I was in my garden this afternoon (well, technically, yesterday afternoon) when this middle-aged Indian guy came up to the gate and asked for somebody named Ms. Lim (or something like that). Dressed quite nicely, in long pants and shirt. Had a nametag of 'Sara'. Claimed to be working at Citybank. Gave me a sob story about him losing his wallet, IC, blah blah. Asked me for RM7.50 to get on a bus back to his family in.. Julu, was it? Anyway, felt sorry for him, handed him 10 bucks. He promised to return the money to me. Unlikely that he was telling the truth, but I imagined myself in the same position and...

So... conman, or down-on-his-luck person? Time will tell. I know, chances are my 10 bucks are gone, but I hope that, against the odds, he turns out to be sincere. Let me discover that my faith in basic human decency was not misplaced. I'm too young to become a cynic just yet.

Update: 27/1/06

Conman, apparently. There goes 10 bucks. More importantly, there goes part of my faith. Sigh.
 

Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Common enough phrase. Usually used by members of one gender to refer to the other gender. Perhaps we should modify our understanding, however, to include parents. Perhaps it's just me, but... parents get so annoying sometimes. Sure, it's out of a sense of love. That's the main reason I tolerate it. Just that... sigh, the generation gap can get really annoying sometimes. Especially when they start trying to restrict you based on reasons that went obsolete 20 years ago. God, grant me patience.
 

God, I hate people with those attitudes. On reflection, I realised that that's precisely why so many Christians piss me off. Not their beliefs, or the fact that they try to convert me (at least, not if they do it nicely and discreetly) but the fact that they tend to sport a I'm-holier-than-thou-and-you're-going-to-end-up-in-hell-if-you-don't-repent-while-I-sip-iced-lemonade-and-lounge-about-in-heaven attitude.

No, this isn't another whack-the-Christian post. What set off this tirade is the damn Muslim peeping toms. 'Moral enforcement team', indeed. Just call a kaypo a kaypo, wouldya? And they had the nerve to defy the Cabinet and announce a plan to appeal to the Minister of Interior Affairs (was it Interior Affairs? Can't quite recall the relevant ministry). God, don't these people learn? There has never been a case in history when self-appointed 'moral guardians' actually accomplished something useful.

Morals, despite what some people may wish, are not a fixed set of standards. Rather, they are the accepted norms of society. Morals are defined by behaviour that the public will condone and accept, as compared to actions that the public feels is wrong. Unfortunately, self-appointed moral guardians are not representative of society at large. Rather, they tend to be from the more conservative (read:anally-retentive) segments, usually bored, overly righteous, and intolerant of all beliefs and behaviours which differ from them. For goodness sake, when all major religions preach tolerance and understanding, why is it those people who claim to be the most moralistic who end up being the most intolerant?
 

Well, my diet's over - and a success, seeing as I lost 1¹/₂ sizes. Much to the disappointment of a certain friend of mine who was drooling over his upcoming (or so he thought) double-scoop something-flavoured ice cream. Heheheh. The downside is, I wonder if I haven't just regained half a size in the couple of days since my diet was over. Guess it's time to rein in my eating habits... binge eating does not really agree with staying slim.
 

Now here's an interesting fact. The Vatican holds the position that evolution isn't incorrect. Nothing new to others, perhaps, but very new to me.

Pope Pius XII, a deeply conservative man, directly addressed the issue of evolution in a 1950 encyclical, Humani Generis. Pius XII states that nothing in Catholic doctrine is contradicted by a theory that suggests one species might evolve into another - even if that species is man. The Pope declared:

The Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experiences in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God.

In other words, the Pope could live with evolution, so long as the process of "ensouling" humans was left to God. Pius XII cautioned, however, that he considered the jury still out on the question of evolution's validity. It should not be accepted, without more evidence, "as though it were a certain proven doctrine."

Almost 50 years later, in 1996, Pope John Paul said:

Today, almost half a century after publication of the encyclical, new knowledge has led to the recognition of the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.

Evolution, a doctrine that Pius XII only acknowledged as an unfortunate possibility, John Paul accepts forty-six years later "as an effectively proven fact."

Interesting. In plain english, the Catholic Church is declaring that evolution is a valid doctrine. More than a theory, they have accepted that the circumstantial evidence for evolution (which is all we'll ever have) is so overwhelming as to be irrefutable, and cannot reasonably be denied.

He (John Paul) recognized that science and Scripture sometimes have "apparent contradictions," but said that when this is the case, a "solution" must be found because "truth cannot contradict truth."

The stance of the Catholic Church is a surprisingly familiar one. They maintain that science and religion are not necessarily at odds. That evolution and creation are both valid theories.

