tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3990736025917438532024-02-23T00:07:51.847+08:00I'm Curious TooIt is written to reveal how little we know about topics outside our expertise...Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.comBlogger542125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-35034007055775424922020-07-27T10:19:00.001+08:002020-07-27T10:19:35.338+08:00
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><b><font color="#666666" size="5">Do you know about the
strange phenomenon called "Returning Soldier Effect"?</font></b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face=""Helvetica",sans-serif"></font><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><b></b><font size="5"></font><font color="#666666"></font><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><b><font color="#666666" size="5">The phenomenon is that
right after a war, returned soldiers tend to father more sons than daughters.</font></b></span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;"><b></b><font size="5"></font><font color="#666666"></font><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">It’s confused
scientists for decades and no-one really knows the answer to why this occurs.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">Satoshi Kanazawa, an
American-born British evolutionary psychologist and writer, came up with two
theories:</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">1) Taller people have
more sons.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">2) Taller people are
more likely to survive war.</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span></p><p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">He tried to validate
his second point. Kanazawa speculated that taller people have roughly the same
sized vital organs compared to shorter ones, leaving more space in the body
where a bullet can hit without causing fatal damage. </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">🤔</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font color="#009000" face=""Helvetica",sans-serif"></font><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9f0htWbcog-_Fl6qr7drYkHfP9HZmjTLySbdKd_aIp2k4aBmCWTMpYpipQXPxGsyqxudOuXw4NEWvkvXtXqALkB7jeY4i44w6D18xG5Hm8ncHHEGFVaG-AKgkooosqYUZR8oL4BX_H0Jd/s276/Satoshi+Kanazawa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9f0htWbcog-_Fl6qr7drYkHfP9HZmjTLySbdKd_aIp2k4aBmCWTMpYpipQXPxGsyqxudOuXw4NEWvkvXtXqALkB7jeY4i44w6D18xG5Hm8ncHHEGFVaG-AKgkooosqYUZR8oL4BX_H0Jd/s0/Satoshi+Kanazawa.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Satoshi Kazanawa. Image: http://personal.lse.ac.uk/KANAZAWA/</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">He also believed that
taller people were generally more intelligent than shorter people.<font face=""Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif"> [1]</font></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span></p><p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">It was also shown
that, in Britain after WWI, the men who returned were on average 1 inch taller
than those who died. </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span></p><p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; margin: 0px;">Although 1 inch may
seem negligible, it would equate to a 5% increase in chance of fathering a boy
- and that 5% translates into millions of boys - this would account for all the
excess boys being born after the war if height was the correct theory.</span></p><p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="Calibri"><br /></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font face="Calibri">Reference:</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><font face="Calibri">[1] https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/why-are-taller-people-more-intelligent<br /></font></p>
Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-91020731567968803832018-05-05T22:06:00.000+08:002018-05-05T22:07:15.554+08:00大摇 2018 | 时迁<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">又是大摇的季节了~ </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">说实在的,有发觉到今年看大摇的同辈朋友们越来越少了,一个接一个的被时间,工作绑住,我觉得在老鸟席年纪最大的应该是我了。</span></span><br />
这也代表,连续出席大摇最多年的也是我吗?(是的)呜呜呜~<br />
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今年呢,想要换个format 来写, 就是想到什么就写什么。<br />
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第一就是 publicity 没 reach 到一些老鸟。我是有发现大摇的宣传啦,可是还是有朋友们没收到 memo,直到大摇过了才得知大摇已过。当然,现在人 99.9% 靠的都是面书 event invitation (话说以前我们做 event 是靠电话 SMS 的,就是把记录里所有人的联络方式 一个个的传 简讯,一封两毛钱,因为那时候没有 whatsapp,messenger。所以以前人真的是出钱又出力)。可是厚,这个方式真的有时候 reach 不到 target audience,因为面书大大的 search algorithm 是有过滤的。所以真的很需要人家 share,share 到够够力才能 reach 到天涯海角 把远在天边的老鸟们招回巢。至于 banner 和 bunting 嘛,如果真的没什么用处以后就不必印了吧,就专注做 面书 publicity 和 road show。这样就可以省下几千块钱 拿来做传承营。 <br />
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然后,拿到了goodies bag,崩溃了一下。<br />
以前厚,goodies bag 是一包环保袋,里面有书,一些coupon。<br />
后来 coupon 另加一些零食饮料。<br />
后来 goodies 越来越多,又加了一些日常产品 (香皂,洗头液等)。<br />
后来有一年,直接把三瓶茶 放进 goodies bag 里头,害我一直跑厕所。<br />
今年,他妈的,东西多到一包放不完,变两包 goodies bag 了! 你有没有夸张点哦?里面有书,coupon,檫眼镜的,两瓶 nivea lotion ,还有个 ring file 叻!筹募组是怕我们看大摇 忘了檫眼镜,还要护肤檫 lotion,看完大摇再用 coupon 去大吃大喝,然后回家要记得读书所以给个 file 吗?筹募组这样的表现,以后找工作时写在履历里头银行和保险公司会很喜欢你们的。<br />
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第三,就是 节目组 把时间拿捏的很好--还真的是七点开始。我到的时候已经迟到了 opsss
就是要避开开幕礼嘛。一到里头,发现座位没满啊啊啊。而且走到老鸟座时候发现有
公众人士座在老鸟席位(我认识那条水,我很肯定他不是老鸟)。回到开幕礼,发现 usher 很专业哦,在做幸运抽奖的时候站在台前,很 pro
一下。可是司仪在幸运抽奖环节 所说的东西有点勉强啊 (一直赞人也要换一换台词哦)。不过 event
又是在十一点准时结束,把时间掌握的很好。只是,以前曾经向 节目组 提议过把多媒体 安排在最后,看起来比较像专业
演唱会,可是看来这想法不吃香呀呵呵。<br />
<br />
我一踏进 DTC 就刚好做着开幕典礼。简单看下台上布置还不错,而且后面那个闪闪的 音符 很不错哦。是用 圣诞灯光 来布置的吗?<br />
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然后,就讲 emcee 吧。今年呢,觉得司仪团长大了,讲话有深度了。就是说,不必要牵强搞笑也可以把气氛带入人群。当然搞笑的梗还是很够力好笑,比如那个 kari 还有 哆啦妹妹的。还有那个 silent phone announcement 简直棒极了。直接省了multech 的负担。宣布 DYDC 时候也不错,只是第二第三支舞 的时候 emcee 带不起 那个气氛。可是令我很刮目相看的就是他们掌握比较感性的时段的能力。比如到节目尾端时开始来些感性的台词,珍惜爸爸妈妈等的,我觉得这是一个很大的突破,就是觉得司仪团开始 elevate beyond 校园级别的 司仪了。比如司仪 介绍 旧照片 和 大树 的时候,可以有效的控制气氛 (搞笑很多人都可以做到,可是能够讲些深入人心的对白 真的不简单),简单又感动。有时候我在外做 event,搞笑的司仪我看过很多,可是如果突然要他宣布一项比较 negative 的消息,很多都会慌一下。<br />
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乐手和歌手,hmmm,偷偷告诉你们,我其实很常在看你们表演时录你们的歌。今年的 sound balancing <u><b>真的真的真的</b></u>做的很好,因为我回家时候听,那些乐器的sound balancing 真的很不错。只是歌手难免会走音一点。那个 acapella 黑眼圈换来的梦想有惊喜到。走下去的女歌手声音很棒。然后,很多时候乐手玩现场 tempo 会越玩越快,好在这次没什么发觉。魔笛手很好听呢,比在bandroom 的好很多,特别是那个笛和口琴的 duet 很好听。长大后才知道 鸡皮疙瘩,男歌手的咬字 好多了,可是还是 feel 到 女歌手比较 dominant。出卖 就男生比较出色,还有 keyboard solo 好听,鼓手也很好。旧照片的ending 很好听。就是你 的吉他 line 也比 screening 好。我周围的人都说 大树 的歌手唱最好。整体来说歌手乐手表现都很好。给 A。<br />
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今年的舞蹈看到一个新 phenomenon,就是舞蹈员有学韩国明星一样边跳舞 边对嘴哦。我记得去年就有 Pek Che 这样做,今年还有几个人都是这样对嘴哦。这样真的很好看,就像舞蹈员很投入舞蹈一样。那个 Greatest Show 有引起一些尖叫哦。可是还是觉得 finale 太多人吧。发现到比较整齐的 formation 还是小小的组合,大概 12-13 个人这样 就很整齐了。<br />
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最后,multech 所做的那个委员介绍可以做的更好。然后然后!那个爱的关键和歌手的合作很有 feel 呢。那个和 emcee 拍的短 movie 也可以做的更好。不过我看现在小孩都好有钱啊,才1st year 2nd year 就一个个拿着 DSLR 四处走动,而且镜头都长长大大的,大概都 f 2.8 吧。我到第三年才忍痛花存了好久的一千块买了一台二手的 D60 罢了(本来他出价 一千二,大概是被我的真诚感动吧),而且还用 kitlens 来傻嗨了四五年。 <br />
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总结,身为乐手当然希望大摇在音乐这方面做的好一点。可是没办法近三四年的司仪团的崛起真的把音乐方面压了下去,变得很多人都比较期待看 司仪。可是觉得今年编曲都很好(Andrew,Emelyn,Sylvia 这些老鸟的协助下,小鸟会学到很多哦),sound balancing 之前说过了,音乐素质提升了。然后歌手!幸好有几首独唱,觉得歌手们今年提升了哦。Multech,可以在 拍摄手法上多做一些变化,影片会更好看,反正你都这么多 member 带着 DSLR,多拍些 不一样角度的 footage。至于 marketing,请问明年会拿三包 goodies bag 吗?<br />
好了,如果我有漏掉什么组的话,请多多包涵,毕竟 人老多忘。<br />
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好了,观后感给你们写了,记得回家投票。<br />
照片都是 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MansonLim0324/media_set?set=a.1907757572615630.1073741880.100001442173385&type=3">Manson</a> 那里偷来的。<br />
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MalcolmMalcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-84726092431057355502018-02-05T16:25:00.001+08:002018-02-05T16:25:13.353+08:00Flute score for "Never Enought" | The Greatest Shownman<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcXR_GdiNKaInl0b-6_cBALMY8PNN_s_OWa-C40MnEMOQi0wrWTWYQ98ZPmd22PonKpcxYrTtWIH2zBUrlU083iPeefSozB0ChNhuJlwm4JSRojN-i7bB5gmbo1CD2I6dQ1B7MWnQxWi9/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="624" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcXR_GdiNKaInl0b-6_cBALMY8PNN_s_OWa-C40MnEMOQi0wrWTWYQ98ZPmd22PonKpcxYrTtWIH2zBUrlU083iPeefSozB0ChNhuJlwm4JSRojN-i7bB5gmbo1CD2I6dQ1B7MWnQxWi9/s320/Untitled.jpg" width="309" /></a></div>
Here is the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nfIbUKhLyOFZ7e13UGPF14e_6PF2mSHi/view?usp=sharing">link</a> to the complete flute score :)Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-26972745217515749272017-07-31T11:48:00.000+08:002017-07-31T11:48:51.844+08:00DUNKIRK and life updateI've always wanted to watch movies about the history of World War II (WWII). As with most of the people my age, we are generally more receptive to videos than written words, so history class with videos is more effective than reading mere words on paper.<br />
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Nonetheless, one thing I don't like about movies is that they often dramatize or exaggerate the real event to achieve the desired plot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: youtube.com</td></tr>
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Dunkirk, however, is no such movie. Sure, it has its fair share of dramatization and fictionalization, but director Christopher Nolan has done a great job in minimizing the fictionalizations of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation#Navy">history,</a> using different names as proxies to the real characters in history.<br />
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I'm not about to do a spoiler here so please go to your nearest cinema to watch it. My verdict for the movie is that the it is definitely worth your time.<br />
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These are a few thoughts after watching <b>Dunkirk</b>:<br />
1) <b>Heroes don't always survive. Cowards don't always die.</b><br />
2) <b>When facing death, your sworn brothers could easily turn you in to the enemies.</b><br />
3) <b>Why don't politicians go to war themselves?</b> War is where the decision by the 1% brings death and sufferings to the 99%.<br />
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4) <b>Fun trivia: </b><br />
a) the narrowest part of the English Channel is about 20.7 miles, or 33km from Dover to Calais (which is near to Dunkirk by the way). That's about an hour's ride by boat or 5 minutes (at 372 mph) by Spitfire fighter plane.<br />
b) The average depth of the Channel is only about 65 meters, while the shallowest part only 45 meters. In comparison, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Grafton_(H89)">all</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Grenade_(H86)">six</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Basilisk_(H11)">of</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Havant_(H32)">the</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Keith">British</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Wakeful_(H88)">destroyers </a>lost in Operation Dynamo were over 90 meters in length. Had all the destroyers sunk hull-first, the stern of the ship could still remain on the surface and could at least sustain the crews for several hours. Heck we need ship designs that allow ships to sink hull/stern first, not sideways. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: wikipedia.org</td></tr>
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Lastly, in light of some recent comments dropped on my Facebook, I see the need to clarify that I'm currently <i>single</i>. I'd appreciate no further questions nor comments on this subject especially on Facebook. Thanks.<br />
<br />
Malcolm<br />
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<br />Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-85261513102788574952017-07-29T09:01:00.003+08:002017-07-29T09:01:56.703+08:00Which Animal Murders The Most?<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">We hear news of people killing one another every other day. </span></span><br />
Have you ever wondered why are we so violent towards one another? Comparing ourselves to other animals in the animal kingdom, are we, <i>Homo sapiens</i>, any more murderous than say, dogs, rats, or lions?<br />
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The answer may surprise you.<br />
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A team of <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v538/n7624/full/nature19758.html">researchers </a>in Spain (note: the paper is locked behind paywall) studied data for more than 1000 mammal species and they found out that killing is pretty rare. Sure, predators kill their prey to survive, but most predators are lousy hunters--lions, for example, have a success rate of only 19%.In addition, less than half of the species studied commit murder (defined as the act of killing members of their own kind).<br />
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And we humans are nowhere near the top of the chart of the most murderous mammals. In fact we're not even in the top 30. Of course, the obvious ones like lions, wolves and bears are there in the chart. But there are also unexpected members like the adorable ground squirrels, wild horses and deer.<br />
And the most murderous mammal of all?<br />
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The meerkat.<br />
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About 20% of <i>Timons</i> lose their lives to other <i>Timons</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn9Xx71jZsy51lOdqBC_bpr0Md0HeSIK1E_zz2rxcGsozYu_mwdam_dj-SRs_fYWg3GR1Mv0hpV5yPfqy20k3HZ-nzzR0K0bHsxfHoH4-zYx3CXIGnviSPdk3UEYKX_UvgICC-nAznjZ7/s1600/Timon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="576" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn9Xx71jZsy51lOdqBC_bpr0Md0HeSIK1E_zz2rxcGsozYu_mwdam_dj-SRs_fYWg3GR1Mv0hpV5yPfqy20k3HZ-nzzR0K0bHsxfHoH4-zYx3CXIGnviSPdk3UEYKX_UvgICC-nAznjZ7/s400/Timon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: disney.wikia.com</td></tr>
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Putting the number into perspective, if humans lived in a society as violent as the meerkats', the human population today would be reduced by 1.4 <i>billion</i>. That's more than the entire population of China, or twice the population of the ten countries in South East Asia.<br />
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Primates, the group we belong to, turn out to be an unusually violent bunch. Primates are eight times more likely to kill a member of their kind than other mammals are. This number is driven by the fact that primates are both territorial and social--the two factors that provide the motive and opportunity for murder.<br />
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However, are humans the most murderous member of the primate group?<br />
We're responsible for the two world wars, after all.<br />
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The researchers combed through historical records and archeological data and found that during paleolithic time, lethal violence caused 3.5% of all human deaths--which makes us only slightly more violent than the average primate. But as our society grew, our rate of violence increased, rising to around 12% during the medieval time. Since then, organized statehood and the advent of modern law enforcement reduced the rate of murder to around 1.2%.<br />
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Some researchers argue that the way an animal murders its own kind matters more than the rate at which it does the killing. For primates, the most common form of murder is infanticide by aggressive males. For humans, however, we kill each other as adults at an exceptionally high rate--putting us in the exclusive <i>adult-murder-club</i> alongside animals like wolves, lions and spotted hyenas.<br />
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Are humans really superior to animals when it comes to murder?<br />
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MalcolmMalcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-33123830940866506332017-07-01T21:41:00.004+08:002017-07-01T21:41:56.998+08:00How Does Hair Dye Work?<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">To understand how hair dye works, we must first understand the anatomy of the human hair.</span></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a>There are three layers that make up the hair: the core (also known as the medulla) is covered by a layer of cells called the cortex--this is where the pigmented melanin protein that gives hair its color can be found-and the outermost layer, called the cuticle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: senhoritarosachoque.com</td></tr>
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Hair dyes are categorized into three basic chemical formulations: temporary, semi-permanent and permanent.<br />
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Temporary dye only covers the outermost later i.e. the cuticle, and so can be washed off immediately in soap water. Semi-permanent dye, on the other hand, contains molecules of pigment so tiny that they can penetrate the cuticle and stick to the cortex. However, due to the lack of chemical reaction between the dye and the hair, the process is still paint-like and the color can be washed off after several rounds of shampoo.<br />
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Permanent dye, on the other hand, is designed to last until the hair falls out or cut. To achieve permanent alteration, the chemicals in the hair dye have to chemically react with the hair.<br />
