Pil Seung

What are your priorities?

2009-04-07T22:00:00.003+08:00

When I was waiting for my turn at the dental clinic to have a root canal procedure done a couple of months ago, I happened to pick up a magazine at the waiting area. It really caught my mind but it also made me think. I love to think, to exercise my brain. Most of the people I know are conformists, I found out that I am not. Let me try to recall the story off my memory and share it here.

My recollection is definitely different from the original version. Everyone has the tendencies to add and remove details due to their own experiences. We will talk about "Rashomon" someday.

There was this wandering Buddhist monk who managed to walk a long distance and eventually, saw a big mansion. He thought of asking for assistance from the tenants, maybe just for a glass of plain water, or just for a small shelter to get a few hours of rest before continuing his journey.

He was greeted by an old lady and her daughter-in-law. Apparently, the old lady was the head of the family. Her son went out to do some business. They were in the pearl business as the monk could see. The old lady was counting some pearls at that moment and there was this one big mother-of-all-pearl (not to be confused with nacre or mother of pearl).

As a devoted Buddhist, the old lady was very receptive of the monk and invited him to have a seat. She got her daughter-in-law to go into the kitchen to prepare some tea and vegetarian food. They had some conversations and pretty much centered around the practice of Buddhism, like some kind of questions and answers session.

Out of a sudden, the daughter-in-law called the old lady from the kitchen and the latter went in right away to her assistance, leaving the monk in the hall.

[to be continued...]

Great Compassion Mantra (Vajrayana version)

2009-03-07T06:30:00.001+08:00

The Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism version of the Nilakantha Dharani (Great Compassion Mantra) is also known as the Arya Ekadasa-mukba Avalokitesvara Dharani (Noble 11-faced Guan Yin Mantra).

Here is one by Ani Choying Dolma on YouTube.

namo ratna trayaya namo arya jyana saigara veirochana
byuhara jaya tathagataya arahate samyaksam buddhaya
namo sarva tathagatebheh arahatebheh samyaksam buddhebheh
namo arya avalokite svaraya boddhisattvaya
mahasattvaya mahakarunikaya
tadyatha om dhara dhara dhiri dhiri dhuru dhuru
itti woe itti chale chale prachale prachale
kusume kusumavare ili mili chiti jvalam apanaya svaha

Memories

2008-08-15T20:35:00.003+08:00

Doraemon was one of my favourite comics when I was a kid. Well, Doraemon is still one of my favourites these days. There is a unofficial "last episode" where Nobita finally grew up. This was told to me by a colleague. I have not see it. Well, the suppressed it due to copyright stuffs.

One fine day, Nobita came back from the school after being scolded by his teacher for not completing his homework. As usual, his mood was not good due to constant bullying by Giant and Suneo. The only thing different on that day was that Doraemon had became "lifeless". Not knowing what to do, Nobita decided to jump into the time machine inside the drawer and consulted Doraemon's younger sister, Dorami.

The day had come. Dorami explained to Nobita that all the amber colour robotic cats have backup batteries located at the ears. Unfortunately, for Doraemon there was none. The ears were bitten off by a rat during the production stage. He will stop working right away when the main battery runs out.

There were two options. Replace the main battery and reset the stalled Doraemon. This would cause all the memories to be wiped off. The "resurrected" Doraemon would never know who Nobita was, and it would be just like a brand new toy. The other option was to have a competent robotic engineer who could map Doraemon memories and at the same time recharge the main battery. This was also not possible in the future world as no one had ever attempted that before.
Nobita cried and cried and cried... and he swore on that very day, he would study hard at school and someday, he would restore Doraemon. 10 years later, Nobita graduated with honours and became an expert in artifical intelligence. He actually hid Doraemon in his closet and even his childhood sweetheart wife didn't know about it. One day, he called Shizuka into the room and they "restarted" Doraemon.

"Nobita, I have been waiting for you all these while!!!", exclamined Doraemon.

By the way, is there any difference if the story line is changed in such a way that Doraemon lost his power gradually by the side of Nobita?

I watched Wall-E recently with my son. At the end, Eve repaired Wall-E and again, past memories are the most cherished things. It would be sad if Wall-E couldn't remember who Eve is.

As the saying goes, memories make the man.

Human being has a great mind that can hold loads of past memories. It is our past experience that mold the persons we are today. Let's say someone calls you on the phone and identifies himself as Golf Sierra. If you have no memories of that person, that name is actually pretty much meaningless. You might think, God damn it! Another telemarketer?

If you recognize the name, the voice, the favourite greetings... Viola !!! Hey Golf Sierra !!! How are you doing ??? It has been such a long long time since we last met !!! The conversation continues...

This "past memories" enable us to recall who taught us ride the bicycle, how to balance ourselves, how many times we fell down. For me, I will think of my dad. You know how to be grateful, and you also know what kind of mistakes to avoid so that you won't hurt yourselves again.

On the other hand, we also have the abilities to filter to even shut down the portions of memories that are traumatic and too painful to remember. We will talk about this Freudian defense mechanisim someday. We have to deal with it. Yeah, also the three stages of delayed grief as I shared with my friend, Juliet Delta Lima recently.

Anyway, as I used to share with friends, "there is no day better than today". Be thankful, cherish everyday. It is easier to say than to do. Practise, practise, practise. Live in the present, as in Vipassana.

The Airport

2008-08-01T20:30:00.005+08:00

My first business trip to overseas was back in the year 1995 and that was to Bekasi, Cibitung. I have been travelling since then but one thing that forever fascinates me is the airport. That is a place where you might not be able to tell whether it is day or night outside. Another thing is that, you might not have to worry about the local weather at all. Of course, that varies from airport to airport though. This is pretty much the physical side of it. I remember reading an interesting article about the airport. Let me try to recall from fragments of my memory.

The airport is full of emotions. For business trip that lasted for more than 6 months, I took my wife and son along as allowed by the company policy. There was once I had to travel for about 4 months and that trip really trained me to live without my family. Even though we communicated everyday on the phone, you still longed to hold each other. The moment I left the departure hall, I knew the temporary separation might not be easy. After I had my passport stamped, I turned back for a last glance and I found myself crying a little. Maybe that was also due to very good friend of mine actually went on a one-way ticket to perform kidney transplant in China a few months before. Anyway, we really have no contract with whosoever that we will live until certain age.

If we are really observant, we could see the deep emotions people have at the departure hall. Most of the time, people will hug each other more tightly, kiss more affectionately for the very last time, and still we have to let go. At such a moment, all differences, grudges, bad habits are forgotten, "sins" are forgiven, We will really hope that person will not go but that won't happen, so the next best thing we can do will be looking forward to the return. Any disagreements will be settled in exchange for the chance to see each other again.

When we return, after the immigrations and customs, we will be eagerly looking around for the familiar faces that we miss so much. You will just ignore everyone around, hug each others, and start kissing your loved ones. That few seconds feel like the beginning of a new chapter in life. Your loved ones don't mind that your have not taken any bath for the past 2 days. The most important thing is that the meeting is emotionally fulfilling.

Life and death is like the arrival and departure at the airport. Such precious moments are born out of pure love and will be treasured forever. After the departure and arrival, we will be back to our "normal" self and we will not be able to appreciate each other on any normal days. We are taking things for granted until the next "departure".

How wonderful it will be if we can live a life where we can unconditionally love each other on every single ordinary day? How much time have we wasted when we are trying just to win over an argument, being too particular on certain things, being egoistic, "punishing" the other party by not talking to each other, etc.? Life is beautiful and we should not be bother with such trivial things. As Stephen Covey said, let's focus on the big rocks.

It would be great if we can keep reminding ourselves about the airport. Be grateful for every breath we have like the way tzuchi people greet each other, 感恩 (gan en). Look at the positive side of life, compliments, and cherish. Anumodana.

Bahasa Malaysia 801

2008-07-25T22:00:00.004+08:00

You can be sure that this is an advanced class for genius students. I am sure all of you can be a genius in Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) if you think you can. Sorry, in order to get some votes from some idiots, they keep switching between Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Malaysia. OK, it is still Bahasa Malaysia as of today. Let's take a look at our best national newspaper, Berita Harian and Utusan Melayu. I am sure we can learn a thing or two, or more if you are willing put in the effort and dedication.

Here are some commonly used words which I think is of utmost importance to learn.

Malay words: Rejim zionis
Translation: Zionist regime (referring to the "unrecognized" government of Israel)
Real meaning: The country that UMNO trusts with their life. Our ever efficient Polis Raja Di Malaysia outsources their complete computer system to them while at the same time condemning Singapore military being training by the Israeli.

Malay words: Agen Yahudi
Translation: Agent of the Jews
Real meaning: Anyone that UMNO doesn’t like will be labeled as such, and will be boycotted automatically by Muslims.

Malay words: Tentera penceroboh
Translation: Trespassing army
Real meaning: The military of the United States of America and its allies.

Malay words: Pengebom berani mati
Translation: Dare-to-die bomber
Real meaning: Men who strap themselves with bombs and blow up innocent people in the name of God and will be rewarded with 70 virgins in heaven.

Malay words: Pengganas komunis
Translation: Communist terrorist
Real meaning: Chinese Malaysian. Thanks to the British who labeled Chinese Malaysians as atheist to prevent Malays (who are Muslims) from uniting with them in the fight for independence after World War II.

Malay words: Media cetak rompak
Translation: Pirated media (such as Audio CD/VCD/DVD, and software as well)
Real meaning: Multi-racial and multi-billion industry with a complete supply chain eco-systems protected by both the underworld and Polis Raja Di Malaysia.

Malay words: Pihan-pihak berkenaan
Translation: Relevant parties
Real meaning: Certain government departments which will not be revealed to the public. The public does not need to know, just let them loot and plunder the country. Shut up!

Malay words: Pihak-pihak tertentu
Translation: Certain quarters
Real meaning: Opposition parties, usually being condemned by the main stream media as trying to destabilize the country.

Malay words: Syarikat Berkaitan Kerajaan (SBK)
Translation: Government-Linked Companies (GLC)
Real meaning: Guaranteed Lose Companies, owned by cronies where the board of directors are spending like there is no tomorrow.

Malay words: Sistem kuota
Translation: Quota system
Real meaning: A system based on "kulitfication" or skin colors, systematically depriving the minorities of opportunities.

Malay words: Direman untuk membantu siasatan
Translation: Remanded to assist in investigation
Real meaning: Scapegoats had been identified based on information from Bomoh Negara.

Malay words: Mat cemerlang (a.k.a mat rempit)
Translation: Excellent Muhammad (Mat is a short form for Muhammad)
Real meaning: School dropouts who do wheelies on public roads, snatch handbags from the public, and at the same time entrusted to maintain law and order by UMNO. Rempit comes from the English words "ramp it".

Malay words: Memperjuangkan nasib bangsa dan agama.
Translation: Fighting for the fate of the race and religion.
Real meaning: Slogan used by UMNO to continue making themselves rich at the expenses of every true Malaysians.

Alright, I think it is enough crap for today. In the next lesson, we will try to look into "tali barut barat", "bahasa penjajah", "kaum pendatang", "melaksanakan kajian", "tidak membebankan rakyat", "kaum kafir", and so on. Stay tuned. Thank God it's Friday.

Beijing 2008 - Eight Don't Ask

2008-07-25T20:00:00.004+08:00

OK, here is the "Eight Don't Ask" guide for local Chinese on what not to ask foreigners.
1. income and expenses
2. age
3. love and marriage
4. health
5. family and home address
6. personal experiences
7. religion and political views
8. "what people busy with" (I translated this as jobs, hobbies, where they will go after this, etc.)

I am pretty sure these Chinese people will be dumbstruck seeing such a poster. Why can't we ask such questions to people from countries famous for "freedom of speech"??? We just want to friendly and mean no harm, OK? We thought they can talk about "anything"??? Hahaha!!! Of course, I know the difference between freedom of speech and privacy. But to the Chinese people, this is pretty much a grey area. Anyway, why the Chinese government wants to try so hard on this kind of thing? I thought there is an English saying that sounds, "when you are in Rome, do as the Romans do". One word, the Chinese laobaixing (commoners) will be "baffled"!!! WTF!?

The four most hated questions

2008-07-20T23:30:00.007+08:00

My friend, Juliet Delta Lima used to teach English in Beijing for a couple of years. He told me something very interesting many years ago. In China, after getting to know each other names, Chinese people will follow on with 4 questions, the 4 most hated questions which will piss off any Americans. The idea of blogging about this doesn't come until I saw the report on BBC News during the weekend.

Beijingers told to mind their manners.

Wow! They came out with an "Eight Don't Ask" booklet. Hmm... I really want to get hold of it. I am not sure whether they explain the reason behind. Chinese and Americans think very differently and let me try to share from my experience working with both cultures. Well, these are just general views...

1. How old are you?
The Chinese wants to know because if the American is older than him, the latter will be "accorded the proper respect" as in the Chinese culture. On the other hand, the Chinese might be interested to know by what age people can travel overseas. The measurement is that the younger the guy is, the more "successful" he is as there is a Chinese saying which is translated to be "only strong dragons will cross the river".
American doesn't like this as the age is something private, it has nothing to do with his ability to do his job, etc.

2. Are you married?
Married people are basically more senior than bachelors. Again, this is the Confucius teaching about respect. Getting to know people's marital status shows that the Chinese "care".
This is really a tough question for an American. Actually, the Chinese doesn't need the detail, he just wants to know whether he has a wife or not. In reality, American would like to be precise and sometimes it could be really hard to tell that he has just gone through a divorce, widowed, etc. Some are just cohabiting, also known as POSSLQ which is pretty common. The hardest to explain will be the "significant other" thing. OK, try this reply which will definitely give any Chinese a big shock, "我是断背的" (wo shi duan bei de)... bwahahaha.

2A. How many kids do you have?
This is a bonus queston if the answer for question 2. above is "yes". I would say this is Chinese "hospitality" and this kind of question is just part of small talk, not being a busy body at all.
However, Americans might not be comfortable to talk about 2 sons from the ex-wife, a step daughter from the ex-wife who wants to follow him instead of her mum, one daughter he has with the current wife, and a step son from the current wife... very complicated. So, don't ask.

3. What is your weight?
To the Chinese, this is another small talk. Usually, among the Chinese, they will tell each other that they had gained weight as compliments, especially when they haven't met each other for quite sometime. Gaining weight shows that they have "enough to eat". Yes, life is harsh and so, adding pounds or kilograms is being viewed positively.
To the Americans, this question is too personal. Why do you want to know? Damn it! I broke the bathroom scale last night, you know?!!!

4. How much do you make?
This is taboo among the Chinese too. They will not ask each other and even if they ask, the answer is just "I make enough for two meals". You don't have to reveal the figure at all. The main reason the Chinese asking the American this question is to gauge the "opportunity" outside of China. One gallon (3.8 liter) of milk in the United States costs about USD 1.50, which is equivalent to about 10.35 yuan today (using 6.9 as the conversion rate). That amount of money can only buy you a liter of milk in China.
Americans really take offence on this. Don't you know what is "Private and Confidential"??? You idiot!!!

The Fear of Being Alone

2008-07-16T00:30:00.004+08:00

It is suppose to be bedtime now, but I am still awake. I have been a "thinker" these days and keep wondering what lies ahead in life. With the current changes in life, would it be a bit too rush if I change job? The current job is a bit fucked up with many idiots, pseudo-geniuses, and "OEM"s around making things even more complicated. That's another story. A few close friends told me to make another move in life but I think I should not rush into that. I really respect the friend I knew through the internet, a single mother staying in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. She can work and at the same time taking care of her daughter. She is strong, my role model, at least.

Suddenly, I remembered an article sent to me by a friend from Johor. This friend used to send me junk mails, those keep being forwarded and forwarded. Interestingly, some of the junks she sent could NOT be found on the internet easily. Well, I searched through the mail archives just now and found it. It was dated Feb 14, 2007. Here you go... The Fear of Being Alone.

People stay in unfulfilling relationships for any number of reasons, but chief among them is the fear of being alone.

Think about it - are you hanging on to this relationship because you're afraid you might not find someone better? Does the thought of being single scare you? Do you believe that being with someone you don't really love is better than being on your own? Are you "settling" because you think if you wait around too long, you might get left on the shelf?

Staying in a relationship because you're afraid of being alone is a recipe for unhappiness. Firstly, it probably means you have low self-esteem, which often makes you insecure, needy and over-sensitive. Secondly, it means you're not assuming responsibility for your own happiness and self-worth; that you're using the relationship to feel accepted and loved. Thirdly, this fear of being alone causes you to use anger, blame, tears, guilt and so on to compel your partner to stay with you. Or you yourself might be forcing yourself to tolerate unreasonable or abusive behaviour. And these are only a few of the main consequences I can think of at the moment. Others like getting pregnant because you think a child will bond you and your partner for life require more time than I have today.

The thing is, we are only truly alone when we abandon ourselves; when we refuse to take responsibility for who we are and what it takes for us to be happy. Besides, being in a relationship doesn't mean one cannot feel alone. In fact, the behaviour we're driven to when we're in unfulfilling relationships often strains them to the point where we feel alienated from our partners anyway. Ironically, the fear of being alone has had the biggest hand in making us truly alone.

On the other hand, an emotionally-responsible person is never alone because he attracts love, friendship and goodwill. He has no lack of close family members and good friends. And if a path of affection is closed to him, he easily channels the abundant love he has elsewhere.

So what kind of person are you? Are you the type who clings on to a relationship because the thought of being alone is unbearable? Or are you responsible for your own feelings?

We all can become more emotionally responsible by realizing that only we hold the key to our own happiness. No one else is obliged to be with us or to make us happy. We have to learn to manage our loneliness, and the big first step is not to to be afraid of it. The funny thing is that the less you fear loneliness, the less likely you are to suffer from it. People are attracted to individuals who are independent, self-assured and comfortable with who they are. Remember, we receive love when we give love, so always keep your heart open.

Just One More Time... revisited

2008-07-10T22:09:00.005+08:00

I blogged about Just One More Time back on March 14, 2005. I told this story to many people with the intention to motivate them. Many people had given up hope with our department. 3 years had passed, nothing is permanent in this world. So, it could be my turn next after holding fort for such a duration. I was talking to a colleague in the cafeteria this afternoon. This time, many old timers are looking outward for greener pasture. Career growth for some experienced old timers are pretty much limited with a bunch of "young" OEMs (overly enthusiastic managers) around. Answering questions with questions, asking dumb questions and claiming to be devil advocate... sigh... This friend "retold" me the story I told him 3 years ago.

I have to copy and paste this time as the old link is broken. Just One More Time by Hanoch McCarty.

There's a 19th-century English novel set in a small Welsh town in which every year for the past 500 years the people all gather in church on Christmas Eve and pray. Shortly before midnight, they light candle lanterns and, singing carols and hymns, they walk down a country path several miles to an old abandoned stone shack. There they set up a creche scene, complete with manger. And in simple piety, they kneel and pray. Their hymns warm the chilly December air. Everyone in town capable of walking is there.

There is a myth in that town, a belief that if all citizens are present on Christmas Eve, and if all are praying with perfect faith, then and only then, at the stroke of midnight, the Second Coming will be at hand. And for 500 years they've come to that stone ruin and prayed. Yet the Second Coming has eluded them.

One of the main characters in this novel is asked, "Do you believe that He will come again on Christmas Eve in our town?"

"No," he answers, shaking his head sadly, "no, I don't."

"Then why do you go each year?" he asked.

"Ah," he says smiling, "what if I were the only one who wasn't there when it happened?"

Well, that's very little faith he has, isn't it? But it is some faith. As it says in the New Testament, we need only have faith as small as a grain of mustard seed to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. And sometimes, when we work with disturbed children, at-risk youth, troubled teens, alcoholic or abusive or depressed and suicidal partners, friends or clients . . . it is at those moments that we need that small bit of faith that kept that man coming back to the stone ruin on Christmas Eve. Just one more time. Just this next time, perhaps I'll make the breakthrough then.

We sometimes are called upon to work with people for whom others have abandoned all hope. Perhaps we have even come to the conclusion that there's no possibility of change or growth. It's at that time that, if we can find the tiniest scrap of hope, we may turn the corner, achieve a measurable gain, save someone worth saving. Please go back, my friend, just this one more time.

Kings and Queens of 27 countries

2008-07-09T02:00:00.001+08:00

On June 9, 2006, citizens of Thailand celebrated the 60th anniversary of the accession to the throne of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The official royal barge procession on June 12 was attended by the King and Queen as well as royal visitors from 26 other countries. The state banquet was held on June 13 for the royal visitors in the newly constructed Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall within at the Grand Palace. There will be a story to tell about this picture itself later.

Daen Mahamongkol on Google Map

2008-06-16T22:08:00.001+08:00

I went to Daen Mahamongkol recently for a 8-precepts retreat. You won't find much information about it on the internet. Even many local Thais don't know there is such a great place in their country. So, I took my Garmin eTrex Legend Cx along. The latitude and longitude were registered as North 14 degrees 8.978 minutes and East 99 degrees 6.655 minutes respectively. I will share some photos later.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu Anumodami...

Namo Amituofo 南無阿彌陀佛

2008-06-15T07:00:00.004+08:00

It has been 100 days since... May all the merits from good deeds get transferred to her. I believe she followed Amitabha Buddha and is now in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Namo Amituofo
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Barisan Rakyat - Harapan Rakyat

2008-03-02T23:52:00.001+08:00

The People's Front - The Hope of the People. Yeah, we will have the 12th General Election on the 8th of March. How can I not giving support to the opposition??? In my opinion, most of the middle class people in Malaysia wants to see change. The people are fed up with the current Barian Najis. Remember this. Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." So, do you part, exercise your right, vote for Barisan Rakyat, be it DAP, PAS, PKR, PSM, MDP, or PASOK. Vote intelligently for our future. You deserve the government you voted.

Mahatma Gandhi's words of wisdom: Almost everything you do will seem insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. You must be the change you wish to see in the world!

The 4 weapons of software developers

2008-03-01T01:10:00.002+08:00

I blog only when my mood is good. Some people blog when they are frustrated on something. I am different today, I blog because I am in a dilemma. So, I try not to think about it. Anyway, it is not actually a problem but… So, I blog as a way to get away from it temporarily. Will think about it later when my mind is clear.

Well, as someone in the software field for sometime, I kind of observe a few traits that are pretty much consistent. Working with software developers is always interesting. Working with vendors is another challenge but that is a different story for a different time later.

Software developers don’t just write codes. Too bad, most of the fresh graduates these days think that the only thing they can do in the industry is to write codes. Well, you need to spend time to understand requirement, you need to work with software architect, you need to create and update design documentation, you need to duplicate and debug issues, you need to communicate, and you need to follow processes!!! And, much, much more!!!

At times, under tight schedule to deliver builds, to implement features, and to fix defects, I observed that software developers tend to use 4 weapons. Let me describe them one by one.

The first is always cannot understand the defect. This is not a defect. This is not suppose to be the way user going to use this piece of software. Based of the requirement document, I thought this is the way it suppose to function. Even, the UML diagram is not clear enough. Whatever...

After you manage to convince them this is indeed a defect, here comes the second weapon. I could not duplicate the defect here at my place. We tested many times and it is running OK at our side. We always write down the detailed steps to reproduce a defect in out defect tracking database. Sometimes, it is even necessary to make a video to show the defect.

Then, the third weapon is to dispute the requirement document. There is no such requirement mentioned in the documentation. We didn’t implement this because it says we need to do this and this only. Then, you have to go through the logic with the developers that this is indeed needed. Otherwise, this piece of software is just like crap and unusable. They are all inter-related.

