Éclectique

DISCLAIMER: There is no structure with this.  There is no goal.  I am just typing away to get my fingers moving.  It has been a while since I was able to type for long periods of time without cross-checking my facts or googling a potential argument every few seconds. What should I rant about? School?  That's overrated and stressful.  Paris?  Many have done it and quite frankly, I feel no empathy.  I rarely have.  I am upset that ISIS Daesh has the nerve to claim to represent Islam, but other than that, I feel indifferent.  Indifferent is a strong word.  It's not that I do not feel terrible to what has happened to the citizens of Paris, but rather I have lots of things I must worry about myself.  So, I'll nod and say "oh, that's terrible" and get back to work without missing a beat. I feel alone.  Dumb.  Outclassed.  And yet, today, of all days, I have a tinge of "I can do this".  No pep in my step, but rat...

If by some extraordinary circumstance, you have not heard of Ahmed Mohammed and his arrest over his homemade clock, here is the article from CNN; http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/16/us/texas-student-ahmed-muslim-clock-bomb/index.html Now that you're up to speed, I am writing about this because it precisely this Islamophobia that makes me fearful of posting anything remotely related to Islam on my more public social media sites.  No matter how peaceful the message, I fear for my safety every time I post something that even mentions Islam. Why?  Because even an American-born Muslim is arrested for showing his ENGINEERING teacher a homemade clock over fears that it is a bomb.  I fear that some government organization may be watching and deem my post 'sympathetic to extremism' or something equally nonsensical. I legitimately live in fear.  This past week, I added a classmate on Facebook and he immediately noted, "oh, you're Muslim." Disclaimer: he did not mean it...

This is an open letter to all Malaysians who aggressively 'boycott' McDonald's.  Why do I put the inverted commas?  Because many of my fellow Malaysians are not boycotting McDonald's.  Many are protesting McDonald's.  There is a very big difference. According to Merriam Webster, the definition of boycott is as follows; boy·cott  \ ˈ b ȯ i- ˌ kät\   to refuse to buy, use, or participate in (something) as a way of protesting : to stop using the goods or services of (a company, country, etc.) until changes are made Whereas protesting is defined as follows; pro·test \ ˈ prō- ˌ test\ something said or done that shows disagreement or disapproval of something. Don't believe me?  Here are the links for the definitions of  protest and boycott .   I give the definitions to highlight the differences.  Boycotting is a passive act.  Like refusing to eat when your parents didn't buy you that LEGO set you wanted.  Protestin...

This are my opinions on the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham on whether the creation model is a viable model of origins. Before I start, let me just make it clear that I'm personally 50-50 in terms of my opinions on the model of origins.  Not undecided, but rather my opinions (or belief, perhaps?) on it draws from both elements of creationism and mainstream science. In both the Quran and the Bible, it is stated that God created the universe in six days.  Do I doubt this?  No I don't.  I personally believe that during the period of the formation of the Earth, everything was so volatile, so unstable, one day could've easily been much much longer than 24 hours.  Other planets in our solar system have different lengths of days.  For example, this excerpt from Universe Today, "A day on Venus is 243 Earth days.  Venus' day is actually longer than its year.  It only takes 224.7 Earth days for the planet to orbit around the sun. (Read more: http://...

FINALS IN 3 DAYS! My first semester has almost literally flown by.  I'm not ready for finals.  I feel too spread out.  This is ridiculous.  I have 5 courses.  One of those is broken into 3 separate classes.  How am I supposed to achieve a good grade like this?  Chemistry is going to REALLY drag down my grades again.  I hate Chemistry.  I know what I want to do; design and analysis.  Mechanical Engineering.  It's all math and physics.  That's what I want to do. I don't want to have anything to do with molecular mass or all that. Sigh.  2 of my new friends are already dropping out of Engineering.  It IS a tough course here...  They literally aim to get half the students out by year 3.  I'm not exaggerating.  HALF the students enrolled in the engineering course are NOT going to get past year 2. I need to aim as high as I can and work as hard as I can.  Insyaallah I will get there.  Never EVER...

Life has been quite a whirlwind.  It only seems like last yesterday I was shopping for my family but in fact, I'm already into my 3rd week of classes.  Damn.  Time flies. So far, things have been smooth sailing.  A few learning curves (ie door to the laundry room needs a good shove to open) but nothing I couldn't figure out.  My dorm room is tiny (quite likely it's 11 or 12 feet by about 7-7.5 or 8 feet) BUT I do get a very nice view.  Plus, it's a single room and everyone on this floor is generally quiet so I can't complain. :)  Things here settle down early compared to Malaysia.  In Malaysia, 'normal' shops like convenience shops, restaurants, etc are open until 10-11 or so.  Here, most shops close down by 9, a number even close by 5!  The people are super nice too. I would've published a post earlier but I've been so busy chasing assignments. :\  Even now, I should really be getting back to my assignments. :( Been super bus...

One day, I will build up my dream bike. It's going to cost me more than 30,000 ringgit but I will. It may not be next month, next year, or even the next 5 years but mark my words I will build up my dream bike. And finish an Ironman. Definitely.