Scribe

Films of 2000s

2010-05-03T02:17:00.003+08:00

Someone did a cool compilation of movies of the 2000s. Some I have seen, but many I have yet to do so.

And here are the movies, also compiled by some of the commenters at youtube.

1:22-Inglorious Basterds
1:25-The Hills have eyes
1:27-walk the line
1:28-znaki
1:30-snatch
1:31-no country for old men
1:32-piraci z Karaibów
1:32-dark knight
2:12-ocean's 11
2:13-shaun of the dead
2:16- Big Fish
2:21- cooler
2:23-Prairie Home Companion
2:26- Huckabees
2:28- Ocean's 11
2:30-jackass the movie
2:31-amelia
2:35-american psycho
2:38-the departed
2:42- Best in show
2:47-Secretary
2:47- Bracie gdzie jestes
2:52- Grindhouse: Planet Terror
2:54- spread
2:56-cast away
3:03- Spun
3:07-vanilla sky
3:10-40yrs old virgin
3:16-burn after reading
3:17- the Royal Tenenbaums - genialny klan
3:19- Ghost World
3:21-punch-drunk love
3:25- Dancer in the Dark
3:28-Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
3:30- Aali
3:31-Świt żywych trupów
3:35- Little Miss Sunshine - mała miss
3:38-chicago
3:43-jarhead
3:53-lost in translation
4:05- Birth
4:16-kill bill
4:21-the curious case of b.button
4:24-mystic river
4:27- Fish Tank
4:29-monster ball
4:32- The Brown Bunny
4:35- And your mother too
4:38- Mulholland Drive
4:40-traffic
4:46-star wars
4:49-memento
4:54-the man who wasn't there
4:58-the others lub virginia wolfs

And the last song of the video was by Gary Jules: Mad World.

Absolute Morality

2010-05-03T01:27:00.001+08:00

A good and concise response by Prof. Richard Dawkins on why morality doesn't need to be hinged upon religion.

Man is capable to determine his values and moralities, through logical, rational and critical thinking that does make sense.

The full video of this interview can be downloaded here: http://richarddawkins.net/articles/5213

The Indoctrination of Children with Religion

2010-05-03T01:14:00.004+08:00

Despite ample scientific evidences and countless sound Theories, many still rejects Science and instead choose the word of God as the easy way to help them in their understanding of the Universe.

One main reason why so many have strong faith in God is due to the indoctrination of children. At that age, the developing mind is easily swayed into believing something that is both omnipotent and almighty. Children are less capable and also less willing in questioning their parents and adults. As a result, their mind is most easily influenced at that tender age.

Creationism propaganda for children caught on camera

The Internet: Where religions come to die

Science is

2010-05-03T00:33:00.002+08:00

Science is:

1. the study of Nature

From daily observations of natural phenomena, we can try to draw possible logical explanations (hypotheses). Questions that start with What, How, When, Where, and Who often circle around our curious mind.

A good hypothesis is one that can be rigorously tested using scientific methods, in order to derive evidence that either supports or rejects our hypothesis. This is also known as the Falsification Method, when scientists always subject their hypotheses to various empirical testing. An accepted hypothesis is one that stands such rigorous scrutiny. Even if there is a shred of evidence/data/observation that goes against our hypothesis, the whole thing falls apart (the hypothesis is rejected).

Hypotheses that are well accepted will eventually become a new Theory or Law (more commonly applied in Physics and Mathematics). However, this is not a permanent situation, as advances in Science open new opportunities to conduct new, more elaborate, and more accurate experiments.

This means that Science is never static nor dogmatic. Theories and Laws are being updated in light of new evidences and understandings (a Paradigm Shift).

2. predictable, reliable, and repeatable.

We can build upon present Theories and Laws, a working model to predict an outcome of related experiments and even other hypotheses. The outcome must be reliable, in the sense that results concur with the model. Else, again the Theories/Laws will be modified.

Last but not least, the outcome must be repeatable. Science is not any mumbo-jumbo that gives a whole lot of excuses in case the outcome is not as predicted.

The Pope Song (Warning - Possibly Offensive)

2010-05-02T23:57:00.005+08:00

This youtube was created by Tim Michin, in response to the current and on-going sex scandal in the Catholic world, or for the lack of action taken by the Pontiff. This song very much reminds me of songs from the cartoon South Park.

