My Life as a 20ish Single

Finale

2008-11-07T01:22:00.002+11:00

My mind was already flying even before the exam ended.

"Five more minutes, and this madness will be over," I told myself.

"Time is up. Candidates must now stop writing." The announcement that many of us were waiting finally came.

It begins in summer 2005. After spending two years studying A' Level at Taylors, Malaysia, I came to Australia with new hope. After all, it was a dream to study overseas and I fought hard to make the dream comes true.

Now, four years later, I made the decision to go back to my home country next year. I will stay there for at least one full year before deciding where to go and what to do next. I'm fully committed to the task in front of me, but at the same time fully aware that the place is not my home. That's a place where I have always been regarded as second to someone regardless of how hard I worked and how much I achieved.

I am grateful to them. It's true that they shaped my personality and I won't be standing here today without their "support" all this while. It was a painful journey that I don't want anyone to go through. If I have children, I want them to realise that there is no such thing as fair and square in this world. I will treat them equally, but it's wrong to expect everyone else to do the same. This is perhaps one of the most valuable lesson my parents have taught me over the past 23 years.

Creative Interviewing

2008-10-31T11:24:00.002+11:00

What is Fernando Alonso doing? Surely it can't be prize giving ceremony as the two-time world champion only won two races this year.

I'm guessing he is giving an interview to F1 racing magazine. The folks over there are quite creative in the way they present their interview questions (e.g. cue cards, photo album). Let's hope it is F1 racing magazine so that I can read about it in few months time when they publish the issue.

Birthday Wishes

2008-10-28T21:25:00.002+11:00

The day before, I went out for dinner at The Pub. The cake from Brunetti was awesome. Plus, we had some nice chatter. It was the first and probably the last birthday celebration in Melbourne.

Today, I spent the whole day at home preparing for the exam. The phone rang. It was mom. Later, the phone rang again, it was dad. I'm grateful that they both remembered my birthday. It must be tough for them at home today, attending grandma's funeral. Yes, 23 years after I was born, my grandma left.

Then, there were loads of SMS coming through. YanZ, YingZ, bro, and cousin sis sent their wishes too. Moving on to the web now, there were messages on Facebook. GMin, Vimala, Nicola, Steph, and WLi posted on my wall. Last but not least, M9. Those whom I'm close to but have never met before posted graphics and stories wishing me all the best.

With two more hours left before the day is officially over, here I'm, completely exhausted. My brain has shut due to fatigue. Time for bed. Thanks everyone, for making the supposely terrible day a little less painful.

Write Better English - Day 18

2008-10-26T18:50:00.003+11:00

Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. And if you've already got one, pull the plug.

Writing a weblog today isn't the bright idea it was four years ago. The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge. Cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns now drown out the authentic voices of amateur wordsmiths. It's almost impossible to get noticed, except by hecklers. And why bother? The time it takes to craft sharp, witty blog prose is better spent expressing yourself on Flickr, Facebook, or Twitter.

If you quite now, you're in good company. Notorious chatterbox Jason Calacanis made millions from his Weblogs network. But he flat-out retired his own blog in July. "Blogging is simply too big, too impersonal, and lacks the intimacy that drew me in," he wrote in his final post.

Impersonal is correct: Scroll down Technorati's list of the top 100 blogs and you'll find personal sites have been shoved aside by professional ones. Most are essentially online magazines: The Huffington Post. Engadget. TreeHugger. A stand-alone commentator can't keep up with a team of pro writters cranking out up to 30 posts a day.

When blogging was young, enthusiasts rode high, with posts quickly skyrocketing to the top of Google's search results for any given topic, fueled by generous links from fellow bloggers. In 2002, a search for "Mark" ranked Web developer Mark Pilgrim above author Mark Twain. That phenomenon was part of what made blogging so exciting. No more. Today, a search for, say, Barack Obama's latest speech will deliver a Wikipedia page, a Fox news articles, and a few entries from professionally run sites like Politico.com. The odds of your clever entry appearing high on the list? Basically zero.

That said, you blog will still draw the Net's lowest form of life: The insult commenter. Pour your heart out in a post, and some anonymous troll named rorschach or foohack is sure to scribble beneath it, "Lame. Why don't you just suck McCain's ass." That's why Calacanis has retreated to a private mailing list. He can talk to his fan directly, without having to suffer idiotic retorts from anonymous Jason-haters.

Further, text-based Web sites aren't where the buzz is anymore. The reason blogs took off is that they made publishing easy for non-techies. Part of that simplicity was a lack of support for pictures, audio, and videoclips. At the time, multimedia content was too hard to upload, too unlikely to play back, and too hungry for bandwidth.

Social multimedia sites like YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook have since made publishing pics and video as easy as typing text. Easier, if you consider the time most bloggers spend fretting over their words. Take a clue from Robert Scoble, who made his name as Microsoft's "technical evangelist" blogger from 2003 to 2006. Today, he focuces on posting videos and Twitter updates. "I keep my blog mostly for long-form writing," he says.

Twitter - which limits each text-only post to 140 characters - is to 2008 what the blogosphere was to 2004. You'll find Scoble, Calacanis, and most of their buddies from the golden age there. They claim it's because Twitter operates even faster than the blogosphere. And Twitter posts can be searched instantly, without waiting for Google to index them.

Excerpt from Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004, Wired Magazine.

Trends: Windows Mobile vs PDA vs s60

2008-10-19T10:39:00.003+11:00

Blue - Windows Mobile
Red - PDA
Yellow - S60

The market I'll be targeting is looking good.

Google's Properties

2008-10-18T23:34:00.005+11:00

Yes, these are Google's properties

- the #1 search portal (duh!)
- a leading email service (gmail)
- a leading customized home page (iGoogle)
- a leading feed reader (Google Reader)
- the leading feed management system (Feed Reader)
- the leading analytics product (Google Analytics)
- the largest distributed ad network (Google Adsense)
- the most widely distributed traffic monitoring toolbar (Google Toolbar)
- the largest video content hosting site(YouTube)

I knew the company is onto something big if not already. But I didn't think they are that big until I read the list above from Aaron Wall's SEOBook - The Blogger's Guide to SEO. Sometimes a list like this provides a much better overview of a company's business model than a hundred-pages book.

双面人

2008-10-13T11:18:00.002+11:00

Image from NYT's article - Do Polls Lie About Race?

We Are {insert a disease state}

2008-10-12T02:10:00.004+11:00

The name of the web site reminds me of a professor who has spoken to over 6,000 pharmacists in 50 years.

During my first year of studies, he said we should refrain from using terms like diabetic, asthmatic and psychic. People are not diseases. Instead, we should always say - people with diabetes, people who are suffering from asthma, or people who have been affected by mental problems.

Perhaps that would be too long for decent domain name.

乌纱后的心灵之窗

2008-09-29T11:04:00.002+10:00

对于小说没特别感兴趣的我前前后后花了三天阅读卡勒德.胡赛尼的第二本著作 - 《灿烂千阳》。这本小说以阿富汗战乱为背景，述说阿富汗旧制度与新制度时代下苦苦挣扎的妇女。在父母亲秉持重男轻女的观念下成长的我，对于这种不平特别有共鸣。不过，相对之下，我比她们幸运。至少，我可以自行决定毕业之后的人生。

Novel: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Source of reading: Audiobook from Audible

Write Better English - Day 17

2008-09-12T19:48:00.002+10:00

Looking back on the last few years of my mother's life, with 20/20 hindsight and the belated knowledge that came from four years of reporting about aging for The New York Times, my single biggest mistake was not finding a doctor with expertise in geriatrics to quarterback (to lead/direct the operations of) her care and attend to the quality of her life, not merely its length.

Given the crisis in supply and demand - too many old people and too few geriatrics - I may not have succeeded. But if I had, many of our crises might have been avoided. Those include unnecessary trips to the emergency room that left her in worse shape than she had been beforehand. It also includes surgery to remove a benign tumor from the outside of her spinal cord after it had already done the worst of its damage and with no regard for her advanced age.

It was after that surgery that she took a precipitous nosedive (a sudden, swift drop), moving to a nursing home and suffering a series of T.I.A.'s, or very small strokes, which eventually left her paralyzed, incontinent, unable to speak and barely able to swallow. Later, both Dr. X and Dr. Y told me that no doctor familiar with the physiology and psychology of the elderly would have operated on her without at least a discussion of the special risks to the aged.

My second biggest mistake was accepting the conventional wisdom that nursing homes are terrible places, to be avoided under any and all circumstances, and that assisted-living communities, with their pleasant apartments and other amenities, could accommodate my mother's needs until the end of her life. Assisted-living facilities do offer an ever more expensive list of add-on services, including private duty, around-the-clock assistance. But too often they cannot meet the needs of deteriorating patients, forcing a series of relocations, each more destabilizing than the last.

...

My third mistake was being gleeful (adj. joyful) when my mother, then in her mid-70s, chose to sell her house on Long Island, flee the snow and the need to drive, and move to a retirement complex in Florida. Now when she didn't answer the phone, I assumed, there would be someone to check up on her. She would have grab bars in the shower and pull a cord for emergencies. I wouldn't be so frightened all the time.

What never occurred to me is that my mother no longer had a home, we lost the option of setting her up with home care. Eventually too incapacitated to live out her days in assisted living and unwilling to move in with either of her children, a nursing home was her only choice - a happy one, as it turned out, but not in the early going, for any of us.

...

There's no way around this uncertainty, no way of knowing what's going to happen next so you can plan according.

Excerpt from NYT The New Old Age - What I Wish I'd Done Differently

A Worthy Choice

2008-08-24T13:01:00.004+10:00

Yesterday morning, we went to the airport to fetch fifth uncle who will spend the next two weeks wondering around Melbourne, between the city and his residency in Miles St. The very first question fifth uncle asked was - are you going back to Malaysia early next year?

"Yes, I will go back after my graduation in December," I duly replied.

"Right. What you need to do in order to practise your profession?" he asked softly.

I knew the question would come. But, to say the least, I wish people can spare me from repeating myself over and over again that I will not take up the one-year training which enables me to register with the appropriate authority in Malaysia.

I had doubts, and spent numerous nights thinking about it over the past year. It was difficult to give up the seemingly promising career in Australia, but the decision wasn't made lightly.

Please give my dying brain neurons a break. In return, I will try my very best to prove to myself - and less importantly - to others that leaving the country and the profession is a worthy choice.

Write Better English - Day 16

2008-08-21T19:12:00.003+10:00

Kimi Raikkonen has been the subject of a lot of criticism of late, and a look at the past few races certainly suggests that the world champion has lost a bit of momentum. In Germany he qualified sixth and finished in the same position, and in then Hungary he again started sixth and - helped by trouble ahead - moved up to third, albeit behind a Toyota.

It doesn't look like the sort of form that will enable the Finn to win a second successive title. And yet, despite the highs and lows of a turbulent season, he's still right there, just five points behind Lewis Hamilton. Last year after the Hungarian GP, the margin to the Mclaren man was 20, and at Interlagos Kimi became world champion. Indeed, with two races to go he was still 17 points behind, so write him off at your peril.

It's easy to suggest that Kimi has somehow lost the plot, but that would be a little short sighted. Just a few weeks ago in France, Raikkonen started from pole and left his teammate Felipe Massa in his wake before an exhaust failure slowed him. In the Silverstone rain, he was catching Hamilton until his team screwed up their tyre strategy. And few noticed during the low-key outing in Hungart that he actually set fastest lap, having spent the first two-thirds of the race stuck behind Fernando Alonso.

And let's not forget that in Canada, Ferrari got him out of the pits in front of Hamilton, and we'll never know how that race would have unfolded had he not been hit by the wayward McLaren.

On the other hand, Monaco was not exactly great - a nudge with a barrier followed by a spectacular spin into the back of the unfortunate Adrian Sutil. And while he didn't fare quite as badly as the hapless Felipe Massa, he made hard work of Silvestone after that botched tyre choice.

However, the bottom line is that despite his roller-coater ride, Kimi has still been quitely stashing away the points - a fourth here and a sixth there - and if his luck changes over these next seven races, he could yet win that second title.

Excerpt from Autosport's Weekly Journal ~ Write Him Off at Your Peril

Love Mint Not Because of Its Freshness

2008-08-19T00:24:00.004+10:00

Mint - Free Personal Budget Software

More of Michael Phelps

2008-08-18T09:30:00.000+10:00

Source: NYT

Phelps's Olympics Golds

2008-08-17T20:08:00.004+10:00

From the NYT. [Showcase of winning entries in TMC]

Write Better English - Day 15

2008-07-19T09:37:00.000+10:00

Here's something you probably don't know about the Internet: Simply by designing your product the right way, you can build a billion-dollar business from scratch. No advertising or marketing budget, no need for sales force, and venture capitalists will kill for the chance to throw money at you.

The secret is what's called a "viral expansion loop," a concept of little known outside of Silicon Valley. It's a type of engineering alchemy that, done right, almost guarantees a self-replicating, borglike growth: One user becomes two, then four, eight, to a million and beyond. It's not unlike taking a penny and doubling it for 30 days. By the end of a week, you'd have 64 cents; within two weeks, $81.92; by day 30, about $5.4 million.

Viral loops have emerged as perhaps the most significant business accelerant to hit Silicon Valley since the search engine. They power many of the icons of Web 2.0, including Google, PayPal, YouTube, eBay, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Flickr. But don't confuse a viral loop with viral advertising or videos such as Saturday Night Live's "Lazy Sunday" or the Mentos-Diet Coke Bellagio fountain. Viral advertising can't be replicated; by definition, a viral loop must be.

