Day 1 of Semester 2 2009: Massive Traffic Jam!

The recent increase of socialist activities have beefed up the campus security, relationship with A H1N1 is a possibility.

Not far from this black car behind me is the Curtin bus. Students with only 10 minutes time to spare have opted to get down of the bus and walk to save time.

Meh it's not that massive. I just wanted to make it not sound mundane. But gosh, Day 1 of Week 1 the morning goers were greeted by one long traffic jam at the Senadin-Curtin campus road. I've been warned by Uncle Auggie about the new security policy so I was not surprised to see the jam to stretch from the security check point to the roundabout entrance.

So what happened was, just a few meters away from the security checkpoint there is a newly erected security checkpoint tent. All vehicles entering campus grounds will be checked by 3 security personnel, inside and out. Fortunately the only thing illegal in my car is the nearly-expired tin of biscuits that I never get to throw away.

I'm starting to feel like I'm living in one of those tight security communities of City 17 in Half-Life 2.

I was told this new security measures will be in effect from morning to evening (perhaps till night) for the whole week days. Looks like we have to go to campus earlier to allow some 15 minutes to be stuck in the jam and another 2 extra minutes for the checkup and another 5 minutes to find parking. Looks like we're gonna have a reasonable reason for being late this semester peeps.

Transformers Megatron Review

I'm too old for these, but I'm not too young to have older folks telling me I can't afford these...

It's the bad-ass Decepticon, Megatron himself from Hasbro. Too bad Optimus Prime was sold out, so here's the review for the only boss I have from the Revenge of the Fallen.

The box is uber cool in its own mundane way. Although different from the Transformers I once knew from my childhood times, it still triggered that kiddy excitement in me. Took me 10 minutes to prick all the tapes, unscrew all the safety wires and dislodge Megatron from its plastic tomb.

Standing at 14 inch tall and weighing less than a kilo (I don't know how much it weighs exactly, it's just plastic), this Megatron can really terrorize any work desk with its size and Decepticon's pointy parts design.

Look at the details. Fuuuh-wee! Never seen any Transformer looking so LotR's Sauron-esque. All the teeth (wtf Transformers need teeth for?) and cogs and gears are painted with care and detail.

After transformation. I don't read the manuals so took me 15 minutes to figure out how to transform him. Well here is his (I assume it's a he) Cybertronian Tank Mode. Complete with Fusion Blast action (basically it shoots plastic parts out of the gun, be warned though because the plastic Fusion impact can hurt the eye).

Yes, of course Megatron. You PWN that tiny 3 inch Optimus Prime anyday.

Ham rates Megatron:

It's satisfyingly detailed and scary-looking but the Megatron can be painted with even more details. Now I have to apply the finishing touches myself.

Ouch!

I got a nasty gash [?] during work late evening today. I was unloading a trolley from the back of my Hilux when the spring of the handle snapped forward, erecting the handle upwards from its folded position. I didn't feel anything at first but then saw this. My whole skin got scrapped off but there was no bleeding. 1 minute later there was bleeding, internally and I had to pop the bulging lump of blood before it popped itself. Apparently the spring struck so violently it went in too deep and too fast for any proper bleeding to occur. Fortunately the spring missed my main veins around the striking point by 1 inch. If it did struck my main veins I'll be in a Hell of a pain...

Yeah the pic is nothing. Because I don't want to put up the wound 5 minutes after impact. It was 18SG.

Communism in Sarawak

Tell-tale signs of the emergence of a new Soviet Sarawak

This is a snapshot of the Majlis Pelancaran Logo "An Honor to Service"/"An Honor to Service Logo Launch from the news yesterday, Borneo Post Tuesday July 14th 2009. Check out the new logo...

The first thing that came into mind (for me) was "WTF, this looks like the Red Star [wtf?]". Although slightly a different star, the similarities are uncanny:

Well it seems like we're on our way to socialism. We were introduced to the concept of 1Malaysia with equality to all. Compare it to the concept of communism that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general [Wikipedia]. And that equality concept is something Sarawak have achieved long before 1Malaysia. Then when we add the logos and symbols, soon we'll have Soviet Sarawak. For the Motherland! Untuk Tanah Ibu Pertiwiku!

