Journal of my life

Creepy

2009-10-28T06:30:00.001+08:00

Soon after my last post, this shows up on BBC:

Facebook 'memorialises' profiles:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8327607.stm

A Virtual Tombstone

2009-10-26T08:57:00.001+08:00

I visited Nian Ning’s Facebook page a moment ago, a friend who died in a bus accident early last year.

I thought it was interesting to see that her FB page has relatively recent comments on it. In fact, there is one every week or two. Friends, still missing her, left comments on her page: birthday wishes, expressions of lost, photo tags, shout outs, even virtual kisses (kinda creepy when you think about it).

It was as if that her FB account has been converted into a virtual tombstone where her friends can come and leave flowers, and mourn over her lost. I wonder if she receives private messages too.

She may not post status updates anymore, but the bubbly girl lives on in cyberspace.

*sigh*

Rest in peace, Nianz.

Books

2009-08-17T08:21:00.001+08:00

This was originally written as a tag on Facebook. The idea is to list 15 books that I’ve “read that will always stick with (me)”, and do it in 15 minutes. Obviously I’ve cheated on both parameters…

I’ve decided to post it here, with one addition to the list which I have read after the original posting was made.

===== Start =====

In no particular order:

1. Space Encyclopedia, by Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-encyclopedia-Dorling-Kindersley-Publishing/dp/0751354139

My aunt bought me this book. That was in 2000 (I think...) and I saw it in a shop selling, amongst other stuff, space food and chemistry kits. I should be thankful, it costs a bomb in Malaysian money. But by now, I've gone through it so many times that it has taken quite a bit of damage.

The book in an illustrated encyclopedia, covering what we know about the cosmos, how have we come to know it to be so, and what the future holds for us in the heavens above. Each topic is covered in a very graphic 2-page spread, mixing stunning images (sometimes weird too, such as the one where an astronaut gets too close to a black hole and gets spaghettified), simple language, and depth.

A lot of what I know about the cosmos comes from this book.

2. Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Storm-Rising-Tom-Clancy/dp/042510107X

What is it like, to watch not just one battle on an isolated battlefield, but the whole theatre of operations?

This book is about a hypothetical WWIII, where a desperate and oil-strapped Soviet Union politically divides NATO and disables their nuclear arsenal, invades Germany so that they can invade the Mid-Eastern oil fields later without US interference.

It takes readers through the sneaky special operations, brazen air raids, frantic defences against a swarm of cruise missiles, the nerve-wrecking submarine warfare, the relentless tank charges, the steadfast defences, and even a coup de tat. Seriously, this conflict is immense. It takes place in the Atlantic, on Iceland, and of course, Germany. Air, sea, and land, all vividly described. Its frightening sometimes.

Fortunately, the Cold War ended before anything remotely similar happened. Funny how the author rightly predicted the vulnerability of combat helicopters and effectiveness of dedicated ground attack aircraft, well before the former was demonstrated in Afghanistan and the latter in Desert Storm.

The only thing I can't stand about this book is the out-of-place romance... I can think of better places to be woo-ing girls than while dodging helicopter patrols in Iceland's mountains for days.

3. Addicted to War: Why the US Can't Kick Militarism by Joel Andreas
http://www.addictedtowar.com/bookpreview.html

You can actually read this book at the link above.

This is a comic journal about US militarism, the close links between the US government and the defence industry (too close for comfort), and the socio-economic cost of a perpetual state of war for the US and the rest of the world.

4. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks
http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Survival-Guide-Complete-Protection/dp/1400049628

I've got the e-Book version of this.

Its a spoof of survival manuals, army manuals, and works of that genre... complete with line drawings and even a section dedicated to the differences between "real" zombies and Hollywood zombies. Yup, never trust Hollywood anymore that you believe in faeries! Ever!

Although the subject matter is supposed to be scary, the writing style is actually quite humorous. Dead pan humour, some might call it. The book starts out describing a fictitious virus and its effects on its victims, how to kill it, how to deal with an outbreak (run!), how to live in a zombie-infested world if we lose, and finally the "recorded attacks". It is so well written (especially the last part) that some people thought it was real. This makes me wonder how gullible can people get.

Perhaps because it feels so real, the author will be releasing a comic version of the "recorded attacks" in 2 months or so. I wonder how many people will fall for it this time.

Why is it on this list? I thought its interesting so consider an alternative history, even if a zombie would be essentially a perpetual motion machine (means: impossible according to known laws of physics). Consider a whole other reality, what would life be like? Hmm... I didn't think that a semi-automatic carbine firing tiny bullets would actually be that effective, I was thinking along the lines of multiple machine gun nests with interlocking fields of fire, but this book argues against it. Hmm... food for thought.

5. & 6. Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things Vol. 1 and 2 by Amir Muhammad
http://www.amazon.com/Malaysian-Politicians-Say-Darndest-Things/dp/9834359608
http://www.amazon.com/Malaysian-Politicians-Say-Darndest-Things/dp/9834359667

"When one is short, one should stand on a box to get a better view. The Twin Towers is to our ego what the box is to the shorties"

-- Dr. Mahathir Muhamad

Yup, get this and more! Its sometimes witty, sometimes stupid, but always funny! (at least until you remember that you live in Malaysia too)
ROFL... wth. Anyway, I can't wait for volume 3.

7. In Good Faith by Zaid Ibrahim
http://www.mph.com.my/search/nsearch.cfm?do=detail&pcode=9834352107

In a series of articles, some published before and some not, former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim details what went wrong with the Malaysian democracy, and what it takes to fix it. I wonder how would this book look like if it was published post-March 8 though.

8. Journalism: Investigation and Research by Stephen Tanner (ed.)
http://www.pearson.com.au/Catalogue/TitleDetails.aspx?isbn=073399931X

How do you go about digging out stuff people want to hide? Where do you even get started? What are the ethical issues involved? This book talks about all the issues involved, and even has first hand accounts of journalist's getting the story of their time. Political corruption, miscarriage of justice, cover-ups... ect.

Unfortunately, this being an Australian book, some of the lessons do not apply here. For example, we don't have a Freedom of Information Act to work with, we get its evil twin the Official Secrets Act instead. Still, I think some lessons will still come in handy.

9. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
http://www.amazon.com/God-Delusion-Richard-Dawkins/dp/0618918248

For the early part of my life, I was somewhere between a nonreligious Buddhist and an outright nonbeliever. Even when my grandfather passed away, I prayed only for social and cultural reasons. Not even for a moment that I believe I was making the afterlife easier for him. He's just gone, just a legacy and a series of fond memories.

This is probably the only instance where I know about an author before coming across his book. Ok, maybe the first of very few instances.

It was a talk broadcasted on TED.com, on "militant atheism". I can agree with him on many points. Even before then, I suspected that most, if not all, religions have a less-than-divine origin. Besides, the idea of sending non-believing but otherwise perfectly nice person to Hell seems to be very incompatible with the notion of a compassionate God. Megalomaniac seems to be a more appropriate description. Buddhism is a lot more "benign", that's about it. But why spoil a nice dream for everyone to get a few extremist?

When I read this book, I understood why. It also provided evidence for some of my earlier suspicions. It was probably the single most intellectually uplifting moment I ever had.

10. What We Believe but Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty by John Brockman
http://www.amazon.com/What-Believe-but-Cannot-Prove/dp/0060841818

Quite a start contrast with the last book isn't it? lol.
It asks the following question:

Great minds can sometimes guess the truth before they have either the evidence or arguments for it. (Diderot called it having the 'esprit de divination'.) What do you believe is true, even though you cannot prove it?

This question was directed to over a hundred of the most eminent thinkers of our time. Seemingly to make things more interesting, almost all of them work in the empirical world where everything needs to be clearly demonstrated.

I must say I was quite annoyed when I found out in the preface that this question was posed online. Indeed, you can read it ALL, plus the questions asked before and after this one, here:
http://www.edge.org/questioncenter.html

*sob*.

I shall take consolation that I can easily read this at a bus station without doing terrible slaughter on my laptop's meagre 3-hour battery life. In any case, its good food for thought.

11. Mastering Digital Photography by Michael Freeman
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Digital-Photography-Michael-Freeman/dp/1905814429

I paid RM174.75 for this damn book, so it'd better be on this list rawr! lol, insufficient justification dissonance alert.

This book is the biggest one on this list (when airborne, its momentum can kill), and covers many aspects of digital photography. Not so much on the digital part - the focus is on photography. Colour harmonies, composition... ect. The shortcoming is, despite the sheer size of this monster, it fails to describe some aspects in sufficient detail.

12. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
http://www.amazon.com/Publication-Manual-American-Psychological-Association/dp/1433805618

(wtf? 6th edition already?!)

Also known as the APA style manual. This book basically dictates how I write my assignments at present. Everything from the font to the overall "look" of the paper. Heck, it even states that I should use a paper clip instead of a staple, although the lecturer thinks that's just going too far.

13. Lies, Damned Lies, and Science: How to Sort Through the Noise Around Global Warming, the Latest Health Claims, and Other Scientific Controversies by Sherry Seethaler
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Damned-Science-Scientific-Controversies/dp/0137155220

Master the art of baloney detection!

I don’t know if journalists are ignorant, plain lazy or are just trying too hard to sell news, but they get science stuff wrong quite often. Malaysian journalists are probably among the worst of the lot – bunk never seems to get corrected or debunked in the same paper. Try to spot-the-not here, published on one of Malaysia’s finest paper (won several SOPA awards for its investigative work):

http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=28132

The article is somewhat old (at the very least, more recent ones do exist), but for some reason I just love to use it as an example when talking about such things.

This book is about how science REALLY works (prepare to abandon your ~~science textbooks~~ recipe + trivia books), understand what scientists are really saying, common ways used to deceive people, and how to tease the issue apart. I hope you are used to seeing things for what they are and not in black and white, because you will appreciate this skill very much halfway through this book.

The beauty of this book is not just telling people why View A (say for example, anthropogenic global warming) is correct and View B (what warming?) is not, but also how to find out for ourselves. This can be used to investigate any scientific claim, and I think the lessons learned can be applied in a wider context, such as politics. This book should really be about critical thinking than just debunking pseudoscience.

Have you found out what went wrong with the previous article yet? No? Read this:

http://www.velocity-media.net/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t21812.html

===== End =====

Phew, that’s a long post…

Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival

2009-08-16T06:44:00.001+08:00

Ilford DD-X Film Developer (1 Litre) - RM72

4 x Ilford Delta 400 B&W Film - RM68

4 x Kodak T-Max 400 B&W Film (reusable canisters) - RM42

Exchanging contacts with a printmaker - Priceless

His website:

http://www.thisismu.com/

PS:
B&W film looks really nice where it belongs: on print. The photos on that website are first printed the old-fashioned way and THEN scanned, rather than the other way ‘round.

This guy told me that he snaps more than 100 rolls of film a year. If only I can afford the time and money to do the same.

Going back to the festival today, I think I’ll buy more film.

Edit:

Ended up with 5 rolls of T-Max instead of 4.

Ops!
=x

Also, I’ve just developed one of those Delta 400 film. Due to sloppy handling (especially the drying part), I think I’ve scratched it quite a bit. Oh dear, oh dear…

Note to self:
Just hair dryer on coldest setting instead of microfiber cloth.

In Perspective

2009-08-15T08:30:00.001+08:00

Leading causes of death in Malaysia, according to statistics obtained from WHO (2002 estimates).

Numbers are in thousands, arranged from highest to lowest. Comments mine, in hopes of simplifying some medical terms:

Ischaemic heart disease 13.4 (aka heart attack)

Cerebrovascular disease 10.2 (aka stroke)

Lower respiratory infections 6.9 (aka pneumonia, usually)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 6.0 (often associated with smoking)

Hypertensive heart disease 5.6 (hypertension)

Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers 3.7 (more smokes?)

Road traffic accidents 3.5

Tuberculosis 3.4 (a lung infection, aka TB)

Nephritis and nephrosis 3.0 (kidney diseases)

Colon and rectum cancers 2.9

HIV/AIDS 2.2

Violence 2.1

Breast cancer 2.0

.

.

.

Upper respiratory infections 0.2 (such as "normal" flu)

.

.

.
Total = 119.2

Source:
http://www.who.int/entity/healthinfo/statistics/bodgbddeathdalyestimates.xls

According to the same statistics, asthma (that’s me) kills 1400 Malaysians a year. Nobody gives a damn, no calls for cleaner air, no condemnation on public smoking… indeed they just puffed away and let it go downwind towards me. Those smoking in public toilets don’t even have to try – just set the trap and that’s it. In my younger days when asthma was a more “troublesome” part of my life, I will need help to climb the stairs when I leave the toilet.

And people continue to eat like pigs, live like sloths, smoke like chimneys, drive like maniacs, screw around without condoms, beat each other to death… Hardly any complains too!

Then came H1N1/09. 56 died in this country the last time I checked. It has been 3 months since the first case, 2 months since the first local transmission and 3 weeks since the first death. The reaction was nothing short of public uproar and panic. A casual alien observer might mistake the sudden fanatical hand-washing and mask-wearing as rituals of some kind of new religion, or perhaps a new fatwa (wait, fatwas aren’t nearly as effective).

What gives?

The Bibliophile in Me

2009-08-15T07:25:00.001+08:00

I went to Kinokuniya today, the second time this month. I bought a few books and magazines, even though I haven’t finished the books from my last purchase, and the purchase before, and the purchase before…

Every time I go to KLCC, I just had to make the detour. Once I get in there, I am tempted to buy the whole bookshop.

Uhm… maybe half?

Oh dear…
I need to keep this habit in check. I’m almost spending more on books than on film. Heck I need to keep BOTH in check!

I blame the flood of assignments and lack of decent libraries =x

Written Discourse final exam is coming soon. After this I can go home, sip on tea, listen to the birds, enjoy the breeze, and read all I want ^^

Yay~

A Bit of Housekeeping

2009-07-24T04:12:00.001+08:00

There is a new addition to this blog, and I’m not referring to this post. Look left (hint: blue box) and tell me if you like it. I do =)

Special thanks to HSH for the heads-up.

PS:
Uni assignments gutted me and is currently strangling me with my own entrails, but otherwise I’m alive and well. Thank you.

A Gentle Reminder

2009-06-06T13:38:00.001+08:00

Please be informed that photography by itself is not a crime, especially one performed in public space. An exception is made if over the course of performing photography, the photographer…

Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any person, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen by such person, or intrudes upon the privacy of such person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.

--Malaysian Penal Code, S. 509

That is to say, there shall be no upskirt and bedroom shots, or anything of that nature, even from public space.

On the other hand, intimidation, trespass, detinue, damage, battery, assault, and false imprisonment... are all crimes. In addition, my right to express myself, including through the art of street photography, is protected under Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours faithfully,
Yet another annoyed photographer

Heaven and Hell

2009-05-27T18:46:00.001+08:00

According to government sources, the difference between a hunger strike and fasting is: Heaven and ~~Hell~~ jail.

That’s what I can deduce from the fasting month and yesterday’s arrests. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Oh people, please don’t burn candles too. Don’t go about the night with one (especially around those candlelight vigils), use a torchlight instead and preferably with rechargeable batteries. Our government is VERY committed to saving the environment.

Politics; the limerick

2009-05-15T12:59:00.001+08:00

What is politics but a game
A game where every mind becomes lame,

Every politician lies,
So everyone else cries

And yet they played on all the same.

~Koh Jun Lin

Perak Humour

2009-05-09T04:06:00.001+08:00

Photo credit: Malaysiakini. Text added by me.

Photo credit: Sinar Harian, via The Nut Graph. Text added by me.

Perak’s Black Thursday

2009-05-07T20:07:00.001+08:00

Today is a sad day to be a Malaysian. As a journalism student who is supposed to be good in writing, I find myself in an awkward position: I am lost for words. Maybe that’s why I am still a student.

My expansive vocabulary is of no use. Even a thesaurus is no help. All attempts to describe how I feel about what transpired in Perak came up short.

Sadness

Disgrace

Despair

Understatements, all of it.

The executive is unchecked. The judiciary is delusioned. The legislative is emasculated and more recently, subjugated. The constitution has been tampered and trampled.

The three estates (four, if you include the media) are now one. Who are our guardians now? And who watches the watcher?

But as Adam Kokesh would say:

“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”

The fight to revive democracy shall continue. And let today’s event be forever be whispered and be remembered, the horrors of absolute power.

Disclaimer:
The above is not a call to arms. There are other, often better, ways to resist BN’s tyranny.

If I’m the Prime Minister of Malaysia

2009-04-10T21:21:00.001+08:00

Hmm… what should I do?

Home Affairs

All documents produced by the current administration onwards and held in public record shall be made available on request by its citizens. Documents kept by the government produced by the prior administration will be made available in 10 years from the date I take office (this is about transparency, not a witch hunt).

The administrative cost of such requests will be fully funded by taxpayer money, up to no more than what the governments spends on pamphlets, public service announcements, and the like. The requests will be handled by an office set up for this purpose in each government agency, unless concerns of of privacy and national security outweigh the public interests served by the disclosure of the document, in which case the sensitive information will be censored or the request denied altogether.

In case a request is denied or certain information is censored, a formal letter detailing the name of the withheld document and the reasons for withholding the information must be given. If the applicant is not satisfied, he has the right to appeal in a special tribunal.

In case you’re still wondering, yes I’m talking about a Freedom of Information Act. btw, scrap OSA with immediate effect.
Repeal the Internal Security Act with immediate effect. All ISA prisoners are to be released.
All press and societies must register with the government. However, the government shall not reject or revoke any completed application.
Within 1 year, deregulate the press and set up a full-fledged press council free from government and corporate interference. Swedish style maybe. The council will also manage a trust fund, funded partially by the government, to help smaller presses remain independent.
Racial quotas of any form are scrapped, including places in public universities, civil service, companies… ect. Each person is to be judged by their own merits.
All ministers are to have their conversations recorded, transcribed and published online every day, except when they are not on duty. They are strictly forbidden to discuss affairs of the government affairs when the microphones are switched off.
Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission. Get to work in 3 months. Period.
All air-conditioned public buildings are to set their air conditioners to no less than 25 degrees Celsius, on the lowest fan speed.
All public buildings must be disabled-friendly.
Waive the requirement to report one’s “race” when filling up government documents, including the identity card.

Defence

The defence budget (what little left of it anyway, bwahahaha~) will be reoriented to emphasize on border security. Amongst the things on the shopping list are maritime patrol aircraft (both rotary and fixed wing), patrol boats, and new transport helicopters to replace the aging Nuri fleet.

No more fancy fighters and subs.

Education

In 5 years, review and revamp the education system with the aim of replacing it with one that emphasize on thought over memory, creativity over the uninspired, and debate over passivity. (Hmm… the Waldorf system looks interesting…)
Scrap the vernacular schools in favour of a single public school system.
Education is free up to the undergraduate level. That includes exercise books ect. (Cuba did it, don’t tell me we can’t)

Economy and infrastructure

Anti-trust laws. Say “no” to monopolies. I’m looking at you, TM.
Develop a recycling industry, partly funded by public money until it becomes profitable.
Develop the tourism, agriculture, and various other industries with the goal of:
- Making them less oil-dependent
- Prepare the national economy in event we become an oil importer.
Improve public transport system and provide sheltered bicycle lanes and bicycle parking areas, while simultaneously levying higher road tax.
Legalise electric bicycles, which may have a motor no more than 250W in power.
Electrify all railroads and decommission the current fleet of diesel locomotives.

Public Health

Make it a legal requirement that smokers seek consent of all those within sniffing-range before lighting up.
Subsidise the price of local vege, but not meat.

Others

Repeal Section 377 :p

All these are going to make me so damn unpopular. I mean, scrap all racial quotas and vernacular schools? In one go? xD. I’m gonna get assassinated.

Well, that’s what I can think of anyway, at least for now. So what’s on your wish list? Write it on your blog and link it here!

Why Politics?

2009-03-15T15:26:00.001+08:00

When I introduce myself as a journalism student, the subject inevitably veers towards politics sooner or later. I’m not sure if this is my own doing without realising it, or just the residual effect from the heightened socio-political awareness after last year’s general election. Nonetheless, people whom I have spoken to are also often quick to point out that they hate politics.

“Politicians are jerks!” I was told. Even when I acknowledged that as fact he’d just go on and say “Seriously! Just wait until you meet one”, as if I needed anymore convincing. Given the recent politicking and… much much more, their sentiments are quite understandable. Yet, we can’t afford to simply shut down and cave in, sheltering from the disgusting political intrigue. On the contrary, the more politicians treat their voters trivially, the more we should be aware of what they are up to.

Politics - as so eloquently described by my political science textbook - is all about “who gets what, and how”. When someone claims to represent your interests, it is vital that you keep him on a tight rein. If you are not controlling the agenda, someone else will (including the politician himself), and you’d better pray that he’s doing it for charity. Don’t complain when you wake up one morning and to find the road near your house is blocked and you have to use the tolled highway to get to work.

Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist of Stanford Prison infamy and author of the book Lucifer Effect: The Science of Good and Evil, said that “Power without oversight is a prescription for abuse.” While I doubt even the highest level of socio-political activism will put an end to self-serving politicians, I believe politicians will continue to ignore their public as long as they believe they can get away with it. Although every country, democracy or not, has its share of political intrigue, what we have here in Malaysia is uncommon. Hence, I believe our politicians should have a lot more eyes on their actions, and make sure they feel the heat at the polls.

Do this now, while we still have some semblance of democracy. Before it turns into a case of two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

-- Pastor Martin Niemöller

Politics is none of your business?
Think again.

PS: Politicians disgust me too.

Journalism and Public Relations

2009-03-03T04:15:00.001+08:00

For those of you who didn’t know (that’s probably all of you), I’m taking public relations class along with journalism class this semester. The perspective this provides has been most amusing.

