anderson jc malaysian scholars 05/06

Redang Trip!!!

2008-06-11T00:54:00.002+08:00

Yo every1...howz urs holiday...i'm sure sum realli enjoyin n relaxin after 1year of stress...except 4 sum ppl tat still wana mug when every1 is on vacation...i guess aj spirit realli dwell in his/her soul di...omg...god plz save these muggers...hihi

ok...stop all dis nonsense...as mention on da title above...likky n i r planning 4 a REDANG TRIP!!!! sumbody giv me a 'OH YEAH....." itz been a long time since our last trip 2 sentosa (except 4 wk,sky,likky n i hu manage2 gather 4 a genting trip last year)...so i need all of ur feedback n reply...hu wana join (muz confirmed 1 ar...or else money burn since v need 2 pay when book)...which package u all wan(got 3D2N or 2D1N)...how much u all willing 2 pay(range from 300-500)...da date will b on da 1st week of august...so ppl plz reply k!!!

P/s: add on from previous post...i'll create a facebook grp in facebook(hihihi)...so ppl plz giv suggestion of da grp name(dun care whether u creative anot :P)

DEAD

2008-06-05T11:30:00.002+08:00

OMG...tis is da 1st time i ever blog in my entire life...n i cant believe it myself...however unfortunately my 1st blog title is 'DEAD'...y le...cuz tis blog is so DEAD...da last post is like on Feb with sky gossiping bout every1...we seriously need 2 update more ler...i duno wat u all doing n how u all r doing...planning 2 go sg but scare u all not dere di...so wish tat we all can hav a trip 2 bring bak all da good memories...seriously missing those good old dayz...so WAT SAY U ALL??!!!!

one more thing...since every1 like seldom check tis blog...y dun we create a group on facebook where every1 like crazy n addicted nowadays...then we can easily update ourself while playing wif addicting facebook app...WAT SAY U ALL??!!!

[K]To disentangle

2008-02-17T01:00:00.016+08:00

It has been quiet down for a few days, especially this area. If you have noticed, the last entry was posted on 12 December 2007 by Qwen who has been kidnapped by the Extra-Terrestrial, a.k.a. ET since then.

As she said, there are a lot of discussions in the cBox, with updates of news from different people. However, there are some problems, firstly, the cbox is haphazard which make it difficult to read; secondly, perhaps for the reasons of security and privacy, the statements are implicit, as in people like to turn around the bush, rather than shooting pointblank. This cause a certain level of confusion, especially for those who did not follow the conversations regularly.

Hence, I'm going to do the Chinese New Year good deed by sorting out the stuff exclusively for you! Do not worry much or rather do not get too excited, I am not going to add new material, I'm just sorting the things out by person. So here it goes:

D
We all know that D is a very good sprinter in the love arena. As W said, his progress is always the fastest. It took him less than a day to progress from SMS mate to Big Brother, even though he need nearly one hour to iron his shirt in Oldham Hall laundry room.

As a result, people can easily guess that the topic of discussion always start with D. The story started when Q and L found a few comments posted by SS on D's Friendster profile. Seeing how beautiful SS is, they suddenly feel itchy all over their fingers and posted comments of encouragement on the same page as SS. W, equally itchy, later brought the issue to this blog and hence the discussion began. W deemed the comments posted by L and Q uncalled-for, as it might hinder D's further progress. Nonethess, W, L, Q, C, G and I were all in full support of D. On the other hand, D denied that SS was his target as he claimed that SS was too innocent for him. D was also upset by his "@$ hole friends", a term loosely used by W, and decided to kill L and Q. The discussion, however, went haywire as there are no more news about SS while D tried to divert attention by asking other people's gossip.

A few weeks later, the smoke was clear. It seemed that all out past guesses were wrong and that SS was really not D's target to begin with. Apparently, D already has a girl friend called FW for quite some time. The information was initiated by L and provided by W. W initially tried to protect the identity of whoever leak the information by saying that he got the info from his friend studying in the same course with FW. However, due to either conscience or just that he wanted to reveal the identity of the evil whoever, he decided not to do so. Thus, D, upset again, threaten to kill the "whoever who betray him".

Anyway, D, we are all happy to hear the news. And we are always behind you, supporting you.

W
W is the source of all information. There were also a lot of discussion going on about him. His name first appeared in a comment on a Facebook photo by L and the topic was about his "attitude face". C, A, M, LMY and Zn quickly followed. However, such discussion does not make any sense now because we all agreed that W has changed. As C said, W now can smooth with any girl, the image of always having attitude has long gone, even though occasionally he still shows it to me. When such topic was brought out to this blog, concerned friends of his started to ask questions. Invariantly, people wanted to know which one he really liked and had the highest possibility to go into steady relationship, perhaps a marriage eventually. The response was so overwhelming that W even threatened to burn my room if I leaked any information.

The question, however, left unanswered. One of the reason was that D's topic was discussed concurrently at that time, significant amount of attention was diverted. Furthermore, it seemed that W did not wish to disclose before going steady. Or perhaps he is still undecided with so many choices each one seems better than the other.

But no rush, people. I know that you are all very curious, so am I. But really no rush. W is a thoughtful person when it comes to making a big decision. Last time when he wanted to buy a pair of earpieces and a PDA, he spent few days to recognise the need but not the want to have the items, a few months on information search and evaluation of alternative before coming to the purchase decision. As a result, the cognitive dissonance after buying the items was low and hence he is happy with almost all the items he brought. This is very different from D who always makes impulse purchase. Hence, when it comes to romance, we can assume exhibition of similar behaviour. While D is more likely to go for the first spark, W need to go through the process of need recognisation(to recognise the need to have a girl friend) -> information search(attracting girls and know them well) -> alternative evaluation(choose the most compatible girl as his girl friend, or even find an alternative to having a girlfriend to satisfy his needs) -> confession -> happily ever after.

