Hey hey heyyyyyy!

Its that time again - when the stars and planets ( and the junk on my floor ) align and for some reason i decide to sit down and blog instead of facebooking, youtube-hopping or engaging in my usual procrastinatory ( is that even a word?) activities.

Well the above and Prof Chetwynds MEMS assignment. Bleargh. Last term was a good term assignments-wise though. Despite my almost suicidal disregard for deadlines and declining work ethic i managed to do rather well in my presentations & assignments. Go me!

Anyway..

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! & happy harirayahajiawalmuharramdeepavalimerryXmas and anything else that i have missed. My 2007 would have been nothing without its stellar cast :). Hope you're all gonna be in the sequel tooo. Cameo pon cukup la . Here's a quick catchup in pictures since the last time i blogged.
A super muhibbah flat Xmas dinner before the end of term. I made my roast lamb with mango & mint thingy and a salad with miso dressing + mandarins & pecans, Lauren made those yummy cheesy tex mex thingies, Georgia made tabbouleh, & Phil & John made Yorkshire Puds!
Sangeetha getting grabby with the post dinner 'Kremes.

Hopped down to windy windy Notts to catch up with some chummies ( and cook them incredibly sinful food) AND to catch David Guetta playing at Gatecrasher.


Happy, happy people with tired feet. Boys & girls, next time you go to a non-NUS event, please bring your Passports mkaaays?

Managed a quick stop in London to catch-upsies. Go Victoria League!

Managed another flat Xmas dinner. Since it was just tecks+company, woon and myself, we were all guinea pigs for the first time im making stuffed turkey.
Result? yumsies. Here's more food from that night:


Dessert in progress..
BAM!! Dark Choc truffle torte with strawberry/lemon coulis


With almost everyone away for Xmas eve, a coupla of us just had drinks at Embargo in town, followed by a quick hop to Ignite. Not exactly a warm and fuzzy Xmas, but hey - at least i wasnt scratching my balls at home.

Was stuck at home for Boxing Day. The evil forces of the greater West Midlands Transport Authority ( or whatever the monkey fuck its called) and Midland Trains have conspired to deprive me of the obscene gratification that is the Boxing Day Sales.

NYE was schweet. We went to Birmingham to catch the Godskitchen NYE party at Air. The headlining DJ wasn't that impressive, but the other room that played deep house was pretty darned good.


And once flat 32 repopulated again ( well mostly) i made laksaaa!

We just spend way too much time in the kitchen . & eating.

The rest of the time was mostly filled with not working, unreal tournament-ing (until everyone got home and the lag was unbearable) and a new draconian fitness regime ( alternating 20laps in the pool with 6 clicks of rowing + weights daily).

But 2007 really was a year to remember. In so many ways. AND a few more. My resolutions? pretty much the same every year - improve myself in every conceivable way.

Now that everyone's up to speed, a normal entry:

Feeling: a chilli + post spin-class endorphine rush
Listening to: Waktu Yang Dinanti - Ungu

Actually caught myself actually, audibly , contentedly sighing in bed the other day after a skosh of insomnia led me to totally clean out my room at 4 in the morning. Everything useless/to be shipped back is nicely stashed away in the trunk room,i have regained half my floorspace, and chucked out a whole full binliner of junk. Everythings completely resorted. THe only thing i have to worry about now is my bookshelf collapsing.

Speaking of bookshelves, out of the books i managed to read over the Xmas hols i'd have to say the best one was Twenty-Something by Iain Hollingshead - a fictional diary of ...wait for it.... a 20-something London banker who goes through a life-changing year. Hilarious, well written, and im sure a lot of you guys will identify with the protagonist. Grab a copy if you can!

Maybe its just that i've been spending more time in the weights room lately, but it seems that it gets packed harder every year with bloody vexing hooligans who swagger around smelling like ass and hogging the equipment. Better yet, some of them from a *certain* country come in big packs, pratically take over the weights room and yell *encouragement* at each other - basically its just a bloody pissing contest where overcompensating hulks boost their self esteem over seeing their "pussy" friends struggle with a 60kg bench. Personal prejudices & judgements asides, they are still bloody inconsiderate fucks. Whatever man - all the muscles and gymming in the world won't fix ugly, no?

Another thing that's been grinding my gears - how most Malaysians, no matter from what social strata they're from, tend to reserve this bizzare reverence for Westerners and (more so with the working classes) politicians.

'kay fine they might at the very least appear to have a better socioeconomic lot, no small part due to their history of crafty imperialism/puppetry and amazingly unfair foreign policies, but look a little closer and you'll see that they're just as fucked up - just sometimes differently. There's still violent crime, unemployment, illiteracy, and their politicians screw up just as royally. Yep. There are ignorant dumbfucks everywhere in the world.

Of course, you tend to feel a little more ire when said dumbfucks get your country's names in the papers. Our health minister's sex tape even made the bloody Metro. Fair enough it was horribly bad luck - he must have been set up. Step into the Parliament or even a Cabinet meeting and throw a stone - it will definitely bounce off some schmuck having an affair. Im sure there are quite a few people who'd be hypocrites for holding that personally against him.

SOME others deserve nothing less than a donkey kick to the groin. Not being racist or anything, but WHAT THE FUCK is up with all these senior Malay politicians letting all and sundry know what colossal gaping ignorant undignified twats they are. Malaysian media might be state-controlled but foreign stations, papers and Youtube are not. Don't tell me you havent seen videos of Parliamentary proceedings online and felt like giving Nazri the shit-kicking of his life. Or seen the interviews about the FRU's response to the Bersih demos. OR seen the UMNO youth rallies. Budi bahasa bangsa my ass.

Okay fine Khairy might actually know what he's doing with those keris-waving dogs on a string ( im sure a degree in PPE from Oxford is handy) but whats up with the others? Its like you're having all the wrong people going into politics for all the wrong reasons.

Sorry, but i'm just have this general burning disdain for politicians. Even those that dive in with the best of intentions are forced to conform along the way. Many that i've personally met have such a slimy, greasy untrustworthy vibe. I can count those that seem genuine with like.....2 fingers( and no, not with a roman V).

You want to make money? Start a channel or show that broadcasts Dewan Rakyat/Dewan Negara sessions, and take public sms votes on who they'd like to be seen to be told to shut the fuck up, or better yet, tasered. The latter might be an interesting option, especially with MPs being the amazing specimens of physical fitness that they are.

Our Parliament is already a joke, so why not capitalize on it?

Links:
cracked.com is bloody hilarious. Just read these two articles and you'll be hooked. Procrastination material for AGES.
The 5 pimping-est historical figures.
9 most badass bible verses

And here, the BEST. MOVIE. STUNT. EVER.
I bet you havent seen a ventriloquist do a sketch like THIS before.

I'm gonna finish this post with a confession:
.
.
.
.
.
.No i'm not gay. Screw you.
.
.
.
.
I actually think some LOLcats are funny. Or at least cute.

