Robot of the Day: Air Hogs Gyro X RC Helicopter

Maybe because of the frequent sightings of helicopters flying over our house, my three-year-old son developed this special interest in helicopters and always wanted a helicopter. And since my research is related to robotic airplanes, I also have a strong urge to own a robotic airplane myself. So when I found out about the Black Friday deal on the Air Hogs Gyro X RC Helicopter, I jumped on it, under the claim that the helicopter was really the birthday present for my son's three-year-old birthday!

The RC helicopter normally sells for $40, but I was able to get one at half price thanks to Black Friday sales at RadioShack. It is a remote-controlled toy airplane, so the kit included a controller that lets the user controls the throttle (to fly the helicopter up and down) together with an omnidirectional stick to control the flying directions. The controller also has a wheel on the side that allows you to trim the plane (adjusting the balance of the plane so it doesn't keep rotating in one direction). The controller also acts as a charger. Powered itself by four AA batteries, the controller has a wire to connect to the airplane for charging the battery on the airplane.

This RC toy can actually be categorized as a robotics device because it has built-in a "gyro" electronic stabilization system for smooth flight. The "gyro" sensor can sense the roll of the plane and then adjust the speed and direction of the small tail propeller to automatically stabilize the plane. What this means is that a beginner can easily focus on the throttle of the helicopter (controlling the altitude) and not worry about keeping the helicopter in an upright position. In a sense, the "auto-pilot" on the tiny plane can take over some of the responsibility for keeping the plane hovering in the same spot, which is extra nice because now even my three-old son can fly this thing around the house.

In robotics terminology, this type of function is called "Shared Control". For example, you can direct a ground mobile robot to go toward a certain direction, but the robot is capable of going around obstacles autonomously, so you don't have to worry about it. Although in the RC helicopter case, the stabilization autonomy falls pretty low in Tom Sheridan's Levels of Autonomy, it is a start. The robotic planes we use in our research also can stabilize themselves in the air in various wind conditions and maintain a constant speed. And once we load the terrain data into the control station, the UAVs can also maintain their height-above-ground. With GPS capabilities, the research UAVs can also follow way points.

The $20 Air Hog RC Helicopter of course is not that sophisticated. Besides, GPS works terribly in an indoor environment. However, it is totally possible that I could use some computer vision program to estimate the position of the plane and then send control signals from a computer instead of the RC controller. Then the little plane might display a slightly higher intelligence.

Another great thing about this helicopter is its durability. You can crash it left and right without worrying about damaging the device (which is a rare thing in robot world). The biggest downside is that the tiny battery in the plane only flies for about 5 minutes with a full charge --- frankly, a bit too short for me, especially when time seems to zoom by quickly when I have a great time flying this thing. Then it takes 20-30 minutes to charge. The upside about this is that it really teaches my kids that patience is a virtue.

Anyway, this RC helicopter is a great toy for beginner operators and kids. If you want to read a more detailed review of this RC Helicopter, click here.


Picture of the Day:

Staples.com Black Friday Fail! Only a programmer will get a kick out of this!

10 Famous Thought Experiments That Just Boggle Your Mind Part 2

Read Part 1: The Trolley Problem


9. The Gettier Problem (The Cow in the field)

One of the major thought experiments in epistemology (the field of philosophy that deals with knowledge) is what is known as “The Cow in the Field.” It concerns a farmer who is worried his prize cow has wandered off. When the milkman comes to the farm, he tells the farmer not to worry, because he’s seen that the cow is in a nearby field. Though he’s nearly sure the man is right, the farmer takes a look for himself, sees the familiar black and white shape of his cow, and is satisfied that he knows the cow is there. Later on, the milkman drops by the field to double-check. The cow is indeed there, but it’s hidden in a grove of trees. There is also a large sheet of black and white paper caught in a tree, and it is obvious that the farmer mistook it for his cow. The question, then: even though the cow was in the field, was the farmer correct when he said he knew it was there?


The Cow in the Field was first used by Edmund Gettier as a criticism of the popular definition of knowledge as “justified true belief”—that is, that something becomes knowledge when a person believes it; it is factually true; and they have a verifiable justification for their belief. In the experiment, the farmer’s belief that the cow was there was justified by the testimony of the milkman and his own verification of a black and white object sitting in the field. It also happened to be true, as the milkman later confirmed. But despite all this, the farmer did not truly know the cow was there, because his reasoning for believing it turned out to be based on false premises. Gettier used this experiment, along with a few other examples, as proof of his argument that the definition of knowledge as justified true belief needed to be amended. The video below shows another example of the Gettier Problem.

A robot or an AI agent can acquire knowledge in several distinct ways. The easiest one (at least for the programmer) is to memorize facts. For example: the capital of the United States is Washington D.C., earth is a sphere, and a triangle has three sides. These are beliefs we forcefully inject into the agent's brain and the agent might blindly take them in as faith. AI agents are great at storing facts and can store large quantities of facts. This is similar (roughly) to us human learning in elementary schools.

