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...

Good old times

Once in a while, when you get to meet up with long-time friends, inadvertently the topic of discussion would be about the good old times. That was exactly what happened when I met up with Azhan. I have known Azhan since 1994 when he set his foot in Glasgow. Although he furthered his studies in Surrey after completing his foundation studies in Glasgow, we have been keeping close tabs on each other, more so since he's basically from the same part of Kedah as I am. In fact, he was also my pengapit during my wedding.

The last time I saw Azhan was during Nazrul's wedding which was just before he left for his current base of operation, which is Switzerland. His adventures there could be read in this blog maintained by his wife, Ann. Azhan came down to KL for some work. Despite his busy schedule, he managed to find time to have dinner with me. Not surprisingly, aside from the obligatory "catching up with each other" stuff, the conversation started to focus on the good old days - old friends, the crazy things we did, etc.

It was good reminiscing about the past. In a way, by remembering the good old days, it has managed to recharge my otherwise worn-out and tired psyche.

Good to be able to see you again, Azhan.

Spidery rhyme

Now that my son is two, he seems to be very interested in nursery rhymes. One of his favourites is actually the Malay version of "Incy Wincy Spider" which is "Seekor Labah-labah." Out of curiosity, I did an Internet search on "Incy Wincy Spider" and found that there is a rather unknown long version of the tale of this particular spider. The following is the full version:

Incy Wincy Spider climbing up the spout.

Down came the rain, and washed poor Incy out.

Out came the sunshine, and dried up all the rain

So Incy Wincy Spider climbs up the spout again.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the tree.

Down came the snow and made poor Incy freeze.

Out came the sunshine, and melted all the snow

So Incy Wincy Spider had another go.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the stair.

Whoosh went the wind and blew him in the air.

Out came the sunshine, no longer did it blow

So Incy Wincy Spider had another go.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the tree

He slipped in some dew and landed next to me.

Out came the sunshine and when the dew was dry

Incy Wincy Spider had another try.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed in the bath.

Along came a rubber duck and made the spider laugh.

Then came the water and washed him down the drain

So Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the spout again.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed the curtain rail.

Along came a mouse and flicked him with her tail.

Down fell the spider, the mouse ran out the door

So Incy Wincy Spider climbed the rail once more.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed to a height.

Up jumped a cat and gave him quite a fright.

Down jumped the cat and when he was asleep

Incy Wincy Spider back up the wall did creep.

Incy Wincy Spider went to the zoo.

Along came an elephant and said “How do you do?”

He met all the spiders, the snakes and lizards too,

Then Incy Wincy Spider brought them to meet YOU.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed on my chair.

He tickled my arm and he tickled my hair.

He wiggled his legs and wiggled his toes,

Then Incy Wincy Spider wiggled his nose.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed to the top.

He made a silky web and spun without a stop.

Then came a fly and landed on its back

So Incy Wincy Spider ate it as a snack.

Incy Wincy Spider was looking for his lunch.

Along came a wasp, he was eaten with a munch.

Then came a bluebottle and landed in the thread

So Incy Wincy Spider bit off his head.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the wall.

He spun a sticky web and hoped a fly would fall.

Then came a butterfly, so tangled up was she,

Incy Wincy Spider ate her for his tea.

Ermmm... will take a while if I want to memorise this whole lot.

Something about nothing

Just thought I'd share something I read in Discover magazine coverdated June 2007. The article is entitled "20 Things You Didn't Know about NOTHING" written by LeeAundra Temescu (page 88). It may sound too scientific or academic, but it sure is helpful if we want to increase our general knowledge.

Allow me then to just pick (from that article) the first ten which make up some interesting points for conversation:

1. There is vastly more nothing than something. Roughly 74 percent of the universe is "nothing," or what physicists call dark energy; 22 percent is dark matter, particles we cannot see. Only 4 percent is baryonic matter, the stuff we call something.
2. And even something is mostly nothing. Atoms overwhelmingly consist of empty space. Matter's solidity is an illusion caused by the electric fields created by subatomic particles.
   