If you really want to understand how the dynamic works, there's no better place to look than Ning, a startup in Palo Alto - located across the street from Facebook and a few clicks down the road from Google - that was designed specifically to exploit viral loops. The brainchild of former Goldman Sachs investment banker Gina Bianchini and celebrity geek Marc Andreessen, Ning has been growing automagically from the moment it launched its Social Networks for Everything - a free platform for do-it-yourself social networks - in February of last year. By June, there were 60,000 Ning nets and by August, 80,000. At year's end, there were 150,000, and today, more than 230,000. About 40% of Ning's social networks originate outside the United States, and members from 176 countries have signed up, with the service already available in several languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch. The company estimates that, at this rate, by New Year's Eve 2010 it will host some 4 million social networks, with tens of millions of members, serving up billions of page views daily.

...

Bianchini, a 35-year-old northern California native, met Andreessen after receiving her MBA from Stanford and launching a software startup that tracked and measured advertising. Andreessen sat on the board of the company, which went under in the dotcom crash; he and Bianchini dated for a spell before becoming friends.

...

They both use the same expression to describe Ning's business model:" incorporating virality into the functionality of the product." In English, that means Ning grows because each new user begets more users. Every time someone sets up a social network, he has no choice but to invite friends, family, colleagues, and like-minded stragers to sign on as well. The company calculates that each person signed up for a Ning group is worth, on average, 2 people, compounded daily: On day two, that individual brings in 4 group members and on day three, 8; within a week, she has brought in 128 people. Which is how Ning has been able to grow at a daily average of more than .4% and add 500 new groups a day, doubling roughly every 137 days.

In the early days, not everyone knew what to make of Ning. The company spent three years building out the site's underlying platform; a year into that process, it released a couple dozen social applications in order to begin testing and refining what they had made. Those applications, which Bianchini readily admits were "very simple," led Micheal Arringtone to post an entry on his TechCrunch blog entitled "Ning RIP?": "The reality of Ning is that it has lost whatever coolness it had, no one uses it, and Ning is going to have a very hard time getting people's attention." But Arrington did an about-face 18 months later, after the copmany attracted 100,000 online groups in about six months and some $44 million in capital, mostly from Legg Mason and T. Rowe Price. "Everyone wants a social network of their own, and Ning is here to give them one," Arrington wrote. "The company sure has come a long way since I pronouced it dead in early 2006. Sometimes I like it when I'm wrong."

...

Significantly, viral-loop networks don't create content - they organize it. They provide an environment that is, in theory, almost infinitely scalable, and then rely on the wisdom of crowds to create or aggregate masses of material to fill it. The more people, the more content, the most powerful the lure for those sitting on the sidelines. "The ciral adoption model" is the "cheapest way to grow an audience," says Union Square Ventures' Wilson. At no time in history has it been possible to market to so many by starting with so little.

That kind of parsing is difficult to do retroactively. Facebook got hammered when it tried to retrofit itself with a new ad-driven scheme called Beacon, which passed customer information on to more than 40 participating Web sites such as Blockbuster and Fandango - and alerted users' Facebook friends about their purchases on those sites. To Facebook, it was harnessing the power of word-of-mouth advertising. To many Facebookers, it felt like a creepy intrusion. After aplogizing, the copmany improved its opt-in/opt-out mechanism.

But Ning doesn't face that risk. It displays the kinds of ads Web surfers are accustomed to seeing on blogs, news sites, all over the Internet, especially tailored to their particular social-net niche. Extreme skiers see ads targeted to extreme skiing, and so on. Right now, Google places Ning's ads, but eventually, Bianchini and Andreessen plan to serve their own. And even today, if you want to control the ads on your Ning network, you can pay as you go for the infrastructure - for a monthly fee of $20. About 3% of group leaders chose this option. Either way, Ning makes out.

Excerpt from Fast Company's article: Ning's Infinite Ambition

Social Proof In Practice

2008-07-19T09:22:00.003+10:00

Alright, 1247 members joined the DIY Drones community. This can't be a bad place for DIY fanatics like me. Social proof in practice.

Escape

2008-07-14T20:04:00.003+10:00

It's certainly not the first time that this has occurred, nor it's the last time you'd see it happening again. Today, my heart sank when I saw our brightly lit apartment just after dinner at my favourite Singapore restaurant.

These days, as I pass the swimming pool and the gym walking towards our apartment, the first thing I always do - check the lights in our apartment. Whenever the light is off there is a huge relief. Conversely, if the apartment is brightly lit, there is a feeling of wanting to go somewhere else.

There you go - the reason why I've been coming home late for the past weeks - and is likely to continue staying out until late evening for the coming months.

Write Better English - Day 14

2008-07-10T19:14:00.002+10:00

The superiority of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen at Silvestone last weekend evoked memories of the Schumacher/Hakkinen era. But as Richard Barnes explains, it was an unfathomable[hard to believe] error by Ferrari that denied us what could have been a classic battle.

During the height of their rivalry during the late 1990s, Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen both possessed the ability to elevate their performances at key races.

It often gave the impression that the two rivals were in equal and dominant machinery, while their respective team-mates (Effie Irvine and David Coulthard at the time) were saddled with completely different and much slower equipment.

In an era where mechanical differences usually trump driver talent in determining race results, it was a priceless asset that turned both into worthy champions.

This distinctive star quality was evident again at Silvestone for Sunday's British Grand Prix - but with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen stepping into the roles vacated by Schumacher and Hakkinen.

Going into the weekend, Ferrari's Felipe Massa had the momentum. After a victory gifted by Raikkonen's exhaust breakage in France, new championship leader Massa had every reason to believe that the Scuderia would maintain its performance advantage from Magny-Cours.

By late Saturday afternoon, Mclaren's Heikki Kovalainen had abruptly dispelled that expectation, showing outstanding pace throughout the free practice and qualifying sessions to grab a dominant maiden pole position.

Mark Webber also surprised by sneaking his Red Bull onto the front row - a first for the team. As Britain awoke to a wet race on Sunday, the prospect of a first-time Grand Prix winner - whether through Kovalainen's sustained pace advantage or Webber's acknowledged maturity and ability in the wet - seemed assured.

Through all of this build-up, the two main championshup protagonists, Hamilton and Raikkonen, seemed detached and distracted. After three disappointing results in a row, Raikkonen looked to have gone off the boil.

Hamilton, meanwhile, had his own distractions with a British press who (in his view) had been too harsh after his failures in Canada and France. Paired together on the second row of the grid, neither driver looked confident of victory. But that discounted their ability, like Schumacher and Hakkinen before them, to raise their game for the toughest challenges.

It took just the few hundred yards to the first corner for the qualifying results to be nullified. Both Hamilton and Raikkonen blew past the hapless Webber effortlessly, and it took a no-nonsense turn-in by Kovalainen to deny Hamilton the immediate lead through Copse.

...

Once he was free of Kovalainen, Raikkonen reeled off four successive laps where he narrowed the gap to Hamilton. The Englishman responded with two blitzed laps of his own to restore the lead somewhat, before the pressure resumed with another four flying laps from the Finn - including the fastest lap of the race on lap 18.

When the two pulled off the circuit to pit simultaneously on lap 21, it was Canada all over again - Hamilton shinning early on, Raikkonen clawing back the gaps towards the end of the stint, and the fight coming down to a straight race between the two pit crews.

If Ferrari had heeded[pay attention to, listen to and consider] the warnings of impending rain like most of the other teams, there is no telling what a thrilling classic it could have been. Sadly, Ferrari had other ideas. On the day when the team most needed the tactical nous of Ross Brawn, he was making all the right decisions further down the pitlane for new employer Honda.

To be fair, Ferrari weren't the only team to send a driver back out on used intermediates, just as the fresh rainfall proved the weather predictions correct. Renault's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Mark Webber faced the same impossible conditions.

However, these are only marginally competitive runners who must rely on extraordinary events for any hope of winning. For them, the outside chance of pulling off an unlikely victory merits the gamble of going against conventional wisdom and weather science.

Raikkonen, by contrast, is a championship contender. The team's first priority should be to cover him and prevent disaster. When he pulled into the pits, he was in a comfortable second place and ahead of the only two drivers to lead him in the championship - team-mate Felipe Massa and BMW's Robert Kubica. Keeping him in that advantageous position was the team's minimum requirement.

Indulging in such a wild gamble, with just two extra points as the maximum possible reward, was incomprehensible from a team of Ferrari's vast championship experience.

The failure of that strategic decision handed the race to Hamilton. In just seven laps after the pit-stop, he had already opened up a gap of thirty seconds to the struggling Raikkonen, and the contest was over. More importantly, it ratcheted up the pressure on Raikkonen as he fell back into the clutches of the pursuing pack.

...

An analysis of the lap times reveals that, after his first pit-stop on lap 21, Hamilton was the fastest car in the field for only four of the remaining 39 laps. Just as surprisingly, Barrichello was fastest of all on only five laps.

By comparison, Massa and Torro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais each had six laps in which there were the fastest of all, albeit late in the race when Hamilton had already tapped off.

Excerpt from Autosport's Weekly Journal - A Class Apart

Write Better English - Day 13

2008-07-09T10:36:00.002+10:00

Last November, Mark Penn, then the chief strategist for Hillary Rodham Clinton, derisively said Barack Obama's supporters "look like Facebook."

Chris Hughes takes that as a compliment.

Mr. Hughes, 24, was one of four founders of Facebook. In early 2007, he left the company to work in Chicago on Senator Obama's new-media campaign. Leaving behind his company at such a critical time would appear to require some cognitive dissonance: political campaigns, after all, are built on handshakes and persuasion, not computer servers, and Mr. Hughes has watched, sometimes ruefully, as Facebook has marketed new products that he helped develop.

"It was overwhelming for the first two months," he recalled. "It took a while to get my bearings."

But in fact, working on the Obama campaign mayhave moved Mr. Hughes closer to the center of the social networking phenomenon, not farther away.

The campaign's new-media strategy, inspired by popular networks like MySpace and Facebook, has revolutionalised the use of the Web as a political tool, helping the candidate raise more than two million donations of less than $200 each and swiftly mobilise hundreds of thousands of supporters before various primaries.

The centrepiece of it all is My.BarackObama.com, where supporters can join local groups, create events, sign up for updates and set up personal fund-raising pages. "If we did not have online organizing tools, it would be much harder to be where we are now," Mr. Hughes said.

Mr. Obama, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, credits the Internet's social networking tools with a "big part" of his primary season success.

"One of my fundamental beliefs from my days as a community organizer is that real change comes from the bottom up," Mr. Obama said in a statement. "And there's no more powerful tool for grass-roots organizing than the Internet."

Now Mr. Hughes and other campaign aides are applying the same social networking tools to try to win the general election. This time, however, they must reach beyond their base of young, Internet-savvy supporters.

By early April, Mr. Obama's new-media team was already planning for the election by expanding its online phone-calling technology. In mid-May, to keep volunteers busy as the primaries played out, the campaign started a nationwide voter registration drive. And in late June, after Senator Clinton bowed out of the race, the millions of people on the Obama campaign's e-mail lists were asked to rally her supporters as well as undecided voters by hosting "Unite for Change" house parties across the country. Nearly 4,000 parties were held.

...

Before helping build Facebook, the social network of choice for 70 millions Americans, the fresh-faced and sandy-haired Mr. Hughes, who grew up in Hickory, N.C., went to boarding school at Andover, where he joined the Democratic Club and the student government. In the fall of 2002, he went to Harvard, where he majored in history and literature. He and a roommate, Mark Zuckerberg - now the chief executive of Facebook - shared a room that was "just about as small as my cubby at work is these days," Mr. Hughes said.

Mr. Zuckerberg and another Facebook co-founder dropped out in 2004 to work on the site full time, but Mr. Hughes graduated in 2006 before venturing to Silicon Valley.

...

As supporters started to join MyBo in early 2007, Mr. Hughes brought a growth strategy, borrowed from Facebook's founding principles: keep it real, and keep it local. Mr. Hughes wanted Mr. Obama's social network to mirror the off-line world the same way that the Facebook seeks to, because supporters would foster more meaningful connections by attending neighborhood meetings and calling on people who were part of their daily lives. The Internet served as the connective tissue.

While many candidates reach their supporters through the Web, the social networking features of MyBo allow supporters to reach one another.

Excerpt from NYT: The Facebooker Who Friended Obama

Why C.E.O Deserves Enormous Pay

2008-07-06T20:49:00.004+10:00

Previously, it had never occurred to me that C.E.O deserves huge pay checks. It might seems trivial, but I didn't realise how hard it is to make a decision, especially when all the others opted for the opposite direction.

This is my first major decision after what looks like a bad choice (to pursue a degree in Pharmacy). Looking back, the only possible reason why I chose this degree was to study abroad, and thus escape from my troubled family. While it's true that I've worked very hard throughout these years, and is finally on my way to receiving the degree that comes with promising career prospects, I have decided to take a break from Pharmacy, and join my brother's Internet start-up.

Many people question my decision. They reckon I should have a plan B in place before joining my brother's adventure. After all, his start-up isn't fail-proof.

"What if his company failed to perform?" they asked.

My answer is - you never know. What if it does take off? Plus, in the worst-case scenario, the start-up failed to live to its promise, I can always go back to where I once belonged - the pharmacy profession.

Write Better English - Day 12

2008-07-05T14:12:00.003+10:00

Two months ago, Google held a series of secret focus groups with employees who have children in Google's day care facilities. The purpose was to gauge their reaction to the company's plan to raise the amount it charged for in-house day care by 75 percent.

Parents who had been paying $1,425 a month for infant care would see their costs rise to nearly $2,500 - well above the market rate. For parents with toddlers and preschoolers, who were charged less, the price increases were equally eye-popping. Under the new plan, parents with two kids in Google day care would most likely see their annual day care bill grow to more than $57,000 from around $33,000.

At the first of the three focus groups, parents wept openly. As word leaked out about the company's plan, the Google parents began to fight back. They came up with ideas to save money, used by the company's T.G.I.G. sessions - a weekly meeting for anyone who wanted to ask questions of Google's top executives - to plead their case, and conducted surveys showing that most parents with children in Google day care would have to leave Google's facilities and find less expensive child care.

