Burmese Python

21st Annual Raoul Wallenberg Lecture at the University of Michigan: Aung San Suu Kyi

2012-01-17T02:31:49Z

I was there at 00:13:08.

Quotes from a gangster

2011-12-17T04:11:39Z

I am quoting this from an episode of Prime Suspect.

"This is America, right? People say now how we should all just love each other the same? But underneath, they're all still feeling the same old hate. Black, White, Jew, Asian, Greek, whatever. But for a true gangster, none of that matters. In business, if you can make a buck with or from them, you don't give a damn who they look like or who they pray to. To us, this city's one big gorgeous mosaic of crime."

December Sentimentality

2011-12-03T02:22:19Z

For those who miss home in Burma:

Borderless Economics

2011-11-10T02:27:20Z

I came across a fascinating interview with Robert Guest, the Economist's business editor and author of "Borderless Economics: Chinese Sea Turtles, Indian Fridges and the New Fruits of Global Capitalism". He discussed why immigrants liked America and how Chinese and Nigerian diaspora did business across the globe. He also mentioned how difficult it was for a Japanese housewife to sponsor a foreign nanny whereas a night club owner could easily bring in an "entertainer in a short skirt" to come work in his night club. I thought it was a very great interview.

အတောင်ပံများသို့

2011-10-18T04:05:24Z

This is a good song with powerful lyrics in Burmese. It is dedicated to Min Ko Naing and other activists.

George Orwell's poem

2011-10-09T01:42:33Z

Image by druidabruxux via Flickr

When I was young and had no sense

In far-off Mandalay

I lost my heart to a Burmese girl

As lovely as the day.

Her skin was gold, her hair was jet,

Her teeth were ivory;

I said, "for twenty silver pieces,

Maiden, sleep with me".

She looked at me, so pure, so sad,

The loveliest thing alive,

And in her lisping, virgin voice,

Stood out for twenty-five.

-George Orwell

Buddhism in Burma - History, Politics and Culture

2011-08-12T00:05:30Z

This is a clip about Burma from YouTube. It's a bit outdated. But it gave you an insight about the past.

Thinking of Burma

2011-08-08T12:42:33Z

I was thinking about two events in Burma that had changed many lives for ever. One was the mass demonstration in 1988 and the other was a smaller-scale student demonstration in 1996.

I was in seventh grade when Burmese people took to the streets to demonstrate against then government in 1988. I fortunately lost only one year of middle school because the government shut down all schools in the country only for one year. However, when primary through high schools were reopened in 1989, universities were not. Many university students never graduated (because they left for the Thai-Burma and Burma-India borders to fight against the government or left Burma to work abroad). Many graduated long after they started college when the military government reopened the universities a few years later.

The second time when university students took to the streets in Rangoon (Yangon), it was December in 1996. I was a second year student in medical school in North Okkalapa. The military government shut down all universities until 1998 or 1999 (I can't remember) because I left for the US in 1998 and never finished the university.

I was remembering these events because many lives were forever changed because of these. Thinking of Burma, I would like to share this song about Rangoon University (University of Yangon) campus.

I don't want to talk about it

2011-08-07T20:04:52Z

I was bored one weekend. I recorded Rod Stewart's "I don't want to talk about it" with Ko Nyi Pu Lay. It's just for fun. I didn't have any good recording equipment. I just used my cheap microphone and edited it with Audacity software. Here it is.

I don't want to talk about it - Rod Stewart by sammoe

Commenting enabled again

2011-06-24T01:55:53Z

Image via Wikipedia

I enabled commenting for my blog again. I finally figured out how to use CAPTCHA for the comments. I was getting lots of spams and decided to disable comments a while back ago. Now, with the help of reCAPTCHA, commenting is back on. If you have something to say, please leave your comments.

