Sad...

I just came back from Shah Alam tis morning. Go straight to the office. I need to submit the SLAI scholarships that I took from KPT to the HR department. I need a letter from the HR so that I could proceed with my visa application. And the HR people need these scholarship documents b4 they can produce a piece of paper stating that I am allowed by UMP to further my study. This piece of paper as simple as its seems is damn crucial for my visa application. Damn! I thought that I could just go straight to the British High Commission in KL. Becoz of 1 letter I have to travel back to Kuantan and go back to Shah Alam again 2moro. Huh.. tiring..

Well I was in Shah Alam since Monday. Got a meeting yesterday at SIRIM. I luv going to SIRIM. They would pay handsome honorarium money each time we (committee members tat is) attend their meeting. Sweet! But the meeting is only held once for every 2 months. If only the meeting are conducted every month or every week. Hehehe.. think bout the money I can make. But it is far from reality. Sigh… I involved in the Site Remediation Workgroup for the preparation of Malaysian Standards. We have a lot of problems related to contaminated sites in this country. Land scarcity is the main problem if proactive measures are not taken seriously now.

During yesterday meeting some of the members proposed to go for a site visit so that we can get a better view on what the issues going around related to our group. The next meeting will be held outside SIRIM and will also include site visits. I wont be here anymore to enjoy the trip nor the money. I’m going to UK soon and have to leave all of this behind…. I don wanna go now..huhuhu

300 2??

The title is not 3002 as in three thousand two but three hundred two. The sequal of the mother of all blood thirsty sword fight. Well i think we gonna get slapped again with a sequel to the $127 Million Box office smash hit. When 300 was released it was based on the 300 graphic novel. Read my previous entry on 300. So wat is 300 2 is all about? I have no Idea. But I hope to get another round of pure sword fighting action in the next a year or two.

How far is this news from the truth remains a mystery. Is it possible to make a sequal out of the original? Will it get any better? Well... this is Hollywood... and this is also business. Which means that if there is indeed money to be made... then a way can be found. And guess what... with over $127 million at the box office after just it's second weekend in theaters, it looks like plans for 300 2 are on the table. Tis is wat I came across while browsing through several sites related to 300.

"Snyder has hinted to Variety that a second hyper-stylized Greek bloodbath is in the works. Both Snyder and co-director/writer Frank Miller are tight-lipped about the sequel's source material but the article does say this: "Miller is also prepping a follow-up to "300" based on another mythic tale from Greek history, but he won't divulge details."

The picture above is the only hint that is available on the internet. Wat can we do bout it? Keep our fingers crossed!

Kaer Azami - Menjelma

I went out wiff me mom last week to Alamanda Putrajaya. She wanted to buy few cds b4 she head home to Wien (Vienna). So I took her to Speedy Video and search for some cds that my mom wanted to buy. Malaysian artist that is these kind of cds wont be available in the Wien market. Hehehe.. I myself are not too fond of Malaysian music. Some of our in house songs are worth listening while others just.. just.. filling the emptiness in the air. Once in the shop I got my eyes hooked on an album laid on the best sellers rack. The singer is familiar to me none other than Kaer, and I kinda like the way this guy sings.

So AFTER three years of silence, Wan Mohd Khair Wan Azami, or Kaer, is back on the music scene with a bang and a sleeker look. The 22-year-old, who made it into the top six of the reality TV show AF2, has an album out and is enjoying plenty of airtime. The self produced album features the single Izinku Pergi, which was composed by famous Malaysian songwriter Azlan Abu Hassan who recently won the Juara Lagu for the ballad Terlalu Istimewa sung by Adibah Noor (my mom wants tis cd) and the late 2004 Kembali Bersama. By the way Izinku Pergi was top of the Astro Era Radio chart for four weeks.

At first I was hesitate to buy the album. 11 songs for RM29.90. Will it be worth it? My mom told me to buy it anyway. To my surprise. yup this album kick ass.. no wonder the album was sold 5,000 copies in its first week. Menjelma is an album with a diversified music genre ranging from R&B, Jazz and Pop Jazz to House Music infused with traditional gamelan beat. Well this is what my mom told me. I don know much bout jazz tunes anyway. hehehe.. So I would recommend this album to those of u who enjoyed listening to jazz and R&B music. Worth evey cent. Way to go Kaer..

P/S: Some of my sister's fren said that I look like Kaer. I don think so!!

Water Day.. I'm thirsty..