Journalists often have to work with PR officers for their news. In fact if the deadline is tight, that’s all they might have: materials given by the PR officer. In the age where news circulation is plummeting and one paper after another is closing down its bureaus or even the paper altogether, this is in fact often the case. There will be little chance for second opinions, never mind things like ICIJ’s (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) year-long investigation into links between tobacco companies and smuggling operations. The few journalists who managed to keep their jobs have to cover more news in less time, and working closely with PR officers, for better or worse, is just one time-saving method.

On the other hand, PR officers rely heavily on journalists to get their message out. Nothing beats getting free publicity via media coverage. Although the PR officers have less control over it (duh… its free. What did you expect?), and the editor/journalist might decline to publish it, at least media reports are deemed more credible by readers (and its free!).

Now the fun part.

Both sides regard themselves as professionals, hold high ideals, and consider their services a public service (yes, even the PR people).

While studying both disciplines however, I can’t help but sense a different view between of this sense of idealism and what the other party thinks. At best, the views are very “pragmatic”, as a means to an end. At worst, it is of mutual suspicion and veiled contempt.

The fact that investigative journalism exists and its practitioners are very highly respected speaks volumes about what journalists (and the public) think of PR officers. Dig around a little. If you find some mess and publish it, you’re public hero #1. No, that’s mostly the PR officer’s employer’s fault. Its not really their fault other than the fact that their ideals include “tell the truth” =p

On the other hand, my PR notes have sentences that read:

“…in editorials around the country, the media debated its own role in escalating the scare and subjecting business and consumers to the fear and disruption of unsubstantiated product tampering claims.”

--(On media coverage of copycat complaints during the 1993 Pepsi Syringe Scare)

“All you have to do is: know reporters deadlines; recognize how they like to be pitched; tell the truth; and always be available. Pretty simple, right?”

-- On media relations

I can’t help but think the the first quote was written with a sense of satisfaction, and the second… I’m not sure what to say of it.

I’m not sure how will I benefit from this revelation either. Maybe I’ll come to appreciate better when I actually go to work, or maybe even next morning once I get some badly needed bedtime. Nonetheless, It is an interesting observation.

Its nice to see both sides of the coin.

Crime and punishment

2009-03-01T17:20:00.001+08:00

I was on my way to the lunch, and to buy some stationary to “modify” my keyboard a little.

It should have been a brisk walk, a short route which I had taken many many times before. Unfortunately, not this time.

At Jalan Menara Gading 1, the rows of shop houses right in front of my uni, and right between the uni and its off-campus hostel, a mob was in the process of smashed anything made of glass at a hair saloon. Their hands armed with sticks, their faces covered by a motorcycle helmet with its visor lowered. A few of the gang waited outside with their getaway motorcycles keeping watch.

I stood on the opposite side of the road with other spectators. All shaking their heads, all crossing their arms, all clucking their tongues, and all powerless. How many people? How many motorcycles? I don’t know. I was frightened.

Where’s my camera? At home. And no, not even a handphone camera would do. The trouble with cameras is that they’re too conspicuous unless I can find a well-hidden vantage point. They have lookouts don’t they? Police? They look like they’re wrapping up. No chance of getting here in time. What should I do? What should I do?

One of the mobsters gave one final whack and the shop window, and they’re on their way out.

I continued on my journey think of what I just say. Before I even take a turn into the next street, a snatch theft. I’m certainly familiar with this one. The victim was a girl, mercifully unhurt although I’m not sure if the robbery was successful. In fact I wouldn’t have seen it at all if she didn’t shriek. Someone gave chase.

I continued on.

What could I have done?

In hindsight, I should have at least went into the shop and see if anybody was hurt. I had first aid training didn’t I? Pfft… idiot. Perhaps I could at least try to commit to license plate numbers to memory, but I didn’t even attempt to move to somewhere I could see it. Pfft… coward.

Sigh… what a day. 45 mins later when I paid for my food, my hands were still trembling in fear. I wonder if the cashier noticed.

Gun lobbyist have long argued that an armed citizenry is the solution to this, because the act of calling law enforcement officers by itself is a risky act, never mind waiting for them to show up. Personally, I think this would create more problems than it would solve. Besides, crooks would always came prepared and with the element of surprise.

I feel it is unlikely for the perpetrators of what I have witnessed today would ever get caught. At least, not for today’s incident.

In a society where law enforcement is lax and the police has zero credibility in every area except crowd control and suppressing demonstrations, who can fault me for finding the idea of an armed citizenry tempting for a moment. Hope is scarce when the outlaws would always have the edge against the inlaws (pardon the pun), yet I’d hate to see it descend into the darkness called “state of nature”.

I wonder what happened behind the scenes to have inspired such violence. But more importantly I wonder:

What should I have done?

What should we do?

Nothing feels as helpless as witnessing an injustice yet powerless to do anything about it, whether bystander or victim.

Sigh… I need a hug.

Mom?

Appeal for a Sane Air-Conditioning

2009-02-21T16:30:00.001+08:00

My thermometer reads: 20 degrees Celsius.

The wind howls. Who knows how fast? I wonder what is the wind chill factor like.

Most of the people around me wear jackets.

No, I’m not on holiday in the mountains around Chiangrai. I’m still in the tropics, about 5 degrees north of the equator, and I’m quite sure I’m not too far from sea level. Yes, I’m still in Kuala Lumpur.

In fact, I was in class.

It was absurd. Some people seem to be driven by the thought that more is always good, so the air-con was set to the lowest temperature and highest fan speed. Always. Mercifully, it never seemed to be able to reach 16 degrees which is the lowest possible setting for most air conditioners. I’m not joking, and I have two thermometers to do the measurements: one digital and one dyed alcohol.

I do not understand this obsessive behaviour. Some just dismiss it “kiasu” and leave it at that, but I’m more inclined to believe that in has something to do with the fact that the person who made the adjustments either do not have to stay in class or at least get to walk back and forth in class (not just for warm-up, but also to dodge the blast of Antarctic chill).

I once had a chemistry teacher who does this all the time. It was routine for her to tune down the air-con when she comes in for class; as it was routine for me to turn it back up when she leaves, if I happened to be using the same class afterwards. She claims that the cold would keep us awake and alert. Personally, I have only been able to achieve this by (in one extreme case) wearing the same amount of gear I wore in a late-autumn Wollongong (Australia) plus a thermos filled with hot tea. Minus the gloves of course. The rest of the time, I either shiver and hope that I don’t shake my teeth off its sockets (of course, what the lecturer has to say would be the least of my concerns), or get by with a jacket like everyone else.

Absurd! Absolutely absurd!

Why should jackets even exist in the tropics, other than in the mountains and in the travel shops? Why is this extra waste of energy necessary?

I will never know.

For the record, the air-con in my room is set to 28 degrees and the lowest fan speed. At my home in Kulim, I don’t even need the air-con. The tall ceiling and many windows ensure adequate air flow throughout the building. Being in a relatively undeveloped area full of green helps. Heck, I don’t always use the fan either.

Can we have a sane air-con setting please? I intend to keep my teeth and concentrate in class.

~~Antarctica~~ Kuala Lumpur

It’s so retro!

2009-02-21T15:51:00.001+08:00

No, your eyes aren’t fooling you.

Yes, that is me with a compact camera (film, in fact), unreeling a freshly developed roll of film from the spiral. Another roll sits on the table beside the developing tank (the bucket beside the camera). Oh yeah… I’m so gonna get cancer for this xD.

Yes, I’ve mentioned this before, and now you get to see it.

Well, its fun :p

The film was B&W. Ilford Delta 3200 to be precise, and it cost me RM24 a roll. About twice the price of consumer grade film, and also twice the sensitivity compared to my dSLR’s maximum of ISO 1600. However, the camera’s tiny fixed aperture and relatively fast shutter speed negates this advantage. I managed to get a deal on a 2nd hand film SLR, a Canon so it would fit 2/3 of the lenses that I currently have. Caveat is I have to wait for its owner to get back from her studies overseas, time which I would spend throwing money at the piggy bank. Especially since I’ll need a wide-angle lens to go with it. Maybe the EF 24mm f/2.8.

Some sample shots for my first try at B&W film photography and development. These shots were push processed to ISO 6400.

Taman Connaught Night Market

Taman Connaught Night Market Aftermath

Thaipusam Procession, Batu Caves

Crowd waiting for train to Batu Caves at Sentul Station

Other photos can be found on my Facebook account or a particular photography forum.

PS:
Special thanks to my friends for their support and concern in the wake of my grandmother’s passing.

Surrender

2009-02-15T23:06:00.001+08:00

I must have been tagged 3-4 times (2 today alone) over the past week. Sigh. I give in, here you go Ashley. Spare me.

----------------

The rules and regulations:

1. Each player of this game starts off with 15 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself.

2. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 15 weird things/habits/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly.

3. At the end, you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names.

4. No tags back!!

.................................................................

Girls bully me and they do it often. I blame my sis.
Despite EXTREMELY popular demand, I made no attempts to get a girlfriend. I spent Valentine’s day with Häagen-Dazs rum raisin ice cream in one hand, the latest edition of National Geographic in the other, and my internet radio tuned into ABC Classic FM (instead of the usual BBC World Service). So much for democracy :p
I was unanimously appointed group leader for every group project handed down this semester. Maybe I should have kept quiet and sit at the back row.
I spent the past several months studying how to develop film and finally did it. It was fun, but as expected all that studying was no substitute for real experience. I have learned. Experience is a good school, but the fees are high. Very high.
Speaking of film, I’m in the market for film cameras. Got one reserved until the owner can get back to Malaysia and pass it to me :D.
I’m thinking of “printing” photos on leaves next. Should I buy spinach for the job, or pick something from the neighbour’s garden?
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, I made my 9th blood donation. My gift of life to no particular person. I think its a fitting gesture for the occasion, considering how I pay attention to all the nasty stuff plaguing society. Besides, I (plus my bro and mom) do owe blood donors a big favour.
Film developers are carcinogenic, bwahahahaa…. I’m so gonna get it!
One of my favourite tricks: Type out an SMS on the computer, and it gets Bluetooth-ed over to the phone and out toward its intended recipient. No more pesky keypad presses.
For the CNY reunion dinner, I made Whipped Molasses Sweet Potatoes. The same dish was served during Obama’s Inaugural Luncheon. It was a hit.
For some odd reason, I like looking at maps.
2 Jalur Gemilangs fly proudly in my room.
My feet stinks. Foot powder, activated charcoal and all that doesn’t work. Hmm… let’s try “clean socks”.
I like bitter chocolate, although milk chocolate is good too.
I drink about 2L of water each day.

I’m tagging…

1. Mr. Breakthischain

Me and My Alter-ego

2009-02-06T11:35:00.001+08:00

Valentine’s day is around the corner. Naturally, the university is holding some events to spice up the atmosphere. I signed up for a photography competition being held in conjunction with the occasion. The theme is: “Love is in the Air”. There will also be two seminars which would discuss a suitably themed topics which I have also signed up to attend.

Most interesting of all, is the speed date. I did not sign up for that, but as of this morning there are 9 guys and 5 gals on the list. Hmm… there is a bit of imbalance here… I was told there will be more girls signing up, but I’d imagine there will be more guys as well.

As I walked away, two trains of thought raced through my head almost simultaneously:

1. Wow, look at the competition. I don’t stand a chance!

2. 9 guys vs. me, going for 5 girls. Heh, they don’t stand a chance.

When I realised that, wow… talk about being Jekyll and Hyde.

Of course, then came the 3rd train of thought: Am I ready to have a go at romance again? Probably not.

Coward… :(

New Age of Responsibility?

2009-01-22T00:58:00.001+08:00

I’m sure everyone on this part of the planet foolhardy enough to stay awake late at night on the eve of a workday won’t miss it for the world. Yes, I’m talking about the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

His oratory skills are indisputable, and on his big day he did not disappoint. I would have to look a long way back in history to find a match, perhaps Kennedy or Churchill. As usual, he continued his rhetoric of hope and idealism. Some say he sets his bar too high, but I believe it is important for those in high office to have even higher ideals, lest our standards get dragged further and further down (water boarding anyone?).

However, the time for talk is over, and now as the most powerful man on the planet, he would have to turn dreams into reality in midst of a global nightmare. Let’s see if this new president and do more than just giving inspiring hot air. I sure hope he can, because the hopes of so many ride with him.

As he ends he speech, calling for an era of responsibility and national sacrifice, the crowd disperses to watch the parades. Behind them, is a mountain of garbage. Obama sure has a lot on his hands, and I’m not sure if his citizens are ready for it.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

I can’t help but think of UMNO when Barack mentioned this. FYI, China’s CCTV censored this part of the speech :(

T-Shirt Dream Come True

2009-01-17T01:52:00.003+08:00

Long time readers of my blog may remember the T-Shirt idea I had, lamenting about the public suspicion towards photographers. I had since then changed it a bit after peer review, bolding some text and colouring the words "Photography" and "Photographer" red.

It had stirred some interest amongst local photographers, and someone decided to pick up on that idea. 52 T-shirts were printed and sent to interested photographers nationwide, at cost.

It's hard to see in this photo, but all except one of those black T-shirts are my design. Even the little birthday girl :)

YAY! Thank you to all the photographers out there who made this possible. You know who you are.

To Hell with the Geneva Convention!

2009-01-15T04:25:00.002+08:00

Israel calls a clinic (appropriately marked with the Red Cross insignia), tell them to get the Hell out of there, and bombs it. Wow, can it get any worse?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7825215.stm

Internet Radio Galore!!!

2009-01-13T02:36:00.003+08:00

I'm began exploring the world of internet radio, and wow! Say hello to BBC World Service! And of course, ABC CLASSIC FM!!! I missed you so much! lol.

Unfortunately, Streamyx caused quite a few hiccups... Still usable, but I'd curse Screamyx anyway. Grr... SNAIL! SNAIL! SNAIL! Damn you and your monopoly.

2009 + 10

2009-01-11T02:49:00.006+08:00

10 days into the New Year.

9 days since class supposed to have started.

6 days since class actually started. (lecturer skipped class!)

The first days of the semester is always interesting for me. Who's the new lecturer? What's the new subject about? What is the reading list like? Does it have *gasp* group assignments? Is there a final exam? What is the student council president (aka. my boss) is cooking in her head this time?

So far so good I guess. I haven't even seen one of the lecturers (not my fault, I attended class ok...) but the subjects for this semester seem interesting, so far... The reading list is quite heavy though, especially for Intro to Journalism since the lecturer reckoned we should all have a solid background knowledge of what has been going on in the ASEAN region, so he would have us read up on past 50 years of history, on top of reading newspapers and magazines. There will be pop quizzes.

My timetable is a rather uncommon sight; everything is crammed into 3 days of the 5-day week, leaving 2 weekdays totally touched for me to do whatever I please. The catch is that I would have to go to class early and have lunch late for the other days. Even better: The free days and slave days alternate, giving me a chance to sleep properly before the grueling long classes.

Remember that sidebar RSS feed reader I mentioned before? I configured one to bring in news from various providers (BBC World Service, Malaysiakini, The Nut Graph, The Malaysian Insider... a pity The Sun does not have RSS feeds.), while the other keeps tabs on the blogs that I've taken an interest in. Both are updated every 30 minutes. Glad I got my new laptop just before taking journalism class, really makes things easier.

Yup, good times ahead; hopefully. Still, I can't wait to get home again for.... CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! Unfortunately, I would have to hop on the first bus to KL on the 2nd day of CNY, usually reserved for visiting relatives on the maternal side of the family. Class starts on Day 3. So cruel... :(

Oh well, back to bed.

A tribute to the prison school.

Two of shots from a recently developed film, which had expired some time ago. The first shot there might indicate a light leak. I hope to experiment on B&W film photography and development shortly after CNY.

Last but not least:
A shout out to the civilians caught in the crossfire in the Mid-East (again), and the aid workers struggling to help them. Hope it ends REAL soon, and for good.

A presentation by veteran war photographer James Nachtwey, which I think is quite relavent due to recent developements in the Mid-East. But then again, it has been relavent since men first picked up clubs, and has always been relavant since then, hasn't it? WARNING: Some images can be quite graphic. This is real war.

Edit: Video not working? Try this instead.

Two Double-Oh Nine

2009-01-01T21:56:00.003+08:00

Sorry, no fireworks pics because I was so so so tired after orientation.

Nonetheless, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Let bygones be bygones.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T15:19:00.003+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone...

And a belated Happy Winter Solstice.

Its here!

2008-12-23T00:29:00.003+08:00

This post is long overdue, but my new laptop its here! Wee~

Some vital stats:
Dell Vostro 1310 13.3" Laptop
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 processor, running at 2.4GHz with 3MB cache and 800MHz FSB.
RAM: 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
Video card: 128MB Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS
Hard Disk: 250GB SATA 7200rpm hard disk with free fall sensor.
Weight: ~2kg

I picked this laptop configuration with work, mobility, photo editing and moderate gaming in mind. This thing flies like a dream compared to my old laptop, although it took me awhile to move my old files and settings via my home's wireless network.

I've been spending time adding stuff to my laptop and getting used to Vista, occassionally playing LAN games with my bro (which involved a lot of shouting things like "Zombies! Back window!") in between. One of the neat features I really liked is the sidebar, which has 2 feed readers each feeding me with news and blog updates, a notepad, and a battery of meters reporting time, date, day of week, CPU, RAM, battery and WiFi status. Neat!

So far the only complaint I have is the sound quality, which comes from 5 tiny holes from one lone speaker. I usually use a pair noise-isolating earphones whenever I can help it, which sounds really good. No bugs from Vista so far... touch wood. On the other hand, it came with an array of performance monitoring tools, a plus for me.

Now... to kill more zombies......

Merry Christmas everyone, except the zombies. Die (again)! Die(again)! Die(again)!

Circumnavigating Dell's High Upgrade Prices

2008-12-13T12:03:00.003+08:00

I've been shopping for laptops. My "Ol' Faithful" just won't cut it any more, struggling with even the occasional Flash game I play online. I've been looking at the Dell Vostro 1310, in keeping with my desire not to carry the 3kg weight any more and I don't care what other photographers think about that puny 13.3" screen (smallest size laptop I can find that would fit a discreet graphics card). Besides, its relatively cheap.

Then, my dad had an epiphany last night. Someone told him long ago that Dell makes a heck lot of money from upgrades, so he tells me to go online and go bargain hunting. He was right.

Of particular interest were RAM prices, since these were very easily obtainable and user-serviceable. Dell has been charging RM250 to upgrade the Vostro's 1GB RAM to 4GB. By comparison, it cost RM144 to simply buy 4GB of RAM from PC Depot. That leaves me RM103 richer and two sticks of 512MB RAM to sell for.... er.... RM15 each? These are 667MHz DDR2 SODIMM RAM btw, which according to the manual, is the only RAM that my (hopefully) laptop would accept.

As for hard disks however, its not such a good deal. Upgrading straight from Dell would be better than getting the worst they have and swapping it yourself. With everything pre-configured and even a disk image of your factory-condition hard disk, this option seems even less appealing even if it did turned out cheaper. Besides, a hard disk is far more likely than a RAM to *FAIL*, in which case Dell's impeccable tech support team comes in handy. Hopefully I've learnt my lesson last time and have already backed up all my important files in a seperate hard disk before the head crash *fingers crossed and touch wood.*

What about other user-serviceable parts? Well, almost every part is "user-serviceable" with a screwdriver, the service manual (its even available online), and a bit of geekyness. Problem is: Where do you find those parts :p ? I wouldn't bother. Batteries? Hell no, I'm not willing to let my laptop burst into flames just yet, especially a new one.

Disclaimer:
This article is intended to help give you ideas to bring bargain-hunting to a new level. I can not guarantee it will work for you, and as with everything else on the internet: the onus is on you to verify that what I say is true AND applicable to your particular situation. Hence, do your own homework. I assume you have a working brain.

Manuals available from the manufacturer's website (in this case: Dell) is a good start.

Hypocrisy of the Prison School

2008-11-29T07:56:00.004+08:00

Dad gave me a film camera to play with. Fixed exposure, fixed focus, fixed focal length, and a 2-element plastic lens. Cool, sounds like a disposable film camera. Oh wait, the film is replaceable, and dad threw in a roll of ISO 200 film too. (Just in case you think he's been very generous, he got them free too.)

And so one fine morning, I walked around town, taking pictures around the market -hasn't changed much- and the nearby lake -changed too much, yuck- before moving on to my old secondary school.

Upon arrival, I found that the roads had been widened. That seems to be the only positive change.

It has been there even before I graduated, but the whole place was surrounded by barbed wire. It is designed to keep people in, not out. Metal prongs attached to an electrical pole on the inside of the wall confirm this, daring students to try and climb it and reach over to the outside world.

That's what I like about photography, you see things that you would otherwise have missed even if it didn't make a good photo op (not in this case though, I'm so going to go back with my dSLR). Then you can ponder the meaning behind all this mess.

Modern education is like gavage, or forced feeding. You won't have to do much, but you won't like it and you have to do it. It is almost literally forced down your throat regardless of how quickly (or slowly) you can swallow, regardless of allergies or dietary requirements, and regardless of any objection (which are quickly suppressed anyway). I think its ethically questionable too.

If you're lucky, you might end up with a fat juicy ~~liver~~ brain to serve up to the needs of society. If you're not, you'll just puke everything out, forget everything, and since schools have a tendency to stifle creativity, you end up with nothing, and probably worth nothing.

I find learning fascinating. I would quite often grab a book and read and read and just keep on reading. My favourite topics are science, technology, environmental issues, photography, military history, philosophy and many more. No coercion whatsoever. But what is it about schools that never fails to make every subject seem so dreadful even to myself? So repulsive? So much so that you'd just have to turn it into a prison. I don't know, but the temptation to burn books after finals seem to be a running joke amongst students.

