Malaysian Women Should Walk More

Being an XY male, it's normal.. to look at girls isn't it?
Call me perverted, horny or dodgy if u must, but I shall redeem myself by saying that it's perfectly normal. At least I'm not those kind of hamsap people hanging around gyms/pools to stare at girls.

So, back to the story. I was walking today, and as usual I looked in front. Who the heck looks sideways or behind when they walk anyway?! So I noticed this ass in front of me. Then I started to think,

"How come I get to see more slender legs, in proportion asses and great thighs in countries that people walk more often?"

Then I deduced, using my IQ 127 logic, that it's the result of walking, and regular exercise of the muscles, that produces such god-blessed shape.

Kinda like that, only finer n sexier. Mmmm..

How many ladies out there do you see having this shape?! A rare sight, probably 15% out of every 100 ladies in Malaysia.

So, I'm calling out to all women, particularly KL(since I'm from KL) fat-asses who always seem too lazy to walk. And when I say fat-asses. Trust me, it's fat. If it's not nice to look at it's considered out of proportion / fat.

The sad state of young Malaysian women. Not them, they're fine for their age.

As you can probably guess where I'm going at, get out of your lazy bums now and start walking.

Here's my top 4 comments to help reduce eyesore for Malaysian men.

• Always park your car, at the other end of the road where you live/work.
• The women's department/section should be on the highest floor, with no escalators or lifts provided. Work those muscles!
• All men should say Tak Nak! to W shape bodylines. (from waist downwards)
• Gyms are not sufficient, we don't want love handles, we want something good to look at!

To conclude it, do something for the better of 'man'kind! Come on, your Singaporean counterparts are probably hotter than you people. =P

P.S: Feeling insulted? Think I'm a sexist? Well, try asking your male friends and see how many would suppress their 64-million-year conditioning and say, "no no, actually it doesn't matter, what matter's is the beauty inside."

P.P.S: My male buddies.. this is true right?! Help me out here =D

P.P.P.S: In my reference to an ass above, I meant a lady's ass. WHATEVER MADE YOU THINK I'LL LOOK AT GUYS' ASSES?!

P.P.P.P.S: This was meant to provide light-hearted humour. Don't take it too seriously ladies. But don't take it as a joke either =) Happy Halloween~

Don't Run.. yet.

I've recently renewed my interest in what I call the 'CCID & Ministry of Internal Security vs IGP, ACA, A-G Chambers, and Organized Crime Syndicate' issue after the CCID commissioner held his press conference. I should add this point that up till now, I'm on the side that's trying to put crime bosses in jail, upholding integrity in the Police Force, and protecting it's intelligence sources.

On the other hand, ACA been's making headlines recently. Why why why, for the 3 years before this, all ACA has been doing is catching small fries, been even quieter than Britney Spears' dietician, and now it's 'achievements' these 2-3 weeks are more than what they achieved in the previous 3 years?

To all you people who's about to say 'I'm leaving this corrupt hell-hole for life'.. Don't leave yet, the fun's just starting. Oh, this is just like watching one of those dramas.

The List

As you can see, exhibit A here (me.. you dumdum) is getting increasingly bored.

I was thinking.. whether to remove dead links from my site, then I thought.. well I'll just leave 'em there.

Under Friends and Family, there are 22 links.

Aira - still updating.. like 2wice a month.
Ben - dead. memang noob blogger.
ChaoYing - dead, resurrected and dead again. another noob.
Darren - still updating from time to time.
David - still updating .. once every fortnight or so.
Denise - temporary hiatus .. probably due to exams.
HB - still updating.
Istee - still updating.. less frequently.
Ivan - best. Dead after 1 post.
Josephine - still updating. some kind of webhosting problem.
Jun - too busy with his girlfriend. Temporary Hiatus.
Melissa - third best. Dead since December.
Michelle - second best. Dead since.. September '06.
Philly - occasional blogger. Semi-dead.
Rachel - still updating, a week or so a post.
Rudy - no internet connection = dead.
SieuTheng - still updating..
StephL - gone private. And didn't want to let me see it. =(
SuAnn - it's SuAnn! did u ever think it would be neglected?!
SueLing - recently dead. Probably because of university.
WeiPhin - sohai is too bored to be dead.
Vivien - 2nd last link on my list that you'll find dead.

