There are things that have been bothering me since my elder brothers death. According to the doctors in Malaysia, he passed away because "his heart stopped beating for 6 minutes at that time". Somehow, I still find that sentence confusing because I remember my brother's body reflexes were still moving when we spoke to him verbally, or perhaps touching his body. So how can his brain be entirely dead? Probably due to the stress from work and studies, I hardly have a good sleep every night, and even if I do, i will start having nightmares, etc. I will sometimes even sleep at my desk in the office :(

One day, a new PhD student came to me and asked me about student visa's and we spend a few hours chatting. He is an extremely nice person to me, seriously. From my observation (my observation is usually accurate, lol), he should be a very caring and concerned person. Once I am extremely busy with printing handout for students, he approached and offered me some help with stapling those printed documents.

Speaking to him for hours, or days, and I realized he is a real doctor from Beijing! Excuse me? A medical doctor studying PhD? He must be extremely smart. So i asked him some stupid questions like "How many years have you been studying to be a doctor" and he explained that it takes him more than 10 years?! He *Grins* and explained to me very slowly. Now i know he is not only a normal medical doctor. He is also a brain specialist and surgeon who had worked in a hospital in Beijing, and has operated more than 100 patients' head! By the way, he is just 31 this year.


Caption : Dr. Rui and I

I asked him many questions related to my brother, since he is a brain specialist. He told me that brain cells will start dying when a person's heart stops beating for 8 mins, and completely dead (in the central brain) in approximately 20 mins. But why my brother was pronounced as brain dead when his heart stopped beating for 6 minutes? He said "maybe your brother should go to the hospital immediately when he starts feeling unconcious". He is right. My brother started to feel unconcious for 4 hours before going to the hospital (also thanks to his gf). If he is right, my brother passed away with just 2% brain cells left in his brain. That is the part of the brain that controls the nerves and reflexes system. When brain cells are dead in the central executive (brain), it will never regenerate again. That is why some people who had serious brain injuries can only open their eyes, or perhaps just blinking their eyes for the rest of his life.


Caption: This book is interesting, entitled "The Human Brain"

Basically, I spend about 6 hours sitting in the office, listening to him about the stories of "Human brain". I am a cognitive psychologist myself and I still find the story of a person's brain very interesting. Studying neuro sciences are definitely worth it. I also asked him how the cancer disease spread in a person's body, i.e. a tumor found in a person's intestine and he really explained it very thoroughly.


Caption: (a) stomach, (b) large intestine, (c) small intestine, (d) rectum, (e) anus, (f) appendix, and (g) cecum

Let's ignore (d), (f), and (g) lol. I will make it very briefly, since i do not like to explain something for the next six hours lol. If a person is having tumor somewhere in (b), the large intestine and discovered it at the early stage, then the doctor 'should' be able to control that tumor from spreading all over your body (that is when you will die) by asking you to take some medicines or if necessary, cutting certain section (let says 5 cm) of your large intestine and combine the edge of the left over intestines. This goes the same if a tumor found in the (c) small intestine. However, if a tumor found in the (e) anus, then you will have trouble. According to Dr. Rui, if the doctor think you should cut a section in the anus and if the measurement of the anus to be removed is greater than 6 cm, then they will say 'no' to remove that tumor. They can only remove the tumor from the anus if it is lesser than 6 cm. Very risky isn't it? Sometimes the doctor will not be able to cut every section of an intestine, especially when the tumor grow somewhere between the intestine and (example) kidney. He can help you to cut your intestine that contained the tumor but not the kidney. So when you realized a tumor in your body, then you will be in great danger.

I am almost ready to submit one of my writting to a journal publication, but then my supervisor gave me two choices, (1) Springer and (2) BCS HCI 2009, and asked me to choose one of the publication as a journal. I asked a few people around me, some of them said publishing a journal to Springer is alot more beneficial, but some said differently. I am so confused, and asked some of those experience PhD students who are familiar with this and one of them said, "Why not submitting your paper to a few publications and wait for their reply? In case one reject you, you still have another as a backup". It sounded okay to me, so I asked again "What if both of them accept that journal? How would I respond to them in that case?" and he goes "Simple, simply choose one and reject the other one (that i plan to forego) with a personal reason" :S Then, I went to my supervisor and asked him the consequences, and he said that I might be blacklisted if they found out. What should I do then? Any suggestions? :(

I have updated the poll (on the right side of this blog), and hopefully you can help me to decide a little.

I have been tagged by Mel, and planning to fill this questions up as soon as I am free this week. Finally, i have completed the questions. Here it is:

1. Who tagged you?
Mel

2. Do you like tags?
Well, it depends on my current mood

3. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?
Striking on a £17.5 mil lotto ticket, although i don't gamble, really.

