Introspect (Word of the day, 2007/8/15)

BY Rebecca Chou

Introspect
Verb
v.i. / v.t.
look into one's own thoughts and feelings to find out their real meaning, the reasons for them, etc.
ex)We are different from animals because we can introspect our own thoughts and behaviors.

introspection
Noun:
ex) Through introspection, we may find out our values of living.

introspectiv
Adjective:
ex) Don't be too introspective about yourself or you will think it's all your fault.

Other familiar words
aspect = appearance (n.)
inspect= examine (v.)
inspection (n.)
respect (v. / n.)
respectively= individually (adv.)

respectable income (adj.)
respecting to= regarding

Water Conflict

C7 spech by Kevin Chuu

When I say water is essential and don't take it for granted, you may think I am a Green-Peace, and is going to make a fuss over a trifle again. If I say water can cause conflicts and wars, you might believe I am a scaremonger. Someone will even react like "Come on, man! We are living on a water planet, and 70percent of earth's surface is water." That is correct. But the fact is only 3 percent of it is drinkable, while only 1 percent is easily accessible surface fresh water. So the truth is water has become a scarce and precious resource on this water planet. People are fighting for it, and even go to war. Really?

Let me pick up a horrible example. Darfur, a parched land in the central Sudan, an appalling war is going on there now. Over the past four years, 200,000 people have been killed, and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their home. This is the so called the first genocide in the 21st century. The real cause of the civil war in Darfur is water. According to the United Nations Environment Report, the rainfall in Darfur has decreased a third over the past 80 years because of global warming. Lots of lands have become deserts, but the population keeps growing. Different tribes fight for the water and land in order to survive.

The water conflict is a real thing proceeding in Darfur now, and it is not a local event. In the whole world, about one-sixth of the 6.1 billion people lack access to improved source of water, while 40 percent are without access to improved sanitation service. Each year, 3.4 million people, mostly children, die from water-related diseases. Do not think it will not happen in Taiwan. About the water issue in Taiwan, people got a very serious myth:

We got a lot of typhoons, so we have inexhaustible water.

The truth is thank to typhoons, the precipitation we got each year, I mean the rainfall, is 2.6 times the world average, however the fresh water each one can access is much lesser than the world average. We are a country lacking of water, and the situation is being exacerbated by the global warming. Here are the causes of our water problem:

1. Uneven rainfall
We have quite enough rainfall each year, but it does not distribute uniformly. The precipitation ratio of rainy season to dry season is 9 to 1, and most of the rain concentrates in the northern Taiwan. This situation is getting worse year by year because of global warming.

2. Too much population
23 million people crowd on this small island. Every one needs to consume water. Therefore, the fresh water each one can share is only about one-seventh the word average.

3. Too much pollution
It is not hard to understand. Too many people make too much pollution. 39% of our rivers are polluted, and the trend is not likely to slow down.

4. Too many cities, town, roads and other infrastructure
Those man-made buildings and structures, most of which are made of concrete and tar, cover large part of our ground surface. Therefore only very little rainwater can filtrate into our aquifer. Most of the rain water just cause flood, rushing into the ocean within a short time.

5. Too many high-water-consumption industries
For quite a long time, our country has developed too many high-water-consumption industries like steelmaking, papermaking, aqua-farming, petroleum-chemistry, and even high tech factories of TFT-LCD. Those industries consume too much fresh water and even underground water. In Tauyuan, the water level of aquifer has dropped to 46 meters.

Ladies and gentlemen, water resource is not a issue of tomorrow which only environment activist concern. It is a real issue now. Million of people are dying for it out there. It is not a problem we can just leave behind and let our children worry about. It is a reality we, including you and me, are going to face within a decade. We only need the determination and stop ignoring it. Otherwise, in Taiwan, a water conflict, I don't want to say another Darfur, is definitely going to happen in the recent future.

Tolerate (Word of the day, 2007/8/1)

By Ivan Chiang

Tolerate
verb

=put up with
If you tolerate a situation, you accept them although you do not particularly like them.
–She can no longer tolerate the position that she's in…
–The cousins tolerate each other, but did not really get on well together.

