I did a horoscope analysis on www.astro.com (no, it’s not the satellite TV provider), under Free Horoscopes/Interactive Horoscopes/AstroClick Portrait, generated myself a natal birth chart for future references. To my disbelief, it is actually darn <insert-profanity-here>-ing accurate.

This were my results:

Gemini Rising  

You are a very active person who likes to get around, meet people and have as many different experiences as possible.

You like to communicate with others, and in fact you may have difficulty keeping quiet even when you are supposed to. Sometimes this takes the form of writing ability or a fondness for books, anything that keeps your mind going.

You will always look younger than you are and, even more important, you will always be open to new ideas and experiences.

Sun in the First House

You have a strong personality that immediately makes an impression on other people. You are very strong willed and energetic. The problem with this is that you may not let the people around you be themselves. Nevertheless, they have the right to assert themselves, and you should give them the chance.

Your high level of self-confidence can be very useful, as long as you know your limitations.

You are physically strong and should enjoy good health. If you can learn to accept your limitations and control your energy properly, you will be able to do a great deal.

Mars Opposition Neptune  

This aspect can indicate that you have little self-confidence and a low sense of self- esteem, unless your loved ones give you as much support as possible. You have an insecure streak that will always be there, even under the best conditions, but it can be minimized.

Obviously, it is very important that you are given lots of reinforcement and encouragement. Feeling good about yourself will bring out the positive side of this aspect, which is your ability to put service to the world before your own interests.

In some cases this aspect creates physical problems, such as allergies and bad reactions to some drugs.

Sun in Gemini  

Your mind is very quick and agile, and you are curious to know the answer to every question as quickly as possible.

You like to travel and see new sights. You quickly get tired of whatever you are used to and want to trade it for something different.

You enjoy games, especially ones that require you to match wits with someone else.

Your moods change very quickly, and you don't spend a great deal of time being unhappy or sad. All it takes to make you feel better is to have something new and interesting to do.

You may become very fond of books and reading, or you may prefer to learn by talking with others.

Sun Conjunct Ascendant  

You have a very strong personality, and when you enter a room, everyone knows it. You want to be the leader of the group, the person whom all the activity revolves around. While you can be very charming and winning, your attitudes can make people very angry. You should concentrate on getting to know yourself and your limitations as accurately as possible

You may have difficulty getting along with authority figures, because even while you are young you want to be your own boss.

Your best trait is your basic honesty; you respect real merit in others and are willing to develop it in yourself.

People see that you are really good-hearted, and they will not usually dislike you. And your striving for genuine success will eventually win their respect as well.

Sun Conjunct Mercury  

You have a good mind, and you enjoy talking with people. A good conversation means more to you than many other things, but you may have one problem. This aspect indicates that you like to take the active role in any discussion; that is, you are a better talker than a listener. To a certain extent you can't help this, but if you are conscious of it, you can prevent it from becoming a difficult problem.

Your mind may or may not be fast, but it is working constantly. You have a great need to express your opinions, and you can't stand it when people don't take your ideas seriously.

Sometimes this aspect means that you have a lot of ability to work with your hands. Certainly such activities as building things or working with gadgets are good for you as a way to release nervous energy that would otherwise build up.

Sun Square Midheaven  

You have a great deal of self-assertive energy, and you will want to get ahead in life, to be well known and highly regarded by others. But in order to get where you want to go, you must learn to make some compromises. While you are young you may have a lot of conflicts with authority figures, but eventually you will learn how important they can be to you.

Another possibility is that you will attract people who are very dominant, who will not let you do what you wish. But you can gain something by testing yourself against such people. You can gain a greater understanding of your strengths and limitations which will make you more effective. In any case the main thing is to understand yourself and the kind of effect you have on other people.

Mercury in the Twelfth House

You are fond of secrets and often keep your thoughts hidden from others, because you feel it is better if they don't know what you're thinking. Just be careful that you don't make this attitude so plain that people start distrusting you, even when there is no reason to.

You may be afraid to tell people your ideas because you think they are no good or that everyone will disagree with them. This is not good, because your ideas are probably not at all bad. Your mind is as good as anyone else's, but you will not get any credit for your beliefs unless you learn to speak up.

You like to be alone and ponder your own thoughts, even if you don't share them with others. You are especially fond of beautiful and fantastic ideas. Just be careful not to spend so much time in your private fantasy world that you neglect to learn about the real world outside of your head.

Mercury in the First House

You are very alert, lively and always curious. You want to be in the middle of fast moving activities, for otherwise you are bored and restless.

You like to talk with people and find out how they think. You are always open to new ideas and willing to try anything once. You should enjoy reading, especially factual books about subjects like history and science.

You enjoy traveling or at least moving around as one way of settling your restlessness. When you are on the move, you feel alive. But you don't have to go far to be happy, as long as you aren't forced to sit still.

Your quick mind should be helpful in school if you can learn to discipline yourself and pay attention to your work long enough to learn it.

Mercury in Gemini  

Your mind is very active, restless and fond of change. You may get bored easily, unless something stimulating comes along. Your desire for constant activity may make you appear extremely nervous and unstable, but what is happening is that you mentally process the world around you faster than most people.

One problem stemming from your desire for new knowledge and experience is that you may never really finish anything. Try to be disciplined enough to stay with one train of thought long enough to learn something from it.

Mercury Conjunct Ascendant  

This aspect indicates that even while you are young, talking and exchanging ideas with others is a very important part of your life.

You are probably quite restless and always wanting to be on the move. Your mind changes course very quickly, and you go from idea to idea. Avoid being shallow and try to develop enough self-discipline to stay with a subject or project long enough to get something lasting from it.

You would be better off in a job that does not tie you down to one spot.

This position may also mean that you have some mechanical ability and can do highly skilled work with tools.

Mercury Square Midheaven  

Even while you are quite young, you will spend quite a bit of time thinking about your future, but don't expect to make up your mind for a long time. Your mind is very active, and each new interest you take up will give you a new idea about your future career.

You are quite restless and need to be mentally active all the time. You need to keep your mind busy, talk with others and feel that life is moving quickly. You are able to think very clearly, but only if you come out of yourself.

Be careful not to say things that work against you. It is possible to make your point without offending others.