And then, I walked up to the field where I used to play football on the odd occasion, or maybe it was dodgeball without me realising it. It now has a asphalt road running across it, almost completely killing off its usefulness as a sports field which is also shared with two primary schools. I was told some time ago that instead have having sports day there, the schools now send the students by bus to another field some distance away. Now how could that possibly be a good idea?

Then I walked pass the Angsana trees, now reduced to mere tree stumps. There were 3 of them, each must have been there for a good part of a century, perhaps more. They were HUGE.

They could use a trim I guess, but they're gone for good. No more fragrant rain of yellow flowers every April. I pondered the irony of the fact that the school has won the state level recycling competition several times, by imposing a quota on students to bring old newspapers, sending them out to collect trash from supermarkets ect, and beating the nearest competition by several tonnes (no kidding). They got the brand new computers for the effort, but I think the trees show more than anything else: what a shallow, superficial exercise it was. A farce!

FYI, Angsana trees are on the IUCN Red List, in the "vulnerable" category. It also has a vital role of housing Rhizomes which fix vital nitrogen to the soil.

I'm glad to have graduated when I did. The place looks so dead now.
As dead as the desert. As dead as the cement. As depressing as a prison too.

I wonder if they have fenced up that "secret tunnel" too.

AYA Dream Malaysia Awards 2008

2008-10-26T23:21:00.002+08:00

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Michael Teoh, without whom life in IICP would be a lot less interesting. His entrepreneurial spirit has led to the successful organisation of many fun and memorable events, and many of them are firsts in the college's history. It remains one of the biggest highlights of my life, and is likely to remain so until I (ever) get married/win a Pulitzer/get arrested as a terrorist in NSW for real.

Today, his undying spirit and boldness in dreaming big as brought him to various competitions all over the world, and this time: AYA Dream Malaysia Awards 2008. I am writing to urge my readers, particularly those in Malaysia, to show your support.

Mike's profile and voting instructions (within Malaysia only) can be found here:
http://www.ayaawards.com/ynom4.cfm

Moral support is good too, for those with issues with SMS voting.

Good luck mate! And I'll see you on the 9th :)

Thank you.

The point of the competition is?

2008-10-24T06:36:00.002+08:00

I just really don't understand.

Quite often, businesses would sponsor or host competitions in order to get the finest ideas the public can offer. Best photo, best architecture, best business idea... ect. The 9/11 memorial is probably one of the more recent famous examples.

What I don't get, is when the "winning" entry does not get first prize. It gets even more confounding if the 1st prize entry simply gets discarded. I mean, if its good enough to use while others weren't, why didn't it get first prize? This can a most distasteful experience for a runner-up.

A couple of years back, during my primary school years, I build a cut-out model of a volcano for my science project, and won 2nd or 3rd prize for my effort. The 1st prize was a volcano build out of playdough, and it simply get discarded after the competition. My entry stayed in the science room as a teaching tool for years... I don't know if its still there, but apparently it is the most educational entry they ever had.

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine participated in a photography competition and won 2nd prize. Now, the 1st prize photo is nowhere to be seen. Her photo gets used for promotional purposes instead. A real pity because she really need a dSLR (although she seemed to prefer a Nikon, not the Canon offered), but get a compact instead although the organisers used her photo.

A couple of days ago another friend of mine went for a business case competition. Well... basically his idea gets rejected, so he lost... and then the CEO came back and said "hey, maybe you're right".

There are many ways to accept defeat graciously, but these guys aren't making things easier... I'd guess defeat tastes most bitter when you know you have been beaten by someone who is NOT a better person.

Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival 2008

2008-10-20T23:09:00.002+08:00

While the Germans are wrapping up photokina, we Malaysians are kicking up our own photo trade show (ya lah, ya lah, we're kiasu lah).

It was two days of fun listening to talks, checking out the latest gear (including the beta version of the 5D MkII, which just touched down in Malaysia at 11am of Day 1, but I'm not too interested in :p), meeting up and chatting with photogs whom I would otherwise only know by their internet nicknames, and participating in photo contests.

I also brought along my portfolio. On Day One, I offered someone to comment on it. He said I'm good at getting whatever shot I want, the problem is getting out of the box.

And so I took the lesson to heart, and on the next day I participated in the Fujifilm Model Shoot contest. Here is the consolation prize photo:

lol, model shoot competition pic, minus the model...

Those folks with the big lenses, weird flash diffusers, and step ladders are going to be pissed if they find out how I took this shot. kekeke...

Tagged!

2008-10-20T22:10:00.003+08:00

Yup... tagged again. Oh well, at least someone had me in mind, for whatever reason. Thanks Sandra.

Rules of the game are:

Link to your tagger and post these rules in your blog.
Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Right... let's begin!

According to mom, I started running before I learnt to walk properly at 10 months old, resulting in some broken teeth.
For the most of my childhood, I had to spell the word "chocolate" before eating the tasty stuff. Its the law... Makes sense: the word is long and the rewards substantial. What better way to learn spelling? Of course, me and my siblings quickly acquired the habit of add "s" at the end :p.
My passion for photography started from an instruction manual of a compact camera, which I found to be an interesting read. The rest is history...
I am incredibly tolerant of criticism. I think its like looking into the mirror, except that you'll see the inner beauty rather than outer beauty, or the lack of it. Unfortunately, I am often clueless about what to do with the criticism, just as I have no clue on how to style my hair even though I know it sucks.
That being said, I used to have an incredibly short temper when I was much younger. Just ask that hole I made in my bedroom wall with my feet. :p
Just as I am incredibly tolerant of criticism, I am also very blunt when it comes to dishing it myself. Although it is done with good intentions (I'm very hard to piss off anyway), I really really need to remind myself to be more tactful.
For some reason which I have yet to understand, people think I'm a weirdo or something especially those who I've just gotten to know.. In any case, I hope to resolve this ASAP. Now... where do I start......

Now... the fun part. Tagging people and read their response. Hmm...

the other Sandra
her Siamese twin Mei Zhi
evil Shuen.
Pi-Jay-Squared
Dr. Ng the Mad (or Med?)
Buried in cockroaches Ju (don't worry, I've been there. Yeah, it sucks :( )
And the artist studying computers for reasons I'll never understand.

7 already? Aww shucks...

Laptop....

2008-10-16T09:09:00.002+08:00

If some unthinkable event happens where I have to choose to spend money on laptops rather than... say... a 580EX II flash gun, it better be a 13.3" or smaller!

This thing is bloody bulky and heavy!!!

And slow!!!

PS: I need an internal DVD writer, so subnotebooks are out of the question. Battery life of most subnotebooks are unacceptable too. Maybe I'll wait for the technology to mature.

PPS: Wow, that t-shirt idea stirred quite a bit of interest within the local photographic community. Not enough to make me feel like making it happen though.

T-shirt design

2008-10-15T03:14:00.002+08:00

Just for fancy.

Font used is Hypatia Sans Pro. Let me know if you want to print it. I want one. Left half = Front.

Halloween Party Gone Wrong

2008-10-14T22:29:00.002+08:00

You have no idea how much verbal abuse and threats I have taken in the process of making this photograph...

Photography is NOT a Crime!!!

2008-10-14T13:29:00.002+08:00

Summary of public perception of photographers:

If you photograph children other than your own, you're a paedophile.
If you photograph a girl/woman whom you don't know, you're a pervert/sexual predator.
If you photograph your meal at a restaurant before eating it, you're stealing recipes.
If you photograph a creative work (sculptures, store-fronts, dances, ect), you're an art thief.
If you photograph a workplace, you're an industrial spy.
If you photograph a landmark or busy place (train stations, ect), you're a terrorist. (I fit into this category, and nearly got arrested).
If you photograph a tragedy (fire, accident, ect)... don't care, scream at you first until you're deaf. Or just lynch you.
If you photograph a not-so-legal activity, you're either a law enforcement officer, or photojournalist. Either way, you are to be lynched. Probably given cement shoes.

Note: Applies to SLR/dSLR users only. The bigger the camera+lens, the bigger the prejudice (its exponential).

If anyone designs a decent looking "Photography is not a crime!" t-shirt, I'll wear it everyday for a week.

Where da heck are the water crackers?

2008-10-13T02:37:00.002+08:00

Last post was a flop. No one understood it. And here I am still trying to be a journalist. I wonder if I would accidentally start WWIII with my writings some day.

Next topic!

I'm in the market for water crackers. Why? To down it with a tasty slice of gourmet cheese!

A water cracker should be rather mild savoury taste, so not to snatch the limelight from the stronger tasting cheese (especially if the cheese is not-so-strong tasting, like brie). What I get instead of crackers too salty, too sweet, and.... what's with that vanilla flavouring?!

Imagine eating a super-salty Danish blue cheese, with super-salty crackers. I would be instantly mummified....

Where the heck do I find those crackers in Malaysia?

Oh well, not that many gourmet cheeses around anyway.

Worst fears...

2008-10-11T23:15:00.007+08:00

I've been bugging the counsellor quite a lot these days, taking one test or another for the fun of it. Let's call it self-discovery eh?

About a week ago, she asked me (in more specific terms that I write here) how do I balance my lifestyle, especially personal relationships.

I have yet to give a reply, but the question made me shiver.

Then I watched a video on TED.com. It was mentioned that "The richest and fullest lives attempts to reach an inner balance between three realms: work, love and play. And that to pursue one realm to the disregard of the others is to open oneself to ultimate sadness at older age."

I trembled in fear.

Doris Kearns Goodwin: Learning from past presidents in moments of crisis

Then I watched the video "Kiwi!" on YouTube.

I freaked out.

Kiwi!

What have I done? Have I gone too far?

A portrait of me?

Now what?

The (falling) Star

2008-10-05T23:44:00.002+08:00

I has been quite some time since the last time I bought a copy of The Star, formerly my favourite newspaper. It doesn't make sense to pay for propaganda out of my own pocket.

Yesterday, I saw a copy on my sofa, probably belonging to one of my housemates. The headlines read "It's Hotting Up".

Right... they must have switched to some language other than English while I wasn't looking...

Orang asli / asal (failed) protest march

2008-09-14T00:11:00.007+08:00

On the LRT to Masjid Jamek station, I looked out the window. What a beautiful day to be having a demonstration, I thought. A pity I didn't bring my sunglasses. Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) chose today to march from Central Market Annexe Gallery to Istana Negara, today being the last day of their gallery exhibition as well as the 1st anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN-DRIP). Malaysia was one of the countries which voted to adopt the declaration.

So here it is: walk to the palace, and deliver a memorandum, and pull off a PR (as in "Public Relations", not "Pakatan Rakyat") coup in the process.

The goal is to raise various issues affecting the orang asli.

Pic 1: Riot police arrived early, sitting in wait.

Pic 2: The orang asli did not disappoint my expectations, with face paint and traditional costumes everywhere.

Pic 3: The man leading the march, holding a nicely decorated envelope containing the memo.

Pic 4: The BAR Council sent some observers too.

Pic 5: BAR Council observers.

Pic 6: This guy here is carrying a rattan basket.

Pic 7: A police officer looks on while his boss informs the organisers that he must call off the demonstration or face arrest, despite getting prior approval.

Pic 8: We are Malaysians too!

Pic 9: Give it back!

Pic 10: The demonstrators, the press, the crowd, the cops... and then there's me....... How am I gonna get in there?

Pic 11: There are as many flash guns getting in the way as my hand has fingers.

Pic 12: Almost there.

Pic 13: Hello...

Pic 14: This is as far as the crowd goes before retreating to the Central Market Annexe building, due to police intervention. A peaceful one thankfully.

Pic 15: Central Market security guards put the side entrances under lock and chain, in case things turn ugly.

Pic 16: Demonstrators climb the stairs back to the gallery, the press follows closely. Having cancelled the march, the best the can do is to hold a press conference and read out the contents of the memorandum.

Pic 17: Posing for photos. Some shouting can be heard later as the organisers try to dissuade some hot heads from doing anything silly.

Pic 18: Some people find press conferences boring.

Although I explained that I am not a member of the press and despite a signboard that explicitly said "Media Participants Only", I was allowed inside and give a copy of the memorandum to the Agong. "Just spread the word," she told me.

Pic 19: Some of the handicrafts on display, some of which is for sale. I bought a bookmark :D

Pic 20: Some press photographers chillin' out. 2nd from the right is Bazuki, the accidental winner of the DCM Photographer of the Year 2006 (Action and movement category). I didn't know it was him until I saw a sticker with his name on it on top of his flash gun. The Reuters photographer won the contest when someone else took a few his photos and submitted it as his own. Bazuki found out, made a complaint, and becomes the winner.

Pic 21: Posing for a group photo. Sigh... I need an ultra-wide angle lens.

Pic 22: Posing with the memorandum. "Ini bukan lalang tahu," he quipped in disappointment, adding that he would now have to post it to the Agong. By normal post of course, he said (jokingly) the orang asli can't afford to pay for the "extra service" post (registered, express, ect). It is easier to understand their disappointment when you consider that some have come from the most remote regions of the Peninsula and Sabah+Sarawak to get here.

Pic 23: Giving a short speech on what happened today. Someone offered to record this on his handphone cam and upload it to YouTube tonight. (Hasn't happened yet). Merdekakah Kami? Good question.

Amongst other things announced in the press conference: Cultural show this evening at 6pm, at the gallery. It has been a dull night, I wish I didn't turn down that pretty lady's invitation to come.

Summary of the contents of the memorandum from JOAS to the Agong:

Issues raised:

Right to self-determination
Denied, in violation to Article 3 of the UN-DRIP

Non-recognition of customary lands
In violation to Article 26 of the UN-DRIP

No Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)
in appropriating orang asli lands, therefore in violation of Article 28 of the UN-DRIP.

Forced resettlement
in violation of Article 10 of the UN-DRIP

Violation of the right to self-governence
In violation of Article 20 of the UN-DRIP

Pressured assimilation & Right to freedom of religion
In violation of Article 12 of the UN-DRIP and Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

The consequence of Non-Documentation
Many orang asli don't have IC (Identification card), and therefore denied rights and benefits normally accorded to citizens (Article 5 - 13 of the Federal Constitution, plus the right to vote, ect).

Demands:

Stop seizing customary lands indiscriminately, and those that has already been taken should be returned.
Future acquisition of customary lands should adhere to the principles of FPIC.
Courts should give priority to cases involving customary land disputes while the government should provide legal assistance for indigenous people cases.
Abolish Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA), replace it with an Indigenous People's Council, and appoint a special orang asli representatives at the parliament/state representative assembly. The members of all these will be appointed by the indigenous community itself.
Establish Orang Asli Native Courts, and recognise marriages solemnised by Tok Batin/Penghulu/Adat Council.
Formal government apology for the injustice against orang asli.
End discrimination against the orang asli in legislation, education, health, and media.
Simplify the process for orang asli to apply for IC.
Establish Royal Commission to investigate the issuance of IC and citizenship through forging identity.
Repeal/amend any laws that contradict UN-DRIP.
Enact laws to recognise indigenous rights, in based on the UN-DRIP

Signed by,
Adrian Lasimbang (Chairman, JOAS),
(unnamed) Indigenous Representative from Peninsula Malaysia,
(unnamed) Indigenous Representative from Sabah, and
(unnamed) Indigenous Representative from Sarawak.

== End of summary ==

And the crowd sang,
Orang asal, oh-oh orang asal.
Jangan ngangis, jangan putus asa...

Sweet, but sad.

Links:
Malaysiakini (English, subscription required)
Malaysiakini (Bahasa Malaysia, free)
Malaysiakini (Chinese, free)
The New Straits Times
The Malaysian BAR Council

PS:
In case anyone is wondering, my wounds are healing fast and fine. Thank you :)

Snatched!

2008-09-07T05:01:00.002+08:00

Nope, I'm not kidnapped and writing here to plea for a hefty ransom to be paid, just in case anyone is wondering about the tittle.

Rather, I have just joined the swelling ranks of Malaysians who have been snatch theft victims at some point of their lives. I have two bags, one a backpack which I would often use to carry my laptop and camera, or my groceries and other assorted stuff if I take out the removable camera compartment. The sling bag would carry smaller items, such as stationary, notebooks (of the paper variety), scraps of paper, maps, sunglasses, keys, medication, ect.

This morning, I carried both on my way to town. The purpose of this errand is to buy a particular issue of Newsweek so I can answer a particular question from my lecturer about the recent Russian-Georgian conflict, a copy of my favourite photography magazine, and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. For some reason, I attracted some unwanted attention before I even left the housing area.

I never heard it coming, maybe I was day dreaming or the sound was masked by traffic from the nearby expressway. Before I realised it, I have been knocked off my feet and dragged along the road. Just as quickly, the theif let go. The snatch was executed so poorly that the inevitable result was that my bag would simply get stuck under my armpit, whether I want to let go or not. Unless the strap breaks of course, but nylon straps don't have a reputation of doing that sort of thing, and the bag itself was well constructed. He had to let go.

I got up like a ping pong ball bouncing off the road, and try to commit the licence plate number to memory, and failed. Nor did I saw who did it, just that he was alone. I dusted myself off and inspected the damage.

A deep cut on one elbow, and the other was grazed. Some minor cuts and abrasions here and there too. I need a new belt, and the wristband of my watch is scratched. Damn, I love my watch.

My elbows were bleeding, so I covered it with my hands and ran over to a nearby clinic where I was basically told to sit down and bleed for 30 minutes before the doctor even shows up for work. I wasn't given any first aid equipment (say... how about gauze pads?) to help stop the bleeding, even though I very specifically asked for it and explained why I need it.

I hopped over to the pharmacy. No luck, very badly stocked. Might as well never existed.

Oh well, to uni then. The uni's clinic was closed, but I was able to locate a first aid kit. Badly stocked, but it'll do the trick. So I let the police know about it, and resumed my journey to KL city, with a few new items on my shopping list. It didn't take long to find everything I need, except one: wound closure strips. That took forever, but eventually I found it. Spent the night (yes, it took that long to find it) patching myself up properly. I shall need another trip to the pharmacy tomorrow, need more non-adherent pads for my other elbow. The abrasion hurts so much that it is best to keep it covered.

Bloody fool, can't even snatch properly. A failure! A total failure in life, even a dishonest one! No wonder he ended up being such a low life. Blek! May his motorcycle trip over a rock or something and he flies into a storm drain. Head first.

The home front

2008-08-21T22:42:00.004+08:00

In case you haven't figured it out, I'm home at last.

After a few phone calls, dad settled it for me. Unfortunately, while I was hoping for a 21st August flight so that I can have all the time I need to pack stuff, say goodbye, and tie up any loose ends, dad booked me onto a 14th August flight. That's a 2 day notice.

As a result, I filled up the garbage and recycling bin to the brim overnight, failed to clean up my room for whoever might be moving in next, failed to retrieve my portable hard drive which I borrowed to someone (by chance, she didn't show up for work that day), did not manage to close my bank account, and left a fair bit of stuff behind which I wanted to bring along with me. That includes a 2GB high-speed memory card for my camera, which I really loved because it makes my other memory card look like a lame tortoise. On top of that, it has never had its memory corrupted too, very reliable stuff.

And for some reason, all airlines are dropping the baggage restrictions to just 20kg, so I shipped about 22kg of stuff by courier. I originally wanted to ship more, but the quotation given was too high and I had to repack my stuff at the courier's office (read: more stuff for charity). As a result, I missed the train to the airport. Fortunately, a friend of mine was kind enough to drive me to the airport. Cars move faster than trains, so I suddenly find myself with extra time on my hands. I was still annoyed to have missed the train, so I paid for the courier charges with some cash and a large bag of coins to sort through :D

When I got to the airport, I found my plane grounded for 4 hours due to a faulty flap. I was given a $20 meal voucher for the trouble, and on arrival to KLIA at midnight, I was given a hotel room and a voucher for breakfast.

I would have considered it pretty decent damage control, except that after using my meal voucher at Sydney Airport, I was very very bored. As for my breakfast voucher, I did not managed to use it, since I woke up at 6:30am for a 7:35am flight. Fortunately, the hotel is within the airport itself. Unfortunately, I left my wallet behind at the security check point. But after a few phone calls, my wallet arrives at Penang Airport in the evening, and I was able to pick it up on the following day, with all the contents intact (including a tidy sum of cash). Woohoo~!

The next 48 hours was pretty straightforward: eat all the very best Penang (and arguably: the world) has to offer, and take a swim at a swimming pool. Ahh... welcome home.

So what happens next? I am going down to KL this weekend with my family for grandpa's memorial service, but I won't be returning with them. Instead, I will stay on for a new chapter of my life: a journalism course. Hope I won't screw this one up.

PS:
Read the rest of the story here:
http://suntzuthesecond.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Update: Complaint against MAS ticketing staff

2008-08-19T12:34:00.004+08:00

======================================
From: Idris Jala
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 7:32 AM
To: 'suntzuthesecond@gmail.com'
Cc: S.Pushpalatha; Abdul Mutalib Ishak

Subject: Re: Complaint against MAS ticketing staff

Dear Mr Koh,

Thank you for your email. I truly regret that our ticketing team has not provided any firm answers to your request for a change of your travel date. We do receive similar requests from customers from time to time and the process is fairly straight forward. I am equally concerned that your request was not attended to promptly.

My colleague Mutalib who head ups the ticketing unit will be connecting with you on the matter.

I do apologise for the inconvenience.

Idris Jala

==================================
From: Abdul Mutalib Ishak [mailto:amutalib@malaysiaairlines.com.my]
Sent: Thursday, 14 August 2008 6:52 PM
To: suntzuthesecond@gmail.com
Cc: S.Pushpalatha; Idris Jala; Abdul Razak; Helen Antoinette Reyes

Subject: RE: Complaint against MAS ticketing staff

Dear Mr Koh,

On behalf of Malaysia Airlines, I would like to sincerely apologize for the difficulty that you've experienced with our reservation and ticketing department in Sydney. Upon receiving your complaint, we did our own internal investigation and admit that there was some miscommunication within the departments in Malaysia Airlines which had been duly dealt with. Such problem would not recur and our staff had been advised to provide better response to our customers, in line with our Malaysian Hospitality campaign.

