7.00am on a Tuesday morning !

Captain Kirk of Star Trek would have started this post with something like this I guess : " Star Log, Tuesday , 23 rd. July 2009. 700 hours ....."

Anyway , back down to Earth, on the same day and date as Captain Kirk's, I left my house , as usual at 7.00am to go to work.

Stepped out of the house and a mild cool gust of wind hits me. That was refreshing - very refreshing. Stopped by the landings, looked out , and I could feel the cool freshness of the morning air - something very rare here in Kuala Lumpur.

Told myself this is going to be a nice day.

Anyway , went to my car, swirched on the engine and I even brought down the window ( well ...ok, the car air-con was also on, but still, usually the only time I bring down my window is to pay the toll, and even then only when my SmartTag has no credit ! But today ?

Slipped in my collection of Diana Krull , Noraj Jones, Natalie Cole, Eva Cassidy and others, and Norah Jones's 'Come Away With Me' filled the car. That husky voice of hers completes the atmosphere.

Driving slowly out of the compound, I could see the darkening sky and the heavy rain clouds looming above. People might describe it as 'gloomy' but I would rather call it dramatic and beautiful.

Yes I love rainy days !

Normally some cars would switch on their side-lights at this time of the morning, but today , most of the cars had their headlights on.

I felt so good ! I felt so blessed . I felt so elated !

Suddenly , the feeling of appreciation of God's creation overwhelmed me. I felt so thankful to Him for giving me this morning and everything and everyone in my life! For everything that I have , and blessed with , I felt very small in comparison to the natural grandeur that was presented to me in all its natural splendour.

All the way to the office, I kept telling myself, ----Syukur Alhamdulillah !

My hobby.....

Of hifi and audiophiles….

According to Wilkipedia :-

High fidelity or hi-fi reproduction is a term used by listeners and home audio enthusiasts (audiophiles) to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images that are very faithful to the original performance.

Audiophilles hope or try to tweak their audio equipment so that it has the least distortion, the minimum of noise (not sound) and the most accurate frequency response.

Without getting into too much detail on the technical aspects, basically, the sky is the limit when it comes to cost of high ends hi fi equipment.

For this posting, I am only sticking to audio hifi and not the home theatre arena.

Before CDs come into the scene, vinyl is the popular medium to listen to good hifidelity sounds. In fact to some, vinyl is still the choice as they claimed that it is warmer and more human (?) when compared to CDs. I will just stick to the CD for this posting.

Basically a good hifi depends on good quality components from the source to the speakers. These are :
1) The CD player
2) The Interconnects
3) The amplifiers
4) The speaker cable
5) The speakers.

1)The CD Player.
A good high-end CD player may consist of two separate equipment, namely, the CD transport and the DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter). A high-end CD player may costs as much as RM20,000. Of course there just as good ones for 10-20% of that cost.

2)The Interconnects.
These are the signal cable that carries signals from the transport to the DAC or the player to the amplifier. Again, there are various designs from companies and if we were to listen to them at Hi-Fi shows, we can be at a lost for choice.

3)The amplifier
Amplifiers can be the integrated type ( just one equipment) or the two-equipment types that consists of the pre-amplifier and the power amplifier. The latter is the favourite choice among the audiophiles.
The valve amplifiers are the favourite choice (although it depends on taste) over the solid state amplifiers. In term of warmer sound, clarity and transparencies.
However there are also combination where the pre-amp is valve-driven and the power-amp is of solid state.
A misconception is that people tend to be impressed by the 3-figure power wattage of the amp. However the true power is better represented whn it is in RMS. Then again , consider the 'thd' factors (the harmonic distortion) and many other factors which are too technical for me.

4) Speaker cable.
Again, various types of cables have been produced with various material used. There are also silver wires being used other than the usual types and each one has irs own characteristic depending on your taste. Bi-wiring was at one time a favourite where separate wire are used for the high-range and mid/lower range.