Moon Trine Mercury  

You are always trying to express your emotions and inner, personal feelings to others, because it is very important to you that people really understand you. Fortunately you are willing to work at showing them what you are - you don't try to keep yourself a mystery. As a result you may develop some writing talent.

You consider your personal viewpoint very important, and you want to be taken seriously by adults and friends. You want to learn, and discussion is one way that you can. Also, because you can understand others so well, you will learn how to handle groups of people. You sense the needs of a group and are willing to respond to them. This aspect would help in a political career, for example.

Your mind balances reason and feeling and prevents either one from controlling the other.

Jupiter in the First House

With this placement you are able to make a favorable impression on others because of what you really are, that is, someone who enjoys life, who does everything in a big way, who is generous and helps others.

You enjoy being free to have as many kinds of experiences as possible. You want your own world to be large, and you want to see as many different parts of the world as possible.

The main difficulty with this aspect is that you tend to do things to excess. You don't like anything to be small, including your own actions, so it is easy to overindulge in just about anything, which increases the danger of becoming overweight.

You like to take care of people and protect your loved ones, because it makes you feel good about yourself and reinforces your self-image. You want to be known as someone who can be depended upon to help in times of need.

Jupiter in Gemini  

This is traditionally considered one of the less beneficial placements of Jupiter, in part because you tend to use your mind as the sole tool to get ahead in the world, neglecting to grow spiritually and emotionally.

There is a strong danger of emotional insensitivity. You may enjoy playing jokes on others that actually hurt their feelings, even though you don't mean to.

Fortunately, there are many other factors in the chart that can compensate for this one, so there is no excuse for letting the negative side of this placement become dominant. And there is a very real positive side to it, that is, the ability to examine life with logical detachment, to be objective and to see every possible point of view.

Venus Conjunct Jupiter  

This aspect indicates that you are warm, generous and affectionate, and you enjoy receiving affection from others as well. You are faithful to your friends and loved ones, for you understand that liking people gives you a responsibility to do what is right by them. You seem to inspire other people and raise their spirits, even when they are down.

You attract other people, but you also attract material goods. This aspect traditionally means that you will have money, although it doesn't guarantee wealth. Instead, you will have whatever you need when you need it. Most people with this aspect enjoy comfort and the good things of life, so they like to have enough money to buy them.

The only negative side of this aspect is that you may not have much self-discipline. You do like luxury and good food, and you may tend to be lazy or gain weight.

Venus in the First House

This is a very favorable position because it enables you to make a good impression on others and to be liked. You concentrate a great deal on your appearance, because you hate to look sloppy. You may develop some artistic talent, which will be furthered by your sense of form and design.

You work very hard to get along with others, and you usually try to win arguments with diplomacy and tact rather than force. You must learn to be self-assertive when necessary and to stand up for your rights, forcefully if need be. You can give the world much beauty, and you will present it most effectively if you learn to combine charm with strength.

Venus in Gemini  

You like to meet many people and have as many friends as possible, for you love variety. The more people you know, the less bored you are, so you act quite friendly and open.

You express yourself in a lively way, and others will probably enjoy your humor and interesting wit.

This position of Venus means that you will be interested in art and poetry when you are older.

Although you like to know a lot of different people, you are not interested in getting close to them or involved in their lives. It may be hard for you to form a deep attachment to someone.

Mars in the Second House

When you see something you would like to own, you want it very much and you work very hard to get it. You feel you should be free to waste your resources or money if you want, or to be frugal and careful if you want. However, because of the compulsive nature of Mars, you are much more likely to be careless in this regard. Plan carefully for what you really need and then buy it only after much consideration.

Anyone who challenges your strong sense of property arouses your anger. It is not that you are selfish especially, but you want to make your gifts freely, of your own accord.

In the long run you will have to learn to be less possessive of what you own. Otherwise your possessions will bring you more pain than pleasure.

Mars in Cancer  

What you do depends on your moods to an unusual degree. When you are feeling positive and cheerful, you act confidently and assertively. But when you are depressed, you are more retiring and much more irritable.

Try not to hold your anger in so much. It is much better to express it than to hold it back so that it gradually poisons your whole mood.

Sometimes this position of Mars indicates difficulties and disagreements with your family. However, it is more likely that anything concerning your family, your family background and heritage inspires in you feelings of great loyalty.

Moon Opposition Mars  

You are likely to be a very competitive person, who sees almost anything that someone else does as a challenge to either outdo that person or work against him or her. It is almost impossible for you to have a neutral, in-between relationship with anyone. You either work against the person you are with, or you cooperate perfectly.

You must learn to recognize what really matters most to you and what is relatively unimportant. Part of you is terribly afraid to be wrong or to make a mistake, but remember that everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

If you can learn to control your aggressiveness, you will be a hard worker and a very energetic person who can accomplish a great deal. Just don't waste too much time in needless battles.

Mars Opposition Saturn  

You often have the feeling that persons and circumstances are working against you and frustrating what you want to do. As a result you learn to hold in your emotions, especially anger. But eventually your anger builds up so far that you can no longer keep it in, and it spills over as sarcasm and a generally bitter and negative attitude toward anything that upsets you.

You must learn to release your anger in a normal manner and to express your feelings, knowing that you have the same rights to do so as anyone else. But in this you will need emotional support from your family, particularly your father. You very much need emotional support from him and, if possible, a not too demanding attitude.

Your natural sense of discipline makes you good at tasks that require close and careful attention to detail.

Mars Trine Pluto  

You have a great deal of energy for accomplishing your purposes. An ambitious person, you will want to get ahead and achieve something important in your life. You have a great deal of self-confidence and can present yourself to others as a leader whenever you choose.

You do not usually start fights, but you won't back down from one either. You have a great deal of courage and will stand up for your beliefs all your life.

You are quite stubborn and not easily deterred. Normally you control your anger quite well, but when you do lose your temper, it can be quite spectacular. It usually takes a while to regain your composure.

You respect strength and will choose friends who are independent and self-reliant, because that is your ideal for yourself.

Pluto in the Sixth House

You approach work with great intensity, and you prefer tasks that involve you completely. You like to shut out everything else and simply be involved in what you are doing.

