Aidiladha wish

Aidiladha is one of the two celebrations in the Muslim calendar (the other being Aidilfitri). This important day is celebrated in conjunction with the performance of the Haj or pilgrimage to Makkah and the commemoration of the qurban or sacrifice undertaken by the Abu al-Anbiya', Prophet Ibrahim 'alaihissalam.

May I take this oportunity to record my Aidiladha wish to all Muslims who frequent this humble blog. Eid Mubarak!

Living proof

Last Friday, I visited Fikri at IJN. He was there for his routine biopsy. While there, Tee Hui Yi who received a new heart in October, and her mother dropped by to see Fikri. It was the first time that I actually met Hui Yi in person, and it was great to see her doing so well. She seemed so cheerful and her health has improved tremendously. If everything goes well, she'll be discharged sometime this week.

For me personally, being able to see how organ recipients like Fikri and Hui Yi doing well after their transplants is proof enough of the importance of organ donation.

Shake well before use

It has been raining continuously these past couple of days. Unfortunately (or fortunately) - depending on who you're talking to - we don't get snow on this part of the world, unless of course global warming turns the weather system topsy-turvy.

In any case, I found the following link to be particularly creative. Have a click here, and remember to shake well!

Same old, same old

And now for some updates...

Air-conditioning is still out. At least they figured out what was wrong. The compressor of one of the units caused the system to short-circuit.

Internet is also still out. Again, at least the problem has been identified. It has got to do with the ADSL line of the ISP.

In other words, no new development as yet.

*Sigh*

Monday blues

I rarely get Monday blues. But today, I am going through one. The Internet at the office is still down. The air-conditioning is also problematic. And I feel psychologically exhausted as a result of frustration with the way certain things are not turning out the way they should.

Sometimes I just feel like leaving.

Maybe I should...

Worth waiting for

It took well over a year, but I guess it's worth the wait. After submitting the application last year, I finally got a letter of offer to do PhD at Universiti Malaya a couple of days ago. I have since accepted the offer, and will be doing the obligatory health check next week, before registering before Hari Raya Aidiladha.

So after much delay, I will finally embark on the next level of education. As I will be doing this while I'm working (along with the other stuff I do), I pray that I be given the strength and good health to continue my studies.

The university gives each candidate a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 8 years to complete the doctorate. As I am self-financed, I aim to complete the thesis within 2 years. That is a challenge that I put before myself.

Of sadness and hope

I was saddened upon hearing the news that 18-year old Siti Salmah Jasni had passed away due to severe septicaemia. Siti Salmah underwent the country's first simultaneous heart and lungs transplant on 2nd November at the National Heart Institute. My deepest condolences to her family. May her soul be blessed by Allah SWT.

Meanwhile, it is heartening to learn that Tee Hui Yi who made history by becoming the country's first double heart transplant patient is recovering well. The 14-year old girl is expected to start schooling again next year. My best wishes to Hui Yi on her full and fast recovery.

I text-messaged 17-year old Muhammad Fikri a couple of days ago. Fikri, dubbed "the Tin Man" by the media when he was fitted with a mechanical heart in 2005, had just finished his SPM examination. Fikri was the first patient in the East Asian region to be fitted with the mechanical heart internally. And subsequently, he received a new heart in December 2005. I asked him how he felt now that the exam is over, and he said he felt great and relieved that he was able to sit for the exam. I pray that Fikri has done well for his SPM.

Now that Fikri's exam is out of the way, I will be assisting him with his memoir entitled Echoes of My Heart. We hope that by sharing his experience, more Malaysians would understand of the great importance of organ donation in saving lives. Organ donation allows for organ transplantation to take place. While transplant may not be 100% successful, it has been proven to have given a new lease of life to a great number of patients like Fikri, Hui Yi and many others. Stories like those of Fikri's and Hui Yi's certainly have touched the hearts of many of us. Let's hope more people will be moved to pledge their organs.

Smoked

What a smoking start to the morning.

Someone thought it must have been a good idea to burn rubbish not far from where I live. While it drizzled this morning, one could actually see black smoke coming up from the burning rubbish. The otherwise fresh morning air was tainted with black fumes.

Then when I got to the office, I could smell something burning. Apparently one of the shops at the back of my office block was on fire, and a fire engine was already there when I arrived.

And now suddenly, I have a craving for smoked salmon.

How will this story end?

Every story has an ending. And every year has an end as well.

We are now coming towards the end of 2007. Perhaps it is timely to evaluate how 2007 has been. Has it been good? Has it been bad? Has it been so-so?

What does 2008 have in store for us?

A new beginning? A continuation of the same old routine? New excitement? Or nothing new?

For me, the end of 2007 sees me at a crossroad of sorts. Which route will I take? The road less travelled perhaps?

Alas, this story is far from over.

Long overdue

I know I've promised to post my newborn son's pictures some time back. He is now two and a half months old. And since a promise is a promise, I am making good of it. So here goes.

Above: A few hours after birth

Above: After shaving the hair (about 3 weeks old)

Guess who just found his way back?

Okay, I admit.

I was gone longer than I should have. And for that, I beg for your forgiveness. My deepest appreciation to those who have dropped by this blog, in spite of the lack of activity here for the past three weeks or so.

My absence has been due to a number of reasons. Chief among these is my health. I have been unwell ever since the end of Aidilfitri. The high fever that hit me a couple of weeks ago was perhaps the worst in my life. That, and a few anxiety attacks, really put me out of commission for quite some time.

In any case, I am back alhamdulillah. Let's hope that I'm back for the long haul although I cannot promise a daily update.

It's good to be back though!

Missing

I have been pretty quiet lately that I seem to be missing from the blogosphere. While I do check in on my friends' blogs on almost a daily basis, I wasn't in the mood to do much blogging myself. Not that there's nothing to blog. It's just that I have not been well for the past couple of weeks. It has been one thing after another. Two weeks ago, it was gastritis. Last week it was the combo of cold and cough.

This week, it's high fever. I went to give a lecture on organ donation at Hospital Ampang yesterday afternoon. Things went pretty well until I got home. I noticed my temperature went up at around 9.30 pm. This morning when I went to see the doctor, my temperature stood at 38.8 degrees Celcius and my blood pressure was pretty low - 85/60.

So I guess these are just some signs telling me to take things easy. I will return when things improve healthwise.

Raya report - Day 8

It's the eighth day of Syawal and I have completed the optional puasa enam. Nothing much happened on this day, aside from the usual afternoon rain of course.

I basically spent the whole day with my family at home. And I dropped by one of my neighbours' house as he organised an open house today.

Other than that, things were pretty much quiet... as usual.

Raya report - Day 7

The 7th day of Syawal was spent in KL. And much like Kulim, the wet weather seems to dampen the Hari Raya mood somewhat.

Nonetheless, the morning was filled with a couple of tasks. Like I blogged yesterday, my father has an appointment at IJN. After that, I sent my sister back to her campus in Petaling Jaya. After that was done, I brought my parents to a hypermarket to buy some stuff.

Things were a lot more quiet in the afternoon after the Friday prayers. I managed to get some rest. The exhaustion from the 5-hour drive the day before could still be felt.

And the best thing about the 7th day of Syawal is that I have managed to complete all six days of optional fasting at one stretch. It really feels good to be able to complete this act of fasting. And somehow, I feel that I miss the month of Ramadhan. Personally, I cannot wait for Ramadhan to come again next year.

