Earth Hour 2009

Three days ago, I got to know that I was shortlisted for JPA scholarship interview. I chose Engineering(Germany), and my interview will be held at 2pm on 1st of April(APRIL FOOL!) at Putrajaya. Being a pessimistic person, I know it's hard for me to not think negatively towards the outcome of the interview. You and I both know why.

The interview takes the form of group discussion, in which I heard there will be some kind of debate between the interviewees (around 4-6 people per group?). Hence, with my blunt mind, I'm sure that I won't be able to catch up with other interviewees' conversation and points. Not forgetting that my communication skills are below average.

Anyway, I just found out that the marks are now allocated as below:
75% result
10% family background
10% cocurriculum
5% interview performance
Now I better hope that this is true!

By the way, Earth Hour will be held later today at 8.30pm. But I might not be able to be at home at this time since I have to attend the so-called "Academic Prize Award" ceremony at Ikhlas Jaya Tuition Centre, and I doubt that my tuition teacher will "celebrate" it to prevent some wolves from taking advantage.
I don't know what will happen when the time comes. Are we able to see the neighbourhood in darkness? Or will we be seeing the neighbourhood still in flashy lights? Well, to me, this is just an event in an attempt to save the Earth(?), if we, I mean the whole mankind, would like to save energy to save the Earth, we should be using less electricity everyday, on our own will. There's no need to wait for this day to shut off all your non-essential lights, when you lit your spotlights and flashy blinky ornaments just to show how majestic your house is everyday (no offence).

But still, it's still a good thing that we respond to this event, as long as it still reduces energy consumption, and shows that we have the heart to save the Earth! May God bless these kind-hearted people will be safe from darkness. (Think, who don't like to take advantage of everything in the darkness?)

For more info about Earth Hour, kindly visit these websites:
Earth Hour homepage
Wikipedia

DIY transplant surgery

Ok lads, do you want to become a surgeon? Err, I mean a "computer surgeon". All you need is just some basic computer knowledge, so you can do it even if you're a layman! Sounds easy right? Great, let's move on.

I went to Low Yat Plaza today to buy a new DVD-RW drive to replace my LG GSA-H55N which died few weeks ago. I was unlucky perhaps, the H55N just lasted for 1 year+, just exceeding the 1 year warranty. Zzz.

Today, I was unlucky again. I was opting for the Pioneer S16FXB, but none of the shops I visited has the stock. Dumbstruck. Out of no choice I had to buy the inferior Pioneer DVR-217BK. (Well, my mom was with me, which made me felt lazy to survey any longer). Anyway here's the picture:

There's nothing special about the package, but it's bundled with a decent burning ROM software, Nero 8 Essentials. (Well again, I didn't bother to try it, so I didn't know how essential it is, obviously)

The "surgery" started as soon as I get home. Before I start, allow me to explain my title.
DIY (Do-It-Yourself): I don't think you need a group of "surgeons" to replace a broken DVD drive?
Transplant: An action of replacing a broken part with a functional one. In this case, the broken H55N is replaced by the new 217BK.
Surgery: Err, what's the reason? Transplant is a kind of surgery?
So, current or future doctors & surgeons (pro pro), please don't despise me and thinks that I'm trying to act pro with my title. ;p

I tend to talk too much cr@p, now back to the topic. I start by cleaning dusts stuck at the mesh material at the front of the casing to ensure optimum airflow. This action is irrevelant, but I know it will be left uncleaned for another half year if I don't clean it now, which might cause any of the hardwares to go haywire again.

Then, both side panels were removed. The device was disconnected from the motherboard, along with the IDE cable. I found a new SATA cable, and was made to spiral helix shape using a pencil, because it will be the same with IDE cables in terms of space occupation and appearance (BEING FLAT! LOL).

The final product

Next I installed the new 217BK on the 5.25" bay where the H55N used to be. Finally, SATA cable and power connector were connected. Side panels were then installed again. Surgery has finished, in less than 5 minutes!

Ignoring those wires, the SATA cable is still looking good IMO

I can finally do everything related with discs again. Hooray!

By the way, now I know why it's a surgery, because it's so identical to surgeries done by real professional surgeons!
1)Cleaning mesh material --> Surgeons disinfecting patients before beginning
2)Removing side panels --> Opening up the patients body with surgeon knife
3)Removing broken hardware --> Removing broken organs (example: kidney)
4)Installing functional hardware --> "Planting" in functional organs
5)Installing side panels --> Closing/sewing up the wound
Well, the CPU's a system after all, I bet there's nothing wrong with it ;)

Yong Xian's birthday

As the title implies, today is my friend, Yong Xian's birthday. We celebrated his birthday at Aeon Cheras Selatan today morning.

Things didn't go as we have planned though. Our birthday boy didn't show up on time. I'll keep the reason to ourselves. We decided to have a karaoke session instead of watching movies.

We bought him a cake and ate it during the karaoke session. It was fun. It's been a long time since the last time I sing and as expected I can't live up the standard I used to be..Now my throat is sore enough to even talk properly. Failed.

I didn't prepare a present for him (sorry boss), we just used this chance to hang out together before some of my friends begin their college life. To continue the "celebration", we even went to a cyber cafe at Sungai Long, before finally going home.

Anyways, Happy Birthday Yong Xian bro. Wish you all the best in your studies and future. And of course, wish you good luck in your relationship with your gal. XD

SPM? What is that??

Today is the day where we receive our SPM results. Today shall be a historical day in our lifetime.

I arrived school at around 11.30am. Well I have to say that our school is a bit slow as we have to wait until nearly 12pm before we can take our SPM result.

Anyway, when the time finally comes, the feeling and tension I was having is hard to be described. Although my face didn't show any expressions, my heart was pumping fast while lining up, the waiting is actually..exhilarating. When these feelings clash together, I felt that I was going to have a heart failure, seriously.

There goes the queue and it's finally my turn. My teacher searched for my slip, and said "Congratulations! Full straight A!" to me. WTF, I got nerved and thought I got 11A1, but no lar, I'm not that pro to get it. I could see it at my first glance through the slip that I got an A2 for my BM as it's at the top of the list. I failed, in terms of getting full straight A1..
Anyways, I can't get any prouder about myself for scoring this kind of result. Everything was out of my expectations, especially the 3 language subjects. Was luck on my side again?

Today, some unlucky ones might get scolded by their parents for not scoring the amount of As they required, I felt sorry for not being able to give any appropriate advice or help regarding this matter, just hope that they can get over it soon. On the other hand, those lucky ones might get something as their reward. Well, they get their rewards always anyway(I was referring to the rich ones).

For me, it's just the same. My parents didn't rant on or praise me. Never mind, I didn't study for that. I'm most probably not going to receive any rewards. Never mind, I know my family condition and won't ask for more. Without these kind of "motivations", what actually drove me to take this exam so seriously? My future? Or, is it because of you?

I don't know. What I know about now is that applying for scholarships for private colleges are easier than before. One A1 less, still ok la, more choice, but still not the most. Now I just have to consider about entering which college to further my studies.

Say, I have complicated feelings about my BM result. I hate it because it ruined my 11A1 dream. But, I have to love it because it saved lots of my money as I have made deals with many friends that I have to give them a big treat or buy them a laptop if I ever scored 11A1. It saved my money but I have to compromise my better valued scholarships, which means, my dad is the one going to suffer instead of me(my dad will be the victim for both situations actually. Zzz).

Cheers!

*Special Thanks*
My teachers for their teaching and guidance all these years.
My parents for creating me and spending money to educate me.
My friends for their help in my homework all these years.
Anyone who has ever despised me before.(?)