Merry Christmas!

It seems like only a few weeks ago that I posted the last Christmas wish, and here I am now, one year later, posting another post for the 22nd Christmas I have ever got to experience. 2016 is about to end, and a new year is ushering in and somehow I just realise that time is really flying at breakneck speed. I ain't sure whether it's a good thing or a bad one - because the consensus is that if you think time really flies, it means you've lived a meaningful and eventful life while if you think time goes by slowly, it probably means you aren't enjoying your life and you probably are suffering. What I do know is that there are way too many things that I want to do, and I never have the opportunity to do all of them because of time constraints. I only have approximately 2 years left before I become fully committed to a permanent job - and that notion of being responsibility-bound terrifies me more than anything else. More than possibly leading a single life to death without anyone to turn to when I got frail and weak and needing care at old age (I have been thinking whether leading a single/girlfriend-free life is something that I want, because getting a girlfriend - which is what most guys in my age is doing - isn't something I want, isn't even in my priority list to begin with). But one thing I am sure - I enjoy my life at the moment. And I guess that is all that matters now. Merry Christmas guys!

Lady Gaga - Million Reasons

I've never exactly loved a singer, but this is an amazing singer it's hard for me to overlook.

Lady Gaga's songs are always emotional, as her songs are based on her life experience and thus the emotion displayed is always authentic and sometimes relatable. She has true voice and a true talent in singing. Yes, she had questionable ethnics, but now she's back to normal (pre-crazy Paparazzi's Lady Gaga) and she is showing the world she can shine bright without being quirky.

Great song as always Lady Gaga!

周深 《身騎白馬》

I really thought it was a lady. ==



Amazing!!!!

Seriously questioning my choice

Day by day I question my choice of choosing civil engineering.

Look, it's not that I hate civil engineering. I pretty love it. The design and the analysis of a structure is extremely tiring, but to watch all your efforts become something concrete and deliverable is exceedingly rewarding and I love it.

But there's a lack of passion.

I just don't love civil engineering as much as I love a language.

Back in 2014, I was in a dilemma. Before I officially enrolled myself into a university, I had seriously questioned myself what choice I want. The problem I was facing was the fact that I liked two distinctive subjects that do not often overlap - I love English, and yet simultaneously I love mathematics.

I like something invoking soul searching, but at the same time, I equally love doing something that gave my brain some squeezing and twisting.

I'm sentimental. I'm expressive and I am emotional to a fault. I wouldn't deny them. My sentimental personality allows me to write. Everytime I read a good article with perfect English and sound arguments, I had the motivation to make my English improve more. I just love writing. It's an expression nobody can rob away from you.

And sometimes, words can be much more powerful than every other things combined.

But I also like Maths. If I am doing Maths, I can go on for hours without rest, foregoing eating and drinking simply because I am so absorbed into Maths I have become completely impervious to what has happened around me.

Now that I'm studying Civil Engineering, I realise, while I love engineering, I don't love it as much as I love English.

My heart and soul is not with engineering. It's with writing. Because writing allows my soul to run free. It allows my emotions to take control of me (but within appropriate constraints) and it makes me feel human.

Sometimes engineering is just so technical and formulae-based, that it doesn't make me feel human.

I don't know. And to say the truth I am afraid of pondering it further.

What I do now is that, if time and finance allow, I would love to study English as well. I would love to be a part-time journalist.

At the same time, my sentimental side actually makes me love to engage in public activities - I like talking to a group of people (provided I am allowed to speak what I want, presentations are not one of them), I like to help people, and I find it rewarding to be able to contribute to people in need.

Engineering is not bad. I realise a bit too late now that it isn't my greatest passion, but I also recognise that I can no longer change my decision.

I'll find a way to carve through. I have acknowledged that I must accept what is burning inside me - a passion to write, a passion to be contributable to the society, and a passion to be someone influential.

They are my dreams. And I vow to reach them.

莉莉代課篇

Departing from previous post's mood, let's have a laugh at NOWEPO's creativity.

You should be concerned

You don't have to be obsessed with politics, but you must know what is happening.

Maria Chin Abdullah has been arbitrarily arrested and held in solitary confinement under a law meant for terrorism (stupid government can try to fool us that it isn't meant for terrorism) because apparently they found evidence that she intended to commit activities that are detrimental to parliamentary activities.

There are a few things this stupid government has to know

1) Democracy in Malaysia means people get to elect their leaders. Like it or not, you did not get the majority vote - you got less than 50%. Meaning the majority in Malaysia did not choose you. You cling on to your pathetic seat because of the unfair system. So don't you dare tell us to respect the majority decision - the majority did not choose you

2) Election in Malaysia is held based on democracy. Malaysians do not democratically elect a leader to be a dictator for five years. Whenever the people are dissatisfied of you and are pissed off, you need to go. Don't give all sorts of bullsh*t that says if people are dissatisfied, people have to channel their anger through proper channel. We are your boss, because we get to decide who sit at your place. So don't dare instruct us what to do.

3) You are a servant to the country. You don't owe Malaysia and you certainly don't owe us. You don't get to tell us how to lead a life. If we are unhappy of you, we get to voice it out, and you must listen, because your fate depends on us.

And for those idiots who say "politics is something stupid" and refuse to give a sh*t about all these

You have the right to ignore the political development in Malaysia. That's your right.

But, if you choose to give up your right to know the political situations in Malaysia, whenever

• our stupid government flip-flop our education system, do not complain. You chose not to be concerned.
• our Malaysian Ringgit plummets to historic low in decades because of poor governmental policy and increasing autocratic politics, do not complain. You chose not to defend our democracy by keeping silent.
• those who defend us got put in jail and there's no one who is capable to lead in the next election, do not complain. You chose not to defend them in return when they are unfairly arrested.
• there is poor execution and enforcement of law, and there are plenty of judicial conflicts, do not complain. You chose not to be concerned about what laws the parliaments are enacting, and you did not protest.
• you get affected by whatever new policies, do not complain. You chose not to be concerned

You don't have to be obsessed, but please be aware of what is happening.

Malaysia needs us. And we need each other.

Maria Chin Abdullah is a recipient of an international human rights award. She fought for Malaysians, and yet she is being confined and arrested as a terrorist simply because she is against BN. She has done a lot for us, the least we could do is to show our support.

Lim Guan Eng, Zunar, Rafizi too have done a lot of things for Malaysians. PKR Rafizi exposed governmental documents that are concealed because he believed those documents are evidence of a guilty act committed by the powerful, and yet he is thrown in jail because he did what is in the best interest of Malaysia.

Political oppression has got to stop. Please wake up, and do something.

To show some concern is the least you can do as a Malaysian, as whatever happens in Malaysia will affect you eventually.

Bersih 5.0

I can't be there because I am otherwise engaged, but it doesn't mean I don't care about my country. When the country is topsy-turvy, then the people go out to the street to protest. People don't protest if things are well - we aren't that free. Najib has to realise that democracy doesn't work only once a year. Anytime between elections, if the people are dissatisfied with you, you must step down. You aren't elected democratically to be an autocrat for five years. You're a disgrace to the country. The crackdown on the organisers and opposition leaders are cowardly, uncalled-for, and shining signs of desperation to cling on power. GE14 will come soon. You can't hide for long. Another batch of pro-Opposition are coming, and you shall be toppled in the next election. The change is close. And we are winning.

To the guy who recognised me but I didn't

I was in Swinburne today when I guy came to me and asked whether I am the guy who posted STPM Maths T solution online. He said if I were the one, he wanted to express a personal gratitude.

That time I was a bit stunned and I couldn't recall posting anything about STPM Maths T online, but only seconds later after I said I wasn't, that I remember I did post two guidelines on Maths T assignments.

So I said it wasn't me, before realising later it could possibly be me. After all, it's too much of a coincidence. I did take STPM, he recognised me.

I did find it peculiar the guy would recognise me and ask about STPM Maths T. I did take STPM, but I just couldn't remember I posted the guidelines. It was three years ago!

So whoever you are, and no matter whether you'll read this, I think you probably were looking for me but I didn't realise I was the one. I forgot what I did. Thank you for that. It means a lot to me to know that what I did is actually helpful to other people. Thank you.