Around 9 in the evening, my sister-in-law came visiting with her two daughters and two sisters. My brother has not been able to celebrate Hari Raya with us for three years running now because of his duties as engineer aboard a sea vessel. It has been a while since we managed to celebrate Aidilfitri with all the family members around.

In any case, it was good to be able to see my two nieces.

Raya report - Day 6

I arrived in KL around 3 p.m. today. The drive was smooth. The traffic wasn't heavy at all. I guess most people will only be coming back to the capital during the weekend. The weather was pretty good when we left Kulim. It only rained once we got to Lembah Beringin but even then, it wasn't too heavy. But I did notice that KL was pretty wet by the time we arrived even though the rain had stopped. The rain must be quite heavy just before we got into the city.

Frankly, I am a bit exhausted from the journey. I managed to get some rest in the afternoon but still, the body still aches somewhat. With the sun setting today, that means that I have completed 5 out of the 6 days of fasting in the month of Syawal. Another day to go. While I did say that this year's Hari Raya has been quiet and uneventful, I guess there is a silver lining to it. I have managed to start the puasa enam as soon as the second day of Syawal and looks set to complete it on the seventh day of Syawal. This would be my best personal achievement in this regard.

Last night, Azhan gave me a call. He is back from Switzerland with his wife Ann and daughter Lana Alesha for Aidilfitri. His hometown is in Serdang (Kedah) which is not far from Kulim. He called me up thinking of coming for a visit today. It's unfortunate that I was returning home to KL today, otherwise we'd have been able to meet up. In any case, he's coming to KL next week. So, we're planning to meet up then. Here's hoping for that to take place.

Tomorrow will be quite hectic. My father has to go to IJN to give his blood sample for Monday's follow-up. And I'm also sending my sister back to her campus tomorrow as she has to sit for an exam paper on Saturday.

Raya report - Day 5

Guess what? Another uneventful - and wet - day. I noticed that quite a few friends have remarked that this year's Aidilfitri is so very quiet. Could it be the weather? Could it be something else? Your guess is as good as mine.

I'm on my fourth day of puasa enam. And today is my second son's first month anniversary. And we brought him to have his Hepatitis B second immunisation jab.

Also today, we're spending the night at my mother-in-law's house. I'll be leaving for Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning but my wife and newborn will be staying behind. My parents, sister and eldest son will coming along to KL. My sister will have her exams beginning this Saturday while my father has his follow-up at IJN. On Monday, I'll be coming back to Kulim to send my parents and son. From then onwards, I will be plying the North-South Expressway on a regular basis to visit my family.

I suppose the adventure of travelling northwards and back will be more eventful than this year's Hari Raya.

Raya report - Day 4

Today is another quiet day. Only my mother's cousin and her family came visiting. The weather meanwhile is relatively drier compared to the first three days of Aidilfitri. I am on my third day of fasting in the month of Syawal. Other than these, I guess there's nothing much to blog for today.

Raya report - Day 3

It is still wet on the third day of Aidilfitri. Like I said previously, I don't really mind as the showers keep the temperature down.

But things are quiet as with the previous days. I spent the whole day at home with my family. Only Saiful Sidek, whom I met about eight years ago in my alma mater during which I gave a motivational talk, dropped by for a visit in the afternoon. I have not seen him close to five years actually. So it was good to have met him today. We spent close to two hours catching up on old times.

Other than that, nothing much happens. I am on my second day of optional fasting. So far, I am confident that I would be able to complete all six days before the week ends.

And since things are rather quiet, I decided to start rereading the manuscript for my second novel tentatively entitled Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba. I actually finished writing the novel during the first few days of Ramadhan. I hope to complete rereading and repairing the manuscript before returning to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, so that I can submit the manuscript to the publisher some time next week.

Raya report - Day 2

The second day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri in Kulim was wet. The first day rained too but only briefly in the afternoon. The rain on the second day however was longer, heavier and more persistent. I guess that was probably why we didn't get that many visitors today. Only my mother's half sister accompanied by three of her daughters and son-in-law in the morning, followed by a neighbour at mid-day, and later my mother-in-law who came with one of my brothers-in-law and family. I was expecting some friends to come over but I guess the rain could have dissuaded them from coming.

Other than that, things were pretty quiet and uneventful. While the rain must have made some people think twice before going out, I kind of welcome it. Since we arrived in Kulim, the weather has been pretty hot and dry. The rain has managed to cool things down a bit.

On a personal note, I have started the optional six-day fast in the month of Syawal. In the past, I'd start this fast towards the end of the month of Syawal but this year, since I won't be going to many open houses, I thought I should start earlier.

All in all, a rather slow day. Today's highlight for me? I watched "Cicak Man" on television.

Raya report - Day 1

This year's Aidilfitri is relatively quiet compared to previous years. This is because my wife is still in confinement, so we are not doing much visiting this year.

In any case, as with previous years, Aidilfitri started off pretty much as a family affair with the obligatory seeking for forgiveness from the elders. Then my father and I went to the masjid for the Aidilfitri prayer.

After that, we came back home, and not long after, a childhood friend whom I have known since 1986 came visiting. It was indeed good to be able to see Chee Hong again after all this while. Chee Hong was based in Australia for a good seven years. Now he has just returned to Malaysia - perhaps for good he said.

Later in the afternoon, we went to my mother-in-law's house. This would be the first time most of my wife's relatives meet our newborn. We had a simple membelah mulut ceremony for the baby which was conducted by my brother-in-law. In the meantime, my eldest son had a good time there playing with his cousins, and chasing after the chickens.

After that, I took my eldest son to the house of one of my teachers from secondary school who lives in the same village as my mother-in-law. It's almost customary for me to visit her on Hari Raya.

Then we came back to my parents' place. My eldest son was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he entered the house.

Like I said, a rather quiet Aidilfitri, but a meaningful one nonetheless.

Salam Aidilfitri

With Ramadhan ending today, and Aidilfitri coming tomorrow, may I take this opportunity to wish all visitors to my humble blog, "Salam Aidilfitri" and "maaf zahir batin." Let us pray that this joyous day of Aidilfitri be a time for strengthening our bonds and ties with family members and friends.

Final frontier

To be able to watch a historic moment in our lifetime is indeed awe-inspiring and humbling. I was virtually glued in front of the television last night to watch the first Malaysian's flight into space. The news can be read here and the historic visual here. The full list of space travel by nationality can be obtained here.

Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor became the first Malaysian astronaut. I am sure this historic achievement is a day to be remembered by all Malaysians. Interestingly enough, while Dr. Sheikh may not be the first Muslim in space, he will be the first to be celebrating Eid there. The honour of the first Muslim in space went to a Saudi prince, Salman al-Saud in 1985.

In any case, I pray that the docking of the Soyuz TMA-11 at the International Space Station scheduled for tomorrow will go smoothly and that our first astronaut will return home safely in about ten days time.

This is certainly one for the history books. Just like Yuri Gagarin is remembered as the first man in space and Neil Armstrong honoured as the first man on the moon, Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar will be remembered as the first Malaysian in space by all Malaysians. Syabas!

10th October 2007 will forever be remembered as one of the most important dates in Malaysian history.