3. There is more and more nothing every second. In 1998 astronomers measuring the expansion of the universe determined that dark energy is pushing apart the universe at an ever-accelerating speed. The discovery of nothing - and its ability to influence the fate of the cosmos - is considered the most important astronomical finding of the past decade.
4. But even nothing has a weight. The energy in dark matter is equivalent to a tiny mass; there is about one pound of dark energy in a cube of empty space 250,000 miles on each side.
5. In space, no one can hear you scream: Sound, a mechanical wave, cannot travel through a vacuum. Without matter to vibrate through, there is only silence.
6. So what if Kramer falls in a forest? Luckily, electromagnetic waves, including light and radio waves, need no medium to travel through, letting TV stations broadcast endless reruns of Seinfeld, the show about nothing.
7. Light can travel through a vacuum, but there is nothing to refract it. Alas for extraterrestrial romantics, stars do not twinkle in outer space.
8. Black holes are not holes or voids; they are the exact opposite of nothing, being the densest concentration of mass known in the universe.
9. "Zero" was first seen in cuneiform tablets written around 300 B.C. by Babylonians who used it as a placeholder (to distinguish 36 from 306 or 360 for example). The concept of zero in mathematical sense was developed in India in the fifth century.
10. Any number divided by zero is... nothing, not even zero. The equation is mathematically impossible.
    

Sometimes we forget

I just got back from a function in Gombak. I am not going to write about that in this blog, but if anyone is interested, the details could be read here. But what I want to write on has to do with the charity tag initiated by Idham which I responded to here. It was an amazing coincidence that I had the opportunity to meet the Darul Izzah orphans at the very same function I attended. They were the special guests there.

Looking at the boys, I feel that sometimes we easily forget how lucky most of us are. We have our family who love and provide the strength for us to go on, no matter how difficult the challenges that we face. Family is indeed our pillar of strength. Unfortunately, more often than not, we forget that our family is one of the many blessings in our life.

I pray that the orphans would get through life with happiness and success. I also hope that the charity drive initiated by Idham is successful and be blessed by Allah SWT.

Most of all, I give thanks to Allah SWT for having a wonderful family to keep me going every day.

Dog-eat-dog

I am reminded recently that, in spite of appearances, most people are driven and motivated by money. They may not say it up front but after a while, you could actually see the real side of these people. For me, there is nothing wrong with making money as long as you do it the right way. I find it quite disturbing that sometimes people are willing to do anything just so that they would get their "share."

I may sound naive, but I long for people who put integrity, trust, honesty, truthfulness and friendship above all else, especially money and personal gains. I know that there are still many good people out there. Unfortunately, I think that these people are a dying breed.

Oh, well. No wonder they call this a "dog-eat-dog" world.

What's in a name?

In the past, I have been teased or groaned at for having a rather long name. Some of my teachers found my name too long for their convenience when filling up forms (such as examination forms). Even the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara had to cut my name short so that it'd fit MyKad. All my certificates bear various versions of my actual name. And very seldom do I find people who are able to spell my name right, even when I appear on television or quoted in magazines or newspapers. Heck, even people who quoted me for international publications poked fun at my long name. Don't believe me? Have a look at this.

But you know what, I don't care and it's no big deal. I am proud of the name that my father gave me. The last part of my name "Saifuddeen" means "the sword of the religion." Of course, I don't use the sword, but as the esteemed Tan Sri Professor Dr. Mohd Kamal Hassan once said to me (commenting on the academic stuff I've written over the years), "Your pen is your sword." Having that said to me by a renowned Muslim scholar is indeed a great honour.

And if you think my name is long, how's this for a jaw-dropping trivia. The longest name of a place on this planet is found in Wales. The place is known as Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch which means "The Church of St Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio near a red cave." Click here for more info on the place. Wales, by the way, is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

How's that for a long name?

Matters of the heart

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Ibzaini, whom I have known since my Glasgow days and later became my housemate of 4 years during my bachelor days, had a minor heart attack on Thursday morning. It was around 3 or 4 a.m. when the attack occurred, although he thought it was gastritis - something that he has always had in the past. He drove himself to hospital, only to be told that he had a minor heart attack. After some tests, he was told that he had two blockages (both 100% blocked). He then underwent angioplasty, and yesterday, he was transferred from the ICU to a normal ward. Alhamdulillah, he is now recovering. I am unable to visit him unfortunately because he is now in Penang. I only managed to communicate with him over the phone.

