Can't Say What I Mean

WTF Moment #1

2009-10-31T00:34:00.004+08:00

Tadi masa boring2 layan fesbuk tiba-tiba terserempak dengan video oldies zaman mak bapak kita dulu. Serius what-the-fesbuk moment tadi.

Kalau korang perhati betul-betul mustache penyanyi dia ada iras-iras Ned Flenders dari siri kartun The Simpsons.

Lepas tu kawanku yang bersalah kerana membuatkan paru-paru ku bocor pada malam ni rekomenkan aku pegi utube lagi video "cannibal corpse" versi edited. Memang sah tak tidur malam ni. Siyes ngeri.

WTF??

Another Movie That I Can Scratch Off From My Yet-To-Be-Seen-Movie List

2009-10-26T18:41:00.004+08:00

Four Weddings and A Funeral is one of those British comedy film that I have been trying to watch ever since it came out in the cinemas long time ago. And thanks to Ananda Krishnan and Astro, I got to see it just now in the evening on Cinemax. The one and only reason that I would want to watch a Rom-Com movie without sawing off my leg is because of none other than my Hollywood movie actress crush; Andie MacDowell.

Erm, well back to the story. I enjoyed the movie very much, humorous dark jokes and witty dialogues always make me happy and it was all worth the wait. Here is one of my favourite scene from the movie:-

Vomiting Veronica: [to her husband about going to India with Charles] Charles was vile. He insisted on cracking jokes all the time I was ill.
Charles: I was only trying to cheer you up, V.
Naughty Nicki: Oh, you're that Veronica!
Vomiting Veronica: Which Veronica? Charlie?
Charles: [trying to change the subject] Remember Bombay?
Naughty Nicki: When Charles and I were going out, he told me he had this interesting journey around India with Vomiting Veronica
[smiles]
Naughty Nicki: I think that was it.
Charles: [Embarrassed] I don't remember - maybe I did.
Mocking Martha: Oh, come on Charles! I don't think I've ever been out with anyone less discreet. I remember you going on about this one girl - Helena wasn't it... whose mother made a pass at you...
Vomiting Veronica: I remember this! You couldn't work it out whether or not it'd be impolite not to accept her advances!
Naughty Nicki: Helena was Ms. Piggy! So her mother was Mrs. Piggy!
[all laugh]
Miss Piggy: [who's been with them the whole time] We've both lost a lot of weight since then!

Haha priceless!

My Memory of A Great Mentor

2009-09-29T23:57:00.012+08:00

It was a fine morning when I thought it would be the same usual and boring day when I received an sms saying "...he's gone". We never thought it would end just like that. On the night before I received that cursed sms, my coursemates and I had an MSN conference discussing about our plan to visit him sometime that evening. But we never did.

I was in my first year when we first got to know him. He had to fill in for another lecturer. When he spoke, his voice was very commanding and he had a very weird accent, a mixture of French and Arabic, then we found out that he was from Algeria, so that explained why. If someone asked me at that time what do I think about him, I'd say I'm intimidated by him. Mostly because he looked so terrifyingly intelligent.

And so the next semester we had a class with him. The first day, we all came in early, and so did he. We thought he would be very strict with us, i.e. formal attire must be worn during the class, no one can come in late etc. But soon we found out that we were wrong and his class was the most enjoyable class we ever had. He loved to make jokes. And he loved to appear "serious" while making them. Adding to the laughter, and when we laughed hard, he would smile. Then he would continue his lecture, and all was silent again.

It was in my third year that we heard about the bad news. People were talking about a lecturer who had to wear shades because he lost his eye due to cancer. We were wondering who was the poor soul and still had the courage and strength to come and teach. Our questions were answered when we found out that he was the unfortunate one. He lost his beard, hair, eyebrows and weight due to the chemotherapy sessions. We were all heartbroken.

During my fourth and final year in UMS, we had to choose our own topic and supervisor for our final year project. Seeing this as my chance to get to know him better and also gain as much knowledge as possible from him, I chose his topic. So I began my journey with him as my mentor, and the great teacher who I've learned a lot during that one year. He would come in for our discussions, acting like everything was normal, everything would be OK, everything would be fine, and he would one day be his old self again, free from the disease.

He started to grow some beard back, and we saw that as a good sign that he's recovering. He would give his utmost attention to us, making sure everything was perfect with our thesis, making sure that our grammar is correct like any father would do to his children. I remembered he once said "A lecturer should always keep his students in his mind and his heart, for if one is missing, then he or she would not be a good lecturer." I guess that's why he was loved by everyone. Because he loved us.

Little that we know his signs of "recovery" was only that, signs. He wasn't recovering at all. Back in early 2009, we received a news that he was back in the hospital again due to his sickness. We were amazed that he would still come to our discussions after a few weeks he had to spend in the hospital. We were unsure about his health, and wondering if he did ran away from the hospital just to see us.