Sensational coverage

Yesterday in Utusan Malaysia, an article I wrote on the issue of organ donation was published. The original article was longer. Some parts were edited out. Though somewhat diluted if compared to the original article, the published one still managed to get the point across.

Have a read here.

Drive safely

Today, I drove back to my hometown in Kulim. The whole journey took under five hours. And the drive itself was pleasant - no jams, not so many lorries and the weather was just nice. I left immediately after Subuh, therefore avoiding the unnecessary jam in Kuala Lumpur.

I heard on the news that on the second day of Ops Sikap XIII, there has been a total of 23 deaths on the road. So, to all who will be travelling this festive season, drive carefully and safely. May this Aidilfitri be celebrated with joy and happiness with our loved ones.

Second heart transplant

Tee Hui Yi has rejected the first heart transplanted into her. And she has gone back into the operating theatre for a second heart transplant in 24 hours. Details of this can be read here. Hui Yi is lucky that there have been two donors in a short period of 24 hours. Had there been no second donor when her body rejected the first heart, it'd have spelt trouble for her.

Let's pray that she'll do better with this second heart.

[Update: Hui Yi is reported to be responding well to the second heart she received.]

Wide coverage on organ donation

I think today, more than any other day, the media coverage on organ donation has been most wide and comprehensive. Utusan Malaysia alone carries so many write-ups on the issue, including one which was written to look like they have interviewed me. [What they did was actually quoting an article I wrote which was published in January 2006]. I don't mind as this goes towards better awareness on the need for organ donation.

Below are the links to the articles in Utusan Malaysia for quick reference:

1. Penantian Hui Yee berakhir
2. Sumbangan terakhir anak saya
3. 13 kes lagi menunggu
   
4. Fatwa harus menderma organ
5. Faktor agama bukan alasan utama
6. Bisik-bisik Awang Selamat
7. Menyusuri sejarah panjang pemindahan organ
8. Soalan lazim mengenai pemindahan organ
9. Kempen mencari jantung mesti diteruskan

I hope that this kind of exposure would continue and not just be seasonal. In any case, I am also pleased to learn that there was another mercy flight, this time to Johor, to harvest organs from another donor last night. Not much information about this donor as yet. But I sincerely hope that the number of donors would increase.

Heart for Hui Yi

Last night at around midnight while watching the news, there was an item on a TUDM mercy flight from Subang to Ipoh. The mercy flight carries a team of specialists from IJN to harvest organs from a donor. I was pleased to hear this piece of news because deep in my heart, I hope that at least this offers hope for 14-year old Tee Hui Yi.

Today, I spoke with Sister Jamaliah Kario of the National Transplant Resource Centre (NTRC) who was also on the mercy flight. She confirmed that Tee Hui Yi indeed received a heart that she has been waiting for. I wanted to know whether there were other organs donated as well, but decided not to ask Sister Jamaliah as she sounded exhausted from last night's journey.

In any case, I came home this afternoon and got online. [Yes, the Internet connection at the office is still problematic]. There were some updated from the local papers on this. Utusan Malaysia carried the news on the mercy flight. I noticed aside from Sister Jamaliah, another name that I recognise is Dr. Mohamad Ezani Md Taib of IJN.

And this updated piece informs us of the heart harvested has been transplanted to Hui Yi. We also get more information of the donor from the same news article. The donor is apparently a Malay teenager who was killed in an accident, and his parents decided to donate the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver. Again, I am happy with this information. It goes to show that the level of awareness on organ donation amongst Muslims in the country have increased. I believe most Muslims in the country are becoming more informed that Islam does not prohibit organ donation.

Nonetheless, I beg to differ with the Minister of Health's statement as reported in this article in The Star. While it is true that there are greater number of pledgers compared to donors, I disagree that this is because families or next of kins object to organ donation. We have a good number of pledgers because of increased awareness. However, this number does not translate into donations because we have to understand that organ donation only takes place if the donor is brain dead while at the same time, the heart is still pumping because of the presence of a ventilator. If a pledger dies of natural death, then we would not be able to harvest organs such as heart or liver. We could only harvest tissues such as corneas, heart valves and the likes.

In most cases, people who die of brain death are not pledgers. Therefore, the doctors would have to ask their family members whether they wish to donate or otherwise. So, I don't think it is accurate to say that organ pledgers do not donate their organs when in truth, most of them are still alive and well. Even when pledgers die of old age, we could only take certain tissues, and not organs. The imperative phrase here is "brain death." For organ donation to take place, the person must be diagnosed as brain dead. Those who pledge, I believe, may not find themselves in such a situation unless they are involved in accidents or suffer from serious head injury.

This however does not mean that we should not be pledgers. By becoming a pledger and more importantly by letting your family members know that you are a pledger, should the need arise, for example if the pledger is diagnosed as brain dead, then the doctors and family members would know what needs to be done.

Another point that I would like to differ with the Minister is the reason for not becoming a donor. I disagree that it is because of religion. I have been giving talks on organ donation and religion since 1998, and I find that the masses understood that religion does not prohibit organ donation. Most of them said that their unwillingness or reluctance stems from the fear of the unknown (that is death). I think this is psychological in nature rather than religious.

Sorry for the rather long entry today. It's just that organ donation is a subject very close to my heart. And I would like to see Malaysians, who are always credited with virtues such as willingness to help others, take this esteemed virtue to a higher level. By donating organs, this could certainly give hope to a lot of patients with end-stage organ failure to carry on living. There is no greater gift than organ donation.

In the meantime, I pray that Tee Hui Yi would react positively to the heart she received. I am told that she is still in critical condition. My prayers also go to the other recipients of the other organs donated.

A special prayer to the unnamed donor in Ipoh. May this gift given in Ramadan be translated into bounties for the donor and his family in the Hereafter. And may Allah SWT bless the donor's soul.

High dependency

Since last Thursday, my office was disconnected from the rest of the world - cybernetically-speaking of course. It is quite frustrating when something like this happens. I had to put off all my e-mail correspondences until I get home. Earlier today, I even had to use the facilities at a cybercafe nearby as there were urgent matters that needed to be settled.

It is certainly no stroll in the park when using facilities at a cybercafe. The noise pollution was certainly a nuisance.

In any case, I am very happy now that the Internet connection is back on at the office as of mid-day. It is times like this that I realise that I have become highly dependent on the Internet.

Nabbed

Four men have been remanded in connection with Nurin Jazlin's murder. Initially five people were arrested but only four were produced in court for further investigation. In a way, I'm glad that the police managed to trace the possible murderer(s). And I hope justice will be served.

Discharged

Alhamdulillah, my son has been discharged from hospital on Thursday afternoon after spending 4 days and 3 nights there. His jaundice has subsided to a level in which he is allowed to return home. Having said that though, he still has to come back to the hospital on Saturday for a follow-up which includes another blood test. In any case, I am glad his health is better and that he's home again.

Homonyms

My newborn son has been admitted into hospital on Monday afternoon. He has neonatal jaundice and is undergoing phototherapy. Alhamdulillah, his condition is improving and I have been informed that if this keeps up, he will be discharged tomorrow.

Anyway, what I'd like to blog today is an amusing observation that I made when I told people that my son has jaundice. A typical dialogue would go something like this:

Me: My son is in the hospital. He has jaundice.
Mr A: Oh, yellow fever!

And when I said that my son has yellow fever, the dialogue would go something like this:

Me: My son is in the hospital. He has yellow fever.
Mr A: Oh, jaundice!