Do you think you know how this story ends? You're probably guessing that because it involves "do no evil" Google, Fortune magazine's "Best Company to Work For" the past two years, this is a heart-warming tale of a good company reversing a dumb decision.

If only. Although Google is rolling back its price increase slightly and is phasing in the higher price over five quarters, the outline of the original decision remains largely unchanged. At the T.G.I.F. in June, the Google co-founder Sergey Brin said he had no sympathy for the parents, and that he was tired of "Googlers" who felt entitled to perks like "bottled water and M&Ms," according to several people in the meeting. (A Google spokesman denies that Mr. Brin made that comment.) On Monday, Google began the first phase of its new day care plan, letting go of the outside day care firm it had been using.

In recent months, Google has hit the first rough patch in its short, magical life as a public company. From November to April, Google's once high-flying stock dropped 44 percent, to $412 from $744. (It has since gained some of that back, closing on Thursday at $537.) It may be a stretch to equate the day care fiasco with the fall in Google's stock. But maybe not.

When a stock was rising as fast as Google's once was, it was easy to buy the view that there was something truly special about Google. But when the stock is falling, overlooked problems start to loom large. Having discovered that Google is not, in fact, the promised land, a number of Googlers have left recently to join start-ups, hotter companies like Facebook - and even Microsoft.

"There are many things about Google that are not great, and merit improvement," blogged Sergey Solyanik, who recently returned to Microsoft after a stint at Google. "There are plenty of silly politics, underperformance, inefficiencies and ineffectiveness, and things that are plain stupid." Starting, it would appear, with day care.

Google first began offering day care three and a half year ago, and perhaps it is only coincidence that this occurred not long after a woman named Susan Wojcicki returned to the company from maternity leave. Ms. Wojcicki is a figure of significant stature at Google; hers was the garage that Mr. Brin and Google's other founder, Larry Page, rented while starting up Google. Today she is the company's vice president for product measurement, though as I discovered in talking to unhappy Google parents this week, not many Googlers seem to know what her exact duties entail. Everybody, however, knows that she's Mr. Brin's sister-in-law.

From the start, Ms. Wojcicki has been a passionate advocate for Google's day care efforts, though there is some dispute about how much decision-making authority she has. Parents who know her point out that the company's day care approach is very much aligned with her views; for its part, a Google spokeman insists that "these decisions were not made by her; they were made by the executive management team."

Google's first facility, called the Kinderplex, was run by the Childrens' Creative Learning Centers, or C.C.L.C., which, according to its Web site, offers "learning in a play-based, developmentally appropriate environment that incorporates a variety of activities and multiculteral aspects in a thematic style." That sounds perfect for Silicon Valley, doesn't it? One of C.C.L.C.'s longtime Silicon Valley clients, Electronic Arts, sent me an e-mail statement telling me how happy it has been with C.C.L.C.'s services.

...

But at least one parent wasn't happy: Ms. Wojcicki. She is a proponent of a preschool philosophy called Reggio Emilia, the hot kiddie philosophy of the moment, which stresses even small children's ability to chart their own learning paths.

A year after the Kinderplex opened, Google opened its second day care center, called the Woods, which Google ran itself. The Woods was an expensive undertaking; in terms of the square footage per child, the aesthetics of its toys, and the college degrees of its teachers, it put the Kinderplex to shame. It also used the Reggio Emilia philosophy.

With the Woods open, Google decided to upgrade the Kinderplex to match the salaries and the teacher-student ratios of the Woods. Google now had 200 day care spots - and such wonderful day care at that! - and was promoting this new perk as a recruiting tool. The company was growing like crazy - its work force now numbers 19,000 - its young employees were starting to have babies, and well, you can just picture what happened next.

Meanwhile, someone at Google woke up one day and realised that the company was subsidizing each child to the tune of $37,000 a year - which nobody had noticed up until then - compared with the $12,000-a-year average subsidy of other big Silicon Valley companies like Cisco Systems and Oracle. Faced with this dilemma, Google decided that the way to solve the dual problems of a too-long waiting list and a too-large subsidy was - are you sitting down for this? - to get rid of C.C.L.C. and make the Kinderplex more like the Woods! (Google says it was always planning to replace C.C.L.C.) Given that decision, the only possible way to reduce the subsidy was to raise prices through the roof.

If you are shaking your head at this point, that's because you lack the proper understanding of Google's culture. Having conquered the Internet, Google's executives tend to believe that they can do pretty much everything better than everybody else - even day care. When I spoke to Laszle Bock, the company's vice presidenet for "people operations" (a k a human relations), he told me that "what is really driving the cost is eliminating the two-year waiting list while focusing on providing really high quality."

...

Google may be providing the greatest day care ever, but so what? It doesn't matter how good the day care is if only its wealthiest employees can afford to use it. If Google had really wanted to do something path-breaking about its day care crisis, it would have spent less time creating elitist day care centers and more time figuring out how to "scale" day care for everybody no matter what their salaries.

Instead, Google has shown that it thinks about day care the same way every other company does - as a luxury, not a benefit. Judging by what's transpired, that's what Google is fast becoming: just another company.

Excerpt from NYT's On Day Care, Google Makes a Rare Fumble

NYT Blogs

2008-07-04T12:14:00.001+10:00

Write Better English - Day 11

2008-07-04T00:38:00.002+10:00

The battle for the championship is tight this year, but Felipe Massa has moved himself into contention with a textbook combination of speed and damage limitation. Adam Cooper spoke to Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley about the Brazilian's season.

Not surprisingly, Lewis Hamilton's latest drama occupied most of the headlines after the French GP, which was perhaps a little unfair on Scuderia Ferrari.

Clearly the grid penalties for both Mclaren drivers gave the Italian team some breathing space come the race, but nevertheless the one-two finish was an impressive performance.

We will never know how hard Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen (who qualified heavy in an effort to make up for his penalty) would have pushed the Ferraris in a straight fight, but the likelihoood is that the Italian team would have won anyway, such was the pace of the red cars on a track where it has been so successful in the past.

Incredibly, since the place was built in 1991 Mclaren has won only once at Magny-Cours, with David Coulthard in 2000, while Massa's victory was the eighth at the venue for Maranello. Not bad when you consider how uncompetitive the team was over the first four or five years of that period ...

What might just have been different had the Mclaren not been handicapped was the outcome of the second place. After Kimi Raikkonen suffered his broken exhaust, Jarno Trulli was never in a position to put any real pressure on the Finn, but Hamilton or Kovalainen would certainly have been a lot closer in a straight fight, and we might have had something quite exciting to watch.

Just as the pitlane crash robbed us of a potential thriller in Canada, so those penalties denied us a great contest in France.

The sighs of relief in the Ferrari camp afterwards were all too apparent, and one look at the pictures of the heat blast damage on the back of Raikkonen's car proves just how fortunate he was to make it to the end. What's more, he did it without losing his second place.

Excerpt from autosport's feature ~ Felipe Massa: Chasing Shadows

存在的价值

2008-06-29T00:25:00.003+10:00

它不是一场日本摔跤比赛。比赛有输赢，胜的一方可能获得阶级的机会，也可能赢取价值不菲的现金奖品。出局的摔跤手则什么都没有。

我和哥之间除了输赢，还可能有双赢。我的双亲常说：“他仿佛是一艘已经上了岸的船，无论以后的事业成功与否，他之前已经赚了一大笔钱，如果不挥霍，这些钱已足够养活他与他未来的家庭。你则是一艘还未下海的船 ...”

有时候我会想，即使拚了老命在他的公司做出一番成绩，人家也会认为那是因为我莫名其妙地上了一艘上了岸的船，把我的成功归咎于命好。他们当然无法体会成功背后所隐藏的辛酸和泪水。

假如我选择一条和他截然不同的行业，将来的功绩虽然不能说完全和他无关（因为我的学费是他资助的），但至少它可以证明我生存的价值。我的那一艘破船是经得起风浪的 ...

每一个第一次

2008-06-28T15:32:00.006+10:00

first ocean ~ mbahuyo

记得在志云饭局上主持人问郑少秋他与现任太太的一对女儿是否比他过去两段婚姻所生的女儿都幸福时，郑少秋毫不犹豫地说：“是，没办法，这是命。”

我还没有办法将他们第一次参加哥的毕业典礼时脸上幸福洋溢的样子从记忆里抹去。算了吧，我这一辈子是来还债的，这是我的命。

Write Better English - Day 10

2008-06-27T09:19:00.002+10:00

The French Grand Prix weekend also marked the solstice, the longest day in the Northern hemisphere summer.

Associated with superstitions and annual rituals since pagan times, the solstice also has relevance to modern Formula One. As the days grow shorter, so too do the opportunities for the main championship challengers to recover from mishaps [bad luck] and disappointing race results.

In France, that had special significance for both Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. Going into the season, both stressed repeatedly that clockwork consistency would be the key factor in winning the championship.

Although both drivers have looked like champions at times, the season so far has paradoxically been marked by the very quality that all the front runners vowed to avoid - a lack of consistency. With three different race winners and championship leaders emerging from the past three race weekends, the 2008 campaign has effectively become a lottery.

Both Hamilton and Raikkonen will be wondering not how to catch new championship leader Felipe Massa, but rather how they came to trail the mercurial Brazilian in the first place.

Hamilton's woes stemmed from a momentary lack of concentration in Canada, leading to the race-ending collision with Raikkonen and the ensuing ten-place grid penalty in France.

That demotion was always going to be ruinous to Hamilton's point-scoring aspirations. It would have taken a significant performance advantage and tactical genius worthy of Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher to bring Hamilton back into the race reckoning.

Former Mclaren teammate Fernando Alonso suffered a similar demotion in 2007, and spend most of the afternoon focusing on the BMW gearbox of Nick Heidfeld in front of him. With few overtaking opportunities at Magny-Cours, on a short lap where the top 15 cars were within one second of each other during the first and second qualifying runs, a ten-place grid penalty is truly draconian.

Excerpt from The Turning of the Season

A Good Decision Tree Anyone?

2008-06-25T12:46:00.003+10:00

You'd expect a 23 year-old to make her own decisions and stick to them till the end. Well, that's not true, at least when the subject is a girl who has changed her mind countless time throughout the 4-year bachelor course.

She wanted to switch course right before the start of second year, but didn't. The fear of not performing in a commerce degree overtook her. A year later, she talked to her brother about taking a gap year to develop a web community, but at the end didn't. The lack of vote of confidence among her family members led her to that decision.

Now, 4 years after what it seems to be a hasty decision (to study the Bachelor of Pharmacy), there she is, sitting on a fence, not knowing whether to start a career in an environment she has been performing reasonably well, and therefore theoretically should perform equally well if not better, or to take the road less traveled by.

She has the answer. It may not be the right decision in many people's opinion, but what constitute a right decision when nobody knows what will happen to them tomorrow, let alone in a year's time, or in a lifetime.

Write Better English - Day 9

2008-06-25T12:03:00.002+10:00

Most people perceive Michael Schumacher as a 'flawed genius' but, as Tony Dodgins points out, it was some of his flaws that made him a genius.

I suspect that, personally speaking, Interlagos '06 is going to feel just like Adelaide '93.

Michael Schumacher, where to start?

I'd known Bertrand Gachot pretty well since the mid eighties. He'd been resposible for near hear failure on a Staines street one day when the scream of a tortured engine gave way to tyre squel and Bert hand-braked an Alfa 33 to a stop about six inches from where I stood. I dropped my king-size bag of cat litter, which apilled all over the road, to his great amusement.

He could be engaging and ever so slightly unhinged, all at the same time. I wasn't at all surprised that he'd cut up a London cabbie, nor that he'd emptied a canister of CS gas into the face of the hacked off Eric Court. But I was as shocked as Bertrand when the judge declared that he should spend 18 months at the pleasure of HM the Q. Which opened the door at Jordan for M. Schumacher.

The sportscar crowd already knew about Michael. There were stories about the Merc boys trying to calm him down when he lapped Le Mans six seconds quicker than Jochen Mass in the same car. About them trying to explain that the race was 24 hours, not 24 seconds, and Michael replying that he hasn't really been trying and could drive like that for 24 weeks. Poor Jochen's thoughts were not recorded.

The same week as the Gachot furore, Derek Warwick needed restraining when he wanted to tear Michael limb from limb. Schuey was trying to eke a second Nurburging qualifying lap our of a set of tyres when Del Boy, on his warm-up lap, inadvertently held him up. Michael's frustrated response was to pull across and side-swipe the Jag's nose as he went by, damaging both cars.

...

He was driving alongside Nelson Piquet, a three-time world champion now into his 13th full season in Formula One. It turned out to be his last. Nelson was stunned by Michael's qualifying speed and, given his inexperience, didn't understand from where it came.

At Monza, Esteril, Barcelona and Suzuka, Michael was 0.4 seconds quicker on average. Only Adelaide remained. Pat Symonds remembers Nelson being so determined to outqualify Michael that he abandoned working on a race set-up altogether. Nelson beat Michael by a couple of tenths.

"He was absolutely jubilant," Symonds remembers, "and Michael just stood there with a strange grin on his face."

"What's the matter?" Nelson asked.

"Oh nothing. Just missed a gear and went a bit off-line," Michael said.

Piquet thought Schumacher was winding him up but Symonds had a peek at the telemetry and confirmed it was true.

"How much did it cost him?" Piquest asked.

Symonds hasn't had the heart to tell him. "You just don't want to know," he said.

I've got to admit that Ayrton Senna had always been a bit of a hero figure to me, as well as countless millions of others. Obviously there were those who questioned the ethics and ruthlessness, just as there would be with Michael in time, but he had an aura.

There was no question that Ayrton was The Man. But, with Michael's emergence, there was no doubt either that he would not have things his own way.

...

When Schumacher joined Ferrari they weren't ready for him. How he won three races in the'96 car nobody will ever know, especially Irvine, the man in the other one. In Barcelona that year he was outstanding. Ok, he had a spare car with a full wet set-up, but that's like saying Tiger Woods has a graphite driver. There's still a bit to do.