Dark Day In Modern History

Donald Trump, the infamous Republican candidate, has officially won the presidential election to be the 45th President of the United States of America.

I can understand that Americans hugely dislike Hillary Clinton for her alleged misappropriation and reckless behaviour in handling sensitive matters, but putting Donald Trump on such a task and empowering him with such enormous control is a decision Americans will most likely regret.

Take it this way. To view this thing in Malaysian context:

Hillary Clinton is the Najib of America. Despised. Unprofessional. Bad in ruling and management.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, is a monkey you took out from the jungle and put on the presidential race because you hate Hillary Clinton so much, you rather cast your ballot on someone not worthy enough to even waste money to produce the ballots for him.

Donald Trump is an infant in politics. He has no prior experience, and judging from his presidential debates, he most likely does not even understand how American system works. He doesn't even appear to understand the Constitution of the United States.

His brash, misogynistic, crass behaviour, top with his inflated ego and unfounded arrogance, is gonna ruin America.

Like it or not, Americans will have to live with the consequences of their actions.

This is a dark day in modern history. The darkest day to date.

Virtual World Provides A Blinding Illusion That Is Worth Keeping

Everyone you go you see a bunch of people looking down at their phones crossing the streets or sitting on the benches as if the eyes were meant to be glued to the screens. The biological nature of human is slowly altered with an increasing dominance of technology in our social life, and whether that contributes to worthy variations or is a worrying disturbance to human evolution is subjected to controversies and arguments that scientists will take decades to delve into, and even then it’s highly unlikely they can reach a consensus. Technology has evolved in an alarming rate and has changed the way people live, it has substituted a lot of once considered important materials, and have created a virtual world that people are continuously sucked into and unable to break free from.

Yes, technology creates a virtual reality that a lot of people enjoy living in. Why would you hate it? Virtual reality is where you create the world you have dreamed off. You get to be the person you want. You get to be the character you know you couldn’t possibly become - a prince or a princess in a medieval kingdom with an infinite supply of gold and enjoy admirable reverence, say. You get to modify where you live and create the space you want - however big it is, however beautiful the surrounding can be. You get to imaginatively splash your virtual money that you gain by doing what you like on stuffs that you could reach without physical boundaries or financial limitations. Short of cash? Play more! It’s fun! This is where you earn infinite money with very little physical effort.
But is virtual reality a safe reality?

Instead of using the mundane approach people tend to use, let’s see what the alternatives are.
The real world. What has it got to offer? In 2016 alone we have witnessed a lot of disturbing events that have plunged the world into a series of convoluted mess that is close to impossible to clean up. North Korea’s persistence to push for its nuclear test and launched a number of missiles in a year alone is destabilising Asia and is wrecking havoc on transnational politics, with China, South Korea and Japan getting much more tense and threatening the world’s economy with every actions they take. China, North Korea’s closest  ally have shown dismay towards North Korea, and has continuously supported UN’s decision to slap hard sanctions on North Korea - something considered a solid proof China’s patience with North Korea is slowly wearing off - and yet China refuses to cross the boundary to have a confrontation with North Korea because, as it is rumoured, China is more concerned about US’s influence in Asia than the stabilisation of its region.

Taiwan and China have got much tense since Tsai Ing-wen won the presidency and became the President of Taiwan. Cross-straits relations could never have been more tense after China closes its Taiwan’s relation office in Beijing and Taiwan’s refusal to recognise One China policy drawn in 1992. China’s alleged interference in Hong Kong’s government raises alarms and causes burning flame of protest after China allegedly kidnapped five Hong Kong authors who have heavily criticised China’s interference in local affairs. Hong Kongers then pushed for an actual independence from China, calling China to leave the British colonial states alone and respect the ‘One China, Two Policy’ system drafted up by China.

China is already facing a lot of internal conflicts, and yet it attempts to stake claim to territory that could not possibly be theirs. China claims almost the whole of South China Sea, and has itself drawn a national boundary up to 5km outside Sarawak and Sabah’s shore. ASEAN countries, particularly The Philippine, staunchly opposed China’s claim. The Philippines, being the worst victim, lodged a lawsuit to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which at the end ruled in favour of the Philippines. Yet, the court is founded by the United Nations. It is not binding and could not be enforced because it has no enforcers under it. The UN could comment but that’s what they could only do. It’s a common policy that international organisations and world bodies do not interfere in a nation’s internal affairs. China has refused to recognise the ruling. And the rest, you could work with your imagination.

ISIS continues to be a worrying factor but in recent times it has dwindled. Its territory has ceased to expand, but it ceases to expand because it is pounded. US and Russia bring their war game into Syria, and the ultimate casualties are the innocent locals who die at the merciless airstrikes that have reduced a once colourful city to mere rubble. Few decades of history is wiped out by the irresponsible actions of immature countries that undermine human lives to gain victory. ISIS may be slowly being defeated, but as expected, they change tactics and begin to urge sympathisers to carry out lone-wolf attacks, and that is much more worrying because lone-wolf attacks are much more difficult to thwart.

El Nino has plunged the whole planet into a ball of turmoil. Certain areas experience drought so bad people die of thirst and hunger because there literally isn’t a single drop of water available and crops have died under scorching heat unfit for living. Certain areas experience unstable weather that normally bring torrential rain which cause eventual horrific flooding and in some areas tornadoes and hurricanes occurred and flattened a once densely built city.

The Philippines elected a President who endorsed extrajudicial killings, and urged its people to kill everyone they suspect is a drug addict. Judicial reviews and criminal proceedings are not required. Police caught killing drug addicts will be pardoned by the President. As a result, The Philippines’ economy shrank to a new low in decades, and the society becomes much more turbulent because, drug addict may be less, but the increasing poverty spawn other crimes like robbery. Substituting a crime with another is never the solution.

The US observes the most heated presidential election in a century. Donald Trump, the nominated Republican candidate is vying for the post with Hillary Clinton, a nominated Democratic Party candidate. Donald Trump, seen as unfit to be even a candidate, is widely condemned by the international organisations and people across the world. He is a racist, a misogynist, knows nothing about the Constitution of America, calls Mexicans “rapists” and threatens to build a wall between the US and Mexico and demands Mexico to pay for it. He calls for the ban of Muslims on US ground, threatens to expel millions of immigrants currently residing in US, without considering that a lot of immigrants have rooted in US and created a family, and expelling them separate them from their children who are naturalised US citizens. He does not respect the rule of law, calls the media a farce and threatens to amend the laws to enable legal proceedings to begin on media organisations. He refuses to declare his tax, the first nominated candidate to refuse a declaration. He threatens the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the non-discrimination policy that have strengthened America to be the respected country of the world. No major newspapers have publicly endorsed Trump. In fact, loyal Republican newspapers who have consistently endorsed the Republican are switching side to support Hillary Clinton.

Yet Hillary Clinton herself is a problem for America. She recklessly used her personal emails in treating delicate issues. She undermines the security of millions of Americans, and, worse still, the United States of America itself, as she dealt with national security. She has received funds but some of the funds were unaccounted for - a sign of corruption that appears to be invasive and pervasive and infectious in the political system. She has brought the US into the war against ISIS, and she has caused international standoff that Americans do not favour. She is a mother of trouble. As a result, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are close in the presidential race. Hillary Clinton leads but not in the safe margin. Yet America doesn’t seem to have any options. It’s either this lady, or the guy with disturbing behaviours. Whoever America pick, the world will observe a changing political sphere. And the President will be hated by approximately half of the citizens in the country he/she rules.

Issues plaguing other countries probably do not need to be mentioned because the issues above seem enough.

What about Malaysia? How’s Malaysia? Inflation has gone up. The Malaysian Ringgit has shrunk to a new low and the Malaysian government seems reluctant to act. Freedom of speech is increasingly being suppressed. The closure of The Malaysian Insider marked a black day in Malaysia’s history, and the threat made against Malaysiakini and the continual political influence in major newspapers cast doubt over Malaysia’s freedom of press. Malaysian government attempts to amend the law to place two government officers in the Bar Council, a lawyer body that is supposed to be independent from the executive’s interference. Malaysia continues to take conservative approaches in legal cases that concern interfaith and inter religion matters. The line separating civil and syariah courts have narrowed and is diminishing. The increasing cost of living is pushing the poor poorer and yet the rich gets richer because of economic dominance. The inability of the government to differentiate criticism and insult continues to show signs that Malaysia is slowly plunging into a dictatorship or totalitarian era, where the elected body must be respected because, in their opinion, democracy appears to happen only once every five years. Those who are elected must remain elected until the next election. The ruling government is incapable of running the country, but the Opposition does not provide a viable option. Can Malaysia progress? Is the future bright or bleak? Is there even a future?

