505

308 was a date everybody remembers. I admit with a little remorse I had no clear recollection of what happened that day. All I remembered was the elation everybody around me felt when Penang was announced to have won by the Opposition - DAP. And I was very glad my grandmother passed away knowing her one vote and her entire life effort had paid off. She died a few days after 308.

Five years have passed, and the cycle has almost completed a turn. The 13th General Election  is an imminent process that every politicians must go through whether they like it or despise it. BN receives it with appalling disgust because they knew their chances of winning is so slim they couldn't even be spared with 1/3 seat in the nation.

BN might have anticipated it. Losing 4 states (technically 3) in GE12 was definitely a big blow. Kedah, Penang and Selangor were snatched by the Opposition, while Kelantan remained stubbornly under PAS.  Two major states in the country had fallen under the hands of their enemies, and now their economic gains would be significantly reduced, not to mention the amount of money they could have swindled and conned while handling major projects that involve incredibly huge sum of money.

I have to admit something - while reading politics, I don't really care much about the politician, unless he is so stupid his wish was to be remembered as a nincompoop, or his political influence is so big his wave was felt throughout the nation and across the border. Therefore the number of politicians I know is very low. Lim Guan Eng is one of those who I not only remember, but revere and admire. He revamped Penang, cleaned out the island, and made the life in Penang a living heaven. Okay - he probably should not take all the credits, some should go to the workers who took the effort to realise his transformation plan, but still he remains a political icon and is a political star in Penang that many have likened him to the "Prime Minister of Penang", and show no verbal mercy to whoever that cast aspersions on him.

BN, desperate, begins fuelling political war that increases in graduation. Slander wasn't something foreign to them, and through our experience as Malaysians, all BN could come out with is sex video (by UMNO, and incredibly all videos are of amazingly poor quality and resemble only one person) and hudud law (by MCA). MIC remains rather silent and only stood out when Indian-related matters arise, and that probably is very good for them because they have not humiliated themselves so far.

UMNO came out with sex video, and alleged that Anwar was the man in question. Interestingly, instead of approaching the police or confronting Anwar, they called for a press conference and released the sex video to the media and thus to the public. This action already showed one thing - the video was, in all ways, phoney and did not resemble Anwar. If you had evidence someone had broken the law or violated religious beliefs, the appropriate action was to approach the party concerned, not releasing it to the media. This was, in my opinion, a way UMNO severely humiliated himself.

MCA leader, Chua Soi Lek, was caught in a sex video scandal. Only this time the video is clear and he made no denying. He admitted he was the guy in the video, but then later on was promoted to be the President of MCA. Ironic, isn't it, that a guy who breaches the party's moral belief could end up becoming the chief of the party? 

Utusan and The Star, each owned by UMNO and MCA, were used to circulate slanders deleterious to anyone intend to step in their way to reaching a total control over the country. UMNO was sued thrice, and for three times they lost the case. Now GE13 is drawing close, and MCA comes out with manifestation saying that "a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS", "who says DAP is good for you?" bla bla bla....This shows something - desperation. The public now well know the immerse pressure they felt because they are now teetering on the brink of political collapse. Publishing such advertisements further disgust the public, making us realise the newspapers now are no longer impartial and are simply a tool for political manipulation.

The EC's role as an independent organisation is deeply questioned when two days prior to the Nomination day, it was announced that DAP had de-registered and was no longer a legitimate party, and thus the rocket could not be used to represent the party because the party was, according to them, by law, a defunct party. It probably was a tactics by BN, it probably wasn't. But in this time I hardly could see how BN would hope that a foul play was not suspected. They immediately denied having any role - not surprising, they are dumb, but not too dumb to admitting a foul play - and urged the public to stop accusing. EC then later recognised the party as a legitimate party, but issued no black and white to DAP retracting their statement. 