When we finally had the courage to ask him about what actually happened that landed him in the hospital, he would smile and told the story like it was not a big deal to him. He told us that if it wasn't because of his wife's ability to steer the car from the passenger's side, they would die. Apparently, while he was driving the car, he suddenly collapsed and fell into unconsciousness. His wife had to steer the car to safety before driving him to the nearest hospital.

So after the incident involving the car, the discussions would go on normally for the rest of the semester. He would tell us on what day he would have an appointment with his doctor, so that he could adjust our meetings. He was very determined to show us the way, to lead us and to guide us through the path. I learned a lot from him during those times. His determination, strength and passion were rare. Until the end, he would come and give us his opinions and share his thoughts. Until the end, he would come and gave us hope.

But just after the semester ended, and so was his time. On that very morning I received the message, I sat down and cried. He waited until the very end. He waited until he was sure that we would be fine. And then he was gone. Al-Fatihah Dr. Harimi Mohamed. You will be missed but not forgotten.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

2009-09-18T20:45:00.003+08:00

Happy Eid to everyone! After a month long of Ramadhan, on Sunday we'll be celebrating Raya. Mohon maaf sekiranya pernah terkasar bahasa ataupun ternakal sikit ngan korang semua. Maaf Zahir dan Batin :)

My Book Has Finally Arrived!

2009-09-15T17:25:00.008+08:00

Ahh, finally it is here :) I've waited for a very long time for this book. I placed my order on mphonline.com back in July, and after two long months of waiting, it has arrived today, the 15th; the same time the book will be sold around the world, and I'll be among the first one to read it! (and I thought I would only get to read it one or two days after the 15th, well kudos to mphonline for their excellence service! Bah cepat2 la kamurang buka cawangan di Sabah jugak okehhh)

The Lost Symbol by non other Mr. Dan Brown

While we're on the subject of books, I'm going to show you my other two books that I've collected so far for this year.

1) Perfume by Patrick Süskind (haha some part of the book is too obscene la!)

Perfume: The Story of A Murderer (Big thanks to Katum, love you!)

2) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

So that's all folks! See you again soon after I'm done with the Lost Symbol. =)

Meme: Save Yvonne's Sight

2009-09-15T12:42:00.006+08:00

Yvonne Foong has been raising funds for the operations she needs to treat her neurofibromatosis which causes tumours to grow inside her body.

Yvonne had already lost her hearing and communicated through writing on a small white board. But now she's losing her eyesight and needs another operation again. The operation is due in December and once again she needs to raise funds for it. The cost of the surgery is USD44,000 (RM154,770) and the cost of her hospital stay for two weeks is USD915 or RM3219.

She has already raised RM10,000 of this but obviously still has a long way to go. She's hoping to raise the rest by republishing her book I'm Not Sick, Just A Little Bit Unwell in English and Chinese. The books are now available in Malaysian bookshops and from her website store. She is also selling T-shirts at bazaars and via her web site store. You can read about her surgery and donate to her fund here. You can also help by sending on this meme. If you do, please follow these meme rules:

1. Create a blog entry titled "Meme: Save Yvonne's Sight"

2. List three things you love to see. Add in the picture of Yvonne's book cover. The URL is http://www.yvonnefoong.com/images/banner/my-story.jpg

3. End with the line, "Yvonne Foong is in danger of losing her eyesight thanks to neurofibromatosis (NF). Please find out how you can help her by visiting her blog at http://www.yvonnefoong.com.

4. Tag 5 blog friends. Be sure to copy the rules, OK?

5. If you have a Facebook account, please check out Ellen's new invention, a "feme" pronounced FEEM, a meme designed for Facebook here. And if you want to blog about NF, that would be great too!

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

The three things I love to see are:

1. Unity amongst the people of different races.

2. The sight of my family members during kenduri.

3. The face of my loved ones.

I'm tagging the following blogger friends to ask them to help out:

1. Katum
2. Ayit
3. Eina
4. Wiwie
5. Anyone else interested in passing on this meme is more than welcome to do so. I am sure Yvonne will much appreciate it!

Yvonne Foong is in danger of losing her eyesight to neurofibromatosis (NF). Please find out how you can help her by visiting her blog at http://www.yvonnefoong.com.

Aku Menghilang Buat Sementara

2009-08-24T21:53:00.002+08:00

I think it's been quite sometime since the last time I posted something. Blog ini akan di-update dalam masa yang terdekat. Sementara itu saya mahu mengucapkan Salam Ramadhan dan selamat berpuasa kepada yang WAJIB berpuasa. Tiangkayu :)

Nuclear Energy In Malaysia

2009-07-22T12:22:00.008+08:00

For the past few weeks we have been hearing the news about Government's plan to implement a nuclear power plant in our country. The power plant is said to be running by the year 2023 when the price of gas and coal will be ridiculously high due to the their global depletion. There have been a lot of debates whether we should opt for the risky plan or find another way(s) of generating electric for us; the consumers.

Before we delve further into this matter, let's look into how does a nuclear power plant actually work. Today, if the government chooses to build a new power plant, it'll be the third generation of its kind, which is a LOT safer than what they have back in the Chernobyl accident.

