Skiing trip in the Alps!!!

I had one of the most memorable Christmas in 2010. I went to the Alps for a skiing trip.

The trip began in the worst possible manner, with heavy snowfall delaying our train from Cambridge to London. Then the bus that is suppose to bring us from London to the Alps broke down half way through, delaying our journey for a further 8 hours!!

The funny thing is, my friends and I are all nearing the thirties. Whereas 90% of the participants are in their twenties. The first thing we heard when we boarded the bus was, "I was very good in my SPM moral subject one." To which all us reacted in this manner --- > =.= "'

heavy snowfall delayed our train

The bus trip from London to Dover, then boarding the ferry we travel across the English Channel to Calais, and finally from Calais all the way to southern France and then to the alps. This entire trip took exactly 24 arduous hours to complete!

When we arrived. We're dead exhausted. The room wasn't fantastic. But then the food was superb. French cuisine beats English cuisine anytime of the day. And what's more? It's free and buffet style.

breathtaking view of the alps from our room

With the ski googles on, I look like someone from the movie TRON. And also the monkey behind... =.=

there's a shope there call kanabeach. Wonder if there's one called kanasai?

We only started our skiing lessons the next day. On the first day, skiing seems so dangerous because with the ski on, you will slide indefinitely down the slope gaining infinite speed, with no way of stopping it.

first day of skiing lesson

the very scary ski lift

But as we learn how to control the ski, we just realised how fun skiing could be. Ski is sooooooo fun!!! Wheeee!!!!!! 7 days at the Alps passed by very quickly. At the final day, I enjoyed myself a lot by skiing down to the slope at high speed. And that was skiing down on a green slope. I wonder what would it be like in the advance level slope? Perhaps, this will not be my last skiing trip. I would certainly fancy another chance at it before I return to Malaysia...

My name is gaya

Happy New Year 2011

Last year was an epic failure. Of all the new year resolutions I made here. I only succeeded in completing those which are considered 'entertainment', e.g. playing sc2 and going to europe. This is so embarrassing...

And I started the new year with a ski trip to the Alps and 3 parties in a row...I really should be studying...

2011. This is the year that I must make it. But before I go do that, let's play another round of games on battlenet... (Dang!)

What do Cambridge Phd students do when they are stressed?

Punting...

BBQ...

Formal Halls...

Celebrations...

Support our boat racing team...


Playing Wii?

Bumper Cars (in tuxedo)??

T. Tokieda

I was on the way to Trinity College when I suddenly paused. "I have tonnes of work waiting for me. Should I really be listening this talk about 'physics of toys'? Anson, did say it is THE lecture to go for..." For a moment I turned my back away from the city, but fortunately I did another U-turn and ended up at Trinity College for the lecture.



It turned out that this one of the best lectures that I have ever been to in University of Cambridge. Not only is Tadashi Tokieda a brilliant mathematician himself, he is also a genius in making what seems complex mathematics into something that everyone could understand.

He never ceases to capture the audience's attention, alternating between good humour and extraordinary mathematics in every moment of his lecture. That is hard to achieve. In one instance, he took a piece of white paper, crumpled it and then stepped on it. Then he unfold it and ask, what did you see? You see lines, random lines. But if you try to draw a crumpled piece of paper by using networks of random lines, you will immediately recognise that the drawing isn't a crumpled piece of paper. This means that there is more than just random lines in a piece of crumpled paper. Did you realise that for each point on the crumpled paper, there can only be an even number of lines coming out from that point? If there are only four lines coming out of a point on that crumpled paper, then did you know that the sum of the opposing sectors are equal? He proved all these without using a single equation. All he had was 3 slides and less than 100 words in the 2-hour lecture. When I have to write what he had actually explain in that lecture, I'm lost for words. So if you find it difficult to understand what I have just told you about crumpled paper, it is my fault, definitely not his.

He went on to talk about negative Poisson ratio and origami and how this revolutionise the way the satellites fold their solar panels. He did all these without using any equations. You get a real sense that what he is talking about is really complex, interesting and cutting edge but yet everyone in the room understood it completely. At the end of the lecture, not only do I feel entertained, but also feel that I have learned so much in just 2 hours.

