The Joke

But first, the song:

Shadow of the Day
by Linkin Park, from the album Minutes to Midnight (2007)

I close both locks below the window.
I close both blinds and turn away.
Sometimes solutions aren’t so simple.
Sometimes goodbye’s the only way.

And the sun will set for you,
The sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.

In cards and flowers on your window,
Your friends all plead for you to stay.
Sometimes beginnings aren’t so simple.
Sometimes goodbye’s the only way.

And the sun will set for you,
The sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in gray,
And the sun will set for you...

There is this two-part econometrics workshop I registered for ages ago, when there was nothing to do, that was postponed. Now, two weeks to the opening of the new semester and academic year, when I actually have things to do, it’s finally on. Man, I have forgotten how tiring whole-day classroom sessions can be.

Great.

Last weekend was wasted, as usual; another one gone consistent with my inexistent social life. It’s always the same cycle week-in, week-out: I’ll be looking forward to the weekend to ‘do something’, ‘go somewhere’, and comes the weekend I’ll just stay at home content that I can lie around doing nothing without having to feel one bit guilty about it.

Thanks to advance online ticketing, I’ve already purchased tickets for the July 4 screening of Transformers. I think this is the most anticipated movie this summer.

Road Ranger collab by dcjosh at deviantART

Do you remember Gobots? It’s that other robot cartoon show that preceded, and later eclipsed by, Transformers. I used to watch it more instead of Transformers because 0f both its more convenient slot compared to the latter and the completely irrational reason that everybody else was watching Transformers and I wanted to be different.

Now the joke:

Three econometricians went out hunting, and came across a large deer. The first econometrician fired, but missed, by a meter to the left. The second econometrician fired, but also missed, by a meter to the right. The third econometrician didn't fire, but shouted in triumph, “We got it! We got it!”

The Last of John and Jane

John Scalzi concludes the story of John Perry, whom we were introduced to in Old Man’s War, and Jane Sagan (from Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades) with The Last Colony. John and Jane are retired from military service, married, and happily settle on a quite colony world with adopted daughter Zoë. Of course, something comes up.

Unlike the very military science fiction previous two books, The Last Colony is perhaps best described as an action-packed political thriller. The government lies [GASP! :-P], at least by omission, and plans to sacrifice the lives of two-and-half thousand people for some ‘greater good’. Of course, our heroes are having none of it, and the story ends with a surprise twist.

Not officially part of the series, The Sagan Diary is exactly that – reflections and personal thoughts of Jane Sagan during the last days before retiring from the Special Forces. Actually, it reads like a long love letter; different, but I still like it. Fans who pre-ordered a limited edition copy of the novelette got to put their names listed in the book as dead members of some ill-fated military unit, which I suppose is cool.

John Scalzi's self-uploaded self-portrait on Wikipedia

John Scalzi won the 2006 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. I'm definitely looking forward to his future works.

Rise of the Silver Surfer

Hands down the coolest entrance ever (20th Century Fox/Yahoo! Movies photo)

The cinema was quite unusually packed last night, and many people in the audience when I watched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer were obviously not regular moviegoers as they laughed at all the pre-show commercials. A middle-aged man next to me was really excited to see Jackie Chan in the Rush Hour 4 movie trailer.

I suppose everybody went to see Jessica Alba. LOL.

The movie should have just been called Rise of the Silver Surfer with the Fantastic Four just happens to be in the movie. While the Fantasy Four have petty squabbles, alien cosmic surfer dude Norrin Radd arrives and saves the world. They might as well have the Fantastic Four slipping into one of those giant sink-holes and die. Even the Thunderbirds do a better job at being superheroes, and they don’t even have superpowers! Hopefully that Silver Surfer movie they are talking about, with J. Michael Straczynski doing the screenplay, will get made. JMS gave us Babylon 5, one of the best science fiction TV series ever.

Talk about science fiction series, and Jessica Alba, how can I not mention Dark Angel? “Eyes Only” Michael Weatherly is now doing great as Navy cop Tony DiNozzo in NCIS.

Jessica Alba as Max Guevara

Crash

Maybe it was some sort of instant karma for wishing all those nasty things on Friday. OUCH! I'm not taking them back, though.

I crashed into the back of a lorry this morning.

The smashed windshield as captured on the W800 phone camera

I was trailing a lorry on the way to work when it suddenly stopped. The only thing I could do was slam the brake but the car glided on and BANG! Well, actually it was more like a “BURRR!” as the windscreen smashed. The lorry driver came out and asked if I was okay. I was.

I was just annoyed at all the hassle that followed – police report, insurance claim, having the car stuck in the workshop(I’m holding for a month) – but thankful that nobody – myself included – was hurt. Of course, the guy at the Perodua dealership said that it was a sign to buy a new car. LOL.

Apart from the smashed windshield, the bonnet was slightly dent, and the front passenger window was shattered as the A-pillars and door frame were bent. There wasn't any other visible damage.

