UGLY - A Short Story

Part 1

Once upon a time, in a village in rural China, there was a boy named Feng.
He was not a special boy in particular, however, he did have one thing that stood out.
His appearance.
He was ugly. At least people thought he was. Ugliness is after all a perception.
The kids in school would make fun of him and call him "Ugly Feng".
"Stay away from Ugly Feng, or you might get infected by his ugliness"
Feng cried and asked his mother why he was born ugly.
His mother said " You are not ugly Feng, you are just who you are"
When Feng was a teenager, he approach the village witch doctor to ask about his ugliness as life had become unbearable for him.
The witch doctor told him - " A curse has been placed upon your family by enemies of your ancestors, your family has been cursed with ugliness for 10 generations "
Feng was devastated after listening to this.
After he left school, he decided to leave the village and the cruel teasing behind.
He went to college and worked hard
He studied science
He learnt that physical appearance is a genetic product of 2 parents plus environmental factors. How could a curse affect physical appearance for 10 generations?
This was totally illogical.
He vowed he would break this curse by any means.
He graduated and found a job.
Not without difficulty. There was no doubt, employers are prejudiced against appearance.
He struggled with girls, as most found his appearance repulsive.
He worked hard, long hours.
He ran the rat race like only a desperately ugly rat could.
He climbed the corporate ladder by blood and sweat.
He made money, as much money as he could.
With his new position and money, women began to find him less repulsive.
He knew he could do it.
He will be the one to end the curse...
"The curse of ugliness shall end in my generation!"
One day he met the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on...

Proceed to Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Review

I watched this yesterday on TV.
After spending one year half-reading the book and finally watching the ending, I thought I'd write a review on it.
Here goes....

" Meh "

Char Kueh Teow at Satay Kajang Wellington

Okay. If you had to rate between fried rice, fried noodles, fried kueh teow and fried mee hoon, how would you rate them , in order of preference. Mine has been, since childhood..
1. Kueh Teow
2. Fried noodles/ Chow Mien
3. Fried rice
4. Fried mee hoon/ bee hoon

How hard is it to find good Kueh Teow in NZ ? Plenty hard. In Christchurch, I have  given up ordering kueh teow because at most places the kueh teow is dry, oily and really uninspiring. I'm talking about some popular places with names beginning with "Joy..." and "Foo...." . The only place that's close is "Wok on In" in Kendall ave. Its possibly the best in Chch. But their kueh teow has dropped in quality somewhat throughout the years.

The best kueh teow I have had so far in NZ is at Satay Kajang, Wellington. And I am reminded of this again when I visited Satay Kajang recently. Having had the Kueh Teow at Oriental Kingdom ( Wellington) the day before just reinforces the superiority of SK's kueh teow. First you will note that the kueh teow itself is differs from most other restaurants. Its fatter and wider. Either they made it themselves or have a different supplier than others. Either way it didn't have the " imported dry and reconstituted with water" feel. The texture is soft and moist like what freshly fried kueh teow should be. The most striking feature is the "char". As my friend Oli, put it, it has "the char". What do I mean by "char". I envision the kueh teow stir fried  in a wok over mad flames, thus leaving it with a slight smoky, flame cooked taste. In fact, as a child I used to watch the chefs brutalise the kueh teow over flames that sometimes leap a foot high , tossing the contents of the wok like there's no tomorrow. That is the essence of "char". To top it of,  it's got generous amounts of egg and taugeh/bean sprouts. And of course char siew and some fish ball slices.
And you know what, there NO broccoli, cabbage or carrots ! Not that broccoli is bad for you but have you ever seen broccoli in kueh teow in Malaysia? It's like putting bok choy in Big Mac . What's the big idea eh?
The taste is authentically Malaysian. Better than some places in Malaysia even. FYI, the best kueh teow I've had in Malaysia still has to be in Penang.

Anyway , if you are craving good kueh teow. This is definitely my recommendation. No  broccoli, no carrots, no compromise!

Let me know where's your favourite place for kueh teow. And  also how u  rate kueh teow vs the others ( rice, noodle and bee hoon)

A Patient's Perpective- My GP attachment essay

Found this while cleaning up my room.This is my trainee intern GP assignment.
I did my rural GP training in Reefton, also known as the "Town of Light". It is the first place in New Zealand to have electricity.
The story itself is not that exciting. Oh well..

iPhone 5 SPECs vs SPECs

Hi everyone!

So.... the iPhone 5 is out. A few days ago, I posted a blog SPECulating on the iPhone5's SPECifications.
Okay, so let's see how well I did.
First of all, I mentioned 3 main themes in the next iPhone. I can say I am quite right about them.
1st- Improvements in hardware and software - the "boring" part. Actually this is most of what the new iPhone has to offer.. faster.. lighter.. thinner.. blah blah..  2nd - Narrowing some gaps with the high-end Android phones -  4G, bigger screen, faster processor. And lastly - some gimmicks - earphones, "Lightning" pin.

