Last night as I was lying on my bed about to sleep, a violent urge to sneeze seized me, and I was forced to yield to it by letting loose an extremely powerful sneeze. The force of the sneeze threw me up into a sitting position.
This got me thinking: why do we throw our upper body forward when we sneeze? Obviously the sneeze is gas + liquid expelled forward, so by the laws of motion our body should be thrown backward by the reaction instead of forward. When a rocket expels hot gas in one way it flies the other, so our body should behave the same way as well.
Why is that not so?
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
English
Every time I see people discuss in the newspaper or other mediums on the "teach math and science in English" thing, I facepalm.
Of course math and science should be taught in English, when we go to college that's what its taught in anyway, the international language. In fact, all this discussion is missing the point:
THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF MALAYSIA SHOULD BE ENGLISH ANYWAY.
This would accomplish many things:
1. Our nation would be more competitive: Multinationals would be more keen on hiring people here.
2. Students would do better academically with one main language all the way from nursery to university.
3. I don't need to hear this stupid debate over teaching what in what.
Now many people are going to come and tell me that Malay is our national language and we should take pride in it and tradition and bla bla bla. To this I have one reply:
LOOK AT SINGAPORE PLEASE.
See how they are performing and how we are performing?
Besides, I think that if we all spoke English, the country would be much more united. No matter what race you are, we would all automatically speak English to each other without question; we would share the same jokes and slang. I know the government wants us to do that with Malay but sorry, it's not happening. To be fair, I would say the same if Chinese were the majority and people wanted to use Chinese as the official language. Thanks but no thanks.
Of course math and science should be taught in English, when we go to college that's what its taught in anyway, the international language. In fact, all this discussion is missing the point:
THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF MALAYSIA SHOULD BE ENGLISH ANYWAY.
This would accomplish many things:
1. Our nation would be more competitive: Multinationals would be more keen on hiring people here.
2. Students would do better academically with one main language all the way from nursery to university.
3. I don't need to hear this stupid debate over teaching what in what.
Now many people are going to come and tell me that Malay is our national language and we should take pride in it and tradition and bla bla bla. To this I have one reply:
LOOK AT SINGAPORE PLEASE.
See how they are performing and how we are performing?
Besides, I think that if we all spoke English, the country would be much more united. No matter what race you are, we would all automatically speak English to each other without question; we would share the same jokes and slang. I know the government wants us to do that with Malay but sorry, it's not happening. To be fair, I would say the same if Chinese were the majority and people wanted to use Chinese as the official language. Thanks but no thanks.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Public transport
I car pool with my colleague every day. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I am helping to save the world in a tiny little way. However, I know that I could save the world to a slightly greater degree if I took public transport. The reason I do not do so is that the only train station near my place is a KTM, and as we all know, KTM is synonymous with turtle.
Other forms of trains are more acceptable, as they move much faster and are more comfortable. The only trouble is they tend to become very jammed at times. Buses are out for me because I usually have to stand for a long time in the jam and my laptop is very heavy. I wish there was a better mode of sharing transport.
What I really really wish was that say every car could put up a sign on their roof saying which way they were going. Then I could hop in and pay them a bit of money and go the same way. They wouldn't need to charge me as much as a taxi because they are going that way anyway, so the marginal cost is very low for them. In fact, the more I think of this the more it seems a good idea. So many cars going in the same way with only one person inside really makes the tree-hugger inside me weep silently. Of course, this might not be feasible in our society due to everyone being scared of getting robbed, but in a more safe and cohesive society it might work. Maybe Japan... but their trains are too damn good.
I have thought about this issue for a long time. In my opinion, there is only one way to handle the safety issue: make a new application on Facebook called "Carpool". So once you get on somebody's car, you have to check in to his car, then everyone knows who and who are together. If anyone robs anyone, we know who did it! People could also discuss average reasonable prices for different distances and routes on this application.
Now you may ask me what happens if someone doesn't have the application. The answer is then he or she can't carpool in this manner.
I really think this is a wonderful idea. Mark Zuckerburg should call me to discuss this proposition. After all, it can't be worse than that application which was supposed to notify you when someone in your friend list broke up, right?
Other forms of trains are more acceptable, as they move much faster and are more comfortable. The only trouble is they tend to become very jammed at times. Buses are out for me because I usually have to stand for a long time in the jam and my laptop is very heavy. I wish there was a better mode of sharing transport.
What I really really wish was that say every car could put up a sign on their roof saying which way they were going. Then I could hop in and pay them a bit of money and go the same way. They wouldn't need to charge me as much as a taxi because they are going that way anyway, so the marginal cost is very low for them. In fact, the more I think of this the more it seems a good idea. So many cars going in the same way with only one person inside really makes the tree-hugger inside me weep silently. Of course, this might not be feasible in our society due to everyone being scared of getting robbed, but in a more safe and cohesive society it might work. Maybe Japan... but their trains are too damn good.