"Words are nothing. Nothing but post hoc justifications and poorly remembered trivialities. Semantics and pedantics. Bottled up feelings, half-declarations, cowardly withdrawals at the last minute. The japes and scrapes of my reality and my imagination."
-Jack Lancaster, Twenty-Something

PS. PLEASE cease and desist with the facebook apps invitations. I dont want to know whether people think I'm Hot or Not( i already know) , and neither do i want to feed your pet turtle.

PPS. Read the above again. If you still send me an invite, i will send someone over to sodomize you with a splinter-y 2'x4' . I'm willing to bet that not many people will enjoy helping remove splinters from your strangely rectangular rectum.

GAARRRghh *bites thumbdrive.

Such is the wrath of Amar.

Balls man.....nicely got my last set of microscopy results for my individual project ( no more labwork, w00t!!!) my thumbdrive is permanently gone. Well it WAS my old thumbdrive and i hardly used it anymore....but still it worked bloody fine this afternoon and now BLEK its just corrupted.

Let that be a lesson to you, boys and girls. Always keep a backup thumbdrive. And do not bring about your (good)thumbdrive with your keys because then you're twice as likely to lose them. At the Union. And have it turned in on monday, with the thumbdrive conveniently missing.

Cunts.

Hahahah....during last minute procrastination , Phil decided to go through with our plan - i had no idea until i got a wallpost from Sangeetha, walked into his room and saw him laughing. He actually set up and account for her with a similar email, and we got all the flatmates to play along . I even logged in as well and added all her friends. The jig was up within a day tho when everyone else kept on going "FINALLY you're on Facebook" to the boss lady herself on campus.

Well i'm now gonna find some other work i can do. Or just go to the kitchen and find nibbles nyom nyom nyom. Tata!

Listening to : Nothing Lasts Forever - Maroon 5
Feeling : Amped for skool daze!!

One of my major pet peeves since last year ( yeah i know a lot of things irritate me now. I must be getting old) are the increasing number of people, mostly brits who wear keffiyehs as a fashion accessory without knowing its cultural significance. A couple of years back Londoners, mostly of middle eastern origins or muslims from around the world wore them in a certain way as a sign of Palestinian solidarity. It gets even more complicated in Arabic countries, where the colours, embroideries and the style of wear indicate tribal & political loyalties.

One of the more famous keffiyeh wearers. Shame on you if you dont know his name.

But somehow along the way, when Western militaria started wearing them out of practicality in middle eastern theaters, they sorta became part of military gear, and Japanese(eventually europeans and americans too) civvies who dress in fatigues and camo added them to their ensemble. Then the boho circles. Then the hipsters. Then every other schmuck who goes to urban outfitters/topman etc etc. I actually asked a guy who was wearing one on the bus the other day if he knew what wearing a keffiyeh represented. Nope. Big surprise.

A keffiyeh worn as a shemagh, for practical desert use

A keffiyeh on a catwalk, as lost as a pig at a barmitzvah

That being said, i DO have a red/white one that i used to wear as a shawl for Friday prayers while i was at school- picked it up in Mecca so it was quite a nice one. Best comment i ever had on it was from Mrs Lim - my form 5 English teacher-

"Amar why are you wearing a tablecloth?"

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Silly woman.

Would it make me a horrible hypocrite to dig up mine and wear it?

Finally got around to watching Die Hard 4 the other day. Always found movies about hackers hilarious - how there always HAS to be ONE really hot chick hacker while everyone else are stereotypical scrawny geeky weird looking types.

And how they always seem to have the prettiest UIs.

And how they can always call up perfectly user-friendly frontends for anything - traffic control, power management from any standard computer.

Its all a load of rubbish lar.

But John McLane is just fuckin hardcore. I dont recall Chuck Norris ever flinging a car into a helicopter.
I dont recall Kiefer Sutherland ever jumping on an F35 mid-hover.

Oh btw that scene was bloody fake. Fine a Raptor can hover. But to engage in urban close combat with a ground vehicle? Not even a triple ace Israeli air force pilot on meth can do that. 80% of all fatalities/ejects on VTOL jets are due to the pilots losing control during hovers.

Bruce Willis is the man la. 5th Element, Whole 9/10 yards,Sin City, 6th sense, Armageddon, 12 Monkeys- all damn good movies. No idea what the hell he was doing in Planet Terror though.

True, Planet Terror was a typical Tarantino homage to that particular genre, but it was so over the top in every which way and it was ridiculously cliched. All that was intentional i'll bet. But you can't argue that it was a bloody fun movie to watch. Every other scene will have you laughing your balls off, from the Machete trailer to the BEST.SCENE.EVER.

No really, have you ever seen anything more hilarious?

I'm gonna go grab something to eat! Lemme leave you with another lovely song - Akhir Rasa Ini by Samsons.



Tatabata!

Boogabooga!

*tired zombie face*

Man the last two days have been a bitch. Group meetings.Lab.Group meeting. Lab. Repeat ad-infinitum. At least the doctor gave me some sweet-ass meds. I gotta say its the best damn anti-inflammatory i've ever taken - Diclofenac. Just a word of warning tho - if you take it before you sleep, good luck waking up.

You know theres a funny story in there somewhere when you see a cute but slightly irritated girl buying two 12 packs of Durex Performas at the pharmacy.

Nyuumm got a whole bunch of new Indonesian music - some jazz, pop, but mostly songs by Glenn Fredly. Daft name, but not bad r&b/jazz-ish songs.

There's no videos yet for most of the Talib Kweli songs(catchy AND meaningful lyrics) i like off Eardrum ,but here's a cool video nonetheless. Check it out!



"I wear the night like a cloak, cuz i move with the stars - navigate through the truly bizzare"

You know its not your day when you show up for that long needed medical appointment with the uni health center and the receptionist tells you that your doctor has been taken ill as well and that they'll hook you up with another checkup tomorrow.

Before anything else, here's a shoutout to Tecks for turning 22 yesterdaaay! The crazy sod actually managed almost 30 shots of absinthe, vodka and tequila - double what he did last year w00t! Just celebrated with cake, liqour and cranium with the flat.

From the wholesome shots...


To the slightly less wholesome..


Almost there...
He's a pointer isnt he?

The last photo has been deemed a bit too teruk to post. Kesian Tecks a bit la. I'll put up this photo of a cute kitten instead.
Aaaaaawwww fuzzyywuzzy kewten's wickin his widdle pawsie woosieeee....

*EHEM*
But yeah the party was a successsss!

Anyone hungry?


Managed to make kuih akok last week. Just followed the basic recipe online and improvised the rest. Jadi jugak weii..

Tried something new yesterday. Warm prawn salad with miso & coriander vinaigrette dressing. The dressing?


3 tbsp ex.virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
few drops sesame oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp miso paste
1 pinch chilli flakes
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger knob
1/2 cup coriander leaves

Just bung everything in a blender or chop finely and mix with a spoon. Goes well with quite a few salads.

Made my generic chicken pasta thingy today. The proportions vary, but a good base recipe would be:


2 chicken breasts/3 drumsticks filleted and diced
half an onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 can of tomatoes
balsamic vinegar
to season - oregano, thyme, chilli flakes, salt, pepper, fresh coriander

and as much pasta as you bloody well like. Also, this is not to be taken with cheese.

