陷害，或被人遺忘，但神總不忘記人。約瑟晚年總結自己的一生，他肯定週遭的人或許心存惡意要害他，但神的意念卻是好的，他先去到埃及，就是要救活許多人。神的能力與安排總勝過人的罪惡！
2. 當讀到摩西生平時，我們就看到神的能力。出生時，神竟能把摩西藏在敵人的家中，不但生命得以保存，也有學習埃習知識的機會。年青時，摩西想仗自己的力量去救以色列民，就人來看，那時他確實滿有能力，但神卻不使用人的力量，唯獨等摩西老了才藉他施行拯救，好叫人只能把榮耀歸給神，人根本就都不濟事。
神在野地賜嗎哪，與主耶穌的五餅二魚一樣，叫人在野地裡得飽足。現代人謎信金錢，以為沒有錢就沒有東西吃；古代人謎信農業，以為要耕作才有得吃，但神卻能在野地裡叫人得飽足！天空的飛鳥也不種也不收，但神就供應他們。
到賜十誡的時候，我又叫女兒們有一幅更大圖畫。神應許亞伯拉罕要成為大國，那麼他們那時已經有許多人民，而且還向迦南地前進，可見神的工作從沒停止！要成為大國亦要有君王與律法，十誡就是這個的律法。
每天靈修後，女兒們無不驚歎神的作為，我們也學習藉信心一起過生活，願榮榮歸與神。
Re-evaluation
The price of a certain item will not jump dramatically simply because people believe that it should worth a higher price.
It will jump only when people see it from an entirely new angle. Let say a certain company, after acquisition or re-organization, or having a new way of business, its true value should then be re-evaluated, and in that case, a huge price jump would then be expected.
Gold had lost its function as a form of reserve in the last twenty years so its price remained more or less constant. But recently with the economic down turn or better say re-shuffling, the function of USD was now in doubt and gold came out again so that it might regain its old position, by then it's value is being re-evaluated again!
Of course, such a re-evaluation process is hard to predict, and sometimes it will overshoot but then adjustments will follow. I expect the price of gold should keep moving in a generally upward trend for a number of years to come.
It will jump only when people see it from an entirely new angle. Let say a certain company, after acquisition or re-organization, or having a new way of business, its true value should then be re-evaluated, and in that case, a huge price jump would then be expected.
Gold had lost its function as a form of reserve in the last twenty years so its price remained more or less constant. But recently with the economic down turn or better say re-shuffling, the function of USD was now in doubt and gold came out again so that it might regain its old position, by then it's value is being re-evaluated again!
Of course, such a re-evaluation process is hard to predict, and sometimes it will overshoot but then adjustments will follow. I expect the price of gold should keep moving in a generally upward trend for a number of years to come.
十誡
誡命是守不了的, 但卻可以活出來
「所以凡有血氣的，沒有一個因行律法能在神面前稱義，因為律法本是叫人知罪。」 (羅 3:20)
因為罪從來並不單是外在的行為, 更是內在生命瑕疵的表現
若以有瑕疵的生命來守律法, 那自然是不可能的; 但倘若有了得釋放的生命, 我們就可以順著聖靈的帶領, 把誡命活出來
「所以凡有血氣的，沒有一個因行律法能在神面前稱義，因為律法本是叫人知罪。」 (羅 3:20)
因為罪從來並不單是外在的行為, 更是內在生命瑕疵的表現
若以有瑕疵的生命來守律法, 那自然是不可能的; 但倘若有了得釋放的生命, 我們就可以順著聖靈的帶領, 把誡命活出來
Saturday, July 30, 2011
A hole in the heart
許多人說: 人心裡有一個空洞, 別的東西填不滿, 只有神可以填滿...
早前聽過一個見證, 之後有這樣的一個延伸:
但神卻比這個洞更大, 大得要把所有其它東西都擠出來才成!