Another way of acquiring knowledge is to learn the rules and then apply rules to different problems. For example: don't run into an obstacle. Abstracting and representing rules can be quite challenging for designers, that's why robots today don't have a lot of rules programmed into them. Having too many rules can also exponentially increase the computational complexity can cause internal conflicts, unless the robot is designed to ignore rules at times or only apply rules that can help optimize or maximize certain utilities, like how we humans do at our convenience. However, once the rules are implemented, robots are great at executing them (as long as the rules are clearly defined). For example, we already have AI agents that can solve or generate proofs for very complicated math problems, even better than the human counterparts. This method is similar (roughly) to us human learning in middle schools. Learning by demonstration probably falls under this category as well.

A third way of acquiring knowledge for robots and AI agents is by the means of traditional machine learning using existing data sets. Whether supervised learning (where records in a data set are labeled by human) or unsupervised learning (no labels), the basic idea is that the agent would try to "rationalize" the data sets and then find some consistent properties, or "insights", in the data sets, and then be able to apply them to new information (generalize). This is similar (roughly) to us human learning in college where we are exposed to a lot of facts, but we have to come up with general senses of these facts and then conclude with our own, newly identified rules. Agents are normally bounded by "features" identified by human who provided the data sets. However, few smart agents can try to come up with "features" of their own and it falls under the name of "Active Learning".

Yet another way of acquiring knowledge for these artificial beings is through Bayesian networks (logical nodes interconnected like a neural network). Given that a good Bayesian network exists (or one that's pretty good at self-evolving), the agent first have some a priori beliefs of things (e.g., sky is blue and grass is green) acquired either through previous mentioned methods or simply non-informative (e.g., a woman is probably just as lazy as a man). Then through observations, the agent learns from experience and obtain a posteriori knowledge. The new knowledge might be completely opposite to the a priori beliefs, therefore the agent modifies its beliefs of the existing rules, previous facts, and the world and everything in the universe. You probably already see where I am going. This is similar (roughly) to us human beings learning in grad schools.

Not to ridicule things, by the time the agent becomes really imaginative and start to question everything simply based on reports from lower-level agents (hmm...grad school robots?), we make it a professor. (I hope my advisor is not reading this...)

Anyway, back to the original topic, IMHO, we can't always rely on justified true beliefs, but isn't at least trying to justify the belief better than blind beliefs? Of course when it comes to authority, my robots don't have to justify its beliefs, because to them, I am God!

Read Part 3: The Ticking Time Bomb


Video of the Day:

Great examples of illusions. So we shouldn't trust what we see with our eyes. Does this mean we shouldn't trust everything we see?

BTW: The easiest way to remember my blog address is http://lanny.lannyland.com

Random Thoughts: A Few Brain Teasers

Sharing some brain teasers I found interesting. See how many you can figure out yourself:

Problem 1: The Missing Dollar
==========================

Image credit: Canvas

Three guests check into a hotel room. The normal charge for one night is $30, so each guest pays $10. Later the owner said that there's a promotion and the bill should only be $25. To rectify this, he gives the bellhop $5 to return to the guests. On the way to the room, the bellhop realizes that he cannot divide the money equally. As the guests didn't know the total of the revised bill, the bellhop decides to just give each guest $1 and keep $2 for himself.
Now that each of the guests has been given $1 back, each has paid $9, bringing the total paid to $27. The bellhop has $2. If the guests originally handed over $30, what happened to the remaining $1?


Problem 2: Cut the Loss
==========================

Image credit: iStockPhoto

One day a customer came to Tom's store. He collected $20 worth of merchandize, and then gave Tom a $50 bill. Since Tom didn't have enough change, he went to Charlie's store next door and exchanged the $50 bill into changes. Then he gave the customer $30 change. Shortly after the customer left, Charlie came to Tom and told him that the $50 bill was counterfeit money. So Tom immediately gave Charlie another $50 bill in exchange. So after all, how much money did Tom lose from this incident? Was it $50, $80, or $100?


Problem 3: Green Onion Vendor
==========================

Image credit: The Virginian Pilot

A customer came to the green onion vendor and asked about the price of the green onions. The vendor said that the green onions sell for one dollar per pound. Since he had a total of 100 pounds, it would cost one hundred dollars to buy them all. The customer then asked if the vendor would consider selling green onion stems and leaves separately. The vendor told him that the green onion stems would sell for 70 cents and the green onion leaves would sell for 30 cents. The customer then decided to buy 50 pounds of green onion stems and 50 pounds of green onion leaves. The vendor then calculated as the following:


50 x 0.7 = 35, 50 x 0.3 = 15, 35 + 15 = 50

So the customer paid $50 and left. Now the green onion vendor was very confused: how come the customer was able to take away his $100 worth of green onions for only $50?


Problem 4: Find the Odd Ping Pong Ball
==========================

Image credit: 123RF.com

You have 12 ping pong balls. One of them is slightly heavier OR lighter than the others. You also have a balance scale. How can you find the odd ball out, and if it is heavier or lighter, in only 3 weighings. Please help!