=bear
If you can tolerate something unpleasant or painful, you are able to bear it.
-The ability to tolerate pain varies from person to person.

Tolerance
noun

It is the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you do not agree or approve of it.
–…his tolerance and understanding of diverse human nature.

It is the ability to bear something painful or unpleasant.
-There is lowered pain tolerance, lowered resistance to infection.

If someone or something has a tolerance to a substance, they are exposed to it so often that it does not have much effect on them.
–As with any drug taken in excess, your body can build up a tolerance to it.

Tolerant
adj.

If you describe someone as tolerant, you approve of the fact that they allow other people to say and do as they like, even if they do not agree with or like it.
–They need to be tolerant of different points of view…
–which include more tolerant attitudes to unmarried couples having children.

If a plant, animal, or machine is tolerant of particular conditions or types of treatment, it is able to endure them without being damaged or hurt.
-…plants which are more tolerant of dry conditions…
-Today's floppy disc drives are tolerant of poor quality discs.

Tolerable
adj.

=bearable
If you describe something is tolerable, you mean that it is bearable, even though it is unpleasant or painful.
–He described their living conditions as tolerable.
–The levels of tolerable pain vary greatly from individual to individual…

=reasonable
If you describe something as tolerable, you mean that it is fairly good and reasonably satisfactory, but not of the highest quality or standard; a formal use.
–Is there anywhere tolerable to eat in town?

Please join in the related discussions at:

http://groups.google.com/group/tsoyingtc/browse_thread/thread/2b0958f396202c93

Norway _ A Small But Strong Country

C6 speech by Kevin Chuu

-我愛北海小英雄，四海逞威風，它不怕風和浪，航海樂無窮-

Ladies and gentlemen! I think some of the middle-edge members still remember this song and the cartoon it belongs to--The Little hero of The North Sea (北海小英雄). This story is talking about a young boy, though thin and little, using his wisdom to fight with the big bad pirates and hostile countries. If you got some history background, you should know this boy, let's call him Willy, was a little Viking. That means he was a Norwegian boy. He lived in today's Norway.

Here's another event also having something to do with Norway. Two weeks ago, the Apple Company hyped their new products, the iPhone, bloating how fancy it was, and how many people were rushing to buy it. An iPhone will cost you US$500 to 600 plus $36 for activating it. But four days later, as the Apple was sitting and waiting for the big money coming in, a young man called DVD Jon decode its activating code and post it on his blog to share with everyone. Therefore no one needs to pay that $36 any more.

From DVD Jon's viewpoint, the Apple Company and other software monopolies are using license code and other protecting measures to unfairly take money from our pockets. So he vowed to make those greedy companies open their source codes, otherwise he will just keep decoding their stuff. This man made me recall little Willy in the cartoon. And what a coincidence! DVD Jon is also a Norwegian, a pirate of intellectual property. It seems they just have the same blood and tradition.

Do you know how DVD Jon got his name? His real name is Jon Lech Johansen. When he was 15 years old, he decoded the protection program of DVD. Since then, everyone in the world could copy DVD by the program he shared. He was seen as a hero, and got the name of DVD Jon.

The messages, from either little Willy or DVD Jon, is that humble individuals us their personal efforts to fight with the major power in the world for what they believe right.

All of this just makes me admire their country, Norway. This country, just like little Willy and DVD Jon, is a small country with only about 4.7 million populations, locating in the desolate Scandinavia of Northern Europe. However thanks to the oil export, this country is very rich. Although their GDP is the second highest in the world, their society is basically modest, not extravagant at all. Unlike other super power in the world, they don't put their interest on the first priority. On the contrary, they see themselves as humanitarians. They bestow Nobel Peace Prize every year, promote land mine inhibition in UN and host peace talk between Israel and Palestinians.