Generally, permanent dye is made up of two main solutions: one containing an alkaline chemical plus two types of particles that will come together to form the new color: the dye precursor and dye couplers; and the other one containing the developer--an oxidizer, usually a weak hydrogen peroxide mixed properly right before applied to the hair.<br />
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The alkaline solution opens up the cuticle so the dye could access the cortex. Next, the dark melanin in the cortex is broken down through oxidization by the developer, making the melanin colorless and releasing sulfur atoms into the air--which explains the characteristic stink of permanent dye. The developer also oxidizes the dye precursor, which is usually colorless, to form the new color. However, the new pigmented particle--called intermediate--could still slip back out the cuticle scales due to its minuscule size. To counter this problem, the dye couplers react with the intermediate to form larger polymers of pigment that are too large to slip out of the cuticle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: http://www.reviewsandlifestyle.com/2013/04/Permanent-demi-permanent-semi-permanent-temporary-hair-colors-how-they-work.html</td></tr>
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MalcolmMalcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-84801510314766101262017-06-16T18:47:00.005+08:002017-06-16T18:47:55.483+08:00Gympie Gympie: The World's Most Venomous Plant<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Recently I came across an interesting <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-kind-of-pain-makes-death-look-like-a-blessing">question</a> on Quora, asking what kind of pain makes death look like a blessing? Most of the answers that followed talked about animal bites and terminal ailments. One answer, however, detailed the sting of a rather obscure and unknown plant: the <i>Dendrocnide moroides</i>, otherwise known as gympie-gympie, or suicide plant. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awwwww, look at that heart-shaped leaf. Let me get one for you, darling. Image: ratmaja.com</td></tr>
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When I browsed the online science library for literature, I found only three papers on the subject; one of which was unfortunately locked behind the paywall. Further investigation revealed more, but the number is still considered relatively small, which explains why when typed into google search, you don't get to see a lot of useful <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_moroides">articles </a>on the plant. <br />
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Dubbed "<a href="https://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/agonise-encounter-hike-gympie-gympie-stinging-tree/1987614/">the world's most painful plants to touch</a>", the <i>Dendrocnide</i> sp belong to the Urticaceae family. There are about 37 different species within the <i>Dendrocnide</i> genus, which means there are a lot more different species of the same genus that could sting you as you wander around in the forest. Young leaves are densely covered with stinging hairs—made up of silicon/calcium—while older leaves have less hairs. 6 species of <i>Dendrocnide</i> can be found in Australia, with the rest spreading across Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: CSIRO Science Image</td></tr>
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The potency and longevity of its sting have been published since the middle of 19th century. In 1860, a scientist described how horses that had been stung had to be rested for several days before they could be used again. If severely stung, livestock and horses could die and if not, could become violent and have to be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13471452">shot</a>.<br />
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When touched, the stinging hairs—microscopic in size so you can't see them and so they become difficult to remove—penetrate the skin, break off, and release toxins that contain <a href="http://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(13)00088-4/abstract">Moroidin</a>, an octapeptide constructed exclusively from L-amino acids that could cause intense pain, sweating, and piloerection. According to ecologist Marina Hurley, the pain from the sting is “<a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/nature/australia-even-our-plants-can-kill-you.aspx">like</a> being burnt by hot acid and electrocuted at the same time”.<br />
Oh and did I tell you that the pain could last for months? Or even years?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkusETU3Tm8Pu_a_0nlXoxRazwIgwvw1jYJ80tj2wJTvQMFPVTmiDwy5TR5yMzK4_UDe8F1AkeTJej9vkCyo5sNt6O8U362Jrx4MHrKSrxAToNnH_joYrkBYJ6B1Lqsu3RCol58TMoQLxy/s1600/gympie-gympie-stinging-tree-5.jpg.650x0_q70_crop-smart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="650" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkusETU3Tm8Pu_a_0nlXoxRazwIgwvw1jYJ80tj2wJTvQMFPVTmiDwy5TR5yMzK4_UDe8F1AkeTJej9vkCyo5sNt6O8U362Jrx4MHrKSrxAToNnH_joYrkBYJ6B1Lqsu3RCol58TMoQLxy/s320/gympie-gympie-stinging-tree-5.jpg.650x0_q70_crop-smart.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: TreeHugger</td></tr>
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So what, you might say. I just have to watch out when I walk in the forest and not to touch the plant when I see it, right? Uhmm no. Not touching the plant does not keep you safe from its stings. Because the plant continuously shed its stinging hairs, standing in the vicinity of the plant could trigger intense bouts of sneezing and nosebleeding, and some might even get into your eyes, and that could become reallyyyy nasty.<br />
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Despite all the negative vibes surrounding the plant, there had only been one account of human death by the plant, and it didn't happen in Australia. In 1922, a man in New Guinea died after stung by the leaves of another species, <i>Laportea condata</i>. In 1955, a report detailed a man who fell unconscious after falling onto a stinging shrub (ouch!!).<br />
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There are numerous reports on the internet of people killing themselves to escape from the pain of the sting, but those are without any backup report and thus most likely fake. One legend tells the tale of how during the late 1960s, the British Army collected samples of the stinging tree for use as a chemical weapon. Nothing has been heard since then.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ50gMJPMxy2Eb2ABQUyjKsLq3O-Lhyphenhyphen1GkOAraNjXS3ghpkAYhKFDzUiCQPHvYgIaJHb5mH_DaXLn484_0XQaJMqHuCiBWQ6ywIRI8-MAdK7A2okxHjO9rYAjB_dcAyltfbG3MT6q3TJsF/s1600/gympiegympie-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="384" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ50gMJPMxy2Eb2ABQUyjKsLq3O-Lhyphenhyphen1GkOAraNjXS3ghpkAYhKFDzUiCQPHvYgIaJHb5mH_DaXLn484_0XQaJMqHuCiBWQ6ywIRI8-MAdK7A2okxHjO9rYAjB_dcAyltfbG3MT6q3TJsF/s320/gympiegympie-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Waowtech.com</td></tr>
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Fortunately though, the fruit of the plant is edible. But first you'd need to brush the hairs off the fruit.<br />
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Malcolm Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-56826715775724715072017-04-19T17:33:00.000+08:002017-04-19T17:36:19.183+08:002017 大摇<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">一年一度的大摇又来啦!</span></span><br />
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对今年大摇非常非常期待。Screening 的时候已经发现歌手乐手比往年不同了,所以非常期待。<br />
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首先,要道歉。<br />
<a name='more'></a>因为耍大牌八点才开始从 IPS 开始走到 DTC 结果八点十分才到达。<br />
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两天前已经收到消息说 goodie bag 很够力。结果一拿到的那一刹那,哇佬重到.....!!!!开进去看,你们赢了咯,三瓶水啊啊啊啊啊啊!!!<br />
后来模模糊糊走到老鸟座位,看到都是高朋满座叻不错不错。第一幕看到的是multech intro video。Hmmm 如果没有去问 multech 那背后的含义我还有点搞不懂,以为是恐怖片(<span style="font-size: x-small;">对不起我有点肤浅什么都是看表面</span>)。不过拍摄手法不错,只是演员演技,editing 需要下多一点功夫。<br />
好,接下来我慢慢分析我所看到的东西蛤~<br />
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<u><b>Marketing</b></u><br />
先讲这个。这个部门我听闻很久了。听说今年超强的。为什么?听说拿出<span style="font-size: large;"><b>一大笔</b></span>资金(我那届的三倍)给 sound system,还有给一大笔 multech 拍摄,还有那些传统的宣传海报工具等。再加上那些goodie bags 里的东西,我后来回家自己算一算,哇佬你们去银行抢劫了吗?!而且我看今年应该是 marketing 最多人的一次吧?<br />
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<u><b>Program Protocol</b></u><br />
这个我没看到那些 protocol 的东西。只能 comment 你们准时开始,也在十一点前准时的结束,是非常好的。我看着 booklet 里写着蛮多的 protocol 东东, 你们能在半小时内把这些全部搞定还真不简单。Program 组长的压力还真不小哦。只是觉得,如果可以把一些大摇的 program 来个改革,将来应该可以更 efficient,更守时的开始与结束。<br />
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<u><b>Publicity Publication</b></u><br />
Publicity 呢,其实可以看得出你们有作战策略的~。很努力的 share 面书 post,而且 share post 还有特定时间的。然后一起换了头照还要每天去各自的头照刷版。因为你一刷那 post 就会跳到别人的 timeline。果然别有心思啊。<br />
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你们出席大摇的,有没有注意到大摇 booklet front cover 和 back cover 连起来是一个paronama 照片?是个日出的照片--非常有创意哦。然后里面的设计呢我最喜欢的是那个<b>森林迷路,停格,花纸伞,落花流水,美学爱情</b>。梦想其实也不错只是可以弄得比较阳光一点,毕竟这首歌有点开心。热气球是不错,如果换个一个人沙滩奔跑,沙滩的黄色也比较容易放黑色的歌词。可是为什么<b>都在自以为</b> 有写明男女版歌词,<b>花纸伞</b>却没有?还有一点,大摇主席前言,第一排字, <b>“.....大型摇篮手创作歌曲发表<span style="font-size: large;">演演</span>绎会......." </b>。<br />
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<u><b>Scenography</b></u><br />
周围的朋友问道后面那个红红的是不是花?看起来还挺像的。后来被告知是太阳。<br />
不过把主题 DAWN 弄在木头上还不错我个人挺喜欢的。听说还有开幕 gimmick 可惜我没看到。Radio DJ 的坐台其实可以再做好一点。Sceno 今年其实比往年较少出现。而且这次司仪们也减少了许多短剧,所以没得充分发挥吧?<br />
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<u><b>Multech</b></u><br />
Multech hor...... 没看到 multech show 所以不便多谈。可是那个最后的短片拍得好欸,就是那个有图书馆 parking lot 的。还有还有那个power ranger 的 video 是你们做的吧?跟司仪团配合的很好啊。只是那个 spotlight 控制着有点乱,歌手合唱的话就不知道要跟着哪一个。然后就是那个灯光了。舞蹈的时候,特别是最后一支舞,灯光不是很理想,应该是不够时间彩排。毕竟sound system 只有匆匆忙忙的两天。不过没关系啦,人非圣贤,压力这么大再加上舞蹈员动作那么快,不简单哦。<br />
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<u><b>歌手/乐手</b></u><br />
Screening 时候已经觉得歌手乐手们应该是近年来最好的吧。好我就说些印象比较深刻的几首歌吧。<span style="font-size: large;"><b>海滩的月亮</b></span> bass solo 减少了一半。鼓手也比band room screening 稳多了。有人说海滩月亮两个吉他手都帅 (<span style="font-size: x-small;">这对话在我录音时候被录下来了,你们要自 high 的话可以向我要 recording,听听人家怎样赞你帅</span>)。还有我不爽歌手和吉他手的互动--做莫我以前也是乐手都没这样的康头。<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>梦想</b></span>超级棒!很喜欢梦想的 ending ~ 。还有还有<b><span style="font-size: large;">美学爱情</span></b>的 keyboard effect 在开头的时候,鸡皮掉满地!!歌手也是好棒棒!<b><span style="font-size: large;">在森林迷路</span></b>歌手服装好抢眼有人问是不是要去参加<b>偶是歌手</b>。个人很喜欢森林歌曲,曲词也好。<span style="font-size: large;"><b>成瘾</b></span>歌手稳,keyboard 开头 ding dong ding dong 的好听。<br />
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二胡拉的很准哦,相比下小提琴 sharp 了半点。<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>超能力</b></span>是个人觉得所有曲目最 balance 的--没得挑了。<br />
有首歌的 shaker + cajon,shaker 不知何故越来越小声,我看了原来手离 mic 越来越远 (可能手酸了,shaker 很重吼?)。<br />
整体来说,这次的演绎团队都很棒(我现在一边听我现场录的歌一边写comment),真的可以说这三四年来最好的了。我见到的五个老鸟都一致认为有<b>明显进步</b>。<br />
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<u><b>舞蹈</b></u><br />
我不是舞蹈员,对舞蹈没认识。问了几个 senior,大致上都认为舞蹈退步了(你知道 DYDC 水准是非常高的往年弄我尖叫到破喉咙所以虽然退步了还是很棒棒哦)。可是你们别太介意我的意见啦,毕竟我是外行人。我们外行人肤浅一点只会欣赏大动作舞蹈就像人家看我是歌手喜欢看飙高音。我知道舞蹈练习是很幸苦的。也就是这样,你们以后会非常珍惜练舞的回忆。<br />
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<u><b>司仪团</b></u><br />
今年司仪缩水了,只有八个人了。短剧也缩水了,减少了许多。可是,这是好事。往年的确短剧多,好笑好看,可是会把焦点由歌曲转移到司仪身上。今年司仪们除了一些梗人家 get 不到,其实会比较适合给这种校园级的演绎会。就如蔡咪咪说的,拿捏得刚刚好。不过你们的短剧还是很好啊,求婚场面我听到有人问这到底是不是真的求婚?还有司仪男女互动还真让(男)人火滚啊,弄到我右边的男观众一直喊说他也很想加入司仪团。你们赢了咯。而且其中一个司仪声线很好,拥有很适合做 radio DJ 的一把声音。<br />
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大致上,很多人都认为今年大摇整体上进步了 *鼓掌*,特别是歌手乐手 marketing (给您跪了) 和 publicity。希望你们明年可以维持下去。<br />
虽然有些方面退步了,可是你们要知道表演这种东西见仁见智。我们活在一个民主社会里,一个人的意见也不一定会得到所有人的同意,所以不用太在意。而且前几年你们都大概到达非常高水准了,所以退步一点还是算很不错的。不要为了这么一点东西影响自己。<br />
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毕竟,人生中的很多东西,重要的并不是它的终点,而是过程。<br />
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各位加油。<br />
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Malcolm<br />
***所有照片由 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MansonLim0324">Manson Lim</a> 提供。 Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-81429737619010668272017-02-09T21:16:00.002+08:002017-02-09T22:23:52.385+08:00Mulu National Park Traveling Tips<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Mulu National Park is one of the most magnificent national parks <i>in the world</i>. It's a world UNESCO site--on par with the Great Barrier Reef, Rome, Venice, and Taj Mahal--and hosts four of the most beautiful caves on Earth. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I have the photos to illustrate my point.</span></span><br />
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The caves are not the only attraction here--birding and hiking are also popular among tourists. There are several hardcore hiking packages that take several days to complete--so yes you need to stay several nights in the forest. The park is therefore a suitable recreational place for people of all ages and fitness levels. <br />
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The Mulu National Park is located in Mulu, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. The place is so remote that the only way to get to the park is by air--operated by a subsidiary of MAS--the MASwings. Phone coverage is very limited, WiFi and drinking water are a luxury and the Mulu airport is so small it doesn't even have a luggage conveyor belt--everything is done manually here.<br />
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Transportation, accommodation and tour packages are easy to come by so you don't have to prebook everything before going to Mulu.<br />
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When you arrive at the airport, just walk out the arrival hall and ask around for transportation to the national park. A single trip costs RM5.00 and takes less than 3 minutes, or you could walk to the park itself, located only 1.6 km away from the airport. Don't worry about getting lost--there's only one road in Mulu and the road signs are clear and accurate.<br />
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There are plenty of houses offering homestay accommodation, but they're all located <i>outside</i> of the park, so for maximum convenience consider stay within the park itself. There are several types of accommodation offered by the park--from luxurious VIP suites to the humble, derelict hostel--all within 2-minute walking distance from the park HQ. The park hostel can accommodate up to 20 person at one time and sells for RM55.00 per bed/night. As a side note, I lost the cabinet key and was fined RM20.00.<br />
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Food here can be pretty expensive, ranging from RM 8.00 to RM20.00 per item, but the real expensive necessity here is drinking water, which sells for RM 3.50 per liter. I was warned of the expensive water in Mulu and so I bought a 6-liters water at RM 11.00 from Kuching and checked it into my backpack before flying into Mulu. <br />
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And, for internet addicts, rejoice!<br />
Because WiFi is available at the park HQ at RM5.00 per day per device. The connection can be sh**ty though. Facebook is okay, but trying to book your last minute ticket out of Mulu can be daunting.<br />
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Okay, so here are some of the essentials that you <i>must</i> bring on a trip to Mulu:<br />
<b>1) Insect repellent.</b><br />
I can't stress this enough. You're visiting a tropical rain forest, home to countless species of bloodsucking parasites. If you forget to bring your insect repellent, prepare to shell out RM 25.00 for one in the park convenience store.<br />
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<b>2) Hiking shoes and sandals.</b><br />
You need the sandals for convenience, and the hiking shoes for stepping over sharp stones or crossing river. Forget your average Nike or Adidas sports shoes because those aren't gonna last in the rain forest, and they certainly aren't thick enough to stop leeches from slithering into your toes. <br />
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<b>3) Leech socks?</b><br />
No you won't need that. I walked around in shorts and hiking shoes and that allowed me to see leeches that got attached to me. These parasites are more determined than you think, so leech socks and long pants aren't going to keep them out for long. And once they got in, it'd be very difficult to remove them from the long leech socks and pants. Wear shorts with short socks so you can easily see these bastards when they attach to you.<br />
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<b>4) Headlights!</b><br />
This is soooo important and yet I forgot to bring one. You will need it desperately when moving about in the caves.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Must do activies</b></span><br />
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1) <u>Clearwater cave (RM 65 including boat ride)</u><br />
This is at the top of my list because the cave is so. Very. Amazing. To quote from a Canadian in my hiking group, "<b>this is the sort of place that you go to where it exceeds all expectations</b>".<br />
There's also a pond at the entrance of the cave where you could jump in for a swim at the end of the tour.<br />
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2) <u>Deer cave and the Garden of Eden (RM 125)</u><br />
Deer cave is the second largest cave in the world, large enough to accommodate forty--yes, that's four, zero--Boeing 747s. It also has the side profile of President Abraham Lincoln. This package is expensive because it brings you to a waterfall where you can again jump in for another swim. Be warned though, there are lots of leeches near the waterfall. To be honest, I'm fine with them latching onto me, I just don't want them to get into any orifice or in between my legs. <br />
