.: ShaolinTiger - Kung-Fu Geekery :.

I've had an extremely long and rather colourful work history, starting a young age I had to learn to be self-sufficient. There was barely enough food to eat at home and definitely no money spare to buy anything considered remotely luxurious..

It all helped though and it helped me mature a lot, mainly in terms of finances it really taught me the value of money and that money isn't easy to come by so don't simple spend it frivolously. I won't list all the jobs as I had as some were temp and lasted a few days or in some cases a few hours...I'll mention those that I find interesting, or somehow relevant in my development.

I think it's something Asian kids generally lack, working, earning money and learning some respect for the value of money. Kids here don't have to contribute to their own studies or cars..they just get given money for free!

How many of you have had part time jobs? If you look at the catering industry here, or manual labour, security guards or factory workers and so on they are mostly foreign workers. All of these jobs are considered to 'low' for locals. You know what? In UK I've done ALL of those jobs.

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And a lot of others things too.

I guess as life goes on things change and you tend to spend your time doing different things. For me it seems to be almost obsessive, I get totally absorbed by things and can't stop it until I've gone to the highest level I can take it...which is usually pretty high.

It's been a while since I've eaten crab over at that place we always used to go, it used to be a regular occasion.

So did dinner together.

So did Asia Cafe before that.

So did Horus before that.

So did Diving before that.

Times do change, so do people - if it's good or bad I'm not really sure.

I think I've changed too, I'm pretty sure I'm not as much of an asshole as I used to be...well at least I think so

Perhaps I'm getting old.

It's odd how the dynamics of friendships change too when people get into relationships, especially serious ones. Or even when they move to a different area, groups of friends change, the way things are change.

Sometimes I do miss things, but then again I appreciate how things are now - I've found something I really love in Photography, a way to express myself again seen as though I've gotten bored of Hacking.

Career wise things have changed a lot too, definitely for the better.

The last company was eating me up, making me angry, burning my time, rotting my motivation - until I took back control.

I heard recently they haven't paid the staff for the last 2 months, so it looks like I made the right decision.

Anyway my motivation is coming back and I'm starting to get things done, next thing on the list is to revamp this site...it's underway already.

After that get my photography portfolio online, domain is already registered and the site is 50% developed, it should be coming soon..business cards are being printed for that too.

Perhaps this photography thing might lend a nice little side income.

With all this serious shite going on, I thought I'd better post something pseudo-politic and pretend that I know everything about everything like all those socio-politikus bloggers..

Anyway the point is a recent academic paper was published (this is not some tabloid crap article) that porn means less rape, I tend to agree.

The incidence of rape in the United States has declined 85% in the past 25 years while access to pornography has become freely available to teenagers and adults. The Nixon and Reagan Commissions tried to show that exposure to pornographic materials produced social violence. The reverse may be true: that pornography has reduced social violence.

In laymans terms:

More porn = more wanking = more wanking = less horny feelings = less rape!

I'm a genius.

Funny enough the BBC also asked is porn good for society?

But frankly..this is a serious issue, the rape rates in Malaysia are terrible, I believe this is due to the closed nature of society and the religious state government which marks any close contact as haram.

This makes people sexually repressed, humans have to fuck, men need to have sex it's a basic function that needs to be satisfied, if you don't give them the societal freedom to satisfy their base urges...they will do what they have to do.

And rape someone, maybe it's their daughter, or sister, or mother..or some stranger.

But it will happen, and it does happen...all the time.

Porn is closely linked to this, if you are horny watch some porn on TV and jerk off, don't go and rape someone.

The paper is located here

BTW please do comment on my blog more, I know loads of people are reading..I thrive on comments, more comments = more motivation to post..I like things to be interactive

Now this is an interesting moral issue indeed, having previously discussed morality briefly, with the issue of Universal Morality (does it exist?) lets have a look at this.

Wired is reporting that a lot of medical research firms are using India's poor as a hot test bed.