I remember going to Mugello that year to interview Michael. It struck me how the mechanics were almost in awe of the man. Irvine, by contrast, was just there. It was June and they still hasn't got around to making the guy a decent seat.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eddie said when I arrived at around 11am. "You're going to be here a good while. He doesn't stop running till about 8pm. Or whenever it gets dark." He wasn't wrong.

About nine hours later, Michael finally stepped out of the Ferrari. And headed for a debrief. I think it was about 9pm when he emerged and apologised. He got someone to drive my hire car back to his hotel while I jumped in alongside him and did the interview as he drove.

I've always believed that the world champion should be a special driver, not a man who happens across the best car. Granted, good drivers tend to find themselves in good cars, but I hate to see someone who is so obviously better, constantly thwarted, even if it is a fact of motor racing life.

To me, therefore, it's a bit of a travesty when someone comes straight into F1 in the best car and wins. It's like they've become the boss without serving an appreticeship. And, yes, I know that happens in life too ...

...

Sure, he turned into Villeneuve. But put it into context. You've faught out 17 races on five continents over the past seven months and it's come down to the last 20 laps. The final pitstops have been made and there's one stint to go. The world championship is at stake. Everyone knows how difficult it is to pass in Formula One. It simply isn't going to happen without a robust move.

Villeneuve, all credit to him, pulled it off. If Schumacher had given him room, it's highly doubtful that JV would have made it by without contact with the Ferrari. Schumacher initially claimed that Jacques tried to use him as a brake. That was laughed our of court by majority in the pressroom when in-car footage showed Michael delibrately turning right into the Williams.

But why was it such a surprise that Schumacher did that? Anyone who has driven at a basic level - karting, Formula Ford - knows that if someone muscles up your inside, going too quickly, and hits you, you are the one who goes off, or at least gets a load of muck on your tyres while the other guy stays on. That's why people close the door.

Ok, the anti-Schumacher lobby will say, if Michael thought Jacques wasn't going to make the corner, why didn't he jink left instead of right and allow the Williams to outbrake itself and go off on the outside?

There's no doubt what he wishes he'd done but, faced with such a late move and caught by surprise, Schumacher tried to have the contact at a point that compromised him least and Villeneuve most. Entirely natural, I'd have said. But of course, when he tried to point out that he's reacted naturally, his detractors said, rather cheaply, that it was because his natural instinct was foul play.

Excerpt from Autosport Weekly Journal - Dodgy Business.

Such Is Life

2008-06-24T22:15:00.001+10:00

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

~ J.K. Rowling at Harvard Commencement

Write Better English - Day 8

2008-06-24T00:45:00.001+10:00

Back in 1993 I can remember Benetton progressing their technical development at an impressive rate and a bunch of media talking to Tom Walkinshaw about drivers.

William were dominant and Alain Prost was on the way to his fourth and last world title. But, before the end of the year, in Portugal, it became known that Ayrton Senna was going to a William driver in ’94.

Prost announced his retirement but a lot of people thought it was only because he couldn’t face driving alongside Ayrton again. Reigning champion Nigel Mansell, meanwhile, had gone off to the US in a huff when Frank William refused to pay him what he thought he was worth.

He was busy winning the IndyCar crown at the first attempt – a hugely impressive accomplishment considering he’d never driven on an oval in his life.

“Tom,” someone said, “Will you be chasing Prost or Mansell?”

Walkinshaw looked at the guy as if he’d taken leave of his senses. “Why the hell would I want Prost, Mansell or Senna when I’ve got Schumacher?” He said it such that if he’d called the guy a half-wit it would have been compliment.

…

Although Schuey was obviously special, at that stage not everyone fully appreciated quite how special. But Walkinshaw knew. He was at races and he’d seen the testing data. He added that you sometimes have to take a bit of pain when a guy like that is inexperienced, but it doesn’t last long. “You’ll see …” he said. And we duly did.

Shortly afterwards Prost said that for a driver to win a championship in a close year, he can make one, maybe two mistakes. Michael, then, was making three or four. It’s practically inevitable with a new driver and Prost well knew that when it stopped, Michael would be hugely formidable.

…

Drivers have to learn to focus on what’s important. Even Schumacher.

Given the amount of testing done in the modern era, Hamilton’s experience bank is probably at a similar level now to Michael’s in 1993 when he was a very different animal to what he came to be and to the way in which he is generally perceived.

Back then, believe it or not, Michael wasn’t that keen on testing the car. He had huge confidence in his ability and thought it wasn’t going to get better by testing, so someone else could do that.

Benetton therefore did much of their testing with Alex Zanardi, and on some of the days that he did show up, Michael would arrive a bit late because he didn’t want to waste time flying out the day before.

By 3pm he’d be enquiring what was left on the job list because he wanted to be away to catch a flight home.

They also discovered that they probably learned as much, if not more, with Zanardi. And that was because Michael was so damned good. Give him an imbalance and he’d just alter his line, drive around it and still get the same time out of the car. Which is great, but not that helpful when you’re trying to improve the car.

The ultimate example of that was Barcelona ’94 when he got stuck in fifth gear most of the race and still finished second. At the hairpins, instead of breaking, turning in, apexing, and accelerating out in second gear, he took a great big arc around the outside of the slow stuff in fifth gear and was pretty much as quick. Looking at the data post-race, Ross Brawn, Pat Symonds and the lads were astounded.

But it didn’t take long for Schumacher to realize that application was just as important as god-given talent. The team was doing a lot of active ride development, indisputably worth time, and Schumacher didn’t like to race something he hadn’t tried. Delays cost results, and that was proof enough for him.

A few years later I can remember having to wait until almost 9pm to interview him one Tuesday evening as he pounded a Ferrari around Mugello until the light had gone.

Schumacher didn’t need to be shown anything twice and Lewis, you suspect, may turn out just the same. He shouldn’t be hung for Montreal and I’d wager money he never crashes in the pitlane again …

Excerpt from Dodgy Business

思念故乡

2008-06-17T11:57:00.003+10:00

每一年的这个时候，我的心情总是特别沮丧。考试带来的压力经常压得我喘不过气来。人也总是在困难重重之际特别想家，思念离自己很远的家人和亲戚朋友们。

Write Better English - Day 7

2008-06-14T22:40:00.003+10:00

Microsoft Corp.'s abandoned takeover bid for Yahoo Inc. appears to have culminated with a disheartening thud for those two companies but amounted to yet another coup for online search leader Google Inc.

What began in January as Microsoft's most audacious attack yet on Google instead paved the way for the Internet's most powerful company to gain even more clout through a deal that gives Google access to a large chunk of Yahoo's advertising space.

By submitting to a partnership that endorses Google's search advertising technology as a better choice than its own, Yahoo is giving online marketers even more incentive to spend most of their money with its biggest rival, according to industry analysts.

It looks like such a sweet deal for Google that the U.S. Justice Department and lawmarkers are expected to take a hard look at the arrangement to make sure it doesn't give Google too much control over the Internet's search advertising market.

Google currently has about 75 percent of the U.S. search advertising market followed by Yahoo's 9 percent, according to the research firm eMarketer Inc.

Although they contend their alliance won't lessen competition, Google and Yahoo have agreed to wait until late September to begin working together so the U.S. government has more time to assess the potential impact.

Even more importantly to Google, the Yahoo partnership keeps a potentially valuable weapon out of Microsoft's control.

Without Yahoo's renowned franchise, Microsoft once again is scrambling to find a way to fix its unprofitable online operations and narrow Google's commanding lead in the Internet's rapidly growing ad market.

Google shares gained $18.56 to close Friday at $571.51 while Microsoft shares added 83 cents to close at $29.07 - an indication that some investers were relieved the world's largest software marker concluded it would be too expensive and troublesome to buy Yahoo.

On the other side of the fence, Yahoo shareholders had been clinging to the possibility that Microsoft would revive its last offer of $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, to buy the internet pioneer. But those hopes evaporated late Thursday after Yahoo disclosed Microsoft had "unequivocally" rebuffed an attenpt to renew the negotiations.

In a sign of investors' frustration, Yahoo shares dropped as much as $1.77, or 7.5 percent, Friday before rallying late in the session to finish at $23.47, down five cents. The downturn marked Yahoo's lowest stock price since it closed at $19.18 at the end of January, just before Microsoft launched its takeover attempt.

Excerpt from Wired's Google grows stronger in Microsoft-Yahoo fallout

漂泊一生

2008-06-13T17:10:00.005+10:00

生活很疲惫，飘泊了四年，人海茫茫，始终还没找到一个可以让自己打开心房，分享人生的美丽与哀愁的船长。是缘份还没到吧 ... 最好真的是这样。

Write Better English - Day 6

2008-06-11T17:31:00.003+10:00

It's the old story that you only miss things when they've gone, and usually once they've gone, you can't ever get them back no matter how hard you try.

Girlfriends, the nice pair of shoes you left in the hotel room or that favourite place where you used to go on holiday that has now been built on. Never to return, finished, over.

Without banging on like a furniture salesman during a Bank Holiday weekend, the great thing about MotoGP at the moment is not the racing, but the fact that Valentino Rossi is in it.

He is one in a lifetime phenomenon that I have been lucky enough to commentate about for every one of his races in Grand Prix, going back to a muggy, thunderstorm-affected Sunday afternoon in Malaysia in April 1996.

It was the start of something great.

Fast-forwarding to 2008, Rossi said last weekend that he's nigh-on got the pen out to sign with Yamaha for a further two seasons, taking him to the end of 2010 - which is great for fans and great for MotoGP, but what are we going to do after he is gone?

Now I'll be the first to say that no one is indispensable, but we are talking about the most charismatic motosport people ever. There is going to be a rather large hole when he's gone back to sitting around with his mates by the pool in Ibiza, chilling rather than being bothered with phone calls from corporates wanting him to sign posters in Cologne on the Wednesday of his week off.

My point is that Rossi pretty well saved the show in Barcelona. If it wasn't for him blitzing through from ninth to second, there might not have been much else to entertain people. Less for Andrea Dovizioso or an English bias towards James Toseland ...

Excerpts from Barcelona Review: A look into the future

3, 2, 1 Here We Go!

2008-06-09T20:08:00.003+10:00

For the first time in my 4-year bachelor studies, I have only 3 exam papers to tackle right before a much needed semester break. It doesn't make my life any easier. No one knows me better than my brother.

"I don't know your course, but I know you," he said.

"I really miss home."

And guess what he replied?

"Home miss you too."

Write Better English - Day 5

2008-06-03T09:12:00.002+10:00

Of all the copy shops in all of England, Trudy Coughlan had the rotten luck of walking into Document Image Processing.

It was June 2007 in sleepy Surrey County, and Coughlan, a statuesque blonde, sauntered through the door of the shop holding a sheaf of 780 pages. Scan them onto two CDs, she told the clerk, a forgettable middle-aged guy in a forgettable office park in the middle of nowhere. Nothing strange about the order, unless you happened to be a Formula One fan and happened to take a closer look at the material: schematic drawings, technical reports, pictures, and financial information - enough insider dope to design a Formula One car. Each page was emblazoned with one of the most famous logos in the world: the prancing black horse of Ferrari.

Surrey is Mclaren country, just down the road from what locals call the Spaceship, the futuristic, top-secret, half underground headquarters of the Mclaren Formula One racing team. But as it happened, the copy clerk was a rabid Ferrari fan - among the legion who worshipped Ferrari's star F1 driver Michael Schumacher and agonized over the fact that the Ferrari team was lagging behind top-ranked Mclaren that summer.

"Trudy Coughlan," the woman said when he asked her name.

When she left, the clerk Googled.

First he Googled Trudy Coughlan and discovered she was the wife of Michael Coughlan, chief designer of ... Mclaren's Formula One racing team.

Then he Googled Ferrari until he found the name and email address of the company's Formula One sporting director, Stefano Domenicali, in Maranello, Italy.

"Dear Mr. Domenicali," the clerk typed. He proceed to spill the strange tale of the woman with the stack of what appeared to be top-secret Ferrari documents.

The next morning, as Domenicali sifted [examine and sort carefully] through his inbox, he came to the massive from Surrey. He immediately forwarded it to Ferrari security.

A few days later, Trudy Coughlan picked up the two CDs, along with the 780 pages of documents. Following her husband's instructions, she destroyed the papers in a home shredder and burned the remains in their back garden.

Thus began the biggest scandal ever to rock the world of Formula One racing.

...

Ferrari's home is Maranello, population 15,000, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. This is where both the company's F1 and road cars are designed, built, tested, and shipped. To drive into Maranello is to drive into Ferrari's big pulsating heart. Most everyone here works for Ferrari or is related to someone who does. The streets, restaurants, and bars are filled with mechanics, drivers, support staff, executives, and wide-eyed fans, many dressed in Ferrari red, all proclaiming their allegiance to the most dominant team in Formula One history. At lunch, the faithful pack in at Montana, a restaurant whose walls are crammed an unofficial Ferrari museum. In the background, patrons can hear the constant rumble of race cars roaring around Ferrari's test track a quarter mile away.

As the head of Ferrari's 30 F1 mechanics, Nigel Stepney walked through Maranello like a king. Big and burly, with neatly cropped hair and goatee, he had been an integral part of Ferrari's "dream team" for 15 years, helping them capture five consecutive world championships from 2000 to 2004. The British-born Stepney brought order to the chaos that was Ferrari's nearly all-Italian F1 pit when he joined in 1993. "The pit stops were disorganized before he got there, and he worked well with technical director Ross Brawn in bringing structure and discipline," says someone who knows Ferrari well. "Nigel was exactly what Ferrari needed: someone who could whip the team into shape."

By 2006 Stepney, who had earnings estimated to be upwards of $1 million a year, held enormous clout, deciding which mechanics went on the road - earning them a bump in salary - and which stayed home. He was one of the many intensely competitive, highly strung men who mark their lives by the F1 season, so dedicated to the team that he didn't complain when, at one race, Michael Schumacher roared out of the pit and slammed into him, breaking his ankle. Stepney bled red.