Okay , I'll just list out what I predicted and how it compares with the real iPhone5.

1. Screen

"I am pretty sure it will be a bigger screen, possibly a 16:9 aspect ratio. And again, featuring its high resolution Retina screen. Prob 4 inch ballpark.
Maybe a borderless screen that goes right to the edge?"

Bingo- 4 inch Retina screen it is.

2. Processor



"Not much to guess here, expect a quad core processor, either a Snapdragon or Tegra chip. But it will be called A6, and it's true spec won't be revealed."

Pretty close - A6 - and no details revealed . Although I have heard it is a duo core rather than quad.

3. RAM

"Glaringly, the iPhone4s' 500mb RAM is not really a market leader. In fact the other day I was thinking that my current phone has a higher ram than my old desktop, which I am no longer using. Then I realised at least my old desktop still trumps the iPhone4s in this department. Expect the RAM to increase to 1 or 2 g."

Unknown- No one likes to point out they're are behind, and definitely not Apple. I suspect most likely 1g. No doubt this info will be available in the new future.

4. Casing

"Probably still something metallic. I suspect Apple will do away with the infamous 'smashing' glass coating.
Screen will feature Gorilla glass 2, but of course this won't be revealed to you."

Correct- Not much change except removal of glass back.

5. Size

"Wider, longer, thinner, lighter. However the width may not change as much if the screen goes to the edge."





Close- Longer, thinner, lighter. But width remains the same

6. Colours

"Black, white or silver."

Hmm.. Just black and white.. with some silver

7. UI

"Will Apple stick to its awesome grid of icons? I suspect this interface will finally change. With one extra interface layer added. I was going to say that Apple will allow more user customization, but I take this back now. I think the UI may change and look more fluid and multidimensional, but it will stick with 1 type of interface. The best one. At least that is what you will be told.
More multitasking ability."

Unfortunately Apple HAS decided to stick to the boring uncustomizable grid of icons.
They didn't add a new interface layer, just one layer of icons!
And yes.. Apple says it's " the most advanced OS ever"


8. Connectivity

"4G. And other stuff.. Wifi, bluetooth, and it's proprietary pin connector that will cost you $30 for an extra cable."

Bingo - 4G
Bingo- New proprietary pin that will cost old Apple users NZD$49.00 for an adaptor.

9. Apple Map/Navigation

"Apple is trying to break away from any reliance on Google products. Expect Google maps to be replaced with its own map and navigation system."



Bingo- Maps App


10. Camera

"Better cameras, front and back. Not much more to say. 10-12 megapixels perhaps?
For camera enthusiasts, before you start nagging me, I meant a better in all ways, not just increased megapixel count, okay?"

Close - No surprises here. The surprise is Apple exalting the awesomeness of the panoramic mode, which is already native feature on the Samsung Galaxy S2. Marketing chief Phil Schiller used the term " killer panoramic mode"

I was wrong about the 10-12 megapixels.



11. Some novelty software that you can't get on the 'last iPhone'. Like Siri.

"Voice controlled camera? More voice controlled everything?
Motion controlled functions.
Some stuff you won't need but will want.
More iPhone to iPhone only social networking apps.
Apple TV remote?"

Close

More voice control Siri options.
No mention of new motion controls.
Passbook.
Facetime over network. Integrated FB
New earphones.
Airplay for Apple TV.



12. Long lines

"Again, expect long lines, as people fight to fill the emptiness of their hearts."

Pretty sure there will be long lines. Not sure about the empty hearts being filled though...maybe just for a while.


I leave you now with this video, which reminds us again why we should tip our hats off to Apple.
Genius deserves respect and when it comes to marketing, Apple is in it's own class.

