Casting Swine at Pearls...

Yes, you read that right! Nor did I misquote a fairly common phrase... This was how I felt when I read the article in the star that the proclaimed young Genius finds school boring. Exactly how bad our education system is anybody's guess, but it is common knowledge that rock bottom is not far of. Worse, there is no way for this broken down system to accomodate the geniuses in our midst who require real nurturing to launch themselves from an already heady pedestal. Be that as it may, the issuing of show cause letters with the threat of expulsion only goes to magnify how all this may seem incomprehensible to those entrusted to educate Malaysia's future leaders. Casting swine at pearls indeed!!!

Opening Pandora's Music Box

Thanks to Tim O'Reilly, I have stumbled onto arguably the best website for me since Google. The founder explains this best:

The Music Genome Project

On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.
Together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like.

Over the past 5 years, we've carefully listened to the songs of over 10,000 different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time. This work continues each and every day as we endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world.
It has been quite an adventure, you could say a little crazy - but now that we've created this extraordinary collection of music analysis, we think we can help be your guide as you explore your favorite parts of the music universe.

We hope you enjoy the journey.

Tim Westergren
Founder - The Music Genome Project

Restaurant in hot water for charging 10 sen more

The Star reports that a restaurant operator will be prosecuted for charging a Perak Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs enforcement officer 10 sen extra for roti canai. I suppose this is the state government's way of taking care of the rakyat's pockets from the effects of the 30 sen increase in petrol... But let's get a few things straight. Prices have been going up everywhere since the announcement and all the state department has to show is this?

Furthermore, I am not sure what rules enforcement officers will use, but unless the terms of engagement are made clear, the likelihood of abuse is real and very unfortunate for local business.

Ageing Ipoh

Old town looks the same, perhaps a little more run down than before... I found it funny when the thought crossed my mind. You see, driving around in Ipoh last weekend, one could not help but notice the number of cars and new developments, especially in more popular suburbs like Ipoh Garden East. Even the roads leading along DR Park into the city centre branched into a myriad of lanes that had me confused somewhat.

The drive around town jogged some memories from my youth. St Michael's Institution never looked so good in my mind, my alma mater standing proudly over the Ipoh Padang. And there was Kong Heng, the House of Mirrors complete with the insistent satay man, still pushing sticks in my face. But yes, "uncle" looked a lot older under closer scrutiny...

Despite the development around town, and obvious efforts to spruce up its image, the cracks remain subtle but real. The people seem older and the air of a more familiar past lingers as if to remind me of my younger days. Yes, Ipoh does feel a lot older...

MCMC Should Be MMCC...

Today's 3G farce only reinforces my opinion that the so-called Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission is not only ignorant, it has crossed the lines of logic.

In what MCMC described as a "beauty contest" the criteria was not the highest bidder, but rather the complete package.

But a look at TTDotcom Sdn Bhd whose past association with the mobile industry is its shareholders' loss and Maxis' gain. MiTV Corporation Sdn Bhd on the other hand whose very existence is threatened by the Almighty Astro. Put the 2 side by side with Digi Telecommunications, a leading player in the mobile market with some decent ARPUs to show.

Now, how on earth did MCMC come to this "logical" conclusion? Somehow I am assuredly confident that Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson could make a better decision in comparison...

There is no basis for this result, and only fuels bad news for corporate Malaysia...

The Uglier Malaysia

The Star headlines reads "Lorryman killed, rush for squids in multiple crash" and my first thought was that it was journalistic sensationalism. It was neither sensational nor in good taste as far as I am concerned. To think that in a fatal accident such as this, Malaysians were more interested in getting a free meal... wonder if the squid is still as tasty now?

Petrol Takes a Hike

Been reading with amusement the spin doctors and the thought that keeps returning to my mind is this:

Why are we not bringing in the Prius or any other hybrid cars?