Buddha and lunch

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him.
All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else. Things happen for the reasons. Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. It is your conscience or morality.
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream too much of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. We have to do good the present for the future and the past cannot change anyway. The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, but to live the present moments wisely and earnestly. It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and night mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him. To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring love and peace to all, one must discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to enlightenment and all the wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.
When I watched 60 minutes last week, conductor Gustavo Dudamel's musical mission has said that music creates discipline, character and team work. And if you have this kind of discipline from the beginning of your life, it's something so when you give a little violin to a little kid, you feel like you're doing something which is life-transforming?
I believe to learn music it is a discipline. So if I have children I will encourage to play music at the early age but sometimes it is hard because it depends on the environment of the child has been brought up. "Dam me/Obsessed" with music or any form of art/sports is a good thing so you can devote your free time on it. The process that you learn will creates a discipline and your own character. It is important to me not how big you become but how you use your time in life that makes life more interesting to live. It is not a new car, a new home or new things but how you spend your time. People bores with their life so they need to buy a new thing or even to marry to make life more interesting but that is not the case. If you're happy with your single life eventually you will happy with a marry life... ./.tv
Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you.
Aldous Huxley

Lunch anyone? I made lunch and cook for the whole week usually I prepare on the weekend. 5 boxes of salad and 5 sandwiches or croissants like this for 5 days. It means I have to eat the whole week the same food for lunch and dinner people says that they cannot eat the same food for the whole week but it did not bother me so I can have a lot of time to do the things I like. I am very lazy to cook everyday. I like to cook but not everyday. At work someone told me I should patent it like my patents of the easy way to live. I like to live very simple life because I think the more simple, the better you will become. I got sick of eating out in Saigon on my last trip in VN. In Saigon around 6 pm if you go out on the street you can see people eats everywhere in all corners and walkways, I never see anywhere that have that much restaurants as in Saigon. "Saigon di tim nha nang ma chi gap toan la nha hang. Uoc gi nha nang cung la nha hang."

Tulip festival.

The air smells so fresh, the temperature is so right for tulips and tennis. Spring is finally here.

Born believers: How your brain creates God

WHILE many institutions collapsed during the Great Depression that began in 1929, one kind did rather well. During this leanest of times, the strictest, most authoritarian churches saw a surge in attendance.
This anomaly was documented in the early 1970s, but only now is science beginning to tell us why. It turns out that human beings have a natural inclination for religious belief, especially during hard times. Our brains effortlessly conjure up an imaginary world of spirits, gods and monsters, and the more insecure we feel, the harder it is to resist the pull of this supernatural world. It seems that our minds are finely tuned to believe in gods.
Religious ideas are common to all cultures: like language and music, they seem to be part of what it is to be human. Until recently, ...

Religion has been with us as long as there has been human civilization, if not longer. Conversely, for as long as there has been human civilization, religion has been a battleground, both real and theoretical. Even today we see it in fanatics killing those with whom they disagree or the advent of the so-called "new atheism." Too often lost in both the pervasiveness of religion and the commotion it can generate is the key question of its purpose.
At bottom, the one they provide in God's Brain is quite simple. Taking the position that any one religious belief or total lack thereof is immaterial to finding the answer, they conclude that the purpose of religion is to "brainsoothe." In other words, religion exists to help the brain deal with both internal and external stress and anxiety, something they call "brainpain."
Seeing religion as a coping mechanism for the brain to deal with anxiety, fear, and stress. They argue that the socialization, rituals and beliefs that make up religion help the brain alter itself, to "brainsoothe." To some extent, their contention turns religion into a self-sustaining system. "As oxygen is to air, guilt is to religion," they observe. Yet what is one way the brain copes with guilt? Through religious ritual, such as Catholic confession, and belief, such as the forgiveness of sins.
Do we create God or God creates us? How about the conscience and morality. We may feel off the path in life sometimes but we can promise to ourself to do a great things in life.

Expect more...