5.Speakers
These come in various sizes from a tissue box size (eg. Bose –small speakers with big sound) to the size of a small cupboard !

Types of sound very much depend on the design of the box, whether its bass-reflex, air-suspension or transmission-line type.

Even material---from paper to kavlar (not sure of the spelling), the material used in bullet-proofing.

So there .! These are just superficial information of what little I know on this hobby of mine.


As my hobby

I have been into this hobby since my college days. At that time, I remember buying and reading magazines from UK which were very expensive and I had to giveup a few film show treats and dates per month just to buy them .

Once I found a design for a transmission line speakers included in a magazine and with a friend, it became a three-month project before completing it. We were so pleased with the results that I used it for almost ten years , while my friend sold his for quite a handsome profit.

This hobby is quite seasonal for me. I may slow down and wouldn’t touch my set for weeks---and then all of a sudden become so engrossed in it again.

What do I look for, and what do I get ?

Look for? Its almost like a challenge to produce and tweak (tune-like you tune your car) to get the best sound in terms of clarity, placement and reality.

What do I get ? Satisfaction. Sit in my arm chair, 2 meters away, facing my set, play some good music, close my eyes, and able to identify all the various instruments in front of me – to the left, the right, the centre, front left, back right, the first sound of the note from the piano coming out clear with no resonance ( do you know the piano sound is one of the most difficult to reproduce? ), the impact of the drum stick on the drum with such clarity and definition , the singer right in front of me. I am the conductor of the orchestra ! In the night, playing a blues or jazz number, closing my eyes, I could just ‘see’ the singer’s voice right up close in front of me.

The joy of listening to a jazz/blues female singer ia when the equipment is able to reproduce that husky voice and the the gasp of breath as easch time she breathes in, Listen to a huitar solo, and you could hear the 'squeak' as the fingers caress the sting on the frets, listen to the first distinctive note as the drum-stick hits the cymbals, te deep subtle feel of the bass (not the thump thump frm a woofer as you get in most sets)The thrill is always exciting to me !!

That’s what I get from my hobby!


My Set

Meridian 507 Compact Disc Player
Unison Research (Unico) Valve Pre-amp / Power-amp
Cardass Crosslink Interconnects
Quadlink 5-C Speaker cables
B&W DM602 Speakers

Lead-loaded Atacama Speaker stands.

The Unico The Meridian

The DM602 My Nerve Centre

The Breakaway Series !

So FOTA  is coming up with the breakaway series. YES ! Its about time they just leave that idiot Mosley and start their own series. After all Mosley only represent the organizer, its FOTA that is developing the car, paying the driver and all their engineers and technicians ! 

In the early stage of the dispute, Mosley was behaving like some dictator pressing down of his subjects. Maybe he thinks he is still playing his sex game when he bungled when one of the prostitutes he hired blew the whistle on him and reveal his secret 'game' to the press. In that 'party' of his , he was dressed in a Nazi uniform in the presence of a few prostitutes and the elements of S&M was so loud and obvious !They should have kicked him out then..

What is F1 without Ferarri? Without the Mclarens, without Toyota. without BMW, without Renault ? I remember reading somewhere that F1 may lose more or less a billion dollars if the 8 teams withdraw from the series. 

Initially both Mosley and Ernie threaten legal suits necause they claimed that Red Bull and Ferarri have contract to fullfill. But todays reading at F1-live.com showed Mosley softening up. However I'm glad that FOTA is continuing their plan to leave.

In fact new names for the series have been thrown about by the press. One of these ? The New Formula Series .....

The Cost of Cheating.

OK--in answer to the query on the punishment meted out to offenders that is made in a comment by a member of the community.....

I asked the Programme Manager and here is the answer.

First Offence

RM100 fine

To take re-exam of the subject.

.

Second Offence

RM200 fine

To take re-exam of the subject.