4. What is your current mood?
Tired and exhausted :(

5. What will you do if your crush says he/she adores you too?
Nothing, used to it (joking lol). Maybe i will keep reminding her that i really treasure the friendship if i have no feelings for her.

6. Will you fall in love with your bestfriend?
It depends, mostly not.

7. Which will you prefer, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Loving someone.

8. What is your favourite food?
Chinese, and perhaps indian cuisine lol.

9. If the person you dislike is right in front of you, what will you do?
I will probably just give a smile :) to the person that i dislike instead of ignoring.

10. What do you pray each day for your loved ones?
Happiness and always stay healthy.

11. What takes you down the fastest?
Quarrel and arguments.

12. How would you see yourself in ten years time?
Probably becoming smarter? lol.

13. What is the reason that could make you so tensed up?
What i can't find a solution for something.

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
I should be able to tell when we hang out more.

15. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Single and rich, as always.

16. Would you sacrifice for your loved ones?
I think i will.

17. What's the character must have in your partner?
A soft lady who is understanding, romantic, passionate, and a challenging mindset.

18. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you like to pick?
Either choosing both, or ignore them both! Joking lol, i will see who is more compatible to me.

19. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that someone has done?
My heart is soft, no matter how mean a person treats me, i will still forgive.

20. Do you prefer being single or having a relationship?
Single, as always.

21. What kind of music do you like?
Classical, romantic and R&B.

22. Who are the 5 person that you would like to tag?
1) AGG
2) Yee yee
3) The muffin sis
4) Daryl
5) Etc.

A very hectic day in oxford street today, probably its saturday. My brother woke me up in the middle of my sleep, and asked me to walk around the oxford street. Did not do much over there, we mainly focus our shopping in selfidges, the second largest shop (first should be harrods) in the UK. I have captured some pictures to give some friends some in sight of how selfridges actually looks.


Caption: louis vuitton

I started to ask my brother to capture images from the entrance of selfridges, louis vuitton (a $450 billion business). I said to him, "what is so big deal about lv bags, purse, etc. when my aunt can get a Rm50 lv handbags in the pasar malam (night market) in malaysia?) and he goes "wow huge difference, etc". I don't mean to provoke him since he has one of the lv purse, but maybe he is right, after doing 'some' research and observations, i finally came out with some of my own conclusion by comparing a real and fake lv bags.


Caption: real VS fake lv bags

I even spend some time reading from different websites just for this lol. Although i do not really bother about lv products since im not an lv fan, but from my observation, it is not difficult to detect and contrast a real and fake lv bags. Usually lv bags will have those logo's everywhere the bag and those buttons or pins will usually not block the lv logo in the bag. The lv logo should be crooket so if u see any straight lv logo in the bag means that thing is fake (this is what a style expert Jess Zaino says) and I wonder what happens if I say that to those fake lv sellers in malaysia? Anyway, it says a fake lv bag will have a very unique design, where everything found in the bag is not going to be even, i.e. the bag straps, etc. and finally the monograms should have shallow and not obvious printed words on it. Tell me if these are true?

See what this expert says about the comparisons between a fake and a real lv bag:

♥ *waiquan* says:
- actually, the best way to differentiate fake and real LV bags is the lining
- the real LV bag, the workmanship at the handles and zips is very intricate and exquisite
- plus when u first buy the bag, the straps or handles may be of a lighter color
- and after u used for a while, it will turn dark

Somehow, she ended the conversation with:

♥ *waiquan* says:
- im not pro lah
- my most expensive bag is not even a luxury bag

LOL! She is really an expert in this area to me.


Caption: Gucci

Another thing i really wanted to know, is that the comparison of gucci and chanel. Which of the 2 brands (overall comparisons) are more branded? Some told me chanel, and some telling me gucci. I am confused and hope someone will actually point out the differences and then tell me which of these 2 brands are more famous :)


Caption: chanel

Wondering around selfridges, we finally found godiva. People telling that godiva is a very luxury shop where you may find very nice chocolates. This is also a reason for me to pay a visit here today. Probably we have not ran out of luck yet, we actually get to test out the chocolates and truffles there. To be frank, very yummy! Although the price is a little too costly compared to other chocolates, but I still think it is worth buying, especially for some really good friends.