I have thought about this issue for a long time. In my opinion, there is only one way to handle the safety issue: make a new application on Facebook called "Carpool". So once you get on somebody's car, you have to check in to his car, then everyone knows who and who are together. If anyone robs anyone, we know who did it! People could also discuss average reasonable prices for different distances and routes on this application.
Now you may ask me what happens if someone doesn't have the application. The answer is then he or she can't carpool in this manner.
I really think this is a wonderful idea. Mark Zuckerburg should call me to discuss this proposition. After all, it can't be worse than that application which was supposed to notify you when someone in your friend list broke up, right?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Everyday life
I happen to be a sci-fi/fantasy fan, so sometimes real life does strike me as rather mundane. No monsters or aliens to fight, no dragons to ride, can't travel across the galaxy, etc etc. The biggest danger I face every day is crossing the street, which I try to do as little as possible. And instead of a laser gun I have a laptop. A bit sien.
On the other hand, I don't have to worry about been eaten by anything. And given my propensity to walk into things, I'm sure glad there aren't any death traps around.
On the other hand, I don't have to worry about been eaten by anything. And given my propensity to walk into things, I'm sure glad there aren't any death traps around.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Attack of the Clones
Hi everyone. Give you all a challenge:
Look at this picture for awhile.
Now look at this one.
Can you identify which girl in the first pic corresponds to the second? (they are the same bunch) I certainly can't.
That's why I don't like K-pop; they all look exactly the same. Like Clone Troopers:
If it were just that, I could let it go. I listen to songs for the pleasure of my ears not my eyes anyway. Trouble is their songs all sound alike too, and many are terribly annoying. When I hear "Nobody but you" I feel like shoving someone off a cliff. The trouble is they keep repeating a few English words throughout the entire song. Their "word repetition rate" may be higher than any other genre of music I have ever heard except the songs "Happy Birthday" and "Satisfaction", both of which I can tolerate as for the first I focus on the birthday cake, for the second I focus on my alcohol.
I hold the firm belief that many of them can't actually sing much, they just rely on dancing. Somewhat like the Pussycat dolls. Now I have nothing against the Pussycat dolls, but an entire nation full of them is slightly scary.
Sometimes I feel that Korea is secretly producing these singers in an underground cloning center to use to take over the world one day by disrupting our neurological functions with their singing and dancing. The only reason I'm holding back from nuking Korea to save the world is I want to continue watching Starcraft matches...
Look at this picture for awhile.
Now look at this one.
Can you identify which girl in the first pic corresponds to the second? (they are the same bunch) I certainly can't.
That's why I don't like K-pop; they all look exactly the same. Like Clone Troopers:
If it were just that, I could let it go. I listen to songs for the pleasure of my ears not my eyes anyway. Trouble is their songs all sound alike too, and many are terribly annoying. When I hear "Nobody but you" I feel like shoving someone off a cliff. The trouble is they keep repeating a few English words throughout the entire song. Their "word repetition rate" may be higher than any other genre of music I have ever heard except the songs "Happy Birthday" and "Satisfaction", both of which I can tolerate as for the first I focus on the birthday cake, for the second I focus on my alcohol.
I hold the firm belief that many of them can't actually sing much, they just rely on dancing. Somewhat like the Pussycat dolls. Now I have nothing against the Pussycat dolls, but an entire nation full of them is slightly scary.
Sometimes I feel that Korea is secretly producing these singers in an underground cloning center to use to take over the world one day by disrupting our neurological functions with their singing and dancing. The only reason I'm holding back from nuking Korea to save the world is I want to continue watching Starcraft matches...
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
So a tough girl doesn't need a boyfriend?
From time to time I hear people expressing statements like "oh if girls were tough and independent, what would they need a boyfriend for" and "that girl is so successful in work, she doesn't need a boyfriend" and other assorted remarks of the like.
I think it's rubbish.
Have you ever heard someone say "oh that guy is so gentle and good in housework, he doesn't need a girlfriend"? No right? Because we realize that girls are not only good for cooking, cleaning and being gentle. They are people who provide companionship, advice, humor, support and most importantly, love.
So, boyfriends are not just for providing a shoulder to cry on or a defense against cockroaches invading the kitchen or to give financial support. They are people who provide companionship, advice, humor, support and most importantly, love.
Why would a girl who is tough, independent, smart and able of giving out a ass-kicking not need love? Toughness does not equal cold-heartedness.