Sorry not to write as ofter as I wished but I try. I was sick for a long time then the work, study and reading there is no time left. When I wanted to do something I was so tired.
That's the goal, to survive your gift.
Itzhak Perlman
Last night accidentally turned the tivi on and watched Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak played the concerto of Schuman and Mozart. They said that at the age of 16 Schuman composed a piece of concerto C major which is much more mature than the Mozart at the age of 16. They said in the mind of Schuman there is a memory friend which challenge him to write greater music therefore there are 2 kinds of music he wrote: one is for himself and other one is for the memory friend which he initialized differently for all of his music.

It seems a life is much better and more interest if you expect more out of it. Instead of happy with what you have. I have been reading some basics stuff which I passed it because I don't have time nowI am look back why we do this way why we don't do that way and I start dig deeper. Long time ago it is expensive to buy the equipments to do the research nowadays it is cheap to buy equipments and install software for, I like the idea of virtual box and virtual machine I mean you can run all sorts of OS in front of you. It makes the focus much more easy then before just a click to switch one OS to the other OS. And it is more fun to work. Self learning take a lot of time but when you know it you are very much appreciated yourself more.
Ngay cuoi o Saigon toi co di den Cafe Piano o so 8 Ho Xuan Huong ho choi violin, piano va guitar nhng nam truoc do toi thuong den cafe Xuan Huong ke ben bgio thi co them Cafe Piano ben canh cung kha an tuong neu so sanh voi yo yo va Itzhak ma thi chi dc 1/10 ma sao ko biet bao nhieu nguoi den do cung rat kho toi moi dc 1 noi o quan cafe nay, phong cach giong quan cafe Yesterday. Lan nay ve moi biet nhieu quan cafe toi thich da dong cua. Toi hom sau la toi tro ve day. Quan Yoko thi ko thich lam toi thich nhac nhe va em dem vao buoi toi co khi bai Love Story rat xua rat cu ma ban dem nghe lai van thay hay nho lai guong mat cua Real ONeil va Ali McGraw trong Love Story ma co lan toi fai xep hang vai tieng de mua ve vao xem phim nay thoi moi lon len do ma.

P.S. The background of this blog I took the sunset at Mui Ne.

Co Chu Quan va thinh thoang toi den day an trua o Saigon.

Khi ve VN co chu quan ko biet toi ve khi nhan email noi rang toi dang o Saigon co chu quan moi den quan an va tu do moi buoi trua neu ko co di an voi ai toi den quan co chu quan an vi co co chu quan de noi chuyen. Hau nhu luc toi cung di an voi ban be neu ko di thi den quan nay. Toi thich quan nay vi no sach se va gia binh dan va co co chu quan tiep chuyen nua. Do an thi hon trung binh 1 chut thoi. Toi den vi co chu quan noi rang anh co the den bat cu luc nao anh thich va cai ban nay danh cho anh. Toi ngoi an doi luc nhin quanh thay buc tranh co chu quan nho qua va ko co dep va toi hoi tai sao ko treo buc tranh lon hay hay hon, co noi khong co tien va toi noi toi se tang em mot buc tranh de treo o do. Khi toi dua buc tranh cho co chu quan, co noi buc tranh toi chon sang trong qua co le ko thich hop voi quan toi noi neu sang qua thi em co the mang ve nha treo. Toi nghi rang tranh ao dai thi thuong o VN neu tranh cua Picasso thi la va hay hon va de moi nguoi ngam nghi theo cai nhin cua moi nguoi do la ly do toi di tim buc tranh, tim mai dc buc tranh nay. Hom gia tu toi noi voi co rang thoi nhe anh di ve ben do. Em tiep tuc lam va chuc em thanh cong. Toi noi hua mot chu "ok" thi rat de nhung lam moi kho va anh da tim buc tranh cho hop voi quan cua em rat lau. Qua tam hinh nay thi ra co chu quan cung trinh trong buc tranh toi tang cho co ay va da treo o noi toi thuong ngoi an nhg buoi trua nong nuc o Saigon. Toi da an ngoai gan 2 thang ve day toi rat thich nhung mon toi nau no tuyet voi co le vi theo khau vi minh thich. O Saigon an buoi trua buoi chieu an riet ko biet an o dau ma an bay ba thi so dau bung trung thuc nua. Co chu quan ko biet tam hinh nay, do la cai hay co mot nguoi den quan an va chup goi cho toi.

