Thong Kuah's blog

Ok, I’ll try to squeeze as much out as I can within a couple of minutes, seeing that I’m out of time for work and study and assignments and rest. First, Blackie died. Dropsy. Thought it was a tumour which shrunk, and then poof, … There has been plenty of worthy current events worth mentioning, but I don’t have the rigour to carry out a rational analysis. I’ll be content reading what bloggers and reporters have to say about this. Study. Excellent. Encountered my first read-ahead course, previously all the courses I had never required me to really touch the text book for study purposes. Work. I have now implemented Apache, James and Domain and EMail Server forwarding. Fantastic experience :) Java 1.5 has a lousy foreach implementation. Too cryptic. Ski trip :) I’ll post some pictures up soon…. Rest. now beckons…zzzzz

Just one case, interesting though, in light of my other post about As. "Then we spent a year in England. The first two months in public school were tough, but the teachers tried their best to win her over. After five months, she was a changed person — creative, inquisitive, expressive. Most of all, she had fun learning. It is different here. There is too much emphasis on homework, little art and craft, teachers threaten to pukul if the hair is not tied, keluar kelas if books are forgotten, and, worst of all, there is no attempt to make children feel at ease in the classroom.

There seems to be quite an explosion of demand in more powerful websites equipped with server capabilities using scripts like JavaScript, PHP, and Perl, having been involved with a couple of PHP companies. However, I have always viewed this as “lightweight” languages, compared to Java or C++ which can be used for files and system programming as well. Of course, the lines are becoming blur as web languages introduce more “heavyweight” features like classes (e.g. PHP 5). Now, what’s lightweight and what’s heavyweight? In my view, these terms are more linked towards how long the language or feature will endure and be popular in some form. For example, JavaScript went for the stars soon after its launch, then languished as compatibility issues set in across different browsers, then now with it’s on the rise again. Heavyweight stuff, like C++, has always been used in systems programming all these decades. So, how does one decide whether to specialise in lightweight stuff, which could slide in popularity and in turn demand, or heavyweight stuff? It could be that this surge in demand for server-powered websites may be alas, temporary. [Note to self: this might be for ./?] [Post-note: I’ll probably get ./// for my definitions of lightweight and heavyweight]

I, blog shall not call out to my master, Not especially when he’s in a fluster! For when one is in between, three exams and an interview, then one should get out of her, nothing to view!

Rejected top SPM scorers finally get PSD scholarships Then again, all this media attention might do some good in making contructive changes to Malaysia’s education system :) It may be wishful thinking but that will be the day when students realise the exam-oriented, extreme-tuition syndrome being practised, is not too useful after all. See TV Smith’s Scholarship Test for a satiral definition of scholarship

EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA: Pak Lah Promises Scholarship for Top Students Just a comment in Tony P’s blog (on a small aspect of this story): Beneath all this is the very question of the definition of a “top student”. It would seem that having all A1s would assure scholarships will fall your way. What I would like to point out is that scholarships should be allocated based on whether the applicant is able to succeed at university and further in their professional career(as well). At the SPM stage, how would you be able to distinguish between a person with perfect grades and one with slightly less quality grades? How can we be sure if we can pick the one who can better in their proffesion of choice? We should STOP this obsession with As! Sure it is an important deteminer but it is not the catch-all. And yeah, there are way more other careers in life other then doctors and accountants. Choose your passion (including medical and accountancy)!

Evolving with our stomachs - Future of Evolution - MSNBC.com This is an update to my previous Cavemen and Savages post. It seems like the good doctor may have read this before my visit….

Second upper, and unemployed Here unfortunately, is an example of misplaced priorities, at least from first glance. He has some good points but I feel that the worst mistake one can make(while studying) is to copy from another. You always lose as first, you gain nothing. Neither knowledge nor useful experience is gained. Second, you devalue your institution’s and hence your cohort’s degrees. Philosophically, it goes against the widely known economic theory of ’no free lunches’. I wish I could delve deeper but I have exams looming. So, adios!

A Must Read! Musings by Marina Mahathir This is an excellent piece of opinion from Marina on Malaysia and where would YOU like it to go to. Refreshingly honest. What do you think? ;)

You'll have to bear with me, as I'm blogging while cleaning my room :P I went to the doctor yesterday about a sore on my lip. Turns out it was a cold sore. That first sentence from the doctor was okay. Next come a whole sermon about what cavemen ate hundreds of thousands of years ago. "Milk is bad. Grains, pooh pah." At this point I'm thinking err, then what does one eat? The Doc then continued, "Men hasn't changed since they were cavemen, even though our food has." So, essentially we're putting in foods that are useless to our body. Here are some gems from the following 10 minutes... Since the agricultural revolution, humans has shrunk by 6 inches.Soybean oil? Junk! Non-cholesterol?! You need foods like butter, coconut oil, lach.People need sunlight. Gives Vitamin D, also the sun striking the back of our eyes activates the brain.Raw! Think quality. Nuts are good. Seeds too. Try sesame seeds...2 minute noodles last you only 2 minutes!Just fruits for breakfast!Oh, and drink water as well...So, as you can see, he gets more sensible towards the end. Makes me wonder if those in the beginning are true?