With all the worrying events in a single year, could you argue that virtual reality does not offer a better reality? Yes. Virtual reality is virtual, untouchable, a product of our figment of imagination. But they provide a space where we could be protected against and sheltered from the turbidity of the world. It is not the best reality, but it provides a temporary safe haven. It might be an illusion that virtual reality can be a reality, but it is no illusion that virtual reality is here to stay.

Life's hectic

My final exam commences end of November so it means my life is getting busier.

This semester I've got two units which contain a lot of memorisation, and two that are heavily assignment-based.

Road Engineering itself is already tough, but my b*tchy lecturer doesn't make it easy.

Yes, I use that b word, only because that lady is way too much. It is obvious from her actions and behaviours that she hates being a lecturer with every fibre of her being. I know she progressed straight to master after graduated from degree, and maybe she hates working in the society more, so she opted to be a lecturer, but obviously she still despises being a lecturer.

I realise Swinburne offers very limited electives for us to pick. There are no units on coastal engineering, port and harbour, and there's no advanced concrete and steel structures design. Infrastructure Deterioration Modelling seems like a good one because not many other universities offer it, and I find it interesting (though I heard it's extremely tough). Too bad, Swinburne, please offer more courses!

Civil Engineering in Swinburne Sarawak

I just feel like summarising what I've learnt in Civil Engineering so far.

I'm studying at Swinburne University of Technology, an Australian branch campus in Sarawak. I must emphasise Australia's universities generally have different structures from that of Malaysia and UK. If you're a civil engineering student intending to study the course in Swinburne Sarawak, hope the below helps.

p/s it'll be updated once in half a year.

Main courses

CIVIL ENGINEERING PROJECT (DROPPED)
It's a first-year course that aims to provide general knowledge about civil engineering by forcing students to do research on a project. We don't have to provide analysis, give recommendations or make arguments. No calculation is involved. Students are given topics like "build a school" (to be simplistic), and the topic is broken down into structural units, water units and so on. Every member in the group would pick a subtopic and do extensive research on it. After the submission of the project, a presentation will be carried out. It's a foundational unit that aims to encourage students to pick up some skills relevant in the course.

MECHANICS OF STRUCTURE

It's a first year structural course that aims to provide a foundation of structural analysis. It's the topic that exposes students to drawing shear and bending moment diagrams, calculate the moment of inertia and calculate shear forces. It's a foundational unit for civil engineering programme.

ENERGY AND MOTION 

It's also a foundational programme in the course. You'll be exposed to some pure physics topics such as work, power, circular motion, thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gas, and mechanics and kinematics. If you graduate with STPM, this is an extremely simple unit for you.

ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS 1 (DROPPED - REPLACED WITH CALCULUS AND APPLICATION)

It's another first-year foundational unit that aims to provide basic concept of mathematics. You'll be learning functions, calculus and some geometry. If you're a STPM graduate, this is a unit that you can get HD even if you get a C in STPM Maths T. Too simple.

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING (DROPPED - REPLACED WITH ENGINEERING, DESIGN AND INNOVATION)

There are two parts in this unit
Part 1: In this part, you'll be doing a case study relevant to your course. The emphasis is on writing a quality report.
Part 2: You'll first learn to hand sketch some drawings. There'll be a test on hand sketching. Then, you'll be exposed to AutoCAD drawing.

STRUCTURAL MECHANICS
Prerequisite: Mechanics of Structure (MOS)

It's just an advanced topic of MOS. It's a combination of a wide variety of topics that seem a bit irrelevant.

ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS 2 (DROPPED - REPLACED WITH LINEAR ALGEBRA AND GEOMETRY)
Prerequisite: Engineering Mathematics 1

You'll be exposed to complex numbers, vectors, and geometries. Extremely simple unit if you did well for your STPM.

MATERIALS AND PROCESSES (RENAMED TO ENGINEERING MATERIALS)

Heard it will be renamed or undergo restructure, but this unit isn't exactly relevant for civil engineering. Not sure why civil engineering students have to take this unit. You'll be studying some minor chemical topics (which is much easier than STPM Chemistry). You'll learn about atoms and s, p, d, f orbitals (no hybridisation of orbitals), intermolecular forces, slipping, stress and strain of materials, and some material and their properties such as ceramics and glass under heat or stress.

COMPUTER AIDED ENGINEERING CIVIL
Prerequisite: Professional Engineering

It'll be split into two parts.
Part 1: You'll use AutoCAD to draw some design drawing. It's assignment-based. You might be required to draw a housing area, with the road width, kerb, roundabouts and parking size in accordance with Australian Standard. Then, you'll be given first exposure to the use of AutoCAD Civil 3D, which will be an instrumental computer software program in this course.

Part 2: You'll first be exposed to Spacegass, an extremely useful structural analysis computer software that will greatly help you in future courses. Then, you'll learn to use Excel. Excel could be very useful in doing design projects, which are aplenty in Year 2 onwards.

FLUID MECHANICS 1
Prerequisite: Engineering Mathematics 2

You'll be exposed to fluid mechanics. The flow rate of the water, the momentum, energy and the hydraulic jump of the fluid. Just some basic exposure to fluids.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN (DROPPED) 

Since this course is about to be abolished, I'll not elaborate on it.

DESIGN OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES
Prerequisite: Structural Mechanics

This unit is the beginning of your nightmare in university.

This unit is where you'll be first exposed to indeterminate structures, and hence you'll learn to use flexibility method and Moment Distribution Method (MDM) to analyse those structures. Then, you'll begin to design concrete structures. You'll decide the size and dimensions of beams and columns to be used in a structure. You'll analyse whether the load in which they are being subjected to have exceeded their design shear and moment capacity. In the design project, you'll learn how to design a concrete structure. How much beam is to be placed, and how much spacing is to be provided between beams. You'll also learn to design columns and concrete slabs.

DESIGN OF STEEL STRUCTURES
Prerequisite: Structural Mechanics

Unlike concrete structure design, this unit mostly focuses on determinate structures. But steel structures can be very annoying. The analysis of a steel structure is simple, but the design is downright difficult. It's the same as designing a concrete structure: you give a preliminary design - how many beams to place, how far apart, how many columns, and you provide an initial design. You'll then do the load analysis and determine whether the structures are sufficiently reinforced or strong enough to withstand the load (whether the load exceeds their maximum capacity. If it's exceeded, provide new design). You'll also learn to design connections of members. It's, in my opinion, an easier unit than concrete (but not easy, still extremely tough), but much more annoying due to a multitude of constraints in design.

TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERING
Prerequisite: Computer Aided Engineering Civil

You'll be doing land surveys in this unit. You'll learn how to use total stations and other machinery needed in a land survey. You'll also learn a lot of geometries. You'll be working in the sun for a minimum of 2 hours per week. Enjoy it. In one of the assignment, you'll spend 3 weeks to do a land survey by collecting points and data in the field. The data will be transferred to Civil 3D and your data should outline the entire field plan depicting the location of drains, trees, fire hydrants and other structures found in the field.

URBAN WATER RESOURCES
Prerequisite: Fluid Mechanics 1

It's basically a unit where you'll study hydrology. You'll learn to find a unit hydrograph of an area due to rainfall, you'll also learn to design drainage systems. You'll also learn to estimate the flood occurrence in an area and the subsequent design to counter it. In one of the assignment, you'll be designing drainage in a given area.

ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS 3C (DROPPED - REPLACED TO ENGINEERING MATHS 3)
Prerequisite: Engineering Mathematics 2

You'll learn a bit of matrices. Then, it's mostly statistics - probability, hypothesis testing, chi-squared tests. Still much easier than STPM Mathematics (T).

