Klangites! Who is This?

For your info, both my parents are artists, having graduated from Singapore Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and some French university with a French name which pronunciation and spelling I can never be bothered to remember.

Some of their paintings now hang in my house. Some were given away to relatives. Another big portion were sold, a number of them for good prices. Well the others just lay somewhere at my parents' art centre (or at home), collecting dust over the years.

This coming Saturday, NAFA Alumni will be holding an exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. My mother painted a portrait and intents to present it to the person who officiates the opening ceremony.

Guess who that person is. Hint: portrait to be presented pictured below.

Mum's painting of pastel on wood.

I Miss This

Some of you may remember the huge stack of Pringles I ate back when I was in UK. Some of those people who saw the picture of the Pringles Pyramid exclaimed, "OMG, how much weight have you gained from those crisps?"

Yeah true, Pringles are some kind of unhealthy snack. Unseen from the photo of my messy room, however, I had another large stack of empty snack containers stowed inside my closet (literally).

At leas this snack is healthier.

I still remember the sheer joy when my friend told me about Co-Operative selling them at £1.50 each. I would store boxes whenever a there was a promotion, and finish them one by one, alternating between flavours.

I bought two boxes home to Malaysia last summer and had since finished them with my friends and family. Some of them appreciated them like I did, others found it rather bland or boring. Whatever.

Sadly, I haven't found any of these in Malaysia. If I do, expect me to stock up like a squirrel.

Ah, Jordan's Muesli. Just another reason for me to miss UK.

Top Questions to Ask A Graduating Student

Seriously, so many people have been asking me the same questions over and over again, I swear it would be easier if I just recorded my answers, put them on Youtube and advertise them on the local newspapers or something.

1. Are you going to work straight away?

No, not until at least September 2011. I have a few personal projects I need to work on to enhance my portfolio over the coming summer.

I may be getting a lighter job, though. Something that doesn't justify my hard-earned degree nor be so tiring I wouldn't call the coming summer a holiday.

2. Are you going to travel?

I love photography and I wouldn't say no to a chance to travel. However, I'm not making plans at the moment. I probably can't afford to do much travelling anyway.

I may spend a few odd weekends at tourist hotspots in Peninsula Malaysia though, like Penang and Malacca.

3. Where will you want to work? Have you got an offer letter yet?

No offer letter. Didn't even bother trying to look for a job yet. Right now my main priority is to graduate. Where I want to work and what I want to work as can come after that. Full stop.

4. Do you think you chose the right course to study?

Well, engineering turned out quite OK. There are other fields I'm more interested in, but I don't mind getting an engineering job. I don't think I'll do things differently if I were given a second chance.

5. Are you going to miss school?

Well, uh, yeah I guess.

I enjoyed attending classes with friends, how I get money to spend every week without having to earn any, having cheap lunches at the nearby village and especially jogging by the school lake. I'm glad I've gotten rid of my final year project once and for all, though. And if you don't stop asking me these silly questions, I think I'll be glad I don't have to see you after May.


OK what else do you want to know? How long will it take for me to get a beer belly? I think I'm getting one right now. When will you get a wedding invitation from me? Well, never, not because I'm not getting married, but I don't think I'll want you to attend it. When will I become the next Mark Zuckerberg/Bill Gates/Larry Page? I already have -- in my dreams.

Wishing all graduating students the best of luck in their future endeavours.

Wish to be Taught By French-Trained Artists?

Dad loves to give me assignments. One of the recent assignments involved designing a name card for him.

Well actually that's not entirely true. He made a rough sketch of the cards on paper and my job was just redraw everything digitally. The problem is I frequently disagree with dad when it comes to designing. When I saw that he wasn't around, I took the opportunity to twist the design around to my liking.

Like father, like son, my sweet behind.

Here are the name cards, one in English and another in Chinese.

Wish to be taught by French-trained artists? Contact us!

University of Nottingham

The University of Nottingham logo has changed several times, most recently in 2001 (if I'm not mistaken).

The futuristic and minimalistic logo is definitely a real looker. It is prominently featured in so many of UoN lecturer's presentation, papers, journals -- you can find one on the covers of every single FYP thesis by UoN students here.

However, the lack of a high-resolution image circulating among the students have caused various low-quality images (probably the tiny ones featured in Nottingham's official website) being used everywhere. And I'm telling you, they don't look good when stretched to fill all four sides of a regular A4 paper.