Wonder how we will be under communist rule? Read here...

DISCLAIMER: This post does not in any way endorses communism. It merely states the various random scenarios that may or may not promote communism. Thank you.

Mysterious Figure Seen in KL

Hey first it was the flying sajadah, now it's a mysterious creature. Is the country's increasing paranormal activities related to the abolishment of PPSMI?

I read the Monday's paper like usual before going off the help out with some work. Then this headline somewhere below H1N1 articles caught me by surprise. I finally get to Blutetooth stuff today so excuse the slow post. From the Borneo Post 13th July 2009:

Mr. Ahmad Sazali of Kampung Sri Cempakan who made one of the first reports, said one of the figures appeared in his neighbourhood one night. But disappeared before he could get a photo with his camera phone."i looked up when i went to take out my rubbish. and there it was, it was making a lot of noise like talking, but i couldn't tell what it was saying. it sounded like there were many voices together"

Mr Cheong of Subang Jaya, who also saw it, said "it was about 12 feet tall. it stood on two legs and had many heads" asked how he felt when he saw it, he added "it wasn't frightening. it was quite friendly.. like a gentle giant"

Mr. Cheong added "Seeing it for the first time and hearing it speak, i sensed a strong closeness and bong among the different heads and voices"police say, they are still investigating. they urge the public to remain calm and not to spread rumours.

"we cannot say what it is at this point, but we have no reason to believe that it poses any danger to the public. In fact, we have reason to believe it's quite approachable" On reports that the police have consulted with the local UFO watching society, the police declined to comment.

However, they gave advice on what to do if you encounter one of the mysterious figures. First, stay calm and keep loved ones close. The public should try to stay informed by reading the newspapers and watching the news. Readers should also tell friend and family to do the same.

It's all nice and scary and intriguing since the article is a spin off from the usual petty local politicking news. But sadly my 1.3 pixel camera can't zoom in any closer to show you guys an important aspect. At the title of the article in the news, if you look above the word "KL" you can make out a small word that says "ADVERTORIAL"...

Call of Duty 3 Review

Once again I returned to the WWII battlefield... and a few months ago I got sick of playing any more WWII FPS...

I know it's an old game. Very ancient to be honest. Now they have Call of Duty 4: World at War and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. But I decided to finish the 3rd installment off because it's the last WWII FPS game I have in my arsenal that I have yet to complete.

I've played the Medal of Honor series (MoH, MoH: Underground, MoH: Allied Assault, MoH: Rising Sun), Call of Duty series (CoD: Finest Hour, CoD 2, CoD: Big Red One, CoD 3), Battlefield series (1942). Those are all the WWII first person shooters I can recall. So somewhere in 2007 I experienced my 3rd gamer life crisis because I got sick of playing the same thing (just graphics improvement in each games) and I put down my dual-shock analog controllers, for the next few years.

Then this week I dusted off ye olde PS2 and dug my dusty arsenal. Played this one up, and finished it in 6 hours. Surprisingly, CoD3 made me fall in love with WWII FPS all over again. Obviously the graphics is the main bonus. The plot from the lives of the American and Commonwealth soldiers later spiced things up. Although button combo mashing mini game is generic nowadays (thanks to God of War influence), it sure made the game stood out. Examples include simple L2 R2 mashing when going melee with a German infantry, rotating the L3 button to screw in the fuse of a bomb on the King Tiger tank, or rowing the paddle of a boat.

And then there's the squad bonding that plays in well. Despite playing with different faction in each missions intervally, you will cease to forget the squad members that fight alongside you from the beginning to the bloody end. The conflict, the hate, the swearing, the cussing and the rage when one of them get shot in the head. I can't recall when was the last time I went into a rage and blasted every single Nazi infantry on the streets of Europe after my lads went down. "SHIT! DIXXXXXXXX!!!!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" *cry cry sob, shoot shoot shoot*

Owh and then there's the epic real battlefield tension. The last time I actually felt real fear and stress was in Conflict Vietnam and Shellshock Nam '67 which left me exhausted after end game (and all I did was sitting there staring at TV and mashing the controllers). Defending the hills with fellow Polish army only to be slaughtered was terrifying, and being pushed back to the hill top was stressful and depressing moments. Then with a handful Polish comrades left, the German infantry pushed on with their fearsome battle cry that gave me goose bumps. And the sight of another 2 Panzer tanks behind them make me wanna write a goodbye letter to family in Poland.

