..and though time goes by, I will always be…

James Blunt wasn’t even born yet in 1973, so it definitely can’t be about him.

Some say he spent a number of years in Ibiza, and fell in love with the clubbing scene. This song is supposedly a tribute to Pacha, his favourite club there.

Still doesn’t explain the ’1973′ part, though.

So I suppose, the truth is sometimes simpler than it first seemed.

Is there really a difference between Simona no longer around and Simona never existed in the first place?

This is just like life. Sometimes the solution is simple. Why do we complicate things?

It’s still a swell song nevertheless.

Lykke Li: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (Cover)

I can’t seem to get this song out of my head. So I went out to find the best cover version available. And I found out about Lykke Li.

This version is incredibly haunting and soulful.

The only thing I can think about after listening to this is, how did we get here and where are we heading? Sigh…

2:183 – 2:185: Puasa di bulan Ramadhan

Puasa in ramadhan related verses that I can find:-

2:183. Wahai orang-orang yang percaya, dituliskan bagi kamu berpuasa sebagaimana dituliskan bagi orang-orang yang sebelum kamu, supaya kamu bertakwa.

2:184. Pada hari-hari yang terhitung; dan jika sesiapa antara kamu sakit, atau jika dia dalam perjalanan, maka sebilangan daripada hari-hari yang lain; dan bagi orang-orang yang tidak boleh, ditebus dengan memberi makan seorang miskin, tetapi lebih baik baginya, yang membuat kebaikan dengan sukarela, bahawa kamu berpuasa adalah lebih baik bagi kamu, jika kamu mengetahui.

2:185. Bulan Ramadan yang padanya Al-Qur’an diturunkan untuk menjadi satu petunjuk bagi manusia, dan sebagai bukti-bukti yang jelas daripada Petunjuk itu, dan Pembeza. Maka hendaklah orang-orang antara kamu yang menyaksikan (hadir) pada bulan itu, berpuasa; dan sesiapa yang sakit, atau dalam perjalanan, maka sebilangan daripada hari-hari yang lain. Allah menghendaki kemudahan bagi kamu, dan tidak menghendaki kesukaran bagi kamu; dan agar kamu mencukupkan bilangan, dan mengagungkan Allah, bahawa Dia telah memberi petunjuk kepada kamu supaya kamu berterima kasih

(Asad translation)

2:183. O YOU who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain conscious of God:

2:184. During a certain number of days. But whoever of you is ill, or on a journey, [shall fast instead for the same] number of other days; and [in such cases] it is incumbent upon those who can afford it to make sacrifice by feeding a needy person. And whoever does more good than he is bound to do does good unto himself thereby; for to fast is to do good unto yourselves – if you but knew it.

2:185. It was the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was [first] bestowed from on high as a guidance unto man and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and as the standard by which to discern the true from the false. Hence, whoever of you lives to see this month shall fast throughout it; but he that is ill, or on a journey, [shall fast instead for the same] number of other days. God wills that you shall have ease, and does not will you to suffer hardship; but [He desires] that you complete the number [of days required], and that you extol God for His having guided you aright, and that you render your thanks [unto Him].

A couple of points to draw from the above simple verses:

1. Only two exception to puasa: sakit (ill) & dalam perjalanan (on a journey).

2. What to do in such a case? When such we are told to ganti with other days, ‘maka sebilangan daripada hari2 yang lain’. But if you can’t, give food to the poor. Of cos, we can define period as sakit. But would any medical practitioner define that as sickness today?

3. Another interesting fact, we are often told we must ganti within a year. No such thing here.

Wook!!!

From the Star:

“I will massage him when he starts to talk about younger women. This will dissuade him from thinking about them,” she said when met at her house in Kampung Bukit Tok Bat in Kuala Berang yesterday.

Oooh, kinky….Anyone wanna wager on which ‘part’ of the body she was referring to??

No offence to Wook, anyone who lives beyond a 100, deserves nothing more than respect, but c’mon, have we stooped that low for The Star to put this sort of suggestive-trashy-tabloid-type news on the 3rd page of a mainstream Malaysian national newspaper??

This is almost as bad as the Star World Exclusive on the Low dude who blew millions on Paris Hilton ..(okla, if I had that amount of $$$, even I’d blow it on,….. naah, actually, I’d spend it all on my maxine…)

Did I score, sayang? Ehrmm, a ‘massage’ perhaps? :p

Faith (1)

Most people go through life, blindly accepting what they are told.

Is questioning too much work? Or are they afraid of what answers they might come up with?