Speculating on the next iPhone

Whether you are a techie, 'trend-follower', business person or just need a new phone, there is no doubt one of the most anticipated new products to come into the market is the next iPhone, or the iPhone 5, depending on what Apple chooses to call it's next flagship phone.
Actually, the most anticipated 'product' in the world is still food on the table, as an iPhone remains in the domain of the priviledged.
Now that Apple has announced the next iPhone will be revealed on Sept 12, there is more speculation than ever on what the next phone will be like.
Here is my 2 cents worth on what we might see in the next iPhone. As for my qualifications, I have none. I don't make or sell phones. However, I would like to think I am quite a logical person. And I wonder if that is enough for a prediction.
I think there will be 3 main themes in the next iPhone. First it will be feature improvements in hardware and software compared with iPhone4s. Boring and expected. Second, it will have features 'more like' some of the high-end android phones, 'narrowing the gap', so to speak and third, it will feature some novelty gimmick, like the Siri.
Okay, lets get into it
1. Screen
I am pretty sure it will be a bigger screen, possibly a 16:9 aspect ratio. And again, featuring its high resolution Retina screen. Prob 4 inch ballpark.
Maybe a borderless screen that goes right to the edge?
2. Processor
Not much to guess here, expect a quad core processor, either a Snapdragon or Tegra chip. But it will be called A6, and it's true spec won't be revealed.
3. RAM
Glaringly the iPhone4s' 500mb RAM is not really a market leader. In fact the other day I was thinking that my current phone has a higher ram than my old desktop, which I am no longer using. Then I realised at least my old desktop still trumps the iPhone4s in this department. Expect the RAM to increase to 1 or 2 g.
4. Casing
Probably still something metallic. I suspect Apple will do away with the infamous 'smashing' glass coating.
Screen will feature Gorilla glass 2, but of course this won't be revealed to you.
5. Size
Wider, longer, thinner, lighter. However the width may not change as much if the screen goes to the edge.
6. Colours
Black, white or silver.
7. UI
Will Apple stick to its awesome grid of icons? I suspect this interface will finally change. With one extra interface layer added. I was going to say that Apple will allow more user customization, but I take this back now. I think the UI may change and look more fluid and multidimensional, but it will stick with 1 type of interface. The best one. At least that is what you will be told.
More multitasking ability.
8. Connectivity
4G. And other stuff.. Wifi, bluetooth, and it's proprietary pin connector that will cost you $30 for an extra cable.
9. Apple Map/Navigation
Apple is trying to break away from any reliance on Google products. Expect Google maps to be replaced with its own map and navigation system.
10. Camera
Better cameras, front and back. Not much more to say. 10-12 megapixels perhaps?
For camera enthusiasts, before you start nagging me, I meant a better in all ways, not just increased megapixel count, okay?
11. Some novelty software that you can't get on the 'last iPhone'. Like Siri.
Voice controlled camera? More voice controlled everything?
Motion controlled functions.
Some stuff you won't need but will want.
More iPhone to iPhone only social networking apps.
Apple TV remote?
And one last thing...
12. Long lines
Again, expect long lines, as people fight to fill the emptiness of their hearts.
What do you think?
Leave a comment below.
Lets see how my prediction pans out in the next few days.

" See how my prediction went here "

Learn Foochow 102 - "Du" - PiG

Okay.. lesson number 2. I will base it around one word. "Dṳ " or " Pig".
(ṳ is the French u in lune or German ü as in für)

If you missed lesson one, here is the link
Learn Foochow 101





Okay.. here are various uses of the word "pig".
Most of what I have listed below are used as some form of insult.
I'm not suggesting you go insulting people, but some situations may call for it :)

1. "Du" - Pig



2. "Ya Du " - Wild Pig/Boar



3.  "Bui Du"  - Fat pig



4. "Dian pa Du" - Crazy pig



5. "Du tao"  - Pig head





6."Sai Du" - Sh#t pig



7. "Du Ka" -Pork leg



7. "Du Ve Ge" -"Pigsy" - Monkey King's Companion in Journey to the East
                     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhu_Bajie



Have fun!
If you want more lessons, please let me know in the comment section!

What is the Will of God?

This article is written by a friend. I have posted it with permission.

