Friday, February 28, 2003
144 I think I know who the hacker is. However, I’m not so sure.
UMIMSA has been hacked by hackers who claimed to be trill, Ado and hax0r. The hacking series started a few months ago with a few successful attempts in obtaining administrative access to UMIMSA’s domain.
By the way, I browsed around the site and found out that the password for the restricted area is SO easy. It took me less than ten minutes to figure out the username and the password.
Well, lesson learned I guess, or not. Nevertheless, the password is not the main issue as the parent directory was also hacked. Later, I tried to get some help at #hackers on dalNet but nobody was willing to help out. Anyway, these are the things that the hackers left. Just something left on the not-so-restricted directories.
a) trill owns this site now Leave Noobies!
b) Fuckin Noobs
c) owned 2k3
d) Scoob cries blood
e) i love you gia.
f) FUCK YOU
g) Hacked By Ado
h) lol
i) hax0r
I found hax0r’s nick somewhere on the parent directory. I do remember hax0r from somewhere but my memory is failing. Nevertheless, if hax0r is really is somebody that I am thinking of, too bad for the owner of the site.
p/s - http://www.cekediz.net/umimsa/news/comments.php?id=1320131461, and try some combination and password. It’s really easy. I say, it is some reckless work on the settings.
UMIMSA has been hacked by hackers who claimed to be trill, Ado and hax0r. The hacking series started a few months ago with a few successful attempts in obtaining administrative access to UMIMSA’s domain.
By the way, I browsed around the site and found out that the password for the restricted area is SO easy. It took me less than ten minutes to figure out the username and the password.
Well, lesson learned I guess, or not. Nevertheless, the password is not the main issue as the parent directory was also hacked. Later, I tried to get some help at #hackers on dalNet but nobody was willing to help out. Anyway, these are the things that the hackers left. Just something left on the not-so-restricted directories.
a) trill owns this site now Leave Noobies!
b) Fuckin Noobs
c) owned 2k3
d) Scoob cries blood
e) i love you gia.
f) FUCK YOU
g) Hacked By Ado
h) lol
i) hax0r
I found hax0r’s nick somewhere on the parent directory. I do remember hax0r from somewhere but my memory is failing. Nevertheless, if hax0r is really is somebody that I am thinking of, too bad for the owner of the site.
p/s - http://www.cekediz.net/umimsa/news/comments.php?id=1320131461, and try some combination and password. It’s really easy. I say, it is some reckless work on the settings.
Saturday, February 22, 2003
143
Damn the snow. I was planning to go for a walk at the Arboretum today but God changed His mind. Behold, it must snow today. Sigh…
Anyway, I spent my whole evening at Ypsilanti, trying to help the race crew building the car. One thing worth noting; yesterday session was tense. Never in my life as a Solar Car member have I experienced what I had last night.
At first, the Power Electrical team had wanted to install the wiring on the car but the mechanical team needed to do something first. So, we disappointedly gave up our plan and instead, rescheduled our timetable and went out to Ypsilanti in order to help out the mech team. Once there, Mirai and Ivan needed to test the battery so they left me with our rival, which is the Mech team. While I had nothing to do for the Power Electrical team at that time, I decided to help out Mech. After all, although we’re rivals, our goal is still the car.
The rush of adrenaline started around 2100 hours, I at first stage was given the task of preparing some glue. Later, I had to go into the car to install some carbon stuffs on the car. The interesting thing was that the team had the operation timed. I, well we were racing against time and the Engineering Director even raised his voice, trying to keep people on track. At one time, we screwed up something and he was looking really mad
Nevertheless, we did finish up the work sometimes around midnight.
After the work session, I have decided to hate two thing, fiber glass and ethanol. Fiber glass makes the hand itchy while ethanol burns the hand. Therefore, the moral of the story is not to join the Mech team. Power Electrical rules.
Honesty is not necessarily the best policy and nothing is the best when it comes to ways of behaving. However, hypocrisy is better than honesty. That is for sure. First of all, I define hypocrisy as displaying two kind of behavior in two different situations. I see hypocrisy as a superset of honesty. In fact, the people whom first used the phrase ‘honesty is the best policy’ are hypocrites themselves. Honesty on the other hand is simply the notion of being true to oneself i.e. following rigidly the principles (ideal, rules etc) that one has set on oneself.
The world around us constantly changing and this need us to adapt. Hypocrisy is a way to adapt to the ever changing world. One proof is China before the age of pre-pax Americana and during pax Americana. They were somewhat against the capitalist system and closed their system from world scrutiny. But now, we found that China is even in the WTO, the organization that they once looked in disgust. They only did this after they saw that it will benefit them to join the organization despite the fact that this is against their ideal.
Sometimes, two similar cases need us to deal with them differently. One case is the United States’ stand on North Korea and Iraq. They are applying double standard on those so-called members of Axis of Evil simply because it benefits them to do it. Surely, to fight on two fronts separated by the mountainous Asian terrain is folly. Also, using the same threat on North Korea will be a grave mistake since China is certainly more interested in the Korean Peninsula scenario than the Iraqis’ problem.
The affirmative action movement is classic case of hypocrisy. Yes a long time ago, there was discrimination of certain group of people against others. Discrimination no doubt is bad and the affirmative action was born from the notion that discrimination must be cleaned out from society’s mind. And now, the movement itself is discriminating certain sorts in favor of a few particular groups. Isn’t this hypocrisy?
But of course, when one reads this, one will wonder what the connection between hypocrisy and honesty is. The relationship is, as I said before, honesty is a subset of hypocrisy.
If you don’t agree with me then consider the following situation. You have an ability to do something that nobody else possesses. A friend of yours knows this and asked you to use your expertise to do something for him or her as a favor. His or her request was against your principle and thus, you presented your friend with a monotonous no as an answer. Later, a stranger approached you and asked you to do the same thing that your friend had asked you. As a return, the stranger promise to reward you with something that you need but can’t afford to buy it. So, will you be honest and fair towards your friend by saying no to the stranger or will you obey the stranger’s request and get the thing that you really want?
If you think the last scenario is not strong enough, then imagine that the reward was your life and the request was to murder someone else. Will you be true to yourself and your friend or will you be a hypocrite?
Damn the snow. I was planning to go for a walk at the Arboretum today but God changed His mind. Behold, it must snow today. Sigh…
Anyway, I spent my whole evening at Ypsilanti, trying to help the race crew building the car. One thing worth noting; yesterday session was tense. Never in my life as a Solar Car member have I experienced what I had last night.
At first, the Power Electrical team had wanted to install the wiring on the car but the mechanical team needed to do something first. So, we disappointedly gave up our plan and instead, rescheduled our timetable and went out to Ypsilanti in order to help out the mech team. Once there, Mirai and Ivan needed to test the battery so they left me with our rival, which is the Mech team. While I had nothing to do for the Power Electrical team at that time, I decided to help out Mech. After all, although we’re rivals, our goal is still the car.
The rush of adrenaline started around 2100 hours, I at first stage was given the task of preparing some glue. Later, I had to go into the car to install some carbon stuffs on the car. The interesting thing was that the team had the operation timed. I, well we were racing against time and the Engineering Director even raised his voice, trying to keep people on track. At one time, we screwed up something and he was looking really mad
Nevertheless, we did finish up the work sometimes around midnight.
After the work session, I have decided to hate two thing, fiber glass and ethanol. Fiber glass makes the hand itchy while ethanol burns the hand. Therefore, the moral of the story is not to join the Mech team. Power Electrical rules.
Honesty is not necessarily the best policy and nothing is the best when it comes to ways of behaving. However, hypocrisy is better than honesty. That is for sure. First of all, I define hypocrisy as displaying two kind of behavior in two different situations. I see hypocrisy as a superset of honesty. In fact, the people whom first used the phrase ‘honesty is the best policy’ are hypocrites themselves. Honesty on the other hand is simply the notion of being true to oneself i.e. following rigidly the principles (ideal, rules etc) that one has set on oneself.
The world around us constantly changing and this need us to adapt. Hypocrisy is a way to adapt to the ever changing world. One proof is China before the age of pre-pax Americana and during pax Americana. They were somewhat against the capitalist system and closed their system from world scrutiny. But now, we found that China is even in the WTO, the organization that they once looked in disgust. They only did this after they saw that it will benefit them to join the organization despite the fact that this is against their ideal.
Sometimes, two similar cases need us to deal with them differently. One case is the United States’ stand on North Korea and Iraq. They are applying double standard on those so-called members of Axis of Evil simply because it benefits them to do it. Surely, to fight on two fronts separated by the mountainous Asian terrain is folly. Also, using the same threat on North Korea will be a grave mistake since China is certainly more interested in the Korean Peninsula scenario than the Iraqis’ problem.