Basically, a nuclear power plant is not so different with a typical coal-burning power plant. Both type of plants heat water into pressurized steam, which in turn drives a turbine generator (generates the electricity). The major difference between these two plants is the method of heating the water.

Here comes the best part.

While older plants burn fossil fuels (and thus producing higher emission of pollutants into the environment), nuclear plants depend on the heat that occurs during nuclear fission, which is when one atom splits into two. When nuclear fission occurs, heat as energy is one of the product. The heat from this process is transferred to water. The water then turns into steam, and this very hot vapor drives the turbine generator. And walla! You get electric power!

Here we can see the major advantage of a nuclear power plant, it is low-cost and low-emission alternative to the conventional power plants. Although a nuclear power plant is safe when the nuclear fission is controlled, it would be a major disaster when the opposite happens. (Hopefully it won't happen when or if finally we have our own nuclear power plant)

Now, when you have a very high radioactive component inside your reactor building, we must have some sort of shield to stop the radiation emitting outside of the reactor to prevent any serious health and environmental issues.

In today's nuclear power plant, a lot of safety precautions have been taken like having two containment structures to safely house the reactor. Prior to the incident in Chernobyl, there were no secondary containment structures to prevent the escape of radiation/radioactive steam if an accident occurs. The Chernobyl accident can be averted IF the secondary structures were built.

Another concern that arises if there will be a power plant in our small country is where are we going to store the uranium once they have decayed? There are no methods of disposing off the waste for now. Until then, we can only store them in a protective and secured places (deep inside earth or stored in specially built containers).

Quoting an IAEA member when being asked about this issue:-

"Every technology, when it is being developed, goes through certain disasters. There is no technology that is absolutely safe from the beginning.

Nuclear technology, in the course of its development, has gone through a number of unfortunate accidents.

But tell me, is it not unfortunate that people can die in a plane crash over the Atlantic? Will this stop the airplane industry? I don't think so because of the benefits of flying.

So is it with nuclear. You talk about Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. You must look at the development of technology and the related regulations.

If Malaysia decides to build a third-generation reactor, it will be as safe as any other technologies.

Whatever happens in the plant, the population will not be affected, because it has all the inherent systems for safety and security.

I don't think that nuclear is less safe than other technologies in existence today.

There are certain risks but the benefits are bigger. Think about the benefits. If you are permanently frightened by the risks, we will probably sit at home and do nothing." -- NST

So IF the nuclear power plant is indeed going to go into realization, the location will be another major concern. Nobody wants a nuclear power plant in their backyard. I propose that the authorities build an offshore nuclear platform far away from the human lives. Just think about it, it'll be the first in the world, and it'll be one great engineering feat. Of course it'll be expensive, but it'll also be very beneficial.

And when we talk about alternative energies, one might think about renewable and sustainable energies. Two most common of these are the solar and wind energies. Without a doubt those renewable source of energies could supply us electricity for thousand of years. So why don't the authorities just push for these simple energy sources?

1. Solar panels and wind turbines is not as powerful as nuclear energy. Solar are very dependent on the weather conditions, and you need a lot of wind turbines to generate electricity capable to supply a small state.

2. More expensive than nuclear power plant.

When our government can afford to of having wind farms (a collection of wind turbines in one area is called a wind farm), harvesting these energy sources can be very beneficial for us due to our very long coastal areas. These coastal areas have very strong winds that can drive the wind turbine and hence generating electricity for our major cities.

But until then, nuclear energy is the only way to go.

Things I Hate #1

2009-07-15T23:56:00.001+08:00

If you ever heard this song before, you probably came across it because someone claims it was sung by the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. The truth is, it wasn't. The song Give Thanks to Allah is actually sung by Zain Bhikha, a South African Muslim singer and songwriter.

I just hate seeing those people who are so obsessed with this song and and thought to themselves that they are listening to the "proof" that Michael Jackson has converted to Islam, and that he sang the song beautifully and he can say the word Allah flawlessly. If that's the real case I will be happy about it too, no doubt about it. Yes, the song is beautiful and majestic. But sadly it's not Michael's. So please stop spreading falsified facts about this song, because the true and original singer deserves better credits for this. And support him in his cause. Thank you.

Zain Bhikha - Give Thanks to Allah

Deep Sh!t

2009-07-15T07:29:00.002+08:00

Klik kalau berani ;)

Source

Abolishing PPSMI

2009-07-15T01:20:00.002+08:00

The news on government's reversal action to abolish the PPSMI (teaching science and mathematics in english) policy has created some stir in the country. Some are very ecstatic about it, and some do not see it as a good move by Najib's administration. The pressure was exerted by Malay educationists and nationalists who felt that Bahasa Malaysia, being the national language, was relegated to a secondary position in the school education system. However, no changes were made despite protests, until today.