I hope that answers your question. Whether its too light or too heavy a punishment--I leave it to your opinion !

Top Gear's Stig is finally unveiled !

That super-driver who was a mysterious figure in 'Top Gear' is now revealed. To the surprise of the sudience in the programme, The Stig took off his helmet to reveal ----MICHAEL SCHUMACHER !!!

Read more about it here.

The Battles Goes On !

First of all I would like to state that this posting is, in no way connected to any event in question and that it is posted with no prejudice or bias.

Ok, Out of interest I was reading through some web-sites on exam cheats. And I can't help but laugh at the battle between examination boards and students , parents and even teachers. Of course this is a universal thing. From China to Egypt and the United Kingdom.... the battle goes on.
Here are the headlines and web-sites.
(Excuse the brown colour band . I had just came back from Putra Jaya and really am too tired to resolve the glitch.)

Exam bosses target faster cheat takedowns

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/07/qca_isps/

Universities declare war on the copycat exam cheats

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/jun/20/administration.highereducation

Egypt school exam cheats jailed

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7606062.stm

China detains 40 people for exam cheating

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25638577-2703,00.html

China hi-tech exam cheats jailed

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7980607.stm

False breasts betray exam cheats

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4653423.stm

Exam authority finds rise in mobile phone cheats

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/mar/27/schools.mobilephones

Software catches the exam cheats

http://212.58.226.17:8080/1/hi/education/251419.stm

The decade of the 80s.

I originally thought of compiling the events that happened in the 70s . Events like Woodstock, the Vietnam War, the Hippies and so on.

Then I found this interesting site and got so engrossed going through it.

So with reference to the site I have chosen  only the highlights that are of interests. Most if not all the events happened before the birth of all the members here , or you were still in the cradle when  it happened. BUT, the repercussion of some of these events are still felt . The very existance of some technology which you might have taken from granted , actually has a 'birthday' --- evn the tools of your future profession....

Timeline of the 80s, 1980
Post-It Notes are introduced by 3-M
John Lennon is assassinated by Mark David Chapman
RU-486, the abortion pill is released in France.
Small pox is considered eradicated by the World Health Orginization. 
Japan passes the US as the largest automaker
Bill Gates licenses MS-DOS to IBM, makes next to nothing on the deal. The pair buys the rights to a simple operating system manufactured by Seattle Computer Products and use it as a template. The money is made later from licensing it to third party clone makers.

Timeline of the 80s, 1981
The 1st launch of a space shuttle (Columbia)
The first IBM-PC's begin to roll of the lines.
The first DeLorean sports cars roll off the assembly line.
August 1, The birth of MTV, the 24 hour-a-day music television station
Pac-Man is introduced in the US and sparks a huge craze.
The first reports of homosexual men dying due to a mysterious breakdown of the bodies' immuminzation system. Later it becomes known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, aka AIDS and researches realize it can strike anyone.

Timeline of the 80s, 1982
Michael Jackson's "Thriller" sells 20 million albums to become the largest selling record ever.
Ozzy bites the head off a live bat thrown at him at a January 20 performance.
Argentina invades the Falklands (UK); Argentina has to withdraw its troops after two months.
Italy wins the Soccer World Cup in Spain
Liposuction is introduced.
The first artificial heart transplant takes place, the receipent lives 112 days.
Delorean Motor Company goes bankrupt

Timeline of the 80s, 1983
Cabbage Patch kids are released.
Ronnie introduces 'Star Wars'
"Just Say No" is the new tool to combat growing drug use in the US. (familiar ?)
USSR shoots and destroys South Korean flight 007.
Camcorders are introduced. 
Compact discs are first released.
Hackers invade sensitive military computers such as Los Alamos National Labratory.
Last DeLoreans produced
French scientist Dr. Luc Montagnier discovered HIV.