This is a traffic light system. Red = Dead, Orange = Quite Dead. Green = Still updating. Blue is accorded to super-active bloggers that you'll find them still alive after 95% of the blogging population has been wiped out. Unless you're colour blind.. then .. uh.. you wouldn't have a problem reading these colour coded words.

My boredom has reached a new level.. like Super Saiyan. Wuuuuaaahhhhh..! Gotta think of something to do tomorrow.. read the newspapers ah right! Go lurk around in Imeem, in Youtube, in Malaysia-Today, in TheStar, in Facebook.. then go blog hopping again..then ESPN Soccernet.. then read e-mail.. then .. do research on Sri Lanka again.. -.-"

NEWater - My Thoughts

Sometime last night while I was having a late night snack, something about Newater struck me. If you're not familiar with Newater, does the connotation 'recycled shit sewage water' remind you of anything?

So to all you folks having psychological barriers about consuming Newater (don't even bother because the Public Utilities Board are mixing it into reservoirs anyway), think about drinking milk.


Well, as much as you dislike the thought of it, what we are actually drinking day in day out comes from the secretion-of-mammary-glands-of-cows (mammary glands are specialised sweat glands). So, thinking along.. these lines.. if we can all drink a cow's 'milk', we can all drink mankind's recycled, reprocessed, completely filtered out 'milk' right? Simple common sense.

Here's my dumb logic.

• Both are secreted out of the body. Man and animal.
• Both are in liquid form.
• Although both are ... on opposite spectrums of the health-benefit rainbow, whatever right?
• As far as milk is pasteurised, newater 'pasteurises' sewage too!

The only thing is NEWater probably only lacks minerals. But no worries, just dilute them with your Fernleaf/Lipton/Boh/Ribena and there goes your daily FDA recommended intake.

So all you self-proclaimed purists, kick that psychological barrier away. NEWater is the new water. Which is also why they called it NEWater. See? Wordplay.. I'm being stupid here. Kick me.

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Sidenote: To all you wankers who set off firealarms because you stupidly burnt a piece of toast, during my lunch hour, causing me to wait outside in 8C winds in my flipflops for 50mins, screw you. My poor toes.

Shortstop

I echo what Patrick has said in his post Thank You NST.
It's was a laugh reading the interview. Thank you for humouring me for the past 20 minutes with your antics, minister.

Q: But you are more than an ordinary person. You are also the de facto law minister.

A: But you cannot divorce me from the fact that I am also a human being.

Q: That’s very irresponsible.

A: Human beings, there are ways, how you do it. You want something, you talk. You don’t shout, and then expect to get something, no way.

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Will post later in the day. Boredom directly correlates to blogging frequency. So you know when I'm bored.

Premonition

I was doing my research on Sri Lanka's unemployed for my Economics team project when I just decided to pop into the Malaysian Department of Statistics. Noticed something.. CPI up by 2.03% to 105.4 points compared to 103.3 in the same period last year (Jan-September).

Notable increases were recorded in the main groups with high weights namely Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages ( + 2.8 per cent ); Transport ( + 2.7 per cent ) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels ( + 1.3 per cent ). Other increases in indices were Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco ( + 7.3 per cent ); Restaurants & Hotels ( + 3.2 per cent ); Education ( + 1.9 per cent ); Health ( + 1.6 per cent ); Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance ( + 1.1 per cent ); Recreation Services & Culture ( + 1.1 per cent ) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services ( + 0.6 per cent ).

The three main groups, Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages; Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels and Transport together accounted for 84.3 per cent of the overall increase recorded for the current period.

The 2.8 per cent increase in the index for Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages was the result of increases for Food At Home ( + 2.8 per cent ); Food Away From Home ( + 2.9 per cent ) and Coffee, Tea, Cocoa & Non-Alcoholic Beverages ( + 2.1 per cent ). Among the subgroups of Food At Home which showed increases during this period were:

Vegetables 6.7 %
Food Products n.e.c. 3.5%
Fish & Seafood 3.3 %
Milk, Cheese & Eggs 3.0 %
Meat 2.5 %
Rice, Bread & Other Cereals 1.4 %
Oils and Fats 1.2 %
Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate & Confectionery 0.9 %
Fruits 0.6 %

Uh-oh, well I don't quite understand how the government has managed to place inflation at 3.2% in January. Well if inflation last year was estimated at 3.8%.. it's probably safe to say it's gone up past 4% at the current point of time.

