Records

What a joy to hear the US athletes praising God for their wins at the 2003 World Track and Field Champion in Paris.

I just had to do it again; and again, I am a Visual Mathematician.


Congratulations, Ky!
Your IQ score is 129

This number is the result of a formula based on how many questions you answered correctly on Emode's Ultimate IQ test. Your IQ score is scientifically accurate; to read more about the science behind our IQ test, click here.

During the test, you answered four different types of questions — mathematical, visual-spatial, linguistic and logical. We analyzed how you did on each of those questions which reveals how your brain uniquely works.

We also compared your answers with others who have taken the test, and according to the sorts of questions you got correct, we can tell your Intellectual Type is Visual Mathematician.

This means you are gifted at spotting patterns — both in pictures and in numbers. These talents combined with your overall high intelligence make you good at understanding the big picture, which is why people trust your instincts and turn to you for direction — especially in the workplace. And that's just some of what we know about you from your test results.

First time I had intravenous (IV) sedation. My hand was sprayed with some really cold liquid, must be compressed air, then a needle was inserted and the sedative was pumped into my vein with a syringe. I was out within three seconds after feeling something warm was surging through my right hand vein. The whole surgical procedure was done in half an hour and I woke up feeling as fresh as from a good sleep. It's amazing!

Java 1.5 will introduce a whole bunch of new technologies: http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/community/chat/JavaLive/2003/jl0729.html. I did not see anything that would have me excitedly jumping up and down though.

Borland JBuilder 9.0 FREE Personal version is much improved compare to version 7, especially the Solaris version as far as speed is concerned. Also downloaded the new CIA World Factbook yesterday.

Just started listening to "Silent Honor" by Danielle Steel and found it rather interesting: Japanese culture and people in the 1920s.

Still reading "The last Tsar: The life and death of Nicholas II" by Edvard Radzinsky, a little unusual the way it is written, sudden and regular switch between the author, the eyewitnesses and the Tsar's diary.

Just to keep things in perspective, while we mourn for all lives that have been lost and pray for God's comfort for their families, the casuality to date are 281 US MILITARY personnels, 50 UK MILITARY personnels, 1 Danish MILITARY personnel, and 1 Spanish MILITARY personnel in support of operations in Iraq compare to 2,792 CIVILIANS were killed in the twin towers on one day, September 11, 2001.

Check this out for more information: http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danbury.html

Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Draft and Recently Discovered Text
To messers Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem & approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful & zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and, in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more & more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" thus building a wall of eternal separation between Church & State. Congress thus inhibited from acts respecting religion, and the Executive authorised only to execute their acts, I have refrained from prescribing even those occasional performances of devotion, practiced indeed by the Executive of another nation as the legal head of its church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect,

[Jefferson first wrote: "confining myself therefore to the duties of my station, which are merely temporal, be assured that your religious rights shall never be infringed by any act of mine and that." These lines he crossed out and then wrote: "concurring with"; having crossed out these two words, he wrote: "Adhering to this great act of national legislation in behalf of the rights of conscience"; next he crossed out these words and wrote: "Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience I shall see with friendly dispositions the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced that he has no natural rights in opposition to his social duties."]

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & the Danbury Baptist [your religious] association assurances of my high respect & esteem.

Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.

http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpost.html

Remember, this is NOT part of the US Constitution!

Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists
Jan. 1. 1802

The Final Letter, as Sent

To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.

Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.


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From the Historic Documents archive published online by The Federalist at http://federalist.com.

Let's say I don't know any better, that the case is about public display of the ten commandments instead of state rights vs. federal government. So if the Supreme Court rules that public display of the ten commendments is effectively the establishment of a national religion (which I don't see how because all mainline Protestant, Judaism and Islam faith revere them, which one is it that is being established?) then they have to remove the ten commendments that are edged in stone above their heads (the justices) in the court room where they hear cases. If Congress step in and withhold all funding for that purpose (the same way they withhold funding for any federal marshall to enforce the federal district court's decision in Alabama), what will the justices do?