Finally, the fourth weapon. Time. After using the first 3 weapons and wasting so much time, we are now running behind of schedule. We can't fix all the defects. Now, please prioritize the defects that you need to fix. Some can't even implement all the features.

I have the answers and countermeasures to these 4 weapons. Hey, I am a veteran. I am not going to discuss that in detail today. Leave it for another blog entry someday.

Anyway, these are challenges in life. Don't worry, all the technical problems might appear like there are many ways to solve it. They are all pretty much working towards the same goal. However, people is a totally different thing. It requires different kind of skill to handle people. To me, it is fun. You want to be yourself, you want to tell the truth. The truth is, people don't want to know the truth. The truth is that they can’t handle the truth. When you tell nothing but the truth, the truth will come back and haunt you.

So, next time, adopt the stance as if you are being audited by and ISO 9000 auditor. Answer only what is asked. Do not comment, do not volunteer information, do not dispute. Prepare your answer up front. Hope you like my crap today.

Big news: Intel is leaving Penang

2008-02-15T21:00:00.005+08:00

The Malaysian Chinese newspapers founded by Dr. Sun Yat Sen on Dec 20, 1910, the Kwong Wah Yit Poh (光华日报) reported that Intel is on its way of leaving Penang Island. Here is the link, http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2008/02/15/133.html. Personally, I am skeptical on such report, most likely a political propaganda for the upcoming General Election. On the other hand, Penang, and Malaysia in general is losing its advantages compare to China, Vietnam, India, Brazil, and Eastern Europe.

英特尔裁员已获证实　不久或撤资槟州

二零零八年二月十五日晚上七时二十八分

(槟城15日讯）英特尔（Intel）大举裁员已获证实，撤离槟州之日不远矣！

民主行动党新秀黄泉安周五向媒体披露，新海峡时报于2月14日的财经新闻第32版上报导，英特尔迁往居林高科技园区之事已是箭在弦上，届时，将有5000员工受到波及，势必重击槟州经济。针对此事，他特地向其他媒体求证，并也获得一样的答案，故此，他促请许子根在上京前，尽快给予槟州人民一个交代。

他说，不久前英特尔将赛城的研发部关闭，共有250名员工受影响；日前，它们又关闭了设在槟城贵都酒店内的办事处，种种迹象充份显示出英特尔撤离槟扛7b的日子已经不远了。

“这几年来不断有外资撤离槟州，使到州内经济日渐萎缩。我之前曾经公开指出英特尔打算离开槟岛迁至居林，但，吴竟诚州议员却在1月30日向记者表示，我只是在信口开河，英特尔是不会离开槟城的。无论如何，事实胜于雄辩，现在英特尔离开在即，州政府将会怎样处理实在值得我们忧心。”

黄泉安说，槟城的经济从高处跌倒谷底。之前我们输给新加坡，现在又输给吉打，竞争力节节败退，叫槟城人情何以堪？

他继续透露，州政府告诉人民，槟城的经济正在从劳力密集的工业转型至高科技产业，可是，事实上果真如此？

“据悉，英特尔打算在中国大连开新厂制造65纳米的晶片，这个技术被认为是目前量产过程中采用的最先进技术之一。相对的，槟城厂目前生产的却是300毫米晶片，技术足足落差了10年。由此看来，外资不是在槟城将产业转型，而是撤离东方花园！”

“如果要选民再投国阵一票，许子根是否能够保证5年内不再会有外商撤资？同时国阵政府能不能确保槟州工业发展不会是惠及外劳就业，而是真正让国内智慧型员工受惠？”

黄泉安认为，国阵已黔驴技穷，人民一定要看清事实的真相，不能再将槟州所托非人，否则未来槟城的前景将会暗淡无光，在国内外都无法与人竞争。

If you can't read Chinese, you can try Google translation here but don't expect it to be very accurate. Anyway, here is my translation:

Intel confirmed layoff or even withdrawing investment from Penang

February 15, 2008, 7:28 PM

(Penang, on the 15th) - Intel massive layoffs has been confirmed, the day of withdrawing from Penang is not far... sigh!

The Democratic Action Party newcomer, Jeff Ooi, disclosed to the media on Friday that on February 14th, it was reported by News Straits Times, in page 32 of the Business Times that Intel is getting ready to move to Kulim Hi-Tech Park. By then, 5000 employees will be affected, thus affecting the economy of Penang. On this mattter, he specifically sought confirmation from other media, and he got the same answer. Therefore, he urged Koh Tsu Koon to provide an explanation to the people of Penang before he takes up a position at the federal government level.

He said, not long ago, Intel closed the research and development center in Cyberjaya and 250 employees were affected. Recently, Intel closed its office inside the Penang Equatorial Hotel. All these indications show that the day when Intel is leaving Penang is near.

"Over the past few years, there had been many foreign investments withdrawal from Penang, causing the state economy to shrink. He mentioned publicly before that Intel will leave Penang and move to Kulim. However, on January 30th, State Assemblyman, Goh Kheng Sneah told reporters that I was talking nonsense. Intel will not leave Penang. Anyway, facts speak louder than words, Intel will leave soon. The way Penang state government handling this matter is a concern to us."

Jeff Ooi said, the economy of Penang is dropping from the top to the lowest. We lost to Singapore before, and we are losing to Kedah now. We are losing our competitiveness. He urged Penang people to ponder on such change.

He mentioned that the state government told the people that Penang economy is transforming from labour-intensive industries to high-tech industries, but is this the reality?

"I knew that Intel will open a factory in Dalian, China to manufacture the 65 nanometer chip. This is one of the most advanced technology at this moment. Penang is currently producing 300 milimeter chip. This technology is 10 years behind. Looking at the current situation, foreign investment is not transforming to high-tech, but is exiting this Garden of the Orient."

"If they want voters to cast a vote for the National Front, can Koh Tsu Koon guarantee that there will be no withdrawal of foreign investment in 5 years? At the same time, can the National Front government guarantee that the industrial development in Penang is not benefiting foreign labours only, but is actually benefiting local knowledge-based workers?"

Jeff Ooi thinks that the National Front is running out of idea, the people needs to know the truth, and should not simply let Penang to be governed by "anyone". Otherwise, Penang future will be bleak, as she can't compete both within the country and internationally.

Pronunciation of the language of love

2008-02-14T06:00:00.001+08:00

I found that many people are having hard time with French pronunciation. Here is a page that I used to browse, learning some simple French... hehe.

In conjunction with St.Valentine's Day today, here is a short guide on a few important phrases:

Je t'aime - Joot tam
Je t'adore - Joot tar door
Veux-tu m'épouser - Ver too may poo say

Enjoy yourself and good luck!!!

1st class price, 2nd class product, 3rd class service

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

To my Vietnamese friends who is also celebrating Tết Nguyên Đán, wishing you guys Chúc Mừng Năm Mới. One Vietnamese friend who visited me in Penang last time jokingly asked me, "Beside food, what else do Malaysian sell?" At every corner of the street, you will see food courts, hawker centers, restaurants, etc. here. Favorite past time for Malaysians is of course, eating!!!

For small companies, nowadays big Chinese Malaysian companies as well, there will be a dinner at the restaurant to mark the last working day before Chinese New Year. This is known as "sau gong jau" in Cantonese. The reunion dinner should be eaten at home. Then, from the second day of CNY onwards, people will usually go out and eat "big" again at the restaurant with family members. This is not something new, but is a trend that has become a norm since about 20 years ago. Restaurants are getting more and more, and when is the best time to earn big bucks, if not CNY?

To me, my grandmother is the best cook. I am not a fan of going to restaurant during CNY. While many restaurants are not open, and many people are not working, those left open will try their best to maximize their profits from the ever-forgiving gullible public. To be fair, not many people have such a wonderful grandmother who doubles as a great cook.

In the United States, the price for candies will drop to a significant low before Thanksgiving to encourage people to buy a plenty. Here in Malaysia, people will raise the prices of almost everything, including haircut, before CNY.

Eating out at the restaurant is still affordable. However, I am against this idea. The reason is that I don’t feel like enriching other people by paying first class price. Due to demand for seafood is high and many fishermen are also celebrating CNY themselves, these restaurants will stock up frozen seafood much earlier before CNY. Thus, you will get second hand products.

Then, not all the chefs are working, so those work come to work will be paid triple or more. Waiters will be lesser too. Typical restaurants could not cope up with the number of customers during this time. So, food sometimes will be cooked to a less than satisfactory level. Service will be extremely bad and that's what I call 3rd class service.

In addition to this 1st-2nd-3rd, then you have 4th class people around. In the past, beer is always a favorite during such "eat-big" feast. In recent years, those uneducated Chinese people are also trying to "upgrade" themselves. Citing health as a reason, these Ah Beng nowadays "lim ang jiu" (is drinking red wine) instead of beer.

Anyone from a country with wine culture will shake their head looking at how these Ah Bengs misuse and abuse wine. You can be sure that they have no idea what wine tasting is all about. No idea what kind of grapes, no idea on the aroma, knows nothing except that they know the alcohol level is higher than beer. Some even mix Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Adding some ice cubes and whiskey to the wine are other possibilities… But so far, I have not seen any Ah Bengs eating fried noodle with Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, etc.

恭喜发财! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2008-02-07T20:00:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year! 新年快乐! Xin Nian Kuai Le!

It's the first day of Chinese New Year today and needless to say, last night was the grand reunion dinner. Depending who you are talking to, there are many ways to explain what CNY is all about. In general, people from different cultures are usually curious about other's cultures. I have many American friends who ask me to "describe" and "explain" CNY in detail. However, the answer you get depends on who you are talking to.

The first way to talk about CNY is to tell about how it is being celebrated. Just talking about those southern Chinese, the Cantonese, the Teochews, and the Hokkiens will each tell a different version. Usually, the Cantonese will have a feast. Chicken, pork, fish, and prawns should (not must) be there on the table. Teochew people, especially those in Penang will have "steamboat", while Hokkien people will only do it big on the 8th day of CNY. This is because they only celebrate it big on the 9th day in conjunction with the birthday of the God of the Heaven.

Cantonese dialect is the most spoken Chinese language outside of China. This tells you that the Chinese diasporas are mainly from the Guangdong province. So, most often, people around the world will hear the Cantonese version of CNY. Thanks also to the help of Hong Kong movie industry. However, this is changing fast as the mainland Chinese, especially the northerners are also "everywhere" these days.

The second way to share about CNY is to tell the legend (maybe, fable) of the "nian" monster. Almost all the Chinese know this and is kept being told from generation to generation. However, those lacking of critical thinking might just take it literally and can't figure out that this story is all about surviving the harsh winter. CNY is actually the celebration of the beginning of spring. All the traditional CNY food is meant to be eaten during the winter. Just one example, Chinese sausage is a way to preserve pork. When spring comes, these surpluses will be used up for the feast.

To ease people's understanding, some people would draw a parallel to Christmas and Thanksgiving. One thing in common is the "rush home" for reunion dinner, everybody is travelling and everybody is having dinner with family members. Then, the differences. One example, they are both in red though, Santa Claus gives gifts, while the Chinese God of Wealth gives real money!!!

JPA scholarship

2008-02-05T22:00:00.000+08:00

One thing that keeps pissing me off about blogging is that, when you have the time to sit down and blog, you ideas run away. I was just being reminded of this and I decided to blog it immediately. Just last month, an idiot sent a letter to brother Lim and got posted on blog.limkitsiang.com at http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2008/01/25/a-frustrated-goverment-scholar-blogger/. Really a soar-high (in Cantonese).

Someone just talked to me about JPA scholarship recently. My friend was complaining to me about the fact that only 10% on non-Bumiputera are selected for this. OK, what the hell is this fucking JPA scholarship? For those not familiar with Malaysia, the Public Service Department or Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam offers scholarships to those who scored "good grades" in their SPM examination. This is a scholarship where the government will send students to overseas for tertiary studies. Every eligible Malaysians will try their "luck" to apply. The chance of Langitputera is always slim.

Sending students to study overseas started as an initiatives to expose Malays to the world. The belief is that Chinese Malaysians are very rich and they can send their kids to overseas easily. These Malays should come back and serve the country once they have graduated. Local universities are believed to be not able to provide this kind of opportunity. In the past, if I recalled correctly, they offered mainly English speaking countries like United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, etc. I remember that Germany and Japan are there. Today, the list is expanded multiple times that includes countries such as Korea, Russia, and even Finland.

To me, this JPA scholarship is a waste of money and counterproductive. It defeats the original purpose or building a group of elites for the country. It really fucks up these days.

Sending students to overseas are not something new. During the Qing dynasty, in the year 11 of the Tongzhi period, the Chinese Imperial court sent students to study various fields in the United States. How many of them decided not to return to China? How many of them came back and were NOT allowed to contribute to the country? What is the return of investment?

The JPA selection criteria is based on kulification, not qualification. Malays always have lower requirements. So, these people are not cream of the crops. Well, this is actually not my point because even if we fix this selection criteria, sending students to overseas should be stopped be the government totally.

First of all, JPA screwed up big time. They have never set any pressure for them to excel. So, most, if not all of the Malays students are at the bottom of the list of academic achievement. I am talking based on normal distribution. Please don’t quote me exceptional cases. Students can continue to drag on their studies to even up to 7 years to get just a basic bachelor degree. Damn it! Such idiots can then apply to continue their master degree. What a joke?

Second, we have a group of interesting Malay ladies who will just come back to Malaysia and get married once they completed their studies. They are not working anymore after that. What a waste? You might ask me, what about their contract?

JPA has too much money. Transparency and accountability is not required in government departments. When these students returned, they were told there is no job in the government sector. They were just released off their contract. Wow! In reality, the government is always short of people. Those currently in the government has only completed Form Five, and of course, the are damn "afraid" of people with a degree. Same problem happened during the Qing dynasty.

Only those with some connections will be absorbed into the government. For example, the son of a Datuk or Tan Sri. Someone influential in the government can actually afford to send their sons and daughters overseas. They are depriving others who need such funds for education.

Another point to talk about is objective. By spending so much money to send people to overseas, what is JPA expectation on these people? From my point of view, I don’t see that there is a real objective. So, after returning to Malaysia, these people who studied in a "rare language" country such as Japan and Korea end up in call center. Some becomes translators. They acquire the proficiency in a foreign language but how does that benefit the country in long run? Some are doing some business on their own too.

Our local universities are at a very pathetic state. They keep denying that they are deteriorating. Keeping too many idiots and not practicing real meritocracy make it worse than before. Well, they said our universities are of first class. Hahaha… what a joke? They keep contradicting themselves. If our universities are so good, abolish this stupid JPA scholarship and get everyone to study locally.

Why do I care? Of course I care! I pay taxes and these bloody fuckers are wasting my money!!!

Welcome to India!

2008-02-03T15:00:00.001+08:00

Swagat! Today is the end of my business trip in India and I will be taking a flight tonight back home. The title of this entry doesn’t look right. To some people, visiting India could be a nightmare but I think I am starting to get used to the life in India. For first timer, you might just hate it but after some time, you will start to think deeper, and then you associate things here to back home. Things works towards certain goals but the methods and approaches are different.

Again, welcome to India!!! Culture shock happens to almost everyone. One thing that many people can't tolerate is the traffic condition. As in my previous entry, I mentioned that the traffic here follows no rules except that they stop at red lights. People is driving very near to each other and psychologically, it invades your personal space and you feel that it is dangerous. True to certain extend, but your driver seems doesn’t bother much. You have to live with it.

So, the famous saying here is, "To survive driving in India, you need 3 things, good honk, good brake, and good luck!"

Then, you have different kind of food that you are not used to. Is it tasty? It depends on who you pose this question to. I love Indian food very much but, after eating for some time, my appetite has changed. I love greens, and I love meat.

Here in India, greens still mean it is fully cooked. You may find limited salad in the hotel, but it will be hard for you to hunt for salad outside. Again, there is exception. At certain tourist spots, people are selling freshly peeled cucumber sprinkled with a mixture of salt and chili powder. Succulent is the word I would say, and pretty cheap too.

In my opinion, there are 3 main reasons for human to cook food. First, we cook because we need to kill bacteria and viruses. For example, meat from poultry is full of germ. You need to cook it for you to avoid from falling ill. The second reason is to preserved food. Ham and cheese are examples of preserving meat and milk. Finally, the third reason is to help digestion. Cooking breaks down cellulose and make certain vegetables easily digested by the human body. Therefore, you don’t need to waste energy unnecessary.

Most of the Chinese dishes are cooked but they are mainly cooked for the first and second reason. Chinese New Year rice cake and Chinese sausage are ways to preserved food to survive the winter. Here in India, everything is cooked until it is like Chinese porridge or congee. Most of the food varieties here are made up of simple carbohydrate. Indian food is also cooked with a lot of oil. People on mission - beware!

Poor Chinese people eat rice porridge because that can't afford to eat rice. Making porridge will break down all the rice grains into something very easy to digest. So, people don’t need much energy to get energy from porridge. Hope you get the idea. So, here in India, overcooking of simple carbohydrate has become a culture itself. By the way, desserts are damn sweet that you feel you can dilute everything 10 times and still taste as sweet as sugar cane juice.

Next is use of milk in cooking. Paneer, the cottage cheese looks like a substitute for tofu. This stuff is tastier than tofu, I love it. In Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, curries are "enhanced" with coconut milk. On the other hand, looks like all the Indian curries have milk added. For those with lactose intolerance, you will get diarrhea easily. Since you are not aware of the amount of milk you took, you might blame that to unhygienic food. Well, certain restaurants unhygienic though.

I have a feeling that Indian people in general think they are the poorest in the world. All foreigner are damn fucking rich. When you go to visit any tourist spot, the big sign board tells you that you are paying a few thousand percent more. For example, locals pay 10 rupees which is equivalent to RM 0.90 or USD 0.26. Foreigners have to fork out either 250 rupees or USD 5.00. OK, they think foreigners earn 25 time their salary, what a fucking rip off. Well, I don’t think these smart Indians want US dollars these days as USD 5 worth 190 rupees only.

Beggars on the street beg from foreigners only. I have not given a cent to beggars. These people can go to work, OK. Back in the street in New York, they are damn fucking many homeless people. I read one report that the use of soup kitchen is increasing as well.
However, fucking westerners are encouraging these lazy Indians to beg. Maybe there is some kind of conspiracy going on, I don’t know. Another reason could be the white people thought that they are "superior". Don’t be fooled by beggar holding young babies as young as a few months, the babies might not belong to them. Shit! What kind of fucking society?! My taxi driver told me, some beggars can buy lands, while he can't buy any even after driving for 15 years. Well, he said, the only things that these people don’t have is dignity. Long story…

Everyone is thinking of ripping off foreigners. People come to India because certain things are cheaper. For example, medical treatment, IT related job outsourcing, etc. One thing they don’t realize is - many things outside of India are damn fucking cheap. Fruits, vegetables, clothes, electrical appliances, electronics gadgets, and computer parts are much cheaper in Malaysia. But these idiots thought we are coming to shop for cheap stuffs and charge a premium as well. It adds up to be exorbitantly high price.

When they keep do that, sooner or later, Europeans with their strong Euro will not be able to withstand it. Furthermore, their products are not of first class quality though. The only exception is the near first class service, coupled with excellent lips service. Maybe, angmo loves it when people call them "Sir" day in and day out. To me, I would rather carry my own luggage. Fuck, don't tell me that you can carry it for 2 miles at the airport during transit but you can't take it from the hotel lobby to your room. I don't need to be pampered.

Supply, demand, and job security

2008-01-27T13:00:00.000+08:00

The basic concept of supply-demand is always "if there is demand, there will always be supply". So, demand comes first. When the demand is more than supply, either price will go up or supply will increase to balance up the demand. Think about a job that requires some kind of skill.

When the innovative Sony created the very first Walkman at that time, nobody actually needed to listen to music while they are on the go. Sony hired many people, or models, to wear the Walkman and walk along the streets in New York. So, this launched some kind of iconic culture or some craze for youngsters to catch up with the fashion thus, the demand suddenly existed.

India has one of the worst traffic in the world. There are basically no rules on the road but there are exceptions though, which I will mention later. The road is full of cars, taxis, buses, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, and the infamous three-wheel auto rickshaw (pronounced as something like Atol by the locals, i.e. the Indian accent for auto). To add on to the complexity, there are also tricycles, bullock carts, horse carriages, pedestrians etc. They all share the same road.

By the way, don't be distracted by people urinating by the road side, beggars knocking on car windows asking for money, and even children performing acrobatic act at the traffic light junction!

Depending on which city you are in, there will also be constant honking. I would suggest Fear Factor to organize a competition on driving in India rather than the standard "yucky factor" with insects or stinking stuffs.

If you are Indians and you can drive, I am sure you are used to it already and that shouldn't be an issue. Now, if you are a foreigner and you need to go place in India, please forget about the buses. It is always packed like sardines in a can. So, the alternatives will be either taxi of atol. This is what I and actually referring to the demand. You always need their service! If you can afford it every time, taxi is always the best choice. If you are on budget, then the atol guy will be the next best bet. They will take you go anywhere like there is no tomorrow. Sometimes, the felling is like they are fighting for you with their life. Damn it, don’t forget that we are in the same atol!!!

To my surprise, the only exceptions to the bad traffic is that everyone stops at the traffic light. Whereas in China, people will only stop at the instruction of a traffic cop. Traffic lights in China are "for reference only".

You can call this Indian traffic a chicken-and-egg problem. The bad traffic situation first, or atol first? Maybe, I need to drive an atol first in order to answer that question. So, supply and demand is always there. How about job security?

In the US, cheaper is always a factor, and that's why 90% of the stuffs in Target or Fred Meyer are labeled "Made in China". In countries like Japan, talking about importing rice is something taboo. Yes, the protect the local rice farmer very well. Rice outside of Japan is much, much cheaper. However, importing rice is not an option except some Thai fragrant rice for dogs. I am not exaggerating, a Japanese told us last time. Again, don’t blame him, he his from a different culture. If he understands our culture too well, then we will not learn anything new. I just illustrate this for contrast purposes.

So, for the case of atol driver in India, you can't take their job away even if they let you do so. You will crash into someone at least 5 times in an hour... hahaha. These Indian drivers are so skillful that the deserve to keep their job! There is no incentives for you to compete with them. You have to experience it as the first person especially navigating through the rush hour in the morning.

Vannakum!

2008-01-26T14:00:00.000+08:00

I am travelling again today, but this time I am going to the most boring city in the world. It sounds like a little exaggeration but so far among all the other places I have been this is one of the places which "you can't do much".

Welcome to Chennai! The capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. I had been to Chennai twice and this will be my third time. In my last trip, I met a guy from Latvia who had been there for many times. He works for a Finnish company and he is setting up the first Indian branch office for his company. Coincidently, we went to the hotel restaurant at almost the same time every night and that at least, provided us with someone to talk to. Hahaha… no Brokeback Mountain, OK?

As a new guy there, I asked him about places to visit, nightlife, etc. Guess the answer? "The best place to go in your own hotel room". Yes, that's true though. "Everything" in Chennai has to be closed at 11:00 pm. Yes! Damn it, I thought 11:00 pm should be the starting time? Lights at watering holes will be turned on at eleven sharp, and that is it. Time is up, pay your bill and go home.

Since you can't change the law, so you change yourself then. Ok, I went to the bar and the pub at 8:00 pm. To my horror, pubs and bars look like places for gays to hang out. These half and fully drunk Indian males smoke, drink, and talk crap there. Music sucks, the deejay sucks, and I don’t think they heard of live band. Well, I know that you might not in favour of getting someone to fuck for the night, but at least, there ought to be some girls around right? No! Customers are 101% male, waiters, bartenders, etc. are 101% male. So, forget about washing eyes at all. No "pang-puah-liap" breasts for you to examine. Take your own Penthouse magazine along.