It's interesting to note that most of us (myself included) have this tendency of providing homonyms for certain words. I think most of us do this subconsciously and unintentionally. It's just a spontaneous response.

But I have met people who do this on purpose to show off their vocabulary power. Truth be told, I am not easily fazed by such people. However, I would be impress if such people know what "icterus" is.

Catch that beast

Officially I am still on paternity leave. But I decided to jot this in my blog because I feel strongly about this. Words fail to describe my feelings on this matter.

I know that by now, most of us have heard of the tragedy that has befallen Nurin Jazlin Jazimin. She has gone missing since 20th August. Last Monday, a girl's body was found in a bag. DNA tests have confirmed that the girl is Nurin Jazlin. While her father is understandably still in denial, the police have said that they are closing in on the killer.

News like this one certainly sends chills down my spine. I acknowledge that the responsibility to look after the children lies mainly on the parents. Nonetheless, as a father of two very young children, I am left wondering whether the neighbourhood is safe for our children anymore. Nurin Jazlin after all went missing in her own neighbourhood.

I certainly hope that whoever that did this be brought to justice soon. I cannot imagine what sort of person - nay, beast - is capable of doing such a heinous act. I don't even know whether the killer actually deserves the worldly punishment under the judicial system that we have.

I do not know Nurin Jazlin in person. Neither do I know her parents or family members. But I most certainly share their grief, sadness and anger for losing a child. I pray that her family members be given the strength to carry on without Nurin Jazlin by their side.

May her soul be blessed by Allah SWT. Al-Fatihah.

Update: Nurin has been laid to rest on Friday afternoon. The Star has the story, video and pictures here.

Ramadhan joy

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah SWT, at 1.40 a.m. on Monday 17th September 2007, my wife has safely given birth to our second son. Both mother and son are well and have been discharged yesterday.

I will post pictures of my newborn son soon.

May this birth in the blessed month of Ramadhan brings great bounties to my newborn son. Amin!

Tagged for the third time

Looks like I have been tagged again, this time by a friend from Down Under, Arsaili.

Okay then, here goes...

Eight random facts/habits about me:

1. Likes things to be in order:
Order out of chaos, that's me. Remember the Periodic Table of Elements that chemists use? Well, the table is constructed as a means to make sense of the chemical world. I am just like that. Everything has to be in sensible order. Even my clothes hangers are colour-coded. Red hangers for t-shirts, green hangers for Nehru-collar shirts, pink hangers for office shirts, etc. Weird, huh?

2. Cringes at the sight of spelling mistakes:
I am one of those who are so particular about spelling mistakes, be they in English or Malay. I can forgive unintentional typos but deliberate mistakes would make me cringe, especially if I find them in books or newspapers which are supposed to be well-edited.

3. Loves good food:
I love eating. Never mind I don't eat that much but the fact is that I enjoy good food. Over the years, I have developed a taste for the European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, North African and Indian food aside from the usual Malay and Malaysian dishes we have here. However, I still can't get the hang of Japanese food.

4. Blog addict:
I am a blog addict. 'Nuff said.

5. The pen is mightier than the sword:
I like to write. Writing used to be a hobby of mine. But now it has become an essential part of my life. I am not a good speaker, therefore writing is the preferred medium for me to air my views.

6. Bookworm:
I think I am stuck with this image even from my school days. I love reading. I think I can read almost anything as long as I can understand the language.

7. Punctuality freak:
I am most particular about punctuality. I prefer to be early than have people waiting for me. Usually, when a promise is made, I would make sure I'll get there at least 15 minutes before the actual time. I believe that the ability to be punctual shows a lot about a person's character.

8. Weird sense of humour:
I appreciate intelligent humour which is hard to come by. I don't like slapsticks or in-your-face humour. Instead I prefer the more subtle type where you don't see it coming. Just watch "Blackadder," "Fawlty Towers" or "One Foot in the Grave," and you'll know what I mean. Perhaps my time spent in Britain made me more accustomed to the British sense of humour.

Tagging rules:

1. Each blogger must post these rules.
2. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and to read your blog.
   

People I'd like to tag:

In alphabetical order, they are:

1. Fikri
2. Izza Aripin
3. Jie
4. John Norafizan
   
5. Nor Ash Burn
   
6. Opah De
7. Pinky
   
8. Temasik Temagi

When plates collide

I arrived home from the masjid after the terawih prayers last night only to be greeted with news of an earthquake that hit the west of Sumatera. None of us in our area noticed the tremor that occurred around 7.15 yesterday evening. Only those living in high-rise buildings felt the tremor which measured at 8.4 on the Richter scale. And at around 7.50 this morning, another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale hit western Indonesia.

My prayer goes to the victims of the earthquake in Indonesia. One of the worst hit places this time is Padang in the province of West Sumatera. I was in Padang a few years back. It is a coastal city rich in history, culture and intellectual heritage. One of Nusantara's greatest scholars came from this region: Allahyarham Professor Hamka, someone whose thoughts and ideas I greatly admire.

I did geology in my first two years of university. One of the first things that we learnt in geology was on the theory of plate tectonics. When I read about the news of the earthquake, I suddenly remembered this interesting theory. A country like Indonesia is definitely prone to earthquakes. This is because most of the Indonesian islands are situated on the very edge of a tectonic plate known as the Eurasian Plate which is colliding with another tectonic plate called the Australian Plate. Collisions of tectonic plates would result in earthquakes. What I wrote here is merely a concised version of the theory of plate tectonics, but if anyone is interested, the details can be read here.

Looking back, I have written quite a bit on earthquakes in this blog. The entries can be read here, here, here and here. Personally, I believe that the earthquakes will continue to happen from time to time. I don't think we can stop earthquakes from happening. The real question is how well-equipped are we to prepare for an earthquake and manage the aftermath?

Ramadhan Karim

Tomorrow is the 1st of Ramadhan. As such, I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Muslim friends who frequent this blog, "Ramadhan Karim." May the Ramadhan of 1428 Hijriyyah bring us bounties and rewards aplenty, insya-Allah.

Lights on

Last Thursday close to midnight, I drove back from Shah Alam to Kuala Lumpur. Instead of using the usual highway that I use, I decided to take the Federal Highway and drove inside KL before heading towards Hulu Kelang where I live. After all, traffic that night was very light.

I seldom drive at night, so I don't really get to see KL at night time. I noticed that some of the buildings in the capital are well-lit at night, so much so that you'd forget that they're so bland during the day. I have to say that three buildings in particular caught my attention for being very beautifully-lit.

Too bad I didn't bring my camera. Even if I did, it'd be difficult and dangerous to capture these buildings while driving. In any case, the following are my Top 3 favourite buildings which are, to my eyes at least, resplendent:

1. The DBKL Headquarters at Jalan Raja Laut: The colourful lights lighting up the building tower is nothing short of majestic and eye-catching.
2. The Medan MARA Building at Jalan Raja Laut: The blue lights adoring the building's blue columns certainly made this otherwise dull-looking building during the day shines with great splendour at night.
3. The Istana Budaya at Jalan Tun Razak: The rainbow coloured lights that shines this building makes this theatre look magical.

There you go. I suddenly feel like a building critic though.

While I was away

Today is actually the first time I am online in the past 5 days. Things have been pretty hectic that I had to prioritise.

