Meet Joe Black (House Spider)

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Before you start reading this blogpost, i would like to offer some word of warning that, for some, this blogpost might turn you into an instant paranoid, especially if you're living in houses around Australia - even more if you're arachnidphobic (i think that's what you call them). More specifically, i will be talking about Agent Joe Black, a unit of 'men' in blacks who might be closer than you think. For the uninitiated, i'm talking about Black house spiders.

Now, i live in a garage-bedroom. Technically, my room is made from a garage. Hence, it does look... well... tool-shed-ish to some extent. I moved in here since last end-autumn and has been living in here throughout winter. Yes, it was indeed cold and i am too much of a greenie to be using a heater in my room. Yet, life was blissful. At least, until spring returns and the place turns warmer. Since a few weeks back, i have been encountering several spiders in my room. I did notice them around the house, especially by the window sills in the kitchen, but never really in my room. I suppose they just came out of hibernation or something that they seem to wander around the house for a nesting place. I guess the winters chill had them dormant that they were out of sight.

I am quite a spider-lover. I think some spiders are exotic-looking. So, the first time i encountered a Joe Black, i was like "awww... where did you come from?", took out my hand for it to crawl on, and gently, carry them out of the house into some bush for it to go back into the wild. But til recently, i had to kill one. I was in my bed when the spider was literally next to my face, on the pillow. It freaked me out and i killed it almost on impulse. I felt bad for it but eventually, i realized another one on the ceiling a week after. And another one crawling on the floor. Then another next to the door. That was when it struck me. My room is infested with these guys. Yet again, i'm not sure what kind of spider they were and i figured that they might just be common house spiders (like the ones in malaysia - only twice the size). However, watching some documentary on poisonouse spiders in Australia, i figured i might just check what kind of spider are those in my room.

It turned out that these guys are Black House spiders and they're venomous. Holy shit.

They're about 2.5 cm long and they're black. The bad news is that these type of spider are, as their name implies, commonly found inside houses and distinguishable by their messy web. The good news is that it is somewhat big for a spider that you're bound to notice it (wait... is that also part of the bad news?) and also, their not as aggressive as some other type of spiders. Often, they will just flee when they see you, not try to defend themselves (which is good). Fortunately, God also made these critters non-lethal. A bite from these Joe Blacks will just send you in a state of pain, muscle-numbness or aching, nausea or giddiness, profuse sweating, excessive salivating etc. - luckily, not death. Their poison wont kill you and there's an antivenom for these guys' bite available in hospitals. Just be sure to take teh right measures when bitten and get an ambulance straight away.

I bet none of my Malaysian friends in Sydney are aware of this and the right measure they should take if bitten. I did a lil research on my own and i figured i should share it with you. Simply, apply bandages firmly (not tightly) on the limb where victim is bitten to slow down the spreading of the venom. Call the ambulance instead of taking the victim to the hospital (if you dont know, the number to call is 000, not 999 or 911). Also, if possible, try to catch the spider (preferably dead in one piece) to have the medic identify what kind of spider that bit you (so they can work out the suitable antivenom). Finally, dont stay in a garage-bedroom.

Delaqroux Out.

Ye Olde' Qroux Photoshop

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I was supposed to be doing my assessment and MSA 2010 newsletter design when the caffeine and boredom in my bloodstream started acting up. Without realizing, i had my webcam open and i took several shots of myself. A camwhore would have been amused just by doing this but unfortunately (or fortunately, when you think about it), i am no camwhore. I started putting one of those photos on photoshop and see if i can mess around with it. The result, to my lowest expectation, turned out to be really awesome (at least in my eyes, i think)

Anyways, this was the photo. Please pardon the narcissism.

To those who are familiar with using Photoshop, i thought i might as well share how the mess-around process came about. To those who arent, please skip the following paragraph right ahead.

The process was surprisingly easy. First, i just adjusted the level of the photo to literally shroud the photo in darkness. Then i borrowed Venom's fangy, grinning mouth to replace the invinsible one in the photo. (You might have to tweak Venom's mouth a lil bit so that the mouth appear naturally in tone and in size with the original photo) Afterwards, i just filtered the photo with lens flare render for the glowing eye. However, instead of putting the flare on the same level, i created a new level, put a black splotch on it, and then i had the lens flare on -  just so that i can mess around with the size of the light flare (you might notice that i have oblong-ated the shape of the flare). Finally, its all basic photoshop cut and paste work to have the wordings on the photo.