Problem 5: Silver Utensils Problem
==========================

Image credit: Shutterstock

Bill wanted to buy some silver utensils, so he went to the utensil store and then found out that he only had enough money to buy 21 forks and 21 spoons, or 28 knives only. Since he needs to buy the same number of forks, spoons and knives to make complete sets, and he would really prefer to use up all the money he had brought, can you help him out?


Check out the answers to these problems here.



Video of the Day:

A great review of year 2011 based on what people searched in Google:

Random Thoughts: Sharing Some Mini-Stories

Sharing some mini-stories I read on the Internet. Hope you enjoy!

He was three when he peed his pants. She took her own pants off and gave it to him. "Remember to give it back to me," she said.
He was thirteen when he was courting a beautiful girl. She shoved her wallet into his hands. "Remember to give it back to me," she said.
He was thirty-three when he lost his ring. She took off the identical ring from her finger. "Remember to give it back to me," she said.
He was forty-three when the plane was about to crash. She strapped the parachute on him and waved. "You don't have to give it back to me this time," she said with a smile.

**********

Many years after the breakup they met again by chance.
Man: "How are you doing?"
Woman: "Good."
Man: "How is he doing?"
Woman: "Good."
"How about yourself?" the woman asked.
"Good."
Woman: "How about her?"
Man: "She just told me she is good."

**********

Everyday I would take the subway together with my girlfriend to go to work. Then one day and every day after she always found the handsome young man waiting for her outside of the station leaned on his sports car and looking at her with a big smile. At first she simply ignored him. But the handsome man and his sports car consistently showed up on time every day. Gradually she treated me with less and less enthusiasm until the day when the handsome young man confronted her with a large bouquet of red rose and asked, "Will you leave him, please?" "Of course!" she said with excitement. "She no longer loves you," the young man turned to me, "be my boyfriend, will you?" I accepted the bouquet.

**********

She climbed in the taxi and then recognized him. They had been intimate lovers ten years ago and had decided to go separate ways under the heavy pressure from their parents, never seeing each other again.
"How are you?"
"I am good, you?"
"Good."
She noticed the watch on his wrist was still the same one she had given him.
When she was getting off, he heard the jingles from the bell strapped on her handbag, the one he had given her.

**********

It was night. The boy had the girl on the back of his motorcycle.
Girl: "Can you slow down? I am scared."
Boy: "Isn't this fun?"
Girl: "Please! I am scared."
Boy: "Alright. Tell me you love me."
Girl: "Fine. I love you. Can you slow down now?"
Boy: "Can you take off my helmet and put it on. It's making me very uncomfortable."
The next day in the news: One death and one survivor in a motorcycle crash. Malfunctioning brakes to be blamed.

**********

In the United States.
"Hello...oh, hi mom, what is it?"
"Nothing, I just miss you."
"Alright, mom. I am really sleepy. It's early in the morning here. How many times have I told you. Don't forget the 12 hours timezone difference."
"Oh, I forgot. Go back to sleep..."
Five minutes later.
"Gosh, who's calling this early again!"
"This is your uncle. Your mom's apartment building is on fire!"
Dialing back immediately.
"Mom! Mom! Pick up the phone!!"
Ring...ring...ring...

**********

She works in a highrise building in the jungle of the city. He works in the office in the same floor just across the street. Everyday she would secretly watch him, imagining his joy and sorrow and then record them in her blog. Then one day he disappeared suddenly. She felt as if a chunk was missing from deep inside her heart. "He left. I miss him but he doesn't know." she wrote in her blog. A new comment quickly popped out. "Silly! I just moved to the floor above."

**********








Appreciate what you have before they are gone!

The Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing (The Tendon-Altering Sutra) Part 6

The Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing (The Tendon-Altering Sutra) Part 5

第十一式打躬击鼓

接上式，右脚落地，起身向右转90度，右脚向左脚收半步，距离与肩同宽，成下蹲势。 两手抬至头侧后方，掌心按压两耳，周身放松，中、食、无名指稍屈，轻轻叩击枕骨处，两手交替进行，各叩击七次，谓之”鸣天豉”。 鸣豉后双手抱后脑，缓缓向前弯腰，头垂于裆间至最大程度，膝挺直，如打躬状。 鸣天豉时身体先向左转90度，再向右转180度，再向左转90度。 弯腰垂头时牙关咬紧，作细微自然呼吸。 重复做三遍。

11^th Stance: Bowing Down and Beating the Heavenly Drum

Continue from the last stance. Put the right foot down to the ground and stand back up. Turn 90 degrees to the right to return to facing front. Move right foot half step toward the left foot so they are at shoulder width and then squat. Raise both hands above your head and then lower them behind the head until your palms cover your ears. Relax the whole body. Slightly bend the index fingers, the middle fingers, and the ring fingers and gently tap the occipital bone with alternating hands. Tap seven times with each hand. This is called “Beating the Heavenly Drum.” After beating the drum hold the back of the head with both hands and slowly bent forward until your head cannot go any lower between your crotches. Keep the knees straight as if you are bowing down. When beating the heavenly drum, turn your body 90 degrees to the left first, next turn 180 degrees to the right and then turn 90 degrees to the left. Clench your teeth while bending forward and take small breathes naturally. Repeat three times.