Also you prefer to work by yourself, and you do not care to have people interfering with the way you do things. You should be careful of your health, for otherwise you will have a number of serious health crises in your life.

Pluto in this position can be a sign that you might work in some area involving investigation, research, psychology or secret projects.

Pluto in Scorpio  

This placement lasted from 1983 to 1995. Many astrologers believe that Scorpio is the sign that is ruled by Pluto. The children of this era should be much more concerned with the forces underlying the surface of reality. They will put their intelligence to investigating all kinds of phenomena, and it is just possible that they will bring the arts and sciences out of their present stagnation to a new period of dynamic activity. This period will be a time of change that is intense even by twentieth-century standards.

Saturn Sextile Pluto  

This signifies that you are able to grow and experience change in your life in an orderly way, without the periods of total chaos and disruption that some people go through when circumstances demand change. It also means that you can endure hard times and emerge in good shape.

You are able to discipline yourself to make do with whatever resources are available. In good times you may be as inclined to overspend as anyone, but in hard times you are very careful.

You will always appreciate how much effort it takes to make your life work well, and you will do it.

Neptune Sextile Pluto  

This aspect lasted extremely long. It started in the late 1940s and continues beyond the end of the twentieth century. Therefore, a lot of children were born under this influence, and it is hard to separate its effects from other elements and indications. During this time a lot of beliefs, religious or otherwise, underwent extraordinary changes. Attitudes about organized religion, morality and sexuality were revised completely. The children of this time will probably know the cycles of life better than others. They will realize that it is a natural part of life that everything must die and decay, to be reborn again at another level. This is especially true for inner and spiritual developments but also for their concern about social and human relations.

Uranus in the Eighth House

Changes in your life tend to take place suddenly. On the other hand, you may resist change altogether until the pressures are so great that they have to come suddenly and with great force.

You are also interested in the hidden aspects of life, wanting to know the answer to all mysteries and riddles and seeking any understanding you can get from them. When you do this, you have a unique ability to think about new ideas with an open mind and, even more important, to apply them to your everyday life.

When anyone tries to press their ideas and values upon you, you resist strongly. You have to be free to set your own values, and those values must allow you to be free. Often this comes out as a lack of concern with material possessions.

Uranus in Capricorn  

These children have difficulty in getting along with established authorities, not because they reject the idea of authority, but because they have so many ideas about how it should be changed. However, they can make changes on the practical level, and they have a good grasp of the social significance of change. The changes made by this generation will be real and far-reaching, but while they are young there may be considerable tension between them and their elders.

Saturn Conjunct Uranus  

This aspect signifies a heavy internal tension that can have both creative and difficult results. At its most difficult, it may make you feel restless and irritable, not knowing whether to go forward or backward. This in turn creates tension, and you try to get away from whatever is causing the conflict.

If you can keep this tension within reasonable limits, it can make you very alert and attentive to any task that you are involved in. And because you can hold in your tenseness, you can persist in the face of difficulty longer than most people and thereby get a lot done.

Also you are able to maintain a balance between caution and change in your life. You can go through very major changes in a careful and orderly manner without blowing everything apart.

Uranus Conjunct Neptune  

This aspect produces a generation that will have a whole new approach to consciousness and idealism. They won't accept the old views of the material universe, and they may initiate new religious philosophies. The same concern with the occult and mystical philosophy that characterized the generation born in the 1940s (Uranus trine Neptune and Uranus square Neptune) will probably rise up again with this generation. However, these children will make a whole new beginning and will not adopt the forms of the old traditions.

Saturn in the Eighth House

You may have to learn some important lessons about money, property and other material resources. In particular, you may have to decide while quite young what rights you and others have to each other's possessions. You may have to learn to share your possessions instead of holding on to what you believe is yours alone.

A quite different expression of this position is a curious fear of change. It may be difficult for you to face the larger transformations that we all have to deal with, such as moving to a new home or losing a friend.

Your approach to life should be looser, for life always changes, and you should learn to flow with it. Unconsciously, you may be reacting to and fearing all changes as if they were death. But changes are really births, and if you can approach them that way, you will be much better off.

Saturn in Capricorn  

Saturn is especially at home in this sign, the sign of its rulership, so it is particularly easy to express Saturn's positive traits here, namely, practicality, thrift, orderliness, attention, organization and a strong drive for significant achievements.

Your standards are very high, and you may tend to be rather hard on yourself when you don't live up to your expectations. Instead of condemning your weaknesses, you should capitalize on your strengths and use your energies more efficiently.

Common sense will always be very important for you, and because you have such a practical mind, you can accomplish a great deal.

Neptune in the Eighth House

You are unusually interested in matters of the mind and in finding out what makes people tick. You see mysterious forces at work in ordinary everyday events that others can see only the surface of. But you must be careful, because you can become rather morbidly obsessed and scared by the strange fantasies that you concoct.

Your fears may make it difficult to go about your daily affairs. It is important to realize that these fears are based on what is happening to your mind rather than on anything that exists in the outside world.

The best solution for all of these problems is to take up some activity that completely involves both your body and mind and absorbs the energy that would otherwise go into these negative emotional states.

Neptune in Capricorn  

This generation should represent quite a reaction against the previous one. These children will probably idealize work, thrift, practical considerations and duty rather than the more abstract, spiritual ideals of the generation before them. However, their idealization of such practical virtues does not mean that they will be very effective in dealing with them. In fact these principles may deteriorate considerably, simply because this generation does not deal with them in their daily lives but only in their minds and dreams.

Moon in the Eighth House

Your emotions are very powerful, and your moods go through regular cycles of change, so that you are always growing and evolving internally.

However, you are inclined to keep your feelings to yourself, even when you ought to discuss them with someone. It isn't good to bottle up your angry feelings.

Women will be very important in changing your life and you may "inherit" something from a woman.

You must learn to handle money and possessions carefully, because you will probably have to take care of other people's property.

You love anything mysterious, such as detective stories and crime novels.

Moon in Capricorn  

You are serious and somewhat shy. You like to achieve and get work done, because it makes you feel good to know that you have done something worthwhile.

However, you are somewhat uncomfortable with your feelings. They almost seem out of place inside you, a source of difficulty instead of pleasure. You don't show your loving feelings very readily, but you need love as much as anyone else.