This is just a random scatterpost while i'm sick of doing like, 3 courseworks simultaneously.

Here's a little something from XKCD. Its a bit of a geeky comic but quite funny sometimes.


Mmmkays back to faceb...i mean wooork!!

Dammit the photo upload function works again. Was hoping its still down so i have an excuse to procrastinate on blogging - which means right about now i'm quite fucked, as blogging is already procrastination. Amar pussyfooting on blogging is like *insert your own lurid, shocking and possibly blasphemous analogy*.

Listening to: More or Less - Talib Kweli
Feeling: bummed out from being a skosh sick-ish

First of all, a public service message.

To all you lovely people on Facebook, especially the new ones:

EASY ON THE (#&*%^)&^%#$ APPS!!!

The first few apps were fine. Cheeky, fun and not too bandwidth-consuming. Then things started to get a little crazy. Vampires. Zombies. Werewolves. Jedi. Sith. I already had an ominous feeling when you can post songs and videos on your page - "ohhhhh shit this is going to be JUST like Friend-effing-ster"

In some ways, its even more annoying than Friendster now. Bar the customizeable interface and automatically streaming videos/music some FB pages are just chock full of oftentimes useless little apps that fill up your cache and tire your scrolling finger. NO, im not Interested In you and NO, i do not want to pet whatever roundish fluffy creature that is and dont even get me started on Entourage/Top Friends.

NO. Non.Niet.Nee.Nein.

Come to think of it, if you construe poking as a sexual innuendo ( from its humble beginnings as a "nudge" function to a one-click message that says "I don't know you but you're hot so i want to add you as a friend with the remote chance that i might eventually get to have sex with you" on those random FB stalking runs) most of these new apps also bring it on in heaps, from the not so subtle Are You Interested or Naughty Gifts or more hidden gems that somehow get to you subliminally ( or if you have a convoluted mind) which brings me back to petting random small furry things.

So please, for the sake of uber-procrastinators and mousewheels everywhere, cease and desist with the apps!!!

To get in the Raya mood a coupla weeks ago, i resorted to Youtubing for some Raya ads. While most were nondescript or just plain lousy, there were a few good ones.

Well where adverts are concerned, a "good" one means just particularly memorable either by the virtue of being hilarious, lame-to the point of being hilarious, and touching.

Petronas brought out the big guns again this year i see.

Yes Petronas makes excellent ads. But do they ALL have to tug so hard at the heartstrings? On one hand, its kinda hard to make funny ads on religious or cultural occasions but some of these Petronas ads are just overkill. One thing i can definitely NOT recommend is loading up all their Raya, Chinese New Year and maybe their Merdeka ads, and watching them in one go. You'll either be really depressed, be overwhelmed with guilt about how you could have been better/kinder/more respecful towards your family/elders OR just be out of tissue paper. Maybe all three. Their Deepavali ads, on the other hand, are usually hilarious or equally poignant, but not as heartwrenching. Of worthy note is one Deeparaya ad with a happy ending, where one guy actually says "What? Think all Petronas ads someone must die ar?"

Also, is it just me, or are more and more of the CNY/Raya/Deepavali ads sticking to the "ungrateful child+ageing parents" theme?

TV3 also had Yasmin Ahmad make a hilarious one:


I just LOVE the part where she buys the cempedak goreng.

Also on Yasmin Ahmad - just realised that her movies ( well Sepet, Gubra and Mukhsin anyway) are scored very well. From keroncong to Italian arias to French jazz, the meaning and mood of the songs always fits the characters and scenes to a tee.


If you havent seen Mukhsin, find a copy. IMHO, its better than Gubra (too much diverging to the side story) but not as good as Sepet, especially in terms of its critique on certain aspects of Malaysian, especially Malay culture. She is no pencemar budaya. She's just an honest storyteller.

Last weekend was crazy. Soul Nation was okay, but would have preferred to have an alternative DJ in the cooler. Pictures!

After , like, 3 hours of sweaty sweaty dancing it was kinda hard to wake up in the morning and go early to London. Managed to leave in the afternoon and travel non stop straight to Kak Rash's open house. Came a leeeeetle late so meet most of the Pet & London folks but we sure closed down the party. Dapat tapau w00t!!

I guess we weren't in a hurry to leave because for most of us who stayed on it was our final raya together in London. So sakan lah carik benda nak buat from hosting an improptu kursus kahwin ( yes Alina its your fault. Saper suruh you kawin this year?) to watching x-factor to helping the caterers clear out.


Was hoping for a quiet , productive weekend in but nooooo.

1. Heat on Friday. Sorry Woon, Foong, and other *orientals* . Heat was as Indian as ever. Well i got my Reggaeton so i was happpy.
2. Woke up at 9am the next day to catch the pursuit cycle class. Worth it!
3. Fell bloody sick AGAIN before i could catch up on sleep. At least its just light sniffles sans migraine this time around. *TOUCH WOOD*


Stopped by at Hurst 21 before Heat for fresh baked muffins courtesy of Mars. Traded in what was left of my akok ( yay jadii!!) for yummy triple berry muffins. Of course you cant expect Amar to sit idly and watch as freshly baked goods lay across the table with a can of spray cream and strawberries....

Hmn never knew i could make strawberry roses. Must have seen it on TV *Heroes reference*

Hmmn i thought i quit doing that pout. I blame it on the sugar.( No Mars they're not too sweet. You just let me eat too much of em)

Anyhoo's its Teck's birthday today. Happy 21st mannn!!! Dont eat too much of your (lovingly handmade by Sangeetha and yours truly) Lemon Lime cheesecake! Later how to get you drunk at topB?

You might also notice that this is a particularly late ( or early ) post. My sleep schedule is permanently disjointed. I'll probably need another weekend to set it straight. Or a whole day of ponteng-ing. We'll i'd probably get another hour of work done before i zzzzs.

"I want him dead! Yesterday! Before breakfast! Before eggs-ah!"
-Laszlo Gogolak, The Whole Ten Yards

Feeling : like there's a civil unrest in my stomach and a fireworks show in my head
Listening to : my Amy Winehouse playlist

I think the combination of all the Raya food and lack of sleep wasnt too good for me. Wicked sore throat since Sunday that blew into an all out fever, as always. For some reason i've been getting violent-ass migraines as well. Nothing double doses of Neurofen can't sort out though.

But it was an alright London Raya la.

Saturday -

Joined parents on the train to London, and crashed with them at the Mara apartments. Went to the Mara open houses up and down the building. Rendang lemang lontong ketupat kuih raya and the lot. Then tagged along with them shopping around Picadilly and Oxford circus - managed to make a quick stop at Hamley's to pick up Cranium!

Wanted to bring them for dinner at Addies, but the whole place was booked up. D'oh. Went for dinner at Mai Sushi nearby instead but still tak puas so i tarpaued the radna from Addies.

Sempat jugak pegi all the way to Mudchute to catch Shivani at her housewarming.

Bahan yous still lookin good, but your directions were CRAP.