As a consolation, depending on the hotel you are in, you are provided with crappy internet access. During my first trip, I stayed at Taj Connemara, a 5-star hotel with "British flavour". The provided wifi access and it took me 15 minutes each time to get my laptop connected. Anyway, once you have connected to the internet, Skype voice chat is not a problem at all.

However, during my last trip, I stayed at Green Park. I bet this fucking hotel is definitely not a five star, maybe not even a four star. The so-called FREE internet access is damn fucking crappy. The maximum bandwidth you can get is 200 kbps, which is also inconsistent. So, forget it if you plan to watch some movies using peer-to-peer video streaming software like TVkoo! or http://www.vttv.com.my/.

With that kind of bandwidth, to my horror, talking on Skype is like using your cell phone inside an elevator with no additional antenna. You keep being cut off, significant delay, strong echo, the other party has to keep shouting "Hello", and much, much more. People said I am talking in the mud. Tew niamah! That's enough. No more next time, low fool dew high yard bye gore! (in Cantonese, go figure it out yourself) … hahaha.

Oh yeah, I almost forget to mention that if you are downloading something, they will "throttle" you down to at low as 2 kbps. I went down to the front desk and offer them money for broadband (don’t misunderstand, I am not bribing them). "Excuse me, do you all provide high bandwidth broadband? I want to pay for that." Even if I am not on business trip, I am willing to pay.

After reading books about India and its culture, the response I got was, "Sir, our broadband is free of charge. Just plug in the network connector to your laptop. You don’t have to pay anything". Look, the speed is down to 2 kbps now, I don’t think that is usable. "Oh sir, we are having network problem and IT department is working on it." Alright, time to go to bed then…

Yeah, talking about Green Park, they are really "green", I guess. The lights in the bathroom / toilet is damn dim. If I recalled correctly, there is only 3 units of 5W compact fluorescence lamps. This spoilt my hobby, reading. Ah, reading in the toilet? You need some reading materials to do your business, don’t you?

There are more stupid stories about Chennai to go, but I think this entry is getting too long. Gotta go now. Poitu wahrenggeh. Naandri!

Thanks for the date!

2008-01-25T05:30:00.001+08:00

When you travel, you have stories to tell. Travelling gives me some kind of satisfaction where you can break away from daily routine. Of course, you get to meet a lot of people, and sometimes become friends.

One interesting thing about meeting people while travelling is that you feel some extra bonds or connections just mainly due to the fact that you are from the same country and understand each other better. This is just my opinion anyway.

Before coming to my own stories, let me share something I saw. On the hotel shuttle to and from the airport, I saw an Asian guy with an American wife. When the door shut, the shuttle driver asked which airlines that we gonna take. That guy said, "Korean Air". Suddenly there was an elder lady mumbled something in Korean to that guy, and then, anyong haseyo, anyong haseyo… and they chatted until they went into the airport before bowing to each other goodbye.

I think most travelers also experience the same thing. While in our own country, we might not be that close, but once you go out of the country, you can become very good friends immediately. Actually, I am not much into this because I make a many local friends when I am travelling. This will be more fun, I think.

Anyway, before boarding the flight in Taiwan, I notice a girl travelling alone. Sometimes it is a bit tough to differentiate east Asians. I can singled out Japanese and Korean, but not differentiating between the two. That girl looks to me like Taiwanese.

When we arrived at the airport and cleared all the immigration and customs, we went out to wait for the shuttle. She asked me questions and then I realized she is a fellow Malaysian. So, we became instant friends. Coincidently, she was going to the same state I was going as well and that was great, I think because I don’t have to go eating and shopping alone.

So, we when we reached the next day, we went for pho (Vietnamese beef noodle) straight away. Then, shopping, period. Shopping is always great in the US and Americans friends always curious about what we buy in the US in such a short time? Hehehe… that will be another blog entry in the future. Finally, we went to get some groceries. That was fun. I am pretty dull at times and thanks, she was a good conversationalist. I also got to know that she just got married for a month. Congratulations!

We went for more shopping the next day. Woman is woman. She really can shop!

I told my wife and a few close friends about this "encounter". One thing that naturally comes to many people's mind is that, you fucked her or not? Damn it! Ah, I am not interested in fucking others people's wife la… come on. I always remember the wise man word, "don’t shit in your own backyard", i.e. don’t fuck your colleague, go fuck someone "faraway" la…

My Japanese friends even taught me things like "cincin wa kayui", "ippatsu yarasete…" Hahaha… but that is applicable to yappun-mui (Japanese girls) only. Maybe I look like a ham-sap-low (pervert)… niamah!

The more fun thing I did later in the week was with my lau-peng-yiu (old friend), Juliet Delta Lima. This time Mrs. Lima, Alpha Lima was also present. The just got married a few months ago on 9-8-7. Congratulations! Thanks for the hospitality and all the good food and wine.

To my new found friend, thanks for the company! Take care!

Who is the first prime minister of Malaysia?

2008-01-20T18:25:00.001+08:00

I have been travelling pretty heavily recently. Heavy in the sense of frequency and in the context of my current circle of friends and colleagues. Travelling is always something that of interest to me when it comes to seeing things as the first person, real time. Yeah, not forgetting to mention, it is interactive.

I was in Oregon again after more than 2 years break. I am blogging this at the Tom Bradley International Airport, Los Angeles (LAX) right at this moment. The waiting time today is exceptionally long, with at least another hour to go.

When I reached this airport last week, as usual, there were long queues at the immigration counters. When my turn came, I was greeted by the immigration offcier, "Hey, you are from Malaysia, huh?". "Yeah, right, all the way from Penang", I said. The conversation went on like this,

Officer: Let me ask you some questions about Malaysia.

Me: OK, sure. (I thought, well, shoot, it can't be too hard)

Officer: Who is the first prime minister of Malaysia?

Me: Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Officer: Are you sure?

Me: Of course.

Officer: That's correct! This is too easy for you. Here comes the harder one. What was Malaysia biggest mistake?

Me: Err, wow! Well, I will try. Could it be that we "gave away" Singapore back in 1965? Or, do you mean the current policy?

Officer: Right, you know what, Malaysia should not had given away Singapore . Back then, if Malaysia asked Singapore to sign an agreement to give 3% of its revenue to Malaysia as a condition for independence, I am sure Singapore will agree to that. Maybe not forever, but like a term of 100 years... Or, you know, like Hong Kong, it is a lease to the British and must be returned, not giving away just like that...

We chatted for quite a while, we joked and laughed, while many other counters were moving. I was still "stuck" there, but of course, not a negative one. Later, some fellow Malaysians asked me what we were "discussing". It seemed very long to them and they thought I might be subject to special registration and interview. I didn't since I came here many times before September 11, 2001.

Later, this officer told me that he was an ex-CIA agent based in Johor Bahru during the 60s. No wonder he knows that much. He knows much more than I do. It always amaze me that there are all kind of people around the world like CIA agents who might just live next door to you. Well, I believe him. Thank you, sir. I am heading home now and hopefully, we will meet again in my next trip to the US in the very near future.

A Hypothesis: The Origin of Malaysian People - Part 2

2007-05-23T01:33:00.001+08:00

Great, now God had created three races in Malaysia. They could be easily distinguished by the color of their skin. Since they were no longer as close together as before, they lived separately. Different languages were developed due to this segregation.

After some time, God became bored again. He made a lot of statues of men, women, and also many kinds of animals too. Most of them were made from clay, and the rest were made from wood, stones, brass, iron, bronze, marble, glass, and even crystals. He was still bored because he didn't know what to do with them. Oh yeah! Why don't we introduce more diversity to the nation!?

God spreaded good news again. Go and take those statues and worship them. That will become your religion!!! Remember the third group who did not managed to bathe in the swimming pool? This time, they were not going to lose out anymore. Even though they were made up of less than 10 percent of the total population, they managed to grab at least 70 percent of the statues. They built their houses of worship and tried their best to put in all the statues. There were so many statues, and finally they decided to put those statues "everywhere". On the walls, on the roofs, use them as gates, pillars, beams, and the rest were taken home.

The fair skin race reached the location where God put all the statues after the dark skin race left. Since there were not much left, they "sapu" (cleared) everything. They built their houses of worship. The rest were taken home to be worshipped as well.

Finally, the group with light brown skin arrived the next morning at about 5:30 a.m. To their dismay, they found that there were nothing left anymore. They shouted and shouted very loudly that it woke everyones up. So, they ended up building their houses of worship with no statues at all, inside and outside.

Well, that's the end of the hypothesis from year 4007.

Personally, I believe everyone, every human being is created to help each other, leveraging each other strengths to build a better human race. Do not let skin colors, languages, or religions to be the barrier for us to build a peaceful world. I am color blind, and I wonder, does God himself have a religion?

A Hypothesis: The Origin of Malaysian People - Part 1

2007-05-21T23:25:00.000+08:00

It has been a miserable year 2007 so far. Busy with making money is one thing, but busy with "work" itself is kind of stupid. Well, it is inter-related but at some point, we need to make the disctinction. Don't take life too seriously, no one gets out of life alive... Like Dewan Karut said, kalau diambil serius, ke kuburlah alamatnya (if it is taken too seriously, grave will be the destination).

Well, imagine that this is year 4007 and you are an archeologist. Here is a hypothesis you could be making about the origin of Malaysians. Again, if you are not happy with this blog entry, please leave now. Go home and learn to suck your own cock. By the way, if you are not a Malaysian, you might not be able to understand a thing. Sorry, no further explanation.

In the "beginning", there was only one race in Malaysia, i.e. the one with dark skin. One day, God thought that it was a good idea to introduce some diversity to the nation. So, he made a giant size swimming pool. Of course, it was bigger than all those pools in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games combined. The good news was spread next. Go to take a bath at the Swimming Pool of God and your skin will become fair.

The first group who went and bathed was indeed became fair-skinned, and the news spread further. About a quarter of the total population managed to lighten the tone of their skin. Word of mouth was the best form of communication, and now, more than half of the country came to take bath. The water level in the swimming pool had been tremedously reduced. It had became dirty as well, but the pool could still accomodate everyone. Unfortunately, this second group was only able to lighten their complexion to tan or light brown.

Finally, the last group who arrived discovered that certain area of the pool had dried up. There was a small area containing water up to a two inches high. So, it was good enough to fit in this third group. Too bad, there was only enough water to cover their feet and palm.

This ends the first part of two.

The King of Rambutan

2006-09-29T21:50:00.000+08:00

Rambutan is a pretty common fruit here. Everyone loves it. Here in Malaysia, we are lucky that we can enjoy it fresh from the tree. However, there is a catch. Having a rambutan tree in front of your house means you have to bear with ants, black and red, fast running and slow crawling types.

If you talk to friends who used to stay in the "kampung", they will tell you there is something more succulent than rambutan, i.e. the pulasan. It is not just a cousin of the rambutan, but people call it the king of rambutan. It is native to the Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia). Pulasan, rambutan, longan, and lychee are from the same Sapindaceae family.

Scientific name for rambutan is nephelium lappaceum, while surprisingly for pulasan, it is nephelium ramboutan-ake. It has a botanical synonym too, nephelium mutabile.
Malay name : buah pulasan
Thai name : ngoh-khonsan
Filipino name : bulala
Spanish name : pulasán
Dutch name : kapoelasan

I bought a few kilograms of pulasan at Carrefour two weeks ago at RM 4.00 / kg. They have never sold it before. My friend, one kilogram is not much considering its size and the weight of its skin (or shell). That was my first time in life seeing and eating pulasan. Once you have tasted pulasan, you don't want rambutan anymore. Damn good !!!

Capsicum chinense jacquin

2006-09-27T10:38:00.000+08:00

My first encounter with Habanero chilli was in the year 1999. At the groceries store in Oregon, it was sold along side with other varieties such as Anaheim, Jalapeño, Serrano, etc. It led me to do some searches on the Internet and found that it is one of the hottest in the world. TheScarms has more information on this exotic plant.

Fellow blogger, Khanasai helped me to get started with this minor agricultural project. I like to plant something that can be eaten rather than just beautiful flowers. It could be due to the fact that my favourite pastime is enjoying food. Only 2 pots of chilli for now, and of course, will multiply them from the seeds later.

I took many photos of my beloved chille plants, but since I am a newbie in photography, I consulted my co-worker who is also fellow blogger, Loctor Mayat to sort out those that cannot be shown to the public. I need to practise more.

Parable - The Lonely Ember

2006-09-26T22:55:00.000+08:00

After completing my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, there was a period that we were kind of "free to explore the world" for a short while. SPM is the Malaysian equivalent to the British General Certificate of Education - Ordinary Level (GCE 'O' Level). While waiting for the result, many of us were very eager to try out what it was like in the real working world. At the same time, some of us took some short courses as well, but that will be another story on its own. Earning some pocket money was something great rather than asking from our parents.

One of the interesting places to work was the KFC outlet. Back then it was still known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. Every year, this is the time for companies that need temporary manpower to recruit people. Between the employer and the potential employee, there is something known as "connection". Friends introducing friends. A friend of mine told me that there were a few vacancies in the "sales and marketing" line. The working world was very new to us and of course, we were pretty eager to "contribute to the total household income".

We joined a direct selling company. Well, it was really a direct selling company where we were paid a low monthly salary and we got commissions from our individual sales. Very much different than today's multi-level marketing companies where you have to join as a member, pay membership fees, "front loading", "you-don't-have-to-sell-anything", blah, blah, blah... disgusting. We were taught to do product demonstrations in a way that exaggerate the capability of the products. We learned the psychology of doing sales as well. Anyway, we later knew that the majority of the public did not welcome our presence too.

At that time, the Swedish Electrolux products were not sold in stores in this part of the world. They were sold though the direct selling method. The cheapest appliance was the vacuum cleaner which carried a hefty price tag of RM 1300, i.e. about USD 520 (In those days, the exchange rate was USD 1 = RM 2.50). Due to the nature of the job, team spirit was very important. We also had to ensure that all of us attended all the training sessions. During one of the training sessions, our team lead, Golf Papa, a man in his early forties at that time, shared with us a parable. By the way, he is a Christian. I found the story on The StoryBin recently and here it goes.

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.

After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.

As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail."

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.

Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

The Chinese Malaysian beef story

2006-09-25T23:55:00.000+08:00

I have been missing from blogging for 2 months again. As usual, bloggers will say that they are busy. It is true though. Looking deeper, it is all due to priorities. Every one of us has limited amount of time. When we decide to do something else first, we put it as priority numero uno, and de-prioritize blogging. Sometimes, we just take blogging for granted. We should be grateful that we still have this last frontier of freedom. Yeah! So, let's start blogging again.

Many people say that Malaysian is a plural society. However, we still remain separated and we don't actually understand each other cultures. There are many examples f0r this topic. However, there is one interesting practice by the Chinese Malaysian which I think, they don't even understand. When we were young, we were "trained" by many people that Buddhists do not eat beef. I was lucky that my father did not emphasize this kind of superstition on us. If you eat at a Malay "warong", "gerai", restaurant, or whatever, some of our Malay comrades who have less contact with the Chinese will look at you like you are an alien. Some will ask you in order to "double confirm" and explain to you specifically that the dish you ordered contains beef. Not too worry about this, but "Why the hell Malaysian Buddhists don't eat beef?"

To start with, many Chinese Malaysians who claimed to be Buddhists are not Buddhists. They are just "following" the Confucius teaching and mixing some of the Taoist rituals. However, the government just labels it as Buddhism. Surprisingly, many Chinese do not know how to differentiate too.

When you ask, people will tell you that it is because they pray to the deity Guan Yin. This is the simplest answer that you can get. Of course, it has multiple versions of legends associated with this statement. One version is that, the father of the deity Guan Yin was the "king of cows" and thus, it is a respect we show to deity Guan Yin. Some people come out with a standalone version where Buddhists respect cows for their contribution towards mankind. Cows supply milk to man, and do all the hard work in the field, etc.

Some people tried to linked this to the Indians who are mainly Hindus. As Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism was born a Hindu, abstinence from beef is a Hindu tradition that goes to China hand-in-hand with Buddhism. I thought it was Bodhidharma who brought Buddhism to China. Anyway, this is not so important here because we are talking about Chinese Malaysians. If someone tries to link it to the Indian Malaysians who are predominantly from Tamil Nadu, it does not make sense too as the Chinese and Indians are separated by the British under the "divide-and-rule" strategy. The Chinese worked in tin mines while the Indians worked in rubber estates.

Chinese Malaysians will be surprised that out of Malaysia and Singapore, beef is always present in the menu in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. People in these countries practise Buddhism too. The Goddess of Compassion (Guan Shi Yin Pu Sha) is known as Kanzeon Bosatsu in Japan, Kwan Se Eum Bosal in Korea, and Quan The Am Bo Tat in Vietnam. On the other hand, food lovers know the Japanese Matsuzaka-Gyu (松坂牛) very well. You can see beef in sukiyaki, teppanyaki, shabu-shabu, etc. Bulgogi is synonymous with Korean food, like Kimchi. Needless to say, my favourite Vietnamese beef noodle. So, "everyone" is eating beef, "What on earth is happening in Malaysia?"

This is just a speculation. Back in the days where the British took in loads of Chinese from mainland China to work in tin mines in Malaya, they might have planned this in advance. Due to the "divide-and-rule" policy, Malays, Chinese, and Indians were segregated to different industries and areas of residence. Since the Hindu Indians do not eat beef, they will not interact with the Malays when they need to buy meat. Indians and Chinese would not meet each other that much as the Chinese were mostly staying in towns and cities, while the Indians were mainly staying in rubber plantations. To ensure the Malays stayed away from the Chinese, it was important that the Chinese ate pork. As pig is "haram" in Islam, it would be easy for the British tell the Malays that these Chinese were unclean and eating "najis". Stay away from them!

Before the Chinese came to Malaya in big groups, there could be some or no pigs at all in Malaya. It will be easier for those to bring a pig with them on the boat than a cow. Once they were here, they started rearing pigs. Of course, pig rearers would encourage Chinese to eat pork. Otherwise, they would lose business. There was no turning back since then. Some people might cook up of a few excellent stories to keep Chinese from trying alternatives. Those local Chinese gangsters who usually involved in "associations" and "temples" might be responsible for those "don't-eat-beef" legends to keep their lucrative pork businesses. According to Kevin Hogan in his book, "The Psychology of Persuasion", 85% of the people are conformist. When it comes to religion, it is really easy to "influence" people in the name of god or goddess.

Fast forward to today. One of the famous legacies from the pork eating culture in Malaysia is the Bak Kut Teh, a Chinese Malaysian dish which you won't be able to find in China. I just guess that was how Chinese Malaysian evolve into eating pork and stay away from beef.

Parable - The Retiring Carpenter

2006-07-25T00:12:00.000+08:00

I love to tell parables. I found that it is much easier to convey a message by using parables. When we were young, we used to listen to fables, such as the Aesop's Fables which have "embedded" moral narratives. The Chinese also have many stories or metaphors that actually served as the basis of proverbs and idioms. We learned many of them in primary school. Parables are the most interesting, I think, due to thier parallel meanings are actually unspoken or implicit, which make people think. Many people experienced paradigm shift after listening to parables but some don't like it and the excuse is "just be direct". I think differently. Parables contain not only the dilemma but the decisions and consequences as well.

I emphasize on the paradigm shift because I experienced it before when I was in secondary school. On one of the Monday morning assemblies, our discipline master, Mr. Tango Lima told us a parable. During those days, back in the 80s, it was hard to find this kind of stuffs. There was no Internet, of course. Anyway, it was a great one! It was the parable of the retiring carpenter. When I was in the United States for the very first time, more than 7 years ago, my co-worker sitting next to my cubicle who is also my sifu in Kajukenbo pinned this story in his office as well. The thought process linked me back. Here is the story in my own words.

There was once a very skillful carpenter. Due to his old age, he decided to retire and spend more time with his family. He told his boss about his decision. The boss was so sorry to see his long time employee leaving and decided to reward him. So, the boss went to the carpenter and told him that he would like him to build one more house for a very important person. However, the carpenter was no longer having his heart in the job. Even though the boss told him to choose the best material, he just simple used whatever that was easily available. Needless to say, the workmanship was poorer than the work of an apprentice.

After completing the house, the carpenter handed the keys to his boss. "Keep the keys", said the boss, "This house is for you. I don't know how to thank you for your service and your loyalty throughout all these years. Here is my gift for your retirement."

The carpenter was shocked to hear that. He was so ashamed that he didn't perform to his best in the very last project. He had to settled for something that was poorly built by himself. He would have built the house differently if he knew he was actually building his own house.

"Our Utmost For The Highest"

Five most common lies in business

2006-05-06T21:00:00.000+08:00

My friend, Juliet Delta Lima forwarded this interesting stuff to me this morning.

By the way, here is the original source, http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/5lies.html by Alice Van Housen, from FC issue 10, page 52.

Paul LaFontaine left Bertelsmann Music Group in March 1997 to advise other business people about radical honesty. He has lots of work to do. "There are as many lies in business as there are people in business," he says. Here are his nominees for the five most common lies:

Lie: "People are our most important asset."

Truth: "People are our most worrisome and unpredictable asset. Our most important assets are really our financial assets."

B.S. Detector: This may be the leading lie of our times. "When management starts talking about how important people are," LaFontaine says, "you can bet there is going to be an unpopular human resources decision coming soon."

Lie: "This was a rational decision."

Truth: "I wanted to do this."

B.S. Detector: People "want what they want just because they want it," says LaFontaine.

Lie: "We judge people by their performance."

Truth: "I judge your performance based on how much I like you."

B.S. Detector: "Why do most people who keep their jobs keep them?" LaFontaine asks. "Because the people they work for like them. And you get fired when the people you work for don't like you anymore.

Lie: "This is business, it isn't personal."

Truth: "Everything's personal."

B.S. Detector: "As people, we get mad at each other," says LaFontaine. "Attempts to avoid it are cowardly. So get mad. Then get over it and move on." LaFontaine believes that any disagreement can be handled with an honest conversation.

Lie: "The customer comes first."

Truth: "I come first."

B.S. Detector: "More often than not, 'the customer' is an abstraction," LaFontaine warns. "People take care of customers when it benefits them and ignore customers when they can get away with it. Nobody says 'I come first,' which is what's usually going on."

My April 2006

2006-05-01T08:00:00.000+08:00

I officially spent a total of 3 days in the office last month but I did work from home anyway. I was not vacationing at the Carribean. Many things happened and most of the time was spent to admire the beauty of my apartment. In a separate note, I am not a superstitious person and I don't believe in God. However, last month incidents made me to be more "traditional". Stay away from people suffering from bad luck, else you will get some too. Don't dispute this! Maybe, it was just a coincidence. Looking at it positively, it could be a blessing in disguise. I had a lot of time to spend with my family while still getting my salary. I had the chance to do things which I wanted to do long ago.

OK, let's start by blaming it on my friend. This guy was having strings of bad experiences for the past few months. Last incidents was that his car was broken open and laptop in it was stolen. The worst thing was the loss of data, not the laptop itself. Well, this friend gave me something which I wanted to buy for quite sometime. Something which could not be found in the open market, semi-legal stuff (falls within a grey* area). It is legal in neighbouring countries, just the fucking Malaysian government making it illegal to protect the interest of some cronies. I am not going to disclose it here but I guess you know it by now.