4%! Disposable income is shrinking lo people. 1-month FD 3% ROI only. Shafie Apdal doesn't have to introduce stricter price controls..but Zeti tolonglah naikkan interest rate biar semua orang happy la. Aku pun sakit hati nih.

Oh something interesting.

Cucumber	(+) 7.4 %
Onion, big	(+) 7.4 %
Carrots	(+) 6.9 %
Bread Wholemeal	(+) 5.0 %
Spanish mackerel (fish)	(+) 3.6 %
Watermelon	(+) 3.5 %
Red snapper (fish)	(+) 3.4 %
Condensed milk	(+) 1.7 %
Chicken	(+) 1.3 %

Tomatoes	(-) 9.5 %
Red chillies	(-) 6.6 %
Lady’s fingers	(-) 6.0 %
Spinach	(-) 5.4 %
French beans	(-) 4.6 %
Kailan	(-) 4.4 %
Water spinach	(-) 4.0 %
Choy sum	(-) 2.7 %

Data for prices this month. Table from Department of Statistics.

Wei, drink less teh tarik, eat less chicken rice, stop getting rabbits as your pets, and eat less steam fish. Then substitute watermelons as your pencuci mulut with tomatoes. Both also got juice in them, can lah.. and everyone become naughty boys and girls huh, don't want to eat vegetables, see now what happen? choysum, kailan, water spinach, french beans, etc all turun harga. Means what? Even God (unless you are an Atheist) wants you to eat vegetables, but not cucumber, you people lazy to chew is it?!

Natural Occurences

In the weeks leading up to the UMNO AGM, a few UMNO related counters are experiencing a flurry of activity. As what we call in layman terms, the trend which represents 'frying' a stock.




Pictures from The Star. Idaman Unggul(1112)
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Probably a sign, but nevertheless.. fishy..

-Another boring filler post! Yay!- Someone please kill me I'm dead bored.

Owned by Oxford

Earlier this afternoon I had a little chat with David who's actually really a smart guy although you might see him slacking once in a while. You see, there's a reason Oxford accepted him with a requirement of a D in Chemistry.

See, my tutor provided us with a paradox in his tutorial, which 20 students couldn't answer.

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says (1:04 PM):
i've got an economical paradox for you
HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
well say, it's perfect sense to think that with a rise in income, satisfaction and utility rises right?

david ng (&) says (1:05 PM):
... yeah?

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
however, in the long run, as proved by national studies, since 1950 income has practically doubled but satisfaction has only gone sideways (remained stagnant)

david ng (&) says:
assuming that at least one good with a positive price exists.

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
so.. any means on how this is achieved

david ng (&) says:
hm. inflation leh.
david ng (&) says:
that is money income

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
yea excluding inflation

david ng (&) says:
or?

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
well relative income

david ng (&) says:
hmm

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
of everyone in the system

david ng (&) says:
and the satisfaction is measured how? =p

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
assume, tastes remain the same, a rise in income e.g x2 = x2 the amount of everything bought
HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
satisfaction is measured thru house to house surveys

david ng (&) says:
not necessarily =p
david ng (&) says:
and uh. satisfaction != utility

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
! =?

david ng (&) says:
not equal to
david ng (&) says:
! is not =p

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
oo
HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
why isn't it
HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
utility is the relative level of satisfaction gained from using something isn't it.. or so my tutor says

david ng (&) says:
... did your tutor ask you to find an answer to this? =p

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
nah, he gave us the answer
HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
but i'm just asking u
HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
hehe

david ng (&) says:
well
david ng (&) says:
I'd first point out that satisfaction surveys do not measure utility

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
welll he didn't quite say that i made it up myself

david ng (&) says:
and second
david ng (&) says:
that utility is relative, not absolute
david ng (&) says:
and third,

HK : teehk.blogspot.com says:
great u answered the question

Owned X.X

P.S: This is a very boring post to fill up my blogspace. Try your best not to read it. And if you do read it and fall asleep, don't blame me. At this point, you probably read it already anyway. Har Har.

Tough Times Ahead

You're asking, why am I getting even more boring and socio-political in my posts? Because I am pissed, because I am trying to outline the stark facts, and to let as many people know as to how mismanaged our economy and country is, and no, my arguments do not run on the lines of racial and emotional fallacy.

I'll start out by reiterating my point that the coalition government WILL hold an election by the end of November this year. Why? Because of tough times ahead, and if you are one who uses your brains, you'll know that the 'feel good factor' is the ultimate tool that favours the current government.