Timeline of the 80s, 1984
The Cosby show premiers.
Sikhs occupy Golden Temple in Amritsar, India
Indira Gandhi is assassinated.
Chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, December 3rd.
Stonewashed jeans are introduced.
The first megabit chip is made at Bell Labs
The AIDS virus is discovered
The term cyberspace is coined by William Gibson in his novel "Neuromancer"
In 1984 Reagan makes famous joke: "My fellow Americans, I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." He supposedly didn't know the mic was on.
Apple Computer releases the Macintosh personal comp

Timeline of the 80s, 1985
LIVE AID in London and Philadelphi, beamed around the world
Crack coccaine starts to appear.
Brussels, Belgium: 39 dead, 250 wounded during a soccer match between Liverpool and Juventus
Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior is bombed by the French goverment during protests of it's nuclear testing in the Pacific
Earthquake in Mexico / Volcano erupts in Colombia; 1000s killed
Gorbachev becomes (the last) president of the Soviet Union
Titanic wreckage found and filmed by robotic camera in July
Hole in the ozone layer, first detected in 1977, is now indisputable.
Nintendo home entertainment system introduced.
Extra second added to the calender year.
Rock Hudson, the first major public figure to die to AIDS, dies on October 2.
Karen Ann Quinlan, coma patient, dies of pneumonia. She was the first person to die in the "right-to-die" controversy debate.

Timeline of the 80s, 1986
January 28, the Challenger explodes.
Worst nuclear disaster ever in Chernobyl, USSR, April.
In Nyos, Cameroon, a cloud of carbon dioxide rumbled out of the nearby lake Nyos on August 21 and killed approximently 1,700 people.
Argentina wins Soccer World Cup in Mexico
Return of Haley's Comet
America celebrates national holiday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day for the first time.
Supermodel Gia, after years of heroin addiction, dies of AIDS. She is the first woman to sucumb to the AIDS virus in the US.
Election of Corazon Aquino ends corrupt Marcos regime

Timeline of the 80s, 1987
Black Monday - Stock market drops 22% on October 19th.
Condom commericals begin to appear on TV for the first time.
Klaus Barbie is convicted of Nazi war crimes and sentenced to life in prision. On a similar note, Rudolf Hess strangled himself at age 93 after having been in prision since 1941. He was the sole prisioner at the facility.
Porn star Cicciolina wins a seat in the Italian parliment
World Population reaches 5 billion
The largest stock-market drop in Wall Street history occurred on "Black Monday" -- October 19, 1987 -- when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508.32 points, losing 22.6% of its total value. That fall far surpassed the one-day loss of 12.9% that began the great stock market crash of 1929 and foreshadowed the Great Depression

Timeline of the 80s, 1988
CDs outsell vinyl for the first time ever.
Soviets leave Afghanistan
Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland; Lybian terrorists are suspected of planting the bomb
Earthquake in the USSR
Bobby McFerrin tells everyone "Don't worry, be happy"
Prozac is introduced as an anti-depresent.
World's longest undersea tunnel is completed. Work begins on the Chunnel which will then become the world's longest undersea tunnel.
Benazir Bhutto becomes the first woman to head an Islamic nation
Iran-Iraqi war ends in August.
Soviets withdraw from Afghanastan.

Timeline of the 80s, 1989
The fall of the Berlin wall on November 9th.
The "beginning of the end" for the communist rulers in Eastern Europe; the Cold War comes to an end
Salmon Rushdie wanted dead by Iranian leader Khomeini
Students protest on Tienanmen Square, Beijing, China - the army intervenes; 3000-7000 killed, June 3rd.
Worldwide ban of ivory
The stealth bomber is finished.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles become an over night sensation
Milli Vanilli gets Best New Artist Grammy which is later stripped when it's learned they were lip synching for another (much uglier) duo.
Vietnam withdraws from Cambodia, September 26, after almost 11 years of occupation.
Burma changes it's name to Myanmar
Soviet Union fully withdraws from Afghanistan after 10 years of fighting with Afghan mujihadeen forces.

