In Japan, they have reportedly replaced the impersonal and unhelpful Microsoft error messages with Haiku poetry messages. Haiku poetry has strict construction rules - each poem has only 17 syllables; 5 syllables in the first, 7 in the second, 5 in the third. They are used to communicate a timeless message often achieving a wistful, yearning and powerful insight through extreme brevity. Here are 13 error messages from Japan. The Web site you seek cannot be located, but Countless more exist. -------------------------------------------- Chaos reigns within. Reflect, repent, and reboot. Order shall return. ----------------------------------------------- Program aborting: Close all that you have worked on. You ask far too much. ------------------------------------------------ Windows NT crashed. I am the Blue Screen of Death. No one hears your screams. -------------------------------------------------- Yesterday it worked. Today it is not working. Windows is like that. --------------------------------------------------- Your file was so big. It might be very useful. But now it is gone. ------------------------------------------- Stay the patient course. Of little worth is your ire. The network is down. --------------------------------------------------- A crash reduces Your expensive computer To a simple stone. -------------------------------------------------- Three things are certain: Death, taxes and lost data. Guess which has occurred. --------------------------------------------------- You step in the stream, But the water has moved on. This page is not here. --------------------------------------------------- Out of memory. We wish to hold the whole sky, But we never will. -------------------------------------------------- Having been erased, The document you're seeking Must now be retyped. ----------------------------------------------------- Serious error. All shortcuts have disappeared. Screen. Mind. Both are blank. Isn't that better than "your computer has performed an illegal operation?"
Thanks to Publias, I've just started to read something about Tao. It appears to me as a solid concept. Here are some quotes from Jade Dragon Online ( http://www.jadedragon.com/archives/tao_heal/health.html ) Taoism's central principle is that all life, all manifestation, is part of an inseparable whole, an interconnected organic unity which arises from a deep, mysterious, and essentially unexplainable source which is the Tao itself. Everything conceivable is contained within this principle. Various Western translators have compared this concept to the idea of God, Universal Mind, or Absolute Reality, to name but a few examples. Taoism views the universe and all of its manifestations as operating according to a set of unchanging, natural laws. As an inseparable part of the Tao, human beings can gain knowledge of these laws and become attuned to them. It is these natural laws that constitute the core principles of Taoism. Aligning ourselves with these principles provides a universal perspective and understanding and allows life to be lived in harmony with the Tao. Indeed our way of life becomes the Way, a full expression of the Tao. Taoism states that all life forces tend to move toward harmony and balance because it is in their nature to do so. From the Taoist viewpoint we, as humans, have the choice of consciously aligning ourselves with the Way, or remaining in ignorance and resisting the natural order of the Tao. To choose the latter means to remain disconnected from our own personal processes, our own Tao, as well as life's grand flow. Taoist teachings are intended to be utilized as a guide to daily living. Their greatest value lies in their ability to direct us toward our own process of self-exploration, growth, and transformation which connects us deeply to ourselves and to the world around us. Taoism, an ancient Chinese system of thought, views the Universe as an interconnected, organic whole. Nothing exists separately from anything else. The Universe is governed by a set of natural and unalterable laws which manifest themselves as a flow of continuous change. This natural order and flow is referred to as the Tao, or the Way. By recognizing and aligning ourselves with these laws, humans can attain a state of being which combines the experience of total freedom with one of complete connectedness to lifeâs processes - being at one with the Tao. Taoismâs central organizing principle is the interconnectedness of all life with its flow of continuous change. Nowhere is this idea expressed in such a unique and exquisite manner as in the concept of yin-yang, which describes the underlying unity of life through the interplay of opposites. Taoist writings state that all things and all processes contain two primal energies or forces. These two basic aspects of manifestation often are described as masculine and feminine, light and dark, negative and positive, creative and receptive. The original meaning of the term signified the light and dark sides of a mountain. Our common English-language expression, "there are two sides to everything," expresses this concept quite succinctly. From a Taoist point of view, however, these two polar opposites are not seen as distinctly separate or in conflict, but rather as interdependent and complementary. In actuality, one creates the other. "Is there a difference between yes and no?", Lao Tzu, one of Taoismâs immortal sages, asks. "Is there a difference between good and evil?" His reply is that "Under heaven all can see beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil." "What goes up must come down," and "Every cloud has a silver lining." Our own language echoes the wisdom found within the concept of yin-yang. Bad luck becomes good luck and crisis contains the opportunity for growth. We can choose to cooperate with this complimentary set of opposites by not denying, suppressing, or struggling against unwanted discomfort or pain, but rather by accepting all facets of our existence, "good" and "bad," as the natural flow of the Tao. By following the path of acceptance and responsiveness to change we can become, in the words of Chuang Tzu, true women and men of Tao. Once again, thanks Commisso!
Like they say, if you can touch just one.... If you ever want to speak, feel free to PM me... PEACE and good-trading, Commisso
Taoism often refers to silence, in the sense of acceptance and responsiveness, as the source of enlightenment. But then if SILENCE and AGITATION are interdependent and complimentary to each other, how can Taoism be conveyed? May one ever interfere with the continuous grand flow so as to bring someone to light? OPC P.S.: Don't know if the question makes any sense to you.
a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it..." -- Socrates -- "He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have...." -- Socrates -- "Remember there is nothing stable in human affairs.. therefore, avoid undue elation in prosperity and undue depression in adversity... " --Socrates--