Picture this, the Australian government under the stewardship of PM John Howard is betting on this 'feel good factor' that the Australian economy is booming. (which was not because of his policies like lowering the minimum-wage/stripping away workers' rights but because of their commodities and China.) New Zealand put a new PM in office just because the All-Blacks got kicked out of the RWC. Gordon Brown called off an early-election and screwed up the foundation he laid in the previous 3 months, having to start up again from scratch.

The below is a severe-case (but not worst-case) scenario.

So, what's in it for Malaysia? With oil prices reaching a record last week, gold and platinum recording all-time highs (which is the traditional sign of safe haven), we can expect the real inflation rate to jump next year, even though we are an oil-exporter country. Although the official government statistics for 2007's inflation rate is at ~2.2%, we can well expect it to be at a staggering 4%.

With so many items under price control, it's only logical to assume it to be higher without the price ceiling right? So if inflation is at 4%, the money that we are storing in our banks is effectively shrinking. Banks only provide an FD rate of 3-3.6% at the moment. So, put it this way, disposable income is at most going to grow at a snail's pace, or remain stagnant. So, if oil prices rise, electricity tariffs will rise, pump petrol price will definitely rise. The increase in transportation costs will definitely raise the prices of essentials such as flour, bread and rice. Small traders will pass on 100% of the increased costs to the end-consumer. In the end, the prices of food will rise, along with the cost of living, particularly in the city.

However, with prices of commodities and agricultural products at a high currently, the effect wouldn't be very much felt in the rural areas. (With the exception of prices of fertilisers that have gone up) It's the city folks that will feel the pinch.

So back to macroeconomic indicators, if national growth remains at 5.5-6% (which if compared to our neighbours is considered a laggard), effective growth will only be at 1.5-2%, so if inflation jumps up by 1%, we'll only be experiencing a growth of 1% at most. By all means this means that we have to spend more out of our pockets while disposable income will most probably remain stagnant.

Remember also that we have Christmas holidays as well as CNY next year, which the latter will definitely shoot prices up. And if the government prefers to keep the people happy, they'll have to do it at an expense of the country's coffers, by shooting people up into space (although this is something to be proud of), launching new submarines, new satellites, and absorbing petrol price increases.

So, keeping this in mind, I dare say that the government has a strong chance of calling an early election.

People have remained ignorant, on how much power has shifted to the executive when power should have remained with the people. How much have the citizens been robbed of, how much money has been transferred to the executives, how everyone is being treated as a fool. Of course, then again, it's probably a futile effort to spread awareness. Everyone's either thinking of running, or not even caring. "Why bother to vote for opposition? They'll not win anyway", "Aiya Singapore better lah", "I wanna leave this f***ing country" Nazri has told opposition parties not to count on the EC (Elections Commission) because "who says it's independent?". The practice of the EC has always been wide open for scrutiny, which brings us to the Mass Rally on Nov 10th.

So all in all, enjoy your time now while you still can. =)

Mass Rally @ Dataran Merdeka

I got ahold of this piece of news today. Anyone else know of this yet?

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Sekretariat Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (BERSIH)
4A Jalan Sepadu, Taman United, 58200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (03) 7980 6571, Fax: (03) 7980 2697, URL: www.bersih.org

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) will hold a mass rally on 10 November (Saturday), starting from 3 pm, at Dataran Merdeka to press for electoral reform. A memorandum will be subsequently submitted to the Yang Dipertuan Agong.

This latest citizen action organized by BERSIH will demonstrate the growing public demand for the four immediate actions necessary to reform the flawed electoral process: (a) a thorough clean-up of electoral rolls; (b) the user of indelible inks to prevent multiple voting; (c) the abolition of postal voting for military and police personnel; (d) fair access to mass media for all parties and candidates.

The memorandum to be submitted to the Yang DiPertuan Agong will outline both immediate and long-term reforms needed in the Malaysian election process including the adherence of "one-person one-vote" principle.

BERSIH has chosen yellow, the colour for citizen actions worldwide and the colour for press freedom movement (yellow ribbon) in Malaysia, as the colour for this rally. Citizens may indicate their support with the rally's t-shirts, posters, yellow armbands, yellow ribbons or any creative expression.

Free and fair conduct of elections is fundamental to democracy. Flawed elections frustrate the functioning of democracy, resulting in corruptions and incompetence of the government. The losers are none other than the people.