Let's look back during the year when PPSMI was first introduced in 2003. Tun M was still the Big Boss. Tun M's idea in implementing the PPSMI was to cultivate a generation that could bring our society to a higher level in the world, playing a major global socio-economic role in a world where English is one of the major language that you need to master. It is surprising to know that most of the cabinet members who approved the policy back then, were the ones who voted to abolish the PPSMI today (Najib, Muhyiddin, Hishamuddin etc.).

OK so let's look what influence that decision shall we? According to an article by Bakri Musa:-

"...Muhyyuddin and his senior officers relied heavily on the 2005 UNESCO Report which suggests that “‘mother tongue first’ bilingual education” may (my emphasis) be the solution to the dilemma of members of minority linguistic groups in acquiring knowledge. Muhyyuddin and his advisers seriously misread the Report. It was concerned primarily with the dilemma at the societal level of members of a linguistic minority having to learn the language of the majority (“national language”) versus the need to maintain linguistic diversity generally and minority languages specifically. UNESCO was rightly concerned with the rapid disappearance of languages spoken by small minority groups. The report was not addressing specifically the learning of science and mathematics

Malay language is not at risk of disappearing; it is the native tongue of literally hundreds of millions. To extrapolate the UNESCO recommendations for Malay language is a gross oversimplification and misreading of the report. The UNESCO Report does not address the issue of when and how best to introduce children to bilingual education. Later studies that focused specifically on the pedagogical and psychological aspects instead of the sociological and political have shown that children are quite capable of learning multiple languages at the same time. Even more remarkable is that the earlier they are exposed to a second language the more facile they would be with that language. They would also learn that second language much faster; hence second language even at preschool."

Thus, it can be said that Muhyiddin and his staffs misunderstood the report and came to a conclusion that teaching in a foreign language will affect student's ability to learn their own national language in schools (fear that Bahasa will disappear from the face of the earth ya?). Coming from the era where "English schools" had been abolished and replaced by SKs and SMKs; having to learn science and mathematics in BM, and later taught in English when I entered the Matriculation stream, me and my friends were surprised that we could understand the subjects much better than when we were in schools, where BM was the main language of teaching.

The dilemma here is best explained by Bakri Musa with a very good example:-

"In 2012 when the new plan will be implemented, students in Form IV will be taught science and mathematics in Malay, after learning the two subjects in English for the past nine years. Then two years later when they will be entering Sixth Form or the Matriculation stream, they will again have to revert to English. Pupils in the vernacular schools would have it worse. They would learn the two subjects in their mother tongue during their primary school years, then switch to Malay for the next five while in secondary school, and then switch again, this time to English, in Sixth Form and university!"

To learn science or mathematics, it is better for the students to be taught in a language that offers a lot of reference books and information that are well written and easy to understand. The PPSMI policy is not flawed in its own objectives and context, but its poor implementation especially schools in rural area represents the major problem that are viewed by so many as the flaw of the policy. For the rural areas; train better English-speaking teachers, provide additional training for the teachers if they do not know how to use the tools provided for teaching, and invest in learning softwares for the students to learn in classrooms, provide them with pendrives so that they can bring the software back to their homes. Do something to fix the mechanism! Not abolishing it!

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Well here's an idea, if I were the PM of Malaysia, I'd say let's change the PPSMI to PPSMA (Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Arab) or teaching of science and mathematics in ARABIC. Why not? Many of the knowledges we have today came from Arabic scholars. So we should be thankful for them for these ILMU. If not for them, I won't know how to calculate. I won't know about the moon and the sun's movement, what influence they have in our daily lives etc etc. So it's just normal if we go back to basics right? That way nobody will say anything about "relegating Bahasa as a secondary language", or "people in rural areas will have problems learning in English". But for those people in urban areas, not only they will know English and Bahasa, but Arabic will come as their tertiary language. How delightful that would be right?

Photoshopping and Coding: Creating A Layout

2009-07-05T14:20:00.001+08:00

Major layout overhaul! OK done with html codings, and then afterwards creating my own head banner, post icon and sidebars. Uploaded them into imageshack, did some more tweaking on the codes. And wala~! Going to stick with this layout for awhile, then maybe going to add a couple more eye candies. Now I need my lunch, have a good weekend everyone! :D

Front of the Class

2009-06-27T16:39:00.001+08:00

Inspired by a true story of Brad Cohen, a teacher who suffered Tourette syndrome since he was 6 years old, defies all challenges he faced from the syndrome, and later became a gifted teacher. The movie tells the story about how--despite all of the sudden outburst of noises or tics--he overcame the stigma of ignorance that has plagued our society today, and continue his life as normal as he can and not letting the syndrome take control over his life.

This movie moved me. I mean, if you don't know what a Tourette's is, you would think that a person who has this syndrome is annoying, noisy, weird, a freak, or maybe even possessed by the devil himself! Some experts even said that maybe the practices of exorcising people in the old days who are allegedly "possessed" by the devil might in fact have Tourette syndrome as they show signs of uncontrollable tics and noises. How ignorant we can be actually?

What is Tourette Syndrome?