What is the Will of God?
Monday, 30 July 2012 9:45 a.m
JN


One of the most asked questions for Christians is how to know the will of God. Questions such as
how do I know which city to move to, which subject to study, who to marry, where to invest funds,
which church to go to or which role to take up in church to serve the Lord among others are
bothering many. If only God makes His will clear, our lives will be so much easier.
The fact is God has made His will crystal clear through His Words. His will is that we should love Him
with all our heart, mind and strength, and that we will love one another (Matthew 22:36-40). His will
is that we should glorify Him in all that we do (1 Corinthians 10:31) and live our lives as running a
race with a sole focus of being praised by Him at the finish line (Hebrews 12:1-2). However, are we
truly keen to understand what His will is and to carry it out?
A fine young man came to Jesus eager to know the way to eternal life (Luke 18:18-30). He has tried
hard to achieve it in his own ways. However, Jesus gave him a task that fell out of his expected
framework, one that challenged his love of God above his riches. Instead of carrying out the will of
God, he left with sadness.
It is not uncommon for us to have a perceived framework of how God should work. When God
works differently to our expectation, sadly at times, we may rather reject it and walk away like the
young man. In fact, there is a framework that God is working within, although it is not according to
our wish or feeling. His framework is fully revealed in the Word of God. This framework is clear and
easily understandable, and His wish or will is that we would live accordingly. Disappointingly, there
are times we chose not to, especially when His commands do not fall within our wish list or expected
framework. Commands such as love our neighbours, love our enemies, tithe, be truthful, carry your
cross, be obedience and etc are simply too difficult. How easy would it be if God could just tell me
which enemy I am allowed to annihilate, where to invest my funds that I could be blessed
abundantly or which church to go to receive the best emotional need the way I want, rather than
hearing about the cost of discipleship. Is discipleship even a part of the will of God?
When we seek the will of God, it is important for us to ask ourselves, are we merely expecting help
from God to advance our own ambition? Are we only hoping that God would help us to make a
decision that would bring more blessing to ourselves? God does bless His people and this remains
true till this day. However, there are far more to seeking the will of God than merely seeking a
material blessing from God.
We may not realise that many decisions that appear to stress us out daily may not be as crucial as
we think. Should we move to this city? Should I take up this role in church? Should I take up this job?
Should I buy this house? Have I made a wrong decision by marrying this person or choosing this
career? There are hard decisions that we need to make daily and we wish that God could make them
easier for us. The fact of the matter is these decisions by themselves are often neutral. Whichever
way we choose, it is unlikely that we will displease God, at least not the decision itself. It is how we
execute the decision that matters more. God’s will has remained the same whether we decide to be
in this or that city, to live in this or that house, to marry this or that person, or whether we are rich
or poor. His will is in whatever we do, in wherever we are, do it all for the glory of God. In whatever
decisions that we have already made, we should continue to work to glorify His name. In whatever
decision that we are going to make, we should seek to glorify Him.
How do we know what the will of God is? It is by knowing the Word of God. The Word of God is a gift
from God. He has made His will clear through it. There is no short cut to know the will of God
without being serious about studying the Word of God. A scene we should all avoid is to claim doing
the will of God while doing the exact opposite of what God has clearly stated in His Word. God will
never go against His Word.
  Let us be a true seeker of the will of God by investing our time to know Him through studying His
Words and to live out the will of God in true obedience.

Ye Shi Wen - A very fast swimmer

Somehow I did not has as much anticipation about this Olympics as the previous Olympics. It had been much less publicised, or maybe I've gotten old and am less excited about this. Infact I only realised the London Olympics have started, after the opening ceremony had finished.
Now a week into the Olympics it seems that this Olympic is more about tears, bitterness and lameness (badminton players trying to lose?) than sportmanship. What I want to talk about though is the case of the Chinese swimmer, Ye Shi Wen who has won gold in both the 400m and 200m individual medley.
Unless you have been stuck in a cave, you would have heard all the accusations and speculations about "doping".




This started with the American coach John Leanard who basically said that her performance in the 400m event was "impossible" and "unbelievable"

Now that's a funny thing to say, given that the swim did happen. That's like saying going to the moon is impossible. ( well, that's another debate I suppose). Anyway, it DID happen, so what he was really insinuating is that it was impossible without the use of drugs. And now the media has run away and continually reviving the allegation that her performance could be drug related despite all the drug tests been negative.
Sour grapes much?

And the reasoning for this accusation ?

Because she swam very fast !

Yes! She swam very fast, at the Olympics, faster than any woman has ever swam before!
Wow, no way! She must be cheating!

Does that sound ridiculous to you as it does to me?
Sounds ridiculous to me, and I find it stupid and annoying.

First of all, we are talking about the Olympics, where the fastest and strongest men and women from around the world gather to put everything they have into being the world's best.
And you know what? Sometimes they swim or run faster than ever before. Wow! Impossibleu!!

She swam the 400m medley in 4:28.43 whereas the last Olympic record was 4:29.45. Wow unbelievable! She beat it by 1 second!  How can the world record be beaten at the Olympics? Never in a million years could I have imagined that world records could be broken at the Olympics. My reality has been shattered~!

Ok, then we narrow down to the more specific focus of the accusations. The last 50m freestyle lap.
 Hey it was so fast , it was faster the Ryan Lochte's?!
 Does that mean she cheated? No.
Was that Ryan's fastest 50m freestyle ever?
 No. She did not beat Ryan's best 50m time. Just the time he did in this Olympics, the one where he was leading comfortably at the end. And she was slower than the other men in the same race.

BTW I checked my "laws of the universe" book, and no where did it say that
"Shi Wen can never beat Ryan in any 50m stretch"

In fact it doesn't even say

"No woman can ever outswim a man"

Lets analyse this using basic science principles we learnt from school

Premise:
1. Ryan Lochte is one of the best male swimmers in the world
2. Ye Shi Wen is a woman swimmer

Hypothesis:

Ye Shi Wen can never beat Ryan Lochte in any 50m stretch.

Experiment Method:

Race them in the same event and time them

Result:
Hey, she really did swim faster than Ryan in that 50 m

Conclusion:
Hypothesis= False

See? That is science. Conclusion based on fact and observation. Not speculation.

Okay.
Lets talk about  what if" she was cheating?
How?
Drugs? What kind off drugs?
Erythropoietin? Some other magic drug not detectable?