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3) <u>Birding and animal photography (Free)</u><br />
I saw some hornbills, egret, kingfisher, mouse deer, leaf insects, stick insects, and lots of other interesting animals. The humidity of the forest can be damaging for DSLRs, though, and mine was so filled with moisture to the point I could see the moisture <i>in the sensor chamber</i> through the viewfinder.<br />
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4) <u>Bat show (Free)</u><br />
The caves are home to close to 3 million bats from 12 different species. Every evening the bats would fly out the caves in a long, spectacular black stream to feed on insects and fruits.<br />
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Mulu is one of the last places on earth where true, wild rainforest still exists. The richness of its ecosystem that makes it a world heritage site should be properly promoted and taken care of. However, it's disheartening to see that most Malaysians are still oblivious to the beauty that drives so many foreign tourists flocking in right in their own backyard. In fact the visitors in Mulu during my stay comprised of mostly international tourists and only two Malaysians--myself included.<br />
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Perhaps some of us should stop thinking about visiting foreign countries -- and the ringgit is so weak right now under the leadership of you-know-who -- everytime and take one hard look at our local attractions? The grass is not always greener on the other side you know?<br />
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p/s: If you still can't appreciate or see the value and the beauty of the park, please read this excellent <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/malaysia/articles/Malaysias-Gunung-Mulu-national-park-revisiting-one-of-the-most-spectacular-rainforests-on-earth/">piece</a> by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, one of the earliest explorers of Mulu National Park.<br />
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Malcolm<br />
<br />Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-10902463398489527212016-10-14T12:32:00.003+08:002016-10-14T12:32:48.661+08:00A Tribute: Why King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand is the Best King Ever<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand passed away peacefully at Siriraj Hospital on 13th October 2016. His Majesty was 88.</span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="9tbs0-0-0"><span data-text="true">At first glance, one may be skeptical towards the the late King Bhumibol of Thailand.</span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="8hqve-0-0"><span data-text="true">He was the richest king in the world? Okay, probably because he inherited all that wealth.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="cpf20-0-0"><span data-text="true">He studied in Switzerland? Well, that's probably due to his heritage as well.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="d36nj-0-0"><span data-text="true">He could play the piano and saxophone and clarinet and trumpet, and had performed alongside multiple artists. Well one could say that he was rich enough to attend classes.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="ejn5r-0-0"><span data-text="true">He was a humble and down to earth person. Meh, probably made up by the Thai media that doesn't wish to see its publishing license revoked.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: wikimedia common</td></tr>
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<span data-offset-key="bgpnq-0-0"><span data-text="true">That was until I read that King Bhumibol was the only monarch in the world that has <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2940430.stm">invention patent </a>under his name. Isn't that cool, a king that is really smart and wise and knowledgeable? Sounds like something that appears only in a Disney movie, eh?</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bgpnq-0-0"><span data-text="true">Well, the fact is, </span></span><span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">during
his reign he invented new rainmaking <a href="http://www.out-law.com/page-6996">technique</a> in Thailand to kick start the agricultural
industry. The king had not one, but <i>several</i> patents filed under his name.</span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="bgpnq-0-0"><span data-text="true">The reason why I think this is cool is because science doesn't really care whether you're a commoner or a king - you get a patent if and only if your invention really work. So King Bhumibol is no ordinary king--he's a <i>really</i> smart king.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: http://www.boi.go.th/tir/issue/200605_15_5/5.htm</td></tr>
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<span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">The contribution he'd made in agriculture is so enormous that today the country is nicknamed the "Rice Bowl of Asia". Moreover, the fact that he went through all the trouble to help developing the Thai agricultural industry (unlike most other kings of the world who sit at home and go to Harvard and boast about playing multiple instruments and do horse-riding simply because they're born into royalty, by the way) shows that he really cared about and loved his people and country.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">The longest reigning monarch in history aside, he's also a very considerate king. There was a story on<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu0ykdOo5DE"> CNN</a> several years ago which chronicled the king visiting his mother in the hospital in Bangkok only during the night because he didn't want to cause a disruption in the city due to his entourage. </span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Queen Elizabeth's royal corgi died last <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/pets/Queen-Elizabeth-Corgi-Died-42539719">week</a>. King Bhumibol took in a stray off the street, named it Tongdaeng (meaning copper), and wrote a heartfelt <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/29/thai-kings-dog-khun-tongdaeng-dies-days-after-insult-arrest">book</a> about her attributes in 2002.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdEH0I87Yp_cLaHi2fZaTbsdOUqLdS6SHDZ3AOztGreE6yMs8DBUaHJoM9szHRlFly7SN9jW7I8NBLz7hrhZnxDCicIo16NMzWhQMi_Q-d8LPI3JxMFqe98AkfgorEjuqGJiN99JK9cdp/s1600/kuhntongdaeng3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdEH0I87Yp_cLaHi2fZaTbsdOUqLdS6SHDZ3AOztGreE6yMs8DBUaHJoM9szHRlFly7SN9jW7I8NBLz7hrhZnxDCicIo16NMzWhQMi_Q-d8LPI3JxMFqe98AkfgorEjuqGJiN99JK9cdp/s320/kuhntongdaeng3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The King and his favourite dog, Tongdaeng. Image: http://www.changpuak.ch/bijoux/Tongdaeng.php</td></tr>
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<span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Then there's the famous stories of his intervention in the nation's political scene.</span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">In 1992,</span></span> dozens of demonstrators were shot after protesting against an attempt by a former coup leader, Gen Suchinda Kraprayoon, to become prime minister.
The king called Suchinda, and the pro-democracy leader, Chamlong Srimuang, to appear in front of him, both on their knees as demanded by royal protocol. “We are fighting in our own house,” he scolded the two warring politicians. “It is useless to live on burned ruins.”<br />
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Suchinda resigned and subsequent elections saw the return of a democratic, civilian government.<br />
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Eleven years earlier, King Bhumibol had aborted a coup by simply inviting the besieged prime minister, Prem Tinsulanonda, to stay at a royal palace with the king and queen.<br />
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<span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">King Bhumibol could speak four languages and understood Latin and Greek.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">FOUR! </span></span></div>
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I've seen one of His Majesty's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ih9cgmYY5M">interviews</a> on youtube and yes, he could speak perfect English with only a slight hint of Thai accent. In another video, King Bhumibol <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX5Z8Mxe1MM">spoke</a> to President Obama without the help of a translator.</div>
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<span data-offset-key="1iouo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Then I checked an interview of the king in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfMC3YuYUxA">French</a> and heck, he's good enough at conversation level (which means very good, definitely better than <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HPc0JvkUVA">Prince William</a>).</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="aapbc-0-0"><span data-text="true">So yes, I believe that he's the nice, humble, down to earth, multi-talented king reported by the Thai media, and a really good person. He's like the last remaining survivor from the gentlemen era, a time when people wore proper attire for the right occasion and acted with dignity and politeness and treated one another with respect.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02I0y0p_UB0D0MO_O3BP6eoTlASFh9eZYrsipiEow4YvHcQRfRoiud3iJM8XlstF1yrg7HdnR_h1WSUyXlncRx2xqLg-zEaVYVanHKuoHzUqUBiUPjCz-YLyb2irb1Y3LdXmSZu9QfT_i/s1600/king2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02I0y0p_UB0D0MO_O3BP6eoTlASFh9eZYrsipiEow4YvHcQRfRoiud3iJM8XlstF1yrg7HdnR_h1WSUyXlncRx2xqLg-zEaVYVanHKuoHzUqUBiUPjCz-YLyb2irb1Y3LdXmSZu9QfT_i/s1600/king2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: http://prvn.rdpb.go.th/king.html</td></tr>
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<span data-offset-key="aapbc-0-0"><span data-text="true">One can only hope that leaders and kings of other countries can be as wise, humble and knowledgeable as the late King Bhumibol. </span></span><br />
<span data-offset-key="aapbc-0-0"><span data-text="true">He once told an interviewer of </span></span><span data-offset-key="aapbc-0-0"><span data-text="true"> The Times that he did not care how history would remember him. </span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="aapbc-0-0"><span data-text="true">“If they want to write about me in a good way,” he said, “they should write how I do things that are useful.” </span></span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="aapbc-0-0"><span data-text="true">Malcolm </span></span></div>
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Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-16241847400117662192016-07-14T17:17:00.003+08:002016-07-15T09:51:36.701+08:00Lang Tengah Turtle Watch (LTTW) Volunteer Program 2016<span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-large;">I've practically given up every ounce of interest in writing down all my thoughts over the past few months. In fact I haven't been blogging as avidly as in the past because, well, I've been rather busy--it's a convenient excuse.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5kSTfj9xqvm1BZ1q0QsNG9kiSK8vko-vl4HFNiSZJ7e3wcKyjjOAHs6NfirrbX16qc5wS_fKQCcdwSFenFAARAq3vonhbvY_5Cg62bhHBLVsBrM6zpz8HzhTPXYrfSjwoMljRPBXtmmQ/s1600/13626408_10154373616404421_5265261074510808024_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5kSTfj9xqvm1BZ1q0QsNG9kiSK8vko-vl4HFNiSZJ7e3wcKyjjOAHs6NfirrbX16qc5wS_fKQCcdwSFenFAARAq3vonhbvY_5Cg62bhHBLVsBrM6zpz8HzhTPXYrfSjwoMljRPBXtmmQ/s320/13626408_10154373616404421_5265261074510808024_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anyway, a lot had happened over the past few months, and I've achieved a few of my new year resolution, including an article published in a tier-1 <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/27/33/332002/meta">journal</a> (yaayyyy--warning, it's 16 pages long so if you're not into physics/science/nanotechnology/biotechnology/longwindingarticle it's best not to click on that link).<br />
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Ever since I returned from the <a href="http://malct32.blogspot.my/2012/08/sea-turtle-rescue-unit-volunteer.html">SEATRU</a> experience I have dreamed of going back there again. However, the last time I checked, the volunteer fee had increased to over a thousand ringgit so I had no choice but to search for an alternative. A couple of clicks later I found this: Lang Tengah Turtle Watch (LTTW).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The camp site. Photo: Jinting Lee</td></tr>
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LTTW is an organization aimed at protecting sea turtles on Lang Tengah island. The base of the LTTW is situated at Turtle Bay, Lang Tengah. Unlike SEATRU, however, the LTTW does not enforce no-visitors-allowed policy, which means visitors and hotel guests from resorts nearby are free to come and go as they like. Also unlike some of the more prominent turtle conservation centers/programs in Terengganu and Perak, the LTTW does not have any baby turtles hatchery because it aims to protect turtles by letting every breeding process unfolds naturally. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turtle eggs during our pre-hatch check. Photo: Heng Kai Voon</td></tr>
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The living condition of LTTW volunteer program is somewhat similar to SEATRU, albeit slightly more primitive i.e. we had to fetch water from a well for drinking and bathing; we used dry toilet and urinated in the jungle; we had limited electricity; we showered in a fenced up area that had no door; and we had to collect firewood to feed the fire to ward off mosquitoes (caution: there were TONNES of mosquitoes there at LTTW, compared to no mosquitoes at SEATRU, so I fell into some kind of mosquito-shock).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's me getting my back treated for sandfly and mosquito bites.</td></tr>
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Okay, a couple of things to note:</div>
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1) The volunteer fee for LTTW is <b>RM560 per pax per week</b> (inclusive of accommodation and food).</div>
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2) For university students who are majoring in environmental/zoology/marine biodiversity courses, you could get your fees waived (depending on availability of funding). <a href="http://www.langtengahturtlewatch.org/contact-us/">Contact </a>LTTW to know more.</div>
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3) You can stay for a minimum of 1 week to a maximum of 3 months.</div>
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4) It's best if you can cook. Otherwise, please bring some canned food (<b>halal</b>) so everyone can share.</div>
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5) Daily activities include pre and post-hatch nest check, lunch preparation, hiking/snorkeling session, cliff jumping (this!), dinner preparation, camp cleaning, night patrol, and of course, turtles watching and star gazing.</div>
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6) To get to Lang Tengah island from KL, first take a bus from KL to Kuala Terengganu (RM 44, transnasional bus). From there, take a taxi to <b>Merang</b> jetty (not to be confused with Marang jetty) where you catch the 10am <b>Ameen Boat Service</b> to the island. If you drive, you can park your car at the car park near the jetty at RM10 per car per night.</div>
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7) Returning to the mainland from Lang Tengah is straightforward: just let the person-in-charge at the LTTW know when you need to leave, and they will call Ameen Boat Service to get a boat for you.</div>
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8) The best time to visit is between April-September, during the dry season. You have to send an email to Raphe (raphe@langtengahturtlewatch.org) with subject entitled <b>Volunteer Program</b>. Raphe is the co-founder of the LTTW and he's really helpful :).</div>
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9) Cellphone coverage is limited at LTTW, but you can charge your camera and other electronics using the solar panel.</div>
