Live from Dewan Rakyat

For the first time in the history of Malaysian Parliament, we can now get live updates from these blogger MPs:

Jeff Ooi, Jelutong

Tony Pua, PJ Utara

Correlation does not imply causality

OK, so some chap decides to run a survey on people who live near a telecommunications tower. He finds out that there is a high incidence of cancer among these people. He then concludes that radiation from the telecommunications tower causes cancer...

This type of conclusion is premature. Correlation does not imply causality. Just because two incidents are related to each other, it does not mean that one caused the other. More study has to be done in order to ascertain the actual cause. There may be many factors which have positive or negative correlation, but perhaps only one factor which is the true cause of the situation.

For example, if a study is done on the air and water pollution levels, proliferation of MSG-laden food, low health consciousness and fitness levels, etc. there might also be correlation found. So is it then safe to say that these also caused the high incidence of cancer?

It's important to make the right conclusion based on the studies. Remember:

Correlation does not imply causality

Why is Melaka so hot?

According to Sue Lynn, Melaka is so hot because of all the beaches.

Blardy beaches...

Echoes of Buddhism 4

This weekend, I'll be traveling down to Melaka with my i.gemz buddies for the "Echoes of Buddhism 4" concert. Of course, this is not the first time that i.gemz is performing in EOB. We did concerts in Melaka and Penang previously. It will be a good time for us to actually go on stage again and strut our stuff.

Naturally, being a weekend trip, we will be visiting Jonker's Street, shopping for trinkets, and sampling the local cuisine.

It will be a good getaway from the craziness of the workplace and a refreshing "reunion" for the gang :)

Over Her Dead Body - flat storyline but funny one-liners

Over Her Dead Body is currently showing in cinemas in Malaysia. But this movie was released in 2007, so DVDs are readily available.

Anyway, the plot is so simplistic, it makes me cringe. But the show is saved by some funny one-liners and delivery from the lead actress. Other than that, the movie is so predictable that by the end of the show, you wonder what happened to 2 hours of your life. There was a similar movie shown last time starring Reese Witherspoon called Just Like Heaven, which was much much better!

Recommended only for hardcore fans of romantic comedies.

Forbidden Kingdom - small kids show...

Hollywood has done it yet again. The Americans have taken an interesting and complex Chinese legend (the story of the Monkey King), dumbed it down, added some nifty CGI effects, plugged in a rousing dramatic and emotional soundtrack, and finally cast an ang-moh as the lead whining ordinary kid turned kung fu hero. And voila! Forbidden Kingdom is born.

The much touted fighting scene between Jackie Chan and Jet Li lasted only 10 minutes on screen. That's also aided by super duper wire effects and unbelievable punching/kicking sounds. The rest of the movie plays out like Karate Kid meets Chronicles of Narnia. It is so dumbed down and predictable, that the movie is only suitable for those kids of age 13 to 16. Nothing about the movie impressed me at all. Story line? Seen it all before. CGI and special effects? Too bland already. Stardust did much better. Fighting scenes? Come on... Fearless is still the king!

So where does that leave Forbidden Kingdom?

Very not recommended for the big screen, though it will make good popcorn fare for small kids.

Walking in Europe

If there's one thing Malaysians should learn from Europeans: it's how to be a responsible road user.

Over in Europe, walking around is such a breeze. Vehicles emissions do not smell like black smoke, pavements are wide enough for pedestrians and cyclists to coexist, and of course the traffic lights are actually being followed by walking and driving road users. Tram lines run in the middle of busy roads and everyone follows the rules.

But over here? Drivers honk pedestrians out of the way even at a pedestrian crossing. Motorcyclists zig zag and squeeze between cars and worst of all purposely run the red lights at a busy traffic intersection! And buses and lorries belch out foul smelling smoke that not only smells bad, but is also actually bad.

I'm back!!!

:)

Blogging from the airport

It's called Finavia here, though I'm not sure is it a proper name or just the direct translation from "airport".

Nothing much to shop here. Things are darn expensive. I think I prefer the airport over at Schipol Amsterdam.

Just 1.5 hours to go before I board my flight. Then it's a harrowing 55 minutes to make my connection back to KL. Hopefully won't have to rush.

Guess what? I'm using the wireless internet account from the hotel, even though I've already checked out! It seems the account is valid for 7 days, so it could be that they have not cancelled it yet, or maybe it's just valid for the entire 7 days duration. Lucky for me there is an access point here :)

Feeling quite hungry now. I didn't open any of the Maggi mee which I brought here. I thought I'd need it for sustenance, but I guess the food here is quite filling. The food from the office canteen is surprisingly good! And the price is subsidized for employees, so it helps to cushion the blow a bit. But now, in the airport, everywhere I turn the price tags scream Euro, and I don't think I'll be eating anything until I board the plane.

It's another 16 hours before I reach Malaysia. Can't wait to be back home!

The view

Here's the view from my hotel room at 8.40pm. Ignore the reflection from the floor lamp in my room.

As you can imagine, sunrise is at 4am, and sundown is at 9pm. So effectively the Finns get 17 hours of daylight, which is great if only the shops open till late. Unfortunately, many shops are already closed by 6pm, so there seems to be no chance to do any souvenir shopping. Not even any time to buy Coke for jyon...

Can't wait to get out of this cold place!