Then, at the end of 2006, Stepney's world, along with the greatest team in Ferrari history, fell apart. First came the news that Schumacher would retire at the end of the season. Then highly respected Ross Brawn announced that he was going on a sabbatical. Stepney, who had been Brawn's right hand and a key member of the Brawn-Schumacher inner circle, reportedly hoped that he might get the technical director's job, with its multimillion-dollar salary and infinite esteem.

But Stepney wasn't an engineer. He was a mechanic without a college degree. The Ferrari brass chose as technical director Mario Almondo, an Italian promoted from human resources. Almondo had previously served as Ferrari's head of industrial development of racing, but Stepney still didn't think Almondo had the technical savvy to lead the team's overall car development. Ferrari insiders say Stepney was furious with the choice - so much so that he went public with his grievances.

...

In 2007, as Dennis reached 60, everything in his life seemed to be, well, perfect. He had a fortune estimated at $500 million, made in part by selling half of his original 30 percent stake in Mclaren. He travelled to and from races in a $30 million Challenger 604 jet. His family life, which included a 21-year marriage and three children, seemed flawless. Best of all, his F1 team, his life's mission, had reconfigured its car, landed two star drivers - Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton - and was trouncing the competition. By June, Mclaren was number one, ahead of BMW-Sauber and, even more important, ahead of Ferrari.

But despite his obsession with perfection, despite his desire to get everything just right, Dennis made one mistake that would undo it all: hiring Michael Coughlan.

Excerpt from Wired Magazine's article: Inside the scandal that rocked the formula one racing world

Write Better English - Day 4

2008-05-25T11:40:00.002+10:00

At first glance, you might think that Nick Heidfeld has had a subdued start to the season. But is there more to come from the German? Adam Cooper spoke to him to find out.

BMW Sauber has long made its mission clear - the team wants to win its first race in 2008, and with podiums, a pole and fastest lap already in the pocket, such an eventuality cannot be discounted.

There is certainly a feeling in the team that Monaco is a race where it just might happen, if everything falls into place. Whether it's next weekend or a little further down the line, Nick Heidfeld wouldn't mind being the man to claim the maiden victory. But he has other ambitions too.

"Of course, the first win would be great, but I hope more to have a good result in the championship," he says.

"It's hard to say what I would be happy with at the end of the season. Our target is to fight for the championship next year, but you never know what happens, maybe we can find something big, something great, and we can fight with Ferrari ..."

It's been something of a mixed year thus far for the German. He's got his hand on the best package he's ever had in a career that is now in its ninth season. He's already had a second place and a fastest lap, and along with Lewis Hamilton he is one of only two drivers to have seen the chequered flag at all five races, although both men have had an expensive finish outside the points.

And yet for the most part he has been overshadowed by Robert Kubica, the team-mate he shaded last season. It is inevitable perhaps, given that the Pole is from the Hamilton generation, a great white hope for the future who arrived at the top with a bang, and Heidfeld is saddled with the baggage of having driven some very average cars over the years.

It is easy to get the impression that things are beginning to slip away from Nick, as Kubica continues to shine.

"I think I am still OK," he says. "I think Robert is doing a great job at the moment. I think he's getting on with the car better than he did last year. It will be a tougher season for me, that's why it looks like at the moment. I will keep working hard."

During the winter it looked as though it might be a tough season for all at BMW, since in its initial guise the F1.08 did not set the world alight. With so many teams apparently making progress, it seemed that BMW would not only lose tough with Ferrari and Mclaren, but be overtaken.

However, progress during testing was surprisingly rapid, although no one knew how much gain has been made until Melbourne.

"It was really extremely difficult in the beginning, and then we improved the car relatively quickly," he says.

"When I was driving, it seemed to be too slow. We made big chunks [of time], but we were still behind. We changed some things on the set-up which helped, we changed a couple of things on the aerodynamic side and also something on the mechanical side."

Excerpt from Autosports Weekly Journal: Slow Burn: Interview with Nick Heidfeld

Write Better English - Day 3

2008-05-21T22:22:00.002+10:00

By now, most people know they should be eating more vegetables. But are there ways to get more from the vegetables you already eat?

A growing body of research shows that when it comes to vegetables, it's not only how much we eat, but how we prepare them, that influences the amount of phytochemicals, vitamins and other nutrients that enter our body.

The benefits are significant. Numerous studies show that people who consume lots of vegetables have lower rates of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, eye problems and even cancer. The latest dietary guidelines call for 5 to 13 servings - that is two and half to six and a half cups a day.

Surprisingly, raw and plain vegetables are not always best. In The British Journal of Nutrition next month, researches will report a study involving 198 Germans who strictly adhered to a raw food diet, meaning that 95% of their total food intake came from raw food. They had normal levels of vitamin A and relatively high levels of beta carotene.

But they fell short when it came to lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes and other red-pigmented vegetables that is one of the most potent antioxidants. Nearly 80 percent of them had plasma lycopene levels below average.

"There is a misconception that raw foods are always going to be better," says Steven K. Clinton, a nutrition researcher and professor of internal medicine in the medical oncology division at Ohio State University. "For fruits and vegetables, a lot of times a little bit of cooking and a little bit of processing actually can be helpful."

The amount and type of nutrients that eventually end up in the vegetables are affected by a number of factors before they reach the plate, including where and how they were grown, processed and stored before being bought. Then, it is up to you. No single cooking or preparation method is best. Water-soluble nutrients like vitamin C and B and a group of nutrients called polyphenolics are often lost in processing. For instance, studies show that after six months, frozen cheries have lost as much as 50% of anthocyanins, the healthful compounds found in the pigment of red and blue fruits and vegetables. Fresh spinach loses 64% of its vitamin C after cooking. Canned peas and carrots lose 85% to 95% of their vitamin C, according to data compiled by the University of California, Davis.

Fat-soluble compounds like vitamins A, D, E and K and the antioxidant compounds called carotenoids are less likely to leach out in water. Cooking also breaks down the thick cell walls of plants, releasing the contents for the body to use. That is why processed tomato products have higher lycopene content than fresh tomatoes.

In January, a report in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry concluded that over all, boiling was better for carrots, zucchini and broccoli than steaming, frying or serving them raw. Frying was by far the worst.

Still, there were tradeoffs. Boiling carrots, for instance, significantly increased measurable carotenoid levels, but resulted in the complete loss of polyphenols compared with raw carrots.

That report did not look at the effects of microwaving, but a March 2007 study in The Journal of Food Science looked at the effects of boiling, steaming, microwaving and pressure cooking on the nutrients of broccoli. Steaming and boiling caused a 22& to 34% loss of vitamin C. Microwaved and pressure-cooked vegetables retained 90% of their vitamin C.

Excerpt from NYT: Finding the Best Way to Cook All Those Vegetables

Michael, You Are Greatly Missed

2008-05-19T20:00:00.005+10:00

Not the famous name, the red helmet, but the pure passion for racing.

Write Better English - Day 2

2008-05-18T22:31:00.003+10:00

Obesity experts agree: it's crunch time. But there is little consensus on how to tackle what is emerging as the world's most pressing medical crisis.

In just 20 years, calorie-dense fast food, passive entertainment and our dependence on the car have fuelled a doubling of Australian obesity rates. We now have the fifth-highest adult obesity rate in the world, with almost 9 million adults either overweight or obese. Their excess weight will place them at greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and a range of other conditions, and - according to a 2005 analysis by Access Economics - cost the nation more than $21 billion a year in health-care costs and lost productivity.

But while there is an agreement on the scale of the problem - globally more than 2 billion adults are either overweight or obese - opinion is divided on the best ways to overcome it.

"The solution is simple: less food, more exercise," says federal Labor MP Steve Gearganas, who is chairing a parliamentary inquiry into obesity in Australia. "How do we get people to do those things? That's the hard part."

Tomorrow, the World Health Organisation will present its action plan on the prevention of chronic diseases to the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

The plan calls on WHO member states to introduce a range of measures to tackle obesity, from restrictions on junk food advertising to planning and transport policies that encourage walking and cycling.

The Sunday Age looks at five measures that may form part of the solution.

Restricting junk food ads
The Canadian province of Quebec outlawed advertising to children through any medium in 1980. Childhood obesity rates actually increased after the bans were introduced, but supporters of the ban point to the fact that stations broadcasting from outside the province were not subject to the restrictions. Rates of obesity are lower among French-speaking children in Quebec than among English-speaking children from the province, who could watch American television. But obesity rates were not measured before the ban was introduced, so it is unclear if this is due to the ban or longstanding cultural differences.

A 2006 report commissioned by the Victorian Department of Human Services predicted that of 13 measures to combat obesity, restrictions on TV advertising of junk food to children would have the most impact, saving 37,000 disability-adjusted life years and $300 million per year if implemented nationally.

But the authors admitted that while the link between advertising and unhealthy food choices was proven, the relationship between food choice and weight was based on less evidence. The authors also noted that such a ban was politically unpalatable.

The Howard government repeatedly brushed off calls to restrict junk food advertising. Labor in opposition hinted at a ban on the use of toys to promote junk food before Kevin Rudd contradicted his then health spokeswoman by saying existing rules were adequate - a move seen by some as a cave-in to the food and advertising lobby.

"Traffic light" food labelling
Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton is one of many people calling for a mandatory front-of-pack labelling scheme to inform consumers about the levels of fat, sugar and salt in food products. In Briton, the Food Standards Agency has already introduced a voluntary system that uses the traffic light colours to tell people whether a product has a high, medium or low level of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt. Surveys found that more than 80% of people preferred traffic-light labelling to other initiatives.

excerpt from the Sunday Age - Yes, We're Fat, but What Do We Do About It?

Write Better English - Day 1

2008-05-18T21:59:00.003+10:00

In 40 years as a highly regarded cancer surgeon, Dr. Tapas K. Das Gupta had never made a mistake like this.

As with any doctor, there had been occasional errors in diagnosis or judgement. But never, he said, had he opened up a patient and removed the wrong sliver of tissue, in this case a segment of the eighth rib instead of the ninth.

Once an X-ray provided proof in black and white, Dr. Das Gupta, the 74-year-old chairman of surgical oncology at the University of Illinois Medical Centre at Chicago, did something that would normally make hospital lawyers cringe; he acknowledged his mistake to his patient's face, and told her he was deeply sorry.

"After all these years I cannot give you any excuse whatsoever," Dr. Das Gupta, now 76, said he told the woman and her husband. "It is just one of those things that occurred. I have to some extent harmed you."

For decades, malpractice lawyers and insurers have counselled doctors and hospitals to "deny and defend." Many still warn clients that any admission of fault, is likely to invite litigation and imperil careers.

But with providers choking on malpractice costs and consumers demanding action against medical errors, a handful of prominent academic medical centres, like John Hopkins and Standford, are trying a disarming approach.

By promptly disclosing medical errors and offering earnest apologies and fair compensation, they hope to restore integrity to dealings with patients, make it easier to learn from mistakes and dilute anger that often fuels lawsuits.

Malpractice lawyers say that what often transforms a reasonable patient into an indignant plaintiff is less an error than its concealment, and the victim's concern that it will happen again.

Despite some projections that disclosure would prompt a flood of lawsuits, hospitals are reporting decreases in their caseloads and savings in legal costs. Malpractice premiums have declined in some instances, though market forces may be partly responsible.

an excerpt from NYT - Doctors Start to Say 'I'm Sorry' Long Before 'See You in Court'

埋怨不能解决问题

2008-05-16T06:23:00.002+10:00

这几年，我从哥的身上学到很多待人处事的道理。其中一个叫我毕生难忘的是他面对问题时持有的乐观。面对重重障碍，他从不埋怨。这是因为他认为埋怨并不能解决问题，只有勇敢面对和积极思考，方能早日找到解决方案。

这一阵子常往各大医院跑的我，发觉原来可以做到这一点的人真的很少。这少许印证了《男人来自火星，女人来自金星》里所描述的 - 男人进入“洞穴”，女人滔滔不绝，这个耐人寻味的道理。

The State of Being Empty

2008-05-12T05:40:00.003+10:00

It was the weirdest feeling I've ever had. Everything seems not quite right. Unhealthy lifestyle, lack of working experiences, too many procrastination, endless projects, and overwhelming schedules. I am putting this down to lack of proper planning and decided to finish working on the HRT project before this placement ends and then start working on a plan for the semester exam that is just around the corner.

I don't understand all the content in my mom's SMS replies when I wished her Happy Mother's Day and mentioned the emptiness I had. But we share one common thing - listen to 佛号 whenever things don't work out the way we wanted.

My eyes are still swollen but at least my mind is back working. 阿弥陀佛.

叙旧

2008-05-04T09:14:00.003+10:00

昨晚的饭局，原是一个相当愉快的叙旧。我们一行人在餐馆待了近两个小时。

当一伙儿准备付钱结账时，他的钱包里十成有零钱凑足 $9.50. 而他心仪的 A 红艳的钱包里却只有一张 $50. 眼看 A 望着桌上零零散散的钱币发慌，他主动地替 A 解围，丁丁当当一下子把零钱全扫进自己的背囊里。

明眼人一看就知道他还未对 A 死心。一个大男人如果对你没意思，哪会专程开车接你和友人叙旧? 还不计麻烦地替你收下那吨零钱?

同一个十字路口

2008-04-27T19:56:00.004+10:00

大学二年级时，我说：“我想放弃药剂系，转向商业系。”

当时很多人都说：“都已经走到一半的路程了，这样半途而废很可惜”。

当时，我选择听取众人的建议，继续深造，一心想在大学毕业后再作打算。

转眼间，四年艰苦的求学生涯即将结束，我却仍然处于被动的位子。

我说：“我想暂时搁下正式成为药剂师前的训练，回去马来西亚在哥哥新成立的公司工作。”

这时，更多人表示：“既然完成四年的学业了，你应该继续完成一年的训练，然后考取执照成为正式的药剂师。”

我想到我成功考取执照后，会有更多人说：“既然都已经花了五年的时间，现在放弃一切到一间名不见经传的公司里打工，倒不如自己开一间药剂行。”

The Missing Man

2008-04-17T23:59:00.003+10:00

August: "Where is your Mr. Right?"
AW: "Not here yet."