So far, all her drug tests have been negative. And world athletes have regular blood test to detect other changes that could be attributed to drugs , such as an increase in haemoglobin as a consequence of EPO.
When did she start using drugs? After the last World Championships?
What interest me is, what kind of drug would make you swim just faster in the last 100m?
The only thing I can think of is drugs that make you pass gas at the last lap so you get extra propulsion.
Swimming fast in the last 100min doesn't increase the likelihood of drug use at all. If you had been using drugs, it would make sense you would be fast the whole 400m. Not just the last 100m.
These arguments just don't make any sense to me,

If you would like a more in-depth analysis here is an analysis of numbers.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/02/olympic-times-too-good-to-be-true-usually-are-but-there-s-a-formula-to-find-out.html?obref=obinsite

Bottom line is

All Olympic athletes are freaks to me, and they routinely do things that us mere humans are incapable of.
We should just celebrate their awesomeness rather than be bitter and jealous about what they are achieving.
I have no doubt her current record will be broken in the future and the "impossible" number will just be a norm for future elite athletes.

Let me leave you with some numbers

Ben Johnson ran the 100m in 9.79s in 1988 in Seoul. He was later disqualified after being tested positive for stanozolol.
The current world record is held by Usain Bolt at 9.58s. And he is not the only one who has surpassed Ben Johnson's anabolically boosted time.

No Dogs And Chinese Allowed

I'm a big fan of Kung Fu movies, especially the Jackie Chan and Jet Li era. But no martial artist is as renowned as Bruce Lee himself. One of the scenes I remember the most was from the movie "Fist of Fury", where Bruce's character Chen Zhen was prevented from entering a compound with the sign "No Dogs and Chinese Allowed". The movie was set during the Japanese occupation of China. Needless to say, Bruce didn't think much of the sign and kicked it to pieces, after first dispensing some "Fist of Fury". Nowadays, being all modern and all, with the "global village thing"  the thought of having a sign forbidding a certain race from entering a compound would be uncommon and frowned upon. In fact Malaysia, where I grew up, was very strongly anti-apartheid.

Anyway, I was reminded of this "No Dogs and Chinese Allowed" scene when I read a recent article from a Malaysian Newspaper. I have used Google translate to translate it, so the English is not so great. The original article is in Malay. You can read the article in Malay or the Google translation.
Basically, a few NGOs of a certain race are having demonstrations to prevent anyone from other races buying any shops in a new development project. Because they want to maintain a single race community. The funny thing is, the developers said they have sold non of the lots to any other race, but they decided to demonstrate anyway, just in case they were lying. Oh well, go figure. I wonder if the "ChinaTowns" of Western cities stop non-chinese people from buying property there. I'm pretty sure not.
This article also reminded me of another picture I saw recently of students from a university in Malaysia protesting the suggestion of allowing other races into the university. This university is only for one race by the way. Oh yeah, it's also publicly funded, meaning it's funded by races that are not allowed to attend it.
Well what do you think of that?

Me? I just laugh. Haha! Looks like a " No Dogs and Chinese Allowed" moment. But without Bruce Lee's action.
I laugh but feel sad. Is that possible? I suppose it's the opposite of people crying when they are happy :(

Anyway, if you're a Kung Fu fan, Fist of Legend starring Jet Li is an awesome variation of Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury!

I've included the articles for those interested.
Jengka - The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the city will not be stopped from continuing to do a demonstration for action from the developer 65 new stores here, surrender the premises to non-Natives.Yesterday, the NGOs once again a demonstration in front of the shops involved after the first demonstration was held on June 8.Among the NGOs who are NSW Heritage True Son (Waps), the Organization of Indigenous Peoples Malaysia Mighty (Mighty), Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM), Hawkers and Petty Traders Association of Malay Entrepreneurs Association Region Jengka, Malay Businessmen and Industrialists Association of Traders (Perdama) and the local community.Chairman of the Mighty JengkaSabrey Ahmad Idris said he would do a series and third series of demonstrations will be held this Friday at the premises of the Mosque of Sultan Ahmad Shah Jengka."We will not stop until we were unable to transform the city into a city of demonstrations held in front of the new shop in town Jengka yesterday. majority Malay community."We do not want developers think our struggle is far from alone as we will continue to do so until our real goal is achieved, no additional action from the authorities," he said.Ahmad Sabrey said, after making a demonstration before, the developers have responded."Developers involved told me that all 65 lots were sold to the shop Natives. "We are not sure how true, but we hope that what is told is a true statement and is not intended to distort," he said.He also stressed that the struggle to defend the city Jengka as Malays are not politically motivated. "This struggle has nothing to do with politics.As long as they are spirited Malay, we suggest that they participate in this demonstration."We also provide a reminder to any party so as not to confound this with the political, thereby interfere with our struggle," he said.Population, Nizam Anuarul Kechik, 37, said, it is important to maintain City Jengka as Malay city to provide opportunities for the Malays venture into business."If he goes to non-Bumiputera businessmen indirectly restrict the development of Malay business here."Furthermore, it is the only Malay town and we want to keep this city without the non-Bumiputera businessmen as mandated by AlmarhumTun Abdul Razak," he told The Star