Since i was gonna miss the last train anyway, made a stop at Notting Hill for more nibbles at Fazuras'
...and was reminded of how utterly FUN it was to wait for London night buses.

Sunday

buuuut then the best part was, i finally managed to drag the parents to Nobuuu for sunday lunch. Lucky i made reservations earlier.

Salmon tartare with caviar and spring onions in soy sauce and wasabi. Okay technically its just pulped salmon sashimi served in kicap but yummmmmmm.

Soft shell crab rolls

Seared tuna and sea bream salad with their ponzu dressing

The signature Nobu black cod. Nice but not THAT amazing

Beef Teriyaki

Beef Teppanyaki

..and the sushi platter

We were a bit the malas to go to the MSD raya. Dahlah most of the people i would want to see wont be there, and with the circle/district line down gettin there would have been a real pain in the ass. Managed to meet the girls later at Carluccios on St. Christophers though.

Not in a particularly ranty mood tonight. Just tired and migraine-ny. Just particularly irritated with the fact that half my floorspace is taken up by other people's crap. People who arent bothered to arrange to pick it up or confirm shipping. Eh aku bukan luggage forwarding agency okay? And Tocil rooms arent particularly roomy - despite what Hurst people might claim.

Oh yeah and the post around here has gone to shit. British work ethic + strong unions = fuckedupness. Its like the only people who havent been on strike are the Police. Its a bloody knock on effect. With Royal Mail striking whenever they bloody want to, all post have to go by couriers. Not only can they not handle the load, now they can also charge a premium for their services. Try buying anything online now and see how long the bloody postage takes.

Haha confirm la kalau ada claim form i bawak sindri terus pegi MSD kat London.

Raya at Tocil

Fazura and myself macam open house sikit sikit la at Tocil this Wednesday. She made laksa sarawak ( i had like 4 freaking bowls) and i made otak otak, thai glass noodle and prawn salad, and pandan jelly. Everyone tengah suffer suffer pedas pon bantai gak.


My stomach is still seriously reeling from that dinner. *violent stomach noises*

Tomorrow! Soul Nation !w00t!!
I've got my ticket, have you got yours?

Listening to: My musicals playlist. Perky is good. Need perky
Feeling: A little hoarse in the throat - boo. Technically its already Raya today - yeayy!

I think its a scientifically proven fact. I blog only and ONLY when i'm procrastinating.

My Raya is going to be quite sad weh. My parents are already in London, and will be coming in Cov Friday afternoon, and i will be running between the workshop sorting out my project heat treatments and the group meeting for the MEng group project ( designing and making a gantry to support PIV apparatus to analyze the flow pattern out of a jet engine)

ANd i think i'm falling sick. Thats is man after this weekend i'm catching up on some nice and proper sleep . Shoulda asked the folks to bring the Dreamcatcher from my room. Been having a bloody lot of WEIRD dreams lately.

Whoever left the StackEm/Jenga set in Flat 32s kitchen is either an evil genius or the devil himself. We started by playing it after dinner to see who would do the cleaning up, and then the forfeits for losing kinda scaled up.

High stakes Jenga + Hon Win's loaned bicycle carrier bag = naughtyness

Henceforth, it was decided that the loser would be bundled up in his bag, left outside the door of an absent flatmate, and his or her door was knocked. Guess who was first up!

Pfeh they left me outside Joanna's room, she came out but didn't open the bag. Lauren happened to pass by - i didnt hear what they said but she kicked the bag so i just popped out. Not a great success.

SO i had to do it again. This time it was outside John's room. He didnt seem to be in.

*crickets*

So whatever la. Next round it was Sangeethaaa!

The Setup

The Jab

Peekabooo!

Heh it was fun shits.

The Raya shoot last Sunday was also t3h b0mb.

Finalists FTW!

Best.Raya.Pic.Ever. All we need now is the non-video-still version

Sigh wish i had that Doraemon door. Wouldnt mind a quick trip to Borneo Rainforest for some delish shisha and pasta.

Can't wait to see you London folks in your Raya finery ;P

It's been a while hasnt it?

Yups boys and girls its that time of the year again - when deadlines are looming ( i know man, Tuesday week 2?!?!?!) and i'm pulling out all the procrastinating stops. Nicely tucked away in a corner of my desktop is a folder of photos and little notes and quotes that i've been meaning to blog for aaaayges.

But i'm 50% lazy and 50% percent actually trying to keep some time left over for work so letsh just start with bringing ya up to speed with my summer in phok-ohs yeh?

**Summer 2007**

Hung around in July for the lucky sods on three year courses' graduations, and also managed to get some work done on my 3rd/4th year coursework. Had a quick trip to The Hague, and a quick pit stop at Amsterdam on the way back.

Den Haag. boring boring boring boring.

Urrh yeah i just happened to pass by the Shell HQ. Pretty.

Met some interesting ( albeit early sleeping) folks on my night in Amst - stayed for a night in an 8-bed hostel room. Found some pretty brill shops further out in the student quarter - one noteworthy mention was this gorgeous chocolate shop - "Puccini" - that had great handmade chocolates in all sorta funky flavours. Kinda pricey though.

Faaast forward to the end of early August - Flew back on the 29th of July, and had like, 5 days in town before I had to go off to the Petronas Re-orientation. First 5 days was at Agrotek all the way in Ulu Langat - a forest reserve/chalets/function rooms kinda place with a proper warung.

Basically it was 5 days of seminars talks case studies group work skits roleplaying mandi sungai water polo 6meals a day 40 man dorms zero phone reception aaaand of course zzzBlisszzz After that, it was 4 days at a homestay program in Negri Sembilan. The homestay program? mandi jeram akad nikah kenduri gotong royong inspirational talks to schoolkids matmotoness fantastic stories by mr. suhud food with santan santan santan hyper chatty little kids and cowshit slaloms.

Yeah this spot aint so quiet when its water polo time.

Where kids go to chill when there's no malls or shisha places.

Ze host family and the other two blokes who got put in the same house.

After all that, Dad had some ASEAN energy thing in Singapore, so i joined him on the flight down and took the bus back .Helped the old man sort out the papers he was presenting (and kept a few interesting ones. Colin Oram sure interested one) and managed to catch Darren and Jac for makans. And a city F1 track in Singapore? a NIGHT city F1 track in Singapore? This should be interesting. Expect a random cockrant on that sometime soon. I have a feeling i'm gonna be seeing this view a bit more in the next coupla years.

But yeah after that it was a really fun, chilled out summer. Was practically at Rhasta almost every other night shishaing and talkin cock ( and picking up quite a bit about banking hahaha). It was brilliant - managed to catch up with so many old friends, and some new ones too.

Man serious everyone's face be gettin round yo..

Sri Cempakaaaa , megah berdiriii-iii....

Thank god that some of you guys are still around in London. Still so many places unseen and un-makaned and so many shows on the West End i'm still dying to catch. And of course they're the uber-babi japanese buffets too. And there's always Addies' & Masala Zoooneee!

Sigh too bad schooo many of you guys wont be here anymore in London. Next Petronas annual briefing just wont be the same...