You are very practical and ambitious. When you are older, you will want to have an important position in the world, and you will work hard to get it.

This is one of the lessons you must learn: Not to be so hard on yourself.

Remember that your needs for comfort, security and love are real needs, and you will not be really happy if you always deny them.

Before I knew it, I was rushing towards a training facility. There was wire fencing around the facility, but I couldn’t seem to find an entrance. Since the fence was not really that tall, I ran and jump over it.

Inside the training facility, I was briefed on something I can’t recall now. As we went out of the facility, we need to go over the fence again. The facility administrators seemed to have a trapdoor switch to open the fence but I didn’t made it on time.

As there was a height difference between the outside of the facility and the inside of the facility, I couldn’t jump over the fence like how I got in because the fence seemed to be taller this side. The fence has spikes on them, so I didn’t dare to risk having my pants caught onto it and tripping over.

Then I found out there was this portion of the fence that did not have spikes, which means I could climb over it without hurting myself. The moment I touch the fence – I got a shock (literally). I knew things wouldn’t be that easy – it was an electric fence.

One of the administrators (finally) noticed I was being left behind and opened the spike-less fence for me. It kind of looked like some kind of magic spell.

For some unknown reason, I spotted a couple of sling bags left behind by my friends/comrades/whatever on the floor and helped them pick up, and went straight into another building.

Inside the building, we (me and my comrades) were instructed to wait in the lobby. They had sofas there, so we sat on the sofa and took a nap. While drifting in and out of sleep (I had to be cautious), I noticed some activity in front of me.

One of my comrades had his wig (?!) pulled off, and then kidnapped (?!?!). That time, I only opened my eyes slightly to prevent the (presumably) enemies from noticing me.

After a while I ‘woke up’, and saw a few people sitting in front of me, replacing all my comrades. Their looks were different from my comrades, and from the looks of it, they expected me to thought they were my comrades – so I just played by ear and acted my part.

I remember choosing a random one of them and recognizing him as ‘Ali’ (I have no idea why I chose this name, but he was one of the coordinators from Sepang International Circuit) by going “Hey Ali, wassup?”. So I garbage-talked for a while, trying to extract some information out of them without getting noticed I was well aware of the situation.

Then I noticed sitting beside me was a bunch of pretty nurses with pink uniforms (?!). So I also garbage-talked, asking them which faculty they’re from (come to think of it, nurses don’t have specific faculties) etc. I’ve forgotten why, but one of them commented I’m 神经病 (having mental problems). I laughed and asked “你们哪一个是精神科的 (any one of you from the neurology department)?”

On my left was my grandma (I know it’s all screwed up). I figured I had to take grandma to safety before dealing with the enemies. Giving an excuse of taking grandma out for a walk, I accompanied grandma outside to my car (since when it’s there – I have no idea).

Right before I stepped into the car…

*knock knock* “阿量，吃饭了。”

Damn, I rarely dream and it was such a good dream – all destroyed by a stupid door knock.

Recently I’ve noticed something yet to be noticed by anybody on the Internet *gasps*. In the Nokia stock ringtone I used as my incoming message tune, there exists a strand of morse codes near the end of the ringtone.

Today, I shall investigate what lies inside this mysterious ringtone.

After a quick noise canceling sampling and removal to filter out the unwanted portions...

What I got from what I see is: -... -.-. ..-- - .- ----- .-- -... -.-. ----- ...-- .----

Which translates to: BC-TA0WBC031

What is this? I have no idea. Looks like some sort of serial number to me, or is it the result of a bunch of rhythmic beats?

Comments please.

A lot has happened today. Hanged out at friend’s house, played mahjong, getting hugged by a dog, getting my slippers and hands soaked with dog saliva (of all people, why me? WHY???), went grocery shopping with friends, cooked spaghetti, ate spaghetti, ate more spaghetti, ate a lot of spaghetti, drank unsweetened mango lassi, had naughty girls making *cough*weird*cough* noises in the background while I got a call from mom, played card games, caught in a 4-way deadlock but managed to escape, ate durian, did some inner talk with a friend and got some advices, spilled some beans and being spilled with beans, getting blackmailed in return, counter-offense with another blackmail. It was fun.

To the naughty people: Bon voyage. Thank you and have a safe trip.

A girl, out of the blue, asks you: “Do you have a girlfriend?”

What is the best answer? “Yes.”, even though you’re not having one and never had one? “I had one”, even though you never had one?

Or do you want to be honest, “No” – and get slapped with either “Why?” or “Are you gay?”. The primer is the hard part as “because I’m shy” is too embarrassing, “because I’m passive” is too arrogant, “because of face problem” is low self-esteem, so you’re left speechless. The latter can be easily replied with a negative answer like “No”, but the people around you would still make jokes out of it.

This happened a few times. What I usually do is immediately divert the attention and change the topic.

Anybody has better ideas? Comments please.

(“No, do you want to be my first one?” is crazy – this won’t work.)

I’m bored now and people are not bugging me when I’m bored. So I thought of my original plan of doing a statistical analysis on the results of “How well do you know me” app in Facebook.

If you’re interested in taking the quiz, please stop reading further (spoilers ahead), here are the links:
PART 1: http://apps.facebook.com/quizdoyouknowme/quiz.jsp?q=511369
PART 2: http://apps.facebook.com/quizdoyouknowme/quiz.jsp?q=512563

Rules

The quizzes are originally tailored to collect feedback from my Facebook network for entertainment purposes. The end results are rather interesting enough for me to generate this report.

The first part of the quiz is accurate to up to 50% score, which if the participant score any higher would require him or her to attempt the second part of the quiz for a more accurate result.

Overall score =

If Part 1 score is at least 50%: 50% + (Part 1 Score)/10 + (Part 2 Score)/2.5
Else: (Part 1 Score)

Overview

Based on input by the quiz participants, the average score of the first part of the quiz is surprisingly high – 56.45%, which 90.9% of the participants were eligible in attempting the second part of the quiz, with the top score of 62% obtained by 63.63% of the participants (mode), and a lowest score of 37% obtained by 0.09% of the participants.

The results of the second quiz has a higher deviation with an average score of 38.88%, top score of 62% obtained by 12.50% of the participants, lowest score of 0% obtained by 12.50% of the participants, and a mode of 50% obtained by 37.5% of the participants.