Beware, the tune can be quite addictive.

The Pope Song
by Tim Minchin

Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, he's a fucking motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the fucking fucker
Fuck the motherfucker, he's a total fucking fucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fucking fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucking Pope
Fuck the motherfucker, and fuck you, motherfucker
If you think that motherfucker is sacred
If you cover for another motherfucker who's a kiddie fucker
Fuck you, you're no better than the motherfucking rapist
And if you don't like the swearing that this motherfucker forced from me
And reckon it shows moral or intellectual paucity
Then fuck you, motherfucker, this is language one employs
When one is fucking cross about fuckers fucking boys
I don't give a fuck if calling the pope a motherfucker
Means you unthinkingly brand me an unthinking apostate
And this has nowt to do with other fucking godly motherfuckers
I'm not interested right now in fucking scriptural debate
There are other fucking songs and there are other fucking ways
I'll be a religious apologist on other fucking days
And the fact remains, if you protect a single kiddie fucker
Then Pope or prince or plumber, you're a fucking motherfucker
You see, I don't give a fuck what any other motherfucker
Believes about Jesus and his motherfucking mother
I've no problem with the spiritual beliefs of all these fuckers
While those beliefs don't hit back on the happiness of others
But if you build your church on claims of fucking moral authority
And with threats of Hell impose it on others in society
Then you, you motherfuckers, can expect some fucking wrath
When it turns out you've been fucking us in our motherfucking asses
So fuck you motherfucker, and fuck you, motherfucker
If you're still a motherfucking papist
If he covered for a single motherfucker who's a kiddie fucker
Fuck the motherfucker, he's as evil as the rapist
And if you look into your motherfucking heart and tell me true
If this motherfucking stupid fucking song offended you
With its filthy fucking language and its fucking disrespect
If it made you feel angry, go ahead and write a letter
But if you find me more offensive than the fucking possibility
The Pope protected priests while they getting fucking fiddly
Then listen to me, motherfucker, this here is a fact
You are just as morally misguided as that motherfucking
Power-hungry self-aggrandized bigot in the stupid fucking hat
(Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker...)

Photography Forums - Overseas and Local (Malaysia)

2010-04-28T16:19:00.006+08:00

As entry-level dSLRs have become more affordable, everyone seems to be getting on into the field of photography, sort of jumping into the bandwagon. For newbies (including me), other than attending photography workshops and joining outings, another invaluable learning resource is the Internet itself.

There are various online photography forums, that specifically cater for the respective camera brands (Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, etc), photography techniques (strobist, film, etc), locality (local or overseas), and even photo-editing.

When I first started photography with my Nikon D40, I joined a local forum: LensaMalaysia.com (currently defunct). Everything was rosy in the beginning. Had a wonderful time getting to know new friends with similar passion/hobby and had lots of fun during the frequent outing trips. The forum also organised many free talks by established/professional photographers, and there were many invaluable pointers/tips to be gained.

However, somewhere along the line, things began to fell apart. As a forum that had prided itself to encompass the online community, the moderators began to ignore the contribution of its members. Hero-worshipping towards certain individuals was tolerated, they could do no wrong in the eyes of the moderators. Active members soon realised such double standard treatment, and began to leave. In a few months after our last fiery posts, forum progressed to a slow death.

Things are quite similar to the second forum that I had joined, ShutterAsia.com. The forum moderators have recently decided to regulate the postings of model photography workshops as to safeguard members from scams and pointless workshops, and at the same time to uphold the standards of portraiture (rather than shooting anything sexy, bikini, nudity aka flesh/meat session). :D

With such regulation, there has to be clear guidelines on the rules of the forum. Failure to do so will only invite questioning by fellow members. What astounded me was when one moderator replied that fairness is subjective and as such they reserve the right to solely allow a particular group member to continue their workshop postings while at the same time deleting postings by others. Yes, you can do that, but not arbitrarily.

Till today (after a month and after we have given countless suggestions), there is still no clear guidelines announced. Not wanting to be associated with such mentality, I requested to be removed from being as a member of the Shutter Council.