W, what I want to say is that do not take too long, some girls are not so patient, if you know what I mean...

C
Since significant amount of attention has been put on W and D. There was not much discussion on C.

Do work hard on every course in love life you take. You have my support.

L
Seldom hear from L recently either. I only got information about L from W. But great contribution to all the topics. Good Job, keep it up.

So how your love life recently, L, despite going to be double killed by D?

Zn and Q
How come there is no gossips about Zn and Q, even though they always appear on the cBox?

Who ever missing in action(G, A, M ...)
Please participate leh... Don't dive.

K
There is no topic on me either because I do not have any love life. I have been facing computers instead of human beings for a few weeks because of the stupid lab. My only communication with people is MSN messenger, let alone going out with girls and stuff. I am currently under pressure but my only way to distress is to write this kind of blog entry. Sadly, this is my life. By the time I graduate, I might even get double bachelor (Bachelor of Enigneering and literal bachelor if you know what I mean). Again, this might be my life.

All
Happy belated Valentine's day. Wish you have a blossoming love life.

Did I miss out anything?

♥ ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE ♥

2008-02-14T04:01:00.006+08:00

Dedicated to all singles out there :

Happy VDay/Friendship Day !

at least you know you've each other here...

doesn't the song just warm you up ? :))

TiS' the Season To be Jolly...Falalalala...lalaaa..laaala...

2007-12-12T09:00:00.001+08:00

HAPPY HOLS EVERYONE !!!

Everybody needs a lil' bit of gossip.

2007-11-17T01:30:00.000+08:00

Super freeeeee and super bored right now. Woooh ! and since I haven't been crapping here for a long time, I shall do something out of the ordinary..(i.e. not the usual "how's life" kinda thing).

...I'm gonna be "beaten up" by Darren next summer anyhow. Therefore, I shall just share the joy here.. ( just to enlighten you, Zn ! ) :p

Well, in case you haven't realized, the cbox on the side is way more active than the blog space. I suggest making the cbox bigger and the blog space smaller...
and if you're reading those comments in the cbox and don't understand a thing..
you'll have to start by visiting Darren Leom's friendster page and reading his testimonials. That'll make alot more sense to you. Eventually, you'll figure out who's SS. - she's cute btw (at least I think so) and I'm sure L,W,G,C,K agrees. HAHA.

Show some support people !! :p

"U can do it, Dare!" - qw

Okay.. now he's not gonna beat me.. he's gonna KILL me...
Months to come. Gossip's more important. Sorry dude. :p
*fingers crossed*

hi hi

2007-10-30T22:34:00.000+08:00

Hey people, do update here your whereabout for any holiday you have.

I will be in malaysia from 15 december to 11 january. Should be in petaling jaya. Anyone free and in malaysia at that time? Or anybody visiting singapore soon??

Hello anyone ??

2007-10-26T22:07:00.000+08:00

Hi Guys and Gals ...

How have you all been ??
Looks like everyone is tied up and very busy lately ??
Haven't hear from anyone from anywhere for quite some time ..
I believe it is exam period now ??
All the best everyone !!!

P.S. Can you believe it ? 2007 Singapore-GCE A levels is starting on 31 October ...
It seems to me like only yesterday I was in the hall sitting for the GP paper ....

Fun Mini Game

2007-09-10T19:19:00.000+08:00

It's a challenging game.
However, most of us (99.999%) can, at least, advance to level 3. The secret is to CONCENTRATE.
Quite fun a game. Do give it a try.
And remember, hold you mouse tight, look at the screen closely and concentrate.

Get the code at www.winterrowd.com

birthday

2007-08-30T22:05:00.000+08:00

happy birthday Malaysia!

2007-08-18T16:04:00.000+08:00

haha might be blur a bit....but billy n wei khai do u stil rmb them?haha...

Life -> Normal

2007-08-16T00:23:00.001+08:00

Firstly I need to say sorry to everyone. I was really very down the first week I came to Singapore. And many were worrying about me. Some were affected by my words or actions. My lines were depressing, which were not good for reading. It might lower your spirits too.

Luckily, now everything is back to normal. Only leave with some uncertainties, some gaps to be filled in. The only thing is lectures are very boring. Very torturing to see professors work so hard and were so excited, but I still feel sleepy. Really feel bad for this. I hope I won't make them feel down.

Praying for money to drop from the sky.

Tomorrow

2007-08-12T16:15:00.000+08:00

Long time didn't post here.

Still in NUS and will be in NUS. Tomorrow will be the start of university. Dunno what feeling should I have. Glad that everything is falling in place for a good start.

It was more than a week since my arrival in NUS. Getting used to life in Princess George's Park. Before that was really upset over the environment here. Everything is not good compared to Oldham Hall. Hehe.. Now should be enjoying the life here, before lectures start.

That's where my window facing. Can watching people in their room if you wish to.

VI scout den got burnt down

2007-08-01T21:42:00.000+08:00

This has nothing to do with you guys ..
but i thought it was really funny ...
rite .. this is the scout den ..
it's where i used to hang out in ...
there are two scout groups in VI ..
so we share half of the scout den each ..
jst now i heard this is wut happened to the scout den recently ...
apparently some idiots decided VI has not make local headlines for quite some time already ..
for your info .. the last time it did ...
it was about some small time thugs beating up their schoolmates ... and hence got arrested ..
ok ... the scout den was burnt down by some arsonists ... this is so cool
haha ... in a sarcastic way ...

you'll soon see this from orchard road !!!! It's called the Scotts Tower ... impressive

2007-08-01T15:50:00.001+08:00

Watch your blogs, warns PM

2007-07-30T03:49:00.000+08:00

KUANTAN: Bloggers are as liable for defamation as publishers of printed materials, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned.

Commenting on the on-going debates regarding bloggers and their comments in Internet postings, the Prime Minister added:

“It is wrong for bloggers to go overboard, especially if they post slanderous articles against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Islam on the website,” he told reporters here yesterday.

