Demonstration in KLCC on Petrol Hike Issue

My roommate asked me tojoin the demonstration in KLCC last Sunday It was quite a long time since I last joined the public demonstration. Perhaps, I was afraid of my position since I am working in a GLC company. Afraid, definitely no! But I still remember that I have signed a document which insists that I must preserve my company reputation and should not do anything against this.

“tuan tuan dan puan puan diminta bersurai dalam masa 10 minits, perhimpunan ini tidak mendapat permit dan dianggap haram”

I just whispered to myself, “Who will go to apply the permit for this type of assembly? You should be joking!” This was the third assembly and the first one been organized on the weekend. The estimated crowd was not more than 1000. The attendance is relatively low compared to the previous assemblies which held after Muslim prayer time on Friday. The enforcement officials seem reluctant to let this kind of assembly going on week in week out. They took more drastic approach and simply dispersed the crowd without giving any opportunities for the organizer to deliver the speech. They even closed the KLCC building to avoid any demonstrators running inside the shopping mall. Anyway, the demonstration managed to sustain for 1 hour time. At least, the messages are able to pass to the public!

Just have a look on the few pictures that I took.

Where we went after the demonstration? Watching movie in KLCC!

Rule-based German Language

I still remember that those who learn the German language said that this language is based on a set of rules and it’s easy to learn compared to English. Perhaps, it’s true in certain context. But once you get to know more, it’s not always the case. Vemal and I have an argument on the Perfekt mit “sein” oder “haben” regarding the special case “ist ge --- en”. The normal case for pass perfect tense in German language is to use “haben”. But there are two exceptional conditions which you must use “sein”. The statement given by our teacher is that those verbs involve the changing of place and the changing of state. This rule can be simplified as below:

If (verb == {changing of state} verb == {changing of place})
use “sein”
else
use “haben”

Let’s the verb = schwimmen, which category should the verb swim belong to?

No specific answer, it depends on the situation. According to my teacher’s explanation, if you swim in a pool, you should use “haben”. Wait a moment! Vemal claimed that swim in an Olympic-size swimming pool from one end to another is actually a change of place. So, when should we use “sein”? My teacher’s answer is when you swim across the river.

The conclusion is:
swim across the river != swim in the pool

It’s not easy. You have to make a correct assumption otherwise you might be wrong.

Martin Luther – many people should hear about his name if you take Sejarah Dunia in you secondary school. He translated the New Testament from Greek to German and became the creator of modern German language. So, he is the one who set the rules?

Pic . Altbau (Old Hause) in German

Cognitive Science

An IEEE ComSoc technical talk entitled “People and Tools: Applying Cognition Theories for Building Effective Tool Design in Breakdown Situations” had been successfully conducted in my company premise. The speaker was a Malaysian who is going to work in Airbus soon. I have recently read an article about Collaborative and Cognitive Networking. More or less, it likes making your device intelligent enough to learn from the environment and make adjustment accordingly. The speaker presented almost the similar concept and emphasized more on cross-discipline in solving daily problems. She even talked about Heidegger’s fundamental concept of thrownness and breakdown. Huh, too much....... it's always difficult to understand what philosopher said.

<-- Logo for Cognitive Science Society

My Roommate

My roommate has his Blog available yesterday. I have stayed with him since our graduation days from UTM. He is from PD and going to further his PhD in Australia this year. He studied Computer Science in UTM but turned out to do something related to social sciences – Islamic Cultural Study. He did really well in UKM. His thesis was even selected as “Thesis Cermelang”. After almost 4 years, it’s time for us to separate, otherwise, both of us will end up single! ^__*

A Painting to Share

A nice painting to share with you all! Guess, who is the artist and where the painting was taken? A wild guess, please. Sunrise in Teluk Kelong. Perhaps, one or two may know it but not me. So, who is the artist? Zainal Abidin Musa. Sorry, not hear about him before. At first glance, it makes me feel comfortable and relax. Hope that you feel the same. Oh, ya… where the photos are taken? Muse floor Starhill Gallery. Go there if you are interested to find out more about Malaysian artists.

-- Malaysia artist art Exhibition 2006

Last Week Updates & Yeehian's Weeding Dinner

Life goes on as usual. I had almost finished my task on protocol stack and ATM integration. Study the modular platform. Work on the documentation and technical paper before moving on to another new task. Refresh my memory on how to ride a motorbike last week! Before I picked up my car on last Wednesday, I had to borrow a motorbike from Chih Feng. It was almost two years since I last took a motorbike from my house (PJ) to my workplace (Serdang). I felt nervous and my heart beat faster than usual. Luckily, the weather was good and everything went on well. Yee Hian has her special moment of life last Saturday. It was also the time for our “activities circle” peoples to meet. It seems to become a habit nowadays for us to gather only through our friend’s weeding. Anyway, it’s great! I don’t even meet some of them for almost 5 years. The dinner was in Tai Tong Restaurant in front of Nikko Hotel. Sorry to say that the taste of the food was not really good. Anyway, we had free flow of red wine ;) A crazy moment in my table! Whenever we “kampai”, we had to bottom up. I think that I almost finished a bottle of red wine. I felt headache at the end of the dinner and as usual my face turned RED. Anyway, it was much better compared to Yong Ling (pic. 2) who drunk until unconscious all the way back to Chih Feng’s house. He was challenged by his special admirer, a girl who studied in the same school with him in Kuala Kangsar. We went to the Feast Village in Starhill Galery after the dinner before ending out in the mamak restaurant near Ampang LRT. It was almost 4 o’clock morning when we reached home! I was the one who drive :)