Less than a week to raya! woooot! The folks are comin down this weekend for raya and a quick hop around Italy too while i'm stuck here. Pfeh. Can't wait to eat again in daylight thouugh.

Oh yeah quite sad also - this year's Raya photo shoot in Warwick will probably be the last one for a while, seeing that Raya will fall like, on the first day of term next year. At least we got some extra silliness in the photos aye?

I'll just finish off with a quick music plug - been listening to a lot of Rilo Kiley. Also, the new Korn unplugged CD(who woulda thought that was a good idea hmmn?) , Talib Kweli ( LOTS of good tracks and collabs) and Katie Tunstall. On a more local side - also some good listenin from Tangga, Samsons, Ahli Fiqir & Anuar Zain.

And if you havent heard of Project Pop, go youtube them or something. They're freaking hilarious - some of their classics are "Dangdut is the Music of my Country", "Jangan Ganggu Banci", and you have GOT to see this one - "Dugem vs Metal" FYI, "Dugem" is a portmanteau from dunia gemerlap - Indo slang for like, clubbing, karaoke and other glitzy nightlife pursuits. Seriously the lyrics and the video - tergelak sampai nangis i tell you.



This is also a damn catchy song ( well okay most people think it sucks) but even tho the video buruk sikit the tune is damn catchy, and the song is hilarious if you get the lyrics. Basically this woman is taking the bloody piss out of this rapper she used to date.



Oh and i think i've finally pimped out my desktop to the max. Now i gotta join at least one CompSoc Lan party to show it off at least once. Oh and to find out if anyone's hosting a DC++ server on campus as well. hur hur.

Yes overkill i know. But isnt it just purty? I've got an Intel DC E6750 sharing a water cooling loop(240 mm radiator) with an OC-ed 7900GT and its only 18C on idle! *geeky snort*

MMkays time to get back to woooork. Just gotta run down to the kitchen for a nibble first. Tataaa! I'd post some of the raya pics but since most of you guys are on Facebook anyway, yeah fuckit ( DAMMIT thats 6.50 quid now iniit?)

Still alive. Just weally weally busy.

Would still be posting fuckloads of pictures, if nothing else if Blogger had a Java photo uploader like facebook.

But yeah - if you havent - come join facebook onlyy

Updates in brief:
1. Gym is still full of irritating people who hog machines and take up space. At least most of the new-years' resolutions people be gooone.
2. Mnite 2007 was aiiight. Apparently, i was the bomb without even being on stage- heh.
3. 3rd year sucks ass. Workshop technicians are all laazyyy liarrrssssss.

Uh oh just checked my to-do list. Plenty plenty plenty. boobyeee!

Steeeyouuupid CUNT!!!

Today fucking sucked ass.

After an almost entirely sleepless night, and a 9 am French test, things only got fuckin better.

I’m sure y’all (warwickians anyway) know how it is at Café Library, right? Its always like the fuckin line that takes fuckin ages are mostly idiots who eat English breakfasts at 3 in the afternoon or load up on baked potatoes – so its like biasa kan to just skip the line to the oh-so-empty part of cafeLib for the ‘proper’ hot food.

I was just about to grab a pack of their dog-fucking-food chilli con carne before heading back for much needed catching up on sleep (plus finishing off Robotics and pointlessly trolling on Vibrations) when some fucking twat fucking cari pasal:

“I don’t know if you noticed, but there is a line”

“But yeah, bro that’s for the all day breakfast innit?”

“There’s only one line”

“Yeah but look, man – okay fine whatever”

Not like there was anyone else in the queue giving me dirty looks or anything, but I was already farking irate enough. It was either a clean split or cuss that motherfucker off. Granted there’s quite a big chance that I was wrong so fuckit la I joined the line of spud scoffers and bacon eaters.

Then when I left I heard that cock-eyed bastard mutter “Malaga” . Fuckin Greek poseur. Like so confident no Asians know their swear words like that. CUnTT. Hope the next time he shags his skanky greek whore he gets crabs up to his hairy back and head.

Just when I cooled down and was happily passing by the humanities dept some garishly dressed hongkey cunt with headphones shouldered me and made me drop my packed salad. KNCCB fucker never even looked back. Not saying sorry one thing….but didn’t even look back! RARRRRRGHhhhhhhhh

Oh while we’re on the subject of the dog food that they serve on campus ( maybe except for Eat and Xanana) I’m gonna be a bitch and take you a wooooorld away to NOBU nyahahaha. Managed to join the IC grads for a quick lunch there while I was down for raya weekend. Finally after 5 fucking years here I get to eat at no-fucking-bu.

And the food was orgasmic. Only regret? I ordered the always-changing chef’s set menu instead of the old favourites menu ( I want my nobu black coooood) .

Sooo…where to next? Veeraswamy? The Ivy? The Fat Duck? I’ve got some time…..only pokaiiiiiii. Oh and anyone who gets me seats, repeat just SEATS at El Bulli….me love you looooong tiiiime!

Well at least blogging during lectures didn’t catch on as a habit.heh.

Also in the odd moment that I’ve managed to procrastinate the good ‘ol way – facebooking and looking through old photos – just remembered how mishhh soooo many peopleeeee……..*siiiiiiigh* my London Tai Chehs…..the IC peeps, the Cempakans livin it up back home..aku nak balllllllllllik.

Furbleagh. Here's to me getting through week 10. Salut!

quote of the day: "Better be safe than have to do laundry"

Bleh

I hope blogging during lectures is not gonna be a long term habit or anything. At least bloggin in lectures is better than not going for them at all no? Or falling asleep in them for the matter.



Oh yeah

Almost started laughing like a motherfucker in my Mechanical Design lecture. God bless Harian Metro and their headlines. Their sakit puan/tuan ( gynae/urologist) columns are freaking hilarious too.

Le Petit Blanc in Birm is overrated. Nothing particularly French OR remarkable about the food. I can probably make some of the dishes with 10 pounds worth of shite from Tesco and cooking while scratching my ass and digging my nose.

Expect more of such random entries when Bull-SODDING-dog finally sets up the bloody broadband in 157 Broomfield. Its kinda hard to just dole out this crap between my semi-nomadic goings-about. Au Revoir bitchaz!

"You good niiiice.."

-Someone who's been having a lot of poignant moments of articulateness of late

"You know your wang is big enough to have a gravitational field of its own when three different bottles of bath products fall off three different shelves right on your morningwood when you're having a nice morning shower. Ouch."

Tuesday, 10/10/2006 16:30hrs

Good god this is the most boring lecture on earth. A two hour stretch of vibrational dynamics. Nasib baik I brought my lappie along I tell you. At least now I can catch up on some MAJORly overdue blogging.

Anyhoo…

Yeah I’m back bishes! I’ve been keeping a little jotter with scraps of what to blog about – rants, fun stuff, and just totally random utter cock. Don’t think I’m gonna smack it out all in one shot though – unless you want to read an entry as long as War & Peace.