早前聽過一個見證, 之後有這樣的一個延伸:
但神卻比這個洞更大, 大得要把所有其它東西都擠出來才成!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Price of Electronic Products
My DVD writer had failed for over a year but I was not so interested to replace it since we used to use USB drive for file copying, it's just much faster, cheaper and more reliable and higher capacity as well.
Last night my kid wanted to read a CD from her school and so I checked the price of a new DVD writer, and to my big surprise, it's just $143 HKD!
At that price, I wonder why the factory would still produce it... you can always make a mouse which should be way easier, and then the cost is about the same!
Last night my kid wanted to read a CD from her school and so I checked the price of a new DVD writer, and to my big surprise, it's just $143 HKD!
At that price, I wonder why the factory would still produce it... you can always make a mouse which should be way easier, and then the cost is about the same!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Photography in a Crowdy City
Pretty long ago, I found that I love to use those high range zoom camera (my first DC has a zoom range of 10x). I don't really know the answer for that until maybe recently when I bought a fisheye.
In Hong Kong, fisheye lens is intrinsically hard to use. The problem is, it's so crowdy in terms of people, building and whatever, and it makes the composition very complicated if you use a wide lens.
In a highly complex (I mean non-organized) environment, you simply cannot find a view big enough for a fisheye. I guess taking portriat with a large background could be nice, but then the usage is still very limited.
Therefore, I wish that I will be able to get chance to shoot the night sky, and also for the coming trip to another country shortly. I guess I will want to sell it soon afterward.
In Hong Kong, fisheye lens is intrinsically hard to use. The problem is, it's so crowdy in terms of people, building and whatever, and it makes the composition very complicated if you use a wide lens.
In a highly complex (I mean non-organized) environment, you simply cannot find a view big enough for a fisheye. I guess taking portriat with a large background could be nice, but then the usage is still very limited.
Therefore, I wish that I will be able to get chance to shoot the night sky, and also for the coming trip to another country shortly. I guess I will want to sell it soon afterward.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Defishing
Recently I bought a 8mm f3.5 Korean fisheye lens. It built like tank and the focuser is extremely smooth like L-class lens. When you stop down to f8, you remove any need of focusing virtually.
One of the usages for fisheye lens is to work as an ultra-wide lens, however, we might want to remove the fisheye effect in certain situation. There is a simple way to do that, for example, in Photoshop, you may use the "transformation" function under the "edit" manual to do it.
This is the original:-
In less than one minute, you can fix the curve and then you may crop the edges:-
One of the usages for fisheye lens is to work as an ultra-wide lens, however, we might want to remove the fisheye effect in certain situation. There is a simple way to do that, for example, in Photoshop, you may use the "transformation" function under the "edit" manual to do it.
This is the original:-
In less than one minute, you can fix the curve and then you may crop the edges:-
Thursday, April 28, 2011
我是祢眼中的瞳人
給自我形像低落的你, 也當然包括我自己:
我只有一個地方不怕看見自己 ---
那就是祢眼中的我...
我從我自己眼裡只看見自己的不足, 但從祢的眼裡, 我卻看到真正的自己, 那藏在基督裡的我真!
我只有一個地方不怕看見自己 ---
那就是祢眼中的我...
我從我自己眼裡只看見自己的不足, 但從祢的眼裡, 我卻看到真正的自己, 那藏在基督裡的我真!
Monday, April 25, 2011
讓小孩子到我這裡來 (可 10:13-16)
經文:
[13]有人帶著小孩子來見耶穌，要耶穌摸他們，門徒便責備那些人。
[14]耶穌看見就惱怒，對門徒說：「讓小孩子到我這裡來，不要禁止他們；因為在神國的，正是這樣的人。
[15]我實在告訴你們，凡要承受神國的，若不像小孩子，斷不能進去。」
[16]於是抱著小孩子，給他們按手，為他們祝福。
門徒責備那些人的原因:
1. 那些人要耶穌 "摸" 那些小孩子, 但那些小孩子顯然沒有任何病患
2. 地點: 屋子內 (見上文), 門徒正在屋企問耶穌問題 (屋子: Markan secrecy motif)
3. 氣氛: 馬可筆下的主耶穌都是非常忙碌的, "沒有事" 的人似乎不應該找耶穌, 祂有更重要的事情要處理
耶穌的反應:
1. 上述理由都看似合理, 但在耶穌心目中, 這些都不成理由
2. 因此, 我們要更新我們的觀念
耶穌是誰:
1. 耶穌把來見祂的人視為進天國的人!