Let me elaborate. The church accepts the theory of evolution, that we are descended from apes and single-celled organisms and various other species we would prefer not to think about when considering our ancestral tree. What they maintain, however, is that the hand of god is evident in this process. That god created the universe via the 'Big Bang'. That the driving force behind evolution is not natural selection ie. 'Survival of the Fittest', but instead is the intent of a higher being. That each human being is no animal, but has within him a soul that comes from god.

I mentioned that their stance is a familiar one. Indeed, it is. It's my stance. It's the opinion that I have repeatedly explained to whoever happens to be trying to convert me at the moment. And I find it interesting that they never noticed just how similiar my stance is to that of the Church. Imagine how much breath they could have saved. Imagine how much pain they could have spared my eardrums. Ultimately, my only disagreement with the Catholic Church is regarding the existence of Jesus. They say he's the son of god. I have no opinion there. Maybe it's time some of these self-proclaimed missionaries actually listened to their (usually captive) audience for a change. Or maybe they were too busy proseltyzing to notice that the Church accepted evolution as a fact. Maybe I should just stop bashing them, but I can't help it. They're so annoying. Also, I accept that some of those people I've met are Protestants who disagree with the view of the Catholic Church, but I doubt all of them are. To the next person who ignores my views and tries to preach to me - "The pope agrees with me. Go argue with him."
 

I've been writing about my diet recently^[1][2][3]. It just struck me that a year ago, I was blogging about the differences between the 'Eat to Live' and 'Live to Eat' philosophies. At that time I was heartily supporting the 'Live to Eat' camp. And now I'm dieting. Isn't that a major contradiction? Perhaps not. After all, my diet really consists of nothing more than skipping lunch every day. I still happily stuff myself with junk food as dessert after dinner. And I still eat food that's just dripping with fat, oil and the promise of a heart attack at the age of 30. I guess I'm still firmly within the 'Live to Eat' camp.

I'm finding out that a diet is not an easy thing to maintain. Going out during lunchtime with co-workers and ordering nothing but a drink earns you funny looks at first. That's simple enough to deal with. What isn't so simple to deal with is when you have to sit there and look at everybody else eating while your tummy growls. Life gets even more difficult when a well-meaning mum tries to sabotage my diet by cooking lunch for me despite my requests for her not to. She goes "Aiya, eat less for dinner la." Sigh. It's amazing I've lost any weight.

While I'm writing about food, I might as well mention a friend of mine. He got annoyed because, at a table with 8 of us, he noticed that there were 3 of us without acne/pimples. What did we have in common? A no-vegetable diet. LOL. So much for our parents' admonitions for us to eat more veggies or risk having our faces break out into something resembling measles. Perhaps somebody should conduct research into this. Imagine face-care products containing loads of animal oils. Then again, I can imagine the animal-rights activists burning my house down. Maybe I should reconsider...
 

Hmm, I've submitted 3 posts to The Star's Citizen's Blog since it first started. My posts never appeared (or so I thought), and I sent them an email lambasting their lack of feedback as to my posts. As it turns out, the posts did get published eventually, 2 days after I first submitted them. Thats slow by blogging standards, but I guess I owe them an apology, sort of. Nevertheless, I stand by my opinion that they should let a poster know via email when their post gets reviewed, and whether or not it gets accepted.

On a different note, I must say I'm kinda disappointed in In-Tech. Remember my various Microsoft Strikes Again^[1][2][3] posts? Slightly more than 3 weeks after the vulnerability first appeared, it gets a short mention in In-Tech. Guys, thats old news by now. The unofficial patch appeared 3-5 days after people found out. It was so serious that even sluggish MS released their official patch within a fortnight. And you inform us of its existence 3 weeks later. Good thing I've stopped relying on newspapers for news.
 

Over the years, I've known many people, had many friends. Some were little more than acquaintances, others became close friends. Many have since drifted away. Mostly because of sheer neglect. From both sides, usually. Environments change, locations change, and childhood friends who we see everyday are no longer so easy to contact. Contact details change, and we don't bother informing others because we haven't stayed in touch for so long. We refuse to admit that we've been neglecting the friendship, and eventually we lose touch altogether. We form new friendships, and the cycle begins anew. Eventually, we realise that our friendships are impermanent. That none of our friends truly, truly know us inside. That, in this modern era of instant communication, we are alone, isolated. Where our parents would have written long letters to keep in touch, we use electronic chat programs to say 'hi'. And we let it go at that. That's not communication, that's being a polite stranger.