The affirmative action movement is classic case of hypocrisy. Yes a long time ago, there was discrimination of certain group of people against others. Discrimination no doubt is bad and the affirmative action was born from the notion that discrimination must be cleaned out from society’s mind. And now, the movement itself is discriminating certain sorts in favor of a few particular groups. Isn’t this hypocrisy?
But of course, when one reads this, one will wonder what the connection between hypocrisy and honesty is. The relationship is, as I said before, honesty is a subset of hypocrisy.
If you don’t agree with me then consider the following situation. You have an ability to do something that nobody else possesses. A friend of yours knows this and asked you to use your expertise to do something for him or her as a favor. His or her request was against your principle and thus, you presented your friend with a monotonous no as an answer. Later, a stranger approached you and asked you to do the same thing that your friend had asked you. As a return, the stranger promise to reward you with something that you need but can’t afford to buy it. So, will you be honest and fair towards your friend by saying no to the stranger or will you obey the stranger’s request and get the thing that you really want?
If you think the last scenario is not strong enough, then imagine that the reward was your life and the request was to murder someone else. Will you be true to yourself and your friend or will you be a hypocrite?
Friday, February 21, 2003
To those who have online diary, the ones that write stupid stuff as if other people care, FUCKING SHUT IT DOWN. Thank you.
The Sun rose slowly over the horizon, transforming the dark sky into an adorable orange colored ceiling. It didn’t take long before the whole Ann Arbor started to enjoy the brightness of the Sun. Today, the snow melt and the birds sang. Spring is here.
One news, Jessica asked me out. It wasn’t a date or something but she did invite me to see an acappella show at the Mendelssohn Theater with her. (There were also 8 other people but I don’t think that is important. Hehehe…) Okay, let’s move on.
Logic is a tough platform to stand on, especially where religion is concerned. I am saying this because I am trained in logic (or least I’ve taken discrete mathematics) and now I am taking a course in Islamic studies. The class is not about the typical boring stuff that people was thought in school. It is about the introduction to Islam and its thoughts development. This week in class, the professor explained to us an age old problem – the problem between human free will and predestination.
Basically, the argument starts with Islam assertion in Qa’qa and Qa’da, a term that roughly in English describes that everything that happens is the will of God and human must accept whatever happens with an open heart. It is also about how human can change its destiny.
Here is the problem. If God is all-knowing, then He knows what will happen in the future to anybody. If God is all-merciful, then He won’t allow his servants to suffer. The third premise is everything is predetermined. If somebody is predestined to go to hell, then surely, if God is all-knowing, will know this and if God is all-merciful, will not make this happens but certainly to our understanding of Islam, somebody will go to hell.
Here is an analogy, the story of the three brothers.
"A long time ago, there were three brothers. The first brother was admitted to heaven since he was well-behaved during his life and set exemplary life for this younger brothers. The second brother died when he was an infant. This is because God knew that he was going to be a sinner through his life. So, out of mercy, God took his life early as to prevent him from committing acts that would bring him to hell. The third brother however was in hell. He felt cheated when he knew about his second brother and asked God why he was let to live his life while God knew that he was going to hell…"
This is where Qa’qa and Qa’da failed in the eyes of the Mutazilities, a group of Muslim that was influenced by Platonian thinking. Since the logic makes God looks bad, they abandoned the idea of predestination in favor of human free will.
They believed that God had given human the paths that can be taken and human will be free to choose which is good for them. After they had chosen the path, they will fully be responsible for their choice with the possibility of heaven or the burning hell. This way, the premies God is all-merciful will be held easily.
I don’t think want to explain this because it is suddenly becoming hard for me to write the idea in words but the main thing I want to say is that if I lived back during the ninth century, I would be a Mutazilitie. In fact, I believe all modern day liberal Muslims are Mutazilities in one way or another. I’ll continue on this if I managed to put it down in proper sentences.
The Sun rose slowly over the horizon, transforming the dark sky into an adorable orange colored ceiling. It didn’t take long before the whole Ann Arbor started to enjoy the brightness of the Sun. Today, the snow melt and the birds sang. Spring is here.
One news, Jessica asked me out. It wasn’t a date or something but she did invite me to see an acappella show at the Mendelssohn Theater with her. (There were also 8 other people but I don’t think that is important. Hehehe…) Okay, let’s move on.
Logic is a tough platform to stand on, especially where religion is concerned. I am saying this because I am trained in logic (or least I’ve taken discrete mathematics) and now I am taking a course in Islamic studies. The class is not about the typical boring stuff that people was thought in school. It is about the introduction to Islam and its thoughts development. This week in class, the professor explained to us an age old problem – the problem between human free will and predestination.
Basically, the argument starts with Islam assertion in Qa’qa and Qa’da, a term that roughly in English describes that everything that happens is the will of God and human must accept whatever happens with an open heart. It is also about how human can change its destiny.
Here is the problem. If God is all-knowing, then He knows what will happen in the future to anybody. If God is all-merciful, then He won’t allow his servants to suffer. The third premise is everything is predetermined. If somebody is predestined to go to hell, then surely, if God is all-knowing, will know this and if God is all-merciful, will not make this happens but certainly to our understanding of Islam, somebody will go to hell.
Here is an analogy, the story of the three brothers.
"A long time ago, there were three brothers. The first brother was admitted to heaven since he was well-behaved during his life and set exemplary life for this younger brothers. The second brother died when he was an infant. This is because God knew that he was going to be a sinner through his life. So, out of mercy, God took his life early as to prevent him from committing acts that would bring him to hell. The third brother however was in hell. He felt cheated when he knew about his second brother and asked God why he was let to live his life while God knew that he was going to hell…"
This is where Qa’qa and Qa’da failed in the eyes of the Mutazilities, a group of Muslim that was influenced by Platonian thinking. Since the logic makes God looks bad, they abandoned the idea of predestination in favor of human free will.
They believed that God had given human the paths that can be taken and human will be free to choose which is good for them. After they had chosen the path, they will fully be responsible for their choice with the possibility of heaven or the burning hell. This way, the premies God is all-merciful will be held easily.
I don’t think want to explain this because it is suddenly becoming hard for me to write the idea in words but the main thing I want to say is that if I lived back during the ninth century, I would be a Mutazilitie. In fact, I believe all modern day liberal Muslims are Mutazilities in one way or another. I’ll continue on this if I managed to put it down in proper sentences.
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
141
I am currently so hyped with Ajax.
They didn’t have five key players and still managed to fight off Arsenal at Highbury. Furthermore, Ajax is relatively the youngest team in the whole 16 teams with an average 23 years old. This also means that they are the most inexperience team in the whole tournament.
The next three games will be somewhat in Ajax favor, assuming that Roma will not make a sudden comeback. The tough match against Arsenal and Valencia will be held at the Amsterdam Arena. The fanatical F-Side will certainly have a good time intimidating the visiting team.
Visiting the last match, I am starting to agree to what I have read in the Ajax-USA forum. Wiltord's goal should not have gone in. Lobont have the tendency to fall asleep while guarding the post!
Nevertheless, the young De Jong saved the Dutch and made it one all. From there on, from what I saw from the match highlight, both teams started to play a game of tuck-of-war. Arsenal did have a few scoring chances but Logont somehow became what Didulica to Valencia, the impenetrable custodian. As the full time loomed closer, Ronald Koeman, substituted a lot of players with the most notable one was Sparta Rotterdam explayer, Nourdin Boukhari almost made it 2 – 1 for Ajax. Unfortunately, he applied to much force on the ball and it flew by a mere centimeter off to the right of Arsenal’s post.
For the next match, I hope the keys players, van der Vaart (hail as the young Dennis Bergkamp), Mido (the Egyptian magic), Litmanen (the Finnish terror), van der Meyde (treasure of the youth system) and O’Brien (the American hero) will be available for Arsenal. If they will be available, then the English and the Spanish will experience what the others, especially PSV and Feyenoord are experiencing – an Ajax with full strength.
On the other hand, I feel bad for Arsenal. Later stage of their group match will be tough with two away matches against Ajax and Valencia. Valencia in particular will be looking for English blood on Spanish soil.
The Valencia – Roma match was dominated by Valencia but the winning goal by the Norwegians John Carew was, as was described by the commentator, a bizarre goal. The Italian and even the Spanish team did not expect the goal. Imagine how Pelizzoli feels when the ball when passed by him. If Lobont was asleep during his game, then I guess Pelizzoli was snoring.
