自然

小學是一段並不怎麼快樂的生涯,值得我記得的是在四五年級時,忽然增加了幾門課. 那時聽起來還蠻震撼的,一下子增加了四門課,公民,歷史,地理和自然. 現在回想,前面三門課聽來正常,就是'自然'聽來有點不自然. 因為在以後的日子裏, 這門課再也沒有出現過,代之而起的是五花八門的新課程,諸如博物,理化,生物,物理,化學,林林總總,琳覽滿目,美不勝收. 記起初中聯考時, 這四門課合起來叫'常識'. 原來這些高深的課程統稱 Common Sense. 記得當時補習風氣很盛,老師還要叫我們另外買書,加強學習. 那些時日有兩本書很暢銷,一本是'常識輔導',另一本是'國民常識'. 那時覺得這兩本書比起教科書有趣多了. 可是價格不菲, 尤其是'國民常識',連我媽媽都叫疼.

現在想想,公民課最沒用,教材編的最差. 歷史教的當然是中華民族是世界上最偉大的民族. 地理呢,對南京比台比還熟悉,諸如雨花台,莫愁湖,秦准河,倒背如流,而不知台北有中山堂和淡水河,離家還不到五公里. 這种'常識'祇能用'遠來的和尚會念經'來解釋. 說到'自然'課,其實很不自然. 開宗第一頁就介紹了一些小麥,大麥,高梁, 壓根兒也沒見過. 加上玉蜀黍,聽起來肅然起敬, 可是我們天天吃的卻是稻米和蕃薯. 這種常識好像不太 Common Sense. 日子太久,已經記不起以後學的是什麼'自然',也不知聯考是怎麼考進去的. 結論是這些並不是什麼 Common Sense, 倒像是 Remote Sense. 後來到美國,知道那兒很多學府也有這門課叫 'Nature', 其內容和自然科學完全吻合. PBS 電視到現在還在播 Nature' 這個節目,非常精彩. 英文也有 'Mother Nature' 這個辭, 就是老天爺,大自然也. 所以'自然'是'自然科學'的通稱. 把它當做常識,未免太小看科學了. 說到 Mother Nature, 美國的保險和飛机公司在合約上 常加上很細的一行字, 'not applied if it is caused by mother nature or act of god'. 換句話說,如果意外是老天爺或上帝的意願,概不賠償. 中國人也有類似的說辭, '蒼天有靈', '蒙主寵召'. 中美文化,隱隱約約, 神,主和 大自然相通,幾乎是同義辭.

人對大自然有兩種反應, 一種是先民式的反應,那是一種敬畏反應,也可說是因無知而引起的. 古人泛行多神,諸如天神, 地神,土神 樹神,火神不一而足. 無知產生敬畏, 知識是一种力量. 人所以怕鬼主要是因為不知道鬼是何方神聖,不能預測,不能預防. 故孔老夫子敬鬼神而遠之. 人對大自然另外一種反應是積極性的,認為人定勝天,假以時日必可駕御自然. 但時至二十一世紀, 這种反應的成功率並不太高. 現代人天天住在高樓大廈公寓裡,實在不知天高地厚. 人要等到出海很遠, 大洋無邊無際,大船像一葉扁舟 ,脆弱不堪. 這時人才驚覺,原來他是地球的孤兒,不但渺小且生存全無保障. 就是在陸上,面對每年的颱風和地震,束手無策. 人在夜晚走入沙漠, 一望無際,萬籟俱寂,仰望蒼穹,星群成億,無止無盡. 這時他才驚覺到人真是宇宙的孤兒,埋在無窮無盡的時空裡,渺小至極. 在這時人很自然的變成了哲學家. 稍有幻像的人在這時很容易的變成宗教皈依者. 人類三大宗教皆源於沙漠,並不是一件巧合的事.

人在無助,在生老病死的 irreversible cycle 時,很容易產生神的觀念, 他真正需要有外力保佑,才有生存的勇氣和力量. 當宗教信仰發展到某一臨界程度時, 它並不需要証明神的存在. 它反過來要叫不信的人証明其不存在. 雖然這種思想 很不合乎 logic, 但確是現世代的怪現象. 這也是當今西方世界科學和宗教一直走在衝突的道路,還沒看到和諧解決的曰子. 科學界一直認為 Burden of the proof falls on the party that creates something from nothing, not the other way around. 很幸運的,現代人有很多認為神其實就是大自然. God creates the universe, everything follows the natural laws. God is the Nature. 從小學的'自然'到美國的 'Nature'. Mother Nature 到天人合一. 神與人不期然地淹入了大自然的懷抱裏.