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by tics -- involuntary, rapid, sudden movements or vocalizations that occur repeatedly in the same way. Diagnostic criteria include:

Both multiple motor and one or more vocal tics present at some time, although not necessarily simultaneously;
The occurence of tics many times a day (usually in bouts) nearly everyday or interminttenly throughout the span of more than one year;
Periodic changes in the number, frequency, type and location of the tics, and in the waxing and waning of their severity. Symptoms can sometimes disappear for weeks or months at a time;
Onset before the age of 18.

How to treat people with TS?

Well, one thing that I learned from this movie is that, people with TS do not want any special treatment, they want to lead their lives as normal as they can be. It is imperative for us to learn and accept people with disabilities (if you want to classify normal and not so normal people) as a part of the society.

Patients with TS suffer physically and emotionally. It's hard to lead a normal life when you are constantly viewed as the "freak" and also discriminately outcasted from your peers. They have troubles reading due to the constant tics and thus they usually have to work extra hard to study. They can't eat in a restaurant or watch a movie in cinema without facing the risk and possibility of not being kicked out of the those places. It's hard to imagine life like that for us the normal people, isn't it?

To date, sufferers of TS are born with the syndrome. Though these people look normal, the tics and the funny noises they involuntarily make, made them stand out in the public, and people tend to give them the "look"; like they are carrying an infectious disease or something!

Although the word "involuntary" is used to describe the nature of the tics, this is not entirely accurate. It would not be true to say that people with TS have absolutely no control over their tics, as though it was some type of spasm; rather, a more appropriate term would be "compelling."

People with TS feel an irresistable urge to perform their tics, much like the need to scratch a mosquito bite. Some people with TS are able to hold back their tics for up to hours at a time, but this only leads to a stronger outburst of tics once they are finally allowed to be expressed.

Source

Are there any treatments for TS?

Unfortunately there are no cures or treatments that can be applied universally for all individuals without any significant side effects.

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For parents who have kids diagnosed with TS, I urge you guys to be patience with them. Love them as how you want to be loved. Give them support so that they can live a happy life. Be proud of them, do not be ashamed of their "gift". Educate those people around you about TS, not just to adults but also to kids around you too so that they understand about the syndrome.

There's actually a TS awareness association here in Malaysia and you can visit them here. We should have more programs to educate our people about the facts and truths about TS as it is no longer a rare syndrome as it was once used to be. Spread the word about TS. Don't be an ignorant asshole the next time you see people that show the signs of Tourette's and then make fun out of them. How do you feel when your child one day got diagnosed with this syndrome? Think about it.

Video link:- Youtube

RIP Michael Joseph Jackson

2009-06-26T18:52:00.001+08:00

I'm gonna make a change,
for once im my life
It's gonna feel real good,
gonna make a diference
Gonna make it right...

As I, turn up the collar on
my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowing my mind
I see the kids in the streets,
with not enought to eat
Who am I to be blind?
Pretending not to see their needs

A summer disregard,a broken bottle top
And a one man soul
They follow each other on the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
(If you wanna make the world a better place)
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
(Take a look at yourself, and then make a change)
(Na na na, na na na, na na, na nah)

I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
That there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me, pretending that they're not alone?

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream
(Washed-out dream)
They follow the pattern of the wind ya' see
'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me
(Starting with me!)

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Ooh!)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
(If you wanna make the world a better place)
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
(Take a look at yourself, and then make a change)

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Change his ways - ooh!)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that..
(Take a look at yourself and then make that..)
CHANGE!

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Man in the mirror - Oh yeah!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Better change!)
No message could have been any clearer
(If you wanna make the world a better place)

Of Perfume, Corabeth and T-boo

2009-06-25T22:16:00.001+08:00

As I was looking for a good book to read on mph and popular online bookstore, I remembered about a very interesting movie which is based on a German novel by Patrick Süskind; Perfume - The Story of a Murderer (German: Das Parfüm – Die Geschichte eines Mörders). The novel was first published in 1985, and it explores "...the sense of scent, and its relationship with the emotional meaning that scents may carry". The novel was so good that even Nirvana made a song about it.

Many has said that the movie version of the novel would be undoable and it is impossible to re-create the story into a movie due to the complex nature and theme of the novel. And finally in 2006 when they released the movie, I found it as the most interesting movie I've ever seen. It feels fresh, because if I remembered correctly during that period of time a lot of superheroes movie came out, a lot. The main protagonist can be classified as an anti-hero, or an anti-christ to be precise. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille--the protagonist--seemed to have both the good and evil characteristics, and I found out that wikipedia also agrees with me ROFL, no joke read the following lines:-

"Grenouille seems to be an anti-Christ like character. He is described as both good and evil. First, he tempts Giuseppe Baldini to be an apprentice in his shop. Grenouille 'hissed out in a reptile fashion' that he wants to work for him, shows him a sample of his superb abilities of mixing perfume, and Baldini watches, 'quite simply curious.' Grenouille then 'conquered the man [Baldini] who had yielded to him.' This shows that Grenouille is the devil, the serpent, tempting Adam and Eve (in this case, Baldini). On the contrary, he is also described as a Christ figure when he retreats to the secluded cave in the mountain, and his diction resembles God’s. He says that '[t]his [earth] was his empire…created and ruled over by him' and 'he saw that it was good and that the whole earth was saturated with his divine Grenouille seeds.''