Why haven’t I been blogging? Well over the last two weeks standard 1^st term madness la – the asswipes at Bulldog have been faffing around with our broadband even tho Tecks applied for it like a freaking month ago, and between skittering off and on campus sorting out all those little things that need sorting out.

What about the freaking entirety of summer you say? For some reason, I didn’t end up hunched over my computer in the middle of the night with the urge to write all too often. This was a super-bumming, super-partyin , super-lepaking summer.

Best. Summer. Ever.

My justification for totally blowing out this summer without a job, internship or anything else that resembles productivity? Last summer would have been my last completely free summer – I already budgeted my 3^rd year summer for internship whoring. Well there WAS my super-deep reading list, but the books I shipped back only came like with barely a month to spare.

All in all, yeah. It was a helluva summer.

Sotong goreng udang goreng limau ais kosong deepfried wontons lala goreng hartamas square makbul rhasta loft cynna zouk frangi laundry jogoya pink tigers + shaking cars irritating friday prayer sermons antsy parents weddings weddings weddings PGL:The Musical Mariza live at the MPO security guard ninjary more ninjary jazz fest klang seafood kiara hill walks *PHEW*

Oh and deserving of another one-breath-rollout of its own is the Singapore trip.YESH I finally made good on my promise to hop on a coach and roll down under to meet up with you lovely people.

Clubbing j.walker+vodkabeenas shitfaced sentosa beach volleyball Frisbee bugis junction paragon takashimaya heeren geylang changivillage hor fun makansutra esplanade more eating in geylang lau pa sat.

And almost all that in 24 hours, mind you.

..of lecka lecka and open toilets

zomfg waris your bro is finally married. how?

Is Klang seafood really worth gettin lost for almost 2 hours? hmmn

..and the winner for randomest sign ever..

Tabbouleh, harira, tagine and moroccan rice. Nyahaha

Best hor fun ever. In Geylang. ( Pun fully intended)

I sucked major ass at beach volleyball

Just a *dash* of camwhorage

MMm pretty souless clinical architecture. How very Singaporean.

The folks holdin down a 9to5. Can you spot the students/unemployed?

Espla-nahd, Espla-neyd. Wotevaaaa

Don’t worry I’m still listening in to the lecture.

Don’t think I should go on much further lest I risk knocking you all down with amar shock – especially if I didn’t manage to see you in summer eh? It’ll be like 3 months of silence then hellLLLoooOO *talk talk talk spit spit spit* So I’m gonna top this of with a buncha select quotes that I managed to jot down this summer.

“Hahahaha tits and fighting. What else would a guy want? Unless its fighting tits. “

- W.A, on DOA the movie

“That’s cos everyone wanna fuck and they know they gonna fuck .”

- W.A, on why gay clubs have a better party vibe than straight clubs. Yes neither of us are gay. Well yours truly anyway – heh.

“Mmm, sexually aggressive choreography”

- me, a Homer moment after seeing the Buttons video for the first time

“Mmm, sexually aggressive choreography”

- Probably what that mark-ass fool Rais Yatim thought too when he finally learnt who the fuck PCD were.

“What happened to my name?”

“Oh I made it into a loaf of bread.”

“Mmm karipap breath…..no…wait crap its pussy breath”

- unattributable, WTF?

“What do you get when you but 50 lesbians and 50 politians in a room together? 100 ppl who dont do dick.”

- Anonymous

"Imagine all the worst parts of the Bible that you have ever heard, multiply these by ten, and then pretend it's real.”

- Overheard, on the wrath of women,

Call me a masochist, but….

yeeEE-HAW for Malaysian heat!

Whether its 3, 6, or 9 months away I’ve always come back thinking “OMFG I’ve been taken the sun for granted” . Having to shower thrice a day, sweating like a stuck pig in a rotisserie and even having to suffer droves of malodorous plebeians will never change that.

That, however, will probably mean I’ll be dead soon enough from heatstroke while trying to regain some colour tanning at poolside between laps ( having warned my mother in advance to spare the little debacle in Penang last year - *anak orang putih gila mana tuh jemur tengah matahari tuh YA ALLAH anak akuuu!* ) unless I lapse into a diabetic coma first from the customary back-for-summer eating binge.

Finally back in my own comfy cozy room again. Ahhh…

Anyway –

Gallic Sales(wo)manship

Was doing some last minute shopping at good ‘ol Selfridges in London and decided to get a different brand of scented candles for the boss lady of the house. Somehow I ended up at the Diptyque shop and started sampling their irritatingly labeled ( scattered letters, which also happen to be in French) candles, when the salesgirl *foomph* appeared outta nowhere.

Miss E:Good afternoon, are you looking for anything in particular? * in a yummy YUMMY typical French accent*

Amar: Not really, just a gift for my mother.

Otak Amar: ZOMFG hot cute French salesgirl! Zut alors!

Aww how nice. Do you know what kind of smells she likes?

Yeah- light, green floral smells. Maybe something slightly sweet.
And the accent! The accent! *phooh phooh* kontrol kontrol

* 5 mins or so of aural and olfactory delight while she shows me the range *

Wow you really know your smells, no?

Hahaha that probably just means I do this way too often. I’ll take this one.
That’s blatantly a sale scoring fake compliment and I don’t even care.

Ah yes good choice, I really like that one too.

Haih tipu tipu pon enjoy jelah. OOoo nice ass too.

*rings it up at the till after taking a prettily wrapped one, and wrapping it in more scented wrap and chucking a few samples*

There you go, have a nice day.

Merci. (summoning all my wannabe kefrench-an)
Sigh that’s probably the last French accent ill hear for a while.

Merci beaucoup! Au revoir!

Man that’s such a refreshing change from the swarm of effeminate salesmen on the ground floor. Almost made up for the time a coupla years back when a cashier slipped me HIS number with the receipt after some small talk. So that WAS a wink earlier on. BrrrRRRrrrrr. Flattered but still extremely weirded out. BRrrr.

Anyway yeah man…you can sell anything, provided that there’s a hot French salesgirl pushin it. I’m sure Alizee could sell me a freakin brick for at least a hundred pounds. Ditto with Laetitia Casta and a bottlecap.

Back in GMT + 0800 –

Tengkiuuu Sangeetha for being underweight ( on luggage ). Muahaha didn’t have to pay a cent for overweight and also slickly evaded my guni beras hand carry being weighed all the way into the plane.

During three days , counting down from touchdown itself, I managed to have – Bubur pedas, keledek goreng, keropok lekor + murtabak from terengganu, cendol, pasembor, rojak, sotong kangkong, wantan noodles, pisang goreng, wajik durian, Sarawak laksa, assam laksa, and some things I don’t even remember. Some of it homemade, to boot!

Luckily my desktop survived being brought home in pieces. Even more amazingly, it worked after I rewired it from scratch in a new ultralight Thermaltake casing. Tak meletup! W00t! Definitely putting the new 7900GT through its paces with Oblivion.

Not the prettiest wiring job, but I can always tidy it up later. Psycho kan – later have to bring this bitch back sommore.