Caption: godiva

Theres also this thing that i found it very humorous yet complicated, there are some friends on msn, keep asking me to not be naughty (there are few of them saying that to me so far). I wonder what they mean by some sentences like:

*name and title censored*
lol
what u always do online
why can everyday stay up until so late

*name and title are censored*
- dont be naughty ok?
- i duuno why like to ask u not to be naughty
- u tell me
- lol

Firstly, I have no choice to stay up that late, mainly for education purpose, lol. If possible, i wanted to have some really good sleep everyday, but no lol. Secondly, I am not naughty, do not feel like being naughty and no future plans to be naughty. Also please define naughty. I do not go SOHO (an entertainment street at central london where you may find arcade centres, restaurants, pubs, clubs and bars, prostitution centres, etc.) for entertainments so how can I be naughty? Unless you think flirting around with girls on MSN are considered as naughty, then fine, lol.

Once again, slept at around 5:00 AM and waking up at around 9+ AM. My sleeping time is completely messed. I think if MSN don't exist, i should be able to get 8 hours of sleep per day!

Today is a tiring day, yet relaxing. Mainly because most students do not attend labs often on friday. So, tutors would have much more time to relax. A buddy of mine paid her very first visit to the Hendon Campus today, so I brought her around the campus, snapping pictures everywhere. Coincidently, we met one of my PhD supervisor wondering around the campus doing nothing. One compliment, or probably a disadvantage for most students, that is, this senior lecturer can speak with a student for hours, to ensure that the student can really understand anything that they ask thoroughly. The three of us speaks simultaneously as if no one else is around us until late night lol, let say, from 3:30 PM to 8:00 PM? Lol.


Caption: Me, Carl, and Ting


Caption: Carl and I


Caption: Ting and I

Oh yah, i think i should start posting my school lab, a new building (it is included as a part of the £17.5 mil spent in the past two years) called the 'Hatchcroft'. There are massive amount of labs contained in this very building, very high tech building. I predicted around 200 or more PCs and Apple Macs could be found in this building.


Caption: An example of a lab (only managed to capture half of the lab)

Carl is an electronic synthesizer lover. Once he showed me his collection of synthesizers at his home, about 35 of them, ranging from £100 to £4, 000. He also persuaded the university to get one of the best synthesizer in the world. Ting played a few songs using the electronic synthesizer and both of us really enjoyed the music that she played. How I wish I am a music student, or at least a very talented person with musical instruments :( By the way, this electronic synthesizer is probably one of the most expensive synthesizer in the world. It cost around £6, 500 (at a discounted rate for academic purpose). I do not really believe at first, until i saw the receipt from the technician lol. He also showed us his new toy, a synthesizer worth £100. According to him, this synthesizer is cheap as it do not contain any memory in it. You may record some songs that you compose with this yellow thingy, but the data's will be erased when you turn it off. A very cool gadget.


Caption: A £6,500+ worth synthesizer


Caption: A £100 personal synthesizer with the size of a human palm

Using this device is simple, just place your finger on the black keypad and move around, and, OMG, i sounded like Carl lol! We then went to a nearby korean restaurant, namely 'Kim Chee'. People has been telling me that this restaurant offer really nice korean foods. Consider that the portion of the foods that they offer in this restaurant is quite little compared to other restaurants, but I am a type of person who prefers quality more than quantity. Not only that the foods are really delicious, the staffs working there are providing good services too, and they always speaks to their customers with a smile :)


Caption: 'Kim Chee', a korean restaurant at Golders Green


Caption: Korean soup (not sure the name of the soup), a korean staff working at that restaurant, a korean bowl of rice (forgotten the name lol)

Firstly, Happy Birthday to Yee Yee. I just know her birthday from Mel today morning (when i am not even awake) lol. Glad i gave her a 'special Bday present' without noticing her bday yesterday :O

I have been discussing this issue with one of my supervisor yesterday night. Sometimes, we may think music students may not know anything besides playing songs, but it also can be true that they knows how to express 'something' by performing a song to us with different musical instruments. Probably my supervisor and i were both really a person who knows how to enjoy musics. I have a very good friend name yoong-yoong and in year 2002 when i am doing my degree (forgotten which year of degree), i have to compose a music for the digital media module. I asked her to help me to compose a song, and she composed one immediately for me in within 15 minutes, and i got a first class for that coursework. Impressive.

Once i paid a visit to Trentpark (my previous campus) and met this friend in one of the piano rooms. Coincidently, i have my mp3 player with me. We discussed very little about my knowledged of music, and she said she can of play some easy songs immediately through the play-by-ear concept. How true is that? Either that sounded like a genius or i do not really trust her by the skills she is refering to me, so I have decided to test her skills by letting her to listen to a song randomly for two times or so, and asked her to show me to play me the song.


Picture: A picture that i snapped from the video

Here is the actual video link

Impressive for a person who listened to the song for a few times and playing it by ear immediately after a minute (without practices). I will post something similar more if i am able to capture any other videos related to this, secretly of course :) lol.

