The Finer Points in Using Facebook



Facebook as a communication and social tool is fast catching up with the use of hand phones. However, Facebook also has its disadvantages and privacy problems. Here are some finer points in using Facebook that I would like to share with everybody.

Trick 1 :- How to prevent certain people from seeing what you have updated in Facebook.

Of course, the simplest way is to click onto the tiny lock in whatever you want to update and select Customize.


You can then make what you have updated visible or not visible to specific persons that you have selected.



It is quite troublesome if you always have to do things this way to make what you have updated visible to some and not visible to some. The convenient way is to group your friends into different lists. For example, you can create a colleague list, a close friends list, a family members list, etc.

To do this, select Edit Friends from the Account drop down menu.


After that, click onto the Friends tab under Lists on the left hand side.


On top your friend list, there is a Create New List button. Click onto the button.


You can then create a new list by giving the new list a name on top and select the persons that belong to this list.


You can create as many new lists as you like.


After creating the new lists, you will be able to see your new lists in your friend list.



You can then group each of your friends into the corresponding list one by one.


With your lists created, you will be able to make what you have updated in Facebook visible to one group of friends and hidden from to another group of friends.


As a matter of fact, from now on, you can go to Privacy Settings and customize all your previous Facebook content to be visible to some and not visible to some.


Click onto Customize settings.
You can then configure your privacy settings so that you can share or not share certain things with some people.

As a matter of fact, under Customize Settings, you can click onto the Preview My Profile button on top to see how other people see you in Facebook. You can key in each of your friend's name to see how they will see you in Facebook.



Trick 2 :- How not to let your friends (particularly your boss) know that you are playing Facebook games.

A lot of Facebook games will publicize to all your friends after you have achieved a high score and advanced to certain stage. For example, below is a published message that Amelia Chan Sook Fun had just claimed some ice-cream on 12:37pm on August 10.

To avoid such publicity, select Application Settings from the Account drop down menu.


In Application Settings, select Authorized from the Show: pull down menu.


The Authorized list contains all the applications that you have authorized to publish information on your Wall.


For each of the application (particularly those games that you always play), click Edit Settings.


Click onto the Additional Permissions tab.



Uncheck Publish content to my Wall and then click the Okay button. Nobody will know you have been playing games after that.


Trick 3 :- How not to let people add you in Facebook.

In order not to let people find you and add you in Facebook, you have to hide yourself. To do so, click onto Privacy Settings.


After that, click onto Edit your settings under Applications and Websites at the bottom left.
.


Click onto the Edit Settings button of Public search.


Uncheck the radio button of Enable public search.

After unchecking, you can see a preview of your search result.



You can see the message on the right that you have turned public search off.

Trick 4 : How not to let other people see your friends.

If you do not want other people to see all your friends, the best is to click onto the little pen on the top right corner of Friends and just key in the persons that you always want other people to see. If you show 6 friends,  you have to make 6 friends to be permanent. If you show 9 or 12, you have put accordingly. There is no option to show 0 friends though.



Facebook is a tool for us to socialize and communicate with friends. It really defeats the purpose if you put in too many protection and restrictions. If there is someone who is not really a friend, you just simply delete him or her from your Facebook. That is the simplest thing to do I guess.

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All in 1 HDD Docking Station


I have quite a number (about 20) of 3½ inch hard disks at home. Some are IDE hard disks and some are SATA hard disks. Putting each of them into casing is just too costly. Further more, 3½ inch hard disks are not really that portable as they need external power.


For those SATA hard disks, I have been using NexStar docking stations which cost about $50 each. I have a white one and a black one.


The NexStar docking station comes with both USB and eSATA interface and an ON/OFF button.


However, NexStar docking station only supports SATA hard disks.


I have been using my two NexStar docking stations with all my 3½ inch SATA hard disks as storage media. Network storage station which costs about $150 to $200  for one hard disk is just too expensive as a solution.


However, those 3½ inch IDE hard disks are really problematic. To throw away IDE hard disks with storage capacity about 250G to 300G is just too wasteful. I have been looking for docking station for 3½ inch IDE hard disks for quite a while but could not find any. The solution till now is to use those cheapo IDE to USB connectors that do not really function well and cost about $10 to $20 each..


I was in Sim Lim Square today and it was a pleasant surprise that I found an All in 1 HDD Docking Station that supports two 3½ inch hard disks, one SATA and one IDE.


