...something beautiful

pastiku bisa - sheila on 7

2012-01-18T23:28:00.001Z

lihat apa yang terjadi dengan semua rencanaku
hancur semua berantakan
dia berjalan keluar dari lingkaran hidupku
bebas ku lepaskan dia, aku pun mulai berdendang

reff:
pasti ku bisa melanjutkannya
pasti ku bisa menerima dan melanjutkannya
pasti ku bisa menyembuhkannya
cepat bangkit dan berpikir semua tak berakhir di sini

meresapkan pandanganmu penuh cerita dan luka
memang begitulah semua
jangan pernah kau menunggu keajaiban dunia
bukalah satu tujuan

pasti kau bisa melanjutkannya
pasti kau bisa menerima dan melanjutkannya
oh pasti kau bisa menyembuhkannya
cepat bangkit dan berpikir semua tak berakhir di sini

AELB not adhering to IAEA recommendations on Lynas

2012-01-12T13:55:00.002Z

AELB not adhering to IAEA recommendations on Lynas
SM Mohamed Idris
5:57PM Jan 12, 2012

The manner in which Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) and Lynas Corporation are conducting public disclosures makes a mockery of international best practices, safety standards and the various International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommendations which the government and Lynas have pledged they will honour.

Among IAEA recommendations relevant to public disclosure are:

Lynas should intensify its communication with interested and affected parties in order to demonstrate how it will ensure the radiological safety of the public and the environment.
AELB should intensify its activities regarding public information and public involvement.
These recommendations are an implicit acknowledgment by the IAEA that Lynas and AELB have all along operated in a non-transparent and unacceptable manner.

Both entities have to improve their policies on public disclosure and consultation with the rakyat.

On 2nd January, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) announced that the Malaysia Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) would display Lynas' application for a temporary operating licence (TOL) for public feedback for barely 11 working days at several locations - AELB headquarters in Dengkil, Selangor; the Pahang State Secretariat, Kuantan; AELB's site office at Lynas, Gebeng; and AELB's east coast branch office Kemaman, Terengganu.

Those who want to read the document have to submit a form provided at the locations before noon on Jan 20th.

These restricted locations and the process requirements are impediments to the public who want to view the document. The restrictions including the AELB form requirement is also tantamount to public intiMidation.

In comparison, the Department of Environment (DOE) allocates a much longer review period without any requirement to fill up a form beforehand.

The DOE allocates five weeks for a review of a Preliminary EIA (PEIA) report and 12 weeks for review of a Detailed EIA (DEIA) report.

For example, the DEIA Report for the Proposed Hydroelectric Project Hulu Terengganu by Tenaga Nasional Berhad was on public display from 30 Sept-31 Oct 2008 at several locations and at all state offices of the DOE and the written comments must be submitted by 13 Nov 2008.

The Executive Summary of the DEIA was also available online on the DOE website. The DEIA could even be purchased from a clearly indicated address.

There was no requirement for members of the public who wanted to review the DEIA to fill up a form, as is currently required by the AELB).

It is important to note that the DOE EIA Review process is clearly explained in DOE documents such as its widely published EIA guidelines, handbooks and also on the DOE official website, including details of the composition of the review panel etc.

In stark contrast, the AELB seems to be an ad hoc, non-transparent, non-independent and much hurried process which has clearly led to unfair and unprofessional practices.

This indicates that the AELB has poor governance and has not fulfilled the recommendations made by the IAEA report to significantly improve AELB, inter alia, AELB technical skills and capacity as well as independence in order for AELB to handle regulation of industries such as Lynas.

Other impediments include, inter alia, members of the public who made time to view Lynas' application were given one hour to read the 300-400 page technical document, and barred from carrying cameras, handphones and video cameras when inspecting the document.

Some members of the public were escorted to the AELB office by Lynas staff, once again indicating that AELB is not independent.

This also reveals the utter disregard and contempt the authorities, including the AELB, have for public accountability and transparency.

The level and quality of engagement and consultation with the rakyat have been woefully inadequate. The project was hurriedly approved in 2008, without public consultation; a series of public discussions that had been planned were abruptly cancelled after only two sessions.

The MB of Pahang refused to meet and hold talks with groups who opposed the project and called them irrational.

By not adhering to a credible process of public review as recommended by IAEA, the AELB should reject the Lynas project application for a temporary or permanent operating licence.

IAEA general safety guidelines

According to the IAEA's general safety guides (GSG) on radioactive waste classification (GSG-1), the radioactivity level of Lynas' WLP solid waste which is reportedly at 6.2 Bq/g, is categorised as low level (radioactive) waste.

The IAEA GSG-1 states that wastes in this class requires robust isolation and containment for periods of up to 300 years and is suitable for disposal in engineered near surface facilities. The typical safe storage depth is from the surface down to 30 metres.

According to Dr Lee Chee Hong in his comments (August 2011) on the IAEA Report, if the classification of Radioactive Wastes Safety Guide (GSG-1) was to be enforced for the WLP residue, then the RSF (Residue Storage Facilities) disposal method proposed by Lynas would be violating the IAEA standards.

Thus, a temporary operating licence (TOL) for Lynas would be contrary to the IAEA standards, safety guidelines and its specific recommendations on how AELB and the Malaysian government should be managing Lynas.

TOL under Act 304 does not fulfill IAEA recommendations

The temporary operation licence (TOL) is a stipulation of the Malaysian Radiation Protection (Licensing) Regulations 1986 of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304) - the main law governing radiation protection.

However, Act 304 and its subsidiary regulations are sadly lagging behind international standards.

Act 304 is very general in nature and woefully inadequate to handle rare earth processing plants especially the regulation of the safety aspects of the rare earth process, the radioactive waste disposal and storage, clearance threshold, radiation leakage, and health and safety damages caused by radioactive elements.

Act 304 does not even regulate NORM (naturally occurring radioactive materials) and TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials). More significantly, the Act invests wide ranging discretionary powers to the AELB and the minister.

Thus, as far as the archaic Act 304 is concerned, theoretically, industries such as Lynas are potentially allowed to accumulate and dispose the water leach purification (WLP) radioactive solid waste residue on site if they obtained a written authorisation (e.g. TOL) from AELB.

This is one way that Lynas can bypass the permanent waste storage impasse.

Given that the licensing and approval process hinges on the safe disposal and storage of radioactive wastes, it appears that Lynas has failed to come up with a credible solution to meet the conditions set out by the IAEA review.

This is attested by the fact that Lynas has made five submissions (officially three) which were all rejected and the current one on display is the 6th revised version (officially the 4th).

According to Lynas Malaysia managing director Ahmad Marshal in a media event in December, the plan is to process the wastes into, among others, fertilisers and gypsum boards for sale.

Under the current Act 304 and its subsidiary regulations that do not set disposal limits or the method of safe disposal and storage of radioactive wastes, what Lynas proposed could be done albeit with potential future consequences.

It is left to the incompetent AELB alone to decide the exemption limits and methods for safe disposal and storage.

However, the TOL and its consequences would be contrary to IAEA standards, guidelines (e.g. the GSG-1) and specific recommendations for AELB and Lynas. IAEA recommendations have called for AELB to improve its human, financial and technical resources, competence and independence before it is deemed fit to regulate Lynas.

To date there is no evidence that the Malaysian government and AELB have adhered to the IAEA recommendations. Currently, AELB cannot and is incapable of regulating Lynas and similar industries.

TOL is against precautionary principle

A temporary licence for activities generating radioactive wastes does not make sense neither is it based on international best practices principles - as once the wastes is produced, it is there.

This is also not in keeping with the Precautionary Principle that Malaysia has agreed to in many environmental agreements and guidelines.

The Precautionary Principle states that in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on the proponent. The principle promotes social responsibility to protect the public from harm.

As well the Malaysian authorities have failed to observe international best practices and legal principles other than the Precautionary Principle e.g. the Local Agenda 21 on sustainable development; public consultation and participation and the principle of prior informed consent; and public accountability and transparency.

AELB Independence: Ministry responsible is Miti or Mosti?

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) indicated that AELB will meet on 30 January to decide on Lynas' TOL application.

It is highly perturbing that Miti continues to overstep its jurisdiction by yet again overtaking the role of MostI/AELB in the Lynas regulation process.

When the PEIA and RIA were made available to the public as a result of public pressure, there were serious doubts on the whole approval procedure and due diligence process.

In fact, the poor governance made the credibility of the regulatory process doubtful.

The regulatory authorities revealed that they were incapable of safely monitoring the Lynas operation, the radioactive wastes storage, disposal and decommissioning process in the future.

To compound the problem further, Miti overstepped its jurisdiction and became the self-appointed spokesman endorsing the safety of Lynas's plant operations.

As it is, Miti is not the qualified ministry for the governance of ultrahazardous radioactive activities and public health and safety concerns.

This again shows the poor governance and lack of due diligence in the whole process.

The MB of Pahang had said that the radiation level from Lynas' plant is lower than bitumen used to resurface roads. AELB's previous public announcements have also stretched the public's credulity to the limit e.g. AELB DG Raja Datuk Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan had in April said that Lynas' radioactive waste was so safe ‘you can just tabur (scatter) everywhere'.

Such unqualified endorsements that the Lynas plant was safe by both unqualified politicians and the civil authorities can only mean they have become the spokespersons for Lynas.

The ‘seamless' roles of Lynas employees and AELB's officials makes the latter's independence and authority highly questionable.