Last March the world Celebrated The World Water Day. This month it’s our very own country’s turn to follow the bandwagon. Alongside with visit Malaysia 2007, the government put a lot of effort and ehem.. our money in this particular event. The launch of the National Water Festival month promises a splashing time for locals and tourists alike. This two-day event will feature a variety of both modern and traditional water sports activities. This year, the legendary island of Langkawi has the honour to host the national launch of Pesta Air 2007 (2007 Water Festival).

While the World Water Day (WWD) 2007 was guided by the theme 'Coping with Water Scarcity' , the Malaysian however have abundance of water to spill and waste with the emergence of a new event called “simbah kuyup” (soaking wet) kinda like something they have in Thailand during the water festival. Not only this event depleting our source of water but also our damn money.

SULTAN OF PAHANG LAUNCHES VARSITY’S NEW LOGO

Sultan of Pahang Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah officially declared Universiti Malaysia Pahang as the new name for Kolej Universiti Kejuruteraan & Teknologi Malaysia and launched the new University's new logo at a grand ceremony in Putrajaya on Sunday night. His Majesty the Sultan was accompanied by the Chancellor of UMP Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Al-Haj Ibni Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah and his consort Tengku Puan Pahang Tunku Hajjah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Al-Mutawakkil ýAlallah Sultan Iskandar. Also present at the ceremony held at the Marriot Putrajaya Hotel were Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education Dato' Dr. Mohd Taib who represented the Minister of Higher Education Dato' Mustapa Mohamed, Chairman of the University Board of Directors Datoý Hilmey Mohd Taib, UMP Vice Chancellor Prof. Dato' Dr. Mohamed Said Mat Lela, members of the University Board of Directors, Deputy Vice Chancellors and senior officers of the University.UMP Chancellor Tengku Mahkota Pahang Tengku Abdullah Al-Haj in his royal address said that the name change would help correct the misconception by the general public on the status the University. Previously, the public tended to look at the public university colleges as second-tier universities and this had somewhat affected their academic reputation and the morale of their graduates.

The Chancellor also urged the University Management to strive to make UMP as the best higher education in the region. UMP according to Tengku Abdullah, should produce quality graduates who can compete and face challenges, they should also be taught how to create and not to only seek employment upon graduation. He also expected UMP graduates to be innovative in order to create career opportunities from the knowledge and skills they have acquired at the University. He added that the University should also intensify research in the areas that could contribute to the greater development of the state of Pahang as well as to the country.

UMP's nu logo

The dawn of a new Era. Feast ur eyes on this! Finally the logo has been officially launched. There was a slight delay though. The logo was launced on the 1 April at Marriot Hotel, Putrajaya rather than on the 29 March. The lauching ceremony was a successful one. Many reporters and cameramen came to the scene and broadcast the ceremony live. For the first time in history, the logo was revealed to the world and the story bout it also came out in the newspaper the day after.

The rebranding of the university and the new launched logo will hope to strengthen and boost the working spirit of UMP's associates. Other university college does not change their logo but merely change their name to a full university status. Vice versa, our university changed to a new logo. The logo in my opinion is not as eye soothing as the previous logo.It looks too plain and simple. The idea of the logo is a pair of tusk (gading) that represents the menara gading and the icon of the state of Pahang. Do u see any gading there? I don see no gading.. sigh! I dislike this entire abstract thingy. Whose idea is it anyway?

The first thing that came into my mind the first time I set my eyes on it was that the logo resembled a logo of a private company Umpan Holdings Berhad. The only difference is that the Umpan has a U shape logo instead of a V. Other that than they are all the same. The color scheme matches the ones in Umpan Holdings. Well it's a small world after all. The university also rearranges the motto from technology, engineering, creativity (UTEC) to engineering, technology and creativity. Our core business is engineering after all and has to be put up front.

After a long wait at last all outstanding work can now be acomplished. Previously most of the works were on hold due to unavailability of a logo. Letterheads, envelope, exam answer sheets, exam questions u name it, all printed materials have to remain on hold. Even we lecturers did not get to reload our long gone business card and we were not allowed to use our official stamps even for internal use. Now that the logo is out I hope that we can get all the delayed jobs done.

Personally I don like the new logo. But what the heck as long as I got my job, I'm a happy man. I'm busy with my preparation for my PhD anyway. Why should I even bother.. but still it gets on my nerves everytime I came across this lousy new logo.