Next time people say "tough girls don't need boyfriends" to me, I'm gonna tell them "so tough kids don't need parents?".
I think it's rubbish.
Have you ever heard someone say "oh that guy is so gentle and good in housework, he doesn't need a girlfriend"? No right? Because we realize that girls are not only good for cooking, cleaning and being gentle. They are people who provide companionship, advice, humor, support and most importantly, love.
So, boyfriends are not just for providing a shoulder to cry on or a defense against cockroaches invading the kitchen or to give financial support. They are people who provide companionship, advice, humor, support and most importantly, love.
Why would a girl who is tough, independent, smart and able of giving out a ass-kicking not need love? Toughness does not equal cold-heartedness.
Next time people say "tough girls don't need boyfriends" to me, I'm gonna tell them "so tough kids don't need parents?".
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Strange tribal customs
In the deepest jungles of South America, there lives a primitive ethnic group. Its tribes regard juggling coconuts as a great art, and the best coconut jugglers are highly regarded; everyone supplies them food so they don't have to hunt.
So if you go visit these tribes, you can see kids practicing coconut juggling for hours and hours each day. Many kids really don't like coconut juggling, but the parents force them to practice. "For the sake of their future", one tribal parent told me as she was smacking her daughter for refusing to practice juggling coconuts.
Sounds ridiculous right? But our society is doing the exact same thing. It's just that this custom goes by a different name, that of "piano".
Tons of parents keep forcing their kids to practice piano when there is no interest whatsoever. I was one of the unlucky ones when I was young. Needless to say, nothing good came out of it whatsoever.
Points that parents use to justify their pressure on their kids (who dislike piano) to master the piano are as follows:
1. Learning music is good for the kid, it gives him a sense of art and beauty!
2. Other people will respect him for playing the piano well.
3. We force our kids to learn maths and reading, why not piano?
4. If one wants to be great in piano, one has to train from young or there is no chance of making it to Carnegie Hall.
5. After you force at the start, he may grow to love it.
My answers to these points are as follows:
1. Tons of other things give a sense of beauty too, like painting or sculpture or dance. Why not go for those? Besides if the kid hates it, the more you force the less beauty he will see in it.
2. In my adult life I have never heard someone ask another person "so you play piano? wowwwww". What parents actually want is when they invite guests over they can get their kids to play on the piano then the guest will go "ooh your kid is so cultured", then the parents can beam proudly.
3. Basic maths, reading and writing are necessary in our society. Piano is not.
4. If the kid loves piano then yea. If he doesn't then either a: he will never be great, or b: he will be great but hate the lifestyle.
5. Have you ever seen someone start to love something after being forced to do it a lot?
So, in a nutshell, forcing a kid who doesn't like piano to practice for hours on end is a STUPID TRIBAL CUSTOM.
Yes you can say that "the parents are doing this with good intentions". But,
STUPIDITY AND GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
So if you go visit these tribes, you can see kids practicing coconut juggling for hours and hours each day. Many kids really don't like coconut juggling, but the parents force them to practice. "For the sake of their future", one tribal parent told me as she was smacking her daughter for refusing to practice juggling coconuts.
Sounds ridiculous right? But our society is doing the exact same thing. It's just that this custom goes by a different name, that of "piano".
Tons of parents keep forcing their kids to practice piano when there is no interest whatsoever. I was one of the unlucky ones when I was young. Needless to say, nothing good came out of it whatsoever.
Points that parents use to justify their pressure on their kids (who dislike piano) to master the piano are as follows:
1. Learning music is good for the kid, it gives him a sense of art and beauty!
2. Other people will respect him for playing the piano well.
3. We force our kids to learn maths and reading, why not piano?
4. If one wants to be great in piano, one has to train from young or there is no chance of making it to Carnegie Hall.
5. After you force at the start, he may grow to love it.
My answers to these points are as follows:
1. Tons of other things give a sense of beauty too, like painting or sculpture or dance. Why not go for those? Besides if the kid hates it, the more you force the less beauty he will see in it.
2. In my adult life I have never heard someone ask another person "so you play piano? wowwwww". What parents actually want is when they invite guests over they can get their kids to play on the piano then the guest will go "ooh your kid is so cultured", then the parents can beam proudly.
3. Basic maths, reading and writing are necessary in our society. Piano is not.
4. If the kid loves piano then yea. If he doesn't then either a: he will never be great, or b: he will be great but hate the lifestyle.
5. Have you ever seen someone start to love something after being forced to do it a lot?
So, in a nutshell, forcing a kid who doesn't like piano to practice for hours on end is a STUPID TRIBAL CUSTOM.
Yes you can say that "the parents are doing this with good intentions". But,
STUPIDITY AND GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
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