ROAD ENGINEERING
Prerequisite: Topograhical Engineering

This is a unit that focuses solely on road. The first part of the course will focus on calculations. You'll be introduced to cross sections of a typical road, the horizontal and vertical alignments and earthworks required in road formation. The hardest part of this unit is where you have to do the assignment. It's nightmare. In the assignment, you'll have to design a road that would connect two roads. The road will cut through a mountainous region so you'll be coordinating horizontal and vertical alignments. You'll need a number of annoying trial and errors and I've known people who broke down and just wept for the whole night after an umpteen time of trial still failed. It's very tiring and very tough and requires strong mental strength. I'm not joking here.

The second section will focus on the theories - compaction of road, properties of crushed rock, aggregates and bitumen and so on. Those theories are quite mundane but you'll have to study them anyway.

To elaborate more on the assignment, there are two parts. The first part involves manual calculations of the horizontal and vertical alignments, and the second part will be the design of vertical alignment using Autocad Civil 3D. The first part is downright exhausting and will wear you out very badly. The second part is less tiring but still tedious as you'll also need a number of trial and errors.

COST ENGINEERING

You'll be exposed to some engineering economics. You'll learn how to make estimates, how to prepare gantt chart and cash flow and to prepare for a tender bid. You'll learn about earned value, planned value and budgeted value. You'll also learn how to use Microsoft Project.

To say the truth, the assignment is the most important part of this unit. This unit aims to prepare you for project management.

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT 1

Quite a useless unit where you'll learn about human resource management and resource planning. There is a lot of memorisation, more than your much loathed SPM Sejarah. But resource planning involves a bit of calculation which is rather simple.

The focus is on managing resources and humans. You'll learn about organisational behaviour, ethics in professional practice et cetera. Things that, theoretically, should help a manager better manage an organisation and his employee. But sadly, what you learn in theory is usually inapplicable in real life, and that's why I said it's a useless unit.

You'll have two assignments. One is to compare two organisations that are similar (MAS and AirAsia, for example), and contrast how they run their operations, and find out the pros and cons of each organisations. You'll have to know the histories of the organisations, the ethics, how they promote their companies, how they have contributed to the societies et cetera.

The second assignment is on resource planning. You'll have to prepare manpower and try to prepare a schedule that would allow your task to be completed in time and efficiently.

WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Prerequisite: Urban Water Resources

This is a project-based unit which is actually quite tiring. You'll be tasked to design a water supply to a pre-determined area. You'll have to determine the water demand so that you can supply it, you'll have to design a water storage tank, and subsequently the location and the height of the water storage tank above ground. You'll also need to determine the pipe size required, the thrust blocks and so forth for the project. In addition to that, you'll have to do cost analysis and perform an environmental assessment of your project.

It's an interesting project, but it's very hard to score good grades because it is project-based.

GEOMECHANICS
Prerequisites: Structural Mechanics

This is a unit that focuses on soil behaviour. You'll learn a bit about geology, the rock cycle, and the properties and behaviours of each rock. Then you'll move on to study the behaviour of soil, starting with the basic phase relationship which is extremely important. You'll learn how to draw flow net, and the Mohr's Coulomb failure-criteria, and the consolidation behaviour of the soil.

It's an interesting unit which is extremely important for civil engineering. It's fun, but it's loaded with many assignments and is quite a tiring unit.

TRANSPORT ENGINEERING
Prerequisite: Road Engineering

Road Engineering was a nightmare, and Transport Engineering is not much better. You'll have a lot of theories in this unit to memorise and understand, and the amount of stuffs to be memorised is only a tad lesser than what you'll encounter in Engineering Management 1.

Road Engineering is on geometric design on the road. Transport Engineering is on pavement design, and the performance of the traffic. Pavement design is about flexible or rigid pavements, and you'll need to perform some empirical design for it. Traffic Engineering emphasises more on the design of signalised and unsignalised intersection and a roundabout. Rail design is part of the unit, but because rail is absent in Sarawak so the emphasis is not on rail. But hey, learning a bit about it might be useful as one day, rail might be re-introduced in Kuching and you might be able to design one!

The assignment is tiring as well. Assignment 1 is about the supply and demand of traffic. Some place would be used for development and that is going to generate traffic. You'll need to carry out a traffic impact assessment, and to evaluate the current intersections around the site to determine whether it is capable of supporting the growing traffic. If it can't, propose changes to it so that it can better cater the traffic. Assignment 2 is on SIDRA analysis, which would analyse an existing signalised intersection.

Useful unit, but also very tiring.

STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF LOW RISE BUILDINGS
Prerequisites: Design of Concrete Structures & Design of Steel Structures

This unit focuses on timber design and masonry design, which is much simpler compared to concrete and steel structure design. Timber is not commonly used in Malaysia anymore, but it is still very relevant in Australia and hence this unit is compulsory. You'll learn how to analyse a timber beam and column, timber connections and so forth. For Masonry, you'll learn its flexural and shear behaviour.

There is, thank God, no group projects, but individual assignments as of 2017. Assignment 1 is to design the components of a timber house. The drawings of the house would be provided so basically you just need to design based on the given dimensions. Very simple. Assignment 2 is to analyse whether the masonry structures can sustain what you have calculated in Assignment 1. Also very simple.

But the final is the killer part. There are too much (and I use 'much' to exaggerate how many are there) questions for you to answer in a mere 3 hours. It's very possible you know how to solve all questions, and yet the time allocated is insufficient because the steps are too long and there are too many questions to answer. Can't be blamed, as you have 30% easy marks to get. The final is 70%, and if it is too easy I guess too many people would get HD, and hence the deliberate toughness.

CONSTRUCTION LAW 
Prerequisite: 250 CP, Master of Construction Management Unit, an Elective

Construction is a 3D job (Dirty, Dangerous, Difficult), and it involves a hefty sum of money. Hence, the construction industry is always embroiled in legal suits, especially on payment disputes. Construction Law is an elective for civil engineering students, and I personally think this is the best unit so far, and a unit that I've enjoyed the most, though it is also a unit that is extremely, extremely tiring.

You'll learn the basic legal systems in Malaysia, and the very simple contract law, tort law, occupational safety and hazard, insurance law, and the process of tenders. There is a heavy emphasis on contract.

There is no final examination. It's mostly assignment-based. Basically you'll be given a number of scenarios that involve a lot of parties, and you have the free will to do your research to provide legal advice to the parties. There is no right or wrong, it just involves a lot of research.

Throughout the research I've learnt a lot about those things that engineers should know. For example, contracts need not be in writing. An e-mail transaction can lead to a contract formation. Tenders that are too low can be declared a bad decision in law. Usually, we'll think it is a professional mistake, but it actually carries legal repercussions. In short, this is a very useful unit, one that I would highly encourage everyone to take.

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
Prerequisite: Geomechanics

If geomechanics is your nightmare, geotechnical engineering is something close to night terror. Unless you have a good grasp of geomechanics, you'll find this unit to be extremely tough. If you understand geomechanics, geotechnical is going to be a relatively easier, but not easy, unit than geomechanics.

You'll learn to design retaining walls, shallow foundations, PVD for ground improvement, deep foundations and slope stability. However, this unit covers only the very basic of all these topics. It isn't close to what an actual engineer practises in the industry. This unit merely provides you the very basic concept, and there are still long procedures to go for a proper design to be considered acceptable. However, this is a very important unit as all projects would somehow require a geotechnical consideration.

There are two assignments: one is a research assignment, and another one is on PVD design. PVD design is especially useful and relevant in our market. The final exam is fine.

INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN PROJECT (IDP)
Prerequisite: Design of Concrete Structures & Design of Steel Structures & Urban Water Resources (Proposed)

This is a very heavy unit that I would caution you not to take until your final year. It's basically a unit that compels you to revise every unit you've taken. You'll be designing an industrial warehouse consisting of a portal frame with a concrete slab and possibly offices with RC design, so it's all concrete and steel structure design all over again, with considerations of wind loads you learnt in Structural Design of Low Rise Buildings but in a much more detailed manner. So I'll also advise you to take this unit after you've taken Low Rise, but if you haven't, it won't matter much as what you have to learn in IDP is much more complicated in Low Rise and even if you've learnt it in Low Rise, it won't be a guarantee you can understand what is needed in IDP.