Bowditch

中譯本, First Page

I recently went to Palo Alto's Book Sale and found a heavy bound book, 'American Practical Navigator' by Nathaniel Bowditch.  If you attended UC Berkeley, you may notice a street named Bowditch nested between Telegraph and College.  If you ask more about this street, not many people can give you good answer. Somehow City of Berkeley got the vision to honor Mr. Bowditch by naming a street after him.  Lately I also encountered a school in Foster City named Bowditch Middle School.  A lunar crater is also named after him that lies on the far side of the moon. I wouldn't really pay attention to all of the above if I hadn't read a little children book,'奮學記', in Taipei 50 years ago.  The book was published by 兒童之友社 in HongKong.  I liked the book and glued to it for a few days when I was a kid in junior high. 

中譯本, Last Page

This book was translated from the English version 'Carry On, Mr. Bowditch' by 微明.  In later years I found the original English book (1955 by Jean Lee Latham, Houghton Mifflin Company) in Los Altos City Library.  I read it in English and compared to the Chinese translation.  To my amazement, I like the Chinese translation more than the original book.  Of course this does not mean the original work is inferior.  Instead, it may be my English understanding is not up to par.  This reminds me of the saying of 嚴復---信達雅, the essence of good translation. It is hard to find translated version conveying the meaning better than the original.  However, I found this '奮學記' really meeting this standard. The another one is '海的故事' for 'The Sea Around Us' translated by 夏道平.  I have read many biographies in my life.  I have to admit that this little book '奮學記' is one of the most inspiring book I have ever read.  Like most people, my life has up and down over the years.   In difficult time, I often told myself  'Carry On, Mr. Bowditch' or listened to Beethoven's symphonies.

Nathaniel Bowditch was an early American Navigator.  He came from a poor family in Salem and never received good education.  He became indentured at twelve for nine years as a bookkeeping apprentice to a ship chandler.  However, he educated himself by reading books from a local library.  Like most people in Salem, he was interested in sailing activities.  He learned all the essential sailing skills and mathematics required for sailing.  During his apprenticeship, he taught himself algebra, trigonometry and calculus.  He even read Newton's Principia Mathmatica and Laplace's Celestial Mechanics.  He found thousands of errors in John Hamilton Moore's The New Practical Navigator.  He eventually wrote his version of navigation book that later became a must book on every ship in US Navy.  Bowditch's influence on the American Practical Navigator was so profound that to this day mariners refer to it simply as Bowditch.  It was incredible that he read Newton's and Laplace's books in details and even found some minor errors in print.  His life was very much similar to that of Michael Faraday of England, a self-taught genius who went through a lengthy apprenticeship without formal education.

英文原本

American Practical Navigator

I bought this book, 'American Practical Navigator' in book sale.  I flipped over the pages and found a chapter very interesting, Cyclonic Storms.  He described the way to maneuver the ship out of the storms in details.  I sometime asked myself why I got into all these navigation stuff.  The only thing I can think of perhaps is the fact that I have been a navy officer during some part of my life.  This book has a hand signature by US Navy Captain, N.B. Clinch.  I have no practical use of this book.  For me, it is just a fond memory.  I am very glad I own the book in memory of Mr. Bowditch just like the city of Berkeley and Foster City.

The Reunion-2012

Dinner at Rio

On top of the North Rim, Grand Canyon
Front Row: 孫芳德,鄭炳陸,蔡宗元,陳哲俊,陳呈祿
Back Row: 洪敏弘,張崴春,何瑜笙,牟在勤,胡宏良,林幸峰,洪家俊,陳正一

Every once in a few years since 1984, Taida EE64 held a reunion.  The classmates participated usually were less than 1/3 of the class. However, the number participated this year is 19, well over 1/3, though shy of 1/2.  It is about the same number as that of 1984.  With time goes by our aging, the predicted number will go down in the future. One thing notable is that most participants show up multiple times.  It means more than 1/2 of our classmates never show up in reunion at all. 

Nowadays, we don't really need to travel to see people physically.  In this Internet age, it is fairly convenient to contact people with email, video phone, social network just to name a few.  But I found that most participants don't even communicate each other in a regular manner. Everybody has a family or social circle that is enough for the daily life. There are three major groups of our classmate geographically, Taipei, LA and San Francisco. They, though live around within a few miles, seldom meet or contact each other.  But they all aware of the existence of the others nearby.  Is this normal?  I think the answer is yes. 老子 said, "雞犬相聞,老死不相往來".  To lead a simple life, this may be the superior way.  People have parents and children to take care. Usually it forms a close family knit and it is the norm of our society. All others are the next level of social network that supports us emotionally.  Then why do people travel and go to reunion?  The world consists of many kinds of people, our class is no exception.  The participants of the reunion usually are those who like to travel, meet people especially old friends and are generally in good health.