When Lynas revealed in May 2011 that it had paid a sum of money to the Malaysian authorities as an indemnity for radioactive waste as part of AELB requirement, the DG of AELB denied this. "it's got nothing to do with AELB. You got to check with Mida. Check with Miti," he was quoted. Till today no information has been forthcoming from any authority.

This poor governance structure and non-transparency has resulted in the IAEA international experts to make a clear recommendation that the AELB/Mosti must have independence from other influences in order to be able to regulate industries such as Lynas.

Conclusion

The AELB should not issue a temporary operating licence (TOL) to Lynas.
Further, for the Malaysian government to regain public credibility and confidence CAP-SAM urges the following:

A judicial review of the government's role and responsibilities in relation to public information disclosure and public participation;
A transparent process with a detailed and integrated approach that incorporates a socio economic impact assessment, health and safety impact assessment, a detailed EIA and RIA which will be coordinated and reviewed by an independent panel of technical experts;
A total review and revamp of Act 304 and its subsidiary regulations. At present it is a weak and toothless law and it needs to meet the requirements of international standards;
AELB/MOSTI, DOE/MNRE, Mida/Miti and MOH must be independent and must be seen to be independent when it comes to issues which are within their jurisdictions. They must exercise integrity, professionalism and competence in their duties and work. This is in line with good governance;
Miti and Mida (Malaysian Investment Development Authority) must beef up its capacities and expertise. There must be a review of Miti and Mida and how it promotes foreign investments. They need to attract clean, sustainable and job creating industries instead of dirty toxic ones;
Miti and Mida should respect the authority and competency of the regulatory authorities and should not guarantee projects which have not been approved by other regulatory bodies;
In the interest of good governance, there should be public disclosure and access to proposed MOUs with foreign investors. In light of this, the government must disclose how much it will have to pay Lynas Corp if the project is cancelled;
The government must ensure that all impact assessment studies have high standards of integrity, professionalism and expertise. Consultants who fail to meet the standards should be deregistered and blacklisted; and
The government must seriously improve its governance.

SM MOHAMAD IDRIS is president of Consumers Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

sheffield

2012-01-11T19:07:00.002Z

901

2012-01-09T09:21:00.000Z

dear daisy,
today is the second monday of the year, and of course, it is labeled as the most anticipated day for the oppositions in malaysia after the two long years of the trial. all praise to Allah. he is acquitted after juries found that the DNA evidence was tainted and could be compromised during the proceeding.

may malaysia be prosperous in the future, blessed with peace and stability. pru13 will be an exciting battle.

chemistry 2011 auld lang syne

2011-12-31T20:58:00.000Z

2011 - sign language class farewell

2011-12-31T19:33:00.001Z

solly street's tofu day

2011-12-30T13:50:00.000Z

dear daisy,
cooking made easy. an average time to spend for cooking a day is an hour, including cleaning and washing. today's theme was vegetarian (V) fusion of chinese and japanase. it was my first attempt of mapo tofu - blended with my liking of spicy and sweet sour.

V&A museum visit

2011-12-29T23:31:00.001Z

smoking is bad.

2011-12-29T19:37:00.000Z

dear daisy,
i don't like people who smokes, even for social purpose. it is so uncool and distasteful, even for someone with a look of the late james dean. smoking is degrading one's and other's health - it is like BP oil spill in the mexican gulf last year, although after massive clean up, the effects on population health and ecosystem are disastrous and compelling.

in this case, BP is not the tobacco company nor the smoker. sometime this year BP filed a lawsuit of 40 billion against transocean. neither transocean has anything to do with smoker. i'm just implying that smoking is bad for health and ecosystem. nonetheless.

another london folly

2011-12-29T18:37:00.002Z

dear daisy,
in this depression climate and the struggle to make more money for the year during so called boxing day, tube strike was yet another industrial folly. there were a lot less people on the road and at shopping complexes than usual hey days before chrismas. pity to retailers and owners, boxing day shopping is not an anticipated activity anymore.

on that particular morning, autumnal breeze of winter made walking across hyde park easier. we opted for walking rather than cramming ourselves in densely packed double decker to get to our destinations around london.

there wasn't any snow this year in london, winter has probably shifted into next year leaving end of 2011 with a long autumn. there were surprisingly a lot of malaysians in london who lack of gestures and smiles (unlike the hospitality shown in the malaysia truly asia advert). poor those delegates from malaysia who came here for winter experience and shopping spree.

our travel to london was made easier by free parkings at single yellow line and at non resident spaces. perhaps, this would be the last time we could enjoy driving for free in london. i read in news that the municipal wants to charge up to 4.80 pound per hour during weekend and bank holidays starting next year.

the rom com follies

2011-12-29T17:34:00.002Z

dear daisy,
it is never quite easy to let away high school and undergraduate tragedies of being turned down, rejected, struggling with pre-adolescence symptoms (i called it pizza face) and average kid (not too smart and not too bright). i wasn't a smarties, never fit into such group neither belong to girls with good looks and rockstar boyfriends. you could say i was something like 'the cinderella's story which starred hillary duff, only the scene where she danced gracefully under the brilliant, brightly lit sky along with beautiful strumming of edwan mccain's i'll be never happened to me for real.

we all love rom com, it is an escapade from harsh reality to those who love reading and schooling, can't afford prada at twenty and dream of fun, good looking guy who would love to laugh at your jokes to be your significant other. say katherine heigl in the ugly truth - and the good looking guy is gerald butler. (and i'm the katherine, mr.M is the gerald butler auwch! loving it).

jeniffer aniston dubbed as the world's sexiest woman by one man magazine for her subtle wit and good looking figure at 40s. looking back, now at age nearly 29 i think i can achieve anything if i move forward and let bygone be bygone. i have 11 years to 40.

i spent my day today blog hopping at blogs written by some malaysian teenagers, just to see how much things had changed over the past 12 years inevitably of getting annoyed by their language and expressions especially on how cheesy love at 16 and 17 can be. if only i could shout out loud to their ears - love sucks!! get a degree first. massive divorce at 26th without a degree will get you nothing except a salesgirl job at local supermarket. unless you're super pretty good looking, you'll land a job at a chanel counter.

it is not that i'm promoting love-relationship before marriage, i understand at this blossoming age, love looks so wonderful as pictured in romeo and juliet but shakespeare died nearly 400 years ago. you've got to think better than that. according to today's report 20% of marriage since 2005 ended up in divorce.

carrying a divorcee or single mother title isn't easy. it's nicer to be a geek or brainy with a high paid job (thanks to your degree, rather than an ambitious middle age stuck up without a degree - because, with money you can buy good look, good clothes and of course nice shoes).

how i met your mother! in sheffield

2011-12-22T19:46:00.000Z

one fine evening, on the way to a local coffee shop..

kerabu apple -

2011-12-22T19:20:00.003Z

dear daisy,
lately i am craving for thai manggo salad and it brought me to an asian-fusion restaurant at meadowhall which cost me a staggering 10 pound a plate. my verdict? - i think the chef need to learn how to exactly make the real thai manggo salad.

i googled the recipe over the internet and later adjusted the recipe accordingly to my taste and ingredients that easily found in the UK. special thanks to my mother-in-law who taught me how to make kerabu some years ago, so this recipe has her influence in some way. i used granny smith apples to replace small green manggo as i like the bit of sweet and sour yet crunchy taste. for this recipe also i used boiled, blended and later fried mackerel to replace dried small prawns. anyway, here are the rest of ingredients for the making of kerabu apple:

ingredients:

boiled, blended and fried mackerel (500g)
anchovies - fried and blended (half a cup)
bird's eye chili or cili padi (as much as you like - i used about 10) blend together with anchovies
4 granny smith apples (skinned and sliced)
2 big shallots - sliced
half a cup of rice vinegar
half a cup of fructose syrup
one tea spoon of salt
3 cloves of garlic (chopped thin)

to make:
mix all ingredients together and serve chilled.

to garnish:
add coriander leaves

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ratings: *** mr.M said that he will buy me a proper shredder on boxing day.

my december

2011-12-21T10:52:00.000Z

dear daisy,
it's now coming to the end of the year, marking another year in the UK - hustle and bustle, ups and lows as a student. (not really making a success yet, really).
my life has been occupied with reading and learning new things, - i picked up british sign language, beginner's course - and of course with beginner's luck the whole universe conspired to help me to achieve that. (quoted from the alchemist - coelho). another things in my interest are life sciences and economy (freak-o-nomics free market literally). (pretty much, i spent most of my time observing at occupied movements across the world - seen one in sheffield and amsterdam, also reading newspapers, journals and books).

i save my thoughts for other time because otherwise it will be a long posting. right now i am in the lab, cultivating cells from epidermis received from an obese patient who underwent abdominoplasty - so basically i only have fifteen minutes to ramble and whine about my dissatisfactions, works and people.

the people i truly pissed at the moment is those scavengers who literally picked on gullible, naive and vulnerable people to buy their multi-level-marketing scheme (MLM) with promising success, good health and also good look. not that i rejected the MLM idea totally, (the products are super-mega expensive), i have a deep repugnance on the health and medical benefit claims by those products and agents, although some of them are professionally practising medicine. (it is against the law to do such thing!)

urgh....

Kosmo! Online - Rencana Utama

2011-12-11T22:49:00.000Z

Kosmo! Online - Rencana Utama

2011-12-07T12:16:00.001Z

2011-12-07T12:05:00.001Z

escape to london

2011-12-07T11:58:00.000Z

london is expensick!