My old man’s impulse tech shopping continues with more gadgets that either will fade into disuse, or being grossly underutilized eg a Blackberry used ONLY for emails and a Nikon D50 probably doomed to a lifetime of poorly taken candids and corporate group poses. I will do all I can to liberate it from that fate – cmon the man doesn’t even know how to upload the photos to his comp. In the end send the whole camera to photoshop and pay even more to get the photos on CD.

So while bummin around i messed with the camera a little around the house....

So that’s another summer project – send dear old dad back to his film F65 and abscond with the D50 for camwhoring, incriminating candids and maybe the odd spot of artsyness or macro shots.

Alrighty now….who’s up for some 1 Utama-ing? CC-ing?

Eating-Amar’s-Food-ing?

Nyahahaha. R.S.V.P. dulu , dahlings!

YEEE-HAW second year's done with.

Done.Dusted. Sterilised. Nuked.

Barring that one totally screwed 5 CATs paper, should be passable la. Worrying more about keeping that blasted 2-1. Gonna keep this short - gotta finish up packin and mosey down to London to get some last minute shoppayng done until my flight on the 21st.

No more of this....

A little bit of this...

And even this-

See y'all back home over summer!!!

la la, la la!

we're gonna make you pop-u-lar!

ZOMG Wicked, The Musical soundtrack is farking nice okay! Super catchy tunes, super chunted cast. Actually BOUGHT the CD *KOFF deadTorrentKOFF*. Worth it. Set la this September must come back early to catch it in London dah. Chill chill Puteri don't book tickets yet tengok camana.

Basically, its a musical from a book in '95, a contemporary-ish take on Oz, going back in before The Wizard of Oz to tell more of the story of the Wicked Witch of the West. Why she is green, how she became misconstrued as wicked, whats really up with those ruby red slippers, everything! Marlass nak elaborate. Haih google or YouTube it only. Here's the trailer.

Speaking of Wicked Witches....

I'm MELTINNGGGGG!!!!!

The temperature has pretty much been 26Deg or hotter these last coupla days - with today topping 30. Its all fine and good when you're in the sun and breeze and shit. But not when you're in your room trying to study and you're sweating like a blind lesbian at the fishmongers. PANAS giler babi okay - not like my halogen table light or my freakin desktop is helping with the heat.

Anyone who finishes the ice in the fridge and doesnt refill will feel my tamparan tuhan hindu seribu tangan okayyyy!

But yeah back on exams and my iTunes playlist being a prophetic snarky slutbag ho.

Came back from Tech Sci 2 part 1 which i konfem totally mental block bombed ( dammit vibrationary mechanics and fluids) -

The Sound of Failure - The Flaming Lips

and Tech Sci 2 part 2 - which i think went rather well -Energy & Enviroment and Electromechanical dev. (except for the most faktap mistake - Taking bore diameters as radii when calculating area. DAMN waste).-

I Can Do That - A Chorus Line Soundtrack

Only Com. Sys ( which i'm takin a little break this very moment from ) and Tech Sci 2 part 3 to go. Balls to the wall time!!

But of course study hard must also play a liiitle bit in between also. Managed to play a little bit of the new Tomb Raider - the last one i bloody played was tomb raider 2 so yeah. Then i remembered why i dont anymore.

Its the same goddamned thing again and again with "better graphics" and "added gameplay mechanics". YEah - read "curvier curves" and " jigglier jugs". WHOPEE artifact hunt with some stupid story based on extrapolated myths, with a dash of her past inbetween.

After a few minutes of jumping chasms and shimmying across ledges and pole vaulting...

FUCK its just like Prince of Persia. Even the maps are quite similar. Just switch a gravity defying fakely British lass with a damned, brooding generic 1001 nights prince. Just switch the guns for swords. Even the combat manouveres sebijik i tell you.

They should meet. Lara and the Prince. Really.
Lara ( in Tea&Crumpets Brit accent): I see, those are some nice swords*jiggle*. Would you mind if i borrowed them and do some analysis on them at the Cavendish Institute?*jiggle* That will be right on brilliant!
The Prince: *looks around for Dahaka* Hands off BITCH.
Lara: Oh so is that how its going to be eh?

*runs circles around each other doing vaguely similar moves until lara plants a cap in the Prince's forehead*


*Prince rewinds time and decapitates Lara, whose corpse goes on jiggling for some reason*

UNHhh , workin, workin up a black sweat!

Okay wrong prince, but whatever.

Ain't touchin YouTube with a stick either. Those of you who have no more exams, youtube this - "silent library" - HILARIOUS Japanese gameshows. Seriously , these people come up with the weirdest/most hilarious/most disturbing things at the same time.

There's SOOO much fucking irritating unfunny rubbish on youtube. Self indulgent videoblogs. OMG those irritating videoblogs. At least with bad blogs , if you DO have to read them to fulfil some masochistic need at least you can read it fast. With a vidblog tho you'd have to endure their mugs and attempts and failed enunciation and overdramatizations.

Granted some of them ARE occasionally funny tho. Its just too fuckin easy for any moron with a webcam and a youtube account to impose their unfunniness/loserness/poseurishness on the unsuspecting youtube skimmer.

So boys and girls, the smartest thing to do is, AVOID youtube! Or at least, only search for things you know, or a link your friend sends and tells you its really really REALLY funny. If its not then slap their fucking teeth out.

Back to C++ and memory registers. Yumma dum dum. only 3 more dayssss!!!

*Amar sashays off to Rihanna's "S.O.S" *
*okay not sashay, but doing some usher/rain/JTish moves*

"Khianatiii, sebisa dirimu mengkhianatiii....": Cinta Putih - Kerispatih
"Super hailat tergolek jamban habis toilet paper": W.A. , nothing to do with TP emergencies

I could SWEAR that my iTunes random setting has a bloody mind of its own.

As sweetly, meltingly soothing as they might be - Corrine Bailey Rae, Norah Jones and Jane Monheit are NOT productivity inspiring. They fucking send you off to a lovely place where everything is in blurred, contrast-enhanced Trip-O-vision ( think Monet) , fucking comfy couches everywhere draped in plush , silken cushions and everything smells like lilies. Bah

All this last minute cramming is makin me as antsy as hell. Would LOVE to get on a piste and go all ParangZorroButcherMusketeer on some hapless n00B.

Cooomela....epee, sabre foil also can.

Anyone?

"I give you balloon?"

Anyway, when i was rea....huh? Wha?

I think my barong mask is trying to say something to me. One sec.

"EH bisa kamu kerja tanpa beromong kosong atau meronong - mereneng, sih?"

Uh oh...

This moment of procrastination is brought to you by:

Leftover Pandan & Half-Price King Prawns GmbH

in association with

Housemate Sakit Otak With a Hardon for Nasi Lemak Inc..

No better cure for cravings of cuisine from home or exam stress then good food, no?

Shake, tremble, cower and fear
For the time of the Melon- it draws near!

Greenish spheres of evil innate,
All in their path - destroyed, unmade

When the blood has dried, the ruins ashen,
Theyll break into song - in chorus, in unison

Their voices, not unlike a baby's cry,
This, no one left alive to deny

As the dark melodies unfurl
Nary a soul left privy to this, the end of the world.

