CLVN

The Carnival of Elitist Bastards is back! I find this quotation quite cute:

Ignorance is not just bliss. It’s all too easy. Learning requires the use of the brain, and the very thought of this particular organ seems to stir terror within the hearts of other kids my age. I justify taking the risk and using this brain power because of my curiosity. I want to know what those funny lights up in the sky at night are. I want to know how the Solar System formed. I want to know how the beautiful and complex forms of life arose on Earth by natural selection. I want to learn vector calculus so that I may someday understand Maxwell’s tantalizing equations.

Oh, Maxwell’s equations.

And so, check out this list of professors’ blogs, many of which I subscribe too, along with random stuff like Typographica, BLDGBLOG and Fashionologie.

So, get that RSS reader up and cranking. The daily deluge does you good.

Was it any surprise that the monorail and the PORR got cancelled?

There are angry voices aplenty, and some calmer ones. Anil Netto’s opinions in particular bear mentioning:

All those who cherish sustainable and cost-efficient public transport for Penang will be celebrating - even though the federal government may have had other reasons for shelving these mega crony-linked projects. Who cares what their reasons are… The important thing is that these projects have been shelved.

What can I say? I am pleased as punch. These two projects would have had severe financial and environmental implications for Penang. And I know the fisherfolk of Tanjong Bunga were worried about the impact of Porr on their fishing. It was only last week that they told me how concerned they were about the land reclamation work for Porr and how they feared that it would jeopardise their livelihoods.

Perhaps now we can take a closer look at… yes, trams!!! And at expanding the ferry service, improving the bus network, opening up cycle lanes and pedestrian malls along shady tree-lined streets - while at all times being highly sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities and senior citizens. Can you imagine a city with far fewer cars and a fantastic public transport system at street level… Penang would be paradise!

Meanwhile, the Penang state government has taken a step in the right direction by looking into the setting up of a state-owned bus corporation. That’s the way to go… It’s time for us to reclaim our public transport.

I was looking forward to the monorail. It was the simplest solution to the island’s transportation woes. The ubiquity of our heritage buildings (which I couldn’t care less about) and soaring trees (which I would fight for) make road widening exercises impossible in the areas where they are needed most. With two-lane roads within the town area, initiatives like public transport-only lanes and carpool lanes have to be forgone.

Many are hoping for an improved bus service - but with congestion plaguing our roads, bus schedules can scarcely be kept. What remains is to divert traffic, or to keep people off the roads. The PORR would have helped with the former, but no longer. Better city planning would help. Developers must be given incentives to build in less populated areas of the state. The government could start off by making those areas more people-centric and business optimized; they could start delineating community areas and laying down the groundwork for business parks.

There are ways to keep people off the roads, none of which would keep them happy. Angering the public would be a significant political risk given how the electorate will be exceptionally critical of the PR government’s freshman term. The government could implement a charge, much like London’s Congestion Charge or Singapore’s ERP, and provide Park’n'Ride services. Or, they could close down streets, plant trees and encourage walking. Fat chance.

For now, I’ll wait and see how the new government managed bus service performs.

who could refuse a request on this:

Continue reading ‘Here in my Home’

Before my mind atrophies from inactivity, lets try something fun.

I am extraordinarily narcissistic, and love few things more than clothes, and the way I look in them. Those who have gone shopping with me might attest to this. I recognize however, that the garment industry is unnecessary in an increasingly climate controlled world.

There is nothing shameful about nakedness. What is so special about the parts that everyone has? Perhaps his penis is longer than mine. Perhaps her breasts are differently shaped from yours. Big deal. The ‘dirtiness’ of bodies is only the grime that accumulates from being unwashed.

Likewise, I maintain the sexualization of erogenous zones is largely a social construct. Routinely, Malaysian politicians decry the ’sexy’ school uniforms of Malaysian schoolgirls, which, supposedly, contribute to incidents of rape and other social ills. Malaysian uniforms hawt, srsly?!

Ultimately though, its about how one pulls an outfit off.

Rei Ayanami may dress the way she does and remain the hottest girl ever. But enough of this fanboy-induced Rei digression. My point is that if apes can stare at each other stark naked and not, in our ironic human imagery, ‘behave like beasts,’ humans can do one better. Because of our fondness for unnecessary sacralization, I have to be subjected to crude marketing that attempts to prey upon my ‘gut instincts.’

I posit that the moral ills that vex the prudes in our society are caused by the standards of decency that they foolishly attempt to uphold. I care little for their morals, but would prefer to see human interaction performed on a more abstract, intellectual plane.

But allow me to return to my narcissism. So long as we interact sensually with our environment, image will be important, no? Better be it that attention be given to moulding our bodies, rather than fashioning clothes.

HKIA is so much nicer than SFO. The building is more beautiful. The speakers aren’t blasting security warnings every 5 minutes or so. Heck, even the lounges are larger and better furnished.

Oh, the benefits of brand loyalty. Even poor fools like myself get to lie in plush sofas, listen to soothing music and snack away.

I am pissed however, that I can’t get my MacBook to work. I was happily watching RahXephon on it a few hours ago in SFO. But here in HKIA, it won’t go beyond the grey startup screen. Bah. I’ve reset the PRAM etc. but nothing’s working. Its not as if I’ll be spending my time in Penang relaxing. Work starts Monday. Humbug. Bloody humbug.

Ah, ceaseless worries. But if college were an effortless journey. Oh well, at least I have a good mattress awaiting me at home. Perhaps I’ll go take a shower now.

Guns are coming back into fashion.

Continue reading ‘Gunheels’

Had the last small group of the semester at the Big C today

[photocredit: Wikipedia]

Continue reading ‘Pictures from the Big C’

 is on May 10. It’ll be an event, held in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro, where films and speeches endorsing radical multiculturalism will be broadcast. This celebration of diversity and attempt at promoting understanding will hopefully do its bit for making the world a better place.

There will be a showing at Wheeler, and instructions are available if you don’t have a showing near you and want to host your own.

Continue reading ‘Pangea Day’

I love Berkeley. There’s so much beauty in its lush natural surroundings, interesting architecture and awesome weather. And so today, together with a team from the campus chapters of Engineers for a Sustainable World and Society for the Conservation of Biology (guess which one I’m in), I helped remove invasive plant species from Strawberry Creek.

Continue reading ‘Earth Day is coming’

Almost everyone in Western society knows John 3:16.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Here’s why it doesn’t move me.

Continue reading ‘Ingratitude’