I have better experience surfing and participating in overseas forum such as dpreview and NikonCafe. The participants there are much more civilised and tacit, even though tempers do flare on and off. As for local photography forums, I currently only lurk at PhotoMalaysia.

I truly believe that an only community can only work out successfully when there is synergy and mutual respect+appreciation between the forum moderators and their fellow members.

Student's chatters

2009-08-30T00:29:00.002+08:00

A-B-C-D-E-F-G

H1N1 selesama babi

Happy Birthday to you

Your father kills you

Your mother cooks you

Your family eats you

The three major branches of Science

2009-08-11T14:49:00.002+08:00

If it smells, it's Chemistry.
If it squirms, it's Biology.
If it doesn't work, it's Physics.

Of dessicant and silica gel

2009-08-08T23:27:00.007+08:00

As most anhydrous salts are hygroscopic, they can be used to absorb moisture. Especially useful to prevent fungi growth on photographic equipments.

Here are some examples:

1. Calcium chloride
CaCl2 + 2 H2O → CaCl2·2H2O

2. Silica gel (sodium silicate)
It's high surface area enables it to absorb water in copious quantity.

Indicators are often added to indicate moisture content.

Recently I was involved in an argument whereby a so-called "synthesis chemist" argued with me that silica gel changes colour due to oxidation with water. What a great joke!

a. The change in colours is due to presence of indicators. One example is cobalt (II) chloride (CoCl2). In the presence of water, this particular salt changes colour from blue to pink.

b. Anyone with basic understanding of chemistry will know that colours are usually imparted by transition metals. In this particular, cobalt ion forms complexes with water molecules.

c. Solid sodium salts are boringly white in colour.

The best part was when he had the audacity to ask me to backup my claims with journal citations. I doubt he even knows how to search scientific literature efficiently.

The story behind.

Sheesh!

Cows with resealable stomach

2009-06-22T22:52:00.009+08:00

Another post on cows, this time with some surgical operations done to open a window into their special stomachs.

As a ruminant, a cow's stomach is very different from most mammals. It consists of 4 chambers: the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and the obamasum (true stomach).

Although the surgical operation to have a resealable window in the cow's stomach seems cruel, this treatment is vital for us to understand better on the digestion of cellulose. The stomach content can be analysed from time to time to mark the progression of cellulose digestion.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Meet the Super Cow

2009-06-14T11:05:00.003+08:00

This is the result of selective breeding, for cows which naturally have a gene mutation for unregulated muscle growth. Pure lean meat = high protein productivity = better profits!

As there is no manipulation of genetic materials, the technique cannot be described as genetic engineering, but as a form of selective breeding.

The mating between the cows have to be regulated and done artificially (artificial insemination), in order to maintain the trait within the line of cows.

More info: Belgian Blue

Nidji of Indonesia

2009-04-10T22:21:00.011+08:00

Ever since I heard their performance at the recent 2009 Sunburst Kuala Lumpur, I have become a huge fan of them.

These are a few songs that I managed to find on youtube.

1. Laskar Pelangi

2. Hapus Aku

3. Biarlah

4. Jangan lupakan

Some photos of the band when they were performing at the recent KL Sunburst 2009: link

80s cartoon

2009-03-29T20:42:00.004+08:00

Let's see how many you could remember:

1. Silverhawk

2. Saber Rider and the Star Sherrifs

3. Thundercats

4. He-man

5. Dangermouse

6. The Snorks

7. Ducktales

8. The Real Ghostbusters

9. Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers

10. The Transformers

11. Freakazoid

12. Pinky and the Brain

13. Pink Panther

14.

Louis Armstrong

2009-02-25T22:57:00.006+08:00

1. When The Saints Go Marching In

2. Dream a Little Dream

Another version by Ella Fitzgerald

3. What a Wonderful World

Hitz.fm parodies of hit songs

2009-02-24T08:49:00.004+08:00

1. We're Not So Furious: Mat Rempit Anthem

2. Don Cha Video

3. I Got It From My Mamak

4. If I Were The Boss

AVG antivirus update solution

2009-02-02T16:06:00.001+08:00

For those that frequently encounter AVG update problem due to corrupt CTF file, here are 2 solutions depending on your OS version.