The result of the matches left Group B in a very tight situation. All three teams are on top of the group with five points and the only thing that separated these teams are goal differences. Arsenal has four goals for two against, Ajax four against three and Valencia two against one.
The best is yet to come.
Moving on to local scene, I expect Ajax to cling on to the second spot while closely staying behind PSV. Feyenoord in the mean time will be staying at the third rung. The next match will be at FC Utrecht and I believe Ajax, after considering everything will win this game. The Eresdivie now looks more like what I had been in the long Dutch history – Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV dominating the local football scene.
Jumping across the English Channel, Arsenal will be up against Manchester City and I hope Arsenal will win this one. I hate to go against Lada but for the sake of English football, let Arsenal win because the Devil is right behind the Gunners. Also, one bad news for Arsenal. Seaman is injured.
And of course, I think Asier will be more than delighted after seeing Barca screwed up Inter with three goals.
De Magish van de Meer!
I am currently so hyped with Ajax.
They didn’t have five key players and still managed to fight off Arsenal at Highbury. Furthermore, Ajax is relatively the youngest team in the whole 16 teams with an average 23 years old. This also means that they are the most inexperience team in the whole tournament.
The next three games will be somewhat in Ajax favor, assuming that Roma will not make a sudden comeback. The tough match against Arsenal and Valencia will be held at the Amsterdam Arena. The fanatical F-Side will certainly have a good time intimidating the visiting team.
Visiting the last match, I am starting to agree to what I have read in the Ajax-USA forum. Wiltord's goal should not have gone in. Lobont have the tendency to fall asleep while guarding the post!
Nevertheless, the young De Jong saved the Dutch and made it one all. From there on, from what I saw from the match highlight, both teams started to play a game of tuck-of-war. Arsenal did have a few scoring chances but Logont somehow became what Didulica to Valencia, the impenetrable custodian. As the full time loomed closer, Ronald Koeman, substituted a lot of players with the most notable one was Sparta Rotterdam explayer, Nourdin Boukhari almost made it 2 – 1 for Ajax. Unfortunately, he applied to much force on the ball and it flew by a mere centimeter off to the right of Arsenal’s post.
For the next match, I hope the keys players, van der Vaart (hail as the young Dennis Bergkamp), Mido (the Egyptian magic), Litmanen (the Finnish terror), van der Meyde (treasure of the youth system) and O’Brien (the American hero) will be available for Arsenal. If they will be available, then the English and the Spanish will experience what the others, especially PSV and Feyenoord are experiencing – an Ajax with full strength.
On the other hand, I feel bad for Arsenal. Later stage of their group match will be tough with two away matches against Ajax and Valencia. Valencia in particular will be looking for English blood on Spanish soil.
The Valencia – Roma match was dominated by Valencia but the winning goal by the Norwegians John Carew was, as was described by the commentator, a bizarre goal. The Italian and even the Spanish team did not expect the goal. Imagine how Pelizzoli feels when the ball when passed by him. If Lobont was asleep during his game, then I guess Pelizzoli was snoring.
The result of the matches left Group B in a very tight situation. All three teams are on top of the group with five points and the only thing that separated these teams are goal differences. Arsenal has four goals for two against, Ajax four against three and Valencia two against one.
The best is yet to come.
Moving on to local scene, I expect Ajax to cling on to the second spot while closely staying behind PSV. Feyenoord in the mean time will be staying at the third rung. The next match will be at FC Utrecht and I believe Ajax, after considering everything will win this game. The Eresdivie now looks more like what I had been in the long Dutch history – Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV dominating the local football scene.
Jumping across the English Channel, Arsenal will be up against Manchester City and I hope Arsenal will win this one. I hate to go against Lada but for the sake of English football, let Arsenal win because the Devil is right behind the Gunners. Also, one bad news for Arsenal. Seaman is injured.
And of course, I think Asier will be more than delighted after seeing Barca screwed up Inter with three goals.
De Magish van de Meer!
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
140
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters
Ajax frustrate Arsenal in Highbury stalemate
AP
Ajax earns 1-1 Group B draw at Arsenal
UEFA.com
Ajax Hold Their Own
ESPN’s Soccernet.com
Ajax hold Gunners
Yahoo.com
Ajax hold Arsenal to Highbury draw
Ajax.nl
Ajax houdt bij Arsenal knap stand
Arsenal.com
Wiltord scores early but Ajax fight back and snatch a draw
Soccerage.com
Arsenal Held At Highbury By Vibrant Ajax
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I need to say just one thing. Ajax could have beaten Arsenal. Just like how Ajax could have won against Valencia.
Now, Group B will be the most observed group. With Arsenal, Ajax and Valencia sharing the group's throne with five points, every single game will be important to all group members minus Roma. Group B, the Group of Death.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters
Ajax frustrate Arsenal in Highbury stalemate
AP
Ajax earns 1-1 Group B draw at Arsenal
UEFA.com
Ajax Hold Their Own
ESPN’s Soccernet.com
Ajax hold Gunners
Yahoo.com
Ajax hold Arsenal to Highbury draw
Ajax.nl
Ajax houdt bij Arsenal knap stand
Arsenal.com
Wiltord scores early but Ajax fight back and snatch a draw
Soccerage.com
Arsenal Held At Highbury By Vibrant Ajax
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I need to say just one thing. Ajax could have beaten Arsenal. Just like how Ajax could have won against Valencia.
Now, Group B will be the most observed group. With Arsenal, Ajax and Valencia sharing the group's throne with five points, every single game will be important to all group members minus Roma. Group B, the Group of Death.
Sunday, February 16, 2003
138
Adam is thinking of going to Amsterdam and he is inviting me to join in the wagon.
I don't know what made me say yes. My initial plan for the summer was going down Route 66, enjoying the scenic highway while following the Solar Car Race closely. A journey crossing the desert to the Pacific would be fun but seeing Amsterdam with my own eyes would be splendid indeed. I guess the real reason I sort of agreed with Adam is that I want to see Ajax's home ground, the Amsterdam Arena. So, Solar Car or Ajax Amsterdam? Let’s just see what will happen in the next few weeks.
By the way, Ajax won against Groningen with two goals, scored by Andy Van De Meyde and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ajax really needs the three points since PSV is five points ahead of the crowd. Damn those farmers.
At the same time, Arsenal won against ehem, as Lada had written in his site, Manchester-F**king-United - two against zilch, nothing, zero. The Gunners sent the Devil back to hell. I guess we now can savor a world free of Devil. I guess now we can savor the knowledge that stinky Sir Alex Ferguson won’t be seeing the Devil’s hand on the FA Cup. I guess the Gunners has exorcised the FA Cup Tournament from Evil.
Although the Devil had been nailed to the ground, the action is yet to come. This week, Highbury will welcome AFC Ajax Amsterdam for a Champion League game. This is one of the games, one of the few which I am having trouble choosing side. I've been an Ajacied since 1995 and I am proud to say that Ajax is at least rebuilding its past glory. Arsenal on the other hand is my favorite in the English Premier League and has been pounding the Devils and the Reds. In fact, the Gunner got the Red Devil, two birds, and cuckoo! The Gunners is currently sitting the on the English throne. Arsene Wenger even said that Arsenal now is what Manchester United was back in the late 90s; The Master of the English.
I hope the result will bring good to both teams. I want Ajax to win so that both Arsenal and Ajax could qualify for the second round. Or better, hope that they will draw with each other while Roma beat the crap out of Valencia. Then, Valencia will be having a huge trouble.
Roma, Roma, they are a joke. The only thing that comes up to my mind is why are they in the Champion League? Tsk, tsk, tsk...
The reasons why I hate the team from Old Trafford.
10 - Old Trafford. Old Tarapot.
9– Their fans know only David Beckham. And Victory is ugly.
8 – They are the Devil. Jihad against the Devil!!!
7 – Alex Ferguson. Seeing him is like seeing Bruce Arena during the 2002 World Cup.
6 – Barthez. You call him a goalie?
5 – They almost never train their own players. Stop stealing players.
4 – They are too rich. Down with the capitalist.
3 – Jaap Stam and Nistelrooy. Both from PSV Eindhoven.
2 – They cheated on Bayern Munich during the European Cup Final. I swear that they bribed the referee. I mean, cmon, the stoppage time was like a FULL extra time.
1- They are Manchester-F**king-United. (I guess there is no use of censoring it.)
My favorite teams
Holland - Ajax (Since 1995)
Belgium - Club Brugge (No reason)
England - Arsenal (They are kicking the Devil's ass)
Scotland - Rangers (Hey, Celtic or Rangers, I have no choice)
Spain - Barcelona (virtually, Ajax of the West)
France - Auxerre (cool pronunciation)
Germany - Kaiserslautern (remember when they stormed the German's crown when they first got promoted? That was awesome)
Malaysia - Anything BUT Selangor.