Detailed Analysis – Part 1

The results of this quiz is well under expectations – the scores somewhat reflect the closeness of the friends.

Here is the breakdown of each question:

Q1 – This is a free question that indicates the quiz does not rely on intelligence. Oddly, one of the participants thought this is a trick question – and interestingly, this question prevented him from getting the highest score by breaking the 62% mark – he was the only one that gave the incorrect answer.

Q2 – My real life friends, as well as net friends who know me for more than 2 years should know I wore glasses before I switched to contact lenses. All of the participants managed to answer this question correctly, except for one participant – who ironically is a real-life friend – and also the one that scored the lowest.

Q3 – Close friends (net and real life) should know I’m more interested in computing than electronics, and due to some reasons I took EEE as my major instead. The tricky part of this question is to choose between Mechatronics and Computer Science – if the participant is my close friend, this would present a dilemma as I love robotics. However, Mechatronics involves more on the mechanical control of the robot instead of the brain, which ultimately rely on the program of the robot, the AI – hence Computer Science. A couple of my close friends got this wrong, which I understand. Amazingly my not-so-close friends got this correctly.

Q4 – This is not a classic ‘spot the pattern’ IQ test – the question is actually asking which of the question I do not have at least a year of experience playing. Recorder is immediately ruled out as it is mandatory in Chinese primary school education. Facebook friends should know I play the piano as it’s written in my profile. Only high school friends know I actually play the oriental Chinese instrument – Erhu, and participated in performances before. Apparently some of the participants are careless enough to have mistaken the Recorder (wind instrument) as some sort of recording device (e.g. tape recorder). Contrary to quite-popular belief, I don’t play the harmonica.

Q5 – This, like above, is not an IQ test. The question indirectly asks which martial arts I have learnt/learning. For people who mistaken the question as an IQ question, they chose Tae-kwon Do, as it’s the only one in the list that’s of Korean origin, rather than Japanese. I’m interested in Kendo and Aikido, but I’m learning Aikido. So Aikido should be the correct answer – which only my close friends can answer correctly.

Q6 - (Same manner as above). The question asks which club/society/group I have not joined before. Only people who know me since childhood (primary school) should be able to answer this question without guesswork. The results are mostly within expectation, which my blood relative is able to answer correctly, except with an additional of 2 close friends who (what I guessed) correctly deduced the right answer. Although I love badminton, I didn’t have a chance to join the Badminton Club due to its popularity. I’ve joined the Chess Club and Buddhist Society during my primary school years. Elecom Club and Oriental Music Orchestra are the clubs I joined during my secondary school years.

Q7 – This question is one of the most difficult question which I expect only close friends (not even relatives) can answer correctly. Amazingly, majority of the participants answered this question correctly. Most of the incorrect participants (mostly females, 66.67%) expect me to ‘give the annoying person a glare’, which only happens if I’m well and truly pissed (which is rare), which will ultimately reach to ‘give the annoying person a piece of my mind’ (extremely rare) if symptoms persist.

Q8 – This is another tough question, which only close friends, who are aware of my psychological problems with members of the opposite gender, can answer correctly. Most of my close friends answered this question correctly. All but one female participant expect me to ‘put on a straight face and behave seriously’, which is partly correct – but it is actually the result of ‘avoid eye contact and feel nervous’.

That concludes Part 1.

Detailed Analysis – Part 2

All but one of the female participants of first part of the quiz gave up the second part of the quiz (she scored relatively high in both parts). It was the feedbacks from this quiz that truly interests me.

The questions are of similar difficulty and I have divided them according to different aspects of my personality(ies).

Q1 – This question asked for my usual habit of solving problems. Most of the participants answered this question correctly (75%) - ‘observe, divide and conquer’. I’m more of a pattern kind of guy, I look for patterns by observing, then I split the big problem into smaller problems and attempt to conquer them one by one – this method was learnt throughout my experience of programming. ‘View the problem and solve it holistically’ is not what I do first, it’s after the ‘observation’ part, if the problem requires solving holistically, then I do so. I’m surprised someone expected me to ‘attempt to brute force the answer by trials’ – yes, sometimes I do that, but it’s the last resort.

Q2 – This question asked for my problem analysis habit. An equal amount of participants expect me to prioritize on logical or pattern. It is true sometimes I analyze logically, but it is after I fail to analyze the pattern. Arithmetic is my worst skill, using it first will be detrimental – contrary to popular belief (most of the participants placed arithmetic as top priority).

Q3 – When I’m faced with life-threatening pressure, I usually don’t rely on random chances and prefer to take the chances to my own. To ‘jump down the cliff’ is to rely on random strike of luck for survival, ‘take on the threat’ is to put the chances into my own hands (which can result in success of escaping to the other direction without taking down the threat, if you think carefully). Majority of the participants (62.50%) answered this correctly.

Q4 – If I ‘anticipate a problem ahead of me’, I know a problem lies ahead but the problem have not arise yet. To ‘backtrack and find the source of the problem’ is in my opinion, time consuming and should be attempted after the problem is neutralized (50% of the participants chose this). To ‘confront the problem immediately’ (25%) is IMO, finding problem for myself – unless I’m bored or seeking for challenges, I don’t rush the problem. What I do first is to try to ‘go around the problem’, if I have time to spare, find the root of the problem and try to avoid it in the future.

Q5 – This question is rather random and yields most interesting results – likeminded people will probably be discovered by looking at the results. No, though 25% of the participants think I’m noble or acting noble, I’m not noble – so I don’t ‘try to save the friend no matter what’ which might end up losing both our lives. To be realistic, the importance of both our lives will be weighted – if he/she deserves to be saved more than me, then I will try to save him/her – with consideration on the difficulty of saving him/her and myself. If it’s impossible to save him/her, even if he/she is God, I will not attempt it. 37.5% of the participants are likeminded, while 25% of the participants expect me to prioritize difficulty over importance (more selfish), while 12.5% of the people expect me to disregard difficulty (less rational). Amazingly, nobody expect me to ‘try to save myself no matter what’ (pure selfishness).

