2 sens

Wordpress

2009-10-21T19:57:00.002+08:00

Okay, a quick update..

I'm currently trying out Wordpress.com cause it seems more powerful, more complex and more customisable. Therefore, any update would be over in Black & White.

Thank you~

Good Governance

2009-09-13T11:52:00.006+08:00

Hi!

Recent chats with grown ups have made me thought about this post. [so this is what they talk about... =P ]

Yeah, so...

oh yeah, before I start, let me do a little commercial, yeah?

Archie's Christmas album will be out 13.10.09!! It's called Christmas From The Heart.

A little something from the people of David Deviations:

okay, let us continue, shall we?

Good governance. What do you understand by this term? [I know! I know! Malaysian Studies got teach...yada yada yada] okay, i know there's a formal education about this, but I'm just gonna give my point of view.

To me, good governance is not just about giving out goodies during election period. Nor is it about sweet talking and empty promises. A government is one that cares for the people. One that shapes the future of the country with the people in mind. Decisions may not necessary be popular, but one has to stick with it for the people's future.

Talk about shaping the future.. Malaysia was a pioneer during our early independence years.. Economy was good. Sports was excellent. In the ASEAN region, we were sort of the leader in almost everything. But now...

Look at Singapore. Look at Thailand. We are losing out. And soon, we'll have to look at Philippines too. At the rate we're going, we're gonna have to join out Indonesian counterparts soon.

Our buying power is going down the drain. The Ringgit has lost its value. Look at Singaporeans feasting and shopping in Johor during the weekends. We were once an equal. Another simple example if you notice on the radio is the traffic reports. In the mornings, the Causeway would be jam where? Towards Singapore of course. Because Malaysians are working there for much more luxurious pay. And money is going out.

So, how can the government ask for our support? When our quality of life is deteriorating relative to our neighbours! We are regressing! Then why is the same party continuing their rule in Malaysia? Because the opposition is not even at par with them, that's why! It's like a monopoly [Malaysia's favourite past time]. No competitors good enough to offer them a fight.

This is sad. And they are wondering why brain drain happens. Because people who are smart enough and capable enough will get out of here ASAP. It's not that they do not love Malaysia, is that they can't find enough reasons to. When asked why you love Malaysia? It's always the food, food and food and sometimes the people[so not true - are we polite? nah~].

And those who feels patriotic enough to stay here, trying to change the landscape of Malaysia ends up feeling frustrated and disappointed. That's because there's nothing we can do. You try going into Parliament as a representative. As an independent, you don't stand a chance to change the policies[cause you are obviously outnumbered]. As a member of a party, you can't go against the leaders of your party[you'll get fired and silenced for doing so].

So, how? Migrate lor~ Though I'm hopeful that someday[the sooner the better], Malaysia will change for the better. Be matured enough to make policies that benefit all Malaysian[not cronies] and have a strong vision and principle for Malaysia's future. This has to begin with the people's mentality. People who has the right mentality to lead so that people with the right mentality can vote you in. Right now, it's like a dead end, no choice situation.

Note: I am not condemning any party, nor am I supporting any. And I hope everyone will do the same. Don't just listen from one side of a story, cause there's always two. Cause what I noticed are two extremes; for the gov and for the opp. The gov has helped the people, no doubt, but they are far from the best. The opposition has their way of thinking too, but what has they done for the people? Empty promises.

Governing myself,
Loo Han

Grow Up

2009-09-11T22:31:00.003+08:00

Hello there!

Recently, there has been an uproar in Indonesia over a Malaysian tourism video, where a pendet dance was featured in it. The pendet dance is a traditional Balinese dance. The origin? I don't know, but that's not the point is it?

I believe there isn't much of an issue anyway. The Malaysian government was not responsible for airing the commercial. Discovery TV was. And they had apologised to both countries here. Even though the Malaysian government isn't responsible, we also offered our apologies to cool down the situation.

So why are the Indonesians so upset about this matter? Threatening to "sweep out" Malaysians in Indonesia? This definitely sours the diplomatic tie. Hey, come on la.. It was just a mistake made by DISCOVERY TV. If anyone were to be blamed, they are. It was a mistake, like I said. And they had apologised.

Besides, the Malaysian government didn't even defend that the dance belonged to Malaysians. Heck, who cares? I've never even heard of it, never seen it, never practised it...so it's not even in the Malaysian culture. Why was it in the commercial? Who knows? If foreigners were to come to Malaysia just because of the dance, they would obviously have googled first. A simple search would tell them that the dance is Balinese, not Malaysian.