As always, there are exceptions. There are friendships which survive the times, and grow, and strengthen, with age. To these people, I salute them for taking the effort to keep in touch, and not the easy way out. Bravo.

This wasn't the original intention of my post. I had in mind a few close friends, who have recently been drifting away, despite my best efforts to keep us together. As I started writing, however, I realised that I have been guilty of the same mistakes as them. I've done my share of neglecting. Some of those friendships would have ended anyway, I have learnt that it simply isn't possible to keep one going without the interest of both parties involved. Some of the others, I am probably at fault. To those I neglected, my apologies. To those whom are drifting away again, my best wishes. To all of you, if you think of me someday, and want to get back in touch, I will be more than willing to continue and pick up where we left off.
 

Right, I'm addicted to computer games. Very badly addicted. And it's been a life-long addiction, along with my fantasy and sci-fi novels. And maybe it's been going on long enough. On the other hand, I have no idea how I'll reduce my game-playing, I've never seriously tried to stop. The crowd I hang out with is no help either, one of our main 'bonding' activities is hanging out at cybercafes. Hmm, I guess I'll find out just how far willpower will take me when I return to Australia. Can't really begin right now, I'm too busy for games (haven't been playing for a while) but I can feel the urge... pulling... pulling... No... must.. resist.. urk.

DotA, here I come.
 

I miss having long phone conversations. You know, the kind that lasts for hours and ranges from topic to topic, covering just about everything under the sun, and sometimes things that never appear under the sun. Sigh. How many of you people have conversations like that? Most of the females do, I'm sure. The males I'm not so sure.

What I don't miss is my mum yelling at me to get off the phone, heheh. That's the reason most of my conversations ended up being held at night. Usually resulting in me being a zombie the next day. Never did enquire about whether my partner-in-phone-crime turned into the living dead too. Hmm...

So, what happened to the people I used to chat with? Well, both of them now have better things to do than spend hours chatting with me. They've found their special someone, and now spend hours chatting with them instead. Lol. Well, life moves on, I'm sure there are other chatterboxes out there waiting to be discovered. Too bad I have no idea how to contact them.
 

Remember the stuff I mentioned in the first and second Microsoft post? Probably not, but never mind.

More relevantly, have you watched one of those sci-fi movies with computers that have secret methods of being accessed (aka 'backdoors')? Well, they exist in real life too. And not in top secret military installations, but in everyday computers, like yours (and mine). Serious, I'm not joking. Guessed where I'm going with this post yet?

Yep, the recent MS fiasco, was no accident. Some guy discovered a genuine MS-created backdoor in Windows, and exploited it to create a brand new-class of viruses. Had the guy not discovered it, MS could (and might already) have used it to obtain information from any computer running Windows. Doesn't sound like a big deal to many people, until you realise that the US government could have accessed your computer without your knowledge. Or the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) might have browsed through your entire music collection. I can hear the lawyers celebrating.

So that's one backdoor found, and closed. Possibly a gazillion more waiting. So much for security and privacy. Welcome to the world of Big Brother.
 

Waddaya know, KFC can make a decent burger. That is, their new Fish burger. They even go as far as to offer a 'satisfaction guaranteed or money back' guarantee. And it tastes pretty good. As good as (or better) than McD's Fish Fillet burger, IMO. How do I know? Lol... I sadly admit to succumbing to temptation (and the growls of a hungry tummy) at lunchtime today. Sigh.

And 2 weeks of dieting have apparently had a really averse effect on my appetite. I could barely finish lunch... something I would have sapu-ed without any problems before starting my diet. Dang... how am I going to attend buffets in this condition?
 

Hmm, I don't know about waist sizes, but I'm fitter than I've been in years. Quite possibly fitter than I've ever been. Amazing what 2 weeks of determined dieting and exercise can do for you. Still.. the acid test will come when I buy my CNY clothes.. if I haven't lost a size or 2 by then, I'm gonna be many, many ice creams poorer.
 

Hmm, I've been neglecting my blog again. That's usually the first sign of an impending slow death. Oh well, my blog has more lifes than a cat. Comes back to life more often than any undead I've ever heard of, too.

Had a 2nd BBQ last night, just Calvin (my younger bro), my dad and me. Unfortunately, we were out of firestarters. After messing around with some newspapers (resulting in a lot of ashes, and a very annoyed mum) we resorted to minyak kelapa sawit. Cooking oil, to be exact. And more newspapers to get it lighted. Skip past more ashes, and enough smoke to rival an Indonesian forest fire, and the oil finally heated up enough to ignite. *Foom* Instant campfire-on-a-tray. Great, now pile on the charcoal. And more oil to keep the fire going while the charcoal heats up. I enquired of my dad whether we were trying to cook with charcoal, or cook the charcoal. In retrospect, the amount of energy used to light the charcoal was more than the energy obtained from burning the charcoal. Great, we've invented the opposite of cold fusion.
 