Adam is thinking of going to Amsterdam and he is inviting me to join in the wagon.
I don't know what made me say yes. My initial plan for the summer was going down Route 66, enjoying the scenic highway while following the Solar Car Race closely. A journey crossing the desert to the Pacific would be fun but seeing Amsterdam with my own eyes would be splendid indeed. I guess the real reason I sort of agreed with Adam is that I want to see Ajax's home ground, the Amsterdam Arena. So, Solar Car or Ajax Amsterdam? Let’s just see what will happen in the next few weeks.
By the way, Ajax won against Groningen with two goals, scored by Andy Van De Meyde and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ajax really needs the three points since PSV is five points ahead of the crowd. Damn those farmers.
At the same time, Arsenal won against ehem, as Lada had written in his site, Manchester-F**king-United - two against zilch, nothing, zero. The Gunners sent the Devil back to hell. I guess we now can savor a world free of Devil. I guess now we can savor the knowledge that stinky Sir Alex Ferguson won’t be seeing the Devil’s hand on the FA Cup. I guess the Gunners has exorcised the FA Cup Tournament from Evil.
Although the Devil had been nailed to the ground, the action is yet to come. This week, Highbury will welcome AFC Ajax Amsterdam for a Champion League game. This is one of the games, one of the few which I am having trouble choosing side. I've been an Ajacied since 1995 and I am proud to say that Ajax is at least rebuilding its past glory. Arsenal on the other hand is my favorite in the English Premier League and has been pounding the Devils and the Reds. In fact, the Gunner got the Red Devil, two birds, and cuckoo! The Gunners is currently sitting the on the English throne. Arsene Wenger even said that Arsenal now is what Manchester United was back in the late 90s; The Master of the English.
I hope the result will bring good to both teams. I want Ajax to win so that both Arsenal and Ajax could qualify for the second round. Or better, hope that they will draw with each other while Roma beat the crap out of Valencia. Then, Valencia will be having a huge trouble.
Roma, Roma, they are a joke. The only thing that comes up to my mind is why are they in the Champion League? Tsk, tsk, tsk...
The reasons why I hate the team from Old Trafford.
10 - Old Trafford. Old Tarapot.
9– Their fans know only David Beckham. And Victory is ugly.
8 – They are the Devil. Jihad against the Devil!!!
7 – Alex Ferguson. Seeing him is like seeing Bruce Arena during the 2002 World Cup.
6 – Barthez. You call him a goalie?
5 – They almost never train their own players. Stop stealing players.
4 – They are too rich. Down with the capitalist.
3 – Jaap Stam and Nistelrooy. Both from PSV Eindhoven.
2 – They cheated on Bayern Munich during the European Cup Final. I swear that they bribed the referee. I mean, cmon, the stoppage time was like a FULL extra time.
1- They are Manchester-F**king-United. (I guess there is no use of censoring it.)
My favorite teams
Holland - Ajax (Since 1995)
Belgium - Club Brugge (No reason)
England - Arsenal (They are kicking the Devil's ass)
Scotland - Rangers (Hey, Celtic or Rangers, I have no choice)
Spain - Barcelona (virtually, Ajax of the West)
France - Auxerre (cool pronunciation)
Germany - Kaiserslautern (remember when they stormed the German's crown when they first got promoted? That was awesome)
Malaysia - Anything BUT Selangor.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
137
The Mon Calamari, an ally of the Alliance, in my opinion, had produced the best capital ship for the Rebel Alliance in their quest against the Galactic Empire.
The Rebel Alliance was at best lacking the money and technological expertise the Empire had enjoyed. With Kuat Drive Yard and Sienar Fleet System backing the Imperial, the Alliance faced a haunting prospect of losing to a better-equipped enemy. Therefore, they were willing to accept anything from anyone as long as their fight against the Empire did not diminish.
Their luck changed when a sympathizer, Incom, the manufacturer of Z-95 Headhunter, turned in X-Wing blue print to the Rebel Alliance. While the Alliance found a new all-round starfighter, they at the same thing found a new friend – the Mol Calamari. The Mol Calamari, especially Admiral Ackbar proved to be a great asset to the Alliance. Through the Mon Cal, the Rebel was introduced to a new class of starship – Mol Cal (MC80-a) Star Cruiser.
Mon Cal was the main starship class for the Rebel Alliance. It played an important role during the Battle of Endor. A few of them were destroyed by the Second Death Star powerful beam but most of it survived to see the final defeat of the Empire at Coruscant.
The ship has the most peculiar design. By far, it is the only capital ship in Star Wars Universe that would pass an aerodynamic test. Also, not one ship in the Mon Cal class is similar to one another. Like every being, every different ship in its class is unique.
The Mon Calamari is a fan of redundancy. The ship has several shield generators and thus, having a high shield refresh rate compared to the Kuat Drive Yard’s infamous Star Destroyer. Nevertheless, a typical Star Destroyer has a stronger shield. Apart from depending particle and ray shield, the Mon Cal armor has the most impenetrable hull. Stressing once again on their belief in redundancy, massive armor plates were install on each ship; every armor is reinforced with extra plating. Furthermore, the Mon Cal has a huge drive array, making it one of the fastest ship in its class.
Later during the Battle of Endor, Admiral Ackbar took command of a Liberty class Mon Cal, a larger derivation of MC80-a. This ship was so fearsome that even a Star Destroyer wouldn’t want engage it hastily.
Image taken from http://mitglied.lycos.de/STARWARS_Blueprints, et la The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Bill Smith and Doug Chiang)
The Mon Calamari, an ally of the Alliance, in my opinion, had produced the best capital ship for the Rebel Alliance in their quest against the Galactic Empire.
The Rebel Alliance was at best lacking the money and technological expertise the Empire had enjoyed. With Kuat Drive Yard and Sienar Fleet System backing the Imperial, the Alliance faced a haunting prospect of losing to a better-equipped enemy. Therefore, they were willing to accept anything from anyone as long as their fight against the Empire did not diminish.
Their luck changed when a sympathizer, Incom, the manufacturer of Z-95 Headhunter, turned in X-Wing blue print to the Rebel Alliance. While the Alliance found a new all-round starfighter, they at the same thing found a new friend – the Mol Calamari. The Mol Calamari, especially Admiral Ackbar proved to be a great asset to the Alliance. Through the Mon Cal, the Rebel was introduced to a new class of starship – Mol Cal (MC80-a) Star Cruiser.
Mon Cal was the main starship class for the Rebel Alliance. It played an important role during the Battle of Endor. A few of them were destroyed by the Second Death Star powerful beam but most of it survived to see the final defeat of the Empire at Coruscant.
The ship has the most peculiar design. By far, it is the only capital ship in Star Wars Universe that would pass an aerodynamic test. Also, not one ship in the Mon Cal class is similar to one another. Like every being, every different ship in its class is unique.
The Mon Calamari is a fan of redundancy. The ship has several shield generators and thus, having a high shield refresh rate compared to the Kuat Drive Yard’s infamous Star Destroyer. Nevertheless, a typical Star Destroyer has a stronger shield. Apart from depending particle and ray shield, the Mon Cal armor has the most impenetrable hull. Stressing once again on their belief in redundancy, massive armor plates were install on each ship; every armor is reinforced with extra plating. Furthermore, the Mon Cal has a huge drive array, making it one of the fastest ship in its class.
Later during the Battle of Endor, Admiral Ackbar took command of a Liberty class Mon Cal, a larger derivation of MC80-a. This ship was so fearsome that even a Star Destroyer wouldn’t want engage it hastily.
Image taken from http://mitglied.lycos.de/STARWARS_Blueprints, et la The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Bill Smith and Doug Chiang)
Sunday, February 09, 2003
136. Only one person found the Easter Egg. If you are the one (he/she is from the Univ. of Michigan) , please email me at mnoorsha-AT-umich-DOT-edu. =)
It is hard being a Green.
We fight for almost everything that was created at the beginning of time. We fight as if we were the conservative, trying to stop everything from changing the precious world. In that, we at the same time are fighting against the very instrument that allows us to improve our lives.
Human advancements have made them, us dependable on electricity. A not single day is spent without anyone of us riding a vehicle or even switching on the light. All these activities are making Gaia sick but ironically, even the Greens do these almost everyday. Ayn Rand, well known for her stand against the idea of environmentalism once said that the Greens live a life full of guilt. According to her, life for the Greens is a dilemma. She went on by saying that the Greens fight for a greener world but at the same time, their own existence is destroying the world. Although her stance as an industrialist is considered as demon by the Greens, nevertheless her words ring every time we switch the light on, ride a bus or watch the television.