Be warned! Don't ever accept gifts from anyone suffering from a series of bad luck in the future. It is my turn now. Please decline if I try to give you something or pay for your meals.

April started with a fine Saturday going on a journey and returning to Penang on the same day, covering a distance of about 400 km. Later, I discovered that my car was leaking engine oil. As I underestimated the amount needed to be topped up, the level had exceeded the "H" mark. My worst fear came true when I saw the engine temperature was higher than usual. I could still use the word "luckily" here. Luckily, no overheating, no broken gasket, but still, money had to be forked out for repair for the leaking problem.

The whole week was a training week. I signed up for a 5-day external course at the island. Damn! It was the worst external training I had ever attended. The fucking instructor was not prepared at all. He had no examples on his own. All the examples were copied from books. The joker typed by copying verbatim and his typing skill was slower than us. With this kind of style, most of us could "deliver" the training better than him.

By the end of day 2 of 5, we were still left clueless. I developed some uneasiness in the stomach. When I reached home, it became worse. So, it was food poisoning. Things started to get "rowdy" on the last day of the training. A speeding Toyota Wish banged my car. According to "undang-undang", I was on the wrong side. I had to pay for the repair, of course. Well, treat this as "破财挡灾" (po cai dang zai), translated literally as "lose a fortune, avoid a disaster". In addition, I had to repair mine as well. Again, luckily, no one was injured at all.

I started to develop a fever the next Monday. Being unable to get to work early in the morning, I called in sick. I still went to the office in the afternoon. Thus, I covered 0.5 day here. For the next 2 weeks, I was quarantined. It was discovered that I was infected with the varicella-zoster virus for the very first time. I got 2 weeks sick leaves from the doctor, for the safety of other employees, especially pregnant women.

Before the end of the month, I had fully recovered and I went to work for 2.5 days. That was how I clocked 3 working days. Although there were so many thing waiting for me to do, I made a point to return the "gift" to my unlucky friend. The very first thing to do when I got to work. Maybe it is just a psychological effect, but I felt that things were going on much smoother after that... Believe it or not?

Well, there could be other explanations as well, such as the "gift" was not compatible with my house feng shui, etc. Anyway, I can sit here with good mood and blog this down. This can be considered as great achievement already, and we have entered the month of May today.

Happy Labour Day!

* Grey is a colour, gray is a color. Understood?

自學英語不求人

2006-02-18T08:08:00.000+08:00

Learning English is interesting. It is not a secret that many people will try to use their own language (mother tongue) to pronounce English words. For example, Mandarin speaker will substitute "I don't want" with "爱东万" ("ai dong wan" in hanyu pinyin). A friend of mine sent me a junk mail with these pictures a couple of days ago. I guess it is interesting enough to share them here.

So, this the front page of the book with the title translated literally into English as "Self Learn English Language Not Begging People".

However, this book is not meant for Mandarin speaker. Well, it is written in Traditional Chinese but you have to say all the pronunciations in Cantonese.

Here is another page of it. I wish I have more pages to share. If you can't read or speak Chinese, please don't be mistaken that this is an effort to promote English or something. This is actualy more like a "joke-of-the-day".

I want to buy this book!!! It is definitely very much sought after by collectors.

Of All Flowres Methinks A Rose Is Best

2006-02-15T00:30:00.000+08:00

Picture taken at the Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon on December 25th, 2005.

Happy Saint Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T23:30:00.000+08:00

Today is the big day where money is spent in exchange for love. Sorry, I put it in a not so positive way. Well, in my opinion, showing how much you love the other party does not have to be on this time of the year. There is a feeling of being kind of "diluted" today. What do you mean?

OK, let's imagine this. If everyone in the neighbourhood is driving either a Mercedes-Benz or BMW, you will look a bit cheap even you have an Audi. Even if you have a Mercedes-Benz, you are just another Ah Beng. Too common, "ta ta lang pun si ane kuan" (a Penang Hokkien phrase). Similar to those who went for last minute shopping prior to festive season and stuck in a traffic jam for 4 hours in the shopping complex car park.

So, why not pick a day on your own and declare it your own St. Valentine's Day? That day will be the day where you don't have to compete with other Ah Bengs to buy flowers. That day will be a special day where you don't have to pay a premium for a dinner-for-two.

Someone told me about IQ and EQ sometime ago. People having high IQ does not necessarily having high EQ and vice versa. I am trying to establish a link between IQ/EQ and people's action on St. Valentine's Day. As usual, we can break this down into the famous 4 combinations, low-high, low-low, high-low, and high-high.

There are only a small percentage of people with high IQ. Yes, they are the geniuses. Most of the people in this world are having an IQ of below average. Therefore, the first group, i.e. the "low IQ high EQ" will follow what others do without thinking twice. They do it because they think that it will be abnormal if they don't it. In addition, they are taking care of their partners feelings, they don't want to take unnecessary risk. Since they made up the biggest group, their action becomes the "society's norm".

I read from a website that our friend, Mike Tyson is a an example of "low IQ low EQ". On St. Valentine's Day, these people are Ah Bengs who buy all the flowers from a florist and send to their Ah Lians. "So lohmentik ar!!!" Eight thousand eight hundred eighty eight (8888) roses, I am sure those Ah Bengs will get rich and prosperous by striking the Empat Nombor Ekor. Buy the number 1426 with 24 permutations, RM100 big RM100 small for each number.

People with "high IQ low EQ" will die very young because they cannot accept this world. Why people are so stupid??? They are smart by not participating but could ended up being single for their rest of their life... Some geniuses might try to impress their partner by learning some French words such as, "Je t'aime" (I love you), "Vous êtes très spéciale pour moi" (you are very special to me), and even "Veux-tu m'épouser?" (Will you marry me?). I don't know how it will go if the genius substitutes roses with orchids.

The winners are always those with "high IQ high EQ". They will be selling flowers, teddy bears, chocolates, strawberries, etc. at extraordinary prices. Restaurant owners will charge a first class price, with second class product, and provide third class service. Not forgetting those small entrepreneurs who sell glow-in-the-dark condoms as they are trying to make a living too. These people will be laughing their way to the bank and celebrating their own St. Valentine's Day on February 15.

The stupid guy who does nothing but blogging is sitting in front of the computer right now. Damn it.

Ah Lian Boey Handphones

2006-02-06T22:30:00.000+08:00

A few of us engaged in a conversation about cellphones today which includes a topic on cellphone jammers as well. Still centered on cellphones but the sub topics jumped from 3G to tri-band / quad-band phones too. It suddenly reminded me on an interesting incident before I went to US.

First of all, this blog has nothing to do with "Ah Cheng Boey Roti" because Ah Lian really sells handphones here. If you are searching for "Unchained Melody", this entry is not the right place. Secondly, cellphones are know as handphones in this part of the world. Please don't ask me why. The best I can do is to give you RM 3.60 to consult a medium and ask god. The third point is a disclaimer. I am going to blog the real conversation in Penang Hokkien dialect. Please don't burn flags and embassies because you are insulted.

Me: Ji leh handphone si em si tri-band eh? (Is this cellphone a tri-bander?)

Handphone Lian: Ji leh moler gua kok eh sai iong eh. (This model can be used overseas)

Me: Gua kok si talok? (Where do you mean by overseas?)

Handphone Lian: Chuan seh kai pun eh sai lomming. (Can do roaming throughout the world)

Me: Lu oo ii eh 说明书 boh? (Do you have its instruction manual?)

Handphone Lian: Wa boh pian lu eh. Ha mi su ai pian lu? (I am not bluffing you. Why do I have to lie to you?)

If you are a Malaysian, I am sure you are used to this kind of attitude. However, I think angmo will just "geleng kepala" and walk away. Some might keep complaining with the "fuck" and "suck" words. Maybe should teach angmo to say "lu ki ho lang kan la..."

Look at my 3 questions again. The Handphone Lian never answered one properly. Kannineh!

Knock 'em Dead Interview - Part 3

2006-02-05T11:00:00.000+08:00

It has been a year since I last blogged about interviews. The part 1 and part 2 are archived under the January 2005 link. Last month, I encountered an interesting guy during a walk-in interview. This guy had 11 years of working experience in the United States. His resume is quite impressive too. So, I decided to interview this guy.

When this guy came to the interview booth, he sat on the chair leaning his back on the chair. At the same time, his two hands were on his hip while his head is tilted to the side a little bit. In addition to such a "stylish" (有型) posture, he shook his leg as well. Try to imagine it yourself. Needless to say, the English was accented but not really sounded like an American.

Anyway, we chatted a bit and here was the climax of it.

My question: Mr. [something], from your resume I can see that you had a lot of experience and deep knowledge in designing car audio system. I have an interesting question for you. Well, in a typical automobile, we know that the car battery is rated at 12V. Why most of the automotive electrical appliances such as car audio has a rated nominal voltage at 13.8V?

The guy immediately stopped shaking his leg and pulled the chair closer to the table. I guessed he needed more focus and therefore, adjusted his spectacles. I could see that he was kind of a little shocked with the question. He was sitting upright better than being instructed by the air stewardess before take off or landing. "Dumb struck" is the appropriate word to be used here, I guess.

Even though he couldn't answer this question, he was pretty knowledgeable in certain areas. He has his strengths and areas of improvements. Anyway, this guy is pretty fun to work with. We ended up talking like a friend by the time we ended the interview.

The moral of the story is that we shouldn't judge the book by its cover. Give yourself and others enough time to know each other. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. You might find that a bad first impression could be sometimes deceiving.

Good luck, my friend!

All Money Put My Home

2006-02-04T08:00:00.000+08:00

It is the 7th day of the Chinese New Year, which is also known as everybody's birthday (人日). Here is a new mantra for this new year. You can recite it anytime, anywhere.

The six-syllable "All Money Put My Home" could be traced back to its Sanskrit origin, i.e. the famous "Om Mani Padme Hum". The Tibetan version is "Om Mani Peme Hung", while the Chinese make it easy for Mandarin speakers and pronounce it as "An Ma Ni Bami Huang".

With the advancement of information and communication technology, we are sharing the secret of this mantra with the rest of the world in English.

To make this blog entry sounds like a chain letter, here is the magical phrase "Please forward this to everyone you know!".

Happy Birthday!

Happy Chinese New Year

2006-01-29T08:00:00.000+08:00

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous lunar new year.
May the year of the dog brings health, wealth, love, and peace to all of you!

By the way, I learned from a Korean friend in the beginning of the year that the Koreans celebrate the lunar new year as well. The new year greeting is 새해복많이받으세요 (sae hae bok mani badeuseyo), which means something like "receive many blessings for the new year".

While I was in Oregon back in January 2003, a Vietnamese friend taught me the phrase "Chuc Mung Nam Moi". That's the greeting for Tet, i.e. the Vietnamese lunar new year. He taught me the tone of the pronunciation as well.

Gong Xi Fa Cai !!!

Got money?

2006-01-17T20:00:00.000+08:00

I think our beloved national car company needs it.

As reported by Business Week on January 12, 2006 that Volkswagen ends partnership with Proton, I started to worry about my hard-earned money in our Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (Employee Provident Fund) account. Please spare my money, please...

While taking my shower, "Eureka!". I found not one, but two solutions for the ailing company. Don't be a social burden, find a new partner today! However, there is a twist to this first proposal recently. Our "billionaire friend" had been arrested and will be remanded for 4 days. This website definitely has more information. Damn it! No worries, I have alternatives.

Before we start, please permit me to make your acquaintance in an informal manner. This is necessitated by my urgent need to reach a dependable and trustworthy partner. I would also like to seek your strictest confidentiality and honest cooperation in order to ensure the success of these deals.

First of all, we have Barrister Nwachukwu Williams from Williams & Associates Chambers. His office is located at 2nd Floor, Great Nigerian House, 45 Martins Street, Lagos, Nigeria. He promised to give us 30% of US$ 6,500,000 (six million five hundred thousand million dollars).

Next, Hajia Mariam Abacha, the wife of the late General Sani Abacha, also from Nigeria would like to share 30% of her USD 40.3 million. Due to security reason, we will be dealing with his son, Mustapha.

Barrister Kelly Paul does not want to see a huge amount of money that belongs to his client to be confiscated by the Standard Trust Bank Plc., Nigeria. We will take 50% of the total sum of USD 23 million.

Due to diversification and globalisation, we also have to look for partnership beyond Nigeria. Mrs. Grace Komlla who is the branch manager of Banque Commercail SA Ghana du Togo will pay us 35% of USD 4.5 million.

On ther other hand, Mr. Jeff Mog, a divorcee, was a farmer in Zimbabwe until August 2003, when the government of Robert Mugabe decided to seize all farmlands owned by whites without compensation. He would like to work with us and will part 20% of USD 28.75 million.

The biggest deal comes from Barrister Yassin Ali Mohamed. He was the family attorney to late Vice President John Garang of Sudan. The Darfur rebels killed his wife on her way back from work recently, and for this reason he had moved his family from Sudan to London for safety. We will be getting 27% of USD 380 million from our partnership.

Since the value of US dollar is weakening, investors are looking to Euro. The late former minister of health of the Republic of Benin, Olukoye Ransom Kuti was wise enough to work towards that direction. His wife, Mrs. Mercy would like to transfer the money to our country and we will be rewarded with 20% from the total of Euro 20 million.

All these transactions will be executed under legitimate arrangements that will protect us from any breach of the law. Well, we are on our way to make US$ 135,465,000 and € 2,400,000 pre-tax.

Due to time constraint, I have rejected the partnership offer from Dr. Belo Ige of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). We understood that it is not possible for one to do everything with two hands. I would like to seek your confidence in establishing a joint venture with us. I will be introducing you to Barrister Bello Danjuma and Mr. Kesiena Udu shortly. We will entrust you to execute these transactions on our behalf. Terms and conditions are negotiable.

Should you be interested to commence this business, I will require you to furnish me with your personal details such as full name, home and office addresses, phone and fax numbers respectively, which will be used in processing all the legal documentations, empowering you to apply for and have all the funds transferred to your credit.

Let's count the days

2005-12-26T15:00:00.000+08:00

Every year and on every holiday, we will hear the government bull shitting on racial harmony, people working and living together building the country, success belongs to everyone, etc. Here is what we have got today:

PM on the spirit that keeps Malaysians together

KUALA LUMPUR: The tranquillity seen in Malaysia is a result of the people’s hard work and determination to maintain harmony in its multi-racial society, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“Events around the world in the past one year have proven once again that narrow- mindedness and intolerance only breed great loss and pain for all,” the Prime Minister said in his Christmas message.

Abdullah said he was happy that Malaysians of all faiths continued the tradition of sharing and caring that had been practised in the country all these years.

The nation must learn from history and not let down its guard for even one moment in ensuring that the country’s harmony was kept intact, he added.

In celebrating Christmas, Abdullah said, Malaysians must also spare a thought for the less fortunate and all those facing hardship.

“The generosity and warmth of Malaysians have been well documented and I call upon all Malaysians to display this generosity once again.

“Let us lend a helping hand to those who have to spend this festive season in great adversity,” he said.

The Prime Minister hoped Malaysians would continue to show their spirit of togetherness and continue to celebrate successes and victories, regardless of whether these were big or small.

“I take this opportunity to wish Malaysians of Christian faith a very merry Christmas. May the peace and love that we enjoy reign forever in this blessed land,” he added. – Bernama

After a few days, or a few weeks, or sometimes a few months, you will see stories like "Hispanic entrepreneurs must keep opportunity to themselves", "protect the Eskimos with the quota system", "Siberians must not sell their business license to Germans". You know who exactly who I am referring to.

Maybe Dr. Stephen Covery is right. After talking about "think win-win", "seek to understand then to be understood", and "synergy", then it is time to talk about "sharpen the saw". Time to incite racial hatred and do ethnic cleansing! Sounds like an annual cycle like animal mating.

After the Christmas message from our "work-with-him" prime minister, let's count the number of days before the next message like "create a towering Polynesian race" comes out.

Malaysians have very short memory. For companies major in researching, producing, testing, marketing, selling, or distributing Gingko Biloba, I would recommend Malaysia to be the site of choice for investment. Malaysians should eat more to improve their memory. They seems not to remember that this is the same stupid goverment that has run out of ideas and keep inciting racial hatred years after years. Believe me, you are hearing nice news today, let's wait for the not-so-nice news soon. Akan Datang!

Anyway, Merry Christmas!

该死的不死, 不应该去的...

2005-12-20T22:30:00.000+08:00

My deepest condolence and sympathy to the family of "one of our friends". This person will be greatly missed.

Back in the year 2000, I lost a friend as well. This friend was just sitting next to me in the office. We used to work on projects together, used to go out for lunch, used to visit each other's home as well. Suddenly, this person was gone.

So, another friend is gone recently. Let's pray for this person.

Sometimes, certain people who you think deserve to die, is still there wiwi wawa, making havoc, making others' life miserable. Humble and friendly people die early. Arrogant and mean bastard still roaming. Fair?

People who do believe in God look at the positive side and say, "Maybe God has a better plan for those who died early", "God wants them to be with Him".

Kind of a sad day.

Shanghai - Hong Kong - Los Angeles

2005-12-11T16:00:00.000+08:00

Last night (Saturday) was really an adventure. We walked along the "food" street. I don't have the name of the street with me now, but it is within walking distance from JW Marriott, Shanghai. We ate 生煎包 at 小杨生煎馆. Yummy and cheap street food. We wondered further and had some BBQ oysters, scallops, and mussels. Damn delicious! The owner's wife who is also the waitress can speak fluent non-accented Cantonese. Should have found this place earlier... but no regret, at least I tasted it once.

Started early at 6:00 am on Sunday, going to the airport. If you have the Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club frequent flyer card, you will be able to check-in using the business class lane while you actually have an economy class ticket. Since Dragon Air partners with Cathay Pacific, I tried to ask the ground crew whether I can use the business class lane by showing her my Marco Polo Club card. Shit! She told me, "先生, 对不起, 很多人都有这张卡". Hmm... Dragon Air doesn't recognize Cathay Pacific frequent flyer program. Fine!

Everyone was waiting in line for flight check-in, while an "escort service provider" was saying good bye to her client. The angmo was going back to US. I think the angmo paid for her service for a few months. "Babe, this is my last time touching you. Your skin is so smooth. I will miss you... blah blah blah... Kiss! I love you... Hope all the business discussion will go through well... blah blah blah..."

After going through health inspection, custom, and immigration, I found myself was on my way back to Hong Kong again. After checking in for the next flight, I went to the Cathay Pacific Lounge. I am not going to blog about what I did there. I met Deannie Yip Tak Han (葉德嫻). We were waiting in line to use some facilities. She was behind me. I looked back and we exchanged smiles. She is a cheerful lady.

Time goes by and finally it is time to board the plane to Los Angeles. After sometime on the plane and had dinner, lights were off. Many people were sleeping while I tried to do some exercise, and this is also the best time to use the lavatory. Talked to the cabin crew leader (she was in purple uniform) and found out that she is a Malaysian. Chatted for quite a while before I walked back to my seat. By the way, she is 15 years my senior...

I used to have pretty bad impression on Cathay Pacific air stewardess. My last trip on Cathay Pacific was back in December 2000. After that, I tried all means to avoid this lousy airline. However, this trip was pretty much lived up to expectation.

Before you realize, it is time for you to adjust your watch. You have landed at Los Angeles International Airport. The local time is blah blah blah...

What did you do in a foreign place?

2005-12-09T23:30:00.000+08:00

What makes a foreign place foreign? Most people will tell you in one word. Yes, the "culture". You know that culture is a very general word. Some people are adventurous enough to experience to be a local. Some might want a controlled environment.

In a foreign place, the language is different, or at least, the accent is different. Some people can pick up the local accent in a short time. They can even imitate the accent as well. The way people joke and laugh at something is different from yours. When you try to crack a joke, you will be surprised that the local people look at you with wide open eyes. They just don't get it. The reverse is true too.

While in Shanghai, I asked a counterpart on how do local poeople recognize us as foreigners? Well, pretty simple, he told me. The locals usually don't turn on the heater at home. Some turn on the heater for certain rooms only. Therefore, they wear many "layers" of clothes. Foreigners usually stay in the hotel where the heater is always turn on to comfortable level, to a level you can do without a shirt. When foreigners go out, they will wear very little. Maybe, just a T-shirt and a jacket. That's all. So, it is really easy to distinguish foreigners.

Anyway, in a foreign place, it will be great to find out what the locals do. Shanghai is relatively safe. You can go out to the street alone at night and my impression is that it is as safe as Singapore. For certain cultures, "eating is a favourite pastime". The Chinese like to eat. We "roamed around to find food" every night while we were there.

On Monday night, we managed to find a Muslim restaurant. It was great and cheap. The next day was a little lazy. We walked around a found a Hong Kong style "tea shop" (港式茶餐厅) and we had good food there as well. The price was really reasonable. We worked a little late on Wednesday and ended up going for dinner at about 9 pm. We saw a Mexican food restaurant after a few hunder meters walk. The environment was really nice, the service is excellent. You won't believe it because Mexican restaurants that I went to before in United States are different. Not forgetting to mention about the food, it was superb.

After 3 nights of great food, Thursday was a really busy day, and at the end of they day, I found out that I was the last person to leave the company. So, I ended up eating alone at a Japanese restaurant near the office. It is actually located within the same building. A good dinner but unfortunately, I had to drink sake (Japanese rice wine) alone.

We disappeared from the company a little early on Friday. We went to do some sightseeing and not to forget buying souvenirs. It is important to buy something for the people in the office back home. Edible or not, you must buy something as "buah tangan" (in the Malay language). Japanese say "omiyage", they know this well. Friday dinner was interesting. The locals took us to a up-class Chinese restaurant serving local cuisine. We paid for dinner as a gesture of appreciation since they took us around. The food was "so-so" only.

After a week in Shanghai, we learned to go around with a map, walking, taking taxis, and using the MRTs. Learned some local accents and terms (vocabularies). While blogging about things happened after office hours, the main job was kind of out of the picture. Anyway, the main job was completed successfully. Work hard and play hard, of course.

Sunday Shanghai

2005-12-04T21:30:00.001+08:00

Being a stranger to this city of 20 million population, we woke up to our excitement on Sunday morning. Our de facto team lead, who was an excellent guy, told us that eating the xiao long bao (小籠包) was definitely something that we should not miss at all. So we headed to a place called Yu Yuan (豫园), and there is where the infamous Nanxiang Mantou Dian (南翔馒头店) is situated. We were told that this shop is the birth place of xiao long bao. On the ground floor, people is lining up in a long queue for xiao long bao to "take away". Next to it, there was a group of people in their 60's or 70's performing Chinese opera singing. Quite a "matching" environment next to the serene man-made lake with a number of geese.

We proceeded to the first floor and was told that it was full. Naturally, we continue to climbed up to the 2nd floor. We couldn't find any empty table. So, we ended up sharing table with another 2 couples who were already sharing the table. Thinking of trying out everything, we ordered the "breakfast set" that cost each of us 50 yuan. Not bad at all, both the price and the taste. When we told people later, we learned that each floor charges a different "price structure" with the highest floor commanding a premium price. Interesting.

Xiao long bao by itself is interesting as well. It is actually a dumpling made to shape like a bao. The skin is something like thick wanton skin with smooth texture. Eating it is interesting as well. Since soup is also wrapped together, you can't just eat it like you eat normal dim sum. Put the xiao long bao on the spoon, eat of the "nipple", and suck out the soup. Only then you eat the xia long bao. You have to try it yourself!