2. 門徒或許以為耶穌是醫生 (cf. 摸), 是教師 (cf. 上文), 是先知 (broader context), 但其實耶穌就是神自己 (cf. 進神國), 沒有人不需要耶穌, 包括那些表面無病無痛的人
像小孩子:
1. 小孩子的語意範圍 (semantic range) 可以很廣闊
2. 參考下文, 那位來見耶穌的人, 他守律法, 又有財有勢, 但卻不能進天國
3. 因此, 小孩子應該被視為未懂律法 (未夠 13 歲的猶大人, 未行成年禮, 未能接受律法), 不能靠律法, 也不能倚靠錢財和今世事情的人, 他們凡事都只能領受
[13]有人帶著小孩子來見耶穌，要耶穌摸他們，門徒便責備那些人。
[14]耶穌看見就惱怒，對門徒說：「讓小孩子到我這裡來，不要禁止他們；因為在神國的，正是這樣的人。
[15]我實在告訴你們，凡要承受神國的，若不像小孩子，斷不能進去。」
[16]於是抱著小孩子，給他們按手，為他們祝福。
門徒責備那些人的原因:
1. 那些人要耶穌 "摸" 那些小孩子, 但那些小孩子顯然沒有任何病患
2. 地點: 屋子內 (見上文), 門徒正在屋企問耶穌問題 (屋子: Markan secrecy motif)
3. 氣氛: 馬可筆下的主耶穌都是非常忙碌的, "沒有事" 的人似乎不應該找耶穌, 祂有更重要的事情要處理
耶穌的反應:
1. 上述理由都看似合理, 但在耶穌心目中, 這些都不成理由
2. 因此, 我們要更新我們的觀念
耶穌是誰:
1. 耶穌把來見祂的人視為進天國的人!
2. 門徒或許以為耶穌是醫生 (cf. 摸), 是教師 (cf. 上文), 是先知 (broader context), 但其實耶穌就是神自己 (cf. 進神國), 沒有人不需要耶穌, 包括那些表面無病無痛的人
像小孩子:
1. 小孩子的語意範圍 (semantic range) 可以很廣闊
2. 參考下文, 那位來見耶穌的人, 他守律法, 又有財有勢, 但卻不能進天國
3. 因此, 小孩子應該被視為未懂律法 (未夠 13 歲的猶大人, 未行成年禮, 未能接受律法), 不能靠律法, 也不能倚靠錢財和今世事情的人, 他們凡事都只能領受
Sunday, April 24, 2011
沒有英雄的世代
這是一個沒有英雄的時代。
現代科技進步，資訊發達，人的缺點 (我堅信人世人都有罪) 總是藏不了，完美的英雄也因此而變成不可能。
神話式的故事就讓他們繼續神話，完美的人物好像天上的星星，看似實在，但卻對我們來說很虛幻，因為你總摸不著它們。真實的信仰應該能夠叫人摸得著，能夠帶我們穿過生命中的困難，也能越過生命中的軟弱。
練仙式的宗教信仰，高得比天還高，所以還是留待高人去修練吧。
因此，我只信那道成肉身，把高到比天還過的道理帶進人間，叫我可以摸得著，也叫我接納我的軟弱，叫我認真的面對那生命中的困難，一點不逃避，也毫不隱藏。
罪的實在，正好說明人對基督的需要，確實也是同樣實在。倘若神是愛，人有罪，我實在看不出有任何別的出路了。
現代科技進步，資訊發達，人的缺點 (我堅信人世人都有罪) 總是藏不了，完美的英雄也因此而變成不可能。
神話式的故事就讓他們繼續神話，完美的人物好像天上的星星，看似實在，但卻對我們來說很虛幻，因為你總摸不著它們。真實的信仰應該能夠叫人摸得著，能夠帶我們穿過生命中的困難，也能越過生命中的軟弱。
練仙式的宗教信仰，高得比天還高，所以還是留待高人去修練吧。
因此，我只信那道成肉身，把高到比天還過的道理帶進人間，叫我可以摸得著，也叫我接納我的軟弱，叫我認真的面對那生命中的困難，一點不逃避，也毫不隱藏。
罪的實在，正好說明人對基督的需要，確實也是同樣實在。倘若神是愛，人有罪，我實在看不出有任何別的出路了。
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Button Cell
Here are some common size and their names:
1. LR44 = AG13
2. LR43 = AG12
3. LR626 = AG4 = SR626W
I wonder wonder why there're so many different names!