2011-12-02T00:01:00.000Z

dear daisy,
london is expensick for the weekend getaway, it's like pouring the whole savings that allocated for winter's bill into a river and will never get to see again. perhaps, i should stay longer in the lab or library and only come home for sleeping - tuck underneath a heavy tog of duvet.

i am actually desperately need a break-away from the nice, stupid playground. i always want to have a weekend date with mr.M in london, just for fun. nonetheless, we need the change of atmosphere because sheffield has becoming so dull and tedious - nothing excite us anymore except topgear and football matches at sky. in fact i am reconsidering to ban jeremy clarkson until he comes up with an apology for his distasteful remark on protesters who strike to defend their pensions. if my opinion counts, i want him to have an extreme makeover for his look, tooth whitening is definitely and hair treatment is a compulsory!

i don't have any idea of what am i going to do in london tomorrow. i am more anxious to do my experiment early in the morning prior taking off to london. i don't fancy shopping, neither with the so called window shopping. christmas shopping is so overrated, maybe some of the deducted prices are actually more expensive than they were before. after all, i don't want to have so many unwanted things in my tiny one bed apartment with only one not-so-big closet. the only thing that i am fancy to buy is a fluorescence undergarment that glow in the dark to give to someone for the secret santa thing. must be hilarious... and of course, might tarnish the 'smart look' image of my nerdy looking face. in fact, that was why i received a set of chess in last year secret santa. some people think i look innocent and nice. ah.. mr.M doesn't think so. he thinks i'm cute.

i had a meeting with my supervisors today, it all went alright - i succumbed a few times while trying to explain things beyond my limited comprehension, and as a result, i handed in the summary of all journals that i read relating to the discussed topic. the meeting was enough to cause my brain to overload with too many information. going to london tomorrow after 3rd day assessment (quantification bla.. bla.. bla) is indeed a brilliant idea.

we had a kinda spelling test in the sign language class. i managed to get 1 out of 10 initially, but then all correct 7/7 and just average marks after that. all in all - i start to pick up the language and build up a good friendship with the teacher. my teacher is just an amazing person, admirable and stunning, also funny - which at some point he reminds me quotes from kahlil gibran.

again, london is a favorite city that i don't want to live forever in. i hate the hustle bustle and chaotic life. just like k.l, i love to be there only once in a while. i can't afford london, let alone k.l, the rent is sky rocketing and only cater the expats with five-six figures salaries.

my fashion statement is boring. i will never be the picture perfect thing that people caught in random at street. if i ever get caught, my answer will always be -designers -bought cheap at ebay, secondhands at ebay, and no manolo blahnik's, stilettos or victoria beckham's kill my neck shoes.

in the next few minutes i'll google - where should i head to first once i reach victoria station tomorrow afternoon. my budget for the weekend - less than 100pound.

도가니2

2011-11-29T22:59:00.000Z

after reading the book and the truth behind 'dogani' movie, i feel sad for the kids as the movie only showed the fraction of the severity they had endured at the school. i pledge for harsh punishments to perpetrators as deterrent to people to not taking advantage over disabled.

도가니

2011-11-29T22:49:00.000Z

South Korea: Movie Prompts Outrage Over Disabled Child Sex Crimes

2011-11-29T22:28:00.000Z

york in late november

2011-11-29T21:43:00.000Z

morning in bed... or a mourn?

2011-11-29T08:39:00.000Z

dear daisy,
sheffield, wee hours and L.O.V.E, nat king cole

i woke up this morning with a feeling that suddenly the my whole life flashes before my eyes, even in this bilious mood to write and words on the computer screen glow like a coronal mass ejection, which at the same time hurting my eyes - i feel the urge to write something about it, just as a note for future. in case i lose my mind what so ever. or just for entertainment to cure the faint of the heart in derision.

song - oasis - whatever.

i free to say.. whatever i like, if it's right or wrong, it's alright.
always seems to me you only see whatever people want you to see,

i'll sing blues if i want

i always imagine my life in my thirties would be a picture perfect caught at random in sidewalks with a sleek figure and high end suit, better skin complexion than when i was as a student and professional charisma with the size of klcc tower. as it turns out now, i'm still a student, with nothing near to that idealized persona, i believe that spending money on armani suit or calvin klein underwear is such a materialistic propaganda by the capitalists. and if sponsor-a-child-in-africa or sponsor-a-well-for-each-house-program in africa calculations are right, with such money i could build tens or maybe hundreds well and sponsor a village of children to go to school.

nevermind, it is always my husband and my parents who got nice things for me.

say, i am an activist right now 'friends of the earth'. with all greenpeace banners 'no nuclear in malaysia' and hands off our agriculture, GMO producers... with a pulp fiction hippie culture of rebellion..obviously that would be very contradictory to the imaginary of idealized me.

back to reality, i am still a student who dream nothing but her ph.d viva and experiments everyday. there is nothing extraordinary about this life, but a mundane routine full of readings (to get the terms right in biomeds and tissue engineering, also unrelated stuff about why the french loves their technocrats and nuclear energy and genetically modified organisms...to save the world?)

i don't have the arty gleam of what my life suppose to look like in near future, maybe a few kids and become a good mother. but else, i will always try to live with principle and moral value, give love more and to be loved more. i don't want to be too nice to be accepted, after all nice is not a religion, sometimes you've got to give a smack on someone's head for being stubborn and jerk.

.....

in this late autumn-early winter transition, the days and nights seem to blend into each other, the notion of a.m and p.m is becoming obsolete as the sky becomes complete dark at 4 p.m.

ah...i miss my significant other. it is always hard to start any day without him around. told you, i need his pat or some nice cuddle as a jump start.

one day. friday.

2011-11-25T17:37:00.000Z

dear daisy,
it is not a good day to start any new experiment for me. the repeat - didn't give the exact value like last week. i need a rest due to fatigue and restlessness. i miss everything at home, i almost cried when i saw a papaya at a grocery because it reminded me of my dad. there are a lot of things that remind me of my dad. papaya is one of them. tragic.

my sight have been deteriorating since last week, i just had my eye test yesterday and was given a new prescription to change my glasses and contact lens. all out of a sudden, i feel the surge of aging rapidly. starting with new prescription, frequent need to color hair and worrying too much on uncertain. oh, thinking about how am i going to pay for my new prescription also reminds me of my dad because last time he paid for my glasses. it would be too embarrassing to ask from him again. it is not that i'm totally broke to buy the desired glasses, i'm just worried if i am not be able to pay for the winter's bill. in this austere climate and tight allowance, i feel it is hard to make myself sustainable for unseen future. (heck, i don't have any emergency money). (oh bad, i really miss my dad).

the fact that today is the worry of yesterday, only makes my life sorry with perpetual worry. the worry don't just go away.

it is not a good day for me, i ended my day early so that i could have a rest and reading a novel-turned-movie 'one day' starring kiera knightly with a cup of black coffee to ease my stress.

mr.M will be home late today because he wants to play football prior coming home. only recently i feel that i don't like football because it takes away the time for me to be with him. also the list goes with top gear, match of the day, man vs food, nigella lawson (jealous of her) and soccernet.

i hope that when my sight returns to 20/20 vision, i'll be better and the experiment will be excellent.

the chemistry, faculty of mind. U of S.

2011-11-24T19:50:00.000Z

another makan makan for people from the nice, stupid playground in the chemistry.

winter craft and autumnal feeling

2011-11-24T19:39:00.000Z

coming december and wintry season, this year is different from last year as we are actually still in autumn when compare to the big freeze that paralyzed the UK peninsular.

last week, i took the chance to visit the winter craft festival at the student union - to look at interesting stuffs and crafts that i could make by myself during long, cold winter holiday. i had already bought myself a few pieces of cotton cloth from a craft shop, all i need is a determination and idea. i'm not sure if i still have the niche', but seeing other people's creativity will hopefully enhance mine.

i bought myself three necklaces made by local artists which are unique and very appealing. (gave the two other necklaces to my teacher's daughters.. really hope they will like it. i feel sad because my ten week course on sign language will end in three weeks and my teacher is like the only person i know who use the language.) oh, i wish him well and recover soon. we only had an hour class today because he wasn't feeling very well.

since i don't have anything else to write here is the theme song for the day: everything by micheal buble'

to the man, my starlight, starbright the first star that i see tonight....mr.nik

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

world's food and everything matters.

2011-11-20T12:40:00.000Z

dear daisy,
as the trail for world's food festival ended up in mcdonalds (i only had apple pie) - i began to draw conclusions about healthy and unnatural food. process food are not always healthy, neither natural. in US recently people died from eating melon and e.coli contamination from bean sprout caused scare across europe. however, mcdonalds is not always a good option - and often regular customers have unhealthy bmi (body mass index). and if you watch man vs. food - there are more scarier food than mcdonalds such as deep fried pizza and deep fried sandwiches with twelve different type of cheese. (thank God it's america, otherwise the price of that sandwich would be skyrocketing if it's in denmark who recently imposed taxes on 'fat'.

the domination of hypermarkets and processed food also added up to the world's obesity hype.

food movement:

1. grow your own vegetables.

2. support local stores and markets. corporate shops are not the only way to buy groceries.

3. read and learn to cook using natural substances and healthy ingredients.

4. know your local suppliers. (you help to reduce 'carbon foot print' of food and also will receive better food quality).

5. organic food is nice. (try to get information first about the quality and ethical value behind the mass production).