And here's the final piece. For a rusty skill, i like how this turned out.




Anyway, i know this isnt much of a post but, whatever. Just felt like making this a blogpost for the fun of it. I'll be back with more meaningful posts soon. Oh yeah. and Happy Halloween people!

Delaqroux Out.

My micro-teaching bring all the boys to the yard...

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Somehow, i'm finding the joy of uploading no-life posts on my blog once again. Ah, blogging. Thy charm stood the test of time valantly, still addictive thy are like... durians. Yeah, you dont eat durian after awhile and when you do, you crave for more. Speaking of which, durians was featured in Eat Pray Love. But the guy said it stinks like feet. Wanna know what else stinks like feet? Your mom... And also my life for the past few weeks.

Yeah, for some reason, my life's been a lil disappointing. Expected good things did not turn as well as promised and things just go downhill at the time when it's supposed to be your highpoint. There are a total of.... wait, i'm counting.... uh... about eight events that i was looking forward to the whole damn time. In the end, all eight of them turned out lil bummers. I wish i can share them with you guys but unfortunately, there's all those petty things about saving your face (i'm not sure if this is even a proper, linguistically accepted term), saving other people's face and avoiding major ass kicking that all those things must not be discussed about openly.

But, i can share one though. It's my micro-teaching presentation. The feedback wasnt too bad and the whole thing went on (almost) smoothly with some minor hiccups. But it could have been better. Side note; if there's anyone doing micro-teaching presentation in EDUC391 reading this; if you find one guy (or girl - avoiding biasness here) in the classroom who just bugs you like a shitbug, give him/her the time out. It's better to shove that fella into a corner and have the whole thing done smoothly rather than trying to keep everyone included in the classroom and having things all messed up because of one bug. I put this down in my self-reflection. Thought it's a good two cents for now and the future. Might land you some extra marks for your presentation too.

Nevertheless, i figured out two things (that arent really important but it's fun stuff so what the hell..) while planning and conducting my microteaching presentation. One, i am getting old. Yes, Benny, people grow old, grow all preachy and teachy, and then die. There i was a time ago being a totally rebellious kid who skipped classes he didnt like and here i am now, a pre-service teacher planning how to have a class students would like. Weird feeling. Oh, and two, this whole preparing something-in-hope-of-having-your-class-liking-you-and-your-lesson thing is pretty much a real high risk game. You get things done properly and you will have kids loving the lesson and learning stuffs. You mess things up and they'll yawn like hippos. The latter is obviously every teacher's worst nightmare (except for this one teacher i encountered before who pretty much did all the yawning by himself in class). So, yeah, being teacher is a risky job - but hey, that's exactly where the fun is at. (upon writing this, i took some time out to look around, find a perfect spot on the ground, dig myself a gravehole, and sits in it)

Anyways, in regard of all things stinking like feets, why bother posting this whole blogpost and whine when i cant share what i'm whining about? Coz this is my blog and you guys are my readers. Every now and then, guy has to whine.

Delaqroux Out.

10/10/10 accident photos

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For those who are expecting gruesome photos of the tragedy, skip this read. None will be featured here. I'm just giving my two cents in text. Particularly, i will be talking about the photos and those who uploaded them on the net, their website, blog, whatever.

I was not aware of the accident up til several days after the incident date and i would really like to offer my condolences to whoever's related to the victims of the accident. I do feel great regret on knowing about this tragedy this late. However, i feel greater regret in regards of how i learned of this tragedy; the photos of the incident all over the net.