1. LR44 = AG13
2. LR43 = AG12
3. LR626 = AG4 = SR626W
I wonder wonder why there're so many different names!
Monday, April 4, 2011
A minimalist approach
A good software is not a software with all sorts of functions, instead, it should be trimmed down such that none of its function is excessive.
Similar philosophy could be applied to people, we shall not own anything that is excessive, we shall not do anything that is useless.
Similar philosophy could be applied to people, we shall not own anything that is excessive, we shall not do anything that is useless.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Bouncing fan like a flash!
In flashed photography, in order to make the flash more natural, one will point the flash else where like the ceiling so that the light from the flash will be bounced from a bigger surface.
Similar technique could be used for an electric fan. Of course, it's not for photography, but you know, direct blowing is quite uncomfortable like direct flash. Therefore, you can point the fan some where else so that direct wind will be blowing to other direction but then the reflected wind which is more diffused and comfortable.
For most cases, a fan is good to keep the air moving around the room and that could be good enough for warm night.
Similar technique could be used for an electric fan. Of course, it's not for photography, but you know, direct blowing is quite uncomfortable like direct flash. Therefore, you can point the fan some where else so that direct wind will be blowing to other direction but then the reflected wind which is more diffused and comfortable.
For most cases, a fan is good to keep the air moving around the room and that could be good enough for warm night.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Snapshots (長尾縫葉鶯 and butterflies)
Just picked up my Canon 100-400mm to walk around, 地點: 花墟公園
This is a new one in my collection:-
These were really small, but after cropping it could be acceptable:-
Same as the one above, but wide open. It's more colorful inside!
長尾縫葉鶯...
taken in the same place last time.
This is a new one in my collection:-
These were really small, but after cropping it could be acceptable:-
Same as the one above, but wide open. It's more colorful inside!
長尾縫葉鶯...
taken in the same place last time.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Allusion in Judges 18:20-29
Judges 18:20 Taking away a teraphim
Judges 18:21 Depart with little ones, cattle and carriage before them
Judges 18:22 People chasing them
Judges 18:23 Asking why so many people chasing them
Judges 18:24 Being asked why they steal especially the teraphim
Judges 18:27-28 Kill all the people in a city
Genesis 31:19 Taking away a teraphim
Genesis 31:23 People chasing them
Genesis 31:26-30 Being asked why they steal especially the teraphim
Genesis 31:36-42 Asking why so many people chasing them
Genesis 32:16-22 Depart with little ones, cattle and carriage before them
Genesis 34:1-31 Kill all the people in a city
They were not placed in exact sequence, but a number of essential elements were in common. Certain rare keyword like הַתְּרָפִֽים can be found from both cases as well.
To explain such an allusion, I would say that the two stories at the end of Judges were indeed trying to conclude that Israelites were not doing well after they arrived Canaan. And in order to show that the specific problem of Dan is indeed general to the whole Israelites, the author was trying to allude the bad deeds of Dan back to their very ancestor Jacob. As a result, the specific issue of Dan was shown to be rooted from Jacob, this allusion serves to make specific example to general problem of the whole Israelites.