Wikipedia has an SVG version of the image, but it's of relatively poor quality -- the text are all jagged up, and while they may look "cute-sy", it's no where near the official logo.

So I fired up a vector graphics editor and started working. The result is this. (Click here to open in a new tab.)

Open it in a new tab, hold down the control key, scroll your mouse wheel upward and enjoy a super high-resolution logo of the University of Nottingham.

PS. To certain someone -- a very warm welcome to the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus!

My CNY 2011 Outfit

I don't camwhore. Even if I do have the biceps to show off (which I don't), my rather unassuming looks will easily make any lens crack in despair and disappointment.

And I didn't get an SLR so I could catch pictures of myself. The effect is downright stupid -- the action of capturing it and the resultant picture alike.

But as Lady Gaga said, promises are promises, and ever since my tweet about the new shirt my mum got me for Chinese New Year, some people have expressed interest in seeing it.

So I grudgingly set up a tripod in my room in the middle of the night and started snapping.

Sounds stupid right?

OK this is where I look stupid.

Are you done laughing yet?

If you have, let's talk about it. Mum picked the shirt for me, and I wasn't there when she paid for it. She actually picked something else at first, but it turned out so small I couldn't even button it so she exchanged it for this.

You'll notice I was wearing something around my neck. We'll take a closer look.

Well in my opinion this looks rather cool, although I have no freaking idea what it's supposed to mean. Anyway, mum didn't get his. I got this from UK (for £1) because I needed the chain that came with it for, er, my thumbdrive.

The shirt, however, came with these on a metal chain.

Nope, not the glasses. The rings.

Yeah. I know.

How many mothers dress their sons like this?

The Power of Life

Ants.

Cockroaches.

Spiders.

And now this.

What do you see?

Yes. A plant. Ivy, probably.

Wildlife is so taking over my room.

Vid: A Rainy CNY Eve

The frequent rain the few days before Chinese New Year got this song wedged to the tip of my head for hours everyday. I even got my piano rendition of it recorded, something I haven't done for quite some time now.

It's not exactly good, but I assure you it sounded much better "live".

This is actually more of a video-test of my D90. In terms of image quality, it passed (I wasn't even recording in 720p, D90's highest quality setting). But when it comes to sound quality, there's much to ask for. A sampling frequency of 11kHz is lightyears from enough.

I truly dread the day I hear my voice recorded by this camera.

Oh well. It is the first SLR to record video after all.

Hope you enjoyed the video. Happy Chinese New Year.

The Reunion Dinner

Mum's a busy person.

She takes care of us, cooks meals at home, clean up the house, bakes cookies to earn a few extra bucks, and still manages to find time to work as an art teacher.

However, one only has so much time to spare, and here comes the compromise — she usually spends no more than 45 minutes preparing dinner, usually closer to 20.

Not that I mind eating simple dinners. While they may not smell (or look, I guess) as good as the fried fish prepared by the grandma next door, they're still healthy, and most of all, my mum made them.

Today, however, mum finally managed to spend more time preparing her dishes.

This may look like a mess, but the looks don't justify for its taste. The fish were first fried before cooked together with the rest of the ingredients, a double-process mum usually would not bother to pull off. Sorry for the blurry photo, was in a hurry to resume my sumptuous meal.

And boy, when she puts her time, effort and heart into culinary, I could never eat enough to satisfy my tummy.

Boy, this sure looks good, does it? Some people may point out the shininess of the dish indicate usage of seasoning (say, MSG) but I assure you my mum's against artificial seasoning — you'll even have to convince her to add more than a pinch of salt to her cooking.

I felt like I was the luckiest boy ever as I indulged on my mum's masterpieces.

Maybe I am.

Five Spice (Wu Xiang) made by my mum. I remember my maternal Grandmother making awesome Wu Xiang, and that's probably where my mum got her recipe from.

If only my sister were here to enjoy this meal.

Wishing everyone a blessed Chinese New Year.

Portraits

Certain past history has made a rather large impact on my love for photography. If you've noticed, I rarely take portraits of people -- next to none at all.

But I can only avoid taking portraits for so long.

Maybe it's time to suck it up and move forwards.

Shot this photo at a Pasar Malam with my sister's encouragement. I wouldn't even have bothered to pick up the camera if she weren't nagging me and pointing out how cute and innocent the girl looked. One of my very, very few portraits, including the bad ones.

Everybody has a new year resolution they may or may not ignore over the course of the next 12 months. What's yours?