The reunion of 2012 was possible mainly due to the efforts of AJ (陳哲俊), Edmond (何瑜笙) and AhMO (牟在勤).  AJ is 行政院長, Edmond is like 交通部長, AhMo acts like 外交部長.  They were the invisible hands that made the reunion go smoothly.  To most of us, there were a lot of free rides.  We didn't need to worry about the itinerary although some of us were assigned as 值日 responsibility.  The real 幕後推手 were AJ and Edmond.  AJ took the responsibility in coordinating itinerary with travel agency, it is time consuming and need patience.  Edmond lives near Las Vegas and has been in those national parks before.  So he is instrumental in making the trip comfortable and interesting.  Many people like group guided tour, but they have to live with unfamiliar people in the bus. Some people like cruise, but they have to dine with unpredictable people in dinner room.  In our reunion, we are just a group of familiar bunch and share none of the drawbacks of the above.  So the mood of each day is relax and fun.

The unique thing of this tour is the tour without tour guide.  I have joined in several guided tours in Europe before and realize how important the tour guide is.  It may make or break your vacation depending on the quality of the guide.  So I sort of worried about the whole thing before the trip.  It turned out that we went out just fine without a tour guide. We might miss a lot of facts and information about the place we visited. However, it was minor comparing to what we actually have done.  We rehashed our good old memory and talked jokes about our professors. A few lawyer's jokes augmented the whole trip.  While we relive the past, we also enjoy the present and create memory for the future.

PS: For those who visited Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Antelope Canyon & Red Stone Canyon, you may like to listen to Dvorak's 'Symphony From the New World, 4th Movement'.  This masterpiece 最能表達美國壯麗的山川, 廣闊的原野, 雄奇的峽谷 和氣勢磅磚的河流.  在這曲子裡,宏偉的法國號和嘹亮的小喇叭再再頃訴這种心靈的感受. 不妨在夜深人靜的時刻,慢慢品嚐和欣賞.  Here is the one conducted by Herbert Von Karajan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCct_tSQ8WY&feature=related

The next link is the one with scenes from the Grand Canyon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MI5KCxHH_A&feature=relmfu

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs passed away in November last year. Since then, his official biography has been published. Most people who read his biography tend to polarize in two camps, very positive & very negative. In real life, it is hard to find anyone who works around him like him at all. He was such an eccentric that he irritated & agonized most people. His former associate once said, "The highs were unbelievable, but the lows were unimaginable". He was considered one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs. He parked his car in space designated for disables. He manipulated & yelled at people. Jobs repeatedly took credit for things he was never involved in developing. The question is that why he could get away all his antics in the high tech world. I think it is the combination of personality, power & money. He was a man of humble background, abandoned by his biological parents & adopted by a middle-class couple. So his power & money came after personality. Jobs was not an engineer or programmer. He seems to have a keen sense of product packaging & a strong will to make it happen. His first success was Apple II Personal Computer. With it, he acquired the money & power necessary to pursue his next project, Macintosh. However, Macintosh never got more than 10% of the PC market. It was dipped to about 2-3% in early 1990's. He was kicked out from Apple by John Sculley. He started Next & eventually got hired back to Apple in 1997. Meanwhile he purchased Pixar & made it a power house in animation world rivaling to Disney. So at the year of 2000, he was not really that successful except Pixar. It was really a miracle that he revived Apple & catapulted it to the most valuable company in the US. So what is the trick? It is iPod, iPhone & iPad. It has been a long time people wear watches. They need something handy & can carry with them all the time while they are moving around. In 1980's, there was a wave of movements try to build gadgets around watches. However, most of them failed. The reason probably is the small size of watch. Then in 1990's, another product concept caught on, it was PDA-Personal Digital Assistant. Apple came up with Newton (Sculley's pet project) & Palm got some slick designs. Most of them failed & never caught much attention. At the beginning of 2000, Jobs led the pack in creating mobile devices that replace watch & PDA. The timing was just right & it was quite stunning that he was able to achieve the feat in less than 10 years.

There is some similarity of management style between Jobs & Chairman Mao. There is no other person in the organization who can challenge him or have the will to stand against him. As a company, Apple is run like a totalitarian regime. For example, when Jobs wants to replace the face glass of the iphone to a non-scratch type, he demands action immediately. He got his way & accomplished the objective with only two days. In other words, the workers in Foxcomm need to work 3 shifts in a short notice. It is similar to move more than a million of people with short notice to other area for the project of Yangtze River Dam. Jobs also makes Apple like Pentagon. All product releases were kept secret. He even sues people or companies that leaked the information. By this, he could move the company swiftly, focus on the key product features & important issues. I met some Apple employees & found them like some people from FBI who got top level of security clearance. You can ask anything but they can't say anything. He equips with a personality that rivals Alexander, Genghis Khan, Napoleon & Hitler. Per his biography, he was so furious on the issue of Android, he has no hesitation to use thermonuclear weapon on Google. This reminds me of Captain Ahab of Moby Dick. A leader without some check of power can create a monster. Imagine if he has the position & power of Hitler, what will happen to our civilization? With the success of Apple, people around the world try to idolize him & some even put him in the same status as Edison. People tend to forget or forgive the bad things some leaders did. Chairman Mao, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Willie Brown, etc etc etc are just a few examples. I think Thomas Edison is several levels above Steve Jobs in engineering & the influences in the society. Some people compare Jobs to Bill Gates. Both are successful in transforming & changing PC world. But one thing is quite different between them. Jobs never paid attention to philanthropic causes. He actually have eliminated all corporate philanthropy programs since he returned Apple in 1997. Perhaps he came from a humble family & childhood, he valued money in different way than Bill Gate. After he made a fortune, he still lived in a normal track house in Old Palo Alto without fanfare like Larry Ellison (Oracle Chief). So it is kind of sad to hear that some burglar recently broke into his house, stole his driver licence & some iPads.