Guilt is what I feel every day. It keeps me thinking how my actions go one hundred and eighty degree against my ideal. When I eat and if the food somehow makes my hand dirty, I will always have a debate on whether should I take the tissue paper to clean it up or not. Most of the time I don’t take the paper but when I do, guilt overwhelms me.
Another delicate issue is the idea of evolution. Most of us in this modern world accept the theory well enough. Compressed in a sentence, the theory asserts the phrase survival the fittest. Now, apply that theory to the endangered species problem. It is clear how we should not even try to help the species. Even in simulation, some of the species tend to die out, giving more space to the dominating one.
The Gaia Theory itself, if I understand properly, says that the Earth, Gaia is a living thing – ever-trying to balance up and heal herself. So, everything that is happening, the climate change (of course, the human is still at fault because they worsen the warming more than necessary), the fauna extinction – it happens simply because of Gaia herself is trying to regulate her system.
Nevertheless, every day when I face these problems, I say to myself, we don’t have to go back to the primitive. We need to live and while living our life, some sacrifice needs to be done. Industries need to be allowed to strive but at the same time, we can or rather need to preserve what are necessary. Gaia is regulating herself but like our own biological system, without the medicine, we’ll fall sick. So, we must act as the medicine.
To come to think of it, we are not fighting for a greener world. We are simply fighting for a better world, for our children, for our future. The industrialist holds the same utopia, a better world but what makes the line between us and them is pronounced so strongly is simply the method we use to reach the same goal. They are taking the aggressive approach while we are leading into the greener path.
Certainly, our ideal far surpasses our guilt.
It is hard being a Green.
We fight for almost everything that was created at the beginning of time. We fight as if we were the conservative, trying to stop everything from changing the precious world. In that, we at the same time are fighting against the very instrument that allows us to improve our lives.
Human advancements have made them, us dependable on electricity. A not single day is spent without anyone of us riding a vehicle or even switching on the light. All these activities are making Gaia sick but ironically, even the Greens do these almost everyday. Ayn Rand, well known for her stand against the idea of environmentalism once said that the Greens live a life full of guilt. According to her, life for the Greens is a dilemma. She went on by saying that the Greens fight for a greener world but at the same time, their own existence is destroying the world. Although her stance as an industrialist is considered as demon by the Greens, nevertheless her words ring every time we switch the light on, ride a bus or watch the television.
Guilt is what I feel every day. It keeps me thinking how my actions go one hundred and eighty degree against my ideal. When I eat and if the food somehow makes my hand dirty, I will always have a debate on whether should I take the tissue paper to clean it up or not. Most of the time I don’t take the paper but when I do, guilt overwhelms me.
Another delicate issue is the idea of evolution. Most of us in this modern world accept the theory well enough. Compressed in a sentence, the theory asserts the phrase survival the fittest. Now, apply that theory to the endangered species problem. It is clear how we should not even try to help the species. Even in simulation, some of the species tend to die out, giving more space to the dominating one.
The Gaia Theory itself, if I understand properly, says that the Earth, Gaia is a living thing – ever-trying to balance up and heal herself. So, everything that is happening, the climate change (of course, the human is still at fault because they worsen the warming more than necessary), the fauna extinction – it happens simply because of Gaia herself is trying to regulate her system.
Nevertheless, every day when I face these problems, I say to myself, we don’t have to go back to the primitive. We need to live and while living our life, some sacrifice needs to be done. Industries need to be allowed to strive but at the same time, we can or rather need to preserve what are necessary. Gaia is regulating herself but like our own biological system, without the medicine, we’ll fall sick. So, we must act as the medicine.
To come to think of it, we are not fighting for a greener world. We are simply fighting for a better world, for our children, for our future. The industrialist holds the same utopia, a better world but what makes the line between us and them is pronounced so strongly is simply the method we use to reach the same goal. They are taking the aggressive approach while we are leading into the greener path.
Certainly, our ideal far surpasses our guilt.
Thursday, February 06, 2003
135. Go to http://www.__mars.blogspot.com/#88596289 after reading this thing. And please, don't link to it. A no means no.
The term blog is a short hand of the word web log. In a short time, the term became weblog and later as most people know became the blog phenomenon. The phenomenon quickly changed how personal websites are designed and maintained. Furthermore, to some extend it changes how the public receive and convey information to and fro the public. With this widespread influence of blog, several distinct groups of bloggers came into existence. In black and white, there are two distinct groups. One is the serious blog while the other type is personal blog.
Serious blog mainly consists of political motivated content. This type ranged from Libertarian ideology to the Green movement. Another branch of serious blog is the judgmental type. The content usually contains opinion on lots current events, whether the issues originated from the main stream media or from the blogosphere itself. Some of it are prejudiced to certain groups while few others simply analyze in a so-called ‘unbiased’ view. On second thought, the two kinds might be the same thing.
The serious branch also contains blogs that review various subjects such as games and technology. Others are simply a collection of forwarded email, photos, haikus (or poems), fictional stories etc. posted in short but random intervals. Of all blogs, these blogs are the most unique (and weird).
The second kind is the personal blog. Personal blog is merely an extension of the idea of personal website. It contains at best random rambling, ranging from ‘what I did today’ to ‘fuck the world’. Some of it are exceptionally good and typically crossed into the serious blogosphere. The others, usually with cliché title (e.g. ‘it’s all about me’) are simply personal diaries. The latter type has small scope and usually receives visit only from friends and families. It's worth mentioning that most surfers hate these personal online diaries.
All in all, most readers, in my opinion, would find the former class to be more interesting with the exception of this and that than the latter version.
The term blog is a short hand of the word web log. In a short time, the term became weblog and later as most people know became the blog phenomenon. The phenomenon quickly changed how personal websites are designed and maintained. Furthermore, to some extend it changes how the public receive and convey information to and fro the public. With this widespread influence of blog, several distinct groups of bloggers came into existence. In black and white, there are two distinct groups. One is the serious blog while the other type is personal blog.
Serious blog mainly consists of political motivated content. This type ranged from Libertarian ideology to the Green movement. Another branch of serious blog is the judgmental type. The content usually contains opinion on lots current events, whether the issues originated from the main stream media or from the blogosphere itself. Some of it are prejudiced to certain groups while few others simply analyze in a so-called ‘unbiased’ view. On second thought, the two kinds might be the same thing.
The serious branch also contains blogs that review various subjects such as games and technology. Others are simply a collection of forwarded email, photos, haikus (or poems), fictional stories etc. posted in short but random intervals. Of all blogs, these blogs are the most unique (and weird).
The second kind is the personal blog. Personal blog is merely an extension of the idea of personal website. It contains at best random rambling, ranging from ‘what I did today’ to ‘fuck the world’. Some of it are exceptionally good and typically crossed into the serious blogosphere. The others, usually with cliché title (e.g. ‘it’s all about me’) are simply personal diaries. The latter type has small scope and usually receives visit only from friends and families. It's worth mentioning that most surfers hate these personal online diaries.
All in all, most readers, in my opinion, would find the former class to be more interesting with the exception of this and that than the latter version.
Sunday, February 02, 2003
134.2
Some part of the entry is censored due to Mirai's request.
An excerpt from my diary.
------------------------------------------
Yesterday was fun and a little bit weird. Everything that could go wrong went wrong save the solar modules and our lives.
The day started early for me because I slept early last night, exhausted by the Solar Car work session. At six in the morning on Saturday, there was nothing for me to do so I watch CNN over the net while surfing. Bored, I took my bath and prepared myself for an experiment my team and I was going to conduct at ****** *****’s facilities. Then, just before I shut my computer off, I accidentally click on a link to a weblog with an entry “Please God, tell me I am dreaming.”
And my reaction right after clicking the link was Please God, tell me I am dreaming. NASA had lost contact with SS Columbia. At that time, Columbia loss was not yet announced. I had wanted to follow the event but I had to go to Ohio.
So, I left and waited for Ivan and the gang outside of the Michigan Union with a pizza in my hand. They were late and I was freezing to death in the cold morning. Then, they arrived and I found out that Jaz replaced Brent and Anastasia was not coming. We had planned to leave boring Ann Arbor at 1030 hours but found ourselves still in Ann Arbor half an hour later. (It was Mirai’s fault.)
