Carcass

Welp, I woke up early today and had meself a bit of leisure surfing before doing anything else. When I went out of me room to take a bath.. Lo and behold, my car was missing... Tis the saddest thing yet this week as I've been looking forward to drive my own car yesterday morn and yet it was taken from me because of a minor problem with starting the ever ailing merc. Turns out the merc's battery was flat so a simple battery change solved the problem. Oh but that was yesterday... Why was my car missing again today????

I took the merc's key and opened it's door. Immediately obvious was the auto-gear in D position. Oh god don't tell me they took my car just because they couldn't see that the car wasn't in neutral or parking.. I reset the gear position to P, tried the ignition and sure enough the merc starts easily.

After that I actually wasted more than an hour tuning the merc's audio system. It's amplifier and subwoofers weren't properly tuned after my dad installed replacement units some time ago so I did what I could. Now CDs and high-Q MP3s sound great while the FM radio works fine as long as reception is good. Any interference and you'd hear every single pop and crackle. Well, that shows the audio upgrade was worth it... Everything's crystal clear.... Oh low quality MP3s sound really bad with this audio system. I tried an MP3 CD that was in the glove compartment and my ears almost bled. Thankfully I rip my own CDs most of the time and the rare cases I actually get an album through the net it would be because it isn't selling in stores anymore so the online rips would also be high quality...

Di3Va

This is the least interesting live concert I've seen on tv. The only thing that I could see for sure is that they have great stamina. Continuous singing till a commercial... Other than that there's nothing spectacular. Their voices aren't that great and the songs don't sound as they do on the radio... I'm not comparing this show to their CDs. I'm comparing them to radio broadcasts. Well the fans seem to love it. Maybe it sounds better live or they're all loyal fans.

Oh I actually do like some parts of the show. The orchestra :D They play lovely music

Work - Qwiz

A quick pre-trip quiz ahaha~

Your Career Personality: Original, Devoted, and Service Oriented

Your Ideal Careers: Art director Book editor College professor Composer Film director Graphic designer Novelist Stage actor Psychiatrist Writer

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

Welp

Hmm... Am feeling better today... No I didn't get any physical disease. I was just having an extended out of body experience. No flying souls or transparent self, just mind displacement :D

Dragon!

All ye who love fantasy novels would surely love this quiz. I post here the result I acquired.

My inner dragon is the true draconic magic-user. Deep down I am very wise, somewhat shy, and I have a rather short fuse. But don't worry, tans prefer to spend their time counting their enormous treasure, so pass quietly and you'll stay out of danger. Click the image to try the Inner Dragon Online Quiz for yourself.

More on Tans:

Your Inner Dragon is the true draconic magic-user. Tans have been all but forgotten in popular literature, but that suits them just fine. They're slightly shy and spend most of their time in impassable mountain valleys. When feeling brave or adventurous, Tans use their shape-shifting ability to blend in with society. Given a choice, however, Tans still much prefer to be left to their own devices.

You like to spend time devising new and interesting spells and potions, and counting and hoarding your gigantic treasure. Your favorable attributes are longevity, security, magic, and reverence for life. To top it off, your breath weapon is a curious mix of Fire and Air. Just tell folks to watch out, as a Tan you've got a seriously short temper!

Try the Dragon Quiz Yerself!

Merdeka

I notice that there's this merdeka fever this year. Merdeka is independence day. There's so many promotions and offers, so many contests.... though I've yet to participate in any. It's the big 50 for Malaysia... Technically it's 50 years independence for Malaya but that's just a small technicality right?

Anyway I went to the historical part of Melaka, the part where we have the Portuguese ruins and Dutch buildings... It was the town centre back in the old days I guess. As usual I didn't take any pictures of anything~

The last time I went to this area was in 1997 and that's a long long while ago... I notice the Sound & Light auditorium is still there... Something good that. I hear that it's something really spectacular though I've never gone to see it and it is something started in 1989 so I don't know whether it's still good. The Sound & Light show is actually a re-enactment of history with still and moving image projections coupled with narrative, music and sound effects. Umm... that sounds like a multimedia presentation. Well, it was unparalleled in 1989 and the 90s I guess. I still want to see it as this is one thing that Melaka has that I've never experienced. Make that two things.. The other is going to Pulau Melaka (Melaka Island).