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Okay, last but not least, let's see some pictures!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcrp7JcpoRPNwQql_qI3ofvFZFCdkeXC1aBTG8M3JTThtjyxbGa9onv7_l65N_YneTV1YjK-QH9XWNKYRJzfFr420jsZgNLkmUkIdD57CzvChzcJ_Vo10ra7spX-MCWuPYrBqoQrjbCz-/s1600/OPN_8977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcrp7JcpoRPNwQql_qI3ofvFZFCdkeXC1aBTG8M3JTThtjyxbGa9onv7_l65N_YneTV1YjK-QH9XWNKYRJzfFr420jsZgNLkmUkIdD57CzvChzcJ_Vo10ra7spX-MCWuPYrBqoQrjbCz-/s400/OPN_8977.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise at Batu Kuching, Lang Tengah</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaW79ZRdHAhxV80W6zq7SvVymcnM7W9O0PjU_fKaNaDMjQo7dzaQWwS2d4HQLIPi2umObAExWjNrgGuHoPY2_D46b93c7SbewSX-4iIDQj2opTU4G1ZSJ9qqc54Uk8grnhy8u5XMOjoUhA/s1600/DSC_9266-1-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaW79ZRdHAhxV80W6zq7SvVymcnM7W9O0PjU_fKaNaDMjQo7dzaQWwS2d4HQLIPi2umObAExWjNrgGuHoPY2_D46b93c7SbewSX-4iIDQj2opTU4G1ZSJ9qqc54Uk8grnhy8u5XMOjoUhA/s400/DSC_9266-1-1-1.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A friend published a book on his experience in LTTW</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the most commonly-sighted animals at the LTTW base-Tokay Gecko</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30YONW8E-UKcohU-nhdMuDe5AscXITDQnbqHZk2MbOR2AvsqDb-8l2nsDpZmo9zLatTIZ68_hWcK9HfYGCpaOj2rLTod179MAVpFCcnxZz26O3cyyH46TSAGjVnZsnXY4wh3m2402wByb/s1600/DSC_9417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30YONW8E-UKcohU-nhdMuDe5AscXITDQnbqHZk2MbOR2AvsqDb-8l2nsDpZmo9zLatTIZ68_hWcK9HfYGCpaOj2rLTod179MAVpFCcnxZz26O3cyyH46TSAGjVnZsnXY4wh3m2402wByb/s320/DSC_9417.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is where we normally chill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeX06jJi8CdjXdANnByamaax7eJRBdxaBRMr7QAukn82PB5ZwbRAuI57ge3I3XTSvdkS97GwnnM_mhdHu-n4g0DUekuOPGyGp-NIBNjlHWmV1iYSYObkV4pdERG7M3U_bxuoel0xksDXo/s1600/OPN_8333-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeX06jJi8CdjXdANnByamaax7eJRBdxaBRMr7QAukn82PB5ZwbRAuI57ge3I3XTSvdkS97GwnnM_mhdHu-n4g0DUekuOPGyGp-NIBNjlHWmV1iYSYObkV4pdERG7M3U_bxuoel0xksDXo/s320/OPN_8333-1.JPG" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lek Meng and Tasha the turtle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNy8XuERgxeQ6fPRz-EzisKpWNAdaB2OSVTXVbjBmcHLyd9QokXb-0SusJNkmADzdOe9iQn2v0epYBODA8Xnhbh9wqpQ6AHdcZOeF-NPfb_bncKIDD06RxNnGoVQXLRYTmveytLMWQJ90/s1600/OPN_8367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNy8XuERgxeQ6fPRz-EzisKpWNAdaB2OSVTXVbjBmcHLyd9QokXb-0SusJNkmADzdOe9iQn2v0epYBODA8Xnhbh9wqpQ6AHdcZOeF-NPfb_bncKIDD06RxNnGoVQXLRYTmveytLMWQJ90/s400/OPN_8367.JPG" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This tree belongs to one of the most ancient of species that dates back to the days of dinosaurs.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDMnSVptfBr61axCXGbSb5b5HLtweyGuNhbrUczBYtiib3l6pYPtMIbJU32uMyjxjNmwh_sj0hteaeU4xKEOPHgUm5JDAln370wXoLJ54vYFpH4iS2K4pfbj_3QuVg96OYXWm91685zzZ/s1600/13661845_10154546707774384_1896499346638349191_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVDMnSVptfBr61axCXGbSb5b5HLtweyGuNhbrUczBYtiib3l6pYPtMIbJU32uMyjxjNmwh_sj0hteaeU4xKEOPHgUm5JDAln370wXoLJ54vYFpH4iS2K4pfbj_3QuVg96OYXWm91685zzZ/s320/13661845_10154546707774384_1896499346638349191_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lek Meng makes really tasty noodles!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4EYr_JgBEaQxQN1LqAQkqngz1Z32KSeIgxPMblOqScXv8ZlKXkyPPtE_KUopBpPPS4d-Ozc8Jykui0NHkxMTPZK1Yz5-zvBEgbIzvE8Scx9x7EhR7UemvXKpnV3ZNFONw8R2Jjd6zc0Q/s1600/13659179_10154373353179421_1225879153563763449_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4EYr_JgBEaQxQN1LqAQkqngz1Z32KSeIgxPMblOqScXv8ZlKXkyPPtE_KUopBpPPS4d-Ozc8Jykui0NHkxMTPZK1Yz5-zvBEgbIzvE8Scx9x7EhR7UemvXKpnV3ZNFONw8R2Jjd6zc0Q/s320/13659179_10154373353179421_1225879153563763449_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The well.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1Fw-aAuiXIBflSDctlBqhcJgtW9MhWxNAWklll-Hz1l9Jp9KW-UyF-ZIzZp5xP4g99T8-3eLnbPlBxAXHWkVGHNgo8csaX3PorDe9p6VhyphenhyphenuWu2vhVB5tBCwNVhAqwFJ-LPs1IBA92PHW/s1600/13631490_10154543976709384_6083019090548237226_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1Fw-aAuiXIBflSDctlBqhcJgtW9MhWxNAWklll-Hz1l9Jp9KW-UyF-ZIzZp5xP4g99T8-3eLnbPlBxAXHWkVGHNgo8csaX3PorDe9p6VhyphenhyphenuWu2vhVB5tBCwNVhAqwFJ-LPs1IBA92PHW/s320/13631490_10154543976709384_6083019090548237226_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhElqm0JqZ_iocPWoGzfFaJODno4vngJGetHZPEP4u59PNaVFOhqUdDY8F-L1P4e_zHVEeq8qnKSOtKR24TLBM_CvHhIHIS41QeAdoMt7Zk2iv3Vp_frX4k1jjHftvmgTJ_kyrLMav_jJar/s1600/13627182_10154373352879421_6939557428656557096_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhElqm0JqZ_iocPWoGzfFaJODno4vngJGetHZPEP4u59PNaVFOhqUdDY8F-L1P4e_zHVEeq8qnKSOtKR24TLBM_CvHhIHIS41QeAdoMt7Zk2iv3Vp_frX4k1jjHftvmgTJ_kyrLMav_jJar/s320/13627182_10154373352879421_6939557428656557096_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ezK-H4C_ffGxZULrBoRoge_Nn5lF_V3ppzGm5o4MIks_AoK2GdehYGi8-Kthyphenhyphen9ho9r-1OtzmWuojiduDgAj-uz15sAYOoBDeCLpQCPhj-Nqaw9suZRQqHTtizFa73gu2eCEh5OR-JJkC/s1600/13627007_10154373357469421_3954328637809809709_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ezK-H4C_ffGxZULrBoRoge_Nn5lF_V3ppzGm5o4MIks_AoK2GdehYGi8-Kthyphenhyphen9ho9r-1OtzmWuojiduDgAj-uz15sAYOoBDeCLpQCPhj-Nqaw9suZRQqHTtizFa73gu2eCEh5OR-JJkC/s320/13627007_10154373357469421_3954328637809809709_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the solar panels that we had to move out into the sun every morning to charge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPGpgci-xvQnSAG1nknhreGMYGgc65h135zEICtgNWt35LgNiq6PqoqDU8sMInZ6YEKA2N3lZJiuS6F1ZwC0Fj2vwiMv9ayaIGJ-NOkB5lFlc1bbVeKR-FUhP0IwQqsHn3dZi10KzEE_p/s1600/13619972_10154373621534421_7208240741892453163_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPGpgci-xvQnSAG1nknhreGMYGgc65h135zEICtgNWt35LgNiq6PqoqDU8sMInZ6YEKA2N3lZJiuS6F1ZwC0Fj2vwiMv9ayaIGJ-NOkB5lFlc1bbVeKR-FUhP0IwQqsHn3dZi10KzEE_p/s320/13619972_10154373621534421_7208240741892453163_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-hatch nest check</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKW3TlsDOp4iO-v3F1vCff-JtMdhP7NQfWVyCb7MtCNAnW372HRZkPFoNcJ_B9hH_rm6qPU6m66fnf7jfg8LKbx0UCpdTv4i5ccnT5nDneYzH2F89MQ9rFh7r1M6y-1jR3z7rk6h1O_YL/s1600/13615235_10154373355824421_379703038344800667_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKW3TlsDOp4iO-v3F1vCff-JtMdhP7NQfWVyCb7MtCNAnW372HRZkPFoNcJ_B9hH_rm6qPU6m66fnf7jfg8LKbx0UCpdTv4i5ccnT5nDneYzH2F89MQ9rFh7r1M6y-1jR3z7rk6h1O_YL/s320/13615235_10154373355824421_379703038344800667_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQK5jIlxa066YBBKVBYn6YUREzx49Rz7YLkizN_Juo1rId7Kn6Geyr_oxUkOYKv0Ckzl2hV3fP9R4b2rxws_xqeApgYzc4VNsJn7E2BFR94zk9080vDEWZJor4uS9gFKUPbJKfR-jSLtar/s1600/13612156_10154541315354384_1698779234178562474_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQK5jIlxa066YBBKVBYn6YUREzx49Rz7YLkizN_Juo1rId7Kn6Geyr_oxUkOYKv0Ckzl2hV3fP9R4b2rxws_xqeApgYzc4VNsJn7E2BFR94zk9080vDEWZJor4uS9gFKUPbJKfR-jSLtar/s320/13612156_10154541315354384_1698779234178562474_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The milky way is so clear you can see it with naked eyes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiezv5QxxUV6IjTvVwurYswEpSS42GEeRa6WIaB9WxMAjlRxKm3NaEyPiqmpfEDovsV5-kr6nwFLfoNJrDE04WQZu2Fwgec1yeVFkmullCOQMM_dCoMnAays1F_MBv1HlaIpzqWSau8QAFa/s1600/13606869_10154544029909384_5313138496886935063_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiezv5QxxUV6IjTvVwurYswEpSS42GEeRa6WIaB9WxMAjlRxKm3NaEyPiqmpfEDovsV5-kr6nwFLfoNJrDE04WQZu2Fwgec1yeVFkmullCOQMM_dCoMnAays1F_MBv1HlaIpzqWSau8QAFa/s400/13606869_10154544029909384_5313138496886935063_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljkTSnEsj0mNBEru8w80XE3cWbjTywIqe9N-w-a3HlIJIrGpTVkPZf6WIm0JTUkfKW-uo-ricnCVaQEF91ErBfdbS9QsT4cRWtcD88ZqyUi8vbBXfloZU0XXr3cOlIiwGLEGvbrfVrgxH/s1600/13592715_10209447743165617_8615874176073629902_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljkTSnEsj0mNBEru8w80XE3cWbjTywIqe9N-w-a3HlIJIrGpTVkPZf6WIm0JTUkfKW-uo-ricnCVaQEF91ErBfdbS9QsT4cRWtcD88ZqyUi8vbBXfloZU0XXr3cOlIiwGLEGvbrfVrgxH/s320/13592715_10209447743165617_8615874176073629902_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuT1wDrL3sa5FIDKJNyHQaGz0VVAApCEi2JImM5EmAyupHfeEtaQjh_j7ZU7Dvw-EeqBa3v8y5qcN2xBxa6dExRIRelvIMxQKp60sEgIdCGTOJ62C6wAFmW6tkay8AqGvX-EvJYpkI9Jp/s1600/13592250_10154373354214421_6369540159483378077_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuT1wDrL3sa5FIDKJNyHQaGz0VVAApCEi2JImM5EmAyupHfeEtaQjh_j7ZU7Dvw-EeqBa3v8y5qcN2xBxa6dExRIRelvIMxQKp60sEgIdCGTOJ62C6wAFmW6tkay8AqGvX-EvJYpkI9Jp/s400/13592250_10154373354214421_6369540159483378077_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sleeping chamber.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Aa2Ib9mYIm_Vil3cHyxtdRO6_6Oh8vplzteXFYEz6ADGNX1rPh-lKIr9dvdfbGBkZgqliulBpwox8CI6zwq0SQUMVa0TugnPWietRSqmZGGZH6PDobKplIcncg8RR8EvO2CHbLNca8_5/s1600/13590450_10154373118319421_4268152594756443738_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Aa2Ib9mYIm_Vil3cHyxtdRO6_6Oh8vplzteXFYEz6ADGNX1rPh-lKIr9dvdfbGBkZgqliulBpwox8CI6zwq0SQUMVa0TugnPWietRSqmZGGZH6PDobKplIcncg8RR8EvO2CHbLNca8_5/s400/13590450_10154373118319421_4268152594756443738_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvEGSMmcAzODA7DODrDo2oO9AbCMpJDWCVeqPLuGzlRfJok_ESJqnIASI5fvp_shIVRZr2Ik8c62-ciuCatOsfw0VreaCtj6HwwuS-0pZEYOM2la1eLQfqEnOzB0A2YnuKt419ZvvD6gkS/s1600/13438901_10154373613899421_7051212663614783763_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvEGSMmcAzODA7DODrDo2oO9AbCMpJDWCVeqPLuGzlRfJok_ESJqnIASI5fvp_shIVRZr2Ik8c62-ciuCatOsfw0VreaCtj6HwwuS-0pZEYOM2la1eLQfqEnOzB0A2YnuKt419ZvvD6gkS/s400/13438901_10154373613899421_7051212663614783763_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKifSFIo9RHB5jAjEcTUYk2auZCHpmHkVpVOusdk09finbkriIuV2LUriwD8cZR_OrHVNueFD60ZUxbZM_3TE4xOIoStRdxFlYdFbHPllYpzjyWTxQEzXdwMoOIJBkSazmHM6pw7WuHfT/s1600/rubbish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKifSFIo9RHB5jAjEcTUYk2auZCHpmHkVpVOusdk09finbkriIuV2LUriwD8cZR_OrHVNueFD60ZUxbZM_3TE4xOIoStRdxFlYdFbHPllYpzjyWTxQEzXdwMoOIJBkSazmHM6pw7WuHfT/s400/rubbish.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the sites that we went to was inundated by rubbish. In fact, the pictures cannot do this place justice--there was so much rubbish we couldn't fit the entire scene into an image.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYr0t5jpOzElIa1GSBFZDg5cF7GHIWIPY3u26YAsLFVPTt4dZBDpUu8uX46SOCfzu0Qg9Q4rhQXLYtcRZ0FuFYj2az30FnFdPoZv1CZWMxgIPQPjli_xkTAWzXyJU1Dlnj9jWLzGreVuC/s1600/rubbish3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYr0t5jpOzElIa1GSBFZDg5cF7GHIWIPY3u26YAsLFVPTt4dZBDpUu8uX46SOCfzu0Qg9Q4rhQXLYtcRZ0FuFYj2az30FnFdPoZv1CZWMxgIPQPjli_xkTAWzXyJU1Dlnj9jWLzGreVuC/s320/rubbish3.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rubbish consisted of fishing nets, buoys, and plastic bottles.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPueiiy1im42c6VvAlwp65RDtAE2r0loCnT-iIX6CD69RHajkExBvjns3ayJXqz6m7uX8MJOqnyS7sGTtKAXULP2Xw0c_urt9BVII5xv-Z9chm20VIb-dW3a-mhVvr-QDZUve_-94Sjse/s1600/rubbish2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPueiiy1im42c6VvAlwp65RDtAE2r0loCnT-iIX6CD69RHajkExBvjns3ayJXqz6m7uX8MJOqnyS7sGTtKAXULP2Xw0c_urt9BVII5xv-Z9chm20VIb-dW3a-mhVvr-QDZUve_-94Sjse/s320/rubbish2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">According to the LTTW staff, the rubbish float in during the monsoon season and get stuck between the rocks. Years of neglect gradually stock up enough rubbish to become a small rubbish hill.</td></tr>
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I was thoroughly appalled by the rubbish slope I saw on the island. It's even more disheartening that the dump site was situated next to one of the finest snorkeling sites of the island. It's easy to notice the extend of coral bleaching on the island--Turtle Bay itself was <strike>littered </strike> covered with dead corals washed up on the beach. The death of the corals will have a cascading effect further down the food chain, and will eventually affect the health of the entire marine ecosystem. Left unchecked for many years under the sun, the rubbish pile shown in the pictures above could contaminate the sea and subsequently kill the corals or other aquatic animals.</div>
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Pollution on the island aside, the LTTW is still a fascinating program to participate in.</div>
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If you have any more question, just drop a comment in the comment section and I'll get back to you as soon as I can ;).</div>
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Malcolm</div>
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Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-17473138398748847442016-05-02T23:29:00.002+08:002016-05-02T23:29:19.788+08:00大摇 2016<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">身为老鸟,我每年都对大摇充满期待</span><br />
<br />
毕竟是自己在大学唯一曾经热血过熬夜过的活动。<br />
当然,每次看后都会有 comment,当然会拿跟历届大摇比。<br />
如果有兴趣,大家可以客观的看看,不要太在意,毕竟只是个人意见。<br />
还有几个老鸟的。<br />
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今年,跟 Rachel 大家姐吃饭后很早就抵达 DTC 现场。入场不久就找不到位子。<br />
Hmmm....老鸟专属位子不见了?椅子后没有贴 “老鸟” wor.....<br />
不理啦,青菜找个位子就坐下来就是了。<br />
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后来就,jeng jeng jeng jeng, silent video。有听到人家尖叫哦。<br />
接着,嘉宾入席了。老实说,嘉宾入席时候是我生平第一次看到男性 usher 哦(不是那个歌手 Usher)。 不错不错挺新鲜的。<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo8RVsxECk1bu4WS649zZCnTQgu3Fjs2gMxUxPhHBIo86BxkIamrqyuxsaLLGhyr7R48uRFOQftzh8K5HVTGJOOM5V6OAPEfFDYREa477J4ZzSLnYZC20FkdXKDkvIzfX4qAuDP3IFjvq/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo8RVsxECk1bu4WS649zZCnTQgu3Fjs2gMxUxPhHBIo86BxkIamrqyuxsaLLGhyr7R48uRFOQftzh8K5HVTGJOOM5V6OAPEfFDYREa477J4ZzSLnYZC20FkdXKDkvIzfX4qAuDP3IFjvq/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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主席开始致词时,觉得怪怪的。<br />
为什么会一开始就以华文来致词呢?<br />
为什么不是马来文/英文先,过后才说:saya ingin meneruskan ucapan saya dalam Bahasa Cina 呢?这是基本搞大学活动基本 protocol 哦。或许嘉宾不是马来人或印度人,可是两个 emcee,一个讲华语一个英文,如果你以 “开幕嘉宾是华人” 为理由,那不如也不必多一个英文 emcee 咯对吧?反正大家讲华语啊~<br />
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还有一点就是 emcee 的英文稿有错误哦。“We would like to invite Mr ..... to remain on stage” 而不是 “I would like to ......” 。其他的如果有兴趣可以私底下询问,<br />
可是看男 emcee 很僵硬一下,好像有点紧张。<br />
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好了,接下来我尽量一个一个将我看到的讲。<br />
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<b>Sceno</b><br />
老实说,今年 sceno 不比前两年好。台上的 MAD 的确很漂亮,很 Retro 的感觉。可是那个人头石象就........不明白。可是人头像口里会出烟哦,像刚刚抽烟一样。还有那个奈何桥,做的 errrr....好像很脆弱...还有开幕典礼的 gimmick 也是你们做的吗?很特别一下哦。只是开幕时那东西跌到台上了。<br />
再说一遍:背后的 MAD 很美很美很美。很 insta-worthy。<br />
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<b>Marketing</b><br />
我前几天在某某面书看到有人投诉 goodie bag 没有零食,才恍然大悟。因为我的也是没有零食! 后来听说有人投诉今年不够资金。Hmmm,这种东西我不在行。只是觉得为什么台上的 Backdrop 写着很多 Sponsor 可是 goodie bag 里有的东西只有三样?可以解释一下吗?*我还要我的零食.....*<br />
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<b>乐手</b><br />
老实说,挺失望的。编曲也好,配合,tuning,,sound check 等。恕我直言,我真的觉得乐手们不应该不知道自己的乐器走音了。据我所知,sound check 是从拜一到拜三,应该有足够的时间来调音。可是到了现场,那个 silent video 一出就头痛了。第一首歌 sound balance 也不好,吉他走音。On a side note,祥熙觉得今年乐手比去年好。而且到阿尔法的时候乐手终于把吉他调好。可是又轮到其他乐器........其他东西,如果想知道详情可以私底下再问。<br />
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<b>节目组</b><br />
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我看到有人在面书投诉这次大摇结束后没时间拍照留念。个人觉得,这次大摇真的太久了。我记得是晚上九点开始,十六首歌之后,居然做到半夜十二点才结束。我听说其实早前练习彩排时节目组已经来监督还有计算时间啊,可是为什么还是做到那么迟呢?到十一点时我已经看到很多人离席了。把节目做到十二点,不止是观众流失,你们还得赶着在十二点清场。或许司仪组或多媒体组会拖时间,可是身为节目策划人,节目组必须坚持把整个发表会在特地的时间内结束啊。<br />
不过过后的清场工作做得很好,能够把百多个忙着拍照不听使唤的人赶到 DTC 外面拍照是很了不起的。</div>
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<b>多媒体与技术组</b></div>
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多媒体.... 个人觉得比去年逊色了。有人认为“不说话了”有好与不好。如果搞这种 MV,观众会把注意力放在 MV 里而忽略了台上的表演者。</div>
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另外,也有人说投诉 committee intro 太长了。</div>
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我明白大家很重视 committee intro, 毕竟大家辛苦了两个学期办活动,当然希望自己可以在荧幕上出现。</div>
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可是,你们想想,你们入戏院看戏时,有没有看到电影先介绍导演,介绍摄影师,介绍灯光,介绍音响先的?当然没有。而且这些都是在戏尾 credit 才出现。</div>
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相同的,大家去看周杰伦演唱会也不会有主办当局的详细介绍。</div>
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所以,我建议的是,以后可以考虑把 committee intro 一直重播在观众入场的时候的半个小时。这样一来大家就可以认识主办单位,committee 也开心,而多媒体呈现也不会在演唱会时吃掉宝贵的时间。</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Publicity</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">小册子的 Design 不错。可是,不知道那些 font 是谁决定的,有些字体真的看不清。比如峰回路转这首歌,歌词的那个字体不太理想,看得很幸苦。还有不要老去的歌词,为什么突然斜九十度?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Publicity 很像做的不是很理想。为什么?因为老实说我没有被洗版。而且也不太知道大摇到底是几时。我是在华文学会活动时候问 Ah Siang 才知道大摇是四月二十七。还记得两年前的大摇,他们 publicity 真的是做的有够厉害的。可能是我上网没注意看,或者真的是 publicity 不够。 不过还是有看到大家做到一起换 profile picture 还有分享倒数大摇日子。到最后几天还是很激烈的 publicize 大摇。</span></div>
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<b>歌手</b><br />
坐在我身边的是 2008-2009 大摇歌手组长,她说 “歌手很强大哦”。特别是阿尔法的歌手,还有一个“我还记得”的歌手(不好意思我不记得她的名字)。而今年也有合唱,独唱,还有三人,四人唱,很 varied 一下。而且很多都唱功很好。可惜就是 sound check 咯,因为歌声很常被音乐盖掉。在这里想说一点的就是:请不要常常以 “whisper” 方式来唱歌。为什么?因为你 whisper 时,的确很有那种 sad sad 的 feel, 可是音乐会盖掉你的声音。然后到副歌你情绪高昂的高声唱观众才听到你的声音,可是因为你太激烈呐喊导致走音.....有些歌当然歌手唱的不错,可是突然间唱到很嗨的部分就拼命喊,可是你们要知道,喊得时候很容易走音啊......<br />
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<b>舞蹈</b><br />
从前从前,舞蹈是 UKM 的重点。我们以前去看 UKM 新调子都是为舞蹈员疯狂~~可是现在大摇的 DYDC 的粉丝真的是多到对不起妈妈。我是外行人,可是第一支舞蹈真的好。好棒棒哦~~ 第二支舞蹈前半部比较好。第三支舞蹈,根据一位前舞蹈组长的分析,不太好,可能是freshie 的关系?还是太多人?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFEZYHZ3DG4SkVbK1JtJyo1RBY0CeNDCmoy7lwqpa07G2srOCn4tdFZwMEsVWBOyhj33Ue51iLVfKSVXhLqqmVBwlrHfZOLbnsoufohx9qr-vX1A6QUVCu6-xe-3JL0ZEec7iUIZzedRs/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFEZYHZ3DG4SkVbK1JtJyo1RBY0CeNDCmoy7lwqpa07G2srOCn4tdFZwMEsVWBOyhj33Ue51iLVfKSVXhLqqmVBwlrHfZOLbnsoufohx9qr-vX1A6QUVCu6-xe-3JL0ZEec7iUIZzedRs/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>司仪</b><br />
和前两年一样,还是很搞笑。笑点多,讽刺社会时事。<br />
可是,和前两年不同的是,今年的链接不好。比如阿尔法,以一个叫阿尔法的求雨仪式来介绍.....很勉强一下。而且故事越来越恐怖,却越来越和歌曲牵连不上。比如有一幕六个红人被杀.......居然接去爱情歌曲 “我还记得”.....<br />
可是最后的那个红衣姑娘还真的吓到我啊。徐太宇,周杰伦,pigbang,等都做得不错。笑点有到位。而且司仪从 DTC 门口入场的 idea,哟不错哦。<br />
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<b>总结:</b><br />
老实说,有点失望。<br />
而且我听我周围的人的评语,很多都很刺耳。听了我很失望。身边的一个说只有一两首不错,另一个就直接不给面子的说差。有两首英文歌也被批得很绝。有人说只有舞蹈能看。<br />
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其实我觉得近年来大摇乐手歌手已经慢慢被 emcee 团 和 舞蹈团 盖过了;他们甚至有自己的粉丝。而且 筹募组 publicity 和 sceno 的表现也是很抢眼(特别是 sceno,真的忘不了两年前的那个时钟!)。司仪团自两年前就已经崛起,越来越强,只是现在已经被人批评为抢风头,变得像演舞台剧了。<br />
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个人认为,的确司仪近年来越来越多戏份,那是因为司仪需要介绍下一首歌曲,带动气氛。今年如果能把歌曲串的好(有几首歌接得太勉强了),其实是没问题的。再说,他们可以选择以最传统,最沉闷,最没创意的介绍方式来介绍歌曲,但他们为了让每个人能享受大摇过程而想了很多笑点来娱乐大家。这样却迎来大家批评,我认为对他们不公平。而且,司仪团变得好看,其他部门也需要进步才可以让整个大摇越来越好啊。<br />
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歌曲方面,个人喜欢 “不说话了”,“阿尔法”,“伪装”,“不远”(虽然小提琴.....),“冠军玩偶”。<br />
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大家都努力办活动,为的是什么?<br />
很多人都是要给自己大学生涯不留遗憾。对,可是很多时候我们认为要做到 A+ 才算是不留遗憾,但其实那是不对的。<br />
只要我们真心付出了最好,那就不会留下遗憾了。<br />
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虽然整体来说今年大摇退步了,但是大家已经付出了最好,你们是 deserve 你们的掌声的。<br />