During the Q&A session, one audience asked, "you said you haven't solve this problem negative Poisson ratio. Why?" He answered, "Because it's hard!" to the laughter of the audience. He went on, "It's hard, but not because of what you think. The difficult thing about research is that unlike in school, you have to formulate the problem which you yourself is going to solve. If the problem is too easy, it becomes uninteresting to the research community. If it becomes too hard to solve, it becomes uninteresting to you. So how should you formulate the problem, set the conditions right so that it can be interesting yet solvable. The common fallacy is that people think research must be important. They are wrong. Research must be interesting."

I'll remember him, T. Tokieda.

With and without love

St.. Edmund's Mayball

I'm 30. The party was meant for those below 20.





Nevertheless, I attended this unique event in University of Cambridge called May Ball. It's called 'May' but it's held in June, after the exams. It's a 'Ball' which means you must wear a bow tie, tuxedo and a full set of black tie formal wear otherwise you will be denied entrance, even if you bought the tickets. This was the first ever time I wore a bow tie and a tux.

It started at 9pm. It ended at 6am the next day!




Free flow of drinks (from all kinds of beer and wine), food (burgers, hot dogs, chocolate fondue, etc) and entertainment e.g. Laserquest, movies, magic show, hot air balloon, bumper car!!



I went with a bunch of Malaysian lads - my good friends here in Cambridge University (too bad Fendi wasn't around...)



It was a lot of fun!

Doing things we like and doing things that are important

It's important to do the things you like, but things we like to do may not necessarily be important.

Do the right thing: Place important things ahead of the things you like to do. It's call responsibility!

伟人、改变世界

最近读到一位辩论“小瓜”的博客，有感而发。（其实，她已经不是小瓜，可是相对我而言，还是。。。嘻嘻）

其实这种想法真的很普遍：想要改变世界，讨厌霸权和不合理的事；但同时又害怕改变世界以及害怕要面对霸权。只要不合理的事还未涉及到我们，或是我们周围的人，我们又何必当改变世界的“先锋队”呢？起码，我并不是狼狈为奸。只要做好我本分，那不就好了吗？何必想要成为伟人？

可是，要成为伟人不是一种选择，是他人给予的肯定。
改变世界。这，是一种选择。

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY...

WISHING MYSELF A BELATED BIRTHDAY...

thank you for the cake and the dinner...

thank you for the birthday wishes and card...


thank you for the ... game ...

World Cup - England

England better win the World Cup this year.

I just supported their cause with this GBP38 T-shirt. >.<
(I think should have chose a better background for this picture... )

Why is UK boring?

You want to know why UK is boring?

This banner, located at the BIGGEST mall in Cambridge city center says it all...


8pm is considered LATE.

Worst case scenario for love-seeking men

It took him 2 years to realise that the current one is not the right one.
It took him 5 years to realise that the first one is the right one.
It took him his entire life to realise that all of the above is wrong.

Blackjack and Marriage

"Marriage is like playing blackjack. Everyone wants 21. But you could only try to get as close as possible to 21, without busting." -sL

赌博与玩耍

我爸爸年代：小赌怡情，大赌伤身！

我的年代：小玩（computer games) 怡情，大玩伤身！

Q1 review...

End of first quarter. Review of my new year's resolution...

Out of 10, I only completed 2 - no. 2 and no. 8;

And if my working rate is like an S-curve, then I should be near the steep curve soon...

Damn...I better buckle up...

Power and responsibility

"With great power comes great responsibility" - Spiderman
"With no power comes no responsibility" - Kickass

In Cavendish Lab...

Compared to the good ol' glory days in Maxis, what am I doing here in the University of Cambridge???