Life is like six billion people playing chess against each other

2011-06-18T14:56:54Z

Image via Wikipedia

I have been thinking about the complexity of life. Assume that we have six billion people on earth. Let's also assume that each of us is interacting with every other person on earth. Each of us will be interacting with (6 billion - 1) people. Life would be as if six billion people are playing chess against each other. This is a combination problem in Math. Using the formula for combination, the total number of games going on with the above assumptions would be:

factorial(6 billion) / factorial(2) * factorial(6 billion - 2)

Why did I say, "Life is like six billion people playing chess against each other"? In the game of chess, you have to think ahead of what your opponent will do. And his move affects your decision to make your next move. It's very similar to life, where we are making decisions daily and those decisions are influenced by various factors including what other people act or move for their benefits.

Of course, this is a simplification, comparing the world to the game of chess.

Sunday

2011-04-18T00:45:26Z

Image via Wikipedia

It's still cold outside---about 7 degrees Celsius. In American speech, it's about 44 degrees Fahrenheit. It's windy. The cold wind can be felt in our faces as a touch of icy hands.

Yet, it is relatively warm compared to a month or so ago when the temperature was below freezing point and there were snow storms. At least, the sun was trying to come out from behind the clouds.

We--my roommate and I--took a short road trip to Detroit. It was quiet on the highway, Interstate 96, unlike weekdays. After driving for about half an hour, we got off the Interstate and arrived in a quiet Sterling Heights neighborhood.

We drove through the neighborhood to cross into Troy. We stopped by an Asian market. The pungent smell of preserved Asian food greeted us (even from the parking lot). We saw some middle-Eastern-look-like men in the neighborhood. The place was filled with strange and exotic ethnic smells---of food and different perfumes not widely used in mainstream America. :)

We went into the grocery and said hi to the owner. He looked like he was in his mid-forties. We chatted. His English was very good. We learned that he studied in Belgium for his Master's. He dropped out of the program to come to the US because he wanted to come to the "land of opportunity". After a decade of being in America and getting his citizenship, he is now a grocery owner. Yet, he wanted to go back to school for his "mental satisfaction". He wasn't sure of his making the right decision to come to the US, saying that he would probably be leading a successful family business if he stayed in Bangladesh, his native land.

Now, he is caught in two cultures, neither of which he seemed to fit in. He couldn't 100% fit in the US. When he visited his family in Bangladesh, he seemed distant from his homeland and the way they did business over there. His kids were also born in the US and they didn't seem to have a connection to his former country.

To make a long story short, my roommate bought areca nut wrapped in betel leaves. I bought mango pickle. We came back home, ate our lunch and dozed off watching news in the afternoon.

My favorite commercial

2011-03-31T01:31:46Z

My favorite commercial:

Hacker group from Rangoon (Yangon), Burma

2011-03-30T23:49:49Z

From NetworkWorld:

The hacker group that exposed holes in McAfee's website knows it's breaking U.S. law, but vows to continue exposing vulnerabilities, especially on security vendor websites.

"We do understand performing security testings without authorization is illegal under U.S. law," stated YGN Ethical Hacker Group, when contacted by Network World via e-mail. The outfit's own website describes YGN as a "small group of young but mature people" based in the country of Myanmar (Burma) who started working together about three years ago. Based on its website advertising, the group, which seeks to emphasize its goals are "ethical," appears to offer vulnerability-testing services while also working on security testing tools.

Cappuccino break at Starbucks

2011-03-25T02:51:42Z

Image via Wikipedia

I went to Starbucks for a break from work with my friends, Matt and Danniella. I had cappuccino. We sat down and chatted for about 15 minutes. Danniella had to go to work to her other job. So Matt and I decided to go back to work.

On our way out, there was an accident at the traffic light. A lady was standing outside her car. She wasn't obviously in the accident. But there was a spare tire from one of the cars involved in the accident, which rolled out onto the street and got stuck between her wheel and front fender. She was just standing outside without anybody helping her. We asked if she needed help.

We parked at a nearby parking lot. We walked back to her. She told us that her husband would not be able to come to help her for at least half an hour. We decided to help her.

Matt and I jacked up the car. It took us about 15 minutes. It was cold outside even though it was sunny. Finally, we were able to remove the tire from the place where it got stuck.

I was glad we were able to help somebody today. She tried to give us "beer money" for our help. We politely declined and ran away :)