Immortalized Thoughts
Francois duke de La Rochefoucauld
“What is called liberality is often merely the vanity of giving.”
—
“Men have made a virtue of moderation to limit the ambition of the great, and to console people of mediocrity for their want of fortune and of merit.”
—
“If we resist our passions, it is more from their weakness than from our strength.”
—
“The refusal of praise is a desire to be praised twice.”
—
“Self-interest speaks all sorts of tongues, and plays all sorts of roles, even that of disinterestedness.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
—
“Love does not cause suffering: what causes it is the sense of ownership, which is love’s opposite”
—
“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
—
“For true love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have. And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead, the more water you draw, the more abundant is its flow.”
—
William Shakespeare
When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess’d,
Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least:
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, – and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remember’d such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
—
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
—
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
—
John Milton
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide,
‘Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?’
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, ‘God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.’
A Short Letter to Fellow Uzzapmates
It’s been a while since Uzzap started and I should say that it’s been a heck of a good ride so far. I’m one of those Uzzap users who tend to stay on the sidelines in so far as indulging in the Uzzap experience. But from the point of view of someone like me, it’s sometimes more enjoyable because you get to watch people interact with each other, share thoughts, get into online cat fights, create friendships and even develop serious relationships and deeper ties. I’ve seen youtube videos of “eyeball” gatherings, blog entries, forum discussions, “technical” web/wap sites, and online social networking groups bloom around Uzzap. Once in a while I even get up from the sidelines and indulge in the experience myself, not only to prevent putting myself in a hypocritical situation like writing this letter and not knowing what Uzzap really is all about, but also not to miss out on the fun that so many are already experiencing.
Yes, it’s been a heck of a one and a half years so far and I expect it to stretch even longer than that! This time, though, is a critical point for Uzzap because something that was at first only looming in the horizon has finally come. Something dreaded by so many has finally claimed that fear. Billing.
Having to pay for something worthwhile is not sad, it’s inevitable…or else that something just won’t be able to exist anymore. When I say worthwhile I mean not only worth the while of the consumer to “check it out if it’s okay”, but also worth the while of people who maintain the service to “check out that it’s doing well and good”. And yes, people do maintain Uzzap. Nameless, invisible and yet we feel their presence through their dedication. We feel that they are there when something that went wrong gets fixed. We feel them whenever a new version gets released. They are there. And what’s more, they also feel you and your frustrations. Whenever you don’t get that prized chatroom hello from ms. 23fmla, because it was claimed by a frozen chatroom, they feel your frustrations 10 times more. Whenever a flooder washes away mr. 25mcebu’s sweet whispers off your screen they feel your anger 30 times greater. Whenever a failed download prevents you from installing the latest kick-ass version, they feel your tears 60 times hotter. But it’s not just enough to feel. It’s more appropriate to take action, and that’s what the Uzzap team does. Action may not take effect right away but it’s there.
Before I get too patronizing, I’d like to get back to my point. This wave of melancholy over Uzzapdom is being felt by so many. But I’d like to believe that this is just a passing thing. Because for me, what’s really sad is when people who supported Uzzap through the tough times caused by flooders to network lags to haters to failed downloads should refuse to help it survive the rest of the growing pains. And when I say people, I mean you. We all know the free beer is not going to flow all the time. I am not one to decide whether 10 pesos is a big or small expense because I am not in charge of your pockets. But if it’s not too much to ask, your continued presence if at least in the chatrooms is a very big deal already. Uzzap needs you. There will always be problems but solving them won’t matter much any more if you are not there. As for billing, well, that’s just part of the reality that we have to accept. Just remember: it’s always worth the while of the Uzzap team to make sure that it’s worth your while to part with your ten pesos.
Best regards,
Mark Doc
31 m lpc
Python “time” Module
>>> import time
>>> now = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
>>> now
'2009-10-28 14:10:52'
>>> tup = time.strptime(now, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
>>> tup
(2009, 10, 28, 14, 10, 52, 2, 301, -1)
>>> unix = time.mktime(tup)
>>> unix
1256710252.0
>>> tup2 = time.gmtime(unix)
>>> tup2 == tup
False
>>> tup
(2009, 10, 28, 14, 10, 52, 2, 301, -1)
>>> tup2
(2009, 10, 28, 6, 10, 52, 2, 301, 0)
>>> time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", tup)
'2009-10-28 06:10:52'
>>> time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", tup2)
'2009-10-28 06:10:52'
Valkyrja*Soul 