CHEERS TO AMATEURS !!!!

You better move on '' -- thats the title of one of my favourites. But I found this amateur version and I love it. 

Kudos to you mmanilaboy !

UPDATES to "The biggest 'toyol' ever ! ".

This update is in response to sicko's valid comments for which I appreciate. Since this is an imprtant topic, for me at least, I will elaborate on the comment here.

1."whoa.. student kantoikan student.. that's rare."

Yes, its rare , but they do happen and naturally for obvious reason, we respect, appreciate and protect the information given. What I had cited are case from your seniors who have already graduated In fact their class numbers are all below '10'.

Heres another case which I just remembered.

While invigilating, one of the female students submitted her papers and left the room with about 45 mins of exam time left.

Immediately after that her classmates who were sitting around her asked me to check the space between the table and the wall. I did. And I found a crumpled piece of paper with all the notes relevant to the subject .

The students even told me that she copied at every examination. They gave me her phone number and I called her to return to the exam room. However she must have suspected something and did not returned.

I filled up the invigilator's report ans submitted her case to the office for further action.

The next comment....

2.'yup.. I can say that i've seen a lot of student cheating in xm b4 n i've also seen that sometimes they get caught by the invigilator. But I hardly see any action is taken against them. So, just wanna know what kind of action actually that these students should face if they got caught in KLMU.'

And here is my comment on the above.

'sicko
Thanks for your comments and interest in this topic. I mean it.
As for your queries on this, its best you ask the office.
I believe they can be fined up yo RM200 or RM500, repeat the semester of the subject or more. I'm not really sure.'

Thats a good question. I would like to add further here. I will ask the Management and post the answers here on Monday.

5 The biggest 'toyol' ever ! -- Part 2.

A development prompted me to write this post. Apparently my first posting on the above topic provoked a reaction from a student through an sms sent to me. But that has been clarified after my call to the person , who incidently is NOT the person who was caught with the incriminating paper.

But that action of sending the sms is NOT the basis for this part 2, BUT, the misconception, and delusion of the circumstances in which an examinee might be charged for cheating is the issue.

Understandbly, when one is caught, one would would do or say anything to defend oneself. And here is where logic has been ignored. 

Let me talk about common standard practice and procedure which is endorsed in the KLMU Examination Regulation.

1. 10 minutes before an examination is due to start, student are required to put away all forms of notes, papers with scribblings which may be interpreted as information useful in the exam and ALL text books whether related or not related to the subject of the examination.

2. Once answer-scripts have been distributed, the examination is DEEMED to have started !--and thus you are expected to put away ALL notes. "Over-looking a piece of paper is not ACCEPTABLE!" It can't be THAT difficult to put away everything !

3.  You are considered to have cheated or the intention to cheat  if you are caught having notes on a piece of exam answer sheet brought in before the exam.

4. Once the exam has started as per no. 2, if you are caught with even a bus-ticket size paper with notes written on it on your person, on the table or in your pencil case, under the keyboard , you are regarded as having CHEATED in the exam.

5. Phones are required to be switched off. Some institution require the students to keep their handphone on the invigilators' table.

The above are just some of the situstion students should and probably aware of anyway as students of this programme are all post-diploma and degree students. Below are situation of 'cheating' caught so far :

1. pieces of paper of various sizes with notes

2. Students caught  referring to notes in the toilet

3. Notes found in the toilet

4. Students caught sending/receiveing information through the hand-phones

5. students caught with notes written on the table

6. Student caught cheating when invigilator switched on the monitor and found all the information ready typed .

7.two students caught with identical answers AND ALSO identical mistakes which is so very unlikely unless some strange thing happened .

Now to finish off, there is a saying that says 'a thief is not a thief until he/she is caught'.  The temptation might be very strong, but think of the repercussion, implication and side-effect. Its not worth the risk .