6. fair trade. - reject unethical business trade, sweat shops and slavery. there are issues about the 'fair trade' label recently that do not benefited the workers (with fairly low wages) and the use of child labors.

yammmmm..about world's food.

2011-11-20T12:07:00.001Z

dear daisy,
last night, university of sheffield's student union organized a world food festival - participated by a number of student associations such as persian, sri lankan, japan, korean, malaysian and bulgarian.

it was too much crowd and too little space to linger, but the food were exotic and delicious, although some were not really well presented but for the sake of trying, you sacrificed a little portion of your stomach. amazingly, when you were in hunger - everything seemed alright.

mr.M and andy joined me in this crazy excavation for food. sorry to say, we headed to mcdonalds after the feast for american 'unhealthy' man vs food style. we realized, there wasn't any american society nor british association participated in this feast.

understanding the struggle

2011-11-18T01:04:00.000Z

dear daisy,
i had to stop writing few weeks ago due to numerous reasons that include my hectic working schedule and experiments, second year presentation, reports and meetings with my supervisors. plus i received critics from my significant other to not just write about my hedonistic obsessions with very limited budget and short notes on traveling. he wanted me to write on people's life and times, my empathy at surroundings, my view on capitalism and also the mundane life at the nice, stupid playground.

the economic outlook in the uk is worsening, inflation stays at 5% and unemployment hits 2.6 million, more and more business are closing down, benefits are at stake and the elders are made into redundant, instead of supposed to sit and relax from 30 years of working.

welcome back to the era of 1930, where economic slump hit the hardest - leaving millions out of job and left to struggle with lives.

when i was in amsterdam three weeks ago, i saw the anti capitalist slogans 'occupy amsterdam' just like the same protests in big cities across the world. these 'occupy movements' emerged from the occupy wall street that began two months ago, have highlighted the inequality in economy, high unemployment and agonizing austerity measures that will ravage middle class and below - who are actually not the culprits who brought down the problems in the first place. it's the bankers with their subprime mortgages and unscrupulous business ethics.

i cheered for the occupy movement! we need to lock down the wall street banks and associates - then bring in binary economics. (free interest and preventing the creation of money out of nothing). or the Islamic way of economics. (as mentioned by rodney shakespeare yesterday in an interview when the police tried to move the protest in wall street).

hence, understanding the struggle with the occupy movements, i am also supporting local shops and market and trying to reduce my shopping at conventional superstores. at least, that will help to create economic activities and improving the lives of surround people. it is understandable that in this grievance and economic downturn, every little cent counts. but the authorities should play a good part to protect local stores and markets -as otherwise, we will all back to the feudalism. only the king is now not as powerful as owners of banks and corporations.

on youth unemployment, often majority of the critics will land on the lack of skills and the wrong choice of courses which are less likely to make money. there is some contradictory there, what are the false choices? you need educators, historians, it technicians as much as you need engineers, doctors and lawyers. otherwise, everyone should be given a piece of land for free to work on their food to make their lives sustainable. all in all, everyone needs opportunity and help to make a living.

a friend once told me, 'life is cruel, the world doesn't owe you a thing, you have to work for yourself.'

well yeah, and let the leeches drain your blood while you have to beg or do heavily jobs for cents an hour? screw yourself!

i also understand that there are some people who are not academically excellent. these people unequivocally have equal rights to be treated the same without injustice. they should be given guidance to pursue their lives that will later be benefited to themselves and their families. which the ultimate responsibilities for which fall to the authorities and academicians.

according to malaysian local newspaper recently which i don't remember the date & which paper, most crimes were committed by under performed students who felt useless at learning and had the thought of bleak futures ahead.

it struck me to the chest when reading this article about the boys who were prevented from taking an examination due to fear of lowering the school's overall performance.

i don't mind on their score, considering how isolated the place of this nearly 30,000 population from modern amenities and education facilities. but what are the contingency plans for these kids. certainly, the last laugh are not the kind of words i would choose.

BINTANGOR (Sarikei) They were once deemed too stupid and were prevented from taking an examination by their teachers but the trio yesterday had the last laugh when they scored a pass.

(from left) Idie Ganyol, Richmend Mangi dan Edward Ujoh Ausgutine with their UPSR result slips in Bintangor yesterday. Pix by MOHD RADZI BUJANG

Read more: 3 boys have last laugh with UPSR pass - Top News - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/3-boys-have-last-laugh-with-upsr-pass-1.7621#ixzz1e07dvk5z

although this year upsr result is better than previous year, how far is the gap between rural and urban areas? and if we solely based on academic performance in the perimeter of excellence, we might lost real talents.

then think again, we breed 'creme de la creme' and endowed them with study-at-oversea scholarships, yet, some of them refuse to come back to serve or help to improve the lives of impoverish people.

(education is not a laughing matter, neither economics. we all need money to buy food).

eid' ul adha - sheffield

2011-11-07T17:08:00.000Z

sailing back to hull, from amsterdam

2011-11-05T11:32:00.000Z

the reunion serendipity

2011-11-05T11:17:00.002Z

dear daisy,
the meeting in amsterdam rekindle all the memories that we had in junior high 97-99 although we were not actually from the same school. only mr.M was their schoolmate. so this was basically his reunion as well. the last time we all met were in 99 at my open house in kajang.

it was through facebook that i discovered that all of us, me, mr.M, icky and syidah were going to be in the netherlands on the same weekend. out of the blue, we decided to meet for a lunch and luckily all turned up - plus syidah's and her brother's nuclei families, the single icky and just the two of us - so far =)

the silence classroom

2011-11-03T22:44:00.000Z

leroy bell's listen

2011-11-03T20:39:00.000Z

after watching his performance, i think i need an expensive eye cream because this guy is so great at 60! guys never age! and at 28, i'm experiencing a crisis with aging. wonder how will i look like at 30something, and i envy the fact that mr.M will stay the same at least until he is fourty if he doesn't grow fat-ter. this means that more anti aging creams to come.

even though reality shows never stop making new talents ever since, there are only few names that i recall they are chris daughtry and kelly clarkson. to add to the list, here comes chris rene, leroy bell and rachel crow. i don't know but i just love usa version of x-factor.

city guide II - amsterdam's coffee shop

2011-11-01T08:06:00.000Z

the wily wind of change and the laissez-faire attitude, never mistaken the coffee shops in amsterdam for they are actually 'marijuana' smoking dens. a glimpse into the smoky, strong scented coffee shop spoke the city's psyche.

then again, you can't always trust the fact that the red light district has been sanitized.

we missed the junction to that red area, we couldn't find any sign. all we knew that we went into somekind of chinatown in amsterdam.

city guide - amsterdam

2011-11-01T07:49:00.000Z

toilet is scare in amsterdam, it even cost you 50 cent euro to go to the toilet at a burger king. don't get the wrong idea here, this is not a store that sells toiletteries but a vibrant, public toilet, that cost you more than a can of coca-cola.

OMG, amsterdam!

2011-11-01T07:33:00.000Z

power to the people, support occupy amsterdam!

amsterdam in gloomy autumn

2011-11-01T07:14:00.000Z

:)

2011-11-01T06:56:00.002Z

amsterdam for the weekend.

a bit of mr.M

2011-10-28T20:22:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
my mr.M (real name Nik). not a spy but my great company to share laughter with.

the boring autumnal theme

2011-10-28T20:12:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
coffee is a powerful sedative to enable me to write things when ideas are nowhere to find. i am in a coffee shop, waiting for mr.M to arrive and save me from melancholic autumn theme, a sudden drop in temperature and exposure to sunlight cause the chemicals in the brain to tell you that you are depressed. isn't that ironic when we are lied by the chemicals.

i'm 85% done with my writing, soon i'm going to start a new project using combination of synyhetic and natural polymer for the making of hydrogel. writing is so far taking up 4 kgs of my weight, 35% of my black hair and 50% time with my husband. all in all, ph.d is overtaking my life slowly without realizing it.

there is nothing special about being a postgrad, except being underpaid, over educated (some may say geek in only one area), out-of-fashion, out-of-the-world thinking and boring. at times, postgrads are underpaid labor without contract and easily dispose at any time.

for couple of times in a year, postgrads may get chances to attend conferences which many (especially people outside of the academic world) mistakenly identified as free holidays on university expense. many do not know that those so called holidays were actually 'on free interest loan' from us, which often the claim for those expenses take ages to receive.

charity dinner II (extended)

2011-10-27T21:26:00.000+01:00

charity dinner II

2011-10-27T21:09:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
the charity drive fund for aizwan's cancer treatment in malaysia had successfully collected a handsome amount of 225 pound in two separate occasions. thanks to friends who participated and supported the good deed brainchild by the smsa committee members. according to the facebook page dedicated to this cause, the final collection thus far is GBP4316.27. praise to Allah and may He grants those who never stops pray for Aizwan's health and support him in many ways with blessings.

the charity for aizwan is also dedicated to my uncle who is currently in the treatment of cancer, and may people who support this work also pray and have my uncle in thoughts.

the hot choc outing, weston park

2011-10-27T20:45:00.001+01:00

dear daisy,
the weather was nice last week, with intermittent rain and sunshine. at least the occasional damp weather did not hamper our joy walking at weston park for a nice treat of GBP1 belgian hot choc, at the cafe. however, the price only from 2.30 p.m onward. there wasn't anything special on that day, but somehow the hot choc thing made the day very special - knowing how hard it is for us to have a free afternoon together.