Nonetheless, what happened to Ib certainly sent shivers down my spine. He is 35, quite active in sports. I know he plays squash, futsal and golf regularly. And yet, this shows that something like this can happen to anyone. So, I think it goes without saying that we all should take care of our health - exercise regularly, watch our diet and live a healthy lifestyle. I know this sounds too much like a community service reminder from the Ministry of Health, but then again, this is one fact we can't simply choose to ignore.

I pray for Ib's fast recovery. And I pray that we all be able to take good care of our health, especially our heart.

07-07-07

And so today is the 7th of July, 2007 - often written as 07-07-07. This day doesn't come often, only once every century. So, I supposed that's why a lot of people are making a big deal out of it. Some decided to get married today. Even around my area, there are a number of weddings taking place. I hope they're doing this because the date looks nice on the marriage certificate and not because of some superstitious thinking.

As for me, 07-07-07 is just another day. I'm not the type of person who believes in numbers being significant. That's why I never believed in unlucky number 4, lucky number 8 or unlucky number 13. Truth be told, I cringe at the sight of elevators and buildings (and hospital beds) that replaced number 4 with 3A and 13 with 12A. Then again, there are people who are superstitious about numbers.

To me, numbers should remain just that - numbers. They are fascinating to study, but they should not be thought of as having influence on our lives, health, fortunes, luck or whatever. For Muslims, just remember that everything that happens in our lives have been decided by Allah SWT. No numbers can change that.

Hooked in wireless Cyberjaya

I am now at Cyberview Lodge in Cyberjaya for a 6 o'clock meeting. While waiting for the meeting, I just thought that it'd be a good idea to blog using a wireless Internet connection. I have never done that before when "outstationed," so here it is.

As they say, there's a first time for everything.

Bumper stickers

Once in a while, you'll come across funny bumper stickers. This morning I had some errands that required me to be in the vicinity of Bangsar. While stuck in the traffic jam, I came across a rather funny bumper sticker on a Sorento. Couldn't help laughing after that. It sure lightened up my otherwise dull morning.

Mobil ini belum lunas. Harap jangan ditabrak dulu.

Sleeping in Setiawangsa

Comparatively speaking, this week I have been sleeping pretty early. By early, I mean, 10 o'clock. It must be the exhaustion accumulated from previous late nights. Personally, I would've preferred to stay up longer. I am most productive during these late hours. In fact, with the right frame of mind, I could do several tasks at once - reading, writing, researching, thinking, editing. Sometimes I'd have a book to read by my side, while writing on my laptop and doing some Internet searches, all at the same time. And if my YM friend is on, I could chat too. Talk about multitasking!

Perhaps, in all seriousness, at this age (although considered young by many), I no longer have the energy to stay up for too long too frequent. Maybe I should take it easy a little bit. But to be frank, I miss the days when I have the zest to stay awake for days at end. Then again, this was during my Glasgow years, which was in the last century. *sigh*

I still remember my record of not sleeping, and it still holds till today - it was 2 hours short of 3 straight days! I think that record of 70 hours without sleep will stand for the rest of my life. These days I can't even do 24 hours without sleep. Age is certainly catching up, I suppose.

A few friends share this view. While we could stay up without sleep for a few days during our late teens and early tweens, now the story is different. The physiological changes that have taken place in our bodies have certainly left an indelible mark on our ability or rather inability to stay awake late at nights. Oh, well. As a dear friend said, "Watudu...!"

What to do, indeed.

Weight of the Internet

I must say that this is very intriguing. Some scientists have actually "weighed" the Internet. By "weighing" I meant using some mathematical formulae and by "Internet" I meant all the data stored in network of interconnectedness of computers all over the world.

I will spare everyone the mathematical aspects of this, but below is an excerpt of the article "How Much Does the Internet Weigh? We put cyberspace on the scale" by Stephen Cass as published in the June 2007 issue of Discover:

At last, after much scribbling (and perhaps a little cursing), we had our answer: The weight of the Internet adds up to just about 0.2 millionths of an ounce." [page 43]

So what does 0.2 millionths of an ounce consist of? According to the same article which quoted Clifford Holliday, author of Internet Growth 2006, 75% of the cyberspace is filled by file sharing activities. Of this, 59% is attributed to people swapping video files, 33% music tracks, and a meager 9% is used for e-mails.

So now we know.

Spoonerism

I wrote in one of my earliest posts about Dubya Speak. And here I thought that no one else had problems with speaking. Boy, was I wrong.