I got the flu, I am so sick

Da dung het may hop Kleenex va 1 hu Tylenol 500 mg ma van khong het benh cam. I hate to be sicked I coughed the whole night, it seems never ended. Today I feet a bit better. I hate virus in PC and in real life. Usually I took Tylenol 500 mg if I feel sick but this time there is no effect what so ever. Maybe because I drove the bike.
Hom thu 4 dem xe di sua vi binh accu cho xe hoi chet. Trong luc cho do ho thay binh accu moi anh di lang thang qua dealer gan ben cho ban xe motocycle roi chay thu chiec xe nay co le ma bi trung gio nen anh bi cam. Anh rat thich bike nay lam va tham nghi neu khong di ve VN vua roi la minh co the mua dc chiec nay de dang, hien no dang on sale di ve VN sai va cho moi nguoi chang biet fai lam sao giup moi nguoi chi biet bang cach nay. O VN lai honda loai nho dau co gi ma ng ta khen anh lai good ma tu ben do ve, anh co the lai nhg chiec motocycle lon nhu vay 6 so, 200 km/h. Lai motorcycle/xe hoi la mot dam me cua anh nua vi vay ve VN anh thich lai xe honda co dieu may chiec honda chay duong xa khong thoai mai va hoi bi e mong. Neu lai 80 km thi ca xe bi rung. Khi minh ngung lai co the cung bi rung theo kho chiu, co nguoi anh cho ngoi phia sau so anh cho va noi leu lo chay cham cham, anh noi anh chay xe rat ranh hon 20 nam roi. Tu chiec xe vespa, lambretta thoi con trung hoc. Co nguoi quen thi noi cach chay xe cua anh rat nhanh va rat thong minh kho co tai nan. Anh chay nhanh nhung rat theo qui luat cua giao thong vi anh co bang lai xe 2/4 banh o day. O VN chay cham va cham tum lum rat de gay tai nan. Chay khong dung luat chay nguoc chieu, xe khong co den signal, va tat ca deu vuot den do lam sau khong gay tai nan. Xe hoi va xe tai cung vay manh ai nay chay theo luat rung. Ra xa lo nguoi VN khong co dung kin chieu hau o xe honda do la mot thieu sot anh thi dung nhieu chay rat nhanh nhung thay xe tai la chay cham va sat vao. Chay chung mot dam xe gan voi nhau de gay tai nan.
Neu ko mua dc chiec bike Ninja nay mua he nay thi se la nam sau.

When I left Saigon...

Midnight At Tan Son Nhat. Toi that buon ke ca nguoi lam trong khach san cung biet dieu nay tren guong mat toi. Toi lam dc nhieu dieu va moi nguoi vui ve do la niem hanh phuc cua toi. Cung co nhung rui ro va ko vua y 2 buc tranh lon gan 1 met ma TA tang va 1 tam toi mua ma Airline charge la 300 dollars neu muon dem theo vi no qua kho ma hang hang khong qui dinh. Toi buc minh noi thoi ko mang di va de lai VN va goi qua buu dien. Mat hon 1/2 tieng dong ho o Tan Son Nhat vi 2 buc tranh nay. Buc tranh son dau that dep toi mua co 30 dollars va buc tranh tang thi ko biet bao nhieu ma cung ko biet no ra sao vi tat ca da goi va bang keo bang nhung to bao. Co the tat ca dang gia la 60 dollars ma chuyen cho la 300 dollars that vo ly nen toi da bo lai 2 buc tranh di qua duong buu dien ma chi phi ko hon 100 dollars cho 2 buc tranh 6.2 kg nay. Tinh co 2 buc tranh cung mot kich thuoc. Toi khong co quan trong tien bac nhung tat ca deu fai hop ly cua no. Co lan toi mua 10 cai non la o Hue khi ve toi day chi con 2 cai vi tren duong ve nguoi ta nhat ng co tiep dai vien thich mua lai de lam qua. Mua chua den 1 dollar ma ban cho ho 10 dollars 1 cai.