“This is not something one can take lightly,” Abdullah added.

On July 25, Malaysia Today's Raja Petra Kamarudin, 57, was called in to record a statement for allegedly posting a series of comments and remarks that insulted the King, degraded Islam and incited hatred and violence in Malaysia’s multi-racial society.

In KOTA BARU, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the allegations against Inspector-General Tan Sri Musa Hassan and former Anti-Corruption Agency director-general Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mat Noor were proof of blogs being used to post slander.

He advised bloggers to exercise caution in their articles so as not to cause injustice to the person or persons involved.

He also advised those with evidence of corruption against public servants or politicians to report directly to the ACA and not to bloggers.

In KIMANIS, Sabah, Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the party had no intention of asking the Government to censor the Internet but wanted legal action taken against bloggers who spread lies and slander through cyberspace.

He said the party had, for a long time, ignored such bloggers but the situation had reached a point where “it looked like there are no laws in cyberspace except the laws of the jungle.”

Khairy said bloggers must realise that they were not above the law and that “cyberspace is not a place for lawlessness.”

He said Umno would be keeping close tabs on the various blogs.

quoted from "http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/29/nation/18441138&sec=nation"

___________________________________________________

take note when you publish your entry, be it genuine or not.

The library@orchard to close by November 2007

2007-07-26T09:35:00.000+08:00

yeap,that's right...
CNA reported that the library will close it's doors by November 2007 until relocation is completed in around 2010

(http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/290279/1/.html)

Article from theAge.com.au ~ i actually felt really proud of Singapore after reading this ~ Long live Singapore!!

2007-07-22T09:40:00.000+08:00

Eaten by Singapore

Stephen Mayne
July 22, 2007

WHEN shareholders in Perth-based energy utility Alinta Ltd gather to vote on the $15 billion carve-up of the company on August 13, few of them will realise the remarkable historical event they will trigger.

In accepting $4.5 billion of cash from Singapore Power for a suite of Australian electricity and gas distribution assets, Alinta shareholders will lift the total value of Australian business assets controlled by the Singapore Government to almost $30 billion.

This will exceed the value of commercial assets owned by our own Federal Government, which is surely an unprecedented situation for any First World country. How can a foreign power own more of Australia than our own government?

While ordinary Singaporeans have limited democratic rights and still don't enjoy benefits such as Australia's minimum wage (the world's highest), the Singapore state has amassed an empire worth more than $200 billion — and it has now put more of it into Australia than any other country.

The investments come from two discreet vehicles. The $100 billion-plus Government Investment Corporation (GIC) invests Singapore's foreign reserves around the world while Temasek Holdings owns the shares in government-controlled businesses such as Singapore Airlines, Singapore Power, Singtel and the giant DBS Holdings financial conglomerate.

Few people realise how much these two vehicles have ploughed into Australia since 1995, buying many sensitive and prestigious assets such as Optus, Myer Melbourne and large parts of the old State Electricity Commission of Victoria.

This compares starkly with the Howard Government, which has raised about $65 billion from privatisation — the biggest chunks coming from selling 83 per cent of Telstra ($45 billion), 50.1 per cent of the Commonwealth Bank ($5.15 billion) and the nation's airports ($8.5 billion).

With Medibank Private also slated for sale next year, the Government is left with only Australia Post, which made a net profit of $370 million in 2005-06 and is therefore worth about $7 billion. The residual 17 per cent stake in Telstra is worth $10 billion but the Government doesn't control it.

While other nations such as China, Singapore, Russia, Korea, Kuwait and Norway build up huge sovereign funds, Australia, with its world-beating dowry of natural assets, still has a Federal Government with a negative net worth of $10 billion in the middle of an unprecedented commodities boom.

Even including the $52 billion in the Future Fund and all land and defence assets, these assets do not exceed the $50 billion in outstanding federal debt and $111 billion in unfunded superannuation liabilities as at June 30, 2007.

The contrast with Singapore is stark indeed. This island nation of just 4.4 million people in a land mass broadly equivalent to Melbourne has amassed vast public wealth, although its private wealth is nowhere near the $8130 billion that the federal Treasury and Australian Bureau of Statistics estimate Australia's 21 million citizens have accumulated.

So how did this happen? It all started when Singapore Airlines wanted to buy the cornerstone 25 per cent stake in Qantas offered by the Keating Government in 1993, but lost out to British Airways. It took the defeat very badly.

Its first major successful move came in 1995 when a Singapore government body, Capita Land, bought a controlling interest in Australand, the property developer that built the Commonwealth Games village. This stake is now worth $1.1 billion.

After staying out of the original $30 billion energy sector privatisation program in Victoria, Singapore Power, which is fully owned by the state, picked up the monopoly electricity transmission business Powernet for $2.1 billion in June 2000.

This was quickly followed by Singtel's $14 billion bid for Optus in 2001. Singtel is 56 per cent government-owned, so Optus is now more publicly owned than Telstra — albeit by a foreign power. I, for one, switched my mobile phone contract from Optus to Telstra as a small consumer protest when Australian drug trafficker Van Nguyen was executed by the immovable Singapore authorities in 2005.

The next big bite was Singapore Power's $5.1 billion acquisition of TXU's Australian energy portfolio in April 2004, although $2.2 billion of retail and generation assets were on-sold to China Light & Power in March 2005. Late in 2005, 49 per cent of the remaining Australian power assets were floated in a vehicle called SP Ausnet, raising $1.3 billion.

This reduced the total power sector investment to $3.8 billion, but now we have the huge Alinta deal in which Singapore Power is offering $4.5 billion in cash to become the monopoly gas distributor in NSW and the largest distributor of electricity in Victoria.

It will even own 50 per cent of ActewAGL — the company that keeps the lights on at Parliament House in Canberra.