Okay just next to the Sound & Light open auditorium there's the philatelic museum, a place I've gone to once when I was still too small to appreciate anything in there. I moved past the museum towards the park that I knew was there to enjoy the shade and ambience. I'm really glad that I did go because it's so calming... The trees are each marked with a big sign that reads "DO NOT DAMAGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES - The Melaka City council". They're all in capital letters with red background and white lettering... It's a necessity here in Malaysia where development is usually seen to be more important than history. I promise to take a camera and snap some pics. The trees are lovely as quite a few of the larger trees are actually two trees intertwined together and they support a lot of smaller climbing and saprofitic plants...

I envision the trees symbolise the true vision of Malaysia as this small park is actually officially launched by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman in 20th February 1957. It was launched together with his proclamation that Malaya is to gain independence in 31st August that year. There's a Proclamation of Independence Memorial near the small park but I'm really surprised to read the plaque stating the park is also connected to the proclamation because I've never read or heard of it from anywhere. I'll write some more after I've taken pictures of the park and trees.

Money Laundering

I tried out some money laundering... Didn't seem that useful though... Okay, that's actually the tail end of the story, let's start at the beginning.

I was paying a lot of attention on my attitude towards abundance, specifically as regards my cash flow. As such I process a lot of my anxiety about money or as it stands now the lack of extra income. I get barely enough evry month no matter how much my total expenses actually are. So if I actually need RM800 extra somehow or other I'd get the 800 ringgit. If I don't plan on buying anything at all for the month I'd actually earn my phone expenses plus 50 or so. So my monthly income is a yo-yo but I could see that I've some issues to settle.

In my efforts to solve my issues, I did a few rounds of tapping on cleaning up the prejudices that I have against money. You see, I always had this idea that money is something extranous and the right amount is just enough to survive on. This belief translates directly into my monthly income level and I really want to clear this particular block. I focused on letting the issue work itself out and later did a few cleaning sessions as I call it...

I guess all my work cleaning up my issues culminated in me losing my wallet as ironic as that sounds. I actually got my wallet back the very evening I posted it was missing.. I got it clean and fresh out of the washing machine. That's my money laundering experience... I literally got my money laundered.... It's nothing illegal but I have no wish to repeat it even if all my cash smells really nice after that.

Sekian terima kasih as we put at the end of a formal Malay language letter. It translates to umm.... Thank you, the end. Feel free to comment on my cleansing experience~~~

technorati tags:money, issues, laundry, funny, strange

My Wallet!!!

Aaa~ My wallet is missing.... I can't find it. I won't go so far as saying I lost it but it is confirmed missing... Anyway I searchefd for 2 hours this morning, will continue searching again when I'm home. Don't feel comfortable without my wallet but I dispersed most of my worry. I had a history of losing my wallets.... Have been extra careful with my wallet ever since I lost it 3 times in one year's time... It's too much a hassle having to replace my identity card, driver's license and bank cards... now there's also my debit card.. Oh I really hope my wallet is somewhere at home.

Morbid Curiosity

From the Wikipedia

Morbid curiosity

A morbid curiosity is a compulsion, fixed with excitement and fear, to know about macabre topics, such as death and horrible violence (see also: snuff film). In a milder form, however, this can be understood as a cathartic form of behavior or as something instinctive within humans. According to Aristotle, in his Poetics we even “enjoy contemplating the most precise images of things whose sight is painful to us”. (This aspect of our nature is often referred to as the 'Car Crash Syndrome' or 'Trainwreck Syndrome', derived from the notorious inability of passersby to ignore such accidents.)

This curiosity makes it a nightmare everytime there's an accident anywhere in KL or on any highways. It's so much more stressful when the accident happens on the opposite lane. not blocking any of the 3 lanes you're on...