April 19 was the day Malaysians unite to support PAS and PKR. DAP said if rocket could not be used, the moon will be used in Peninsular Malaysia, and the eye will be selected for Borneo. Immediately everybody in facebook changed their profile picture to Ubah Bird, with PAS sign and PKR's all over their profile picture. Anger rose and peaked, and we are further disgusted by BN. You know what I think? If I can vote, and if there's only a picture of Barisan Nasional and a banana, I'll still cross the banana. I'll cross anything that has no balance on it. 

Barisan Nasional should stop playing dirty. When election is coming, playing dirty is only detrimental to yourself. The rakyat now is smarter than you thought, and you should be glad because it means your education system is actually working better than you have expected. Libelling the opposition now hardly could change the people's stand, and solving anything once-sensitive issues and approving all financial helps for vernacular schools, the Chinese rights or Indian rights could fish no votes to you, because, for 55 years, the people have seen how drastic Malaysians have gone backwards and how horrible your administration is. It's time for change. Pakatan may not be a great coalition, but when you have a grade C and a grade F with you, I'll still go for the principal pass. It's still better than a complete failure.

It's time to change. Ini kalilah!

505，大家一起换政府！

Olympus Has Fallen

'Olympus Has Fallen", it seems, refers to the
conquest of the White House by intruders.

Went out with my friends today to watch Olympus Has Fallen. I didn't know what the movie was about prior to watching it, all I knew was that most people gave overwhelmingly positive response and said it was much better than G.I. Joe. So together with my friends, we watched the movie in Pacific. It started out slow, and a bit boring, then the pace quickened and the excitement increased. It's actually about an invasion to US, and the intrusion and ultimately the conquest of the White House. I didn't know 'olympus' actually refers to the White House, but now I do.

It's really interesting, absorbing, captivating, and could literally make you impervious to any happenings in the surrounding. Lots of twists and actions that will make your heart race, and you'll be impressed by how sophisticated the terrorists are. They are organised, disciplined (though evil), and well trained. Incredible. Watch how one man stands alone to attempt to regain the White House and save the president who is being held hostage, and watch how he eliminates the terrorists one by one, interrupts their plans, and saves the innocent yet escaped from the mayhem.

Definitely one of the best movie ever!

Recent Activities

Nothing much has been going on recently. Well, pretty big case did transpire - parliament was finally dissolved by Najib after a long wait. Thank God! GE13 has finally come, and to BN their world has finally come crashing down.

Life has been pretty hectic recently, but pretty well spent. Due to the modular system, my study life requires vigorous study, but of course I too spend lots of time watching dramas. Thanks to newly installed HyppTV, now I am attracted by a few dramas not previously known to me - Flashpoint, Law and Order, and Whitney, and now my interest is aroused by Chicago Fire, apparently a series centres on the daily lives of the firefighters. I haven't watched any dramas about fire fighters before, so I really am curious how the show turns up, but I spent too much time watching these dramas though.

My health has begun to improve. I realised using asthma spray before I play helps a great deal. My nose allergy is still troubling me but not in the same magnitude as before. Overall my health is better.

April is the month I hate the most because there simply are too many things to deal with. Science projects are not as successful as before, and the results I got are not as impressive as I imagine and the risks of burning the school's apparatus are big. Presentations for PA project is coming and I have no idea how to do it. It would be simple if rules are not set and marks are given based on the teacher's liking, but obviously in a country where rote learning dominates, such case would never be allowed due to fear of bias. Trial exam is approaching and yet I'm not prepared, and Sukan Tara is around the corner and I hate it.

Anyway, life goes on.

Chris Carter - The Robert Hunter Series

I have read many crime novels, but none of them is as good as Chris Carter's. It was two years ago when I happened to come across "The Executioner" in Popular, and after reading the sinopsis I realised the plot could be interesting. So I bought it. When I started reading it, I was instantly absorbed and could never stop reading. So I found the first book, "The Crucifix Killer", and one year later, after a long wait of anticipation, I bought his third book "The Night Stalker". Finally, after another year of anguish, I bought his latest publish - "The Death Sculptor". His books are very hard to find in Malaysia, and I have to go all the way to Borders to get a copy.