After our stomachs were full, it was time to walk around for sightseeing. However, it just fascinated me that some people were not interested to see the yu yuan itself. I heard there is a Dragon Wall, and other interesting stuffs as well. When it comes to the Cheng Huang Miao (城隍庙), again there were people who said "What? You need to pay money to pray?". Hey, come on. This is not actually a place for praying. This temple is something like a "museum". We walked and walked and walked. I tried the bing tang hu lu (冰糖葫芦) from the street. OK, now I know the taste of it. The one with hawthorn fruit is the original version. There are also bing tang hu lu made from strawberries, peach, and even kiwi.

After this, the exploration of Shanghai was a torture to me. Being in a "semi-sick" condition, walking around the town was not really a conscious activity. I followed our great leader in every moves. First of all, I was not having a good rest the night before. I didn't have any fever or running nose. However, when it came to sneezing, my whole body ached. Kind of funny.

My idea of sightseeing is to visit historical places and tourist spots. There is a garden when once the Japanese put up a notice board that "Chinese and dogs are not allowed". Places like this are worth the visit. There are some people whom, in my opinion, should stay in the hotel room. These are people who go from one shopping mall to another looking for Adidas and Nike shoes, and Nine West handbag.

I am not saying that those are fake goods. In a country where there are so many counterfeit goods, go and grab some. Not visiting all the shopping complexes one after another. After finding out that the price was outrageous, these people sweared "kiong kan lar...", "chibai, kui ka lan anekuan", "pukimak", "ho lang kan", "kannineh...", and other mantras as well. Beh tahan... but I have to follow the group.

The Sunday morning in Shanghai is unusually quiet. This is due to the fact that people "go all out" on Saturday night. So, people are sleeping through the nice morning to regain the vital energy.

Lunch was nice. Had Sichuan style dishes at the 翘江南 restaurant inside the Times Square. Yes, the Times Square where they shot the Shoalin Soccer movie. This was one of the best moment where there were good food and you don't have to walk like shit from buildings to buildings without doing anything "productive".

The afternoon continues with the same routines, surveying prices from one place to another for Adidas shoes. Saw Parkson there. Yes, this is the Malaysian owned Parkson. Finally, we reached the Xiangyang Road (襄阳路) market. This is the place where people are selling designer goods at a cheap price. Of course, they are fakes. However, let's think about it, these things are not necessary fakes. It could be coming out from the same factory. For example, the factory might product 100,000 Samsonite bags and shipped them to US, and the same factory works overtime and makes another 100,000 "illegally" and distributes them to Xiangyang Road market. Most of the customers are lao wai (老外), which means foreigners (referring to Caucasians).

Finally, we took the MRT back to the hotel. Feeling too exhausted, all of us slept through the night without having dinner. The moral of the story? Find the right group. Otherwise, go on your own.

The first Shanghai night

2005-12-04T13:30:00.000+08:00

The first impression on Shanghai when I landed was that "Is this China?". The immigration officers are all in blue, not like those in green I have seen last time in Shenzhen. I don't have any idea whether they revamped their uniform color, or this is something unique to Shanghai. Moving closer towards the immigration officer revealed to she is a "policewoman". The word 警察 is clearly written on the shoulder embroidery badge. Wait a minute, I thought police is known as 公安 in China. Again, this could be something unique to Shanghai again or they are trying to be copy cats. Not much difference from their Hong Kong counterparts except they don't speak Cantonese.

After we cleared immigration, we proceeded to take our baggage, and headed towards the custom. Nothing to declare. Next will be something that first timer will be tempted to try. Take the MagLev train from Pudong airport to Longyang station. The one way trip ticket costs 50 yuan (renminbi), which is roughly equivalent to RM 25. I read from the ticket counter that the magnetically levitated train will run at a top speed at 430 km/h during daytime. However, it will only run at 300 km/h in the evening. Well, paying RM 25 to travel at 300 km/h is definitely an "experience" rather than the stupid Malaysia Boleh KLIA Ekspres where you have to pay RM35 for a single trip.

Side track a little. After doing some research on the internet, it again, reinforces my belief that Germans are kind of gifted in the field of technology. They patented the basic maglev system before the World War II.

Reached 明天广场JW万豪酒店 pretty late. After taking a nice shower, we went out for a sumptous dinner, a buffet style BBQ bar. Oh yeah, we accept all major charge cards and credit cards. This fine print is "we don't accept foreign banks issued credit cards". So, we ended up paying by cash. To me, my "rule of buffet" is to try everything, just a little will do. However, some thinks that eating "char siew" repeatedly is cool. Damn it!

We walked along the Nanjing Road all the way to The Bund. Very nice experience. Now I know, this is Shanghai night!

夜上海夜上海

2005-12-03T23:55:00.000+08:00

The day started at 5:30 am on the 3rd of December, waking up in excitement. You didn't want to be late for your flight as you were just flying economy class. You didn't have the privilege to keep people waiting for you, and had your name announced a couple of times through the airport public address system. As the saying goes, it is better to be early than sorry.

Equipped with an upgraded frequent flyers card, you were actually being treated like a business class passenger. I was glad to beat the crowd. After a while, it was the time to say good bye to those sending us off. Yes, I said "us". A few of us were on the same mission, going to the same destination.

Before we board the plane, we were actually given the invitation card to use the airline lounge. You know, with your family members with you before boarding, you wanted to be with them as long as possible. So, I didn't bother to use the lounge. After clearing immigration and security, someone who didn't have the invitation to use the lounge was really desperate. We went in, and of course, I had the card, and he didn't. He didn't care much, just stormed in and grabbed a sandwich with the life hand, while opening a can of Coke with the right hand. Seems like this guy didn't had anything to eat for many days. I can't describe the situation in words, just feeling too embarassed to say anything. Someone approached us asked for the card, I gave mine, and I was done. As usual, some people really know how to dance. "Oh, you need a card to come in here ?" "They didn't issue it to me". OK, enough, I am heading to the boarding gate.

Transit at Hong Kong in the afternoon. Not much to see there, not much time for us to do anything. Looked for the gate and sat there. We reached Shanghai Pudong International Airport at almost 6:00 pm. Half a day was gone. The story will continue...

"The Allegory of the Cave" by Plato

2005-11-04T01:13:00.000+08:00

Imagine there are men living at the bottom of an underground cave whose entrance is a long passageway that rises up through the ground to the light outside. They have been there since childhood and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move. Their heads are held by the chains so that they must sit facing the back wall of the cave and cannot turn their heads to look up through the entrance behind them. At some distance behind them, up nearer the entrance to the cave, a fire is burning, and objects pass in front of he fire so that they cast their shadows on the back wall where the prisoners see the moving shadows projected as if on a screen. All kinds of objects are paraded before the fire, including statues of men and animals whose shadows dance on the wall in front of the prisoners.

Those prisoners are like ourselves. The prisoners see nothing of themselves or each other except for the shadows each one's body casts on the back wall of the cave. Similarly, they see nothing of the objects behind them, except for their shadows moving on the wall.

Now imagine the prisoners were able to talk with each other, and suppose their voices echoed off the wall so that the voices seemed to be coming from their own shadows. Then wouldn't they talk and refer to these shadows as if the shadows were real? For the prisoners, reality would consist of nothing but the shadows. But next imagine that one of the prisoners was freed from is chains. Suppose he was suddenly forced to stand up and face toward the entrance of the cave and then forced to walk up toward the burning fire. The movement would be painful, and the glare from the fire would blind him so that he would not see clearly the real objects whose shadows he used to watch. What would he think if someone explained that everything he had seen before was an illusion and that now he was nearer to reality and that his vision was actually clearer?

Imagine he was then shown the objects that had cast their shadows on the wall and he was asked to name each one - wouldn't he be at a complete loss? Wouldn't he think the shadows he saw before were more true than these objects?

Next imagine he was forced to look straight at the burning light. His eyes would hurt and the pain would make him turn away and try to escape back to things he could see more easily, convinced that they really were more real than the new things he was being shown.

But suppose that once more someone takes him and drags him up the steep and rugged ascent from the cave and forces him out into the full light of the sun. Wouldn't he suffer greatly and be furious at being dragged upward? As he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled and he won't be able to see any of that world we ourselves call reality. Little by little he will have to get used to looking at the upper world. At first he will see shadows on the ground best, next perhaps the reflections of men and other objects in water, and then maybe the objects themselves. After this he would find it easier to gaze at the light of the moon and the stars in the night sky than to look at the daylight sun and its light. Last of all he will be able to look at the sun and contemplate its nature - not as it appears reflected in water but as it is in itself and in its own domain. He would come to the conclusion that the sun produces the seasons and the years and that it controls everything in the visible world. He will understand that it is in a way the cause of everything that he and his fellow prisoners used to see.

Suppose the released prisoner now recalled the cave and what passed for wisdom among his fellows there. Wouldn't he be happy about his new situation and feel sorry for them? They might have been in the habit of honouring those among themselves who were quickest to make out the shadows and those who could remember which usually came before others so that they were best at predicting the course of the shadows. Would he care anything for such honours and glories or would he envy those who won them? Wouldn't he rather endure anything than go back to thinking and living like they did?

Finally, imagine that the released prisoner was taken from the light and brought back into the cave to his old seat. His eyes would be full of darkness. Now he would have to compete in discerning the shadows with the prisoners who had never left the cave while his own eyes were still dim. Wouldn't he appear ridiculous? Men would say of him that he had gone up and had come back down with his eyesight ruined and that it was better not even to think of ascending. In fact, if they caught anyone trying to free them and lead them up to the light, they would try to kill him.

I say, now, that the prison is the world we see with our eyes; the light of the fire is like the power of our sun. And the climb upward out of the cave into the upper world is the ascent of the mind into the domain of true knowledge.

Copy Exactly!

2005-10-25T20:00:00.000+08:00

First of all, this blog is not about the Copy Exactly factory strategy adopted by Intel.

A friend told me this story a couple of days ago. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there lived a highly respected chief priest. He had a lovely golden retriever that roamed around the temple freely. The love and bond between the chief priest and his dog grew stronger day after day. At certain time of the day, the priest had to perform some religious rituals together with his followers. His canine would like to participate but it would not be so appropriate. So, they left the dog outside while they performed their duties to god. Feeling left out, the dog would ran around wildly, knocking down flower pots, annoying other people, and barked and barked and barked.

The priest told himself that he had to do something. One day, before starting the routine rituals, he tied his best friend next to a god statue in the garden, next to the main hall. He served him some vegetarian food from the alms they collected in the morning. The rituals went on smoothly without any disturbance at all. They repeated the same procedures from that day onwards.

Many years went by. Some of the chief priest's followers had gone to another planet to open new branches. Some had retired, some had decided to worship other gods, while some had gone closer to god. One day, the time for the chief priest to enter heaven had come. Although, his golden retriever had become senile, he was so sad that he decided to follow his master. All the followers threw the chief priest a grand funeral wishing him all the best in afterlife.

After things settled down, the most senior guy was elected to take the helm. Due to many years of training, it was just a piece of cake for the new chief priest to recite the mantras.

But wait! There is no dog there!

Go and catch one and tie it next to the god statue in the garden!

Dress Rehearsal

2005-10-17T01:00:00.000+08:00

We played the game and won big time!!! But this is not the point.
We participated in this game as a team, learned a lot from the game and from each other.
We discovered our true self, what each of us is good at and what are the areas of improvement.
We learned that in a team, everyone is equally important no matter what role you are playing.
We found that trust and empowerment is something you need in a performing team.
We understood that everyone is unique and respecting others earns you even more respect.
The list is almost endless.
Something we will not deny, we really enjoyed being in a team, had fun, and will never forget!

That was the copyrighted simulation game by Marin County based American Consulting & Training - Dress Rehearsal.

As the saying goes, you mileage may vary. So, everyone will experience the game differently. Some like it very much and want to go for the fourth round, while some think that is the mother of all tortures. After all, it is designed to simulate complex and matriced situation in life. Strike a balance, do your best and on the other hand, not too serious to the point that you want to throw punches.

No one gets out of life alive!

Kampai at the Cool Bananas

2005-10-16T00:15:00.000+08:00

In the beginning of this month, which was just 2 weeks ago, we were "imprisoned" at the luxury Grand Plaza Parkroyal hotel for the whole week. We were required by the company to attend a "very important" training for supervisors / managers. The hotel was not new to me as I used to go there now and then, be it on my own for dinner, or some team building events sponsored by the company. However, this was my first time staying there for a few nights.

On the first day, everybody was trying to get to know each other, building relationships, "forming" teams, making ourselves comfortable with each other. Not much on the first day, anyway. It was a pain in the ass on the first night having dinner together with the assigned team members, cracking our heads to start conversations and share something in common as well. While trying our best to feel comfortable with each other, we were also required to come out with the team name and logo. A very good experience on "forming" as in the Tuckman model of team development.

Being "sworn to secrecy", I have to keep my promise, and therefore I am not going to blog on the activities taken place during the "boot camp". There was one night that it was optional for us to get together and sing karaoke, sort of a team building event at the Cool Bananas. It was great, beer was good, people were trying their best to entertain and have fun at the same time.

As first, it was a bit awkward for me to go out and sing. So, I waited for a while. Hey! How to sing without filling my tummy with beer???
Hmm... couldn't stand it anymore, went straight to the bartender with a friend and got a few tumblers. Got to know more and more friends.

Locals: Yam seng! (obviously a Cantonese word)
Taiwanese: Sui yi! Ganbei!
Japanese: Kampai! Ikki! Ikki! Ikki!
Koreans: Konbae!
Lain-lain: Cheers!

After many kampai, I got my engine started, sang many songs, including a Japanese song too.

There was a song sung by some Japanese friends which I had forgotten for quite some time. It reminded me of the old days when I was with my previous company. I used to sing "Kampai" with Japanese counterparts, vendors, customers, etc. I didn't sing it that night as I was lacking of confidence for this one. Well, we really had fun that night. Here is the lyric.

Katai kizu na ni, omoi o yosete
Katari tsukusenu seishun no hibi
Toki ni wa kizutsuki, toki ni wa yorokobi
Kata o tataki atta, ano hi...

Are kara dore kurai, tatta no darou
Shizumu yuuhi o, ikutsu kazoetarou
Furusato no tomo wa, ima demo kimi no
Kokoro no naka ni imasu ka...

Kampai ima kimi wa jinsei no
Ookina, ookina butai ni tachi
Haruka nagai michinori o aruki hajimeta
Kimi ni shiawase are

Kyandoru raito (candle light) no, naka no futari o
Ima koushite me o hosometeru
Ookina yorokobi to, sukoshi no sabishi sa o
Namida no kotoba de, utaitai...

Asu no hikari o, karada ni abite
Furi kaerazu ni sono mama yukeba yoi
Kaze ni fukarete mo, ame ni utarete mo
Shinjita ai ni, se o mukeru na...

Kampai ima kimi wa jinsei no
Ookina, ookina butai ni tachi
Haruka nagai michinori o aruki hajimeta
Kimi ni shiawase are

Kampai ima kimi wa jinsei no
Ookina, ookina butai ni tachi
Haruka nagai michinori o aruki hajimeta
Kimi ni shiawase are
Kimi ni shiawase are

Everyone enjoyed themselves very much. The most important thing, everyone knew each other much better. I am sure a little kampai here will definitely lead to some life long friendships.

Saiko! Sasuga!

Benglish revisited

2005-09-23T11:04:00.000+08:00

It has been more than 5 months since I blogged about Benglish. Here are some additional Benglish words that I "learned" recently.

leeyiter kemler - digital camera
joomlen - zoom lens
lehbit - rabbit
larber - eraser (from the word "rubber")
toosbok - toolbox
stesh - state
lewlen - durian
Lohlek - Rolex
krass - class
klas - grass
Marseeli - Mercedes-Benz
Pewjot - Peugeot
Seetong - Citroen
Plotong Sawi - Proton Savvy
resign - design
leesain - resign

Hopefully, I will blog in Benglish someday. Akan datang...

foobar

2005-09-20T21:00:00.000+08:00

For software engineers or to be exact, code developers, it is kind of necessary to learn new programming techniques all the time. Sometimes, it is also necessary to learn a new programming langauge as well. For those who look at sample code on the internet, be it from the open source community, discussion forum, or Microsoft MSDN Library, you might come across the word "foo" and "bar". For example,

int main()
{
foo = bar();
return 0;
}

A games developer cum programming guru told me that "foobar" was originated from the word FUBAR used in the military. FUBAR stands for Fucked Up Beyond Any Recognition. Hahaha...

Should you need the details, please visit these links,
http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc3092.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foobar

Parlez-Vous Français?

2005-08-15T05:30:00.000+08:00

An angmo asked me an interesting quick question last week. It caught me off guard and I was wondering how he had that kind of idea.

Angmo: Do all your taxi drivers here speak French?

Me: What??? How do you come to this kind of conclusion?

Angmo: Well, when I was in France, the taxi drivers say "thank you" in their language to the cashier after paying the toll at expressway. In French, "thank you" is "merci".

Me: What did you hear our taxi drivers say exactly?

Angmo: They said something like "lassi", "messy" or something similar. I'm not really sure.

Me: Why didn't you try asking whether they speak French? Parlez-vous français?

Angmo: As far as I know, French language is not really common here. So, I was really wondering...

Me: OK, I got you. I think they say "resit". Is that right?

Angmo: Yeah! Yup! That's what they say.

Me: Well, the expressway, including the Penang bridge toll receipt is only issued upon request. So, they are actually asking for it. Hehehe...

Angmo: Hahahaha...

Fund raising the Chinese way - The all souls day

2005-08-13T09:30:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese agricultural calendar, I attended the Chinese all souls day celebration dinner at my place. Before we go into the details, here is some information about the Chinese all souls day. It is actually a special day dedicated to the wandering or hungry ghosts. They are known as "preta" in the Sanskrit language. Prayers and food will be offered to them. The Cantonese (Guangdong) people celebrate this festival on the fourteenth day of the seventh month, while the Hokkien (Fujian) and Teochew (Chaozhou) people do this a day later (the fifteenth day).

In any areas with significant number of Chinese people, they will form some kind of clubs or organizations. This has not changed much since the day Chinese immigrants were brought into Malaya by the British to work at tin mines. Thanks to the government who keep playing the racist card, marginalizing the Chinese. I am not going to discuss this here as it requires a whole new blog altogether. In order to take care of the needs of the Chinese staying in area far away from temples, the 盂兰胜会 (yu lan sheng hui) is formed.

The 盂兰胜会 at my place organized a pretty grand celebration this year. Of course, there is no forcing or compulsion. Anyone who wanted to participate could register with the organizaing committee. First of all, they collected money for buying the jumbo size "dragon" joss sticks. Next, was money for erecting multi-colour triangular flags. Then, a dinner for the occupants was organized and money was also collected for this purpose. Nothing is free, of course. From this "exercise", it was actually helping the economy where money was changing hand and jobs were created. At the same time, some kind of administration fees were taxed from the collections. This is fair enough, I think, as someone must be paid to do all these jobs.

The preparations were not without problem. There were people who believe there is no god but God protested to the management. These extremists do not believe other people have their rights to their own religion. Maybe their faith is so shallow that they are afraid of their own shadow. These fanatics failed as all these were done with proper approvals from the authority. Thanks to these people, it made the Chinese wanting to participate even more.

On the night of the dinner, local politicians were invitied. They arrived in their official car with their silky batik shirt on. It was some kind of message to people that this dinner was sanctioned by community leaders. It started with roasted pork as the first dish. The whole roasted pig was one of the offerings to the gods and souls during the prayer session in the morning.

Fund raising activities the Chinese way was being run throughout the dinner. First of all, they had a few persons carrying a dontaion box going from table to table. The attendees spontaneously dropped some money into the box. Since the whole procedure was done under the eyes of the public, most will not refrain from donating, to avoid "losing face". The next thing was auction. They started by announcing that the Laughing Buddha (Matreiya) had been auctioned at an unbelievable price. Everyone responded with a "Wow!". The went on with other items (symbols of good fortune). They managed to fetch a few times the original price of the items as they were blessed by the God, so they are priceless.

One more technique that really impressed me was "angpow borrowing". There were 50 red packets containing money in them. I don't want to disclose the amount of money in angpow. The master of ceremony announced that the angpows were blessed by the God. Take it home and keep it at the altar. It will bless the whole family with luck, good fortune and prosperity. Come back next year and pay back two packets to the God. What a great idea to make 100% per annum interest from the money you lend out?! One more thing to be sure, there will be at least 50 families participating next year.

There is also a "lor-choo" and "tau-keh" election process which is quite complicated to pen down now. I will share once I managed to obtain the full details someday.

It is really interesting to see people believing that if they can afford to burn expensive dragon joss stick, their family will be blessed. They also believe that they have a higher place in God's eye than others who can't afford to buy a flag, etc. I don't think such a materialistic god exist. Anyway, it is a good event to have people coming together, get to know each other, and have those rich people parting some of their wealth.

Happy All Souls Day!

The haze is back

2005-08-12T01:20:00.000+08:00

Visibility at the capital city, Kuala Lumpur had been tremendously reduced in these few days. Thanks to the stupid neighbour who keep burning the forest at this time of the year, annually. They claimed that they are opening land for agriculture. On the other hand, it was believed that the real cuprits are some stupid Malaysians as they are the owners of the land there. As usual, all kind of lame excuses, while some clowns will try to be heroes. Some will try to hide certain statistics, etc. Adding on the situation, we have a new rendition of the national anthem (please don't believe this last statement). Try to look at the new lyrics too. A fellow blogger, Khanasai, sent this to me.

Negaraku tanah tumpahnya jerebu
Rakyat hidup bersesak dan layu
Rahmat bahgia penjual topeng muka
Raja kita kena pakai juga
Rahmat bahgia penjual topeng muka
Raja kita kena pakai juga

36V/42V automotive electrical system

2005-08-08T12:30:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, when Morris Minor cars roamed the roads in Malaysia, automobile electrical system was pretty simple. There was no air-conditioning in the car, all you have was a little triangle window to divert wind into the car interior. Power requirement is quite low. Car battery was rated at 6 volt then, light bulbs are of the 6V type. If I recalled correctly, the battery manufacturer was Lucas.

Later, people installed more and more stuffs. Power requirement went up, and thus more current was needed, and thicker wires were needed. The solution was to use 12V, so that you can have more power without increasing the current. Hence, you save some money from getting thicker conductors. Due to "compatiblity" issue, two 6V batteries were connected in series. In this case, you can continue to have 6V stuffs running at the same time.

After some time, 6V stuffs died off and finally, it is more economical to have a single 12V eletrical system in the car. People started to use the 12V battery. During the charging cycle, the alternator is pumping out 13.8V. This is the reason why people call today's modern automobile electrical system the 12V/13.8V electrical system.

People keep adding stuffs to modern cars. To keep up with the demand, car manufacturer will be moving to the 36V/42V eletrical system. This is essentially three times the voltage used today. This can be realized immediately by employing three 12V batteries in series. Of course, the charging voltage is also triple the 13.8V used currently.

The 36V/42V automotive eletrical system is coming soon to a neighborhood near you...

Diospyros blancoi

2005-08-08T00:05:00.000+08:00

While wading through the sea of humans at the pasar malam, one kind of fruits which is pink in colour really attracted my attention. After talking to the seller for a few minutes, I decided to buy some. The guy was kind enough to let me sample some for free. He told me that kampung folks called it "buah seralat". Another name for it is buah mentega (butter fruit). It was my first time seeing such a fruit.

Well, curiousity kills the cat. I did a search on Google based on the little information I have in hand. At last, managed to find some information on this exotic fruit.

