Volatile Yard 挥洒自如 Write anything I want to write...

When I upgraded my computer a few days ago, something on one of the casings involved caught my eyes:

Saw it? There is a Taiji [en.wikipedia.org] symbol (太极图) at the bottom of the casing!

Is there any special structural design that results in this taiji symbol? I took a look the bottom of the casing.

Hmm... No, I can't think of any other reason except that the symbol might be used to bless the computer components inside the casing? Some Feng Shui purpose? Nonetheless, the motherboard installed in this casing was spoiled last month (after using it for about 2 years). And this was the first reason that made me to upgrade my computer. :p

So do you have a better idea why the symbol is there? Tell me.

Yasmin Ahmad [en.wikipedia.org], an internationally renowned filmmaker from Malaysia, passed away last month at the age of 51. Her works have won many awards throughout the world. This two-minute short film, 'Chocolate', was her last film. This piece is part of the 15MALAYSIA [15malaysia.com] project.

Like all her other films and TV commercials, this piece is equally deep and absolutely thought-provoking. She has been able to compress so many messages into this short piece. The piece lasts about two minutes but can let you to think for more than two hours! You may not catch much when the film just finished. But as you watch it or think about it again, you should gradually catch the elements Yasmin tried to tell you: Cultures, races, generations, hopes, lives, choices, limitations, government, ...

Last Updated: 30-Jan-2010 15:37 MYT

H1N1 has invaded Malaysia, and the threat is not over yet. So in addition of keeping track of the current global situation, I have also created this post to illustrate the current situation in Malaysia.

** The number of death cases

** The number of confirmed cases (Obsolete! I have stopped updating this as it seems that the updated figures are not updated regularly after 12-Aug-2009)

Important updates:

• 15-May-2009: First confirmed case
• 18-Jun-2009: First locally transmitted case
• 13-Jul-2009: First time that a daily H1N1 count shows more locally transmitted cases
• 17-Jul-2009: WHO said that the pandemic has been spreading at an unprecedented speed. Ministry of Health will focus on cases that require treatments in hospitals and clusters of ILI (Influenza-Like Illness). Statistics since 18-Jul-2009 reflect only these two situations.
• 23-Jul-2009: First A(H1N1)-related death case [thestar.com.my] occurred on 21-Jul-2009. A(H1N1) was not the direct cause as he died from cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation.
• 27-Jul-2009: Second A(H1N1)-related death case [thestar.com.my] occurred on 26-Jul-2009.
• 28-Jul-2009: Third death case [thestar.com.my].

Source: H1N1 Situation [h1n1.moh.gov.my] (Ministry of Health Malaysia)

I use Gnuplot [gnuplot.info] to generate the charts with the help of a script and a data file (in which I updated it manually). I have also written a python script to automate the update process: Generates, previews, and uploads the chart to the website.

Last Updated: 06-Feb-2010 07:35 UTC

Update: I'm still updating this post regularly with the global statistics available from Ministry of Health, Malaysia.

The threat of Influenza A(H1N1) is not over yet. I have created the charts below to illustrate the current situation, and will update them regularly with my scripts (That's why I put this post under 'Programming' too, and see below if interested).

There is another post that keeps track of the current situation in Malaysia.

Other important updates:

• 25-Apr-2009: WHO declared Phase 3 for pandemic alert level [who.int]
• 27-Apr-2009: WHO raised pandemic alert level to Phase 4 [who.int]
• 29-Apr-2009: WHO raised pandemic alert level to Phase 5 [who.int]
• 11-Jun-2009: WHO raised pandemic alert level to Phase 6 [who.int]
• 16-Jul-2009: WHO would no longer issue the global tables showing the numbers of confirmed cases for all countries [who.int]
• 04-Dec-2009: WHO no longer issued the number of reported confirmed cases [who.int]

** The number of death cases

** The number of confirmed cases (Up to 22-Nov-09 only)

** The mortality rate (Up to 22-Nov-09 only) (Note: The figures are obtained simply by dividing the number of death cases by the number of confirmed cases. Since confirmed cases need not be reported after July-2009, the mortality rate after that does not really reflect the actual situation.)

Source: WHO updates on Influenza A(H1N1) [www.who.int]

I use Gnuplot [gnuplot.info] to generate the charts with the help of a script and a data file. I used to use a python script to automate the entire update process: Fetches the latest updates from WHO website, parses the page, generates the latest data file, generates the charts, and finally uploads the charts. However, since the format became less well-formatted starting from update 60, I have since abandoned the script and update the data manually.

There are many rude car drivers on the road and I just encountered one!

I was driving and my car approached a cross-junction with traffic lights. I was lucky as the light was green for me, so I just continued to drive, lowered my car speed a bit to make a smooth right turn, and continued to drive. The light did not turn yellow soon yet so nobody needed to rush. I have made such a routine turning in cross junctions for thousand times without errors and I was just about to make another one.

But then, there was this rude and 'buttock-follower' driver just behind my car, and gave me a long horn just before I made my turn. I was blanked for a few milliseconds to find out what happened, but then realized that he was rushing to turn so he horned me rudely! Why so rush?? I did not know what I can do for him so I continued at my usual speed. I made another right turn in a T junction soon after that, he passed by my car from the left side, slowed down a bit, and gave me yet another longer horn!!

What the hell!? It's foolish and dangerous to horn such a brainless driver back and fight with him. Oops! I made a mistake by not taking down his car plate number and probably take some action later... (If there's a 'Death Note' for cars, I may write his number down?!) What can I do? I can only 'hope' he will drive 'very carefully'... hehe... Hey buddy, even you have diarrhoea, or were with your concubine just caught and currently being chased by your wife, it's all your fault and don't blame me okay?! I just saw a serious car accident last night, and an ambulance was called to fetch somebody heavily injured. Guys, be rational and drive with patience!

Last Updated: 20-Apr-09

I started to learn piano since early November 2008, mainly following the 3-level Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course. These days I focus on learning music theory instead of practicing 'aggressively'. Too busy with many things and no fixed spare time for practicing piano regularly.

ABAPC2 = Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course, Level Two (p4-87)
ABAPC3 = Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course, Level Three
C849 = Czerny, Etudes de Mecanisme Op. 849

♯

Here comes my 2009 resolutions.

1. Work out more, be healthier. Health is always important.
2. Revive my analytical thinking. I am happy with my brain now but I must do more intense mental workouts, otherwise it will get rusty. Solve difficult mathematical puzzles or problems, play board games, or anything that is mentally challenging.
3. Organize my belongings properly. Must organize my belongings better. E.g., I don't know where I have kept my collection of classical music CDs now!
4. Write a program making use of existing utilities or libraries to calculate the positions of all planets and Pluto in our solar system. Wanted to do this in 2008, but no time. Still hope to do it.
5. Extend my program for Astrological charts. When my program is able to calculate planet positions, it is just a step away from producing Astrological charts. Astrological interpretation? Not sure. If time permits, I may study it and see how much I can do.
6. Improve my piano playing. I have started this since early November 2008 following the 3-level Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course. I am in the middle of level two now. The skills and pieces are getting challenging. I aim to complete the whole course along with other pieces (such as the studies by Czerny) by the end of 2009. I can then play a lot of nice pieces.
7. Learn more about investment. Hmm... Can I make some good money out of it? I am especially interested in technical analysis.
8. Improve my program to make money. I have written one for my secret project in 2008. But I want to improve it further.
9. Read at least ten new books. Any book less than 100 pages is not counted. Must read at least two detective stories and crack the cases!
10. Improve computing knowledge. This is good for my job.

Happy Ox Year!