Seconds later, green smoke were seen at the base of the hill. The Canadians reinforcements have arrived. We exulted as the Nazi forces retreated. But comrade Lucky was dead beside me. Epic.

Reliving the WWII experience was worth 6 hours of my life

PPSMI: It's Back to BM

After making the students their guinea pigs for 6 years, the government decided teach Science and Math in BM. Everything will be back into BM by 2012.

After 6 years experimenting with PPSMI (Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Inggeris/Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English) the G-men decided to pull the plug and demand both subjects to be taught in Bahasa Malaysia. And I, along with a few other blog followers I reckon, were amongst the guinea pigs. I'm not sure about the rest, but I personally feel WTF? and disappointed with the move. Number 1, I felt like I've been abandoned by my own country after all the things they did to me and the things I had to do for them back in the old schooling days. Remember 1119, Band 5 Band 6, 2 hours English tuition etc? Haihz... Number 2, the move somewhat shows the government's lack of long-term view and planning. Sigh... I'll argue all the move's rationale from my perspective below:

1. Science and Math showed slow beneficiary percentage (increment of 3% throughout the term) [citations needed, read somewhere in Borneo Post]. Well, what did you expect from a 5-6 years program? I learned maths in Mandarin in kindergarten (1-2years), maths and science in BM in primary school (6 years), and was only introduced to English-versions of the subjects Form 4-5 (2 years).

And English is my third tongue, after BM at second and Melanau at first. It was obviously a language shock and but I made it and now happily blogging about this shit in English. The bottom line is not everyone can adapt to such drastic change in less than 10 years. If possible let the PPSMI start from Primary 1, not Form 1 or Form 4. Then and ONLY then can you see a higher percentage of passing rate in the subjects in English.

2. PPSMI caused the results in Math and Science to slip [citations needed, read somewhere in Borneo Post]. So you are saying the kids can't cope? Refer argument #1 above. PPSMI was in the introductory phase in that short 6 years, and was not 'mature'. Just like the first time you were introduce to a new subject e.g. accounting. For a non-accounting student like me I sucked in it but with little effort and practice I can do it, in ONE semester. If you keep feeding me with accounting for the next 2-3 years I won't be surprised to be a Certified Public Accounting even though I'm not loving it. Same goes to the PPSMI. People, do not break under pressure because you can't cope. Everyone has their own learning speed. That's what English tuition classes are for. Patronize them! Where's our kiasuness?

And English can not be the only factor causing the slip. Has the government consider that it may be a symptom, not the problem? For one the country's education system is not that solid, YET and can be the main cause leading to people sucking in English subjects. Remember the days when you get good grades in PMR (Form 3) you directly get the free seat in a science stream and get kicked into arts if you sucked? And you didn't realize you can swap stream that suits you best because the idea is if you are pro you're science student material? Yeah, that system. We'll criticize that another day.

3. The government could save RM40 mil [citations needed, Google] with the abolishment of PPSMI. Need I say more about this? Yeah that's awfully a lot of money from THE RAKYAT'S pockets... which should be sacrificed into this PPSMI for the benefit of the RAKYAT. Not on another Mercedez or the house on the collapsing hill...

4. Malay language scholars conducted demonstrations to stop PPSMI as it will undermine BM as the national language.

*cough* Excuse me professors, Dr., Datuk et. al., as well as protesters of PPSMI. I understand the feeling of having something you own being threatened to extinction, but we must adapt to changes. Sure we can BM-ize maths and science term e.g. conduction-konduksi, contraceptive-kontraseptif etc. But when you try to BM-ize those terms, it won't be BM anymore wouldn't it? It's a wannabe words trying to sound like the English terms. In the end you become the very thing you don't want to be. Oh the irony...