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Malcolm<br />
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%photo credit: Yin Meng and MC Square<br />
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<br />Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-16221402116504040742016-01-03T23:56:00.003+08:002016-01-04T12:04:05.085+08:00Do Plants Have Memory?<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">Most of us see plants as passive organisms: they don't move, they don't run, and they don't retaliate when you put them under the chainsaw. </span><br />
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Of course, plants do move. You can find plenty of timelapse <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7L4y6t5fX0&feature=youtu.be">videos</a> of flower blossoming and twigs moving on youtube, and some plants can even act fast enough to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnY_cCRELvs">capture</a> insects.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Similar to animals, plants react when stimulants around them change: the availability of sunlight, nutrient, and water. However, we normally don't perceive plants to be capable of memorizing things and .... learn, or behave, right?<br />
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And that's because plants do not have memory, they do not possess brains, right?<br />
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Well, according to a <a href="https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/experience-teaches-plants-to-learn-faster-and-forget-slower-in-0ZgFoH4IWe">paper</a> published last year by Monica Gagliano, associate professor of biology at the University of Western Australia, it seems that some plants <i>can </i>not only remember what happened to it, but also store that memory for up to a month.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mimosa pudica</i>. Image: wikipedia.org</td></tr>
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Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, <i>Mimosa pudica</i>, or commonly known as the sensitive <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF-b6TsO1DM">plant</a>. As its name implies, the plant folds its leaves into what seems like a defensive curl whenever something touches it. It's so sensitive that even a sense of falling could also prompt the plant to fold its leaves.<br />
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Gagliano wondered if she repeatedly stimulate the plants in the same manner, would the plants eventually realize that nothing terrible was going to happen and thus stopped folding their leaves?<br />
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So she loaded several pots of <i>Mimosa pudica</i> onto a special plant-dropping device using a sliding steel rail and dropped roughly six inches, not once, but 60 times with a 5-second interval. The plants would land onto a foam that prevented bouncing. The speed of the fall, however, was sufficient to stimulate the plant into folding their leaves.<br />
At first.<br />
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Gagliano soon observed that some plants did not close their leaves fully when dropped. As the experiment progressed, they began to close less and less - which means the plants were changing their behavior - until finally, the leaves were completely left open even when dropped.<br />
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However, there could be other reasons why the plants stopped folding their leaves. One of the possible reasons is energy. Folding leaves is work, and after 60 repeated falls some of the plants simply got tired and stopped folding their leaves.<br />
But Gagliano then took some of these "exhausted" plants and placed them in a shaker, shook them, and immediately they curled up their leaves again.<br />
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A week later, she repeated the same dropping experiment, and again the leaves failed to fold. This was repeated week after week, and 28 days later the plants still "remember" to not to fold their leaves when dropped.<br />
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So does this mean that plants actually have brains?<br />
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Well, Gagliano's experiment proved that some plants <i>do</i> remember. But no, they don't have brains. Gagliano herself wrote that plants may lack brains, but they do possess a sophisticated signaling network, which could function more or less like a brain, albeit radically different in design and structure.<br />
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Malcolm<br />
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<br />Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-11198377851393627402016-01-01T23:50:00.003+08:002016-01-01T23:50:42.373+08:00New Year Resolution 2016 and 2015 Year In ReviewHi all,<br />
It's been a while since I last came here. You know lah, <i>peeper</i> busy mar.<br />
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Okay, I'll begin by taking a look back over the past 12 months. 2015 has been a ... pretty good year really-much better than 2014, that's for sure. However, I didn't manage to achieve some of the resolution I set last time around.<br />
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<b>1) Run a 42-km marathon </b><br />
Well, to be fair the marathon was canceled due to the terrible haze condition. I was lucky someone asked me if I wanted to sell the bib a month before the event, and so I did (because I knew what was coming, you see).<br />
<b>2) Get a pet</b><br />
Live in condo. No pet allowed.<br />
<b>3) Diving's licence</b><br />
Got it. Yaay~~~<br />
<b>4) Shoot a music video</b><br />
Um.. I did shoot something, albeit not a music video. Still, well, practically it's a video so yeah.<br />
<b>5) Publish at least one paper</b><br />
I've submitted some papers but the reviewers kept on rejecting them. At least I've tried...<br />
<b>6) Limit facebook usage</b><br />
Okay I overestimated my self discipline for this one. I'll do another one this year.<br />
<b>7) Visit a foreign country</b><br />
I visited no one, but TWO foreign countries (Japan and China).<br />
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In addition to the abovementioned items, I've also done a timelapse <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7L4y6t5fX0">video</a> (which took 13 months to make), did <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAZw3fFTX5g">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCSTPqbpDWA">music</a> covers, and visited Taman Negara by motorcycle.<br />
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So what's for 2016? What do you think I should achieve this year?<br />
Well I think I'd like to do these:<br />
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1) <b>Finish a book every month.</b> Actually I can finish a book in a week but let's not repeat the overconfidence mistake again.<br />
2) <b>Run a <strike>42-km</strike> 21-km half marathon. </b>To be honest, I'm in really bad shape right now-my stamina is bad and I couldn't even finish a 5.5km run last week. To make matters worse, I've sustained an ankle injury from a futsal session in September and it's still bothering me to this day. So I think the prudent thing to do is not to rush to complete this 42-km thing.<br />
3) <b>Publish paper.</b> I have planned to submit four papers this year. Wish me luck!<br />
4) <b>No traveling outside the country.</b> I don't think I'll be traveling to any foreign country in 2016. Initially I have planned to visit Taiwan in 2016, but considering the falling oil price and the resulting weak Ringgit maybe I'll just settle for some random islands in Sabah or the east coast.<br />
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Alright.<br />
Just four simple new year resolution for 2016. I think it would be wise to keep it simple and short so that I would remember to try to accomplish them all.<br />
Lastly, have a blessed new year and a great year ahead!<br />
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MalcolmMalcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-6932622279106993372015-12-01T22:01:00.000+08:002015-12-01T22:01:00.817+08:00How Much Carbon Did The Indonesian Fire Emit?Last month, palm oil concessions and small farmers in Indonesian began their annual land clearing and <a href="http://malct32.blogspot.my/2015/09/the-annual-haze-in-south-east-asia.html">burning</a> activity to open up new land for the new season, and the result was a devastating, month-long haze that blanketed neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.<br />
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Haze, as we know, is made up of dust particles, greenhouse gases, and carbon. Lots of carbon.<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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According to the <a href="http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/10/indonesia%E2%80%99s-fire-outbreaks-producing-more-daily-emissions-entire-us-economy">World Resource Institute</a>, there have been close to 100,000 forest fires in Indonesia in 2015. Together these burning resulted in habitat loss for wildlife, critical haze problem, and of course, pollution. In fact, since the forests in Indonesia began burning in early September, the average daily carbon emissions from the fire have surpassed that of the U.S.A, and at one point, doubled the average daily emissions from the entire U.S. economy. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYroFv-_piJOjsY5e17elhC8nDmOunICyRsfEVaYm5UkK4OrGcArAVLb7sv0TPfLGCdJIqZEFT4P2KCaZ7OQNLE940EFjTB-neq8uNOha4tOC7DbEVrtl2FmvhkmHefHY213Pwpky2Dsm/s1600/fire-emissions-indo-us.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYroFv-_piJOjsY5e17elhC8nDmOunICyRsfEVaYm5UkK4OrGcArAVLb7sv0TPfLGCdJIqZEFT4P2KCaZ7OQNLE940EFjTB-neq8uNOha4tOC7DbEVrtl2FmvhkmHefHY213Pwpky2Dsm/s640/fire-emissions-indo-us.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Image: wri.org</span></td></tr>
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Which means that the forest fire in Indonesia last month has pumped more carbon into the atmosphere than all the factories and cars and burning in the U.S. combined. </div>
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What's even more worrying is the fact that more than half of the fires that occurred last month happened on peatland. Peatlands are actually wetlands with thick water-logged organic soil layer that contains dead plant material. The soil contains a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02279.x/abstract">much higher</a> concentration of carbon than ordinary land, accumulated over thousands of years. Setting fire to peatlands is more deadly than burning other types of land. Putting that into perspective, burning activity releases methane, a greenhouse gases <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-10-2.html">21</a> times more potent than carbon dioxide. But peat fire releases <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2003JD003704/pdf">10 times</a> more methane than fire occurring on other types of land. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Image: wri.org</span></td></tr>
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This is depressing, considering that we're living in an era where most people are erudite enough to understand the impact of our carbon footprint on the environment. But the oil palm concessions and small Indonesian farmers, driven perhaps by selfish greed or desperation, continue to set fire to the forests and contaminate the atmosphere, offsetting the endeavors and sacrifices made by the rest of us. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On October 14, which had the highest number of fires to date this year with 4,719, MODIS Terra imagery reveals smoke plumes from massive peat fires on Kalimantan. Image: wri.org</td></tr>
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It's December now, and the Northeast monsoon has blown the haze away from Malaysia. The monsoon also brings a lot of rain especially in the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia. The weather is much better now in Malaysia, and everyone seems to have forgotten that for nearly two months we suffocated, our schools were closed and our health undermined by the haze. Meanwhile, the burning in Indonesia is still going on even as I type. If the Indonesian politicians continued to disregard the haze problem, the long term consequences of the fire would someday come back to haunt us all. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDAgNRve6Jr3RLrT7gJ4zGijtRGou8I54ASUfWvJgWnHWC-bvO6ZtbP_Z6ZtPrIUKTcc-Y5a0-2XVLOKO0WSkquc8kfTFMDIOcYqiNDVIGRqw9vdXL8AskO5hq_p9RPPCkDMIhjQcuStr/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDAgNRve6Jr3RLrT7gJ4zGijtRGou8I54ASUfWvJgWnHWC-bvO6ZtbP_Z6ZtPrIUKTcc-Y5a0-2XVLOKO0WSkquc8kfTFMDIOcYqiNDVIGRqw9vdXL8AskO5hq_p9RPPCkDMIhjQcuStr/s640/Untitled.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image taken on 3rd November 2015. Image: http://indofire.landgate.wa.gov.au/ </td></tr>
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Malcolm</div>
Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-77995176697023809342015-11-03T22:03:00.005+08:002015-11-03T22:03:38.855+08:00Are You A Super-Recognizer?Most of us have had this awkward experience: met someone for the first time, shook hands, got to know his name, went to the lavatory, came back and poof! Oh hi have we met before? <br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">How good are you in remembering, or recognizing faces?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__BoKoa8_6IlEkcLSrDZxQ3Usg00KqQ9u5FYJDk2pgiS5TO22N-fvZYI1-gM6r0dcn2Sw16OUVD_FcbMJQJ_JjedanA0sCzGNASm2rq2QP-ugcoNN8rICo0RnS94q5QBrn5yeCJjKqJsB/s1600/recog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__BoKoa8_6IlEkcLSrDZxQ3Usg00KqQ9u5FYJDk2pgiS5TO22N-fvZYI1-gM6r0dcn2Sw16OUVD_FcbMJQJ_JjedanA0sCzGNASm2rq2QP-ugcoNN8rICo0RnS94q5QBrn5yeCJjKqJsB/s400/recog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Scienceblogs.com</td></tr>
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Facial recognition is an important part of our lives, because without it we would probably have no friends. Even today, police still rely on facial composite sketched based on description by victims to identify potential suspect. Last month when I was travelling to China, the immigration officer took a hard, cold look at my face, and then at the photo in my passport, and asked me to reenact that smile I had in my passport.<br />
Facial recognition, China-style.<br />
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Just a couple of months ago, Thai police launched a search for a young man in a <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/08/18/thailand-bombing-investigation/31896153/">yellow</a> T-shirt, whom they believe <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33965966">blew</a> up Bangkok's Erawan shrine on August 16. They had the CCTV footage of the suspect, but the quality was far from perfect. I've seen the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/photos-bangkok-bombing-suspect-released-manhunt-150818091336473.html">snapshot</a> of the footage: it's grainy, blur, and I could not even see his facial features. Worse, I would probably not recognize the suspect had he walked past me then and there.<br />
Nonetheless, Thai police managed to <a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/security/676696/authorities-believe-arrested-foreigner-likely-erawan-bomber">arrest</a> the suspect at the Cambodian border and said he matched the description of the yellow-shirted bomber in the footage.<br />
But how can they be so sure?<br />
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Luckily for us, there are people who possess this seemingly unique ability to recognize faces. The Scotland Yard, for example, has formed a team of super-recognizers that specialize in recognizing faces, and one of their most important tasks is to sit in CCTV control centers to scan the crowd.<br />
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"Gary Collins is so good that he ID'd three people over his Sunday roast," says Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville, speaking about one member of the super-recognizer team who likes to relax on weekends with an iPad loaded with photos of criminal suspects. <br />
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After London's 2011 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots">riots</a>, the super-recognizers combed through thousands of hours of footage, and Collins alone identified 190 faces among the rioters.<br />
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How hard can that be, you may ask.<br />
Some of us have thousands of friends on Facebook and it's easy to remember all their names, right?<br />
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Well, we're not talking about recognizing the faces you're familiar with<span style="font-family: "timesnewromanpsmt" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">–</span>like the faces of your friends and family<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "timesnewromanpsmt" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">–w</span>e're talking about recognizing the face of a stranger, a person whom you see for the very first time, say from two different photos laid side-by-side. Still don't think it's hard? You can take a simple <a href="https://jfe.qualtrics.com/form/SV_e3xDuCccGAdgbfT">test </a>here, devised by <a href="http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/faculty/eduhea/study/pswc/staff/josh-davis">Josh Davis</a>, a psychologist at the University of Greenwich, to see how good you are at it. Note: I scored 11 out of 14. That's a B+.