The message here is: Grow Up! Don't be so sensitive over small issues like this. I know it's not right to claim ownership of something that isn't ours. And Malaysians aren't claiming so. We apologised. Discovery TV apologised. And now is your turn for the excessive, fanatic reactions.

Disclaimer: I do not intend to provoke any party whatsoever. Just my 2 sens view. Take it or leave it.

Growing up,
Loo Han

PigeoNet

2009-09-10T21:19:00.001+08:00

Hi! =)

Just wanted to share something I found on Endgadget:

Pigeon transmits data faster than leading South African internet provider

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 10th 2009 at 7:45AM

Here's a sure-fire way to get noticed: take an overly trite expression and apply it literally to your complaint. Case in point: Unlimited IT, so exasperated by South Africa's leading supplier of slow internet connectivity that it pitted a Telkom ADSL line against a real-live homing pigeon in a 60-mile data transmission race. The pigeon arrived with the 4GB memory stick in just over an hour with another hour required to load the data onto the computer. As for Telkom? Well, after 2 hours it had barely reached 4%. Point made.

I wonder what about streamyx..

ciao~

E-Roo-Ma

2009-09-07T19:58:00.003+08:00

Hello!

Just a short sharing session.. If you've noticed, I've been super obsessed with Yiruma's River Flows In You. And still am.. But thanks to a friend of mine, I'm obsessed with his other songs as well.. okay, maybe not obsessed, but have a preference towards..

Some of the good ones:
River Flows In You
Kiss The Rain
Maybe
It's Your Day

Signing Out~
Moony Rainy

P.S. I ♥ RX8

I Wanna

2009-08-29T16:57:00.002+08:00

Hey!

Long time since I last updated.. But an update is still an update, right? K, I was very busy catching up with my studies since our Mid-Sem exam is upon us. In fact, just finished Maths this morning and flew(did I say flew? I meant drive) back to malacca with David (Tai)..

Let's see whassup?... hmm... 2nd Lad Project was a total failure. More time, more effort, more shit. We we supposed to design something made from only newspaper and glue to protect a hard-boiled egg from a 2.5m fall. Everything was well... All the test runs were perfect... But just on that day... in the bloody lab, it failed. Twice! F. No comment.

Well, so yeah.. studied Maths the rest of the week. Then Friday, I went for PSA field trip...to Monash. WTF right? Nestle got kicked out to be replaced by Monash Air-Conditioning Unit... Up side was.. it's only 1 hour.. so went in to the chiller...cooling tower... come out with deaf ears..~

oh yeah...on tuesday, I had my second guitar lesson with MMC.. good news is, they're doing this every week from now on.. [YAY!] I learned a new song.. it's called good riddance by green day. It's a real great song and easy to learn.. I can play and sing to it after a couple of days of practice..(not to mention the guilty consiousness)..now I want to learn Taylor Swift's songs.. One thing though.. Anyone have any tips on how to learn the sturmmings? There's like no system to tell you how...

okay...so yeah..that's all for now.. PSA looming around the corner..

Song: AAR - I Wanna
Green day - good riddance

P.S. Anyone has Cash Flow 101? The board game by Robert Kiyosaki? I wanna borrow =)

So Lonely Alone

2009-08-14T21:52:00.002+08:00

Hello everyone!

This post is a very special post to me. Cause it's my first attempt at songwriting and also playing the guitar.. Hope you guys like it. Constrictive criticism is very much appreciated! =)

Song : Justin Bieber - One Time (have I recommended this already? My bad.. it's a good song..Justin's the next big thing)

Walking on air

2009-08-12T19:36:00.003+08:00

ahhhhhh~~~
*laid back, relax, legs up on table, leaning back on presidential chair*

yeapss...love that feeling, don't you?
that makes 2 of us..

just finished physics lab 1 today.. picking up the guitar again thanks o tuesday's lesson with MMC.. so..yeah, great feeling of accomplishment.. but there's still lotsa work to be done...so, ciao!

song: justin bieber - one time (he's an amazing 15 year old just starting to hit the music scenes big time....(he already did in YouTube))

A lil' update

2009-08-10T21:50:00.002+08:00

A short update...

Well, cause I'm busy...

Currently facing lots of datelines: egg race, dynamics lab report, weekly, tutorials, etc.
Doing my best to cope with all these assignments while still having my "me" time. Also..just signed up for Hitz RM5K Says Its You contest. Hopefully...they'l sen d a PI to follow me around and hopefully, I'll listen in and get the RM5000 cash! That'd be nice...

