H1N1 Pandemic

Are we overreacting or is it really the big one?

Here's a vid I made (out of boredom) to show what will happen if the swine flu virus goes through a deadlier mutation.

The media seems to over exaggerate this swine flu with seemingly clear intention to scare the nervous population. Luckily the death of the King of Pop distracted the mass, for now. But facts can't be denied as the flu is now on Phase 6 (I don't know how bad that is but sounds like worth panicking about). I just hope it won't go to Phase 7 (if there is such thing) and we all have to barricade ourselves in our homes living out our lives Dawn of the Dead or Left 4 Dead style. Sneeze and cough politely y'all.

Terminator 4 & Transformers 2 Review

They're so bloody nice, I watched them twice

These are two big movies so I won't spoil it. You have to go to the nearest cinema and watch it on the big screen.

Terminator Salvation
We follow the chronicles of John Connor a few years after Judgment Day (Terminator 3) where he is leading a few bands of human resistance fighting to topple SkyNet (yea I know, sounds like the cyber cafe behind our old school Methodist, and also the courier service company). Expect awesome cinematography and introduction of new robots (spoiler: including a cameo of Arnie). However the story plot may be crude and plain. There are only like, 3-4 things memorable throughout the movie. And sadly, the previous 3 movies revolve around real Terminator but Salvation may feel as if they are just feeding on the title's glories to make a movie not about about a real terminator. Hmm. But anywho the actions and the awesomeness of the CGI will blow you away.

because of weak storyline and abscence of the quote "I'll be back!" but Arnie and uber-action awesomeness saved the day.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
At first I thought the Fallen refers to the existance of a 3rd party besides Autobots & Decepticons, so this got me hyped up. Sadly my friends' remark regarding Megan Fox was a dude turned me off a LOT and killed the hype. But I was surprisingly entertained by the heavy 2 hour 1/2 storyline. The plot are fast and constant and there are always an Autobot or Decepticon or both every 10 minutes or so. The battles now are more logical (previously I complained how they fought at a ridicilously fast speed despite their mass) and Megan Fox still looks hawt despite the rumors of her used to be a dude named Mitchell Fox. Plus, there is a noticeable increase in 18SX toilet humor every now and then.

However the plot may be unfounded and getting more complexed ala LotR e.g. when you need to find this, you need that first then find this then can find that again. To the point you ask yourself "what's the point of finding it when later it's of insignificance value?". Also a few unneccessary side characters can be removed as they clog up the story.

because the movie made my mom to like Linkin Park and there are more Transformers as promised. Sadly there are too many Transformers to the point you don't recognize who is who, Wheelie humped Mikeala and the quest is silly.

End of H3666

Finally the long, well established history of h3666 is coming to an end. As of 20th June 2009 8:30am, the 3666 history book closes its page on its last chapter when Hallod bids farewell to this h3666hole permanently.

I will send him off to the airport with other h3666 remnants who came back for the reunion along with other Senadinese departing from this state. With Hallod, the last of the orang kuat 3666 leaves for Down Under, Ham will self-declare himself to be a free man and this officially liquidates the h3666 clan. After this Ham will be leaving the h3666hole as well and move out to a better place. I feel slightly melancholic and nostalgically sad (and like usual won't show it), but I've been through so many farewells and this is no different from others. We have to move on.

~In memory of h3666 (2007 - 2009)~

Below is the timeline of h3666 (click to enlarge) or check the facebook version:

There are just so many things happening in between, it can outseason How I Met Your Mother. Well the ones not oncluded in the timeline is for those who have lived, loved and experienced h3666 to cherish and remember... end of season.

Terminated No Salvation

My goodness our 3 days 4 nights planned reunion/fun/destress/nothing-to-lose outing was spoiled on the second night during the screening of Terminator Salvation at, where else Bintang. This was my second sitting, first being at Sibu (rewatch, that's how good the 4th Terminator was). Barely 10 minutes into the movie we were delighted by the black screen of death for the next 10 minutes... with sounds and all at the background

And the crowd went wild for the 10 minutes (surprisingly it was louder by those who have watched the movie). "Refund!", "HOOOOI!", "WTF?!" and middle fingers were ablazed. After the dude fixed the burnt light bulb the audience went quiet while tolerating the scratchy film quality and "OWHHH!!!!" and "HOIIII!" occasionally when the sounds went off now and then.

I have not shown a middle finger for so long, and yes those are not my middle finger. Both too feminine haha.

It was the swearing part that made the whole thing meaningful lololol. But the outing for the next day was not affected fortunately. HAVA NAGILA! HAIP!