You'll need to design a road alignment to provide access from the main road to the warehouse, so it's Road Engineering all over again, with considerations of vertical and horizontal alignments. You'll need to design a flexible pavement so it's a little of Transport Engineering. You'll have to also design drainages for the project so it's Urban Water Resources all over again. In the meantime, you'll also have to design sewerage system which is part of the elective unit Wastewater Engineering.

It's a very heavy unit with multiple submissions and deadlines, so I'll caution you to make sure you are prepared for it, and that before you take it, make sure you've scored well for all other previous units. Else it's very hectic, and you'll find that most of the time spent on that semester is actually on this unit.

FINAL YEAR RESEARCH PROJECT (CIVIL) 1
Prerequisites: 287.5 CP

Nothing much to say about this unit as it depends quite much on who your supervisor is. Your FYRP1 would focus mostly on literature reviews and methodology. Take full use of what Swinburne Library could provide.

Don't make last minute attempt as your final report is going to sound silly. Do the stupid online modules as early as possible. You have to submit it as part of your final report even though it carries no mark because the absence of its submission constitutes a failure of the unit.

ELECTIVE: INFRASTRUCTURE DETERIORATION MODELLING (IDM)
Prerequisite: Design of Concrete Structures & Design of Steel Structures

This is a unit I say you must take as an elective. It's almost a must for civil engineering students. You'll learn about various types of structural deterioration such as concrete cracking, steel rusting, masonry chemical attack and so forth and they're absolutely important if you intend to be a structural engineer. You'll learn what kind of deterioration could occur, how they occur, and how to repair them.

This is a relatively easy unit with very little assignments. You'll have two assignments, where one requires you to go to a designated building to do structural assessment and make it a presentation, and submit a report of your findings. It's relatively easy. The second assignment is a continuum of your first assignment where you have to choose one of your many findings, and elaborate on it as in how it occurs and how to fix it. It's also relatively simple. I strongly encourage you to take it as one of the approved electives.

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT 2

This is another unit which I find pretty useless for an engineering student. The person who mandates the undertaking of this unit would argue that this unit imparts the necessary knowledge for one to become a future manager, but one needs to go through only one semester to know that one's memory normally lapses so fast that they cannot remember what they have happened in the previous semester. When you graduate you'll be a fresh graduate with lots of stuff to pick up, and whatever you've learnt in this unit will be pretty well forgotten when you need it in the future.

Anyway, this unit focuses more on cost engineering which is partly covered in Cost Engineering. There are also lots of heavy calculations and memorisations that make this unit a tad more miserable than Engineering Management 1. It is more concerned on how to set up and run a business, and therefore your assignment would accordingly be pertinent to these concepts and it makes this unit even more miserable because group discussion becomes difficult to navigate when you've lots of different opinions. There's also gonna be a section about law, with a heavy focus on contract, but it is pretty minor and shallow when compared to Construction Law which is a Master's unit. But the core of the knowledge is undeniably important, just isn't exactly very helpful at this stage, or for engineering students whose first exposure in the workforce is unlikely to be contract-related (other than employment).

FINAL YEAR RESEARCH PROJECT 2

It is hard to comment on this unit as it highly depends on your supervisor. But the purpose of doing FYRP2 is to gauge one's ability and commitment to producing a quality report with appropriate and quality experimental data, so even with a lousy supervisor, you'll get by if you have a good attitude.

You'll have less stupid online modules to waste your time with, but you'll have shorter time to produce your report too because the last few weeks are reserved for compacting your two semesters' work into a final report. By the middle of the semester, you should be producing some data which could validate or refute your hypothesis, else you would have to start over and that would be a nuisance.

ELECTIVE: CONTEMPORARY DESIGN ISSUE
A unit in the Multimedia Design Course

This is a first-year design unit which is available for engineering students to take as an elective. Majority of people are not aware they could take an elective outside of what is mandated, because, first of all, the university did not inform the students that this option was available. I only knew it because the course coordinator told me.

Because it is a first-year unit, it is easy with very light tasks. You'll need to attend weekly lectures, and do online tasks, and also three assignments throughout the semesters. There is no final exam. There are no tutorials. You get one mid-semester break which is not available for engineering students and also get to use the design studio which comes with Apple desktop.

It's actually an interesting unit that civil engineering (might not be true for other branches) should consider taking. It is more like a case study unit, where you study how people use different techniques to subconsciously invoke artistic sense in our daily lives. Biophilic cities, which are cities beautified using plants and greeneries, often go unnoticed but in actual fact, designers put in a lot of efforts in it (though as an engineer, I know it's an engineering nightmare). You get to learn also how cities around the world are designed to discourage public vehicle usage, and also some minor design techniques like light shades or the usage of endearing objects to make daily paraphernalia like rabbit-shaped soaps.

You do not need artistic skills to survive this unit. You just need some interest in the design, and also ability to write. You'll be doing lots of case studies, which are very light because it's a first-year unit, and writing a lot of short essays. All you need is the ability to write, you do not need any single minute ability to draw.

ELECTIVE: INNOVATION CULTURE - PERSPECTIVE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
A unit from the Faculty of Language and Business

This unit is very new and it sounds interesting. It is for people who love languages, as the main focus is reading. It is about how technology evolves over the year, from some basic tools to becoming an intangible artificial intelligence.

I find this unit a little disappointing because it - okay, pardon me but probably my expectation was inappropriately high as it is a first-year unit - does not delve deep into the issues. You get to learn a little about posthumanism all those things (that have begun to escape my minds as I am writing this in November 2019 because I took the unit Semester 1, 2018) and it actually was quite an interesting unit until the final exam comes. In the final exam, be prepared to write with all the strength of the muscles you have because you'll have a very long essay to complete. Other than that you'll be expected to work on a poster which is rather simplistic and also an essay which would gauge your ability to produce an argumentative text. Other than that, it's an interesting unit worth taking only for those who have an interest in reading.

蒙面唱将猜猜猜 EP4 磕着瓜子的猫《悟空》 161009

I have greatest respect to singers who can actually sing, who have actual qualities.

Whoever this singer is, she can sing, and she rocks!! Must watch!!

Why?

It's a university. It's a place where you learn to be independent and you should appreciate that there is such an opportunity.

The awful fact about private universities is that a lot of people get in by money. They don't get it with the spirit to learn.

A lot of them, on the other hand, wanna learn. But there's one thing that is lacking: independence.

I pretty sure it's the same everywhere. A lot of people, when given an assignment or project, heavily relies on seniors' work or samples to the point they dare not do anything that is divergent from the samples.

It's an assignment. As long as you answer the question, it's unlikely your work could be wrong. How you present them normally doesn't matter much as long as it is neat and tidy. If it's a professional work that requires a specific format, then the format is usually made known. Just follow it.

Sometimes you must learn to do an assignment on your own, then to always refer to samples and ask why samples are all different. And if samples are wrong, don't take it.

It's no wonder even graduates are scolded by employers when they're employed. Graduates/undergraduates nowadays cannot think on their own.

PPAP Pen Pineapple Apple Pen

Sometimes, idiotic videos that went viral deserve to be remembered.

I don't think people will forget PPAP for now, but maybe they'll completely forget it in a matter of weeks.

So. Listen to this stupid and weirdly addictive song, though I pretty sure you have.

Lady Gaga - Perfect Illusion (Acoustic version) LIVE at 97 1 AMP Radio

Being able to sing without the manipulation or assistance of technology is the very reason I love Lady Gaga.

She can sing. And if you watch this, you can't deny that fact.

This is a real masterpiece. And she is a real talent.

Lady Gaga - Perfect Illusion

Monster is back!

I have waited for Lady Gaga's new album for a very long time. I still remember I was eagerly waiting for her music video for Do What You Want, but it was never released due to some controversy. I was hoping she could produce a music video for Gypsy, one of my favourite song, but she didn't.

Three years on, and now she's coming back and showing the world she rocks! Awesome song! And I like her now than when she was in meat dress.

Still a huge fan!