My message here is simple; please, do not upload them on the internet or share them through any method (tagging people, sending links, reuploading those photos etc.) especially ones that contains a clear image of the deceased - or any other photos for that matter. I am not someone to be talking about ethics here but i do know things that are unethical when i see them. When those photos are taken using the public's cam, i doubt there are any good motives intended. The photos might just be taken so they can upload them on their webpage over the internet, possibly so that they can brag that they (the photographers) were there when the whole thing happened. Let me assure you, that taking photos of an accident, if you're not a member of a official media, and simply uploading them on the internet without regards of censorship or ethics is unethical. Note that if the officials (police, medics etc.) are not having their hands full with the accident, they would try their hardest to disperse the crowd. TAKING PHOTOS OF ACCIDENTS FROM A PUBLIC VIEWPOINT IS NOT ETHICAL.

No one can control the spread of information over the internet. So when the photos are uploaded, for whatever reason behind it, the photos will constantly be shared, tagged, linked and relinked. In other words, the photos will literally multiply without control. I know some people would have some excuse for the photo uploads like a godly reminder of life and death, religious purposes etc. but still, you can do that with a good, convincing text. You dont need to spread photos of those who died. Supporting the uploaders will encourage the photos to multiply even more.

So, why is uploading and multiplying the photos unethical - even with a good intention behind it? The answers are obvious. Think of those who are related to the victims. The last thing they would want is having the thought that the net is now a constant reminder of their loss. I know, your intention to make those photos as life-death reminders are positive, but you dont need to put the visual images online for people to see. I know this might not be a good way of convincing people but i had a friend who passed away years ago because of leukemia. I visited his parents and i saw his computer. I used to hang out with him in front of that computer, playing games. To see that computer and be reminded that he is no longer here, it's the worst feeling ever. I cant stand the sight of the computer, or anything that would remind me that he is gone for that matter. Not to say that i dont want to treasure our memories, but it's not a good feeling at all, believe me. Also, i do recall this one case where this one man was begging the public to not have the leaked evidence photo of her raped sister on the internet. I remembered how devastated the man looked. Somehow, i think we can relate these cases with ours. The main point is that reminders arent always a good thing, especially when its in a form of something you can see - especially those who are going through living nightmare trying to accept the loss of those they love.

Anyway, if you are reading this and you might know some sources or people sharing and passing those photos all around, please remind them to think over what they did. I'm not starting a fight on what's ethical or unethical here. I am just trying to empathize those who are involved. Please, be more human

Delaqroux out.

My phone is stoo-pit

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Before I begin, let me clarify that I am in favor of favorism. But not on people, but the things I possess. For instance, I love my jackets more than I love my baju batik. I love my Sam Fu more than I love my Baju Melayu. I love my camera more than my (I was about to say “friends” but I realized that that would be inappropriate) MP3 player.  Regardless, throughout all my possessions, there’s one thing I hate more than everything else. No, it’s not Twilight (although, yes, I still hate Twilight). It’s my phone.

A shitty LG U990 phone.

I got it after a week of my stay in Australia. I figured that the postpaid plan was good, the phone that came with it was good, and it was entirely a good deal. Sure enough, at an outside glance, the phone features an okay feature line-up. It was a 3G phone, it had a cam at the front for videocall, a 5MP cam at the back, a touchscreen, an included stylus, and the whole design pretty much look like a decent phone – almost iPhone-ish. But once I had it for a week, I popped out the simcard and put it in my old phone (A sony ericsson K800). I was more than happy to use my old phone instead of a brand new, outta the box LG u990.

Why? The LG phone is shitty. The battery cant last at all (often, I made a call with the battery indicator full, only to have my call cut off in the next 20 minutes as the battery went out), the touchscreen is basically a pointy-pressure screen (without the stylus, using your finger wont work unless you have a pointy finger nail – you can slide your finger to scroll around some menus, but doing that means to stab the screen a slice your phone in half), it has a touch keypad without the erase button (it was located externally – when you type with a stylus, you basically have to use your finger to press the erase button - wtf), the earphone port is located at the side (having an earphone jack plugged while having the phone in your pocket is impossible), the signal receiving antenna is located exactly at the place where you hold the phone during calls (resulting to an almost instant connection kill when you hold your phone next to your ear), the camera is decent but the phone has an auto-contrast fix software that basically increase the contrast of your photo that some went entirely not visible (you cant take a shot of yourself and your mate(s) in a dark environment – no porno pic/film for you), you cant set the phone to ring and vibrate at the same time (you can go only for either one at one time – I was on my MP3 player when my phone rang in my pocket and I didn’t notice it coz it didn’t vibrate – someone finally came to me and said “your phone’s ringing”), the alarm wont ring if you set your phone on silent (I don’t want people’s call to wake me while I sleep, but that means the alarm wont as well), the file organizer’s a mess (oxymorons… nice), you cant have a memory card with more than 2G capacity, the camera switches back to VGA mode everytime you off the cam even when you set it to 5MP, the phone unlock key is located outside the phone at the press-prone-most location, one of the screensaver is a fish pond (something like an iPond without the ability to play fish – biggest insult ever), there’s a menu for apps but there’s no apps to download, it only have some utilities featured (the phone has a calculator but no stopwatch, no timer, no on-screen note/reminder… and WHATEVER FCUK is a date finder!?)… and the list goes on.