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However, the ability to recognize faces is not so rare. In fact, you might share this ability, too, and not even know it. According to <a href="http://www.psy.unsw.edu.au/contacts-people/research-staff/dr-david-white">David White</a> of the University of New South Wales' forensic psychology laboratory, the ability to recognize faces, it seems, falls along a spectrum. At one end are the people who are "face-blind", also known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia">prosopagnosia</a>, while the other end sit the super-recognizers. There are, however, fewer than 1 percent of people on this planet who falls into the super-recognizer end.<br />
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For the remaining 99%, hope is not all lost. There are, in fact, ways to improve your facial recognition skills. In a <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1814/20151292">study</a> published recently in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, White's team tested a group of crack forensic examiners who specialize in face image analysis to see whether they would perform better than average. These group of expert super-recognizers, it turned out, did perform better than either untrained students or forensic experts who don't match faces regularly. These elite group of specialists are so good they could even identify faces that were shown upside-down. This leads White to suggest that with training, super-recognizers could further enhance their skills beyond their natural abilities.<br />
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MalcolmMalcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-88411117005332806812015-09-25T14:55:00.005+08:002015-09-25T14:57:04.283+08:00Graphene Boosts Battery Performance<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Have you ever wondered why are we not having batteries that could last much longer?</span></span><br />
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Charging the phone is easy—just plug it in and let it sit for a while—but when you have to do it often enough, it gets rather irritating.<br />
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Ironically, the human race is now so technologically advanced that we could send probes to Mars—a probe sent from Earth nine years ago just went past Pluto a month ago—and yet the inhabitants of this planet have to charge their phones once every two days. Or everyday.<br />
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The type of battery that is found in our mobile devices is called lithium-ion battery. The battery has two electrodes—anode and cathode—separated by an electrolyte. When we charge the battery, lithium ions move from the cathode through the electrolyte to the anode, where they are absorbed into the bulk of the anode material. When you put the charged battery into your device, it discharges by allowing lithium ions to come out of the anode and return to the cathode. This flow of ions is what gives the electricity that powers the device.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielI2fAza7WNSYjmnPkNGJ_I9pCGPhk0kNB1iOAG12C7PyNc4GuzzgWW1UEAhd9pQ3ao6oduWpwNTM2lRdHDcoUn7mi2pFDN_Y_bbcshTZKlW8Jzxldaewi3NPYCHFtp_Iswm8QV3AiVmb/s1600/cylindrical-lithium-ion-battery_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielI2fAza7WNSYjmnPkNGJ_I9pCGPhk0kNB1iOAG12C7PyNc4GuzzgWW1UEAhd9pQ3ao6oduWpwNTM2lRdHDcoUn7mi2pFDN_Y_bbcshTZKlW8Jzxldaewi3NPYCHFtp_Iswm8QV3AiVmb/s320/cylindrical-lithium-ion-battery_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside a cylindrical lithium-ion battery. Image: howstuffsowrks</td></tr>
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This type of battery delivers plenty of power and is highly efficient—NASA <a href="http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1304/30issbattery/#.VaeAc_mqqko">plans</a> to use them to replace the international space station's nickel-hydrogen battery in 2016—but even they find it difficult to satisfy our mobile devices' insatiable thirst for energy. Moreover, when the anode absorbs and discharges the ions, it expands and then contract, and that could damage the anode over repeated charge/discharge cycles. Scientists have developed anodes made from silicon, which can absorb 10 times more lithium ions per unit mass than the conventional material, graphite. But the volume of silicon expands by a factor of four when charging, which makes it prone to fracture and damage. </div>
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In a <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150625/ncomms8393/full/ncomms8393.html">paper</a> published in <span id="goog_1818389164"></span>Nature<span id="goog_1818389165"></span> recently, Mark Rummeli and colleagues at the Samsung research lab have devised a way to boost the energy storage capacity of the battery. </div>
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Graphene is an awesome material. It was first discovered and isolated in a lab in the University of Manchester in 2003. It's the strongest (207 times stronger than steel by weight) and also the thinnest material (one atom thick) known to mankind, and it has the highest electrical conductivity of any material. The popularity of graphene has won its discoverers, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graphene. Image: en.wikipedia.org</td></tr>
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By coating the silicon with multiple layers of graphene, Mark Rummeli's team found that the batteries held 1.8 times more energy than those with a conventional graphite anode. After 200 cycles, the battery was still able to store 1.5 times more energy than a conventional battery. </div>
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While this is not exactly earth-shattering, I think it's still a great start. I mean, just applying several layers of carbon atom and you could double the energy output? Sounds like a great deal to me.</div>
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You can read the paper <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150625/ncomms8393/full/ncomms8393.html">here</a>. It's open access.<br />
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Malcolm</div>
Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-73485520447672338382015-09-15T15:43:00.001+08:002015-09-15T15:43:29.988+08:00The Annual Haze in South East Asia: Whose Fault Is It?<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">Even breathing can be difficult nowadays. </span><br />
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A lot of us are well-informed about the haze that hit South East Asia (SEA) every year. In fact, it's happening right out the window next to me as I type, and if you don't know about it already, you should really go <strike>hang yourself</strike> outdoor once in while and stop keeping yourself indoor all the time.<br />
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The SEA haze phenomenon is an annual occurrence, like some sort of annual carnival that happens every summer, except it involves a lot more fire, smoke, and a lot of forest burning<span style="background-color: white;">. It is the result of the slash-and-burn practice of Indonesian farmers to clear the forest for agricultural development. Apart from small land owners and nomadic farmers, large concessions like oil-palm, logging and timber (for wood pulp and paper) companies also use fire to achieve similar objectives. </span>It's been happening for as long as I can remember and despite not becoming more severe since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Southeast_Asian_haze">1997</a>, the situation hasn't been improving either. Every year during the dry season, Malaysians and Singaporeans wait in despair for the haze to arrive to blanket the cities and suffocate the citizens with toxic gases. The president of Indonesia, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/18/us-indonesia-haze-idUSKBN0ET0H320140618">past </a>and <a href="http://www.eco-business.com/news/indonesias-jokowi-vows-protect-peatlands/">present</a>, had pledged to tackle the problem, but the problem persists to this day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbtt396wtIPaxwRahGnnwk91Sn-dtIA03F8vaiXsiznp2ZO2ea573AOEOg_z4BkZwpiqGzlUWDuKIsxtNDPxnM6SlReY5IPWVCSwf8BQMdLEVtEoCV2RJ-PNO79PRmjdEfE1De25U8d5c/s1600/HSN_0695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbtt396wtIPaxwRahGnnwk91Sn-dtIA03F8vaiXsiznp2ZO2ea573AOEOg_z4BkZwpiqGzlUWDuKIsxtNDPxnM6SlReY5IPWVCSwf8BQMdLEVtEoCV2RJ-PNO79PRmjdEfE1De25U8d5c/s320/HSN_0695.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This. Is. Absurd.</td></tr>
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The haze, however, is not a recent issue: I was quite surprised when I learned that severe haze such as the ones we are having today had occurred back in the early 1900s. In 1846, for example, an extensive swamp-forest fires broke out in a remote and apparently uninhabited part of Central Kalimantan during a drought. During the severe El-Nino-triggered drought of 1877-1878, fires occurred in West, Central and East Kalimantan. Widespread fog blanketed parts of Borneo during another drought in 1902, which could indicate burning. The exact cause of fire for these cases, however, could not be determined due to the lack of evidence.<br />
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The earliest evidence of human-caused burning was <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2004.tb00158.x/abstract">recorded</a> in 1915, when fires that escaped from farmers' fields lit logging debris and destroyed about 80,000 hectares (an area bigger than the island of Singapore) of forest in an area south of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. Known as the Sook Plain, the burned area lost all of its trees and remained as <i>Imperata</i> grassland ever since.<br />
Fast forward to 1972, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2004.tb00158.x/abstract">Chia (1979)</a> described a "very extensive haze" between the months of August and October over Singapore, Malaysia, Eastern Sumatra, Java, and Kalimantan. He attributed this to the "burning of forest trees by shifting cultivators in Sumatra and Kalimatan."<br />
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There are several reasons why the haze persisted over the years, and a lot of it has to do with (1) recalcitrant farmers/companies and (2) the climate of SEA.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioN81KSKXsMOrg6-0AvY9vuKiCU7O83MB-3RR3_En2muqKo3QjxAkYC_VMZdbdGqQBcQIXR1mxmmEZEkPuaqsTb10Jmg1J7W9d3ooqsCnfNWWuSAIqVOeU91ITHJxnj4ZJF1SDr_TVu1Po/s1600/Untitled2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioN81KSKXsMOrg6-0AvY9vuKiCU7O83MB-3RR3_En2muqKo3QjxAkYC_VMZdbdGqQBcQIXR1mxmmEZEkPuaqsTb10Jmg1J7W9d3ooqsCnfNWWuSAIqVOeU91ITHJxnj4ZJF1SDr_TVu1Po/s400/Untitled2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hotspots detected using satellite. Image: haze.asean.org </td></tr>
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Farmers and large concessions are the two primary contributors of forest fire in Indonesia. The farmers, however, play a much bigger role than the large companies. A <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/085005/pdf">study</a> published in August 2015 shows that 59 per cent of fire emissions originate from <i>outside</i> timber and oil-palm concession boundaries. These non-concession-related fires generated 62 per cent of smoke exposure in equatorial SEA (primarily Singapore and Malaysia).<br />
In Kalimantan, non-concession fires play an even bigger role. Fires outside concessions generated 73 per cent of all emissions and 76 per cent of smoke affecting equatorial South-east Asia. These findings are in line with similar results based on more detailed studies in Riau and <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep06112">published</a> in Nature in 2014. In Riau, 52 per cent of the total burnt area in 2013 was within concessions. However, 60 per cent of these burned areas were occupied and used by small and medium landholders.<br />
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This is also why, I think, it is not possible to stomp out the practice of slash-and-burn altogether. It's not about politics here, but rather the preservation of culture and tradition. For these small-scale, nomadic farmers, slash-and-burn is a way of life, part of their cultural heritage and more importantly, it's their only way of making a living. For them, fire is the single most cost-effective way for clearing land. It's easy to make, cheap, and nature will take care of the rest. Forcing them to abandon the practice for the good of the world is almost like deleting a significant part of their culture and tradition. Good luck in striking a balance between tradition, development, and conservation.<br />
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As for the concessions, well, you might be interested to know that Indonesia is currently the <a href="http://www.indexmundi.com/agriculture/?commodity=palm-oil&graph=exports">largest</a> <a href="http://www.indonesia-investments.com/zh_cn/business/commodities/palm-oil/item166">exporter</a> of palm oil in the world, and in order to become the largest exporter in the world, you need a lot of oil-palm, which also means you need a lot of land, and the simplest and most cost-effective way to clear a large piece of land to plant a lot of oil-palm in order to become the top exporter of palm oil in the world is by using, you guessed it, fire.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyhtzYCpxO89-Q24Ci6DWsDev6O8U79uRMfkwbI5G6WkxDmj4NYQjjFWMzXqrC9QLV-9LMxKUxpahQh5Bq_RtJq90ftIpTxzYabXHxPWh8YaepDTbz7R7r39fPLx0Yj7xCceWLGqKiIg4/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyhtzYCpxO89-Q24Ci6DWsDev6O8U79uRMfkwbI5G6WkxDmj4NYQjjFWMzXqrC9QLV-9LMxKUxpahQh5Bq_RtJq90ftIpTxzYabXHxPWh8YaepDTbz7R7r39fPLx0Yj7xCceWLGqKiIg4/s400/Untitled.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Air pollutant index (API) in various parts of Malaysia on 15th September 2015. <br />Image taken from the Department of Environment website.</td></tr>
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Apart from the human factor, the climate of SEA also plays a role in perpetuating the haze problem. Indeed, most of the <a href="http://www.politics.ubc.ca/fileadmin/user_upload/poli_sci/Faculty/dauvergne/AustralianJournalofIA.pdf">major</a> haze events in history coincide with major El-Nino events. This is because an El-Nino event brings <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2004.tb00158.x/abstract">drought</a> to even the wettest parts of insular SEA--a perfect recipe for forest fire--and it occurs every three to five years and could last for several months or even years.<br />
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Left uncurbed, the haze could pose a devastating effect on the health of those affected by it. The smog often contains harmful level of NO2, CO, CH4 and other non-methane hydrocarbons. During the 1997 haze disaster, a group of researchers from the University of Tokyo, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Shizuoka and the Environmental Management Centre of Indonesia, tested and interviewed 543 people in selected sites in Indonesia, and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00039890209602912">found</a> that 98.7% of the respondents developed an exacerbation of respiratory symptoms.<br />
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But the effect of the haze doesn't stop there.<br />
Do you know that one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the history of world happened 74,000 years ago in what is known today as Toba in Indonesia? According to a guest <a href="http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1040618211006744/1-s2.0-S1040618211006744-main.pdf?_tid=666baad6-5a8e-11e5-a709-00000aacb35d&acdnat=1442200515_85cfb3e5838023553bb5eddeca58293a">editorial</a> published in 2012 by researchers from the University of Oxford, the Toba super-volcano eruption released 2800 cubic <i>kilometers </i>(I triple-checked this, and yes, it's <i>kilometers</i>) of volcanic material which blotted out the sun, reflecting it's ray and cooled the Earth--a phenomenon called a "volcanic winter". In contrast, the 2010 <a href="http://www.livescience.com/31127-iceland-volcano-ash-plume-trouble.html">Eyjafjallajökull</a> eruption that paralyzed flights across Europe and the 1883 Krakatoa eruption--widely known as the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history--spewed out only around 0.27 and 12 cubic kilometers of ashes, respectively.<br />
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Similarly, a severe haze could blot out the sun, reflecting its ray and cools the Earth. In fact, when I was out riding my motorcycle yesterday in the afternoon, I did feel a little cooler compared to normal days, and it wasn't a placebo effect; it's actually backed up by science--a <a href="http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/161/art%253A10.1023%252FA%253A1011999026576.pdf?originUrl=http%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Farticle%2F10.1023%2FA%3A1011999026576&token2=exp=1442224294~acl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F161%2Fart%25253A10.1023%25252FA%25253A1011999026576.pdf%3ForiginUrl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Flink.springer.com%252Farticle%252F10.1023%252FA%253A1011999026576*~hmac=94eeed864e4b75e2f7a288d6339e580129bbac36d49e4d423ad70483316e7e3d">study</a> published in 2001 in the Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry shows that during the haze event in 1994, there was a general decrease in solar and UV radiation reaching the ground compared to the same period a year later.<br />
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Nonetheless, the damage brought by the haze outweighs its benefit, and I certainly hope the Indonesian government could find a solution--quickly please, even a short-term one would suffice--to assuage the intensifying haze problem.<br />
I, for one, do not look forward to another haze-filled summer.<br />