However what really made me respect them was something happened recently. They have a public pension fund of about $330 billions, the biggest one in Europe. Norwegian government uses this fund to invest the major stock markets. But, last month, they kicked some US companies out of their investment list for ethical failing. That meant these companies, such as Wal-Mart, are making products by bad or immoral ways. Wal-Mart's suppliers, some of them from developing countries are accused for child labor violation. And the strategy did work, those international big companies, though exasperated, finally yielded and tried to clarify their connections with those notoriously wrong doings. Norwegians, the descendants of little Willy, have once again proved how a country can be small but strong.

I think Taiwan should get some inspiration from Norway. Maybe we are only a small player in the world, but we don't need to be a weak one. We can play wisely just like little Willy and DVD Jon. Therefore we can earn more respect and approval.

It is possible

C4 speech by Kevin Chuu

Ladies and gentlemen, today I want to tell you a story about success. "Sailing to success?" Of course not! I am not going to repeat the theme of last year’s fall convention. But it did inspire me to make this speech.

What is it? Wait a second. Look! Here's the picture of me three years ago, and this is the picture of me right now. Yes! It is possible! Can you tell the difference? 20 kilograms plus! Right! I am telling you how to loose fat successfully.

As you can see I got 20-kilogram extra weight before. Do you have any specific idea of 20 kilograms? Here's the 2 liter bottle of water which weighs 2 kilogram. 20 kilograms means ten of them. It’s just equal to this 20 liter water tank.

Can you imagine that I have kept carrying this water tank over my back 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for almost eight years? No matter when I walked, ran, climbed the stairs or even slept, I had to carry this tank. My heart, blood vessels, and other organs also had to support it every second without any break.

Eleven years ago I was a 66-kliogram young man with bright future and perfect body shape. I married with the woman I loved and got two lovely daughters. Everything went fine except my gradually increasing waistline. When I first noticed it, my wife and I had a thorough discussion about how it could happen. Here are the conclusions we've gotten:

1. Cook by ourselves
Being a newlywed, my wife and I cooked together to enjoy the romantic and harmonic feeling between husband and wife. That was fine except we both were rookie cooks who didn’t know how to control the volume. We always cooked too much and, of course! It was me who had the responsibility to finish it—eat them out.

2. To be a garbage trunk
The situation was getting worse after my babies came out, because I also had to finish their leftover. Especially the nutritious baby foods didn’t taste very good, and most of the time my kids couldn't finish them. So, being a daddy with traditional value of not wasting any food, I always crammed those foods into my belly unconsciously. Then just as they were touted in the TV commercials, I grew up! I mean I swelled together with my babies.

3. Too much pressure and lack of exercise
Because we had to work during the daytime and take care of kids at night, we both were exhausted and lack of exercise. In addition, the more I felt tired and pressured, the more I wanted to eat, and the fatter I became. It was just a vicious spiral.

4. wrong concept
When I was getting bigger, my wife also got some vigilance and warned me "Do not eat too much." My excuse was always "Oh! Please, Honey! Not like other bad guys, I don't have any lousy habits like smoking, drinking and gambling. May I just keep the humble and harmful pleasure to enjoy a little delicious food after a hard day of work?" Of course! My wife couldn't reject this pitiful request. But it was absolutely wrong. I mean my fault, because food could also kill me, and even faster than the alcohol and tobacco.

Therefore, day after day my waistline had expanded from 32 to 41 inches, and all my clothes had been changed from size M to XL. However I didn't take it very seriously until one day I stood on the scale.

I can still remember that very moment of my life, just like a slow motion of movie, the pointer swept to 90, shaking over there. My daughter exclaimed "Wow! Daddy, you are 90 kilogram! When will you reach 100?" My heart sank. To a little girl like her, 100 was a magic word which meant perfect. To me, it was a spell of bad omen. I could tolerate 80, maybe 85. 90! Unacceptable! 100! I would rather die.

I am not kidding. Because when I got the health check report, I knew it wouldn't be long if I didn't take any action. The report was bleeding—full of red marks such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, high urine acid and other high indices of various chronic diseases.