Plus the fear of BM going extinct is baseless. We can learn the two subjects in English but still able to communicate and learn BM. That way we can understand them bilingually, which is an added bonus. Can you imagine this: We talk business to ang moh in English, but at the same time we scheme in BM with our colleagues so the ang moh won't know our devious plot .He won't know we are insulting him in BM too.

5. No worries, all the English terms can be translated. But how many can translate English to BM if we abolish PPSMI? How can people translate properly if they do not have adequate access to English skills? Since all science and math reference books are now originally in English, it will cost more RMRMRM and time to translate them (maybe more than the RM40 mil).

Besides that even English borrowed some terms from Latin. Can these Latin words be translated into BM?: Ceteris paribus, bona fide, inter arma enim silent leges, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali, vigilantibus non dormientibus aequitas subvenit. Even English can't translate these so they directly borrow them and use them officially in economic and law. Can't we borrow directly the English terms instead of translating it and making it sound like something else? Hence this all goes back to argument #4 Paragraph 1. Are you going to pronounce it as the Latin ceteris paribus or BM version ceh-de-ris peh-rebus? The Latin scholars would laughed their asses off in a hot debate with non-PPSMI Malaysian scholars. Or worse.

6. "Mermertabatkan Bahasa Malaysia". Related to argument #4 Paragraph 2. Yes, I do respect the need to keep the national language alive as part to show what makes Malaysia, Malaysia. However this will refrain young Malaysians from interacting with the world. Zealously championing BM will obviously cause the future generations to huddle together amongst themselves because they can't interact with foreigners (both native and non-native English speakers). In the end we will lose in the rat race.

I've seen how some accounting graduates with 3.5 GPAs TOP ACCOUNTANTS coming over but don't understand what void cheques mean. Owh the pain and frustration telling them what to do when more English official documents come by... so you guys can imagine what will happen after PPSMI is completely abolished. MORE HEADACHE. MIGRAINE. DEATH.

7. The future. Related to argument #5. Kiss foreign direct investments goodbye. Business is the art of war and investors will feel more comfortable if the host country adapt to their culture. Being submissive to make them feel all high and mighty, pretend to be a pig in order to eat the tiger, be wise but play the fool. All these refer to how we should be humble and learn the ways of others. And when the time is right, refer to argument #4 Paragraph 2. We strike. Not being angry and go on demonstration for practicing un-Malaysian ways. Think of long-term my friend.

Plus, maybe 10 years from now readers our age then will not understand what Kampua 4 Life is all about. Sad.

The colonial days:
Native: "Keluar dari tanah aku!Celaka!"
Whites: "Oh look John! Friendly natives! Mmm... ceh-lay-kah to you too native!"

2020:
Whites: "You guys are idiots"
Native: "Apa tu?"

Links:
DPM's say on abolishment of PPSMI
Dr. M's stand on the abolishment
Are you with or against the move? Join Dr. M's polls

Borneo Cultural Festival '09

Um... eh... hm.... culture?

I managed to visit this year's Borneo Cultural Fest (BCF) last night. This year it runs from the 3rd till 11th July at the Sibu Town Square. Sadly I don't see much "culture" as how BCF was 4-5 years ago. Back then there were authentic Iban tattooist giving tats to foreigners, actual wooden tibau (gigantic Melanau swing) for visitors to play and to break their backs (ouch to the old lady ><) and actual sets featuring how Chinese, Melanau, Malay etc houses looks and feels like at each corner of the town square. This year, it's just food, food, food, stage performance, food, car auto show, food, logging equipments, food, funfair, food and food ("blame the economy" they say). It feels more like a trade expo than a cultural based event :(

Don't these kids have school in the morning? Or do they have kelas petang?

Umm... can I express it out loud? The purple lights are just too gay...

There you go, cultural food that you can find everyday in kopitiams and side road stalls are all available here...

At the main Town Square A (that's what I think they call it, the one facing Sanyan) is where the main stage. I'm seriously against crowds, so seeing these much sitting in front of the stage just turned me off...

Instead I'd rather join these folks squatting in front of a giant TV screen watching the performances on the stage...

Performances such as from... ummm who is this girl?