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Malcolm<br />
<br />Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-28976414136217972152015-07-30T16:48:00.003+08:002015-07-30T16:48:57.928+08:00Backpackers' Guide To Kuala Terengganu & Redang Island<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Redang Island is one of the most visited islands in Malaysia. It's located some 30km off the coast of Kuala Terengganu, and is an ideal place for snorkeling, scuba diving, and chilling out. </span></span><br />
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Redang island is actually the largest among a series of islands located closely to one another. <br />
<a name='more'></a>I have been to the island twice, and have been to the town of Kuala Terengganu thrice, and so today I'll explain how to travel, at a minimal cost, to Redang Island. As a backpacker myself, I'd definitely recommend the cheapest possible way to travel to the island, so if you're looking for three stars hotel recommendation, travel agents, flight information and taxi, this is not for you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise at Redang Island.</td></tr>
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First off, in order to go to Redang Island, you need to board the ferry from the Syahbandar Jetty in Kuala Terengganu, which means if you're arriving in Malaysia <i>via</i> Kuala Lumpur International Airport, you have to make your way to Kuala Terengganu <i>first</i>.<br />
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<b>The cheapest way to get to Kuala Terengganu from Kuala Lumpur is by bus.</b> A one-way trip costs about RM 48.00 (USD 12.60), and for maximum comfort I'd recommend taking <a href="http://110.74.180.200:90/online/Main/Main.asp?pageID=002">Sani Express</a> - it's a relatively young company, established in 2006, so their buses are new, comfortable and their drivers are very professional and polite. Feel free to take other buses such as <a href="http://www.transnasional.com.my/">Transnasional</a> or <a href="http://www.plusliner.com.my/">Plusliner</a>, but be warned: their bus drivers often drive like drunkards - I have heard a lot about it and experienced it firsthand (almost peed my pants when the driver stepped hard on the brake in front of a junction at 3 am in the morning) - and the buses aren't exactly comfortable.<br />
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The journey from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu takes approximately 7 hours 30 minutes. <b>There are several departing terminals in Kuala Lumpur - be sure to check that with your ticket agent after purchasing your bus ticket. </b><br />
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Once you arrived at the Kuala Terengganu bus terminal, you can either: spend a day or two exploring the sleepy town; or walk to the Syahbandar Jetty and board the ferry to Redang. If you choose the former, I would recommend you to stay at Uncle Homestay - it's only 30-second-walk away from the Kuala Terengganu bus terminal, has wifi, has hot shower, and is rather cheap at RM 50 per room/night.<br />
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I'm sure some of you are more familiar with Ping Anchorage backpackers (because it's at the top of the Google search results when you search for "Kuala Terengganu backpack"). I like it a lot, the staffs are friendly and helpful, it's cheap and it's very comfortable, but no offence, it's slightly further down the road and very often fully booked.<br />
The perk of staying at Uncle Homestay is that there's a 7-11 convenience store nearby, along with a McDonald's and KFC.<br />
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There aren't a lot of places of interest really, and experienced travelers could comb through the whole area in a single day (unless, of course, if you're interested to visit the largest man-made lake in Malaysia, the <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Tasik_Kenyir">Kenyir Lake</a>). <b>Some places of interest within walking distance from the bus terminal are: Chinatown, Pasar Payang, and Istana Maziah Kuala Terengganu.</b> Istana Maziah, or Maziah Palace, is the official palace of the Sultan of the state of Terengganu. Pasar Payang, or the Payang Market, is a local favorite. There are plenty of things to see, to buy, and they even sell sea turtle's eggs in there (don't get me wrong, I do not condone the consumption of turtle's eggs because they're endangered). Chinatown, meanwhile, is another attraction that's worth visiting. Try avoid the chicken rice stalls in the restaurant below, though. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but I can tell you this: I went there thrice in two days, and the chicken rice operator forgot to work on my orders. <i>Every. Single. Time</i>.<br />
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Call me fastidious, but when you're hungry and have to wait for half an hour for food and finally figured out that the boss had already forgotten your order, you'd start to wonder whether he's serious in running his business at all. Hence, to save yourself from unnecessary waste of time, avoid the stall altogether. The chicken rice tastes horrible anyway.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea turtle's eggs for sell at RM50 (10 eggs) in Payang Market. </td></tr>
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An extra note to all travelers: <b>do not attempt to explore the mall called Paya Bunga Square located right behind the bus terminal</b> - it's the single most pathetic mall I've ever been to. Moreover, the design of the mall makes absolutely no sense the guy who designed the whole thing should be stoned. It's sad enough that the mall has no major anchor store, and I found it astonishing when I walked in the front entrance to find that there's no escalator on either side or the front - because there's no escalator to bring you from the ground to the first floor (apart from the elevator). There's a travelator though, and it's at the back, faces the back entrance, which faces a small lane at the backside of the building. There are only a few stores in the mall, occupied by sad-looking, unenthusiastic employees, who would, it seems, rather stare blankly at their mobile phones than entertain their customers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The travelator faces the backside of the building.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cinema is located in an isolated alley. I mean who would put a cinema in an alley ?!</td></tr>
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To be fair, though, the toilets in the mall are very clean, and it's free. I actually went in there to have a quick shower before my bus ride back to Kuala Lumpur.<br />
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But <b>if you want to go to the island straight away, you can <i>walk</i> to the Syahbandar Jetty</b>. <i>Do not</i>, I repeat, <i>do not</i> take a taxi! It's only seven-minute-walk away.<br />
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Lastly, I'd recommend a simple itinerary for Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Terengganu - Redang:<br />
1) Take a bus from KL-Kuala Terengganu at about 10 am.<br />
2) Arrive at the Kuala Terengganu bus terminal at about 5:00~5:30 pm.<br />
3) Check-in at Uncle Homestay.<br />
4) Explore the few places of interest/purchase ferry ticket to Redang Island (you can get them from the tour agents in Chinatown). It doesn't get dark until 7:30pm.<br />
5) Walk <i>into</i> Chinatown for breakfast at 6:00am. There's only one shop open at this hour so you'll not miss it. Must try: little bun.<br />
6) Walk to Syahbandar Jetty at 8:00 am for the morning ferry to Redang Island. The ferry departs at 9:30 am, sometimes 10:00 am depending on the tide/crowd.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The famous little bun of Kuala Terengganu</td></tr>
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So, there you go guys, I hope you find this helpful. Leave a comment in the comment section if you have any question.
Enjoy your stay in Kuala Terengganu/Redang!<br />
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MalcolmMalcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-42078900574225294472015-07-28T14:36:00.000+08:002015-07-28T14:36:36.073+08:00Light's Journey From The Sun To The Earth<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">The sun is the main source of energy in our solar system. The light from the sun gives us warmth, light, rain, and enables photosynthesis, which enables life. It also powers our solar panels, gives us vitamin D, and bleaches your favorite blouse. </span><br />
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And when the sun finally exhausts its fuel and dies<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>not so fast, probably in another several billion years<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>it will bring us all together with it.<br />
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Everything we know about the sun comes from the single, albeit intangible, proof of its existence: light. So we're gonna talk about light today.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise captured at Redang Bay Resort, Redang Island.</td></tr>
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In physics, we quantify light as photons<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>packets of energy with discrete amount of energy<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>so we'll refer to light as photons of light henceforth.<br />
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A photon's journey from the sun to the surface of our skin starts in the middle of the sun, i.e. the core, where the temperature and pressure are so intense<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>up to <a href="http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Sun&Display=OverviewLong">15,000,000</a> degree Celsius<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>it enables hydrogen atoms to collide with one another and fuse into helium while releasing photons of energy. This punishing environment is made even more punishing by the sheer number of atoms packed together in a highly dense condition due to the immense pressure<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>just imagine yourself trying to extend your arms in a sea of crowd. In order to escape from the sun to become sunlight on Earth, a photon needs to first make its way from the core to the surface of the sun, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_radius">695,500 km</a> away!<br />
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But hold on, you say, photons travel at the speed of light, which is 300,000,000 meters per second, which translates to 300,000 km per second. So all it takes is just two seconds, which is pretty straight forward, right?<br />
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No.<br />
Here's the thing: the inner part of the sun is a <i>very dense</i> place. Atoms are everywhere, so it's highly unlikely for a photon to travel unhindered all the way from the core to the surface.<br />
But how dense, exactly? Well no body knows for sure, but scientists have estimated that the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_free_path">mean </a>free path</i> of a photon in the sun<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>the average distance traveled by a particle between successive collisions -- is about a tenth of a millimeter (0.1 mm), which is like moving 0.1 mm at a time, stop, and move again, until you complete the whole journey of 695,500 km. To add to this woe, we have to consider the fact that when the photons collide, they will probably bounce around in random directions; towards the surface, towards the side, or worst of all: backward.<br />
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Luckily for us, mathematicians have a name for this: <i>a drunkard's walk</i>.<br />
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<i>Now imagine a scenario, there's a guy so drunk that he needs to hold on to a light post to stand. He wants to get to the next light post, just 10 steps away, but he's so drunk that he can't walk in a straight line. The question is, how long will it take for that guy to get from one lamp post to the next? </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The answer is that if his starting point and ending point are separated by 10 steps, it will take him </i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span><i> on average </i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span><i> 100 steps to get there </i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span><i> that's 10 squared. </i><br />
--<a href="http://classroom.synonym.com/long-photons-emerge-suns-core-outside-10063.html">Richard Gaughan</a>.<br />
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Okay. Now let's do some math.<br />
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If the mean free path of a photon at the center of the sun is 0.1 mm, and the total distance that needs to be traveled is 695,500 km, then the photon needs to take 6.96 trillion steps.<br />
And factor in the randomness of its motion<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>the drunkard's walk -- by squaring 6.96 trillion steps, we get 4.84E19 steps, which is 48,400,000,000,000,000,000 steps.<br />
Even moving at the speed of light, a photon would take half a million years just to reach the surface of the sun<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">—</span>which means that the sunlight that hit your skin this morning was generated half a million years ago.<br />
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On the contrary, the time needed for the light on the surface of the sun to reach the Earth is only around 7 minutes.<br />
Works its way out for 500,000 years to enjoy a 7-minute unobstructed ride.<br />
What a way to end the journey.<br />
<br />
Malcolm<br />
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<br />Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-74897711548143950252015-06-30T21:55:00.002+08:002015-06-30T21:55:41.333+08:00Premarital Sex or Not?Sex. What an exquisite topic.<br />
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How do you define sexual immorality/indecency anyway? Bare breasts, for instance, were socially accepted in many civilizations across the world in the past. Ancient Egyptian women wore elaborate dresses that could either cover the breasts of leave them exposed. Today, you just have to walk into your nearest museum to see explicit pictures and statues of Greek goddesses. As for man, take a look at Michelangelo's David-- exhibiting your phallus so openly isn't exactly decent by today's standard. So if bare breasts and genital-flashing were accepted as a norm in the past, how can we be sure of the exact definition of sexual immorality today? What deemed inappropriate today might not be appropriate in the next hundred years.<br />
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Anyway, excuse my random rant there.<br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-large;">We are often taught by our parents to avoid premarital sex. </span><br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-large;">But why? </span><br />
Of course, religious institutions play a huge role in making sure that young, unmarried couples do not give in to the temptation of lust because, according to them, it's bad for the youngsters. And they'll follow up their claims with allegories of broken families or couples who'd committed themselves illegally in the premarital breeding program.<br />
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Most of these stories, however, are personal anecdotes, and are often tainted with errors that make the whole story sounds more dramatic than Arabian Night. It is also difficult to determine whether the victims/storytellers had the tendency to sensationalize their stories in an effort to acquire sympathy. There are after all some couples who had had premarital sex and successfully built a happy family.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoV-KoL_PQQuIQPqn-zHBM16VRdh0IrUiThiQL39TTGcqfEce9kSoTWh_mbClRb6I7Ipc3RiQyDUNziQsTuCsudN5qMw1p3CdDPBLwb_L5C0PVrQZa4i2qRTaNWoF3JkSDadiQ1VwfR0ry/s1600/Nipping_the_Nape.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoV-KoL_PQQuIQPqn-zHBM16VRdh0IrUiThiQL39TTGcqfEce9kSoTWh_mbClRb6I7Ipc3RiQyDUNziQsTuCsudN5qMw1p3CdDPBLwb_L5C0PVrQZa4i2qRTaNWoF3JkSDadiQ1VwfR0ry/s400/Nipping_the_Nape.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: en.wikipedia.org</td></tr>
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So, sex or no sex?<br />
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Now science comes in with the numbers.<br />
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A paper published in 2012 in the Journal of Sex Research suggests that premarital sex often leads to shorter and grumpier relationship. Ouch.<br />
Brian Willoughby, Jason Carroll and Dean Busby from the School of Family Life, Brigham Young University sampled 10932 unmarried individuals and grouped the results according to ethnicity, gender, religious affiliation, length of relationship, and timing of sex. Ironically, 33.9% and 22% of the participants were protestants and catholics, respectively.<br />
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The trio wrote that regardless of ethnicity, those who had no sex prior to marriage enjoy a relatively more stable relationship. Even those who had delayed sex (sex after waiting at least a few weeks once they began dating) fare better than early sex (sex on the first day or within the first few weeks) and predate sex (sex before start dating). In fact, for couples who had engaged in predating or early sex, their relationship worsen faster than all other categories as relationship length increases.<br />
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And those who practise sexual abstinence also enjoy higher relationship satisfaction and positive communication. Their relationship also last longer than all other categories, albeit generally not very far ahead of delayed sex.<br />