第十二势：掉尾势

两腿开立，双手仰掌由胸前徐徐上举至头顶，目视掌而移，身立正直，勿挺胸凸腹；十指交叉，旋腕反掌上托，掌以向上，仰身，腰向后弯，目上视；然后上体前 屈，双臂下垂，推掌至地，昂首瞪目。呼气时，屈体下弯，脚跟稍微离地；吸气时，上身立起，脚跟着地；如此反复21次。收功：直立，两臂左右侧举，屈伸7 次。

12^th Stance: Swinging the Tail

Stand with legs spread open. Slowly raise your hands past your chest and above your head, palms facing upward. Fix your stare on your palms as they move. Keep your body upright and don’t pull back shoulders or hold out your bosom. With ten fingers crossed, rotate your wrists and then lift upward with palms facing up. Extend the upper body and bend your waist backward while looking up. Then bend your body forward with both arms stretching out on the side and touch the ground. Lift your head and open your eyes wide. When exhaling, bend forward and at the same time lift the back heels off the ground slightly. When inhaling, return upper body back to standing position and land the back heels back to the ground. Repeat 21 times. To finish the exercise, stand in upright position and raise your arms from the side. Bend and extend the arms 7 times.

Again, please see how our friendly Mr. Bruce Wen demonstrate these two stances and explain things in English. Remember, Mr. Wen's version might be slightly different from the version I translated.

This concludes the entire Twelve Stances of the Yi-Jin-Jing. The following video shows a different flavor of the Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing demonstrated by a Shaolin monk in one smooth continuous form.

Video of the Day:

A National Geography documentary on the subject of Shaolin Kung Fu.

The Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing (The Tendon-Altering Sutra) Part 5

The Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing (The Tendon-Altering Sutra) Part 4

第九式青龙探爪

接上式，左脚回收于右脚内侧，成立正姿势。 左臂屈肘收回于左腰间。 同时右肘微屈，吸气，上体向左扭腰转体，右手向体前探爪抓去，并吐气发出“嘘”声，此时要求腰腹放松。 右手回收，向左46度方向做第二次探爪，再收回向左90度方向做第三次探爪。 然后，头带动躯干沿逆时针方向转动一小周，右手随之书一小圆（上图）。 两眼随右爪瞭望，如寻食状。 每次探爪均发出“嘘”声。 探爪时右臂一伸一缩，身体随之转后。 然后右手收回腰间，左手以同样动作向右探爪（下图）。

9^th Stance: Green Dragon Waving Its Claws

Continue from the last stance. Retract left foot back next to the right foot in an Attention position (like in military drills). Bend the left elbow and retract left arm next to the left side of the waist. Meanwhile, bend the right elbow slightly, inhale, turn the upper torso to the left, reach forward with the right hand in a dragon claw, exhale and make a “Shu” sound. Remember to relax the waist and abdomen for this stance. Retract the right hand back and then reach out the second time 46 degrees to the left with a dragon claw. Retract again and then reach out a third time 90 degrees to the left. Next, let the head lead the torso and make a small circular movement counterclockwise. Then make a circular movement with the right hand (see upper figure). Glance following the left claw hand as if hunting for preys. Make the “Shu” sound each time when reaching out with the claw hand. Extend and retract the right arm when executing the dragon claw. Turn your body afterwards. Then retract right hand back to the waist side and reach out with the left hand in dragon claw to the right (see lower figure).

第十式卧虎捕食

接上式，左臂回收于腹前，右脚向右跨一步，同时向右转体90度，上体顺势前倾，两掌手心向右前方下扑，如卧虎捕食。 此时两掌落地，成右弓步，昂首环视（上图）。 然后以双手手指支撑全身重量，左腿屈膝成90度，左脚抬离地面，脚心朝上﹔两臂一伸一屈，身体上下起伏。 做三至五次。 而后两手离地，手心翻向上，体向左后转180度，两手掌再翻向下，再做卧虎捕食动作，唯方向相反（下图）。

10^th Stance: Crouching Tiger Hunting for Prey

Continue from the last stance. Retract the left arm back to the stomach. Take a step to the right with the right foot and at the same time turn 90 degrees to the right. Lean the upper body forward following the natural flow of the movement and pounce forward with both palms facing down like how a crouching tiger pounces on its prey. Both palms should reach the ground while the legs are in a right front stance. Raise your head and look around (see upper figure). Next use fingers from both hands to support your entire body weight. Bend the left knee to 90 degrees and lift the left foot off the ground and turn the bottom of the foot upward. One arm should be in extended position while the other one is bent. Shift your body up and down for three to five times. Then raise both hands with palms facing upward and turn your body 180 degrees to the left. Turn the palms to face downward again and execute the crouching timer pouncing on prey move, only in opposite direction (see lower figure).