Another thing is..there'll be a guitar lesson tomorrow under MMC - Monash Music Club... should I go? Still contemplating with the Egg Race so close...hmmm

okay, that's it for now. don't expect so much update from now on, ya..

Song recommendation: Natasha Beddingfield - Unwritten(totally rocks, especially the lyrics)

H

2009-08-05T20:27:00.002+08:00

H for Hello!
H for Hi!!

but H is also for H1N1
and Haze.

I guess you know what I'm about to talk about, right? I don't need to give you the statistics of H1N1 deaths in Malaysia(especially Malacca). What I'd like to say is this: take care of yourself. Cause people care for you. Anyhow, I believe it's God's way of reducing the overwhelming population of the world. But please, please, hopefully, He is hearing this: filter your choices, k?

Now, about haze... haiz.. I thought we could skip that part of the year thanks to the rains a couple of months back.. But, nope. It's back. And iHate haze!

Last but not least,

H is also for Home
and Harry Potter.

Nite Nite. =)

Bad Day? Check This Out

2009-08-04T20:04:00.005+08:00

Hello everyone!

I just wanna share this short video with you all..hoping it will inspire you just as it had inspire me. Every time you feel you've had a bad day, watch this clip.

I felt really inspired and was on the brink of shedding tears when I first watch this. It tells of the passion of a man. A passion so strong that he is able to overcome limits set upon him. Seriously, no boundaries. His name is Nick Vujicic.

He has definitely inspired me to go further. Chasing my dreams. Made my bad day seem almost laughable compared to his everyday life. So, please, give him 5 minutes to inspire you.

If you want more info on Nick, you can go to this website. or, simply youtube him!

Song recommendation : Colbie Callat - Fallin' For You

The Prince, The Blond and The Headmistress

2009-08-01T19:12:00.004+08:00

Hello there!

Today marks the beginning of August. Rain greeted me this morning. A very heavy one indeed. I liked it very much nonetheless.

Today is also a very special day for me. Went out with Jude in the afternoon to watch (finally) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Well, yeah..that's where I got the post title from. Just in case you're wondering, the blond refers to Malfoy, not Lavender. I find the 3 characters above very well acted out in the movie. The Headmistress especially meet my expectations of McGonagall when I read the book.

Harry, Ron and Hermoine? Still a little awkward at times... Another character worth mentioning is Dumbledore. Indeed, it's very sad to kill his character.. Though I have to say, I do not agree with Michael Gambon. He wanted Dumbledore to be strict... I wanted Dumbledore to be more grandfather...

Overall, the movie was okayy...(any adaptation typically would receive much compliment from me =D ) Worth watching..

Song recommendation : Brooke White - Be Careful

P.S. I certainly have the rights to take a break from blogging once in a while, CK!

Bubbly

2009-07-30T22:37:00.003+08:00

I wanted to say something bout traffic..but wtf~ wait you'll say i emo or what... but really, complaining is so much easier to blog.. =)

Anyhow, I've a video clip to share. Archie fans should like this one. Anti-Archies, shoo!

where ever you go...,
Loo Han

*chope*( don't know how to spell this)

as I was browsing through http://davidarchuletanetwork.ning.com/ , I came across this:

I want it!!! but it's USD40.00 Damnit~

Food, food, glorious food!

2009-07-29T18:52:00.004+08:00

Hello everybody out there.

Not on a very cheerful mood today cause got things to complain about... First of is my lips. They are so dry and there's a blister on the inside. I hate dry lips. Nothing really works. Not the 2000ml of water everyday, not lip balms... I really have no idea.. Now trying natural oil... =(

Okay, that's part of the depression mood. The other is about food. Human beings eat so much, yet this basic necessity is so expensive nowadays. Recently, there was this article in the papers about a stall selling roti canai and teh tarik for only RM1. He said it's very possible and he's actually earning 100% profit. If he is earning 100%, then WTF are the other stalls earning? GOLD?? Seriously..their profit margin is so high, like 400% to 500%.

This is such a burden on the people, since food is a necessity. Therefore, we basically have no choice. And since food is a necessity, why are food stalls selling their food for such a high price? The demand is always there, especially if the customers are satisfied with the food and price. Selling food is not a one off thing but rather like an on-going process.

So, please somebody do something! Food prices are increasing everywhere, even in small towns and rural areas because of these people trying to earn easy money.

