clips of logic

I always wondered why people can devote so much time and effort into their hobbies. After all, to an outsider, it all seems just like a big waste of time. But after observing some of the hobbies, I’ve come to a conclusion that the hobbies that allow you to inject your own creativity and create something are the ones that’s most addictive and time consuming.

In Warhammer, players get to assemble and paint their own army. For Magic: The Gathering, you get to design and pilot your own decks. Hobbies like these gives you the opportunity to accomplish something.

I think in general, all of us have this need to create something of our own, be it in your working life or your leisure time. As a programmer, I can fulfill this need by coding applications. For those that feel they can’t accomplish or create something in their career, they might seek to do this in their hobbies instead.

The best case scenario for this would be to be able to create something and make a living out of it. That is basically what entrepreneurs do. If you can somehow align your need to create with the demands of others, you got yourself a business right there.

Facebook just released a new Like Button for you to easily share content on the web to your friends. It’s basically the same Like functionality you see on Facebook comments and photos, made available to every page on the web.

I’ve added it here on my blog where you can see it right after the article. For those who are also using WordPress, here’s the code I added to the single.php file.

The code is originally generated from Facebook’s Like Button page which I then replaced the URL to Like with the current page url shown below.

<?php echo urlencode(get_permalink()); ?>

<?php echo urlencode(the_permalink()); ?> // Use this in index.php

The button also tells you if any of your friends liked the page. Try out the button below and tell me what you think.

The child prodigy Adora Svitak gave a talk at TED about what we adults need to learn from kids. We need more childish thinking and wild imagination to dream up a better world. I love the part where she said that kids don’t care about how hard something is or the limitation but rather they just think about good ideas. Check out the talk below.

In politics, you’ll often see parties taking the opposite sides not to stand for what they believe in but rather just to not be on the same side as their opponent. They are taking sides for the sake of taking sides.

I’m all for doing things differently and going against the status quo as long as that’s what you truly believe in. However, just because you don’t agree with someone doesn’t mean they are your opponents. There can be more than 2 sides in a fight.

Maybe we are heavily influenced by sports where it’s always between 2 opposing teams or by the media that tend to over-generalize the demographics, we tend to believe that if you are not on the winning side then you are on the losing side.

Do you know anyone who seems to be doing something new and exciting every time you meet him or her? These are the ones that try all the latest stuff, visit exotic places or attempt yet another seemingly impossible project.

For most of us, life is pretty routine and bland. We do pretty much the same stuff over and over again every single day. Why not try to sprinkle some spice and inject a little fun into your life by doing something completely different and unexpected?

You could get your boss to agree to try a new tool to improve your productivity or plan a road trip over the weekend. You could also organize an charity event or start a club for your passion.

There’s no one better to lead your life than yourself. You could go on an adventure or lead a boring life. It’s your call.