From the article:

The sudden influx of drug companies to India resembles the gold rush frontier, according to Sean Philpott, managing editor of The American Journal of Bioethics.

'Not only are research costs low, but there is a skilled work force to conduct the trials,' he said. In the rush to reap profits, Philpott cautions that drug companies may not be sensitive to how poverty can undermine the spirit of informed consent. 'Individuals who participate in Indian clinical trials usually won't be educated. Offering $100 may be undue enticement; they may not even realize that they are being coerced,' he said.

By 2010, total spending on outsourcing clinical trials to India could top $2 billion, according to Ashish Singh, vice president of Bain & Co., a consulting firm that reports on the health-care industry.

Regardless of where clinical trials are performed, the FDA requires the same evidence showing that a drug is safe and effective before it will approve any drug, according to a written comment from Ken Johnson, senior vice president of The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation.

So is this legal, or ethical?

You can look at it from various perspectives..

Are the big companies exploiting the poor by moving to a country with a weaker economy and offering less incentive for testing?

Do these uneducated people really comprehend the risks they are taking during clinical trials?

I know in Europe it's quite common for students to do drug testing and it pays a lot, according to the risk and duration. I never considered it though, I mean just because it works as intended on a rat, who knows what it's going to do to me.

Nevertheless, even before the anti-generic rules were enacted, companies performing clinical trials in India saw their share of problems. In 2004, two India-based pharmaceutical companies, Shantha Biotech in Hyderabad and Biocon in Bangalore, came under scrutiny for conducting illegal clinical trials that led to eight deaths.

I would imagine the insurance costs for such trials in Europe are MUCH higher aswell, perhaps they don't even bother insuring the atendees in India as their lives are worth less?

"Third World lives are worth much less than the European lives. That is what colonialism was all about," said Srirupa Prasad, a visiting assistant professor of medical history and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This seems to be a fact.

Or are they just saving costs to develop better, safer and cheaper pharmaceuticals for the rest of the world?

Would you conduct in a clinical trial?

Is $100USD fair for you?

Source of quotes: Wired.com

Discussion on Slashdot

I thought this one was pretty funny.

So first they took away our call centers... Then they took away our IT jobs... Now they're taking our priviledge to test dangerous drugs on the poor and destitute?

Damn you trained and abled Indian workforce!

It is a serious matter however..thoughts?

Is it? Discuss.

*Yes this is my shortest post ever by far*

This is VERY interesting topic which was raised in one of my posts recently by a very good commenter 'Tom', which I skirted over briefly, it's actually a very deep and intense topic.

The term “morality” can be used either

1. descriptively to refer to a code of conduct put forward by a society or,
a. some other group, such as a religion, or
b. accepted by an individual for her own behavior or
2. normatively to refer to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons.

IS there really such a thing as universal morality? Are there certain 'things' that are morally right and wrong across all cultures/societies/races and religions?

To a lot of people morality = religion, which to be is not a good thing, no no, not good at all.

Let's start with an extreme example..

Let's take 2 men, one Muslim Fundementalist (Ahmad) who isn't too fond of pink people and one Bush Supporting Redneck American (Billy-Bob) (who isn't too fond of brown people.

Ahmad would like to halt the westerisation of his middle-eastern region and on a bad day he'd quite like to destroy the west. Especially his American opressors who are destroying his culture and country for the sake of a few barrels of oil. He hasn't really mixed with anyone who wasn't from his country, he only knows what he's seen on TV.

Billy-Bob likes to string niggers from trees and talk about how he would blow up all the brown people in the world if he was president of the united states. He hates the Indian store owner in his small back-water and has never really mixed with anyone who wasn't related to him (including his wife).

Now for Ahmad, the destruction of the twin towers in America was an act of God, an act of solidarity, a great move to halt western oppression. It was a power play, the final resort, very extreme action, it shows how strongly people can feel about something, for him it was morally correct to do this to make a point, irregardless of the innocent people that died.