The Angels

Many thanks to my sister for the cute (and a wee bit obscene) little angel.

Minli: So this angel is thinking 'Hmmm... Nice ass!'

KetamGuys Reunited

Something tells me I'm gonna end this year with a happy note after all.

I hope you enjoyed 2010 as much as I did.

A very happy new year to everyone.

Magazines

Chapter 1: Fortune Magazine

Q: Once there was a man who worked as a spokesperson for the Fortune magazine. What is the title of his position?
A: "Fortune teller".

Q: Guess his favourite snack?
A: Fortune cookies.

Q: He was sacked one day. Why?
A: He was un-Fortune-ate. Not unlucky, just un-Fortune-ate.

Chapter 2: Time Magazine

Q: There was a man who worked as a photographer for the Time Magazine...

The Run

There was this one time at Kuala Lumpur KTM station.

I bought a ticket to Klang from the counter, which I fed into the ticket barrier. Upon retrieving the ticket spat out from the barrier, I noticed a blue train with yellow ends pulling towards the platform, a red sign reading "PEL. KLANG" behind its windscreen.

That's my train! I thought, and my feet immediately started moving.

I squeezed past the crowd on the escalator, taking two steps at a time, cursing the uncilivised Malaysians who took up the entire width of the escalator stairs.

"Excuse me!" I snapped at a fat lady blocking my way and she jumped aside. She must've been annoyed by me, but I paid no attention to her after shooting past her humungous body.

Jumping the last three steps of the escalator and landing with a crash, I quickly picked myself up again and got into a full-speed sprint, as the train pulled to a stop some 150 metres ahead of me.

Bloody hell, that was a long platform! Well not surprising, considering the KL station was used as a intercity railway station until relatively recently, and those KL-Singapore trains were darn long, often amounting to 25 individual cars or so.

So I ran. And I ran. I dashed so fast the contents of my bags were ratting within their containers. I'm sure if I strained my ear, I could hear water splashing in my bottle. Wind rushed through my face, brushing my forehead in a fruitless attempt to dry up newly formed drops of sweat before moving on to my (unfortunately) short hair. My old, faded jeans were complaining at their seams, but I paid no attention.

I could even imagine a video of me running in slow motion. My eyes wide open, staring straight at the doors of the train, hands clawing the air as if swimming. Every couple of second saw my feet stretched out before falling to the ground in turn to the beats of Chariots of Fire playing in the background. Pushing a man dressed in blue aside with a quick, rather insincere apology, I was gliding -- flying through the crowd in the heart of the railway station towards my goal, sweat and smoke trailing behind me, and nothing was going to stop me.

Just a few more steps, it's so close now...

But the door snapped shut before my very eyes.

Fuming with disappointment and rage, I jabbed at the "Open" button, hoping it'd work. This is it, I thought, I'm doomed! The giant lady and the guy in blue suit are all gonna get me, all because of this lousily maintained train with buttons that don't work! I stabbed the button again, breathing fast, blood pounding against my temple.

Suddenly, to my utter amazement, the doors slid open in one smooth action.

I squeezed in quickly, and the doors fell close again a couple of seconds later. As the train left the station, I pulled a face to the blue-guy and waved farewell.

Into My Mind's Attic

"Wow. Nice sky. If only I have my camera with me."

I muttered that while going out one day, catching an attractive streak of colours in Semenyih's evening sky.

That statement was not exactly true. Yeah sure, the sky was nice, but I had digital eyes with me all along. I had my cameraphone right there in my pocket. It's imaging capabilities may be rather limited, but it has served me well the few times I put my faith in it.

I even had my Nikon Coolpix 3200 with me, in my backpack. Yeah sure, it's a 3MP, 7-year-old compact camera. It's so old and its specifications so dated that I'm not even sure if anybody wants it for a mere RM50 now. But it has certainly proven itself many, many, many, many, many times, especially over the year when I was in UK.

But no, now when I say "my camera", I probably don't mean the Coolpix. I mean my Nikon D90. I can't say I don't pity the Coolpix. The poor thing has gone from being one of my most loyal companions to being a camera that's not being considered a camera.

I was a little horror-struck when I realised this. Well to be fair, the D90 is lightyears ahead of the Coolpix. But without realising it, my practicality is rearing its head. It's like I'm not thankful for the hundreds of pictures the Coolpix has taken for me over the past two years.

Well if you think feeling guilty for abandoning an old camera is oh-so-geeky, what would stop me from forgetting my friends in university? My lecturers, perhaps? The kind lab technician who helped me with my internship? The nice people I worked with for 3 whole months when I did my industrial training?

