Éclectique

In light of the impending elections, many are tired of BN and are calling for a change of government.  To my friends who can vote, take a moment to think whether the options truly are better than BN. I am not saying BN is good and squeaky clean, nor am I trying to shove my ideology down your throat.  But take a moment to read up, think, listen to ALL sides (pro-Bn, pro-Opp, & neutrals).  Listen to their arguments.  Research whether the claims are true or smear campaigns (they are so rampant these days), whether their arguments hold water, and then re-evaluate whether a change in government really is in the interest of the people.  If it is, then by all means, vote for it. :) Remember; there is no such thing as a clean politician. I personally have heard very few complaints against the Opposition and that scares me.  It scares me because I do not know their lies.  It scares me because the people may have been blinded by their frustration with ...

This is my answer to a question my friend posted on Facebook.  His question was, "What say you guys?  Please, I want to hear a mature point of view from you guys," and pertains to an article published by The Independent.  Do read the article first. :) Fi rst of all, I strongly oppose gender segregation.  In developed countries like Malaysia and the UK, I think it achieves little.  What is the couple going to do?  Have sex right on the floor?  Not likely.  & if the girl is being harassed by a member of the audience, she need only ask for help and that particular member of the audience would be promptly escorted out. The university's move to ban the group, quite frankly, is acceptable.  The group was formed with the university's permission.  It is understood that the university does not tolerate segregation in any form and it was made clear to the group organizing the debate.  Yet, they chose to ignore the university's polic...

So I'm basically bored out of my mind right now. One thing I've managed to do is more or less breakdown my habit of getting 'sets' when it comes to components, and lockdown a build which gets me drooling. Previously, I had the habit of getting sets. For example, if a brand had a line or collection that included handlebars, seatpost, stem, & wheels, I would list that collection as part of my 'dream build' even though I only liked the wheelsets I did similar things with my music & I'm trying to break the habit by taking ONLY components I LIKE. So here's the list; Eddy Merckx EMX-525 frameset Easton EC90 Aero 56mm wheelset Easton EC90 Aero handlebars Time Xpresso 12 Titan-Carbon pedals S-Works Carbon Road crankarms S-Works SL Carbon spider S-Works SL chainrings PRO Vibe stem PRO Vibe seatpost Shimano Dura-Ace 9070 Di2 (except crankarms, spider & chainrings) Easton R4 casette (Shimano 11-speed compatible) S-Works Tou...

1 minute into the lady's speech & I can't stand it anymore. Miss Bawani's tone may have sounded 'heated' but as a debator, I call that passionate. I call that conviction.  Based on her content, I call that prepared. Most of all, I call that, having a stand.  Yes, Ms. Sharifah also has a stand but I do not feel that her responses are appropriate nor within the nature of a debate. I personally find the response "then go to those countries" a coward's response. Why? Because the reason many have not done just that is because we/they are unable to.  Others on the other hand, have decided "NO! I will stay, and I will improve this beloved country of mine!" Tunku Abdul Rahman was one such man.  Tun Dr. Mahathir was one such man.  Miss Bawani is one such lady. I find that a sign of patriotism.  Wanting to see the country prosper.  Yet, they are shot down.  Broken & trained to live within the four sides of a box.  To be born, follow orders, a...

So, 2012 is coming to a close. It sure doesn't feel like a year has gone by... This uear has definitely been an exciting, full of triathlons, committee events & adventures. :D Naturally, it is sad that the year is coming to a close. But, next year has more adventures in store! New year's resolutions... Hmm... Well, last year's resolutions were only partly met... :\ So this year, nothing special; keep up grades, get accepted to a school in Canada, etc. Perhaps, try a century ride before I leave Malaysia. I would also love to do the World Championship Distance for XTERRA Malaysia in April. Just a short post this time around. Can't come up with more substantial posts at the moment. Heh heh. On a different note, Happy New Year!

In light of the recent horrific shootings in Connecticut, I've been observing some debate amongst social media users regarding gun laws in the United States. Some are saying for people to always have their firearm loaded & on their persons, the younger the better, etc. On the other end of the spectrum, some are calling for either stricter laws or outlawing guns altogether. In my opinion based on what I've seen in the media (which may be biased/lopsided/etc), as well as during the recent Presidential Elections, the community demanding gun laws stay is rather powerful.  It was one of the topics of debate during the elections & if I recall correctly, neither candidate did much about it. Given the number of shootings that are happening recently, I think, no wait. I don't think, something NEEDS to be done about the gun laws.  Do I feel guns should be outlawed outright? Honestly, yes.  Is it feasible?  Probably not.  There will be resistance, issues...

So I did the Putrajaya International Triathlon last weekend.  It was a rather last minute event so not many people signed up.  Personally, I was skeptical about how well I would do as I hadn't been able to properly train for the past month or so, juggling school work, committee work and finals. Crossing the line in an unofficial time of 2:07:11, I was pretty happy.  Seeing as I'd never done such distances back to back compounded by the lack of training, I actually performed better than I did at Desaru.  Unfortunately, the rest of the field was rather experienced and I came in around the bottom quarter. :( My only issue with the course was the cycle route.  Why go on the highway?  Putrajaya has a very complete motorcycle lane system.  Why didn't the organizers use that?  They really should have.  On top of that, there were no signs and not enough marshals so at times, we were winging it, hoping they would place marshals at crucial exit poi...