Terminator Salvation experience at Bintang has been rated:
because watching Arnie making a cameo never gets old (SPOILER!)

Finger Optical Mouse

Now you can point lasers at people with a lift of a finger

Behold the EEM-GTMS-300BK mouse, or the first generation of finger mouse/mice(?) I have ever utilized. With a RM30+ price tag slapped on it, this little gadget replaces the traditional mouse that requires flat surfaces to function by allowing users to move their cursor wherever their finger can go (umm that does sounds wrong). Just simply wear it like ring anf adjust it with the velcro strap provided.

Other features found on your mouse you are using right now are available on this finger mouse. The right and left mouse button and the scroller are located along the side and pressed using the thumb.

Distance wise, it is not wireless YET but the cable attached allows you to move your cursor 3-5 feet away while you are lying on your bed (promoting a healthy lifestyle), limited by the size of your screen and how good your visions are.

CONS: My goodness, for the first 10 minutes I struggled trying to cope with this mouse. I admit it is difficult for a dude who has been using the traditional rat/mouse/mice for 10 years to use it (and we are the generation that embraced technologies our parents couldn't cope with). The situation persisted for the next 10 minutes. Another 10 minutes later you'll start to notice your finger will start to get tired from all the coping effort and clicking (the buttons are at awkward positions and far to be reached, not suitable for people with average thumbs like me).

Let's just give the EEM-GTMS-300BK another 2-6 months for the technology to improve eh? Oh and to allow it to find a more pronouceable and memorable name.

Ham rates it:
because having laser at your fingertip is cool

Family Gathering 2009

Upon touchdown I went straight to the family gathering dinner. I might have missed the wedding in the morning due to the housing issues, but feels good to make it to the gathering in time. Managed to catch up with relatives and enjoyed a good big banquet. And yes, excuse my lame 1.3 migepixel night vision camera. Even the little ones asked why I have such an archaic handphone XD

And they asked a dude who just got back from a flight to play Cluedo... next table the game is Life... do I have a choice?

So hard to get her to face the camera %$#@!

A prime example of a perfect 1.3 megapixel night vision performance

All wheels lined up...

Usual serious biz talk

The wedding mobile..

The Flight

And then the later half of the Saturday I needed to mobilize and head to the Miri airport to catch the 6:25PM flight to make it to the family gathering dinner later at 7PM in Sibu. No rush for me and I got there in time. Just that I got hogged by a Vios from Eastwood to the airport carpark who seemed pro (Mirian, and me humbly being a non-Mirian just follow) until I slowly realized it was her first time driving around the carpark. Luckily I didn't follow her all the way or else I would have to go out of the carpark, go out of the airport, come back in, and get another parking coupon just like what awaited the Vios. Anywho this was my first time flying this year since I've always prefer 7 hours bus trip.

It was good to see some upgrades in the airport, especially the Starbucks outlet. Perhaps slightly expensive from the town variant, but hey I'm in a rush and a few cents does not matter. And also for the first time I triggered the metal detector device. I've always been "dry" all this times, passing through the detectors from KL to Brisbane without fail. Guess I've packed too much silver and bling-blings over these few months. Getting body searched by a dude felt obviously awkward too, and fortunately I did not have a "I'm Islamic, Don't Panic" t-shirt on (don't think that will work here though).

Now here comes the plane. I LOVE Fokker 50s. Why? Everytime I have a Fokker flight, I'm seated around row 3 which is near the prop engine. The deafening roaring sounds of the props coming through the not so soundproof wall promotes the use of MP3 earphones to actually PROTECT my hearings. But luckily this deafening scenario was compensated by the MASWings stewards (nope, no stewardesses in this flight) are friendlier than the ones I can remember 2 years ago.
And of course what's flying nowadays without the H1N1 scare. With obvious oblivion of the people here of the pandemic, I took one of the leaflet to see how Malaysia is handling the case. Sadly the instruction of prevention is more like how to wash your hands properly. exactly the same as what they taught you in kindergarten. I was expecting things like passengers are required to go through a fever scan, wear face mask if sick etc. We are sure taking things calmly compared to how much panic, chaos and deaths H1N1 has caused in the West.
When I browsed over to the other parts of the leaflet, it was clear that we are heading to some kind of a Resident Evil style ending. DIrect translation;

How can you avoid this infection?
Stay away from people who look sick and having fever and coughs.

Wow, I hope the new cure is really potent. Else I'll be avoiding a lot of sick people and might end up barricading myself in my room with 6 weeks supplies of stolen food and a 12 gauge shotgun while shoot anything that looks sick outside my window.

