a better loser

At last, I had the chance to attend the club’s annual regional conference for the first time last week. The focus was on how modern medicine interfaces with and impacts our society and the world. Among the topics covered include Biotechnology, ethical issues regarding to genetic testing, adjusting to an aging population, the rising cost of public health, etc.

Since it’s near impossible to summarize everything here, let’s just talk about the slot which I think is the coolest. Firstly, I didn’t really plan on attending this particular parallel slot because I was afraid that I was going to offend a handful of informed people by not laughing to their clever inside jokes (I never had any biology, not even in high school, and the topic presented was ethical issues in genetic testing, in a big conference where the attendees know a little bit of everything), but I just happen to have entered the wrong room, and when I realized that, it was already too late to get out and join the other group next door. Anyhow, at the end of the day, it wasn’t really that bad, though I had to constantly google up the new terms and jargons used by both the esteemed presenter and the hyper-cool audience throughout the session.

And what I can conclude from the lecture is this- the future is just plain scary. Imagine this, the setting from the X-men series, and how the one main difference between the mutants and the rest of the human population is causing havoc around the world; just this time, no wolverine, no sexy slimy blue woman, and replace the x-gene with some other genetic traits…… Ok, that’s not a very good explanation.

Ok, anyways, we already have enough problems with racial, religious, sexual orientation, and social class discrimination, and the last thing we want is to have groups of people being discriminated because of their genes. And in this case, when we talk about discrimination, it goes beyond the social prejudice. It involves issues regarding to money, well being and protection in terms of insurance plans and some other sensitive issues including abortion, etc. As an example, with advancements in biotech, such as the availability of the pre-natal genetic testing, in the future, without the right laws and regulations, it is possible that one day, parents can choose to keep the unborn or to simply perform abortion if it doesn’t really go along with the specifications of the kind of child they want. And in the future, marriage, or love in general, will have to go beyond the psychological chemistry, with the unrestricted genetic profiling coming into play. And as we in general just don’t like to be labeled and treated differently because of certain stigmas, then, we will be forced to choose, thus the issues with selective personality and all. Anyways, the 2 examples are just a small portion of the problems that will surface without the right laws and guidelines concerning genetic testing. And as we were informed, the laws governing the issue today is lagging years behind compared to where we have arrived today.

And the other topics discussed were in fact, just as interesting. And all in all, other than the roasted vege for lunch; the 2-day conference was awesome. And I was just a little disappointed that I had to skip a couple of slots because I just had to join the team for the WC tournament last Saturday and share a portion of the humiliation of getting whipped, losing by 8 goals to 1.

It was a really big slap to our big fat pride; at least 3 guys I know and one random guy I can’t really remember who, came up to me on campus asking what the hell happened. And since the intramural game was cancelled yet again due to the storm, I was available to play for the team for our 2nd game of the indoor tourney. And since its Macheda’s day and we didn’t really want to steal his thunder, we thought that pulling an upset by winning the game was a bit inappropriate; so, our 1st ever WC win will have to wait until next week. hmmmmm…. We really need to find a way to play against guys double our size,....... and how to scramble from very small dogs when playing outdoors…… and I think I can cross ‘playing in the world cup’ out from my bucket list.

And yup, the team got ‘beet’ out, but the future is bright. I like Hansbrough, but I want MSU to win. We’ll see.

Btw, imagine this, liyana fiza (estrella) with a degree in biology from MIT, and she’s all Zidane………..

And good luck Mr. PM.

big shoulders

So, spring break is finally over.

Tomorrow, the sacred boilermaker campus will be swarmed by proud insomniac Neil Armstrong and Brian Lamb wannabes yet again. With the sun shining gloriously after a long hiatus, and the basketball team advancing to the sweet 16 , there’s a lot to look forward to, other than the classes with Korean instructors.

Anyways, it was a well spent-low-productivity-level break. We learned playing mahjong Hong Kong style, played poker, had barbecue, watched basketball games and movies, went to Chicago, played soccer and football, and most importantly, we slept well.


