Dr Chen's Diary

I chanced upon this local produced television programme few days ago and have been following it since. It's now only at its fourth episode and I do not know how many episodes are there left. So far, what do I think? Well, it's a bit retarded. But in a comical and flavourful way. Obviously, without much mentioning, Malaysia's local programme has lots of room for improvement, but at least in this television programme we see something authentically Malaysian.

For a long time, we finally have a drama series that features actors speaking in a true Malaysian accent, despite how inaccurate or unpleasant they are to our ears. They don't pretend to speak in pure Mandarin like how the Singaporeans tend to do, and while it reflects our substandard Mandarin in the world, it reflects a very real Malaysian situation. We Malaysians speak that way, just accept it and forget that we don't speak as great and pure as the Taiwanese or Chinese. Trying to speak like them, like how the Singaporean dramas are scripted, is just a little pathetic and make the entire show unnatural and unrealistic.

The acting is a bit poor and the story, like I said, is retarded. It has a lot of illogical and unrealistic scenes and some which appear to be comic/anime-like, but other than that the story is itself quite entertaining. So far, it has accurately portrayed an actual Malaysian life. I know it's unusual in our local entertainment industry to do such a thing, but I like it and I don't think it's bad. It's just an embracing of our local demography and society.

So far so good, will keep watching until the end or I cannot afford to continue watching. (Working life is picking up pace sigh...)

Goodbye 2017

2017 has been a fruitful and meaningful year for me. For I have done my internship and gained insight into an actual world of engineering. For I have begun my final year research project that delves deep into an uncertainty in the engineering world that has plagued practising engineers.

I'm one step closer to graduation - the stage of my life I have been yearning for. I can't study anymore - I'm just done studying and I, in a foreseeable future, will not pursue studying too.

Anyway, this year has been amazing. 2018 should be as interesting. Can't wait for it.

2017 ending

Well, 2017 is ending. Only 27 days left to 2018, another brand new year. If you had made a new year wish, I bet you have achieved none of them. I don't know who began the ritual to make new year resolutions for the sake of making some resolutions and put in no effort whatsoever in achieving them.

Anyway, 2018 is coming. I'm also about one year older. Time really flies very fast.

It also means one thing: I'm graduating!!!

I have been looking forward to my graduation since, literally, the beginning of my first semester in my university. After a year of working since completion of STPM, I really am in no mood to study at all. Working is not something I truly enjoy but it's something I settled with and I can't wait to go back to that life.

Looking forward to 2018!

p/s
1. My final exam ends coming Wednesday. No mood to study
2. I'm close to 24 and still single wow.

斯琴格日乐 《乌兰巴托的夜》

只能说，像斯琴格日乐用灵魂唱歌的歌手，实在是太少了。铁肺的唱将多得是，会写歌的也多的是，可是能唱得这么好听这么动魂的，屈指可数啊！

Torrential Rain in Penang

On Saturday afternoon, typhoon-like storm lashed Penang, and within hours it paralysed Penang with waist-level flood. 80% of Penang is inundated, including mainland Penang, which has so far seldom been attacked by flood of this magnitude. The storm was so strong, one and a half month amount of rain fell in a single day and the strong wind uprooted trees and roofs, displacing people and severing lots of roads.

This is a very unfortunate incident. This occurs because typhoon has landed Vietnam, and this has caused low pressure across the northern Peninsula and that brought moisture and land, thus explaining this unusual magnitude of storm. 4 people have so far been confirmed dead, and thousands, probably tens of thousands are displaced, and I can't even begin to imagine how many people's house has an unwelcome guest.

Since this is a natural phenomenon, it really is a tragedy that cannot be avoided. This need not be politicised, because it is outside the state's government control. It's also good that federal government has begun to step in to assist. Penang really appreciates the help.

I might be in Kuching, but my heart is still in Penang. Please be strong, Penang.

And by the way, all the best to all students sitting for SPM and STPM tomorrow. I know it's difficult now that Jit Sin is closed for use as evacuation centre, but please be strong and sit for it as if nothing has happened. You can do it. We have done Jit Sin proud for years, you can do it too!

Hill Slope Development?

In case you don't realise, recently a landslide struck a construction site and buried 11 people. All of them died.

It was heavily politicised, mainly because there are people who opposed the construction and now tragedy just struck at an untimely manner.

First of all, I wish to say, to those who have zero knowledge on the matter, please shut up.

It was very obvious the site was a flat land. It was not a hill-slope development. It was a development on a flat land adjacent to a hill-slope. In geotechnical engineering there is a big difference between these two. The former one should worry people, because hill-slopes are very weak, and a very robust foundation systems and slope stability mechanism have to be in place.

In the latter one, all you need is proper geotechnical work to strengthen the weaken soil of the slope.

From the site, to those in the engineering industry, it is very obvious it is a construction site tragedy. The slope failure is most likely due to professional negligence. The geotechnical engineers probably did not get sufficient soil parameters or did not make proper design.

With good geotechnical engineering, even a hill-slope development, where apartments are built literally on a hill slope, would be very safe. Obviously, geotechnical engineers of the projects did not do a good job.

It was a very tragic incident, undoubtedly, but this isn't the state government's fault. Neither is it the central government's fault. It is the engineers' fault.

So just shut up, and stop politicising it and making a fool of yourself.

Overwhelmingly Busy Life

Final year in an engineering course really is no joke. Right now I have tonnes of work to do, and to say the truth I have really reached a point where I really am tired of studying. Can't wait to graduate. I've worked quite a while and while working has its fair share of sh*t to deal with, at least I deal with people who have at least some sense of responsibility. In university, especially private one where rich people got in by money and not qualification, you'll stumble upon many people who are waiting to be fed instead of learning to fish. Just let me graduate fast, can't wait for it.