In the video below you can see our friendly Mr. Bruce Wen demonstrating these two stances and explain in English. Remember, Mr. Wen's version might be slightly different from the version I translated.

The Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing (The Tendon-Altering Sutra) Part 6


Picture of the Day: 

Although my 6-year old daughter Adeline has never learned the Tendon-Altering Sutra, although she is only a white belt, she certainly knows how to throw a beautiful kick!

10 Famous Thought Experiments That Just Boggle Your Mind Part 1

I ran into an interesting article in a forum (original in Chinese) that talked about 10 very famous thought experiments in the fields of philosophy, ethics, and psychology. Since I am getting a Doctor degree in Philosophy (hopefully), and also because I strongly believe these type of questions and experiments are very related in the research of artificial intelligence, I thought I'd share these with you together with my thoughts on the subject. Hope you enjoy!

10. The Trolley Problem

The trolley problem is a well known thought experiment in ethics, first introduced by Philippa Foot, a British philosopher. Trolley is the British term for a tram. The problem goes like this:

A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you could flip a switch, which will lead the trolley down a different track to safety. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that track. Should you flip the switch or do nothing?

A common answer takes the utilitarianism approach where flipping the switch becomes the obvious option because saving five lives result in a higher utility than saving just one life. But critics of the utilitarianism believe that flipping the switch constitutes a participation in the moral wrong, making one partially responsible for the death when otherwise the mad philosopher would be the sole culprit. An alternative view believes that inactivity under such a circumstance is also unethical. The bottom line: whatever you do, it is unethical. You are doomed either way.

It is reasonable to guess that your choice might vary if the single person happen to be your kid and the group of five consisted of four complete strangers plus your mother-in-law. In that case, you are simply assigning different utility values to different people (with the possibility of a negative utility). You no longer assume all people are equal. And if the group of five also included two other kids of yours, you simply assign the utility values and do the math and then make the "logical" decision (man, I am so cruel here!). This reminded me of a famous darn question people always get asked: if both your mother and your wife fall into the river and neither one knows how to swim, who should you save first? If you ever are asked this question, here's one answer you could use:

I'll jump into the river and drown myself, and we'll all go to heaven together. Now are you satisfied?

When it comes to artificial intelligence, a lot of times the choice is made based on a utility computation. Maybe the utility is computed using some fancy statistical functions. More advanced algorithms might take into consideration of probability or utility functions derived from past observations. Even more advanced algorithms might allow the agent to dynamically change or evolve the utility functions as time progresses -- a sense of learning. The agent will simply compute the utility values following whatever formulas it comes up with and then choose the option that will result with the highest utility. This is why AI agents or robots are normally considered to be very logical and at the same time very inhuman.It would be a long time before an AI agent would find itself trapped in this moral dilemma. (Remember the big computer in the movie War Games? It eventually figured out that the best winning strategy of playing the game of Tic-tac-toe was to not play the game at all).

So how would you design the AI agent or robot to be able to deal with morality, especially when you are giving it a weapon and grant it the permission to fire the weapon? Even we humans don't have clear clues in situations like in the Trolley Problem. Can we expect or require the agent or robot to do better than us? Unfortunately no one knows the right answer at the present time, we can only learn from our mistakes. Let's hope these mistakes are not disastrous and recoverable.

[Update on 8/2/2019]

Ten years have passed since I first posted this blog article. Today, many "self-driving" cars are already running on our roads (have you noticed those napping drivers in Teslas right next to you?), and there are only more to come with VCs and auto makers pouring money into this field. Now the Trolly Problem is becoming as real as it can be. When a self-driving car is faced with the dilemma of making a choice between killing the person on the left or four persons on the right, or even worse, when it needs to decide if it should sacrifice you, the passenger, in order to save four pedestrians, how would you feel about its logical choice? What if you are not the passenger, but the pedestrian, instead? Don't ask me. I don't have an answer.

Read Part 2: The Gettier Problem


Picture of the Day:

You can go here to see more animated portraits like this one.

BTW: The easiest way to remember my blog address is http://lanny.lannyland.com

Lanny's 2012 New Year Resolutions

First of all, Happy New Year to you all! Wish you all a very productive year ahead of you!!

Well, it's that time of the year again -- time to make a new list of new year resolutions. So what are you putting on your list this year? But before you start, maybe it's a good idea to pause for a minute and think how well you did with your resolutions in the past year.

One thing is for sure, the year of 2011 went by too quickly!! There were many things I wanted to finish but didn't. I am still working on my dissertation and there are still a lot left to be done. I didn't translate as much as I wanted and I also didn't post as many blogs as I had hoped. But the good thing is that I did translate some and I also did post some blogs. =) I also designed the robot I want to build and bought most of the parts. Still need to put them together and write some code to drive that thing. Let's hope that gets completed this year!