I don't know how history will record Steve Jobs. Perhaps most people may not remember iPod, iPhone or iPad 50 years later since by that time there will be so many useful gadgets around that obsolete Apple's iProducts. However, 100 years later people will still remember Thomas Edison who invented Electric Lighting , Phonograph (audio recording) & Movie (video recording). Why are the differences between them? In Edison's case, the products are revolutionary. They were the technological breakthrough at that time. In Jobs' case, the products are the repackage of the existing technology (audio, video, telephone, internet & pc) that tailor to the interest of the public.

World of Horn

French Horn

English Horn

Horn is a kind of instrument, 中譯 號,角 or 號角. So French Horn is 法國号. Sometime it is also called 法國管. However, 管 usually is reserved for woodwind instruments (木管樂器) such as 單簧管 (clarinet),双簧管 (oboe),低音管 (bassoon) etc. The odd ball is English Horn. This instrument originated from France & something similar to Oboe, 屬木管樂器. So in reality, English Horn is neither English nor Horn. It is double reed, looks like oboe but longer and ends with an ellipsoid opening. You may have been to many concerts and seldom see an English Horn. The reason is that its opening always hides beneath the chair & its opening end is invisible. You might think it is an oboe as they sure look alike. But if you pay attention to the detail, you may discern the curve between the mouse piece & the body of the instrument. It is longer than oboe so its tone is lower and has its unique timber and mood. The best way to get familiar with this instrument is to see and hear it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PS8-_5UFw

In this video clip, William Tell Overture, we don't see the opening of the English Horn as it is too long to show. The time line 0:00-2:44 is the third movement 'Pastoral' (牧歌:寂靜). You can picture a mockingbird (Flute) flying around and playing or communicating with a cow (English Horn).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=WuqyfEyNXQo&NR=1

This is another video clip that displays the performance of the English Horn,11:26 to 12:46. It is also interesting to watch English Horn from 20:06 to 20:34 and then a single violin (concert master) took over. He kept eye contacts with the conductor from time to time until 21:21 when all violins joined in. The story goes like this: Dvorak was very lonely while he composed this movement in a village of Czech in Iowa. He sobbed and chocked during the main theme (Bohemian tune) and had to use a violin to express his feeling and mood. Since violin hesitates, the timing of choke must be precise and so the eye contact required intently.

Little Big Horn

Texas Long Horn

You may ask since there are French Horn and English Horn, do we have German Horn or American Horn? It turns out that there is Little Big Horn in America. But most people don't like or want to mention it, a tragic experience. Fortunately there is Texas Long Horn. It is a long and exciting story if you are a Texan or a UT alumnus. There is German Horn that looks like Alpine Horn, very long. I tried once in Bavaria long time ago and found it hard to blow. Chinese Horn? Yes or no, it is Tibetan Long Horn played by Buddhist monks. 

One other horn used in Europe during 18th century is Post Horn (郵車号角). The most famous music related to post horn is Mozart's Post Horn Serenade. The instrument appears in Movement 6, Minuet (小步舞曲). This minuet is unique in its two trios (中段), one with Piccolo (短笛), the other with Post Horn (郵号).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUQy2PtNiek

Since a real post horn is hard to find, it is replaced by french horn in most orchestra. In this video clip, we can hear the post horn play from 33.30 to 35:08, second trio. Since the french horn is substituted for the post horn, we can hear the rich tone of the the instrument. The other solo instrument Piccolo can be heard from 32:20 to 33:04, in the first trio.

Let's turn to another type of horn for fun. It is Gabriel's Horn. Most of us are familiar with the picture of Archangel Gabriel blowing a horn. Some mathematicians figure that they can construct this horn better. The way to do is to integrate a curve 1/x around x-axis from 1 to a. But then someone asked a tricky question: what happen if 'a' goes to infinity as Garbiel's Horn can be very long? Here came a painter. He wanted to use Gabriel's Horn as his paint bucket. Since the volume of the horn is finite (integration of 1/x^2 converges) but the area is infinite (integration of 1/x diverges). The painter can't understand why he can't use his finite paint in the bucket to paint the surface of the horn which is infinite. After all, the surface of the bucket is just part of the volume. Here is the inconsistency between the math & the application. While we were Freshmen in 1960, Dr. Kuller never mentioned the story of Gabriel's Horn & its strange phenomenon. The textbook we used by Sherwood & Taylor also fails to mention this. Anyway, there may be many explanations for this paradox. My view is that actually it is not a paradox. Because the painter eventually found a way to paint the whole surface of the horn without running out of his paint in the horn. The trick is to use a special brush that can pick up the paint with any kind of thickness. Using concept of limit, when the thickness of the paint goes to 0, the area it can cover goes to infinity. In other words, x*y*z = A (constant), when z go to 0, x*y goes to infinity. It sounds as if 2-dimensional space can be viewed a special case of 3-dimensional space.