Anyways, if you haven't watched the movie, I recommend that you watch it, then think about it, what it represents, and how it relates to human society today.

Back to my side of the story, I couldn't find any copies of the novel in our own local online bookstore. And then I asked Qatum if she can buy the book for me from Amazon UK and then have it shipped to me, and she gladly said yes!

Qatum: Give me your email address and I'll post it to you by monday.

Me: You want to send the book to my E-mail address? Will yahoo! accept it?

Qatum: Damn this modernization era!

Me: LOL

Another book for my collection. Hopefully there won't be any troubles during the shipment. *Prays hard*

So we talked for some more, 'cause it's been some time since I last heard from her. Then she mentioned about corabeths and t-boos (she has been knitting since last year and her skills have greatly improved) and how she has inspired some of her friends to do knitting too and created a phenomenon among them. I feel happy for her.

She asked me to give her some ideas for her merchandise (brand names, sourcing, risk assesment etc.), and being creative we came up with Pak-U-K? as a brand name. And here's her daughter modeling for a brand new Pak-U-K?'s corabeth and t-boo line.

This is two people predicting the turbulent market:

Me: hahaha gosh have you seen the new Pak U-Ks in the store? they are soo adorable!

Qatum: I knowwwwww.. i m gonna get like 5 pairs of them!

LOL

ps. Not feeling very well, a bit under the weather actually, but I just had to do some online blogging to kill my hand twitchiness (if that's even a word).

Selsema Babi...opps Khinzir

2009-06-20T11:01:00.002+08:00

This is really scarry, read on:

A boy wearing a surgical mask. Does it really offer protection against the khinzir flu virus? Well, according to the WHO, guess what - it doesn't.

Thursday June 18, 2009

Infected teen girl has unwittingly exposed 20 people to A (H1N1) virus

By DHARMENDER SINGH

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has recorded its first locally-transmitted A(H1N1) case – a 17-year-old girl who had contact with a patient. She is the country’s 23rd confirmed case.

However, she was not identified earlier and had exposed 20 other people to the flu virus before she sought treatment at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said the girl had flu symptoms on Sunday and sought treatment the following day after developing a fever.Investigations revealed that the girl had contact with the 12th patient, he said in a statement yesterday.She was not placed under quarantine earlier as she was not among those identified as having contact with the 12th patient and consequently exposed 20 others to the virus.

Dr Ismail said it was vital that all those confirmed as having the A(H1N1) flu give their fullest co-operation by providing complete information on people who had contact with them as this was the only way to avoid local transmission.“Action can be taken under the Disease Prevention and Control Act 1988 if they fail to provide complete information to us,” he said.

Dr Ismail said four more confirmed cases were also reported in the 24 hours up to 9am yesterday including a 23-year-old local university student who was part of a group of 12 students and lecturers that went on a seven-day visit to Australia from June 7.

The male student had been on the same flight as another confirmed case, who was on the AirAsia X flight D7 2723 (seat 37J) that landed at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal at 7.15am on June 14, he said.The student developed fever about five hours after landing and sought treatment at a private clinic at 9am the next day before being referred to Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban.

He was confirmed as having the flu at 6pm on Tuesday and the Health Ministry is now tracing 37 contacts including flight passengers, members of the group, relatives and staff at the private clinic where he first sought treatment.

Dr Ismail said the 21st confirmed case involved a 20-year-old studying in Melbourne, Australia, who travelled home for the holidays on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH128 (seat 20K) that landed at KL International Airport at 6am on Tuesday.

The 22nd case was a 54-year-old who had returned from Manila on board the Malaysia Airlines flight MH 705 (seat 32H) that landed at KLIA at 8:25pm on June 12.

Credits to:- Maksim
-------------------------------

On a lighter note, the following is a conversation between me and a girl that happened a few days ago:-

He: This swine flu has started to spread domestically huh? Scarry la...so don't eat pigs (tiada kaitan).

She: I don't eat pig, I eat pork.

He: Isn't it the same?

She: No.

He: Well, I don't eat cow, I eat meat...scrumptiously looking meat that came from cow..yummy..

She: OK fine I eat pigs...

Bravo to me for being an asshole once again. Happy weekend!

What's Up Doc?

2009-05-22T23:47:00.001+08:00

So it has been around one month since my last exam, and around 3 weeks ago when I had my viva voce. The final exam went just fine, and InsyaAllah if all things go well I will graduate this coming October. Not much to talk about; just to update you guys on my current situations.

The viva went OK, I was the last one to present, and thus the longest with 1 hour of talking and answering interesting questions from my examiner, Dr. Yeo Kiam Beng (you can google up his name). My research mainly covers on the design analysis of a molten salt reactor; and I might going for master degree to further the study on molten salt. InsyaAllah.