There are two very different methods of achieving success. One method is to really lower your expectations. For example, the Mars Rovers were only expected to work for 90 days, and now 6 years later, they are still working. What a great success. The other method is to set really high goals, and then even if you only accomplish a portion of what you set out to do, you would have already accomplished a lot. You'll probably find both methods applied in my new year resolutions.

Anyway, here's the resolution list for this year:

1. I will try my best to go to bed before midnight every day.
Maybe not getting enough sleep every day resulted in low performance and low efficiency. I'll make sure I get 7 hours of sleep each day this year! I also need more sleep because I'll be exercising more this year and I need the sleep to rejuvenate. (Method 2)

2. I will graduate before the world ends.
It has already been 5 years since I started grad school. Time is running out since my advisor's funding, my personal funding, and the world (according to the Mayan calendar) will all end soon. So I am DETERMINED to get my PhD before the world ends!! (Method 1)

3. I still hope I can post two blogs each day.
I actually started many drafts. The key is to complete them and publish! (Method 2)

4. I still plan to translate one page each day.
I actually translated quite a bit last year. Just didn't post them all because I wanted to mix robot related posts with translation related posts. I'll still try to stick to this plan this year! (Method 2)

It's 23 minutes past midnight already. Doh!! I better go to bed now! Wish you all have a great New Year Resolutions List and with you all stick to it!!



Video of the Day:

A great way to strength your lower back. Wish you a very healthy 2012! (And just love this mafia accent!)

The Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing (The Tendon-Altering Sutra) Part 4

The Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing (The Tendon-Altering Sutra) Part 3

第七式九鬼拔马刀

接上式，两臂分开成侧平举，手心向上。 然后右臂屈肘，右手至头后，腰略弯，头略左摆，食指中指第一关节夹住左耳垂，食指微提，中指微下压，并轻轻向右牵拉。 同时左肘弯曲，左手背贴背部上移于两肩胛之间，尽力上抬，手指向上，并向左转体；微屈膝，低头看右脚背。 而后身体慢慢恢复原势， ​​头左转向后看（左图）。 定式后约静立半分钟。 反方向再仿一次（右图）。

7^th Stance: Nine Ghosts Drawing the Saber

Continue from the last stance. Open your arms and move to the side at should height with the palms facing up. Then bend the right arm and reach your right hand behind your head. Bend your waist slightly and lean your head to the left slightly. Use the first joint of the index finger and the middle finger to grip the left earlobe. Lift gently with the index finger while pushing down gently with the middle finger and pull gently to the right. At the same time bend the left elbow and place the back of your left hand upward so it is between the two shoulders. Raise your left hand as high as possible. Point the fingers upward and turn your body left. Bend knees slightly and look down at the top of the right foot. Then slowly return body to the original position. Turn your head to the left and look behind your shoulder (see left figure). After completing the stance stand still for about half a minute. Then perform and stance in opposite direction once (see right figure).

第八式三盘落地

接上式，左脚向左跨一步，两脚尖外撇。 两臂侧平举，掌心向下。 而后两腿弯曲成骑马蹲裆势，同时两掌下按，与膝齐平。 然后两臂外旋，两手翻为仰掌，两腿同时缓缓伸直站立，两臂随之慢慢上抬成侧平举。 下按时呼气，意念两掌心，如按浮木﹔上抬时吸气，仿佛两掌心放有重物。 反覆做三至五次。

8^th Stance: Three Bases Dropping to the Ground

Continue from the last stance. Take a step left with the left foot and point the feet outward. Hold your arms out flat at the side of the body at shoulder height with palms facing down. Then squat down into a horse stance and pushing downward with both palms at the same time until they are at knee height. Then rotate both arms outward and turn both palms to face up. Slowly straighten both legs to stand up at the same time and naturally raise both arms so they are flat at the side of the body. Exhale when pushing down and set your mind on the center of the two palms as if you were pushing down floating logs in water. Inhale when raising the palms as if there were heavy objects inside the two palms. Repeat three to five times.

Again our friendly Mr. Bruce Wen happily demonstrates the two stances for you and explains what each  stance is good for. If he is right, then it is recommended that you perform these two stances at a location where a convenient restroom is nearby. Remember, Mr. Wen's version might be slightly different from the version I translated.

The Twelve Stances of Yi-Jin-Jing (The Tendon-Altering Sutra) Part 5


Picture of the Day:

 I wanted to check out Google's new 3D trip planner so I searched for driving directions from Orem, UT to China. It's really interesting that Google Map suggested "Kayak across the Pacific Ocean", and it only estimated 14 days and 5 hours for this feat! I figured that I might have a slight chance of accomplishing that if I can fully master the 12 stances of Tendon-Altering Sutra! LOL!

Seven Weapons - Longevity Sword: Chapter 2 (1)

Chapter 2: Palace of White Jade in Heaven

ONE

Bai Yujing^[1] was not in heaven, but on a horse.