Cars can be cultural too, I guess... like this Chevrolet complete with localized style tribal tattoos on it. Very foreign yet local. Mmm culture...

Across Town Square A is obviously Town Square B where all the trade expo and funfair are located. Wheee bumper cars!

Until now I don't know why they kicked me out after I drove in my own bumper dozer into the bumper car arena...

Look! Remember these? Owh-so-classic funfair games :D You know, throw ping-pong balls into the appropriate holes, shoot the balloons with a Glock, fish ducks/fish out of the pond etc to get points and win prizes... yippee!

En! My favourite! The "shoot-those-blasted-glued-rings-but-they-never-go-into-the-bottle" games with air-rifles. But these weren't air-rifles. They were bolt-action homemade rifles that can knock out a full grown cat wohoo!

Owh one more thing, don't wear slippers or sandals... the fairgrounds can be a bit berbatu and muddy...

P/S: Yes I know, this sounds like a post flaming BCF. But you can refer to others who cover up the bright side. Just let me cover the bad side to be fair eh?

Michael Jackson's Ghost

Looks like the King of Pop still moonwalks around Neverland...

I LOLed at the comments that flowed in along with the video of a shadow in Neverland. It's up to you guys to decide whether it's MJ's spirit coming back on the 7th day, or just some random dude casting what physics called shadow. (I really hope the blog supports HD *fingers crossed*). Either way just leave the dude to rest in piece. He's dead. Unless you're one of the believers of the conspiracy that he faked his death to join Elvis, Princess Diana and the like in a secret underground bunker. Or believed he faked his death as a gimmick to his next "comeback" show. Enjoy the vid. And analyse.

Let's Learn Some Bahasa Sarawak Part I

Useful guide for non-Sarawakians to prevent you from confusing and embarrassing yourself in Sarawak. And also for Sarawakians who are not fluent in Bahasa Sarawak.

First there's BM baku (original and official, e.g. Adakah anda lelaki?), then there's Bahasa Sarawak slang (e.g. Kawu miak laki ka?). A few terms in BM baku brings completely different meanings in Bahasa Sarawak/Bhs Swk. Let's learn them. But first the basics:

Pronouns:
Aku - Aku, me, 我
Kawu - Kau, you, 您
Ko - Engkau, you, 您
Kamek - Saya, me, 我 (used affectionately)
Kitak - Anda, you, 您 (used affectionately)
Sidak - Mereka, they, 他们

Now let's move on to the meanings of a baku word here in Sarawak:
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Padah (also pronounced as madah)
BM baku: Consequences
"Padah mendera anak" meaning: "The consequences of child abuse"

Bhs Swk: Say, tell
"Apa dipadah kawu ya?" meaning: "What are you saying?"
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Kelakar
BM baku: Funny, hilarious
"Cerita Mr. Bean baru itu tidak kelakar langsung" meaning: "The new Mr. Bean movie sucks"

Bhs Swk: Speak, converse
"Kawu dah kelakar ngan Boss tek ka?" meaning: "Have you spoken to the Boss?"
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Tangga (also pronounced as nangga)
BM baku: Stairs, ladder
"Dia ditimpa tangga" meaning: "The ladder fell onto him"

Bhs Swk: Watch, look, see
"Mok tangga cita Transformers sik?" meaning: "Wanna watch Transformers?"
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Kenak (corruption of the word kena)
BM baku: hit, apply to
"Tembakan noob itu terkena rakannya" meaning: "The noob's shot hit her teammate"

Bhs Swk: Why
"Kenak ko mok tauk?" meaning: "Why you wanna know?"
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Tikam
BM baku: Stab
"Dia mati ditikam di dalam tasik" meaning: "He died after being stabbed in the lake"

Bhs Swk: Throw
"Nya mati ditikam ke dalam tasik" meaning: "He died after being thrown into the lake"
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Berekot (corruption of the word berikut)
BM baku: Follow, the following
"Tolong jawab soalan yang berikut" meaning: "Please answer the following questions"

Bhs Swk: Run
"Leput aku eh, lamak sik berekot DX" meaning: "I'm exhausted, long time didn't run DX"
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End of Lesson 1