Ignorance Is Bliss

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), Letter to Mrs Foote, Dec. 2, 1887

Sometimes not seeing things can be a blessing.

AUGUST STRINDBERG, The Dance of Death

Chinese Tsunami?

Interesting observation by bloggers OutSyedTheBox and DinTurtle on the so-called Chinese Tsunami during the last General Election in Malaysia.
Taken from the post "The Very Chinese Popular Vote" (of OutSyedTheBox) , it can be seen from the analysis that the popular vote won by the Pakatan came from the Parliamentary seats in Chinese majority areas.
Please read the following analysis by Tuan Syed with an open mind.

The Very Chinese "Popular Vote"

I have previously Blogged that the Pakatan has actually lost the majority vote in NINE States. 

Please see  : PAKATAN RAKYAT LOST POPULAR VOTE IN 9 STATES, LABUAN & PUTRAJAYA

The Pakatan only won the popular vote in four states ie Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan.  

THE PAKATAN LOST THE POPULAR VOTE IN NINE STATES NAMELY :

1. PERLIS
2. KEDAH
3. NEGERI SEMBILAN
4. MELAKA
5. JOHOR
6. PAHANG
7. TERENGGANU
8. SABAH
9. SARAWAK
10. WP LABUAN & PUTRAJAYA

Blogger Din Turtle has done further analysis and has come out with something quite startling. Din Turtle has compiled the rankings of the Top 20 Highest Majority Parliamentary seats in the recent elections. You can see the table below.  Din has discovered that :

• 19 of the Top 20 highest majority seats were won by the Pakatan
• the DAP won 15 of these 19 Pakatan seats 
• 17 of these 20 highest majority seats are in Chinese majority areas
• 11 of these 20 highest majority seats have more than 70% Chinese voters 
• PAS has only ONE of these highest majority seats
• The biggest winner in the Pakatan is the Chinese dominated DAP 

Very very obviously this is NOT the popular vote at all.  How can the single block voting behaviour  of the Chinese who make up only  23% of the population be regarded as representing the popular vote of the country? 

And 17 of the Top 20 highest majority Parliamentary seats are in Chinese majority areas, including 11 of them that have over 70% Chinese voters.  The popular vote won by the Pakatan is clearly very Chinese.

P122 Seputeh -  51,552  DAP
Jumlah Undi: 71,859    
Pengundi: 85,976 Pecahan Kaum: M:5.62%   C:89.69%   I:4.54% L:0.15% 

P045 Bukit Mertajam -  43,063  DAP
Jumlah Undi: 69,590  
Pengundi: 78,996 Pecahan Kaum: M:18.07%   C:72.45%   I:9.23% L:0.25% 

P102 Serdang - 42,206    DAP
Jumlah Undi: 118,314  
Pengundi: 133,139 Pecahan Kaum: M:39.57% ,  C:48.63% ,  I:11.04% 

P051 Bukit Gelugor -  41,778  DAP

Jumlah Undi: 70,691 
Pengundi: 81,897  Pecahan Kaum: M:15.16%   C:74.25%   I:10.15% L:0.44% 

P106 Petaling Jaya Utara -  44,672    DAP
Jumlah Undi: 70,727  
Pengundi: 85,401 Pecahan Kaum: M:15.36%   C:76.71%   I:6.38% L:1.54% 

P114 Kepong -  40,307   DAP
Jumlah Undi: 58,585 
Pengundi: 68,035 Pecahan Kaum: M:4.28%   C:90.31%   I:14.3% L:5.31% 

P066 Batu Gajah - 38,596    DAP
Jumlah Undi: 70,347 
Pengundi: 87,587 Pecahan Kaum:  C:74%   I:15%   M:11% 

P123 Cheras -  37,409    DAP
Jumlah Undi: 59,404  
Pengundi: 72,551  Pecahan Kaum: M:9.56%   C:84.14%   I:6.16% L:0.14% 

P085 Pekan - 35,613   BN
Jumlah Undi: 68,218 
Pengundi: 80,260 Pecahan Kaum: M:88.86%   C:2.25%   I:0.91% L:7.98% 

P043 Bagan - 34,159    DAP
Jumlah Undi: 59,796  
Pengundi: 68,503 Pecahan Kaum: M:14.36%   C:70.34%   I:15.03% L:0.27% 