Scientific name : diospyros blancoi (official), diospyros discolor (illegitimate binomial)
English name : velvet apple, butter fruit, velvet persimmon
Malay name : buah seralat, buah, sakhlat, buah mentega
Indonesian name : bisbul
Chinese name : 毛柿 (mao shi)
Japanese name : ケガキ (kegaki)
Thai name : marit
Filipino name : kamagong, mabolo
French name : pommier velours
Spanish name : camagon

This plant belongs to the Ebenaceae family and is native to the Philippines. It is also cultivated in Malaysia (of course), Taiwan, India, and Indonesia (Sumatra and Java) . It has also been introduced to other tropical areas, including Hawaii, southern Florida; Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Trinidad, Bermuda, and Honduras.

It is a relative of the common Chinese persimmon or sharon fruit (diospyros kaki).

What kind on intelligence do you have?

2005-07-26T07:30:00.000+08:00

Your Dominant Intelligence is Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

You are great at finding patterns and relationships between things.
Always curious about how things work, you love to set up experiments.
You need for the world to make sense - and are good at making sense of it.
You have a head for numbers and math ... and you can solve almost any logic puzzle.

You would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, or mathematician.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Astrology?

2005-07-12T01:30:00.000+08:00

We tend to blame everything on others. He failed the examination because the teachers were lousy. She couldn't get that job because her maid didn't wash her car. At times, we also blame on things beyond our control. He couldn't complete his bachelor degree thesis in time because his gold fish drowned. She managed to board the flight because she prayed hard before leaving her house.

Due to this kind of mindset, people indulge themselves in predicting the future. They don't want themselves to be responsibled. So, they blamed on the sun, the moon, and the stars. Of course, there are more things to place the blame on, such as, the time an incident happens, the date and time of birth, the location on earth, etc. However, all these are related to stars and planets as well.

While chatting with my good friend, JDL the other day, this idea suddenly struck me. Alpha Centauri is the nearest star to us, discounting our Sun. It is a system of three stars, i.e. Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri. The nearest to us is Proxima Centauri which is 4.22 light-years away. In general, this triple star system is 4.3 light-years away. In astrology, poeple believe that the positions and the movements of stars (including planets and comets) affect our lives. Not counting the the planets in our solar systems, the nearest reference will be Alpha Centauri. Think about this hard! The position of Alpha Centauri that you are seeing now is actually 4.3 years ago. It is no longer there at this moment, my friend!

If there are people staying in a planet around Alpha Centauri, and we pass on our astrology knowledge to them, can we say that they will be able to know what will happen to earthlings at least 4 years in advance? Maybe.

Let's say there is another star which is 10.3 light-years away from the earth, and Alpha Centauri is just in between that star and the earth. So, people at Alpha Centauri will be able to see or predict something in 6 years, rather that to wait for 10.3 years on earth.

Then, can we put our people there at Alpha Centauri to predict the future ahead of us, and send us the information? The answer is "NO". Even if space travel to Alpha Centauri is possible, radio signal will travel at the same speed as light. By the time we receive the information, the light from the star will reach us as well.

Another interesting argument is that, our lives are not affected by the light of the stars. We are affected by the gravity of the stars, and gravity travels at the same speed as light. So, we don't have to go to Alpha Centauri to look ahead. The gravity of a particular star is as good as the moment we see the light from that star.

Anyway, if the passage of life is predictable and is really been planned in certain ways, it is still fun to live anymore? Give me all your money and a self addressed and stamped envelope, I will send you your horrorscope (horoscope) reading.

小龙女 trying to commit suicide

2005-07-11T00:30:00.000+08:00

Exactly one week ago, at this time (12:30 am), there was a commotion one floor below our apartment. It is rented by a few girls from China. These Chinese ladies are usually known as "little dragon lady" (小龙女). We didn't really care what they were talking about even though it was quite loud. A lot of talkings in Chinese with mainland China accent. At certain points, there were some loud bangs created from doors being slammed.

I continued to do some of my works. Well, I was really tired by 1:30 am and was ready for bed. Interestingly, these ladies still continued with their "party". So, I had better try my best to get some sleep. Otherwise, I won't be able to work tomorrow, as I told myself. I guess I managed to fall into Alpha state (half sleep, half awake), and was now and then awaken by noise created downstairs. This pattern repeated a few times until the clock was showing 4:00 am.

Things were getting "rowdy" by now. One of the girls opened the emergency exit at the balcony and said that she wanted to jump down. I want to die! Leave me alone! The other one tried to persuade her not to jump. Of course, it didn't work. If you jump, I will go down with you! Since both of them were not "stable", my neighbour and I decided to go down and stop them. We went downstairs, approached and pulled the girl from the balcony. Then, pinned her down on the floor with the Aikido Ikkyo / Ikkajo (first control). Everybody was trying their best to calm her down. More and more friends of hers came, all originated from China. We locked the emergency exit iron grille and left her with her friends. They kept apologizing to us on the incident. To me, it doesn't matter. Ths important thing is that everybody is safe. We want to have peaceful sleep, and I am sure they don't mean to disturb their neighbours purposely. We don't think making police report will help the situation.

My next door neighbour and I went up, had a chat, and say "good night" to each other. But, it was only at 6:00 am that I was able to be asleep.

Ampun Tuanku

2005-07-03T20:41:00.000+08:00

Ampun tuanku beribu-ribu ampun. Sembah patik harap diampun. Dengan hormat takzimnya, patik merafak sembah menjunjung kasih Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tengku Ampuan xxxxxx binti al-Marhum Sultan xxxxxxxxxxx Alam Shah al-Haj atas limpah perkenan mencemar Duli Tuanku mempengerusikan syarikat pemasaran pelbagai aras Liberty Lane (M) Sdn Bhd. Ampun Tuanku.

While we get used to direct selling, multi-level marketing, network marketing, get-rick-quick scheme, or pyramid scheme around us, I found it really strange to have members of the royal family being the chairman in one of these organizations. Maybe I am too conservative. As their mantra goes, "help others to succeed, thus making yourself more successful" (帮助别人成功, 使自己更成功).

Stupid Malaysian mentality - Part 1

2005-07-03T20:20:00.001+08:00

While on the road, most Malaysians swear and curse female drivers. Anyway, this is a general statement. Many people mention things like female drivers are unable to estimate distance and thus, bang their cars into dividers, walls, poles, etc. Some mention that the best women can do to their cars is filling up petrol (gasoline). They will not keep track on the engine oil change schedule, never top up battery water, never check whether there is still water in the radiator, etc. Some driving with under-inflated tyres, coming out of the junction without looking whether there are on-coming cars, and so on. In short, these people label women as reckless drivers and their cars are defininetly not taken care of.

On the other hand, when it comes to purchasing used cars, these same group of people prefers cars previosly owned by women drivers. These people will argue with you that ladies are gentle to their cars, and they never rev'ed the engine too high. Women know how to decorate and keep the cleanliness of the interior. Female drivers will not drive their cars for long distance, and they usually use them to go to the wet market to buy groceries. You may check the odomoter if you don't believe.

Well, try to look into the classifed advertisement section in the newspaper. People will put the additional comment "lady driver" in order to fetch a higher selling price. Surprisingly, many people also agree to pay such premium.

I am really confuse now. First you complain that cars owned by women are really in a terrible state because they are dumb and not fit to own cars. Now, we hear from the very group of people that cars own by women are really fantastic.

A friend told me, "don't complain, and don't ever tell people that they are stupid, go and work on their stupidity so that it benefits you". Therefore, Malaysian husbands buy cars and register their wives as the owners so that they can get a better price when they want to sell the cars.

Men and women are equally good and bad when it comes to cars. So, don't be sexist, don't discrimate, don't listen to the salesman. Please use your own judgement. Get help from those who really know about cars. If you have too much money, and want to buy a car previosly owned by a lady, please consider my point of view. Of course, you may also donate some of your money to me.

Some Fundamental Truths About Me

2005-06-20T18:43:00.000+08:00

Some people asked me whether I had abandoned my blog. Well, I was busy with my new apartment. Even though I moved in a few months ago, there are still a lot of things to clear. I need to unpack stuffs from the cartons and at the same time, make way for furniture as well. I found something again. It is a piece of paper, I believe, created using Wordstar. I made a search on Google and found nothing like it. So, I guess that this thing was around the time before Internet was introduced to the general public. It is a piece of "mantra" for you to stick up on the wall for "self-improvement", or things similar to that extend. By the way, the author did not put his / her name there. Here it goes.

Some Fundamental Truths About Me

I'm responsible for my life
for every feelings and
for every result I get.
I must not blame others or circumstances.

People are always blaming circumstances
for what they are.
I don't believe in circumstances.
I am one who gets on in this world,
who gets up and
looks for the circumstances I want.
If I can't find, I'll make them.

I'm the only problem that I'll ever have,
and I realise that I'm the only solution.

I'm one of the greatest people I know.
I make the difference and I make it happens.

Those who know the truth learn to love it.
Those who love the truth learn to live it.

Thanks for your time

2005-05-19T14:50:00.000+08:00

People like to keep in touch by forwarding mails to each other. I got this forwarded mail from a friend recently. I guess the story is really interesting and that's why I decided to share it on my blog.

A Treasure in a Box

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture... Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said

"What box?" Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most'," Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."

"The thing he valued most... was... my time."

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.

"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet... thanks for your time!"

Moore's Law

2005-04-25T20:21:00.000+08:00

On April 19, 2005, Moore's Law celebrates its 40th birthday. An observation made by Dr. Gordon E. Moore, the R&D Lab director of Fairchild Semiconductor in 1965 that the number of transistors per square inch of integrated circuit had doubled every year. Here is the original article where he was given the chore of predicting what would happen in silicon components in the the 35th anniversary edition of the Eletronics Magazine. Before we fast forward, Dr. Moore, together with his colleague, Robert Noyce left Fairchild Semiconductor to co-found Intel in 1968.

In 1975, Dr. Moore revised it downward, saying that the number doubles every 2 years. Some quoted Dr. Moore that he said 18 months, but he is adamant that he never said it. Anyway, the best phrase to use today is "approximately 2 years". The "18 months" could be traced back to the Intel Developer Forum in Fall 1997.

For many years, those so called experts had been predicting the demise of the Moore's Law. Intel has keep on proving to them that they are wrong. If I am not mistaken, it was Albert Einstein who said "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different result".

On the other hand, the Moore's Law had become a self-fulfulling prophecy, a predcition that actually causes itself to become true. In my opinion, Dr. Moore prediction sets the pace for the race. This causes the industry focuses their resources toward achieving results per Moore's Law. If everybody is working towards that direction, those who could not keep up with the pace will lose the race.

Dr. Moore was named the Chairman Emeritus of Intel in 1997. He has gone fishing since.

In an article in Embedded.com by Jack Robetson in year 2002, Dr. Moore said that the pace of doubling the number of transistors had slowed down. OK, let's see what is next after 30-nanometer.

Oh yeah, David Clark from Surrey won the USD 10,000 reward posted by Intel on eBay for the original copy of the April 19, 1965 issue of Electronics Magazine. Dr. Moore lent out his copy and lost track of it.

Benglish

2005-04-13T14:38:00.000+08:00

First of all, here is the disclaimer, I am not the one who invented the word Benglish. It has been around for quite some time. In India and the United Kingdom, the Indian community call the English spoken by the Bengalis (from India and Bangladesh) as Benglish. In Malaysia and Singapore, on the other hand, Benglish is the English spoken by Ah Beng. Who the "bleep" is Ah Beng? No answer will be given here at this moment. You have to find out on your own. This is exactly the same as to the song by Smokie, "Living Next Door to Alice". So, who the "bleep" is Alice? You tell me, then I will tell you.

Before I continue, I would emphasize that plagiarism is not encouraged. The reason being, the Benglish presented here is different from those mentioned in Talk Cock Forum. Please don't "leverage" Benglish words here and "reuse" them on another site without acknowledging the source.

While we are not living alone in a perfect world, it is an honour and an advantage to be able to pick up and use some Benglish. This will really enhance your daily communication and make your work smooth. Here are a few examples:-

kapita - carburetor
margart - mud guard
tachap - touch up (for car paint)
ling - rim (for wheel)
kalachi - clutch
laisub - drive shaft
sibalar - spanner
joo - zoo
trefitlai - traffic light
lehlew - radio
lokter - doctor
sils - cheap sale
tiktakpen - mechanical pencil
sehgenderi - secretary
henfoon - cell phone
henbat - handbag
stim-x - streamyx
yangshen - junction
lohtek - road tax
met - mathematics
jeelow - zero
standlet stil - stainless steel

However, there is one word that Ah Beng pronounces better than those educated non Ah Beng. For "chassis", Ah Beng says "jehsi" or "JC" which is quite near to "chair see", but educate non Ah Beng usually says "cheh-sys". At least, Ah Beng's command of English is not that bad after all. Ah Beng Boleh!

Good old manual

2005-04-13T12:01:00.000+08:00

It has been a while since I last blogged. Well, there are many higher priority stuffs to take care of. While sorting through all my old junks recently, I came across an "Installation & User's Guide" for "ChameleonNFS(tm) for Windows". Damn, it has more than 400 pages, all in English. On the page before the table of contents, it says "Copyright 1990-1995 NetManage Inc." There is no CD-ROM version or soft copy of the manual. There is not a single thing in German (Deutsch), French (Francais), or Simplified Chinese, etc. This company still exists but things has changed tremendously since.

I bought a D-Link wireless router a few weeks ago. For printed materials, all I have is the Quick Installation Guide which contains information in 7 languages, i.e. English, German, french, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Traditional Chinese. The whole English section comes in 16 pages only. OK, maybe I am not comparing apple to apple, but you can really see the change. The latest Panasonic air conditioning unit does not come with a manual. It comes with a card with all the "visual clue". I am not going to elaborate what visual clue is here. The bottom line is that customers don't have to read so much a thick manual and the company is saving "USD 20 million per quarter" as well. OK, the amount saved could be exaggerated, but it is a win-win situation here!

Back to the good old ChameleonNFS manual. It has all the "common information" included. In those days, this kind of information was scarce. There was no Google, even though you have Yahoo! there. Well, you have Yahoo, so what? It is hard to search for this kind of information. Remember! This ChameleonNFS is the software to get you online. If you are not online, how are you going to use the Yahoo search engine? It is a Catch 22 situation. Of course, you can use Trumpet Winsock. Sounds familiar? So, you must be an old timer. Hey, that company still exists. That was the day when we were struggling with DOS and Windows 3.1. There nearest computer that might have internet connection could be couple of miles away.

The good old manual even listed what classes of IP address that are available and their ranges, sample PPP/SLIP scripts, and a lot more. Back then, you have the options to choose from BOOTP, DHCP and RARP for dynamic configuration. Nowadays, all companies are trying their best to make their hardware and software user-friendly, shielding users from all the technical details. Yes, this is the way to capture the mass market, and increase earnings. So, the experts will become more "expert", while normal non-geek users will make calls to tech support. Companies no longer have to ship things that add on the the weight and are usually ended up collecting dust at users' premises.

The good old manual is no longer useful because we don't use Windows 3.1 anymore, we have Windows XP. We don't deal much with 56k analog modem, we use ADSL modem and wireless router. We don't need to edit win.ini, system.ini, config.sys, and autoexec.bat. We have InstallShield to perform installation and to update the Windows registry. Archie and Gopher? Huh? The last Archie Gateway is dead as well. Telnet is still around, but you may try asking what telnet is during interview to a recent computer science graduate.

So, I am still not sure whether to throw the good old manual away. It is no longer useful as I said but the nostalgic feeling is there. Share you comment if you have but don't tell me to look forward. I am working on stuffs using C#.NET, VB.NET, Python, PHP, WindowsPE, etc. I appreciate it if you want to share something like CP/M, DRDOS, PC Tools, WordStar, Lotus 123, Fortran 77, etc.

Malaysia Boleh!

2005-03-25T14:10:00.000+08:00

A good friend of mine who is working at the Perth International Airport, also a fellow blogger, snapped this banner there.

There is no mistake here!
If the American can change the word "colour" to "color", why it is not OK for Malaysian to change the word "beyond" to "beyong"?
Of course, Malaysia Boleh! Malaysia can! Yes, going *beyong* expectations! This is really beyond expectations but I am not surprised. What do you expect from these people? Hahahahaha...

"Cargo Cult Science" by Richard P. Feynman

2005-03-25T13:39:00.000+08:00

Adapted from a Caltech commencement address given in 1974.
Also from the book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" (1985).

During the Middle Ages there were all kinds of crazy ideas, such as that a piece of rhinoceros horn would increase potency. Then a method was discovered for separating the ideas -- which was to try one to see if it worked, and if it didn't work, to eliminate it. This method became organized, of course, into science. And it developed very well, so that we are now in the scientific age. It is such a scientific age, in fact, that we have difficulty in understanding how witch doctors could ever have existed, when nothing that they proposed ever really worked -- or very little of it did.

But even today I meet lots of people who sooner or later get me into a conversation about UFO's, or astrology, or some form of mysticism, expanded consciousness, new types of awareness, ESP, and so forth. And I've concluded that it's not a scientific world.

Most people believe so many wonderful things that I decided to investigate why they did. And what has been referred to as my curiosity for investigation has landed me in a difficulty where I found so much junk that I'm overwhelmed. First I started out by investigating various ideas of mysticism and mystic experiences. I went into isolation tanks and got many hours of hallucinations, so I know something about that. Then I went to Esalen, which is a hotbed of this kind of thought (it's a wonderful place; you should go visit there). Then I became overwhelmed. I didn't realize how MUCH there was.

At Esalen there are some large baths fed by hot springs situated on a ledge about thirty feet above the ocean. One of my most pleasurable experiences has been to sit in one of those baths and watch the waves crashing onto the rocky slope below, to gaze into the clear blue sky above, and to study a beautiful nude as she quietly appears and settles into the bath with me.

One time I sat down in a bath where there was a beatiful girl sitting with a guy who didn't seem to know her. Right away I began thinking, "Gee! How am I gonna get started talking to this beautiful nude woman?"

I'm trying to figure out what to say, when the guy says to her, "I'm, uh, studying massage. Could I practice on you?"

"Sure", she says. They get out of the bath and she lies down on a massage table nearby.

I think to myself, "What a nifty line! I can never think of anything like that!" He starts to rub her big toe. "I think I feel it", he says. "I feel a kind of dent -- is that the pituitary?"

I blurt out, "You're a helluva long way from the pituitary, man!"

They looked at me, horrified -- I had blown my cover -- and said, "It's reflexology!"

I quickly closed my eyes and appeared to be meditating.

That's just an example of the kind of things that overwhelm me. I also looked into extrasensory perception, and PSI phenomena, and the latest craze there was Uri Geller, a man who is supposed to be able to bend keys by rubbing them with his finger. So I went to his hotel room, on his invitation, to see a demonstration of both mindreading and bending keys. He didn't do any mindreading that succeeded; nobody can read my mind, I guess. And my boy held a key and Geller rubbed it, and nothing happened. Then he told us it works better under water, and so you can picture all of us standing in the bathroom with the water turned on and the key under it, and him rubbing the key with his finger. Nothing happened. So I was unable to investigate that phenomenon.

But then I began to think, what else is there that we believe? (And I thought then about the witch doctors, and how easy it would have been to check on them by noticing that nothing really worked.) So I found things that even more people believe, such as that we have some knowledge of how to educate. There are big schools of reading methods and mathematics methods, and so forth, but if you notice, you'll see the reading scores keep going down -- or hardly going up -- in spite of the fact that we continually use these same people to improve the methods. There's a witch doctor remedy that doesn't work. It ought to be looked into; how do they know that their method should work? Another example is how to treat criminals. We obviously have made no progress -- lots of theory, but no progress -- in decreasing the amount of crime by the method that we use to handle criminals.

Yet these things are said to be scientific. We study them. And I think ordinary people with commonsense ideas are intimidated by this pseudoscience. A teacher who has some good idea of how to teach her children to read is forced by the school system to do it some other way -- or is even fooled by the school system into thinking that her method is not necessarily a good one. Or a parent of bad boys, after disciplining them in one way or another, feels guilty for the rest of her life because she didn't do "the right thing", according to the experts.

So we really ought to look into theories that don't work, and science that isn't science.

I think the educational and psychological studies I mentioned are examples of what I would like to call cargo cult science. In the South Seas there is a cargo cult of people. During the war they saw airplanes with lots of good materials, and they want the same thing to happen now. So they've arranged to make things like runways, to put fires along the sides of the runways, to make a wooden hut for a man to sit in, with two wooden pieces on his head to headphones and bars of bamboo sticking out like antennas -- he's the controller -- and they wait for the airplanes to land. They're doing everything right. The form is perfect. It looks exactly the way it looked before. But it doesn't work. No airplanes land. So I call these things cargo cult science, because they follow all the apparent precepts and forms of scientific investigation, but they're missing something essential, because the planes don't land.

Now it behooves me, of course, to tell you what they're missing. But it would be just about as difficult to explain to the South Sea islanders how they have to arrange things so that they get some wealth in their system. It is not something simple like telling them how to improve the shapes of the earphones. But there is one feature I notice that is generally missing in cargo cult science. That is the idea that we all hope you have learned in studying science in school -- we never say explicitly what this is, but just hope that you catch on by all the examples of scientific investigation. It is interesting, therefore, to bring it out now and speak of it explicitly. It's a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty -- a kind of leaning over backwards. For example, if you're doing an experiment, you should report everything that you think might make it invalid -- not only what you think is right about it: other causes that could possibly explain your results; and things you thought of that you've eliminated by some other experiment, and how they worked -- to make sure the other fellow can tell they have been eliminated.

Details that could throw doubt on your interpretation must be given, if you know them. You must do the best you can -- if you know anything at all wrong, or possibly wrong -- to explain it. If you make a theory, for example, and advertise it, or put it out, then you must also put down all the facts that disagree with it, as well as those that agree with it. There is also a more subtle problem. When you have put a lot of ideas together to make an elaborate theory, you want to make sure, when explaining what it fits, that those things it fits are not just the things that gave you the idea for the theory; but that the finished theory makes something else come out right, in addition.

In summary, the idea is to give all of the information to help others to judge the value of your contribution; not just the information that leads to judgement in one particular direction or another.

The easiest way to explain this idea is to contrast it, for example, with advertising. Last night I heard that Wesson oil doesn't soak through food. Well, that's true. It's not dishonest; but the thing I'm talking about is not just a matter of not being dishonest; it's a matter of scientific integrity, which is another level. The fact that should be added to that advertising statement is that no oils soak through food, if operated at a certain temperature. If operated at another temperature, they all will -- including Wesson oil. So it's the implication which has been conveyed, not the fact, which is true, and the difference is what we have to deal with.

We've learned from experience that the truth will come out. Other experimenters will repeat your experiment and find out whether you were wrong or right. Nature's phenomena will agree or they'll disagree with your theory. And, although you may gain some temporary fame and excitement, you will not gain a good reputation as a scientist if you haven't tried to be very careful in this kind of work. And it's this type of integrity, this kind of care not to fool yourself, that is missing to a large extent in much of the research in cargo cult science.

A great deal of their difficulty is, of course, the difficulty of the subject and the inapplicability of the scientific method to the subject. Nevertheless, it should be remarked that this is not the only difficulty. That's why the planes don't land -- but they don't land.