I understood our Call Centre in Adelaide had already contacted you on 11 August 2008 and had amended your booking accordingly, as follows,

JH5NAY

1. 1KOH/JUNLINMR
3 MH 122 M 14AUG SYDKUL HK1 1420-4 2045-4 Y-M $E
4 MH 1168 Y 14AUG KULPEN HK1 2210-4 2300-4 Y-Y *E
FONE
1 SYDMH- HP 0413435567
2 SYDMH- ****SEND TELEX FOR DTE CHNG *****
3 PENMH- *** INTERNET BOOKING ***

Once again, please accept our sincere apology on your predicament, and would like to thank you for highlighting this matter to us. We truly value customer's feedback in our effort to constantly improve our 5-star Value Carrier services to our dear customers.

Thank you so much for choosing and flying with Malaysia Airlines.

Best Regards,
Mutalib

Abdul Mutalib Ishak
AGM Distribution
Malaysia Airlines

PS:
Read the rest of the story here:
http://suntzuthesecond.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Complaint against MAS ticketing staff

2008-08-10T20:48:00.003+08:00

This email pretty much sums up where I am now, stupid airline... This is what I wrote to MAS' CEO and Managing Director.

======================================================

From: Koh Jun Lin [mailto:***************@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, 10 August 2008 10:47 PM
To: 'idris.jala@mas.com.my'
Subject: Complaint against MAS ticketing staff

Dear Dato’ Sri,

I write to you in great disgust and disappointment in the manner I have been treated by your staff.

Early this year, I have booked a 2-way ticket for a Penang => KL => Sydney flight (Booking Ref: ******. Confirmation Number: *************). The outbound flight was on 19^th February 2008 and went without incident. The return flight was booked for 19^th November of the same year, but due to a series of unfortunate events I am required to return to my family in Malaysia before the 21^st August. In addition, I would like to request a vegetarian meal. On 4^th August (Monday), I have called MAS’ Sydney office to make the necessary changes.

By the end of the call, I was told that due to some irregularity, they would have to contact “Headquarters” for further instructions, and I was then asked to call again in two days. From Wednesday until Friday, I have called at least once every day to check, and there is still no reply. The best your staff could offer is to resend their email request to “Headquarters”, which turned out to be a futile exercise. In desperation, I asked my father in Malaysia to call MAS at 1-300-88-3000. Again, the reply was something about a “special” booking (although I’m quite certain that I don’t feel special), and they need to contact “Headquarters” for further instructions. Call again on Monday.

After spending an entire business week trying to change my travel date, quite frankly I am not looking forward to making this call. The last time I needed to change my travel date, the staff at SIA accomplished this Herculean task in an astonishing 2 minutes (estimate) over the telephone. This leaves much to be desired from your airline, and I do not appreciate being left hanging for an entire week. I demand that your airline’s ticketing system to be reviewed especially in regard to this mysterious “Headquarters”. And of course, I want the necessary changes to my ticket to be made as soon as possible.

I expect a positive reply from your airline very soon. Please note that this is an open letter, and the reply, or non-reply, will be made public.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,
Koh Jun Lin

PS:
Read the rest of the story here:
http://suntzuthesecond.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

So random lah!

2008-08-07T01:06:00.003+08:00

For the 2nd time this year, some totally random stranger stopped me on the street and told me what beautiful teeth I have, and asked if I ever wore braces. This time, its a young Australian schoolgirl. Right... maybe I should thank my parents my naturally attractive teeth, and consider a career being a spokesperson for a toothpaste company.

Also happened recently, there was a boy cycling past me holding a lit cigarette and asked me if I want a smoke. He must have been just a primary school kid. I was tempted to strangle him for even bothering to invite me for a smoke, but on second thought, his parents ought to be arrested and tortured. Disgusting.

(Lack of) Progress Report

2008-08-05T23:19:00.002+08:00

Today I picked up two letters, one from the Australian Red Cross, and the other from WUSA. One speaks of great leadership skills which saw the raising of over AUD2k for the Sichuan Earthquake and Myanmar Cyclone victims, plus a memorial service that evening. The other speaks of involvement in volunteer work bringing a number of issues to the student council's and the media's attention.

I was told to expect a similar letter from ICIS during the Friday meeting.

They'll look great on a CV :)

I also checked out the UniShop and was delighted learn that all my textbooks are still the current edition, except physics. Now... how on earth do I sell them before I go, assuming there are still people who haven't got their textbooks by Week 3? I'd guess the first thing I should do is dig them out of my ~~junkyard~~ desk and put a pricetag on them.

One of the concerns highlighted by the editor when I spoke to him, was lack of education in investigative journalism. So I purchased a book from UniShop that teaches just that. Unfortunately, it was written in an Australian context. So, certain parts like how to make an FOI (Freedom of Information) request is next-to-useless to me.

I have made several inquiries about several institutions of interest to me, this time through friends and relatives because 67% of them have apparently have a non-existent marketing department (ie. exists only in name). It proved helpful, but one thing that was highlighted a number of times (each time a different university/college) was that it has a lot of black students, and that was put forward to me as a negative.

Err... so what's wrong with blacks?

Hang on, aren't these the very same people who call UMNO racist? Pfft... hypocrites. I wonder if they realise what they had said.

In any case, the answers I get just reinforces my decision to try applying for UCSI. Having a non-existent marketing department alone was good enough reason to rule out LKW and Taylors. I mean, if they don't care about me, why should I give them a damn?

In other news... Wollongong is having its coldest winter in 2 decades! Coincidentally, I've been trying to cut this year's electricity bill by limiting my heater to 1400W instead of the full-powered 2400W setting I used to turn my bedroom into a sauna. Brr...! Bundle up or die!

5.3 degrees is the lowest temperature I've recorded on my thermometer so far. Combine that with gale-force winds and we have a very nasty package. Last week, I woke up to the sight of broken branches and felled trees all over the place after a night of such winds. Among the casualties was a otherwise tall and healthy Eucalyptus tree, with a trunk diameter of approximately 12 inches. It snapped in half like a matchstick, although I'm curious why it didn't simply get uprooted like everyone else.

Updates

2008-07-31T01:45:00.003+08:00

What happened last month:

Grandpa died :-0
And I was nowhere near him during his last moments! Surely he wanted to see me just one more time.

Oh dear... what a wonderful grandson I am. At least I managed to speak to him over the phone weeks earlier, but still...

At least he didn't have to suffer for years battling disease, and his passing was peaceful, at a ripe old age of 90. It's the best one could hope for I guess. But... sigh.

Oh well, the dead must rest while the living must move on, I'd suppose.

But........ sigh.

Dad seems to have taken lots of photos during the funeral rites, and posted it on the internet for the relatives (like me :( ) who couldn't attend. Oh dear, the tumour has really taken a toll on him, so thin!

His body was cremated, and his ashes were spread across the sea, right between the mid-span of Penang Bridge, and the ferry route between the mainland and Penang Island. I used to cross that strait almost every week, but the next time I do, I won't look at it the same way again. I still remember grandpa making that request when he was very much healthy (for a man of his age) and alive, it was so that the waves can carry him on a round-the-world trip.

Judging from the photos, it was stormy weather with choppy seas that day.

Perfect.
Enjoy your trip!

Not a bad idea actually. If I have an eternalty to spend, I don't want to spend it in some lousy wooden box or ceramic jar.

Ahh... the good old days. I'll miss him fondly. Greatest grandpa one could ever ask :')

What happened last week:

In what might be the single biggest life-changing events in my life, I have decided to quit studying science, and go into journalism.

The decision wasn't an easy one. I love science, and I would still say that today and well into the future. However, I simply can't do science. Why? Because I can't do math, and screwing up chemistry. I should have listened to all the warning signs instead of spending 1 1/2 years in Australia doing this (along with the associated costs!).

And so, in search of alternatives and to avoid making the same mistake twice, I consulted a counsellor. The first one was next-to-useless, he recommended me to use a website called myfuture.edu.au. After answering a number of quizzes, it narrowed my career choices down to...... a 13 page long list, ranging from Airforce Officers (hellooooo~ I've got less than perfect vision!) to repairing furniture (what?!).

The second counsellor was much more helpful. She answered quite a number of questions for me, along with the one about career choices. After describing myself, she suggested journalism, which sounded like a "Eureka moment" to me (minus the jumping out of a bathtub and run around town part).

She recommended the career on basis that:

1) I have excellent language skills.
2) I am highly computer literate and can touch type (means typing without looking at the keyboard).
3) I have a broad range of interests.
4) I love to travel.
5) I shoot good pictures.
6) I'm an INFP.

Yup, I'll be home in time for Merdeka, and I'll be looking for a journalism course.

I wonder if I would ever get a job with NatGeo?

What happened over the last day:

I spoke to an acquaintance of mine who happens to be the chief editor of a photography magazine back home. I asked him what would he be looking for if he were to hire a fresh graduate to write some articles for my favourite photography mag.

He never answered my question, but instead lamented on the quality of the journalism courses in Malaysia, or at least the quality of the interns he has been getting.

An so, I wrote emails to 3 different institutions expressing my concerns about what my friend has to say, and ask them to convince me they're better than that. Its not too much to ask is it? After all, that's what their marketing people are paid for. Unfortunately, so far only UCSI replied while Lim Kok Wing University of Creative Arts and Taylors did not.

Of course, there are a few other institutions that offer this course, but I didn't bother to send an email. That's usually because I don't like their course structure for some reason. In one example, I counted about five politics subjects throughout the course. Eww... no thanks. Malaysian politics is like one big Hong Kong series now. A very absent-minded person might even mistake our newspapers for an adults-only novel with the word "sodomy" thrown about so liberally.

In any case, I spent the day writing reminders to the two institutions. Don't say I'm merciless, lol.

What happened over the last hour:

Late at night.

Stomach growling.

But I don't feel like cooking a full-on meal.

I know! I'll make dessert instead!

Inspired by mom's dong fun in sugar + screwpine leaf syrup, I boiled some noodles and quickly cooled it in cold water to give it a bit more elasticity. No screwpines? No problem! I happened to have some juice mix in the fridge, its apple + pineapple juice. Add some sugar syrup too!

And... there we go! A nice cold bowl of dessert. The yellow colour from the fruit juice has made it look like someone has vomited noodles onto my bowl. And it tastes like... Mmm... it tastes like vomit too!

*vomits*

The noodles were too stiff and bland, the "soup" was too sweet and tasted odd. The whole thing was flawed. Good thing I didn't push on with my science studies, or I might blow up the lab. Yuck! Won't be trying that stunt again any time soon.

*Gnaws on bread (which is supposed to be breakfast) for supper instead.*

What will happen over the next hour:

I will sleep.

Pure genius of an idea isn't it?

What will happen over the next day:

Grocery shopping, and buying stuff for bicycle maintenance in anticipation of selling it. I have already found someone willing to buy my heater as soon as I leave. Yay.

What will happen over the next week:

Get ready to go home. I need to donate some stuff, sell some more, maybe ship some home, and carry the rest on the plane.

What will happen over the next month:

Attend farewell parties.

Eat Penang Char Kuey Teow!!! (Kulim also can)

A bit of entertainment for my readers. I find the chorus VERY catchy. In fact, I was humming this tune as I typed half this post. Enjoy!

I'd bet PETA will love this song, and I'm certainly NOT talking about People Eating Tasty Animals!

Self-Checkout Counters

2008-06-14T02:53:00.002+08:00

It must have been the most bizarre and unusual thing I've ever seen, or maybe its just because I've been sitting in a well for too long: Shoppers checking themselves out.

A supermarket downtown has installed 6 self-checkout counters a few weeks ago. This is basically a barcode scanner, a scale, an LCD touchscreen, a coin slot, a banknote slot, a card reader (in case you want to pay by plastic), yet another electronic screen with stylus so you can sign your name when you pay by credit card, a speaker, a receipt printer, and a bagging area with some plastic bags, possibly with a scale or some other sort of sensor too to detect cheating. There would be one or two staff members there to assist customers, and probably to deter shoplifting too.

It was erm... a weird, sometimes frustrating, but overall good experience. The machine is especially temperamental when I try to use my backpack to bag my groceries, so I normally just leave the stuff in the bagging area and bag it AFTER I've paid.

It needs some getting used to, but the privilege to pack my bag my own way (for example, I won't want bread at the bottom of the bag) and being able to stuff the machine with as many coins as I like without offending anyone, is well worth it.

And I've got lots and lots of coins... about a hundred dollars' worth of it sitting right next to me, accumulating since last year. I kid you, not.

Well, not for long :D

Off topic:
After shopping yesterday, I made a spur-of-the-moment detour to the hospital on the way home, and gave my 7th blood donation. That would be my first trip to the blood centre since I arrived in Australia, since I usually use the bloodmobile instead. Damn! Wish I've known earlier that they serve meat pies and milkshake along with the usual juice, water, fruit cake, and biscuits at the centre.

I'm still feeling good. A bit short on breath maybe, but that could be because of the cold weather. I will probably never understand those who complain about this and that after donating. Oh well...

32km/h winds with 104km/h gusts. Brr... Glad I'm done with my errands before things got that bad.

These legs are meant for walking, and that's what they'll do

2008-06-11T05:39:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I walked to the mall to do my grocery shopping, instead of walking to the grocers practically opposite my house, or cycling to town.

There is no reason for doing that other than doing it for the sake of doing it. Oh well, it was relatively good weather anyway, unlike today.

According to my maps, I've covered a total of 8.3km, not including when I was browsing the shelves for the juiciest watermelon (again).

That's weird, the walk felt like it was much longer. I used to cover the same distance in about an hour, that's about half and hour each way. Is that a sign of deteriorating level of physical fitness? Are these shoes no good? Are juicy watermelons that heavy? (at least it tasted very good. Eating it as if its a jar of cookie) I'll probably never find out, but at least I got good watermelons to munch on for tea, snack and dessert.

To those with a good pair of legs, yet can't even bear the thought of covering a quarter of that distance, I despise you.

Disclaimer:
Watermelons are not the only things I bought, but it is on top of the shopping list.

My Take on the Fuel Hike

2008-06-08T02:49:00.009+08:00

The Malaysian government has decided to increase fuel prices by RM0.70 a litre for unleaded petrol, and a little more than that for the others. The crowd goes wild~

Not wild with applause of course. In fact, they were on the verge of pelting rotten eggs.

There are many arguments. Some say that the government can sustain the fuel subsidies even longer. Some say we have enough oil for several decades, well beyond the often quoted 2014. Some say, we should have voted for PR last election. I say: Hurray!

No, I'm not insane. So as a sane person, let me put forward my arguments.

While I concede that a RM0.70 hike is too much and too fast, overall I like the news. Regardless whom are you talking to from doomsayers to even the most optimistic SUV driver, they all agree that we will run out of affordable oil. Sooner or later, it is inevitable. It is after all, a non-renewable resource.

Now now... I'm not saying that we will run out of oil outright. I emphasise again: AFFORDABLE oil. The folks saying that our oil is more expensive than other oil producing nations will do well to remember that they have on-shore oil wells. Ours was in Miri, but that's gone and we have since moved on to rely entirely on off-shore oil rigs, and they're more expensive. So here's the trend: As the cheap and easily available oil runs out, we have to use more expensive methods to get oil. How long do you think you can keep up driving that SUV? Can your bank account outlast every single drop of recoverable oil in Malaysia?

Back to the topic:

The problem is, while our economy relies heavily on petroleum production (along with electronics and palm oil), nothing has been done to lessen our dependence of that one finite resource. Our fertilisers, pesticides, consumers products, and energy are products of oil. We are floating our high standard lifestyles (compared to our neighbours, minus Singapore I guess) on oil. That seems to me, like hanging onto a burning rope, and guess what, its Greek fire. You can't put it out.

So, there are a few things to do.

We could, hang on and wait for the rope to finally snap. Of course, we might fall to our death, or at least a broken bone.

We could, try and slow down the rate the rope is being burnt. But it will still burn and eventually we well still end up in ICU.

We could arrange for someone to put a giant haystack underneath to break our fall. With luck, we might even get a giant trampoline! Then we'll be bouncing with joy well into the post-peak oil world.

The third option seems to be the best. Unfortunately, alternative energy is still at its infancy with solar cells being most promising yet notoriously inefficient. The other stuff is still either a novelty, or still need some refinements in the lab before it becomes a viable alternative. Many alternative fuel candidates actually needs more energy and resources to make it, than the energy they actually provide. Business-minded people might better understand this as a "net loss".

What I'm thinking, is that the best course of action is to buy time, while developing alternative means to obtain energy and products. A combination of option 2 and 3.

Malaysia has neither the heating requirements of Norway, nor the cooling requirements of Egypt. Yet, according to the World Resource Institute, we have somehow managed to become the 4th largest emitter of greenhouse gas per capita. To me, I think this says something is terribly wrong. Something is absolutely wrong with our lifestyles.

I think, this is high time we have another look at the way we harvest/obtain, process, transport, sell, use, and dispose of our resources. The less we use, the less we spend. Oh, and here's a bonus: more oil available for export.

I don't mean to sound like a tree-hugger, but going green makes perfect sense. A central part of going green, is to use less, and more importantly, waste less. Surely we can survive if our supermarkets stop giving away "free" shopping bags, force us to bring our own reusable bags, and pass the savings to us! And that's for starters!

Heck, even China, often associated with lousy environmental practices and poor quality control, has banned businesses from giving away free plastic bags, effective 1st June 2008. Bangladesh, which we treat as little more than a source of cheap labour, did that 4 years ago. Now... where do we stand, as far as efficiency goes?

We're a wasteful society! Certainly we can do better if people would just stop driving a staggering 600m to buy newspaper at the local 7-11 shop (yes, it happened in Malaysia. Malaysia Boleh~).

Of course, changing our habits is not the only thing. I want bicycle/pedestrian lanes built, public transport improved, electric bicycles made street-legal, recycling made easy...ect... and while we're about half-way done, please double fuel prices.

So what's with me and fuel prices? As my friend Titus so humorously pointed out in the opening of his recent blog post, the typical Malaysian is an ignorant fellow. Possibly as ignorant as *certain* Americans who can't even name a country that starts with U, such as the United States of America.

How do we convince the average ignorant and definitely *NOT* environmentally conscious (might as well be in a coma) Malaysian to be more frugal with our abundant yet finite resources? We hit them where it hurts most of course. That should shake things up quite a bit :D.

No no no, I mean the wallet, not the groin.

Perhaps there are a few lessons that we can learn from Cuba.

Hey, at least we're lucky. Unlike Cuba, we won't have our plug suddenly pulled like Cuba experienced when the Soviet Union collapsed. All imports including oil, and virtually the entire export market, just *poof* vaporised.

We still have time and resources, I just hope we have the brains to use it well too, before we die like a slow-boiled frog.

In the meantime, I'm riding my bicycle (Bring back concessions! Boycott NSW buses!) to buy some groceries. I have a sudden craving for watermelons.

PS:
I posted more links than usual on this post, and I certainly hope you'll click it. However, those in Australia who want to click "learn" may want to consider their bandwidth quota. Its a link to about an hour and a half worth of documentary on YouTube.

A special treat for my readers after a rather grim post:

An Obituary

2008-05-25T18:45:00.004+08:00

Dad sent me an obituary today, its my uncle's. I feel like banging head on the wall taking so long (posthumous!) to learn about his life, especially since I've always been curious how he got his medal.

The good old "run into a burning building to save someone" good deed. I'm proud to have known him. I wonder how aunty is doing.

Other business:
My housemate had a rather nasty cut on his finger last night, so I stopped the bleeding, closed the wound with wound closure tapes, and dressed it. Next morning, we removed the bandage, and he insisted to have the tape removed, although I recommended that it stayed longer.

The result? The wound reopens! So I'm back to Square-1, and get to do it all over again. By noon today, I have used up all my alcohol and iodine swabs, and my medium-sized combined dressings. I get to sterilise my scissors and forceps all over again too. 200 degrees Celsius for 2 hours, how much electricity is that?

Must have been painful, serves him right. He better not do that again, or I'll just ask him to borrow a sanitary napkin and use it to stop the bleeding. (As funny as it sounds, it actually works. Its sterile, and its highly absorbent)

I have since replenished most of my first aid kit, although I only managed to find alcohol swabs in bulk, a box of 200 swabs, lol.

PS:
Grandpa is breathing from an oxygen mask. Sigh

Unity

2008-05-22T04:11:00.002+08:00

No. This post has nothing to do with the "Sins of a Solar Empire" game. Instead, I'm talking about racial unity.

Yeap, after centuries of silence, one music video caught my attention. Although I normally prefer classical music over pop any day, this one just takes the cake. I LOVE IT. I love the message, I love the lyrics, and and I love tune.

So here it is!, enjoy!

Oh, and spread the word!

What happened since last post

2008-04-06T13:38:00.006+08:00

I hate politicians, but I can't help but be amazed by Penang's and Perak's new MB. Hope they keep this up. BN must be in a total rout and disarray, lol.
Easter break was great, I went to the Sydney Royal Easter Show with Mei Zhi and Sandra, both my juniors from HSC. It was an enjoyable day out watching all those shows. Well, except it rained a little while. Hmm... maybe that wasn't such a bad thing because 2 girls cuddled under my umbrella *blush* :p

Snapped about 700 photos.

Fireworks + Laser show finale at Royal Easter Show
Broke my mouse and keyboard, but thankfully not both at the same time. Dell replaced the keyboard for free while I bought a wireless mouse that comes with a charging station. No need to worry about batteries, just hook the mouse up to the charging station before I sleep. The mouse can last about a week before needing to recharge anyway.
I went for first aid training. The official name for the course was "Senior First Aid, Workplace Level 2". It's a 2 day course that cost AUD95 for students. It was very easy and I find it enjoyable. I hope I would never have to use my first aid kit, but if the time comes, at least I'll be ready.