mr.M is still hasn't recover from the cold, or i must say - his man flu. the flu has caused dramatic changes to his diet, desires and sleeping pattern. for example, he now has three different cereals for his breakfast, the must have cocopops, and then cheerios and cookie crisps. ebay is now his must visit website after soccerbible and sports websites and he wakes up whenever he feels nice. his shoes collection, is now more than three of me combined. i used to make a joke by calling him the male version of emelda marcos. but then again, i think i over exaggerate because in reality, men do love their shoes and often their shoes are more expensive than women.

mr.M thinks i'm stingy when it comes to buy myself an expensive shoes and for that reason, i always let him choose and pay for my shoes. there was a time that he bought me a pair of knee length boot (which i called her my kate beckingsale's pair - because i adore her look and outfit in all her vampire movies), i was to the moon and back! all the way home i sang the song 'are you gonna be my girl by jet' -

so 1, 2, 3, take my hand and come with me
because you look so fine
and i really wanna make you mine.

because you look so fine and i really wanna make you mine.

big black boots,
long brown hair,
she's so sweet
with her get back stare.

because my sing annoyed him so much, maybe that is why i haven't receive any new, nice pair of 'kate beckingsale' again. hehe

another so long and farewell

2011-10-25T18:50:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
another kroto mate is going back to malaysia this week after nearly five years in sheffield. may Allah ease their journeys with His blessings and love.

pictures are courtesy of hanif hamzah, university of sheffield.

epicurean - seafood

2011-10-22T18:21:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
i'm still not free from doing my 'correction' but i do love cooking and walking every saturday morning to the market. i believe that we should support local markets to boost the economy, as capitalism is the real tyrant, making people out of jobs and losing their income. i would like to join those plethora of people at st. paul cathedral

my dearest daisy

2011-10-18T12:28:00.002+01:00

farewell Q

2011-10-15T15:17:00.000+01:00

farewell to Q, and hope to see you again.

the nice, stupid playground

2011-10-12T02:15:00.000+01:00

the masterplan

2011-10-12T02:10:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
good night sheffielders and rise up malaysians. it's a fine night for writing - courtesy of a text book from mr. supervisor while listening to songs from what's the story, morning glory (the best british album in the history after the beatles and spice girls). well, let's not talk about the feud of the brothers but rather enjoy the tranquility of the night - polluted with oasis's sound.

my world lingers with songs from the past, when i was young and stupid, geeky with thick glasses at the stupid, playground chemistry. all of the CDs and songs that played are backwards, as if i'm in my early twenties with string of list from blink 182, secondhand serenade, taking back sunday, mcr and limp bizkit (and those in the same bandwagon). which are outdated and none of them brings ease to my eardrum but pain.

i dream of going to bonjovi concert and sing out loud, 'i'll be there for you' to mr.M the way ashton kutcher did in 'a lot like love' (with guitar and incredible voice). i always think the true way of expressing love is through singing. of all the concerts that i had been to were all by female singers, including celine dion. if i could, one day i will make a trivial question to my grandchild on what is the similarity of siti nurhaliza and me sometime years, and years ago.

the answer would be 'both went to a celine dion's concert'.

and another trivia, if you think that attending a celine dion concert with your man is going to break the relationship, think again.... surprisingly some men secretly adore and love to listen to celine dion's songs such as.... mr.M.

there is nothing wrong for a man to like celine dion or mariah carey, it was 'how to lose a guy in 10 days' made the misconception of one's masculinity and coolness to not to be associated with girls liking. is it the same thing with mariah carey, that a guy looks obviously gay if spotted listening to mariah carey.

how about beyonce'? does liking or disliking her make us fall into certain category of sexuality ? remember kayne west's rant at taylor swift over beyonce' lost of the single ladies video clip at mtv award 2009. pretty sure his liking at the videoclip was based on beyonce's curvaceous and bootylicious, high heeled and swimming outfit.

anyway let's stop talking nonsense, the masterplan for tonight.. is to finish one part of the correction and then sleep well. ah, i need to buy an expensive eye cream to curb the sag under my eyes.

Q came over for dinner and brought me flowers. what a happy feeling! we had char kuey teow.

friday's lunch at my place.

2011-10-07T23:24:00.000+01:00

theme song: in my place, coldplay.

extension from last night dinner cause, people from the nice, stupid playground came for lunch. it was a great meeting, with food from last night. also, andy brought in some lemon cake and mai brought fried chickens from popeyes. never thought that i overcooked, but at least i could share the moment with others. <3

i looove fifty first dates

2011-10-07T23:05:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
thank god it's friday night! even better, tv has a lot of things to offer in order to kill sometime while waiting for mr.M to come home from playing football with friends. i started my potato couching with criminal minds, had a serious crush on dr. spencer reid - and all his rayban collection, even thinking that he looks good on glasses than bare eyes. later, i continued with american x-factor. i love the dramas and the stories behind the scene, sometimes i couldn't believe it myself crying when listening to them singing. as for me, singing is just a hobby and i just love singing in the car, out loud and out of control (o.o.c) with mr.M.

i am now watching fifty first dates for the fiftieth times (i guess?) and i'm just loving it!

charity drive makan makan for ten.

2011-10-07T00:27:00.000+01:00

menu: bulgogi, chamchi kinchi chigae, ddokpokki and miyokkuk (seaweed miso soup).
desert: courtesy of miss nina. (dating farid mustafah, not married to noh hujan).

heartiest, warmest thank you

2011-10-07T00:00:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
it was my first charity drive of the year, it must be bad to let the year passes by without doing something good that will benefit others. hence the season, soon we are coming to the end of the year. every falling leaf counts like a ticking sound of of a clock, menacing as it approaching the deadline. when the wind blows hard and shatters the leaves, our regrets and hopes swirl together - in a mixed feeling that sometimes we question ourselves, what have we achieved so far?

life is something that we always take for granted. we always think that in the future there will be another long journey to go, with many crossroads and opportunities to meet other people. youth is something to be admire of, endowed with good health and physique, we would never think of any maladies that would dramatically change one's dream. as in the matter of aizwan, he is only 23 with bright future ahead of him, with the big C being his only, major obstacle.

personally, i have never meet the guy. from his picture shown at the cause organized by malaysian sheffield student association, i would suggest that he must be the kind of tall, dark and handsome stranger.

you might want to think of a movie, someday you will meet a tall, dark stranger. (with anthony hopkins and antonio banderas, you'd be lying if you didn't have a crush on the mask of zorro).

well, imagine what are the better things than helping a stranger for no particular reason but to wish him to get well soon.

maybe a butterfly kiss from far away, enough to melt your heart away and drive your husband's blood to the ceiling.

it is always the matter of hearts that every kindness in return will generate more kindness and soon blossoming across continents.

tonight, i am grateful to have kind people around me who support this charitable cause, which i also dedicate this cause to my uncle, azali abdul kahar who is now undergoes radiotherapy for his lung cancer treatment in malaysia. my hope is to gather prayers and thoughts for his and all cancer warriors' well being and speed recovery.

come and dine with me

2011-10-06T20:17:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
tonight i am organizing a charity drive dinner to raise fund for aizwan's cancer treatment in malaysia. this event is also held as a support to my uncle, who is now undergoes radiotherapy for his lung cancer. also, i would like to address my support to all cancer patients.

Aizwan Aid Charity Drive

Aizwan Aziz is an Electrical Engineering student at Sheffield University. The sun shone brightly for him all this while just like how it shines to every student here. He was well on his way in pursuit of a degree and a bright future, until one autumn morning in his third year; he woke up to find an unbearable pain in his right hip. The pain lasted for 3-4 days and disappeared altogether but came back several times without warning. He did not immediately realize the seriousness of the problem due to the fact that he only went for an NHS consultation after winter had passed. Aizwan received the devastating news that he is suffering from bone cancer. The doctor's verdict shattered the sun in his sky and dark clouds closed atop. As of October 2011, he has gone through 9 chemotherapy treatments. Aizwan is due to be transferred to Malaysia in mid-October for additional treatments before undergoing surgery scheduled in November. (Please read the link given for Aizwan's note regarding his first few months of treatment.) Verily, Allah's test for Aizwan is an enormous one. But let us reflect and remember that it is a test for all of us too. Being in the same community staying so close to him (Sheffield students) and with all the health and wealth God has given to us, to thousands of us here and everywhere, is it too much to ask for a simple generous donation for ONE unfortunate friend? What can we say in the hereafter if we don't do anything here? Please help us. All proceeds will be used for further chemotherapy treatments, surgery and post-surgical care. The cost for surgery alone is RM 20,000.00+. Therefore, we have set out a target of GBP 5000.00 to be raised. Donations can be made through: + SMSA's Account (United Kingdom) - Bank Name: HSBC - Account Name: Sheffield Malaysian Society - Account Number: 41386794 - Sort Code: 40-41-31 + Aizwan's Mother (Malaysia) - Bank Name: CIMB - Account Name: Samsunihar Bt Meera Hussain - Account Number: 14140059192521 + SMSA's Treasurer Name: Athirah Farhana Muhammad Amin Paypal Account: atira_f@yahoo.com.my

Please donate generously to help ease the burden of our friend. Ikram Zahari Public Relations Officer Sheffield Malaysian Students Association

the cooking of octopus garden

2011-10-02T22:16:00.000+01:00

i like to be, under the sea, in an octopus garden, in the shade

autumn in york

2011-10-02T00:09:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
these pictures were not the kind from the movie which starred richard gere and winona ryder, this is the old york in autumn.

the original empire state of mind

2011-10-01T23:37:00.001+01:00

bettys at york

2011-10-01T22:50:00.001+01:00

dear daisy,
it was one fine afternoon when we decided to visit the olde empire state of mind, york for a nice cup of tea. they say that the visit will not be completed without a visit to bettys, an exquisite, english style tea room that serves nice pastries and english dishes. we felt like aristocrats in the 19th century with such lovely ambiance, accompanied by the sentimental melodies from the piano, played by an old englishman who only plays there every saturday.