There are some other type of horn such as Cape Horn, Golden Horn (geographical), Hornblower (fictional naval officer) and Chinese Astronomical Horn (角宿). Two bright stars Arcturus (alpha star of Bootes, 牧夫座) & Spica (alpha star of Virgo, 室女座) are called 大角星 and 角星 in China. You can see these two bright stars in the summer night sky. Just extend the tail of the Big Bear (北斗七星), you will find a big yellow star, Arcturus. Extend further with same distance, you will find another bright star, Spica. In this month (August 2012) you can actually see planet Saturn and Mars near Spica within three hours after sunset. The three objects form almost an equilateral triangle. Both planets don't blink usually and the reddish one is Mars.

清明上河圖

My father-in-law left me some antiques & I found a scroll of painting "清院本清明上河圖". I started exploring the subject & found the painting very fascinating. Then I found the five episodes of the presentation by 蔣勳 on the YouTube. This presentation is informative & easy to comprehend. The viewers can easily get into the topic & appreciate the painting with the action between history & art, painting & life etc. I have to admit that the art is one of the weakest link in our education. It is like music, we groped around the subject most of the time. It can best be described as 事倍功半. While I was in junior high, fortunately, I got hold on a book by 史惟亮, "音樂的創作與欣賞" & read some music magazines edited by 吳心柳 (his real name is 張繼高). With the help of some radio stations & records bought along 中華路, I became very fond of the classical music. It has become part of my life since then. It is amazing that a little booklet or some radio program created by someone can change your life. In the past decades, we had Andre Rieu & Sarah Brightman who popularizes the romantic music. It is a repackage of music to make it very attractive to the public & relate to our life more. In the realm of science, we had Carl Sagan who influenced the public with his famous TV series, "Cosmos".

I am glad now we have 蔣勳 who tries to elevate Chinese painting in a higher pedestal that we can all appreciate its value & meaning. The following is the link of the five episodes of "清明上河圖". With his presentation & YouTube, we don't have to go to Beijing to see the original painting & still be able to get a lot of details. I had visited Shanghai Expo & barely got a glimpse of the "動畫清明上河圖". It is nice to go to stadium to watch football, but it is much more satisfying & fulfilling to watch DVD for the replay & slow motion of the ball game while we have a cup of coffee in hand & enjoying the whole thing in our living room. When you watch these five episodes, pay attention to his comments on the history of Song Dynasty & 宋徽宗. We may not agree with his opinion but his view points are surely revealing & refreshing. Art is like music, without the background knowledge of history, society & artist's life, the art becomes lifeless & boring. Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts5KkNBU9Yo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=zKngYmsRUh0&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=BhFWk46d5kA&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=llIGwOrnd-s&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=sCoh0Uen4FI&NR=1

我們的台北

五零年代的台北還是一個纯樸的小城. 中山北路巷的四條通,五條通還是大樹林蔭,長安東路和新生北路口還是綠綠葱葱,蛙嗚水流. 曾幾何時,高楼大厦,車水馬龍. 記憶中的台北,已经迅速消失. 滄海桑田,令人低迥不巳. 不过經歷一段混亂的陣痛,台北似乎以嶄新的姿態,耀眼的成績,挤入廿一世紀適合人居的大城市. 台北並且以旺盛的活力,擴張涵蓋週边的小鎮如士林,天母,北投,中和等等. 台北縣已经改名新北市.在不久的將來,無可避免的,新北市將併入台北成為大台北市,就像 Dallas 居民稱他們的城市 Greater Dallas.

台北的轉型是從捷運系统開始,這是交通的革命. 它的載流量和移動效率使它成為城市的主要交通工具. 輔以巴士,計程車和 scooter,構成一個完整的交通網. 小時常見的單車巳经完全消失,無影無踪. 我不知道這是好事還是坏事. 但我小時的樂趣之一是騎單車. 尤其是剛會騎時,那種輕飄飄的感覺是没有任何東西可以相提並論的. 會騎單車後,很自然的可以去騎 scooter 或 motorcycle. 現在單車絕跡,我在納悶我們的小孩子究竟是怎麼學骑 scooter? 每個人学骑單車一定會摔無数次的. Skip bicycle & go directly with scooter,摔起來一定不好受. 言歸正傳,現在買一張悠遊卡,踏上捷運,四通八達,真是 high mobility. 捷運站皆有 escalator 和空調. 人們皆有秩序的靠右边站,先讓人出再入車廂,有條不紊. 每幾分鐘就有一班車,使人不會爭先恐後,減少精神压力,造福不淺. 捷運站皆在交通輻輳之地,其地下通道正是过馬路捷徑. 大的捷運站皆有五六個出口,可以節省很多時間. 如果你常去 Las Vegas, 一定會有這种经驗,就是從這個 casino 到对面的 casino 常要費十幾分鐘的時間. 但如有地下通道,則五分鐘就到矣. 比較上海和北京,台北的捷運在秩序上遠遠勝出. 比諸香港,新加坡和東京,台北捷運的服務和設備也不遜色.