Owing to its psychotic killers, the brutality of the murder, and the suspense at the end of every chapters that only stretches 4 to 8 pages long, the novel really keeps me attached to it. Believe me, once you start reading the book, you simply can't stop, because the suspense is really too great.

But be warned, the books contain exceedingly disgusting and brutal materials that are not suitable to anyone foreign to the world of crime.

If you're a crime novel fans, trust me, Chris Carter's books are the best! Highly recommended!

Guide for Maths T Assignment, Sem 2/2013

Many have asked me for a solution for Maths T assignment. Sadly I've handed in mine and now have only scribbles of important points so that I can prepare for my viva.

These are just guides. There'll be no detailed explanations. After all, this assignment is meant to hone your analytical and critical skills. 

Maths T Assignment: Logistic Growth Model

Question 1

Just find the answer in the internet. It's only a definition, you may rephrase it if you want.

Question 2

You simply need to play with the logistic growth equation given. dP/dt = rP (1 - P/k) is the growth rate, so for the growth rate to be increasing, the sign must be positive and for the growth rate to be decreasing, the sign must be negative.

Since rP will never give you a negative value (r is the positive constant and P, the population, would never be smaller than zero), for dP/dt to have a negative sign, (1 - P/k) must be negative. 

Hence if the population exceeds the carrying capacity (P > k), then P over k (P/k in the equation) would be bigger than 1, and therefore (1 - P/k) < 0, suggesting the growth rate is decreasing. If the population does not exceed the carrying capacity (P < k), then P/k < 0 and hence (1 - P/k) > 0

Question 3

3(a)

Basically you change your answer in question 2 into word form. Describe how the population growth will vary. If the population exceeds the carrying capacity, then the population growth rate will decrease and subsequently the population will drop. If the population equals the carrying capacity, the growth rate is zero and if the population is smaller than the carrying capacity, then the growth rate is positive and the population ins increasing.

3(b)

What would the value of P for constant growth? And what would the values be if the growth rate is increasing and decreasing? You should already know the answers if you've done the previous 2 questions.

Question 4

Differentiate the logistic growth equation once, and you'll get r/k (k - 2P). For dP/dt to be maximum, the derivative of the first population must equal to zero. Hence for r/k (k - 2P) = 0, (k - 2P) must equal to zero. You'll establish a relation between the carrying capacity and the population here.

However, you need to verify that the P value you get is indeed the maximum value of dP/dt. To verify it, you differentiate its first derivative once again to get d3P/dt3, the second derivative of the logistic growth equation.

When you've verified it, find the maximum value of dP/dt by substituting the value you found into the logistic growth equation.

Your final answer: dP/dt is max when P = k/2, and maximum value of dP/dt = rk/4.

Question 5

You need to use differential equation to find the general solution of the logistic growth equation so that you can express P explicitly. While doing this, you might need to perform integration by partial fractions. Everyone would possibly get a different equation because their constants might be different, but the final answer should not vary much.

You'll get one equation here. But if you wanna express it more clearly, you can form two equations by considering one where P > k and one where P < k. One should be enough. 

The equation is a fraction.

Do read the question carefully: "plot, on the same axes, a few graphs to show the behaviour of P against t", meaning there involves only one graph paper and within a graph paper there are a few lines.

You need to use arbitrary values and construct a table. Use actual values to show the behaviour. For example you may use r = 10, k = 200 and P = 100, 200, 300....to draw the graph.

Positive constant, r, would not vary. If it does all physics equations need to be remodelled. There are at least 4 cases: one where the carrying capacity is fixed and the population varies (P > k, P < k), and one where the population is fixed and the carrying capacity varies (k > P, k < P). There should be at least 5 lines.

Question 6

Find the growth rate within the time interval, and find the average of the population within the time interval. E.g. 1/2 (40 + 77) for the first one. Then plot a graph, you should get a bell curve with a maximum point.

Find the value of dP/dt when your population is half the carrying capacity (carrying capacity is the value where the population growth rate is zero). Once the value of P is determined, you'll find the value of the carrying capacity and the positive constant.

