(well the number doesn't matter, does it?)b

OK, people. I'll finally make it official, this blag is moving to a new home, where there are nice little pieces of virtual shortbread waiting for you, (but don't touch the cookies, they're for Santa, whom I was told is a little late this year because he took the public transport to save costs)There's also nice IKEA furniture, and a fresh coat of blue paint.
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The more curious/astute amongst you may already visited the new home, as there were not-so-hidden links in the previous posts in this blag. There are already new updates there, so you can read them while enjoying the snacks and the other virtual housewarming savouries. Just call me if they're any virtual mice there, they may have jumped tabs from the Mousehunt page. I'll have to drag my trap over then, and the ensuing action will be quite a show.
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So, the new URL is ambiguitytheories.wordpress.com , so inform your neighbour, friends, cat, dog, potted fern and goldfish (and remember to remind it once every 10 minutes) that the address has changed, so that they won't be left behind.
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PS: Unfortunately the youtube videos I posted here cannot be imported into the new blag. If you ever need to watch an old video, please watch it on the corresponding post here. Sorry for the inconvenience. Also, the CBox opens in an external window there, so it's a little more difficult for you to chat.

226b Snow?

What snow?
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. ..... ............... ........
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Oh, that snow! If it hasn't started actually snowing yet, click here...

(15^2)[b] (a^2 + b^2 = c^2)

The number of this is a perfect square, and so I thought I’d put something square-ish for you:
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There were three medieval kingdoms on the shores of a lake. There was an island in the middle of the lake, over which the kingdoms had been fighting for years. Finally, the three kings decided that they would send their knights out to do battle, and the winner would take the island.The night before the battle, the knights and their squires pitched camp and readied themselves for the fight.
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The first kingdom had 12 knights, and each knight had five squires, all of whom were busily polishing armor, brushing horses, and cooking food. The second kingdom had twenty knights, and each knight had 10 squires. Everyone at that camp was also busy preparing for battle. At the camp of the third kingdom, there was only one knight, with his squire. This squire took a large pot and hung it from a looped rope in a tall tree. He busied himself preparing the meal, while the knight polished his own armor.
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When the hour of the battle came, the three kingdoms sent their squires out to fight (this was too trivial a matter for the knights to join in).The battle raged, and when the dust had cleared, the only person left was the lone squire from the third kingdom, having defeated the squires from the other two kingdoms, thus proving that the squire of the high pot and noose is equal to the sum of the squires of the other two sides.
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PS: If you don’t get the joke, here’s a hint: “High pot and noose” is homophonic to “hypotenuse”… it’s a statement of the Phythagoras Theorem.
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PPS: Oh look! A butterfly, you must catch it!

224b Hmm...

I wonder what's at the bottom of this rabbitho... oh look, a pretty butterfly!
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As I was saying, there's this little rabbithole I found the butterfly has nice shimmering and colourful wings. And then, I looked down the rather curious rabbitholeI followed the butterfly to a rose bush, where it stayed very still. I tried to see where the rabbithole led, but it was very dark and deep, to catch the butterfly with my hands but it flew away. And so, I looked deeper into the rabbithole, and I slipped and fell in, I continued chasing the butterfly until I reached a large river. But, I fell deeper and deeper, but became curiouser and curiouser as to where the rabbithole led the butterfly continued flying, and it flew across the river. At the end, I ended in this place, a new place I have never seen before I returned home without that pretty little butterfly...
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PS: ... but, did YOU catch your rabbi... I mean, butterfly?

223 This Birthday...

...is a little different than the others. Other than the constant reminder that this is the start of my last year as "teen"-ager (yes, it's my 19th one), I actually celebrate a double birthday today.
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For the first time in the exactly 19 years of my existence, my 19th "English" birthday, or my Gregorian Calendar birthday, coincides with my 20th "Chinese" birthday. The reason why the numbers are slightly different is due to the fact that the Chinese count the actual day of birth as birthday number 1. I'm not sure how often the 16th of December coincides with the 19th day of the 11th Lunar Month, but there is a mathematical method of approaching this problem. However, I'm too lazy to work around the figures.
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Note: Of course, by first time, I mean first time since my birth, not inclusive of the day itself.
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Before I move on to a little something else, a big thank you to everyone who wished me Happy Birthday at the stroke of the midnight hour on MSN (I was inundated by no fewer than close to 10 conversation windows nearly simultaneously, and you know how I can't multitask), and the wishes on Facebook, which I'm still receiving from time to time at the moment. Now for a little something in return for the effort:
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I believe the following "game" is meant to be one of those tag games that involve shuffling the music your playlist, but I'm not going to impose this "game" on anyone, but rather let you voluntarily try it out for yourself. Here's what you do, there are no questions in this game. Rather, you write a poem of 20 lines based on the first line of the 21 random songs (the first line of the first song will be the title). I tried it out this morning, and this was the result:
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No Mountain's Too High
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When the vision surrounds you,
the whispers in the morning,
you can dance.
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What if I told it was all meant to be,
I've met so many women.
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If you had my love,
Lying in your arms...
I should have known all along...
yeah...
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Midnight, not a sound from the pavement,
Who are you,
You look into my eyes,
Talking to myself and feeling old.
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Baby, I knew at once you were meant for me,
I have been in love and been alone.
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From the first day,
You are my fire,
Gotta make a move to a town.
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When I opened my eyes today,
You make me feel funny.
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PS: Though only 21 songs were needed, I had to go through nearly 40 songs due to the large number of songs without words (i.e only music) and some foreign language songs in my playlist, which I obviously can't place in the poem without making it sound weird. (An alternative was to translate the lyrics to English, but I was in a bit of a hurry).