Malaysia Day

I have been incredibly busy these few weeks and I'm bound to be much busier next week, but I think I should take some day off to celebrate today. It's the 16th of September, which is Malaysia Day! It's the day the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore joined to form Malaysia, though Singapore later is expelled (the irony here Singapore is now the most successful). I am super proud of my country and of being a Malaysian, although my beloved country is now being slowly destroyed by a bunch of useless garbage that forms the incumbent government, but still Malaysia is an awesome country. I love you, Malaysia! Happy Malaysia Day!

MAN BAI - Kau Ilhamku

For a number of years, the tune stuck in my head and kept repeating it. 

The worst part is I can't recall even a single lyrics. I couldn't remember the name of the song, the name of the singer, or even when I first listened the song and how I encountered it, but it infiltrated my brain and made itself comfortable.

Until today, after so many years, I've finally identified the song! Through Fly Fm!!

Thank you. This is a nice song. I seldom listen to Malay songs but this is classic.

And yes, I still can't remember why I love it and how I first came across it.

郑迦文《Goodbye My Lover》

Ever since I watched his first performance during the audition, I knew this guy has talent.

I cannot comment on his singing skills but among all the contestants, he sings with the actual emotions that is transmittable.

He sings with raw emotion. That triumphs everything.

Busy Semester

I've begun my new semester in my university and things have been quite hectic now.

It's quite astonishing and unbelievable that I'm now already in the third year of my degree study. I could still remember the moment I stepped into Jit Sin back in 2007, all the way to I first went back for form 6 and graduated there and first came to Swinburne. In a blink of an eye and here I am now, halfway through my degree.

This semester I am taking units I have no interests in. Road Engineering is a boring unit and something I never wanted to study (I like structural), and the testy, temperamental and hormonal lecturers don't make my life easier.

Cost Engineering seems redundant. There are Quantity Surveyor to do the job. And this lecturer also sucks.

Water and Environmental Engineering is cool. It's research-based and has no final examination. So far the assignment is greywater-centric but it's nice.

Engineering Management I sucks. Anything that requires memorisation sucks. And I hate all of them.

Gotta go busy again.

Rio Olympics

Where I stay now currently has no internet access. I know this is long overdue but I can't help but post these.

Congratulations to Tan Wee Kiong and Goh V Shem who won silver medal in the recently concluded Rio Olympics. They won silver in badminton men's double. It's their first time in Olympics. The match was nerve-wrecking. The third set could have killed people with a weak heart! Yes, I know it's so close to clinching a gold, but please do remember Malaysians are always with you! Thank you for the effort. Going down 20-22 is nothing to be ashamed off. You fought well and we are all proud of you!! The look on Tan Wee Kiong's face after realising they have lost and his subsequent reaction of crying pains people heart. You shouldn't have cried. You still did all of us, and yourself, superbly proud!!

Congratulations to Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying who won silver medal, too, in badminton mixed double. It's also their first time. It was obvious the opponent was too strong but it's still a great achievement to come back with a silver.

Congratulations too to our national hero, Dato Lee Chong Wei. You may not have won a gold medal but you definitely have won the people's heart.

Heroes. Whenever you participate in Olympics, please forget about Malaysians. Forget about Malaysia. Treat it as your personal fight for the greatest achievement. You are not responsible for making Malaysians happy. You could do us proud and do our nation proud but it is not a responsibility. Don't be burdened. Just enjoy the game, and you shall be rewarded with the most handsome gift. Thank you for all the efforts. Malaysia may not have won a gold medal, but Malaysians can never come closer to each other.

Sadako vs Kayako

Ju-On series is the first ever J-horror I have ever watched. I know it was famous for being incredibly scary back in 2002 because back then I was little and the poster scared the hell out of me. Then I proceeded to watch Ju-On: The Grudge, and immediately fell in love with the movie. Kayako is a sinister, ever-lingering spiritual entity with a burning grudge that couldn't be put off, and same goes for her son, Toshio. But I have never ever watched a Ringu film. I know it came out before Ju-On and it was more famous but I don't know why I just don't find the concept of a ghost crawling out of a TV is by any stretch interesting. Any other horror movies that isn't Ju-On just features ghosts crawling around for no reason and people yelling at the top of their voices. The whole movie just doesn't feature a coherent plot or a writeable storyline.

So when I knew there is going to be a crossover movie featuring these two world famous ghost, I was excited. Especially since both the creators of the respective ghosts will be involved in the making.

Sadako vs Kayako mainly focuses on the girl who found a long-buried videotape and watched it. She died. She gave the videotape to a professor who yearns to have it. He watches it too. And he dies. Horror movies basically are the same: you got the curse, you try to stop it, and you die, and the curse lives on. That's the summary. It's the process that intrigues, and sorry I can't deliver it here.

When the lady who has watched the videotape wants to live, she went to an exorcist, who in turn led her to another exorcist. And that exorcist who appears to have some sort of supernatural/psychotic powers decided to bring Kayako and Sadako together to fight and obliterate each other. The entire film climax lies at the end - Kayako and Sadako's eventual meeting. That part was awesome but could have been much longer. If you're wondering what the ending is, well, I have given the necessary hints.

Overall I like the film, but had it featured more from Ju-On series, it will have been greater.

Rio Olympics

Nothing much is going on recently so my blog will remain inactive.

However, something that deserves to leave a little trace here is the mentioning of 2016 Olympics.

Malaysia has surprisingly outperformed everybody's expectation. We now have four medals secured, and that itself is a history for a country that has continuously failed the people.

Malaysia has shown sign of improvement in sport. Congratulations to the athletes and do pray the performance can be maintained.

On a side note, Malaysia needs to seriously consider its strategy of relying heavily on one sport. Badminton could be considered Malaysia's national sport. We have representatives for cycling, archery and water diving, but our absence in other fields are too glaring to be ignored.

Anyway, for those awaiting for their finals, good luck! I know it's an enormous pressure to have an entire nation's hope on your shoulder, but remember we are with you no matter what the outcome is.

Jason Bourne

9 years since The Bourne Ultimatum, and 4 years since its sequel/spin-off The Bourne Legacy that does not feature Jason Bourne, Jason Bourne is now back!

I'm a great fan of Jason Bourne. Forget James Bond or Ethan Hunt of the Mission Impossible series, Jason Bourne rocks! He functions on nothing and can utilise anything within reach, and he trusts no one, operates alone, and he rocks! James Bond and Ethan Hunt are basically dead meat without technology.

Jason Bourne is a movie that does not base on any of the novels written by the creator, although its previous films have taken a largely divergent path from the original storyline and borne not much resemblance to the books in the market, so it's hardly surprising.

The review. Okay. First of all, they should not have killed Nicky!!!! I mean WTF why would you kill the character off? She's basically literally the only person Jason Bourne could trust! She's the only friend Jason Bourne has who he knows would not double cross him! WTF?

Besides that freaking disastrous decision taken by the movie producer, the movie itself is okay. It's action-packed and filled with suspense. It's now not about Threadstone but now it's something very personal to Jason Bourne - it's the journey to find the answer to his father's death.

The movie is great, as awesome as it always has been. But one question, why, after 10 years, would Nicky suddenly hack into CIA's database? As a former agent, she should have known she would leave detectable traces. As a former computer hacker, she should have realised a malware was planted into her laptop. The reason to that action that prompted the chain actions seems hazy. I mean, why after 10 years?

My personal rating: 8/10.

Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go has arrived in Malaysia!

You can expect the craze here to be one of the most epic seen in the world. Malaysians are known to be tech savvy, but Malaysians have a problem - they're exactly smart at using them.

Pokemon Go is a game that requires the gamers to walk outdoors. With Pokemon Go's arrival we can expect more problems in our society like idiots walking into the roads while catching pokemons or idiots not looking before crossing the road.

I am a Pokemon fan, and grew up watching the show, but I will not be playing the game. I love to walk a lot and playing the game is kind of a sport for me. But to walk around with people who are gonna be absorbed to the phone means I'm gonna hit a lot of people.

I personally ain't going to play it. If others want to play it, play safe. Be smart.

Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better

You know you're no longer young when there are artists who are younger than you.

This is a nice song. Not awesome but I guess I like the song because Shawn Mendes is younger than me but he is more successful.

This is a music video that inspires me to work harder for my dream.

