This is another collection from recent meetings and trips. It works best if you can find a native English speaker with exposure to corporate America to elaborate on the finer points that I cannot cover well here.
* It looks like the meetings will be as regular as clockwork, so just show up at 11am. [It looks like the meetings will be quite regular, so just show up at 11am.]
* I added Steve and Paul to round out the answers. [I added Steve and Paul to help to provide more for the answers.]
* That procedure works for me. I am a happy camper now. [That procedure works for me. I am a happy person now.]
* We have to brief our manager on this. He likes to have that information in his back pocket. [We have to brief our manager on this. He likes to have that information ready at any time.]
* When I heard that that test failed, I knew that the release date for this project is hosed for sure. [When I heard that that test failed, I knew that we would miss that release date for this project for sure.]
* George, that is a really good suggestion. Let me sleep on it and get back to you. [George, that is a really good suggestion. Let me think about it and get back to you.]
* Joe said, "That 6 am meeting ruined my whole Thursday." Susan answered, "Amen to that." [Joe said, "That 6 am meeting ruined my whole Thursday." Susan answered, "I agree."]
* The jury is still out on whether we'll select that product. [We still don't have any conclusion yet on whether we'll select that product.]
* The tests are all good modulo that configuration bug. [The tests are all good except for that configuration problem.]
* A customer who is not tech savvy could ask that question. [A customer who is not too technical could ask that question.]
* We did not make any headway in that issue. [We did not have any progress on that issue.]
* Susan, this is just FYI. [Susan, this is just for your information.]
Friday, June 25, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Technology, Reverence, and Justice
Technology, Reverence, and Justice. What do they have in common? The combination had no meaning for me until recently.
I don't watch TV very often. Instead, I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and swimming. Most of the TV news and programs are too superficial for me. Casual entertainment from TV programs is OK. But, gluing oneself to the TV and believing whatever it conveys is detrimental to our intellect and to our judgment. We need to be able to read more and to think more. I find it depressing that TV, and media in general, is shaping our value systems and moral guidelines. We are easily misguided by the media. And the noise of media have drowned our senses and reduced our abilities to act properly. We can easily lose our peace and senses in this fast-paced world of constant media bombardments.
I do find some exceptions. I don't find that the latest breaking news is important. I can only watch CNN for 20 minutes, and after that, it becomes repetitive. For an in-depth look and no-hype news, I find that PBS's NewsHour is acceptable.
Since my return to the US in early April, I did watch some TV - mostly PBS programs, in Davis, California when I visited my mother. By the way, she is doing so well now that she "graduated" from the hospice program last week. We are all quite pleased with this news.
One evening, I happened to tune in to Bill Moyers Journal, a PBS program dedicated to public affairs. This used to be my all-time favorite program before I left for China. That program ended Friday, April 30, 2010, and I happened to be there to hear the news. Mr. Moyers is 75 now and it is unfair to ask him to continue on.
That was the evening I learned how technology, reverence and justice are related :-). It is so relevant to modern-day China, and I have to share this with my friends. For the last 100+ years, the Chinese government, and many individual Chinese, have believed that the serious lag in science and technology is the reason that China was repeatedly defeated by the imperial and colonial powers, and that is the reason that China has to play catch-up to be a world leader again.
I have always tried to find what other elements are essential to a successful and sustainable civilization. Technology is essential, but that is definitely an incomplete answer to me. In this episode of Bill Moyers Journal, the following excerpt from Barry Lopez filled in the missing pieces in my puzzle.
(quoting Barry Lopez)
I don't remember the philosopher, the Greek philosopher who told the story of Zeus and Prometheus. Which really stuck when I first heard it, is that Zeus said to Prometheus, "Okay, you stole fire. Great for you. Now your people have technology. Wonderful. But here's something you don't know. You lack two things. And if you don't take these two things that I will give you, this will be a failure. Technology, you know, fire, all your magic, it will fail completely. It will be your undoing. And the two things that you need to make it work are justice and reverence. And if you have these two things, you won't get in trouble with this third thing that you thought was the be all and the end all."
(end of quote)
Is this that simple? Reverence and justice are the missing pieces? History and Greek mythology can have such foresight? Justice is a serious problem in China and many other parts of the world. Inequity is prevalent and might eventually bring serious changes to the social and political systems. Reverence is profound respect, and it is definitely a virtue for individual and society as a whole. I remember that there are good examples of reverence teachings in the Chinese history. Right now, Chinese society has been pressured into modernization with materialistic goals. It is a society with impatience, disrespect, and hatred at times.
It is not easy to get to a harmonious and reverent society. We have to bring back justice and a deep sense of reverence to each other so that technology will be good for us.
I don't watch TV very often. Instead, I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and swimming. Most of the TV news and programs are too superficial for me. Casual entertainment from TV programs is OK. But, gluing oneself to the TV and believing whatever it conveys is detrimental to our intellect and to our judgment. We need to be able to read more and to think more. I find it depressing that TV, and media in general, is shaping our value systems and moral guidelines. We are easily misguided by the media. And the noise of media have drowned our senses and reduced our abilities to act properly. We can easily lose our peace and senses in this fast-paced world of constant media bombardments.
I do find some exceptions. I don't find that the latest breaking news is important. I can only watch CNN for 20 minutes, and after that, it becomes repetitive. For an in-depth look and no-hype news, I find that PBS's NewsHour is acceptable.
Since my return to the US in early April, I did watch some TV - mostly PBS programs, in Davis, California when I visited my mother. By the way, she is doing so well now that she "graduated" from the hospice program last week. We are all quite pleased with this news.