222 pǝʇɹǝʌuı

˙ǝɔuǝıuǝʌuoɔuı ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ǝsıƃoןodɐ ı puɐ 'ʇsod sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ oʇ ƃuıop ǝɹɐ noʎ ɹǝʌǝʇɐɥʍ ɹo 'ƃuıʇɹǝʌuı ɹǝʇndɯoɔ ɹo ƃuıpuǝq pɐǝɥ ǝɥʇ ɥʇıʍ noʎ ƃuıʎouuɐ doʇs ʍou ןןıʍ ı 'ʞo
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˙noʎ ɟo ןןɐ oʇ sɐɯʇsıɹɥɔ ʎɹɹǝɯ 'sʎɐs ɹǝpɐǝɥ ǝɥʇ ǝʞıן ʇsnɾ 'os ˙ʇuǝsǝɹd sɐɯʇsıɹɥɔ puɐ ʎɐpɥʇɹıq ɐ sɐ ƃuıןqnop sı ɥɔıɥʍ doʇdɐן ʍǝu ɐ ǝʌɐɥ ı 'sǝʎ ˙ʇɐɥʇ ʇnoqɐ 'ɥɐǝʎ 'ɥo ˙doʇdɐן ʍǝu ʎɯ uo doɥsoʇoɥd ǝqopɐ ƃuıןןɐʇsuı oʇ punoɹɐ ʇǝƃ oʇ ʇǝʎ ǝʌɐɥ ı ǝsnɐɔǝq ɹǝɔıu ʎuɐ ɹǝpɐǝɥ ǝɥʇ ǝʞɐɯ ʇ,upןnoɔ ı 'ʎןǝʇɐunʇɹoɟun ˙ƃ ʎuuǝʞ ʎq "ןǝou ʇsɹıɟ ǝɥʇ" ɟo ƃuıʎɐןd ǝɥʇ puɐ 'sǝʞɐןɟʍous ǝןʇʇıן ǝɥʇ 'ǝɔuǝɥ ˙noʎ ɟo ןןɐ puɐ ɟןǝsʎɯ oʇ ɹǝǝɥɔ ǝʌıʇsǝɟ ǝɥʇ
ɟo ǝɯos ƃuıɹq oʇ ɹɐǝʎ sıɥʇ ʇıq ɐ ƃoןq ʎɯ ǝʇɐɹoɔǝp oʇ pǝpıɔǝp ı puɐ 'ƃuıɯoɔ sı sɐɯʇsıɹɥɔ
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:sʍǝu ǝɯos ɹoɟ ʍou 'ʞo ˙uʍop ǝpısdn ʎןǝʇǝןdɯoɔ ʇsod ǝuo ʇno ǝdʎʇ oʇ ʎɹʇ ʇnq dןǝɥ ʇ,upןnoɔ ı puɐ pǝɹoq sɐʍ ı ʇnq 'noʎ ƃuıssǝɹʇsıp sı ʇsod sıɥʇ ɟı ʎɹɹos os ɯ,ı

221 The Path of Totality

Come this Chinese New Year, other than the little red packets, round orange fruits and other goodies you'll be receiving, the cosmos has decided to give us South East Asian Chinese a little something extra.
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There will be an annular solar eclipse occurring on the 26th of January 2009, and we will be treated with a sunset we may never see again in our lifetimes. The better half of SEA will lie within the penumbra of the Moon's shadow, while a small strip of land on the island of Sumatra and Borneo will enjoy the privilege of being in the umbra (hence enjoying the full show).
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Unfortunately, unless you are celebrating CNY in Sumatera, we Malaysians (and Singaporeans) will only enjoy a partial eclipse at sunset, ranging from a 70 - 80 % eclipse in Johor - Singapore, to a 50 - 60% eclipse in Ipoh (where I'll be). Here are the details:

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This diagram shows the path of totality, marked in red, and the area in the penumbra, marked in the blue grid. Below are the details of the eclipse for specific areas throughout Malaysia:

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Alor Setar, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Ipoh, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Johor Bahru, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kota Bharu, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kota Kinabalu, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kuantan, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kuching, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Miri, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Sandakan, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Sibu, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Sri Aman, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Tawau, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation


The times are given in UT or Universal Time, which is astronomical standard of time. It is nearly equivalent to GMT time, which places Malaysia at approximately +8 UT. However, due to the machination of Dr. M, who standardised the East and West Malaysian clocks, the actual timing is actually between +7 to +8 UT.