Just pieces of metal and glass.

It was an accident.

Oh, and shit happens.

Nothing

Why I don't trust convergence devices – Future by kris-wilson at deviantART

Who would have thought that a meeting actually makes you feel better?

WARNING: I am complaining about traffic again. Works on the stretch of Federal Route 54 from Sungai Buloh to Sri Damansara are basically complete, allowing me to travel to and from work in just about thirty minutes one way. So that's very good news.

However, no amount of road upgrades will matter if people keep driving like old grandmas. (No offence to senior citizens everywhere) Yes, I’m complaining about people who hog the road. There were three idiots this morning:

1. A woman in an SUV. I won’t say anything about female drivers. My sister drives so fast it scares the shit out of me. This one was talking on her mobile, without the hands-free device of course, at 50km/h on the inside lane. Of course, everybody had to overtake through the left.
   
   
2. A trailer. What’s a trailer doing on the fast lane? Again, everybody had to overtake through the left.
   
   
3. A man in a Merc. A man in a Mercedes-fracking-Benz having a lazy-afternoon-60km/h-drive on the inside lane during the morning rush hour. I wouldn't be so pissed if an uncle in a 30-year-old Datsun was driving at 60km/h – still pissed for doing it on the fast lane, but not too pissed about it – but this guy was in a Mercedes-fracking-Benz. You drive a big car, feeling grand and rich and all, make sure you can handle the expectation!
   

I wished them all many terrible things. Amen.

Then I came to work not in a terribly good mood, to a meeting, which was very well conducted that I actually came out of it feeling much better. Strange, but I take it.

Browser Blues, Part 2 [edit]

I'm on Safari!

Apple releases Safari for Windows!

I've never used a Mac; I've never even touched one. Web pages already appear differently when opened on IE, Firefox and Opera – all run on Windows – so I’ve been wondering how this blog would appear on a Mac browser.

And it looks awesome!

Well, maybe it’s just the fresh, different look.

At first look, having been browsing predominantly on Firefox all this while, I’m quite disappointed mainly in that two things are missing: [1] an ad blocker and [2] a ‘new tab’ button. There are also issues with Blogger that the Blogger people are looking into, so this post is still done on Firefox. :-P

But it surely looks awesome! – I’ve already said that, haven’t I?

So, I guess I’ll give this Safari 3, which by the way is still a beta release anyway, for maybe about a week, or until the novelty wears off.

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PS: [JUNE 13] ... and it's worn off already. Back on Firefox now.

These Days

Hearts Breaking Even
by Bon Jovi, from the album These Days (1995)

It’s been a cold, cold, cold, cold night tonight
And I can’t get you off my mind
God knows I’ve tried
Did I throw away the best part of my life?
When I cut you off, did I cut myself with the same damn knife?
Hide my tears in the pouring rain, had my share of hurt and pain
Don’t say my name, run away, ‘cause it’s all in vain

My hearts breaking even
Now there’re no use we even try
Hey, I cried
Yeah, I lied
Hell, I almost died
Both got our reasons
Let’s just fold the cards and say goodbye
It’s alright
Just two hearts breaking even tonight

It’s been a long, long, long, long time
Since I’ve had your love here in my hands
We didn’t understand it, we couldn’t understand it
But nothing’s fair in love and hate
You lay it all down and walk away before it’s too late
We danced all night as the music played
The sheets got tangled in the mess we made
There in the stains, we remain
No one left to blame

Go on, get on with your life
Yeah, and I’ll get on with mine
Broken hearts can’t call the cops
Yeah, it’s the perfect crime
Twisting and turning the night keeps me yearning
I’m burning alive burning alive
I’m paying the price again
But I’ll see the light again

^Song written with Desmond Child and sounds quite like an Aerosmith number.

[No hearts broken here]

I just have to say, as a fan, that Bon Jovi is a much under-appreciated band, and I’m definitely looking forward to Lost Highway.

the four elements by zuckerblau at deviantART

Clichéd as it be, time surely flies. I took yesterday off for ‘nothing’ (why should one need a reason to take a day off?) and spent it sleeping in and doing some housecleaning. I figured that I might as well take a proper leave since I wouldn’t be doing anything at work anyway. Remember when time passed ever so slowly when we were young(er)? Perhaps it was because we really enjoyed every second of it and ‘tomorrow’ holds so much promise. Now, I guess, we worry a lot and tomorrows for the most part mean deadlines. It surely feels like it was just yesterday that we were plotting to overthrow the school authorities.

__________
PS: New desktop wallpaper on my notebook!
PPS: Of course, who cares about what I have on my desktop. PFFT! I just put it up so I can easily find it later, and I think the creators deserve some credit.

Where the @#$% is my Stuff?!