JENGKA - Badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) di seluruh bandar ini tidak akan berhenti daripada terus melakukan demonstrasi bagi menghalang tindakan pemaju 65 kedai baru di sini, menyerahkan premis terbabit kepada bukan Bumiputera.
Semalam, NGO berkenaan sekali lagi mengadakan demonstrasi di hadapan kedai terbabit selepas demonstrasi kali pertama diadakan pada 8 Jun lalu.
Antara NGO yang terlibat ialah Warisan Anak Pahang Sejati (Waps), Pertubuhan Peribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa), Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia (DPMM), Persatuan Penjaja dan Peniaga Kecil Melayu, Persatuan Usahawan Wilayah Jengka, Persatuan Pedagang dan Pengusaha Melayu (Perdama) dan masyarakat setempat.
Pengerusi Perkasa Jengka,
Ahmad Sabrey Idris berkata, pihaknya akan melakukan demonstrasi bersiri dan siri ketiga akan diadakan pada Jumaat ini di pekarangan Masjid Sultan Ahmad Shah Jengka.
“Kami tidak akan berhenti selagi kami tidak berjaya menjelmakan bandar ini menjadi sebuah bandar yang Demonstrasi yang diadakan di hadapan bangunan kedai baru di bandar Jengka, semalam. majoritinya masyarakat Melayu.
“Kami juga tidak mahu pemaju menyangka perjuangan kami terhenti setakat ini sahaja kerana kami akan terus melakukannya sehinggalah matlamat sebenar kami tercapai, tambahan tiada sebarang tindakan daripada pihak berkuasa,” katanya.
Ahmad Sabrey berkata, selepas melakukan demonstrasi sebelum ini, pihak pemaju ada memberikan maklum balas.
“Pemaju terbabit memaklumkan kepada saya bahawa kesemua 65 lot kedai tersebut telah dijual kepada Bumiputera. “Kami tidak pasti sejauh mana kebenarannya, namun kami harap apa yang diberitahu adalah satu kenyataan yang betul dan bukan bertujuan untuk memutarbelitkan,” katanya.
Beliau turut menegaskan bahawa perjuangan untuk mempertahankan Jengka sebagai bandar Melayu bukanlah berunsurkan politik. “Perjuangan ini tidak ada kena-mengena langsung dengan politik.
Asalkan mereka ini berjiwa Melayu, kami sarankan mereka turut serta dalam demonstrasi ini.
“Kami juga beri peringatan kepada mana-mana pihak supaya tidak mencampuradukkan perkara ini dengan politik, sekali gus mengganggu perjuangan kami ini,” katanya.
Penduduk, Anuarul Nizam Kechik, 37, berkata, penting mengekalkan Bandar Jengka sebagai bandar Melayu bagi memberi peluang kepada orang Melayu menceburkan diri dalam bidang perniagaan.

“Kalau masuk peniaga bukan Bumiputera secara tidak langsung menyekat perkembangan perniagaan Melayu di sini.
“Tambahan pula, inilah satu-satunya bandar Melayu dan kita mahu mengekalkan bandar ini tanpa peniaga bukan Bumiputera sepertimana yang diamanatkan AlmarhumTun Abdul Razak,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian

Hooray for centers of higher learning!

Anti-integration is not new :(

 

吻別 /Take me to your heart

Anyway.. I'm rushing to finish my audit. As part of my procrastinating activity, I decided to did up some old nostalgic songs to listen while I enter some mind numbing numerical data.

Jackie Cheung's (張學友) 吻別 (Goodbye Kiss) is truly an chinese classic.

It's been redone in a few languages.. enjoy..

Michael Learns To Rock does an English version

This is quite a nice rendition, English and Chinese version.

Multilingual mix

Yesterday's Special ?

Saw this today. In English it says Mapo tofu and beef. But the direct translation is "Same as yesterday's dish". Huh ? Yes. Loosely it almost means "leftovers". Wanna try it ? It's right bedside Foo Shan in Christchurch. Captain Ben's.

Naruto Shippuden Soundtrack - Stalemate

This song has been playing in my head since watching Naruto Shippuden.
Try imagining this song when doing your day to day activity, might make it more epic.

Lessons in Life

When applying a screen protector to your phone, do not use your finger to check which is the sticky side.

When identifying if a sock is clean, sniffing it may seem like a good idea but it may backfire on you.

