Rowie's Scribbles

Sigh...Just when I thought I could relax & study for the LAST paper tomorrow, I fell down & sprained my left ankle. It was 8pm, I wanted to go get a cold drink from the store, I was wondering what flavor to take then I received an SMS. The entire ground floor was dark coz the lights were out...I missed a step & fell: I could hear the ripping sound of my ligament tearing & I was on the floor, unable to get up as the pain radiated in hot waves up my leg. Luckily my classmate came in the door & helped me to get up. I went to the clinic & silly me, I didn't ask for bandage to wrap around the ankle for support. It hurts like hell & I dread walking to petroleum test tomorrow. But what is a sprained ankle?  Sprained ankle, twisted ankle, rolled ankle...they're the different terms for the same injury where the ligament(s) of the ankle is torn/partially torn. There are 3 grades of sprain severity... Grade 1 Some stretching/minor tearing of the lateral ankle l

Last Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib announced that the cap for foreign equity in 26 sectors (such as Islamic & investment banks, insurance companies etc) in a move to liberalize Malaysia's economy. He said that this plan will last from 2009-2012 in order to attract more foreign investments & to diversify sources of growth, which is essential during the current global financial crisis. Think... I'm not an economic student but I'll share what I think Malaysia needs ATM: Diversification Malaysia depends heavily on 3 main sectors: oil & gas, palm oil, & electronics. Together, the holy trinity comprised 63% of Malaysian exports in 2007. The recent economic dilemma is hitting hard on the prices of these commodities, & cracks are beginning to show in Malaysia's economy. Diversification is important to buffer the effect of external factors on the holy trinity, hence reducing the effects on Malaysian economy. Diversification will lead to a

The 1st film I watched with Ash last Saturday was Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I wasn't eager to see the film (tis was her idea) coz I just read the Saturday morning papers & it didn't give a very positive review about the film. I was surprised that I enjoyed the film anyhow... The Plot Paul Blart is a mall cop, dedicated to serve the local mall. He had failed to enter the New Jersey police squad & is resigned to his current situation. His wife had left him & his daughter, Maya, & he wishes he will find a special someone to be with. His mother & Maya encouraged him to join an online matchmaking service but it yielded no results. It ain't easy being a mall cop... He meets Veck Sims, a new recruit & proceeds to teaching him the ropes of being a mall cop, producing funny scenes along the way. Paul is smitten with Amy, a new kiosk owner & manages to have a friendly relationship with her.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, the mall is taken over by a group of

It's a tradition to serve/be served shark fin soup at Chinese weddings. I do not deny that it's really delicious, but I was turned off when I saw videos & pictures of cruel "finnings", where the fins are cropped off & the mutilated body is tossed back to the sea... Mutilated sharks drown while drifting to the bottom of the ocean Do they deserve such a cruel end? The shark is, unfortunately, still alive; sharks need to swim continuously to force water through their gills: without their fins, they can't swim & they literally drown as they sink to the bottom of the ocean. Imagine having your limbs chopped off & being tossed into the sea. Unpleasant, right?  Do you see the result of your greed? Yet it's hard when your older family members want this dish to be served at one of the most important events of your life...The question now is, should you give in to cultural pressure or do your part to protect sharks & the ecosystem? My answer : Protec

I've been reading snatches about this issue but today I searched online & dug out more info about the swine flu dilemma. Swine Flu? It's a respiratory disease caused by influenza type A virus which infects pigs. As is with other viruses, there are many different strains due to rapid mutation. The rumble today is because the virus previously did not make the leap from pig to human: the new strain does. Bad piggies... A New Strain... ...with the same genetic material available in viruses that infect birds, humans & pigs. It seems that the new strain is the product of earlier strains mixing & swapping genetic information from different species: pigs provide the medium for such a mix to occur. The swine flu virus is a new, more dangerous strain Symptoms? Similar to the human flu: it begins with a sore throat, fatigue & cough...then a fever will set in. If the fever lasts for more than 10 days, it's better to have a check up. Oh Dear... ...no more pork? Not neces

This is the first time I am reviewing a horror film...being a person with a soft heart, I'm not a fan of horror films, I can never tell people that it was lame, or that the scares were recycled coz I get so engrossed in the film, that I REALLY get spooked o.0 So here it is, I was eager to watch this film (a first for me) coz I wanted to see Emily Browning (she played Violet Baudelaire from the movie A Series of Unfortunate Events) all grown-up... The Plot The film begins with Anna recounting a dream to her psychiatrist. Since the tragic death of her bedridden mother 10 months ago when the family's beach home exploded, Anna had been admitted to a mental institution to overcome her trauma. She cannot remember what exactly happened that fateful night & her psychiatrist allows her to return for staying at the institution will not help her remember. Her father, an up-&-coming author, fetches her & they return to their home. She is unhappy when she learns that her father

Perhaps some people aren't sure what the latest poll (The Pirate Bay verdict...) is about :) Screen of the poll Based on the BBC link here , a Swedish court have sentenced the 4 founders of Pirate Bay, a popular file-sharing site, to a year in jail for breaking copyright law Now the question of the poll is the verdict fair? Who's to be blamed for piracy? What should be the right course of action to battle piracy? Almost everyone has done their share of illegal download of movies, songs, games etc. Here are some general responses & my opinion(s) on them: The producers, actors/actresses/singers & related parties make MILLIONS of dollars from legal sales...downloading for free wouldn't hurt much... Hm...So? According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), 95% of music downloaded online is ILLEGAL. When you consider that online sales account for 20% of music sales, that's a lot. Revenue shrank by 7% last year. We're not even talki

Here're the poll results & a brief analysis: Animal Testing Should Be Banned Yes, it's a cruel & inhuman thing to do    25% No, it's important for medical advancement 75% Uncertainty is my stand       0% Analysis: More people supports animal testing as its important for medical advancement. True, many of the drugs we use today has had some form of animal testing. It's a matter of ethics, really: would you rather die from a disease which could be cured with a drug utilizing animal testing? Simple question but the answer will show how much you loathe/love animal testing. Personally I support animal testing. There are new technologies in place to make it painless, many people are dying due to diseases that could be remedied with more effective drugs; I'll support it until there are alternatives, such as cell culture technology, that can fully replace animal testing. I like the idea of cell culture technology but it's costly, difficult to generat

Well this has been an...annoyance that I've carried with me for a long time. Perhaps I've decided that people should know what I think about exams & copying. It may be petty/childish of me to post this but I'll feel better. If you cheat in exams: 1. You are without shame 2. Obviously you didn't study 3. You don't deserve the marks you get SHAME ON YOU! A few weeks ago I sat for the final exam of Engineering Graphics. I struggled to focus, to try to remember what I've revised but I was frustrated because people were whispering around, asking their buddies for the answer, their buddies were whispering the answer back & I turned into a very tense, pissed off exam candidate. It didn't soothe my soul to know the lecturer was giving hints to students. Copying in tests is something I've come to tolerate, perhaps not accept. But this is the FINAL EXAM. At least have some decency to uphold the basic rule of exams: NO CHEATING. I gues