I slept around 5am, and woke up at around 9am today, restless preparing for the upcoming lecture for a day now. For the first time, i have to attend to teach a group of students alone in a lecture, it is really tiring. Met one of my buddy, my Yee Yee (sorry CY) lol. Guess what, i know her from friendster (through other friends) since, 2007? and i met her in real life after a year and a half later. She is an extremely funny and humorous person to me. She can joke, she can laugh, she can be wild, she can be ... forget about it, lol. Thanks to her for spending few hours with me today. Also thanks to Yonal (my PhD collegue) for taking this picture for us, finally managed to snap a pic with her lol.


Picture: Yee yee and I

For the very first time, I am have to handle such big lecture of approximately 62 students. Wait, not normal student's, a bunch of barbarians instead :S Usually i will go into lectures with my supervisors and not alone to lectures that has more than 60 students. I can't believe i have to teach a bunch of barbarians today and it is really not an easy task. At first, 12 students appeared and twenty minutes later, a dozen appeared. About fifteen minutes later, about 30 +appeared and started to make funny but weird noises. They are irritating seriously! So what happen is, many started to ask silly questions like "Sir, why is this coursework important?" and "Why do we need to do this coursework?" Well, it is a coursework, so just do it, why ask so much? lol. Somehow, I do admit that some were really good students though where they really pay much attention to what i demanded. Thank god. I started to feel pity for my supervisors to have to teach such students for one whole semester!


Picture: Lecture hall

I will never say 'okay' to my supervisor anymore if he ask me to personally handle another lecture session like this.

A picture of my daily entertainment with my buddy, Ting-ting.


Game: Yahoo Pool

I seriously enjoy playing the game with her almost every night, mainly for some "major" reasons. Firstly, I always win her by alot of points, at least 20 games per day and she only win me like, 1 or 2 games? Secondly, after playing the game with her, i can do this to her:



LOL! Okay, i am just joking. I consider her to be an expert in Yahoo!pool because most of the time either she will win me in the games or a tie i suppose (when I am watching movies and at the same time playing, etc.). Besides faking with the points, the rest (i.e. booting someone from the table) is not fake LOL. Sorry Ting.

I am really happy to get a free ticket from Middlesex University's director of music, Dr. Peter Fribbins :) , to attend a string quartet concert at King's place. Do you know how much the free ticket mean to me? I seriously think that paying for a concert will not be as happy as getting a free ticket for concert and yet, that this is the first (and hopefully not the last) ever string quartet concert i have ever been, and yes, for free lol.




King's Place, located somewhere near to the king's cross station, in york way

I am seriously impressed by this group of string instrument users, bla, maybe i am not a music student myself, but their 2 hours playing really makes me feel that string instruments can really replace other famous musical instruments, such as piano! I did tried snapping a few pictures of the three string players with my mobile, but i am afraid you will not be able to look clearly of what is in this picture, so i have to "define" it one by one for you in the picture below :)


Picture above: three string instrument users (violin: Nadio Wijzenbeek, viola: Ylvali Zilliacus, and cello: Marie Macleod)

They are really excellent players. In 2 hours, this string trio team played three different pieces (including different movements for each song). The three pieces are (1) Divertimento in C major by Michael Haydn, (2) String trio by James Francis Brown and (3) String trio in E Flat Major Op 3 by Ludwig Van Beethoven. Overall, i still prefer the pieces composed by Beethoven. However, I whitnessed some of my friends (i think most of them) fall asleep when they played the last piece (sadly i did not snap any photo's as photo taking is prohibited in the hall).

This is the first year for me to celebrate valentines day alone, since high school lol, as in, at least celebrating with some normal friends for dinner, or maybe hanging around somewhere. But no, this year, i am celebrating valentines all alone :( having dinner at home alone (okay, i cooked and then eat alone, and later brother joined me for dinner lol). Maybe this is something beneficial for me, as in saving more money than wasting it on valentine? lol. Anyway, happy valentines day to myself.



How can you mend a broken heart? by Bee Gees.

I have designed a few game interfaces for my game, "Totally Lost". You may even vote the best looking interface among the three in the below:

Totally Lost : One



Totally Lost : Two



Totally Lost : Three



Do not feel shy to post your vote (or cast your vote in the poll on the right side of this blog) and comment because i am trying to receive as many comments / critiques / compliments as possible before designing.

I finally start blogging after so many years, influenced by some really good friends of mine. Now i understand why some people telling me they have to spend 5 hours with blogging almost everyday. It is never something easy, but, its definitely fun.

I have crafted a set of 20 questions of myself in the True Friendship Test for my friends. Mind you spare a few minutes to fill up the questionaire form and setting up a new account with them to preview your scores :)


Caption: Myself in Chappell (1)


Caption: Myself in Chappell (2)