公开评审与辩论比赛的公正性

一个辩论比赛要精彩，莫过于几个简单的原素 。宣传、赛会的流程、辩题的素质、辩手的素质以及评判的素质。其中，评判的素质对于比赛的公正性扮演着绝对重要的角色。然而，评判的素质往往就是被忽略掉的一个。

在1999年的国际大专辩论赛“足球比赛引进电脑裁判利大于弊”，西安交通大学的主辩这么说过：“公正性是要建立在准确性的基础上的，缺乏准确性，空谈公 正，那只能是清水衙门糊涂官。”任何比赛的基本原则就是要公正。而公正是建立在准确性的基础上。但是，在判断一场辩论赛的胜负，如何可以达到“准确性”呢？

辩论比赛，本来就是一场主观的比赛。它是一个"shifting goal posts" 。有些评判的goal posts 很小；有的很大；有的摆在中间；有的摆在角落；有的只有一方的goal posts, 另一方则没有。一百个人的眼中有一百个哈姆莱特；一百个评判就有一百个胜负标准。因此，对于很多主办单位来说，他们是无法控制或改变评判的素质的。

虽然，要求辩论比赛达到100%的公正性是不可能，但是相对的公正性是可以的。比如，辩论比赛的历史发展就促使了以下的几个方法来让比赛变得更公正：

1。一场辩论比赛的决赛一般会有7个或以上的评判；
2。有3轮投票（其中一次包括分数票）；
3。分数票的最高分与最低分去掉；等等。

然而，这是不够的。特别是当两支势力相当的队伍相碰的时候，分数相差不到3分，各有输赢的理由，评判“误判”的可能性会更高。这时，以上的方法皆无法有效地解决这个“准确性”的问题，因此评判的公正性则受到质疑。随着辩论队伍之间的水准差距越来越小，受到质疑的判决就会越来越多。

我个人认为，这10年来华语辩坛的发展速度一日千里。每一支队伍在自由辩论时，不会再有 “冷场”；懂得“追”问题、“逃”问题；懂得设定义、衡量标准和论点架构；大家都会有智囊团和教练团；大家都开始拥有如马大辩论队般的传承与训练系统。每一位上场的辩手都是经过严格的训练而且对于辩论比赛赛制的运用了如指掌。相反的，我并不认为在这10年来，评判的评审水准大有进步。假设辩论的水准可以与评审水准作比较的话，我相信辩手的平均辩论水准已经远远超越评判的平均评审水准。当然，评判们这10年来的知识水平与个人历练是有提升的。但是，评审能力并不只是针对某课题的熟悉程度而更要看评判们对辩论比赛“游戏规则”的了解程度。评判不可能像辩论员或是某些大学的教练一样，每天不断地钻研辩论技巧。因此，有些评判对于比赛胜负的要求就只是在于是否迎合他们本身的想法或口味。

以“国阵比民联更有能力治理好国家”这个辩题为例。如果评判是一个火箭党的老友，他会不会认同国阵这50多年来治理国家的方针呢？实行新经济政策是国家发展的障碍还是“踏脚石”呢？反之，若评判是一位国阵议员的话，他就会斩钉截铁地告诉我们，新经济是我国发展史里最有智慧的政策。

如果正方的辩手在比赛之前就知道火箭党的人来做评判的话，正方的辩手很可能会不谈一些具有争议性的政策如新经济政策。他们很可能会这么说：“在理论上。。。国阵比较多治理国家的经验，只要它们。。。国家就会变得很好”。

如果是国阵的朋友做评判的话，正方则可以放心把新经济政策、“阿拉”字眼风波、内按法令拿出来谈，并且说：“没有了新经济政策我国的贫富悬殊的问题将会导致动乱让发展停滞不前。内按法令是防范措施，只要不被滥用，它能确保国家安全。” 而评判都会在点点头。

明显的，不同的评判会让双方有不同的起跑点。如果哪一方有一个比较 “另类” 观点，那么那一方就必须花更多的口舌来建立他的论点。而这所谓的“另类”是相对评判而言的。

为了公正，评判们不能以己见为判断胜负的基础。可是在辩论比赛里，这是做不到的。比如说，某一辩手说妈妈不是女的。那么评判能不能够以自己的理解为基础而认为这个论点荒谬，所以要扣分呢？可是有些评判会认为如果另一方辩手连一个这么荒谬的论点都无法有效反驳的话，他必须被扣更多的分数。究竟什么时候反驳的责任比较大，什么时候论证的责任比较大呢？结果还是见仁见智！辩论始终还是一个主观的“游戏”。