On top of that, it also supports xD, compact flash, memory stick, SD and TC multimedia flash memory cards. There are 2 USB connections too.


There is an ON/OFF switch at the back. It comes with both USB and eSATA interface.


On top of that, the docking station comes with a red button for one button backup and high speed disk cloning which can be done offline too. The price tag was $72 but the shop owner sold it to me for $70 and replace the original power cable with a three pin plug that has no fuse to one that comes with fuse. Wonderful, but it is made in China of course. Let me try it out and see how reliable it is. If it is good, I will get one more for sure.



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Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra


To begin with, I am not a Buddhist. I am just studying and learning about Buddhism. In fact, I do not have a religion. Whenever I found myself having to fill in any form with my particulars, I always enter "NONE" in the "Religion" field. To fill in "FREE THINKER" seems to imply that others who have a religion are not free to think and give the impression that I am a person with no values and anything goes. To fill in "ATHEIST" seem too defiant, arrogant and give the impression that I am a person who has no venerations for anything in life. Being without a religion however does not mean that I do not have any faith.I do have certain faiths that are non-religious in nature. Since I am going to talk about the Buddhist scripture Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra here, I shall not delve into the topic about my faiths. I will leave it to other more opportune time to tell you about my faiths.

Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra is also known as the Heart Sutra. Together with other Prajñaparamita (perfection of wisdom or Great Wisdom) sutras like the Diamond Sutra, it is considered one of the holiest texts Mahayana Buddhism that forms the core tenets of Buddhism. Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra is trying to explain the essence of Buddhism, which is Emptiness.  The meaning is essentially that by letting go of one's preconceived notions, opinions, and attachments, one can become open to all the wonders of our life. It says that all things are empty. This is the realization of nothingness. But, emptiness or nothingness does not just mean nothing. It means not being attached to anything; especially one's own perceptions and ideas so that one can see life clearly.

Enlightenment means free from all human weaknesses like hatred, revenge, greed, insecurity, ego, vanity, pride, vindictiveness, etc.

Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra has been translated into many other languages. It has been translated into Chinese by many monks including Indians and other non-Chinese monks like 
LokakṣemaKumārajīva, etc. The most popular Chinese version of Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra was translated by the Chinese monk Tripiṭaka (of the Monkey God epic fame) who traveled over land to India alone and brought back all the Buddhist scripture to the then Tang dynasty China..



觀自在菩薩,行深般若波羅蜜多時,照見五蘊皆空,度一切苦厄。
舍利子,色不異空,空不異色;色即是空,空即是色。受、想、行、識,亦復如是。 
舍利子,是諸法空相,不生不滅,不垢不淨,不增不減。
是故空中無色,無受、想、行、識;無眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意;無色、聲、香、味、觸、法;無眼界,乃至無意識界;無無明,亦無無明盡;乃至無老死,亦無老死盡。
無苦、集、滅、道,無智亦無得,以無所得故。
菩提薩埵, 依般若波羅蜜多故,心無罣礙,無罣礙故,無有恐怖,遠離顛倒夢想,究竟涅槃。
三世諸佛,依般若波羅蜜多故,得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。
故知般若波羅蜜多,是大神咒,是大明咒,是無上咒,是無等等咒,能除一切苦,真實不虛。
故說般若波羅蜜多咒,即說咒曰:揭諦揭諦,波羅揭諦,波羅僧揭諦,菩提薩婆訶。


I do not know how many people or is there anybody that actually understand Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra fully. I believe what Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra is trying to describe and explain is none other than the enlightened state or Nirvana state of Buddhahood.

Most translations are word by word translation of the original Sanskrit text. Not much has been added to help understanding. There are several English versions of Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra which are word by word translations as well.


Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
when pursuing into the deep course of wisdom which has gone beyond,
recognized the five skandhas* which, in their own being, were completely empty, and passed beyond all vexations and distress.
(*The five skandas are the five components of any individual: body, perceptions, feelings, mental formations and consciousness.)


Shariputra, appearances (or forms) are not different from emptiness,
emptiness is not different to appearances (or forms).
Appearances (or forms) are emptiness, emptiness is an appearance (or forms).
Impressions (or perceptions), thoughts, associations and knowing too, are also like this.


Shariputra, all dharmas are empty of appearances,
they have no beginning and no end, 
they are neither imperfect nor perfect, 
neither deficient nor complete.