Really , once you are caught 'red-handed', don't make it any worse for youself by trying to give excuses or riduculous reasons. It is better to throw yourself to the mercy of the the Management because there is no way that you can prove yourself right.

You have gambled and lost.The very intention of wanting to cheat--is already wrong from any aspect --be it  legal and/or moral !

I renmember an exam where a female student put up her hand as if to ask me a question. When I reached her place, she held the question paper and pointing at something as if she didn't understand somethin. But she was pointing at what she had written, ie. " Sir, ******* has been copying. She has a piece of paper under the keyboard . "  I waited for sometime so that it would not be so obvious, then checked the person's  keyboard and true enough !

Having said all the above , I know there are also many honest, hard-working, respectable students (thank God!)  who gave their blood , sweat and tears to achieve their dream the honest way !  To these people -- I salute you 

The biggest 'toyol' ever !

Above -- the toyol, both sides of the paper. 

There were three exams going on today. Two classes on level 6 and one on level 5. I was invigilating on level 5 when I received a call from jony who was looking after level 6. 

I thought it was a normal call-up to explain some aspects of the questions, until I saw jony with a student at the corridor.  Reason ? Caught cheating ! Evidence ? A full page of answers on an A4 paper !

Wow ! My first impression was---boy ! is he an optimist ! Either that or he has got to be the highest stake gambler in the college thinking that the invigilator would over-look him !!!!

Then , came the pleading , the appeal, the regrets, the 'my first time '  and so on. But , like I told him, 'you play, you pay !".

I have seen a few 'toyols' from the size of a bus ticket to an exercise book page size. But , today  an A4 size  is now added to the list !!

Happy Birthday Iriss !!

MANY HAPPY RETURNS TO IRISS !

Today is the birthday of Iriss, a member of the community.

To surprise her, there was a lot of cloak and dagger planning between helas and this blogger. Helas came to college at 8.00am to send the birthday cake he bought for her before going off to his office in Cheras !

That was pretty cool of you helas.

Anyway after the exam, this blogger put on a stern face and started to tell the class seriously, " Why are you all always looking for trouble ?"

Boy ! Were they shocked and the reaction was self defence. I told them someone is coming to speak to them to thrash things out.

I stormed out of the class 'angrily' ! I can imagine the suspense. Of course mengmeng was waiting at the lobby with jonyb abd the cake. We lit the candle and I entered the class ---still with a very stern face -- which wasn't difficult for me ! They were all peeking out the door wondering what and who is coming !

The rest can be told in the photos above !

..Of The Dark And Dry World on Platinium Hill - Part 2

Just now , I received an sms from a student. Apparently her dilemma is having the water supply disconnected - yet again ! First my deepest sympathy to all of you affected. My heart goes out to you and your house mates as all of you are in the middle of studying for your FINALS ---and you do not need this to add on to your pressure ?

The biggest pain is that, as you told me, its not because you all do not want to pay, but because the bill was not handed to you all by the department concerned. That has got to be the mother of all ***** because the after-effect is not borne by the department , but by you all !

Let me reproduce my posting in my other blog about ONE YEAR AGO ! Apparently, in this world, some thing never change at all ! Read it and I do hope you all follow my advice in that posting ! Here it is .




Friday, May 30, 2008

..Of The Dark And Dry World on Platinium Hill

I have read so many posts on this plight that I decided to publish my reply to me-teratai's posting on this problem on my own blog as well.. Here it is:

"I'm not a victim, oooops, i mean participant, in this blacked-out world and desolate dry land that many of you are unfortunate to be in .

The first time I heard of this was like a million years ago when the first batch of students poured their predicament to me. They told me about:-

a) studying in the common areas like the corridor because they were in the middle of the exam
b) Having their bath in the shower of the swimming pool.
c) Enduring the humiliating experience of having other residents laughing at them

Today, with the second, third and latest batches of students---I still hear the same problems happening.

IS THIS BECOMING A TRADITION OR WHAT?