It's a nice song, and it's a good motivation for me.

I'm starting to like accounting

I never liked business related topics, with accounting the only exception because it requires mathematics. Even though some other business needs knowledge on financial mathematics, anything that requires speculation, estimation and the analysis of stock market are out.

This July, my semester break, I worked part time at a tax agency in order to gain some knowledge on tax. It was the peak period for them as the submission for taxation was 15 July, and a lot of filings and paperwork were required and thus they were understaffed. I worked there doing mostly the paperwork, but after 15 July I got to learn a lot on taxes. Mostly on company taxation because individual and partnership business submission have closed.

Accounting is fun. The key knowledge in accounting is actually balancing. Debit and credit must be equal. My lack of familiarity in observing a balance has resulted a costly mistake for me because I filed wrong data. I don't know whether the customer realises that, my I hope if he/she does he/she would forgive me, because if he/she is caught for the wrong submission, it's he/she that will be imposed a penalty, not the tax agency I worked in.

Anyway accounting is actually fun. It's actually crucial for a company because accounting is the basis of everything. It measures the flow of money within an institution and if one were to mess up a record of even a mere 1 cent, the whole accounting is doomed. That's why I wanted to work in the firm. I get to see what is required in accounting and when I work as an engineer in the future I would know what needs attention. Everything involves money must be treated with precautions and great care because even though engineers are not taught accounting, they will be part of the audit and it's important they have a little knowledge about it.

In short, I did not learn a lot, but I learned enough to pique an interest.

Sing! China 中国新歌声

I never watched a single episode of this renamed singing competition show, but now I'm hooked.

I first watched it when I first listened to this guy singing this song on Facebook. He's a Singaporean, you can tell from his strong Singaporean English accent in his Mandarin, and he's a singer who has published albums. He sings it really nice.

 

Then I watch again when this Malaysian girl (a Penangite!) made it to the next round. A Chung Ling Private school student who has been showered with love sings one of the best songs so far that has captivated me.

 

And there's something oddly mesmerising with this athletic guy singing the song. It's a slow song that I do not normally enjoy listening, but he sings it with a soul that I do not think many people have.

 

One thing for sure, I am watching the third episode next week!

Ambition, or an interest, should be the centre of life

I don't look down on stupid people, or people who cannot get good academic grades. People often think I act that way because society dictates the people who are either academically inferior or dense are at the bottom of a saturated ladder.

I don't.

I think it's okay if people are not academically successful. Not everyone is brought to the world with their brain the sharpest tool. Some are meant to be a model. Some were born with artistic skills and an insatiable taste for designs. Some are good at socialising, and they are meant to drive business up. Some are good at acting and they provide entertainment. Some are gifted with sentimental souls that reach out to others and are meant to soothe the people. Some love sport, and live for sport.

I personally believe it is absolutely okay to be poor in academic.

But, I think it is very, very dangerous if one has no ambition, interest, or a sense of purpose of living. That being said, if you are poor in academics and yet have no other interests, then I think it is a very dangerous journey you are taking.

If your life is only about computer games, watching television dramas, and eating and sleeping, then I think it is time you wake up from your deep slumber, pick yourself up, and start to fight a sense of purpose for living.

We are now inching towards becoming a grown-up. As we grow it is natural we carry more responsibilities and some time in the coming years we would form the community that is keeping the world alive.

There will be a time when you will realise playing computer games is not going to contribute anything. It fills your time with entertainment but there shall be no illusion that a virtual reality can provide a physical satisfaction.

You should find an interest. Everybody has an interest. Before you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, find out what kind of person you are. You must know who you are before you attempt to have someone in your life.

You must understand what is keeping you alive every day. You must be able to visualise the future of which you hold. You must be able to see your ambition come true.

I think it is very dangerous if one depends on another person to give their life fulfilment. You are an individual with a soul. You need to exploit it.

Only when you soul is fully exploited, then only you should find a life partner.

Only when two fully exploited souls come together can a partner be deeply bound.

Every human has a wish, an ambition or an interest in your life. If you live your life by only playing computer games and watching television, it's time you pick up your life, and start the arduous journey of finding what you really are, and what you really want.

You should be responsible for your own life, before you start to take the responsibility of providing one for another.

Horrible. Just Horrible

For two days I have woken up to sheer terror.

On Friday I woke up and realised there was another terrorist attack in France. A truck drove at high speed into a large crowd and killed up to 80 people. IS has not claimed responsibility, but the action has every element of a terrorist attack.

Today I woke up to the news of an attempted Turkish military coup. As much as I hate the clampdown done by the Turkish government, a coup can and will never be a solution. In a country where democracy is practised, if a government were to be toppled, it has to be done by the people, not the military.

2016 has proved a worse year than 2015.

Extroverted Introvert

What should I do?

I am an extroverted introvert. I don't get along with large groups of people but I am more than comfortable with a small group of no more than 5, generally.

I want social life, but simultaneously I crave personal spaces for personal interests.

I like a lot of things that do not require a companionship: reading storybooks, writing, fulfilling dreams, baking, cooking, watching televisions among others. I can get by very well without a partner.

But sometimes I want a company. A company that does not require maintenance and long term commitment.

Conflicts, sometimes are best kept at bay.

Supernatural

I still remember watching the first episode back in 2006, on TV3 at Sunday 10pm. I still remember it fondly because I thought it was gonna be a pathetic continuance of Charmed, a show that features three sisters who are witches that are destined to save the world from multiple evils. Initially there was so much similarities one would hard to shake off the idea that Supernatural is its brother. Charmed was about three witch sisters who rid demons while Supernatural is about two brothers who hunt down evils. The Halliwell sisters have a book of shadow as their guide while the Winchester brothers have their father's journal. Among the others.

But how wrong have I been! Supernatural turns out to be much better than Charmed, and much long-lived as well, as Supernatural derives lots of its stories from the bible while Charmed brews from overstretched fantasies. Season 1 and Season 2 of Supernatural was awesome. The show was meant to end at Season 2, but then it grew and was meant to stop at Season 5 by exploring the idea of apocalypse. Season 3 is about Lilith and Season 4 introduces a series-changing character - an angel, that is now a central of the series. Season 5 is undoubtedly the best season so far.

Probably because the views were overwhelming, the series was extended. Season 6 was...forced, and quite boring to be frank. Season 7 was okay. Season 8 and 9 grew dull but Season 10 picked up a bit of pace but the original flavour is still absent, and I have just begun watching Season 11 and so far it's the best since Season 5.

Most seasons have a central theme in which the entire season centres on, Season 4 is about preventing Lucifer from walking free, Season 5 about putting Lucifer away, Season 6 about finding Purgatory, Season 7 on putting Leviathons back to Purgatory, Season 8...I forgot, while Season 9 is about the angels finding their ways back to Heaven. Season 10 too lacks a solid theme besides trying to save Dean from the cursed Mark of Cain. Season 11 is about defeating the Darkness, apparently God's sister.

Supernatural is undoubtedly one of the best tv show out there that I will not cease watching until the show is axed. I love the show, but I must admit, the show has outlived its lifespan a little with Season 12, because Season 11 ends with the weakest cliffhanger. London branch of Men of Letters is not appealing at all, and Mary's return do not seem fascinating.

But let's give the benefit of the doubt and see how things turn. Season 12 will see a new showrunner, but I hope it's good.

Sarawak Independence?

Being in Sarawak the strongest sentiment brewing among Sarawakians is the rights to gain more autonomy and, in secret, to achieve independence. Openly voicing it has become seditious by law so people whisper instead of chant.

I'm going to say why I don't really care about what Sarawak wants. And it's not really because I'm a Peninsula Malaysian, some rational Sarawakians agree with me and I've shared it. But I'll explain it anyway.

If Sarawak fails to get independence, well, they fail.

If Sarawak succeeds, let's predict the future by analysing what we have now

One thing people must realise is that with greater autonomy there comes a greater responsibility.

Their government has received resounding victory and enormous support from the people, but after 50 years of ruling what have they done? Have they fought back what was stolen? They always chant they will, but results are never produced. Is that a good sign of a good governance?