Anyway I could confidently say I don't indulge in my morbid curiosities... at least on the road... I would look at an accident whenever I'm a passenger but I insist the driver should not slow down and if I'm the driver I won't even look directly. What I can see out of the corner of my eye and at most a glance, if the traffic really crawls, would be the most I'd get of any accident.

Lovely Day

A few things happened just now. The rain slowed down to a drizzle but suddenly power was cut off. Lightning arrestor kicking in. Having a double storey house on top a hill makes my house a lightning target. Anyway there was a distinct smell of ozone but I attributed it to the lightning but I was wrong. Found out that the simple surge protector I bought saved both my routers. Will get it again after this. Can't be too safe against lightning right.

That's one thing. The other thing right now is the weather. There's fog as far as I can see. My house is covered in it and the horizon is gone. It's almost 2 p.m! Wow. The last time it fogged any time here was more or less 7 or 8 years ago. Anyway there's never fog in the noon. It's too hot even if it rains.... Something is different maybe. I'm enjoying this. Air conditioned wind blowing into my room.... I sat a while at my window sill enjoying the cool air and the view outside. Saw two kingfishers took a perch on 2 different logs opposite my window almost at the same time. It's amazing. Too bad I don't have a camera or Id have taken some pictures. The kingfishers or raja udang as we know it stayed a bit cleaning their feathers. Raja udang means prawn king. Don't ask me where the name came by. I don't know.

Am enjoying this day. A most lovely day

Rain

I love rain. It's literally pouring here. Had strong winds for half an hour before the rain. High pitched whistling, things flying around the room and later windows slamming shut. I leaned at the window sill facing the wind to appreciate the full glory of the wind.

I think the trees would love this deluge. Since it's really hot and bright whenever it's now raining there'd be green patches all over the place a few days after this... It would be lovely.... Oh the flowers will bloom too. I'm doing a bit more this time. Taking pics as soon as the buds come out.

The only thing a bit off about all this is the fact that it's impossible to keep the windows open. The wind is coming from an angle that gets both my windows... Too bad about that. Well, in a few months time when the monsoon winds change direction I'll get to have open windows when it's pouring~~~

New Day

Today is a new day. A new moment that begins exactly now. The passing of time is irrelevant as I am always present in now. What went before has already gone, what comes after is yet to come.

But still.... the past is an extension of now... Now that has passed....

The future is another facet of now... Now that will be...

We are all in the now... Our existence is wrapped in a single ball where the future and past is a blur of mixed lines. All is in one place and yet all is apart... We change what we can in this little ball that we call life. We change what we can, we do what we want to and yet we are still in this ball...

Our life... Our world... Our existence

-Ahmad Hilmi-

technorati tags:Musings, Life

Lost in Translation

I keep reading silly things... like Mukhsin, the not so new new Malay movie, I would read it as mushkin. There are a few other words I habitually read silly. It's one part of my clumsiness... Oh... I actually said arrogant when I meant humble once. A case of saying the exact opposite of what I mean. I realised what I said when the "arrogant" guest I was introducing glared at me. Everyone took it as my poor attempt at a joke so it didn't turn sour.

Hiatus???

My itching fingers got the better of me. After a few days of typing commands, editing codes and an e-book, I got tired. Well there's also the fact that my mental digestion seem to work exceptionally well these few days. I've digested most of the information that I've acquired in my weekend trip the other day.
Basically I'm not changing what I'm doing. I will just add on to what I do. It is comforting to realise that I am on the road leading to my intended destination and that's what I've realised after processing my discussions and the ideas that spring from it. I also learned how to accelerate which is something that gives me a needed boost to my confidence. I was already confident of what I planned even when people kept asking me and pushing me to do something else before this but I persevered. Well, I did so courtesy of my parents' patience and understanding but I did manage to hold on to my path. Whole new dimensions.. all with boundless potential. New worlds... new civilisations... so many possibilities...
I was speaking of ideas and possibilities not new worlds. The words that I use are simply a mirror of my thinking style. Something that I felt was so alien and kept me apart from people around me. I lamented the fact that my mind worked in a way so strange that people misunderstood my observations and ultimately my intentions. Well, most of my time in the past year had been spent in trying to understand the strange twists and turns my mind makes and stringing sense out of the output it gives. It's a wonder that I actually finished school and an even bigger wonder that I finished my degree when I never actually understood what my mind prints out. They were so much gibberish and I only understood a portion of what I processed before my philosophical year.
Okay. This is turned out to be a post on my mind and how much it was a stranger to me before this. There are still it's ways that I've yet to understand but I work well with it now. My mind and I make a good team, a mutually beneficial partnership. One that enriches both of us...