Coinciding with the Alinta deal has been a recent splurge of property investments. Frank Lowy sold to GIC a 50 per cent stake in Westfield Parramatta, Australia's third-most valuable shopping centre, for $717 million in May.

An even more prestigious purchase last month was the Myer Melbourne complex, which is now one-third owned by GIC after it teamed up with the Myer family and the Commonwealth Bank to buy it for $600 million.

GIC already owns the Park Hyatt hotel in Melbourne, along with Sydney's Queen Victoria Building and the Strand Arcade, and there's been recent press speculation that it will buy into Westfield's Doncaster Shoppingtown to help fund a $400 million redevelopment.

But it doesn't stop there.

Even child-care behemoth ABC Learning, which receives $3 million a week from Australian taxpayers to look after 40,000 children and has former children's minister Larry Anthony on its board, this month issued 12 per cent of its shares to Temasek for $401 million.

In some countries, child care is provided by the state, yet our Government is now funding a company which has a foreign government as its largest shareholder to deliver this service. All this must make for interesting discussions when John Howard catches up with his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, or his autocratic father, Lee Kuan Yew, who is still "GIC chairman minister mentor" at the ripe old age of 83.

Peter Costello was busily showing Lee Kuan Yew around Federal Parliament a few weeks ago and, given the 2003 Free Trade Agreement, it's fair to assume relations remain close.

The same can't be said for Singapore and Thailand. In January 2006, Temasek bought control of Shin Corp — the family company of Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra — for $US1.9 billion ($A2.1 billion) in a deal that sparked widespread protests and a military coup.

The generals have since crippled Shin Corp's telecoms and satellite business to the point where Singapore has dropped well over $1.5 billion and relations between the two countries are severely strained.

Could Singapore's financial imperialism ever cause tensions here? The only time Singapore has faced any takeover resistance in Australia was in 2000 when Peter Costello blocked a proposed bid for Westpac by financial conglomerate DBS Holdings, which is 28 per cent owned by Temasek.

However, Singapore Airlines remains bitter about losing almost $500 million in the Ansett collapse and being denied access to the lucrative Pacific route, which might explain why it is now funding Tiger Airways' assault on the Australian domestic market in an attempt to damage Qantas.

Planes, child-care centres, shopping centres, department stores, satellites, hotels, power lines, gas pipelines and mobile phones: the Singapore Government owns all that and more in Australia yet this is barely mentioned in public debate.

Does anybody else out there feel a little uneasy about this phenomenon, especially given the secretive, autocratic and undemocratic tendencies of the Singapore Government?

Australian companies, let alone our Government, would never be allowed to buy equivalent assets in Singapore. And all this investment didn't even give us the leverage to save Van Nguyen from the gallows.

Stephen Mayne was founder of Crikey.com and Kennett government spin doctor responsible for privatisation from 1992-1994.

[Extracted] 7 Wonders: They Are All Available In Malaysia

2007-07-21T12:21:00.000+08:00

Seven wonders of the world, albeit controversial, command many people's admiration, bewilderment and disbelief. In Malaysia, we also have seven, or even more wonders by which, we are equally surprised and bewildered, embarrassed but not admiring.

7 Wonders: They Are All Available In Malaysia

The new 7 wonders voted by millions of Internet users are really not up to standard.

Actually they could just make thing simpler, as the “new 7 wonders” are just before our eyes. If the 7 wonders to be chosen from Malaysia, it should have less controversies than the online voting.

1. Tropical Water Village: After a great thunderstorm in an afternoon, Kuala Lumpur will be “immersed” in water.

At that moment, Kuala Lumpur will become like Venice. Tourists can see inverted reflection of KLCC Twin Towers and KL Tower in the water. It is wavy and swaying.

We can suggest to the Ministry of Tourism of boat services. The ministry can recruit fishing boats and hundreds of boatmen from all over Malaysia.

Starting from KLCC Twin Towers, the boatman who is wearing Songkok and Sari will be singing while bringing his passengers to the Golden Triangle of Bukit Bintang and finally stops at Merdeka Square.

If the tourists are not yet satisfied, they can go to the underground parking of Merdeka Square. It is the world's first underground swimming and snorkeling pool. Cars immersed in the water can be used for treasure hunt.

2. The Wonder of Mice and Human : Gurney Drive of Penang is full of mice and human, but they do not interfere each others. Instead, they appreciate one another and it can become a role model for ecology.

While the tourists are enjoying Penang cuisine in Gurney Drive, hundreds of mice are rushing between their feet. They are eating with their mouths, and at the same time their feet are moving up and down, playing hide-and-seek with mice. They are staying happily together.

In addition, we can propose to Tourism Penang that they should encourage food stalls to obtain materials from local sources and produce “mice grand feast”!

It could be “rats with three ways of eating”: firstly grill the rat skin, and later braise the meat. The rest of the parts could be used to cook rat soup. The second menu is rats potpourri: mince rat meat and stir-fry it with five spices. Thirdly they can make “rats sushi”: choose bigger rats, and then stabbed them into thin slices after its skin was peeled. Mix the thin slices with Wasabi and best served while fresh.

3. The Lost of Ma Zu: Kudat in Sabah is searching for the mysterious Ma Zu.

Kudat is located at the northeast of Borneo. Initially there is a Ma Zu statue, but it was later went missing and only the base was left over. Is Ma Zu “flew” to overseas already?

This miracle is comparable to the Apollo statue which kept watch Aegean Sea more than 2,000 years ago. The history of Apollo statue is only available in annals record, and we can no longer see its statue. For centuries, visitors go to the Rhodes Island at the Aegean Sea, but they simply couldn't see the statue.

Even though Kudat's Ma Zu statue is missing, but it can act like the Apollo statue at Rhodes Island, welcoming the tourists. Then they can travel together and search for Ma Zu statue.

4. Thrilled Johor Bahru: It provides an unprecedented horror experience.

Theme parks are famous in the worldwide. However, most of the theme parks are fake and they tend to be formalised. It is difficult to provide true feeling to the tourists.