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Proponent of premarital sex may argue that having a "test-drive" before committing to a formal relationship is an important part of marriage--nobody wants to commit the rest of his or her life to someone who suffers from sexual dysfunction because, hey, sex is an important part of marriage after all. But with the advent of sex toys and in-vitro insemination, that should no longer be a problem.<br />
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Last but not least, sex only last until your 50s anyway, or at most, 60s, and the rest of your relationship will depend largely on honesty, understanding, positive communication, and true love.<br />
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Malcolm</div>
Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-31541437474814498972015-05-19T13:35:00.004+08:002015-05-19T13:38:29.374+08:00How Does A Spider Build Its Web Over A River?I was walking back from lunch one day when I saw something amazing: a spider web, a HUGE spider web which spanned across a small water channel roughly two meters wide.<br />
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And nestled in the center of the web was a spider about the size of my thumb.<br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">If that's not amazing, I don't know what is. </span></div>
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How could a spider the size of my thumb travel across the two-meter wide trench to build the web?</div>
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*Spoiler: There's no spiderman-style-silk-shooting involved here.*<br />
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The first thing that came into my mind was that the spider might be a jumping spider, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_spider#cite_note-Ub-4">family</a> of spider that is well known for its ability to jump over large distances (by some account, up to 50 times their body length). However, the spider that I saw was only around 2 cm long, which makes the furthest distance it can travel to be around 100 cm<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-MY; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>only half the width of the trench.</div>
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Moreover, other spiders, for instance spiders from the <i>Caerostris</i> genus can also build enormous, mind-boggling webs which sometimes span across rivers. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdGJVh-a_B7mzKpo6BBfSs2N5roIDQWDdd8GsTIrgXhECJM62dFVtav30h7gQKeeIQOBHa_xicofoSd4ORL1E2maf411s9RmRizJlyCNvjc0PiQrjCWBPz9FH85bb68BRICQALJBRo_vi/s1600/journal.pone.0026847.g001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdGJVh-a_B7mzKpo6BBfSs2N5roIDQWDdd8GsTIrgXhECJM62dFVtav30h7gQKeeIQOBHa_xicofoSd4ORL1E2maf411s9RmRizJlyCNvjc0PiQrjCWBPz9FH85bb68BRICQALJBRo_vi/s640/journal.pone.0026847.g001.png" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Gregorič M, Agnarsson I, Blackledge TA, Kuntner M (2011) How Did the Spider Cross the River? Behavioral Adaptations for River-Bridging Webs in Caerostris darwini (Araneae: Araneidae). PLoS ONE 6(10): e26847. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026847 </td></tr>
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It turns out that the question had already been answered by Gregoric <i>et al.</i> in a <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0026847">paper</a> published in PLoS One in 2011. The research team from the University of Puerto Rico in the United States traveled to Madagascar to observe the Darwin's bark spider (<i>Caerostis darwini</i>), filmed 90 web-building events and compared its web-building behaviors to other species of orb-web spiders.</div>
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Darwin's bark spider was <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1636/B09-113.1?journalCode=arac">discovered</a> in 2009 by Kuntner and Agnarsson. The species is endemic to Madagascar and is unique in building giant webs across streams, rivers and lakes. With its huge web, you would be forgiven to thinking that the inhabitant is at least as large as the palm of your hand, but the male <i>C. darwini</i> is generally around <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1636/B09-113.1?journalCode=arac">6 mm long</a> while the female is only about 20 mm long. The web of this species is made of incredibly strong silk<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-MY; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>so strong that it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin's_bark_spider">outperforms</a> all other known spider silks, or even most synthetic fibers. Even more amazingly, Darwin's bark spiders' webs are suspended on bridge lines<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-MY; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>the main silk that connects two objects to enable the rest of the web to suspend below it--that often exceed 10 meters, or sometimes up to<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9001000/9001866.stm"> 25 meters</a> in length<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-MY; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">—</span>large enough to wrap around a <a href="http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/news/small-spiders-big-mysteries/?ar_a=1">Volkswagon Beetle</a>. </div>
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Gregoric and his team observed that the spiders would first release a large amount of bridging silk into the air, which is then carried downwind across the water body. If the other end of the bridging silk became entangled in vegetation, the spiders started reeling in the silk to increase its tension. If the attachment broke, the spiders reeled in the loose silk and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/science/how-do-spiders-spin-their-webs-across-great-distances.html?_r=0">consumed</a> it, and restarted the process. If the attachment held, then the spiders have a bridge line. The spiders then proceeded to build the rest of the web.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFhQIVrwdLHV2beTZJXv56Nmqu3X4uDZLUSV4JEQcIcB-nzhLFpqSHI8rM_vRG03rf5hkVf75V_yradGTdiCQYK1kcBL-mvuDih6MegBEGWfQmyYyE7fLNti98xUaGQfIZ8tY5EsW0DFn/s1600/journal.pone.0026847.g002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFhQIVrwdLHV2beTZJXv56Nmqu3X4uDZLUSV4JEQcIcB-nzhLFpqSHI8rM_vRG03rf5hkVf75V_yradGTdiCQYK1kcBL-mvuDih6MegBEGWfQmyYyE7fLNti98xUaGQfIZ8tY5EsW0DFn/s400/journal.pone.0026847.g002.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Gregorič M, Agnarsson I, Blackledge TA, Kuntner M (2011) How Did the Spider Cross the River? Behavioral Adaptations for River-Bridging Webs in Caerostris darwini (Araneae: Araneidae). PLoS ONE 6(10): e26847. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026847 </td></tr>
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Here's a helpful<a href="http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/nature/how/spider-web.asp"> animation</a> that shows the process of building a large web.</div>
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Malcolm</div>
Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-1384470913364708562015-05-07T00:07:00.001+08:002015-05-07T00:07:42.861+08:00大摇 2015 (not troll)<span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-large;">又是大摇的季节啦。</span><br />
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今年的大摇坐落在假期的最后一天。讲真的我还很担心会因为假期而冷场,因为上次校创还蛮少人的。不过后来我到达 KPS,哇塞居然满座啊啊啊啊啊。<br />
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其实 hor,我每年看完大摇就会在这个部落格写下对大摇的感言和 comment ,而且都纯属我个人意见。可是今年大摇结束后我就和其他 seniorssss 一起喝茶讨论一些些,问问他们的意见,所以这次的意见是来自至少七个 seniors 的。<br />
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还有还有,我当天其实刚刚从刁曼岛回来 -- 早上的渡轮迟到两个小时,然后还因为退潮而必须在码头两公里以外等小船来载我们到码头,然后还要驾车五个小时,到了吉隆坡立刻背着背包到 DTC 看大摇,进场时唯一的印象就是看到几个人高喊:还我苍井空................ 【awkward moment】所以前面所发生的一切我不便 comment。<br />
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<b><u>对今年大摇的评论如下:</u></b><br />
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<b>筹募</b><br />
在马大,无论什么活动,每次观众一入场坐下就会开始看goodie bag 里有什么东西。只能说近年来 marketing 真的越来越强,我对每年的 goodie bag 都充满期待(没夸张。可能这次因为我千里迢迢赶回来有点口渴,打开 goodie bag 居然没有水喝有点失望)。 Marketing 变强,再也没有听到现在人闹没钱用。所以 Marketing 组员们,你们千千万万不要认为自己不重要,也不要认为没人珍惜你们。你们是灰常灰常<span style="font-size: large;"><b>重要</b></span>的,没有你们就没有钱,没钱就没有美美的舞台,美美的 poster,banner,没有goodie bags,没有音响,没有七七八八,整个活动就瘫痪了。最重要的是,你们今年居然找到 sponsor 来 sponsor 一架 IPAD!哇吗靠,能让人 sponsor 一架 IPAD 就只有你们能做到料了。台前幕后的表演者们都欠你们一份人情了。<br />
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<b>乐手</b><br />
Electric guitarist,guitarist,二胡 violinist,bassist 都有点小问题,drummer 问题比较大。除了鼓手问题以外,其他其实都是 sound balancing 以及 arrangement 的问题。所有问题都已经和 Andrew 谈过了。好奇的话自己去问 Andrew,在这里一个个写的话会很长。整体来说今年会比去年下降了一些,不过听一个资深 senior 说你们比在 studio 排练时进步了。哟?不错哦。Clarinet 和 saxophone 吹的不错,还有我很喜欢的 cello, 不一样的声能把音乐变得更丰富。<br />
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<b>歌手</b><br />
历年来大摇 singer 能给人留下印象深刻的不多,比如每一届就有一两个,三四个。<br />
这届大摇呢,一位 UKM 的朋友说:我们歌手不够你们稳。不错,今年大摇能令我留下印象的至少有五六个,整体歌手组的素质提升了。可是可是,我看了整晚的大摇,就只有两首歌是独唱,其他歌都是合唱(两个或更多)。哇塞,太多合唱了吧??<br />
这就是 audition 时收太多歌手的后果。一开始收多人是好,有良性竞争,而且长期来讲会有些人 commitment 比较低(经常缺席,忙别的活动)的就可以放弃。可是通常创作人写歌时候的 key 都是为独唱者来写,可能 key range 比较适合某个性别 (记得大摇当晚有两首歌曲男声爆音吗?)。如果为了迁就所有歌手上台而把创作人的歌曲来编成合唱,我认为是不应该的。这纯属个人意见。<br />
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<b>舞蹈</b><br />
我个人觉得今年 dancer 是近几年来看得好舒服的一次。去年台上太多人,今年台上刚刚好。以一个外行人来看,今年舞蹈比去年整齐,【舞爱】的那支舞也很棒,虽然觉得有点像跳着 aerobic。我问的所有人都认为第二支舞蹈比较受欢迎,比较好看,很整齐,看了很舒服。美女也很多(组长做得好!),可是舞步比较保守了哦,怎么会这样呢?!不是要向 UKM 舞蹈组看齐的吗?!<br />
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<b>宣传</b><br />
这个我其实呢.....hmm....很欣赏,也很惭愧,觉得我无权 comment。毕竟宣传并不容易。我自己以前也有去做过宣传,去 faculty 弹吉他,挂 Banner Bunting 等等,所以我知道不简单。而且我也看过他们到不同的宿舍做大摇宣传(在十二宿舍看到他们),还有主席自己操刀做事,都是值得赞赏的。到最后听说宣传组start engine 后狂卖票,结果还没到大摇当天(好像是前两天)就把票卖完了。厉害哦,这就是真真正正的 sell like hotcakes。以前我还收着七八张票到大摇过了都卖不出(证明我不适合做 sales,只适合做 kuli)。所以大摇高朋满座,宣传组功不可没。好像也是做大摇 booklet 的哦,每首歌都不一样的设计。我很喜欢【那只Bee】和【狐恋】的设计。<br />
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<b>Program</b><br />
这个组啊,就是 program and protocol 嘛,其实我迟到,没看到前面的东东 protocol,所以不便评论。可是节目总监就是个正妹,正妹做事就是正嘛~不过我有注意到节目确实有准时 11 点结束。又是个很准时很 strict 的节目总监啊~<br />
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<b>Sceno</b><br />
老实说,不能和去年比,去年太出色了。而且去年司仪的戏份里有和 sceno 合作,今年就没戏份,就是一棵树,闪闪的。其他的就印象不深刻了。也没看到像去年那样的 music poster (可能我迟到没看到),可是我发现到后面那个 LOST 是用挂的哦,不是用贴的,这样灯光照了有 dropshadow effect 哦。哎哟,不错哦~<br />
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<b>司仪</b><br />
看来有延续去年的 pattern:暗讽时事课题 *cough*GST*cough*,和 multech 配合的很好。可是司仪增加变 12 个人了!天哪我看有朝一日司仪会有 20 个人吧?而且我其实很喜欢那个播报新闻的哪一段,和multech 配合的太好了。还有还有,有 senior 问那个 KL gate burger 的片段,真的是向那老板租档吗?当然,当晚最令人回味无穷的就是那狐狸之手。我看了哪一段真的是全身的毛都起了。起初我还不知道发生什么事突然间有很多人尖叫,后来multech 把灯光一闪,whoosh,到旅行箱,哇佬那恐怖的手,还扭动像蛇一样,拿起面具还要可怕的舞动,加上那可怕的背景音乐还有黑暗的background,简直就是 <b>太。口。怕。了</b>!<br />
整个故事很不错,可是我看得很不爽。因为现在的小孩子太太太太狡猾了,借着“活动”的名义拼命加“抱场”。整个故事我看有不少过三段抱场:和狐狸抱一下,爱上爆粗妹亲一下,平安回到机场再抱一下,头靠肩膀一下..........哇佬额,如果踢足球有这么多 body contact 早就被红卡罚下了。p/s: 弄到我也想做司仪喂。<br />
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<b>多媒体</b><br />
听说今年multech需要做灯光啊!辛苦了辛苦了。你们知道吗,如果没有你们的灯光和音响,那狐狸的手的可怕度就会下跌 90%。不信的话你们试试看把音乐 mute 掉,把灯光乱打,那狐狸的手就失去特色了。所以说,没有你们的话 emcee 的戏撑不下啊。还有还有,我想问问看当时那个 sand painting, 是谁画的哦?好酷啊啊啊啊啊!!<br />
还有真的很对不起我迟到,没看到前面的 multech presentation。不过听说加加是个好组长,multimedia 功力应该是不错的呵呵。而且我早前也看了你们的宣传片,拍的很不错,panning 功夫不错,还懂得换 shooting angle。可是吼,不要老是用【burst my bubble】料,应该多用一些其他的 font。<br />
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<b>总结</b><br />
今年歌曲方面,很多senior 们都很喜欢【狐恋】,【Oh My Darling】,【牺牲者】,【选择性失忆】,还有人说【小时候】也比校创好很多了,有人说两个大男人合唱【舞爱】很怪,像 boyband 也不对,边跳舞边唱也不是...... 而我个人觉得【舞爱】.......很distracting........我真的很想专心听歌,可是 I find myself unable to stop snapping pictures。【learned to move on】 完全就是一首 christian song。还有还有主题 【LOST】 很 retro,还有【全方位的爱】的歌手很可爱,表演欲很强,有像到一位传奇老鸟(一首歌唱二十分钟 + 台上喝水)。<br />
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可是有点令人担心的就是,很少first year 创作人哦。十五首歌,其中除了【小时候】是校创冠军,还有【牺牲者】和【记得我爱你】是校创演绎过的。扣掉【不要老去】,其他的歌曲创作人,有几个是 first year 呢?而创作人里头,有几个是即将毕业的呢?他们若离开了,空缺将由谁来填补呢?<br />
<br />
整体来说,我给今年的大摇 88%(拍拍手),还是一个 A 哦,而且还是比另外一个马大大型活动好看很多 (真心话。而且我没有偏心 :p)。你看我还没看到 multech presentation 就已经给 88 分了,若看了不就给 89 分了吗?<br />
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p/s: 给主席的一句话:你知道吗,我看完大摇后有四处问问意见,发现你的组委们都很爱你哦。他们说:她人<b><span style="font-size: large;">超好</span></b>的。她很关心,也很配合。<br />
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So....... 赢完料咯? <br />
<br />
Malcolm<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-61938985372240359982015-05-06T11:24:00.000+08:002015-05-06T11:24:35.387+08:00大摇 2015骗你的。<br />
下一篇才来 post。<br />
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先来看看<a href="http://malct32.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014.html">去年</a>和<a href="http://malct32.blogspot.com/2013/04/2013.html">前年</a>的评价吧~<br />
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<br />Malcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-399073602591743853.post-8934075461945152022015-04-23T18:28:00.002+08:002015-04-23T18:28:54.424+08:00According to Science, The Phrase "If You Smile, The World Will Smile Back At You" Is True<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">We smile when there is something good going on. We smile because we feel happy, we feel joy, or simply because we have to act polite when meeting other people.</span></span><br />
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Smiling <a href="https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/239304/Schnall%20&%20Laird%20%282003%29.pdf%3Bjsessionid=4435678DDF1BE843EA3BC6B1EBC29E0E?sequence=1"><i>can</i></a> change your mood, because human emotion is highly malleable. Pretend that you are happy, and you will feel happy, pretend that you are angry, and you
will feel angry<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lohit Hindi"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "WenQuanYi Zen Hei"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">—</span>this is an<a href="https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/239304/Schnall%20&%20Laird%20%282003%29.pdf%3Bjsessionid=4435678DDF1BE843EA3BC6B1EBC29E0E?sequence=1"> effect</a> well known to actors, and has been extensively studied by psychologists following the tradition of William James and self-
perception theory.<br />
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However, there's much more to smiling. There's <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3379579">evidence</a> that people found cartoons funnier when they bit a pen in a way that triggers their "smiling" muscles, and less funny when they pouted. Recently, scientists from the University of Sussex <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=how-emotions-are-shaped-by-bodily-states.pdf&site=42">reported</a> that when we smile, we perceive other people's frowns as less severe, and when we frown we see other people's smile as less joyful.<br />
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But smile, it seems, can even change the way we see neutral expressions.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaSiXcQrjAsRaAQBPseedPq00FxQ8ygAX1IL27jYt_7PRdnFLo1RA7jhTEN53NQYKT9JqdD50-0S3uBO_udEbOTW5U3AOWkrqJyVJkwqGWPDZcmUhytaOnOTELgbE4uQuYKjzpHNB-pUj/s1600/beluga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaSiXcQrjAsRaAQBPseedPq00FxQ8ygAX1IL27jYt_7PRdnFLo1RA7jhTEN53NQYKT9JqdD50-0S3uBO_udEbOTW5U3AOWkrqJyVJkwqGWPDZcmUhytaOnOTELgbE4uQuYKjzpHNB-pUj/s1600/beluga.jpg" height="400" width="342" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captured this when I visited the Nagoya Port Aquarium in Japan, obviously the happiest beluga in the world.</td></tr>
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In a new <a href="http://scan.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/03/22/scan.nsv009.ab">study,</a> Dr Tina Forster from the Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit at City University London tested and measured brainwaves of 25 volunteers as they observed pictures of faces that were smiling or showing neutral expression. In the study, the researchers observed two spikes of electrical activity in the brain that are responsible for the processing of faces, and the spikes will be more pronounced when the faces show emotional expressions.<br />
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Their results how that when the participants saw the happy faces, their faces changed from neutral to happy, as just we'd expect. However, the interesting thing about the results is that when the participants adopted a smiling face, they saw<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lohit Hindi"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "WenQuanYi Zen Hei"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">—</span>or their brain perceived<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lohit Hindi"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "WenQuanYi Zen Hei"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;">—</span>a neutral face as if it were smiling.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CZjkD072lV_AN7bifnwrp_hWvw6-m0Hib4SRgYMP4prWlzBIKT_UttnrQYfqlJc9-SK29xnNSBSAWpeVF-syNr30NPqCtAT-Cvs257rV-g67Oa7Yyr6a8M_R8y19pxnx2J_58YUaXVg6/s1600/cute.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CZjkD072lV_AN7bifnwrp_hWvw6-m0Hib4SRgYMP4prWlzBIKT_UttnrQYfqlJc9-SK29xnNSBSAWpeVF-syNr30NPqCtAT-Cvs257rV-g67Oa7Yyr6a8M_R8y19pxnx2J_58YUaXVg6/s1600/cute.jpg" height="297" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captured these heart-warming images outside the Nagoya Port Aquarium in Japan. </td></tr>
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This has a profound effect on human psychology, because if you were to enter a room full of strangers with a smiling face, you will most likely see those faces smiling back at you, even when they were just looking blankly at you.<br />
And that's something really worth feeling happy for.<br />
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MalcolmMalcolmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746597076447600626noreply@blogger.com0