Individually, we can easily boycott a particular operator. But if there are still customers buying their products, then they will continue to flourish! And as much as we'd like to boycott, we still need to eat. It's not everywhere that you can find that RM1 shop!

Why am I grunting? Because I feel we, the common Joes have suffered in silence long enough! If this trend continue to be persistent, we might as well ditch all other work and go back to agriculture -> barter trade -> regression(which by the look of it, we are)

A case study of myself this afternoon :

Nasi tomato + egg + dahl = RM4.00!

And mind you, the portion isn't a mountain by a mile. In fact, its pretty pathethic... Considering the dishes(no meat, no vege, in fact, no nothing but an egg), this is ridiculous!

So, yeah. I know it's really pointless, but I hope in the near future(before I die), there would be enough kind-hearted, reasonable souls out there who would do what's right.

Good.Bye.

Let It Rain

2009-07-29T10:47:00.002+08:00

Goooood Mornin'

I'm happy cause class ended early, but pissed cause the quality of the call sucked. Anyhow, I just wanna say that I love rain. Waking up to a raining day is just oh-so-nice, right?? No scorching heat. Add rain to a little wind, and we get a storm. Perfect weather to lay in bed and read Harry Potter. Too bad have to go to Uni.

I'm just saying this cause I heart rain!

K, signing off. Too bad the sun's out now. Bloody hot~

KPI

2009-07-28T19:17:00.000+08:00

A very good evening to y'all!

Just a short notice.

You may or may not have noticed the "KPI" tag at the bottom of each post.

There's 3 options : lame, interesting, great!

It is basically what you thought of that particular post. Through this feedback system, I'll be able to gather information of what my 2 sens' readers like or dislike. Together, we can improve!

This feedback system is very easy to use. Basically, you just have to check one (or more) of the 3 boxes indicating your opinion of that post. No name required whatsoever, thus you shall not receive any court letter from me =)

Just be honest, and I'll appreciate your opinion and try to improve myself further. Thanks!

Chicken or Egg?

2009-07-28T17:21:00.000+08:00

Okay...actually I have nothing to say bout neither chicken nor egg, but I wanna talk about education..

Hello again.

As we proceed through various education stages, we discover various ways of learning. From blackmailing sweets in kindergarten, through fear of the rotan in primary school, through a mix of the rotan and sweet talk in high school, to the independent learning of university, we have our fair share of experience to contribute.

But what I'm curious about is the best way to teach. Before I continue, let me define "teach" through a rhetorical question : If the lesson had not been learnt, has the lesson been taught?

In other words, the student must fully understand the lesson for the lesson to be counted as "taught".

There are 2 methods of teaching that I'd like to put forth here, mainly for this moment in time.(We need not talk about blackmailing sweets, do we?)

The first is by giving the question first, lesson and understanding takes place later.
The second is going chronologically, intro, lesson, understanding, questions.

Let's call the first method the Chicken Method and the second method the Egg Method.

So, the Chicken Method. Obviously, we'll get complains and grunts like this:
How can he/she expect us to answer when we haven't even been taught?

Well, true. But ever wondered why they keep doing it? Cause we get the point in the end. Lesson learnt. Lesson taught.

Why? Despite all the complains and all, the lecturer is ultimately the wiser one. Allow me to give you another quote : Begin with end in mind. I believe this philosophy is applicable here. By knowing what kind of questions we would have to tackle later, we get a clearer picture and can pririoritise. The down side would be on the students' part. Some students tend to block out whatever they do not understand. Since, obviously, they cannot answer the questions, they may mentally block out all further lessons.

Now, we have the Egg Method. Chronologically seems the most logical way of teaching, right? Think again. Lessons are but most of the time new to students. And by not knowing what's coming for them(questions), a student cannot pririoritise and cannot filter important lessons from the not so important ones. Again, this is on the students' part. They automatically block out unknown and pointless(no end in mind) lessons, which ultimately leads to no lesson learnt. Therefore, no lesson taught.

Which one now? Currently, most universities are applying the Egg Method as it is much easier on the lecturers. The notes are all there. Just read them to the class, no? Lesson "taught". Get the pay. End of story.

Well, after a very long essay, let me know what you think, k?

Song recommendation : Taylor Swift - Teardrops on my guitar(pop remix)
Colbie Callat - Fallin' for you

Till next time, ciao!

Musicians

2009-07-27T20:41:00.000+08:00

Hello there!