In this Johor Bahru theme park, the most famous game is snatching. When a tourist is walking on the street, a snatch thief will switch on his motorcycle engine. A self-experienced game which tests your wisdom and courage starts now!

If the tourist successfully catches the snatch thief, with the assistance of other people, he can attack the thief with Wushu freely. Sometimes, the thief could be assaulted until he is dying.

Not only for justice, but playing Wushu can as well give vent to long-suppressed emotions. It is so refreshing!

However, this theme park is very adventurous. In most cases, tourists have to pay for heavy price. It is the matter of life and death, not wealth.

Well, let's look at Spanish Bull Runs which attracts many tourists annually. The tourists are enjoying themselves in this dangerous game. It seems that Johor Bahru screaming theme park would succeed.

5. Crowd at Shore : Experiencing the ultimate human endurance, and the strong will in fighting for a better future.

Every morning when the sky is still dark, there are thousands of students and those who needs to put food on table, are waiting at the narrow gateway to go to the other side of the river.

It is a grand view to see more than ten thousands people moving together. When you go closer, you will discover that many of them are weak children walking slowly with a heavy schoolbag and a heavy hand bag.

6. Haze: Seasonal event each year- the hazy sight.

This event is already well-known internationally, and need not to be introduced again.

7. Water World in Parliament Building: Malaysia Parliament building has two major characteristics: First characteristic is water leakage while the second is saliva.

Seven wonders are all available in Malaysia. It is quite surprisingly that the government has failed to notice them, and didn't include them in the list of tourism major events. It's too bad! (Tay Tian Yan/ Sin Chew Daily)

( The opinions expressed by the writer do not necessarily reflect those of Sinchew-i )

Extracted from e.sinchew-i.com

Hey yo~

2007-07-19T15:03:00.000+08:00

First time posting here.

I am going to Indonesia to study medic at Universitas Gadjah Mada, in a city called Yogyakarta. It is the education centre in Indonesia, with about 120 colleges concentrated in this small city. 65% of the population there are students. Unlike Jakarta, there is no daily demonstration and riots in Yogya. There is probably no terrorist there...who knows?

In contrast to most people believes, Indonesia is a secular country. Islam is not the official religion! Hooray! Pork is super available.

According to the wikipedia, the public transport there consist of taxi, bus, trishaw and horse cart. It is rather easy to travel from one place to another. I guess the public transport system there should be better than Bukit Mertajam, which bus frequency is 1 bus per hour and limited taxi service.

I am flying there on 11 August @ KLIA. That time most of you should have settled at your respective university already. All the best!

All active

2007-07-17T00:39:00.000+08:00

Wow.

Glad to see this place all active again......

Thanks to everyone who took their time off to write something and those who joined the blog.

Tommy, of course we remember you la!

And people, please leave your contact details here, or anywhere, so we can compile it up and do an updated list.

(Include name, phone, address, uni+course, and birthdate-w/o the year if u mind)

Adious~

Hello...

2007-07-16T17:22:00.000+08:00

hello everyone...long time no c...don even noe u guys stil rmb me bo...i heard most of u guys goin to nus...correct me if i m rong...hehe,gud luck n all d best...

Helllooo~

2007-07-16T12:37:00.000+08:00

my first time writing something here.. =D
btw, just to clarify and to add on...

1.William's flying around the 11th, ( I think..not so sure..) but definitely not the 1st.
2.and MeiYan's going to Texas, USA tooo !! Flying off on the 14 aug..
3. also, we'll pray for those still waiting for scholarships alrite ?

=))

oh, and I came across this boutique in Midvalley.

Sz, since when u own this ?! :p

Friends, do keep in touch ....

2007-07-16T09:36:00.000+08:00

I got this through an email and i thought it's meaningful ...

HOW FRIENDSHIP BREAK ?

Both Friends Will Think The Other Is Busy

And Will Not Contact

Thinking It May Be Disturbing

As Time Passes

Both Will Think Let The OTher Contact

After That each Will Think Why I Should Contact First ?

Here Your Love Will Be Converted To Hate

Finally Without Contact The Memory Becomes Weak

They Forget Each Other.

So Keep In Touch With All And Pass This TO All Your Friends...

I Don`t Want To Be One Of This Kind.

So Here I Am sending Mail To You

To Say

Dear Friend

I Am Fine Here

Please keep in touch ...

So, frens .... Do keep in touch no mather which corner of the earth you are in ...
(unless of course the place is so secluded that there is no connnection wutsoever with the civilized world)
It's up to each and every one of us to keep the friendships alive...
Life is wut we make out of it ...
n, to all those who are starting uni soon .... ALL DA BEST !!!!

Just for your knowledge, William is flying off to Indonesia on the 1st August while Qwen is flying off to the US on the 6th August.
Let's pray for their safe journey and may God bless their studies and life in a new place ...

~Alan~

[K] Lap-top buying guide

2007-07-11T20:56:00.000+08:00

You are going to experience or have experienced the transition from life in uniform to university life. Hence, you might consider to buy, or already bought a new lap-top to accompany you through this transition. I saw that many people are wondering what kind of laptop they need.

Here I share with you some information about buying a laptop.

Some brands you might consider (from yongxin):

Acer:
currently provides the best bang for buck, but overheating and build quality is an issue, says lotsa user, mainly the overheating is due to the powerful components in the laptop (DEDICATED graphic cards, big HDD, 2GB ram, etc)

Dell:
the reason Dell can keep price low is because they used lower quality but cheaper materials in building the laptop hence the affordable price. some users recommend Dell, apparently its been quite stable.. but not little has complained bout it tho, quite a number.. my fren's Dell ngam ngam after 1 year..screen broke down, bad sector.... well figures..