有鉴于此，评判团不可能有固定不变的评审“方程式”，可是也应该有些基本评审原则，比如：不能以己见作为审判的基础；以论点为首，以发音为次；正方犯上明显的错误，反方没有反驳，评判不能擅自为反 方反驳；不能给予“可怜”分；不能因为另一支队伍是卫冕冠军而要求特别苛刻；不能因为一支队伍从初赛到复赛进步特别多而判他获胜。随着辩论的发展，这些原则是可以增减，也可以改善而且必须是与时并进。就好像辩论员一样，评审的水准也可以不断地提升。这个过程必须由观众，辩手和评判一起来做。而要达到这个目的，最好的方法就是公开评审。

这一次（2010年）的马来西亚全国大专辩论赛首次实行了公开评审。我认为这一步走对了。

一般而言，担任评判是没有压力的。因为举办单位给了他们一个这样的权力：评判的决定就是最后的决定。因此，别人或自己都没有必要质疑这个判决。有多少位评判会为自己的决定进行赛后的检讨？会把过去评审的经验累积作为提升自己的动力？唯有通过公开评审，给予评判一定的压力，评判们才有动力去提升自己的评审能力。否则，很多评判会误以为自己在一场辩论比赛里是至高无上，无法动摇的权威。注意，这里指的评审能力不是指针对某个课题的掌握，而是一些评审的技术。比如，是否做到上一段落所说的基本评审原则？是否有能力把双方的论点记录下来？是否在自由辩论掌握到双方的攻击点？做过评判的都知道后面两个是不容易做到的。

一个评判如果多次在公开评审的时候提不出双方的论点，只是说一些客套话，如：“今天的比赛是龙争虎斗，旗鼓相当”；或是也提不出什么很好的胜负理由，如：“正方主辩的咬字很清晰，所以判正方胜利" ；或是完全不听双方的论点，只以自己的观点判胜负，如：“国阵怎么会治理国家？不能啦。。。可惜啊，这个辩题对正方不利，他们不可能胜的。。。所以他们一开始就输了！”（注：我本身遇过这种评判，以上这些理由，非虚构）面对多次在公开评审时作出这样评语的评判，作为主办单位和辩论员的就会知道那些评判以后最好就不要再碰见。作为评判的则可以以此为鉴，提升自己的评审能力。

前年和去年，我带领马来亚大学辩论队到过台湾参加他们的奥瑞港式辩论比赛。他们正是采用公开评审而且哪一支队伍如果认为那个评判不适合，可以在比赛前要求换评判。在台下的每一个评判几乎都是身经百战的。他们的评语甚至还比台上的辩论员更动听，更有说服力。在马来西亚，这次的全国大专辩论比赛应该算是第一次实行公开评审。

公开评审的效果不会在一次的赛会中看得到。但是实行一段时间后，我相信比赛的公正性会随着评审能力的提升而得到改善。这一次全国大专辩论赛不能说完全没有误判的可能性。毕竟，辩论比赛还是主观的比赛。把主观完全去除掉，辩论就不是再叫辩论了。但是，对任何比赛而言，公正性是很重要的。我们必须尽可能达到公正的评审。因此，这次在全国大专比赛实行的公开评审是马来西亚辩坛历史发展的重要里程碑。我深深相信它会让辩论比赛变得更公正，更精彩。我希望马来西亚各各比赛会考虑采用这个方法。

Why I would never need an 'ipad'

The new ipad is thin, responsive, safe and lasts for hours...

Why use 'whisper' when you have 'ipad'?

雪州513

翻看着以前的帖子，我发现我在3个月前早已对上星期在雪州所发生的一连串事件做过类似的推测：

1。在雪州制造骚乱（迷你513）
2。内政部长利用“牛头”事件来合理化这次的示威。

两个，全中！

我进一步推测，近期内警察的调查结果会是：放火烧屋的恶徒，不是回教极端份子，而是一些亲反对党的非回教徒。从而，又再把责任推向给反对党。

希望我的推测是不对的。