<3 some of the songs that he played reminded me of my dad, for some reasons. in fact, i just talked to him this morning. it was already late to call him, plus the cafe is mobile free - so i just texted him to say, i miss you babah!

mr.M was very generous to bring me to the cafe. (knowing how hard it is to get him out of the house on weekends... this time he was super kind!).

i did actually sing some songs from frank sinatra to the fugees and to elton john in low keys, just can't help myself from being posh and proper until mr.M told me to stop embarrassing myself like a reject x-factor contestant. =)

you'll love bettys, pay a visit when you are in york!

recipe for bulgogi

2011-10-01T00:00:00.002+01:00

dear daisy,
making bulgogi is the easiest form of cooking, it doesn't require long hours of preparation and painstaking steps like traditional malay dishes. in fact, the reason i learnt to cook this dish is because the recipe is idiot-proof, anyone could make it. it is also cheaper to make the dish yourself rather than having it in a restaurant. the total cost of today's bulgogi is less than ten quids. let me summarize the cost and the ingredients for the recipe

1kg of beef - GBP5.00
2 conference pears - GBP0.50
six cloves of garlic - GBP0.30
one cup of chopped onion - GBP0.60
spring onion - GBP0.60
light soy sauce - GBP2.00
oligomerise sauce (sugar syrup)GBP2.99
sesame oil GBP1.80 (those in bolds can be used up to at least five cookings)

slice the meat using a knife, then mix with blended the conference pears with light soy sauce.

put all the ingredients in a pan, add garlics, onions, soy sauce and sugar syrup all together and accordingly to your preference. you can add black pepper to enhance the taste. marinate the beef for at least two hours before cooking.

then, the bulgogi will be ready in 15 minutes.

=) hope you'll love it!

some autumn theme

2011-09-30T20:48:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
two months ago we wondered, where have the summer been? ahha, you've got it right, the summer is here, replacing autumn..and all the knowledge we thought we knew everything about the four seasons, perhaps is going to be rewrite all over again. today, britain is experiencing the hottest end of september in 100 years, the record breaking britain is now hotter than mexico.

it was a great day, and all the way to school, everyone could be seen with their shorts, t shirts and short skirts - celebrating the emancipation of summer as the sun was very generous of its vitamin D laden ray. this was also could be the last opportunity to get the tan look before the coming of harsh, cold winter.

isn't it great to praise the Al-mighty for the creation and of a beautiful day. masha Allah.

autumn, botanical garden sheffield

2011-09-29T08:17:00.001+01:00

i feel that i was so exaggerating at my feeling for autumn, as the weather like this is going to be missed until april next year. =) i wish that autumn is forever and winter with snow only happens for a week.

tea & autumn

2011-09-29T08:11:00.003+01:00

dear daisy,it was such a waste to sit and stare at the blank page, thinking what to write next. everything in my mind was scattered and disorganized, all i need was a good mood to be able to finish all the corrections that i've been working for the past two months. i miss mr.M, most of the time. his affect is like the strongest force of gravity, without him - eating is not fun anymore.well, andy accompanied me for a walk yesterday, finally! i longed for a walk under the shade of golden trees and scarlet maples where the crispy sound of every step on the fallen leaves reminded me of munching cornflakes in the morning.

makan makan solly street

2011-09-26T22:39:00.001+01:00

sunflowers in morning dews

2011-09-17T09:23:00.001+01:00

rise and shine daisy, the best thing about english weather is you can never guess what's going to happen next. it was gloomy and misty morning, the weather had nothing to offer but grayish backdrop and damp atmosphere. like a snail, it was hard to get up from bed to work on the cells that i extracted two days before. it was a quick call, we had an intivation for breakfast today. tada.... now i'm in the nice stupid playground in sleeping attire and the weather is all nice. shine as if there are two suns orbiting at the same like planet tatooine. (unforgettable image of luke skywalker facing against two suns set). and a day earlier - scientists from NASA found the similar planet called Kepler 16b, named after the satellite who found them. the say - science is stranger than fiction is inevitably true. just the way hadron collider production of antimatter for fuel and the future of star trek. here are the sunflowers for today.

;) smile.

headlines in Malaysia. berita benar vs berita goreng

2011-09-15T00:30:00.000+01:00

Situasi sebenar:Seorang nenek pegi kedai beli ubi,tiba2 dilanggar beca lalu mati di tmpt kejadian.

BULETIN UTAMA:"Nenek meninggal dunia,pemandu beca dicari."

HARIAN METRO:"Hangat! nenek mati dgn ubi di tgn."

UTUSAN MALAYSIA:"Nenek mati dilanggar beca satu propaganda pembangkang?"

HARAKAH:" Kami tiada beca."

MALAYSIAKINI:"Beca langgar lari bukti kerajaan mkn rasuah."

OBEFIEND:"Nenek meleis mati. Aku suka vodka.

TWITTER@NAJIBRAZAK:"Nenek sanggup mati kerana ubi,menunjukkan ubi 1 Malaysia berkualiti dan digemari rakyat!."

BLOG MELAYU PARANOID:"Keraguan sijil halal ubi mungkin punca nenek mati dilanggar."

IBRAHIM ALI:"Sampai bila kita nak tgk nenek2 Melayu mati dilanggar beca akibat ubi org Cina dan India?Melayu perlu bgn menentang."

PANCAINDERA:"Kisah nenek di langgar beca diabadikan dlm filem terbaru David Teo, Beca Gangster."

MASTIKA:"Misteri penarik beca;temubual eksklusif dgn hantu ubi."

SAMY VELLU:"Beca tak byr tol di cari."

the age of free expression and sexism

2011-09-14T22:17:00.001+01:00

this one is from topman.

i wish the t-shirt says i'm sorry......(whatshername?)i done wrong things and proud of it. ah, instead of saying nice new girlfriend - what breed she is - how about saying hey, i'm a rottweiler and she's a bitch!

here is another one - promoting aneroxia to toddlers, what was in their mothers' mind? grooming supermodel? i'm sick with kids pageant and the whole drama.

moral of the story, feed your kids healthily not mcdonalds.

hilarious joke about marriage and love life

2011-09-14T22:02:00.000+01:00

1- Wife & Husband

Wife : How have you managed to get home so early today?
Husband : My boss lost temper with me and shouted "Go to hell". So I came home.

2- Black guy & A White Girl

A black guy and a white girl met at a nightclub. She took him to her apartment and said: "tie me to the bed and do what black men do best!"
So he ran off with the TV and VCD...

3-Wife & Husband

Wife: "I wish I were a newspaper, so you can hold me every morning!"
Husband: "I wish you're a newspaper TOO, my dear so I can have a NEW ONE every morning!"

4- Something wrong

A Chinese couple got married. When their baby was born, she had big, blue eyes, curly, blonde hair and brown skin. They named her ... SAM TING LONG.

5- Wedding nights

Man to wife on wedding night- "Are you sure I'm the first man you are sleeping with?' "Of course honey, I stayed awake with all the others!'

6- Not at all

70 yr old man asks his wife "do u feel sad when u see me running behind young girls?"
Wife replied "No not at all, even dogs chase cars but they can't drive it."

7- Don't disgrace your family

A young Chinese girl going on her 1st date. Her mother warned her…."1st he kisses your cheek; then he'll kiss your breasts, you'll enjoy; then he
wants to go on top. You must not allow it so as not to disgrace our family name."
Next day girl told Mom, "Everything happened exactly as you predicted. I
didn't allow him to go on top so I went on top and disgraced his family."

8- Baby burn't

A white couple had a black baby….
The husband doesn't believe that it's his baby.
Husband: Why the baby black?
Wife: U hot, I hot, baby burnt..!

9- Expiry date

Wife: "Honey, what are you looking for?"
Husband: "Nothing."
Wife: "Nothing? You have been reading our marriage certificate for an hour?"
Husband:" I was looking for the expiry date!"

10- Why black?