No where in the US Constitution is the expressed phrase of separation of church and state is found. The only thing that is not allowed by the establishment clause of the first amendment to the US Constitution is for Congress to pass a law saying that the USA national religion is Episcopal or Baptist or whatever. The letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury baptist church is to assure them of this.

With Alabama chief justice Roy Moore, the issue of state rights vs. federal government once again became a hot issue. It will be interesting to watch how the Supreme Court rule. I also wonder about the constitutionality of president Lincoln's power in the whole episode of the Civil War because each individual state is sovereign and only voluntarily bounded by the Constitution. Don't have time now but definitely will read more about in during the winter break.

I had to create new login on java.sun.com today because someone else had already had my screenname when Sun combined all these different Sun sites, argh.

Chief Bolton of Dallas Police Department was fired today and they said his chance of being ever in law enforcement again is unlikely! I hate being fired from high profile job like that.

Found an interesting site while searching for more information about Voronoi Diagram: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/.

I read yesterday that some young 26 year-old woman in Alabama put her 18-month old daughter into the oven and set it to broil, so unthinkable! The world is coming to an end and Christ is coming soon.

An interesting interview of Lisa Beamer: http://www.womenoffaith.com/features/september.asp.

I should find and read "Introduction to Christian Apologetics" and "Christian Apologetics" by Cornelius Van Til one of these days.

I flew for an hour last month (June 26th, 2003 to be exact) in a Cessna 172SP for only $49 including the fee for the instructor (offer on www.beapilot.com, I flew with www.henleys-aircraft.com) and a helicopter (www.flysummit.com) is going to cost $125/hour, isn't that silly? Maybe when school is done for this semester, I will find out more and take a chopper up and see how it feels compare to a single engine Cessna.

Summer was over and school started yesterday. I discovered that I believe in weak Artificial Intelligence (AI), that AI can never really be intelligent but only simulating intelligence, based on the Chinese room argument, a formal objection to Turing test for AI.

I also learned about TRIZ over lunch conversation with a friend. "TIPS" is the acronym for "Theory of Inventive Problem Solving," and "TRIZ" is the acronym for the same phrase in Russian. TRIZ was developed by Genrich Altshuller and his colleagues in the former USSR starting in 1946, and is now being developed and practiced throughout the world.

An improvement of sort but today, I did 14.15 miles in only 39:19 on a stationary bike at school, which works out to about (39*60+19)/14.15=166.713 seconds/mile.

Starting "The purpose driven life" by Rick Warran. Quite interesting about reading only one chapter per day and no more. Instead, the author recommends the readers to spend time to ponder and contemplate about that one chapter that they read each day.

I have read that average IQ is about 100, corresponding to about 13% usage of brain's neurons. Albert Einstein is said to have IQ above 160 and used about 21% of his brain's neurons. 100/13=7.69; 7.69*21=161.54; sounds about right so I guess I am using about 126/7.69=16.38% of my brain's neurons, that's less than a quarter of my brain's neurons is put to use. But, by God's grace, whatever percentage, let's hope it's used for His glory and for the good of mankind. We do not want Adolf Hitler to use even a quarter of his brain's neurons, do we?

The Original IQ Test

Congratulations, Ky!
Your IQ score is 126

This number is the result of a formula based on how many questions you answered correctly on Emode's Ultimate IQ test. Your IQ score is scientifically accurate.

During the test, you answered four different types of questions — mathematical, visual-spatial, linguistic and logical. We analyzed how you did on each of those questions which reveals how your brain uniquely works.

We also compared your answers with others who have taken the test, and according to the sorts of questions you got correct, we can tell your Intellectual Type is Visual Mathematician.

This means you are gifted at spotting patterns — both in pictures and in numbers. These talents combined with your overall high intelligence make you good at understanding the big picture, which is why people trust your instincts and turn to you for direction — especially in the workplace. And that's just some of what we know about you from your test results.

Got to read up on the 22 proposed constitutional amendments coming up for a vote on September 13th here in Texas. Early voting from August 28th through September 8th for voters in Dallas county.

Just got it configured the way I wanted.