The journey went smoothly and enjoyable until we heard about SS Columbia. The atmosphere in car was quiet but Jaz tried to lighten it up by talking about South Park. From South Park, the conversation went to politics and ended up criticizing Bush’s policies against Iraq. One of us even said that Bush is going to blame Iraq over Columbia loss which of course, was actually asked by the media later on.
While we were talking nonsense (especially on how “they killed Kenny stuff”), we lost our way due to several severe wrong turns. Talk about not paying attention to the road. Worse, I found out that instead of printing the complete direction from MapQuest, Ivan wrote it down a piece of paper without proper details. Nevertheless, we reached United Solar at around noon safely.
During the test, Mr. **** ******* was very nice to us. Not to mention his courtesy – we ran our test out of the usual business hours.
The test ran six hours straight, without even a sip of water. I also almost killed an A module by accidentally dropping it to the hard, solid concreted floor. Luckily, a few thousand dollars was saved because the module actually survived the impact. By 1800 hours, Jaz and I were having headache due deprivation of food (I am not kidding. I had a bad headache that I puked. And damn Ivan, he thought I was kidding. For God’s sake, my face was freaking pale!!!)
After the test, we put the modules into a huge case, thank Mike and left the facility. In the car, instead of discussing the result (the result was favorable by the way), we argued whether we should eat fast food or proper food. In the end, we decided to eat at a bar called Futtbucker (I am still blurry on how we reached this decision). It turned out later that it was not a bar (thank God). The dinner was good. Grilled salmon, tots and stuff were enough to help me to get over my headache.
Once satisfied, we continued our journey to Ann Arbor but we failed to realize one thing, WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE and the moon was high up in the sky. We knew that we were already in Michigan but seeing Detroit in the horizon was not in the plan. Ivan had somehow drove the Jeep eastward. Once he realized that, he went westward and suddenly, all sign civilization ceased to exist. No highway, no nothing. We were frantically trying to stay calm. A few long moments later, a road sign with Ann Arbor written on it and were relieved. BUT, that is not the point of this entry dear diary.
While, quoting Jaz, we were going to the unknown, we heard a strange beep. We looked at a small screen at the dashboard and realized, THERE WAS ONLY 18 MILES WORTH OF GAS AND WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE STILL.
“You know guys, in the trunk, there are **** * ******* ****** ***** ** ***** *******. If we are stuck in the middle of nowhere, some crook gonna rob us and sell it.” Jaz was driving us nuts.
17 miles.
16 miles.
“Should we go back or should we risk it forward?” asked Ivan.
“We know that there is nothing behind so the probability of discovering a gas station is larger if we go on” answered Mirai with the failure to pronounce all the ‘r’es.
“Yeah, better something than nothing” I said.
So, we went on and on.
15 miles.
13 miles.
“Hey, it skipped 14!” I screamed. Everybody joined in with “…shit…”
12 miles.
11 miles.
The smart Jaz said "You know guys, what's really comforting? Cars usually stop before gas is empty.”
“How is that supposed to be comforting?!?!?!?!?” yelled Ivan.
9 miles. This time it skipped the integer 10.
"Wait, this car is made by Europeans, it should be smart enough to tell us how much exactly we can go!" Mirai Aki suggested.
"Oh, Jeep is made by Americans." Jaz cut.
"Americans!!! No!!!"
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…..!!!”
Now, it was sheer panic. We thought we were totally screwed but then, we saw a sign – 'Ann Arbor [something less than 9] Miles'.
“We're saved!!!” declared Mirai.
6 miles. This time, the meter skipped 2 integers. We were screwed.
“Alright guys, whatever god out there, just pray. I’m a Shinto, you Jaz?” asked Mirai.
“Sikh”
“You Hafiz?”
“I’m a Moslem” I replied.
“Ivan?”
“I’m atheist”
“Shit, we are going to die. Good luck praying.” I said. The three Believers started to panic even worse. An atheist!!!
3 miles and S Main St., ANN ARBOR. This was the first time all four of us were actually glad seeing the lights of Ann Arbor. By then, it was really loud in the car. Mirai keeping on screaming like a girl, Jaz was suggesting unbelievable suggestions, Ivan trying to calm himself at the helm and I kept on laughing like a drunken man.
3 miles still and still no pump station.
“AMOCO!!! Our savior!!!” declared Mirai.
3 miles still and we were saved by AMOCO, a polluter.
158 miles. I made a mental note – for this, I won’t say a shit about Bush for a week. I swear to God.
“What a day. Columbia, late for an hour for the test, no food, accidentally dropped the module, headache, a restaurant called Futtbucker and being lost in the middle of the night, there must be something else” somebody said and it was true.
Near Rackham Graduate School, Ann Arbor Police (they arrested me once for snowball fighting) stopped us. This must be the climax.
“Shit…” that was all Jaz and I could muster.
Luckily, the police just warned us
The fellowship of the solar modules continued their quest to return the solar modules to the PowerLab.
Once there, victory was announced but Jaz was not satified.
“Should we checked the solar modules in the bag?”
“Let somebody else find out. I had enough for the day” I said.
Ivan drove me home later.
“Alright Hafiz, brush you teeth and go to sleep” Ivan said.
“Thank you for showing up Hafiz” Mirai thanked.
“See ya”, Jaz said.
“Later all”
Immediately after I reached home, I stripped and went straight away to bed. Sweet home Michigan.
------------------------------------------
Below, an excerpt from Mirai's Log.
------------------------------------------
Division leaders: Please forward this to your division if possible.
Power Electrical Division, Mirai's Log: February 1, 2003AD
It was the most important day for SpectruM Power Electrical Team. We finally got approval of solar module testing from our greatest project manager, Josh Harmsen, and our finest engineering director, Jeff Chen.
Ace driver of Power Electrical Team, Ivan Goenawan, rendezvoused with fellow members, Hafiz Noor Shams, Jaswinder Singh and Mirai Aki, this morning at 10:30. We headed out to testing facility of ****** *****. There was a little confusion with orientation, but we successfully arrived at the facility on 12:00. Without any consumption of food, we tested modules until 17:30. The test was successful: all the modules were supplying decent amount of power. Satisfied with the result of the experiment, we left the facility, and headed back to Ann Arbor. On the way back, we stopped by Futtbuckers, finest self serving dinning, even though we expected it to be a bar.
The way back home was, in some sense, adventurous and chaotic. We drove thirty minutes after dinner, and found ourselves in front of Futtbuckers again. We were terrified: what is wrong with this area? Is this some kind of twilight zone? We kept on driving, until we showed up in middle of nowhere.
Jaswinder screamed, "We are in middle of unknown!"
He was absolutely precise. There was no sign of civilization. Suddenly, we heard a small electrical beep in the vehicle.
"What is that?" Mirai blurted out of curiosity of what happened.
"Oh,we're running out of gas." Ivan responded with rather calm voice.
"F###!" Mirai screamed.
Although, Mirai remembered a small detail about the vehicle which he heard from his friend before. A car won't stop for a while even a gas meter indicates empty gas. When Mirai calmed down with the recognition, Ivan turned on the small monitor built into vehicle. Everybody observed the screen with their mouth wide open: the monitor said, "18 miles to gas empty". Remember, we were still in middle of nowhere.
16 miles, 14 miles........ count down began.
Somebody in the car said, "Everybody, there must be a gas station in next 14 miles."
Jas added to that statement, "You know guys, what's really comforting? Cars usually stop before gas is empty."
Ivan yelled in obscenity, "How's a f%%% that supposed to comfort us!?"
Mirai cried out loud like a girl, and said, "Wait, this car is made by Europeans, it should be smart enough to tell us how much exactly we can go!" There was a moment of silence.
Jas broke the silence, "Oh, Jeep is made by Americans."
Mirai freaked out, "Americans!!! No!!!"
Count down continued. Suddenly 12 miles turned into 13 miles. Mirai naively yelled, "It's a miracle!"
Ivan said, "Oh, I just slowed down."
Meter went back to 12 at that moment.
9 miles, 8 miles, 6 miles...... Meter was decreasing inversely proportional to our screaming intensity. 4 miles, and we finally saw lights.
Yes, the light of civilization. Light of Ann Arbor! Home. Isn't it such a wonderful term?
3 miles...... We were crying. Finally, there it was. Amoco, gas station!
Who has ever appreciated a gas station as much as we did before? We were all relieved. It was 2 miles when we finally arrived. After refuel, we headed out to Power Lab to drop off solar modules. On the way, somebody next to our vehicle was telling us to open our window. It was a police. Ivan got warning for going through yellow light. Jas and Hafiz said "Sh**!"
We successfully delivered solar module at power lab on 21:30. We are currently logging at 22:00 next to cemetery. This all actually happened when we were carrying **** * ******* ******* ***** ** ***** *** ****'s heart and soul.
