Buying guide: Running shoes

Interesting Running shoes buying guide from Choice.com.

Urban 3D Modelling from Video

Urban 3D Modelling from Video - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and University of Kentucky



More video and details on their website.

Bruce Lee and Harry Potter

This is an artist impression of me after the artist saw these photos. Apparently, he thinks I look like a combination of Bruce Lee and Harry Potter (the glasses).

Muarotak has more of his comics and drawings on his site (in chinese).

Pre-election Zimbabwe

I saw Danno blogged about his devalued Zimbabwe dollar last week. And today I stumbled upon this in-picture report of Pre-election Zimbabwe on BBC. 1US = 25million ZD?! Thousands of people have to walk 3km every day to work! 80% people unemployed, escalating HIV infection, one meal a day for many!!! That's mad!
Will Mugabe still win the election on 29th this month? He has the army in his pocket. How about the ordinary Zimbabweans?

Mugabe's good friend Mahathir has stepped down for more than 4 years. Malaysians have also shown their disgust of corruption and misgovernment by the election tsunami on 8 March. Will Zimbabwe have some new hope after the election?

Malaysia is in a much better state compared to Zimbabwe and it's really not a good comparison...

Anyway, have a look at the picture and report.
Pre-election Zimbabwe

Malaysian opposition slays govt giants in elections

This is the most exciting General Election of Malaysia I've ever witnessed!

People's anger and frustration finally translated into real seats and gave the ruling parties a big slap on the face! It has denied the ruling Barisan National's 2/3 majority in the parliament so the constitution can't be easily changed at its pleasure.
Five states have also fall into the opposition, given them a big challenge to show the people what good governance which they preach is really about! If they can pull it through then it will pave way to eventual balance of power in the parliament down the track. Otherwise, the opposition will be seriously attacked in the next general election.


Channel News Asia has the report at 0014hrs.
(Blogger.com and many webserver were not responding when I wanted to post this late last night.)

Malaysian opposition slays govt giants in elections
Posted: 09 March 2008 0014 hrs

Special Report
Malaysia GE 2008

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's opposition has claimed several high-profile scalps in Saturday's general elections, including the sole ethnic Indian minister who lost his seat, according to official data.

The daughter of opposition figurehead Anwar Ibrahim, 28-year-old Nurul Izzah Anwar, thrashed powerful incumbent Women, Family and Community Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil in her first ever tilt at parliament.

Manoharan Malayalam, an ethnic Indian activist who is being detained without trial after organising anti-discrimination protests, was elected from his jail cell -- beating the government incumbent in a state seat.

Manoharan, who represents the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP), won twice as many votes as the ethnic Chinese candidate, in a seat dominated by ethnic Chinese voters.

Indian Cabinet minister S. Samy Vellu lost his seat in central Perak state which he has held since 1974, state Bernama news agency reported.

Samy Vellu, a loyal supporter of the Malay-led government, has borne the brunt of anger from Malaysia's ethnic Indian minority who say they have suffered decades of discrimination.

The DAP has claimed victory in the island state of Penang, ousting the government for the first time since 1969 in a stunning outcome.

Unofficial results showed the opposition is close to claiming the northern state of Kedah with the Islamic hardliners PAS and former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's party Keadilan securing 22 of the 36 state seats, Bernama reported.

The opposition is also in the lead in central Selangor state, traditionally a BN stronghold, it said.

The Election Commission's official tally showed Barisan Nasional ahead in the new 222-seat parliament, with 45 parliamentary seats in the bag, including eight that were uncontested.

The DAP has claimed six parliamentary seats, PAS currently has three and Keadilan has three. - AFP/ir

Malaysia Election Comedian Songs

Comedy Court made:

ELECTIONS Blah blah blah


Rough Little Indian Boys


The Family Tree


And more of other political and non-political videos on Comedy Court

AMWA gathering at Kardinya

AMWA had a belated Chinese New Year gathering at Kardinya community center on Labour Day (3 March). I was there helping up from 9:30am for 11am start. Good fun in the kitchen chopping cabbage, cutting water melon and running around taking photos. Event finished at 2pm and we cleaned up, packed up by 3pm.
See the blog and photo gallery for more.


Chinese New Year Gathering 2008

Google SydneyTrip & UWA won the competition

This is 2 weeks old. As mentioned in the Happy^Googleplex post, We went over to Sydney on an all expenses paid trip by Google. We flew in on 17/2 Sunday, spent a day at Google office on Darling Harbour on 18th and most of the team went back on 19th. Me and Minh stayed for one more day with Danno.

Highlights:

• We were greeted by a chauffeur with our names on a cardboard at the airport. It was my first time having my name on a cardboard at airport. But I was disappointed that there wasn't a big Google sign on it. Even more disappointed that it wasn't a Google van that took us to our hotel.
• We were put in Amore hotel. Very nice and classy. My room was on 17th floor. Nice view.
  
• Danno met us up for dinner at Pancake on the rock. Good pancake, I like it and like it a lot.

• Monday 9am we met at Google office on Darling Harbour, in the IBM building. We met our 'competitors' too. Haha! Both other teams were from Melbourne U, both were two people team. Compare to us 8 people big full team from UWA to out number everyone, muahaha!
  
• SketchUp user interface designer Matt flew in from US to give us a tech talk.
• Will and Lysandra accompanied us in the Google office tour - but we weren't allowed to take photos beyond the reception. Bummer. But it is nice inside, open space. Food around people.
• Our team and two other Melbourne Uni teams gave a talk on our journey of modelling, it was very informal and fun.
  
• Food is great inside Google! We made our own pizza and roll from the salad bar. There was crab meat on that day.
  
• XBox and Playstation with huge screen mounted on the wall for Googlers' gaming craze during lunch time.
• We went on a tour of Sydney in the afternoon with the Googlers.
  
• Winners were anounced at the hotel atrium before dinner. And our UWA team took the crown. Yes! Each of us were awarded with a goodie bag.
• Google treated us a nice dinner on Darling Harbour looking over the Opera House. Fancy! And there were many quiz challenges from Will, fun!
  

• Most of the team went back on Tuesday. But me and Minh stayed for one more day and Danno took a day off to take us to Blue Mountain. So touched, thanks mate. And Super Horatio helped clear the heavy fog for us there. It was fun. A lot more fun that last time when I went alone.
  
• And at that night I stayed with my UTas best friend Jermin and Yeemei's place. They took me to a Shanghainese restaurant and I was stuffed with fantastic food. So yummy. And that night we chatted till 3am and had to go to airport at 7am.
  
• Me and Minh flew back on Wednesday morning together wearing the proud Google T-shirt.
  

Photos are here:
Evgeni's version


Mine:

2008_02_17-19 Sydney Google trip

And once we come back, Jayjay has been at work to channel out the news that we did win the competition.

UWA News (27 February 2008)


Loconuts (28 February 2008)


Subiaco Post (1 March 2008)


Western Suburb (4 March 2008)


Joondalup Times (5 March 2008)