P064 Ipoh Timur - 34,000    DAP
Jumlah Undi: 65,217   
Pengundi: 81,818 Pecahan Kaum:   C:79%   M:14%  I:5% 

P103 Puchong - 32,802    DAP
Jumlah Undi: 94,367  
Pengundi: 107,010 Pecahan Kaum: M:39.36%   C:43.52%   I:15.91% L:0.57% 

P048 Bukit Bendera -  32,778   DAP
Jumlah Undi: 59,114  
Pengundi: 71,085 Pecahan Kaum: M:13.87%   C:73.79%   I:11.26% L:1.08% 

P111 Kota Raja - 29,395   PAS
Jumlah Undi: 92,563 
Pengundi: 105,909 Pecahan Kaum: M:47.7%   C:23.16%   I:28.27% L:0.79% 

P065 Ipoh Barat - 29,038   DAP
Jumlah Undi: 63,007 
Pengundi: 77,761 Pecahan Kaum:   C:62%   I:23% M:14% 

P104 Kelana Jaya - 28,827   PKR
Jumlah Undi: 86,571  
Pengundi: 101,236 Pecahan Kaum: M:37.94% ,  C:41.70% ,  I:18.58% , 

P049 Tanjong - 28,645   DAP
Jumlah Undi: 42,913  
Pengundi: 51,487  Pecahan Kaum: M:5.78%   C:85.26%   I:8.61% L:0.35% 

P100 Pandan - 26,729   PKR
Jumlah Undi: 73,074  
Pengundi: 83,857 Pecahan Kaum: M:44.36% ,  C:48.14% ,  I:6.60% 

P107 Subang - 26,719   PKR
Jumlah Undi: 112,995  
Pengundi: 128,543 Pecahan Kaum: M:49.95%   C:35.89%   I:13.54% L:0.61% 

P046 Batu Kawan -  25,962   DAP
Jumlah Undi: 50,209 Pecahan Kaum: M:20.4%   C:55.57%   I:23.66% L:0.37% 

Lately I feel very frustrated with my job. Honestly I have no idea how to manage my time efficiently. Works are piling up,  I do not know which one should I focused first. Research? Teaching? Admin works? And then comes my family. I wonder how some people (read: colleague) can manage to finish their works within the given time and at the same time they still have time to **** their boss's ***?

F.R.I.E.N.D.S, they never fails to cheer me up.. I miss my family. I miss my kampong. sobs..

2013 Resolutions

Ok,
Let's check one by one my 2012's resolutions, whether I have managed to achieve them or not.

1. To be a good mother to my daughter and my son (to teach Hana ABC and 123 so that she is able to read by 4 years old) (Partially achieved)
2. To be a good wife to my husband (Read: more caring, less bebel). (Achieved. I think so...)
3. To be a good daughter to my parents and a good sister to my siblings and in laws (Read: Positive thinking, more patient) (I'm not sure, have to ask them to verify)
4. To write at least 2 journal papers with impact factor more than 0.5. (sikit sikit lama lama jadi bukit). (Achieved, although I wasn't the main author)
5. To own at least 2 copyrights by the end of 2012. (Not achieved)
6. To write at least 2 book chapters or non-indexed journal. (Not achieved)
7. To be a good supervisor to my students (frequent meetings, more knowledgeable). (Achieved, i think so. I met my students quite regular this year compared to 2011)
8. To own an MPV, without having to break the bank (Read: more saving, less shopping). (Achieved! I am now a proud owner of Exora Bold. I don't give a damn to what people said about me when I've transformed my BMW into local brand Exora. Who cares? As long as I am happy and my children are really happy with our current car)
9. To shop wisely and using brain (Read: saving, saving, saving). (Achieved. We managed to do more saving this year and used the money to decorate our house)
10. To send a paper to one of the IEEE International ComSoc Major conferences. (Still in review)

So basically I have achieved 5 out of 10 resolutions I've listed down last year. I am just going to carry forward the 5 resolutions that I couldn't achieve in 2012 or resolutions that I think are relevant forever. Apart from the existing resolutions, these are some other things that I wish to achieve in 2013:

Career-wise:

• Write a journal paper as main author
• At least one international conference and one local conference for this year
• Find a place for industrial training

Life:

• More and more saving for Umrah with husband
• Regular exercise, eat healthily => lose weight
• Hana can read basic English, Malay and Chinese, recognize numbers and can recite AlFatihah properly and several other surah.
• Amzar can recognize basic alphabets, can recite AlFatihah properly.
• Be a good muslimah, improve my relationship with Allah.

