I've just finished reading the book "The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century". I agree with the main idea. That is: America is not declining as many predict, America is just beginning its rise. The ancient Roman Republic lasted 482 years until Caesar and Augustus turned it into Roman Empire. United States has only been around for 234 years, not even half of the age of Roman republic.

I like author's way of comparing political leaders playing world affairs to chess masters playing chess games. Although it may appear there are many possible moves, but many of them are bad moves and can be eliminated right away. The choices left are only a few. This is how future may be predicted. This reminds me of my favorite science fiction series "Foundation" by Issac Asimov. Of course, here we are assuming the world leaders are chess masters and they only make rational moves. This can be true most of the time. They don't become world leaders if they don't have some skills.

The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century

I always wanted a 8 shot revolver. The extra one or two shots is good; it can be a nasty surprise to a shot counting opponent. For quite a while, I was interested in a few 8 shot models from Smith and Wesson, such as 327 TRR8 PERFORMANCE CENTER. But their prices are way too expensive for me.

Then I saw there were two Taurus 608 for sale. It costs only about half of the price. I still couldn't decide right away if I should get it. I waited and waited, but couldn't resist the urge to check the dealer's site daily. A month has passed. Then one day, One of the Taurus 608 was gone. That's enough for me to take the decisive action. I submitted my order on the same day.

It's not a bad decision. I really enjoyed it. It shoots both .38 special and .357 magnum. Shooting .38 from this gun is like shooting .22, low noise, almost no recoil. I like to shoot .357 though. Every time I shoot .357, A big fire ball shoots out of the narrow opening between the barrel and the cylinder; another big fire ball comes out of the muzzle.

Dirty Harry: Ultimate Collector's Edition (Dirty Harry / Magnum Force / The Enforcer / Sudden Impact / The Dead Pool) [Blu-ray]

May 6, 2010. A fat finger pushed the "B" key instead of the "M" key, Dow plunged by nearly 1000 points. This finger must be very, very fat indeed, because there's a "N" key between "B" and "M". I'm not surprised by the 1000 point drop. I'm very surprised by the quick rebound though. Something weird is going on here.

A month earlier, March 26, 2010. Another idiot in a North Korean submarine got a fat finger problem and pushed a torpedo fire button. As a result, a South Korean Frigate was sunk. How true is this theory comparing to the recent fat finger theory on Wall Street? I don't know. If this is true, what is Kim Jong-il thinking? Is he asking for the protection fee from the rest of the world? I thought only US is qualified to charge for protection fee from the world. Mr. Kim secretly visited China a few weeks ago. Not sure what they were discussing about. But this is not the right time for China to go to War. If this new Korean War breaks out, Japan is going to fight with South Korea. China will be in a very difficult situation. She can either fight with North Korea or remain Neutral.

I bought a Norinco SKS rifle recently. Unissued military, spike Bayonet, chrome lined bore. The gun was soaked in cosmoline. Serial number starts with "16". So it's quite possible it's built in 1972, in the middle of Chinese Culture Revolution. What a piece of history!

I went to Canadian Tire, bought some paint thinner, and brake cleaner. Spent a whole half day, disassembled it, cleaned off the cosmoline and reassembled it back. The bore looked great. The spike bayonet was long and sharp. The stock was a piece of junk. Couldn't wait to shoot it. But I didn't have high expectations on anything produced during Culture Revolution.

The SKS Carbine, 4th Revised and Expanded Edition (Biotechniques Books) (For collectors only)

Watched the movie 2012 on blue-ray. A nice movie, a lot better than I expected. But I deeply doubt the theory behind the movie. Did some google on it, found an interesting web site on this theory. (http://crystalinks.com/crustal.html)

I'm kind of wishing this pole shift hypothesis becomes a reality. Won't it be exciting to witness this in my life time! Imagine the whole Antarctica moves out of the south polar and become habitable again. Another new world! Positive thinking at work here.

But it seems the earth is getting a bit more active than usual these days. Haiti, Chile, Taiwan, Mexico, California,... And now, another big earthquake in Qinghai, China.

The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies, and Possibilities