This is Mirai Aki, closing in.
------------------------------------------
Some part of the entry is censored due to Mirai's request.
An excerpt from my diary.
------------------------------------------
Yesterday was fun and a little bit weird. Everything that could go wrong went wrong save the solar modules and our lives.
The day started early for me because I slept early last night, exhausted by the Solar Car work session. At six in the morning on Saturday, there was nothing for me to do so I watch CNN over the net while surfing. Bored, I took my bath and prepared myself for an experiment my team and I was going to conduct at ****** *****’s facilities. Then, just before I shut my computer off, I accidentally click on a link to a weblog with an entry “Please God, tell me I am dreaming.”
And my reaction right after clicking the link was Please God, tell me I am dreaming. NASA had lost contact with SS Columbia. At that time, Columbia loss was not yet announced. I had wanted to follow the event but I had to go to Ohio.
So, I left and waited for Ivan and the gang outside of the Michigan Union with a pizza in my hand. They were late and I was freezing to death in the cold morning. Then, they arrived and I found out that Jaz replaced Brent and Anastasia was not coming. We had planned to leave boring Ann Arbor at 1030 hours but found ourselves still in Ann Arbor half an hour later. (It was Mirai’s fault.)
The journey went smoothly and enjoyable until we heard about SS Columbia. The atmosphere in car was quiet but Jaz tried to lighten it up by talking about South Park. From South Park, the conversation went to politics and ended up criticizing Bush’s policies against Iraq. One of us even said that Bush is going to blame Iraq over Columbia loss which of course, was actually asked by the media later on.
While we were talking nonsense (especially on how “they killed Kenny stuff”), we lost our way due to several severe wrong turns. Talk about not paying attention to the road. Worse, I found out that instead of printing the complete direction from MapQuest, Ivan wrote it down a piece of paper without proper details. Nevertheless, we reached United Solar at around noon safely.
During the test, Mr. **** ******* was very nice to us. Not to mention his courtesy – we ran our test out of the usual business hours.
The test ran six hours straight, without even a sip of water. I also almost killed an A module by accidentally dropping it to the hard, solid concreted floor. Luckily, a few thousand dollars was saved because the module actually survived the impact. By 1800 hours, Jaz and I were having headache due deprivation of food (I am not kidding. I had a bad headache that I puked. And damn Ivan, he thought I was kidding. For God’s sake, my face was freaking pale!!!)
After the test, we put the modules into a huge case, thank Mike and left the facility. In the car, instead of discussing the result (the result was favorable by the way), we argued whether we should eat fast food or proper food. In the end, we decided to eat at a bar called Futtbucker (I am still blurry on how we reached this decision). It turned out later that it was not a bar (thank God). The dinner was good. Grilled salmon, tots and stuff were enough to help me to get over my headache.
Once satisfied, we continued our journey to Ann Arbor but we failed to realize one thing, WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE and the moon was high up in the sky. We knew that we were already in Michigan but seeing Detroit in the horizon was not in the plan. Ivan had somehow drove the Jeep eastward. Once he realized that, he went westward and suddenly, all sign civilization ceased to exist. No highway, no nothing. We were frantically trying to stay calm. A few long moments later, a road sign with Ann Arbor written on it and were relieved. BUT, that is not the point of this entry dear diary.
While, quoting Jaz, we were going to the unknown, we heard a strange beep. We looked at a small screen at the dashboard and realized, THERE WAS ONLY 18 MILES WORTH OF GAS AND WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE STILL.
“You know guys, in the trunk, there are **** * ******* ****** ***** ** ***** *******. If we are stuck in the middle of nowhere, some crook gonna rob us and sell it.” Jaz was driving us nuts.
17 miles.
16 miles.
“Should we go back or should we risk it forward?” asked Ivan.
“We know that there is nothing behind so the probability of discovering a gas station is larger if we go on” answered Mirai with the failure to pronounce all the ‘r’es.
“Yeah, better something than nothing” I said.
So, we went on and on.
15 miles.
13 miles.
“Hey, it skipped 14!” I screamed. Everybody joined in with “…shit…”
12 miles.
11 miles.
The smart Jaz said "You know guys, what's really comforting? Cars usually stop before gas is empty.”
“How is that supposed to be comforting?!?!?!?!?” yelled Ivan.
9 miles. This time it skipped the integer 10.
"Wait, this car is made by Europeans, it should be smart enough to tell us how much exactly we can go!" Mirai Aki suggested.
"Oh, Jeep is made by Americans." Jaz cut.
"Americans!!! No!!!"
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…..!!!”
Now, it was sheer panic. We thought we were totally screwed but then, we saw a sign – 'Ann Arbor [something less than 9] Miles'.
“We're saved!!!” declared Mirai.
6 miles. This time, the meter skipped 2 integers. We were screwed.
“Alright guys, whatever god out there, just pray. I’m a Shinto, you Jaz?” asked Mirai.
“Sikh”
“You Hafiz?”
“I’m a Moslem” I replied.
“Ivan?”
“I’m atheist”
“Shit, we are going to die. Good luck praying.” I said. The three Believers started to panic even worse. An atheist!!!
3 miles and S Main St., ANN ARBOR. This was the first time all four of us were actually glad seeing the lights of Ann Arbor. By then, it was really loud in the car. Mirai keeping on screaming like a girl, Jaz was suggesting unbelievable suggestions, Ivan trying to calm himself at the helm and I kept on laughing like a drunken man.
3 miles still and still no pump station.
“AMOCO!!! Our savior!!!” declared Mirai.
3 miles still and we were saved by AMOCO, a polluter.
158 miles. I made a mental note – for this, I won’t say a shit about Bush for a week. I swear to God.
“What a day. Columbia, late for an hour for the test, no food, accidentally dropped the module, headache, a restaurant called Futtbucker and being lost in the middle of the night, there must be something else” somebody said and it was true.
Near Rackham Graduate School, Ann Arbor Police (they arrested me once for snowball fighting) stopped us. This must be the climax.
“Shit…” that was all Jaz and I could muster.
Luckily, the police just warned us
The fellowship of the solar modules continued their quest to return the solar modules to the PowerLab.
Once there, victory was announced but Jaz was not satified.
“Should we checked the solar modules in the bag?”
“Let somebody else find out. I had enough for the day” I said.
Ivan drove me home later.
“Alright Hafiz, brush you teeth and go to sleep” Ivan said.
“Thank you for showing up Hafiz” Mirai thanked.
“See ya”, Jaz said.
“Later all”
Immediately after I reached home, I stripped and went straight away to bed. Sweet home Michigan.
------------------------------------------
Below, an excerpt from Mirai's Log.
------------------------------------------
Division leaders: Please forward this to your division if possible.
Power Electrical Division, Mirai's Log: February 1, 2003AD
It was the most important day for SpectruM Power Electrical Team. We finally got approval of solar module testing from our greatest project manager, Josh Harmsen, and our finest engineering director, Jeff Chen.
Ace driver of Power Electrical Team, Ivan Goenawan, rendezvoused with fellow members, Hafiz Noor Shams, Jaswinder Singh and Mirai Aki, this morning at 10:30. We headed out to testing facility of ****** *****. There was a little confusion with orientation, but we successfully arrived at the facility on 12:00. Without any consumption of food, we tested modules until 17:30. The test was successful: all the modules were supplying decent amount of power. Satisfied with the result of the experiment, we left the facility, and headed back to Ann Arbor. On the way back, we stopped by Futtbuckers, finest self serving dinning, even though we expected it to be a bar.
The way back home was, in some sense, adventurous and chaotic. We drove thirty minutes after dinner, and found ourselves in front of Futtbuckers again. We were terrified: what is wrong with this area? Is this some kind of twilight zone? We kept on driving, until we showed up in middle of nowhere.
Jaswinder screamed, "We are in middle of unknown!"
He was absolutely precise. There was no sign of civilization. Suddenly, we heard a small electrical beep in the vehicle.
"What is that?" Mirai blurted out of curiosity of what happened.
"Oh,we're running out of gas." Ivan responded with rather calm voice.
"F###!" Mirai screamed.
Although, Mirai remembered a small detail about the vehicle which he heard from his friend before. A car won't stop for a while even a gas meter indicates empty gas. When Mirai calmed down with the recognition, Ivan turned on the small monitor built into vehicle. Everybody observed the screen with their mouth wide open: the monitor said, "18 miles to gas empty". Remember, we were still in middle of nowhere.
16 miles, 14 miles........ count down began.