Let's pray that I can achieve my resolutions in 2013. Ameen.

Our first outing to Legoland MALAYSIA, Nusajaya

The crowd at the entrance

From my half day experience in Legoland..

Miniland

One of the cafes in Adventureland

Duplo Playtown @ Imagination

• It IS a family theme park. 
• Mostly suitable for kids between age 4 to 17.
• The rides are not challenging enough for roller coaster’s die hard fans (if compared to Alton tower, USS or Disneyland)
• Most of the rides for younger children require minimum height of 100cm. 
• Better wait until 2013 where Legoland water theme park is due to open. More rides hence worth the ticket price (unless they increase the price). 
• Children between age 6 to 15 years old would enjoy so much all the activities in here. 
• It is very hot in Legoland since all the trees planted are still young. A friend of mine told me that the management is in the process to install misty fans. I hope this is true. 

Tips:

1. After you pass through the entrance, you’ll be greeted by ‘The Beginning’, with Legoland merchandise store and The Cafe on your left, and mini market and reception on your right. Go to the left side of the park (to Lego Technic) if you are a family with older children (who would meet all the height requirements). Proceed to the right side of the park (to Lego City) if you come with younger children. 
2. You’ll be amazed by the miniature of landmark buildings in Miniland, situated at the heart of Legoland, right after The Beginning. But you can always take picture later after you have completed all the rides. 
3. Board Legoland Express first (at Legoland City) since even babies are allowed on this ride, if accompanied by adult of course. The train will take you around the park.
4. Bring your children to Duplo Playtown (shaded area) in ‘Imagination’ if you are sick of queueing and just want to watch your children having fun by themselves (suitable for toddlers and preschoolers).
5. You can find many activities that do not involve ride or roller coaster in Imagination land. 
6. Baby care and prayer room are also located in this area. 
7. Bring gigantic golf umbrella, drinking water, lots of tissue papers (or face towel because you’ll be sweating like hell), hats, and also don’t forget to put on sunblock with the highest spf that you have. 
8. You can always rent a stroller or double stroller if you forgot to bring yours. 
9. Well, of course the foods in Legoland are expensive, what do you expect? If you are short of cash, there is always Maybank ATM machine near the entrance.

I love MINILAND!!

Tips for A Research Student

Being a research student myself for almost 5 years, there are a few things that I'd like to share with you. Things that have helped me to survive the research world (as a student).  These are some of the important tips that I can remember. I may add some more tips in the future. Feel free to share it with your friends.


1. You need to have a log book to record every single research activity that you do everyday. If you are dealing with computer simulations/ experiments, make sure you write down in details all steps/procedures involved. You may think that it is okay if you don't write it down because you are pretty sure you can still remember the steps/techniques tomorrow, but trust me, you will find it very useful later especially when you go for holiday, all things that you remember about your research work will somehow evaporate into the air.

(Image Source: PhD Comics)

2. Same goes to your ideas. Jot it down as soon as you came across into it and it clicks into your mind. For instance if you suddenly got an idea on how to organise your thesis, or someone gave you an idea on your research, write it down immediately or else you'll forget about it. Hence, a note book is essential and you should bring it everywhere you go.

3. If your supervisor prefers that you work independently (Read: Less supervision), the first thing that you have to do is try to read as many as possible literature reviews on that particular topic. But you have to make sure that your supervisor agrees with the topic. Then, find a paper/papers (preferably journal paper with impact factor), try to duplicate the results from this paper. Learn about the methods proposed in the paper and from there you can expand and evolve the ideas and finally you will come out with something new/ improved method from the previous one. Working in your research group is another good way to do your research where you can exchange ideas with your colleagues.