Politician Turns Blogger

2008-04-09T07:36:00.003+10:00

Some people claimed that BN lost (or more correctly, failed to win the governorship of 5 states) because she ignored the new media such as SMS and blogs. Consequently, some politicians start blogging immediately post election.

Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek is one of them. Subscribed.

Evil VS Genius

2008-04-06T14:09:00.004+10:00

Article photo of an article on Wired: How Apple Got Everything Right By Doing Everything Wrong

全力以赴，做到最好

2008-04-05T10:56:00.002+11:00

“我想在今年毕业后不即刻投入药剂这行业，而拨出一年的时间和哥哥一起冲击他的网路事业。”

身边没一个人赞成我的这项决定。他们都异口同声地表示：“现在放弃一片光明的前景很可惜”。哥则表示虽然他很需要我这个副手，但他会尊重我的决定。

今天早上看到一篇文章，内容里提到：

不要怕犯錯，要有勇氣重新開始。沒有失敗過的人和企業，想法僵硬，我認為三十歲前應該失敗三次以上。但大多數的年輕人，都被我們的教育體系教導成害怕失敗、避免失敗。而且很多人，不能否定自我，怕因此失去既有的一切，但如果沒有否定自我的勇氣，個人、企業和國家都失去創新的能力。我還有一個經驗，不要想「很可惜」，而要有隨時都重頭來的勇氣，想到可惜，人生就失敗了一半。年輕人更可以重頭來，但決定的時候需要拿得起放得下的勇氣，不能留後路，要有破釜沈舟的決心。

思绪沉淀下来后，突然对之前的内心挣扎有一番新的见解。当下的我刚要踏入五花八门的职场，还未有任何成就，哪来所谓的：“放弃很可惜”？

成功也好，失败也罢，既然决定了，我会全力以赴，做到最好！

Potluck for Fun

2008-03-30T01:31:00.003+11:00

Just came back from attending a birthday surprise for a friend and it was such a great success. We did a potluck and had fun playing poker. The finger food shown above was prepared by all three of us (SL, ML and I).

A Special Birthday Gift

2008-03-21T16:47:00.004+11:00

Spent 8 hours creating a theme for my friend's Sony Ericsson W700. The theme features forever friends, and I've named it "Friends Forever". Since the theme is likely to be deleted when she get a new phone, I've also printed out a photo and attached to a birthday card.

Pretty good birthday gift I reckon, and I hope she'd love it.

引以为鉴

2008-03-14T16:28:00.002+11:00

當小姐時，一不高興，可以摔杯子，鬧脾氣；反正自己爽，別人也不在乎。做了夫人，就要有度量，有遠見；即使不高興，也要察顏觀色，顧全大局。 ~ 鄭丁賢

食君之禄担君之忧此为之忠; 敬父为天敬母为地此为之孝; 广结良缘内外一诚此为之仁; 富贵不移威武不屈此为之义。 ~ 沈殿霞

A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. - Lois Wys

Being Static

2008-03-11T19:34:00.001+11:00

He that never changes his opinions, never corrects his mistakes,
and will never be wiser on the morrow than he is today.

~Tryon Edwards~

做個快樂的上班族

2008-03-07T22:10:00.000+11:00

1. Business is made up of ambiguous victories and nebulous defeats. Claim them all as victories.
商場上充滿著不清楚的勝利和不明顯的失敗。把它們全都宣稱為勝利。

2. Keep track of what you do; someone is sure to ask.
隨時掌握你工作的進度；總是會有人問你的。

3. Be comfortable around senior managers, or learn to fake it.
在上司面前要能輕鬆地應對自如；如果做不到，至少要想辦法裝得像。

4. Never bring your boss a problem without some solutions. You are getting paid to think, not to whine.
永遠別只向上司報告問題而不同時提出解決問題的方案。公司雇用你是讓你來思考的，而不是來發牢騷的。

5. Long hours don't mean anything; results count, not effort.
加班並不代表什麼；工作成果──而不是工作時數──才算數。

6. Write down ideas; they get lost, like good pens.
寫下你的好點子；不然它們會像你最喜歡的一隻筆一樣，一不小心就忘了放在那兒了。

7. Always arrive at work 30 minutes before your boss.
總是比你上司早三十分鐘到公司。

8. Be sure to sit at the conference table---never by the wall.
開會時要坐在會議桌旁──絕不要躲在會議室的牆邊坐。

9. Help other people network for jobs. What goes around comes around.
幫助別人介紹工作。好心會有好報的。

10. Don't take sick days----unless you are.
別請病假──除非你是真的生病了。

11. Assume no one can/will keep a secret.
別假設任何人能夠或是願意保守秘密。

12. Know when you do your best---morning, night, under pressure, relaxed; schedule and prioritize your work accordingly.
瞭解自己在什麼情況和時候最有效率──早晨、夜晚、壓力下、輕鬆時；然後依此安排你的工作順序。

13. Treat everyone in the organization with respect and dignity, whether it be the janitor or the president. Don't ever be patronizing.
對公司的每一個人──不論是工友或是董事長──都應以尊敬和尊嚴待之。永遠不要擺出高人一等，自以為是的架子。

14. When you get the entrepreneurial urge, visit someone who has his own business. It may cure you.
當你有要自行創業的衝動時，不妨去拜訪一些自己開公司作生意的朋友。你可能就此打消你的念頭。

15. Never appear stressed in front of a client, a customer or your boss. Take a deep breath and ask yourself: in the course of human events, how important is this?
永遠別在客戶或老闆面前顯示出你承受的壓力過大。先深呼吸一口氣，再問問你自己：跟一連串人類史上的重大事件比起來，這件事有這麼重要嗎？

16. Recognizing someone else's contribution will repay you doubly.
表揚一個人的功勞會使他加倍的償還你。

17. Career planning is an oxymoron. The most exciting opportunities tend to be unplanned.
『生涯規劃』是一個自我矛盾的說詞。最令人興奮的機會通常是出乎你意料和計畫之外的。

18. Always choose to do what you'll remember ten years from now.
永遠選擇做十年後還值得你回憶的事。

19. The size of your office is not as important as the size of your paycheck.
你辦公室的大小比不上你薪餉的大小來得重要。

20. Understand what finished work looks like and deliver your work only when it is finished.
認清工作全部完成時的成果該是什麼樣子的，然後只在工作全部完成時才交件。

21. The person who spends all of his or her time at work is not hard-working; he or she is boring.
成天只在工作的人不是個勤勞的人；而是個無趣的人。

22. Know how to write business letters---including thank-you notes as well as proposals.
學會如何寫商用書信──包括感謝函和企劃書。

23. Never confuse a memo with reality. Most memos from the top are political fantasy.
別把公司的備忘錄誤認為事實。上層發表的備忘錄大多只是行政上所要製造的假象。

24. Eliminate guilt. Don't cheat on expense reports, taxes, benefits or your colleagues.
避免內疚。別在費用報表、報稅單、醫療保險上，或是同事間作假。

25. Reorganizations mean that someone will lose his or her job. Get on the task force that will make the recommendations.
公司內部改組代表有人的職位會不保了。想辦法加入推薦改革方案的專案小組。

26. Job security does not exist.
沒有任何工作能保障你永遠不會丟掉飯碗。

27. Children are a source of truth and ideas. The best icebreaker to use in intense meetings is one I heard from a six-year-old: "Raise your hand who's mad."
兒童是真相和靈感的來源。我所聽過在討論激烈的會議中打破僵局最有效的方法，是一個六歲小孩說的一句話：「誰生氣了請舉手。」

28. Always have an answer to the question: "What would I do if I lost my job tomorrow?"
永遠準備好以下問題的答案：「如果我明天失業了該怎麼辦？」

29. Go to the company holiday party.
要參加公司逢年過節舉辦的餐會。

30. Don't get drunk at the company holiday party.
別在公司的年節餐會上喝醉失態。

31. Avoid working on the weekends. Work longer during the week if you have to.
盡量避免用週末來工作。如有必要，寧可在平日加班。

32. The most successful people in business are interesting.
商場上最成功的人通常也是最有趣的。

33. Sometimes you'll be on a roll and everything will click; take maximum advantage. When the opposite is true, hold steady and wait it out.
有時你手風正順，事事順利；要充分利用良機。當情勢正好相反時，則應咬緊牙關，耐心度過難關。

34. Never in your life say, "It's not my job."
這一輩子永遠別說，「這不干我的事兒。」

35. Be loyal to your career, your interests and yourself.
別忘了要效忠於你自己的事業、你自己的興趣和你自己。

36. Understand the skills and abilities that set you apart. Whenever you have an opportunity, use them.
認清你所擁有讓你與眾不同的本領和技能。一有機會就多加運用它們。

37. People remember the end of the project. As they say in boxing, "Always finish stronger than you start. "
大家總是記得計劃的結局。套句拳擊上的用語，「最後衝刺時要比比賽開始時表現得更強。」

Challenges in Life

2008-03-05T12:30:00.002+11:00

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

做人处事的态度

2008-03-01T15:32:00.002+11:00

我认为守时是最重要的，假如因为你一个人的迟到要令到整班人都在等你，那就是很不好的现象。那当然了，你红的时候人家都不敢出声，万一，一个人不可能是一直都一帆风顺的。假如有一天你掉下来的话，很多人都会踩你的。

身为节目主持人也好你一定要明白你自己的工作岗位。你要担任的是什么工作，你要讲的是什么话。你拿到剧本你一定要了解得很清楚，要背得很熟，而且连对方的台词你都要记得很清楚。万一有时候，我们广东话就叫做“发台昏”，就是上了现场，有时候对手会发昏。那你就要提醒他，那你就一定要记得他的台词。你要提醒得他不露痕迹。不要让人家知道他忘了对白你在提醒他。这样对他的影响不好。

那么到了片场里头导演永远是最大的，我认为。导演就是一个场的一个主人。他说什么我都要服从。哪怕他是一个新导演，我也要尊敬他。这样合作起来，大家才会愉快。我不喜欢耍大牌，我也没有什么地方值得耍的。但是我觉得大家沟通多一点，就合作起来会比较愉快一点。

《可凡倾听》追记永远的开心果--沈殿霞

别了，墨尔本

2008-03-01T13:23:00.005+11:00

昨天晚上，在花了几个小时观赏一些沈殿霞生前与女儿郑欣宜温馨感人的访问和节目之后，我终于找到心中的那一盏灯了。

没错，逗留在墨尔本对我将来的职业生涯会有很大的帮助。除此以外，离开家里远一些可以为我省下许多麻烦。最起码，父亲不会整天给我打电话，盘问母亲的最新位置，生活习惯等等。

不过，我真的不想让这名句里所描述的万般无奈发生在我身上。

树欲静而风不止，子欲养而亲不在

当选择权还在我手中时，我希望可以好好把握上天对自己的厚爱，多陪伴已经步入晚年的父母。我不敢奢望他们已经破裂的婚姻会出现转机，只期盼他们身体健康，快乐度日。

母女连心

2008-02-29T20:17:00.001+11:00

連心曲/詞：劉家昌

女：你站在我後面支撐我更勇敢

我能超越大海我能跨過高山

男：我站在你後面我陪在你身邊

當你遇到任何困難我會與你分擔

女：你給我的溫暖讓我走出暗淡

這份真摯情感深到海底遠過天邊

男：我就在你身邊一切為你承擔

我們倆的心手相連共渡年復一年

合：真愛永不改變不能缺少一半

一步一個腳印腳印疊在一起

一直走到永遠

心中的那一盏灯

2008-02-29T10:12:00.004+11:00

为期四年的大学课程转眼间就要结束，我却迟迟未能下决心毕业后继续都留在墨尔本，还是衣锦回乡。徘徊在十字路口已久，仍然无法在两者之间做个取舍。

Treat the Nose In Return for a Better Lung

2008-02-26T01:30:00.004+11:00

Discovered a great resource for health-related podcast today while browsing the web looking for information about asthma medications. In this podcast produced by the Rural Health Education Foundation, a panel of health professionals talks about the importance of treating allergic rhinitis in the management of asthma.

甜、酸、苦、辣、咸 - 五味参杂

2008-02-22T19:25:00.002+11:00

过去的三个星期，我经历了人生相当难熬的一段时间。快速的心情转变使我感觉有点透不过气来。一开始时觉得自己虽然对医药方面的认识还有待加强，但只要肯努力虚心学习，一定可以过关斩将，突破重围。后来方知道，这种想法非常幼稚。工作的地方，不是一个学习天堂。一开始，你就必须利用平时所学的知识和技巧来解决问题。“养兵千日，用兵一时”，里所描述的正是这个道理。

此刻，我的心情有点复杂。欣慰的是，这有点疯狂的医院实习已经结束；难过的是，可能再也没有机会再遇见那个非常友善的她。最坏的显然已经成为过去，美好的也会随着时间消失。

所谓的人生，有甜、有酸、有苦、有辣、当然也有咸。五味参杂。

The Wind of Change

2008-02-18T23:38:00.003+11:00

As we change, so will our circumstances.

My 2nd Powerpoint Presentation

2008-02-18T20:00:00.004+11:00

This was my 2nd powerpoint presentation, using the same layout and color scheme as my first. During lunch break, a few people came up and told me that my presentation (mainly the slides) was great. But what I would like to know at that time was whether or not they understood what I was presenting - digoxin toxicity. Fortunately, they did. It was very rewarding to hear comments like that.

幻想

2008-02-17T22:01:00.004+11:00

那是一个短暂的美丽，却不经意地留下无限美好的回忆.