I was away from the office on Thursday and Friday attending a convention organised by IIM in Putrajaya and moderating a workshop organised by JAKIM held in Shah Alam.

Then on Saturday, I had to rush the missus to the hospital. As some may already know, she is pregnant with our second child. She is into her 35th week of pregnancy. During the wee hours of Saturday morning, she started to have contraction pains. Because of that, she was warded for observation before being discharged on Sunday evening.

Although the contractions have lessened considerably, we are expecting that the baby will be coming very soon.

I am praying that everything will be okay.

Machiavellian streak

Hmmm... if this test was to be believed, then I am "somewhat Machiavellian."

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead... But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself. You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place. You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

How Machiavellian Are You?

Not sure whether this is good or not.

Happy 50th birthday, Malaysia

Friday the 31st marked Malaysia's 50th birthday. The golden jubilee of Merdeka was celebrated with such grandeur befitting this important landmark.

I can only pray that the country will continue to be blessed with this invaluable gift of independence. Let's not take Merdeka for granted, and let's all be thankful by working hard to preserve independence.

MERDEKA!

Hyperdrive

It has been over a week since I last blogged. Not that there's nothing to blog, but I just felt I needed some time away from blogging to focus on my writing. I may take more time off from blogging again when the need arises.

Essentially, much of my time last week has been devoted to finishing my second novel. I couldn't do much writing at night as my son has been sleeping late. So, I had to use whatever free time I have during the day for writing.

I have nearly finished Transgenesis. The way it has turned out is quite a pleasant surprise for me personally. Just three more chapters to go before I pen my final word for the novel.

All throughout the week without blogging, I have also started thinking on other plotlines that could be further developed into either novels, short stories or drama scripts. This is what happened when the brain goes into hyperdrive all of a sudden.

So, if I suddenly become quiet right here in the blogosphere, you know where my brain is... in hyperdrive.

Blast from the past

From time to time, people from your past would cross your path. When that happens to me, I would usually be overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia. This was especially so a couple of days ago when two people from two different eras of my life crossed my path again.

The first was Wan Mohd Hafizam Wan Ismail. Many may have a sense of deja-vu when reading his name. He was in the media often in 1999 when he donated part of his liver to a boy, Mohd Afiq Iqmal Mohd Zaini. I first met Hafizam shortly after he donated part of his liver. And I met him on several occasions after that. One memorable occasion was when IKIM organised a forum in Port Dickson where he was one of the panelists while I moderated the session. Unfortunately, that was the last time I met him. That is, until Wednesday, when out of the blue I received a phone call from him.

He is involved with a Merdeka related event to be held at KL Tower. There he met one of the participants of the forum who happens to be working in KL Tower now who happens to be one of my juniors from school. Talk about how small the world is. Anyway, Hafizam got my number from my school junior and he called me up. It was quite a pleasant surprise to receive his call. We didn't talk long, but I sure hope that we'd be able to catch up real soon.

Then later in the afternoon, I accidentally bumped into one of my housemates in Glasgow, Ir. Khairul Izman. The last time I saw him was about seven years ago, and he hasn't changed a bit. It's good to know he is doing well. I would say he is the only guy from Glasgow that I know that already got his professional engineer qualification. And he owns his own firm to boot.

All in all, last Wednesday was filled with these nice surprises. It is good to be able to catch up with old friends from time to time. And indeed, it was a blast.

New lease of life

Fikri and Hui Yi in IJN yesterday.
Picture from The Star.

Fikri is in the news again today, at least in The Star. I'm not sure whether the other papers carry this news item as I haven't got the chance to scan through the others yet.

When I spoke to him on Monday, he told me about the function organised by the IJN Foundation. And today's news was about that special get-together.

I hope that this kind of news would continue to create awareness on the importance of organ donation. Without donation, there will not be any transplants. And without transplants, patients like Fikri would not be able to get a new lease of life.

I also hope that Tee Hui Yi would also get a donor soon. It has been way too long for the little girl to be on IVAD.

Migraine pain

Back when I was in university, I started to have serious bouts of migraine. The doctor there prescribed me some medication to alleviate the pain but really it wasn't enough. He even suggested that I be more selective with what I eat as he explained that certain kinds of protein could trigger migraine. And that's what I did. I managed to identify what it was that would trigger my migraine, and I found out coffee was one of them.

I haven't had coffee since 1993. That's a long time. And it certainly helped. I haven't had migraines as frequent as I used to back then. Even when I do get migraines, they were very mild.

But last night, I had one of the worst that I could remember in ages. I'm not sure what caused last night's migraine. It could be from the pressure of work or lack of rest. Certainly I don't think it was coffee that caused it because I didn't have any. Nonetheless, the experience last night was quite scary. Aside from the continuous pounding pain on the right side of my head, I also noticed that my limbs were weak and difficult to move. My heartbeat was quite erratic and fast. This lasted for well over two hours.

The only thing I could do was sleep. Fortunately when I woke up this morning, the migraine was but a painful memory. I really hope it does not recur.

Perhaps, it was one way my body is communicating to me to get enough rest.

So very tired

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I'll let the following picture do the talking for me. This is how I am feeling right now for the past few days...

Back in IJN

Fikri is warded again for his on-again off-again fever. This is the second time he is warded in two months. I hope the good doctors at IJN will be able to identify what is actually causing his fever. They're awaiting the blood test results. I hope everything will be well with Fikri. He will be sitting for his SPM this year. And he needs to be in good shape to do so without any interruptions.

My prayers are with you, Fikri. Get well soon!

P.S. Another book plug. Fikri, for those not in the know, was the first person in the region to be fitted with a device known as IVAD internally. The IVAD unit, commonly referred to in the media as "the mechanical heart," is a means to sustain Fikri until he got a new heart. He received a new heart on 16 December 2005. His experience and story will be told in his memoir aptly entitled Echoes of My Heart. So stay tuned for updates on this. We hope to have the book out in 2008.

Making a point

Some people like to beat around the bush when they talk. They will go round and round before they reach to the point that they want to make. If we are unlucky, these beaters around the bush would not even get to their point. Or worse still, they will forget what it was that they wanted to say in the first place.

There are others, meanwhile, who just go straight to the point. These straight talkers would just fire away what they wanted to say point blank, no holds barred and unplugged. No time wasted here and no one would be left waiting for the point to come, but more often than not, most would be left pondering as to why this straight shooter was so blunt.

Of course, the best is for us if we could balance between the two. Go straight to the point by all means, but butter it up a bit with some niceties and compliments. The trick, of course, is to be able to create a moderate approach to the two. Here, moderation is the key word.

A former colleague many many years ago made a remark that he found my way of putting points across as being too surgical. I asked him what he meant by that. He replied that I was too matter-of-factly in my approach.

I can't say that I disagree with his assessment. When it comes to things academic, I would prefer to be "surgical" as he so rightly said. But when it comes to things creative, I can be quite "theatrical" in my language with all the idioms, wordplays and what have you. I suppose it very much depends on the situation. On certain occasions, it helps to be theatrical in your approach. And there are times when you need to be surgical.

As for going straight to the point, another former colleague related to me an interesting story. Her daughter told her one day, "Mom, please tell daddy to quit smoking. I don't want him to die young." And the father was sitting in the living room puffing away. I wonder how he felt when he heard that?