Somebody in the car said, "Everybody, there must be a gas station in next 14 miles."
Jas added to that statement, "You know guys, what's really comforting? Cars usually stop before gas is empty."
Ivan yelled in obscenity, "How's a f%%% that supposed to comfort us!?"
Mirai cried out loud like a girl, and said, "Wait, this car is made by Europeans, it should be smart enough to tell us how much exactly we can go!" There was a moment of silence.
Jas broke the silence, "Oh, Jeep is made by Americans."
Mirai freaked out, "Americans!!! No!!!"
Count down continued. Suddenly 12 miles turned into 13 miles. Mirai naively yelled, "It's a miracle!"
Ivan said, "Oh, I just slowed down."
Meter went back to 12 at that moment.
9 miles, 8 miles, 6 miles...... Meter was decreasing inversely proportional to our screaming intensity. 4 miles, and we finally saw lights.
Yes, the light of civilization. Light of Ann Arbor! Home. Isn't it such a wonderful term?
3 miles...... We were crying. Finally, there it was. Amoco, gas station!
Who has ever appreciated a gas station as much as we did before? We were all relieved. It was 2 miles when we finally arrived. After refuel, we headed out to Power Lab to drop off solar modules. On the way, somebody next to our vehicle was telling us to open our window. It was a police. Ivan got warning for going through yellow light. Jas and Hafiz said "Sh**!"
We successfully delivered solar module at power lab on 21:30. We are currently logging at 22:00 next to cemetery. This all actually happened when we were carrying **** * ******* ******* ***** ** ***** *** ****'s heart and soul.
This is Mirai Aki, closing in.
------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 01, 2003
133
Emergency!
NASA has just lost contact with Space Shuttle Columbia!!!
I hope it's not another Challenger accident. Pray for them.
Emergency!
NASA has just lost contact with Space Shuttle Columbia!!!
I hope it's not another Challenger accident. Pray for them.
132
This week has been a tiring week. Even during weekdays, I found myself during Solar Car business. I am sure this is the start of a busier phase but yet, I am glad. The first stage concerning the solar panels is nearing completion and we are entering the second level.
To mark the start of the second stage, Mirai, Brent, Ivan and I went out of Ann Arbor to eat some seafood. It cost us USD 60 but it was definitely worth.
Also, I have finally seen SpectruM complete design on the computer. The design is complicated but then, I don’t really know how to the read CAD or use it, yet.
In a few hours, I’ll be in Ohio to start on the second stage. This is the first time a Solar Car work has brought me outside of Michigan. Before this, there were a few trips made by the Team members. One was to Canada (“or Canadia” quoting Skip) and the other one was to Detroit for the Auto Show 2003.
Before I depart for Ohio, I want to clarify my stance on affirmative action, particularly concerning Malaysia’s case.
Basically, I am against affirmative action. Reasons are, number one, it make it unfair for the others. Some (in fact all the a.a. supporters) argue that a.a. is a way to correct a wrong. This is a screwed way of seeing it. The way of seeing it is this - it is correcting a wrong with another wrong. The a.a movement is like Hammurabi’s Code of Law that says an eye for an eye. What the code failed to see is that if we took that principle as a way of life, the whole world will go blind.
Secondly, a.a. movement, at least from my eye is a racist movement. From my observation, most of the a.a. supporters are the one that were oppressed in the past. So, there will be two groups (maybe three on the people on the fence, lets not count them), the a.a. believer and the opposition. In the end, this will polarize the society. For example, in Ann Arbor, the a.a. supporters are mainly Blacks. Note that this is exactly the opposite of a.a. goal.
Thirdly, the notion of feeling guilty. It is true that there are some supporters coming from outside the said ring. For these people, I tend to think of them of still holding to the idea of white man’s burden. For me, I strongly believe the past is the past. We can’t change it until somebody found the secret of traveling backward in time (forget relativity, I am NOT seeing Physics anymore). We can learn from the past but to feel guilty for things that we have already been forgiven is wrong. Life goes on so let us just more on.
Fourth, I can’t think of any.
About the Bumiputra status, it is a little bit difficult to say. Malaysia has gone too far down the affirmative path and in the end, even the Malaysian political parties are divided racially. There are even SRKJ (C), SRKJ (R) and SRK schools. In order to change this, it is going to take some doings. A lot of opposition will arise. Even now, some of the Malaysian Chinese are fighting against the government will to impose ‘sekolah nasional or something like that’ on them.
The Malay of course wants to retain their special rights guaranteed in the Constitution.
After five decades of a.a., I could only wonder whether it is worth it to change the policy. It is a dilemma. If we stick to the current policy, the Malaysian society will continually be divided. If we change, there will be another 13th May. Some say to go with the 13th May path all over again. Some rather stay (and these are the conservative).
Which is better? I myself do not know. Do I consider the Malay rights as holy? A part of me say yes, the other half say no.
Yet, suffice to say that I would like to see a day where there will be no Malay, Malaysian Chinese or Malaysia Indian. I want to see only Malaysian. No more, no less.
p/s - The Dutch Eresdivisie has resumed. De Magish van de Meer!!! Go Ajax Go!!!
p/s 2 - I am seeing a lot of grammar mistakes. I am above grammar.
p/s 3 - Just kidding, I'll do some correction later.
p/s 4 - Console games suck.
This week has been a tiring week. Even during weekdays, I found myself during Solar Car business. I am sure this is the start of a busier phase but yet, I am glad. The first stage concerning the solar panels is nearing completion and we are entering the second level.
To mark the start of the second stage, Mirai, Brent, Ivan and I went out of Ann Arbor to eat some seafood. It cost us USD 60 but it was definitely worth.
Also, I have finally seen SpectruM complete design on the computer. The design is complicated but then, I don’t really know how to the read CAD or use it, yet.
In a few hours, I’ll be in Ohio to start on the second stage. This is the first time a Solar Car work has brought me outside of Michigan. Before this, there were a few trips made by the Team members. One was to Canada (“or Canadia” quoting Skip) and the other one was to Detroit for the Auto Show 2003.
Before I depart for Ohio, I want to clarify my stance on affirmative action, particularly concerning Malaysia’s case.
Basically, I am against affirmative action. Reasons are, number one, it make it unfair for the others. Some (in fact all the a.a. supporters) argue that a.a. is a way to correct a wrong. This is a screwed way of seeing it. The way of seeing it is this - it is correcting a wrong with another wrong. The a.a movement is like Hammurabi’s Code of Law that says an eye for an eye. What the code failed to see is that if we took that principle as a way of life, the whole world will go blind.
Secondly, a.a. movement, at least from my eye is a racist movement. From my observation, most of the a.a. supporters are the one that were oppressed in the past. So, there will be two groups (maybe three on the people on the fence, lets not count them), the a.a. believer and the opposition. In the end, this will polarize the society. For example, in Ann Arbor, the a.a. supporters are mainly Blacks. Note that this is exactly the opposite of a.a. goal.
Thirdly, the notion of feeling guilty. It is true that there are some supporters coming from outside the said ring. For these people, I tend to think of them of still holding to the idea of white man’s burden. For me, I strongly believe the past is the past. We can’t change it until somebody found the secret of traveling backward in time (forget relativity, I am NOT seeing Physics anymore). We can learn from the past but to feel guilty for things that we have already been forgiven is wrong. Life goes on so let us just more on.
Fourth, I can’t think of any.
About the Bumiputra status, it is a little bit difficult to say. Malaysia has gone too far down the affirmative path and in the end, even the Malaysian political parties are divided racially. There are even SRKJ (C), SRKJ (R) and SRK schools. In order to change this, it is going to take some doings. A lot of opposition will arise. Even now, some of the Malaysian Chinese are fighting against the government will to impose ‘sekolah nasional or something like that’ on them.
The Malay of course wants to retain their special rights guaranteed in the Constitution.
After five decades of a.a., I could only wonder whether it is worth it to change the policy. It is a dilemma. If we stick to the current policy, the Malaysian society will continually be divided. If we change, there will be another 13th May. Some say to go with the 13th May path all over again. Some rather stay (and these are the conservative).
Which is better? I myself do not know. Do I consider the Malay rights as holy? A part of me say yes, the other half say no.
Yet, suffice to say that I would like to see a day where there will be no Malay, Malaysian Chinese or Malaysia Indian. I want to see only Malaysian. No more, no less.
p/s - The Dutch Eresdivisie has resumed. De Magish van de Meer!!! Go Ajax Go!!!
p/s 2 - I am seeing a lot of grammar mistakes. I am above grammar.
p/s 3 - Just kidding, I'll do some correction later.
p/s 4 - Console games suck.