I think I "kissed" the CPR mannequins too hard. I ended up with lacerations in my inner lip thanks to having my teeth rubbing against it. Ouch, it still hurts.

Mannequins for CPR training, minus the face masks. Creepy aren't they?
In view of my recent completion of first aid training, WUSA wants to send me for office occupational health and safety training. What the hell is that about?
On behalf for the Malaysian Association for Students, I helped sell some kuih on Diversity Week Market Day. Specifically, we sold kuih sago and kuih bakar. Made AUD43 in net profit :D

That's pretty good money for just 4 trays of kuih.
I went to a local pharmacy, asking for B.P.C. Standard Wound Dreassing No. 14. She have me a clueless look. I eventually bought them at another pharmacy downtown a few days later.

Note:
BPC Standard Wound Dressing is basically a sterile combine dressing with a bandage attached. It is used to control heavy bleeding by applying pressure, absorbing blood, and protecting the wound from infection. It usually comes in 3 sizes: 13, 14 and 15, 15 being the largest.
Bought 2 hot packs and a few pairs of warm socks. They're a blessing in the cold weather!
Bought a new lens, the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM, aka the little while lens. I've always ridiculed photography for having accessories that are pricier than the main thing, and this is one of those "accessories".

Man... all the things I've been through to save up the $$$, but it was worth every penny! The performance of this lens is unbelievable! Other than making it smaller, lighter and less conspicuous (black instead of white?), I don't see how is it possible to make a better telephoto zoom lens.

That being said, the size and weight is still bearable. I still remember my first attempt at lifting someone's EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM. It was even larger and nearly twice as heavy. Strictly gym-bugs only.
Yesterday was my housemate's birthday. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant called "Mylan" downtown. I had their "Special Vermicelli". Pretty good stuff, and the wine (I'd swear I didn't order it, it was already on the table) was one of the better ones I've tried, not that I'm an seasoned wine drinker (I think this would be my 4th glass in my lifetime) and I didn't like it that much anyway.

Special Vermicelli. The bowl was big enough to be my helmet!

After half a glass, I was very tipsy. Just short of being drunk. Yeah... I suck, and that means I don't want to cycle home. So I walked around the mall with the gang until I feel better, about 4 hours later.

Bought a book on philosophy while I'm at it. The tittle reads "The Great Philosophers: The Lives and Ideas of History's Greatest Thinkers". Interesting.
Speaking of birthdays, mine was rather uneventful except for some well wishes over the phone and MSN. Thanks, you've all made my day :)
Highly recommended documentary:
http://10tahun.blogspot.com/

Look right for links to download or stream it.

The book "Where Monsoons Meet: A People's History of Malaya" is good too, its a comical history of Malay from prehistory to Independence, with a heavy focus on European imperialism in Malaya. It gives a different perspective of Malayan history compared to our textbooks too: the people's perspective.

For those who like conspiracy theories, try "MAY 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969", which alleges that the riots were not a random event as suggested by the official version, but was planned by certain elements within UMNO to overthrow Tunku Abdul Rahman.
I'm wearing gloves to bed nowadays, lol.
A reporter wants to do a story about international students being harassed. Finally! Now my job is to grab a few people for him to interview. This won't be easy, but I hope something good turns out.
Wow.... I've got an anonymous comment. How cool is that :|
Someone actually reads this, lol.

We've done it! Makkal Sakti!

2008-03-09T05:14:00.005+08:00

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Today, I believe Malaysia has taken the first step towards a more liberal, plural society as well as a credible government.

What was previously impossible for over 40 years has been achieved, and I believe its a sign that Malaysia as a nation has matured. The dreaded 2/3 majority of BN's parliamentary seats has been broken for the first time since 1969, and this time without the racial riots.

For all night, I've stayed up. Munching on crackers, chewing on brie cheese, sipping on apple juice, and starring at my laptop screen. Until at about 8am, I can finally type this: We've done it!

The counting is still on, but the result is clear. Not only that BN has been denied its 2/3 majority, but 5 states (Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan and Perak) are now under opposition control. On top of that, it happened without the much "hyped" racial riots, a smack in the mouth for BN's scaremongering campaign.

From now on, the government and to opposition will have to fight for the people's love. If the government doesn't buck up, we might even have a change in government next election. Either way, its a win-win situation for the people, at last! A plural government at last!

There is a famous (but quite pricy) steak house downtown. That's where I'll celebrate. I had too many sandwiches already.

A moment ago, I went to YouTube and dug out a particular song. I've listened to it before, but this time, I cried. I really did. :')

Ahh... the winds of change. Ain't it sweet?

Election day

2008-03-08T10:02:00.002+08:00

Some people has taken notice in my recent interest in politics. Well, it is election year, and its not that hard to notice anyway. But I have this to say: I HATE POLITICS. Its so "dark". You don't always know what is true, what is false, or even something as fundamental as what is right, and what is wrong. You tend to lose track of those things sometimes. Still, if I don't care, who would? Someone's gotta worry about politics, preferably everyone! Its our future our Wakil Rakyat are debating about in the parliaments and assembly halls (as well as kicking each other about it).

I believe the old wisdom "power corrupts" is correct.

And absolute power corrupts absolutely.

No matter whom we vote, we put a politician in the parliament... and you probably know all those politician-related stereotypes already, although I must stress there should be a couple of not-so-crooked ones around. And therefore, for this elections, in interest of Bolehland, it is essential to give the opposition a victory of the slimmest margins, or AT LEAST break BN's accursed 2/3 majority.

*Chants: "Checks and balances. Checks and balances. Checks and balances."*

Polling day is today. Let the good times roll. I will be staying up all night until we have a clear winner.

May the winds of change bring a better Malaysia.

VOTE!

2008-03-05T05:46:00.002+08:00

According to the 100% accurate kennysia.com Who-To-Vote-This-Election Decision Generator™, I am voting for...

PARTI KEADILAN RAKYAT!

Who Should You Vote For This Election?

Wait a minute! I can't vote yet! Grr...

I'm in the news!

2008-03-04T15:18:00.003+08:00

Illawarra Mercury
4 March 2008
IQ Section, centre-spread

Wollongong is pretty but look out for the sun
Koh Jun Lin reckons Wollongong is prettier than his home city of Kulim in Malaysia.
Its quieter too, which suits the keen photographer down to the ground.
Jun Lin booked into a backpackers hostel when he first arrived and spent the next few days getting to know the town, getting badly sunburnt for his efforts.
"In Malaysia, the heat is so bad you run screaming out of the sun but because it was cooler here I got too comfortable and didn't realise I was getting burnt," he said ruefully.
But the smiling 19-year-old, who is studying nanotechnology at the University of Wollongong, has found the transition to life in Australia a mixed bag. The fact he is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay and English has helped him make friends wiht many international students, but although he found some of the domestic students quite friendly, Jun Lin had also been on the receiving end of racial taunts.
"One overt case was someone walked past me and said, 'All Asians go to hell.' And I know of international students walking home who have had things thrown at them by people driving in cars," he said. "One person I know had his bicycle spoke bent by an apple it was thrown that hard."
It has also been an expensive time, with the cost of living and studying in Australia for one year more than enough to buy a decent house back home in Malaysia.
"I refuse to take the bus unless it is raining because I don't like the prices," he said. "At home, it is extremely cheap. I can go to Penang an hour away for $3, here it cost that much just to get to Wollongong," he said.
Instead, Jun Lin walks into Wollongong from his house in Keiraville to do his shopping at Woolsworths. When walking is not an option, Jun Lin said he catches the train, but that too seems expensive and irregular.
But the two biggest adjustments for Jun Lin have been the high price of food and the fact there is a pub on campus.
"It is my second year here now and I'm still getting used to it," he said.
"Really good food here is expensive but in Penang, for $2 you can get a decent meal and still have enough left over for a drink.
"And finding a pub at uni was a big surprise for me. I don't drink but I do hang out there sometimes."

Except for making me almost 2 years younger, I like this article Katelin wrote. :D I'm actually 20 years, 51 weeks, 2 hours, and 24 minutes old when I type this line at 6.31pm.

So what else happened?

Well, the NSW premier wasn't kidding. ICAC says "sack the whole city council". Next day, the whole council is jobless. A bit heavy handed I guess, but hey, at least they're doing something. BPR is just for show, maybe lift its little finger once in a while to remind people its still exists.

Yesterday, I had a meeting marathon. 3 meetings in a single day. That was exhausting. At home, chatted with a friend to draw up a blue list for a trip to Tassie. Sounds like fun. Not much else happened.

Today, I donated some blood. 470ml of it. Nothing special happened. This is my 4th donation in Australia and 6th in my lifetime. YES! Keep it up! Real proud of myself.

PS:
The article did not mention that the walking time from Keiraville to Wollongong is approximately 1 hour each way, although the bicycle is sure to cut travel time.

PPS:
The case of apple bending a bicycle spoke. Maybe its an exaggeration, maybe it wasn't. Who knows? I'm just retelling. Anyone wanna play "Mythbuster"?

EDIT: Decided to photograph and post the newspaper here. Click for (slightly) larger image.

Ranting again

2008-03-02T02:17:00.002+08:00

I suspect I have a new hobby: ranting. Yeap, the disease that is so pandemic amongst blogger has infected me.

Right... on with the show!

Speaking of pandemics, It seems that quite a number of my friends have been infected by a new wave of "click-to-get-sick" MSN viruses. Of course, I'm not that stupid, but unfortunately 3 of my friends have been infected and so far have gotten nowhere in trying to remove it. Good luck folks.

I rode my brand new bicycle to the nearest Officeworks to buy some toner for my printer. Unfortunately, they have ran out of the single pack and are selling the cheaper-per-unit-but-more-than-I'd-ever-need twin packs. So, I now end up with enough ink to print 5000 pages and no clue what to do with it. Print flyers for DAP, PKR and PAS ar? lol. Before I could figure out what to do with all that ink, I found another problem: the box won't fit into my backpack, and so I rode back with the zippers open and the box peeking out the bag.

I'd dare say the bicycle cut my travel time by at least half despite the somewhat hilly terrain, but the seat was a literal pain in the rear! Argh... I can barely walk after running that errand. It'd probably be a bad idea to cycle the super-hilly terrain to uni, its not that far anyway, about 20 mins on foot? But its a definite advantage when going to town.

I don't have the strength and stamina that I had during my high school days any more though. All the stamina from swimming since childhood, participating in cross-country races (never won, but at least I completed the course), and all that strength from nearly seven years of working my way to a Taekwondo black belt... all that went to rot when I went to collage and everything comes to a crashing stop. I was never the best sportsman even just amongst my peers, but I'm certainly worse off today, lol.

So yeah, boycott NSW buses (unless it rains or I'm late). Wish I can boycott the trains too but I'm not keen on cycling all the way to Sydney.

In case you haven't notice, I've added a new widget on my blog, courtesy of Feedjit. Pretty cool isn't it? Makes me real curious though, who are all this people? Tasmania... probably June. Kuantan??? Victoria Point??? Say hi la people! lol. Especially the regular visitors.

Also, I've managed to find a copy of BN's 2004 manifesto. 4 years later, it turned out to be a load of cr*p. And now look who's accusing everyone else of making empty promises and claiming that they are the only ones who can deliver! lol.

There is also a corruption+sex scandal going on in the Wollongong City Council. Look what's going on... the NSW's (yes, just a state body, not federal level agency) ICAC (Independent Commision Against Corruption) is actually doing what took a Royal Commision to do in Malaysia. People are already resigning, and the Premier is already promising that heads will roll if ICAC makes the recommendation. Compare and contrast with BPR anyone?

Alright, enough politics for one day.

I've started playing a game called Ikariam, on my brother's recommendation:
http://www.ikariam.com

Don't ask me where did the name came from, but it looks interesting so far. Hopefully I can quickly control a good part of the technology and economy. As one fictional Colonel-General Pavel Leonidovich Alekseyev of World War III (as depicted in the novel "Red Storm Rising) fame puts it, "Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics". Or something like that...

My bro, ever the genius who somehow can't score in school exams, managed to get rank 28 within days, out of nearly 20k players. Gotta catch up!

I've got INTERVIEWED

2008-02-29T03:16:00.004+08:00

The Illawarra Mercury interviewed me and Carol, about our experiences in Wollongong as International Students.

Why me? Must be Komal's doing. Oh well~ So not to disappoint fellow international students, I think I ranted quite a bit about travel concessions and racism, including the fact that I WALK an hour to the mall for my shopping, in protest. Argh... gotta get a bike one of these days, but those friggin' hills between home and uni are a pain!

Of course, ranted about the absence of Penang food in the region as well, hehehe... Can't resist, temptation to rant about food was too great. Can't wait to see what Katelin writes on Tuesday's paper. I'd be sure to photograph it and post it here!

In other news~ (ok, that was so cliché) I've signed up for a Senior First-Aid Course, Level 2. Course date is 29 and 30th of March and made me $95 poorer, but at least that's student price and I don't have to march around in circles, under the sun, like the PBSM folks back in high school. Why did I want to take this course? Just in case of course. I don't share my dad's and many of my friend's (including at least one reading this blog, and one in heaven) passion to save lives, I'm not keen on sitting back and relax while someone dies either. Hopefully I don't have to use what I'm about to learn, but if it comes to that, at least I'll be ready.

Also, I've started to keep an organiser, making use of the free diary the uni gave. That's just to keep track of what's going on, like the student council meeting coming soon. I've been busy~. Got the idea from Liang Wei and Mike after observing them jotting down notes on such books.

Hmm... I think that's all for now.

UPDATE:
Got my bike, the cheapest one they have (not counting the children's bikes). Throw in a helmet, a rather fancy bicycle lock (the key comes with an LED for easy unlocking in the dark!), bicycle lights, minus the student's discount, the total comes to AUD240.

Not too bad, by Oz standards. My housemate got his, BIKE ONLY, for AUD500. Of course there is difference in quality, but hey! It works.

Oh, they provide 1 year of free service/maintenance too, in case I EVER get into the mood to travel to their shop far far away (estimate 1 hour 20 minutes walk). No way I'm going back there, I'd rather let the folks at the uni's bicycle club do it, since that's free too anyway, except parts of course.

More Update:
Bumped into Diane today, now a fresh graduate and working for the Illawarra Mercury. Pretty as ever. Nice to meet ya.

Rotten Morning

2008-02-26T05:08:00.001+08:00

Its only 8am, and I made this after 2 days of effort. Muahaha~ Photoshop CS3 and Illustrator CS3, the latest versions and working together in a very potent combination. Here is the result:

So I hit *Print!*, and specified a few settings, then out came the first copy of the leaflet.

Hmm... quite good, but needs a few changes. For one thing, one of the lines are too fine to the extent that it won't show up in print! And so, I made the necessary adjustments and hit *Print!*.

Nothing happened

I'm out of ink~. Well, out of toner actually, since this is a laser printer. Oh well, I'd suppose I'll have to cough up some big money for some fresh toner, after dad sends me some money that is. In the meantime, I'll just turn it into a PDF file and do my printing at uni, where the price = highway robbery.

*Click*Click*Click*

*Crash*

I can't believe this. But at least I have already saved the PSD file, UNLIKE YESTERDAY! Phew, still need to do a little work to make it print ready though. And finally, out came the PDF file. Now... just need to reach for my thumbdrive...

Hopefully, the rest of the day would be much better.

Here's something I snapped last Sunday morning, just to lighten things up for this otherwise depressing post. Its the result of taking a walk at 5am :D

Last night a fellow photographer actually asked me for this picture, to use as his wallpaper. lol, how flattering -^_^-

Enjoy!

btw, in case anyone is wondering where did I get that "Wau" picture in the leaflet: I photographed a 50sen coin with all the product photography skill I can muster (especially controlling the light with what little resources I have). Then I did some minor adjustments in Photoshop before exporting it to Illustrator and doing a "Live Trace" there. Voila!

Oh s***! I forgot to include the club's website!

*Goes back to Photoshop*

Chain Mails

2008-02-24T22:56:00.004+08:00

I hate chain mails.

They either threaten me with one thing or another if I don't pass it on within a certain time frame (I've often joked that this is the reason I don't have a gf, and its a miracle that I'm still alive, especially considering how many shamans have tried to put a curse on me over the years). However, under the circumstances, I have no choice but to forward this:

Passengers In Peril, 1st edition, Feb 2008

Dear readers,

Welcome to our first edition of Passengers In Peril, the monthly newsletter by the passengers to the passengers of express buses in Malaysia. We hope you had a great festive season and a safe journey to and from your hometown. The purpose of this newsletter is to create awareness among Malaysians (You!) about the situation regarding bus travel in the country and also to help garner support for action to be taken against perpetrators of reckless bus driving.

When the mention of bus crashes is heard, the first thing that comes to mind at this time is the recent bus crash near Slim River that took the lives of 3 youths who, as most of us, just wanted an affordable way of traveling around. In grief and pain, the family and friends of Lee Nian Ning, one of the crash victims, have created a blog and a petition with the purpose of “Demand(ing) that relevant authorities …... ensure that mistakes like this do not occur again in the future”.

As of 8th February 2008, only ten days after the creation of the petition, we have managed to collect more than 8,200 signatures from people of all walks of life. That translates to 34 signatures every hour! If you have not signed the petition for safer bus journeys, do visit www.buscrashnomore.blogspot.com and put in your vote for your life and those of the people around you.

Also, as support to this newsletter, it would be great if you could send in stories and pictures of your bus travel experiences to passengers.in.peril@gmail.com, and even greater if you could forward this newsletter to everyone you care about. Less than a minute of clicking of your mouse can create awareness among all your friends and at the same time provide you with (a minute amount of) exercise.

Alone you and I may not be able to make a difference, but together we can! = )

Editorial Team
Passengers In Peril

* The editorial team consists of 4 university students who aspire to be professionals in their respective fields but for now hope they can survive the years as students taking express buses.

Well, there used to be a logo on top, but I'm too lazy to add this to my blog.

Ahh yes... I'm now officially a hypocrite. Not only I'm spamming my dear friends, but I'm also contributing to this article! Oh well, hopefully we can get a more permanent setup by April and stop spamming people, if we get enough response to survive that long that is.

Alas, it turns out that after years of neglect, my contact list is out of date. Many email addresses no longer exists and as a result quite a few emails were bounced. What happens when too many emails get bounced on Google? They suspended my gmail account for a few hours! (either that, or my connection went nuts and I can't send mail via Outlook all the sudden).

And now, I've received another chain mail, this time from dad (he's good, only forwards stuff worth my time, and does not included a little verse from a shaman-wannabe, love ya dad!). I feel compelled to commit another sin and click the "Forward" button.

But... no.
I'm not keen of the idea. Suspending my account again? Sure I've cleaned up my list since, but... you'd never know. I'm not trying that stunt again unless I have to.

So instead, I'm posting it here and pray that someone (especially registered voters, as if any of these folks read my blog... or as if ANYONE reads my blog) drops by and feel compelled to vote for the opposition as I do, except I can't vote. @#@@# why put the election date just before my 21st birthday.

Fellow Malaysians.
For 50 years the BN government had ruled over us.
In the 50 years of their power,they had inflicted serious damage to our instituitions of government.
Do you still trust them to continue ruling for the sake of "political stability"as promoted by the BN government.
Just to recap recent events...

The legislature
Our paliament is a like a zoo.The arguments made in our august house sometimes are worse than those we hear in our kopitiams.
Fellow Malaysians are told in no uncertain terms to "keluar "by BN MPs if we disagree with their ideas. As if our citizenship is granted or withdrawn at their whims and fancies. Sexist remarks like "bocor" are made against our mothers, sisters and daughters in reference to their biological function. And they unashamedly refer to themselves as Yang Berhormat. Our constitution is amended without serious debate so often it is not worth the paper it is written on. For example, it was amended recently just so our present Election Commission chairman can extend his tenure of service. Not for another term mind you but just one year. Tell me, is he such a "towering malay(sian)" so much so that we should amend the constitution. Is he so indispensable that our constitution must be tinkered with?

The Judiciary.
The Lingam tape saga is another eye opener. The Judiciary must be seen to be whiter than white. Yet in the news lately is not one, not two, not three but god knows how many more are implicated in impropriety. Mind you, those implicated are the former chief justices too. Eusoff Chin, Fairus, Dzaiddin. So how can you trust our judges?

The ACA.
It is supposed to be our guardian against corruption. Rightly it should be an independent body. Yet it reports and is directed by our PM.
Is it little wonder investigations get nowhere when it involves many high level government officials and politicians of the ruling party? Have you wonder that ACA superintendent Chuah Lay Choo seem so sloppy in her work is because she has been directed by higher ups to close one eye? Worse yet, as testified by Jayanti in the Lingam Tape scandal, it appears the ACA itself is dishing out bribes to keep witnesses quiet.

The Immigration Department.
We read in the Altantuya trial of missing records 3 mongolians in the testimony of Uuriintuya Gal-Orchir.
“Counsel Karpal Singh, who is holding a watching brief for Altantuya Shaariibuu's family, expressed surprise yesterday when Uuriintuya Gal-Orchir said that there was no record of the three Mongolian women's immigration entries. He said that the matter needs to be investigated as it could be an attempt to hide statements that suggest that Altantuya had never entered Malaysia and thus could not have been murdered here.”
Yet nobody seemed concerned as to who ordered its deletion. It has to be high up. All the accused seem to have links to the DPM. Even the explosives used are military grade. And the DPM is also the Minister of Defence. Does it all add up? Your guess is as good as mine

The Civil Service.
Year in year out, the Auditor General lists out the outrageous prices our government pays its suppliers. It is your money too dummy.
Yet nothing seems to come out of it. Nobody seems to care or take responsibility. Everyone seems to be on the take so much so if you are not, you need your head examined.