We have learned a lot from experience about how to handle some of the ways we fool ourselves. One example: Millikan measured the charge on an electron by an experiment with falling oil drops, and got an answer which we now know not to be quite right. It's a little bit off because he had the incorrect value for the viscosity of air. It's interesting to look at the history of measurements of the charge of an electron, after Millikan. If you plot them as a function of time, you find that one is a little bit bigger than Millikan's, and the next one's a little bit bigger than that, and the next one's a little bit bigger than that, until finally they settle down to a number which is higher.

Why didn't they discover the new number was higher right away? It's a thing that scientists are ashamed of -- this history -- because it's apparent that people did things like this: when they got a number that was too high above Millikan's, they thought something must be wrong -- and they would look for and find a reason why something might be wrong. When they got a number close to Millikan's value they didn't look so hard. And so they eliminated the numbers that were too far off, and did other things like that. We've learned those tricks nowadays, and now we don't have that kind of a disease.

But this long history of learning how to not fool ourselves -- of having utter scientific integrity -- is, I'm sorry to say, something that we haven't specifically included in any particular course that I know of. We just hope you've caught on by osmosis

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool. So you have to be very careful about that. After you've not fooled yourself, it's easy not to fool other scientists. You just have to be honest in a conventional way after that.

I would like to add something that's not essential to the science, but something I kind of believe, which is that you should not fool the layman when you're talking as a scientist. I am not trying to tell you what to do about cheating on your wife, or fooling your girlfriend, or something like that, when you're not trying to be a scientist, but just trying to be an ordinary human being. We'll leave those problems up to you and your rabbi. I'm talking about a specific, extra type of integrity that is not lying, but bending over backwards to show how you're maybe wrong, that you ought to have when acting as a scientist. And this is our responsibility as scientists, certainly to other scientists, and I think to laymen.

For example, I was a little surprised when I was talking to a friend who was going to go on the radio. He does work on cosmology and astronomy, and he wondered how he would explain what the applications of his work were. "Well", I said, "there aren't any". He said, "Yes, but then we won't get support for more research of this kind". I think that's kind of dishonest. If you're representing yourself as a scientist, then you should explain to the layman what you're doing -- and if they don't support you under those circumstances, then that's their decision.

One example of the principle is this: If you've made up your mind to test a theory, or you want to explain some idea, you should always decide to publish it whichever way it comes out. If we only publish results of a certain kind, we can make the argument look good. We must publish BOTH kinds of results.

I say that's also important in giving certain types of government advice. Supposing a senator asked you for advice about whether drilling a hole should be done in his state; and you decide it would be better in some other state. If you don't publish such a result, it seems to me you're not giving scientific advice. You're being used. If your answer happens to come out in the direction the government or the politicians like, they can use it as an argument in their favor; if it comes out the other way, they don't publish at all. That's not giving scientific advice.

Other kinds of errors are more characteristic of poor science. When I was at Cornell, I often talked to the people in the psychology department. One of the students told me she wanted to do an experiment that went something like this -- it had been found by others that under certain circumstances, X, rats did something, A. She was curious as to whether, if she changed the circumstances to Y, they would still do A. So her proposal was to do the experiment under circumstances Y and see if they still did A.

I explained to her that it was necessary first to repeat in her laboratory the experiment of the other person -- to do it under condition X to see if she could also get result A, and then change to Y and see if A changed. Then she would know the the real difference was the thing she thought she had under control.

She was very delighted with this new idea, and went to her professor. And his reply was, no, you cannot do that, because the experiment has already been done and you would be wasting time. This was in about 1947 or so, and it seems to have been the general policy then to not try to repeat psychological experiments, but only to change the conditions and see what happened.

Nowadays, there's a certain danger of the same thing happening, even in the famous field of physics. I was shocked to hear of an experiment being done at the big accelerator at the National Accelerator Laboratory, where a person used deuterium. In order to compare his heavy hydrogen results to what might happen with light hydrogen, he had to use data from someone else's experiment on light hydrogen, which was done on a different apparatus. When asked why, he said it was because he couldn't get time on the program (because there's so little time and it's such expensive apparatus) to do the experiment with light hydrogen on this apparatus because there wouldn't be any new result. And so the men in charge of programs at NAL are so anxious for new results, in order to get more money to keep the thing going for public relations purposes, they are destroying -- possibly -- the value of the experiments themselves, which is the whole purpose of the thing. It is often hard for the experimenters there to complete their work as their scientific integrity demands.

All experiments in psychology are not of this type, however. For example, there have been many experiments running rats through all kinds of mazes, and so on -- with little clear result. But in 1937 a man named Young did a very interesting one. He had a long corridor with doors all along one side where the rats came in, and doors along the other side where the food was. He wanted to see if he could train the rats to go in at the third door down from wherever he started them off. No. The rats went immediately to the door where the food had been the time before.

The question was, how did the rats know, because the corridor was so beautifully built and so uniform, that this was the same door as before? Obviously there was something about the door that was different from the other doors. So he painted the doors very carefully, arranging the textures on the faces of the doors exactly the same. Still the rats could tell. Then he thought maybe the rats were smelling the food, so he used chemicals to change the smell after each run. Still the rats could tell. Then he realized the rats might be able to tell by seeing the lights and the arrangement in the laboratory like any commonsense person. So he covered the corridor, and still the rats could tell.

He finally found that they could tell by the way the floor sounded when they ran over it. And he could only fix that by putting his corridor in sand. So he covered one after another of all possible clues and finally was able to fool the rats so that they had to learn to go in the third door. If he relaxed any of his conditions, the rats could tell.

Now, from a scientific standpoint, that is an A-number-one experiment. That is the experiment that makes rat-running experiments sensible, because it uncovers that clues that the rat is really using -- not what you think it's using. And that is the experiment that tells exactly what conditions you have to use in order to be careful and control everything in an experiment with rat-running.

I looked up the subsequent history of this research. The next experiment, and the one after that, never referred to Mr. Young. They never used any of his criteria of putting the corridor on sand, or being very careful. They just went right on running the rats in the same old way, and paid no attention to the great discoveries of Mr. Young, and his papers are not referred to, because he didn't discover anything about the rats. In fact, he discovered all the things you have to do to discover something about rats. But not paying attention to experiments like that is a characteristic example of cargo cult science.

Another example is the ESP experiments of Mr. Rhine, and other people. As various people have made criticisms -- and they themselves have made criticisms of their own experiments -- they improve the techniques so that the effects are smaller, and smaller, and smaller until they gradually disappear. All the para-psychologists are looking for some experiment that can be repeated -- that you can do again and get the same effect -- statistically, even. They run a million rats -- no, it's people this time -- they do a lot of things are get a certain statistical effect. Next time they try it they don't get it any more. And now you find a man saying that is is an irrelevant demand to expect a repeatable experiment. This is science?

This man also speaks about a new institution, in a talk in which he was resigning as Director of the Institute of Parapsychology. And, in telling people what to do next, he says that one of things they have to do is be sure to only train students who have shown their ability to get PSI results to an acceptable extent -- not to waste their time on those ambitious and interested students who get only chance results. It is very dangerous to have such a policy in teaching -- to teach students only how to get certain results, rather than how to do an experiment with scientific integrity.

So I have just one wish for you -- the good luck to be somewhere where you are free to maintain the kind of integrity I have described, and where you do not feel forced by a need to maintain your position in the organization, or financial support, or so on, to lose your integrity. May you have that freedom.

Dumb and dumber story again

2005-03-17T09:31:00.000+08:00

I found another dumb and dumber story which at least matches those stupid blonde jokes. Sorry, it is in the older day (in the sixties) Malay language.

Dalam sa-buah kampong ada sa-orang yang kaya tetapi bodoh. Nama-nya Mat Bebal. Kebun dia luas, duit banyak, kerbau lembu pun banyak juga. Pada suatu hari Mat Bebal pergi menanamkan duit-nya ka-dalam hutan.

Di-atas lubang itu di-tulis-nya sa-puchok surat. Bunyi surat itu, "Sini tidak ada duit".

Dalam kampong itu juga ada sa-orang lain, nama dia Abu Nakal yang mashhor jahat-nya. Ia nampak Mat Bebal menanamkan duit-nya: ia intai dari chelah pokok-pokok kayu itu. Bila Mat Bebal sudah balek, Abu Nakal pun pergi gali lubang, di-ambil-nya duit itu. Lubang itu di-tutup-nya balek. Atas lubang itu di-tulis-nya sa-puchok surat. Bunyi surat itu, "Duit ini bukan Abu Nakal ambil".

Just One More Time

2005-03-14T00:33:00.000+08:00

"Lai-mah* thrown letter liao!", exclaimed a good friend of mine in efficient and precise Malaysian English. This buddy was telling us that lai-mah* had already tendered her resignation letter. The company we worked at is no longer competitive in terms of employees retention. Many years ago, people who left the company were those poor performers and those having serious communication problem with all levels of people. The scene is different today. This is mainly contributed by the ever stagnant stock price. All employees are given stock options as part of the so called total compensation plan. In the past, the stock price was doing extremely well, options was splitted several times, and millionaires were created. In this part of the world, a new BMW 318 costs around 100 times the monthly salary of a new graduate. With stock options of "company name withheld", an employee who had worked for 5 years, and had accumulated enough options, was able to pay cash for such purchase. Wow!

However, things had changed. This company has lost its shine. Everyone who joined "company name withheld" since the past 7 years keeps telling that the stock options are just worthless toilet papers. I have never tasted a single cent from those "under-water" stock options. Some are above the water level, but still, they are not worth selling. People are leaving for better opportunities outside. The management, on the other hand, is trying do "something" to keep employees. They are doing everything, but the only thing they are not doing is addressing the competitiveness of the total compensation package. Hey! You are going nowhere! Do you understand???

On the other hand, this company keeps hiring people. You can see the advertisement on local newspapers and also on the Internet now and then. Well, this company is really expanding, but besides this, they have to hire replacements too. No worries, employees of Taiwanese companies here have no problem coming over. Their only ambition is "Someday, I will 'get into' 'company name withheld', and make my father proud". Of course, not everyone is like that, and again, this is just a generalization. Note that the phrasal verb "get into" is used instead of the word "join". Go and ask you friends. By the way, someone in the lousy movie Bloodsport also said, "Someday, I will fight in the Kumite, and make my father proud".

Me? Yes, what about me? Am I planning to jump onto another bus? Hmm... I am one of those who are still "staying put", with hope and faith. I have a story to tell. Call me stupid, and call me names, and here is the story anyway.

"Just One More Time" by Hanoch McCarty.

I am not going to put it here but someone had already put it up on the Internet. You may read it from this website. I believe this story is taken from the "Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart & Rekindle the Spirit" book. I have the book and would recommend you to buy it as well.

*lai-mah = literally translated from Cantonese as milk-mother, which means a woman who is breast-feeding her infants. It could also mean someone with huge spot lights, but this is not the case here. There must be something else.

Stupid or smart? A hero or a coward?

2005-03-02T08:41:00.000+08:00

Malaysia has been a place where many huge corporations around the world invested as part of their globalization plans. These foreign direct investement (FDI) set up many manufacturing facitilites, research & development centers, call centers, sales offices, etc., usually known as multi-national companies (MNC). Different companies bring along different corporate cultures and values to Malaysia and thus influenced the way Malaysian "salaried workers" think. I would like to share one pretty general observation.

In East Asians companies, e.g. Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean, sick employees tend to continue to work, keep coming to the company despite being granted sick leaves by doctors. It could be a way of showing to the management that the employee put the company in the first place before their own life. Trying to impress his or her supervisors in order to get a better salary increment at the end of the year, I guess. Showing off to co-workers that he or she loves the company more than others do.

Employees from companies set up by angmo (gwailow), e.g. American, German, British, etc. have a different point of view in regards to this matter. if they are sick, they will just stay at home. The management is OK to let the employee rest at home even they are not given any sick leaves by the doctors. Employee will not be able to contribute 100% when they are sick, thus productivity drops, and the company pays you full wages for the day. Another reason for telling employees to stay at home when they are sick is that they should not come to spread viruses. This might bring the whole team down.

You judge who is smarter and you decide who to follow as your role model. The choice is yours.

Another disaster but I didn't turn up

2005-02-28T16:00:00.000+08:00

The company got a big lump sum of money recently due to some achievement. Some kind of significant business indicator which could not be disclosed here, of course. I have some kind of feeling that the management tends to spend money on intangible stuffs rather than giving it back to employees.

This was another employee appreciation event which took place at the most prestigious in Penang, the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, a return to elegance, a jewel from the past. Hey, this is really a big deal, and it is one of the most expensive hotel in Penang. The date chosen was coinciding with the 15th day of Chinese New Year. Cantonese call it Yuin Siu Jit, while the Hokkiens call it Chap Goh Meh. I decided not to go due to 3 reasons that I speculated at first. It turned out to be nothing but the truth.

First of all, traffic jam. Although this is part of life in packed cities like Penang, the 15th day of Chinese New Year is a big event. People rushed to Penang to see the "mandarin oranges throwing" event, fireworks, etc. The management realized this and allowed employees to leave early. Some of those who went told us that many reached there late. I am definitely not in favour of a dinner that will leave me stranded on the road and on the Penang bridge for a few hours.

Food is everywhere in Penang. Last year, I hosted a Vietnamese friend who has never been to any other countries before. She jokingly commented that, "In Penang, beside selling food, what else do Penangites sell?" There are many places where you can find delicious food but definitely not at those 5-star hotels.

What am I trying to say here? Hmm... the food that night was so lousy that the cheapest (most economical) hawker food is better. They ordered a 8-course Chinese dinner. The first dish is the most important dish, which has all kind of combinations. Traditionally, the first dish consists of 7 or 9 small dishes put side by side in a circle, with one dish in the center. The one served by E&O hotel that night had only 4 dishes with deep fried imitation crab meet (surimi) as one of the dishes. Shit! I can do better at home. People usually finish this first combi-dish but on that night, there were lots of leftover. Once you see the first dish, you don't have to mention the rest. However, there was one dish worth mentioning. It was the tandoori chicken with naan bread. The bread was so "hard" that teeth will come out if you try to pull it. At the end of the dinner, people went for Nasi Kandar.

In most of the dinners organized by companies for employees, the only way to "attract" people to attend is to organize lucky draw. The first prize was an OEM-branded 29-inch TV, and I think you don't want to know the rest anymore.

Well, as I said, from my observation, the management likes to spend money on intangible things. With the amount of money paid to E&O hotel, you can have all kind of delicious food around Penang for 3 consecutive nights. Ask Taiwanese company people where they treat their Japanese customers. Cheap but delicious! They can't eat E&O hotel, anyway. Who cares?

Since the amount to be paid to E&O hotel is huge, money left for lucky draw is tremendously reduced. Hence, you have OEM-branded TV instead of Sony, Panasonic or Samsung. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention about the lion dance in the beginning of the dinner. It was meant to please the few angmo who were the guests of honour. Hey, this costs money too, and again intangible stuff.

People might be very surprise why 5-star hotel food is so lousy. The answer lies within the fact that they are 5-star hotel. In order to qualify for the 5-star hotel status, one criteria must be met. The food must be halal. The rest is self-explanatory. Please don't get me wrong that delicious food must have pork in it. This is not true. It is the chefs. If you still don't understand, go and ask your friend.

There is no regret. E&O hotel, sorry, but it is a fact unless you prove it otherwise.

Hungry dogs fighting over shit

2005-02-28T14:23:00.000+08:00

A clever furniture company organized a so called customer appreciation event recently. It was February 20, 2005 bersamaan dengan 11 Muharam 1426 Hijrah. Quite a number of people turned up as early as 7:00 pm even thought it was mentioned that it will only start at 8:00 pm. Upon arrival to the scene, I saw the board on the stage detailing the line-up of programs for the night. This includes the arrival of VIP at 8:00 pm. Oh, shit! I told my wife, in this case, I guess we have to wait till at least 8:30 pm. To my surprise, those VIPs arrived at 8:03 pm, and the event was started immediately without further ado. Wow! This is my first time seeing VIPs arrived early. Anyway, I asked myself, what the fuck to do with VIPs if this is a customer apprciation program? Well, no explanation needed, it is a show of relationship, showing to competitors and the public that they have some "connections".

After those VIPs had given their speeches, the organizer, i.e., the clever furniture company presented some gifts to those VIPs in front of all the customers. Maybe it is acceptable to Malaysian. What's the problem here? Well, these fucking VIPs are not even customers and they were given something in front of real customers. I am not happy with this. If they are customers, they will be in the same program as one of us. I don't favour special treatment for VIPs. They are elected by the members of the public. Fuck them aside and let's go on with the story.

In order to thank customers for their patronage and support, the clever furniture company lets customer to grab a handful of Malaysian coins (50 sen, 20 sen and 10 sen) inside a bowl. Theorectically, whatever you can grab is yours. There are 3 "lucky strike" coins in there too. If you get it, there are special prizes for you.

For customers who had spent a minimum of RM 1500, but below RM 5000, they will be given one grab, they called it one dip, i.e. dipping your hand in the bowl. For those who had spent above RM 5000, there will be 2 dips. Of course, simple calculation here, a friend had 4 dips, and we knew immediately that this friend had spent above RM 15,000. We only guessed. What about those who spent exaclty RM 5000? They did not give customer the benefit of doubt, and therefore, only one dip is given. Hey, this is the way to make customer happy. Interesting, Malaysia Boleh style, I assume.

When the time come for the lucky dip event, customers were told to line up. Where? It was not specified properly, and since you know Malaysians don't know how to form a queue, what do you expect? It was ugly. People are pushing and shoving each other to get to the front. People who tried their best to form a line wer etold it should start from the other side, not this side. The security guards were rude. Some people scolded the guards, and the latter got angry and threatened to whack customers. The whole system was screwed up. Those who managed to get to the front have the advantage because the lucky strike has not been taken yet, while those at the back is at the mercy of those in front. The fucking furniture company treated customers like refugees waiting to get food from aid workers. Cantonese says, like hungry dog fighting over shit.

Quite some people gave up after queuing half way, while some get mad shouting "Don't push!" to those behind them. Some tried to crack jokes, while some trying to sweet talk the security guards in order to let them cutting queue. Finally, it was my turn. Well, no hurry, the lucky strike had been taken, so the only challenge is to grab as much as you can. These organizer was "no gentleman". After you grabbed your coins, you still have to put them in a smaller-than-your-hand plastic bag. You can't pick up whatever dropped in the process of putting coins into the bag. Hmm... stingy, I think.

This event was a disaster. Some us did not have our dinner yet. We started lining up and, of course, pushing since 8:55 pm and I had my turn at around 10:00 pm. I saw a few colleagues have the same angry face and wow not buy anything from this fucking fucniture company anymore. After "comparing notes" with colleagues, we found out that most of us got around RM20 per grab. If you spent RM 5000, and got back RM 25, that's just 0.5%. Is it worth the trouble next time? Oh, the answer is, there is no next time. Sorry, you have to pay the price for treating customers in such a manner. Furniture Arts (M) Sdn Bhd, we will never forgive you!

Interesting people with BMW 735

2005-02-15T21:14:00.000+08:00

It was the fourth day of Chinese New Year, February 12, 2005, Saturday. I was driving from my hometown back to the Pearl of the Orient. Traffic was not really heavy on the north bound side of the expressway. During a stopover at the Gunung Semanggol R&R area, I took the advantage to fill up the tank.

When I came out of the mini mart, I noticed a metallic gold colour BMW 735 (car registration number withheld). Some interesting behaviour was observed. The owner stopped next to a pump without turning off the engine. This guy came out of the car and used his cell phone to make calls. The lady sitting at the passenger side (girl friend, I guess) looked quite bored waiting for the guy to go into the mini mart to swipe his credit card.

OK, done. The guy came out. Interesting enough, the guy asked one of the attendents to fill up the tank for him. What? I thought it is "self-service" everywhere throughout Malaysia. Interestingly, the attendent filled up for him. Hmm... maybe the attendent pitied this kind of useless people and save his breath arguing.

It's time to leave. Without saying "thank you" to the attendent, the guy drove the fucking luxury car leaving the Esso petrol station. The slut wound down the window (of course, it is an electric-powered window) and threw the receipt out. What an uneducated litter bug?

When I told this incident to a friend, his comment is that these people must be "kaya terkejut". This is definitely not the attitude of those who worked their way up from rags to riches. Well, there are so many people who die everyday, I wonder why this kind of interesting people is still roaming on earth.

Anyway, just ignore them next time if they do no harm to you. However, if they are ignorant enough to perform unsafe act, and want to die, please die a bit far away from me. I don't want to die and I don't want to be the one to dial the emergency number (or call the coffin shop). Fuck this kind of so called "rich" people!

Dumb and dumber

2005-02-09T17:30:00.000+08:00

During the Chinese New Year, people will usually travel back to their hometown to celebrate with their parents. Not much different from people in United States travelling during the Thanksgiving holidays. Parents' home was once our home, and it is like a time capsule. I found an interesting book my father gave to me long time ago. It was his Bahasa Kebangsaan (National Language) text book, dated 1960. It was published by Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka.

Here is an interesting dumb and dumber story (in the older day Malay language) from one of the many pages:

Dari Hal Soldadu Dengan Kelasi

Pada suatu hari sa-orang soldadu daripada tentera darat telah bertemu dengan sa-orang kelasi kapal dan kedua-duanya telah berbual. Kata si-soldadu kapada si-kelasi, "Datok kamu mati di-mana?" Jawab kelasi, "Datok saya mati di-laut." Kata pula soldadu itu, "Baik-lah, bapa kamu mati di-mana?" Ujar kelasi itu, "Bapa saya mati di-laut juga." Kata soldadu itu, "Kasehan! Kalau bagitu jangan-lah kamu pergi ka-laut. Dengar-lah nasihat saya."

Kemudian daripada itu kelasi pula bertanya kapada soldadu kata-nya, "Datok kamu mati di-mana?" Maka jawab soldadu itu, "Di-tempat tidor-nya bukan dalam ayer." Kata pula kelasi itu, "Bapa kamu mati di-mana?" Jawab soldadu itu sa-kali lagi, "Di-tempat tidor-nya juga." Lepas itu kata si-kelasi, "Kasehan, kalau bagitu dengar-lah nasihat saya. Jangan-lah kamu pergi ka-tempat tidor."

Dua tiga orang yang telah mendengar bualan soldadu dengan kelasi itu telah ketawa besar.

Happy Chinese New Year

2005-02-09T17:02:00.000+08:00

Today (Feb 9, 2005) is the first day of the first month according to the Chinese agriculture calendar. Well, it's a new year. Then, what year is it? Well, I don't know. Some people are counting from the birth of Buddha. If that is the case, it is year 2548 today, and it will be year 2549 when Wesak Day comes a few month later.

Anyway, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Chinese New Year, and also, "Gong Xi Fa Cai". It means congratulations and may you be blessed with wealth and prosperity. Cantonese people will greet each other "Kung Hei Fat Choy", while the Hokkien people will say "Kiong Hee Huat Chye". May the year of the Rooster brings everyone health, wealth, and prosperity. Hope the world will be a better place to live tomorrow.

The Internationale

2005-01-21T16:34:00.000+08:00

Zhao Ziyang, one for the former secretary-generals of the Chinese Communist Party passed away on Monday, January 17, 2005. He had been put under house arrest for the past 15 years after opposing the use of military force against pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Here are some quotes from Chinese dissidents on BBC News website.