I glanced back to my past and I suddenly realised the number of people missing from my mind. I'm starting to have trouble recalling all 40 of my classmates when I was in secondary school. I can't even remember the name of my physics teacher when I was in Form 4, and I kind of liked her too. A lecturer in college treated me to a movie once and I don't even remember if I said thanks.

There was even one time a few years back when I got my dad's birth date wrong.

There's obviously little I can do about my past, short of tracking down all those people and get to know them again. That'd be crazy, sitcom-worthy, even (remember My Name Is Earl?). But I'll try to be more thankful from now onwards. Don't kill me if I fail to recognise you some time in the future, just spill me with humiliation and accept my apology.

As for the Coolpix, well I promise I'll continue to keep it in my backpack. An SLR's not suitable for all occasions, and for that reason, I know I'll be thankful for having that Coolpix again one day.

Malaysia and Malaysians

Talk to random Malaysians and chances are a majority of them has something to complain about their home countries.

Rather inefficient public transport, controversial entry procedures to public educational institutions, unstable internet connection, incompetent public workers, compromised safety and extremely hot weather are just a handful of the usual public comments.

Some of the issues are so well known that they're actually famous on international levels.

For example, anybody who follows international news know how dramatic Malaysian politics are. I spent nine months in UK and I swear, I've never read papers as boring as theirs. Notable headlines talk about Wayne Rooney's new baby and the story of how a public servant used government money to get a cup of coffee. Even the aftermath of the recently concluded general elections died down quite quickly.

Luckily, I got newspapers for free while I was in England, or I would've wanted my money back.

Online gamers, on the other hand, especially those in Singapore, sympathise Malaysian gamers. One second we were all playing happily, and the next, the Malaysians got disconnected like meat on a butcher's blade. Our weather-affected DSL connection is so notorious that it is often possible to tell weather in Malaysia just by observing Malaysian players. The more often they disconnect, the heavier the rain is.

It's also common sense that most parts of Malaysia are not half as safe as Nottingham, the so called "crime capital of England". Ask around -- every one out of few Malaysians have been crime victims before, including yours truly. It's amazing why haven't anyone taken advantage of the drunkenness of young Englishmen stumbling from pubs before. After all, they're bound to forget the events of the night the next day and just thought they misplaced their purses or wallets.

That, and all the brain drain! The smartest in the country are planning to leave, are leaving, or has left Malaysia to "better places" like Australia and Singapore. Why those places? They don't have newspaper more interesting than your regular Dan Brown thrillers.

But just when you think all hope is gone...

It's 2010 and Malaysia is changing. For one, TMnet has come up with Unifi, a fibre-optic based digital connection. Although this service is still relatively new, it's bound to catch up with and replace the current copper-based weather-vulnerable connection. And it's faster too! The Public Works Department have been rather generous in giving away scholarships to the top scorers of SPM, and that will surely slow down, if not stem, the talent outflow from this country. More policemen have been spotted too, especially around this Raya season.

And the fact that there are people who complain means that there are people who want change and improvement in this country. These are the people who care about the future of Malaysia and these are the people who want to see Malaysia becoming a developed nation one day. With them, who knows, one day, the general Malaysians may have a lot of nice things to say about their country.

So no, Malaysia is not hopeless. It's the entire opposite.

Happy 53rd, Malaysia, and all the best.

Oh wait, except the weather thing. No one can change that.

Owl Order is Still Alive

Sorry for being missing in action for such a long time without anything as much as a notice, but I promise, I'll be back.

Stay tuned.

The Scarf Mum Made Me

Note: High resolution image of the following photo is available. Click on the photo to view the higher resolution image.

Last year, when I decided to take the offer for a year-long exchange programme in UK, mum made me this.

[HiRes]

It's a scarf.

You surely wouldn't want it even if I were to give it to you. The truth is, it's not the best scarf around.

It's not nearly long enough for certain (cool) ways of tying it. Stray fibres stick out from every square millimetre of it on both sides (that's the consequences of using some kind of Japanese yarn). Having it in direct contact to your skin really itches. What made things worse was its colour -- the shade of unhealthy green poo.

We mortals are always easily dissatisfied. I have a functioning camera which produced countless great photos, yet I can't conceal my desire for an SLR. I love my phone, but seeing newer models released every month just makes me drool. My home is great, but sometimes, when I see a nice house, I just can't help but think, wow, wouldn't it be great to live in a place like this.

