I would avoid buying a car if I could (with my study and housing loan to pay back, less is best! That's also one less asshole you're gonna have to deal with on the road). But reality is that it's just not possible, especially here in the Klang Valley. Like it or not, our public transportation is just piss poor. Somebody just didn't finish their homework when it came to capacity and route planning. Why just two coaches for the Putra LRT and KL Monorail? And how many get off/on at stations like Abdullah Hukum or Kampung Baru anyways? As for taxis and buses, the drivers' attitudes leave a lot to be desired which is further compounded by internal squabblings and politicking within their associations and companies. I would go cage-less if I am not so much of a wuss could but I really feel that our roads are just too dangerous for motorcyclists with no proper separate lanes built that makes it safe for them (and other road users) to use, what more with the appalling attitude of some drivers in this country. All this perhaps could have been avoided had the parties responsible put some thought into everything in the first place (ever heard Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance?) and forsake the interest in getting quick gains instead of the interests of the majority tax/toll/fare/excise end payers.

I've got another one of those episodes where I'm passing rocks. Yes, people. Hardly a year since the last occurence, I'm getting another one. Weird thing is that, with the amount of liquid that I've been consuming over the years (at least two bottles of water from the 1.5L mineral water bottles daily), I really don't know what gives. The results of the blood and urine tests show everything as normal. My kidneys must be ultra strong to be able to form rocks under tidal wave like conditions it seems. I'm seeing a urology specialist on this to find out what's really going on and monitor stuff until the next one is passed out. At the rate I'm going, I should have enough of those to make an engagement and a wedding ring (yeah, both of 'em!). What better way to show affection to the loved one than something from the very bottom of the kidneys, eh?

So Internet users aren't socially incapable as they're often thought of to be after all. Rather, a recent study finds that they are "an avid reader of books and spends more time engaged in social activities than the non-user" and that they also spend less time watching the idiot box. See? Toldya I'm not so much of a nerd (though I reckon that I'm very much a navel gazing geek).

Anil Dash laments on how the directness of contemporary communication (i.e. mobile, email, IM, etc.) has caused a decline in possible exciting chance encounters these days. Perhaps true to a certain extent, but as once said by Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) in Jurassic Park: “Life will find its way”. As it is, there have already been quite a number of those "social networking" services available out there such as Friendster, There, community based websites or even weblogs for that matter. Even Google is also getting on the social networking scene with Orkut.com. So the avenue for chance encounters has somewhat found its way onto the Internet already, catering the needs of the possible masses on the medium. Then again, call me old fashioned, but I reckon nothing beats getting a whiff of pheromones from the opposite sex in real life encounters and start getting horny busy coming up with a sexy pick-up line. How's that for chancing it?

Listening to: The Chemical Brothers - Not Another Drugstore (Planet Nine Mix)

Two and a half years since I started this website and some eight months since Project Petaling Street (PPS) went live, I thought I'd usher in the Year of the Monkey in a geeky blogger way. I have thus decided to make the jump from being a mere lurker of The 'Street to be part of The 'Street community itself! As part of the recent revamp that was done on this website, I reckon, why not? Slow to join the bandwagon perhaps, but hey, what's the rush when it comes to "navel gazing", eh? ;)

Since this site runs on a totally homebrewed solution, 'pinging' PPS was something that had to be built into the backend. In tradition of standing on the shoulders of giants, I've converted Alphaque's pingMT() that he released when PPS was being conceived into VB/ASP. Perhaps someone out there might find it of use if he/she is has too much time on their hands to come up with their own blogging tool like yours truly or Spoonfork during the time when girls were allergic to him. :P

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all, by the way!

Mom signed herself up for one of those "play by ear" lessons recently. So to help her out, I bought a keyboard (the musical kind) which I have also been wanting ever since I started doing music tracking/composing/remixing on my Commodore Amiga A1200 computer in 1993/1994 (jumping octaves on the computer keyboard, while achievable, required some patience to live with). While the keyboard ain't no Korg, Roland or even Yamaha for that matter, I was pleasantly surprised by how rich the Casio WK-1800 keyboard sounded! What surprised me was that it also has an on-board synth and sequencer, although I expect to be tinkering most of the stuff via MIDI once I get the cables. Not bad for a home keyboard actually! I'm not really a performer as much as I am a tracker/composer/remixer but I reckon I can start somewhere. I'm already plinking plonking away to Dewa 19's piano ballad Cintakan Membawamu Kembali. Perhaps one day I can sound as good as the tracked MIDI version does. For now, I'm just bleeding everyone's ears as I go along.

My ex-housemate at uni, Firdaus (otherwise known as Penang to his close friends 'cos that's where he's from) took one step into tying the knot with his sweetheart, Fauzana. A bunch of us were there at Fauzana's place in Damansara. Have a look see. I'm sure both of them will be anxiously looking forward for the month of May to come!

Like pulling a band-aid off your crotch... slowly.

Of course this episode didn't last forever
I'd made my point and it was time to move on
To peel away the next layer of deceit
And see what new surprises lay in store
My school report said I showed no interest
'A disruptive influence' I felt sorry for them in a way
And when they finally expelled me
It didn't mean a thing

Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it