Ok, let’s talk about the impromptu Windy City trip. First of all, Chicago is a very cool big city; the air feels cleaner and the traffic is really not that bad compared to NYC or KL. And if you’re into architecture, you should really go see Chicago (the SEARS tower et al). And what I think I like the most about the city are the cool sculptures all around the city, and the gorgeous parks down the long Lake Michigan shore-line. And just so you know how windy and cold the city is, random local people were talking about how warm and beautiful the day was, when the temperature was at 1 degree centigrade, and the wind was gushing constantly into our faces.


and i've actually upgraded to a point-and-shoot...


And talking about sculptures, at last, I had the chance to see the god bless america sculpture up close. I was excited about the sculpture because I was trapped in a conversation about the American Gothic Painting (which the sculpture was based on) with some guys some time ago, so, yeah, it was cool to see a piece of art and actually knowing something about it.



Btw, I’ve been to Chicago for at least a dozen times before, but being a lousy tourist and all, I haven’t really visited the City of Big Shoulders until recently. And i'm glad i did.


So, if you’re planning to go to the Second City for a visit, you could do the usual tourist stuff like go up the Sears Tower, go visit the Museums and the Aquarium, go to one of the beaches, visit Navy Pier, see the cool stuff in Millennium Park, go to the Planetarium, enjoy the parks, and walk and shop along Michigan Avenue. And if you have some extra cash, go see a theatre or go see the Bulls, or the Bears, or the Cubs or the White Sox play in their respective stadiums. And if you go on St. Patty’s day, you’ll have a chance to see the parade and the river dyed green.


So, yeahh… everyone will miss doing nothing.
The team will play the other Husky this Thursday, and let’s prove Obama wrong.



Wazza, I feel you man… and BTFU!!!!!

people with no other options

hmmmmmm……...

It’s Monday again. So, let’s start out with something good. I came across this entry on MM’s blog. I’m not very fond of motivational writings nor am I a fan of new age affirmation, but maybe some of you would find it inspirational. And I’m putting it up because the guys on the team thought it was pretty impressive for a single straight guy to be able to recognize a certain designer’s name in a song. But to my defense, I’ve never seen any of his shoes nor have I stepped in into any of his boutiques including the online ones, and heck, the guy was born in Penang!!!!!... So, like any other Malaysians, of course I’ve heard about him from somewhere. Btw, the nice entry dedicated specially to the Monday-haters out there was written by Jimmy Choo’s son.

Enough with Monday, let’s move on to something much more thrilling…. like the economy. News has it that the unemployment rate in the US could go above a staggering 9% by year’s end. And I’m assuming that as people are losing jobs and all, green issues have lost its appeal. And heck, even Rupert Murdoch has been said to be losing his magic touch, which explains why the media has more important things to focus on.

Anyways, let’s leave that to the pros to elaborate. Let’s talk materials economy. Well, maybe you should just click on the link and just watch and listen to Annie Leonard’s cool presentation on The Story of Stuff. This project has been around for quite some time I guess. To those who haven’t seen it yet, enjoy, and to those who have, sorry I got nothing to crap about; I have my own linear system on a finite planet to worry about.

And just what on earth is going on with the country?



Just my 2 cents, I think this guy has a point. Well, my dad used to tell me a couple dozen of times on how they should’ve stopped Khir Johari (if I’m not mistaken) from pulling out jawi from the system. And whatever the resolution might be, let’s just hope that it will be in the favor of the country, the rakyat and the generations to come.

And one more thing, let’s not make ‘taking it to the streets’ a trend; because you pull up the same trick too many times, the opponent wouldn’t have to rely too much on his reflexes to make the tackle anymore, not to mention it loses its WOW factor. Mannn, we are one twisted nation. Mr./Mrs. Politicians, you can start cleaning the mess up by pulling your heads out of your arses.

And after some long depressing hours of Youtube-ing, trying to reestablish a connection to home which I haven’t been back to for quite a while, jumbled in the middle of the long list of videos of FRUs and tear gas shots, new legendary tree stories, samseng-like raids in the parliament compound, and some local soccer talk, I found this.

So, have a great week everyone……

March Madness is coming…..

leg breaking

So, I was facing this big dilemma. I don’t like to choose, especially when it comes down to choosing people. If it were a staffing decision, then, a simple linear model would suffice, but this one is way beyond complicated.