The mainstream media.
It is now controlled by the government. The Star is MCA owned. NSTP, Berita Harian, Utusan Melayu are UMNO’s. So are the TV stations.
Everyday we are bombarded by government propaganda. They only spin out the government’s version of the news. Look at how they estimate the Bersih crowd in November 2007. A few thousand when there were tens of thousands.

Our Second Echelon Leaders.
Our leaders in waiting are also unsavory characters. Najib started the keris act and it has now been performed by Hisham twice. It seems his deputy, Khairy (not to be outdone ) is also in a hurry to carry on the tradition. Please guys, it is not very nice and friendly to point your weapon and threaten to soak it in your fellow Malaysians blood. Even in jest. Even if we are desensitized to your childish act.
You do not seem to be able to differentiate between your fellow Malaysians and Malaysia ’s real enemies.

Traitors
Namwee sang a controversial song on Negarakuku. He was called a traitor and worse. But in the 50 years of BN misrule, our institutions of Government and civil society have been damaged badly by them as can be seen above.The corruption perpectuated by the BN surely has weakened our country more than our external enemies can ever do. Surely the acts and omissions by the BN government are so much more serious and treacherous. So what do we call the BN…
Make the change. Make it now.
Fellow Malaysians. Please do not leave this state of affairs to your children, your grandchildren and Malaysians yet unborn. It is a crime to them. Instead let us all strive to leave a better Malaysia for them to live in. Giving the BN another mandate again is political stability to do more damage to our beloved Malaysia . We will all suffer for it. You will not escape the consequences just because you are a bumiputra. You will not escape the consequences just because you are a non bumiputra. The rot is serious. The rot is deep. But the rot can still be stopped. Something can still be salvaged and rebuilt. But it is imperative the cause of the rot must go. The rot happened during BN’s watch. The BN government should be held accountable. The BN government must take the rap. The BN government must go and now.
In Australia , the people threw out John Howard. In Pakistan , President Musharraf ‘s allies got a drubbing. In USA , the democrats are making history. They will either have a lady presidential candidate in Hilary Clinton or the first black presidential candidate in Barack Obama. Either way, they are making the necessary change. Let us show courage. Let us also make the change. Let us make the change now. Malaysia will be better for it.

So much for what my Local Studies, History and Malaysian Studies lecturers and teachers have told me, especially that "the constitution is a sacred document".

C'mon folks, don't vote BN. Vote for a farm animal if you have to, just not them! Otherwise... well... Its not that hard for me to get a PR, and hopefully Oz citizenship, lol. Cabut lah, that place can still survive one ar? Pay is one thing, but putting up with that charade again!?

Besides, ~~toppling~~ changing governments is the latest trend for the new year of 2008. Its the cool thing to do. lol! Vote for change lah. Otherwise susah nanti lah.

To those who are still unconvinced, my advise would be to do something every wise decision maker was mastered: Listen to both sides, and think critically. But then again, since when Malaysian students are taught to think critically? They just shove the lot down our throats!

Oh well, enough of that. Let's have something funny instead.

Superfunny! I would highly recommend the other videos by Comedy Court too.

Wee~
*Replays "Election blah blah blah" for the 7th time*

Return to Wollongong

2008-02-22T13:59:00.002+08:00

Would you like a window seat or an isle seat, sir?"

Normally I'd take the window seat. Yeap, with camera at hand and going at 3 snaps per second.

"Isle seat please" I smiled.

Not today.

Not in the mood.

When I was on my first flight to Australia, I was sad, but also excited. I know very well who and what I'll miss, but anticipation to see what is Australia, and specifically Wollongong, looks like, kept my sprits up.

On the return trip, it was the anticipation of getting back all I ever missed keeping me happy. VERY happy. In fact, 3 months in Malaysia has fattened me up, made me lazy, and generally ignorant of what's going on in Australia.

On my 2nd flight to Australia, the excitement has left me long ago, and what remains is just missing. Missing my family, friends, the good (and cheap!) food and unlimited (although quite slow) internet. And that's just for starters.

Its a MAS flight, transiting at KLIA. I had a little déjà vu moment. I have the isle on one side, and an empty seat on the other. I should have thought of flying to Sydney with Liang Wei earlier. Who cares if he's flying on JetStar if I can get some good company (and maybe the opportunity to ask a few questions about his beautiful sis? lol j/k).

In any case, the food was decent (but I'll take SIA's airline food over MAS' any day) and service was as advertised. As for legroom, I guess-timate its 2" more than SIA's. At least they've got ice cream.

Somewhere along the way, I'm not sure if it broke on transit, and while I was dragging it, or how did it happen, but one of the wheels on my 25 kg luggage went missing. Dragging this mass from the airport, to the train station underneath it, then the transiting at Wolli Creek, and dragging it again from North Wollongong Station to home a few kilometres was a nightmare, but I've done it with significant amount of elbow grease. Fortunately, it was a fine day for a walk.

I didn't waste much time getting in touch with my friends here. Giving gifts here and there. The batik shirt I bought fit perfectly on its intended recipient and he loves it. I've also taught a few people how to play "congkak", and they all find it interesting. I've won and lost some games too.

I've been trying to catch up with what's been going on at uni since I was gone. I've got a vague picture and I'm still asking around. So far, its not good :(

Oh well, back to the salt mines.

Sigh... As keep just trying to keep up with both Australian and Malaysian media at the same time isn't time-consuming enough.

Random Stuff That Crossed my Mind

2008-02-18T04:46:00.002+08:00

My dog bit me! ARGH!!!
I can't believe it. All I did was trying to get grandpa's used/discarded medicated plaster (for arthritis I assume) out of my dog's mouth, and it bit me! BAD CAESAR!

Fortunately, it wasn't intent on crushing my wrist. Otherwise... well...... go ask my grandpa about what happened to the regular supply of pig's (and occasionally cow's) femur Caesar gets.
I can't believe it, its Monday already. Tomorrow night, I'll be on a 8.35pm flight to Sydney, transiting at KLIA. The transit time is 1 hour, 10 minutes, not too bad.

I would prefer to fly with SIA, but unfortunately they're fully booked :(. Those baggage handlers at KLIA better not get busy body with my luggage, or else... Er... or else what har? I put a cobra in my luggage the next time I transit in KLIA? lol
The elections are on, and as predicted, I'll still be 20 on polling day. Ahh...! It's a conspiracy to prevent me from voting for the opposition! (I hope you do realise I'm not being serious)
Looks like the Royal Commission investigating the Lingam video scandal has decided to give me a birthday present. On that special day when I grow into that magical number 21 (haiz..., sometimes I hate growing up), they'll be presenting the results of the inquiry. Hopefully something VERY good turns up, unlike the previous inquiry into the police force which resulted in little more that just worthless words.
I managed to meet up with one of my high school friends and got her contact list. I've lost contact with many of them since the last time I flew to Australia. Hopefully, this would help mend the fence even while I'm going to Australia for a second year. Missed them...
My sis, despite the sudden switch from science stream to arts, AND taking one more subject than her peers (because she was unsure what she wants, not because she wants to show off) has done it again. Her results for every test was a double digit number that starts with "8". I'm so proud of her, and maybe a little jealous, hehe. I wouldn't be surprised if the family gets something really worth celebrating when the SPM results are out, like... straight A's?
My parents threatened to force me to stay in Australia for next summer, and take the summer session if my results this year are unsatisfactory. No authentic Penang food, no Chinese New Year, no reunions, don't get to see the new house any time soon, and certainly no..... ARGH!!! STUDY!!!
My friends from biotech-06 class are inviting me to join them on a trip to Tasmania. My friends from HSC-05 class wants a reunion, maybe Cairns. Oh dear, I may need to eat sandwiches for the whole semester.
Let's see if I can get first-aid training on the coming Saturday. Not sure if I can book a place, but I'm really excited!
Didn't donate blood in January as planned, because that month I went down with a viral fever and was eating paracetamol like candy. Sigh...

No matter, the blood mobile will be visiting uni in March :D

Just need to make sure that I don't go hiking or anything like that afterwards, or dad will scold me again.
To all my friends, whether you're reading this or not. Please take care, and hopefully we'll meet again in the near future :)
Got any "interesting" experiences with express buses in Malaysia? Email and share it at passengers.in.peril 'at' gmail 'dot' com! It might just end up in their PiP newsletter. Be sure to include the bus company's name, so people would know who to go to, and who to AVOID. Kekekeke...
Can you believe I just bought a congkak set and will be bringing it to Australia?
Valentine's day was just another day. Don't ask, or you will have bad luck in your romance for... nah. I'm not nearly as cruel as the shaman who wrote all those chain mails. Of course I'll wish you all the best :p
I also bought a batik shirt as a gift, to a friend in Wollongong from China. Believe it or not, after the effort put into just finding it, I'm quite convinced that this is the last batik shirt on sale in Kulim. Wee~
I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food. I'm gonna miss Penang food.
Of course, mom's cooking rocks too!
Photography is all about taking control of composition and light. Master these, and you can use any (working) camera on earth and still amaze people.
Ok, that last bit was REALLY random! And so is this!
I hope the Australian Quarantine Service won't give me too much fuss.
OMG, I haven't finished that green tea!
*gulp*gulp*gulp*

Expensive stuff, must not waste...
*gulp*gulp*gulp*

Must finish before I go
*gulp*gulp*gulp*
Okok, that's enough for one post. Thanks if you managed to read this far =)

Chinese New Year

2008-02-07T00:16:00.000+08:00

A fireworks show in Kulim, celebrating the coming of the year of the Golden Rat, 2008

To all those observing the holiday, I wish all of you a Happy Chinese New Year. Every year bring you better fortunes that the last.

Dear friends, please do visit me if you can. Just let me know when you're visiting in advance so I can put the dog under leash and muzzle before you arrive. Believe me, you won't want it on the loose for the first half hour or so.

Apathy and Ignorance No More

2008-02-06T00:08:00.000+08:00

It wasn't too long ago when I don't give a damn about what goes on around me. I believed politics to be a past time best left to old men with a keen interest to be on the giving, receiving (not forgetting gossiping and listening) end of lies, slander, scandals... the lot. The last thing I want to know about, are political intrigue so scandalous that it'll make the Romans blush.

In fact, at the beginning of the year, I was still a member of the ignorant grey masses: The people; the sheep which bleats and baa, but would still follow the shepherd's will regardless.

No more, I was shocked to my senses. A rude awakening to 20 years of living in dreamland. The cost of dreaming was too high. I've lost a friend.

The apathetic Malaysian, ever so carefree and forgetful, has allowed this tragedy to happen. At the very very least, someone could have give the driver a shout when they noticed he was speeding or SMS-ing. But that didn't happen. Neither did the countless promises made in wake of previous accidents. As far as I know, thing cooled off and the real tigers were replaced with paper ones, until the next time something happens, probably taking another precious life with it.

It is simply impossible to avoid politically involvement when you're a part of society. It affects every aspect of your life, and those of the people around you. I was so naive to think I can simply ignore it all. Go on with my happy-go-lucky life. Sigh...

Let it be known then, this is my belated 2008 resolution:
I shall shed my former shell, and become a "Concerned Malaysian". I acknowledge that, being only one person I can only do so much. I can't handle every single issue in the nation, but at least there will be a start, and there will be something I'll be trying to change. I've said I'm not content with just signing a petition, so that's that. I'm going to do something about it, and its already a work in progress.

Before my time is up, I vow to leave a dent (preferably a meteorite crater) in society. One that will change it for the better. Wish me luck.

A side note:
What a timely wakeup call. My 21st birthday is not to far away. Probably too late to vote in the coming election, but better late than never.

Memorial Service, Post-event report/thoughts

2008-02-03T23:44:00.000+08:00

Well, what do you know? I'm still alive! lol, ok. Joke's over.

Nian Ning's memorial service came and passed. The tiny hall was filled right up to the door, and indeed, the press showed up. However, I fear that only one paper sent their crew, because they all wear the same shirt. So far, only Sin Chew reported the event. Its good that they did mention the petition that is going on, but I'm worried about how much attention are we actually getting from this?

Nian Ning's memorial service (click to enlarge)

Note: At Sin Chew's website, you can switch between the traditional and simplified script by clicking a button on the top right corner.

There was a short (because they can't continue anymore) eulogy by some folks. It was touching, and the more I learn about this girl, the more I believe her death was a terrible, terrible loss. Definitely a loss for her friends and family. Almost certainly a lost to the community, and possibly, her dad might be right: a loss to the nation. What a loss... :(

A loss that shouldn't have happened.

On the way back, since I was already at a bus station, I picked up a ticket to KL for my sister's return trip after her CNY holidays. Sigh...

To be honest, I'm not very optimistic about this campaign.

If history could serve as a guide, then at worst, the government ignores this. They have been discrediting bloggers not too long ago anyway.

At best, they'll do the "fortnight fury, then no more story" routine. Yeah, a bunch of sting ops and then everything returns to the apathetic "normalcy".

The coming election is a double-edged sword. On the plus side, a politician might actually do something and say "look folks, I'm not deaf! I actually have a pair of perfectly usable ears!". Also, since it is generally agreed that Penang is an easy place to win and lose seats, maybe they'll be extra careful. All we need is publicity, yeap. Lots and lots of publicity.

On the minus side however, election-related news might take up valuable manpower and paper space from the press, as well as our badly needed publicity (not to mention the public's attention). In addition, who knows what if it ends up being just another politician's empty promise to give false hopes and get votes?

Regardless of all that pessimism, I'm giving this campaign my wholehearted support, call me stubborn/foolish/whatever-nasty-word-you've-just hatched-up if you like.

Nian Ning died in part because of apathy. Bus crashes have happened many times before, who cares? The survivors say the driver was SMS-ing, so what? Some say the driver was speeding on a rainy day, yawn... Oh no, the bus has 13 summons! meh, never mind.

Apathy kills! And I refuse to be a murderer. Say no to the "tidak apa" attitude! Do something, and make sure it lasts (for once! dammit!).

May miracle happens and reason prevails.
Otherwise, Vision 2020 doesn't even stand half-a-chance of succeeding.

Seriously, part of me wants to stay in Malaysia and enjoy the new house my parents are building, and Penang food of course.

The other part of me just wanna scoot and never look back. (now... now... escaping from responsibilities and reality aren't we? Sigh)

Update:
Yeah, this is what I wanna see, more publicity!

Guang Ming Daily (They've got pictures!)

The Star

Whoa... is it just me, or was there a 232 signature boost since I woke up an hour ago? I think it was 4250 signitures not too long ago, and now its 4482. Gotta love the media, eh?

Update again:
Approximately 2 1/2 hours since last update, the petition just hit 5000 signatures.Here is the screenshot of it happening.

As usual, just click for a larger image. You could have seen the date too in the screenshot, but a friend of mine popped up and I didn't notice, lol. Anyway, the dateline reads: is Monday, 4 February 2008.

Its amazing, that means since 10.00am, we're getting 3.5 signatures PER MINUTE. And I'd swear, at some point there must have been one every 5 secs or so. Simply amazing... an overall average of approximately 42 signatures per hour.

PS: In the 30 mins it took me to add this update, another 143 people pledged their support.

How ironic...

2008-02-02T23:30:00.000+08:00

I can't believe this...

Just as I dug out a map to the temple from the vastness that we call "the Internet", and getting ready to attend tomorrow's memorial, my mom brought me a grim news: Car is dead, and there is no way I'm going anywhere with it until afternoon tomorrow. Hmm... wouldn't that be.... late?!

After much ado, a revised plan is made. I would take a bus (The ultimate irony! Ride a bus to the memorial service of someone who died in a bus accident, and then campaign for improved safety on buses!), then a ferry to Penang. An old friend of mine would pick me up from there (thank you, and to your parents too!).

In case you think I'm comfortable with buses already, the fact is NO! I'll be packing a first aid kit in my backpack. Besides, the Kulim => Butterworth bus trip is not a long-distance bus right? *gulp*

PS: To be fair, there are also a fair number of other unrelated occasions where I've packed a first aid kit. You know, just in case. In fact, a small first aid kit was one of the first things I bought while settling into my new house in Australia.

Memorial Service

2008-02-02T08:08:00.000+08:00

Yeap, you heard the lady (see comments section of previous post), go to Nian'z memorial service and voice your anger, disappointment and sorrow over this tragedy. Of course, pay your respects Nian Ning too if you want.

The press corps will be there, and I'd suppose (almost) nothing screams "We want action!" better than a huge (but peaceful) crowd showing up on front page news. So please show up and show your support.

Here's a permalink to the post about the memorial service:
http://buscrashnomore.blogspot.com/2008/01/memorial.html

And for those who are not too familiar with Penang's geography, here's a map:
http://www.mahindarama.com/mbt/roadmap-temple.jpg

So please come to Mahindarama Temple on 3rd Feb 2008 (tomorrow! Sunday!) at 10am.

The more the merrier, because every little bit helps.

One way tickets

2008-01-30T21:02:00.000+08:00

Its been a long time hasn't it? Where was I?

Ahh yess.... I was busy bragging.

Much has happened since I last posted something. Not surprisingly, given the lengthy period of absence. Among others, I've been elected as International Students Representative for the student union last year, and I'm in office since New Year. There are also a myriad of other posts it various organizations. Perhaps I've been over-active in extracurricular activities, because my exam results were less-than-impressive. Better get my act together, or I stand to lose just about everything.

I've also sent my sister to KL, to study at TARC. Oh boy, the red tape was a nightmare. What was supposed to a one day escort job turned into a two day marathon of patience. We were very fortunate to have an uncle living nearby and providing temporary accommodation. Its good for my sis too, since she is very close to my cousin, and now they can visit each other every weekend! Heh... crazy gal, she decided to take 5 subjects when she only needed 4. But I'm sure she can handle it. Unlike me, she has a tendency to score Straight A's quite often. There seems to be a Chinese Orchestra here too. Good for her, I'm sure she'd love it. She was the chairperson of a similar group in secondary school.

Anyway, aside from getting through that nightmare, I'm also glad that the bus ride was uneventful. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my friend, who took a bus from Penang to KL a few days ago. The Konsortium Bas Ekspress Sdn Bhd bus skid, slammed into the road divider, and flipped on its side. An MPV, unable to stop in time, crashed into the wreck.

My friend, Nian Ning perished in that accident, along with two others. The driver escaped with a broken leg. Police say there are 13 summons issued against the bus (but not the driver, weird huh!). Survivors say the driver was SMS-ing and speeding on a rainy day.

It was such a rude shock to me. I have dealt with death before, my great-grandmother, my (other) uncle, my teacher's wife... ect. But this is different, she died so young, so tragic, and she was so full of promise. I think I'm done reeling from shock by now, but I assure you that's a very very recent development.

We met only briefly, just for one semester, and she spent a significant portion of that in hospital due to a badminton accident. But she sure left an impression, and that's no small feat because I'm terrible with names and faces. Just ask some of my close friends, I do make some very awkward "Do you remember XYZ?" "Err......." moments. Aye, what do you expect from one who turns the house upside down while holding a pen, searching for something to take a message over the phone with?

Best moment ever was actually a internet chat with her after she was discharged from hospital after the aforementioned badminton accident. During a game with a mutual friend, the shuttlecock got lodged in her eye, resulting in temporary blindness and an eye bandage. Was she angry? If she was then she did a good job hiding it. She was more like "Arr... I'm a pirate". Laughing all the way...

The last time I contacted her was Merdeka day. Her university was hosting the Malam Gema Merdeka event and I was going. Turns out she's staying put at home to study for an exam. She then took interest in my MSN display picture (a 50th year of Independence logo) and asked for it so she can use it as DP too.

I had always wanted to pay her a visit. UoW wasn't that far from UNSW. About 2 1/2 hours by public transport, close enough for a day trip. In fact I've made several such trips to Sydney, two of which took me to UNSW. Missed my chance I guess.

Its sad that one such as her just passed away like that, but what's even sadder is that this isn't the first time a reckless bus driver has put literally a busload of lives on the line. Worse? Each time (expect this time!?) the government unleashed a flurry of action against bus drivers and companies, only to quietly cool from Saharan heat to Antarctic chill within the fortnight, until tragedy strikes again.

Sigh, and to you, the poor lost souls who accidentally wondered into the ruin that is my defunct blog, here's what you can do. Do everyone a favour and sign this petition will ya? Show some love, and spread the word too. I just hope we'd be able to maintain the pressure this time, that's the only way to counter ineffective knee-jerk reactions.

"It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it"
---- General Douglas MacArthur

Sigh... "fatal" is right... too right. I've taken this quote out of context? Maybe, but too many lives has been lost to ignorance and apathy.

As for the poor very very lost souls who stumbled into my blog without a clue what's going on, here's a Facebook group dedicated to Nian Ning. There are lot's of links, comments, photos and videos posted there. That should bring you up to speed on what she and this accident is all about:

In Loving Memory of Lee Nian Ning: 1987-2008

Not content with just leaving my mark there (and that petition) and leave, I tried gathering some data. Perhaps I could construct a detailed timeline of fatal bus express bus accidents, or even do some number crunching and turn it into statistical data. When are bus accidents most likely to happen? Which company should be crowned "Devil's carriage"? That could be useful to any lobbyist?

Alas, I forgot I'm not in Australia. The only thing I can get from the government are road-kill statistics from the police website, sorted by vehicle, driver/passenger numbers, and year (2002-2006).

I tried to dig though the media archives, and no luck there either. The Star keeps their online archive for up to a year only (that also means the links on the Facebook group won't last forever). E-media, which seems to be the one behind New Straits Times, Berita Harian, and a few other publications, keep their records all the way back to 1991. Yay~. But the downside is, if I want anything more that excerpts, they want my credit card (huh?! what credit card?) and take a few hundred Ringgit for it. Their search engine is quite crappy too.

And my problems don't end there. Even if I get the full article, they don't always have all the information I'm looking for. The name of the bus company involved is especially hard-to-get, leaving a lot of "Unknown"s in my Excel spreadsheet. Eventually, I just have up. It was a futile, physically and emotionally draining exercise (so much so that I slept in front of my laptop) that I simply don't have the political muscle and manpower to pull off. A spreadsheet full of holes is useless to anyone anyway.