His saddle was almost completely worn out; same goes with his boots and the scabbard of his sword. However, his clothes were brand new.

The scabbard dangled loosely against the saddle as the spring breeze gently stroked his face.

He was very cheerful and very comfortable.

The aged saddle was very comfortable for sitting; the well-worn boots felt very comfortable on his feet; the old scabbard would never cause damage to the sharp edge of his sword; new clothes always put him in high spirits and feel vigorous and energetic.

What he was most cheerful about, however, were not these things, but that pair of eyes.

In the horse-drawn carriage in front of him, a pair of charming eyes had been peeking at him all the time. This was not the first time he saw those eyes. He could still remember the first time when he saw those eyes. It was inside a small inn in a small town.

He had just entered the inn when she walked by and bumped into him.

Her lovely smile was filled with shyness and embarrassment, and her face was as red as the rain-soaked sunset.

He secretly hoped that she would bump into him again, because she was really a very attractive lady while he was really not a hypocritical gentleman.

The second time when he saw her, it was inside a small restaurant. He had just begun his third drink when she walked in. As soon as she recognized him, she hung her head with the sweetest smile.

The sweet smile was still filled with shyness and embarrassment.

At that time he smiled too, because he knew she would not have smiled again and again had she bumped into another person. He also knew that he was not an unattractive man, which he had always been very confident with.

Therefore even though he left first, he did not hurry with his journey.

As expected, her carriage had caught up with him by now, but did this happen by chance or by purpose? He was a rover who enjoyed wandering the world. Along his journeys, he had met all kinds of people.

Among them were red-bearded barbarians who roamed the grasslands outside of the Great Wall and heavily-armored cavalries who galloped the great deserts. There were also ill-tempered outlaws that would slaughter at the slightest argument, as well as young and daring champions of Martial World chivalry.

The endless wandering gradually worn his saddle and scabbard, and his beard grew thick and stiff.

But his life was always fresh and colorful.

He could never foresee in the next part of his journal what things might happen or what kind of people he would meet.

The spring breeze gradually grew chilly, and a misty spring shower suddenly spilled off the spring clouds, moisturizing his new spring outfits.

The carriage ahead of him halted. As he rode closer, he found that the curtains had already been rolled up and that pair of charming eyes gazed at him intently.

The charming eyes, a shy smile, a lovely face untouched by makeup, and a dress as vivid as the violet twilight made up a breathtaking scene.

She pointed at her delicate feet, then at his newly wetted clothes, her slender fingers as pretty as the scallions of the spring season.

He pointed at himself, then at the carriage.

She nodded, and then with a charming smile, opened the door.

The interior of the carriage was cozy and dry. The silky seat covers were as smooth as her skin.

He dismounted his horse and stepped up into the carriage.

The spring shower was tender and intimate – it rained just at the right time.

In spring time, the Heavenly Lord seemed to be very fond of arranging intriguing occasions to bring together fine people in fortuitous encounters.

There was neither the slightest bit of awkwardness, nor unnecessary words, as though it was his destiny to meet her and his destiny to sit in this carriage.

Along a lonesome journey and between a pair of lonesome travelers, no one could object to their cross of paths.

Just when he thought of wiping the rain drops off his face with his sleeve, she handed him a handkerchief of soft, red silk.

He gazed at her, but she hung her head to play with a corner of her dress.

“You’re welcome.”

“My name is Bai, Bai Yujing.”

She let out a charming smile and then chanted gently.

“A palace of white jade in heaven,

Has pavilions five and castles a dozen,

Where the deity stroked my pate and coiled up my hair,

And blessed me longevity as my welfare.”

“You like Li Bai^[2] too?” He smiled as well.

She entangled the corner of her dress to her slender fingers and began to recite in a low, lengthened voice.

“On the mountain of Lao by the east sea,

I once savored the violet twilight carefree,

Where I met the legendary immortal Elder An Qi^[3],

Who shared with me melon-sized fruits of jujube.

Only as a middle-aged man I called on his Majesty,

Failing my aspiration I return home despondently.

My once youthful face had withered in the spring sun,

And the graying of hair in life had inevitably begun.

I crave the golden elixir of eternity,

And to ride the carriage of clouds in serenity.

Up the heavenly terrace I follow the elder in pleasure,

To sweep fallen petals with the celestial at leisure.^[4]”

Her voice had a slight pause at the mentioning of the mountain of Lao.

“Miss Lao?” Bai Yujing guessed.

Her head bowed even lower, and a soft voice replied, “Yuan Zixia^[5].”

Suddenly the sound of galloping hooves echoed as three horses raced past the carriage, and three pair of sharp eyes glanced over the inside of the carriage.

As the horses sprinted forward, the last rider suddenly leapt off his saddle in a back flip and landed on Bai Yujing’s saddle twenty feet away. With a tap of his tiptoe, he hooked the scabbard that hung from the saddle and caught it with his hand.

The three horses suddenly turned around, and with another swift flip, the man returned to his own saddle at ease.