Don't ask me what the hell i was channeling.

Back to sussin' out Running a Business questions. Oh Joy.Oh indescribable joy.

Sambaliciously signing out!

YEsH i know i should be working, but i HAVE! My brain will turn to peanut butter ( "Sun-Pat"? more like cow-fuckin-pat) if i dont take a break from my Design for Durability blitz.

Just had to post a plug for my 3rd/4th year project proposal - Dr. M was quite keen on it as well so i just forwarded the brief after discussing it with him to the feller in charge of the project board. Seriously if its approved i'm gonna have soooo much fun with this -

The Riddle of Steel: A metallurgical & esoteric study of the historical art of bladesmithing.

Since the Bronze Age to modern times the art of bladesmithing has been shrouded in equal parts of lore and actual metallurgy. Through the course of this investigation, we shall delve into a historical – and if possible, specimen based – study of different historical swordsmithing methods involving Damascus steel, Wootz steel, Tamahagane steel and other crucible-fired steels.

Based on these qualitative and compositional studies, attempts to recreate these steels and their forging processes will be undertaken. These samples will undergo mechanical tests ( hardness, ductility, tensile strength) , macro/microstructure optical analysis and also a cutting test ( for which a jig would need to be devised). These tests will possibly culminate in the selection or the consolidation of a final composition and series of techniques with which a functional , full-sized blade will be produced.

In summary, this investigation will consist of:

1. A literature survey of classical swordsmithing methods covering technical and cultural/ornamental aspects.
2. The casting of test samples of selected compositions corresponding to the literature survey.
3. Mechanical tests on the samples for hardness, ductility and tensile strength, using several off-the shelf alloys as control samples
4. Microstructural characterization in relation to the compositional variation with the mechanical properties, again using several off-the shelf alloys as control samples.
5. To devise an experimental jig to evaluate the cutting ability of the samples.

can't make it sound too exciting - wouldn't want every tosser who goes "oooh swords - so much better than valves and vortexes and cement" and also appy for it. I want the WMG crucibles and forges all to myself.

During the meeting the other day he called in a colleague to join the discussion about the scope of this coursework. She was also quite interested - she was all like "whoaa this is just like the script in the Highlander movie ..you know the one where he tries to remake his sword but couldnt until he found the right metal?"

Ohhkay...

Then Dr.M pointed out that in sanskrit "Amar" meant immortal. Ironyyyyyyy.

But quite scared also - usually student proposed projects get more scrutiny and are usually picked for final year presentations to an audience usually comprised of freshers , members of staff and other ppl who can be bothered. Easy onlyyyy.....

*super drama music from something like Gladiator or highlander plays while shots of the forgework and testing roll*

*lights turn on, i do some katas with the blade, and chop something*

"Any questions?"

fuyooooooooooo set la.

On a random yet vaguely related note, looked up other meanings or "Amar". I already knew that it was the root for "love" in italian(amore) , spanish and portoguese. Apparently in Arabic it meant "great" and not "leader" as i had read somewhere before. Tapi potong stim giler when i found the Romanian meaning.

"Bitter"

Not even the seething, resentment bitter. The taste.

Well can't win 'em all!

"with your lvl 25 cookery skills, she is like a lvl1 neutral creep wei" - Alex, proving that there's been too much Dota action goin down.

Listening to : Busta Rhymes - Touch it, Yin Yang Twins - Shake, and a whole lotta reggaeton. Feeling : equal parts stressed and unproductive.

Both of these songs layan giler man, just listen to them if you're not gonna check out the vids.

Just when i thought i build up some serious last-minute cramming momentum, potong stim again. Haih.

Just when i'm still wiping the spittle from the corner of my mouth from that ( verily subdued ) flame-war rant, here comes another shitstorm - The eBay laptop scammer who got 0Wn3D. Read about it here.

Cutting a long story short, this guy bought a laptop on eBay, with the seller claiming that it was in good condition except for a missing charger. When he eventually got it after a delay, however, it was defunct. The seller refused to refund or compensate him in any way , still defending that it was perfectly working when he sent it off. Naturally, the scammed buyer was a bit miffed.

Karma, however, had other things in store.

When the buyer either got it working or just salvaged the disk or something, he found that (presumably) the seller/scammer had not bothered to wipe the hard disk ( all the more reason to suspect that it was fucked before he shipped it no?) and it was full of finger licking goodness:

- His bank details, passport scans, and CV
- Porn.
- Gay porn.
- Foot fetish porn.

And the creme de la creme - sneaky mobile phone piccies of women's legs, mostly on the Tube.

What - you'd think he was just gonna sit down and accept losing 375 quid to an eBay scammer? He could have gotten his own back in quite a few ways - in the end , after still not getting his money back from the scammer he chose to start that blog naming and shaming the guy by putting up photos of him and his private predilections. Well, seemed like the most legal(well borderline legal anyway, since he owned the disk and all that came with it) , and satisfyingly vindictive, no?

He probably had no idea how big this was gonna get.

3 weeks and 700,000 hits ( as of today) later this has become an mob lynching of epic proportions. This story has just been published in newspapers from England to Australia, with the seller still at the same time hopelessly claiming innocence, and also threatening to sue for libel. Which is kinda hard when the evidence is just impossibly weighed against him. The hits are going up by the thousands every minute, and the comments page is just........welll

The comments started out amusingly enough with the odd comment of support and some very amusing attempts by the perp/perv and his crew to discredit himself and at the same time cast doubt on the buyers character. Then it started to become a heated discussion about the legalities of the situation with armchair and "IMHO" lawyers throwing out their piece.

After that all hell started to break loose, with threats, racist slur and the like - and thats with the tagboard already moderated to an extent. Xenophobes, homophobes and yokels just started popping outta nowhere. Its like everybody wanted a piece of the scammer - and a few were also clawing at the buyer ,"laptopguy" himself.

Seriously, the amount of bigots, 'tards, tossers and other trash on the comment board. WTF man. Even those who are supporting laptopguy are hurting his cause by letting the whole thing degenerate to that extent. Being shamed on such a freaking epic scale is already punishment enough for the scammer. Heh - it seems he's bearing the brunt of the wrath of a horde of scammed eBayers.

Its still impossible to tell whether this is gonna be a super intense flash in the pan thing, or will go on for some time. Whatever it is, this whole mess will provide a hella interesting case study for you lawyers, psychologists and sociologists, no?

The twists and legalities over the data and the use.
The power of a lynch mob, augmented by the anonymity and audience of the internet.

Its a freaking opera, i say.

Okay so it wasnt that short after all. You shoulda just went over to the site. Well at least i've kinda summarized the bajillion comments too.

My opinion?

PAAAAAAAADAN muka la. Padan muka padan muka x 100. Dahlah kantoi tipu orang - ada hati nak carik gaduh lagi. Shoulda just settled when he could man. He's just digging himself a deeper hole now man. Should be fun to watch tho.

Back to trudging through materials bullcrap. Meeting up with Dr.M tomorrow to drop my 3rd year coursework idea on him. See if i can dredge out anything on the materials paper hur hurhur.