For Windows XP Users

Go to the

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Avg8\update\download

and remove all files with extension .ctf (there should be only 2 or 3 .ctf files)

Try updating your AVG 8 now. It should work without any error.

For Windows Vista Users

You can find corrupted .ctf files at
C:\ProgramData\avg8\update\download

remove all files with extension .ctf

and update your AVG 8 without any problem.

Take Care

You should not remove other files (.bin files). Or else, you will have to download all the updates released till date since you have installed AVG.

Molar Volume of Gas

2008-11-21T04:27:00.003+08:00

It is also defined as the volume occupied by 1 mole of ideal gas under certain condition of temperature and pressure. These conditions can either be standard temperature and pressure (STP) or room temperature and pressure.

This volume is actually derived from the universal gas law:

$P V = n R T$

P	= the absolute pressure of the gas, in Pa
n	= amount of substance, in mol
V	= the volume of the gas, in m³
T	= the absolute temperature of the gas, in K
R	= the universal gas law constant of 8.3145 m³·Pa/(mol·K)

The unit for molar volume of gas is: V/n = litre

V/n = 8.3145 × 273.15 / 101.325 = 22.414 m³/kmol at 0 °C and 101.325 kPa (STP)
V/n = 8.3145 × 298.15 / 101.325 = 24.466 m³/kmol at 25 °C and 101.325 kPa (room temperature and pressure)

Utter stupidity

2008-11-19T09:33:00.000+08:00

A youtube that was sent by a friend.

Tarc main campus students

Symbiosis

2008-11-11T18:00:00.002+08:00

Symbiosis is the intimate relationship or interaction between two species. Symbiosis can be categorised into 3 main types, depending on the types of interactions:

Mutualism (+/+)
Commensalism (+/0)
Parasitism (+/-)

The parasite gains at the expense of its host

The most widespread symbiosis of all the above is still between plants and fungi. More than 80% of all higher land plant species benefit from fungus' ability to extract nutrients (mainly phosphorus) from the soil. In return, the fungi receives organic carbon molecules (glucose and amino acids) from plants.

Current economic crisis - an analogy

2008-11-11T00:16:00.003+08:00

Taken from ShaolinTiger.com .

If you don't understand why the stock markets are plunging and everything is so screwed up, let me explain.

Once upon a time in a village in India, a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10.

The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10, but, as the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts. The man further announced that he would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act as buyer, on his behalf.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: 'Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when he returns from the city, you can sell them back to him for $50.'

The villagers squeezed together their savings and bought all the monkeys.

Then they never saw the man or his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere!

Welcome to the stock market!

The Blues

2008-11-09T22:22:00.006+08:00

Blues is an unique branch of music very similar to jazz. But Blues is highly expressive and involves much more suave caressing of the guitar.

Here's a good example of Blues by B.B. King.

Blame genetics if you are smelly

2008-11-07T01:42:00.004+08:00

If you are always smelly (no matter how many times you have had your baths), then the article below may alleviate your self-esteem.

Rotting fish woman diagnosed with genetic condition.

People with fish malodour syndrome really smells like rotten fish, yuck!

Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da

2008-11-06T23:53:00.003+08:00

I first watched this Discovery advertisement in the cinema, and it has ever since been playing repeatedly in the back of my mind.

I love the particular part where the scientist sang: I love Egyptian kings.

Just shows how much dedication and love a real scientist really has for his/her work. If only there are more of such scientists around.

Lyrics

I love the mountains
I love the clear blue skies
I love big bridges
I love when great whites fly
I love the whole world [Les Stroud]
And all its sights and sounds
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da
I love the oceans
I love real dirty things [Mike Rowe]
I love to go fast
I love Egyptian kings
I love the whole world
And all its craziness
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da [Richard Machowicz]
I love tornadoes [Joshua Wurman]
I love arachnids [Bear Grylls]
I love hot magma
I love the giant squids
I love the whole world
It’s such a brilliant place
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da [Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage]
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da [Stephen Hawking]
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da
Boom-dee-ah-da, boom-dee-ah-da

British Shorthair kittens dancing

2008-11-01T09:43:00.001+08:00

Bunch of hypnotised cute kittens.