SunRise over Bien Dong - South China Sea


Morning in Tokyo

SunRise over Pacific Ocean. If you look closely there was also a moon in the morning.

Luc di VN thi chi mat 1 ngay nhung luc tro ve thi mat 2 ngay vi vay moi co 2 binh minh vi date line do chinh la ly do toi xa em 12 rieng. Toi thuong nghi mot ngay nao do con nguoi co the co nhg tram o ngoai quy dao trai dat (earth station) cho trai dat quay den VN thi bay xuong thi rat khoe vi trai dat luc dao cung quay theo quy dso. The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth opposite the Prime Meridian where the date changes as one travels east or west across it. Roughly along 180° longitude, with diversions to pass around some territories and island groups, it mostly corresponds to the time zone boundary separating −12 and +12 hours Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) (Greenwich Mean Time – GMT). Crossing the IDL travelling east results in a day or 24 hours being subtracted (so the traveler repeats the date), and crossing west results in a day being added. The exact number of hours depends on the time zones.

Morning in Chicago
Khi di thi mang vai ngan dollars khi tro ve day thi khong con mot xu ngoai tru 400 ngan tien Viet con sot lai. Vao O'hara airport bo ATM lay tien de an mot mi xao o Won Chu va 1 hamburger voi friend fries o O'hara steak house chuan bi cho may bay ve nha.

Tu hom ve den gio thi benh qua lan nay ko fai trung thuc do an ma bi cam cum so mui....ve nha that yen tinh la ky that qua khac voi Saigon vai hom truoc cu 6 gio la nghe tieng xe chay va tieng coi am i. Chi co toi moi hieu dc cam giac la lung nay. Hom di thi giua Dong troi bao tuyet va khi ve thi mua Xuan that am ap kho ta duoc cam giac bang loi. Nguoi taxi quen thuoc goi ten toi Thomas... Thomas toi da goi ong Taxi quen thuoc luc di ong noi neu ve thi goi ong ay ong se pick up. Ngoi xuong toi lay SIM card Vietnam ra thay vao SIM card cua T-mobile la goi dc. Rat tien loi khi co multi-band cellphone. Toi chi doi him co 15 phut va toi noi o arrival section pillar so 6 de ong ay tim toi cho de. Toi quay lai thi thay ong ay quen thuoc ong ay la nguoi taxi vui ve. O Chicago da lay tien nen toi co tien tra taxi va cho ong ay 5 dollars tip. Vao nha thi dau tien la su yen tinh lam toi buon den te tai. Cung co nhung chuyen xay ra ko nhu y nhu xe hoi ko chay vi binh dien chet roi bi benh roi server down vi hard drive...

Goodbye Saigon

"Tôi là kẻ vô đạo trong tình yêu
những khi tôi giận hờn cuộc đời.
Khi cuộc đời yêu tôi,
tôi sẽ là tín đồ của tình yêu."
- Trịnh Công Sơn