I have this to say though, certain bus companies do show up more often than others, even while I've been careful to filter out everything other than media reports to avoid duplicate hits. Konsortium and Transnasional seems to be quite prone, but with the scarcity of information, and no knowledge of their scale of operations (conventional wisdom suggest that the bigger your operation, the more accidents you have), it would be premature and unfair to draw any conclusions (unfair... I'm gonna hate myself for saying this, but I can't argue with that). Nonetheless, its a tantalizing piece of clue.

The only way to get to the bottom of this, information campaign wise, is from official records, especially police reports and investigations. Hmm... its an election year, anyone wanna have a go at lobbying for something like America's Freedom of Information act? lol. Our government has talked lots about transparency right, let's see if they have kept their word.

As for the driver and whoever put him behind the wheel, I have this to say. I'm very tempted to beat them all to a pulp. But here's the catch, would it bring her back? No. Is it a good idea to taint the memory of a lovely, cheerful girl who so fervourishly pursued a career in medicine, with blood? No. Even if it does bring her back, is this how she wants to be brought back? No.

Sigh, hopefully survivor syndrome catches up on them and wrecks their nerves. Malaysia's mental healthcare system is virtually non-existent anyway (unfortunately for the other survivors). Hopefully, the law would nab them too, and give them something worthwhile, not a mere 3 months jail time or something.

I'd guess the only way to cherish her memory, other than remembering her, is to ensure that preventable accidents like this do not occur any more. To ensure that she, and many others (too many) before her do not die in vain. Perhaps in that way, she would still be saving lives. Its just not the way she expected. But aside from leaving my name on a petition and telling people about her story on my deserted blog, what else can I do? SOMEBODY GIVE ME A CLUE!

Rest in peace Nianz.

Sis, please be safe when you take the bus.
:'(

Ansel Adams!? Me?

2007-05-21T09:14:00.000+08:00

I normally won't bother with such quizzes. But this one really tickled my interest. So I figured: What the hell?

And "What the hell?" indeed. ANSEL ADAMS!!?

Which famous photographer are you?

Ansel Adams: Known for large scale silver gelatin landscapes especially of Yosemite National Park

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

PS:
In case you're wondering, despite my very long hiatus from this blog, I am still alive and well, thank you. Except its too cold here.

Believe it or not, by the time I finished breakfast and washed the dishes this morning, I couldn't take the cold any more. So, I walked into my bedroom, and placed my hands ~~over~~ on the heater, which has been running overnight. Ahh... that felt good......

Fly away!

2007-02-12T16:36:00.000+08:00

14 February 2007 6.05pm
GMT +8 hours

Bye bye Malaysia.

New glass (no, not camera glass)

2007-01-29T16:46:00.000+08:00

I've got a new pair of glasses. No, my vision haven't worsened, although it has been almost 4 years since the last time I had new specs. The idea is to have 2 specs, 1 for normal wear while the other serves as backup in case of accidents while I'm abroad.

It feels so refreshing when I first put it on. My old glasses had some scratches which blured my vision a little, as well as introducing lens flares. The coating is messed up too, because I didn't learn the methods of proper lens care until I took up photography :p

Like my old specs, it comes with magnetic clip-on sunglasses, but this time its a polarized lens instead of just a grey-tinted plastic.

Unfortunately, my new shades are scratched before I even got my hands on them (thankfully, the optometrist was kind enough to point it out) so I smiled and asked them to replace it.

Until then, no shades for my new specs :(. At least they pointed out the scratch, kudos to Yeoh Optical Centre @ Jalan Teoh Moh Soo, Kulim.

Update on uni

2007-01-23T19:38:00.000+08:00

It has been awhile since I last updated this blog.

I have decided to do Bachelor of Science (Nanotechnology) in University of Wollongong. That's 80km south of Sydney, in case you didn't know. And if I do well, I'll move into Bachelor of Nanotechnology, which has some research work on the final year.

My new passport is ready for collection, my air ticket is being arranged (should be flying off in the 3rd week of February, before CNY), and blah blah blah....

I foresee no problems in the next few weeks

Execpt one: accomodation

To add to my problems, I'm a late applicant. Deadline is 2 months ago. I just hope this goes as well as the rest of the week. Although one might argue that I should have applied earlier, it's a shame to ruin a week a smooth sailing with a little snag. Life has been easier ever since I made up my mind to go UoW, until now.

I did a little Google Earth magic, and seems like there will be hardly a dull moment, IF I manage to find some spare time. The botanical gardens are just opposite the uni's main entrance. A short distance to the West, there is a hiking trail. A little south of Campus East (hopefully, that's where I'll live), is a planetarium. A little to the East, is some reserve land, and the beach. The public transport system there seems well connected too. I just hope its reliable...

Hmm... now what......

Hope all goes well.

Mixed Fortunes

2006-12-17T15:27:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a day of mixed fortunes for me.

I was working as the official photographer on the Open Day of my college. Then, I was to attend a reunion party with my classmates from my HSC days. Titus hitched a ride with me.

Before I left, I gave the passwords to my laptop to my dad (I'm changing it later btw). He's going to PC Depot to buy some RAM, so he decided to give my laptop a little boost too. Problem is, he heard that branded computers use non-standard sockets so that the generic stuff won't fit. Therefore he wanted to bring my laptop there for on-the-spot testing.

I couldn't decide how much RAM I wanted. The more the merrier, but I didn't want dad to spend a fortune on it. So I asked dad to check the prices and buy whatever that fits the bill. Then, off I went to fetch Titus, and back to college.

We arrived early so we spent about an hour walking aimlessly through the corridors, and eventually went to the hostel to watch TV (Discovery Channel, what else :p ). Went back to college at 9-something.

The Open Day itself went well. I snapped about 90+ pictures (unusually low number due to the absence of camwhores). There were quite a few familiar faces, like my former tuition teacher, Chun Keat the astronomer (why didn't he bring his L lens ...... I could have borrowed it T_T ), and my former teacher's son (where's my teacher?).

As for the lunch... its red...... all read...........

The rice is red...
The vege is red...
The meat is red...
Everything's swimming in red gravy......

Death is near.......

Anticipating a firestorm on my tongue, I ran over to the nearby convienience store and bought 2 cans of my favorite drink: jasmine tea. But in the end, it turned out it wasn't that spicy. Its roughly on par with the beef rendang mom cooks (to be fair, mom's rendang is tailored to suit my spice-intolerant tastes).

When the Open Day is over, I waited for Titus a while (he went off to play DotA with some friends) and later head off to Gurney Hotel. I originally intended to follow someone there, but since everybody is heading home to change first, and we're short on time (its rush hour too), we decided to stumble our way there. Let memory (more like instinct, or perhaps vague images at best) and signboards guide our way...

While driving straight across a T-junction, a car suddenly turned into the main road (in front of me) when he shouldn't. Fortunately, I had good brakes, and stopped just in time. Just barely. Unfortunately, the guy behind me was either following too close, or didn't have the same privilege of good maintenance.

Bang!

I'm just glad to motorcyclist who ran into me was unhurt, but his scooter is history. The plastic parts fell all over the place. The cover of my car's boot compartment is bent, and one of the rear lights were out of place. Bumper is scratched.

I was in a hurry, and he wanted to discuss this with his dad anyway. So we exchanged names, IC, and phone number and left. My misfortunes weren't over. There were road cloasures everywhere. Add that to the massive jam, and my unfamiliarity to the roads in the area, I'm lucky to reach the hotel at all. Hate the drive up to the hotel carpark. Costs RM4 (thanks to Titus for footing the bill) and its one crazy spiral like Prangin Mall and Gurney Plaza.

The alumni gathered outside the ballroom first, trying to wait for everyone to arrive before entering but eventually went in without IICP HSC 05's sweetest couple :p (Hint: Piano and Prom)

We were one rowdy crowd... It was loads of fun. Pity many didn't came.

The guy to ran into my car arrived at the lobby later, and called me. While I was busy driving and chewing on lasagne, he was talking to my parents at home, and my dad agreed to settle the matter for RM200. So I went to the lobby with Titus to collect the money. I also borrowed some stationary from the hotle reception to put it in black and white, that the matter is settled.

At least the guy who ran into me was a reasonable gentleman. If it were some gangster, or even just someone who swears non-stop, I don't think this matter would have settled as quickly, pleasantly and peacefully as it did. Kudos to this certain Mr Leo ;)

As for the party itself, we were one rowdy bunch. I can see the hotel staff putting on a big smile as the show goes on, like when we forced Yi Juin and Mr. Goh onto the stage to sing, and another lecturer to dance.

After the party, we stumbled our way home again. This time, we managed to find our way to the PORR, and went to the bridge from there. I felt tired half way across the bridge, so I let Titus take over the wheel when we reached to Juru rest stop. I fell asleep until we arrive at Kulim.

When I got home, I just brushed my teeth and sleep. Didn't bathe. It was about 12.30am, the end of a tiring day. Did I mention I had several cups of coffee (Nescafe was distributing free coffee at the college) and yet another during the party? Maybe it was decaf... oh well......

Next morning, I woke up at around 9am to find the PC was upgraded to 1GB RAM (from 256MB). My laptop now has 1.25GB RAM (from 512MB). Yahoo~ Long live daddy!!!

Unfortunately, the PC had lots of problems since the RAM was installed. I don't know if the RAM was dad, or something was broked when dad tried to force the RAM into place. In any case, I'll be busy trying to save whatever data I can, and figure out how to fix the problem. It won't stop crashing and restarting.

In the meantime, is there anyone reading this interested in taking my old laptop RAM off my hands? Its a 1 1/2 year old, 256MB (I can sense many people losing interest after reading this...) Samsung 144-pin, 1.8V, SO-DIMM DDR-2 RAM. Mint condition.

Friends?

2006-12-15T01:10:00.000+08:00

Quite recently, a total stranger sent a friend request to me on Friendster.

Approved.

Her MSN address was there, so I asked her why would she want a total stranger on her friends list

"Juz need to find new friends", She said.

Right...

So from that day onwards, she just sits there on my Friendster friends list, and my MSN contact list. Not a word uttered.

Is her defination of "friend" just a pretty picture and a name (not even a real name in most cases) on Friendster?

That's pathetic! I wonder what on earth led to this.

Oh well, at least I've got real friends (right folks?). In fact, I had a little reunion with a few of my high school friends and my math tuition teacher just 2 days ago. Pity I brought my camera, but left my memory card plugged into my laptop at home.

Saturday will Open Day at my college. I'll be helping out as photographer (yet again). Good, I'll bug the Finance Department for my November pay too while I'm there. Later that night, I'm off to yet another reunion, this time with my HSC05 gang, hehe. Too bad not too many people will be turning up, but oh well... I'll bring along my dSLR, just to snap a few momentos, and since that a friend of mine asked what's the big deal with SLRs. No way I'm going to be the official photographer, even if that means no one is snapping the entire event. I wanna enjoy the buffet, the entertainment, and the company for once! Haven't did that in 2 years! lol.

In the meantime, I'll just rot in front my of laptop. Holidays get boring if you don't find something to keep you on your toes.

*Runs "Medieval 2: Total War" yet again*

Mwahahaahahaha~~, death to all who oppose me!

*Watches entire army get trampled by 2000 Mongol horsemen. Fallen warriors from both sides litter about an entire hill*

What the....... o_0"

University Application...

2006-12-12T16:29:00.000+08:00

My application to study BSc. (Nanotechnology) in University of Queensland has been.........

Rejected

ARRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grr....PLAN B! Hope this works... Because I don't have a Plan C.

^%^$%^^"::$%:}%@#:';;$#%{}%ARRRGGGHHH!!!#%@%^@%$#@$%@#$%:">{p":%{:%^#$%@#$%#$$@#%%

Battle Scars

2006-12-11T00:56:00.000+08:00

Two bruises on my thigh, from the paintball war on the other day. Each about the size of a 10 sen coin, like a pair eyes giving me that frightening hollow stare. This is what happens when a paintball hits you from a marker about 4-5 metres away.

Grr... I want a rematch! (but I'm broke.... T_T )

At least I'm better off than the referee, lol. Someone shot him in the groin during all the confusion, hehe.

Paintball

2006-12-10T00:12:00.000+08:00

Who would have thought its such a demanding game?

I went to a paintball game with 13 of my friends (and friend's boyfriend, and his brother, and yet another friend's brother, and the lecturer, and his recently wed bride............)

At first, we opted to buy 100 pellets per person for RM50. Then, we were briefed on the basics and safety, tucked into a vest, put on a face mask, and pushed into the warzone.

First round was more of a camping game. After the first few got picked out, the whole thing disintegrades into a war of attrition, which my team lost... I got shot in the head.

While another team goes in and play (hardcore players... these guys own their own pro gear), we decided that 100 rounds won't be enough fun. Besides, some of us were too eager to dish out some pain, while others like myself are more on the frugal side (or maybe its because we were too busy getting shot).

So, the decision was made, to buy a whole box of ammo. That's right, we took the whole 2000 round box. That makes a total of 3400 pellets (2000 pellets + 1400 pellets in the first round) we are going to pop this glorious morning.

We've made a change in strategy too. No more hiding. The idea is to take as much ground as possible, deny the opposing team of their cover, and hopefully take their base (or just kill the lot of them).

Of course, that's easier said than done. At the beginning of each round, our markers are filled full of pellets. At the end, the unused pellets are poured back into the box and redistributed. Another gang goes in while we catch our breath, and its our turn again once they're done, lock and loaded.

By the time we spent all our pellets, I have taken yet another shot in the head, 1 shot to the left arm, 2 shots to my left thigh, 1 shot at my marker (yes, it counts as a "kill") and one shot to my rear. Last one was an illegal shot btw, I was already out of the game and was leaving the field when someone thought its funny to shoot my rear end. I'd be murdering if I find out who did that. Anyway, all those shots (except the headshots, thanks to the face mask, and the rear end shot, thanks to adipose tissues) left a bruise on my skin.

There was also a smaller bruise mark on my right arm, left my a pellet that hit me, but bounced off without breaking. I'm not sure if I KO'ed anybody in the game. If anyone, it'll be Mr. Loh, hit in the neck, but I coulnd't be sure. His wife was great btw, she sneaked up on Poh Yin and shot her from behind.

My team only won once, credit goes to Benjamin's brother for charging the opposing team's base. It was fun though, I look forward to another game, although I didn't appreciate having my shoes buried in mud (who wants to attend my shoe's funeral?) and my pants almost completely covered in it too.

I'm not sure if the paint would come off the clothes easily though. Will find out tomorrow.

Bejeweled

2006-12-08T19:10:00.000+08:00

Observation 1: Diamonds are a girl's best friend.
Observation 2: Girls like to camwhore.

Conclusion: Best Christmas gift for a girl is:

DISCLAIMER:
This blog entry is intended as a humourous play of some common female-related stereotypes. It does not imply anything, and should not be treated as such.

The camera is for real though, apparently a modified Powershot SD900 (also known as Ixus 900 Ti in this part of the world). It will be auctioned in conjunction of the 10th aniversary of the Powershot series of cameras, and is valued at USD50,000.

A pity... such a huge price tag, but no image stabilizer :p

Source:
http://tech.msn.com/guides/slideshowht.aspx?cp-documentid=1213465

Vlad Tepes Hotel

2006-12-07T09:24:00.000+08:00

Last night, Velocity Forums got hacked and defaced. Judging from the text and the presence of the red star and cresant emblem, I'm guessing the hackers are Turkish. Some gang called "Wolf Security".

I must say... they should hire a graphics designer. lol.

Anyway, when the site went back online an hour later, the admin started a thread about the hacking, and let everyone rant all they want about it.

I posted something, and thought its funny enough to share here. Of course, that assumes you understand the dark humour behind it, heheheee...

Congratulations on your sucess of hacking VF. You have just won a FREE stay at Vlad Tepes Hotel for life! Located in the lush countrysides of Romania, Vlad Tepes Hotel is a horror themed hotel guaranteed to turn your stomachs.
If horror isn't your cup of tea, our staff are happy to blind your senses with a healthy dose of methanol. Then, we are certain you will find our magnificant hotel the best place to sit back, relax, and let the masseur do wonders do your tired body.
Don't miss this invitation only offer!
PS:Special room service for Turkish prisoners (err.... patrons)
Vlad Tepes Hotel. Where everyday is Halloween!

Go read up some history if you don't understand what I'm talking about :p

Or bug me on MSN la, whatever.

New DVD Writter for Me

2006-12-06T15:06:00.000+08:00

Wee~~ Got my laptop a new DVD writer!

No no no... I'm no computer hardware shopaholic, lol. This one is a replacement unit from Dell, have to return the old and defective one.

My old DVD writer (NEC ND-6500) had problems reading DVDs. I had to eject and reinsert it (plus praying hard) repeatedly just to get it to read the disc, when those freshly burnt ones. And mark my words, I've done some research before choosing which DVDs to buy. These are good quality stuff. It has to be good quality. Those photos in it are priceless. In fact, I have two copies of each disc just to be safe.

Anyway, I emailed Dell about the problem 2 days ago, just before the end of office hours, hehe... By next morning, they asked me to perform some tests, and arranged for a replacement to be delivered to me after I sent them the test results. Package arrived this morning while I was reading the papers in my PJs and chewing on cheese cakes.

Apparently, they didn't just replaced my DVD writer, they upgraded it! lol. Now its an NEC ND-6550, Hahaaa. Anyway, problem is fixed. All the DVDs I've tried run fine. I've got lots of stuff to backup now. Thanks to PC Fair, I've got all the discs I need...

I also took the liberty to compare spec sheets of the two DVD writers on the internet. Apparently, the new drive is a little faster when writting rewritable (both CD and DVD) and dual layered DVD discs. Bummer... I don't use either......

Anyway, thank goodness for the 3 year extended warrenty. Worth the money.

UPS

2006-12-06T04:45:00.000+08:00

Finally, I've managed to pry my eyes off my laptop and install the UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply) to my home PC.

The reason for the purchase is:

Voltage regular got fried, after a decade of faithful service.
Need something to protect the phone lines. 2 NICs got fried by Zeus so far. No further damage fortunately. I hear someone else had BBQ routers many times over.

So, dad got a UPS to fill these roles, and with backup batteries to boot!

It was quite a hassle dealing with the tangled mass of copper. Especially when there aren't enough sockets to go round!

There were 5 sockets. 1 is surged protected only, and the other 4 are connected to the batteries. Of these 4, 1 could not be used because it's not meant for the standard 3-pin plug. Its the type you're more frequently find on electric kettles, but reversed, with holes instead of pins. That leave 3 sockets with backup power.

After consulting with dad, I pluged the energy hungry ones directly into the UPS. That would be the CPU and monitor. The 3rd one has a 1-to-6 extension+splitter plugged in. Low powered devices like modem, wireless router, printer, and a 2.1 sound system go here.

Last socket (no backup power) goes to the fan, although my siblings might protest :p

Then I'd just wire up the phone lines, connect the UPS to the PC's serial port for data logging and control, install some software and voila! All done.

As a test, I switched off the power. The fan died, but everything else ran as it should. A timer indicated there is 10 mins of power. That's more than enough for my brother to disengage from any battle, safely log off whatever MMORPG he was playing, and shut down the computer properly.

As for me, brief disconnections by TNB (Total National Blackout) would no longer affect me. It was just yesterday when my chatting session was rudely interupted by not one, but two blackouts which lasted about 30 seconds each. With a 3 hour battery kepping my laptop alive, and a UPS to keep the router and modem running, this should no longer cause any trouble.

Although in an extended blackout, I would still be tempted to pelt rotten eggs at TNB.

There is a another bonus too. Now that there are extra sockets in my sis' room (where the PC is placed), she would no longer have to charge her handphone in my room. The benefits are:

I can use the extractor fan when the room gets stuffy! YAY!!!
I can charge my own phone anytime I like.
My sis uses her phone as an alarm clock. It shall disturb me no more.

I should have install this thing the moment its brought home! Woohoo!!!

Rantbox

2006-12-04T18:52:00.000+08:00

Boring...

Sien...

Bosan...

3 words.

Same meaning.

And they all describe my miserable state.

Weekends are ok. 2 weekends ago, I went to a relative's wedding. Last weekend... oi, read the previous blog post la. Coming weekend, I'll (hopefully) drown my classmates in paint, in a friendly paintball game, followed by a visit to Pantai Keracut National Park, one of Penang's less treaded places. Then, the week after that, Alumni Night. Time to meet up with my old friends from IICP HSC 05.

But the weekdays? Sigh...
I can barely tell what day is it without looking at my watch. Everyday is virtually the same routine. At least I'm not homesick. That's much worse, I'd tell ya. After enrolling into college, I actually screamed all the way home. That's one hour's worth of screaming.

Photography? I'm out of ideas what to shoot.

I've been playing this game though, Medieval II Total War.

Pretty neat game, except my empire has gotten too strong. I'm playing as the Spanish, and my domain stretches from the Iberian Peninsula, to Jeddah (that's in the Arabian Peninsula btw. My current enemies are too weak to oppose me. All I need to do is load up the game, and steamroll them. I just hope the Mongolians fight their way to my borders. The welcoming commitee is getting fat and lazy waiting for some serious action.

There is one feature I found somewhat funny though. You see, the game mechanics are such that if my troops chase down a routing enemy, he counts as "captured" rather than "killed". The prisoners can then be ransomed, released, or executed at the end of the battle. My choice.

Now the fun part. Hover the mouse button (don't click!) over any of the 3 buttons, and you'd hear your prisoner's "opinions" about your choice. "Ransom" and "Release" would give you endless "praises" to your "wisdom" and "chivalry". Hover the mouse over "Execute" and they'll beg miserably.