Thoughts

You know you have a problem when you find yourself using your laptop, tablet and phone all at once to go online.

How to power up your Samsung Galaxy S2 - via Ice Cream Sandwich

One of my favourite cartoons when I was younger was Dragonball Z. And by younger I mean, even in med school I was trying to rush home by 4 pm to watch Gohan fight Freeza. If you are a dragonball fan, you will know that Gohan powered up to SuperSaiyan 2 in the final fight against Cell. If you are not a Dragonball fan, just ignore what I said, but I'll show you how to power up your own SS2 ( Samsung Galaxy 2). I've included the following screenshots for my phone showing the benchmark improvements after the upgrading to Android version 4.0.3 aka Ice Cream Sandwich.

It's as simple as eating ice cream.
You just need Samsung Kies installed on your computer.
Make sure your Kies is uptodate.
When you plug in your phone via USB, it will prompt you to update your firmware.
You can connect to Kies via wifi, but you cannot update firmware via wifi.
Just make sure you back up your data.
I only backed up essential data but not the photos or music.
After the update, the phone will restart itself and reinstall all your previous applications.
I didn't lose any data, not even the ones I didn't back up.
(However, backing up is still advisable)

As you can see my Quadrant score jumped from 2869 to 4230. Not bad at all

If you look at the Vellamo benchmark, it will give you comparison scores to other phones as well as the SGS2 running Android 2.3

Funnily enough there are also androids in dragonball, but that's a different story.

I leave you with a scene from Dragaonball Z- Gohan powering up to Super Saiyan 2!

FYI- Gohan's power level at SS2 was estimated at 300,000,000.

BENCHMARKS -Samsung Galaxy S3 vs HTC One X vs SGS2 vs Iphone4S vs others

If you are a geek, you will know that the Samsung Galaxy S3 was recently launched on 3rd May 2012.
And if you are a geek like me, you may be interested in how it performs against other top line smartphones.
I don't own one, but I've scoured the web for some numbers and this is what I've got so far.
And I've listed a few others that might be interesting for comparison.
Please remember benchmarks only measure processing power, not quality of user interface, which in itself is subjective. Benchmark numbers can change each time it is done, so the numbers are approximate.

Quadrant Benchmark - ( I use this one)

Goku                                  >9000
Samsung Galaxy S3            5130-5332
HTC One X   (AT&T)        5183
HTC One X   (Int)              4906
SGS 2  (mine)                     4230( after ICS upgrade)
HTC sensation                    1600
SGS 1                                1000
LGP500                             <400 (my old phone)

Sunspider ( Browser + CPU ) ( lower the better)

SGS3                          1424.7
HTC One X (AT&T)  1608-1709
HTC One X (Int)        1737.7 -1772.3
SGS2                         1753.5
Iphone4S                    2250
Iphone4                      3545
HTC sensation 4G      6217.4

Browsermark

SGS3                          161710
HTC One X (Int)         110038
HTC One X ( AT&T)  102640
SGS2                          101869
Iphone4S                        87481
Iphone4                          51701
HTC Sensation 4G         39864

Vellamo (Browser)

HTC One X (AT&T)  2330
SGS3                         2071
HTC One X Int          1668
SGS2                         1258
HTC sensation 4G        857

GL Benchmark Pro 2.1- offscreen  -FPS

(GPU)

SGS3                                 130
Iphone4S                             123.1
HTC One S                       95
HTC One X (AT&T)        94.9
SGS2                                 86.5
Iphone4                              15.3


As you can see the SGS3 is kind of the beast leading the pack at the moment, with the HTC One X coming close. No doubt, these records are meant to be broken, and new challengers will arise.
Please share your benchmark scores if you are keen.


Checkout the benchmark improvements after ICS upgrade


Benchmark score sources below- plus a few other random sites, plus personal tests.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5810/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-performance-preview
http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/03/gsiii-benchmarks/

The fact that I feel sad about the fact that I feel happy about working half day on Saturday makes me sad.

The fact that I feel sad about the fact that I feel happy about working half day on Saturday makes me sad.

I feel happy that I only have to work half day this Saturday.
But the fact that I feel happy to get half a Saturday off makes me feel sad, given that it's flanked by two 15-16 hour working days. And also the fact that "half day " actually means a normal 8-9 hour working day.
But the fact that I feel sad for myself makes me even more sad given that there are people working much longer hours in worse conditions than me. And there are people who would be happy just to have a job.

Perhaps I should rejoice that I get free meals when I work in the weekend
But the fact that I am rejoicing hospital food makes me sad.

The Thinker

Yesterday one of my good friends asked me to do a personality test. The Jung/ Briggs Myer personality test. I had done this before but didn't think much of it . But this time I read the interpretation of it.

My personality type is INTP

Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Perceiving

Surprise surprise, the description fits me pretty well. Even the part about paying bills and dressing. Lol.