There's something wrong with my MSN account. For the past few months I've been experiencing occasional problems with the connection. I'd get dropped, and be unable to reconnect. Even when I try logging in via web-messenger or on a friends computer. Heck, I've tried switching continents (Aus to Msia) and the problem is still persisting. Might be one of their (MSN) servers gonna crash soon... lol. Maybe it's time to create a new account before they lose my entire contact list. Hmm...
 

I went clubbing again last night, against my better judgement. And discovered once again that I don't enjoy it. I just can't figure out the attraction of clubbing. Or maybe it's just because I don't know how to dance. Any pretty girls out there willing to teach me? Lol.
 

It's come to my attention recently that I have quite a few readers more than I knew about. How did I find out? Well, somebody tried to claim a free ice cream from me earlier tonight (see Fatty Fatty Bom Bom) despite the fact that my diet's only supposed to end next week. Another friend commented on the fact that I started my blog by posting about my ex. Not quite sure what the significance of that is, perhaps she'd care to enlighten me the next time she visits my blog.

Anyway, people, if you think my blog is actually worth the time to read, then sign my guestbook. At least I'll know there are people actually reading what I write. Otherwise... yours truly is gonna start thinking 'Why bother? Nobody reads this...'
 

Malaysians have guts, I'll give them that. For non-Malaysian readers (I know I have at least one), some background.

Our government decided quite a while ago (about 3 years, I think) to convert all old identity cards to new chip-imbedded smartcards. And they gave a deadline of 31 Dec, 2005. All applications made before then would be FoC. 3 years... hmm...

Fast forward to the week prior to New Year, there were huge crowds at every registration office in the nation. Things got rowdy too, with some middle-class businessman (who should honestly know better) complaining that the government was not prepared. Not prepared? They gave you 3 years. Three stinking years! Who wasn't prepared? Run that by me again, please.

Fast forward again, to the present. Government has announced that fee would be RM10. Majority of opinions tend to be - those who haven't registered, deserve it. Probably should have made it larger. A few people complain that they have large families and can't afford to pay. Hmm... now why couldn't a member of your huge, oversized family have gone to the office sometime over the 3 years to apply? Or were you just too busy expanding your already overlarge family? A few others complain that if they had known 'only 10 dolleh', they wouldn't have bothered queueing up at all. Gets me wondering whether Msia or Sg people are now more kiasu.

So... Malaysians definitely have guts. They are brave, proud, and not afraid to voice their opinion. Or... maybe they're just not smart enough to know when their opinions make them sound like 3 year olds.
 

Are you one of those people that love logic puzzles? You know, the kind of person that gets frustrated and feels like whacking the closest thing to hand. The kind that would murder if somebody slipped you the answer. If you are, take a look at this. Supposedly, it's defeated some of the greatest minds around, and took Bill Gates one-and-a-half hours to solve. If you solve it, bravo. If you post the solution here, I'll kill you. Slowly. Painfully.
 

It is my sad conclusion that we get what we pay for. Specifically, seeing as how Malaysian food costs less, and tastes better, the trade-off is apparently portion sizes and hygiene. Or maybe it's the 'extra stuff' in the food that gives it its great Malaysian taste.

Well.. when I first got back, I was appalled at how tiny the plate of Char Koay Teow I had ordered was. Sigh. The size of an entire meal in Malaysia was equal to the size of my appetizers back in Australia. Oh well, it'll help me lose weight, right?

Something else that wasn't so apparent at first - Malaysian hygiene (or lack of it). Before going to Australia, I rarely got hit by stomach troubles. Since coming back, every few days, I end up stuck on the throne. Grr... and it's not just the food, me and many of my friends are getting allergies that we never had before studying in Aus. Sheesh. On the other hand, taste wins out over hygiene any day. Malaysia boleh!
 

There's a fix out now for the Windows vulnerability I mentioned a few days ago in this post. Unsurprisingly, Windows is still muddling around. Thankfully, there are non-Windows affiliated computer experts out there. Go here to download a fix to protect your computer. Only works for Windows XP and Windows 2k systems at the moment.
 

Who among us hasn't heard that ol' phrase? Now available for use in reference to yours truly. Yes, I'm fat.         F.   A.   T.           FAT.

