Archive for July, 2007
西方寺 - 彌陀佛七
July 21, 2007 5:03 pmNew HTPC
July 11, 2007 10:52 amSince the computer at home (HK) has been 5 years old now and all the DVD players and recorders are out of order, we have decided to get a HTPC. It’s cheaper and more fun to put together one myself and that’s what we did. There is no need for the best components out there, the priority was
- cost -> space -> performance
After looking at what was available in the Mong Kok Computer Center, the following components were picked:
- 2thMax 7GJ3
- Nice case, very small, came with a power supply and cooling was good
- Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2160
- Asus P5L-VM 1394
- Should have got a more experience one which support DDR2 800 but nevermind
- ADATA 2GB DDR2 800 (1GB x 2)
- Cheap!
- 啟視錄 E500 (Compro) TV card
- Support everything we need + Remote + schedule power on function
- Logitech EX111
- Cordless keyboard & mouse, valuable and good for normal use
- Grandmars ATI x1550 - 128 DDR2 - PCIE
- Lower end - enough for normal use
- LG 18x DVDRW - SATA
- Hitachi 160GB - 7200rpm HD
- from the old computer
All these comes to a total of around $3700 HKD, not much problem while putting it together except that I have cut the metal part of the grahics card to fit it in this low-profile case. Installed Windows XP and the program that comes with the TV card, i.e. ComproDTV, ComproDVD, ComproFM and scheduler. It is a lot faster than my Toshiba Tecra S1 in all aspects!
Out of all the components, I’m most happy with the case, I did look at many cases but most of them are very expensive and aren’t small enough. Could have gone for a barebone from shuttle but it’s generally too expensive. Other HTPC cases are usually a lot more expensive where this one is only $500 including the PSU. You can also choose to have it standing up-right or sideway too.
五台山
July 8, 2007 4:24 pmI’m very lucky this time to get to visit Wu Tai Shan 五台山 with the whole family, it will be extermely hard once I start working. Wutai Shan is one of the Four Sacred Mountains in Chinese Buddhism. (Wiki) I wanted to visit the moutain after visitng Jiu Hua Shan, but it was quite difficult since this line is not very popular for and not many HK travel agent do it. This was made easier with a relatively new travel agent called SIG Holiday, we were quite happy with them, everything was well organised and very few selling points. If I get a chance, it would be nice to stay there for a week next time :).
位於我國山西五台縣東北，與峨眉山、普陀山、九華山合稱為我國佛教之四大靈山。以東、西、南、北、中五峰聳立，山頂 無林木，壘土如台，故稱五臺山。又以五巒巍然，拔乎群山，盛夏仍不知炎暑，故別號清涼山。為古來文殊菩薩示現之道場，廣受海內之信仰。華嚴經菩薩住處品及 寶藏陀羅尼經謂文殊菩薩住處為五頂，名清涼山。此為文殊信仰之由來。五台為：東台望海峰，又稱無恤台、常山頂。西台挂月峰，又稱瞢薨豆山，上有泉群山。南台 錦繡峰，又稱系舟山。北台協鬥峰，又稱夏屋山、覆宿埵。中台即翠岩峰。自北魏文帝遊中台，創建大孚圖靈鷲寺後即佛寺林立。極盛時，五峰內外佛剎多達三百餘 寺，迄今約存一百餘寺。其中以大佛光寺與顯通寺之無梁殿、銅殿著稱於世。羅侯寺、清涼寺、金閣寺、北山寺、望海寺、大文殊寺亦頗為著名。與此山有關係之名 僧很多，如：不空建金閣寺、玉華寺等，成為密教中心。法照建竹林寺，修習念佛三昧；日僧圓仁承其教法，傳至比睿山，是為引聲念佛之始。澄觀曾于大華嚴寺著 華嚴經疏。日本之入唐僧、入宋僧至此參訪者頗多。又如高麗之慈藏、罽賓之佛陀波利等皆曾登山參訪。
元 代成宗皇太后嘗建大萬聖佑國寺，並重修五台諸寺。八思巴亦曾駐此。明萬曆年間，重修大塔院寺，建護國釋迦文佛舍利塔，塔臺上築有球形之塔身，上安十三級之 相輪，塔高二十七丈，周圍二十五丈，為西藏式喇嘛塔，是山中最為壯觀之地。清康熙以後，歷代皇帝行幸不絕，捐資營修，滿蒙之佛教徒亦常至此巡塔，活佛亦屢 次巡駐。今住僧中分為青衣、黃衣兩派。青衣僧住大顯通寺、大塔院、金閣、靈境等十剎。黃衣僧為喇嘛僧，住菩薩頂、金剛窟、羅侯等十大剎。自古以來蒙古王公 每歲朝山，佈施甚厚。