Jesse: Dude! You got a tattoo!
Chester: So do you, dude! Dude, what does my tattoo say?
Jesse: “Sweet!” What about mine?
Chester: “Dude!” What does mine say?
Jesse: “Sweet!” What about mine?
Chester: “Dude!” What does mine say?
Jesse: “Sweet!” What about mine?
Chester: “Dude!” What does mine say?
Jesse: “Sweet!” What about mine?
Chester: “Dude!” What does mine say?
Jesse: “Sweet!” What about mine?
Chester: “Dude!” What does mine say?
Jesse: “Sweet!” What about mine?
Chester: “Dude!” What does mine say?
Jesse: “SWEET!”

Okay, Dude, Where’s My Car? is not the kind of intellectually and emotionally stimulating or enlightening movie to be quoting from but it is funny; kinda.

My last purchase from Amazon is overdue, which bugs me a little. It’s not about the money – well, maybe a little bit – but really about the feeling of having been let down. In all likelihood it may not be their fault at all – things get lost in the mail all the time – but my confidence is definitely shaken.

That’s the most important thing, I suppose about conducting business and in fact all relationships in general – trust. It is not easily gained or built but can be shattered in an instance; often by the most stupid, most innocent mistake.

And no, I have not ‘betrayed’ or for that matter ‘been betrayed by’ anyone lately; just completely and utterly bored.

What I have is a new desktop wallpaper, by the brilliant Russ Schwenkler:

Nissan 350Z Hood UP - Vexel by dangeruss at deviantART

__________
PS: A glimmer of hope. Amazon asks me to wait for another week for the shipment before they will send a replacement. Hopefully it arrives soon.

Off the Shelf

Weekend mega project #2134501-1B1-2K42-6-A – “Wall Shelf”.

BUKAN PROJEK KERAJAAN BARISAN NASIONAL

Why do I want to install a shelf on my beautiful newly-painted wall?

1. Though the biggest person in the house, I have the tiniest room. So, I need space not only for my-big-fat-ass-self but also all my stuff. And I have plenty of stuff – I think – to put on, er, any place I can find; hence a wall shelf.
   
   
2. Now that I have my ‘piece’, I need some excuse to drill holes and drive screws to justify acquisition of said power equipment.
   
   
3. I need to spend some hard-earned cash.
   
   
4. It maximizes my utility?
   

So, how does one go about installing a wall shelf?

1. Find a space on a wall to mount the shelf and measure the space available so you know how big or small a shelf you can mount.
   
   
2. Find a place or piece of furniture to lie down while you visualize the designated space with a shelf mounted. Sleep over it. Savor the sight of the still naked wall. While you’re at it, get a general idea of the kind of shelf you want to mount. Remember that you can always scrap the whole idea.
   
   
3. Go stare at an IKEA catalogue till a suitable candidate is revealed to you. I settled on a RM119 Liden wall shelf for its clean, bare look and 10kg load-bearing capacity.
   
   
4. Go buy the damn thing! The weekend is a bad time to go anywhere near Mutiara Damansara; a school-holiday weekend is worse. (When is the worst?) Fear not, you can always count on people preferring save RM1 and park their cars outside!
   
   
5. Assembly is easy your grandma can do it, but IKEA doesn’t supply the screws for mounting the shelf on the wall. So go buy them. Get a spirit level too, unless you don’t mind a crooked shelf.
   
   
6. Unless you have four arms or go by the name Otto Octavius, grab another person to help you with the mounting.
   

TA-DA!

But The Sky, My Lady! The Sky!

I finally finished reading Learning the World!

The book is about first contact – the incidence when two alien (with respect to each other) races first meet, like that 1996 Star Trek movie when we first met the Vulcans – told partly through the bio-log (or blog) of a human, or rather post-human, girl named Atomic Discourse Gale. Cool name, huh, wait till you here the name of the ship – But The Sky, My Lady! The Sky! You can call it cool or weird or quirky, but it surely isn’t boringly common like, er, USS Enterprise.

(BTW, before I get flamed by some random Trekkie, the Enterprise is an icon and one cool ship.)

The story is set centuries way into the future, which means a lot of weird stuff like the weird names, which was why I had such a hard time reading the book in the beginning. The humans have traveled for centuries on the But The Sky, My Lady! The Sky! to colonize this new star system, only to find it (or actually one of the planets) inhabited by an intelligent, though not as technologically advanced, species. Now, this alien species look somewhat like bats with wings and all, and fly too (and call themselves humans, how about that?).

The story goes back and forth between what goes on aboard But The Sky, My Lady! The Sky! (I just like to write the ship’s name every single chance I get!) and on the planet (called Destiny II by the newcomers, but simply Ground by the alien bats-that-call-themselves-humans).

The actual contact only happens at the end of the book, and in a refreshingly nice twist, it is the humans (us humans, not those bat-humans) who ends up humbled and surprised.

Ken MacLeod received the 2006 Prometheus Award for Learning the World.

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PS: How can you not read the name MacLeod and think of Highlander?

“There can be only one!”