For this reason, amidst emptiness there are no appearances (or forms),
No impressions (or perceptions), no thoughts, no associations and no knowledge.
There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no bodily touch, no ideas (or minds).
There is no appearances (or forms), no sounds, no smells, no tastes and no touch.
There is no sight sensory organ (or eyes) and so forth, all the way to no consciousness and no knowledge.
Neither is any non-understanding (or ignorance), nor is there any end to non-understanding (or ignorance).
To the extent that neither is there aging and death.
There is no suffering, no cause, no extinction (or destruction) and no path.
There is no no cognition, no attainment, nor is there anything to attain.


Because there isn’t anything to find, so the bodhisattva can rely upon prajñaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) without obstruction.


Because there are no obstructions, there is no fear. Distancing from upsetting dreams and hallucinations, finally reaches nirvana.


All the Buddhas of the three worlds (or life times) have relied upon prajñaparamita and found anuttarasamyaksambodhi (fully awake to the utmost right and perfect enlightenment).


Therefore, prajñaparamita is the great spiritual mantra, the great understanding mantra, the supreme mantra, the unequaled mantra that remove all suffering and vexation. This is true, real and no deceit.


To chant the prajñaparamita mantra, say the mantra’s words: gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha. ("Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone utterly beyond, Enlightenment hail!")

Notice that the last line of the sutra is a mantra and not translated in any versions of the sutra. Even in the Chinese version,  揭諦揭諦,波羅揭諦,波羅僧揭諦,菩提薩婆訶。is nothing but phonetic translation of Gate, Gate, Paragate, Para Sam gate Bodhi svaha.

As I said, I am not sure whether there is anybody that understand Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra fully. Haha! as for me, I could only understand that since the state of enlightenment can exist without a physical body (肉身), obviously there are no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no bodily touch and hence no appearances (or forms), no sounds, no smells, no tastes and no touch. As for no impressions (or perceptions), no thoughts, no associations, no consciousness and no knowledge. I could understand also that since the absence of a physical body includes the absence of central nervous system and the brain, obvious all perceptions, thoughts, associations, consciousness and knowledge will be gone too. But the difficult part to understand is how can this nothingness or emptiness is not an end itself but a higher state of being?

Reading the translations, one may understand the descriptions about the enlightened state but still totally have no idea about what it actually is. This is because language could only work if there are common references. You can never tell how a mango tastes like to a person who has not eaten a mango before. You may describe the taste of mango using common references like sour, sweet, fragrant, etc. (provided both the communicator and the communicated know what are sour, sweet and fragrant). Even then, the other person will have no idea of how a mango tastes like until he has eaten a mango.

Of course, to make things worse, I guess an enlightened state entails totally different planes of existence. For example, a cat could not taste sweetness and a dog could not see colour. If they are intelligent being, do you think you can ever describe the concept of sweetness and colour to them. Not in their life time as cat and dog I guess. Human colour vision is also limited to a narrow spectrum of light wave. In a sense, this also tell us that although we think we can see the whole world, but in actual fact we are not seeing the world in its entirety. Human eyes cannot see infrared emitted by objects and also cannot detect the beta, alpha, theta and delta brain waves. What we can see is what our sensory organs and mental faculties allow us to see. Other than that, we will have to make use of various equipments.


The very same reason why it is difficult for men and women as different forms of existence to fully understand each other.


To overcome the limitations of language, there is a school of Buddhism called Zen Buddhism that emphasizes experiential prajñā in the attainment of enlightenment through special transmission outside scriptures, not founded on words or letters. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct realization (or sudden realization 頓悟) through meditation and dharma practice.

I think if a person can fully understand Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra, he would have attained enlightenment. A person who attain enlightenment via other means like Zen should also be able to affirm the scripture. Haha! I hope one day I will be able to understand Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sūtra, hopefully in this life. If not, I will have to do more kind and charitable acts to collect enough points (kharma) to attain it in my next few lives.

Well! Don't worry! If I attain enlightenment, I won't leave you guys in this world. Unlike Theravada Buddhism which believe that enlightenment could only be achieved by one's own effort and merit, Mahayana Buddhism believes in Bodhisattvayāna (普渡). These are the people who say "If I don't go to hell, who will go to hell?". Mahayana Buddhists will come back to this world as Bodhisattva and postpone their nirvana until the last being also crosses over.

Gee! Am I a Buddhist already? Namo Amitabha~

Me and the Happy Buddha, Bangkok, Thailand.
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