Until then, fly safe. And cough/sneeze politely.

New Crib

Even after the exam is finished I still got things to attend to. First half of this Saturday morning I had to check out the progress of my new crib in Oil Town. It has been under construction for sooooo loooong that I'm near graduation already. The procedures to settle all the payments and signing stuff with the relevant authorities was more mafaner than expected. Apparently all the parties from LAKU to SESCO to the housing themselves do not have communication amongst each other and this leads to "eh, they should have done it oledi eh" and "no lah, this one not done by us" phrases. Some things were left unsigned ever since the dude who were responsible to sign were gone since Gawai holiday til now. Who wouldn't be sienned being directed and going around in circles just to get one thing settled. And after that there's 23 other things waiting. But never mind, it's near completion and needs some polishing and a green tong sampah. Hopefully that would not have me driving around in circles in Miri like a true non-Mirian again.

I asked them to construct a double-decked podium complete with a VIP sky box and a big Gunners paintjob to complement the football field in front of my house.
Got spammed even before we moved in to the new house. Accomplanied by typical Chinglish grammatical error. Classic :)

End of Second Year

I officially completed my second year with my last paper on Thursday nite. It was not easy I tell you, because this was one helluva short (feels short) beyond-insane-WTFBBQ semester that pawned me to bits. Ademic, non-academic as well as other personal life issues left me crippled like the USS West Virginia after she was bombarded by Mitusbishi fighter planes and bombers. But I did not let the devastation affect my finals and I turned to external help to kick me into action;

Red Bull! Yes despite the cocaine-in-the-Red Bull scare that has been running around of late, the energy drink seriously whooped me back into action from time to time, preventing me from sleeping if I feel sleepy and the sugary taste is bloody nice. RM1.70 per bottle and RM9.70 for a case of 6 at DPS.

But there can be so much Red Bull one's body can take before an immunity is developed. After a few bottles, Livita was put to the test. And even though more expensive by RM0.20, it sure made me high to the max.

But of course all those free highness and "motivation" to finish 10 chapters did come for free after all. By the 5th hour or so, I experience fatigue and blurry vision. But nothing like a good 1 month semester break can fix that. So for those still having finals, and by chance letting procrastination and Facebook get in the way of your revision, think Red Bull and Livita. If that does not work go for Coke and Panadol. If that does not work go Facebook. I'm gonna savour the feeling of a removed burden for now and get ready for my third and final year. Owh and get my vision's sharpness and focus back. Wohooo!

Sarawak Statewide Bowel Pandemic

Is the whole Sarawak experiencing mass sakit perut? Or just the students facing finals?

Well I thought it was just me and the usual stress that caused me to have this stomach ache. But after only a few hours returning to Oil Town I was informed by several comrades that they were unable to attend the study groups and waffle party because of their sakit-perutness. Further PM and chats in Facebook revealed several other isolated cases happening in both Sibu and Miri. However the sakit perut is just the common symptoms these people share. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and vomitting. Is this a statewide pandemic? Or a mutation of H1N1? Or simply some kind of a freak accident involving the contamination of the state's water supply?

This is Day 3 since I first experienced the sakit perutness so we all should be on the lookout as how this 'pandemic' progresses. I'm not sure how many more are experiencing similar stomach aches. For those having finals soon, remember to "let go" before your paper starts. As for me, I hope this headache is just a side-effect from Law overload and is not related to the bowel problems.

Tux on toilet by jokerswild_2008

Finals Sem 1 2009

Finals will commence beginning next week for degree students. It's been a tough semester for everyone as what I have seen, and even tougher for my own 7D6B batch.

Alas my comrades, all the best for finals, good skill and good luck. It doesn't matter which faction you are fighting for because we're all in the same war. For some of the gang it's going to be their last fight here in Miri before heading to the new battlefront Down Under. For the rest it's just another sadistically sick End Game that we need to play for points and of course, win. Indeed, procrastination, Facebook and sleep hinders our progress. But do bear in mind who got us here. Our sponsors worked hard to make sure we can continue surviving in this hostile environment for the duration of our war. And then picture where yourself would be in the next 2-3 years with the rubbish paper all of us are fighting for. Hopefully that non-Obamaish speech smack some sense and +5% fighting spirit into you.

May the Force be with us.

h3666 is organizing an open study group throughout the exam week. Please bring some cash to enable the consumption of crates of carbonated drinks and grants you permission to eat waffles at the end of the day. For more info call me.