My mentor, and great teacher the late Dr. Harimi Mohamed passed away last month. All of his students; including my seniors and juniors, were deeply saddened by his demise. A great man, he was to all of us.

So what am I up to now? Well, for one I'm waiting for a call from an oil and gas company to attend an interview. Also, another prospect came up, but I can't mention that now. Like Dr. Yeo said, too many people with messy minds; and some might come and stab you in the back! So true doc. So true.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Pigging Out - - Or was it in?

2009-04-30T19:28:00.001+08:00

During my practical days in Petronas, I was introduced to a tool, with a very funny name - PIG. So, this has caught my attention, what in the world is a Pig? I asked an engineer about my dilemma, and I jokingly said 'Kamurang kasi masuk babi ka dalam pipeline?'

Pigging Operation

Of course, the engineer laughed and he said PIG stands for Pipeline Inspection Gauge, hence the name PIG, and so any operation that has to do with PIG, will be called PIGGING operation (operasi membabi, nasib baik tidak buta).

A quote from wiki:-

A pipeline inspection gauge or pig in the pipeline industry is a tool that is sent down a pipeline and propelled by the pressure of the product in the pipeline itself. It is the chief device used in pigging.

There are four main uses for pigs:

physical separation between different liquids being transported in pipelines;
internal cleaning of pipelines;
inspection of the condition of pipeline walls (also known as an Inline Inspection (ILI) tool);
capturing and recording geometric information relating to pipelines (e.g. size, position).

The PIG

I just love these Engineering jargons :D

My Reason of Leaving a Community Forum

2009-04-30T14:48:00.002+08:00

In this today's world of modern living and plethora of ways of communicating with people from other countries that have lead to the term "a world without boundaries" that maybe should make us more mature and aware of our surroundings, I'm still shocked but not too surprise to find some of our Malaysian people who have these moronic prejudicial judgments and racial bias towards other people in our colorful Malaysian community. To quote a friend:

"Apakah dengan mempersoalkan bangsa orang lain dengan alasan konon-kononnya orang yang dikata tersebut lebih bersifat perkauman daripada kita bermakna kita telah membahaskan sesuatu topik dengan baik dan berasaskan kepada tajuk utama thread ini. Mana perginya orang melayu yang berpandangan jauh dan boleh membezakan apa yang perlu dibahaskan dan mana yang tidak perlu kerana nampak sangat wujud bias. Kerana komen-komen picisan yang melibatkan bangsa dan berbaur perkauman seperti ini hanya layak masuk bakul sampah saja!

Kenapa mesti kita mempersoalkan bangsa orang lain? Apakah ini jati diri sebenar org melayu?? kalau ya..too baddddd...Dan kalaulah begini sikap ‘pemikir-pemikir’ yg konon-kononnya mahu bebas berbicara tanpa batas di dalam *====*. Aku malu dengan bangsa ku sendiri. Bangsa melayu adalah bangsa yang tinggi adab serta ilmunya, tidak kira di mana dia berada dan dia juga menghormati bangsa-bangsa lain serta tidak memperlekehkan mereka. Allah jadikan kita berbilang bangsa di dunia ini pun saling berkenalan dan mengikat silaturahim. jika kita mengenepikan ini semua bangsa kita takkan dihormati lagi kerana sudah hilang jati diri!"

Which I totally agree with. Tegur untuk membina, bukan untuk membinasa.

If these racial mentalities are going to be left as it is and without checking, I'm not sure if we are going to have a harmonic and peaceful country, let alone a fully developed country which our ex-prime minister has set for us to march forward bravely and intelligently towards the year 2020.

Proud to be a Malaysian

Tagged by Kak Zeta

2009-04-28T00:59:00.001+08:00

I've been tagged by Kak Zeta, which I'm suppose to tell 10 fact/hobbies about myself. Oh well here goes :)

1. I desperately need a new laptop
2. Just finished taking degree
3. I love to watch F1, play rugby and football (once upon a time ago)
5. I love to cook and experimenting with foods (bah jaga2 la kalau if one day I go up to you and ask you to try my new dish)
6. Don't ask about number 4.
7. I like to read.
8. I love to get into a debate or test you about something without you even knowing I'm doing it to you.
9. I love to draw, paint and just do anything creative.
10. I love to drive fast but not too fast ya.

This cat has a severe food poisoning problem due to testing of one of my newer dishes.

That's my quick 10 (or 9?) facts about me.

Judging a book by its cover: A typical stereotype

2009-04-16T21:11:00.001+08:00

While I was browsing through my usual feeds for news, entertainment, sports and whatnot, I stumbled upon a video that made my goosebumps almost exploded to the ceiling. I am sure some of you have not watched the video but there's a very big lesson that can be learnt from it. I am talking about 47 year old Susan Boyle, the instant-sensational singer who became famous from the day she sang in front of millions on a hit reality tv show Britain's Got Talent.

Yup, that's her. Like those makciks that you can find in any karaoke clubs around the city kan..

And this is the link to the video that I am talking about. Get ready for some awesomeness.