One evening, I happened to tune in to Bill Moyers Journal, a PBS program dedicated to public affairs. This used to be my all-time favorite program before I left for China. That program ended Friday, April 30, 2010, and I happened to be there to hear the news. Mr. Moyers is 75 now and it is unfair to ask him to continue on.
That was the evening I learned how technology, reverence and justice are related :-). It is so relevant to modern-day China, and I have to share this with my friends. For the last 100+ years, the Chinese government, and many individual Chinese, have believed that the serious lag in science and technology is the reason that China was repeatedly defeated by the imperial and colonial powers, and that is the reason that China has to play catch-up to be a world leader again.
I have always tried to find what other elements are essential to a successful and sustainable civilization. Technology is essential, but that is definitely an incomplete answer to me. In this episode of Bill Moyers Journal, the following excerpt from Barry Lopez filled in the missing pieces in my puzzle.
(quoting Barry Lopez)
I don't remember the philosopher, the Greek philosopher who told the story of Zeus and Prometheus. Which really stuck when I first heard it, is that Zeus said to Prometheus, "Okay, you stole fire. Great for you. Now your people have technology. Wonderful. But here's something you don't know. You lack two things. And if you don't take these two things that I will give you, this will be a failure. Technology, you know, fire, all your magic, it will fail completely. It will be your undoing. And the two things that you need to make it work are justice and reverence. And if you have these two things, you won't get in trouble with this third thing that you thought was the be all and the end all."
(end of quote)
Is this that simple? Reverence and justice are the missing pieces? History and Greek mythology can have such foresight? Justice is a serious problem in China and many other parts of the world. Inequity is prevalent and might eventually bring serious changes to the social and political systems. Reverence is profound respect, and it is definitely a virtue for individual and society as a whole. I remember that there are good examples of reverence teachings in the Chinese history. Right now, Chinese society has been pressured into modernization with materialistic goals. It is a society with impatience, disrespect, and hatred at times.
It is not easy to get to a harmonious and reverent society. We have to bring back justice and a deep sense of reverence to each other so that technology will be good for us.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
English with an American Corporate Accent - 015
This is another collection from recent meetings and trips. It works best if you can find a native English speaker with exposure to corporate America to elaborate on the finer points that I cannot cover well here.
* They have not called my boss yet, but they are definitely waiting in the wings. [They have not called my boss yet, but they are definitely ready at a moment's notice.]
* We plan to put that feature in this release, knock on wood. [We plan to put that feature in this release, if all goes well.]
* Alpha version code is ready now, but gated by the licensing agreement. [Alphas version code is ready now, but being held up by the licensing agreement.]
* That item is interesting, but contentious. [That item is interesting, but controversial.]
* I am on the hook to deliver that document for the project. [I am responsible for delivering that document for the project.]
* I have to cancel lunch because my daughter has pink eye. [I have to cancel our lunch appointment because my daughter has an eye infection.] [pink eye: eye inflammation (conjunctivitis) ]
* FYI, I am still "dead in the water" for regression testing until the hardware problem can be fixed. [For your information, I am still completely unable to perform regression testing until the hardware problem can be fixed.]
* We are working heads down to get that done first. [We are working with complete dedication to get that done first.]
* I think my Mac is acting up. I might have to reboot it very soon. [I think my Mac is not working right. I might have to reboot it very soon.]
* If we can get this whittled down to only two teams, that would be ideal. [If we can get this narrowed down to only two teams, that would be ideal.]
* I can kick the can forward since I see better now. [I can move this thing forward since I have more information now.]
* These are some of the take-aways I have from that meeting. [These are some of the lessons I learned from that meeting.]
* We need to know the cadence of the technology offering. [We need to know the beat and rhythm of the technology offering. ]
* We'll do an one-off agreement with them, the rest should be all based on boiler-plate agreements. [We'll do a special agreement with them, the rest should be all based on a generic template.]
* They have not called my boss yet, but they are definitely waiting in the wings. [They have not called my boss yet, but they are definitely ready at a moment's notice.]
* We plan to put that feature in this release, knock on wood. [We plan to put that feature in this release, if all goes well.]
* Alpha version code is ready now, but gated by the licensing agreement. [Alphas version code is ready now, but being held up by the licensing agreement.]
* That item is interesting, but contentious. [That item is interesting, but controversial.]
* I am on the hook to deliver that document for the project. [I am responsible for delivering that document for the project.]
* I have to cancel lunch because my daughter has pink eye. [I have to cancel our lunch appointment because my daughter has an eye infection.] [pink eye: eye inflammation (conjunctivitis) ]
* FYI, I am still "dead in the water" for regression testing until the hardware problem can be fixed. [For your information, I am still completely unable to perform regression testing until the hardware problem can be fixed.]
* We are working heads down to get that done first. [We are working with complete dedication to get that done first.]
* I think my Mac is acting up. I might have to reboot it very soon. [I think my Mac is not working right. I might have to reboot it very soon.]
* If we can get this whittled down to only two teams, that would be ideal. [If we can get this narrowed down to only two teams, that would be ideal.]
* I can kick the can forward since I see better now. [I can move this thing forward since I have more information now.]
* These are some of the take-aways I have from that meeting. [These are some of the lessons I learned from that meeting.]
* We need to know the cadence of the technology offering. [We need to know the beat and rhythm of the technology offering. ]
* We'll do an one-off agreement with them, the rest should be all based on boiler-plate agreements. [We'll do a special agreement with them, the rest should be all based on a generic template.]
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