They have even started changing history - Sarawak was never granted independence in July 22, 1963. Even The Borneo Post, the local Sarawak paper has here reported on that matter. Sarawak was granted self-ruling and self-governance by the British but the British was still the ruler. It means Sarawak did not gain independence because the British presence was still there. The granting of self-governance was simply because Sarawak agreed to form Malaysia with the then-Malaya, and not because Sarawak is capable of standing independently. Sarawak was still under threat from the Communist and the grant was simply to allow Sarawak to prepare for an actual independence in September 16, 1963. A fact is a fact, your decision to not accept it does not render it invalid.

Sarawak has total autonomy over the state's immigration, land usage, labour and timber industry, among the examples. And the results?

1. The state immigration so far is good at expelling Peninsula-based politicians who are majority from the Opposition, but illegal labours and foreigners from Indonesia, and even North Korea, enter almost without hindrance. Need I elaborate on the consequences? If you are now a Sarawakian, how safe do you feel parking your car in an unsupervised area? Among the examples to show.
2. Native lands have been largely converted for industrial and road building purpose. Dayak groups have voiced concerns but what have transpired? 
3. Sarawak has lost so much on their timber industry because of the failure to regulate the industry, resulting in Sarawak almost being blacklisted by the international market a few years ago.

And most importantly, with the rich timber industry, what have the people enjoyed? 50 years later now and they still lag behind West Malaysians with little timber to produce.

Sarawak has a vast land area. With population of less than 3 million,

• and with such large land borders with Kalimantan and long sea borders on the South China Sea with China claiming the sea is theirs and potentially robbing all their oil from their shores, how is Sarawak going to protect their borders and fight with a world power on international ground? With 3 million people and population density of less than 1, and majority of places horribly underdeveloped, just, seriously, how?

• some people have voiced that with the regain of total oil royalty, Sarawak can be rich and stand strong and even surpass West Malaysia in economy. For those who make this kind of blatant ignorant comment, please be aware that a total oil-dependent country is risky and will not be able to go far. The price of oil depends on market value, not by the seller. When a barrel of oil plummeted from USD100 to below USD40, look at what happened to the Middle Eastern countries or the Latin American countries. Just take Venezuela for example.Venezuela has totally bankrupted, working days reduced, time brought forward half an hour to save electricity consumption. Go google it for more information yourself. Brunei is spared only because their money is pegged with Singapore dollar. The idea of gaining income entirely on oil is not safe and should be avoided because the risk of insolvency is a definite and irreversible. What matters is time. And your politicians are not stupid enough to fail to see that. That, I know.

• Coming to that, I'm sure your government is not stupid enough to wish to depend entirely on oil, so what happens is that the economy of Sarawak must be propelled and brought higher than it current stands. But with population of 3 million and much more responsibility due to independence and detachment from KL, it would produce a severe deficit of labour and man force. The direct consequence must be that labour forces must be brought in to fill the void and prepare Sarawak to stand strong. Singapore, a tiny nation that has no land border, brings in the number of labours almost equal the number of its population and yet it still is expanding and bringing in labours despite reaching 5 million population, because Singapore understands 5 million is not enough, even though they're dangerously stretching their limits. Sarawak, with such vast land, and population of less than 3 million, must bring in a few times higher than Singapore's figure in order to achieve self-sustenance. The consequence? There will be a significant demographic shift. Land usage will increase. Sarawakians, like those in Dubai, risk being the minority in a city that has to stand high, or be left behind. In short, the current relaxing, peaceful lifestyle Sarawakians enjoy will be completely buried and will be replaced with a busy and eventful lifestyle and that, taking lessons from every big cities in the world, comes with the potential of disruption and social disturbance, which Sarawak claims to have experienced none and are proud of it. I don't think it is bad, but I know Sarawakians dislike it. To risk becoming like KL, or worse than KL, a city they want to detach from, must have hurt. Sarawak can be really successful when there's good management and resources, and may surpass West Malaysia, I admit. But look at the price you need to pay. 

In short, Sarawak still fails, because they will lose what they have now and become what they hate.

And this is why I don't care what the outcome is. In either direction the result swings, there will be a change the people despise. And neither tells me it's worth the change.

And for those who want to silence us by purporting Malaysia Agreement 63 as the weapon, let me just attach the original agreement here so that you can actually read it instead of claiming to have read it but went on to display why you haven't.

And for Sarawakians who seem to insist that Sarawak is not a state but is an equal partner with the then-Malaya to form Malaysia, please also read the Malaysia Agreement attached above and tell me what the title of the agreement yells, and how it describes the federation and especially what it says in page 13, part II. Is Sarawak a state, or an equal partner? And there's a subpart that screams "The Constitution of the State of Sarawak". So is Sarawak a state?

A simple summary of the Malaysia Agreement has been basically given in the 20-point-agreement (18 for Sarawak) incorporated in the Cobbold Commission and now the Federal Constitution. I so far can't find an original copy but let me attach the list here.

Point number 7 clearly states that "there should be no secession from the Federation". Ambiguity exists here, obviously, due to the choice of word "should". But if "should" shall remain the point of controversy, virtually all 18-point agreement can be considered invalid and non-binding because almost all of them employ the word "should". By that logic Sarawak, by law, could have no autonomy in every regards spelt out in the agreements. In essence, your push for more autonomy hinging on the word "should" may backfire.

SUMMARY

If Sarawak wishes to get more autonomy, please fight for it. I will wish you well.

But I'll warn you to think hard on what you wish for. I wish you guys to get your rightful rights, but the question is, are you sure you are ready?

Are you sure you are fully aware of what would happen?

Are you sure you are fully aware of the consequence of your actions?

And finally, are you sure you can handle them? Because from what I see now, you are far from prepared.

Advice
The one thing Sarawakians continuously fail to realise is that their purported rights are repeatedly encroached by the federal government, not West Malaysians. West Malaysians and Sarawakians have not got along well recently, but West Malaysians generally treated Sarawakians with distinct nonchalance but Sarawakians recriprocated with extreme hatred and anger that stems from misunderstandings. You claim that your rights have been snatched, your oil has been stolen. But who did it? It's the federal government. Not the public. And who gave the federal government that power? Go see your latest state election.

You blame them for snatching your rights and stealing your oil, yet you still voted for them. You literally gave them the power to do what they want with what you have, and then you complain what they have done to you. Do you realise how stupid you would sound if you complain of this? Open the door widely and deliberately invite the robbers in then cry out loud that robbers rob you makes you stupid and silly and you will not ever be able to generate sympathies for your deliberate actions. You voted for them, it's your decision hence it's your responsibility. Don't blame it on us. And this is why the West Malaysians simply never care of your predicament - it's your decision. If you are truly angry, vote them out. The purpose of voting for an opposition is to send a fiercer representation to the Parliament to voice your disappointment. It's obvious why you need to vote for the opposition - 50 years ago, what have your current government done? They have glaringly failed, but you are generous enough to let them snatch your rights.

The West Malaysians have their own issues to deal with. KL has become an influential financial city, an alpha city that sits highly on the world. KL has contributed so much for Malaysia, but what have we got in return? Increased toll rates. Increased cost of living, among others. We have our own issues to deal with. You never wanted to care for us, don't expect us to care for you. If you do not want to work as a team, don't expect anything from your teammates. And we know that, but do you?

UK leaves EU

Statistics obtained from The Daily Telepraph, UK

The verdict is out. The voice is heard. European Union officially loses one member as United Kingdom decides to exit. I don't really understand the political and economic reasons behind the referendum, but I think it's sad to see a bloc loses a member especially since it is a revered organisation. Malaysia is slightly affected. Yes, MYR plummeted but it has plunged since God knows when and under Najib's leadership it will continue to drop, so Brexit just speed it up a little and Malaysians generally will shake it off with slight indifference (how sad, that we respond to it as if it's natural). The problem now is how UK is to withdraw its membership, and whether UK can continue to stay as one. The whole of Scotland voted to stay, as opposed to England and Wales, while Northern Ireland is more evenly split. Scotland now wishes to call for an independence referendum again, while Northern Ireland raises wish to withdraw from UK and reunite with Ireland, which is a member of EU. If UK dissolves, it will be another blow. The world is already in shock, please do not give us more reasons to be shocked.