HP/Compaq:
Hp bought over compaq some aeons ago..HP seems to be offering ridiculous pricing with the specification they offer..some RM3k for a RM2k specs u can get from Dell n others.. however, HP user praise its built quality and sound system( collaboration with Altec Lansing), those who r unlucky might got the defect version..

ASUS:
the new guy on the block, ASUS is an established producer of computer components and the parts they produced might be a bit pricey but what u get in return is long lasting, quality and stable product, mind you tho, GIgabyte bought ASUS over liao, so practically GIGABYTE=ASUS now..
n now ASUS is producing laptop with components from its own factory, same can be expected of its stability and performance. plus it has 2 years GLOBAL warranty. no major complaints from users till now

Toshiba:
Toshiba products are known to be 'tahan lasak'. and same goes to its laptop.I have to agree with that considering the build quality. Sound wise it is collaborating with Harmon Kardon, so you can imagine wat melodious sound it will produce thru the built in speakers (if you plan to use it). My fren has been using one for some 2yrs plus..n has been upgrading since then..(by changing the HDD n ram) customisable..

Fujitsu:
This laptop has the best quality and service in its class. No competition. 3 years international warranty. Built in Japan. bad thing is that expensive and low specs.

Sony:
I dunno techies ppl always advise to stay off Sony laptops, but I personally express unsurmountable desire for them..they r just beautiful and impressive..but heck the cheapest one is some RM5k.. ah well..anyway, they said the build quality is not up to par.and some crashes when using certain programs..

Apple:
the screen is ultimately amazing, the only laptop screeen that can match the apples, is the sony..both are very very sharp and beautiful..but the specs they offer is ridiculous ...nowadays who can live with 512mb and integrated graphics..unless u go for the macbook pro some RM8k..with 3GB Ram..

IBM/Lenovo:
apparently Lenovo bought over IBM, as the history goes, IBM thinkpad are famous for reliability, stability and hardiness. You cant go wrong with an IBM (or Lenovo). it is light, and service is top class.the catch here is tat, it is slow ( the specs are low-end) but u sacrifice portability for performance. n EXPENSIVE gile..

BENQ
A new player in recent years. It used to produce parts for Acer, from users' experience, there has been some overheating issues though short lived, their build quality was of recommendation of severe critics..and it is expensive comapred to Acer. but heck, it offers performance. for RM4k, u get core 2 duo, 2GB, 120GB HDD, 8600GS 256 MB graphics, enough to satisfy hardcore users. and your DVDs never play smoother..

I believe most of the people are easily conned..some laptops comes without OS (operating system meaning Windows XP etc) and they lose out on the Microsoft license.. anyway this is not the point I wanted to convey,

Windows Vista requires at least 1GB Ram to run properly, tats the minimum requirement, if u start installing stuff and cram in all ur files( movies etc), ur new lappy will make u curse will waiting for it to load.,.

Some specifications you might like to consider:

Graphic cards:

There are three main types of graphic cards:

Shared video memory:
Graphic cards with shared video memory use your system memory to render images. It used to be a major setback in performance years ago, for the data transfer rate will be adversely impacted and the competition for memory space and bandwidth will be even more intense. However, with the advent of much faster PCI-E, things get improved dramatically. Nonetheless, you still can't expect all 3D applications run in full power with this type of graphic card. All Intel Integrated Graphic cards fall under this category.

Dedicated memory:
High end computers come with graphic card with only dedicated memory. As dedicated memory is built just beside the GPU and on the graphic card board, the data transfer rate is much higher than that of shared video memory. Furthermore, the graphic card does not need to compete with other applications for memory space and bandwidth, high performance can be expected.

Hybrid memory:
TurboCache and HyperMemory are actually the same technology - hybrid solution. Both are the graphic cards with a hybrid of dedicated and shared video memory, invented by Nvidia and ATI respectively.
The major benefit is that you get a performance boost with very little extra cost, compared to adding more dedicated memory. The graphic card use only the local memory when its dedicated memory is not enough.

For more details and benchmark:
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1766/

Processor:

Intel:
Before you buy a laptop, you should be aware that Intel has recently launched a new platform for its Centrino laptop this year - Santa Rosa.

Why must you be aware?
1. Santa Rosa has higher processing speed (FSB) and higher L2 cache
Caching can greatly affect the overall processing power.
High processing power allow you to run Windows Vista more smoothly (Windows Vista can be very slow for many computers).

For a glimpse at how caching works:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cache.htm

2. Save more power when your laptop is idle.

3. The price gap is small but you will get a slight performance boost cum some new features.

These are the new major features:

1. Intel Dynamic Acceleration (IDA)
You may have known that many laptops today are equipped with two cores and you must have heard of how powerful it is when it comes to multi-tasking.
However, what if you want to do only one task at a time and want to do it fast?
IDA has answered the question. When the processor detects that you only need one core, it will cut the power to the other and source more power to the core you are using. It is very useful especially when you are playing game or doing video editing.
It is also claimed that this feature has better Windows Vista Aero support.

2. Turbo Memory
There is one cool feature in Windows Vista, called Readyboost.
If you do not know what the hell it is. It simply means that you can plug in a USB drive or a SD card to get a performance boost, especially when your RAM is not enough. Do google the term, ReadyBoost, if you still do not know.
Well, this Turbo Memory is a build-in usb drive or a SD card inside your laptop to get the boost.
Please also note that HP and Sony laptops are not equipped with Turbo Memory because of some reasons.

3.Wireless
New Santa Rosa platform will come with Wireless-N in addition to a/b/g. It is a faster WiFi protocol.
However, WiMax is still excluded untill next year. Therefore, I suggest not to buy a laptop so early if you want your laptop equipped with WiMax so that you can travel around with your laptop online in the future.

How to tell whether a laptop is equipped with Santa Rosa platform?
1. Look for this sign:
or this

2. Processor name starts with T7XXX, for example T7300

3. L2 cache is 4MB

AMD:
AMD Turion 64 and Turion 64 X2 are good processors, even though somewhat they lag behind in terms of market share.
Laptops come with Turion processors are cheap but not inferior for average use.
Therefore, I do recommend Turion laptops if you do not use CPU intensive applications often and require high processing power.