At last I made up my mind to reduce my weight. Making decision was always simple and easy, however, doing it was another story. It was a long and winding way full of funny and terrible experiences, and that will be my C5 speech next time. Mr. Toastmaster!

Appreciate (Word of the day, 2007/7/18)

By Ann Lee

Appreciate (transitive verb)
• To understand how good or how useful someone or something is
Ex: I do appreciate Rebecca's ability and aggressive manner.

•To be grateful for something that someone has done.
Ex: I appreciated his help when we moved.
Ex: I would appreciate it if（＝please do what I ask）

----I would appreciate it if you would turn the music down.

• (Not in progressive) to understand how serious a situation or problem is or what someone's feelings are
Ex: I appreciate your problem ,but I don’t think I can help you.

• To gradually become more valuable over period of time
Ex: Most investments are expected to appreciate at a steady rate.
Ex: Land will continue to appreciate.

Appreciation (noun)
• Pleasure you feel when you realize something is good ,useful ,or well done
• Show your appreciation to someone that you are grateful for something they have done.
Ex: To show our appreciation for all your hard work, we'd like to give you a bonus.
Ex: We showed our appreciation with flowers.

• An understanding of the importance or meaning of something-- "+of"
Ex: a realistic appreciation of the situation

• "singular" a rise in value, especially of land or possessions
Ex: an appreciation of 50% in property values
Ex: The appreciation of the dollar against the yen is in your favor.

Appreciative (adj.)
• Feeling or showing admiration or thank
Ex: An appreciative audience
• Be + appreciative + of
Ex: The visitors were appreciative of all the kindness they'd received.
Ex：She was deeply appreciative of your help.

Appreciatively (adv.)

LOHAS (Word of the day, 2007/7/5)

By James Wang

What is LOHAS?

LOHAS is an acronym for "Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability", it focuses on health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living, and social justice.

The literal translation of LOHAS (樂活) into Chinese means "happy life" and it appears that we want to live a traditional lifestyle with a modern twist.

Healthy Lifestyles: Natural, organics; nutritional products; Food and beverage; Dietary supplements; Personal care

Sustainable Economy: Green building and industrial goods; Renewable energy; Resource-efficient products; Socially responsible investing; Alternative transportation; Environmental management

Alternative Healthcare: Health and wellness solutions; Acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, etc.; Holistic disease prevention; Complementary medicine

Ecological Lifestyles: Ecological home and office products; Organic / recycled Products; Environmentally friendly appliances; Eco-tourism and travel

LOHAS companies

LOHAS companies practice "responsible capitalism" by providing goods and services using economic and environmentally sustainable business practices. LOHAS business owners and industry leaders from around the world meet each year at the LOHAS Conference to discuss industry trends, share ideas and learn how to run a successful LOHAS business.

LOHAS consumers

LOHAS consumers sometimes referred to as Lohasians, are interested in products covering a range of market sectors and sub-sectors, including: green building supplies, socially responsible investing and "green stocks", alternative healthcare, organic clothing and food, personal development media, yoga and other fitness products, eco-tourism and more.

LOHAS James

Health:
(1) sports: golf, swimming, jogging, tai-chi boxing, climbing hill
(2) diet: natural, fresh food, less oil, less grease, low sugar, low salt
(3) regular life time
(4) annual check up
LOHAS James

Emotion
(1) Positive thought
(2) Control temper
(3) Stress relief
(4) Religious brief
(5) Meditation
(6) Hobby: tea/coffee art, music, bird watching

Human
(1) Family
(2) Relative
(3) Friends: doctor, lawyer, specialist
(4) Associates

Financial
(1)Income
(2)Expenditure
(3)Debit -- lower desire
(4)Investment -- risk analysis
(5)Saving
(6)Insurance

4 key managements:
(1)Well Health
(2)Nice Emotion
(3)Good Human
(4)Financial Scheme: Plan, Do, Check, Action

Happy everyday, hour, minute, second.

Enjoy your life!