Moz is cool!

Mozilla firefox is cool! I know this is late but I just got around tinkering with Firefox 2.0 and its open source add-ons. The previous 1.5 that I used to use was good enough already but this new(actually rather old) release is totally superb! With added security, smoother GUI and browsing features, this browser really blows IE away to the next dimension in cyberspace. Currently using a iTunes-inspired theme and Greasemonkey script together with Videodownloader. Watch this vid as Firefox pwns IE Netscape and safari http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbqUvZ1Ja84
and also viruses spyware and popups
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwiiU4OEUpM
Haha retarded stuff.

I have been downloading scanlations from the net within these two days. (For the less initated, they are scanned copies of japanese comics - manga, that are translated by the online communities) All this happened because something random that my old friend Ray had said popped up in my mind out of the blue: I went to Borders today and read some comics. Chobits. Its kinda weird with robots and all that.
I couldn't remember when he said that, but it must have been at least 2+ years ago. Anyway I was kind of bored at that time so I decided to go online just to download this manga, all 88 chapters of it.

This manga is a Clamp/xxx-holic series I believe, and its about a world(probably our near future) with mass-produced appliances called persocoms. These are humanoid computers, artificial intelligence, that interact with and serve humans and are also their companions. They are designed to be as human-looking as possible, so much so that some even fall in love or prefer them over humans. Its actually comprised of a lot of crap of one custom-made persocom falling in love with a human and vice versa, though the persocom has a powerful program that could shut down the entire computer systems and networks in the world(impossible) if she does not find her "person just for her", in other words her perfect lover. The plot is lame. What struck me is the purpose of living portrayed in this manga. The possibility of getting too attached to a machine is very real. Imagine one that looks, feels, behaves and speaks exactly like a normal person. Though equipped with the knowledge that the subject is made of semiconductors encased in silicon and plastic, the characters exclaim in the comic that their persocoms are not simply machines. They are simply what they are, and the characters like them for what they are. It seems that persocoms are programmed to assist and bring happiness to their masters. If you look into yourself, you notice that you would do your best to bring happiness to yourself. If not, you also bring happiness to others, indirectly also to yourself.

Our emotional(and indirectly, mental) wellbeing hinges on this chemical reaction alone, or endorphins that control the "blesssed state" you go into. Without joy, a person would either become miserable till he is pushed into mental instability or collapse totally in life. That is why it is only natural for people to seek happiness, even if doing so unconsciously. If, as shown in the manga, persocoms really are able to provide the user happiness, then I think it would be inevitable for users to become encased in the world involving only them and their persocoms. The persocom, in a sense, is the ultimate human, as it never errs or cause a negative impact on the user. That is why it is worse than the worst drug, increasing the dependency of the user on itself day by day, eventually leading the user to cut off from the outside world completely. Society would be restructured and everyone would simply be content staying at home together with the persocom they love. Is this the purpose of life? To be happy? If you say one cannot buy happiness, one can still purchase things that create happiness can they not? Society is what it is today because of interaction, no matter digital or person-to-person. Even now most of us already cannot live without the electronics and digital media we have today. What if one day your computer transforms into your ideal "human"? You will be able to do all that you are able to before and in addition, get to be with an imitation of a human, if not one that is even better.

Have you ever thought of the purpose of life? What is your purpose in life? By common sense, one's purpose in life would never be one that is to intentionally destroy oneself. Would you get up one day and decide that you should sneak into the army base and frag yourself down? Or put in your entire life's savings on sinking stocks and mess your financial status up? One would surely aim for a goal in life that would ultimately give oneself happiness. This statement does not conflict with either religion or business. For religious people (eg. christians), their purpose in life is to follow the Bible and spread the gospel. This is fulfilling God's will and they get satisfied or otherwise, happy. People whose goals are to climb the corporate ladder and gain success in life financially also aim to be happy. Even criminals act without regard of law as they feel that doing so would give them a better life/euphoria (drug trafficking etc)

Isnt the purpose in life tied strongly with personal happiness? So if you ask me the purpose of life, I'd say it is living the best you can.