tagged

a)Answer the questions below by doing an image search and using pictures from the first page of results, do it with no or minimal words of explanation.
b) Tag 5 other people to do the same once you've finished answering every question




1. The age you'll be on your next birthday:






2. A place you'd like to travel to:





3. Your favourite place:













4. Your favourite food:






5. Your favourite pet:






6. Your favourite colour combination:





7. First name of your significant other/crush:







8. The town in which you live in:






9. Your first job:






10. Your dream job:






11. A bad habit you have:






12. Your worst fear:







13. The one thing you'd like to do before you die:







14. The first thing you'll buy if you get $1,000,000:








i tag anyone who can actually be bothered.

john or klaatu?

"If mankind minus one were of one opinion, then mankind is no more justified in silencing the one than the one - if he had the power - would be justified in silencing mankind."- John Stuart Mill.

usually, i see quotes like newspaper headlines.......they are just words. but this.....this triggered something in my head. if you were in my shoes, you would probably realise that after a few days of nothingness, my brain is rotting away and the empty void in my head is full of spider web. so, in my attempt to utilize those webs to replace neurons, let's see how deep can i go from just one quote.

based from that quote, it's obvious it is about rights and equality. i truly advocate that...well, maybe i did, maybe i still do. so one man has the right to speak his mind as the whole of humanity minus him to speak theirs. in the same way, the whole of humanity minus him has the rights to give him suggestion as much as he has the rights to reject all of them. so, should one man's thoughts be put under consideration against the society's general perception.

before you say yes......just wait, and listen......ok, read further. now, that's pretty easy in a simple situation. in general election, the idea is that each individual of the same nationality has the right to cast his vote for his choice of government. be it voting for the current government or the worst party in the country, it is his right to do so. regardless of his decision, he will not be denied his social right to vote. his right as a voter is acknowledged, be it as a good or bad one....he is a voter and his vote counts. thus, his vote is equally important as anyone else.

is that fair? i say........no, not really. democracy is a primitive method of decision making. democracy is just one step ahead of "the strongest shall live and the weak shall die" ideology. democracy is just for the majority. the majority justifies the minority. the majority silenced the minority even. surely both voted, but what of the outcome? did everyone get what the wanted?

but, regardless of the results, each person had the rights to vote......in the same way one has, to speak his mind whether for or agaisnt the world's point of view. really? let's see, should my opinion as an agnostic be heard the same way the pope speak of the holy spirit? both of us are, afterall human beings. under democracy, his vote and mine are of equal importance. but not here. under democracy, we both stand as equals.....but what of other aspects? should my opinion on black holes as a student be talked in the same breath as of that of a renowned astronomer? should my idea of evolution be compared agaisnt darwin's?

in democracy, it takes at least two to silence one. but other than that, i believe a single individual can silence more than one. this is two very contradicting issues. one is a political practise in many countries around the globe, and the other is basically for everything else. so which one is the best? and how do we decide that? well, take a look at that quote.....and i guess it's on the fence on this one.

first of all, there are questions to be answered, provided all these are against their will;
is one man, regardless of any status, equal to another?
is a saint equal to a murderer?
if men are equal, are two men more equal than one?
if men are not equal, is one more equal than two?

here's what i learn from movies;
should one man be killed to save another?
should a thief die so that a saint may live?
should a stranger die so that you may live?
should anyone die so that two can live?
should two men, regardless of their status or actions, die so that another may live?
should two thieves be killed to save a prime minister?
does a second of a saint in a church worth more than that of a thief in prison?

i believe, things are always divided into two. its not good and bad....thats kindergarden stuff. it is the right thing and the best thing. by that, i would say, it is simply not right for a man to die so that another may live. it is not right for a man to die so that a nation can live. but it is best to sarifice one to save millions. it is for the best when a nation justifies one man.

ahh, now i know where this is coming from....damn, its from The Day The Earth Stood Still. i havent watch the movie, but the line from klaatu " if the earth dies, you die. if you die, the earth survives" is fun to play with. hmm, who's better, john or klaatu?

metal gear solid 2

attention....this is not a game walkthrough. partly because im too lazy to write in depth analysis, mainly because i dont remember most of the stuff that happened in the game.

for most, if im correct, ps gamers, metal gear solid series is one of the best games around. for the ps2 generation, we have mgs2 and mgs3. i know mgs4 is already out two milleniums ago, but i dont have a ps3 and the luxury of time to finish all the games in the world. this is about metal gear solid 2 : sons of liberty. i wont bother telling you the plot because its not in my head right now, so i'll just give some facts about the gameplay.

im not sure whether it's that hard to finish extreme mode.....because i can, and i guess that makes everyone capable of the same. i started with "very easy" mode and jumped straight to "extreme". so from 10 rations, i can carry only 2. from surviving multiple gunshots, i get killed from 2 or 3. you know where this is going. so to adapt to such extreme situation, you need skills, and technique. but im not that gifted in that sense. so i just managed with curiosity and insanity. so with that, and no other walkthrough, except tips from exson, i discovered some pretty cool stuff that i see as a joke.....or loopholes in the game.

1. those locked lockers can be opened by using c4s in the right places....though the stuff inside are not that good.

2. the box trick can do wonders. those cardbox can be more than just for hiding. i perfected fortune at the elevator place using the box. just keep equiping and unequiping the box, and the chances of getting hit is lowered.....er that, or im just lucky. the box can even be used when you are running from enemy fire. instead of running around like normal, the box can help you dodge some bullets. the same method, equip and unequip.

3. the nikita trick. when you join hands with snake in arsenal gear to fight those ninjas whatsoever, just take cover behind some box and use the nikita to attack to minimise injury. since you've got a lot of missiles left, and perfect cover, why not? the only drawback is that snake will take your share of damage. so he dies faster, and you are soon to follow.