But a man has to do what a man got to do. And Dawes’ and Ben Franklin’s long explanation on prudential algebra brought me down to this decision which cost me $20. I chose a Polish-born Nobel Prize winner over my favorite scientist, who also happens to be one of the coolest physicist, science idol and writer ever; Rotblat over Feynman.

And after reading one of the best composed and sincere writings by a scientist or a philosopher I’ve ever came across, I signed the pledge.

And then paid the $20 membership fee, and got my cool t-shirt and other ‘free’ stuff.

Anyways, the Student Pugwash is all about engaging students to promote the socially responsible use of science and technology, and in order to create effective social change, students must first understand the issues at stake, and then contemplate their ethical and moral responsibility to themselves and to society as a whole.

And as I can’t really get a consistent 10 hours of sleep a day and not that much soccer or football or sweat anymore this semester because of schoolwork and all, I decided to take the passenger’s seat for this particular intention, by the door in the backseat. Well, I didn’t get myself all messy with the administration stuff, but I’ve learnt some pretty cool and great new stuff from the very people who are pioneers and the crème de la crème in their respective already cool fields.
Seriously, after the short an hour or so lecture, you’ll get out feeling a little bit more intelligent, which is good to feed the deflated ego after having to do too much schoolwork and projects that make you feel dumber than a 12 year old giraffe. And some of the lectures even helped me change my stand on certain issues. Anyway, the most important lesson I’ve got so far is that, information, small or little goes a very long way. For $20 (actually the lecture series can be attended for free), now I’m a big advocate of nuclear energy, I have a pretty good idea on what to feed my wife during and even before pregnancy, how calico cats and women are the same, a new dimension on the black gold, corn and the energy issue, and I get to meet some new cool geeks.

So, yup, Feynman is still the favorite and the coolest scientist ever, but Rotblat, Einstein and a couple of their scientist friends made the better choice. Well, consistent to what Erick Erikson suggested, people in between their teen years, up to their early 20’s usually have this Identity vs. Role confusion. So, choosing what’s cool and what you’re supposed to be and do is pretty confusing at this age.

And talking about another favorite writer, I had a chance to hear a lecture and get my book signed by Mr. Tom Friedman some one month ago, the same night I saw Frank Duong at the Union, the night before he scored a touchdown out of an interception. He talked about his book which I yet to get a chance to read beyond page 34, and a couple of his personal experience which was great. And with this entire APEX thing going on, maybe the particular university back home should really look into this energy engineering technology thing, which according to Freidman, is the new ‘it’ thing, the new big tomorrow. And as I was 12th in line out of the nearly packed 6,025 capacity Elliot Hall of Music audience during the book signing, I get to have a little chat with him, but I forgot to ask him to sign his other book I brought along.
Ohh, again, if you somehow managed to find this humble blog, thanks for the book……

We went to see my classmate take the basketball court during the halloween night exhibition game last night. We were pretty good. The future is bright.

And for one last time, let's go slay some wolverine for lunch.

-the best indoor kicks yet--

-The tired, deflated, stressed, and in need of a pair of new kicks, a new graphic card and to break some legs-

Nadal and a Platypus Walk into a Bar

The school's football season kicked off yesterday, with the team chalking up a rather unconvincing win over a championship subdivision team. We won big, but it could've been bigger, and we were expecting a lot more particularly from the QB, especially when you stupidly spent the day basking under the freaking hot sun at the stadium when you're fasting.
This season is kind of special because it's the coach's last season here in WL and the last one for the seniors too. Anyways, the team will be playing #14 Oregon next week, and it better be interesting.
Anyways, I'm looking forward to October for basketball season. The team is ranked as high as #3 in the pre-season polls, and we're scheduled to play Duke this season. Btw, Duke's coach, Coach K , was the coach of the USA National Team who won the gold medal in the recent Olympics.

And the schoolwork, assignments and projects have just started to kick in as the 3rd week of school resumes. And like the midterms, once it starts kicking in, like an avalanche, it just won't stop falling onto you. But the good part is that there's only 14 more weeks of classes left. So, let the countdown begin…..

And right after the football game, we were invited to a friendly with the Indonesian team which we lost to by a goal from a penalty kick. I got an assist, and hit the post twice from long range…hehhh….
We could've won the game, really….. But we were experimenting with the newer guys, and it turned out to be horrible, just as expected. Anyhow, it was still a good start for the team.