台北天氣濕熱,在街道走幾個 blocks 會汗流浹背,很不舒服. 但出捷運站,直徑半英里以內步行,可以忍受,遠之則以 計程車代步. 如是觀光台北,賞心悅目,很是方便. 捷運台北車站更有另一特色---地下街,Y, K, Z & R. 其中以R街最長. 這些地下街皆有空調,路面平直,各色店面,琳覽滿目,乃消費族天堂也. 另外如果想去重慶南路,可走Z街,直至 10号出口出地下街,完全空調,滴汗不流. 地下街並非台北專有,在 Toronto 和 Montreal 皆有地下通道. 居民在冬天可整日不見陽光和白雪,舒服地享受暖冬活動. 同樣的,台北人也可在颱風的肆虐下,悠遊地在地下街 shopping. 我在R街看到一條最長的書店,它好像是上海書城垂直七層水平攤開一樣,又有點像把所有重慶南路的書店接連起來一樣,令人嘆為觀止. R街是從台北車站沿著中山北路下面,一直到双連站, very impressive.

我的學校生涯大都在台北度過,台北影响了我,也造就了我. 可是那個台北是古老純樸的台北,而不是現今捷運摩登的台北. 日新和建中的紅楼尚在,其餘校舍,面目全改,再也找不到往日的摸樣和温馨的氣氛. 還依稀記得那首純樸的台北市歌,那是小学時,每次慶典常唱的曲子. 也不知什麼原因,在往後的日子裡,煙消雲散,再也不被人提起. 但是经过了半世紀,它卻還活在我的心版上. 我的記憶將隨著時光流逝,我要在忘記它以前把它寫下來.

原詞:
温暖的陽光下,依然矗立著斑駁的古城門.
它好像对我們告訴,劉壯肅公的功績猶存.
台北,台北,我們的台北.

新詞:
温暖的陽光下,到處豎立著嶄新的捷運站.
它好像对我們傾訴,勤奮市民的創新精神.
台北,台北,我們的台北.

Tennessee Waltz

When we are getting older, we tend to think about some of our good old days. To me, one of them is Tennessee Waltz and Patti Page. Perhaps it is too old for our generation since my father-in-law also remembers this song very well. Strictly speaking we belongs to the decade of 1955-1965, a period that influenced us most. I remember the first time I heard 'Tennessee Waltz' was around the first year of my Junior High. Later I also heard 'Changing Partners'. Since I didn't know the title & lyrics of the songs, I had no idea what the content & meaning of the songs let alone Patti Page. Surprisingly, I always got confused about these two songs & mixed them up. When time went by, I entered the college & attended some dancing parties & found that these two songs always popped up. They are in waltz style and so I often waltzed around some girls with these two songs. This was our good old time & I always remember those moments up to these days. While I was in Oklahoma & people there told me they got a world famous singer Patti Page. I started to take note & found the good old Tennessee Waltz & Changing Partners. I am sure most of you are familiar with these two songs & so let's enjoy them again (重溫舊夢) and get familiar with the lyrics. It occurred to me that 'Tennessee Waltz' is a very sad song & 'Changing Partners' is much warmer to the heart. I will not mix them up any more.

(Tennessee Waltz)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XCvfy6Huyc

You can see the lyrics of Tennessee Waltz by clicking 'Show more' button. By the way, 'I introduced him to my loved one' in the text should be 'I introduced her to my loved one'.

(Changing Partners)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG60xIYFl1Q&feature=related

Lyrics:

We were waltzin' together to a dreamy melody

When they called out "change partners"

And you waltzed away from me

Now my arms feel so empty as I gaze around the floor

And I'll keep on changing partners

Till I hold you once more

Though we danced for one moment and too soon we had to part

In that wonderful moment something happened to my heart

So I'll keep changing partners till you're in my arms and then

Oh, my darlin' I will never change partners again

[Instrumental Interlude]

Though we danced for one moment and too soon we had to part

In that wonderful moment something happened to my heart

So I'll keep changing partners till you're in my arms and then

Oh, my darlin' I will never change partners again

Patti Page was the best-selling female singer of the 1950s and has sold over 100 million records. Her 'Tennessee Waltz' recorded in 1950, was one of the biggest-selling singles of the twentieth century, and is also one of several official state songs of Tennessee. Page had anoter big hit 'Doggie in the Window'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AkLE4X-bbU

Patti Page is still around at age 84, living near San Diego in Southern California.