Talk about being straightforward. Then again, most kids do speak their mind unabashed. It's a pity that this, more often than not, gets lost in that process called "growing up."

Coffin on wheels

I guess by now everyone would have read this piece of news. It is indeed a harrowing tragedy, one which could have been avoided, especially when it is reported that the driver was not fit for the job. The journey was very much like riding a coffin on wheels.

Alas the question remains, how safe are we when using the public transport? We are basically putting our lives in the hands of bus and taxi drivers when we use public transport. But how aware are they that they are carrying this huge responsibility on their shoulders?

Everytime an accident like this takes place, suddenly everyone started to give their opinions on what needs to be done or what should have been done. This knee-jerk reaction is almost expected everytime a tragedy strikes. And then, after a few weeks, things get quiet again. Those who died would be forgotten. The accident itself would become mere footnotes in the archive of newspapers.

Such is the psyche of our society - outraged when something happens, opinionated when reacting to the aftermath of the incident, and forgetful when the incident has come to pass. Pretty pathetic, this attitude that we have.

My sincerest condolences to the family members of those who perished in the accident. I am sure that the grieving family members would not easily forget.

If I knew Darth Vader...

It's not that I don't have anything better to do, but I was feeling somewhat bored this morning. So I went on and did this silly test to find out my name in the Star Wars universe if I existed in it.

Your Star Wars Name And Title

Your Star Wars Name: Shasa Sapen Your Star Wars Title: Neecho of Cinahcem

What Is Your Star Wars Name and Title?

Shasa Sapen, the Neecho of Cinahcem, indeed... *lol*

Talking plants

I am sure many of us have seen people talking to plants. This is supposed to help plants grow healthier, or so they say.

But what if it was the other way around? What if plants could communicate with people? This certainly sounds like something fresh out of the realm of science fiction or fantasy. Or so I thought...

While thinking of the topic for my entry in the blog, I went surfing and found something pretty intriguing. Apparently, in the US, they have invented sensors that would allow plants to call your phone to inform that they need water. My guess is that it's not really the plants who call but the lack of moist or water in the soil would trigger the sensor to send a signal to plant owners. The news was broadcasted on "Good Morning America" and anyone interested can have a look at it here if the link is still functioning.

Sure is scary thinking about this. Some things we thought as science fiction has now become reality. Leonardo da Vinci visualised a helicopter in 1493 before helicopters become a reality in 1942. Jules Verne wrote about men landing on the moon in his 1865 classic De La Terre a la Lune before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969. There were at least 4 similarities between Verne's story and the actual landing.

Coming back to the issue of "talking" plants, I think we have seen quite a number of this portrayed in science fiction novels, comics, cartoons, television series and movies. In a way, I am not really surprised with this technological development which allows plants to "inform" us of their needs. It'd certainly help in ensuring the plants are well looked after.

But if plants could indeed talk, I bet we humans would get an earful.

P.S. This is prepublicity and perhaps a bit premature, but I'll mention this anyway. My second novel Transgenesis, which has a science fiction flavour and is currently being written at an accelerated pace, touches among others on the issue of "talking plants." But of course, that's just a very minor teaser. More on this from time to time.

Litterbug

One of my pet peeves is litterbug.

This evening, as I was driving in front of Giant Supermarket in Taman Setiawangsa, an elderly man who just came out of the supermarket, simply threw away an ice-cream wrapper he just unwrapped from an ice-cream. He did this so casually and nonchalantly while slurping away his ice-cream.

I wonder what kind of example would this kind of person show to the younger generation. I must commend the informercials by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for highlighting these issues. One informercial that I am reminded of is the one with two boys who sent the message across on the need for us to throw away our own rubbish in designated rubbish bins. "Our rubbish, our responsibility." I wonder how many of us have this mentality.

To me, litterbugs are a selfish and irresponsible lot. Too bad they are not insects. Otherwise, we could just spray them away with insecticide...

Say what?

The Malays have a saying, "ayam bercakap dengan itik," which literally translates to "chickens speaking to ducks." This saying roughly refers to a situation whereby two people using different languages try to communicate with each other.

I had an interesting experience pertaining to this matter last night.

I went out to buy some burgers at a burger stall. While waiting for my order to be ready, I chanced upon a conversation between two Arab expatriates and one of the burger sellers. The Arab men were speaking English with a very thick Arabic accent, while the burger seller was trying to speak English as best as he could albeit with a distinct Kelantanese accent.

Sensing the difficulty in communication, I decided to act as translator. I became a sort of mediator between the Arab men and the burger seller. The Arab men would speak in English with a mix of Arabic, and I would translate it to Malay for the burger seller. And the burger seller would answer in Kelantanese Malay dialect, and I would translate it to English for the expatriates.

The whole thing took about 10 minutes as the Arab expatriates had a lot of questions. Nonetheless, I got to experience first hand the act of mediation. And boy, it wasn't easy even with a simple matter like buying burgers.

Coming home last night, I could see the urgency of mastering as many languages as possible. I am fortunate that my Malay and English are decent enough to be understood. And what little I know of Arabic certainly helped last night.

With the way the world is "getting smaller" these days, it's handy to be able to master more than two languages. Otherwise, we would indeed have a situation where chickens try to talk to ducks.

One of those days

This has been one unproductive day for me. I am mentally tired, physically drained and emotionally worn-out.

Today is really one of those days...

I really, really need a break. I wish I could just pack it all up and go away for a few days. Get some rest and unwind. Go cuti-cuti Malaysia.

Alas, such time is not here yet. I have some things to settle. But after that, I will definitely go on a break. Have some time for myself.

Unwind. Refresh. Rejuvenate. Recharge. Reload.

Till that day comes, today has really been one of THOSE days...

Wedding bliss

One of my juniors from Glasgow, Saiful Izwan tied the knot on Saturday. His reception was held at his parents' home in Shah Alam on Sunday.

So, to Izwan and his bride, my congratulations to the two of you. I pray that your union will be blessed with happiness.

Shoes are for walking

What is it about shoes that got some people going crazy? I remember many years back reading about Imelda Marcos who left 2,700 pairs of shoes at the Malacanang Palace.

Some months back, I was at the hotel suite of a Member of Parliament. I was astonished that upon entering his suite, there were about 30 pairs of shoes on his shoe rack - all belonging to him. I wondered how many more pairs he has at home. I was told later on that this MP is crazy about shoes, branded ones nonetheless. Oh, well. The only thing I could say is that nothing can stop him from buying shoes. After all, other people will go crazy with other stuff. I know a friend who changes his car just like he changes his shirt. I on the other hand would go crazy in bookstores.

As for shoes, I think I am satisfied with this old pair that I have which I bought for under RM50. I don't care much about the price or brand, as long as they are comfortable. I have been wearing them for over two years. Not bad for a cheap pair of shoes. Value for money, don't you think? After all, shoes ARE for walking.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Way back in 1995, a friend told me of his dream to have his first million by the age of 35. If I do my math correctly, he should be 36 this year. I never actually got around to asking him whether he has made his first million.

I also remember back then when I used to naively think that money is not all that important. This was of course before I started working and before I had a family.

Today, while I still naively think that there is more to life than money and that money is not everything, I will however agree to the notion that you need to have money to be able to live in a city like Kuala Lumpur. Things are not cheap these days as many would attest.