I was sick this is why I did not write for a while

I am sick and sick since last week because food poison and my body seems cannot take anymore. It is 12:37 am I have been slept for so long...tuong chung ko bao gio thuc day lam nho lai nam 2005 song o day va so song o day cho dang doi di bui doi. Phai can than va that can than khi an uong o VN hinh nhu chat khang sinh luc dau con rat nhieu va tu tu moi lan benh nhg lan oi mua nhu vay, hinh nhu nhg khang sinh mat/yeu dan va gio an bat cu thu gi deu lam dau bung. Hau het do an ngoai lam o VN deu mat ve sinh hen xui co khi chi an 1 o banh mi cung du chung thuc. 5 nam ve truoc anh cung bi chung thuc boi 1 o banh mi ban o xe banh mi ve duong va lan nay cung vay. Khi co the da suy thoai boi 1 lan thi no se suy thoai de dang hon. Time to go back to US and eat regular food that I cook, here I ate out everyday junk food because I don't have family here in VN for hot cook meals this is the reason why. At the hotel they saw I am sick so they took care of me and chi Sau at the hotel cooked a good rice soup for me yesterday and I feel better. In Long Thanh when I was sick the condition was very bad, it is hot no air condition and mosquito too back to Saigon things have been improved.

Hoang Hon o Hon Rom/Sun Set and Sun Rise at Hon Rom

Have dinner at sunset with the spectacular view.

Binh Minh

Mot ngay nhe nhang

Dung 1 thang toi da o Saigon hom nay toi sua soan cho mot chuyen di xa bui doi va cuoi cung se tro ve Long Thanh va Long Hai vai hom de muon nguoi cham nom vuong Long Thanh. Hom nay moi turn tivi on xem va dc hoan toan o trong phong de catch up mails va viet blog.

Long Thanh - Nho Di

Tu Saigon di Long Thanh/Vung Tau co the di Cat Lai qua pha roi den Long Thanh nhung con duong con qua xau theo ban do thi no se nhanh hon 1/2 tieng neu duong Cat Lai den Nhon Trach den Quoc Lo 51. Gia pha cho ng di bo 500 dong va xe gang may 2000 dong. Bui bam va dat do rat kho di khoang thoi gian cung bang duong di qua Bien Hoa roi Long Thanh. Nhung cung thu vi khi qua pha va biet them cay cau bang qua quan 7 noi Cat Lai. Bgio moi biet. Lam scientist thi thich kham pha va tim toi mot phuong cach moi cho moi van de. Toi noi voi em luc con nho toi giai toan bang nhieu cach khac nhau mien sao ra dung dap so. Em tra loi rang em co mot cach ma con giai ko xong nua.

Chi can giup do gi ko? nho anh cot pho tuong Jesus vao nguoi toi phia sau, anh noi de phia sau thi co the rot sau chi ko cot Jesus phia truoc thoi de toi giup chi nhe. Day la cach chi co the vua lai xe honda vua giu pho tuong Jesus.