The eclipse occurs at about 4 to 7 pm in West Malaysia, and it is about then you should find a place with a relatively clear view of the western horizon, that is, either find an open field or get to a relatively high place. The maximum eclipse occurs at about 4.30 to 5.30 pm. So, drop whatever you are doing, wherever you are about this time to witness this rather rare phenomenon. Feel free to take pictures, bang pots and pans or anything else you fancy.

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Warning: Please, please, whatever you do, don't look directly at the sun. Use polaroid filters, solar filter, film negatives, water reflection, telescopic projection or any mostly translucent object to observe the sun.

220 IKEA

For each of the following names, decide whether it's from IKEA or LOTR (Lord of the Rings):
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(... it actually rhymes!)

  1. Faramir
  2. Freden
  3. Grundtal
  4. Boromir
  5. Mogler
  6. Galdor
  7. Freda
  8. Agerum
  9. Babord
  10. Frodo
  11. Grima
  12. Akurum
  13. Brunkrissla
  14. Sultan Hogbo
Mmm... this is making me think of Swedish meatballs, yum, yum. Anyway, LOTR fans will identify the character names easily and the same goes for IKEA fa... wait is there such a thing?
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Edit: Yup, IKEA doesn't sell fans, I wonder why...

219 Dagget

Since I'm back in the blogosphere, and since I'm in the writing sort of mood, because I was halfway through my Phoenix work, and stopped pending more inspiration, I'll just do this little tag.

  • Do you think you're hot?
    Give me a moment while I go fetch my thermometer
  • Upload a favourite picture of yourself.
    I'm in a writing sort of mood, not an uploading-picture mood, but if you insist, it's my Facebook profile pic, at the moment.
  • Do you like the picture?
    Something about "favourite" implies "like", doesn't it? Wait... it's part of the definition, isn't it?
  • When was the last time you ate pizza?
    Oh, how random... MM treat... and it's not LKY I'm refering to.
  • What was the last song you listened t0? National Treasure OST - Trevor Rabin
  • What are you doing right now besides this?
    Trying to find something else to do because my Mousehunt Hunter's Journal looks like a rainbow
  • What name do you prefer besides your name?
    A name isn't your name if it's not your name... OK, that's just me being cranky... Zach
  • 5 people I tagged
    I'll make it a little mathematical: You may make this assumption for the folowing questions: Let number 1, 2, 3... denote the first, second, third... person I tagged.
  • Who is number 1?
    A friend of 5
  • Who is number 3 having relationship with?
    Number 2.718281828459045..., also known as "e", proof that love has always been a little irrational...
  • Say something about number 5.
    He had dinner with number 3 last night
  • How about number 4?
    She is an arch rival of number 1
  • Who is number 2?
    The person who kissed 13. (This may or may not be a House reference)

218 Familiarity

You know you're back (home) in Malaysia when:

  • Landslides (and floods, but that's just too commonplace) occur whenever the monsoon season arrives, or when it rains for a few successive days in the Klang Valley
  • Politicking is the daily staple of the news, and even if it's not on the front page it's in there somewhere after the headlines
  • The constant reporting of some bus accident or other, followed by a few days of people urging that something be done, and then total silence.
  • The very erratic water supply, and the occasional blackout, put in for good measure to enhance the experience.
  • The slightly slower internet speed, but then again, shouldn't compare to Singapore, right?
  • The lack of Christmas atmosphere in town, but that's OK, my neighbour's making up for it.
  • The presence of motorcycles and wandering cows that act like they own the road, making a total nuisance of themselves. Cows, though, are a bit more amusing to encounter.
  • Signboards are placed in the most ridiculous positions, like just after a bend, or behind trees. I am yet to figure out how to get to Jalan Tebrau from the new checkpoint, thanks to that particular typical lack of common sense.

217 Ohemgee


...and I nearly fainted. Instead of fainting though, there was just a lot of ohemgee-ing and a rather strange aftertaste. And it's not that I'm racist or anything, but yeah, TV shows tend to spin off in weird directions sometimes.
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PS: It's from House, by the way, and you don't want to know the details.