A Free New World

Since I came to America, I left all my books & personal belongings at home. The only thing significant I carried over the ocean was the memory in my brain. Since then I lost almost all my belongings at home due to the flood & family moving. In America I started a new life & gradually I collected physical things. Every time I move to a larger house, I collect more stuff, buy more furniture and so make each new move more difficult. One thing I notice well is my music collection. While I was in graduate schools, I was exposed to a lot of music over radio. Anyone living in Dallas, Texas knows WRR FM 101. It is a 24-hour classic music radio station. After a while of listening I started buying some music with my little saving. When time goes by I found that the media of the music keeps changing & so the hardware player changes too. I remember I bought some records and pretty soon a Wollensak reel tape player in 1967 & an Ampex reel tape recorder with many reels of Beethoven's music. Then came the age of cassette tape. I started to collect hundreds of cassette tapes from 1975 to 1985. And then came the age of CD & VHS (replace record & movie). Pretty soon I found that I collected hundreds of CD & VHS tapes and all the previous tapes (reel to reel & cassettes) were moved to garage. Since 1997, VHS was gradually replaced by DVD & I found that hundreds of VHS tapes were moved to garage as well. The only thing didn't change during all the time was the music contents & they are the only things I am really interested. With Apple's iPod, people suddenly can buy a single piece of music without committing to a CD with some other music that they are not really interested. With new technology, music is put in digital format & becomes a file that can be stored in electronic memory. I found that all my CD collections can be crammed into a 32G iPod & carried with me most of the time. With the late smart phone & cloud computing, it seems most of the information we need can be stored remotely in electronic forms. All we need is a smart mobile device to access the information. Nowadays when we buy books or music, we are given the options to download or save in some remote area called Cloud. Thus we no longer need to move books & physical media while we move to a new house. It also seems possible to make all furniture & cooking utensils some kind of utilities that is part of the standard house design. With this we can move around, stay or live anywhere in the world without moving anything physical except yourself. We thus almost achieve a complete personal freedom in our life, a Free New World indeed.

Spring, A Fresh New World

Spring is here again & this is the First Spring of our Second Spring, 人生第二春的第一個春天. I look around & find that this is a fresh new world quite different from the one we used to have not long ago. The world changes so fast that we are overwhelmed physically & emotionally most of the time playing catch up games. Are these changes for the better or the worse? It depends on what & how you look at the world. For me, most of them are for the better although there are many bad side effects go along with them. The following is something that changes our life one way or the other.

Emails: Replace postal mails & stamps.
Google Search: Dramatically reduces the time in fetching information.
iTune/iPod: Changes the way we listen to music & the music distribution.
YouTube: Makes audio/video media available & shares among people.
Wikipedia/Online Dictionary: Replace encyclopedia & dictionary of book form.
Google Chrome: Makes multitasking run smoothly & effectively.
Amazon: Replaces department stores & book stores.
Skype: Reduces the cost of long distance call enormously.
Netflix: Changes the way we watch movie.
Fidelity/Vanguard: Changes the way we invest & manage money.
Internet: Replaces libraries as Internet behaves like a giant library.
Electronic News: Causes the decline of conventional newspapers.
GPS: Changes the way we drive & reduces the need of paper maps.
Google Map: Changes the way we see the world.
Expedia: Change the way we book airline tickets.

Several springs ago, I mentioned Schubert's "FruhlingsGlaube" (Faith in Spring). Let's listen to it again & hear the message:

Now, poor heart, be not afraid!
Now all, all must change.

Now, poor heart, forget thy pain!
Now all, all must change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_WMgEu63FA

Spring is beautiful, spring is brilliant & spring is full of changes. Let's embrace & engage the spring as the poem from 徐志摩:

春,這勝利的睛空彷彿在你的耳邊私語,
春,你那快活的靈魂也彷彿在那裏迴響.

愛國獎券 和 統一發票

最近在書架上找倒一本舊書,翻看一下,很是有趣. 最令我驚訝的是居然找到一張1960年的愛國獎券和一張1958年的統一發票.可說是老古董,是我們高中時代的產品. 仔細欣賞,勾起不少少年的回憶. 愛國獎券像是Lotto的前身. 在那時二十萬元 是天文数字,就像現在 Lotto 大獎 100 million 一樣. 不同的是愛國獎券有很多小獎,中獎的机會比較多. 仔細查看,這張愛國獎券是八月二十曰開獎. 那時联考巳經放榜,我一定是忽發奇想,繼考上台大電機系,不妨再試愛國獎券的好運. 既然這張安好的夾在書裏當書韱,一定是没中奖了. 1960 八月二十日和我們台大新生註册的日子一定很近. 我還記得那天早上在離台大校門不遠的地方排隊登記. 去了才曉得已經有好多人在排隊. 在以後的日子裏才知道台大的学號是按你的排隊順序决定. 我的学號是 495330. 49是1960, 5是工学院, 3是電机系,30是排隊第三十位. 我想李純儀是包打聽,他老兄一定早知詳情,說不定大清早就在那兒打地舖,因為他是第一號. 陳英亮是495329, 牟在勤是495331, 在我一前一後. 可是我完全不記得和他們有任何交談. 陳英亮音量很小, 猶可解釋. 但牟兄声如洪鐘,我不可能沒有察覺到他的存在. 大概時隔半個世記,一定是記憶力衰退所致. 聽說記憶力的好坏是由公式 exp(-t/RC) 决定,R(Retention Constant), C(Brain Capacity). 這和電容器的漏電公式完全吻合.