Da 5 nam moi tro ve vuong Long Thanh nhieu thu tieu dieu va can sua chua. Ngay xua con Di thi Di cham soc that tot hon, ko co gia dinh nen tat ca thoi gian Di cham soc cho vuong cung hoi bui ngui va cam thay buon buon cho than minh roi cung vay roi tieng chim cu da keu vao hoang hon roi toi lai goi lai cu u u va chim goi lai cu nhu the ma toi co the chup dc nhg tam hinh cua dong que vietnam. Thien nhien lam toi tre nhu teenage va lam toi vo tu va hon nhien hon. Doi luc toi song nhu tuoi teen rat vo tu neu khong gian va hoan canh ma toi thich. Ngay xua anh mo cong ty o Saigon voi hi vong se o lai Vietnam nhung gio anh da thay doi y tuong sau khi o VN mot nam 2005. Tuong la quen loi di vao vuong nhung dau oc cung con tot tim dc de dang loi vao vuong mac du co rat nhieu thay doi, cu gan den Thien Vien Thuong Chieu qua nga 3 Nhon Trach thi hoi duong thi biet thien vien chi con 10 km den thien vien la biet den vuong. Khi cam nhan duoc gio bien tu Vung Tau thoi vao nguoi mat diu la cung biet den vuong cua Di. Dung cellphone goi vao vuong co tieng chuong dien thoai vang len nhu danh thuc su yen lang la biet dung nha Di roi. Chi lam viec ra mo cong oi chu cha lau qua chu moi ve toi mung qua va chu van biet duong di nhu xua. Tinh cam con nguoi d/v anh la vay con lai tat ca vat chat la thu phu du. Anh noi ko lien lac vi co nhieu chuyen buon phien va chi co minh moi hieu dc minh ma thoi. Den vuong thi ko biet tai sao rat nho thuong Di ngay xua moi lan len thi Di hay ngoi noi chuyen voi anh gio thi ko con nua tat ca im lim chi co nguoi trong coi vuong lon tuoi da lam cho gia dinh hon 15 nam. "Toi mong chu lam vi lau qua ko nghe tin tuc chu dong cua cong ty o VN, toi rat thich cach noi chuyen cua chu vi chu noi ra nhung cau rat y nghia ma it nguoi noi duoc va nhg cau dang de hoc vi vay toi thich chu lam" Nguoi lam vuon con nhac lai khi chu te cay mit 5 nam ve truoc thi Di chat cay mit vi lam chu te. Di rat thuong chu.
Bong chieu khong tham, khong vang vot
Sao day hoang hon trong mat trong
Chieu co the nghe tieng chuong chua rat ro tu Thien vien Thuong Chieu de cam thay nhe nhang va tha hon theo tieng chuong. Anh ko co di chua thuong thi anh den Long Thanh co phat thich Ca o trong nha tho va phat Quan Am o ngoai tat ca 7 cho vi Chi lam vuong dua 7 cay nhan. Co Me va Di cung tho o do. Noi nay rat thieng lieng d/v anh. Luc lam viec o Saigon nam 2005 cuoi tuan la anh ve voi em tham Di va tham vuong em va toi cung nhau sua chua vuong cho Di hom qua toi co nho den em...hi vong rang em se hieu toi va dung gian dung trach toi do la ky niem dep kho quen mac du chung toi da ko con lien he 5 nam roi va em da lay chong. Nguoi ta noi rang neu minh phu nhan qua khu thi minh se ko con la con nguoi nua hoac la con nguoi vo luong tam. Qua khu thuong khoi dong lai khi ta tro ve voi nhg noi day ky niem. Vi chi nguoi lam nhac lai em toi noi em da lay chong roi ngay xua em duoc Di yeu men va thuong. Chi nguoi lam con do ma em da di lay chong roi. Co le do la nhan duyen va things happen for the reasons. Tinh yeu cua em ko vi dai nhu toi da thuong nghi.
'Cause I wonder where you are
And I wonder what you do
Are you somewhere feeling lonely, or is someone loving you?
Anh rat kho yeu ma khi yeu thi co the chet cho nguoi minh yeu vi anh nghi do la dieu cao thuong.


Troi mat 6 gio chieu toi lai chay honda ve Saigon di ve con cho 2 trai mit to lam 2 cai chan giang ra ve Saigon thi cai chan that moi va te luon va cho moi nguoi nhan vien o KS 1 trai. Di doc quoc lo 51 ma thay xe han/trucks va xe gang may chay that gan va cam nhan dc o VN cai chet va su song chi cach mot khoang cach rat nho - do cung la 1 trg nhg ly do toi ko thich o VN. 5 nam roi ma duong quoc 51 con te hon ngay xua va nguy hiem hon. Toi co the noi la mot nguoi yeu que huong vi toi giup VN nhieu tu nam 1994-2000 ve mat ky thuat cho nghanh vien thong trong thoi ky VN con bi phong toa/cam van. Co di co song nhu nguoi o day toi moi hieu dc nhieu dieu ma ben do ko bao gio biet dc. Toi hieu va biet vi vay toi se ko ve day o ngay ca khi toi ve huu. Toi rat thich di xe honda vi toi co the ngung bat cu noi nao toi thich va chup hinh va tham hoi nguoi dan. Di choi thi fai tu do va ngau hung thi moi goi la di choi di tour thi dau biet gi.