To date, the Government and Elections Commission however have arrogantly ignored all demands other than indelible ink. The Chairman and Secretary must honourably tender their resignation if they cannot discharge their constitutional duty to ensure genuinely democratic elections.

BERSIH, a coalition of 64 civil society groups and five political parties, urges all concerned citizens to join in the mass rally on 10 November which will be attended by leaders and representatives of civil society and political parties.

For enquiries, please contact the secretariats; Faisal Mustaffa 019-2232002 or Medeline Chang 012-2192010.
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There'll probably be lots of disgruntled Malaysians at that gathering lol. And zzzz Bodohwi will probably talk about something else, and say "I don't know". And Nazree will probably bash everyone at the gathering, labelling all this as an opposition gimmick.

Basically, it's a show of appeal to the Agong to overhaul the system. Push for electoral reforms, and whatnot. Wear Yellow! Oh and there's word that Parliament may be dissolved by 9 Nov and the elections held on 25Nov. I need to make a mental note.

A few important things to know, after learning from history at Pantai Batu Buruk and the judiciary march.

• Wear bright yellow bullet-proof vests.
• Smile at the police officers, and greet them nicely.
• Watch out for agent provocateurs, and tell them nicely to shut the f*** up if they are acting out of control.
• Don't leave any rubbish behind.
• Prepare umbrellas and rain jackets in case got rain or water cannons.
• Bring bicycles along in case the FRU blocks the way, so you can avoid exhausting yourself.

Resolution

I want to justify myself and break out of everyone's stereotypical me. It's time to prove all those people wrong. I'm not what you think. I'm not who you assume. I'm someone else. And no, I'm not afraid to change your perspective of me. I'll be myself from today and change everything you ever thought of me. I don't need your thoughts, and I don't need your sympathy.

Time to go on a trip.

(This is not an emo post. More like letting out at my other self.)

Apatheism

Quite a number of people nowadays, when asked about which religion they are in, just say one word. "Freethinker". The western layman definition of freethought is associated with atheism, but it probably doesn't mean that all freethinkers are atheists right? Because, do atheists have the right to celebrate something that they do not believe in for say, Christmas? Some people give the reason for freethinking as "I believe in all religions, but I refuse to specifically practise a religion." I say, "F*ck it, you're probably just spiritualists, so why call yourself a freethinker?"

For me, there's probably two types of definitions for people who call themselves "free-thinkers". One is that they accept all religions, and practise non. The other is they are indifferent towards any religion at all. So am I right to call most free-thinkers apatheists - people who don't care about religion?

An apatheist is defined as "someone who is not interested in accepting or denying any claims that God, or any other supernatural being, exists or does not exist. In other words, an apatheist is someone who considers the question of the existence of God as neither meaningful nor relevant to human affairs."

So.. I'm probably right then. Right? Probably part-apatheists and part-agnostics (one who doesn't believe that there is proof of God's existence but doesn't deny that it's possible for God to exist as well). Hmm.. the study of metaphysics is.. =.= simply beyond my capacity.

Hence, this brings me to another point. Are freethinkers allowed the right to celebrate religious festivities since this constitutes something that they have no interest or simply do not believe in? To put it simply, should freethinkers rethink their stance on religion if they celebrate religious festivals? How about visits to religious places? And reading sacred texts? (I think, if you read the Bible and still profess yourself a freethinker, you're just plain irresponsible, however one might argue that one can still be apathetic and read the Bible, soooo.. argghhh I'm losing myself). Gah, things outside of your own understanding sure is difficult.

Bottom line for me is, a majority of people who call themselves freethinkers are apatheists. Simply put, you don't give a rat's ass about religion, and think that they are irrelevant to humanity.

The First No Title Post

Just came back 30mins ago from EMSA Raya, which is an open house in conjunction with last week's Eid celebrations organised by the Edinburgh Malaysian Students Association in conjunction with EMSA Family, which represent the families and working people living in Edinburgh.

Let me break it down, so after BuddhistSoc yesterday night, I went over to my senior's flat to help out with the preparation of my group's stuff, which is chicken rice. Prep took 1 hour plus, and then we started boiling the chicken in water to get the stock and the oil. Then oven-grill the chicken with seasoning, then cook rice. Took us (at least me) until 4.40am to finish cooking the rice. Thing is we had 15 chickens to boil and grill. 15. So of course it took time, so DotA lor, and every interval of 15 mins or so have to go and put in a new batch of chicken in the grill. Long story cut short, these points will summarise my experience.