There is an interesting song sung repeatedly by the students during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest. The Internationale, was originally written in French by Eugene Pottier, a woodworker from Lille, after the fall of the Paris Commune of 1871, and set to music by P. Degeyter. It is the song for both Marxist and non-Marxist socialist parties. The Internationale (国际歌) had been translated into more than 30 languages, and here are the lyrics in Simplified Chinese,

起来，饥寒交迫的奴隶，起来，全世界受苦的人！
满腔的热血已经沸腾，要为真理而斗争！
旧世界打个落花流水，奴隶们，起来，起来！
不要说我们一无所有，我们要做天下的主人。

从来就没有什么救世主，也不靠神仙皇帝。
要创造人类的幸福，全靠我们自己。
我们要夺回劳动果实，让思想冲破牢笼。
快把那炉火烧得通红，趁热打铁才能成功。

是谁创造了人类世界？是我们劳动群众。
一切归劳动者所有，哪能容得寄生虫！
最可恨那些毒蛇猛兽，吃尽了我们的血肉。
一旦把他们消灭干净，鲜红的太阳照遍全球。

副歌：这是最后的斗争，团结起来，到明天，英特纳雄耐尔就一定要实现。

Here are the lyrics in hanyu pinyin,

Qilai, jihanjiaopo de nuli, qilai, quanshijie shouku de ren!
Manqiang de rexie yijing feiteng, yao wei zhenli er douzheng!
Jiu shijie da ge luohualiushui, nulimen, qilai, qilai!
Bu yao shuo women yiwusuoyou, women yao zuo tianxia de zhuren.

Conglai jiu meiyou shenme jiushizhu, ye bu kao shenxian huangdi.
Yao chuangzao renlei de xingfu, quan kao women ziji.
Women yao duohui laodong guoshi, rang sixiang chongpo laolong.
Kuai ba na luhuo shao de tonghong, chenredatie cai neng chenggong.

Shi shei chuangzao le renlei shijie? Shi women laodong qunzhong.
Yiqie gui laodongzhe suoyou, naneng rongde jishengchong!
Zui kehen naxie dushemengshou, chijin le women de xuerou.
Yidan ba tamen xiaomie ganjing, xianhong de taiyang zhao bian quanqiu.

Fuge: Zhe shi zuihou de douzheng, tuanjie qilai, dao mingtian, Yingtenaxiongnai'er jiu yiding yao shixian.

The social burden and the second independence

2005-01-18T13:30:00.000+08:00

We obtained our independence from the British on August 31, 1957. The Union Jack was lowered and the new Persekutuan Tanah Melayu flag was raised, thus symbolizing that we are on our own, breaking away from colonial rule. Then, we formed Malaysia in 1963 together with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. Oil rich Brunei said "No, thanks" at the very last minute. Two years later, Singapore decided to go on their own due to certain reasons. No going to elaborate this today, perhaps, someday. We celebrated our 47th independence day last year. We called it National Day. Some people might cry when they recall of their struggles and their sacrifices to build better life for the coming generations. As people used to say, we have come a long way to get here.

In the year 1933, Adolf Hitler met with Ferdinand Porsche to start up a project so that all the Germans could afford to buy economical cars for themselves. Hitler specified the requirement of the car where it could carry 5 passengers (including the driver), run up to the maximum speed of 62 miles per hour, fuel consumption at 33 miles per gallon, and cost only 1000 Reichmark (I don't really know the value of a thousand Reichmark, but I have a piece of 10-thousand Reichmark note). Well, that's how Volkswagen was born, the name which literally means "people's car" in the German language. Today, Volkswagen is the largest automobile maker in Europe. They have come a long way to get here.

In the year 1983, Proton was established as an initiative to produce Malaysian cars. The Japanese company, Mitsubishi Motors provided 70% of the capital in the form of Yen loans and took 30% of the equity. The first car name Proton Saga rolled off the assembly line in July 1985. Of course, it is derived from an old Mistubishi model and rebadged as Proton Saga. It is sold at the very competitive price at around RM18,000 at that time. The nearest competitor is Nissan Sunny 130Y. In order to boost local sales, import tax was raised tremendously as a way to protect this start-up. On the other hand, Proton also trying hard to boost its image by exporting it to overseas' markets. There comes the special export version with all the higher grade materials, better safety features, and are being sold at a price lower than the domestic version. What??? Yes, Proton has also come a long way to get here.

With the introduction of the regional tariff reduction program, i.e. the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), import tax has to be lowered in phases. It was supposed to be effective on Jan 1, 2003. In order to protect Proton for another 2 years, it was pushed out to Jan 1, 2005. Many Malaysians are hoping for cheaper cars. However, the government announced on the new year eve that car prices will go up instead. This is due to the increase in excise duty which is applicable to all cars. This is a very interesting development indeed. The reason given by the government is that they are not going to lose the revenues from import tax. Well, they have forgotten the reason for the tax at the first place. Import tax was slashed to 20% from as high as 190%, while excise duty was rasied to between 90% to 250%. On the other hand, Proton is still being protected with 50% excise duty rebate and this is critized by Thai automakers. By the way, raising the car prices will also lead to inflation but I don't think they care. A simple analogy here, the char-koay-teow ah-pek has to charge RM3.00 instead of RM 2.50 for a plate of noodles because he has to pay higher monthly hire-purchase installments for his new Proton Gen2.

I am sure by now you should be able to identify the social burden. Imagine that you see a mother holding his 22-year old son's hand and still teaching him how to look out for cars before crossing the road. What a shame! Then, what about the second independence? Well, look at it from two different angles. The second independence comes when either Proton can stand by its own feet or it closes down totally. I think we still have a long way to go before we get there.

An interesting lunch and an interesting quote

2005-01-14T14:35:00.000+08:00

Let's break away today from those quite specific topics as I usually did in the past. Four of us, good co-workers and freinds had banana leaf rice today. We chatted almost anything and the lunch lasted for 90 minutes. It is not my intention to blog what we chatted. Just wanted to share an interesting and meaningful quote that I saw on one of the few paintings on the wall.

A FOOT WALKED IS WORTH A MILE TALKED

One of the topics that is favoured by co-workers is about their bosses. Well, I am a supervisor. I have to learn to follow and also to lead. Kind of being sandwiched in between. Anyway, the most important thing of being a supervisor is to lead by example, I think. That's what the quote above is all about. I am pretty sure that many people are not happy with those who talk but do nothing, and those who bullshit days and nights. No real solution to this problem, just be yourself, don't do to other what you don't want others to do to you. Start walking today!

Resistance to change

2005-01-13T11:30:00.000+08:00

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BC said, "There is nothing permanent except change". However, most of us resist change. The resistance comes from fear and the unwillingness to come out of the comfort zone.

On a personal level, many people complain of their lousy jobs, their stupid bosses, disgusting co-workers, unreasonable customers, etc. However, no one is willing change their jobs, constructively confront their bosses, and so on. These inactions are due to the fear of the consequences if one is to take the risk to change. People try to justify their action not to change by laming that "I don't want to start all over again". These lamers are losers.

People complain in kopi tiam that the government is stupid, wasting tax-payers' money, bureaucracy, etc. but they still keep the same f**king government again and again in every elections. No one wants to take the risk to let another party to form a new government, and try new things.

Globalization is an idea thought by some smart souls to make themselves richer and richer. After some time, more and more companies follow suits. Americans started to complain that "their jobs are being shipped overseas". Hey, angmo (gwailow) out there! Think about this, if it is OK forAsians to drink Coca Cola, eat McDonald burgers, save their money in Bank of America, study in Purdue, why it is not OK for Asians to work in American companies? Of course, this is a pretty good topic to be debated, but I would say those who complain are just losers.

Dr. Robert Anthony said, "When you blame others, you give up your power to change". So, stop whining, start your personal plan today. Start to think what is within your circle of influence that you want to change. Embrace change and may you have the freedom to change.

Knock 'em Dead Interview - Part 2

2005-01-11T19:01:00.000+08:00

Just a short one today. After discovering that the interviewee has near zero knowledge on the technical side, here comes the most interesting part - money.

Bastard: What is your expected salary?

Idiot: [confidential]

Bastard: You only have a one-year diploma and no working experience. Why do you think we can pay you that amount?

Idiot: Oh... [multi-national company] is a "big" company. I am sure you can pay me. Everyone is driving big cars as I can see from the car park.

Bastard: Why do you think people who drive big cars can pay you high salary?

Idiot: Yeah, I see people wear long sleeves and ties. This company surely can pay one...

Bastard: Those are suppliers and vendors la... By the way, I am wearing jeans today. Thank you very much and have a nice day!

Knock 'em Dead Interview - Part 1

2005-01-05T18:30:00.000+08:00

An interviewee who has a bachelor degree in Information Technology from a local public university really knocked me dead the other day. Here was one of the many interesting parts,

Bastard: Do you use a PC at home?

Idiot: Yes.

Bastard: What kind of CPU are you using?

Idiot: Clone one.

Bastard: I mean, the processor. What kind of processor and the speed?

Idiot: Pentium 3.

Bastard: What is the speed?

Idiot: Huh?

Bastard: The clock speed of the processor, you know?

Idiot: 32.

Bastard: What do you mean by 32?

Idiot: 32 MHz.

Bastard: (Hmm... Pentium III 32 MHz, where to find?) OK, good. How much RAM do you have?
Idiot: 32.

Bastard: 32, what ?

Idiot: 32 MHz.

Bastard: I see, I see.

Idiot: Oh, I think is 32 MB.

Bastard: What kind of operating system are you using?

Idiot: WinXP.

Bastard: (Hmm... WinXP running on 32MB... interesting) OK, do you go on the internet?

Idiot: Yes, I use TMnet.

Bastard: It is dialup or broadband?

Idiot: What's that?

Bastard: I mean, do you call 1515 using an analog modem or do you use Streamyx broadband?

Idiot: I use a modem to connect to 1515.

Bastard: What is the typical connection speed?

Idiot: 170 kbps

Bastard: OK. Thank you. Very good. Next!

OK, I am the bastard, call me whatever you like. Interview is not an event or an avenue for you to learn. It's too late. Don't waste your time and the interviewer's time. You have to do your homework before coming for the interview, and that's why I am not offering the answers.

Box Box Box Boxing Day!

2005-01-05T18:16:00.000+08:00

I remembered someone asked me before what Boxing Day is. Why the day after Chrismas is know as Boxing Day? Is it because Mohamad Ali knocked out someone on Dec 26? Maybe many people got drunk the night before and continue to get drunk, started to fight each other? Well, Boxing Day is the day where churches open the donation boxes (alms-boxes) and the clergies distribute the money to needy people. By the way, Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephen's Day.

On the other hand, in Uncle Sam land, people like to use the word "box it" while filling up their stomach, especially at Chiense restaurants. Whatever you can't finish, tell the waiter to box it. Not to punch on it, but just telling the guy to put all your leftover into a box, so that you can take it home. By the way, boxing your food is not limited to Asian restaurants. You can also box your Tony Roma's Baby Back Ribs or steak if you can't finish them. These kind of yummy stuffs really make you box each other for the last piece...

Tsunami... つなみ... 津浪...

2005-01-04T17:31:00.000+08:00

On Boxing Day 2004, tsunami hit countries around the Indian Ocean and the worst hit area was the north-western part of the Sumatera Island, Indonesia. The death toll for Indonesia alone has reached 94,000 per the figure release by the Indonesian government as of today. Tsunami is the Japanese term or tidal wave set off by earthquake. Malaysia is indeed lucky although it is quite near to the epicenter of the earthquake. The official death toll reported by the Malaysian government is at 66. The worst hit area in Malaysia was Penang Island, the Pearl of the Orient. The current total death toll worldwide has surpassed 140,000 and is set to rise further. My deepest condolence to those who lost their life and their love ones in this natural disaster.

While the mass media is "obsessed" with the latest news on tsunami, I noticed one trivial matter. The whole world, except the Japanese pronounce the Japanese word tsunami as "soo-nah-mee". Please listen to the Japanese first. "Tsu" is pronounced something like "jer" in English. Using the Chinese hanyu pinyin, it sounds like "zhi", while the Taiwanese Wade-Giles romanization will sound like "tze". Well, this is not the only word being read incorrectly by non-Japanese. Other words like, mitsubishi, daihatsu, satsuma, etc were pronounced wrongly in the same way.

I once spoke to an American and we talked about drinking and karaoke as one of the favourite activities among colleagues at night in Malaysia. As usual, I pronounced karaoke as "car-ruh-oh-kay" and from his body language, I knew that he didn't understand what I was talking about. I paused and thought for a while, and yeah, "care-rer-oh-key"!!! Very interesting... it seems to me that the American guy still thinks that he pronounced it correctly!

Anyway, "tsu" in Hiragana is "つ”, and is "津" when written in Kanji. "Tsu" means seaside, estuary, or small port. "Nami" in Hiragana is "なみ", and could be "波" or "浪" when written in Kanji. "Nami" means wave. Therefore, tsunami is translated literally as seaside wave. OK, that's all about tsunami for now. Appreciate what you have and enjoy life to the fullest!

Making money out of thin air - Part 2

2004-12-21T11:21:00.000+08:00

I paid my Indah Water bill today. F#&% !!! T*&l%$m!c#*+h~@! I am pretty sure that was your response.

Many years back, some ingenious souls thought of a way of getting rich quick by privatising government agencies. Started with basic utilities such as the National Electricity Board (Lembaga Letrik Negara) and the Telecom Department (Jabatan Telekom). With the establishment of Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Telekom Malaysia Berhad, people started to see "some people" driving S-class Mercedes-Benz, and hence, more and more privatisation projects. Of course, after a while, ideas are running out, nothing else to be privatised. Hmm... how about privatising the shit business? As a result, Your National Sewerage Company was born. Consumers do not complain when the government privatised the electricity supplier and the telephone service provider because consumers continue to pay almost the same rates. In the Indah Water Konsortium Sdn. Bhd. case, this is purely making money out of nothing. In the past, we don't have to pay for sewerage service because the local municipal was in charge of it. We are paying the assessment rate (kadar taksiran), cukai tandas (toilet tax), etc. When IWK came in, we continue to pay those taxes as well. Furthermore, there is no contracts signed between residents and IWK, so why do we have to pay out of a sudden? They don't even have our names as they just put the word penghuni (resident) on the bill. Many people were not paying a single at all, and this dragged on for a couple of years.

In my opinion, IWK was more than just a simple privatisation project. It is a kind of test cases to test the water. Let's see the people's reaction towards making-money-out-of-nothing projects. If this goes well, let's privatise the garbage collection service, traffic lights, etc. Something that you used to enjoy for free will be chargeable soon. A new company, with those top guns buying new SUV to take their ham-kar (whole family) out, while the rakyat do not want to pay up... you are now in deep shit. No worries, mate. "Cry for help!", as simple as that. This line is now added to the company name. Milik Penuh Menteri Kewangan Diperbadankan. Well, they keep quiet for a while until the election is over. A year since the last election, they are sending the rakyat the bill again together with a "legal threat" letter. This time could be for real, I don't know. I gave in, sorry. Anyway, I still think that Martin Luther King Jr. was right when he once said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter".

I would imagine that this kind of IWK crap will not surface if the majority are really mature in electing their leaders. This is something that is easy to be said than done. I don't think that we can be a developed country in the near future, unless we really start to *think*. By the way, those people are not stupid too. If IWK will cause their downfall, I am sure they don't even dare to even test the water. Maybe we should read the book, Can Asians Think? by Kishore Mahbubani, Singapore's ambassador to the United Nations.

Making money out of thin air - Part 1

2004-12-21T01:21:00.000+08:00

Every homo sapien is interested in making money, you and I are no exception. Some are trying to work harder, while some are trying to work smarter. There are people coming out with new high-tech gadgets derived from new technological breakthrough, and at the same time, there are also creative people coming out with new tricks to con people. Well, I bet you have seen bogus monks before, still "begging for money" even in the afternoon at 4 pm. Hey, the real ones beg for alms (in the form of food) and will return to the monastery before 12 pm. Here comes the stupid public who thinks that giving money "towards god" will gain them some extra mileage in their daily life. Some said it improves their luck, some said they were healed from a chronic disease, and some even mentioned that their kids do better at school...

This reminds me of a story about dividing money donated by followers of certain religious groups. If you the kind of people who are too serious or sensitive on religion, please click the "X" button on the top right corner of your browser immediately. Bye.

OK, here is how the story goes. Once upon a time, there were 4 chief priests of different religions met to discuss and find a method to divide money donated by followers. The first guy drafted a proposal where certain percentages go to charity, certain percentages will be used to upkeep the place of worship, a fair amout to cover his daily expense, etc. The second guy proposed, "I would draw a line and I would throw all the money up in the air. Whatever falls on the left will be used to run the place of worship, whatever falls on the right will be used to cover my daily expenses". The third guy not to be outdone, thought of an even better idea, "I would draw a circle, and I would throw all the money up in the air as well. Money that falls inside the circle will be my *salary*". Wow! What a great idea? The last guy who remained silent since the beginning said, "Come on guys! Use your brain la... ". "Since god is up there, I would just throw all the money up in the air and tell him to grab whatever he wants. If he doesn't want the money, I will take it la..." Thank you, sir! You are a genius, meeting adjourned, let's go for lunch. Must order a bowl of 佛跳墻 today!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2004-12-19T01:06:00.000+08:00

By the mid of November every year, my favorite radio station will be playing Christmas songs day and night. K103fm, your official Christmas station is helping to create the mood for this festive season in Portland and Beaverton, Oregon. If you are physically there, tune to FM 103.3 MHz on your radio. Otherwise, you may listen to the live stream on the Internet powered by Liquid Compass. Due to certain legal issues, you will not be able to listen to all the local commercials on the internet streaming broadcast. You might miss stuffs like what are being offered at Fred Meyer, but who cares?

Here are the lyrics for one of the Christmas songs that is being played again and again on K103fm.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

By the way, Robb Topolski changed the lyrics to something related to another annual event, but this one is a bit painful... hehehe. They recorded the song as well, no joke, man!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Focal
Everywhere you go!
Those three-sixties from five or ten
Of our most trusted friends
Superlatives that make our brag sheets glow!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Focal
Soon we’ll know our score
But the prettiest site to see is the paycheck that should be
Just a wee bit more

I told my absentee boss that my peers were a loss
And their work was ragged and rare
They would just talk and then go for a walk
And to me they just don’t compare
As I’m the best you must attest
And less would be unfair

It’s beginning to look a lot like Focal
Everywhere you go!
Our ratings will be proposed
In meetings behind doors closed
Can you recall events twelve months ago?

It’s beginning to look a lot like Focal
Our names upon the chart
But the thing that will go ka-ching
A raise I hope they bring
Please don’t break my heart

Hmm... annual performance review??? Sorry, I can't tell you, it is confidential... You have to find out yourself, no spoon-feeding! Anyway, Feliz Navidad !!!

Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

2004-12-17T20:03:00.000+08:00

When I was a teenager, during my secondary school time, I found that one of the most challenging examination papers was "essay writing". It was not really something hard, but for the first 5 minutes I realized that I was still staring at the questions, still deciding which one to choose. Wihtout making any obvious movement, I looked to my left and right, and had the feeling that I am the only one in this world that had not started writing. Once I had made up my mind, it took me another 15 minutes to plan for the whole essay and to think of the first line. Well, tough enough. Once I got throught the first 20 minutes, I would keep writing and writing without realizing that time really flies. The environment was really quite during the 2 hours that your ears could hear the "buzzing". When the exam invigilator barked "Time is up! Put your pens down!", I started to regret that I wasted too much time in the beginning even though I had completed the essay. Keep promising myself not to waste too much time in the beginning, try to understand why I can't make up my mind, etc. Nevertheless, there was a "feel good" kind of thing, like you have accomplished something, you can't explain it. Will talk more about this later. Well, those were the days...

Many times, people just can't get started until the very last minute. There are many self-improvement books that you can grab from a book store. People trying to beat procrastination, learn to do planning, execute efficiently, and many more, and I still don't know why people like to put things off till eleventh hour. I found the answer in 1999 when I attended "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" course conducted by James Cathcart. Hey! We are addited to our own natural pain killer, i.e. the endorphin, which is produce by the pituitary glands. By the way, endorphin is the short for endogenous morphin. As a result, people continue to delay things till the very last moment, do it under pressure, and "taste" the endorphin at the end. The same goes to those who like to eat chilli... to name a few: habanero, serrano, and jalapeno. Not to be outdone by the Mexican, there are also the sky-pointing chilli (ji thin jiu in Cantonese, phrik chi fa in Thai), rice chilli (cili padi in Malay), etc. People keep on eating chilli because they feel good from the endorphin. The brain misinterprets the burning sensation from the capsaicin enzyme and thinks that the tongue is injured, thus releasing endorphine to reduce the "pain".

WTF to do with the title? It took me quite sometime to really find time to blog. Most of my time are pretty much occupied, spend quite an amount of time on work. The rest are for the family, strictly no working on Saturdays and Sundays, but we work quite late during weekdays. Sometimes you want to do it, but the other side of yourself keeps telling you to do it some other time. Today is the day that the "just do it" side triumped over the "later la..." side. Can't think of any title better that the Chinese saying, "Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" (千里之行，始于足下). Hey! This is not a joke, and someone really made a journey of more than a thousand miles. Our comrade, Mao Zedong made the Long March in 1934~1935 with some 86,000 men and women for a little over a year, covering about 6000 miles. OK, I guess I have to continue with my version of long march some other day for now. Till the next blog, have a great day!

Pil Seung

What are your priorities?

Great Compassion Mantra (Vajrayana version)

Memories

The Airport

Bahasa Malaysia 801

Beijing 2008 - Eight Don't Ask

The four most hated questions

The Fear of Being Alone

Just One More Time... revisited

Kings and Queens of 27 countries

Daen Mahamongkol on Google Map

Namo Amituofo 南無阿彌陀佛

Barisan Rakyat - Harapan Rakyat

The 4 weapons of software developers

Big news: Intel is leaving Penang

Pronunciation of the language of love

1st class price, 2nd class product, 3rd class service

恭喜发财! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

JPA scholarship

Welcome to India!

Supply, demand, and job security

Vannakum!

Thanks for the date!

Who is the first prime minister of Malaysia?

A Hypothesis: The Origin of Malaysian People - Part 2

A Hypothesis: The Origin of Malaysian People - Part 1

The King of Rambutan

Capsicum chinense jacquin

Parable - The Lonely Ember

The Chinese Malaysian beef story

Parable - The Retiring Carpenter

Five most common lies in business

My April 2006

自學英語不求人

Of All Flowres Methinks A Rose Is Best

Happy Saint Valentine's Day

Ah Lian Boey Handphones

Knock 'em Dead Interview - Part 3

All Money Put My Home

Happy Chinese New Year

Got money?

Let's count the days

该死的不死, 不应该去的...

Shanghai - Hong Kong - Los Angeles

What did you do in a foreign place?

Sunday Shanghai

The first Shanghai night

夜上海 夜上海

"The Allegory of the Cave" by Plato

Copy Exactly!

Dress Rehearsal

Kampai at the Cool Bananas

Benglish revisited

foobar

Parlez-Vous Français?

Fund raising the Chinese way - The all souls day

The haze is back

36V/42V automotive electrical system

Diospyros blancoi

What kind on intelligence do you have?

Astrology?

小龙女 trying to commit suicide

Ampun Tuanku

Stupid Malaysian mentality - Part 1

Some Fundamental Truths About Me

Thanks for your time

Moore's Law

Benglish

Good old manual

Malaysia Boleh!

"Cargo Cult Science" by Richard P. Feynman

Dumb and dumber story again

Just One More Time

Stupid or smart? A hero or a coward?

Another disaster but I didn't turn up

Hungry dogs fighting over shit

Interesting people with BMW 735

Dumb and dumber

Happy Chinese New Year

夜上海夜上海