Infrequently Asked Questions

Why do Europeans and North Americans seem smarter than the rest of the world?

Because their education system doesn’t emphasize rote learning.

Why do people get married? And I’m not talking about religion, here, as marriage existed way before Judaism, Christianity, Islam.

Because women love weddings, and men get the housework done for free.

What about men who do housework?

These type of people are to be admired and despised at the same time.

What’s the greatest piece of technology ever invented?

The book. It can be carried anywhere, it doesn’t require a power source, it’s extremely durable, and it’s incredibly, incredibly useful.

Who’s the smartest person in the world?

Marilyn vos Savant. (And I’m not providing a link to Wikipedia, so that you have to look it up yourself. Hahaha!)

Who’s the most beautiful woman in the world?

Depends on who’s asking.

Why does evil exist?

No good without evil.

Okay, there doesn’t have to be evil. Why can’t there just be good, and gooder?

Why don’t you stop being evil by pestering me with all these questions.

Name me one Indonesian heavy metal band.

Burgerkill.

Sometimes the traffic at Lebuhraya Bukit Jalil is backed up all the way to the LDP, and sometimes it’s clear all the way. What gives?

I have completely no idea.

What’s the difference between can’t and couldn’t?

One has 7 letters, and the other one has 4.

How to be successful?

Define success to be something that you can easily achieve.

How to be happy?

Happiness is a feeling. Like all feelings, it’s an automatic response to external events. It’s something we can’t help. So to be happy we need “positive” things to happen, like doing something we enjoy, or being with people we like. But even then, after awhile, boredom sets in. So it’s something transient. A better question would be, “how to have inner peace?”

How to have inner peace?

Pay me money and I’ll tell you.

Why does the earth spin around its axis?

I bet your kid asked you this. You know what? I tried to google this one and couldn’t find a definite answer. I even tried Yahoo! Answers and Ask.com. Someone help me!

Given that the earth is rotating at 1100 mph, if someone jumps high up then why doesn’t he land a few miles away from the place he jumped?

Why must the “someone” be a “he”? Women jump too.

Okay, he or she.

He or she what?

Look, I’m not going to repeat the whole question! You know what I mean! You’re quibbling about insignificant matters because you don’t know the answer, don’t you?

You’re being very rude. I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave.

Why do women have higher standards of personal hygiene than men?

For millenia, men worked whilst women stayed home. Men had money to attract women; all women had were their physical appearance. But now that women are financially independent, men can no longer count on being a good breadwinner to be attractive. So that’s why deodorant and even facial foam for men are getting increasingly popular.

Why do I need to go to the office? With broadband, I can work wherever I want. Why do I need to travel back and forth and put up with all the traffic jams? What matters is that I get my work done on time. (I don’t work for a leading employment website.)

You’re right. Stay at home, then.

But I’ll get fired!

Then get to the office, already! Jeez.

This IAQ is boring.

What, the whole point of the universe is to entertain you? Go to lolcats, then.

(Whiny voice) Lolcats is even more boring!

You’re right. xkcd!

The D-Class

Mercedes-Benz offers the A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, E-Class, etc. … but no D-Class. Is it because the size of a sedan between the C-Class and the E-Class wouldn’t make sense? Or could it be that “D” carries with it bad connotations in Germany? Or are these letters just an arbitrary set of labels, with no meaning behind them? Is this even worth blogging about?

Google Wave – What Email Would Look Like If It Were Invented Today

What is a Wave?

A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

More info on:
Google Wave
Google Wave “Is What Email Would Look Like If It Were Invented Today”
Google Wave Video Demo Makes a Little More Sense of Wave

Economy, Reliability and Quality

Toyota took out a full-page ad on page 7 in The Star today:

“Economy, reliability and quality”

The ad is about the Avanza. The last time I saw ads for the Avanza was in 2004 or 2005. So why the splurge of advertising dollars on a model that’s about 6 years old? The huge emphasis on the “economy, reliability and quality” of the Avanza is no accident. All the Japanese carmakers produce vehicles that are generally economical, reliable and well-built, so I wouldn’t call it a very unique selling point. In Malaysia, which car manufacturer suffers from the perception of low quality? (No prizes for guessing). This is therefore a blatant challenge. It’s now up to the carmaker with the new MPV to ensure that the power windows work flawlessly, the door handles don’t come off and the dashboard doesn’t vibrate. The design of the new MPV is not too bad, and apparently it’s rather spacious. So let’s hope they’ve upgraded their manufacturing process and quality control from that of the eighties and nineties.