As for Billy-Bob, it was one of the worst days ever, he hated the Indian shop keeper even more and fire bombed the shop destroying the mans livelihood (which to Billy-Bob and his friends was also morally correct).

Now depending on your race, your religion and where you were born/brought up you would see each one as wrong/right, where as someone else could see if differently just like Ahmad and Billy-Bob.

Is there some strain in the human race though that tells each one of us when we are kids, don't steal? Don't hurt the other kids? Or is it instilled in us by our parents and society?

It's an interesting subject that's for sure.

Yes indeed it was. I was confronted with this, this afternoon when I went to my car to fetch something I'd left inside...Not a nice sight for a Sunday afternoon right?

At first I thought this was a case of bad parking, my neighbour perhaps going back to home town early in the morning, made a slip on the steering wheel and rendered a dent on my beautiful car, but he would have left a note right?

But then I looked closer at the dent, the direction of the scratches and the black substance there..

It doesn't seem to be black paint, it seems to be plastic or rubber, like that found on the bumper of a car, or on steering locks..or SHOES.

Then when I was considering the damage...what did I notice? A whole bunch of footprints on my bonnet..

Yes, those are all footprints, like this one

That's when I got a little worried, and wondered what the hell I'd done wrong.

This was done inside my appt complex, whilst my car was parking in MY lot, overnight.

IF (and that's a HUGE IF), this is action taken over what I've written on my blog, then this has massive implications for everyone.

This has entered real life.

This has cost me money.

This has really made me question.

Are people really that ignorant to take physical action against someone voicing their opinion and standing up for their rights?

The problem is, I can't assume anything, I can't assume to know why this happened.

Maybe it's only because I'm white

Maybe someone saw me eating during fasting hours

Maybe I cut up some mat rempit on the road and they took revenge with their helmet on my car

Maybe I offended the burger guy when I said his chilli sauce was a little sweet

Maybe I offended my neighbour by playing Gwen Stefani too loud

Maybe I offended someone else by parking out front for 10 minutes in someone elses lot

Maybe I offended someone by writing about racism in Malaysia

Maybe I offended someone by defending KL

Maybe I offended someone by sticking up for Peter and Kimberly

So many Maybes.

At least they should have left a note, give me a clue what I did wrong. Now I have NO IDEA at all.

I wish they could just confront me directly, and we could handle this like men, not act like some fucking pussy and kick my car then run away like some sewer rat.

This action hasn't made a difference to anything, it's just left me feeling confused.

It won't change my views or opinions on anything, but at least if I knew what it was about I could consider my perspective..

I am going to make a police report now, this does worry me, and I hope whatever 'it' is, it stops right here right now.

Hopefully it will end here, no one else will get hurt, nothing else will get damaged and we can all move on with our lives.

If you did kick my car, and you do read my blog, just let me know why, I don't think that's very likely, but well, there's always a chance.

Actually I wanted to post about this topic for quite some time, since I was involved in Project Aware, but I never quite got prompted to do it.

Since all this bullshit about handicapped toilets has come about, I think it's time to address it.

I do wish people would care more, people would stand up for their rights, stand up for what they believe in, look after their planet and have some civic conciousness.

Most people just stumble through life, wasting resources, totally ignorant to the fact they are destroying the planet, and in some cases society too.

One example is littering, during Project Aware we were picking up litter on the beach, why because dumbfuckers threw it there, instead of in the bin. Why oh why? There are bins everywhere, if not carry it till you see one, or put it in your pocket or something, don't throw it on the floor.

I see some people throwing tissues out the car window or onto the floor, and they say..

"Oh but it's bio-degradable"

Yeah no shit, I know that, you know that, but does the 6 year old kid that just saw you drop something on the floor instead of the bin know that?

I don't think so.