4. the hanging trick. i perfected vamp using this method. no need for any shooting.....no guns, no stingers.....just c4s, claymores, and you'll be laughing your way through. you can hang at the outer sides of the pool...that is probably known, and vamp will come to you, more like walking instead of charging at you in normal situations. so just set a trap near the hanging area. before you hang on the edge, deploy some claymores around you. he will either come from the left or the right, and its your call whether to use c4 or claymores. i paired them together as one set. one on the left, one on the right. if he comes from the right, he'll get the c4 and if he's from the left, he'll get the claymore. i used this method because you can always walk pass your own c4s when you deploy them. its not pretty being surrounded by your own claymores. he'll jump back into the water once he hit the trap. use that moment to set a new trap again. just repeat that and before you know it, you've win without a scratch. though in my case, i took the lights out first, because the shadow trick is deadly.

5. hanging trick agaisnt solidus. i did not perfect solidus, because i wasnt in the mood. lets just say "8 series" played the major role in that. anyway, it is possible to perfect solidus. the same trick, hang on the edges of the roof. he'll walk to you, and just before he strikes, climb up. you'll be invincible when your climbing up, use the his opening, and strike him down. then he'll use those missiles. now, if you're in a good position, you just need to run back to the edge and hang there till the misiles are gone. but if you are certain they are going to hit you even when you are hanging, just climb up. again, you'll be invincible momentarily when you do that. the key is timing. the same applies to solidus' second form. but this is where i lost my mood. my advice, pray hard for luck, and have good timing. in 5 trials, you should perfect solidus....if you are lucky of course.

6. there was this one time, when i was hiding in the locker, and the soldier opened it. in normal cases, you are dead. but, i switch immediately to the box, and he just didnt see me. cant say it'll work for you though.

7. after you defeat those RAYs, theres a scene where solidus will use one of his robotic arms to suck the life out of you. well, no tips here, but just give the triangle buttton all you got. i did, and my hp, was.........exactly the way it was after RAYs. haha.

8. when necessary, use emma as human shield. unlike raiden, emma can survive more than 3 gunshots. tried and tested.........and computer geek can survive bullets much better than a super soldier. so, feel free to be evil.

thats all i guess.....the rest are lost memories. haha

of swing doors and trishaws

so the trip to penang didnt turn out as expected. it was random...and maybe lost too. but i kinda liked it......because surprises are usually nice. but when they are not, i guess there's nothing much we can do. penang has something that sp-ians have lost......heritage. i know im going to sound like a typical singaporean for comparing their small little island with their neighbour. but its true. not only penang has more developed facilities, but some of their heritage survive such progress.

most of their old buildings are properly maintained, i like the ferry....its like somesort of symbol, those old schools, the swing doors i saw in one of those shops on the way to gurney, the toyshops..though it's still not good enough, the old cars....wait, sp's better, we got a maserati. here is the difference, whatever heritage and old stuff penang has, they cherish it, and most of them are in good condition........but here.....well, the maserati says it all doesnt it. its practically abandoned, beyond repair, and nobody notices. even my dad thought it was a toyota and refuse to stop by the shop till i bet with him. people here just dont care.

they have proper trees by the road side, giving the road nice shades........sp-ians just chopped them off. they have a very cool war museum.....we have only the base of what used to be candi in lembah bujang. their schools still have their identities......ours are just lost in translation. we used to have a real, proper motto "finis coronat opus". but now, some genius came up with "ibrahim number 1" which is, if i may....cocky and arrogant. that has replaced "finis coronat opus" as the school motto. ask any form 1 ibrahim kid our motto, it'd be "ibrahim number 1". that number one motto can only be applied when we actually win. what if we lose? look down and leave quietly? with finis coronat opus, we can just shout that at anytime.......cos other people wont understand.....and it's still true in any given situation. we have dewan syed jan, which is said to be haunted.....though its like a huge oven, i'd hate to see it being demolished once we can use the new hall. from mr hoh and mr fletcher's description, i can imagine that the school was really prestigious when they were students here. they said that there was this tree beside the road, and when the leaves fall, and cover the road, it looked beautiful. i really wish to see that. even our school museum is locked and hard to notice. we dont even treasure our school history, so why are we expected to give a damn about how tanah melayu was formed and bla bla bla. our history dated back since 1919, so it should be as old as A&W....yay! but look as us now, everything has change since 1919.....EVERYTHING. and the worse, it wont stop. i dont know what ibrahim will look like when i visit the school 10 years later....if i actually visit it. i doubt i can recognise the place anymore.

though its a different story for penang, with the govt cutting their budget on this opposition state, and those new and multilingual signboards.....i doubt they can hold on to their heritage any longer. for peace sake, why the hell must there be an issue on signboards? its been there for years, and i dont see anybody got lost and starved to death. if anyone got lost in penang, even if a blind got lost in penang, all he had to do is walk straight till he reach the beach, and walk along it till he reach the bridge...then get a bus or smtg. people are already used to this old signboards. most of them are in english....so what? if bahasa kebangsaan is an issue, i dont see the wanita umno issue being discussed in bm completely. come on, rafidah is fine talking in english to the press, i dont see that being discussed by politicians. next, their are going to change butterworth's name to bm. just leave it be. why bother on such small issue? are these signboard going to help us going through the economy crisis?

one of these days, im going to penang again, and im going to take every single photo of everything that passes by my camera lense. who knows? im not gonna let any other heritage fall to the pit of oblivion. after all, i was born in penang.

blog under.........reconstruction. so that is a perfect excuse for the absence of updates. any suggestion for the blog would be appreciated.

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i seriously need to take classes for this kind of computer stuff. damn!