XKCD

Today's XKCD is so epic that I just have to share it with you guys. If you understand it, that is.

Home

This is the first time blogging from my humble home in Bukit Mertajam. Believe it or not, I'm a very nostalgic person. One thing about coming home every 3 or 4 months is that you notice the progress that the once little Bukit Mertajam is making.

Looking at the new houses appear by as I drive back through a once familiar road, I remember my teenage years, where the brand new houses stood were once a little path with coconut trees all around. Me and my friends used to bike around little kampung paths like these. During my last few years in high school it was already a construction site.

Driving back to my house I couldn't help but notice new condos, once that weren't there before. I remember when I was a kid and I wanted certain toys and my parents told me that you can't get that in little Bukit Mertajam. Not anymore.

Stepping in to a familiar coffee shop and hearing the familiar Penang Hock Kien accent puts a smile on my face. I always know I'm home when I hear it. Looking at the coffee shop people that see me growing up, I can only wonder what they think of me, or what are they whispering behind my back. Not that it matters much, it's just a matter of curiosity. "Char Koay Teow, mai nui qi pua." (fried koay teow, no egg) I ordered. The lady smiled as she sees me. My mother used to bring me here everyday after school. To be honest though, the koay teow here was never really good, I ordered more out of habit then anything else.

I just went to the new Jusco in town, and when I was inside it I couldn't help but feel a bit surreal when I think that I'm in my hometown. This is what Bukit Mertajam has become! I tell myself as I look at the vast, clean, modern insides of a brand new shopping mall. Secret Recipe, McDonald's, Auntie Annes, Baker's Cottage and whatever franchise is there can easily be found. No longer will people look at you funny when you speak english to them, and it's getting rare to find someone that doesn't have at least a basic level of English. My little town surely has progressed.

As I roam around my little town I couldn't help but wonder what would become of it when I've finished my studies in the U.S. With the current rate of progress, I'm almost certain that much of it will be unrecognizable. However, I'm equally certain that some parts of it will be the same, at least for a while.

Things may have changed here, but no matter what this is where my heart lies, and where my home is. I might travel the world, I might even live somewhere else when I grow up, but in a special place in my heart little Bukit Mertajam will always stay.

Activities

How I spend my time in the short period after the finals and before I go back to my hometown.

12.30 p.m Wake, bathe, brush teeth

12.30-2.00 p.m Play Patapon on PSP, awesome game

2.00-4.00 p.m Eat with friend, then go to giant buy some stuff

4.00-7.00 p.m Back in room, play PSP again

7.00-11.30 p.m Go Asia Cafe play DotA with friend

11.30-12.30 a.m Sohai sohai go Bubba Gump eat with friend

12.30-1.30 a.m Drive back to Nilai

1.30-5.00 a.m DotA at the internet cafe here

5.00-12.30 p.m Bathe, brush teeth, sleep

Bob the Shark

Just thought I'd update you on our dear deterministic shark. I did not see him on my last few trips to Al-Salam. Only an empty cloudy tank where he once was.

R.I.P Bob.

Perfection

Perfection. We often throw the word around in our lives, but what does it mean?

On the surface, this is obvious. Perfection is something without a flaw, something that is good in anyway imaginable.

Seems clear enough. Yet is perfection truly attainable, or merely an oxymoron? Consider this statement I make. Bob is a perfect dog. Immediately you have an image in your mind of a dog that you consider (for now) perfect. No doubt Bob is friendly, caring, loyal, smart, strong and all other imaginable positive attributes we might associate with a good dog. Yet there are some qualities that do go together, even if both are good qualities. For example, you might want a dog that is strong enough to guard your house at night against criminals, such a dog would logically be of a decent size. Yet such a dog would not be able to possess the quality of easy to carry around. Even if you compromise and get a medium sized dog, remember that dog wouldn't be as good in both qualities, thus imperfect.

This applies to anything, of course, assume the perfect handphone. What is the size of the perfect handphone? Too small and it is easily misplaced, too big and it's too bulky, too little functions and it's useless, too many and it's confusing Perfect beer? Too bitter and it's piss water, too smooth and it lacks flavour. Perfect girlfriend? Too caring and she's way too controlling, too uncaring and you don't feel loved. With every little move up or down the scale of any quality, comes it's pros and cons. And since all quality has cons.

Nothing is perfect.

Bastards

H1N1

Okay, I've heard enough about H1N1 that's downright silly. I feel compelled to write a post about the current H1N1 flu situation.

First, H1N1 is a flu virus with flu symptoms. Without laboratory testing, it's practically impossible to know if someone has H1N1 or plain old seasonal flu.

Second, due to the obvious fact that H1N1 is a flu virus, it's impossible to get reliable statistics about it, because the only way we know it's H1N1 is through laboratory testing, and most people don't go for a laboratory test after catching the flu. Due to the similar physical signs between normal flu and H1N1 flu, many (possible several times more then reported) cases of H1N1 probably went unreported, because people get sick, treat it as any other flu (hot tea and warm bed) and recovered.

Third, because of the difficulty in getting accurate statistics, experts (and me) agree that H1N1 is probably way more widespread then you think (possibly 10 times more cases then reported). With the current data in Malaysia, the virus has already successfully infected much of the population.

Fourth, due to how widespread the H1N1 virus already is, quarantine and restrictions on traveling, as well as closing down schools, in most cases, is useless. If 10 of the students in your school has high fever, it's too late, the virus has spread into the school. It spreads through the air, people!

Fifth, it's flu, not AIDS, H1N1 is not much more dangerous then normal flu. Getting H1N1 is far from a death sentence. In fact in all likelihood someone close to you has already got it and recovered, and nobody knew about it. As of July 27th, there are 134503 reported cases of H1N1 with 816 deaths. Bringing the death rate up to a whopping 0.61%. Compare that to the death rate of plain old seasonal flu of 0.12%. Remember though, that there are definitely much more unreported cases of H1N1, but most cases of H1N1 deaths do get reported, meaning that 0.61% is probably a much higher then what really is.

However, it's noted that the potential the virus has for mutations might make the H1N1 pandemic much more serious in the future.

So next time you hear someone speak of H1N1 as if it were the end of the world, say:
Relax, it's a fucking flu!

Fast food theory