Interestingly, last night a friend posed the question of what I would do if I were a millionaire. It took me a while to answer. I said that my first priority would be to pay the zakat on the income. Then I would go off and settle my debts - the usual stuff like house, car, etc. Then I would like to send my parents for their Haj. After that, I would also like to perform my Haj as well along with my wife. I would also want to set aside a certain sum for my children's education fund. Oh, and probably buy myself a new pair of shoes, I said while pointing at my shoes which have shown the telltale signs of age.

My friend laughed, instantaneously saying that I was very naive and wasn't creative.

When I went home, I sat down and pondered for a while. In my wildest dreams, never have I thought of becoming a millionaire. And in reality, I have never aimed for that as well. I guess it would be good to have that much money because you'd always have "spare cash" in your account(s), but I wonder if I would sleep more soundly? As far as I am concerned, what I would like to do is to earn a decent and honest living so that I can support and provide for my household. I don't care so much if I have a million or not.

What is more important to me is that the earning is halal and enough to make ends meet. And while at times this can be very hard to do, alhamdulillah so far I have managed quite well.

Opting out vs. opting in

I haven't blogged much about organ donation of late. However, I find that this piece of news from Singapore to be very interesting. The Fatwa Committee of Singapore has issued a new edict that paves way for Muslim Singaporeans to come under the country's Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota).

What does this mean? With regards to organ donation, Singapore utilises the opt-out approach, whereby a person is assumed to have agreed to donate his organs when he dies unless he signs an opt-out form. This law previously only covers non-Muslims, but with this new edict, Muslims are governed by Hota as well. The need for this ruling has arisen as a result of too few Muslims have in Singapore have opted in to become organ pledgers. In fact, the trend in this country sees the number of Muslim pledgers falling in the last three years from 924 (2004) to 496 (2005) t0 87 (2007).

The Fatwa Committee of Singapore is of the view that:

...Hota gives a Muslim enough opportunity to opt out during his lifetime, and that this approach to obtaining consent is in keeping with Islamic law.

Malaysia, however, does not have similar laws. We use the approach of opting in should one volunteers to become an organ pledger (and hence, donor when the time comes and when the need arises). While I agree that becoming an organ pledger and eventually an organ donor should be voluntary, extra effort must be taken to ensure that those waiting for organs do not die waiting.

The write way

A friend posed me a question the other day asking me why I like to write so much. I guess part of the reason is that it is much easier for me to express myself in writing rather than verbally. Talking has never been my strong point, so writing seems to be a much more appropriate outlet for me to voice myself out.

So what am I writing these days?

Aside from the three blogs I maintain, I contribute radio scripts regularly for the Voice of Islam for RTM and a programme called "Ad-Deen" for JAKIM.

And currently I am also trying my best to finish my second novel with a sci-fi slant, Transgenesis. It's more or less halfway done. At the rate I'm going and sans any unforeseen circumstances, it should be done in a month's time (hopefully).

I will also be starting Fikri's memoir soon. Tentatively, the title is aptly enough, Echoes of My Heart. For those not in the know, Fikri is the first patient in the region to be fitted with a mechanical heart inside his body. He subsequently got a new heart in December 2005. This memoir is essentially written to increase awareness on organ donation and transplantation.

On top of all these, a publisher also enquired whether I'd be willing to write some semi-academic books for them. I'm still considering this invitation as my hands are quite full at the moment.

Oh, and I owe an academic article to be included into a book on bioethics to be published by Universiti Malaya.

Too bad I'm not a full time writer.

5,000 and beyond

The visitor counter hit the 5,000 mark yesterday.

I would like to record my thanks to all who have been frequenting my humble blog. As I have said many times before (but not so often lately), keep coming and I'll keep blogging.

None of my business?

Almost every morning, not far from my office, I could see students playing truant. They would loiter and smoke behind the row of shops. They seem to have a "couldn't care less" attitude. To them perhaps, they have their whole life ahead of them - so, why worry, what's the hurry? They have all the time in the world. So right now, is the time to enjoy, have fun and live life to the fullest.

I can't help but feel sorry for them. By cutting school, they're missing on education. I sincerely believe that they're playing truant out of a sense of misguided freedom. While these school students are teenagers who are capable of thinking for themselves and differentiating between right and wrong, most of them I would think have yet to reach a level of maturity. If they have, they would certainly have been able to know that education is important, and that playing truant won't help them at all.

I wonder if they realise that competition is very stiff these days? I wonder if they know that it is difficult for even the best of students to get a place in universities in this day and age, much less get to do what they really want to do? I wonder if they are aware that without paper qualification, it is difficult to get a good job? Heck, even having a first class honours degree these days is not sufficient. More and more people are entering the job market with masters and professional qualifications. How on earth will these truants be able to compete?

I hope I am not sounding like I have a "holier-than-thou" attitude. I am just very frustrated actually. I know most of the teachers are a dedicated lot. They are trying their level best to be educators. But their best won't be of use if the students themselves do not have the realisation that for them to succeed, change has to come from within themselves. They need to have the urge and the drive to succeed.

Teachers will give the proper guidance but unless the students themselves want to be guided, then all the effort will go up in smoke. I have taken to task some of the students who were loitering when they are supposed to be in school. All I get were snide remarks like "Rilek la pak cik. Bapak kita orang tak kata apa pun..."

I could feel my heart stopped upon hearing that. They are right, of course. I am not their father. I am not even their relative. I am only a total stranger who is saddened by what I see. And what I see is not pretty. These students have all the potential to succeed in their lives. But they are literally throwing their future inside the drain. And while it is not my business as they so clearly pointed out, I could only pray that they realise the folly of their ways before it is too late.

And I sincerely pray that my children will not go down the path of the truants. For if they ever do, then it becomes my business to set things right.

More about nothing

This entry is a continuation of an entry I put up some time back on "20 things you didn't know about nothing" by LeeAundra Temescu (Discover, June 2007).

1. It is said that Abdulhamid II, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s, had censors expunge references to H2O from chemistry books because he was sure it stood for "Hamid the Second is nothing."
2. Medieval are was mostly flat and two-dimensional until the 15th century, when the Florentine architect Filippo Brunelleschi conceived the vanishing point, the place where parallel lines converge into nothingness. This allowed for the development of perspective in art.
3. Aristotle once wrote, "Nature abhors a vacuum," and so did he. His complete rejection of vacuums and voids and his subsequent influence on centuries of learning prevented the adoption of the concept of zero in the Western world until around the 13th century, when Italian bankers found it to be extraordinarily useful in financial transactions.
4. Vacuums do not suck things. They create spaces into which the surrounding atmosphere pushes matter.
5. Creatio ex nihilo, the belief that the world was created out of nothing, is one of the most common themes in ancient myths and religions.
6. Current theories suggest that the universe was created out of a state of vacuum energy, that is, nothing.
7. But to a physicist, there is no such thing as nothing. Empty space is instead filled with pairs of particles and antiparticles, called virtual particles, that quickly form and then, in accordance with the law of energy conservation, annihilate each other almost instantaneously.
8. So Aristotle was right all along.
9. These virtual particles popping in and out of existence create energy. In fact, according to quantum mechanics, the energy contained in all the power plants and nuclear weapons in the world doesn't equal the theoretical energy contained in the empty spaces between these words.
10. In other words, nothing could be the key to the theory of everything.
    