Q6 – Only people who know my sister is able to answer this question, and yes, the only participant that knows my sister answered this correctly, while everybody else answered incorrectly. 50% of the participants thought it is because ‘the name is cool’, while 25% of the people thought I get the name ‘from a novel’. 12.5% of the participants thought I got the name ‘from a videogame’ as suggested by my friends before, where I got the name from ‘Pokémon’ (Last of Elite Four).

Q7 – I don’t expect anybody to be able to answer this question correctly without guesswork. Nobody, except my immediate family members know of my birth mark on my left arm (except the people who took the quiz and you, along with the rest of the people who’ve read this post). 62.5% of the participants thought I don’t have a birth mark, the rest of the participants thought I have it on my back.

Q8 – I only expect people who have fundamental knowledge in programming to be able to understand and answer this question correctly, which the result tallies with my expectations. 50% of the participants answered this question correctly, and 100% of them (the 50%) have experience in programming languages. Yes, I don’t do FORTRAN, but I do ActionScript (12.5%) and Bash/Shell scripts (37.5%).

Conclusion

Top scorer is one of my currently closest friends at 76.2%, tied with one of my closest friend in high school. Interestingly, the second place goes to a not-very-close female friend at 75% instead of another close friend at 71%.

That was fun :)

Today is the day my long companion XPS M1330 changes its owner. Though I don’t feel like selling it away, it can’t be helped as the Studio 1555 has placed a fairly noticeable dent in my pocket. So long, XPS M1330, live long, and prosper.

INIT:KRCRYPT_OSIEXFZRULMQUVTINDHUKARJBAPOGYCUW

Jbeh cuxinamj eh norfac oh drekoja omc xom umpy za oxxahhezpa zy oijburegac emcekecioph – raohum eh jbeh duhj newbj za nehjofampy ecamjeqeac oh lrejjam zy o hjopfar. Eq yui xom raoc jbeh nahhowa, ej naomh yui ora aejbar hunauma E boka darhumoppy jrihjac oppulac ju keal jbeh duhj, ur hunauma hnorj amuiwb ju caxedbar ny amxucemw – lbexb yuir jrudby luipc za jba xumjamjh uq jbeh duhj.

Ny raohum uq tuememw oh o Hidar WJ xuurcemojur eh ipjenojapy ju udam ny ayah omc puuf oj jba uijheca lurpc omc fmul nura daudpa, emhjaoc uq hjoyemw emheca jba ‘xumjruppac’ zuv E’n kary ihac ju. Jba daudpa E fmul, ny xpohhnojah, ny xerxpa uq qreamch, ora lboj E bydujbajexoppy zapeakac ju zapumw ju jba ‘xumjruppac’ amkerumnamj E’n pekemw em – a.w. jbay cum’j hlaor nixb, jbay cum’j cremf nixb, jbay cum’j hnufa nixb omc jbay cum’j boka mewbj pekah.

Uq xuirha, ju za qromf, naajemw werph eh ophu uma uq jba raohumh, ju xuimjar-zopomxa jba aqqaxj uq wajjemw hjixf em o xpohh lejb 100% wiyh qur 2 lbupa yaorh.

O hewmeqexomj xumjrezijemw qoxjur luipc za jba qoxj ny hehjar eh jba XAU uq T-Pemf Nomowanamj, omc hba loh jba uma lbu emjrucixac jba tuz ju na em jba qerhj dpoxa. Ny ecamjejy eh caxecac ju za fadj haxraj qrun opp jba xuurcemojurh, drunujarh omc xpeamjh, ju okuec xundpexojemw nojjarh. Jbuiwb huna uq jba daudpa cec hihdaxj ny rapojeumhbed lejb ny hehjar, lbexb E xpinhepy cameac jba xpoenh.

Ny rahdumhezepejy oh o nanzar uq jba Hidar WJ xuurcemojur jaon luipc hendpy za quppulemw urcarh. Ny rahdumhezepejeah oh o nanzar uq T-Pemf luipc za numejuremw omc kareqyemw jba darqurnomxa uq T-Pemf hiddpeac binom rahuirxa, omc ju drakamj omy duhhezpa nehbodh qrun boddamemw ju jba WJ drunujarh.

Cia ju bokemw o druzpan lejb hapq-xumqecamxa – E boka doromueo uq bul ujbarh jbemf uq na omc ny oxjeumh, ny darhumopejy eh hbulm ju za xupc omc sieaj. Om avxiha E woka nyhapq qur faademw cehjomxa qrun ujbarh eh ju okuec nyhapq qrun anujeumoppy xundrunehac jboj lepp oqqaxj ny caxeheum nofemw ozepejeah – lbexb loh dorjpy o pea. Jbeh boh om occac cehockomjowa – zaemw o jujop zpoxf hbaad em jba doxf E’n em, lbexb eh o zoxfqera uq ny ojjandj ju zpamc em hepamjpy.

Urewemoppy E’ka emjamcac ju weka ny xumjoxj cajoeph ju akaryuma zaqura jba tuz amch, jbeh dpom qoepac dranojirapy oh jba WJ drunujarh lara zaemw avxihac uq jbaer lurf aorpear jbom avdaxjac. Bulakar, cia ju om oxxecamj, uma uq jba WJ drunujarh wuj ny nuzepa minzar – lbexb rahipjac ny dpom muj o xundpaja qoepira.

Jba rahipj uq ny uzharkojeumh jbruiwbuij jba xuirha uq jba tuz ora oh quppulh. Dorj uq jbaha ora ny ohhindjeumh lbexb noy ur noy muj raqpaxj jba oxjiop xoha.

Oppom – Bewb xumqecamxa. Ba cec o rapojekapy wuuc tuz uq paocemw beh jaon. Wuuc oj xumkemxemw daudpa ju cu jba cerjy tuz qur ben. Boc o lepc *xuiwb* peqa (ba namjeumac ej o qal jenah em jba xor zaqura). Hunalboj poxfh rahdaxj qur lunam.

Wirnej – Zoc jandar, ujbarleha o wraoj rewbj-bomc-nom uq Oppom.

Com – Ozpa ju cu omyjbemw yui jbrul oj ben. Jba jbraa uq jban – Oppom, Wirnej, Com qurnh o wraoj ocnemehjrojeka, hjrojawehj, avaxijeka jaon.