Judges 18:21 Depart with little ones, cattle and carriage before them
Judges 18:22 People chasing them
Judges 18:23 Asking why so many people chasing them
Judges 18:24 Being asked why they steal especially the teraphim
Judges 18:27-28 Kill all the people in a city
Genesis 31:19 Taking away a teraphim
Genesis 31:23 People chasing them
Genesis 31:26-30 Being asked why they steal especially the teraphim
Genesis 31:36-42 Asking why so many people chasing them
Genesis 32:16-22 Depart with little ones, cattle and carriage before them
Genesis 34:1-31 Kill all the people in a city
They were not placed in exact sequence, but a number of essential elements were in common. Certain rare keyword like הַתְּרָפִֽים can be found from both cases as well.
To explain such an allusion, I would say that the two stories at the end of Judges were indeed trying to conclude that Israelites were not doing well after they arrived Canaan. And in order to show that the specific problem of Dan is indeed general to the whole Israelites, the author was trying to allude the bad deeds of Dan back to their very ancestor Jacob. As a result, the specific issue of Dan was shown to be rooted from Jacob, this allusion serves to make specific example to general problem of the whole Israelites.
Taken during the partial solar eclipse
Canon 100-400mm at 400mm wide open, handheld, corped, it's flying very high in the sky.
A few shots at the playground - 南昌公園 (鵲鴝, 黑領椋鳥)
Both taken with a Canon 200mm f2.8
鵲鴝 (p. 152)
鵲鴝 (p. 152)
黑領椋鳥 (p. 201)
白頭鵯
今日放 annual leave 響屋企, 女又訓左, 老婆又訓左, 自己一個人睇書睇到悶, 打開窗門睇下, 又見倒有之前未見過既 (should be 白頭鵯, p. 150):-
映左幾十張, 得呢張較為 sharp 少少
今日天陰, 200mm f2.8L + Kenko 2x, 有腳架都無用... crop 完再 resize 少少先可以似少少樣!
映左幾十張, 得呢張較為 sharp 少少
今日天陰, 200mm f2.8L + Kenko 2x, 有腳架都無用... crop 完再 resize 少少先可以似少少樣!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Birds from Hong Kong Science Park (小白鷺, 黑領椋鳥)
小白鷺 (p. 41) Canon 200mm f2.8L at prime focus:-
黑領椋鳥 (p. 201), Canon 200mm f2.8L with Kenko 2x:-
Canon 200mm f2.8L with Kenko 2x:-
黑領椋鳥 (p. 201), Canon 200mm f2.8L with Kenko 2x:-
Canon 200mm f2.8L with Kenko 2x:-
Testing my Orion 100mm f/9
It's taken with a 900mm lens (telescope)! This is a 100% crop and then resized a little bit to hide the noise.
Jesus Blesses the Children (Mark 10:13-16)
In the Commentary on Mark from Baker, Robert Stein comments in p. 461 that this passage does not fit particularly well for the "house" of 10:10, however, after thinking for some time, I would say that it's could be a good fit.
The disciples were not happy when some people brought children to Jesus. The "house" in Mark is usually a place where Jesus would reveal secret to His disciples. By bringing the children to the "house", that means the people were not just bringing the kids to Jesus, but to join their inner circle, or even to share their secret! This is, of course, not something that the disciples could easily accept and that might explain why the disciples were not happy about that.
The disciples were not happy when some people brought children to Jesus. The "house" in Mark is usually a place where Jesus would reveal secret to His disciples. By bringing the children to the "house", that means the people were not just bringing the kids to Jesus, but to join their inner circle, or even to share their secret! This is, of course, not something that the disciples could easily accept and that might explain why the disciples were not happy about that.
落湯雞 (林八哥)
對面樓天台, 舊式工廠, 有 D 地方會落大雨後積水數小時, 亦長有好多花草, 好多 bird bird 會黎玩, 飲水, 甚至沖涼... Canon 200mm f2.8L with Kenko 2x:
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