Boy: Mom, why am I black and you are white?
Mom: Listen Son, considering all the crazy things I did years ago, you should be thankful that you are not barking!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------
dear daisy,
a wise man said that never resolve a problem with booze, it never helps, neither does milk. so right now i'm having a chocolate laden milky drink to help ease my tense working with corrections and stupid endnote program that always freezes the words. it doesn't help either. on my desk there is one little book on mid life crisis! on the second page it says

you know that you're getting old when everything hurts and what doesnt hurt doesnt work.

yes! writing hurts! the stress is undermining my sleep, appetite and oxytocin in some rare occasion where celery doesnt help. i turned to read jokes from forwardies for refuge from going insane. i never get everything they said, i must say that the effect of reading junkie jokes is quiet similar to drinking - wasting of time.

i've gotta go. nite.nite.

mai birthday

2011-09-13T16:09:00.001+01:00

dear daisy,
it is mai's birthday not my birthday. it was nice of mai to bring some thai dish to the nice, stupid playground breakout area for lunch. also, andy brought the cake and the celebration getting merrier with more people come joining us during the lunch time. today is her seventeen plus 10 years of experience birthday.

today's theme is 80's material girl. 80s kids are the coolest with big hair do, short shirt, button up jeans and the kind of shoes that micheal j. fox wore in back to the future.

the case of cambridge in autumn

2011-09-13T08:23:00.001+01:00

dear daisy,
again, i went to cambridge but this time i accompanied my aunt and her only child, yet adorable and funny while my uncle was busy attending meeting somewhere. we enjoyed the vagaries of english weather, intermittent rain and shine while walking through the same paths where i used to walk with my parents and in laws. the feeling was however different each time. every new experience added to a different feel, lucky if one day i live long enough to reminisce every walk and every memory.

my aunt used to study in here ten years ago but she never been to cambridge, hence, to her, the english ambience was still the same and not to be missed. in fact, she missed a lot how dirt cheap it was during summer and winter sale. during those years of prosperity and current exchange of 1 to 7, you could buy things as low as a pound for clarks shoes. (now, not anymore).

autumn is my favorite time of the year. i embrace the life of the year that is now coming to the end. i love walking on the crispy golden leaves and watch as the leaves fall, the cold breeze comes and swirl the fallen leaves.

mr.M always said that one day we will come back and miss all the things that we once experienced in the U.K. at that time, there will be our nieces, nephews or our own kids who are going to bring us around and then listen to our stories of where we had been and (done that)!.

photolog - eateries in london

2011-09-13T07:17:00.001+01:00

the thing is, why would you write 'the english cafe' in french when you're in english soil? the spirit of napoleon bonaparte?

classic melur, a malaysian restaurant near to paddington. =)

i don't know how i did it

2011-09-12T21:48:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
i'm inferior of myself, been wearing contact lenses since i was sixteen due to geeky-spec recognition that hampered my social skill and public speaking. maybe that was why i never joined any debate team or participating in dramas. surprisingly when i was shooting to 65kgs in 2000, i never thought of myself being over chubby but rather cute-looking up until i was crowned the ugliest girl in the batch. it took me years of jog, gym and calory controlled meals - and episodes of 'hyper' disease to cut the extra weight.

it's monday again. i'm watching 'knocked up' to fill the night while having choc a bloc ice cream.

comedy central has stand up comedies - but none caught my interest because i don't truly understand the idea except those by russel howards.

i've been thinking of wearing glasses again but the price in the UK is so unbelievable! (specsavers isn't cheap at all). i rule out the rimless - i never look good on it. i might get myself a black, 6196 rayban or ic! berlin or an oldschool plastic frame - to reinvent myself.

signposts at cambridge

2011-09-05T17:08:00.000+01:00

raya.darnall

2011-09-05T03:28:00.000+01:00

beraya. raya in sheffield

2011-09-05T03:13:00.000+01:00

t.g.i.f - food

2011-09-03T08:04:00.000+01:00

last friday night

2011-09-03T01:38:00.002+01:00

kids - my house is a playground

2011-09-03T01:34:00.000+01:00

=) well.. mr.M decided to buy toys and games for kids to make our house kids friendly in the future.

t.g.i.f menu

2011-09-03T00:43:00.001+01:00

thank God it's Friday's menu

korean bulgogi

side dish - with mayonnaise

lamb soup in the making alongside bulgogi

it is great that today is friday, the end of the tense accumulated from ignoring the call to work at the nice, stupid playground. it was hard to resist the temptation to overeat and going to open houses every other night. =)

today i decided to cook korean bulgogi and side dishes to add to the variety of food in this festive season. it wasn't hard to make a bulgogi, the secret to the recipe is to marinate with pears, sesame oil, light soy sauce, garlic and onion. while cooking, add some honey or oligomerised syrup to the meat.

korean bulgogi is mr.M's favorite - which forced me to learn from korean friends (thanks to minteng and portia!! who taught me by scratch at home back then.) usually we had bulgogi at the food court of the pavillion k.l. because it is cheaper than posh han-sik and taste nice. however, i'd prefer to make it my own as it is easy and less expensive than having to dine out.

small eid party in the nice, stupid playground

2011-09-02T11:59:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
on the second day of syawal, a group of friends from the lab joined for a small eid party during lunch time. we had a taste of malaysian traditional food such as rice cubes, masalode, kuah kacang and rendang.

thanks to andy for the picture.

the first day of syawal 1432

2011-08-31T07:04:00.000+01:00

our open house.
thank you to everyone who came and cherish the celebration with us yesterday. jazzakallah khairan.

raya, raya dan hari raya

2011-08-30T15:44:00.000+01:00

faces of eid'ul fitri 2011

2011-08-30T15:18:00.000+01:00

morning of eid mubarak

2011-08-30T09:05:00.001+01:00

dear daisy,
alhamdulillah finally we have come to the end of ramadhan. at early dawn, the sound of takbir from t.v vividly reminded me of the ambiance back at home, with the rush and traffic for shower, ironing cloth and to get ready for prayer at mosque. abang send me the first picture of the whole family, first thing in the morning when i logged into my facebook account. abang's family are in green when mama, babah, iwan and didi are in light blue, and abeb's family in pink (or multicolor - i don't know).

i started off this morning with baking muffins, fresh for the breakfast along with other eid's menu such as lontong, ayam masak merah and kuah kacang. mr.M helped me with the taste, as his favor is always rich and strong - unlike mine, mild and mediocre. (and always estimate the addition of sugars, salt and calories not to exceed the supposed to be healthy daily intake - which mr.M claims, stupidity at its core).

the muffin recipe was improved with honey and yogurt to substitute sugar, giving the texture a bit starchy and soft in the inside.

lontong for today. (without soo'on and tempe - forgetful myra!, but it taste nice because mr.M add honey to enhance its sweetness and to balance all the flavors.

in minutes, we are going to pray in a hall along with other malaysian community. till then, selamat hari raya dan maaf zahir dan batin.

immortalizing someone's in experiments

2011-08-27T17:50:00.000+01:00

venue: nice, stupid playground.

unlike HeLa cells, these epidermis cells from an unknown patient 192 is not a potential business, there will always be someone who is generous to donate their skin from abdominoplasty for research purposes.

HeLa of which the famous immortal cervical cancer cell lines from a patient named Henrietta Lacks have been used in breakthrough researches, including the study of poliovirus that played important role in the development of the vaccine. HeLa cells were the first cells that survived and immortal until today (did not die after cell division).

Unfortunately the cancerous and non cancerous part of Ms. Henrietta Lacks was obtained unethically, without her permission and the knowledge of her family members. After 24 years, when the story of the cells resurfaced, the family fought for the right and compensation.

A Lasting Gift to Medicine That Wasn’t Really a Gift Fifty years after Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in the “colored” ward at Johns Hopkins Hospital, her daughter finally got a chance to see the legacy she had unknowingly left to science. A researcher in a lab at Hopkins swung open a freezer door and showed the daughter, Deborah Lacks-Pullum, thousands of vials, each holding millions of cells descended from a bit of tissue that doctors had snipped from her mother’s cervix.

life in the nice stupid playground in the weekend is not as jovial as being at the outside shopping for eid. we haven't got new things for ourselves but we just shop for groceries and the feast on the first of syawal.

i've got to be home in the next 30 minutes to cook for tonight's meal. mr.M requested finger lickin' good fried chicken and mixed vegs. it is going to be the first time in the week that i finally cook something. (frying eggs and cup noodles are not considered as cooking). i wish my appetite for food is back. it is one thing nice to loose so much weight and it is one thing to get everything new to fit your new size.

i really miss my parents and everyone at home. i try to contain my sadness and missingness in a jar, seal it with denial. (and not listening to hari raya songs).

oh about hari raya, i do really wonder why would they made new songs when they knew that they are going to be crap anyway.

lastly, good evening and have a great weekend.

J-meal

2011-08-27T14:38:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
it has been days with no appetite and drastic weight lost, although not as staggering as below fifty, i realize that something has been missing from my everyday meal. i crave for mom and dad's cook. i even miss korean food. mr.M feels the same thing. we just don't know what to eat, so we decided to go for japanese.

iftar perdana sheffield

2011-08-22T17:34:00.001+01:00

makin' muffin for the first time

2011-08-19T20:05:00.002+01:00

dear daisy,
i was excited to make muffins today after annika, colleague from the nice, stupid playground jotted down her easy recipe to make muffins. i am not a fond of bakery, not in a single day during my undergraduate years that i made something out-out-the oven. my gastronomic escapade had always been 'ddokpokki', the hot, sizzling sticky rice dish. i don't even own a wooden spatula. let alone the baking pan. finally, she was successful at persuading me to make one after two trials of her deliciously made cake and muffin. today, after lab, i went to tkmaxx to get all necessary equipment for tonight's baking including the scale, yes the one in green.

the idiot-proof, satisfaction guaranteed recipe prepared by annika:

ingredients: 3 eggs, butter, sugar, self raising flour, baking powder and vanilla essence.

methods:

1. weigh whole eggs - all weights to equal that of eggs.
2. weigh butter and sugar - mix in a bowl until pale and creamy.
3. add eggs one at a time. and then half spoon of vanilla essence.
4. add self raising flour (same weight as eggs) then mix thoroughly. then add one teaspoon of baking powder.
5. check drops easily off spoon. if difficult, add milk until dropping.
6. bake at 180 for 15 to 20 minutes.

the result is tadaaaaaaaaa.......................

mr.M said that the way to his heart, or any husband's heart is through cooking - which is something i'm striving to excel at as our preference of food is different. his love for meaty, rich taste and exotic food is contradictory to my watery and spicy dishes such as tomyam. i sometimes find it very difficult to learn like a masterchef or the king of grill of what he prefers me to be. always husbands can be very demanding and often the image of nigella lawson comes in their imaginary of a perfect wife. (beautilicious at both.. you get what i mean). i wish i inherit skills from my dad - whose mouth watering cookings is well known in the family whereas my cooking lack of presentation skill and doesn't taste that great. dad would be the one who would try to finish my cooked meal, perhaps because he pitied me for trying too hard hence, not successful.

it is common in malaysian community in sheffield to exchange recipe and learn cooking from each other. i don't have a signature dish or a recipe collection and not even a skill - which makes me shunning myself from giving a hoo-haa about cooking. (well, might start off with this one).

since i've got myself the things for baking, there will be more experiments to come and sheffielders, you would be my lab mice.

random. superhero.