So why am I using it still? Coz my old phone finally breaks down and I am stuck with this shitty phone. So, for all the people out there, don’t buy this phone. CNET gave a decent rating for this phone, a 3 ½ star in fact. I gave it five piles of poo and an instant two middle finger up. The only good thing about this phone is that, no matter how many times I smash it onto the floor with frustration, rage, anger and disappointment, it still works perfectly ‘fine’.

Delaqroux Out.

i hate... (part one)

• I hate people who speak in bumper sticker language
• I hate strangers who asked me to take photos of them and didnt say thanks (yeah, i'm talking about you, Asian camwhore group in Glenelg)
• I hate people who smoke in public with kids around
• I hate people who wants to die just because they are stressed out
• I hate the voice inside my head that kept on scolding me because i dont do things i should do
• I hate people who... how do i put this... when i say something like "i hate humans", they go "arent you a human too?" Yeah, i hate you too, human.
• I hate girls who likes to toy around with guys' heart and act all innocent about it
• I hate quitters without a good reason
• I hate religious people who tell other people (from a different religion) that they (the other people) are going to hell
• I hate sad songs about people dying or people leaving
• I hate not being able to be a jetfighter pilot
• I hate people who like to act cute
• I hate mangoes... well, i dont hate them. i like em, but i just cant eat them
• I hate working with leaders who cant control their temper or lose their head constantly 
• I hate last minute workers (if anyone going "arent you a last minute worker too?", as aforementioned, i hate you too) and btw, i'm trying my hardest to discard my last minute working attitude
• I hate p**** guys - sorry, have to censor this out, i can sense em watching
• I hate people who only see bad things about people
• I hate mirrors
• I hate people who post shoutouts ONLY to show-off how awesome they are
• I hate the thought of people dying and me being the only one left
• I hate having no future
• I hate excessively-played-on-the-radio songs
• I hate people who echoes what other people say so they feel part of something
• I hate blogger layout. Seriously, it's ugly.
• I hate people who are more awesome than me.
• I hate cockroaches - and figurative roaches
• I hate people who look down on women
• I hate people who said "living in Australia/Sydney is boring"
• I hate pushy religious people
• I hate not having any hot water to bathe at night
• I hate not having stable internet connection
• I hate people who dont finish their food - just because the food is not nice
• I hate facebook
• I hate flamers (people who go all out condemning something because they think something else is better)
• I hate sweet-talkers
• I hate people who associate negative attitude and emotional disturbance with creative writing and literature
• I hate the fact that i cant draw a horse without having it to look like a.... dog with hooves
• I hate people who hate animals
• I hate using lifts
• I hate people who uses lifts meant for disabled people
• I hate people who uses Malay to talk bad about other people who cant speak Malay
• I hate people who look down on Sabahans and Sarawakians 
• I hate Sabahans and Sarawakians who hate Eastern Malaysians
• I hate empty promises
• I hate Mondays
• I hate bad drivers - especially that one guy who almost ran me over
• I hate people who talks about fucking when they never slept with anyone ever
• I hate lying politicians, i hate those who fall for them more
• I hate people who wants to get married so they can "skip the hard stuff"
• I hate that guy who give ciggarrettes to his son
• I hate people who wants to claim Malaysia for their own
• I hate the phrase "in a nutshell"

-END OF PART ONE-

Oh, btw, Delaqroux Inc Updates! 8D