P/S: Watch the judges' reactions LOL

Sweet yummy Gulabjamuns, anyone?

2009-03-26T21:22:00.001+08:00

Okay what I'm going to do here is actually copy a recipe from my dear sister Tatum's site. I love to read her recipes cause they all are very, how do you say..."healthy"? And look yummy nonetheless. And she cooks Pakistani cuisine too, my long long lost lineage...well not lost but at least If I can speak in Urdu then maybe I can call myself anak Pakistan hehe...

I haven't tried this recipe yet but I'm sure I'll get to it someday, so before that day comes, I'll just make a quick copy-pasting-note here to make sure I won't forget the recipe.

ps: Katum, you don't mind ba kan if I use your pictures? Love you, MWAAHHKKSS!!

The beautiful-shiny-Gulabjamuns

What you need:

For syrup
a. A cup of sugar
b. Half a cup of water

For gulab
a. 1/2 cup all purpose flour
b. 1/2 tsp baking soda
c. 2 tablespoons butter -melted
d. Whole milk just enough to make the dough
e. 1 cup milk powder
f. A bit of vanilla essence
g. and cooking oil, of course

So how do you start? Just follow these simple intructions:

1) Take a cup of sugar and half a cup of water, put them in the pot and set to medium heat. Wait until they turn into syrup. Katum said you can also put crushed cardamom if u like, but it's totally up to you.

Making the syrup

2) Now turn the mixture of milk powder, plain flour, baking powder, whole milk, butter and vanilla essence into lots and lots of little balls. Small balls, little balls, triangle shape, square, doesn't matter at least you can eat it (easily).

What they say about child labour in UK again? lol just joking sis! :D

3) Start frying them in medium heat. Always remember to turn them around from time to time so they browned evenly. Jangan hangus yeah, nanti pahit rasa Gulabjamuns tersebut.

Good example of exceptable browns, and hangus-kinda-brown.

4) So the final step is to put all those fried gulabs into the syrup.

Make you almost want to try and lick your monitor, right?

5) Enjoy it with a cup of hot tea or coffee. (lebih afdal sekiranya masa itu tengah hujan lebat di luar)

Yummy :D

And thus the suspense has begun...

2009-03-26T13:09:00.001+08:00

The UMNO General Assembly (GA) for this year has started and it is undoubtedly being watched closely, either by the member of the party or not. It comes as no surprise when they are blocking most of the so called "alternative" media out of the GA (kinda a bit opposite to what DPM said that UMNO should embrace the new cybermedia) but in any case they are doing their best job and seem to have the latest news on what's going on. Head on to the Malaysian Insider or Malaysiakini for the lowdown.

And it intrigues me to see one of the powerful woman in the country says something about Wanita (UMNO) should not be vocal and leave the issues to the Women, Family, and Community Department alone. I'd say, it's through the political party that these issues can be voiced out and reach a broader audience. Or maybe a corporation between the two bodies would benefit the women more. Yes, NGOs have been successful in voicing out these concerns and issues about women, but I believe with the arsenal of intelligent women inside the party also can bring justice to those sidelined women.

On the other hand, I will mention here that I'm rooting for Mukhriz to win the election. And also Tan Sri Muhyiddin, because I believe with those two in power, it would also bring UMNO out of the chaos and finally (hopefully) politicians will stop arguing and focus what's matter the most in our current situation these day. Economically speaking that is. :)

Update: KJ won the Head of Pemuda position. Read more here.

oh what in the world...

2008-11-11T20:18:00.001+08:00

Issues in the present world made me think what would happen in the next 4 years time. Well, for one our friends in America have a new black president, mr. Barack Obama (who could've thought that? A black president. But it's not impossible, it is possible, and US got a black president for the first time in history). And so he will reign in the Office for 4 years. Btw, this has raised some questions in our own country; could a non-malay become a prime minister? Does the Constitution say we can have a non-malay as the prime minister? I will leave those questions for you to think.

Anyways, back to the topic; Mayans predicted that world will end in 2012, and so did Nostradamus.

He predicted that a comet with the size of a planet will hit Earth, and all civilization will come to an end. Quite scarry isn't it? Narimahdamus on the other hand, predicted that two large boobs will grow if someone tidak hantar marlboro lait to Shangri-La estate; which I ignored, and guess what? Teda pun tumbuh! Tipu la dis gurl.

And so, actually this post is about me, thinking abt the future. Final semester is coming; and after that, a whole new chapter will start.

and with persuasive accent thus began

2008-11-03T20:57:00.001+08:00

Writing has not always been my favourite thing to do. I enjoy drawing, movies, and reading novels. Writing is a big no for me. But in life, we always have surprises lurking around the corner. And in my case, I'm surprised that I actually wanted to do this; create a blog and write. I'm not a good writer. I do think a lot though, but I never managed to write anything down; and my black hair is slowly turning to white. Sign of rapid aging, I guess.

Anyways, here's to a new blog and a new way of expressing myself. Cheers.

ps. It'll be another major surprise if I decided to continue this blog after today.