Warry – O nom em beh qurjeah zabokemw oh eq ba’h bopq beh owa. Jba druzpan eh beh jandar omc oziha uq beh owa (yui xom’j yapp oj daudpa pefa om ocipj lbepa zabokemw pefa om ocupahxamj cica). Beh hmuremw eh KARY puic. Dijjemw jban oheca, ba’h o wraoj cica.

Pomchpyca – Cremfh mujbemw zij zaar. Beh xbuexa uq jorwajh amhirac jba hixxahh uq beh *xuiwb* peqa.

Puxu – Boh o zej uq emqareurejy xundpav lejb beh zrujbar. Faadh ju beh ulm nepcar mojira omc dremxedpah.

Xrolqurc – Ba namjeumac beh coc’h caojb xbomwac beh keal um peqa – lbexb noca ben dij amtuynamj uq peqa ju jba jud dreurejy jbom omyjbemw apha. Zohac um beh oxjeumh, jbara’h o bemj uq ben ahxodemw jba qaor uq caojb ejhapq zy emcipwemw em nipjedpa qurnh uq hjenipe. Beh emjamjeumh ora rojbar dracexjozpa cia ju jba qurlorc mojira. Jba mujbemw-ju-puha ojjejica boh om uzkeuih ockomjowa um beh huxeop majlurfemw ozepejy, oj paohj qrun jba uijheca, yaj oj jba hona jena newbj za jba umpy uzhjoxpa ba nihj akamjioppy ukarxuna. Jbara ora ophu bemjh uq beh emjarahj julorch Xemcy.

Tumojbom – O xpohhex hjrojawehj. Ohharjh beh dremxedpah julorch ujbarh. Ihah horxohn omc karzop ojjoxfh qpiamjpy. Jbuiwb beh emjamjeumh ora xpaorpy hbulm, ba’h o darhum muj ju xorapahhpy nahhac lejb.

Coky – Cahdeja nipjedpa uxxoheumh uq daudpa imcarahjenojemw ben, ba hbulh mu hewmh uq pul hapq-ahjaan. Ba eh o darhum lbu boh qor hewbj, amozpemw ben ju nofa maor darqaxj caxeheumh zohac um ceqqaramj hxamoreuh. Cia ju jbeh mojira, beh emjamjeumh ora muj aohepy dracexjozpa.

Hbakumma – Hba noy oddaor femfy um jba uijheca, zij E owraa lejb Hpyca’h duemj uq keal – caad culm emheca, hba eh o murnop werp. Hba eh nuhj pefapy nohfemw barhapq, ojjandjemw ju hirkeka em jba borhb lurpc, hu hba fmulh jba loyh oruimc jbemwh ujbar daudpa cum’j. Eq zruiwbj id em o ceqqaramj amkerumnamj, hba xom za o ceqqaramj darhum.

Xemcy – Ju za ozpa ju oddaor imuqqamcac zy borhb jaohemwh, hba eh hjrumw. Jbuiwb E cum’j jbemf jba lurch cec mu born, ju za ozpa ju lejbhjomc jban eh muj aohy – akam jbuiwb jbay newbj oddaor ju za tufah um jba uijheca. Lbam ej xunah ju hjrefemw bar laof-hduj, hba xom za anujeumop. Hba eh o qurlorc-darhum omc hdaofh bar nemc aohepy, lbexb nofah bar aohy ju waj opumw lejb, zij oj jba hona jena newbj xoiha bar ju nofa xpinhy caxeheumh.

Foram – Hba boh pular hapq-ahjaan omc rojbar dira mojira – lbexb hba xom za aohepy caxaekac. Jbeh newbj xoiha bar ju jry ju wu lejb jba qpul, lbexb hunajenah newbj xoiha bar ju paoka bar xunqurj guma.

Ako – Hba eh o xumqecamj emjarahjemw darhum jboj boh jaxbmesiah ju iha ujbar daudpa ju bar ockomjowa, lbexb eh bewbpy henepor ju ny hehjar. Bar hnopp oxjeumh ora ojjroxjekapy-aqqaxjeka ju imfmulemw jorwajh, lbexb lepp nofa bar jorwaj boddepy cu lbojakar hba lomjh. Coky, E’n oqroec ej eh opnuhj enduhhezpa ju ahxoda qrun bar.

-- Pomxa (22/06/2009 12:09 AM)

Xom’j zapeaka ba lruja jbeh, rojbar rapixjomj ju duhj jbeh id. Ub lapp, oj paohj ej’h xedbarac. La zujb owraac jba pohj 2 coyh lara raoppy zuremw.

-- Fomryui (22/06/2009 2:33 PM)

This is a guide I’ve written after relocating my drive from XPS M1330 to the new Studio 1555, all without reinstalling Windows Vista. This guide will also work for Windows XP, with an exception of AHCI hard drive controllers, whereby Windows XP does not have generic AHCI drivers – if that’s the case, you’ll have to resort to an in-place upgrade.

Making Windows Vista Platform Un-aware

1. Uninstall your display drivers from Add/Remove Programs of the control panel (or simply appwiz.cpl from the Run menu). This will prevent Windows from loading the wrong display drivers and applications. Do not choose to restart yet.
2. From the Device Manager, under the hard disk controllers, upgrade the manufacturer’s drivers to generic Microsoft ones (IDE/AHCI/SATA/RAID controllers). Do not reboot.
3. Shutdown and perform the hardware changes.
4. Boot up and install the new chipset drivers and display drivers.

Relocating the Windows Vista Certificate of Authenticity (Optional)

1. Use a sharp flat-head screwdriver and slowly peel the label out.
2. Careful of the traps set by Microsoft that would damage the label.
3. Take note of the port-hole (burned Windows logo) and remove that part very slowly and carefully.
4. Apply glue to the removed label and stick it to the new machine.

Tested by migrating XPS M1330 to Studio 1555.