宁静

2007-12-30T00:04:00.000+11:00

我必须学习如何在一片喧哗中保持身心宁静。

Gifts Bought With My First Wage

2007-12-23T10:04:00.000+11:00

Long before receiving my first ever wage earned via participating in the summer research project, I've decided to use it to buy gifts for people I care the most.

First, I had to buy gifts for 3 men in our family, my dad, my brother and my uncle. Buying gifts for men can be a real pain. There aren't many option to toss around. Wallet, belt, gadget, or stationary. Thats about all. After shopping around, I stumbled into a stationary shop and immediately fall in love with what I have seen. Pens! So at the end, I bought two ball pens, one of each of "my dad".

The picture shown above is a Cross ball pen with my uncle's name engraved on it. To be perfectly honest, thats the gift I care most. Likewise, it goes without saying that my uncle is the single most person I love and care most. Put it simply, he is an amazing person. He cares about others from the bottom of his heart.

For my father, I have bought a Lamy pocket pen. Its a very small and elegant looking ball pen with his name engraved on it too. Having said that, I don't expect him to use that pen. It seems that he never care about presents we bought for him. A pen bought a couple of years ago for his birthday still sits inside the wrap. A watch me and my brother selected for him during last summer is on display in my brother's room. I am not him, so I have no idea why on earth would a father do that to his children. But anyway, I bought one for him, just in case he feel insulted not having a present.

Then there is my brother. For him, I have bought 2 calendars. One Dilbert Comic table calendar and one DIY wall calendar from Kikki. With the DIY wall calendar, I have carefully selected 12 quotations and tried my best to draw some pictures on them. Hopefully he will like them.

As for my mom, I haven't buy any special gift for her. My plan is to be a good girl during this summer holiday when I am back at home, and help her to sort out her iPod. Being a good girl to my mom is very challenging. We have never been close to each other, and never will. Having said that, she is my mom and neither will that be changed either.

A Right Decision

2007-12-21T19:26:00.001+11:00

Today mark the end of my vacation scholarship project at the Austin. During the six-week period, I have had time when I'd spend half of the morning wondering why did I stay back alone here at Melbourne when all the others are back at home spending their summer holidays with their family. Having said that, most of the other days, I'd wake up simply being excited about working in a hospital.

During the six-week project, I have discovered another new interest. Geriatrics! It is amazing to look at just how many tablets elderly patients have to take in a day. Paracetamol, coloxyl and senna, ostelin, caltrate, frusemide, atorvastatin, aspirin etc, just to name a few on top of my head. Besides, I have learned a couple of neat tricks too.

- Always group medications and tell patients:"Take these medications in the morning. These two before breakfast, the rest after breakfast."

- When generating a Medilist, try to group medications according to their indications. For example, beta-blocker and statin one after another. PRN medications last. Write down medications that has been stopped too!

There is still a long way to go, but I am one step closer to my dream. I haven't forgotten why I took pharmacy despite knowing that it will be a very tough course, especially for someone like me who has a poor memory.

Yet, it is equally possible that I will end up giving up the dream and join my brother in his business adventure. No matter which field I ended up working, I will work hard and give my best shot. I really want to be good at what I am doing. Thats all I am aiming for.

The Best Summer So Far

2007-12-18T23:05:00.000+11:00

I could hardly remember who were the audience of my presentation. Vaguely, there were a couple of professors and lecturers. Also present were three other students, each participating in different summer research projects.

Most of the time, I was looking at one of the lecturer only. Perhaps because she was the only one constantly looking at me while I talked? The rest were busy concentrating on the information I have presented on the slide? Anyway, eye contact is one of the many areas that could be improved in my future presentation.

I was nervous, and that is normal. But it wasn't as bad as the first presentation I gave to the pharmacy department the day before this. Practice makes perfect!

This is by far the best summer I have had so far despite the fact that I had to stay back when my friends and cousins are all back in Malaysia already. A wonderful experience that comes with fewer pain than I'd expected.

Danger of Marriage

2007-12-11T21:36:00.000+11:00

Its quite an interesting comment made by my supervisor today at the hospital.

It is always dangerous to marry one who hasn't had the experience of living alone away from the family.

We were taking about wives ironing shirts for their husbands. And I have just realised that in fact most guys here iron their own shirts! That wouldn't happen in an Asian family, mainly due to the way Asian guys were brought up. They get spoon fed just about everything. Guys in my family are the classic example.

认命的木偶

2007-12-10T19:32:00.000+11:00

Whats next?

2007-12-08T18:40:00.000+11:00

These days, being rich is also considered as haram. Whats next?

No wonder we top the headline in the TIME.

Learn by Doing

2007-12-07T20:53:00.000+11:00

This is a bad negotiation, and I made myself sound like an idiot.

Lesson of the story - anticipate questions that the other party is likely to ask, and prepare good answers in advance.

Presenting to Win

2007-12-03T22:29:00.000+11:00

Spent the whole weekend reading Jerry Weissman's Presenting to Win. A great book looking at how we can deliver power presentations. I plan to incorporate principles discussed in the book into practice with the upcoming presentation on a research project.

| View | Upload your own

The presentation above won the contest held a while ago. Can be used as a source of inspiration. Who is to say research projects have to be dry and boring?

Bunch of Idiots

2007-11-30T23:21:00.000+11:00

Web browsing has become virtually impossible these days with the internet connection down to 64-128 kps. Couldn't help thinking how ignorant people can be. Bunch of idiots.

Had to get them off my chest after seeing yet another "problem loading page" error message.

陌生与未知，恐惧的来源

2007-11-25T23:47:00.000+11:00

你永遠可以選擇，你要是一場華麗的冒險，還是一趟安靜的旅行。

旅行如此，生命如此。

你的心會告訴你，何必需要別人的建議呢？

陶淵明的《桃花源記》可沒告訴你，只要過了山洞，一定可以柳暗花明。

保羅‧柯爾賀的《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》也不能保證你真信心追求夢想，一定可以實踐。

一路天真的信任，我可能全輸，但人生到底怎樣才算贏？

Live NOT Merely Exist

2007-11-22T23:08:00.000+11:00

受用一生的八句话

2007-11-09T19:46:00.000+11:00

1.「傻瓜繳學費學習，聰明人以傻瓜繳的學費學習」-- 巴西諺語

有一個楞頭楞腦的流浪漢，常常在市場裡走動，許多人很喜歡開他的玩笑，並且用不同的方法捉弄他。其中有一個大家最常用的方法。

就是在手掌上放一個五元和十元的硬幣，由他來挑選，而他每次都選擇五元的硬幣。

大家看他傻乎乎的，連五元和十元都分不清楚，都捧腹大笑。每次看他經過，都一再的以這個手法來取笑他。

過了一段時間，一個有愛心的老婦人，就忍不住問他：「你真的連五元和十元都分不出來嗎?」

流浪漢露出狡黠的笑容說：「如果我拿十元，他們下次就不會讓我挑選了。」

默想～
當人自以為聰明時，其實正顯出愚昧和無知。讓我們多以柔和謙卑的態度與人相處，那才真正是智者的作為。

２ .「多數人的失敗不是因為他們的無能，而是他的心志不專一。」 ----吉魯德

有一個外科醫生告訴學生：「當個外科醫生，需要二項重要的能力：第一、不會反胃，第二、觀察力要強。」

接著，他伸出一隻手指，沾入一碟看來令人作嘔的液體中，然後張口舔舔手指。

他要全班學生照著做，他們只好硬起頭皮照做一遍。醫生頷首一笑說：「各位，恭喜你們通過了第一關測驗。不幸的是，第二關你們都沒通過，因為你們沒注意到我舔的手指頭，不是我探入碟中的那根手指。」

默想～
你有沒有仔細而認真的觀察，現在從事的工作是否有不佳之處？及時調整，永遠不晚。一個認真的人也必是一個智慧的人。

３ .「不要害怕你的生命會結束，而要害怕它從未開始。」 ----格雷斯‧漢森

有一個人搭船到英國，途中遇到暴風，全船的人驚慌失措，他看到一個老太太非常平靜的在禱告，神情十分的安詳。

等到風浪過去，全船脫離了險境，這人很好奇的問這老太太，為什麼一點都不害怕。

老太太回答：「我有兩個女兒，大女兒叫馬大，已經被上帝接走，回到天國家，二女兒叫馬利亞住在英國。

剛才風浪大作時，我就向上帝禱告，如果接我回天家，我就去看大女兒，如果留我性命，我就去看二女兒，不管去那裡我都一樣，所以我怎麼會害怕呢？」

默想～
無論是甚麼樣的遭遇任何事，總不致懼怕。把命運交託上蒼，充實而用心的過好每一天。

４ .「沒有烏雲，沒有暴風雨，便沒有美麗的彩虹。」---- 芬生

有一朵看似弱不禁風的小花，生長在一棵高聳的大松樹下。

小花非常慶幸有大松樹成為她的保護，為它擋風擋雨，每天可以高枕無憂。有一天，突然來了一群伐木工人，兩三下的功夫，就把大樹整個鋸了下來。

小花非常傷心，痛哭道：「天啊！我所有的保護都失去了；從此那些囂張的狂風會把我吹倒，滂沱的大雨會把我打倒！」

遠處的另一棵樹安慰她說：「不要這麼想，剛好相反，少了大樹的阻擋，陽光會照耀妳、甘霖會滋潤妳；妳弱小的身軀將長得更茁壯，妳盛開的花辦將一一呈現在燦爛的日光下。人們會看到妳，並且稱讚妳說，這朵可愛的小花長得真美麗啊！」

默想～
當失去了一些以為可以長久依靠的東西，自然會有難過及割捨的痛苦，但其中卻隱藏
著無限的祝福和機會。

日後回首時，你才驚訝自己成長的痕跡，是那麼清晰明顯，甚至是令人滿心喜悅的。

５ .沒有失敗，只有暫時停止成功。

如果你已經為人父母，當你的孩子正在學習走路時，你會給他幾次機會？你會在他跌倒十次之後，讓他改坐輪椅嗎？

還是只給他二十次學走的機會，若學不會走路就要他放棄？或者當你身邊有五十個人叫囂著勸你放棄，你就決定讓他坐輪椅呢？

我想你的答案是：不會。

的確，當我問每一位父母，會給你的孩子幾次機會呢？他們都說：我會給他無數次機會，直到他站起來，學會走路為止！

是的，一直堅持到底者，最終都會站起來。

為什麼許多父母只給孩子一次聯考的機會？為什麼常用失望的口氣告訴孩子不適合某種行業，要求他轉行呢？

而許多人竟也因為沒有堅定的信念，一遇挫折就認為自己能力不足，因此放棄了他們的理想。其實，凡事沒有失敗，只有暫時停止成功。

６ .上帝的延遲並不是上帝的拒絕。

有一個人，他在二十一歲時，做生意失敗。
二十二歲時，角逐州議員落選。
二十四歲時，做生意再度失政。
二十六歲時，愛侶去世。二十七歲時，一度精神崩潰。
三十四歲時，角逐聯邦眾議員落選。
三十六歲時，角逐聯邦眾議員再度落選。四十五歲時，角逐聯邦參議員落選。
四十七歲時，提名副總統落選。四十九歲時，角逐聯邦參議員再度落選。
五十二歲時，當選美國第十六任總統。

這個人就是林肯，因為他堅信上帝的延遲，並不是上帝的拒絕，因此能屢仆屢起，最終成就不凡。

７ .重要的不是發生了什麼事，而是要做那些事來改善它。

佛家說逆境是「增上緣」，可遇而不可求。遇到困難時，重要的不是發生了什麼事，而是你即將用什麼態度來面對，做些什麼事來改善它。

８ .我對我的生命完全負責。

成功者對事情百分之百負責，負責的定義是永遠握有主控權，如果不能主控生命，很可能一生隨波逐流。

對生命負全責者，他為自己而活，並學習替別人著想。把心化為水，以身為容器，反映世界的影子，我在影子中找尋自己的價值.......

Born Unequal

2007-11-08T22:26:00.000+11:00

We were discussing about supplementary exam in a train heading towards the city. At that time, I didn't know that even if a person get 99% of his/her answer correct in a supplementary paper, the score will always be 50% max. It makes sense to have a rule like this so that people do not take advantage of it and pretend to have failed a paper in order to get better grade later.

Then one of my friend utter:" Its not fair isn't it? For those who get 50% for the first time, their score will be exactly the same as those who failed but only pass after being given a second chance."

At that time, I couldn't stop myself but to tell her that in reality, nothing can be made equal. Realising that it is a very general statement, and perhaps a bias one given my bitter experience fighting for status equality, I quickly added that it is my belief that we are not born equal.

Some are born gifted while the others fair. Thousands were gone before they even get a glimpse of how beautiful the world is. Millions are born in a place where resources are so scarce that children suffer and die from diseases that could have been prevented had they been born in the place we both stood.

Why bother fighting for something not even the GOD can offer? We are born unequal. A lesson I have learned only after 15 odd years of constant fighting against status equality. Had I not fight, will I be able to further my studies at overseas? Perhaps not. Now that I am in a better position than others, I want to make good use of every opportunity lay ahead to be a better person, and to help those left unattended.

Hate & Love

2007-11-08T00:43:00.001+11:00

For the 2nd consecutive year, I simply hate having to sit for exam after my cousins have finished their. They are absolutely inconsiderate, and selfish like no others.

They talk loudly as if the person on the other end of the receiver has some sort of hearing difficulty. When will I have the chance to do the same to them? To disrupt their revisions, and to act as if I am the only person in the whole universe?

Then again, when the opportunity arises, I am sure I will let it slip through my finger tip again. Why bother to behave like them, people I dislike intensely. Whats the good in revenge?

The Day I Meet An Angle

2007-11-05T15:08:00.000+11:00

I had my practical exam today and was intrigued to see an angle. She was young and pretty, but most important of all, she was very generous.