But then again, however unsightly our homes may be, it is still the warmest and best place in the world. Perhaps we have grown attachments to our homes, for they have provided us shelter from the rain and sun for the many years. Perhaps the locked doors gave us a sense of security. Perhaps staying with our family makes us feel safe and loved. Or maybe it is just because of all the memories we've made in our homes. Either way, I would easily prefer two nights in my own messy bed to three weeks in a grand four-poster in a five star suite.

Looking back at the green scarf, I realised how the same principle can be applied to that simple piece of fabric. I can easily adapt to its many short-comings. After wearing it for a few times, I got used to it and it itched less; I simply draped it around my neck twice instead of attempting some fancy knots; I could've easily hidden it underneath my jacket if its colour clashed with my other garments.

That, however, wasn't the real reason I put off the idea of getting a new factory-made scarf. Mum spent weeks knitting the scarf for me, all her precious time, effort and passion woven carefully into the simple piece of fabric, flick by flick, under the gentle guidance of her warm hands. Simple was her sole desire: to equip me with a cover from the snow and a shield from the cold.

I was heavily reminded of an ancient Chinese poem, one which tells the story of a loving mother, hastily sewing a shirt for her far-travelling son, all while hoping he doesn't take too long to return home.

When the winter reached its peak and the winds were strong, I would whip the scarf out of my bag and wrap it around my neck. Knowing that it was made by my mother's own fingers only made wearing it doubly warm.

And no, I don't usually hide it from view, for it makes me feel absolutely certain that no one else in this world could possibly be as lucky as I am.

Microsoft to Purchase 300 iPads for Employees

Microsoft announced the purchase of 300 Apple iPads for some of their employees in a move that shocked the world, 31st March.

The Redmond-based company had been very strict about its employees using rival products, especially those from Apple, whose iPods and iPhones became the newest must-have gadgets of the century.

Employees are instead encouraged to use a Windows Mobile-based handset. A Microsoft-branded media player called Zune also gave Microsoft employees no excuse to resort to iPods. Founder Bill Gates even went as far as banning his family from using any Apple products.

But all that is about to change. Although Microsoft have been working on a tablet of their own, christened the "Courier", which (among other innovations) features two touchscreens, it seems like their rival's newest internet tablet, due to be released this Saturday, is too irresistible even for them.

"Microsoft had had tight rules when it comes to using rival products. After two decades, it is clear that... (we) have lost many talented engineers and programmers to rival companies because of these rules. They are our biggest assets in the company -- we need them happy to keep them," Li Beipian, a spokesperson for Microsoft commented, Wednesday.

"We did strong in the 90s. We hope for the best but expect the worst."

Despite Microsoft's revolutionary Windows Operating Systems, the company have lost significant market share in recent years. Windows Vista was badly received and its browser, Windows Internet Explorer is steadily losing its position as the world's favourite to Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, especially after European Internet Explorer users start seeing the browser ballot screen, which allows them to download alternative browsers easily. Google's announcement of their own Operating System, Chrome OS, further put Microsoft's future into question.

According to Microsoft, some of the employees receiving the iPads are working on the Microsoft Courier tablet itself. When asked whether this increases the risk of implementing patented features of the iPad to the Courier, Li said it "actually reduces it, as developers with iPads are more aware of the features of the iPad than those who don't".

One of the employees who is on the receiving list of Apple's newest gadget commented, "This has never happened in Microsoft before. It is certainly a signal of a significant turning point in the company's history. With any luck, this move may help us outdo the iPad with our Courier."

The WiFi version of the Apple iPad will be available in selected countries this Saturday, while 3G versions will be rolled out later this month.

Source

I Love.

Note: High resolution images of some of the following photos are available. These photos are marked with [HiRes] tags in their captions. Click on the photos to view their higher resolution images.

[HiRes] My shoe, captured using Sony Ericsson Xperia X1i.

I Love myself. I am probably wrong, but I think I'm the best person to be in this world.

I Love my family. With them around, nothing can possibly go wrong.

I Love my friends. They can turn even the most boring evening into a full-blown party.

I Love gadgets. Cameras. Phones. Computers.

I Love being healthy. Four perfect limbs, sharp hearing, eyesight. They give me freedom.

I Love Earth. Beautiful sights, fresh air, warm breeze -- I recycle and conserve electricity to make sure these don't go away too soon.

I Love my life.

Do you Love?