1. I slept at 4.50am for 5 hours.
2. Now I know how to cook nice chicken rice.
3. It wasn't a good experience for my eyes though, goddamn garlic.
4. I smell of chicken even after I took a bath.
5. My hair smelled of chicken.
6. My fingers smelled of garlic.
7. Separating a layer of chicken oil from chicken stock is the shittiest job ever.
8. I'll bully my next 1st years into doing this.

Freakin' tired. So freakin' tired.

University Guide 2008!

I didn't know it was out so I'll just dedicate this entire post to my university. =P
Read the university's profile here.

Edinburgh retains a special status in Scotland where the university is regarded as the nearest thing to Oxbridge north of the border. The university dropped out of our top ten for the first time in 2004, but soon regained its previous position, overtaking St Andrews to become the top university in Scotland.

This year, the University of Edinburgh ranked 13th overall in the table.



Although it's not really a braggable position.. uh... uh.. ok let's look to specific subject categories.

Economics
Edinburgh's ranked joint 12 alongside St Andrews, meaning that both of us are best in Scotland for Economics.

Accounting and Finance
We got 2nd! Losing only to LSE, but beating the likes of Warwick (3rd), Manchester (4th), etc.

Medicine
This is probably what Edinburgh is best at. Losing only to Cambridge (1st) and Oxford (2nd), but beating Imperial (4th), UCL (7th), Liverpool (9th), King's (20th), QMUL (23th).

Veterinary Medicine
4th, behind Cambridge, Glasgow, and Liverpool but beating Royal Vet. College and Bristol.

The rest is pretty decent in the top 15s - 20s.

Now on to The Guardian's 2008 University Guide,


It's ranked at number.. 7!

Economics
Edinburgh's ranked 8th in the UK. With Warwick (3rd) topping LSE (4th), I should have beaten myself to a pulp for missing out on the offer for Warwick!!

Medicine
This is even better. Edinburgh is 2nd, beaten only by Oxford, but beating Cambridge(4th), UCL (6th), Imperial (7th), King's (15th), QMUL(25th), SGUL(26th), Liverpool (28th).

Law
8th in UK. Seriously I didn't even know Edinburgh was good for Law.

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Ok now onward to a little bragging about Edinburgh's city and university. The University is the sixth oldest in the UK, having founded in 1582. It's annual turnover exceeds £400 million, leaving it with the title of the 6th largest University in the UK, and the largest in Scotland. The university is also a member of the Russell Group of large research-led universities in UK. The Russell Group is a collaboration of 20 universities who receive and is regarded as the Ivy League equivalent in the UK.

To name several prominent figures from the university,Gordon Brown, the current UK Prime Minister, A.G. Bell, inventor of the telephone, Charles Darwin, you know who he is, Lim Chong Eu, Penang CM 1969-1990 (thought it'd be nice to include this), writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Louis Stevenson, Adam Smith, widely regarded as the founding father of economics and the face on the new £20 note, and even an astronaut (who knew!) Piers Sellers who flew the UoE emblem to space.

The city itself is also one of the prettiest in the British Isles, some would point to Bath when I say that, but I'd still say Edinburgh, from the first time I saw it. A city of 450,000 people, it's considered pretty small. But with per capita income at $55000, it's also one of the costliest to live in in the UK, mostly due to a high influx of tourists (13mil a year). Student population is also rife, making up 14% or 63000 of the local populace. Unemployment is below the Scottish average and crime rates are widely regarded as one of the lowest in the UK. The city's home to several massive festivals like The Fringe and The Edinburgh International Festival (which I have both missed T.T). Plus, my local friends here have also commented on how pretty Edinburgh's main shopping street becomes during December and the cherry blossoms in The Meadows during spring.

To end it I shall post up two pictures. (Time to take more pics!)

The view from North Bridge eastwards (one of the three bridges connecting Old and New Town)

The view from North Bridge westwards.

Edinburgh's design is pretty much 2 sides, Old Town and New Town, Old Town's built up on a steep ridge that runs eastwards from Edinburgh Castle, and below the 3 bridges are railway lines and Waverley Rail Station. It was once a Loch before it was reclaimed during the expansion northwards. More on the geography,history and cultural lifestlye of Edinburgh in the coming future. Not now.. not now..