I also know that students are advancing the utilities payment from their own pocket.
What ARE the problems that it had to come to this?

The first time it happened--well, maybe it’s forgivable because of adjusting to a new system. But, the second time? The third time ? ?????????

To be fair , the people in charged have TRIED to come out with a system of students submitting the bills to the office . BUT careful studies should be conducted as to the routine of the meter-readers like when they come round to do their reading. Fixing JUST A DATE in the calendar doesn't help without knowing this info. This attempt to solve should be thoroughly planned.

There again, there should be a proper record when bills were submitted to the office, which unit had not submitted and so on. All this data would be useful to create a profile to avoid such problems from happening again, and again, yet again.....

No arrears should be allowed to accumulate in the bills so that
1) the Water Authority would not take immediate action on late or non payment
2) there is always a leeway for late-payments
3) as bills have been 'pre-paid' by students.

Whatever it is, my advice is, as in my postings in other blogs---do not take the law into your hands. Maintain your decorum as matured sensible students. Do not be aggressive--negotiate with patience and civility. If all these failed with the people who are directly in charge of this--then , bring it up to the highest authority in the college or to the power that be....

Good luck---by the looks of it--YOU REALLY NEED IT. "

# posted by sunnyside up @ 10:08 AM 2 Comments

Damn if I do and Damn if I don't ! II

Little Richard---King of rock and roll !!!

Damn if I do and damn if I don't..

...So.. what the heck... heres one of my favourite ol' rck n rll which never failed to cheer me up -- Old Time Rock and Roll by Status Quo.

.

A Whiter Shade of Pale !

I was driving during lunch hour and for no reason this song came back and haunted me in my mind ! It was during my  days of being fancy-free, ciggies, drainpipe pants, a 'rebellion' in my own ways, scooter and also days of wine and roses !

'A Whiter Shade of Pale" a song by a British rock group and much sung by other artists like Anne lenox and others. Try tomake out what the lyrics all about -- because I still couldn't make head or tail of it !

We skipped the light fandango
And turned cartwheels across the floor
I was feeling kind of seasick
The crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
But the waiter brought a tray

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face at first just ghostly
Turned a whiter shade of pale

She said there is no reason
And the truth is plain to see
But I wandered through my playing cards
Would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast
And although my eyes were open
They might just as well have been closed

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face at first just ghostly
Turned a whiter shade of pale

and another version....

 

hope you like this classic.

Information Please !!

Can somebody find out for me how much it would cost to hire a coach to Cameron Highlands for three days and two nights !

..and PLEASE.. not Len Seng or anything that looks like Len Seng!

I want something like this...

(The next two photos are courtesy of helas from his blog)

NOT like this..

because we don't want this to happen.

ENG 111. CBDS 15 : CCSS 30

ok--here it is. Easier to put it here than typing all the e-mails addy.

Ccss 30
01-200811-00179,,,,,,,,,,2.67............B-
01-200901-00332.........3.00 ...........B
01-200901-0082...........#N/A #N/A
01-200812-00023..........3.00........... B
01-200812-00024..........2.67 ............B-
01-200811-00180..........2.67 ............B-
01-200901-00299..........3.00........... B
01-200901-00038..........3.33 ...........B+
01-200811-00181............3.67 ..........A
01-200901-00400..........3.00.......... B
01-200901-00398..........3.00.......... B
01-200808-00052..........3.00.......... B
01-200812-00259..........2.67 ..........B-
01-200901-00294..........3.00.......... B
01-200901-00036...........3.55 ..........A-

CBDS Batch 15
01-200901-00330…3.00 .......B
01-200901-00327…3.67 ........A
01-200901-00329…3.55 ........A-
01-200901-00313…3.33 ........B+
01-200812-00296…3.00 .......B
01-200901-00331…3.55 ........A-
01-200810-00207…3.00 .......B
01-200901-00245…3.00 .......B