I had the pleasure of picking her as my patient, and she played the role play so well that I think she must be the best tutor I have ever had for the past 3 years.

Guess what happen after I finished interviewing her? She actually asked me what do I think the condition was. When I told her that it should be allergic rhinitis, she correctly my slip. The answer should be allergic conjunctivitis! Despite knowing this clearly in my head, had she didn't remind me, I think the person marking my exam paper will have a good laugh seeing me recommending eye drops for a nasal problem.

Towards the end, I ran out of paper. After collecting extra sheets from her, she even placed extra sheets on top of my bench few minutes later, thinking perhaps I might run out of paper again soon.

I didn't have the chance to ask for her name or to thank her at the end of the exam. Better say it here than none. Thank you for making my day.

The Short Road

2007-11-04T18:40:00.000+11:00

A professor stood before his class of twenty senior
organic biology students about to hand out the final
exam.

"I want to say that it's been a pleasure teaching you this
semester. I know you've all worked extremely hard and
many of you are off to medical school after summer. So
that no one gets their GPA messed up because they might have
been celebrating a bit too much this week, anyone who would
like to opt out of the final exam today will receive a 'B' for the
course."

There was much rejoicing in the class as students got up,
walked to the front of the class, and took the professor up on his
offer. As the last taker left the room, the professor looked
out over the handful of remaining students and asked,
"Anyone else? This is your last chance."

One final student rose up and opted out of the final.

The professor closed the door and took attendance of those
students remaining.

"I'm glad to see you believe in yourself," he said.

"You all get 'A's."

How many have taken the easy way out?

The short road, the easy path, the light load...

文明 VS 肉體暴露的性感

2007-11-03T09:03:00.000+11:00

前幾天，我在韓國聽當地女導遊說，以前韓國男女非常不平等，一旦兩者之間發生了甚麼事情，錯的肯定是女人。丈夫有了外遇，錯不在丈夫，而是妻子。即使鬧至離婚，社會也不責怪丈夫，而是把矛頭指向妻子─為何就不能忍耐一些，寬容一點？

不過導遊說，那是過去的事，現在韓國普遍上沒甚麼人持這種態度了。

週五凌晨回到大馬，閱讀這幾天錯過的新聞，發現在韓國近乎絕跡的觀念與態度，在大馬卻仍有一定市場。

吉蘭丹州務大臣聶阿茲表示，越來越多女性在公眾場合穿著性感，干擾了大馬回教徒的思維，令他們晚上難以入睡，也無法專心祈禱。對他而言，這是一種精神虐待。對我來說，這是一種顛倒是非、混淆黑白、指鹿為馬的謬論。

而類似的謬論並不是第一次出現。這種把睡不著、無法專心祈禱的問題，歸咎於女性，與之前的強姦案都是由於女性穿著性感引起等言論如出一轍。

如果聶阿茲的言論是對的，那麼世界上最多“熊貓”的國家，就是美國而不是中國了，因為美國許多女性穿著清涼，當地男人肯定嚴重失眠，黑眼圈浮現變成熊貓。

然而，結果呢？

如果聶阿茲的言論是對的，那麼阿拉伯國家應該是領先全球的先進國，因為當地女性穿著保守密實，男人不會受影響而分心，可以專心一志在各領域進行研究；而歐美等國當然就應該是最落後的國家，因為他們的女性穿著較為性感，男人容易分心，一旦分心就不能在各種領域上取得好成績。

然而，結果呢？

再把畫面拉到幾天前的韓國，我們一行數名記者與女導遊談到了女人性感的問題。來自香港的資深記者說，女人在煙蒂上留下的唇印，最為性感；另一名女記者表示，女人做飯的神情是最性感的；女導遊說，不論男女他們認真做事的樣子就是性感。另外，據悉，香港某一著名作家認為女性的腳後跟才是最性感的。

我如此詮釋上述談話：當大馬的男人仍把女性是否露出乳溝、裙子到底有多短、有沒有露出小蠻腰等當做性感的標准，並對此存有極大遐想，難以自制之際，在另一些國家那裡，性感已不再是純粹的肉體暴露；不是說，穿得少就是性感，或者穿得少就會令男人衝動難抑。他們的是文明的性感，而我們還停留在肉體暴露的性感。

我想，這在某種程度上解釋了我們在發展上與香港、韓國，甚至歐美等國的距離。畢竟，在一個男人會為了一道乳溝而睡不著的國度裡，我們不能期待太多。

星洲日報/6日譚•作者：張慶祿 - 都是性感惹的禍？

Rushing Through Exam Questions

2007-11-01T21:08:00.000+11:00

Its half way through the exam, and I have only 3 papers left to mark an end to my 2nd last schooling year. Most people reckon schooling life is one of the most enjoyable period of their life, and they wished it could last forever. Just as those in the workforce willing to give in everything and go back to school, we students want to get out of studies and exam as soon as we could.

Come to think of it, there is one thing I am not particularly comfortable with, yet it seem to slip through my mind once I am in the exam hall. So far, I have used a lot of graphs, arrows, and equation in my answer sheets, and that is a worrying sign.

I had allowed myself to rush through questions after questions, wrote down as much as I could, not knowing whether the examiner can actually understand what I was trying to illustrate with those graphs, messy equations, flying arrows and signs. Worst of all, I hadn't able to read each questions carefully, and think about what answers they are looking for.

Is this because time have become so limited that I can no longer read the questions twice before picking up my pen and start writing? Or has it become a terrible habit?

For the coming papers, I shall start the habit of reading through questions carefully again. Today, Dr. Osama wanted us to describe the mechanism involving FMN & NAD. I drew him the whole mechanism of actions, without a single sentence that describe what happen to FMN & NAD. If I do poorly in the exam because I didn't write them down in proper sentences...

Obsess VS Carefree

2007-10-31T00:22:00.000+11:00

Personally, I believe that the ability to strike a balance between obsess and carefree is essential. Being too obsessed with something narrows a person's horizon, while being too carefree will get a person to no where near his/her goal (if there is one).

Obsess: strong belief that something has to happen. They become depressed when things went the other way.

Carefree: the mentality of following the flow. They do not care much about what will happen next.

我们可以坚持己见，但绝对不能执著，故步自封！

One Moment In Time - Whitney Houston

2007-10-29T09:46:00.000+11:00

Each day I live
I want to be
A day to give
The best of me
I'm only one
But not alone
My finest day
Is yet unknown

I broke my heart
Fought every gain
To taste the sweet
I face the pain
I rise and fall
Yet through it all
This much remains

I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity

I've lived to be
The very best
I want it all
No time for less
I've laid the plans
Now lay the chance
Here in my hands

Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity

You're a winner for a lifetime
If you seize that one moment in time
Make it shine

Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will be
I will be
I will be free
I will be
I will be free

从生活中学习

2007-10-24T18:18:00.000+10:00

因为早有准备今天早晨将被单和床褥都洗干净，因此昨天晚上睡前特别请不到三点不起床的表妹将烘干机里的衣物取出。结果今天早上往烘干机里一探，里面还满满的。

这时，心里一把怒火直往上冲。“既然善忘，就因该马上把该做的事情办理好，或将它们记在纸上然后放在明显的地方！” 小时候，母亲老是这样对我大声训示。长大后的我，这时方真正了解母亲当时的懊恼。

就在这时候，师公上人的一席话突然浮现于脑海里。

做一个能包容的人，不要做一个被包容的人。

想到这一席话，我的怒火便开始往下降。恢复理性的我，用自我安慰的方式对自己说：“ 没关系，当作是她给我机会让被单和床褥在泡沫里浸一段时间，进行杀菌。” 想到这里，我的心情已经恢复平静，可以继续温习功课，准备明天的考试。

不禁自我窃喜，觉得我在人生这一段路上又学会了一个待人处事的技巧。感恩师公！

Quality Use of Medicines

2007-10-23T18:06:00.000+10:00

My day was saved by NPS again! After endless struggles with my Rheumatoid Arthritis lecture notes, confused with which DMARD to use as 1st line under what conditions, I have found the perfect solution - NPS News 48: Helping Patients Achieve Remission of RA.

Thanks to all wonderful people behind the NPS.

A Fitting End of a Drought

2007-10-22T10:53:00.000+10:00

At the end, the championship standing was breathtakingly close.

Kimi Raikonnen 110
Lewis Hamilton 109
Fernando Alonso 109

This year, hardly a race went by without speculations about the 2 Mclaren drivers deteriorating relationship, Mclaren's possession of Ferrari's confidential documents, Mclaren's 100 million fine, and a lot more. Luckily, we had a championship battle that was close enough to match the distraction.

At the end, it was Kimi won the driver championship just one point ahead of the 2 Mclaren duo.I can imagine Fernando Alonso saying this to hiimself:" See I told you Ron! There is no such thing as being fair and still get the job done." But whatever happen, he will have to accept that his reputation has been tainted. I wasn't a fan of Fernando even the years when he brilliantly won Renault 2 championship, it is even less now that all these happened.

Congratulations Kimi! An end of the drought after 2 near misses.

铁娘子也有退休的一天

2007-10-21T23:42:00.000+10:00

中国副总理 - 吴仪

For the past decade, when Chinese leaders had a mission of national importance, they gave it to one woman.

An opening sentence that sum it all.

A Hi and Bye Friend

2007-10-15T09:35:00.000+10:00

Crush? Humn, I am not sure. I don't know him well, should have said don't know him at all. Just a Hi & Bye friend. Suffice to say that he love to read, self-composed, enjoy exploring new things and step out of comfortable zone.

I wish we could have had certain practicals or projects together. There wasn't any opportunity to get to know him better. Additionally, he stays at a place where most of my college friends stay, just not me.

The Phantom of the Opera

2007-10-11T00:08:00.000+10:00

The Phantom of the Opera definitely a fitting choice for my first ever trip to a theater. The music were nostalgic, and the show was simply fascinating.

We sat at the top balcony, one row behind the front row. Pretty good view, we were able to catch every scene of the show, whether its "the Phantom" right at the top of the roof, or Christie on the stage.

My ticket was paid by my good friend, as my birthday present. Thanks, YZ. It was indeed a precious experience.

Kids Nowadays, Library These Days

2007-10-09T18:36:00.000+10:00

Due to renovation, the library has been temporary relocated to building next door. These days, it is impossible to study at uni, library has become a social place for those who couldn't find a blank spot in the cafe.

I hate being forced to stay there because of one reference book produced back in 1986 (I was a toddler back then!) which is not for loan. Bla.

Sebastian Vettel, My Next Hero!

2007-10-08T06:01:00.001+10:00

Two years younger than me and he is already a well known figure inside F1 paddock. Amazing!

P4 in a Toro Rosso, after being given a 5 place penalty during qualifying. A new king of wet races? Probably, but definitely a new star in my book.

Congratulations, and keep this up Sebastian!

A Pack of Tenormin Please

2007-10-07T11:10:00.000+10:00

The tension starts to build up a bit, and I couldn't seem to discard the feeling of tightness coming from inner skull.

Relax, relax. Anxiety is normal, it only becomes a problem when you cannot get rid of it despite realising its presence.

Have to sit for 6 papers in about 2 weeks time. A beta-blocker would be good? Not sure if it helps, I don't have a running heart.

Individual Health Care Insurance VS Universal Health Care Services

2007-10-05T20:28:00.001+10:00

It was a terrific 2 hour movie, and I had a couple of good laugh too, which is a pretty rare thing.

My home country - Malaysia, adopts a universal health care policy too. We can get medical treatments at the hospital for free and receive medications for RM 1 from public hospitals. However, the number of complaints we have had with regard to wrong kidney being pulled out, infant deaths as a result of lack of experience of the interns and a lot more makes visiting the public hospitals a nightmare for many.

Unlike here in Australia where public hospitals are the pioneer of medical services, the private hospitals in Malaysia are the one doing a better job. In the end, despite having a universal health care policy, those who can afford the premium still take up private health insurance.

My father used to say: "You can't live without a health insurance. It is the single most important thing that you should be spending your money on." Indeed. In a public hospital, you will have to pay deposit upfront during admission. No money no talk!

Only Time - Enya

2007-10-04T14:47:00.000+10:00

Who can say where the road goes,
Where the day flows, only time?
And who can say if your love grows,
As your hearth chose, only time?

Who can say why your heart sights,
As your live flies, only time?
And who can say why your heart cries
when your love lies, only time?

Who can say when the roads meet,
That love might be ,in your heart?
and who can say when the day sleeps,
and the night keeps all your heart?
Night keeps all your heart.....

Who can say if your love groves,
As your heart chose, only time?
And who can say where the road goes
Where the day flows, only time?

Who knows? Only time
Who knows? Only time

How We Can Make Her Feel Better

2007-10-04T12:25:00.000+10:00

The guilt first surface when I had the Cardiomyopathies lecture. As I revise the notes for the upcoming exam, the scene of my grandmother lying flat on a bed strikes me again.

Heart failure and periphery oedema! How we could've made her feel better at the end stage of her life had I have this lecture back in last year. All we had to do is adding more pillows to help draining fluid accumulated in her lung.

It is all too late now, but it highlights how important my 4 year studies are and will be. They are knowledge, and knowledge are power no matter if we end up practising it as a profession or not.

Follow Your Heart

2007-10-02T18:55:00.000+10:00

I questioned the path others suggested, defended my viewpoint on the associated risk. It would be stupid not to follow my heart and my passion.

It is easier to follow a smooth path, but no matter where I end ed up working, I will always think about the opportunity I had to do something different with someone I've grown up fighting against for equal treatment, someone I looked up to. Sasuke vs Itachi if you like.

Cruz, Co-President of Morgan Stanley counsels young people not to plan their careers. "When you don't plan, things are easier," she says. "You focus on doing a great job."

It doesn't matter which profession I am in, I want to do my best. Thats all.

One of the Best Book I've Read

2007-09-29T15:21:00.001+10:00

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, undeniable.