Hiatus

Am on a writing hiatus. Had a trip to my friend's place last weekend and had great discussions with him. Exchanged stories and ideas.

Still processing a lot of things right now and am working out a new map. I'll be writing again in 2 weeks time unless I have a revelation before that. So, see you on the 5th of May...

-Ahmad Hilmi-

Ah, news from AMD....

Been wondering when AMD would release their new processor... There's also the new GPU, R600 from ATI/AMD that's supposed to come out this April but so far is has been quite elusive. Here's a few lines from the AMD Gospel on Overclockers.com.

Then the same day in Tunisia, being the second day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the C2Ds, came Jesus Derrick and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, "Pieces I bring unto you."

And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his Barcelonas and Agena FXs, and even 65nm R600s, with copies of selected benchmarks. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

The AMD Gospel

Here's to hoping the new GPU and CPU from AMD would be great performers. Prices would be competitive if they're so and we would be able to enjoy better performance at lower prices. My target date for a full upgrade is sometime in October so am really hoping they give Intel and NVIDIA stiff competition.

Google Map Bug

Well, just read about the google map bug.. apparently it asks you to swim across the Atlantic Ocean if you try to find directions between Europe and the United States. Quite a funny bug.... Oh it's also true the other way round, from the US to Europe.

Speed Reading!

Did the speed reading test that Aimi did... I got this You read 144 words in 0.37 minutes. Your reading speed is 389 words per minute!

One intetesting tidbit from the site is this statement; Please note that reading is around 25% slower when reading from a screen compared to reading from a paper. I've always preferred books when there's a choice between an electronic and paper based formats. Maybe that's why... Screen reading is slower~

Oh the speed reading test link.

Adversity meme

I've no idea what meme means so I referred to the Oxford English Dictionary.

meme

/meem/

• noun Biology an element of behaviour or culture passed on by imitation or other non-genetic means.

— DERIVATIVES memetic adjective.

— ORIGIN Greek mimema ‘that which is imitated’, on the pattern of gene.

Anyway here goes. I'm doing the Adversity meme started by Paul @ Original Faith.

A wall so high as to be insurmountable,
Dividing a land that on both sides sit idle,
What comes are shot without questions asked,
What moves are beaten till it moves no more,
The people lay afraid and with fear comes anger,
When asked what they fear their voices disappear,
No memory lives of what caused the divide,
No reasons given for what feeds the fear,
They accept what is passed from father to son,
No questions asked, no thought ever given.

Scientist Creates First Human-Sheep Chimera

Scientist Creates First Human-Sheep Chimera

How does that strike you? I started thinking of multi headed creatures with unnatural strength when I read the word chimaera. Essentially it just means a creature with mixed genes. Oxford dictionary gives this description.

chimera

/kimeer/ (also chimaera)

• noun 1 Greek Mythology a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. 2 something hoped for but illusory or impossible to achieve. 3 Biology an organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues.

— ORIGIN Greek khimaira ‘she-goat or chimera’.

It's interesting research and since the organs are just half humans for now it'll take some more time to perfect the organ production. It's a big leap because organ donors are in short supply and this also addresses compatibility problems since it your own stem cells are used.

Cross-species disease is a danger but I think between that and getting a human donated organ and living on anti-rejection drugs it's almost the same risk. Oh, one thing, the blood and other sheep components that essentially makes the creature a sheep would still be there.... Maybe there would be some transition period after a transfer before the organ is fully accepted... We'll just have to see how the research progresses I guess.

I for one think this is good progress. Growing human foetuses for research purposes is illegal in many countries and stem cell research is allowed to a certain extent in some. So technically this circumvents the abhorrence that many feel in regard to human foetus research.