2011-08-16T07:53:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
in comics, lab accidents create villains and superheroes. in real life, you will either injured, die or suffering a long term health effect. welcome to the story of my life, that when u punch me, i'll bleed.

there is nothing special happening in the nice, stupid playground. no radioactive accident that will turn me into incredible hulk or no super-cool spider has been found in the lab. my iQ remains the same although after joining intelligent drug classes. apparently it is the drugs that are getting smarter, not me.

maybe this has something to do with my sleep.

a PENtastic moment

2011-08-14T13:04:00.001+01:00

dear daisy,
PEN was a gift out of a blue, for non sentimental reason or to make up his absence during my birthday due to a liverpool match. i'm in no mood to write anything.

cells whisperer - heal. heal. heal.

2011-08-08T19:53:00.003+01:00

i am preoccupied with works and writing that is supposed to due last two weeks. but after procrastination and procrastination, i decided that it has to end by this week. the worrisome has been taking toll on my sleep, my health and my mind - where i am supposed to be out under the brilliant sunshine for a holiday. sleep deprived myself couldn't think of something better than running out of the nice, stupid playground - carefree.

but truly, in scientific endeavor - one has to sacrifice a lot of things in her life or make the scientific path she chooses the life.

if only i can make easy money like the fat whisperer. oh well, fat whisperer is the new trend of losing weight by just talking to the fat cells. it is the new hollywood thing with a lot of bucks. celebrities like paris hilton, kim K and kate hudson are one of the A-list clients of mary ascension saulnier, the guru whose ability is to tell the fat cells to go away.

if such thing works, i would probably finished my ph.d by now.

i would tell my cells to produce collagen more and accelerate the wound healing progression. then, i'll make more money and work at a very prominent, free wrinkle clinic for A-list celebrities.

psychologically, this might work - go to the mirror and say this everyday, i will lose 5kgs soon. (u save yourself the time to go to the gym).

then, there is no need for another walk at peak district perhaps.

keratinocytes - live and dead

2011-08-08T19:36:00.001+01:00

less hair down and peak district again.

2011-08-02T20:18:00.000+01:00

dear daisy,
it is now officially detrimental according to many views that cutting own hair means something has gone wrong with head.

after days of scorching hot and bad hair moments (half of my files were disappeared and i had to rewrite again), i decided to cut my own hair - to save money from super expensive saloon and to lighten up already heavy head. turned out it wasn't too bad, afterall i am all covered and mr.M thinks that i haven't changed a bit, he said that i am still his yoko ono - when i have my glasses on with a classic scruffy hair parting off the center of my look.

it feels nicer when the head is less heavier. (less money i have to spend on shampoo, moisturizer and lush! cocoa maroon henna.)

i am alright, although been on and off exercising, my weight hasn't gone yo-yoing but rather stagnant at 500-1000g fluctuation and loss. i just couldn't care less, there is always tomorrow for gym and running 10km at treadmill.

last friday, me and friends from the nice, stupid playground went for a walk at hethersage, hope valley at the peak district. like usual awayday every year, peak district is the best place to go because of many short trails availability, nice views of years of geographical epoch and nice eating places in the between of the trail.

well, it was a good workout before ramadhan.

My Take: Cervical Cancer Vaccine Project stopped in India

2011-07-24T23:16:00.000+01:00

My Take: Cervical Cancer Vaccine Project stopped in India: "The Indian Central Government have announced the suspension of the HPV vaccine project due to allegations of unethical pratices and deaths ..."

First Lawsuits Against Controversial Cervical Cancer Vaccine

2011-07-24T23:08:00.000+01:00

First Lawsuits Against Controversial Cervical Cancer Vaccine

Cervical cancer vaccine for all Malaysian girls - is it necessary?

2011-07-24T23:05:00.001+01:00

posted in - Nation, - Palmdoc |
The Government recently announced that it would implement Cervical cancer vaccinations for all girls next year:

The Health Ministry will provide annual human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination against cervical cancer or cancer of the cervix to an estimated 300,000 13-year-old girls in Malaysia beginning next year.

It is up to the girls to take advantage of the vaccine.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said RM150mil would be spent annually to make the vaccine available to the girls.
It seems this strategy would be the most cost effective way to combat cervical cancer

“It costs the government RM382mil annually to treat cervical cancer but vaccination against it costs only RM150mil,” he said after the launch of the Crisis Relief Squad of MCA mobile clinic and Health Awareness Campaign Friday.

Liow said the World Health Organisation had reported that the vaccine would reduce the cancer risk by 70%.

Currently, the vaccine costs RM1,200 for three doses per person.
The Ministry hoped to negotiate with drug companies for as low as RM500 person as there would be economies of scale and others seeking the jabs in the private sector would benefit too, he said.
Liow said 2,000 new cases of cervical cancer were detected each year; 16.1 out of 100,000 population.

Around the world, some countries like Australia and New Zealand already have implemented this vaccine as part of their vaccination program.

In Malaysia, most groups seem to welcome this announcement but I note this dissenting view from of all people the MTUC health advisor. If the MTUC health advisor wants to wait for “more local studies” I think he might as well wait for the “cows to come home”. I wonder when the local “religious right” will come out with opposing views?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
i found this article disturbing and misleading, beleaguering the fact that HPV vaccine is not necessarily needed, especially when there are reports of corruption and ethical issues by pharmaceutical companies.

clearly there are issues that need to be corrected here, the vaccination program is not proven safe, with reports of side effects. there are also issues of corruption that pharmaceutical companies use developing countries to incorporate the vaccination program as part of national health care to gain profit.

this is not just about religious right, but a human right to be educated about the consequences of the drug and the actual prevention of the disease. vaccination is not a ticket for promiscuity.

last year, my sister was vaccinated at her school despite warnings i gave to mom. she was persuaded by her teacher that it was safe. but after the injection, my sister went ill and caught with fever, which was something strange because she hardly sick. the situation put me into a grave concern whether the vaccination is appropriate or not, when clearly parents don't have any idea about it.

i don't think that cervical cancer vaccination is part of sex education program in school, as it is more likely to tell kids that after this it is okay to engage in sexual activities as they were covered by vaccines. truly, kids need to learn about early pap smear screenings and the dangerous of any sexual conduct, thus upholding the religious value and self integrity.

Outsourced: Clinical trials overseas - Fault Lines - Al Jazeera English

2011-07-24T22:41:00.000+01:00

Outsourced: Clinical trials overseas - Fault Lines - Al Jazeera English

the incredible magdeburg water bridge in germany

2011-07-15T20:04:00.001+01:00

The Magdeburg Water Bridge is a navigable aqueduct in Germany that connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittelland Canal , and allows ships to cross over the Elbe River . At 918 meters, it is the longest navigable aqueduct in the world.
The Elbe-Havel and Mittelland canals had previously met near Magdeburg but on opposite sides of the Elbe . Ships moving between the two had to make a 12-kilometer detour, descending from the Mittelland Canal through the Rothensee boat lift into the Elbe, then sailing downstream on the river, before entering the Elbe-Havel Canal through Niegripp lock. Low water levels in the Elbe often prevented fully laden canal barges from making this crossing, requiring time-consuming off-loading of cargo.
Construction of the water link was started as early as in the 1930s but due to the World War 2 and subsequent division of Germany the work remained suspended till 1997. The aqueduct was finally completed and opened to the public in 2003.
this engineering wonder water bridge was built for six years, costing about 500 million euros and stretches 918 long. it is a channel bridge over the river elbe that joins the former east and west germany. the project is part of the unification project, after the fall of the berlin wall. these photos were taken on the inauguration day on october 2003.

to those who appreciate engineering projects, here's a puzzle for you armchair engineers
. . . and physicists.

question:

did that bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship and barge traffic,
or just the weight of the water?
answer:

it only needs to be designed to withstand the weight of the water!

why?
a ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded. (principle of archemedes) eureka!

citrus tea party

2011-07-11T23:27:00.000+01:00

not the kind of any tea party movement, although in the presence of yang berhormat nana. we are neutral and free from absolute, empty minded movement. we support good cause, romantic movement and all the good kind.

bride to be, ah! how lucky she is.

sarangheyo. whatever. i don't really enthusiast with that kind of romantic movement.

i was a bit of jazz, with a skill of mike shinoda - scratching the air to create a friction in a non-stop talking action like a rapper in the early 21st century, where the bling bling style is more acceptable than backsided caps, loose shirts and pants.

the red carpet celebs...... always make the entrance with late call.