4. As a research student you need to have the capability to work on your own. This means that no one will force you to do your research work, even your supervisor. For example if you are doing course work study (postgraduate study with examination), you will work extra hard during examination period because if you fail your test/exam, you will get bad result or you'll be expelled from the university. You are also required to do your assignment and submit it to your lecturer if you are a coursework student. But for research student, it is up to you whether you want to be a good student or a lazy student. Maybe you need to hand in some reports for your supervisor but your final result is whether you pass your viva or you fail it, and that will be about 2 or 3 years in time from the first day you registered. Therefore, self awareness is very important, meaning that if you value your money and your time, work hard from the beginning. Stay focus.

(Image source: PhD Comics)

5. Record all meetings that you have with your supervisor. Some important things that you need to write in your minutes of meeting are date, time and place, attendance (who else in the meeting), important topics discussed during meeting, and any resolutions agreed in the meeting. This is very important because firstly, by doing this it’ll remind you on what you have to do until the next meeting, and secondly  if something bad happen between you and your supervisor (hopefully not), then you have recorded it all. And oh one more thing, always always always bring something (Read: New results) when you want to meet your supervisor. Don't just attend the meeting for the sake of showing to your supervisor that you come to school everyday. Be prepared  before the meeting, and during the meeting bring your latest results so that you can discuss with your supervisor and get input from him/her.

(Image source: PhD Comics)

6. This is very important tip. Once you produce any results, and the results are different with existing methods/state-of-the-art techniques, book your seat in the research world by publishing them in a conference paper or better yet a journal paper. Do this fast as you do not know how many researchers out there are doing the exact same thing as you do and they may have the same ideas/methods and do the same experiment with you with the same objective. By doing this at least they can refer to your work or cite your paper if they want to publish similar paper as yours (but of course with different results). The results that you obtained do not have to be significantly different with other papers but substantial difference is enough to get your work published.

(Image Source: Google)

7. Along the journey as a research student, you may come to a low moment when an obstacle comes racing across your research path. Your research may presents you with seemingly awful surprises when you are least expecting them. Whatever it is, do not give up. The best thing to do is stop your work, take a break for 1 or 2 days (perhaps shorter/longer depending on the situation), and come back to work with a renewable energy and motivation. Sit down, relax, and try to figure out what and where things have gone wrong. Try to talk to your colleague(s), discuss with your supervisor and find out whether you can fix the problem or not. Listen to your supervisor advice and if you think it is not worth it if you continue to fix the problem, move on, just leave it behind. After all, life goes on mate.

(Image Source: PhD comics)

8. Conversely, when you come to a high moment (e.g. you are very happy because your supervisor like your work, or your paper is accepted in a journal), celebrate your happiness for a short time and quickly come back to work. Don’t be over the moon for so long because let’s face it, it won’t last forever. In other words, you have not finished your study yet and there is still a long way to go before you can finally graduate. As I mentioned before, stay focus throughout your study.

9. Spend some times to learn new techniques/skills that are related to your research work from the fundamental. For example, for a work that requires programming skill, if you are not a proficient user of a particular programming language; start to learn from the beginning. You can try to find ‘A *** for dummy’ kind of book so that you can really understand the technique. Do not just jump into source code and try to amend it to generate result, or else you will encounter with more errors. This also applies to work that involves experiment. Learn the necessary skills from your colleagues or technician before you start your experiment. Owh one more thing, attend any seminars/classes/workshops held in your campus even if they are slightly related to your area. Make full use of the modern facilities offered by your university.

10.  Finally, stay positive. In the sense that be positive about everything, everyone. Do not talk bad about other people. Do not think negative about others. Build a close relationship with Allah, perform your prayers regularly on time. If anything that is less favourable occurs, do not blame others. Somehow, don’t blame yourself either but take this as a challenge to improve yourself. I do not know about other people, but if someone did bad things to me/ talked bad things about me, it will only make me stronger and I feel the sudden urge to prove to them that I am a much better person than they are. Of course this tip is applicable even if you are not a student.

Lastly, enjoy your journey as a research student. Grow the interest in your research area. Be thankful of what you have become now and make sure every little penny spent for your studies is worth it.

My Favourite Songs

Thank you Adele for bringing back music into my life (apart from Maher Zain, which is a totally different genre).
She is purely talented. And funny too.