Anyone with any good tips to keep focused? I don't think I have ADD, but I do procrastinate a lot, and I really can't keep focused on a task (schoolwork that is) for more than 5 minutes.

Hmmmm…. when I feel annoyed or angry, I feel like punching certain people right in the face, and most of the times, the same faces keep coming up. And right now, I really feel like doing just that. But for now, I really don't know if the act of punching someone in the face could help me with my level of anger or annoyance.
But being a student of science, I think I really should put the hypothesis to the test. And because doing a computer simulation is not really feasible in this case, so, I think I should just go say 'hye' to these buggers, give them the punch, and then tell them about this theory I was trying to prove. Or should I tell them about the theory first, and only then give them the punch?.... I think it doesn't matter, because them knowing or not knowing about the hypothesis is not relevant to the study….
So, I should really go punch someone now…….

mahu

Huarghhhhhhh~

ape khabar org jepun?

This is the current line-up for the fantasy team challenge. The team was ranked at number 239 out of 375,188 teams last Thursday, but not having a chance to make transfers and substitutions on our no soccer day last Saturday, the team dropped down to number 155,967.
My personal favorites, Spain and Netherlands plus the 2 favorite underdogs Turkey and Russia made it through to the next stage though the Romanians and Swiss had to bid early goodbyes. Gus Hiddink is a magician.

So, last week, in an attempt to escape this cruel, hectic and problem ridden world of ledger books, hiking food prices, Obama, the NBA finals, stupid and crazy math equations, Euro2008, and the world’s obsession of black gold, we decided to go on a rather casual, impromptu and short camping trip in one of the state parks nearby.
In short, our endeavor to ‘bersebati dengan alam’ was great, as towards the end of the trip, we literally turned into orangutans.
The smoke from the campfire created a special kind of ambience that made the food we cooked taste a lot like the ones at the kenduri kawins at kampong. The gripping battle between man and raccoon with sporadic crazy shaman dances in between was something to remember. The 15 mile kayaking in the fast flowing creek (due to the thunderstorms a couple of nights prior that has flooded some counties nearby), which looked a lot like the Huang He river that particular day, under the torturous shining sun was great despite not having any chance of saving any drowning kid or soaking the camera to its end like last year. And the pretty unsuccessful attempt in fishing at the tasik berpuaka stuffed with loads of boarding school ghost legends and stories was still pretty relaxing and a lot of fun.
Minus toilet time and the severe sunburn, it was great. Maybe we should do it Bear Grills’ way next time. The Yellowstone National Park seems like a great and a very possible location.


So, there’s another 6 more weeks of summer school to survive. I bumped into Tammy yesterday and she treated me lunch, met some new cool soccer buddies with very sick moves, and I suddenly got this long list of party invitations to go to, and I think I saw Abbas in math class?????



Masih menyesal xtgk game turki vs. Czech. Lakers hampeh... belanja tiket pg london....????

balling

How a half eaten piece of chocolate cake would look like.

Yesterday was Kobe Bryant Blog Day. Go google it up.
Anyways, I’ve been keeping myself busy learning the proper way to play basketball at the rec center, other than religiously paying my sleep debt, the past couple of days.

And IMHO, it’s pretty much like playing indoor soccer or futsal; a lot of running back and forth the court, a lot of bursting runs, etc. And you’ll get tired more rapidly playing games like this compared to playing an 11-a-side soccer game as an example because of the amount of sprinting required with a smaller amount of recovery time in between. In addition to that, I found out that nearly every major muscle in the lower and upper body are involved in the game; shooting and rebounding as examples involve vertical jumps and a lot of arm strength, etc. So, in conclusion, I think it’s a pretty demanding game.

And I had a chance to play a 5-on-5 full court game yesterday, after playing a lot of 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 pick up games the days before. 16 points, 12 rebounds and 8 steals doesn’t sound too bad for a rookie does it? haha…
Anyhow, I still need to work on my lay-ups, and I still need to jump an extra 2 inches to be able to jam the ball.

And btw, I still think that field-hockey midfielders are the best conditioned athletes.

And suddenly it’s already Friday.….