Educate by example, lead by example, care about your environment and don't just talk about it, if you see someone litter, say politely...

"Excuse me, but there's a bin just over there"

Honestly some elderly lady said that to me once when I was a youngster in UK dropping litter, and it made a big impact on me, I never did it again.

That's just a small example, other things are using more organic products, using environmentally friendly washing powder, using environmentally friendly fridges, rated for lower power consumption, and lacking of harmful CFC's.

I guess a lot of it comes from my mother, who truly leads by example, she saves all organic waste from our house and makes her own compost to fertilise the garden.

She recycles wherever possible, I'm glad to see in Malaysia more recycling facilities are appearing, the first place I saw segregated bins were in Ikano Power Center, which shows civic conciousness.

In UK now the rubbish collection service provides different coloured bags for plastics, paper and others, to make the sorting easier for them, and to make recycling more possible for everyone.

Another example is caring for society, not just the environment, if the state isn't fixing something write to your MP.

If there is something wrong with the road, write to who is responsible for it.

If you got bad service in a resturant and were mis-treated, write to the management.

People might say we Brits are known for moaning, but I'd say we are standing up for our rights, that's why in UK we get top-notch customer service and product quality, because if we don't we kick up a shitstorm, unlike here, where people are rather lackadaisical and don't really seem to care.

"Whatever la, it's normal here"

Yeah but why should it be normal, can you not fight for better standards?

If something is wrong, I'll write a letter about it, if I get bad service, I'll fill in the comment card. The sad thing in Malaysia is that nothing happens. Like in UK if I'd filled in the terrible comments I did in the comment card in a Sushi place in the curve, I would have gotten a call next day and an invite back to the resturant for a free meal as maybe I just came at a bad time.

Word of mouth is powerful, that's a fact.

If you think something is wrong, fight for change, don't sit and accept it.

An example would be Kimberly, she is a civic minded citizen, I have seen her letters published in The Star regarding various matters from the state of roads in Cheras to the intermittent water supply in the area. She was a responsible citizen before this boycotting campaign and she will be after, I don't believe it's a personal vendetta against XiaXue, to be honest she didn't even mention XX. Those who say so in my mind are rather pathetic.

I personally support her, she is standing up for what she believes is right, more than I can say for most people who just go with the flow and nod their heads, then chastise when the tide changes.

Anyway the point I'm trying to make is people should start caring, they should stop gossiping about small things like XX, and how rude Peter Tan was and look at the bigger picture of WHY these people said what they said, what is WRONG about it, and HOW we can change it.

In all honestly these are small issues, there are many things that need to be corrected and we should focus our energies on those rather than endlessly pointing fingers at each other.

Make a difference, do something for someone ELSE for a change, for your future children, or the future generation.

Looks like Monsoon season has started already, perhaps a little early this year.

It's rained torentially 4 times in the last 30 hours or so, super heavy rain man, it's just started again.

So nice to sleep.

Not much good for doing anything else though.

Been kinda depressed lately, or ill, or both? Not really sure.

Keep oversleeping, late for work, wake up feeling drowsy, slightly dizzy and groggy..

Feel very lethargic..when I wake up my limbs have zero will to move themselves off the bed.

It kinda sucks, no well it really sucks actually.

Perhaps I should go to the Doctor, problem is...is my mind or my body?

Do I need a body Doc or a head Doc?

The thought of the latter worries me, the thought of the former I can tolerate.

Anyway I don't really have much to say, I just wish I can sleep till the sky is blue again.

Happy Birthday Jo-jo!

Now I've never been a great fan of the idiot box, perhaps due to my parents, I don't recall us ever having a TV until I was about 9 years old, then it was mostly monopolised by my fathers fanatic love of gambling, thus it was horse racing, cricket, rugby, football, motor racing, golf, tennis and any other sport it's possible to bet on.

I did save up my earnings from my early jobs and bought my own oldskool 1980's TV when I was about 15.