As a matter of fact, someone became famous because of his slip of the tongue. Reverend William A. Spooner said "foon and spork" instead of "spoon and fork." As a result, his name is immortalised to describe this play of words when the speaker transposes the corresponding consonants, vowels or morphemes. Till today, this play of words is known as "spoonerism."

Some examples of spoonerisms I find funny with what the person actually wanted to say in bold:

1. May I sew you another sheet? (May I show you another seat?)
2. Shake a tower. (Take a shower.)
3. Well-boiled icicle. (Well-oiled bicycle.)
4. He gave the man a blushing crow. (He gave the man a crushing blow.)
5. I have a half-warmed fish in my mind. (I have a half-farmed wish in my mind.)
6. Talking wall. (Walking tall.)
7. The wrestler gave him a hair bug. (The wrestler gave him a bear hug.)
8. Paving the way for everyone. (Waiving the pay for everyone.)

Oh, 22nd July is designated as Spoonerism Day. I never knew that. So do we have to talk spoonerish on that day? Hmmm...

Tag, you're it

This is a first for me since I started blogging. It's bound to happen sooner or later. Hehehe...

Anyway, I have been tagged, for charity of course, by Jie who was tagged by Fauziah who was tagged by Ruby Ahmad who was tagged by Raden Galoh who was tagged by Idham. If you're wondering how six degrees of separation is like in action, look no further!

Back to this charity drive. On the birthday of the initiator of this charity tag (26th August), the aforementioned Idham, wants to compile 100 bloggers' memes, where for every meme, he will contribute RM127 to the Darul Izzah Orphanage. Anyone who wishes to support his efforts can do so. No need to wait to be tagged. We need 100 names by 26th August. Once this tag is done, please leave a comment on his blog to inform him that you have done the tag.

Okay, with me so far? The rules are simple:

If you are tagged, you need to write an entry related to the meme. At the end of your entry, you just need to tag as many bloggers as you like. You will then leave a comment in their blogs to let them know that they have been tagged. You have to include the message, "By doing this meme, you are contributing RM127 to the Darul Izzah Orphanage." Then, copy and paste this rule somewhere in your entry. The meme is about completing at least 17 out of the following 27 sentences. (These can be copied and pasted to your entry).

So, here we go:

1. A person is only as good as... his deeds, not just his words.


2. Friendship is always... based on trust.


3. To love is to... be loved.


4. Money makes me... rich --- NOT!


5. I miss... my teenage years.


6. My way of saying I care is by... helping out without being asked.


7. I try to spread love and happiness by... being kind, thoughtful, forgiving and giving.


8. Pick the flowers when... they have become fruits, otherwise let them be.


9. To love someone is to... accept their true selves which include their shortcomings. No one is perfect anyway.


10. Beauty is... not what we see on the surface, but what lies in the heart.


11. When I was thirteen, what I remember the most was... chapter 6 of Sains Paduan. *lol* [Those who did the pre-KBSM Sains Paduan will most probably get this].


12. When I was twenty-one, I remember... I was one year away from returning home from abroad with a master's degree.


13. I am most happy when... I have made others happy.


14. Nothing makes me happier than... to prove others wrong.


15. If I can change one thing, I will change... some of our Parliamentarians.


16. If smiles were... money, then I... still wouldn't be a dollar richer. *sigh*


17. Wouldn't it be nice if we could... just have a quiet day with the family?


18. If you want to... write just one book, then you have to... read a hundred books.


19. Money is not everything but... everything costs money.


20. The most touching moment I have experienced is... witnessing my son's birth.


21. I smile when... I read witty lines.


22. When I am happy, I... would end up talking too much.


23. If only I don't have to... sleep, then... I would have more time to write.


24. The best thing I did yesterday was... playing with my son.


25. If I ever write a book, I will give this title... hehehe... too late, already written a few!


26. One thing I must do before I die is... to utter the kalimah syahadah.


27. Doing this meme, I feel like... doing my little bit for a bigger charity.

Hehehehe... so I have done my part by completing all the 27 sentences for this charity drive. As required, I will now tag the following bloggers to play a part in this charitable act:

• Izza Aripin
• Ann/Azhan
• Zetty
• Ned Akechi
• Nor Ash Burn

Let's get rolling! :)