Hehehe... how's that for nothing?

Productive errors

Language is an interesting thing to observe and study. To master a particular language, one must have mastery of its vocabulary. That is why a dictionary is everyone's best friend. The more words you know, the better your grasp of a particular language.

But then, you'll find instances when new words are made up from time to time. Often, after a while, these new words would make their way into the dictionary. As such, language would prosper with new words.

One way in which new words are introduced is when somebody makes "productive errors." Productive errors happen when someone invents a word or a phrase that extends an existing pattern in language.

An example is extending the word "hamburger" into "fishburger" in which the latter is now an accepted word. Contrary to popular local understanding, the word "hamburger" is actually derived from the town of Hamburg in Germany where what we know as "burgers" were said to have first been made. Hamburgers are not actually burgers made of ham. You can have beef hamburgers, fish hamburgers and ham hamburgers. Unfortunately, when people started using the term "fishburgers" and "beefburgers," the word "hamburgers" start to bring a totally different connotation.

Ah, well. Such is the irony of "productive errors." They introduce new words to us, yet at the same time manage to change the original meaning of some older words. Of course, not all words derived from "productive errors" made it into the dictionary. Words like "ski-vaganza" for skiing extravaganza or "bungee-citement" for bungee-jumping excitement or "diva-formance" for diva performance never made it.

Thank goodness for that. All this talk about food makes me hungry. Ermmm... fishburgers anyone?

Spellcheck

When I was in school, spelling was not really up my alley. I did quite well in spelling, both for Malay and English, but really I had problems with some complicated and longish words.

I remember my first lesson on the importance of spelling correctly came when the headmaster of my school called me, along with three others, to his office. I was in standard four then, and I wondered why we were called there. It turned out that the headmaster was "interviewing" us to become participants for a Bahasa Malaysia Quiz. He asked me to spell the word "masyhur" - and I spelt it wrongly. I remembered him stressing on the need for me to focus more on my spelling. I got selected onto the team nonetheless, and out of more than 60 schools from the whole of Johor, ours came in second. Fortunately, no one asked me to spell "masyhur." So, all in all, not a bad performance for coming in as runner-up, I guess.

The second lesson that I received on the same matter came some 10 years later. This time I was in Glasgow, and I was secretary to a club. The president pointed out to me some spelling errors that I made in the minutes and wanted me to exercise extra care when it comes to spelling, especially people's names. He reminded me that some people are especially sensitive when it comes to how their names are spelt. I took his advice to heart, and from there onwards, I took great pains to make sure that I spell people's names correctly.

The third lesson I received was when I started working. I learnt that people are overly-sensitive with their datukship. As such, I make it a personal point to find out if a person is a federal Datuk, or a Dato' from states with sultans, or a Datuk from a state without sultans. And also details like whether one is a Dato' Seri or a Dato' Sri. These may seem trivial but believe me, they can stir up quite a storm if you get them wrong. Fortunately for me, I never got into such troubles.

Nonetheless, with all these invaluable lessons in the importance of spelling, plus the fact that my life revolves around writing and editing, it comes as no surprise that I have developed a sensitive eye for wrong spellings. Most times I would squirm at the sight of a word wrongly-spelt. This is so when I see mistakes in newspapers or books. Other times, I would just point the mistake out to people who could do something to correct the spelling.

Why all the fuss about spelling correctly? I guess this goes back to one's self. I have a long name as I stated in one of my previous entries. While I don't make a big deal if someone fails to spell my name correctly, I do take note of someone who does. It shows that this person takes the extra effort to ensure that my name is correctly-spelt. And for this, I owe this person my heartfelt appreciation. To me, a person who spells correctly is someone who is sensitive, has an eye for details, takes the trouble to check, careful and alert.

That is why I believe that spelling can indeed show a person's character. Well, at least now I know how "masyhur" is supposed to be spelt.

Can or not?

A couple of nights ago, I had a discussion with two colleagues. Since we were to meet at 11 p.m., we decided to have a rather informal discussion sans the office environment. So, we decided to meet at a well-known eatery in Ampang Jaya.

I was the first to arrive, as usual. So I went into the eatery and got myself a seat. There were a lot of people there but most of them were seated outside for obvious smoky reasons. The inside of the eatery was not as busy as its outside. I guess that was why most of the waiters were waiting outside. It took almost 10 minutes before somebody came and asked what I would like to order.

As I was feeling rather dehydrated, I opted not to have the usual teh tarik. Instead, I ordered an isotonic drink. I specifically mentioned that I didn't want any ice.

Waiter: No ice?
Me: No ice.
Waiter: What about the drink can? You don't want it chilled?
Me: No. Just get me a can that's not chilled. Can or not?
Waiter: Sure can.

And off he went. I was kept waiting for quite a bit. Luckily I have made a habit to bring a book to read anywhere I go these days. So I read and waited..., read and waited..., read and waited... and still no drinks came. I began to get rather agitated. It was about 15 minutes later that the drink actually got to my table.

I felt odd because they just needed to get a can of the isotonic drink and bring it to my table. How long would that take? Surely they could do it in less than a minute?

So, okay. Now I got the can on my table. It was then I realised why it took them so long. I touched the can to open its lid. Lo and behold, the can was hot. The Sherlock Holmes in me didn't need to do much deducing to figure out what happened. In all probability, this eatery had all its canned and bottled drinks kept in the refrigerator to keep it chilled. When I asked for a non-chilled drink, they didn't have it. So the geniuses there figured, one way out was to warm the can in a microwave oven. And voila! A non-chilled - but hot - canned isotonic drink.

They should have just told me that they didn't have any non-chilled cans available. I wouldn't have minded actually.

The next time I set foot there though, I'll just ask for a glass of teh tarik.

Tagged again

I was tagged for the second time, this time by Nor Ash Burn. So here goes:

Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18 and find the line 4.
Tidak mampu untuk dinafikan terpercik juga perasaan kecewa... (from Ku Seru Kasihmu, a novel by Izzul Izzati)

Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
Errmmm... and the motive for this is? Stretching is more of Mr Fantastic's forte..

What is the last thing you watched on TV.
Depends... if watching attentively, that would be last night's news. If watching without paying much attention, that would be this morning's breakfast show as I was leaving the house for work.

Without looking, guess what time it is.
11.45 a.m.

Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
11.48 a.m.

With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The cold air blowing from the air-cond split unit in my room.

When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Technically I am outside the house at the moment. I stepped out to go to work.

Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
Surfing the Internet reading the news.

What are you wearing?
Why, office clothes of course.

Did you dream last night?
I don't think so. Even if I did, I usually couldn't recall.

What are on the walls you are in?
Let's see, a clock, a wall cabinet filled with stacks of books, a framed carving of Allah's 99 names and the split unit air-conditioner that is cooling this room.

Seen anything weird lately?
The word "weird."

What do you think of this quiz?
Longish.

What is the last film you saw?
Spider-Man 3.

If you become a millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
I would rather pay off my loans than going on a buying spree to be honest.

Tell me something about you I don't know?
That'd be telling. *chuckles*

If you could change something about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
One thing would definitely be the state of Malaysian football.

Do you like to dance?
NO!

Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
My daughter!

Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
My son!

Would you ever consider living abroad?
No. Been around the world, there's no place like home...

No mention anywhere of the need for me to tag others. So, I won't. Hehehe...