Even then there was very few shows I really liked, among those I remember were Red Dwarf, Absolutely Fabulous and Quantum Leap..there were a few others.

I didn't watch TV all that much, I mostly used it for playing with my NES! Then SNES, I remember buying the imported version of Street Fighter II from the US for about 60 pounds...Man that was expensive, but I was the first kid around to have it. That whacked like 3 months of savings.

I did used to love Channel 4 though, it's like the UK's slightly alternative channel, they used to have loads of interesting documentaries about drugs, hookers, the slave trade, child labour, gangsterism, triads, eastern european crime syndicates, all kinds of stuff right on the edge and some just plain bizzare comedy programs.

In London we did have cable TV, but that was mostly because we just wanted the broadband, we didn't actually watch TV much, even though we had a 32" widescreen, we mostly used it for movies and playing on the Dreamcast. (I bought a DC after my PSX got stolen)..I did enjoy discovery channel and history channel sometimes though.

Even now I don't really watch TV much, I have a big TV, but I don't have Astro and the terrestrial stations here are extremely limited. I use it pretty much solely for watching DVDs. I do like one channel on Astro though, channel 38 I think it is, the one that plays tons of old Kung-Fu movies and Shaw Brothers flicks, I dig that shit!

The only time I used to watch it in UK was when I got home late and I couldn't be bothered to do anything involving, I'd just slouch on the couch and take in some idiot rays from the goggle box. Nowdays I just surf the web, read some blogs, play some easy DOTA.

But here in Malaysia most stations finish around midnight and start playing those stupid SMS chat things and music videos. I actually never watch it here as there is nothing at all worth watching on Terrestrial TV.

I do feel myself getting dumber when I watch TV, it's just so unimaginative, it's all laid out for you, you don't have to do anything, you can feel your synapses shutting down as the mindless drivel is pumped into your head, TV programs nowdays are laced with subconcious political innuendo and all kinds of hidden commercial messages intended to get your dollars out of your wallet and get your votes going in a certain direction.

It takes a lot away from books, kids nowdays don't know how to read. What I mean by that is of course they are literate, they can read and write, but they can't 'read' as in read novels, read classic books, get into a good fiction or thriller. It takes a certain mindset and practise to be able to read fluidly, to be able to immerse yourself in the book, you have to able to read without effort, without trying, without stumbling in your mind so you just absorb the words and get into the book.

I believe TV destroys this, TV removes the requirement for literacy, TV removes the requirement for imagination.

TV has a an amazing capability of creating a time vortex too, it just sucks your time away, you find yourself watching something just because it's on, you don't know what it's about, who's in it, what the hell they are mumbling about and you have absolutely 0 interest in it, but you keep on watching it, flicking channels, sucked into the land of the couch cabbage. You could have spent 4 hours watching TV and learnt nothing, enjoyed nothing, realised nothing, you just existed for those 4 hours, jeez what a waste of time.

It also influences language a lot, I've noticed in Malaysia people often use American prounounciation, even though Malaysia is an ex-colony of Britain, so you'd think they would use British English? But no....TV is all pumped in from the US, all the US shows are syndicated, you rarely see UK shows here, so American English is taking over, you can also see the quality reflected in the local comedy shows, they are very basic and slap-stick, much like the majority of American 'humor' [sic], it doesn't have the complexity or subtlety of British humour, which granted a lot of people don't get.

It also seems to have deeper implications such as influencing morality and social connatations, like some people believe the lifestyles characterised in 'Sex in the City' are real, so they try to mimic them...

People believe what they see on TV like it's real, like they read it in a history book or a newspaper, when even the TV news stations are totally biased. I like to think that BBC world is the least biased, but that of course is a biased opinion from me.

All in all, what I'm saying is TV sucks. DON'T DO IT!.

Don't waste your life in front of a TV, read a book, surf the net, watch some movies, go see your friends, turn that crap off.