The Thinker

As an INTP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things rationally and logically. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
INTPs live in the world of theoretical possibilities. They see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into. They live primarily inside their own minds, having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations. They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge. They are the "absent-minded professors", who highly value intelligence and the ability to apply logic to theories to find solutions. They typically are so strongly driven to turn problems into logical explanations, that they live much of their lives within their own heads, and may not place as much importance or value on the external world. Their natural drive to turn theories into concrete understanding may turn into a feeling of personal responsibility to solve theoretical problems, and help society move towards a higher understanding.
INTPs value knowledge above all else. Their minds are constantly working to generate new theories, or to prove or disprove existing theories. They approach problems and theories with enthusiasm and skepticism, ignoring existing rules and opinions and defining their own approach to the resolution. They seek patterns and logical explanations for anything that interests them. They're usually extremely bright, and able to be objectively critical in their analysis. They love new ideas, and become very excited over abstractions and theories. They love to discuss these concepts with others. They may seem "dreamy" and distant to others, because they spend a lot of time inside their minds musing over theories. They hate to work on routine things - they would much prefer to build complex theoretical solutions, and leave the implementation of the system to others. They are intensely interested in theory, and will put forth tremendous amounts of time and energy into finding a solution to a problem with has piqued their interest.
INTPs do not like to lead or control people. They're very tolerant and flexible in most situations, unless one of their firmly held beliefs has been violated or challenged, in which case they may take a very rigid stance. The INTP is likely to be very shy when it comes to meeting new people. On the other hand, the INTP is very self-confident and gregarious around people they know well, or when discussing theories which they fully understand.
The INTP has no understanding or value for decisions made on the basis of personal subjectivity or feelings. They strive constantly to achieve logical conclusions to problems, and don't understand the importance or relevance of applying subjective emotional considerations to decisions. For this reason, INTPs are usually not in-tune with how people are feeling, and are not naturally well-equiped to meet the emotional needs of others.
The INTP may have a problem with self-aggrandizement and social rebellion, which will interfere with their creative potential. Since their Feeling side is their least developed trait, the INTP may have difficulty giving the warmth and support that is sometimes necessary in intimate relationships. If the INTP doesn't realize the value of attending to other people's feelings, he or she may become overly critical and sarcastic with others. If the INTP is not able to find a place for themself which supports the use of their strongest abilities, they may become generally negative and cynical. If the INTP has not developed their Sensing side sufficiently, they may become unaware of their environment, and exhibit weakness in performing maintenance-type tasks, such as bill-paying and dressing appropriately.
For the INTP, it is extremely important that ideas and facts are expressed correctly and succinctly. They are likely to express themselves in what they believe to be absolute truths. Sometimes, their well thought-out understanding of an idea is not easily understandable by others, but the INTP is not naturally likely to tailor the truth so as to explain it in an understandable way to others. The INTP may be prone to abandoning a project once they have figured it out, moving on to the next thing. It's important that the INTP place importance on expressing their developed theories in understandable ways. In the end, an amazing discovery means nothing if you are the only person who understands it.
The INTP is usually very independent, unconventional, and original. They are not likely to place much value on traditional goals such as popularity and security. They usually have complex characters, and may tend to be restless and temperamental. They are strongly ingenious, and have unconventional thought patterns which allows them to analyze ideas in new ways. Consequently, a lot of scientific breakthroughs in the world have been made by the INTP.
The INTP is at his best when he can work on his theories independently. When given an environment which supports his creative genius and possible eccentricity, the INTP can accomplish truly remarkable things. These are the pioneers of new thoughts in our society.






But looks like "Doctor" is not one of the INTP career paths..

Possible Career Paths for the INTP:

Scientists - especially Physics, Chemistry

Photographers

Strategic Planners

Mathematicians

University Professors

Computer Programmers or Systems Analysts

Technical Writers

Engineers

Lawyers / Attorneys

Judges

Forensic Research

Forestry and Park Rangers

But at least I am in good company...including Carl Jung the psychiatrist himself..


Famous INTPs

Abraham Lincoln - American President Albert Einstein - German physicist Ashley Olsen - actress (Full House) Blaise Pascal - French mathematician Bob Newhart - comedian, actor Brent Spiner - actor ("Data" on Star Trek) Carl Jung - Swiss psychiatrist Charles Darwin - English naturalist Gerald Ford - American President James Madison - American President

John Quincy Adams - American President John Tyler - American President Mary-Kate Olsen - actress (Full House) Meryl Streep - actress Midori Ito - Japanese figure skater Rene Descartes - French philosopher Rick Moranis - actor (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) Socrates - Greek philosopher William Harvey - medical doctor William James - American psychologist

You can try this test here


http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

You can interpret you result here

http://www.personalitypage.com/high-level.html

Let me know what you get!