For those who have Oxford Fajar book, there's an example of assignment which is somehow similar to this assignment at page 224 and there's a sample answer. You may refer to it. They are almost similar. Use that as a guide.

Good luck.

STPM

Just got your SPM result? Is now spoilt with choices and can't decide which route to take?

Well, there are many options out there: A-Levels, Diploma, Foundation, Matriculation, Maktab (IPG) and STPM.

I cannot tell you much on these courses, and I have actually only one advice: Unless you are a genius, are extremely confident of getting all As, or have absolutely no other options, then go for form 6. Make form 6 your last choice.

Trust me, because it's an advice based on personal experience. The modular system of STPM is in no way easier than the terminal system. Why? Let's see

Why people say terminal system is tough 
1. Too much to study for one sitting.

2. Marking scheme ridiculously strict.

Why I say modular system is tough
1. Too little time to study so many things in 5 months (not half a year as it sounds so nice)

2. Too little preparation time for one paper that assumes you have mastered all knowledge

3. Too short time to answer the exam paper (only one and a half hours for 15 obj, 2 struc, 2 essays for science; 7 ques for maths; 15 obj, 4 struc, 2 essays for PA, and for economics papers it ain't any easier either). You may have enough time to complete the paper, provided that you truly have mastered all topics and are confident of your answer as you do not have sufficient time to recheck your answers.

4. Too short time for wide syllabus. In that half a year, your teacher will only be busy in teaching, there's not much and almost none tutorial time.

5. Assignments and projects that are much more taxing. It would be quite easy to do if there weren't so many stringent rules on how you should do them. Nevertheless, introduction of PBS is very burdening, plus it involves presentations and viva, reducing your teacher's already meagre teaching time.

6. Marking scheme ridiculously strict.

7. Full marks for one paper is either 60 or 80 depending on what papers you take, sciences are 60 and economics may be 80, and they'll scale it to 100 and from then a grade is given. So basically if you lost 12 marks out of 60, you don't have your A. Whereas for the terminal system, two papers contain a total of 180 marks, and it'll be scaled to 100. See the difference? For the terminal system, a slight mistake is not that damaging to your total grades. For the modular system, a lost in one mark is extremely painful and there's not a single tiny space for errors.

You may have less things to study for one paper under the modular system, but believe me with the time given you hardly could finish the syllabus in that one semester.

Unless you really like challenges and are confident of scoring the exam, I'll say go for other options. If you love challenges, then go for form 6. There really are so many for you to face.

The "legend" is true, and it still holds even after the change in system - form 6 is only for the bravest.

Maths T Assignment

Mathematics T assignment for this semester requires us to use differential equation to investigate the population growth of aedes mosquitoes. The equation is given, and it's called the logistic growth equation.

It is a very simple assignment, until my school genius teacher, who is the head of the assignment in my state, complicates everything with his appallingly poor understanding of questions.

If you've done the whole assignments, you would understand the requirements of the questions and therefore you know exactly what the questions want you to find. Sadly to this teacher, his understanding is so poor, he thinks the question is vague and requires us to do all possible answers. So for question 5, it initially requires only 3 lines in a graph paper, but thanks to his terrible analytical skills, we have to draw 24 lines in a total of 4 graphs.

Why I say it's wrong?
1) The question, though not written crystal clear, clearly requires the students to submit only a piece of graph paper. He wants 4.
2) It you study physics, you would know that it is simply impossible for the positive constant of any equation to be varying. This Maths teacher thinks it would. By that logic, at different countries you'll need different gravitational constant, and nearly all physics law need to be remodelled.
3) It is very well understood from the assignment that the carrying capacity of the population is not changing.

For question 6 he wants us to draw an additional graph that is actually a transformation of the table given. Basically he asks us to draw a graph of P against t, which is not required by the question at all, and asks us to draw at least ten tangents for reasons nobody understands why.

I got very angry, nearly went berserk, and didn't do that graph. I submitted my assignment based on my understanding of the assignment, not based on the teacher's.

Seriously, why do such teachers exist?