Smacked Right In The Eye #2

This one's from Asia Times Online.

Malaysia takes the rock out of music
By Ioannis Gatsiounis

KUALA LUMPUR - This is Visit Malaysia Year and the government is using the opportunity to promote the multi-ethnic country as a regional beacon of diversity and tolerance. But apparently international performing artists are a little less welcome than your average tourist.

In August pop star Gwen Stefani was required to dress "modestly" for her concert here, after the National Union of Malaysia Muslim Students protested against the scheduled performance on the grounds that she would bring to Malaysia an "American hegemonic background", said the group's president Hilmi Ramli.

Early this month, R&B singer Beyonce Knowles scrapped her debut concert in Malaysia slated for November 1 due to what her agency called "a scheduling conflict", though local record industry sources say it was because the 26-year-old diva thought better of conforming to Malaysia's dress stipulations for international performers. "They have to dress decently ... and behave in a manner appropriate in Malaysia," insisted culture, arts and heritage minister Rais Yatim, days after Beyonce cancelled her show.

Malaysian authorities have long required local rock stars to cut their hair or forfeit the opportunity to appear on television or radio, and frequently remind Malaysians of the consequences for openly addressing "sensitive" issues like race and religion. But it wasn't until 2005 that foreign performers were asked to join the act.

Guidelines require foreign performers to cover themselves from shoulder to knees. They also stipulate no hugging or kissing fellow artists or audience members, no jumping or shouting, no cursing and no exchanging objects between audience and artist. Preventing "moral decay" and preserving Malaysian values are the reasons usually cited for the restrictions.

But what exactly are Malaysian values, and who is defining them? The issue has come to the fore in this multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, as religion asserts itself with renewed vigor in the public and political domain, and Malaysia's sizeable non-Muslim communities feel increasingly marginalized. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak recently called Malaysia an "Islamic state", even though Malaysia's governing framework is a secular constitution that gives Islam special importance.

... (link)

He's certainly picked this up while the local media clearly hasn't. Believe me, it's quite a good read to spend your 10 minutes or so. I want more Western artists performing in Malaysia...!!

Romantic Chemistry

I picked this up from my student newspaper.

Apparently the feelings that we all feel when we are in love with someone, are related to the hormones and the neurotransmitter dopamine in our brain.

I'll just fully quote this.

The butterflies in your stomach when he walks into the room. The way you can't help but smile when someone mentions her name. The rush of excitement when you realise that text message is from him. Henry Louis Mencken said, "Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence, " but can we use science to explain why we suddenly turn from sensible to ridiculous over a special someone?

Dr Helen Fisher, an anthropologist and author at Rutgers University, New Jersey, and neurologist Dr Lucy Brown of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, carried out studies in which MRI scans were taken of the brains of young people in love. The scans showed activity in the ventral tagmentum area of the brain when the subjects looked at pictures of their loved ones and revealed the neurotransmitter dopamine to be the main culprit for sending us head-over-heels.

The results gave scope for dividing love into three categories, with different chemicals responsible for each stage. The first category is lust, unsurprisingly driven by those crazy sex hormones, the androgens and the oestrogens. Second is attraction, or romantic love. This is where high levels of dopamine and noradrenaline come in, and also a fall in serotonin, the 'happy hormone', which may explain the often obsessive nature of romantic love (I'm talking about Facebook stalking here.) And finally there is attachment - the sense of stability and calm in a long term relationship - driven by the 'trust hormones' oxytocin and vasopressin.

The ventral tagmentum areas may not sound rock 'n' roll but they are, in fact, the same areas activated by cocaine. Cocaine addiction is strongly associated with dopamine and this dopamine-rich area of the brain is thought to be linked with rewards and motivation. When we obtain something we deeply desire, whether it be food, water, or love, these regions 'light up'. So was Bryan Ferry correct when he sang 'Love is the Drug'? These findings strongly suggest that love isn't so much as emotion as a fundamental drive similar to thirst and hunger.

What is more, the caudate area of the brain, which also became active in the love-struck subjects of the study, is associated with cravings. So perhaps there really is such a thing as love addiction.

No wonder that cute boy you met on Saturday night never called you or the girl who was once crazy about you decided that she had changed her mind. Our bodies just couldn't handle it if we were in this euphoric 'high dopamine' state permanently - and so all these effects are designed to be short-lived. This is where oxytocin comes in, to calm our over-excited selves down and produce a more sustainable and mellow love.