You may have noted that AMD processors have only 512KB L2 cache, one quarter the size of a Intel processor.
However, AMD compensates for its lack of cache memory with memory controller and HyperTransport.

HyperTransport, in layman term, is the communication between the cores. Thus, cores can share common cached data.
In contrast to Intel duo 2 core in which cores work independently, AMD processor can work more effectively and require less cache memory.

DDR memory controllers allows processor to access memory directly, solving the bottleneck of which processor always waits for RAM to respond. This further diminishes the need of cache memory.

Please note that you cannot compare AMD's clock speed with Intel's, for both companies have different yardstick to gauge a processor's clock speed.

Some benchmarks have suggested that AMD processor is slower than Intel processor, but they have admitted that the comparison is unfair. However, AMD Turion 64 X2 is a good processor worth considering, for AMD Turion laptops are cheaper but they give very decent processing power (no problem running Windows Vista as its Intel counterpart).

New series AMD of processor is coming soon, I think AMD will ensure that its processors will be on par with, if not more powerful than rival Intel Duo 2 Core.

Friday the 13th

2007-07-10T23:59:00.000+08:00

Friday the 13th coming up this week....

excited? haha.

..

NUS medical examination

2007-06-30T21:55:00.000+08:00

I just came back from this. Just remember to bring Form M and medical report for both university and student pass application. UHWC is at YIC level four. Alight at the bus stop after pass by a big field.

Go there as early as possible. Really crowded with people. The good thing is they will try to finish examine the morning section people before they start the afternoon one. So if go in the morning, before 1pm can finish.

First, need to register. The place is quite hidden, so just ask around. For us, the fees is S$45. And they will give us the tube for blood test, a form for it (white coloured)and a yellow form. Need to write name on all of them.

Next, take height and weight. Of course, also eye power test.

Coming up is blood test. This should be the longest queue. Outside room A, there is a plastic basket, just leave the whole stack of form in it. But keep the tube. Wait for they to call, take long time. Inside the room give the tube to them.

After this is urine test. Take the cup and go to toilet. Guys toilet is just next to the room, girls need to walk out of the centre. They will test it on the spot.

Measure blood pressure, and they will take away the whole reports. Wait for them to call you for consultation by doctor. This time round, no flat foot examination. Haha...

Last is the X-ray test. Leave after they ask you to do so.

bang bang

2007-06-18T15:06:00.002+08:00

Hmm... you all might have heard the news. but I will just post it up.

Source: Straits Times, Accessed 18/06/07

Police hunt Melbourne gunman: one killed, two injured in shooting spree

Police instructed office workers to remain in their buildings as a manhunt was launched across the city, with roads and buildings locked down and police helicopters circling overhead. PHOTO: AFP

MELBOURNE - A MAN dragged a woman from a taxi by the hair and opened fire with a handgun when three people came to her aid, killing one person and wounding two in the Australian city of Melbourne, police and witnesses said.

Police were hunting the gunman who fled on foot after the morning rush hour shooting on Monday.

'There is a large police operation underway in the Melbourne CBD (central business district) as we speak to try and apprehend the offender,' Inspector Glenn Weir said, as heavily armed police in body armour sealed off the centre of the country's second-largest city.

'It certainly appears as though there was some verbal confrontation prior to the shooting between the male and the female, so it appears as though there was some relationship between those two people,' Insp Weir said.

The shooting on the corner of Flinders and William Streets in Melbourne's business district, was close to the stock exchange and the city's tallest building, Rialto Towers and sent panicked office workers and commuters fleeing.

'The lady got away and he turned and shot three people basically point blank,' witness Malcolm Bates told local media.

The two wounded samaritans were rushed to hospital in a critical condition, while the other man died at the scene while paramedics treated him.

'Some people crossing tried to intervene and came between the woman and the man. The man pulled out a gun, shot three people, and just casually walked off,' an unnamed bystander told Sky News Australia.

Police instructed office workers to remain in their buildings as a manhunt was launched across the city, with roads and buildings locked down and police helicopters circling overhead.

Police began escorting workers back into offices around 10am after recovering a handgun and denim jacket, suspected of belonging to the gunman, in a city construction site.

The shooting also occurred close to a strip of nightclubs.

Witnesses said the gunman and the woman were seen leaving one nightspot around 8am, police said.

'The altercation took place between a male and female at the scene. As a result she has been assaulted and received injuries to the face,' Insp Weir said.

Police homicide detectives were interviewing workers at the club, as well as passers-by who witnessed the shooting. -- REUTERS

hercules - the floating crane

2007-06-17T21:17:00.000+08:00

introducing the huge elegent floating crane :
HERCULES

well, she's only one of them.
but i am very very proud to say that
i saw her last week.
and i fell in love with her almost immediately.

if only i could go nearer..

University

2007-05-30T23:15:00.000+08:00

Hey, everyone.

I made up my mind to study in NUS, engineering science. So think you all also made a decision. Can share with us? Hope to see most of us in NUS.