Only moments later, the three riders had disappeared into the hazy mist of shower, no longer to be seen.

“They stole your sword!” Yuan Zixia exclaimed, her beautiful eyes widening.

Bai Yujing only replied with a grin.

“You just watch them taking away your belongings and not do anything about it?” asked Yuan Zixia.

Bai Yujing grinned again.

“I heard that in the Martial World some people hold their sword as dearly as their own lives,” Yuan Zixia bit her lips and said.

“I am not that kind of person,” replied Bai Yujing.

Yuan Zixia sighed softly as if she was slightly disappointed.

Are there young girls who didn’t adore heroes? If you fight others to death for the sake of a sword, they might think of you as a fool, or they might even shed tears for you.

But if you simply watch it happen when others take away your sword, they would undoubtedly be very disappointed.

“Do you know much about the Martial World?” Bai Yujing looked at her and grinned once again.

“Not much. But I like hearing stories and watching with my own eyes.”

“Is that why you left home all by yourself?”

Yuan Zixia nodded and began toying with the corner of her dress once again.

“Fortunately you have not seen much; otherwise you’d for sure be disappointed.”

“Why is that?”

“Things you see are never as beautiful as the stories you hear.”

Yuan Zixia wanted to ask more, but then refrained from the urge.

Right then, sound of galloping hooves suddenly filled the air again. The three riders that had zoomed by them returned.

The leading rider suddenly leaned backward toward the side and extended his arm. In the next instant, he had gently returned the scabbard back to its former place alongside the saddle.

The other two riders bowed slightly with cupped hands[6], and moments later, all three disappeared into the hazy mist yet again.

Yuan Zixia’s eyes widened from the shock and excitement.

“They brought your sword back!”

Bai Yujing grinned.

“You knew they were going to bring it back?” Yuan Zixia blinked.

Bai Yujing grinned again.

“They seemed to be afraid of you!” Yuan Zixia gazed at him, her eyes glowed with enthusiasm.

“Afraid of me?”

“Your…your sword must have killed many people!” Yuan Zixia exclaimed, her voice trembled from excitement.

“Do I look like someone who has killed before?” Bai Yujing asked.

“Not really,” Yuan Zixia had to admit.

“I didn’t think so either.”

“But why are they afraid of you?”

“Maybe they are afraid of you, not me!”

“Me? Why would they be afraid of me?” Yuan Zixia giggled.

“One smile can crumple a city, and a second smile can crumple a kingdom^[7]! Even the sharpest sword is no match for a beauty’s smile,” Bai Yujing exclaimed.

Yuan Zixia’s smile became even sweeter. Eyes winking, she asked, “Are you…are you afraid of me?”

Her eyes seemed to be suddenly radiating with irresistible power, as though she had just posed a challenge for him.

“I guess you wouldn’t take no for an answer!” Bai Yujing heaved a sigh.

“If you are afraid of me, shouldn’t you do as I say?” Yuan Zixia bit her lips again.

“Naturally!” replied Bai Yujing.

“Good! Then I want you to have a drink with me,” Yuan Zixia commanded with a pretty smile blooming on her face.

“You can drink?” Bai Yujing was caught by surprise.

“Do I look like someone who can drink?”

“You do!” Bai Yujing answered with another sigh.

He had no choice but to admit, because he knew very well whether it was drinking or killing, one could never tell who’s good at it just from his or her looks.

---

[1] “Bai Yujing” means palace of white jade, the same words used in the first line of the poem at the beginning of chapter 1.

[2] Li Bai (701-762), a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, the author of the poem recited here.

[3] An Qi (nicknamed Thousand-Year-Old Elder) was a Taoism philosopher during the Qin (221-207 BC) and Han (202 BC-220 AD) eras. He was said to have become a celestial after taking some potion he had made himself. He was a very important figure in history because he set the example of becoming a celestial from taking magical pills.

[4] Another poem by Li Bai and my pathetic attempt at translating it.

[5] “Zixia” means violet twilight in Chinese. In the original poem in Chinese, the phrase “mountain of Lao” was right next to the phrase “violet twilight”, hence, the wrong guess on Bai Yujing’s part.

[6] A traditional way of greeting in Chinese culture.

[7] Excerpts of a poem describing the beauty of Madam Li, sister of the poet Li Yannian, who later became the imperial concubine of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). The story about the power of a beauty’s smile came from a real historical event. During the ruling of Emperor You of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771BC), the imperial concubine Bao Si never smiled. In order to make his lover smile, Emperor You followed the advice from his minister and lit the war signal fire used to summon warlords to protect the empire from the northern barbarians. The chaos created by the many armies hurrying in did make the imperial concubine smile, but also angered the many warlords, so when the northern barbarians really invaded the capital a few years later, no warlord showed up to protect the capital despite the war signal fire. The emperor and his minister were both killed, which marked the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Now support the translator Lanny by following my blog and leaving comments! :)

Video of the Day:

Jet Li demonstrating on a talk show why Tai-Chi is more than an old-men exercise.