Ransom:
"Yes! You can profit from this!"
"The king will pay for our return!"
"The payment will be made. I swear!"
"France has the florins (money) sire!"

Release:
"Yes! Both noble and wise!"
"A wise choice milord."
"You're making a wise decision!"

Execute:
"*something in French*, spare us...."
"No! Show Allah's mercy!"
"No! You don't have to do this"
"No! Please! Don't abandon your honour!"
"No! This is not how a warrior should die." (since when did he became so warrior-like?)

Guess which one I picked.
If your answer is "Release", that's correct! No prizes though :p

Yeah, its stupid. Hehehe....

Anyway, enough rants. Thanks for reading. So bored.... Hope you enjoyed those quotes, although it'll be more enjoyable in MP3 format.

Weekend at Queensbay and PC Fair

2006-12-03T12:31:00.000+08:00

I went to PC Fair yet again, along with a huge shopping list.

Sis wants a spindle of 50 CD-Rs and I want 50 DVD+Rs. Dad wants UPS for each computer in the family (except my laptop), that makes 3.

My brother and my sister weren't coming along. My brother has tuition, and my sis has a lot of stuff to deal with her Chinese Orchestra.

I brought along my camera and my photographer's vest, wouldn't want fungus to grow on those. I was hoping to find cute promoters to shoot, but I didn't find any, muahahaaha... (this last sentence is dedicated to one of this blog's frequent readers :p )

After dropping by college, and settling a few stuff, we went for breakfast, then the fair. We were early apparently, since the doors were still closed. My parents waited, while I went to a paintball playground nearby. Apparently there I was in time to catch a competition!

There wasn't much teamwork on both teams. The moment the referee have the signal, everyone scattered and a fierce "fire" fight ensued. I was surprised at their marksmanship though, almost everyone came out with a splat of paint on the face mask. Yikes! Headshots!

Unfortunately, the action didn't last. The rapid-fire action was soon replaced by camping, sneaking, and taking pot-shots at each other. One girl was even shot from behind, lol.

Ops, time to go, show's starting :p

At the PC Fair, Chin Lin, Yong Ming, Benjamin and the all-annoying Li Lynn were working at promoters. Poor Yong Ming gets to sit in opposite the Nikon booth and drool at his dream camera 3 days straight, haha. Must have been torturing.

I ran also ran into Liang Wei and his brother at the fair, and believe it or not, a DCM forum member who came all the way from KL.

One funny thing that happened during the fair was, no promoter stopped me and try to cram my arms with brochures. The probably think I was a journalist on assignment. The trick lost a little of its charm when I start lugging a huge bag of 100 discs though.

PC Fair freebies (the one where you have to buy RM300 worth of stuff in a single receipt to be eligible) seem to be getting smaller and smaller.

PC Fair 06 I: 10 CD-R
PC Fair 06 II: Coaster
PC Fair 06 III: Ugly handphone bag, and RM5 Nandos Voucher (expires 31 Dec 06)

Heh... knowing the prices Nandos charge, I think that voucher is going to do little more than paying off the taxes and service charge. Handphone bag is ugly enough to make my sis scream.

Rush Hour(s)

When all the shopping was done, we head off to Queensbay Mall, Penang latest and largest mall, just opened the day before. Everyone in the car passed by the place at one time or another on the way to my college and back, so we knew how to find our way. Besides, there are plenty of signboards to follow.

The traffic was slow, but not jammed. There were still lots of parking space, but the indoor ones are filled to the brim. I suspect some buildings will be erected at the current outdoor parking space in the near future, but in the meantime, the place has a very nice waterfront. Not nice enough to warrant a snap though, or maybe its just my creativity is somewhat lacking. :p

Big....

Queensbay!

Unfortunately, the mall itself was filled overcapacity. There are a lot of things to eat, many which I haven't even heard before. But all the restaurants are fully seated! We settled for buying take-away sushi and share a table with a stranger.

The mall the trendy type. Think Gurney Plaza, but much much much much bigger. I walked my legs off. Its hard to find benches to sit on. Suddenly, those massage chair promoters... I feel like listening to them for once. Just... need...... a.... seat................................ lol

I was unwilling to leave my camera in the car, so I actually wore my vest into the mall. Photography is prohibited in all areas except the Centre Atrium, so I kept my camera tucked in my pocket.

And who knows! There happened to be a bridal fashion show at the atrium. Hmm... do I continue following my parents on their shopping spree (by then, we've almost walked the whole building)? Or do I go shooting?

Weeee~~~ My first fashion shoot :p

A Christmas Wedding

After buying takeaway dinner, we went home.
Zzzz................... so tired.

And my legs still feel like its coming off....

IICP

2006-11-29T07:32:00.000+08:00

This picture is dedicated to all my peeps in IICP!

I also uploaded this to my dyfunctional photoblog. Amongst other places.

Friendster is EVIL!!! When I uploaded the same pic into Friendster, I even resized it myself to their servers won't have to alter it. 600x600 pixels appear to be the max, so I resized it to 600x400 pixels.

Manatau... Their server so kepo and kacau my picture anyway. No resizing. They just added a very heavy JPEG compression that makes the pic look blur, and filled with unsightly artefacts. Eww... D@mn them!

So "kiam siap" (stingy)

Anyway, hope you folks like this pic. Stirred up any fond memories? ;-)

Rants...

2006-11-19T14:58:00.000+08:00

I've got my results... and it ain't pretty. Its less than what I needed, and I'm praying for that one in a million chance I'd be accepted to UQ anyway. Sigh... wish me luck.......

As much as I like photography, I'm not keen on making it my main source of income. (I love lab work too btw :p )

A few days ago, I had my first car accident. No, I'm not hospitalized. Just traded paint with a wall while parking. And its not even reversed or parallel parking, just drive forward into that d@mn lot.

Sigh... thankfully, no losses other than scratches on the front bumper

So careless
Bummer.......

Photographer's Vest

2006-11-07T23:51:00.000+08:00

I've had enough of carrying to backpacks at the same time! One for my laptop and one for my camera. Especially if the strap of the camera bag is ripping out again (this is my 2nd bag).

So, while I dropped by at Canon Store in Gurney Plaza to get yet another replacement for the bag, I bought a photographer's vest! Yeah... those khaki+mesh atrocities against fasion, that reporters tend to wear. XL size. With "Canon" written all over it :p

Man... this is big... I think I'd just throw my new camera bag aside. Its got lot of big pockets, so many that I can stuff it with ALL my gear. SLR included (although I have to detatch my lens first).

Quality wise, it looks tough. Then again, khaki is a tough material. C'mon, people made army uniforms out of these :p . Mom is worried about the mesh part though, so she recommends hand washing. Bummer...

The vest cost me RM83. A good bargain I think. I originally intended to buy a Lowepro Compurover AW to carry both my laptop and camera. That's a RM700 rig (its half price in Singapore, but its too far AND I couldn't convince dad to fork out the money. In contrast, I bought the vest with my pocket money), PLUS the trouble of selling my present laptop bag. Now, I'd just wear the vest and carry my laptop bag on my back! Easy! And I don't need too put down my bag just to grab my camera or change lenses.

I just hope I don't attract too much attention. Then again, so would a HUGE Lowepro bag.

Blood~

2006-10-19T06:29:00.000+08:00

Today, I donated some blood. All 450ml necessary to fill up the bag. Unlike last time, I was given 10 pills. I know 5 are iron suplements, but what's the other 5? Its small, round, saffron yellow, and has the markings UP. Hmm... gotta ask dad. I'm supposed to take each of these every morning.

Anyway, about 2 hours later, on contray to all medical advice/folklore/common sense or whatever, I'm in the badminton court. No, I'm not the spectator, I'm a player in this friendly game with my classmates. I didn't tire out, ran short of breath or anything. In fact, I never felt better! I kept playing for over an hour non-stop until everybody goes for a tea break.

Not enough? I went hiking! Managed to get to the top ahead of everyone, and it even rained on the way down. Still feeling good as I type this, no signs of fever or any discomfort.

Moral of the story?

Those who say "I don't wanna give blood! I'd feel weak after that! I need the energy to blah..blah..blah.... later!" must be weak enough to lose their balance when a gentle gust of wind blows.

So, if you're in good health, why not spare a little of the red goo of life? It wouldn't hurt much, I'd swear your mother's cane is 100x more painful :p.

Oh ya, did I mention there are usually snacks afterwards?

My Firewall Doesn't Like My MSN

2006-10-15T10:14:00.000+08:00

That's right. Zonealarm practically hates it. And now, the problem is official!

See this:
http://messenger-support.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!8B3F39C76A8B853F!6803.entry

My only consolation is, since they are now aware of the issue, I no longer need to troll the internet for days searching for a miracle cure (other than downgrading my MSN or uninstalling my firewall). Just sit back and wait.

On the other hand...
I hate the Web Messenger. ANY Web Messenger......
Sigh...

Now... where did I stopped? Ah yes... Prom......

Prom Night was even more hectic than I thought. For one thing, I was asked to take group shots of every table. That's 30+ tables. I could only manage 12. For dinner, I had 3-4 buns (bun in one hand, camera in other), some jelly (easy to swallow), and a cup of tea (couldn't resist :p )

Needless to say, I had a hearty supper later.
*burp*

Snapped close to 500 pictures btw. After deleting, 475 (approx 1.7GB) remain. Not too impressive, overall. Now I'm tossing the idea of getting a fast lens. I want an external flash instead, which is almost 5 times more expensive than the lens I had in mind. As a temporary measure, I made a flash diffuser out of A4 paper and rubber band. Believe it or not, a commercial pop-up flash diffuser (not paper of course, plastic) would cost RM50. My DIY solution costs next to nothing, and can be made and installed in 1 min :p. Single use only though, paper is too fragile, and I'm too lazy to reinforce it with tape.

In the meantime, this week would be the last week of classes. This would be followed by 1 week of study break, final exam, photo-assigment (a classmate roped me in for her church's project, working for free here :p ), science camp...... and whatever that may come. Alumni Night? Hehehe, looking forward to it.

Now if you would excuse me, I've got lab reports to rush. Then can I catch up on my sleep and study properly. Not feeling healthy these days, after several days a week of sleepless nights. In fact, I spent almost the entire day yesterday in bed. Not necessarily a bad thing. I get my badly needed rest, my computer gets its badly needed maintenance. I'd swear, Photoshop's speed jumped at least 10 fold after maintenance :)

Photographers: The Gathering

2006-10-01T03:53:00.000+08:00

The title says it all. I went for a gathering, organized on a forum for readers of the Digital Camera Magazine. It was held at Nasi Kandar Pelita @ McAlister Road, at night.

It was loads of fun. Got to know people, previewed the upcoming edition of the magazine, tried out RM43k worth of equipment and admired A3+ sized photos (to put things into prespective, imagine a photo half the size of your average desk).

Got the September issue of my magazine autographed by the editor too. Also there was famous photographer-cum-model Suzanne Lee. Snapped a few pics, but forgot to get her autograph :(

Prom Night is coming to town...

2006-09-29T06:25:00.000+08:00

Prom night is coming next week, ticket price is RM50. Fair enough, except I'm not paying :p

Instead, I get paid to go there. Guess what, I'm the official photographer for the event (not surprised? I don't blame you). I hope I can cope with the low light and long hours. My current equipment is not well suited for stage photography (unless I want lots of blur) and I only have one battery to last from 4pm to 11pm (or more likely, to midnight). Memory should be no problem, I can upload the pics into my laptop during halftime or something. Just hope I don't break my arm or get a muscle cramp at a crucial moment AGAIN.

Oh...... the anticipation grows................

I've just read a news article, about Zeiss and their latest, custom made toy, a 1700mm f/4 lens that weighs 256kg. Based on the Arabic writtings on it, I'd guess some oil merchant in Saudi Arabia or something seriously loves his hobby. I won't be surprised if it comes with a 7-digit price tag. I wonder how would he carry it, mount it on top of a tank?

Ok, enough about cameras and lenses.

Visited Lam Wah Ee Hospital's pathology lab yesterday. A study visit of course, I'm not sick. Went there with my classmates. We were split into groups and mine went to the microbiology lab. I never thought blood agar looked that nice. Bright red. Cool... Even better when it had some coloured bacteria colonies growing on it.

Learnt quite a bit of stuff that day. :) I only wish I had more time there so I can find an organ donation form. We kinda came and left in a hurry. Oh well, next time...

Which reminds me... I think I misplaced my blood donation booklet (or whatever its called). Couldn't find it anywhere! Grr.....

One last thing...
Condolences to my friend Philip, whose mother passed away recently.

May her soul rest in peace :(

Steve Irwin

2006-09-06T11:34:00.000+08:00

This post this dedicated to the memory of late animal conservationist Steve Irwin (22 Feb 1962 - 4 Sept 2006), who has passed away after being stabbed by a stingray barb whilst filming in the Great Barrier Reef.

Requiescat in pace...

Hmm... maybe I talked a bit too much about photography :p

2006-09-03T15:45:00.000+08:00

Hmm... I haven't been posting lots, haven't I?

Well, not much has happened actually.

Got my dSLR and have already put it to good use. Throw in Photoshop, and you'll get a very nice poem accompanied by a well-suitedd, beautiful picture. (Friends, I have haven't show you this, MSN me a reminder :) )

Found myself using my telephoto zoom lens more than my standard zoom lens, lol. Who would have thought of that... No, its not a good lens, but I often find myself too far from my subject to use my 18-55mm. No choice but to break out the 90-300mm, huge (well... still small compared to others), usable but lousy optics, but very useful zoom range.

Speaking of photography, I'm in quite a dilemma. One of my juniors is aiming for an Olympus dSLR. Problems is, IMHO (and many many other's opinion), its a sad excuse of a dSLR. Recently, a member of a forum I frequently visit just sold all his Olympus gear (camera, lens, flash and all) and completely switched over to Canon. A slightly more advanced model than my own camera. The switch costed him dearly, since the stuff didn't fetch a good 2nd hand price, but he spent the next few days telling how much better his new camera is.

Now, the million dollar question is, should I convince him to change his mind and sound like I don't respect his opinions and too proud of my camera? (actually, I'm proud of my camera, but I think Nikon makes good dSLRs too, but not Sony nor Olympus) Or should I just leave him be.

Sigh...

Anyway, 2 classmates of mine got the ultra-compact camera I recommended them. Congratulations to Chin Lin and Benjamin. Hope you like it (because if you don't, I'm in a diplomatic crisis :p )

My 2nd Sememeter results aren't that good. All pass, but still no good. Have to whip myself into a studying frenzy next semester, otherwise...... who knows where I'll end up next year.............. Speaking of which, I'm going back to college tomorrow, classes starting the day after.

Penang PC Fair 2006

2006-08-06T11:57:00.000+08:00

Went to PC Fair yesterday. Here's my haul:

Left to right:

Sakure Tripod. (Freebie)
Kingston 1GB Compact Flash memory card. (Freebie)
Canon EF 90-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM lens. (Freebie)
Kingston 1GB Data Traveller thumbdrive.
3M microfibre lens cleaning cloth. (Freebie)
Canon camera backpack (Freebie)
Err................................... Hehee.... Comments? ^_^

Not pictured:

Printing vouchers from Lam Loong Photo House. (Freebie)

Bumped into Kevinder at the fair, and apparently he's looking for a camera too. I don't know what's he ended up buying, but he seems to be aiming for something a little more serious than your average digicam (although not necessarily dSLR, but who knows?)

Now, please excuse me. I have an exam tomorrow.

Tagged again!

2006-08-04T18:13:00.000+08:00

I'd swear! Next time I see a survey, I'd turn away before I read the "I tag....." part. Then again, I'm too "kepo" to resist. Hehee......

Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
"Ideas about inheritance from Darwin's time could not explain how inherited variations are maintained in populations."
Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
Ok... now what?
What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Mythbusters. But that's well over 2 weeks ago.
Without looking, guess what time it is:
1830 hours
Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
Crap! Its 1818 hours.
With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The dreadful hum of the cybercafe's air conditioning. I'm freezing. All heating engineers go to hell.
When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Er... I'm still outside. Away from my dear bed.
Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
My bio lab manual.
What are you wearing?
Black T-shirt with colar, beige cargo pants, belt with MP3 player and camera pouch hanging on it, white socks, shoes that people might mistake for something from Camel (It's a Bata actually). I shall not say what I wear underneeth. Use your imagination. (On second thought, don't do that either).
Did you dream last night?
No, I sleep so soundly that corpses envy me.
When did you last laugh?
When chatting with some friends over MSN, moments ago.
What is on the walls of the room you are in?
A green sign that reads "Please put your plate, cup, fork and spoon here"
Seen anything weird lately?
A girl who smells like a hair saloon.
What do you think of this quiz?
Procrastinator's paradise.
What is the last film you saw?
Recycle.
If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Keep cash to study all the way to PhD. in the bank. Buy some fancy cameras lenses, flash, tripods, monopods, CF cards, ect. Buy my own observotory on a hilltop and a VTOL aircraft (can fly over traffic jams and rude drivers too) to reach it. Give away some to my parents. Keep another million or two in the bank. Donate the rest.
Tell me something about you that I don't know:
I used to have a very nasty temper. That explains why there's a hole in my bedroom wall (No joke). Now? Tame as a lamb. Girls bully me. (No joke here either).
If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Change it such that I can make more than 1 change. This world needs a serious overhaul.
Do you like to dance?
No.
George Bush:
Doesn't know how to use a pair of binoculars.
Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Name her? I'd never even thought I'd ever get married!
Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Please refer to #21
Would you ever consider living abroad?
While my parents build a house by a golf course? Never! :p

I'd tag whichever poor soul who haven't done this yet :p

Lazy~

2006-07-30T00:25:00.000+08:00

Man, what a pig I am...

It was almost 4pm when I woke up, only to have "lunch" and fall asleep hours later. And wake up again at 10.30pm.

In short, I slept all Saturday. Dad thought I came back from California and still having jet lag.

I gotta get more rest in college. All these sleepless nights burning the midnight oil are starting to take a toll on my sleep patterns, and health. Even as I type this, I'm coughing saliva all over my precious laptop.

Gotta sleep more "normally".

Once I get over with these homework......

Google Earth

2006-07-18T18:17:00.000+08:00

Google as apparently updated Google Earth pics of Penang with even higher resolution ones. Now I can see the college from the skies.

Full sized version here:
http://static.flickr.com/57/192489980_62bab7e0e8_o.jpg

Hmm... that's the campus I marked #1.

#2 Is the hostel. Can you imagine climbing that distance through a staircase every day?

#3 Is the summit of a hill I hiked occasionally.

Too bad they haven't gotten new pics of my hometown yet :(

Tag! I'm it.

2006-07-17T14:55:00.000+08:00

Argh... I'll remember this Zi Yun. Thanks for tagging me.

10 YEARS AGO I WAS :
Studying in standard 3. Went to teacher's office trying to explain why a student twice my height had his nose bleeding (Sorry, my fault). Standard 3 was also when I acted on stage for the first time, as far as I could remember at least. The act? Wedding. And I'm the groom.

Hmm... or was that act a 11 years ago? Or was it 9? Argh... wth. 10 years is a lot of time to forget stuff.

5 YEARS AGO I WAS :
I was with the computer club, setting up the school's first website. It was also by first stab at web publishing, and it went quite well. I got a nicely laminated cert for the trouble, but it wasn't long before it went missing. Haven't found it yet T_T.

1 YEARS AGO I WAS :
I was preparing for my 1st Degree Black Belt test. All a sudden I have to go to college and find myself catching up with 3 month's worth of work. Yes, that's the year I joined HSC. Made lots of friends and joined some fun activities.

First time I live away from home. I'm more used to it now but Day 1 was difficult. In fact, I was screaming all the way home after enrollment, and went to Penang to start classes the next day with a face fit for someone on the way to a funeral.

I've got my first laptop. It was beautiful, the first time I own something that expensive all to myself. I originally asked for a lousy one (the one I picked was obsolete within months), but dad picked a state-of-the-art (now outdated, unfortunately) laptop for me. Yay! No more worries about mom confiscating the keyboard too, as she did with the home PC.

Unfortunately, my laptop got stolen from my room less than a month later. At least it was because I got outsmarted, not because of negligence. The best part is, it was recovered 2 weeks later, and the thief was caught.

Got a UAI of 80.75. Not what I hoped but not bad for a late comer.

YESTERDAY I WAS :
Getting a hair-cut with my sis. Went there at 3pm and waited till 6pm. While waiting, my sis had to go tuition and I get to send her there. I got so bored (should have brought a magazine or something) that I downloaded a Sudoku game via handphone and finished a game for the first time.

5 MOST RECENT SONGS I LISTENED TO :
Err... whatever they played on the radio when I drove back to the hostel I guess. Wasn't really paying attention.

5 SONGS I KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO :

National anthem
Kedah State anthem
School anthem

That's all. Really. I'm not much of a music lover.

IDEAL PLACES FOR RUNNING AWAY TO :
Pedu Lake. That place is so relaxing. I can sleep by the lakeside all day! The breeze... ahh...........

5 THINGS I REALLY WANT :

Get Nobel Prize
Get PhD.
Study in UQ
Impress everyone, muahahha...
Fancy photographic equipment and tools.

5 THINGS I SHOULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW :

Do a stack of assignments and reports.
I want my bed. I'm sick and haven't recovered completely.
Read the newspaper. Should just waste it simply because I got it for free.
Learn to play Sudoku
Post-process some photos from a recent trip.

5 BIGGEST JOYS IN MY LIFE :

I love my family and friends. THEY are my joy.
I came from a well-to-do, happy family.
I've got a good sense of humour, and quite forgiving.
My sis and I don't argue as often as we did.
I'm quite smart. Not genius but still quite smart :p

5 PEOPLE I TAG :

No one
No one
No one
No one
Anyone who happens to drop by!

Lydia, I know you'll drop by here sooner or later. Looking forward to read your's :p

Lin Hui, Ying Yi, what about you folks? :D