Deep down they know that this belief of theirs has flaws. But still, they hang on to it. They will not entertain any criticism nor will they even consider any alternative. Shouldnt the truth be able to withstand any scrutiny?

I dont think it has anything to do with the fear of questioning or the truth. They are not interested in the truth. 

Its about the possibility of finding out that they could be wrong. Finding out that you are wrong and that something is terribly wrong with your belief system is not comforting. It is not easy. In fact, it can be traumatising. Believe me, I know. It is not just the admission of being wrong but also being different. Better be wrong with the crowd, than wrong alone.

Hmmm.. so that is the real meaning faith. It is not just, belief without reason. It is belief in the face of conflicting reason. That is faith.

Blind motherfucking faith.

Max hates blind motherfucking faith.

..false hope…

If you ask your interviewer, ‘how did I do in the interview, do I have a shot of getting that job?’, and he answers, ‘I dont want to give you false hope’…what does it mean?

If you ask your doctor, ‘how much time do I have to live?’, and he answers, ‘I dont want to give you false hope’…what does it mean?

If you ask her, ‘if that is the only way for us to be together, what you still be willing?, and she answers, ‘I dont want to give you false hope’…what does it mean?

Singapore day trips & why I am with the Austrians…

Day trips to Singapore are tiring.

You wake up at 5am, catch a cab to the airport. Board the plane at 8am. Arrive at Singapore at 9am. Start your meetings at 10am. Finish meetings, then rush to the airport by 6pm. By the time I get home, its past 10pm and I’m almost dead. Working till 10pm is not as tiring. The travelling is a killer.

On the other hand, I like Singapore. Its efficient. The cabs are clean and they take you regardless of where you wanna go. The toilets are clean. People are polite. And most of all, Singapore is actually cheap. If you earn, SGD that is. And therein lies the problem. I am being arbitraged. And I dont like it one bit.

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Let me give you an example. A cup of decent coffee in Malaysia costs at least RM8. In Singapore, it costs SGD4.50. Of cos after conversion (SGD/MYR = 2.4), its more expensive, but consider that a  joker who earns RM2k in Malaysia will earn a similar amount SGD2k in Singapore for the same job (probably more after tax since tax rates are lower there). So all in, putting in the same amount of work in Singapore allows you a much higher quality of life compared to over here. 

Now, neoclassical economics would suggest that a rational human being like me would rush over to Singapore to work. Supply of labour floods Singapore, employers get to cherry pick, salaries get lower and basically it becomes an employers market. The opposite happens in Malaysia (employee’s market). Net-net, salaries in both Malaysia and Singapore should converge to an ‘equilibrium’.  In theory, they should.

But they dont, at least not in the short run. Neoclassicists insist they would in the long run. But to paraphrase Keynes, in the long run, we are all dead anyway. So is neoclassical economics flawed? Yes and no. If you assume that the only driver that affects my utility is salary, then yes.

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But in reality, that is not really true. There are other drivers, each of which has its own opportunity cost attached to it as well. Family, maxine, Malaysian food, JAIS (sic), UMNO Youth etc. Singapore doesnt have all those entertainment …hehehe. Once those things are factored in, it would be right to say that yes, probably this is the equilibrium for me. Hence, that’s why I am still here.

Also remember, my drivers are different from another person’s drivers. The respective opportunity costs also differs and changes across time. Now you can see how modelling an economy is next to impossible as you have to take into account each person’s preference and utility. And we havent even talked about exchange rate fluctuations, inflation and growth expectations etc yet!!

So the next time someone talks to you about econometric models, tell em to throw it away.

There is nothing wrong with the traditional assumptions of humans being rational and utility maximising creatures. We definitely are. Its the opportunity cost part that is missing and using the correct drivers/variables all of which is humanely impossible to model. So why rely on something that you know is inaccurate in the first place?

I think I’m with the Austrians on this one….

..unhappy max……:(

‘Nuff said….

Fiddling with my image header…

I’m finally settling for this; (see header pic above). After days of searching for images, cropping and editing, I think this picture captures my mood and this blog best.

I’ve tried various pictures; e.g. dali’s paintings, sushi, angelina jolie etc. Dont think maxine was too thrilled with the jolie picture..hehe..

But i like this one. The suave swashbuckling cat in the captain’s cap is yours truly; whilst the hot manja pussycat up there is non other than my maxine…(droolZ….)

Anyways, later for now..i’m having minor indigestion, last night’s burger seems to be oxidising its way upwards instead of downwards …max is definitely one sick cat today….