I was reviewing a couple of songs by 2 pretty well-known singers who recently released new albums (Jordin Sparks and Daughtry) and was wondering about something.

They seem to create so many new songs, and I wonder if they really feel for the songs and will they remember the lyrics naturally? Because some songs sound to me like its a failed experiment or something.. yet it's on the album... Why don't they give their very best? So that their albums will be more sell-able and will also encourage people to pay for music?

Anyhow, I'm just wondering. Did you know that about 60,000 thoughts run through the human mind in a single day? That's pretty amazing, huh? But considering our memory, we might only remember like a handful...=)

Oh, and about another thing... Have you ever experience a deja vu or whatever they call it? Sometimes, I feel like I've dreamt about this particular scene or somewhere lost in my memory, I've experienced this before... Like in Maths class today, a random thought just flashed pass my mind. I felt like I've seen this scene before - how hard this particular lecture is... lol~

Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? What matters is here and now.

P.S. I've added a poll on my blog>>> Please let me know what you think =)

See ya!~

Good Morning World!

2009-07-27T10:44:00.000+08:00

Hello and good morning everyone.

For those who don't already know, Yasmin Ahmad passed away last Saturday, the 25th of July 2009. She is a very talented Malaysian filmmaker and one of the few homegrown personalities I look up to.

She created many films and commercials which we may have watched without realising it was her ingenuity. For example, the Petronas commercials during festive seasons were definitely much more interesting than other companies.

Though I have to say, I'm not a fan or anything, but I'll definitely miss her commercials. They were done with such creativity and is so catchy that everyone remembers them and even quote them in discussions.

Keeping my post short, I'd like to bid farewell to this wonderful woman. She is definitely a big loss to the nation.

P.S. It's ironic that we start admiring people the moment they die... (think Michael Jackson)

Varsity

2009-07-26T21:04:00.001+08:00

Entering University can be a very different experience for different people. But what I'd like to say today isn't about freshman year in Uni. Instead, I'd like state my stand on the lecturers.

Almost everyone has a degree when they enter the workforce nowadays. Be it accounting, engineering, medicine or any other profession, the degree certifies that this person has a particular expertise in this particular field. Do we agree up to here?

Moving on... Besides degree, some more talented people will want to go on to post-graduate studies. This is especially good for them and the country.

It is also a common practice that post-graduate students (or 3rd or 4th year students) to apply for a teaching position in the Uni itself. Let's call him Mr X for the purpose of our discussion.

The qualification of Mr X is all very fine with me. What I'm concerned about is his teaching abilities. Yes, he may hold a degree and is pursuing a Masters of PhD. But what degree is he holding? Engineering? Accounting? Medicine? At any rate, they do not prove him to be capable of transferring his knowledge!

Ok, I'm not saying that everyone go get a teaching degree first, but what I'm trying to stress on is the filtering of students like Mr X. Maybe test him or sit in his classes for a couple of times before actually handing him the real class with blur students!

He maybe a genuis student, but that doesn't make him any better then a high school teacher. Get my point?

I'm ranting about this cause I feel like it... maybe cause I'm a victim myself.. hopefully, the University will do something about this soon.. before the class of blur students turn blurer.

Song recommendation : Jordin Sparks - Walking On Snow

Cheers~

P.S. I'll try to keep this up. Let's see how long I can, aight?

Hello

2009-07-26T20:38:00.000+08:00

ahhhh....
ahhhhhh....
aaahhhhhhhh~

it's like stretching yourself after a long day's work. The feeling is oh-so-good isn't it? Refreshed. Revitalised. You might have already noticed that I've decided to start a new blog. Why?

hmmm...

I guess we like new things don't we? And also because the old one has been too personal (which I'll try to avoid in this blog) and has been privatised. It seems that privatising your blog is a really bad idea. That's another story.

In this new blog, I've named it 2 sens. As I've mentioned, I'd like to keep this blog not-privatised. Therefore, I shall only blog about my views and opinions on the current issues instead of being a reporter of current events.

Why 2 sens?

You've probably guessed. This blog is my 2 sens worth of opinion. Not facts, not figures, not statements, not news. It is my personal take on things, thus I'm allowed to be bias in every way possible in my judgment.

Why sens and not cents?

1st of all, that name's taken...so lol~
2nd of all, I'm a Malaysian, thus my views are definitely home brew the Malaysian way, right?

There you have it, 2 sens.

P.S. occasionally, I may become a reporter of certain events which I may have attended or wish to say a thing or two.