Greetings from Alan

2007-05-17T16:35:00.000+08:00

hullala... brothers and sisters ...
Alan here .. yeap firingSQUAT is me ..i dunno why i have this nick also ..
but whatdaheck ... jst stick with it la ...
first of all ... thanks SZ ..if you started this ...
it's fabulous ...
to commemorate my first post ... i shall post a few pics here .. nostalgic eh ?!!??
and to LIKKY ... how the hell you access VI blog .. i thought that was a private blog ...
DAMNIT .... later you know all the VI secret .. lol jst kidding ...
so how are you guys !!!
mid year coming .. so i guess more or less most of you guys and gals know
where you going next ??? all the best in your uni yeah .. your next big thing in life !!!!!!
Melbourne rocks ... and i mean it .... when i first came .. almost every weekend got some kind of festival ... now tone down a little d .. probably because it's winter soon ... so no ones actually want to stay outdoor for long ...
i still dunno why melbourne is rated as the world's most livable city.. but as soon as i found out .. will update you guys ..
one thing for sure ... there is lots of different modes of transport here in the city

1. walking , of course
2. cycling, ok ..no big deal
3. cars , *sweat* ah duh !! but read on
4. motorbike , ohh c'mon ... ... wait wait
5. trains ...
6. trams ... ok .. unless you go san francisco.. this is quite rare ..
7. skateboards .... lot's of ppl here using skateboard ...
8. horse carriage ... for tourists of course .. make the whole street stinks of shit ..
9. and my all time favourite ... saw this on the street one day .. stunned for one minute ..
one man riding on a single-wheeled kind of bicycle .. the kind you see in circus ....

till the next post .. take care and keep writing !!!!

Hostels?

2007-05-15T20:22:00.000+08:00

haha I got into engineering science programme in NUS and accepted it. Anybody else??

Anyway, I'm applying for hostels and not sure which hostel I will end up with. Heard that Kent ridge and sheares hall are new but PGP is nice. But raffles hall is so near engineering faculty.

headache!! *scratch head*

Anyway, maybe I'll just "tembak" and roll dice (since there are 6 hostels) to detemine which hostel to go to.

steamboat no more

2007-05-09T21:06:00.000+08:00

Marina South's disappearing.

the steamboat restaurants are gonna move by August - according to reliable resources - to give way to the new Casino.

heard that ZhenFa's gonna move to somewhere in Jurong - among the factories.

pathetic sial.

Blog now!

2007-04-28T19:33:00.000+08:00

Hey!

haha no offence but good one korny!

taz the kind of things that i tink will keep the blog gg... haha

billy boy, anything u like la!

came across Victoria Institution (VI) blog, which was alan sec skol btw

they blogged bout all sorts of things la

may b even, 'hands up, those who like grey spidey!!!'

then comments kept pouring in tat kind of thing

haha or may b share some cool video on youtube

ah!!! mz go dengar kukrusann! haha too bad they only av a few videos..

try it

oh and may b v can av some cool skin for this blog?

2007-04-27T21:22:00.000+08:00

Hey guys,

Billy here.

Oh well, just wanna stop by to say hi first. Quite a cool thing to do, to have a group blog~ But then I am not sure whether how active this will be.

Anyway, is this a platform for us to update our life or issit for some other purpose?

Hmmm....

=)

Cheers,
Billy V

... typical malaysian acts ....

2007-04-27T20:44:00.000+08:00

Yup, Google acquired blogger. and by luck, I sent all the invitations out when blogger was transferring from old to new one, and accounts were 'upgraded'. So previous invitations i sent out disappeared.

later busy working, and i also forgot to invite you all again. or you can say, i was not sure about setting this up as such post was, is, expected. but i decided to continue. so anything la.

btw 'firingSQUAT' is alan, i think. people, try to post something so that at least we know who everyone is. just hope that when we online, we can come and take a look.

[K] Please ignore this post...

2007-04-26T00:14:00.000+08:00

Hello there.

I noticed that Sz's first entry was posted on Friday, November 24, 2006. Thus, I assume that this blog was created on the same day. I wonder why Sz created this blog 6 months ago but left it "derelict" until recently. Is it because of some errors with date after its acquisition by Google; or he just wanted to reserve a space in blogger.com before Google acquired it; or he was just dumb? (Oh! how can I say a top scholar dumb?)

This blog is insipid. The blog creator did not even post an exemplary blog entry. "This will be the place we start our journey together.... and it never ends." The statement does not make any sense. How do we start our journey together here while we have just ended our common path of life in junior college? It makes more sense if you just say "may our paths to success cross again", doesn't it?

On Tuesday, April 24, 2007, Howard Low asked "PPL [to] join and blog la." So why don't you post something interesting here in the first place? Since you have posted so many enticing entries about you love girls and girls love you on your Friendster blog, which enthralled numerous viewers each time, you should be able to attract equal number of your fans here. Am I right?

Why is this blog dedicated to AJC Malaysian Scholars 05/06 only? How many AJC Malaysian scholars 05/06 out there? How many of them will bother? Let's expand this blog and make more friends from the World Wide Web. Shall we?

Also, why don't you add blog listing by going "Setting" => "basic" => "Add your Blog to our listings?" and choose "Yes". I do not have any specific reason to list the blog. but I do not think of any harm doing that, either.

Here came Likky. He asked a meaningful question which I want to ask, too -- "who the heck is :) and firingSQUAT????"
As opposed to the conventional smiley face, :), it's terbalik -- (:
So who the heck are they? I will make some guesses here. I think (: belongs to "likky's 2nd crush", for she has a penchant for smiley faces, weird ones.
As for firingSQUAT, I think it is Christopher Chow's nickname because he makes me think of firing squat, for no reason. Or perhaps he or she is just a "random"/"not so random"/"selective" guy or girl who also appeared on somebody's blog before.

Lastly, I apologise if you are unhappy after reading this blog entry. Please don't take this post seriously and confront me in person. I just want to rant and rave at somebody or something. Sorry for making you my victim. I did ask you to ignore this post, didn't I?

Halo!

2007-04-25T23:31:00.000+08:00

Hey ppl!

haha like lost touch for sooooo loonnnggg liao la...

stil using dial up at home... very diff to log in to msn...

anyway how's everyone doing?

and who the heck is :) and firingSQUAT????

me, working now.. kat menara citibank, opp ampang park..

free come visit me la, damn sien..

anyone gg back to aj in may?

Why no one blog one.....

2007-04-24T21:31:00.000+08:00

PPl, join and blog la.

How's everyone?

First post

2006-11-25T15:40:00.000+08:00

This will be the place we start our journey together.... and it never ends.