There is also scientific evidence that may help to explain that feeling you never want to experience again - being dumped. This is associated with a change in the location of dopamine, as it disperses to the brain regions associated with physical pain, risk-taking, addiction and obsessive-compulsive behaviour. Anyone who has been on the receiving end of an 'it's not you, it's me' speech may recognise the above symptoms.

It seems, then , that we are pre-programmed to experience the giddy highs and sorry lows of love, time after time. So, the next time you lock eyes with that tall handsome stranger in the library, remember that you may just be craving you next fix.

Kate Pringle

So it seems that these findings provide cause to say that love is not an emotion but more like hunger and thirst. Whoa. Very interesting.

I Hate Morning Lectures

I'm having a lack of inspiration to write anything ever since I came back from Glasgow. Monday mornings are the worst. Two morning lectures and I just slept through both. Why the heck would someone want to go to a 9am Monday morning lecture anyway?

I'm Going..

I'm going to Glasgow for one night, gonna crash at my pal Jun's place. It's my first time to Glasgow yeah!! Home of Rangers, Celtic, Tennent's beer and many more things. This means I probably won't be able to go online.. so you'll miss me hahahaha.

You probably won't. No one reads my blog anyway. Boo hoo..

Tiu Ahh..

So I ordered this game from Amazon's Marketplace. It was due to arrive tomorrow you see.. soo, ok lo I was already impatient when I bought that game, so.. when the thing you want arrives tomorrow you'll be delirious just thinking about it right?

Then this piece of news just comes along.

Post workers start 48-hour strike
Royal Mail workers have started the first of two 48-hour walkouts in a protest over pay and fears of job cuts.

After last-minute talks between Royal Mail managers and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) failed to reach a deal, the strike started at noon.

A second two-day strike by the CWU's 130,000 members is scheduled to begin at 0300 BST on Monday, 8 October.

Companies have been warned that the strikes mean there will be no deliveries until next Thursday.

It is estimated that the two walkouts will cost industry millions of pounds.

(continued..)

Tiu lo.. Why now, not tomorrow... my game leh.. tiu ah.. no deliveries until next thursday..

What If I Was Mentally Deficient?

Since you're now reading this line here.. I'm assuming that you have time. So go here, and take an IQ test! I know.. you've taken countless IQ tests before, but this one here looks like it's the real deal! Beats me lah, but I've taken it, so just take it and stop asking questions.

Look!! I got an IQ of 127. What does that make me... high intelligence. Fuyooh, I like how that sounds. I'm not bragging ok, for all you know you might get 135 (Superior Intelligence). Go try it out and let me know what's your IQ.

A Beginner's Introduction to Starbucks

Picked this up when I was surfing blogs.

I’m learning a new language. Starbucks.

I didn’t realize until listening to my visiting stepsister order a Starbucks this weekend that the menu was just a starting point for the fancier stuff. It’s like designer coffee, with
coded, tongue-twisting, French-Italian language. (I know. I know. Where have I been?!)

Although, clearly, you’ve got to know what you’re doing. Like my stepsister.

Starbucks girl: What’ll you have today?
Me: A tall Cafe Mocha, please. Thanks.
Starbucks girl: Sure. And you?
My stepsister: I’ll have a Quad Grande Breve Latte, please … one forty … extra, extra whip … upside down. **

I guess I must have been staring at her at that point. Because …

***
continued here
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** For anyone lost like me, here’s the breakdown on my stepsister’s order:

Quad: Four shots of espresso instead of the two you normally get in a Grande-sized drink
One Forty: 140 degrees hot … or about 20 degrees less than a regular Starbucks drink. And, actually, you can order the exact hotness you want … 127, 163, 145, whatever.
Latte: Strong espresso coffee, typically with a topping of frothed steamed milk
Extra, Extra Whip: Double whip creme
Grande: Medium-sized cup
Breve: Half ‘n Half milk
Upside down: Putting the topping (in this case the whipped creme) on the bottom of the drink instead of on the top. Think pineapple upside-down cake. Sorta. Kinda. OK, kinda not.

I'm gonna try this soon. Do you think the baristas back home would really make your latte at the exact hotness you want? That would be so cool. And upside down sounds really nice as well, don't have to worry about stirring the whipped cream into the coffee anymore. They'll probably charge you an extra rm2 for double whip though.. but I gotta try it, gotta try it. =P