ピンク・レディー (1977), ダブルユー (2004), モーニング娘 (2008), 柴田なな　と　友稀サナ [スーパージーティー] (2009)

 
バーシオン：モーニング娘

 
バーシオン：ダブルユー

作詞：阿久悠
作曲：都倉俊一
編曲：朝井泰生

アアア　アアア…
アアア　アアア…　渚のシンドバッド

ここかと思えばまたまたあちら
浮気な人ね
サーフィンボード小わきにかかえ
美女から美女へ
ビキニがとってもお似合いですと
肩など抱いて
ちょいとおにいさん　なれなれしいわ

くちびる盗む早わざは
うわさ通りだわ
あなたシンドバッド
セクシー　あなたはセクシー
私はいちころでダウンよ
もう　あなたにあなたにおぼれる

波乗りあざやか拍手をあびて
キッスの嵐
あちらのパラソルこちらのパラソル
ウインク投げて
夜ふけになったらあなたの部屋に
しのんで行くよ
ちょいとおにいさん　いい気なものね

うっとりさせるテクニック
腹が立つほどよ
あなたシンドバッド
セクシー　あなたはセクシー
私はいちころでダウンよ
もう　あなたにあなたにおぼれる

UPDATE #2

And the sloppiness of Dell continues…

UPDATE #1

Here’s Dell’s yet-another-generic reply:

“

Dear Lance,
Thank you for contacting Dell Customer Service.
We apologise for the delay to your order.
The standard delivery time is in fact 5-7 working days and due to the popularity of the product our demand has exceeded supply. Dell will always try and improve the delivery date on your order.
Please accept the delivery of the order and if you still wish to cancel please call Dell Customer Service to authorize the return.
You have 14 days from the invoice date to call us at  ( MY) - 1800 88 0301 to return the order under Dell Total Satisfaction Policy.
Thank you.
PS; You will receive a call or sms from our carrier to arrange the final delivery date.
Dell Customer Service
If you are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, distribute or print this email (including any attachments) or any part of it, or otherwise disseminate or disclose any information contained therein, or take any action in reliance on it. All such actions are strictly prohibited.  If you receive this email by mistake, please advise the sender by email or telephone, and then delete the email and any attachments from your system and destroy any printed copies”.

”

Err.. Unfortunately, yesterday (the day which this email was supposed to arrive) was the 14-business-days (well over the 14-days) mark. Aren’t you investigating properly Dell? Sloppy bastards. The Dell Total Satisfaction Policy shit is totally useless when the product hasn’t even reach me in the first place.

I should have bought an Acer, Twinhead or Asus instead. GAH!

END OF UPDATE

Dell, an international company that has probably the highest market share in terms of desktop and notebook PC, and known for its great customer service… My arse.

I ordered a Studio 15 with most of the stock settings except the monitor and audio drivers on 20th of May 2009, hoping to get it ASAP to replace my failed Dell XPS M1330 (which I am grateful to actually lose my patience and swapped in my old system board to get it working again) – only to find the estimated delivery date of 8th of June 2009, 13 business-days.

Well, I waited patiently until 7th of June 2009 and checked the order status… Only to be utterly amused by this piece of crap:

Highly unsatisfied, I filled up an online customer service form and filed a complaint. As usual, I get an auto-response email from Dell indicating the receipt of my email.

“... a Dell representative will be in contact with your before the end of the next business day”… In my dreams I suppose. It’s well after “the next business day” and I’ve yet to receive a single squeak from them.

Thank you Dell, for raising the bar of sloppiness.

If I were you, I’ll dig up a hole and bury my head for letting this shame happen to me.

Today I drove Yang Meng, Yu Long and 6 of their students (3 guys, 3 girls) from Northen Shaolin Jing Wu (it’s a Malaysian martial arts school) to hang out One Utama after their practice here.

We took an early dinner at around 5PM at Chikuyo in the old wing. During the meal I texted mom telling her we settled our meals already. Yes, because of the presence of *ahem* I ended up paying the quite-hefty bill with my after-buying-new-laptop-nearly-broke Visa. Pride is a troublesome thing indeed. :P

(I cracked a joke when introducing my name as “Ming Shi, Wu Ming Shi” [名氏, 无名氏]... Everyone took it as my real name… =.=)

Just when we finished our meal and decided to either play pool or go for a movie, mom called.

Shit. Her handbag got snatched. It happened on Section 17/1 (after Jalan Universiti bridge towards roundabout direction, immediately right), on one of the traffic lights. Apparently my message caused her to take her phone out of her handbag and place it on the passenger seat, and thus it happened.

The passenger side window got smashed and the handbag, along with credit cards, IDs, ~RM600 worth of cash, phone, keys etc. all gone. It happened so fast and sudden she didn’t have a chance to look at neither the skin tone nor the license plate of the motorcycle.

I ended up rushing back immediately and drive her to the police station.

This is Malaysia, where crime doesn’t pay. Fuck.

I see kids rushing to become adults. Doing what adults do, behaving like how adults behave. Blindly following, unknowing of the reasons behind all actions, unknowing of the consequences of all actions. Yet, they’re proud of it, because everybody does the same, even though deep down below, they are unsure, knowing they might be wrong. When “everybody” is just the very same people who have made the same mistake - A stand alone complex, followers without leaders, copycats without originators.

Yet I see adults behaving like kids. Those who yearn for their lost time. Those who matured without going through the process of maturing. Those who stand on a plank between adolescent and adulthood.

Open your eyes. Open your heart. Listen to yourself. Is this really what you wished for?

The above was what I salvaged from the crash that occurred right before I press the submit button (thanks Microsoft).

The continuation are as follows:

Back in the hotel, (you’ve guessed it) I had rashes all over that itched + stinged all night, along with the symphony of 60dB snore from roommate. Till now the rashes are still here, though the sensation subsided a lot.

That’s probably it for the (hopefully) interesting stuff. As for the people who wants to know the details of the food poisoning:

I have no idea what caused this shit (pun intended) to happen. It might be due to the drinks I had in the hotel at morning, or the pizza I ate for lunch, or the Cool Rhino (the minerals?) I had on the highway, no idea.

<warning: not safe for eating>

My first package was left off at Mahkota Parade, Melaka (been 16 years since I last step in here). The second one is scheduled on a heavy jam on the highway, in an R&R Petronas station with an out-of-water toilet (you can imagine the previous packages left by other people here, what luck I had). Third and (at the time of writing) forth at home, I see the carrot chunks from the pizza were left intact (undigested).

</warning>

Better luck next time.

p.s. No Sana Yuki for you bro.