統一發票很早就出現,小時候不知其中道理,祇知道這玩意也可中奖. 後來才知道這和財政稅收有關係. 台北市街頭地攤一大堆, 大家現金交易,没人付稅. 於是財政廳才設立統一發票,徵收銷售稅. 凡是有登記的商家一定開發票給顧客,否則可以依法檢举. 我這張發票是1958 四月二十六日,是我們高一,高二的日子. 這使我想起念范氏大代数的年代. '大代数'聽來很堂皇而又重量级. 說來也是,光是厚厚六百頁就挺嚇人的. 每次親戚問起我在学校念些什麼,我就祭出'大代数'來. 他們聽來,嘖嘖稱奇. 又知道我上建中,更是肅然起敬. 現在想想,高中生涯,不失為人生中一段美好的日子. 還記得那些時日,教代数的是鄭孟華. 他有點学究派,似乎不把联考當一回事,和譚嘉培教三角学完全是不同的模式. 他自稱看過原版的范氏大代数,对中文版頗有微詞,認為有些地方翻譯不妥. 看來他當時才三四十歲左右,教了一年,另有高就. 接下去是頂頂有名的王文思先生來教大代数. 他當過建中教務主任,科班出身,是賀翊新校長的左右手. 其人風趣,教來駕輕就熟. 除了吳冶民以外,他可能是建中最好的老師. 一般說來,代数是非常實用的一門課,給我高中一段美好的回憶. 我還記得第一次期中考有一試題如下:
假設 a,b,c 是實数 和 a+b+c = 0; 求証 a^3 + b^3 + c^3 = 3 * a * b * c.

現在看看很簡單, 可是當時還費了一番功夫才解出來.

Moby Dick

When I was a little kid in junior high (about 1957), I saw a movie in 台北双蓮戲院. It was '白鲸記'. I was so excited at the white whale that I couldn't sleep well for a few days. '白鲸記' was refreshing as I had never seen the whale that big roaming the sea & destroyed a whale ship in such a dramatic way. When I grew older & learned that the tale was from the book 'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville. It was published in 1851, a story of a struggle between a mad man & a white whale Moby Dick. I first read the book in Chinese translation and then later moved on to English edition. The English version turned out to be very tough for me. In novel, Melville spent a lot of pages describing the whaling industry & the way they processed the whale on the ship. You need to have a lot of interest and patience to read it in details. It also refers a lot of materials from the Bible. If you are not familiar with stories in Bible, you will miss a lot of metaphors and meanings of the adventure.

When I grew up & watched the movie again. I found that my interests in this novel got more intense. Captain Ahab lost a leg in one encounter with the white whale & vowed to revenge. The whaling ship Pequod, however, was own & operated with the purpose of commercial profit, the welfare to the investors & the crewmen. But the Ahab's motivation & ambition ruined the whole operation, led to the destruction of the ship & the drowning of all crewmen except the story narrator Ishmel. It has been suggested that Hitler's adventure during WWII is awfully resemble to Captain Ahab's saga. Hitler fought on German side & got injured during WWI. German was in a shamble state after WWI with a running away inflation & jobless society. Hitler vowed to revenge. He found & set his demon to the Treaty of Versaillies & Jews. We know the rest of the story & it was so much like the fate of Ahab (Hitler) & Pequod (Germany). At the later stage of the WWII, it seemed there was no hope for German to win the war. But Hitler kept going & so some Germans rose to kill him but failed in the plot. Hitler than dragged all German people in a total defeat. The whole crew of Pequod perished except Ishmael who survived to tell us the story. Fortunately, many Germans survive to rebuild the country. If the scenario happened 2,200 years ago, the German might meet the same fate as Carthaginians---got wiped out from the map & history. A nation or people sometime got extinguished due to the lack of wisdom of the rulers. One example was 準噶爾 around 1757. 準噶爾汗國 and 準噶爾人 cease to exist and 準噶爾盆地 is only a geographical term (地理上的名詞) now.

A ship in a vast ocean is like a country in isolation. The captain is like a ruler with absolute power. In fact a ship with people on board is more like a totalitarian regime than a democratic society. 'Moby Dick' gives us some warning that we should not seek personal revenge by dragging other people in. It also gives us some lesson that we must use the reason (理性) & wisdom (智慧) to avoid conflict and war in dealing with the world affairs.