And just how did I come to this stunning conclusion? I went CNY shopping. See, another addition to my list of reasons to hate clothes shopping. It makes you confront things about your body that you'd much rather conveniently ignore. Like the roll of flab where my belly button used to be (It might still be in there, buried somewhere under all that you-know-what). Sigh. Depressing. I told my parents, forget it. No new clothes for me till I slim down. So... crash diet and exercise regime time. No more lunches, no more snacking, no more mamak. I have 2 weeks to get down to an acceptable body size. I don't know my weight, and I don't care. My waist size, I know because I was trying on non-fitting jeans earlier. 32-33. How do I define acceptable? Let me put it this way - If I can pinch anything on my stomach besides my clothes, I'm fat.

So... my exercise regimen started this evening, and went pretty badly. I struggled to complete stuff that I would have breezed through a couple of years earlier. Sigh. Well... no point continuing on this topic. Will report back in a week or so on my progress. If I fail, I promise free ice-cream to whoever reads this post and cares to claim it from me. Valid till CNY is over. Deliberately sabotaging my efforts will disqualify the offer.
 

A couple of friends commented on my eclectic musical taste recently. For the record, I prefer easy listening, slow, romantic, or moody/depressive songs. Some pop, but that tends to depend on the lyrics. Disney songs too (I don't watch the movies, but I listen to the soundtracks. Weird, eh?).

Anyway, what's wrong with my musical taste? Sure, it's unconventional, but hey, it's music, right? And it got me thinking - music for the young generation has always signified rebellion. Nowadays, however, it's accepted that teen music will be nothing like what older people would appreciate. Each genre of music is 'assigned' to a certain generation. Older folks expect you to listen to what they would call 'junk'. They don't appreciate it, but they expect it. In a strange way, you could say that I'm the rebel, for listening to music that isn't 'cool'. Not that thats the reason for my taste. I just like that kind of music. Simple.
 

I thought my guestbook was obvious enough, after modifying it when Jul complained that it was hard to find. I just got proven wrong by Jess, though. Her 1st attempt at signing my Guestbook entered my Chatbox. Her 2nd attempt ended up as a comment on my 1st Guestbook article. She went to sleep before bothering to write a third post. Lol. Anyhow, the link is now multi-colored in psychedelic hues. And Jess has claimed the dubious distinction of being the 1st person to comment on a post of mine - even if that wasn't her original intention. The next time somebody complains of being unable to find my guestbook, I'll highlight it in blinking thingys, a la Las Vegas, 100% guaranteed to cause epilepsy in any vulnerable readers of mine.
 

Happy New Year to all of you, and Merry Xmas too, for the Christians. Just to clarify, despite whatever impression my article title may give you, I'm in no way linking any Christians (or any religion, for that matter) to low lifes (aka bastards, m-f**kers, a**holes, and several other not-so-complimentary names). Just a shyster trick to grab your attention and hold it for a little while. =D

Anyway, regarding Christians, one of my readers got the mistaken impression that I hold a grudge against Christians. Let me make my position clear. I respect all religions. I respect your right to believe in a one, true god and no other false deity. I respect your right to believe that I am sorely mistaken and will go to hell for my sins. I respect you and your opinions. What I do not respect, and will not condone, is when you lose respect for MY beliefs and opinions. When somebody tells me that I'm going to hell, I get really, really annoyed. Who wouldn't? Please people, the time of priests and missionaries preaching fire-and-brimstone from a towering pulpit to a cowering congregation is over. If you truly believe, and wish to save people, discuss it with them. Let me make my point. In all my years experiencing attempted conversions, the person who has actually gotten me thinking most about Christianity and their beliefs, in a non-hostile manner, is also the one person who talked to me about religion without actually trying to convert me. He talked about why he converted, and dispelled several myths, while making other things clear. What a change from the tired old stuff about going to hell.

And regarding low lifes... just how low can some people stoop? At the New Years party I was attending, we were visited by some friends of the host. When they left, we found out a little later that all the alcohol had too. Expensive stuff, Chivas and Johnny Walker. Not mine, but the incident was indeed a mood-breaker. Sigh. Accident? Doubtful, because when we tried contacting them, all their handphones were unavailable for some weird reason. Or perhaps the handphone companies were merely off on holiday...
 

An old, dear friend asked me for a favour recently, that being to promote the petition by the SPCA to increase penalties for animal abusers. Yes, I know what you're thinking, 'What a waste of my time.' Come on, it takes 60 seconds to fill out the petition. Just your name and email address. Their goal is to increase fines on people who abuse those poor kittens, pups and what not from a measly RM200 to RM10,000. A worthy use of 60 seconds, in my opinion. And tell your friends about it too. Click here for the petition.